diff --git a/prisma/migrations/0340_coach_usage_operator_tokens/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/0340_coach_usage_operator_tokens/migration.sql
index 8414906ba..2ad77f48f 100644
--- a/prisma/migrations/0340_coach_usage_operator_tokens/migration.sql
+++ b/prisma/migrations/0340_coach_usage_operator_tokens/migration.sql
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
--- v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the daily coach ledger gains a cost-owner dimension.
+-- v1.38.19 — the daily coach ledger gains a cost-owner dimension.
 --
 -- `coach_usage` counted one number per (user, day), so tokens the USER's own
 -- plan paid for (a `codex` fallback hop after the operator's shared key
diff --git a/prisma/migrations/0341_arrival_reaction_cost_owner/migration.sql b/prisma/migrations/0341_arrival_reaction_cost_owner/migration.sql
index 74fee8a02..7cc71a13b 100644
--- a/prisma/migrations/0341_arrival_reaction_cost_owner/migration.sql
+++ b/prisma/migrations/0341_arrival_reaction_cost_owner/migration.sql
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
--- v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the arrival reaction remembers who paid for
+-- v1.38.19 — the arrival reaction remembers who paid for
 -- its reservation.
 --
 -- The row persisted the reserved amount and the date key but not the cost
diff --git a/prisma/schema.prisma b/prisma/schema.prisma
index 0a2fe73c0..09d54ef02 100644
--- a/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -6271,7 +6271,7 @@ model CoachUsage {
   userId      String @map("user_id")
   dateKey     String @map("date_key")
   totalTokens Int    @default(0) @map("total_tokens")
-  /// v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the share of `totalTokens` served by a provider the
+  /// v1.38.19 — the share of `totalTokens` served by a provider the
   /// OPERATOR funds (`admin-openai` / `admin-codex`). The operator-cost cap is
   /// enforced against this counter and the user-plan cap against
   /// `totalTokens`, so background work served by the user's own plan can no
@@ -6761,7 +6761,7 @@ model ArrivalReaction {
   /// `coach_usage` increment. A reclaimed pre-provider attempt reuses it.
   generationReservedTokens    Int?      @map("generation_reserved_tokens")
   generationBudgetDateKey     String?   @map("generation_budget_date_key")
-  /// v1.38.19 (Wave E) — who the reservation above was booked to, `"operator"`
+  /// v1.38.19 — who the reservation above was booked to, `"operator"`
   /// or `"user"`. Persisted rather than recomputed: the supersede refund in
   /// `data-arrival.ts` has no chain to ask, and the resume path's chain may
   /// have been reordered by the health ledger since the reservation was made.
diff --git a/src/__tests__/coach-usage-owner-columns-guard.test.ts b/src/__tests__/coach-usage-owner-columns-guard.test.ts
index bda895bfe..7b12a1a95 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/coach-usage-owner-columns-guard.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/coach-usage-owner-columns-guard.test.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  * Structural guard — `coach_usage.total_tokens` and `coach_usage.operator_tokens`
  * move together in EVERY raw statement.
  *
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) gave the daily ledger a second counter: `operator_tokens`
+ * v1.38.19 gave the daily ledger a second counter: `operator_tokens`
  * is the share of `total_tokens` an operator-funded provider served, and the
  * operator ceiling is enforced against it. The counters are only meaningful
  * while they stay in step. A statement that writes the total and forgets the
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@
  * reverses the total and forgets the operator share leaks budget permanently
  * toward the operator cap, because nothing else ever subtracts it; a statement
  * that RETURNS the total alone forces its caller to gate on the wrong number,
- * which is the exact defect the wave exists to fix.
+ * which is how an operator-funded chain ends up refused over tokens the user's
+ * own plan paid for.
  *
  * Two of the three writers shipped with precisely those bugs, and both were a
  * grep away. This guard is that grep, executable: every INSERT column list,
diff --git a/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/__tests__/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/__tests__/route.test.ts
index f0f819c3f..408ba63ea 100644
--- a/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/__tests__/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/__tests__/route.test.ts
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ describe("GET /api/admin/provider-health", () => {
   });
 
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the two spend figures side by side.
+   * v1.38.19 — the two spend figures side by side.
    *
    * The operator reads this card when the chat refuses. Until now it showed
    * delivery health only, and the day's token figure was one number that mixed
diff --git a/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/route.ts b/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/route.ts
index 0e8b42e13..78e90ca01 100644
--- a/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/admin/provider-health/route.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export const GET = apiHandler(async () => {
     return a.providerType.localeCompare(b.providerType);
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the day's spend, split by who pays for it.
+  // v1.38.19 — the day's spend, split by who pays for it.
   //
   // The operator opens this card when a surface refuses on budget. One mixed
   // number could not answer the question it raised: a day at 1.24 M tokens is
diff --git a/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts b/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
index c0880ce9d..c2e6315e4 100644
--- a/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ async function handleChatRequest(request: NextRequest): Promise<Response> {
     "coach",
   );
   if (!reservation.allowed) {
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — say WHICH ceiling refused and WHOSE.
+    // v1.38.19 — say WHICH ceiling refused and WHOSE.
     // `totalAfter` alone is the day's mixed total; on an operator refusal that
     // is not the counter that tripped, and reading `totalAfter: 1200000`
     // against a 200 000 ceiling is what turned the 06:42Z incident into a
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ async function handleChatRequest(request: NextRequest): Promise<Response> {
 
   async function produceReply(): Promise<ReplyOutcome> {
     let result: CompletionResult;
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — typed as the chain's provider union, not a bare
+    // v1.38.19 — typed as the chain's provider union, not a bare
     // string: the budget reconcile attributes the turn's tokens to the cost
     // owner of the hop named here.
     let workingProviderType: ProviderChainType;
diff --git a/src/app/api/labs/ocr/extract/__tests__/route.test.ts b/src/app/api/labs/ocr/extract/__tests__/route.test.ts
index 9471f6ac1..97b655c31 100644
--- a/src/app/api/labs/ocr/extract/__tests__/route.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/labs/ocr/extract/__tests__/route.test.ts
@@ -120,9 +120,9 @@ describe("POST /api/labs/ocr/extract — text mode budget", () => {
       "2026-06-26",
       // F1 — the provider-aware daily cap (mocked) is threaded as the 4th arg.
       200_000,
-      // Wave E — and the cost owner that cap is enforced against as the 5th.
+      // ...the cost owner that cap is enforced against as the 5th...
       "operator",
-      // Wave E fix round 1 — the surface the ceiling is rationed for, 6th.
+      // ...and the surface the ceiling is rationed for as the 6th.
       "coach",
     );
   });
diff --git a/src/components/admin/__tests__/provider-health-spend-today.test.tsx b/src/components/admin/__tests__/provider-health-spend-today.test.tsx
index 1f92bdc03..bfe056560 100644
--- a/src/components/admin/__tests__/provider-health-spend-today.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/admin/__tests__/provider-health-spend-today.test.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { renderToStaticMarkup } from "react-dom/server";
 import { I18nProvider } from "@/lib/i18n/context";
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the day's spend, split by who paid for it.
+ * v1.38.19 — the day's spend, split by who paid for it.
  *
  * `/api/admin/provider-health` answers `spendToday` and nothing rendered it,
  * which is the "the reader is the follow-up" shape the two-ended rule exists to
diff --git a/src/components/admin/provider-health-section.tsx b/src/components/admin/provider-health-section.tsx
index fecc95556..273c3559b 100644
--- a/src/components/admin/provider-health-section.tsx
+++ b/src/components/admin/provider-health-section.tsx
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import { formatDateTime } from "@/lib/format";
  */
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the day's spend, split by who pays for it. The operator
+ * v1.38.19 — the day's spend, split by who pays for it. The operator
  * opens this card when a surface refuses on budget, and one mixed number could
  * not answer the question that raises: a day at 1.24 M tokens is alarming until
  * you see that 151 200 of them were the instance's own key and the rest ran on
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/__tests__/provider-runner.test.ts b/src/lib/ai/__tests__/provider-runner.test.ts
index 3ff5d781a..0080fc64b 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/__tests__/provider-runner.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/__tests__/provider-runner.test.ts
@@ -774,7 +774,7 @@ describe("runRawCompletionWithFallback — operator-cost cap at hop time", () =>
     expect(adminOpenai.callCount).toBe(1);
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the guard reads the OPERATOR-funded share.
+  // v1.38.19 — the guard reads the OPERATOR-funded share.
   //
   // Production evidence (2026-09-11): the operator's day held ~1.2 M tokens,
   // nearly all served by `codex` on his own ChatGPT plan. Comparing the day's
@@ -833,7 +833,7 @@ describe("runRawCompletionWithFallback — operator-cost cap at hop time", () =>
     expect(adminOpenai.callCount).toBe(0);
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the hop guard knows which SURFACE asked.
+  // v1.38.19 — the hop guard knows which SURFACE asked.
   //
   // Without this the job share was enforced at reservation time only: a
   // background reservation admitted under `resolveDailyCapFor("job", …)` could
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/budget.test.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/budget.test.ts
index 2a7f764b4..e303151d1 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/budget.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/budget.test.ts
@@ -198,7 +198,7 @@ describe("reserveBudget cap (F1 — user-plan path not locked out)", () => {
 });
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the cap is enforced against the counter it is ABOUT.
+ * v1.38.19 — the cap is enforced against the counter it is ABOUT.
  *
  * Production evidence (2026-09-11): the operator's day held 1.0–1.45 M tokens,
  * almost all served by `codex` on his own ChatGPT plan after the shared
@@ -207,14 +207,14 @@ describe("reserveBudget cap (F1 — user-plan path not locked out)", () => {
  * is the defect; the operator ceiling may only see operator-funded tokens.
  */
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — background generation gets a bounded slice of the day.
+ * v1.38.19 — background generation gets a bounded slice of the day.
  *
  * Production evidence (2026-09-11): 150–330 ledger rows a day on the
  * operator's account, 172 `insights.metric` generations by 06:42Z — the
  * automatic jobs had spent the day's ceiling before he opened the chat. A
  * background surface may reserve at most half of the interactive ceiling.
  */
-describe("resolveDailyCapFor (Wave E — the job share)", () => {
+describe("resolveDailyCapFor — the job share", () => {
   it("gives a background surface half the operator ceiling", () => {
     expect(resolveDailyCapFor("job", [{ providerType: "admin-openai" }])).toBe(
       OPERATOR_COST_CAP * JOB_SURFACE_SHARE,
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ describe("resolveDailyCapFor (Wave E — the job share)", () => {
   });
 });
 
-describe("resolveTotalCapFor (Wave E, fix round 1 — the abuse ceiling)", () => {
+describe("resolveTotalCapFor — the abuse ceiling", () => {
   it("keeps the user-plan ceiling on the day's mixed total for both owners", () => {
     // The operator arm compares `operator_tokens`, a counter that returns to
     // ~0 on every reconcile the user's own plan settled. Without a ceiling on
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ describe("resolveTotalCapFor (Wave E, fix round 1 — the abuse ceiling)", () =>
   });
 });
 
-describe("reserveBudget cap by cost owner (Wave E)", () => {
+describe("reserveBudget — the cap follows the cost owner", () => {
   let prismaMock: {
     $queryRaw: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
     $executeRaw: ReturnType<typeof vi.fn>;
@@ -336,7 +336,7 @@ describe("reserveBudget cap by cost owner (Wave E)", () => {
     expect(res.allowed).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the abuse ceiling survives the owner split.
+  // v1.38.19 — the abuse ceiling survives the owner split.
   //
   // The first cut compared `operator_tokens` and NOTHING else for an
   // operator-funded chain. On the 2026-09-11 shape that counter never grows:
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/budget.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/budget.ts
index e2b77969c..ec01876ea 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/budget.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/budget.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { prisma } from "@/lib/db";
 import type { ProviderChainType } from "@/lib/ai/provider-chain";
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the two raw statements the ledger owns can
+ * v1.38.19 — the two raw statements the ledger owns can
  * run on the singleton client OR inside an open transaction. The arrival
  * reaction reserves its tokens in the same transaction that links the
  * reservation to the claimed marker, and used to carry its own copy of the
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ export function resolveDailyCap(
 }
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the share of a day's ceiling that BACKGROUND generation
+ * v1.38.19 — the share of a day's ceiling that BACKGROUND generation
  * may reserve, all job surfaces together.
  *
  * Production evidence (2026-09-11): the operator's account wrote 150–330
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ export function resolveDailyCap(
 export const JOB_SURFACE_SHARE = 0.5;
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — which kind of caller is asking. `"coach"` is every
+ * v1.38.19 — which kind of caller is asking. `"coach"` is every
  * interactive surface (the chat, the extraction routes, the document routes,
  * the connection probe): a person is waiting. `"job"` is the automatic
  * generators, which run with nobody waiting and must leave the interactive
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ export const JOB_SURFACE_SHARE = 0.5;
 export type BudgetSurface = "coach" | "job";
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the job share rations the OPERATOR's
+ * v1.38.19 — the job share rations the OPERATOR's
  * invoice, so it applies only when the operator is paying.
  *
  * The first cut multiplied whichever ceiling `resolveDailyCap` returned, which
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ function applyJobShare(
 }
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the daily ceiling for one SURFACE on a chain. `"coach"`
+ * v1.38.19 — the daily ceiling for one SURFACE on a chain. `"coach"`
  * (every interactive surface: the chat, the extraction routes, the document
  * routes, the connection probe) gets the whole ceiling; `"job"` (the automatic
  * generators) gets `JOB_SURFACE_SHARE` of it. The cost owner is unchanged —
@@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ export function resolveDailyCapFor(
 }
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the ABUSE ceiling on the day's mixed total,
+ * v1.38.19 — the ABUSE ceiling on the day's mixed total,
  * for one surface and one cost owner.
  *
  * `resolveDailyCapFor` answers "how much of the owner's ceiling may this
@@ -169,14 +169,14 @@ export function isOperatorFundedProvider(type: ProviderChainType): boolean {
 }
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — who pays for a turn. `"operator"` means the tokens land
+ * v1.38.19 — who pays for a turn. `"operator"` means the tokens land
  * on the operator's invoice (`admin-openai` / `admin-codex`), `"user"` means
  * the user's own plan, key or hardware carries them.
  */
 export type BudgetCostOwner = "operator" | "user";
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the cost owner a chain RESERVES under: the primary is
+ * v1.38.19 — the cost owner a chain RESERVES under: the primary is
  * the provider that will be tried first, so it is the expected payer. An empty
  * chain defaults to the operator — the conservative side. `resolveDailyCap`
  * and `reserveBudget` must agree on this classification, so both read it here.
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ export interface DailySpend {
   /** Every token recorded for the day, whoever paid for it. */
   total: number;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the share of `total` served by an operator-funded
+   * v1.38.19 — the share of `total` served by an operator-funded
    * provider. The hop guard compares THIS against `OPERATOR_COST_CAP`: a day
    * full of turns the user's own plan paid for must not close the operator's
    * fallback hop.
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ export interface ReserveBudgetResult {
   /** The day's total AFTER this reservation (for observability). */
   totalAfter: number;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the owner this reservation was charged to. The
+   * v1.38.19 — the owner this reservation was charged to. The
    * reconcile needs it: only a reservation booked to the operator has an
    * amount to move back OUT of `operator_tokens` when a user-funded hop ends
    * up serving the turn.
@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ export interface ReserveBudgetResult {
   /** The day's operator-funded spend AFTER this reservation. */
   operatorAfter: number;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — which ceiling refused this reservation,
+   * v1.38.19 — which ceiling refused this reservation,
    * `null` when it was admitted. `"owner-cap"` is the cost owner's daily
    * ceiling (the operator's invoice, or the user's own plan); `"total-cap"` is
    * the abuse ceiling on the day's mixed total. The refusal annotations carry
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ export async function reserveBudget(
     Number.isFinite(estimatedTokens) && estimatedTokens > 0
       ? Math.floor(estimatedTokens)
       : 0;
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a reservation is booked to `operator_tokens` only when
+  // v1.38.19 — a reservation is booked to `operator_tokens` only when
   // the chain's primary is operator-funded. The counter moves inside the SAME
   // statement as the total, so two concurrent requests can never observe one
   // counter without the other.
@@ -328,14 +328,14 @@ export async function reserveBudget(
   // PRIOR to its reservation was under the cap. So compare the post-increment
   // figure minus this reservation against the cap.
   //
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — and compare the counter the cap is ABOUT. An
+  // v1.38.19 — and compare the counter the cap is ABOUT. An
   // operator-funded chain is measured against the day's operator-funded spend,
   // never against a total that the user's own plan inflated; a user-plan chain
   // keeps its abuse ceiling on the total.
   const priorTotal = totalAfter - reserved;
   const priorOperator = operatorAfter - operatorReserved;
   const prior = owner === "operator" ? priorOperator : priorTotal;
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — BOTH ceilings, always. The owner's cap
+  // v1.38.19 — BOTH ceilings, always. The owner's cap
   // protects whoever pays; the total cap is the abuse ceiling that keeps a
   // runaway loop — or a day of background generation the operator's key never
   // served — from writing an unbounded row. Dropping the second one for
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ export async function reconcileSpend(
   // (shouldn't happen, but the wire is untrusted) can't drive a negative charge.
   const actual = Math.max(0, grossActual - cached);
   const delta = actual - reserved;
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — settle the operator's counter against the hop that
+  // v1.38.19 — settle the operator's counter against the hop that
   // SERVED, not the one the chain expected. Book the actual tokens when an
   // operator-funded provider answered, and take back whatever this
   // reservation had put there (nothing, when the reservation was the user's
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/provider-runner.ts b/src/lib/ai/provider-runner.ts
index dd2dfec4b..433821bd5 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/provider-runner.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/provider-runner.ts
@@ -438,11 +438,11 @@ async function runRawChain(
         total: 0,
         operator: 0,
       }));
-      // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the OPERATOR-funded share, not the day's total: a
+      // v1.38.19 — the OPERATOR-funded share, not the day's total: a
       // day filled by the user's own plan must not close the operator's
       // fallback hop on money the operator never spent.
       //
-      // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — and at the SURFACE's ceiling, not the
+      // v1.38.19 — and at the SURFACE's ceiling, not the
       // full one. A background reservation is rationed at the job share when it
       // is taken; without this the hop it reaches by fallback could still spend
       // against the whole operator cap, which is how the original defect stayed
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ export async function runStreamingRawCompletionWithFallback(args: {
   providers: ProviderChainResolved[];
   params: CompletionParams;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — which ceiling an operator-funded FALLBACK
+   * v1.38.19 — which ceiling an operator-funded FALLBACK
    * hop is rationed against. `"job"` gets the background share, exactly as the
    * reservation did; `"coach"` gets the whole ceiling.
    */
diff --git a/src/lib/documents/auto-stage-labs.ts b/src/lib/documents/auto-stage-labs.ts
index d77c9391f..23478147f 100644
--- a/src/lib/documents/auto-stage-labs.ts
+++ b/src/lib/documents/auto-stage-labs.ts
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ export async function maybeAutoStageLabFacts(
 
   // A text-structuring pass, not a vision call — reserve the proportionate
   // ceiling under the cost owner the auto-index resolved.
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — auto-staging runs off the upload, with no one waiting
+  // v1.38.19 — auto-staging runs off the upload, with no one waiting
   // on it: a background surface, so half the day's ceiling.
   const dateKey = buildDateKey();
   const reservation = await reserveBudget(
diff --git a/src/lib/documents/index-document.ts b/src/lib/documents/index-document.ts
index 76b0a28a3..e512aee6e 100644
--- a/src/lib/documents/index-document.ts
+++ b/src/lib/documents/index-document.ts
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ export interface ResolvedIndexProvider {
   consentOk: boolean;
   dailyCap: number;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — whose budget `dailyCap` rations. The reservation books
+   * v1.38.19 — whose budget `dailyCap` rations. The reservation books
    * `operator_tokens` only for an operator-funded pick, so the cap and the
    * counter it is compared against are resolved from one place.
    */
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ export async function resolveIndexProvider(
     pick && consentOk
       ? resolveDailyCap([{ providerType: pick.entry.providerType }])
       : 0;
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the cap and its cost owner are resolved from the SAME
+  // v1.38.19 — the cap and its cost owner are resolved from the SAME
   // pick, so the reservation books the counter the cap is enforced against.
   const costOwner: BudgetCostOwner =
     pick && consentOk
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/briefing-provider-budget.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/briefing-provider-budget.test.ts
index b51df1541..9f578cb4d 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/briefing-provider-budget.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/briefing-provider-budget.test.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
 
 /** In-memory stand-in for the day's `coach_usage.total_tokens`. */
 let ledgerTotal = 0;
-/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens` (Wave E). */
+/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens`. */
 let ledgerOperator = 0;
 
 vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
     // (strings, userId, dateKey, reserved, reserved).
     $queryRaw: vi.fn(
       async (_strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
-        // Wave E — (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
+        // (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
         ledgerTotal += Number(v[2] ?? 0);
         ledgerOperator += Number(v[3] ?? 0);
         return [{ total_tokens: ledgerTotal, operator_tokens: ledgerOperator }];
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
       async (strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
         const sql = strings.join("?");
         const amount = Number(v[0] ?? 0);
-        // Wave E — the operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
+        // The operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
         const operatorAmount = Number(v[1] ?? 0);
         if (sql.includes("total_tokens + ")) {
           ledgerTotal += amount;
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/comprehensive-budget-refusal.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/comprehensive-budget-refusal.test.ts
index 8d214b0b6..b000afac4 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/comprehensive-budget-refusal.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/comprehensive-budget-refusal.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
 
 let ledgerTotal = 0;
-/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens` (Wave E). */
+/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens`. */
 let ledgerOperator = 0;
 
 const findUnique = vi.fn();
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
   prisma: {
     $queryRaw: vi.fn(
       async (_strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
-        // Wave E — (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
+        // (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
         ledgerTotal += Number(v[2] ?? 0);
         ledgerOperator += Number(v[3] ?? 0);
         return [{ total_tokens: ledgerTotal, operator_tokens: ledgerOperator }];
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
       async (strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
         const sql = strings.join("?");
         const amount = Number(v[0] ?? 0);
-        // Wave E — the operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
+        // The operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
         const operatorAmount = Number(v[1] ?? 0);
         if (sql.includes("total_tokens + ")) {
           ledgerTotal += amount;
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/status-provider-budget.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/status-provider-budget.test.ts
index c756c3dac..c22616a04 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/__tests__/status-provider-budget.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/__tests__/status-provider-budget.test.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import { describe, it, expect, vi, beforeEach } from "vitest";
 
 /** In-memory stand-in for the day's `coach_usage.total_tokens`. */
 let ledgerTotal = 0;
-/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens` (Wave E). */
+/** …and of `coach_usage.operator_tokens`. */
 let ledgerOperator = 0;
 
 vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
     // (strings, userId, dateKey, reserved, reserved).
     $queryRaw: vi.fn(
       async (_strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
-        // Wave E — (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
+        // (userId, dateKey, reserved, operatorReserved, …).
         ledgerTotal += Number(v[2] ?? 0);
         ledgerOperator += Number(v[3] ?? 0);
         return [{ total_tokens: ledgerTotal, operator_tokens: ledgerOperator }];
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({
       async (strings: TemplateStringsArray, ...v: unknown[]) => {
         const sql = strings.join("?");
         const amount = Number(v[0] ?? 0);
-        // Wave E — the operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
+        // The operator-funded share moves in the same statement.
         const operatorAmount = Number(v[1] ?? 0);
         if (sql.includes("total_tokens + ")) {
           ledgerTotal += amount;
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ describe("runStatusCompletion — ledger accounting", () => {
   });
 
   it("refuses a background generation at the job share while the chat still runs", async () => {
-    // Wave E — the automatic status/reference generators may spend at most
+    // The automatic status/reference generators may spend at most
     // half the operator ceiling, so the interactive chat still has a day left
     // when the jobs have had theirs. One token past the job share:
     ledgerTotal = 100_001;
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ describe("runStatusCompletion — ledger accounting", () => {
     // "no provider configured" assessment, which a budget refusal is not.
     expect(runRawCompletionWithFallback).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(result.kind).toBe("error");
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the refusal has to SAY which ceiling it
+    // v1.38.19 — the refusal has to SAY which ceiling it
     // hit and whose. `{ totalAfter }` alone was the day's mixed total, which on
     // an operator refusal is not the counter that tripped; and the shared
     // `error` outcome cannot distinguish an exhausted background share from a
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/briefing-provider.ts b/src/lib/insights/briefing-provider.ts
index 16c2a2c42..1b8d15079 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/briefing-provider.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/briefing-provider.ts
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ export async function runBriefingCompletion(
     args.maxTokens +
     Math.ceil((args.systemPrompt.length + args.userPrompt.length) / 4);
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling when the
+  // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling when the
   // operator funds the chain.
   const jobCap = resolveDailyCapFor("job", args.chain);
   const reservation = await reserveBudget(
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/status-provider.ts b/src/lib/insights/status-provider.ts
index 6f63fba14..bb187ab5d 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/status-provider.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/status-provider.ts
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ export async function runStatusCompletion(
   const dateKey = buildDateKey();
   const estimatedTokens =
     maxTokens + Math.ceil((systemPrompt.length + userPrompt.length) / 4);
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling when the
+  // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling when the
   // operator funds the chain.
   const jobCap = resolveDailyCapFor("job", chain);
   const reservation = await reserveBudget(
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ export async function runStatusCompletion(
     // which callers cache as the settled "no provider configured" assessment.
     // The distinct annotation keeps the refusal observable even though the
     // result shape is shared.
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the shared `error` outcome cannot say
+    // v1.38.19 — the shared `error` outcome cannot say
     // WHY the generation stopped, so the annotation has to. `surface: "job"`
     // plus `cap` separates "this job used up the background share" from "the
     // whole day is spent", and `limit` says which counter tripped. The operator
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/reaction-line-degradation.test.ts b/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/reaction-line-degradation.test.ts
index 53b3d4ac6..ac9403751 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/reaction-line-degradation.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/__tests__/reaction-line-degradation.test.ts
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ beforeEach(async () => {
   isModuleEnabled.mockResolvedValue(true);
   chainRequiresServerManagedConsent.mockReturnValue(false);
   hasActiveConsentForSurface.mockResolvedValue(true);
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the claim reservation is no longer a
+  // v1.38.19 — the claim reservation is no longer a
   // second copy of the upsert; it calls the shared `reserveBudget` with the
   // transaction client. The spy therefore runs the REAL gate against the
   // mocked `$queryRaw`, so the rows a test hands back are the ledger the gate
@@ -525,12 +525,12 @@ describe("reaction line — degradation", () => {
   });
 
   it("a day the user's own plan paid for still admits the reaction", async () => {
-    // The 2026-09-11 shape, on the surface the wave forgot to convert: the
-    // operator's shared key answered 500 all morning and `codex` — his own
-    // ChatGPT plan — served everything, so the day's total is large and the
-    // operator's counter is empty. The reservation used to compare that total
-    // against the operator's ceiling and refuse, which is the exact defect the
-    // wave exists to remove, reproduced at HALF the old ceiling.
+    // The 2026-09-11 shape: the operator's shared key answered 500 all
+    // morning and `codex` — his own ChatGPT plan — served everything, so the
+    // day's total is large and the operator's counter is empty. The
+    // reservation used to compare that total against the operator's ceiling
+    // and refuse, locking the surface out over money the operator never spent
+    // — and at HALF the old ceiling, because this is a background surface.
     resolveProviderChain.mockResolvedValue([
       {
         providerType: "openai",
@@ -744,7 +744,7 @@ describe("reaction line — degradation", () => {
 });
 
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — a reservation is never stranded.
+ * v1.38.19 — a reservation is never stranded.
  *
  * Every path that crosses the provider boundary has to settle the ledger, and
  * settle it against the owner the reservation was actually booked to. Nothing
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/coach-nudge-ai.ts b/src/lib/jobs/coach-nudge-ai.ts
index b991fb4ed..a2916d907 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/coach-nudge-ai.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/coach-nudge-ai.ts
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ export const composeNudgeWithAI: ComposeNudgeWithAI = async (params) => {
 
     const budget = AI_BUDGETS.coachNudge;
     const maxTokens = budget.maxTokens ?? 160;
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
+    // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
     const dailyCap = resolveDailyCapFor("job", chain);
     const dateKey = buildDateKey();
 
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/data-arrival.ts b/src/lib/jobs/data-arrival.ts
index 6c427ef33..1fa671331 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/data-arrival.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/data-arrival.ts
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ interface LockedReaction {
   generationReservedTokens: number | null;
   generationBudgetDateKey: string | null;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — `"operator"` when the reservation below was booked to
+   * v1.38.19 — `"operator"` when the reservation below was booked to
    * the operator's counter, `"user"` otherwise, null on a row reserved before
    * the column existed. The refund has to reverse the SAME counters the
    * reservation moved, and there is no chain here to ask.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ async function claimReaction(
       current.generationBudgetDateKey != null &&
       current.generationProviderInvokedAt == null
     ) {
-      // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — reverse BOTH counters, or neither.
+      // v1.38.19 — reverse BOTH counters, or neither.
       //
       // The reservation booked `operator_tokens` too whenever the chain's
       // primary was operator-funded. Refunding only the total left that share
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/document-content-index-backfill.ts b/src/lib/jobs/document-content-index-backfill.ts
index d8e4ad718..53dec0f23 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/document-content-index-backfill.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/document-content-index-backfill.ts
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ export async function runContentIndexBackfillForUser(
   // leaves every PDF out of "index all documents".
   const candidateMimes = [...IMAGE_MIMES, "application/pdf"];
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
+  // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
   const dailyCap = resolveDailyCapFor("job", [
     { providerType: pick.entry.providerType },
   ]);
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/document-summary.ts b/src/lib/jobs/document-summary.ts
index 647115ee5..257586a01 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/document-summary.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/document-summary.ts
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ export async function runDocumentSummaryJob(
     userId,
     AI_BUDGETS.documentSummary.maxTokens,
     dateKey,
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
+    // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
     resolveDailyCapFor("job", [{ providerType: pick.entry.providerType }]),
     resolveCostOwner([{ providerType: pick.entry.providerType }]),
     "job",
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/reaction-line.ts b/src/lib/jobs/reaction-line.ts
index 21dbb9bc4..35e994009 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/reaction-line.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/reaction-line.ts
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ type ReactionReservation = {
   reserved: number;
   dateKey: string;
   /**
-   * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the cost owner the reservation was booked to. It is
+   * v1.38.19 — the cost owner the reservation was booked to. It is
    * PERSISTED on the row (`generationCostOwner`), not recomputed: the chain is
    * re-resolved per run and the health ledger reorders it, so a resumed
    * reservation that asked the chain again could reverse a counter the
@@ -363,15 +363,15 @@ async function reserveClaimBudget(
     });
     if (stillOwned.count !== 1) throw new ReactionClaimLostError();
 
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — ONE reservation implementation.
+    // v1.38.19 — ONE reservation implementation.
     //
     // This surface used to carry its own copy of the upsert so the write could
     // ride the claim transaction. The copy drifted: it learned to WRITE
     // `operator_tokens` and kept gating on the day's mixed total, at the
-    // halved job ceiling — so on the operator's own 2026-09-11 row (1.2 M
-    // total, ~0 operator) the arrival reaction was refused all day, which is
-    // the exact defect this wave exists to remove, reproduced on the one
-    // surface the wave forgot to convert. `reserveBudget` takes the
+    // halved job ceiling — so on a row holding 1.2 M tokens of which almost
+    // none were the operator's (2026-09-11, the shared key answering 500 while
+    // the user's own plan served), the arrival reaction was refused all day
+    // over money the operator never spent. `reserveBudget` takes the
     // transaction client instead, so both writes still roll back together and
     // there is no second copy left to drift.
     const reservation = await reserveBudget(
@@ -406,7 +406,7 @@ async function reserveClaimBudget(
       data: {
         generationReservedTokens: reserved,
         generationBudgetDateKey: dateKey,
-        // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — persist the cost owner with the
+        // v1.38.19 — persist the cost owner with the
         // amount. Two readers need it and neither can derive it: the resume
         // path below (the chain may have been reordered since) and the
         // supersede refund in `data-arrival.ts` (which has no chain at all).
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ export async function runReactionLine(
         job.userId,
         revision,
         buildDateKey(),
-        // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
+        // v1.38.19 — a background surface: half the day's ceiling.
         resolveDailyCapFor("job", chain),
         resolveCostOwner(chain),
       );
diff --git a/tests/integration/arrival-reaction-claim.test.ts b/tests/integration/arrival-reaction-claim.test.ts
index 3a4284b0e..97398cb71 100644
--- a/tests/integration/arrival-reaction-claim.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/arrival-reaction-claim.test.ts
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ describe("ArrivalReaction — the day claim", () => {
     expect(usage).toMatchObject({ totalTokens: 280, messageCount: 1 });
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the refund reverses BOTH counters.
+  // v1.38.19 — the refund reverses BOTH counters.
   //
   // The reservation booked `operator_tokens` whenever the chain's primary was
   // operator-funded. The supersede refund reversed only the total, and nothing
diff --git a/tests/integration/coach-budget-owner.test.ts b/tests/integration/coach-budget-owner.test.ts
index 08344af12..6e45304ea 100644
--- a/tests/integration/coach-budget-owner.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/coach-budget-owner.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /**
- * v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the daily coach ledger attributes tokens to the COST
+ * v1.38.19 — the daily coach ledger attributes tokens to the COST
  * OWNER of the hop that actually served them.
  *
  * Production evidence (operator instance, 2026-09-11): the chat refused with
@@ -219,12 +219,13 @@ describe("coach_usage.operator_tokens (real Postgres)", () => {
     expect(row?.operatorTokens).toBe(OPERATOR_COST_CAP);
   });
 
-  // v1.38.19 (Wave E, fix round 1) — the incident, end to end.
+  // v1.38.19 — the incident, end to end.
   //
   // The 06:42Z row verbatim: 1.2 M tokens on the day, none of them the
   // operator's, on the chain `[admin-openai, codex, openai-compatible]`. The
-  // chat must open. Before the wave it was refused because the ledger had no
-  // owner dimension; this pins that the refusal cannot come back.
+  // chat must open. It was refused while the ledger had no owner dimension and
+  // counted every token against the operator's ceiling; this pins that the
+  // refusal cannot come back.
   it("does not refuse the chat for a day of background spend on the user's own plan", async () => {
     const { reserveBudget, resolveDailyCap, resolveCostOwner } =
       await import("@/lib/ai/coach/budget");
diff --git a/tests/integration/coach-budget-reservation.test.ts b/tests/integration/coach-budget-reservation.test.ts
index 1f0bec052..2b4f28443 100644
--- a/tests/integration/coach-budget-reservation.test.ts
+++ b/tests/integration/coach-budget-reservation.test.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ describe("reserveBudget (real Postgres)", () => {
     // Pre-spend 900 so a single 600-token reservation stays under the cap
     // but two concurrent ones cannot both be admitted.
     //
-    // v1.38.19 (Wave E) — the 900 sits on BOTH counters. The ledger grew a cost
+    // v1.38.19 — the 900 sits on BOTH counters. The ledger grew a cost
     // dimension: an operator-owned reservation is measured against
     // `operator_tokens`, so a fixture that pre-spends only the mixed total no
     // longer states its own premise ("900 already spent under this cap") and