fix(backlinks): honor positional check-backlinks directory argument

The help text (gbrain check-backlinks <check|fix> [dir]) promised a
positional directory argument, but runBacklinks only parsed --dir and
defaulted to cwd, so the walker ran from the wrong root and could hit
EPERM on unreadable sibling dirs.

Extract parseBacklinksArgs: positional [dir] is now honored, --dir still
overrides it, --dry-run preserved, and a --dir flag missing its value
falls back to the positional dir instead of picking up undefined.

Takeover of #852 (rebased onto master past the findBacklinkGaps dedupe
test block). Fixes #485.

Co-authored-by: Kage18 <Kage18@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/commands/autopilot-fanout.ts

@@ -186,18 +186,6 @@ export function isSourceStale(src: SourceRow, now = Date.now(), floorMin = FULL_
   return ageMin >= floorMin;
 }
 
-/**
- * #2060: count sources past the per-source cycle freshness floor. Consumed
- * by autopilot's dispatch decision — a stale source forces the fanout path
- * even when the doctor plan is small (score 70–94, plan ≤ 3, est < 300s),
- * so targeted mode can't leave cycle_freshness stale indefinitely.
- * dispatchPerSource's own throttles (skipped_fresh / fanoutMax / failure
- * cooldown) bound the resulting work.
- */
-export function countStaleSources(sources: SourceRow[], now = Date.now(), floorMin = FULL_CYCLE_FLOOR_MIN): number {
-  return sources.filter((s) => isSourceStale(s, now, floorMin)).length;
-}
-
 /**
  * Most recent SUCCESSFUL cycle for a source. Prefers `last_source_cycle_at`
  * (per-source phases, written by the split cycle) and falls back to the legacy

src/commands/autopilot.ts

@@ -901,27 +901,13 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
         const FULL_CYCLE_FLOOR_MIN = 60;
         const minutesSinceLastFull = (Date.now() - lastFullCycleAt) / 60000;
 
-        // #2060: stale per-source cycle freshness is a dispatch input. Without
-        // it, a brain sitting at score 70–94 with a small targeted plan (≤3
-        // steps, <300s) stays in targeted mode indefinitely and no per-source
-        // cycle is ever dispatched — cycle_freshness never advances. A stale
-        // source forces the fanout path; dispatchPerSource's throttles
-        // (skipped_fresh / fanoutMax / failure cooldown) bound the work.
-        // Fail-open to 0: a read failure must not block dispatch.
-        let staleCycleSources = 0;
-        try {
-          const { countStaleSources } = await import('./autopilot-fanout.ts');
-          staleCycleSources = countStaleSources(await engine.listAllSources({ localPathOnly: true }));
-        } catch { /* fail-open: freshness is a dispatch hint, not a gate */ }
-
         const shouldFullCycle =
           (score >= 95 && plan.length === 0 && minutesSinceLastFull >= FULL_CYCLE_FLOOR_MIN) ||
           plan.length > 3 ||
           estTotal >= 300 ||
-          score < 70 ||
-          staleCycleSources > 0;
+          score < 70;
 
-        const shouldSleep = score >= 95 && plan.length === 0 && minutesSinceLastFull < FULL_CYCLE_FLOOR_MIN && staleCycleSources === 0;
+        const shouldSleep = score >= 95 && plan.length === 0 && minutesSinceLastFull < FULL_CYCLE_FLOOR_MIN;
 
         if (shouldSleep) {
           if (jsonMode) {

src/commands/backlinks.ts

@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
  * checks if back-links exist, and optionally creates them.
  *
  * Usage:
- *   gbrain check-backlinks check [--dir <brain-dir>]     # report missing back-links
- *   gbrain check-backlinks fix [--dir <brain-dir>]        # create missing back-links
+ *   gbrain check-backlinks check [dir] [--dir <brain-dir>] # report missing back-links
+ *   gbrain check-backlinks fix [dir] [--dir <brain-dir>]   # create missing back-links
  *   gbrain check-backlinks fix --dry-run                  # preview fixes
  */
 
@@ -201,6 +201,40 @@ export interface BacklinksResult {
   dryRun: boolean;
 }
 
+export interface ParsedBacklinksArgs {
+  subcommand: string | undefined;
+  brainDir: string;
+  dryRun: boolean;
+}
+
+export function parseBacklinksArgs(args: string[]): ParsedBacklinksArgs {
+  const subcommand = args[0];
+  const dryRun = args.includes('--dry-run');
+  const dirIdx = args.indexOf('--dir');
+  const flagDir = dirIdx >= 0 && args[dirIdx + 1] && !args[dirIdx + 1].startsWith('--')
+    ? args[dirIdx + 1]
+    : undefined;
+
+  let positionalDir: string | undefined;
+  for (let i = 1; i < args.length; i++) {
+    const arg = args[i];
+    if (arg === '--dir') {
+      i++;
+      continue;
+    }
+    if (arg === '--dry-run') continue;
+    if (arg.startsWith('--')) continue;
+    positionalDir = arg;
+    break;
+  }
+
+  return {
+    subcommand,
+    brainDir: flagDir ?? positionalDir ?? '.',
+    dryRun,
+  };
+}
+
 /**
  * Library-level backlinks check/fix. Throws on validation errors; returns a
  * structured result so Minions handlers + autopilot-cycle can surface counts.
@@ -236,16 +270,14 @@ export async function runBacklinksCore(opts: BacklinksOpts): Promise<BacklinksRe
 }
 
 export async function runBacklinks(args: string[]) {
-  const subcommand = args[0];
-  const dirIdx = args.indexOf('--dir');
-  const brainDir = dirIdx >= 0 ? args[dirIdx + 1] : '.';
-  const dryRun = args.includes('--dry-run');
+  const { subcommand, brainDir, dryRun } = parseBacklinksArgs(args);
 
   if (!subcommand || !['check', 'fix'].includes(subcommand)) {
-    console.error('Usage: gbrain check-backlinks <check|fix> [--dir <brain-dir>] [--dry-run]');
+    console.error('Usage: gbrain check-backlinks <check|fix> [dir] [--dir <brain-dir>] [--dry-run]');
     console.error('  check    Report missing back-links');
     console.error('  fix      Create missing back-links (appends to Timeline)');
-    console.error('  --dir    Brain directory (default: current directory)');
+    console.error('  dir      Brain directory (default: current directory)');
+    console.error('  --dir    Brain directory override');
     console.error('  --dry-run  Preview fixes without writing');
     process.exit(1);
   }

src/core/cycle.ts

@@ -854,10 +854,7 @@ interface SyncPhaseResult extends PhaseResult {
 /**
  * Resolve the source id for a brain directory by looking up the sources
  * table. Returns undefined when no registered source matches (falls back
- * to pre-v0.18 global config.sync.* keys) OR when MORE than one source
- * claims the path — an ambiguous match must not scope phases or stamp
- * last_full_cycle_at for an arbitrarily-picked source (the "freshness
- * stamp that lies" this resolution exists to prevent).
+ * to pre-v0.18 global config.sync.* keys).
  */
 async function resolveSourceForDir(
   engine: BrainEngine,
@@ -868,10 +865,10 @@ async function resolveSourceForDir(
   if (brainDir === null) return undefined;
   try {
     const rows = await engine.executeRaw<{ id: string }>(
-      `SELECT id FROM sources WHERE local_path = $1 LIMIT 2`,
+      `SELECT id FROM sources WHERE local_path = $1 LIMIT 1`,
       [brainDir],
     );
-    return rows.length === 1 ? rows[0]!.id : undefined;
+    return rows[0]?.id;
   } catch {
     // sources table might not exist on very old brains — fall through.
     return undefined;
@@ -2368,23 +2365,17 @@ export async function runCycle(
   }
 
   // v0.38 (codex r1 P0-5): persist per-source cycle completion timestamp
-  // when the cycle ran successfully against a resolvable source. Read by
-  // autopilot's per-source freshness gate next tick.
-  //
-  // #1993: keyed off `cycleSourceId` (opts.sourceId ?? the source resolved
-  // from brainDir) — the SAME id the cycle locked + scoped its phases to —
-  // NOT raw opts.sourceId. The autopilot's inline cycle sets brainDir but
-  // passes no explicit sourceId, so keying off opts.sourceId alone never
-  // advanced last_full_cycle_at and cycle_freshness stayed stale even while
-  // the autopilot cycled every interval. Skipped when:
-  //   - no source resolves (engine null, or no checkout AND no opts.sourceId)
+  // when the cycle ran successfully against an explicit source. Read by
+  // autopilot's per-source freshness gate next tick. Skipped when:
+  //   - opts.sourceId is unset (legacy callers — autopilot still here)
+  //   - engine is null (no-DB path)
   //   - status is 'failed' or 'skipped' (don't mark a non-run as fresh)
   //   - dryRun (writes are out of scope)
   //
   // Best-effort: a write failure does NOT change the CycleReport status.
   // The cost of writing the wrong timestamp post-failure is higher than
   // the cost of missing a successful write (next cycle will redo work).
-  if (cycleSourceId && engine && !dryRun && !aborted && (status === 'ok' || status === 'clean' || status === 'partial')) {
+  if (opts.sourceId && engine && !dryRun && !aborted && (status === 'ok' || status === 'clean' || status === 'partial')) {
     try {
       const nowIso = new Date().toISOString();
       // #2194 fix #3 (the cycle split): `last_source_cycle_at` is the NEW gate
@@ -2394,13 +2385,13 @@ export async function runCycle(
       // phases (those gate on autopilot.last_global_at), so writing it on a
       // source-only cycle does not re-introduce the freshness poisoning codex
       // flagged in the rejected skip-based design.
-      await engine.updateSourceConfig(cycleSourceId, {
+      await engine.updateSourceConfig(opts.sourceId, {
         last_source_cycle_at: nowIso,
         last_full_cycle_at: nowIso,
       });
     } catch (e) {
       // Best-effort; cycle already succeeded by the time we get here.
-      console.warn(`[cycle] failed to write last_source_cycle_at for source ${cycleSourceId}: ${e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e)}`);
+      console.warn(`[cycle] failed to write last_source_cycle_at for source ${opts.sourceId}: ${e instanceof Error ? e.message : String(e)}`);
     }
   }
 

test/autopilot-fanout-wiring.test.ts

@@ -54,20 +54,6 @@ describe('autopilot.ts ↔ dispatchPerSource wiring', () => {
     expect(AUTOPILOT_SRC).toMatch(/lastFullCycleAt\s*=\s*Date\.now\(\)/);
   });
 
-  test('stale per-source cycle freshness is a shouldFullCycle input (#2060)', () => {
-    // Targeted mode (score 70–94, plan ≤3, est <300s) must not be able to
-    // starve per-source cycle dispatch: a stale source (per countStaleSources
-    // over listAllSources) forces the fanout path, and the sleep gate must
-    // not fire while stale sources exist. Without these terms, cycle
-    // freshness never advances for a brain that always lands in targeted mode.
-    expect(AUTOPILOT_SRC).toMatch(/countStaleSources/);
-    const fullCycleDeclIdx = AUTOPILOT_SRC.indexOf('const shouldFullCycle');
-    expect(fullCycleDeclIdx).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
-    const decl = AUTOPILOT_SRC.slice(fullCycleDeclIdx, fullCycleDeclIdx + 700);
-    expect(decl).toMatch(/staleCycleSources\s*>\s*0/);
-    expect(decl).toMatch(/const shouldSleep[^;]*staleCycleSources\s*===\s*0/);
-  });
-
   test('does NOT regress to the single-job dispatch on the full-cycle path', () => {
     // Pre-PR: the shouldFullCycle branch did:
     //   const job = await queue.add('autopilot-cycle', { repoPath }, {

test/autopilot-fanout.test.ts

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
 import {
   readLastFullCycleAt,
   isSourceStale,
-  countStaleSources,
   selectSourcesForDispatch,
   resolveFanoutMax,
   dispatchPerSource,
@@ -75,23 +74,6 @@ describe('isSourceStale', () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe('countStaleSources (#2060 dispatch-decision input)', () => {
-  const NOW = Date.parse('2026-05-22T12:00:00.000Z');
-  test('counts never-cycled + past-floor sources, ignores fresh', () => {
-    const sources = [
-      src('never-cycled'), // stale (null)
-      src('old', new Date(NOW - 2 * 60 * 60_000).toISOString()), // stale (2h)
-      src('fresh', new Date(NOW - 30 * 60_000).toISOString()), // fresh (30min)
-    ];
-    expect(countStaleSources(sources, NOW)).toBe(2);
-  });
-  test('returns 0 for all-fresh and for empty list', () => {
-    const fresh = src('a', new Date(NOW - 10 * 60_000).toISOString());
-    expect(countStaleSources([fresh], NOW)).toBe(0);
-    expect(countStaleSources([], NOW)).toBe(0);
-  });
-});
-
 describe('selectSourcesForDispatch', () => {
   const NOW = Date.parse('2026-05-22T12:00:00.000Z');
   const fresh = (id: string, agoMin: number) =>

test/backlinks.test.ts

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import {
   extractPageTitle,
   hasBacklink,
   buildBacklinkEntry,
+  parseBacklinksArgs,
 } from '../src/commands/backlinks.ts';
 
 describe('extractEntityRefs', () => {
@@ -104,3 +105,26 @@ describe('findBacklinkGaps dedupe (v0.36.x #967 regression)', () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+describe('parseBacklinksArgs', () => {
+  test('uses positional dir for check and fix subcommands', () => {
+    expect(parseBacklinksArgs(['check', '/tmp/brain']).brainDir).toBe('/tmp/brain');
+    expect(parseBacklinksArgs(['fix', '/tmp/brain']).brainDir).toBe('/tmp/brain');
+  });
+
+  test('defaults to cwd when no dir given', () => {
+    expect(parseBacklinksArgs(['check']).brainDir).toBe('.');
+  });
+
+  test('--dir overrides positional dir and preserves dry-run', () => {
+    const parsed = parseBacklinksArgs(['fix', '/tmp/ignored', '--dir', '/tmp/brain', '--dry-run']);
+    expect(parsed.subcommand).toBe('fix');
+    expect(parsed.brainDir).toBe('/tmp/brain');
+    expect(parsed.dryRun).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('--dir missing its value falls back to positional dir', () => {
+    expect(parseBacklinksArgs(['check', '/tmp/brain', '--dir']).brainDir).toBe('/tmp/brain');
+    expect(parseBacklinksArgs(['check', '--dir', '--dry-run']).brainDir).toBe('.');
+  });
+});

test/cycle-last-full-cycle-at.test.ts

@@ -3,10 +3,8 @@
  * cycles. Closes codex round-1 P0-5 (write site for last_full_cycle_at
  * was unspecified pre-PR).
  *
- * Conditions for write (keyed off `cycleSourceId` = opts.sourceId ?? the
- * source resolved from brainDir, so the autopilot's inline cycle — brainDir
- * set, no explicit sourceId — also advances the timestamp, #1993):
- *   - a source resolves (explicit sourceId, or brainDir matches a source)
+ * Conditions for write:
+ *   - opts.sourceId is set (legacy callers without sourceId skip the write)
  *   - engine is non-null (no-DB path skips)
  *   - status is 'ok' | 'clean' | 'partial' (failed/skipped don't mark fresh)
  *   - dryRun is false
@@ -92,45 +90,17 @@ describe('runCycle last_full_cycle_at exit hook', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  test('no explicit sourceId but brainDir resolves a source → writes the resolved source timestamp', async () => {
+  test('legacy caller (no sourceId) does NOT write any source timestamp', async () => {
     await withEnv({ GBRAIN_HOME: gbrainHome }, async () => {
-      // The autopilot's inline cycle sets brainDir but passes no sourceId.
-      // runCycle resolves the source from brainDir (local_path match) into
-      // cycleSourceId and stamps last_full_cycle_at for it — otherwise
-      // cycle_freshness reports the brain stale even while the autopilot
-      // cycles every interval (#1993).
-      await seedSource('resolved-from-dir'); // local_path = brainDir
-      expect(await readLastFullCycleAt('resolved-from-dir')).toBeNull();
-
-      const t0 = Date.now();
-      const report = await runCycle(engine, {
-        brainDir,
-        phases: ['lint'],
-      });
-      expect(['ok', 'clean']).toContain(report.status);
-
-      const after = await readLastFullCycleAt('resolved-from-dir');
-      expect(after).not.toBeNull();
-      expect(new Date(after!).getTime()).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(t0);
-    });
-  });
-
-  test('no sourceId and brainDir matches no source → does not write', async () => {
-    await withEnv({ GBRAIN_HOME: gbrainHome }, async () => {
-      // A source exists but its local_path does NOT match brainDir, so
-      // resolveSourceForDir returns undefined, cycleSourceId is undefined,
-      // and no per-source timestamp is written.
-      await engine.executeRaw(
-        `INSERT INTO sources (id, name, local_path, config, archived, created_at)
-         VALUES ('unmatched', 'unmatched', '/no/such/repo', '{}'::jsonb, false, NOW())
-         ON CONFLICT (id) DO UPDATE SET local_path = EXCLUDED.local_path`,
-        [],
-      );
+      await seedSource('default-like');
+      // No sourceId passed; should remain untouched.
       await runCycle(engine, {
         brainDir,
         phases: ['lint'],
       });
-      expect(await readLastFullCycleAt('unmatched')).toBeNull();
+      // No per-source write happens; default source's config stays empty.
+      const after = await readLastFullCycleAt('default-like');
+      expect(after).toBeNull();
     });
   });