diff --git a/docs/reference/ir/ast-json-v0.md b/docs/reference/ir/ast-json-v0.md
index 0e361a3b..af967d44 100644
--- a/docs/reference/ir/ast-json-v0.md
+++ b/docs/reference/ir/ast-json-v0.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Kinds (subset for Phase 2+)
 - FunctionCall: { kind: "FunctionCall", name: string, arguments: [Node] }
 - Array: { kind: "Array", elements: [Node] }
 - Map: { kind: "Map", entries: [{k: string, v: Node}] }
+- Local: { kind: "Local", variables: [string], inits: [Node|null] }
 
 LiteralValue
 - { type: "string", value: string }
diff --git a/src/macro/ast_json.rs b/src/macro/ast_json.rs
index c90ff0c3..d5070b39 100644
--- a/src/macro/ast_json.rs
+++ b/src/macro/ast_json.rs
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ pub fn ast_to_json(ast: &ASTNode) -> Value {
             "target": ast_to_json(&target),
             "value": ast_to_json(&value),
         }),
+        ASTNode::Local { variables, initial_values, .. } => json!({
+            "kind": "Local",
+            "variables": variables,
+            "inits": initial_values.into_iter().map(|opt| opt.map(|v| ast_to_json(&v))).collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        }),
         ASTNode::If { condition, then_body, else_body, .. } => json!({
             "kind": "If",
             "condition": ast_to_json(&condition),
@@ -94,6 +99,13 @@ pub fn json_to_ast(v: &Value) -> Option<ASTNode> {
         "Break" => ASTNode::Break { span: Span::unknown() },
         "Continue" => ASTNode::Continue { span: Span::unknown() },
         "Assignment" => ASTNode::Assignment { target: Box::new(json_to_ast(v.get("target")?)?), value: Box::new(json_to_ast(v.get("value")?)?), span: Span::unknown() },
+        "Local" => {
+            let vars = v.get("variables")?.as_array()?.iter().filter_map(|s| s.as_str().map(|x| x.to_string())).collect();
+            let inits = v.get("inits")?.as_array()?.iter().map(|initv| {
+                if initv.is_null() { None } else { json_to_ast(initv).map(Box::new) }
+            }).collect();
+            ASTNode::Local { variables: vars, initial_values: inits, span: Span::unknown() }
+        },
         "If" => ASTNode::If { condition: Box::new(json_to_ast(v.get("condition")?)?), then_body: v.get("then")?.as_array()?.iter().filter_map(json_to_ast).collect::<Vec<_>>(), else_body: v.get("else").and_then(|a| a.as_array().map(|arr| arr.iter().filter_map(json_to_ast).collect::<Vec<_>>())), span: Span::unknown() },
         "FunctionDeclaration" => ASTNode::FunctionDeclaration {
             name: v.get("name")?.as_str()?.to_string(),
diff --git a/src/macro/macro_box_ny.rs b/src/macro/macro_box_ny.rs
index 354c401e..42338e4b 100644
--- a/src/macro/macro_box_ny.rs
+++ b/src/macro/macro_box_ny.rs
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ fn expand_indicates_uppercase(body: &Vec<ASTNode>, params: &Vec<String>) -> bool
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub enum MacroBehavior { Identity, Uppercase, ArrayPrependZero, MapInsertTag }
+pub enum MacroBehavior { Identity, Uppercase, ArrayPrependZero, MapInsertTag, LoopNormalize }
 
 pub fn analyze_macro_file(path: &str) -> MacroBehavior {
     let src = match std::fs::read_to_string(path) { Ok(s) => s, Err(_) => return MacroBehavior::Identity };
@@ -241,6 +241,18 @@ pub fn analyze_macro_file(path: &str) -> MacroBehavior {
     if let ASTNode::Program { statements, .. } = ast {
         for st in statements {
             if let ASTNode::BoxDeclaration { name: _, methods, .. } = st {
+                // Detect LoopNormalize by name() returning a specific string
+                if let Some(ASTNode::FunctionDeclaration { name: mname, body, .. }) = methods.get("name") {
+                    if mname == "name" {
+                        if body.len() == 1 {
+                            if let ASTNode::Return { value: Some(v), .. } = &body[0] {
+                                if let ASTNode::Literal { value: nyash_rust::ast::LiteralValue::String(s), .. } = &**v {
+                                    if s == "LoopNormalize" { return MacroBehavior::LoopNormalize; }
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
                 if let Some(ASTNode::FunctionDeclaration { name: mname, body, params, .. }) = methods.get("expand") {
                     if mname == "expand" {
                         if expand_indicates_uppercase(body, params) {
diff --git a/src/runner/modes/macro_child.rs b/src/runner/modes/macro_child.rs
index 10cf2adc..0c14ff92 100644
--- a/src/runner/modes/macro_child.rs
+++ b/src/runner/modes/macro_child.rs
@@ -95,6 +95,10 @@ pub fn run_macro_child(macro_file: &str) {
         }
         crate::r#macro::macro_box_ny::MacroBehavior::ArrayPrependZero => transform_array_prepend_zero(&ast),
         crate::r#macro::macro_box_ny::MacroBehavior::MapInsertTag => transform_map_insert_tag(&ast),
+        crate::r#macro::macro_box_ny::MacroBehavior::LoopNormalize => {
+            // MVP: identity (future: normalize Loop into carrier-based form)
+            ast.clone()
+        }
     };
     let out_json = crate::r#macro::ast_json::ast_to_json(&out_ast);
     println!("{}", out_json.to_string());