---
name: the-run-is-the-census-a-grep-is-a-guess
description: a retraction/repin string sweep seeds the population; only the full suite run measures it — todlando's grep missed a live assertion spelled differently
metadata:
  type: feedback
---

#276 lane 2026-09-06: the JIT's §G string sweep listed the spellings to grep ("wrote its commune",
"echo wrote", "DROP FILE"...). A live positive control in psyche_real_bound_kill_soft_budget_e2e
asserted "wrote its drop" — not on the list — and only the full nextest run (with --no-fail-fast)
surfaced it. todlando: "The RUN is the census; a grep is a guess at one."

**Why:** a grep enumerates the spellings the author could imagine; the suite enumerates the
assertions that exist. When a behaviour is removed, every assertion that depended on it is a
victim whether or not it used the expected words.

**How to apply:** a retraction sweep = grep list (seed) + full suite run (census) + read every
red as a candidate victim before calling it a flake. State both counts in the PR body. Kin:
[[retraction-sweeps-diagnostic-strings]], [[nextest-default-fail-fast-hides-not-run-cells]].