Ad hoc: make the ladder executable, and make the collision class loud

record_check.py moves a finding along the cadence ladder and writes the
dated line into the finding at the same time — a check that is not
written down did not happen, which is the rule the register applies to
everyone else. make checked ARGS="RISK-F-0002 clean".

make check now also reports duplicate finding ids. The RISK-F-0004
collision was resolved by hand yesterday; the next one gets caught by the
tooling instead of by someone noticing a file listed twice.

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

Makefile

@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 PY := python3
 TOOLS := tools
 
-.PHONY: help register check
+.PHONY: help register check checked
 
 help:
 	@echo "make register  - rebuild REGISTER.md from findings/"
 	@echo "make check     - verify the index is current, then report what is going quiet"
+	@echo "make checked   - record a check outcome: make checked ARGS=\"RISK-F-0002 clean\""
 
 register:
 	@$(PY) $(TOOLS)/register_index.py
@@ -14,3 +15,7 @@ check:
 	@$(PY) $(TOOLS)/register_index.py --check
 	@echo
 	@$(PY) $(TOOLS)/register_check.py
+
+checked:
+	@$(PY) $(TOOLS)/record_check.py $(ARGS)
+	@$(PY) $(TOOLS)/register_index.py

tools/record_check.py

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Record the outcome of a check and move the finding along the ladder.
+
+    python3 tools/record_check.py RISK-F-0002 clean
+    python3 tools/record_check.py RISK-F-0002 moved  "flex-auth shipped the fix"
+    python3 tools/record_check.py RISK-F-0002 defer  2026-09-01 "operator: after the migration"
+
+`clean` climbs one rung, `moved` resets to `instant`, `defer` parks it until a
+date by explicit operator decision. Writes the front-matter and appends a dated
+line to the finding's Reviews section — the check is not recorded until it is
+written down, which is the same rule the register applies to everyone else.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import datetime as dt
+import re
+import sys
+
+import register_lib as lib
+
+
+def fail(msg: str) -> None:
+    print(msg)
+    raise SystemExit(2)
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str]) -> int:
+    if len(argv) < 2:
+        fail(__doc__)
+    fid, outcome, rest = argv[0], argv[1], argv[2:]
+    matches = [f for f in lib.findings() if f["id"] == fid]
+    if not matches:
+        fail(f"no finding with id {fid}")
+    f = matches[0]
+    path = f["_path"]
+    text = path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    now = lib.now()
+    stamp = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+    rung = f.get("cadence", "instant")
+
+    if outcome == "clean":
+        new_rung = lib.climb(rung)
+        streak = int(f.get("clean_streak", 0)) + 1
+        nxt = now + lib.interval(new_rung)
+        note = rest[0] if rest else "checked, nothing moved"
+        line = f"- **{now:%Y-%m-%d}** — clean check: {note}. Cadence {rung} → {new_rung} ({streak} clean in a row); next check {nxt:%Y-%m-%d %H:%MZ}."
+        defer = ""
+    elif outcome == "moved":
+        if not rest:
+            fail("`moved` needs a reason: what changed")
+        new_rung, streak, nxt = lib.reset(), 0, now
+        line = f"- **{now:%Y-%m-%d}** — not clean: {rest[0]} Cadence {rung} → instant; checked again immediately."
+        defer = ""
+    elif outcome == "defer":
+        if len(rest) < 2:
+            fail("`defer` needs a date and the operator's reason")
+        until, why = rest[0], rest[1]
+        new_rung, streak, nxt = rung, int(f.get("clean_streak", 0)), lib.moment(until)
+        line = f"- **{now:%Y-%m-%d}** — deferred to {until} by explicit operator decision: {why}"
+        defer = until
+    else:
+        fail("outcome must be one of: clean, moved, defer")
+
+    subs = {
+        "last_checked": stamp,
+        "next_check": nxt.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"),
+        "cadence": new_rung,
+        "clean_streak": str(streak),
+    }
+    if defer:
+        subs["deferred_to"] = defer
+    for key, value in subs.items():
+        quoted = f'"{value}"' if key not in ("cadence", "clean_streak") else value
+        if re.search(rf"(?m)^{key}:", text):
+            text = re.sub(rf"(?m)^{key}:.*$", f"{key}: {quoted}", text)
+        else:
+            text = text.replace("\n---\n", f"\n{key}: {quoted}\n---\n", 1)
+
+    if "\n## Reviews\n" in text:
+        text = text.rstrip("\n") + "\n" + line + "\n"
+    else:
+        text = text.rstrip("\n") + "\n\n## Reviews\n\n" + line + "\n"
+    path.write_text(text, encoding="utf-8")
+    print(f"{fid}: {outcome} — cadence {rung} → {new_rung}, next check {subs['next_check']}")
+    print("REGISTER.md is stale; run `make register`.")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main(sys.argv[1:]))

tools/register_check.py

@@ -26,6 +26,16 @@ def main() -> int:
             lines.append(f"  {quiet}")
         lines.append("")
 
+    seen: dict[str, str] = {}
+    dupes = []
+    for f in lib.findings():
+        prior = seen.get(f["id"])
+        if prior:
+            dupes.append(f"{f['id']} — filed twice: {prior} and {f['_path'].name}; renumber the later commit")
+        seen[f["id"]] = f["_path"].name
+    if dupes:
+        section("Duplicate ids", dupes, "none")
+
     unknown = [
         f"{f['id']} — status '{f.get('status')}' is not one of {', '.join(lib.KNOWN_STATUSES)}; watched anyway"
         for f in fs