diff --git a/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-ast.mjs b/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-ast.mjs
index be5adafba8..54bbb3d4a7 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-ast.mjs
+++ b/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-ast.mjs
@@ -303,7 +303,19 @@ export function summarize(findings) {
     }
     totals[finding.kind] += 1;
     if (finding.kind === "deliberate") {
-      deliberateByFile.set(finding.file, (deliberateByFile.get(finding.file) ?? 0) + 1);
+      /*
+      FNXC:WorkflowLifecycleColumns 2026-07-31-10:00 (PR #2661 review — greptile P1, same class again):
+      Keyed by FILE **and COLUMN ID**, not a per-file integer. A per-file aggregate is offset within a
+      single file: remove one reviewed `todo` exemption, add a `in-review` one beside it, and the
+      number never moves — so a fresh guard hides inside an existing marker.
+
+      That is the third time this instrument has been defeated by an aggregate (repo total -> per file
+      -> per file per column). Each step narrows what can offset silently. The residual is a same-file
+      SAME-COLUMN swap, and that one is deliberate: two `todo` exemptions in one file are
+      interchangeable by definition, so there is nothing a reviewer could act on.
+      */
+      const key = `${finding.file}\u0000${finding.columnId}`;
+      deliberateByFile.set(key, (deliberateByFile.get(key) ?? 0) + 1);
     }
     if (finding.kind !== "column") continue;
     byColumnId[finding.columnId] = (byColumnId[finding.columnId] ?? 0) + 1;
diff --git a/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-baseline.json b/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-baseline.json
index 5256bba8de..1530af8980 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-baseline.json
+++ b/scripts/lib/lifecycle-column-census-baseline.json
@@ -155,14 +155,21 @@
     "plugins/fusion-plugin-reports/src/store/report-types.ts": 1
   },
   "deliberateByFile": {
-    "packages/dashboard/app/components/command-center/MissionControlPanel.tsx": 3,
-    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskCard.tsx": 3,
-    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx": 3,
-    "packages/engine/src/hold-release.ts": 3,
-    "packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-task-workflow-routes.ts": 2,
-    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskContextMenu.tsx": 1,
-    "packages/dashboard/app/utils/columnRoles.ts": 1,
-    "packages/engine/src/triage.ts": 1
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskCard.tsx\u0000triage": 2,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx\u0000triage": 2,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/command-center/MissionControlPanel.tsx\u0000done": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/command-center/MissionControlPanel.tsx\u0000in-review": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/command-center/MissionControlPanel.tsx\u0000todo": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskCard.tsx\u0000todo": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskContextMenu.tsx\u0000triage": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/components/TaskDetailModal.tsx\u0000todo": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/app/utils/columnRoles.ts\u0000todo": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-task-workflow-routes.ts\u0000todo": 1,
+    "packages/dashboard/src/routes/register-task-workflow-routes.ts\u0000triage": 1,
+    "packages/engine/src/hold-release.ts\u0000archived": 1,
+    "packages/engine/src/hold-release.ts\u0000done": 1,
+    "packages/engine/src/hold-release.ts\u0000in-review": 1,
+    "packages/engine/src/triage.ts\u0000triage": 1
   },
   "properties": {
     "query": 83,
diff --git a/scripts/lifecycle-column-census.mjs b/scripts/lifecycle-column-census.mjs
index c566090f6b..838534075a 100644
--- a/scripts/lifecycle-column-census.mjs
+++ b/scripts/lifecycle-column-census.mjs
@@ -179,17 +179,32 @@ which is NOT the same as "every marked file had zero" — comparing against an a
 every existing marker as a fresh rise and demand people convert literals that were already reviewed.
 Seed it on the next `--update-baseline` instead, and start comparing once it is present.
 */
-const deliberateTracked = baseline.deliberateByFile !== undefined;
+/*
+FNXC:WorkflowLifecycleColumns 2026-07-31-10:05:
+The key SHAPE changed (file -> file\u0000columnId), and a shape change is the same migration hazard
+as a missing field: comparing new keys against old ones reports every existing marker as a fresh
+rise and demands people convert already-reviewed literals. I hit exactly that on the first run here
+(`TaskCard (DELIBERATE-LITERAL: triage): 0 -> 2`), and hit the same wall one shape earlier in #2661.
+
+Detect by the delimiter rather than by a version field: old keys have none. Re-seeds on the next
+`--update-baseline`, then compares normally.
+*/
+const deliberateKeysAreCurrentShape = Object.keys(baseline.deliberateByFile ?? {}).every((k) => k.includes("\u0000"));
+const deliberateTracked = baseline.deliberateByFile !== undefined && deliberateKeysAreCurrentShape;
 const baselineDeliberateByFile = new Map(Object.entries(baseline.deliberateByFile ?? {}));
 const currentDeliberateByFile = new Map(summary.deliberateByFile ?? []);
 for (const [file, count] of deliberateTracked ? currentDeliberateByFile : []) {
   const allowed = baselineDeliberateByFile.get(file) ?? 0;
-  if (count > allowed) regressions.push({ file: `${file} (DELIBERATE-LITERAL)`, count, allowed });
-  else if (count < allowed) stale.push({ file: `${file} (DELIBERATE-LITERAL)`, count, allowed });
+  // Keys are `file\u0000columnId`; render them readably in the report.
+  const [f, columnId] = file.split("\u0000");
+  const label = `${f} (DELIBERATE-LITERAL: ${columnId})`;
+  if (count > allowed) regressions.push({ file: label, count, allowed });
+  else if (count < allowed) stale.push({ file: label, count, allowed });
 }
 for (const [file, allowed] of deliberateTracked ? baselineDeliberateByFile : []) {
   if (!currentDeliberateByFile.has(file) && allowed > 0) {
-    stale.push({ file: `${file} (DELIBERATE-LITERAL)`, count: 0, allowed });
+    const [f, columnId] = file.split("\u0000");
+    stale.push({ file: `${f} (DELIBERATE-LITERAL: ${columnId})`, count: 0, allowed });
   }
 }