diff --git a/scripts/dev-lead-fix-reviews.sh b/scripts/dev-lead-fix-reviews.sh
index 922c9e1b6..a6a6e1da8 100755
--- a/scripts/dev-lead-fix-reviews.sh
+++ b/scripts/dev-lead-fix-reviews.sh
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ REVIEWS_MARKER_PREFIX="<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews pr="
 # When this pass started, i.e. a lower bound on when it read the PR's comments.
 # Stamped on terminal markers as read_at= so the #2008 stale-edit dedup can tell a
 # pass that read an edited body from one that merely FINISHED after the edit.
-PASS_STARTED_AT="${PASS_STARTED_AT:-$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)}"
+PASS_STARTED_AT="${PASS_STARTED_AT:-$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S.%3NZ)}"
 INTEGRITY_MARKER_PREFIX="<!-- dev-lead-conflict-integrity pr="
 NONCONVERGE_MARKER_PREFIX="<!-- dev-lead-review-nonconverge pr="
 # Consecutive not-applied passes against the same review before escalating to a
@@ -551,7 +551,7 @@ ${msg}"
       comment_part="${comment_part} version=${COMMENT_VERSION}"
     fi
   fi
-  if [[ "${PASS_STARTED_AT:-}" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}Z$ ]]; then
+  if [[ "${PASS_STARTED_AT:-}" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}(\.[0-9]+)?Z$ ]]; then
     read_part=" read_at=${PASS_STARTED_AT}"
   fi
   local marker="${REVIEWS_MARKER_PREFIX}${PR_NUMBER}${sha_part} intent=${intent} status=${status}${comment_part}${read_part} -->"
@@ -951,10 +951,17 @@ fetch_pr_context() {
 # model read a 12:18Z disposition as current for a comment edited at 13:03Z,
 # posted nothing, and the gate stayed blocked on every pass. A PR whose comments
 # cannot be read gets an explicit "could not be determined" note, never "none".
+#
+# Also sets STALE_LATEST_EDIT, the newest lastEditedAt among the stale comments
+# (empty when none is stale or the comments cannot be read), for
+# post_stale_pass_start (#2247).
 export_stale_dispositions() {
   local comments facts
+  STALE_LATEST_EDIT=""
   if comments=$(bcr_fetch_pr_comments "$REPO" "$PR_NUMBER" 2>/dev/null) \
      && facts=$(maintainer_gate_stale_disposition_facts "$comments" "${BOT_USER:-donpetry-bot}"); then
+    STALE_LATEST_EDIT=$(maintainer_gate_stale_dispositions "$comments" "${BOT_USER:-donpetry-bot}" \
+      | jq -r 'map(.lastEditedAt) | max // ""' 2>/dev/null) || STALE_LATEST_EDIT=""
     if [ -n "$facts" ]; then
       # Linux caps one environment string at 128 KiB (MAX_ARG_STRLEN); an oversized
       # value would stop envsubst and the agent subprocess from starting.
@@ -979,6 +986,32 @@ This is settled; do not re-derive it. For each comment listed, read its CURRENT
   export STALE_DISPOSITIONS
 }
 
+# post_stale_pass_start: when this pass sees a stale disposition (STALE_LATEST_EDIT,
+# set by export_stale_dispositions), post a start marker before the model runs
+# (#2247). The dev-lead-retry.sh sweep caps the fix-reviews passes it dispatches
+# per edit by counting their markers (stale_disposition_needs_dispatch). A pass that
+# dies before its terminal marker (runner lost, timeout, cancel) would otherwise
+# leave nothing to count. read_at= matches the terminal marker's, so a pass that
+# posts both counts once. The `<!-- dev-lead` prefix is a registered automation
+# marker, so the comment gate does not count it as a finding. Best effort: a failed
+# post must not stop the pass.
+post_stale_pass_start() {
+  [[ "${STALE_LATEST_EDIT:-}" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}(\.[0-9]+)?Z$ ]] || return 0
+  local sha_part="" read_part=""
+  [[ "${HEAD_SHA:-}" =~ ^[0-9a-f]+$ ]] && sha_part=" sha=${HEAD_SHA}"
+  if [[ "${PASS_STARTED_AT:-}" =~ ^[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}(\.[0-9]+)?Z$ ]]; then
+    read_part=" read_at=${PASS_STARTED_AT}"
+  fi
+  local marker="<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=${PR_NUMBER}${sha_part} intent=fix-reviews edit=${STALE_LATEST_EDIT}${read_part} -->"
+  if [ "${DEV_LEAD_DRY_RUN:-false}" = "true" ]; then
+    echo "[dry-run] would post stale-disposition pass start marker: ${marker}"
+    return 0
+  fi
+  gh pr comment "$PR_NUMBER" --repo "$REPO" --body "$marker" >/dev/null 2>&1 \
+    || echo "::warning::could not post the stale-disposition pass start marker on PR #${PR_NUMBER} — the sweep's pass cap will not count this pass if it dies before its terminal marker (#2247)"
+  return 0
+}
+
 # resolve_bot_outdated_threads: resolves all outdated review threads from bot reviewers.
 # This is a cleanup function for the no-changes path: when no code changes are needed,
 # we still want to mark outdated bot comments as resolved so they don't clutter the PR.
@@ -4201,6 +4234,7 @@ case "$INTENT_TYPE" in
     export -n OPEN_THREADS_JSON  # an inherited export would carry the payload into every exec
     fetch_pr_context
     export_stale_dispositions
+    post_stale_pass_start
     rc=0
     build_and_run "fix-reviews" || rc=$?
     [ "$rc" -eq 2 ] && handle_rate_limit "fix-reviews"
diff --git a/scripts/dev-lead-retry.sh b/scripts/dev-lead-retry.sh
index b3a08e523..04ac6c643 100755
--- a/scripts/dev-lead-retry.sh
+++ b/scripts/dev-lead-retry.sh
@@ -512,7 +512,7 @@ fetch_pr_comment_nodes() {
 #   marker after the edit is not proof the edit was handled: on
 #   empower-personal-dashboard#65/#66/#67 passes ran after the edit, wrote no
 #   fresh disposition, and that marker stopped every later dispatch.
-#   Run markers only BOUND the retry. A successful fix-reviews pass for THIS PR
+#   Run markers only BOUND the retry. A fix-reviews pass for THIS PR
 #   (`<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews pr=<N> … intent=fix-reviews
 #   status=<any>`) that started at/after the latest such edit counts
 #   as one attempt. After STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES (default 2) it returns 3:
@@ -520,9 +520,13 @@ fetch_pr_comment_nodes() {
 #   starts a new count. A pass counts from when it STARTED (the marker's
 #   read_at=, a lower bound on when it read the comments), not when its marker
 #   was posted: a pass that began before the edit never saw the edited body. A
-#   legacy marker without read_at= falls back to its createdAt. Only a marker
-#   from a trusted author (OWNER/MEMBER/COLLABORATOR, as dev-lead's own markers
-#   are) counts, so an outside commenter cannot exhaust the cap.
+#   legacy marker without read_at= falls back to its createdAt. A pass's start
+#   marker (`<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=<N> … intent=fix-reviews`, posted
+#   before the model runs, #2247) counts too, so a pass that dies before its
+#   terminal marker still uses up an attempt. Markers are counted by distinct
+#   read_at, so a pass that posts both a start and a terminal marker counts once.
+#   Only a marker from a trusted author (OWNER/MEMBER/COLLABORATOR, as dev-lead's
+#   own markers are) counts, so an outside commenter cannot exhaust the cap.
 #   1 otherwise, including unreadable input (never dispatch on a guess). Pure
 #   apart from reading the reviewer registry.
 stale_disposition_needs_dispatch() {
@@ -534,13 +538,14 @@ stale_disposition_needs_dispatch() {
   latest_edit=$(jq -r 'map(.lastEditedAt) | max // ""' <<< "$stale" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
   [ -n "$latest_edit" ] || return 1
   later_runs=$(jq -r --arg e "$latest_edit" \
-    --arg re "<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews pr=${pr_number} [^>]*intent=fix-reviews status=" '
+    --arg re "<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews pr=${pr_number} [^>]*intent=fix-reviews status=" \
+    --arg start "<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=${pr_number} [^>]*intent=fix-reviews[ >]" '
       [ .[] | objects
         | select((.authorAssociation // "") as $a | ["OWNER","MEMBER","COLLABORATOR"] | index($a) != null)
-        | select((.body // "") | test($re))
+        | select((.body // "") | test($re) or test($start))
         | (.createdAt // "") as $posted
-        | ([(.body // "") | capture("read_at=(?<r>[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}Z)") | .r] | first // $posted) as $seen
-        | select($seen >= $e) ] | length' <<< "$nodes" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+        | ([(.body // "") | capture("read_at=(?<r>[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}(\\.[0-9]+)?Z)") | .r] | first // $posted) as $seen
+        | select(def n: sub("Z$"; "") | split(".") as $p | $p[0] + "." + (($p[1] // "") + "000000000")[0:9]; ($seen | n) >= ($e | n)) | $seen ] | unique | length' <<< "$nodes" 2>/dev/null) || return 1
   [[ "$later_runs" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] || return 1
   [ "$later_runs" -lt "$max_passes" ] || return 3
   return 0
diff --git a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_dev_lead_retry.bats b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_dev_lead_retry.bats
index 3415ac3e7..9504024f2 100644
--- a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_dev_lead_retry.bats
+++ b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_dev_lead_retry.bats
@@ -257,6 +257,117 @@ _sweep_nodes() {
   [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
 }
 
+# ── #2247: a pass that dies before any terminal marker still counts ────────────
+# A fix-reviews pass that sees a stale disposition posts a start marker before the
+# model runs. A pass whose runner is lost after that posts nothing else, so the cap
+# has to count start markers too. A pass that posts both counts once (same read_at).
+
+# _start_node <id> <createdAt> <read_at> [pr] [association]: a start-marker node.
+_start_node() {
+  jq -cn --arg id "$1" --arg c "$2" --arg r "$3" --arg pr "${4:-2000}" --arg a "${5:-OWNER}" '
+    {id:$id, author:{login:"don-petry", __typename:"User"}, authorAssociation:$a,
+     body:"<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=\($pr) sha=abc intent=fix-reviews edit=2026-10-01T20:35:00Z read_at=\($r) -->",
+     createdAt:$c, isMinimized:false, minimizedReason:null, lastEditedAt:null}'
+}
+
+# _with_nodes <nodes-json> <node-json>...: append nodes to a node array.
+_with_nodes() {
+  local nodes="$1" n
+  shift
+  for n in "$@"; do nodes=$(jq -c --argjson n "$n" '. + [$n]' <<< "$nodes"); done
+  printf '%s' "$nodes"
+}
+
+@test "sweep(#2247): two passes that only posted a start marker reach the cap (rc 3)" {
+  local base nodes
+  base=$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z)
+  nodes=$(_with_nodes "$base" "$(_start_node IC_s1 2026-10-01T20:40:01Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z)")
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  nodes=$(_with_nodes "$nodes" "$(_start_node IC_s2 2026-10-01T20:55:01Z 2026-10-01T20:55:00Z)")
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "sweep(#2247): a pass that posts a start and a terminal marker counts once" {
+  local nodes
+  # The terminal marker (IC_run) carries the same read_at as the start marker.
+  nodes=$(_with_nodes "$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z 2026-10-01T20:45:00Z OWNER 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z)" \
+    "$(_start_node IC_s1 2026-10-01T20:40:01Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z)")
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1 run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "sweep(#2247): millisecond-precision read_at is parsed, deduped across start+terminal, and compared to the edit" {
+  local nodes
+  # Start (createdAt ...01Z) and terminal (...45Z) markers share read_at=...:00.123Z: one pass.
+  nodes=$(_with_nodes "$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z 2026-10-01T20:45:00Z OWNER 2026-10-01T20:40:00.123Z)" \
+    "$(_start_node IC_s1 2026-10-01T20:40:01Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00.123Z)")
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1 run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+  # A pass that read at 20:30:00.500Z (before the edit) posted after it: not counted.
+  nodes=$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z 2026-10-01T20:36:15Z OWNER 2026-10-01T20:30:00.500Z)
+  STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1 run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  # read_at 20:35:00.000Z equals the edit second: counted (fraction must not sort it below).
+  nodes=$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z 2026-10-01T20:36:15Z OWNER 2026-10-01T20:35:00.000Z)
+  STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1 run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$nodes" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "sweep(#2247): a start marker before the edit, for another PR, or from an untrusted author does not count" {
+  export STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1  # one counted pass reaches the cap
+  local base
+  base=$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z)
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$(_with_nodes "$base" "$(_start_node IC_s 2026-10-01T20:36:00Z 2026-10-01T20:30:00Z)")" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$(_with_nodes "$base" "$(_start_node IC_s 2026-10-01T20:41:00Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z 20)")" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$(_with_nodes "$base" "$(_start_node IC_s 2026-10-01T20:41:00Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z 2000 NONE)")" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "$(_with_nodes "$base" "$(_start_node IC_s 2026-10-01T20:41:00Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z)")" 2000
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "sweep(#2247): two passes start and post no terminal marker — the third sweep holds and posts the capped hold" {
+  export DRY_RUN="false" POSTS_FILE="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/posts"
+  : > "$POSTS_FILE"
+  gh() {
+    case "$*" in
+      *"--method POST"*) printf '%s\n' "$*" >> "$POSTS_FILE" ;;
+      *"/pulls/2000"*) echo '{"state":"open","head":{"sha":"abc"},"labels":[]}' ;;
+      *"/comments"*) jq -c 'map(.body)' <<< "$SWEEP_NODES" ;;
+      *) echo '[]' ;;
+    esac
+  }
+  pr_resume_suppressed() { return 1; }
+  post_dispatch_guard() { :; }
+  fetch_pr_comment_nodes() { printf '%s' "$SWEEP_NODES"; }
+  dispatch_reviews_retry() { echo "DISPATCH intent=$4" >&2; }
+
+  # Sweeps 1 and 2 dispatch; each dispatched pass posts its start marker, then dies.
+  export SWEEP_NODES
+  SWEEP_NODES=$(_sweep_nodes 2026-10-01T20:35:00Z 2026-10-01T19:23:54Z)
+  run scan_pr_for_rate_limits "combsmith/.github-private" 2000
+  [[ "$output" == *"DISPATCH intent=fix-reviews"* ]]
+  SWEEP_NODES=$(_with_nodes "$SWEEP_NODES" "$(_start_node IC_s1 2026-10-01T20:40:01Z 2026-10-01T20:40:00Z)")
+  run scan_pr_for_rate_limits "combsmith/.github-private" 2000
+  [[ "$output" == *"DISPATCH intent=fix-reviews"* ]]
+  [ ! -s "$POSTS_FILE" ]
+  SWEEP_NODES=$(_with_nodes "$SWEEP_NODES" "$(_start_node IC_s2 2026-10-01T20:55:01Z 2026-10-01T20:55:00Z)")
+
+  # Sweep 3: no dispatch, and the capped hold comment is posted.
+  run scan_pr_for_rate_limits "combsmith/.github-private" 2000
+  [ "${lines[-1]}" = "0" ]
+  [[ "$output" != *"DISPATCH"* ]]
+  [[ "$output" == *"::warning::"*"#2166"* ]]
+  grep -q 'dev-lead-stale-disposition-hold pr=2000 sha=abc max_passes=2' "$POSTS_FILE"
+}
+
 @test "sweep(#2008): unreadable comment data never dispatches (no guessing)" {
   run stale_disposition_needs_dispatch "not json" 2000
   [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
diff --git a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_fix_reviews.bats b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_fix_reviews.bats
index 8b8293d9d..46bbfb16c 100644
--- a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_fix_reviews.bats
+++ b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_fix_reviews.bats
@@ -7669,10 +7669,11 @@ GITEOF
 # current and posted nothing. The harness now computes the stale set before the
 # model runs (the gate's own #2008 rule) and hands it over as a fact.
 
-# _stale_env <comments-json|FAIL>: run export_stale_dispositions against a gh stub
-# whose comment read returns <comments-json> (or fails), and print the result.
+# _stale_env <comments-json|FAIL> [var]: run export_stale_dispositions against a gh
+# stub whose comment read returns <comments-json> (or fails), and print <var>
+# (default STALE_DISPOSITIONS).
 _stale_env() {
-  export STALE_COMMENTS="$1"
+  export STALE_COMMENTS="$1" STALE_VAR="${2:-STALE_DISPOSITIONS}"
   cat > "$STUB_BIN_DIR/gh" <<'GHEOF'
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 [ "$STALE_COMMENTS" = "FAIL" ] && exit 1
@@ -7686,7 +7687,7 @@ GHEOF
     source '$SCRIPT_DIR/scripts/lib/bot-comment-retry.sh'
     eval \"\$(sed -n '/^export_stale_dispositions()/,/^}/p' '$FIX_REVIEWS_SCRIPT')\"
     export_stale_dispositions >/dev/null 2>&1
-    printf '%s' \"\$STALE_DISPOSITIONS\"
+    printf '%s' \"\${!STALE_VAR}\"
   "
 }
 
@@ -7879,3 +7880,68 @@ GHEOF
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
   [ "$output" = "2026-10-12T00:00:00Z" ]
 }
+
+# ── #2247: a stale-disposition pass records that it started ────────────────────
+# The sweep caps fix-reviews passes per edit by counting their markers. A pass that
+# dies before its terminal marker (runner lost, timeout, cancel) left nothing to
+# count, so it posts a start marker before the model runs.
+
+@test "fix-reviews(#2247): export_stale_dispositions records the latest stale edit time, empty when none is stale" {
+  _stale_env "$(_stale_nodes 2026-10-10T12:18:39Z)" STALE_LATEST_EDIT
+  [ "$output" = "2026-10-10T13:03:53Z" ]
+  _stale_env "$(_stale_nodes 2026-10-10T13:10:00Z)" STALE_LATEST_EDIT
+  [ -z "$output" ]
+  _stale_env FAIL STALE_LATEST_EDIT
+  [ -z "$output" ]
+}
+
+# _start_post <STALE_LATEST_EDIT> [DEV_LEAD_DRY_RUN]: run post_stale_pass_start and
+# print what the gh stub was asked to post.
+_start_post() {
+  export POSTED="$BATS_TEST_TMPDIR/posted"
+  : > "$POSTED"
+  cat > "$STUB_BIN_DIR/gh" <<'GHEOF'
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+printf '%s\n' "$@" >> "$POSTED"
+GHEOF
+  chmod +x "$STUB_BIN_DIR/gh"
+  run bash -c "
+    export PATH='$STUB_BIN_DIR':\"\$PATH\" REPO=o/r PR_NUMBER=54 HEAD_SHA=ddd444eee555
+    export STALE_LATEST_EDIT='$1' DEV_LEAD_DRY_RUN='${2:-false}' PASS_STARTED_AT=2026-10-10T13:20:00Z
+    REVIEWS_MARKER_PREFIX='<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews pr='
+    eval \"\$(sed -n '/^post_stale_pass_start()/,/^}/p' '$FIX_REVIEWS_SCRIPT')\"
+    post_stale_pass_start
+  "
+}
+
+@test "fix-reviews(#2247): a pass with a stale disposition posts a start marker carrying pr, sha, edit and read_at" {
+  _start_post 2026-10-10T13:03:53Z
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  grep -qF '<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=54 sha=ddd444eee555 intent=fix-reviews edit=2026-10-10T13:03:53Z read_at=2026-10-10T13:20:00Z -->' "$POSTED"
+}
+
+@test "fix-reviews(#2247): no start marker when nothing is stale, or in dry-run" {
+  _start_post ""
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ ! -s "$POSTED" ]
+  _start_post 2026-10-10T13:03:53Z true
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+  [ ! -s "$POSTED" ]
+}
+
+@test "fix-reviews(#2247): the start marker the pass posts is the one the sweep counts" {
+  _start_post 2026-10-10T13:03:53Z
+  local marker nodes
+  marker=$(grep -o '<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start [^>]*-->' "$POSTED")
+  nodes=$(jq -c --arg m "$marker" '. + [{id:"IC_start", author:{login:"don-petry", __typename:"User"},
+      authorAssociation:"OWNER", body:$m, createdAt:"2026-10-10T13:20:01Z", lastEditedAt:null,
+      isMinimized:false, minimizedReason:null}]' <<< "$(_stale_nodes 2026-10-10T12:18:39Z)")
+  run bash -c "source '$SCRIPT_DIR/scripts/dev-lead-retry.sh'; STALE_DISPOSITION_MAX_PASSES=1 stale_disposition_needs_dispatch \"\$1\" 54" _ "$nodes"
+  [ "$status" -eq 3 ]
+}
+
+@test "fix-reviews(#2247): the start marker is posted after the stale set is computed and before the model runs" {
+  local block
+  block="$(sed -n '/^  fix-reviews)$/,/build_and_run "fix-reviews"/p' "$FIX_REVIEWS_SCRIPT")"
+  [[ "$block" == *"export_stale_dispositions"*"post_stale_pass_start"*"build_and_run"* ]]
+}
diff --git a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_maintainer_comment_gate.bats b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_maintainer_comment_gate.bats
index aedb688f4..579de4e9a 100644
--- a/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_maintainer_comment_gate.bats
+++ b/tests/dev-lead/unit/test_maintainer_comment_gate.bats
@@ -966,3 +966,11 @@ _stale_nodes() {
   _run_check "$(jq -c '{reviews:[], comments:.}' <<< "$after")"
   [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
 }
+
+# #2247: a fix-reviews pass posts a start marker before the model runs, so the
+# sweep's pass cap counts a pass that dies early. It is automation, not a finding.
+@test "#2247: the fix-reviews start marker is a registered automation marker → 0" {
+  local json='{"comments":[{"author":{"login":"don-petry"},"authorAssociation":"OWNER","body":"<!-- dev-lead-fix-reviews-start pr=54 sha=ddd444eee555 intent=fix-reviews edit=2026-10-10T13:03:53Z read_at=2026-10-10T13:20:00Z -->","createdAt":"2026-10-10T13:20:01Z","isMinimized":false,"minimizedReason":""}]}'
+  _run_check "$json"
+  [ "$status" -eq 0 ]
+}