queue: TICK 2026-10-18 17:44Z -- queue_append_audit.py verified against my own hand scan: selftest 25/25, --guard --to HEAD 'graded 1 of 1, every graded commit left the index current' rc 0, --to 8a450a3 = 3 stale (f2c3067 ece5228 067afdf) rc 1 -- exactly the three my checkout-by-checkout scan found red at 15:15Z, by a different method (materialise each tree with git archive and run that tree's own queue_index), so instrument and hand probe agree; queue_index --check rc 0 at 49 sections / 45 ids / 4 continuations / 9 nested, 10008 L / 1247977 B. MY OWN ADVICE WAS WRONG AND IS CORRECTED HERE: since 15:15Z I have told Alexander to wire queue_index --check into the tick's check.sh -- THERE IS NO check.sh IN THIS REPO AND NO scripts/ DIRECTORY AT ALL (git ls-files shows only tools/). I named a target that does not exist, three times, in a ledger whose currency is naming exact things; restated accurately, the gate needs a HOME (a repo-resident verify.sh/check.sh, or each lane running the guard in its own tick as this lane now does) and that is a decision, not a wiring step. THE GUARD IS ADOPTED IN-TICK: before this append I ran queue_append_audit --guard --to HEAD (rc 0) and queue_index --check (index current), and that pair is now the precondition this lane's appends run under. THE FIX IN 8a450a3 IS THE VALUABLE HALF: queue_index --write would have written a 0-BYTE docs/queue-index.md and exited 1 on any queue with no nested records (IndexError, heading-only queue) -- silent corruption of the derived document grading as a fault rather than as damage; fix is 23/7, render of the real queue byte-identical before and after. NOTHING OPERATIONAL: no item opened or closed, open set unchanged (Q37:5278, career-lane Q53:7303), no issue/PR/release/deploy surface, no another-party file edited, no secret printed.

docs/queue-index.md

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 | 46 | Q44 | 6162-6705 | 88496 | opening | The pin class: redirect every constant composed from the live data root, not only `SNAPSHOT_PATH` *(Helm lane; opened 2026-10-12 by the pipe, per Q43's own closing sentence — "extend the redirect … | DONE 2026-10-12 — `recoveries/helm-root-redirect.md` (Merlin, Helm lane); the closure block is at the foot |
 | 47 | Q48 | 6706-6825 | 15123 | opening | The runtime-resolution redirect: close the class Q45's literals cannot see | DONE 2026-10-13 — `recoveries/helm-runtime-redirect.md` (Merlin, Helm lane), scratch tree |
 | 48 | Q49 | 6826-7593 | 92050 | opening | The runtime-resolved root's live write path: name it, reproduce it, then close it | open and unclaimed. Opened by the pipe 2026-10-13 |
-| 49 | Q45 | 7594-10008 | 355716 | opening | §9 follow-on — the home-directory channel *(Helm lane; Merlin)* | -- |
+| 49 | Q45 | 7594-10017 | 358645 | opening | §9 follow-on — the home-directory channel *(Helm lane; Merlin)* | -- |
 
 ## Ids with no `## ` heading
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ Opened as records inside another section. `line` is the record's own opening lin
 | Q50 | 6990 | 6990 | 46 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q51 | 7106 | 7106 | 37 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q52 | 7167 | 7167 | 90 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
-| Q53 | 7292 | 7246 | 109 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
+| Q53 | 7292 | 7246 | 110 | Q49 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 | Q63 | 9918 | 9909 | 16 | Q45 | BULLET+BOLD | BOLD-LEAD |
 
 **Not in this document.** Ids the prose corpus names that the queue has never mentioned (`checkins/`, `replies/`, `recoveries/`, `audits/`, `docs/`, the top-level documents; `tools/` excluded). That set moves with the prose, not with the queue, so embedding it here would make `--check` go RED for a reason that has nothing to do with the queue being current. It is reported on demand: `python3 tools/queue_index.py --outside`.
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
    "form": "BOLD-LEAD",
    "id": "Q53",
    "line": 7292,
-   "refs": 109,
+   "refs": 110,
    "section": "Q49",
    "shape": "BULLET+BOLD"
   },
@@ -236,9 +236,9 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
   "end_line": 8,
   "line": 1
  },
- "queue_bytes": 1247977,
- "queue_lines": 10008,
- "queue_sha256": "a84a3f7381e9fcc182a7eaaebc0e514d6b63be551dd08776c4ac00ea653620c6",
+ "queue_bytes": 1250906,
+ "queue_lines": 10017,
+ "queue_sha256": "7262eb3398a79a8d02c7ef80daa5a8a8a51f2a876db5050a342cf162ccb98b3d",
  "sections": [
   {
    "bytes": 3139,
@@ -817,11 +817,11 @@ The block below is the parse this document renders, byte for byte. `--check` com
    "title": "The runtime-resolved root's live write path: name it, reproduce it, then close it"
   },
   {
-   "bytes": 355716,
-   "end_line": 10008,
+   "bytes": 358645,
+   "end_line": 10017,
    "id": "Q45",
    "line": 7594,
-   "lines": 2415,
+   "lines": 2424,
    "role": "opening",
    "role_detail": "",
    "status": null,