2 files changed, 40 insertions, 33 deletions

diff --git a/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability-closed.md b/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability-closed.md
index 8ae8dff..cfa119b 100644
--- a/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability-closed.md
+++ b/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-08-03-post-0.1.0-usability-closed.md
@@ -4802,3 +4802,42 @@ failed, which is what a missing `accept()` does to `exec()`.
 
 **Item 78 stays open**, carrying the rule shortcut alone. The road from a search
 to a rule already exists: save the query, then create a rule from it.
+
+## 86. A right-click search can replace or narrow, but never exclude
+
+**Done 2026-08-14, unreleased.** See
+`specs/2026-08-14-exclude-from-search-design.md`.
+
+**Observed (user, 2026-08-14):** "we've added the possibility to search clicking
+on any element in the message pane, the current available search options are to
+run the query from scratch or add to the existing query. A missing option is to
+add negatively (not)."
+
+**Cause (verified in the code before any was written).** Item 85 shipped exactly
+two operations and wired them through as a single boolean, so the gap was not a
+missing menu entry over an existing capability: there was no third state for an
+entry to select, and the signature could not express one. `SearchTerm` had
+`extend()` and no exclusion form at all.
+
+**Shipped as five commits.** `SearchTerm::exclude()`, then the `SearchMode` enum
+alone, then the four signatures widened as one mechanical change, then the
+`hasQuery` guard, then the menu entries. Each step left the suite green, which
+is what made the enum change safe to do in one commit across three files.
+
+**Two decisions the user made, recorded because they are not recoverable from
+the code.** Excluding from an EMPTY query would mean the whole Maildir minus one
+value, so the entry is greyed rather than hidden, and `exclude()` returns empty
+as a second layer against a caller that forgets the guard. And the two shipped
+labels were left untouched, so nothing the user already knew moved.
+
+**The plan under-counted the signature change.** It predicted one test file and
+the compiler found three: `test_messageview.cpp` and `test_mainwindow.cpp` also
+emit `searchRequested` directly. Four extra call sites, no design consequence,
+but a reminder that "four signatures" is not the same as "four call sites" and
+grepping for the latter is cheap.
+
+**Verified:** 23 of 23 tests passing. The guard's mutation check fails on the
+blocked emit when the condition is disabled, and it did not hang, which is the
+outcome item 85's trap made worth checking for. The user hand tested all three
+surfaces with an empty query bar and with one, including the disjunction case
+the parenthesising exists for.
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 087ce95..f578a3a 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
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ taking that too literally.
 | 83 | A rule named with spaces is written to the file and dropped by every reader | defect | S | **done** 2026-08-14, unreleased. The name is sanitised into an id, save validates, a bad id loads for repair |
 | 84 | A config problem blocks `test_mainwindow` on a modal nobody can dismiss | testing | S | open; measured 2026-08-14, `showWarnings()` calls `QMessageBox::warning` from the constructor |
 | 85 | Nothing on screen can be searched for by right-clicking it | workflow | M | **done** 2026-08-14, unreleased; see `specs/2026-08-14-search-from-message-design.md`. Split from 78; rebuilt the details dialog as rows |
-| 86 | A right-click search can replace or narrow, but never exclude | workflow | S | open, specced 2026-08-14; see `specs/2026-08-14-exclude-from-search-design.md`. Follows 85. The `extend` bool has no room for a third choice, so this widens a signature rather than adding a menu entry |
+| 86 | A right-click search can replace or narrow, but never exclude | workflow | S | **done** 2026-08-14, unreleased; see `specs/2026-08-14-exclude-from-search-design.md`. Follows 85. The `extend` bool became a `SearchMode` enum across four signatures |
 
 Sizes are rough: XS under an hour, S a sitting, M a session.
 
@@ -578,38 +578,6 @@ here.
 
 **Size: S.** The diagnosis is the expensive part and it is already done.
 
-## 86. A right-click search can replace or narrow, but never exclude
-
-**Observed (user, 2026-08-14):** "we've added the possibility to search clicking
-on any element in the message pane, the current available search options are to
-run the query from scratch or add to the existing query. A missing option is to
-add negatively (not)."
-
-**Cause (verified in the code, 2026-08-14).** Item 85 shipped exactly two
-operations and wired them through as a single boolean. Every surface builds the
-same pair: `MessageView::addSearchEntries` (`src/messageview.cpp:566`) adds
-"Search for this" and "Add to search" per offer, and
-`MessageDetailsDialog` (`src/messagedetailsdialog.cpp:92`) repeats that pair per
-row. Both emit `searchRequested(query, extend)`, and
-`MainWindow::runSearchFromPane` (`src/mainwindow.cpp:1654`) branches on that one
-bool: `extend ? SearchTerm::extend(m_queryEdit->text(), query) : query`.
-`SearchTerm` has `extend()` and no exclusion form at all. So the gap is not a
-missing menu entry over an existing capability; there is no third state for a
-menu entry to select, and the signature cannot express one.
-
-**Specced 2026-08-14: read
-`specs/2026-08-14-exclude-from-search-design.md` rather than planning from
-here.** Three constraints decide whether it can be picked up. The `bool extend`
-becomes a `SearchMode` enum across four signatures, which is the bulk of the
-work and touches three files. Excluding from an EMPTY query would mean the whole
-Maildir minus one value, so the entry is greyed when the query bar is empty and
-the grammar returns empty as a second layer. And correctness is asserted against
-the constructed string, never a result count, because notmuch parses `from:((((`
-cleanly and matches zero.
-
-**Size: S.** The grammar is one function beside an existing one with existing
-tests; the spread is the signature change across three files.
-
 ## Deferred, unsized, or split out
 
 Items noted while triaging but not part of the original list. Same numbering