Pin the image's Go base in the Dockerfile, which genesis builds as it stands (hq issue 223)

Genesis now raises a process-form controller as a container built from
this repository's Dockerfile with no build arguments (mesh-host
bootstrap, novox/hq issue 223); the manifest builds no image, so nothing
passes the base in. The default was a tag older than go.mod asks for.
It is now the digest the Makefile pins, and a test holds the two equal.

Dockerfile

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
-ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.25-alpine
-# The control plane's image.
+# The Go it builds with, pinned here because genesis builds this file with no arguments (novox/hq
+# issue 223) — the Makefile passes the same digest. A tag older than go.mod asks for is how
+# `make image` broke once before (issue 146).
+ARG GO_BASE=golang@sha256:8ac98ca534ac3f51e1f420a1dd2c15e74c75cfa0f23f3ad27eb5d7236c349a0c
+# The control plane's image — for genesis and the lab only. The mesh runs the controller as a Go
+# bundle the host starts as a process (module.json; novox/hq issue 213), and builds no image of it.
+# Genesis builds this file and raises it as the container the process replaces on the first push
+# (mesh-host internal/bootstrap, novox/hq issue 223).
 #
 # novox/hq ADR 0006: this image is pinned by digest in the bundle the host carries, fetched on a
 # machine where no mesh exists yet, and run before there is anything to check it against. So it

Makefile

@@ -27,17 +27,21 @@ build:
 IMAGE ?= mesh-controller:$(VERSION)
 DEV_TAG ?= mesh-controller:development
 
-# The base the module declares, read from the manifest rather than written here twice.
+# The Go base the image is built on.
 #
 # **`make image` was broken and stayed broken**, because the Dockerfile's fallback base was a Go
 # older than go.mod asks for: every build died at `go mod download` with "go.mod requires go >=
 # 1.26.0", and the pipeline never saw it because the pipeline passes the declared base in. Anybody
 # building the image by hand hit it and had to find the digest themselves (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/146,
 # what it cost).
-GO_BASE ?= $(shell python3 -c "import json;print(next(o['image'] for o in json.load(open('module.json'))['build']['on'] if o['arg']=='GO_BASE'))" 2>/dev/null)
+#
+# **Pinned here since the manifest stopped building an image** (novox/hq issue 213): the mesh builds
+# the controller as a Go bundle with its own toolchain, and only `make image` — genesis and the lab —
+# still needs a Go base. The digest is the one the manifest declared until then.
+GO_BASE ?= golang@sha256:8ac98ca534ac3f51e1f420a1dd2c15e74c75cfa0f23f3ad27eb5d7236c349a0c
 
 image:
-	@test -n "$(GO_BASE)" || { echo "module.json declares no GO_BASE; pass GO_BASE=<image> or fix the manifest"; exit 1; }
+	@test -n "$(GO_BASE)" || { echo "no GO_BASE; pass GO_BASE=<image>"; exit 1; }
 	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) --build-arg VERSION=$(VERSION) -t $(IMAGE) -t $(DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
@@ -48,7 +52,7 @@ BUILDER_IMAGE ?= mesh-builder:$(VERSION)
 BUILDER_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-builder:development
 
 builder-image:
-	@test -n "$(GO_BASE)" || { echo "module.json declares no GO_BASE; pass GO_BASE=<image> or fix the manifest"; exit 1; }
+	@test -n "$(GO_BASE)" || { echo "no GO_BASE; pass GO_BASE=<image>"; exit 1; }
 	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f cmd/mesh-builder/Dockerfile -t $(BUILDER_IMAGE) -t $(BUILDER_DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(BUILDER_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
@@ -59,7 +63,7 @@ PROVISIONER_IMAGE ?= mesh-provision-postgres:$(VERSION)
 PROVISIONER_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-provision-postgres:development
 
 provisioner-image:
-	docker build -f examples/postgres-provisioner/Dockerfile \
+	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f examples/postgres-provisioner/Dockerfile \
 		-t $(PROVISIONER_IMAGE) -t $(PROVISIONER_DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(PROVISIONER_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
@@ -70,7 +74,7 @@ OBJECTSTORE_IMAGE ?= mesh-provision-objectstore:$(VERSION)
 OBJECTSTORE_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-provision-objectstore:development
 
 objectstore-image:
-	docker build -f examples/objectstore-provisioner/Dockerfile \
+	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f examples/objectstore-provisioner/Dockerfile \
 		-t $(OBJECTSTORE_IMAGE) -t $(OBJECTSTORE_DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(OBJECTSTORE_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
@@ -81,7 +85,7 @@ REDIS_PROVISIONER_IMAGE ?= mesh-provision-redis:$(VERSION)
 REDIS_PROVISIONER_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-provision-redis:development
 
 redis-provisioner-image:
-	docker build -f examples/redis-provisioner/Dockerfile \
+	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f examples/redis-provisioner/Dockerfile \
 		-t $(REDIS_PROVISIONER_IMAGE) -t $(REDIS_PROVISIONER_DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(REDIS_PROVISIONER_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
@@ -91,7 +95,7 @@ PROXY_IMAGE ?= mesh-route-proxy:$(VERSION)
 PROXY_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-route-proxy:development
 
 proxy-image:
-	docker build -f examples/route-proxy/Dockerfile -t $(PROXY_IMAGE) -t $(PROXY_DEV_TAG) .
+	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f examples/route-proxy/Dockerfile -t $(PROXY_IMAGE) -t $(PROXY_DEV_TAG) .
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(PROXY_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
 

README.md

@@ -193,6 +193,13 @@ passes every check that only looks at the message.
 
 ## The image
 
+**The mesh no longer runs the controller from it** (novox/hq issue 213). The module declares a Go
+bundle, `controller`, which the host on the controller's machine unpacks and runs as the process
+`mesh-controller` under the account of the same name (ADR 0188 §1, §3). The image stays for what
+still runs a container of the controller: genesis, which raises the first controller from it and
+installs the module from its manifest (mesh-host `internal/bootstrap`), and the lab. Neither is the
+mesh's own build any more — `make image` builds it.
+
 `FROM scratch`, holding one statically linked binary and nothing else — no shell, no package
 manager, no libc, no CA certificates.
 

cmd/mesh-builder/main.go

@@ -137,7 +137,12 @@ func takeWorkFrom(credential Credential, on string) (link.BuildMachine, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return link.MachineOverNATS(js, on), nil
+	// **The seat this machine serves is the one its credential claims** (novox/hq ADR 0190, the
+	// handover): the mesh issues a build machine's credential naming the seat its module claims,
+	// and one binary serves the old role as `builder` and the new as `build-agent` from that alone.
+	seat := link.BuildSeatClaimed(credential.seatsClaimed())
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "taking build work as a holder of %s\n", seat)
+	return link.MachineOverNATSOn(js, on, seat), nil
 }
 
 // answer does one build and says what happened, whichever way it went.
@@ -453,6 +458,21 @@ type Credential struct {
 	// as two fields and this machine joins them once, here, to dial.
 	User     string `json:"user,omitempty"`
 	Password string `json:"password,omitempty"`
+	// Claims are the seats the module this credential was issued for claims, as the mesh writes
+	// them beside the credential (novox/hq ADR 0159). The first is the build role this machine
+	// serves; a credential naming none is from before claims travelled in it.
+	Claims []struct {
+		Seat string `json:"seat"`
+	} `json:"claims,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// seatsClaimed is the seats the credential names, in order.
+func (c Credential) seatsClaimed() []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(c.Claims))
+	for _, claim := range c.Claims {
+		out = append(out, claim.Seat)
+	}
+	return out
 }
 
 // onTheNewBus is whether a credential is for the bus being built: its address says so, and the

cmd/mesh-builder/seat_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// The seat a build machine serves comes from its credential (novox/hq ADR 0190 handover).
+func TestTheCredentialSaysWhichBuildRoleThisMachineServes(t *testing.T) {
+	var held Credential
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(`{"url":"nats://bus:4222","user":"anchor.builder","password":"x",
+		"claims":[{"seat":"mesh-build-machine","scope":"mesh","serves":[]}]}`), &held); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := link.BuildSeatClaimed(held.seatsClaimed()); got != "mesh-build-machine" {
+		t.Errorf("the old builder's credential serves %q", got)
+	}
+	var bare Credential
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(`{"url":"nats://bus:4222","user":"anchor.build-agent","password":"x"}`), &bare); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := link.BuildSeatClaimed(bare.seatsClaimed()); got != link.TheBuildMachine {
+		t.Errorf("a credential without claims serves %q, want %s", got, link.TheBuildMachine)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/acts.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
@@ -67,6 +68,13 @@ func assign(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) (string, err
 	for _, line := range settled {
 		said += "\n  " + line
 	}
+	// Its bus credential, in the same act (novox/hq issue 203): an assignment pushed before its
+	// credential exists delivers a process that cannot authenticate and crash-loops until somebody
+	// runs a second verb and a second push. Issued here when the module speaks on the bus and has
+	// no credential yet; kept when it has one, so re-assigning rotates nothing.
+	if line := issueOnAssign(ctx, open, node, module); line != "" {
+		said += "\n  " + line
+	}
 	plan, _, err := planFor(ctx, open, node)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Kept, and still refused. Both halves are the answer, and the rest of the mesh is still
@@ -152,3 +160,33 @@ func blockedElsewhere(ctx context.Context, open *stores, except string) string {
 	out.WriteString("\nThis may or may not be what just changed — it is what is true now.")
 	return out.String()
 }
+
+// issueOnAssign gives a newly assigned module its bus credential, the way `module issue` does, and
+// says what it did in one line. Nothing for a module that declares no broker secret; nothing for one
+// whose user is already minted (a credential is rotated on purpose, never by re-assigning); and when
+// the bus cannot be reached from here, the line names the verb and the push that would refuse the
+// module until it is run — never a silent placeholder (novox/hq issue 203).
+func issueOnAssign(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) string {
+	inv := open.inventory
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	m, known := shelf[module]
+	if !known || mayIssue(m) != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: node, Module: module}.Username()
+	if _, minted, err := inv.BusUserHash(ctx, user); err != nil || minted {
+		return ""
+	}
+	busAddress, err := broker.BusAddress()
+	if err == nil {
+		err = issueOnTheNewBus(ctx, inv, m, node, busAddress)
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("its bus credential is not issued (%v): `module issue %s --node %s` first — "+
+			"`push %s` refuses to send %s until it is", err, module, node, node, module)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("its bus credential is issued and sealed to %s, and arrives with the push", node)
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/addresses_test.go

@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ func TestTheRegistryTrustAndEveryImageFollowThePortTheNodeGaveTheStore(t *testin
 //
 // Composed from the control plane's own manifest against a real inventory: the store's module is
 // given 6852 on this node the way genesis or an operator gives it, and the control plane's
-// container is told so beside the sealed connection genesis wrote.
+// process is told so beside the sealed connection genesis wrote.
 func TestTheControlPlaneIsToldWhereTheNodePutTheStoreAndTheBroker(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -157,8 +157,8 @@ func TestTheControlPlaneIsToldWhereTheNodePutTheStoreAndTheBroker(t *testing.T)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	control, err := withSeatPorts(m).Resolve([]catalogue.Built{{Name: "server", Kind: catalogue.ArtifactImage,
-		Reference: "registry.example/control@" + aDigest}})
+	control, err := withSeatPorts(m).Resolve([]catalogue.Built{{Name: "controller", Kind: catalogue.ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: "https://registry.example/mesh-controller/controller.tar.gz", Digest: aDigest}})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -175,6 +175,12 @@ func TestTheControlPlaneIsToldWhereTheNodePutTheStoreAndTheBroker(t *testing.T)
 		Guards: []int{15672},
 		Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "server", "type": "container", "name": "mesh-broker",
 			"ports": []any{"5671:5671", "5672:5672", "127.0.0.1:15672:15672"}, "image": "mq@" + aDigest}}})
+	// The control plane's own bus user is the installer's, seeded at genesis before the controller
+	// runs (SeedBusUser); without it a push now refuses the credential nobody issued (issue 203).
+	if err := open.inventory.SeedBusUser(ctx, inventory.BusUser{Username: "anchor.mesh-controller",
+		Kind: inventory.BusController, Node: "anchor", Module: "mesh-controller"}, "bootstrap"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 	if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "anchor", "mesh-controller"); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -194,12 +200,12 @@ func TestTheControlPlaneIsToldWhereTheNodePutTheStoreAndTheBroker(t *testing.T)
 
 	var env map[string]any
 	for _, r := range composed(t, open, "anchor").Resources {
-		if r["id"] == "mesh-controller.server" {
+		if r["id"] == "mesh-controller.controller" {
 			env, _ = r["env"].(map[string]any)
 		}
 	}
 	if env == nil {
-		t.Fatal("the control plane's container is not in its own node's declaration")
+		t.Fatal("the control plane's process is not in its own node's declaration")
 	}
 	for key, want := range map[string]string{
 		"MESH_STORE_INVENTORY_PORT": "6852",
@@ -232,7 +238,7 @@ func withSeatPorts(m catalogue.Manifest) catalogue.Manifest {
 	out := m
 	out.Resources = nil
 	for _, r := range m.Resources {
-		if r["type"] != "container" {
+		if r["type"] != "container" && r["type"] != "process" {
 			out.Resources = append(out.Resources, r)
 			continue
 		}

cmd/mesh-controller/adopting_test.go

@@ -95,11 +95,22 @@ func reportsReaching(t *testing.T, open *stores, reachable []link.Reach, held ..
 		// filter is not sent to one that has not. The anchor reports one, as a real host does; this
 		// fixture lacked it from 2026-09-28 and nothing ran the test (issue 177).
 		Outward: []string{"eth0"},
+		// And what filters it (ADR 0168): its front end, the runtime's own, and a chain a
+		// predecessor left in the runtime's user chain.
+		Filters: anchorFilters,
 	}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 }
 
+// anchorFilters is what the adopted anchor says filters it: ufw's chains, the runtime's, and a
+// predecessor's chain the mesh did not write.
+var anchorFilters = []link.Filter{
+	{Where: "table ip filter, chain ufw-reject-input", Owner: "found-firewall", Refuses: "reject"},
+	{Where: "table ip filter, chain DOCKER", Owner: "runtime", Refuses: `iifname != "docker0" oifname "docker0" drop`},
+	{Where: "table ip filter, chain DOCKER-USER", Owner: "other", Refuses: `iifname "eth0" tcp dport 6000 drop`},
+}
+
 var (
 	heldContainer = link.Held{ID: "hello-web.server", Module: "hello-web", Kind: "container",
 		Target: "hello-web", Since: time.Now()}
@@ -143,7 +154,24 @@ func TestTheFlipIsRefusedWhileAFoundContainerIsHeld(t *testing.T) {
 func TestTakingNamesWhatItReplaces(t *testing.T) {
 	open, _ := anAdoptedAnchor(t)
 	reportsHolding(t, open, heldContainer, heldFile)
-	said, err := take(t.Context(), open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true})
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	// The machine holds something for the module, so the take acts on the preview the operator
+	// saw and names its digest (novox/hq ADR 0163).
+	preview, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	saw := takeDigestIn(t, preview)
+	if !strings.Contains(preview, "nothing taken; `take anchor hello-web --yes "+saw+"`") {
+		t.Fatalf("the preview does not say how to act on it:\n%s", preview)
+	}
+	if taken, _ := open.inventory.Taken(ctx, "anchor"); len(taken) != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("the preview took something")
+	}
+	if _, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true}); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "name its digest") {
+		t.Fatalf("--yes without the digest was not refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	said, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true, Digest: saw})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
@@ -153,6 +181,67 @@ func TestTakingNamesWhatItReplaces(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// takeDigestIn is the digest a take's preview printed.
+func takeDigestIn(t *testing.T, preview string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(preview, "\n") {
+		if fields := strings.Fields(line); len(fields) == 2 && fields[0] == "preview" {
+			return fields[1]
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("the preview printed no digest:\n%s", preview)
+	return ""
+}
+
+// A take acts on the preview the operator saw, and on an account of the machine that is still the
+// machine: a changed preview and a stale account refuse (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 1).
+func TestATakeIsRefusedOnAChangedPreviewOrAStaleAccount(t *testing.T) {
+	open, _ := anAdoptedAnchor(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	reportsHolding(t, open, heldContainer, heldFile)
+	preview, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	saw := takeDigestIn(t, preview)
+
+	// The machine reports again, and what it holds has changed: the found container now carries
+	// facts the preview never showed.
+	changed := heldContainer
+	changed.Facts = map[string]any{"image": "hello:2", "declared_image": "registry.example/hello"}
+	reportsHolding(t, open, changed, heldFile)
+	_, err = take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true, Digest: saw})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "has changed since preview "+saw) {
+		t.Fatalf("a changed preview was acted on: %v", err)
+	}
+	if taken, _ := open.inventory.Taken(ctx, "anchor"); len(taken) != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("a refused take took something")
+	}
+
+	// And an account older than the flip allows.
+	preview, err = take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	saw = takeDigestIn(t, preview)
+	saved := reportFreshFor
+	reportFreshFor = -time.Second
+	defer func() { reportFreshFor = saved }()
+	_, err = take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true, Digest: saw})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "a take acts only on an account newer than") {
+		t.Fatalf("a stale account was acted on: %v", err)
+	}
+	reportFreshFor = saved
+	if _, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "hello-web", takeOptions{Yes: true, Digest: saw}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// A module the machine holds nothing for has nothing to compare: --yes alone suffices.
+	if _, err := take(ctx, open, "anchor", "notes", takeOptions{Yes: true}); err == nil {
+		// notes holds a file, so this one needs the digest too.
+		t.Fatal("notes holds a found file and was taken without a digest")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestConvergingPreviewsThenChangesAndAdoptingKeepsWhatWasTaken(t *testing.T) {
 	open, sent := anAdoptedAnchor(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -186,6 +275,20 @@ func TestConvergingPreviewsThenChangesAndAdoptingKeepsWhatWasTaken(t *testing.T)
 	if strings.Contains(preview, "15672") {
 		t.Errorf("a loopback listener is in the preview:\n%s", preview)
 	}
+	// What filters the machine now, and the fate of each (novox/hq ADR 0168): the predecessor's
+	// chain is named as not the mesh's and left, so the reader knows before the flip.
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"table ip filter, chain DOCKER-USER",
+		"NOT THE MESH'S; left in force",
+		`iifname "eth0" tcp dport 6000 drop`,
+		"table ip filter, chain ufw-reject-input",
+		"the found firewall's; retired with it",
+		"the container runtime's own; left",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(preview, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the preview does not say %q:\n%s", want, preview)
+		}
+	}
 	for _, line := range strings.Split(preview, "\n") {
 		if strings.Contains(line, "5000") && !strings.Contains(line, "WILL CLOSE") {
 			t.Errorf("an undeclared published port is not said to close: %s", line)

cmd/mesh-controller/adoption.go

@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ func showMode(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, node inventory.Node
 		if said, err := inv.AdoptionOf(ctx, node.Name); err == nil && len(said.Strays) > 0 {
 			showStrays(said.Strays)
 		}
+		// And what filters it, truthfully (novox/hq ADR 0168): the mesh alone, or not.
+		if filtering, err := inv.FilteringOf(ctx, node.Name); err == nil {
+			showFiltering(filtering, false)
+		}
 		return nil
 	}
 	fmt.Printf("  mode              adopted since %s\n",
@@ -72,10 +76,65 @@ func showMode(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, node inventory.Node
 		}
 	}
 	showStrays(said.Strays)
+	if filtering, err := inv.FilteringOf(ctx, node.Name); err == nil {
+		showFiltering(filtering, true)
+	}
 	fmt.Printf("  as of             %s\n", said.At.Local().Format(time.DateTime))
 	return nil
 }
 
+// showFiltering says what filters a machine, with owners (novox/hq ADR 0168), and for a converged
+// machine the state of the firewall it was found with. A machine that has not said is not said to
+// be filtered by anything.
+func showFiltering(f inventory.Filtering, adopted bool) {
+	if len(f.Filters) == 0 && f.FoundFirewall == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if fw := f.FoundFirewall; fw != nil && !adopted {
+		switch {
+		case fw.Active:
+			fmt.Printf("  found firewall    %s is ACTIVE on this converged machine; the next apply retires it again\n", fw.Kind)
+		case fw.RetiredBy == "removed":
+			fmt.Printf("  found firewall    %s, removed: the mesh's filter is what filters this machine (novox/hq ADR 0180)\n", fw.Kind)
+		case fw.RetiredBy == inventory.FilterMesh || fw.RetiredBy == "mesh":
+			fmt.Printf("  found firewall    %s, retired by the mesh; its configuration stays on disk\n", fw.Kind)
+		case fw.RetiredBy != "":
+			fmt.Printf("  found firewall    %s, found inactive — not by the mesh\n", fw.Kind)
+		default:
+			fmt.Printf("  found firewall    %s, inactive\n", fw.Kind)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(f.Filters) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	if f.Alone() {
+		fmt.Printf("  filtered by       the mesh alone (%s)\n", filterSummary(f.Filters))
+		return
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("  filtered by       NOT the mesh alone: %d rule set(s) the mesh did not write refuse traffic here\n", len(f.Others()))
+	for _, x := range f.Filters {
+		if x.Owner == inventory.FilterOther || x.Owner == inventory.FilterFoundFirewall {
+			fmt.Printf("  %-17s %s — %s: %s\n", "", x.Where, x.Owner, x.Refuses)
+		}
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("  %-17s and its own: %s\n", "", filterSummary(f.Filters))
+}
+
+// filterSummary counts a machine's filters by owner: "mesh 2, runtime 3, ban 1".
+func filterSummary(filters []inventory.Filter) string {
+	counts := map[string]int{}
+	for _, x := range filters {
+		counts[x.Owner]++
+	}
+	var parts []string
+	for _, owner := range []string{inventory.FilterMesh, inventory.FilterRuntime, inventory.FilterBan, inventory.FilterFoundFirewall, inventory.FilterOther} {
+		if n := counts[owner]; n > 0 {
+			parts = append(parts, fmt.Sprintf("%s %d", owner, n))
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.Join(parts, ", ")
+}
+
 // showStrays says what a machine runs that the mesh neither wrote nor holds (ADR 0163).
 func showStrays(strays []inventory.Stray) {
 	if len(strays) == 0 {
@@ -156,11 +215,25 @@ const DefaultFilter = "nftables"
 // take is a module's cutover on an adopted node: the operator's act, done when that module's data
 // has moved. From the next push its resources converge there like any other, replacing what the
 // node found and holds for it.
+//
+// **Previewed, and the preview is a comparison** (novox/hq ADR 0163): for every held thing the
+// module would replace, what runs beside what the module declares, and the difference; the
+// module's secrets on the machine and where each came from; its settings on the machine. Without
+// --yes the comparison is printed and nothing changes. `--yes <digest>` cuts over exactly what was
+// previewed, the way the flip is confirmed: the preview ends with a digest of what it said, and a
+// take naming an older one, or acting on an account of the machine older than the flip allows, is
+// refused. A module the machine holds nothing for has nothing to compare, and `--yes` suffices.
 // takeOptions is what a take was told about the differences it may pass (novox/hq ADR 0163).
 type takeOptions struct {
-	Yes       bool
+	Yes bool
+	// Digest is the preview's, named with --yes; required whenever the machine holds something
+	// for the module.
+	Digest    string
 	Downgrade bool
 	Replace   map[string]bool
+	// Mint names the secrets the service shall take a new value for, although the mesh minted
+	// one and the service already has its own (rule 2).
+	Mint map[string]bool
 }
 
 func take(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string, opts takeOptions) (string, error) {
@@ -179,45 +252,128 @@ func take(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string, opts takeOptio
 	}
 	// The comparison first (novox/hq ADR 0163): every held thing the module would replace, beside
 	// what the module declares, and the differences that refuse unless named.
-	reported, err := inv.AdoptionOf(ctx, node)
+	c, err := comparisonFor(ctx, open, node, module)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
-	preview, refusals := comparisonOf(reported.Held, module, opts)
+	preview, refusals, saw := comparisonOf(module, c, opts)
 	if len(refusals) > 0 {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("taking %s on %s is refused:\n  %s\n%s", module, node,
 			strings.Join(refusals, "\n  "), preview)
 	}
+	holds := len(heldOf(c.reported, module)) > 0
+	if holds {
+		preview += "\n  preview " + saw
+	}
 	if !opts.Yes {
-		return preview + fmt.Sprintf("\nnothing taken; `take %s %s --yes` cuts it over as previewed", node, module), nil
+		if !holds {
+			return preview + fmt.Sprintf("\nnothing taken; `take %s %s --yes` declares it as the mesh's own", node, module), nil
+		}
+		return preview + fmt.Sprintf("\nnothing taken; `take %s %s --yes %s` cuts it over as previewed", node, module, saw), nil
+	}
+	if holds {
+		// The take acts on the preview the operator saw, and on an account of the machine that
+		// is still the machine: the same two refusals the flip makes.
+		if age := time.Since(c.reported.At); age > reportFreshFor {
+			return preview, fmt.Errorf("%s last said what it holds %s ago, and a take acts only on "+
+				"an account newer than %s: run `push %s --wait 2m`, then preview again",
+				node, age.Round(time.Second), reportFreshFor, node)
+		}
+		if opts.Digest == "" {
+			return preview, fmt.Errorf("taking %s on %s acts on the preview you saw: name its digest, "+
+				"`take %s %s --yes %s`, once you have read it", module, node, node, module, saw)
+		}
+		if opts.Digest != saw {
+			return preview, fmt.Errorf("what taking %s on %s would replace has changed since preview %s "+
+				"(it is now %s): read the preview above, and run `take %s %s --yes %s` if it is "+
+				"what you want", module, node, opts.Digest, saw, node, module, saw)
+		}
 	}
 	if err := inv.Take(ctx, node, module); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 	said := fmt.Sprintf("%s is taken on %s", module, node)
-	if preview != "" {
+	if holds {
 		said += "; the next push replaces what the node found and holds for it:\n" + preview
 	}
 	return said + fmt.Sprintf("\n  run `push %s` to cut it over", node), nil
 }
 
+// comparison is everything a take puts beside what the module declares: the machine's account of
+// what it holds and what is reachable on it, the module's secrets on the machine, its settings
+// there, and which found networks a setting keeps for each of its containers (by held id).
+type comparison struct {
+	reported inventory.Adoption
+	secrets  []inventory.SecretState
+	layers   []catalogue.Layer
+	keeps    map[string][]string
+	// settingsRefused is why the module's settings cannot compose with its definition, when
+	// they cannot — the module would be left out of the declaration (rule 6).
+	settingsRefused string
+}
+
+func comparisonFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) (comparison, error) {
+	inv := open.inventory
+	var c comparison
+	var err error
+	if c.reported, err = inv.AdoptionOf(ctx, node); err != nil {
+		return c, err
+	}
+	if c.secrets, err = inv.SecretsOf(ctx, node, module); err != nil {
+		return c, err
+	}
+	if c.layers, err = inv.SettingsFor(ctx, node, module); err != nil {
+		return c, err
+	}
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return c, err
+	}
+	if m, known := shelf[module]; known && len(c.layers) > 0 {
+		if err := catalogue.JudgeSettings(m, c.layers, true); err != nil {
+			c.settingsRefused = err.Error()
+		}
+		if kept, err := catalogue.KeptNetworks(m, c.layers, true); err == nil && len(kept) > 0 {
+			c.keeps = map[string][]string{}
+			for id, networks := range kept {
+				c.keeps[module+"."+id] = networks
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return c, nil
+}
+
+// heldOf is what a node holds for one module.
+func heldOf(reported inventory.Adoption, module string) []inventory.Held {
+	var out []inventory.Held
+	for _, h := range reported.Held {
+		if h.Module == module {
+			out = append(out, h)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // comparisonOf is a take's preview: for every held thing of the module, what runs beside what the
-// module declares, and the refusals the differences earn unless the take named them
-// (novox/hq ADR 0163): an image older than the one running, a declared file that differs from the
-// found one. A narrowed port and a shared network are said and not refused.
-func comparisonOf(held []inventory.Held, module string, opts takeOptions) (string, []string) {
+// module declares; its secrets and its settings on the machine; and the refusals the differences
+// earn unless the take named them (novox/hq ADR 0163): an image older than the one running, a
+// declared file that differs from the found one, a secret the mesh minted for a service whose data
+// was found. A narrowed port and a shared network are said and not refused. The digest is of what
+// the preview says, so anything in it changing changes the digest.
+func comparisonOf(module string, c comparison, opts takeOptions) (preview string, refusals []string, digest string) {
 	var b strings.Builder
-	var refusals []string
+	held := heldOf(c.reported, module)
+	foundData := false
 	for _, h := range held {
-		if h.Module != module {
-			continue
+		if h.Kind == "container" || h.Kind == "directory" {
+			foundData = true
 		}
 		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s", heldLine(h))
 		if h.Kept != "" {
 			fmt.Fprintf(&b, ", original kept at %s", h.Kept)
 		}
 		b.WriteString("\n")
-		for _, line := range comparisonLines(h) {
+		for _, line := range comparisonLinesWith(h, c.keeps[h.ID], c.reported) {
 			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "    %s\n", line)
 		}
 		f := factsOf(h)
@@ -232,7 +388,52 @@ func comparisonOf(held []inventory.Held, module string, opts takeOptions) (strin
 				h.Target, h.Target))
 		}
 	}
-	return b.String(), refusals
+	// The module's secrets on the machine (rule 2 and 3): a service whose data was found already
+	// has a value for each, so one the mesh minted and nobody accepted refuses unless --mint says
+	// the service shall take a new one.
+	for _, sec := range c.secrets {
+		name := sec.Name
+		if sec.Local != "" {
+			name += " (" + sec.Local + ")"
+		}
+		what := "own secret"
+		accept := fmt.Sprintf("`secret accept <node> %s %s`", module, sec.Name)
+		if !sec.Own() {
+			what = "secret from " + sec.Provider
+			accept = fmt.Sprintf("`secret accept <node> %s %s --provider %s`", module, sec.Name, sec.Provider)
+			if sec.Local != "" {
+				accept = strings.TrimSuffix(accept, "`") + " --local " + sec.Local + "`"
+			}
+		}
+		switch {
+		case sec.Origin == inventory.OriginAccepted:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s %s: accepted from a person, carried in as it is\n", what, name)
+		case opts.Mint[sec.Name]:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s %s: minted by the mesh; the service takes the new value, as --mint said\n", what, name)
+		case foundData:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s %s: MINTED by the mesh and not accepted — the running service already has one\n", what, name)
+			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s: the mesh minted a value and the service whose data was found "+
+				"already uses its own; %s carries the existing value in, or `--mint %s` says the service shall take "+
+				"the new one", name, accept, sec.Name))
+		default:
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  %s %s: minted by the mesh\n", what, name)
+		}
+	}
+	// And its settings on this machine, composed against its definition (rule 1, rule 6).
+	for _, layer := range c.layers {
+		keys := make([]string, 0, len(layer.Values))
+		for k := range layer.Values {
+			keys = append(keys, k)
+		}
+		sort.Strings(keys)
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  settings from %s: %s\n", layer.From, strings.Join(keys, ", "))
+	}
+	if c.settingsRefused != "" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  SETTINGS DO NOT COMPOSE with the module's definition, so the push leaves it out: %s\n", c.settingsRefused)
+	}
+	preview = strings.TrimRight(b.String(), "\n")
+	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(preview))
+	return preview, refusals, hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])[:12]
 }
 
 // facts is a held thing's facts as the preview reads them.
@@ -286,6 +487,13 @@ func factsOf(h inventory.Held) facts {
 
 // comparisonLines says a held thing's facts the way a person weighs them.
 func comparisonLines(h inventory.Held) []string {
+	return comparisonLinesWith(h, nil, inventory.Adoption{})
+}
+
+// comparisonLinesWith is comparisonLines knowing which found networks this machine's setting keeps
+// for the container (rule 4) and what the machine reports reachable, so a published port's reach
+// is said beside the port (rule 1).
+func comparisonLinesWith(h inventory.Held, keeps []string, reported inventory.Adoption) []string {
 	f := factsOf(h)
 	var out []string
 	if f.image != "" || f.declaredImage != "" {
@@ -311,14 +519,46 @@ func comparisonLines(h inventory.Held) []string {
 	}
 	sort.Strings(names)
 	for _, n := range names {
-		if members := f.networks[n]; len(members) > 0 {
-			out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("on the network %s with %s, which may reach it by name and will not once it moves to the module's own network",
+		members := f.networks[n]
+		if len(members) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		if slices.Contains(keeps, n) {
+			out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("on the network %s with %s — kept by this machine's setting, so they still reach it by name once taken",
 				n, strings.Join(members, ", ")))
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("on the network %s with %s, which may reach it by name and will not once it moves to the module's own network"+
+			" (`settings set %s --node <node>` with {%q: {<container>: [%q]}} keeps it)",
+			n, strings.Join(members, ", "), h.Module, catalogue.NetworksSetting, n))
+	}
+	for _, n := range keeps {
+		if _, found := f.networks[n]; !found {
+			out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("keeps the network %s by this machine's setting, which the found container is not on", n))
 		}
 	}
 	if len(f.ports) > 0 || len(f.declaredPorts) > 0 {
 		out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("publishes %s; the module declares %s",
 			orNone(strings.Join(f.ports, " ")), orNone(strings.Join(f.declaredPorts, " "))))
+		// How far each published port reaches now, as the machine reported it: the listener the
+		// runtime publishes for this container. The found firewall's and the guard's rules are
+		// not read; what they let through is said as what was reported reachable.
+		var reach []string
+		for _, r := range reported.Reachable {
+			if r.By == h.Target && r.Published {
+				reach = append(reach, fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d (%s, container port %d)", r.Address, r.Port, r.Protocol, r.ContainerPort))
+			}
+		}
+		switch {
+		case len(reach) > 0:
+			line := "reachable now at " + strings.Join(reach, ", ")
+			if reported.Firewall != "" && reported.Firewall != "none" {
+				line += ", behind the found firewall (" + reported.Firewall + "), whose rules are not read"
+			}
+			out = append(out, line)
+		case len(f.ports) > 0 && len(reported.Reachable) > 0:
+			out = append(out, "not reported reachable on the machine")
+		}
 	}
 	if len(f.mounts) > 0 || len(f.declaredVolumes) > 0 {
 		out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf("mounts %s; the module declares %s",
@@ -480,7 +720,11 @@ func converge(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string, yes bool, digest s
 	}
 	derived := derivedFilter{rules: rules, foundation: with.Foundation, mesh: with.Mesh,
 		outward: plan.PublicDomain != "", outwardLinks: with.OutwardLinks}
-	preview, saw := previewOf(node, reported, derived, plan, taken, filter, runs[filter])
+	filtering, err := inv.FilteringOf(ctx, node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	preview, saw := previewOf(node, reported, filtering, derived, plan, taken, filter, runs[filter])
 	preview += "\n\n  preview " + saw
 	if !yes {
 		return preview + fmt.Sprintf("\n\nNothing has changed. Run `converge %s --yes %s` to do "+
@@ -550,7 +794,7 @@ func converge(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string, yes bool, digest s
 // previewOf is what converging a node will change, before it changes it, and a short digest of
 // what it said: every reachable thing and its fate, the modules the flip takes and the filter. The
 // digest is what the flip is asked to act on, so it changes whenever any of those would.
-func previewOf(node string, reported inventory.Adoption, derived derivedFilter,
+func previewOf(node string, reported inventory.Adoption, filtering inventory.Filtering, derived derivedFilter,
 	plan catalogue.Resolution, taken []string, filter string, filterAssigned bool) (string, string) {
 	var said []string
 	var b strings.Builder
@@ -642,6 +886,30 @@ func previewOf(node string, reported inventory.Adoption, derived derivedFilter,
 		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  the found firewall (%s) is disabled, never flushed: its configuration stays on disk\n", fw)
 	}
 	said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf("filter %s assigned=%t firewall=%s", filter, filterAssigned, fw))
+	// What filters the machine now, and the fate of each (novox/hq ADR 0168): the found firewall
+	// retired, the runtime's own and bans left, and what the mesh did not write left and named —
+	// so the reader knows before the flip that the machine will not be filtered by the mesh alone.
+	if len(filtering.Filters) > 0 {
+		b.WriteString("\n  what filters the machine now, and what the flip does to each:\n")
+		for _, x := range filtering.Filters {
+			fate := "left: " + x.Owner + "'s"
+			switch x.Owner {
+			case inventory.FilterMesh:
+				fate = "the mesh's guard; replaced by its filter"
+			case inventory.FilterFoundFirewall:
+				fate = "the found firewall's; retired with it"
+			case inventory.FilterRuntime:
+				fate = "the container runtime's own; left"
+			case inventory.FilterBan:
+				fate = "a ban list; left"
+			case inventory.FilterOther:
+				fate = "NOT THE MESH'S; left in force — the machine is not filtered by the mesh alone until you remove it"
+			}
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "    %-50s %s\n", x.Where, fate)
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "    %-50s   %s\n", "", x.Refuses)
+			said = append(said, "filter "+x.Owner+" "+x.Where)
+		}
+	}
 	// Sorted: the same account, reported in another order, is the same preview.
 	sort.Strings(said)
 	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(strings.Join(said, "\n")))
@@ -767,21 +1035,29 @@ func adopt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string) (string, error) {
 // takeCommand, convergeCommand and adoptCommand are the command line's adapters to the acts above.
 func takeCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	set := flag.NewFlagSet("take", flag.ContinueOnError)
-	yes := set.Bool("yes", false, "cut over as previewed; without it the comparison is printed and nothing is taken")
+	yes := set.Bool("yes", false, "cut over as previewed, naming the digest the preview printed after it; "+
+		"without it the comparison is printed and nothing is taken")
 	downgrade := set.Bool("downgrade", false, "take it although the module's image is older than the one running")
-	var replace stringList
+	var replace, mint stringList
 	set.Var(&replace, "replace", "a found file's path whose content the module may replace although it differs (repeatable; * for every one)")
+	set.Var(&mint, "mint", "a secret the service shall take the mesh's minted value for, although it already has its own (repeatable)")
 	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	if len(positionals) != 2 {
-		return errors.New("take <node> <module> [--yes] [--downgrade] [--replace <path>]...")
+	if len(positionals) < 2 || len(positionals) > 3 || (len(positionals) == 3 && !*yes) {
+		return errors.New("take <node> <module> [--yes <digest>] [--downgrade] [--replace <path>]... [--mint <secret>]...")
+	}
+	opts := takeOptions{Yes: *yes, Downgrade: *downgrade, Replace: map[string]bool{}, Mint: map[string]bool{}}
+	if len(positionals) == 3 {
+		opts.Digest = positionals[2]
 	}
-	opts := takeOptions{Yes: *yes, Downgrade: *downgrade, Replace: map[string]bool{}}
 	for _, r := range replace {
 		opts.Replace[r] = true
 	}
+	for _, m := range mint {
+		opts.Mint[m] = true
+	}
 	return runAct(ctx, func(open *stores) (string, error) { return take(ctx, open, positionals[0], positionals[1], opts) })
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/api.go

@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ func commands(who Authenticator) http.Handler {
 	}))
 	// Adoption (novox/hq ADR 0100): the same acts as `take`, `converge` and `adopt`.
 	mux.HandleFunc("POST /take", acting(who, true, func(ctx context.Context, open *stores, in request) (string, error) {
-		return take(ctx, open, in.Node, in.Module, takeOptions{Yes: true})
+		return take(ctx, open, in.Node, in.Module, takeOptions{Yes: in.Yes, Digest: in.Digest})
 	}))
 	mux.HandleFunc("POST /converge", acting(who, false, func(ctx context.Context, open *stores, in request) (string, error) {
 		return converge(ctx, open, in.Node, in.Yes, in.Digest, in.Filter)
@@ -124,8 +124,8 @@ func commands(who Authenticator) http.Handler {
 type request struct {
 	Node   string `json:"node"`
 	Module string `json:"module"`
-	// Yes, Digest and Filter are converge's: do it rather than preview it, the digest of the
-	// preview it acts on, and which module loads the mesh's filter.
+	// Yes, Digest and Filter are converge's and take's: do it rather than preview it, the digest
+	// of the preview it acts on, and (converge) which module loads the mesh's filter.
 	Yes    bool   `json:"yes,omitempty"`
 	Digest string `json:"digest,omitempty"`
 	Filter string `json:"filter,omitempty"`

cmd/mesh-controller/build.go

@@ -148,6 +148,11 @@ func buildFrom(result link.BuildResult) inventory.Build {
 		// rebuild the graph rather than a list of names.
 		Path: result.Path,
 	}
+	// When it was asked, which is what orders it against another build of the same module
+	// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219) — not when it was heard.
+	if asked, ok := link.BuildAskedAt(result.ID); ok {
+		kept.Asked = asked
+	}
 	for _, ref := range result.Against {
 		kept.Against = append(kept.Against, catalogue.Recorded(ref))
 	}
@@ -409,7 +414,7 @@ func buildOne(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wait ti
 	// Correlated by something the control plane makes, not by the module's name: two builds of one
 	// module can be in flight, and the second answer is not the first one's.
 	request := link.BuildRequest{
-		ID:         fmt.Sprintf("%s-%d", "build", time.Now().UnixNano()),
+		ID:         link.NewBuildID(time.Now()),
 		Repository: repository,
 		Path:       path,
 		Ref:        ref,
@@ -430,11 +435,13 @@ func buildOne(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wait ti
 	}
 	fmt.Println()
 
-	ask, err := askOver(server)
+	seat := buildSeatHeld(ctx)
+	ask, err := askOverOn(seat)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer ask.Close()
+	fmt.Printf("  of %s\n", seat)
 
 	if wait == 0 {
 		// Asked and not waited for (novox/hq issue 176): the outcome is the role's event, and the
@@ -522,15 +529,33 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 	recorded := inventory.Source{
 		Repository: result.Repository, Path: result.Path, Ref: result.Ref,
 		BuiltFrom: result.Commit, Head: result.Commit,
+		// What it stood on, so registration can judge a built manifest's base (to-be 38 WP2.4).
+		Against: kept.Against,
+		// When it was asked, so an older request heard later does not replace a newer one
+		// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219).
+		Asked: kept.Asked,
 	}
 	if result.Source != nil && result.Source.Seat != "" {
 		recorded.Repository, recorded.Seat = result.Source.Repository, result.Source.Seat
 	}
+	// **A build at a commit does not change the branch a module follows** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215):
+	// the commit is built and recorded as what it was built from, and the module keeps following
+	// what it followed before — the repository's default branch for one new to the catalogue.
+	if followedBranch(result.Ref) == "" && result.Ref != "" {
+		recorded.Ref = ""
+		if was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, manifest.Module); err == nil {
+			recorded.Ref = followedBranch(was.Ref)
+		}
+	}
 	if err := namesNoInstallation(manifest); err != nil {
 		return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), and the mesh does not register it: %w",
 			result.On, result.Repository, short(result.Commit), err)
 	}
 	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, manifest, recorded); err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrSuperseded) {
+			return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %w",
+				result.On, manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), err)
+		}
 		return manifest, kept, err
 	}
 	return manifest, kept, nil
@@ -553,14 +578,14 @@ func buildAndShow(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wai
 	}
 	defer server.Close()
 
-	ask, err := askOver(server)
+	ask, err := askOverOn(buildSeatHeld(ctx))
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer ask.Close()
 
 	result, err := ask.Submit(ctx, link.BuildRequest{
-		ID:         fmt.Sprintf("%s-%d", "build", time.Now().UnixNano()),
+		ID:         link.NewBuildID(time.Now()),
 		Repository: repository, Path: path, Ref: ref,
 		Held: heldBy(ctx), Seats: seatBases(ctx),
 	}, wait)
@@ -607,6 +632,10 @@ type answers struct {
 	// a consequence of the refusals above: a node that does not resolve is not on the network, and
 	// a mesh whose hub is that node has no hub.
 	network string
+	// filtered is every converged machine that is not filtered by the mesh alone (novox/hq ADR
+	// 0168): what filters it beyond the mesh's own, the runtime's plumbing and bans, by name — a
+	// predecessor's chain, a found firewall in force again. Such a machine is not "all well".
+	filtered map[string]inventory.Filtering
 	// untaken is, per machine, each assigned module whose resources the machine is holding as it
 	// found them, and how many — a module that was assigned, sent, and is running none of what it
 	// declares because nothing has taken it (novox/hq ADR 0100, 04-ISSUES/125).
@@ -662,12 +691,56 @@ func heldBy(ctx context.Context) map[string]string {
 // **One place chooses**, as everywhere else the bus change went (novox/hq ADR 0116 step 5). On the bus
 // the mesh runs on today this needs the controller's own connection, so it is handed one; on the bus
 // being built it dials, because a build request is a one-shot and holds nothing else.
-func askOver(_ *link.Server) (link.Builders, error) {
+func askOverOn(seat string) (link.Builders, error) {
 	address, err := broker.BusAddress()
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return link.BuildsOverNATS(address)
+	return link.BuildsOverNATSOn(address, seat)
+}
+
+// buildSeatHeld is the build role to ask: the one some assigned module claims (novox/hq ADR 0190,
+// the handover). Read from the catalogue at ask time, because the answer changes exactly once, the
+// moment the first build-agent is assigned — and a controller that asked the new role before then
+// would queue work nothing takes, while the outcome that registers build-agent itself has to come
+// from the old builder. When the catalogue cannot be read the current role is asked, said aloud.
+func buildSeatHeld(ctx context.Context) string {
+	open, err := openStores(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not read what is assigned, so the build is asked of %s: %v\n",
+			link.TheBuildMachine, err)
+		return link.TheBuildMachine
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	entries, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not read the catalogue, so the build is asked of %s: %v\n",
+			link.TheBuildMachine, err)
+		return link.TheBuildMachine
+	}
+	return buildSeatAmong(entries)
+}
+
+// buildSeatAmong is the rule, over what the catalogue holds: the current build role when any
+// assigned module claims it; else the retired role while an assigned module still claims that; else
+// the current role, which is where every ask goes once the handover is done.
+func buildSeatAmong(entries []inventory.Entry) string {
+	heldBefore := false
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if len(e.On) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		if e.Manifest.ClaimsSeat(link.TheBuildMachine) {
+			return link.TheBuildMachine
+		}
+		if e.Manifest.ClaimsSeat(link.TheBuildMachineBefore) {
+			heldBefore = true
+		}
+	}
+	if heldBefore {
+		return link.TheBuildMachineBefore
+	}
+	return link.TheBuildMachine
 }
 
 // buildLog prints everything a build machine said about one build, read back from the bus.
@@ -687,10 +760,13 @@ func buildLog(ctx context.Context, id string) error {
 	}
 	defer js.Close()
 
-	sub, err := js.Context().PullSubscribe(link.BuildLog(id), "",
+	// Under whichever build role did it: a build asked of the retired role during the handover
+	// (ADR 0190) said its lines as that role's events, and a reader should not have to know which.
+	lines := link.BuildLogOf("*", id)
+	sub, err := js.Context().PullSubscribe(lines, "",
 		nats.BindStream(broker.EventsStream), nats.DeliverAll(), nats.AckNone())
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("cannot read %s from the bus: %w", link.BuildLog(id), err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot read %s from the bus: %w", lines, err)
 	}
 	defer func() { _ = sub.Unsubscribe() }()
 

cmd/mesh-controller/build_seat_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+func claiming(module, seat string, on ...string) inventory.Entry {
+	return inventory.Entry{
+		Manifest: catalogue.Manifest{Module: module, Claims: []catalogue.Claim{{Name: seat}}},
+		On:       on,
+	}
+}
+
+// The controller asks the build role that has a holder (novox/hq ADR 0190 handover): the retired
+// one while only the builder is assigned, the current one from the first build-agent on, and the
+// current one when nothing holds either — where every ask goes once the handover is done.
+func TestTheControllerAsksTheBuildRoleThatHasAHolder(t *testing.T) {
+	onlyTheBuilder := []inventory.Entry{
+		claiming("builder", link.TheBuildMachineBefore, "anchor"),
+		claiming("build-agent", link.TheBuildMachine), // registered, assigned nowhere yet
+	}
+	if got := buildSeatAmong(onlyTheBuilder); got != link.TheBuildMachineBefore {
+		t.Errorf("with only the builder assigned, asked %q", got)
+	}
+	bothHeld := []inventory.Entry{
+		claiming("builder", link.TheBuildMachineBefore, "anchor"),
+		claiming("build-agent", link.TheBuildMachine, "home-server"),
+	}
+	if got := buildSeatAmong(bothHeld); got != link.TheBuildMachine {
+		t.Errorf("with a build-agent assigned anywhere, asked %q", got)
+	}
+	neither := []inventory.Entry{claiming("builder", link.TheBuildMachineBefore)}
+	if got := buildSeatAmong(neither); got != link.TheBuildMachine {
+		t.Errorf("with no holder of either, asked %q, want the current role", got)
+	}
+	if got := buildSeatAmong(nil); got != link.TheBuildMachine {
+		t.Errorf("an empty catalogue asks %q", got)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/build_test.go

@@ -2,9 +2,12 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
@@ -63,3 +66,87 @@ func TestABuildHeardIsRecordedAndRegistered(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a failure is said in the builder's words: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215: a build asked at a commit is recorded as built from that commit, and the
+// module keeps following the branch it followed — a new one, the default branch.
+func TestABuildAtACommitKeepsTheBranchTheModuleFollows(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	manifest, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"module": "unifi", "version": "1"})
+	result := func(id, ref, commit string) link.BuildResult {
+		return link.BuildResult{ID: id, Repository: "http://forge.internal:20000/novox/mesh-catalog.git",
+			Path: "modules/unifi", Ref: ref, On: "anchor", Commit: commit, Manifest: manifest,
+			Source: &link.SourceOnSeat{Seat: "git", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog"}}
+	}
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, result("b-1", "main", "1111111aaaa")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, result("b-2", "9c97a8a", "9c97a8a1d2c3")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	src, err := open.inventory.SourceOf(ctx, "unifi")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if src.Ref != "main" || src.BuiltFrom != "9c97a8a1d2c3" {
+		t.Errorf("after a build at a commit the module follows %q, built from %q; want main, 9c97a8a1d2c3", src.Ref, src.BuiltFrom)
+	}
+
+	// One new to the catalogue, first built at a commit, follows the default branch.
+	other, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"module": "letta", "version": "1"})
+	r := result("b-3", "deadbeef", "deadbeefcafe")
+	r.Manifest, r.Path = other, "modules/letta"
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, r); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if src, _ := open.inventory.SourceOf(ctx, "letta"); src.Ref != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a module first built at a commit follows %q, want the default branch", src.Ref)
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219: an older request heard after a newer one is recorded and not registered,
+// so a push sends what the newer request built.
+func TestAnOlderBuildHeardLaterDoesNotReplaceTheNewer(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	older := time.Date(2026, 10, 3, 21, 33, 45, 0, time.UTC)
+	newer := time.Date(2026, 10, 3, 21, 51, 57, 0, time.UTC)
+	result := func(asked time.Time, image string) link.BuildResult {
+		manifest, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"module": "postgres", "version": image})
+		return link.BuildResult{ID: link.NewBuildID(asked), Repository: "http://forge.internal:20000/novox/mesh-catalog.git",
+			Path: "modules/postgres", Ref: "main", On: "anchor", Commit: "efff5415", Manifest: manifest,
+			Source: &link.SourceOnSeat{Seat: "git", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog"}}
+	}
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, result(newer, "4bcd5f73")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, result(older, "0ab07fa9"))
+	if !errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrSuperseded) {
+		t.Fatalf("the older request's outcome was taken in as current: %v", err)
+	}
+	shelf, err := open.inventory.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := shelf["postgres"].Version; got != "4bcd5f73" {
+		t.Errorf("postgres is %q; want the newer request's 4bcd5f73", got)
+	}
+	if builds, _ := open.inventory.Builds(ctx, "postgres", 5); len(builds) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("the late build was not recorded: %v", builds)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestABuildIDSaysWhenItWasAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Date(2026, 10, 3, 21, 51, 57, 392539762, time.UTC)
+	if got, ok := link.BuildAskedAt(link.NewBuildID(at)); !ok || !got.Equal(at) {
+		t.Errorf("read back %v %v; want %v", got, ok, at)
+	}
+	if got, ok := link.BuildAskedAt("build-1791064317392539762"); !ok || got.Format(time.TimeOnly) != "21:51:57" {
+		t.Errorf("the incident's id reads as %v %v", got, ok)
+	}
+	for _, id := range []string{"b-1", "build-2", "build-", "build-x", ""} {
+		if _, ok := link.BuildAskedAt(id); ok {
+			t.Errorf("%q read as a request time", id)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/credential_on_assign_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A fresh assignment is pushed before its credential exists (novox/hq issue 203): `assign` recorded
+// the module, `push` sealed a random own secret where the bus credential belongs, and the process
+// crash-looped until a person ran `module issue` and pushed again. Now assigning a module that speaks
+// on the bus issues its credential in the same act — or, when the bus cannot be reached from here,
+// says which verb to run — and a push never seals a placeholder in a credential's place.
+
+func aTalker() catalogue.Manifest {
+	return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "talker", Version: "1",
+		OwnSecrets: catalogue.OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh/talker/broker"}},
+		Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "state", "type": "directory", "path": "/var/lib/mesh/talker", "mode": "0700"},
+		}}
+}
+
+func TestAssigningAModuleThatSpeaksOnTheBusNamesItsCredential(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	register(t, open, aTalker())
+
+	// No bus is known to this process, so the credential cannot be issued here: the assignment
+	// stands and says exactly what must happen before a push — never silently.
+	said, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "talker")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(said, "module issue talker --node laptop") {
+		t.Fatalf("an assignment whose credential could not be issued does not name the verb:\n%s", said)
+	}
+
+	// And the push refuses to send it, naming the same verb, rather than sealing a placeholder.
+	plan, settings, err := planFor(ctx, open, "laptop")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, err = declarationFor(ctx, open, "laptop", plan, settings)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a push sealed a placeholder where talker's bus credential belongs")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "module issue talker --node laptop") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "issue 203") {
+		t.Fatalf("the refusal does not say what to run: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Once the user is minted, the push goes on to the credential the mesh sealed, and re-assigning
+	// does not mint again: a credential rotates on purpose, never by habit.
+	if _, err := open.inventory.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{
+		Username: "laptop.talker", Kind: inventory.BusModule, Node: "laptop", Module: "talker"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	hash, _, err := open.inventory.BusUserHash(ctx, "laptop.talker")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	said, err = assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "talker")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(said, "module issue") {
+		t.Fatalf("a module with a minted credential was told to issue one:\n%s", said)
+	}
+	again, _, err := open.inventory.BusUserHash(ctx, "laptop.talker")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if again != hash {
+		t.Fatal("re-assigning rotated the credential")
+	}
+}
+
+// A module that declares no broker secret is left alone: nothing to issue, nothing said.
+func TestAssigningAModuleThatDoesNotSpeakSaysNothingOfCredentials(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	register(t, open, helloWeb())
+	said, err := assign(t.Context(), open, "laptop", "hello-web")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(said, "credential") {
+		t.Fatalf("a module without a broker secret was told about credentials:\n%s", said)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/foundation_scope_test.go

@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-// The broker opening belongs only on the node that listens on it (novox/hq: it leaked onto
-// every enrolled node's declaration, opening a from-anywhere hole for a port nothing there
-// serves). foundationPortsFor is the scope.
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-)
-
-func TestTheBrokerHostGetsTheFoundationOpening(t *testing.T) {
-	broker := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "lavinmq", Listens: []catalogue.Listening{
-		{Port: 5671, Protocol: "tcp", From: "mesh"},
-		{Port: 5672, Protocol: "tcp", From: "mesh"},
-	}}
-	got := foundationPortsFor(5671, []catalogue.Manifest{broker})
-	if len(got) != 1 || got[0] != 5671 {
-		t.Fatalf("the node that listens on the broker port keeps it; got %v", got)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestANodeThatOnlyDialsTheBrokerGetsNoOpening(t *testing.T) {
-	// ace's set: things that reach the broker as a client, none listening on 5671.
-	ace := []catalogue.Manifest{
-		{Module: "plex", Listens: []catalogue.Listening{{Port: 32400, Protocol: "tcp", From: "anywhere"}}},
-		{Module: "postgres", Listens: []catalogue.Listening{{Port: 5432, Protocol: "tcp", From: "mesh"}}},
-	}
-	if got := foundationPortsFor(5671, ace); got != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a node that only dials out opens nothing for the broker; got %v", got)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/issue_204_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A declaration composed earlier is numbered lower than one composed later, whatever order the two
+// are sent in (novox/hq issue 204). The number used to be taken at send time, after composing, so a
+// declaration composed before an assignment changed and sent after a newer one carried the higher
+// number — and the machine, which refuses a lower number, took the older content as the mesh's
+// newest word. Taken before the composition reads anything, the order of numbers is the order of
+// compositions, and the host's refusal does what it is for.
+func TestADeclarationComposedEarlierIsNumberedLowerWhateverOrderItIsSent(t *testing.T) {
+	allot := numbered()
+	var composed []string
+	compose := func(stamp string) func(string) (sendable, error) {
+		return func(node string) (sendable, error) {
+			composed = append(composed, stamp)
+			return sendable{Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": node + "." + stamp}}}, nil
+		}
+	}
+	// Composed first — before an assignment changed — and sent last.
+	stale, _ := composeEach([]string{"anchor"}, allot, compose("before"))
+	// Composed after the change, sent first.
+	fresh, _ := composeEach([]string{"anchor"}, allot, compose("after"))
+
+	if stale[0].declared.Sequence != 1 || fresh[0].declared.Sequence != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the numbers do not follow the compositions: before=%d after=%d",
+			stale[0].declared.Sequence, fresh[0].declared.Sequence)
+	}
+	// Sent in the other order, the numbers do not change — so the machine that has applied the
+	// fresh one (2) refuses the stale one (1) when it arrives late.
+	if !(stale[0].declared.Sequence < fresh[0].declared.Sequence) {
+		t.Fatal("a declaration composed earlier must carry the lower number, however late it is sent")
+	}
+	if len(composed) != 2 || composed[0] != "before" {
+		t.Fatalf("compositions happened in an unexpected order: %v", composed)
+	}
+}
+
+// The number is taken before the first read of the composition, not after it: an allotter that
+// fails leaves nothing composed for that machine, and the others are still composed.
+func TestTheNumberIsTakenBeforeComposingAndItsFailureIsARefusal(t *testing.T) {
+	calls := 0
+	allot := func(node string) (int64, error) {
+		if node == "anchor" {
+			return 0, context.DeadlineExceeded
+		}
+		return 7, nil
+	}
+	sending, refusals := composeEach([]string{"anchor", "laptop"}, allot, func(node string) (sendable, error) {
+		calls++
+		if node == "anchor" {
+			t.Fatal("anchor was composed although its number could not be taken")
+		}
+		return sendable{}, nil
+	})
+	if calls != 1 || len(sending) != 1 || sending[0].node != "laptop" || sending[0].declared.Sequence != 7 {
+		t.Fatalf("laptop should be composed with its number and anchor refused: %v / %v", sending, refusals)
+	}
+	if len(refusals) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("anchor's failed number should be a refusal naming it: %v", refusals)
+	}
+}
+
+// What was sent is written down even when the sender's context is already cancelled (issue 204): a
+// controller replaced mid-send had told the machine and never recorded it, so status read "applied,
+// current" over a machine that had just been sent something else.
+func TestASendIsRecordedEvenWhenTheSenderIsBeingCancelled(t *testing.T) {
+	inv := inventory.ForTest(t)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(t.Context())
+	if _, err := inv.AddNode(ctx, "anchor"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	cancel() // the sender is going away: its context is cancelled between the send and the record
+	body := []byte(`{"declaration":1,"resources":[]}`)
+	digest, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, "anchor", body)
+	if err != nil {
+		// NodeByName on the cancelled context may itself refuse; the record must still be possible
+		// through the detached context, so look the node up again on a live one.
+		t.Fatalf("recording a send after cancellation failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	outstanding, err := inv.Outstanding(t.Context(), "anchor")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if outstanding != digest || digest != digestOf(body) {
+		t.Fatalf("the send was not recorded: outstanding %q, sent %q", outstanding, digest)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/main.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
@@ -180,7 +181,8 @@ func usage() {
   api --issuer URL [--listen A]  assign and unassign over http, for a surface that is not here
   assign <node> <module>         put a module on a node
   unassign <node> <module>       take it off
-  take <node> <module>           cut a module over on an adopted node, once its data has moved
+  take <node> <module>           preview a module's cutover on an adopted node: what runs beside
+                                 what it declares; --yes <digest> cuts it over as previewed
   converge <node> [--yes <digest>] [--filter nftables]   preview, then make, an adopted node converged
   adopt <node>                   return a converged node to adopted; what was taken stays taken
   settings set <module> <file>   what a module's config should say, for the whole mesh
@@ -252,25 +254,34 @@ func parseAround(set *flag.FlagSet, args []string) ([]string, error) {
 // became of a build nobody was watching.
 func (b builds) Built(ctx context.Context, result link.BuildResult) error {
 	manifest, _, err := takeIn(ctx, b.inv, result)
+	// When it was asked, so a plan takes as its outcome only a build asked for it or after it
+	// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219). Zero when the id does not say.
+	asked, _ := link.BuildAskedAt(result.ID)
 	switch {
 	case err != nil && result.Failed != "":
 		fmt.Printf("%s: %v\n", result.ID, err)
 		if result.Module != "" {
-			planBuilt(ctx, b.open, result.Module, result.Commit, result.Failed)
+			planBuilt(ctx, b.open, result.Module, result.Commit, result.Failed, asked)
 		} else {
 			planFailedBuild(ctx, b.open, result)
 		}
 		return nil
+	case errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrSuperseded):
+		// Not a failure: the module is already at what a later request built. A plan that asked
+		// before that later request is answered by it; one that asked after it ignores this.
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %v\n", result.ID, err)
+		planBuilt(ctx, b.open, manifest.Module, result.Commit, "", asked)
+		return nil
 	case err != nil:
 		fmt.Printf("%s: heard and recorded, and not registered: %v\n", result.ID, err)
 		if manifest.Module != "" {
-			planBuilt(ctx, b.open, manifest.Module, result.Commit, err.Error())
+			planBuilt(ctx, b.open, manifest.Module, result.Commit, err.Error(), asked)
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
 	fmt.Printf("%s: %s %s registered, built on %s from %s\n",
 		result.ID, manifest.Module, manifest.Version, result.On, short(result.Commit))
 	saysWhenThePolicyActs(ctx, b.inv, manifest.Module)
-	planBuilt(ctx, b.open, manifest.Module, result.Commit, "")
+	planBuilt(ctx, b.open, manifest.Module, result.Commit, "", asked)
 	return nil
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/modules.go

@@ -147,6 +147,40 @@ func moduleCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		// **The same list, for something other than a person** (novox/hq ADR 0195): what each module
+		// is, where it runs, whether it is current, and what it says of itself.
+		if len(args) > 1 && args[1] == "--json" {
+			type listed struct {
+				Module   string `json:"module"`
+				Version  string `json:"version"`
+				Built    string `json:"built,omitempty"`
+				Head     string `json:"head,omitempty"`
+				Current  bool   `json:"current"`
+				Provided bool   `json:"provided,omitempty"`
+				// Tools says whether the module answers tools anywhere it runs: a list of its own,
+				// a bundle the runtime serves, or a seat's verbs it claims (novox/hq ADR 0197) —
+				// what the console checks the bus's answers against.
+				Tools        bool     `json:"tools"`
+				On           []string `json:"on"`
+				Provides     []string `json:"provides,omitempty"`
+				Requires     []string `json:"requires,omitempty"`
+				Claims       []string `json:"claims,omitempty"`
+				Capabilities []string `json:"capabilities,omitempty"`
+			}
+			out := make([]listed, 0, len(entries))
+			for _, e := range entries {
+				m := e.Manifest
+				l := listed{Module: m.Module, Version: m.Version, Built: e.Source.BuiltFrom, Head: e.Source.Head,
+					Current: e.Provided || e.Source.Repository == "" || e.Source.Current(), Provided: e.Provided,
+					On: append([]string{}, e.On...), Provides: m.Offers(), Requires: m.Requires,
+					Capabilities: m.Capabilities, Tools: declaresTools(m)}
+				for _, c := range m.Claims {
+					l.Claims = append(l.Claims, c.At()+"/"+c.Name)
+				}
+				out = append(out, l)
+			}
+			return printJSON(out)
+		}
 		if len(entries) == 0 {
 			fmt.Println("this mesh knows about no modules yet")
 			return nil
@@ -352,10 +386,14 @@ func settingsCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	switch args[0] {
 	case "set":
 		if len(positionals) != 2 {
-			return errors.New("settings set <module> <settings.json> [--node <node>]")
+			return errors.New("settings set <module> <settings.json | {…}> [--node <node>]")
 		}
-		raw, err := os.ReadFile(positionals[1])
-		if err != nil {
+		// A file, or the values themselves when they begin with `{` — which is how the mesh's own
+		// `settings` tool passes them, having no file to hand over (novox/hq issue 198).
+		var raw []byte
+		if strings.HasPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(positionals[1]), "{") {
+			raw = []byte(positionals[1])
+		} else if raw, err = os.ReadFile(positionals[1]); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 		var values map[string]any
@@ -553,7 +591,7 @@ func issueOnTheNewBus(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m catalogue
 
 	user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: node, Module: m.Module}.Username()
 	password, err := inv.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{
-		Username: user, Kind: inventory.BusModule, Node: node, Module: m.Module,
+		Username: user, Kind: busKindOf(m.Module), Node: node, Module: m.Module,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -573,6 +611,16 @@ func issueOnTheNewBus(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m catalogue
 	return issueWith(ctx, inv, m, node, busAddress, known, reachable, user, password)
 }
 
+// busKindOf is what a module's bus user is recorded as: the node's tool runtime where the module is
+// the runtime (novox/hq ADR 0175), a module otherwise. The username is the same either way — the
+// runtime is issued through this same path — and the kind is what a reader of the records sees.
+func busKindOf(module string) string {
+	if module == catalogue.RuntimeModule {
+		return inventory.BusNodeTools
+	}
+	return inventory.BusModule
+}
+
 // issueWith is the delivery half: the minted password sealed to the machine as the module's broker
 // secret, and the module's consumer created where the bus can be reached. Split from the minting
 // so the move can issue every module against a bus whose address it worked out itself
@@ -719,3 +767,23 @@ func claimsFor(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m catalogue.Manife
 	}
 	return out, nil
 }
+
+// declaresTools is whether a module answers tools wherever it runs (novox/hq ADR 0197): it names
+// tools of its own, its build delivers a bundle the node's runtime serves, or it claims a seat
+// whose verbs it serves. A module with none is never expected to announce anything.
+func declaresTools(m catalogue.Manifest) bool {
+	if len(m.Tools) > 0 {
+		return true
+	}
+	for _, b := range m.Bundles {
+		if len(b.Loads) > 0 {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	for _, c := range m.Claims {
+		if len(c.Serves) > 0 {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/network_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"os"
+	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -265,6 +266,12 @@ func TestTheResolverIsToldEveryMachineOnTheNetworkAndToldAgainWhenOneLeaves(t *t
 	if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "anchor", "dnsmasq"); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	// Its bus credential, as assigning issues it where the bus is reachable (novox/hq issue 203):
+	// no bus is known to this test, so it is minted here, or composing refuses the placeholder.
+	if _, err := open.inventory.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{
+		Username: "anchor.dnsmasq", Kind: inventory.BusModule, Node: "anchor", Module: "dnsmasq"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 	zones := func() string {
 		t.Helper()
 		for _, r := range composed(t, open, "anchor").Resources {
@@ -303,3 +310,28 @@ func TestTheResolverIsToldEveryMachineOnTheNetworkAndToldAgainWhenOneLeaves(t *t
 		t.Fatalf("a machine that left the network is still a wildcard, or the one that stayed is not:\n%s", after)
 	}
 }
+
+// The roster is the machines and nothing else (novox/hq ADR 0191): each node's internal domain covers
+// every route on it, and a node's public domains are public DNS's. A routed name in `.Names` was a
+// private answer for a public name, handed by a resolver serving a LAN to a phone that could not use it.
+func TestTheRosterNamesOnlyTheMachines(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	gens, err := generators(ctx, open)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, node := range []string{"anchor", "laptop"} {
+		plan, settings, err := planFor(ctx, open, node)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		with, _, err := renderingFor(ctx, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Reading)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(with.Names, with.Machines) {
+			t.Fatalf("%s's roster names more than the machines:\n names    %v\n machines %v", node, with.Names, with.Machines)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/nodes.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
@@ -44,6 +45,21 @@ func nodeCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		// **The same list, for something other than a person** — the console's discovery reads it
+		// (novox/hq ADR 0195), and a reader that parses a printed column breaks when it is reworded.
+		if len(args) > 1 && args[1] == "--json" {
+			type listed struct {
+				Name  string `json:"name"`
+				Heard string `json:"heard"`
+				Mode  string `json:"mode"`
+				ID    string `json:"id"`
+			}
+			out := make([]listed, 0, len(nodes))
+			for _, n := range nodes {
+				out = append(out, listed{Name: n.Name, Heard: heardFrom(n), Mode: modeOf(n), ID: n.ID})
+			}
+			return printJSON(out)
+		}
 		if len(nodes) == 0 {
 			// Said rather than printed as nothing: an empty list and a failed read must never
 			// look the same, and this command answering "none" is only honest because getting
@@ -500,3 +516,13 @@ func orNotReported(s string) string {
 	}
 	return s
 }
+
+// printJSON prints a value as indented JSON, the shape every `--json` answers in.
+func printJSON(v any) error {
+	body, err := json.MarshalIndent(v, "", "  ")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	fmt.Println(string(body))
+	return nil
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -191,7 +192,7 @@ func TestWhatAHandedOverModuleRecordsAboutItsSource(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("the source records as %+v", from)
 	}
 	// A manifest with no provenance at all is legitimate: fixing something in a hurry.
-	if from, err := whereItComesFrom("", "", "", "", false); err != nil || from != (inventory.Source{}) {
+	if from, err := whereItComesFrom("", "", "", "", false); err != nil || !reflect.DeepEqual(from, inventory.Source{}) {
 		t.Fatalf("a manifest handed over with no provenance was refused: %+v, %v", from, err)
 	}
 	for _, c := range []struct {
@@ -210,3 +211,27 @@ func TestWhatAHandedOverModuleRecordsAboutItsSource(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215: a module once built at a commit still follows its branch — a merge into it
+// matches the module, and a plan re-asks the branch, not the old commit.
+func TestAModuleBuiltAtACommitStillFollowsItsBranch(t *testing.T) {
+	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main"}
+	pinned := inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Ref: "9c97a8a"}
+	if !sourceIs(pinned, m) {
+		t.Error("a module whose record names a commit is left out of a merge into its branch")
+	}
+	full := inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Ref: "9c97a8a1d2c3b4a5f60718293a4b5c6d7e8f9012"}
+	if !sourceIs(full, m) {
+		t.Error("a full commit hash is read as a branch")
+	}
+	if got := followedBranch("9c97a8a"); got != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a plan would re-ask the old commit %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := followedBranch("release"); got != "release" {
+		t.Errorf("a branch is not followed as named: %q", got)
+	}
+	// A module that follows another branch is still not this merge's.
+	if sourceIs(inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Ref: "release"}, m) {
+		t.Error("a module following another branch was matched")
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plan.go

@@ -16,8 +16,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/licences"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/overlay"
-	"net"
-	"strconv"
 )
 
 // working out what one machine should be.
@@ -186,8 +184,12 @@ func planFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, nodeName string) (catalogue.Reso
 	// Settings for everything that resolved, including modules nobody assigned directly: a
 	// requirement pulled in by something else is still configurable, and finding out that it is
 	// not only when you try would be an arbitrary line nobody could predict.
+	//
+	// A setting that reaches nothing, or cannot compose with the definition it was stored for,
+	// no longer refuses the machine here: it is judged where it is stored, and a definition that
+	// moved under it costs that module its place in the declaration, said by name (novox/hq ADR
+	// 0163, rule 6 — see Compose).
 	settings := catalogue.SettingsBy{}
-	var stray []string
 	for _, m := range resolved.Modules {
 		layers, err := inv.SettingsFor(ctx, nodeName, m.Module)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -197,18 +199,6 @@ func planFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, nodeName string) (catalogue.Reso
 			continue
 		}
 		settings[m.Module] = layers
-		stray = append(stray, catalogue.UnusedSettings(m, layers)...)
-	}
-	if len(stray) > 0 {
-		// Somebody set something that reaches no file. Said here rather than discovered by the
-		// machine not behaving differently, which is the slowest way there is.
-		//
-		// Marked like a set that will not compose, and for the same reason: it is a standing fact
-		// about this node's own configuration, not a question the mesh could not answer. A gatherer
-		// passes over it as it always did — one node's stray setting must not stop every other node
-		// being described (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/152).
-		return catalogue.Resolution{}, nil, notResolvable{fmt.Errorf(
-			"these settings reach nothing:\n  - %s", strings.Join(stray, "\n  - "))}
 	}
 	return resolved, settings, nil
 }
@@ -405,7 +395,32 @@ 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}, nil
+		Received: composed.Received, Mesh: with.Mesh,
+		LeftOut: sortedKeysOf(composed.LeftOut), leftOutWhy: composed.LeftOut}, nil
+}
+
+// sortedKeysOf is a map's keys, sorted — so what a declaration says it left out does not move
+// for a reordering nobody made.
+func sortedKeysOf(m map[string]string) []string {
+	if len(m) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(m))
+	for k := range m {
+		out = append(out, k)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}
+
+// reportLeftOut says which of a machine's modules its declaration leaves out and why (novox/hq ADR
+// 0163, rule 6), one line each: the machine is told everything else, and is told it was left out.
+func reportLeftOut(node string, declared sendable) {
+	for _, m := range declared.LeftOut {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %s left out — a setting stored for it cannot compose with its definition; "+
+			"what the machine holds for it is kept and its containers are untouched. %s\n",
+			node, m, declared.leftOutWhy[m])
+	}
 }
 
 // renderingFor is everything a node's declaration is composed with, and the node's record.
@@ -445,7 +460,10 @@ func renderingFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string,
 	for _, m := range plan.Modules {
 		g, err := catalogue.GivenPorts(m, settings[m.Module])
 		if err != nil {
-			return catalogue.Rendering{}, inventory.Node{}, err
+			// A given port its definition no longer publishes: the module is left out of the
+			// declaration, by name, when it is composed (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6) — never the
+			// machine refused here for it.
+			continue
 		}
 		if g != nil {
 			given[m.Module] = g
@@ -515,6 +533,23 @@ func renderingFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string,
 			var sealed string
 			var err error
 			if choosing == Allocating {
+				// **The broker credential is never invented here** (novox/hq issue 203). Every other
+				// own secret is the mesh's to make — a password nobody else knows — but this one
+				// is an account on the bus, minted by `module issue` and sealed by it; a push that
+				// made a random one would deliver a file the process cannot read and report the
+				// machine applied. Refused by name, with the verb.
+				if name == "broker" {
+					user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: node, Module: m.Module}.Username()
+					if _, minted, err := inv.BusUserHash(ctx, user); err != nil {
+						return catalogue.Rendering{}, inventory.Node{}, err
+					} else if !minted {
+						return catalogue.Rendering{}, inventory.Node{}, fmt.Errorf(
+							"%s on %s has no bus credential: nothing was issued for %s, and a push "+
+								"would seal a placeholder its process cannot read (novox/hq issue 203). "+
+								"`module issue %s --node %s`, then push again",
+							m.Module, node, user, m.Module, node)
+					}
+				}
 				sealed, err = inv.SecretForModule(ctx, node, m.Module, name)
 			} else {
 				var held bool
@@ -610,43 +645,24 @@ func renderingFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string,
 		}
 	}
 
-	// And every routed name → the node that serves it (novox/hq ADR 0066). Alongside the
-	// `<node>.internal` names above, so a container — or an internal ACME validator — resolves a
-	// routed name to the proxy that serves it, mesh-wide. The mesh publishes the names it was told
-	// to serve and knows nothing about what they mean.
-	// Kept apart from the machines, because a fact about the machines must not be handed the names
-	// the mesh merely serves (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/111).
+	// **The roster is the machines and nothing else** (novox/hq ADR 0191). Each node has one internal
+	// domain, `<node>.internal`, and every route on it is a name under that domain (ADR 0151), which
+	// the resolver answers with one wildcard per machine — so no route needs a line of its own. A
+	// node's public domains are the operator's and public DNS answers them; the mesh gives no private
+	// answer for any of them. The roster once carried every routed name, public ones included, and a
+	// resolver that also serves a LAN handed a phone a tunnel address for the mail server.
+	// `.Names` and `.Machines` stay two fields so a module's template keeps rendering (issue 111).
 	machines := make(map[string]string, len(names))
 	for name, at := range names {
 		machines[name] = at
 	}
-	routes, err := routeNamesInTheMesh(ctx, open)
-	if err != nil {
-		return catalogue.Rendering{}, inventory.Node{}, err
-	}
-	for name, at := range routes {
-		names[name] = at
-	}
 
-	// The ports the mesh itself needs open, which no module declares. Read from the broker this
-	// control plane was told about rather than written down twice: the address a node is handed in
-	// its token and the port its machine must accept on are the same fact.
-	//
-	// **Only on the node that listens on it** (novox/hq issue: the broker opening leaked onto
-	// every node). The opening exists to WIDEN the broker's port to from-anywhere — a machine
-	// enrolling is not on the mesh yet, so the broker's own `from: mesh` listen would refuse its
-	// first dial. That widening belongs on the broker's host and nowhere else: a node that only
-	// dials out needs no incoming rule, and an opening for a port nothing here listens on is a
-	// from-anywhere hole for a dead port. So the foundation port is kept only when a module
-	// resolved onto THIS node actually listens on it.
+	// **The bus is never public** (novox/hq ADR 0169). It was a foundation port — widened from the
+	// broker's own `from: mesh` to from-anywhere on the broker's host, so a machine could enrol
+	// before it had an address on the private network. A machine joins through the tunnel now, and
+	// every link to the bus crosses it, so its reach is what the `nats` module declares: the mesh.
+	// Nothing the mesh itself needs is opened beyond what a module declares.
 	var foundation []int
-	if b, err := broker.FromEnvironment(); err == nil {
-		if _, port, err := net.SplitHostPort(b.Address); err == nil {
-			if n, err := strconv.Atoi(port); err == nil {
-				foundation = foundationPortsFor(n, plan.Modules)
-			}
-		}
-	}
 
 	// And, for a module that keeps them, every operator-sealed secret in the mesh — the vault's
 	// copy, outside the store (novox/hq ADR 0085, amended). Read only; nothing here mints. The
@@ -718,76 +734,6 @@ func renderingFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string,
 	}, record, nil
 }
 
-// routeNamesInTheMesh is every routed name and the address of the node that serves it (novox/hq
-// ADR 0066).
-//
-// **Mesh-wide, so any container resolves any routed name to its proxy** — including an internal
-// ACME validator, which cannot complete a challenge for a name it cannot reach. A routed name is
-// composed on the consumer's node (from its label and that node's public domain) and served by the
-// node answering the consumer's route requirement; this gathers both.
-//
-// It reads route names off resolutions rather than a table because there is no table: a route is a
-// contribution, computed from what each node runs. Name-agnostic — a contribution counts as a
-// routed name only because it carried a label the mesh composed, never because the mesh knows what
-// "route" means. A node that does not resolve is skipped, so one machine's broken set does not cost
-// the rest their names.
-//
-// **A node that could not be READ is a different matter and is raised.** Skipping one states, to
-// every machine at once, that its names do not exist — and since the roster is part of every
-// container's identity, that withdraws them and replaces every container (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/152,
-// 151). So every failure here says which machine and which read, because the alternative is a
-// mesh-wide refusal with nothing named in it.
-func routeNamesInTheMesh(ctx context.Context, open *stores) (map[string]string, error) {
-	inv := open.inventory
-	places, err := inv.Overlays(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("where the machines are cannot be read: %w", err)
-	}
-	address := map[string]string{}
-	for _, p := range places {
-		if strings.TrimSpace(p.Address) != "" {
-			address[p.Name] = p.Address
-		}
-	}
-
-	nodes, err := inv.Nodes(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("which machines the mesh has cannot be read: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	// Every machine's resolution first, then the names across them at once: which node serves a
-	// name is a question about the graph — the consumer on one machine, the provider on another —
-	// and answered wrongly by looking at one contribution at a time (novox/hq issue 178).
-	plans := map[string]catalogue.Resolution{}
-	settings := map[string]catalogue.SettingsBy{}
-	for _, n := range nodes {
-		plan, layers, err := planFor(ctx, open, n.Name)
-		switch {
-		case unresolvable(err):
-			// Their set does not compose, so they serve no names. Passed over, so one machine's
-			// broken set does not cost the rest theirs.
-			continue
-		case err != nil:
-			// The mesh could not be asked. Returning the roster without this machine's names would
-			// state that they do not exist — to every machine, and indistinguishably from the
-			// operator having withdrawn them (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/152).
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("the names %s serves cannot be read: %w", n.Name, err)
-		}
-		plans[n.Name], settings[n.Name] = plan, layers
-	}
-	served, err := catalogue.NamesServed(plans, settings)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	out := map[string]string{}
-	for name, node := range served {
-		if at := address[node]; at != "" {
-			out[name] = at
-		}
-	}
-	return out, nil
-}
-
 // certificateFor is what the mesh certifies about one machine's internal name.
 //
 // It reaches across two contexts and reads neither one's store from the other: `inventory` knows
@@ -1000,6 +946,20 @@ func planCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// Which modules a push would leave out, and why — said before the plan, since the plan is of
+	// what the machine would be told (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6). Judged, never composed: `plan`
+	// without --json allocates nothing.
+	if record, err := open.inventory.NodeByName(ctx, args[0]); err == nil {
+		left := plan.LeftOut(settings, record.Adopted)
+		reportLeftOut(args[0], sendable{LeftOut: sortedKeysOf(left), leftOutWhy: left})
+	}
+	// And a setting that reaches nothing — refused where it is stored, and said here for one
+	// stored before its definition moved from under it.
+	for _, m := range plan.Modules {
+		for _, stray := range catalogue.UnusedSettings(m, settings[m.Module]) {
+			fmt.Printf("%s: a setting reaches nothing — %s\n", args[0], stray)
+		}
+	}
 	fmt.Printf("%s would run:\n", args[0])
 	for _, m := range plan.Modules {
 		fmt.Printf("  %-20s %s\n", m.Module, plan.Because[m.Module])
@@ -1346,23 +1306,6 @@ func composeBusUsers(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory,
 	return broker.ComposeAccounts(filled)
 }
 
-// foundationPortsFor is the broker port, kept only when a module resolved onto this node listens
-// on it (novox/hq issue: the broker opening leaked onto every node). The foundation opening
-// exists to WIDEN the broker's `from: mesh` port to from-anywhere, because a machine enrolling is
-// not on the mesh yet and its first dial would be refused. That widening belongs on the broker's
-// host alone: a node that only dials out needs no incoming rule, and an opening for a port
-// nothing here listens on is a from-anywhere hole for a dead port.
-func foundationPortsFor(brokerPort int, modules []catalogue.Manifest) []int {
-	for _, m := range modules {
-		for _, l := range m.Listens {
-			if l.Port == brokerPort {
-				return []int{brokerPort}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return nil
-}
-
 // providerModuleOf is which module answers a need on the providing node: the one in this node's
 // own set when the provider is here, else the one the catalogue says offers it.
 func providerModuleOf(resolved catalogue.Resolution, open *stores, ctx context.Context, n catalogue.Needed) string {

cmd/mesh-controller/plans_one_at_a_time_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 213: for the moment a machine hands its controller over, the container and the
+// process both run the plan timer on one store. Only the one holding the plans moves them; the other
+// leaves them alone, and moves them once they are let go.
+func TestAControllerLeavesThePlansToTheOneHoldingThem(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	// Every tier done: the next step is the plan's last, and needs nothing but the store.
+	plan := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-213", Repository: "r", Commit: "abc", Created: now, Updated: now,
+		State: inventory.PlanRolling, Tier: 1, Tiers: [][]string{{"app"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"app": {State: "built"}}}
+	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, plan); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// The other controller: its own connections to the same store, holding the plans.
+	other, err := inventory.Open(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(other.Close)
+	release, err := other.HoldPlans(ctx, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(release) // before the close above: a pool waits for a connection still held
+
+	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	if p, err := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-213"); err != nil || !p.Open() {
+		t.Fatalf("a controller moved a plan another held: %+v %v", p, err)
+	}
+
+	release()
+	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	if p, err := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-213"); err != nil || p.State != inventory.PlanDone {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan did not move once it was let go: %+v %v", p, err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/push.go

@@ -131,10 +131,17 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) error {
 
 	// And the mesh's own verbs, as the seat this control plane holds (novox/hq ADR 0154). Served
 	// from the store's row, so what the seat declares is what is answered.
-	handlers, err := seatToolHandlers()
+	handlers, behind, err := seatToolHandlers()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	if len(behind) > 0 {
+		// Said once, loudly, and then served anyway (novox/hq ADR 0185): the mesh keeps answering
+		// while whatever put an older control plane here is undone.
+		fmt.Printf("this control plane is behind the %s row: it cannot run %s. "+
+			"Those answer the reason when called; everything else is served as usual\n",
+			catalogue.ControllerSeatName, strings.Join(behind, ", "))
+	}
 	bus, isNATS := server.Bus().(link.OverNATS)
 	if !isNATS {
 		return errors.New("the mesh's verbs are served over the bus, and this control plane is not on it")
@@ -144,6 +151,12 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer stopServing()
+	// And says so on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0197): what it serves, as the NATS services protocol asks.
+	stopAnnouncing, err := bus.Announce(seatAnnouncement(handlers), log.New(os.Stdout, "", log.LstdFlags))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer stopAnnouncing()
 
 	return server.Serve(ctx)
 }
@@ -198,6 +211,12 @@ func declare(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if err := link.Declare(ctx, server.Bus(), ident, node, raw, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	// Written down like every other send (novox/hq issue 204): a declaration a person sent by hand
+	// is still what the machine was last told, and status must not read it as current for the one
+	// the mesh would compose.
+	if _, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, node, raw); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	fmt.Printf("sent %s a signed declaration (%d bytes)\n", node, len(raw))
 	return nil
 }
@@ -341,7 +360,7 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	sending, refusals := composeEach(asked, func(node string) (sendable, error) {
+	sending, refusals := composeEach(asked, allotting(held, inv), func(node string) (sendable, error) {
 		plan, settings, err := planFor(held, open, node)
 		if err != nil {
 			return sendable{}, err
@@ -353,18 +372,18 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		// The private network is in here with everything else. It used to be composed separately
 		// and prepended, which meant every machine with an address was on it and no machine could
 		// be kept off. It is a module now, so it arrives the way a module does.
-		return declarationWith(held, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Allocating)
+		declared, err := declarationWith(held, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Allocating)
+		if err == nil {
+			reportLeftOut(node, declared)
+		}
+		return declared, err
 	})
 
 	sentDigest := map[string]string{}
 	defer release()
 	for _, s := range sending {
-		// Numbered under the hold, one higher than the last, before the body exists — the number is
-		// inside the signed bytes, so a replayed older declaration cannot borrow a newer one's
-		// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/107).
-		if err := number(ctx, inv, &s); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
+		// 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
@@ -374,14 +393,10 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		}
 		// 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.
-		record, err := inv.NodeByName(ctx, s.node)
+		digest, err := recordSent(ctx, inv, s.node, body)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		digest := digestOf(body)
-		if err := inv.RecordSent(ctx, record.ID, digest); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
 		sentDigest[s.node] = digest
 		fmt.Printf("sent %s %d resource(s)\n", s.node, len(s.declared.Resources))
 	}
@@ -454,18 +469,18 @@ func pushCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 						return sendable{}, err
 					}
 					reportUnhostable(node, plan)
-					return declarationWith(held, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Allocating)
+					declared, err := declarationWith(held, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Allocating)
+					if err == nil {
+						reportLeftOut(node, declared)
+					}
+					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
 					}
-					record, err := inv.NodeByName(ctx, s.node)
-					if err != nil {
-						return err
-					}
-					if err := inv.RecordSent(ctx, record.ID, digestOf(body)); err != nil {
+					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))
@@ -554,17 +569,31 @@ type readyNode struct {
 //
 // The all-or-nothing rule is kept where it means something — sendTo, which rotates a credential
 // across two machines that must agree — and dropped here, where it never did.
-func composeEach(names []string,
+func composeEach(names []string, allot func(node string) (int64, error),
 	compose func(node string) (sendable, error)) ([]readyNode, []string) {
 
 	var sending []readyNode
 	var refusals []string
 	for _, name := range names {
+		// **Numbered before it is composed, not before it is sent** (novox/hq issue 204). The
+		// number says where this declaration stands against every other the mesh composed for the
+		// machine, and the host refuses one lower than the last it applied. Taken at send time, as
+		// it was, a declaration composed a minute ago — before an assignment changed — went out with
+		// a number higher than one composed after the change and sent before it, and the machine
+		// took the older content as the newer word: on 2026-10-02 a runtime assigned and applied on
+		// two machines was undone two seconds later by exactly that. Taken here, before the first
+		// read, what was composed earlier is numbered lower whatever order the sends happen in.
+		seq, err := allot(name)
+		if err != nil {
+			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n%v", name, err))
+			continue
+		}
 		declared, err := compose(name)
 		if err != nil {
 			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n%v", name, err))
 			continue
 		}
+		declared.Sequence = seq
 		if len(declared.Resources) == 0 {
 			// Sent, not skipped (novox/hq issue 127). A node whose declaration composes to
 			// nothing may have HELD something before — the broker opening a placement gave it,
@@ -592,13 +621,10 @@ func sendRound(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string,
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	defer release()
-	sending, refused := composeEach(names, func(node string) (sendable, error) {
+	sending, refused := composeEach(names, allotting(held, open.inventory), func(node string) (sendable, error) {
 		return compose(held, node)
 	})
 	for _, s := range sending {
-		if err := number(ctx, open.inventory, &s); err != nil {
-			return refused, err
-		}
 		body, err := s.declared.Body()
 		if err != nil {
 			return refused, err
@@ -655,6 +681,12 @@ func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
 	var sending []readyNode
 	var refusals []string
 	for _, name := range names {
+		// Numbered before composing, for the reason composeEach gives (novox/hq issue 204).
+		seq, err := allot(ctx, inv, name)
+		if err != nil {
+			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n%v", name, err))
+			continue
+		}
 		plan, settings, err := planFor(ctx, open, name)
 		if err != nil {
 			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n%v", name, err))
@@ -666,6 +698,8 @@ func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
 			refusals = append(refusals, fmt.Sprintf("%s:\n%v", name, err))
 			continue
 		}
+		declared.Sequence = seq
+		reportLeftOut(name, declared)
 		sending = append(sending, readyNode{name, declared})
 	}
 	if len(refusals) > 0 {
@@ -680,9 +714,6 @@ func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
 	defer server.Close()
 
 	for _, s := range sending {
-		if err := number(ctx, inv, &s); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
 		body, err := s.declared.Body()
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -690,11 +721,7 @@ func sendTo(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) error {
 		if err := link.Declare(ctx, server.Bus(), ident, s.node, body, 15*time.Second); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		record, err := inv.NodeByName(ctx, s.node)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		if err := inv.RecordSent(ctx, record.ID, digestOf(body)); err != nil {
+		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))
@@ -935,15 +962,38 @@ func seatHolders(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) (map[string]brok
 }
 
 // number gives one send the next sequence for its node (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/107).
-func number(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, s *readyNode) error {
-	record, err := inv.NodeByName(ctx, s.node)
+// allotting is allot over one inventory, in the shape composeEach takes.
+func allotting(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) func(node string) (int64, error) {
+	return func(node string) (int64, error) { return allot(ctx, inv, node) }
+}
+
+// allot takes the next sequence for a machine — the number its next declaration carries.
+func allot(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, node string) (int64, error) {
+	record, err := inv.NodeByName(ctx, node)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return 0, err
 	}
-	seq, err := inv.NextSequence(ctx, record.ID)
+	return inv.NextSequence(ctx, record.ID)
+}
+
+// recordSent writes down what a machine was just sent, and returns the digest.
+//
+// **On a context that outlives the caller's** (novox/hq issue 204). The record is written after the
+// declaration is away, so a send that failed is never recorded as current — and a controller being
+// replaced mid-send had its context cancelled between the two, so the machine was told and the mesh
+// never wrote it down: status read "applied, current" over a machine that had just been sent
+// something else. What was sent was sent; the record of it must not depend on the sender living
+// another second. Bounded, so a store that is away does not hold a dying process open for ever.
+func recordSent(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, node string, body []byte) (string, error) {
+	kept, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 10*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	record, err := inv.NodeByName(kept, node)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return "", err
 	}
-	s.declared.Sequence = seq
-	return nil
+	digest := digestOf(body)
+	if err := inv.RecordSent(kept, record.ID, digest); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return digest, nil
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/push_test.go

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import (
 // the wrong machine no longer refuses the whole node), applied one level up.
 func TestOneUnresolvableNodeStillLetsTheRestBeSent(t *testing.T) {
 	sending, refusals := composeEach(
-		[]string{"anchor", "home-server", "laptop"},
+		[]string{"anchor", "home-server", "laptop"}, numbered(),
 		func(node string) (sendable, error) {
 			if node == "anchor" {
 				return sendable{}, errors.New(`nothing provides "acme-ca", wanted by route-proxy`)
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func TestOneUnresolvableNodeStillLetsTheRestBeSent(t *testing.T) {
 // (novox/hq issue 127): it may have held something before, and only sending the empty
 // declaration tells it to drop what the mesh owned. It is never a refusal.
 func TestAnEmptyDeclarationIsSentSoTheNodeDropsWhatItHeld(t *testing.T) {
-	sending, refusals := composeEach([]string{"spare"},
+	sending, refusals := composeEach([]string{"spare"}, numbered(),
 		func(string) (sendable, error) { return sendable{}, nil })
 	if len(sending) != 1 || len(refusals) != 0 {
 		t.Errorf("an empty declaration must be sent, not skipped or refused: %v / %v", sending, refusals)
@@ -74,3 +74,9 @@ func TestASkippedMachineIsStillAnError(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// numbered is an allotter for tests: one higher per call, as the inventory's is per machine.
+func numbered() func(string) (int64, error) {
+	var n int64
+	return func(string) (int64, error) { n++; return n, nil }
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/readable.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"sort"
 	"time"
 )
@@ -66,6 +67,21 @@ type meshStatus struct {
 	// **A document without this said an outage was a well mesh.** Read from what each machine
 	// reported, so it is the machine's account and not the mesh's take-time listing.
 	Untaken []machineUntaken `json:"untaken,omitempty"`
+	// Filtered is every converged machine that is not filtered by the mesh alone (novox/hq ADR
+	// 0168), one entry per rule set the mesh did not write — the found firewall in force again,
+	// or a chain nobody speaks for. Absent when every converged machine is filtered by the mesh
+	// alone. A document without this called a machine well while a predecessor's chain refused
+	// what the mesh declared open.
+	Filtered []machineFiltered `json:"filtered,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// machineFiltered is one rule set on a converged machine that the mesh did not write and that
+// refuses traffic: where it is, whose the host reads it as, and what it refuses.
+type machineFiltered struct {
+	Node    string `json:"node"`
+	Where   string `json:"where"`
+	Owner   string `json:"owner"`
+	Refuses string `json:"refuses"`
 }
 
 // machineUntaken is one module a machine is holding rather than running, and how many resources of
@@ -173,6 +189,21 @@ func statusAsJSON(asked answers) ([]byte, error) {
 				machineUntaken{Node: name, Module: m, Held: asked.untaken[name][m]})
 		}
 	}
+	filteredNodes := make([]string, 0, len(asked.filtered))
+	for name := range asked.filtered {
+		filteredNodes = append(filteredNodes, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(filteredNodes)
+	for _, name := range filteredNodes {
+		f := asked.filtered[name]
+		if fw := f.FoundFirewall; fw != nil && fw.Active {
+			out.Filtered = append(out.Filtered, machineFiltered{Node: name, Where: "the found firewall",
+				Owner: inventory.FilterFoundFirewall, Refuses: fw.Kind + " is in force again"})
+		}
+		for _, x := range f.Others() {
+			out.Filtered = append(out.Filtered, machineFiltered{Node: name, Where: x.Where, Owner: x.Owner, Refuses: x.Refuses})
+		}
+	}
 	for name := range asked.refused {
 		out.Unresolved = append(out.Unresolved, machineUnresolved{
 			Node: name, Problem: asked.refused[name]})

cmd/mesh-controller/readable_test.go

@@ -167,3 +167,46 @@ func TestAMachineFailingTheSameWayIsSaidToBeStuck(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("one failure is not stuck: %v", once)
 	}
 }
+
+// A converged machine something other than the mesh filters is named, per rule set, and is not
+// well (novox/hq ADR 0168); one filtered by the mesh alone is not in the list.
+func TestAMachineNotFilteredByTheMeshAloneIsNamedAndNotWell(t *testing.T) {
+	alone := inventory.Filtering{Filters: []inventory.Filter{
+		{Where: "table inet mesh, chain input", Owner: inventory.FilterMesh, Refuses: "policy drop"},
+		{Where: "table ip filter, chain DOCKER", Owner: inventory.FilterRuntime, Refuses: "drop"},
+		{Where: "table ip filter, chain f2b-sshd", Owner: inventory.FilterBan, Refuses: "ip saddr 192.0.2.1 reject"},
+	}}
+	if !alone.Alone() {
+		t.Fatal("the mesh's own, the runtime's and a ban are not the mesh alone")
+	}
+	notAlone := inventory.Filtering{
+		Filters: append(alone.Filters, inventory.Filter{Where: "chain HAL-MESH-ONLY (iptables-legacy)",
+			Owner: inventory.FilterOther, Refuses: `-A HAL-MESH-ONLY -m comment --comment "not public" -j DROP`}),
+		FoundFirewall: &inventory.FoundFirewall{Kind: "ufw", Active: true},
+	}
+	asked := answers{nodes: []inventory.Node{{Name: "home-server"}, {Name: "laptop"}},
+		filtered: map[string]inventory.Filtering{"home-server": notAlone}}
+	if asked.well() {
+		t.Fatal("a machine not filtered by the mesh alone reads as well")
+	}
+	body, err := statusAsJSON(asked)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var parsed struct {
+		Filtered []map[string]string `json:"filtered"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &parsed); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(parsed.Filtered) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("filtered: %v", parsed.Filtered)
+	}
+	if parsed.Filtered[0]["node"] != "home-server" || parsed.Filtered[0]["owner"] != inventory.FilterFoundFirewall ||
+		parsed.Filtered[1]["where"] != "chain HAL-MESH-ONLY (iptables-legacy)" || parsed.Filtered[1]["owner"] != inventory.FilterOther {
+		t.Fatalf("filtered: %v", parsed.Filtered)
+	}
+	if body, _ := statusAsJSON(answers{nodes: asked.nodes}); strings.Contains(string(body), `"filtered"`) {
+		t.Fatal("a mesh filtered by itself alone carries a filtered list")
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
@@ -36,17 +37,29 @@ func tiersOf(set []string, edges []inventory.Edge) [][]string {
 	for _, m := range set {
 		deps[m] = map[string]bool{}
 	}
+	// The build seat's holders follow the controller that defines their worker (EdgeWorkerOf,
+	// novox/hq issue 206), so the built-by edge from that controller to such a holder yields: the
+	// controller is built by whichever build machine is running, as the runtime image always was.
+	worker := map[string]map[string]bool{}
+	for _, e := range edges {
+		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeWorkerOf && in[e.From] && in[e.To] {
+			if worker[e.To] == nil {
+				worker[e.To] = map[string]bool{}
+			}
+			worker[e.To][e.From] = true
+		}
+	}
 	for _, e := range edges {
 		// A code dependency — B packages A's source — rebuilds B with A, in the same tier: B's
 		// build needs nothing of A's first. The other kinds order: stands-on and declared after
 		// the base is built, built-by after the build machine is built and running — except for
-		// what the build machine itself stands on. The runtime image is built by the builder and
-		// the builder is built on the runtime image; the image comes first, built by the builder
-		// that is running, which is the only one there could be.
+		// what the build machine itself stands on, and for the controller whose worker the build
+		// machine binds. The runtime image is built by the builder and the builder is built on the
+		// runtime image; the image comes first, built by the builder that is running.
 		if !in[e.From] || !in[e.To] || e.From == e.To || e.Kind == inventory.EdgePackages {
 			continue
 		}
-		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy && isBaseOf(e.From, e.To, edges, in) {
+		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy && (isBaseOf(e.From, e.To, edges, in) || worker[e.From][e.To]) {
 			continue
 		}
 		deps[e.From][e.To] = true
@@ -122,7 +135,10 @@ func reachableFrom(moved []string, edges []inventory.Edge) []string {
 	for grew := true; grew; {
 		grew = false
 		for _, e := range edges {
-			if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy {
+			// Built-by and worker-of order a plan; neither widens it. A new build machine changes
+			// nothing it builds, and a new controller changes nothing about the holder it orders —
+			// what packages the controller's source is already a code edge.
+			if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy || e.Kind == inventory.EdgeWorkerOf {
 				continue
 			}
 			if in[e.To] && !in[e.From] {
@@ -257,7 +273,8 @@ func askTier(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p *inventory.Plan) e
 		}
 		source := buildSource{Repository: e.Source.Repository, Seat: e.Source.Seat}
 		fmt.Printf("  tier %d: ", p.Tier)
-		if err := buildOne(ctx, source, e.Source.Path, e.Source.Ref, 0); err != nil {
+		// The branch it follows, never a commit a build once named (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215).
+		if err := buildOne(ctx, source, e.Source.Path, followedBranch(e.Source.Ref), 0); err != nil {
 			state.State = "failed"
 			state.Why = err.Error()
 			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
@@ -272,8 +289,23 @@ func askTier(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p *inventory.Plan) e
 
 // planBuilt marks a module built (or failed) in every open plan whose current tier holds it, and
 // advances what that completes. Called from the daemon's take-in of every outcome.
-func planBuilt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed string) {
+//
+// **Only a build asked at or after the plan's ask is its outcome** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219). Two
+// plans a few minutes apart both ask for a module; the earlier plan's build, finishing late, is not
+// the later plan's answer — it stood on the bases from before the later plan's merge, and taking it
+// would send machines, and the next tier, what the later merge replaced. asked is zero when the
+// build's request time is not known, and such an outcome is taken as before.
+func planBuilt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed string, asked time.Time) {
 	inv := open.inventory
+	// One controller works the plans at a time (novox/hq issue 213); an outcome waits its turn rather
+	// than write over what the holder is about to save. Not taken, it is still in the build records,
+	// which the holder settles the plan from (issue 214).
+	release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("plans: %s's outcome is left to the build records: %v\n", module, err)
+		return
+	}
+	defer release()
 	plans, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("plans: cannot read them: %v\n", err)
@@ -299,6 +331,9 @@ func planBuilt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed string)
 			state = &inventory.PlanModule{}
 			p.Modules[module] = state
 		}
+		if askedBefore(asked, state.AskedAt) {
+			continue
+		}
 		if failed != "" {
 			state.State = "failed"
 			state.Why = failed
@@ -317,13 +352,30 @@ func planBuilt(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed string)
 			fmt.Printf("%s: %s; the tiers after it are not asked\n", p.ID, p.Note)
 		}
 	}
-	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
 }
 
 // advancePlans moves every open plan as far as the facts allow: a tier whose modules are all built
 // and whose gates are applied gives way to the next; the last tier done is the plan done. Called
 // after every outcome and on a timer, so a plan waiting on a machine's report moves when it comes.
+//
+// **One controller at a time** (novox/hq issue 213). A plan is read, changed and saved whole; two
+// controllers — the old and the new while a machine hands its controller over — would each ask a
+// tier the other had just asked. Taken without waiting: whoever holds the plans is moving them.
 func advancePlans(ctx context.Context, open *stores) {
+	release, err := open.inventory.HoldPlans(ctx, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		if !errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrPlansBusy) {
+			fmt.Printf("plans: cannot hold them: %v\n", err)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	defer release()
+	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
+}
+
+// advanceHeld is advancePlans for a caller already holding the plans.
+func advanceHeld(ctx context.Context, open *stores) {
 	inv := open.inventory
 	plans, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -384,6 +436,24 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 		}
 		return true, nil
 	}
+	// **Asked: settle from the build records first** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/214). An outcome is taken
+	// in by whichever controller hears it, and a merge to the controller's own repository replaces
+	// the controller in its first tier: the build that produced the new one is recorded, and the
+	// plan never hears it. The record is the fact; a build recorded after the ask is that tier's
+	// outcome, whoever was listening.
+	recorded := map[string][]inventory.Build{}
+	for _, m := range tier {
+		if s := p.Modules[m]; s != nil && s.State == "asked" {
+			builds, err := inv.Builds(ctx, m, 5)
+			if err != nil {
+				return false, err
+			}
+			recorded[m] = builds
+		}
+	}
+	if settleFromRecords(p, tier, recorded) {
+		return true, nil
+	}
 	// Asked: wait for every build.
 	var latest time.Time
 	for _, m := range tier {
@@ -515,7 +585,8 @@ func planFailedBuild(ctx context.Context, open *stores, result link.BuildResult)
 	}
 	for _, e := range entries {
 		if repositoryMatches(e.Source.Repository, result.Repository) && e.Source.Path == result.Path {
-			planBuilt(ctx, open, e.Manifest.Module, result.Commit, result.Failed)
+			asked, _ := link.BuildAskedAt(result.ID)
+			planBuilt(ctx, open, e.Manifest.Module, result.Commit, result.Failed, asked)
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -632,6 +703,19 @@ func plansCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		}
 		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)
 		if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, p); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -740,3 +824,52 @@ func splitList(s string) []string {
 	}
 	return out
 }
+
+// settleFromRecords marks every module of the tier still `asked` built — or failed — from a build
+// recorded after it was asked, and says whether it changed anything (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/214).
+// Newest first, as Builds answers: the first record after the ask is the outcome of that ask.
+func settleFromRecords(p *inventory.Plan, tier []string, recorded map[string][]inventory.Build) bool {
+	changed := false
+	for _, m := range tier {
+		s := p.Modules[m]
+		if s == nil || s.State != "asked" || s.AskedAt == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		var outcome *inventory.Build
+		for i := range recorded[m] {
+			b := recorded[m][i]
+			if b.At.Before(*s.AskedAt) {
+				break
+			}
+			// Recorded after the ask and asked before it: an earlier ask's late outcome, not this
+			// one's (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219).
+			if askedBefore(b.Asked, s.AskedAt) {
+				continue
+			}
+			outcome = &b
+		}
+		if outcome == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		at := outcome.At
+		if outcome.Worked() {
+			s.State = "built"
+			s.BuiltAt = &at
+			s.Commit = outcome.Commit
+		} else {
+			s.State = "failed"
+			s.Why = outcome.Failed
+			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
+			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("%s failed to build in tier %d", m, p.Tier)
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %s settled from the build records as %s (%s)\n", p.ID, m, s.State, outcome.ID)
+		changed = true
+	}
+	return changed
+}
+
+// askedBefore is whether a build asked at asked was asked before a plan asked for its module — and
+// so is not that plan's outcome (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219). False when either time is not known.
+func askedBefore(asked time.Time, planAsked *time.Time) bool {
+	return !asked.IsZero() && planAsked != nil && asked.Before(*planAsked)
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go

@@ -115,3 +115,69 @@ func TestACycleIsOneLastTierAndSaidSo(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a cycle should be one tier of two, said: %v", tiers)
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/211: a merge moving the toolchain and a bundle compiled in it builds the
+// bundle a tier after the toolchain, not beside it.
+func TestABundleIsPlannedAfterTheToolchainItIsCompiledIn(t *testing.T) {
+	edges := []inventory.Edge{{From: "node-tools", To: "mesh-tools", Kind: inventory.EdgeStandsOn}}
+	p := planOfMerge(link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-tools", Commit: "abc"},
+		[]string{"mesh-tools", "node-tools"}, edges)
+	if len(p.Tiers) != 2 || p.Tiers[0][0] != "mesh-tools" || p.Tiers[1][0] != "node-tools" {
+		t.Fatalf("the toolchain, then the bundle: %v", p.Tiers)
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/214: a plan whose build outcome was recorded while no controller followed it —
+// the controller rebuilding itself — settles from the build records instead of waiting for ever.
+func TestAPlanSettlesAnAskedBuildFromTheRecords(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := time.Date(2026, 10, 3, 19, 20, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1", Tiers: [][]string{{"mesh-controller", "builder"}, {"route-proxy"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+			"mesh-controller": {State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked},
+			"builder":         {State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked},
+		}}
+	records := map[string][]inventory.Build{
+		// Newest first, as Builds answers: the build after the ask is the outcome.
+		"mesh-controller": {
+			{ID: "build-2", Commit: "2ebbb799", At: asked.Add(4 * time.Minute)},
+			{ID: "build-1", Commit: "06ea2168", At: asked.Add(-10 * time.Minute)},
+		},
+		// Only a build from before the ask: not this ask's outcome.
+		"builder": {{ID: "build-0", Commit: "06ea2168", At: asked.Add(-time.Hour)}},
+	}
+	if !settleFromRecords(&p, p.Tiers[0], records) {
+		t.Fatal("nothing settled, though the controller's build is recorded after the ask")
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["mesh-controller"]; s.State != "built" || s.Commit != "2ebbb799" || s.BuiltAt == nil {
+		t.Errorf("the controller's ask is %+v, want built from 2ebbb799", s)
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["builder"]; s.State != "asked" {
+		t.Errorf("an ask with no record after it was settled: %+v", s)
+	}
+
+	// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219: a build recorded after the ask but asked before it — an earlier
+	// plan's late outcome — is not this ask's, built or failed.
+	r := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-3", Tiers: [][]string{{"postgres"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"postgres": {State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked}}}
+	late := map[string][]inventory.Build{"postgres": {
+		{ID: "build-old", Commit: "efff5415", Asked: asked.Add(-18 * time.Minute), At: asked.Add(12 * time.Minute)},
+	}}
+	if settleFromRecords(&r, r.Tiers[0], late) || r.Modules["postgres"].State != "asked" {
+		t.Errorf("an earlier ask's late outcome settled this ask: %+v", r.Modules["postgres"])
+	}
+	// Newest heard first: the earlier ask's late outcome, then this ask's own, heard before it.
+	late["postgres"] = append(late["postgres"], inventory.Build{ID: "build-mine", Commit: "4bcd5f73",
+		Asked: asked.Add(time.Second), At: asked.Add(5 * time.Minute)})
+	if !settleFromRecords(&r, r.Tiers[0], late) || r.Modules["postgres"].State != "built" ||
+		r.Modules["postgres"].Commit != "4bcd5f73" {
+		t.Errorf("this ask's own outcome, heard before the earlier ask's, did not settle it: %+v", r.Modules["postgres"])
+	}
+
+	// A failure recorded after the ask fails the plan, as hearing it would have.
+	q := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-2", Tiers: [][]string{{"x"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"x": {State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked}}}
+	settleFromRecords(&q, q.Tiers[0], map[string][]inventory.Build{"x": {{ID: "b", Failed: "no", At: asked.Add(time.Minute)}}})
+	if q.State != inventory.PlanFailed || q.Modules["x"].State != "failed" {
+		t.Errorf("a recorded failure did not fail the plan: %+v %+v", q, q.Modules["x"])
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/rollout.go

@@ -346,7 +346,9 @@ func rolloutMint(ctx context.Context, again bool) error {
 			}
 			machines++
 
-		case broker.KindModule:
+		case broker.KindModule, broker.KindNodeTools:
+			// The runtime is minted and delivered exactly as a module is (novox/hq ADR 0175): it is
+			// issued as the module it stands for, to that module's `broker` secret.
 			if p.Module == "mesh-controller" {
 				// The control plane is a module too, and its `broker` secret is the old bus's
 				// credential it is still using while this runs. Writing the new bus's blob there
@@ -365,7 +367,7 @@ func rolloutMint(ctx context.Context, again bool) error {
 				skipped++
 				continue
 			}
-			password, err := inv.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{Username: p.Username(), Kind: inventory.BusModule, Node: p.Node, Module: p.Module})
+			password, err := inv.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{Username: p.Username(), Kind: busKindOf(p.Module), Node: p.Node, Module: p.Module})
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}

cmd/mesh-controller/roster_failure_test.go

@@ -2,13 +2,12 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"strings"
 	"testing"
 )
 
 // A node's own set failing to compose, and the mesh being unable to answer at all, are different
 // things, and only the first may be passed over when something is gathered across every machine
-// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/152). These pin that distinction where the three gatherers rely on it.
+// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/152). These pin that distinction where the gatherers rely on it.
 
 func TestASetThatDoesNotComposeIsMarkedAsTheNodesOwnProblem(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aMesh(t)
@@ -45,55 +44,3 @@ func TestAStoreThatCannotBeReadIsNotANodeThatDoesNotCompose(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a question the mesh could not answer was read as a node that runs nothing: %v", err)
 	}
 }
-
-func TestOneIncoherentNodeDoesNotCostTheRestTheirNames(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	one, two := rivals()
-	register(t, open, one)
-	register(t, open, two)
-	for _, m := range []string{one.Module, two.Module} {
-		if _, err := open.inventory.Assign(t.Context(), "laptop", m); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-
-	// laptop cannot compose. That is laptop's problem and nobody else's: the roster is still
-	// answerable, and anchor keeps whatever it serves.
-	if _, err := routeNamesInTheMesh(t.Context(), open); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("one node's broken set cost the whole mesh its roster: %v", err)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestARosterIsNeverReturnedWithNamesItCouldNotRead(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aMesh(t)
-
-	stopped, cancel := context.WithCancel(t.Context())
-	cancel()
-
-	names, err := routeNamesInTheMesh(stopped, open)
-	if err == nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a roster was composed from a store that could not be read: %v", names)
-	}
-	// The failure must be raised, not turned into an absence. A roster missing a machine's names
-	// is indistinguishable, on every machine that receives it, from the operator withdrawing them —
-	// and because the roster is part of every container's identity, it replaces all of them.
-	if names != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a partial roster was returned beside the error: %v", names)
-	}
-}
-
-// Kept so the reason survives the next person reading it: the message the gatherer raises must say
-// which machine could not be read, or the operator is left with a mesh-wide failure and no name.
-func TestTheRaisedFailureNamesTheMachineItCouldNotRead(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	stopped, cancel := context.WithCancel(t.Context())
-	cancel()
-
-	_, err := routeNamesInTheMesh(stopped, open)
-	if err == nil {
-		t.Fatal("no failure was raised")
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "cannot be read") {
-		t.Fatalf("the failure does not say the mesh could not be read: %v", err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs.go

@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/micro"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
@@ -48,17 +50,32 @@ func argvFor(verb string, args map[string]any) ([]string, error) {
 		return nil
 	}
 	switch verb {
+	case "command":
+		// The generic verb: the command line as given, split as a shell would split it, with
+		// nothing added — the named verbs add flags a caller cannot reach; this one is the whole
+		// binary and says so in its description (novox/hq ADR 0154, 0175).
+		if err := need("command"); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		argv, err := splitCommandLine(str("command"))
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if len(argv) == 0 {
+			return nil, errors.New("command names no command")
+		}
+		return argv, nil
 	case "status":
 		return []string{"status", "--json"}, nil
 	case "nodes":
-		return []string{"node", "list"}, nil
+		return []string{"node", "list", "--json"}, nil
 	case "node":
 		if err := need("node"); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		return []string{"node", "show", str("node")}, nil
 	case "modules":
-		return []string{"module", "list"}, nil
+		return []string{"module", "list", "--json"}, nil
 	case "seats":
 		return []string{"seats", "--json"}, nil
 	case "builds":
@@ -129,6 +146,33 @@ func argvFor(verb string, args map[string]any) ([]string, error) {
 		// Half of either shape: the command says its usage, which names both shapes, and that is
 		// the answer the caller needs.
 		return []string{"rotate"}, nil
+	case "settings":
+		// `settings set|clear` at a shell (novox/hq issue 198). The values travel as an argument
+		// because a tool has no file to hand the command; the command reads either.
+		if err := need("module"); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		argv := []string{"settings", "set", str("module")}
+		switch {
+		case str("clear") == "true":
+			argv = []string{"settings", "clear", str("module")}
+		case str("values") != "":
+			argv = append(argv, str("values"))
+		}
+		// Neither values nor clear: the command says its usage, which names both, and that is the
+		// answer the caller needs — the same as `rotate` given half of either shape.
+		if n := str("node"); n != "" {
+			argv = append(argv, "--node", n)
+		}
+		return argv, nil
+	case "issue":
+		// The same act as `module issue` at a shell (novox/hq design 25 §4): the account is minted
+		// into the mesh's records and delivered at the machine's next push, which is the caller's to
+		// ask for — so the mesh is never pushed as a side effect of a credential.
+		if err := need("node", "module"); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		return []string{"module", "issue", str("module"), "--node", str("node")}, nil
 	case "build":
 		if err := need("repository"); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
@@ -188,13 +232,15 @@ func runVerb(ctx context.Context, argv []string) (verbAnswer, error) {
 }
 
 // seatToolHandlers are the handlers for every verb the mesh-controller seat declares, from the
-// store's row, so a verb the row does not carry is not served and a verb it carries that this binary
-// cannot run is said at start rather than at the first call.
-func seatToolHandlers() (map[string]link.ToolHandler, error) {
+// store's row, so a verb the row does not carry is not served. A verb it carries that this binary
+// cannot run is named at start and answers the reason when called — never a refusal to serve, which
+// would take the whole control plane down for one word (novox/hq ADR 0185).
+func seatToolHandlers() (map[string]link.ToolHandler, []string, error) {
 	seat, known := catalogue.SeatNamed(catalogue.ControllerSeatName)
 	if !known {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("this mesh defines no %s seat", catalogue.ControllerSeatName)
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("this mesh defines no %s seat", catalogue.ControllerSeatName)
 	}
+	var behind []string
 	handlers := map[string]link.ToolHandler{}
 	for _, v := range seat.Serves {
 		verb := v.Name
@@ -205,8 +251,27 @@ func seatToolHandlers() (map[string]link.ToolHandler, error) {
 			continue
 		}
 		if _, err := argvFor(verb, sampleArguments(v)); err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("the %s seat's row declares %q, which this control plane cannot run: %w",
-				catalogue.ControllerSeatName, verb, err)
+			// **A row ahead of this binary is not a reason to go silent.**
+			//
+			// The row is the store's and a control plane follows it (novox/hq ADR 0154), so a verb
+			// this build does not know means the row was widened by a newer one — the ordinary
+			// state of a roll-out, and of a push that put an older control plane back. Refusing to
+			// serve at all made that transient fatal: on 2026-10-02 one unknown verb took the whole
+			// mesh off the bus for ten minutes, and the way back was a human running the binary by
+			// hand, because the thing that would have repaired it is the thing that was down
+			// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/201, ADR 0185).
+			//
+			// So the verbs this binary knows are served, and this one answers the reason instead of
+			// nothing: a caller gets a sentence naming the fault, and everything else keeps working
+			// — including the push that replaces this binary with the one whose verb it is.
+			behind = append(behind, verb)
+			reason := err
+			handlers[verb] = func(context.Context, json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s is in this mesh's %s row and the control plane running "+
+					"here cannot run it: %w. It is a verb of a newer build; this one is behind",
+					verb, catalogue.ControllerSeatName, reason)
+			}
+			continue
 		}
 		handlers[verb] = func(ctx context.Context, raw json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
 			args := map[string]any{}
@@ -222,7 +287,7 @@ func seatToolHandlers() (map[string]link.ToolHandler, error) {
 			return runVerb(ctx, argv)
 		}
 	}
-	return handlers, nil
+	return handlers, behind, nil
 }
 
 // seatTools is what `tools` answers: every seat with a protocol, and the tools each serves, from the
@@ -262,3 +327,100 @@ func sampleArguments(v catalogue.Verb) map[string]any {
 	}
 	return sample
 }
+
+// splitCommandLine splits a command line into words the way a POSIX shell does for the simple
+// cases a controller command needs: spaces separate, single or double quotes group, a backslash
+// escapes the next character inside double quotes or outside any. No expansion of anything.
+func splitCommandLine(line string) ([]string, error) {
+	var words []string
+	var cur strings.Builder
+	inWord := false
+	quote := rune(0)
+	runes := []rune(line)
+	for i := 0; i < len(runes); i++ {
+		r := runes[i]
+		switch {
+		case quote == '\'':
+			if r == '\'' {
+				quote = 0
+			} else {
+				cur.WriteRune(r)
+			}
+		case quote == '"':
+			if r == '"' {
+				quote = 0
+			} else if r == '\\' && i+1 < len(runes) {
+				i++
+				cur.WriteRune(runes[i])
+			} else {
+				cur.WriteRune(r)
+			}
+		case r == '\'' || r == '"':
+			quote = r
+			inWord = true
+		case r == '\\' && i+1 < len(runes):
+			i++
+			cur.WriteRune(runes[i])
+			inWord = true
+		case r == ' ' || r == '\t' || r == '\n':
+			if inWord {
+				words = append(words, cur.String())
+				cur.Reset()
+				inWord = false
+			}
+		default:
+			cur.WriteRune(r)
+			inWord = true
+		}
+	}
+	if quote != 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("command has an unclosed %c quote", quote)
+	}
+	if inWord {
+		words = append(words, cur.String())
+	}
+	return words, nil
+}
+
+// seatAnnouncement is what the controller says it serves on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0197): the
+// mesh-controller seat, one endpoint per verb it answers, each with the seat's own description and
+// argument schema — the same facts `tools` answers from the records, as NATS's services format.
+func seatAnnouncement(handlers map[string]link.ToolHandler) micro.Info {
+	about := map[string]catalogue.Verb{}
+	for _, s := range catalogue.SeatsWithAProtocol() {
+		if s.Name == catalogue.ControllerSeatName {
+			for _, v := range s.Serves {
+				about[v.Name] = v
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	verbs := make([]string, 0, len(handlers))
+	for verb := range handlers {
+		verbs = append(verbs, verb)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(verbs)
+	var endpoints []micro.EndpointInfo
+	for _, verb := range verbs {
+		schema, _ := json.Marshal(about[verb].Input)
+		// The same shape every tool runtime announces in (node-tools' announce package): the name is
+		// `<seat>__<verb>`, as the protocol's characters allow; the metadata is what identifies it.
+		endpoints = append(endpoints, micro.EndpointInfo{
+			Name:       catalogue.ControllerSeatName + "__" + verb,
+			Subject:    link.SeatToolSubject(catalogue.ControllerSeatName, verb),
+			QueueGroup: "seat." + catalogue.ControllerSeatName,
+			Metadata: map[string]string{
+				"kind": "seat", "module": catalogue.ControllerSeatName, "tool": verb,
+				"seat": catalogue.ControllerSeatName, "scope": "mesh", "interchangeable": "false",
+				"description": about[verb].Description, "schema": string(schema),
+			},
+		})
+	}
+	return micro.Info{
+		ServiceIdentity: micro.ServiceIdentity{
+			Name: catalogue.ControllerSeatName, ID: "controller", Version: "0.1.0",
+			Metadata: map[string]string{"seat": catalogue.ControllerSeatName, "scope": "mesh"},
+		},
+		Description: "the mesh's own verbs, answered by the holder of the mesh-controller seat",
+		Endpoints:   endpoints,
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/seatverbs_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -73,6 +76,38 @@ func TestRotateTakesAProvisionOrAnOwnSecret(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// `settings` is `settings set|clear` at a shell, with the values passed inline (novox/hq issue 198).
+func TestSettingsSetsOrClearsALayer(t *testing.T) {
+	argv, err := argvFor("settings", map[string]any{"module": "dnsmasq", "values": `{"a":1}`, "node": "ace"})
+	if err != nil || strings.Join(argv, " ") != `settings set dnsmasq {"a":1} --node ace` {
+		t.Fatalf("set on a machine: %v %v", argv, err)
+	}
+	argv, _ = argvFor("settings", map[string]any{"module": "dnsmasq", "clear": "true"})
+	if strings.Join(argv, " ") != "settings clear dnsmasq" {
+		t.Fatalf("clear for the mesh: %v", argv)
+	}
+	argv, _ = argvFor("settings", map[string]any{"module": "dnsmasq"})
+	if strings.Join(argv, " ") != "settings set dnsmasq" {
+		t.Fatalf("a set with no values falls to the command's usage: %v", argv)
+	}
+}
+
+// `issue` is `module issue` at a shell: the module and the machine, and nothing that would push. A
+// module's bus account was mintable only from the controller's command line, so an agent working
+// through the tools could not finish a rollout that gave a module one (novox/hq issue 191).
+func TestIssueGivesAModuleItsAccountOnAMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	argv, err := argvFor("issue", map[string]any{"node": "ace", "module": "route-proxy"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Join(argv, " ") != "module issue route-proxy --node ace" {
+		t.Fatalf("issue runs %v", argv)
+	}
+	if _, err := argvFor("issue", map[string]any{"module": "route-proxy"}); err == nil {
+		t.Error("an account was issued without saying which machine reads it")
+	}
+}
+
 // A required argument missing is refused in the verb's own words, before anything runs.
 func TestAVerbMissingWhatItNeedsIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := argvFor("node", map[string]any{}); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), `node needs "node"`) {
@@ -98,10 +133,13 @@ func TestActsDoNotBlockTheCall(t *testing.T) {
 
 // What `tools` answers is the seats' records, with each verb's schema.
 func TestToolsAnswersTheSeatsRecords(t *testing.T) {
-	handlers, err := seatToolHandlers()
+	handlers, behind, err := seatToolHandlers()
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	if len(behind) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("this build cannot run %v of its own seat's verbs", behind)
+	}
 	if len(handlers) != len(catalogue.ControllerVerbs) {
 		t.Fatalf("%d handlers for %d verbs", len(handlers), len(catalogue.ControllerVerbs))
 	}
@@ -139,3 +177,122 @@ func TestAJSONVerbsAnswerIsItsStandardOutput(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("stderr and stdout are both what the command said: %s", answer.Output)
 	}
 }
+
+// `command` is the generic verb: the command line as given, split as a shell would, nothing added —
+// so an operator's `node account g14 jochen` is one call through the console rather than a shell on
+// the control node (novox/hq ADR 0154, ADR 0175).
+func TestCommandRunsTheLineAsGiven(t *testing.T) {
+	argv, err := argvFor("command", map[string]any{"command": "node account g14 jochen"})
+	if err != nil || strings.Join(argv, " ") != "node account g14 jochen" {
+		t.Fatalf("a plain line: %v %v", argv, err)
+	}
+	argv, err = argvFor("command", map[string]any{"command": `settings set dnsmasq '{"a": "b c"}' --node ace`})
+	if err != nil || len(argv) != 6 || argv[3] != `{"a": "b c"}` {
+		t.Fatalf("a quoted word stays one word: %q %v", argv, err)
+	}
+	argv, err = argvFor("command", map[string]any{"command": `node add "the box" --adopted`})
+	if err != nil || len(argv) != 4 || argv[2] != "the box" {
+		t.Fatalf("double quotes group: %q %v", argv, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := argvFor("command", map[string]any{"command": "   "}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an empty line was accepted")
+	}
+	if _, err := argvFor("command", map[string]any{"command": `node "unclosed`}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unclosed quote was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+// A verb in the row that this binary cannot run does not take the control plane off the bus: the
+// rest are served, the unknown one answers the reason, and the start-up names it (novox/hq ADR
+// 0185). One unknown word cost the mesh ten minutes of silence on 2026-10-02, recoverable only by
+// a person running the binary by hand — the push that would have repaired it needs the control
+// plane that was down.
+func TestARowAheadOfThisBuildIsServedAnyway(t *testing.T) {
+	seat, known := catalogue.SeatNamed(catalogue.ControllerSeatName)
+	if !known {
+		t.Fatal("no controller seat")
+	}
+	// The row as a newer control plane would have written it: every verb this build knows, and one
+	// it does not.
+	widened := seat
+	widened.Serves = append(append([]catalogue.Verb{}, seat.Serves...),
+		catalogue.Verb{Name: "teleport", Description: "a verb from a build that does not exist yet"})
+	rows := catalogue.DefaultSeats()
+	for i := range rows {
+		if rows[i].Name == catalogue.ControllerSeatName {
+			rows[i] = widened
+		}
+	}
+	catalogue.UseSeats(rows)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { catalogue.UseSeats(catalogue.DefaultSeats()) })
+
+	handlers, behind, err := seatToolHandlers()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a row with one unknown verb refused to serve at all: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(behind) != 1 || behind[0] != "teleport" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verbs this build cannot run were reported as %v", behind)
+	}
+	if len(handlers) != len(widened.Serves) {
+		t.Fatalf("%d handlers for %d verbs in the row", len(handlers), len(widened.Serves))
+	}
+	for _, known := range []string{"status", "nodes", "push"} {
+		if handlers[known] == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s is not served although this build knows it", known)
+		}
+	}
+	_, err = handlers["teleport"](context.Background(), nil)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the unknown verb answered as though it had run")
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"teleport", "cannot run it", "behind"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
+			t.Errorf("the answer does not say %q: %v", want, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0195: the console's discovery reads the machines and the modules; they answer as JSON,
+// as status and seats do, so nothing parses a printed column.
+func TestTheNodesAndModulesVerbsAnswerAsJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	for verb, want := range map[string]string{"nodes": "[node list --json]", "modules": "[module list --json]"} {
+		argv, err := argvFor(verb, map[string]any{})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if fmt.Sprint(argv) != want {
+			t.Errorf("%s runs %v, want %s", verb, argv, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0197: the controller announces exactly the verbs it serves, each on the subject and
+// queue it serves it on, with the seat's own description and schema, in NATS's services format.
+func TestTheControllerAnnouncesTheVerbsItServes(t *testing.T) {
+	handlers, _, err := seatToolHandlers()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	info := seatAnnouncement(handlers)
+	if info.Name != catalogue.ControllerSeatName || info.ID == "" || info.Version == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the service is not named for the seat: %+v", info.ServiceIdentity)
+	}
+	if len(info.Endpoints) != len(handlers) {
+		t.Fatalf("%d endpoints announced for %d verbs served", len(info.Endpoints), len(handlers))
+	}
+	for _, e := range info.Endpoints {
+		verb := e.Metadata["tool"]
+		if _, served := handlers[verb]; !served || e.Name != catalogue.ControllerSeatName+"__"+verb {
+			t.Errorf("%s (%s) is announced and not served under that name", e.Name, verb)
+		}
+		if e.Metadata["kind"] != "seat" || e.Metadata["seat"] != catalogue.ControllerSeatName {
+			t.Errorf("%s is not announced as the seat's verb: %v", e.Name, e.Metadata)
+		}
+		if e.Subject != link.SeatToolSubject(catalogue.ControllerSeatName, verb) || e.QueueGroup != "seat."+catalogue.ControllerSeatName {
+			t.Errorf("%s is announced on %s/%s, not where it is served", e.Name, e.Subject, e.QueueGroup)
+		}
+		if e.Metadata["description"] == "" || e.Metadata["schema"] == "" || e.Metadata["scope"] != "mesh" {
+			t.Errorf("%s is announced without its description, schema or scope: %v", e.Name, e.Metadata)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/sendable.go

@@ -31,6 +31,14 @@ 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
+	// 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
+	// everything or nothing about what it IS told, and what it is not told is said. Absent from
+	// the body when empty, so a declaration that leaves nothing out is byte for byte what it was.
+	LeftOut []string
+	// leftOutWhy is why each was, for push and plan to say; never on the wire.
+	leftOutWhy map[string]string
 }
 
 // adoptionEnvelope is what an adopted node is told about its mode. Taken is every module taken on
@@ -51,6 +59,9 @@ func (s sendable) Body() ([]byte, error) {
 	if s.Sequence > 0 {
 		envelope["sequence"] = s.Sequence
 	}
+	if len(s.LeftOut) > 0 {
+		envelope["left_out"] = s.LeftOut
+	}
 	// An empty declaration is deliberate here — the node owns nothing the mesh put there
 	// (novox/hq issue 127) — and the host refuses an empty body unless it is told the emptiness
 	// is meant, so a truncated or mis-composed body is never mistaken for "own nothing".

cmd/mesh-controller/sendable_test.go

@@ -382,3 +382,62 @@ func TestAnEmptyDeclarationSaysOwnsNothing(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a non-empty declaration must not mark owns_nothing; got %v", env)
 	}
 }
+
+// A setting is judged where it is stored, and an impossible one costs a module, not a machine
+// (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6): stored while it composed, a setting whose definition then moved from
+// under it leaves that module out of the declaration — said in the envelope, so the host keeps the
+// module's things — and the machine is told everything else.
+func TestADefinitionMovingUnderAStoredSettingLeavesThatModuleOutNotTheMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	web := helloWeb()
+	web.Resources[1]["ports"] = []any{"8080"}
+	register(t, open, web)
+	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "notes", Version: "1",
+		Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "conf", "type": "file", "path": "/etc/notes.conf", "content": "x"}}})
+	for _, m := range []string{"hello-web", "notes"} {
+		if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	// Judged where it is stored: a port the module does not publish is refused by name.
+	err := open.inventory.SetSettings(ctx, "laptop", "hello-web",
+		map[string]any{catalogue.PortsSetting: map[string]any{"9999": 10000}})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "hello-web on laptop") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "9999") {
+		t.Fatalf("an impossible setting was stored: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := open.inventory.SetSettings(ctx, "laptop", "hello-web",
+		map[string]any{catalogue.PortsSetting: map[string]any{"8080": 10000}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if declared := composed(t, open, "laptop"); len(declared.LeftOut) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a setting that composes left a module out: %v", declared.LeftOut)
+	}
+
+	// The definition moves: the container publishes another port now.
+	web.Version = "2"
+	web.Resources[1]["ports"] = []any{"9090"}
+	register(t, open, web)
+	declared := composed(t, open, "laptop")
+	if len(declared.LeftOut) != 1 || declared.LeftOut[0] != "hello-web" {
+		t.Fatalf("hello-web is not left out: %v", declared.LeftOut)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(declared.leftOutWhy["hello-web"], "no container of its publishes 8080") {
+		t.Fatalf("why it was left out is not said: %v", declared.leftOutWhy)
+	}
+	if hasID(declared.Resources, "hello-web.server") || !hasID(declared.Resources, "notes.conf") {
+		t.Fatalf("the machine was not told everything else: %v", declared.Resources)
+	}
+	body, err := declared.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var env map[string]any
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &env); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	left, _ := env["left_out"].([]any)
+	if len(left) != 1 || left[0] != "hello-web" {
+		t.Fatalf("the envelope does not say what was left out: %v", env)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/status.go

@@ -227,6 +227,28 @@ func printStatus(asked answers) error {
 			"  not readable from a commit; that needs a version the host reports as ordered\n\n")
 	}
 
+	if len(asked.filtered) > 0 {
+		// A converged machine is filtered by the mesh alone, and the mesh says truthfully which
+		// (novox/hq ADR 0168). One that is not — a predecessor's chain still refusing, a found
+		// firewall in force again — is said here, and is not well.
+		machines := make([]string, 0, len(asked.filtered))
+		for name := range asked.filtered {
+			machines = append(machines, name)
+		}
+		sort.Strings(machines)
+		fmt.Printf("%d converged machine(s) are not filtered by the mesh alone:\n", len(machines))
+		for _, name := range machines {
+			f := asked.filtered[name]
+			if fw := f.FoundFirewall; fw != nil && fw.Active {
+				fmt.Printf("  %-12s the found firewall (%s) is in force again; the next apply retires it\n", name, fw.Kind)
+			}
+			for _, x := range f.Others() {
+				fmt.Printf("  %-12s %s (%s): %s\n", name, x.Where, x.Owner, x.Refuses)
+			}
+		}
+		fmt.Printf("\n  the mesh wrote none of these and removes none; `node show <node>` lists every filter with its owner\n\n")
+	}
+
 	if len(asked.untaken) > 0 {
 		// **Before the adopted line, and it breaks "all well".** An adopted machine is a state
 		// somebody chose and can leave alone; a module assigned to one and never taken is work
@@ -357,6 +379,13 @@ func theThreeQuestions(ctx context.Context, open *stores) (answers, error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return answers{}, err
 	}
+	// And which converged machines something other than the mesh filters (novox/hq ADR 0168), as
+	// each last reported — the account that was missing when a predecessor's chain refused what the
+	// mesh declared open for eleven hours (04-ISSUES/144, 145).
+	out.filtered, err = filteredMachines(ctx, inv, out.nodes)
+	if err != nil {
+		return answers{}, err
+	}
 	out.plans, err = inv.RecentPlans(ctx, 5)
 	if err != nil {
 		return answers{}, err
@@ -406,6 +435,30 @@ func theThreeQuestions(ctx context.Context, open *stores) (answers, error) {
 //
 // A machine that reports no holds contributes nothing, so a converged mesh answers an empty map and
 // the caller prints nothing.
+// filteredMachines is every converged machine not filtered by the mesh alone, with what it last said
+// filters it (novox/hq ADR 0168). An adopted machine keeps its found firewall by design and is not
+// counted; a machine that has not said is not said to be filtered by anything.
+func filteredMachines(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, nodes []inventory.Node) (
+	map[string]inventory.Filtering, error) {
+	out := map[string]inventory.Filtering{}
+	for _, n := range nodes {
+		if n.Adopted {
+			continue
+		}
+		f, err := inv.FilteringOf(ctx, n.Name)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("what filters %s cannot be read: %w", n.Name, err)
+		}
+		if len(f.Filters) == 0 && f.FoundFirewall == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !f.Alone() {
+			out[n.Name] = f
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
 func untakenModules(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, nodes []inventory.Node) (
 	map[string]map[string]int, error) {
 
@@ -442,7 +495,8 @@ func untakenModules(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, nodes []inven
 // read as success for the whole of the edge cut-over outage (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/125).
 func (a answers) well() bool {
 	return len(a.wrong) == 0 && len(a.quiet) == 0 && len(a.behind) == 0 &&
-		len(a.waiting) == 0 && len(a.refused) == 0 && a.network == "" && len(a.untaken) == 0
+		len(a.waiting) == 0 && len(a.refused) == 0 && a.network == "" && len(a.untaken) == 0 &&
+		len(a.filtered) == 0
 }
 
 // hostSplit is which machines report which host version, for every version more than one machine

cmd/mesh-controller/take_preview_test.go

@@ -4,26 +4,42 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 )
 
+// What the forge's take compares, as a machine would report it.
+func aForgeComparison() comparison {
+	return comparison{reported: inventory.Adoption{
+		Firewall: "ufw",
+		Held: []inventory.Held{
+			{ID: "forge.server", Module: "forge", Kind: "container", Target: "forge", Facts: map[string]any{
+				"image": "forge:1.27.3", "image_created": "2026-09-17T10:00:00Z",
+				"declared_image": "forge:1.22.6", "declared_image_created": "2026-08-20T10:00:00Z", "downgrade": true,
+				"networks": map[string]any{"predecessor_default": []any{"office", "db"}},
+				"ports":    []any{"3000/tcp>0.0.0.0:3000"}, "declared_ports": []any{"3000:3000"},
+			}},
+			{ID: "forge.config", Module: "forge", Kind: "file", Target: "/etc/forge/app.ini", Kept: "/var/lib/mesh/kept/app.ini",
+				Facts: map[string]any{"differs": true, "difference": []any{"- private scope: local", "+ upstream: public"}}},
+			{ID: "other.server", Module: "other", Kind: "container", Target: "other"},
+		},
+		Reachable: []inventory.Reach{
+			{Protocol: "tcp", Address: "0.0.0.0", Port: 3000, By: "forge", Published: true, ContainerPort: 3000},
+			{Protocol: "tcp", Address: "0.0.0.0", Port: 22, By: "sshd"},
+		},
+	}}
+}
+
 // A take is a comparison (novox/hq ADR 0163): the preview puts what runs beside what the module
 // declares, and an older image or a differing file refuses unless named.
 func TestATakePreviewsTheComparisonAndRefusesWhatIsNotNamed(t *testing.T) {
-	held := []inventory.Held{
-		{ID: "forge.server", Module: "forge", Kind: "container", Target: "forge", Facts: map[string]any{
-			"image": "forge:1.27.3", "image_created": "2026-09-17T10:00:00Z",
-			"declared_image": "forge:1.22.6", "declared_image_created": "2026-08-20T10:00:00Z", "downgrade": true,
-			"networks": map[string]any{"predecessor_default": []any{"office", "db"}},
-			"ports":    []any{"3000/tcp>0.0.0.0:3000"}, "declared_ports": []any{"3000:3000"},
-		}},
-		{ID: "forge.config", Module: "forge", Kind: "file", Target: "/etc/forge/app.ini", Kept: "/var/lib/mesh/kept/app.ini",
-			Facts: map[string]any{"differs": true, "difference": []any{"- private scope: local", "+ upstream: public"}}},
-		{ID: "other.server", Module: "other", Kind: "container", Target: "other"},
-	}
-	preview, refusals := comparisonOf(held, "forge", takeOptions{})
+	c := aForgeComparison()
+	preview, refusals, saw := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{})
 	for _, want := range []string{"runs forge:1.27.3 (made 2026-09-17)", "declares forge:1.22.6 (made 2026-08-20)", "DOWNGRADE",
-		"on the network predecessor_default with office, db", "publishes 3000/tcp>0.0.0.0:3000; the module declares 3000:3000",
+		"on the network predecessor_default with office, db", "will not once it moves to the module's own network",
+		"publishes 3000/tcp>0.0.0.0:3000; the module declares 3000:3000",
+		// How far the port reaches now, as the machine reported it (rule 1).
+		"reachable now at 0.0.0.0:3000 (tcp, container port 3000), behind the found firewall (ufw)",
 		"- private scope: local", "original kept at /var/lib/mesh/kept/app.ini"} {
 		if !strings.Contains(preview, want) {
 			t.Errorf("the preview lacks %q:\n%s", want, preview)
@@ -35,15 +51,93 @@ func TestATakePreviewsTheComparisonAndRefusesWhatIsNotNamed(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(refusals) != 2 || !strings.Contains(refusals[0], "--downgrade") || !strings.Contains(refusals[1], "--replace /etc/forge/app.ini") {
 		t.Fatalf("the downgrade and the differing file refuse, each naming its override: %v", refusals)
 	}
+	if len(saw) != 12 {
+		t.Fatalf("the preview's digest is %q", saw)
+	}
 	// Named, they pass.
-	if _, refusals := comparisonOf(held, "forge", takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"/etc/forge/app.ini": true}}); len(refusals) != 0 {
+	if _, refusals, _ := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"/etc/forge/app.ini": true}}); len(refusals) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("named differences still refused: %v", refusals)
 	}
-	if _, refusals := comparisonOf(held, "forge", takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}}); len(refusals) != 0 {
+	if _, refusals, _ := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}}); len(refusals) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("replace * did not cover the file: %v", refusals)
 	}
 	// A held thing with no facts yet — a host older than this — refuses nothing and says what it can.
-	if preview, refusals := comparisonOf(held, "other", takeOptions{}); len(refusals) != 0 || !strings.Contains(preview, "container other") {
+	if preview, refusals, _ := comparisonOf("other", c, takeOptions{}); len(refusals) != 0 || !strings.Contains(preview, "container other") {
 		t.Fatalf("a factless hold: %q %v", preview, refusals)
 	}
+	// The digest is of what the preview says: a fact changing changes it.
+	c.reported.Held[0].Facts["image"] = "forge:1.27.4"
+	if _, _, again := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{}); again == saw {
+		t.Fatal("the found image changed and the digest did not")
+	}
+}
+
+// A secret the mesh minted for a service whose data was found refuses: the running service already
+// has a value (rule 2). Accepted, it is carried in; `--mint` says the service shall take the new one.
+func TestAMintedSecretForFoundDataRefusesUnlessAcceptedOrMinted(t *testing.T) {
+	c := aForgeComparison()
+	c.secrets = []inventory.SecretState{
+		{Name: "admin", Origin: inventory.OriginMade},
+		{Name: "postgres-database", Origin: inventory.OriginMade, Provider: "anchor"},
+		{Name: "broker", Origin: inventory.OriginAccepted},
+	}
+	preview, refusals, _ := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}})
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"own secret admin: MINTED by the mesh and not accepted",
+		"secret from anchor postgres-database: MINTED by the mesh and not accepted",
+		"own secret broker: accepted from a person, carried in as it is",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(preview, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the preview lacks %q:\n%s", want, preview)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(refusals) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("two minted secrets refuse: %v", refusals)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(refusals[0], "`secret accept <node> forge admin`") || !strings.Contains(refusals[0], "`--mint admin`") {
+		t.Errorf("the own secret's refusal names accepting it and minting it: %s", refusals[0])
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(refusals[1], "`secret accept <node> forge postgres-database --provider anchor`") {
+		t.Errorf("the required secret's refusal names its provider: %s", refusals[1])
+	}
+	preview, refusals, _ = comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true},
+		Mint: map[string]bool{"admin": true, "postgres-database": true}})
+	if len(refusals) != 0 || !strings.Contains(preview, "admin: minted by the mesh; the service takes the new value, as --mint said") {
+		t.Fatalf("--mint did not pass the minted secrets: %v\n%s", refusals, preview)
+	}
+	// With no found data — only a file held — the service has no value of its own, and a minted
+	// secret is simply said.
+	c.reported.Held = c.reported.Held[1:2]
+	if _, refusals, _ := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}}); len(refusals) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a minted secret refused with no data found: %v", refusals)
+	}
+}
+
+// A found network a per-machine setting keeps is named in the preview (rule 4), and the module's
+// settings are said with where each came from, composed or not (rules 1 and 6).
+func TestTheKeptNetworkAndTheSettingsAreInThePreview(t *testing.T) {
+	c := aForgeComparison()
+	c.keeps = map[string][]string{"forge.server": {"predecessor_default"}}
+	c.layers = []catalogue.Layer{
+		{From: catalogue.MeshWideLayer, Values: map[string]any{"site": "x"}},
+		{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{catalogue.NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"server": []any{"predecessor_default"}}}},
+	}
+	preview, _, _ := comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}})
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"on the network predecessor_default with office, db — kept by this machine's setting, so they still reach it by name once taken",
+		"settings from the mesh: site",
+		"settings from anchor: networks",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(preview, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the preview lacks %q:\n%s", want, preview)
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(preview, "will not once it moves") {
+		t.Errorf("a kept network is still said to be lost:\n%s", preview)
+	}
+	c.settingsRefused = "forge: ports is a { port: machine-port } map"
+	preview, _, _ = comparisonOf("forge", c, takeOptions{Downgrade: true, Replace: map[string]bool{"*": true}})
+	if !strings.Contains(preview, "SETTINGS DO NOT COMPOSE with the module's definition, so the push leaves it out: forge: ports") {
+		t.Errorf("settings that cannot compose are not said:\n%s", preview)
+	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -283,6 +284,14 @@ func (f following) SourceMoved(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved) error {
 	if isHistory(m.MergedAt, lastLookAt(entries, m)) {
 		packaging = nil
 	}
+	// Said, never silent (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215): a module built from this repository that follows
+	// another branch is not part of this merge, and whoever is waiting for its change should read why.
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if sameRepository(e.Source.Repository, m) && !sourceIs(e.Source, m) {
+			fmt.Printf("  %s is built from %s/%s and follows %s, not %s; this merge leaves it out\n",
+				e.Manifest.Module, m.Owner, m.Repo, e.Source.Ref, m.Base)
+		}
+	}
 	touched := whatTheMergeTouched(from, entries, m)
 	for _, e := range touched {
 		if err := inv.SourceMoved(ctx, e.Manifest.Module, m.Commit); err != nil {
@@ -306,6 +315,13 @@ func (f following) SourceMoved(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved) error {
 	for _, e := range moved {
 		movedNames = append(movedNames, e.Manifest.Module)
 	}
+	// Written and its first tier asked as one act on the plans (novox/hq issue 213): a timer on
+	// another controller reading it between the two would ask the tier again.
+	release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
+	if err != nil {
+		return notNow(err)
+	}
+	defer release()
 	plan := planOfMerge(m, movedNames, edges)
 	if hasCycle(plan.Tiers, edges) {
 		fmt.Printf("  the last tier depends on itself: %s — built together, in no order\n",
@@ -345,7 +361,24 @@ func sourceIs(s inventory.Source, m link.SourceMoved) bool {
 	if !sameRepository(s.Repository, m) {
 		return false
 	}
-	return s.Ref == "" || s.Ref == m.Base
+	ref := followedBranch(s.Ref)
+	return ref == "" || ref == m.Base
+}
+
+// commitRef is a ref that names a commit rather than a branch: what `build --ref <commit>` asks for.
+var commitRef = regexp.MustCompile(`^[0-9a-f]{7,40}$`)
+
+// followedBranch is the branch a recorded ref means a module follows (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/215). **A
+// commit is never a branch to follow.** A build asked at a commit — to try one, or to pin it during a
+// fix — recorded that commit as the module's ref; every merge after it then failed to match the
+// module, its plan left it out without saying so, and every plan that rebuilt it asked for that same
+// old commit again. A commit recorded so is read as the repository's default branch, which is what
+// the module followed before it; a branch is followed as named.
+func followedBranch(ref string) string {
+	if commitRef.MatchString(strings.TrimSpace(ref)) {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return ref
 }
 
 // sameRepository is whether a recorded repository is the one a merge names, in either spelling it

cmd/mesh-controller/worker_order_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// The holder of the build seat follows the controller that defines its worker (novox/hq issue 206).
+// On 2026-10-03 a plan put the build machine in tier 0 and the controller in tier 1; the new build
+// machine could not bind the worker the old controller had defined, and nothing could build the
+// controller that would have redefined it. The built-by edge from the controller to its build
+// machine yields to that order: the controller is built by whichever build machine is running.
+func TestTheBuildSeatsHolderFollowsTheControllerThatDefinesItsWorker(t *testing.T) {
+	edges := []inventory.Edge{
+		{From: "build-agent", To: "mesh-controller", Kind: inventory.EdgePackages},
+		{From: "build-agent", To: "mesh-controller", Kind: inventory.EdgeWorkerOf},
+		{From: "mesh-controller", To: "build-agent", Kind: inventory.EdgeBuiltBy},
+		{From: "route-proxy", To: "mesh-controller", Kind: inventory.EdgePackages},
+		{From: "route-proxy", To: "build-agent", Kind: inventory.EdgeBuiltBy},
+	}
+	set := reachableFrom([]string{"mesh-controller"}, edges)
+	if len(set) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller, what packages it, and nothing more: %v", set)
+	}
+	tiers := tiersOf(set, edges)
+	pos := map[string]int{}
+	for i, tier := range tiers {
+		for _, m := range tier {
+			pos[m] = i
+		}
+	}
+	if pos["mesh-controller"] != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller first, built by the build machine that is running: %v", tiers)
+	}
+	if pos["build-agent"] <= pos["mesh-controller"] {
+		t.Fatalf("the build machine after the controller that defines its worker: %v", tiers)
+	}
+	if pos["route-proxy"] <= pos["build-agent"] {
+		t.Fatalf("what the build machine builds comes after it: %v", tiers)
+	}
+	if hasCycle(tiers, edges) {
+		t.Fatalf("no cycle here: %v", tiers)
+	}
+}

examples/objectstore-provisioner/Dockerfile

@@ -10,7 +10,10 @@
 # The client is copied from the vendor's own image rather than installed from a distribution:
 # `apk add mc` on Alpine installs Midnight Commander, which is a different program with the same
 # name, and the failure would be a provisioner that starts cleanly and cannot do anything.
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS build
+# The Go it builds with is the one the manifest pins (build.on GO_BASE), passed by the Makefile and the
+# build machine alike; the default only serves a hand build, and matches go.mod.
+ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.26-alpine
+FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN go mod download

examples/postgres-provisioner/Dockerfile

@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 # Built here so a machine can be given it by the mesh rather than by somebody putting a binary on
 # it. Static and FROM scratch for the same reason the control plane's image is: it is fetched by
 # digest and run on a machine, and everything in it is something a person would have to audit.
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS build
+# The Go it builds with is the one the manifest pins (build.on GO_BASE), passed by the Makefile and the
+# build machine alike; the default only serves a hand build, and matches go.mod.
+ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.26-alpine
+FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN go mod download

examples/redis-provisioner/Dockerfile

@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 #
 # FROM scratch, like the postgres one and unlike the bucket one: it speaks the store's own wire
 # protocol directly and needs no client in the image.
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS build
+# The Go it builds with is the one the manifest pins (build.on GO_BASE), passed by the Makefile and the
+# build machine alike; the default only serves a hand build, and matches go.mod.
+ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.26-alpine
+FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN go mod download

examples/route-proxy/Dockerfile

@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@
 #
 # Static and FROM scratch like the control plane's image, and for the same reason: it is fetched
 # by digest and run on a machine, so everything in it is something a person would have to audit.
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS build
+# The Go it builds with is the one the manifest pins (build.on GO_BASE), passed by the Makefile and the
+# build machine alike; the default only serves a hand build, and matches go.mod.
+ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.26-alpine
+FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN go mod download

examples/route-proxy/forwarded_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"net/url"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A backend behind the proxy learns the client used TLS and which name it asked for, so the addresses
+// it writes into its own pages are the ones a client can use (2026-10-03: a forge's Go import tag
+// named an http clone URL, and Go refused the module path).
+func TestABackendIsToldTheRequestWasHTTPSAndForWhichName(t *testing.T) {
+	var proto, host, fwdHost, fwdFor string
+	backend := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		proto, host, fwdHost, fwdFor = r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-Proto"), r.Host, r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-Host"), r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For")
+	}))
+	defer backend.Close()
+	where, _ := url.Parse(backend.URL)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, "https://git.example.org/novox/mesh-sdk/go?go-get=1", nil)
+	req.TLS = &tls.ConnectionState{}
+	req.Host = "git.example.org"
+	req.RemoteAddr = "192.0.2.7:51000"
+	towards(where).ServeHTTP(httptest.NewRecorder(), req)
+	if proto != "https" || fwdHost != "git.example.org" || host != "git.example.org" || fwdFor != "192.0.2.7" {
+		t.Errorf("the backend was told proto=%q host=%q forwarded-host=%q for=%q", proto, host, fwdHost, fwdFor)
+	}
+}

examples/route-proxy/main.go

@@ -273,7 +273,7 @@ func (t *table) set(routes map[string][]rule, public map[string]bool) {
 				log.Printf("route %s points at %q, which is not a URL: %v", host, r.target, err)
 				continue
 			}
-			r.to = httputil.NewSingleHostReverseProxy(where)
+			r.to = towards(where)
 			if r.insecure {
 				r.to.Transport = &http.Transport{TLSClientConfig: &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: true}}
 			}
@@ -732,6 +732,11 @@ func handler(held *table) http.Handler {
 			// And since a host may now be routed only on some paths, those are a third thing:
 			// saying "no route for this name" while listing that very name as served is a
 			// contradiction an operator would have to disbelieve the proxy to get past.
+			// **Said in the log as well as to the client.** A name this mesh does not serve, asked
+			// for from outside, is what a scanner does, and the machine's intrusion prevention reads
+			// this proxy's log for exactly that line (novox/hq ADR 0179): the address last, as the
+			// jail's filter expects it.
+			log.Printf("refused: no route for %q, asked from %s", r.Host, r.RemoteAddr)
 			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "text/plain; charset=utf-8")
 			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
 			if !hidden && held.routed(r.Host) {
@@ -1055,3 +1060,17 @@ func asPort(v any) (int, bool) {
 	}
 	return 0, false
 }
+
+// towards proxies to one backend and tells it what the client asked: **X-Forwarded-Proto, -Host and
+// -For**, set from the request this proxy received. A backend that builds its own addresses — a forge
+// writing its clone URL into a page, a login redirect — otherwise sees the plain HTTP hop from this
+// proxy and writes `http://`, though every client reached it over TLS: Go refused the forge's module
+// path for exactly that on 2026-10-03, its import tag naming an http clone URL.
+// The standard library's NewSingleHostReverseProxy sets only X-Forwarded-For.
+func towards(where *url.URL) *httputil.ReverseProxy {
+	return &httputil.ReverseProxy{Rewrite: func(pr *httputil.ProxyRequest) {
+		pr.SetURL(where)
+		pr.Out.Host = pr.In.Host
+		pr.SetXForwarded()
+	}}
+}

internal/broker/agreement_catalogue_test.go

@@ -234,3 +234,13 @@ func admitsSubject(pattern, subject []string) bool {
 	}
 	return len(pattern) == len(subject)
 }
+
+// The two packages name the runtime module separately — the broker's types stay free of the
+// catalogue's on purpose — so this is what holds them to one string. A rename that reached only one
+// side would compose a runtime principal for a module nobody assigns, silently, and leave the one
+// that is assigned with a module's own grants.
+func TestTheBrokerAndTheCatalogueAgreeOnTheRuntimeModule(t *testing.T) {
+	if RuntimeModule != catalogue.RuntimeModule {
+		t.Fatalf("the broker calls the runtime %q and the catalogue %q", RuntimeModule, catalogue.RuntimeModule)
+	}
+}

internal/broker/derived.go

@@ -144,12 +144,18 @@ func ConsumerFor(p Principal) (Consumer, bool) {
 	}, true
 }
 
-// HolderConsumerFor is the worker a seat's holder gets on that seat's work queue.
+// HolderConsumerFor is the worker a seat's holders share on that seat's work queue.
 //
-// **A queue group even though the seat guarantees one holder.** The seat is *authority* — who may
-// be the telegram sender — and the queue group is *delivery*. Tie delivery to the seat and the
-// day somebody allows two holders for throughput, every message is processed twice with nothing
-// reporting it. Kept separate, relaxing one changes nothing about the other.
+// **One worker for every holder, and each holder pulls one ask when it is idle** (novox/hq ADR
+// 0190). The seat is *authority* — who may be the telegram sender — and the worker is *delivery*,
+// kept separate so that relaxing one changes nothing about the other: a node-scoped seat has a
+// holder per machine, and all of them take from this one consumer, so the work is shared without
+// any holder knowing about the others. Pulled rather than pushed because a push consumer hands the
+// next ask to whichever subscriber the server picks, busy or not, and a pulled one is asked for by
+// a holder that has just become free. Which is also what ends the race issue 186 describes — asks
+// delivered behind the one being worked, expiring unacknowledged and dropped after the fifth
+// redelivery: nothing is delivered that nobody asked for. A long build keeps its own ask alive
+// (stillWorking); the ack wait is for a holder that died.
 func HolderConsumerFor(node, module string, seat DeclaredSeat) (Consumer, bool) {
 	if len(seat.Accepts) == 0 {
 		return Consumer{}, false
@@ -158,18 +164,13 @@ func HolderConsumerFor(node, module string, seat DeclaredSeat) (Consumer, bool)
 		Name:           "SEAT_" + upperSnake(seat.Name) + "_worker",
 		Stream:         seatStreamName(seat.Name),
 		Filters:        []string{"mesh.seat." + seat.Name + ".accept.>"},
-		Queue:          "holders",
 		AckWaitSeconds: 60,
 		MaxDeliver:     5,
-		// **One in flight.** A holder works one ask at a time, so the server hands it one at a
-		// time: with the default of many, every ask behind the one being worked was delivered,
-		// left unacknowledged for the length of the work, redelivered after the ack wait, and
-		// after the fifth time dropped — on 2026-10-01 twenty-six of forty-three builds asked in
-		// two minutes were never built, and the queue read as empty (novox/hq issue 186).
-		MaxAckPending: 1,
-		Why: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s holds %s; it acknowledges after the work is done, so a "+
-			"crash mid-work redelivers rather than loses; one in flight, so a queue of asks is a "+
-			"queue and not a race against the ack wait", module, node, seat.Name),
+		// As many in flight as there are holders working, which pulling bounds by itself: a holder
+		// fetches one and fetches again only after it acknowledged. The server's default stands.
+		Why: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s holds %s; every holder pulls one ask at a time from this worker "+
+			"and acknowledges after the work is done, so a crash mid-work redelivers rather than "+
+			"loses and an idle holder is the one that takes the next ask", module, node, seat.Name),
 	}, true
 }
 

internal/broker/derived_test.go

@@ -88,15 +88,20 @@ func TestAModuleThatConsumesNothingGetsNoConsumer(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// The seat is authority and the queue group is delivery. Tie them together and the day somebody
-// allows two holders, every message is processed twice with nothing reporting it.
-func TestAHoldersWorkerUsesAQueueGroupAnyway(t *testing.T) {
+// The seat is authority and the worker is delivery (novox/hq ADR 0190): one worker per seat, shared
+// by every holder and pulled from, so a second holder takes the next ask rather than a copy of the
+// same one — which is what a queue group used to guard, and what pulling one durable gives outright.
+func TestAHoldersWorkerIsOneSharedByItsHolders(t *testing.T) {
 	c, ok := HolderConsumerFor("one", "telegram", telegramSeat())
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("the holder of a seat with inbound work got no worker")
 	}
-	if c.Queue == "" {
-		t.Fatal("the worker is not in a queue group, so a second holder would double-process")
+	two, _ := HolderConsumerFor("two", "telegram", telegramSeat())
+	if c.Name != two.Name || c.Stream != two.Stream {
+		t.Fatal("two holders got two workers, so each would process every ask")
+	}
+	if c.Push || c.Queue != "" {
+		t.Fatal("the worker is pushed, so the server would hand an ask to a busy holder")
 	}
 	if c.Stream != "SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER" {
 		t.Fatalf("the worker reads %q, not the seat's own stream", c.Stream)
@@ -154,15 +159,23 @@ func TestANodesDeclarationConsumerIsWhatItsOwnGrantAllows(t *testing.T) {
 	has(t, perms.Subscribe, c.Filters[0])
 }
 
-// A holder works one ask at a time, so the server hands it one at a time (novox/hq issue 186):
-// asks queued behind the one being worked wait in the stream rather than being delivered,
-// left to expire and dropped after the fifth redelivery.
-func TestAHoldersWorkerTakesOneAskAtATime(t *testing.T) {
-	c, found := HolderConsumerFor("anchor", "builder", DeclaredSeat{Name: "mesh-build-machine", Accepts: []string{"build"}})
+// Every holder of a seat shares one worker and pulls from it (novox/hq ADR 0190): no queue group
+// and no delivery subject, because a push consumer hands the next ask to whichever subscriber the
+// server picks, busy or not; and no cap of one in flight, because pulling bounds the asks in flight
+// by the holders that are free — which is what ended the race of issue 186, where asks delivered
+// behind the one being worked expired and were dropped.
+func TestAHoldersWorkerIsPulledByEveryHolder(t *testing.T) {
+	c, found := HolderConsumerFor("anchor", "build-agent", DeclaredSeat{Name: "node-build-agent", Accepts: []string{"build"}})
 	if !found {
 		t.Fatal("a seat that accepts work has no worker")
 	}
-	if c.MaxAckPending != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("the worker may have %d asks in flight; one, so a queue is a queue", c.MaxAckPending)
+	if c.Queue != "" || c.Push {
+		t.Fatalf("the worker is pushed (queue %q, push %v); a holder pulls when it is free", c.Queue, c.Push)
+	}
+	if c.MaxAckPending != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the worker caps asks in flight at %d; pulling bounds them by the holders working", c.MaxAckPending)
+	}
+	if c.Name != "SEAT_NODE_BUILD_AGENT_worker" || c.Stream != "SEAT_NODE_BUILD_AGENT" {
+		t.Fatalf("the worker is %s on %s; one per seat, shared by its holders", c.Name, c.Stream)
 	}
 }

internal/broker/jetstream.go

@@ -214,6 +214,51 @@ func (j *JetStream) EnsureConsumer(c Consumer) error {
 
 	switch have, err := j.js.ConsumerInfo(c.Stream, c.Name); {
 	case err == nil:
+		// **The controller owns the worker's shape, type included** (novox/hq issue 206). A holder
+		// built for a pull worker cannot bind a push one — `cannot pull subscribe to push based
+		// consumer` — and on 2026-10-03 the build machine rolled before the controller that would
+		// have redefined its worker, restarted on that for an hour, and nothing could build the
+		// controller that would have ended it. The server cannot change a consumer's type in place,
+		// so one of the wrong type is re-made: on a work queue nothing is lost, because what was
+		// acknowledged is gone from the stream and what was not is delivered again from the start.
+		// On any other stream a re-made consumer would replay what this one acknowledged (issue
+		// 156), so there it is said and left, and the person re-makes it knowing the cost.
+		if havePush, wantPush := have.Config.DeliverSubject != "", want.DeliverSubject != ""; havePush != wantPush {
+			shape := func(push bool) string {
+				if push {
+					return "push"
+				}
+				return "pull"
+			}
+			info, err := j.js.StreamInfo(c.Stream)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("asking about stream %s to re-make consumer %s: %w", c.Stream, c.Name, err)
+			}
+			if info.Config.Retention != nats.WorkQueuePolicy {
+				// **A stream that keeps its history is re-made from now on, never from the start.**
+				// Left for a hand, the hand re-makes it with the server's default — everything the
+				// stream holds — which on 2026-10-03 replayed every build ask since 1 October and
+				// re-registered nine modules from the past (novox/hq issue 207). What this consumer
+				// had not yet acknowledged is lost with it, and said: on a history stream that is
+				// the smaller cost, and the asks in flight are visible to whoever asked.
+				j.note("consumer %s on %s changes from %s to %s delivery on a stream that keeps its history: "+
+					"re-made to deliver from now on, so nothing this one acknowledged comes back (novox/hq issue "+
+					"207); %d ask(s) it had not acknowledged are not carried over and must be asked again",
+					c.Name, c.Stream, shape(havePush), shape(wantPush), have.NumPending+uint64(have.NumAckPending))
+				want.DeliverPolicy = nats.DeliverNewPolicy
+			} else {
+				j.note("consumer %s on %s changes from %s to %s delivery: re-made where it left off, nothing "+
+					"acknowledged comes back and nothing pending is lost (novox/hq issue 206); a holder bound to "+
+					"the old shape binds again", c.Name, c.Stream, shape(havePush), shape(wantPush))
+			}
+			if err := j.js.DeleteConsumer(c.Stream, c.Name); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("re-making consumer %s on %s as %s: %w", c.Name, c.Stream, shape(wantPush), err)
+			}
+			if _, err := j.js.AddConsumer(c.Stream, want); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("re-making consumer %s on %s as %s: %w", c.Name, c.Stream, shape(wantPush), err)
+			}
+			return nil
+		}
 		// Where an existing consumer starts is its history, not something an assertion may move:
 		// the server refuses a changed deliver policy outright. Carried across, so asserting twice
 		// is the no-op a restart depends on.

internal/broker/membership_test.go

@@ -73,3 +73,37 @@ func TestAnAccountMayReadItsOwnMembershipAndNoOthers(t *testing.T) {
 	has(t, perms.Publish, "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.anchor.postgres")
 	hasNot(t, perms.Subscribe, "mesh.assignment.>")
 }
+
+// The runtime arriving on a machine changes nothing about what each module is issued (to-be 38 WP2):
+// the memberships are composed as before and the runtime reads several of them. What the machine's
+// user list gains is one runtime principal, and loses nothing but the runtime module's own.
+func TestTheRuntimeArrivingLeavesEveryMembershipAsItWas(t *testing.T) {
+	filter := Seat{Name: "node-packet-filter", Scope: "node", Serves: []string{"rules", "reload"}}
+	three := []Declared{
+		{Module: "nftables", Holds: []Seat{filter}, Serves: []string{"firewall_rules"}},
+		{Module: "zsh", Serves: []string{"execute"}},
+		{Module: "systemd", Serves: []string{"units"}},
+	}
+	before := Records{Nodes: []string{"anchor"}, Assigned: map[string][]Declared{"anchor": three}}
+	after := Records{Nodes: []string{"anchor"}, Assigned: map[string][]Declared{
+		"anchor": append(append([]Declared{}, three...), Declared{Module: RuntimeModule}),
+	}}
+	for _, d := range three {
+		was := MembershipFor("anchor", d, PlacementsOf(before, nil))
+		is := MembershipFor("anchor", d, PlacementsOf(after, nil))
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(was, is) {
+			t.Errorf("%s's membership changed when the runtime arrived:\n%+v\n%+v", d.Module, was, is)
+		}
+	}
+	users, err := Users(after)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	kinds := map[Kind]int{}
+	for _, p := range users {
+		kinds[p.Kind]++
+	}
+	if kinds[KindNodeTools] != 1 || kinds[KindModule] != 3 || kinds[KindNode] != 1 || kinds[KindController] != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("the machine's users are %v; one runtime, the three modules, the host and the controller", kinds)
+	}
+}

internal/broker/nats.go

@@ -34,8 +34,20 @@ const (
 	// authority is a list of tools and nothing else — not control, not declarations, not builds,
 	// and no ability to answer anything, because a person asks.
 	KindPerson Kind = "person"
+	// KindNodeTools is a machine's tool runtime (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38): one process per
+	// node, on the host side, serving every assigned module's tools and every held seat's verbs.
+	// Its authority is the union of what the modules it carries would each have had for their
+	// tools — and nothing of what they consume, because tools are what it runs, not reactions.
+	KindNodeTools Kind = "node-tools"
 )
 
+// RuntimeModule is the module that IS the node's tool runtime (novox/hq ADR 0175). Where it is
+// assigned, the mesh composes one runtime principal for the machine in place of that module's own,
+// and the per-module containers that served tools until then stop being the way tools reach a node.
+// Mirrored in the catalogue package, which the agreement test holds to the same string; one
+// constant, so a rename is one edit and the two packages cannot drift.
+const RuntimeModule = "node-tools"
+
 // Seat is a role on the bus as a principal relates to it: the subjects it accepts, and those it
 // emits (novox/hq ADR 0118, design 29 §5).
 type Seat struct {
@@ -74,6 +86,13 @@ type Principal struct {
 	// a namespace no such module owns. Every service started and the graph stayed empty.
 	Watches []Seat
 
+	// Carries are the modules whose tools this principal serves, for a KindNodeTools principal
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0175): every module assigned to its node, as each declares itself. Its
+	// serving authority is the union of theirs — each module's own tool namespace and each held
+	// seat's verbs on this node — derived from the same declarations the modules' own principals
+	// are, so the runtime can serve nothing a module could not have served for itself.
+	Carries []Declared
+
 	// Invokes are the tools this principal may call, as `<module>.<tool>`; a single `*` is every
 	// tool. A person's whole authority (design 25 §7), and a module's only if its manifest says so
 	// (novox/hq ADR 0152) — the console's does, and nothing else's.
@@ -91,10 +110,13 @@ type Principal struct {
 	PasswordHash string
 }
 
-// meshSeatsTheControllerUses are the roles the mesh's own flows submit work to. Named rather than
+// seatsTheControllerAsks are the roles the mesh's own flows submit work to. Named rather than
 // derived from the seat set: the controller is not a module and declares no `uses`, so its side of a
 // seat has to be stated, and a list is what makes "which roles does the mesh itself talk to" answerable.
-var meshSeatsTheControllerUses = []string{"mesh-build-machine"}
+// Both build roles while the handover runs (novox/hq ADR 0190): the controller asks whichever has a
+// holder, and the retired one has one until build-agent replaces the builder. The second entry
+// goes with the retired seat row.
+var seatsTheControllerAsks = []string{"node-build-agent", "mesh-build-machine"}
 
 // enrolmentPrefix is the space every enrolling node's user and inbox live under, so the one place the
 // controller may answer an enrolment is derived from the same constant the user is named from.
@@ -112,7 +134,10 @@ func (p Principal) Username() string {
 	switch p.Kind {
 	case KindPerson:
 		return "person." + p.Module
-	case KindModule:
+	case KindModule, KindNodeTools:
+		// The runtime is named exactly as the module it stands for would have been: the mesh
+		// issues its credential through the same path a module's takes (`module issue`), and
+		// that path knows the node and the module, not the kind.
 		return p.Node + "." + p.Module
 	case KindNode:
 		return "node." + p.Node
@@ -186,7 +211,9 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// Work the mesh's own flows submit to a role, and the outcomes they wait on (ADR 0121). A
 		// build is the one today: the controller asks, and reads the answer from the seat's event
 		// like the catalogue does — which is why no holder needs to publish into anybody's inbox.
-		for _, seat := range meshSeatsTheControllerUses {
+		// A node-scoped seat's work subject carries no node (novox/hq ADR 0190): the ask goes to
+		// the role, and whichever machine holding it is idle takes it.
+		for _, seat := range seatsTheControllerAsks {
 			pub = append(pub, "mesh.seat."+seat+".accept.>")
 		}
 		// **And what the mesh says it did** (novox/hq ADR 0134). The control plane states its own
@@ -209,6 +236,8 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// which this package mirrors rather than reads, and a verb the seat does not declare is a
 		// subject nothing publishes.
 		sub = append(sub, "mesh.seat."+ControllerSeat+".tool.>")
+		// And says so (novox/hq ADR 0197): it answers discovery for the seat it serves.
+		sub = append(sub, announcing(ControllerSeat)...)
 
 		// The two events it reacts to, and its ack subject on the stream they arrive from
 		// (streams.go). **Each named, not a pattern**: `mesh.mod.*.event.>` would make the
@@ -244,6 +273,9 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 			return Permissions{}, err
 		}
 		pub = append(pub, invoked...)
+		// And may ask what answers (novox/hq ADR 0197): a question every service answers about
+		// itself, its replies to the asker's own inbox.
+		pub = append(pub, discovering()...)
 
 	case KindEnrolment:
 		// A leaked token is useless for anything but enrolling: it cannot read a declaration, hear
@@ -300,6 +332,15 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// away — no other principal may subscribe this namespace, and a caller's authority is
 		// still granted per tool, by name, on the publish side.
 		sub = append(sub, own+".tool.>")
+		// It says what it serves (novox/hq ADR 0197): discovery for its own name and every seat it
+		// holds a verb of, answered by the runtime that serves them.
+		announced := []string{p.Module}
+		for _, s := range p.Holds {
+			if len(s.Serves) > 0 {
+				announced = append(announced, s.Name)
+			}
+		}
+		sub = append(sub, announcing(announced...)...)
 		// Its own membership (ADR 0160): the one subject a runtime derives for itself, read
 		// directly from the stream and followed live. Nothing else's.
 		sub = append(sub, MembershipSubject(p.Node, p.Module))
@@ -346,13 +387,17 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 
 		// 3. Seats it holds: full participation.
 		for _, s := range p.Holds {
-			// Taking work from the role's queue: the worker consumer it binds (asked about,
-			// delivered on, acknowledged), each on the seat's own stream. The first machine to
-			// take work over the new bus was refused the asking (2026-09-28).
+			// Taking work from the role's queue: the worker consumer every holder shares (asked
+			// about, pulled from, acknowledged), on the seat's own stream (novox/hq ADR 0190). A
+			// holder pulls — asks the consumer for its next message, answered on its own inbox —
+			// so what it needs is MSG.NEXT on that worker and nothing delivered to it. The first
+			// machine to take work over the new bus was refused the asking (2026-09-28).
 			worker := "SEAT_" + upperSnake(s.Name) + "_worker"
 			stream := seatStreamName(s.Name)
-			sub = append(sub, "_DELIVER."+worker, "_DELIVER."+worker+".>")
-			pub = append(pub, "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO."+stream+"."+worker, "$JS.ACK."+stream+"."+worker+".>")
+			pub = append(pub,
+				"$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO."+stream+"."+worker,
+				"$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT."+stream+"."+worker,
+				"$JS.ACK."+stream+"."+worker+".>")
 			for _, a := range s.Accepts {
 				sub = append(sub, seatSubject(s, "accept", a))
 			}
@@ -375,6 +420,75 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 				pub = append(pub, seatToolSubject(s, t, "*"))
 			}
 		}
+
+	case KindNodeTools:
+		// **One process serves what every module on the machine would have served for itself**
+		// (novox/hq ADR 0175). Each carried module's whole tool namespace — the same grant that
+		// module's own principal has, for the same reason: the tools a module serves are what its
+		// code answers, and a list here would be a second copy of it. Each held seat's verbs on
+		// this node, as the holder's own principal would be granted them.
+		var serves []string
+		for _, d := range p.Carries {
+			if !safeSubject.MatchString(d.Module) {
+				return Permissions{}, fmt.Errorf(
+					"%q cannot be part of a subject: a permission is a subject pattern, and this would widen it", d.Module)
+			}
+			serves = append(serves, d.Module)
+			for _, s := range d.Holds {
+				serves = append(serves, s.Name)
+			}
+			own := "mesh.mod." + d.Module
+			sub = append(sub, own+".tool.>")
+			// A tool that emits an event is the module's code and emits under the module's name
+			// (ADR 0042); the runtime carrying that code may publish what the module declared it
+			// emits, and nothing it did not.
+			for _, e := range d.Emits {
+				pub = append(pub, own+".event."+e)
+			}
+			for _, s := range d.Holds {
+				for _, t := range s.Serves {
+					sub = append(sub, seatToolSubject(s, t, p.Node))
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		// Every assigned module's membership on this node (ADR 0160): one per module, read
+		// directly from the stream and followed live. This node's and no other's — the one token
+		// that varies is the module, so the pattern is the machine's own assignments.
+		sub = append(sub, "mesh.assignment."+p.Node+".*")
+		pub = append(pub, "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET."+AssignmentsStream+".mesh.assignment."+p.Node+".*")
+		// And every tool on the mesh (ADR 0175, decision 5): any node may call any tool on any
+		// node, as the console already could — the runtime is the console's serving mode.
+		invoked, err := invokedSubjects([]string{"*"})
+		if err != nil {
+			return Permissions{}, err
+		}
+		pub = append(pub, invoked...)
+		// It says what it serves and may ask what answers (novox/hq ADR 0197): the runtime answers
+		// discovery for each module and seat it carries, and the console it is asks the bus.
+		// One service per runtime process, named for the runtime: the bus lets a principal answer each
+		// request once, so the runtime announces everything it carries under its own name.
+		sub = append(sub, announcing(append([]string{RuntimeModule}, serves...)...)...)
+		pub = append(pub, discovering()...)
+		// **And it consumes for the modules it carries** (novox/hq ADR 0198, which changes ADR 0175's
+		// "it consumes nothing"): a module's long-running code is a bundle this runtime launches, and
+		// the runtime is its bus — it reads the module's own durable consumer and acknowledges what
+		// the module's code took. Exactly the grants the module's own principal has for that consumer,
+		// on its name and no other's: asking about it, pulling from it, acknowledging it. The
+		// consumer is still the controller's to make, from the module's own principal.
+		for _, d := range p.Carries {
+			own := Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: p.Node, Module: d.Module, Emits: d.Emits,
+				Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves, Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches}
+			if _, consumes := ConsumerFor(own); !consumes {
+				continue
+			}
+			stream, durable := consumerStream(own), consumerDurable(own)
+			pub = append(pub,
+				"$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO."+stream+"."+durable,
+				"$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT."+stream+"."+durable,
+				"$JS.ACK."+stream+"."+durable+".>")
+		}
+		sub = unique(sub)
+		pub = unique(pub)
 	}
 
 	if p.Kind == KindPerson {
@@ -382,6 +496,11 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// consumer, because nothing is delivered to a person — they ask and are answered.
 		sub = append(sub, p.inbox())
 	}
+	if p.Kind == KindNodeTools {
+		// Its reply space, so the answers to what its tools call come back to it. No ack subject
+		// for the same reason a person has none: nothing is delivered to it.
+		sub = append(sub, p.inbox())
+	}
 
 	if p.Kind == KindModule || p.Kind == KindNode || p.Kind == KindController {
 		// Its own reply space, and nothing wider.
@@ -403,7 +522,7 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// A module answers what it was asked — a tool call reaches it on its own namespace, so the
 		// authority is bounded by having been asked — and so does the controller. A node and a
 		// person are never asked anything, and are granted nothing here.
-		AllowResponses: p.Kind == KindModule || p.Kind == KindController,
+		AllowResponses: p.Kind == KindModule || p.Kind == KindController || p.Kind == KindNodeTools,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -625,6 +744,20 @@ func ComposeAccounts(principals []Principal) (string, error) {
 	return b.String(), nil
 }
 
+// unique is a sorted list with each subject once. Two carried modules holding seats with the same
+// verb, or the runtime module itself carried beside the others, would otherwise write a grant twice
+// — harmless to the server, and noise in a file that is read as the mesh's authority model.
+func unique(values []string) []string {
+	sort.Strings(values)
+	out := values[:0]
+	for i, v := range values {
+		if i == 0 || v != values[i-1] {
+			out = append(out, v)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 func quoted(values []string) string {
 	if len(values) == 0 {
 		return ""
@@ -673,3 +806,25 @@ func invokedSubjects(invokes []string) ([]string, error) {
 	}
 	return out, nil
 }
+
+// announcing is what a principal that serves tools subscribes to answer the NATS services
+// protocol's discovery (novox/hq ADR 0197): the questions asked of every service, and those asked of
+// each name it serves — its own and no other's, so it cannot answer for a service it is not.
+func announcing(names ...string) []string {
+	out := []string{"$SRV.PING", "$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.STATS"}
+	for _, n := range names {
+		if !safeSubject.MatchString(n) {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, verb := range []string{"PING", "INFO", "STATS"} {
+			out = append(out, "$SRV."+verb+"."+n, "$SRV."+verb+"."+n+".>")
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// discovering is what a principal publishes to ask what answers (novox/hq ADR 0197): the services
+// protocol's discovery requests, whose replies come to its own inbox.
+func discovering() []string {
+	return []string{"$SRV.PING", "$SRV.PING.>", "$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.INFO.>"}
+}

internal/broker/nats_test.go

@@ -233,7 +233,9 @@ func TestAPersonReachesNothingButTools(t *testing.T) {
 	perms, _ := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindPerson, Module: "jo",
 		Invokes: []string{"*"}, PasswordHash: "x"})
 	for _, p := range perms.Publish {
-		if !strings.Contains(p, ".tool.") {
+		// A tool call, or asking what answers (novox/hq ADR 0197) — a question every service
+		// answers about itself, which claims nothing and controls nothing.
+		if !strings.Contains(p, ".tool.") && !strings.HasPrefix(p, "$SRV.") {
 			t.Errorf("a person may publish %q, which is not a tool call", p)
 		}
 	}
@@ -371,3 +373,109 @@ func TestAModulePullsItsOwnConsumerAndNoOthers(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// The runtime's authority is the union of what the modules it carries would have been granted for
+// their tools (novox/hq ADR 0175): every carried module's tool namespace, every held seat's verbs
+// on this node, every module's membership on this node, and a call to anything. Nothing it
+// consumes, because it reacts to nothing.
+func TestTheRuntimeServesTheUnionAndConsumesForItsModules(t *testing.T) {
+	filter := Seat{Name: "node-packet-filter", Scope: "node", Serves: []string{"rules", "reload"}}
+	p := Principal{Kind: KindNodeTools, Node: "anchor", Module: RuntimeModule, Carries: []Declared{
+		{Module: "nftables", Holds: []Seat{filter}, Serves: []string{"firewall_rules"}},
+		{Module: "zsh", Emits: []string{"shell.opened"}, Consumes: []string{"shop.order.placed"}},
+		{Module: RuntimeModule},
+	}}
+	perms, err := PermissionsFor(p)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"mesh.mod.nftables.tool.>", "mesh.mod.zsh.tool.>", "mesh.mod." + RuntimeModule + ".tool.>",
+		"mesh.seat.node-packet-filter.tool.rules.anchor", "mesh.seat.node-packet-filter.tool.reload.anchor",
+		"mesh.assignment.anchor.*",
+		"_INBOX.anchor." + RuntimeModule + ".>",
+	} {
+		if !contains(perms.Subscribe, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime may not subscribe %s: %v", want, perms.Subscribe)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"mesh.mod.*.tool.>", "mesh.seat.*.tool.>",
+		"$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.anchor.*",
+		"mesh.mod.zsh.event.shell.opened",
+	} {
+		if !contains(perms.Publish, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime may not publish %s: %v", want, perms.Publish)
+		}
+	}
+	// It reads the consumer of every carried module that consumes — that module's, by its name, as
+	// the module's own principal could (novox/hq ADR 0198) — and of no module that consumes nothing.
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.EVENTS.anchor_zsh",
+		"$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.EVENTS.anchor_zsh",
+		"$JS.ACK.EVENTS.anchor_zsh.>",
+	} {
+		if !contains(perms.Publish, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime may not read zsh's consumer: %s missing from %v", want, perms.Publish)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, s := range perms.Publish {
+		if (strings.HasPrefix(s, "$JS.ACK.") || strings.Contains(s, "CONSUMER")) && !strings.Contains(s, "anchor_zsh") {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime was granted a consumer no carried module of it consumes on: %s", s)
+		}
+	}
+	// It pulls; nothing is pushed to it, and it subscribes no event subject directly.
+	for _, s := range perms.Subscribe {
+		if strings.Contains(s, ".event.") || strings.HasPrefix(s, "_DELIVER.") {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime was granted a delivery: %s", s)
+		}
+	}
+	if !perms.AllowResponses {
+		t.Error("the runtime answers what it is asked, and may not reply")
+	}
+	if _, needed := ConsumerFor(p); needed {
+		t.Error("a consumer would be made for the runtime itself; it reads its modules' consumers, never one of its own")
+	}
+	// Each subject once in each list: the file is read as the mesh's authority model. One subject may
+	// stand in both — the runtime answers discovery on `$SRV.INFO` and, as the console, asks it
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0197) — because subscribing and publishing are two different grants.
+	for _, list := range [][]string{perms.Subscribe, perms.Publish} {
+		seen := map[string]bool{}
+		for _, s := range list {
+			if seen[s] {
+				t.Errorf("%s is granted twice", s)
+			}
+			seen[s] = true
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func contains(list []string, want string) bool {
+	for _, s := range list {
+		if s == want {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// A node-scoped seat's work is shared (novox/hq ADR 0190): its holder on any machine subscribes the
+// seat's one work subject, with no node in it, so holders on several machines read one queue. The
+// node token belongs to a seat's tools, which are asked of one machine (design 33 §4), not to its work.
+func TestANodeSeatsWorkSubjectCarriesNoNode(t *testing.T) {
+	seat := Seat{Name: "node-build-agent", Scope: "node", Accepts: []string{"build"}, Serves: []string{"status"}}
+	perms, err := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "anchor", Module: "build-agent", Holds: []Seat{seat}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	has(t, perms.Subscribe, "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.accept.build")
+	hasNot(t, perms.Subscribe, "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.accept.build.anchor")
+	// And its tools still carry the machine.
+	has(t, perms.Subscribe, "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.tool.status.anchor")
+	// The controller asks the role, not a machine.
+	controller, err := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindController})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	has(t, controller.Publish, "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.accept.>")
+}

internal/broker/streams.go

@@ -217,10 +217,15 @@ var ControllerFollows = []string{
 	// A build's outcome, which is the build-machine role's own event now (ADR 0121) rather than a
 	// message on the control branch. Same three audiences, one publish: whoever asked, this, and the
 	// catalogue.
-	seatEventSubject("mesh-build-machine", "built"),
+	seatEventSubject("node-build-agent", "built"),
 	// The forge's merges: what moved a source, so the mesh builds what that source produces
 	// without anybody telling it (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131). Appended, because the index is a name.
 	moduleEventSubject("gitea", "pull.merged"),
+	// The retired build role's outcome too, while the handover runs (novox/hq ADR 0190): the one
+	// build machine keeps answering on its seat until build-agent replaces it, and the outcome that
+	// registers build-agent itself comes from there. Appended, for the same reason as above; goes
+	// with the retired seat row.
+	seatEventSubject("mesh-build-machine", "built"),
 }
 
 // moduleEventSubject is where one module's event lands. The same derivation PermissionsFor uses, so

internal/broker/testdata/composed.conf

@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ accounts {
     jetstream: enabled
     users = [
       { user: "controller", password: "$2a$11$cccccccccccccccccccccc", permissions: {
-        publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.CONTROL.controller.>", "$JS.ACK.EVENTS.controller.>", "$JS.API.>", "_INBOX.enrol.>", "mesh.assignment.>", "mesh.control.>", "mesh.mod.*.tool.>", "mesh.node.>", "mesh.seat.mesh-build-machine.accept.>", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.applied", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.built-before", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.refused"] }
-        subscribe: { allow: ["$JS.API.>", "_DELIVER.controller", "_DELIVER.controller.>", "_INBOX.controller.>", "mesh.control.>", "mesh.mod.gitea.event.pull.merged", "mesh.mod.mesh-catalog.event.catching-up", "mesh.mod.mesh-catalog.event.upgraded", "mesh.seat.mesh-build-machine.event.built", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.tool.>"] }
+        publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.CONTROL.controller.>", "$JS.ACK.EVENTS.controller.>", "$JS.API.>", "_INBOX.enrol.>", "mesh.assignment.>", "mesh.control.>", "mesh.mod.*.tool.>", "mesh.node.>", "mesh.seat.mesh-build-machine.accept.>", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.applied", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.built-before", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.refused", "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.accept.>"] }
+        subscribe: { allow: ["$JS.API.>", "$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.INFO.mesh-controller", "$SRV.INFO.mesh-controller.>", "$SRV.PING", "$SRV.PING.mesh-controller", "$SRV.PING.mesh-controller.>", "$SRV.STATS", "$SRV.STATS.mesh-controller", "$SRV.STATS.mesh-controller.>", "_DELIVER.controller", "_DELIVER.controller.>", "_INBOX.controller.>", "mesh.control.>", "mesh.mod.gitea.event.pull.merged", "mesh.mod.mesh-catalog.event.catching-up", "mesh.mod.mesh-catalog.event.upgraded", "mesh.seat.mesh-build-machine.event.built", "mesh.seat.mesh-controller.tool.>", "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.event.built"] }
         allow_responses: { max: 1, ttl: "1m" }
       } }
       { user: "enrol.one", password: "$2a$11$eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee", permissions: {
@@ -37,18 +37,18 @@ accounts {
         subscribe: { allow: ["_DELIVER.one", "_DELIVER.one.>", "_INBOX.node.one.>", "mesh.node.one.declare"] }
       } }
       { user: "one.telegram", password: "$2a$11$tttttttttttttttttttttt", permissions: {
-        publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.EVENTS.one_telegram.>", "$JS.ACK.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker.>", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.EVENTS.one_telegram", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.EVENTS.one_telegram", "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.one.telegram", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.event.delivered", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.event.failed"] }
-        subscribe: { allow: ["_DELIVER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker", "_DELIVER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker.>", "_INBOX.one.telegram.>", "mesh.assignment.one.telegram", "mesh.mod.telegram.tool.>", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.accept.send"] }
+        publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.EVENTS.one_telegram.>", "$JS.ACK.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker.>", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.EVENTS.one_telegram", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.EVENTS.one_telegram", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER.SEAT_TELEGRAM_SENDER_worker", "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.one.telegram", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.event.delivered", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.event.failed"] }
+        subscribe: { allow: ["$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.INFO.telegram", "$SRV.INFO.telegram.>", "$SRV.PING", "$SRV.PING.telegram", "$SRV.PING.telegram.>", "$SRV.STATS", "$SRV.STATS.telegram", "$SRV.STATS.telegram.>", "_INBOX.one.telegram.>", "mesh.assignment.one.telegram", "mesh.mod.telegram.tool.>", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.accept.send"] }
         allow_responses: { max: 1, ttl: "1m" }
       } }
       { user: "two.audit", password: "$2a$11$aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa", permissions: {
         publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.EVENTS.two_audit.>", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.EVENTS.two_audit", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.EVENTS.two_audit", "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.two.audit"] }
-        subscribe: { allow: ["_INBOX.two.audit.>", "mesh.assignment.two.audit", "mesh.mod.audit.tool.>", "mesh.mod.shop.event.order.placed"] }
+        subscribe: { allow: ["$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.INFO.audit", "$SRV.INFO.audit.>", "$SRV.PING", "$SRV.PING.audit", "$SRV.PING.audit.>", "$SRV.STATS", "$SRV.STATS.audit", "$SRV.STATS.audit.>", "_INBOX.two.audit.>", "mesh.assignment.two.audit", "mesh.mod.audit.tool.>", "mesh.mod.shop.event.order.placed"] }
         allow_responses: { max: 1, ttl: "1m" }
       } }
       { user: "two.shop", password: "$2a$11$ssssssssssssssssssssss", permissions: {
         publish: { allow: ["$JS.ACK.EVENTS.two_shop.>", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.EVENTS.two_shop", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.EVENTS.two_shop", "$JS.API.DIRECT.GET.ASSIGNMENTS.mesh.assignment.two.shop", "mesh.mod.shop.event.order.placed", "mesh.seat.telegram-sender.accept.send"] }
-        subscribe: { allow: ["_INBOX.two.shop.>", "mesh.assignment.two.shop", "mesh.mod.shop.tool.>"] }
+        subscribe: { allow: ["$SRV.INFO", "$SRV.INFO.shop", "$SRV.INFO.shop.>", "$SRV.PING", "$SRV.PING.shop", "$SRV.PING.shop.>", "$SRV.STATS", "$SRV.STATS.shop", "$SRV.STATS.shop.>", "_INBOX.two.shop.>", "mesh.assignment.two.shop", "mesh.mod.shop.tool.>"] }
         allow_responses: { max: 1, ttl: "1m" }
       } }
     ]

internal/broker/users.go

@@ -62,13 +62,33 @@ func Users(r Records) ([]Principal, error) {
 
 	for _, node := range sortedCopy(r.Nodes) {
 		out = append(out, Principal{Kind: KindNode, Node: node})
+		// **Where the runtime is assigned, the machine gets one runtime principal in place of the
+		// runtime module's own** (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38). It carries every module on the
+		// node: its serving grants are the union of theirs. Every other module keeps its own
+		// principal — a module still serving tools from its own container holds its own
+		// credential until it moves, and the two serve side by side in the meantime.
+		runtimeHere := false
 		for _, d := range r.Assigned[node] {
+			if d.Module == RuntimeModule {
+				runtimeHere = true
+			}
+		}
+		for _, d := range r.Assigned[node] {
+			if runtimeHere && d.Module == RuntimeModule {
+				continue
+			}
 			out = append(out, Principal{
 				Kind: KindModule, Node: node, Module: d.Module,
 				Emits: d.Emits, Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves,
 				Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches, Invokes: d.Invokes,
 			})
 		}
+		if runtimeHere {
+			out = append(out, Principal{
+				Kind: KindNodeTools, Node: node, Module: RuntimeModule,
+				Carries: append([]Declared(nil), r.Assigned[node]...),
+			})
+		}
 	}
 	for _, node := range sortedCopy(r.Enrolling) {
 		out = append(out, Principal{Kind: KindEnrolment, Node: node})

internal/broker/users_test.go

@@ -245,3 +245,54 @@ func TestAUserListIsComposedBeforeAnythingMovesOntoTheBus(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the composed list does not contain the machine running the bus")
 	}
 }
+
+// Where the runtime module is assigned, the machine gets one runtime principal in place of the
+// runtime module's own (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38). Every other module keeps its own: a module
+// still serving tools from its own container holds its own credential until it moves.
+func TestTheRuntimeModuleBecomesTheMachinesRuntimePrincipal(t *testing.T) {
+	r := someRecords()
+	r.Assigned["one"] = append(r.Assigned["one"], Declared{Module: RuntimeModule})
+	users, err := Users(r)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var runtime *Principal
+	for i := range users {
+		p := &users[i]
+		if p.Node == "one" && p.Module == RuntimeModule {
+			if p.Kind == KindModule {
+				t.Fatalf("%s on one was composed as an ordinary module beside the runtime", RuntimeModule)
+			}
+			runtime = p
+		}
+	}
+	if runtime == nil || runtime.Kind != KindNodeTools {
+		t.Fatalf("one runs %s and got no runtime principal: %v", RuntimeModule, namesOf(t, r))
+	}
+	if runtime.Username() != "one."+RuntimeModule {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime is named %q; `module issue` names it as the module it stands for", runtime.Username())
+	}
+	carried := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, d := range runtime.Carries {
+		carried[d.Module] = true
+	}
+	if !carried["telegram"] || !carried[RuntimeModule] {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime carries %v; it carries every module on its node", carried)
+	}
+	// And the other node, where the runtime is not assigned, is exactly as before.
+	for _, p := range users {
+		if p.Node == "two" && p.Kind == KindNodeTools {
+			t.Fatal("two runs no runtime and was given a runtime principal")
+		}
+	}
+	// A module serving its own tools beside the runtime keeps its own principal.
+	found := false
+	for _, p := range users {
+		if p.Kind == KindModule && p.Node == "one" && p.Module == "telegram" {
+			found = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Error("telegram lost its own principal when the runtime arrived on its node")
+	}
+}

internal/broker/worker_type_change_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+)
+
+// A seat's worker that changed from push to pull delivery strands a holder built for the new shape
+// (novox/hq issue 206): the server refuses a pull subscription on a push consumer, and the controller
+// that would redefine it was the build that nobody could take. The controller owns the worker's
+// shape, type included: on a work queue it re-makes one of the wrong type, losing nothing, and a
+// pull subscription then binds and takes what was pending.
+//
+//	docker run -d --rm --name t -p 14231:4222 nats:2.10-alpine -js
+//	MESH_TEST_NATS=nats://127.0.0.1:14231 go test ./internal/broker/ -run TestAWorker
+func TestAWorkerOfTheWrongTypeIsRemadeOnAWorkQueueAndAPullThenBinds(t *testing.T) {
+	url := os.Getenv("MESH_TEST_NATS")
+	if url == "" {
+		t.Skip("MESH_TEST_NATS unset")
+	}
+	js, err := Dial(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+
+	const stream, worker, filter = "SEAT_T_SHELF", "SEAT_T_SHELF_worker", "mesh.seat.t-shelf.accept.>"
+	_ = js.js.DeleteStream(stream)
+	if _, err := js.js.AddStream(&nats.StreamConfig{
+		Name: stream, Subjects: []string{filter}, Retention: nats.WorkQueuePolicy, Storage: nats.MemoryStorage,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = js.js.DeleteStream(stream) }()
+
+	// The worker as the previous controller defined it: push, in a queue group.
+	if _, err := js.js.AddConsumer(stream, &nats.ConsumerConfig{
+		Durable: worker, AckPolicy: nats.AckExplicitPolicy, AckWait: 60 * time.Second, MaxDeliver: 5,
+		FilterSubject: filter, DeliverSubject: "_DELIVER." + worker, DeliverGroup: "holders",
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, body := range []string{"one", "two", "three"} {
+		if _, err := js.js.Publish("mesh.seat.t-shelf.accept.build", []byte(body)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	// The old holder took and acknowledged the first ask, then went away.
+	old, err := js.js.QueueSubscribeSync(filter, "holders", nats.Bind(stream, worker))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	m, err := old.NextMsg(twoSeconds)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if string(m.Data) != "one" {
+		t.Fatalf("the first ask is %q", m.Data)
+	}
+	if err := m.AckSync(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := old.Unsubscribe(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// The new controller asserts the worker as the mesh derives it now: pull.
+	if err := js.EnsureConsumer(Consumer{
+		Name: worker, Stream: stream, Filters: []string{filter}, AckWaitSeconds: 60, MaxDeliver: 5,
+		Why: "the test's worker",
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	have, err := js.js.ConsumerInfo(stream, worker)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if have.Config.DeliverSubject != "" || have.Config.DeliverGroup != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the worker is still push: %+v", have.Config)
+	}
+
+	// A holder built for the new shape binds, and takes exactly what the old one left.
+	sub, err := js.js.PullSubscribe(filter, worker, nats.Bind(stream, worker), nats.ManualAck())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a pull subscription does not bind the re-made worker: %v", err)
+	}
+	got, err := sub.Fetch(3, nats.MaxWait(twoSeconds))
+	if err != nil && len(got) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("nothing pending was delivered: %v", err)
+	}
+	var bodies []string
+	for _, g := range got {
+		bodies = append(bodies, string(g.Data))
+		_ = g.Ack()
+	}
+	if len(bodies) != 2 || bodies[0] != "two" || bodies[1] != "three" {
+		t.Fatalf("the pending asks after the acknowledged one, in order: %v", bodies)
+	}
+
+	// Asserted again, the pull worker is the no-op a restart depends on.
+	if err := js.EnsureConsumer(Consumer{
+		Name: worker, Stream: stream, Filters: []string{filter}, AckWaitSeconds: 60, MaxDeliver: 5,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+// On a stream that keeps its history, a worker of the wrong type is re-made to deliver from now on:
+// re-making it from the start would replay what it acknowledged (novox/hq issue 156), and leaving it
+// for a hand re-made it exactly that way on 2026-10-03 (issue 207).
+func TestAWorkerOfTheWrongTypeOnAHistoryStreamIsRemadeFromNowOn(t *testing.T) {
+	url := os.Getenv("MESH_TEST_NATS")
+	if url == "" {
+		t.Skip("MESH_TEST_NATS unset")
+	}
+	js, err := Dial(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	const stream, worker, filter = "EVENTS_T", "EVENTS_T_reader", "mesh.t.event.>"
+	_ = js.js.DeleteStream(stream)
+	if _, err := js.js.AddStream(&nats.StreamConfig{Name: stream, Subjects: []string{filter}, Storage: nats.MemoryStorage}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = js.js.DeleteStream(stream) }()
+	if _, err := js.js.AddConsumer(stream, &nats.ConsumerConfig{
+		Durable: worker, AckPolicy: nats.AckExplicitPolicy, AckWait: 60 * time.Second,
+		FilterSubject: filter, DeliverSubject: "_DELIVER." + worker,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// History the old consumer would have acknowledged long ago, and must not come back.
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		if _, err := js.js.Publish("mesh.t.event.old", []byte("old")); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := js.EnsureConsumer(Consumer{Name: worker, Stream: stream, Filters: []string{filter}, AckWaitSeconds: 60}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	have, err := js.js.ConsumerInfo(stream, worker)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if have.Config.DeliverSubject != "" {
+		t.Fatal("a history stream's consumer of the wrong type was left as it was")
+	}
+	if have.Config.DeliverPolicy != nats.DeliverNewPolicy || have.NumPending != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("re-made consumer delivers %v with %d pending; it must deliver from now on with nothing of the past", have.Config.DeliverPolicy, have.NumPending)
+	}
+	// And what arrives from now on is delivered.
+	if _, err := js.js.Publish("mesh.t.event.new", []byte("new")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	sub, err := js.js.PullSubscribe(filter, worker, nats.Bind(stream, worker))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	got, err := sub.Fetch(1, nats.MaxWait(3*time.Second))
+	if err != nil || len(got) != 1 || string(got[0].Data) != "new" {
+		t.Fatalf("the re-made consumer delivered %v, %v; want the one new message", got, err)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/builder.go

@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ func Build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 		sort.Slice(artifacts, func(i, j int) bool { return artifacts[i].Name < artifacts[j].Name })
 		for _, a := range artifacts {
 			say("artifact", "%s (%s%s) — starting", a.Name, a.Kind, langSuffix(a))
-			made, err := one(ctx, run, publish, manifest.Module, within, workspace, commit, credentials, a, args, held, npmrcPath, seatBases, say)
+			made, err := one(ctx, run, publish, manifest.Module, within, workspace, commit, credentials, a, args, held, npmrcPath, npmrc, seatBases, say)
 			if err != nil {
 				say("artifact", "%s FAILED: %v", a.Name, err)
 				return Result{}, err
@@ -443,7 +443,7 @@ func wantsPackages(manifest catalogue.Manifest, within string) bool {
 
 func one(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 	module, tree, workspace, commit, credentials string, a catalogue.Artifact, args []string,
-	held map[string]string, npmrc string, seats map[string]string,
+	held map[string]string, npmrc string, registry Npmrc, seats map[string]string,
 	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (catalogue.Built, error) {
 
 	switch a.Kind {
@@ -582,11 +582,28 @@ func one(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 					"holds no copy of it. Build %s first",
 				module, a.Name, chain.Language, chain.Base, chain.Artifact, chain.Base)
 		}
+		// The module's own packages first, where the compiler and the bundler resolve them from
+		// (dependencies.go); nothing at all for a module whose package.json names only the SDK.
+		if err := installOwn(ctx, run, tree, chain, base, registry, say); err != nil {
+			return catalogue.Built{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s: %w", module, a.Name, err)
+		}
 		say("bundle", "compiling %s in %s's toolchain", a.Language, chain.Base)
 		compiled, err := compile(ctx, run, tree, chain, base, a)
 		if err != nil {
 			return catalogue.Built{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: compiling %s failed: %w", module, a.Name, err)
 		}
+		// **Every entrypoint the runtime may serve is executable** (novox/hq ADR 0193). The runtime
+		// knows no language; for one that runs through an interpreter the build writes the launcher.
+		launchers, err := writeLaunchers(compiled, chain, a)
+		if err != nil {
+			return catalogue.Built{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: writing %s's launchers failed: %w", module, a.Name, err)
+		}
+		if chain.Bundler != "" {
+			say("bundle", "bundling each entrypoint into one file")
+			if compiled, err = bundled(ctx, run, tree, chain, base, a, launchers); err != nil {
+				return catalogue.Built{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: bundling %s failed: %w", module, a.Name, err)
+			}
+		}
 		say("bundle", "compiled, packing")
 		body, err := pack(compiled)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -598,7 +615,7 @@ func one(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 		if err != nil {
 			return catalogue.Built{}, err
 		}
-		return catalogue.Built{Name: a.Name, Kind: a.Kind, Reference: where, Digest: digest}, nil
+		return catalogue.Built{Name: a.Name, Kind: a.Kind, Reference: where, Digest: digest, Launchers: launchers}, nil
 
 	case catalogue.ArtifactPackage:
 		// Built and published on a public base, to the mesh's package registry, by version
@@ -968,6 +985,26 @@ func compile(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree string, chain Toolchain,
 	if _, err := run(ctx, tree, "docker", invocation...); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
+	if chain.Dependencies != "" && chain.Bundler == "" {
+		// **What the bundle runs with, from the image it was compiled in** (Toolchain.Dependencies).
+		// A second run in the same image rather than a shell wrapped around the compiler: the
+		// compile line stays a plain command a reader can run by hand, and the copy is one more
+		// plain command beside it. Refused by name when the image carries no such directory — an
+		// older toolchain image — because a bundle packed without its dependencies starts nowhere
+		// and says so three layers away from here.
+		copying := []string{
+			"run", "--rm",
+			"--volume", tree + ":" + within,
+			"--workdir", within,
+			base,
+			"sh", "-c",
+			`test -d "$1" || { echo "the toolchain image carries no $1: it predates the mesh shipping a bundle's dependencies, rebuild $2 first" >&2; exit 1; }; cp -a "$1/." "$3/"`,
+			"dependencies", chain.Dependencies, chain.Base, out,
+		}
+		if _, err := run(ctx, tree, "docker", copying...); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("copying the %s dependencies a bundle runs with: %w", chain.Language, err)
+		}
+	}
 	return filepath.Join(tree, out), nil
 }
 
@@ -1145,6 +1182,9 @@ func readBy(manifest catalogue.Manifest) []catalogue.ArtifactContext {
 // binaryName is what a compiled bundle's executable is called: what the artifact says, or the name of
 // the package it is built from, which is what a compiler would have chosen anyway.
 func binaryName(a catalogue.Artifact) string {
+	if name := catalogue.BinaryOf(a); name != "" {
+		return name
+	}
 	if name := strings.TrimSpace(a.Binary); name != "" {
 		return name
 	}
@@ -1153,3 +1193,137 @@ func binaryName(a catalogue.Artifact) string {
 	}
 	return a.Name
 }
+
+// launcherSuffix is what a TypeScript entrypoint's launcher is called beside it: index.js is
+// started as index.serve.mjs (novox/hq ADR 0193). An ES module by its own extension, whatever the
+// bundle's package.json says.
+const launcherSuffix = ".serve.mjs"
+
+// writeLaunchers writes, beside every entrypoint of a TypeScript bundle, an executable that
+// imports the entrypoint and serves what it registered over MCP on stdio — through the bundle's
+// own copy of the SDK, so registering and serving meet in one registry (novox/hq ADR 0193). Its
+// answer is each entrypoint's launcher, by entrypoint, relative to the bundle's root; nothing for
+// a language whose build is already executable.
+func writeLaunchers(root string, chain Toolchain, a catalogue.Artifact) (map[string]string, error) {
+	if chain.Language != "typescript" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	out := map[string]string{}
+	for _, entry := range a.Entrypoints {
+		if !strings.HasSuffix(entry, ".js") {
+			continue
+		}
+		launcher := strings.TrimSuffix(entry, ".js") + launcherSuffix
+		body := "#!/usr/bin/env node\n" +
+			"// Written by the mesh's builder (novox/hq ADR 0193): serve what " + entry + " registers,\n" +
+			"// over MCP on stdio, as the module the node's runtime names in MESH_SERVED_MODULE.\n" +
+			"import { serveRegisteredOverStdio } from \"@novox/mesh-sdk/stdio\";\n" +
+			"await import(\"./" + filepath.Base(entry) + "\");\n" +
+			"await serveRegisteredOverStdio();\n"
+		path := filepath.Join(root, filepath.FromSlash(launcher))
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(path), 0o755); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(body), 0o755); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		// WriteFile honours the umask; the mode a machine unpacks is the one packed, so it is set.
+		if err := os.Chmod(path, 0o755); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		out[entry] = launcher
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// bundledSuffix is where a bundle's one-file output is written, beside what the compiler wrote.
+const bundledSuffix = ".bundled"
+
+// bundled makes every entrypoint and every launcher of a compiled bundle ONE file, in the toolchain
+// image's bundler, and answers the directory to pack (novox/hq ADR 0193).
+//
+// **What a launched bundle runs is what it imports, and nothing else.** Every served bundle is its
+// own process, so it carries its own copy of the SDK and its own dependencies inlined — the
+// toolchain's whole node_modules no longer travels in every bundle. An entrypoint a process runs by
+// name (`node daemon/index.js`) is bundled in place under its own name; a launcher keeps its name
+// and its first line, and stays executable. A package the bundler cannot inline is named by the
+// artifact (`external`), kept as an import, and only then is the toolchain's runtime directory
+// copied beside the files. CommonJS inlined into an ES module still finds `require`.
+func bundled(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree string, chain Toolchain, base string,
+	a catalogue.Artifact, launchers map[string]string) (string, error) {
+	const within = "/app/modules/module"
+	out, final := Out(a.Name), Out(a.Name)+bundledSuffix
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(tree, final)); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(tree, final), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	common := []string{"--bundle", "--platform=node", "--format=esm", "--target=node22",
+		"--outbase=" + out, "--outdir=" + final, "--log-level=warning",
+		"--banner:js=import { createRequire as __meshRequire } from 'node:module'; const require = __meshRequire(import.meta.url);"}
+	for _, x := range a.External {
+		common = append(common, "--external:"+x)
+	}
+	var plain []string
+	for _, e := range a.Entrypoints {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(e, ".js") {
+			plain = append(plain, out+"/"+e)
+		}
+	}
+	var launch []string
+	for _, l := range sortedValues(launchers) {
+		launch = append(launch, out+"/"+l)
+	}
+	// Refused by name in an image that predates the bundler, as the dependencies copy is: a bundle
+	// packed without it would carry nothing it imports. Run as itself: npm installs esbuild's native
+	// binary in place of its script, which `node` cannot run.
+	guard := `test -x "$0" || { echo "the toolchain image carries no bundler at $0: it predates one-file bundles, rebuild mesh-tools first" >&2; exit 1; }; exec "$0" "$@"`
+	step := func(entries []string, extra ...string) error {
+		if len(entries) == 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		invocation := []string{"run", "--rm", "--volume", tree + ":" + within, "--workdir", within, base,
+			"sh", "-c", guard, chain.Bundler}
+		invocation = append(invocation, entries...)
+		invocation = append(invocation, common...)
+		invocation = append(invocation, extra...)
+		_, err := run(ctx, tree, "docker", invocation...)
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := step(plain); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if err := step(launch, "--out-extension:.js=.mjs"); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	// Plain `.js` output is an ES module; said once, as the runtime directory used to say it.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tree, final, "package.json"), []byte(`{"type":"module","private":true}`+"\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	for _, l := range launchers {
+		path := filepath.Join(tree, final, filepath.FromSlash(l))
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil {
+			if err := os.Chmod(path, 0o755); err != nil {
+				return "", err
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if len(a.External) > 0 && chain.Dependencies != "" {
+		copying := []string{"run", "--rm", "--volume", tree + ":" + within, "--workdir", within, base,
+			"sh", "-c", `cp -a "$0/node_modules" "$1/"`, chain.Dependencies, final}
+		if _, err := run(ctx, tree, "docker", copying...); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("copying the packages %s keeps external: %w", a.Name, err)
+		}
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(tree, final), nil
+}
+
+func sortedValues(m map[string]string) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(m))
+	for _, v := range m {
+		out = append(out, v)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}

internal/builder/bundle_test.go

@@ -82,6 +82,65 @@ func TestABundleIsCompiledAndPackedWithNoDockerfile(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(digest, "sha256:") {
 		t.Fatalf("the bundle was not pinned: %v", got.Manifest.Resources[0])
 	}
+
+	// **One file per entrypoint and launcher, in the toolchain's bundler** (novox/hq ADR 0193). A
+	// second run in the same toolchain image bundles each into the artifact's bundled output, the SDK
+	// inlined, refusing by name in an image that predates the bundler; and the toolchain's
+	// node_modules is no longer copied into a bundle that keeps nothing external.
+	var bundling []string
+	for _, line := range r.ran {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(line, "docker run") && strings.Contains(line, "esbuild") {
+			bundling = append(bundling, line)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(bundling) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("want one bundling run for the entrypoints and one for the launchers:\n%s", strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"))
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"mesh-tools/build@sha256:", "predates one-file bundles", "--bundle", "--format=esm",
+		"--platform=node", "--outdir=" + Out("code") + ".bundled", Out("code") + "/index.js"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(bundling[0], want) {
+			t.Errorf("the entrypoints' bundling lacks %q: %s", want, bundling[0])
+		}
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(bundling[1], Out("code")+"/index.serve.mjs") || !strings.Contains(bundling[1], "--out-extension:.js=.mjs") {
+		t.Errorf("the launcher is not bundled under its own name: %s", bundling[1])
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "/app/runtime") {
+		t.Errorf("the toolchain's node_modules was copied into a bundle that keeps nothing external:\n%s", strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"))
+	}
+	if strings.Index(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "--outDir") > strings.Index(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "esbuild") {
+		t.Fatal("the bundler ran before the compile wrote its output")
+	}
+}
+
+// A bundle naming packages it keeps external is bundled with them as imports, and carries the
+// toolchain's node_modules for them — the one case it still does.
+func TestABundleKeepingAPackageExternalCarriesTheToolchainsModules(t *testing.T) {
+	manifest := strings.Replace(aBundle, `"entrypoints":["index.js"]`, `"entrypoints":["index.js"],"external":["sharp"]`, 1)
+	r, workspace := aRepository(t, manifest, map[string]string{"index.ts": "console.log(1)"})
+	held := map[string]string{"mesh-tools/build": "registry.invalid/mesh-tools/build@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)}
+	if _, err := Build(context.Background(), compiling{r}.run, r,
+		"https://forge.invalid/greeter.git", "", "", workspace, held, Npmrc{}, GitCredential{}, nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	all := strings.Join(r.ran, "\n")
+	if !strings.Contains(all, "--external:sharp") || !strings.Contains(all, "/app/runtime") {
+		t.Errorf("an external package was not kept as an import with the toolchain's modules beside it:\n%s", all)
+	}
+}
+
+// A language whose bundle carries its own dependencies copies nothing in: a Go binary is static.
+func TestOnlyALanguageWithARuntimeDirectoryCopiesDependenciesIn(t *testing.T) {
+	ts, _ := ToolchainFor("typescript")
+	if ts.Dependencies != "/app/runtime" {
+		t.Fatalf("typescript bundles run with %q", ts.Dependencies)
+	}
+	for _, language := range []string{"go", "python"} {
+		chain, _ := ToolchainFor(language)
+		if chain.Dependencies != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("%s copies %q into every bundle, and its bundles carry their own", language, chain.Dependencies)
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 // **Refused before anything is built, naming what to build first.** A base the mesh has not built
@@ -145,9 +204,13 @@ func TestTwoBundlesInOneModuleArePackedSeparately(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a module with two bundles did not build: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	// Compiled into two different places.
+	// Compiled into two different places. Only the compile lines: the copy of each bundle's
+	// dependencies names the same directory again, deliberately.
 	var outputs []string
 	for _, line := range r.ran {
+		if !strings.Contains(line, "--outDir") {
+			continue
+		}
 		for _, part := range strings.Fields(line) {
 			if strings.HasPrefix(part, ".mesh-build/") {
 				outputs = append(outputs, part)

internal/builder/dependencies.go

@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// A module's own packages, installed before its bundle is compiled, so the bundler inlines them.
+//
+// **A bundle could only import what the toolchain happened to carry.** The compiler and the bundler
+// resolve an import by walking up from the module's source: the module's own directory first, then
+// the toolchain image's node_modules. Nothing ever put anything in the first, so a module needing a
+// database driver (`pg`, `mongodb`, `mssql`) could not be a bundle at all, and kept a container whose
+// recipe installed it by hand (novox/hq ADR 0198 §4: "the backend's own driver inside the bundle").
+// Now the module's `package.json` says what it depends on, as any Node package does, and the build
+// installs exactly that into the module's own directory before compiling.
+//
+// **The SDK the toolchain carries is the one a bundle is built with, whatever the module says**
+// (novox/hq issue 212: the toolchain is rebuilt on every SDK release and every bundle after it). A
+// module's `package.json` names `@novox/mesh-sdk` with a range — it has to, to type-check on a
+// workstation — and installing that range would shadow the toolchain's copy for this module alone:
+// one module compiled against an older SDK than its neighbours, chosen by a caret nobody re-reads.
+// So the SDK is taken out of what is installed (and never fetched), and any copy something else
+// pulls in is removed afterwards; every import of it resolves past the module's node_modules to the
+// toolchain's. A module therefore cannot pin a different SDK, by design: the toolchain is the pin.
+//
+// **Correctness before speed.** Every build installs afresh into a fresh clone, from the lockfile
+// when the module has one (`npm ci`, exact) and from its ranges otherwise; nothing installed is kept
+// between builds. What is shared is npm's own download cache, a named volume, which is
+// content-addressed and verified by integrity on every read — it saves the network, never the
+// install. Install scripts do not run: the build node runs nobody's postinstall, and what a script
+// would build natively could not be inlined into one file anyway.
+
+// sdkPackage is the package a TypeScript bundle's launcher serves through, and the one package a
+// module's own dependencies never supply (above).
+const sdkPackage = "@novox/mesh-sdk"
+
+// npmCache is the named volume npm's download cache lives in across builds on one build node.
+const npmCache = "mesh-builder-npm-cache"
+
+// ownDependencies is what a module's package.json depends on beyond the SDK, sorted; nothing when
+// the module has no package.json or depends on nothing else — which builds exactly as before.
+func ownDependencies(tree string) ([]string, error) {
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(tree, "package.json"))
+	if errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var p struct {
+		Dependencies map[string]string `json:"dependencies"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &p); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the module's package.json is not JSON: %w", err)
+	}
+	var names []string
+	for name := range p.Dependencies {
+		if name != sdkPackage {
+			names = append(names, name)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return names, nil
+}
+
+// installSteps is the script run inside the toolchain image, from the module's own directory ($0).
+// It works in a scratch copy so the module's package.json and lockfile are never rewritten, takes
+// the SDK out of what is installed, installs production dependencies only, removes any copy of the
+// SDK something pulled in, and puts the result at the module's node_modules.
+const installSteps = `set -e
+work="$(mktemp -d)"
+cp "$0/package.json" "$work/"
+if [ -f "$0/package-lock.json" ]; then cp "$0/package-lock.json" "$work/"; fi
+cd "$work"
+node -e '
+const fs = require("fs"), sdk = process.argv[1];
+const p = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync("package.json", "utf8"));
+for (const k of ["dependencies", "peerDependencies", "optionalDependencies"]) if (p[k]) delete p[k][sdk];
+delete p.devDependencies; delete p.scripts;
+fs.writeFileSync("package.json", JSON.stringify(p));
+' "$1"
+shift
+if [ -f package-lock.json ]; then
+  npm ci --omit=dev --omit=peer --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund "$@"
+else
+  npm install --omit=dev --omit=peer --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund --no-package-lock "$@"
+fi
+find node_modules -depth -type d -path "*/node_modules/@novox/mesh-sdk" -exec rm -rf {} +
+rm -rf "$0/node_modules"
+cp -a node_modules "$0/node_modules"
+`
+
+// installOwn installs a TypeScript module's own production dependencies into its directory, in the
+// toolchain image, before the compile — or does nothing at all for a module that has none.
+func installOwn(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree string, chain Toolchain, base string,
+	registry Npmrc, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) error {
+	if chain.Language != "typescript" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	deps, err := ownDependencies(tree)
+	if err != nil || len(deps) == 0 {
+		return err
+	}
+	scoped := strings.TrimSpace(registry.Scope)
+	if !registry.Enabled() {
+		// **No registry, no scoped package.** Without the mesh's registry a scoped name resolves on
+		// the public one, where anybody may have published it: a dependency that installs is not
+		// the dependency the module meant.
+		for _, d := range deps {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(d, "@novox/") {
+				return fmt.Errorf("the module depends on %s, and this build knows no package registry "+
+					"for its scope; it would resolve from the public registry, which is not where the "+
+					"mesh publishes it", d)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	const within = "/app/modules/module"
+	invocation := []string{"run", "--rm",
+		"--volume", tree + ":" + within,
+		"--volume", npmCache + ":/root/.npm",
+		"--workdir", within}
+	var flags []string
+	if registry.Enabled() {
+		// The registry is reached where the binding says it is, which may be this machine's own
+		// loopback — the reason an image build that resolves packages runs on the host network too.
+		invocation = append(invocation, "--network", "host")
+		reg := strings.TrimSpace(registry.Registry)
+		if !strings.HasSuffix(reg, "/") {
+			reg += "/"
+		}
+		flags = append(flags, "--"+scoped+":registry="+reg)
+	}
+	invocation = append(invocation, base, "sh", "-c", installSteps, within, sdkPackage)
+	invocation = append(invocation, flags...)
+	say("bundle", "installing the module's own packages: %s", strings.Join(deps, ", "))
+	if _, err := run(ctx, tree, "docker", invocation...); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("installing the module's own packages (%s): %w", strings.Join(deps, ", "), err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}

internal/builder/dependencies_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A module's own packages (dependencies.go): installed into its own directory, in the toolchain,
+// before the compile, so the bundler inlines them — the SDK always the toolchain's.
+
+func buildWithPackageJSON(t *testing.T, pkg string, extra map[string]string, registry Npmrc) (*recorded, error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	files := map[string]string{"index.ts": "console.log(1)"}
+	if pkg != "" {
+		files["package.json"] = pkg
+	}
+	for k, v := range extra {
+		files[k] = v
+	}
+	r, workspace := aRepository(t, aBundle, files)
+	held := map[string]string{"mesh-tools/build": "registry.invalid/mesh-tools/build@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)}
+	_, err := Build(context.Background(), compiling{r}.run, r,
+		"https://forge.invalid/greeter.git", "", "", workspace, held, registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	return r, err
+}
+
+func installs(r *recorded) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, line := range r.ran {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(line, "docker run") && strings.Contains(line, "npm ci") {
+			out = append(out, line)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func compileIndex(r *recorded) int {
+	for i, line := range r.ran {
+		if strings.Contains(line, "--outDir") {
+			return i
+		}
+	}
+	return -1
+}
+
+func TestAModulesOwnPackagesAreInstalledInTheToolchainBeforeTheCompile(t *testing.T) {
+	r, err := buildWithPackageJSON(t, `{"type":"module","dependencies":{"@novox/mesh-sdk":"^0.1.0","pg":"^8"},"devDependencies":{"typescript":"^5"}}`,
+		nil, Npmrc{Scope: "@novox", Registry: "https://forge.invalid/api/packages/novox/npm"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	got := installs(r)
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want one install of the module's own packages:\n%s", strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"))
+	}
+	line := got[0]
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"mesh-tools/build@sha256:",       // in the toolchain image
+		":/app/modules/module",           // into the module's own directory
+		"--workdir /app/modules/module",  //
+		npmCache + ":/root/.npm",         // npm's verified download cache, and only that
+		"--omit=dev", "--ignore-scripts", // production packages, no build-node scripts
+		"npm ci", "npm install", "--no-package-lock", // the lockfile when there is one, else the ranges
+		"--@novox:registry=https://forge.invalid/api/packages/novox/npm/", // the scope from the mesh's registry
+		"--network host",
+		"@novox/mesh-sdk", // named, to be taken out of what is installed
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(line, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the install lacks %q:\n%s", want, line)
+		}
+	}
+	// The SDK is the toolchain's: never installed from the module's range, and any copy removed.
+	if !strings.Contains(line, `delete p[k][sdk]`) || !strings.Contains(line, `-path "*/node_modules/@novox/mesh-sdk" -exec rm -rf`) {
+		t.Errorf("the module's own SDK range could shadow the toolchain's SDK:\n%s", line)
+	}
+	if i, c := strings.Index(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "npm ci"), compileIndex(r); c < 0 ||
+		i > strings.Index(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "--outDir") {
+		t.Fatalf("the install did not run before the compile:\n%s", strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"))
+	}
+}
+
+// **A module with nothing beyond the SDK builds exactly as before**: the same commands, no install.
+func TestAModuleDependingOnlyOnTheSDKBuildsExactlyAsBefore(t *testing.T) {
+	without, err := buildWithPackageJSON(t, "", nil, Npmrc{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, pkg := range []string{
+		`{"type":"module","dependencies":{"@novox/mesh-sdk":"^0.1.0"},"devDependencies":{"typescript":"^5"}}`,
+		`{"type":"module"}`,
+	} {
+		with, err := buildWithPackageJSON(t, pkg, map[string]string{"package-lock.json": "{}"}, Npmrc{Scope: "@novox", Registry: "https://forge.invalid/npm/"})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(strings.Join(with.ran, "\n"), "npm ") {
+			t.Fatalf("a module depending on nothing but the SDK ran npm:\n%s", strings.Join(with.ran, "\n"))
+		}
+		if len(with.ran) != len(without.ran) {
+			t.Fatalf("a module depending only on the SDK built differently from one with no package.json:\n%s\n---\n%s",
+				strings.Join(with.ran, "\n"), strings.Join(without.ran, "\n"))
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Without the mesh's registry a scoped package would resolve on the public one: refused by name.
+func TestAScopedPackageWithNoRegistryIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	r, err := buildWithPackageJSON(t, `{"dependencies":{"@novox/mesh-sdk":"^0.1.0","@novox/other":"^1"}}`, nil, Npmrc{})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "@novox/other") {
+		t.Fatalf("a scoped package was installed with no registry for its scope: %v", err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(strings.Join(r.ran, "\n"), "--outDir") {
+		t.Fatal("the compile ran after the refusal")
+	}
+	// A public package installs without one, from the public registry and nothing else.
+	r, err = buildWithPackageJSON(t, `{"dependencies":{"mssql":"^11"}}`, nil, Npmrc{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := installs(r); len(got) != 1 || strings.Contains(got[0], ":registry=") || strings.Contains(got[0], "--network host") {
+		t.Fatalf("a public package's install: %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAnUnreadablePackageJSONIsRefusedByName(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := buildWithPackageJSON(t, `{"dependencies":`, nil, Npmrc{})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "package.json") {
+		t.Fatalf("a broken package.json was not refused by name: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/launchers_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+)
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0193: every entrypoint the runtime may serve is executable, and the runtime knows no
+// language — so a TypeScript bundle carries a launcher beside each entrypoint.
+func TestATypeScriptBundleCarriesAnExecutableLauncherBesideEachEntrypoint(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	chain, err := ToolchainFor("typescript")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	got, err := writeLaunchers(root, chain, catalogue.Artifact{Name: "tools", Kind: catalogue.ArtifactBundle,
+		Language: "typescript", Entrypoints: []string{"tools/index.js", "index.js"}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got["tools/index.js"] != "tools/index.serve.mjs" || got["index.js"] != "index.serve.mjs" {
+		t.Fatalf("launchers: %v", got)
+	}
+	path := filepath.Join(root, "tools", "index.serve.mjs")
+	info, err := os.Stat(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o755 {
+		t.Errorf("the launcher is %v, not executable 0755", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+	body, _ := os.ReadFile(path)
+	for _, want := range []string{"#!/usr/bin/env node\n", `from "@novox/mesh-sdk/stdio"`, `await import("./index.js")`, "serveRegisteredOverStdio()"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(string(body), want) {
+			t.Errorf("the launcher lacks %q:\n%s", want, body)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// A compiled language's build is executable already: no launcher.
+	goChain, _ := ToolchainFor("go")
+	none, err := writeLaunchers(t.TempDir(), goChain, catalogue.Artifact{Name: "tools", Kind: catalogue.ArtifactBundle, Language: "go"})
+	if err != nil || len(none) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a Go bundle was given launchers: %v %v", none, err)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/standing_on_test.go

@@ -200,3 +200,23 @@ func TestWhatABuildReadIsTheRepositoriesItsRecipesName(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("a module whose recipes name no other repository read one")
 	}
 }
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/212: a toolchain stands on the SDK's published package, and is built with the
+// exact version the mesh published — an argument that changes when the SDK does, so a rebuild after
+// a release never reuses an install of the version before it.
+func TestAPackageTheMeshPublishedIsPassedByItsExactVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	manifest := catalogue.Manifest{
+		Module: "mesh-tools",
+		Build: &catalogue.Build{
+			On: []catalogue.BuildsOn{{Arg: "MESH_SDK", Module: "mesh-sdk", Artifact: "lib"}},
+		},
+	}
+	held := map[string]string{"mesh-sdk/lib": "@novox/mesh-sdk@0.1.6"}
+	args, resolved, err := standingOn(context.Background(), manifest, held, noMirror)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if fmt.Sprint(args) != "[--build-arg MESH_SDK=@novox/mesh-sdk@0.1.6]" || fmt.Sprint(resolved) != "[@novox/mesh-sdk@0.1.6]" {
+		t.Errorf("the package was passed as %v, recorded as %v", args, resolved)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/toolchain.go

@@ -57,6 +57,33 @@ type Toolchain struct {
 	// carrying its debug info. The mistake was believing a comment rather than reading the file it
 	// produced (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/161).
 	LinkerFlags []string
+	// Dependencies is a directory inside the toolchain image whose contents a bundle in this
+	// language runs with, copied whole into the compiled output's root after the compile.
+	//
+	// **A bundle that compiles is not yet a bundle that runs.** The compiler resolves `import
+	// "nats"` from the toolchain image's own node_modules and the pack takes only what the compiler
+	// wrote, so what a machine unpacked could not find a single dependency — and no TypeScript bundle
+	// had ever run live to show it (novox/hq to-be 38 WP3). For TypeScript the directory holds a
+	// `package.json` saying `"type": "module"` — Node reads a bare `.js` as CommonJS otherwise, so a
+	// bundle with its dependencies and without that line still fails to start — and the pruned,
+	// production-only node_modules the runtime itself ships with: the SDK's and the runtime's
+	// dependencies, and nothing module-specific (a module's own npm dependencies are installed into
+	// its own directory before the compile and inlined by the bundler: dependencies.go). Empty for a
+	// language whose bundle carries its own —
+	// a Go binary is static, a Python bundle is installed with its dependencies.
+	//
+	// A toolchain image without the directory fails the build by name rather than packing a bundle
+	// that starts nowhere: the image predates this and must be rebuilt first.
+	//
+	// *Since the bundler (below):* copied only for a bundle that names packages it keeps external,
+	// which cannot be inlined; a bundle with none carries no node_modules at all.
+	Dependencies string
+	// Bundler is the bundler inside the toolchain image that makes each compiled entrypoint and each
+	// launcher ONE self-contained file (novox/hq ADR 0193): every served bundle is its own process
+	// now, so each carries its own copy of what it imports — the SDK included — and nothing else.
+	// A bundle shrinks from the toolchain's whole node_modules to the code it runs. Empty for a
+	// language whose build is already one file.
+	Bundler string
 	// SystemStamp is the variable this language's linker fills with the artifact's declared system,
 	// for a language whose binaries are pinned to one at link time (novox/hq ADR 0005).
 	//
@@ -107,14 +134,22 @@ var toolchains = []Toolchain{
 		// symlinks to a launcher that requires its library relatively — and the base image's own
 		// assembly resolves them away, leaving a launcher whose relative require points nowhere.
 		// Every module's hand-written Dockerfile had to know this. Now none of them does.
+		// **Rooted at the module, so an entrypoint lands where it is named.** Without a root the
+		// compiler takes the common directory of the files it is given: a module compiling only
+		// `tools/index.ts` had its output at `index.js`, and the entrypoint it declared —
+		// `tools/index.js`, "named as it will be found" — named a file the bundle did not
+		// contain. The runtime that loads bundles by their declared entrypoints (novox/hq ADR
+		// 0175) is what made this visible.
 		Compile: []string{
 			"node", "/app/node_modules/typescript/bin/tsc",
 			"--module", "NodeNext", "--moduleResolution", "NodeNext",
-			"--target", "ES2022",
+			"--target", "ES2022", "--rootDir", ".",
 		},
-		OutputFlag: "--outDir",
-		Unit:       UnitSources,
-		SourceExt:  ".ts",
+		OutputFlag:   "--outDir",
+		Unit:         UnitSources,
+		SourceExt:    ".ts",
+		Dependencies: "/app/runtime",
+		Bundler:      "/app/node_modules/esbuild/bin/esbuild",
 	},
 	{
 		Language: "go",

internal/catalogue/a_service_process_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 213 (ADR 0188 §1, §3): a module's own Go service is a bundle the host runs as a
+// process, not an image. Each test holds one thing that had to change in the composer for the
+// controller to be declared that way.
+
+const aServiceDigest = "sha256:dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd"
+
+// aServiceModule is the controller's shape in miniature: it answers tools of its own, its code is a
+// Go bundle a process runs as an account it declares, its secrets belong to that account, it
+// prepares its state, and its process replaces the container it used to run as.
+func aServiceModule(t *testing.T) Manifest {
+	t.Helper()
+	raw := `{
+	  "module": "svc", "version": "1", "tools": ["status"], "prepares": true,
+	  "own-secrets": {"store": "${dir:state}/store"},
+	  "secrets-owner": "svc",
+	  "resources": [
+	    {"id": "state", "type": "directory", "mode": "0700", "place": "mesh", "owner": "svc"},
+	    {"id": "service", "type": "process", "name": "svc", "artifact": "code",
+	     "run": ["./svc", "serve"], "user": "svc", "replaces": ["server"],
+	     "env": {"SVC_STORE_FILE": "${dir:state}/store", "SVC_STORE_PORT": "${seat:mesh-store:5432}"}},
+	    {"id": "account", "type": "user", "name": "svc", "shell": "/usr/bin/nologin", "home": "/var/lib/svc"}
+	  ],
+	  "build": {"artifacts": [{"name": "code", "kind": "bundle", "language": "go", "system": "arch",
+	    "from": "cmd/svc", "binary": "svc"}]}
+	}`
+	m, err := ParseManifest([]byte(raw))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the service's manifest is refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	resolved, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "svc/code@" + aServiceDigest, Digest: aServiceDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return resolved
+}
+
+func composeTheService(t *testing.T, with Rendering) []map[string]any {
+	t.Helper()
+	with.Needed = map[string]map[string]string{"svc": {"store": "sealed-store"}}
+	with.ArtifactStore = "anchor.internal:5100"
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{aServiceModule(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the service does not compose: %v", err)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func indexOf(out []map[string]any, id string) int {
+	for i, r := range out {
+		if r["id"] == id {
+			return i
+		}
+	}
+	return -1
+}
+
+// A module that declares tools has every bundle served by the node's runtime unless it says
+// otherwise — and the controller declares the verbs it answers as tools. Its service bundle is run
+// by its own process; launched a second time by the runtime it would be a second controller
+// pretending to be an MCP server.
+func TestABundleItsOwnProcessRunsIsNotServedByTheRuntime(t *testing.T) {
+	m := aServiceModule(t)
+	if len(m.Bundles) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the service's bundle was not kept: %+v", m.Bundles)
+	}
+	if loads := m.Bundles[0].Loads; len(loads) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the runtime would launch the service's own bundle as tools: %v", loads)
+	}
+	// And a bundle no resource runs still is served, as a module declaring tools always had it.
+	tools := Manifest{Module: "t", Version: "1", Tools: []string{"x"},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "go",
+			System: "arch", From: "cmd/t"}}}}
+	resolved, err := tools.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "t/tools@" + aServiceDigest, Digest: aServiceDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if loads := resolved.Bundles[0].Loads; len(loads) != 1 || loads[0] != "t" {
+		t.Fatalf("a tools bundle nothing runs is no longer served: %v", loads)
+	}
+}
+
+// The account is created before anything is given to it. Its secrets are mesh-computed and so
+// placed before the module's own resources; given to a user the machine did not have yet, they were
+// refused on the first apply and the process started without them.
+func TestAModulesAccountComesBeforeWhatBelongsToIt(t *testing.T) {
+	out := composeTheService(t, Rendering{})
+	account, secret := indexOf(out, "svc.account"), indexOf(out, "svc."+NeedID("store"))
+	if account < 0 || secret < 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the account or the secret is missing: %v", out)
+	}
+	if account > secret {
+		t.Fatalf("the secret owned by svc is written before svc exists: account at %d, secret at %d",
+			account, secret)
+	}
+	if owner := out[secret]["owner"]; owner != "svc" {
+		t.Errorf("the secret belongs to %v, not the account its process runs as", owner)
+	}
+}
+
+// The process is the module's program; its preparation is the same program asked to prepare, as a
+// step before it — with the same account and environment, and handing nothing over.
+func TestAProcessIsPreparedByItsOwnProgram(t *testing.T) {
+	out := composeTheService(t, Rendering{})
+	step, process := indexOf(out, "svc.service-prepare"), indexOf(out, "svc.service")
+	if step < 0 || process < 0 || step > process {
+		t.Fatalf("the preparation is not a step before the process (%d, %d): %v", step, process, out)
+	}
+	s := out[step]
+	if s["type"] != "process" || s["run-once"] != true || s["name"] != "svc-prepare" {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation is not a run-once process: %v", s)
+	}
+	if run, _ := json.Marshal(s["run"]); string(run) != `["./svc","prepare"]` {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation runs %s", run)
+	}
+	if s["user"] != "svc" || s["source"] != out[process]["source"] {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation does not run the same bundle as the same account: %v", s)
+	}
+	if env, _ := s["env"].(map[string]any); env["SVC_STORE_FILE"] == nil {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation is not given the process's environment: %v", s["env"])
+	}
+	if _, has := s["replaces"]; has {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation would hand over what the process replaces: %v", s)
+	}
+	if _, has := s["args"]; has {
+		t.Errorf("the preparation carries a container's args: %v", s)
+	}
+}
+
+// What the process replaces is named as the host recorded it, `<module>.<id>`; unprefixed, the host
+// matches nothing and removes the container first, as before.
+func TestWhatAProcessReplacesIsNamedAsTheHostRecordedIt(t *testing.T) {
+	out := composeTheService(t, Rendering{})
+	p := out[indexOf(out, "svc.service")]
+	if got, _ := json.Marshal(p["replaces"]); string(got) != `["svc.server"]` {
+		t.Fatalf("the process replaces %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWhatReplacesMayNameIsRefusedNearItsAuthor(t *testing.T) {
+	for what, resource := range map[string]string{
+		"a container":        `{"id":"c","type":"container","name":"c","image":"x@` + aServiceDigest + `","replaces":["old"]}`,
+		"a step":             `{"id":"p","type":"process","name":"p","run":["./p"],"run-once":true,"replaces":["old"]}`,
+		"something declared": `{"id":"p","type":"process","name":"p","run":["./p"],"replaces":["p"]}`,
+		"another module's":   `{"id":"p","type":"process","name":"p","run":["./p"],"replaces":["other.old"]}`,
+		"not a list":         `{"id":"p","type":"process","name":"p","run":["./p"],"replaces":"old"}`,
+	} {
+		raw := `{"module":"m","version":"1","resources":[` + resource + `]}`
+		if _, err := ParseManifest([]byte(raw)); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "replace") {
+			t.Errorf("replaces on %s was accepted: %v", what, err)
+		}
+	}
+	ok := `{"module":"m","version":"1","resources":[{"id":"p","type":"process","name":"p","run":["./p"],"replaces":["old"]}]}`
+	if _, err := ParseManifest([]byte(ok)); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a process replacing what its module no longer declares was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/build.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package catalogue
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"path"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -28,6 +29,9 @@ type Built struct {
 	Reference string
 	// Digest is "sha256:<hex>", for an archive. An image reference already ends in one.
 	Digest string
+	// Launchers are, for a bundle in an interpreted language, the executable the build wrote beside
+	// each entrypoint, by entrypoint (novox/hq ADR 0193): what the node's runtime starts to serve it.
+	Launchers map[string]string
 }
 
 // Resolve fills a manifest's resources in from what was built.
@@ -67,6 +71,49 @@ func (m Manifest) Resolve(built []Built) (Manifest, error) {
 	out := m
 	out.Build = nil
 	out.Resources = nil
+	// What the build compiled, kept on the resolved manifest (novox/hq ADR 0175): a tools bundle is
+	// named by no resource of the module's own — the node's runtime loads it — so this is the only
+	// place the mesh would otherwise not have it. In artifact order, so two resolutions of one
+	// build compare equal.
+	out.Bundles = nil
+	if m.Build != nil {
+		run := runByAResource(m)
+		for _, a := range m.Build.Artifacts {
+			if a.Kind != ArtifactBundle {
+				continue
+			}
+			made := by[a.Name]
+			// What the runtime loads: what the artifact said, else every entrypoint of a module
+			// that declares tools, else nothing (the field's own rule; see Artifact.Loads).
+			//
+			// **Never, unasked, a bundle one of the module's own resources runs** (novox/hq issue 213).
+			// A process the host runs is the module's service, not its tools: the controller declares
+			// the verbs it answers as `tools` and serves them itself, and its bundle would otherwise
+			// have been launched a second time by the node's runtime, as an MCP child it is not.
+			loads := append([]string(nil), a.Loads...)
+			if a.Loads == nil && len(m.Tools) > 0 && !run[a.Name] {
+				loads = append([]string(nil), a.Entrypoints...)
+				// A bundle compiled to a binary has no entrypoints: the binary is what it is, and what
+				// the runtime starts to serve it (novox/hq ADR 0193). So a Go tools bundle is served
+				// as Go — the runtime execs it — exactly as a TypeScript one is through its launcher.
+				if bin := BinaryOf(a); bin != "" {
+					loads = []string{bin}
+				}
+			}
+			// **Kept, never routed** (ADR 0155): the builder publishes to the store at the address
+			// it reached it by, and a manifest carrying that address names an installation —
+			// registration refused node-tools for exactly this on 2026-10-02. The build record
+			// already keeps the store-relative form; the resolved manifest keeps the same, and
+			// composition routes it through the store a machine reaches (Routed).
+			out.Bundles = append(out.Bundles, Bundle{
+				Name: a.Name, Source: Recorded(made.Reference), Digest: made.Digest,
+				Language: a.Language, Entrypoints: append([]string(nil), a.Entrypoints...),
+				Loads: loads, Env: copyWords(a.Env), Launchers: copyWords(made.Launchers),
+				Binary: BinaryOf(a),
+			})
+		}
+		sort.Slice(out.Bundles, func(i, j int) bool { return out.Bundles[i].Name < out.Bundles[j].Name })
+	}
 	for _, r := range m.Resources {
 		named, _ := r["artifact"].(string)
 		if named == "" {
@@ -110,7 +157,8 @@ func (m Manifest) Resolve(built []Built) (Manifest, error) {
 			// The same on the wire: both are bytes fetched by digest and unpacked. They differ in
 			// how they were made — one packed as it stood, the other compiled first — and a
 			// machine has no reason to care which.
-			filled["source"] = artifact.Reference
+			// Kept, not routed, for the reason the bundles above are (ADR 0155).
+			filled["source"] = Recorded(artifact.Reference)
 			filled["digest"] = artifact.Digest
 			// **And `${version}`, so a resource can name a place that is this build's alone**
 			// (novox/hq ADR 0141, 04-ISSUES/142). A component is unpacked into a directory named
@@ -172,6 +220,17 @@ func (b *Build) problems(module string) []string {
 		// A bundle's source is the module's own directory by definition, and what it needs to say
 		// is which compiler — because the mesh chooses that, and cannot choose for a module that
 		// has not said.
+		if len(a.External) > 0 && (a.Kind != ArtifactBundle || a.Language != "typescript") {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %q names packages it keeps external, and only a TypeScript bundle is bundled into "+
+					"one file with some kept out (novox/hq ADR 0193)", module, a.Name))
+		}
+		if len(a.Env) > 0 && a.Kind != ArtifactBundle {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %q is a %q and says what it is given (env). Only a bundle the node's runtime "+
+					"serves is given words (novox/hq ADR 0192); a container says its own environment",
+				module, a.Name, a.Kind))
+		}
 		if a.Kind == ArtifactBundle || a.Kind == ArtifactPackage {
 			// **Except for a language that compiles to a binary, where it names which one**
 			// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/142). A bundle in an interpreted language is the module's own
@@ -191,6 +250,26 @@ func (b *Build) problems(module string) []string {
 					"%s: %q is a bundle and says no language, so nothing can choose a compiler "+
 						"for it", module, a.Name))
 			}
+			problems = append(problems, bundleEnvProblems(module, a)...)
+			// What the runtime loads is among what was compiled (ADR 0175): a name here that is
+			// not an entrypoint is a file the bundle does not contain, and the runtime would
+			// fail to import it on every machine rather than here.
+			for _, load := range a.Loads {
+				found := false
+				for _, e := range a.Entrypoints {
+					found = found || e == load
+				}
+				// A bundle compiled to a binary is one executable: the runtime loads that or nothing
+				// (novox/hq ADR 0193).
+				if bin := BinaryOf(a); bin != "" {
+					found = load == bin
+				}
+				if !found {
+					problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+						"%s: %q says the runtime loads %q, which is not among its entrypoints — "+
+							"what is loaded is compiled, so it is named there too", module, a.Name, load))
+				}
+			}
 			// **A system, for a language that compiles to a binary** (novox/hq ADR 0142). A binary
 			// is pinned to one operating system at link time so a host refuses to touch a machine
 			// it was not built for (novox/hq ADR 0005); an artifact that says nothing would be
@@ -315,3 +394,104 @@ func versionOf(digest string) string {
 	}
 	return hex
 }
+
+// bundleEnvWords are the words the runtime sets for itself; a bundle that named one would be
+// telling the runtime what it is, which is the mesh's to say (novox/hq ADR 0192).
+var bundleEnvWords = map[string]bool{
+	RuntimeToolModules: true, RuntimeBrokerFile: true, RuntimeOperatorAccount: true,
+	RuntimeOperatorHome: true, RuntimeToolEnv: true,
+}
+
+// bundleEnvProblems says what is wrong with what a bundle says it is given (novox/hq ADR 0192):
+// a value is a path or a constant written with the references a container's environment may use
+// for a place or a port, and never a secret's content or another module's binding — a secret
+// reaches a tool as a file whose path is named.
+func bundleEnvProblems(module string, a Artifact) []string {
+	if len(a.Env) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var problems []string
+	for _, word := range sortedKeys(a.Env) {
+		value := a.Env[word]
+		if bundleEnvWords[word] {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %q gives itself %s, which the node's runtime sets for itself; a bundle is "+
+					"given its own words beside the runtime's, never in place of them (novox/hq ADR 0192)",
+				module, a.Name, word))
+		}
+		rest := ofPort.ReplaceAllString(dirRef.ReplaceAllString(value, ""), "")
+		if strings.Contains(rest, "${") {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %q gives %s the value %q. A bundle's word is a path or a constant, written with "+
+					"${dir:…} and ${port:…} only; a secret reaches a tool as a file the mesh places, "+
+					"named by its path, never as its content (novox/hq ADR 0192)",
+				module, a.Name, word, value))
+		}
+	}
+	return problems
+}
+
+func copyWords(in map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	if len(in) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	out := make(map[string]string, len(in))
+	for k, v := range in {
+		out[k] = v
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// BinaryOf is what a bundle compiled to a binary is called once built: what the artifact names, else
+// the package it is built from, else the artifact's own name (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/142). Empty for a
+// language that does not compile to one. The builder writes the binary under this name, and the
+// composer runs it by it, so both ask here.
+func BinaryOf(a Artifact) string {
+	if !compilesToABinary(a.Language) {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if name := strings.TrimSpace(a.Binary); name != "" {
+		return name
+	}
+	if from := strings.Trim(a.From, "./"); from != "" {
+		return path.Base(from)
+	}
+	return a.Name
+}
+
+// runByAResource is the artifacts one of a module's own resources names — a process that runs it,
+// a step, an archive that unpacks it — by name.
+func runByAResource(m Manifest) map[string]bool {
+	named := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		if a, ok := r["artifact"].(string); ok && a != "" {
+			named[a] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return named
+}
+
+// undeliveredBundles says which of a module's bundles nothing would ever put on a machine (novox/hq
+// 04-ISSUES/216). A bundle reaches a machine three ways: the node's runtime serves it (it says
+// `loads`, or its module declares `tools`), a resource names it (a process, a step, an archive), or
+// it is the runtime itself. One reached by none of them was built, recorded and pushed as success,
+// and was simply absent — seven modules' tools went missing that way on 2026-10-03. Refused here,
+// naming the field that would deliver it.
+func undeliveredBundles(m Manifest) []string {
+	if m.Build == nil || m.Module == RuntimeModule {
+		return nil
+	}
+	named := runByAResource(m)
+	var problems []string
+	for _, a := range m.Build.Artifacts {
+		if a.Kind != ArtifactBundle || named[a.Name] || len(a.Loads) > 0 || len(m.Tools) > 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+			"%s: the bundle %q would be built and never reach a machine: nothing loads it, runs it or "+
+				"unpacks it. A tools bundle says `loads` (the entrypoints the node's runtime serves) or its "+
+				"module lists its `tools`; a daemon or a step is a resource naming it (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/216)",
+			m.Module, a.Name))
+	}
+	return problems
+}

internal/catalogue/controller_is_a_process_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 213: the controller is a Go program and was the one piece of the mesh's own Go
+// code still shipped as an image (ADR 0188 §1). Its own manifest, composed for the machine that runs
+// it, is a Go bundle run by the host as a process — and no container.
+func TestTheControllerIsAProcessAndNoContainer(t *testing.T) {
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile("../../module.json")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	m, err := ParseManifest(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller's own manifest does not parse:\n%v", err)
+	}
+	if m.Build == nil || len(m.Build.Artifacts) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller builds %+v; it is one bundle", m.Build)
+	}
+	a := m.Build.Artifacts[0]
+	if a.Kind != ArtifactBundle || a.Language != "go" || a.System == "" || BinaryOf(a) != "mesh-controller" {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller's artifact is %+v, not a Go bundle naming its system and binary", a)
+	}
+	for _, c := range m.Capabilities {
+		if c == "container-runtime" {
+			t.Error("the controller still requires a container runtime on its machine")
+		}
+	}
+
+	digest := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64)
+	control, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{Name: a.Name, Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "mesh-controller/" + a.Name + "@" + digest, Digest: digest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// The node's runtime does not launch it: it serves its seat's verbs itself.
+	if loads := control.Bundles[0].Loads; len(loads) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the node's runtime would launch the controller as a tools bundle: %v", loads)
+	}
+
+	needed := map[string]map[string]string{"mesh-controller": {}}
+	for name := range m.OwnSecrets {
+		needed["mesh-controller"][name] = "sealed-" + name
+	}
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{control}}.Declaration(Rendering{
+		Needed: needed, ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5100",
+		Seats: map[string]map[int]int{"mesh-store": {5432: 6852}},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller does not compose: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var process, step map[string]any
+	account, firstSecret := -1, -1
+	for i, r := range out {
+		switch {
+		case r["type"] == "container":
+			t.Errorf("the controller's declaration still runs a container: %v", r)
+		case r["id"] == "mesh-controller.controller":
+			process = r
+		case r["id"] == "mesh-controller.controller-prepare":
+			step = r
+			if process != nil {
+				t.Error("the controller's preparation is placed after the process it prepares for")
+			}
+		case r["type"] == "user" && r["name"] == "mesh-controller":
+			account = i
+		case strings.HasPrefix(fmt.Sprint(r["id"]), "mesh-controller.needs-") && firstSecret < 0:
+			firstSecret = i
+		}
+	}
+	if process == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller's process is not in its declaration: %v", out)
+	}
+	if run, _ := json.Marshal(process["run"]); string(run) != `["./mesh-controller","serve"]` {
+		t.Errorf("the controller is run as %s, not its own bundle's binary", run)
+	}
+	if process["source"] != "anchor.internal:5100/mesh-controller/"+a.Name+"@"+digest || process["digest"] != digest {
+		t.Errorf("the controller's bundle is fetched from %v (%v)", process["source"], process["digest"])
+	}
+	// The user: an account the host declares, which owns what the process reads.
+	if process["user"] != "mesh-controller" || account < 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the controller runs as %v, and the account declared is at %d", process["user"], account)
+	}
+	if firstSecret >= 0 && account > firstSecret {
+		t.Error("the controller's secrets are written before the account they belong to exists")
+	}
+	for _, r := range out {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(fmt.Sprint(r["id"]), "mesh-controller.needs-") && r["owner"] != "mesh-controller" {
+			t.Errorf("%v belongs to %v, which the controller's process cannot read", r["id"], r["owner"])
+		}
+	}
+	if dir := fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.mesh-state"); dir == nil || dir["owner"] != "mesh-controller" {
+		t.Errorf("the controller's state directory is not its account's to enter: %v", dir)
+	}
+	// Each mount became a path the process reads: nothing it is told is a path inside a container.
+	state := fmt.Sprint(fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.mesh-state")["path"])
+	env, _ := process["env"].(map[string]any)
+	for key, value := range env {
+		v := fmt.Sprint(value)
+		if strings.HasPrefix(v, "/run/secrets") || strings.HasPrefix(v, "/broker-tls") {
+			t.Errorf("%s=%s is a path inside the container the controller no longer runs in", key, v)
+		}
+		if strings.HasSuffix(key, "_FILE") && !strings.HasPrefix(v, state+"/") {
+			t.Errorf("%s=%s is not one of the files the mesh places for it", key, v)
+		}
+	}
+	if env["MESH_BROKER_CERTIFICATE"] != "/var/lib/mesh-broker-tls/tls.crt" {
+		t.Errorf("the controller reads the broker's certificate from %v", env["MESH_BROKER_CERTIFICATE"])
+	}
+	if env["MESH_STORE_INVENTORY_PORT"] != "6852" {
+		t.Errorf("the controller is told the store is on %v; the node put it on 6852", env["MESH_STORE_INVENTORY_PORT"])
+	}
+	// The handover: the container it ran as goes only once this is running.
+	if got, _ := json.Marshal(process["replaces"]); string(got) != `["mesh-controller.server"]` {
+		t.Errorf("the controller's process replaces %s, not the container it ran as", got)
+	}
+	// And its state is prepared first, by the same program as the same account.
+	if step == nil || step["run-once"] != true || step["user"] != "mesh-controller" {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller's preparation is %v", step)
+	}
+	if run, _ := json.Marshal(step["run"]); string(run) != `["./mesh-controller","prepare"]` {
+		t.Errorf("the controller's preparation runs %s", run)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/declaration.go

@@ -249,13 +249,32 @@ type Composed struct {
 	Resources []map[string]any
 	Owner     map[string]string
 	Received  map[string]map[string][]Contribution
+	// LeftOut is every module of this machine's set that was left out of its declaration, and
+	// why (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6): a setting stored for it that its definition can no longer
+	// compose. Its held things are kept and its containers untouched — the machine is told so —
+	// and it is told everything else.
+	LeftOut map[string]string
+}
+
+// LeftOut is which of this machine's modules a declaration composed with these settings leaves
+// out, and why (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6): each whose stored settings its definition can no longer
+// compose. Empty when every module composes. The same judgement SetSettings makes before storing.
+func (r Resolution) LeftOut(settings SettingsBy, adopted bool) map[string]string {
+	out := map[string]string{}
+	for _, m := range r.Modules {
+		if err := JudgeSettings(m, settings[m.Module], adopted); err != nil {
+			out[m.Module] = err.Error()
+		}
+	}
+	return out
 }
 
 // Compose is Declaration with the owner of every resource said.
 func (r Resolution) Compose(with Rendering) (Composed, error) {
 	owner := map[string]string{}
 	received := map[string]map[string][]Contribution{}
-	resources, err := r.compose(with, owner, received)
+	leftOut := map[string]string{}
+	resources, err := r.compose(with, owner, received, leftOut)
 	if err != nil {
 		return Composed{}, err
 	}
@@ -267,7 +286,7 @@ func (r Resolution) Compose(with Rendering) (Composed, error) {
 			"sealed": with.BusMembership, "mode": "0600",
 		})
 	}
-	return Composed{Resources: resources, Owner: owner, Received: received}, nil
+	return Composed{Resources: resources, Owner: owner, Received: received, LeftOut: leftOut}, nil
 }
 
 // BusMembershipID names the resource carrying a machine's membership for the new bus, and
@@ -277,7 +296,25 @@ func BusMembershipID() string { return "bus-membership" }
 const BusMembershipPath = "/var/lib/mesh/membership-next.json"
 
 func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
-	received map[string]map[string][]Contribution) ([]map[string]any, error) {
+	received map[string]map[string][]Contribution, leftOut map[string]string) ([]map[string]any, error) {
+	// **A setting is judged where it is stored, and an impossible one costs a module, not a
+	// machine** (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6). A definition that moved under a stored setting makes
+	// this module uncomposable; it is left out of the declaration — its held things kept, its
+	// containers untouched, the machine told so by name — and the machine is told everything else.
+	// Before placing, because a placement is a setting too.
+	left := r.LeftOut(with.Settings, with.Adopted)
+	kept := make([]Manifest, 0, len(r.Modules))
+	for _, m := range r.Modules {
+		if why, isLeft := left[m.Module]; isLeft {
+			if leftOut != nil {
+				leftOut[m.Module] = why
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		kept = append(kept, m)
+	}
+	r.Modules = kept
+
 	// Every manifest is placed first (novox/hq ADR 0112): the maps naming where its bindings,
 	// credentials and contributions land are resolved against this node's directories, so every
 	// reader below — the binding files, the sealed secrets, the grant paths a contribution
@@ -471,10 +508,27 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 				return nil, fmt.Errorf(
 					"%s needs a secret called %q and none was made for it", m.Module, name)
 			}
-			first = append(first, ownedBy(m.SecretsOwner, map[string]any{
+			// The runtime's credential belongs to the account the runtime runs as (novox/hq ADR 0175,
+			// to-be 38 WP3): its process is composed `user: <account>` where the node has one, and a
+			// root-owned 0600 file is one that process cannot read. Composed here rather than said in
+			// the manifest, because a manifest cannot say ${machine:account} safely — a node with no
+			// account has nothing to resolve it to, and then the runtime runs as root and the file
+			// stays root's.
+			owner := m.SecretsOwner
+			if m.Module == RuntimeModule && r.Account != "" {
+				owner = r.Account
+			}
+			first = append(first, ownedBy(owner, map[string]any{
 				"id": NeedID(name), "type": "file", "path": m.OwnSecrets[name].Path, "sealed": sealed,
 			}))
 		}
+		// This module's tools bundles, where the machine runs the node's tool runtime (novox/hq
+		// ADR 0175, to-be 38 WP2). Mesh-computed like everything above it, and before the module's
+		// own resources for the same reason: the runtime's process names the files inside these
+		// and is restarted when one changes, so they are on the machine before it is.
+		if r.runtimeHere() {
+			first = append(first, bundleArchives(m)...)
+		}
 		// Operator-owned paths this module is granted use of (novox/hq ADR 0051). Written before
 		// the module's own resources, and so before the container that mounts them: the host must
 		// find each present — refusing clearly if the operator has not provided it — before it
@@ -639,7 +693,15 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 
 		// Now, and not before: a module whose resources are computed replaces them wholesale, and
 		// merging earlier would throw away the files it still needs.
-		resources = append(append([]map[string]any{}, first...), resources...)
+		//
+		// **Except the module's own accounts, which go before even those** (novox/hq issue 213). What
+		// the mesh computes may belong to one: a module whose code runs as an account it declares has
+		// its secrets written owned by that account, and a file given to a user the machine does not
+		// have yet fails — so on the first apply the secrets were refused, the process started without
+		// them, and the second apply healed it, which is the fault the paragraph above describes.
+		// An account depends on nothing the mesh computes.
+		accounts, rest := accountsFirst(resources)
+		resources = append(append(accounts, first...), rest...)
 
 		// No container is given the mesh's names (novox/hq ADR 0148). It used to be: every
 		// container got the whole roster as `--add-host` entries at creation, and a name that
@@ -706,6 +768,10 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 		// Which of this module's resources its preparation runs before, if it prepares anything.
 		prepareBefore := preparationTarget(m)
 
+		// Which found networks this machine's setting keeps for each of its containers (novox/hq
+		// ADR 0163, rule 4); judged above, so an invalid one is not here.
+		keptNetworks, _ := KeptNetworks(m, with.Settings[m.Module], with.Adopted)
+
 		for _, unsettled := range resources {
 			resource, err := ApplySettings(unsettled, with.Settings[m.Module])
 			if err != nil {
@@ -715,6 +781,16 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 			for k, v := range resource {
 				copied[k] = v
 			}
+			if networks, keeps := keptNetworks[fmt.Sprint(copied["id"])]; keeps {
+				// The container also joins the found network the setting names, so a neighbour
+				// that resolves it there keeps resolving it. Passed to the host as its own field,
+				// which it joins after the container is made.
+				joins := make([]any, 0, len(networks))
+				for _, n := range networks {
+					joins = append(joins, n)
+				}
+				copied["networks"] = joins
+			}
 			if err := refuseSecretsInEnvironment(copied, secretFiles, m.Module); err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
@@ -804,6 +880,21 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 			if renamed := reflectsRenamed(m.Module, resource["reload-on"]); renamed != nil {
 				copied["reload-on"] = renamed
 			}
+			// And what a process replaces (novox/hq issue 213): a resource of this module's that it
+			// no longer declares, named as the host recorded it, or the host hands nothing over and
+			// removes it first.
+			if renamed := reflectsRenamed(m.Module, resource["replaces"]); renamed != nil {
+				copied["replaces"] = renamed
+			}
+			// **What reads one of this module's own secrets is restarted when it changes** (novox/hq
+			// issue 203, issue 206). A credential is re-issued by the mesh, and a container that
+			// mounted the old file keeps the old one open: the build machine ran for an hour on a
+			// credential the mesh had replaced, because its manifest restarted it on its
+			// environment file and nobody had thought to name the credential too. Composed here so
+			// no manifest has to say it, for a container or a daemon that names the secret's path.
+			if reads := secretsReadBy(copied, m); len(reads) > 0 {
+				copied["restart-on"] = withRestartOn(copied["restart-on"], reads)
+			}
 			// **A version prepares its state before it runs** (novox/hq ADR 0135). Derived from the
 			// module's own resource rather than declared beside it: what prepares the state is the
 			// module's own code, so what it is given has to be what that code is given — and a
@@ -834,6 +925,41 @@ func (r Resolution) compose(with Rendering, owner map[string]string,
 			out = append(out, fact)
 		}
 	}
+	// The node's tool runtime, last (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38 WP2.3): one process loading every
+	// bundle delivered above and holding the credential sealed above, so both exist before it starts
+	// — the order written here is the order the machine applies.
+	if r.runtimeHere() {
+		process, err := r.runtimeProcess(with)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		owner[fmt.Sprint(process["id"])] = RuntimeModule
+		out = append(out, process)
+		// What each module's bundles are given is read as the account the runtime runs as.
+		words := map[string]map[string]string{}
+		for _, m := range r.Modules {
+			w, err := bundleWords(m, with)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			words[m.Module] = w
+		}
+		// And a file a module's words name is one the runtime is restarted for when it changes.
+		if named := givenTo(out, owner, words, r.Account); len(named) > 0 {
+			restarts, _ := process["restart-on"].([]any)
+			seen := map[string]bool{}
+			for _, id := range restarts {
+				seen[fmt.Sprint(id)] = true
+			}
+			for _, id := range named {
+				if !seen[id] {
+					restarts = append(restarts, id)
+					seen[id] = true
+				}
+			}
+			process["restart-on"] = restarts
+		}
+	}
 	if with.Adopted {
 		// First, before anything a module declares: what the mesh needs reachable, then its guard.
 		// The order a machine applies is the order written here.
@@ -960,8 +1086,15 @@ func (r Resolution) filtersHere() string {
 // computed for this machine, and each module's per-node exposure. The same answer whether the node
 // is adopted or converged — the one loads it as a filter, the other declares it as openings.
 func (r Resolution) Rules(with Rendering) ([]Rule, error) {
+	// A module whose settings cannot compose is left out of the declaration (novox/hq ADR 0163,
+	// rule 6), and out of the filter with it: nothing of it is declared, so nothing of it is let
+	// through.
+	left := r.LeftOut(with.Settings, with.Adopted)
 	exposure := map[string]map[int]string{}
 	for _, m := range r.Modules {
+		if _, isLeft := left[m.Module]; isLeft {
+			continue
+		}
 		e, err := Exposure(m, with.Settings[m.Module])
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
@@ -1891,12 +2024,18 @@ func preparationTarget(m Manifest) string {
 		return ""
 	}
 	for _, r := range m.Resources {
-		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) != "container" || !ownArtifact(r, m.Module) {
+		// A container, or a process the host runs from a bundle the module built (novox/hq issue
+		// 213): the same program in the same context, hosted as a unit rather than a container.
+		kind := fmt.Sprint(r["type"])
+		if (kind != "container" && kind != "process") || !ownArtifact(r, m.Module) {
 			continue
 		}
 		if once, _ := r["run-once"].(bool); once {
 			continue
 		}
+		if r["schedule"] != nil {
+			continue
+		}
 		return fmt.Sprint(r["id"])
 	}
 	return ""
@@ -1910,7 +2049,10 @@ func ownArtifact(resource map[string]any, module string) bool {
 		return true
 	}
 	image, _ := resource["image"].(string)
-	return strings.HasPrefix(image, ArtifactStoreScheme+module+"/")
+	// A process or an archive carries what was built as its source (novox/hq issue 213).
+	source, _ := resource["source"].(string)
+	return strings.HasPrefix(image, ArtifactStoreScheme+module+"/") ||
+		strings.HasPrefix(source, ArtifactStoreScheme+module+"/")
 }
 
 // prepared is the module's own resource as the step that prepares its state: the same image, the same
@@ -1932,7 +2074,19 @@ func prepared(from map[string]any) map[string]any {
 	step["id"] = fmt.Sprint(from["id"]) + "-prepare"
 	step["name"] = fmt.Sprint(from["name"]) + "-prepare"
 	step["run-once"] = true
-	step["args"] = []any{PreparationArgument}
+	if fmt.Sprint(from["type"]) == "process" {
+		// A process says its whole command: the program, then its arguments. The step is the same
+		// program asked to prepare (novox/hq issue 213). It replaces nothing — what the process
+		// replaces is handed over to the process, never to the step that runs before it — and a
+		// step is not restarted, it runs again when what it reads changed, which `restart-on` says.
+		run := stringsIn(from["run"])
+		if len(run) > 0 {
+			step["run"] = []any{run[0], PreparationArgument}
+		}
+		delete(step, "replaces")
+	} else {
+		step["args"] = []any{PreparationArgument}
+	}
 	delete(step, "ports")
 	delete(step, "ip")
 	delete(step, "schedule")
@@ -1993,3 +2147,100 @@ func portOfEndpoint(values map[string]any, ports map[string]int) {
 		values["port"] = port
 	}
 }
+
+// secretsReadBy is the file resources of this module's own secrets that a container or a daemon reads
+// — named in its volumes, its environment or its env-files by the secret's placed path — as
+// restart-on ids. Nothing for other shapes, and nothing for a scheduled or run-once process, which
+// the host refuses a restart-on for (it runs again anyway, and reads the file afresh).
+func secretsReadBy(resource map[string]any, m Manifest) []string {
+	kind := fmt.Sprint(resource["type"])
+	if kind != "container" && kind != "process" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	if resource["schedule"] != nil || resource["run-once"] == true {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var mentioned []string
+	for _, key := range []string{"volumes", "env", "env-file"} {
+		mentioned = append(mentioned, stringsIn(resource[key])...)
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, name := range sortedKeys(m.OwnSecrets) {
+		path := m.OwnSecrets[name].Path
+		if path == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, s := range mentioned {
+			// A volume is `source:destination[:mode]`; an env value or an env-file is the path itself.
+			if s == path || strings.HasPrefix(s, path+":") {
+				out = append(out, m.Module+"."+NeedID(name))
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// stringsIn is every string in a list or a map's values; nothing for anything else.
+func stringsIn(v any) []string {
+	switch x := v.(type) {
+	case []any:
+		var out []string
+		for _, item := range x {
+			if s, ok := item.(string); ok {
+				out = append(out, s)
+			}
+		}
+		return out
+	case []string:
+		return x
+	case map[string]any:
+		var out []string
+		for _, k := range sortedKeys(x) {
+			if s, ok := x[k].(string); ok {
+				out = append(out, s)
+			}
+		}
+		return out
+	case map[string]string:
+		var out []string
+		for _, k := range sortedKeys(x) {
+			out = append(out, x[k])
+		}
+		return out
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// withRestartOn is a resource's restart-on list with these ids added once each.
+func withRestartOn(have any, add []string) []any {
+	var out []any
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, id := range reflectsRenamed("", have) {
+		s := fmt.Sprint(id)
+		if !seen[s] {
+			seen[s] = true
+			out = append(out, s)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, id := range add {
+		if !seen[id] {
+			seen[id] = true
+			out = append(out, id)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// accountsFirst splits a module's resources into its accounts and everything else, each in the order
+// written.
+func accountsFirst(resources []map[string]any) (accounts, rest []map[string]any) {
+	for _, r := range resources {
+		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) == "user" {
+			accounts = append(accounts, r)
+			continue
+		}
+		rest = append(rest, r)
+	}
+	return accounts, rest
+}

internal/catalogue/filtering.go

@@ -444,6 +444,18 @@ func AsNftables(rules []Rule, mesh []string, outward bool, foundation []int,
 		b.WriteString("\t\t# this machine's own guests reaching outward: not a port opened to anybody\n")
 		b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("\t\tiifname != { %s } accept\n", inward))
 	}
+	// **The mesh passing through, not arriving.** A machine the mesh routes through — the hub, for
+	// every path between machines that are not co-located (novox/hq ADR 0007) — relays a packet that
+	// came in on the tunnel and leaves on it again, addressed to another machine of the mesh. That is
+	// no port of this machine's: the machine it is for filters it against its own rules. Without
+	// this, the chain below judged a relayed packet by this machine's own published ports, so two
+	// machines behind the hub reached each other only on ports the hub happened to publish for itself
+	// (novox/hq issue 196). In and out on the tunnel both: a packet off the tunnel for this machine's
+	// own containers leaves by a bridge, and still meets the rules below.
+	if tunnel != "" {
+		b.WriteString("\t\t# the mesh passing through to another of its machines, which filters it itself\n")
+		b.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("\t\tiifname %q oifname %q accept\n", tunnel, tunnel))
+	}
 
 	if len(rules) > 0 {
 		b.WriteString("\n")

internal/catalogue/filtering_test.go

@@ -887,3 +887,34 @@ func TestAPublicPortNeedsNoGuestLine(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a public port was given a guest line it does not need:\n%s", nft)
 	}
 }
+
+// **The hub relays the mesh** (novox/hq ADR 0007, issue 196). Two machines that are not co-located
+// reach each other through the hub, so the hub forwards a packet that arrives on the tunnel and
+// leaves on it. The forward chain judged that packet by the hub's own published ports, and two
+// machines behind the hub reached each other only on the ports the hub happened to publish.
+//
+// Measured: from one home machine to another through the hub, 17 of 55 ports answered, and they
+// were exactly the hub's own; the SYN for the rest never left the hub.
+func TestTheMeshPassingThroughIsRelayedNotJudgedAsThisMachines(t *testing.T) {
+	nft := AsNftables(nil, []string{"10.42.0.1", "10.42.0.2"}, false, nil, []string{"eth0"}, "mesh0")
+	relay := `iifname "mesh0" oifname "mesh0" accept`
+	if !strings.Contains(chainBody(t, nft, "forward"), relay) {
+		t.Errorf("the forward chain does not relay the mesh through this machine:\n%s", chainBody(t, nft, "forward"))
+	}
+	// Relaying is not receiving: nothing in the input chain opens because of it.
+	if strings.Contains(chainBody(t, nft, "input"), "oifname") {
+		t.Errorf("the input chain names an outgoing interface, which no packet for this machine has:\n%s",
+			chainBody(t, nft, "input"))
+	}
+	// And off the tunnel into this machine's own containers is still judged: the tunnel is not
+	// accepted wholesale, only in and out on it.
+	if strings.Contains(chainBody(t, nft, "forward"), `iifname "mesh0" accept`) {
+		t.Errorf("the forward chain accepts everything off the tunnel:\n%s", chainBody(t, nft, "forward"))
+	}
+
+	// A machine with no tunnel relays nothing, and names no interface it does not have.
+	alone := AsNftables(nil, nil, false, nil, []string{"eth0"}, "")
+	if strings.Contains(alone, "oifname") {
+		t.Errorf("a machine with no tunnel was given a relay rule:\n%s", alone)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/foundation_manifests_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package catalogue
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"reflect"
@@ -170,7 +171,7 @@ func TestTheForgeHoldsTheNpmAndGitSeats(t *testing.T) {
 // **And the forge's own address follows it**, composed from the manifest in the catalogue beside
 // this checkout (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/088).
 //
-// The forge is reached a third way that neither test above covers: by its own sidecar, over the
+// The forge is reached a third way that neither test above covers: by its own code, over the
 // machine's loopback, told where to go in its environment. The `2999:3000` mapping that lets the
 // forge go on binding 3000 does nothing for a caller dialling the machine — so a literal there is
 // wrong on every node whose assignment differs, and wrong for a second reason on a node given the
@@ -178,13 +179,13 @@ func TestTheForgeHoldsTheNpmAndGitSeats(t *testing.T) {
 // in an `env` at all is a declaration, not a manifest.
 func TestTheForgesOwnAddressFollowsThePortTheNodeGaveIt(t *testing.T) {
 	forge, err := catalogueManifest(t, "gitea").Resolve([]Built{{
-		Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactImage,
-		Reference: "registry.example/gitea-runtime@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64),
+		Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "gitea/code/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest,
 	}})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("the forge's manifest does not resolve against its own build: %v", err)
 	}
-	r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{forge}, Needs: []Needed{
+	r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{forge, theRuntime(t)}, Needs: []Needed{
 		{Name: "postgres-database", For: "gitea", From: "anchor", At: "127.0.0.1",
 			Serves: map[string]any{"port": float64(5432)}, Sealed: "sealed-db"},
 		{Name: "route", For: "gitea", From: "anchor"},
@@ -194,8 +195,8 @@ func TestTheForgesOwnAddressFollowsThePortTheNodeGaveIt(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// The number this node was given for the forge — the one the machine it is about to run on
 	// already publishes.
-	out, err := r.Declaration(Rendering{
-		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{"gitea": {"broker": "sealed-broker"}},
+	out, err := r.Declaration(Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-broker"}},
 		Given:  map[string]map[int]int{"gitea": {3000: 2999}},
 	})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -210,14 +211,19 @@ func TestTheForgesOwnAddressFollowsThePortTheNodeGaveIt(t *testing.T) {
 	if published := fmt.Sprint(server["ports"]); !strings.Contains(published, "2999:3000") {
 		t.Fatalf("the forge is not published on the port this node gave it: %v", server["ports"])
 	}
-	runtime := fileNamed(out, "gitea.runtime")
+	// The forge's own code runs in the node's runtime (novox/hq ADR 0198), given its words there.
+	runtime := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())
 	if runtime == nil {
-		t.Fatalf("the forge's sidecar is not in the declaration: %v", out)
+		t.Fatalf("the node's runtime is not in the declaration: %v", ids(out))
 	}
-	env, _ := runtime["env"].(map[string]any)
-	if env["MESH_GITEA_URL"] != "http://127.0.0.1:2999" {
-		t.Fatalf("the forge's sidecar dials %v while the machine publishes the forge on 2999 — "+
-			"whatever reads it dials a dead port", env["MESH_GITEA_URL"])
+	env, _ := runtime["env"].(map[string]string)
+	var given map[string]map[string]string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(env[RuntimeToolEnv]), &given); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the runtime's %s is not JSON: %q", RuntimeToolEnv, env[RuntimeToolEnv])
+	}
+	if given["gitea"]["MESH_GITEA_URL"] != "http://127.0.0.1:2999" {
+		t.Fatalf("the forge's code dials %v while the machine publishes the forge on 2999 — "+
+			"whatever reads it dials a dead port", given["gitea"]["MESH_GITEA_URL"])
 	}
 }
 
@@ -229,13 +235,13 @@ func declaredGiteaSsh(t *testing.T, given map[int]int) map[string]any {
 	t.Helper()
 	forge := catalogueManifest(t, "gitea")
 	resolved, err := forge.Resolve([]Built{{
-		Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactImage,
-		Reference: "registry.example/gitea-runtime@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64),
+		Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "gitea/code/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest,
 	}})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("the forge's manifest does not resolve against its own build: %v", err)
 	}
-	r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{resolved}, Needs: []Needed{
+	r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{resolved, theRuntime(t)}, Needs: []Needed{
 		{Name: "postgres-database", For: "gitea", From: "anchor", At: "127.0.0.1",
 			Serves: map[string]any{"port": float64(5432)}, Sealed: "sealed-db"},
 		{Name: "route", For: "gitea", From: "anchor"},
@@ -246,8 +252,8 @@ func declaredGiteaSsh(t *testing.T, given map[int]int) map[string]any {
 	for k, v := range given {
 		givenPorts[k] = v
 	}
-	out, err := r.Declaration(Rendering{
-		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{"gitea": {"broker": "sealed-broker"}},
+	out, err := r.Declaration(Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-broker"}},
 		Ports:  map[string]map[int]int{"gitea": givenPorts},
 		Given:  map[string]map[int]int{"gitea": given},
 	})

internal/catalogue/genesis_image_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"regexp"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 223: genesis raises the controller as a container built from this repository's own
+// Dockerfile, with no build arguments — the manifest no longer builds an image, so nothing passes a
+// base in. The Dockerfile's own default must therefore be a Go that builds this module, pinned by
+// digest, and the replacement the manifest's process names must be the container genesis raises.
+func TestGenesisCanBuildTheControllersImageAsItStands(t *testing.T) {
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile("../../Dockerfile")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^ARG GO_BASE=golang@sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}$`).Match(raw) {
+		t.Fatal("the Dockerfile's default Go base is not pinned by digest; genesis builds it with no arguments")
+	}
+	makefile, err := os.ReadFile("../../Makefile")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	pin := regexp.MustCompile(`golang@sha256:[0-9a-f]{64}`)
+	if string(pin.Find(raw)) != string(pin.Find(makefile)) {
+		t.Errorf("the Dockerfile and the Makefile build on different Go: %s, %s", pin.Find(raw), pin.Find(makefile))
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/jails_into.go

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 package catalogue
 
 import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -43,8 +45,16 @@ func jailsInto(modules []Manifest, j *Jailing) []map[string]any {
 
 	out := make([]map[string]any, 0, len(jails)+1)
 	for _, d := range jails {
-		fmt.Fprintf(&composed, "\n# from %s\n[%s]\nenabled = true\nfilter = %s\n%s\n",
-			d.module, d.jail.Name, d.jail.Name, strings.TrimRight(d.jail.Jail, "\n"))
+		// **The filter's digest rides in the jail file.** fail2ban is restarted when this file
+		// changes, and the filter is a file of its own: a module that changed only what a failure
+		// looks like rewrote the filter on disk and left the running jail on the old pattern, with
+		// nothing said (novox/hq issue 191's rollout found it on gitea's sshd). Naming the filter's
+		// digest here makes a changed pattern a changed jail file, so the restart the service
+		// already takes on it covers the filter too.
+		sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(d.jail.Failregex))
+		fmt.Fprintf(&composed, "\n# from %s, filter %s\n[%s]\nenabled = true\nfilter = %s\n%s\n",
+			d.module, hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])[:12], d.jail.Name, d.jail.Name,
+			strings.TrimRight(d.jail.Jail, "\n"))
 		// The filter is a file of its own, named as the jail's filter= references it.
 		out = append(out, map[string]any{
 			"id":   "filter-" + d.jail.Name,

internal/catalogue/jails_into_test.go

@@ -44,3 +44,29 @@ func TestTheComposedJailFileIsWrittenEvenWhenEmpty(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("the empty composed jail file was not written alone: %v", files)
 	}
 }
+
+// A changed pattern restarts fail2ban (novox/hq issue 191's rollout): the service restarts when the
+// composed jail file changes, and the filter is a file of its own, so the jail file names the
+// filter's digest. Changing only the failregex must change the jail file; the same pattern must not.
+func TestAChangedFilterChangesTheJailFile(t *testing.T) {
+	jailFile := func(failregex string) string {
+		modules := []Manifest{
+			{Module: "fail2ban", Jailing: &Jailing{Into: "/etc/fail2ban/jail.d/mesh.conf", FilterInto: "/etc/fail2ban/filter.d"}},
+			{Module: "gitea", Jails: []Jail{{Name: "gitea", Failregex: failregex, Jail: "port = 222"}}},
+		}
+		for _, f := range jailsInto(modules, modules[0].Jailing) {
+			if f["id"] == ComposedJailsID() {
+				return f["content"].(string)
+			}
+		}
+		t.Fatal("no composed jail file")
+		return ""
+	}
+	before := jailFile("web login failed from <HOST>")
+	if again := jailFile("web login failed from <HOST>"); again != before {
+		t.Errorf("the same pattern composed a different jail file, which would restart fail2ban for nothing")
+	}
+	if after := jailFile("web login failed from <HOST>\n            Invalid user .* from <HOST>"); after == before {
+		t.Errorf("a changed pattern left the jail file as it was, so fail2ban keeps the old filter:\n%s", after)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/machine_into_files.go

@@ -102,8 +102,11 @@ func accountHomeOf(account, home string) string {
 func machineInto(resource map[string]any, facts map[string]string, module string) error {
 	// Content, and now the path and owner too: a module that writes into a person's home names it
 	// with ${machine:account-home} and ${machine:account}, which it cannot know until assigned
-	// (novox/hq to-be 29), the same reason its content names ${machine:address}.
-	for _, field := range []string{"path", "owner", "content"} {
+	// (novox/hq to-be 29), the same reason its content names ${machine:address}. And the name a
+	// `user` shape sets the login shell of, and the user a user-scoped unit or a process runs as:
+	// the shell module makes the operator's account its holder's login shell, and the desktop's
+	// watchers run as that account (novox/hq ADR 0176, ADR 0177) — neither can name the person.
+	for _, field := range []string{"path", "owner", "content", "name", "user"} {
 		s, ok := resource[field].(string)
 		if !ok {
 			continue

internal/catalogue/manifest.go

@@ -572,6 +572,44 @@ type Manifest struct {
 	// a module that could ask for it could read every credential on the bus — and the claim on
 	// `mesh-broker` is what authorises it, checked from this manifest alone.
 	BusUsers string `json:"bus-users,omitempty"`
+
+	// Bundles are this module's compiled bundles as the build produced them: what each is called,
+	// where it is, what it hashes to, what language it is in and which files a tool runtime loads
+	// from it (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38).
+	//
+	// **Derived, never written.** The manifest in a repository says `build.artifacts`; the manifest
+	// the mesh holds says what came out, the way a resource naming an artifact comes to name a
+	// digest. Kept here because a tools bundle is referenced by no resource of the module's own —
+	// the node's runtime loads it, and the runtime is composed by the mesh — so without this the
+	// resolved manifest would carry no trace of the one artifact the runtime needs. A repository
+	// manifest that writes this beside a build is refused: it would be stating the build's output
+	// by hand.
+	Bundles []Bundle `json:"bundles,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// Bundle is one compiled bundle after it exists, as the resolved manifest carries it.
+type Bundle struct {
+	Name string `json:"name"`
+	// Source is where a machine fetches it, kept without the store's address like every reference
+	// the mesh records (artifacts.go); Digest is what it must hash to.
+	Source string `json:"source"`
+	Digest string `json:"digest"`
+	// Language is what it was compiled from, which is what says how it is run.
+	Language string `json:"language,omitempty"`
+	// Entrypoints are the compiled files it was built around, relative to its root.
+	Entrypoints []string `json:"entrypoints,omitempty"`
+	// Loads are the entrypoints a node's tool runtime imports from it: what the artifact said, or
+	// every entrypoint for a module declaring tools that said nothing. Empty for a bundle that is
+	// run rather than loaded.
+	Loads []string `json:"loads,omitempty"`
+	// Env is what the artifact said it is given (ADR 0192), as written; composed per machine.
+	Env map[string]string `json:"env,omitempty"`
+	// Launchers are the executables the build wrote beside its entrypoints, by entrypoint (novox/hq
+	// ADR 0193). A bundle built before them has none, and is served as it was built.
+	Launchers map[string]string `json:"launchers,omitempty"`
+	// Binary is the executable a bundle compiled to a binary is, at its root (novox/hq ADR 0193):
+	// what runs it, where an interpreted bundle names an interpreter and an entrypoint.
+	Binary string `json:"binary,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Build says how to produce this module's artifacts from its source.
@@ -708,6 +746,26 @@ type Artifact struct {
 	// somebody adds a helper. An empty list is a bundle that is run rather than loaded — a
 	// provisioner or a step, named by whatever runs it.
 	Entrypoints []string `json:"entrypoints,omitempty"`
+
+	// Loads are the entrypoints of this bundle the node's tool runtime loads (novox/hq ADR 0175,
+	// to-be 38): the module's tool code, each file registering its tools as it is imported. A
+	// subset of Entrypoints, for a bundle that also carries things that are RUN — a daemon, a
+	// step, a report — and must not have them imported into the runtime.
+	//
+	// Absent means every entrypoint, for a module that declares `tools`: a bundle holding the
+	// module's tools and nothing else is the ordinary case and should not have to say the same
+	// list twice. A module declaring no tools has nothing the runtime loads, whatever it compiles.
+	Loads []string `json:"loads,omitempty"`
+
+	// External are packages a TypeScript bundle keeps as imports rather than inlining — a native
+	// addon, a package that reads its own files — and so carries the toolchain's node_modules for
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0193). Absent for nearly every bundle, which is then one file per entrypoint.
+	External []string `json:"external,omitempty"`
+
+	// Env is what a tools bundle is given on a machine (novox/hq ADR 0192): words and their values,
+	// paths and constants composed with ${dir:…} and ${port:…} exactly as a container's environment
+	// is, never a secret's content. The node's runtime hands it to this bundle and to no other.
+	Env map[string]string `json:"env,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Kinds an artifact may be.
@@ -1320,6 +1378,7 @@ func ParseManifest(raw []byte) (Manifest, error) {
 		}
 	}
 	problems = append(problems, m.Build.problems(m.Module)...)
+	problems = append(problems, undeliveredBundles(m)...)
 	// **What provides the artifact store cannot be delivered through it** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/029).
 	//
 	// Building publishes to the store, and the builder will not start without one. So a module
@@ -1333,6 +1392,15 @@ func ParseManifest(raw []byte) (Manifest, error) {
 	//
 	// Refused here because the alternative is a build that never returns, on a mesh new enough
 	// that nobody is watching it yet.
+	if m.Build != nil && len(m.Bundles) > 0 {
+		// The output of a build, written beside the build that produces it (ADR 0175). A resource
+		// naming a digest beside an `artifact` would be the same mistake, and is caught the same way:
+		// what the mesh derives, a repository does not state.
+		problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+			"%s writes `bundles` beside its build. The mesh derives that from what the build "+
+				"produced; a manifest states `build.artifacts` and nothing about what came out",
+			m.Module))
+	}
 	if m.Build != nil && len(m.Build.Artifacts) > 0 {
 		for _, o := range m.Offers() {
 			if o != ArtifactStoreProvision {
@@ -1447,6 +1515,53 @@ func ParseManifest(raw []byte) (Manifest, error) {
 				"program that reads what the mesh delivered and reconciles",
 			m.Module, r["id"]))
 	}
+	// **What a process replaces is something the module no longer declares** (novox/hq issue 213).
+	// The host keeps it running until the process is, then removes it: so it is named by the id the
+	// module used to give it, it is never a resource the module still declares — that would be
+	// applied and removed by one declaration — and only a process that stays up has anything to
+	// hand over to. Said here, near the author, as the host would refuse it far away.
+	ids := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		ids[fmt.Sprint(r["id"])] = true
+	}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		raw, present := r["replaces"]
+		if !present {
+			continue
+		}
+		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) != "process" {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %v says what it replaces, and only a process does", m.Module, r["id"]))
+			continue
+		}
+		if once, _ := r["run-once"].(bool); once || r["schedule"] != nil {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %v replaces something and runs once or on a schedule — only a process that stays "+
+					"up is there a moment later to hand over to", m.Module, r["id"]))
+		}
+		list, ok := raw.([]any)
+		if !ok {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+				"%s: %v replaces %v; replaces is a list of the ids this module no longer declares",
+				m.Module, r["id"], raw))
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, item := range list {
+			id, ok := item.(string)
+			switch {
+			case !ok || strings.TrimSpace(id) == "":
+				problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+					"%s: %v replaces %v, which is not an id", m.Module, r["id"], item))
+			case strings.Contains(id, "."):
+				problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+					"%s: %v replaces %q; a process replaces only a resource of its own module, named "+
+						"by its own id", m.Module, r["id"], id))
+			case ids[id]:
+				problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
+					"%s: %v replaces %q, which this module still declares", m.Module, r["id"], id))
+			}
+		}
+	}
 	// **A module that prepares its state must have code the mesh can run** (novox/hq ADR 0135). The
 	// preparation is the module's own program in its preparation mode, so it is derived from the
 	// resource that runs that program — and a module declaring none has asked for something the mesh
@@ -1454,7 +1569,7 @@ func ParseManifest(raw []byte) (Manifest, error) {
 	// quietly prepares nothing.
 	if m.Prepares && preparationTarget(m) == "" {
 		problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf(
-			"%s says it prepares its state, and declares no container running an artifact it built — "+
+			"%s says it prepares its state, and declares no container or process running an artifact it built — "+
 				"the preparation is this module's own program, so there has to be one for the mesh to "+
 				"run it in", m.Module))
 	}
@@ -1667,6 +1782,7 @@ func ParseManifest(raw []byte) (Manifest, error) {
 	problems = append(problems, m.undeclaredMounts()...)
 	problems = append(problems, m.unknownDirRefs()...)
 	problems = append(problems, m.unknownAccessRefs()...)
+	problems = append(problems, m.jailProblems()...)
 
 	for i, r := range m.Resources {
 		id, _ := r["id"].(string)
@@ -1769,6 +1885,46 @@ func (m Manifest) MachineSide(port int) (at int, mayAssign bool) {
 var facilitiesOf = map[string][]string{
 	// Both spellings: /var/run is a link to /run on every machine the mesh runs on.
 	"container-runtime": {"/var/run/docker.sock", "/run/docker.sock"},
+	// The virtualisation daemon's socket, for the lab (novox/hq ADR 0172): it raises machines there.
+	"virtualisation": {"/var/lib/incus/unix.socket"},
+}
+
+// jailProblems is every jail this module declares that the machine's intrusion prevention would
+// refuse (novox/hq ADR 0179).
+//
+// **Because one bad pattern stops every jail, not its own.** fail2ban expands `<HOST>` into a named
+// capture group, so a pattern naming it twice is a duplicate group name, and the daemon refuses the
+// whole configuration and exits — the machine keeps no bans at all, for any jail, including the one
+// watching its ssh. Caught live on the control node the day this was built, where a proxy's pattern
+// matched two shapes of refusal in one line. A pattern matches one shape; several shapes are several
+// patterns, one per line, as fail2ban's own filters are written.
+func (m Manifest) jailProblems() []string {
+	var problems []string
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, j := range m.Jails {
+		switch {
+		case strings.TrimSpace(j.Name) == "":
+			problems = append(problems, m.Module+" declares a jail with no name")
+		case seen[j.Name]:
+			problems = append(problems, m.Module+" declares two jails called "+strconv.Quote(j.Name))
+		}
+		seen[j.Name] = true
+		if strings.TrimSpace(j.Failregex) == "" {
+			problems = append(problems, m.Module+"'s jail "+strconv.Quote(j.Name)+" says nothing a failed attempt looks like")
+		}
+		for _, line := range strings.Split(j.Failregex, "\n") {
+			if strings.TrimSpace(line) == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			if n := strings.Count(line, "<HOST>"); n > 1 {
+				problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s's jail %s names <HOST> %d times in one pattern; "+
+					"fail2ban reads it as one capture group and refuses the whole configuration, so the machine "+
+					"keeps no bans at all — write one pattern per shape, each naming <HOST> once",
+					m.Module, strconv.Quote(j.Name), n))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return problems
 }
 
 // undeclaredMounts is every bind-mount source no declaration covers — see the check above.
@@ -1810,6 +1966,12 @@ func (m Manifest) undeclaredMounts() []string {
 			claim(p)
 		}
 	}
+	// The file a filter module's rule set is written to is declared by `filtering.into`: the mesh
+	// writes it, the module loads it, and the module's runtime may read it back to reload the
+	// mesh's own table (novox/hq ADR 0170).
+	if m.Filtering != nil {
+		claim(m.Filtering.Into)
+	}
 	// Under a declared directory is declared: a module that says where its data lives has said so
 	// for what it puts inside.
 	covers := func(path string) bool {

internal/catalogue/mounts_test.go

@@ -98,3 +98,13 @@ func TestAMountOfABoundFactIsAccepted(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a mount of the file the mesh writes a binding to was refused: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// The file a filter module's rule set is written to is declared by `filtering.into` (novox/hq ADR
+// 0169): the module's runtime mounts it to reload the mesh's own table, and nothing else declares it.
+func TestAMountOfTheFilterFileIsDeclaredByFilteringInto(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := ParseManifest([]byte(`{"module":"nftables","filtering":{"into":"/etc/nftables.conf"},` +
+		`"resources":[` + strings.Replace(aContainerMounting, "%s", "/etc/nftables.conf", 1) + `]}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a filter module mounting its own filter file was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/names_served.go

@@ -1,124 +0,0 @@
-package catalogue
-
-import (
-	"sort"
-	"strings"
-)
-
-// Which machine serves each routed name (novox/hq ADR 0066, issue 178).
-//
-// A routed name is a label the mesh composed for a consumer's endpoint, and it is *served* by the
-// provider that answers requests for it — the proxy the consumer's route reaches. The same name is
-// composed into every labelled contribution the consumer makes, because a provider that must know
-// the consumer's public name (an identity provider composing a redirect) is told it the same way
-// (04-ISSUES/122). Attributing the name to whichever of those providers a map happened to yield
-// last sent a public name to the identity provider's machine on one plan and to the proxy's on the
-// next (forge issue 227), and the whole names region flipped with it.
-//
-// **The terminus serves the name.** Among the providers a name reaches, the one that serves it is
-// the one that is not itself routed: a provider that contributes a labelled name of its own to some
-// requirement is published through another provider, and is a consumer of names, not their end.
-// Name-agnostic — nothing here knows what "route" means — and structural: it reads the graph the
-// modules declared. Deterministic: names, requirements and nodes are walked in order, so two
-// plans of one mesh yield one region.
-
-// NamesServed is every routed name across the mesh and the node that serves it, from every node's
-// resolution and settings. A name several termini claim goes to the first node in name order, so
-// the answer is stable; a name nothing terminal claims is left out.
-func NamesServed(plans map[string]Resolution, settings map[string]SettingsBy) (map[string]string, error) {
-	nodes := make([]string, 0, len(plans))
-	for n := range plans {
-		nodes = append(nodes, n)
-	}
-	sort.Strings(nodes)
-
-	out := map[string]string{}
-	for _, node := range nodes {
-		plan := plans[node]
-		all, err := plan.contributions(settings[node], nil, nil)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		requirements := make([]string, 0, len(all))
-		for to := range all {
-			requirements = append(requirements, to)
-		}
-		sort.Strings(requirements)
-		for _, to := range requirements {
-			for _, given := range all[to] {
-				if given.Node != "" {
-					// Said from another machine; that machine's own resolution carries it.
-					continue
-				}
-				// A routed name, and only that: a contribution the mesh composed a name for from a
-				// label it was given. A grant that happens to carry a `name` of its own — a database
-				// name — carries no label and is left alone.
-				if _, labelled := given.Values["label"]; !labelled {
-					continue
-				}
-				name, _ := given.Values["name"].(string)
-				if name == "" {
-					continue
-				}
-				serving := servingNodeOf(plan, to, given.From, node)
-				if !servesNames(plans[serving], to) {
-					continue
-				}
-				name = strings.ToLower(name)
-				if held, taken := out[name]; !taken || serving < held {
-					out[name] = serving
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return out, nil
-}
-
-// servingNodeOf is the node answering one consumer's requirement: whoever the plan needs it from,
-// or this same node when the provider is beside the consumer.
-func servingNodeOf(plan Resolution, requirement, consumer, self string) string {
-	for _, need := range plan.Needs {
-		if need.Name == requirement && need.For == consumer && need.From != "" {
-			return need.From
-		}
-	}
-	return self
-}
-
-// servesNames says whether the module providing a requirement on a node is a terminus: it is not
-// itself published under a labelled name through some other provider. A node whose plan is not
-// known (it did not resolve) serves nothing.
-func servesNames(plan Resolution, requirement string) bool {
-	for _, m := range plan.Modules {
-		if !offers(m, requirement) {
-			continue
-		}
-		return !contributesALabel(m)
-	}
-	return false
-}
-
-func offers(m Manifest, requirement string) bool {
-	for _, o := range m.Offers() {
-		if o == requirement {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
-
-func contributesALabel(m Manifest) bool {
-	for _, values := range m.Contributes {
-		if _, labelled := values["label"]; labelled {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	for _, locals := range m.ContributesMany {
-		for _, values := range locals {
-			if _, labelled := values["label"]; labelled {
-				return true
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}

internal/catalogue/names_served_test.go

@@ -1,99 +0,0 @@
-package catalogue
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-)
-
-// The mesh of forge issue 227 (novox/hq issue 178): a dashboard on the home server contributes its
-// label to the route its proxy serves AND to the identity provider on the control node, which must
-// know the dashboard's public name to compose a redirect. Both contributions carry the composed
-// name; only the proxy serves it.
-func twoNodesOneName(t *testing.T) (map[string]Resolution, map[string]SettingsBy) {
-	t.Helper()
-	catalogue := shelf(
-		Manifest{Module: "route-adapter", Version: "1", Provides: Offers("route"),
-			Serves: map[string]map[string]any{"route": {}}, Receives: map[string]string{"route": "/etc/adapter/mesh.json"}},
-		Manifest{Module: "route-proxy", Version: "1", Provides: Offers("route"),
-			Serves: map[string]map[string]any{"route": {}}, Receives: map[string]string{"route": "/etc/proxy/mesh.json"}},
-		Manifest{Module: "keycloak", Version: "1", Provides: FromAnywhere("oidc-client"),
-			Serves:   map[string]map[string]any{"oidc-client": {"token-path": "/token"}},
-			Receives: map[string]string{"oidc-client": "/etc/keycloak/clients.json"},
-			Listens:  []Listening{{Port: 8080, From: FromMesh, Why: "the login page"}},
-			// Published through the proxy itself: the identity provider is routed, not a router.
-			Contributes: map[string]map[string]any{"route": {"label": "login", "endpoint": "web", "port": 8080}}},
-		Manifest{Module: "grafana", Version: "1",
-			Listens: []Listening{{Port: 3000, From: FromMesh, Why: "dashboards"}},
-			Contributes: map[string]map[string]any{
-				"route":       {"label": "grafana", "endpoint": "web", "port": 3000},
-				"oidc-client": {"label": "grafana", "endpoint": "web", "port": 3000, "callback": "/login"},
-			}},
-	)
-	home := withDomain("home.example")
-	home.Name, home.At = "home-server", "home-server.internal"
-	control := withDomain("control.example")
-	control.Name, control.At = "anchor", "anchor.internal"
-
-	onHome, err := Resolve(catalogue, []string{"grafana", "route-adapter"}, home, World{
-		Offered: map[string][]Provider{"oidc-client": {{Node: "anchor", At: "anchor.internal", Module: "keycloak"}}},
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	onControl, err := Resolve(catalogue, []string{"keycloak", "route-proxy"}, control, World{})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	return map[string]Resolution{"home-server": onHome, "anchor": onControl},
-		map[string]SettingsBy{"home-server": {}, "anchor": {}}
-}
-
-func TestANameResolvesToTheNodeWhoseProxyServesIt(t *testing.T) {
-	plans, settings := twoNodesOneName(t)
-	// Many times, because the fault was map order: one plan said one node, the next the other.
-	for i := 0; i < 25; i++ {
-		served, err := NamesServed(plans, settings)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if served["grafana.home.example"] != "home-server" {
-			t.Fatalf("run %d: the dashboard's name is served by %q, and its proxy is on the home server: %v",
-				i, served["grafana.home.example"], served)
-		}
-		if served["login.control.example"] != "anchor" {
-			t.Fatalf("run %d: the identity provider's own name is served by its proxy on the control node: %v", i, served)
-		}
-		if _, leaked := served["grafana.control.example"]; leaked {
-			t.Fatalf("a name composed for the identity provider's benefit is not one it serves: %v", served)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// A module that is routed several times names each route (ADR 0094's sibling for contributes);
-// every one of them is a name the mesh must resolve, and none reached the names region before.
-func TestEveryRouteOfAModuleWithSeveralIsANameServed(t *testing.T) {
-	catalogue := shelf(
-		Manifest{Module: "route-proxy", Version: "1", Provides: Offers("route"),
-			Serves: map[string]map[string]any{"route": {}}, Receives: map[string]string{"route": "/etc/proxy/mesh.json"}},
-		Manifest{Module: "photos", Version: "1",
-			Listens: []Listening{{Port: 8102, From: FromMesh, Why: "web"}, {Port: 9102, From: FromMesh, Why: "api"}},
-			ContributesMany: map[string]map[string]map[string]any{"route": {
-				"site": {"label": "photos", "endpoint": "web", "port": 8102},
-				"api":  {"label": "photos-api", "endpoint": "api", "port": 9102},
-			}}},
-	)
-	node := withDomain("control.example")
-	node.Name, node.At = "anchor", "anchor.internal"
-	plan, err := Resolve(catalogue, []string{"photos", "route-proxy"}, node, World{})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	served, err := NamesServed(map[string]Resolution{"anchor": plan}, map[string]SettingsBy{"anchor": {}})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	for _, name := range []string{"photos.control.example", "photos-api.control.example"} {
-		if served[name] != "anchor" {
-			t.Fatalf("%s is not served by its proxy: %v", name, served)
-		}
-	}
-}

internal/catalogue/operators_machine_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A `user` shape and a user-scoped unit name the operator account the way a home file does
+// (novox/hq ADR 0176, ADR 0177): with ${machine:account}, resolved when the module is assigned.
+func TestAUserShapeAndAUserScopedUnitNameTheAccount(t *testing.T) {
+	facts := map[string]string{"account": "ops", "account-home": "/home/ops"}
+	login := map[string]any{"type": "user", "id": "login", "name": "${machine:account}", "shell": "/usr/bin/zsh"}
+	if err := machineInto(login, facts, "zsh"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if login["name"] != "ops" {
+		t.Fatalf("the user shape did not learn the account: %v", login["name"])
+	}
+	watcher := map[string]any{"type": "service", "id": "watcher", "unit": "i3-reload-watcher.service",
+		"scope": "user", "user": "${machine:account}"}
+	if err := machineInto(watcher, facts, "i3"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if watcher["user"] != "ops" {
+		t.Fatalf("the user-scoped unit did not learn the account: %v", watcher["user"])
+	}
+	// A machine with no operator account refuses rather than writing the literal.
+	err := machineInto(map[string]any{"type": "user", "id": "login", "name": "${machine:account}"},
+		map[string]string{"address": "10.0.0.1"}, "zsh")
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "${machine:account}") {
+		t.Fatalf("a user shape on a machine with no account was not refused by name: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// The service manager is a seat of the mesh's own with the unit verbs as its contract (novox/hq
+// ADR 0177): every verb described, with a schema, taking a scope.
+func TestTheServiceManagerSeatServesTheUnitVerbs(t *testing.T) {
+	seat, ok := SeatNamed("node-service-manager")
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal("node-service-manager is not a seat the mesh defines")
+	}
+	if seat.Scope != ScopeNode {
+		t.Fatalf("the service manager is a role each machine has once, and the seat is %s-scoped", seat.Scope)
+	}
+	want := []string{"units", "status", "start", "stop", "restart", "enable", "disable", "journal"}
+	var got []string
+	for _, v := range seat.Serves {
+		got = append(got, v.Name)
+		if v.Description == "" || v.Input == nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s is promised without a description or a schema", v.Name)
+		}
+		props, _ := v.Input["properties"].(map[string]any)
+		if _, has := props["scope"]; !has {
+			t.Fatalf("%s takes no scope, and a user unit could not be asked for", v.Name)
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Join(got, ",") != strings.Join(want, ",") {
+		t.Fatalf("the seat serves %v, not %v", got, want)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/placement_test.go

@@ -75,17 +75,26 @@ func TestAnAssignmentPlacesDirectoriesAndAccesses(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 // An access declared by id and placed by nobody resolves to nowhere, and that is refused with the
-// setting to write — not mounted as the literal, not skipped.
+// setting to write — not mounted as the literal, not skipped. The refusal costs the module its
+// place in the declaration, not the machine its declaration (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6).
 func TestAnUnplacedAccessIsRefusedByName(t *testing.T) {
 	got, err := Resolve(shelf(placeable()), []string{"arr"}, workstation(), World{})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	_, err = got.Declaration(placedBy(map[string]any{
+	with := placedBy(map[string]any{
 		AccessesSetting: map[string]any{"series": "/storage/media/series"},
-	}))
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), `"spool"`) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), AccessesSetting) {
-		t.Fatalf("an access nobody placed was not refused by name: %v", err)
+	})
+	composed, err := got.Compose(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	why := composed.LeftOut["arr"]
+	if why == "" || !strings.Contains(why, `"spool"`) || !strings.Contains(why, AccessesSetting) {
+		t.Fatalf("an access nobody placed was not refused by name: %v", composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+	if _, declared := byID(composed.Resources)["arr.server"]; declared {
+		t.Fatal("the module with the unplaced access was declared anyway")
 	}
 }
 

internal/catalogue/port_into.go

@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ import (
 //
 // So a module asks. `${port:8080}` is "the machine-side port you gave me for the 8080 I said I
 // listen on", and the module writes that where it would otherwise have written a literal — in a
-// file's content, or in a value of a container's `env`.
+// file's content, or in a value of a container's or a process's `env`.
 //
 // **The environment is filled by the control plane, exactly as a bound value is.** A port is not
 // secret — the mesh holds it in the clear — so there is nothing for the host to be the only
@@ -64,7 +64,12 @@ func portsUsed(content string) []int {
 }
 
 // portInto replaces a resource's ${port:…} placeholders with what this machine assigned — in a
-// file's content, and in a value of a container's environment.
+// file's content, and in a value of a container's or a process's environment.
+//
+// **A process's environment is a container's** (novox/hq to-be 38 WP4c). A module's code moving out
+// of its container becomes a process on the machine and still has to be told what the container
+// was told; filled for one kind and not the other, the literal reached the process and was read as
+// a port, and the modules that moved first wrote their run-once steps a 0600 env file instead.
 //
 // A port the module did not say it listens on is refused, for the same reason a binding's unknown
 // key is: the module is asking about something it never declared, and the answer would be a guess.
@@ -84,7 +89,7 @@ func portInto(resource map[string]any, module string, listens []Listening, with
 		}
 		resource["content"] = filled
 
-	case "container":
+	case "container", "process":
 		env, ok := resource["env"].(map[string]any)
 		if !ok {
 			return nil
@@ -106,8 +111,8 @@ func portInto(resource map[string]any, module string, listens []Listening, with
 				continue
 			}
 			value, err := portsFilledInto(written,
-				fmt.Sprintf("%s's container %s sets %s to something that",
-					module, resource["name"], key), module, listens, with)
+				fmt.Sprintf("%s's %s %s sets %s to something that",
+					module, resource["type"], resource["name"], key), module, listens, with)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}

internal/catalogue/process_env_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// **A process's environment is composed as a container's is** (novox/hq to-be 38 WP4c).
+//
+// A module's code moving out of its container becomes a process on the machine, and what its
+// container's environment asked for — the port this machine gave the module, the place it put the
+// module's directory — it still has to be told. Filled for a container and not for a process, the
+// literal `${port:8080}` reached the process as its environment and was read as a port; the modules
+// that moved first wrote their run-once steps an env file instead.
+func processModule(env map[string]any) Manifest {
+	return Manifest{
+		Module:  "showcase",
+		Listens: []Listening{{Port: 8080, From: FromMesh}},
+		Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "data", "type": "directory", "mode": "0700"},
+			{"id": "setup", "type": "process", "name": "showcase-setup", "run-once": true,
+				"run": []any{"/usr/bin/showcase", "setup"}, "env": env},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAProcessIsToldItsPortAndItsPlaceInItsEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
+	env := map[string]any{
+		"SHOWCASE_URL":  "http://127.0.0.1:${port:8080}",
+		"SHOWCASE_DATA": "${dir:data}/objects",
+		"SHOWCASE_DB":   "127.0.0.1:${seat:mesh-store:5432}",
+		"GREETING":      "hello",
+	}
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{processModule(env)}}.Declaration(Rendering{
+		Ports: map[string]map[int]int{"showcase": {8080: 21000}},
+		Seats: map[string]map[int]int{"mesh-store": {5432: 6852}},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a process asking for its port and its place does not compose: %v", err)
+	}
+	setup := fileNamed(out, "showcase.setup")
+	if setup == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the process is not in the declaration: %v", out)
+	}
+	got, _ := setup["env"].(map[string]any)
+	for key, want := range map[string]string{
+		"SHOWCASE_URL":  "http://127.0.0.1:21000",
+		"SHOWCASE_DATA": "/var/lib/showcase/data/objects",
+		"SHOWCASE_DB":   "127.0.0.1:6852",
+		"GREETING":      "hello",
+	} {
+		if got[key] != want {
+			t.Errorf("the process is told %s=%v, want %q", key, got[key], want)
+		}
+	}
+	if env["SHOWCASE_URL"] != "http://127.0.0.1:${port:8080}" {
+		t.Fatalf("composing for one machine edited the module's own manifest: %v", env)
+	}
+}
+
+// An unknown reference in a process's environment is refused as a container's is, naming the
+// process and the variable — left alone, it would reach the machine as a literal.
+func TestAProcessAskingAboutAnUndeclaredPortIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	env := map[string]any{"SHOWCASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:${port:9999}"}
+	_, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{processModule(env)}}.Declaration(Rendering{})
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a process was told a port its module never said it listens on")
+	}
+	for _, said := range []string{"showcase-setup", "SHOWCASE_URL", "${port:9999}", "8080"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), said) {
+			t.Errorf("the refusal does not say %q: %v", said, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	env = map[string]any{"SHOWCASE_DATA": "${dir:date}/objects"}
+	if _, err := (Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{processModule(env)}}).Declaration(Rendering{}); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "${dir:date}") {
+		t.Fatalf("a process naming no directory of its module was not refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/resolve_keeps_references_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A resolved manifest keeps a built artifact's reference in the store-relative form, never the
+// address the builder reached the store by (novox/hq ADR 0155): on 2026-10-02 the first bundle
+// resolved on the mesh carried the store's host in bundles[0].source and registration refused it
+// as naming an installation. Archive resources are the same kind of reference and get the same.
+func TestAResolvedReferenceIsKeptNotRouted(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := ParseManifest([]byte(`{
+	  "module": "sample", "version": "1",
+	  "tools": ["one"],
+	  "build": {"artifacts": [
+	    {"name": "code", "kind": "bundle", "language": "typescript", "entrypoints": ["tools/index.js"]},
+	    {"name": "files", "kind": "archive", "from": "files"}
+	  ]},
+	  "resources": [{"id": "packed", "type": "archive", "path": "/opt/sample", "artifact": "files"}]
+	}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	digest := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("ab", 32)
+	resolved, err := m.Resolve([]Built{
+		{Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Reference: "http://store.example:5100/v2/sample/code/blobs/" + digest, Digest: digest},
+		{Name: "files", Kind: ArtifactArchive, Reference: "http://store.example:5100/v2/sample/files/blobs/" + digest, Digest: digest},
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got, want := resolved.Bundles[0].Source, ArtifactStoreScheme+"sample/code/blobs/"+digest; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("bundle source %q, want the kept form %q", got, want)
+	}
+	if got, want := resolved.Resources[0]["source"], ArtifactStoreScheme+"sample/files/blobs/"+digest; got != want {
+		t.Errorf("archive source %q, want the kept form %q", got, want)
+	}
+	if problems := InstallationProblems(resolved); len(problems) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a resolved manifest names an installation: %v", problems)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/resolver_manifests_test.go

@@ -48,7 +48,9 @@ func TestTheResolverForwardsToFixedUpstreamsAndNeverReadsResolvConf(t *testing.T
 	}
 	for _, want := range []string{
 		"\nno-resolv\n", "\nserver=1.1.1.1\n", "\nserver=8.8.8.8\n",
-		"\nlisten-address=127.0.0.1\n", "\nlisten-address=${machine:address}\n", "\nbind-dynamic\n",
+		// Loopback is the mesh-wide setting's default; a machine answering its own LAN adds its
+		// address there (novox/hq issue 198).
+		"\nlisten-address=${setting:listen-addresses}\n", "\nlisten-address=${machine:address}\n", "\nbind-dynamic\n",
 		"\ndomain-needed\n", "\nbogus-priv\n",
 		"\nconf-file=" + m.Facts["node-zones"].Path + "\n",
 	} {
@@ -113,7 +115,8 @@ func TestTheResolverAndWhatAsksItComposeOnOneMachine(t *testing.T) {
 		// issue 111) — the resolver's zones read only the second, and in this scenario the two
 		// happen to be the same map, since nothing routed is part of it.
 		Names: twoMachines, Machines: twoMachines, Suffix: "internal",
-		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{"dnsmasq": {"broker": "sealed"}},
+		Needed:   map[string]map[string]string{"dnsmasq": {"broker": "sealed"}},
+		Settings: SettingsBy{"dnsmasq": {{From: "the mesh", Values: map[string]any{"listen-addresses": "127.0.0.1"}}}},
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -207,9 +210,16 @@ func TestTheResolverOnAMachineOffTheNetworkIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	_, err = got.Declaration(Rendering{Names: twoMachines, Suffix: "internal",
-		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{"dnsmasq": {"broker": "sealed"}}})
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "${machine:address}") {
-		t.Fatalf("a machine off the network was composed a resolver, or refused for another reason: %v", err)
+	// Left out of the declaration and said, rather than composed listening nowhere: a module that
+	// cannot compose on a machine is kept as it is there, with the reason (hq ADR 0163).
+	composed, err := got.Compose(Rendering{Names: twoMachines, Suffix: "internal",
+		Needed:   map[string]map[string]string{"dnsmasq": {"broker": "sealed"}},
+		Settings: SettingsBy{"dnsmasq": {{From: "the mesh", Values: map[string]any{"listen-addresses": "127.0.0.1"}}}}})
+	if err == nil && !strings.Contains(composed.LeftOut["dnsmasq"], "${machine:address}") {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine off the network was composed a resolver, or left out for another reason: %v",
+			composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+	if err != nil && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "${machine:address}") {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine off the network was refused for another reason: %v", err)
 	}
 }

internal/catalogue/roster.go

@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ import (
 
 // A RosterFile is a file the mesh renders from the roster of machines, in the format the module
 // gives as a Go text/template. The template sees a rosterView: `.Node` (this machine's bare name),
-// `.Suffix` (what its mesh name ends in), and two sets of `{Name, FQDN, Address}` — `.Names`, every
-// name the mesh serves, and `.Machines`, only the nodes of the mesh. Which set a template ranges is
-// how the hq issue 111 distinction is drawn: a container's hosts wants every name; a resolver told
-// the suffix is its own wants only the machines.
+// `.Suffix` (what its mesh name ends in), and two sets of `{Name, FQDN, Address}` — `.Names` and
+// `.Machines`. Both are the nodes of the mesh: routed names were once in `.Names` too, and are not
+// since every route became a name under its node's internal domain (novox/hq ADR 0191) — the hq
+// issue 111 distinction is kept as two fields so the templates that range either keep rendering.
 type RosterFile struct {
 	// Path is where on the machine the rendered file goes. Absolute, or it is refused here rather
 	// than discovered as a daemon that reads nothing.

internal/catalogue/runtime.go

@@ -0,0 +1,365 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// The node's tool runtime, as the catalogue knows it (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38).
+//
+// **One module is the runtime.** Where it is assigned, one process per machine serves every assigned
+// module's tools and every held seat's verbs, on the host side, from the bundles each module's build
+// produced — and no module needs a container to reach the bus with its tools. The name is a constant
+// rather than a manifest field because a rule turns on it: the composer places the runtime's process
+// where this module is, and registration refuses the old pattern once this module exists.
+
+// RuntimeModule is the module that is the node's tool runtime. Mirrored in the broker package,
+// which composes a principal of its own for it; the agreement test there holds the two to one string.
+const RuntimeModule = "node-tools"
+
+// BundleRoot is where a machine keeps the tools bundles the mesh delivers to it: under the mesh's
+// own directory, beside the daemons the host unpacks there, and never where a package manager also
+// writes. One directory per module, one per bundle beneath it, at a path that does not move with
+// the version — so the runtime's process names each entrypoint once and is restarted, not
+// recomposed, when a bundle changes.
+const BundleRoot = "/var/lib/mesh/bundles"
+
+// BundleID names the archive resource that delivers one of a module's bundles; prefixed with the
+// module like every resource of its own.
+func BundleID(bundle string) string { return "bundle-" + bundle }
+
+// BundlePath is where one module's bundle is unpacked on a machine.
+func BundlePath(module, bundle string) string { return BundleRoot + "/" + module + "/" + bundle }
+
+// runtimeHere says whether this node's set includes the runtime module, which is what decides
+// whether anything about tools changes on the machine (to-be 38 WP2): until the runtime is assigned,
+// a node is sent exactly what it was sent before, bundles included, because a bundle nothing loads
+// is bytes nobody reads.
+func (r Resolution) runtimeHere() bool {
+	for _, m := range r.Modules {
+		if m.Module == RuntimeModule {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// bundleArchives is one archive per tools bundle of a module — a bundle the runtime LOADS something
+// from — as the host fetches and unpacks any artifact (novox/hq ADR 0175 §3: a module brings its
+// tools as a bundle, delivered by the host like any artifact, never an image). A bundle it loads
+// nothing from is run rather than loaded: a daemon, a step, the runtime itself — delivered by the
+// process that runs it, and not again here.
+//
+// The source is the kept reference; the per-resource pass that follows routes it through the
+// artifact store as this network reaches it now, as it does every image and archive the mesh built.
+func bundleArchives(m Manifest) []map[string]any {
+	var out []map[string]any
+	for _, b := range m.Bundles {
+		if len(b.Loads) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, map[string]any{
+			"id": BundleID(b.Name), "type": "archive",
+			"source": b.Source, "digest": b.Digest,
+			"path": BundlePath(m.Module, b.Name),
+		})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// RuntimeProcessID names the one process the mesh composes for a machine's runtime; prefixed with
+// the runtime module like a resource of its own, because that module is what the host sees it as.
+func RuntimeProcessID() string { return "runtime" }
+
+// RuntimeToolModules is the variable the runtime reads the modules it serves from: one
+// `<module>=<entrypoint>` per file it loads, comma-separated — several entries may name one module.
+// RuntimeBrokerFile is where it reads the node's credential; RuntimeOperatorAccount and
+// RuntimeOperatorHome are the machine's operator account and home, handed to every tool's
+// environment (to-be 38 WP1), and absent on a machine with no account.
+const (
+	RuntimeToolModules     = "MESH_TOOL_MODULES"
+	RuntimeBrokerFile      = "MESH_BROKER_FILE"
+	RuntimeOperatorAccount = "MESH_OPERATOR_ACCOUNT"
+	RuntimeOperatorHome    = "MESH_OPERATOR_HOME"
+	// RuntimeToolEnv is every served module's composed environment, as JSON (novox/hq ADR 0192):
+	// {"<module>": {"<word>": "<value>"}}. The runtime takes it at start, removes it from its own
+	// environment and hands each module's words to that module's bundles alone. In the unit, so a
+	// change to any module's words changes the process and restarts it.
+	RuntimeToolEnv = "MESH_TOOL_ENV"
+)
+
+// interpreterFor is how a bundle in a language is run: the program the host's unit starts, with the
+// bundle's entrypoint after it. The one thing the composer takes from a language, and said here
+// rather than in a manifest because the runtime's process is the mesh's to compose (to-be 38 WP3).
+func interpreterFor(language string) (string, error) {
+	switch language {
+	case "typescript":
+		return "node", nil
+	}
+	return "", fmt.Errorf(
+		"%s is written in %q, and the mesh knows no interpreter to run a %q bundle with",
+		RuntimeModule, language, language)
+}
+
+// runtimeProcess is the one process a machine runs the node's tool runtime as (novox/hq ADR 0175,
+// to-be 38 WP2.3): the runtime module's own bundle, run by its language's interpreter, told which
+// modules it serves and from which files, where its credential is, and who the machine's operator
+// is — and restarted when any bundle it loads or the credential it holds changes.
+//
+// Composed from the placed manifests, so the credential's path is where this node puts it. The
+// runtime runs as the operator's account when the machine has one, which is what lets a tool that
+// needs root escalate as the operator would (ADR 0175 §4); on a machine with no account it runs as
+// root, and the two operator words are not set.
+func (r Resolution) runtimeProcess(with Rendering) (map[string]any, error) {
+	var runtime *Manifest
+	for i := range r.Modules {
+		if r.Modules[i].Module == RuntimeModule {
+			runtime = &r.Modules[i]
+		}
+	}
+	if runtime == nil {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if len(runtime.Bundles) != 1 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+			"%s is assigned to %s and its build produced %d bundle(s); the runtime is one bundle "+
+				"the mesh runs, so the module declares exactly one (novox/hq to-be 38)",
+			RuntimeModule, r.Node, len(runtime.Bundles))
+	}
+	bundle := runtime.Bundles[0]
+	// What runs it (novox/hq ADR 0193): a runtime compiled to a binary runs itself, from its own
+	// unpacked bundle; an interpreted one is its language's interpreter and its one entrypoint.
+	var run []any
+	if bundle.Binary != "" {
+		run = []any{"./" + bundle.Binary}
+	} else {
+		if len(bundle.Entrypoints) != 1 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+				"%s's bundle %q names %d entrypoint(s); the runtime is run from one, so the module "+
+					"declares exactly one (novox/hq to-be 38)", RuntimeModule, bundle.Name, len(bundle.Entrypoints))
+		}
+		interpreter, err := interpreterFor(bundle.Language)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		run = []any{interpreter, bundle.Entrypoints[0]}
+	}
+	credential, declared := runtime.OwnSecrets["broker"]
+	if !declared {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf(
+			"%s declares no own secret named broker, and the node's credential is delivered there: "+
+				"a module that speaks on the bus declares \"own-secrets\": {\"broker\": <path>}",
+			RuntimeModule)
+	}
+
+	// What it serves, and from which files: every module on this machine that composes here, in
+	// name order, each bundle it loads from in the order the manifest gave. A module left out of
+	// the declaration — a filter on an adopted machine — is left out of this too, or the runtime
+	// would be told to load files that were never delivered.
+	var served []string
+	var restartOn []string
+	given := map[string]map[string]string{}
+	for _, m := range r.Modules {
+		if with.Adopted && m.Filtering != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		words, err := bundleWords(m, with)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if len(words) > 0 {
+			given[m.Module] = words
+		}
+		for _, b := range m.Bundles {
+			if len(b.Loads) == 0 {
+				continue
+			}
+			for _, load := range b.Loads {
+				// What the runtime starts: the launcher the build wrote beside the entrypoint, where
+				// it wrote one (ADR 0193); the entrypoint itself for a build from before them.
+				if launcher, has := b.Launchers[load]; has {
+					load = launcher
+				}
+				served = append(served, m.Module+"="+BundlePath(m.Module, b.Name)+"/"+load)
+			}
+			restartOn = append(restartOn, m.Module+"."+BundleID(b.Name))
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(served)
+	restartOn = append(restartOn, RuntimeModule+"."+NeedID("broker"))
+	sort.Strings(restartOn)
+
+	env := map[string]string{
+		RuntimeToolModules: strings.Join(served, ","),
+		RuntimeBrokerFile:  credential.Path,
+	}
+	if len(given) > 0 {
+		// Marshalled from maps, whose keys encoding/json sorts: the same words, the same unit.
+		body, err := json.Marshal(given)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		env[RuntimeToolEnv] = string(body)
+	}
+	process := map[string]any{
+		"id": RuntimeModule + "." + RuntimeProcessID(), "type": "process", "name": RuntimeModule,
+		"source": bundle.Source, "digest": bundle.Digest,
+		"run":        run,
+		"env":        env,
+		"restart-on": toAny(restartOn),
+	}
+	if r.Account != "" {
+		env[RuntimeOperatorAccount] = r.Account
+		env[RuntimeOperatorHome] = accountHomeOf(r.Account, r.AccountHome)
+		process["user"] = r.Account
+	}
+	// Routed through the artifact store as this network reaches it now, like everything the mesh
+	// built; refused with the same words when there is no store to route through.
+	if err := artifactsInto(process, RuntimeModule, with); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return process, nil
+}
+
+func toAny(in []string) []any {
+	out := make([]any, 0, len(in))
+	for _, s := range in {
+		out = append(out, s)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// RuntimeImageModule and RuntimeImageArtifact name the image every per-module tool container was
+// built on: the tool runtime's own runtime image. With the runtime a module of its own, that image
+// stays the way a module's SERVICE may be built and stops being the way tools reach a node (ADR 0175).
+const (
+	RuntimeImageModule   = "mesh-tools"
+	RuntimeImageArtifact = "runtime"
+)
+
+// ToolContainerOnTheRuntime says why a manifest is the pattern ADR 0175 retires — a module whose tools
+// are served from a container built on the tool runtime's image — or nothing when it is not. Judged
+// from the manifest's own `build.on` when it is a repository manifest, and from what its build stood
+// on when it is a built one, because a resolved manifest carries no build. The gate itself is
+// registration's (to-be 38 WP2.4): once the runtime module is in the catalogue, this is refused.
+//
+// Three things must hold, and each alone is fine: declaring tools (a bundle does that); a container
+// (a module's service may well be one); building on the runtime's image (a service written against
+// the SDK may). All three is a container whose purpose is tools, which the runtime now serves.
+func ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(m Manifest, against []string) string {
+	if len(m.Tools) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	container := false
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) == "container" {
+			container = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !container {
+		return ""
+	}
+	onTheRuntime := false
+	if m.Build != nil {
+		for _, on := range m.Build.On {
+			if on.Module == RuntimeImageModule && on.Artifact == RuntimeImageArtifact {
+				onTheRuntime = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, ref := range against {
+		path, kept := InArtifactStore(Recorded(ref))
+		if kept && strings.HasPrefix(path, RuntimeImageModule+"/"+RuntimeImageArtifact+"@") {
+			onTheRuntime = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !onTheRuntime {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf(
+		"%s declares tools and a container built on %s's %s image — a container whose purpose is "+
+			"serving tools. The node's tool runtime (%s) serves every module's tools from its bundle "+
+			"now (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38); declare the tools as a bundle and drop the container",
+		m.Module, RuntimeImageModule, RuntimeImageArtifact, RuntimeModule)
+}
+
+// bundleWords is what one module's tools bundles are given on this machine (novox/hq ADR 0192):
+// each loaded bundle's env, its ${dir:…} resolved to where this machine places the module's
+// directories and its ${port:…} to the port this machine gave it — the same resolution a
+// container's environment gets. Two bundles of one module naming one word differently is refused:
+// the runtime hands a module's words to all its bundles.
+func bundleWords(m Manifest, with Rendering) (map[string]string, error) {
+	var out map[string]string
+	dirs := dirsFor(m, with)
+	for _, b := range m.Bundles {
+		if len(b.Loads) == 0 || len(b.Env) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, word := range sortedKeys(b.Env) {
+			value, err := dirFill(b.Env[word], dirs, m.Module)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			if value, err = portsFilledInto(value, m.Module+"'s bundle "+b.Name+" ("+word+")", m.Module, m.Listens, with); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			if out == nil {
+				out = map[string]string{}
+			}
+			if was, had := out[word]; had && was != value {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s's bundles give %s two values (%q, %q); a module's words are "+
+					"handed to all its bundles, so they agree (novox/hq ADR 0192)", m.Module, word, was, value)
+			}
+			out[word] = value
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// givenTo makes what a bundle's words name readable by the account the runtime runs as (novox/hq
+// ADR 0192): every file and directory of the module whose path a word names, or that holds one,
+// is owned by the account — a tool reads its configuration and its secret as the account, and a
+// root-owned 0600 file or a 0700 directory is one it cannot. Only where it says no owner already:
+// a module that named one knew why. Nothing on a machine with no account, where the runtime is root.
+//
+// It answers the files a word names exactly: what a tool reads, whose change the runtime must be
+// restarted for, as the container the tools came from was restarted when its configuration changed.
+func givenTo(out []map[string]any, owner map[string]string, words map[string]map[string]string, account string) []string {
+	var named []string
+	if len(words) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, resource := range out {
+		module := owner[fmt.Sprint(resource["id"])]
+		mine := words[module]
+		if len(mine) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		kind := fmt.Sprint(resource["type"])
+		if kind != "file" && kind != "directory" {
+			continue
+		}
+		path, _ := resource["path"].(string)
+		if path == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, value := range mine {
+			if kind == "file" && value == path {
+				named = append(named, fmt.Sprint(resource["id"]))
+			}
+		}
+		if _, said := resource["owner"]; said || account == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, value := range mine {
+			if value == path || strings.HasPrefix(value, strings.TrimRight(path, "/")+"/") {
+				resource["owner"] = account
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(named)
+	return named
+}

internal/catalogue/runtime_gate_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The packet-filter manifest as it was the day the runtime was decided (novox/hq ADR 0175): tools,
+// served from a container built on the tool runtime's image, with NET_ADMIN so the container could
+// reach the filter. The exact pattern to-be 38 WP4 moves it off, and the one the gate refuses.
+const thePacketFilterAsItWas = `{
+  "module": "nftables",
+  "version": "1",
+  "capabilities": ["firewall", "container-runtime"],
+  "claims": [{"name": "node-packet-filter", "scope": "node", "serves": ["rules", "reload", "remove"]}],
+  "filtering": {"into": "/etc/nftables.conf"},
+  "resources": [
+    {"id": "mesh-state", "type": "directory", "mode": "0700", "place": "mesh"},
+    {"id": "package", "type": "package", "package": "nftables"},
+    {"id": "unit", "type": "file", "path": "/etc/systemd/system/mesh-filter.service",
+     "content": "[Unit]\nDescription=The mesh's packet filter\n[Service]\nType=oneshot\nExecStart=nft -f /etc/nftables.conf\n", "mode": "0644"},
+    {"id": "load", "type": "service", "unit": "mesh-filter.service", "state": "running", "boot": "enabled",
+     "restart-on": ["unit"], "reload-on": ["filtering"]},
+    {"id": "runtime", "type": "container", "name": "mesh-nftables", "network": "host",
+     "capabilities": ["NET_ADMIN"],
+     "volumes": ["${dir:mesh-state}/broker:/run/secrets/broker:ro", "/etc/nftables.conf:/etc/nftables.conf:ro"],
+     "env": {"MESH_BROKER_FILE": "/run/secrets/broker", "MESH_FILTER_FILE": "/etc/nftables.conf"},
+     "artifact": "runtime"}
+  ],
+  "tools": ["firewall_rules"],
+  "own-secrets": {"broker": "${dir:mesh-state}/broker"},
+  "build": {
+    "on": [
+      {"arg": "BUILD_BASE", "module": "mesh-tools", "artifact": "build"},
+      {"arg": "RUNTIME_BASE", "module": "mesh-tools", "artifact": "runtime"}
+    ],
+    "artifacts": [{"name": "runtime", "kind": "image", "from": "Dockerfile"}]
+  }
+}`
+
+func TestAToolContainerOnTheRuntimeImageIsNamedForWhatItIs(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := ParseManifest([]byte(thePacketFilterAsItWas))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// From the repository: the manifest says what it builds on.
+	why := ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(m, nil)
+	if why == "" {
+		t.Fatal("the packet filter's tool container was not recognised from its build")
+	}
+	for _, word := range []string{"nftables", "mesh-tools", "runtime", "ADR 0175", "bundle"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(why, word) {
+			t.Errorf("the refusal does not say %q: %s", word, why)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Built: the manifest carries no build, and what it stood on says the same.
+	built, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactImage,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "nftables/runtime@" + digest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	stoodOn := []string{"anchor.internal:5100/mesh-tools/build@" + digest, "anchor.internal:5100/mesh-tools/runtime@" + digest}
+	if ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(built, stoodOn) == "" {
+		t.Error("the packet filter's tool container was not recognised from what its build stood on")
+	}
+	if ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(built, nil) != "" {
+		t.Error("a built manifest with no record of its base was judged to be on the runtime")
+	}
+
+	// Each of the three alone is an ordinary module.
+	bundle := m
+	bundle.Resources = m.Resources[:len(m.Resources)-1]
+	if ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(bundle, nil) != "" {
+		t.Error("a module with tools and no container is the pattern the runtime serves, and was refused")
+	}
+	service := m
+	service.Tools = nil
+	if ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(service, nil) != "" {
+		t.Error("a service built against the SDK, declaring no tools, was refused")
+	}
+	elsewhere := m
+	elsewhere.Build = &Build{On: []BuildsOn{{Arg: "NODE_BASE", Image: "node@" + digest}},
+		Artifacts: m.Build.Artifacts}
+	if ToolContainerOnTheRuntime(elsewhere, nil) != "" {
+		t.Error("a tool container on a public base was refused as though it were on the runtime's")
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/runtime_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,459 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The node's tool runtime (novox/hq ADR 0175, to-be 38): where the runtime module is assigned, a
+// machine is sent every assigned module's tools bundle as an archive, and the runtime's own process
+// loading them. Where it is not, the machine is sent exactly what it was sent before.
+
+var bundleDigest = "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)
+
+// aToolsModule is a module whose tools come as a compiled bundle and nothing else — the shape every
+// module takes once its tool container goes (to-be 38 WP4).
+func aToolsModule(t *testing.T, name string, entrypoints ...string) Manifest {
+	t.Helper()
+	m := Manifest{Module: name, Version: "1", Tools: []string{"status"},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{
+			{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript", Entrypoints: entrypoints},
+		}}}
+	resolved, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + name + "/tools/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return resolved
+}
+
+// theRuntime is the runtime module as the catalogue holds it: its own bundle, run rather than
+// loaded, and its broker secret to receive the node's credential in.
+func theRuntime(t *testing.T) Manifest {
+	t.Helper()
+	m := Manifest{Module: RuntimeModule, Version: "1",
+		OwnSecrets: OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh/" + RuntimeModule + "/broker"}},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript",
+			Entrypoints: []string{"src/main.js"}}}}}
+	resolved, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + RuntimeModule + "/runtime/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return resolved
+}
+
+func TestABuildsBundlesAreCarriedOnTheResolvedManifest(t *testing.T) {
+	m := aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js")
+	if len(m.Bundles) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the resolved manifest carries %d bundle(s), not the one the build made", len(m.Bundles))
+	}
+	b := m.Bundles[0]
+	if b.Name != "tools" || b.Digest != bundleDigest || b.Language != "typescript" ||
+		b.Source != ArtifactStoreScheme+"nftables/tools/blobs/"+bundleDigest ||
+		len(b.Entrypoints) != 1 || b.Entrypoints[0] != "tools/index.js" {
+		t.Errorf("the bundle is carried as %+v", b)
+	}
+	// A repository manifest may not write what the build derives.
+	raw := `{"module":"x","version":"1","build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"t","kind":"bundle","language":"typescript"}]},` +
+		`"bundles":[{"name":"t","source":"s","digest":"` + bundleDigest + `"}]}`
+	if _, err := ParseManifest([]byte(raw)); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "bundles") {
+		t.Errorf("a manifest stating its build's output by hand was accepted: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestEveryToolsBundleIsDeliveredWhereTheRuntimeRuns(t *testing.T) {
+	store := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"}}}
+	nftables := aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js")
+	zsh := aToolsModule(t, "zsh", "tools/index.js", "tools/more.js")
+
+	t.Run("with the runtime, one archive per tools bundle", func(t *testing.T) {
+		r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{nftables, zsh, theRuntime(t)}}
+		out, err := r.Declaration(store)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		archive := fileNamed(out, "nftables."+BundleID("tools"))
+		if archive == nil {
+			t.Fatalf("nftables' tools bundle was not delivered: %v", ids(out))
+		}
+		if archive["type"] != "archive" || archive["digest"] != bundleDigest ||
+			archive["path"] != BundleRoot+"/nftables/tools" {
+			t.Errorf("delivered as %v", archive)
+		}
+		if archive["source"] != "http://anchor.internal:5101/v2/nftables/tools/blobs/"+bundleDigest {
+			t.Errorf("fetched from %v, not through the store as this network reaches it", archive["source"])
+		}
+		if fileNamed(out, "zsh."+BundleID("tools")) == nil {
+			t.Errorf("zsh's tools bundle was not delivered: %v", ids(out))
+		}
+		// The runtime's own bundle is run, not loaded: its process delivers it, not an archive.
+		if fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+BundleID("runtime")) != nil {
+			t.Error("the runtime's own bundle was delivered as an archive beside its process")
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("without the runtime, nothing changes", func(t *testing.T) {
+		r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{nftables, zsh}}
+		out, err := r.Declaration(store)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		for _, id := range ids(out) {
+			if strings.Contains(id, BundleID("")) {
+				t.Errorf("%s was delivered to a machine running no runtime to load it", id)
+			}
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func ids(out []map[string]any) []string {
+	var names []string
+	for _, r := range out {
+		names = append(names, r["id"].(string))
+	}
+	return names
+}
+
+// One process per machine runs the runtime from its own bundle, told what it serves and from where,
+// where its credential is, and who the operator is — restarted when any of that changes.
+func TestTheMachineRunsOneRuntimeLoadingEveryDeliveredBundle(t *testing.T) {
+	with := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"}}}
+	nftables := aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js")
+	// A bundle carrying a daemon beside its tools says which files the runtime loads.
+	showcase := Manifest{Module: "showcase", Version: "1", Tools: []string{"greet"},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript",
+			Entrypoints: []string{"daemon/index.js", "tools/index.js"}, Loads: []string{"tools/index.js"}}}}}
+	showcase, err := showcase.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "code", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "showcase/code/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	r := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{nftables, showcase, theRuntime(t)}}
+	out, err := r.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	process := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())
+	if process == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("no runtime process was composed: %v", ids(out))
+	}
+	if process["type"] != "process" || process["name"] != RuntimeModule || process["digest"] != bundleDigest ||
+		process["source"] != "http://anchor.internal:5101/v2/"+RuntimeModule+"/runtime/blobs/"+bundleDigest {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime's process is %v", process)
+	}
+	if fmt.Sprint(process["run"]) != "[node src/main.js]" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime is run as %v; its bundle's one entrypoint, by its language's interpreter", process["run"])
+	}
+	env := process["env"].(map[string]string)
+	if env[RuntimeToolModules] != "nftables="+BundleRoot+"/nftables/tools/tools/index.js,"+
+		"showcase="+BundleRoot+"/showcase/code/tools/index.js" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime is told to serve %q: every loaded file, by module, and nothing a bundle runs", env[RuntimeToolModules])
+	}
+	if env[RuntimeBrokerFile] != "/var/lib/mesh/"+RuntimeModule+"/broker" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime reads its credential at %q, not where the module's own secret is placed", env[RuntimeBrokerFile])
+	}
+	if env[RuntimeOperatorAccount] != "ops" || env[RuntimeOperatorHome] != "/home/ops" || process["user"] != "ops" {
+		t.Errorf("the operator is not handed to the runtime: %v as %v", env, process["user"])
+	}
+	// The credential the process reads belongs to the account it runs as, or it could not read it
+	// (to-be 38 WP3); other modules' secrets are left as their manifests say.
+	if credential := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+NeedID("broker")); credential == nil || credential["owner"] != "ops" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime's credential is not the account's to read: %v", credential)
+	}
+	restarts := fmt.Sprint(process["restart-on"])
+	for _, want := range []string{"nftables." + BundleID("tools"), "showcase." + BundleID("code"), RuntimeModule + "." + NeedID("broker")} {
+		if !strings.Contains(restarts, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime is not restarted when %s changes: %s", want, restarts)
+		}
+	}
+	// After every bundle and the credential, so both exist before it starts.
+	names := ids(out)
+	if names[len(names)-1] != RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID() {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime's process is not last: %v", names)
+	}
+
+	t.Run("a machine with no account runs it as root without the operator words", func(t *testing.T) {
+		out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{nftables, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		process := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())
+		env := process["env"].(map[string]string)
+		if _, set := env[RuntimeOperatorAccount]; set {
+			t.Error("an operator account was named on a machine that has none")
+		}
+		if _, set := process["user"]; set {
+			t.Error("a user was set on a machine with no account")
+		}
+		if credential := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+NeedID("broker")); credential == nil || credential["owner"] != nil {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime's credential was given an owner on a machine with no account: %v", credential)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("a runtime module built wrong is refused by name", func(t *testing.T) {
+		two := Manifest{Module: RuntimeModule, Version: "1", OwnSecrets: OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/b"}},
+			Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript",
+				Entrypoints: []string{"a.js", "b.js"}}}}}
+		resolved, err := two.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+			Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "x/runtime/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		_, err = Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{resolved}}.Declaration(with)
+		if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "entrypoint") {
+			t.Errorf("a runtime bundle with two entrypoints was composed: %v", err)
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0192: a tools bundle says what it is given; the composer resolves it per machine as
+// a container's environment, hands it to the runtime as the module's words, and makes what the
+// words name readable by the account the runtime runs as.
+func TestABundleIsGivenItsWordsResolvedForThisMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	with := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{
+			RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"},
+			"dash":        {"token": "sealed-token"},
+		}}
+	dash := Manifest{Module: "dash", Version: "1", Tools: []string{"status"},
+		Listens:    []Listening{{Name: "web", Port: 3000, Protocol: "tcp"}},
+		OwnSecrets: OwnSecrets{"token": {Path: "${dir:mesh-state}/token"}},
+		Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "mesh-state", "type": "directory", "mode": "0700", "place": "mesh"},
+			{"id": "config", "type": "file", "path": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json", "mode": "0600", "content": "{}\n"},
+			{"id": "unrelated", "type": "file", "path": "/etc/dash.conf", "content": "x\n"},
+		},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript",
+			Entrypoints: []string{"tools/index.js"},
+			Env: map[string]string{
+				"DASH_CONFIG_FILE": "${dir:mesh-state}/config.json",
+				"DASH_TOKEN_FILE":  "${dir:mesh-state}/token",
+				"DASH_URL":         "http://127.0.0.1:${port:3000}",
+				"DASH_ADMIN":       "mesh-admin",
+			}}}}}
+	if problems := dash.Build.problems(dash.Module); len(problems) > 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a bundle's words written with ${dir:…} and ${port:…} were refused: %v", problems)
+	}
+	dash, err := dash.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "dash/tools/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	other := aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js")
+
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{dash, other, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	dir := fileNamed(out, "dash.mesh-state")
+	if dir == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("no directory: %v", ids(out))
+	}
+	at := fmt.Sprint(dir["path"])
+	process := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())
+	env := process["env"].(map[string]string)
+	var given map[string]map[string]string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(env[RuntimeToolEnv]), &given); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the runtime's %s is not JSON: %q", RuntimeToolEnv, env[RuntimeToolEnv])
+	}
+	want := map[string]string{
+		"DASH_CONFIG_FILE": at + "/config.json",
+		"DASH_TOKEN_FILE":  at + "/token",
+		"DASH_URL":         "http://127.0.0.1:3000",
+		"DASH_ADMIN":       "mesh-admin",
+	}
+	if fmt.Sprint(given["dash"]) != fmt.Sprint(want) {
+		t.Errorf("dash is given %v, want %v", given["dash"], want)
+	}
+	if _, has := given["nftables"]; has {
+		t.Errorf("a module that declares no words was given some: %v", given)
+	}
+	// What the words name is the account's to read; nothing else of the module's is touched.
+	for _, id := range []string{"dash.mesh-state", "dash.config", "dash." + NeedID("token")} {
+		if r := fileNamed(out, id); r == nil || r["owner"] != "ops" {
+			t.Errorf("%s is not the account's to read: %v", id, r)
+		}
+	}
+	if r := fileNamed(out, "dash.unrelated"); r == nil || r["owner"] != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a file no word names was given an owner: %v", r)
+	}
+	// A file a word names restarts the runtime when it changes, as it restarted the tool container.
+	restarts := fmt.Sprint(process["restart-on"])
+	for _, want := range []string{"dash.config", "dash." + NeedID("token")} {
+		if !strings.Contains(restarts, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime is not restarted when %s changes: %s", want, restarts)
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(restarts, "dash.unrelated") || strings.Contains(restarts, "dash.mesh-state") {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime restarts for something no word names as a file: %s", restarts)
+	}
+
+	t.Run("on a machine with no account the runtime is root and nothing is re-owned", func(t *testing.T) {
+		out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Modules: []Manifest{dash, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if r := fileNamed(out, "dash.config"); r["owner"] != nil {
+			t.Errorf("re-owned with no account: %v", r)
+		}
+	})
+
+	t.Run("a change to a module's words changes the runtime's process", func(t *testing.T) {
+		changed := dash
+		changed.Bundles = append([]Bundle(nil), dash.Bundles...)
+		changed.Bundles[0].Env = map[string]string{"DASH_ADMIN": "somebody-else"}
+		out2, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{changed, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if fmt.Sprint(fileNamed(out2, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())["env"]) == fmt.Sprint(env) {
+			t.Error("the runtime's process is the same after a module's words changed, so it would not restart")
+		}
+	})
+}
+
+func TestABundlesWordsAreRefusedWhenTheyAreNotPathsOrConstants(t *testing.T) {
+	m := Manifest{Module: "dash", Version: "1", Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{
+		{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript", Entrypoints: []string{"tools/index.js"},
+			Env: map[string]string{"DASH_TOKEN": "${secret:token}", RuntimeBrokerFile: "/x", "DASH_PEER": "${bound:db:url}"}},
+		{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactImage, From: "Dockerfile", Env: map[string]string{"X": "y"}},
+	}}}
+	said := strings.Join(m.Build.problems(m.Module), "\n")
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		`"tools" gives DASH_TOKEN the value "${secret:token}"`,
+		`"tools" gives DASH_PEER the value "${bound:db:url}"`,
+		`"tools" gives itself ` + RuntimeBrokerFile,
+		`"runtime" is a "image" and says what it is given`,
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(said, want) {
+			t.Errorf("not refused: %s\nsaid:\n%s", want, said)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0193: the runtime is told the launcher a build wrote, and the entrypoint itself for a
+// build from before launchers — so the move needs no flag day.
+func TestTheRuntimeStartsTheLauncherWhereTheBuildWroteOne(t *testing.T) {
+	with := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"}}}
+	launched := Manifest{Module: "dash", Version: "1", Tools: []string{"status"},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript",
+			Entrypoints: []string{"tools/index.js"}}}}}
+	launched, err := launched.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "dash/tools/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest,
+		Launchers: map[string]string{"tools/index.js": "tools/index.serve.mjs"}}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	older := aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js")
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{launched, older, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	env := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())["env"].(map[string]string)
+	want := "dash=" + BundleRoot + "/dash/tools/tools/index.serve.mjs,nftables=" + BundleRoot + "/nftables/tools/tools/index.js"
+	if env[RuntimeToolModules] != want {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime is told %q, want %q", env[RuntimeToolModules], want)
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0193: a runtime compiled to a binary runs itself from its own unpacked bundle.
+func TestARuntimeCompiledToABinaryRunsItself(t *testing.T) {
+	with := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"}}}
+	goRuntime := Manifest{Module: RuntimeModule, Version: "1",
+		OwnSecrets: OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh/" + RuntimeModule + "/broker"}},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "go",
+			System: "arch", From: "cmd/node-tools"}}}}
+	goRuntime, err := goRuntime.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "runtime", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + RuntimeModule + "/runtime/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{aToolsModule(t, "nftables", "tools/index.js"), goRuntime}}.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	process := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())
+	if fmt.Sprint(process["run"]) != "[./node-tools]" {
+		t.Errorf("a Go runtime is run as %v, want its own binary", process["run"])
+	}
+	env := process["env"].(map[string]string)
+	if env[RuntimeToolModules] == "" || process["user"] != "ops" {
+		t.Errorf("the Go runtime is not told what to serve or whose it is: %v %v", env, process["user"])
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq 04-ISSUES/216: a bundle nothing loads, runs or unpacks is refused at registration; saying
+// `loads`, listing `tools`, or a resource naming it admits it.
+func TestABundleNothingDeliversIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	base := func() Manifest {
+		return Manifest{Module: "baserow", Version: "1", Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{
+			{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "typescript", Entrypoints: []string{"tools/index.js"}}}}}
+	}
+	if p := undeliveredBundles(base()); len(p) != 1 || !strings.Contains(p[0], "never reach a machine") {
+		t.Fatalf("a bundle nothing delivers was admitted: %v", p)
+	}
+	loads := base()
+	loads.Build.Artifacts[0].Loads = []string{"tools/index.js"}
+	tools := base()
+	tools.Tools = []string{"baserow_list_rows"}
+	run := base()
+	run.Resources = []map[string]any{{"id": "daemon", "type": "process", "artifact": "tools", "run": []any{"node", "tools/index.js"}}}
+	runtime := base()
+	runtime.Module = RuntimeModule
+	for name, m := range map[string]Manifest{"loads": loads, "tools": tools, "a process": run, "the runtime": runtime} {
+		if p := undeliveredBundles(m); len(p) != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("a bundle delivered by %s was refused: %v", name, p)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0193: a Go tools bundle is served — its binary is what the runtime starts, delivered
+// like any tools bundle, named to the runtime where a TypeScript bundle names its launcher.
+func TestAGoToolsBundleIsServedByItsBinary(t *testing.T) {
+	with := Rendering{ArtifactStore: "anchor.internal:5101",
+		Needed: map[string]map[string]string{RuntimeModule: {"broker": "sealed-credential"}}}
+	lamp := Manifest{Module: "lamp", Version: "1", Tools: []string{"on"},
+		Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "go",
+			System: "arch", From: "cmd/lamp-tools"}}}}
+	if p := lamp.Build.problems("lamp"); len(p) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a Go tools bundle was refused: %v", p)
+	}
+	lamp, err := lamp.Resolve([]Built{{Name: "tools", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "lamp/tools/blobs/" + bundleDigest, Digest: bundleDigest}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if fmt.Sprint(lamp.Bundles[0].Loads) != "[lamp-tools]" {
+		t.Fatalf("the runtime loads %v from a Go bundle, want its binary", lamp.Bundles[0].Loads)
+	}
+	out, err := Resolution{Node: "anchor", Account: "ops", Modules: []Manifest{lamp, theRuntime(t)}}.Declaration(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if fileNamed(out, "lamp."+BundleID("tools")) == nil {
+		t.Errorf("the Go bundle is not delivered: %v", ids(out))
+	}
+	env := fileNamed(out, RuntimeModule+"."+RuntimeProcessID())["env"].(map[string]string)
+	if env[RuntimeToolModules] != "lamp="+BundlePath("lamp", "tools")+"/lamp-tools" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime is told %q, want the binary", env[RuntimeToolModules])
+	}
+
+	// An artifact may say it explicitly; naming anything but the binary is refused.
+	said := Manifest{Module: "lamp", Version: "1", Build: &Build{Artifacts: []Artifact{{Name: "tools",
+		Kind: ArtifactBundle, Language: "go", System: "arch", Binary: "lamp", Loads: []string{"lamp"}}}}}
+	if p := said.Build.problems("lamp"); len(p) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("loads naming the binary was refused: %v", p)
+	}
+	said.Build.Artifacts[0].Loads = []string{"tools/index.js"}
+	if p := said.Build.problems("lamp"); len(p) == 0 {
+		t.Error("a Go bundle loading a file it does not contain was admitted")
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/seat_into.go

@@ -43,8 +43,8 @@ import (
 var ofSeat = regexp.MustCompile(`\$\{seat:([a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*):([0-9]+)\}`)
 
 // seatInto replaces a resource's ${seat:…} placeholders with where this machine put each seat's
-// holder — in a file's content, and in a value of a container's environment. The same two places
-// portInto fills, for the same reason: they are where a process reads a number from.
+// holder — in a file's content, and in a value of a container's or a process's environment. The
+// same places portInto fills, for the same reason: they are where a program reads a number from.
 func seatInto(resource map[string]any, module string, with Rendering) error {
 	switch fmt.Sprint(resource["type"]) {
 	case "file":
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ func seatInto(resource map[string]any, module string, with Rendering) error {
 		}
 		resource["content"] = filled
 
-	case "container":
+	case "container", "process":
 		env, ok := resource["env"].(map[string]any)
 		if !ok {
 			return nil
@@ -78,8 +78,8 @@ func seatInto(resource map[string]any, module string, with Rendering) error {
 				continue
 			}
 			value, err := seatsFilledInto(written,
-				fmt.Sprintf("%s's container %s sets %s to something that",
-					module, resource["name"], key), with)
+				fmt.Sprintf("%s's %s %s sets %s to something that",
+					module, resource["type"], resource["name"], key), with)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}

internal/catalogue/seat_into_test.go

@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ func TestTheControlPlanesOwnAddressesFollowTheNodesPorts(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	// The manifest itself names them now; withSeatPorts is a no-op on it, and this holds it so.
 	for _, r := range m.Resources {
-		if r["type"] != "container" {
+		if r["type"] != "process" {
 			continue
 		}
 		env, _ := r["env"].(map[string]any)
@@ -113,8 +113,9 @@ func TestTheControlPlanesOwnAddressesFollowTheNodesPorts(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	m = withSeatPorts(m)
 	control, err := m.Resolve([]Built{{
-		Name: "server", Kind: ArtifactImage,
-		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "mesh-controller/server@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64),
+		Name: "controller", Kind: ArtifactBundle,
+		Reference: ArtifactStoreScheme + "mesh-controller/controller@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64),
+		Digest:    "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64),
 	}})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -135,9 +136,9 @@ func TestTheControlPlanesOwnAddressesFollowTheNodesPorts(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("the control plane does not compose: %v", err)
 	}
-	server := fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.server")
+	server := fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.controller")
 	if server == nil {
-		t.Fatalf("the control plane's container is not in the declaration: %v", out)
+		t.Fatalf("the control plane's process is not in the declaration: %v", out)
 	}
 	env, _ := server["env"].(map[string]any)
 	for key, want := range map[string]string{
@@ -151,8 +152,8 @@ func TestTheControlPlanesOwnAddressesFollowTheNodesPorts(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Errorf("the control plane is told %s=%v; the node put it on %s", key, env[key], want)
 		}
 	}
-	if got := server["image"]; got != "anchor.internal:5100/mesh-controller/server@sha256:"+strings.Repeat("c", 64) {
-		t.Errorf("the control plane's own image is %v, not routed through the store", got)
+	if got := server["source"]; got != "anchor.internal:5100/mesh-controller/controller@sha256:"+strings.Repeat("c", 64) {
+		t.Errorf("the control plane's own bundle is fetched from %v, not routed through the store", got)
 	}
 
 	// And on a mesh where the foundation is where genesis raised it, nothing is added.
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ func TestTheControlPlanesOwnAddressesFollowTheNodesPorts(t *testing.T) {
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	env, _ = fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.server")["env"].(map[string]any)
+	env, _ = fileNamed(out, "mesh-controller.controller")["env"].(map[string]any)
 	if env["MESH_STORE_INVENTORY_PORT"] != "" {
 		t.Errorf("with no settings, the control plane is told %v", env)
 	}
@@ -186,7 +187,7 @@ func withSeatPorts(m Manifest) Manifest {
 	out := m
 	out.Resources = nil
 	for _, r := range m.Resources {
-		if r["type"] != "container" {
+		if r["type"] != "container" && r["type"] != "process" {
 			out.Resources = append(out.Resources, r)
 			continue
 		}

internal/catalogue/seats.go

@@ -96,11 +96,60 @@ var defaultSeats = []Seat{
 	// A build says what it does as it does it (novox/hq ADR 0157): `started` when work is taken,
 	// `log.<build id>` for every line, `built` for the outcome. The log's tail token is the build's
 	// id, so a reader follows one build by subject alone.
+	// **Node-scoped, and every holder takes from one queue** (novox/hq ADR 0190): a build is asked of
+	// the role, and whichever machine holding the seat is idle pulls it. One holder per machine is
+	// what the scope says; sharing the work is what a seat's queue has always done.
+	{Name: "node-build-agent", Scope: ScopeNode,
+		Accepts: []string{"build"}, Emits: []string{"started", "built", "log.*"}, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0190"},
+	// **Retired by ADR 0190, kept while a manifest still claims it.** The one build machine's seat.
+	// A claim to a seat the mesh no longer defines is refused, and the module holding this one is
+	// assigned on a live machine until build-agent replaces it — removing the row first would make
+	// that machine unresolvable in the meantime. Deleted once no registered manifest claims it.
 	{Name: "mesh-build-machine", Scope: ScopeMesh,
-		Accepts: []string{"build"}, Emits: []string{"started", "built", "log.*"}, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121"},
+		Accepts: []string{"build"}, Emits: []string{"started", "built", "log.*"}, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0190"},
 	{Name: "node-dns-resolver", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121"},
-	{Name: "node-intrusion-prevention", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121"},
-	{Name: "node-packet-filter", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121"},
+	// The intrusion prevention's verbs (novox/hq ADR 0179): what a person asks a machine's ban list
+	// whatever keeps it — who is banned and why, ban one address, let one go. Every holder serves all
+	// four; the jails themselves are composed from the modules the machine runs (to-be 31).
+	{Name: "node-intrusion-prevention", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121",
+		Serves: []Verb{
+			{Name: "status", Description: "Every jail on this machine with how many it is watching and " +
+				"holding now, and the totals since the jail started; one jail's detail when named.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"jail": "one jail (optional)"}, nil)},
+			{Name: "banned", Description: "Every address banned on this machine right now, with the jail " +
+				"that holds it and when the ban ends.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"jail": "one jail (optional)"}, nil)},
+			{Name: "ban", Description: "Ban one address in one jail now, for the jail's ban time — an " +
+				"operator's act on the live ban list, which the mesh never writes itself.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"ip": "the address", "jail": "the jail to hold it"}, []string{"ip", "jail"})},
+			{Name: "unban", Description: "Let one address go, from one jail or from every jail when none is named.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"ip": "the address", "jail": "one jail (optional)"}, []string{"ip"})},
+		}},
+	// The packet filter's verbs (novox/hq ADR 0170): what a person asks a machine's filter whatever
+	// filter answers — the rules as enforced, reload the mesh's own, remove one thing the mesh did
+	// not write. Every holder serves all three; what differs by filter is the holder's own tools.
+	{Name: "node-packet-filter", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0121",
+		Serves: []Verb{
+			{Name: "rules", Description: "The packet filter as this machine enforces it now: the nftables " +
+				"ruleset and, where the tool exists, the legacy filter's listings. Narrowed to one table or " +
+				"chain when asked.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"table": "one nftables table, as `family name` (optional)",
+					"chain": "one chain of that table (optional)"}, nil)},
+			{Name: "reload", Description: "Load the mesh's own filter again from the file the mesh writes, " +
+				"and answer with the mesh's table as loaded.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{}, nil)},
+			{Name: "remove", Description: "Remove one rule set the mesh did not write, named exactly as the " +
+				"host reports it (novox/hq ADR 0168) — `chain X (iptables-legacy)` or `table ip6 filter, chain " +
+				"DOCKER-USER`. Refuses the mesh's tables, the runtime's own chains, a built-in chain and an " +
+				"active found firewall's chains. An operator's act, by name, never a flush.",
+				Input: schema(map[string]string{"where": "the rule set, as `node show` lists it"}, []string{"where"})},
+		}},
+	// The machine's service manager (novox/hq ADR 0177). The host applies every declared unit,
+	// system or user scope; the holder answers questions and operator acts about them, each verb
+	// taking the unit and an optional scope. The holder runs nothing of its own: its verbs are
+	// served by the node tools runtime (ADR 0175).
+	{Name: "node-service-manager", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0177",
+		Serves: serviceManagerVerbs()},
 	// Deferred (novox/hq ADR 0121): renaming to mesh-private-network is a scope + server/client
 	// model change, not a rename, so it stays until that is built.
 	{Name: "the-private-network", Scope: ScopeNode, Decision: "novox/hq ADR 0110"},
@@ -374,3 +423,36 @@ func SeatsWithAProtocol() []Seat {
 	}
 	return out
 }
+
+// serviceManagerVerbs is the contract every holder of node-service-manager serves (novox/hq ADR
+// 0177): the units on the machine in both scopes, read and acted on by name. Every verb takes an
+// optional scope — "system" when absent, "user" for the operator account's own manager — so a
+// caller asks for a user unit the way it asks for a system one.
+func serviceManagerVerbs() []Verb {
+	scoped := func(more map[string]string, required []string) map[string]any {
+		props := map[string]string{"scope": "\"system\" (the default) or \"user\": the operator account's own manager"}
+		for k, v := range more {
+			props[k] = v
+		}
+		return schema(props, required)
+	}
+	unit := map[string]string{"unit": "the unit's name, as the service manager knows it"}
+	return []Verb{
+		{Name: "units", Description: "The units the service manager knows in a scope, each with its load, active and sub state; narrowed to a pattern when asked.",
+			Input: scoped(map[string]string{"pattern": "a glob the unit's name must match (optional)"}, nil)},
+		{Name: "status", Description: "One unit as the service manager sees it now: its states, whether it starts at boot, its main process, and whether the mesh declares it.",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "start", Description: "Start one unit. For a unit the mesh declares, the answer says the host will restore what its declaration says at the next apply.",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "stop", Description: "Stop one unit; for a mesh-declared unit the answer says the host will restore its declared state.",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "restart", Description: "Restart one unit.",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "enable", Description: "Make one unit start at boot (or at the account's login, in user scope).",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "disable", Description: "Stop one unit starting at boot (or at login, in user scope).",
+			Input: scoped(unit, []string{"unit"})},
+		{Name: "journal", Description: "The last lines of one unit's journal.",
+			Input: scoped(map[string]string{"unit": unit["unit"], "lines": "how many lines from the end (default 100)"}, []string{"unit"})},
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/seats_test.go

@@ -44,8 +44,10 @@ func TestTheSeatsAreAClosedSetAndEachNamesItsDecision(t *testing.T) {
 			delivered[s.Delivers] = s.Name
 		}
 	}
-	if len(Seats()) != 15 {
-		t.Errorf("the mesh defines %d seats rather than 14; the set is closed, so a change here is "+
+	// Seventeen since node-build-agent (novox/hq ADR 0190) — sixteen once the retired
+	// mesh-build-machine row goes, when no registered manifest claims it any more.
+	if len(Seats()) != 17 {
+		t.Errorf("the mesh defines %d seats rather than 17; the set is closed, so a change here is "+
 			"a decision (novox/hq ADR 0110): %s", len(Seats()), seatNames())
 	}
 }

internal/catalogue/secret_restart_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// What reads one of a module's own secrets is restarted when the secret changes (novox/hq issue 203,
+// issue 206): the build machine kept an hour-old credential open because its manifest restarted it
+// on its environment file alone. Composed, so a manifest need not say it; a scheduled process is
+// left alone, because the host refuses a restart-on for one and it reads the file afresh each run.
+func TestAContainerReadingAnOwnSecretIsRestartedWhenItChanges(t *testing.T) {
+	m := Manifest{Module: "agent", Version: "1",
+		OwnSecrets: OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh/agent/broker"}},
+		Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "mesh-state", "type": "directory", "path": "/var/lib/mesh/agent", "mode": "0700"},
+			{"id": "settings", "type": "file", "path": "/var/lib/mesh/agent/agent.env", "mode": "0600", "content": "A=1\n"},
+			{"id": "server", "type": "container", "name": "agent", "network": "host",
+				"image":      "registry.example/agent@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64),
+				"volumes":    []any{"/var/lib/mesh/agent:/run/mesh:ro", "/var/lib/mesh/agent/broker:/run/mesh/broker:ro"},
+				"env-file":   []any{"/var/lib/mesh/agent/agent.env"},
+				"restart-on": []any{"settings"}},
+			{"id": "nightly", "type": "container", "name": "agent-nightly", "schedule": "0 3 * * *",
+				"image":   "registry.example/agent@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64),
+				"volumes": []any{"/var/lib/mesh/agent/broker:/run/mesh/broker:ro"}},
+			{"id": "other", "type": "container", "name": "agent-other",
+				"image": "registry.example/agent@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64)},
+		}}
+	got, err := Resolve(shelf(m), []string{m.Module},
+		Node{Name: "anchor", At: "10.0.0.1", Capabilities: map[string]bool{"container-runtime": true}}, World{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	out, err := got.Declaration(Rendering{Needed: map[string]map[string]string{"agent": {"broker": "SEALED"}}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	by := map[string]map[string]any{}
+	for _, r := range out {
+		by[r["id"].(string)] = r
+	}
+	if want := []any{"agent.settings", "agent.needs-broker"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(by["agent.server"]["restart-on"], want) {
+		t.Fatalf("the server reads the credential and is not restarted on it: %v", by["agent.server"]["restart-on"])
+	}
+	if _, has := by["agent.nightly"]["restart-on"]; has {
+		t.Fatalf("a scheduled container was given a restart-on, which the host refuses: %v", by["agent.nightly"]["restart-on"])
+	}
+	if _, has := by["agent.other"]["restart-on"]; has {
+		t.Fatalf("a container that reads no secret was given one to restart on: %v", by["agent.other"]["restart-on"])
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/settings.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package catalogue
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -275,6 +276,11 @@ func UnusedSettings(m Manifest, layers []Layer) []string {
 			if key == AccessesSetting && len(m.Accesses) > 0 {
 				continue
 			}
+			// `networks` keeps a found network for a taken container on one adopted machine
+			// (novox/hq ADR 0163). Validated in KeptNetworks, so not stray.
+			if key == NetworksSetting {
+				continue
+			}
 			unused = append(unused, fmt.Sprintf(
 				"%s sets %q, and %s has no file that merges it, asks for no ${setting:%s}, and "+
 					"declares no %q in what it contributes or serves",
@@ -298,3 +304,125 @@ func stringsOf(v any) []string {
 	}
 	return out
 }
+
+// NetworksSetting is the settings key that keeps a found network for a taken container, on one
+// adopted machine (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 4):
+//
+//	{"networks": {"server": ["predecessor_default"]}}
+//
+// has the module's container `server` also join `predecessor_default` once taken, so a neighbour
+// that resolves it by name on that network keeps resolving it. Migration scaffolding in the sense
+// of ADR 0104: assigned only on an adopted machine, reported while it stands, removed when the
+// neighbours are taken. Keyed by the container's resource id; the value is the networks it keeps.
+const NetworksSetting = "networks"
+
+// KeptNetworks reads which found networks each of a module's containers keeps, by container id.
+//
+// Refused from a mesh-wide layer — a found network is a fact about one machine — for an id the
+// module declares no container under, for a name that is not a network's, and on a machine that
+// is not adopted: the setting exists so neighbours the mesh has not taken yet keep reaching the
+// container, and a converged machine has no such neighbours.
+func KeptNetworks(m Manifest, layers []Layer, adopted bool) (map[string][]string, error) {
+	containers := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) == "container" {
+			containers[fmt.Sprint(r["id"])] = true
+		}
+	}
+	out := map[string][]string{}
+	for _, layer := range layers {
+		raw, ok := layer.Values[NetworksSetting]
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		if layer.From == MeshWideLayer {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s is given per node — a found network is a fact about one "+
+				"machine; set it with --node", m.Module, NetworksSetting)
+		}
+		if !adopted {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s keeps a found network for neighbours the mesh has not taken "+
+				"yet, and %s is converged — nothing on it is found; clear the setting", m.Module,
+				NetworksSetting, layer.From)
+		}
+		blocks, ok := raw.(map[string]any)
+		if !ok {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s is a { container: [network, …] } map, and %q set it to "+
+				"something else", m.Module, NetworksSetting, layer.From)
+		}
+		for id, body := range blocks {
+			if !containers[id] {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s names the container %q, which it does not declare — "+
+					"the setting reaches nothing; it declares %s", m.Module, NetworksSetting, id,
+					orNothing(sortedKeys(containers)))
+			}
+			names := stringsOf(body)
+			if len(names) == 0 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s for %q is a list of network names, and %q set it to %v",
+					m.Module, NetworksSetting, id, layer.From, body)
+			}
+			for _, n := range names {
+				if !networkName.MatchString(n) {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s for %q names %q, which is not a network name",
+						m.Module, NetworksSetting, id, n)
+				}
+			}
+			sort.Strings(names)
+			out[id] = names
+		}
+	}
+	if len(out) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// networkName is what a container runtime accepts as a network's name.
+var networkName = regexp.MustCompile(`^[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9_.-]*$`)
+
+// JudgeSettings composes a module's settings against its definition and refuses the first thing
+// that cannot work, naming the module, the layer and the key (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6).
+//
+// **The same judgement where a setting is stored and where a machine is declared.** Stored, a
+// setting that cannot compose is refused before it is kept; composed later, a definition that has
+// moved under a stored setting leaves that module out of the machine's declaration rather than
+// the machine without one. Every reader of settings runs here: a port given, an exposure, a reach,
+// an endpoint, a placement, an access, a kept network, a mergeable file's keys and a file's
+// `${setting:…}`. A key that reaches nothing is not here: it cannot break a composition, so it is
+// refused where it is stored (SetSettings, with UnusedSettings) and said where a plan is read,
+// and never costs a module its place.
+func JudgeSettings(m Manifest, layers []Layer, adopted bool) error {
+	// With no layers too: a definition may ask for a setting nobody made — an access placed by
+	// nobody, a file's ${setting:…} nothing sets — and that is the same statement, missing.
+	if _, err := GivenPorts(m, layers); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, err := Reaches(m, layers); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, err := Endpoints(m, layers); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, err := Places(m, layers); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, _, err := accessesFor(m, layers); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, err := KeptNetworks(m, layers, adopted); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	for _, r := range m.Resources {
+		settled, err := ApplySettings(r, layers)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		copied := map[string]any{}
+		for k, v := range settled {
+			copied[k] = v
+		}
+		if err := settingInto(copied, layers, m.Module); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}

internal/catalogue/settings_judge_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A setting is judged where it is stored, and an impossible one costs a module, not a machine
+// (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 6): the one judgement, used by SetSettings before storing and by
+// Compose when a definition has moved under a stored setting.
+func TestASettingThatCannotComposeIsRefusedByNameAndLeavesOnlyItsModuleOut(t *testing.T) {
+	web := Manifest{Module: "hello-web",
+		Listens: []Listening{{Port: 8080, From: FromEverywhere}},
+		Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "server", "type": "container", "name": "hello-web",
+			"ports": []any{"8080"}}}}
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		name   string
+		layer  map[string]any
+		refuse string
+	}{
+		{"a port the module does not publish", map[string]any{PortsSetting: map[string]any{"9999": 10000}},
+			"hello-web gives port 9999 a machine port, and no container of its publishes 9999"},
+		{"a mesh-wide port", map[string]any{PortsSetting: map[string]any{"8080": 10000}},
+			"a port is a fact about one machine"},
+	} {
+		from := "anchor"
+		if c.name == "a mesh-wide port" {
+			from = MeshWideLayer
+		}
+		err := JudgeSettings(web, []Layer{{From: from, Values: c.layer}}, true)
+		if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), c.refuse) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: judged %v, want %q", c.name, err, c.refuse)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := JudgeSettings(web, []Layer{{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{PortsSetting: map[string]any{"8080": 10000}}}}, true); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a port the module publishes was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Composed, a module whose stored setting no longer works is left out by name; the rest of
+	// the machine is declared.
+	r := anAdoptedAnchor()
+	with := anchorRendering(false)
+	with.Settings = SettingsBy{"hello-web": {{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{PortsSetting: map[string]any{"9999": 10000}}}}}
+	composed, err := r.Compose(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	why, left := composed.LeftOut["hello-web"]
+	if !left || !strings.Contains(why, "no container of its publishes 9999") {
+		t.Fatalf("hello-web is not left out by name: %v", composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+	if len(composed.LeftOut) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("more than hello-web is left out: %v", composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+	got := byID(composed.Resources)
+	if _, declared := got["hello-web.server"]; declared {
+		t.Fatal("the left-out module's container is still declared")
+	}
+	if _, declared := got["distribution.store"]; !declared {
+		t.Fatal("the rest of the machine was not declared")
+	}
+	if left := r.LeftOut(with.Settings, false); len(left) != 1 || left["hello-web"] == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the judgement a plan reads differs from what compose did: %v", left)
+	}
+}
+
+// A taken container keeps a found network by a per-machine setting (novox/hq ADR 0163, rule 4):
+// on an adopted machine only, for a container the module declares, and it reaches the container's
+// declaration as the networks it also joins.
+func TestAKeptNetworkReachesTheContainerOnAnAdoptedMachineOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	r := anAdoptedAnchor()
+	keep := SettingsBy{"hello-web": {{From: "anchor",
+		Values: map[string]any{NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"server": []any{"predecessor_default"}}}}}}
+
+	with := anchorRendering(true)
+	with.Settings = keep
+	composed, err := r.Compose(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(composed.LeftOut) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a kept network left a module out: %v", composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+	server := byID(composed.Resources)["hello-web.server"]
+	networks, _ := server["networks"].([]any)
+	if len(networks) != 1 || networks[0] != "predecessor_default" {
+		t.Fatalf("the container does not join the kept network: %v", server)
+	}
+	if _, has := byID(composed.Resources)["distribution.store"]["networks"]; has {
+		t.Fatal("another container joins a network nobody kept for it")
+	}
+
+	// Converged, the setting reaches nothing it was for, and the module is left out saying so.
+	with = anchorRendering(false)
+	with.Settings = keep
+	composed, err = r.Compose(with)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if why := composed.LeftOut["hello-web"]; !strings.Contains(why, "anchor is converged") {
+		t.Fatalf("a kept network on a converged machine: %v", composed.LeftOut)
+	}
+
+	web := r.Modules[4]
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		name  string
+		layer Layer
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{"mesh-wide", Layer{From: MeshWideLayer, Values: map[string]any{NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"server": []any{"x"}}}},
+			"a found network is a fact about one machine"},
+		{"an unknown container", Layer{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"db": []any{"x"}}}},
+			`names the container "db", which it does not declare`},
+		{"not a list", Layer{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"server": "x"}}},
+			"is a list of network names"},
+		{"not a network name", Layer{From: "anchor", Values: map[string]any{NetworksSetting: map[string]any{"server": []any{"a/b"}}}},
+			"which is not a network name"},
+	} {
+		_, err := KeptNetworks(web, []Layer{c.layer}, true)
+		if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %v, want %q", c.name, err, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+	if kept, err := KeptNetworks(web, nil, false); err != nil || kept != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("no setting: %v %v", kept, err)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/the_bus_is_never_public_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package catalogue
+
+import (
+	"regexp"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The bus is never public (novox/hq ADR 0169). Its port is what the bus module declares, the mesh,
+// and the control plane adds no opening of its own: a machine joins through the tunnel, so the
+// broker's host is filtered like any other. Before this, the broker port was a foundation port and
+// rendered from anywhere beside its from-the-mesh rule.
+func TestTheBusPortIsReachedFromTheMeshAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	rules := []Rule{{Port: 4222, Protocol: "tcp", From: FromMesh, Because: []string{"nats"},
+		Why: []string{"the mesh bus"}}}
+	out := AsNftables(rules, []string{"10.10.0.1", "10.10.0.2"}, true, nil, []string{"eth0"}, "mesh0")
+
+	if !regexp.MustCompile(`ip saddr \{ 10\.10\.0\.1, 10\.10\.0\.2 \} tcp dport 4222 accept`).MatchString(out) {
+		t.Fatalf("the bus is not reachable from the mesh:\n%s", out)
+	}
+	if regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^\s*tcp dport 4222 accept`).MatchString(out) {
+		t.Fatalf("the bus is reachable from anywhere:\n%s", out)
+	}
+}

internal/catalogue/verbs.go

@@ -129,6 +129,29 @@ var ControllerVerbs = []Verb{
 			"module":    "an own secret: the module",
 			"secret":    "an own secret: its name in the module's definition",
 		}, nil)},
+	{Name: "issue", Description: "Give a module on a machine its account on the bus: minted, and sealed to the " +
+		"machine as the module's own secret named broker, read at the next push of that machine. For a module " +
+		"whose definition declares that secret; refused with the reason otherwise. Issued again, it replaces the account.",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"node":   "the machine that runs the module",
+			"module": "the module's name",
+		}, []string{"node", "module"})},
+	{Name: "settings", Description: "Set what an assignment is configured with: a module's settings for the whole mesh, " +
+		"or for one machine. Replaces that layer whole — what it does not name, it no longer sets — and takes effect " +
+		"at the next push. With clear, removes the layer and the module is back to what its definition says.",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"module": "the module's name",
+			"values": "the settings as a JSON object, for set",
+			"node":   "one machine; the whole mesh when absent",
+			"clear":  "\"true\" to remove the layer instead of setting it",
+		}, []string{"module"})},
+	{Name: "command", Description: "Run one command line of the controller's own, as you would type it at its " +
+		"shell — `node account g14 jochen`, `node show ace`, `module list` — and answer what it printed. The " +
+		"generic verb beside the named ones (novox/hq ADR 0154): everything the binary can do, without a verb " +
+		"per command. Any node may call any tool (ADR 0175), so nothing is held back here.",
+		Input: schema(map[string]string{
+			"command": "the command line, as the controller's binary takes it; quotes group a word with spaces",
+		}, []string{"command"})},
 	{Name: "build", Description: "Have the build machine build a repository. Answers at once with the build's id: " +
 		"`builds` with that id follows it line by line, and the module is registered when the outcome comes.",
 		Input: schema(map[string]string{

internal/inventory/adoption.go

@@ -178,6 +178,103 @@ type Stray struct {
 	Detail string `json:"detail,omitempty"`
 }
 
+// A Filter is one place on a machine that refuses traffic, with its owner (novox/hq ADR 0168).
+type Filter struct {
+	Where   string `json:"where"`
+	Owner   string `json:"owner"`
+	Refuses string `json:"refuses"`
+}
+
+// Owners of a filter, as the host names them (ADR 0168).
+const (
+	FilterMesh          = "mesh"
+	FilterFoundFirewall = "found-firewall"
+	FilterRuntime       = "runtime"
+	FilterBan           = "ban"
+	FilterOther         = "other"
+)
+
+// FoundFirewall is the state of a converged machine's found firewall (ADR 0168): in force now or
+// not, and how it came to be inactive.
+type FoundFirewall struct {
+	Kind      string `json:"kind"`
+	Active    bool   `json:"active"`
+	RetiredBy string `json:"retired_by,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// Filtering is what a machine last said filters it (ADR 0168).
+type Filtering struct {
+	Filters       []Filter
+	FoundFirewall *FoundFirewall
+}
+
+// Alone is whether the machine is filtered by the mesh alone: nothing in its list but the mesh's
+// own, the runtime's plumbing and bans, and no found firewall in force.
+func (f Filtering) Alone() bool {
+	for _, x := range f.Filters {
+		if x.Owner == FilterOther || x.Owner == FilterFoundFirewall {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return f.FoundFirewall == nil || !f.FoundFirewall.Active
+}
+
+// Others is every filter that is neither the mesh's, the runtime's nor a ban.
+func (f Filtering) Others() []Filter {
+	var out []Filter
+	for _, x := range f.Filters {
+		if x.Owner == FilterOther || x.Owner == FilterFoundFirewall {
+			out = append(out, x)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// RecordFiltering keeps what a machine last said filters it, replacing what was there (ADR 0168).
+func (i *Inventory) RecordFiltering(ctx context.Context, nodeID string, filters []Filter, found *FoundFirewall) error {
+	raw, err := json.Marshal(nonNil(filters))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	var foundRaw any
+	if found != nil {
+		b, err := json.Marshal(found)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		foundRaw = string(b)
+	}
+	_, err = i.store.Pool().Exec(ctx,
+		`update node set filters = $2, found_firewall = $3 where id = $1`, nodeID, raw, foundRaw)
+	return err
+}
+
+// FilteringOf is what a machine last said filters it; empty for a machine that never said.
+func (i *Inventory) FilteringOf(ctx context.Context, name string) (Filtering, error) {
+	var filtersRaw, foundRaw []byte
+	err := i.store.Pool().QueryRow(ctx,
+		`select filters, found_firewall from node where name = $1`, name).Scan(&filtersRaw, &foundRaw)
+	if errors.Is(err, pgx.ErrNoRows) {
+		return Filtering{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", ErrNoSuchNode, name)
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return Filtering{}, err
+	}
+	var out Filtering
+	if len(filtersRaw) > 0 {
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(filtersRaw, &out.Filters); err != nil {
+			return Filtering{}, err
+		}
+	}
+	if len(foundRaw) > 0 {
+		out.FoundFirewall = &FoundFirewall{}
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(foundRaw, out.FoundFirewall); err != nil {
+			return Filtering{}, err
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
 // Reach is one thing reachable on an adopted node: a listening socket or a published port.
 type Reach struct {
 	Protocol      string `json:"protocol"`

internal/inventory/builds.go

@@ -42,9 +42,29 @@ type Build struct {
 	// Failed is the builder's own words, empty when it worked.
 	Failed string
 	Made   []Artifact
-	At     time.Time
+	// Asked is when the build was requested, zero when that is not known (an id of another shape,
+	// or a build recorded before the mesh kept it). **What orders one build of a module against
+	// another** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219): builds in flight together finish in any order, and the
+	// one asked last stood on the newest bases.
+	Asked time.Time
+	// At is when the outcome was recorded — when it finished, not when it was asked.
+	At time.Time
 }
 
+// AskedOrAt is when the build was asked, or when it was recorded when that is not known — the
+// order the mesh had before it kept the request time.
+func (b Build) AskedOrAt() time.Time {
+	if !b.Asked.IsZero() {
+		return b.Asked
+	}
+	return b.At
+}
+
+// newestRequestFirst is the ordering every "what a module currently is" question uses: the newest
+// request wins, whenever it finished (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219). A build whose request time is not
+// known is placed at the moment it was recorded, which is the rule that held before.
+const newestRequestFirst = `coalesce(asked, at) desc, at desc`
+
 // ReadRepository is a repository a build read source from besides the module's own.
 type ReadRepository struct {
 	Repository string `json:"repository"`
@@ -83,13 +103,17 @@ func (i *Inventory) RecordBuild(ctx context.Context, b Build) error {
 	if b.Module != "" {
 		module = &b.Module
 	}
+	var asked *time.Time
+	if !b.Asked.IsZero() {
+		asked = &b.Asked
+	}
 	_, err = i.store.Pool().Exec(ctx,
 		`insert into build (id, repository, ref, module, commit_hash, built_on, failed, made,
-		                    source_path, manifest, built_against, built_contexts)
-		 values ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12)
+		                    source_path, manifest, built_against, built_contexts, asked)
+		 values ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13)
 		 on conflict (id) do nothing`,
 		b.ID, b.Repository, b.Ref, module, b.Commit, b.On, b.Failed, made,
-		b.Path, manifestOrNil(b.Manifest), against, read)
+		b.Path, manifestOrNil(b.Manifest), against, read, asked)
 	return err
 }
 
@@ -102,11 +126,11 @@ func (i *Inventory) Builds(ctx context.Context, module string, limit int) ([]Bui
 	if limit <= 0 {
 		limit = 20
 	}
-	query := `select id, repository, ref, coalesce(module,''), commit_hash, built_on, failed, made, at
+	query := `select id, repository, ref, coalesce(module,''), commit_hash, built_on, failed, made, asked, at
 	          from build order by at desc limit $1`
 	args := []any{limit}
 	if module != "" {
-		query = `select id, repository, ref, coalesce(module,''), commit_hash, built_on, failed, made, at
+		query = `select id, repository, ref, coalesce(module,''), commit_hash, built_on, failed, made, asked, at
 		         from build where module = $2 order by at desc limit $1`
 		args = append(args, module)
 	}
@@ -121,10 +145,14 @@ func (i *Inventory) Builds(ctx context.Context, module string, limit int) ([]Bui
 	for rows.Next() {
 		var b Build
 		var made []byte
+		var asked *time.Time
 		if err := rows.Scan(&b.ID, &b.Repository, &b.Ref, &b.Module, &b.Commit,
-			&b.On, &b.Failed, &made, &b.At); err != nil {
+			&b.On, &b.Failed, &made, &asked, &b.At); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
+		if asked != nil {
+			b.Asked = *asked
+		}
 		if err := json.Unmarshal(made, &b.Made); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
@@ -135,8 +163,9 @@ func (i *Inventory) Builds(ctx context.Context, module string, limit int) ([]Bui
 
 // Held is every artifact this mesh has built, keyed "<module>/<artifact>".
 //
-// **The newest successful build of each module wins**, which is the same rule the rest of the mesh
-// uses for what a module currently is. A module rebuilt to something broken and then rebuilt again
+// **The successful build of each module asked last wins**, which is the same rule the rest of the
+// mesh uses for what a module currently is — asked last, not finished last (novox/hq
+// 04-ISSUES/219): an older request that finishes later stood on older bases. A module rebuilt to something broken and then rebuilt again
 // is at the second one; a module whose last build failed is at the last one that worked, because a
 // failure published nothing and the thing it published before is still what exists.
 //
@@ -147,7 +176,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) Held(ctx context.Context) (map[string]string, error) {
 		`select distinct on (module) module, made
 		   from build
 		  where module is not null and module <> '' and failed = ''
-		  order by module, at desc`)
+		  order by module, `+newestRequestFirst)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -185,7 +214,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) BuiltAgainst(ctx context.Context) (map[string][]string, erro
 		`select distinct on (module) module, built_against
 		   from build
 		  where module is not null and module <> '' and failed = ''
-		  order by module, at desc`)
+		  order by module, `+newestRequestFirst)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -223,7 +252,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) ReadRepositories(ctx context.Context) (map[string][]ReadRepo
 		`select distinct on (module) module, built_contexts
 		   from build
 		  where module is not null and module <> '' and failed = ''
-		  order by module, at desc`)
+		  order by module, `+newestRequestFirst)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -274,7 +303,7 @@ func manifestOrNil(raw []byte) any {
 // follows when it decides whether to announce at all.
 //
 // One row per module and commit: a module built twice at the same commit is one fact, and the
-// latest row is the one whose artifacts are current.
+// row asked last is the one whose artifacts are current (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/219).
 func (i *Inventory) Announceable(ctx context.Context) ([]Build, error) {
 	rows, err := i.store.Pool().Query(ctx,
 		`select distinct on (module, commit_hash)
@@ -282,7 +311,7 @@ func (i *Inventory) Announceable(ctx context.Context) ([]Build, error) {
 		        source_path, manifest, built_against, at
 		   from build
 		  where failed = '' and module is not null and module <> '' and commit_hash <> ''
-		  order by module, commit_hash, at desc`)
+		  order by module, commit_hash, `+newestRequestFirst)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}