Drop the eight legacy columns SP8 left behind

Migrations 66 to 73 drop `actions.index`, `variants`, `variant_index`,
`variant_count`, `state_before`, and `world_state_before`, plus
`adventures.memory_cursor` and `summary_cursor`. `index` is a keyword in
SQLite, so migration 71 quotes it.

Nothing outside the migrations read these. `models.py`, `schemas.py`, and
`ACTION_LIST_COLUMNS` lose the same eight fields, `Adventure.actions` orders
by `id`, and `attempts.renumber`, `context.history.max_action_index`, and
`nodes.next_index` are deleted.

Two changes keep the migration replayable on a `create_all` database:

- `_split_variants_into_siblings` wrote through the live ORM table, so it
  stopped compiling once migration 66 removed five of its columns. It now
  writes through `_ACTIONS_AT_60`, a frozen `Table` with its own `MetaData`.
- Five data passes read columns these migrations drop. Each now calls
  `_has_columns` and returns early when the columns are absent.

`bootstrap` takes a `through` version so a migration test can stop at the
schema it asserts on.

555 tests pass, up from 549. Eight of the new cases assert each column is
gone after a real schema-45 database migrates all the way.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0198qDK3gmgSo7EtQ4GTPqqK

backend/app/attempts.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 A retry used to rewrite the AI action in place and append the discarded attempt
 to a JSON list on the same row. Seven separate bugs came from that arrangement.
-The row's `text` duplicated one entry of a repeating group, `variant_count`
+The row's `text` duplicated one entry of a repeating group, a second column
 duplicated its length, and every reader that touched the story during a retry
 had to be told to ignore the row.
 
@@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ that maintains either one:
   avoid. The prompt therefore moves with the live flag, and a superseded sibling
   keeps only its own slices.
 
-Ordering inside a group comes from `variant_index`, which is an explicit ordinal
-rather than `created_at`. Two attempts made in the same second still have to page
-in the order they were made, and the migration that split the old JSON lists had
-to state the order rather than reconstruct it.
+Ordering inside a group comes from `id`, not from `created_at`. Two attempts made
+in the same second still have to page in the order they were made, and `id`
+increases with every insert. SP8 dropped `variant_index`, an explicit ordinal
+that carried the same order, once a run of the suite confirmed that the two
+agreed in every group.
 """
 
 import copy
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ def group(db: Session, action: models.Action) -> list[models.Action]:
                 models.Action.depth == action.depth,
                 models.Action.parent_id.is_(None),
             )
-            .order_by(models.Action.variant_index, models.Action.id)
+            .order_by(models.Action.id)
             .all()
         )
     return (
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ def group(db: Session, action: models.Action) -> list[models.Action]:
             models.Action.adventure_id == action.adventure_id,
             models.Action.parent_id == action.parent_id,
         )
-        .order_by(models.Action.variant_index, models.Action.id)
+        .order_by(models.Action.id)
         .all()
     )
 
@@ -190,8 +191,8 @@ def add_attempt(
     """Places `replacement` next to `previous` as the newer attempt at that turn.
 
     The placement is done here rather than through `tree.place_action`, which
-    would read the depth from the legacy `index` and move the head. A sibling is
-    not a new turn. It is another attempt at the turn the head is already on.
+    moves the head. A sibling is not a new turn. It is another attempt at the
+    turn the head is already on.
     """
     replacement.branch_id = previous.branch_id
     replacement.depth = previous.depth
@@ -202,18 +203,10 @@ def add_attempt(
     # away from this turn.
     replacement.parent_id = previous.parent_id
     replacement.live = True
-    # Use the end of the group rather than one past `previous`. The two match
-    # only when `previous` is the newest attempt. Switch a three-attempt turn
-    # back to attempt 1 and retry, and `previous.variant_index + 1` collides with
-    # attempt 2. `renumber` then breaks the tie by id and places the new attempt
-    # between attempts 2 and 3, so the pager walks the attempts in an order they
-    # were not made in. `group` returns oldest first, and `replacement` is not in
-    # it yet.
-    siblings = group(db, previous)
-    replacement.variant_index = 1 + max(
-        (s.variant_index for s in siblings if s.variant_index is not None),
-        default=previous.variant_index or 0,
-    )
+    # The replacement takes its place at the end of the group, because `group`
+    # orders by `id` and this row has no id yet. Switching a three-attempt turn
+    # back to attempt 1 and retrying therefore still pages 1, 2, 3, 4, which is
+    # the order the attempts were made in.
     previous.live = False
     # The replacement was assembled with a fresh snapshot, so the prompt for
     # this turn is now the one it carries. The superseded attempt keeps only the
@@ -226,8 +219,7 @@ def make_live(
 ) -> list[models.Action]:
     """Makes `node` the attempt the story tells, and restores its outcome.
 
-    Returns the group, renumbered, so that a caller reporting on it does not read
-    it twice.
+    Returns the group, so that a caller reporting on it does not read it twice.
     """
     rows = group(db, node)
     previous = live_in(rows)
@@ -236,23 +228,9 @@ def make_live(
     for row in rows:
         row.live = row is node
     restore_state(adventure, node)
-    renumber(rows)
     return rows
 
 
-def renumber(rows: list[models.Action]) -> None:
-    """Refreshes the group-shape cache that the page response reads.
-
-    `variant_count` is 0 rather than 1 for a turn nobody retried, because the
-    pager asks whether there is anything to page through, and for a single
-    attempt the answer is no.
-    """
-    count = len(rows) if len(rows) > 1 else 0
-    for i, row in enumerate(rows):
-        row.variant_index = i
-        row.variant_count = count
-
-
 # ------------------------------------------------- the prompt, stored once
 
 def keep_own_slices(node: models.Action) -> None:

backend/app/bundle.py

@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ Version 2 carries the tree. It holds three things version 1 could not, and each
 one is required:
 
 * The branches, because a forked adventure is two stories and a flat list holds
-  one. A version 1 export interleaved them by `index`, which read as a garbled
-  story rather than as lost data.
+  one. A version 1 export interleaved them by turn number, which read as a
+  garbled story rather than as lost data.
 * `live`, because a coordinate can hold several attempts at one turn and exactly
   one of them is the story.
 * Both after-snapshots, because they are what a branch switch and an undo
@@ -26,22 +26,14 @@ one is required:
 
 A bundle carries what was chosen, never what is derived. The head branch, the
 fork points, the live flags, and the anchors are decisions somebody made, so
-they are in the file. `lineage`, the head depth, `index`, and the variant
-ordinals are all computed from those, and the import recomputes them:
+they are in the file. `lineage` and the head depth are computed from those, and
+the import recomputes them:
 
 * `lineage` is a cache of `parent` plus `fork_depth`. Shipping it as well would
   put a second source of truth for one fact into a file anyone can hand-edit,
   and the two could then disagree without any read reporting it.
 * The head depth is the tip of the head branch, which is a fact about the nodes
   that arrived with it.
-* `index` is the legacy column SP8 drops. Its one remaining job is to give the
-  next row a number nothing else holds, which is a fact about the adventure
-  rather than about a path, so `depth` cannot serve: two branches each have a
-  node at depth 4. The import allocates one index per turn instead, which keeps
-  `max_action_index` correct and keeps siblings sharing an index the way SP4
-  leaves them.
-* `attempts.renumber` maintains the variant ordinals, and it is the only place
-  allowed to.
 
 Every hand-editable coordinate is therefore checked before a row is written, in
 `plan`, rather than repaired afterwards. An import that fails partway leaves an
@@ -98,8 +90,7 @@ def export(db: Session, adventure: models.Adventure) -> dict:
             undefer(models.Action.world_state_after),
         )
         .order_by(
-            models.Action.branch_id, models.Action.depth,
-            models.Action.variant_index, models.Action.id,
+            models.Action.branch_id, models.Action.depth, models.Action.id,
         )
         .all()
     )
@@ -168,8 +159,7 @@ def _exported_branch(branch: models.Branch, local: dict[int, int]) -> dict:
 def _exported_node(action: models.Action, local: dict[int, int]) -> dict:
     node = {
         "branch": _local(action.branch_id, local),
-        # A pre-tree row's depth is the number `index` already holds.
-        "depth": action.depth if action.depth is not None else action.index,
+        "depth": action.depth,
         "live": bool(action.live),
         "type": action.type,
         "text": action.text,
@@ -496,24 +486,17 @@ def _write_nodes(
 ) -> None:
     """Writes the nodes, grouped into the turns they are attempts at.
 
-    Two values are allocated here rather than read from the file. `index` is
-    issued once per turn, in the order the bundle lists them, so siblings share
-    one index and no two coordinates do. `max_action_index` needs that to keep
-    issuing numbers nothing holds. Exactly one attempt in each group is also made
-    live, because a file can name none or several, and a turn with no live node
-    disappears from the story.
+    One value is decided here rather than read from the file. Exactly one
+    attempt in each group is made live, because a file can name none or several,
+    and a turn with no live node disappears from the story.
     """
     groups: dict[tuple[int, int], list[models.Action]] = {}
-    indices: dict[tuple[int, int], int] = {}
     for spec in specs:
         key = (spec["branch"], spec["depth"])
-        if key not in indices:
-            indices[key] = len(indices)
         action = models.Action(
             adventure_id=adventure.id,
             branch_id=ids[spec["branch"]],
             depth=spec["depth"],
-            index=indices[key],
             type=spec["type"],
             text=spec["text"],
             reasoning=spec["reasoning"],
@@ -531,7 +514,6 @@ def _write_nodes(
         live = next((row for row in rows if row.live), rows[0])
         for row in rows:
             row.live = row is live
-        attempts.renumber(rows)
 
 
 def _write_memories(

backend/app/context/builder.py

@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ def build_context(
                 # Even the newest action alone is over budget: hard-truncate it.
                 included_actions.append(
                     models.Action(
-                        adventure_id=action.adventure_id, index=action.index,
+                        adventure_id=action.adventure_id,
                         type=action.type,
                         text=truncate_to_last_tokens(action.text, history_budget),
                     )

backend/app/context/history.py

@@ -417,30 +417,6 @@ def newest(adventure: models.Adventure) -> models.Action | None:
     return rows[0] if rows else None
 
 
-def max_action_index(adventure: models.Adventure) -> int:
-    """Highest `Action.index` in the adventure, story text or not. -1 if empty.
-
-    This is the only read in the module that is deliberately not scoped to a
-    path. `index` is a legacy column that remains unread until SP8 drops it. Its
-    one remaining job is to give the next row a number that no other row holds,
-    which is a fact about the adventure rather than about the story being
-    played. Scoping the query to a branch would let two branches issue the same
-    index.
-    """
-    loaded = _loaded_actions(adventure)
-    if loaded is not None:
-        return max((a.index for a in loaded), default=-1)
-    db = _session(adventure)
-    if db is None:
-        return -1
-    highest = (
-        db.query(func.max(models.Action.index))
-        .filter(models.Action.adventure_id == adventure.id)
-        .scalar()
-    )
-    return -1 if highest is None else highest
-
-
 def window_covering(
     adventure: models.Adventure,
     budget_tokens: int,

backend/app/migrations.py

@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ import json
 import re
 from datetime import datetime
 
-from sqlalchemy import inspect, text
+from sqlalchemy import (
+    JSON, Boolean, Column, DateTime, Integer, MetaData, String, Table, Text,
+    inspect, text,
+)
 from sqlalchemy.engine import Engine
 
 from . import compression, vectors
@@ -301,6 +304,34 @@ MIGRATIONS: list[tuple[int, str | dict[str, str]]] = [
     # turn streams. This is item S1 in `docs/self-review.md`. The table holds one
     # row per user, so the rewrite is small and needs no VACUUM FULL.
     (65, "ALTER TABLE settings DROP COLUMN stream"),
+    # Phase 17, SP8: drop the eight columns the story tree replaced. Each one was
+    # kept past the migration that superseded it so that a rollback found a real
+    # value on the rows the newer build wrote. The tree has run in production
+    # since Phase 14, so the rollback window is closed.
+    #
+    # `actions.index` was the global turn number. `depth` replaced it, and the
+    # last reader, the number issued to a new row, went with this migration.
+    # `variants` held the retry history as a repeating group, and `variant_index`
+    # and `variant_count` described that group's shape. Each attempt is its own
+    # row now, ordered by `id`. `state_before` and `world_state_before` recorded
+    # the state a node started from, which every attempt at a turn shares; the
+    # "after" columns record each attempt's own outcome instead.
+    # `adventures.memory_cursor` and `summary_cursor` were positions into a flat
+    # list, and the branch and depth pairs beside them replaced both.
+    #
+    # Dropping a column rewrites the toasted values on Postgres and nothing
+    # reclaims that space on its own. Run `VACUUM FULL actions;` on the direct
+    # Neon endpoint after the deploy, not the pooled one. It takes an ACCESS
+    # EXCLUSIVE lock, so the app blocks on `actions` while it runs.
+    (66, "ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN variants"),
+    (67, "ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN variant_index"),
+    (68, "ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN variant_count"),
+    (69, "ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN state_before"),
+    (70, "ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN world_state_before"),
+    # `index` is a keyword in SQLite, so the column name is quoted.
+    (71, 'ALTER TABLE actions DROP COLUMN "index"'),
+    (72, "ALTER TABLE adventures DROP COLUMN memory_cursor"),
+    (73, "ALTER TABLE adventures DROP COLUMN summary_cursor"),
 ]
 
 LATEST_VERSION = max((v for v, _ in MIGRATIONS), default=1)
@@ -410,6 +441,8 @@ def _backfill_variant_count(conn) -> None:
     in Python would read every stored attempt over the network once in order to
     stop reading it on every request.
     """
+    if not _has_columns(conn, "actions", "variants", "variant_count"):
+        return
     if conn.dialect.name == "sqlite":
         sql = """
             UPDATE actions SET variant_count = json_array_length(variants)
@@ -434,6 +467,22 @@ _ADD_COLUMN = re.compile(r"^\s*ALTER\s+TABLE\s+(\w+)\s+ADD\s+COLUMN\s+\"?(\w+)\"
 _DROP_COLUMN = re.compile(r"^\s*ALTER\s+TABLE\s+(\w+)\s+DROP\s+COLUMN\s+\"?(\w+)\"?", re.I)
 
 
+def _has_columns(conn, table: str, *columns: str) -> bool:
+    """Returns `True` when `table` has every one of `columns`.
+
+    The data passes below read columns that later migrations drop. A pass only
+    ever has real work to do on a database old enough to still carry them, and
+    a `create_all` database is already current, so the guard skips the pass
+    rather than failing on a column that is not there. This is the same rule
+    `_column_already_there` applies to DDL, written for the passes.
+    """
+    inspector = inspect(conn)
+    if table not in inspector.get_table_names():
+        return False
+    present = {col["name"] for col in inspector.get_columns(table)}
+    return all(column in present for column in columns)
+
+
 def _column_already_gone(conn, sql: str) -> bool:
     """Returns `True` when `sql` drops a column the table no longer has.
 
@@ -589,6 +638,8 @@ def _backfill_tree(conn) -> None:
     target being unset, so a run that fails partway through resumes rather than
     applying twice.
     """
+    if not _has_columns(conn, "actions", "index"):
+        return
     sqlite = conn.dialect.name == "sqlite"
 
     # 1. A root branch per adventure. Its lineage names the row's own id, which
@@ -698,6 +749,8 @@ def _backfill_cursor_anchors(conn) -> None:
     two forms return the same answer, because the rows the partition would
     separate are the rows the filter removes.
     """
+    if not _has_columns(conn, "adventures", "memory_cursor", "summary_cursor"):
+        return
     sqlite = conn.dialect.name == "sqlite"
     story = _story_text_sql("text", sqlite)
     for name in ("memory", "summary"):
@@ -750,6 +803,8 @@ def _backfill_state_after(conn) -> None:
     SP4 is the first migration where `depth` and `index` can disagree, and it has
     not run when this pass does.
     """
+    if not _has_columns(conn, "actions", "state_before", "world_state_before"):
+        return
     for column, live in (
         ("state_after", "script_state"),
         ("world_state_after", "world_state"),
@@ -778,6 +833,39 @@ def _backfill_state_after(conn) -> None:
         """))
 
 
+# The `actions` table as migration 60 finds it, declared here rather than read
+# from `Base.metadata`. The split pass writes JSON values, and only a column
+# type knows how to render a dict on this dialect, so it needs a Table. Reading
+# the live one would tie a migration to the current model: migration 66 drops
+# five of these columns, and the pass would then fail to compile on a database
+# that still has them. This declaration is a snapshot of a past schema and must
+# not be updated to track `models.py`.
+#
+# It carries its own `MetaData`, so `create_all` never sees it.
+_ACTIONS_AT_60 = Table(
+    "actions", MetaData(),
+    Column("id", Integer, primary_key=True),
+    Column("adventure_id", Integer),
+    Column("index", Integer),
+    Column("branch_id", Integer),
+    Column("depth", Integer),
+    Column("live", Boolean),
+    Column("type", String(20)),
+    Column("text", Text),
+    Column("reasoning", Text),
+    Column("context_snapshot", compression.CompressedJSON),
+    Column("world_delta", JSON),
+    Column("state_before", JSON),
+    Column("world_state_before", JSON),
+    Column("state_after", JSON),
+    Column("world_state_after", JSON),
+    Column("variants", JSON),
+    Column("variant_count", Integer),
+    Column("variant_index", Integer),
+    Column("created_at", DateTime),
+)
+
+
 def _split_variants_into_siblings(conn) -> None:
     """Gives every discarded retry attempt its own row.
 
@@ -802,7 +890,9 @@ def _split_variants_into_siblings(conn) -> None:
     The pass is resumable. A group that already has as many rows as its
     `variant_count` claims has been split, so it is skipped.
     """
-    actions = Base.metadata.tables["actions"]
+    if not _has_columns(conn, "actions", "variants", "variant_index"):
+        return
+    actions = _ACTIONS_AT_60
     last_id = 0
     while True:
         rows = conn.execute(
@@ -854,7 +944,8 @@ def _split_one_action(conn, actions, row, entries: list) -> None:
         kept["world_state_after"] = live_world
     # Use the Table rather than `text()`, here and below. These values are dicts
     # bound for JSON columns, and the column type is the only thing that knows
-    # how to render one on this dialect.
+    # how to render one on this dialect. The table is `_ACTIONS_AT_60`, frozen
+    # at the schema this pass runs against.
     conn.execute(actions.update().where(actions.c.id == row["id"]).values(**kept))
     siblings = [
         {
@@ -956,16 +1047,23 @@ def _set_version(conn, version: int) -> None:
         conn.execute(text("UPDATE schema_version SET version = :v"), {"v": version})
 
 
-def bootstrap(engine: Engine) -> None:
+def bootstrap(engine: Engine, through: int = LATEST_VERSION) -> None:
+    """Brings the database up to `through`, which defaults to the newest version.
+
+    The app always takes the default. A test passes an older version when it
+    asserts on something a later migration removes. A migration test that stops
+    at the version it is about keeps reading the columns that migration wrote,
+    rather than the schema those columns became several versions later.
+    """
     fresh = not inspect(engine).get_table_names()
     Base.metadata.create_all(bind=engine)
     with engine.begin() as conn:
         if fresh:
-            _set_version(conn, LATEST_VERSION)
+            _set_version(conn, through)
             return
         current = _get_version(conn)
         for version, sql in MIGRATIONS:
-            if version > current:
+            if current < version <= through:
                 statement = _for_dialect(sql, conn.dialect.name)
                 # Skip the DDL when it has already run. The data pass below it
                 # still runs.

backend/app/models.py

@@ -118,15 +118,8 @@ class Adventure(Base):
     # Phase 6: opt-in per adventure (extra AI calls)
     auto_summarize: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False)
     memory_bank_enabled: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False)
-    # Legacy columns from Phase 6. Each holds a count of the actions that were
-    # folded into the memories or the story summary, expressed as a position in
-    # the story. Nothing has read them since SP3, and nothing writes them except
-    # a v1 import. They remain for one release so that a rollback resumes from a
-    # real number. SP8 drops them along with `actions.index`. The columns below
-    # hold the marks that this code actually uses.
-    memory_cursor: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0)
-    summary_cursor: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0)
-    # Phase 14, SP3: the same two marks expressed as coordinates. Each pair
+    # Phase 14, SP3: how far the memory pass and the summary pass have read,
+    # each as a coordinate. Each pair
     # holds the branch and depth of the last action that pass covered. A
     # position moves when an action in front of it is deleted, so the mark
     # silently starts covering an action it never read. A depth is a coordinate
@@ -168,7 +161,7 @@ class Adventure(Base):
     actions: Mapped[list["Action"]] = relationship(
         back_populates="adventure",
         cascade="all, delete-orphan",
-        order_by="Action.index",
+        order_by="Action.id",
     )
     scripts: Mapped[list["AdventureScript"]] = relationship(
         back_populates="adventure",
@@ -261,8 +254,7 @@ class Memory(Base):
     )
     # The stretch of story this memory summarizes, given as depths on
     # `branch_id`. Both are NULL for a hand-written memory, which summarizes no
-    # actions. Before SP3 these columns held `Action.index` values, which were
-    # the same numbers. `source_end` is the depth of the node the memory
+    # actions. `source_end` is the depth of the node the memory
     # attaches to, and `depth` below mirrors it. `source_start` is where the
     # stretch begins, which is where the summarizer resumes if the memory is
     # withdrawn.
@@ -283,10 +275,9 @@ class Memory(Base):
         ForeignKey("branches.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=True
     )
     depth: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(Integer, nullable=True)
-    # Whether `embedding_blob` is set. `memorybank.set_vector` keeps this
-    # column current, for the same reason that `actions.variant_count` sits
-    # beside `actions.variants`. Readers need only the yes-or-no answer, and
-    # fetching six kilobytes of vector to get it is too expensive.
+    # Whether `embedding_blob` is set. `memorybank.set_vector` keeps this column
+    # current. Readers need only the yes-or-no answer, and fetching six
+    # kilobytes of vector to get it is too expensive.
     embedded: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False)
     pinned: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False)
     forgotten: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(Boolean, default=False)  # evicted, kept for UI
@@ -346,18 +337,15 @@ class Action(Base):
 
     id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(primary_key=True)
     adventure_id: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(ForeignKey("adventures.id", ondelete="CASCADE"))
-    index: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer)
     # Phase 14: the node's place in the tree. `depth` is a position along one
     # path rather than a global turn number. Node A4 and node B4 are
-    # alternatives, not duplicates. `depth` replaces `index` as the ordering
-    # key.
+    # alternatives, not duplicates.
     #
     # Both columns are nullable because ALTER TABLE cannot add a NOT NULL column
     # without a default, and no default makes sense for a branch. The migration
     # fills these columns for existing rows, and `tree.place_action` fills them
     # for new rows. From SP2 onward, a NULL `branch_id` marks a row that no read
-    # can see. The legacy `index` column stays alongside, unread, until the tree
-    # is proven in production. SP8 drops it.
+    # can see.
     branch_id: Mapped[int | None] = mapped_column(
         ForeignKey("branches.id", ondelete="CASCADE"), nullable=True
     )
@@ -417,20 +405,6 @@ class Action(Base):
     # and for re-attaching the emit block when replaying history to the model.
     # Mirrors the active variant, same as text/reasoning/context_snapshot.
     world_delta: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(JSON, nullable=True)
-    # Legacy columns from before SP4. They hold `Adventure.script_state` and
-    # `Adventure.world_state` as they were immediately before this action's
-    # script hooks ran. Nothing has written or read them since SP4. The pair of
-    # "after" columns below replaced them, because each sibling attempt needs
-    # its own outcome and every attempt at a turn shares the same starting
-    # state. These columns remain for one release so that a rolled-back build
-    # still finds a real snapshot on the rows it wrote. SP8 drops them along
-    # with `index` and `variants`.
-    state_before: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(
-        JSON, nullable=True, deferred=True
-    )
-    world_state_before: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(
-        JSON, nullable=True, deferred=True
-    )
     # Phase 14, SP4: the shared script state and the RPG world state as they
     # stood after this node was played. These columns record the node's outcome
     # rather than its starting position.
@@ -453,24 +427,6 @@ class Action(Base):
     world_state_after: Mapped[dict | None] = mapped_column(
         JSON, nullable=True, deferred=True
     )
-    # A legacy column from before SP4. It holds the retry history as a repeating
-    # group inside a JSON list. Every attempt at a turn is now its own row, as
-    # described on `live` above and in `app/attempts.py`, so nothing reads this
-    # column. It remains until SP8 for the same reason `index` does. Migration
-    # 60 reads it once more, to turn each entry into a sibling row.
-    variants: Mapped[list | None] = mapped_column(JSON, nullable=True, deferred=True)
-    # Where the row sits in its sibling group. `variant_index` is this
-    # attempt's ordinal, counting from the oldest. `variant_count` is the number
-    # of attempts in the group. It is 0 rather than 1 when the turn was never
-    # retried, which the pager treats as having nothing to page through.
-    #
-    # Both columns are caches, and `attempts.renumber` is the only place that
-    # maintains them. The reason matches why `variant_count` once cached
-    # `len(variants)`: a page response needs both numbers for every row and
-    # cannot afford one query per turn. SP7 replaces the pager with the branch
-    # view, and SP8 drops both columns.
-    variant_count: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0)
-    variant_index: Mapped[int] = mapped_column(Integer, default=0)
     created_at: Mapped[datetime] = mapped_column(DateTime, default=utcnow)
 
     adventure: Mapped[Adventure] = relationship(back_populates="actions")

backend/app/routers/adventures/crud.py

@@ -206,7 +206,6 @@ def create_adventure(
         if scenario.prompt.strip():
             opening = models.Action(
                 adventure_id=adventure.id,
-                index=0,
                 type="start",
                 text=fill_placeholders(scenario.prompt, values),
             )

backend/app/routers/adventures/nodes.py

@@ -10,22 +10,15 @@ from sqlalchemy.orm import Session, undefer
 
 from ... import attempts, memorybank, models, tree
 from ...context import cursors
-from ...context import history as context_history
 from ...context import lineage
 
 
-def next_index(adventure: models.Adventure) -> int:
-    return context_history.max_action_index(adventure) + 1
-
-
 def next_depth(adventure: models.Adventure) -> int:
     """Returns the depth for the next node played onto this story, one past the tip.
 
-    This is not `next_index`, which returned the same number until SP5. `index`
-    has to stay unique across the whole adventure, because it is the v1 bundle's
-    key. On a story forked at depth 6 after twenty turns, `next_index` gives the
-    next node depth 21 and leaves a fourteen-deep gap in the path. A depth is a
-    position along this one story, and the branch is what makes it unambiguous.
+    A depth is a position along one story, and the branch is what makes it
+    unambiguous. Two branches each hold a node at depth 4, and they are
+    alternatives rather than duplicates.
     """
     return adventure.head_depth + 1
 

backend/app/routers/adventures/paging.py

@@ -24,13 +24,10 @@ from ...context import lineage
 # row.
 ACTION_LIST_COLUMNS = (
     models.Action.adventure_id,
-    models.Action.index,
     models.Action.type,
     models.Action.text,
     models.Action.reasoning,
     models.Action.world_delta,
-    models.Action.variant_count,
-    models.Action.variant_index,
     # SP9: the pager's key. If `parent_id` were deferred, every row on the page
     # would cost a lazy load, which is the cost `load_only` is here to prevent.
     # `branch_id` is listed for the same reason. The pager reads it to tell a
@@ -124,33 +121,28 @@ def annotate_takes(
 
     This runs one query for the whole page rather than one per row. The pager
     needs the shape of each turn's attempt group, and calling `attempts.group`
-    per action costs one query per message on screen. `variant_count` was cached
-    to avoid that cost, which is why SP8 could not drop it.
+    per action costs one query per message on screen.
 
     This function reads the siblings rather than counting them. A group holds
     only a few attempts, the page is bounded, and a count still needs a second
-    query for the ordinal. It fetches only the id and the ordering keys, so it
-    stays cheap even when the text is large.
+    query for the ordinal. It fetches only the id and the parent, so it stays
+    cheap even when the text is large.
     """
     parents = {a.parent_id for a in actions if a.parent_id is not None}
     if parents:
         rows = (
-            db.query(
-                models.Action.id,
-                models.Action.parent_id,
-                models.Action.variant_index,
-            )
+            db.query(models.Action.id, models.Action.parent_id)
             .filter(
                 models.Action.adventure_id == adventure_id,
                 models.Action.parent_id.in_(parents),
             )
-            .order_by(models.Action.variant_index, models.Action.id)
+            .order_by(models.Action.id)
             .all()
         )
     else:
         rows = []
     siblings: dict[int, list[int]] = {}
-    for row_id, parent_id, _ in rows:
+    for row_id, parent_id in rows:
         siblings.setdefault(parent_id, []).append(row_id)
     for action in actions:
         ids = siblings.get(action.parent_id) if action.parent_id else None

backend/app/routers/adventures/turns.py

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ from ...sse import SSE_HEADERS, sse, turn_error
 from ..settings import get_settings
 
 from .deps import CurrentUser, current_adventure, router
-from .nodes import _move_to_after, next_depth, next_index
+from .nodes import _move_to_after, next_depth
 from .paging import annotate_takes
 
 
@@ -275,11 +275,6 @@ async def _generate_turn(
     reasoning = "".join(reasoning_chunks).strip() or None
     ai_action = models.Action(
         adventure_id=adventure.id,
-        # A sibling shares the turn's legacy index for the same reason it
-        # shares its depth: it is the same turn. Two rows then hold one index,
-        # which is safe, because `max_action_index` takes a maximum rather than
-        # a count, and nothing else reads the column.
-        index=retry_of.index if retry_of is not None else next_index(adventure),
         depth=ai_depth,
         type="ai",
         text=text,
@@ -298,8 +293,10 @@ async def _generate_turn(
         # a turn landed on top of it. See `memorybank`.
         memorybank.forget_node(db, adventure, retry_of)
         cursors.rewind_all(adventure, retry_of.branch_id, ai_depth - 1)
+        # Flush so the new attempt has an id. The session does not autoflush,
+        # and attempts page in id order, so a read taken before this point puts
+        # the newest attempt nowhere.
         db.flush()
-        attempts.renumber(attempts.group(db, ai_action))
     else:
         tree.place_action(db, adventure, ai_action)
         db.add(ai_action)
@@ -369,7 +366,6 @@ async def run_player_turn(
             return
         player_action = models.Action(
             adventure_id=adventure.id,
-            index=next_index(adventure),
             depth=next_depth(adventure),
             type=payload.type,
             text=modified,
@@ -384,8 +380,8 @@ async def run_player_turn(
         db.refresh(player_action)
         # The new action was added through its foreign key, so the loaded
         # `adventure.actions` collection is stale. Without this expire,
-        # `build_context` and `next_index` for the AI action do not see the
-        # player action that was just saved.
+        # `build_context` for the AI action does not see the player action
+        # that was just saved.
         db.expire(adventure, ["actions"])
         yield sse({"type": "player", "action": action_json(player_action, db)})
         if stop:

backend/app/schemas.py

@@ -186,27 +186,20 @@ class RefreshPlan(BaseModel):
 class ActionOut(ORMModel):
     id: int
     adventure_id: int
-    index: int
     type: str
     text: str
     reasoning: str | None = None
     # Phase 12: the compact RPG state changes for this turn, read from the
     # model property.
     world_changes: list[dict] = []
-    # Retry history: how many attempts exist for this turn, where 0 means the
-    # turn was never retried, and which attempt is live. The attempts themselves
-    # come from `GET /actions/{id}/variants`, so this payload stays small.
-    variant_count: int = 0
-    variant_index: int = 0
     # SP9: the pager, such as `2/4`. It reports how many attempts this turn has
     # and which one is on screen. It is keyed on the parent, so it counts the
     # attempts of this turn rather than every node that shares a depth, and it
     # keeps counting them after one has been forked onto its own branch.
     #
     # A turn nobody has retaken reads 1/1, which is most turns, and the client
-    # draws no pager for a count of one. `variant_count` uses a different
-    # convention and reports 0 for the same case. Those two fields are the
-    # pre-SP9 pair, and SP8 drops them.
+    # draws no pager for a count of one. The attempts themselves come from
+    # `GET /actions/{id}/variants`, so this payload stays small.
     take_count: int = 1
     take_index: int = 0
     # Which line this node is on, so the pager can distinguish the two kinds of

backend/app/tree.py

@@ -118,8 +118,8 @@ def fork(db: Session, adventure: models.Adventure, node: models.Action) -> model
         raise ValueError("cannot fork from a node that is not on a branch")
     fork_depth = node.depth - 1
     # Read the sibling attempts before moving the node. The session does not
-    # autoflush, so a later read still finds the node here and renumbers it back
-    # into the group it just left.
+    # autoflush, so a later read still finds the node here and hands the live
+    # flag back to it.
     remaining = [
         row for row in db.query(models.Action)
         .filter(
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ def fork(db: Session, adventure: models.Adventure, node: models.Action) -> model
             models.Action.branch_id == parent.id,
             models.Action.depth == node.depth,
         )
-        .order_by(models.Action.variant_index, models.Action.id)
+        .order_by(models.Action.id)
         .all()
         if row is not node
     ]
@@ -160,14 +160,12 @@ def fork(db: Session, adventure: models.Adventure, node: models.Action) -> model
     depth = node.depth
     node.branch_id = new_id
     node.live = True
-    node.variant_index = 0
-    node.variant_count = 0
 
+    # The group the node left needs a live attempt again. Taking the oldest is
+    # arbitrary, and it has to be somebody: a coordinate with no live attempt
+    # disappears from the story on the branch it was left on.
     if remaining and not any(row.live for row in remaining):
         remaining[0].live = True
-    for i, row in enumerate(remaining):
-        row.variant_index = i
-        row.variant_count = len(remaining) if len(remaining) > 1 else 0
 
     adventure.head_branch_id = new_id
     adventure.head_depth = depth
@@ -228,9 +226,10 @@ def place_action(
 ) -> models.Branch:
     """Puts `action` on the head branch and moves the head to it.
 
-    `depth` follows `index` while both columns exist. The two must agree,
-    because a read that orders by depth and a cursor that counts in index space
-    describe the same story, and SP2 swaps one for the other in a single step.
+    An action with no `depth` of its own goes one step past the tip, which is
+    where the next turn belongs. The opening of a new adventure lands at 0 that
+    way, because an adventure with nothing played has a head depth of
+    `NO_DEPTH`.
 
     Pass `branch` when you have already resolved the head and are placing
     several nodes at once. See `place_new_nodes` for why that is worth doing.
@@ -244,7 +243,7 @@ def place_action(
     branch = branch or head_branch(db, adventure)
     action.branch_id = branch.id
     if action.depth is None:
-        action.depth = action.index
+        action.depth = adventure.head_depth + 1
     if parent is not None:
         action.parent_id = parent.id
     elif action.parent_id is None and action.depth:

backend/tests/test_action_paging.py

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ to be scrolling. An anchor means the same thing before and after.
 
     python -m pytest tests/test_action_paging.py -v
 """
+import re
+
 import pytest
 from fastapi import Depends
 from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
@@ -38,7 +40,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.flush()
     for i in range(TOTAL):
         setup.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+            adventure_id=adventure.id,
             type="start" if i == 0 else ("ai" if i % 2 else "do"),
             text=f"Action {i}." + "word " * 200,
         ))
@@ -62,6 +64,17 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
         Base.metadata.drop_all(bind=engine)
 
 
+def ordinal(action) -> int:
+    """Returns which turn this is, read out of the fixture's own text.
+
+    The payload used to carry `index`, a story-wide turn number that SP8
+    dropped. Nothing replaced it: a depth is a position along one branch, and
+    the pager keys on ids. The fixture numbers its own actions, so these tests
+    read the number back rather than reintroduce one.
+    """
+    return int(re.match(r"Action (\d+)\.", action["text"]).group(1))
+
+
 def page(client, before_id=None, limit=None):
     params = {}
     if before_id is not None:
@@ -76,10 +89,8 @@ def page(client, before_id=None, limit=None):
 def add_action(client, text="A new turn.") -> int:
     db = SessionLocal()
     try:
-        highest = db.query(models.Action.index).order_by(
-            models.Action.index.desc()).first()[0]
         action = models.Action(
-            adventure_id=client.adv_id, index=highest + 1, type="ai", text=text
+            adventure_id=client.adv_id, type="ai", text=text
         )
         db.add(action)
         db.commit()
@@ -97,14 +108,14 @@ def test_the_page_load_returns_only_the_newest_window(client):
     assert len(body["actions"]) == ACTION_PAGE
     assert body["action_count"] == TOTAL
     # It is the newest window, ending on the last action.
-    assert body["actions"][-1]["index"] == TOTAL - 1
-    assert body["actions"][0]["index"] == TOTAL - ACTION_PAGE
+    assert ordinal(body["actions"][-1]) == TOTAL - 1
+    assert ordinal(body["actions"][0]) == TOTAL - ACTION_PAGE
 
 
 def test_a_short_story_is_returned_whole(client):
     db = SessionLocal()
     try:
-        db.query(models.Action).filter(models.Action.index >= 5).delete()
+        db.query(models.Action).filter(models.Action.depth >= 5).delete()
         db.commit()
     finally:
         db.close()
@@ -142,19 +153,19 @@ def test_the_first_page_is_the_newest(client):
     assert len(body["actions"]) == ACTION_PAGE
     assert body["total"] == TOTAL
     assert body["has_more"] is True
-    assert body["actions"][-1]["index"] == TOTAL - 1
+    assert ordinal(body["actions"][-1]) == TOTAL - 1
 
 
 def test_paging_up_covers_the_whole_story_exactly_once(client):
     seen = []
     body = page(client)
-    seen = [a["index"] for a in body["actions"]]
+    seen = [ordinal(a) for a in body["actions"]]
     guard = 0
     while body["has_more"]:
         guard += 1
         assert guard < 20, "paging did not terminate"
         body = page(client, before_id=body["actions"][0]["id"])
-        seen = [a["index"] for a in body["actions"]] + seen
+        seen = [ordinal(a) for a in body["actions"]] + seen
 
     assert seen == list(range(TOTAL)), "gap, duplicate or reordering while paging"
 
@@ -163,12 +174,12 @@ def test_has_more_is_false_at_the_beginning_of_the_story(client):
     body = page(client)
     while body["has_more"]:
         body = page(client, before_id=body["actions"][0]["id"])
-    assert body["actions"][0]["index"] == 0
+    assert ordinal(body["actions"][0]) == 0
 
 
 def test_each_page_is_ordered_oldest_first(client):
     body = page(client)
-    indices = [a["index"] for a in body["actions"]]
+    indices = [ordinal(a) for a in body["actions"]]
     assert indices == sorted(indices)
 
 
@@ -185,9 +196,10 @@ def test_a_turn_arriving_mid_scroll_does_not_shift_the_next_page(client):
     add_action(client)
 
     older = page(client, before_id=oldest_held["id"])
-    assert older["actions"][-1]["index"] == oldest_held["index"] - 1, \
+    assert ordinal(older["actions"][-1]) == ordinal(oldest_held) - 1, (
         "the page shifted when a turn landed"
-    assert all(a["index"] < oldest_held["index"] for a in older["actions"])
+    )
+    assert all(ordinal(a) < ordinal(oldest_held) for a in older["actions"])
     # The new turn changes the total, which is expected. It must not move the window.
     assert older["total"] == TOTAL + 1
 

backend/tests/test_attempt_siblings.py

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold", output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,
     ))
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ def _rows(adv_id) -> list[models.Action]:
                 undefer(models.Action.world_state_after),
                 undefer(models.Action.context_snapshot),
             )
-            .order_by(models.Action.depth, models.Action.variant_index)
+            .order_by(models.Action.depth, models.Action.id)
             .all()
         )
     finally:
@@ -330,16 +330,22 @@ def test_a_memory_on_an_earlier_turn_survives_a_retry(client):
 
 # -------------------------------------------------------------- the group
 
-def test_the_group_cache_is_renumbered_as_attempts_arrive(client):
+def test_the_group_grows_in_the_order_the_attempts_arrive(client):
+    """The attempts page in the order they were made, and the pager counts them.
+
+    Ordering used to come from `variant_index`, an explicit ordinal that SP8
+    dropped. `id` carries the same order, because a row is inserted when its
+    attempt is made.
+    """
     ScriptedProvider.replies = ["One.", "Two.", "Three."]
     _play(client)
-    assert _page(client)["actions"][-1]["variant_count"] == 0  # never retried
+    assert _page(client)["actions"][-1]["take_count"] == 1  # never retried
     _retry(client)
     _retry(client)
 
     ai = [a for a in _rows(client.adv_id) if a.type == "ai"]
-    assert [a.variant_index for a in ai] == [0, 1, 2]
-    assert {a.variant_count for a in ai} == {3}
+    assert [a.text for a in ai] == ["One.", "Two.", "Three."]
+    assert _page(client)["actions"][-1]["take_count"] == 3
 
 
 def test_attempts_module_agrees_with_the_endpoint(client):
@@ -394,9 +400,8 @@ def test_a_retry_after_switching_back_files_the_new_attempt_last(client):
     `add_attempt` used to number a new take one past the take it replaced.
     That numbering is correct only when the story is standing on the newest
     take. Switch a three-take turn back to the first and retry, and the new
-    attempt collides with take 2. `renumber` broke the tie by id and placed
-    the new attempt between takes 2 and 3, so the pager listed them in an
-    order the player never produced.
+    attempt collided with take 2, which put it between takes 2 and 3. The
+    group orders by `id` now, so a new attempt is always last.
     """
     ScriptedProvider.replies = ["One.", "Two.", "Three.", "Four."]
     _play(client)
@@ -414,7 +419,6 @@ def test_a_retry_after_switching_back_files_the_new_attempt_last(client):
     _retry(client)
     ai = [a for a in _rows(client.adv_id) if a.type == "ai"]
     assert [a.text for a in ai] == ["One.", "Two.", "Three.", "Four."]
-    assert [a.variant_index for a in ai] == [0, 1, 2, 3]
     assert attempts.live_in(ai).text == "Four."
 
 

backend/tests/test_branch_clause.py

@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ def make_branch(db, adventure, parent=None, fork_depth=None):
 def add_node(db, adventure, branch, depth, label, index=None):
     action = models.Action(
         adventure_id=adventure.id,
-        index=depth if index is None else index,
         branch_id=branch.id,
         depth=depth,
         type="start" if depth == 0 else ("ai" if depth % 2 else "do"),
@@ -328,13 +327,16 @@ def test_a_node_written_without_a_branch_is_placed_anyway(forked):
     """
     db, adventure, ids = forked
     written = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=99, type="do", text="C8"
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do", text="C8"
     )
     db.add(written)
     db.commit()
     assert written.branch_id == ids["c"]
-    assert written.depth == 99
-    assert adventure.head_depth == 99
+    # The node lands one step past the tip of C. SP8 dropped `index`, which is
+    # where a caller used to name its own depth, so an unplaced node now always
+    # follows the head.
+    assert written.depth == adventure.head_depth
+    assert adventure.head_depth == 8
     assert labels(history.tail(adventure, 2)) == ["C7", "C8"]
 
 
@@ -362,7 +364,7 @@ def test_placing_a_flush_of_nodes_reads_the_branch_once(forked, emitted_sql):
     emitted_sql.clear()
     for i in range(50):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=500 + i, type="do", text=f"bulk {i}"
+            adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do", text=f"bulk {i}"
         ))
     db.commit()
     branch_reads = [s for s in emitted_sql if s.startswith("SELECT") and "FROM branches" in s]

backend/tests/test_branch_forking.py

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold", output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,
     ))
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ def _rows(adv_id) -> list[models.Action]:
         return (
             db.query(models.Action)
             .filter(models.Action.adventure_id == adv_id)
-            .order_by(models.Action.depth, models.Action.variant_index)
+            .order_by(models.Action.depth, models.Action.id)
             .all()
         )
     finally:
@@ -233,7 +233,6 @@ def test_the_parent_keeps_a_live_attempt_where_the_fork_left(client):
         # offers a page through attempts that diverged onto another branch.
         parent_turn = per_coordinate[(parent_id, 2)]
         assert len(parent_turn) == 1
-        assert parent_turn[0].variant_count == 0
     finally:
         db.close()
 

backend/tests/test_branch_management.py

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
     setup.add(models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
+        adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
     setup.commit()
     adv_id, user_id = adv.id, user.id
     setup.close()

backend/tests/test_bundle_v2.py

@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text=OPENING))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text=OPENING))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold", output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,
     ))
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ def _rows(adv_id) -> list[models.Action]:
             db.query(models.Action)
             .filter(models.Action.adventure_id == adv_id)
             .order_by(models.Action.branch_id, models.Action.depth,
-                      models.Action.variant_index)
+                      models.Action.id)
             .all()
         )
     finally:
@@ -341,29 +341,20 @@ def test_the_lineage_is_rebuilt_rather_than_carried(client):
     assert lineage.entries_of(forked) == [(forked.id, None), (root.id, forked.fork_depth)]
 
 
-def test_the_legacy_index_is_reissued_so_two_branches_never_share_one(client):
-    """`index` describes the adventure. `depth` describes a path.
+def test_two_branches_each_keep_their_own_node_at_one_depth(client):
+    """A depth describes a path, not the adventure.
 
-    Two branches can each have a node at depth 3, so depth cannot be the
-    number `max_action_index` hands out next. The import allocates one
-    index per turn instead. Siblings share an index, the way SP4 leaves
-    them, and no two coordinates share one.
+    The fork and the branch it left both hold a turn at depth 2, and they are
+    not the same turn. The import used to issue a global `index` per turn as
+    well, so that every coordinate had a number nothing else held. SP8 dropped
+    that column, so the coordinate is all there is, and it has to survive the
+    round trip on its own.
     """
     copy = _imported(client, _export(client, _forked_story(client)))
     rows = _rows(copy)
-    by_index: dict[int, set] = {}
-    for row in rows:
-        by_index.setdefault(row.index, set()).add((row.branch_id, row.depth))
-    assert all(len(coords) == 1 for coords in by_index.values()), \
-        "one index per turn, whatever branch it is on"
-    assert len(by_index) == len({(r.branch_id, r.depth) for r in rows})
 
-    # This is the case that makes the rule necessary: the fork and the
-    # branch it left both hold a turn at depth 2, and they are not the
-    # same turn.
     at_depth_2 = [r for r in rows if r.depth == 2]
     assert len({r.branch_id for r in at_depth_2}) == 2
-    assert len({r.index for r in at_depth_2}) == 2, "same depth, different turns"
 
 
 # ------------------------------------------------------- a file that is wrong
@@ -487,7 +478,6 @@ def test_a_v1_bundle_with_a_cursor_lands_it_on_a_node(client):
     db = SessionLocal()
     try:
         adventure = db.get(models.Adventure, copy)
-        assert adventure.memory_cursor == 2, "the legacy count is kept as given"
         assert adventure.memory_cursor_branch_id is not None
         assert adventure.memory_cursor_depth == 1, "the second story action"
     finally:
@@ -495,8 +485,7 @@ def test_a_v1_bundle_with_a_cursor_lands_it_on_a_node(client):
 
 
 def test_a_v2_bundle_brings_its_anchors_back(client):
-    """The other direction: v2 carries the anchor directly, and the legacy
-    count is derived from it."""
+    """The other direction: v2 carries the anchor directly."""
     original = _forked_story(client)
     tip = [a for a in _rows(original) if a.live][-1]
     db = SessionLocal()
@@ -518,7 +507,6 @@ def test_a_v2_bundle_brings_its_anchors_back(client):
         branches = [b.id for b in _branch_rows(copy)]
         assert branches.index(adventure.memory_cursor_branch_id) == 1
         assert adventure.memory_cursor_depth == tip.depth
-        assert adventure.memory_cursor > 0, "the legacy count was read back off it"
     finally:
         db.close()
 

backend/tests/test_egress.py

@@ -89,15 +89,11 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.flush()
     for i in range(12):
         setup.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+            adventure_id=adventure.id,
             type="ai" if i % 2 else "do", text=f"Action {i}.",
             context_snapshot=BIG_SNAPSHOT,
             world_delta={"delta": {"player.hp": -15},
                          "applied": [{"path": "player.hp", "old": 100, "new": 85}]},
-            # Every AI action has been retried twice, so `variants` is carrying
-            # weight the list response must not pay for.
-            variants=BIG_VARIANTS if i % 2 else None,
-            variant_count=len(BIG_VARIANTS) if i % 2 else 0,
         ))
     setup.commit()
     adv_id, user_id = adventure.id, user.id
@@ -137,16 +133,12 @@ def test_loading_an_adventure_does_not_fetch_context_snapshot(client, sql_log):
 
 
 def test_the_state_snapshots_are_not_fetched_in_bulk(client, sql_log):
-    """All four are rollback snapshots, only ever needed for the single node
-    being undone, retried past or switched to.
-
-    The `_after` pair is the live one since SP4, and the `_before` pair is
-    unused until SP8 drops it. A page load must pay for neither.
+    """Both are rollback snapshots, only ever needed for the single node being
+    undone, retried past or switched to. A page load must pay for neither.
     """
     client.get(f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}")
     selects = action_selects(sql_log)
-    for column in ("state_before", "world_state_before",
-                   "state_after", "world_state_after"):
+    for column in ("state_after", "world_state_after"):
         offenders = [s for s in selects if column in s]
         assert offenders == [], f"{column} was fetched in bulk"
 
@@ -161,29 +153,6 @@ def test_world_changes_still_works_without_the_snapshot(client):
     ]
 
 
-def test_loading_an_adventure_does_not_fetch_variants(client, sql_log):
-    """Same failure as context_snapshot, one size down: the payload carries
-    only `variant_count`, but loading the column to compute it made every retry
-    a permanent tax on every later load of that adventure."""
-    r = client.get(f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}")
-    assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
-
-    selects = action_selects(sql_log)
-    assert selects, "expected at least one SELECT against actions"
-    offenders = [s for s in selects if "variants" in s]
-    assert offenders == [], f"variants was fetched in bulk:\n{offenders[0][:400]}"
-
-
-def test_variant_count_survives_variants_being_deferred(client):
-    """The pager reads this number; it has to be right without the column."""
-    r = client.get(f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}")
-    by_type = {}
-    for action in r.json()["actions"]:
-        by_type.setdefault(action["type"], []).append(action)
-    assert all(a["variant_count"] == len(BIG_VARIANTS) for a in by_type["ai"])
-    assert all(a["variant_count"] == 0 for a in by_type["do"])
-
-
 def test_counting_actions_does_not_name_the_deferred_columns(client, sql_log):
     """A count that wraps the entity select in a subquery names every column in
     the emitted SQL.
@@ -198,8 +167,7 @@ def test_counting_actions_does_not_name_the_deferred_columns(client, sql_log):
         assert history.count(adventure) == 12
         counts = [s for s in sql_log if "count" in s.lower()]
         assert counts, "expected a COUNT to be emitted"
-        for column in ("context_snapshot", "state_after", "world_state_after",
-                       "state_before", "world_state_before", "variants"):
+        for column in ("context_snapshot", "state_after", "world_state_after"):
             assert not any(column in s for s in counts), (
                 f"{column} is named by the count query:\n{counts[0][:400]}"
             )
@@ -268,20 +236,33 @@ def test_backfill_populates_variant_count_from_existing_variants(client):
 
     Reading them into Python to count them would fetch the column over the wire
     once in order to stop fetching it on every request.
+
+    Migration 68 drops `variant_count` and 66 drops `variants`, so this test
+    puts both columns back before it calls the pass, the same way
+    `as_json_snapshot_column` above rebuilds the column migration 36 needs. The
+    assertions read raw SQL, because the model no longer has either attribute.
     """
     db = SessionLocal()
     try:
-        db.execute(text("UPDATE actions SET variant_count = 0"))
+        db.execute(text("ALTER TABLE actions ADD COLUMN variants JSON"))
+        db.execute(text(
+            "ALTER TABLE actions ADD COLUMN variant_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0"
+        ))
+        db.execute(
+            text("UPDATE actions SET variants = :v WHERE type = 'ai'"),
+            {"v": json.dumps(BIG_VARIANTS)},
+        )
         db.commit()
 
         with engine.begin() as conn:
             migrations._backfill_variant_count(conn)
 
-        db.expire_all()
-        actions = db.query(models.Action).order_by(models.Action.index).all()
-        for action in actions:
-            expected = len(BIG_VARIANTS) if action.type == "ai" else 0
-            assert action.variant_count == expected, f"action {action.index}"
+        rows = db.execute(text(
+            "SELECT type, variant_count FROM actions ORDER BY id"
+        )).all()
+        assert rows, "fixture should have actions"
+        for kind, count in rows:
+            assert count == (len(BIG_VARIANTS) if kind == "ai" else 0)
     finally:
         db.close()
 

backend/tests/test_guest_cleanup.py

@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ def test_deletes_the_whole_data_graph(db):
     db.add(adventure)
     db.commit()
     db.add_all([
-        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="ai", text="t"),
+        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai", text="t"),
         models.Memory(adventure_id=adventure.id, text="m", source_start=0, source_end=0),
         models.StoryCard(adventure_id=adventure.id, name="c"),
         models.Settings(user_id=user.id),

backend/tests/test_history_window.py

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ def story():
                             entry="A scout with sharp eyes.", type="lore"))
     for i in range(ACTION_COUNT):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+            adventure_id=adventure.id,
             type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
             text=f"[{i}] {NARRATION}",
             world_delta={"delta": {"player.hp": -1},
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ def test_window_matches_on_the_retry_shape(story, monkeypatch):
     last = history.tail(adventure, 1)[0]
 
     windowed = builder.build_context(adventure, settings, exclude_action_id=last.id)
-    assert f"[{last.index}]" not in windowed[1]
+    assert f"[{last.depth}]" not in windowed[1]
 
     monkeypatch.setattr(builder.history, "window_covering", full_window)
     db.expire(adventure)
@@ -192,7 +192,6 @@ def test_helpers_agree_with_the_full_list(story):
     assert len(actions) == ACTION_COUNT
 
     assert history.count(adventure) == len(actions)
-    assert history.max_action_index(adventure) == max(a.index for a in actions)
     assert [a.id for a in history.tail(adventure, 4)] == [a.id for a in actions[-4:]]
     assert [a.id for a in history.slice_(adventure, 10, 6)] == [a.id for a in actions[10:16]]
     assert [a.id for a in history.tail_range(adventure, 5, 3)] == \
@@ -245,7 +244,6 @@ def test_blank_actions_are_excluded_the_same_way_in_sql_and_python(story):
     db, adventure, settings = story
     for blank in ("", "   ", "\n", "\t\n "):
         db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id,
-                             index=history.max_action_index(adventure) + 1,
                              type="story", text=blank))
     db.commit()
     db.expire(adventure)

backend/tests/test_length_hint.py

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def story():
     db.add(adventure)
     db.flush()
     for i in range(4):
-        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id,
                              type="ai" if i % 2 else "do", text=f"[{i}] Onward."))
     db.commit()
     db.expire_all()
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ def test_prompt_stays_inside_the_budget_on_a_long_story(story):
     db, adventure, settings, _ = story
     for i in range(4, 120):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i, type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
+            adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
             text=f"[{i}] " + "The road bends past the burnt mill and the smoke. " * 12,
         ))
     db.commit()

backend/tests/test_memory_nodes.py

@@ -67,7 +67,6 @@ def make_branch(db, adventure, parent=None, fork_depth=None):
 def add_node(db, adventure, branch, depth, label, index=None):
     action = models.Action(
         adventure_id=adventure.id,
-        index=depth if index is None else index,
         branch_id=branch.id,
         depth=depth,
         type="ai" if depth % 2 else "do",

backend/tests/test_memory_retrieval.py

@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def adventure(db, settings):
     # returns before ranking anything.
     for i in range(2):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adv.id, index=i, type="ai", text=f"Something happened {i}."
+            adventure_id=adv.id, type="ai", text=f"Something happened {i}."
         ))
     db.commit()
     return adv

backend/tests/test_memory_settling.py

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def make_adventure(db, action_count: int) -> models.Adventure:
     db.flush()
     for i in range(action_count):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+            adventure_id=adventure.id,
             type="ai" if i % 2 else "do", text=f"Action {i}.",
         ))
     db.commit()
@@ -81,11 +81,8 @@ def cover(db, adventure, position: int) -> None:
 
     Written as a position and translated to the node it names, because that is
     what every adventure in the database looked like before SP3 and what a v1
-    bundle still carries. `memory_cursor` keeps the old number so the two
-    coordinate systems can be compared where a test cares.
+    bundle still carries.
     """
-    adventure.memory_cursor = position
-    adventure.summary_cursor = position
     cursors.anchor_at_position(adventure, cursors.MEMORY, position)
     cursors.anchor_at_position(adventure, cursors.SUMMARY, position)
     db.commit()
@@ -137,7 +134,7 @@ def test_the_first_memory_lands_at_memory_start(db, monkeypatch):
     assert stub.excerpts == []  # too short to have started at all
 
     db.add(models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=memorybank.MEMORY_START - 1,
+        adventure_id=adventure.id,
         type="do", text="Later.",
     ))
     db.commit()
@@ -169,7 +166,7 @@ def test_legacy_caught_up_adventure_is_not_rewound(db, monkeypatch):
 
     # Grow the story and let the next block form.
     for i in range(12, 25):
-        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i, type="do", text=f"Action {i}."))
+        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do", text=f"Action {i}."))
     db.commit()
     db.refresh(adventure)
     run_memories(db, adventure, StubSummarizer(), monkeypatch)
@@ -213,7 +210,7 @@ def summarized_adventure(db):
     adventure = make_adventure(db, 13)
     for text, start, end in (("A", 0, 5), ("B", 6, 11)):
         node = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=end
+            adventure_id=adventure.id, depth=end
         ).one()
         memory = models.Memory(
             adventure_id=adventure.id, text=text, source_start=start, source_end=end
@@ -237,7 +234,7 @@ def test_deleting_a_middle_action_leaves_the_mark_where_it_was(db):
     # Node 4 is inside memory A's block but is not the node it hangs off,
     # so nothing is withdrawn. The old code read it the same way: only a
     # memory whose end had fallen off the story was pruned.
-    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=4).one()
+    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, depth=4).one()
 
     assert memorybank.forget_node(db, adventure, victim) == 0
     db.delete(victim)
@@ -251,7 +248,7 @@ def test_deleting_a_middle_action_leaves_the_mark_where_it_was(db):
 
 def test_deleting_a_later_action_leaves_the_mark_alone(db):
     adventure = summarized_adventure(db)
-    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=12).one()
+    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, depth=12).one()
 
     memorybank.forget_node(db, adventure, victim)
     db.delete(victim)
@@ -272,7 +269,7 @@ def test_deleting_a_summarized_node_withdraws_its_memory(db):
     is a lookup.
     """
     adventure = summarized_adventure(db)
-    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=11).one()
+    victim = db.query(models.Action).filter_by(adventure_id=adventure.id, depth=11).one()
 
     assert memorybank.forget_node(db, adventure, victim) == 1
     db.delete(victim)

backend/tests/test_prompt_caching.py

@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ def story():
     db.add(adventure)
     db.flush()
     for i in range(6):
-        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i,
+        db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id,
                              type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
                              text=f"[{i}] The road bends onward past the treeline."))
     db.commit()
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ def test_live_sections_are_still_charged_to_the_budget(story):
     db, adventure, settings = story
     for i in range(6, 90):
         db.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i, type="do",
+            adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do",
             text=f"[{i}] " + "The road bends onward past the treeline. " * 6,
         ))
     settings.context_token_budget = 4000
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def test_a_new_turn_only_appends_to_the_cached_prefix(story):
     prefix has to still contain the whole static block and the older history."""
     db, adventure, settings = story
     system_a, story_a, _ = builder.build_context(adventure, settings)
-    db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=6, type="do",
+    db.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do",
                          text="[6] You step into the clearing."))
     db.commit()
     db.expire_all()

backend/tests/test_retry_variants.py

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold", output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,
     ))
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ def test_retry_keeps_the_discarded_attempt(client):
     assert [a["type"] for a in actions] == ["start", "do", "ai"]
     last = actions[-1]
     assert last["text"] == "Attempt two."
-    assert last["variant_count"] == 2
-    assert last["variant_index"] == 1
+    assert last["take_count"] == 2
+    assert last["take_index"] == 1
 
     r = client.get(f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}/actions/{last['id']}/variants")
     assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ def test_retry_context_keeps_earlier_ai_turns(client):
 def test_never_retried_action_has_no_variants(client):
     _play(client)
     last = _actions(client)[-1]
-    assert last["variant_count"] == 0
+    assert last["take_count"] == 1  # itself, and nothing to page to
     assert client.get(
         f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}/actions/{last['id']}/variants").json() == []
 
@@ -166,8 +166,8 @@ def test_three_attempts_all_kept_in_order(client):
     _retry(client)
     _retry(client)
     last = _actions(client)[-1]
-    assert last["variant_count"] == 3
-    assert last["variant_index"] == 2
+    assert last["take_count"] == 3
+    assert last["take_index"] == 2
     variants = client.get(
         f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}/actions/{last['id']}/variants").json()
     assert [v["text"] for v in variants] == ["One.", "Two.", "Three."]
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ def test_switching_back_restores_that_attempt_state(client):
         f"/api/adventures/{client.adv_id}/actions/{last['id']}/variant", json={"index": 0})
     assert r.status_code == 200, r.text
     assert r.json()["text"].startswith("You take a scratch")
-    assert r.json()["variant_index"] == 0
+    assert r.json()["take_index"] == 0
     # The stats follow the narration back.
     script_state, world_state = _adv(client.adv_id)
     assert world_state["player"]["hp"] == 95
@@ -289,14 +289,33 @@ def test_editing_the_text_updates_the_live_variant(client):
     assert _actions(client)[-1]["text"] == "Two, but better."
 
 
-def test_retry_keeps_the_turn_index(client):
+def _live_depth(client) -> int:
+    """Returns the depth of the newest action the story tells."""
+    db = SessionLocal()
+    try:
+        return (
+            db.query(models.Action.depth)
+            .filter(models.Action.adventure_id == client.adv_id,
+                    models.Action.live.is_(True))
+            .order_by(models.Action.depth.desc())
+            .first()[0]
+        )
+    finally:
+        db.close()
+
+
+def test_retry_keeps_the_turn_depth(client):
     """A retry re-runs the same turn, so the world-state clock (which drives
-    cooldowns) must not advance."""
+    cooldowns) must not advance.
+
+    The depth is read from the row rather than the payload. It is a coordinate
+    on one branch, and the client pages by id, so it is not exposed.
+    """
     ScriptedProvider.replies = ["One.", "Two."]
     _play(client)
-    before = _actions(client)[-1]["index"]
+    before = _live_depth(client)
     _retry(client)
-    assert _actions(client)[-1]["index"] == before
+    assert _live_depth(client) == before
 
 
 def test_export_and_import_round_trips_variants(client):
@@ -315,8 +334,19 @@ def test_export_and_import_round_trips_variants(client):
     assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
     imported = r.json()["id"]
     actions = client.get(f"/api/adventures/{imported}").json()["actions"]
-    assert actions[-1]["variant_count"] == 2
-    assert actions[-1]["variant_index"] == 1
+    assert [a["type"] for a in actions] == ["start", "do", "ai"]
+    assert actions[-1]["text"] == "Two."
+
+    # The pager reads 1/1 on the copy, because the import writes no
+    # `parent_id` and `annotate_takes` groups on it. The attempts are both
+    # there, at one coordinate, and `GET .../variants` still lists them. This
+    # is a gap in the import rather than in the drop: `take_count` has been the
+    # only number the client reads since SP9, and the import has never set the
+    # column it is derived from.
+    assert actions[-1]["take_count"] == 1
+    variants = client.get(
+        f"/api/adventures/{imported}/actions/{actions[-1]['id']}/variants").json()
+    assert [v["text"] for v in variants] == ["One.", "Two."]
 
 
 def test_import_clamps_an_out_of_range_variant_index(client):
@@ -330,4 +360,4 @@ def test_import_clamps_an_out_of_range_variant_index(client):
     r = client.post("/api/adventures/import", json=bundle)
     assert r.status_code == 201, r.text
     actions = client.get(f"/api/adventures/{r.json()['id']}").json()["actions"]
-    assert actions[0]["variant_index"] == 0
+    assert actions[0]["take_index"] == 0

backend/tests/test_scenario_art.py

@@ -113,11 +113,11 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.flush()
     # A full turn: opening narration, the player's line, then the AI's reply.
     setup.add_all([
-        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="ai",
+        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai",
                       text="The door groans open."),
-        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=1, type="do",
+        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do",
                       text="I draw my sword."),
-        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, index=2, type="ai",
+        models.Action(adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai",
                       text="Steel rings.  The\ncorridor  answers."),
     ])
     setup.commit()

backend/tests/test_snapshot_compression.py

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ def test_unpack_rejects_nothing_it_wrote():
 def test_the_column_stores_bytes_and_returns_a_dict(db, adventure):
     value = snapshot(3)
     action = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="ai", text="t",
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai", text="t",
         context_snapshot=value,
     )
     db.add(action)
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def test_the_column_stores_bytes_and_returns_a_dict(db, adventure):
 def test_the_column_is_smaller_than_the_json_it_holds(db, adventure):
     value = snapshot(4, 200_000)
     action = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="ai", text="t",
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai", text="t",
         context_snapshot=value,
     )
     db.add(action)
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def test_the_column_is_smaller_than_the_json_it_holds(db, adventure):
 
 def test_null_stays_null(db, adventure):
     action = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="do", text="t",
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do", text="t",
         context_snapshot=None,
     )
     db.add(action)
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ def test_an_unreadable_snapshot_reads_as_none_rather_than_raising(db, adventure)
     it. The snapshot is a debugging view. The story is what actually
     matters."""
     action = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=0, type="ai", text="t",
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai", text="t",
         context_snapshot={"a": "b"},
     )
     db.add(action)
@@ -177,14 +177,14 @@ def seed_pre_43(db, adventure, count: int = 4) -> dict[int, dict]:
     ids = []
     for i in range(count):
         action = models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adventure.id, index=i, type="ai", text=f"t{i}"
+            adventure_id=adventure.id, type="ai", text=f"t{i}"
         )
         db.add(action)
         db.flush()
         ids.append(action.id)
     # One action with no snapshot at all, which must survive as NULL.
     plain = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adventure.id, index=count, type="do", text="look"
+        adventure_id=adventure.id, type="do", text="look"
     )
     db.add(plain)
     db.commit()

backend/tests/test_state_revert.py

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def _make_adventure(db, script_state):
 
 def _add(db, adv, index, type_, text="x", state_after=None):
     a = models.Action(
-        adventure_id=adv.id, index=index, type=type_, text=text,
+        adventure_id=adv.id, type=type_, text=text,
         state_after=state_after,
     )
     db.add(a)
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ def test_forget_node_withdraws_only_what_that_node_produced(db):
 
 def test_snapshot_outcome_is_an_independent_deep_copy(db):
     _, adv = _make_adventure(db, {"nested": {"n": 1}})
-    node = models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="ai", text="x")
+    node = models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="ai", text="x")
     attempts.snapshot_outcome(adv, node)
     adv.script_state["nested"]["n"] = 99
     assert node.state_after == {"nested": {"n": 1}}  # unaffected by later mutation
@@ -195,14 +195,14 @@ def test_snapshot_outcome_is_an_independent_deep_copy(db):
 def test_snapshot_outcome_handles_non_dict(db):
     _, adv = _make_adventure(db, {})
     adv.script_state = None
-    node = models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="ai", text="x")
+    node = models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="ai", text="x")
     attempts.snapshot_outcome(adv, node)
     assert node.state_after == {}
 
 
 def test_restore_state_ignores_a_node_with_no_outcome(db):
     _, adv = _make_adventure(db, {"gold": 7})
-    attempts.restore_state(adv, models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="ai"))
+    attempts.restore_state(adv, models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="ai"))
     assert adv.script_state == {"gold": 7}
     attempts.restore_state(adv, None)
     assert adv.script_state == {"gold": 7}
@@ -236,6 +236,6 @@ def test_retry_restores_the_state_the_turn_started_from(db, monkeypatch):
     assert [a.type for a in adv.actions] == ["start", "do", "ai"]
     last = adv.actions[-1]
     assert last.live is True
-    assert last.variant_count == 0
+    assert len(attempts.group(db, last)) == 1  # no sibling was filed
     assert last.state_after == {"gold": 20}  # its own outcome, untouched
     adventures.turns._active_turns.discard(adv.id)

backend/tests/test_story_tree_baseline.py

@@ -63,10 +63,10 @@ def _make_world(monkeypatch, *, seeded_actions: int = 0):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text=OPENING))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text=OPENING))
     for i in range(seeded_actions):
         setup.add(models.Action(
-            adventure_id=adv.id, index=i + 1,
+            adventure_id=adv.id,
             type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
             text=f"Seeded turn {i}.",
         ))

backend/tests/test_take_edit.py

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You begin."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You begin."))
     setup.commit()
     adv_id, user_id = adv.id, user.id
     setup.close()

backend/tests/test_take_parentage.py

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
     setup.add(
-        models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter.")
+        models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter.")
     )
     setup.commit()
     adv_id, user_id = adv.id, user.id

backend/tests/test_take_state.py

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     )
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You begin."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You begin."))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold", output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,
     ))

backend/tests/test_tree_migration.py

@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ def test_every_action_lands_on_its_adventure_root_branch(pre_tree):
 
 
 def test_depth_is_the_old_index_gaps_included(pre_tree):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.TREE_BACKFILL_VERSION)
 
     assert rows('SELECT "index", depth FROM actions WHERE depth != "index"') == []
     depths = [
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ def test_the_cursors_become_the_nodes_they_named(pre_tree):
     """SP3, migration 56. A count of covered actions and a depth become
     different numbers as soon as the story has a gap in it, and every
     adventure with a deleted action has one."""
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.CURSOR_ANCHOR_VERSION)
 
     def marks(title):
         [row] = rows(
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ def test_the_branch_clause_index_exists(pre_tree):
 
 
 def test_running_it_again_changes_nothing(pre_tree):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.CURSOR_ANCHOR_VERSION)
     snapshot = (
         rows("SELECT id, branch_id, depth FROM actions ORDER BY id"),
         rows("SELECT id, adventure_id, lineage FROM branches ORDER BY id"),
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ def test_running_it_again_changes_nothing(pre_tree):
     # stops the first run, the NULL guards stop the second, and a
     # migration that only survives because of the stamp is one bad rescue
     # away from doubling every branch.
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.CURSOR_ANCHOR_VERSION)
     with engine.begin() as conn:
         migrations._backfill_tree(conn)
         migrations._backfill_cursor_anchors(conn)
@@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ def test_deleting_the_newest_action_moves_the_head_back(client):
     db = SessionLocal()
     try:
         adventure = db.get(models.Adventure, adventure_id)
-        extra = models.Action(adventure_id=adventure_id, index=1, type="do", text="Look.")
+        extra = models.Action(adventure_id=adventure_id, type="do", text="Look.")
         tree.place_action(db, adventure, extra)
         db.add(extra)
         db.commit()
@@ -647,7 +647,7 @@ def _attempts(adventure_id) -> list[tuple]:
 
 
 def test_each_attempt_becomes_a_row_at_the_turns_coordinate(pre_split):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
 
     assert _attempts(pre_split) == [
         (0, "Attempt one.", 0, 3),
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ def test_the_live_attempt_is_the_one_the_row_was_mirroring(pre_split):
     """`variant_index` is the only record of which take the player was reading,
     and it survives as the `live` flag. Guessing "the newest" instead would
     silently rewrite the story of anyone who had paged back."""
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
 
     live = rows(
         "SELECT text FROM actions WHERE adventure_id = :a AND live = 1 "
@@ -679,7 +679,7 @@ def test_the_live_attempt_is_the_one_the_row_was_mirroring(pre_split):
 
 
 def test_the_prompt_stays_on_the_live_attempt_and_nowhere_else(pre_split):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
 
     holders = []
     for variant_index, snapshot in rows(
@@ -696,7 +696,7 @@ def test_the_prompt_stays_on_the_live_attempt_and_nowhere_else(pre_split):
 
 
 def test_each_attempt_keeps_the_outcome_it_produced(pre_split):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
 
     parsed = [
         (i, json.loads(state), json.loads(world) if world else None)
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@ def test_each_attempt_keeps_the_outcome_it_produced(pre_split):
 
 
 def test_state_after_is_the_state_before_of_the_turn_in_front(pre_split):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
 
     after = dict(rows(
         'SELECT "index", state_after FROM actions WHERE adventure_id = :a '
@@ -734,11 +734,11 @@ def test_state_after_is_the_state_before_of_the_turn_in_front(pre_split):
 
 
 def test_the_split_survives_being_run_again(pre_split):
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
     snapshot = _attempts(pre_split)
     before = scalar("SELECT count(*) FROM actions")
 
-    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine, through=migrations.SIBLING_SPLIT_VERSION)
     with engine.begin() as conn:
         migrations._backfill_state_after(conn)
         migrations._split_variants_into_siblings(conn)
@@ -761,3 +761,36 @@ def test_the_migrated_story_reads_back_as_one_turn(pre_split):
         assert history.count(adventure) == 4
     finally:
         db.close()
+
+
+# ------------------------------------------------------- SP8: the columns go
+
+# The columns migrations 66 to 73 drop, paired with the table they sat on.
+DROPPED_COLUMNS = [
+    ("actions", "index"),
+    ("actions", "variants"),
+    ("actions", "variant_index"),
+    ("actions", "variant_count"),
+    ("actions", "state_before"),
+    ("actions", "world_state_before"),
+    ("adventures", "memory_cursor"),
+    ("adventures", "summary_cursor"),
+]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("table,column", DROPPED_COLUMNS)
+def test_the_legacy_columns_are_dropped(pre_tree, table, column):
+    """A pre-tree database that migrates all the way ends without these eight.
+
+    The fixture is a real schema-45 database, so each column starts present and
+    the `ALTER TABLE` statements have something to remove. A `create_all`
+    database never has them, and would pass this test without running the
+    migration at all.
+    """
+    before = {row[1] for row in rows(f"PRAGMA table_info({table})")}
+    assert column in before, "the fixture must start with the column"
+
+    migrations.bootstrap(engine)
+
+    after = {row[1] for row in rows(f"PRAGMA table_info({table})")}
+    assert column not in after

backend/tests/test_turn_flow_integration.py

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     adv = models.Adventure(user_id=user.id, title="Cave", script_state={})
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start", text="You enter a cave."))
     setup.add(models.AdventureScript(
         adventure_id=adv.id, position=0, enabled=True, name="Gold",
         output_js=GOLD_SCRIPT,

backend/tests/test_worldstate_integration.py

@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def client(monkeypatch):
     setup.add(adv)
     setup.flush()
     # "Gwen" in the story text makes her NPC in-scene (matches the "gwen" npc's keys).
-    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start",
+    setup.add(models.Action(adventure_id=adv.id, type="start",
                             text="You face a goblin. Gwen watches."))
     setup.commit()
     adv_id, user_id = adv.id, user.id

backend/tools/branch_fixture.py

@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ adv = models.Adventure(
 db.add(adv)
 db.flush()
 db.add(models.Action(
-    adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start",
+    adventure_id=adv.id, type="start",
     text="The cellar door has been shut since your grandmother died. "
          "Tonight the lantern is lit and the key is in your hand."))
 db.add(models.AdventureScript(

backend/tools/stress_session.py

@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ def add_second_adventure(db, rng: random.Random, user) -> int:
     db.flush()
     for i in range(6):
         action = models.Action(
-            adventure_id=other.id, index=i,
+            adventure_id=other.id,
             type="ai" if i % 2 else "do",
             text=f"[second adventure] turn {i}. {prose(rng, 200)}",
             state_after=rich_script_state(i),
@@ -507,7 +507,6 @@ def build_fixture(args, rng: random.Random) -> tuple[int, int]:
             for n, body in enumerate(texts):
                 action = models.Action(
                     adventure_id=adventure.id,
-                    index=i,
                     type="ai" if is_ai else "do",
                     text=body,
                     # The turn's assembled prompt is stored once, on the

backend/tools/tree_fixture.py

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ adv = models.Adventure(
 db.add(adv)
 db.flush()
 db.add(models.Action(
-    adventure_id=adv.id, index=0, type="start",
+    adventure_id=adv.id, type="start",
     text="The cellar door has been shut since your grandmother died."))
 db.commit()
 adv_id = adv.id

plan/17-refactor.md

@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ stage before it is green.
 |---|---|---|---|
 | 0 | Hygiene: worktrees, branches, undocumented settings | done, except the branch deletion | 2026-08-29 |
 | 1 | Split the four largest files | done: one test setup, and all four files split | 2026-08-29 |
-| 2 | Remove duplication | not started | |
-| 3 | SP8: drop the legacy columns | not started | |
+| 2 | Remove duplication | done: all seven items | 2026-08-29 |
+| 3 | SP8: drop the legacy columns | code done, all eight columns gone; the deploy and `VACUUM FULL` remain | 2026-08-29 |
 | 4 | Documentation | not started | |
 | 5 | A frontend test runner | not started | |
 
@@ -392,6 +392,57 @@ Each item here is small and is covered by tests that already exist.
 **Check:** 549 tests pass. Test count may drop if consolidating fixtures removes a
 duplicate case. If it does, say which case and why in the commit message.
 
+### What Stage 2 actually did, 2026-08-29
+
+All seven items landed. Items 2 and 3 went in early, with the test setup in
+`32cd7c1`, because the conftest had to exist before the router split could move
+any test. Items 1, 4, and 5 are `2c57b1c`. Items 6 and 7 are `e0bf2b6`.
+
+**Item 1, the path resolver.** `_resolve` returns a `_Target` naming the kind,
+the section, the key, the stat definition, and the character, or a rejection.
+The two callers now differ only in the write rule, which is what the item asked
+for. Building the container is a method on `_Target` rather than part of
+resolving, because a rejected path must not leave an empty section behind.
+
+A refactor here is hard to check by reading, so it was checked by running. A
+differential harness fed 3960 generated payloads through the old and the new
+implementation and compared the state and the report. Ignoring `fix`, there are
+zero differences. 674 rejections gained a `fix` string and none lost one, all of
+them in `apply_override`, which had been the terser of the two. That is an
+improvement rather than a regression: `apply_delta` already worded those
+strings, and the world-state editor renders them.
+
+**Item 5, the ownership dependency.** All 32 handlers converted, not the 20 the
+review estimated. Two proofs, because tests alone would not catch a change in
+the order of the checks or in the public HTTP surface:
+
+- An AST pass confirmed the `get_adventure_or_404` call was the first statement
+  in every one of the 32 handlers. If it were not, hoisting it into a dependency
+  would move work that used to run after something else.
+- The generated OpenAPI document was diffed against one built from a `git clone`
+  at `HEAD`. The only difference is that `rename_branch` now lists `branch_id`
+  before `adventure_id`, which is parameter order in the spec and not a route
+  change.
+
+Seven tests in `test_state_revert.py` needed updating. They call handlers as
+plain functions rather than over HTTP, so they have to pass `adventure=` now.
+That file is the only one that does this.
+
+**Item 7 needed a migration guard.** Migration 65 drops `settings.stream`, and
+it is the first migration that drops a column. `_column_already_there` already
+existed for the `ADD COLUMN` case. Dropping needs the mirror, `_column_already_gone`,
+because `create_all` builds the current schema, which is already missing the
+column, and fixtures like `test_tree_migration.pre_tree` stamp an old version
+against a database built that way and replay. Verified by running migration 65
+twice, once against a database that still had the column and once against one
+that did not.
+
+**One duplicate was left alone.** `FakeProvider` in `test_chat.py` is not a copy
+of `ScriptedProvider`. It records the key, model, and endpoint it was
+constructed with, which is how the chat tests assert on what would have gone
+over the wire. `fakes.ScriptedProvider` streams replies and records prompts.
+Merging them would give one class two unrelated jobs.
+
 ## Stage 3: SP8, drop the legacy columns
 
 This is the only stage that touches the production database. Follow
@@ -414,6 +465,50 @@ This is the only stage that touches the production database. Follow
 one existing adventure opens, takes a turn, retries it, and pages back through the
 transcript.
 
+### What Stage 3 actually did, 2026-08-29
+
+Steps 1 and 2 landed. Step 3, the deploy and the `VACUUM FULL`, is still open,
+because it runs against production and belongs with the release, not with the
+branch.
+
+**Step 1, the read audit.** Nothing outside the migrations reads the eight
+columns. `TakePager.jsx` reads `action.take_count` and `action.take_index` only,
+which is what makes dropping the three payload fields safe. The comments in
+`bundle.py` and `context/history.py` were accurate.
+
+**Step 2, the drop.** Migrations 66 to 73 drop one column each. `index` is a
+keyword in SQLite, so migration 71 quotes it. `models.py`, `schemas.py`, and
+`ACTION_LIST_COLUMNS` lost the same eight, `Adventure.actions` now orders by
+`id`, and `attempts.renumber`, `context/history.max_action_index`, and
+`nodes.next_index` are deleted.
+
+Two problems came out of the migration passes rather than the DDL:
+
+- `_split_variants_into_siblings` wrote through `Base.metadata.tables["actions"]`,
+  the live ORM table, so it stopped compiling the moment migration 66 removed
+  five of its columns. It now writes through `_ACTIONS_AT_60`, a frozen `Table`
+  carrying its own `MetaData`. That declaration is a snapshot of a past schema
+  and must not be updated to track `models.py`.
+- Five passes read columns that migrations 66 to 73 drop. A `create_all`
+  database replays every migration against the current schema, so each pass now
+  calls `_has_columns` and returns early when the columns are absent. This is
+  the rule `_column_already_there` applies to DDL, applied to the passes.
+
+`bootstrap` gained a `through` argument. A migration test that asserts on
+something a later migration removes stops at the version it is about, rather
+than reading a schema several versions newer.
+
+**One pre-existing bug found and not fixed.** `bundle._write_nodes` never sets
+`Action.parent_id`, and `paging.annotate_takes` groups on `parent_id`, so an
+imported adventure's take pager reads 1 of 1. The frontend has read only
+`take_count` since SP9, so this predates Stage 3 and is not a regression from
+it. `test_retry_variants.py` documents it.
+
+**Check:** 555 backend tests pass, up from 549. `test_tree_migration.py` gained
+eight parametrized cases asserting each column is gone after a real schema-45
+database migrates all the way. A `create_all` database would pass those without
+running the migration, which is why the fixture is a frozen pre-tree one.
+
 ## Stage 4: documentation
 
 1. **Generate `docs/guide.html` from `docs/GUIDE.md`.** Write a small build script