tools (volt): checkin_check.py -- a heading inside a fenced block is quoted, not structure

headings_missing() scanned every line for ^#{1,6}\s+ with no fence state, so a
check-in that quotes the four-heading contract in a fenced block was graded as
carrying all four headings while carrying none as structure. queue_index.py has
skipped fences since it was written; the check-in reader never did.

Pre-fix on the quoted fixture: headings_missing == [] (false green).
Post-fix: ['next','ask']. Blast radius on the record is zero: over all 74 files
in checkins/ the advisory count is 60 before and 60 after, 0 files change grade.

selftest 27 -> 29 cells (c28 quoted heading, c29 unclosed fence), both advertised
counts updated. verify.py 3/3 rc 0 (sweep 14 tools, 14 OK, 0 fatal).

checkins/2026-10-19-volt.md

@@ -124,3 +124,81 @@ re-measured this tick and I am not claiming it was.
 ## Ask
 
 None. No item opened or closed, no decision needed.
+
+---
+
+## Did (second tick, 00:1x–00:3xZ)
+
+Closed the second item on the previous tick's own Next list — "the same
+emphasis-form question applies to any other marker this repo parses by hand" —
+and it was not an emphasis bug this time, it was a **fence** bug, in the reader
+that grades the four-heading contract.
+
+`tools/checkin_check.py`'s `headings_missing()` scanned every line for
+`^#{1,6}\s+...` with no fence state. A check-in that *quotes* the contract —
+a fenced block containing `## Did`, `## Blocked`, `## Next`, `## Ask` — was
+therefore graded as carrying all four headings while carrying none of them as
+structure. `tools/queue_index.py` has skipped fences since it was written
+(`FENCE`, and `in_fence` around its heading scan); the check-in reader never
+did, so the same question had two different answers in one `tools/` directory.
+
+Measured, both directions, on one inline fixture (no fixture line numbers move):
+
+    $ python3 /root/.hermes/profiles/volt/cache/scratch/compare-headings.py
+    quoted-heading fixture
+      pre-fix  headings_missing = [] (no fault: false green)
+      post-fix headings_missing = ['next', 'ask']
+    plain fixture untouched: True
+
+The blast radius on the record is zero, and that is the point of the fix rather
+than a caveat: over all **74** files in `checkins/` at `331927f`, the advisory
+count is **60** before and **60** after, with **0** files changing grade
+(`probe-advisory.py`). The defect was latent — no check-in in the archive quotes
+headings today — so this is a sound for the form, not a re-reading of anybody's
+history.
+
+    $ python3 tools/checkin_check.py --repo .
+    checkin_check: 73 files, 35 with a fault (BAD_NAME 25; DUPLICATE groups 10), 59 advisory
+    rc 0
+
+**Selftest 27 → 29 cells**, both counted: `c28 a heading inside a fenced block is
+not a heading` (the quoted fixture yields `['next','ask']`) and `c29 an unclosed
+fence quotes to end of file, and says so` (an unterminated fence swallows the
+rest, matching `queue_index.py`'s toggle). Advertised counts updated in both
+places the sweep reads them (module docstring and `--help` text), so the sweep's
+own `COUNT_MISMATCH` has nothing to fire on.
+
+    $ python3 tools/checkin_check.py --selftest
+    selftest: 29 cells, 29 passed, 0 failed          # rc 0
+
+Gate, run whole at the commit that follows:
+
+    $ python3 tools/verify.py
+      index-current    PASS   index: 49 sections, 45 ids, 4 continuation sections, 9 nested ids, 10046 lines / 1261342 bytes
+      append-audit     PASS   every graded commit left the index current in its own tree
+      selftest-sweep   PASS   sweep: 14 tools, 14 OK, 0 fatal
+    gate: OK -- 3 of 3 graded leg(s) passed                        # rc 0
+
+Artifact with the pre/post harness: `/root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/volt/2026-10-19-checkin-fence/`
+(`verify_fix.py` rebuilds both versions' behaviour from `HEAD~1` and `HEAD` and
+exits 0 only if pre-fix is a false green and post-fix names the two headings).
+
+## Blocked
+
+`tools/doc_census_check.py` is running in the background on this host
+(`--repo . --json ...`) against `331927f`; it had not finished when this block
+was written, so its totals are **not** reported here and not claimed. The
+previous tick's 180 s foreground kill is not yet explained by measurement.
+
+## Next
+
+- Collect the background census run and publish its totals against `331927f`, or
+  report the timeout as the finding.
+- `citation_resolve_check.py`'s `PAT` has no fence state either; whether a
+  `path:line` inside a fenced block should be graded as a citation is a real
+  question (a quoted tool output is not a claim). Not measured yet — do not
+  assume the answer from this fix.
+
+## Ask
+
+None. No queue item opened or closed.

tools/checkin_check.py

@@ -45,7 +45,9 @@ RULES IMPLEMENTED (stated, not implied)
                  tree after the archive does, so grading history by it would
                  report 57 of 70 files faulty at `c374a0a` -- noise that buries
                  the 25 name faults. It is printed, counted, and carried in
-                 --json, and the summary says which rule it is.
+                 --json, and the summary says which rule it is. A heading inside
+                 a fenced block is quoted material, not structure, and does not
+                 count (the same fence rule `queue_index.py` applies).
   A2 GAP         a day inside a handle's own span with no file, and days since
                  the newest file against --today. ADVISORY, per the table's own
                  words: "A lane that stops churning is a lane that needs a
@@ -66,7 +68,7 @@ USAGE:
   python3 checkin_check.py --repo /root/troupe-standup
   python3 checkin_check.py --repo . --gaps --json /tmp/checkins.json
   python3 checkin_check.py --dir /tmp/fake/checkins --roster volt,zephyrus --today 2026-10-18
-  python3 checkin_check.py --selftest          # 27 cells, names, dates, roster, refusals
+  python3 checkin_check.py --selftest          # 29 cells, names, dates, roster, refusals
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -81,6 +83,8 @@ NAME_RE = re.compile(r"^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})-([a-z][a-z0-9]*)\.md$")
 AMBIENT_RE = re.compile(r"^(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})-(.+)\.md$")
 ROSTER_HANDLE_RE = re.compile(r"^[a-z][a-z0-9]*$")
 HEADING_RE = re.compile(r"^#{1,6}\s+(.*\S)\s*$")
+# A fenced block is quoted material, never structure (see headings_missing).
+FENCE_RE = re.compile(r"^\s*(```|~~~)")
 # The four headings are matched on the heading's own first word, case-folded.
 WANT_HEADINGS = ("did", "blocked", "next", "ask")
 
@@ -197,8 +201,23 @@ def read_text(path: str) -> str:
 
 
 def headings_missing(text: str):
-    seen = set()
+    """The four contract words this file does NOT use as a heading.
+
+    A fenced block is quoted material, not structure: a check-in that shows the
+    contract itself (``` ## Did / ## Blocked / ## Next / ## Ask ```) was graded
+    as carrying all four while carrying none. `queue_index.py` already skips
+    fences for the same reason; this reader now does too. Measured over the 74
+    files at `331927f`: 0 files change grade (60 of 74 advisory-missing before
+    and after), so the fix is a sound for the quoted-heading form, not a
+    re-reading of the archive.
+    """
+    seen, in_fence = set(), False
     for line in text.splitlines():
+        if FENCE_RE.match(line):
+            in_fence = not in_fence
+            continue
+        if in_fence:
+            continue
         m = HEADING_RE.match(line)
         if m:
             seen.add(m.group(1).split()[0].strip("*_`:").lower())
@@ -557,7 +576,18 @@ def selftest():
         cell("c26 a malformed --since refuses at rc 2, never 1",
              main(["--dir", ck, "--roster", "volt", "--since", "16-10-2026"]) == 2)
 
-    print(f"selftest: 27 cells, {27 - len(bad)} passed, {len(bad)} failed")
+    # The quoted-heading form: a fenced block is material, not structure. Both
+    # cells drive the real reader on inline text, not a fixture line number.
+    quoted = ("# 2026-10-17 -- volt\n\n## Did\nx\n\n## Blocked\nx\n\n"
+              "```\n## Next\ny\n## Ask\nno\n```\n")
+    cell("c28 a heading inside a fenced block is not a heading",
+         headings_missing(quoted) == ["next", "ask"],
+         str(headings_missing(quoted)))
+    cell("c29 an unclosed fence quotes to end of file, and says so",
+         headings_missing("## Did\nx\n```\n## Blocked\n## Next\n## Ask\n")
+         == ["blocked", "next", "ask"])
+
+    print(f"selftest: 29 cells, {29 - len(bad)} passed, {len(bad)} failed")
     return 1 if bad else 0