Merge pull request 'gitea: set any field of a branch's protection or a repository's settings, saying whether each trunk stays protected (issue 1126, ADR 0566)' (#549) from feat/protect-as-trunk into main

The operator, 2026-10-28: the gates and trunk_rule apply to every trunk,
the branches the mesh installs from, and later there may be more than
main. The trunks are read at the call from mesh-delivery-gate's source,
in one function (trunksOf), and fall back to main, said, only when it
names none. A force-push onto any trunk is refused, and trunk_rule says
whether the branch asked is a trunk.

modules/gitea/client.ts

@@ -758,6 +758,15 @@ export class GiteaClient {
     return { created: true, rule };
   }
 
+  /** Write a branch's rule with exactly the fields given (gitea_branch_protection_set_full): an edit of the rule named
+   *  for the branch, or a new one. As this client's account, which the forge refuses where it is no administrator. */
+  async writeBranchProtection(owner: string, repo: string, branch: string, body: Record<string, unknown>, creating: boolean): Promise<BranchProtection> {
+    return creating
+      ? this.request<BranchProtection>(`${repoPath(owner, repo)}/branch_protections`, { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({ rule_name: branch, ...body }) })
+      : this.request<BranchProtection>(`${repoPath(owner, repo)}/branch_protections/${pathSegments("branch", branch)}`,
+        { method: "PATCH", body: JSON.stringify(body) });
+  }
+
   async createPullRequest(
     owner: string,
     repo: string,
@@ -1052,6 +1061,31 @@ export class GiteaAdmin {
     return Array.isArray(res.body) ? res.body : [];
   }
 
+  /** Write a branch's rule with exactly the fields given, as the forge's administrator (gitea_branch_protection_set_full;
+   *  the operator, 2026-10-28): an edit of the rule named for the branch, or a new one. */
+  async writeBranchProtection(owner: string, repo: string, branch: string, body: Record<string, unknown>, creating: boolean): Promise<BranchProtection> {
+    const path = creating ? `${repoPath(owner, repo)}/branch_protections` : `${repoPath(owner, repo)}/branch_protections/${pathSegments("branch", branch)}`;
+    const res = await this.request(path, { method: creating ? "POST" : "PATCH", body: JSON.stringify(creating ? { rule_name: branch, ...body } : body) });
+    if (res.status !== 200 && res.status !== 201) GiteaAdmin.fail(path, res);
+    return res.body as BranchProtection;
+  }
+
+  /** A repository as the forge answers it to its administrator: every setting (gitea_repo_settings_set_full). */
+  async repoSettings(owner: string, repo: string): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+    const path = repoPath(owner, repo);
+    const res = await this.request(path);
+    if (res.status !== 200) GiteaAdmin.fail(path, res);
+    return res.body as Record<string, unknown>;
+  }
+
+  /** Edit a repository's settings with exactly the fields given, as the forge's administrator. */
+  async editRepoSettings(owner: string, repo: string, body: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<Record<string, unknown>> {
+    const path = repoPath(owner, repo);
+    const res = await this.request(path, { method: "PATCH", body: JSON.stringify(body) });
+    if (res.status !== 200) GiteaAdmin.fail(path, res);
+    return res.body as Record<string, unknown>;
+  }
+
   /** Put main's rule right in every repository of an organisation (novox/hq ADR 0398 §2, issue 948): no push, only
    *  the tools' account merges, and no status required (ADR 0534 §1). The rule there is edited; a repository with no
    *  rule for main gets one. Answers the repositories it touched. With the administrator's login:

modules/gitea/module.json

@@ -569,6 +569,7 @@
     "mesh-build-node.keys",
     "mesh-build-image.keys",
     "mesh-delivery-checker.owed",
-    "mesh-delivery-indexer.modules"
+    "mesh-delivery-indexer.modules",
+    "mesh-delivery-gate.source"
   ]
 }

modules/gitea/protectfull.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,257 @@
+// Every field of a branch protection rule, set through one tool (gitea_branch_protection_set_full; the operator,
+// 2026-10-28: "just make a generic tool so you can setup any configuration"). Pure, so it is tested without a forge:
+// which fields the forge's rule takes and of what kind, the body a call sends, and whether the rule the forge then
+// applies to the branch is one the controller registers a module from (judgedRule, mesh-control
+// cmd/mesh-controller/build_source.go).
+
+import { TOOLS_ACCOUNT } from "./tools-account.js";
+import { MAIN_BRANCH, type BranchProtection } from "./protection.js";
+import { ruleCovers } from "./guard.js";
+
+type Kind = "boolean" | "logins" | "strings" | "number" | "string";
+/** unread: the forge never answers it, so it is not read back; duration: a Go duration, compared as one ("8h" is the
+ *  forge's "8h0m0s"). */
+type Field = { kind: Kind; says: string; parent?: string; unread?: boolean; duration?: boolean };
+
+/** Every field gitea's branch protection API takes on an edit at 1.27.3 (EditBranchProtectionOption, 32 fields), by its
+ *  own name, and its kind; rule_name is the branch argument, never a field. A field with a parent is read by the forge
+ *  only when the same call sets that parent true, and setting the parent false clears it (gitea's
+ *  routers/api/v1/repo/branch.go): such a field is refused without its parent true in the call. */
+export const PROTECTION_FIELDS: Record<string, Field> = {
+  enable_push: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether anyone who writes may push to the branch directly (false: no direct push; also clears enable_push_whitelist and push_whitelist_deploy_keys)" },
+  enable_push_whitelist: { kind: "boolean", says: "only the push whitelist may push; needs enable_push: true in the same call", parent: "enable_push" },
+  push_whitelist_usernames: { kind: "logins", says: "the logins that may push directly" },
+  push_whitelist_teams: { kind: "strings", says: "the teams that may push directly" },
+  push_whitelist_deploy_keys: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether deploy keys may push; needs enable_push: true in the same call", parent: "enable_push" },
+  enable_force_push: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether a force push is taken (false also clears the force-push allowlist flags)" },
+  enable_force_push_allowlist: { kind: "boolean", says: "only the force-push allowlist may force-push; needs enable_force_push: true in the same call", parent: "enable_force_push" },
+  force_push_allowlist_usernames: { kind: "logins", says: "the logins that may force-push" },
+  force_push_allowlist_teams: { kind: "strings", says: "the teams that may force-push" },
+  force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether deploy keys may force-push; needs enable_force_push: true in the same call", parent: "enable_force_push" },
+  enable_merge_whitelist: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether only the merge whitelist may merge" },
+  merge_whitelist_usernames: { kind: "logins", says: "the logins that may merge (the controller's trunk rule wants mesh-tools, no agent-<node>)" },
+  merge_whitelist_teams: { kind: "strings", says: "the teams that may merge" },
+  enable_status_check: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether the statuses in status_check_contexts must pass to merge" },
+  status_check_contexts: { kind: "strings", says: "the required commit statuses, e.g. mesh/check" },
+  required_approvals: { kind: "number", says: "how many approving reviews a merge needs" },
+  enable_approvals_whitelist: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether only the approvals whitelist's reviews count" },
+  approvals_whitelist_username: { kind: "logins", says: "the logins whose approvals count" },
+  approvals_whitelist_teams: { kind: "strings", says: "the teams whose approvals count" },
+  block_on_rejected_reviews: { kind: "boolean", says: "a review asking changes blocks the merge" },
+  block_on_official_review_requests: { kind: "boolean", says: "an open official review request blocks the merge" },
+  block_on_outdated_branch: { kind: "boolean", says: "a head behind the branch blocks the merge" },
+  dismiss_stale_approvals: { kind: "boolean", says: "a new commit dismisses earlier approvals" },
+  ignore_stale_approvals: { kind: "boolean", says: "approvals of an earlier commit do not count" },
+  require_signed_commits: { kind: "boolean", says: "every commit must be signed" },
+  protected_file_patterns: { kind: "string", says: "files no push may change, ';'-separated globs" },
+  unprotected_file_patterns: { kind: "string", says: "files a push may change even without push rights, ';'-separated globs" },
+  block_admin_merge_override: { kind: "boolean", says: "true: an administrator cannot merge past the rule (the controller's trunk rule wants true)" },
+  enable_bypass_allowlist: { kind: "boolean", says: "whether the bypass allowlist may merge past the rule's checks" },
+  bypass_allowlist_usernames: { kind: "logins", says: "the logins that may merge past the rule's checks" },
+  bypass_allowlist_teams: { kind: "strings", says: "the teams that may merge past the rule's checks" },
+  priority: { kind: "number", says: "the rule's order among glob rules" },
+};
+
+/** The repository settings gitea_repo_settings_set_full sets (gitea's EditRepoOption at 1.27.3), by their own names. Left
+ *  out: name (a rename moves every module's source address), the internal tracker, external tracker and external wiki
+ *  objects, and mirror_username, mirror_password and mirror_token, which are credentials. The forge ignores a
+ *  default_branch that does not exist; the read-back below says so. */
+export const REPO_FIELDS: Record<string, Field> = Object.fromEntries(([
+  ["description", "string"], ["website", "string"], ["private", "boolean"], ["template", "boolean"],
+  ["default_branch", "string"], ["has_code", "boolean"], ["has_issues", "boolean"], ["has_wiki", "boolean"],
+  ["has_pull_requests", "boolean"], ["has_projects", "boolean"], ["projects_mode", "string"], ["has_releases", "boolean"],
+  ["has_packages", "boolean"], ["has_actions", "boolean"], ["ignore_whitespace_conflicts", "boolean"],
+  ["allow_merge_commits", "boolean"], ["allow_rebase", "boolean"], ["allow_rebase_explicit", "boolean"],
+  ["allow_squash_merge", "boolean"], ["allow_fast_forward_only_merge", "boolean"], ["allow_manual_merge", "boolean"],
+  ["autodetect_manual_merge", "boolean"], ["allow_rebase_update", "boolean"], ["allow_merge_update", "boolean"],
+  ["default_update_style", "string"], ["default_delete_branch_after_merge", "boolean"], ["default_merge_style", "string"],
+  ["default_allow_maintainer_edit", "boolean"], ["archived", "boolean"], ["mirror_interval", "string"], ["enable_prune", "boolean"],
+] as [string, Kind][]).map(([name, kind]) => [name, {
+  kind, says: `the repository's ${name.replace(/_/g, " ")}`,
+  ...(name === "projects_mode" ? { parent: "has_projects", says: "the repository's projects mode; needs has_projects: true in the same call" } : {}),
+  ...(name === "enable_prune" ? { unread: true, says: "a mirror's prune setting; the forge never answers it, so it is not read back" } : {}),
+  ...(name === "mirror_interval" ? { duration: true, says: "a mirror's interval, a Go duration such as 8h (the forge answers 8h0m0s)" } : {}),
+}]));
+
+/** A Go duration ("8h", "1h30m", "8h0m0s", "90s") in milliseconds; NaN when it is none. */
+export function durationMs(v: unknown): number {
+  if (typeof v !== "string" || !/^(\d+(\.\d+)?(ns|us|µs|ms|s|m|h))+$/.test(v)) return v === "0" ? 0 : NaN;
+  const unit: Record<string, number> = { ns: 1e-6, us: 1e-3, "µs": 1e-3, ms: 1, s: 1e3, m: 6e4, h: 3.6e6 };
+  let ms = 0;
+  for (const m of v.matchAll(/(\d+(?:\.\d+)?)(ns|us|µs|ms|s|m|h)/g)) ms += Number(m[1]) * unit[m[2]];
+  return ms;
+}
+
+/** Fields the forge was sent but does not hold after the write, each with what was sent and what it holds: a write it
+ *  answered 200 and did not apply (gitea drops a field whose parent is not set, or a branch that does not exist). */
+export function unapplied(sent: Record<string, unknown>, held: Record<string, unknown>, fields: Record<string, Field> = PROTECTION_FIELDS): string[] {
+  const norm = (k: string, v: unknown) => fields[k]?.duration ? String(durationMs(v))
+    : Array.isArray(v) ? JSON.stringify([...v].map(String).sort()) : JSON.stringify(v ?? null);
+  return Object.keys(sent).filter((k) => !fields[k]?.unread && norm(k, sent[k]) !== norm(k, held[k]))
+    .map((k) => `${k} (sent ${JSON.stringify(sent[k])}, the forge holds ${JSON.stringify(held[k] ?? null)})`);
+}
+
+/** Fields that changed between two reads but were not sent: what the forge changed beside the call (enable_push: false
+ *  clears the push whitelist flags). */
+export function alsoChanged(before: Record<string, unknown> | null, after: Record<string, unknown>, sent: Record<string, unknown>): string[] {
+  if (!before) return [];
+  const keys = new Set([...Object.keys(before), ...Object.keys(after)]);
+  return [...keys].filter((k) => !(k in sent) && !["updated_at", "created_at"].includes(k) &&
+    JSON.stringify(before[k] ?? null) !== JSON.stringify(after[k] ?? null));
+}
+
+/** A forge login. */
+const LOGIN = /^[A-Za-z0-9_][A-Za-z0-9_.-]{0,39}$/;
+
+/** The forge body for the fields given: each checked against its kind, a field not given left out (the forge keeps it on
+ *  an edit), an unknown field refused before anything is sent. Throws on the first wrong field. */
+export function fullProtectionBody(args: Record<string, unknown>, given: string[],
+  fields: Record<string, Field> = PROTECTION_FIELDS, what = "a branch protection rule"): Record<string, unknown> {
+  const body: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+  for (const name of given) {
+    const field = fields[name];
+    if (!field) throw new Error(`${name} is no field of ${what}; the fields are ${Object.keys(fields).join(", ")}`);
+    // The parent false clears the field, so only a field false goes beside a parent false.
+    if (field.parent && args[field.parent] !== true && !(args[field.parent] === false && args[name] === false)) {
+      throw new Error(`${name} is read by the forge only when the same call sets ${field.parent}: true (gitea ignores it otherwise). Nothing was sent`);
+    }
+    const v = args[name];
+    switch (field.kind) {
+      case "boolean":
+        if (typeof v !== "boolean") throw new Error(`${name} is true or false`);
+        body[name] = v;
+        break;
+      case "number":
+        if (typeof v !== "number" || !Number.isInteger(v) || v < 0) throw new Error(`${name} is a whole number, 0 or more`);
+        body[name] = v;
+        break;
+      case "string":
+        if (typeof v !== "string") throw new Error(`${name} is a string`);
+        if (field.duration && Number.isNaN(durationMs(v))) throw new Error(`${name} is a duration, such as 8h or 1h30m`);
+        body[name] = v;
+        break;
+      case "strings":
+      case "logins": {
+        if (!Array.isArray(v) || v.some((s) => typeof s !== "string" || s.trim() === "")) throw new Error(`${name} is a list of names`);
+        const names = [...new Set((v as string[]).map((s) => s.trim()))];
+        if (field.kind === "logins") {
+          const bad = names.find((s) => !LOGIN.test(s) || s.includes(".."));
+          if (bad !== undefined) throw new Error(`${name}: ${JSON.stringify(bad)} is no forge login`);
+        }
+        body[name] = names;
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return body;
+}
+
+/** The fields of a call that are protection fields: every argument but owner, repo, branch and why. */
+export function givenFields(args: Record<string, unknown>): string[] {
+  return Object.keys(args).filter((k) => !["owner", "repo", "branch", "why"].includes(k) && args[k] !== undefined);
+}
+
+/** A rule as the controller reads it from gitea_branch_protection_get (protectionRule in build_source.go). */
+interface ControllerRule { rule: string; push: boolean; admin_may_override: boolean; merge_whitelist: string[] | null }
+
+function asControllerRule(p: BranchProtection): ControllerRule {
+  return {
+    rule: String(p.rule_name ?? p.branch_name ?? ""),
+    push: p.enable_push ?? false,
+    admin_may_override: !(p.block_admin_merge_override ?? false),
+    merge_whitelist: p.enable_merge_whitelist ? (p.merge_whitelist_usernames ?? []) : null,
+  };
+}
+
+/** ruleCovers of build_source.go, as the controller reads a rule's glob: `**` any, `*` within a segment, `?` one. */
+function controllerCovers(rule: string, branch: string): boolean {
+  if (rule === branch) return true;
+  if (!/[*?[]/.test(rule)) return false;
+  let re = "^";
+  for (let i = 0; i < rule.length; i++) {
+    const c = rule[i];
+    if (c === "*" && rule[i + 1] === "*") { re += ".*"; i++; }
+    else if (c === "*") re += "[^/]*";
+    else if (c === "?") re += "[^/]";
+    else re += c.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+  }
+  return new RegExp(re + "$").test(branch);
+}
+
+/** Whether the controller registers a module from this branch, judged as judgedRule in mesh-control
+ *  cmd/mesh-controller/build_source.go does (ADR 0534 §6): the rule named for the branch, else the first glob rule that
+ *  covers it; it takes no push, its merge whitelist names mesh-tools and no agent-<node>, and no administrator merges
+ *  past it. A mirror, not the judge: the controller's own verdict is the one that counts. */
+export function trunkRule(rules: BranchProtection[], branch: string, trunks: string[] = [MAIN_BRANCH]): { holds: boolean; why: string; is_trunk: boolean } {
+  const judged = judgedTrunkRule(rules, branch);
+  return { ...judged, is_trunk: trunks.includes(branch) };
+}
+
+function judgedTrunkRule(rules: BranchProtection[], branch: string): { holds: boolean; why: string } {
+  const all = rules.map(asControllerRule);
+  const r = all.find((x) => x.rule === branch) ?? all.find((x) => controllerCovers(x.rule, branch));
+  const no = (why: string) => ({ holds: false, why });
+  if (!r) return no(`no protection rule covers ${branch}`);
+  if (r.push) return no(`the rule ${r.rule} lets a person push to ${branch} directly`);
+  if (!r.merge_whitelist || r.merge_whitelist.length === 0) {
+    return no(`the rule ${r.rule} keeps no merge whitelist naming ${TOOLS_ACCOUNT} alone for ${branch}`);
+  }
+  if (!r.merge_whitelist.includes(TOOLS_ACCOUNT)) {
+    return no(`the rule ${r.rule} lets ${r.merge_whitelist.join(", ")} merge into ${branch}, and not ${TOOLS_ACCOUNT}`);
+  }
+  if (r.merge_whitelist.some((l) => l.startsWith("agent-"))) {
+    return no(`the rule ${r.rule} lets an agent's account merge into ${branch}: ${r.merge_whitelist.join(", ")}`);
+  }
+  if (r.admin_may_override) return no(`the rule ${r.rule} lets an administrator merge into ${branch} past it`);
+  return { holds: true, why: `the rule ${r.rule} takes no push, only ${r.merge_whitelist.join(", ")} merge, and no administrator merges past it` };
+}
+
+/** The gate's source as it is read: one key per trunk, each with the heads of the repositories installed from it. */
+export type SourceRead = () => Promise<Record<string, unknown>>;
+
+/** The state the trunks are read from: mesh-delivery-gate's source, whose key `main` is today's one trunk of each
+ *  repository it names (each repository's trunk head the checker judges on); a later trunk is a key of its own. */
+export const TRUNK_SOURCE = "mesh-delivery-gate.source";
+
+/** A repository's trunks, the branches the mesh installs from (the operator, 2026-10-28 16:5x): each key of the gate's
+ *  source whose heads name the repository. "main" only when the source names none of its trunks or cannot be read, and
+ *  `from` says which. The one place trunks are read: several trunks later change only this. */
+export async function trunksOf(owner: string, repo: string, read: SourceRead): Promise<{ names: string[]; from: string }> {
+  const full = `${owner}/${repo}`;
+  let src: Record<string, unknown>;
+  try {
+    src = await read();
+  } catch (err) {
+    return { names: [MAIN_BRANCH], from: `${TRUNK_SOURCE} could not be read (${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}): ${MAIN_BRANCH} assumed` };
+  }
+  const names = Object.keys(src).filter((k) => {
+    const heads = (src[k] as { heads?: Record<string, unknown> } | null)?.heads;
+    return !!heads && typeof heads === "object" && full in heads;
+  }).sort();
+  if (names.length) return { names, from: TRUNK_SOURCE };
+  return { names: [MAIN_BRANCH], from: `${TRUNK_SOURCE} names no trunk of ${full}: ${MAIN_BRANCH} assumed` };
+}
+
+/** The gate's source read from the bus, every key and its value (the tools bundle's state channel). */
+export function sourceFromBus(get: (name: string) => { keys(): Promise<string[]>; get(k: string): Promise<{ value: unknown } | null> }): SourceRead {
+  return async () => {
+    const st = get(TRUNK_SOURCE);
+    const out: Record<string, unknown> = {};
+    for (const k of await st.keys()) out[k] = (await st.get(k))?.value ?? null;
+    return out;
+  };
+}
+
+/** Why a call is the operator's, or null: it lets a force-push onto a rule covering a trunk (the operator, 2026-10-28
+ *  16:4x: a call waits for their Approve only if it removes branch protection or allows a force-push to a trunk). No
+ *  tool of this module can ask for that Approve yet, so such a call is refused with nothing sent. */
+export function forcePushToTrunk(rule: string, body: Record<string, unknown>, trunks: string[]): string | null {
+  const covered = trunks.filter((t) => ruleCovers(rule, t));
+  if (!covered.length) return null;
+  const opens = body.enable_force_push === true || body.force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys === true ||
+    (["force_push_allowlist_usernames", "force_push_allowlist_teams"] as const).some((k) => Array.isArray(body[k]) && (body[k] as unknown[]).length > 0);
+  if (!opens) return null;
+  return `the rule ${rule} covers ${covered.join(", ")}, and this call lets a force-push onto it: a force-push to a trunk is ` +
+    `the operator's Approve (the operator, 2026-10-28), and no tool of this module can ask it yet, so it is the operator's ` +
+    `at the forge. Nothing was sent`;
+}

modules/gitea/test/protection-full.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,250 @@
+// gitea_branch_protection_set_full (the operator, 2026-10-28: "just make a generic tool so you can setup any
+// configuration"): any field of a branch protection rule, only the fields given, as the forge's administrator; it
+// answers the rule before and after, and whether the controller's trunk rule (judgedRule, mesh-control
+// build_source.go) now holds. Against a fake forge that keeps the rules and answers them to the administrator alone.
+
+import { test, after, beforeEach } from "node:test";
+import assert from "node:assert/strict";
+import { createServer } from "node:http";
+
+import { GiteaAdmin, GiteaClient } from "../dist/client.js";
+import { ConfiguredToken } from "../dist/token.js";
+import { getGiteaTools } from "../dist/tools/index.js";
+import { trunkRule } from "../dist/protectfull.js";
+
+const adminBasic = "Basic " + Buffer.from("mesh-admin:secret").toString("base64");
+let rules: any[] = [];
+let repoState: any = {};
+const branches = ["master", "main"];
+let sent: { method: string; path: string; body: any }[] = [];
+beforeEach(() => {
+  // de-spiegel's main as found: no push, but the operator alone merges and an administrator merges past it.
+  rules = [{ rule_name: "main", enable_push: false, enable_merge_whitelist: true, merge_whitelist_usernames: ["jschoubben"],
+    enable_status_check: false, status_check_contexts: [], block_admin_merge_override: false, required_approvals: 0,
+    enable_push_whitelist: false, push_whitelist_deploy_keys: false, enable_force_push: false, enable_force_push_allowlist: false,
+    force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys: false, merge_whitelist_teams: [] }];
+  source = {};
+  repoState = { full_name: "novox/de-spiegel", default_branch: "master", description: "", has_wiki: true };
+  sent = [];
+});
+
+// What gitea 1.27.3's EditBranchProtection does with a body (routers/api/v1/repo/branch.go): the push whitelist flags are
+// read only beside enable_push true and cleared by enable_push false, the force-push allowlist flags likewise with
+// enable_force_push; teams are passed over on a repository no organisation owns (de-spiegel here, for the test).
+function giteaEdit(r: any, body: any) {
+  const nested = ["enable_push", "enable_push_whitelist", "push_whitelist_deploy_keys", "enable_force_push",
+    "enable_force_push_allowlist", "force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys", "merge_whitelist_teams", "push_whitelist_teams"];
+  for (const [k, v] of Object.entries(body)) if (!nested.includes(k) && k !== "rule_name") r[k] = v;
+  if (body.enable_push === false) Object.assign(r, { enable_push: false, enable_push_whitelist: false, push_whitelist_deploy_keys: false });
+  if (body.enable_push === true) {
+    r.enable_push = true;
+    if (body.enable_push_whitelist !== undefined) r.enable_push_whitelist = body.enable_push_whitelist;
+    if (body.push_whitelist_deploy_keys !== undefined) r.push_whitelist_deploy_keys = body.push_whitelist_deploy_keys;
+  }
+  if (body.enable_force_push === false) Object.assign(r, { enable_force_push: false, enable_force_push_allowlist: false, force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys: false });
+  if (body.enable_force_push === true) {
+    r.enable_force_push = true;
+    if (body.enable_force_push_allowlist !== undefined) r.enable_force_push_allowlist = body.enable_force_push_allowlist;
+    if (body.force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys !== undefined) r.force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys = body.force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys;
+  }
+}
+
+const server = createServer((req, res) => {
+  const path = (req.url ?? "").replace(/^\/api\/v1/, "");
+  const send = (status: number, body: unknown) => { res.writeHead(status, { "Content-Type": "application/json" }); res.end(JSON.stringify(body)); };
+  if (req.headers.authorization !== adminBasic) return send(403, { message: "not an administrator of the repository" });
+  let raw = "";
+  req.on("data", (c) => (raw += c));
+  req.on("end", () => {
+    const body = raw ? JSON.parse(raw) : undefined;
+    if (req.method !== "GET") sent.push({ method: req.method!, path, body });
+    if (path === "/repos/novox/de-spiegel") {
+      if (req.method === "GET") return send(200, repoState);
+      if (req.method === "PATCH") {
+        // gitea's updateBasicProperties: a default branch that does not exist is passed over, the call still 200.
+        // enable_prune is a mirror's, kept beside the repository and never in its answer; mirror_interval is answered in Go's
+        // duration form.
+        const { default_branch, enable_prune, mirror_interval, ...rest } = body;
+        Object.assign(repoState, rest);
+        if (mirror_interval !== undefined) repoState.mirror_interval = mirror_interval === "8h" ? "8h0m0s" : mirror_interval;
+        if (default_branch !== undefined && branches.includes(default_branch)) repoState.default_branch = default_branch;
+        return send(200, repoState);
+      }
+    }
+    const m = path.match(/^\/repos\/novox\/de-spiegel\/branch_protections(?:\/(.+))?$/);
+    if (!m) return send(404, { message: "not found" });
+    if (req.method === "GET" && !m[1]) return send(200, rules);
+    if (req.method === "PATCH" && m[1]) {
+      const r = rules.find((x) => x.rule_name === decodeURIComponent(m[1]));
+      if (!r) return send(404, { message: "no rule" });
+      giteaEdit(r, body);
+      return send(200, r);
+    }
+    if (req.method === "POST" && !m[1]) { const r = { rule_name: body.rule_name }; giteaEdit(r, body); rules.push(r); return send(201, r); }
+    send(405, { message: "no" });
+  });
+});
+await new Promise<void>((r) => server.listen(0, "127.0.0.1", () => r()));
+after(() => new Promise<void>((r) => server.close(() => r())));
+const { port } = server.address() as { port: number };
+const url = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+// The gate's source as the tools read it (mesh-delivery-gate.source): one key per trunk, each naming the repositories
+// installed from it. A test sets it; empty is a source that names no trunk of de-spiegel.
+let source: Record<string, { heads: Record<string, string> }> = {};
+const readSource = async () => source;
+const tools = getGiteaTools(new GiteaClient(url, new ConfiguredToken("tools-token")), () => new GiteaAdmin(url, "mesh-admin", "secret"), readSource);
+const setRepo = (args: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+  tools.find((t) => t.name === "gitea_repo_settings_set_full")!.run({ owner: "novox", repo: "de-spiegel", why: "L2", ...args });
+const setFull = (args: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+  tools.find((t) => t.name === "gitea_branch_protection_set_full")!.run({ owner: "novox", repo: "de-spiegel", branch: "main", why: "L2", ...args });
+
+test("it sets the merge whitelist and the administrator's override, only the fields given, and says the trunk rule now holds", async () => {
+  const out: any = await setFull({ merge_whitelist_usernames: ["mesh-tools", "jschoubben"], block_admin_merge_override: true });
+  assert.deepEqual(sent, [{ method: "PATCH", path: "/repos/novox/de-spiegel/branch_protections/main",
+    body: { merge_whitelist_usernames: ["mesh-tools", "jschoubben"], block_admin_merge_override: true } }]);
+  assert.deepEqual(out.before.merge_whitelist, ["jschoubben"]);
+  assert.equal(out.before.admin_may_override, true);
+  assert.deepEqual(out.after.merge_whitelist, ["mesh-tools", "jschoubben"]);
+  assert.equal(out.after.admin_may_override, false);
+  assert.equal(out.why, "L2");
+  assert.equal(out.trunk_rule.holds, true, out.trunk_rule.why);
+});
+
+test("it loosens as told too, and says the trunk rule no longer holds and why", async () => {
+  const out: any = await setFull({ enable_push: true, status_check_contexts: ["mesh/check"], enable_status_check: true, required_approvals: 1 });
+  assert.equal(out.after.push, true);
+  assert.deepEqual(out.after.required_statuses, ["mesh/check"]);
+  assert.equal(out.after.required_approvals, 1);
+  assert.equal(out.trunk_rule.holds, false);
+  assert.match(out.trunk_rule.why, /push to main directly/);
+});
+
+test("a branch with no rule gets one with the fields given", async () => {
+  const out: any = await setFull({ branch: "release/*", enable_push: false, protected_file_patterns: "*.lock" });
+  assert.equal(out.created, true);
+  assert.deepEqual(sent[0], { method: "POST", path: "/repos/novox/de-spiegel/branch_protections",
+    body: { rule_name: "release/*", enable_push: false, protected_file_patterns: "*.lock" } });
+});
+
+test("an unknown field, a field of the wrong kind, no field, no reason or a login that is none: refused, nothing sent", async () => {
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ enable_pushes: true }), /no field of a branch protection rule/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ enable_push: "yes" }), /true or false/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ required_approvals: -1 }), /whole number/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ merge_whitelist_usernames: ["../x"] }), /no forge login/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({}), /at least one field/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ why: "", enable_push: false }), /say why/);
+  assert.deepEqual(sent, []);
+});
+
+// judgedRule's cases (mesh-control cmd/mesh-controller/build_source.go), each in its own words.
+test("the trunk rule is judged as the controller judges it", () => {
+  const ok = { rule_name: "main", enable_push: false, enable_merge_whitelist: true, merge_whitelist_usernames: ["mesh-tools"], block_admin_merge_override: true };
+  const cases: [any[], string, boolean, RegExp][] = [
+    [[], "main", false, /no protection rule covers main/],
+    [[{ ...ok, enable_push: true }], "main", false, /push to main directly/],
+    [[{ ...ok, enable_merge_whitelist: false }], "main", false, /no merge whitelist/],
+    [[{ ...ok, merge_whitelist_usernames: ["jschoubben"] }], "main", false, /and not mesh-tools/],
+    [[{ ...ok, merge_whitelist_usernames: ["mesh-tools", "agent-g14"] }], "main", false, /agent's account/],
+    [[{ ...ok, block_admin_merge_override: false }], "main", false, /administrator/],
+    [[ok], "main", true, /takes no push/],
+    [[{ ...ok, rule_name: "ma*" }], "main", true, /ma\*/],
+    [[{ ...ok, rule_name: "ma*", enable_push: true }, { ...ok }], "main", true, /rule main/],
+  ];
+  for (const [rs, branch, holds, why] of cases) {
+    const got = trunkRule(rs, branch);
+    assert.equal(got.holds, holds, `${JSON.stringify(rs)}: ${got.why}`);
+    assert.match(got.why, why);
+  }
+});
+
+// Review round 1 of feat/protect-as-trunk: gitea passes over a dependent field without its parent set true, and answers 200.
+test("a field the forge reads only beside its parent is refused without it; with it, it is applied", async () => {
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ enable_push_whitelist: true }), /only when the same call sets enable_push: true/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ force_push_allowlist_deploy_keys: true, enable_force_push: false }), /enable_force_push: true/);
+  assert.deepEqual(sent, []);
+  const out: any = await setFull({ enable_push: true, enable_push_whitelist: true, push_whitelist_usernames: ["jschoubben"] });
+  assert.equal(out.after.fields.enable_push_whitelist, true);
+  await setFull({ enable_push: false, enable_push_whitelist: false }); // a false beside a false parent is what the forge does
+});
+
+test("a field the forge answered and did not apply fails the call, naming it; what it changed beside the call is said", async () => {
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ merge_whitelist_teams: ["owners"] }), /did not apply merge_whitelist_teams \(sent \["owners"\], the forge holds \[\]\)/);
+  rules[0].enable_push = true; rules[0].enable_push_whitelist = true;
+  const out: any = await setFull({ enable_push: false });
+  assert.deepEqual(out.also_changed, ["enable_push_whitelist"]);
+});
+
+test("gitea_repo_settings_set_full sets the default branch, and fails loudly on a branch the forge passed over", async () => {
+  const out: any = await setRepo({ default_branch: "main" });
+  assert.deepEqual(sent.at(-1), { method: "PATCH", path: "/repos/novox/de-spiegel", body: { default_branch: "main" } });
+  assert.equal(out.before.default_branch, "master");
+  assert.equal(out.after.default_branch, "main");
+  await assert.rejects(setRepo({ default_branch: "trunk" }), /did not apply default_branch/);
+  await assert.rejects(setRepo({ name: "x" }), /no field of a repository's settings/);
+  await assert.rejects(setRepo({ why: "", has_wiki: false }), /say why/);
+});
+
+test("every field gitea 1.27.3 edits on a rule is taken: 32, the bypass allowlist among them", async () => {
+  const { PROTECTION_FIELDS } = await import("../dist/protectfull.js");
+  assert.equal(Object.keys(PROTECTION_FIELDS).length, 32);
+  for (const f of ["enable_bypass_allowlist", "bypass_allowlist_usernames", "bypass_allowlist_teams"]) assert.ok(f in PROTECTION_FIELDS, f);
+});
+
+// Review round 2: the settings tool's read-back meets the forge's own answer.
+test("A: enable_prune, which the forge never answers, is said as not read back, never failed", async () => {
+  const pruned: any = await setRepo({ enable_prune: true });
+  assert.deepEqual(pruned.not_read_back, ["enable_prune"]);
+});
+
+test("B: mirror_interval is compared as a duration: 8h and the forge's 8h0m0s are one", async () => {
+  const mirror: any = await setRepo({ mirror_interval: "8h" });
+  assert.equal(mirror.after.mirror_interval, "8h0m0s");
+  await assert.rejects(setRepo({ mirror_interval: "often" }), /duration/);
+});
+
+test("C: allow_merge_update, default_update_style and has_code are taken; projects_mode needs has_projects; what is left out is named", async () => {
+  const more: any = await setRepo({ allow_merge_update: true, default_update_style: "rebase", has_code: true });
+  assert.deepEqual(more.set, { allow_merge_update: true, default_update_style: "rebase", has_code: true });
+  await assert.rejects(setRepo({ projects_mode: "repo" }), /only when the same call sets has_projects: true/);
+  await setRepo({ has_projects: true, projects_mode: "repo" });
+  const desc = tools.find((t) => t.name === "gitea_repo_settings_set_full")!.description;
+  for (const w of ["name", "mirror_username", "mirror_password", "mirror_token", "tracker", "wiki"]) assert.match(desc, new RegExp(w));
+});
+
+// The operator, 2026-10-28 16:4x: a call waits for their Approve only if it removes branch protection or allows a
+// force-push to main. No tool of this module can ask yet (no TypeScript asker; ADR 0286's mark is unbuilt in the
+// runner), so until one can, such a call is refused, with nothing sent, and says it is the operator's; everything else
+// runs at once.
+test("a force-push onto a rule covering main is refused, nothing sent; on another branch, and tightening, it runs", async () => {
+  for (const args of [{ enable_force_push: true }, { enable_force_push: true, enable_force_push_allowlist: true },
+    { force_push_allowlist_usernames: ["jschoubben"] }, { force_push_allowlist_teams: ["owners"] },
+    { branch: "ma*", enable_force_push: true }, { branch: "**", force_push_allowlist_usernames: ["x"] }]) {
+    await assert.rejects(setFull(args), /force-push to a trunk is the operator's/, JSON.stringify(args));
+  }
+  assert.deepEqual(sent, []);
+  await setFull({ branch: "release/*", enable_force_push: true });
+  const tight: any = await setFull({ enable_force_push: false, force_push_allowlist_usernames: [] });
+  assert.equal(tight.trunk_rule.holds, false, "trunk_rule is in the answer");
+});
+
+// The operator, 2026-10-28 16:5x: the gates and trunk_rule apply to every trunk, the branches the mesh installs from, as
+// the gate's source names them; "main" only when it names none, and said.
+test("a trunk the gate's source names, beta, is gated and judged as main is; main is then no trunk of the repository", async () => {
+  source = { main: { heads: { "novox/okioki": "a1" } }, beta: { heads: { "novox/de-spiegel": "b2" } } };
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ branch: "beta", enable_force_push: true }), /force-push to a trunk is the operator's/);
+  await assert.rejects(setFull({ branch: "b*", force_push_allowlist_usernames: ["x"] }), /covers beta/);
+  assert.deepEqual(sent, []);
+  const main: any = await setFull({ enable_force_push: true });
+  assert.deepEqual(main.trunks, { names: ["beta"], from: "mesh-delivery-gate.source" });
+  assert.equal(main.trunk_rule.is_trunk, false);
+  const beta: any = await setFull({ branch: "beta", enable_push: false, enable_merge_whitelist: true, merge_whitelist_usernames: ["mesh-tools"], block_admin_merge_override: true });
+  assert.equal(beta.trunk_rule.is_trunk, true);
+  assert.equal(beta.trunk_rule.holds, true, beta.trunk_rule.why);
+});
+
+test("a source that names no trunk of the repository falls back to main, and says so", async () => {
+  const out: any = await setFull({ block_admin_merge_override: true });
+  assert.equal(out.trunks.names[0], "main");
+  assert.match(out.trunks.from, /names no trunk of novox\/de-spiegel: main assumed/);
+  assert.equal(out.trunk_rule.is_trunk, true);
+});

modules/gitea/test/token.test.ts

@@ -538,7 +538,7 @@ test("the tools register once there is a way to a token, and the first call mint
       "gitea_get_file",
       "gitea_list_branches",
       "gitea_delete_branch",
-      "gitea_branch_protection_get", "gitea_team_rights", "gitea_branch_protection_set",
+      "gitea_branch_protection_get", "gitea_team_rights", "gitea_branch_protection_set", "gitea_branch_protection_set_full", "gitea_repo_settings_set_full",
       "gitea_default_branch_set", "gitea_pull_base_set",
       "gitea_note_append", "gitea_delivery_view", "gitea_commit_statuses", "gitea_open_pulls", "gitea_commit_trees", "gitea_contains",
       "gitea_list_labels", "gitea_create_label",

modules/gitea/tools/index.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ import { registerModuleTools, type ToolDefinition } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/tools"
 import { emit } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/events";
 import { GiteaAdmin, GiteaClient, type BranchProtection } from "../client.js";
 import { readTeamRights } from "../teamrights.js";
+import { state } from "@novox/mesh-sdk/state";
+import { PROTECTION_FIELDS, REPO_FIELDS, alsoChanged, forcePushToTrunk, fullProtectionBody, sourceFromBus, trunksOf, type SourceRead, givenFields, trunkRule, unapplied } from "../protectfull.js";
 import { appendNote, run, viewBody, viewComment } from "../delivery.js";
 import { containedFrom, isCommit, mergeableUnder, newestByContext } from "../checks.js";
 import {
@@ -88,13 +90,13 @@ function listedDirs(raw: unknown): string[] | undefined {
   return raw as string[];
 }
 
-export function getGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin?: () => GiteaAdmin): ToolDefinition[] {
-  return namesChecked(allGiteaTools(gitea, admin));
+export function getGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin?: () => GiteaAdmin, source: SourceRead = sourceFromBus(state)): ToolDefinition[] {
+  return namesChecked(allGiteaTools(gitea, admin, source));
 }
 
 // gitea_merge_pull_request is served from the watcher's bundle (merge.ts, index.ts), beside the merge check's one
 // writer (novox/hq issue 456, ADR 0323).
-function allGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin?: () => GiteaAdmin): ToolDefinition[] {
+function allGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin: (() => GiteaAdmin) | undefined, source: SourceRead): ToolDefinition[] {
   return [
     // ---- Repositories ----
     {
@@ -431,8 +433,9 @@ function allGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin?: () => GiteaAdmin): ToolDefini
       },
       run: async (args) => {
         const owner = String(args.owner), repo = String(args.repo);
-        // The one read made as the forge's administrator (novox/hq ADR 0375, issue 772): the rules' list is the
-        // repository administrator's, which the tools' account is not. No other tool uses this account.
+        // Read as the forge's administrator (novox/hq ADR 0375, issue 772): the rules' list is the repository
+        // administrator's, which the tools' account is not. gitea_team_rights reads, and gitea_branch_protection_set_full
+        // and gitea_repo_settings_set_full write, with the same account.
         const rules = await (admin ? admin() : gitea).branchProtections(owner, repo);
         if (!args.branch) return { rules: rules.map(summarised) };
         const rule = rules.find((p) => (p.rule_name ?? p.branch_name) === String(args.branch)) ?? null;
@@ -488,6 +491,99 @@ function allGiteaTools(gitea: GiteaClient, admin?: () => GiteaAdmin): ToolDefini
       },
     },
 
+    {
+      name: "gitea_branch_protection_set_full",
+      description: "Set any field of a branch protection rule — protect a branch as a trunk, set its merge whitelist (users and teams), " +
+        "push and push whitelist, force push and its allowlist, the bypass allowlist, required status checks, required approvals and " +
+        "the approvals whitelist, block on rejected reviews, block on an outdated branch, dismiss stale approvals, signed commits, " +
+        "protected and unprotected file patterns, and the administrator's merge override (block_admin_merge_override): the 32 " +
+        "fields gitea 1.27.3's API edits, by their own names. Only the fields given change; a branch with no rule gets one. " +
+        "enable_push_whitelist and push_whitelist_deploy_keys need enable_push: true in the same call, the force-push allowlist " +
+        "flags enable_force_push: true (the forge ignores them otherwise). The rule is read back after the write: a field the " +
+        "forge did not apply fails the call, naming it; also_changed names what the forge changed beside the call. Generic: it " +
+        "tightens or loosens as told (the operator, 2026-10-28), so a reason (why) is required and logged; but a call that lets a force-push onto a rule covering a trunk is refused, nothing sent, until the module can ask the operator's Approve for it. A repository's trunks, the branches the mesh installs from, are read from mesh-delivery-gate's source at the call (main when it names none, said in trunks.from). As the forge's " +
+        "administrator. Answers the rule before and after, the repository's trunks, and trunk_rule: whether the branch is a trunk (is_trunk) and whether the controller now registers a module from " +
+        "this branch (judgedRule, mesh-control build_source.go: no push, a merge whitelist naming mesh-tools and no " +
+        "agent-<node>, no administrator override) and why not.",
+      input: {
+        owner: { type: "string", description: "the repository owner" },
+        repo: { type: "string", description: "the repository name" },
+        branch: { type: "string", description: "the branch (the rule's name, or a glob) whose rule is set" },
+        why: { type: "string", description: "why, in a sentence: logged and answered" },
+        ...Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(PROTECTION_FIELDS).map(([name, f]) => [name, f.kind === "logins" || f.kind === "strings"
+          ? { type: "array", items: { type: "string" }, description: f.says }
+          : { type: f.kind === "number" ? "number" : f.kind, description: f.says }])),
+      },
+      run: async (args) => {
+        const owner = String(args.owner), repo = String(args.repo), branch = String(args.branch ?? "").trim();
+        const why = String(args.why ?? "").trim();
+        if (!branch) throw new Error("name the branch whose rule is set");
+        if (!why) throw new Error("say why (why): a branch's protection is changed for a reason, which is logged");
+        pathSegments("branch", branch);
+        const given = givenFields(args);
+        if (!given.length) throw new Error(`name at least one field to set: ${Object.keys(PROTECTION_FIELDS).join(", ")}`);
+        const body = fullProtectionBody(args, given);
+        const trunks = await trunksOf(owner, repo, source);
+        const operators = forcePushToTrunk(branch, body, trunks.names);
+        if (operators) throw new Refused(operators);
+        const forge = admin ? admin() : gitea;
+        const rules = await forge.branchProtections(owner, repo);
+        const before = rules.find((p) => (p.rule_name ?? p.branch_name) === branch) ?? null;
+        console.log(`[gitea] gitea_branch_protection_set_full ${owner}/${repo} ${branch}: ${JSON.stringify(body)} — why: ${why}`);
+        const rule = await forge.writeBranchProtection(owner, repo, branch, body, !before);
+        const after = await forge.branchProtections(owner, repo);
+        const read = after.find((p) => (p.rule_name ?? p.branch_name) === branch) ?? rule;
+        const missed = unapplied(body, read);
+        if (missed.length) {
+          throw new Error(`the forge answered the write of ${owner}/${repo} ${branch}'s rule but did not apply ${missed.join("; ")}. ` +
+            `The rule it holds now: ${JSON.stringify(summarised(read))}`);
+        }
+        return {
+          branch, created: !before, why, set: body, also_changed: alsoChanged(before, read, body),
+          before: before ? { ...summarised(before), fields: before } : null,
+          after: { ...summarised(read), fields: read },
+          trunks, trunk_rule: trunkRule(after, branch, trunks.names),
+        };
+      },
+    },
+
+    {
+      name: "gitea_repo_settings_set_full",
+      description: "Set a repository's settings as the forge's administrator — its default branch (e.g. master to main), " +
+        "description, website, private, template, archived, the issues, wiki, pull requests, projects, releases, packages and " +
+        "actions units, the merge styles it allows and its default merge style, delete the branch after merge, and the mirror " +
+        "settings: gitea 1.27.3's EditRepoOption by its own names. Left out: name (a rename moves every module's source " +
+        "address), the internal tracker, external tracker and external wiki objects, and mirror_username, mirror_password " +
+        "and mirror_token, which are credentials. projects_mode needs has_projects: true in the same call. Only the fields " +
+        "given change. The repository is read back: a field the forge did not apply (a default branch that does not exist) " +
+        "fails the call, naming it; mirror_interval is compared as a duration, and enable_prune, which the forge never " +
+        "answers, is listed in not_read_back. A reason (why) is required and logged. Answers the settings before and after.",
+      input: {
+        owner: { type: "string", description: "the repository owner" },
+        repo: { type: "string", description: "the repository name" },
+        why: { type: "string", description: "why, in a sentence: logged and answered" },
+        ...Object.fromEntries(Object.entries(REPO_FIELDS).map(([name, f]) => [name, { type: f.kind, description: f.says }])),
+      },
+      run: async (args) => {
+        const owner = String(args.owner), repo = String(args.repo), why = String(args.why ?? "").trim();
+        if (!why) throw new Error("say why (why): a repository's settings are changed for a reason, which is logged");
+        if (!admin) throw new Error("the forge's administrator login is not set: a repository's settings are written with it");
+        const given = givenFields(args);
+        if (!given.length) throw new Error(`name at least one setting: ${Object.keys(REPO_FIELDS).join(", ")}`);
+        const body = fullProtectionBody(args, given, REPO_FIELDS, "a repository's settings");
+        const forge = admin();
+        const before = await forge.repoSettings(owner, repo);
+        console.log(`[gitea] gitea_repo_settings_set_full ${owner}/${repo}: ${JSON.stringify(body)} — why: ${why}`);
+        await forge.editRepoSettings(owner, repo, body);
+        const after = await forge.repoSettings(owner, repo);
+        const missed = unapplied(body, after, REPO_FIELDS);
+        if (missed.length) throw new Error(`the forge answered the write of ${owner}/${repo}'s settings but did not apply ${missed.join("; ")}`);
+        const pick = (r: Record<string, unknown>) => Object.fromEntries(Object.keys(REPO_FIELDS).filter((k) => k in r).map((k) => [k, r[k]]));
+        return { repository: `${owner}/${repo}`, why, set: body, before: pick(before), after: pick(after),
+          not_read_back: Object.keys(body).filter((k) => REPO_FIELDS[k]?.unread) };
+      },
+    },
+
     // ---- Two settings gitea_api refuses (issue 1422 note 7; guard.ts), each its own named tool ----
     {
       name: "gitea_default_branch_set",

modules/mesh-build-image/README.md

@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@ credential and an environment built from scratch.
 
 The account's subordinate user and group ranges are not declared anywhere: the node-engine makes every `user` account
 with `useradd`, which allocates them. The module's health reads `/etc/subuid` and `/etc/subgid` and is unhealthy
-without a range for the account, without buildah, when a user namespace cannot be made, or when `/dev/net/tun`
-cannot be opened (buildah makes a RUN line's network with pasta, which needs the tun driver; on 2026-10-28 a build node had the
-device node and no driver, so every image build there failed with "Failed to open() /dev/net/tun: No such device"). The
-kernel module loads `tun` at boot. Whatever the health refuses, the node is **not eligible**: the seat's puller judges
-by a capacity of 0 with that reason (`capacity.<node>`, which `build_usage` shows), so the asks go to a node that can
-build them; a look that passes again wakes the puller.
+when the module cannot run: without a range for the account, without buildah, when a user namespace cannot be made,
+or when the disk is under its floor. A node where `/dev/net/tun` cannot be opened stays **healthy** and is **not
+eligible** (buildah makes a RUN line's network with pasta, which needs the tun driver; on 2026-10-28 a build node had
+the device node and no driver, so every image build there failed with "Failed to open() /dev/net/tun: No such
+device"): the seat's puller judges by a capacity of 0 with that reason (`capacity.<node>`, which `build_usage` shows),
+so the asks go to a node that can build them, and its health says "not eligible" with the cause, so a node that
+cannot build here now never holds the module's delivery for every node. The kernel module loads `tun` at boot; a look
+that passes again wakes the puller.
 
 The Dockerfile's steps may use the network (ADR 0487 §6); nothing a step can read holds a key.
 

modules/mesh-build-image/cmd/mesh-build-image/module.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 	"sync"
@@ -97,11 +98,25 @@ func (m *Module) look(ctx context.Context) (Look, error) {
 		return l, &buildstep.Refusal{Text: err.Error(), Have: l.Buildah}
 	}
 	if err := m.tunDevice(); err != nil {
-		return l, &buildstep.Refusal{Text: err.Error(), Have: l.Buildah}
+		return l, &notEligible{&buildstep.Refusal{Text: err.Error(), Have: l.Buildah}}
 	}
 	return l, nil
 }
 
+// notEligible is a refusal of a machine that runs the module fine but cannot build here now (no tun device: its asks go
+// to another node). It is a *buildstep.Refusal for a step, and the health stays healthy for it (issue 1126): the
+// assigner reads unhealthy as a failed delivery and holds the build for every node. What cannot run (buildah missing,
+// no ranges, no namespace, no runtime directory, no room) stays unhealthy.
+type notEligible struct{ *buildstep.Refusal }
+
+func (e *notEligible) Unwrap() error { return e.Refusal }
+
+// isNotEligible says whether err is a refusal that leaves the module healthy.
+func isNotEligible(err error) bool {
+	var n *notEligible
+	return errors.As(err, &n)
+}
+
 // Check is the guard: nil when the machine can build, else the refusal. Every look is kept for Eligible, and a change
 // wakes the puller, so a node that can build again takes asks at once.
 func (m *Module) Check(ctx context.Context) error {
@@ -120,6 +135,13 @@ func (m *Module) keep(err error) {
 	changed := m.last != why
 	m.last = why
 	m.lastMu.Unlock()
+	if changed && m.Say != nil {
+		if why == "" {
+			m.Say("this machine is eligible to build images again")
+		} else {
+			m.Say("this machine takes no image build now: %s", why)
+		}
+	}
 	if changed && m.Held != nil {
 		m.Held.Wake()
 	}
@@ -155,12 +177,16 @@ func (m *Module) Start(ctx context.Context) {
 func (m *Module) Health(ctx context.Context) health.Answer {
 	l, err := m.look(ctx)
 	m.keep(err)
-	if err != nil {
+	if err != nil && !isNotEligible(err) {
 		return health.Unhealthy(err.Error())
 	}
 	if err := m.room(); err != nil {
 		return health.Unhealthy(err.Error())
 	}
+	if err != nil {
+		// Not eligible: the module runs, it takes no image ask here now, and says why; the capacity record says it too.
+		return health.Healthy("not eligible to build images, so it takes no image ask: " + err.Error())
+	}
 	return health.Healthy(fmt.Sprintf("buildah %s installed; %s holds %d subordinate uids and %d gids; a user namespace can be made; %s opens", l.Buildah, l.Account, l.UIDs, l.GIDs, m.tunPath()))
 }
 
@@ -168,7 +194,7 @@ func (m *Module) Health(ctx context.Context) health.Answer {
 func (m *Module) Status(ctx context.Context) map[string]any {
 	l, err := m.look(ctx)
 	out := map[string]any{"node": m.Node, "account": m.Account, "buildah": l.Buildah, "subuids": l.UIDs, "subgids": l.GIDs, "refusing": err != nil,
-		"cpu": m.cpuStatus()}
+		"eligible": err == nil, "cpu": m.cpuStatus()}
 	if err != nil {
 		out["why"] = err.Error()
 	}

modules/mesh-build-image/cmd/mesh-build-image/module_test.go

@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -54,7 +56,6 @@ func TestHealthIsUnhealthyWithoutWhatABuildNeeds(t *testing.T) {
 	}{
 		{"subuid", func(m *Module, p string) { m.SubUIDFile = p }, []string{"/subuid", "mesh-build-image"}},
 		{"subgid", func(m *Module, p string) { m.SubGIDFile = p }, []string{"/subgid", "mesh-build-image"}},
-		{"tun", func(m *Module, p string) { m.Tun = p + "/dev/net/tun" }, []string{"not eligible: ", "/dev/net/tun cannot be opened", "tun"}},
 	} {
 		f := newFake(t)
 		m := moduleWith(t, f, newStates())
@@ -74,6 +75,61 @@ func TestHealthIsUnhealthyWithoutWhatABuildNeeds(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// 1126: a node that cannot build here now (no tun device) stays healthy, saying "not eligible" and why; the assigner reads
+// unhealthy as a failed delivery and held the new build for every node. The eligibility, the status and the log say it too.
+func TestANodeWithoutTunIsHealthyAndSaysItIsNotEligible(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFake(t)
+	m := moduleWith(t, f, newStates())
+	var said []string
+	m.Say = func(format string, a ...any) { said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf(format, a...)) }
+	m.Tun = t.TempDir() + "/dev/net/tun"
+	a := m.Health(context.Background())
+	if a.State != health.StateHealthy || !a.Healthy {
+		t.Fatalf("health = %+v, want healthy", a)
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"not eligible", "/dev/net/tun cannot be opened", "tun"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(a.Why, want) {
+			t.Errorf("health says %q, lacks %q", a.Why, want)
+		}
+	}
+	if got := m.Eligible(); !strings.Contains(got, "not eligible: ") {
+		t.Errorf("eligible says %q", got)
+	}
+	if s := m.Status(context.Background()); s["eligible"] != false || s["refusing"] != true {
+		t.Errorf("status = %v, want not eligible", s)
+	}
+	// One log line for the change, none for the same look again; one when it can build again.
+	m.Health(context.Background())
+	if len(said) != 1 || !strings.Contains(said[0], "takes no image build now") {
+		t.Errorf("said = %q, want one line for the change", said)
+	}
+	m.Tun = filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "tun")
+	os.WriteFile(m.Tun, nil, 0o644)
+	if a := m.Health(context.Background()); !a.Healthy || strings.Contains(a.Why, "not eligible") {
+		t.Errorf("health = %+v, want plain healthy", a)
+	}
+	if len(said) != 2 || !strings.Contains(said[1], "eligible to build images again") {
+		t.Errorf("said = %q, want the return said", said)
+	}
+	// A step still ends refused with the cause named.
+	m.Tun = t.TempDir() + "/none"
+	if err := m.Check(context.Background()); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "not eligible") {
+		t.Errorf("check = %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1126: what cannot run stays unhealthy even beside a missing tun: buildah missing is not "not eligible".
+func TestWithoutBuildahTheNodeIsUnhealthyNotIneligible(t *testing.T) {
+	m := moduleWith(t, newFake(t), newStates())
+	m.Tun = t.TempDir() + "/none"
+	m.Run = func(ctx context.Context, env []string, name string, args ...string) forgekey.Ran {
+		return forgekey.Ran{Status: 127, Err: "exec: \"buildah\": executable file not found in $PATH"}
+	}
+	if a := m.Health(context.Background()); a.Healthy {
+		t.Errorf("health = %+v, want unhealthy", a)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestHealthIsUnhealthyWhenANamespaceCannotBeMade(t *testing.T) {
 	f := newFake(t)
 	m := moduleWith(t, f, newStates())

modules/mesh-build-image/cmd/mesh-build-image/tools.go

@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func (m *Module) Tools(steps []StepTool) []stdio.Tool {
 			Run: func(map[string]any) (any, error) { return m.Status(m.Ctx), nil }},
 		stdio.Tool{Name: HealthTool,
 			Description: "How the image build module is: unhealthy while buildah cannot be run, while its account holds no " +
-				"subordinate user or group range, or while a user namespace cannot be made, saying which; healthy otherwise. Read-only.",
+				"subordinate user or group range, or while a user namespace cannot be made, saying which; healthy otherwise. A machine that cannot build here now (no tun device) stays healthy and says in its words \"not eligible\", with the cause; it takes no image ask meanwhile (issue 1126). Read-only.",
 			Run: func(map[string]any) (any, error) { return m.Health(m.Ctx), nil }},
 	)
 }

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/askers.go

@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+
+	stdio "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go"
 )
 
 // Who may ask `get` for which secret (novox/hq ADR 0349 §11, design 57 V4, issue 647).
@@ -108,6 +111,9 @@ func fieldSet(f json.RawMessage) bool {
 // that the module's plan there names.
 type Declared struct {
 	Read AssignmentReader
+	// Confirm, when set, reads an assignment directly (over the bus): a module Read does not hold is confirmed through it
+	// before a credential is refused, since a watched mirror can be behind (issue 1126, review round 1).
+	Confirm AssignmentReader
 	// Store is the vault's store, whose record of who holds a provision's one credential (pair.go) the rule reads.
 	Store *Store
 }
@@ -207,3 +213,77 @@ func (d Declared) May(caller, name string) (bool, string) {
 // bus error rather than an answer. The vault says "holds no secret named ... yet", which the client waits on and asks
 // again, and records no refusal.
 const notYetPrefix = "not yet: "
+
+// WatchedAssignments is the assignments mirror as the vault's watch of it hands it over (issue 1126, 2026-10-28: novox's
+// `own` read one assignment over the bus per own secret and per credential, 203 reads, and answered after 26 s, past
+// the node-engine's 15 s). The state is the bus's; the vault watches it, never polls it, and reads it from memory once the
+// watch has handed every current value. Until then, and when the watch could not be begun, a read goes to the bus
+// (Fallback), as before.
+type WatchedAssignments struct {
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	held     map[string][]byte
+	caught   bool
+	attempt  uint64
+	Fallback AssignmentReader
+}
+
+// WatchAttempt is one attempt at the watch: what it hands over counts only while it is the latest attempt, so a watch
+// that failed partway and is begun again keeps nothing it took (a key deleted meanwhile is never handed again), and a
+// late delivery to an older attempt changes nothing (issue 1126, review round 1).
+type WatchAttempt struct {
+	w *WatchedAssignments
+	n uint64
+}
+
+// Begin starts a new attempt from nothing held: reads go to the bus until it has caught up.
+func (w *WatchedAssignments) Begin() WatchAttempt {
+	w.mu.Lock()
+	defer w.mu.Unlock()
+	w.attempt++
+	w.held, w.caught = map[string][]byte{}, false
+	return WatchAttempt{w: w, n: w.attempt}
+}
+
+// Take keeps one change the attempt handed over, a value put or a key deleted, while it is the latest attempt.
+func (a WatchAttempt) Take(c stdio.StateChange) error {
+	w := a.w
+	w.mu.Lock()
+	defer w.mu.Unlock()
+	if a.n != w.attempt {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if c.Op == "delete" || c.Op == "purge" || len(c.Value) == 0 {
+		delete(w.held, c.Key)
+		return nil
+	}
+	w.held[c.Key] = append([]byte(nil), c.Value...)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Caught says the attempt handed every current value: reads are answered from memory from now on, if it is the latest.
+func (a WatchAttempt) Caught() {
+	w := a.w
+	w.mu.Lock()
+	defer w.mu.Unlock()
+	if a.n == w.attempt {
+		w.caught = true
+	}
+}
+
+// Read is one value of the mirror, `<node>.<module>`: nil when there is none.
+func (w *WatchedAssignments) Read(key string) ([]byte, error) {
+	w.mu.Lock()
+	if w.caught {
+		raw, ok := w.held[key]
+		w.mu.Unlock()
+		if !ok {
+			return nil, nil
+		}
+		return append([]byte(nil), raw...), nil
+	}
+	w.mu.Unlock()
+	if w.Fallback == nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the assignments mirror is not watched yet, and nothing reads it from the bus")
+	}
+	return w.Fallback(key)
+}

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/main.go

@@ -49,13 +49,37 @@ func build() *Env {
 	}
 	// Who may ask (askers.go): a node's provisioner client, for what its module's plan there names.
 	// Where it sees a consumer bind a provider (pair.go): the same mirror, every key.
-	env.Vault = &Vault{Store: store, Own: own, Askers: Declared{Read: readAssignment, Store: store},
+	// The assignments as the vault's watch keeps them (watchAssignments), read over the bus until it has caught up.
+	assigned = &WatchedAssignments{Fallback: readAssignment}
+	env.Vault = &Vault{Store: store, Own: own, Askers: Declared{Read: assigned.Read, Confirm: readAssignment, Store: store},
 		Assignments: Mirror{Keys: assignmentKeys, Read: readAssignment}, Emit: emit, Ask: stdio.Ask,
 		Now: time.Now, Log: say, Accounts: busAccounts{}, Haves: readHave,
 		HaveKeys: func() ([]string, error) { return stdio.State(HaveRead).Keys() }}
 	return env
 }
 
+// assigned is the assignments mirror as the vault's watch keeps it.
+var assigned *WatchedAssignments
+
+// watchAssignments begins the watch of the assignments mirror the vault's rules read (issue 1126, 2026-10-28): a
+// watch, never a poll, so `own` and `get` read no assignment over the bus once it has caught up. It answers whether the
+// watch began; one that did not is begun again at the next minute pass, and reads go to the bus meanwhile.
+func watchAssignments() bool {
+	if assigned == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	// Each attempt begins from nothing held: one that failed partway leaves nothing a later one would not hand again.
+	attempt := assigned.Begin()
+	if err := stdio.State(AssignmentsRead).Watch("", attempt.Take); err != nil {
+		assigned.Begin() // what the failed attempt took counts for nothing, and reads go to the bus
+		say("the assignments are not watched, so each is read over the bus; begun again at the next pass: %v", err)
+		return false
+	}
+	attempt.Caught()
+	say("the assignments are watched: the vault's rules read them from memory")
+	return true
+}
+
 // readHave is one key of the node-engines' have bucket, read through the runtime under the vault's own account (its
 // manifest `reads` it), or nil when there is none.
 func readHave(key string) ([]byte, error) {
@@ -149,11 +173,14 @@ func main() {
 			written, failed := env.Vault.HashHeld()
 			say("hashed %d bus accounts at start; %d could not be, tried again every minute: %v", len(written), len(failed), failed)
 		}
-		watched := watchHandings(env)
+		watched, watching := watchHandings(env), watchAssignments()
 		for {
 			if !watched {
 				watched = watchHandings(env)
 			}
+			if !watching {
+				watching = watchAssignments()
+			}
 			env.pass()
 			if env.Vault != nil {
 				env.Vault.HashOwed()

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/ownnode.go

@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ func credentialNames(c CredentialAsked) []string {
 
 // credentialRefusal says why node may not have c, or "": a consumer's credential to the machine its consuming module
 // stands on, a provider's to the providing machine, and nothing to a machine that is neither.
-func (v *Vault) credentialRefusal(node string, c CredentialAsked) string {
+func (v *Vault) credentialRefusal(node string, c CredentialAsked, plan *planReader) string {
 	for _, part := range []string{c.Provision, c.Consumer, c.ConsumerModule, c.Provider} {
 		if !namePart.MatchString(part) {
 			return fmt.Sprintf("%q is not a name the mesh writes", part)
@@ -85,14 +85,19 @@ func (v *Vault) credentialRefusal(node string, c CredentialAsked) string {
 			return fmt.Sprintf("%s asks as a consumer on %s, and is not that machine", node, c.Consumer)
 		}
 		// The consuming module stands on the machine: read, never assumed (an assignment that cannot be read refuses).
-		read, why := v.assignmentReader(node)
+		raw, why, err := plan.read(c.ConsumerModule)
 		if why != "" {
 			return why
 		}
-		raw, err := read(node + "." + c.ConsumerModule)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Sprintf(notYetPrefix+"the assignment %s.%s could not be read: %v", node, c.ConsumerModule, err)
 		}
+		if raw == nil {
+			// Confirmed directly before refusing: the mirror may not hold a module assigned a moment ago.
+			if raw, err = plan.confirmed(c.ConsumerModule); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Sprintf(notYetPrefix+"the assignment %s.%s could not be read: %v", node, c.ConsumerModule, err)
+			}
+		}
 		if raw == nil {
 			return fmt.Sprintf("%s is not on %s: neither assigned there nor required by a module there", c.ConsumerModule, node)
 		}
@@ -106,6 +111,56 @@ func (v *Vault) credentialRefusal(node string, c CredentialAsked) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("the role %q is not consumer or provider", c.Role)
 }
 
+// planReader reads the assignments of one machine's modules for one answer of `own`, each module's once (issue 1126,
+// 2026-10-28: one read per own secret and per credential, 203 on novox, held the answer past the node-engine's bound).
+type planReader struct {
+	node    string
+	reader  AssignmentReader
+	confirm AssignmentReader
+	why     string
+	got     map[string]planRead
+}
+
+type planRead struct {
+	raw []byte
+	err error
+}
+
+func (v *Vault) plansOf(node string) *planReader {
+	read, why := v.assignmentReader(node)
+	var confirm AssignmentReader
+	if d, ok := v.Askers.(Declared); ok && d.Confirm != nil {
+		confirm = standing(d.Confirm)
+	}
+	return &planReader{node: node, confirm: confirm, reader: read, why: why, got: map[string]planRead{}}
+}
+
+// read is module's assignment on the machine, nil when there is none, or why the vault reads none.
+func (p *planReader) read(module string) ([]byte, string, error) {
+	if p.why != "" {
+		return nil, p.why, nil
+	}
+	r, ok := p.got[module]
+	if !ok {
+		r.raw, r.err = p.reader(p.node + "." + module)
+		p.got[module] = r
+	}
+	return r.raw, "", r.err
+}
+
+// confirmed is module's assignment read directly, for one the reader does not hold (a watched mirror can be behind),
+// nil when there is none or nothing reads directly.
+func (p *planReader) confirmed(module string) ([]byte, error) {
+	if p.confirm == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	raw, err := p.confirm(p.node + "." + module)
+	if err == nil && raw != nil {
+		p.got[module] = planRead{raw: raw}
+	}
+	return raw, err
+}
+
 // assignmentReader is the vault's reader of the assignments, or why it has none: the rule `own` keeps reads them,
 // and without them it refuses rather than hands (a rule that cannot be read is no rule).
 func (v *Vault) assignmentReader(node string) (AssignmentReader, string) {
@@ -177,17 +232,21 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 	if err != nil {
 		return OwnAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("%s's sealing key as recorded is not usable: %w", node, err)
 	}
-	all, err := v.Store.List()
+	// Only this machine's own records are read, each module's assignment once, and every hand-out recorded in one synced
+	// write after all are sealed: none is handed when that record cannot be written (issue 1126, 2026-10-28).
+	all, err := v.Store.ListPrefix("own/" + node + "/")
 	if err != nil {
 		return OwnAnswer{}, err
 	}
+	plan := v.plansOf(node)
+	var handings []Handing
 	out := OwnAnswer{Node: node, Key: key}
 	for _, r := range all {
 		parts := strings.Split(r.Name, "/")
 		if len(parts) != 4 || parts[0] != "own" || parts[1] != node {
 			continue
 		}
-		handed, err := v.handed(node, parts[2])
+		handed, err := plan.handed(parts[2])
 		if err != nil {
 			return OwnAnswer{}, err
 		}
@@ -202,9 +261,7 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 		if err != nil {
 			return OwnAnswer{}, err
 		}
-		if err := v.recordHanding(Handing{To: caller, Name: r.Name, Generation: r.Generation, Outcome: "handed"}); err != nil {
-			return OwnAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("%s is not handed out: who was handed it could not be recorded: %w", r.Name, err)
-		}
+		handings = append(handings, Handing{To: caller, Name: r.Name, Generation: r.Generation, Outcome: "handed"})
 		out.Own = append(out.Own, NodeOwnSecret{Module: parts[2], Name: parts[3], Origin: composeOrigin(r.Origin),
 			Generation: r.Generation, Sealed: sealed})
 	}
@@ -215,7 +272,7 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 		return out.Own[i].Name < out.Own[j].Name
 	})
 	for _, c := range asked {
-		if why := v.credentialRefusal(node, c); why != "" {
+		if why := v.credentialRefusal(node, c, plan); why != "" {
 			return OwnAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("%s may not ask for the credential of %s from %s to %s on %s: %s", caller,
 				c.Provision, c.Provider, c.ConsumerModule, c.Consumer, why)
 		}
@@ -248,9 +305,7 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 			if err != nil {
 				return OwnAnswer{}, err
 			}
-			if err := v.recordHanding(Handing{To: caller, Name: name, Generation: r.Generation, Outcome: "handed"}); err != nil {
-				return OwnAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("%s is not handed out: who was handed it could not be recorded: %w", name, err)
-			}
+			handings = append(handings, Handing{To: caller, Name: name, Generation: r.Generation, Outcome: "handed"})
 			out.Credentials = append(out.Credentials, NodeCredential{CredentialAsked: c, Name: name, Generation: r.Generation, Sealed: sealed})
 			found = true
 			break
@@ -259,6 +314,10 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 			out.Missing = append(out.Missing, c)
 		}
 	}
+	if err := v.recordHandings(handings); err != nil {
+		return OwnAnswer{}, fmt.Errorf("nothing is handed out to %s: who was handed its %d values could not be recorded: %w",
+			caller, len(handings), err)
+	}
 	v.log("handed %s's node-engine the %d own secrets of its modules and %d credentials (%d not held), sealed to its key",
 		node, len(out.Own), len(out.Credentials), len(out.Missing))
 	return out, nil
@@ -267,12 +326,12 @@ func (v *Vault) OwnOfNode(caller string, asked ...CredentialAsked) (OwnAnswer, e
 // handed says the plan of module on node hands it to the provisioner, so its secrets are filled from `get`, not composed.
 // A plan that cannot be read is an error, never "not handed": `own` refuses rather than hands a secret the provisioner
 // holds.
-func (v *Vault) handed(node, module string) (bool, error) {
-	read, why := v.assignmentReader(node)
+func (p *planReader) handed(module string) (bool, error) {
+	node := p.node
+	raw, why, err := p.read(module)
 	if why != "" {
 		return false, errors.New(why)
 	}
-	raw, err := read(node + "." + module)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, fmt.Errorf(notYetPrefix+"the assignment %s.%s could not be read, so whether it is handed to the "+
 			"provisioner is not known: %w", node, module, err)

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/ownnode_test.go

@@ -2,9 +2,12 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	stdio "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go"
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/seal"
 )
 
@@ -119,3 +122,117 @@ func TestOwnAnswersAMachineItsModulesSecretsSealedToItsKey(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("own with no reader of the assignments: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// Issue 1126, 2026-10-28 (seed-9's probe: novox's 57 own secrets and 146 credentials took 26 s, past the node-engine's
+// 15 s): one answer of `own` reads each module's assignment once, and records every hand-out in one synced write.
+func TestOwnReadsEachAssignmentOnceAndSyncsItsRecordOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	plans := assignments{"anchor.web": `{"node":"anchor","module":"web"}`, "anchor.db": `{"node":"anchor","module":"db"}`}
+	reads := map[string]int{}
+	v := newVault(t, nil)
+	v.Askers = Declared{Read: func(key string) ([]byte, error) { reads[key]++; return plans.read(key) }, Store: v.Store}
+	pub, _ := aSealingKey(t)
+	for _, m := range []MoveOf{
+		{Node: "anchor", Module: "web", Name: "password", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+		{Node: "anchor", Module: "web", Name: "api-key", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+		{Node: "anchor", Module: "web", Name: "cookie", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+		{Node: "anchor", Module: "db", Name: "root", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+		{Provider: "anchor", Provision: "postgres", Consumer: "anchor", ConsumerModule: "web", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+		{Provider: "anchor", Provision: "redis", Consumer: "anchor", ConsumerModule: "web", Origin: "made", Generation: "g-1", SealingKey: pub},
+	} {
+		if _, err := moveIn(t, v, "node.anchor", m, "v-"+m.Name+m.Provision); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	for k := range reads {
+		delete(reads, k)
+	}
+	syncs, handed := v.Store.syncs, len(mustHanded(t, v))
+	got, err := v.OwnOfNode("node.anchor",
+		CredentialAsked{Role: "consumer", Provision: "postgres", Consumer: "anchor", ConsumerModule: "web", Provider: "anchor"},
+		CredentialAsked{Role: "consumer", Provision: "redis", Consumer: "anchor", ConsumerModule: "web", Provider: "anchor"})
+	if err != nil || len(got.Own) != 4 || len(got.Credentials) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("anchor was answered %+v, %v", got, err)
+	}
+	for key, n := range reads {
+		if n != 1 {
+			t.Errorf("the assignment %s was read %d times in one answer", key, n)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(reads) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("the answer read %v, want each of anchor's two modules once", reads)
+	}
+	if n := v.Store.syncs - syncs; n != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("one answer synced the record %d times", n)
+	}
+	if n := len(mustHanded(t, v)) - handed; n != 6 {
+		t.Errorf("one answer recorded %d hand-outs, want 6", n)
+	}
+	// Review round 1, note (b): a consumer module the mirror does not hold yet (its watch behind) is read directly before
+	// the credential is refused.
+	v.Askers = Declared{Read: func(string) ([]byte, error) { return nil, nil }, Confirm: plans.read, Store: v.Store}
+	if got, err := v.OwnOfNode("node.anchor", CredentialAsked{Role: "consumer", Provision: "postgres", Consumer: "anchor",
+		ConsumerModule: "web", Provider: "anchor"}); err != nil || len(got.Credentials) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("a module the mirror does not hold yet, read directly: %+v, %v", got, err)
+	}
+	v.Askers = Declared{Read: plans.read, Store: v.Store}
+	// A record that cannot be written hands nothing, the batch as one.
+	if err := os.Remove(filepath.Join(v.dir, "store", "handed.jsonl")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.Mkdir(filepath.Join(v.dir, "store", "handed.jsonl"), 0o700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if a, err := v.OwnOfNode("node.anchor"); err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("handed with no record of it: %+v", a)
+	}
+}
+
+func mustHanded(t *testing.T, v testVault) []Handing {
+	t.Helper()
+	h, err := v.Store.Handed(1000)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return h
+}
+
+// Issue 1126, 2026-10-28: the vault keeps the assignments mirror as its watch hands it over, so `own` and `get` read
+// no assignment over the bus once the watch has caught up; before that a read goes to the bus.
+func TestTheWatchedAssignmentsAnswerWithoutTheBusOnceCaughtUp(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := 0
+	w := &WatchedAssignments{Fallback: func(key string) ([]byte, error) { asked++; return []byte(`{"from":"bus"}`), nil }}
+	if raw, err := w.Read("anchor.web"); err != nil || string(raw) != `{"from":"bus"}` || asked != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("before the watch caught up: %s, %v, %d asks", raw, err, asked)
+	}
+	// A first watch takes two values and fails before it caught up; a late value still arrives on it.
+	first := w.Begin()
+	for _, c := range []stdio.StateChange{
+		{Key: "anchor.web", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"web"}`), Current: true},
+		{Key: "anchor.db", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"db"}`), Current: true},
+	} {
+		if err := first.Take(c); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	// Review round 1: the watch begun again holds anchor.db no more (removed meanwhile); what the first took is gone.
+	second := w.Begin()
+	_ = second.Take(stdio.StateChange{Key: "anchor.web", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"web"}`), Current: true})
+	_ = first.Take(stdio.StateChange{Key: "anchor.db", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"db"}`)})
+	first.Caught()
+	if raw, _ := w.Read("anchor.db"); string(raw) != `{"from":"bus"}` {
+		t.Errorf("the failed watch's caught up counted: %s", raw)
+	}
+	second.Caught()
+	_ = first.Take(stdio.StateChange{Key: "anchor.db", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"db"}`)})
+	_ = second.Take(stdio.StateChange{Key: "anchor.web", Op: "put", Value: []byte(`{"node":"anchor","module":"web","v":2}`)})
+	asked = 0
+	for key, want := range map[string]string{"anchor.web": `{"node":"anchor","module":"web","v":2}`, "anchor.db": "", "laptop.x": ""} {
+		raw, err := w.Read(key)
+		if err != nil || string(raw) != want || (want == "") != (raw == nil) {
+			t.Errorf("%s read %q, %v; want %q", key, raw, err, want)
+		}
+	}
+	if asked != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("caught up, the mirror asked the bus %d times", asked)
+	}
+}

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/store.go

@@ -81,6 +81,8 @@ type Store struct {
 
 	handedMu sync.Mutex
 	rolled   int
+	// syncs counts the record's synced appends since the vault started: how a test proves one sync per answer.
+	syncs int
 	// asksMu serialises the record of asks, so two asks for one secret at once do not both pass its bounds.
 	asksMu sync.Mutex
 }
@@ -173,22 +175,37 @@ type Handing struct {
 // RecordHanding appends one handing to the store's record, synced before it returns. It says whether the
 // record was rolled to make room.
 func (s *Store) RecordHanding(h Handing) (rolled bool, err error) {
-	raw, err := json.Marshal(h)
-	if err != nil {
-		return false, err
+	return s.RecordHandings([]Handing{h})
+}
+
+// RecordHandings appends every handing of one answer to the store's record in one write, synced once before it returns
+// (issue 1126, 2026-10-28: one sync per secret, under the one lock every node's answers share, held `own` past the
+// node-engine's bound). It says whether the record was rolled to make room; nothing is written when one cannot be.
+func (s *Store) RecordHandings(hs []Handing) (rolled bool, err error) {
+	if len(hs) == 0 {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	var raw []byte
+	for _, h := range hs {
+		line, err := json.Marshal(h)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		raw = append(append(raw, line...), '\n')
 	}
 	s.handedMu.Lock()
 	defer s.handedMu.Unlock()
 	path := filepath.Join(s.dir, "handed.jsonl")
 	max := s.HandedBound()
-	if info, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil && info.Mode().IsRegular() && info.Size()+int64(len(raw))+1 > max {
+	if info, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil && info.Mode().IsRegular() && info.Size()+int64(len(raw)) > max {
 		if err := s.roll(path); err != nil {
 			return false, err
 		}
 		s.rolled++
 		rolled = true
 	}
-	return rolled, appendSynced(path, append(raw, '\n'))
+	s.syncs++
+	return rolled, appendSynced(path, raw)
 }
 
 // roll moves handed.jsonl to .1, .1 to .2 and so on, dropping what falls past HandedKept.
@@ -266,7 +283,10 @@ func (s *Store) HandedBound() int64 {
 }
 
 // List is every record, by name.
-func (s *Store) List() ([]Record, error) {
+func (s *Store) List() ([]Record, error) { return s.ListPrefix("") }
+
+// ListPrefix is every record whose name begins with prefix, by name: only those files are read.
+func (s *Store) ListPrefix(prefix string) ([]Record, error) {
 	entries, err := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(s.dir, "secrets"))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -277,7 +297,7 @@ func (s *Store) List() ([]Record, error) {
 			continue
 		}
 		name, err := url.PathUnescape(strings.TrimSuffix(e.Name(), ".json"))
-		if err != nil {
+		if err != nil || !strings.HasPrefix(name, prefix) {
 			continue
 		}
 		r, ok, err := s.Read(name)

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault.go

@@ -235,11 +235,24 @@ func (v *Vault) announce(c Changed) {
 
 // recordHanding keeps who asked for what, and what they got, in the vault's own store, and says loudly
 // when the record had to be rolled to make room.
-func (v *Vault) recordHanding(h Handing) error {
-	h.At = v.Now().UTC()
-	rolled, err := v.Store.RecordHanding(h)
+func (v *Vault) recordHanding(h Handing) error { return v.recordHandings([]Handing{h}) }
+
+// recordHandings keeps every handing of one answer in one synced write, as recordHanding keeps one.
+func (v *Vault) recordHandings(hs []Handing) error {
+	if len(hs) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	at := v.Now().UTC()
+	for i := range hs {
+		hs[i].At = at
+	}
+	rolled, err := v.Store.RecordHandings(hs)
 	if err != nil {
-		v.log("the record of %s asking for %s could not be written: %v", h.To, h.Name, err)
+		names := make([]string, len(hs))
+		for i, h := range hs {
+			names[i] = h.Name
+		}
+		v.log("the record of %s asking for %s could not be written: %v", hs[0].To, strings.Join(names, ", "), err)
 		return err
 	}
 	if rolled {

modules/mesh-vault/cmd/mesh-vault/vault_test.go

@@ -167,8 +167,10 @@ func TestNoBucketHoldsASecret(t *testing.T) {
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(BusAccountsState).Put(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(BusAccountsState).Keys(", "", 1))
 		}
-		// The haves, in main.go alone: one read, one watch and their keys (own_drift), never a write.
+		// The haves, in main.go alone: one read, one watch and their keys (own_drift), never a write; and one watch of
+		// the assignments, which the vault's rules read from memory once it caught up (issue 1126).
 		if f == "main.go" {
+			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(AssignmentsRead).Watch(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(HaveRead).Get(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(HaveRead).Watch(", "", 1))
 			code = []byte(strings.Replace(string(code), "stdio.State(HaveRead).Keys(", "", 1))

modules/power/README.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ states on the bus.
 | `/usr/local/lib/mesh-power/bin/power-moment` | the runner: each module's piece on its own, as root, with `sh`, bounded (`MESH_POWER_BOUND`, default 30 s); every outcome in the journal under `mesh-power` |
 | five units | `mesh-power-after-boot`, `-before-shutdown` (its stop is the shutdown, while the network is still up), `-before-sleep`, `-after-wake`, `-supply` |
 | `mesh-power-draw` (process) | samples the power drawn for the module's bundle, which puts it on the bus as `power.draw` (below) |
+| `reboot.target.d`, `poweroff.target.d`, `halt.target.d` (`mesh-power.conf`) | a shutdown is bounded at ten minutes, not systemd's thirty; the target keeps its own forcing action (issue 1126: on ace's reboot of 2026-10-28 the bus was started again during the shutdown, nothing stopped it a second time, and the reboot waited 29 minutes) |
 | `/etc/udev/rules.d/90-mesh-power.rules` | a power supply's change starts `mesh-power-supply`, which runs `on-mains` or `on-battery` once per change of source |
 
 ## The moments, and how a module adds code
@@ -146,4 +147,7 @@ Each directory or archive this module declares says how it treats a file it did
 - `/etc/systemd/system/hibernate.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
 - `/etc/systemd/system/hybrid-sleep.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
 - `/etc/systemd/system/suspend-then-hibernate.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
+- `/etc/systemd/system/reboot.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
+- `/etc/systemd/system/poweroff.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
+- `/etc/systemd/system/halt.target.d`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).
 - `/run/mesh-power`: everything in it is the program's; the mesh moves nothing out (ADR 0422 §2).

modules/power/cmd/power/templates_test.go

@@ -127,3 +127,53 @@ func TestTheBarBlocksAreTwoItemsOfTheBarsCollection(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// A shutdown is bounded at ten minutes, not systemd's thirty (issue 1126, ace's reboot of 2026-10-28): every unit had
+// stopped within 17 s, yet the bus and the authorization manager were started again during the shutdown, nothing
+// stopped them a second time, and the reboot waited on its job's own timeout of 30 min with nothing on the console.
+// The bound keeps each target's own forcing action (reboot-force and the like): systemd's last phase still ends
+// every process, unmounts and syncs. Ten minutes stays above the longest stop the catalogue declares (120 s) chained.
+func TestEveryShutdownIsBoundedAtTenMinutes(t *testing.T) {
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile("../../module.json")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var m struct {
+		Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &m); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	byPath := map[string]map[string]any{}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		if p, ok := r["path"].(string); ok {
+			byPath[p] = r
+		}
+	}
+	for _, target := range []string{"reboot", "poweroff", "halt"} {
+		dir := "/etc/systemd/system/" + target + ".target.d"
+		if d := byPath[dir]; d == nil || d["type"] != "directory" || d["unknown"] != "program" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: no directory resource %s whose unknown files are the program's: %v", target, dir, d)
+		}
+		f := byPath[dir+"/mesh-power.conf"]
+		if f == nil || f["type"] != "file" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: no file resource %s/mesh-power.conf", target, dir)
+			continue
+		}
+		name, _ := f["template"].(string)
+		text, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join("../..", name))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %v", target, err)
+			continue
+		}
+		var lines []string
+		for _, l := range strings.Split(string(text), "\n") {
+			if l != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(l, "#") {
+				lines = append(lines, l)
+			}
+		}
+		if strings.Join(lines, "\n") != "[Unit]\nJobTimeoutSec=10min" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %s sets %q, want only [Unit] JobTimeoutSec=10min (the target keeps its own action)", target, name, lines)
+		}
+	}
+}

modules/power/module.json

@@ -314,6 +314,48 @@
       "mode": "0644",
       "template": "templates/systemd/system/suspend-then-hibernate.target.d/mesh-power.conf"
     },
+    {
+      "id": "reboot-drop-ins",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/reboot.target.d",
+      "mode": "0755",
+      "unknown": "program"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "reboot-bound",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/reboot.target.d/mesh-power.conf",
+      "mode": "0644",
+      "template": "templates/systemd/system/reboot.target.d/mesh-power.conf"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "poweroff-drop-ins",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/poweroff.target.d",
+      "mode": "0755",
+      "unknown": "program"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "poweroff-bound",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/poweroff.target.d/mesh-power.conf",
+      "mode": "0644",
+      "template": "templates/systemd/system/poweroff.target.d/mesh-power.conf"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "halt-drop-ins",
+      "type": "directory",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/halt.target.d",
+      "mode": "0755",
+      "unknown": "program"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "halt-bound",
+      "type": "file",
+      "path": "/etc/systemd/system/halt.target.d/mesh-power.conf",
+      "mode": "0644",
+      "template": "templates/systemd/system/halt.target.d/mesh-power.conf"
+    },
     {
       "id": "udev-rule",
       "type": "file",

modules/power/templates/systemd/system/halt.target.d/mesh-power.conf

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Written by the mesh (module power, novox/hq ADR 0211; issue 1126). Replaced on every push.
+#
+# A shutdown is bounded at ten minutes, not systemd's thirty. A unit started again during the shutdown
+# (on ace, 2026-10-28, the bus and the authorization manager) is never stopped a second time, and the
+# shutdown then waits on this job's timeout with nothing on the console. The target keeps its own
+# forcing action: the last phase still ends every process, unmounts and syncs.
+[Unit]
+JobTimeoutSec=10min

modules/power/templates/systemd/system/poweroff.target.d/mesh-power.conf

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Written by the mesh (module power, novox/hq ADR 0211; issue 1126). Replaced on every push.
+#
+# A shutdown is bounded at ten minutes, not systemd's thirty. A unit started again during the shutdown
+# (on ace, 2026-10-28, the bus and the authorization manager) is never stopped a second time, and the
+# shutdown then waits on this job's timeout with nothing on the console. The target keeps its own
+# forcing action: the last phase still ends every process, unmounts and syncs.
+[Unit]
+JobTimeoutSec=10min

modules/power/templates/systemd/system/reboot.target.d/mesh-power.conf

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Written by the mesh (module power, novox/hq ADR 0211; issue 1126). Replaced on every push.
+#
+# A shutdown is bounded at ten minutes, not systemd's thirty. A unit started again during the shutdown
+# (on ace, 2026-10-28, the bus and the authorization manager) is never stopped a second time, and the
+# shutdown then waits on this job's timeout with nothing on the console. The target keeps its own
+# forcing action: the last phase still ends every process, unmounts and syncs.
+[Unit]
+JobTimeoutSec=10min