fix: state ctx_search throttle thresholds as absolute call numbers

[uwuclxdy]

What / Why / How

Root cause: the pre-soft-cap ctx_search throttle line printed > Throttle: call #${searchCallCount}/${SEARCH_BLOCK_AFTER} in this window. ${softCapRemaining} call(s) before soft cap. That mixes two different limits in one sentence. The #N/8 denominator is the hard-block cap (SEARCH_BLOCK_AFTER), while "before soft cap" counts down to SEARCH_MAX_RESULTS_AFTER (default 3). Since the soft cap engages at searchCallCount >= SEARCH_MAX_RESULTS_AFTER, call #3 is already truncated, so on call #1 the old text read "2 call(s) before soft cap" and reported one more full-result call than actually remained.

Fix: state both thresholds as absolute call numbers and drop the ambiguous countdown. On call #1 with defaults the line now reads > Throttle: search call #1 this window. Soft cap (fewer results/query) at call #3, hard block at #8. Prefer ctx_search(queries: [...]) array form; it counts as one call. The now-unused softCapRemaining local is removed. The at/after-soft-cap ⚠ branch is left unchanged.

Affected platforms

• Claude Code
• Cursor
• VS Code Copilot (GitHub Copilot)
• JetBrains Copilot
• Gemini CLI
• Qwen Code
• OpenCode
• KiloCode
• Codex CLI
• OpenClaw (Pi Agent)
• Pi
• Kiro
• Antigravity
• Zed
• All platforms

Test plan

• npx tsc -b --noEmit clean.
• npx vitest run tests/core/server.test.ts green (499 tests). The source-text assertion in ctx_search progressive throttle observability that pinned the old wording was updated to the absolute-threshold phrasing.

Checklist

• Tests added/updated (TDD: red → green)
• npm test passes
• npm run typecheck passes
• Docs updated if needed (README, platform-support.md)
• No Windows path regressions (forward slashes only)
• Targets next branch (unless hotfix)

Cross-platform notes

Our CI runs on Ubuntu, macOS, and Windows.

• If touching file paths, verify forward-slash normalization on Windows
• If touching hook paths, verify no backslash separators
• Use path.join() / path.resolve(), never hardcode / separators
• Use event-based stdin reading — readFileSync(0) breaks on Windows
• Use os.tmpdir(), never hardcode /tmp