diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_order_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_order_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..878a201
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_order_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// recordingDelivery is a delivery that writes down what was done, in order, and fails where told.
+type recordingDelivery struct {
+	did        []string
+	grantErr   error
+	declareErr error
+}
+
+func (r *recordingDelivery) grant(_ context.Context, sending []readyNode) error {
+	for _, s := range sending {
+		r.did = append(r.did, "grant "+s.node)
+	}
+	return r.grantErr
+}
+
+func (r *recordingDelivery) declare(_ context.Context, s readyNode, _ []byte) (string, error) {
+	if r.declareErr != nil {
+		return "", r.declareErr
+	}
+	r.did = append(r.did, "declare "+s.node)
+	return "digest-" + s.node, nil
+}
+
+func ready(names ...string) []readyNode {
+	var out []readyNode
+	for _, n := range names {
+		out = append(out, readyNode{node: n, declared: sendable{Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "x"}}}})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// novox/hq issue 249: the grants that come with a module's new declarations are issued before any
+// machine is sent the code that uses them — except the machine holding the bus, whose declaration
+// carries the controller's own right to issue them, and goes first.
+func TestGrantsAreIssuedBeforeTheDeclarations(t *testing.T) {
+	d := &recordingDelivery{}
+	digests, err := deliver(t.Context(), d, "", ready("anchor", "laptop"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want := []string{"grant anchor", "grant laptop", "declare anchor", "declare laptop"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(d.did, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("delivered in the order %v, wanted %v", d.did, want)
+	}
+	if digests["anchor"] != "digest-anchor" || digests["laptop"] != "digest-laptop" {
+		t.Fatalf("the digests sent were not answered: %v", digests)
+	}
+
+	held := &recordingDelivery{}
+	if _, err := deliver(t.Context(), held, "broker", ready("broker", "anchor")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want = []string{"declare broker", "grant broker", "grant anchor", "declare anchor"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(held.did, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("with the bus's machine in the send: %v, wanted %v", held.did, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// A grant that cannot be issued holds back the machines it concerns and is an error the caller
+// retries on — never "until the next push" — and the bus's own machine is sent regardless, so the
+// grant that would let the controller issue memberships is never held behind them.
+func TestAGrantThatFailsHoldsBackWhatItConcerns(t *testing.T) {
+	// A failure naming no machine (the buckets): everything but the bus's machine.
+	d := &recordingDelivery{grantErr: errors.New("the bus refused the bucket")}
+	_, err := deliver(t.Context(), d, "broker", ready("broker", "anchor", "laptop"))
+	if err == nil || !errors.Is(err, errGrants) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "the bus refused the bucket") ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "anchor, laptop not sent") {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed grant was not said as the send's failure: %v", err)
+	}
+	if want := []string{"declare broker", "grant broker", "grant anchor", "grant laptop"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(d.did, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("delivered %v, wanted the bus's machine alone", d.did)
+	}
+
+	// A membership that failed for one machine: that machine alone.
+	one := &recordingDelivery{grantErr: &grantsRefused{nodes: map[string]error{"laptop": errors.New("no")}}}
+	_, err = deliver(t.Context(), one, "", ready("anchor", "laptop"))
+	if !errors.Is(err, errGrants) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "laptop not sent") {
+		t.Fatalf("one machine's refused membership was not said: %v", err)
+	}
+	if want := []string{"grant anchor", "grant laptop", "declare anchor"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(one.did, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("delivered %v, wanted anchor sent and laptop held back", one.did)
+	}
+
+	// The announced upgrade that hit it is asked again.
+	if !errors.Is(askAgainOnGrants(err), link.ErrTryAgain) {
+		t.Fatal("an announcement whose send stopped at its grants is not asked again")
+	}
+	if other := errors.New("laptop could not be resolved"); errors.Is(askAgainOnGrants(other), link.ErrTryAgain) {
+		t.Fatal("any failure is asked again, not only a grant's")
+	}
+
+	// Nothing to send is nothing granted either.
+	none := &recordingDelivery{grantErr: errors.New("never asked")}
+	if _, err := deliver(t.Context(), none, "", nil); err != nil || len(none.did) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("an empty send granted or failed: %v %v", none.did, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// Whether the bus's machine goes first is read from the user list alone, by its digest.
+func TestTheBusMachineIsBehindByItsUserListAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	list := "users: [a, b]"
+	if userListBehind(list, digestOf([]byte(list))) {
+		t.Fatal("the list it was sent reads as behind")
+	}
+	if !userListBehind(list, digestOf([]byte("users: [a]"))) || !userListBehind(list, "") {
+		t.Fatal("a changed or never-sent list reads as current")
+	}
+	if userListBehind("", "") {
+		t.Fatal("a machine sent no list reads as behind")
+	}
+}
+
+// The machine holding the bus goes first: its declaration carries the user list the new grants are
+// checked against. Among the machines it is moved to the front; not among them it is added only
+// when it is behind.
+func TestTheMachineHoldingTheBusIsSentFirst(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		what   string
+		names  []string
+		holder string
+		behind bool
+		want   []string
+	}{
+		{"among them", []string{"ace", "g14", "novox"}, "novox", false, []string{"novox", "ace", "g14"}},
+		{"not among them, behind", []string{"ace", "g14"}, "novox", true, []string{"novox", "ace", "g14"}},
+		{"not among them, current", []string{"ace", "g14"}, "novox", false, []string{"ace", "g14"}},
+		{"nothing holds the bus", []string{"ace", "g14"}, "", true, []string{"ace", "g14"}},
+		{"only it", []string{"novox"}, "novox", false, []string{"novox"}},
+	} {
+		if got := brokerFirst(c.names, c.holder, c.behind); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: sent in the order %v, wanted %v", c.what, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/hold_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/hold_test.go
index 9c2b480..c66d769 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/hold_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/hold_test.go
@@ -18,16 +18,16 @@ func TestASendRoundGivesItsHoldBackOnEveryWayOut(t *testing.T) {
 	plain := func(context.Context, string) (sendable, error) {
 		return sendable{Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "x"}}}, nil
 	}
-	failing := func(readyNode, []byte) error { return errors.New("the broker went away") }
-	fine := func(readyNode, []byte) error { return nil }
+	failing := &recordingDelivery{declareErr: errors.New("the broker went away")}
+	fine := &recordingDelivery{}
 
 	for name, round := range map[string]func() error{
 		"a body that cannot be marshalled": func() error {
-			_, err := sendRound(ctx, open, []string{"anchor"}, unmarshallable, fine)
+			_, err := sendRound(ctx, open, []string{"anchor"}, unmarshallable, fine, "")
 			return err
 		},
 		"a send that fails": func() error {
-			_, err := sendRound(ctx, open, []string{"anchor"}, plain, failing)
+			_, err := sendRound(ctx, open, []string{"anchor"}, plain, failing, "")
 			return err
 		},
 	} {
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go
index 2acac30..f4a2c62 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go
@@ -147,6 +147,14 @@ func TestAMergeRebuildsTheModulesItChanged(t *testing.T) {
 		{"a module the mesh does not hold", merge([]string{"modules/plex/index.ts"}, false), ""},
 		{"nothing said about the files", merge(nil, false), "gitea,keycloak"},
 		{"more files than were listed", merge([]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, true), "gitea,keycloak"},
+		// novox/hq issue 252: a module the mesh has never registered is still a module, when the merge
+		// shows it is one — and a directory that may be shared code is still shared.
+		{"a new module beside a held one", merge([]string{"modules/gitea/x", "modules/newmod/module.json"}, false), "gitea"},
+		{"a new module's other files", merge([]string{"modules/newmod/index.ts", "modules/newmod/module.json"}, false), ""},
+		{"a module removed", merge([]string{"modules/gone/module.json"}, false), ""},
+		{"a directory with no manifest", merge([]string{"modules/lib/x.go"}, false), "gitea,keycloak"},
+		{"a file directly among the modules", merge([]string{"modules/README.md"}, false), "gitea,keycloak"},
+		{"the root's files still", merge([]string{"tsconfig.json"}, false), "gitea,keycloak"},
 	} {
 		if got := named(whatTheMergeTouched(candidates, known, c.m)); got != c.want {
 			t.Errorf("%s: rebuilt %q, wanted %q", c.what, got, c.want)
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/plan.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/plan.go
index a5b773d..2c66137 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/plan.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/plan.go
@@ -398,7 +398,7 @@ func declarationWith(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string,
 		return sendable{}, err
 	}
 	return sendable{Resources: composed.Resources, Adoption: adoption,
-		Received: composed.Received, Mesh: with.Mesh,
+		Received: composed.Received, Mesh: with.Mesh, BusUsers: with.BusUsers,
 		LeftOut: sortedKeysOf(composed.LeftOut), leftOutWhy: composed.LeftOut}, nil
 }
 
@@ -1341,6 +1341,20 @@ func composeBusUsers(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory,
 	//
 	// Asked of what this push resolves to rather than of the seat's holder mesh-wide: the file is a
 	// resource of that module, so the question is whether it is here.
+	list, missing, err := busUserList(ctx, inv, onThisNode)
+	if len(missing) > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("the bus's user list leaves out %d user(s) the mesh has minted no credential "+
+			"for: %s. Each is a user that cannot connect until one is issued\n",
+			len(missing), strings.Join(missing, ", "))
+	}
+	return list, err
+}
+
+// busUserList is composeBusUsers without saying anything: the list, and the users left out of it
+// for want of a credential. Asked on every send to decide whether the machine holding the bus must
+// go first (novox/hq issue 249), where saying the same missing users each time would bury them.
+func busUserList(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory,
+	onThisNode []catalogue.Manifest) (string, []string, error) {
 	holdsTheBus := false
 	for _, m := range onThisNode {
 		if m.BusUsers != "" && m.ClaimsSeat("mesh-broker") {
@@ -1348,37 +1362,33 @@ func composeBusUsers(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory,
 		}
 	}
 	if !holdsTheBus {
-		return "", nil
+		return "", nil, nil
 	}
 
 	records, err := inv.BusRecords(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", nil, err
 	}
 	users, err := broker.Users(records)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", nil, err
 	}
 	kept, err := inv.BusUsers(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+		return "", nil, err
 	}
 	hashes := make(map[string]string, len(kept))
 	for name, u := range kept {
 		hashes[name] = u.PasswordHash
 	}
 	filled, missing := broker.WithPasswords(users, hashes)
-	if len(missing) > 0 {
-		fmt.Printf("the bus's user list leaves out %d user(s) the mesh has minted no credential "+
-			"for: %s. Each is a user that cannot connect until one is issued\n",
-			len(missing), strings.Join(missing, ", "))
-	}
 	if len(filled) == 0 {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf(
+		return "", missing, fmt.Errorf(
 			"this machine runs the bus and not one user has a credential, so the composed list " +
 				"would refuse every connection in the mesh")
 	}
-	return broker.ComposeAccounts(filled)
+	list, err := broker.ComposeAccounts(filled)
+	return list, missing, err
 }
 
 // providerModuleOf is which module answers a need on the providing node: the one in this node's
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/push.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/push.go
index 380f627..9a2d3c5 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/push.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/push.go
@@ -358,6 +358,17 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		asked = append(asked, n.Name)
 	}
 
+	// **The machine holding the bus first** (novox/hq issue 249): its declaration carries the bus's
+	// user list, and a module's new grants are refused by the bus until that list says them. Among
+	// the machines asked it goes first; not among them and behind, it is added — a named push whose
+	// module gained a state would otherwise send the code and leave the right to use it for the
+	// cascade below, after.
+	holder, holderBehind, err := brokerBehind(ctx, open, asked)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	asked = brokerFirst(asked, holder, holderBehind)
+
 	// Held from composing to sending, so a converge on one of them cannot send between the two
 	// and be overtaken by what was composed before it (novox/hq ADR 0100).
 	held, release, err := holdNodes(ctx, open, asked)
@@ -387,35 +398,17 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		return declared, err
 	})
 
-	sentDigest := map[string]string{}
 	defer release()
-	for _, s := range sending {
-		// The number is inside the signed bytes, so a replayed older declaration cannot borrow a
-		// newer one's (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/107); it was taken when the composition began (issue 204).
-		body, err := s.declared.Body()
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if err := link.Declare(ctx, server.Bus(), ident, s.node, body, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		// After it is away, not before. A digest recorded for something that failed to send would
-		// make the machine look current for a declaration it never received.
-		digest, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, s.node, body)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		sentDigest[s.node] = digest
-		fmt.Printf("sent %s %d resource(s)\n", s.node, len(s.declared.Resources))
+	// Each machine's memberships first, then the declarations (novox/hq issue 249, ADR 0160): a push
+	// is the one most operators run, and on 2026-10-01 it was the one path that issued none.
+	bus := overTheBus{open: open, server: server, signer: ident}
+	sentDigest, err := deliver(ctx, bus, holder, sending)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
 	release()
 	fmt.Printf("\n%d node(s) told\n", len(sending))
 	reportUnheldPushed(os.Stdout, len(args) == 1, asked, unheld)
-	// And each machine's memberships, as every other send does (ADR 0160): a push is the one most
-	// operators run, and on 2026-10-01 it was the one path that issued none.
-	if err := issueMemberships(ctx, open, server, sending); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
 
 	// **A named push leaves the mesh consistent, not just the machine it named** (novox/hq
 	// issue 057, ADR 0083). Assigning a cross-node consumer mints a provision, and the PROVIDER's
@@ -484,17 +477,7 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 					}
 					return declared, err
 				},
-				func(s readyNode, body []byte) error {
-					if err := link.Declare(ctx, server.Bus(), ident, s.node, body,
-						15*time.Second); err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
-					if _, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, s.node, body); err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
-					fmt.Printf("sent %s %d resource(s)\n", s.node, len(s.declared.Resources))
-					return nil
-				})
+				bus, holder)
 			refusals = append(refusals, refused...)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
@@ -621,10 +604,10 @@ func composeEach(names []string, allot func(node string) (int64, error),
 // sendRound holds the named nodes, composes each and sends each that composed, and gives the hold
 // back on every way out — a body that cannot be marshalled and a send that fails included
 // (novox/hq ADR 0100). A node that cannot be composed is a refusal, not an error: the others are
-// still sent.
+// still sent. Their memberships go before their declarations, as every send's do (issue 249).
 func sendRound(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string,
 	compose func(held context.Context, node string) (sendable, error),
-	send func(s readyNode, body []byte) error) ([]string, error) {
+	d delivery, holder string) ([]string, error) {
 	held, release, err := holdNodes(ctx, open, names)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -633,18 +616,246 @@ func sendRound(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string,
 	sending, refused := composeEach(names, allotting(held, open.inventory), func(node string) (sendable, error) {
 		return compose(held, node)
 	})
-	for _, s := range sending {
-		body, err := s.declared.Body()
-		if err != nil {
-			return refused, err
-		}
-		if err := send(s, body); err != nil {
-			return refused, err
-		}
+	if _, err := deliver(held, d, holder, sending); err != nil {
+		return refused, err
 	}
 	return refused, nil
 }
 
+// delivery is the two acts of sending machines what they should be, apart, so the order between
+// them is one function's and can be read and tested there (novox/hq issue 249).
+type delivery interface {
+	// grant issues what the machines' modules may do — each module's state raised and its
+	// membership issued — for every machine about to be sent.
+	grant(ctx context.Context, sending []readyNode) error
+	// declare sends one machine its declaration and records it sent, answering the digest.
+	declare(ctx context.Context, s readyNode, body []byte) (string, error)
+}
+
+// errGrants marks a send that stopped because what the machines' modules may do could not be issued
+// (novox/hq issue 249). Nothing about the machines is wrong; asked again, it is likely to work, so an
+// announcement that hits it is held and asked again.
+var errGrants = errors.New("what the machines' modules may do on the bus could not be issued, and code " +
+	"sent before its grants is refused there")
+
+// grantsRefused is a grant that failed for some machines and not others: their memberships could not
+// be issued, by machine, and only those machines are held back.
+type grantsRefused struct{ nodes map[string]error }
+
+func (g *grantsRefused) Error() string {
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(g.nodes))
+	for n := range g.nodes {
+		names = append(names, n)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return fmt.Sprintf("the memberships of %s could not be issued; the first: %v",
+		strings.Join(names, ", "), g.nodes[names[0]])
+}
+
+// deliver sends the machines their declarations: **the machine holding the bus, then the grants,
+// then the rest** (novox/hq issue 249).
+//
+// A merge gave a module a new state; its bundle reached every machine within a minute, and the
+// machines' permissions on the bus did not include the state until somebody pushed by hand: the code
+// arrived before the right to use it. A module that read its new state on start failed its start; the
+// one that was there retried for two minutes. The memberships were issued after the declarations —
+// "because the runtime it is for arrives with it" — and a membership is retained last-per-subject on
+// the bus (internal/link/bus.go), so issued first it waits for the runtime that arrives after it. A
+// runtime still on the old code merely holds a grant it does not use yet.
+//
+// **The holder's declaration before the grants, though.** The bus's user list travels in it, and the
+// controller's own right to publish memberships and raise buckets is in that list (the precedent of
+// issue 183): grants first, and a grant the controller is not yet allowed to make would hold the very
+// declaration that allows it — a lock only a hand on the broker could open. A runtime already running
+// on that machine follows a membership issued after its declaration, as it always has.
+//
+// **A grant that cannot be issued holds back what it concerns, and says so as an error.** It used to
+// be said and passed over — "the machines keep what they derive until the next push" — which reported
+// a rollout done that had delivered code its machines could not run. A membership that failed holds
+// back its own machine; a failure that names no machine (the buckets) holds back every machine but the
+// holder, already sent. The error carries errGrants, so the caller's rollout is not marked sent and is
+// tried again.
+//
+// The grants are issued, not waited on: a membership is a retained message the runtime reads when it
+// comes, and the bus answers its publication; nothing here waits for a runtime to have read one.
+func deliver(ctx context.Context, d delivery, holder string, sending []readyNode) (map[string]string, error) {
+	digests := map[string]string{}
+	if len(sending) == 0 {
+		return digests, nil
+	}
+	send := func(s readyNode) error {
+		// The number is inside the signed bytes, so a replayed older declaration cannot borrow a
+		// newer one's (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/107); it was taken when the composition began (issue 204).
+		body, err := s.declared.Body()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		digest, err := d.declare(ctx, s, body)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		digests[s.node] = digest
+		return nil
+	}
+	var rest []readyNode
+	for _, s := range sending {
+		if holder != "" && s.node == holder {
+			if err := send(s); err != nil {
+				return digests, err
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		rest = append(rest, s)
+	}
+	held := map[string]error{}
+	if err := d.grant(ctx, sending); err != nil {
+		var some *grantsRefused
+		if !errors.As(err, &some) {
+			var names []string
+			for _, s := range rest {
+				names = append(names, s.node)
+			}
+			if len(names) == 0 {
+				return digests, fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", errGrants, err)
+			}
+			return digests, fmt.Errorf("%w; %s not sent: %w", errGrants, strings.Join(names, ", "), err)
+		}
+		held = some.nodes
+	}
+	var notSent []string
+	for _, s := range rest {
+		if _, refused := held[s.node]; refused {
+			notSent = append(notSent, s.node)
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := send(s); err != nil {
+			return digests, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(notSent) > 0 {
+		return digests, fmt.Errorf("%w; %s not sent: %w", errGrants, strings.Join(notSent, ", "),
+			&grantsRefused{nodes: held})
+	}
+	if len(held) > 0 {
+		// Only the holder's own memberships failed, and it was sent before them.
+		return digests, fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", errGrants, &grantsRefused{nodes: held})
+	}
+	return digests, nil
+}
+
+// overTheBus is delivery as the mesh does it: memberships on the bus, declarations signed.
+type overTheBus struct {
+	open   *stores
+	server *link.Server
+	signer link.Signer
+	// indent is put before each "sent" line, for the callers whose output is nested.
+	indent string
+}
+
+func (b overTheBus) grant(ctx context.Context, sending []readyNode) error {
+	return issueMemberships(ctx, b.open, b.server, sending)
+}
+
+func (b overTheBus) declare(ctx context.Context, s readyNode, body []byte) (string, error) {
+	if err := link.Declare(ctx, b.server.Bus(), b.signer, s.node, body, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	// After it is away, not before. A digest recorded for something that failed to send would make
+	// the machine look current for a declaration it never received.
+	digest, err := recordSent(ctx, b.open.inventory, s.node, body)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if s.declared.BusUsers != "" {
+		// And the user list it carried, so the next send reads whether it must go first from the
+		// list alone (novox/hq issue 249). On the same outliving context as the send's record.
+		kept, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 10*time.Second)
+		err := b.open.inventory.RecordSentBusUsers(kept, s.node, digestOf([]byte(s.declared.BusUsers)))
+		cancel()
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("%ssent %s %d resource(s)\n", b.indent, s.node, len(s.declared.Resources))
+	return digest, nil
+}
+
+// brokerFirst is the machines to send in the order a grant needs (novox/hq issue 249): the machine
+// holding the bus first — its declaration carries the bus's user list (composeBusUsers), and a
+// module's new permissions are refused by the bus until that list says them. Among the machines it
+// is moved to the front; not among them, it is added only when it is behind.
+func brokerFirst(names []string, holder string, behind bool) []string {
+	if holder == "" {
+		return names
+	}
+	present := false
+	rest := make([]string, 0, len(names))
+	for _, n := range names {
+		if n == holder {
+			present = true
+			continue
+		}
+		rest = append(rest, n)
+	}
+	if !present && !behind {
+		return names
+	}
+	return append([]string{holder}, rest...)
+}
+
+// brokerBehind is the machine holding the bus — the one whose declaration carries the user list —
+// and, when it is not among the machines named, whether the user list it would be sent now differs
+// from the one it was last sent (novox/hq issue 249).
+//
+// **The user list alone, not the whole declaration.** Read from the whole declaration, any change
+// pending on that machine — an upgrade its policy records rather than rolls out — went with every
+// send anywhere, and a module running there always put it in its first wave. A digest of the list
+// last sent is kept for this (ADR 0043: the list is composed on each push, never kept itself).
+func brokerBehind(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) (string, bool, error) {
+	inv := open.inventory
+	holders, err := seatHolders(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", false, err
+	}
+	h, held := holders[theBrokerSeat]
+	if !held || h.Node == "" {
+		return "", false, nil
+	}
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", false, err
+	}
+	if m, known := shelf[h.Module]; !known || m.BusUsers == "" {
+		// A holder that is sent no user list carries no grant: nothing to send first.
+		return "", false, nil
+	}
+	for _, n := range names {
+		if n == h.Node {
+			return h.Node, false, nil
+		}
+	}
+	plan, _, err := planFor(ctx, open, h.Node)
+	if err != nil {
+		// It cannot be worked out: sending it would refuse the whole send, and `plan` says why.
+		return h.Node, false, nil
+	}
+	list, _, err := busUserList(ctx, inv, plan.Modules)
+	if err != nil {
+		return h.Node, false, nil
+	}
+	sent, err := inv.SentBusUsers(ctx, h.Node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", false, err
+	}
+	return h.Node, userListBehind(list, sent), nil
+}
+
+// userListBehind is whether the user list composed now is not the one last sent, by its digest. An
+// empty list composed is never behind: there is nothing for it to carry.
+func userListBehind(now, sentDigest string) bool {
+	return now != "" && digestOf([]byte(now)) != sentDigest
+}
+
 // couldNotBeResolved is what a push ends with when some machines could not be worked out.
 //
 // **After the rest have been sent, never instead of sending them.** It is still an error, because
@@ -667,23 +878,36 @@ func couldNotBeResolved(refusals []string, sent int) error {
 // consumer and refused on the provider would leave one end holding a credential the other has
 // never heard of — which is the state this whole mechanism exists to make impossible.
 func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
+	_, err := sendToEach(ctx, open, names)
+	return err
+}
+
+// sendToEach is sendTo, answering the machines it sent: those named, and before them the machine
+// holding the bus when its user list must go first (novox/hq issue 249) — so a caller that waits for
+// the machines it sent waits for that one too.
+func sendToEach(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) ([]string, error) {
 	inv := open.inventory
 	ident, err := openIdentity(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer ident.Close()
 
 	gens, err := generators(ctx, open)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return nil, err
 	}
+	holder, behind, err := brokerBehind(ctx, open, names)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	names = brokerFirst(names, holder, behind)
 
 	// Held from composing to sending (novox/hq ADR 0100); a caller that holds them already —
 	// converge, which flips the node and then sends it — is not made to wait on itself.
 	ctx, release, err := holdNodes(ctx, open, names)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer release()
 
@@ -712,33 +936,29 @@ func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
 		sending = append(sending, readyNode{name, declared})
 	}
 	if len(refusals) > 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("nothing was sent. %d machine(s) could not be resolved:\n\n%s",
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("nothing was sent. %d machine(s) could not be resolved:\n\n%s",
 			len(refusals), strings.Join(refusals, "\n\n"))
 	}
 
 	server, err := connectLink(ctx, nil, nil, nil)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer server.Close()
 
-	for _, s := range sending {
-		body, err := s.declared.Body()
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if err := link.Declare(ctx, server.Bus(), ident, s.node, body, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if _, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, s.node, body); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		fmt.Printf("  sent %s %d resource(s)\n", s.node, len(s.declared.Resources))
-	}
 	// And every assignment on those machines its membership (novox/hq ADR 0160): composed from the
 	// same records the bus's accounts are, so what a runtime serves and what its account may are one
-	// composition. Issued after the declaration, because the runtime it is for arrives with it.
-	return issueMemberships(ctx, open, server, sending)
+	// composition. **Issued before the declarations** (novox/hq issue 249): the runtime the
+	// membership is for arrives with the declaration, and a membership waits for it on the bus; the
+	// code arriving first was refused its own state until somebody pushed.
+	if _, err := deliver(ctx, overTheBus{open: open, server: server, signer: ident, indent: "  "}, holder, sending); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	sent := make([]string, 0, len(sending))
+	for _, s := range sending {
+		sent = append(sent, s.node)
+	}
+	return sent, nil
 }
 
 // issueMemberships publishes the membership of every module on the machines just sent.
@@ -759,18 +979,23 @@ func issueMemberships(ctx context.Context, open *stores, server *link.Server, se
 	// **Every declared state's bucket, before the memberships that name it** (novox/hq ADR 0201). The
 	// raise at start asserts them too, but a module registered and assigned since would otherwise have
 	// its bucket only after the control plane next restarts — found the first time a module declared
-	// state: its bundle asked for a bucket that did not exist. Idempotent and cheap; a failure is said
-	// and the push stands, as a membership's is.
-	if buckets, err := open.inventory.DeclaredBuckets(ctx); err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("  the modules' state could not be read, so no bucket was asserted: %v\n", err)
-	} else if _, err := broker.RaiseBuckets(broker.OnConn(bus.Conn), buckets); err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("  the modules' state could not be asserted on the bus: %v — the next push tries again\n", err)
+	// state: its bundle asked for a bucket that did not exist. Idempotent and cheap.
+	//
+	// **A failure here is the send's failure** (novox/hq issue 249). It was said and the push stood,
+	// because the declarations were already away; they are sent after this now — all but the bus's
+	// own machine, sent before it (deliver) — and a module whose state does not exist is a module
+	// that fails its start, so they are not sent and the caller tries again rather than reporting the
+	// rollout done.
+	buckets, err := open.inventory.DeclaredBuckets(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the modules' state could not be read, so no bucket was asserted: %w", err)
 	}
-	// The declarations are sent and recorded by now; a membership that cannot be issued is said
-	// and does not unsay them. Every runtime without one serves the shape it derives (ADR 0160), so
-	// the push stands, the first failure is named once, and the next push tries again.
-	issued, failed := 0, 0
-	var first error
+	if _, err := broker.RaiseBuckets(broker.OnConn(bus.Conn), buckets); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the modules' state could not be asserted on the bus: %w", err)
+	}
+	// Every membership is tried, and the first failure named once.
+	issued := 0
+	refused := map[string]error{}
 	for _, s := range sent {
 		node := s.node
 		for _, d := range records.Assigned[node] {
@@ -791,10 +1016,9 @@ func issueMemberships(ctx context.Context, open *stores, server *link.Server, se
 				return err
 			}
 			if err := bus.PublishMembership(ctx, node, d.Module, body); err != nil {
-				if first == nil {
-					first = err
+				if refused[node] == nil {
+					refused[node] = fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", d.Module, err)
 				}
-				failed++
 				continue
 			}
 			issued++
@@ -803,9 +1027,10 @@ func issueMemberships(ctx context.Context, open *stores, server *link.Server, se
 	if issued > 0 {
 		fmt.Printf("  issued %d membership(s)\n", issued)
 	}
-	if failed > 0 {
-		fmt.Printf("  %d membership(s) could not be issued; the first: %v — the machines keep what "+
-			"they derive until the next push\n", failed, first)
+	if len(refused) > 0 {
+		// Returned, never passed over (novox/hq issue 249): the declarations of the machines they are
+		// for are not sent, and the rollout that asked is tried again rather than waiting for a push.
+		return &grantsRefused{nodes: refused}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go
index 267d2c7..8679101 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go
@@ -184,6 +184,7 @@ func planOfMerge(m link.SourceMoved, moved []string, edges []inventory.Edge) inv
 	return inventory.Plan{
 		ID:         fmt.Sprintf("plan-%d", time.Now().UnixNano()),
 		Repository: m.Owner + "/" + m.Repo,
+		Branch:     m.Base,
 		Commit:     m.Commit,
 		Created:    time.Now().UTC(),
 		State:      inventory.PlanBuilding,
@@ -192,6 +193,57 @@ func planOfMerge(m link.SourceMoved, moved []string, edges []inventory.Edge) inv
 	}
 }
 
+// supersededBy is what a newer plan takes over from the open plans it supersedes (novox/hq issue
+// 254, ADR 0218): the modules they had not finished, and those plans closed as superseded.
+//
+// **A merge looked at no plan but its own.** Two merges of one repository a few minutes apart were
+// two open plans asking for the same modules, each sending machines what it built; and a plan that
+// would never move again — waiting on a report that could not come, at 97b1b2b — stayed open for
+// ever beside the newer ones, read as work in progress by everyone who looked. The newer merge is the
+// newer intent for that repository and branch, so its plan takes over: every open plan of the same
+// repository and branch **created before it** — by the time the plans were made, never by comparing
+// commits, which have no order of their own — gives up the modules it had not built, and those are
+// planned again in the newer plan beside what the newer merge moved.
+//
+// "Not built" is a module not yet asked, or asked and not answered; **and a module built and not
+// yet sent to its machines**, where its policy rolls it out: closed, the older plan would never send
+// it, and the catalogue announces no move for a rebuild (issue 189), so the newer plan builds and
+// sends it. A build the older plan asked still finishes and registers as any build does — ordered by
+// when it was asked (issue 219), so the newer plan's ask, made later, is the one that stands.
+//
+// A plan with no branch recorded is from before branches were kept, and is superseded by the next
+// plan of its repository: what it had not built is folded in, so nothing is lost by it.
+func supersededBy(newer inventory.Plan, open []inventory.Plan, rollsOut func(string) bool) ([]string, []inventory.Plan) {
+	folded := map[string]bool{}
+	var closed []inventory.Plan
+	for _, old := range open {
+		if old.ID == newer.ID || !old.Open() || !strings.EqualFold(old.Repository, newer.Repository) ||
+			(old.Branch != "" && old.Branch != newer.Branch) || !old.Created.Before(newer.Created) {
+			continue
+		}
+		var took []string
+		for name, s := range old.Modules {
+			if s == nil || s.State != "built" || (s.SentAt == nil && rollsOut(name)) {
+				folded[name] = true
+				took = append(took, name)
+			}
+		}
+		sort.Strings(took)
+		old.State = inventory.PlanSuperseded
+		old.Note = fmt.Sprintf("superseded at tier %d by %s (%s at %s)", old.Tier, newer.ID, newer.Repository, short(newer.Commit))
+		if len(took) > 0 {
+			old.Note += "; " + strings.Join(took, ", ") + " planned there again"
+		}
+		closed = append(closed, old)
+	}
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(folded))
+	for name := range folded {
+		out = append(out, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out, closed
+}
+
 // gates is what the next tier needs running from this one: a module of the tier that a later
 // tier is built by — the runtime dependency — and whose policy rolls it out, must be applied by
 // the machines running it before the next tier is asked. A base an image stands on need only be
@@ -339,6 +391,10 @@ func planBuilt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed string,
 			state.Why = failed
 			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
 			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("%s failed to build in tier %d", module, p.Tier)
+			sayUnsent(p, func(m string) bool {
+				u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, m)
+				return err == nil && u.RollOut
+			})
 		} else {
 			state.State = "built"
 			state.BuiltAt = &now
@@ -400,8 +456,17 @@ func advanceHeld(ctx context.Context, open *stores) {
 			moved, err := advanceOnce(ctx, open, p, edges, rollsOut)
 			if err != nil {
 				fmt.Printf("%s: %v\n", p.ID, err)
+				// Kept in the plan, so `plans` says why it has not moved rather than the log alone;
+				// the state is left as it was and the step is tried again on the next tick.
+				p.Note = "tier " + fmt.Sprint(p.Tier) + ": " + err.Error() + " — tried again"
+				if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, *p); err != nil {
+					fmt.Printf("%s: cannot keep the plan: %v\n", p.ID, err)
+				}
 				break
 			}
+			if p.State == inventory.PlanFailed {
+				sayUnsent(p, rollsOut)
+			}
 			if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, *p); err != nil {
 				fmt.Printf("%s: cannot keep the plan: %v\n", p.ID, err)
 				break
@@ -470,6 +535,15 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 	// a module that packages another repository's source, keeps its commit; the catalogue announces
 	// no move for it and its machines would keep the old image until somebody pushed (novox/hq
 	// issue 189). A module whose policy records is built and left, as its policy says.
+	//
+	// **One machine first, unless the module's policy says together** (novox/hq issue 249, ADR
+	// 0218). The plan sent every machine running the module at once, and the operator's policy —
+	// one at a time, stopping at the first that fails, which an announced upgrade honours — was not
+	// read here at all: a module whose new declarations broke it broke everywhere in the same
+	// minute. Now the first machine is sent, the plan records it and waits for that machine's report
+	// after the send to say it applied what it was sent; only then are the rest sent. A first machine
+	// that fails or refuses stops the module's rollout and the plan with it, the rest untouched.
+	var pending []string
 	for _, m := range tier {
 		state := p.Modules[m]
 		if state == nil || state.SentAt != nil || !rollsOut(m) {
@@ -479,17 +553,64 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 		if err != nil {
 			return false, err
 		}
+		policy, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, m)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		var reports []inventory.Reported
+		if !policy.Together {
+			// Read for the choice of the first machine as well as for its report.
+			if reports, err = inv.LastReports(ctx); err != nil {
+				return false, err
+			}
+		}
 		now := time.Now().UTC()
-		state.SentAt = &now
-		if len(running) == 0 {
+		step := nextRollout(*state, running, policy.Together, reports, now, planWaitBound)
+		switch {
+		case step.failed != "":
+			state.Why = step.failed
+			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
+			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("%s stopped at its first machine in tier %d: %s; %s left as it was",
+				m, p.Tier, step.failed, orNone(strings.Join(step.rest, ", ")))
+			fmt.Printf("%s: %s\n", p.ID, p.Note)
+			return true, nil
+		case step.waiting != "":
+			pending = append(pending, fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s, sent first at %s", m, step.waiting, state.FirstAt.Format("15:04")))
+			continue
+		case len(step.send) == 0:
+			// No machine runs it: nothing to send, and nothing to wait for.
+			state.SentAt = &now
 			continue
 		}
-		if err := sendTo(ctx, open, running); err != nil {
-			return false, fmt.Errorf("sending %s to %s after tier %d: %w", m, strings.Join(running, ", "), p.Tier, err)
+		// What sendToEach answers, not what was asked: the machine holding the bus is sent before
+		// the first when its user list must change (issue 249), and the plan waits for it too.
+		sent, err := sendToEach(ctx, open, step.send)
+		if err != nil {
+			// Not marked sent, so the next step tries again (issue 249): a grant that could not be
+			// issued is a send that did not happen.
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("sending %s to %s after tier %d: %w", m, strings.Join(step.send, ", "), p.Tier, err)
 		}
-		fmt.Printf("%s: tier %d built; sent %s to %s\n", p.ID, p.Tier, m, strings.Join(running, ", "))
+		if step.first {
+			state.First = sent
+			state.FirstAt = &now
+			p.State = inventory.PlanRolling
+			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("tier %d built; sent %s to %s first", p.Tier, m, strings.Join(sent, ", "))
+			fmt.Printf("%s: tier %d built; sent %s to %s first, the rest once it reports it applied\n",
+				p.ID, p.Tier, m, strings.Join(sent, ", "))
+			return true, nil
+		}
+		state.SentAt = &now
+		fmt.Printf("%s: tier %d built; sent %s to %s\n", p.ID, p.Tier, m, strings.Join(sent, ", "))
 		return true, nil
 	}
+	if len(pending) > 0 {
+		note := "tier " + fmt.Sprint(p.Tier) + " built; waiting for " + strings.Join(pending, "; ") +
+			" to report it applied before the rest are sent"
+		changed := p.State != inventory.PlanRolling || p.Note != note
+		p.State = inventory.PlanRolling
+		p.Note = note
+		return changed, nil
+	}
 	// And wait for what the next tier needs running.
 	needed := gates(*p, edges, rollsOut)
 	if len(needed) > 0 {
@@ -540,6 +661,110 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 	return true, nil
 }
 
+// rolloutStep is what a plan does next with one built module's machines (novox/hq issue 249).
+type rolloutStep struct {
+	// send is the machines to send now; first, whether they are the first machine's send.
+	send  []string
+	first bool
+	// waiting names the first machines whose report the rest wait for.
+	waiting string
+	// failed says how a first machine did not take it; rest is what is then left alone.
+	failed string
+	rest   []string
+}
+
+// nextRollout is the next step of one module's rollout in a plan (novox/hq issue 249, ADR 0218).
+//
+// Together, every machine running it at once, as the policy says. Otherwise one machine first — the
+// first by name among those that have reported within the bound, so a laptop that is away is not
+// the one the rest wait on; the first by name when none has; the same choice on every controller and
+// every resume — and the rest once each machine the first send reached reports, about the
+// declaration it was last sent, that it applied it. Compared by the store's own record of what was
+// sent (Reported.Current), never by this controller's clock against the machine's.
+//
+// **A first machine that fails, refuses, or does not report within the bound stops the rollout
+// there** (ADR 0218 §2), naming the machine; the rest are not sent. A wait with no end is not a
+// rollout: it held the plan open for ever, read as work in progress (issue 254).
+func nextRollout(s inventory.PlanModule, running []string, together bool, reports []inventory.Reported,
+	now time.Time, bound time.Duration) rolloutStep {
+	if len(running) == 0 {
+		return rolloutStep{}
+	}
+	if together {
+		return rolloutStep{send: running}
+	}
+	byNode := map[string]inventory.Reported{}
+	for _, r := range reports {
+		byNode[r.Node] = r
+	}
+	if s.FirstAt == nil {
+		sorted := append([]string{}, running...)
+		sort.Strings(sorted)
+		for _, n := range sorted {
+			if r, said := byNode[n]; said && r.At != nil && now.Sub(*r.At) <= bound {
+				return rolloutStep{send: []string{n}, first: true}
+			}
+		}
+		return rolloutStep{send: sorted[:1], first: true}
+	}
+	sentFirst := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, n := range s.First {
+		sentFirst[n] = true
+	}
+	var rest []string
+	for _, n := range running {
+		if !sentFirst[n] {
+			rest = append(rest, n)
+		}
+	}
+	var waiting, failed []string
+	for _, n := range s.First {
+		r, said := byNode[n]
+		// Only a report about what it was last sent says anything about this build.
+		if !said || r.At == nil || !r.Current {
+			waiting = append(waiting, n)
+			continue
+		}
+		switch r.Outcome {
+		case inventory.OutcomeApplied:
+		case inventory.OutcomeFailed, inventory.OutcomeRefused:
+			failed = append(failed, n+" "+r.Outcome+" what it was sent")
+		default:
+			waiting = append(waiting, n)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(failed) > 0 {
+		return rolloutStep{failed: strings.Join(failed, "; "), rest: rest}
+	}
+	if len(waiting) > 0 {
+		if now.Sub(*s.FirstAt) > bound {
+			return rolloutStep{failed: fmt.Sprintf("%s did not report it applied within %s",
+				strings.Join(waiting, ", "), bound), rest: rest}
+		}
+		return rolloutStep{waiting: strings.Join(waiting, ", ")}
+	}
+	return rolloutStep{send: rest}
+}
+
+// sayUnsent adds to an ended plan's note the modules it built and never sent (novox/hq issue 249).
+// An announced move of a module a plan held was left to that plan; a plan that ends without
+// sending it — failed elsewhere, or closed by hand — would leave its machines behind with nothing
+// saying so. A module whose rollout stopped at its first machine is not among them: that stop was
+// the point. Said once.
+func sayUnsent(p *inventory.Plan, rollsOut func(string) bool) {
+	var unsent []string
+	for name, s := range p.Modules {
+		if s != nil && s.State == "built" && s.SentAt == nil && s.FirstAt == nil && rollsOut(name) {
+			unsent = append(unsent, name)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(unsent) == 0 || strings.Contains(p.Note, "built and never sent") {
+		return
+	}
+	sort.Strings(unsent)
+	p.Note += "; built and never sent: " + strings.Join(unsent, ", ") + " — `push --behind` sends them"
+}
+
 // planTicker advances open plans on a timer, for the steps outcomes alone cannot take.
 func planTicker(ctx context.Context, open *stores) {
 	advancePlans(ctx, open)
@@ -563,6 +788,8 @@ func planLine(p inventory.Plan, now time.Time) string {
 		return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s done, %d tier(s)", p.Repository, short(p.Commit), len(p.Tiers))
 	case inventory.PlanFailed:
 		return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s FAILED at %s: %s", p.Repository, short(p.Commit), where, p.Note)
+	case inventory.PlanSuperseded:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s %s %s", p.Repository, short(p.Commit), p.Note)
 	}
 	since := now.Sub(p.Updated).Round(time.Minute)
 	late := ""
@@ -693,7 +920,19 @@ func plansCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if *whatIf != "" {
 		return planWhatIf(ctx, inv, *whatIf, splitList(*paths), splitList(*modules))
 	}
-	if len(positionals) == 2 && positionals[0] == "stop" {
+	// `stop`, or `close` (novox/hq issue 254): a person ending a plan that will not move again — one
+	// waiting on a report that cannot come — so it stops reading as work in progress. Marked failed
+	// with who ended it; what it asked still builds and registers.
+	if len(positionals) == 2 && (positionals[0] == "stop" || positionals[0] == "close") {
+		how := "stopped"
+		if positionals[0] == "close" {
+			how = "closed"
+		}
+		release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer release()
 		p, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, positionals[1])
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -702,25 +941,16 @@ func plansCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("%s is already %s", p.ID, p.State)
 		}
 		p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
-		p.Note = "stopped by hand at tier " + fmt.Sprint(p.Tier)
-		release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		defer release()
-		if p, err = inv.PlanByID(ctx, positionals[1]); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if !p.Open() {
-			return fmt.Errorf("%s is already %s", p.ID, p.State)
-		}
-		p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
-		p.Note = "stopped by hand at tier " + fmt.Sprint(p.Tier)
+		p.Note = how + " by hand at tier " + fmt.Sprint(p.Tier)
+		sayUnsent(&p, func(m string) bool {
+			u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, m)
+			return err == nil && u.RollOut
+		})
 		if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, p); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		fmt.Printf("%s stopped at tier %d of %d; what was asked still builds and registers, nothing further is asked\n",
-			p.ID, p.Tier, len(p.Tiers))
+		fmt.Printf("%s %s at tier %d of %d; what was asked still builds and registers, nothing further is asked\n",
+			p.ID, how, p.Tier, len(p.Tiers))
 		return nil
 	}
 	plans, err := inv.RecentPlans(ctx, *limit)
@@ -795,7 +1025,13 @@ func planWhatIf(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, repository string
 			how := "built; its policy records, so nothing is sent"
 			if u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, name); err == nil && u.RollOut {
 				running, _ := inv.Running(ctx, name)
+				reports, _ := inv.LastReports(ctx)
 				how = "built, then sent to " + orNone(strings.Join(running, ", "))
+				// One machine first unless the policy says together (novox/hq issue 249).
+				if first := nextRollout(inventory.PlanModule{}, running, u.Together, reports, time.Now(), planWaitBound); first.first && len(running) > 1 {
+					how = fmt.Sprintf("built, then sent to %s first and to the rest once it has applied it",
+						first.send[0])
+				}
 				rolls[name] = how
 			}
 			fmt.Printf("    %-22s %s\n", name, how)
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/rollout_first_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/rollout_first_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..644f4be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/rollout_first_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 249, ADR 0218: a plan rolls a module out to one machine first and the rest only
+// once that machine has reported it applied; a module whose policy says together goes everywhere at
+// once, as before.
+func TestAPlanSendsOneMachineFirstAndTheRestAfterItsReport(t *testing.T) {
+	running := []string{"novox", "ace", "g14"}
+	sentAt := time.Date(2026, 10, 5, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	now := sentAt.Add(5 * time.Minute)
+	bound := 30 * time.Minute
+	after := sentAt.Add(time.Minute)
+	next := func(s inventory.PlanModule, running []string, together bool, reports []inventory.Reported) rolloutStep {
+		return nextRollout(s, running, together, reports, now, bound)
+	}
+
+	// Together: every machine at once.
+	if step := next(inventory.PlanModule{}, running, true, nil); !reflect.DeepEqual(step.send, running) || step.first {
+		t.Fatalf("a together policy did not send every machine at once: %+v", step)
+	}
+
+	// Otherwise the first by name, alone, when none has reported lately.
+	step := next(inventory.PlanModule{}, running, false, nil)
+	if !step.first || !reflect.DeepEqual(step.send, []string{"ace"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the first send was %+v, wanted ace alone", step)
+	}
+
+	state := inventory.PlanModule{First: []string{"ace"}, FirstAt: &sentAt}
+	report := func(outcome string, current bool) []inventory.Reported {
+		return []inventory.Reported{{Node: "ace", At: &after, Outcome: outcome, Current: current},
+			{Node: "g14", At: &after, Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied, Current: true}}
+	}
+
+	// No report yet, or one about an older declaration than it was last sent: wait.
+	for what, reports := range map[string][]inventory.Reported{
+		"no report":            nil,
+		"a report about older": report(inventory.OutcomeApplied, false),
+	} {
+		step := next(state, running, false, reports)
+		if len(step.send) != 0 || step.waiting != "ace" || step.failed != "" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %+v, wanted to wait for ace", what, step)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Applied what it was last sent: the rest, and only the rest.
+	step = next(state, running, false, report(inventory.OutcomeApplied, true))
+	if step.first || !reflect.DeepEqual(step.send, []string{"novox", "g14"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("after ace applied it the plan sent %+v, wanted novox and g14", step)
+	}
+
+	// Failed or refused: stop, the rest untouched.
+	for _, outcome := range []string{inventory.OutcomeFailed, inventory.OutcomeRefused} {
+		step := next(state, running, false, report(outcome, true))
+		if len(step.send) != 0 || !strings.Contains(step.failed, "ace "+outcome) ||
+			!reflect.DeepEqual(step.rest, []string{"novox", "g14"}) {
+			t.Errorf("a first machine that %s it: %+v", outcome, step)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The machine holding the bus went with the first send: the rest wait for it too, and it is
+	// not sent again.
+	both := inventory.PlanModule{First: []string{"novox", "ace"}, FirstAt: &sentAt}
+	half := report(inventory.OutcomeApplied, true)
+	if step := next(both, running, false, half); step.waiting != "novox" {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan did not wait for the bus's machine sent first: %+v", step)
+	}
+	all := append(half, inventory.Reported{Node: "novox", At: &after, Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied, Current: true})
+	if step := next(both, running, false, all); !reflect.DeepEqual(step.send, []string{"g14"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("after both applied it the plan sent %+v, wanted g14 alone", step)
+	}
+
+	// One machine, or none: nothing is waited for that cannot come.
+	if step := next(inventory.PlanModule{}, nil, false, nil); len(step.send) != 0 || step.first {
+		t.Fatalf("a module nothing runs was sent: %+v", step)
+	}
+	if step := next(state, []string{"ace"}, false, report(inventory.OutcomeApplied, true)); len(step.send) != 0 || step.waiting != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a module on one machine waited for more: %+v", step)
+	}
+}
+
+// ADR 0218 §2: a first machine that does not report within the bound stops the rollout there,
+// naming the machine and the bound; the rest are left alone.
+func TestAFirstMachineThatDoesNotReportStopsTheRollout(t *testing.T) {
+	sentAt := time.Date(2026, 10, 5, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	state := inventory.PlanModule{First: []string{"ace"}, FirstAt: &sentAt}
+	step := nextRollout(state, []string{"ace", "g14"}, false, nil, sentAt.Add(31*time.Minute), 30*time.Minute)
+	if !strings.Contains(step.failed, "ace did not report it applied within 30m") ||
+		!reflect.DeepEqual(step.rest, []string{"g14"}) || len(step.send) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a silent first machine: %+v", step)
+	}
+}
+
+// The first machine is the first by name among those heard from lately: a laptop that is away is
+// not the one the rest wait on. When none has been heard from, the first by name.
+func TestTheFirstMachineIsOneThatHasReportedLately(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 5, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	lately, long := now.Add(-time.Minute), now.Add(-3*time.Hour)
+	reports := []inventory.Reported{
+		{Node: "ace", At: &long}, {Node: "g14", At: &lately}, {Node: "novox", At: &lately},
+	}
+	step := nextRollout(inventory.PlanModule{}, []string{"novox", "ace", "g14"}, false, reports, now, 30*time.Minute)
+	if !step.first || !reflect.DeepEqual(step.send, []string{"g14"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the first send was %+v, wanted g14, the first heard from lately", step)
+	}
+}
+
+// An announced move of a module an open plan is still rolling out is left to the plan: sending it
+// here as well put the bundle on every machine at once (novox/hq issue 249).
+func TestAnAnnouncedMoveIsLeftToThePlanRollingItOut(t *testing.T) {
+	sent := time.Now()
+	plans := []inventory.Plan{
+		{ID: "plan-done", State: inventory.PlanDone, Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"agent": {}}},
+		{ID: "plan-1", State: inventory.PlanRolling, Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+			"agent": {State: "built", First: []string{"ace"}, FirstAt: &sent}, "gitea": {State: "built", SentAt: &sent}}},
+	}
+	if got := rolledOutByAPlan(plans, "agent"); got != "plan-1" {
+		t.Fatalf("a module the plan is rolling out was not left to it: %q", got)
+	}
+	for _, m := range []string{"gitea", "keycloak"} {
+		if got := rolledOutByAPlan(plans, m); got != "" {
+			t.Errorf("%s, which no plan will send, was left to %s", m, got)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// A plan that ends without sending what it built says so, with the remedy; a module whose rollout
+// stopped at its first machine is not among them.
+func TestAnEndedPlanSaysWhatItBuiltAndNeverSent(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Now()
+	p := inventory.Plan{State: inventory.PlanFailed, Note: "closed by hand at tier 1",
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+			"agent":   {State: "built"},
+			"stopped": {State: "built", First: []string{"ace"}, FirstAt: &at},
+			"sent":    {State: "built", SentAt: &at},
+			"notes":   {State: "built"},
+			"later":   {},
+		}}
+	rollsOut := func(m string) bool { return m != "notes" }
+	sayUnsent(&p, rollsOut)
+	sayUnsent(&p, rollsOut)
+	if p.Note != "closed by hand at tier 1; built and never sent: agent — `push --behind` sends them" {
+		t.Fatalf("the note reads %q", p.Note)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
index 3591da5..d7dec42 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go
@@ -100,6 +100,9 @@ func argvFor(verb string, args map[string]any) ([]string, error) {
 		if id := str("stop"); id != "" {
 			return []string{"plans", "stop", id}, nil
 		}
+		if id := str("close"); id != "" {
+			return []string{"plans", "close", id}, nil
+		}
 		if id := str("id"); id != "" {
 			return []string{"plans", id}, nil
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/sendable.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/sendable.go
index 6722732..4219e97 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/sendable.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/sendable.go
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ type sendable struct {
 	// the same composition as its received files, and every machine's private-network address.
 	Received map[string]map[string][]catalogue.Contribution
 	Mesh     []string
+	// BusUsers is the bus's user list this declaration carries, empty for every machine but the one
+	// holding the bus; not sent apart from the file it is in. Its digest is recorded once sent, so
+	// whether that machine must go first is read from the list alone (novox/hq issue 249).
+	BusUsers string
 	// LeftOut is every module of the machine's set left out of this declaration because a stored
 	// setting cannot compose with its definition (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6), sorted. The host
 	// keeps that module's held things and touches none of its containers; a machine is told
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/supersede_test.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/supersede_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c269fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/supersede_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 254, ADR 0218: a newer plan takes over what the older open plans of its repository
+// and branch had not built, and closes them as superseded; another repository's plan, another
+// branch's, and a plan made after it are left alone.
+func TestANewerPlanSupersedesTheOlderOpenPlansOfItsRepository(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Date(2026, 10, 5, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	sent := at.Add(time.Minute)
+	plan := func(id, repository, branch string, created time.Time, modules map[string]*inventory.PlanModule) inventory.Plan {
+		return inventory.Plan{ID: id, Repository: repository, Branch: branch, Commit: id + "-commit",
+			Created: created, State: inventory.PlanRolling, Modules: modules}
+	}
+	older := plan("plan-1", "novox/mesh-catalog", "main", at, map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+		"gitea":    {State: "built", SentAt: &sent}, // done with: stays done
+		"keycloak": {State: "asked"},                // asked, not answered: folded
+		"plex":     {},                              // not yet asked: folded
+		"agent":    {State: "built"},                // built, rolls out, not sent: folded
+		"notes":    {State: "built"},                // built, records: nothing to send
+	})
+	stuck := plan("plan-0", "Novox/Mesh-Catalog", "", at.Add(-time.Hour), map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+		"runtime": {State: "asked"},
+	})
+	other := plan("plan-2", "novox/mesh-controller", "main", at, map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"mesh-controller": {}})
+	release := plan("plan-3", "novox/mesh-catalog", "release", at, map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"lemurs": {}})
+	later := plan("plan-5", "novox/mesh-catalog", "main", at.Add(2*time.Hour), map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"later": {}})
+	done := plan("plan-6", "novox/mesh-catalog", "main", at, map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"finished": {}})
+	done.State = inventory.PlanDone
+
+	newer := plan("plan-4", "novox/mesh-catalog", "main", at.Add(time.Hour), nil)
+	newer.Commit = "97b1b2b0c0ffee"
+	rollsOut := func(m string) bool { return m != "notes" }
+	folded, closed := supersededBy(newer, []inventory.Plan{stuck, older, other, release, later, done, newer}, rollsOut)
+
+	if want := []string{"agent", "keycloak", "plex", "runtime"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(folded, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("folded %v, wanted %v", folded, want)
+	}
+	var ids []string
+	for _, p := range closed {
+		ids = append(ids, p.ID)
+		if p.State != inventory.PlanSuperseded || p.Open() {
+			t.Errorf("%s was left %s", p.ID, p.State)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(p.Note, "plan-4") || !strings.Contains(p.Note, "97b1b2b0") {
+			t.Errorf("%s does not name the plan that superseded it: %q", p.ID, p.Note)
+		}
+	}
+	if want := []string{"plan-0", "plan-1"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(ids, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("superseded %v, wanted %v — another repository, another branch, a later plan and a "+
+			"finished one are left alone", ids, want)
+	}
+	if other.State != inventory.PlanRolling {
+		t.Fatal("the plan handed in was changed in place")
+	}
+	if line := planLine(closed[1], time.Now()); !strings.Contains(line, "superseded") {
+		t.Fatalf("a superseded plan reads %q", line)
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq issue 254: a person closes a plan that will not move again, by its id.
+func TestAPersonClosesAStuckPlan(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	stuck := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-97b1b2b", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "97b1b2b",
+		Created: time.Now().UTC(), State: inventory.PlanRolling, Tier: 1, Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}, {"b"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "built"}, "b": {}}}
+	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, stuck); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := plansCommand(ctx, []string{"close", stuck.ID}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	closed, err := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, stuck.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if closed.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !strings.Contains(closed.Note, "closed by hand") {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan was left %s: %q", closed.State, closed.Note)
+	}
+	if err := plansCommand(ctx, []string{"close", stuck.ID}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a plan already closed was closed again")
+	}
+	if argv, err := argvFor("plans", map[string]any{"close": stuck.ID}); err != nil ||
+		!reflect.DeepEqual(argv, []string{"plans", "close", stuck.ID}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the seat's verb does not close a plan: %v %v", argv, err)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go b/cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go
index b16542b..3fa7aab 100644
--- a/cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go
+++ b/cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"path"
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -55,10 +56,26 @@ func (f following) Upgraded(ctx context.Context, u link.Upgraded) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// **A plan that holds the module rolls it out, and this does not** (novox/hq issue 249, ADR
+	// 0218). A merge's plan builds the module and sends it one machine first, the rest once that one
+	// has applied it; this announcement arrives as the build registers, and sending here too — one
+	// machine after another without waiting for any to apply — put the new bundle on every machine in
+	// the same minute, whatever the plan was waiting for. A move no plan answers (a build asked by
+	// hand) is still this handler's.
+	if plans, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx); err != nil {
+		return notNow(err)
+	} else if id := rolledOutByAPlan(plans, u.Module); id != "" {
+		// Said with its remedy: a plan that ends without sending it — failed, or closed by hand — leaves
+		// these machines behind, which `status` lists and `push --behind` sends (novox/hq issue 249).
+		fmt.Printf("%s moved to %s; %s rolls it out to %s — if that plan ends without sending it, "+
+			"`status` lists them as behind and `push --behind` sends it\n",
+			u.Module, shortCommit(u.Commit), id, readableList(on))
+		return nil
+	}
 	if decision.Together {
 		fmt.Printf("%s moved to %s; sending %s together\n",
 			u.Module, shortCommit(u.Commit), readableList(on))
-		return sendTo(ctx, f.open, on)
+		return askAgainOnGrants(sendTo(ctx, f.open, on))
 	}
 	// One at a time, and stopping at the first that fails.
 	//
@@ -69,13 +86,34 @@ func (f following) Upgraded(ctx context.Context, u link.Upgraded) error {
 		u.Module, shortCommit(u.Commit), readableList(on))
 	for _, node := range on {
 		if err := sendTo(ctx, f.open, []string{node}); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("%s did not take %s, so the machines after it were left alone: %w",
-				node, u.Module, err)
+			return askAgainOnGrants(fmt.Errorf("%s did not take %s, so the machines after it were left alone: %w",
+				node, u.Module, err))
 		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
+// askAgainOnGrants marks a send that stopped at its grants as one to ask again (novox/hq issue 249):
+// an announcement handled by a send whose memberships could not be issued is held and redelivered,
+// rather than taken as handled with the machines left on the old version.
+func askAgainOnGrants(err error) error {
+	if err != nil && errors.Is(err, errGrants) && !errors.Is(err, link.ErrTryAgain) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", link.ErrTryAgain, err)
+	}
+	return err
+}
+
+// rolledOutByAPlan is the open plan that will send a module's machines its new build — one holding
+// the module that has not finished sending it — or empty when none will (novox/hq issue 249).
+func rolledOutByAPlan(plans []inventory.Plan, module string) string {
+	for _, p := range plans {
+		if s, holds := p.Modules[module]; p.Open() && holds && (s == nil || (s.SentAt == nil && s.State != "failed")) {
+			return p.ID
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 // readableList names machines the way a sentence does, because this is read by a person deciding
 // whether an upgrade went where they expected.
 func readableList(names []string) string {
@@ -323,6 +361,45 @@ func (f following) SourceMoved(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved) error {
 	}
 	defer release()
 	plan := planOfMerge(m, movedNames, edges)
+	// **A newer plan supersedes the older open plans of this repository and branch** (novox/hq issue
+	// 254, ADR 0218): what they had not built is planned here again, and they are closed, so one plan
+	// works a repository's modules at a time and a stuck one ends at the next merge.
+	working, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return notNow(err)
+	}
+	rollsOut := func(module string) bool {
+		u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, module)
+		return err == nil && u.RollOut
+	}
+	folded, superseded := supersededBy(plan, working, rollsOut)
+	if len(folded) > 0 {
+		held := map[string]bool{}
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			held[e.Manifest.Module] = true
+		}
+		names := map[string]bool{}
+		for _, name := range movedNames {
+			names[name] = true
+		}
+		var also []string
+		for _, name := range folded {
+			// One the catalogue no longer holds would fail the newer plan's ask; it is not this
+			// merge's to build.
+			if held[name] && !names[name] {
+				names[name] = true
+				movedNames = append(movedNames, name)
+				also = append(also, name)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(also) > 0 {
+			again := planOfMerge(m, movedNames, edges)
+			again.ID, again.Created = plan.ID, plan.Created
+			plan = again
+			fmt.Printf("  %s, left unbuilt by an older plan of %s, are planned here again\n",
+				strings.Join(also, ", "), plan.Repository)
+		}
+	}
 	if hasCycle(plan.Tiers, edges) {
 		fmt.Printf("  the last tier depends on itself: %s — built together, in no order\n",
 			strings.Join(plan.Tiers[len(plan.Tiers)-1], ", "))
@@ -330,6 +407,14 @@ func (f following) SourceMoved(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved) error {
 	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, plan); err != nil {
 		return notNow(err)
 	}
+	// Closed after the newer plan is kept, never before: a controller replaced between the two leaves
+	// both open, which the next merge settles, rather than neither.
+	for _, old := range superseded {
+		if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, old); err != nil {
+			return notNow(err)
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("  %s (%s at %s) is %s\n", old.ID, old.Repository, short(old.Commit), old.Note)
+	}
 	var tiers []string
 	for i, t := range plan.Tiers {
 		tiers = append(tiers, fmt.Sprintf("%d: %s", i, strings.Join(t, ", ")))
@@ -423,25 +508,45 @@ func lastLookAt(entries []inventory.Entry, m link.SourceMoved) time.Time {
 //
 // A change inside *another* module's directory is that module's business and not this one's, even
 // when the mesh does not hold that module: `known` is every module this repository is known to hold,
-// whatever branch it was registered from. That is also the limit of this — a repository whose shared
-// code sits inside a directory the mesh has never seen a module in reads as shared, and everything
-// is rebuilt. Rebuilding too much is the safe direction: the fault this whole path exists for is a
-// mesh that believes it is current and is not (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131).
+// whatever branch it was registered from.
+//
+// **And a module the mesh has never seen is still a module** (novox/hq issue 252). A merge adding a
+// new module to the catalogue repository — `modules/newmod/module.json` and its files — read as a
+// change to shared code, because `modules/newmod` was nobody's known directory, and every module
+// built from the repository was rebuilt and rolled out for a module none of them is. So the
+// directories that hold modules are known too: the parents of the known modules' directories
+// (`modules`, never the root). A changed path `<parent>/<name>/…` belongs to the module at
+// `<parent>/<name>` — held or not — and rebuilds nothing else, **provided it is shown to be a
+// module**: its `module.json` is among the changed files (added, changed, or removed with it). A
+// directory under the same parent whose manifest the merge did not touch may as well be a shared
+// library (`modules/lib`), and that is still read as shared. Rebuilding too much remains the safe
+// direction: the fault this whole path exists for is a mesh that believes it is current and is not
+// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131). A file at the root, or directly in a parent, is shared as it always was.
 func whatTheMergeTouched(candidates, known []inventory.Entry, m link.SourceMoved) []inventory.Entry {
 	// Nothing said about the files, or not all of them said: everything built from it is affected.
 	if len(m.Paths) == 0 || m.PathsTruncated {
 		return candidates
 	}
 	var dirs []string
+	parents := map[string]bool{}
 	for _, e := range known {
 		if e.Source.Path != "" && sameRepository(e.Source.Repository, m) {
-			dirs = append(dirs, e.Source.Path)
+			dir := strings.Trim(e.Source.Path, "/")
+			dirs = append(dirs, dir)
+			if parent := path.Dir(dir); parent != "." && parent != "/" {
+				parents[parent] = true
+			}
 		}
 	}
+	changed := map[string]bool{}
 	for _, p := range m.Paths {
-		if !insideAny(p, dirs) {
-			return candidates
+		changed[strings.TrimPrefix(p, "/")] = true
+	}
+	for _, p := range m.Paths {
+		if insideAny(p, dirs) || inAModuleOfItsOwn(p, parents, changed) {
+			continue
 		}
+		return candidates
 	}
 	var out []inventory.Entry
 	for _, e := range candidates {
@@ -452,6 +557,28 @@ func whatTheMergeTouched(candidates, known []inventory.Entry, m link.SourceMoved
 	return out
 }
 
+// inAModuleOfItsOwn is whether a changed file is inside a module directory the mesh does not know —
+// `<parent>/<name>/…` under a directory known to hold modules, whose `module.json` the same merge
+// changed (novox/hq issue 252). Such a file is that module's business and nobody else's.
+func inAModuleOfItsOwn(p string, parents, changed map[string]bool) bool {
+	p = strings.TrimPrefix(p, "/")
+	for parent := range parents {
+		rest, under := strings.CutPrefix(p, parent+"/")
+		if !under {
+			continue
+		}
+		name, _, inADirectory := strings.Cut(rest, "/")
+		if !inADirectory || name == "" {
+			// A file directly in the parent — `modules/README.md` — is about all of them.
+			continue
+		}
+		if changed[parent+"/"+name+"/module.json"] {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // inside is whether a changed file is in a directory: that directory itself, or under it.
 func inside(path, dir string) bool {
 	dir = strings.Trim(dir, "/")
diff --git a/internal/catalogue/verbs.go b/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
index f4a1352..8898585 100644
--- a/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
+++ b/internal/catalogue/verbs.go
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ var ControllerVerbs = []Verb{
 		Input: schema(map[string]string{
 			"id":         "a plan's id (as `plans` lists them): that plan, tier by tier",
 			"stop":       "a plan's id: stop it — what was asked still builds, nothing further is asked",
+			"close":      "a plan's id: close a plan that will not move again, as failed by hand (novox/hq issue 254)",
 			"repository": "owner/repository: the plan a merge there would produce, saving nothing (what-if); with paths or modules",
 			"paths":      "with repository: the files the merge would change, comma-separated, from the repository's root",
 			"modules":    "with repository: or the modules it would change, comma-separated",
diff --git a/internal/inventory/migrations/0058-a-newer-plan-supersedes-an-older.sql b/internal/inventory/migrations/0058-a-newer-plan-supersedes-an-older.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bf3768f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/inventory/migrations/0058-a-newer-plan-supersedes-an-older.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+-- A newer plan supersedes the older open plans of the same repository and branch (novox/hq issue 254,
+-- ADR 0218).
+--
+-- A merge produced a plan without looking at the plans still open, so two merges a few minutes apart
+-- were two plans working the same modules, and a plan stuck waiting on something that would never
+-- come stayed open for ever beside the newer ones. The newer plan now takes over what the older had
+-- not yet built and the older is closed as `superseded` — a state of its own, so `plans` can say
+-- which plan replaced it rather than reading as a failure.
+--
+-- `branch` is the branch the merge went into, so only a plan of the same branch is superseded. Empty
+-- for every plan from before this was kept: which branch it answered is not known, and such a plan
+-- is superseded by the next plan of its repository, whichever branch — nothing is lost by it, since
+-- what it had not built is folded into the plan that supersedes it.
+alter table release_plan add column branch text not null default '';
+
+-- And the bus's user list the machine holding the bus was last sent, as a digest (novox/hq issue
+-- 249). A module's new grants are refused by the bus until its user list says them, so that machine
+-- is sent first whenever the list it would be sent differs from the one it was. Read from its whole
+-- declaration, every pending change on it — a recorded upgrade the operator chose not to roll out —
+-- went with every send anywhere. A digest and never the list (ADR 0043: the list is composed on each
+-- push, never kept). Empty for a machine never sent one, which reads as behind once.
+alter table node add column sent_bus_users text not null default '';
diff --git a/internal/inventory/nodes.go b/internal/inventory/nodes.go
index fef70aa..e16e323 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/nodes.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/nodes.go
@@ -921,6 +921,26 @@ func (i *Inventory) RecordSent(ctx context.Context, node, digest string) error {
 	return err
 }
 
+// RecordSentBusUsers keeps a digest of the bus's user list a machine was just sent, by its name
+// (novox/hq issue 249): whether the machine holding the bus must go first is whether this differs
+// from the list composed now.
+func (i *Inventory) RecordSentBusUsers(ctx context.Context, name, digest string) error {
+	_, err := i.store.Pool().Exec(ctx,
+		`update node set sent_bus_users = $2 where name = $1`, name, digest)
+	return err
+}
+
+// SentBusUsers is the digest of the bus's user list a machine was last sent, empty for none.
+func (i *Inventory) SentBusUsers(ctx context.Context, name string) (string, error) {
+	var sent string
+	err := i.store.Pool().QueryRow(ctx,
+		`select sent_bus_users from node where name = $1`, name).Scan(&sent)
+	if errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	return sent, err
+}
+
 // Outstanding is the digest of the declaration a machine was last sent, by its name, and empty
 // for one that has never been sent anything.
 //
diff --git a/internal/inventory/plans.go b/internal/inventory/plans.go
index c68bafe..cf90380 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/plans.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/plans.go
@@ -15,16 +15,19 @@ import (
 // the store so a controller replaced mid-plan resumes it, and so `status` can say what a merge
 // still waits for.
 type Plan struct {
-	ID         string                 `json:"id"`
-	Repository string                 `json:"repository"`
-	Commit     string                 `json:"commit"`
-	Created    time.Time              `json:"created"`
-	Updated    time.Time              `json:"updated"`
-	State      string                 `json:"state"`
-	Tier       int                    `json:"tier"`
-	Tiers      [][]string             `json:"tiers"`
-	Modules    map[string]*PlanModule `json:"modules"`
-	Note       string                 `json:"note,omitempty"`
+	ID         string `json:"id"`
+	Repository string `json:"repository"`
+	// Branch is the branch the merge went into (novox/hq issue 254): a newer plan supersedes the open
+	// ones of the same repository and branch. Empty for a plan from before it was kept.
+	Branch  string                 `json:"branch,omitempty"`
+	Commit  string                 `json:"commit"`
+	Created time.Time              `json:"created"`
+	Updated time.Time              `json:"updated"`
+	State   string                 `json:"state"`
+	Tier    int                    `json:"tier"`
+	Tiers   [][]string             `json:"tiers"`
+	Modules map[string]*PlanModule `json:"modules"`
+	Note    string                 `json:"note,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // PlanModule is one module's state within a plan.
@@ -37,8 +40,15 @@ type PlanModule struct {
 	// later tier is built by it (ADR 0163's gate): the reports that open the gate are the ones
 	// after this.
 	SentAt *time.Time `json:"sent_at,omitempty"`
-	Commit string     `json:"commit,omitempty"`
-	Why    string     `json:"why,omitempty"`
+	// First is the machines the plan sent the new build to first, and FirstAt when (novox/hq issue
+	// 249, ADR 0218): unless the module's policy rolls it out together, one machine takes it before
+	// the rest, and the rest are sent once that one reports it applied. Kept so a controller
+	// replaced while the plan waits on that report resumes the wait rather than sending again. The
+	// machine holding the bus is among them when its user list had to go first.
+	First   []string   `json:"first,omitempty"`
+	FirstAt *time.Time `json:"first_at,omitempty"`
+	Commit  string     `json:"commit,omitempty"`
+	Why     string     `json:"why,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // The states a plan passes through.
@@ -47,6 +57,9 @@ const (
 	PlanRolling  = "rolling"
 	PlanDone     = "done"
 	PlanFailed   = "failed"
+	// PlanSuperseded is a plan a newer merge of the same repository and branch took over (novox/hq
+	// issue 254, ADR 0218): what it had not built is in the newer plan, and its note names it.
+	PlanSuperseded = "superseded"
 )
 
 // Open says whether the plan is still being worked.
@@ -63,11 +76,11 @@ func (i *Inventory) SavePlan(ctx context.Context, p Plan) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	_, err = i.store.Pool().Exec(ctx,
-		`insert into release_plan (id, repository, commit_hash, created, updated, state, tier, tiers, modules, note)
-		 values ($1, $2, $3, $4, now(), $5, $6, $7, $8, $9)
+		`insert into release_plan (id, repository, commit_hash, created, updated, state, tier, tiers, modules, note, branch)
+		 values ($1, $2, $3, $4, now(), $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10)
 		 on conflict (id) do update set updated = now(), state = excluded.state, tier = excluded.tier,
-		        tiers = excluded.tiers, modules = excluded.modules, note = excluded.note`,
-		p.ID, p.Repository, p.Commit, p.Created, p.State, p.Tier, tiers, modules, p.Note)
+		        tiers = excluded.tiers, modules = excluded.modules, note = excluded.note, branch = excluded.branch`,
+		p.ID, p.Repository, p.Commit, p.Created, p.State, p.Tier, tiers, modules, p.Note, p.Branch)
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -95,7 +108,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) PlanByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (Plan, error) {
 
 func (i *Inventory) plans(ctx context.Context, tail string) ([]Plan, error) {
 	rows, err := i.store.Pool().Query(ctx,
-		`select id, repository, commit_hash, created, updated, state, tier, tiers, modules, note
+		`select id, repository, commit_hash, created, updated, state, tier, tiers, modules, note, branch
 		   from release_plan `+tail)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
@@ -106,7 +119,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) plans(ctx context.Context, tail string) ([]Plan, error) {
 		var p Plan
 		var tiers, modules []byte
 		if err := rows.Scan(&p.ID, &p.Repository, &p.Commit, &p.Created, &p.Updated, &p.State,
-			&p.Tier, &tiers, &modules, &p.Note); err != nil {
+			&p.Tier, &tiers, &modules, &p.Note, &p.Branch); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		if err := json.Unmarshal(tiers, &p.Tiers); err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/inventory/plans_test.go b/internal/inventory/plans_test.go
index a9153a6..e4804a7 100644
--- a/internal/inventory/plans_test.go
+++ b/internal/inventory/plans_test.go
@@ -46,3 +46,30 @@ func TestAPlanIsKeptAdvancedAndResumedFromTheStore(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a done plan is still among the recent ones: %+v", recent)
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq issue 254: a plan keeps the branch its merge went into, and a superseded plan is not open.
+func TestASupersededPlanIsNotOpen(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := ForTest(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	p := Plan{ID: "plan-1", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Branch: "main", Commit: "abc",
+		Created: time.Now().UTC(), State: PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{"gitea"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*PlanModule{"gitea": {}}}
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	kept, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-1")
+	if err != nil || kept.Branch != "main" {
+		t.Fatalf("the branch was not kept: %v %+v", err, kept)
+	}
+	kept.State = PlanSuperseded
+	kept.Note = "superseded at tier 0 by plan-2"
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, kept); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if open, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx); err != nil || len(open) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a superseded plan is still open: %v %+v", err, open)
+	}
+	if recent, _ := inv.RecentPlans(ctx, 5); len(recent) != 1 || recent[0].State != PlanSuperseded {
+		t.Fatalf("a superseded plan is not among the recent ones as superseded: %+v", recent)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/inventory/sent_bus_users_test.go b/internal/inventory/sent_bus_users_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5717571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/inventory/sent_bus_users_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+package inventory
+
+import "testing"
+
+// novox/hq issue 249: the digest of the user list a machine was last sent is kept, by its name, and
+// is empty for a machine never sent one.
+func TestTheUserListAMachineWasSentIsKept(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := ForTest(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	if _, err := inv.AddNode(ctx, "anchor"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if sent, err := inv.SentBusUsers(ctx, "anchor"); err != nil || sent != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine never sent a list has %q: %v", sent, err)
+	}
+	if err := inv.RecordSentBusUsers(ctx, "anchor", "abc"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if sent, err := inv.SentBusUsers(ctx, "anchor"); err != nil || sent != "abc" {
+		t.Fatalf("the list sent was not kept: %q %v", sent, err)
+	}
+	if sent, err := inv.SentBusUsers(ctx, "nobody"); err != nil || sent != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine the mesh does not know: %q %v", sent, err)
+	}
+}