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+# UNIFIED BACKUP — RESUME / STATUS (updated 2026-08-20)
+
+## STATE
+- Tooling BUILT + VALIDATED + COMMITTED (local, not pushed). launchd agent INSTALLED but PAUSED.
+- AWAITING operator GATE: real `unified-backup.zsh --apply` run on the Studio.
+- Nothing has moved. Agent unloaded (safe). Dry-runs confirmed 0 changes.
+
+## WHAT EXISTS
+- bin/unified-backup.zsh  (machine MOVE phase + 2TB COPY phase, dedup via _ledger)
+- config/backup3/{backup3.conf, machines/mac-studio.conf, machines/ole-blu.conf}
+- launchd/com.psingletary.backup3.plist -> points at unified-backup.zsh --apply
+- docs/UNIFIED-BACKUP-MAPPING.md  (full design)
+- Committed as 6fa40d5 in ~/dev/_shared (NOT pushed — remote force-diverged, ahead 31/behind 56)
+
+## KEY DECISIONS (locked 2026-08-20)
+- Machine (Studio+Air): MOVE (free local disk). 2TB: COPY. X10 canonical tree is authoritative.
+- No per-machine subdirs; provenance in _ledger (provenance.csv = reorg index, + provenance-machines.csv)
+- USE_ONEDRIVE=no (launchd OneDrive mkdir deadlocks "Resource deadlock avoided" — known File Provider issue).
+  All files -> X10 canonical. Re-enable USE_ONEDRIVE=yes for manual runs only.
+- stacher (adult) -> z-New folder/stacher/. streamlink/unique -> Downloads/.
+- 2TB uses rsync --ignore-existing (fast, no full re-hash on every launchd fire).
+
+## VALIDATED DRY-RUN (Studio, X10 mounted, 2TB mounted)
+- Machine phase: 1,127 WOULD-MOVE + 54 DEDUP-MOVE, 0 mystery lines, 0 OneDrive refs.
+- 2TB phase: Media->Media, Archive->Archive, QBT->QBT/torrents, Pictures->Pictures,
+  Media/Movies->Media/Movies, Media/TV->Media/TV, photos-restore bundle -> photos-restore.photoslibrary.
+- EXIT=0 in all dry-runs. Source dirs untouched (Downloads 911/133G, Movies 268, etc.)
+
+## BUGS FIXED DURING BUILD
+- zsh 5.9: `local var` declared per-iteration inside a loop echoed assignments to stdout.
+  Fix: hoist all `local` declarations to function top.
+- du -sk on TCC-protected Photos Library.photoslibrary returns rc=1 (op not permitted) -> broke set -e.
+  Fix: `du ... | cut -f1 || true`.
+- Machine hostname is mac.lan (not mac-studio); fixed detection to use scutil LocalHostName.
+
+## NEXT STEP (operator GATE required)
+1. Review /tmp/machine-nood.log (full machine dry-run) + /tmp/full-dryrun.log (with 2TB).
+2. Approve real run:
+     cd ~/dev/_shared && ./bin/unified-backup.zsh --apply   # machine MOVE + 2TB COPY
+   (or --apply --no-2tb for machine phase only).
+3. After it completes: verify provenance-machines.csv, confirm Studio freed ~135 GB, X10 Media grew.
+4. Then load the launchd agent for ongoing automation:
+     launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.psingletary.backup3.plist
+5. Same script backs up the Air when X10 is attached to it (ole-blu.conf already wired).
+6. Push _shared only after resolving the remote divergence (ahead 31 / behind 56). Do NOT force-push blindly.