A9: --no-write is a dry run and leaves ingest state untouched

--no-write stamped every prepared page ingested_at and saved state, so a
later real run skipped those pages forever. It now prepares and reports
pages without importing or changing the state file.

Tests that used GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE / --no-write to seed state
move to an explicit seam (a fake gbrain that accepts every staged page),
because the --no-write contract deliberately changes.

bin/gstack-memory-ingest.ts

@@ -261,8 +261,8 @@ Options:
                        transcript_ingest_mode is recent (90 days) or all
                        (all history). A list naming transcript overrides it.
   --limit <N>          Stop after N pages written (smoke testing).
-  --no-write           Skip gbrain put calls (still updates state file).
-                       Used by tests + dry runs without actual ingest.
+  --no-write           Dry run: prepare pages and report counts, but import
+                       nothing and leave the state file untouched.
   --scan-secrets       Opt-in gitleaks scan of outgoing rendered pages, including
                        resumed staging. Findings and incomplete scans block
                        writes and remain retryable. Off by default.
@@ -2052,31 +2052,17 @@ async function ingestPass(args: CliArgs): Promise<BulkResult> {
   }
 
   if (args.noWrite) {
-    // --no-write: skip the gbrain import call but still record state for
-    // prepared pages (treat them as ingested for dedup purposes). Matches
-    // the prior contract from --help: "Skip gbrain put calls (still
-    // updates state file)".
-    const nowIso = new Date().toISOString();
-    for (const p of prep.prepared) {
-      try {
-        const fingerprint = sourceFingerprintForStamp(p);
-        if (!fingerprint) continue;
-        state.sessions[p.source_path] = {
-          ...fingerprint,
-          ingested_at: nowIso,
-          page_slug: p.page_slug,
-          partial: p.partial,
-        };
-        written++;
-      } catch {
-        // best-effort state record
-      }
+    // --no-write is a dry run: it prepares pages (so parse, attribution,
+    // policy and scan results are reported) but neither imports nor touches
+    // the state file. Stamping here marked every prepared page ingested, so
+    // the next real run skipped them forever (A9).
+    if (!args.quiet) {
+      console.error(
+        `[memory-ingest] --no-write: ${prep.prepared.length} page(s) would be imported; nothing was imported and the state file was not changed.`,
+      );
     }
-    state.last_full_walk = new Date().toISOString();
-    state.last_writer = "gstack-memory-ingest";
-    saveState(state);
     return {
-      written,
+      written: 0,
       skipped_secret: prep.skippedSecret,
       skipped_dedup: prep.skippedDedup,
       skipped_unattributed: prep.skippedUnattributed,

setup-gbrain/memory.md

@@ -156,8 +156,11 @@ Saved pages determine the expected import count; only pages matching the
 current rendered source can advance its ingest state. Incomplete or mismatched
 staging remains available for recovery.
 
-With scanning requested, fresh, resumed, persistent, and `--no-write` passes
-stamp only the source snapshot used to render the page, and only while its
+`--no-write` is a dry run: it prepares and counts pages but imports nothing
+and never changes the ingest state, so a later real run still imports every
+eligible page.
+
+With scanning requested, fresh, resumed and persistent passes stamp only the source snapshot used to render the page, and only while its
 hash and modification time are unchanged. Incremental checks verify the hash
 even when the timestamp matches. Scanned pages are fully written in private
 staging before atomic promotion, so partial writes never become outgoing pages.

test/gstack-memory-ingest.test.ts

@@ -399,22 +399,40 @@ if (process.env.LIMIT_STAGE_WRITES === '1') {
       });
     }
 
-    for (const mode of ["no-write", "remote-http"]) {
-      it(`does not stamp an append during the ${mode} scan`, () => {
-        scanner("clean");
-        const path = source();
-        if (mode === "remote-http") writeFileSync(join(home, ".claude.json"), JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: { gbrain: { type: "http", url: "http://fixture.invalid/mcp" } } }));
-        env.APPEND_DURING_SCAN = path;
-        env.APPEND_RECORD = appendRecord();
-        const args = mode === "no-write" ? ["--scan-secrets", "--no-write"] : ["--scan-secrets"];
-        expect(run(args).status).toBe(0);
-        expect(sessions()[path]).toBeUndefined();
-        expect(imported()).toEqual([]);
-        delete env.APPEND_DURING_SCAN;
-        expect(run(args).status).toBe(0);
-        expect(sessions()[path]).toBeDefined();
-      });
-    }
+    it("does not stamp an append during the remote-http scan", () => {
+      scanner("clean");
+      const path = source();
+      writeFileSync(join(home, ".claude.json"), JSON.stringify({ mcpServers: { gbrain: { type: "http", url: "http://fixture.invalid/mcp" } } }));
+      env.APPEND_DURING_SCAN = path;
+      env.APPEND_RECORD = appendRecord();
+      expect(run(["--scan-secrets"]).status).toBe(0);
+      expect(sessions()[path]).toBeUndefined();
+      expect(imported()).toEqual([]);
+      delete env.APPEND_DURING_SCAN;
+      expect(run(["--scan-secrets"]).status).toBe(0);
+      expect(sessions()[path]).toBeDefined();
+    });
+
+    it("--no-write leaves state untouched, so the next real run imports every eligible page (A9)", () => {
+      scanner("clean");
+      const first = source("first conversation");
+      const second = source("second conversation");
+      const statePath = join(env.GSTACK_HOME, ".transcript-ingest-state.json");
+      const dry = run(["--no-write"]);
+      expect(dry.status).toBe(0);
+      expect(existsSync(statePath)).toBe(false);
+      expect(dry.stderr).toContain("--no-write: 2 page(s) would be imported");
+      expect(imported()).toEqual([]);
+      expect(run(["--no-write", "--scan-secrets"]).status).toBe(0);
+      expect(existsSync(statePath)).toBe(false);
+      expect(run([]).status).toBe(0);
+      expect(imported()).toHaveLength(2);
+      expect(Object.keys(sessions()).sort()).toEqual([first, second].sort());
+      const before = readFileSync(statePath, "utf8");
+      source("third conversation");
+      expect(run(["--no-write"]).status).toBe(0);
+      expect(readFileSync(statePath, "utf8")).toBe(before);
+    });
 
     for (const remote of [false, true]) {
       it(`never stamps a page that failed to stage (remote-http: ${remote})`, () => {
@@ -599,15 +617,16 @@ process.stdout.write(execFileSync(process.execPath, ['-e', 'process.stdout.write
     expect(existsSync(join(home, "scanner-late"))).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it("does not stamp --no-write pages that could not pass the requested scan", () => {
+  it("does not stamp or import pages that could not pass the requested scan", () => {
     scanner("error");
     const path = source();
-    run(["--scan-secrets", "--no-write"]);
+    run(["--scan-secrets"]);
     expect(sessions()[path]).toBeUndefined();
-    scanner("clean");
-    expect(run(["--scan-secrets", "--no-write"]).status).toBe(0);
-    expect(sessions()[path]).toBeDefined();
     expect(imported()).toEqual([]);
+    scanner("clean");
+    expect(run(["--scan-secrets"]).status).toBe(0);
+    expect(sessions()[path]).toBeDefined();
+    expect(imported()).toHaveLength(1);
   });
 
   it("accepts a complete clean report exactly at the 16 MiB ceiling", () => {

test/memory-pipeline.test.ts

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
  */
 
 import { describe, it, expect } from "bun:test";
-import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, existsSync, rmSync, mkdirSync, statSync } from "fs";
+import { mkdtempSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, existsSync, rmSync, mkdirSync, statSync, chmodSync } from "fs";
 import { tmpdir } from "os";
 import { join } from "path";
 import { spawnSync } from "child_process";
@@ -87,6 +87,23 @@ function setupFixture(home: string): { gstackHome: string; counts: Record<string
   };
 }
 
+// Test seam for writes (A9): --no-write no longer stamps state, so runs that
+// need a populated state file import through a fake gbrain that accepts every
+// staged page.
+function fakeGbrainEnv(home: string, gstackHome: string): Record<string, string> {
+  const bin = join(home, "fake-bin");
+  mkdirSync(bin, { recursive: true });
+  writeFileSync(join(bin, "gbrain"), `#!/usr/bin/env bash
+case "\${1:-}" in
+  --help) echo "  import <dir>" ;;
+  import) n=$(find "$2" -name '*.md' | wc -l | tr -d ' '); echo "{\\"status\\":\\"success\\",\\"imported\\":$n,\\"skipped\\":0,\\"errors\\":0,\\"total_files\\":$n}" ;;
+  *) exit 1 ;;
+esac
+`);
+  chmodSync(join(bin, "gbrain"), 0o755);
+  return { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, PATH: `${bin}:${process.env.PATH || ""}` };
+}
+
 function seedTranscriptConsent(gstackHome: string | undefined): void {
   if (!gstackHome) return;
   mkdirSync(gstackHome, { recursive: true });
@@ -111,7 +128,7 @@ describe("V1 memory ingest pipeline E2E", () => {
   it("--probe accounts for all 9 fixture files: 7 attributable + 2 unattributed transcripts skipped (#2394)", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome, counts } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     const r = runBun(INGEST, ["--probe"], env);
     expect(r.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -135,7 +152,7 @@ describe("V1 memory ingest pipeline E2E", () => {
   it("--probe --include-unattributed counts all 9 fixture files, transcripts included", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome, counts } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     const r = runBun(INGEST, ["--probe", "--include-unattributed"], env);
     expect(r.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -150,7 +167,7 @@ describe("V1 memory ingest pipeline E2E", () => {
   it("--incremental writes a state file with schema_version: 1 + last_writer", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     runBun(INGEST, ["--incremental", "--quiet"], env);
 
@@ -167,7 +184,7 @@ describe("V1 memory ingest pipeline E2E", () => {
   it("--incremental is idempotent — re-run reports 0 changes", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     // First run
     runBun(INGEST, ["--incremental", "--quiet"], env);
@@ -184,7 +201,7 @@ describe("V1 memory ingest pipeline E2E", () => {
   it("--probe shows new vs unchanged distinction after first --incremental", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     // First, write some state by running --incremental quietly
     runBun(INGEST, ["--incremental", "--quiet"], env);
@@ -208,7 +225,7 @@ describe("V1 /gbrain-sync orchestrator E2E", () => {
   it("--dry-run with all stages enabled previews 3 stages", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     const r = runBun(SYNC, ["--dry-run"], env);
     expect(r.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -225,7 +242,7 @@ describe("V1 /gbrain-sync orchestrator E2E", () => {
   it("--no-code --no-brain-sync --incremental runs only memory ingest, writes sync state", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = fakeGbrainEnv(home, gstackHome);
 
     const r = runBun(SYNC, ["--incremental", "--no-code", "--no-brain-sync", "--quiet"], env);
     expect([0, 1]).toContain(r.exitCode); // memory stage may fail if gbrain CLI is missing; both ok
@@ -250,7 +267,7 @@ describe("V1 retrieval surface — real V1 manifest dispatch", () => {
   it("loads office-hours/SKILL.md manifest and dispatches 4 queries", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome };
 
     const skillFile = join(REPO_ROOT, "office-hours", "SKILL.md");
     expect(existsSync(skillFile)).toBe(true);
@@ -271,7 +288,7 @@ describe("V1 retrieval surface — real V1 manifest dispatch", () => {
   it("renders datamark envelope around every loaded section (Section 1D + D12)", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome };
 
     const skillFile = join(REPO_ROOT, "office-hours", "SKILL.md");
     const r = runBun(CONTEXT, ["--skill-file", skillFile, "--repo", "test-repo"], env);
@@ -292,7 +309,7 @@ describe("V1 retrieval surface — real V1 manifest dispatch", () => {
   it("Layer 1 fallback when no skill specified — default 3-section manifest", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome };
 
     const r = runBun(CONTEXT, ["--repo", "test-repo", "--explain", "--quiet"], env);
     expect(r.exitCode).toBe(0);
@@ -305,7 +322,7 @@ describe("V1 retrieval surface — real V1 manifest dispatch", () => {
   it("plan-ceo-review/SKILL.md manifest also dispatches correctly (regression for V1 manifest authoring)", () => {
     const home = makeFixtureHome();
     const { gstackHome } = setupFixture(home);
-    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome, GSTACK_MEMORY_INGEST_NO_WRITE: "1" };
+    const env = { HOME: home, GSTACK_HOME: gstackHome };
 
     const skillFile = join(REPO_ROOT, "plan-ceo-review", "SKILL.md");
     expect(existsSync(skillFile)).toBe(true);