source-control:babysit-prs: refresh_pr_branch.py's active-human-review-stop check false-fires on self-authored replies (#473-class, freshness gate)

[kyle-sexton]

Lane: babysit (safe tier)

Triggering example: melodic-software/claude-code-plugins#848 (also reproduced on #849, #859, #861, #869, melodic-software/dotfiles#280 in the same cycle). Snapshot reports branch_freshness.state == "behind" and mutation_policy.branch_write_allowed == true, so the orchestrator attempted the guarded refresh:

python refresh_pr_branch.py --pr melodic-software/claude-code-plugins#848 --expected-head-sha 3cf7fa23d020753095ad435e319e6c42b0cd3a97 --lease-token <token> --state-dir <state-dir> --apply

Result: ERROR: snapshot has an active human review stop.

Observed vs expected: The PR's only human_blocking_feedback_ids entry is comment:5032743107, authored by kyle-sexton (the babysit lane's own self-login) — a prior-cycle classification reply ("Post-green review classification (work lane): ... No action needed ... Flipping to ready, handing off to the babysit lane"). There is no actual open human blocker on this PR — human_changes_requested is false and the comment explicitly says no action is needed. Expected: a self-authored comment under the configured self-login should not count as an "active human review stop" blocking the freshness-refresh gate, the same way #473 fixed this for the needs_worker new_human_blocking_feedback arm. All 6 behind-base PRs in the current queue hit this identically, permanently blocking freshness refresh (and therefore the merge gate, which also needs a fresh branch) for any PR the lane has ever left a classification reply on.

Category: bug

Repro: any PR where branch_freshness.state == "behind" and the only human_blocking_feedback_ids entry is a self-authored (self-login) general/review comment.

Work-class: C3 (bug-fix-shaped) — attended triage 2026-07-23, operator-ratified. 🤖

[kyle-sexton]

Triage → ready (lane: triage). Tier: T1 — well-specified bug with a landed same-class precedent to mirror; no open design fork.

Priority: high — this permanently blocks the babysit lane's freshness-refresh gate (and, transitively, the merge gate, which requires a fresh branch) on every PR the lane has ever left a classification reply on. 6 live PRs hit it identically in one cycle (#848, #849, #859, #861, #869, melodic-software/dotfiles#280). Blocks-work per triage rule 5(a).

Precedent (mirror this): #473 (CLOSED) fixed the exact same same-login false-positive class for the needs_worker new_human_blocking_feedback arm — a self-authored comment under the configured self-login was being counted as a new human blocker. The fix there excluded self-login-authored feedback from that arm. This issue is the identical bug in a different gate: the active-human-review-stop check inside refresh_pr_branch.py.

Fix approach (high-confidence): before the active-human-review-stop check evaluates human_blocking_feedback_ids, filter out entries authored by the configured self-login — the same exclusion #473 applied. A self-authored comment must never register as an "active human review stop." Confirm the check reads the same authorship/self-login source of truth #473 introduced (reuse it; do not re-derive a second self-login notion).

Acceptance:

• A behind-base PR whose only human_blocking_feedback_ids entry is a self-login-authored comment refreshes cleanly (no ERROR: snapshot has an active human review stop).
• A genuine human blocker (different author, or human_changes_requested == true) still stops the refresh.
• Golden fixture covering the self-authored-only case (parallels source-control:babysit-prs: needs_worker's new_human_blocking_feedback fires on the worker's own self-authored replies (same-login false positive) #473's regression coverage).

Repro: any PR where branch_freshness.state == "behind" and the sole human_blocking_feedback_ids entry is a self-login general/review comment.

No open prereq (#473 already merged) — routing ready.

[kyle-sexton]

[kyle-sexton]

Claimed by the work-loop worker lane (/work-items:work-loop, cycle 1) — autonomous invocation.

• Admission gate: C3 (bug-fix-shaped), earn-trust ratification satisfied by the item-carried Work-class: … operator-ratified stamp (attended triage 2026-07-23).
• Auto-confirmation recorded here in place of the interactive selection prompt (/work-items:work Step 3, autonomous path).
• Lane boundary: this lane authors a PR and never merges.

This was generated by AI (work-loop lane, 2026-07-23). 🤖

[kyle-sexton]

work-item-lease reclaimed: lease expired (renewed_at 2026-07-25T15:09:10Z) with no activity.