diff --git a/src/commands/sync.ts b/src/commands/sync.ts
index fdf852346..e739e5339 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync.ts
@@ -1819,6 +1819,11 @@ async function performSyncInner(engine: BrainEngine, opts: SyncOpts): Promise<Sy
         // correct only when the gate compared HEAD == captured; under pinning a
         // forward delete must not block.
         await markCompleted(path);
+        // issue #1939 adversarial finding #1: a file that previously failed to
+        // parse (open ledger row) and is now gone from disk is resolved — clear
+        // its row so it can't age doctor to a permanent FAIL. (This covers the
+        // net-zero add-then-delete range where the path isn't in filtered.deleted.)
+        succeededPaths.push(path);
         progress.tick(1, `skip:${path}`);
         return;
       }
@@ -2030,10 +2035,20 @@ async function performSyncInner(engine: BrainEngine, opts: SyncOpts): Promise<Sy
     await clearOpCheckpoint(engine, ckpt.target);
   };
 
+  // issue #1939 adversarial finding #1: a file that failed to parse (open ledger
+  // row) and is then deleted/renamed-away never re-enters failedFiles and never
+  // imports, so its row would never clear and would age doctor to a permanent
+  // FAIL. Treat removed paths as resolved so the ledger self-heals.
+  const resolvedPaths = [
+    ...succeededPaths,
+    ...filtered.deleted,
+    ...filtered.renamed.map(r => r.from),
+  ];
+
   const gate = await applySyncFailureGate({
     sourceId: opts.sourceId ?? DEFAULT_SOURCE_ID,
     failedFiles,
-    succeededPaths,
+    succeededPaths: resolvedPaths,
     commit: pin,
     skipFailed: opts.skipFailed === true,
     advance,
diff --git a/src/core/sync-failure-ledger.ts b/src/core/sync-failure-ledger.ts
index de18218c2..3bc4e4c2e 100644
--- a/src/core/sync-failure-ledger.ts
+++ b/src/core/sync-failure-ledger.ts
@@ -651,8 +651,11 @@ export function decideSyncFailureSeverity(args: {
   }
   const blockedTooLong =
     Number.isFinite(oldestOpenMs) && args.nowMs - oldestOpenMs > args.failHours * 3_600_000;
-  const status: 'warn' | 'fail' =
-    unresolved.length >= 10 || blockedTooLong ? 'fail' : 'warn';
+  // FAIL keys off OPEN (blocking) failures only — many open, or one blocking the
+  // bookmark past the fail cadence. `auto_skipped` rows already advanced the
+  // bookmark (indexing is NOT wedged) so they stay WARN-visible regardless of
+  // count, matching the state-machine contract. (#1939 adversarial finding #3.)
+  const status: 'warn' | 'fail' = open >= 10 || blockedTooLong ? 'fail' : 'warn';
   return { status, unresolved: unresolved.length, open, auto_skipped: autoSkipped };
 }
 
diff --git a/test/e2e/sync.test.ts b/test/e2e/sync.test.ts
index 92b926b11..e8cc62631 100644
--- a/test/e2e/sync.test.ts
+++ b/test/e2e/sync.test.ts
@@ -628,4 +628,30 @@ describeE2E('E2E: sync --skip-failed structured summary loop (v0.22.12, issue #5
       else process.env.GBRAIN_SYNC_AUTOSKIP_AFTER = prevThreshold;
     }
   });
+
+  // issue #1939 adversarial finding #1: a parse-failed file that is later DELETED
+  // from the repo must not leave a permanent open ledger row (which would age
+  // doctor to FAIL forever). The incremental gate treats removed paths as resolved.
+  test('deleting a failed file clears its ledger row (self-heal, no stuck FAIL)', async () => {
+    const { performSync } = await import('../../src/commands/sync.ts');
+    const { loadSyncFailures } = await import('../../src/core/sync.ts');
+    const engine = getEngine();
+
+    writeFileSync(join(repoPath, 'people/gonepoison.md'), [
+      '---', 'type: person', 'title: Gone', 'slug: wrong-derived-slug', '---', '', 'Body.',
+    ].join('\n'));
+    execSync('git add -A && git commit -m "add a file that fails to parse"', { cwd: repoPath, stdio: 'pipe' });
+
+    // Sync blocks; an open ledger row exists for the bad file.
+    let result = await performSync(engine, { repoPath, noPull: true, noEmbed: true });
+    expect(result.status).toBe('blocked_by_failures');
+    expect(loadSyncFailures().some(f => f.path.includes('gonepoison'))).toBe(true);
+
+    // Delete the file and sync. The removed path is treated as resolved, so the
+    // ledger row is cleared and the bookmark advances.
+    execSync('git rm people/gonepoison.md && git commit -m "delete the bad file"', { cwd: repoPath, stdio: 'pipe' });
+    result = await performSync(engine, { repoPath, noPull: true, noEmbed: true });
+    expect(result.status).not.toBe('blocked_by_failures');
+    expect(loadSyncFailures().some(f => f.path.includes('gonepoison'))).toBe(false);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/test/sync-failure-ledger.serial.test.ts b/test/sync-failure-ledger.serial.test.ts
index f52123d22..76eab4e3a 100644
--- a/test/sync-failure-ledger.serial.test.ts
+++ b/test/sync-failure-ledger.serial.test.ts
@@ -189,10 +189,17 @@ describe('#1 severity — auto_skipped stays visible (WARN)', () => {
       nowMs: now, failHours,
     }).status).toBe('fail');
 
-    // 10 recent open → fail (count)
+    // 10 recent OPEN → fail (count of blocking failures)
     const ten = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => ({ ...base, path: `a${i}.md`, state: 'open' as const, ts: '2026-06-06T23:00:00Z' }));
     expect(decideSyncFailureSeverity({ entries: ten, nowMs: now, failHours }).status).toBe('fail');
 
+    // 10 recent AUTO_SKIPPED → still warn (#3): the valve already advanced the
+    // bookmark, so indexing is not wedged. Visible, not gating.
+    const tenSkipped = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => ({ ...base, path: `s${i}.md`, state: 'auto_skipped' as const, ts: '2026-06-06T23:00:00Z' }));
+    const skSev = decideSyncFailureSeverity({ entries: tenSkipped, nowMs: now, failHours });
+    expect(skSev.status).toBe('warn');
+    expect(skSev.auto_skipped).toBe(10);
+
     // auto_skipped only → warn (still visible), counted
     const sev = decideSyncFailureSeverity({
       entries: [{ ...base, state: 'auto_skipped', ts: '2026-06-01T00:00:00Z' }],