fix(gateway): fall back to the pooler when the derived direct host is unreachable (#1641)

deriveDirectUrl() swaps the Supabase pooler host to db.<ref>.supabase.co:5432,
which is IPv6-only without the paid IPv4 add-on. On IPv4-only networks the
direct pool could never connect, and initDirectPool()'s throw killed
'gbrain init --url' and migrations with ENOTFOUND/ECONNREFUSED.

getDirectPool() now classifies network-unreachable errors (ENOTFOUND,
ECONNREFUSED, ENETUNREACH, EHOSTUNREACH, ETIMEDOUT, CONNECT_TIMEOUT) via the
new isNetworkUnreachableError(), self-activates the kill-switch, logs one
stderr line pointing at GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL / GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL,
and returns the read pool. Auth/SQL errors still throw (misconfig, not
unreachability). The failed pool is ended via endPoolBounded so it can't
leak sockets into the now-continuing process.

Also surfaces the kill-switch + override envs in the init.ts IPv6 warnings
and docs/guides/live-sync.md (they were previously undocumented outside
connection-manager.ts).

Fixes #1641

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/guides/live-sync.md

@@ -21,14 +21,17 @@ GBrain is tuned for the Supabase **Transaction pooler** (port 6543): it
 auto-disables prepared statements there and routes `engine.transaction()`
 (migrations, DDL, sync imports) to a derived **direct** connection
 (`db.<ref>.supabase.co:5432`). That direct host is IPv6-only, so on an
-IPv4-only host, reads work but sync **silently skips most pages**. This is the
-number one cause of "sync ran but nothing happened."
+IPv4-only host it is unreachable. When that happens gbrain now falls back to
+the pooler automatically (one stderr warning, then single-pool mode for the
+rest of the process) — but the pooler's ~2-min statement timeout can truncate
+very long migrations or bulk imports.
 
 Fix: make the direct connection reachable over IPv4. Either set
 `GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL` to the **Session pooler** string (port 5432 on the
-`pooler.supabase.com` host, IPv4), or enable Supabase's IPv4 add-on. Verify by
-running `gbrain sync` and checking that the page count in `gbrain stats` matches
-the syncable file count in the repo.
+`pooler.supabase.com` host, IPv4), or enable Supabase's IPv4 add-on.
+`GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL=1` skips the direct pool (and the fallback warning)
+entirely. Verify by running `gbrain sync` and checking that the page count in
+`gbrain stats` matches the syncable file count in the repo.
 
 ### The Primitives
 

llms-full.txt

@@ -2720,14 +2720,17 @@ GBrain is tuned for the Supabase **Transaction pooler** (port 6543): it
 auto-disables prepared statements there and routes `engine.transaction()`
 (migrations, DDL, sync imports) to a derived **direct** connection
 (`db.<ref>.supabase.co:5432`). That direct host is IPv6-only, so on an
-IPv4-only host, reads work but sync **silently skips most pages**. This is the
-number one cause of "sync ran but nothing happened."
+IPv4-only host it is unreachable. When that happens gbrain now falls back to
+the pooler automatically (one stderr warning, then single-pool mode for the
+rest of the process) — but the pooler's ~2-min statement timeout can truncate
+very long migrations or bulk imports.
 
 Fix: make the direct connection reachable over IPv4. Either set
 `GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL` to the **Session pooler** string (port 5432 on the
-`pooler.supabase.com` host, IPv4), or enable Supabase's IPv4 add-on. Verify by
-running `gbrain sync` and checking that the page count in `gbrain stats` matches
-the syncable file count in the repo.
+`pooler.supabase.com` host, IPv4), or enable Supabase's IPv4 add-on.
+`GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL=1` skips the direct pool (and the fallback warning)
+entirely. Verify by running `gbrain sync` and checking that the page count in
+`gbrain stats` matches the syncable file count in the repo.
 
 ### The Primitives
 

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/init.ts

@@ -1078,6 +1078,9 @@ async function initPostgres(opts: {
     console.warn('  Direct connections are IPv6 only and fail in many environments.');
     console.warn('  Use the Transaction pooler connection string instead (port 6543):');
     console.warn('  Supabase Dashboard > Connect (top bar) > Connection String > Transaction pooler');
+    console.warn('  (With a pooler URL, gbrain derives a direct connection for DDL and falls back');
+    console.warn('  to the pooler automatically if that host is unreachable. Power users:');
+    console.warn('  GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL overrides the derived URL; GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL=1 disables it.)');
     console.warn('');
   }
 
@@ -1091,6 +1094,9 @@ async function initPostgres(opts: {
       if (databaseUrl.includes('supabase.co') && (msg.includes('ECONNREFUSED') || msg.includes('ETIMEDOUT'))) {
         console.error('Connection failed. Supabase direct connections (db.*.supabase.co:5432) are IPv6 only.');
         console.error('Use the Transaction pooler connection string instead (port 6543).');
+        console.error('(gbrain derives its own direct connection from pooler URLs for DDL; if that host is');
+        console.error('unreachable it falls back to the pooler. GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL overrides the');
+        console.error('derived URL; GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL=1 disables the direct pool entirely.)');
       }
       throw e;
     }

src/core/connection-manager.ts

@@ -167,6 +167,25 @@ export function deriveDirectUrl(url: string): string | null {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Error codes that mean "the direct host is unreachable from this network"
+ * (#1641). The auto-derived db.<ref>.supabase.co host is IPv6-only without
+ * the paid IPv4 add-on, so ENOTFOUND/ECONNREFUSED here is expected on
+ * IPv4-only networks — we fall back to the pooler instead of failing init.
+ */
+const NETWORK_UNREACHABLE_CODES = [
+  'ENOTFOUND', 'ECONNREFUSED', 'ENETUNREACH', 'EHOSTUNREACH',
+  'ETIMEDOUT', 'CONNECT_TIMEOUT',
+];
+
+/** True when err looks like a network-unreachable failure (not auth/SQL). */
+export function isNetworkUnreachableError(err: unknown): boolean {
+  const code = (err as { code?: unknown } | null)?.code;
+  if (typeof code === 'string' && NETWORK_UNREACHABLE_CODES.includes(code)) return true;
+  const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+  return NETWORK_UNREACHABLE_CODES.some(c => msg.includes(c));
+}
+
 /**
  * Read kill-switch state from env. Subordinate to parent manager's state
  * when present (A2 inheritance).
@@ -319,7 +338,30 @@ export class ConnectionManager {
         throw err;
       });
     }
-    const pool = await this._directInit;
+    let pool: Sql | null;
+    try {
+      pool = await this._directInit;
+    } catch (err) {
+      // #1641: the derived direct host (db.<ref>.supabase.co) is IPv6-only
+      // without Supabase's IPv4 add-on. On IPv4-only networks the direct
+      // pool can never connect — permanently fall back to the read pool
+      // (self-activating kill-switch) instead of failing init/migrations.
+      // Non-network errors (auth, SQL) still throw: they mean misconfig,
+      // not unreachability.
+      if (isNetworkUnreachableError(err)) {
+        const alreadyWarned = this._killSwitch;
+        this._killSwitch = true;
+        const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+        if (!alreadyWarned) console.error(
+          `gbrain: direct connection to ${this._directUrl ? this.hostOnly(this._directUrl) : 'unknown host'} unreachable (${msg}); ` +
+          'falling back to the pooler for DDL/bulk (long migrations may hit the pooler statement timeout). ' +
+          'Set GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL to a reachable direct URL (e.g. the Session pooler, port 5432) or enable the Supabase IPv4 add-on; ' +
+          'GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL=1 silences this.',
+        );
+        return this.getReadPool();
+      }
+      throw err;
+    }
     if (!pool) {
       // Defensive — initDirectPool should have thrown.
       throw new Error('connection-manager: direct pool init returned null');
@@ -350,8 +392,9 @@ export class ConnectionManager {
       },
     };
     const t0 = Date.now();
+    let pool: Sql | null = null;
     try {
-      const pool = postgres(this._directUrl, opts);
+      pool = postgres(this._directUrl, opts);
       // Probe to validate connectivity early.
       await pool`SELECT 1`;
       logConnectionEvent({
@@ -362,6 +405,9 @@ export class ConnectionManager {
       });
       return pool;
     } catch (err) {
+      // Don't leak the failed pool's sockets/timers (#1641 fallback keeps
+      // the process running afterward).
+      if (pool) await endPoolBounded(pool);
       logConnectionEvent({
         pool: 'ddl',
         op: 'error',

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/connection-manager.serial.test.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
   isSupabasePoolerUrl,
   deriveDirectUrl,
   readKillSwitchEnv,
+  isNetworkUnreachableError,
   resolveDirectPoolSize,
   ConnectionManager,
   DEFAULT_DIRECT_POOL_SIZE,
@@ -238,3 +239,65 @@ describe('ConnectionManager — parent inheritance (A2)', () => {
     }
   });
 });
+
+describe('isNetworkUnreachableError (#1641)', () => {
+  test('classifies network codes as unreachable', () => {
+    for (const code of ['ENOTFOUND', 'ECONNREFUSED', 'ENETUNREACH', 'EHOSTUNREACH', 'ETIMEDOUT', 'CONNECT_TIMEOUT']) {
+      const err = Object.assign(new Error('connect failed'), { code });
+      expect(isNetworkUnreachableError(err)).toBe(true);
+    }
+  });
+
+  test('classifies by message when code absent', () => {
+    expect(isNetworkUnreachableError(new Error('getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND db.abc.supabase.co'))).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test('auth/SQL errors are NOT unreachable', () => {
+    expect(isNetworkUnreachableError(new Error('password authentication failed for user "postgres"'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isNetworkUnreachableError(new Error('syntax error at or near "SELEC"'))).toBe(false);
+    expect(isNetworkUnreachableError(null)).toBe(false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('ConnectionManager — direct-pool fallback on unreachable host (#1641)', () => {
+  let originalKillSwitch: string | undefined;
+  let originalError: typeof console.error;
+  let errLines: string[];
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    originalKillSwitch = process.env.GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL;
+    delete process.env.GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL;
+    originalError = console.error;
+    errLines = [];
+    console.error = (...args: unknown[]) => { errLines.push(args.join(' ')); };
+  });
+  afterEach(() => {
+    console.error = originalError;
+    if (originalKillSwitch === undefined) delete process.env.GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL;
+    else process.env.GBRAIN_DISABLE_DIRECT_POOL = originalKillSwitch;
+  });
+
+  test('ddl() falls back to the read pool when the direct host is unreachable', async () => {
+    const cm = new ConnectionManager({
+      url: 'postgresql://postgres.abc:p@aws.pooler.supabase.com:6543/db',
+      // 127.0.0.1:9 (discard) → instant ECONNREFUSED, the IPv4-only-network shape.
+      directUrl: 'postgresql://postgres:p@127.0.0.1:9/db',
+    });
+    const fakeReadPool = {} as ReturnType<typeof ConnectionManager.prototype.read>;
+    cm.setReadPool(fakeReadPool);
+    expect(cm.isDualPoolActive()).toBe(true);
+
+    const pool = await cm.ddl(); // without the fix this throws ECONNREFUSED
+    expect(pool).toBe(fakeReadPool);
+    // Self-activating kill-switch: subsequent calls skip the direct pool.
+    expect(cm.isKillSwitchActive()).toBe(true);
+    expect(cm.isDualPoolActive()).toBe(false);
+    expect(cm.describeMode().mode).toBe('single (kill-switch)');
+    // One stderr line mentioning the power-user override.
+    const warning = errLines.filter(l => l.includes('GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL'));
+    expect(warning.length).toBe(1);
+
+    const again = await cm.ddl();
+    expect(again).toBe(fakeReadPool);
+    expect(errLines.filter(l => l.includes('GBRAIN_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL')).length).toBe(1);
+  }, 20000);
+});

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();
     });
   });