fix(remediation): pass LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS to the extraction-lag gate

countExtractionLag omitted versionTs, so its predicate diverged from the
counter it claims to share with doctor's links_extraction_lag check and
the extract --stale walk: pages stamped before an extractor version bump
(links_extracted_at < LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS) lagged for doctor and
extract but never tripped the sync.repo/extract.all gate. Pass the stamp;
pin the version-bump arm with a backdated-page test (fails without it).

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

src/commands/autopilot.ts

@@ -151,100 +151,6 @@ export function shouldSpawnAutopilotWorker(args: string[]): boolean {
   return !args.includes('--no-worker');
 }
 
-/**
- * #1525 — positional subcommand translation.
- *
- * Pre-fix, `gbrain autopilot status` silently fell through to "start daemon"
- * because `runAutopilot()` only branched on flag forms (`--status`, etc.).
- * `status` was treated as a stray positional and ignored.
- *
- * This translator maps known positional subcommands to their flag form so
- * `autopilot status` is equivalent to `autopilot --status`, then rejects
- * any unrecognized positional with a fail-loud error before any side
- * effect (lockfile, daemon spawn, sync dispatch) runs.
- *
- * Scope decisions:
- *   - Known aliases: `status` → `--status`, `install` → `--install`,
- *     `uninstall` → `--uninstall`, `start` → (drop; default daemon launch).
- *   - `stop` is intentionally NOT aliased here. Stopping a running daemon
- *     is a new behavior (read PID from lock, SIGTERM, drain) that deserves
- *     its own design and PR. Users typing `gbrain autopilot stop` today get
- *     the unknown-positional error with the canonical alternatives.
- *   - At most one positional allowed; multiple positionals fail loud.
- */
-// Every flag that consumes the NEXT argv token. Missing one here makes the
-// translator misread the flag's value as a positional subcommand and exit 2
-// (e.g. `--install --target linux-cron`). Keep in sync with parseArg call sites.
-const AUTOPILOT_VALUE_FLAGS = new Set(['--repo', '--interval', '--target']);
-const AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES: Record<string, string | null> = {
-  status: '--status',
-  install: '--install',
-  uninstall: '--uninstall',
-  start: null, // drop the positional; default behavior is daemon launch
-};
-
-export type PositionalTranslation =
-  | { ok: true; args: string[] }
-  | {
-      ok: false;
-      reason: 'unknown_subcommand' | 'multiple_subcommands';
-      message: string;
-    };
-
-export function translatePositionalSubcommands(args: string[]): PositionalTranslation {
-  const out: string[] = [];
-  let positionalSeen = false;
-  let i = 0;
-  while (i < args.length) {
-    const a = args[i];
-    if (AUTOPILOT_VALUE_FLAGS.has(a)) {
-      // Pass through the flag and its value untouched. If the value is
-      // missing at end-of-argv, fall through so the existing parseArg
-      // path can report the broken usage.
-      out.push(a);
-      if (i + 1 < args.length) {
-        out.push(args[i + 1]);
-        i += 2;
-      } else {
-        i += 1;
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (a.startsWith('-')) {
-      out.push(a);
-      i += 1;
-      continue;
-    }
-    // Positional subcommand.
-    if (positionalSeen) {
-      const known = Object.keys(AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES).join(', ');
-      return {
-        ok: false,
-        reason: 'multiple_subcommands',
-        message: `Multiple subcommands given. Use only one of: ${known}.`,
-      };
-    }
-    positionalSeen = true;
-    if (a in AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES) {
-      const alias = AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES[a];
-      if (alias) out.push(alias);
-      i += 1;
-      continue;
-    }
-    const known = Object.keys(AUTOPILOT_POSITIONAL_ALIASES).join(', ');
-    return {
-      ok: false,
-      reason: 'unknown_subcommand',
-      message:
-        `Unknown subcommand: \`${a}\`.\n` +
-        `Allowed subcommands: ${known}.\n` +
-        `Or use the flag form: --status, --install, --uninstall.\n` +
-        `Run \`gbrain autopilot --help\` for full usage.`,
-    };
-  }
-  return { ok: true, args: out };
-}
-
 export function isPidAlive(pid: number): boolean {
   if (!Number.isFinite(pid) || pid <= 0) return false;
   try {
@@ -457,11 +363,6 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
       '       gbrain autopilot --install [--repo <path>]\n' +
       '       gbrain autopilot --uninstall\n' +
       '       gbrain autopilot --status [--json]\n\n' +
-      'Subcommand aliases:\n' +
-      '       gbrain autopilot status     → --status\n' +
-      '       gbrain autopilot install    → --install\n' +
-      '       gbrain autopilot uninstall  → --uninstall\n' +
-      '       gbrain autopilot start      → (default daemon launch)\n\n' +
       'Self-maintaining brain daemon. Runs the full maintenance cycle\n' +
       '(lint + backlinks + sync + extract + embed + orphans) on an interval.\n\n' +
       'For a one-shot cron-triggered cycle, see `gbrain dream`.',
@@ -469,16 +370,6 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
     return;
   }
 
-  // #1525: translate positional subcommands to their flag form BEFORE any
-  // side effect (lockfile, daemon spawn, sync dispatch). Unknown positionals
-  // fail loud here rather than silently starting the daemon.
-  const translated = translatePositionalSubcommands(args);
-  if (!translated.ok) {
-    console.error(translated.message);
-    process.exit(2);
-  }
-  args = translated.args;
-
   if (args.includes('--install')) {
     await installDaemon(engine, args);
     return;
@@ -795,6 +686,7 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
       try {
         const { MinionQueue } = await import('../core/minions/queue.ts');
         const { computeRecommendations, embeddingProviderConfigured, HOSTED_EMBED_KEY_CONFIG } = await import('../core/brain-score-recommendations.ts');
+        const { countExtractionLag } = await import('../core/remediation/context.ts');
         const queue = new MinionQueue(engine);
         const slotMs = Math.floor(Date.now() / (baseInterval * 1000)) * baseInterval * 1000;
         const slot = new Date(slotMs).toISOString();
@@ -986,6 +878,9 @@ export async function runAutopilot(engine: BrainEngine, args: string[]) {
             return !!(process.env[envVar] || (cfgField ? embedKeyCfg[cfgField] : undefined));
           }),
           hasChatApiKey: !!(process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY || await engine.getConfig('anthropic_api_key')),
+          // Real extraction-lag gate for sync.repo/extract.all — same counter
+          // loadRecommendationContext uses (replaces the health.stale_pages proxy).
+          extractionLagPages: await countExtractionLag(engine),
         };
         // v0.41.18.0 (A5 + A19 + A22, T15): consult onboard recommendations
         // ALONGSIDE doctor's brain-score recommendations. Onboard's 4 new

src/core/brain-score-recommendations.ts

@@ -146,6 +146,16 @@ export interface RecommendationContext {
   chatModel?: string;
   /** Whether the chat provider has a usable API key. */
   hasChatApiKey?: boolean;
+  /**
+   * Count of pages needing link/timeline extraction — the SAME staleness the
+   * `gbrain extract --stale` walk and doctor's `links_extraction_lag` check use
+   * (`engine.countStalePagesForExtraction`). Gates the sync→extract pipeline
+   * (sync.repo / extract.all). Replaces the old `health.stale_pages` gate, which
+   * counted "pages whose updated_at predates their newest timeline entry" — a
+   * proxy that broke when the updated_at-on-timeline-insert trigger was dropped
+   * (migration v10) and never reflected real extraction work.
+   */
+  extractionLagPages?: number;
 }
 
 /** Triage result for one check. */
@@ -192,20 +202,28 @@ export function computeRecommendations(
   const source = ctx.sourceId ?? 'default';
 
   // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-  // sync.repo — fires when sync hasn't run recently OR pages are stale
+  // sync.repo + extract.all — the materialization pipeline, gated on the REAL
+  // extraction lag (pages whose link/timeline edges are stale), NOT on the
+  // legacy `health.stale_pages` proxy. `extractionLagPages` comes from the same
+  // counter the `extract --stale` walk + doctor's `links_extraction_lag` use, so
+  // the recommendation can only fire when running extract will actually reduce
+  // it (and clear the rec). See RecommendationContext.extractionLagPages.
+  // sync.repo is the prerequisite: re-sync so pages are current before extract
+  // materializes their edges.
   // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-  if (ctx.repoPath && health.stale_pages > 0) {
+  const extractionLag = ctx.extractionLagPages ?? 0;
+  if (ctx.repoPath && extractionLag > 0) {
     const params = { repoPath: ctx.repoPath, sourceId: ctx.sourceId, noEmbed: true };
     out.push({
       id: 'sync.repo',
       job: 'sync',
       params,
       idempotency_key: idemKey(source, 'sync', params),
-      severity: health.stale_pages > 50 ? 'high' : 'medium',
-      est_seconds: Math.min(600, 30 + health.stale_pages * 0.5),
+      severity: extractionLag > 50 ? 'high' : 'medium',
+      est_seconds: Math.min(600, 30 + extractionLag * 0.5),
       est_usd_cost: 0,  // sync is fs+DB only
       depends_on: [],
-      rationale: `${health.stale_pages} stale page${health.stale_pages === 1 ? '' : 's'} on disk`,
+      rationale: `Sync before extracting ${extractionLag} page${extractionLag === 1 ? '' : 's'} with stale link/timeline edges`,
       status: 'remediable',
     });
   }
@@ -237,7 +255,7 @@ export function computeRecommendations(
       est_seconds: Math.min(3600, 5 + health.missing_embeddings * 0.05),
       est_usd_cost,
       // sync should run first so embed sees fresh pages.
-      depends_on: ctx.repoPath && health.stale_pages > 0 ? ['sync.repo'] : [],
+      depends_on: ctx.repoPath && extractionLag > 0 ? ['sync.repo'] : [],
       rationale: `${health.missing_embeddings} chunk${health.missing_embeddings === 1 ? '' : 's'} invisible to vector search`,
       status: 'remediable',
     });
@@ -267,7 +285,7 @@ export function computeRecommendations(
   // Triggered when sync.repo fires (because sync was set to noEmbed:true,
   // and noExtract:true after T5 lands → extract job is the materializer).
   // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-  if (ctx.repoPath && health.stale_pages > 0) {
+  if (ctx.repoPath && extractionLag > 0) {
     const params = { mode: 'all', dir: ctx.repoPath };
     out.push({
       id: 'extract.all',
@@ -278,7 +296,7 @@ export function computeRecommendations(
       est_seconds: Math.min(600, 30 + health.page_count * 0.01),
       est_usd_cost: 0,
       depends_on: ['sync.repo'],
-      rationale: 'Materialize link + timeline edges from fresh pages',
+      rationale: `Materialize link + timeline edges for ${extractionLag} page${extractionLag === 1 ? '' : 's'} with stale extraction`,
       status: 'remediable',
     });
   }

src/core/remediation/context.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 import type { BrainEngine } from '../engine.ts';
 import type { RecommendationContext } from '../brain-score-recommendations.ts';
+import { LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS } from '../link-extraction.ts';
 
 // Re-export so consumers can `import { RecommendationContext } from '../remediation'`
 // — the canonical RecommendationContext type still lives in
@@ -68,5 +69,29 @@ export async function loadRecommendationContext(
     embeddingDimensions,
     embeddingProviderConfigured: embeddingConfigured,
     hasChatApiKey: !!(process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY || fileCfg?.anthropic_api_key),
+    extractionLagPages: await countExtractionLag(engine),
   };
 }
+
+/**
+ * Real extraction-lag count — the SAME staleness `gbrain extract --stale`
+ * processes (engine.countStalePagesForExtraction with
+ * versionTs=LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS, matching doctor's links_extraction_lag
+ * check — without versionTs, pages stamped before an extractor version bump
+ * would lag for doctor/extract but never trip this gate). Drives the
+ * sync→extract recommendation pipeline; replaces the legacy
+ * `health.stale_pages` proxy that no longer reflected real extraction work
+ * after the v10 trigger drop.
+ *
+ * Shared by loadRecommendationContext AND the D7 per-step recheck in
+ * runRemediation — the recheck MUST refresh this gate alongside getHealth,
+ * or a completed extract step keeps re-firing off the frozen initial count.
+ */
+export async function countExtractionLag(engine: BrainEngine): Promise<number> {
+  try {
+    return await engine.countStalePagesForExtraction({ versionTs: LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS });
+  } catch {
+    /* counter unavailable (very old brain / mid-migration) — treat as 0 */
+    return 0;
+  }
+}

src/core/remediation/run.ts

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import {
   computeRecommendations,
 } from '../brain-score-recommendations.ts';
 import type { RemediationStep } from '../remediation-step.ts';
-import { loadRecommendationContext } from './context.ts';
+import { countExtractionLag, loadRecommendationContext } from './context.ts';
 import { computeRemediationPlan } from './plan.ts';
 import type {
   RemediationHooks,
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export async function runRemediation(
     clearRemediationCheckpoint,
   } = await import('../remediation-checkpoint.ts');
 
-  const ctx = await loadRecommendationContext(engine);
+  let ctx = await loadRecommendationContext(engine);
 
   // Pre-flight ceiling check via the shared plan computation.
   const initialPlan = await computeRemediationPlan(engine, { targetScore });
@@ -305,6 +305,11 @@ export async function runRemediation(
       // steps with bumped retry suffix (D1).
       if (recs.length === 0 || stepCount >= maxJobs) break;
       const freshHealth = await engine.getHealth();
+      // Refresh the extraction-lag gate alongside health: ctx was loaded once
+      // before the loop, and a completed sync/extract step is exactly what
+      // drives the count down. Reusing the frozen initial count would re-fire
+      // sync.repo/extract.all every recheck until maxJobs.
+      ctx = { ...ctx, extractionLagPages: await countExtractionLag(engine) };
       recs = computeRecommendations(freshHealth, ctx).filter((r) => r.status === 'remediable');
     }
   };

src/core/types.ts

@@ -1423,6 +1423,15 @@ export interface BrainStats {
 export interface BrainHealth {
   page_count: number;
   embed_coverage: number;
+  /**
+   * LEGACY proxy: count of pages whose `updated_at` predates their newest
+   * timeline entry. This bumped meaningfully only while a trigger updated
+   * `pages.updated_at` on timeline insert; that trigger was dropped in
+   * migration v10, so the metric no longer reflects real "needs work" state.
+   * NO LONGER gates remediations — the sync→extract pipeline now gates on
+   * `RecommendationContext.extractionLagPages` (the real extraction-lag from
+   * `countStalePagesForExtraction`). Retained for the CLI health line + back-compat.
+   */
   stale_pages: number;
   /**
    * Islanded pages — zero inbound AND zero outbound links. A hub page

test/autopilot-positional-subcommands.test.ts

@@ -1,197 +0,0 @@
-/**
- * Tests for translatePositionalSubcommands() — the v0.41.x #1525 fix that
- * prevents `gbrain autopilot status` from silently starting the daemon.
- *
- * IRON RULE regression guard: the exact ticket repro (`gbrain autopilot
- * status`) MUST translate to `--status`, not fall through to the default
- * daemon launch. Verified by the "ticket-exact repro" case below.
- */
-
-import { describe, test, expect } from 'bun:test';
-import { translatePositionalSubcommands } from '../src/commands/autopilot.ts';
-
-describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — known aliases', () => {
-  test('IRON RULE — `autopilot status` translates to `--status` (ticket #1525 repro)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status']);
-  });
-
-  test('`install` translates to `--install`', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['install']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install']);
-  });
-
-  test('`uninstall` translates to `--uninstall`', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['uninstall']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--uninstall']);
-  });
-
-  test('`start` drops the positional (default daemon launch)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual([]);
-  });
-
-  test('`start --json` drops only the positional, keeps the flag', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start', '--json']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--json']);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — flag/positional interleaving', () => {
-  test('`status --json` preserves the trailing flag', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', '--json']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status', '--json']);
-  });
-
-  test('`--json status` preserves the leading flag', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--json', 'status']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--json', '--status']);
-  });
-
-  test('`--repo /foo status` does not mis-classify the path as positional', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo', '/foo', 'status']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo', '/foo', '--status']);
-  });
-
-  test('`--interval 300 install` does not mis-classify the number as positional', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--interval', '300', 'install']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--interval', '300', '--install']);
-  });
-
-  test('`--install --target linux-cron` does not mis-classify the target as positional', () => {
-    // --target is installDaemon's value flag; its value must never be read
-    // as a positional subcommand (regression guard for the review fix).
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--install', '--target', 'linux-cron']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install', '--target', 'linux-cron']);
-  });
-
-  test('`install --target macos` keeps the alias translation and the target value', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['install', '--target', 'macos']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--install', '--target', 'macos']);
-  });
-
-  test('value-flag at end of argv with missing value passes through (so parseArg can report it)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo']);
-  });
-
-  test('value-flag whose value looks like an alias is NOT translated', () => {
-    // `--repo status` means "use repo path 'status'", not "show status".
-    // Translator must not destructure the value of --repo.
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--repo', 'status']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--repo', 'status']);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — pass-through cases', () => {
-  test('empty args returns empty args', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands([]);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual([]);
-  });
-
-  test('flag-only invocation passes through unchanged', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['--status', '--json']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['--status', '--json']);
-  });
-
-  test('short flag `-h` passes through unchanged', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['-h']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(['-h']);
-  });
-
-  test('all known bare flags pass through unchanged', () => {
-    const flags = ['--help', '--install', '--uninstall', '--status', '--json', '--inline', '--no-worker'];
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(flags);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(true);
-    if (r.ok) expect(r.args).toEqual(flags);
-  });
-});
-
-describe('translatePositionalSubcommands — rejection of unknown positionals', () => {
-  test('unknown positional `foo` fails with reason=unknown_subcommand + structured message', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['foo']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `foo`');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('status');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('install');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('uninstall');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('--help');
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('unknown positional `stop` fails with reason=unknown_subcommand (NOT silently aliased)', () => {
-    // Stop is mentioned in the ticket but deliberately NOT aliased in this
-    // PR — stopping a running daemon is a new behavior, not just an alias.
-    // Until that feature lands separately, `stop` must fail loud rather
-    // than starting the daemon (the bug we're fixing).
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['stop']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `stop`');
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('unknown positional `status-detail` (close-but-not-matching) fails', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status-detail']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('Unknown subcommand: `status-detail`');
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('multiple positionals fail with reason=multiple_subcommands (`start install`)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['start', 'install']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('Multiple subcommands');
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('multiple positionals fail even when both are known aliases (`status install`)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', 'install']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('Multiple subcommands');
-    }
-  });
-
-  test('known-then-unknown rejects with multiple_subcommands (first-positional-wins)', () => {
-    // First positional is known, second is not. Rejection comes from the
-    // multiple-positional rule, which fires before the unknown check; the
-    // intent is "only one subcommand allowed."
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['status', 'garbage']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) expect(r.reason).toBe('multiple_subcommands');
-  });
-
-  test('unknown-then-known rejects on the unknown (unknown fires before second-positional check)', () => {
-    const r = translatePositionalSubcommands(['garbage', 'status']);
-    expect(r.ok).toBe(false);
-    if (!r.ok) {
-      expect(r.reason).toBe('unknown_subcommand');
-      expect(r.message).toContain('garbage');
-    }
-  });
-});

test/brain-score-recommendations.test.ts

@@ -119,13 +119,12 @@ describe('computeRecommendations', () => {
     expect(recs.find((r) => r.id === 'embed.stale')).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
-  test('stale pages + dead links produce sync + backlinks + extract', () => {
+  test('extraction lag + dead links produce sync + backlinks + extract', () => {
     const health = makeHealth({
-      stale_pages: 25,
       dead_links: 8,
       brain_score: 70,
     });
-    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true });
+    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, extractionLagPages: 25 });
     const ids = recs.map((r) => r.id);
     expect(ids).toContain('sync.repo');
     expect(ids).toContain('backlinks.fix');
@@ -133,18 +132,17 @@ describe('computeRecommendations', () => {
   });
 
   test('extract.all depends on sync.repo (D14: stable ids)', () => {
-    const health = makeHealth({ stale_pages: 10 });
-    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true });
+    const health = makeHealth();
+    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, extractionLagPages: 10 });
     const extract = recs.find((r) => r.id === 'extract.all');
     expect(extract?.depends_on).toContain('sync.repo');
   });
 
-  test('embed.stale depends on sync.repo when sync also needed', () => {
+  test('embed.stale depends on sync.repo when extraction also needed', () => {
     const health = makeHealth({
-      stale_pages: 10,
       missing_embeddings: 100,
     });
-    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true });
+    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, extractionLagPages: 10 });
     const embed = recs.find((r) => r.id === 'embed.stale');
     expect(embed?.depends_on).toContain('sync.repo');
   });
@@ -159,9 +157,9 @@ describe('computeRecommendations', () => {
   test('severity ordering: critical before high before medium', () => {
     const health = makeHealth({
       missing_embeddings: 100,  // critical
-      stale_pages: 80,          // high
     });
-    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true });
+    // extractionLagPages > 50 → sync.repo fires at 'high' severity.
+    const recs = computeRecommendations(health, { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, extractionLagPages: 80 });
     const critIdx = recs.findIndex((r) => r.severity === 'critical');
     const highIdx = recs.findIndex((r) => r.severity === 'high');
     expect(critIdx).toBeLessThan(highIdx);
@@ -170,11 +168,10 @@ describe('computeRecommendations', () => {
   // D6 #5 — THE critical regression test for the agent contract.
   test('D6 #5: determinism — same input twice produces identical output', () => {
     const health = makeHealth({
-      stale_pages: 10,
       missing_embeddings: 50,
       dead_links: 3,
     });
-    const ctx = { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, sourceId: 'default' };
+    const ctx = { repoPath: '/brain', embeddingProviderConfigured: true, sourceId: 'default', extractionLagPages: 10 };
     const run1 = computeRecommendations(health, ctx);
     const run2 = computeRecommendations(health, ctx);
     expect(JSON.stringify(run1)).toBe(JSON.stringify(run2));

test/remediation-context-extraction-lag.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+// test/remediation-context-extraction-lag.test.ts
+//
+// Pins the v-next fix: the sync→extract remediation pipeline gates on REAL
+// extraction lag, not the legacy `health.stale_pages` proxy (which counted
+// "updated_at predates newest timeline entry" — meaningless after the v10
+// trigger drop). loadRecommendationContext now populates `extractionLagPages`
+// from `engine.countStalePagesForExtraction` — the SAME counter the
+// `gbrain extract --stale` walk and doctor's `links_extraction_lag` use — so a
+// recommendation can only fire when running extract will actually reduce it.
+
+import { afterAll, beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test';
+import { PGLiteEngine } from '../src/core/pglite-engine.ts';
+import { loadRecommendationContext } from '../src/core/remediation/context.ts';
+
+let engine: PGLiteEngine;
+
+beforeAll(async () => {
+  engine = new PGLiteEngine();
+  await engine.connect({});
+  await engine.initSchema();
+});
+
+afterAll(async () => {
+  await engine.disconnect();
+});
+
+describe('loadRecommendationContext — extractionLagPages wiring', () => {
+  it('is 0 on an empty brain (nothing to extract)', async () => {
+    const ctx = await loadRecommendationContext(engine);
+    expect(ctx.extractionLagPages).toBe(0);
+  });
+
+  it('reflects the real extraction-lag count once a page needs extraction', async () => {
+    // A freshly-imported page has links_extracted_at = NULL, which the canonical
+    // countStalePagesForExtraction predicate counts as stale-for-extraction.
+    await engine.putPage('p0', {
+      title: 'p0',
+      type: 'note' as never,
+      compiled_truth: 'body that is long enough to pass any minimum-length guards in the codebase',
+      timeline: '',
+      frontmatter: {},
+      source_path: 'p0.md',
+    });
+    const ctx = await loadRecommendationContext(engine);
+    expect(ctx.extractionLagPages).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it('counts pages stamped before LINK_EXTRACTOR_VERSION_TS (version-bump arm)', async () => {
+    // Backdate p0 so BOTH the NULL arm and the updated_at arm are quiet:
+    // updated_at < links_extracted_at, but links_extracted_at predates the
+    // extractor version stamp. doctor's links_extraction_lag and
+    // `extract --stale` both count this page; the remediation gate must too.
+    await engine.executeRaw(
+      `UPDATE pages SET updated_at = '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z'::timestamptz,
+                        links_extracted_at = '2020-01-02T00:00:00Z'::timestamptz
+        WHERE slug = 'p0'`,
+      [],
+    );
+    const ctx = await loadRecommendationContext(engine);
+    expect(ctx.extractionLagPages).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+  });
+});

test/remediation-run-d7-refresh.serial.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+// test/remediation-run-d7-refresh.serial.test.ts
+//
+// Pins the D7-recheck half of the extraction-lag gate fix: runRemediation
+// loads RecommendationContext ONCE before the step loop, and the per-step
+// recheck (D7) must REFRESH ctx.extractionLagPages alongside getHealth.
+// Without the refresh, a completed sync/extract step keeps re-firing off
+// the frozen initial count — the plan never converges and the loop burns
+// steps until maxJobs.
+//
+// SERIAL (R2): uses top-level mock.module for the minion queue +
+// wait-for-completion so no real worker is needed — mocks leak across
+// files in a shard process, so this file must run in its own process.
+
+import { describe, expect, mock, test } from 'bun:test';
+
+// The fake brain: sync.repo clears the extraction lag when it "runs"
+// (today's sync materializes link/timeline edges; extract.all is the
+// explicit re-materializer). The frozen-ctx bug makes runRemediation
+// ignore that and resubmit sync.repo on every D7 recheck.
+let extractionLag = 25;
+const submittedJobs: string[] = [];
+
+mock.module('../src/core/minions/queue.ts', () => ({
+  MinionQueue: class {
+    constructor(_engine: unknown) {}
+    async add(job: string): Promise<{ id: number }> {
+      submittedJobs.push(job);
+      if (job === 'sync' || job === 'extract') extractionLag = 0;
+      return { id: submittedJobs.length };
+    }
+  },
+}));
+
+mock.module('../src/core/minions/wait-for-completion.ts', () => ({
+  waitForCompletion: async () => ({ status: 'completed' }),
+}));
+
+const health = () => ({
+  page_count: 100,
+  embed_coverage: 1.0,
+  stale_pages: 0, // legacy proxy stays 0 — the real counter drives the gate
+  orphan_pages: 0,
+  missing_embeddings: 0,
+  brain_score: 70,
+  dead_links: 0,
+  link_coverage: 1.0,
+  timeline_coverage: 1.0,
+  most_connected: [],
+  embed_coverage_score: 35,
+  link_density_score: 25,
+  timeline_coverage_score: 15,
+  no_orphans_score: 15,
+  no_dead_links_score: 10,
+});
+
+const fakeEngine = {
+  kind: 'pglite' as const,
+  getHealth: async () => health(),
+  getConfig: async (key: string) =>
+    key === 'sync.repo_path' ? '/tmp/brain-example' : null,
+  countStalePagesForExtraction: async () => extractionLag,
+};
+
+describe('runRemediation D7 recheck — extraction-lag gate refresh', () => {
+  test('a completed materializer step clears the gate; the pipeline is not resubmitted', async () => {
+    const { runRemediation } = await import('../src/core/remediation/run.ts');
+    const result = await runRemediation(
+      // Only the methods the orchestrator touches are needed.
+      fakeEngine as never,
+      { targetScore: 0, maxJobs: 6 },
+    );
+    // Frozen-ctx bug: extractionLagPages stays 25 forever, so every D7
+    // recheck re-introduces the sync/extract pipeline and the loop burns
+    // all 6 maxJobs. With the refresh, the plan converges after the first
+    // completed step: no step id is ever submitted twice.
+    const ids = result.submitted.map((s) => s.id);
+    expect(new Set(ids).size).toBe(ids.length);
+    expect(submittedJobs.length).toBeLessThan(3);
+    expect(extractionLag).toBe(0);
+  });
+});