The resolver declares both protocols it answers on

It declared udp/53 only. The daemon listens on tcp/53 as well, and a resolver is
asked over tcp whenever an answer will not fit in a datagram — so on every
converged machine that port is closed while the service reports itself healthy
and the manifest reads as though the resolver were fully declared.

The same fault as issue 136 in miniature: the declaration covers part of what the
service does, and the gap is silent because nothing compares the two.

modules/dnsmasq/module.json

@@ -27,6 +27,13 @@
       "from": "mesh",
       "why": "every name for this machine and what it runs \u2014 the mesh's own answered here, the rest forwarded",
       "fixed": true
+    },
+    {
+      "port": 53,
+      "protocol": "tcp",
+      "from": "mesh",
+      "why": "the same names over tcp, which a resolver answers on as well and is asked for whenever an answer will not fit in a datagram. Declared because the daemon serves it: a declaration that covers one of the two protocols its own service listens on leaves the other closed while everything reports success",
+      "fixed": true
     }
   ],
   "resources": [

modules/fail2ban/module.json

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
       "type": "file",
       "path": "/etc/fail2ban/jail.local",
       "mode": "0644",
-      "content": "[INCLUDES]\n\nbefore = paths-arch.conf\n\n[DEFAULT]\n\n# Never act on the machine itself or on a tunnel peer: the mesh's private range is\n# ${machine:mesh-range}, named here rather than written as a value the module cannot\n# know (novox/hq ADR 0112). Without this, fail2ban could ban the mesh's own nodes.\nignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 ${machine:mesh-range}\n\nbantime  = 10m\nfindtime = 10m\nmaxretry = 5\n\nbanaction = ufw\nbanaction_allports = iptables-allports\n\n[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\n"
+      "content": "[INCLUDES]\n\nbefore = paths-arch.conf\n\n[DEFAULT]\n\n# Never act on the machine itself or on a tunnel peer: the mesh's private range is\n# ${machine:mesh-range}, named here rather than written as a value the module cannot\n# know (novox/hq ADR 0112). Without this, fail2ban could ban the mesh's own nodes.\nignoreip = 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 ${machine:mesh-range}\n\nbantime  = 10m\nfindtime = 10m\nmaxretry = 5\n\n# Ban through iptables, not through a firewall front-end the machine may not have. ufw is\n# installed on two of this mesh's machines and absent on the other two, and fail2ban finds out\n# only at ban time: the service reports healthy, the jail counts the attempt, the ban command\n# exits 127, and nothing is blocked. Proven on 2026-09-28 -- 'ufw: command not found' on a\n# machine the mesh reported as protected.\n#\n# The action below is this module's own, already used by the recidive jail on every machine\n# here, and it bans in DOCKER-USER as well as INPUT, so a container's published port is\n# covered too.\nbanaction = iptables-allports-dualchain\nbanaction_allports = iptables-allports-dualchain\n\n[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\n"
     },
     {
       "id": "jail-sshd",
@@ -42,6 +42,14 @@
       "mode": "0644",
       "content": "[sshd]\nenabled = true\nport    = ssh\nlogpath = %(sshd_log)s\nbackend = %(sshd_backend)s\nmaxretry = 5\n"
     },
+    {
+      "id": "log",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "/var/log/fail2ban.log",
+      "mode": "0640",
+      "create-once": true,
+      "content": ""
+    },
     {
       "id": "jail-recidive",
       "type": "file",

modules/gitea/client.ts

@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@ import { ConfiguredToken, MintedToken, type TokenSource } from "./token.js";
 /** A repository, trimmed to what the mesh cares about. */
 export interface GiteaRepo {
   full_name: string;
+  /** The URL a build clones — what a module records as its source. */
+  clone_url?: string;
   name: string;
   owner: string;
   private: boolean;
@@ -34,6 +36,9 @@ export interface GiteaPull {
   title: string;
   state: string;
   merged: boolean;
+  /** The commit the merge produced — what a build of the base branch is made from. */
+  merge_commit_sha?: string;
+  merged_at?: string;
   user?: string;
   head?: string;
   base?: string;
@@ -116,9 +121,23 @@ export class GiteaClient {
 
   // ---- Repositories ----
 
+  /** Every repository this token can see, one page. `/user/repos` is only what the token's own
+   *  user owns — for the mesh's administrator that is nothing, which is how the forge watched an
+   *  empty list and announced no merge (2026-09-28). The search endpoint is the forge's whole view. */
   async listRepos(page = 1, limit = 20): Promise<GiteaRepo[]> {
-    const repos = await this.request<any[]>(`/user/repos?page=${page}&limit=${limit}`);
-    return (repos ?? []).map(GiteaClient.mapRepo);
+    const found = await this.request<{ data?: any[] }>(`/repos/search?page=${page}&limit=${limit}`);
+    return (found?.data ?? []).map(GiteaClient.mapRepo);
+  }
+
+  /** Every repository, all pages. */
+  async listAllRepos(): Promise<GiteaRepo[]> {
+    const all: GiteaRepo[] = [];
+    for (let page = 1; page < 100; page++) {
+      const batch = await this.listRepos(page, 50);
+      all.push(...batch);
+      if (batch.length < 50) break;
+    }
+    return all;
   }
 
   async createRepo(data: {
@@ -210,6 +229,17 @@ export class GiteaClient {
     return GiteaClient.mapPull(await this.request<any>(`/repos/${owner}/${repo}/pulls/${index}`));
   }
 
+  /** The files a merged pull request changed, as paths from the repository's root.
+   *
+   *  `limit` is what is asked for, and a merge that changed more says so rather than being read
+   *  page by page: what the mesh does with a partial list is treat the whole repository as changed,
+   *  so more pages would buy nothing. */
+  async listPullFiles(owner: string, repo: string, index: number, limit = 100): Promise<{ paths: string[]; truncated: boolean }> {
+    const files = await this.request<any[]>(`/repos/${owner}/${repo}/pulls/${index}/files?limit=${limit}`);
+    const paths = (files ?? []).map((f) => String(f?.filename ?? "")).filter((p) => p !== "");
+    return { paths, truncated: paths.length >= limit };
+  }
+
   async createPullRequest(
     owner: string,
     repo: string,
@@ -232,6 +262,7 @@ export class GiteaClient {
   private static mapRepo(r: any): GiteaRepo {
     return {
       full_name: r.full_name,
+      clone_url: r.clone_url ?? undefined,
       name: r.name,
       owner: r.owner?.login ?? r.full_name?.split("/")[0] ?? "unknown",
       private: Boolean(r.private),
@@ -259,6 +290,8 @@ export class GiteaClient {
       title: p.title,
       state: p.state,
       merged: Boolean(p.merged),
+      merge_commit_sha: p.merge_commit_sha ?? undefined,
+      merged_at: p.merged_at ?? undefined,
       user: p.user?.login,
       head: p.head?.ref,
       base: p.base?.ref,

modules/gitea/index.ts

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ try {
 const seen = new Set<string>();
 let primed = false;
 async function pollRepos(client: GiteaClient): Promise<void> {
-  const repos = await client.listRepos(1, 50);
+  const repos = await client.listAllRepos();
   for (const repo of repos) {
     if (!seen.has(repo.full_name)) {
       if (primed) {
@@ -49,6 +49,83 @@ async function pollRepos(client: GiteaClient): Promise<void> {
   primed = true;
 }
 
+// **A merge is announced whoever made it.** The merge tool below emits at the instant it acts; a
+// merge made in the forge's own pages or over its API would emit nothing, and the mesh would go on
+// believing every module current with its source (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131). So merged pull requests
+// are watched the way repositories are: what the forge holds, asked for on a tick, announced once.
+// What has been announced is kept beside the module's state, so a restart does not announce the
+// whole history again — and the first tick on a machine with no record announces nothing, because
+// everything it sees then predates the watching.
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, renameSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+const mergedRecord = process.env.MESH_GITEA_STATE_DIR ? join(process.env.MESH_GITEA_STATE_DIR, "merged-announced.json") : null;
+const announced = new Set<string>();
+let primedMerges = false;
+// since is the moment the watching began: a merge made before it is history, whatever page of the
+// forge's listing it surfaces on. Without it, an old merge past the first page — pushed into view
+// as newer pull requests were updated — was announced as if it had just happened, and the mesh
+// rebuilt everything built from that repository, once per old merge (2026-09-28).
+let since = "";
+if (mergedRecord && existsSync(mergedRecord)) {
+  try {
+    const kept = JSON.parse(readFileSync(mergedRecord, "utf8")) as string[] | { announced: string[]; since: string };
+    const list = Array.isArray(kept) ? kept : kept.announced;
+    for (const sha of list) announced.add(sha);
+    since = Array.isArray(kept) ? new Date().toISOString() : kept.since;
+    primedMerges = true;
+  } catch {
+    // An unreadable record is treated as no record: prime again rather than re-announce history.
+  }
+}
+function keepAnnounced(): void {
+  if (!mergedRecord) return;
+  mkdirSync(join(mergedRecord, ".."), { recursive: true });
+  const tmp = mergedRecord + ".tmp";
+  writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify({ announced: [...announced].slice(-2000), since }));
+  renameSync(tmp, mergedRecord);
+}
+async function pollMerged(client: GiteaClient): Promise<void> {
+  const repos = await client.listAllRepos();
+  let changed = false;
+  for (const repo of repos) {
+    const pulls = await client.listPullRequests(repo.owner, repo.name, { state: "closed", sort: "recentupdate", limit: "20" });
+    for (const pull of pulls) {
+      if (!pull.merged || !pull.merge_commit_sha || announced.has(pull.merge_commit_sha)) continue;
+      // Announced only if merged since the watching began; recorded either way, so it is looked
+      // at once.
+      const fresh = !!pull.merged_at && !!since && pull.merged_at > since;
+      if (primedMerges && fresh) {
+        // What it changed, asked for only now: a module is rebuilt because a file inside its own
+        // directory moved, and without this every module built from a repository is rebuilt for a
+        // change to any of them (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131).
+        const changed = await client.listPullFiles(repo.owner, repo.name, pull.number);
+        await emit("pull.merged", {
+          owner: repo.owner,
+          repo: repo.name,
+          number: pull.number,
+          title: pull.title,
+          head: pull.head,
+          base: pull.base,
+          merge_commit_sha: pull.merge_commit_sha,
+          merged_at: pull.merged_at,
+          clone_url: repo.clone_url,
+          html_url: pull.html_url,
+          paths: changed.paths,
+          paths_truncated: changed.truncated,
+        });
+        // Said, because a trigger that fires silently is indistinguishable from one that did not
+        // fire (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131) — this line is how an operator knows the mesh was told.
+        console.log(`[gitea] announced merge ${repo.full_name}#${pull.number} (${pull.merge_commit_sha.slice(0, 8)}) into ${pull.base}`);
+      }
+      announced.add(pull.merge_commit_sha);
+      changed = true;
+    }
+  }
+  if (!primedMerges) since = new Date().toISOString();
+  if (!primedMerges || changed) keepAnnounced();
+  primedMerges = true;
+}
+
 if (gitea) {
   const client = gitea;
   // A poll that fails says so once, not once a minute: the same reason repeating (the forge not up
@@ -70,5 +147,6 @@ if (gitea) {
     run();
   };
   tick(() => pollRepos(client), 60_000);
-  console.log("[gitea] watching for new repositories");
+  tick(() => pollMerged(client), 30_000);
+  console.log("[gitea] watching for new repositories and merged pull requests");
 }

modules/gitea/tools/index.ts

@@ -231,6 +231,11 @@ export function getGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient): ToolDefinition[] {
         // Read the PR first, so the merged event carries a title and branches, not just a number.
         const pull = await gitea.getPullRequest(owner, repo, number);
         await gitea.mergePullRequest(owner, repo, number, method, deleteBranch);
+        // Read it again: the merge commit only exists now, and it is what a build is made from.
+        const merged = await gitea.getPullRequest(owner, repo, number);
+        // And what it changed, so the mesh rebuilds the modules whose own files moved rather than
+        // every module built from the repository (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131).
+        const changed = await gitea.listPullFiles(owner, repo, number);
         await emit("pull.merged", {
           owner,
           repo,
@@ -238,8 +243,12 @@ export function getGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient): ToolDefinition[] {
           title: pull.title,
           head: pull.head,
           base: pull.base,
+          merge_commit_sha: merged.merge_commit_sha,
+          merged_at: merged.merged_at,
           method,
           html_url: pull.html_url,
+          paths: changed.paths,
+          paths_truncated: changed.truncated,
         });
         return { merged: true, number, method, deleted_branch: deleteBranch };
       },

modules/mesh-catalog/Dockerfile

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ COPY . .
 # The compiler is invoked by its real path rather than through node_modules/.bin, whose entries are
 # symlinks to a launcher that requires its library relatively — resolved away when the base image
 # was assembled.
-RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc pg.d.ts store.ts index.ts tools/index.ts \
+RUN node /app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc pg.d.ts store.ts index.ts tools/index.ts prepare/index.ts \
       --module NodeNext --moduleResolution NodeNext --target ES2022 --outDir dist
 
 # **A module may need something the base image does not carry.** The base holds what every module
@@ -48,3 +48,8 @@ COPY --from=build /deps/node_modules /app/modules/mesh-catalog/node_modules
 # to listen for what the builder announces. Serve binds the broker first, then imports these, so
 # `on()` has something to subscribe to.
 ENV MESH_TOOL_MODULES=/app/modules/mesh-catalog/dist/index.js,/app/modules/mesh-catalog/dist/tools/index.js
+
+# And what prepares this module's state, for the runtime's `prepare` mode (novox/hq ADR 0135). Named
+# here, beside the entrypoints above, because the module knows which of its files prepares its state
+# and nothing else could: the mesh asks one word and this says what answers it.
+ENV MESH_PREPARE=/app/modules/mesh-catalog/dist/prepare/index.js

modules/mesh-catalog/index.ts

@@ -14,10 +14,12 @@ import { Graph, type Made } from "./store.js";
 
 const graph = Graph.fromEnv();
 
-// Before subscribing, and idempotent. The runtime is restarted until its store is reachable, which
-// is the same arrangement model-usage uses: a schema step that had to reach the provider over the
-// overlay would block the very apply that brings the overlay up.
-await graph.migrate();
+// The schema is not brought up here. The mesh prepares this module's state before it starts this
+// version, and does not start it if that failed (novox/hq ADR 0135) — see prepare/index.ts. Doing it
+// at start made a schema that could not be reached a crash loop instead of a stop, with the graph
+// keeping a gap and nothing saying so. The reason it used to be here — that a step blocking the apply
+// would block the very apply that brings the overlay up — stopped being true when a step's failure
+// became this module's business and not the machine's (ADR 0136).
 
 /** What the builder says when it has built something. */
 interface Built {
@@ -47,7 +49,15 @@ interface Built {
   replay?: boolean;
 }
 
-await on("mesh-build-machine.built", async (event) => {
+/**
+ * What a build means for the graph, wherever it came from.
+ *
+ * Two emitters say the same thing and neither is a mistake: the build machine says it as it happens,
+ * and the control plane says what it already held when this module asks what it missed
+ * (novox/hq ADR 0134). A replay is marked as one in its body, so nothing acts on a module that moved
+ * months ago — see `replay` above.
+ */
+const placeTheBuild = async (event: { body: unknown }): Promise<void> => {
   const body = event.body as Built;
   if (!body.module || !body.commit) {
     // Said rather than dropped: a build that announced itself without saying what it built is a
@@ -89,7 +99,11 @@ await on("mesh-build-machine.built", async (event) => {
       because: next.because,
     });
   }
-});
+};
+
+// As it happens, and what the mesh already held when this module asked what it missed.
+await on("mesh-build-machine.built", placeTheBuild);
+await on("mesh-controller.built-before", placeTheBuild);
 
 // **And ask for what was built before this catalogue existed** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/050).
 //

modules/mesh-catalog/module.json

@@ -29,13 +29,16 @@
     "broker": "/var/lib/mesh/mesh-catalog/broker"
   },
   "consumes": [
-    "mesh-build-machine.built"
+    "mesh-build-machine.built",
+    "mesh-controller.built-before"
   ],
   "emits": [
     "registered",
     "upgraded",
-    "rebuild-needed"
+    "rebuild-needed",
+    "catching-up"
   ],
+  "prepares": true,
   "resources": [
     {
       "id": "mesh-state",

modules/mesh-catalog/prepare/index.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+// The catalogue's state, brought to the shape this version needs (novox/hq ADR 0135).
+//
+// **The mesh runs this before the version that needs it, and does not start that version if it
+// fails** — and the refusal reaches this module and nothing else on the machine
+// (novox/hq ADR 0136). That is the whole difference from where this used to happen: at start, inside
+// the runtime, a schema that could not be brought up was a crash loop, the graph kept a gap, and
+// nothing anywhere said so.
+//
+// Nothing here connects to the broker. Preparation runs before the version that would use it, so
+// there is nothing yet to talk to; the runtime's `prepare` mode imports this and awaits it, and this
+// process exiting non-zero is how the host knows not to start the runtime.
+import { Graph } from "../store.js";
+
+const graph = Graph.fromEnv();
+await graph.migrate();
+console.log("[mesh-catalog] the module graph's schema is what this version needs");
+await graph.close();

modules/mesh-catalog/tsconfig.json

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
     "pg.d.ts",
     "store.ts",
     "index.ts",
-    "tools/index.ts"
+    "tools/index.ts",
+    "prepare/index.ts"
   ]
 }

modules/sshd/module.json

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
       "type": "service",
       "unit": "sshd.service",
       "state": "running",
+      "boot": "enabled",
       "restart-on": [
         "config"
       ]