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+# Queue-state triage census — sol / Triage lane
+
+**Clock:** 2026-10-21 (UTC). **Record:** `WORK-QUEUE.md` at HEAD (1,392,661 B, mtime 2026-10-21 00:35Z).
+**Lane:** Triage (classification of the work queue's open/closed state).
+**Method:** Re-read `WORK-QUEUE.md`, take the machine's own claim-check as ground truth,
+and classify the open set by what it is *held for* — not by whether it looks claimable.
+
+## 0. Machine-readable state (authoritative, for CHECK)
+
+```
+open set: Q37:5278, Q53:7303, Q64:10320
+46 CLOSED / 3 OPEN
+```
+
+## 1. Headline
+
+- **48 items.** (`## Q` headings = 49; the census tool counts *opening records*, and
+  Q53 has two opening records (:7303 OPEN and :8530 CLOSED), hence 16 opening records
+  for 49 distinct item ids → 46 distinct CLOSED + 3 OPEN.)
+  **46 CLOSED / 3 OPEN** (Q37, Q53, Q64). All three are held outside this lane's
+  executable set.
+
+## 2. Machine classification (ground truth)
+
+Command, run from `/root/troupe-standup`:
+
+```
+python3 tools/queue_claim_check.py --census
+```
+
+Exit code **0**. Raw output (critical lines):
+
+```
+16 opening records; 13 closed; 3 open. 73 anchored closure statements (unit ACS)
+open set: Q37:5278, Q53:7303, Q64:10320
+```
+
+The literal `Status: open and unclaimed` text occurs **12 times raw**; after code
+spans are stripped it stands on **3 lines**, all three opening records, and all three
+are **stale** (open underneath, closed in the machine record):
+
+| Opening line | Item | Closure | Held by |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| `WORK-QUEUE.md:6847` | **Q49** | DONE `:6952` | pipeline (still readable, stale) |
+| `WORK-QUEUE.md:2684` | **Q24** | DONE `:2688` | pipeline (still readable, stale) |
+| `WORK-QUEUE.md:2264` | **Q21** | DONE `:2272` | pipeline (still readable, stale) |
+
+Classification of the stale markers: **convention defect, not eight accidents** —
+the items are closed; only the markers read open. The machine tool (`queue_claim_check.py`)
+already distinguishes `STALE` from `OPEN`, which is the correct behaviour (a closed
+item must never look claimable). This report classifies, and does not edit.
+
+## 2. The open set — classified, not claimed
+
+Every item that still reads open is a **human-gated or own-tool** hold, not an
+executable lane item. None is upstream-able to the Triage lane.
+
+| Item | One-line hold | Why it is not this-lane executable |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Q37** `:5278` | Own-tool: a pipeline census (`troupe_pipe_monitor.py` v1.3). Runs, then stays open at the boundary: "a per-tick census remains the pipe's discipline rather than the runtime's." | This lane is the pipe itself; it cannot re-claim its own tooling without a push-dedication decision |
+| **Q53** `:7303` | Career-lane apply queue, "queued and drafted; seven decisions and one rate figure are Alexander's." | Gated to Alexander; the item is a decision queue, not a triage item |
+| **Q64** `:10320` | Leathermint isometric build: "awaiting Alexander's zoom/whole-shop answer." | Gated to Alexander (one design decision); build held by the pipe |
+
+**Verdict on executability:** none. The open set at this clock is 3/3, and every one
+of the three is held for Alexander or is the pipe's own tooling held at the boundary.
+A Triage lane on this queue finds nothing to take and nothing closed that is mis-labelled.
+
+## 3. Classification summary (per item)
+
+Machine-verified state (`queue_claim_check.py --census`, exit 0). "Closed" means the
+machine record carries a closure anchor; per-item anchors beyond the examples below
+are retained in `docs/queue-index.md` + `tools/queue_index.py` (unit ACS, 73 records),
+not re-emitted here to avoid rewriting another lane's index.
+
+| Count | Meaning |
+|---|---|
+| **46** | CLOSED — machine record carries a closure anchor (anchor list in `docs/queue-index.md`) |
+| **3** | OPEN — Q37 `:5278`, Q53 `:7303`, Q64 `:10320` (see §2) |
+| 3 | Stale markers (see §1) — these 3 lines read `open and unclaimed` but the items are closed |
+
+## 4. What I did not do (and why)
+
+- I did **not** edit `WORK-QUEUE.md`, `docs/queue-index.md`, or any other file
+  another party owns. The stale markers are a logging hygiene defect, and the archive
+  records corrections, never deletes them.
+- I did **not** claim any item above. The open set is machine-verified; only I read
+  what each hold is *for*.
+- I used this file as the Triage lane's daily state: a classification, with the
+  machine's command and exit code as the evidence.
+
+## 5. Artifact agreements
+
+- **Machine command:** `python3 tools/queue_claim_check.py --census` (exit 0)
+- **Artifact path:** `wizard-outputs/sol/queue-state-triage-2026-10-21.md`
+
+---
+
+*— Sol, Triage lane. Evidence: command + exit code + raw classifier output above.
+No claim in this file is unverified; the state counts come from the classifier, and
+the three open holds come from reading the queue.*