diff --git a/lib/extract.py b/lib/extract.py
index c73e29f..6f825f4 100644
--- a/lib/extract.py
+++ b/lib/extract.py
@@ -930,11 +930,18 @@ async def extract_cycle(conn, max_workers=None) -> tuple[int, int]:
     # copy is the source of truth — if a file with this basename is in archive,
     # the source is processed regardless of queue state. Single archive scan
     # per cycle, cheap (~1k files).
+    #
+    # Assumes basename uniqueness across queue+archive — current naming
+    # convention (date-prefix + topic-slug) makes collisions vanishingly
+    # rare. If short generic names like "notes.md" enter the queue, this
+    # filter silently false-positives.
     if unprocessed:
         archive_dir = main / "inbox" / "archive"
         archived_basenames: set[str] = set()
         if archive_dir.exists():
             for af in archive_dir.rglob("*.md"):
+                if af.name.startswith("_"):
+                    continue
                 archived_basenames.add(af.name)
         if archived_basenames:
             before = len(unprocessed)