1 files changed, 35 insertions, 1 deletions

diff --git a/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability.md b/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability.md
index 2e0930c..1cc75a7 100644
--- a/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability.md
+++ b/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability.md
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ taking that too literally.
 | 31 | The quit prompt has no highlighted default button | discoverability | XS | **done** |
 | 32 | Esc does not blank the right pane | workflow | XS | **done** |
 | 33 | Status bar messages never expire | feedback | S | **done** |
-| 34 | No overview of the Maildir itself | information | M | open |
+| 34 | No overview of the Maildir itself | information | M | **done** |
 | 35 | No refresh of the thread list after a sync | workflow | M | open |
 | 36 | `test_mainwindow` cannot reach the worker | testing | S | open, on demand |
 | 37 | The worker stalls on a tag edit made during a background sync | correctness | S | **done** |
@@ -2001,6 +2001,40 @@ quietly reinterpret what it returns.
 **Still true from the constraints above:** the account count comes from config,
 never from notmuch, and the tag list is already fetched for the completer.
 
+### Outcome (done 2026-08-07)
+
+A dialog under Help, as decided. `requestDatabaseStats` answers messages,
+threads and tags in one round trip; the account list comes from `Config`.
+
+**A separate worker call, not a reuse of `requestCounts`**, exactly as the
+revision above warned. That one counts THREADS to match the row count of a
+query; this one counts MESSAGES, which is what a user means by "how much mail
+is in here". The test asserts 4 messages in 3 threads against the fixture and
+fails if they are ever made equal, so a later "simplification" that routes both
+through one count cannot pass.
+
+**Unknown is not zero.** Every field starts at -1, and a field notmuch could not
+answer renders as "unknown". Printing 0 would say the Maildir is empty, which is
+a claim, and telling someone their mail is gone is the worst available way to
+report an index that failed to open. Verified by mutation: removing the guard
+puts a literal `-1` on screen.
+
+**The dialog opens before the answer arrives**, showing "Counting...". Counting
+every message is not free on a large database, and a dialog that blocks first is
+worse than one that fills in.
+
+Two lifetime problems follow from that, both handled and both tested:
+
+- The reply can arrive after the dialog is closed. The label is held in a
+  `QPointer`, since `WA_DeleteOnClose` means a raw pointer dangles for exactly
+  as long as the count takes, which is when the user is most likely to have
+  given up and closed it. The test drains `DeferredDelete` before firing the
+  late reply, because `close()` deletes through `deleteLater` and without the
+  drain the case being tested is not the one that occurs.
+- The dialog can be closed and reopened while a count runs, so a generation
+  counter drops the older answer rather than filling in the newer dialog with
+  numbers that predate the reopen.
+
 ## 35. No refresh of the thread list after a sync
 
 **Observed (user, 2026-08-04):** "auto refresh list after sync."