# Probe capacity; never remember it

Whether a lane, worker, or service is available is checked now, not recalled from yesterday. A stale capacity belief acts exactly like a real limit.

From the [Tips & tricks](../index.md#tips) section of [The Muse Field Guide](../index.md).

## The move

Whether a model lane, a worker, or a service is available is a fact you check now, not a state you recall from yesterday.

## When to use it

Before any routing decision that steers work around something believed to be exhausted, capped, or down.

## Steps

1. Record capacity beliefs with a timestamp and a source.
2. Let a belief expire at its reset time, or after a day without fresh confirmation.
3. At expiry, treat the lane as unverified, not capped, and probe it.
4. Report transitions the round they are observed.

## The gotcha

This household steered work around a lane believed exhausted for a full day after its usage window had already reset. A stale belief about capacity is indistinguishable from a real limit until someone probes it, so the probe is part of the routine.

Deep dive: [Practices and tips: the resource core](../deep-dives/practices.md)

Related resources: [Spot-check every background number](spot-check-background-numbers.md), [Verify uptake by claims, not status](verify-uptake-by-claims.md)

Canonical page: https://www.niclydon.io/muse/items/probe-capacity.html