diff --git a/packages/lint/src/hevcPreviewLint.ts b/packages/lint/src/hevcPreviewLint.ts
index 0346b7743..bdc454dd1 100644
--- a/packages/lint/src/hevcPreviewLint.ts
+++ b/packages/lint/src/hevcPreviewLint.ts
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ import { rewriteAssetPath } from "@hyperframes/parsers/asset-paths";
 import { findFfBinary } from "@hyperframes/parsers/ff-binaries";
 import {
   cleanAssetUrl,
-  hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken,
   isRemoteOrInlineUrl,
+  isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder,
   maskNonScannableRanges,
   resolveExistingLocalAsset,
 } from "@hyperframes/parsers/asset-resolution";
@@ -87,12 +87,11 @@ export function collectLocalVideoCandidates(
     let match: RegExpExecArray | null;
     while ((match = re.exec(scannable)) !== null) {
       const rawSrc = match[1] ?? "";
-      // Check the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
-      if (hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(rawSrc)) continue;
+      // Placeholder check runs on the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
+      if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(rawSrc)) continue;
       const src = cleanAssetUrl(rawSrc);
       if (!src) continue;
       if (isRemoteOrInlineUrl(src)) continue;
-      if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(src)) continue;
       const rootRelative = compSrcPath ? rewriteAssetPath(compSrcPath, src) : src;
       const resolvedAsset = resolveExistingLocalAsset(projectDir, rootRelative);
       if (!resolvedAsset) continue;
diff --git a/packages/lint/src/project.ts b/packages/lint/src/project.ts
index 493446435..808175616 100644
--- a/packages/lint/src/project.ts
+++ b/packages/lint/src/project.ts
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@ import { checkSubCompositionUsability } from "@hyperframes/parsers/sub-compositi
 import { parseHTML } from "linkedom";
 import {
   cleanAssetUrl,
-  hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken,
   isRemoteOrInlineUrl,
+  isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder,
   isWithinProjectRoot,
   maskNonScannableRanges,
   resolveExistingLocalAsset,
@@ -283,8 +283,7 @@ function lintAudioSrcNotFound(
     while ((match = audioSrcRe.exec(html)) !== null) {
       const src = match[1]!;
       if (/^(https?:|data:|blob:)/i.test(src)) continue;
-      if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(src)) continue;
-      if (hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(src)) continue;
+      if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(src)) continue;
       const rootRelative = compSrcPath ? rewriteAssetPath(compSrcPath, src) : src;
       if (!resolveLocalAssetCandidates(projectDir, rootRelative).some(existsSync)) {
         missingSrcs.push(src);
@@ -326,12 +325,11 @@ function lintMissingLocalAsset(
     while ((match = re.exec(scannable)) !== null) {
       const tagName = (match[1] ?? "").toLowerCase();
       const rawSrc = match[2] ?? "";
-      // Check the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
-      if (hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(rawSrc)) continue;
+      // Placeholder check runs on the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
+      if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(rawSrc)) continue;
       const src = cleanAssetUrl(rawSrc);
       if (!src) continue;
       if (isRemoteOrInlineUrl(src)) continue;
-      if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(src)) continue;
       const rootRelative = compSrcPath ? rewriteAssetPath(compSrcPath, src) : src;
       const resolvedAsset = resolveExistingLocalAsset(projectDir, rootRelative);
       if (resolvedAsset) continue;
@@ -379,11 +377,10 @@ function lintTextureMaskAssetNotFound(
       const pattern = new RegExp(MASK_IMAGE_URL_RE.source, MASK_IMAGE_URL_RE.flags);
       while ((match = pattern.exec(cssSource.content)) !== null) {
         const rawUrl = match[1] ?? match[2] ?? match[3] ?? "";
-        // Check the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
-        if (hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(rawUrl)) continue;
+        // Placeholder check runs on the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
+        if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(rawUrl)) continue;
         const url = cleanAssetUrl(rawUrl);
         if (!url || isRemoteOrInlineUrl(url)) continue;
-        if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(url)) continue;
 
         const candidates = resolveCssAssetCandidates(
           projectDir,
@@ -531,8 +528,7 @@ function lintMissingOrEmptySubComposition(
     while ((match = compositionSrcRe.exec(scannable)) !== null) {
       const srcPath = (match[1] ?? "").trim();
       if (!srcPath) continue;
-      if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(srcPath)) continue; // template placeholder
-      if (hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(srcPath)) continue; // late-bound templating token
+      if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(srcPath)) continue; // __UPPER__ placeholder or late-bound templating token
 
       // data-composition-src is always written root-relative (even from a
       // nested sub-composition) — matches the resolution the renderer uses
diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.test.ts b/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.test.ts
index 8bc345cec..95381264c 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.test.ts
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
-import { maskNonScannableRanges } from "./assetResolution.js";
+import { isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder, maskNonScannableRanges } from "./assetResolution.js";
 
 describe("maskNonScannableRanges", () => {
   it("masks complete comments without changing offsets", () => {
@@ -20,3 +20,38 @@ describe("maskNonScannableRanges", () => {
     expect(masked).toBe(`prefix${" ".repeat(html.length - 12)}suffix`);
   });
 });
+
+describe("isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder", () => {
+  it("is true for __UPPER__ placeholders (raw or padded)", () => {
+    for (const src of ["__DURATION__", "  __DURATION__  ", "__X__"]) {
+      expect(isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(src)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("is true for unresolved templating tokens, including ?/# inside ${...}", () => {
+    for (const src of [
+      "<<tts_x>>",
+      "{{ videoUrl }}",
+      "${audioUrl}",
+      "${asset?.url}", // cleanAssetUrl would chop this to `${asset` — must match on the raw value
+      "${a ?? b}",
+      "${u}?v=1",
+      "audio/${name}.mp3", // embedded token in an otherwise path-shaped value
+    ]) {
+      expect(isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(src)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("is false for real paths and remote URLs (remote handling is left to each caller)", () => {
+    for (const src of [
+      "audio/clip.mp3",
+      "clip.mp4?v=1",
+      "https://cdn.example.com/a.mp3",
+      "//host/a.png",
+      "",
+      "   ",
+    ]) {
+      expect(isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(src)).toBe(false);
+    }
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.ts b/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.ts
index 950b304d1..933be9cb3 100644
--- a/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.ts
+++ b/packages/parsers/src/assetResolution.ts
@@ -19,14 +19,29 @@ export function isRemoteOrInlineUrl(url: string): boolean {
  * substitutes before render. The static linter runs before that substitution,
  * so it cannot resolve such a value to a file on disk and must not report it as
  * a missing asset. Check the RAW url, before any `cleanAssetUrl()` step: that
- * splits on `?`/`#`, which also chops inside a `${...}` expression. (The older
- * `__UPPER__` placeholder shape predates this and keeps its own inline check at
- * each call site.)
+ * splits on `?`/`#`, which also chops inside a `${...}` expression. (The `__UPPER__`
+ * placeholder shape is combined with this in `isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder` below, the
+ * shared predicate asset-src sites skip on.)
  */
 export function hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(url: string): boolean {
   return /<<[^<>]+>>|\{\{[^{}]+\}\}|\$\{[^{}]+\}/.test(url);
 }
 
+/**
+ * True when an asset src is a build-time placeholder rather than a resolvable path:
+ * the `__UPPER__` shape (e.g. `__DURATION__`) or an unresolved templating token
+ * (`<<...>>`, `{{...}}`, `${...}`). Pass the RAW src, before any `cleanAssetUrl()` step —
+ * cleanAssetUrl splits on `?`/`#`, which would chop inside a `${...}` expression and defeat
+ * the token match. Remote/inline URL handling is deliberately NOT folded in: call sites
+ * differ (e.g. audio uses a narrower http/data/blob check), so each keeps its own.
+ *
+ * This is the single skip predicate every asset-src lint / codec / compile site should
+ * route through, so the placeholder rules can't drift apart across call sites.
+ */
+export function isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(rawSrc: string): boolean {
+  return /^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(rawSrc.trim()) || hasUnresolvedTemplatingToken(rawSrc);
+}
+
 export function cleanAssetUrl(url: string): string {
   return url.trim().split(/[?#]/, 1)[0] ?? "";
 }
diff --git a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
index 3e8736e44..d45dd5d39 100644
--- a/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
+++ b/packages/producer/src/services/htmlCompiler.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
   checkSubCompositionUsability,
   type ParsableDocumentLike,
 } from "@hyperframes/parsers/sub-composition-validity";
+import { isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder } from "@hyperframes/parsers/asset-resolution";
 import { extractMediaMetadata, extractAudioMetadata } from "../utils/ffprobe.js";
 import { isPathInside, toExternalAssetKey } from "../utils/paths.js";
 import {
@@ -168,7 +169,7 @@ function assertSubCompositionsUsable(
   for (const el of hosts) {
     const srcPath = el.getAttribute("data-composition-src");
     if (!srcPath) continue;
-    if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(srcPath)) continue; // template placeholder, not a real reference — matches lint's skip
+    if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(srcPath)) continue; // __UPPER__ placeholder or unresolved templating token — not a real reference (shared with lint via @hyperframes/parsers)
 
     const filePath = resolve(projectDir, srcPath);
     // Circular reference guard. parseSubCompositions (below) silently
diff --git a/packages/studio-server/src/helpers/mediaCodecMap.ts b/packages/studio-server/src/helpers/mediaCodecMap.ts
index cd1c63e29..cd2c7d8ac 100644
--- a/packages/studio-server/src/helpers/mediaCodecMap.ts
+++ b/packages/studio-server/src/helpers/mediaCodecMap.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { rewriteAssetPath } from "@hyperframes/parsers/asset-paths";
 import {
   cleanAssetUrl,
   isRemoteOrInlineUrl,
+  isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder,
   maskNonScannableRanges,
   resolveLocalAssetCandidates,
 } from "@hyperframes/parsers/asset-resolution";
@@ -228,9 +229,11 @@ function collectLocalVideoAssets(
     const re = new RegExp(VIDEO_SRC_RE.source, VIDEO_SRC_RE.flags);
     let match: RegExpExecArray | null;
     while ((match = re.exec(scannable)) !== null) {
-      const src = cleanAssetUrl(match[1] ?? "");
+      const rawSrc = match[1] ?? "";
+      // Placeholder check runs on the RAW value: cleanAssetUrl() splits on ?/# and would chop inside a ${...} token.
+      if (isUnresolvedAssetPlaceholder(rawSrc)) continue;
+      const src = cleanAssetUrl(rawSrc);
       if (!src || isRemoteOrInlineUrl(src)) continue;
-      if (/^__[A-Z_]+__$/.test(src)) continue;
       const rootRelativeSrc = compSrcPath ? rewriteAssetPath(compSrcPath, src) : src;
       const resolved = resolveExistingLocalAsset(projectDir, rootRelativeSrc);
       if (!resolved) continue;