@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/service-messaging': minor
+---
+
+`sys_notification_delivery` reaps its terminal-failure rows after **7 days** instead of 90 (#17611)
+
+**⚠️ Operational consequence, stated plainly: `dead` and `suppressed` delivery rows are now deleted 7 days after they were created.** Any report, SLA reading, dashboard or manual investigation that consulted them — "which notifications failed to send, and why" — must now read inside that window. Before this change those rows survived for 90 days. Nothing else about the table changes: `pending`, `in_flight` and `success` rows keep the same 90-day window they have always had, and no row is reaped sooner than before except the two terminal-failure statuses.
+
+**What was wrong.** Fan-out writes one delivery row per `(event × recipient × channel)`. A tenant with no transport configured for one of those channels dead-letters that channel's row on its **first** attempt, and every `notify` writes another one. Measured on a production tenant: 2,876 `email`/`dead` rows against 2,876 `inbox`/`success` rows, `max(attempts) = 1`, zero pending, growing +316 rows/day. Those rows carry no work — nothing ever claims, retries or acks them again — but they sat in the table the dispatcher's claim query reads on every hop for the full 90-day window, so the cost of every claim rose linearly with time.
+
+**The change** is one declaration on the object, using spec keys that already ship and are already consumed by the platform Reaper:
+
+```ts
+lifecycle: {
+    class: 'telemetry',
+    ttl: { field: 'created_at', expireAfter: '90d' },
+    retention: {
+        maxAge: '7d',
+        onlyWhen: { status: { $in: ['dead', 'suppressed'] } },
+    },
+},
+```
+
+`retention.onlyWhen` scopes the short window to the terminal-failure statuses — the same shape `sys_job_queue`, `sys_automation_run` and `sys_upload_session` already declare. No channel interface member, no new status value, no change to fan-out.
+
+The `ttl` leg is not new behaviour: it restates the 90-day bound the object has always declared. `lifecycle.retention` is a single block, so scoping it to terminal rows would otherwise have left `pending` / `in_flight` / `success` with **no age bound at all** — unbounding the larger half of this table's growth on the very change that exists to bound it. Both legs run: `LifecycleService.reapObject` takes `ttl` and `retention` in independent branches. `success` is deliberately outside the scope; delivery history stays at the table window.
+
+**If you override this object's lifecycle windows through the `lifecycle` settings namespace, re-read your configuration.** `retention_overrides.maxAge` for `sys_notification_delivery` used to move the whole table's window; it now moves the **terminal-failure** window only, and `expireAfter` moves the table window. An override left in place keeps parsing and keeps applying — to a narrower set of rows than it did before.
+
+**⚠️ This is worth nothing where the Reaper does not run.** The whole benefit is delivered by `LifecycleService`, which `OS_LIFECYCLE_DISABLED=1` or the plugin switch turns off. A deployment with lifecycle disabled kept these rows forever before this change and keeps them forever after it; a declaration is not a sweeper. Check that the Reaper is enabled before reading this entry as a bound on your table.
@@ -0,0 +1,301 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+//
+// #17611 — the ruled declaration (director seat, decision batch #116 item 3,
+// maintainer verbatim and untranslated: 「17611  同意」 to 「席位推荐 C 现在做,A
+// 另立一卡」), driven end to end.
+//
+// The card: a tenant with no email transport dead-letters the `email` row of
+// every fanned-out `notify` on its first attempt, and those rows then sat in
+// the claim query's table for 90 days — 2,876 of them at +316/day on the
+// reported production tenant, carrying no work anybody would ever do.
+//
+// The fix under test is a DECLARATION, so this suite is driven exactly as the
+// two sibling sweeps next door (`plugin-auth/sys-session-ttl-sweep.test.ts`,
+// `service-storage/sys-upload-session-ttl-sweep.test.ts`): the REAL
+// declaration (`objects/notification-delivery.object.ts`) through the REAL
+// provisioning pass (`applySystemFields`) through the REAL Reaper
+// (`@objectstack/objectql` `LifecycleService`) against a REAL SQL backend
+// (`@objectstack/driver-sql`, live better-sqlite3), over a table this driver
+// created from that same declaration. Nothing here restates a window by hand —
+// the policy under test is `NotificationDelivery.lifecycle` itself, so an edit
+// that drops or narrows it reddens this file rather than silently voiding the
+// ruling.
+//
+// ## The two sides the ruling asked to see pinned, and the third this adds
+//
+//   1. TERMINAL rows past 7d ARE selected  — `dead` and `suppressed`.
+//   2. `pending` / `success` under 90d are NOT — the acceptance's own words.
+//   3. ⚠️ …and a `success` row past 90d IS still reaped. Scoping `retention`
+//      to terminal statuses would otherwise have UNBOUNDED the non-terminal
+//      rows entirely (`retention` is one block), so this third leg is what
+//      distinguishes "the table window was kept" from "the table window was
+//      traded away on the card that exists to tighten it".
+//
+// ## Why the reading is discriminating
+//
+// `d_dead_30d` and `d_success_30d` carry the IDENTICAL `created_at`, so no age
+// rule can separate their fates — only the `onlyWhen` status filter can. And
+// `d_dead_2d` is terminal but inside the 7d window, so "everything terminal is
+// reaped" fails too: both halves of the scoped policy are load-bearing.
+//
+// ## The counterfactual
+//
+// `seeded({ lifecycle: … })` hands the SAME service the same rows under an
+// ABLATED declaration — the 7d retention with its `onlyWhen` removed — and the
+// non-terminal rows are reaped along with the terminal ones. That is what
+// rules out "the sweep would have produced this result anyway". ⚠️ It is
+// deliberately NOT described as a dist-level ablation: the declaration under
+// test is this package's own source, imported directly, so no rebuild is
+// involved and none is claimed. The on-disk ablation of the shipped file is
+// recorded in the PR body.
+
+import { describe, it, expect, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { SqlDriver } from '@objectstack/driver-sql';
+import { LifecycleService, applySystemFields, assertEngineDeleteDispatch } from '@objectstack/objectql';
+import type { LifecycleEngineLike, LifecycleObjectLike } from '@objectstack/objectql';
+import type { DriverQuery } from '@objectstack/spec/contracts';
+import { NotificationDelivery } from './objects/notification-delivery.object.js';
+
+const DAY_MS = 86_400_000;
+/** The instant the sweep runs. Every age below is expressed against it. */
+const SWEEP_AT_MS = Date.parse('2026-09-12T00:00:00.000Z');
+const agedDays = (days: number) => new Date(SWEEP_AT_MS - days * DAY_MS).toISOString();
+
+/** Past the 7d terminal window, far inside the 90d table window. */
+const AGE_30D = agedDays(30);
+/** Inside BOTH windows. */
+const AGE_2D = agedDays(2);
+/** Past the 90d table window. */
+const AGE_100D = agedDays(100);
+
+const openDrivers: SqlDriver[] = [];
+afterEach(async () => {
+  while (openDrivers.length) {
+    const d = openDrivers.pop();
+    try {
+      await d?.disconnect();
+    } catch {
+      /* noop */
+    }
+  }
+});
+
+const silentLogger = { info: () => {}, warn: () => {}, debug: () => {}, error: () => {} };
+
+/**
+ * `LifecycleEngineLike` over a live `SqlDriver`. `delete` opens with ObjectQL's
+ * own dispatch predicate so this double refuses exactly what the real engine
+ * refuses (#4550) rather than re-deriving the rule.
+ */
+function sweepEngine(driver: SqlDriver, objects: LifecycleObjectLike[]): LifecycleEngineLike {
+  return {
+    registry: { getAllObjects: () => objects },
+    getDriverForObject: () => driver,
+    async find(object: string, options: any) {
+      // Typed rather than erased to `any`: the driver silently DROPS an
+      // unrecognised query key, so `tsc` is the only channel that can reject a
+      // misspelt one here (#4918).
+      const query: DriverQuery = { where: options?.where, limit: options?.limit };
+      return driver.find(object, query);
+    },
+    async delete(object: string, options: any) {
+      const dispatch = assertEngineDeleteDispatch(options);
+      if (dispatch.kind === 'by-id') {
+        const id = typeof dispatch.id === 'bigint' ? dispatch.id.toString() : dispatch.id;
+        return (await driver.delete(object, id)) ? 1 : 0;
+      }
+      const query: DriverQuery = { where: options?.where };
+      return driver.deleteMany(object, query);
+    },
+  } as LifecycleEngineLike;
+}
+
+/** The object as the platform actually registers it (tenant field: organization_id). */
+function provisioned() {
+  return applySystemFields(NotificationDelivery as any, { multiTenant: true }) as any;
+}
+
+/**
+ * The six rows the policy has to tell apart. Every one of them is a shape the
+ * ack paths really write: `SqlNotificationOutbox.ack` / `MemoryNotificationOutbox.ack`
+ * produce exactly `success | suppressed | dead | pending`, and `claim()` writes
+ * `in_flight`.
+ */
+const ROWS: Array<{ id: string; status: string; created_at: string; channel: string }> = [
+  // ── past the 7d terminal window ──────────────────────────────────────────
+  { id: 'd_dead_30d', status: 'dead', created_at: AGE_30D, channel: 'email' },
+  { id: 'd_suppressed_30d', status: 'suppressed', created_at: AGE_30D, channel: 'email' },
+  // ── terminal, but INSIDE the 7d window ───────────────────────────────────
+  { id: 'd_dead_2d', status: 'dead', created_at: AGE_2D, channel: 'email' },
+  // ── non-terminal, same age as the reaped terminal rows ───────────────────
+  { id: 'd_success_30d', status: 'success', created_at: AGE_30D, channel: 'inbox' },
+  { id: 'd_pending_30d', status: 'pending', created_at: AGE_30D, channel: 'inbox' },
+  { id: 'd_in_flight_30d', status: 'in_flight', created_at: AGE_30D, channel: 'inbox' },
+  // ── non-terminal, past the 90d TABLE window ──────────────────────────────
+  { id: 'd_success_100d', status: 'success', created_at: AGE_100D, channel: 'inbox' },
+];
+
+async function seeded(opts?: { lifecycle?: unknown }) {
+  const schema = provisioned();
+  const driver = new SqlDriver({
+    client: 'better-sqlite3',
+    connection: { filename: ':memory:' },
+    useNullAsDefault: true,
+  });
+  openDrivers.push(driver);
+  await driver.initObjects([schema]);
+
+  for (const r of ROWS) {
+    await driver.create('sys_notification_delivery', {
+      id: r.id,
+      // Distinct per row: the object declares `(notification_id, recipient_id,
+      // channel)` UNIQUE, which is the real dedup key — one delivery per
+      // (event × recipient × channel). Reusing one event id here would be a
+      // shape production cannot produce.
+      notification_id: `n_${r.id}`,
+      recipient_id: 'usr_1',
+      channel: r.channel,
+      status: r.status,
+      attempts: r.status === 'pending' ? 0 : 1,
+      partition_key: 0,
+      created_at: r.created_at,
+      updated_at: r.created_at,
+      organization_id: 'org_A',
+    });
+  }
+
+  const object: LifecycleObjectLike = {
+    name: NotificationDelivery.name,
+    lifecycle:
+      opts && 'lifecycle' in opts ? (opts.lifecycle as any) : (NotificationDelivery as any).lifecycle,
+    fields: schema.fields,
+  } as LifecycleObjectLike;
+
+  const service = new LifecycleService({
+    getEngine: () => sweepEngine(driver, [object]),
+    logger: silentLogger,
+    now: () => SWEEP_AT_MS,
+    initialDelayMs: 1,
+    sweepIntervalMs: 10,
+  } as any);
+
+  return { driver, service };
+}
+
+const ALL_ROWS: DriverQuery = {};
+const survivors = async (driver: SqlDriver) =>
+  (await driver.find('sys_notification_delivery', ALL_ROWS)).map((r: any) => r.id).sort();
+
+describe('[#17611] sys_notification_delivery terminal retention — real declaration, real Reaper, live SQL', () => {
+  it('is exactly the ruled declaration', () => {
+    expect((NotificationDelivery as any).lifecycle).toEqual({
+      class: 'telemetry',
+      ttl: { field: 'created_at', expireAfter: '90d' },
+      retention: {
+        maxAge: '7d',
+        onlyWhen: { status: { $in: ['dead', 'suppressed'] } },
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('scopes on statuses the field declares AND the ack paths really write', () => {
+    // A filter naming a value the writers never produce would compile to a
+    // predicate matching nothing — the sweep would silently reap nothing.
+    const scoped: string[] = (NotificationDelivery as any).lifecycle.retention.onlyWhen.status.$in;
+    const declared: string[] = (NotificationDelivery.fields as any).status.options.map(
+      (o: any) => (typeof o === 'string' ? o : o.value),
+    );
+    for (const s of scoped) expect(declared).toContain(s);
+    // `success` is terminal too, and is deliberately OUT of the scope: the
+    // ruling keeps delivery history at the table window.
+    expect(scoped).not.toContain('success');
+  });
+
+  it('POSITIVE — terminal rows past 7d are reaped, and the retention leg is recorded', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded();
+
+    const report = await service.sweep();
+
+    const left = await survivors(driver);
+    expect(left).not.toContain('d_dead_30d');
+    expect(left).not.toContain('d_suppressed_30d');
+    expect(report.errors).toEqual([]);
+    const retention = report.swept.find(
+      (e: any) => e.object === 'sys_notification_delivery' && e.policy === 'retention',
+    );
+    expect(retention).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('NEGATIVE — pending / success / in_flight rows of the SAME age are untouched', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded();
+
+    await service.sweep();
+
+    const left = await survivors(driver);
+    // Identical `created_at` to the two rows just reaped, so nothing but the
+    // `onlyWhen` status filter can be what spared them.
+    expect(left).toContain('d_success_30d');
+    expect(left).toContain('d_pending_30d');
+    expect(left).toContain('d_in_flight_30d');
+  });
+
+  it('NEGATIVE — a terminal row INSIDE the 7d window is untouched', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded();
+
+    await service.sweep();
+
+    // Without this the suite would pass for a policy that reaped every
+    // terminal row at any age.
+    expect(await survivors(driver)).toContain('d_dead_2d');
+  });
+
+  it('the TABLE window survived — a non-terminal row past 90d is still reaped by the ttl leg', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded();
+
+    const report = await service.sweep();
+
+    expect(await survivors(driver)).not.toContain('d_success_100d');
+    const ttl = report.swept.find(
+      (e: any) => e.object === 'sys_notification_delivery' && e.policy === 'ttl',
+    );
+    expect(ttl).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+
+  it('one sweep, seven rows, the whole verdict in one assertion', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded();
+
+    await service.sweep();
+
+    expect(await survivors(driver)).toEqual([
+      'd_dead_2d',
+      'd_in_flight_30d',
+      'd_pending_30d',
+      'd_success_30d',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('COUNTERFACTUAL — drop `onlyWhen` and the same sweep takes the non-terminal rows too', async () => {
+    // The naive policy: a 7d table-wide retention. This is what the negative
+    // pins above have to discriminate against, so they are not vacuous.
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded({
+      lifecycle: {
+        class: 'telemetry',
+        ttl: { field: 'created_at', expireAfter: '90d' },
+        retention: { maxAge: '7d' },
+      },
+    });
+
+    await service.sweep();
+
+    expect(await survivors(driver)).toEqual(['d_dead_2d']);
+  });
+
+  it('COUNTERFACTUAL — with no lifecycle declaration the same sweep reaps nothing', async () => {
+    const { driver, service } = await seeded({ lifecycle: null });
+
+    const report = await service.sweep();
+
+    expect(await survivors(driver)).toEqual(ROWS.map((r) => r.id).sort());
+    expect(report.swept.filter((e: any) => e.object === 'sys_notification_delivery')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
@@ -24,10 +24,49 @@ export const NotificationDelivery = ObjectSchema.create({
     icon: 'send',
     isSystem: true,
     managedBy: 'engine-owned',
-    // ADR-0057: pipeline telemetry — same 90d window as sys_notification.
+    // ADR-0057: pipeline telemetry. TWO windows, because this table
+    // interleaves rows that still carry work with rows that never will.
+    //
+    // [#17611] A tenant with no transport configured for a fanned-out channel
+    // dead-letters that channel's row on its FIRST attempt (`attempts: 1`),
+    // and every `notify` writes one such row forever after. Measured on a
+    // production tenant: 2,876 `email`/`dead` rows at +316/day, zero pending.
+    // Those rows carry no work — nothing ever claims, retries or acks them
+    // again — yet they sat in the claim query's table for the full 90d.
+    //
+    // `retention.onlyWhen` scopes the SHORT window to the terminal-FAILURE
+    // statuses, the same shape `sys_job_queue`, `sys_automation_run` and
+    // `sys_upload_session` already declare. `success` is deliberately NOT in
+    // the scope: the ruling keeps delivery history at the table window.
+    //
+    // ⚠️ The 7d scope does not REPLACE the table's bound, it sits under it —
+    // `retention` is a single block, so scoping it would have left every
+    // non-terminal row (`pending`, `in_flight`, `success`) with no age bound
+    // at all, unbounding the larger half of this table's growth on the very
+    // card that exists to bound it. The `ttl` leg restates the 90d window the
+    // object has always declared, on the same `created_at` clock `retention`
+    // reaps by, so non-terminal rows keep exactly today's behaviour. Both legs
+    // run: `LifecycleService.reapObject` takes `ttl` and `retention` in
+    // independent `if`s, not an either/or.
+    //
+    // ⛔ The `$in` list is a third copy of a vocabulary the WRITERS own
+    // (`SqlNotificationOutbox.ack` / `MemoryNotificationOutbox.ack`), so it
+    // must be widened in the same change as a writer — the `sys_automation_run`
+    // lesson: a widened writer against a narrow sweep scope means the new
+    // status is simply never aged out, silently, forever. Today those two are
+    // the only terminal-failure statuses either ack path can produce.
+    // `failed` is a legal member of the `status` field below but NO writer of
+    // THIS object ever sets it (it is `sys_http_delivery`'s terminal status),
+    // so naming it here would scope the sweep on a value that cannot occur.
     lifecycle: {
         class: 'telemetry',
-        retention: { maxAge: '90d' },
+        // The table window — every row, same 90d as sys_notification.
+        ttl: { field: 'created_at', expireAfter: '90d' },
+        // The terminal-failure window — rows that will never carry work again.
+        retention: {
+            maxAge: '7d',
+            onlyWhen: { status: { $in: ['dead', 'suppressed'] } },
+        },
     },
     description: 'Durable per-recipient × channel delivery outbox (ADR-0030 Layer 4).',
     titleFormat: '{channel} → {recipient_id}',
 
@@ -3726,6 +3726,11 @@
       "verb": "findOne",
       "pinned": 6
     },
+    {
+      "file": "packages/services/service-messaging/src/notification-delivery-retention-sweep.test.ts",
+      "verb": "delete",
+      "pinned": 1
+    },
     {
       "file": "packages/services/service-messaging/src/notification-schema-conformance.test.ts",
       "verb": "findOne",