From 13e8f54d605a58918c175e1891915df748680ec2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cndgrr <59120057+cndgrr@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 18:01:58 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 1/5] fix(issueflow): a failed read never reaches a decision
 function
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`gh api` prints a 5xx response body to stdout AND exits non-zero, and
GitHub's 5xx body is a JSON object. Inside the per-issue subshell that
payload passed `has("pull_request") | not`, emptied `.labels[]`, and
`queue_decision` — correct on the input it was handed — wrote
`needs-triage` onto a healthy epic. The run then logged `reconciled.`
and exited 0 (crew#329, #247).

errexit could not have caught it: a command whose status is tested by
`||` runs with errexit suppressed, and the suppression extends through
the whole subshell body, so the `|| log` handler is what disables the
errexit that would have aborted at the failed read. Removing the handler
revives errexit and loses #91's resilience, and an inline `set -e` does
not re-arm it. Explicit per-read checks are the mechanism.

Every read inside that subshell is now checked — the issue read on its
status AND on its payload shape (an HTTP 200 whose body is `null` exits
0 and empties the label set just the same), both reads in
`last_issue_activity`, and the comments read in
`issue_comment_has_marker`. On failure the issue is left exactly as it
is, the reason rides its own `#$n:` line, and the subshell exits with a
distinguished status the sweep counts, so a deliberate skip is not
reported as a crash and a genuine crash is still named byte-identically.

`read_failure_reason` moves to lib/read.sh beside a new `guarded_read`,
sourced by both reconcilers: labels-reconcile's copy was the only one,
and the issue surface needs the identical rule.

Refs #247
---
 .../issueflow-reconcile.sh                    | 146 +++++++++++++++---
 actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh  |  25 +--
 changelog.d/247.md                            |  16 ++
 lib/read.sh                                   |  55 +++++++
 test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh              |  18 ++-
 5 files changed, 215 insertions(+), 45 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 changelog.d/247.md
 create mode 100644 lib/read.sh

diff --git a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
index a77df04..209ee3f 100644
--- a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
+++ b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
@@ -27,10 +27,33 @@ TRIAGE_ACTORS=()
 # The needs-ruling invariants (#52) — one implementation for both surfaces.
 # shellcheck source=lib/ruling.sh
 . "$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)/../../lib/ruling.sh"
+# The guarded read and its reason line (#101, #247) — one implementation for
+# both surfaces.
+# shellcheck source=lib/read.sh
+. "$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)/../../lib/read.sh"
+
+# The status a per-issue subshell exits with when it walked away from an
+# unreadable fact (#247 D4). Distinguished from every other non-zero status so
+# a deliberate skip is counted rather than reported as a crash — and so the
+# existing crash handler still names a genuine one.
+ISSUEFLOW_SKIP=3
+# Set by reconcile_issue_pass, read once by main for the D6 tail.
+SKIPPED_COUNT=0
+SKIPPED_ISSUES=""
 
 log() { printf 'issueflow: %s\n' "$*"; }
 run() { if [ -n "${DRY_RUN:-}" ]; then log "DRY_RUN: $*"; else "$@"; fi; }
 
+skip_issue() { # $1 = issue, $2 = the whole reason clause — ends this issue's pass
+  # Leaves the issue exactly as it is: nothing is derived from a read that
+  # did not answer. Called from wherever the read lives, so no call site can
+  # forget to check — which is why it exits rather than returns. Every caller
+  # runs inside the per-issue subshell, so the exit ends that issue's pass and
+  # nothing else. The reason rides its own `#$n:`-prefixed line (#247 D5).
+  log "#$1: skipped this pass — $2"
+  exit "$ISSUEFLOW_SKIP"
+}
+
 load_issueflow_config() { # $1 = labels.conf
   local conf="$1" line seen=false
   [ -f "$conf" ] || { echo "issueflow: missing config: $conf" >&2; return 1; }
@@ -287,6 +310,31 @@ offsite_resolved_decision() { # PR states on stdin -> NUDGE | QUIET
   fi
 }
 
+issue_payload_valid() { # $1 = the requested issue; payload on stdin
+  # The second of D3's two required guards, and neither subsumes the other.
+  # The status check catches the 504 whose body is GitHub's JSON error object
+  # — valid JSON that passes every jq guard and empties the label set. THIS
+  # one catches an HTTP 200 whose body is `null`, which exits 0 and empties it
+  # just the same. `.number` is checked against the issue asked for, so a
+  # payload about some other issue can never be reconciled as this one.
+  jq -e --arg n "$1" '
+    type == "object" and (.number | tostring) == $n and (.labels | type) == "array"
+  ' >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+skipped_tail() { # $1 = skip count, $2 = the issue numbers → the D6 line, or nothing
+  # `reconciled.` stays byte-identical when the pass was whole — tests pin that
+  # exact string, and #101 D1 is the precedent for not folding new text into a
+  # matched line. A partial pass says so on a line of its own, after it, so a
+  # consumer reading only the tail of a job log can see it.
+  [ "$1" -gt 0 ] || return 0
+  if [ "$1" -eq 1 ]; then
+    printf '%s issue skipped this pass on an unreadable fact: %s\n' "$1" "$2"
+  else
+    printf '%s issues skipped this pass on unreadable facts: %s\n' "$1" "$2"
+  fi
+}
+
 # API edge. Marker comments make warnings and nudges idempotent across sweeps.
 ensure_comment() { # $1 issue, $2 marker, $3 message
   local n="$1" marker="$2" message="$3"
@@ -295,9 +343,15 @@ ensure_comment() { # $1 issue, $2 marker, $3 message
 $message" >/dev/null
 }
 
-issue_comment_has_marker() { # $1 issue, $2 marker
-  gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$1/comments" --jq '.[].body' \
-    | grep -qF "<!-- issueflow:$2 -->"
+issue_comment_has_marker() { # $1 issue, $2 marker → 0 found, 1 genuinely absent
+  # A failed read used to answer "no marker", which re-posts the comment the
+  # marker exists to suppress — absence of evidence read as evidence of
+  # absence (#247 D1). It cannot be a return value: every caller treats
+  # non-zero as "absent", so the skip is taken here, at the read.
+  local bodies
+  guarded_read bodies gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$1/comments" --jq '.[].body' \
+    || skip_issue "$1" "could not read its comments: $(read_failure_reason "$READ_FAILURE_STDERR")"
+  grep -qF "<!-- issueflow:$2 -->" <<<"$bodies"
 }
 
 reference_states() {
@@ -324,22 +378,27 @@ offsite_timeline() { # unreadable timelines are deliberately silent
   gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$1/timeline" 2>/dev/null || return 1
 }
 
-last_issue_activity() {
-  local n="$1" created="$2" latest
-  latest="$({
-      printf '%s\n' "$created"
-      gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$n/comments" --jq '.[].created_at'
-      # Assignment is the claim itself. Ignoring it would let an old issue be
-      # reclaimed in the seconds between assignment and its required draft PR.
-      gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$n/timeline" \
-        --jq '.[] | select(.event == "assigned") | .created_at'
-    } \
-    | sort | tail -n1)"
+last_issue_activity() { # $1 issue, $2 created_at → epoch; non-zero if a read failed
+  # Both reads are checked, and a failure reports rather than answering an age
+  # (#247 D1). Swallowed, the comments read falls back to `created_at`, and a
+  # `claimed` issue created months ago but commented on seconds earlier is
+  # reclaimed — the live builder unassigned, under a comment asserting 48
+  # hours of silence. `needs-triage` is cheap to remove; that is not.
+  # gh's stderr is left to flow to this function's own, where the caller's
+  # guarded_read captures it for the reason line.
+  local n="$1" created="$2" comments timeline latest
+  comments="$(gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$n/comments" --jq '.[].created_at')" \
+    || return 1
+  # Assignment is the claim itself. Ignoring it would let an old issue be
+  # reclaimed in the seconds between assignment and its required draft PR.
+  timeline="$(gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues/$n/timeline" \
+    --jq '.[] | select(.event == "assigned") | .created_at')" || return 1
+  latest="$(printf '%s\n%s\n%s\n' "$created" "$comments" "$timeline" | sort | tail -n1)"
   date -d "$latest" +%s
 }
 
 reconcile_issue() {
-  local n="$1" decision refs cross_refs states age assignees open_pr=false label owners
+  local n="$1" decision refs cross_refs states age created assignees open_pr=false label owners
   local merged_ref_pr="" transition_marker="" transition_handled=false
   local unchecked="" remove_claimed=claimed
   decision="$(queue_decision <<<"$ISSUE_LABELS")"
@@ -386,7 +445,9 @@ The merge releases the claim; no builder owes a draft. Triage owes completion in
       fi
       log "#$n: merged Refs PR -> post-merge; claim released"
     else
-      age="$(last_issue_activity "$n" "$(jq -r '.created_at' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")")"
+      created="$(jq -r '.created_at' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
+      guarded_read age last_issue_activity "$n" "$created" \
+        || skip_issue "$n" "could not read its activity history: $(read_failure_reason "$READ_FAILURE_STDERR")"
       if [ "$(claim_clock_exempt <<<"$ISSUE_LABELS")" = EXEMPT ]; then
         # Legitimately quiet work does not run the reclaim clock. Only the
         # clock stops: an unassigned claim is still a repair the decision must
@@ -474,8 +535,11 @@ The merge releases the claim; no builder owes a draft. Triage owes completion in
       run gh issue edit "$n" -R "$REPO" --remove-label stale >/dev/null
       log "#$n: unstale (a ruling is pending)"
     fi
-    [ -n "${age:-}" ] \
-      || age="$(last_issue_activity "$n" "$(jq -r '.created_at' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")")"
+    if [ -z "${age:-}" ]; then
+      created="$(jq -r '.created_at' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
+      guarded_read age last_issue_activity "$n" "$created" \
+        || skip_issue "$n" "could not read its activity history: $(read_failure_reason "$READ_FAILURE_STDERR")"
+    fi
     reconcile_ruling "$n" "$age" "$NOW"
   fi
 }
@@ -503,6 +567,34 @@ reconcile_opened_issue() {
   log "#$n: needs-triage (opened by $author)"
 }
 
+reconcile_issue_pass() { # $1 = issue — one issue's whole pass, in its own subshell
+  # The subshell is #91's resilience: one unreadable or broken issue must not
+  # take the sweep down. What it is NOT is an errexit boundary — a command
+  # whose status is tested by `||` runs with errexit suppressed, and the
+  # suppression extends through the whole subshell body, so the handler below
+  # is what disables the errexit that would have caught a failed read (#247
+  # D2). Removing it would revive errexit and lose #91. Explicit per-read
+  # checks are the mechanism instead, and each one exits with ISSUEFLOW_SKIP.
+  local n="$1" status=0
+  (
+    guarded_read ISSUE_JSON gh api "repos/$REPO/issues/$n" \
+      || skip_issue "$n" "could not read the issue: $(read_failure_reason "$READ_FAILURE_STDERR")"
+    issue_payload_valid "$n" <<<"$ISSUE_JSON" \
+      || skip_issue "$n" "the issue read answered a payload that is not issue #$n carrying a label array"
+    jq -e 'has("pull_request") | not' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON" >/dev/null || exit 0
+    ISSUE_LABELS="$(jq -r '.labels[].name' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
+    reconcile_issue "$n"
+  ) || status=$?
+  if [ "$status" -eq "$ISSUEFLOW_SKIP" ]; then
+    SKIPPED_COUNT=$((SKIPPED_COUNT + 1))
+    SKIPPED_ISSUES="${SKIPPED_ISSUES:+$SKIPPED_ISSUES }#$n"
+  elif [ "$status" -ne 0 ]; then
+    # Byte-identical, and still owed: a skip is deliberate, a crash is not,
+    # and folding the two together would hide one behind the other (D4).
+    log "#$n: reconcile failed — continuing with the remaining issues"
+  fi
+}
+
 main() {
   local owner name
   REPO="${REPO:?set REPO to owner/name}"
@@ -554,17 +646,21 @@ main() {
         done < <(refs_references <<<"$body")
       done)"
 
-  local n
+  local n tail_line
+  SKIPPED_COUNT=0
+  SKIPPED_ISSUES=""
   for n in $(gh api --paginate "repos/$REPO/issues?state=open&per_page=100" \
       --jq '.[] | select(has("pull_request") | not) | .number'); do
-    (
-      ISSUE_JSON="$(gh api "repos/$REPO/issues/$n")"
-      jq -e 'has("pull_request") | not' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON" >/dev/null || exit 0
-      ISSUE_LABELS="$(jq -r '.labels[].name' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
-      reconcile_issue "$n"
-    ) || log "#$n: reconcile failed — continuing with the remaining issues"
+    reconcile_issue_pass "$n"
   done
   log "reconciled."
+  # The job stays green (D7): an hourly sweep over a hundred-issue board meets
+  # transient 504s as a matter of course, and reddening the whole run for one
+  # skipped issue trains consumers to ignore red — the outcome #95 and #101
+  # both steered away from on the PR surface. This line is what buys back the
+  # auditability that costs.
+  tail_line="$(skipped_tail "$SKIPPED_COUNT" "$SKIPPED_ISSUES")"
+  [ -z "$tail_line" ] || log "$tail_line"
 }
 
 if [ "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" = "$0" ]; then main "$@"; fi
diff --git a/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh b/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh
index 003c92c..97ada8a 100755
--- a/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh
+++ b/actions/labels-reconcile/labels-reconcile.sh
@@ -74,6 +74,12 @@ SELF_WORKFLOW="${SELF_WORKFLOW:-${GITHUB_WORKFLOW:-}}"
 # The needs-ruling invariants (#52) — one implementation for both surfaces.
 # shellcheck source=lib/ruling.sh
 . "$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)/../../lib/ruling.sh"
+# The guarded read and its reason line (#101) — one implementation for both
+# surfaces. read_failure_reason lived here until the issue surface needed the
+# identical rule (#247); a second copy of it is the failure lib/ruling.sh's
+# own header was written to record.
+# shellcheck source=lib/read.sh
+. "$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)/../../lib/read.sh"
 
 log() { printf 'labels: %s\n' "$*"; }
 
@@ -98,25 +104,6 @@ blind_sweep_warning() { # $1 = unreadable PRs, $2 = all open PRs, $3 = sampled r
   fi
 }
 
-read_failure_reason() { # $1 = captured stderr → one bounded line; pure (#101)
-  # Verbatim, collapsed, bounded (D3): gh emits multi-line errors and GraphQL
-  # blobs. Collapsed so the reason is exactly one log line — a raw newline
-  # inside the captured per-PR output block could collide with a matched
-  # string — and truncated because an unbounded paste per PR per sweep is
-  # noise, and annotations are capped anyway.
-  local reason
-  reason="$(printf '%s' "${1-}" | tr '\n' ' ')"
-  if [ -z "$reason" ]; then
-    # Empty stderr is itself a fact (D4): a read that failed silently is a
-    # different observation from a denial, and must not read as one.
-    echo "no error output"
-  elif [ "${#reason}" -gt 300 ]; then
-    printf '%s…\n' "${reason:0:300}"
-  else
-    printf '%s\n' "$reason"
-  fi
-}
-
 missing_core_labels_warning() { # $1 = declared rows, $2 = repo label names
   local rows="$1" repo_labels="$2" row name missing=""
   [ -n "$repo_labels" ] || return 0
diff --git a/changelog.d/247.md b/changelog.d/247.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b0c371
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/247.md
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+### Fixed
+
+- The issue sweep no longer derives label writes from a read that failed. An
+  HTTP 504 whose body is GitHub's JSON error object passed every guard and
+  emptied the label set, so a healthy epic was written `needs-triage` and the
+  pass reported success (#247).
+- A failed comments read no longer reclaims a live claim. Swallowed, it dated
+  the issue by `created_at` and unassigned the builder under a comment
+  asserting 48 hours of silence about an issue commented on seconds earlier
+  (#247).
+- A failed comments read no longer reads as "no marker", which re-posted the
+  comment the marker exists to suppress (#247).
+- Every read inside the per-issue subshell is checked explicitly, on its
+  status and on its payload shape; the issue is left exactly as it is and the
+  sweep continues. A partial pass names its skipped issues after
+  `reconciled.` (#247).
diff --git a/lib/read.sh b/lib/read.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c391cb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/read.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# lib/read.sh — the guarded read: an unreadable fact never invents a verdict.
+#
+# Both reconcilers source this file. The rule is the family's oldest one
+# (#101, #95) and it has now been bought twice: the PR surface learned it
+# when a permissions denial and a network hiccup left byte-identical
+# evidence, and the ISSUE surface learned it when an HTTP 504 whose body is
+# GitHub's JSON error object flowed straight into a decision function —
+# `gh api` prints that body to stdout *and* exits non-zero, so the payload
+# reaching the guards was valid JSON, `.labels[]` came back empty, and the
+# sweep wrote `needs-triage` onto a healthy epic and called the pass a
+# success (crew#329, #247).
+#
+# Two helpers, both used on both surfaces:
+#   - guarded_read  — run a read, keep its stderr, report its status
+#   - read_failure_reason — render that stderr into one bounded log line
+#
+# What the CALLER does with a failed read is the caller's: labels-reconcile
+# leaves the PR alone for the pass, issueflow-reconcile skips the issue. The
+# one thing neither may do is carry a degraded value into a decision.
+
+guarded_read() { # $1 = variable to fill, rest = the read; sets READ_FAILURE_STDERR
+  # The status check and the captured stderr are one operation on purpose: a
+  # read whose failure is noticed but whose reason is thrown away is what
+  # #95 had to infer a cause from a control case for — wrongly, it turned
+  # out (#101 D2). Captured into a file rather than merged into stdout, so
+  # an unlucky error line can never be read back as the read's own payload.
+  local __var="$1" __err __out __rc=0
+  shift
+  __err="$(mktemp)" || return 1
+  __out="$("$@" 2>"$__err")" || __rc=$?
+  READ_FAILURE_STDERR="$(cat "$__err")"
+  rm -f "$__err"
+  printf -v "$__var" '%s' "$__out"
+  return "$__rc"
+}
+
+read_failure_reason() { # $1 = captured stderr → one bounded line; pure (#101)
+  # Verbatim, collapsed, bounded (D3): gh emits multi-line errors and GraphQL
+  # blobs. Collapsed so the reason is exactly one log line — a raw newline
+  # inside the captured per-item output block could collide with a matched
+  # string — and truncated because an unbounded paste per item per sweep is
+  # noise, and annotations are capped anyway.
+  local reason
+  reason="$(printf '%s' "${1-}" | tr '\n' ' ')"
+  if [ -z "$reason" ]; then
+    # Empty stderr is itself a fact (D4): a read that failed silently is a
+    # different observation from a denial, and must not read as one.
+    echo "no error output"
+  elif [ "${#reason}" -gt 300 ]; then
+    printf '%s…\n' "${reason:0:300}"
+  else
+    printf '%s\n' "$reason"
+  fi
+}
diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 837194a..678999f 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -289,6 +289,11 @@ check "claimed plus attention is a healthy issue" 0 "KEEP" \
 INOW=2000000000
 iso_at() { date -u -d "@$1" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ; }
 
+# gh's own rendering of a 5xx whose body carries a `message` key — the line
+# crew#329's job log carried, verbatim (#247), and the payload beside it.
+GH_STUB_STDERR="gh: We couldn't respond to your request in time. (HTTP 504)"
+GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY='{"message":"We could not respond to your request in time.","documentation_url":"https://docs.github.com/rest"}'
+
 issue_stub_gh() {
   if [ "$1" = api ]; then
     shift
@@ -303,7 +308,18 @@ issue_stub_gh() {
     done
     file="$TMP/$(printf '%s' "$endpoint" | tr '/' '_').json"
     printf '%s\n' "$endpoint" >>"$TMP/api-calls"
-    [ ! -f "$file.error" ] || return 1
+    # A `.http-error` sentinel is the real 5xx (#247): `gh api` prints the
+    # response body — GitHub's JSON error object — to STDOUT, says why on
+    # stderr, and exits non-zero. The `.error` sentinel models a failure with
+    # no payload, which is the *safe* path (an empty label set is empty either
+    # way), and is why this class was never caught. Both now speak on stderr,
+    # because the real gh always does and the reason line renders it.
+    if [ -f "$file.http-error" ]; then
+      cat "$file.http-error"
+      printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_STDERR" >&2
+      return 1
+    fi
+    [ ! -f "$file.error" ] || { printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_STDERR" >&2; return 1; }
     [ -f "$file" ] || { printf '[]\n'; return 0; }
     if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then jq -r "$jqexpr" "$file"; else cat "$file"; fi
   elif [ "$1" = issue ] && [ "$2" = comment ]; then

From 865d5bd1df45e4fd9e09660f098272562e67e7f4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cndgrr <59120057+cndgrr@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 18:06:13 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 2/5] =?UTF-8?q?test(issueflow):=20drive=20the=20real=205xx?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=20=E2=80=94=20a=20JSON=20error=20body=20on=20stdout?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The PATH-stubbed gh gains a `.http-error` mode: the response body goes
to STDOUT, the reason to stderr, the status non-zero. The existing
`.error` sentinel produces empty stdout, which is the *safe* path — an
empty label set either way — and is why this class was never caught.

The three must-fail-before cases, plus the 200-`null` path a status
check alone leaves open, the suppressed-marker duplicate, the D6 tail's
count and numbers, and the crash handler proven distinct from a skip.

Refs #247
---
 lib/read.sh                      |   1 +
 test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh | 205 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 205 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/lib/read.sh b/lib/read.sh
index c391cb2..1aa26be 100644
--- a/lib/read.sh
+++ b/lib/read.sh
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ guarded_read() { # $1 = variable to fill, rest = the read; sets READ_FAILURE_STD
   shift
   __err="$(mktemp)" || return 1
   __out="$("$@" 2>"$__err")" || __rc=$?
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2034 # the out-parameter: every caller reads it beside the status
   READ_FAILURE_STDERR="$(cat "$__err")"
   rm -f "$__err"
   printf -v "$__var" '%s' "$__out"
diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 678999f..3ba46c4 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -293,6 +293,7 @@ iso_at() { date -u -d "@$1" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ; }
 # crew#329's job log carried, verbatim (#247), and the payload beside it.
 GH_STUB_STDERR="gh: We couldn't respond to your request in time. (HTTP 504)"
 GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY='{"message":"We could not respond to your request in time.","documentation_url":"https://docs.github.com/rest"}'
+export GH_STUB_STDERR # the PATH-stubbed gh of the executable runs reads it too
 
 issue_stub_gh() {
   if [ "$1" = api ]; then
@@ -645,6 +646,119 @@ churned="$(issue_probe 24 $'claimed\nneeds-ruling')"
 check "8 real-quiet days nudge through a 2-day-old label churn" 0 "" \
   grep -q 'ruling nudge' <<<"$churned"
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# An unreadable fact invents no verdict on the issue surface either (#247).
+# `gh api` prints a 5xx body to stdout AND exits non-zero, and GitHub's 5xx
+# body is a JSON object — so the payload that reached the guards was valid
+# JSON, `.labels[]` came back empty, and queue_decision was handed the wrong
+# input. The pure guards first, then the two decisions the fall-through
+# reached.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+payload_refused() { ! issue_payload_valid "$@"; } # 0 when the payload is refused
+
+check "a healthy issue payload is accepted" 0 "" \
+  issue_payload_valid 40 <<<'{"number":40,"labels":[{"name":"ready"}]}'
+check "an issue carrying no labels at all is still a valid payload" 0 "" \
+  issue_payload_valid 40 <<<'{"number":40,"labels":[]}'
+# The reported shape: gh renders `gh: <message> (HTTP 504)` from a body with a
+# `message` key, which proves the body was valid JSON. The status check is what
+# catches this one; the shape check refuses it independently.
+check "a JSON error object is not an issue payload" 0 "" \
+  payload_refused 40 <<<"$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY"
+# The live path a status check alone would leave open (D3): 200, exit 0, and
+# `.labels[]` empties exactly as it does on the 504.
+check "an HTTP 200 whose body is null is refused" 0 "" payload_refused 40 <<<'null'
+check "a payload missing .labels is refused" 0 "" \
+  payload_refused 40 <<<'{"number":40}'
+check "a payload whose .labels is not an array is refused" 0 "" \
+  payload_refused 40 <<<'{"number":40,"labels":"ready"}'
+check "a payload about a different issue is refused" 0 "" \
+  payload_refused 40 <<<'{"number":41,"labels":[]}'
+check "a payload that is not JSON at all is refused" 0 "" \
+  payload_refused 40 <<<'not json'
+check "an empty payload is refused" 0 "" payload_refused 40 </dev/null
+
+# The reason line's shape (#101 D3/D4), reachable from this surface too — it
+# is one implementation in lib/read.sh, not a second spelling.
+check "empty stderr is reported as its own fact" 0 "no error output" \
+  read_failure_reason ""
+check "the captured 504 renders verbatim on one line" 0 \
+  "$GH_STUB_STDERR" read_failure_reason "$GH_STUB_STDERR"
+long_stderr="$(read_failure_reason "$(printf 'e%.0s' {1..400})")"
+check "400 chars of stderr truncate to 300 plus an ellipsis" 0 "" \
+  test "$long_stderr" = "$(printf 'e%.0s' {1..300})…"
+
+# The D6 tail: silent on a whole pass, and naming both count and numbers on a
+# partial one.
+check "a whole pass adds no tail line" 0 "" test -z "$(skipped_tail 0 "")"
+check "one skipped issue is named in the singular" 0 \
+  "1 issue skipped this pass on an unreadable fact: #12" skipped_tail 1 "#12"
+check "several skipped issues are all named" 0 \
+  "2 issues skipped this pass on unreadable facts: #12 #40" \
+  skipped_tail 2 "#12 #40"
+
+# -- the destroyed claim: a 504 on the comments read of a live claim ---------
+# created_at long ago, a comment seconds old, and the comments read fails. The
+# swallowed read dated the issue by created_at and reclaimed it, unassigning
+# the builder under a comment asserting 48 hours of silence.
+jq -n --arg at "$(iso_at $((INOW - 10)))" \
+  '[{"user":{"login":"builder"},"created_at":$at,"html_url":"https://x/live","body":"still on it"}]' \
+  >"$(cfix 50)"
+printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY" >"$(cfix 50).http-error"
+jq -n --arg at "$(iso_at $((INOW - 10 * 86400)))" \
+  '[{"event":"assigned","created_at":$at}]' >"$(tfix 50)"
+claim_edits_before="$(wc -l <"$TMP/issue-edits")"
+check "a 504 on the comments read skips the issue instead of grading its age" \
+  3 "#50: skipped this pass — could not read its activity history: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  issue_probe 50 claimed 1
+check "...so the live claim is not reclaimed" 1 "" \
+  grep -q 'stale claim reclaimed -> ready' <<<"$(issue_probe 50 claimed 1)"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
+check "...no unassign, no label swap, and no reclaim comment" 0 "" \
+  bash -c 'test "$1" -eq "$(wc -l <"$2")" && test ! -f "$3"' _ \
+  "$claim_edits_before" "$TMP/issue-edits" "$TMP/posted-50"
+
+# -- the suppressed comment: a 504 on the marker read -----------------------
+# The marker is on the issue. Read as "no marker", a failed read re-posts the
+# comment the marker exists to suppress — every sweep, forever.
+jq -n --arg b '<!-- issueflow:blocked-unparseable -->' \
+  --arg at "$(iso_at $((INOW - 3600)))" \
+  '[{"user":{"login":"sweep-bot"},"created_at":$at,"html_url":"https://x/m","body":$b}]' \
+  >"$(cfix 51)"
+printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY" >"$(cfix 51).http-error"
+check "a 504 on the marker read skips rather than reading it as no marker" \
+  3 "#51: skipped this pass — could not read its comments: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  issue_probe 51 blocked 1 false "" "no parseable declaration here"
+check "...so no duplicate comment is posted" 1 "" test -f "$TMP/posted-51"
+
+# -- a deliberate skip is counted; a genuine crash is still named (D4) -------
+printf '%s\n' '{"number":60,"labels":[{"name":"ready"}],"assignees":[]}' \
+  >"$TMP/repos_owner_repo_issues_60.json"
+printf '%s\n' '{"number":61,"labels":[{"name":"ready"}],"assignees":[]}' \
+  >"$TMP/repos_owner_repo_issues_61.json"
+printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY" >"$TMP/repos_owner_repo_issues_61.json.http-error"
+pass_probe() { # $1 issue; $2 non-empty makes reconcile_issue crash
+  (
+    REPO=owner/repo
+    gh() { issue_stub_gh "$@"; }
+    [ -z "${2:-}" ] || reconcile_issue() { return 9; }
+    SKIPPED_COUNT=0
+    SKIPPED_ISSUES=""
+    reconcile_issue_pass "$1"
+    printf 'rc=%s count=%s issues=%s\n' "$?" "$SKIPPED_COUNT" "$SKIPPED_ISSUES"
+  )
+}
+check "a genuine non-read crash still names the failure byte-identically" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #60: reconcile failed — continuing with the remaining issues" \
+  pass_probe 60 crash
+check "...and the pass still returns 0, so the loop reaches the next issue" 0 \
+  "rc=0" pass_probe 60 crash
+check "...and a crash is not counted as a skip" 0 "count=0" pass_probe 60 crash
+check "a skipped issue is counted and named" 0 "count=1 issues=#61" pass_probe 61
+check "...and is not also reported as a crash" 1 "" \
+  grep -q 'reconcile failed' <<<"$(pass_probe 61)"
+check "...leaving the loop free to continue" 0 "rc=0" pass_probe 61
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # The arrival path, executed the way the action executes it (#91): four
 # triage-authored mints died silently because the stand-down `return`s in
@@ -681,7 +795,15 @@ if [ "$1" = api ]; then
       *'states: MERGED'*) file="$GH_FIXTURES/graphql-merged.json" ;;
     esac
   fi
-  [ ! -f "$file.error" ] || exit 1
+  # `.http-error` is the real 5xx (#247): the response body — GitHub's JSON
+  # error object — goes to STDOUT, the reason to stderr, and the status is
+  # non-zero. `.error` is the payload-free failure, which is the safe path.
+  if [ -f "$file.http-error" ]; then
+    cat "$file.http-error"
+    printf '%s\n' "${GH_STUB_STDERR:-}" >&2
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  [ ! -f "$file.error" ] || { printf '%s\n' "${GH_STUB_STDERR:-}" >&2; exit 1; }
   if [ -f "$file" ]; then payload="$(cat "$file")"; else payload='[]'; fi
   if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then jq -r "$jqexpr" <<<"$payload"; else printf '%s\n' "$payload"; fi
   exit 0
@@ -849,4 +971,85 @@ check "a dead API on the arrival path still fails the run (D2)" 0 "" \
 check "...and the sweep does not run over a lying arrival" 1 "" \
   grep -qF 'issueflow: reconciled.' <<<"$err_out"
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# The whole sweep over an unreadable board (#247), executed. The sourced
+# probes above drive one issue's pass; only this path exercises the loop, the
+# counting and the tail — and only this path reproduces crew#329's log, which
+# ended `issueflow: reconciled.` with rc=0 over a label it should never have
+# written. Its own fixture directory: the arrival fixtures above are stateful
+# across their cases.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+SWEEP="$TMP/sweep"
+mkdir -p "$SWEEP"
+printf '%s\n' \
+  '{"data":{"repository":{"pullRequests":{"nodes":[],"pageInfo":{"hasNextPage":false,"endCursor":null}}}}}' \
+  >"$SWEEP/graphql-open.json"
+cp "$SWEEP/graphql-open.json" "$SWEEP/graphql-merged.json"
+# 70: the 504 with a JSON error body on the per-issue read.
+printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY" >"$SWEEP/repos_owner_repo_issues_70.json.http-error"
+# 71: healthy, and carrying no queue label — so if the sweep reaches it, it
+# writes needs-triage. That write is the evidence the loop continued.
+printf '%s\n' \
+  '{"number":71,"user":{"login":"triage-one"},"labels":[{"name":"enhancement"}],"assignees":[]}' \
+  >"$SWEEP/repos_owner_repo_issues_71.json"
+# 72: HTTP 200 whose body is `null` — exit 0, and the label set empties just
+# as it does on the 504. The shape check is the only thing that catches it.
+printf 'null\n' >"$SWEEP/repos_owner_repo_issues_72.json"
+
+sweep_board() { printf '%s\n' "$1" >"$SWEEP/repos_owner_repo_issues_state_open_per_page_100.json"; }
+sweep_run() {
+  : >"$SWEEP/edits"
+  env PATH="$ARRIVAL/stub:$PATH" GH_FIXTURES="$SWEEP" ISSUEFLOW_NOW="$INOW" \
+    REPO=owner/repo LABELS_CONF="$ARRIVAL/labels.conf" \
+    bash "$ROOT/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh" 2>&1
+}
+
+sweep_board '[{"number":70},{"number":71}]'
+sweep_out="$(sweep_run)"
+sweep_rc=$?
+check "an unreadable issue does not red the sweep (D7)" 0 "" test "$sweep_rc" -eq 0
+check "the 504's JSON error body is skipped, with the reason named" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #70: skipped this pass — could not read the issue: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$sweep_out"
+check "...and crew#329's label is never written" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF '#70: needs-triage (no queue state)' <<<"$sweep_out"
+check "...nor any edit at all on the unreadable issue" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'issue edit 70' "$SWEEP/edits"
+check "...while the readable issue beside it is reconciled as before" 0 "" \
+  grep -qxF 'issue edit 71 -R owner/repo --add-label needs-triage' "$SWEEP/edits"
+check "...and the partial pass names its count and its issue" 0 \
+  'issueflow: 1 issue skipped this pass on an unreadable fact: #70' \
+  printf '%s\n' "$sweep_out"
+check "...after a byte-identical reconciled. line" 0 "" \
+  grep -qxF 'issueflow: reconciled.' <<<"$sweep_out"
+
+sweep_board '[{"number":72}]'
+null_out="$(sweep_run)"
+null_rc=$?
+check "an HTTP 200 whose body is null exits 0 and writes nothing" 0 "" \
+  test "$null_rc" -eq 0
+check "...because the shape check refuses it, on its own line" 0 \
+  'issueflow: #72: skipped this pass — the issue read answered a payload that is not issue #72 carrying a label array' \
+  printf '%s\n' "$null_out"
+check "...so no label is derived from an empty label set" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'issue edit 72' "$SWEEP/edits"
+check "...and the tail names it too" 0 \
+  'issueflow: 1 issue skipped this pass on an unreadable fact: #72' \
+  printf '%s\n' "$null_out"
+
+sweep_board '[{"number":70},{"number":72}]'
+both_out="$(sweep_run)"
+check "two skipped issues are both named, in the plural" 0 \
+  'issueflow: 2 issues skipped this pass on unreadable facts: #70 #72' \
+  printf '%s\n' "$both_out"
+
+sweep_board '[{"number":71}]'
+whole_out="$(sweep_run)"
+whole_rc=$?
+check "a whole pass still exits 0" 0 "" test "$whole_rc" -eq 0
+check "...ends on the byte-identical reconciled. line, with no tail after it" 0 \
+  "issueflow: reconciled." printf '%s\n' "$(tail -n1 <<<"$whole_out")"
+check "...and says nothing about skipping" 1 "" \
+  grep -q 'skipped this pass' <<<"$whole_out"
+
 summary

From 24f62cc8e96a11c52ca3f36c13de5146e41b57e2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cndgrr <59120057+cndgrr@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 18:08:19 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 3/5] test(issueflow): the failing --jq read yields no
 timestamps, as gh does
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The .http-error mode applies a requested --jq filter to the error body,
so a failing comments read returns nothing rather than a JSON blob —
which is what let last_issue_activity fall back to created_at and
reclaim a live claim. With it, all three of the issue's must-fail-before
cases fail against the pre-change script, the destroyed claim included.

Pin offsite_timeline's own deliberate silence directly: the activity
read hits the same endpoint, so probe 32 now skips before the offsite
verification it used to reach (D8 leaves that read alone).

Refs #247
---
 test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh | 25 +++++++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 3ba46c4..2ac02b0 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -316,7 +316,14 @@ issue_stub_gh() {
     # way), and is why this class was never caught. Both now speak on stderr,
     # because the real gh always does and the reason line renders it.
     if [ -f "$file.http-error" ]; then
-      cat "$file.http-error"
+      # A --jq call gets the filter applied to the error body, as gh does.
+      # That is what "yields no timestamps" looks like — the shape that let
+      # last_issue_activity fall back to created_at and reclaim a live claim.
+      if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then
+        jq -r "$jqexpr" "$file.http-error" 2>/dev/null || true
+      else
+        cat "$file.http-error"
+      fi
       printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_STDERR" >&2
       return 1
     fi
@@ -593,6 +600,16 @@ unreadable="$(issue_probe 32 $'claimed\noffsite')"
 check "an unreadable timeline stays silent" 1 "" test -f "$TMP/posted-32"
 check "...and leaves the sweep running without an alarming log" 1 "" \
   grep -qiE 'error|failed' <<<"$unreadable"
+# Both checks above still hold, and #247 D1 changed what reaches them:
+# last_issue_activity reads the same timeline endpoint, so the issue is now
+# skipped before the offsite verification runs. The skip is why nothing is
+# posted, and its reason line is a deliberate report rather than an alarm
+# (D4). D8 leaves offsite_timeline's own silence alone, so it is pinned here
+# directly rather than through a probe that can no longer reach it.
+offsite_timeline_probe() { ( REPO=owner/repo; gh() { issue_stub_gh "$@"; }; offsite_timeline "$1" ); }
+check "an unreadable offsite timeline yields nothing and still fails closed" 1 "" \
+  offsite_timeline_probe 32
+check "...while a readable one answers its payload" 0 "[]" offsite_timeline_probe 31
 
 : >"$TMP/api-calls"
 printf '[]\n' >"$(tfix 33)"
@@ -799,7 +816,11 @@ if [ "$1" = api ]; then
   # error object — goes to STDOUT, the reason to stderr, and the status is
   # non-zero. `.error` is the payload-free failure, which is the safe path.
   if [ -f "$file.http-error" ]; then
-    cat "$file.http-error"
+    if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then
+      jq -r "$jqexpr" "$file.http-error" 2>/dev/null || true
+    else
+      cat "$file.http-error"
+    fi
     printf '%s\n' "${GH_STUB_STDERR:-}" >&2
     exit 1
   fi

From f965e8404c3b5312896aeebb990da0d24dfb3e14 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cndgrr <59120057+cndgrr@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 18:14:19 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 4/5] test(issueflow): an absent fixture answers nothing to a
 --jq read, as gh does
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The sourced stub returned a literal `[]` to --jq callers when a fixture
was missing, where the real API answers an empty list and the filter
yields nothing. last_issue_activity then sorted `[]` beside an ISO-8601
timestamp — and `[]` outsorts a timestamp in the C locale but not in a
UTF-8 one, so the sweep dated an issue by a stub artifact on the runner
and by created_at here.

The old code swallowed the resulting `date` failure and graded the claim
on a literal 0 anyway; #247's guards turn a failed read into a skip,
which is what made the lie visible. Adopt the arrival stub's shape.
Suite green under LC_ALL=C, C.UTF-8 and en_US.UTF-8.

Refs #247
---
 test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh | 13 +++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 2ac02b0..07f4d9c 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -328,8 +328,17 @@ issue_stub_gh() {
       return 1
     fi
     [ ! -f "$file.error" ] || { printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_STDERR" >&2; return 1; }
-    [ -f "$file" ] || { printf '[]\n'; return 0; }
-    if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then jq -r "$jqexpr" "$file"; else cat "$file"; fi
+    # An absent fixture answers an empty list, and a --jq call gets the filter
+    # applied to it — the arrival stub's shape, and gh's. Returning the raw
+    # `[]` to a --jq caller made every missing fixture answer a literal `[]`
+    # where the real API answers nothing, and `[]` outsorts an ISO-8601
+    # timestamp in the C locale but not in a UTF-8 one, so last_issue_activity
+    # dated an issue by a stub artifact on the runner and by its created_at
+    # here. The old code swallowed the resulting date failure; #247's guards
+    # turn it into a skip, which is what made the lie visible.
+    local payload='[]'
+    [ ! -f "$file" ] || payload="$(cat "$file")"
+    if [ -n "$jqexpr" ]; then jq -r "$jqexpr" <<<"$payload"; else printf '%s\n' "$payload"; fi
   elif [ "$1" = issue ] && [ "$2" = comment ]; then
     local n="$3" body="" file
     shift 3

From 6217798e1452ac5074f7e5d1018e415ec3bc68a0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: cndgrr <59120057+cndgrr@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 2026 18:55:52 +0000
Subject: [PATCH 5/5] fix(issueflow): a per-issue pass commits its whole
 effect, or none of it
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

The per-read guards closed the reported class — a failed read never reaches
a decision function — and left one layer standing. A pass could mutate and
only THEN reach a guarded read, fail it, and report the issue as skipped:
`stale` removed, or `needs-triage` minted, under a log line saying the
sweep had touched nothing. That is the same false report #247 exists to
close, told from the other end, and the panel reproduced it on four
separate compositions.

Fixed as the ordering invariant rather than per site. Inside
reconcile_issue_pass's subshell, run() and log() stage their effects, and
commit_staged_effects replays them in order once the pass has completed.
skip_issue emits its own line directly and exits, so the buffer dies with
the subshell. A skip therefore implies zero `gh issue edit`, zero
`gh issue comment`, and no log line about a mutation that never landed —
for compositions nobody has written yet, because reconcile_issue has no way
to mutate directly. Reads stay where they are: they may happen anywhere,
since nothing lands until the end.

Stated per site it would hold until the next composition. Two consequences
worth naming: reconcile_ruling is covered without touching lib/ruling.sh,
because it posts through the sourcing script's run()/log() — the PR surface
keeps its own and is unaffected; and a genuine crash mid-pass now also
lands nothing, where before it left the earlier mutations applied. D4's
handler string, D6's tail and D7's exit 0 are all unchanged, and the
healthy path is byte-identical: every staged write commits under the same
`>/dev/null` its call site already applied.

Refs #247
---
 .../issueflow-reconcile.sh                    |  78 ++++++++-
 changelog.d/247.md                            |   4 +
 lib/read.sh                                   |   8 +-
 test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh              | 160 ++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 241 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
index 209ee3f..4e29f84 100644
--- a/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
+++ b/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh
@@ -41,16 +41,67 @@ ISSUEFLOW_SKIP=3
 SKIPPED_COUNT=0
 SKIPPED_ISSUES=""
 
-log() { printf 'issueflow: %s\n' "$*"; }
-run() { if [ -n "${DRY_RUN:-}" ]; then log "DRY_RUN: $*"; else "$@"; fi; }
+# A per-issue pass is ATOMIC: it commits its whole effect or none of it
+# (#247 D1). Inside reconcile_issue_pass's subshell, `run` and `log` do not
+# act — they append here, and commit_staged_effects replays them in order
+# once the pass has completed. Everywhere else (the arrival path, the sweep's
+# own lines) they act immediately, as they always did.
+#
+# This is the ordering invariant itself, not a fix for the two sites that
+# happened to violate it: a mutation reached before a later guarded read is
+# what let a pass remove `stale`, or mint `needs-triage`, and THEN report the
+# issue as skipped — the sweep saying it touched nothing while a write had
+# landed, which is the same false-report class #247 exists to close. Stated
+# per site it would hold until the next composition; stated here it holds for
+# compositions nobody has written yet, because reconcile_issue has no way to
+# mutate directly.
+#
+# Reads are deliberately NOT staged. They may happen anywhere in the pass,
+# because nothing lands until the end.
+STAGING=false
+STAGED_EFFECTS=()
+
+emit() { printf 'issueflow: %s\n' "$*"; }
+apply() { if [ -n "${DRY_RUN:-}" ]; then emit "DRY_RUN: $*"; else "$@"; fi; }
+
+stage() { # $1 = LOG|WRITE, rest = the effect's argv, kept exact by the count
+  STAGED_EFFECTS+=("$#" "$@")
+}
+
+log() { if [ "$STAGING" = true ]; then stage LOG "$@"; else emit "$@"; fi; }
+run() { if [ "$STAGING" = true ]; then stage WRITE "$@"; else apply "$@"; fi; }
+
+commit_staged_effects() {
+  # In staging order, so a completed pass's log and writes read exactly as
+  # they did when each acted at its own call site. The `>/dev/null` is the one
+  # every `run` call site already applies: a redirection cannot travel with
+  # the argv, so it is applied here instead — uniformly, because on this
+  # surface every staged write has it.
+  local i=0 argc
+  STAGING=false
+  while [ "$i" -lt "${#STAGED_EFFECTS[@]}" ]; do
+    argc="${STAGED_EFFECTS[i]}"
+    if [ "${STAGED_EFFECTS[i + 1]}" = LOG ]; then
+      emit "${STAGED_EFFECTS[@]:i + 2:argc - 1}"
+    else
+      apply "${STAGED_EFFECTS[@]:i + 2:argc - 1}" >/dev/null
+    fi
+    i=$((i + 1 + argc))
+  done
+  STAGED_EFFECTS=()
+}
 
 skip_issue() { # $1 = issue, $2 = the whole reason clause — ends this issue's pass
   # Leaves the issue exactly as it is: nothing is derived from a read that
-  # did not answer. Called from wherever the read lives, so no call site can
-  # forget to check — which is why it exits rather than returns. Every caller
-  # runs inside the per-issue subshell, so the exit ends that issue's pass and
-  # nothing else. The reason rides its own `#$n:`-prefixed line (#247 D5).
-  log "#$1: skipped this pass — $2"
+  # did not answer, and nothing this pass staged is ever committed — `exit`
+  # discards the subshell that holds the buffer. So a skip implies zero
+  # `gh issue edit`, zero `gh issue comment`, and no log line claiming an
+  # effect that never landed, wherever in the pass the failed read lives.
+  # Called from the read itself, so no call site can forget to check — which
+  # is why it exits rather than returns. The reason rides its own
+  # `#$n:`-prefixed line (#247 D5), emitted directly: the skip is a fact
+  # about the pass, not one of the effects the pass staged.
+  emit "#$1: skipped this pass — $2"
   exit "$ISSUEFLOW_SKIP"
 }
 
@@ -575,15 +626,26 @@ reconcile_issue_pass() { # $1 = issue — one issue's whole pass, in its own sub
   # is what disables the errexit that would have caught a failed read (#247
   # D2). Removing it would revive errexit and lose #91. Explicit per-read
   # checks are the mechanism instead, and each one exits with ISSUEFLOW_SKIP.
+  #
+  # What the subshell IS, since #247's first round, is the atomicity
+  # boundary: the staged effects live in it, so ending it — by a skip, or by
+  # a crash — discards them, and no partial pass can ever reach the board.
   local n="$1" status=0
   (
+    # Everything below stages rather than acts, and commits at the bottom —
+    # so a skip taken at any read, and a crash at any statement, leaves the
+    # issue exactly as it was (D1). `|| exit $?` keeps a crash's status the
+    # subshell's own, as it was when reconcile_issue was the last command
+    # here: the commit must not overwrite it, and must not run under it.
+    STAGING=true
     guarded_read ISSUE_JSON gh api "repos/$REPO/issues/$n" \
       || skip_issue "$n" "could not read the issue: $(read_failure_reason "$READ_FAILURE_STDERR")"
     issue_payload_valid "$n" <<<"$ISSUE_JSON" \
       || skip_issue "$n" "the issue read answered a payload that is not issue #$n carrying a label array"
     jq -e 'has("pull_request") | not' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON" >/dev/null || exit 0
     ISSUE_LABELS="$(jq -r '.labels[].name' <<<"$ISSUE_JSON")"
-    reconcile_issue "$n"
+    reconcile_issue "$n" || exit $?
+    commit_staged_effects
   ) || status=$?
   if [ "$status" -eq "$ISSUEFLOW_SKIP" ]; then
     SKIPPED_COUNT=$((SKIPPED_COUNT + 1))
diff --git a/changelog.d/247.md b/changelog.d/247.md
index 0b0c371..a2243dd 100644
--- a/changelog.d/247.md
+++ b/changelog.d/247.md
@@ -14,3 +14,7 @@
   status and on its payload shape; the issue is left exactly as it is and the
   sweep continues. A partial pass names its skipped issues after
   `reconciled.` (#247).
+- A per-issue pass is now atomic: its writes and its log lines commit only
+  once the pass completes. A skip could previously land after an earlier
+  mutation, reporting an issue as untouched when a label had already been
+  written or removed (#247).
diff --git a/lib/read.sh b/lib/read.sh
index 1aa26be..b3a0a7a 100644
--- a/lib/read.sh
+++ b/lib/read.sh
@@ -11,10 +11,16 @@
 # sweep wrote `needs-triage` onto a healthy epic and called the pass a
 # success (crew#329, #247).
 #
-# Two helpers, both used on both surfaces:
+# Two helpers:
 #   - guarded_read  — run a read, keep its stderr, report its status
 #   - read_failure_reason — render that stderr into one bounded log line
 #
+# `read_failure_reason` is called from both surfaces. `guarded_read` is
+# called from the issue surface only, and that is deliberate rather than
+# unfinished: labels-reconcile's two capture sites are byte-identical to each
+# other and predate this file, and converting them is a cleanup #247 does not
+# own. Do not go looking for a labels-side caller — there is none yet.
+#
 # What the CALLER does with a failed read is the caller's: labels-reconcile
 # leaves the PR alone for the pass, issueflow-reconcile skips the issue. The
 # one thing neither may do is carry a degraded value into a decision.
diff --git a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
index 07f4d9c..e36adda 100644
--- a/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
+++ b/test/issueflow-reconcile.test.sh
@@ -1082,4 +1082,164 @@ check "...ends on the byte-identical reconciled. line, with no tail after it" 0
 check "...and says nothing about skipping" 1 "" \
   grep -q 'skipped this pass' <<<"$whole_out"
 
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# The ordering invariant (#247 D1): a skip implies ZERO writes, wherever in
+# the pass the failed read lives. Round 1 measured what the per-read guards
+# alone left standing — a pass could remove `stale`, or mint `needs-triage`,
+# and only then reach a guarded read, fail it, and report the issue as
+# skipped. The sweep said it had touched nothing while a write had landed:
+# the same false report #247 exists to close, one layer along.
+#
+# Every composition is driven TWICE against identical fixtures, differing
+# only in whether the late read answers. The healthy run is the control — it
+# proves the mutation is genuinely on this path, so the failing run's "no
+# edit" is a fact about the guard and not about a branch that never fired.
+# Executed through the sweep, because staging is a property of the pass.
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ORDER="$TMP/order"
+mkdir -p "$ORDER"
+cp "$SWEEP/graphql-open.json" "$SWEEP/graphql-merged.json" "$ORDER/"
+order_board() { printf '%s\n' "$1" >"$ORDER/repos_owner_repo_issues_state_open_per_page_100.json"; }
+order_fixture() { # $1 issue, $2 labels JSON, $3 body
+  jq -n --argjson n "$1" --argjson labels "$2" --arg body "${3:-}" \
+    --arg at "$(iso_at $((INOW - 10 * 86400)))" \
+    '{number: $n, created_at: $at, user: {login: "triage-one"},
+      labels: $labels, assignees: [], body: $body}' \
+    >"$ORDER/repos_owner_repo_issues_$1.json"
+}
+order_run() {
+  : >"$ORDER/edits"
+  env PATH="$ARRIVAL/stub:$PATH" GH_FIXTURES="$ORDER" ISSUEFLOW_NOW="$INOW" \
+    REPO=owner/repo LABELS_CONF="$ARRIVAL/labels.conf" \
+    bash "$ROOT/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh" 2>&1
+}
+# The late read fails, or answers. `guarded_read` is what turns either into a
+# skip, so which endpoint carries the sentinel is what picks the composition.
+order_breaks() { printf '%s\n' "$GH_STUB_ERROR_BODY" >"$ORDER/repos_owner_repo_issues_$1_$2.json.http-error"; }
+order_heals() { rm -f "$ORDER/repos_owner_repo_issues_$1_$2.json.http-error"; }
+# A skip must leave no trace of the staged effect: not the write, and not the
+# log line that would have announced it. Both halves, because a landed write
+# under a "skipped" line and a "reconciled" line over no write are the same
+# lie told from opposite ends.
+order_wrote() { grep -qF "issue $2 $1" "$ORDER/edits"; }
+
+# -- 1. unstale, then a failed activity read (the round's first composition) -
+# `needs-ruling` heals an applied `stale` off before the tail reads the
+# issue's activity. The read is two statements later; the write is already
+# gone.
+order_fixture 80 '[{"name":"ready"},{"name":"needs-ruling"},{"name":"stale"}]'
+order_board '[{"number":80}]'
+order_heals 80 comments
+healthy_unstale="$(order_run)"
+check "the control: a healthy pass really does unstale a pending ruling" 0 "" \
+  order_wrote 80 edit
+check "...and says so" 0 "issueflow: #80: unstale (a ruling is pending)" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$healthy_unstale"
+order_breaks 80 comments
+broken_unstale="$(order_run)"
+check "a failed activity read skips the unstale composition" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #80: skipped this pass — could not read its activity history: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$broken_unstale"
+check "...and the stale label is still on the issue" 1 "" order_wrote 80 edit
+check "...and nothing claims it came off" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'unstale (a ruling is pending)' <<<"$broken_unstale"
+
+# -- 2. ADD_NEEDS_TRIAGE, then a failed activity read (the second) -----------
+# The mint falls through — unlike FLAG_CONFLICT, which returns — into the
+# same tail. crew#329's own label, written and then disowned by the log.
+order_fixture 81 '[{"name":"enhancement"},{"name":"needs-ruling"}]'
+order_board '[{"number":81}]'
+order_heals 81 comments
+healthy_mint="$(order_run)"
+check "the control: a healthy pass really does mint needs-triage here" 0 "" \
+  order_wrote 81 edit
+check "...and says so" 0 "issueflow: #81: needs-triage (no queue state)" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$healthy_mint"
+order_breaks 81 comments
+broken_mint="$(order_run)"
+check "a failed activity read skips the needs-triage composition" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #81: skipped this pass — could not read its activity history: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$broken_mint"
+check "...and crew#329's label is not written on the way out" 1 "" \
+  order_wrote 81 edit
+check "...and nothing claims it was" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF '#81: needs-triage (no queue state)' <<<"$broken_mint"
+
+# -- 3. the blockers->ready flip, then a failed TIMELINE read ----------------
+# The wider class: the failing read is the second one inside
+# last_issue_activity, so the comments read answers and the marker check and
+# the flip both complete first. A comment AND a label edit are staged.
+printf '%s\n' '{"number":82,"state":"closed"}' \
+  >"$ORDER/repos_owner_repo_issues_82.json"
+order_fixture 83 '[{"name":"blocked"},{"name":"needs-ruling"}]' 'Blocked by #82.'
+order_board '[{"number":83}]'
+order_heals 83 timeline
+healthy_flip="$(order_run)"
+check "the control: a healthy pass really does flip cleared blockers to ready" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #83: blockers closed -> ready" printf '%s\n' "$healthy_flip"
+check "...writing the label edit" 0 "" order_wrote 83 edit
+check "...and posting the blockers-cleared comment" 0 "" order_wrote 83 comment
+order_breaks 83 timeline
+broken_flip="$(order_run)"
+check "a failed timeline read skips the blockers->ready composition" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #83: skipped this pass — could not read its activity history: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$broken_flip"
+check "...leaving the issue blocked" 1 "" order_wrote 83 edit
+check "...with no comment posted about it" 1 "" order_wrote 83 comment
+check "...and nothing claiming the flip happened" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'blockers closed -> ready' <<<"$broken_flip"
+
+# -- 4. a posted nudge, then a failed TIMELINE read -------------------------
+# The comment-only half of the class: an epic nudge is staged, and the
+# ruling tail's activity read fails after it. A comment is as much a
+# mutation as a label — it is the thing markers exist to make idempotent.
+order_fixture 84 '[{"name":"epic"},{"name":"needs-ruling"}]' \
+  '## Task list
+
+- [x] #82'
+order_board '[{"number":84}]'
+order_heals 84 timeline
+healthy_nudge="$(order_run)"
+check "the control: a healthy pass really does nudge a completed epic" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #84: completed epic nudged" printf '%s\n' "$healthy_nudge"
+check "...by posting a comment" 0 "" order_wrote 84 comment
+order_breaks 84 timeline
+broken_nudge="$(order_run)"
+check "a failed timeline read skips the epic-nudge composition" 0 \
+  "issueflow: #84: skipped this pass — could not read its activity history: $GH_STUB_STDERR" \
+  printf '%s\n' "$broken_nudge"
+check "...and the nudge comment is never posted" 1 "" order_wrote 84 comment
+check "...and nothing claims it was" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'completed epic nudged' <<<"$broken_nudge"
+
+# -- the skip is still just a skip: counted, tailed, and green (D4, D6, D7) --
+check "a mutation-bearing composition that skips is still not a crash" 1 "" \
+  grep -qF 'reconcile failed' <<<"$broken_flip"
+check "...is still counted in the D6 tail" 0 \
+  'issueflow: 1 issue skipped this pass on an unreadable fact: #83' \
+  printf '%s\n' "$broken_flip"
+order_board '[{"number":83}]'
+order_run >/dev/null
+check "...and still leaves the job green (D7)" 0 "" test $? -eq 0
+
+# -- the invariant is enforced at the source, not remembered ----------------
+# Staging only holds while every mutation goes through run(). A future call
+# site reaching gh directly would reopen this hole silently, so it is pinned
+# here rather than left to review — the shape lib/ruling.sh already uses for
+# #50 D9. reconcile_opened_issue is deliberately exempt: it runs outside the
+# per-issue subshell, under live errexit, and stages nothing (#247 D8).
+mutation_calls() {
+  grep -nE '(^|[^_[:alnum:]])gh issue (edit|comment)' \
+    "$ROOT/actions/issueflow-reconcile/issueflow-reconcile.sh" "$ROOT/lib/ruling.sh" \
+    | grep -vE '^\S+:[0-9]+: *#' || true
+}
+# shellcheck disable=SC2016 # positional parameters belong to bash -c
+check "every issue mutation on this surface goes through run()" 0 "" \
+  bash -c 'while IFS= read -r line; do
+    [ -n "$line" ] || continue
+    case "$line" in *"run gh issue "*) ;; *) printf "unstaged mutation: %s\n" "$line"; exit 1 ;; esac
+  done <<<"$1"' _ "$(mutation_calls)"
+check "...and the pin sees the call sites it is guarding" 0 "" \
+  test "$(mutation_calls | wc -l)" -ge 8
+
 summary