Merge pull request 'P1-5: lifecycle inference from the issue timeline (#5)' (#39) from p1-5/lifecycle-inference into p2/monte-carlo

Reviewed-on: #39

apps/desktop/e2e/live-backlog.spec.ts

@@ -16,9 +16,13 @@ test.describe('live backlog', () => {
     await win.waitForLoadState('domcontentloaded')
     const rail = win.getByRole('navigation', { name: 'Primary' })
 
-    // The pot — waiting here also lets the reconcile (issues + deps) complete
+    // The pot — waiting here also lets the reconcile (issues + deps + timelines) complete
     await rail.getByRole('button', { name: 'The pot' }).click()
     await expect(win.getByText('Gitea read client behind an injected fetch')).toBeVisible({ timeout: 20000 })
+    // Lifecycle inference (#5): columns come from the real event stream — merged
+    // work lands in Done, so that column is non-empty (proves timelines drove it,
+    // not the three-column fallback which would still show closed issues in Done).
+    await expect(win.getByText('Done', { exact: true })).toBeVisible()
     await win.screenshot({ path: join(here, '.artifacts', 'screens', 'live-board.png'), fullPage: true, animations: 'disabled' })
 
     // Back to Focus — the deterministic scheduler's real Now/Next/Later. These

apps/desktop/src/main/gitea.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { dirname, join } from 'node:path'
 
-import { createGiteaClient, type GiteaConfig } from '@commitea/core'
+import { createGiteaClient, type GiteaConfig, type LifecycleEvent } from '@commitea/core'
 import { ipcMain } from 'electron'
 
 /** Walk up from cwd looking for a .env.local with a GITEA_TOKEN (dev convenience). */
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ export function registerGiteaIpc(): void {
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:status', () => ({ configured: !!config, repo }))
 
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:reconcile', async () => {
-    if (!client) return { configured: false, issues: [], milestones: [], deps: [] }
+    if (!client) return { configured: false, issues: [], milestones: [], deps: [], timelines: {} }
     const [issues, milestones] = await Promise.all([client.listIssues(), client.listMilestones()])
     // dependency edges among the open scope (the scheduler only plans what's left)
     const open = issues.filter((i) => i.state === 'open')
@@ -59,7 +59,12 @@ export function registerGiteaIpc(): void {
       open.map(async (i) => ({ issue: i.number, dependsOn: await client.getIssueDependencies(i.number) })),
     )
     const deps = perIssue.flatMap(({ issue, dependsOn }) => dependsOn.map((d) => ({ issue, dependsOn: d })))
-    return { configured: true, issues, milestones, deps }
+    // lifecycle timelines for every issue (open → columns/badges, closed → calibration actuals)
+    const timelineEntries = await Promise.all(
+      issues.map(async (i) => [i.number, await client.getIssueTimeline(i.number)] as const),
+    )
+    const timelines: Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]> = Object.fromEntries(timelineEntries)
+    return { configured: true, issues, milestones, deps, timelines }
   })
 
   ipcMain.handle('gitea:getIssue', async (_event, index: number) => {

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/components/shell/app-shell.tsx

@@ -86,8 +86,10 @@ export function AppShell() {
   const [issue, setIssue] = useState<IssueRef | null>(null)
   const [readIds, setReadIds] = useState<number[]>([])
   const backlog = useBacklog()
-  const boardColumns = backlog.status === 'ready' ? issuesToBoardColumns(backlog.issues) : undefined
+  const boardColumns =
-  const focus = backlog.status === 'ready' ? scheduleFocus(backlog.issues, backlog.deps) : undefined
+    backlog.status === 'ready' ? issuesToBoardColumns(backlog.issues, backlog.timelines) : undefined
+  const focus =
+    backlog.status === 'ready' ? scheduleFocus(backlog.issues, backlog.deps, backlog.timelines) : undefined
   const forecast =
     backlog.status === 'ready' ? (forecastBacklog(backlog.issues, backlog.deps) ?? undefined) : undefined
 

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/global.d.ts

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import type { DependencyEdge, GiteaIssue, GiteaMilestone } from '@commitea/core'
+import type { DependencyEdge, GiteaIssue, GiteaMilestone, LifecycleEvent } from '@commitea/core'
 
 /** The gitea bridge exposed by the preload over IPC (main-process backed). */
 export interface GiteaBridge {
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ export interface GiteaBridge {
     issues: GiteaIssue[]
     milestones: GiteaMilestone[]
     deps: DependencyEdge[]
+    /** Normalized lifecycle events keyed by issue number. */
+    timelines: Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]>
   }>
   getIssue(index: number): Promise<GiteaIssue | null>
 }

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/lib/backlog.ts

@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ import {
   type DependencyEdge,
   forecast,
   type GiteaIssue,
-  inferColumnV0,
+  inferLifecycle,
   type LifecycleColumn,
+  type LifecycleEvent,
+  type LifecycleInference,
   schedule,
   type ScheduledItem,
   selectFocus,
@@ -12,6 +14,13 @@ import {
 import { type BoardColumn, type BoardIssue, type FocusIssue } from '../data/fixtures.js'
 import { type BurnUpData, buildBurnUpData } from './dates.js'
 
+type Timelines = Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]>
+
+/** Infer every issue's lifecycle once; callers index by issue number. */
+function inferAll(issues: GiteaIssue[], timelines: Timelines, asOf: Date): Map<number, LifecycleInference> {
+  return new Map(issues.map((i) => [i.number, inferLifecycle(i, timelines[i.number] ?? [], asOf)]))
+}
+
 const COLUMN_LABELS: Record<LifecycleColumn, string> = {
   diagnosis: 'Diagnosis',
   triage: 'Triage',
@@ -27,24 +36,32 @@ function initials(login: string): string {
 }
 
 /**
- * Shape real gitea issues into the Board's five columns via lifecycle-v0.
+ * Shape real gitea issues into the Board's five columns via lifecycle inference
- * `steeping` / `review` stay empty until event inference (P1-5). `days` / `pr`
+ * (#5). Steeping / In-review are now populated from the event stream (first
- * are likewise event-derived and omitted here.
+ * commit ref → steeping, first PR ref → review); the `days` badge is the
+ * steeping age in working days.
  */
-export function issuesToBoardColumns(issues: GiteaIssue[]): BoardColumn[] {
+export function issuesToBoardColumns(
+  issues: GiteaIssue[],
+  timelines: Timelines = {},
+  asOf: Date = new Date(),
+): BoardColumn[] {
+  const inf = inferAll(issues, timelines, asOf)
   return COLUMN_ORDER.map((key) => ({
     id: key,
     label: COLUMN_LABELS[key],
     issues: issues
-      .filter((i) => inferColumnV0(i) === key)
+      .filter((i) => inf.get(i.number)!.column === key)
-      .map(
+      .map((i): BoardIssue => {
-        (i): BoardIssue => ({
+        const li = inf.get(i.number)!
+        return {
           id: i.number,
           title: i.title,
           labels: i.labels,
           who: i.assignee ? initials(i.assignee) : '·',
+          days: li.steepingDays != null ? `${li.steepingDays}d` : undefined,
+        }
       }),
-      ),
   }))
 }
 
@@ -54,9 +71,16 @@ export interface FocusView {
   later: FocusIssue | null
 }
 
-function toFocusIssue(item: ScheduledItem | null): FocusIssue | null {
+function toFocusIssue(item: ScheduledItem | null, inf?: Map<number, LifecycleInference>): FocusIssue | null {
   if (!item) return null
-  return { id: item.number, title: item.title, labels: item.labels, rationale: item.rationale }
+  const steepingDays = inf?.get(item.number)?.steepingDays ?? null
+  return {
+    id: item.number,
+    title: item.title,
+    labels: item.labels,
+    rationale: item.rationale,
+    steeping: steepingDays != null ? `${steepingDays}d` : undefined,
+  }
 }
 
 function toSchedulable(issues: GiteaIssue[]) {
@@ -99,8 +123,18 @@ export function forecastBacklog(
  * as Now/Next/Later. Estimates + priority come from label facts; dependency
  * edges come from gitea's native issue dependencies.
  */
-export function scheduleFocus(issues: GiteaIssue[], deps: DependencyEdge[]): FocusView {
+export function scheduleFocus(
+  issues: GiteaIssue[],
+  deps: DependencyEdge[],
+  timelines: Timelines = {},
+  asOf: Date = new Date(),
+): FocusView {
   const plan = schedule(toSchedulable(issues), deps)
   const f = selectFocus(plan)
-  return { now: toFocusIssue(f.now), next: toFocusIssue(f.next), later: toFocusIssue(f.later) }
+  const inf = inferAll(issues, timelines, asOf)
+  return {
+    now: toFocusIssue(f.now, inf),
+    next: toFocusIssue(f.next, inf),
+    later: toFocusIssue(f.later, inf),
+  }
 }

apps/desktop/src/renderer/src/lib/use-backlog.ts

@@ -1,12 +1,18 @@
 import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
 
-import type { DependencyEdge, GiteaIssue, GiteaMilestone } from '@commitea/core'
+import type { DependencyEdge, GiteaIssue, GiteaMilestone, LifecycleEvent } from '@commitea/core'
 
 export type BacklogState =
   | { status: 'loading' }
   | { status: 'unconfigured' }
   | { status: 'error'; message: string }
-  | { status: 'ready'; issues: GiteaIssue[]; milestones: GiteaMilestone[]; deps: DependencyEdge[] }
+  | {
+      status: 'ready'
+      issues: GiteaIssue[]
+      milestones: GiteaMilestone[]
+      deps: DependencyEdge[]
+      timelines: Record<number, LifecycleEvent[]>
+    }
 
 /**
  * Reconcile the managed repo once on mount, through the main-process bridge.
@@ -24,7 +30,13 @@ export function useBacklog(): BacklogState {
         if (!alive) return
         setState(
           r.configured
-            ? { status: 'ready', issues: r.issues, milestones: r.milestones, deps: r.deps }
+            ? {
+                status: 'ready',
+                issues: r.issues,
+                milestones: r.milestones,
+                deps: r.deps,
+                timelines: r.timelines,
+              }
             : { status: 'unconfigured' },
         )
       })

packages/core/src/gitea/client.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
-import { createGiteaClient, normalizeIssue } from './client.js'
+import { createGiteaClient, normalizeIssue, normalizeTimeline } from './client.js'
 import { GiteaApiError, type FetchLike, type GiteaConfig, type GiteaRequestInit } from './types.js'
 
 const CONFIG: GiteaConfig = {
@@ -44,6 +44,31 @@ function stubFetch(body: unknown, status = 200): {
   return { fetch, calls }
 }
 
+describe('normalizeTimeline', () => {
+  it('maps known gitea event types to lifecycle signals and drops the rest', () => {
+    const events = normalizeTimeline([
+      { type: 'label', created_at: '2026-01-06T09:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'milestone', created_at: '2026-01-06T09:05:00Z' },
+      { type: 'commit_ref', created_at: '2026-01-07T12:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'pull_ref', created_at: '2026-01-08T12:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'comment', created_at: '2026-01-08T13:00:00Z' }, // dropped
+      { type: 'add_dependency', created_at: '2026-01-08T14:00:00Z' }, // dropped
+      { type: 'close', created_at: '2026-01-12T09:00:00Z' },
+    ])
+    expect(events).toEqual([
+      { type: 'triage', at: '2026-01-06T09:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'triage', at: '2026-01-06T09:05:00Z' },
+      { type: 'commit', at: '2026-01-07T12:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'pull', at: '2026-01-08T12:00:00Z' },
+      { type: 'close', at: '2026-01-12T09:00:00Z' },
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('skips events missing a timestamp', () => {
+    expect(normalizeTimeline([{ type: 'commit_ref', created_at: '' }])).toEqual([])
+  })
+})
+
 describe('createGiteaClient.getIssue', () => {
   it('returns a normalized, typed issue from canned JSON', async () => {
     const { fetch } = stubFetch(RAW_ISSUE)

packages/core/src/gitea/client.ts

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  * get the full set.
  */
 
+import { type LifecycleEvent, type LifecycleEventType } from '../lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.js'
 import { extractLabelFacts } from '../labels/label-schema.js'
 import {
   GiteaApiError,
@@ -54,6 +55,33 @@ interface RawMilestoneFull {
   closed_issues: number
 }
 
+/** The subset of a gitea timeline comment we read. */
+interface RawTimelineComment {
+  type: string
+  created_at: string
+}
+
+/** gitea timeline `type` → our lifecycle signal. Unmapped types are dropped. */
+const TIMELINE_TYPE_MAP: Record<string, LifecycleEventType> = {
+  label: 'triage',
+  milestone: 'triage',
+  assignees: 'triage',
+  commit_ref: 'commit',
+  pull_ref: 'pull',
+  close: 'close',
+  reopen: 'reopen',
+}
+
+/** Map a raw gitea timeline to normalized lifecycle events. Pure. */
+export function normalizeTimeline(raw: RawTimelineComment[]): LifecycleEvent[] {
+  const out: LifecycleEvent[] = []
+  for (const c of raw) {
+    const type = TIMELINE_TYPE_MAP[c.type]
+    if (type && c.created_at) out.push({ type, at: c.created_at })
+  }
+  return out
+}
+
 export interface ListIssuesOptions {
   /** @default 'all' */
   state?: 'open' | 'closed' | 'all'
@@ -68,6 +96,8 @@ export interface GiteaClient {
   listMilestones(): Promise<GiteaMilestone[]>
   /** The issue indices this issue depends on (its blockers). */
   getIssueDependencies(index: number): Promise<number[]>
+  /** Normalized lifecycle events for one issue (all pages of its timeline). */
+  getIssueTimeline(index: number): Promise<LifecycleEvent[]>
 }
 
 /** Map raw gitea issue JSON to the normalized domain shape. Pure. */
@@ -163,5 +193,12 @@ export function createGiteaClient(config: GiteaConfig, fetchImpl: FetchLike): Gi
       const raw = (await request(`/issues/${index}/dependencies`)) as { number: number }[]
       return raw.map((d) => d.number)
     },
+
+    async getIssueTimeline(index) {
+      const raw = await requestAll<RawTimelineComment>(
+        (page) => `/issues/${index}/timeline?page=${page}&limit=${PAGE_LIMIT}`,
+      )
+      return normalizeTimeline(raw)
+    },
   }
 }

packages/core/src/index.ts

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ export {
 } from './labels/label-schema.js'
 export type { EstimateLabel, LabelFacts, PriorityLabel } from './labels/label-schema.js'
 
-export { createGiteaClient, normalizeIssue, normalizeMilestone } from './gitea/client.js'
+export { createGiteaClient, normalizeIssue, normalizeMilestone, normalizeTimeline } from './gitea/client.js'
 export type { GiteaClient, ListIssuesOptions } from './gitea/client.js'
 export { GiteaApiError } from './gitea/types.js'
 export type {
@@ -22,8 +22,19 @@ export type {
   GiteaRequestInit,
 } from './gitea/types.js'
 
-export { inferColumnV0, LIFECYCLE_COLUMNS } from './lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.js'
+export {
-export type { LifecycleColumn } from './lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.js'
+  inferColumnV0,
+  inferLifecycle,
+  LIFECYCLE_COLUMNS,
+  workingDaysBetween,
+} from './lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.js'
+export type {
+  LifecycleColumn,
+  LifecycleEvent,
+  LifecycleEventType,
+  LifecycleInference,
+  LifecycleStages,
+} from './lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.js'
 
 export { DEFAULT_ESTIMATE_DAYS, schedule, selectFocus } from './scheduler/scheduler-v0.js'
 export type {

packages/core/src/lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.test.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 
-import { inferColumnV0 } from './lifecycle-v0.js'
+import {
+  inferColumnV0,
+  inferLifecycle,
+  type LifecycleEvent,
+  workingDaysBetween,
+} from './lifecycle-v0.js'
 
 const base = { state: 'open' as const, labels: [] as string[], milestone: null }
 
@@ -27,3 +32,93 @@ describe('inferColumnV0', () => {
     expect(['steeping', 'review']).not.toContain(col)
   })
 })
+
+describe('workingDaysBetween', () => {
+  it('counts weekdays in [start, end), excluding weekends', () => {
+    // Mon 2026-01-05 → Mon 2026-01-12 spans a full week = 5 working days
+    expect(workingDaysBetween(new Date('2026-01-05'), new Date('2026-01-12'))).toBe(5)
+  })
+
+  it('is 0 for same day or reversed', () => {
+    expect(workingDaysBetween(new Date('2026-01-05'), new Date('2026-01-05'))).toBe(0)
+    expect(workingDaysBetween(new Date('2026-01-12'), new Date('2026-01-05'))).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('skips a weekend inside the interval', () => {
+    // Fri 2026-01-09 → Mon 2026-01-12: only Fri counts (Sat/Sun excluded) = 1
+    expect(workingDaysBetween(new Date('2026-01-09'), new Date('2026-01-12'))).toBe(1)
+  })
+})
+
+describe('inferLifecycle', () => {
+  const openBase = { ...base, createdAt: '2026-01-05T09:00:00Z', closedAt: null }
+  const asOf = new Date('2026-01-14T09:00:00Z')
+
+  const ev = (type: LifecycleEvent['type'], at: string): LifecycleEvent => ({ type, at })
+
+  it('bare open issue with no events is diagnosis', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(openBase, [], asOf)
+    expect(inf.column).toBe('diagnosis')
+    expect(inf.stages.opened).toBe(openBase.createdAt)
+    expect(inf.actualWorkingDays).toBeNull()
+    expect(inf.steepingDays).toBeNull()
+  })
+
+  it('a triage event (or a current label) moves it to triage', () => {
+    expect(inferLifecycle(openBase, [ev('triage', '2026-01-06T09:00:00Z')], asOf).column).toBe('triage')
+    expect(inferLifecycle({ ...openBase, labels: ['p/1'] }, [], asOf).column).toBe('triage')
+  })
+
+  it('a commit ref moves an open issue to steeping and counts its working age', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(
+      { ...openBase, labels: ['est/2d'] },
+      [ev('triage', '2026-01-05T10:00:00Z'), ev('commit', '2026-01-07T12:00:00Z')],
+      asOf,
+    )
+    expect(inf.column).toBe('steeping')
+    expect(inf.stages.steeping).toBe('2026-01-07T12:00:00Z')
+    // Wed 2026-01-07 → Wed 2026-01-14 = 5 working days
+    expect(inf.steepingDays).toBe(5)
+  })
+
+  it('a pull ref outranks a commit ref → review', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(
+      openBase,
+      [ev('commit', '2026-01-07T12:00:00Z'), ev('pull', '2026-01-08T12:00:00Z')],
+      asOf,
+    )
+    expect(inf.column).toBe('review')
+    expect(inf.steepingDays).toBeNull() // only steeping issues carry an age
+  })
+
+  it('closed → done, with actual working time from work-start to close', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(
+      { ...openBase, state: 'closed', closedAt: '2026-01-12T09:00:00Z' },
+      [ev('commit', '2026-01-07T09:00:00Z'), ev('pull', '2026-01-08T09:00:00Z'), ev('close', '2026-01-12T09:00:00Z')],
+      asOf,
+    )
+    expect(inf.column).toBe('done')
+    expect(inf.stages.done).toBe('2026-01-12T09:00:00Z')
+    // Wed 2026-01-07 → Mon 2026-01-12 = Wed,Thu,Fri = 3 working days
+    expect(inf.actualWorkingDays).toBe(3)
+  })
+
+  it('takes the earliest event of each kind for stage timestamps', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(
+      openBase,
+      [ev('commit', '2026-01-09T09:00:00Z'), ev('commit', '2026-01-07T09:00:00Z')],
+      asOf,
+    )
+    expect(inf.stages.steeping).toBe('2026-01-07T09:00:00Z')
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to opened when a closed issue has no work-start signal', () => {
+    const inf = inferLifecycle(
+      { ...openBase, state: 'closed', closedAt: '2026-01-08T09:00:00Z' },
+      [ev('close', '2026-01-08T09:00:00Z')],
+      asOf,
+    )
+    // Mon 2026-01-05 → Thu 2026-01-08 = Mon,Tue,Wed = 3 working days
+    expect(inf.actualWorkingDays).toBe(3)
+  })
+})

packages/core/src/lifecycle/lifecycle-v0.ts

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 /**
- * Lifecycle inference, v0 — the coarse column an issue sits in, derived from
+ * Lifecycle inference.
- * *only* what a single issues-list read gives us (state, labels, milestone).
  *
- * The real five-column inference (P1-5) needs the issue timeline: first
+ * `inferColumnV0` places the coarse three columns from a single issues-list
- * branch/commit ref → Steeping, PR opened → In review, PR merged → Deploy.
+ * read (state/labels/milestone). `inferLifecycle` (#5) adds the issue timeline:
- * Until that lands, v0 can only place three columns honestly; `steeping` and
+ * first commit ref → Steeping, first PR ref → In review, close → Done — and
- * `review` stay empty rather than guess. Board renders all five columns and
+ * derives the estimate-vs-actual working time that feeds calibration (D3).
- * fills the middle two once the event stream is available.
  */
 
 import type { GiteaIssue } from '../gitea/types.js'
@@ -23,10 +21,109 @@ export const LIFECYCLE_COLUMNS: readonly LifecycleColumn[] = [
 
 /**
  * Closed → done. Open with any human intent applied (a label or a milestone)
- * → triage. Open and bare → diagnosis. Never returns steeping/review in v0.
+ * → triage. Open and bare → diagnosis. Never returns steeping/review — that's
+ * `inferLifecycle`, which reads the event stream.
  */
 export function inferColumnV0(issue: Pick<GiteaIssue, 'state' | 'labels' | 'milestone'>): LifecycleColumn {
   if (issue.state === 'closed') return 'done'
   const hasIntent = issue.labels.length > 0 || issue.milestone !== null
   return hasIntent ? 'triage' : 'diagnosis'
 }
+
+/** A timeline signal, normalized from gitea's raw event stream. */
+export type LifecycleEventType = 'triage' | 'commit' | 'pull' | 'close' | 'reopen'
+
+export interface LifecycleEvent {
+  type: LifecycleEventType
+  /** ISO timestamp. */
+  at: string
+}
+
+/** Timestamps for the stages an issue has reached (absent = not yet reached). */
+export interface LifecycleStages {
+  opened: string
+  /** First label / milestone / assignment. */
+  triaged?: string
+  /** First commit referencing the issue — work began. */
+  steeping?: string
+  /** First PR referencing the issue — in review. */
+  review?: string
+  /** Closed. */
+  done?: string
+}
+
+export interface LifecycleInference {
+  column: LifecycleColumn
+  stages: LifecycleStages
+  /**
+   * Working days from work-start (steeping → triaged → opened, first available)
+   * to done. Only for closed issues — this is the "actual" calibration learns
+   * from. null while open.
+   */
+  actualWorkingDays: number | null
+  /** Working days the issue has been steeping (first commit → asOf); null unless currently steeping. */
+  steepingDays: number | null
+}
+
+const DAY_MS = 86_400_000
+
+/**
+ * Whole working days (Mon–Fri) in the half-open interval [start, end). Same day
+ * or reversed → 0. Day-granular by design — estimates are in days.
+ */
+export function workingDaysBetween(start: Date, end: Date): number {
+  const s = Date.UTC(start.getUTCFullYear(), start.getUTCMonth(), start.getUTCDate())
+  const e = Date.UTC(end.getUTCFullYear(), end.getUTCMonth(), end.getUTCDate())
+  if (e <= s) return 0
+  let count = 0
+  for (let t = s; t < e; t += DAY_MS) {
+    const dow = new Date(t).getUTCDay()
+    if (dow !== 0 && dow !== 6) count += 1
+  }
+  return count
+}
+
+/**
+ * The five-column inference. Column reflects the furthest stage still in play:
+ * closed → done; else an open PR ref → review; else a commit ref → steeping;
+ * else any triage signal (or a current label/milestone) → triage; else
+ * diagnosis. Stage timestamps are the earliest event of each kind.
+ */
+export function inferLifecycle(
+  issue: Pick<GiteaIssue, 'state' | 'labels' | 'milestone' | 'createdAt' | 'closedAt'>,
+  events: LifecycleEvent[],
+  asOf: Date,
+): LifecycleInference {
+  const sorted = [...events].sort((a, b) => a.at.localeCompare(b.at))
+  const firstOf = (type: LifecycleEventType) => sorted.find((e) => e.type === type)?.at
+
+  const stages: LifecycleStages = { opened: issue.createdAt }
+  const triagedAt = firstOf('triage')
+  const steepingAt = firstOf('commit')
+  const reviewAt = firstOf('pull')
+  if (triagedAt) stages.triaged = triagedAt
+  if (steepingAt) stages.steeping = steepingAt
+  if (reviewAt) stages.review = reviewAt
+  const doneAt = issue.state === 'closed' ? (issue.closedAt ?? firstOf('close')) : undefined
+  if (doneAt) stages.done = doneAt
+
+  let column: LifecycleColumn
+  if (issue.state === 'closed') column = 'done'
+  else if (reviewAt) column = 'review'
+  else if (steepingAt) column = 'steeping'
+  else if (triagedAt || issue.labels.length > 0 || issue.milestone !== null) column = 'triage'
+  else column = 'diagnosis'
+
+  let actualWorkingDays: number | null = null
+  if (stages.done) {
+    const start = stages.steeping ?? stages.triaged ?? stages.opened
+    actualWorkingDays = workingDaysBetween(new Date(start), new Date(stages.done))
+  }
+
+  let steepingDays: number | null = null
+  if (column === 'steeping' && stages.steeping) {
+    steepingDays = workingDaysBetween(new Date(stages.steeping), asOf)
+  }
+
+  return { column, stages, actualWorkingDays, steepingDays }
+}