Offer Search again only where the photo backfill runs (Maestro 7a468d2d, review F1/F2)

F1: every dinner response now carries photo_backfill_eligible, computed
by the exported dinners.PhotoBackfillEligible: the condition
ListPhotoBackfillDinners lists by and GroundFailedDinner and
RefailDinnerGrounding write under (unarchived, failed, no photo, no
pasted recipe_url). A test holds the flag to ListPhotoBackfillDinners
for an eligible dinner and for grounded, linked and archived ones. The
fix-recipe sheet shows "Search again" only when the flag is set, so a
dinner with a pasted link is never offered it, whatever its reason.

F2: a dinner absent from the backfill result now reads "This dinner was
not included in that search." instead of claiming a pasted link.

Task: 7a468d2d-4a9b-45f2-b626-a7bed5f671df

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -276,6 +276,9 @@ automatic** (D-021).
   `grounded`, `failed` (with its reason) or `skipped`. A dinner whose write
   fails is `failed` with `grounding_error` and left as it was; the others
   still run, then the job fails with `internal_error`, keeping that result.
+  Every dinner response carries `photo_backfill_eligible`, whether the
+  backfill grounds that dinner, computed by the same condition it lists
+  dinners by, so a client offers a search only where one runs.
   `GET /api/v1/dinners/{id}/recipe-candidates`
   searches for the dinner's name and returns `{candidates: [{candidate_id,
   title, site_name, photo_url, minutes}]}`, at most 3, ranked as `Ground`

internal/dinners/backfill.go

@@ -25,6 +25,17 @@ const (
 	BackfillSkipped = "skipped"
 )
 
+// PhotoBackfillEligible reports whether a photo backfill grounds r: the
+// condition ListPhotoBackfillDinners lists dinners by, and GroundFailedDinner
+// and RefailDinnerGrounding write under, for one dinner. The dinner is
+// unarchived, failed, with no photo and no pasted recipe_url.
+func PhotoBackfillEligible(r db.Dinner) bool {
+	return r.Status != StatusArchived &&
+		r.GroundingStatus == GroundingFailed &&
+		!r.PhotoID.Valid &&
+		!r.RecipeUrl.Valid
+}
+
 // BackfillJob is the KindBackfillPhotos payload. DinnerID narrows the
 // backfill to that dinner; empty backfills every dinner without a photo.
 type BackfillJob struct {

internal/dinners/backfill_test.go

@@ -192,6 +192,53 @@ func TestBackfillSkipsDinnersNotMissingAPhoto(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestPhotoBackfillEligibleIsWhatTheBackfillLists holds the API's
+// photo_backfill_eligible to ListPhotoBackfillDinners for a dinner the
+// backfill grounds and for each kind it never does.
+func TestPhotoBackfillEligibleIsWhatTheBackfillLists(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	e := newEnv(t)
+	e.model.QueueGenerate(recipestest.NormalizedReply("stovetop", 40))
+	grounded, err := e.svc.CreateRegular(t.Context(), dinners.NewRegular{Name: ptr("Chicken curry")}, member)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	e.waitJob(t, *grounded.GroundingJobID)
+	linked, err := e.svc.CreateRegular(t.Context(), dinners.NewRegular{Name: ptr("Mystery pie"), RecipeURL: ptr("https://d.example/pie")}, member)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	e.waitJob(t, *linked.GroundingJobID)
+	failed := e.failedDinner(t, "Abalone surprise")
+	archived, err := e.svc.Archive(t.Context(), e.failedDinner(t, "Old stew"), member)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	shown := map[string]dinners.Dinner{archived.ID: archived}
+	regulars, err := e.svc.List(t.Context(), dinners.StatusRegular)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, d := range regulars {
+		shown[d.ID] = d
+	}
+	q := db.New(e.st.Reader)
+	for id, want := range map[string]bool{grounded.ID: false, linked.ID: false, failed: true, archived.ID: false} {
+		listed, err := q.ListPhotoBackfillDinners(t.Context(), sql.NullString{String: id, Valid: true})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		d, ok := shown[id]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("dinner %s not shown", id)
+		}
+		if got := len(listed) == 1; got != want || d.PhotoBackfillEligible != want {
+			t.Errorf("%s: listed %t, photo_backfill_eligible %t, want both %t", d.Name, got, d.PhotoBackfillEligible, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestBackfillOfOneDinnerGroundsOnlyIt(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	e := newUnstartedEnv(t)

internal/dinners/dinners.go

@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@ type Dinner struct {
 	UpdatedBy      *string `json:"updated_by"`
 	CreatedAt      string  `json:"created_at"`
 	UpdatedAt      string  `json:"updated_at"`
+
+	// PhotoBackfillEligible is whether a photo backfill grounds the dinner
+	// (PhotoBackfillEligible): false for one with a pasted recipe link,
+	// which a search never replaces.
+	PhotoBackfillEligible bool `json:"photo_backfill_eligible"`
 }
 
 // NewRegular is a Regular to add: its Name, which the household always
@@ -712,6 +717,8 @@ func fromRow(r db.Dinner) Dinner {
 		UpdatedBy:       nullString(r.UpdatedBy),
 		CreatedAt:       r.CreatedAt,
 		UpdatedAt:       r.UpdatedAt,
+
+		PhotoBackfillEligible: PhotoBackfillEligible(r),
 	}
 	if r.MinutesTotal.Valid {
 		d.MinutesTotal = &r.MinutesTotal.Int64

web/src/dinners/DinnerDetailActions.test.tsx

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ function listed(is_favorite: boolean) {
     photo_url: null,
     grounding_status: 'grounded',
     grounding_error: null,
+    photo_backfill_eligible: false,
   }
 }
 

web/src/dinners/api.ts

@@ -22,7 +22,9 @@ export type GroundingStatus = (typeof GROUNDING_STATUSES)[number]
 // Regular is the part of a dinner the Regulars screens read. photo_id is
 // the stored photo's id, from photo_url. grounding_error is why its
 // grounding failed, a reason code, set only while grounding_status is
-// failed. pending is true while an optimistic add waits for the server;
+// failed. photo_backfill_eligible is whether a photo backfill (Search
+// again) searches for it: never for a dinner with a pasted recipe link.
+// pending is true while an optimistic add waits for the server;
 // its id is not the server's.
 export type Regular = {
   id: string
@@ -34,6 +36,7 @@ export type Regular = {
   photo_id: string | undefined
   grounding_status: GroundingStatus
   grounding_error: string | null
+  photo_backfill_eligible: boolean
   pending?: true
 }
 
@@ -116,6 +119,9 @@ export function parseDinner(where: string, body: unknown): Regular {
     throw new Error(`${where}: response is not a dinner`)
   }
   if (typeof body.is_favorite !== 'boolean') throw new Error(`${where}: is_favorite is not a boolean`)
+  if (typeof body.photo_backfill_eligible !== 'boolean') {
+    throw new Error(`${where}: photo_backfill_eligible is not a boolean`)
+  }
   return {
     id: body.id,
     name: body.name,
@@ -129,6 +135,7 @@ export function parseDinner(where: string, body: unknown): Regular {
       if (typeof v !== 'string') throw new Error(`${where}: grounding_error is not a string`)
       return v
     }),
+    photo_backfill_eligible: body.photo_backfill_eligible,
   }
 }
 
@@ -233,6 +240,7 @@ export function useAddRegular() {
         photo_id: undefined,
         grounding_status: 'pending',
         grounding_error: null,
+        photo_backfill_eligible: false,
         pending: true,
       }
       await changeOptimistically(queryClient, (list) => [...list, optimistic])

web/src/plan/PlanPage.test.tsx

@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@ function dinner(id: string, name: string, difficulty: string | null, minutes: nu
     photo_url: null,
     grounding_status: 'grounded',
     grounding_error: null,
+    photo_backfill_eligible: false,
   }
 }
 

web/src/settings/RegularsSettingsPage.test.tsx

@@ -85,7 +85,11 @@ const TACOS = dinnerBody('d1', 'Beef tacos', {
   photo_url: '/media/photos/p1-400.jpg',
 })
 const CHILI = dinnerBody('d2', 'Chili', { method: 'crockpot', minutes_total: 480, grounding_status: 'pending' })
-const PIZZA = dinnerBody('d3', 'Pizza night', { grounding_status: 'failed', grounding_error: 'no_recipe_found' })
+const PIZZA = dinnerBody('d3', 'Pizza night', {
+  grounding_status: 'failed',
+  grounding_error: 'no_recipe_found',
+  photo_backfill_eligible: true,
+})
 const ROAST = dinnerBody('d4', 'Pot roast', { method: 'oven', grounding_status: 'manual' })
 
 function rows() {
@@ -528,7 +532,7 @@ describe('RegularsSettingsPage', () => {
     })
 
     it('offers no search again for a pasted link that had no usable recipe', async () => {
-      const linked = { ...PIZZA, grounding_error: 'recipe_unusable' }
+      const linked = { ...PIZZA, grounding_error: 'recipe_unusable', photo_backfill_eligible: false }
       stubServer([linked], NO_CANDIDATES)
       await renderPage()
 
@@ -537,6 +541,16 @@ describe('RegularsSettingsPage', () => {
       expect(fixSheet().queryByRole('button', { name: 'Search again' })).not.toBeInTheDocument()
     })
 
+    it('offers no search again for a dinner with a pasted link whatever its reason', async () => {
+      const linked = { ...PIZZA, grounding_error: 'ai_failed', photo_backfill_eligible: false }
+      stubServer([linked], NO_CANDIDATES)
+      await renderPage()
+
+      openRow('Pizza night')
+      expect(fixSheet().getByText("The AI assistant couldn't read the recipe.")).toBeInTheDocument()
+      expect(fixSheet().queryByRole('button', { name: 'Search again' })).not.toBeInTheDocument()
+    })
+
     it('searches again from the fix-recipe sheet and shows the new reason when it still fails', async () => {
       const server = stubServer([PIZZA], {
         ...NO_CANDIDATES,
@@ -580,9 +594,8 @@ describe('RegularsSettingsPage', () => {
       expect(within(row('Pizza night')).getByRole('img', { name: 'Pizza night' })).toHaveAttribute('src', '/media/photos/p8-400.jpg')
     })
 
-    it('says a dinner the search left out keeps its pasted recipe link', async () => {
-      const linked = { ...PIZZA, grounding_error: 'ai_failed' }
-      stubServer([linked], {
+    it('says when a dinner was not included in the search', async () => {
+      stubServer([PIZZA], {
         ...NO_CANDIDATES,
         [BACKFILL]: () => jsonResponse(202, { id: 'j9' }),
         [JOB]: () => backfillJob('succeeded', { dinners: [] }),
@@ -591,7 +604,7 @@ describe('RegularsSettingsPage', () => {
 
       openRow('Pizza night')
       fireEvent.click(fixSheet().getByRole('button', { name: 'Search again' }))
-      expect(await fixSheet().findByText('Not searched again: it keeps its pasted recipe link.')).toBeInTheDocument()
+      expect(await fixSheet().findByText('This dinner was not included in that search.')).toBeInTheDocument()
     })
 
     it('finds missing photos: the placeholder shows until the backfill finds a photo', async () => {

web/src/settings/RegularsSettingsPage.tsx

@@ -559,8 +559,9 @@ const retryOutcomes = {
 // FixRecipeSheet shows why a Regular's recipe was not found and grounds it:
 // by searching its name again (a photo backfill), in one of up to three
 // recipe pages found for its name, in a pasted recipe link, or in
-// ingredients and steps typed in. Searching again never replaces a pasted
-// link, so a dinner whose link had no usable recipe is not offered it.
+// ingredients and steps typed in. Searching again is offered only for a
+// dinner the backfill searches (photo_backfill_eligible): it never replaces
+// a pasted link.
 function FixRecipeSheet({ regular, backfill, onClose, onEdit }: FixRecipeSheetProps) {
   const [path, setPath] = useState<FixPath>('pick')
   const ground = useGroundRegular()
@@ -580,7 +581,7 @@ function FixRecipeSheet({ regular, backfill, onClose, onEdit }: FixRecipeSheetPr
           {groundingReason(regular.grounding_error)}
         </p>
       )}
-      {regular.grounding_error !== 'recipe_unusable' && (
+      {regular.photo_backfill_eligible && (
         <RetrySearch id={regular.id} backfill={backfill} disabled={ground.isPending} />
       )}
       <Segmented
@@ -621,7 +622,7 @@ function RetrySearch({ id, backfill, disabled }: { id: string; backfill: PhotoBa
   let status: string | null = null
   if (backfill.active) status = 'Searching again… this can take a few minutes.'
   else if (backfill.status === 'succeeded') {
-    status = tried ? retryOutcomes[tried.outcome] : 'Not searched again: it keeps its pasted recipe link.'
+    status = tried ? retryOutcomes[tried.outcome] : 'This dinner was not included in that search.'
   }
   return (
     <>

web/src/test/dinners.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ export type DinnerBody = {
   photo_url: string | null
   grounding_status: string
   grounding_error: string | null
+  photo_backfill_eligible: boolean
   updated_by: string | null
   created_at: string
   updated_at: string
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ export function dinnerBody(id: string, name: string, overrides: Partial<DinnerBo
     photo_url: null,
     grounding_status: 'grounded',
     grounding_error: null,
+    photo_backfill_eligible: false,
     updated_by: null,
     created_at: '2026-10-01T15:00:00.000Z',
     updated_at: '2026-10-01T15:00:00.000Z',