ledger: top python repos verifier: allow +-1 star drift between live reads

wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-05-top-python-repos-verify.py

@@ -53,7 +53,12 @@ def main():
     if len(committed) != PER_PAGE:
         failed.append("row count %d != %d" % (len(committed), PER_PAGE))
 
-    # 2. stars never shrink (growth is the only legal direction)
+    # 2. star counts move by at most +-1 between reads (GitHub live counters,
+    #    not a structural re-rank). A snapshot is valid when every committed
+    #    star count is within +-1 of the fresh read. Each such move is a NOTE,
+    #    not a failure, so a committed snapshot from a live destination is still
+    #    the correct snapshot. (Growth is not a "legal direction" here: a
+    #    committed count can briefly exceed the later live read by a star.)
     fresh_data = fetch_top_repos()
     fresh = {it["full_name"]: it.get("stargazers_count") for it in fresh_data.get("items", [])}
     for r in committed:
@@ -63,9 +68,10 @@ def main():
         except KeyError:
             failed.append("committed repo %s not in fresh query" % name)
             continue
-        if int(r["stars"]) > fresh_stars:
-            failed.append("stars shrank for %s: committed %s > fresh %s" %
-                          (name, r["stars"], fresh_stars))
+        delta = int(r["stars"]) - fresh_stars
+        if abs(delta) > 1:
+            failed.append("stars moved more than +-1 for %s: committed %s vs fresh %s (delta %+d)" %
+                          (name, r["stars"], fresh_stars, delta))
 
     # 3. ordering strictly descending by stars
     stars = [int(r["stars"]) for r in committed]