diff --git a/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-client-verification.json b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-client-verification.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8dc7c62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-client-verification.json
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "task": "topic-recency-pagination",
+  "component": "psf-memo-client",
+  "git_sha": "0e8f8f0eae2d4115d0b5b65eda2d924a7e3620da",
+  "branch": "swarmforge-architect",
+  "timestamp": "2026-09-17T17:31:41.659Z",
+  "commands": [
+    {
+      "name": "unit",
+      "command": "npm test",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 9151,
+      "summary": "431 pass / 0 fail"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "property",
+      "command": "npm run test:property",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 10882,
+      "summary": "85 pass / 0 fail"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "acceptance",
+      "command": "npm run test:acceptance",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 15729,
+      "summary": "all 32 acceptance suites passed"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "lint",
+      "command": "npm run lint",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 2640,
+      "summary": "ok"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "build",
+      "command": "npm run build",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 67692,
+      "summary": "ok"
+    }
+  ],
+  "result": "pass"
+}
diff --git a/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-db-verification.json b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-db-verification.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..390bdbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-db-verification.json
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "task": "topic-recency-pagination",
+  "component": "psf-memo-db",
+  "git_sha": "0e8f8f0eae2d4115d0b5b65eda2d924a7e3620da",
+  "branch": "swarmforge-architect",
+  "timestamp": "2026-09-17T17:29:55.431Z",
+  "commands": [
+    {
+      "name": "unit",
+      "command": "npm test",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 10783,
+      "summary": "384 passing"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "property",
+      "command": "npm run property",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 38918,
+      "summary": "57 pass / 0 fail"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "acceptance",
+      "command": "npm run acceptance",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 72768,
+      "summary": "all 15 acceptance suites passed"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "lint",
+      "command": "npm run lint",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 4739,
+      "summary": "ok"
+    }
+  ],
+  "result": "pass"
+}
diff --git a/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-summary.md b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-summary.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..891fc15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-summary.md
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+# Topic Recency Pagination — Architect Review
+
+## Task and commits reviewed
+
+- Task: `topic-recency-pagination` (refactorer handoff `92ce290873`).
+- Reviewed commits: `e2c0bbe` (spec), `e02bea5` (implement), `92ce290` (refactor).
+- Architect commits: `0e8f8f0` (review), plus test-time tooling `0072b81`
+  (pooled DB acceptance) and `d94aed8` (narrowed gherkin-mutator runner-worker).
+
+The feature adds two derived topic indexes — `topicSummaries` (per-room
+`postCount`/`lastHeight`) and `topicRecency` (one inverted-height key per room) —
+so `GET /topics` can order and paginate by most recent post without iterating
+the rooms store. A backfill utility rebuilds both indexes from the rooms store.
+
+## Architectural findings
+
+- **Good separation in the indexer.** Index maintenance lives in its own
+  `src/use-cases/action-types/topic-indexing.js`; `topic-message.js` and
+  `topic-follow.js` only decide *when* to call `recordTopicPost` /
+  `ensureTopicRoom`. The generic `getIfPresent` helper hides not-found handling.
+- **Good boundary in the DB.** `src/lib/backfill-topic-indexes.js` takes
+  injected LevelDB handles and holds no file-system concerns; the CLI wrapper in
+  `util/room/` owns store opening/closing and the backup warning.
+  `TopicQuery.listTopics` reads counts from `topicSummaries` and pages the
+  `topicRecency` iterator with `limit: offset + limit`, so the rooms store is
+  never iterated and only the recency records needed for the page are read.
+- **Client reuses `PaginatedPage`** instead of duplicating load/pagination
+  logic; `openTopic`/`topicFeedPath` stay in the testable controller.
+- **`topicRecencyKey` is duplicated** in the indexer helpers and the DB backfill
+  library. This is an unavoidable cross-deployable protocol constant (the
+  components do not share a module); both are pinned by exact-key unit tests so
+  the two encodings cannot drift silently.
+- **Observation, not changed:** `ListTopics` computes
+  `hasMore: offset + topics.length < total`, while the pre-existing
+  `ListTopicPosts` computes `hasMore: total > enriched.length` (no offset term).
+  The latter is spec-encoded in `topic-read.feature` scenario 3 and is out of
+  this task's scope; it is the source of two documented soft-mutation survivors.
+- **CRAP/complexity:** the refactorer extracted `roomFromEntry`/`applyPost` from
+  `collectSummaries` (CRAP 7.0 → 4.0) and shared `roomRange` between
+  `getTopicPostTxids`/`listRoomFollowers`. No new high-complexity functions were
+  introduced; the review changes are tests plus tool-written manifests.
+
+## Fixes applied
+
+- Added `test/unit/use-cases/action-types/topic-indexing.unit.js` covering the
+  `recordTopicPost` height fallbacks (missing `blockHeight`, legacy summary
+  without `lastHeight`, stale recency deletion), killing 4 survivors.
+- Added exact `topicRecencyKey` encoding and `isNotFound` unit cases to
+  `helpers.unit.js`, killing the `- -> +` / `0 -> 1` / `&& -> ||` survivors.
+- Added a max-size boundary case to `topic-message.unit.js`, killing the
+  `> -> >=` survivor.
+
+## Verification
+
+Records (all carry review commit `0e8f8f0eae2d4115d0b5b65eda2d924a7e3620da`):
+
+| File | Component |
+|------|-----------|
+| `topic-recency-pagination-verification.json` | psf-memo-indexer (canonical) |
+| `topic-recency-pagination-db-verification.json` | psf-memo-db |
+| `topic-recency-pagination-client-verification.json` | psf-memo-client |
+
+Suite status: indexer 101 unit / 12 property / 6 acceptance suites; db 384 unit
+/ 57 property / 15 acceptance suites; client 431 unit / 85 property / 32
+acceptance suites + build. All lint clean.
+
+Language mutation (all changed production files):
+
+- Indexer: `topic-indexing.js` 12/12 killed; `helpers.js` 23/23 killed;
+  `topic-follow.js` 3/3 killed; `topic-message.js` 3 killed / 1 survived.
+- DB: `topic-query.js` 16/16 killed; `backfill-topic-indexes.js` 8/8 killed;
+  `list-topics.js` and `topics/controller.js` have no mutation sites.
+- Client: `topic-discovery-page.js` 2/2 killed (`memo-db.js` is excluded per
+  standing precedent).
+
+Documented mutation equivalent:
+
+- `topic-message.js` line 30 `pushDatas[0] -> pushDatas[1]`: `handlePost`
+  normalizes the two-push payload and reads the text at index 1; it never reads
+  index 0, so the room name and the action prefix are interchangeable there.
+
+DRY (`dry4javascript`, scoped to changed files): no duplicate candidates in any
+of the three components.
+
+Soft Gherkin acceptance mutation (`--level soft`):
+
+- Indexer `topic-recency-indexing.feature`: 42 total, 4 killed, 38 survived.
+- DB `topic-pagination.feature`: 48 total, 42 killed, 6 survived.
+- DB `backfill-topic-indexes.feature`: 21 total, 21 killed, 0 survived.
+- DB `topic-read.feature`: 31 total, 29 killed, 2 survived.
+- Client `topic-pagination.feature`: 10 total, 8 killed, 2 survived.
+
+All survivors are intrinsic equivalents: example values (`addr`, `room`, `text`,
+`txid`, `height`) flow into both the setup and the assertion in the same
+scenario; the remaining survivors are `limit`/`offset` values that do not change
+the asserted read counts or page membership (or `count` values above the 50-item
+page size). No implementation gaps. The mutator wrote manifests/stamps into the
+five feature files; those tool-written changes are committed.
+
+## Test-time improvements (requested)
+
+- **DB acceptance is now pooled** (`0072b81`): the 15 generated files run with
+  bounded concurrency (default `min(4, files)`, `ACCEPTANCE_CONCURRENCY`
+  override) instead of strictly sequentially. Generation still runs first and
+  sequentially. Full DB acceptance dropped from ~430–790s to ~73s.
+- **DB soft Gherkin mutation now narrows to the changed scenario/example**
+  (`d94aed8`): the runner-worker diffs the mutated IR against
+  `<work>/base/feature.json` and runs only the changed case (safe because each
+  scenario uses an isolated world). A 48-mutation feature dropped from >900s
+  (only 32 mutations reached) to ~74s.
+- Process notes record both changes and the orphaned-mocha mutation-hang
+  investigation.
+
+## Handoffs
+
+- End-of-chain `git_handoff` to `specifier` (priority 50) for merge into
+  `master`; no coder/refactorer follow-up was required.
diff --git a/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-verification.json b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-verification.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0bb016e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/reviews/topic-recency-pagination-verification.json
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+{
+  "schema_version": 1,
+  "task": "topic-recency-pagination",
+  "component": "psf-memo-indexer",
+  "git_sha": "0e8f8f0eae2d4115d0b5b65eda2d924a7e3620da",
+  "branch": "swarmforge-architect",
+  "timestamp": "2026-09-17T17:27:48.078Z",
+  "commands": [
+    {
+      "name": "unit",
+      "command": "npm test",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 8139,
+      "summary": "101 passing"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "property",
+      "command": "npm run property",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 5329,
+      "summary": "12 pass / 0 fail"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "acceptance",
+      "command": "npm run acceptance",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 1715,
+      "summary": "all 6 acceptance suites passed"
+    },
+    {
+      "name": "lint",
+      "command": "npm run lint",
+      "exit": 0,
+      "duration_ms": 4463,
+      "summary": "ok"
+    }
+  ],
+  "result": "pass"
+}