Counts that came from the current page slice
A counts endpoint counted the already-paginated array it was returning instead of querying the database, so the total reflected page size. Fixed with a groupBy.
It said it worked
Green, 200, saved, “already handled” — and wrong. No error anywhere to go on.
The applications-count endpoint was counting the array it had just returned rather than asking the database, so the number reflected page size instead of reality. Fixed with a groupBy.
Recording it because it's the first known instance of a mistake that recurred later: the same page-slice-as-total pattern turned up on three separate super-admin pages in August, and nobody had gone looking for siblings after fixing this one.