fix(webhook): extract links for incremental push syncs (#2849)

GitHub webhook + sync-trigger 'sync' jobs never opted into extraction:
the standalone sync handler defaults noExtract to TRUE, so webhook-
imported pages advanced the source bookmark with links_extracted_at
unstamped — and nothing behind a standalone job ever swept them (the
autopilot cycle's extract phase only walks that cycle's changedSlugs).

Fix, both halves of the issue:
- webhook + sync-trigger payloads pass noExtract:false so normal
  incremental pushes get sync's inline link/timeline extraction.
- >100-file deferral branch: performSync surfaces extractDeferred, and
  the sync job handler queues a source-scoped extract{stale:true}
  follow-up job (idempotent sweep; extract handler gains a stale mode
  backed by the same extractStaleFromDB core as `gbrain extract --stale`).

Tests: new sync-large-deferral-extract.serial.test.ts drives a real
101-file incremental sync end-to-end (deferral flag → queued follow-up →
stale sweep recovers links + watermark); webhook payload contract test +
sync-trigger noExtract assertion salvaged from #2850.

Fixes #2849
Takeover of #2850

Co-authored-by: patentsong <patentsong@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

skills/article-enrichment/SKILL.md

@@ -85,10 +85,6 @@ gbrain get media/articles/<slug>
 
 # 5. Cross-link entities
 #    For every person/company mentioned, add a timeline back-link.
-#    Mark NEW pages minted for article subjects the reader only reads ABOUT
-#    (not personal contacts) as reference: `gbrain reference <slug>`
-#    (or reference: true in frontmatter). Exempts them from coverage nudges;
-#    they stay searchable. Default for real contacts: do NOT set it.
 ```
 
 ## Quality bar

skills/book-mirror/SKILL.md

@@ -273,13 +273,6 @@ Cross-link entities mentioned in the analysis:
 - For every person the right column references with a brain page, add a
   back-link from `people/<slug>` to the new `media/books/<slug>-personalized`
   page (per `conventions/quality.md` Iron Law).
-- **Mark book figures as reference entities.** Any NEW person/company page you
-  mint for a figure from the book (an author, a historical figure, a company
-  the book discusses) — someone the reader reads ABOUT but doesn't personally
-  interact with — should be flagged: `gbrain reference <slug>` (or
-  `reference: true` in frontmatter). They stay fully searchable/linkable but
-  are exempt from coverage nudges (timeline/links). Skip this for anyone the
-  reader actually knows. Default for normal contacts: do NOT set it.
 
 ## Quality bar (the bar)
 

skills/conventions/reference-entities.md

@@ -1,62 +0,0 @@
-# Convention: Reference entities (canon figures)
-
-Some person/company pages are people/orgs the user **reads about** but does not
-personally interact with — a book's author, a historical figure, a company an
-article discusses (Andy Grove, Kleiner Perkins, Intel…). They are real
-knowledge, worth a page, but they have **no dated history in the user's own
-life**, so the entity coverage metrics (`timeline_coverage`,
-`entity_link_coverage`) flag them as permanently incomplete with no honest fix.
-
-The `reference: true` frontmatter flag resolves this.
-
-## What it does
-
-- A page with `reference: true` is **exempt from the entity coverage metrics
-  only** (`timeline_coverage`, `entity_link_coverage`, and their onboard
-  nudges).
-- It keeps its real `type` (`person` / `company`), so it stays **fully
-  searchable, enrichable, linkable, and edge-resolvable**. NOTHING about
-  retrieval changes — this is the whole reason it's a flag, not a new `type`.
-- It is **opt-in**. Absent / `false` / anything-but-`true` = a normal entity
-  that DOES count toward coverage. **This is the default — do not set it on real
-  contacts.**
-
-## When to set it
-
-Set `reference: true` when the entity is a figure/org the user reads ABOUT, not
-someone they deal with:
-
-- authors and figures discussed in a book (book-mirror) or article
-  (article-enrichment)
-- historical / canon figures imported as reference knowledge
-- companies named only as examples in source material
-
-Do NOT set it for people the user actually meets, emails, or works with — those
-are normal entities whose missing timeline/links is a real, actionable gap.
-
-## How to set it
-
-```bash
-gbrain reference <slug>            # mark as reference
-gbrain reference <slug> --unset    # back to a normal entity
-```
-
-The command writes the flag to BOTH the markdown frontmatter (durable; survives
-re-ingest / engine rebuild — markdown is the source of truth) AND the engine
-JSONB (so coverage reflects it immediately, no re-sync). It's idempotent. You
-can also hand-edit frontmatter (`reference: true`) and re-ingest.
-
-## Why a flag, not a type
-
-A new `type: reference-person` would drop the page out of every
-`type IN ('person','company')` filter — search, enrichment, whoknows, link
-inference — so you'd lose the figure everywhere, not just the metric. The flag
-narrows the change to exactly the coverage denominators and nothing else.
-
-## Implementation
-
-`src/core/reference-flag.ts` — `referenceExclusionSql(alias?)` is the single
-source of truth for the predicate `(frontmatter->>'reference') IS DISTINCT FROM
-'true'`, ANDed into both numerator and denominator at every coverage site
-(getHealth in both engines, onboard/checks.ts, init-nudge.ts). Backed by the GIN
-index on `pages.frontmatter`.

skills/enrich/SKILL.md

@@ -268,18 +268,6 @@ Active items, pending decisions, things to track.
 - **YYYY-MM-DD** | Event description [Source: ...]
 ```
 
-### Reference entities (canon figures)
-
-If the entity is someone/something the user reads ABOUT but does not personally
-interact with — a book author, a historical figure, a company discussed in an
-article — mark the page as reference: `gbrain reference <slug>` (or
-`reference: true` in frontmatter). Reference pages keep their `person`/`company`
-type and stay fully searchable, enrichable, and linkable; they are only exempt
-from the entity coverage nudges (timeline/links) that don't apply to figures
-with no dated history in the user's own life. **Default: do NOT set it** — real
-people and companies the user deals with are normal entities. Full convention:
-`conventions/reference-entities.md`.
-
 ### Step 7: Cross-reference
 
 - Update company pages from person enrichment (and vice versa)

skills/maintain/SKILL.md

@@ -270,11 +270,6 @@ Populate them periodically or after major imports:
 - `gbrain stats` — verify `link_count > 0` and `timeline_entry_count > 0` after extraction.
 - `gbrain health` — review `link_coverage` and `timeline_coverage` percentages
   on entity pages (person/company). Below 50% means more extraction is needed.
-  Note: pages flagged `reference: true` (canon/reference figures the user only
-  reads about) are EXEMPT from these two metrics — if coverage looks stuck
-  because of book/article-imported figures with no real history, mark them with
-  `gbrain reference <slug>` rather than chasing the percentage. See
-  `conventions/reference-entities.md`.
 
 Available link types (use with `gbrain graph-query --type`):
 `attended`, `works_at`, `invested_in`, `founded`, `advises`, `mentions`, `source`.

src/cli.ts

@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ export function bigintToStringReplacer(_key: string, value: unknown): unknown {
 }
 
 // CLI-only commands that bypass the operation layer
-export const CLI_ONLY = new Set(['init', 'reinit-pglite', 'upgrade', 'post-upgrade', 'check-update', 'integrations', 'publish', 'check-backlinks', 'lint', 'report', 'import', 'export', 'files', 'embed', 'serve', 'call', 'config', 'doctor', 'migrate', 'eval', 'sync', 'extract', 'extract-conversation-facts', 'enrich', 'reference', 'features', 'autopilot', 'graph-query', 'jobs', 'agent', 'apply-migrations', 'skillpack-check', 'skillpack', 'resolvers', 'integrity', 'repair-jsonb', 'orphans', 'sources', 'mounts', 'dream', 'check-resolvable', 'routing-eval', 'skillify', 'smoke-test', 'providers', 'storage', 'repos', 'code-def', 'code-refs', 'reindex', 'reindex-code', 'reindex-frontmatter', 'code-callers', 'code-callees', 'reconcile-links', 'frontmatter', 'auth', 'friction', 'claw-test', 'book-mirror', 'takes', 'think', 'salience', 'anomalies', 'calibration', 'transcripts', 'models', 'remote', 'recall', 'forget', 'edges-backfill', 'cache', 'ze-switch', 'founder', 'brainstorm', 'lsd', 'schema', 'capture', 'onboard', 'conversation-parser', 'status', 'connect', 'skillopt', 'quarantine', 'self-upgrade', 'advisor', 'watch', 'reindex-search-vector']);
+export const CLI_ONLY = new Set(['init', 'reinit-pglite', 'upgrade', 'post-upgrade', 'check-update', 'integrations', 'publish', 'check-backlinks', 'lint', 'report', 'import', 'export', 'files', 'embed', 'serve', 'call', 'config', 'doctor', 'migrate', 'eval', 'sync', 'extract', 'extract-conversation-facts', 'enrich', 'features', 'autopilot', 'graph-query', 'jobs', 'agent', 'apply-migrations', 'skillpack-check', 'skillpack', 'resolvers', 'integrity', 'repair-jsonb', 'orphans', 'sources', 'mounts', 'dream', 'check-resolvable', 'routing-eval', 'skillify', 'smoke-test', 'providers', 'storage', 'repos', 'code-def', 'code-refs', 'reindex', 'reindex-code', 'reindex-frontmatter', 'code-callers', 'code-callees', 'reconcile-links', 'frontmatter', 'auth', 'friction', 'claw-test', 'book-mirror', 'takes', 'think', 'salience', 'anomalies', 'calibration', 'transcripts', 'models', 'remote', 'recall', 'forget', 'edges-backfill', 'cache', 'ze-switch', 'founder', 'brainstorm', 'lsd', 'schema', 'capture', 'onboard', 'conversation-parser', 'status', 'connect', 'skillopt', 'quarantine', 'self-upgrade', 'advisor', 'watch', 'reindex-search-vector']);
 // CLI-only commands whose handlers print their own --help text. These are
 // excluded from the generic short-circuit so detailed per-command and
 // per-subcommand usage stays reachable.
@@ -1652,11 +1652,6 @@ async function handleCliOnly(command: string, args: string[]) {
         await runFiles(engine, args);
         break;
       }
-      case 'reference': {
-        const { runReference } = await import('./commands/reference.ts');
-        await runReference(engine, args);
-        break;
-      }
       case 'embed': {
         const { runEmbed } = await import('./commands/embed.ts');
         await runEmbed(engine, args);

src/commands/extract.ts

@@ -1651,7 +1651,7 @@ async function extractTimelineFromDB(
  * make re-extraction idempotent). EVERY processed page is stamped, including
  * zero-link pages — they WERE processed.
  */
-async function extractStaleFromDB(
+export async function extractStaleFromDB(
   engine: BrainEngine,
   opts: {
     dryRun: boolean;

src/commands/jobs.ts

@@ -1479,7 +1479,31 @@ export async function registerBuiltinHandlers(
       embedSkipReason = 'auto_embed_disabled';
     }
 
-    return { ...result, embed_job_id: embedJobId, embed_skip_reason: embedSkipReason };
+    // #2849: large-sync extract deferral follow-up. performSync skips inline
+    // link/timeline extraction when totalChanges > 100, leaving
+    // links_extracted_at unstamped. A standalone sync job (webhook push,
+    // sync trigger) has no autopilot extract phase behind it, so the pages
+    // would stay extraction-stale until a manual `gbrain extract --stale`.
+    // Queue a source-scoped stale sweep instead. Best-effort + idempotent:
+    // a duplicate sweep finds 0 stale pages and no-ops.
+    let extractJobId: number | null = null;
+    if (result.extractDeferred) {
+      try {
+        const { MinionQueue } = await import('../core/minions/queue.ts');
+        const queue = new MinionQueue(engine);
+        const followUp = await queue.add(
+          'extract',
+          { stale: true, ...(sourceId ? { sourceId } : {}) },
+          {
+            idempotency_key: `sync-extract-stale:${sourceId ?? 'default'}:${Math.floor(Date.now() / 30_000)}`,
+            maxWaiting: 1,
+          },
+        );
+        extractJobId = followUp.id;
+      } catch { /* best-effort: extract --stale sweeps it later */ }
+    }
+
+    return { ...result, embed_job_id: embedJobId, embed_skip_reason: embedSkipReason, extract_stale_job_id: extractJobId };
   });
 
   registerBuiltinJob(worker, engine, 'embed', async (job) => {
@@ -1652,6 +1676,20 @@ export async function registerBuiltinHandlers(
   });
 
   worker.register('extract', async (job) => {
+    // #2849: stale-sweep mode — the sync handler's large-sync deferral
+    // follow-up. DB-source (reads page content from the DB, so it runs on
+    // checkout-less brains), source-scopable, idempotent. Same core as
+    // `gbrain extract --stale`.
+    if (job.data.stale === true) {
+      const { extractStaleFromDB } = await import('./extract.ts');
+      return await extractStaleFromDB(engine, {
+        dryRun: !!job.data.dryRun,
+        jsonMode: false,
+        includeFrontmatter: false,
+        sourceIdFilter: typeof job.data.sourceId === 'string' ? job.data.sourceId : undefined,
+        catchUp: false,
+      });
+    }
     const { runExtractCore } = await import('./extract.ts');
     const mode = (typeof job.data.mode === 'string' && ['links', 'timeline', 'all'].includes(job.data.mode))
       ? (job.data.mode as 'links' | 'timeline' | 'all')

src/commands/reference.ts

@@ -1,130 +0,0 @@
-// gbrain reference <slug> [--unset] [--brain <dir>] [--json]
-//
-// Mark (or unmark) a page as a reference-only entity. A reference page keeps its
-// real type (person/company) — fully searchable/enrichable/linkable — but is
-// exempt from the entity coverage metrics (timeline_coverage,
-// entity_link_coverage). See src/core/reference-flag.ts for the rationale.
-//
-// Durability: the flag is written to BOTH the markdown frontmatter (source of
-// truth; survives re-ingest / engine rebuild) AND the engine `pages.frontmatter`
-// JSONB (so the metric reflects it immediately, no re-sync needed).
-
-import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { isAbsolute, join, resolve } from 'node:path';
-import { setCliExitVerdict } from '../core/cli-force-exit.ts';
-import type { BrainEngine } from '../core/engine.ts';
-import { REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY } from '../core/reference-flag.ts';
-import { resolveSourceId } from '../core/source-resolver.ts';
-
-/** Insert/replace/remove `reference: true` in a markdown frontmatter block.
- *  Minimal-diff: only the one line changes; key order is otherwise preserved. */
-export function applyReferenceFrontmatter(content: string, on: boolean): string {
-  const keyLine = `${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}: true`;
-  const block = content.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---/);
-
-  if (!block) {
-    // No frontmatter. Nothing to remove; if setting, prepend a block.
-    if (!on) return content;
-    return `---\n${keyLine}\n---\n\n${content}`;
-  }
-
-  let fm = block[1];
-  const hasKey = new RegExp(`^${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}:.*$`, 'm').test(fm);
-
-  if (on) {
-    fm = hasKey
-      ? fm.replace(new RegExp(`^${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}:.*$`, 'm'), keyLine)
-      : `${fm}\n${keyLine}`;
-  } else {
-    if (!hasKey) return content;
-    fm = fm.replace(new RegExp(`^${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}:.*$\\n?`, 'm'), '');
-  }
-
-  // Function replacement so YAML chars ($, & …) in fm aren't treated as
-  // replacement patterns.
-  return content.replace(/^---\n[\s\S]*?\n---/, () => `---\n${fm}\n---`);
-}
-
-function parseArgs(args: string[]): { slug?: string; unset: boolean; json: boolean; brain?: string; source?: string } {
-  let slug: string | undefined;
-  let unset = false;
-  let json = false;
-  let brain: string | undefined;
-  let source: string | undefined;
-  for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i++) {
-    const a = args[i];
-    if (a === '--unset') unset = true;
-    else if (a === '--json') json = true;
-    else if (a === '--brain' || a === '--dir') brain = args[++i];
-    else if (a === '--source') source = args[++i];
-    else if (!a.startsWith('--') && !slug) slug = a;
-  }
-  return { slug, unset, json, brain, source };
-}
-
-async function resolveBrainDir(engine: BrainEngine, explicit?: string): Promise<string | null> {
-  if (explicit) return resolve(explicit);
-  const configured = await engine.getConfig('sync.repo_path');
-  if (configured && existsSync(configured)) return resolve(configured);
-  return null;
-}
-
-export async function runReference(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]): Promise<void> {
-  const { slug, unset, json, brain, source } = parseArgs(args);
-  if (!slug) {
-    console.error('Usage: gbrain reference <slug> [--unset] [--source <id>] [--brain <dir>] [--json]');
-    setCliExitVerdict(2);
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const brainDir = await resolveBrainDir(engine, brain);
-  if (!brainDir) {
-    console.error('reference: could not resolve brain dir. Pass --brain <dir> or set sync.repo_path.');
-    setCliExitVerdict(1);
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const rel = slug.endsWith('.md') ? slug : `${slug}.md`;
-  const filePath = isAbsolute(rel) ? rel : join(brainDir, rel);
-  if (!existsSync(filePath)) {
-    console.error(`reference: page not found on disk: ${filePath}`);
-    setCliExitVerdict(1);
-    return;
-  }
-
-  // 1) Durable: edit the markdown frontmatter.
-  const before = readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
-  const after = applyReferenceFrontmatter(before, !unset);
-  const fileChanged = after !== before;
-  if (fileChanged) writeFileSync(filePath, after, 'utf8');
-
-  // 2) Immediate: update the engine frontmatter JSONB so the metric reflects it
-  //    without waiting for a re-sync. Scoped to (source_id, slug) — slug is only
-  //    unique per source, so a bare-slug UPDATE would clobber same-named pages
-  //    in every other source. Resolve the source from the brain dir (tier-4
-  //    local_path match) unless --source / GBRAIN_SOURCE overrides.
-  const cleanSlug = slug.replace(/\.md$/, '');
-  const sourceId = await resolveSourceId(engine, source ?? null, brainDir);
-  if (unset) {
-    await engine.executeRaw(
-      `UPDATE pages SET frontmatter = frontmatter - '${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}' WHERE slug = $1 AND source_id = $2`,
-      [cleanSlug, sourceId],
-    );
-  } else {
-    await engine.executeRaw(
-      `UPDATE pages SET frontmatter = jsonb_set(COALESCE(frontmatter, '{}'::jsonb), '{${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}}', 'true'::jsonb) WHERE slug = $1 AND source_id = $2`,
-      [cleanSlug, sourceId],
-    );
-  }
-
-  const result = { slug: cleanSlug, source_id: sourceId, reference: !unset, file_changed: fileChanged, file: filePath };
-  if (json) {
-    console.log(JSON.stringify(result));
-  } else {
-    const verb = unset ? 'unmarked' : 'marked';
-    console.log(`${verb} ${cleanSlug} as reference=${!unset}${fileChanged ? '' : ' (frontmatter already current)'}`);
-    if (!unset) {
-      console.log('  → exempt from timeline_coverage / entity_link_coverage; still fully searchable & linkable.');
-    }
-  }
-}

src/commands/serve-http.ts

@@ -2146,8 +2146,13 @@ export async function runServeHttp(engine: BrainEngine, options: ServeHttpOption
   //     Other event types (ping, pull_request, etc.) return 202 'ignored'
   //     so GitHub doesn't retry.
   // D15.5: HMAC compare uses the shared safeHexEqual helper.
-  // D18: submits 'sync' job with auto_embed_backfill=true and priority -10
-  //     (above autopilot's 0).
+  // D18: submits 'sync' job with extraction + auto_embed_backfill enabled and
+  //     priority -10 (above autopilot's 0). noExtract:false opts normal
+  //     incremental pushes into sync's inline link/timeline extraction (#2849
+  //     — the standalone sync handler defaults noExtract to TRUE, which left
+  //     webhook-imported pages permanently stale). Large (>100 file) pushes
+  //     defer inline extract; the sync handler queues an extract --stale
+  //     follow-up job for that branch.
   // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
   const githubWebhookLimiter = rateLimit({
     windowMs: 60_000,
@@ -2267,6 +2272,7 @@ export async function runServeHttp(engine: BrainEngine, options: ServeHttpOption
           'sync',
           {
             sourceId: source.id,
+            noExtract: false,
             auto_embed_backfill: true,
             embed_reason: 'webhook',
           },

src/commands/sync.ts

@@ -222,6 +222,14 @@ export interface SyncResult {
    * everything," the exact misdiagnosis in the #1794 recurrence report.
    */
   bankedFiles?: number;
+  /**
+   * #2849: true when extraction was REQUESTED (noExtract false) but this sync
+   * skipped inline link/timeline extraction because totalChanges > 100 (the
+   * #1794 large-sync deferral). links_extracted_at stays unstamped for the
+   * imported pages. The standalone `sync` job handler queues a source-scoped
+   * `extract --stale` follow-up when set; CLI runs print the manual hint.
+   */
+  extractDeferred?: boolean;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1379,6 +1387,10 @@ See also:
     {
       sourceId: sourceIdArg,
       repoPath: source.local_path,
+      // #2849: opt in to inline extraction — the standalone sync handler
+      // defaults noExtract to TRUE (dedupe for doctor's [sync, extract]
+      // remediation plan), which would leave triggered syncs extraction-stale.
+      noExtract: false,
       auto_embed_backfill: true,
       embed_reason: 'sync_trigger',
     },
@@ -3287,11 +3299,16 @@ async function performSyncInner(engine: BrainEngine, opts: SyncOpts): Promise<Sy
   // the stale sweep scans the whole source, so banked-across-runs pages are
   // covered regardless.
   const extractOpts = opts.sourceId ? { sourceId: opts.sourceId } : undefined;
+  let extractDeferred = false;
   if (!opts.noExtract && totalChanges > 100 && pagesAffected.length > 0) {
+    // #2849: surface the deferral to callers. A standalone sync job (webhook
+    // push, sync trigger) has no autopilot extract phase behind it, so the
+    // job handler queues an `extract --stale` follow-up off this flag.
+    extractDeferred = true;
     slog(
       `  Large sync: deferring link/timeline extraction. ` +
       `Run 'gbrain extract --stale${opts.sourceId ? ` --source-id ${opts.sourceId}` : ''}' ` +
-      `(or let the autopilot cycle's extract phase sweep it).`,
+      `(sync jobs queue this follow-up automatically).`,
     );
   }
   if (!opts.noExtract && totalChanges <= 100 && pagesAffected.length > 0) {
@@ -3400,6 +3417,7 @@ async function performSyncInner(engine: BrainEngine, opts: SyncOpts): Promise<Sy
     chunksCreated,
     embedded,
     pagesAffected,
+    extractDeferred,
   };
 }
 

src/core/onboard/checks.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 import type { BrainEngine } from '../engine.ts';
 import type { RemediationStep } from '../remediation-step.ts';
 import { makeRemediationStep } from '../remediation-step.ts';
-import { referenceExclusionSql } from '../reference-flag.ts';
 
 /** Shared shape returned by all four checks. */
 export interface OnboardCheckResult {
@@ -121,8 +120,7 @@ export async function checkEntityLinkCoverage(
     engine,
     `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM pages
        WHERE type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
-         AND deleted_at IS NULL
-         AND ${referenceExclusionSql()}`,
+         AND deleted_at IS NULL`,
   );
 
   if (totalEntities === 0) {
@@ -146,7 +144,6 @@ export async function checkEntityLinkCoverage(
        SELECT p.id FROM pages p ${sampleClause}
        WHERE p.type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
          AND p.deleted_at IS NULL
-         AND ${referenceExclusionSql('p')}
          AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM links l WHERE l.to_page_id = p.id)
      ) sub`,
   );
@@ -218,8 +215,7 @@ export async function checkTimelineCoverage(
     engine,
     `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM pages
        WHERE type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
-         AND deleted_at IS NULL
-         AND ${referenceExclusionSql()}`,
+         AND deleted_at IS NULL`,
   );
 
   if (totalEntities === 0) {
@@ -241,7 +237,6 @@ export async function checkTimelineCoverage(
        SELECT p.id FROM pages p ${sampleClause}
        WHERE p.type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
          AND p.deleted_at IS NULL
-         AND ${referenceExclusionSql('p')}
          AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM timeline_entries t WHERE t.page_id = p.id)
      ) sub`,
   );

src/core/onboard/init-nudge.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 // also short-circuits (CI/scripted callers see nothing).
 
 import type { BrainEngine } from '../engine.ts';
-import { referenceExclusionSql } from '../reference-flag.ts';
 
 const NUDGE_BUDGET_MS = 3000;
 
@@ -58,8 +57,7 @@ export async function runInitNudge(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<void> {
       engine.executeRaw<{ count: string | number }>(
         `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM pages
            WHERE type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
-             AND deleted_at IS NULL
-             AND ${referenceExclusionSql()}`,
+             AND deleted_at IS NULL`,
         [],
         { signal: controller.signal },
       ),
@@ -67,7 +65,6 @@ export async function runInitNudge(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<void> {
         `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM pages p
            WHERE p.type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
              AND p.deleted_at IS NULL
-             AND ${referenceExclusionSql('p')}
              AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM links l WHERE l.to_page_id = p.id)`,
         [],
         { signal: controller.signal },
@@ -76,7 +73,6 @@ export async function runInitNudge(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<void> {
         `SELECT COUNT(*) AS count FROM pages p
            WHERE p.type IN ('person', 'company', 'organization', 'entity')
              AND p.deleted_at IS NULL
-             AND ${referenceExclusionSql('p')}
              AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM timeline_entries t WHERE t.page_id = p.id)`,
         [],
         { signal: controller.signal },

src/core/pglite-engine.ts

@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import { runMigrations } from './migrate.ts';
 import { PGLITE_SCHEMA_SQL, getPGLiteSchema } from './pglite-schema.ts';
 import { DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_MODEL, DEFAULT_EMBEDDING_DIMENSIONS } from './ai/defaults.ts';
 import { DELETE_BATCH_SIZE } from './engine-constants.ts';
-import { referenceExclusionSql } from './reference-flag.ts';
 import { MARKDOWN_CHUNKER_VERSION } from './chunkers/recursive.ts';
 import { acquireLock, releaseLock, type LockHandle } from './pglite-lock.ts';
 import { getFtsLanguage } from './fts-language.ts';
@@ -5203,7 +5202,6 @@ export class PGLiteEngine implements BrainEngine {
     const { rows: [h] } = await this.db.query(`
       WITH entity_pages AS (
         SELECT id, slug FROM pages WHERE type IN ('person', 'company')
-          AND ${referenceExclusionSql()}
       )
       SELECT
         (SELECT count(*) FROM pages) as page_count,

src/core/postgres-engine.ts

@@ -5320,12 +5320,7 @@ export class PostgresEngine implements BrainEngine {
     // is working as intended, not an orphan.
     const [h] = await sql`
       WITH entity_pages AS (
-        -- reference:true pages are exempt from coverage metrics.
-        -- Inlined (postgres.js tagged-template interpolation = bound param,
-        -- not raw SQL); keep in sync with referenceExclusionSql() in
-        -- reference-flag.ts.
         SELECT id, slug FROM pages WHERE type IN ('person', 'company')
-          AND (frontmatter->>'reference') IS DISTINCT FROM 'true'
       )
       SELECT
         (SELECT count(*) FROM pages) as page_count,

src/core/reference-flag.ts

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-// Reference / canon entities.
-//
-// A page with frontmatter `reference: true` is a reference-only entity — a
-// figure or organization imported from a book / article / external source that
-// the user reads ABOUT but does not actively interact with (e.g. Andy Grove,
-// Kleiner Perkins). It keeps its real `type` (`person` / `company`), so it stays
-// fully searchable, enrichable, linkable, and edge-resolvable — NOTHING about
-// retrieval changes.
-//
-// The ONLY behavior it opts out of is the entity *coverage* metrics
-// (`timeline_coverage`, `entity_link_coverage` + their onboard-nudge mirrors).
-// Those metrics nudge "this entity should accumulate dated history / inbound
-// links"; that assumption is right for people you actually deal with and wrong
-// for canon imports, which have no dated events in the user's life. Excluding
-// them keeps the metric honest and actionable instead of permanently red.
-//
-// Opt-in: absent / false / anything-but-true = normal entity (the default).
-// Set via `gbrain reference <slug>` (or hand-edit frontmatter).
-
-export const REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY = 'reference';
-
-/**
- * SQL predicate (true for NON-reference pages) to AND into entity-coverage
- * denominators AND numerators so the ratio stays consistent. JSONB `->>` yields
- * text; `IS DISTINCT FROM 'true'` treats absent (NULL) and every non-true value
- * as a normal counted entity. Backed by the GIN index on `pages.frontmatter`.
- *
- * @param alias optional table alias (e.g. 'p' for `pages p`); omit for bare `pages`.
- *
- * NOTE: postgres-engine.ts uses a postgres.js tagged template where `${}` is a
- * bound parameter, not raw SQL, so it inlines this predicate literally — keep
- * the two in sync.
- */
-export function referenceExclusionSql(alias = ''): string {
-  const col = alias ? `${alias}.frontmatter` : 'frontmatter';
-  return `(${col}->>'${REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY}') IS DISTINCT FROM 'true'`;
-}

test/reference-flag.test.ts

@@ -1,154 +0,0 @@
-import { describe, expect, test } from 'bun:test';
-import { referenceExclusionSql, REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY } from '../src/core/reference-flag.ts';
-import { applyReferenceFrontmatter } from '../src/commands/reference.ts';
-
-describe('referenceExclusionSql', () => {
-  test('bare pages (no alias)', () => {
-    expect(referenceExclusionSql()).toBe(`(frontmatter->>'reference') IS DISTINCT FROM 'true'`);
-  });
-  test('aliased', () => {
-    expect(referenceExclusionSql('p')).toBe(`(p.frontmatter->>'reference') IS DISTINCT FROM 'true'`);
-  });
-  test('key constant', () => {
-    expect(REFERENCE_FRONTMATTER_KEY).toBe('reference');
-  });
-});
-
-describe('applyReferenceFrontmatter', () => {
-  const page = `---\ntitle: Andy Grove\ntype: person\ntags: []\n---\n\n# Andy Grove\n\nBody.`;
-
-  test('adds reference: true to an existing frontmatter block', () => {
-    const out = applyReferenceFrontmatter(page, true);
-    expect(out).toContain('reference: true');
-    expect(out).toContain('type: person');   // other keys preserved
-    expect(out).toContain('# Andy Grove');    // body preserved
-  });
-
-  test('is idempotent — does not duplicate the key', () => {
-    const once = applyReferenceFrontmatter(page, true);
-    const twice = applyReferenceFrontmatter(once, true);
-    expect(twice).toBe(once);
-    expect(twice.match(/reference: true/g)).toHaveLength(1);
-  });
-
-  test('replaces a stale reference: false with true', () => {
-    const off = `---\ntype: person\nreference: false\n---\n\nBody.`;
-    const out = applyReferenceFrontmatter(off, true);
-    expect(out).toContain('reference: true');
-    expect(out).not.toContain('reference: false');
-  });
-
-  test('--unset removes the key', () => {
-    const on = applyReferenceFrontmatter(page, true);
-    const off = applyReferenceFrontmatter(on, false);
-    expect(off).not.toContain('reference:');
-    expect(off).toContain('type: person');
-  });
-
-  test('--unset on a page without the key is a no-op', () => {
-    expect(applyReferenceFrontmatter(page, false)).toBe(page);
-  });
-
-  test('setting on a frontmatter-less page prepends a block', () => {
-    const raw = '# Just a heading\n\nNo frontmatter here.';
-    const out = applyReferenceFrontmatter(raw, true);
-    expect(out.startsWith('---\nreference: true\n---\n')).toBe(true);
-    expect(out).toContain('# Just a heading');
-  });
-
-  test('preserves body containing YAML-special chars', () => {
-    const tricky = `---\ntype: person\n---\n\nText with $& and $1 literals.`;
-    const out = applyReferenceFrontmatter(tricky, true);
-    expect(out).toContain('Text with $& and $1 literals.');
-    expect(out).toContain('reference: true');
-  });
-});
-
-// ── e2e: getHealth exemption + (source_id, slug)-scoped JSONB write ─────────
-
-import { afterAll, beforeAll } from 'bun:test';
-import * as fs from 'node:fs';
-import * as os from 'node:os';
-import * as path from 'node:path';
-import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
-import { runReference } from '../src/commands/reference.ts';
-import { withEnv } from './helpers/with-env.ts';
-
-describe('reference flag e2e (PGLite)', () => {
-  let engine: PGLiteEngine;
-  let brainDir: string;
-
-  beforeAll(async () => {
-    engine = new PGLiteEngine();
-    await engine.connect({ database_url: '' });
-    await engine.initSchema();
-
-    brainDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'gbrain-ref-'));
-    fs.mkdirSync(path.join(brainDir, 'people'), { recursive: true });
-    fs.writeFileSync(
-      path.join(brainDir, 'people/andy-grove.md'),
-      '---\ntitle: Andy Grove\ntype: person\n---\n\n# Andy Grove\n',
-      'utf8',
-    );
-
-    await engine.executeRaw(
-      `INSERT INTO sources (id, name, local_path, config, created_at)
-       VALUES ('src-a', 'a', $1, '{}'::jsonb, now()), ('src-b', 'b', NULL, '{}'::jsonb, now())`,
-      [brainDir],
-    );
-    // Same slug in BOTH sources — the write must only touch src-a.
-    await engine.putPage('people/andy-grove', {
-      type: 'person', title: 'Andy Grove', compiled_truth: 'canon figure',
-    }, { sourceId: 'src-a' });
-    await engine.putPage('people/andy-grove', {
-      type: 'person', title: 'Andy Grove', compiled_truth: 'other-source twin',
-    }, { sourceId: 'src-b' });
-    // A normal contact WITH a timeline entry, so coverage has a live numerator.
-    const contact = await engine.putPage('people/alice-example', {
-      type: 'person', title: 'Alice Example', compiled_truth: 'real contact',
-    }, { sourceId: 'src-a' });
-    await engine.executeRaw(
-      `INSERT INTO timeline_entries (page_id, date, summary) VALUES ($1, '2026-01-01', 'met')`,
-      [contact.id],
-    );
-  });
-
-  afterAll(async () => {
-    await engine.disconnect();
-    fs.rmSync(brainDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
-  });
-
-  test('runReference scopes the JSONB write to the resolved (source_id, slug)', async () => {
-    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_SOURCE: undefined }, () =>
-      runReference(engine, ['people/andy-grove', '--brain', brainDir]));
-
-    const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ source_id: string; ref: string | null }>(
-      `SELECT source_id, frontmatter->>'reference' AS ref FROM pages WHERE slug = 'people/andy-grove' ORDER BY source_id`,
-    );
-    expect(rows).toEqual([
-      { source_id: 'src-a', ref: 'true' },
-      { source_id: 'src-b', ref: null },   // twin in the other source untouched
-    ]);
-    // Durable half: frontmatter on disk got the flag too.
-    expect(fs.readFileSync(path.join(brainDir, 'people/andy-grove.md'), 'utf8'))
-      .toContain('reference: true');
-  });
-
-  test('getHealth exempts reference pages from timeline/link coverage', async () => {
-    const health = await engine.getHealth();
-    // 3 person pages; the 2 reference-less twins would drag coverage to 1/3.
-    // With the src-a twin marked reference, denominator = 2 (alice + src-b twin).
-    expect(health.timeline_coverage).toBeCloseTo(0.5);
-  });
-
-  test('unset restores the page to a normal counted entity', async () => {
-    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_SOURCE: undefined }, () =>
-      runReference(engine, ['people/andy-grove', '--unset', '--brain', brainDir]));
-    const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ ref: string | null }>(
-      `SELECT frontmatter->>'reference' AS ref FROM pages WHERE slug = 'people/andy-grove' AND source_id = 'src-a'`,
-    );
-    expect(rows[0].ref).toBeNull();
-    const health = await engine.getHealth();
-    expect(health.timeline_coverage).toBeCloseTo(1 / 3);
-  });
-});

test/sources-webhook.test.ts

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
  */
 import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import { createHmac } from 'node:crypto';
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { safeHexEqual } from '../src/core/timing-safe.ts';
 
 const GITHUB_SECRET = 'super-secret-webhook-key';
@@ -123,3 +124,25 @@ describe('Branch ref construction (D5)', () => {
     expect(pushedRef === `refs/heads/${trackedBranch}`).toBe(false);
   });
 });
+
+describe('Webhook sync job extraction contract (#2849)', () => {
+  test('opts into extraction before the pushed commit is consumed', () => {
+    const serveSource = readFileSync(
+      new URL('../src/commands/serve-http.ts', import.meta.url),
+      'utf8',
+    );
+    const routeStart = serveSource.indexOf("'/webhooks/github'");
+    const queueStart = serveSource.indexOf('const job = await queue.add(', routeStart);
+    const responseStart = serveSource.indexOf('res.status(202)', queueStart);
+    expect(routeStart).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(0);
+    expect(queueStart).toBeGreaterThan(routeStart);
+    expect(responseStart).toBeGreaterThan(queueStart);
+
+    const routeSource = serveSource.slice(queueStart, responseStart);
+    const payload = routeSource.match(
+      /queue\.add\(\s*'sync',\s*\{([\s\S]*?)\}\s*,\s*\{/,
+    );
+    expect(payload).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(payload?.[1]).toMatch(/\bnoExtract:\s*false\b/);
+  });
+});

test/sync-large-deferral-extract.serial.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+/**
+ * #2849 — large-sync extract deferral queues an `extract --stale` follow-up.
+ *
+ * performSync's incremental path skips inline link/timeline extraction when
+ * totalChanges > 100 (the #1794 large-sync deferral), leaving
+ * links_extracted_at unstamped. Pre-fix, a standalone sync job (webhook push,
+ * `gbrain sync trigger`) had NOTHING behind it to sweep those pages — the
+ * autopilot cycle's extract phase only walks that cycle's changedSlugs — so a
+ * large webhook push left extraction permanently stale until a manual
+ * `gbrain extract --stale`.
+ *
+ * Pins:
+ *   (a) performSync surfaces `extractDeferred: true` on the >100 branch and
+ *       leaves the pages unstamped/unlinked.
+ *   (b) the `sync` job handler queues an `extract` job with
+ *       { stale: true, sourceId? } when extractDeferred is set.
+ *   (c) the `extract` handler's stale mode actually sweeps: links created +
+ *       watermark stamped (end-to-end recovery, no manual step).
+ *
+ * Marked .serial.test.ts — spawns git subprocesses + shares one PGLite engine.
+ */
+
+import { describe, test, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'bun:test';
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, rmSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
+import { execSync } from 'child_process';
+import { tmpdir } from 'os';
+import { join } from 'path';
+import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
+import { MinionWorker } from '../src/core/minions/worker.ts';
+import { MinionQueue } from '../src/core/minions/queue.ts';
+import { registerBuiltinHandlers } from '../src/commands/jobs.ts';
+
+let engine: PGLiteEngine;
+let worker: MinionWorker;
+let repoPath: string;
+
+function git(cmd: string): void { execSync(cmd, { cwd: repoPath, stdio: 'pipe' }); }
+
+describe('#2849 — large sync defers extract and queues a stale sweep', () => {
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    engine = new PGLiteEngine();
+    await engine.connect({});
+    await engine.initSchema();
+    worker = new MinionWorker(engine, { queue: 'test' });
+    await registerBuiltinHandlers(worker, engine, { quiet: true });
+
+    repoPath = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'gbrain-large-defer-'));
+    git('git init');
+    git('git config user.email "t@t.com"');
+    git('git config user.name "T"');
+    mkdirSync(join(repoPath, 'people'), { recursive: true });
+    mkdirSync(join(repoPath, 'notes'), { recursive: true });
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, 'people/alice.md'), [
+      '---', 'type: person', 'title: Alice', '---', '', 'Alice is a founder.',
+    ].join('\n'));
+    git('git add -A && git commit -m "initial"');
+
+    // Seed: full first sync imports the anchor page + sets last_commit.
+    const { performSync } = await import('../src/commands/sync.ts');
+    await performSync(engine, { repoPath, full: true, noPull: true, noEmbed: true });
+
+    // Second commit: 101 new pages → incremental totalChanges > 100.
+    for (let i = 0; i < 101; i++) {
+      writeFileSync(join(repoPath, `notes/n${i}.md`), [
+        '---', 'type: note', `title: Note ${i}`, '---', '',
+        `[Alice](people/alice) appears in note ${i}.`,
+      ].join('\n'));
+    }
+    git('git add -A && git commit -m "add 101 pages"');
+  }, 120_000);
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    if (repoPath) rmSync(repoPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
+    if (engine) await engine.disconnect();
+  }, 60_000);
+
+  test('sync handler defers inline extract and queues extract{stale} follow-up; stale sweep recovers', async () => {
+    const syncHandler = (worker as unknown as { handlers: Map<string, (job: unknown) => Promise<unknown>> })
+      .handlers.get('sync');
+    expect(syncHandler).toBeDefined();
+
+    // Same payload shape the webhook submits (minus embed backfill noise).
+    const result = await syncHandler!({
+      data: { repoPath, noExtract: false, noPull: true, auto_embed_backfill: false },
+      signal: { aborted: false },
+      updateProgress: async () => {},
+    }) as { status: string; extractDeferred?: boolean; extract_stale_job_id?: number | null };
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe('synced');
+    // (a) inline extract was deferred, pages left stale.
+    expect(result.extractDeferred).toBe(true);
+    const staleBefore = await engine.countStalePagesForExtraction();
+    expect(staleBefore).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+    expect(await engine.getLinks('notes/n0')).toHaveLength(0);
+
+    // (b) a follow-up extract job with stale:true was queued.
+    expect(result.extract_stale_job_id).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    const queue = new MinionQueue(engine);
+    const extractJobs = await queue.getJobs({ name: 'extract', limit: 5 });
+    expect(extractJobs.length).toBe(1);
+    expect((extractJobs[0].data as { stale: boolean }).stale).toBe(true);
+
+    // (c) running the extract handler's stale mode recovers: links + stamps.
+    const extractHandler = (worker as unknown as { handlers: Map<string, (job: unknown) => Promise<unknown>> })
+      .handlers.get('extract');
+    await extractHandler!({
+      data: extractJobs[0].data,
+      signal: { aborted: false },
+      updateProgress: async () => {},
+    });
+    const links = await engine.getLinks('notes/n0');
+    expect(links.some(l => l.to_slug === 'people/alice')).toBe(true);
+    const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ links_extracted_at: string | null }>(
+      `SELECT links_extracted_at FROM pages WHERE slug = 'notes/n0'`,
+    );
+    expect(rows[0]?.links_extracted_at).not.toBeNull();
+  }, 180_000);
+
+  test('sub-threshold sync does NOT set extractDeferred (no spurious follow-up)', async () => {
+    // One more small commit → inline extract path, no deferral.
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, 'notes/small.md'), [
+      '---', 'type: note', 'title: Small', '---', '', 'No big deal.',
+    ].join('\n'));
+    git('git add -A && git commit -m "one small page"');
+    const { performSync } = await import('../src/commands/sync.ts');
+    const result = await performSync(engine, { repoPath, noPull: true, noEmbed: true });
+    expect(result.status).toBe('synced');
+    expect(result.extractDeferred).toBeFalsy();
+  }, 60_000);
+});

test/sync-trigger-cli.test.ts

@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ describe('runSyncTrigger', () => {
     const job = jobs[0];
     expect(job.priority).toBe(-10);
     expect((job.data as { sourceId: string }).sourceId).toBe('default');
+    // #2849: opt in to inline extraction — the standalone sync handler
+    // defaults noExtract to TRUE, which would leave triggered syncs
+    // extraction-stale.
+    expect((job.data as { noExtract: boolean }).noExtract).toBe(false);
     expect((job.data as { auto_embed_backfill: boolean }).auto_embed_backfill).toBe(true);
   });