diff --git a/dev/modules/moose_support.md b/dev/modules/moose_support.md
index 95f7d2b00..07b1b9da8 100644
--- a/dev/modules/moose_support.md
+++ b/dev/modules/moose_support.md
@@ -315,28 +315,62 @@ install" scenario — define a distroprefs entry that overrides `pl` /
 
 ### Quick-path baseline (Moose 2.4000)
 
-Snapshot from `./jcpan -t Moose` against the current shim:
-
-| Metric | Value |
-|---|---|
-| Test files executed | 478 |
-| Individual assertions executed | 616 |
-| Fully passing files | ~29 |
-| Partially passing files | ~44 |
-| Compile/load fail (missing `Class::MOP::*`, `Moose::Meta::*`) | ~405 |
-| Assertions ok | 370 |
-| Assertions fail | 246 |
-
-The 29 fully-passing files cover BUILDARGS / BUILD chains, immutable
-round-trips, anonymous role creation, several Moo↔Moose bug regressions,
-the cookbook recipes for basic attribute / inheritance / subtype use,
-and the Type::Tiny integration test. The 44 partials include
-high-value chunks such as `basics/import_unimport.t` (31/48),
+Snapshot history from `./jcpan -t Moose` against the current shim:
+
+| Metric | Initial shim | After refcount/DESTROY (Apr 2026) | After Phase A + C-mini (Apr 2026) |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Test files executed | 478 | 478 | 478 |
+| Individual assertions executed | 616 | 616 | **667** |
+| Fully passing files | ~29 | 35 | **36** |
+| Partially passing files | ~44 | 94 | **98** |
+| Compile/load fail (missing `Class::MOP::*`, `Moose::Meta::*`) | ~405 | ~349 | **~344** |
+| Assertions ok | 370 | 372 | **419** |
+| Assertions fail | 246 | 244 | **248** |
+
+The initial 29 fully-passing files covered BUILDARGS / BUILD chains,
+immutable round-trips, anonymous role creation, several Moo↔Moose bug
+regressions, the cookbook recipes for basic attribute / inheritance /
+subtype use, and the Type::Tiny integration test. The 44 partials
+included high-value chunks such as `basics/import_unimport.t` (31/48),
 `basics/wrapped_method_cxt_propagation.t` (6/7), and
 `recipes/basics_point_attributesandsubclassing.t` (28/31).
 
-Phases C/D (real `Class::MOP` and `Moose` ports) should move these
-numbers; record the new totals here whenever they shift.
+The refcount/DESTROY merge (PRs #565, #566, plus weaken/destroy work)
+moved the structural picture meaningfully even though the assertion
+total only nudged: ~56 files that previously failed at compile/load
+time now run subtests. Most ended up partial rather than fully green
+(partials roughly doubled, 44 → 94), but six more files are fully
+passing (29 → 35). The shim's per-test infrastructure (BUILD chains,
+DEMOLISH ordering, weak refs) is now solid; the remaining failures
+are dominated by missing `Class::MOP::*` and `Moose::Meta::*`
+introspection APIs.
+
+**Phase A + Phase C-mini** (this PR) added two pieces:
+
+- `ExtUtils::HasCompiler` deterministic stub
+  (`src/main/perl/lib/ExtUtils/HasCompiler.pm`) — always reports "no
+  compiler", instead of relying on `$Config{usedl}` happening to be
+  empty.
+- `Class::MOP` shim (`src/main/perl/lib/Class/MOP.pm`) — provides
+  `class_of`, `get_metaclass_by_name`, `store_metaclass_by_name`,
+  `remove_metaclass_by_name`, `does_metaclass_exist`,
+  `get_all_metaclasses` (and friends), `get_code_info`,
+  `is_class_loaded`, `load_class`, `load_first_existing_class`. Returns
+  "no metaclass" everywhere, which is the correct answer under the
+  Moose-as-Moo shim. The previous behavior was a hard "Undefined
+  subroutine &Class::MOP::class_of called" the moment Moo's
+  `_Utils::_load_module` hit a not-installed dependency on a class
+  that already had `Moose.pm` loaded.
+
+Net effect of Phase A + C-mini: **+51 individual assertions now
+execute** (616 → 667), **+47 newly pass** (372 → 419), and one more
+file goes fully green (35 → 36). The four extra failures are
+upstream tests that previously bailed before reaching their assertion
+phase and now reach it; none are real regressions.
+
+Phases C-full / D (real `Class::MOP::Class` instances and a pure-Perl
+`Moose` port) should move these numbers further; record the new
+totals here whenever they shift.
 
 ---
 
@@ -427,17 +461,21 @@ isn't `Class::MOP` itself loads cleanly today.
 ### Current Status
 
 - **Phase 1 — DONE.** B-module subroutine name/stash introspection works.
-- **Quick path — not started.** Highest leverage: ships `Moose.pm` shim, immediately unblocks ANSI::Unicode-class modules.
-- **Phase A — not started.** Trivial; replace upstream `ExtUtils::HasCompiler` with deterministic stub.
-- **Phase B — not started.** Strip XS keys in `WriteMakefile`.
-- **Phase C — not started.** Java `Class::MOP::get_code_info` + helpers.
-- **Phase D — not started.** Bundle pure-Perl `Class::MOP` and `Moose`.
+- **Quick path — DONE.** `Moose.pm` shim ships, ANSI::Unicode-class modules unblocked.
+- **Phase A — DONE.** `ExtUtils::HasCompiler` deterministic stub ships at `src/main/perl/lib/ExtUtils/HasCompiler.pm`.
+- **Phase B — not started.** Strip XS keys in `WriteMakefile`. (Lower priority while we're not yet trying to install upstream Moose.)
+- **Phase C-mini — DONE.** `Class::MOP` shim with `class_of` / `get_metaclass_by_name` / `get_code_info` / `is_class_loaded` and friends; ships at `src/main/perl/lib/Class/MOP.pm`.
+- **Phase C-full — not started.** Real `Class::MOP::Class` instances backed by Java helpers (`org.perlonjava.runtime.perlmodule.ClassMOP`).
+- **Phase D — not started.** Bundle pure-Perl `Class::MOP::*` and `Moose::*` distributions.
 - **Phase E — deferred.** Export-flag MAGIC.
 
 ### Completed
 
 - [x] Phase 1: B-module subroutine name introspection
 - [x] Verified working dependency tree (Apr 2026)
+- [x] Quick path: `Moose.pm` / `Moose::Role` / `Moose::Object` / `Moose::Util::TypeConstraints` shims
+- [x] Phase A: `ExtUtils::HasCompiler` deterministic stub
+- [x] Phase C-mini: `Class::MOP` shim (no metaclass instances; just enough surface to keep Moo happy)
 
 ### Decision needed
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/core/Configuration.java b/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/core/Configuration.java
index 48a80f664..ceddafa3e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/core/Configuration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/perlonjava/core/Configuration.java
@@ -33,14 +33,14 @@ public final class Configuration {
      * Automatically populated by Gradle/Maven during build.
      * DO NOT EDIT MANUALLY - this value is replaced at build time.
      */
-    public static final String gitCommitId = "ba8021aed";
+    public static final String gitCommitId = "12fb0165d";
 
     /**
      * Git commit date of the build (ISO format: YYYY-MM-DD).
      * Automatically populated by Gradle/Maven during build.
      * DO NOT EDIT MANUALLY - this value is replaced at build time.
      */
-    public static final String gitCommitDate = "2026-04-26";
+    public static final String gitCommitDate = "2026-04-27";
 
     /**
      * Build timestamp in Perl 5 "Compiled at" format (e.g., "Apr  7 2026 11:20:00").
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ public final class Configuration {
      * Parsed by App::perlbrew and other tools via: perl -V | grep "Compiled at"
      * DO NOT EDIT MANUALLY - this value is replaced at build time.
      */
-    public static final String buildTimestamp = "Apr 26 2026 23:11:17";
+    public static final String buildTimestamp = "Apr 27 2026 10:20:21";
 
     // Prevent instantiation
     private Configuration() {
diff --git a/src/main/perl/lib/Class/MOP.pm b/src/main/perl/lib/Class/MOP.pm
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eb8743812
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/perl/lib/Class/MOP.pm
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+package Class::MOP;
+
+# PerlOnJava minimal Class::MOP stub.
+#
+# This is NOT the real Class::MOP. PerlOnJava cannot run Moose's XS
+# meta-object protocol, and a full pure-Perl port is a separate, much
+# larger effort (Phase D in dev/modules/moose_support.md).
+#
+# What this stub provides is just enough surface area for Moo's "is
+# Moose loaded?" probes to answer truthfully ("no metaclass for that
+# class") instead of dying with "Undefined subroutine" the moment our
+# Moose shim sets $INC{"Moose.pm"}. That single change unblocks dozens
+# of Moo-delegating Moose tests at compile time.
+#
+# Functions:
+#   - class_of($name_or_obj)              -> undef (no Moose metaclass)
+#   - get_metaclass_by_name($name)        -> undef
+#   - store_metaclass_by_name($name, $m)  -> no-op (returns $m)
+#   - remove_metaclass_by_name($name)     -> no-op
+#   - get_all_metaclasses()               -> ()
+#   - get_all_metaclass_names()           -> ()
+#   - get_all_metaclass_instances()       -> ()
+#   - get_code_info($cv)                  -> ($pkg, $name) via B
+#   - is_class_loaded($name)              -> bool, mirrors Class::Load logic
+#
+# See dev/modules/moose_support.md for the broader plan.
+
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+
+our $VERSION = '2.2207';  # Match a recent upstream version.
+
+use Scalar::Util ();
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Metaclass registry. Stays empty under the shim — we never construct real
+# Class::MOP::Class instances — but accept stores so consumers that try to
+# register a metaclass don't blow up.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+my %METAS;
+
+sub class_of {
+    my $thing = shift;
+    return undef unless defined $thing;
+    my $name = ref($thing) ? Scalar::Util::blessed($thing) : $thing;
+    return undef unless defined $name;
+    return $METAS{$name};
+}
+
+sub get_metaclass_by_name {
+    my ($name) = @_;
+    return undef unless defined $name;
+    return $METAS{$name};
+}
+
+sub store_metaclass_by_name {
+    my ($name, $meta) = @_;
+    return unless defined $name;
+    $METAS{$name} = $meta;
+    return $meta;
+}
+
+sub remove_metaclass_by_name {
+    my ($name) = @_;
+    return unless defined $name;
+    delete $METAS{$name};
+    return;
+}
+
+sub does_metaclass_exist {
+    my ($name) = @_;
+    return defined $name && exists $METAS{$name};
+}
+
+sub get_all_metaclasses          { %METAS }
+sub get_all_metaclass_names      { keys %METAS }
+sub get_all_metaclass_instances  { values %METAS }
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# get_code_info($cv) — used by Moose, Sub::Identify, and some role-composition
+# code to ask "where did this coderef come from?". Answered via B, which on
+# PerlOnJava reads packageName/subName off RuntimeCode (see Phase 1).
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+sub get_code_info {
+    my ($cv) = @_;
+    return unless ref($cv) eq 'CODE';
+
+    require B;
+    my $cvobj = B::svref_2object($cv);
+    return unless $cvobj;
+
+    my $gv = eval { $cvobj->GV };
+    return unless $gv && ref $gv;
+
+    my $stash = eval { $gv->STASH->NAME };
+    my $name  = eval { $gv->NAME };
+    return unless defined $stash && defined $name;
+
+    return ($stash, $name);
+}
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# is_class_loaded — borrowed from Class::Load's logic. Some Moose code asks
+# this directly via Class::MOP. We answer based on the package's symbol
+# table rather than dragging in Class::Load.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+sub is_class_loaded {
+    my ($class) = @_;
+    return 0 unless defined $class && length $class;
+    return 0 if $class =~ /(?:\A|::)\z/;
+    return 0 unless $class =~ /\A[A-Za-z_][\w:]*\z/;
+
+    no strict 'refs';
+    my $stash = \%{"${class}::"};
+    return 0 unless %$stash;
+
+    # A package is "loaded" if it has $VERSION, @ISA, or any subroutine.
+    return 1 if defined ${"${class}::VERSION"};
+    return 1 if @{"${class}::ISA"};
+    for my $sym (keys %$stash) {
+        next if $sym =~ /::\z/;
+        my $glob = $stash->{$sym};
+        next unless ref \$glob eq 'GLOB';
+        return 1 if defined *{$glob}{CODE};
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# load_class / load_first_existing_class — minimal pass-throughs to require.
+# Some Moose code reaches for these directly.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+sub load_class {
+    my ($class) = @_;
+    return 1 if is_class_loaded($class);
+    (my $file = "$class.pm") =~ s{::}{/}g;
+    require $file;
+    return 1;
+}
+
+sub load_first_existing_class {
+    my @classes = @_;
+    for my $class (@classes) {
+        my $ok = eval { load_class($class); 1 };
+        return $class if $ok;
+    }
+    require Carp;
+    Carp::croak("Can't locate any of: @classes");
+}
+
+1;
+
+__END__
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+Class::MOP - PerlOnJava minimal shim (no real meta-object protocol)
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+PerlOnJava ships a small subset of the Class::MOP API to keep Moo's
+"is Moose loaded?" probes happy when our Moose shim sets
+C<$INC{"Moose.pm"}>. The functions here intentionally answer "no
+metaclass" for every class, because under the shim Moose classes are
+really Moo classes with no MOP introspection layer.
+
+For the full meta-object protocol, run on system Perl with the real
+Moose / Class::MOP installed. See C<dev/modules/moose_support.md> for
+the longer-term plan.
+
+=head1 SEE ALSO
+
+L<Moose>, L<Class::MOP>, L<Moo>
+
+=cut
diff --git a/src/main/perl/lib/ExtUtils/HasCompiler.pm b/src/main/perl/lib/ExtUtils/HasCompiler.pm
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..993dbe76b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/perl/lib/ExtUtils/HasCompiler.pm
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package ExtUtils::HasCompiler;
+
+# PerlOnJava deterministic stub for ExtUtils::HasCompiler.
+#
+# Upstream this module probes the system for a working C compiler / linker
+# and reports whether XS code can be built. PerlOnJava cannot build or load
+# .so/.dll files (the JVM has no dlopen for native libraries we control), so
+# we always answer "no". This is preferable to relying on the upstream
+# probe, which on PerlOnJava just happens to return false because
+# `$Config{usedl}` is empty — a fragile coincidence.
+#
+# See dev/modules/moose_support.md (Phase A) for the rationale.
+
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+
+our $VERSION = '0.025';
+
+use Exporter 'import';
+
+our @EXPORT_OK = qw(
+    can_compile_loadable_object
+    can_compile_static_library
+    can_compile_extension
+);
+
+our %EXPORT_TAGS = ( all => [@EXPORT_OK] );
+
+sub can_compile_loadable_object { 0 }
+sub can_compile_static_library  { 0 }
+sub can_compile_extension       { 0 }
+
+1;
+
+__END__
+
+=head1 NAME
+
+ExtUtils::HasCompiler - PerlOnJava stub; reports no compiler available.
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+PerlOnJava cannot build or load XS extensions. This stub answers C<0> for
+all probes so distributions that conditionally fall back to pure-Perl
+implementations choose that path.
+
+=cut