---
name: an-empty-ci-queue-is-not-a-clear-box
description: gh run list empty does not mean hfenduleam is free — doyle grants exclusive measurement windows that no CI query shows; ask before every cargo leg there
metadata:
  type: feedback
---
2026-09-24 W4: I ran a 5-min full unit leg on hfenduleam after `gh run list` showed nothing in_progress/queued. doyle had just granted hertz an EXCLUSIVE window for IR-149's measured build cost; his HOLD arrived 5s after my run ended. My own brief said "ask doyle before cargo when CI runs" — I had narrowed doyle's gate to the one signal I could query.

**Why:** box occupancy includes peer measurement windows, which live only in doyle's head / messages, not in any CI API. A measurement taken beside my build is a number doyle must make the measurer re-take.

**How to apply:** before ANY cargo on hfenduleam after a GO has been consumed, send doyle one line and wait for the answer. A previous GO covers the leg it was given for, not the next one. Related: [[a-standing-authorization-that-asks-for-a-checkin-is-not-standing]].