Restoring job identity without restoring an old poll count

Identity should survive the write#

A Data Table node can return the saved row instead of the payload that entered it. The Velvet Paradox restores concept and job fields after those writes, keeping subsequent status requests and terminal updates attached to the same render request. Those identifiers should stay fixed while status and attempt count change.

The counter belongs to the current pass#

Normalize Poll Response reads from Initialize Poll State. Later in the loop, another node increments the counter, writes running state and returns through wait and poll. The next normalization reads the initialization item again, so the incremented value is at risk of being replaced by its starting value.

The two kinds of state need different sources: initialization can supply stable identity, while the current iteration supplies progress. I'd test that distinction with a provider stub that always returns pending, capture every attempt and assert one terminal update when the configured limit is reached.

Keep the stopping point visible#

The completion branch rejects a result without image URLs and emits one candidate per image when they exist. Provider failure and polling timeout use separate job updates. Maintenance also finds stale work, so a request's outcome can retain more detail than an empty result.

Those branches are present in the export. The unresolved check is whether the normal loop advances into its terminal path as intended. No provider call or polling execution was performed for this note.