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+# Blob identity: why live blobs have empty identity fields (bf-m1ynp)
+
+Read-only diagnosis. Parent: bf-5h1t (populate canonical identity fields on a
+runtime blob). Goal: pinpoint the single broken link in
+`matcher-active → match-found → written-onto-served-blob → observable-at-/api/blobs`
+so the fix child is minimal and certain.
+
+## TL;DR
+
+The broken link is **match-found**: `IdentityMatcher.GetMatch(blobID)` always
+returns `nil` in the canonical reproduce path, so the canonical identity fields
+`PersonName` / `AssignedColor` are never written. Three independent defects feed
+this one broken link, and **all three** must be fixed for a live blob to carry
+non-empty identity:
+
+1. **No BLE advertisements are emitted.** `scripts/run-sim-local.sh` does not
+   pass `--ble` to the sim → zero `"ble"` WebSocket frames → `rssiCache` stays
+   empty.
+2. **No person is registered.** Even with `--ble`, the walker's BLE address
+   arrives only as a *discovered* device; `GetAllPersonDevices` requires
+   `person_id IS NOT NULL`, and nothing registers/labels the walker.
+3. **RSSI field-name mismatch (latent).** The sim sends `"rssi"` but the parser
+   reads `"rssi_dbm"`, so RSSI is read as 0 → triangulation collapses.
+
+The other three links in the chain are **OK** and were verified against the
+current code (the stale `bf-2fz8` note in `processor.go:610` claiming
+`SetTrackedBlobs` has no callers is superseded — bf-243os wired the producers).
+
+## Link-by-link evidence
+
+### Link 1 — matcher-active: **OK**
+
+- Guard: `cmd/mothership/main.go:806-808`
+  `if bleRegistry != nil { identityMatcher = ble.NewIdentityMatcher(...) }`.
+- `bleRegistry` is built at `main.go:790-800` via
+  `ble.NewRegistry(DataDir/ble.db)`. `NewRegistry`
+  (`internal/ble/registry.go:227`) does `MkdirAll` + `sql.Open` + `migrate`,
+  all of which succeed on `run-sim-local.sh`'s fresh writable `mktemp` data dir.
+- Therefore `bleRegistry != nil` and `identityMatcher != nil` in the canonical
+  path. The matcher is constructed and the write-back block at `main.go:2112`
+  is entered every tick.
+
+### Link 2 — match-found: **BROKEN** (the defect)
+
+`IdentityMatcher.GetMatch(blobID)` (`internal/ble/identity.go:609`) returns
+`m.matches[blobID]`. `m.matches` is populated by `UpdateBlobs` →
+`triangulateAllDevices` (`identity.go:153`), which requires **both**:
+
+- (a) ≥1 person-assigned, enabled device from
+  `registry.GetAllPersonDevicesWithAliases()` — backed by
+  `GetAllPersonDevices` (`internal/ble/registry.go`):
+  `WHERE d.person_id IS NOT NULL AND d.is_archived = 0 AND d.enabled = 1`.
+- (b) ≥1 recent RSSI reading in `m.rssiCache.GetRecent(addr, …)` with
+  triangulation confidence ≥ 0.1 (`identity.go:180-207`).
+
+In the canonical path neither holds:
+
+- **(a) fails** — nothing registers a person. The sim's walker BLE address
+  `AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:%02X` (`cmd/sim/main.go:1141`, walker IDs start at 0 —
+  `cmd/sim/main.go:459`) is ingested as a *discovered* device only
+  (`person_id` NULL). `run-sim-local.sh` does not `POST /api/ble/devices`.
+- **(b) fails** — `run-sim-local.sh` does not pass `--ble`, so the sim never
+  calls `sendBLEMessages` (`cmd/sim/main.go:980-981`), no `"ble"` frames reach
+  the mothership, `rssiCache.AddWithTime` (`main.go:1767`) never fires, and
+  `GetRecent` returns empty.
+
+Result: `triangulateAllDevices` → nil → `assignBLEToBlobs` matches nothing →
+`m.matches` empty → `GetMatch` → nil.
+
+### Link 3 — written-onto-served-blob: **OK**
+
+The canonical-field write-back is present and targets the served slice:
+`cmd/mothership/main.go:2136-2152`
+
+```go
+identityYes, identityNo := true, false
+for i := range blobs {
+    match := identityMatcher.GetMatch(blobs[i].ID)
+    if match == nil {
+        blobs[i].IdentityResolved = &identityNo   // attempted-but-unmatched
+        continue
+    }
+    blobs[i].PersonName    = match.PersonName      // canonical
+    blobs[i].AssignedColor = match.PersonColor     // canonical
+    blobs[i].IdentityResolved = &identityYes
+}
+pm.SetTrackedBlobs(blobs)                          // main.go:2152
+```
+
+`blobs` is the same slice returned by `blobTracker.track(result)` at
+`main.go:2064`; the re-publish at `2152` overwrites the identity-less publish at
+`2065`. So the write-back writes onto the **same** `[]TrackedBlob` that is
+served. (Today, because `GetMatch` is nil, this writes `IdentityResolved=false`
+and leaves `PersonName`/`AssignedColor` empty — the observed symptom.)
+
+### Link 4 — observable-at-/api/blobs: **OK**
+
+`/api/blobs` handler (`main.go:4304-4306`) calls `pm.GetTrackedBlobs()` and
+`writeJSON`s it directly — same `ProcessorManager` store the write-back
+published to. Same slice, canonical JSON keys (`processor.go:605-607`).
+
+### Q3 — does `main.go:5568` (identity-less tracker output) bypass the copy sites?
+
+No. `5568` is the `sigproc.TrackedBlob{…}` literal built inside
+`blobTracker.track()`. It is the **input** to the copy sites, not a bypass: the
+slice it belongs to is published identity-less at `2065` and then re-published
+**with** identity at `2152` inside the same goroutine/tick. Not a broken link.
+
+## Observed `/api/blobs` output in the canonical path
+
+Because the matcher is non-nil but `GetMatch` is nil, the write-back runs and
+sets `IdentityResolved = &false` while leaving the name/color empty:
+
+```jsonc
+{ "id": 1, "x": …, "personName": "", "assignedColor": "", "identityResolved": false }
+```
+
+i.e. identity appears *attempted-but-unmatched* with empty canonical name/color —
+the reported "empty identity fields."
+
+## Minimal change to make a live blob carry non-empty identity
+
+All three are required (any one alone still yields an empty match):
+
+1. **Emit BLE.** `scripts/run-sim-local.sh`: add `--ble` to the sim invocation.
+2. **Register a person.** Before/early in the run, register the walker's
+   address as a person so `GetAllPersonDevices` returns it:
+   ```bash
+   curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:$PORT/api/ble/devices" \
+     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
+     -d '{"addr":"AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:00","label":"Alice","type":"person","color":"#4488ff"}'
+   ```
+   (Address matches `cmd/sim/main.go:1141`; walker IDs start at 0.)
+3. **Fix the RSSI field name.** Either change the sim to emit `"rssi_dbm"`
+   (`cmd/sim/main.go:1143`) or align the parser (`internal/ingestion/message.go:55`
+   reads `json:"rssi_dbm"`). Without this, RSSI is read as 0 and triangulation
+   collapses regardless of (1) and (2).
+
+## Pointers for the fix child
+
+- Write-back site (already correct): `cmd/mothership/main.go:2136-2152`.
+- Matcher data deps: `internal/ble/identity.go:153-222`.
+- RSSI cache feed: `cmd/mothership/main.go:1767` (fires only on a `"ble"` frame).
+- Person filter: `internal/ble/registry.go` `GetAllPersonDevices`
+  (`WHERE person_id IS NOT NULL`).
+- Stale note to correct: `internal/signal/processor.go:610-639` still claims
+  `SetTrackedBlobs` has no callers — superseded by bf-243os (`main.go:2065,2152`).