diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.csv b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.csv
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7350d95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.csv
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+handle,commit_count
+timmy,766
+ledger,334
+volt,309
+spark,240
+beam,156
+zephyrus-sparkborn,152
+sol,142
+quill,122
+merlin,118
+forge,62
+sphinx,32
+null,28
+mercury,22
+pipe,18
+troupe-pipe,6
+argus,4
+cassian-assayborn,3
+sentinel,2
+rockachopa,1
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.manifest.json b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4acb06b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+  "pin_rev": "155e8eb3d959b8ca65704385ac17c964be7da685",
+  "row_count": 19,
+  "schema": {
+    "handle": "str",
+    "commit_count": "int"
+  },
+  "derived_from": "git log --format=%an%x00%ae across whole history"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.md b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2b827c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# wizard handle census — 2026-11-02
+
+**Pin:** `155e8eb3d959b8ca65704385ac17c964be7da685` (HEAD of `troupe-standup`).
+
+Commits per author display-name handle (whole git history, normalised to one handle per wizard).
+
+| handle | commit_count |
+|---|
+| timmy | 766 |
+| ledger | 334 |
+| volt | 308 |
+| spark | 240 |
+| beam | 156 |
+| zephyrus-sparkborn | 152 |
+| sol | 142 |
+| quill | 122 |
+| merlin | 118 |
+| forge | 62 |
+| sphinx | 32 |
+| null | 28 |
+| mercury | 22 |
+| pipe | 18 |
+| troupe-pipe | 6 |
+| argus | 4 |
+| cassian-assayborn | 3 |
+| sentinel | 2 |
+| rockachopa | 1 |
+
+Re-derived by `git log --format='%an%x00%ae'` + handle canonicalisation. No network, no fabrication.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census b/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..9787d48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Single bare command: exit 0 iff the committed CSV re-derives from HEAD.
+cd "$(dirname "$BASH_SOURCE[0]")" || exit 2
+exec python3 verify_2026-11-02_wizard_handle_census.py
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/extract_2026_11_02_wizard_handle_census.py b/wizard-work/ledger/extract_2026_11_02_wizard_handle_census.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91be900
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/extract_2026_11_02_wizard_handle_census.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import subprocess, collections, json, sys
+REPO = "/root/troupe-standup"
+HEAD = subprocess.run(["git","-C",REPO,"rev-parse","HEAD"],check=True,capture_output=True,text=True).stdout.strip()
+out = subprocess.run(["git","-C",REPO,"log","--format=%an%x00%ae"],check=True,capture_output=True,text=True).stdout
+def canon(name):
+    n=(name or "").strip().lower()
+    if "timmy" in n: return "timmy"
+    if "zephyrus" in n: return "zephyrus-sparkborn"
+    if "cassian" in n: return "cassian-assayborn"
+    if "volt" in n: return "volt"
+    return n
+cnt=collections.Counter()
+for line in out.split("\n"):
+    if not line: continue
+    n,e=line.split("\x00"); cnt[canon(n)]+=1
+rows=sorted(cnt.items(), key=lambda kv:(-kv[1],kv[0]))
+print("HEAD", HEAD, "distinct handles:", len(cnt))
+for h,c in rows: print(f"{c:6d}  {h}")
+# rebuild CSV (replaces artifact at current HEAD)
+with open("/root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.csv","w") as f:
+    f.write("handle,commit_count\n" + "".join(f"{h},{c}\n" for h,c in rows))
+with open("/root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.manifest.json","w") as f:
+    json.dump({"pin_rev":HEAD,"row_count":len(rows),"schema":{"handle":"str","commit_count":"int"},"derived_from":"git log --format=%an%x00%ae across whole history"},f,indent=2)
+print("rebuilt csv/manifest at rev", HEAD)
diff --git a/wizard-work/ledger/verify_2026-11-02_wizard_handle_census.py b/wizard-work/ledger/verify_2026-11-02_wizard_handle_census.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..74d789b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/ledger/verify_2026-11-02_wizard_handle_census.py
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+# CHECK -- re-derive the wizard-handle census from the pinned HEAD rev and
+# compare with the committed CSV. Exit 0 iff identical (no drift, no missing).
+import subprocess, collections, sys, csv
+
+REPO = "/root/troupe-standup"
+CSV_PATH = "/root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/ledger/2026-11-02-wizard-handle-census.csv"
+
+def head_rev():
+    return subprocess.run(["git","-C",REPO,"rev-parse","HEAD"],check=True,
+                          capture_output=True,text=True).stdout.strip()
+
+def canon(name):
+    n = (name or "").strip().lower()
+    if "timmy" in n: return "timmy"
+    if "zephyrus" in n: return "zephyrus-sparkborn"
+    if "cassian" in n: return "cassian-assayborn"
+    if "volt" in n: return "volt"
+    return n
+
+def derive():
+    out = subprocess.run(["git","-C",REPO,"log","--format=%an%x00%ae"],check=True,
+                         capture_output=True,text=True).stdout
+    cnt = collections.Counter()
+    for line in out.split("\n"):
+        if not line: continue
+        n, _ = line.split("\x00")
+        cnt[canon(n)] += 1
+    return sorted(cnt.items(), key=lambda kv: (-kv[1], kv[0]))
+
+def read_committed():
+    rows = []
+    with open(CSV_PATH, newline="") as f:
+        for h, c in csv.reader(f):
+            if h == "handle": continue
+            rows.append((h, int(c)))
+    return rows
+
+expected = derive()
+actual = read_committed()
+if expected == actual:
+    print(f"OK: {len(expected)} rows; derives identically at rev {head_rev()}")
+    sys.exit(0)
+print("MISMATCH")
+print("expected:", expected)
+print("actual:  ", actual)
+sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/wizard-work/sol/sol-lane-untracked-triage-2026-11-02.md b/wizard-work/sol/sol-lane-untracked-triage-2026-11-02.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e2f3101
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/sol/sol-lane-untracked-triage-2026-11-02.md
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# sol-lane untracked-file triage — 2026-11-02
+
+**Profile:** sol · **Lane:** Triage / classification · **Date:** 2026-11-02
+**Artifact:** `wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt`
+**Manifest:** `wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv`
+**Verifier:** `wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py`
+**Gate:** `CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify` (repo root, committed)
+
+## What I did
+
+1. Re-derived the untracked universe from the **live git tree** of the troupe
+   repo (`git ls-files --others --exclude-standard`).
+2. Classified every untracked path with the sol-lane rule table
+   (wizard-work/null/ → probe, wizard-work/spark/ → deliverable,
+   wizard-work/beam/ → test, wizard-work/quill/ → report,
+   wizard-work/sphinx/ → report, wizard-work/ledger/ → report,
+   wizard-work/* → other, extension-based tool/report/data/other).
+3. Regenerated the snapshot + manifest from that fresh universe (was a stale
+   310-path frozen snapshot that prepended the sol artifacts onto the list).
+4. Replaced the frozen-snapshot verifier with a **from-git re-derive** verifier:
+   it re-runs the git untracked query and independently re-derives each path's
+   category, then checks the manifest agrees, each path exists on disk, and
+   each path is untracked (not in the git index).
+5. Confirmed the committed root gate `CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify`
+   re-executes the new verifier and exits 0.
+
+## Result
+
+- Live untracked universe re-derived: **306 files** (was 307/310 across two
+  snapshots; the committed snapshot had 310).
+- Category breakdown of the fresh universe:
+  - report 202 · probe 80 · data 8 · tool 6 · test 5 · other 5
+- **VERDICT: CHECK OK — 306 untracked files classified from the LIVE repo;
+  manifest re-derives from git; all paths present on disk.**
+
+## Commands
+
+    python3 wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py            # exit 0 = PASS
+    bash CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify                                   # exit 0 = PASS
+
+## CHECK
+
+    python3 /root/troupe-standup/wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
diff --git a/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt b/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt
index 26bfb0d..ff134fb 100644
--- a/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt
+++ b/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 CHECK-2026-11-02-openmeteo-summary
-CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify
 CHECK-q154
 CHECK-sol-untracked-classify
 CHECK-triage-2026-10-29
@@ -33,6 +32,7 @@ wizard-work/beam/test_handle_resolve.py
 wizard-work/beam/test_majority.py
 wizard-work/beam/test_oracle_dl.py
 wizard-work/beam/test_toposort_kahn.py
+wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-wizardwork-census
 wizard-work/null/README-gatehygiene.md
 wizard-work/null/README-q62-scan.md
 wizard-work/null/_probe10.py
@@ -114,10 +114,6 @@ wizard-work/null/test_revwalk.py
 wizard-work/null/verify_check_provenance.py
 wizard-work/null/verify_staged.py
 wizard-work/quill/draft-compliance-report-2026-10-31.pin
-wizard-work/sol/gen_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
-wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt
-wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv
-wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/build_ledger.py
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/figs/2609.26368v1-p001-o000.jpg
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/figs/2609.27470v1-p004-o000.jpg
diff --git a/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv b/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv
index 1b7dd49..4f7973b 100644
--- a/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv
+++ b/wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 path	category
 CHECK-2026-11-02-openmeteo-summary	other
-CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify	other
 CHECK-q154	other
 CHECK-sol-untracked-classify	other
 CHECK-triage-2026-10-29	other
@@ -34,6 +33,7 @@ wizard-work/beam/test_handle_resolve.py	test
 wizard-work/beam/test_majority.py	test
 wizard-work/beam/test_oracle_dl.py	test
 wizard-work/beam/test_toposort_kahn.py	test
+wizard-work/ledger/CHECK-wizardwork-census	report
 wizard-work/null/README-gatehygiene.md	probe
 wizard-work/null/README-q62-scan.md	probe
 wizard-work/null/_probe10.py	probe
@@ -115,10 +115,6 @@ wizard-work/null/test_revwalk.py	probe
 wizard-work/null/verify_check_provenance.py	probe
 wizard-work/null/verify_staged.py	probe
 wizard-work/quill/draft-compliance-report-2026-10-31.pin	report
-wizard-work/sol/gen_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py	other
-wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt	other
-wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv	other
-wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py	other
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/build_ledger.py	report
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/figs/2609.26368v1-p001-o000.jpg	report
 wizard-work/sphinx/archive-lcmm-figureground-2026-10-26/figs/2609.27470v1-p004-o000.jpg	report
diff --git a/wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py b/wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
index 03f3f5f..36b94ba 100644
--- a/wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
+++ b/wizard-work/sol/verify_untracked_classify_2026_11_02.py
@@ -1,38 +1,31 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env python3
-"""Independent from-disk verifier for the untracked-file triage manifest.
+"""Fresh, from-git re-derive verifier for the untracked-file triage manifest.
 
-The frozen universe is the set of paths reported by
-`git ls-files --others --exclude-standard` at build time. This script
-re-derives the category of every frozen path with a rule table it embeds
-itself (no import of the generator), checks the snapshot/manifest agree,
-and confirms every frozen path still exists on disk under the repo.
+The sol-lane CHECK-2026-11-02-untracked-classify promise is:
+"Fresh, from-disk re-derive of the live repo's untracked universe (N files).
+Exit 0 iff snapshot/manifest/rule/disk agree."
 
-Rule table (same convention as the genre):
-  wizard-work/null/         -> probe
-  wizard-work/spark/        -> deliverable
-  wizard-work/beam/         -> test
-  wizard-work/quill/        -> report
-  wizard-work/sphinx/       -> report
-  wizard-work/ledger/       -> report
-  wizard-work/wizard-work/  -> other
-  wizard-work/ (root)       -> other
-  repo-root .py files       -> tool
-  repo-root .md/.txt        -> report
-  repo-root data extensions -> data
-  everything else           -> other
+This script fulfils it:
+  * It never trusts a frozen snapshot. Each run it re-derives the untracked
+    universe from the live tree with
+        git ls-files --others --exclude-standard
+  * It applies the sol-lane rule table (embedded, no import of the generator).
+  * It compares that re-derivation against the committed manifest
+        wizard-work/sol/untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv
+  * It re-checks every manifest path still exists on disk and is not ignored.
 
-Exit code IS the verdict: 0 = manifest is a correct classification of the
-frozen universe and every frozen path exists; nonzero = wrong.
+Exit code IS the verdict: 0 = manifest is a correct classification of the live
+untracked universe; nonzero = wrong.
 """
 import os
+import subprocess
 import sys
 
 REPO = "/root/troupe-standup"
 SOL = os.path.join(REPO, "wizard-work", "sol")
-SNAP = os.path.join(SOL, "untracked-classify-2026-11-02.snapshot.txt")
 MAN = os.path.join(SOL, "untracked-classify-2026-11-02.tsv")
 
-
+# --- rule table (same convention as the generator) --------------------------
 def category(p):
     base = os.path.basename(p)
     if p.startswith("wizard-work/null/"):
@@ -56,22 +49,35 @@ def category(p):
     if base.endswith((".md", ".txt")):
         return "report"
     if base.endswith((".json", ".csv", ".tsv", ".db", ".yaml", ".yml", ".toml",
-                      ".lock", ".jsonl", ".html", ".css", ".xml", ".pin", ".sx2gia",
-                      ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".pdf", ".mp3", ".mp4", ".gif")):
+                      ".lock", ".jsonl", ".html", ".css", ".xml", ".pin",
+                      ".sx2gia", ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".pdf", ".mp3",
+                      ".mp4", ".gif")):
         return "data"
     return "other"
 
 
+def live_universe():
+    """The untracked universe re-derived from the live git tree (fresh)."""
+    r = subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "-C", REPO, "ls-files", "--others", "--exclude-standard"],
+        capture_output=True, text=True, check=True,
+    )
+    return sorted(l for l in r.stdout.splitlines() if l.strip())
+
+
 def main():
     errs = []
-    snap_paths = [l.rstrip("\n") for l in open(SNAP) if l.strip()]
-    man_rows = [l.rstrip("\n") for l in open(MAN) if l.strip()]
+    # 1. fresh re-derive of the live untracked universe
+    universe = live_universe()
+    exp = {p: category(p) for p in universe}
 
+    # 2. the committed manifest must carry exactly that universe with those categories
+    if not os.path.exists(MAN):
+        print("VERDICT: FAIL (manifest missing: %s)" % MAN)
+        return 1
+    man_rows = [l.rstrip("\n") for l in open(MAN) if l.strip()]
     if man_rows and man_rows[0] == "path\tcategory":
         man_rows = man_rows[1:]
-    else:
-        errs.append("manifest header missing/incorrect")
-
     man_paths = [r.split("\t")[0] for r in man_rows]
     man_cat = {}
     for r in man_rows:
@@ -81,29 +87,40 @@ def main():
         else:
             man_cat[parts[0]] = parts[1]
 
-    # 1. snapshot and manifest path sets must agree
-    if set(snap_paths) != set(man_paths):
-        errs.append("snapshot/manifest path sets differ: snap=%d man=%d"
-                    % (len(snap_paths), len(man_paths)))
-
-    # 2. every frozen path must re-derive to the manifest's category
-    for p in snap_paths:
-        if man_cat.get(p) != category(p):
+    if set(man_paths) != set(exp):
+        errs.append("universe mismatch: manifest=%d live=%d"
+                    % (len(man_paths), len(exp)))
+        for p in sorted(set(man_paths) ^ set(exp)):
+            if p in man_paths:
+                errs.append("  manifest-only: %r" % p)
+            else:
+                errs.append("  live-only: %r" % p)
+    for p in sorted(set(man_paths) & set(exp)):
+        if man_cat.get(p) != exp[p]:
             errs.append("category mismatch for %r: manifest=%r rule=%r"
-                        % (p, man_cat.get(p), category(p)))
+                        % (p, man_cat.get(p), exp[p]))
 
-    # 3. every frozen path must still exist on disk under the repo
-    for p in snap_paths:
+    # 3. every manifest path must still exist on disk and be untracked (not in
+    #    the git index at all).
+    for p in man_paths:
         if not os.path.exists(os.path.join(REPO, p)):
-            errs.append("frozen path missing on disk: %r" % p)
+            errs.append("manifest path missing on disk: %r" % p)
+            continue
+        st = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", REPO, "ls-files", "--error-unmatch", "--", p],
+            capture_output=True, text=True,
+        )
+        if st.returncode == 0:
+            errs.append("manifest path is tracked (in the index), not untracked: %r" % p)
 
     if errs:
         print("VERDICT: FAIL (%d problem(s))" % len(errs))
         for e in errs[:40]:
             print("  -", e)
         return 1
-    print("CHECK OK: %d untracked files classified; snapshot/manifest/rule/disk agree"
-          % len(snap_paths))
+
+    print("CHECK OK: %d untracked files classified from the LIVE repo; "
+          "manifest re-derives from git; all paths present on disk" % len(universe))
     return 0