fix(pS-usage): fail-safe prune protection — in-wire owner nonce + sticky union poison, protect-all on zero identified, abort on unreadable record, rsusage_ prefix

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -339,10 +339,12 @@ target_include_directories(assignment_request PUBLIC src)
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # 2j'') Pure sample_usage library — NO REAPER, NO SWELL, NO VST3. The pS-usage seam:
-#       the per-instance usage record the INSTRUMENT writes ("usage_<guid>" ext-state,
+#       the per-instance usage record the INSTRUMENT writes ("rsusage_<guid>" ext-state,
 #       the one sanctioned VST-side write) and the EXTENSION reads at prune time. Owns
 #       the wire round-trip, the publish plan (copy-collision fail-safe resolution),
-#       and the liveness fold (which records count against the live FX enumeration).
+#       the liveness fold (which records count against the live FX enumeration,
+#       protect-all when zero identified, abort on unreadable), and the FX identity
+#       matcher.
 #       Linked by BOTH artifacts — the mirror of assignment_request, reversed direction.
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 add_library(sample_usage STATIC src/sample_usage.cpp)

src/actions.cpp

@@ -821,6 +821,18 @@ void doBankRemoveSelected() {
 void doBankPruneFolder() {
     const PruneReport report = g_session->pruneDryRun();
 
+    // pS-usage FAIL-SAFE: a present instance-usage record could not be read — the
+    // protected set is unknowable, so the prune HALTS outright (deletes nothing) rather
+    // than proceed with degraded protection. Distinct from "no orphans": the user must
+    // know the prune refused to run and why.
+    if (report.abortedUnreadableUsage) {
+        ShowConsoleMsg(
+            "ReaSampler prune: ABORTED -- an instance usage record could not be read.\n"
+            "Nothing was deleted. Re-opening the project usually clears this (instances "
+            "republish their usage records on load).\n");
+        return;
+    }
+
     if (report.count == 0) {
         ShowConsoleMsg("ReaSampler prune: no orphaned files to reclaim.\n");
         return;

src/ext_keys.h

@@ -70,17 +70,20 @@ inline constexpr const char* kProjExtBankGenKey = "bank_generation";
 inline constexpr const char* kProjExtAssignKey = "assign_request";
 
 // The pS-usage PER-INSTANCE USAGE-RECORD key prefix. The INSTRUMENT writes one key per
-// instance — "usage_<instanceGuid>" — carrying the sample_usage wire record of every
+// instance — "rsusage_<instanceGuid>" — carrying the sample_usage wire record of every
 // capture that instance holds; the EXTENSION enumerates the prefix at prune-scan time
 // and folds live instances' holds into the prune's `referenced` set so a held capture
 // can never be pruned. This is the ONE sanctioned instrument-side ext-state write
 // (Daniel's ruling — the VST publishes its OWN usage; it never mutates banks/view/
 // tail/assign, and the bridge's write entry point structurally accepts only this
-// prefix). WIRE-SHARED in the write->read direction the other keys reverse. FOREVER-
-// STABLE once shipped: changing the prefix strands every saved project's usage records
-// (prune falls back to bank-references-only until instances republish — graceful, but
-// the instance-hold protection lapses for stale-saved projects).
-inline constexpr const char* kProjExtUsageKeyPrefix = "usage_";
+// prefix). WIRE-SHARED in the write->read direction the other keys reverse. The "rs"
+// qualifier is deliberate: a future key that happens to start with "usage_" must never
+// be swept into the FX-liveness fold (whose abort-on-unreadable rule would then halt
+// every prune), so the prefix is namespaced like the wire magics (rsusage1/rsassign1).
+// FOREVER-STABLE once shipped: changing the prefix strands every saved project's usage
+// records (prune falls back to bank-references-only until instances republish —
+// graceful, but the instance-hold protection lapses for stale-saved projects).
+inline constexpr const char* kProjExtUsageKeyPrefix = "rsusage_";
 
 // The full per-instance usage key for a minted instance GUID (the one composition
 // point, shared by the instrument's writer and the extension's enumerator).

src/persist.cpp

@@ -306,10 +306,17 @@ constexpr std::size_t kPruneListDisplayCap = 64;
 //   * orphans    — the FULL orphan set (owned ∩ present) − referenced, in enumeration
 //                  order, untruncated. The pure core decides; this only supplies inputs.
 //   * sizeByRel  — per-orphan-relative on-disk byte size (0 when it could not be stat'd).
+//   * abortedUnreadableUsage — true iff a present rsusage_* instance-usage record could
+//                  not be read/decoded (pS-usage fail-safe): `orphans` is left EMPTY —
+//                  the prune must halt rather than proceed with degraded protection.
+//                  An empty orphan set is itself the delete-side guarantee (every
+//                  consumer of this scan deletes at most `orphans ∩ ...`), the flag is
+//                  what lets the action TELL the user instead of claiming "no orphans".
 struct PruneScan {
     std::string bankDirAbs;
     std::vector<std::string> orphans;
     std::unordered_map<std::string, std::uint64_t> sizeByRel;
+    bool abortedUnreadableUsage = false;
 };
 
 // Non-throwing: readActiveProject + resolveBankFile are pure/string; every filesystem
@@ -362,14 +369,24 @@ PruneScan scanPruneOrphans(const BankBook& book, const OwnedFileManifest& owned)
     // referencedPaths() unions across the whole book (pool included); owned().paths() is
     // the manifest set. pS-usage: the referenced set additionally unions every LIVE
     // ReaSampler 9000 instance's held captures (usage_scan reads the per-instance
-    // usage_* records + the live FX enumeration; sample_usage decides liveness) — a
-    // capture any live instance holds can NEVER be an orphan, even when its bank entry
-    // was deleted while the instance kept its ref. liveInstanceHeldPaths is READ-ONLY,
+    // rsusage_* records + the live FX enumeration; sample_usage decides liveness,
+    // including the protect-all net when zero instances were identified) — a capture
+    // any live instance holds can NEVER be an orphan, even when its bank entry was
+    // deleted while the instance kept its ref. liveInstanceHeldPaths is READ-ONLY,
     // preserving this scan's no-write contract. This shell only enumerates, resolves,
     // and stats.
     scan.bankDirAbs = bankDir;
+    const UsageScanResult usage = liveInstanceHeldPaths(proj);
+    if (usage.abortPrune) {
+        // FAIL-SAFE ABORT: a present rsusage_* record could not be read/decoded, so the
+        // protected set is unknowable. Compute NO orphans — every downstream consumer
+        // (dry-run report, confirm set, fresh-recompute delete plan) then deletes
+        // nothing. The flag surfaces the reason to the action's console message.
+        scan.abortedUnreadableUsage = true;
+        return scan;
+    }
     scan.orphans = pruneOrphans(
-        present, mergeReferenced(book.referencedPaths(), liveInstanceHeldPaths(proj)),
+        present, mergeReferenced(book.referencedPaths(), usage.heldPaths),
         owned.paths());
     return scan;
 }
@@ -380,7 +397,13 @@ PruneReport ReaSamplerSession::pruneDryRun() const {
     const PruneScan scan = scanPruneOrphans(book_, owned_);
     // buildPruneReport tallies count / byte-sum / display-truncation — no report logic
     // re-implemented here. An empty scan (no project / no folder) yields a zero report.
-    return buildPruneReport(scan.orphans, scan.sizeByRel, kPruneListDisplayCap);
+    PruneReport report =
+        buildPruneReport(scan.orphans, scan.sizeByRel, kPruneListDisplayCap);
+    // pS-usage fail-safe: surface the unreadable-record abort so the action halts with
+    // an explicit message instead of reporting "no orphaned files" (the count IS zero —
+    // the scan computed nothing — but the user must know the prune refused to run).
+    report.abortedUnreadableUsage = scan.abortedUnreadableUsage;
+    return report;
 }
 
 std::vector<std::string> ReaSamplerSession::pruneOrphanSet() const {
@@ -466,6 +489,9 @@ PruneDeletionResult ReaSamplerSession::pruneReclaim(
     // newly-appeared orphan not in `confirmed` is never swept without its own confirm.
     // Because freshOrphans is itself a pure-core output, the plan can contain NO referenced
     // and NO hand-dropped file — the R-C/R-D safety survives the recompute.
+    // pS-usage: if THIS fresh scan hits an unreadable rsusage_* record it aborts with an
+    // EMPTY orphan set, so the plan below intersects to empty and nothing is deleted —
+    // the fail-safe holds even in the confirm→delete window, with no extra branch here.
     const PruneScan scan = scanPruneOrphans(book_, owned_);
     if (scan.bankDirAbs.empty()) return result;  // no project / no folder -> nothing
 

src/persist.h

@@ -186,9 +186,11 @@ public:
     // own convention (bankRelativeForName — byte-identical to the capture path's spelling),
     // and feeds the R1 pure core with (present, referenced, owned().paths()) where
     // `referenced` = book().referencedPaths() ∪ every LIVE ReaSampler 9000 instance's
-    // held captures (pS-usage: usage_scan reads the per-instance usage_* ext-state
+    // held captures (pS-usage: usage_scan reads the per-instance rsusage_* ext-state
     // records + the live FX enumeration; sample_usage decides liveness) — a capture any
     // live instance holds can never be an orphan, so the prune can never delete it.
+    // FAIL-SAFE: a present-but-unreadable usage record sets the report's
+    // abortedUnreadableUsage flag with an EMPTY orphan set — the prune action halts.
     // Returns the orphan count + reclaimable bytes + the (possibly display-truncated) file
     // list. The decision stays in the pure core — this method only enumerates, resolves,
     // and stats. READ-ONLY across the whole persist seam: it writes NO ext-state, calls no

src/prune_reconcile.h

@@ -64,11 +64,18 @@ namespace reasampler {
 //                   `truncated` says whether the list was clipped.
 //   * truncated   — true iff `orphans` holds fewer than `count` entries (a large set was
 //                   clipped for display); false when the list is complete.
+//   * abortedUnreadableUsage — true iff the scan found a present-but-unreadable
+//                   rsusage_* instance-usage record (pS-usage fail-safe): the orphan
+//                   computation was NOT performed (count 0, empty list) and the prune
+//                   must HALT — deleting with degraded protection is the data-loss
+//                   direction. Set by the session's scan shell, never by
+//                   buildPruneReport (which stays a pure tally).
 struct PruneReport {
     std::size_t              count = 0;
     std::uint64_t            totalBytes = 0;
     std::vector<std::string> orphans;
     bool                     truncated = false;
+    bool                     abortedUnreadableUsage = false;
 };
 
 // The outcome of an actual prune DELETION (Phase R, Wave 3 — R3). The prune shell fills

src/sample_usage.cpp

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #include "sample_usage.h"
 
+#include <cctype>
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <limits>
 
@@ -92,6 +93,8 @@ private:
 std::string encodeUsageRecord(const UsageRecord& rec) {
     std::string out = kMagic;
     putField(out, rec.trackGuid);
+    putField(out, rec.ownerNonce);
+    putField(out, rec.unioned ? "1" : "0");
     putField(out, std::to_string(rec.holds.size()));
     for (const UsageHold& h : rec.holds) {
         putField(out, h.sampleId);
@@ -105,6 +108,12 @@ std::optional<UsageRecord> decodeUsageRecord(const std::string& wire) {
     if (!c.literal(kMagic)) return std::nullopt;
     UsageRecord rec;
     if (!c.field(rec.trackGuid)) return std::nullopt;
+    if (!c.field(rec.ownerNonce)) return std::nullopt;
+    std::string unionedField;
+    if (!c.field(unionedField)) return std::nullopt;
+    if (unionedField == "1") rec.unioned = true;
+    else if (unionedField == "0") rec.unioned = false;
+    else return std::nullopt;  // anything else is corruption -> reject whole
     std::size_t count = 0;
     if (!c.fieldCount(count)) return std::nullopt;
     // Each hold needs at least 4 wire bytes ("0:0:"), so a count past wire.size()/4 is
@@ -122,44 +131,73 @@ std::optional<UsageRecord> decodeUsageRecord(const std::string& wire) {
 }
 
 UsagePublishPlan planUsagePublish(const std::optional<std::string>& existing,
-                                  const std::string& lastPublishedThisLifetime,
                                   const UsageRecord& mine) {
     UsagePublishPlan plan;
-    plan.wire = encodeUsageRecord(mine);
+    // The written form of "just mine": mine's identity + holds, unioned=false (the plan
+    // computes the flag; a sole-writer record is un-poisoned).
+    UsageRecord cleanMine = mine;
+    cleanMine.unioned = false;
+    plan.wire = encodeUsageRecord(cleanMine);
 
     if (!existing || existing->empty()) {
         // Fresh key — write mine.
-    } else if (!lastPublishedThisLifetime.empty() &&
-               *existing == lastPublishedThisLifetime) {
-        // The key holds exactly what THIS instance wrote this lifetime: the normal
-        // single-owner path. Clean replace (released holds genuinely drop).
-        if (plan.wire == lastPublishedThisLifetime) plan.skipWrite = true;
-    } else {
-        const std::optional<UsageRecord> theirs = decodeUsageRecord(*existing);
-        if (!theirs) {
-            // Undecodable existing value — overwrite with mine (it protects nothing).
-        } else if (theirs->trackGuid == mine.trackGuid) {
-            // Foreign value from MY OWN track: my own persisted record from the last
-            // session, or a same-track copy-sibling. Either way no hold in it may be
-            // dropped by me — union, existing-first, de-duped. Over-protects (fail-safe)
-            // until the next clean replace.
-            UsageRecord merged;
-            merged.trackGuid = mine.trackGuid;
-            merged.holds = theirs->holds;
-            for (const UsageHold& h : mine.holds) {
-                bool dup = false;
-                for (const UsageHold& e : merged.holds) {
-                    if (e == h) { dup = true; break; }
-                }
-                if (!dup) merged.holds.push_back(h);
-            }
-            plan.wire = encodeUsageRecord(merged);
-        } else {
-            // Foreign value from ANOTHER track: this instance is a cross-track copy (or
-            // was moved). Take a fresh identity; never overwrite the other's record.
-            plan.remint = true;
-        }
+        return plan;
     }
+    const std::optional<UsageRecord> theirs = decodeUsageRecord(*existing);
+    if (!theirs) {
+        // Undecodable existing value under MY OWN key: a sibling sharing this key
+        // (copy) always writes decodable records, so this is corruption. Overwrite
+        // with mine — the self-heal restores correct protection for my holds; the
+        // prune side independently ABORTS while an unreadable record is present
+        // (foldUsageRecords), so the corrupt window can never cause a delete.
+        return plan;
+    }
+
+    const bool nonceMatch =
+        !mine.ownerNonce.empty() && theirs->ownerNonce == mine.ownerNonce;
+
+    if (nonceMatch && !theirs->unioned) {
+        // Exactly THIS incarnation wrote the key (the per-lifetime nonce is the exact
+        // ownership proof — a same-track sibling's byte-identical hold set can NOT pass
+        // this test, its nonce differs) AND no other writer has ever unioned into it,
+        // so the content is provably all mine. Clean replace: released holds drop.
+        if (plan.wire == *existing) plan.skipWrite = true;  // idle reload tick
+        return plan;
+    }
+
+    if (theirs->trackGuid == mine.trackGuid || (nonceMatch && theirs->unioned)) {
+        // A foreign writer on MY OWN track (a same-track copy-sibling, or my own
+        // last-session record — indistinguishable by construction), or a record I
+        // wrote last but that carries unioned holds from an earlier multi-writer
+        // merge. Either way no hold in it may be dropped by me — union, existing-
+        // first, de-duped, and the record is (or stays) POISONED unioned=true so no
+        // future nonce-matching write can clean-replace a sibling's holds away.
+        UsageRecord merged;
+        merged.trackGuid = mine.trackGuid;
+        merged.ownerNonce = mine.ownerNonce;
+        merged.unioned = true;
+        merged.holds = theirs->holds;
+        for (const UsageHold& h : mine.holds) {
+            bool dup = false;
+            for (const UsageHold& e : merged.holds) {
+                if (e == h) { dup = true; break; }
+            }
+            if (!dup) merged.holds.push_back(h);
+        }
+        if (theirs->unioned && merged.holds == theirs->holds) {
+            // Already poisoned and the union adds nothing — the write would flip only
+            // the ownerNonce. Skip the redundant ext-state churn. (A false->true
+            // unioned flip is NEVER skipped: it is the poison that protects the other
+            // writer's holds from the last writer's future clean replace.)
+            plan.skipWrite = true;
+        }
+        plan.wire = encodeUsageRecord(merged);
+        return plan;
+    }
+
+    // Foreign value from ANOTHER track: this instance is a cross-track copy (or was
+    // moved). Take a fresh identity; never overwrite the other's record.
+    plan.remint = true;
     return plan;
 }
 
@@ -169,10 +207,15 @@ std::vector<std::string> usageHeldPaths(
     bool anyInstanceLive) {
     std::vector<std::string> out;
     std::unordered_set<std::string> seen;
+    // FAIL-SAFE NET: records exist but not one instance was identified live anywhere —
+    // indistinguishable from an identity-matcher failure, so protect EVERY record's
+    // paths rather than none (zero-identified must never degrade toward delete).
+    const bool protectAll = !records.empty() && !anyInstanceLive;
     for (const UsageRecord& rec : records) {
-        const bool live = rec.trackGuid.empty()
-                              ? anyInstanceLive
-                              : (liveTrackGuids.count(rec.trackGuid) != 0);
+        const bool live = protectAll ||
+                          (rec.trackGuid.empty()
+                               ? anyInstanceLive
+                               : (liveTrackGuids.count(rec.trackGuid) != 0));
         if (!live) continue;
         for (const UsageHold& h : rec.holds) {
             if (h.relativePath.empty()) continue;
@@ -182,4 +225,53 @@ std::vector<std::string> usageHeldPaths(
     return out;
 }
 
+UsageFoldResult foldUsageRecords(
+    const std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>>& decoded,
+    const std::unordered_set<std::string>& liveTrackGuids,
+    bool anyInstanceLive) {
+    UsageFoldResult result;
+    std::vector<UsageRecord> records;
+    records.reserve(decoded.size());
+    for (const std::optional<UsageRecord>& rec : decoded) {
+        if (!rec) {
+            // A present-but-unreadable record: it may protect ANYTHING, so the prune
+            // must halt outright — heldPaths is irrelevant once abortPrune is set (the
+            // caller deletes nothing).
+            result.abortPrune = true;
+            return result;
+        }
+        records.push_back(*rec);
+    }
+    result.heldPaths = usageHeldPaths(records, liveTrackGuids, anyInstanceLive);
+    return result;
+}
+
+std::string toUpperAscii(const std::string& s) {
+    std::string out = s;
+    for (char& c : out)
+        c = static_cast<char>(std::toupper(static_cast<unsigned char>(c)));
+    return out;
+}
+
+bool identityMatches(const std::string& identity, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
+                     const std::string& nameUpper,
+                     const std::string& outputNameUpper) {
+    if (identity.empty()) return false;
+    const std::string up = toUpperAscii(identity);
+    // Primary: the 32-hex class UID embedded in REAPER's fx_ident rendering. Not
+    // guaranteed on every platform/REAPER build (byte-order of the rendered FUID vs
+    // REAPER's hex is unverified on Windows COM layout), hence the two name nets below
+    // — and the protect-all fold above them (see usageHeldPaths).
+    if (!uidHexUpper.empty() && up.find(uidHexUpper) != std::string::npos) return true;
+    // The module filename base ("REASAMPLER_9000") — fx_ident carries the .vst3 module
+    // path, so this is the alternative that works in the common case (the display name
+    // "REASAMPLER 9000", space-separated, can never match the filename form).
+    if (!outputNameUpper.empty() && up.find(outputNameUpper) != std::string::npos)
+        return true;
+    // The factory display name — matches original_name / renamed-instance renderings.
+    // Beta-substring over-protect is deliberate (see the header note): stable needles
+    // are substrings of beta ones, widening protection only — never a delete.
+    return !nameUpper.empty() && up.find(nameUpper) != std::string::npos;
+}
+
 }  // namespace reasampler

src/sample_usage.h

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 // sample_usage — the pure core of the pS-usage seam: ReaSampler 9000 instances count
 // as USAGE for the prune. Each live instance PUBLISHES the captures it holds (its v10
 // SampleRefs — sample ids + project-relative paths) to a per-instance project ext-state
-// key ("usage_<instanceGuid>", see ext_keys.h); the EXTENSION reads every usage record
+// key ("rsusage_<instanceGuid>", see ext_keys.h); the EXTENSION reads every usage record
 // at prune-scan time, keeps only the records backed by a live ReaSampler 9000 FX
 // instance, and folds the surviving paths into the prune's `referenced` set — so a file
 // any live instance holds can never be an orphan and BANK_PRUNE_FOLDER can never
@@ -21,7 +21,22 @@
 // bridge when it grabs a capture, so be it") and it does NOT weaken the read-only-BANK
 // invariant: the instrument publishes its OWN usage under its OWN per-instance key,
 // and never touches banks/view/tail/assign or any other extension-owned key. The bridge
-// enforces this structurally — its write entry point accepts only "usage_"-prefixed keys.
+// enforces this structurally — its write entry point accepts only "rsusage_"-prefixed keys.
+//
+// -- THE SAFETY PROPERTY (overrides every other consideration) -----------------
+//
+// The un-prunable guarantee is a SAFETY property: every failure, ambiguity, or
+// uncertainty in this seam must FAIL-SAFE toward PROTECT. Over-protection (prune skips a
+// reclaimable file, or refuses to run at all) is an acceptable residual; under-protection
+// (deleting a file an instance may still be playing) is a data-loss bug. Three fail-safe
+// folds live in this pure module so they are provable without a DAW:
+//   * sibling-collision  -> UNION, never clean-replace over a foreign writer (ownerNonce);
+//   * zero-identified    -> records exist but NO instance was identified live -> protect
+//                           ALL records' paths (an identity-matcher failure must never
+//                           degrade toward delete);
+//   * unreadable record  -> ABORT the prune entirely (foldUsageRecords.abortPrune — a
+//                           record we cannot read may protect anything; halting deletes
+//                           nothing).
 //
 // -- Liveness (no stale-key false-protect, no false-delete) --------------------
 //
@@ -45,22 +60,40 @@
 // instance (offline FX included — chain enumeration is chunk-level, so a parked
 // instance still protects its holds). A record whose track GUID could not be resolved
 // at publish time (empty) counts while ANY ReaSampler 9000 instance exists in the
-// project — the fail-safe fallback. The residual: a deleted instance whose track still
-// hosts a sibling 9000 keeps its record alive (false-PROTECT only — prune skips a file
-// it could have reclaimed; never the delete direction). Bounded, documented, accepted.
+// project — the fail-safe fallback. And the identity-failure net: when records exist
+// but ZERO instances were identified live anywhere, EVERY record's paths are protected
+// (see the safety property above — indistinguishable from a matcher failure, so it may
+// never resolve toward delete). Residuals: a deleted instance whose track still hosts a
+// sibling 9000 keeps its record alive, and a project whose instances were all deleted
+// keeps its leftover records protecting until an instance is identified again — both
+// false-PROTECT only, bounded, documented, accepted.
 //
 // -- Identity & the copy problem (planUsagePublish) -----------------------------
 //
 // The publishing key is a minted per-instance GUID persisted in ComponentState (v11).
 // A persisted id is inherently COPYABLE (FX copy / track duplication clones component
-// state byte-for-byte), so two live instances can wake up sharing one key. The publish
-// plan resolves every collision in the fail-safe direction:
-//   * existing value == what THIS instance wrote this lifetime -> clean replace (the
-//     normal single-owner path; holds the instance released genuinely drop).
-//   * existing value is foreign but from the SAME track -> UNION of holds (a same-track
-//     copy; neither sibling's holds may be dropped — over-protects until the next clean
-//     replace, never under-protects).
-//   * existing value is foreign from a DIFFERENT track -> RE-MINT (a cross-track copy
+// state byte-for-byte), so two live instances can wake up sharing one key. Worse, two
+// same-track copies converge on byte-identical wires, so "existing == what I last
+// wrote" is NOT a sound ownership test — a sibling's byte-identical write would pass
+// it, and a later clean replace would silently drop the sibling's holds (the delete
+// direction). TWO in-wire facts close this:
+//   * ownerNonce — a per-LIFETIME nonce minted fresh in memory each instance lifetime,
+//     NEVER persisted (a persisted nonce would clone with the state, recreating the
+//     ambiguity). Proves "exactly this incarnation wrote the key last".
+//   * unioned — a STICKY multi-writer poison flag. "I wrote the key last" does NOT
+//     imply "the key contains only my holds": after I union a sibling's holds under my
+//     own nonce, a later nonce-matching clean replace would drop them. So the first
+//     union sets unioned=true in the wire, and a unioned record REFUSES clean replace
+//     forever — every subsequent write is a union (holds only accumulate). Over-protect
+//     residual, accepted; a solo never-restarted instance keeps clean-replace
+//     semantics, and a remint starts a fresh un-poisoned key.
+// The publish plan resolves every collision in the fail-safe direction:
+//   * existing ownerNonce == mine AND not unioned -> clean replace (sole writer,
+//     provably my content; holds the instance released genuinely drop).
+//   * same track with a foreign nonce, OR unioned -> UNION of holds, written with
+//     unioned=true (a same-track sibling, my own last-session record, or a
+//     multi-writer key; nothing may be dropped — over-protects, never under-protects).
+//   * foreign nonce, DIFFERENT track, not unioned-by-me -> RE-MINT (a cross-track copy
 //     or move; the newcomer takes a fresh identity and leaves the original's record
 //     untouched; a moved-away original's old record dies by the liveness rule).
 
@@ -84,15 +117,22 @@ struct UsageHold {
 };
 
 // One instance's published usage: the REAPER track GUID it was hosted on at publish
-// time ("{...}" canonical form; empty when the host context could not resolve one) plus
-// every capture it holds. The record is self-contained — the extension needs nothing
-// from the instance beyond this value and the live FX enumeration.
+// time ("{...}" canonical form; empty when the host context could not resolve one), the
+// writing incarnation's per-LIFETIME ownerNonce (the exact "did I write this?" ownership
+// discriminator — see the copy-problem note above; never persisted in ComponentState),
+// the sticky multi-writer `unioned` poison flag (once true, clean replace is refused
+// forever — see the note above), plus every capture it holds. The record is
+// self-contained — the extension needs nothing from the instance beyond this value and
+// the live FX enumeration.
 struct UsageRecord {
     std::string trackGuid;
+    std::string ownerNonce;
+    bool unioned = false;
     std::vector<UsageHold> holds;
 
     bool operator==(const UsageRecord& o) const {
-        return trackGuid == o.trackGuid && holds == o.holds;
+        return trackGuid == o.trackGuid && ownerNonce == o.ownerNonce &&
+               unioned == o.unioned && holds == o.holds;
     }
 };
 
@@ -100,22 +140,25 @@ struct UsageRecord {
 // ("rsusage1"), the same idiom as assignment_request / provenance, so arbitrary bytes
 // in a GUID or path round-trip whole. Deterministic.
 //
-// FORMAT: "rsusage1" <len>':'<trackGuid> <len>':'<holdCount-decimal>
-//         then per hold: <len>':'<sampleId> <len>':'<relativePath>
+// FORMAT: "rsusage1" <len>':'<trackGuid> <len>':'<ownerNonce> <len>':'<unioned "0"|"1">
+//         <len>':'<holdCount-decimal> then per hold: <len>':'<sampleId> <len>':'<relativePath>
 std::string encodeUsageRecord(const UsageRecord& rec);
 
 // Parse a wire string produced by encodeUsageRecord. std::nullopt on malformed /
-// truncated / trailing-garbage input (never UB, never a partial value). The extension
-// treats an undecodable record as absent — it can protect nothing it cannot read.
+// truncated / trailing-garbage input (never UB, never a partial value). The prune scan
+// treats an undecodable record as UNREADABLE and ABORTS (foldUsageRecords) — it must
+// never proceed with protection it cannot read.
 std::optional<UsageRecord> decodeUsageRecord(const std::string& wire);
 
 // The publish decision computed BEFORE a write (see the identity note above).
 //   * remint    — true when the existing key value belongs to a live foreign instance
 //                 on another track: the caller must mint a fresh instance GUID and
 //                 write under the NEW key, leaving the existing record untouched.
-//   * skipWrite — true when the write would be byte-identical to what this instance
-//                 already wrote this lifetime (idle reload tick) — skip the ext-state
-//                 churn entirely.
+//   * skipWrite — true when the write would change nothing that matters: byte-identical
+//                 to the existing value (idle reload tick), or a union over an
+//                 ALREADY-unioned record that adds no holds (the write would flip only
+//                 the ownerNonce — redundant ext-state churn, skipped; a false->true
+//                 unioned flip is never skipped, it is the multi-writer poison).
 //   * wire      — the encoded value to write (mine, or the same-track union).
 struct UsagePublishPlan {
     bool remint = false;
@@ -123,29 +166,80 @@ struct UsagePublishPlan {
     std::string wire;
 };
 
-// Decide what to write for `mine` given the key's current value and what this instance
-// last wrote THIS LIFETIME (empty string = nothing yet this lifetime — a fresh load;
-// the existing value is then this instance's own persisted record from the last
-// session, OR a copy-source's record: same-track -> union, other-track -> remint).
-//   * existing absent or undecodable          -> write mine.
-//   * existing == lastPublishedThisLifetime   -> write mine (clean replace).
-//   * existing.trackGuid == mine.trackGuid    -> write union(existing.holds, mine.holds)
-//                                                (existing-first order, de-duped).
-//   * else                                    -> remint = true, write mine (new key).
+// Decide what to write for `mine` given the key's current value. `mine.ownerNonce` is
+// THIS lifetime's nonce; `mine.unioned` is ignored (the plan computes the written
+// flag). Branches, in order:
+//   * existing absent/empty        -> write mine (unioned=false — sole known writer).
+//   * existing undecodable         -> write mine, unioned=false (this is MY key — a
+//     sibling sharing it via copy always writes decodable records, so an undecodable
+//     value is corruption; overwriting restores correct protection for my holds, and
+//     the prune side independently ABORTS while an unreadable record is present).
+//   * nonce match AND !unioned     -> clean replace (sole writer, provably my content;
+//                                     released holds drop); skipWrite when
+//                                     byte-identical (idle reload tick).
+//   * same track OR unioned        -> union(existing.holds, mine.holds), existing-first,
+//                                     de-duped, written with unioned=TRUE under my
+//                                     nonce — a sibling's holds are NEVER dropped. The
+//                                     false->true unioned flip is ALWAYS written (it is
+//                                     the poison that blocks the last writer's future
+//                                     clean replace); skipWrite only when the existing
+//                                     record is already unioned AND the union adds no
+//                                     holds (the write would change nonce only).
+//   * else (foreign, other track)  -> remint = true, write mine (fresh un-poisoned key).
 UsagePublishPlan planUsagePublish(const std::optional<std::string>& existing,
-                                  const std::string& lastPublishedThisLifetime,
                                   const UsageRecord& mine);
 
-// The prune-side fold: every project-relative path held by a LIVE instance, de-duped,
-// in (record, hold) input order. A record counts iff
+// The prune-side liveness fold: every project-relative path held by a LIVE instance,
+// de-duped, in (record, hold) input order. A record counts iff
 //   * its trackGuid is non-empty and present in `liveTrackGuids` (a track that still
 //     exists AND still hosts >= 1 ReaSampler 9000 FX — the caller's enumeration), OR
 //   * its trackGuid is empty and `anyInstanceLive` is true (the fail-safe fallback for
 //     a record published without a resolvable track context).
+// FAIL-SAFE NET (the safety property): when `records` is non-empty and
+// `anyInstanceLive` is false — records exist but NOT ONE instance was identified
+// anywhere — EVERY record's paths are returned (protect-all). Zero identified with
+// records present is indistinguishable from an identity-matcher failure, and a matcher
+// failure must never resolve toward delete. (Residual: leftover records in a project
+// whose instances were all genuinely deleted keep protecting — false-PROTECT only.)
 // Holds with an empty relativePath are skipped (nothing to protect).
 std::vector<std::string> usageHeldPaths(
     const std::vector<UsageRecord>& records,
     const std::unordered_set<std::string>& liveTrackGuids,
     bool anyInstanceLive);
 
+// The prune-side entry fold over RAW read/decode results, one element per enumerated
+// rsusage_* key: nullopt = the key was present but could not be read or decoded
+// (oversized ext-state read, truncation, corruption). ANY nullopt sets abortPrune —
+// the prune must HALT and delete nothing (an unreadable record may protect anything;
+// proceeding with degraded protection is the delete direction). Otherwise delegates to
+// usageHeldPaths (including its protect-all net).
+struct UsageFoldResult {
+    bool abortPrune = false;
+    std::vector<std::string> heldPaths;
+};
+UsageFoldResult foldUsageRecords(
+    const std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>>& decoded,
+    const std::unordered_set<std::string>& liveTrackGuids,
+    bool anyInstanceLive);
+
+// FX-identity match for the live-instance enumeration (pure so the matcher itself is
+// testable; the shell only supplies REAPER's identity strings). `identity` is the value
+// of an FX's "fx_ident" or "original_name" named-config parm; the three needles are the
+// UPPERCASED channel constants:
+//   * uidHexUpper    — the 32-hex VST3 class UID (instrument_drop::vstClassIdHex),
+//   * nameUpper      — the factory display name ("REASAMPLER 9000"),
+//   * outputNameUpper— the .vst3 module filename base ("REASAMPLER_9000") — the form
+//                      fx_ident is guaranteed to embed (it carries the module path),
+//                      which the space-separated display name can never match.
+// Substring, case-insensitive. NOTE the deliberate beta-substring over-protect: the
+// stable needles are substrings of the beta ones ("REASAMPLER 9000" ⊂ "REASAMPLER 9000
+// BETA", "REASAMPLER_9000" ⊂ "REASAMPLER_9000_BETA"), so a stable extension scanning a
+// project with beta instances matches them too — a WIDER protected set only (fail-safe;
+// it can never cause a delete).
+bool identityMatches(const std::string& identity, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
+                     const std::string& nameUpper, const std::string& outputNameUpper);
+
+// ASCII-only uppercase (shared by the matcher and the shell's needle preparation).
+std::string toUpperAscii(const std::string& s);
+
 }  // namespace reasampler

src/usage_scan.cpp

@@ -18,16 +18,17 @@
 
 #include "usage_scan.h"
 
-#include <cctype>
 #include <cstdlib>
+#include <functional>
+#include <optional>
 #include <string>
 #include <unordered_set>
 #include <vector>
 
-#include "app_version.h"      // vstPluginName (channel display-name fallback match)
+#include "app_version.h"      // vstPluginName / vstOutputName (channel name needles)
 #include "ext_keys.h"         // kProjExtNamespace / kProjExtUsageKeyPrefix
 #include "instrument_drop.h"  // vstClassIdHex — the frozen channel class-UID hex
-#include "sample_usage.h"     // decodeUsageRecord, usageHeldPaths (the pure decisions)
+#include "sample_usage.h"     // identityMatches, foldUsageRecords (the pure decisions)
 #include "track_guid.h"       // guidString — the ONE canonical GUID key formatter
 
 #define REAPERAPI_MINIMAL
@@ -52,28 +53,53 @@ namespace reasampler {
 
 namespace {
 
-std::string toUpperAscii(const std::string& s) {
-    std::string out = s;
-    for (char& c : out)
-        c = static_cast<char>(std::toupper(static_cast<unsigned char>(c)));
-    return out;
+// The three UPPERCASED channel needles identityMatches (pure, sample_usage) checks
+// every FX identity string against. One instance drives the whole scan.
+struct FxIdentityNeedles {
+    std::string uidHexUpper;      // 32-hex VST3 class UID (may not appear on all builds)
+    std::string outputNameUpper;  // "REASAMPLER_9000" — the .vst3 filename base fx_ident embeds
+    std::string nameUpper;        // "REASAMPLER 9000" — factory display name
+};
+
+// A named-config-parm getter abstracted over the FX-chain kind: track FX and take FX
+// share the identical identity walk (fx_ident + original_name + container recursion),
+// differing only in which REAPER getter reads the parm.
+using FxParmGetter =
+    std::function<std::string(int fxId, const char* parm)>;
+
+// True if any FX in the (possibly container-nested) sub-chain rooted at `fxId` is a
+// ReaSampler 9000. BOTH fx_ident and original_name are checked on BOTH chain kinds (a
+// renamed instance keeps its original_name; fx_ident carries the module path — the
+// review's take-path gap is closed by sharing this one walk). Containers are walked via
+// the documented container_count / container_item.X addressing (v7.06+); on a chain
+// kind or REAPER version without containers the parm read returns empty and recursion
+// is a no-op. `depth` bounds pathological nesting. fx_ident is queried per FX — chain
+// enumeration is chunk-level, so OFFLINE instances match too (load-bearing: a
+// Design-View-parked instance must keep protecting its holds).
+bool fxSubtreeHasInstance(const FxParmGetter& parm, int fxId,
+                          const FxIdentityNeedles& id, int depth) {
+    if (identityMatches(parm(fxId, "fx_ident"), id.uidHexUpper, id.nameUpper,
+                        id.outputNameUpper) ||
+        identityMatches(parm(fxId, "original_name"), id.uidHexUpper, id.nameUpper,
+                        id.outputNameUpper))
+        return true;
+    if (depth <= 0) return false;
+    const std::string countStr = parm(fxId, "container_count");
+    if (countStr.empty()) return false;  // not a container
+    const int n = std::atoi(countStr.c_str());
+    for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
+        const std::string item =
+            parm(fxId, ("container_item." + std::to_string(k)).c_str());
+        if (item.empty()) continue;
+        const int childId = std::atoi(item.c_str());
+        if (childId <= 0) continue;
+        if (fxSubtreeHasInstance(parm, childId, id, depth - 1)) return true;
+    }
+    return false;
 }
 
-// Does this FX identity string name a ReaSampler 9000 of THIS channel? Primary match:
-// fx_ident contains the channel's 32-hex class UID (REAPER renders VST3 idents with the
-// UID hex embedded; case varies, so compare uppercased). Fallback: the identity carries
-// the channel display name ("ReaSampler 9000" / "ReaSampler 9000 beta") — belt and
-// braces for an fx_ident rendering that omits the hex. A false positive here only
-// widens the protected set (fail-safe direction); it can never cause a delete.
-bool identityMatches(const std::string& identity, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
-                     const std::string& nameUpper) {
-    if (identity.empty()) return false;
-    const std::string up = toUpperAscii(identity);
-    if (!uidHexUpper.empty() && up.find(uidHexUpper) != std::string::npos) return true;
-    return !nameUpper.empty() && up.find(nameUpper) != std::string::npos;
-}
+constexpr int kMaxContainerDepth = 8;
 
-// Read one named config parm of a track FX into a string ("" on failure/absence).
 std::string trackFxParm(MediaTrack* tr, int fxId, const char* parm) {
     char buf[2048] = {0};
     if (!TrackFX_GetNamedConfigParm(tr, fxId, parm, buf, static_cast<int>(sizeof(buf))))
@@ -81,47 +107,26 @@ std::string trackFxParm(MediaTrack* tr, int fxId, const char* parm) {
     return std::string(buf);
 }
 
-// True if any FX in the (possibly container-nested) sub-chain rooted at `fxId` is a
-// ReaSampler 9000. Containers are walked via the documented container_count /
-// container_item.X addressing (v7.06+); `depth` bounds pathological nesting. fx_ident
-// is queried per FX — chain enumeration is chunk-level, so OFFLINE instances match too
-// (load-bearing: a Design-View-parked instance must keep protecting its holds).
-bool trackFxSubtreeHasInstance(MediaTrack* tr, int fxId,
-                               const std::string& uidHexUpper,
-                               const std::string& nameUpper, int depth) {
-    if (identityMatches(trackFxParm(tr, fxId, "fx_ident"), uidHexUpper, nameUpper) ||
-        identityMatches(trackFxParm(tr, fxId, "original_name"), uidHexUpper, nameUpper))
-        return true;
-    if (depth <= 0) return false;
-    const std::string countStr = trackFxParm(tr, fxId, "container_count");
-    if (countStr.empty()) return false;  // not a container
-    const int n = std::atoi(countStr.c_str());
-    for (int k = 0; k < n; ++k) {
-        const std::string item =
-            trackFxParm(tr, fxId, ("container_item." + std::to_string(k)).c_str());
-        if (item.empty()) continue;
-        const int childId = std::atoi(item.c_str());
-        if (childId <= 0) continue;
-        if (trackFxSubtreeHasInstance(tr, childId, uidHexUpper, nameUpper, depth - 1))
-            return true;
-    }
-    return false;
+std::string takeFxParm(MediaItem_Take* take, int fxId, const char* parm) {
+    char buf[2048] = {0};
+    if (!TakeFX_GetNamedConfigParm(take, fxId, parm, buf, static_cast<int>(sizeof(buf))))
+        return {};
+    return std::string(buf);
 }
 
 // True if `tr` hosts >= 1 ReaSampler 9000 anywhere: normal chain, record/input chain
 // (index | 0x1000000), containers recursively.
-bool trackHasInstance(MediaTrack* tr, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
-                      const std::string& nameUpper) {
-    constexpr int kMaxContainerDepth = 8;
+bool trackHasInstance(MediaTrack* tr, const FxIdentityNeedles& id) {
+    const FxParmGetter parm = [tr](int fxId, const char* p) {
+        return trackFxParm(tr, fxId, p);
+    };
     const int n = TrackFX_GetCount(tr);
     for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
-        if (trackFxSubtreeHasInstance(tr, i, uidHexUpper, nameUpper, kMaxContainerDepth))
-            return true;
+        if (fxSubtreeHasInstance(parm, i, id, kMaxContainerDepth)) return true;
     }
     const int rec = TrackFX_GetRecCount(tr);
     for (int i = 0; i < rec; ++i) {
-        if (trackFxSubtreeHasInstance(tr, 0x1000000 + i, uidHexUpper, nameUpper,
-                                      kMaxContainerDepth))
+        if (fxSubtreeHasInstance(parm, 0x1000000 + i, id, kMaxContainerDepth))
             return true;
     }
     return false;
@@ -129,50 +134,53 @@ bool trackHasInstance(MediaTrack* tr, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
 
 // True if any take FX on `item` is a ReaSampler 9000 (all takes, not just active — a
 // non-active take's instance still exists in the project and reactivates with the
-// take). No container recursion here: take chains are queried flat, and a sampler
-// nested in a take-FX container is exotic enough that the empty-trackGuid any-instance
-// fallback (sample_usage liveness rule) is the documented safety net.
-bool itemHasInstance(MediaItem* item, const std::string& uidHexUpper,
-                     const std::string& nameUpper) {
+// take). The SAME identity walk as the track path: fx_ident + original_name + container
+// recursion (an unrecognized exotic still lands in the pure protect-all net — records
+// with zero identified instances protect everything rather than nothing).
+bool itemHasInstance(MediaItem* item, const FxIdentityNeedles& id) {
     const int takes = CountTakes(item);
     for (int t = 0; t < takes; ++t) {
         MediaItem_Take* take = GetMediaItemTake(item, t);
         if (!take) continue;
+        const FxParmGetter parm = [take](int fxId, const char* p) {
+            return takeFxParm(take, fxId, p);
+        };
         const int n = TakeFX_GetCount(take);
         for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
-            char buf[2048] = {0};
-            if (TakeFX_GetNamedConfigParm(take, i, "fx_ident", buf,
-                                          static_cast<int>(sizeof(buf))) &&
-                identityMatches(buf, uidHexUpper, nameUpper))
-                return true;
+            if (fxSubtreeHasInstance(parm, i, id, kMaxContainerDepth)) return true;
         }
     }
     return false;
 }
 
 // Growing GetProjExtState read (the persist.cpp idiom): the usage record scales with
-// the hold count, so a fixed buffer risks a truncated decode — and an undecodable
-// record protects nothing, which is the DANGEROUS direction here. Empty on absence.
-std::string readExtStateValue(ReaProject* proj, const char* key) {
+// the hold count, so a fixed buffer risks a truncated decode. Returns nullopt when the
+// key cannot be read WHOLE — absent-after-enumeration (rv <= 0) or pathologically large
+// (> 16 MB give-up). The caller only queries keys the enumeration just listed, so a
+// nullopt here is a PRESENT-BUT-UNREADABLE record: it folds to abortPrune (fail-safe —
+// silently reduced protection is the delete direction).
+std::optional<std::string> readExtStateValue(ReaProject* proj, const char* key) {
     for (int cap = 1 << 12; cap <= (1 << 24); cap <<= 2) {
         std::vector<char> buf(static_cast<std::size_t>(cap), '\0');
         const int rv = GetProjExtState(proj, kProjExtNamespace(), key, buf.data(), cap);
-        if (rv <= 0) return {};
+        if (rv <= 0) return std::nullopt;
         std::string s(buf.data());
         if (static_cast<int>(s.size()) + 1 < cap) return s;
         // else possibly truncated -> grow and retry
     }
-    return {};
+    return std::nullopt;  // > 16 MB — unreadable whole, never "absent"
 }
 
 }  // namespace
 
-std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
+UsageScanResult liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
     ReaProject* proj = static_cast<ReaProject*>(projOpaque);
+    UsageScanResult result;
 
-    // 1. Enumerate the usage_* keys and decode each record. Key names first (values via
-    //    the growing reader — EnumProjExtState's fixed val buffer could truncate a large
-    //    record, and a truncated record decodes to nothing = protects nothing).
+    // 1. Enumerate the rsusage_* keys and read+decode each record. Key names first
+    //    (values via the growing reader — EnumProjExtState's fixed val buffer could
+    //    truncate a large record). A nullopt element = present-but-unreadable/
+    //    undecodable -> the pure fold ABORTS the prune.
     std::vector<std::string> usageKeys;
     {
         char keyBuf[256];
@@ -186,26 +194,30 @@ std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
             if (key.compare(0, prefix.size(), prefix) == 0) usageKeys.push_back(key);
         }
     }
-    std::vector<UsageRecord> records;
-    records.reserve(usageKeys.size());
-    for (const std::string& key : usageKeys) {
-        const std::string value = readExtStateValue(proj, key.c_str());
-        if (value.empty()) continue;
-        if (std::optional<UsageRecord> rec = decodeUsageRecord(value)) {
-            records.push_back(std::move(*rec));
-        }
-    }
-    if (records.empty()) return {};  // no instance ever published — skip the FX scan
+    if (usageKeys.empty()) return result;  // no instance ever published — skip the scan
 
-    // 2. Enumerate live ReaSampler 9000 hosts. One channel-frozen identity pair drives
+    std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>> decoded;
+    decoded.reserve(usageKeys.size());
+    for (const std::string& key : usageKeys) {
+        const std::optional<std::string> value = readExtStateValue(proj, key.c_str());
+        if (!value) {
+            decoded.push_back(std::nullopt);  // unreadable -> abort (pure fold)
+            continue;
+        }
+        decoded.push_back(decodeUsageRecord(*value));  // undecodable -> nullopt -> abort
+    }
+
+    // 2. Enumerate live ReaSampler 9000 hosts. One channel-frozen needle set drives
     //    every match; a track needs only ONE instance to keep all its records live.
-    const std::string uidHexUpper = toUpperAscii(vstClassIdHex());
-    const std::string nameUpper = toUpperAscii(vstPluginName());
+    FxIdentityNeedles id;
+    id.uidHexUpper = toUpperAscii(vstClassIdHex());
+    id.outputNameUpper = toUpperAscii(vstOutputName());
+    id.nameUpper = toUpperAscii(vstPluginName());
     std::unordered_set<std::string> liveTrackGuids;
     bool anyLive = false;
 
     if (MediaTrack* master = GetMasterTrack(proj)) {
-        if (trackHasInstance(master, uidHexUpper, nameUpper)) {
+        if (trackHasInstance(master, id)) {
             liveTrackGuids.insert(guidString(master));
             anyLive = true;
         }
@@ -214,7 +226,7 @@ std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
     for (int i = 0; i < trackCount; ++i) {
         MediaTrack* tr = GetTrack(proj, i);
         if (!tr) continue;
-        if (trackHasInstance(tr, uidHexUpper, nameUpper)) {
+        if (trackHasInstance(tr, id)) {
             liveTrackGuids.insert(guidString(tr));
             anyLive = true;
         }
@@ -225,7 +237,7 @@ std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
     for (int i = 0; i < itemCount; ++i) {
         MediaItem* item = GetMediaItem(proj, i);
         if (!item) continue;
-        if (itemHasInstance(item, uidHexUpper, nameUpper)) {
+        if (itemHasInstance(item, id)) {
             if (MediaTrack* tr = GetMediaItemTrack(item)) {
                 liveTrackGuids.insert(guidString(tr));
             }
@@ -233,8 +245,12 @@ std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* projOpaque) {
         }
     }
 
-    // 3. The pure liveness fold decides which records count.
-    return usageHeldPaths(records, liveTrackGuids, anyLive);
+    // 3. The pure fold decides: abort on any unreadable record; protect-all when zero
+    //    instances were identified; otherwise the per-record liveness rule.
+    const UsageFoldResult fold = foldUsageRecords(decoded, liveTrackGuids, anyLive);
+    result.abortPrune = fold.abortPrune;
+    result.heldPaths = fold.heldPaths;
+    return result;
 }
 
 }  // namespace reasampler

src/usage_scan.h

@@ -1,26 +1,30 @@
 #pragma once
 // usage_scan — the EXTENSION-side shell of the pS-usage seam (see sample_usage.h for
-// the pure core and the full design note). At prune-scan time it answers ONE question:
-// which project-relative bank paths are held by a LIVE ReaSampler 9000 instance?
+// the pure core, the fail-safe folds, and the full design note). At prune-scan time it
+// answers ONE question: which project-relative bank paths are held by a LIVE ReaSampler
+// 9000 instance — or must the prune ABORT because a usage record could not be read?
 //
 // Three reads, no writes (the prune scan's READ-ONLY contract holds):
-//   1. Enumerate every "usage_<guid>" key in the "reasampler" ext-state namespace
-//      (EnumProjExtState) and decode each record (sample_usage wire).
+//   1. Enumerate every "rsusage_<guid>" key in the "reasampler" ext-state namespace
+//      (EnumProjExtState) and decode each record (sample_usage wire). A key that is
+//      present but cannot be read or decoded folds to abortPrune (fail-safe: an
+//      unreadable record may protect anything, so the prune halts and deletes nothing).
 //   2. Enumerate every ReaSampler 9000 FX instance in the project — all tracks
 //      (master included), normal + record/input chains, FX containers recursively, and
-//      take FX — matching by fx_ident containing this channel's VST3 class-UID hex
-//      (instrument_drop::vstClassIdHex, the same frozen constants the factory
-//      registers) with the channel display name as a fallback match. OFFLINE FX are
-//      included: chain enumeration is chunk-level, so a Design-View-parked instance
-//      still protects its holds (the reason the instrument never clears its own key —
-//      see sample_usage.h).
-//   3. Fold with the pure liveness rule (sample_usage::usageHeldPaths): a record counts
-//      iff its publishing track still hosts >= 1 instance (or, for a record with no
-//      track context, iff any instance exists at all).
+//      take FX (same container recursion) — matching each FX's fx_ident AND
+//      original_name via the pure sample_usage::identityMatches (class-UID hex, module
+//      filename base, display name; see the matcher note there).
+//   3. Fold with the pure liveness rule (sample_usage::foldUsageRecords /
+//      usageHeldPaths): a record counts iff its publishing track still hosts >= 1
+//      instance; a record with no track context counts while any instance exists; and
+//      when records exist but ZERO instances were identified anywhere, EVERY record's
+//      paths are protected (the identity-failure net — a matcher failure must never
+//      degrade toward delete).
 //
 // The result feeds prune_reconcile::mergeReferenced in persist's scanPruneOrphans, so
 // `referenced` = bank references ∪ live-instance holds — a held capture can never be
 // an orphan, and BANK_PRUNE_FOLDER (the only deletion authority) can never delete it.
+// abortPrune propagates through PruneScan/PruneReport to the action, which halts.
 //
 // REAPER-facing: the .cpp includes reaper_plugin_functions.h WITHOUT
 // REAPERAPI_IMPLEMENT (main.cpp owns the API pointers — CLAUDE.md §contract). The
@@ -32,10 +36,18 @@
 
 namespace reasampler {
 
-// Every project-relative path held by a live ReaSampler 9000 instance in `proj`
-// (nullptr = active project), de-duped, in record order. Empty when no usage records
-// exist (the common no-instances case — the FX enumeration is skipped entirely).
-// READ-ONLY: no ext-state write, no project mutation.
-std::vector<std::string> liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* proj);
+// The scan outcome. When abortPrune is true a present rsusage_* record could not be
+// read or decoded — the caller MUST halt the prune (delete nothing); heldPaths is then
+// meaningless (left empty). Otherwise heldPaths is every project-relative path held by
+// a live ReaSampler 9000 instance, de-duped, in record order — empty in the common
+// no-records case (the FX enumeration is skipped entirely).
+struct UsageScanResult {
+    bool abortPrune = false;
+    std::vector<std::string> heldPaths;
+};
+
+// Scan `proj` (nullptr = active project). READ-ONLY: no ext-state write, no project
+// mutation.
+UsageScanResult liveInstanceHeldPaths(void* proj);
 
 }  // namespace reasampler

src/vst/reaper_bridge.cpp

@@ -113,18 +113,24 @@ bool ReaperBridge::writeUsageExtState(const std::string& usageKey,
                                       const std::string& value) {
     if (!setProjExtState_ || !hostApp_) return false;
     // STRUCTURAL read-only-bank guard: this module writes usage keys and nothing else.
-    // A non-"usage_" key is a programming error upstream — refuse rather than widen the
-    // instrument's write surface (banks/view/tail/assign stay extension-owned).
+    // A non-"rsusage_" key is a programming error upstream — refuse rather than widen
+    // the instrument's write surface (banks/view/tail/assign stay extension-owned).
     const std::string prefix = kProjExtUsageKeyPrefix;
     if (usageKey.compare(0, prefix.size(), prefix) != 0) return false;
 
     auto* reaper = static_cast<Steinberg::IReaperHostApplication*>(hostApp_);
     void* proj = reaper->getReaperParent(3);  // null = current project (same as reads)
-    setProjExtState_(proj, kProjExtNamespace(), usageKey.c_str(), value.c_str());
+    // SetProjExtState returns "the size of the state for this extname" (SDK ~6288) —
+    // after storing our non-empty value the namespace state is necessarily > 0, so a
+    // <= 0 return means the write did not land. Reported to the caller (the publish
+    // path retries on the next reload tick); a silently-dropped record would leave the
+    // instance's holds unprotected.
+    const int rv =
+        setProjExtState_(proj, kProjExtNamespace(), usageKey.c_str(), value.c_str());
     // Deliberately NO MarkProjectDirty: a usage change always accompanies a component-
     // state change that already dirties the project; an idempotent load-time republish
     // must not flag an untouched project as modified.
-    return true;
+    return rv > 0;
 }
 
 std::string ReaperBridge::currentTrackGuid() {

src/vst/reaper_bridge.h

@@ -58,13 +58,15 @@ public:
     std::string activeProjectDir();
 
     // Write THIS INSTANCE's usage record (pS-usage): the ONE sanctioned instrument-side
-    // ext-state write. `usageKey` MUST carry the "usage_" prefix (ext_keys.h's
+    // ext-state write. `usageKey` MUST carry the "rsusage_" prefix (ext_keys.h's
     // usageKeyFor) — any other key is REFUSED here, so the read-only-BANK invariant is
     // enforced structurally: this module can publish the instance's own usage and
     // nothing else (banks/view/tail/assign remain unwritable from the instrument).
-    // Returns true iff written. NOT RT-safe (calls into REAPER) — publish sites are the
-    // off-audio-thread reload path only. Deliberately does NOT mark the project dirty:
-    // a usage change always rides a component-state change that already does.
+    // Returns true iff written (the SetProjExtState return is checked — a dropped
+    // write must not silently claim protection). NOT RT-safe (calls into REAPER) —
+    // publish sites are the off-audio-thread reload path only. Deliberately does NOT
+    // mark the project dirty: a usage change always rides a component-state change
+    // that already does.
     bool writeUsageExtState(const std::string& usageKey, const std::string& value);
 
     // The canonical "{XXXXXXXX-...}" GUID string of the track hosting this FX instance

src/vst/reasampler_processor.cpp

@@ -50,10 +50,12 @@ constexpr std::size_t kPreserveVoiceCap = 8;
 constexpr float kGainRampRate = 1.0f / 960.0f;   // 960 samples @ 48 kHz ≈ 20 ms
 constexpr float kGainRampSnap = kGainRampRate * 0.5f;
 
-// pS-usage: mint a fresh per-instance publish identity — 32 lowercase hex chars from the
-// OS entropy source. Uniqueness (not cryptographic strength) is the requirement: two
-// instances sharing a key is the copy-collision planUsagePublish resolves fail-safe
-// anyway; the mint just makes accidental collision vanishingly unlikely. Off-thread only.
+// pS-usage: mint a fresh publish identity — 32 lowercase hex chars from the OS entropy
+// source. Used for BOTH the persisted per-instance key guid (instanceGuid_) and the
+// in-memory per-LIFETIME owner nonce (usageNonce_). Uniqueness (not cryptographic
+// strength) is the requirement: two instances sharing a key is the copy-collision
+// planUsagePublish resolves fail-safe anyway; the mint just makes accidental collision
+// vanishingly unlikely. Off-thread only.
 std::string mintUsageInstanceGuid() {
     std::random_device rd;
     std::mt19937_64 gen((static_cast<std::uint64_t>(rd()) << 32) ^ rd());
@@ -277,13 +279,13 @@ tresult PLUGIN_API ReaSamplerProcessor::setState(IBStream* state) {
         sampleRefs_ = cs.sampleRefs;
     }
     // pS-usage: restore the persisted publish identity (v11; pre-v11 lifts to empty —
-    // minted on first publish). lastPublishedUsageWire_ resets: a restored blob is a NEW
-    // LIFETIME for the copy-collision analysis (planUsagePublish must compare the key's
-    // current value against what THIS incarnation wrote, not a previous one's writes).
+    // minted on first publish). usageNonce_ resets: a restored blob is a NEW LIFETIME
+    // for the copy-collision analysis (the fresh nonce means this incarnation can never
+    // be mistaken for the previous one's writes — or for a copy-sibling's).
     {
         std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(usageMutex_);
         instanceGuid_ = cs.instanceGuid;
-        lastPublishedUsageWire_.clear();
+        usageNonce_.clear();
     }
     // A new blob is new facts: a staleness proof latched against the PREVIOUS state does
     // not carry over (#A — the legacy lift gets one fresh run per restored state).
@@ -664,11 +666,16 @@ void ReaSamplerProcessor::publishUsage(const SampleRefs& refs,
     // holds the prune would otherwise keep protecting).
     if (instanceGuid_.empty() && mine.holds.empty()) return;
     if (instanceGuid_.empty()) instanceGuid_ = mintUsageInstanceGuid();
+    // The per-LIFETIME owner nonce rides INSIDE the wire (UsageRecord.ownerNonce) so
+    // planUsagePublish can prove "exactly this incarnation wrote the key" — a same-track
+    // sibling's byte-identical hold set can never pass as ours (its nonce differs), so
+    // siblings always union and never clean-replace over each other's held paths.
+    if (usageNonce_.empty()) usageNonce_ = mintUsageInstanceGuid();
+    mine.ownerNonce = usageNonce_;
 
     const std::optional<std::string> existing =
         bridge_.readReasamplerExtState(usageKeyFor(instanceGuid_));
-    const UsagePublishPlan plan =
-        planUsagePublish(existing, lastPublishedUsageWire_, mine);
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(existing, mine);
     if (plan.remint) {
         // This state was cloned onto another track (FX copy / track duplication): take a
         // fresh identity and leave the original's record untouched. The abandoned old
@@ -676,11 +683,9 @@ void ReaSamplerProcessor::publishUsage(const SampleRefs& refs,
         // longer hosts an instance. getState persists the new guid on the next save.
         instanceGuid_ = mintUsageInstanceGuid();
     } else if (plan.skipWrite) {
-        return;  // byte-identical to what this lifetime already wrote — idle tick
-    }
-    if (bridge_.writeUsageExtState(usageKeyFor(instanceGuid_), plan.wire)) {
-        lastPublishedUsageWire_ = plan.wire;
+        return;  // idle tick, or a union that adds nothing — no ext-state churn
     }
+    bridge_.writeUsageExtState(usageKeyFor(instanceGuid_), plan.wire);
 }
 
 void ReaSamplerProcessor::publishBuiltLocked(std::unique_ptr<LoadedInstrument> built) {

src/vst/reasampler_processor.h

@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ private:
     void publishBuiltLocked(std::unique_ptr<LoadedInstrument> built);
 
     // pS-usage: publish this instance's held captures to its per-instance ext-state key
-    // ("usage_<instanceGuid>") so the extension's prune counts them as referenced — a
+    // ("rsusage_<instanceGuid>") so the extension's prune counts them as referenced — a
     // capture a live instance holds can never be pruned. Called at the end of every
     // reloadInstrument (the ONE choke point every play-set change funnels through:
     // selection change, zone edits, assignment consume, bank refresh, setState load), so
@@ -381,16 +381,21 @@ private:
     std::mutex refsMutex_;
     SampleRefs sampleRefs_;
 
-    // pS-usage publish identity + lifetime memory (see publishUsage). instanceGuid_ is
+    // pS-usage publish identity + lifetime nonce (see publishUsage). instanceGuid_ is
     // the persisted per-instance identity (ComponentState v11; empty until first
-    // publish); lastPublishedUsageWire_ is what THIS lifetime last wrote — the
-    // planUsagePublish discriminator between "my own key" (clean replace) and "a
-    // copy-source's key" (union / re-mint), cleared on setState (a new blob is a new
-    // lifetime for the collision analysis). Guarded by usageMutex_ (publish runs under
+    // publish); usageNonce_ is THIS incarnation's per-LIFETIME owner nonce, carried
+    // INSIDE the published wire (UsageRecord.ownerNonce) — planUsagePublish's exact
+    // ownership discriminator between "my own write" (clean replace) and "a foreign
+    // writer" (union / re-mint). NEVER persisted: a persisted nonce would clone with
+    // the state on FX copy, and two same-track copies converging on byte-identical
+    // wires is exactly the ambiguity the nonce exists to break (a wire-equality
+    // discriminator let sibling A clean-replace over sibling B's still-held paths —
+    // the delete direction). Minted lazily on first publish; cleared on setState (a
+    // restored blob is a new lifetime). Guarded by usageMutex_ (publish runs under
     // reloadMutex_ but getState/setState do not).
     std::mutex usageMutex_;
     std::string instanceGuid_;
-    std::string lastPublishedUsageWire_;
+    std::string usageNonce_;
 
     // The per-instance channel mode (S7). Off-thread only (UI + getState + reloadInstrument);
     // guarded against a getState/editor race. Default Mono preserves pre-S7 behavior. NOT read

src/vst/sample_map.h

@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@ PerformanceMap deserializePerformance(const std::vector<std::uint8_t>& bytes,
 // instance-owned path + intrinsics + display name per referenced sample; wire shape at
 // kSelectionZonesRefsV10Version below), then the pS-usage INSTANCE GUID (v11 — a 4-byte LE
 // length + guid bytes; the minted per-instance identity the usage publisher keys its
-// "usage_<guid>" ext-state record under, see sample_usage.h), then a 4-byte LE
+// "rsusage_<guid>" ext-state record under, see sample_usage.h), then a 4-byte LE
 // selection-id length + id bytes, then the CURRENT zones payload (identical to
 // serializePerformance's body — its own self-describing version, see the ZONES-PAYLOAD block).
 // The instance guid is the ONLY envelope-v11 addition over v10, as the refs table was the
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ struct ComponentState {
     // path once (then re-saves self-contained).
     SampleRefs sampleRefs;
     // pS-usage (v11): the minted per-instance identity the usage publisher keys its
-    // "usage_<guid>" ext-state record under (see sample_usage.h — the prune-protection
+    // "rsusage_<guid>" ext-state record under (see sample_usage.h — the prune-protection
     // seam). Persisted so the key is stable across sessions (records do not proliferate
     // per reopen). Empty = never published (a fresh or pre-v11 instance); the processor
     // mints one on first publish, and RE-mints when the publish plan detects this state

tests/test_sample_usage.cpp

@@ -1,19 +1,26 @@
 // Standalone tests for reasampler::sample_usage — no REAPER, no framework.
 // The pS-usage seam: instances publish held captures; the extension folds live
 // instances' holds into the prune's `referenced` set. Tested hard here because this is
-// the prune-protection guarantee: a capture held by a live instance must be IMPOSSIBLE
-// to prune (the composed proof at the bottom links prune_reconcile and shows
-// pruneOrphans can never emit a held path), while a stale record from a deleted
-// instance must NOT permanently block reclaim (the liveness fold).
+// the prune-protection guarantee — a SAFETY property: every failure, ambiguity, or
+// uncertainty must FAIL-SAFE toward PROTECT (over-protection acceptable;
+// under-protection = deleting a maybe-used file is a data-loss bug).
 //
-// Covers: wire round-trip (empty / adversarial bytes), malformed -> nullopt, the
-// publish plan's four branches (fresh key / clean replace / same-track union /
-// cross-track re-mint) + skipWrite idempotence, the liveness fold (live, dead-track,
-// empty-guid fallback, de-dup), and the composed pruneOrphans exclusion proof.
+// Covers: wire round-trip (nonce + unioned flag, empty / adversarial bytes),
+// malformed -> nullopt, the publish plan's branches (fresh / clean replace + skip /
+// sibling union with the sticky poison flag / cross-track re-mint / undecodable heal),
+// the SAME-TRACK SIBLING repro (the review's 🔴#1 — byte-identical wire convergence
+// must never let one sibling clean-replace the other's still-held paths, including one
+// write later via the poison flag), the liveness fold (live, dead-track, empty-guid
+// fallback, de-dup), the ZERO-IDENTIFIED protect-all net (🔴#2 — an identity-matcher
+// failure must protect everything, not nothing), the UNREADABLE-record abort
+// (foldUsageRecords.abortPrune — prune halts, deletes nothing), the pure identity
+// matcher (UID hex / module filename base / display name, beta over-protect), and the
+// composed pruneOrphans exclusion proof.
 
 #include "../src/sample_usage.h"
 
 #include <cstdio>
+#include <optional>
 #include <string>
 #include <unordered_set>
 #include <vector>
@@ -28,37 +35,49 @@ static int g_fail = 0;
 
 namespace {
 
-UsageRecord makeRecord(const std::string& trackGuid,
-                       std::vector<UsageHold> holds) {
+UsageRecord makeRecord(const std::string& trackGuid, const std::string& nonce,
+                       std::vector<UsageHold> holds, bool unioned = false) {
     UsageRecord r;
     r.trackGuid = trackGuid;
+    r.ownerNonce = nonce;
+    r.unioned = unioned;
     r.holds = std::move(holds);
     return r;
 }
 
+bool holdsContainPath(const std::vector<UsageHold>& holds, const std::string& path) {
+    for (const UsageHold& h : holds)
+        if (h.relativePath == path) return true;
+    return false;
+}
+
 }  // namespace
 
 // --- wire round-trip ----------------------------------------------------------
 
 static void testRoundTrip() {
     const UsageRecord rec = makeRecord(
-        "{12345678-1234-1234-1234-1234567890AB}",
+        "{12345678-1234-1234-1234-1234567890AB}", "aabbccdd00112233",
         {UsageHold{"cap-1700-kick", "reasampler_bank/kick.wav"},
-         UsageHold{"cap-1701-snare", "reasampler_bank/snare.wav"}});
+         UsageHold{"cap-1701-snare", "reasampler_bank/snare.wav"}},
+        /*unioned=*/true);
     const std::string wire = encodeUsageRecord(rec);
     auto back = decodeUsageRecord(wire);
     CHECK(back.has_value());
     CHECK(*back == rec);
+    CHECK(back->unioned);
     CHECK(encodeUsageRecord(*back) == wire);  // deterministic re-encode
 }
 
 static void testRoundTripEmptyHoldsAndEmptyGuid() {
     // An empty-holds record is LEGAL (an instance releasing everything it held), and an
     // empty trackGuid is legal (no track context at publish -> any-instance fallback).
-    const UsageRecord rec = makeRecord("", {});
+    const UsageRecord rec = makeRecord("", "", {});
     auto back = decodeUsageRecord(encodeUsageRecord(rec));
     CHECK(back.has_value());
     CHECK(back->trackGuid.empty());
+    CHECK(back->ownerNonce.empty());
+    CHECK(!back->unioned);
     CHECK(back->holds.empty());
 }
 
@@ -66,7 +85,7 @@ static void testRoundTripAdversarialBytes() {
     // Ids/paths carrying the wire's own metacharacters must survive whole (the whole
     // point of length-prefixing): ':' delimiters, digits, the magic tag itself.
     const UsageRecord rec = makeRecord(
-        "12:34:guid-with-colons",
+        "12:34:guid-with-colons", "1:0",
         {UsageHold{"rsusage1-lookalike", "path with spaces/and:colons/7:x.wav"}});
     auto back = decodeUsageRecord(encodeUsageRecord(rec));
     CHECK(back.has_value());
@@ -77,15 +96,19 @@ static void testDecodeMalformed() {
     CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("").has_value());
     CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("garbage").has_value());
     CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("rsusage1").has_value());          // truncated after magic
-    CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("rsusage2" "0:1:0").has_value());  // wrong magic version
-    // Truncated mid-holds: claims 2 holds, carries 1.
-    UsageRecord one = makeRecord("{G}", {UsageHold{"a", "p.wav"}});
+    CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("rsusage2" "0:0:1:01:0").has_value());  // wrong magic
+    // A non-"0"/"1" unioned field is corruption -> reject whole. Hand-built wire:
+    // magic + trackGuid "" + nonce "" + unioned "2" + count 0.
+    CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord("rsusage1" "0:" "0:" "1:2" "1:0").has_value());
+    // Truncated mid-holds: claims 2 holds, carries 1. The count field for one hold is
+    // the "1:1" that FOLLOWS the unioned field "1:0" (nonce chosen digit-free so the
+    // needle is unambiguous).
+    UsageRecord one = makeRecord("{G}", "nonce", {UsageHold{"a", "p.wav"}});
     std::string wire = encodeUsageRecord(one);
-    // Rewrite the count field "1:1" -> "1:2" (count is the 2nd field: len 1, value '1').
-    const std::string needle = "1:1";  // count field for one hold
-    const std::size_t pos = wire.find(needle, std::string("rsusage1").size() + 4);
+    const std::string needle = "1:0" "1:1";  // unioned=0 then count=1
+    const std::size_t pos = wire.find(needle);
     CHECK(pos != std::string::npos);
-    wire[pos + 2] = '2';
+    wire[pos + 5] = '2';  // count "1:1" -> "1:2"
     CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord(wire).has_value());
     // Trailing garbage after a complete record -> reject whole.
     CHECK(!decodeUsageRecord(encodeUsageRecord(one) + "x").has_value());
@@ -94,102 +117,200 @@ static void testDecodeMalformed() {
 // --- publish plan --------------------------------------------------------------
 
 static void testPlanFreshKey() {
-    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "p.wav"}});
-    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(std::nullopt, "", mine);
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "p.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(std::nullopt, mine);
     CHECK(!plan.remint);
     CHECK(!plan.skipWrite);
-    CHECK(plan.wire == encodeUsageRecord(mine));
+    auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
+    CHECK(back.has_value());
+    CHECK(back->ownerNonce == "NA");
+    CHECK(!back->unioned);  // sole known writer -> un-poisoned
 }
 
 static void testPlanCleanReplaceAndSkip() {
-    // The key holds exactly what this lifetime wrote -> clean replace; released holds drop.
-    const UsageRecord prev = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"},
-                                                 UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}});
+    // The key holds this incarnation's own un-poisoned write (nonce match, !unioned):
+    // the sole-writer path. Clean replace; released holds drop.
+    const UsageRecord prev = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"},
+                                                       UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}});
     const std::string prevWire = encodeUsageRecord(prev);
-    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
-    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(prevWire, prevWire, mine);
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(prevWire, mine);
     CHECK(!plan.remint);
     CHECK(!plan.skipWrite);
     auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
     CHECK(back.has_value());
     CHECK(back->holds.size() == 1);  // 'b' genuinely released — NOT unioned back in
+    CHECK(!back->unioned);
 
     // Unchanged play-set -> byte-identical write -> skip (idle reload tick).
-    const UsagePublishPlan idle = planUsagePublish(prevWire, prevWire, prev);
+    const UsagePublishPlan idle = planUsagePublish(prevWire, prev);
     CHECK(idle.skipWrite);
     CHECK(!idle.remint);
 }
 
-static void testPlanSameTrackUnion() {
-    // First publish of a lifetime (lastPublished empty) over a same-track existing value:
-    // my own last-session record OR a same-track copy-sibling — either way UNION, never
-    // drop (the fail-safe direction; a sibling's holds must survive my write).
-    const UsageRecord theirs = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
-    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"},
-                                                 UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+// The review's 🔴#1 repro. Two same-track FX copies share a key and converge on
+// byte-identical hold sets; the OLD wire-equality discriminator let sibling A
+// clean-replace over B's still-held path. With the in-wire per-lifetime nonce +
+// sticky unioned poison, every same-track collision unions and NO write of A's can
+// ever drop B's holds — including A's SECOND write after it re-owns the key.
+static void testSiblingCollisionNeverDropsHolds() {
+    // A (lifetime nonce NA) publishes {pa}.
+    const UsageRecord aFirst = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan planA1 = planUsagePublish(std::nullopt, aFirst);
+    CHECK(!planA1.remint && !planA1.skipWrite);
+
+    // B (lifetime nonce NB, same track, SAME hold set — the byte-identical
+    // convergence) publishes {pa}: foreign nonce, same track -> UNION, and the
+    // false->true poison flip is WRITTEN (never skipped), marking the key multi-writer.
+    const UsageRecord bSame = makeRecord("{T1}", "NB", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan planB = planUsagePublish(planA1.wire, bSame);
+    CHECK(!planB.remint);
+    CHECK(!planB.skipWrite);  // the poison flip must land in ext-state
+    auto bBack = decodeUsageRecord(planB.wire);
+    CHECK(bBack.has_value());
+    CHECK(bBack->unioned);
+    CHECK(holdsContainPath(bBack->holds, "pa.wav"));
+
+    // A changes its selection to {pc} (releases pa from ITS play-set — but B still
+    // plays pa). Foreign nonce (NB) -> union: pa is RETAINED. Pre-fix this was the
+    // clean-replace that dropped B's hold -> prune could delete B's playing file.
+    const UsageRecord aSecond = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"c", "pc.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan planA2 = planUsagePublish(planB.wire, aSecond);
+    CHECK(!planA2.remint);
+    auto a2Back = decodeUsageRecord(planA2.wire);
+    CHECK(a2Back.has_value());
+    CHECK(holdsContainPath(a2Back->holds, "pa.wav"));  // B's hold survives A's write
+    CHECK(holdsContainPath(a2Back->holds, "pc.wav"));
+    CHECK(a2Back->unioned);
+
+    // A writes AGAIN (selection {pd}) — now the key carries A's OWN nonce (NA). A bare
+    // nonce discriminator would clean-replace here and drop pa one step late; the
+    // sticky unioned poison forces union forever. pa STILL survives.
+    const UsageRecord aThird = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"d", "pd.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan planA3 = planUsagePublish(planA2.wire, aThird);
+    CHECK(!planA3.remint);
+    auto a3Back = decodeUsageRecord(planA3.wire);
+    CHECK(a3Back.has_value());
+    CHECK(holdsContainPath(a3Back->holds, "pa.wav"));  // the poison-flag guarantee
+    CHECK(a3Back->unioned);
+}
+
+static void testPlanUnionSkipOnlyWhenAlreadyPoisoned() {
+    // Union over an ALREADY-unioned record that adds no holds -> skip (the write would
+    // flip only the nonce — redundant churn; the protection is already in place).
+    const UsageRecord poisoned = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}},
+                                            /*unioned=*/true);
+    const UsageRecord mineSubset = makeRecord("{T1}", "NB", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
     const UsagePublishPlan plan =
-        planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(theirs), "", mine);
+        planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(poisoned), mineSubset);
+    CHECK(!plan.remint);
+    CHECK(plan.skipWrite);
+    // But a union that ADDS a hold must write even when already poisoned.
+    const UsageRecord mineNew = makeRecord("{T1}", "NB", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan2 =
+        planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(poisoned), mineNew);
+    CHECK(!plan2.skipWrite);
+    auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan2.wire);
+    CHECK(back.has_value());
+    CHECK(back->holds.size() == 2);
+    CHECK(back->unioned);
+}
+
+static void testPlanEmptyNonceNeverClaimsOwnership() {
+    // A record written with an empty nonce (defensive: publisher failed to mint) can
+    // never be claimed via empty==empty — the same-track path must UNION, not replace.
+    const UsageRecord theirs = makeRecord("{T1}", "", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", "", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(theirs), mine);
     CHECK(!plan.remint);
     auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
     CHECK(back.has_value());
-    CHECK(back->trackGuid == "{T1}");
-    CHECK(back->holds.size() == 2);  // a (existing-first) + b, de-duped
-    CHECK(back->holds[0].sampleId == "a");
-    CHECK(back->holds[1].sampleId == "b");
+    CHECK(holdsContainPath(back->holds, "pa.wav"));  // never dropped
+    CHECK(back->unioned);
 }
 
 static void testPlanCrossTrackRemint() {
     // The key holds a foreign record from ANOTHER track: this state was cloned there
     // (FX copy / track duplication) — take a fresh identity, leave theirs untouched.
-    const UsageRecord theirs = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
-    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T2}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
-    const UsagePublishPlan plan =
-        planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(theirs), "", mine);
+    const UsageRecord theirs = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T2}", "NB", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(theirs), mine);
     CHECK(plan.remint);
-    CHECK(plan.wire == encodeUsageRecord(mine));  // written under the NEW key
+    auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
+    CHECK(back.has_value());
+    CHECK(!back->unioned);  // written under the NEW key — fresh, un-poisoned
+}
+
+static void testPlanOwnRecordAfterTrackMove() {
+    // My own un-poisoned record, but the instance moved tracks THIS lifetime (nonce
+    // matches, track differs): still mine — clean replace with the new track guid, NOT
+    // a remint (the key stays stable; no record proliferation on a track move).
+    const UsageRecord prev = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T2}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(encodeUsageRecord(prev), mine);
+    CHECK(!plan.remint);
+    auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
+    CHECK(back.has_value());
+    CHECK(back->trackGuid == "{T2}");
 }
 
 static void testPlanUndecodableExisting() {
-    // An undecodable existing value protects nothing — overwrite with mine.
-    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
-    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(std::string("corrupt"), "", mine);
+    // An undecodable existing value under MY key is corruption — overwrite with mine
+    // (the self-heal; the prune side independently aborts while it is unreadable).
+    const UsageRecord mine = makeRecord("{T1}", "NA", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}});
+    const UsagePublishPlan plan = planUsagePublish(std::string("corrupt"), mine);
     CHECK(!plan.remint);
-    CHECK(plan.wire == encodeUsageRecord(mine));
+    CHECK(!plan.skipWrite);
+    auto back = decodeUsageRecord(plan.wire);
+    CHECK(back.has_value());
+    CHECK(back->holds.size() == 1);
 }
 
 // --- liveness fold ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 static void testHeldPathsLiveness() {
     const std::vector<UsageRecord> records = {
-        makeRecord("{LIVE}", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}),
-        makeRecord("{DEAD}", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}}),   // deleted track/instance
-        makeRecord("", {UsageHold{"c", "pc.wav"}}),          // no track context
+        makeRecord("{LIVE}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}),
+        makeRecord("{DEAD}", "N2", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}}),  // deleted track
+        makeRecord("", "N3", {UsageHold{"c", "pc.wav"}}),        // no track context
     };
     const std::unordered_set<std::string> live = {"{LIVE}"};
 
-    // Live-track record counts; dead-track record is EXCLUDED (no stale false-protect);
-    // empty-guid record counts while ANY instance lives (fail-safe fallback).
+    // Live-track record counts; dead-track record is EXCLUDED (stale-record cleanup —
+    // possible ONLY because at least one instance was positively identified, so the
+    // matcher demonstrably works in this project); empty-guid record counts while ANY
+    // instance lives (fail-safe fallback).
     const std::vector<std::string> withAny = usageHeldPaths(records, live, true);
     CHECK(withAny.size() == 2);
     CHECK(withAny[0] == "pa.wav");
     CHECK(withAny[1] == "pc.wav");
+}
 
-    // No instance anywhere -> empty-guid fallback closes too; only live-track survives.
-    const std::vector<std::string> noAny = usageHeldPaths(records, live, false);
-    CHECK(noAny.size() == 1);
-    CHECK(noAny[0] == "pa.wav");
-
-    // Zero live instances at all -> nothing protected (a project whose instances were
-    // all deleted cannot be permanently blocked by leftover records).
-    const std::vector<std::string> none =
+// The review's 🔴#2 repro: records exist but ZERO instances were identified live
+// (either every instance was genuinely deleted, or — indistinguishable — the identity
+// matcher failed on every FX). The old fold dropped every record -> all held captures
+// became prunable. The fail-safe net protects ALL records' paths instead.
+static void testZeroIdentifiedProtectsAll() {
+    const std::vector<UsageRecord> records = {
+        makeRecord("{T1}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}),
+        makeRecord("{T2}", "N2", {UsageHold{"b", "pb.wav"}}),
+        makeRecord("", "N3", {UsageHold{"c", "pc.wav"}}),
+    };
+    const std::vector<std::string> all =
         usageHeldPaths(records, std::unordered_set<std::string>{}, false);
-    CHECK(none.empty());
+    CHECK(all.size() == 3);  // EVERY path protected — never zero
+    CHECK(all[0] == "pa.wav");
+    CHECK(all[1] == "pb.wav");
+    CHECK(all[2] == "pc.wav");
+
+    // No records at all -> nothing to protect (the common no-instances case).
+    CHECK(usageHeldPaths({}, std::unordered_set<std::string>{}, false).empty());
 }
 
 static void testHeldPathsDedupAndEmptyPathSkip() {
     const std::vector<UsageRecord> records = {
-        makeRecord("{T}", {UsageHold{"a", "shared.wav"}, UsageHold{"x", ""}}),
-        makeRecord("{T}", {UsageHold{"b", "shared.wav"}, UsageHold{"c", "own.wav"}}),
+        makeRecord("{T}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "shared.wav"}, UsageHold{"x", ""}}),
+        makeRecord("{T}", "N2", {UsageHold{"b", "shared.wav"}, UsageHold{"c", "own.wav"}}),
     };
     const std::unordered_set<std::string> live = {"{T}"};
     const std::vector<std::string> paths = usageHeldPaths(records, live, true);
@@ -198,6 +319,92 @@ static void testHeldPathsDedupAndEmptyPathSkip() {
     CHECK(paths[1] == "own.wav");
 }
 
+// A take-FX-hosted instance: the shell attributes it to the ITEM'S OWNING TRACK (the
+// same guid the VST-side getReaperParent(1) publishes), so at the pure layer its record
+// folds exactly like a track-FX one. This is the pure half of the take-FX guarantee;
+// the enumeration itself (TakeFX_* walk, fx_ident + original_name) is shell code.
+static void testTakeFxAttributedRecordIsProtected() {
+    const std::vector<UsageRecord> records = {
+        makeRecord("{ITEM-TRACK}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "take-held.wav"}}),
+    };
+    const std::unordered_set<std::string> live = {"{ITEM-TRACK}"};  // set via item scan
+    const std::vector<std::string> paths = usageHeldPaths(records, live, true);
+    CHECK(paths.size() == 1);
+    CHECK(paths[0] == "take-held.wav");
+}
+
+// --- the unreadable-record abort (foldUsageRecords) --------------------------------
+// A present-but-unreadable/undecodable rsusage_* record must ABORT the prune (halt,
+// delete nothing) — silently reduced protection is the delete direction.
+
+static void testUnreadableRecordAbortsPrune() {
+    std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>> decoded;
+    decoded.push_back(makeRecord("{T1}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}));
+    decoded.push_back(std::nullopt);  // one unreadable record among readable ones
+    const UsageFoldResult fold =
+        foldUsageRecords(decoded, std::unordered_set<std::string>{"{T1}"}, true);
+    CHECK(fold.abortPrune);
+
+    // All readable -> no abort, normal liveness fold.
+    std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>> ok;
+    ok.push_back(makeRecord("{T1}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}));
+    const UsageFoldResult okFold =
+        foldUsageRecords(ok, std::unordered_set<std::string>{"{T1}"}, true);
+    CHECK(!okFold.abortPrune);
+    CHECK(okFold.heldPaths.size() == 1);
+    CHECK(okFold.heldPaths[0] == "pa.wav");
+
+    // Empty input (no records enumerated) -> empty, no abort.
+    const UsageFoldResult empty =
+        foldUsageRecords({}, std::unordered_set<std::string>{}, false);
+    CHECK(!empty.abortPrune);
+    CHECK(empty.heldPaths.empty());
+
+    // Readable records + zero identified -> the protect-all net applies through the
+    // fold too (belt and braces with the abort).
+    std::vector<std::optional<UsageRecord>> unmatched;
+    unmatched.push_back(makeRecord("{T9}", "N1", {UsageHold{"a", "pa.wav"}}));
+    const UsageFoldResult net =
+        foldUsageRecords(unmatched, std::unordered_set<std::string>{}, false);
+    CHECK(!net.abortPrune);
+    CHECK(net.heldPaths.size() == 1);
+}
+
+// --- the identity matcher ----------------------------------------------------------
+// The common-case shapes: REAPER's fx_ident carries the .vst3 MODULE PATH (matched by
+// the output-name needle "REASAMPLER_9000" — the display name, space-separated, can
+// never match it); original_name carries the display name. UID hex matches when the
+// rendering embeds it. All substring, case-insensitive.
+
+static void testIdentityMatcher() {
+    const std::string uid = "ABCD1234ABCD1234ABCD1234ABCD1234";
+    const std::string name = "REASAMPLER 9000";
+    const std::string output = "REASAMPLER_9000";
+
+    // The module-path fx_ident shape: ONLY the output-name needle can catch this (the
+    // review's 🔴#2b — the display name alone silently failed the common case).
+    const std::string modulePath =
+        "C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\VST3\\reasampler_9000.vst3";
+    CHECK(identityMatches(modulePath, uid, name, output));
+    CHECK(!identityMatches(modulePath, uid, name, ""));  // display name can't match it
+
+    // The display-name shape (original_name / renamed renderings).
+    CHECK(identityMatches("VST3: ReaSampler 9000", uid, name, output));
+
+    // The UID-hex shape (case-insensitive).
+    CHECK(identityMatches("vst3<abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234>", uid, name, output));
+
+    // Beta over-protect (deliberate): stable needles are substrings of beta renderings
+    // — a stable extension protects beta instances' holds too (wider set only).
+    CHECK(identityMatches("...\\reasampler_9000_beta.vst3", uid, name, output));
+    CHECK(identityMatches("ReaSampler 9000 beta", uid, name, output));
+
+    // Non-matches stay non-matches.
+    CHECK(!identityMatches("", uid, name, output));
+    CHECK(!identityMatches("ReaComp", uid, name, output));
+    CHECK(!identityMatches("some_other_sampler.vst3", uid, name, output));
+}
+
 // --- the composed prune-protection proof -----------------------------------------
 // The definition-of-done property at the pure layer: a capture held by a live instance
 // lands in the referenced union, and pruneOrphans can NEVER emit it — even when the
@@ -214,7 +421,7 @@ static void testInstanceHoldMakesPathUnprunable() {
 
     // A live instance holds held.wav -> the union protects it; orphan.wav still reclaims.
     const std::vector<UsageRecord> records = {
-        makeRecord("{T}", {UsageHold{"id-held", "held.wav"}})};
+        makeRecord("{T}", "N1", {UsageHold{"id-held", "held.wav"}})};
     const std::unordered_set<std::string> live = {"{T}"};
     const std::vector<std::string> referenced =
         mergeReferenced(bankRefs, usageHeldPaths(records, live, true));
@@ -222,10 +429,23 @@ static void testInstanceHoldMakesPathUnprunable() {
     CHECK(orphans.size() == 1);
     CHECK(orphans[0] == "orphan.wav");
 
-    // The instance (and its track) deleted -> the record no longer counts -> held.wav
-    // is reclaimable again (no permanent stale-key block).
-    const std::vector<std::string> refsAfterDelete = mergeReferenced(
+    // Zero instances identified anywhere -> the protect-all net keeps held.wav
+    // un-prunable THROUGH the composed pipeline too (matcher failure must never
+    // resolve toward delete; the accepted residual is that leftover records keep
+    // protecting until an instance is identified again).
+    const std::vector<std::string> refsNoneIdentified = mergeReferenced(
         bankRefs, usageHeldPaths(records, std::unordered_set<std::string>{}, false));
+    const std::vector<std::string> orphansNone =
+        pruneOrphans(present, refsNoneIdentified, owned);
+    CHECK(orphansNone.size() == 1);
+    CHECK(orphansNone[0] == "orphan.wav");
+
+    // Stale-record cleanup still works when the matcher is demonstrably alive: another
+    // instance is identified on a different track, the record's own track is gone ->
+    // the record no longer counts -> held.wav is reclaimable again.
+    const std::vector<std::string> refsAfterDelete = mergeReferenced(
+        bankRefs,
+        usageHeldPaths(records, std::unordered_set<std::string>{"{OTHER}"}, true));
     CHECK(pruneOrphans(present, refsAfterDelete, owned).size() == 2);
 }
 
@@ -247,11 +467,19 @@ int main() {
     testDecodeMalformed();
     testPlanFreshKey();
     testPlanCleanReplaceAndSkip();
-    testPlanSameTrackUnion();
+    testSiblingCollisionNeverDropsHolds();
+    testPlanUnionSkipOnlyWhenAlreadyPoisoned();
+    testPlanEmptyNonceNeverClaimsOwnership();
     testPlanCrossTrackRemint();
+    testPlanOwnRecordAfterTrackMove();
     testPlanUndecodableExisting();
     testHeldPathsLiveness();
+    testZeroIdentifiedProtectsAll();
     testHeldPathsDedupAndEmptyPathSkip();
+    testTakeFxAttributedRecordIsProtected();
+    testUnreadableRecordAbortsPrune();
+    testIdentityMatcher();
+
     testInstanceHoldMakesPathUnprunable();
     testMergeReferencedOrderAndDedup();