Format the help's test (issue 1851)

The SDK's S1 and S2 review fixes landed after 875c680d.

Makefile

@@ -90,15 +90,6 @@ redis-provisioner-image:
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(REDIS_PROVISIONER_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
 
-# The proxy that turns a route grant into traffic reaching a workload.
-PROXY_IMAGE ?= mesh-route-proxy:$(VERSION)
-PROXY_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-route-proxy:development
-
-proxy-image:
-	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f modules/route-proxy/Dockerfile -t $(PROXY_IMAGE) -t $(PROXY_DEV_TAG) .
-	@echo
-	@docker image inspect $(PROXY_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
-
 # The whole check. Raises a database, runs the repository's own check against it -- merge-check.sh,
 # the very script `mesh/repo-check` runs -- and takes the database down again, including when the
 # check fails, which is why the teardown is not conditional and the script's exit status is the
@@ -117,7 +108,7 @@ proxy-image:
 # as the script runs them: a bus per test, of the release the mesh runs, makes the suite the same in any
 # order, and the timeout bounds a hang to a failure with a stack, never a stalled gate.
 check: postgres
-	@sh merge-check.sh ; status=$$? ; docker rm -f $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true ; exit $$status
+	@sh merge-check.sh ; status=$$? ; docker rm -f -v $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true ; exit $$status
 
 # The unit level alone (untagged: no bus, no store, no other process), which a developer runs continuously. The tests
 # that need a bus or the store carry `//go:build integration` and run in `check`, not here; without a database the
@@ -135,7 +126,7 @@ fmt:
 	if [ -n "$$unformatted" ] ; then echo "not gofmt'd:" ; echo "$$unformatted" ; exit 1 ; fi
 
 postgres:
-	@docker rm -f $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	@docker rm -f -v $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 	@docker run -d --name $(PG_CONTAINER) -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=check \
 		-p 127.0.0.1:$(PG_PORT):5432 $(PG_IMAGE) >/dev/null
 	@printf 'waiting for postgres'
@@ -147,7 +138,7 @@ postgres:
 	echo ' — never came up' ; docker logs $(PG_CONTAINER) | tail -20 ; exit 1
 
 postgres-stop:
-	@docker rm -f $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	@docker rm -f -v $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
 clean:
 	rm -rf build/

cmd/mesh-builder/busy.go

@@ -6,7 +6,11 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
 )
 
 // **The build agent says whether it is busy, and being asked drains it** (novox/hq ADR 0335 §1, §5). Its
@@ -73,14 +77,77 @@ func drainedTooLong(now time.Time) error {
 		"within %s (novox/hq ADR 0335)", began.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), drainTooLong)
 }
 
+// inHand is true while this process has claimed a build and not yet released it. The mark in the temporary directory
+// is only believed while it is: a mark with no build of this process behind it is stale (a crash, a fault in an
+// earlier path) and is removed, because left alone it hands back every ask for ever (issue 1768).
+var inHand atomic.Bool
+
+// markRetry is how long an agent that cannot mark a build in hand takes no work, and markFault when it last failed to.
+// Taking nothing is the point: an ask fetched and handed back at once, many times a second, spends all its deliveries.
+const markRetry = 30 * time.Second
+
+var (
+	markMu    sync.Mutex
+	markFault time.Time
+	markSaid  string
+)
+
+// markFaulty says the agent could not mark a build in hand and has not yet been able to since: it takes no work. Once
+// markRetry has passed it tries the mark itself, with no ask in hand, so that an ask is fetched only when marking works.
+func markFaulty(now time.Time) bool {
+	markMu.Lock()
+	failed := markFault
+	markMu.Unlock()
+	if failed.IsZero() {
+		return false
+	}
+	if now.Sub(failed) < markRetry {
+		return true
+	}
+	f, err := os.OpenFile(inHandMark(), os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_EXCL, 0o644)
+	if err != nil && errors.Is(err, os.ErrExist) && !inHand.Load() {
+		_ = os.Remove(inHandMark())
+		f, err = os.OpenFile(inHandMark(), os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_EXCL, 0o644)
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		markFailed(err)
+		return true
+	}
+	_ = f.Close()
+	_ = os.Remove(inHandMark())
+	markMu.Lock()
+	markFault, markSaid = time.Time{}, ""
+	markMu.Unlock()
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the mark of a build in hand can be made again (%s): taking builds\n", inHandMark())
+	return false
+}
+
+// markFailed notes that a build could not be marked in hand, and says it when it is a new reason.
+func markFailed(err error) {
+	markMu.Lock()
+	defer markMu.Unlock()
+	markFault = time.Now()
+	if said := err.Error(); said != markSaid {
+		markSaid = said
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot mark a build in hand (%s), so this agent takes no build for %s and tries again: %v\n",
+			inHandMark(), markRetry, err)
+	}
+}
+
 // claim marks a request in hand, unless the agent is drained: then nothing is in hand, and the request goes
 // back to the queue.
 func claim() bool {
+	if !inHand.Load() {
+		// Nothing of this process is in hand, so a mark already there is stale.
+		if err := os.Remove(inHandMark()); err == nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "removed the mark of a build in hand (%s): no build of this agent is in hand\n", inHandMark())
+		}
+	}
 	// Made, never written over: one build at a time, and a mark already there is a build in hand.
 	f, err := os.OpenFile(inHandMark(), os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_EXCL, 0o644)
 	if err != nil {
 		// Unmarked, an ask would say idle while this build runs: the build is not taken.
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot mark a build in hand (%s), so it is handed back: %v\n", inHandMark(), err)
+		markFailed(err)
 		return false
 	}
 	_, err = f.WriteString(time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339) + "\n")
@@ -89,7 +156,7 @@ func claim() bool {
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		_ = os.Remove(inHandMark())
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot mark a build in hand (%s), so it is handed back: %v\n", inHandMark(), err)
+		markFailed(err)
 		return false
 	}
 	if drained() {
@@ -97,6 +164,7 @@ func claim() bool {
 		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "asked whether busy, so this agent takes no new build: handed back")
 		return false
 	}
+	inHand.Store(true)
 	return true
 }
 
@@ -107,6 +175,7 @@ func holding(what string) {
 
 // released ends the build in hand.
 func released() {
+	inHand.Store(false)
 	if err := os.Remove(inHandMark()); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot remove the mark of the build in hand (%s): %v\n", inHandMark(), err)
 	}
@@ -144,3 +213,23 @@ func busy() (string, error) {
 	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("busy: %s, in hand since %s; taking no new build", what, since), nil
 }
+
+var (
+	roomMu   sync.Mutex
+	roomSaid bool
+)
+
+// noRoom says this node is under the floor of free space (novox/hq issue 1834): it takes no work, so another build node
+// takes the ask instead of this one taking it and ending it in an error. Said once when it starts and again when it ends.
+func noRoom(workspace string) bool {
+	err := builder.RoomToWork("/", workspace)
+	roomMu.Lock()
+	defer roomMu.Unlock()
+	if err != nil && !roomSaid {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "taking no builds: %v\n", err)
+	} else if err == nil && roomSaid {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "there is room again: taking builds\n")
+	}
+	roomSaid = err != nil
+	return err != nil
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/busy_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -160,3 +161,79 @@ func TestAnUnknownCommandFails(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("help failed: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// 1768/AC2: a mark naming no build of this agent (left by a crash or a fault) is stale: the next ask removes it and is
+// run, never fetched and handed back in a loop.
+func TestAStaleInHandMarkIsRemovedAndTheAskRuns(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	inHand.Store(false)
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(inHandMark(), []byte("2026-10-21T18:45:06Z\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !claim() {
+		t.Fatal("a stale in-hand mark made the agent hand back an ask")
+	}
+	// A live one — this agent's own build in hand — is never taken over.
+	if claim() {
+		t.Fatal("a second build was taken while one is in hand")
+	}
+	if _, err := busy(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the build in hand was lost: %v", err)
+	}
+	released()
+}
+
+// 1768/AC3: an agent that cannot mark a build in hand for another reason takes no work, instead of fetching asks and
+// handing them back; it takes work again once marking works.
+func TestAnAgentThatCannotMarkABuildTakesNoWorkUntilItCan(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", dir)
+	inHand.Store(false)
+	markFault, markSaid = time.Time{}, ""
+	t.Cleanup(func() { markFault, markSaid = time.Time{}, "" })
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// The mark's place is a directory that cannot be removed or made over: a directory named as the mark.
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(inHandMark()+"/x", 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if claim() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent that cannot mark a build took it")
+	}
+	if !markFaulty(time.Now()) {
+		t.Fatal("an agent that cannot mark a build still takes work")
+	}
+	// Still failing after the retry time: still takes nothing, and no ask was needed to find out.
+	if !markFaulty(time.Now().Add(2 * markRetry)) {
+		t.Fatal("an agent whose mark still cannot be made takes work")
+	}
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(inHandMark()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if markFaulty(time.Now().Add(4 * markRetry)) {
+		t.Fatal("an agent whose mark can be made again takes no work")
+	}
+	if !claim() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent that can mark takes no build")
+	}
+	released()
+}
+
+// 1834/AC4: given a node under the floor of free space, when the taking loop asks, then it takes nothing, and takes again
+// once there is room.
+func TestANodeUnderTheFloorOfFreeSpaceTakesNoWork(t *testing.T) {
+	was := builder.FreeBytes
+	t.Cleanup(func() { builder.FreeBytes = was })
+	builder.FreeBytes = func(string) (uint64, error) { return 2 << 30, nil }
+	if !noRoom(t.TempDir()) {
+		t.Error("a node with 2 GiB free took work")
+	}
+	builder.FreeBytes = func(string) (uint64, error) { return 200 << 30, nil }
+	if noRoom(t.TempDir()) {
+		t.Error("a node with 200 GiB free refused work")
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/check_spec_test.go

@@ -36,3 +36,17 @@ func TestTheSiblingsAnAskNamesReachTheSpecAndTheOutcome(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a request that names none has siblings %+v", plain.Siblings)
 	}
 }
+
+// 1826/AC2: the held values a check request carries reach the spec; a request that carries none leaves it empty.
+func TestTheHeldValuesAnAskCarriesReachTheSpec(t *testing.T) {
+	spec := checkSpecOf(link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog",
+		HeldConfig: []link.HeldConfig{{Pull: "novox/mesh-catalog#434", Head: "a", Node: "ace", Module: "n8n", Key: "media-gid",
+			Value: []byte("2000"), Approved: "the operator"}}}})
+	if len(spec.Held) != 1 || spec.Held[0].Node != "ace" || spec.Held[0].Key != "media-gid" || string(spec.Held[0].Value) != "2000" ||
+		spec.Held[0].Approved != "the operator" {
+		t.Fatalf("the spec reads %+v", spec.Held)
+	}
+	if plain := checkSpecOf(link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "o", Repo: "r"}}); plain.Held != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a request that carries none has %+v", plain.Held)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/holder_test.go

@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ func TestKillEndsTheBuildRunningHereAndNoOther(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("kill said %q", said)
 	}
 	// Removed at the kill and again once the build had ended: a container made in between is caught.
-	if len(removed) != 4 || !strings.Contains(removed[0], "label=mesh.build=build-1") || !strings.Contains(removed[2], "label=mesh.build=build-1") {
+	if len(removed) != 6 || !strings.Contains(removed[0], "label=mesh.build=build-1") || !strings.Contains(removed[3], "label=mesh.build=build-1") {
 		t.Errorf("removed %v", removed)
 	}
 	if c := h.current(); c.Running != nil {
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ func TestAHolderStartingRemovesWhatEarlierBuildsLeftHere(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		return "", nil
 	}
-	if n := h.removeLeftBehind(); n != 2 || len(removed) != 2 || removed[1] != "docker rm -f c1 c2" {
+	if n := h.removeLeftBehind(); n != 2 || len(removed) != 3 || removed[2] != "docker rm -f -v c1 c2" {
 		t.Fatalf("removed %d: %v", n, removed)
 	}
 	h.remove = func(context.Context, string, string, ...string) (string, error) {

cmd/mesh-builder/main.go

@@ -64,6 +64,8 @@ is dialled except the broker.
   MESH_NPM_TOKEN     the token for it, likewise
   MESH_NPM_SCOPE     the scope it answers for (default: @novox)
   MESH_WORKSPACE     where to clone and build (default: a temporary directory)
+  MESH_BUILD_CGROUP_PARENT  the slice every container a build or check starts joins, which carries the
+                     machine's limits on builds (novox/hq issue 1798; default: the runtime's own)
 
 It also builds one module and stops, which is how a mesh is raised — before there is a
 broker to take work from or a registry to publish into:
@@ -137,6 +139,10 @@ func run() error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	// A build and a check run below the machine's own work (novox/hq issue 1798): the agent itself at the
+	// lowest priority, which its git and go children inherit, and every container in the build slice.
+	_ = syscall.Setpriority(syscall.PRIO_PROCESS, 0, 19)
+	builder.CgroupParent = strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_BUILD_CGROUP_PARENT"))
 	workspace := os.Getenv("MESH_WORKSPACE")
 	if workspace == "" {
 		workspace = os.TempDir() + "/mesh-builder"
@@ -184,7 +190,7 @@ func run() error {
 	// Paused or drained, it takes nothing new (novox/hq ADR 0219, ADR 0335): a drained agent finishes the build
 	// in hand and then says idle, and its container is replaced between builds.
 	machine := link.MachineOverNATSWith(js, on, seat, link.MachineOptions{
-		Paused: func() bool { return h.Paused() || drained() },
+		Paused: func() bool { return h.Paused() || drained() || markFaulty(time.Now()) || noRoom(workspace) },
 		Taking: func() { taking(seat) },
 		Claim:  claim,
 	})
@@ -499,6 +505,10 @@ func checkSpecOf(request link.BuildRequest) builder.CheckSpec {
 		Modules: c.Modules, New: c.New, Manifests: c.Manifests, Judge: c.Judge, Base: c.Base,
 		Toolchain: builder.ToolchainOf(request.Held), Toolchains: builder.ToolchainsOf(request.Held),
 		Tests: c.Tests, StoreOnly: c.StoreOnly, SiblingsUnknown: c.SiblingsUnknown}
+	for _, h := range c.HeldConfig {
+		spec.Held = append(spec.Held, builder.HeldValue{Pull: h.Pull, Head: h.Head, Node: h.Node, Module: h.Module, Key: h.Key,
+			Value: h.Value, Approved: h.Approved, By: h.By, At: h.At})
+	}
 	for _, s := range c.Siblings {
 		spec.Siblings = append(spec.Siblings, builder.Sibling{Repository: s.Repository, Number: s.Number, Head: s.Head,
 			Base: s.Base, Dir: s.Dir})

cmd/mesh-controller/acts.go

@@ -408,12 +408,21 @@ func issueOnAssign(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) strin
 		return ""
 	}
 	user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: node, Module: module}.Username()
-	if _, reads := m.OwnSecrets["broker"]; !reads {
+	_, reads := m.OwnSecrets["broker"]
+	if !reads && !runsTheProvisionerClient(m) {
+		// A module whose bus accounts are its processes' alone has none of its own: only the processes that
+		// are not issued yet are issued (issue 1226).
+		return processAccountsOnAssign(ctx, inv, m, node)
+	}
+	if !reads {
 		// A module running the provisioner client alone is minted the client's account (issue 917).
 		user = broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindProvisioner, Node: node, Module: module}.Username()
 	}
-	if _, minted, err := inv.BusUserHash(ctx, user); err != nil || minted {
+	if _, minted, err := inv.BusUserHash(ctx, user); err != nil {
 		return ""
+	} else if minted {
+		// Its own account stands and is kept; a process it gained is not issued yet (issue 1226).
+		return processAccountsOnAssign(ctx, inv, m, node)
 	}
 	busAddress, err := broker.BusAddress()
 	if err == nil {
@@ -426,6 +435,16 @@ func issueOnAssign(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) strin
 	return fmt.Sprintf("its bus credential is issued and sealed to %s, and arrives with the push", node)
 }
 
+// processAccountsOnAssign issues the process accounts of an assigned module not issued yet, and says what it did.
+func processAccountsOnAssign(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m catalogue.Manifest, node string) string {
+	line, err := issueMissingProcessAccounts(ctx, inv, m, node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("its process accounts are not issued (%v): `module issue %s --node %s` first — "+
+			"`push %s` refuses to send %s until it is", err, m.Module, node, node, m.Module)
+	}
+	return line
+}
+
 // refusedMovingTheController refuses assigning or unassigning the controller's module through a verb (review of
 // novox/hq ADR 0272): the node it is assigned to is the control-node, and the control-node's operator account is
 // the controller's terminal, so whoever moves the module chooses the terminal. At the terminal alone, as every

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_look_integration_test.go

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ func TestALookComesBackForATierTheBusRefusedWhole(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	bus := false
+	asksOfEveryModule(t) // the one ask left is the builder's own (ADR 0453 §5): this test is of what a walk does around it
 	was := askABuild
 	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, _, _ string) (string, error) {
 		if !bus {
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ func TestALookFailsTheTierTheBusRefusedPastTheBound(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &p); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	asksOfEveryModule(t) // the one ask left is the builder's own (ADR 0453 §5): this test is of what a walk does around it
 	was := askABuild
 	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: nats: no responders available for request", inventory.ErrNoChain)
@@ -114,11 +116,6 @@ func TestALookFailsTheTierTheBusRefusedPastTheBound(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a bus silent past its bound did not fail the plan in words: %s %q", got.State, got.Note)
 	}
 
-	// Rebuilt by hand while the bus still reloads: said as waiting, not as a failure and not with an empty reason.
-	joined, said, err := joinAPlan(ctx, open, "a")
-	if err != nil || !joined || !strings.Contains(said, "not asked yet: the bus did not answer") {
-		t.Fatalf("a rebuild left for the bus is said as %v %q %v", joined, said, err)
-	}
 	// And retried by hand: the module is named as waiting, not as asked again.
 	got, _ = inv.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-bus")
 	if got.State == inventory.PlanFailed {

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_moment_test.go

@@ -15,6 +15,15 @@ import (
 // seconds) is not a failed build. The module is left unasked and the plan building, and the next look asks it again; only a
 // module's own fault, or a bus silent for ten minutes, fails the plan.
 
+// asksOfEveryModule makes every module a test names the builder's own, the one module a walk still asks build-agent
+// for (ADR 0453 §5): what a test of that ask's waits reads.
+func asksOfEveryModule(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	was := buildersOwn
+	buildersOwn = func(string) bool { return true }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { buildersOwn = was })
+}
+
 func aTierOfThree() (*inventory.Plan, map[string]inventory.Entry) {
 	p := &inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1", State: inventory.PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{"a", "b", "c"}},
 		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{}}
@@ -26,6 +35,7 @@ func aTierOfThree() (*inventory.Plan, map[string]inventory.Entry) {
 }
 
 func TestABusThatDoesNotAnswerForAMomentDoesNotFailTheTier(t *testing.T) {
+	asksOfEveryModule(t)
 	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
 	bus := false
 	was := askABuild
@@ -68,6 +78,7 @@ func TestABusThatDoesNotAnswerForAMomentDoesNotFailTheTier(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestABusSilentForTenMinutesFailsTheTierAsBefore(t *testing.T) {
+	asksOfEveryModule(t)
 	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
 	was := askABuild
 	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
@@ -119,6 +130,7 @@ func TestAPlanWithAModuleWaitingForTheBusIsOneTheLookComesBackTo(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestAModulesOwnFaultStillFailsThePlan(t *testing.T) {
+	asksOfEveryModule(t)
 	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
 	delete(byName, "a")
 	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_wait_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A retry of a plan failed past the bus's bound, whose module the bus still does not answer, names that module as waiting:
+// read while the plan still says failed, it was named nowhere, and the retry said "asked" with nothing after it (issue
+// 1403, met again once the hand rebuild no longer resumed the plan first).
+func TestARetryNamesTheModulesStillWaitingForTheBus(t *testing.T) {
+	since := time.Now().UTC()
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-bus", State: inventory.PlanFailed, Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {BusWaitFrom: &since}}}
+	waiting := busWaitingOnRetry(p)
+	_, said := retryWords(p, []string{"a"}, nil, waiting)
+	if !strings.Contains(said, "a not asked yet: the bus did not answer") || strings.Contains(said, "asked ;") {
+		t.Fatalf("a retry left for the bus is said as %q", said)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/asker.go

@@ -645,6 +645,10 @@ func doesWords(act conditions.Action) string {
 		return "the delivery is stopped"
 	case act.Verb == broker.ControllerSeat+".plans" && act.Arguments["retry"] != "":
 		return "the failed builds are asked again"
+	case act.Verb == broker.ControllerSeat+".push" && act.Arguments["node"] != "":
+		return "the held builds are sent to " + act.Arguments["node"]
+	case act.Verb == broker.ControllerSeat+".upgrade" && act.Arguments["release-backlog"] != "":
+		return "the builds held after the failed delivery are released"
 	case strings.HasSuffix(act.Verb, ".restart"):
 		return "its service is restarted on " + act.Machine
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/away_integration_test.go

@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ func TestAPlanGoesOnWithoutAMachineAwayWhenItsTierIsSent(t *testing.T) {
 	var mu sync.Mutex
 	var asks []string
 	var sends [][]string
+	asksOfEveryModule(t) // the one ask left is the builder's own (ADR 0453 §5): this test is of what a walk does around it
 	wasAsk := askABuild
 	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, _, _ string) (string, error) {
 		mu.Lock()

cmd/mesh-controller/batches.go

@@ -232,8 +232,8 @@ func (f following) hearMerge(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved, now time.T
 		fmt.Print(nothingReadsIt(repository, m))
 		return nil
 	}
-	// **A module the merge adds is asked for now** (novox/hq issue 1617), not when the batch is cut.
-	askNewModulesAtHearing(ctx, inv, m, entries, read, facts.from)
+	// A module the merge adds is registered from the builder's first done key of it, which the builder's write wakes
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0501 §6): nothing is asked here.
 	// **Its delivery group's word, before the plans are held** (ADR 0306 decision 2): a slow answer holds up no walk.
 	own := ownPath(touches)
 	waits, holding, err := groupWaitHolding(ctx, inv, m, deliverySeatHeld(entries))
@@ -800,6 +800,9 @@ type keptMerge struct {
 	// FirstBuild says the merge is a first merge into a repository the mesh builds nothing from, kept to ask the first
 	// build of its modules once mesh-delivery's word on it is kept (novox/hq ADR 0432, issue 1146).
 	FirstBuild bool `json:"first_build,omitempty"`
+	// Held says which first builds of the merge were refused for a word the running build-agent does not read: the merge
+	// waits for a build-agent that reads them, and is never failed (novox/hq ADR 0482 §5, issue 1173).
+	Held []heldFirstBuild `json:"held,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // announcedOf is a kept merge as the forge announced it, and what it moved; empty where the record says none.

cmd/mesh-controller/build.go

@@ -28,112 +28,6 @@ import (
 // cheapest next step. That is how novox/hq ADR 0001 records `hal/sdk` reaching 34,636:
 // nothing in it was wrong, and no one edit was the one that should have been a new file.
 
-// buildCommand builds a module from its source and records what came out.
-//
-// **Run where there is a container runtime**, which is why it is a command rather than something
-// the control plane does on its own: building needs to run things on a machine, and what the
-// control plane may send a machine is bounded by the declaration language. This is the shape the
-// builder module will take when it is given work over the broker; today a person runs it, and the
-// mesh records the result the same way either way.
-// buildOn rebuilds every module the mesh holds that stands on the named module's artifacts — the
-// rebuild a changed base needs, which nothing else asks for: their sources did not move, and
-// "behind" does not see a base that did (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131). Bases first among them too.
-func buildOn(ctx context.Context, base string, wait time.Duration) error {
-	open, err := openStores(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer open.Close()
-	held, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	against, err := open.inventory.BuiltAgainst(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	var on []inventory.Entry
-	for _, e := range held {
-		if standsOnModule(e, base, against) {
-			on = append(on, e)
-		}
-	}
-	if len(on) == 0 {
-		fmt.Printf("nothing the mesh holds stands on %s\n", base)
-		return nil
-	}
-	on = orderByBases(on, against)
-	fmt.Printf("%d module(s) stand on %s:\n", len(on), base)
-	var failed []string
-	for _, e := range on {
-		fmt.Printf("--- %s\n", e.Manifest.Module)
-		source := buildSource{Repository: e.Source.Repository, Seat: e.Source.Seat}
-		if err := buildOne(ctx, source, e.Source.Path, e.Source.Ref, wait); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("  %v\n", err)
-			failed = append(failed, e.Manifest.Module)
-		}
-	}
-	if len(failed) > 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%d of %d could not be built: %s", len(failed), len(on), strings.Join(failed, ", "))
-	}
-	fmt.Printf("\n%d module(s) rebuilt on %s. `push --behind` sends them on\n", len(on), base)
-	return nil
-}
-
-func buildCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
-	set := flag.NewFlagSet("build", flag.ContinueOnError)
-	ref := set.String("ref", "", "the branch, tag or commit to build")
-	// A module is a repository and a path within it (novox/hq ADR 0069). Empty is the repository's
-	// root, which is the ordinary case and why this is a flag rather than a second argument.
-	path := set.String("path", "", "the module's directory inside the repository")
-	wait := set.Duration("wait", 10*time.Minute, "how long to wait for a builder to answer")
-	dryRun := set.Bool("dry-run", false, "build and print the manifest, recording nothing")
-	// Every module whose source has moved, rather than one named repository.
-	//
-	// **The mirror of `push --behind`, and the same argument** (novox/hq ADR 0010): the mesh
-	// already knows which modules are behind their source, so making a person read that list and
-	// retype each repository is asking them to be the loop. Naming a repository and asking which
-	// ones need building are different requests, so they are not combined.
-	behind := set.Bool("behind", false, "every module the mesh holds older than its source has")
-	on := set.String("on", "", "rebuild every module that stands on this module's artifacts — the rebuild a changed base needs")
-	// A repository on the mesh's own forge, named by its path there (novox/hq ADR 0111). Without it
-	// the repository is external, cloned exactly as given — see source.go.
-	self := set.Bool("self", false, "the repository is a path on the forge holding the git seat")
-	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if *on != "" {
-		if len(positionals) != 0 || *behind || *self {
-			return errors.New("build --on <module> names a base and nothing else")
-		}
-		return buildOn(ctx, *on, *wait)
-	}
-
-	if *behind {
-		if len(positionals) != 0 || *self {
-			return errors.New("build <repository> or build --behind, not both: one names a " +
-				"repository and the other asks which need building")
-		}
-		return buildBehind(ctx, *wait)
-	}
-	if len(positionals) != 1 {
-		return errors.New("build <repository> [--self] [--path P] [--ref R] [--wait D] [--dry-run]  |  build --behind  |  build --on <module>")
-	}
-	source := buildSource{Repository: positionals[0]}
-	if *self {
-		if err := onASeat(source.Repository); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		source.Seat = gitSeat
-	}
-
-	if *dryRun {
-		return buildAndShow(ctx, source, *path, *ref, *wait)
-	}
-	return buildOne(ctx, source, *path, *ref, *wait)
-}
-
 // buildFrom turns what a builder said into what the mesh keeps.
 //
 // **By digest and path, never by where it was pushed** (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/102). The builder
@@ -355,86 +249,6 @@ func builderCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	return issueOnTheNewBus(ctx, inv, m, node, address)
 }
 
-// buildBehind builds every module the mesh holds older than its source has.
-//
-// **This is the loop novox/hq ADR 0010 replaced a pipeline with, closed.** The mesh already
-// records where each module came from and what its source last had; until this, a person read
-// that list and retyped each repository — which is a person being the loop, and the thing a
-// pipeline was doing before it was taken away.
-//
-// Each is built and recorded on its own. **One failing does not stop the others**, for the same
-// reason one broken module no longer blocks a machine's whole declaration: a mesh where one bad
-// repository holds back nine good ones is a mesh where nobody dares add the tenth.
-func buildBehind(ctx context.Context, wait time.Duration) error {
-	open, err := openStores(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer open.Close()
-	inv := open.inventory
-
-	held, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	var stale []inventory.Entry
-	for _, e := range held {
-		if !e.Source.Current() {
-			stale = append(stale, e)
-		}
-	}
-	if len(stale) == 0 {
-		// Said rather than doing nothing quietly: "nothing needed building" and "this did not
-		// run" must never look the same.
-		fmt.Println("every module the mesh holds is what its source last had")
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	fmt.Printf("%d module(s) behind their source:\n", len(stale))
-	for _, e := range stale {
-		fmt.Printf("  %s  %s < %s\n",
-			e.Manifest.Module, short(e.Source.BuiltFrom), short(e.Source.Head))
-	}
-	fmt.Println()
-
-	// Bases first: a module built before the module it stands on is built against the old one
-	// and reports success (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131).
-	against, err := inv.BuiltAgainst(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	stale = orderByBases(stale, against)
-
-	var failed []string
-	for _, e := range stale {
-		fmt.Printf("--- %s\n", e.Manifest.Module)
-		// Its own recorded ref, not its head commit: a module tracking a branch should be built
-		// from that branch, and pinning to the commit the mesh happened to notice would quietly
-		// turn a tracked branch into a pin.
-		source := buildSource{Repository: e.Source.Repository, Seat: e.Source.Seat}
-		if err := buildOne(ctx, source, e.Source.Path, e.Source.Ref, wait); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("  %v\n", err)
-			failed = append(failed, e.Manifest.Module)
-		}
-	}
-
-	if len(failed) > 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%d of %d could not be built: %s",
-			len(failed), len(stale), strings.Join(failed, ", "))
-	}
-	fmt.Printf("\n%d module(s) built. `push --behind` sends them to the machines running them\n",
-		len(stale))
-	return nil
-}
-
-// buildOne asks a build machine for one repository and records everything that came back.
-//
-// Separated from the command so `--behind` can walk a list without a second path to the same act.
-func buildOne(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wait time.Duration) error {
-	_, err := buildOneAsked(ctx, source, path, ref, wait, false, "build")
-	return err
-}
-
 // recordAsked keeps a build request once it is asked (novox/hq issue 325), with who asked it, in a store
 // opened for the purpose: the asks reach here from processes that hold none.
 func recordAsked(ctx context.Context, r inventory.BuildRequest) {
@@ -511,7 +325,6 @@ func buildOneAsked(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wa
 		Seats:      seatBases(ctx),
 		DryRun:     dryRun,
 	}
-	request.Reuse = reuseAsked(ctx, dryRun)
 	fmt.Printf("asked for %s", source)
 	if source.Seat != "" {
 		fmt.Printf(" (%s)", repository)
@@ -679,13 +492,6 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 			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)
-	}
-	// **Only from the repository the catalogue builds the module from** (novox/hq ADR 0266): else the trunk
-	// below is the trunk of whatever repository was built, which may be one an agent made — and a module named
-	// `sudo` from it would be what the next push sends. Another repository is the operator's, at the terminal.
 	trunk := result.Trunk
 	if was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, manifest.Module); err == nil && followedBranch(was.Ref) != "" {
 		trunk = followedBranch(was.Ref)
@@ -693,55 +499,111 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 	if trunk == "" {
 		trunk = "main"
 	}
-	repoID, err := mayRegisterFrom(ctx, inv, manifest.Module, recorded, result.ID, result.Path, trunk)
+	j := takenBuild{kept: kept, manifest: manifest, recorded: recorded, ask: byBuild(result.ID), path: result.Path,
+		trunk: trunk, by: result.On, what: result.Repository, commit: result.Commit}
+	// The checks only an outcome of build-agent needs: a key is a trunk build by construction (ADR 0501 §2), in no
+	// scratch namespace, and carries no list of its own.
+	j.published = func() error {
+		// **Only a commit on the trunk is published** (novox/hq ADR 0238): a commit off its repository's
+		// default branch — a pull request's head, a feature branch built by hand, a `rebuild` or `replay
+		// --register` of one — is for checking, and is never a module's version; nothing could then send it.
+		// The branch the module already follows is its trunk — never the branch a build was asked at, or a
+		// build of a feature branch by name would make that branch its trunk.
+		follows := ""
+		if was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, manifest.Module); err == nil {
+			follows = followedBranch(was.Ref)
+		}
+		if err := publishable(result, follows); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		// **Never a build in the scratch namespace** (novox/hq ADR 0239 §9, ADR 0350 §2): what a check builds is
+		// registered only as the walk's copy in the module's own namespace.
+		if scratch := inScratch(result.Made); scratch != "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf("%s is in the scratch namespace, which only a walk's copy leaves (ADR 0350)", scratch)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	j.carried = func() error {
+		// **The newest trunk build's list of predefined keys is published** (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7): a build of the
+		// catalogue that may be registered keeps its list when its commit is newer than the one kept.
+		carried, err := carriedList(result)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if carried != nil {
+			if err := publishPredefined(ctx, inv, result, carried); err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("%s: the list of predefined keys it carried is not published: %v\n", result.ID, err)
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	manifest, err = registerJudged(ctx, inv, j)
+	return manifest, kept, err
+}
+
+// takenBuild is a build the controller judges and registers, whatever told it of the build: build-agent's outcome (the
+// builder's own module's, until R4g, ADR 0453 §5) or the builder's done key (ADR 0501 §1). **One judging for both**:
+// the rules of who may register, the gate a build failed, the predefined keys and the rule that an unchanged build
+// source moves nothing are the same whichever part built it (ADR 0501 §1, §3).
+type takenBuild struct {
+	kept     inventory.Build
+	manifest catalogue.Manifest
+	recorded inventory.Source
+	ask      registrationAsk
+	path     string
+	trunk    string
+	// by and what name the build in what is said: who built it, and what was built ("ace", "novox/mesh-catalog").
+	by, what, commit string
+	// published refuses a build that may not become a module's version (off the trunk, in the scratch namespace);
+	// nil for a key, which is a trunk fingerprint's by construction (ADR 0501 §2).
+	published func() error
+	// carried publishes a list of predefined keys the build carried; nil when it carried none.
+	carried func() error
+}
+
+// registerJudged judges a recorded build and registers its module, or says why not.
+func registerJudged(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, j takenBuild) (catalogue.Manifest, error) {
+	manifest, kept := j.manifest, j.kept
+	notRegistered := func(err error) (catalogue.Manifest, error) {
+		return manifest, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %w", j.by, manifest.Module,
+			short(j.commit), err)
+	}
+	if err := namesNoInstallation(manifest); err != nil {
+		return manifest, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), and the mesh does not register it: %w",
+			j.by, j.what, short(j.commit), err)
+	}
+	// **Only from the repository the catalogue builds the module from** (novox/hq ADR 0266): else the trunk
+	// below is the trunk of whatever repository was built, which may be one an agent made — and a module named
+	// `sudo` from it would be what the next push sends. Another repository is the operator's, at the terminal.
+	repoID, err := mayRegisterFrom(ctx, inv, manifest.Module, j.recorded, j.ask, j.path, j.trunk)
 	if err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %w", result.On,
-			manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), err)
+		return notRegistered(err)
 	}
-	// **Only a commit on the trunk is published** (novox/hq ADR 0238): a commit off its repository's
-	// default branch — a pull request's head, a feature branch built by hand, a `rebuild` or `replay
-	// --register` of one — is for checking, and is never a module's version; nothing could then send it.
-	// The branch the module already follows is its trunk — never the branch a build was asked at, or a
-	// build of a feature branch by name would make that branch its trunk.
-	follows := ""
-	if was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, manifest.Module); err == nil {
-		follows = followedBranch(was.Ref)
-	}
-	if err := publishable(result, follows); err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %w", result.On,
-			manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), err)
-	}
-	// **Never a build in the scratch namespace** (novox/hq ADR 0239 §9, ADR 0350 §2): what a check builds is
-	// registered only as the walk's copy in the module's own namespace.
-	if scratch := inScratch(result.Made); scratch != "" {
-		return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %s is in the scratch "+
-			"namespace, which only a walk's copy leaves (ADR 0350)", result.On, manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), scratch)
+	if j.published != nil {
+		if err := j.published(); err != nil {
+			return notRegistered(err)
+		}
 	}
 	// **A build that failed its gate is never registered again** (novox/hq ADR 0236): an outcome heard
 	// twice, or replayed, would otherwise make the build a rollback put back what the module is again,
 	// and the next push would send it.
 	if failed, err := inv.GateFailed(ctx, kept.ID); err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, err
+		return manifest, err
 	} else if failed {
-		return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), which failed its gate on its first machine and was put "+
-			"back: it is recorded and not registered again — a newer build is", result.On, manifest.Module,
-			short(result.Commit))
+		return manifest, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), which failed its gate on its first machine and was put "+
+			"back: it is recorded and not registered again — a newer build is", j.by, manifest.Module,
+			short(j.commit))
 	}
-	// **The newest trunk build's list of predefined keys is published** (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7): a build of the
-	// catalogue that may be registered keeps its list when its commit is newer than the one kept. Then the module
-	// is judged against the list the mesh publishes, as every manifest read again is: one naming a key that list
-	// does not hold, or of another type, is refused here and never enters the catalogue.
-	if carried, err := carriedList(result); err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, err
-	} else if carried != nil {
-		if err := publishPredefined(ctx, inv, result, carried); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("%s: the list of predefined keys it carried is not published: %v\n", result.ID, err)
+	// Then the module is judged against the list the mesh publishes, as every manifest read again is: one naming a
+	// key that list does not hold, or of another type, is refused here and never enters the catalogue.
+	if j.carried != nil {
+		if err := j.carried(); err != nil {
+			return manifest, err
 		}
 	}
 	if manifest.NamesPredefined() {
 		if _, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(kept.Manifest); err != nil {
-			return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: judged against the "+
-				"list of predefined keys the mesh publishes, %w", result.On, manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), err)
+			return notRegistered(fmt.Errorf("judged against the list of predefined keys the mesh publishes, %w", err))
 		}
 	}
 	// **A build whose source is unchanged is never a move** (novox/hq issue 280): a rebuild made from
@@ -751,32 +613,34 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 	if kept.SourceFingerprint != "" {
 		stands, raw, err := inv.StandingBuild(ctx, manifest.Module, kept.ID)
 		if err != nil {
-			return manifest, kept, err
+			return manifest, err
 		}
 		if stands != "" && stands != kept.ID && len(raw) > 0 {
-			if same, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw); err == nil && same.Module == manifest.Module {
+			if was, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw); err == nil && was.Module == manifest.Module {
 				fmt.Printf("%s at %s was made from the source %s was: registered with its artifacts, no move\n",
-					manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), stands)
-				manifest = same
+					manifest.Module, short(j.commit), stands)
+				manifest = was
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, manifest, recorded); err != nil {
+	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, manifest, j.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 notRegistered(err)
 		}
-		return manifest, kept, err
+		return manifest, err
 	}
+	// A bus process the new definition gains gets its account now, on each machine assigned the module, so the
+	// next push composes a real account (issue 1226).
+	issueGainedProcessAccounts(ctx, inv, manifest)
 	// Which repository it is registered from, by the forge's own id (novox/hq ADR 0266).
 	if err := inv.SetSourceIdentity(ctx, manifest.Module, repoID); err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, err
+		return manifest, err
 	}
 	// The keep set just moved, and new bytes just landed (novox/hq ADR 0189). Asked here rather
 	// than on a timer of its own: this is the only moment either is true. Never fatal — the build
 	// worked and the module is registered.
 	collect(ctx, inv)
-	return manifest, kept, nil
+	return manifest, nil
 }
 
 // inScratch is the first artifact a build made into the scratch namespace; empty when none is.
@@ -817,64 +681,17 @@ func publishable(result link.BuildResult, follows string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-// buildAndShow builds and prints the manifest without recording anything.
-func buildAndShow(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string, wait time.Duration) error {
-	repository, err := cloneFrom(ctx, source)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if err := verbMayAsk(ctx, source, repository, path); err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	ident, err := openIdentity(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer ident.Close()
-	server, err := connectLink(ctx, nil, nil, nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer server.Close()
-
-	ask, err := askOverOn(buildSeatHeld(ctx))
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer ask.Close()
-
-	result, err := ask.Submit(ctx, link.BuildRequest{
-		ID:         link.NewBuildID(time.Now()),
-		Repository: repository, Path: path, Ref: ref,
-		Held: heldBy(ctx), Seats: seatBases(ctx),
-		DryRun: true,
-	}, wait)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if result.Failed != "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s could not build %s:\n%s", result.On, result.Repository, result.Failed)
-	}
-	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(result.Manifest)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s built %s and what came back is not a manifest: %w",
-			result.On, result.Repository, err)
-	}
-	body, err := json.MarshalIndent(manifest, "", "  ")
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	fmt.Println(string(body))
-	return nil
-}
-
 // answers is what the three questions came back with, read once.
 type answers struct {
-	wrong   []inventory.Doing
-	nodes   []inventory.Node
-	quiet   []inventory.Node
-	behind  map[string][]string
-	sources map[string]inventory.Source
+	// notAnnounced are the owners some module reads the state of that have announced nothing yet (novox/hq ADR 0495,
+	// issue 1790): read from `reads` as before until they do; notAnnouncedWhy why that could not be read.
+	notAnnounced    []string
+	notAnnouncedWhy string
+	wrong           []inventory.Doing
+	nodes           []inventory.Node
+	quiet           []inventory.Node
+	behind          map[string][]string
+	sources         map[string]inventory.Source
 	// waiting is every machine not running what the mesh would send it.
 	waiting []inventory.Machine
 	// recordedWaits is, per machine, every move of a recorded module that waits there for a person (novox/hq ADR

cmd/mesh-controller/build_source.go

@@ -373,22 +373,7 @@ type protectionRule struct {
 // branch, else the first glob rule, in the forge's order, that covers it (gitea's first matching rule). Never a
 // later rule that happens to be stronger: the forge does not read it.
 func judgedRule(rules []protectionRule, branch string) forgeFacts {
-	var applied *protectionRule
-	for i := range rules {
-		if rules[i].Rule == branch {
-			applied = &rules[i]
-			break
-		}
-	}
-	if applied == nil {
-		for i := range rules {
-			if ruleCovers(rules[i].Rule, branch) {
-				applied = &rules[i]
-				break
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	switch r := applied; {
+	switch r := appliedRule(rules, branch); {
 	case r == nil:
 		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("no protection rule covers %s", branch)}
 	case r.Push:
@@ -401,6 +386,22 @@ func judgedRule(rules []protectionRule, branch string) forgeFacts {
 	return forgeFacts{Guarded: true}
 }
 
+// appliedRule is the one rule the forge applies to a branch: the rule named for it, else the first glob rule, in the
+// forge's order, that covers it; nil when none does.
+func appliedRule(rules []protectionRule, branch string) *protectionRule {
+	for i := range rules {
+		if rules[i].Rule == branch {
+			return &rules[i]
+		}
+	}
+	for i := range rules {
+		if ruleCovers(rules[i].Rule, branch) {
+			return &rules[i]
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
 // ruleCovers says a protection rule's name — a branch, or a glob of them — covers a branch, as the forge reads it.
 func ruleCovers(rule, branch string) bool {
 	if rule == branch {
@@ -469,8 +470,39 @@ func (f *sourceForms) onTheForge(repository, seat string) (owner, name string, o
 // repository and path; or, for the build of a merge, when mesh-delivery announced it on the operator's Approve of
 // that head (novox/hq ADR 0420 §7 for a moved module, ADR 0432 for a new one), the forge's checks still holding. path is the module's directory as built; branch the trunk it is registered from.
 func mayRegisterFrom(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, module string, built inventory.Source,
-	buildID, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
-	return mayRegisterIn(ctx, inv, newSourceForms(ctx, inv), module, built, buildID, path, branch)
+	ask registrationAsk, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
+	return mayRegisterIn(ctx, inv, newSourceForms(ctx, inv), module, built, ask, path, branch)
+}
+
+// registrationAsk is what a registration's warrant is read from (novox/hq ADR 0501 §3): the build an outcome answers,
+// whose kept request says whether it was asked at the terminal or for a merge (build-agent's outcome, the builder's own
+// module until R4g); or, for a take-in from the builder's done key, the merge the indexer's trunk value names and
+// whether the operator asked the registration at the controller's terminal (ADR 0501 §4). A key asks no build, so it
+// keeps no request.
+type registrationAsk struct {
+	// Build is the build whose kept request is read; empty for a take-in from a key.
+	Build string
+	// Merge is the commit of the merge a key's module is registered from (the indexer's trunk value); empty for an
+	// outcome, whose request names it.
+	Merge string
+	// Terminal is a key registration the operator asked at the controller's terminal for this repository and path.
+	Terminal bool
+}
+
+// byBuild is the warrant of a build's outcome: read from the request kept under its id.
+func byBuild(id string) registrationAsk { return registrationAsk{Build: id} }
+
+// String is the ask as the registration's words name it.
+func (a registrationAsk) String() string {
+	switch {
+	case a.Build != "":
+		return a.Build
+	case a.Terminal:
+		return "the registration asked at the terminal"
+	case a.Merge != "":
+		return fmt.Sprintf("the merge %.8s", a.Merge)
+	}
+	return "a key"
 }
 
 // catalogueReader is the catalogue's manifests, as the router's records are found in them.
@@ -490,15 +522,19 @@ type registrations interface {
 
 // mayRegisterIn is mayRegisterFrom on what it reads of the mesh handed in.
 func mayRegisterIn(ctx context.Context, inv registrations, forms *sourceForms, module string, built inventory.Source,
-	buildID, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
+	ask registrationAsk, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
+	buildID := ask.String()
 	was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, module)
 	isNew := errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrNoSuchModule)
 	if err != nil && !isNew {
 		return 0, err
 	}
-	terminal, err := askedHereFor(ctx, inv, forms, buildID, built, path)
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, err
+	terminal := ask.Terminal
+	if ask.Build != "" {
+		var err error
+		if terminal, err = askedHereFor(ctx, inv, forms, ask.Build, built, path); err != nil {
+			return 0, err
+		}
 	}
 	refuse := func(why string) (int64, error) {
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s. A module is registered from such a source only by a build asked at the "+
@@ -542,7 +578,7 @@ func mayRegisterIn(ctx context.Context, inv registrations, forms *sourceForms, m
 	// The forge's protection and the repository's identity are checked below as for every registration.
 	movedWhy := ""
 	if why != "" && !terminal {
-		accepted, err := approvedMove(ctx, inv, forms, buildID, built)
+		accepted, err := approvedMove(ctx, inv, forms, ask, built)
 		switch {
 		case err == nil:
 			movedWhy, why = accepted, ""
@@ -662,37 +698,6 @@ func sourceWords(repository, seat string) string {
 	return buildSource{Repository: repository, Seat: seat}.String()
 }
 
-// firstBuildWarrant is what the controller checked before it asks the first build of the modules a merge adds to a
-// repository nothing is built from: the merge was made on the operator's Approve of its head (approvedAnnounced). It
-// travels in the context of that ask alone, in this process, so no verb carries one.
-type firstBuildWarrant struct {
-	repository string // owner/name on the git seat
-	paths      map[string]bool
-	why        string
-}
-
-type firstBuildWarrantKey struct{}
-
-// withFirstBuildWarrant is ctx carrying the warrant for asking the first builds of paths in repository.
-func withFirstBuildWarrant(ctx context.Context, repository string, paths []string, why string) context.Context {
-	w := &firstBuildWarrant{repository: repository, paths: map[string]bool{}, why: why}
-	for _, p := range paths {
-		w.paths[strings.Trim(p, "/")] = true
-	}
-	return context.WithValue(ctx, firstBuildWarrantKey{}, w)
-}
-
-func firstBuildWarrantIn(ctx context.Context) *firstBuildWarrant {
-	w, _ := ctx.Value(firstBuildWarrantKey{}).(*firstBuildWarrant)
-	return w
-}
-
-// covers says the warrant is for exactly this ask: the repository on the git seat, and a module path the merge holds.
-func (w *firstBuildWarrant) covers(source buildSource, path string) bool {
-	return w != nil && source.Seat == gitSeat && strings.EqualFold(strings.Trim(source.Repository, "/"), w.repository) &&
-		w.paths[strings.Trim(path, "/")]
-}
-
 // verbMayAsk refuses, for a call through a verb, a build of a repository the catalogue builds no module from
 // (novox/hq ADR 0266): the build node would run what an agent wrote, and its outcome could never be
 // registered anyway. url is the repository as it is cloned. At the terminal anything may be asked.
@@ -700,11 +705,6 @@ func verbMayAsk(ctx context.Context, source buildSource, url, path string) error
 	if startedAtTheTerminal() {
 		return nil
 	}
-	// **Or the first build of a module a merge adds on the operator's Approve** (novox/hq ADR 0432, issue 1146): the
-	// controller's own ask, carrying the warrant it checked, for that repository and the module paths the merge holds.
-	if firstBuildWarrantIn(ctx).covers(source, path) {
-		return nil
-	}
 	open, err := openStores(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

cmd/mesh-controller/builder_on_the_bus_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
+)
+
+// builderOnTheBus is the builder's and the indexer's buckets on a test's own bus, which the controller's connection for
+// the moment (servingBus) reaches: what a take-in from a key reads (R4e, issue 1851).
+type builderOnTheBus struct {
+	js                         *broker.JetStream
+	builds, modules, manifests jetstream.KeyValue
+}
+
+func aBuilderOnTheBus(t *testing.T) builderOnTheBus {
+	t.Helper()
+	js, err := broker.Dial(testbus.URL(t))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(js.Close)
+	api, err := jetstream.New(js.Conn())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	b := builderOnTheBus{js: js}
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		into    *jetstream.KeyValue
+		bucket  string
+		history uint8
+	}{
+		{&b.builds, sdkdelivery.BuilderBuildsBucket, sdkdelivery.BuilderBuildsHistory},
+		{&b.modules, sdkdelivery.ModulesBucket, sdkdelivery.ModulesHistory},
+		{&b.manifests, sdkdelivery.ManifestsBucket, 1},
+	} {
+		kv, err := api.CreateKeyValue(ctx, jetstream.KeyValueConfig{Bucket: c.bucket, History: c.history})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		*c.into = kv
+	}
+	servingBus.Store(js)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { servingBus.Store(nil) })
+	withTrunkList(t, true)
+	// The indexer on this bus is read, not the "not held" a mesh with no bus reads (aMeshOnTheStore).
+	wasIndexed := indexedModule
+	indexedModule = theIndexedModule
+	t.Cleanup(func() { indexedModule = wasIndexed })
+	return b
+}
+
+// indexed writes the indexer's trunk value of module at commit, naming fp, and its manifest: a module of one archive.
+func (b builderOnTheBus) indexed(t *testing.T, module, version, repository, path, commit, fp string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor(module, version, fp, repository, path, commit)
+	raw := keys.manifests[trunk.Manifest]
+	value, err := sdkdelivery.EncodeManifest(sdkdelivery.Manifest{Module: module, JSON: raw})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := b.manifests.Put(context.Background(), trunk.Manifest, value); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	trunk.FP = "src1:" + fp[len("src2:"):]
+	encoded, err := sdkdelivery.EncodeModule(trunk)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := b.modules.Put(context.Background(), module, encoded); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return trunk.Manifest
+}
+
+// built writes the builder's key of module at fp: done, its one archive named with a reference, or in another state.
+func (b builderOnTheBus) built(t *testing.T, module, version, fp, manifest, state string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	keys, _ := aKeyFor(module, version, fp, "", "", "")
+	v := keys.keys[module].Build
+	v.Manifest = manifest
+	if state != sdkdelivery.BuildDone {
+		v = sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: state, By: "ace"}
+		if state == sdkdelivery.BuildFailed {
+			v.Error = "digests differ: ace sha256:1, g14 sha256:2"
+		}
+	}
+	value, err := sdkdelivery.EncodeBuilderBuild(v)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	key, err := sdkdelivery.BuilderBuildKey(module, fp)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := b.builds.Put(context.Background(), key, value); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+// noBuildAsked fails the test if anything asks build-agent for a build (ADR 0501 §6, ADR 0503 §6).
+func noBuildAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, _ buildSource, path, _ string) (string, error) {
+		t.Errorf("a build was asked of build-agent, at %q", path)
+		return "", context.Canceled
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+}
+
+// asksWithPaths records every build a merge asks for, as repository, path and ref. The merge window's goroutine and
+// the test's own may ask at once, so the record is written under a lock (issue 1543).
+func asksWithPaths(t *testing.T) *[][3]string {
+	t.Helper()
+	asksOfEveryModule(t) // the one ask left is the builder's own (ADR 0453 §5): these tests are of what a walk does around it
+	var asked [][3]string
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string) (string, error) {
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		asked = append(asked, [3]string{source.Repository, path, ref})
+		return "b-" + path, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	return &asked
+}
+
+// theIndexedModule is the look at the indexer as the controller makes it, kept before any test replaces it.
+var theIndexedModule = indexedModule

cmd/mesh-controller/builders_own_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// A12 (ADR 0453 §5, ADR 0498 §7; issue 1851): the one function every ask goes through refuses any module but the
+// builder's own, naming the builder's key it is taken from instead; the builder's own module passes the refusal.
+func TestBuildAgentIsAskedForTheBuildersOwnModuleAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	was := askedModuleOf
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askedModuleOf = was })
+	askedModuleOf = func(_ context.Context, _ buildSource, path string) (string, error) {
+		return strings.TrimPrefix(path, "modules/"), nil
+	}
+	_, err := askABuild(t.Context(), buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git"}, "modules/sudo", "main")
+	if !errors.Is(err, errNotTheBuildersOwn) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "sudo is taken from the builder's done key") ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "mesh-delivery-builder_builds") {
+		t.Fatalf("an ask of another module: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := onlyTheBuildersOwn(t.Context(), buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"},
+		"modules/mesh-delivery-builder"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the builder's own module is refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	askedModuleOf = func(context.Context, buildSource, string) (string, error) { return "", errors.New("no store") }
+	if err := onlyTheBuildersOwn(t.Context(), buildSource{Repository: "novox/x"}, ""); !errors.Is(err, errNotTheBuildersOwn) {
+		t.Fatalf("an ask whose module cannot be read went on: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A12: a walk of the builder's own module and one other asks build-agent for the first alone; the other is taken from
+// its key.
+func TestAWalkAsksBuildAgentForTheBuildersOwnModuleAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	var asked []string
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, _ buildSource, path, _ string) (string, error) {
+		asked = append(asked, path)
+		return "build-1", nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("sudo")
+	p.Tiers = [][]string{{"mesh-delivery-builder", "sudo"}}
+	byName["mesh-delivery-builder"] = byName["sudo"]
+	e := byName["mesh-delivery-builder"]
+	e.Source.Repository, e.Source.Path = "novox/mesh-delivery", "modules/mesh-delivery-builder"
+	byName["mesh-delivery-builder"] = e
+	for _, m := range p.Tiers[0] {
+		askModule(t.Context(), p, m, byName)
+	}
+	if len(asked) != 1 || asked[0] != "modules/mesh-delivery-builder" {
+		t.Fatalf("build-agent was asked for %v, want the builder's own module alone", asked)
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["mesh-delivery-builder"]; s.Key || s.Build != "build-1" {
+		t.Fatalf("the builder's own module is not asked: %+v", s)
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["sudo"]; !s.Key || s.Build != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the other module is not taken from its key: %+v", s)
+	}
+}
+
+// ADR 0520 §1 (issue 1851): until R4g build-agent and mesh-tools, the toolchain image its builds stand on, are build-agent's
+// own, as the builder's module is: the builder writes no key of them, so a walk asks build-agent for them and reads no key;
+// mesh-tools-go (its key from mesh-build-image) and any other module of the same tier are still taken from their keys.
+func TestAWalkAsksBuildAgentForItselfAndMeshToolsAndReadsNoKeyOfThem(t *testing.T) {
+	own := []string{"build-agent", "mesh-tools"}
+	keyed := []string{"mesh-tools-go", "sudo"}
+	wasModule := askedModuleOf
+	askedModuleOf = func(_ context.Context, _ buildSource, path string) (string, error) {
+		return strings.TrimPrefix(path, "modules/"), nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askedModuleOf = wasModule })
+	for _, m := range own {
+		if err := onlyTheBuildersOwn(t.Context(), buildSource{Repository: "novox/x", Seat: "git"}, "modules/"+m); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("an ask of %s is refused: %v", m, err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := onlyTheBuildersOwn(t.Context(), buildSource{Repository: "novox/x", Seat: "git"}, "modules/mesh-tools-go"); !errors.Is(err, errNotTheBuildersOwn) {
+		t.Fatalf("an ask of mesh-tools-go went on: %v", err)
+	}
+	var asked []string
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, _ buildSource, path, _ string) (string, error) {
+		asked = append(asked, path)
+		return "build-" + strings.TrimPrefix(path, "modules/"), nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("sudo")
+	p.Tiers = [][]string{append(append([]string{}, own...), keyed...)}
+	for _, m := range append(append([]string{}, own...), keyed...) {
+		e := byName["sudo"]
+		e.Source.Path = "modules/" + m
+		byName[m] = e
+	}
+	for _, m := range p.Tiers[0] {
+		askModule(t.Context(), p, m, byName)
+	}
+	if strings.Join(asked, " ") != "modules/build-agent modules/mesh-tools" {
+		t.Fatalf("build-agent was asked for %v", asked)
+	}
+	for _, m := range own {
+		if s := p.Modules[m]; s.Key || s.Build != "build-"+m || s.State != "asked" {
+			t.Fatalf("%s is not asked of build-agent, or is read from a key: %+v", m, s)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, m := range keyed {
+		if s := p.Modules[m]; !s.Key || s.Build != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("%s is not taken from its key: %+v", m, s)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/busobjects.go

@@ -32,6 +32,13 @@ func assertBusObjects(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, r broker.Ra
 	if err := broker.Raise(r, names); err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	// And each node's bucket for the files of its declaration that travel by digest (novox/hq ADR 0486 §4), so a node finds its own
+	// whenever the bus is up.
+	if files, ok := r.(interface{ EnsureDeclarationFiles(nodes []string) error }); ok {
+		if err := files.EnsureDeclarationFiles(names); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+	}
 	// The work queues of the mesh's own roles (novox/hq ADR 0121). The queue before the holder,
 	// deliberately: work queues until somebody arrives to do it, so assigning a build machine a week
 	// after something started asking for builds flushes the backlog instead of having lost it.

cmd/mesh-controller/catch_up.go

@@ -241,10 +241,9 @@ func mergeAskPrefix(number int, head string) string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf("merge-%d-%s-", number, head)
 }
 
-// askersOfMerges are the askers a merge's warrant is read under: the teller, and mesh-delivery for a merge before release 3e
-// (ADR 0437 §6). Release 4's controller work stops accepting mesh-delivery (ADR 0450 §8); a merge asked under it earlier is
-// still found here until then.
-func askersOfMerges() []string { return []string{sdkdelivery.TellerModule, theDelivery} }
+// askersOfMerges are the askers a merge's warrant is read under: the teller alone (ADR 0437 §6), since R4e stopped taking
+// mesh-delivery's (ADR 0450 §8; issue 1318).
+func askersOfMerges() []string { return []string{sdkdelivery.TellerModule} }
 
 // caughtUpWarrant judges a chosen merge ask of the router as the warrant of a merge: the ask is the operator's, the warrant
 // answers that very ask as it was published, and it is the operator's Approve proved by the channel it came through (ADR 0437
@@ -391,9 +390,6 @@ var findMergeWarrant = func(ctx context.Context, inv catalogueReader, owner, rep
 			if asker == sdkdelivery.TellerModule && !strings.HasPrefix(id, sdkdelivery.AskKindMerge+"-") {
 				continue
 			}
-			if asker == theDelivery && !named {
-				continue
-			}
 			ask, w, err := closedRecordOf(ctx, inv, asker, id)
 			if err != nil {
 				return "", false, "", err

cmd/mesh-controller/catch_up_test.go

@@ -69,12 +69,12 @@ func TestAForgeThatDoesNotAnswerIsAnErrorNotAnEmptyTrunk(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestACaughtUpMergeIsAcceptedOnTheSameWarrantAsAnAnnouncedOne(t *testing.T) {
 	ok := approvedMerge(t)
-	for _, asker := range []string{sdkdelivery.TellerModule, theDelivery} {
-		w := ok.warrant
-		w.Asker = asker
-		if _, err := caughtUpWarrant(asker, &ok.ask, &w); err != nil {
-			t.Errorf("the operator's Approve under %s was refused: %v", asker, err)
-		}
+	if _, err := caughtUpWarrant(sdkdelivery.TellerModule, &ok.ask, &ok.warrant); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("the operator's Approve under the teller was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	// 1318 (ADR 0450 §8): mesh-delivery's warrant of before the gate is no longer taken.
+	if _, err := caughtUpWarrant(theDelivery, &ok.ask, &ok.warrant); err == nil {
+		t.Error("a warrant under mesh-delivery was accepted")
 	}
 	if _, err := caughtUpWarrant("keycloak", &ok.ask, &ok.warrant); err == nil {
 		t.Error("a warrant of an asker the controller takes none from was accepted")
@@ -229,34 +229,6 @@ func TestAGroupsWarrantIsFoundByTheAsksWordsForThePullRequestAndItsHead(t *testi
 	}
 }
 
-// Keycloak's merge was asked as mesh-delivery.merge-378-b9104454f9a5-1, before release 3e: the id names the pull request and
-// the first twelve digits of its head, and the warrant is found by them under mesh-delivery.
-func TestAWarrantAskedUnderMeshDeliveryIsFoundByThePullRequestAndItsHead(t *testing.T) {
-	ok := approvedMerge(t)
-	head := "b9104454f9a5e0c4d3b2a1f0e9d8c7b6a5948372"
-	askID := "merge-378-b9104454f9a5-1"
-	ask, w := ok.ask, ok.warrant
-	ask.ID, w.Ask, w.Asker = askID, askID, theDelivery
-	w.AskDigest = ask.Digest()
-	withRouter(t, map[string]map[string]aRouterRecord{theDelivery: {
-		"merge-377-aaaaaaaaaaaa-1": {},
-		askID:                      {ask, w},
-	}})
-	why, found, reason, err := findMergeWarrant(t.Context(), nil, "novox", "mesh-catalog", 378, head)
-	if err != nil || !found || !strings.Contains(why, askID) {
-		t.Fatalf("the warrant was not found: %q %v %q %v", why, found, reason, err)
-	}
-	// Another head names another ask, and none is found.
-	if _, found, _, _ := findMergeWarrant(t.Context(), nil, "novox", "mesh-catalog", 378, "ffffffffffff0000"); found {
-		t.Fatal("another head found a warrant")
-	}
-	// A router that cannot be read is an error, never "no warrant".
-	routerAskIDs = func(context.Context, catalogueReader, string) ([]string, error) { return nil, errors.New("no answer") }
-	if _, found, _, err := findMergeWarrant(t.Context(), nil, "novox", "mesh-catalog", 378, head); found || err == nil {
-		t.Fatalf("an unreadable router read as no warrant: %v %v", found, err)
-	}
-}
-
 // A trunk shorter than a page, or with none, is read without a fault: the pages end when the forge's do.
 func TestAShortTrunkIsReadWholeAndAnEmptyOneIsNoMerges(t *testing.T) {
 	was := trunkCommitsPage

cmd/mesh-controller/chain.go

@@ -51,55 +51,13 @@ func attachTheChain(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, server *link.
 		fmt.Printf("chain: the builds are not laid out under their modules yet, and none is read until they are: %v\n", err)
 		go layBuildsOutSoon(ctx, inv)
 	}
-	// And the requests the move of delivery 1 found never handed over, asked again once (askAgain), once it is serving.
-	go askAgainSoon(ctx, inv)
+	// The requests the move of delivery 1 found never handed over are not asked again: the controller asks no build
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0501; issue 1851, A10), and the builder builds every fingerprint the indexer writes.
 	// And what delivery 1 recorded of what each machine was sent, copied onto the keys of the assignments (CopySentBuilds).
 	go copySentBuildsSoon(ctx, inv)
 	return nil
 }
 
-// askAgain asks once more for each build request the move found never handed over (novox/hq issue 981 note 7 Q5): the
-// requests a merge could not ask for, which a person's hand `build` would otherwise have to repeat. **At most once**: a
-// request is claimed before it is asked and settled after, so a crash between loses the ask, which is where it stood.
-func askAgain(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
-	pending, err := inv.RequestsToAskAgain(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("chain: the requests never handed over cannot be read: %v\n", err)
-		return
-	}
-	for _, r := range pending {
-		if claimed, err := inv.ClaimToAskAgain(ctx, r.ID); err != nil || !claimed {
-			if err != nil {
-				fmt.Printf("chain: %s cannot be claimed to be asked again: %v\n", r.ID, err)
-			}
-			continue
-		}
-		id, err := askABuild(ctx, buildSource{Repository: r.Repository, Seat: r.Seat}, r.Path, r.Ref)
-		if err != nil {
-			if serr := inv.AskedAgainAs(ctx, r.ID, "not asked again: "+err.Error()); serr != nil {
-				fmt.Printf("chain: %s was not asked again, and that could not be kept: %v\n", r.ID, serr)
-			}
-			fmt.Printf("chain: %s was never handed over and cannot be asked again: %v\n", r.ID, err)
-			continue
-		}
-		recordBuildRequest(ctx, inv, inventory.BuildRequest{ID: id, Repository: r.Repository, Seat: r.Seat, Path: r.Path,
-			Ref: r.Ref, Commit: r.Commit, For: r.For})
-		if err := inv.AskedAgainAs(ctx, r.ID, id); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("chain: %s was asked again as %s, and that could not be kept: %v\n", r.ID, id, err)
-		}
-		fmt.Printf("chain: %s, never handed over, is asked again as %s\n", r.ID, id)
-	}
-}
-
-// askAgainSoon waits for the controller to be serving, which an ask needs, and then asks again.
-func askAgainSoon(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
-	select {
-	case <-ctx.Done():
-	case <-time.After(time.Minute):
-		askAgain(ctx, inv)
-	}
-}
-
 // kindSentBuildsNotCopied is the condition of the one-time copy of node.sent_builds onto the assignments' keys that has not
 // succeeded: until it has, a module an assignment pulled in may be missing from what a machine is read to run.
 const kindSentBuildsNotCopied = "sent-builds-not-copied"

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds.go

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
-	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
@@ -53,7 +52,7 @@ func forgetChecksOfWalk(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p invento
 	if p.WalkSaid != inventory.WalkEnded || p.Delivery == nil {
 		return
 	}
-	for _, pull := range reuseAskOf(&p).Pulls {
+	for _, pull := range pullsOfWalk(&p) {
 		said, err := forgetChecks(ctx, inv, builder.PullRef{Owner: pull.Owner, Repo: pull.Repo, Number: pull.Number})
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s: its check builds stay until the week's sweep: %v\n", p.ID, err)
@@ -62,26 +61,3 @@ func forgetChecksOfWalk(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p invento
 		fmt.Printf("%s: %s\n", p.ID, said)
 	}
 }
-
-// forgetChecksCommand is `forget-checks <owner> <repo> <number>`: the verb the delivery's owner asks when the forge
-// says a pull request closed unmerged (novox/hq ADR 0350 §5).
-func forgetChecksCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
-	if len(args) != 3 {
-		return errors.New("forget-checks <owner> <repo> <number>")
-	}
-	number, err := strconv.Atoi(args[2])
-	if err != nil || number <= 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%q is not a pull request's number", args[2])
-	}
-	open, err := openStores(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	defer open.Close()
-	said, err := forgetChecks(ctx, open.inventory, builder.PullRef{Owner: args[0], Repo: args[1], Number: number})
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	fmt.Println(said)
-	return nil
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds_integration_test.go

@@ -14,23 +14,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
-func TestOnlyAWalksAskTakesAChecksBuildAndADryRunNever(t *testing.T) {
+func TestAWalkNamesThePullRequestsOfItsMergesOnce(t *testing.T) {
 	p := &inventory.Plan{Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Merges: []inventory.PlanMerge{
 		{Repository: "novox/shop", Number: 7}, {Repository: "http://forge.invalid/novox/web.git", Number: 3},
 		{Repository: "novox/shop", Number: 7}, {Repository: "novox/shop"}}}}
-	asked := reuseAskOf(p)
-	if want := []link.PullRef{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}, {Owner: "novox", Repo: "web", Number: 3}}; !reflect.DeepEqual(asked.Pulls, want) {
-		t.Fatalf("the walk names %+v", asked.Pulls)
-	}
-	walk := withReuse(t.Context(), asked)
-	if reuseAsked(walk, false) != asked {
-		t.Fatal("a walk's ask does not carry its leave")
-	}
-	if reuseAsked(walk, true) != nil {
-		t.Fatal("a dry run carries a leave to take a check's build")
-	}
-	if reuseAsked(t.Context(), false) != nil {
-		t.Fatal("an ask that is not a walk's carries a leave")
+	if want := []link.PullRef{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}, {Owner: "novox", Repo: "web", Number: 3}}; !reflect.DeepEqual(pullsOfWalk(p), want) {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk names %+v", pullsOfWalk(p))
 	}
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds_test.go

@@ -104,44 +104,6 @@ func TestAWalksBuildSaysWhetherItReusedOrBuilt(t *testing.T) {
 // build as it judges one the walk built. A scratch reference is refused. Needs the store (MESH_TEST_POSTGRES), and
 // is named in testdata/store-tests.
 
-// A walk's leave names the builds its own pull requests' verdicts made at the head each merge merged — never an
-// earlier head's — read once per walk, and none when they cannot be read: the builder takes nothing a verdict does
-// not name (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2, issue 703).
-func TestAWalksLeaveNamesTheBuildsItsPullRequestsVerdictsMade(t *testing.T) {
-	was := checkedBuildsOf
-	forgetWalkVerdicts()
-	t.Cleanup(func() { checkedBuildsOf = was; forgetWalkVerdicts() })
-	var asked [][]link.PullRef
-	pull := link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}
-	atHead := link.CheckedBuild{Pull: pull, Check: "build-2", Head: "bbbbbbbbbbbb", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:2"}}
-	earlier := link.CheckedBuild{Pull: pull, Check: "build-1", Head: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:1"}}
-	checkedBuildsOf = func(_ context.Context, pulls []link.PullRef) ([]link.CheckedBuild, error) {
-		asked = append(asked, pulls)
-		return []link.CheckedBuild{atHead, earlier}, nil
-	}
-	pulls := []link.PullRef{pull}
-	heads := map[link.PullRef]string{pull: "bbbbbbbbbbbb0123456789"}
-	for range 3 {
-		if got := reuseWithVerdicts(t.Context(), "plan-1", &link.ReuseAsk{Pulls: pulls}, heads); !reflect.DeepEqual(got.Builds,
-			[]link.CheckedBuild{atHead}) {
-			t.Fatalf("the leave names %+v, not only the merged head's build", got.Builds)
-		}
-	}
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(asked, [][]link.PullRef{pulls}) {
-		t.Fatalf("the verdicts were read %d times for one walk: %v", len(asked), asked)
-	}
-	// A merge whose head was not said takes nothing.
-	if got := reuseWithVerdicts(t.Context(), "plan-1", &link.ReuseAsk{Pulls: pulls}, nil); got.Builds != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a merge of no said head names %+v", got.Builds)
-	}
-	checkedBuildsOf = func(context.Context, []link.PullRef) ([]link.CheckedBuild, error) {
-		return nil, errors.New("no bus")
-	}
-	if got := reuseWithVerdicts(t.Context(), "plan-2", &link.ReuseAsk{Pulls: pulls}, heads); got.Builds != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("verdicts that could not be read named %+v", got.Builds)
-	}
-}
-
 // A check is handed only the builds earlier checks of its own pull request at its own head made: another pull
 // request's build, or an earlier head's, is never kept (novox/hq issue 703). None when they cannot be read.
 func TestACheckIsHandedOnlyItsOwnHeadsBuilds(t *testing.T) {
@@ -170,24 +132,3 @@ func TestACheckIsHandedOnlyItsOwnHeadsBuilds(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("verdicts that could not be read named %+v", got)
 	}
 }
-
-func forgetWalkVerdicts() {
-	walkVerdicts.Lock()
-	defer walkVerdicts.Unlock()
-	walkVerdicts.read = map[string]verdictsRead{}
-}
-
-// A walk's merged heads are the forge's word for each merge; a merge announced without its head, or a pull request
-// merged at two heads in one walk, has none, and its walk takes no check's build (novox/hq issue 703).
-func TestAWalksMergedHeadsAreTheForgesWord(t *testing.T) {
-	merge := func(number int, head string) inventory.PlanMerge {
-		return inventory.PlanMerge{Repository: "novox/shop", Number: number, Head: head}
-	}
-	p := &inventory.Plan{Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Merges: []inventory.PlanMerge{
-		merge(7, "aaaaaaaaaaaa1"), merge(8, ""), merge(9, "bbbbbbbbbbbb"), merge(9, "cccccccccccc")}}}
-	heads := mergedHeadsOf(p)
-	shop := func(n int) link.PullRef { return link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: n} }
-	if heads[shop(7)] != "aaaaaaaaaaaa1" || heads[shop(8)] != "" || heads[shop(9)] != "" {
-		t.Fatalf("merged heads %v", heads)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_siblings.go

@@ -1,165 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"fmt"
-	"regexp"
-	"sort"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// **A delivery group's member is checked beside the other members' heads** (novox/hq ADR 0382, issue 867).
-//
-// A mesh-host change and a mesh-controller change that need each other could not both pass their own merge checks:
-// each was read beside the other's repository at the commit the mesh runs, which holds neither change. So the
-// controller asks mesh-delivery's `groups` once for every pull request's check it asks (§1), and names, in the ask,
-// the group's other open pull requests into a base of the same name, in a repository the build seat reads beside the
-// check — mesh-lab never — each with its whole head. The build seat reads those repositories at the sibling's merge (§2).
-// A pull request for which mesh-delivery answered and named no sibling is asked exactly as before (§7).
-
-// wholeCommit is a commit as the forge says a head: forty hexadecimal characters.
-var wholeCommit = regexp.MustCompile(`^[0-9a-f]{40}$`)
-
-// besideRepositories are the repositories (lower case, owner/repo) a check reads beside its own, by the directory each
-// is found under — the core's, as besideOf clones them, and mesh-sdk beside the controller; never mesh-lab, which is
-// always read at its trunk.
-func besideRepositories(entries []inventory.Entry) map[string]string {
-	read := map[string]string{}
-	for _, e := range entries {
-		dir, core := coreModules[e.Manifest.Module]
-		if !core || e.Provided || e.Source.Repository == "" {
-			continue
-		}
-		read[nameOf(e.Source.Repository)] = dir
-		if dir == "mesh-controller" && e.Source.Seat != "" {
-			read[nameOf(siblingOf(e.Source.Repository, "mesh-sdk"))] = "mesh-sdk"
-		}
-	}
-	delete(read, "")
-	return read
-}
-
-// nameOf is a recorded repository as owner/repo in lower case, empty when it names no owner.
-func nameOf(repository string) string {
-	owner, repo := sourceOwner(repository), sourceName(repository)
-	if owner == "" || repo == "" {
-		return ""
-	}
-	return strings.ToLower(owner + "/" + repo)
-}
-
-// siblingsFor is the pull request's siblings, as mesh-delivery's groups say them (ADR 0382 §1): the other members of
-// the group its head branch names that are open, unmerged and into a base of its own base's name, in a repository the
-// check reads beside it (beside: the directories the ask already names). The second answer is why they could not be
-// learned, empty when they could: the group's members carry no head or base — a mesh-delivery from before the rule.
-func siblingsFor(p link.PullUpdated, entries []inventory.Entry, beside map[string]link.CheckedOut,
-	lines []groupsLine) ([]link.CheckSibling, string) {
-	own := strings.ToLower(p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo)
-	var group *groupsLine
-	if p.Head == "" {
-		// A recheck (mesh-delivery's `recheck` through `delivery check`) carries no head branch name: the group is the one
-		// whose members hold this very pull request, by repository and number.
-		learnable := false
-		for i := range lines {
-			for _, m := range lines[i].Details {
-				learnable = true
-				if p.Number != 0 && m.Number == p.Number && strings.ToLower(m.Repository) == own {
-					group = &lines[i]
-				}
-			}
-		}
-		if group == nil {
-			for _, l := range lines {
-				if len(l.Details) == 0 && len(l.Members) > 0 && !learnable {
-					return nil, "mesh-delivery named the groups' members without their pull requests (a mesh-delivery from before novox/hq ADR 0382): " +
-						"the group of a pull request announced without its head branch cannot be found"
-				}
-			}
-			return nil, "" // a lone pull request
-		}
-	} else {
-		for i := range lines {
-			if lines[i].ID == p.Head {
-				group = &lines[i]
-			}
-		}
-		if group == nil {
-			return nil, ""
-		}
-	}
-	if len(group.Details) == 0 && len(group.Members) > 0 {
-		return nil, "mesh-delivery named the group's members without their heads and bases (a mesh-delivery from before novox/hq ADR 0382)"
-	}
-	read := besideRepositories(entries)
-	var siblings []link.CheckSibling
-	for _, m := range group.Details {
-		repository := strings.ToLower(m.Repository)
-		if repository == own {
-			continue
-		}
-		if !m.Open {
-			continue
-		}
-		if m.Head == "" || m.Base == "" {
-			return nil, "mesh-delivery named " + m.ID + " without its head or base (a mesh-delivery from before novox/hq ADR 0382)"
-		}
-		dir, readBeside := read[repository]
-		if m.Base != p.Base || !readBeside || dir == "mesh-lab" {
-			continue
-		}
-		if _, there := beside[dir]; !there {
-			continue
-		}
-		head := strings.ToLower(m.Head)
-		if !wholeCommit.MatchString(head) {
-			return nil, fmt.Sprintf("mesh-delivery named %s with a head that is not a whole commit (%q)", m.ID, m.Head)
-		}
-		siblings = append(siblings, link.CheckSibling{Repository: m.Repository, Number: m.Number, Head: head, Base: m.Base, Dir: dir})
-	}
-	sort.Slice(siblings, func(i, j int) bool { return siblings[i].Dir < siblings[j].Dir })
-	return siblings, ""
-}
-
-// withSiblings asks mesh-delivery's `groups` once and says in the request the pull request's siblings, or why they
-// could not be learned (ADR 0382 §1): a check never waits on mesh-delivery past groupAskWithin and never fails for it,
-// so a fix to mesh-delivery is still checked without it.
-func withSiblings(ctx context.Context, request *link.BuildRequest, p link.PullUpdated, entries []inventory.Entry) {
-	lines, err := groupsAsked(ctx, deliverySeatHeld(entries))
-	siblingsFrom(request, p, entries, lines, err)
-}
-
-// siblingsFrom is withSiblings from mesh-delivery's answer already had.
-func siblingsFrom(request *link.BuildRequest, p link.PullUpdated, entries []inventory.Entry, lines []groupsLine, err error) {
-	if request.Check == nil {
-		return
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		request.Check.SiblingsUnknown = fmt.Sprintf("mesh-delivery did not say the group's pull requests (%v): "+
-			"the check reads no siblings", err)
-		return
-	}
-	request.Check.Siblings, request.Check.SiblingsUnknown = siblingsFor(p, entries, request.Check.Beside, lines)
-}
-
-// composedMember says the pull request is a member of a delivery group whose gate is the composed check's (novox/hq
-// ADR 0403 clauses 1 and 7): the group has two members or more and mesh-delivery says so on its line. The group is
-// found as siblingsFor finds it, by its head branch name, or, for a recheck that carries none, by the pull request's
-// repository and number — not by siblings, which name only what the check reads beside it.
-func composedMember(p link.PullUpdated, lines []groupsLine) bool {
-	own := strings.ToLower(p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo)
-	for _, l := range lines {
-		found := p.Head != "" && l.ID == p.Head
-		for _, m := range l.Details {
-			if p.Head == "" && p.Number != 0 && m.Number == p.Number && strings.ToLower(m.Repository) == own {
-				found = true
-			}
-		}
-		if found {
-			return l.ComposedGate && max(len(l.Details), len(l.Members)) >= 2
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_siblings_test.go

@@ -1,248 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"errors"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// **A delivery group's member is checked beside the other members' heads** (novox/hq ADR 0382 §1, §7, issue 867): the
-// controller asks mesh-delivery's `groups` once for every check it asks, and names in the ask the group's other open
-// pull requests into a base of the same name, in a repository the build seat reads beside it — mesh-lab never.
-
-const (
-	headHost       = "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
-	headController = "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222"
-	headSDK        = "3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"
-	headLab        = "4444444444444444444444444444444444444444"
-	headHq         = "5555555555555555555555555555555555555555"
-)
-
-func theCoreOnTheGitSeat() []inventory.Entry {
-	onSeat := func(module, repository string) inventory.Entry {
-		e := fromRepo(module, repository, "")
-		e.Source.Seat = "git"
-		return e
-	}
-	nats := onSeat("nats", "novox/mesh-catalog")
-	nats.Source.Path = "modules/nats"
-	held := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mesh-delivery", Claims: []catalogue.Claim{{Name: catalogue.DeliverySeat, Scope: catalogue.ScopeMesh}}}
-	return []inventory.Entry{onSeat("mesh-controller", "novox/mesh-controller"), onSeat("mesh-host", "novox/mesh-host"),
-		onSeat("node-tools", "novox/mesh-tools"), nats, {Manifest: held, On: []string{"anchor"}}}
-}
-
-func besideTheCore() map[string]link.CheckedOut {
-	return map[string]link.CheckedOut{"mesh-controller": {Repository: "c"}, "mesh-host": {Repository: "h"},
-		"mesh-tools": {Repository: "t"}, "mesh-catalog": {Repository: "k"}, "mesh-sdk": {Repository: "s"}, "mesh-lab": {Repository: "l"}}
-}
-
-func member(repository string, number int, head, base string, open bool) memberLine {
-	return memberLine{ID: repository + "@" + head[:12], Repository: repository, State: "checked", Number: number, Head: head,
-		Base: base, Open: open}
-}
-
-func group(id string, members ...memberLine) groupsLine {
-	line := groupsLine{ID: id, Details: members}
-	for _, m := range members {
-		line.Members = append(line.Members, m.ID+" ("+m.State+")")
-	}
-	return line
-}
-
-func TestASiblingIsTheGroupsOtherOpenPullRequestIntoABaseOfTheSameName(t *testing.T) {
-	entries := theCoreOnTheGitSeat()
-	pull := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Base: "main", Head: "feat/x", Commit: headHost}
-	for _, c := range []struct {
-		what    string
-		lines   []groupsLine
-		want    []string
-		unknown string
-	}{
-		{"the other member, open, same base", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true))},
-			[]string{"mesh-controller=novox/mesh-controller#346@" + headController + " onto main"}, ""},
-		{"a member into a base of another name is not one", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "release", true))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"a member not open (merged or closed) is not one", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", false))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"mesh-lab is never one", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-lab", 5, headLab, "main", true))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"a repository the check reads nothing of is not one", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/hq", 9, headHq, "main", true))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"mesh-sdk, read beside the controller, is one", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-sdk", 7, headSDK, "main", true))},
-			[]string{"mesh-sdk=novox/mesh-sdk#7@" + headSDK + " onto main"}, ""},
-		{"another group is none of its business", []groupsLine{group("feat/y",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"a group of its own alone has none", []groupsLine{group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true))},
-			nil, ""},
-		{"an older mesh-delivery names no heads", []groupsLine{{ID: "feat/x",
-			Members: []string{"novox/mesh-host@111111111111 (checked)", "novox/mesh-controller@222222222222 (checked)"}}},
-			nil, "without their heads and bases"},
-		{"a member without its base", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "", true))},
-			nil, "without its head or base"},
-		{"a head that is no commit", []groupsLine{group("feat/x",
-			member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController[:12]+"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz", "main", true))},
-			nil, "not a whole commit"},
-	} {
-		got, unknown := siblingsFor(pull, entries, besideTheCore(), c.lines)
-		var said []string
-		for _, s := range got {
-			said = append(said, s.Dir+"="+s.Repository+"#"+itoa(s.Number)+"@"+s.Head+" onto "+s.Base)
-		}
-		if strings.Join(said, ";") != strings.Join(c.want, ";") {
-			t.Errorf("%s: siblings %v, wanted %v", c.what, said, c.want)
-		}
-		if (c.unknown == "") != (unknown == "") || !strings.Contains(unknown, c.unknown) {
-			t.Errorf("%s: could not learn %q, wanted %q", c.what, unknown, c.unknown)
-		}
-	}
-	// A pull request into a release branch has siblings into the release branch of the same name (ADR 0358 §1).
-	release := pull
-	release.Base = "feat/57"
-	lines := []groupsLine{group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "feat/57", true),
-		member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "feat/57", true), member("novox/mesh-tools", 8, headLab, "main", true))}
-	if got, _ := siblingsFor(release, entries, besideTheCore(), lines); len(got) != 1 || got[0].Dir != "mesh-controller" {
-		t.Errorf("into a release branch: %+v", got)
-	}
-	// A recheck announces the pull request without its head branch: its group is the one holding it (repository, number).
-	pull.Head = ""
-	got, unknown := siblingsFor(pull, entries, besideTheCore(), lines)
-	if len(got) != 1 || got[0].Dir != "mesh-tools" || unknown != "" {
-		t.Errorf("a recheck of a group member: %+v %q", got, unknown)
-	}
-	// A pull request in no group, rechecked, is alone: no sibling, and nothing said.
-	pull.Number = 999
-	if got, unknown := siblingsFor(pull, entries, besideTheCore(), lines); got != nil || unknown != "" {
-		t.Errorf("a lone pull request: %+v %q", got, unknown)
-	}
-	if got, unknown := siblingsFor(pull, entries, besideTheCore(), nil); got != nil || unknown != "" {
-		t.Errorf("no groups at all: %+v %q", got, unknown)
-	}
-	// A mesh-delivery that names members without their pull requests cannot find the group of a recheck: it says so.
-	older := []groupsLine{{ID: "feat/x", Members: []string{"novox/mesh-host@111111111111 (checked)"}}}
-	pull.Number = 114
-	if got, unknown := siblingsFor(pull, entries, besideTheCore(), older); got != nil || unknown == "" {
-		t.Errorf("an older mesh-delivery: %+v %q", got, unknown)
-	}
-}
-
-func itoa(n int) string { b, _ := json.Marshal(n); return string(b) }
-
-// Every check asks mesh-delivery's `groups` once; the ask names the sibling's repository, head and base.
-func TestEveryCheckAsksMeshDeliveryOnceAndNamesItsSiblings(t *testing.T) {
-	entries := theCoreOnTheGitSeat()
-	asked := 0
-	was := groupsAsked
-	t.Cleanup(func() { groupsAsked = was })
-	groupsAsked = func(_ context.Context, held bool) ([]groupsLine, error) {
-		asked++
-		if !held {
-			t.Error("the seat is held, yet it was asked as not held")
-		}
-		return []groupsLine{group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true),
-			member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true))}, nil
-	}
-	request := link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main", Beside: besideTheCore()}}
-	withSiblings(t.Context(), &request, link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main", Head: "feat/x"}, entries)
-	if asked != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("mesh-delivery was asked %d times for one check", asked)
-	}
-	want := link.CheckSibling{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Number: 346, Head: headController, Base: "main", Dir: "mesh-controller"}
-	if got := request.Check.Siblings; len(got) != 1 || got[0] != want || request.Check.SiblingsUnknown != "" {
-		t.Fatalf("the ask names siblings %+v, unknown %q", got, request.Check.SiblingsUnknown)
-	}
-	body, _ := json.Marshal(request.Check)
-	if !strings.Contains(string(body), `"siblings":[{"repository":"novox/mesh-controller","number":346,"head":"`+headController+
-		`","base":"main","dir":"mesh-controller"}]`) {
-		t.Fatalf("on the wire: %s", body)
-	}
-}
-
-// When mesh-delivery does not answer in time (or is not held, or answered without the fields), the check reads no
-// sibling and its request says it could not learn them, so a fix to mesh-delivery is still checked without it.
-func TestWhenMeshDeliveryDoesNotAnswerTheCheckReadsNoSiblingAndSaysSo(t *testing.T) {
-	was := groupsAsked
-	t.Cleanup(func() { groupsAsked = was })
-	for _, c := range []struct {
-		what string
-		err  error
-		held bool
-	}{{"it did not answer", context.DeadlineExceeded, true}, {"nothing serves it", errors.New("nothing serves mesh-delivery.groups"), true},
-		{"no holder on record", errors.New("no holder of mesh-delivery is on record to say it"), false}} {
-		entries := theCoreOnTheGitSeat()
-		if !c.held {
-			entries = entries[:4]
-		}
-		groupsAsked = func(_ context.Context, held bool) ([]groupsLine, error) {
-			if held != c.held {
-				t.Errorf("%s: held %v", c.what, held)
-			}
-			return nil, c.err
-		}
-		request := link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main", Beside: besideTheCore()}}
-		withSiblings(t.Context(), &request, link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main", Head: "feat/x"}, entries)
-		if len(request.Check.Siblings) != 0 || !strings.Contains(request.Check.SiblingsUnknown, c.err.Error()) ||
-			!strings.Contains(request.Check.SiblingsUnknown, "reads no siblings") {
-			t.Errorf("%s: siblings %+v, unknown %q", c.what, request.Check.Siblings, request.Check.SiblingsUnknown)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// **A pull request for which mesh-delivery answered and named no sibling is asked exactly as before** (ADR 0382 §7):
-// byte for byte the request it was without the rule.
-func TestAPullRequestWithNoSiblingIsAskedByteForByteAsBefore(t *testing.T) {
-	entries := theCoreOnTheGitSeat()
-	was := groupsAsked
-	t.Cleanup(func() { groupsAsked = was })
-	for _, answer := range [][]groupsLine{nil, {group("feat/other", member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true))},
-		{group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/hq", 3, headHq, "main", true))}} {
-		groupsAsked = func(context.Context, bool) ([]groupsLine, error) { return answer, nil }
-		build := func() link.BuildRequest {
-			return link.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1", Repository: "r", Ref: headHost, Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox",
-				Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Base: "main", Beside: besideTheCore(), Modules: []string{"mesh-host"}, Judge: "validator"}}
-		}
-		before, _ := json.Marshal(build())
-		after := build()
-		withSiblings(t.Context(), &after, link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main", Head: "feat/x"}, entries)
-		got, _ := json.Marshal(after)
-		if string(before) != string(got) {
-			t.Fatalf("the request changed:\nbefore %s\nafter  %s", before, got)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// What the build seat's verdict says of its siblings reaches the forge's holder in the controller's `checked`.
-func TestTheVerdictCarriesTheSiblingsAndWhereTheJudgeCameFrom(t *testing.T) {
-	read := []link.CheckSibling{{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Number: 346, Head: headController, Base: "main", BaseCommit: headHost}}
-	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: headHost, Checked: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114},
-		Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "ok", Siblings: read, JudgeFrom: "sibling novox/mesh-controller#346 merge abc",
-			Validator: "the change's own validator"}})
-	if len(c.Siblings) != 1 || c.Siblings[0] != read[0] || c.JudgeFrom == "" || c.Validator == "" {
-		t.Fatalf("the verdict says %+v", c)
-	}
-	body, _ := json.Marshal(c)
-	for _, want := range []string{`"siblings":[{"repository":"novox/mesh-controller","number":346,"head":"` + headController +
-		`","base":"main","base_commit":"` + headHost + `"}]`, `"judge_from":"sibling novox/mesh-controller#346 merge abc"`} {
-		if !strings.Contains(string(body), want) {
-			t.Fatalf("the verdict lacks %s:\n%s", want, body)
-		}
-	}
-	unknown := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass", SiblingsUnknown: "mesh-delivery did not answer"}})
-	if body, _ := json.Marshal(unknown); !strings.Contains(string(body), `"siblings_unknown":"mesh-delivery did not answer"`) ||
-		strings.Contains(string(body), `"siblings":`) {
-		t.Fatalf("the verdict that could not learn them says %s", body)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path"
@@ -161,56 +162,77 @@ func (f following) pullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, w io.Wri
 		return "", err
 	}
 	scope := pullScope(p, entries, read, edges)
-	// **A cycle of edges fails the check, naming every module and edge** (novox/hq ADR 0419 clause 6), a lone pull
-	// request's as a group's composed check is: no order exists for what it changes.
-	alone := orderMember{ID: p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo + "@" + twelve(p.Commit), Repository: p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo, Base: p.Base,
-		Head: p.Commit, Number: p.Number, Paths: p.Paths, PathsTruncated: p.PathsTruncated, Removed: p.Removed, BaseSHA: p.BaseSHA}
-	if failing, cyclic, err := cycleVerdict(ctx, "", []orderMember{alone},
-		map[string]orderReach{alone.ID: {Moved: scope.Modules}}, edges, entries); err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	} else if cyclic {
-		failing.Commit, failing.Trunk = p.Commit, twelve(p.BaseSHA)
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): %s\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, failing.Summary)
-		sayChecked(ctx, w, failing)
+	// **The merge gate's checks stop** (novox/hq ADR 0503 §3, §5; issue 1299): the checker judges every repository whose
+	// trunk requires `mesh/check`. A repository whose trunk requires `mesh/repo-check` (hq), whatever else it requires
+	// (ADR 0513 §4), has its own merge-check.sh asked of build-agent, and said with that layer alone; any other is asked
+	// nothing and said nothing. What the forge's protection requires is read, never listed (lead decision L11).
+	// Mesh-config is still told what the head declares (ADR 0502), whatever judges it.
+	this := pullAtOf(p)
+	if this.Truncated {
+		this.Paths, this.Truncated = truncatedPaths(entries, p.Owner, p.Repo, scope.Modules), false
+	}
+	if scope.gated() || holdsModules(entries, p.Owner, p.Repo) {
+		tellPullDeclares(ctx, w, []pullAt{this})
+	}
+	required, err := requiredStatusesOf(ctx, p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Base)
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): what %s's protection requires cannot be read, so nothing is asked and nothing is "+
+			"said: %v\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, p.Base, err)
+		return "", nil
+	case !asksRepoCheck(required):
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): %s does not require %s, and %s; nothing is asked\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number,
+			p.Commit, p.Base, sdkdelivery.StatusContextRepoCheck, checkerWords(required))
 		return "", nil
 	}
-	// **A member of a group whose gate is the composed check's runs its repository's check alone** (novox/hq ADR 0403
-	// clause 1): mesh-delivery is asked once, and says so on the group's line. Told nothing, the pull request is
-	// checked alone, gate included (clause 6).
-	lines, groupsErr := groupsAsked(ctx, deliverySeatHeld(entries))
-	composed := groupsErr == nil && composedMember(p, lines)
-	// The change plan of the commit at hand (ADR 0238): what a merge of it would build and send, posted
-	// with the verdict whatever the verdict is.
+	return f.repoCheckAlone(ctx, w, p, scope, entries)
+}
+
+// asksRepoCheck says what a trunk's protection has the controller ask: its repository's own merge-check.sh whenever the
+// trunk requires `mesh/repo-check`, whatever else it requires (ADR 0513 §4: a trunk requiring both has the checker judge
+// `mesh/check` and the repository check asked beside it), and nothing otherwise.
+func asksRepoCheck(required []string) bool {
+	return slices.Contains(required, sdkdelivery.StatusContextRepoCheck)
+}
+
+// checkerWords says who judges a trunk that requires no `mesh/repo-check`.
+func checkerWords(required []string) string {
+	if slices.Contains(required, sdkdelivery.StatusContextCheck) {
+		return "the checker judges its " + sdkdelivery.StatusContextCheck
+	}
+	return "does not require " + sdkdelivery.StatusContextCheck + " either, so nothing is said"
+}
+
+// repoCheckAlone asks build-agent for a repository's own merge-check.sh alone, for a pull request of a repository whose
+// trunk requires `mesh/repo-check`, whether or not it also requires `mesh/check` (ADR 0503 §5, ADR 0513 §4): no gate, no module built, its verdict said with the
+// repo-check layer alone.
+func (f following) repoCheckAlone(ctx context.Context, w io.Writer, p link.PullUpdated, scope checkScope,
+	entries []inventory.Entry) (string, error) {
+	inv := f.open.inventory
 	plan := changePlanOf(p.Owner+"/"+p.Repo, p.Base, p.Commit, scope.Reach, entries, func(module string) (inventory.Upgrade, bool) {
 		u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, module)
 		return u, err == nil
 	})
 	fmt.Fprint(w, planText(plan))
 	direct := directVerdict(p, plan)
-	if composed {
-		scope.Modules, scope.Dependents, scope.New, scope.Manifests = nil, nil, nil, nil
-		composedGate(&direct)
-	}
 	switch {
-	case !scope.gated() && !scope.Mesh:
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): %s, and the repository is not the mesh's: said, nothing run\n",
-			p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, noModuleTouched)
+	case !scope.Mesh:
+		direct.RepoCheck = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "warning", Summary: "the repository is not the mesh's: nothing run"}
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): the repository is not the mesh's: said, nothing run\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number,
+			p.Commit)
 		sayChecked(ctx, w, direct)
 		return "", nil
-	case !scope.gated() && p.MergeCheckSaid && !p.MergeCheck:
+	case p.MergeCheckSaid && !p.MergeCheck:
 		direct.RepoCheck = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "warning", Summary: noMergeCheck}
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): %s; %s\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, noModuleTouched, noMergeCheck)
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): %s\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, noMergeCheck)
 		sayChecked(ctx, w, direct)
 		return "", nil
 	}
-	request, err := checkRequestFor(ctx, f.open, p, scope, entries)
+	request, err := checkRequestFor(ctx, f.open, p, checkScope{Mesh: true, From: scope.From}, entries)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 	request.Check.Plan = &plan
-	request.Check.Composed = composed
-	// **The group's other open pull requests are read beside it** (novox/hq ADR 0382 §1).
-	siblingsFrom(&request, p, entries, lines, groupsErr)
 	seat := buildSeatHeld(ctx)
 	ask, err := askOverOn(seat)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -220,23 +242,42 @@ func (f following) pullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, w io.Wri
 	if err := ask.Ask(ctx, request); err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
-	// **A newer request replaces the one still waiting, and a newer key stops the one running** (novox/hq ADR 0406 §3, §4,
-	// issue 974): the check queue keeps one request a pull request, and a running check watches its key. Nothing is asked
-	// of the forge here (issue 726).
-	what := "its own merge-check.sh alone: " + noModuleTouched
-	if composed {
-		what = "its own merge-check.sh alone: the gate is its group's composed check's"
-	}
-	if scope.gated() {
-		what = fmt.Sprintf("the gate over %s (a merge would build %d module(s) in %d tier(s))",
-			strings.Join(append(append([]string{}, scope.Modules...), prefixedAll("new:", scope.New)...), ", "),
-			scope.Width, scope.Tiers)
-	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): asked %s to check it before it merges — %s — as %s\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number,
-		p.Commit, seat, what, request.ID)
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): asked %s to run its own merge-check.sh alone, as %s\n", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number,
+		p.Commit, seat, request.ID)
 	return request.ID, nil
 }
 
+// requiredStatusesOf is what the forge's protection of a repository's branch requires before a merge, as the forge
+// picks the rule it applies (the one named for the branch, else the first glob covering it). A variable so a test needs
+// no forge.
+var requiredStatusesOf = func(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, branch string) ([]string, error) {
+	var rules struct {
+		Rules []protectionRule `json:"rules"`
+	}
+	js, err := aBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"owner": owner, "repo": repo})
+	answer, err := link.Ask(ctx, link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}, "gitea", "gitea_branch_protection_get", raw, 30*time.Second)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if answer.Error != "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("gitea.gitea_branch_protection_get: %s", answer.Error)
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(answer.Result, &rules); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	r := appliedRule(rules.Rules, branch)
+	if r == nil {
+		// empty-on-error: not an error; no rule covers the branch, so it requires nothing, which the caller says
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	return r.RequiredStatuses, nil
+}
+
 // composedWords is what a group member's own verdict says of its gate layer (novox/hq ADR 0403 clause 1).
 const composedWords = "judged by its group's composed check"
 
@@ -365,15 +406,6 @@ func trunkOf(s inventory.Source) string {
 	return "main"
 }
 
-// sourceName is the name of a recorded repository, a path on the git seat or a URL: novox/mesh-host → mesh-host.
-func sourceName(repository string) string {
-	parts := strings.Split(strings.Trim(strings.TrimSuffix(repository, ".git"), "/"), "/")
-	if len(parts) < 2 {
-		return ""
-	}
-	return parts[len(parts)-1]
-}
-
 // namedForTheCheck are the builds earlier checks of the same pull request at the same head named, read once for the
 // check (novox/hq issue 703): asked again because only the trunk moved, the check keeps what they built of a key
 // still the same. Another pull request's build, or one of an earlier head, is never kept. None when they cannot be
@@ -594,11 +626,13 @@ func checkedOf(result link.BuildResult) link.Checked {
 		// A delivery group's composed check (novox/hq ADR 0239): every head it judged, this one first.
 		if g := result.Checked; g.Group != "" {
 			c.Group = g.Group
+			// Every member is named with its trunk commit (novox/hq issue 1106): the seat's word, else the one the forge
+			// announced with the head, so the forge's merge tool never meets a member whose verdict names none.
 			c.Members = append(c.Members, link.CheckedMember{Owner: g.Owner, Repo: g.Repo, Number: g.Number,
-				Commit: result.Ref, Trunk: c.Trunk})
+				Commit: result.Ref, Trunk: firstTrunk(c.Trunk, g.Trunk)})
 			for _, m := range g.Members {
 				c.Members = append(c.Members, link.CheckedMember{Owner: m.Owner, Repo: m.Repo, Number: m.Number,
-					Commit: m.Ref, Trunk: memberTrunk(result.Check, m)})
+					Commit: m.Ref, Trunk: firstTrunk(memberTrunk(result.Check, m), m.Trunk)})
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -627,6 +661,16 @@ func checkedOf(result link.BuildResult) link.Checked {
 	return c
 }
 
+// firstTrunk is the first trunk commit named, as twelve characters; empty when none is.
+func firstTrunk(named ...string) string {
+	for _, n := range named {
+		if n != "" {
+			return twelve(n)
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 // memberTrunk is the trunk commit the build seat merged one of a group's heads into (novox/hq ADR 0323 §6), empty
 // when it said none.
 func memberTrunk(outcome *link.CheckOutcome, m link.GroupMember) string {
@@ -651,6 +695,9 @@ func prefixedAll(prefix string, items []string) []string {
 
 // sayChecked says a merge check's verdict on the bus, where the forge's holder hears it.
 func sayChecked(ctx context.Context, w io.Writer, c link.Checked) {
+	// **No merge-gate layer from R4e, for any repository** (ADR 0503 §3, §5; issue 1299): the forge's holder writes
+	// `mesh/repo-check` from the repo-check layer alone, and the checker owes `mesh/check`.
+	c.Gate = nil
 	repo := "none"
 	if c.RepoCheck != nil {
 		repo = strings.ToUpper(c.RepoCheck.Verdict) + " — " + c.RepoCheck.Summary
@@ -659,8 +706,8 @@ func sayChecked(ctx context.Context, w io.Writer, c link.Checked) {
 	if c.Trunk != "" {
 		judged = " merged into trunk " + c.Trunk
 	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s: %s/%s#%d at %.8s%s checked on %s: gate %s — %s; repository %s\n", c.ID, c.Owner, c.Repo, c.Number,
-		c.Commit, judged, orSomewhere(c.On), strings.ToUpper(c.Verdict), c.Summary, repo)
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s: %s/%s#%d at %.8s%s checked on %s: repository %s\n", c.ID, c.Owner, c.Repo, c.Number,
+		c.Commit, judged, orSomewhere(c.On), repo)
 	if checkEvents == nil {
 		return
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks_queue_test.go

@@ -1,97 +0,0 @@
-//go:build integration
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
-
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// Acceptance 5 of milestone 2 (novox/hq ADR 0406 §3, issue 974), live, with the store and a real bus: two merges into one
-// repository within a minute, with two open pull requests, leave each pull request with exactly one queued check, by the
-// stream's rule. Each merge moves the trunk, and mesh-delivery asks the controller to check both open pull requests again
-// against it (`delivery check`, which is the controller's own path for a head announced); nothing moves a request, nothing
-// asks the forge, and the queue is read back whole.
-func TestTwoMergesWithinAMinuteLeaveEachOpenPullRequestOneQueuedCheck(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
-	servingBus.Store(js)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { servingBus.Store(nil) })
-	holdTheDeliverySeat(t, open)
-	was := askDeliveryOwner
-	t.Cleanup(func() { askDeliveryOwner = was })
-	askDeliveryOwner = func(_ context.Context, _ *nats.Conn, verb string, _ map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error) {
-		if verb != "groups" {
-			t.Fatalf("asked the owner %s", verb)
-		}
-		return json.RawMessage(`[]`), nil
-	}
-	// The repository the two pull requests are into, as a module the mesh builds from it.
-	if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mesh-controller", Version: "1"},
-		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-
-	heads := map[int]string{7: "7777777777777777777777777777777777777777", 8: "8888888888888888888888888888888888888888"}
-	check := func(number int, trunk string) {
-		t.Helper()
-		p := orderMember{ID: fmt.Sprintf("novox/mesh-controller@%.12s", heads[number]), Repository: "novox/mesh-controller",
-			Base: "main", Head: heads[number], Number: number, Paths: []string{"main.go"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true,
-			BaseSHA: trunk, Ready: number == 8}.pull()
-		p.MergeCheck, p.MergeCheckSaid = true, true
-		if err := (following{open: open, oneShot: true}).PullUpdated(ctx, p); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-	// Announced against the trunk as it stands, then asked again after each of two merges.
-	for _, trunk := range []string{"1111111111111111111111111111111111111111", "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222",
-		"3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"} {
-		check(7, trunk)
-		check(8, trunk)
-	}
-
-	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	seen := map[int]string{}
-	for _, a := range q.Asks {
-		c := a.Request.Check
-		if c == nil {
-			t.Fatalf("%s is no check", a.ID)
-		}
-		if _, twice := seen[c.Number]; twice {
-			t.Errorf("pull request %d has two queued checks", c.Number)
-		}
-		seen[c.Number] = c.Trunk
-		if a.State != link.AskWaiting {
-			t.Errorf("%s is %s", a.ID, a.State)
-		}
-		if want := "3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"; c.Trunk != want {
-			t.Errorf("pull request %d is queued against %.8s; want the newest trunk %.8s", c.Number, c.Trunk, want)
-		}
-	}
-	if len(seen) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("queued checks for %v; want one for each of the two open pull requests", seen)
-	}
-	// By the streams' own count: the ready one on its stream, the other on its.
-	for stream, want := range map[string]uint64{broker.ChecksReadyStream: 1, broker.ChecksOtherStream: 1} {
-		info, err := js.Context().StreamInfo(stream)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if info.State.Msgs != want {
-			t.Errorf("%s holds %d request(s); want %d", stream, info.State.Msgs, want)
-		}
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks_stop_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// C1 (ADR 0503 §3, §5; issue 1299, lead decision L11), with the store and a real build queue: a pull request of a
+// repository whose trunk requires mesh/check asks build-agent nothing and says nothing; one whose trunk requires
+// mesh/repo-check alone (hq) has its own merge-check.sh asked, and every verdict said names no gate layer; a protection
+// that cannot be read asks and says nothing.
+func TestThePullRequestChecksAreAskedOnlyForARepositoryTheCheckerDoesNotJudge(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
+	servingBus.Store(js)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { servingBus.Store(nil) })
+	said := &saidOnTheBus{}
+	checkEvents = said
+	t.Cleanup(func() { checkEvents = nil })
+	if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mesh-controller", Version: "1"},
+		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// hq is cloned as a module built from it is, from its URL: no forge is held in this test.
+	if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "hq-docs", Version: "1"},
+		inventory.Source{Repository: "http://forge.invalid/novox/hq.git", Ref: "main", Path: "docs", BuiltFrom: "c0",
+			Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	required := map[string][]string{"novox/mesh-controller": {"mesh/check"}, "novox/hq": {"mesh/repo-check"}}
+	was := requiredStatusesOf
+	requiredStatusesOf = func(_ context.Context, owner, repo, _ string) ([]string, error) {
+		if r, ok := required[owner+"/"+repo]; ok {
+			return r, nil
+		}
+		return nil, errors.New("the forge did not answer")
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { requiredStatusesOf = was })
+	queued := func() int {
+		q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		return len(q.Asks)
+	}
+	pull := func(repo string, number int, mergeCheck bool) link.PullUpdated {
+		p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: repo, Number: number, Base: "main", Commit: "abcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcdefabcd",
+			BaseSHA: "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111", Paths: []string{"main.go"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
+		p.MergeCheck, p.MergeCheckSaid = mergeCheck, true
+		return p
+	}
+	f := following{open: open, oneShot: true}
+
+	if err := f.PullUpdated(ctx, pull("mesh-controller", 7, true)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if n := queued(); n != 0 || len(said.events) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("0503 §3: a repository the checker judges asked %d check(s) and said %v", n, said.events)
+	}
+	if err := f.PullUpdated(ctx, pull("unread", 3, true)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if n := queued(); n != 0 || len(said.events) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("L11: a protection that cannot be read asked %d check(s) and said %v", n, said.events)
+	}
+	if err := f.PullUpdated(ctx, pull("hq", 9, true)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(q.Asks) != 1 || q.Asks[0].Request.Check == nil || len(q.Asks[0].Request.Check.Modules) != 0 ||
+		q.Asks[0].Request.Check.Repo != "hq" {
+		t.Fatalf("0503 §5: hq's repository check is not the one ask: %+v", q.Asks)
+	}
+	// A head with no merge-check.sh is said at once, with the repo-check layer alone.
+	if err := f.PullUpdated(ctx, pull("hq", 10, false)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(said.events) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("hq's head with no merge-check.sh was said %d time(s)", len(said.events))
+	}
+	var c link.Checked
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(said.bodies[0], &c); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if c.Gate != nil || c.RepoCheck == nil || c.RepoCheck.Verdict != "warning" {
+		t.Fatalf("0503 §5: the verdict said names a gate layer, or no repo-check layer: %+v", c)
+	}
+	// A trunk requiring both (hq, ADR 0513 §4): the checker judges mesh/check, and the repository check is still asked.
+	required["novox/hq"] = []string{"mesh/check", "mesh/repo-check"}
+	if err := f.PullUpdated(ctx, pull("hq", 11, true)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine); err != nil || len(q.Asks) != 2 ||
+		q.Asks[1].Request.Check == nil || q.Asks[1].Request.Check.Repo != "hq" {
+		t.Fatalf("0513 §4: a trunk requiring both had no repository check asked: %+v %v", q.Asks, err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks_test.go

@@ -250,6 +250,31 @@ func TestAVerdictNamesTheTrunkCommitItJudged(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// **A group's composed verdict names every member's trunk commit** (novox/hq issue 1106): a member the build seat named no
+// trunk for (an SDK member whose base the seat did not merge, or a seat from before the rule) is named by the trunk the forge
+// announced with its head, and the primary the same, so the merge tool never reads "names no trunk commit" on a member
+// whose trunk did not move.
+func TestAGroupVerdictNamesEveryMembersTrunkTheSDKMemberToo(t *testing.T) {
+	group := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 7, Base: "main", Group: "feat/x",
+		Trunk: "dddddddddddd0000",
+		Members: []link.GroupMember{
+			{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-sdk", Number: 8, Ref: "cccccccccccc0000", Base: "main", Trunk: "eeeeeeeeeeee0000"},
+			{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 9, Ref: "bbbbbbbbbbbb0000", Base: "main", Trunk: "ffffffffffff0000"}}}
+	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "g", Ref: "aaaaaaaaaaaa0000", Checked: group, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{
+		Verdict: "pass", Head: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"},
+		Members: []link.CheckedMember{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Commit: "bbbbbbbbbbbb", Trunk: "222222222222"}}}})
+	want := []string{"dddddddddddd", "eeeeeeeeeeee", "222222222222"}
+	if len(c.Members) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the composed check names its members %+v", c.Members)
+	}
+	for i, m := range c.Members {
+		if m.Trunk != want[i] {
+			t.Fatalf("member %d (%s/%s) is named with trunk %q, want %q (the seat's word first, else the announced one): %+v",
+				i, m.Owner, m.Repo, m.Trunk, want[i], c.Members)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 // **The merge made for a check is never registered** (novox/hq ADR 0323 §2): a build of it — a commit on no branch
 // of the forge — is refused, naming the trunk. The rule of ADR 0238 §1 stands unchanged; this holds it for the
 // merge commit a check makes.
@@ -291,3 +316,21 @@ func TestARecheckedHeadsDirectVerdictNamesItsTrunk(t *testing.T) {
 
 // A check stopped by its pull request's key moving on says no verdict (issue 974, review 2): an error said for it would name the
 // live head, and the newer request is the one that judges. A check that failed for any other reason still says its error.
+
+// C2 (ADR 0513 §4, ADR 0503 §5; issue 1299): a trunk requiring mesh/repo-check has its repository check asked, whether or
+// not it also requires mesh/check (hq requires both); a trunk requiring mesh/check alone, or neither, is asked nothing.
+func TestARepositoryCheckIsAskedWheneverTheTrunkRequiresIt(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		required []string
+		asks     bool
+	}{
+		{[]string{"mesh/check", "mesh/repo-check"}, true},
+		{[]string{"mesh/repo-check"}, true},
+		{[]string{"mesh/check"}, false},
+		{nil, false},
+	} {
+		if got := asksRepoCheck(c.required); got != c.asks {
+			t.Fatalf("a trunk requiring %v asks its repository check: %v, want %v", c.required, got, c.asks)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/compose_perform.go

@@ -233,6 +233,12 @@ func prepareSend(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string) ([]string, erro
 					if !slices.Contains(in.BusMinted, "provisioner."+node) {
 						continue
 					}
+				default:
+					// A bus process's account nobody issued still gets the stand-in, until the composition leaves
+					// the module off (issue 1753): the warning names the verb (issue 1226).
+					if line := processAccountWarning(m, node, name, in.BusMinted); line != "" {
+						sayWarning(ctx, line)
+					}
 				}
 				if _, err := inv.SecretForModule(ctx, node, m.Module, name); err == nil {
 					did = true

cmd/mesh-controller/compose_sdk.go

@@ -200,6 +200,7 @@ func composeQuestion(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string, mode compos
 	}
 	sayFound(ctx, d)
 	out := sendableOf(d)
+	out.fileReferences = readsFileReferences(in.Input, node)
 	if !withOrder {
 		out.Sequence, out.Epoch, out.Generation = 0, 0, 0
 	}
@@ -238,7 +239,11 @@ func markUnresolvable(err error) error {
 // still names anything foreseen is refused, said, and never sent.
 func composeSend(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string) (sendable, error) {
 	declared, _, err := composeSendValidated(ctx, open, node)
-	return declared, err
+	if err != nil {
+		return declared, err
+	}
+	// Never a declaration naming an image the store does not hold (novox/hq issue 1742): that module is left out.
+	return withoutMissingImages(ctx, open, node, declared), nil
 }
 
 // composeSendValidated is composeSend and what the node-engine's validator refuses of the declaration it composed, for the
@@ -281,6 +286,7 @@ func composeSendValidated(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string) (senda
 		if len(left) == 0 && len(in.wouldMake) == 0 {
 			sayFound(ctx, d)
 			out := sendableOf(d)
+			out.fileReferences = readsFileReferences(in.Input, node)
 			// The sender stamps the order it allots (order.stamp); a composition for a send carries none of its own.
 			out.Sequence, out.Epoch, out.Generation = 0, 0, 0
 			here, _ := nodeOf(in.Input, node)

cmd/mesh-controller/composed_member_check_test.go

@@ -1,68 +0,0 @@
-//go:build integration
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// A member of a group whose gate is the composed check's is asked of the build seat with no module: its repository's
-// check alone (novox/hq ADR 0403 clause 1). With no word from mesh-delivery, or one that does not say the gate is
-// composed, it is checked alone with its gate (clause 6).
-
-func askedForMember(t *testing.T, answer []groupsLine, answerErr error) link.CheckRequest {
-	t.Helper()
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
-	servingBus.Store(js)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { servingBus.Store(nil) })
-	if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mesh-controller", Version: "1"},
-		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	was := groupsAsked
-	groupsAsked = func(context.Context, bool) ([]groupsLine, error) { return answer, answerErr }
-	t.Cleanup(func() { groupsAsked = was })
-	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 346, Base: "main", Head: "feat/x", Commit: headController,
-		Paths: []string{"main.go"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true, MergeCheck: true, MergeCheckSaid: true}
-	if err := (following{open: open, oneShot: true}).PullUpdated(ctx, p); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
-	if err != nil || len(q.Asks) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("asks %d: %v", len(q.Asks), err)
-	}
-	return *q.Asks[0].Request.Check
-}
-
-func TestAComposedMembersCheckIsItsRepositoryChecksAlone(t *testing.T) {
-	line := group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-catalog", 350, headHost, "main", true))
-	line.ComposedGate = true
-	c := askedForMember(t, []groupsLine{line}, nil)
-	if len(c.Modules) != 0 || len(c.New) != 0 || len(c.Dependents) != 0 || !c.Composed {
-		t.Fatalf("the member's check is asked as %+v; want no module and composed", c)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestAMemberOfAGroupOfAnOlderMeshDeliveryKeepsItsOwnGate(t *testing.T) {
-	line := group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-catalog", 350, headHost, "main", true))
-	c := askedForMember(t, []groupsLine{line}, nil)
-	if !strings.Contains(strings.Join(c.Modules, ","), "mesh-controller") || c.Composed {
-		t.Fatalf("an older mesh-delivery's member is asked as %+v; want its own gate", c)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestAMemberWhoseGroupCannotBeLearnedIsCheckedAloneWithItsGate(t *testing.T) {
-	c := askedForMember(t, nil, context.DeadlineExceeded)
-	if !strings.Contains(strings.Join(c.Modules, ","), "mesh-controller") || c.Composed ||
-		!strings.Contains(c.SiblingsUnknown, "reads no siblings") {
-		t.Fatalf("the member is asked as %+v; want its gate and why its siblings are unknown", c)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/composed_verdict_test.go

@@ -1,50 +1,21 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // A delivery group's gate is the composed check's, and its members' own checks run their repository's check alone
 // (novox/hq ADR 0403 clauses 1 and 7). Pure: no store, no bus.
 
-// A member of a group whose line says composed_gate is a composed member; one whose group says nothing of it (an older
-// mesh-delivery), one of a group of a single pull request and a lone pull request are not.
-func TestAMemberOfAComposedGroupIsKnownByTheGroupsLine(t *testing.T) {
-	two := func(composed bool) groupsLine {
-		l := group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true), member("novox/mesh-controller", 346, headController, "main", true))
-		l.ComposedGate = composed
-		return l
-	}
-	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Base: "main", Head: "feat/x", Commit: headHost}
-	recheck := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Base: "main", Commit: headHost}
-	for name, c := range map[string]struct {
-		p     link.PullUpdated
-		lines []groupsLine
-		want  bool
-	}{
-		"composed":                 {p, []groupsLine{two(true)}, true},
-		"a recheck, by its number": {recheck, []groupsLine{two(true)}, true},
-		"an older mesh-delivery":   {p, []groupsLine{two(false)}, false},
-		"another group":            {p, []groupsLine{group("feat/y", member("novox/mesh-host", 1, headHost, "main", true))}, false},
-		"no group":                 {p, nil, false},
-	} {
-		if got := composedMember(c.p, c.lines); got != c.want {
-			t.Errorf("%s: composed %v, want %v", name, got, c.want)
-		}
-	}
-	alone := group("feat/x", member("novox/mesh-host", 114, headHost, "main", true))
-	alone.ComposedGate = true
-	if composedMember(p, []groupsLine{alone}) {
-		t.Error("a group of a single pull request is composed")
-	}
-}
+// The heads of a group's members, by repository.
+const (
+	headHost       = "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+	headController = "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222"
+)
 
 // A composed member's verdict never says its gate passed: the gate layer, and the verdict that is the gate's, read
 // "composed"; a failure or an error stays what it was.
@@ -88,49 +59,3 @@ func TestTheComposedVerdictCarriesEveryMember(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
-
-// Members whose manifests order their modules in a cycle fail the composed check, naming every module and edge, and no
-// ask is made of the build seat.
-func TestAGroupInACycleFailsItsComposedCheckWithoutABuild(t *testing.T) {
-	members := []orderMember{
-		{ID: "novox/x@" + headHost[:12], Repository: "novox/x", Base: "main", Head: headHost, Number: 7, Paths: []string{"module.json"}},
-		{ID: "novox/y@" + headController[:12], Repository: "novox/y", Base: "main", Head: headController, Number: 9, Paths: []string{"module.json"}},
-	}
-	reach := map[string]orderReach{members[0].ID: {Moved: []string{"mx"}}, members[1].ID: {Moved: []string{"my"}}}
-	was, wasParent := manifestAt, parentOf
-	t.Cleanup(func() { manifestAt, parentOf = was, wasParent })
-	parentOf = func(context.Context, string, string, string) (string, error) { return "", nil }
-	manifestAt = func(_ context.Context, _, repo, _, ref string) (catalogue.Manifest, bool, error) {
-		if ref == "main" {
-			return catalogue.Manifest{}, false, nil // what the pull requests merge into holds no such manifest
-		}
-		if repo == "x" {
-			return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mx", DefinesSeats: []catalogue.SeatDeclaration{{Name: "s", Serves: []catalogue.Verb{{Name: "a"}}}},
-				Invokes: []string{"seat:s.b"}}, true, nil
-		}
-		return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "my", DefinesSeats: []catalogue.SeatDeclaration{{Name: "s", Serves: []catalogue.Verb{{Name: "b"}}}},
-			Invokes: []string{"seat:s.a"}}, true, nil
-	}
-	c, cyclic, err := cycleVerdict(context.Background(), "feat/cycle", members, reach, []inventory.Edge(nil), nil)
-	if err != nil || !cyclic {
-		t.Fatalf("no cycle found: %v", err)
-	}
-	if c.Verdict != "fail" || c.Group != "feat/cycle" || len(c.Members) != 2 || c.Gate == nil || c.Gate.Verdict != "fail" {
-		t.Fatalf("the verdict is %+v", c)
-	}
-	for _, w := range []string{"mx", "my", "s.a", "s.b"} {
-		if !strings.Contains(c.Summary, w) {
-			t.Errorf("the cycle does not name %s: %s", w, c.Summary)
-		}
-	}
-	// Members with no edge between them are no cycle.
-	manifestsReadMu.Lock()
-	clear(manifestsRead)
-	manifestsReadMu.Unlock()
-	manifestAt = func(context.Context, string, string, string, string) (catalogue.Manifest, bool, error) {
-		return catalogue.Manifest{}, false, nil
-	}
-	if _, cyclic, err := cycleVerdict(context.Background(), "feat/cycle", members, reach, nil, nil); err != nil || cyclic {
-		t.Fatalf("a cycle where there is none: %v %v", cyclic, err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/container_groups_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+)
+
+// Issue 1638 (novox/hq ADR 0480 clause 7), taken in with mesh-sdk's container `groups`: the controller sends a container's
+// groups only to a node-engine that reports the capability container-groups, and holds the module on any other, naming it.
+
+const n8nWithAGroup = `{"module":"n8n","version":"1",
+  "config":{"media-gid":{"type":"number","minimum":1,"required":true,"description":"the group that owns the media library"}},
+  "resources":[{"id":"server","type":"container","name":"n8n",
+    "image":"n8nio/n8n@sha256:4846eb2f4b874ab04cde7fc1e249d2ddaec66e9aea64439beb2972cfea88e3c0",
+    "groups":["${config:media-gid}"]}]}`
+
+// printedBy runs reportUnhostable and returns what it printed.
+func printedBy(t *testing.T, node string, plan catalogue.Resolution) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	stdout := os.Stdout
+	r, w, err := os.Pipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	os.Stdout = w
+	reportUnhostable(node, plan)
+	w.Close()
+	os.Stdout = stdout
+	out, _ := io.ReadAll(r)
+	return string(out)
+}
+
+// 1638/AC1: a node that reports the capability gets the module; one that does not has it held, the capability named.
+func TestAModuleWithGroupsIsHeldOnANodeThatDoesNotReportTheCapability(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(n8nWithAGroup))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	shelf := catalogue.Shelf{"n8n": m}
+	reads := catalogue.Node{Name: "ace", Capabilities: map[string]bool{"container-runtime": true, "container-groups": true}}
+	old := catalogue.Node{Name: "g14", Capabilities: map[string]bool{"container-runtime": true}}
+
+	got, err := catalogue.Resolve(shelf, []string{"n8n"}, reads, catalogue.World{})
+	if err != nil || len(got.Unhostable) != 0 || len(got.Modules) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("a node that reads groups: %v, held %+v", err, got.Unhostable)
+	}
+	if out := printedBy(t, "ace", got); out != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a node that reads groups was told: %q", out)
+	}
+
+	got, err = catalogue.Resolve(shelf, []string{"n8n"}, old, catalogue.World{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(got.Modules) != 0 || len(got.Unhostable) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("n8n was sent to a node that does not report container-groups: hosted %d, held %+v", len(got.Modules), got.Unhostable)
+	}
+	if out := printedBy(t, "g14", got); !strings.Contains(out, "n8n") || !strings.Contains(out, "container-groups") {
+		t.Errorf("the hold does not name the module and the capability: %q", out)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_capability_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdecl "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/declaration"
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/overlay"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/compose"
+)
+
+// 1696/AC2, ADR 0486 §5: a node is sent a file by digest only when its profile reports the capability. A node whose profile lacks
+// it, and a node the mesh has no profile of, are sent every content inline; a node that reports it is sent the reference. The test
+// goes through composeQuestion and composeSend, the two places readsFileReferences is read (compose_sdk.go).
+func TestAFileTravelsByDigestOnlyToANodeThatReportsTheCapability(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t) // anchor and laptop report no file-references
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	big := strings.Repeat("0123456789abcdef", 8<<10) // 128 KiB
+	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "bigfile", Version: "1",
+		Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "blob", "type": "file", "path": "/etc/bigfile/blob", "mode": "0644", "content": big}}})
+
+	// reader reports the capability; bare has never reported a profile at all.
+	for i, n := range []struct {
+		name    string
+		profile map[string]any
+	}{
+		{"reader", map[string]any{"capabilities": []any{
+			map[string]any{"name": "container-runtime", "present": true},
+			map[string]any{"name": "systemd", "present": true},
+			map[string]any{"name": sdkdecl.FileReferencesCapability, "present": true}}}},
+		{"bare", nil},
+	} {
+		record, err := open.inventory.AddNode(ctx, n.name)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if err := open.inventory.SetPlace(ctx, n.name, n.name+".example:51820", "here", false, fmt.Sprintf("10.77.0.%d", i+10)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if n.profile != nil {
+			if err := open.inventory.RecordProfile(ctx, record.ID, n.profile); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+		}
+		if err := open.inventory.RecordSealingKey(ctx, record.ID, aPublicKey(t)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if err := open.inventory.RecordOverlayKey(ctx, record.ID, aPublicKey(t)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if _, err := open.inventory.Assign(ctx, n.name, overlay.Name); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, node := range []string{"laptop", "reader", "bare"} {
+		if _, err := assign(ctx, open, node, "bigfile"); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("assign %s: %v", node, err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	byDigest := map[string]bool{"laptop": false, "bare": false, "reader": true}
+	for node, want := range byDigest {
+		asked, _, err := composeQuestion(ctx, open, node, compose.Reading, false)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", node, err)
+		}
+		sent, err := composeSend(ctx, open, node)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", node, err)
+		}
+		for what, s := range map[string]sendable{"question": asked, "send": sent} {
+			if s.fileReferences != want {
+				t.Fatalf("%s, %s: fileReferences %v, want %v", node, what, s.fileReferences, want)
+			}
+			body, err := s.Body()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			var got struct {
+				Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+			}
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &got); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			var found bool
+			for _, r := range got.Resources {
+				if r["path"] != "/etc/bigfile/blob" {
+					continue
+				}
+				found = true
+				inline := r["content"] == big
+				if want && (inline || r["digest"] == nil || r["size"] == nil) {
+					t.Fatalf("%s, %s: a node that reads references is sent the content inline", node, what)
+				}
+				if !want && (!inline || r["digest"] != nil) {
+					t.Fatalf("%s, %s: a node that does not report the capability is sent a reference", node, what)
+				}
+			}
+			if !found {
+				t.Fatalf("%s, %s: the file is not in the declaration", node, what)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_files.go

@@ -0,0 +1,253 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"sync"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/compose"
+	sdkdecl "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/declaration"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+)
+
+// **A declaration's large files travel by their digest to a node that can read one** (novox/hq ADR 0486 §1, §5, issue 1696).
+//
+// The declaration to a node that reports sdkdecl.FileReferencesCapability carries, in place of the content of every
+// file resource of more than sdkdecl.FileReferenceThreshold bytes that may travel so (File.TravelsByDigest: plain content or
+// bytes, not sealed, not filled with secrets, not written into another file), its sha256 digest and size. The content is put
+// into the bucket of the bus under the hex of the digest before the declaration is sent. A node that does not report the
+// capability is sent every content inline, as before: an older node-engine refuses a field it does not know, whole.
+
+// readsFileReferences says the node reports the capability of reading a file given by digest (ADR 0486 §5). A node the mesh has
+// no profile of reads none.
+func readsFileReferences(in compose.Input, node string) bool {
+	n, ok := nodeOf(in, node)
+	return ok && n.Capabilities[sdkdecl.FileReferencesCapability]
+}
+
+// referencing is the resources as a node that reads references is sent them, and the content of each file that went by
+// digest, by the name of its object (the hex of its digest). The resources it is given are not changed. A file that does not
+// travel by digest is passed as it is.
+func referencing(resources []map[string]any) ([]map[string]any, map[string][]byte, error) {
+	out := make([]map[string]any, len(resources))
+	var objects map[string][]byte
+	for i, r := range resources {
+		out[i] = r
+		if kind, _ := r["type"].(string); kind != string(sdkdecl.TypeFile) {
+			continue
+		}
+		// Cheap first: only a file with a content or bytes of the size is worth reading whole.
+		content, _ := r["content"].(string)
+		bytesField, _ := r["bytes"].(string)
+		if len(content) <= sdkdecl.FileReferenceThreshold && len(bytesField) <= sdkdecl.FileReferenceThreshold {
+			continue
+		}
+		raw, err := json.Marshal(r)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("resource %v: %w", r["id"], err)
+		}
+		var f sdkdecl.File
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &f); err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("resource %v is not a file the controller can read: %w", r["id"], err)
+		}
+		if !f.TravelsByDigest() {
+			continue
+		}
+		ref, body, err := f.AsReference()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, err
+		}
+		name, err := sdkdecl.ObjectName(ref.Digest)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, nil, err
+		}
+		with := make(map[string]any, len(r)+2)
+		for k, v := range r {
+			with[k] = v
+		}
+		delete(with, "content")
+		delete(with, "bytes")
+		with["digest"], with["size"] = ref.Digest, ref.Size
+		out[i] = with
+		if objects == nil {
+			objects = map[string][]byte{}
+		}
+		objects[name] = body
+	}
+	return out, objects, nil
+}
+
+// namedObjects are the objects of the bucket a body names: the object name of every file resource given by reference,
+// with its size. It reads a declaration as the node does, so it also reads the latest one the bus holds.
+func namedObjects(body []byte) (map[string]int64, error) {
+	var envelope struct {
+		Resources []struct {
+			Type   string `json:"type"`
+			Digest string `json:"digest"`
+			Size   int64  `json:"size"`
+		} `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &envelope); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var out map[string]int64
+	for _, r := range envelope.Resources {
+		if r.Type != string(sdkdecl.TypeFile) || r.Digest == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		name, err := sdkdecl.ObjectName(r.Digest)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if out == nil {
+			out = map[string]int64{}
+		}
+		out[name] = r.Size
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// objectStore is what putting the objects needs of a node's bucket.
+type objectStore interface {
+	// Has says whether an object of that name is there, complete, and whether it carries the sweep's mark of being named by no
+	// node's latest declaration.
+	Has(ctx context.Context, name string) (have, marked bool, err error)
+	// Put writes the object under that name, replacing one of the same name (and so erasing its mark).
+	Put(ctx context.Context, name string, content []byte) error
+}
+
+// putObjects makes sure every object of the declaration is in the bucket before the declaration that names it is sent: a node
+// that reads the declaration finds each object. An object already there (the same content, the same name) is not written again,
+// **unless the sweep marked it unnamed**: then it is written again, so the mark that would have it removed is gone with the
+// old object (issue 1696, review: a mark read just before a send must not take an object the send relies on). Refuses on the
+// first it cannot put, naming it, so the declaration is not sent.
+func putObjects(ctx context.Context, store objectStore, objects map[string][]byte) error {
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(objects))
+	for name := range objects {
+		names = append(names, name)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	for _, name := range names {
+		have, marked, err := store.Has(ctx, name)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("whether the object %s is in the bucket: %w", name[:12], err)
+		}
+		if have && !marked {
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := store.Put(ctx, name, objects[name]); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("putting the object %s (%d bytes) in the bucket: %w", name[:12], len(objects[name]), err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// busObjects is a node's bucket on the controller's own connection.
+type busObjects struct{ store jetstream.ObjectStore }
+
+// openBucket opens the bucket of a node's files, making it first if it is not there (it is asserted for every node at the
+// controller's start; a node adopted since is covered here).
+func openBucket(ctx context.Context, conn *nats.Conn, node string) (busObjects, error) {
+	js, err := jetstream.New(conn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return busObjects{}, err
+	}
+	bucket, err := broker.DeclarationFilesBucketOf(node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return busObjects{}, fmt.Errorf("the object bucket of node %q: %w", node, err)
+	}
+	store, err := js.ObjectStore(ctx, bucket)
+	if errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrBucketNotFound) {
+		if err = broker.EnsureDeclarationFiles(ctx, js, node); err == nil {
+			store, err = js.ObjectStore(ctx, bucket)
+		}
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return busObjects{}, fmt.Errorf("the object bucket %s: %w", bucket, err)
+	}
+	return busObjects{store}, nil
+}
+
+func (b busObjects) Has(ctx context.Context, name string) (bool, bool, error) {
+	info, err := b.store.GetInfo(ctx, name)
+	switch {
+	case errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrObjectNotFound):
+		return false, false, nil
+	case err != nil:
+		return false, false, err
+	}
+	_, marked := info.Metadata[declarationUnnamed]
+	return !info.Deleted, marked, nil
+}
+
+func (b busObjects) Put(ctx context.Context, name string, content []byte) error {
+	_, err := b.store.PutBytes(ctx, name, content)
+	return err
+}
+
+// filesLocks hold a node's bucket for one act at a time in this process: a send puts its objects and publishes the declaration that
+// names them under the node's lock, and the sweep judges the node's bucket under the same one, so the sweep never removes an
+// object between a send's put and its declaration. Another process (a person's push) is covered by the put erasing a mark and by
+// the sweep looking at an object again just before it removes it.
+var filesLocks sync.Map
+
+func lockFilesOf(node string) func() {
+	l, _ := filesLocks.LoadOrStore(node, &sync.Mutex{})
+	mu := l.(*sync.Mutex)
+	mu.Lock()
+	return mu.Unlock
+}
+
+// kindFilesNotPut is a node whose files that travel by digest could not be put in its bucket, send after send.
+const kindFilesNotPut = "declaration-files-not-put"
+
+// filesNotPutAfter is how many sends in a row may fail to put before the condition is raised: the first send to the machine holding
+// the bus fails for want of the grant that very send delivers, and says so, and is not yet a fault.
+const filesNotPutAfter = 2
+
+var (
+	filesFailMu sync.Mutex
+	filesFailed = map[string]int{}
+)
+
+func filesNotPutObservation(node, summary string) conditions.Observation {
+	return conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeMachine, ID: node, Kind: kindFilesNotPut, Token: kindFilesNotPut,
+		Machine: node, Severity: conditions.Warning, Source: "sends", Summary: summary}
+}
+
+// notePut records how putting a send's objects went: a failure counts, the second in a row raises the condition, a success
+// clears the count and the condition.
+func notePut(ctx context.Context, node string, put error) {
+	filesFailMu.Lock()
+	if put == nil {
+		delete(filesFailed, node)
+	} else {
+		filesFailed[node]++
+	}
+	n := filesFailed[node]
+	filesFailMu.Unlock()
+	keeper := conditionsFrom
+	if keeper == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	key := filesNotPutObservation(node, "").Key()
+	switch {
+	case put == nil:
+		if _, err := keeper.Clear(ctx, key, node+" was sent its files by digest"); err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("the condition %s could not be cleared: %v\n", key, err)
+		}
+	case n >= filesNotPutAfter:
+		summary := fmt.Sprintf("%s's files that travel by digest could not be put in its bucket %d sends in a row, so it is sent them "+
+			"inline: %v", node, n, put)
+		if _, err := keeper.Observe(ctx, filesNotPutObservation(node, summary)); err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("the condition %s could not be raised: %v\n", key, err)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_files_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,246 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	sdkdecl "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/declaration"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
+)
+
+type sigOf struct{}
+
+func (sigOf) Sign(context.Context, []byte) ([]byte, error) { return make([]byte, 64), nil }
+
+// 1696/AC7 (ADR 0486 §1): on a real bus with its default largest message of 1 MiB, a declaration whose files add up to more than
+// 3 MiB is sent as references, its objects are in the bucket, each fetched back whole and verified against the digest and size the
+// declaration names; the same declaration inline is refused by the controller, naming size and limit. A changed byte in an object
+// fails the verification.
+func TestADeclarationOfMoreThanThreeMiBIsSentByReferenceOnARealBus(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC7
+	s := testbus.Start(t)
+	conn, err := nats.Connect(s.ClientURL())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	nc, err := conn.JetStream()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := nc.AddStream(&nats.StreamConfig{Name: "NODES", Subjects: []string{"mesh.node.*.declare"},
+		MaxMsgsPerSubject: 1}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	api, err := jetstream.New(conn)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := broker.EnsureDeclarationFiles(ctx, api, "novox"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Run twice: an assertion of an existing bucket is no error and no change.
+	if err := broker.EnsureDeclarationFiles(ctx, api, "novox"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("asserting the bucket again: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var resources []map[string]any
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		resources = append(resources, aFileResource("big-"+string(rune('a'+i)), contentOf("big"+string(rune('a'+i)), 1200<<10)))
+	}
+	resources = append(resources, aFileResource("small", "tiny\n"))
+	inline := sendable{Resources: resources}
+	byDigest := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: resources}
+
+	bus := link.OverNATS{Conn: conn, JS: nc}
+	body, err := inline.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := link.Declare(ctx, bus, sigOf{}, "novox", body, 5*time.Second); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "1048576") || strings.Contains(err.Error(), "maximum payload exceeded") {
+		t.Fatalf("the inline declaration of more than 3 MiB: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	bucket, err := openBucket(ctx, conn, "novox")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	objects, err := byDigest.objects()
+	if err != nil || len(objects) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("objects: %d %v", len(objects), err)
+	}
+	if err := putObjects(ctx, bucket, objects); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := putObjects(ctx, bucket, objects); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("putting them again: %v", err)
+	}
+	refBody, err := byDigest.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := link.Declare(ctx, bus, sigOf{}, "novox", refBody, 5*time.Second); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the declaration by reference: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// What the stream holds for the node is the reference form, and it names exactly the three objects.
+	latest, err := latestDeclarations(ctx, conn, []string{"novox", "ace"})
+	if err != nil || len(latest) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the latest declarations: %v %v", len(latest), err)
+	}
+	named, err := namedByLatest("novox", latest["novox"])
+	if err != nil || len(named) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("what the latest declaration names: %v %v", named, err)
+	}
+	novoxBucket, err := broker.DeclarationFilesBucketOf("novox")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	store, err := api.ObjectStore(ctx, novoxBucket)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var envelope struct {
+		Resources []sdkdecl.File `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(refBody, &envelope); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, f := range envelope.Resources {
+		if !f.IsReference() {
+			continue
+		}
+		name, _ := sdkdecl.ObjectName(f.Digest)
+		got, err := store.GetBytes(ctx, name)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("the object of %s: %v", f.ID, err)
+		}
+		if err := f.Verify(got); err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("the object does not verify: %v", err)
+		}
+		got[len(got)/2] ^= 1
+		if err := f.Verify(got); err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("a changed byte in the object of %s passed the verification", f.ID)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The sweep against the real bucket: all named, nothing marked; a fourth object named by none is marked, kept a day less a
+	// minute, and removed at the day.
+	extra := bytes.Repeat([]byte("x"), 100)
+	extraName := strings.Repeat("e", 64)
+	if err := putObjects(ctx, bucket, map[string][]byte{extraName: extra}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	b := busSweptBucket{store}
+	t0 := time.Now()
+	if r, err := sweepDeclarationFiles(ctx, b, named, t0); err != nil || r.Marked != 1 || r.Removed != 0 || r.Kept != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("first sweep: %+v %v", r, err)
+	}
+	if r, err := sweepDeclarationFiles(ctx, b, named, t0.Add(24*time.Hour-time.Minute)); err != nil || r.Removed != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a minute short of a day: %+v %v", r, err)
+	}
+	if r, err := sweepDeclarationFiles(ctx, b, named, t0.Add(24*time.Hour+time.Second)); err != nil || r.Removed != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("a day after: %+v %v", r, err)
+	}
+	if infos, err := store.List(ctx); err != nil || len(infos) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the bucket holds %d objects (%v), want the 3 the declaration names", len(infos), err)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1696/AC8 on a real bucket: the sweep removes an object only if it still carries the mark it judged it by. An object marked
+// unnamed, then put again by a send (which erases the mark), is kept when the sweep deletes it by the old mark.
+func TestTheSweepsDeleteLeavesAnObjectASendPutAgainAfterItWasMarked(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC8
+	s := testbus.Start(t)
+	conn, err := nats.Connect(s.ClientURL())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	bucket, err := openBucket(ctx, conn, "novox")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	name := strings.Repeat("a", 64)
+	content := map[string][]byte{name: bytes.Repeat([]byte("y"), 100)}
+	if err := putObjects(ctx, bucket, content); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	b := busSweptBucket{bucket.store}
+	judged := time.Now().Add(-25 * time.Hour).Truncate(time.Second)
+	if err := b.MarkUnnamed(ctx, name, judged); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, marked, err := bucket.Has(ctx, name); err != nil || !marked {
+		t.Fatalf("the object was not marked: %v %v", marked, err)
+	}
+	// The sweep has read the mark; a send now puts the object again, which erases it.
+	if err := putObjects(ctx, bucket, content); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if have, marked, err := bucket.Has(ctx, name); err != nil || !have || marked {
+		t.Fatalf("a send did not put the marked object again: have %v marked %v %v", have, marked, err)
+	}
+	gone, err := b.Delete(ctx, name, judged)
+	if err != nil || gone {
+		t.Fatalf("the sweep deleted by an old mark: gone %v, %v", gone, err)
+	}
+	if have, _, err := bucket.Has(ctx, name); err != nil || !have {
+		t.Fatalf("the object a send relies on is gone: %v %v", have, err)
+	}
+	// And the mark still on it is honoured: marked again and deleted by that mark, it goes.
+	if err := b.MarkUnnamed(ctx, name, judged); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if gone, err := b.Delete(ctx, name, judged); err != nil || !gone {
+		t.Fatalf("an object still carrying the mark it was judged by is kept: gone %v, %v", gone, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1696/AC9 on a real bus: the sweep of a node's bucket takes the node's lock first, so it waits for a send that has put its objects
+// and not yet published the declaration that names them.
+func TestTheSweepOfANodesBucketHoldsTheNodesLock(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC9
+	s := testbus.Start(t)
+	conn, err := nats.Connect(s.ClientURL())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 60*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	const node = "sweep-lock-node"
+	if _, err := openBucket(ctx, conn, node); err != nil { // the bucket exists, or the sweep would return before the lock
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	release := lockFilesOf(node) // a send is between its put and its publication
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		_, _ = sweepNode(ctx, conn, node)
+		close(done)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+		t.Fatal("the sweep judged the node's bucket while a send held it")
+	case <-time.After(300 * time.Millisecond):
+	}
+	release()
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+	case <-time.After(20 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("the sweep did not go on once the send let go")
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_files_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,534 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	sdkdecl "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/declaration"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// contentOf is a deterministic content of n bytes that does not compress to nothing and holds no character JSON escapes.
+func contentOf(seed string, n int) string {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for i := 0; b.Len() < n; i++ {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "%s-%07d-%x;", seed, i, i*2654435761%1000003)
+	}
+	return b.String()[:n]
+}
+
+func aFileResource(id, content string) map[string]any {
+	return map[string]any{"id": id, "type": "file", "path": "/etc/" + id, "mode": "0644", "content": content}
+}
+
+// controlNodeShape is a declaration shaped like the control node's on 2026-10-21 (issue 1689), the sizes measured then: a bus users
+// file of 252,678 bytes, the vault's export of 138,475 bytes (compact), the tool runtime 21 KB, the packet filter 19 KB, the launcher
+// 14 KB, and about 600 small resources for the rest (about 286 KB). `more` scales the count of small ones: 1 is the shape, 1.4 forty
+// percent more of them.
+func controlNodeShape(more float64) []map[string]any {
+	res := []map[string]any{
+		aFileResource("nats.bus-users", contentOf("users", 252678)),
+		aFileResource("mesh-vault.kept", contentOf("kept", 138475)),
+		aFileResource("node-tools.runtime", contentOf("runtime", 21<<10)),
+		aFileResource("nftables.filtering", contentOf("filter", 19<<10)),
+		aFileResource("mesh-host.launcher", contentOf("launcher", 14<<10)),
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < int(600*more); i++ {
+		res = append(res, aFileResource(fmt.Sprintf("module-%03d.config", i), contentOf(fmt.Sprintf("small%d", i), 380)))
+	}
+	return res
+}
+
+func wireSizeOf(t *testing.T, s sendable) int {
+	t.Helper()
+	body, err := s.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// The signature the controller's key makes is 64 bytes.
+	msg, err := link.Envelope(body, make([]byte, 64))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return len(msg)
+}
+
+// 1696/AC1: for a node that reports the capability, the two big files of a control-node-shaped declaration carry their digest and size
+// and no content, and the declaration is far under the bus's 1 MiB.
+func TestAFileOver64KiBTravelsByDigestToANodeThatReadsOne(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC1
+	users, kept := contentOf("users", 252678), contentOf("kept", 138475)
+	s := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: []map[string]any{
+		aFileResource("nats.bus-users", users), aFileResource("mesh-vault.kept", kept),
+		aFileResource("small", "tiny\n"),
+	}}
+	body, err := s.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var got struct {
+		Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for i, want := range []string{users, kept} {
+		r := got.Resources[i]
+		digest := sdkdecl.DigestOf([]byte(want))
+		if _, has := r["content"]; has || r["digest"] != digest || r["size"] != float64(len(want)) {
+			t.Errorf("%v goes with content %v, digest %v, size %v; want no content, %s and %d", r["id"], r["content"] != nil,
+				r["digest"], r["size"], digest, len(want))
+		}
+		if r["path"] == nil || r["mode"] != "0644" {
+			t.Errorf("%v lost its path or mode: %v", r["id"], r)
+		}
+	}
+	if got.Resources[2]["content"] != "tiny\n" || got.Resources[2]["digest"] != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a small file is not inline: %v", got.Resources[2])
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(string(body), users[:200]) || strings.Contains(string(body), kept[:200]) {
+		t.Error("the content of a file that went by digest is in the body")
+	}
+	if n := wireSizeOf(t, s); n > 100<<10 {
+		t.Errorf("the declaration is %d bytes on the wire, want under 100 KB", n)
+	}
+	// The objects to put are the contents, each under the hex of its digest, and a reference verifies against its object.
+	objects, err := s.objects()
+	if err != nil || len(objects) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("objects: %v %v", objects, err)
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{users, kept} {
+		name, _ := sdkdecl.ObjectName(sdkdecl.DigestOf([]byte(want)))
+		if string(objects[name]) != want {
+			t.Errorf("the object %s does not hold the content", name[:12])
+		}
+	}
+	named, err := namedObjects(body)
+	if err != nil || len(named) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the objects the body names: %v %v", named, err)
+	}
+	for name := range objects {
+		if _, ok := named[name]; !ok {
+			t.Errorf("the body does not name the object %s it was sent with", name[:12])
+		}
+		if _, err := hex.DecodeString(name); err != nil || len(name) != 64 {
+			t.Errorf("the object name %q is not 64 hex characters", name)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// 1696/AC2: a node that does not report the capability is sent every content inline, as before, and has no object put.
+func TestANodeWithoutTheCapabilityIsSentEveryContentInline(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC2
+	users := contentOf("users", 252678)
+	s := sendable{Resources: []map[string]any{aFileResource("nats.bus-users", users)}}
+	body, err := s.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var got struct {
+		Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got.Resources[0]["content"] != users || got.Resources[0]["digest"] != nil || got.Resources[0]["size"] != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a node that reads no references is not sent the content inline: %v", got.Resources[0]["digest"])
+	}
+	if objects, err := s.objects(); err != nil || len(objects) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("objects for a node that reads none: %v %v", len(objects), err)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1696/AC3: only a file that may travel by digest does: one of exactly 64 KiB, a sealed one, one filled with secrets, one written
+// into another file, and a directory stay inline, whatever the node reads.
+func TestOnlyAFileThatMayTravelByDigestDoes(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC3
+	exact := contentOf("exact", 64<<10)
+	big := contentOf("big", 64<<10+1)
+	sealed := aFileResource("sealed", big)
+	sealed["sealed"], sealed["content"] = "box", ""
+	sealed["content"] = big // a sealed file's content is none; the body must pass it as it is, whatever it holds
+	secret := aFileResource("secret", big)
+	secret["secrets"] = map[string]any{"token": "x"}
+	into := aFileResource("into", big)
+	into["into"] = "/etc/other"
+	s := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: []map[string]any{
+		aFileResource("exact", exact), sealed, secret, into,
+		{"id": "dir", "type": "directory", "path": "/etc/d", "content": big},
+		aFileResource("big", big),
+	}}
+	body, err := s.Body()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var got struct {
+		Resources []map[string]any `json:"resources"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for i, id := range []string{"exact", "sealed", "secret", "into", "dir"} {
+		if got.Resources[i]["id"] != id || got.Resources[i]["digest"] != nil || got.Resources[i]["content"] == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s went by digest or lost its content: %v", id, got.Resources[i]["digest"])
+		}
+	}
+	if big := got.Resources[5]; big["id"] != "big" || big["digest"] == nil || big["content"] != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a plain file of 64 KiB and a byte did not go by digest: %v", big["digest"])
+	}
+}
+
+// A file given as bytes goes by digest on its decoded length, with the decoded bytes in the object.
+func TestAFileOfBytesTravelsByDigestOnItsDecodedLength(t *testing.T) {
+	raw := []byte(contentOf("png", 70<<10))
+	r := map[string]any{"id": "icon", "type": "file", "path": "/usr/share/icon.png", "bytes": stdBase64(raw)}
+	s := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: []map[string]any{r}}
+	objects, err := s.objects()
+	if err != nil || len(objects) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v", len(objects), err)
+	}
+	name, _ := sdkdecl.ObjectName(sdkdecl.DigestOf(raw))
+	if string(objects[name]) != string(raw) {
+		t.Fatal("the object is not the decoded bytes")
+	}
+	if r["bytes"] == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the composed resource was changed in place")
+	}
+}
+
+type memObjects struct {
+	have   map[string][]byte
+	marked map[string]bool
+	puts   []string
+	fail   map[string]error
+}
+
+func (m *memObjects) Has(_ context.Context, name string) (bool, bool, error) {
+	_, ok := m.have[name]
+	return ok, m.marked[name], nil
+}
+func (m *memObjects) Put(_ context.Context, name string, c []byte) error {
+	if err := m.fail[name]; err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	m.puts = append(m.puts, name)
+	m.have[name] = c
+	delete(m.marked, name)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// 1696/AC4: an object already in the bucket is not put again, one absent is, and a put that fails stops the send, naming the object.
+func TestObjectsAreInTheBucketBeforeTheDeclarationIsSent(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC4
+	objects := map[string][]byte{strings.Repeat("a", 64): []byte("one"), strings.Repeat("b", 64): []byte("two")}
+	b := &memObjects{have: map[string][]byte{strings.Repeat("a", 64): []byte("one")}}
+	if err := putObjects(t.Context(), b, objects); err != nil || len(b.puts) != 1 || b.puts[0] != strings.Repeat("b", 64) {
+		t.Fatalf("put %v (%v), want the one absent", b.puts, err)
+	}
+	// An object the sweep marked unnamed is put again, which erases the mark: a send relies on it.
+	b = &memObjects{have: map[string][]byte{strings.Repeat("a", 64): []byte("one"), strings.Repeat("b", 64): []byte("two")},
+		marked: map[string]bool{strings.Repeat("a", 64): true}}
+	if err := putObjects(t.Context(), b, objects); err != nil || len(b.puts) != 1 || b.puts[0] != strings.Repeat("a", 64) || b.marked[strings.Repeat("a", 64)] {
+		t.Fatalf("a marked object: put %v (%v) marked %v, want it put again and the mark gone", b.puts, err, b.marked)
+	}
+	b = &memObjects{have: map[string][]byte{}, fail: map[string]error{strings.Repeat("a", 64): errors.New("permissions violation")}}
+	err := putObjects(t.Context(), b, objects)
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "aaaaaaaaaaaa") || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "permissions violation") {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed put: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// fallbackDelivery refuses the first declaration it is sent with the bucket's failure, as a bus that has not yet been given the
+// controller's grant does, and takes the second.
+type fallbackDelivery struct {
+	bodies [][]byte
+	first  error
+}
+
+func (f *fallbackDelivery) grant(context.Context, []readyNode) error { return nil }
+func (f *fallbackDelivery) declare(_ context.Context, _ readyNode, body []byte) (string, error) {
+	f.bodies = append(f.bodies, body)
+	if len(f.bodies) == 1 && f.first != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("x: %w: %w", errFilesNotPut, f.first)
+	}
+	return "digest", nil
+}
+
+// 1696/AC5: when the bucket cannot be written yet (the grant travels in the declaration of the machine holding the bus), that send goes
+// with every content inline and is made; a send that fails for another reason is not retried inline.
+func TestASendWhoseFilesCannotBePutGoesInlineOnce(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC5
+	users := contentOf("users", 100<<10)
+	s := readyNode{node: "novox", declared: sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: []map[string]any{aFileResource("nats.bus-users", users)}}}
+	f := &fallbackDelivery{first: errors.New("timeout")}
+	digests, err := deliver(t.Context(), f, "novox", []readyNode{s})
+	if err != nil || digests["novox"] != "digest" || len(f.bodies) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v %d", digests, err, len(f.bodies))
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(string(f.bodies[0]), users[:100]) || !strings.Contains(string(f.bodies[1]), users[:100]) {
+		t.Error("the first body should name the file by digest and the second carry it inline")
+	}
+	other := &fallbackDelivery{}
+	other.first = nil
+	failing := &failingDelivery{err: errors.New("the bus is down")}
+	if _, err := deliver(t.Context(), failing, "novox", []readyNode{s}); err == nil || failing.calls != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("a failure of another kind: %v after %d send(s)", err, failing.calls)
+	}
+}
+
+type failingDelivery struct {
+	err   error
+	calls int
+}
+
+func (f *failingDelivery) grant(context.Context, []readyNode) error { return nil }
+func (f *failingDelivery) declare(context.Context, readyNode, []byte) (string, error) {
+	f.calls++
+	return "", f.err
+}
+
+// A bucket for the sweep.
+type sweepBucketFake struct {
+	objects map[string]time.Time // zero: named at the last look
+	deleted []string
+}
+
+func (b *sweepBucketFake) Objects(context.Context) ([]bucketObject, error) {
+	var out []bucketObject
+	for n, at := range b.objects {
+		out = append(out, bucketObject{Name: n, UnnamedSince: at})
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+func (b *sweepBucketFake) MarkUnnamed(_ context.Context, n string, at time.Time) error {
+	b.objects[n] = at
+	return nil
+}
+func (b *sweepBucketFake) ClearUnnamed(_ context.Context, n string) error {
+	b.objects[n] = time.Time{}
+	return nil
+}
+func (b *sweepBucketFake) Delete(_ context.Context, n string, markedAt time.Time) (bool, error) {
+	if at, ok := b.objects[n]; !ok || !at.Equal(markedAt) {
+		return false, nil // put again since it was judged: its mark is gone
+	}
+	delete(b.objects, n)
+	b.deleted = append(b.deleted, n)
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+// 1696/AC6: an object a latest declaration still names is not removed, however long; one unnamed is marked at the first look and removed
+// only when the mark is 24 hours old; one named again loses its mark.
+func TestAnObjectIsRemovedADayAfterNoLatestDeclarationNamesIt(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC6
+	named, unnamed, back := strings.Repeat("1", 64), strings.Repeat("2", 64), strings.Repeat("3", 64)
+	t0 := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	b := &sweepBucketFake{objects: map[string]time.Time{named: t0.Add(-100 * time.Hour), unnamed: {}, back: t0.Add(-5 * time.Hour)}}
+	named3 := map[string]bool{named: true, back: true}
+	r, err := sweepDeclarationFiles(t.Context(), b, named3, t0)
+	if err != nil || r.Marked != 1 || r.Cleared != 2 || r.Removed != 0 || len(b.deleted) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("first look: %+v %v %v", r, err, b.deleted)
+	}
+	if !b.objects[named].IsZero() || !b.objects[back].IsZero() || !b.objects[unnamed].Equal(t0) {
+		t.Fatalf("marks after the first look: %v", b.objects)
+	}
+	// Still unnamed 23 hours 59 minutes later: kept. A day after the mark: removed. The named ones stay for ever.
+	if r, err = sweepDeclarationFiles(t.Context(), b, map[string]bool{named: true, back: true}, t0.Add(24*time.Hour-time.Minute)); err != nil ||
+		r.Removed != 0 || len(b.deleted) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a minute short of a day: %+v %v %v", r, err, b.deleted)
+	}
+	if r, err = sweepDeclarationFiles(t.Context(), b, map[string]bool{named: true, back: true}, t0.Add(24*time.Hour)); err != nil ||
+		r.Removed != 1 || len(b.deleted) != 1 || b.deleted[0] != unnamed {
+		t.Fatalf("a day after: %+v %v %v", r, err, b.deleted)
+	}
+	if _, ok := b.objects[named]; !ok {
+		t.Fatal("an object a latest declaration names was removed")
+	}
+	// An object named again before the day is up loses its mark and is not removed.
+	b = &sweepBucketFake{objects: map[string]time.Time{unnamed: t0}}
+	if _, err := sweepDeclarationFiles(t.Context(), b, map[string]bool{unnamed: true}, t0.Add(23*time.Hour)); err != nil || !b.objects[unnamed].IsZero() {
+		t.Fatalf("named again: %v %v", b.objects, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// What a node's latest declaration names is read from the signed envelope as stored on the bus; an unreadable one is an error and
+// never "names none", which would mark an object a node needs.
+func TestTheObjectsALatestDeclarationNamesAreReadFromTheBus(t *testing.T) {
+	s := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: []map[string]any{aFileResource("a", contentOf("a", 70<<10))}}
+	body, _ := s.Body()
+	msg, _ := link.Envelope(body, []byte("sig"))
+	named, err := namedByLatest("novox", msg)
+	name, _ := sdkdecl.ObjectName(sdkdecl.DigestOf([]byte(contentOf("a", 70<<10))))
+	if err != nil || len(named) != 1 || !named[name] {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v", named, err)
+	}
+	if none, err := namedByLatest("ace", []byte(`{"declaration":"e30=","signature":""}`)); err != nil || len(none) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a declaration naming none: %v %v", none, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := namedByLatest("novox", []byte("not json")); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unreadable latest declaration was read as naming none")
+	}
+}
+
+// 1698/AC2 (ADR 0486 §9): a declaration shaped like the control node's, for a node that reads references, stays under half of the
+// bus's largest message on the wire; the inline form of the same does not fit at all; and the same shape with 40 percent more resources
+// fails the test's own limit, so a change that eats the room fails in a pull request and not on the live mesh.
+func TestTheControlNodesDeclarationInTheReferenceFormStaysUnderHalfTheBusLimit(t *testing.T) { // 1698/AC2
+	const limit = 1048576
+	shape := sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: controlNodeShape(1)}
+	n := wireSizeOf(t, shape)
+	t.Logf("the control node's shape in the reference form: %d bytes on the wire, %.1f%% of %d", n, 100*float64(n)/limit, limit)
+	if n > limit/2 {
+		t.Errorf("the reference form is %d bytes on the wire, over half (%d) of the bus's largest message", n, limit/2)
+	}
+	if inline := wireSizeOf(t, sendable{Resources: controlNodeShape(1)}); inline < limit*3/4 {
+		t.Errorf("the inline form is %d bytes, which is not the shape that was over the limit", inline)
+	}
+	grown := wireSizeOf(t, sendable{fileReferences: true, Resources: controlNodeShape(1.4)})
+	if grown <= limit/2 {
+		t.Errorf("the shape with 40%% more resources is %d bytes, which the test would let pass", grown)
+	}
+}
+
+func stdBase64(b []byte) string { return base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(b) }
+
+// A sweep that read an object's mark before a send put it again must not remove it: the object, now without the mark, is left.
+func TestASweepDoesNotRemoveAnObjectASendPutAgainAfterItWasJudged(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC8
+	n := strings.Repeat("4", 64)
+	t0 := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	b := &sweepBucketFake{objects: map[string]time.Time{n: t0}}
+	judged := bucketObject{Name: n, UnnamedSince: t0}
+	b.objects[n] = time.Time{} // the send put it again: no mark
+	if gone, err := b.Delete(t.Context(), judged.Name, judged.UnnamedSince); err != nil || gone || len(b.deleted) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("an object put again was removed: %v %v %v", gone, err, b.deleted)
+	}
+}
+
+// One node's bucket is held by one act at a time in this process: the sweep waits for a send that has put its objects and not yet
+// published the declaration that names them (1696/AC9).
+func TestTheSweepOfANodesBucketWaitsForASendThatHasPutItsObjects(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC9
+	unlock := lockFilesOf("lock-test-node")
+	got := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		defer lockFilesOf("lock-test-node")()
+		close(got)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-got:
+		t.Fatal("the sweep took the node's bucket while a send held it")
+	case <-time.After(50 * time.Millisecond):
+	}
+	other := lockFilesOf("lock-test-other-node") // another node's bucket is not held
+	other()
+	unlock()
+	select {
+	case <-got:
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("the sweep did not take the node's bucket once the send was done")
+	}
+}
+
+// A put that fails send after send raises a condition; the first failure does not (the grant it waits for travels in that very
+// declaration), and a put that works clears it (1696/AC10).
+func TestAPutThatFailsSendAfterSendRaisesAConditionAndClearsWhenItWorks(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC10
+	store := conditions.NewInMemory()
+	k := conditions.NewKeeper(t.Context(), conditions.Options{Store: store, History: store,
+		Teller: &conditions.Told{}, Now: func() time.Time { return time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 14, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC) }})
+	t.Cleanup(func() { k.Close(t.Context()) })
+	was := conditionsFrom
+	conditionsFrom = k
+	t.Cleanup(func() { conditionsFrom = was })
+	key := filesNotPutObservation("cond-node", "").Key()
+	open := func() bool {
+		_, found, err := conditions.ReadOne(t.Context(), store, key)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		return found
+	}
+	boom := errors.New("permissions violation")
+	notePut(t.Context(), "cond-node", boom)
+	if open() {
+		t.Fatal("the first failure raised the condition")
+	}
+	notePut(t.Context(), "cond-node", boom)
+	if !open() {
+		t.Fatal("the second failure in a row did not raise the condition")
+	}
+	notePut(t.Context(), "cond-node", nil)
+	if open() {
+		t.Fatal("a put that worked did not clear the condition")
+	}
+	notePut(t.Context(), "cond-node", boom)
+	if open() {
+		t.Fatal("the count did not start again after a put that worked")
+	}
+}
+
+// aBusThatSays is a bus that keeps the declarations published to it and, at each, asks whether the node's bucket is held.
+type aBusThatSays struct {
+	link.Bus
+	published     chan string
+	heldAtPublish func() bool
+}
+
+func (b *aBusThatSays) PublishDeclaration(_ context.Context, node string, _ []byte) error {
+	if b.heldAtPublish != nil && !b.heldAtPublish() {
+		return errors.New("published while the node's bucket was not held")
+	}
+	b.published <- node
+	return errors.New("stop here: nothing is recorded")
+}
+
+type aSignerOfZeros struct{}
+
+func (aSignerOfZeros) Sign(context.Context, []byte) ([]byte, error) { return make([]byte, 64), nil }
+
+// whileHeld says whether the node's lock is held by someone right now, without keeping it.
+func whileHeld(node string) bool {
+	got := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		defer lockFilesOf(node)()
+		close(got)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-got:
+		return false
+	case <-time.After(100 * time.Millisecond):
+		// held: the goroutine stays waiting and takes and releases the lock once it is let go.
+		return true
+	}
+}
+
+// 1696/AC9: a send holds the node's lock from the put to the publication, so the sweep never removes an object between them. The
+// test goes through overTheBus.declare: while another holds the lock the declaration is not published, and at the publication the
+// lock is held.
+func TestASendHoldsTheNodesLockFromThePutToThePublication(t *testing.T) { // 1696/AC9
+	const node = "lock-send-node"
+	bus := &aBusThatSays{published: make(chan string, 1)}
+	bus.heldAtPublish = func() bool { return whileHeld(node) }
+	send := overTheBus{server: link.SendingOn(bus), signer: aSignerOfZeros{}}
+	release := lockFilesOf(node) // a sweep is judging this node's bucket
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		_, err := send.declare(t.Context(), readyNode{node: node}, []byte(`{}`))
+		done <- err
+	}()
+	select {
+	case n := <-bus.published:
+		t.Fatalf("%s was sent its declaration while the sweep held the node's bucket", n)
+	case <-time.After(150 * time.Millisecond):
+	}
+	release()
+	select {
+	case <-bus.published:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("the send did not go on once the sweep let go")
+	}
+	if err := <-done; err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nothing is recorded") {
+		t.Fatalf("the send did not reach the publication (a lock held at it): %v", err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_room.go

@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ import (
 
 // **A declaration is one bus message, and the bus's largest message is a cliff** (novox/hq issue 1689). On 2026-10-21
 // the control node's declaration passed it by 2 KB and nothing reached that node until two assignments were undone.
-// So the size is measured at every send: a warning condition from 90% of the limit, urgent over it, cleared when
-// the declaration is back under 90%. The limit is the connection's own, not a constant.
+// So the size is measured at every send: a warning condition from 75% of the limit (ADR 0486 §8, issue 1698: it was 90% while every file travelled inline), urgent over it, cleared when
+// the declaration is back under 75%. The limit is the connection's own, not a constant.
 
 // kindDeclarationNearLimit is a declaration at or near the bus's largest message.
 const kindDeclarationNearLimit = "declaration-near-limit"

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_room_test.go

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func TestTheVaultsExportIsSentCompactAndNothingElseIsTouched(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// From 90% of the bus's largest message the declaration is a warning; over it, urgent; back under 90%, cleared.
+// From 75% of the bus's largest message (ADR 0486 §8, issue 1698) the declaration is a warning; over it, urgent; back under 75%, cleared.
 func TestADeclarationNearTheBusLimitRaisesAConditionAndClearsWhenSmaller(t *testing.T) {
 	store := conditions.NewInMemory()
 	k := conditions.NewKeeper(t.Context(), conditions.Options{Store: store, History: store,
@@ -50,22 +50,22 @@ func TestADeclarationNearTheBusLimitRaisesAConditionAndClearsWhenSmaller(t *test
 		return c, found
 	}
 
-	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 899, limit)
+	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 749, limit)
 	if _, found := read(); found {
-		t.Fatal("a declaration at 89.9% raised a condition")
+		t.Fatal("a declaration at 74.9% raised a condition")
 	}
-	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 900, limit)
+	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 750, limit)
 	c, found := read()
-	if !found || c.Severity != conditions.Warning || !strings.Contains(c.Summary, "900 bytes") ||
+	if !found || c.Severity != conditions.Warning || !strings.Contains(c.Summary, "750 bytes") ||
 		!strings.Contains(c.Summary, "1000") || c.Subject.Machine != "novox" {
-		t.Fatalf("at 90%% the condition is %v %+v", found, c)
+		t.Fatalf("at 75%% the condition is %v %+v", found, c)
 	}
 	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 1001, limit)
 	if c, _ := read(); c.Severity != conditions.Urgent {
 		t.Fatalf("over the limit the condition is %q, expected urgent", c.Severity)
 	}
-	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 850, limit)
+	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 700, limit)
 	if _, found := read(); found {
-		t.Fatal("the condition stayed after the declaration fell under 90%")
+		t.Fatal("the condition stayed after the declaration fell under 75%")
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_sweep.go

@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// **An object is removed a day after no node's latest declaration names it** (novox/hq ADR 0486 §3, issue 1696), so a node that is
+// asleep and receives its latest declaration later still finds every object that declaration names. What each node's latest
+// declaration names is read from the bus itself, the last message of that node's subject of the stream NODES: nothing else
+// is kept of it. When an object is first found named by none, the time is written in its own metadata (declarationUnnamed);
+// found named again, that is erased; found unnamed for a day, it is removed. Each node has a bucket of its own, judged against that
+// node's latest declaration alone. Objects are immutable and regenerable from the
+// controller's state, so a removal loses nothing.
+
+// declarationUnnamed is the key of an object's metadata holding when it was first found named by no node's latest declaration.
+const declarationUnnamed = "unnamed-since"
+
+// sweepEvery is how often the bucket is judged: the removal is exact to within this.
+const sweepEvery = time.Hour
+
+// bucketObject is one object of the bucket as the sweep sees it.
+type bucketObject struct {
+	Name string
+	// UnnamedSince is when it was first found named by none, zero when it was named at the last look.
+	UnnamedSince time.Time
+}
+
+// sweptBucket is what the sweep needs of the bucket.
+type sweptBucket interface {
+	Objects(ctx context.Context) ([]bucketObject, error)
+	MarkUnnamed(ctx context.Context, name string, since time.Time) error
+	ClearUnnamed(ctx context.Context, name string) error
+	// Delete removes the object if it still carries the mark it was judged by, and says whether it did: a send that put it again
+	// since has erased the mark, and the object is left.
+	Delete(ctx context.Context, name string, markedAt time.Time) (bool, error)
+}
+
+// filesSweep says what a sweep did.
+type filesSweep struct{ Kept, Marked, Cleared, Removed int }
+
+// sweepDeclarationFiles judges every object against the names of the latest declarations: named ones are kept (and a
+// mark of being unnamed is erased), unnamed ones are marked at the first look and removed once the mark is a day old.
+func sweepDeclarationFiles(ctx context.Context, bucket sweptBucket, named map[string]bool, now time.Time) (filesSweep, error) {
+	var r filesSweep
+	objects, err := bucket.Objects(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return r, err
+	}
+	sort.Slice(objects, func(i, j int) bool { return objects[i].Name < objects[j].Name })
+	for _, o := range objects {
+		switch {
+		case named[o.Name]:
+			r.Kept++
+			if !o.UnnamedSince.IsZero() {
+				if err := bucket.ClearUnnamed(ctx, o.Name); err != nil {
+					return r, fmt.Errorf("the object %s: %w", o.Name[:12], err)
+				}
+				r.Cleared++
+			}
+		case o.UnnamedSince.IsZero():
+			if err := bucket.MarkUnnamed(ctx, o.Name, now); err != nil {
+				return r, fmt.Errorf("the object %s: %w", o.Name[:12], err)
+			}
+			r.Marked++
+		case now.Sub(o.UnnamedSince) >= broker.DeclarationFilesKeptFor:
+			gone, err := bucket.Delete(ctx, o.Name, o.UnnamedSince)
+			if err != nil {
+				return r, fmt.Errorf("the object %s: %w", o.Name[:12], err)
+			}
+			if gone {
+				r.Removed++
+			} else {
+				r.Kept++
+			}
+		default:
+			r.Kept++
+		}
+	}
+	return r, nil
+}
+
+// namedByLatest is the name of every object this latest declaration of a node names. A body that cannot be read is an error, never
+// "names none": an object the node still needs would be marked for removal.
+func namedByLatest(node string, signed []byte) (map[string]bool, error) {
+	var s link.Signed
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(signed, &s); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s's latest declaration is not readable: %w", node, err)
+	}
+	names, err := namedObjects(s.Declaration)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s's latest declaration is not readable: %w", node, err)
+	}
+	named := make(map[string]bool, len(names))
+	for name := range names {
+		named[name] = true
+	}
+	return named, nil
+}
+
+// latestDeclarations are the last signed declarations of the nodes, by node, as the stream NODES holds them. A node with none has
+// no entry.
+func latestDeclarations(ctx context.Context, conn *nats.Conn, nodes []string) (map[string][]byte, error) {
+	js, err := conn.JetStream(nats.Context(ctx))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	out := map[string][]byte{}
+	for _, node := range nodes {
+		msg, err := js.GetLastMsg("NODES", link.DeclareSubject(node), nats.Context(ctx))
+		if errors.Is(err, nats.ErrMsgNotFound) {
+			continue
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("the latest declaration of %s: %w", node, err)
+		}
+		out[node] = msg.Data
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// busSweptBucket is the bucket on the controller's connection.
+type busSweptBucket struct{ store jetstream.ObjectStore }
+
+func (b busSweptBucket) Objects(ctx context.Context) ([]bucketObject, error) {
+	infos, err := b.store.List(ctx)
+	if errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrNoObjectsFound) {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	out := make([]bucketObject, 0, len(infos))
+	for _, info := range infos {
+		o := bucketObject{Name: info.Name}
+		if at, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, info.Metadata[declarationUnnamed]); err == nil {
+			o.UnnamedSince = at
+		}
+		out = append(out, o)
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+func (b busSweptBucket) meta(ctx context.Context, name string, change func(map[string]string)) error {
+	info, err := b.store.GetInfo(ctx, name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	meta := info.ObjectMeta
+	kept := map[string]string{}
+	for k, v := range meta.Metadata {
+		kept[k] = v
+	}
+	change(kept)
+	meta.Metadata = kept
+	return b.store.UpdateMeta(ctx, name, meta)
+}
+
+func (b busSweptBucket) MarkUnnamed(ctx context.Context, name string, since time.Time) error {
+	return b.meta(ctx, name, func(m map[string]string) { m[declarationUnnamed] = since.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339) })
+}
+
+func (b busSweptBucket) ClearUnnamed(ctx context.Context, name string) error {
+	return b.meta(ctx, name, func(m map[string]string) { delete(m, declarationUnnamed) })
+}
+
+func (b busSweptBucket) Delete(ctx context.Context, name string, markedAt time.Time) (bool, error) {
+	info, err := b.store.GetInfo(ctx, name)
+	if errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrObjectNotFound) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	if at, perr := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, info.Metadata[declarationUnnamed]); perr != nil || !at.Equal(markedAt) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	return true, b.store.Delete(ctx, name)
+}
+
+// sweepingDeclarationFiles judges the bucket every sweepEvery for as long as this controller serves and holds the lease.
+func sweepingDeclarationFiles(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, conn *nats.Conn) {
+	tick := time.NewTicker(sweepEvery)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+	failing := ""
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-tick.C:
+		}
+		if epoch, err := theLease.epoch(ctx); err != nil || epoch == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		why := sweepOnce(ctx, inv, conn)
+		if why != failing {
+			if why != "" {
+				fmt.Printf("the bucket of declaration files cannot be swept: %s\n", why)
+			} else {
+				fmt.Printf("the bucket of declaration files is swept again\n")
+			}
+			failing = why
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// sweepOnce judges the bucket of every node against that node's latest declaration, one bucket at a time under the node's lock, with
+// the declaration read again under it: a send that put an object and published its declaration is seen, and one that has not yet
+// is waiting for the lock.
+func sweepOnce(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, conn *nats.Conn) string {
+	nodes, err := inv.Nodes(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("the nodes cannot be read: %v", err)
+	}
+	var problems []string
+	var total filesSweep
+	for _, n := range nodes {
+		r, err := sweepNode(ctx, conn, n.Name)
+		total.Kept, total.Marked, total.Cleared, total.Removed = total.Kept+r.Kept, total.Marked+r.Marked, total.Cleared+r.Cleared, total.Removed+r.Removed
+		if err != nil {
+			problems = append(problems, fmt.Sprintf("%s: %v", n.Name, err))
+		}
+	}
+	if total.Removed+total.Marked+total.Cleared > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("the buckets of declaration files: %d object(s) kept, %d found unnamed, %d named again, %d removed\n",
+			total.Kept, total.Marked, total.Cleared, total.Removed)
+	}
+	return strings.Join(problems, "; ")
+}
+
+func sweepNode(ctx context.Context, conn *nats.Conn, node string) (filesSweep, error) {
+	working, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 2*time.Minute)
+	defer cancel()
+	js, err := jetstream.New(conn)
+	if err != nil {
+		return filesSweep{}, err
+	}
+	bucket, err := broker.DeclarationFilesBucketOf(node)
+	if err != nil {
+		return filesSweep{}, fmt.Errorf("the bucket of node %q: %w", node, err)
+	}
+	store, err := js.ObjectStore(working, bucket)
+	if errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrBucketNotFound) {
+		return filesSweep{}, nil // a node never sent a reference has no bucket yet
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return filesSweep{}, fmt.Errorf("the bucket cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer lockFilesOf(node)()
+	latest, err := latestDeclarations(working, conn, []string{node})
+	if err != nil {
+		return filesSweep{}, err
+	}
+	named := map[string]bool{}
+	if body, ok := latest[node]; ok {
+		if named, err = namedByLatest(node, body); err != nil {
+			return filesSweep{}, err
+		}
+	}
+	return sweepDeclarationFiles(working, busSweptBucket{store}, named, time.Now())
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/declared_packages_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// 1840/AC5 (ADR 0507 §5): the source of the declared-packages mirror composes each node and names, for a package two modules
+// declare and one declared absent, the modules that declare it; the same records give the same bytes on a second pass, so
+// the mirror writes nothing; a node with no package has a key that says so.
+func TestTheDeclaredPackagesMirrorNamesWhatEachNodesModulesDeclare(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "viewer", Version: "1", Resources: []map[string]any{
+		{"id": "pkg-curl", "type": "package", "package": "curl"},
+		{"id": "pkg-nano", "type": "package", "package": "nano", "absent": true}}})
+	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "fetcher", Version: "1", Resources: []map[string]any{
+		{"id": "pkg-curl", "type": "package", "package": "curl"}}})
+	for _, module := range []string{"viewer", "fetcher"} {
+		if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "anchor", module); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("assign anchor %s: %v", module, err)
+		}
+	}
+	source := declaredPackagesMirror(open)
+	first, err := source(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var got inventory.DeclaredPackagesMirrored
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(first["anchor"], &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("anchor has no value: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Every node also runs the mesh's own modules, which declare packages of their own: curl and nano are looked
+	// up by name, and no package names viewer or fetcher but those they declare.
+	byName := map[string]inventory.PackageDeclared{}
+	for _, p := range got.Packages {
+		byName[p.Package] = p
+	}
+	same := func(a, b []string) bool {
+		if len(a) != len(b) {
+			return false
+		}
+		for i := range a {
+			if a[i] != b[i] {
+				return false
+			}
+		}
+		return true
+	}
+	for _, p := range []inventory.PackageDeclared{{Package: "curl", Modules: []string{"fetcher", "viewer"}},
+		{Package: "nano", Modules: []string{"viewer"}, Absent: true}} {
+		if g, ok := byName[p.Package]; !ok || g.Absent != p.Absent || !same(g.Modules, p.Modules) {
+			t.Errorf("anchor declares %s as %+v, want %+v (all: %+v)", p.Package, g, p, got.Packages)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, p := range got.Packages {
+		if p.Package == "curl" || p.Package == "nano" {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, m := range p.Modules {
+			if m == "viewer" || m == "fetcher" {
+				t.Errorf("%s is said to be declared by %s, which does not declare it", p.Package, m)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	var laptop inventory.DeclaredPackagesMirrored
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(first["laptop"], &laptop); err != nil || laptop.Node != "laptop" || laptop.Packages == nil {
+		t.Errorf("a node assigned neither module has no value of its own: %s (%v)", first["laptop"], err)
+	}
+	for _, p := range laptop.Packages {
+		if p.Package == "curl" || p.Package == "nano" {
+			t.Errorf("laptop is assigned neither module and declares %+v", p)
+		}
+	}
+	second, err := source(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for node, value := range first {
+		if string(second[node]) != string(value) {
+			t.Errorf("the value of %s changed between two passes over the same records:\n%s\n%s", node, value, second[node])
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery.go

@@ -815,16 +815,14 @@ func deliveryPlanDocument(m orderMember, entries []inventory.Entry, read map[str
 //	delivery walks [-n 50] [--plan <id>]
 func deliveryCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if len(args) == 0 {
-		return errors.New("delivery plan|order|check|go|stop|walks")
+		return errors.New("delivery order|check|go|stop|walks")
 	}
 	sub, rest := args[0], args[1:]
+	if sub == "plan" {
+		// Removed (ADR 0450 §8; issue 1318): refused by name before any flag is read, naming its replacement.
+		return removedByName("delivery-plan")
+	}
 	set := flag.NewFlagSet("delivery "+sub, flag.ContinueOnError)
-	repository := set.String("repository", "", "owner/repository")
-	base := set.String("base", "main", "the branch it merges into")
-	head := set.String("head", "", "the commit at hand")
-	paths := set.String("paths", "", "the files it changes, comma-separated")
-	moduleDirs := set.String("module-dirs", "", "the directories holding a module.json at the head, comma-separated")
-	removed := set.String("removed", "", "the files it deletes, comma-separated")
 	membersJSON := set.String("members", "", "a group's members, as JSON")
 	membersFile := set.String("members-file", "", "a file of a group's members, as JSON: the same as --members, for a list "+
 		"too long for an argument (novox/hq issue 1272)")
@@ -872,19 +870,6 @@ func deliveryCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		return enc.Encode(v)
 	}
 	switch sub {
-	case "plan":
-		if *repository == "" || *head == "" && *paths == "" {
-			return errors.New("delivery plan --repository owner/repo --head <commit> --paths a,b")
-		}
-		m := changeMember(*repository, *base, *head, splitList(*paths), splitList(*removed), moduleDirsOf(*moduleDirs))
-		entries, read, edges, err := theGraph(ctx, inv)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return answer(deliveryPlanDocument(m, entries, read, edges, func(module string) (inventory.Upgrade, bool) {
-			u, err := inv.UpgradeOf(ctx, module)
-			return u, err == nil
-		}))
 	case "order":
 		if len(members) == 0 {
 			return errors.New("delivery order --members <json>: a group has members")
@@ -914,11 +899,9 @@ func deliveryCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		if *group == "" || len(members) < 2 {
 			return errors.New("delivery check --group <id> --members <json> (two heads or more), or --members <one head>")
 		}
-		id, err := askGroupCheck(ctx, open, *group, members)
-		if err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
-		return answer(map[string]any{"asked": id, "group": *group})
+		// **The group's composed check is the checker's** (novox/hq ADR 0503 §3; issue 1299, C2): nothing is asked of
+		// build-agent, and the answer says who judges it.
+		return answer(groupCheckAnswer(*group))
 	case "go":
 		if len(positionals) != 1 {
 			return errors.New("delivery go <plan> [--by <who>] [--why <text>]")
@@ -1093,38 +1076,6 @@ func theGraph(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) ([]inventory.Entry,
 	return entries, read, edges, nil
 }
 
-// cycleVerdict is the failing verdict of a group whose modules are ordered in a cycle, and whether there is one: the
-// group's composed check, said without a build. The manifests' change is read from the forge; an answer it cannot give
-// is an error, never read as no cycle.
-func cycleVerdict(ctx context.Context, group string, members []orderMember, reach map[string]orderReach,
-	edges []inventory.Edge, entries []inventory.Entry) (link.Checked, bool, error) {
-	changes, err := changesOf(ctx, changeSourcesOf(members, entries, reach))
-	if err != nil {
-		return link.Checked{}, false, fmt.Errorf("what the group's members say of their manifests cannot be read: %w", err)
-	}
-	var moved []string
-	for _, m := range members {
-		moved = appendNew(moved, reach[m.ID].Moved...)
-	}
-	said := orderEdges(moved, changes, edges).CycleSaid()
-	if said == "" {
-		return link.Checked{}, false, nil
-	}
-	first := members[0].pull()
-	c := link.Checked{ID: link.NewBuildID(time.Now()), Owner: first.Owner, Repo: first.Repo, Number: first.Number,
-		Commit: first.Commit, Verdict: "fail", Summary: said, Report: said, Group: group,
-		Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: said}}
-	for _, m := range members {
-		if group == "" {
-			break // a lone pull request's verdict names no group and no member
-		}
-		p := m.pull()
-		c.Members = append(c.Members, link.CheckedMember{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number, Commit: p.Commit,
-			Trunk: twelve(p.BaseSHA)})
-	}
-	return c, true, nil
-}
-
 // twelve is a commit as twelve characters.
 func twelve(c string) string {
 	if len(c) > 12 {
@@ -1133,93 +1084,6 @@ func twelve(c string) string {
 	return c
 }
 
-// groupPrimary is the head a group's composed check is run from: the one moving the controller, which then
-// judges the group by itself; else the one moving the node-engine, whose validator judges; else the first.
-func groupPrimary(members []orderMember, reach map[string]orderReach) int {
-	for _, want := range []string{"mesh-controller", "mesh-host"} {
-		for i, m := range members {
-			if slices.Contains(reach[m.ID].Moved, want) {
-				return i
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	return 0
-}
-
-// askGroupCheck asks the build seat for a group's composed check: every head laid over the mesh in turn,
-// judged as one future state (novox/hq ADR 0239). The verdict comes back as `checked` with the group's id,
-// for mesh-delivery; the forge's holder sets no status from it.
-func askGroupCheck(ctx context.Context, open *stores, group string, members []orderMember) (string, error) {
-	entries, read, edges, err := theGraph(ctx, open.inventory)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	reach := reachOfMembers(members, entries, read, edges)
-	// **A cycle of edges fails the group's composed check, naming every module and edge** (novox/hq ADR 0419 clause 6),
-	// before the build seat is asked: no composition of the heads has an order to be sent in.
-	if failing, cyclic, err := cycleVerdict(ctx, group, members, reach, edges, entries); err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	} else if cyclic {
-		sayChecked(ctx, os.Stderr, failing)
-		return failing.ID, nil
-	}
-	primary := groupPrimary(members, reach)
-	p := members[primary].pull()
-	scope := pullScope(p, entries, read, edges)
-	// The gate runs over what any member moves; a judge from the primary alone.
-	for _, m := range members {
-		r := reach[m.ID]
-		scope.Modules = appendNew(scope.Modules, r.Moved...)
-		scope.Dependents = appendNew(scope.Dependents, r.Dependents...)
-	}
-	request, err := checkRequestFor(ctx, open, p, scope, entries)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	request.Check.Group = group
-	// A group's check is queued as ready when any member's pull request is marked ready.
-	request.Check.Ready = slices.ContainsFunc(members, func(m orderMember) bool { return m.Ready })
-	world, err := restOfTheMesh(ctx, open, shelfOf(entries), "")
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	for i, m := range members {
-		if i == primary {
-			continue
-		}
-		mp := m.pull()
-		// As the mesh clones a module built from it; a repository no module is built from, from the forge.
-		source := inventory.Source{Seat: gitSeat, Repository: mp.Owner + "/" + mp.Repo}
-		for _, e := range entries {
-			if !e.Provided && sameRepository(e.Source.Repository, link.SourceMoved{Owner: mp.Owner, Repo: mp.Repo}) {
-				source = e.Source
-				break
-			}
-		}
-		url := source.Repository
-		if source.Seat != "" {
-			url, err = clonedFromSeat(world, source.Seat, source.Repository)
-		}
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("%s cannot be cloned for the group's check: %w", m.ID, err)
-		}
-		request.Check.Members = append(request.Check.Members, link.GroupMember{Owner: mp.Owner, Repo: mp.Repo,
-			Number: mp.Number, Repository: url, Ref: mp.Commit, Paths: mp.Paths, Base: mp.Base})
-	}
-	seat := buildSeatHeld(ctx)
-	ask, err := askOverOn(seat)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	defer ask.Close()
-	if err := ask.Ask(ctx, request); err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "group %s: asked %s to check %d head(s) composed together, as %s\n", group, seat,
-		len(members), request.ID)
-	return request.ID, nil
-}
-
 // appendNew appends what is not there yet.
 func appendNew(to []string, items ...string) []string {
 	for _, i := range items {
@@ -1230,15 +1094,6 @@ func appendNew(to []string, items ...string) []string {
 	return to
 }
 
-// shelfOf is the catalogue's manifests by name.
-func shelfOf(entries []inventory.Entry) map[string]catalogue.Manifest {
-	shelf := map[string]catalogue.Manifest{}
-	for _, e := range entries {
-		shelf[e.Manifest.Module] = e.Manifest
-	}
-	return shelf
-}
-
 // sayPlanMoved says a walk kept in a new state as the controller's `plan-moved`, the plan whole: what the
 // delivery it walks reads its steps from. Never in the way of the walk: said beside it, and a save that could
 // not be said is logged — the delivery's owner, which also asks for the walks it follows, finds it by
@@ -1402,3 +1257,10 @@ func recheckOneHead(member string, answer func(any) error, ask func() (string, e
 	}
 	return answer(recheckAnswer(asked, member))
 }
+
+// groupCheckAnswer is what `delivery check` of a group answers from R4e: who judges it, and that nothing was asked
+// (novox/hq ADR 0503 §3; issue 1299, C2).
+func groupCheckAnswer(group string) map[string]any {
+	return map[string]any{"asked": "", "group": group, "judged-by": checkerModule,
+		"said": "the checker judges a delivery group's heads merged together (ADR 0503 §3): nothing was asked"}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_check_answer_test.go

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func TestSayCheckedWritesTheSameLineToItsWriter(t *testing.T) {
 	var w bytes.Buffer
 	sayChecked(context.Background(), &w, link.Checked{ID: "c1", Owner: "novox", Repo: "x", Number: 7, Commit: "0123456789abcdef",
 		Verdict: "pass", Summary: "fine"})
-	want := "c1: novox/x#7 at 01234567 checked on a machine that did not say which: gate PASS — fine; repository none\n"
+	want := "c1: novox/x#7 at 01234567 checked on a machine that did not say which: repository none\n"
 	if w.String() != want {
 		t.Fatalf("sayChecked said %q; want %q", w.String(), want)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_conditions.go

@@ -58,8 +58,17 @@ type stalledLine struct {
 	// Severity is "urgent" for a group held or half merged and a refused member (novox/hq issues 1275, 1278); empty
 	// or anything else is a warning, as before.
 	Severity string `json:"severity,omitempty"`
+	// Needs is "new-head" for a delivery whose cure is its author's new head (novox/hq ADR 0505 §5), Author that author
+	// as the operator reads it ("the author of feat/x", with the session that pushed it when its pull request names one)
+	// and Branch its branch. A mesh-delivery from before says none, and the words are as before.
+	Needs  string `json:"needs,omitempty"`
+	Author string `json:"author,omitempty"`
+	Branch string `json:"branch,omitempty"`
 }
 
+// needsNewHead is what a stalled line needs when its cure is its author's new head (ADR 0505 §5).
+const needsNewHead = "new-head"
+
 // severity is the condition's severity a stalled line asks: urgent when it says so, a warning otherwise.
 func (l stalledLine) severity() conditions.Severity {
 	if l.Severity == string(conditions.Urgent) {

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_edges_test.go

@@ -181,32 +181,3 @@ func TestATruncatedChangeIsReadAsChangingTheManifestsOfWhatItMoves(t *testing.T)
 		t.Fatalf("the member's change is read as %+v", src)
 	}
 }
-
-// A lone pull request's cycle fails its check, naming every module and edge, with no group and no members.
-func TestALonePullRequestInACycleFailsWithNoGroup(t *testing.T) {
-	was, wasParent := manifestAt, parentOf
-	t.Cleanup(func() { manifestAt, parentOf = was, wasParent })
-	manifestsReadMu.Lock()
-	clear(manifestsRead)
-	manifestsReadMu.Unlock()
-	const head = "3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"
-	parentOf = func(context.Context, string, string, string) (string, error) { return "", nil }
-	manifestAt = func(_ context.Context, _, _, file, ref string) (catalogue.Manifest, bool, error) {
-		if ref == "main" {
-			return catalogue.Manifest{}, false, nil
-		}
-		if file == "modules/x/module.json" {
-			return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mx", DefinesSeats: []catalogue.SeatDeclaration{{Name: "s", Serves: []catalogue.Verb{{Name: "a"}}}},
-				Invokes: []string{"seat:s.b"}}, true, nil
-		}
-		return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "my", DefinesSeats: []catalogue.SeatDeclaration{{Name: "s", Serves: []catalogue.Verb{{Name: "b"}}}},
-			Invokes: []string{"seat:s.a"}}, true, nil
-	}
-	m := orderMember{ID: "novox/r@" + head[:12], Repository: "novox/r", Base: "main", Head: head, Number: 5,
-		Paths: []string{"modules/x/module.json", "modules/y/module.json"}}
-	c, cyclic, err := cycleVerdict(context.Background(), "", []orderMember{m}, map[string]orderReach{m.ID: {Moved: []string{"mx", "my"}}}, nil, nil)
-	if err != nil || !cyclic || c.Verdict != "fail" || c.Group != "" || len(c.Members) != 0 || !strings.Contains(c.Summary, "s.a") ||
-		!strings.Contains(c.Summary, "my") {
-		t.Fatalf("the verdict is %+v (cyclic %v, %v)", c, cyclic, err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_integration_test.go

@@ -59,6 +59,18 @@ func TestAMergeWaitsForItsDeliverysWordAndThePersonsWordWorksWithoutIt(t *testin
 		}
 	}
 
+	// heardOf has this mesh's own view of the plans take in the plan as the bucket holds it. A verb of the
+	// controller (deliveryCommand, plansCommand) opens an inventory of its own and writes the plan there; this
+	// mesh's inventory learns of the write from the bucket's watch, a moment later, and a loaded machine makes the
+	// moment long enough for advanceHeld to read the plan as it was, still waiting for its word, and ask nothing
+	// (issue 1399). Reading the plan from the bucket puts it into the view at once, with no wait to bound.
+	heardOf := func(id string) {
+		t.Helper()
+		if _, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, id); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	// No holder on record: the merge starts its walk, as before.
 	p := merge("c1aaaaaaaa", "modules/app/index.ts")
 	if p.Waiting() || len(*asked) != 1 {
@@ -90,6 +102,7 @@ func TestAMergeWaitsForItsDeliverysWordAndThePersonsWordWorksWithoutIt(t *testin
 	if err := deliveryCommand(ctx, []string{"go", p.ID}); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("a walk was let go twice")
 	}
+	heardOf(p.ID)
 	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
 	if len(*asked) != 2 {
 		t.Fatalf("the word did not start the walk: %v", *asked)
@@ -119,6 +132,7 @@ func TestAMergeWaitsForItsDeliverysWordAndThePersonsWordWorksWithoutIt(t *testin
 	if err := plansCommand(ctx, []string{"go", p.ID, "--why", "mesh-delivery is down"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	heardOf(p.ID)
 	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
 	got, _ = inv.PlanByID(ctx, p.ID)
 	if got.Waiting() || !strings.HasPrefix(got.Delivery.By, "a person") || len(*asked) < 4 {

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_test.go

@@ -138,8 +138,6 @@ func TestTheDeliveryVerbsComposeTheirCommands(t *testing.T) {
 		{"delivery-order", map[string]any{"members": "[]"}, []string{"delivery", "order", "--members", "[]"}},
 		{"delivery-check", map[string]any{"group": "feat/x", "members": "[]"},
 			[]string{"delivery", "check", "--group", "feat/x", "--members", "[]"}},
-		{"delivery-plan", map[string]any{"repository": "novox/a", "paths": "x", "head": "c0"},
-			[]string{"delivery", "plan", "--repository", "novox/a", "--paths", "x", "--head", "c0"}},
 		{"plans", map[string]any{"go": "plan-1", "why": "down"}, []string{"plans", "go", "plan-1", "--why", "down"}},
 	} {
 		got, err := argvFor(c.verb, c.args)

cmd/mesh-controller/dependents_test.go

@@ -35,16 +35,6 @@ func TestAMergeOfABaseTakesWhatStandsOnItAlong(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("%s was rebuilt and stands on nothing that moved (%v)", n, names)
 		}
 	}
-	// The dependents come in base order when the merge orders them: the runtime, then shop, then
-	// the plugin that stands on shop.
-	ordered := orderByBases(append([]inventory.Entry{entry("mesh-tools")}, got...), against)
-	pos := map[string]int{}
-	for i, e := range ordered {
-		pos[e.Manifest.Module] = i
-	}
-	if !(pos["mesh-tools"] < pos["shop"] && pos["shop"] < pos["shop-plugin"]) {
-		t.Fatalf("not in base order: %v", ordered)
-	}
 	// Nothing moved: nothing follows.
 	if more := dependentsOf(nil, entries, against); len(more) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("with nothing moved, %d module(s) were rebuilt", len(more))

cmd/mesh-controller/first_build_ask_integration_test.go

@@ -1,84 +0,0 @@
-//go:build integration
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"errors"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/asks"
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/identity"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// aForgeAndABuildSeat gives a test what a real ask of a build needs: the forge holding the git seat, assigned to anchor, so
-// the clone URL composes; the identity store; the build seat's queue on a real bus; and the environment of the serving controller, which is
-// never the controller's terminal (a verb's, in effect: startedAtTheTerminal is false).
-func aForgeAndABuildSeat(t *testing.T, open *stores) *broker.JetStream {
-	t.Helper()
-	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
-	// The ask signs what it sends with the controller's identity, as the serving controller does.
-	identity.ForTest(t)
-	forge, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(`{"module":"gitea","version":"1",
-	  "claims":[{"name":"git","scope":"mesh"}],"provides":[{"name":"git","scope":"mesh"}],
-	  "serves":{"git":{"scheme":"http","port":3000}}}`))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	register(t, open, forge)
-	if _, err := assign(t.Context(), open, "anchor", "gitea"); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	t.Setenv(servedVar, "1")
-	return js
-}
-
-// 1146/AC9, through the real ask (askABuild, buildOneAsked, verbMayAsk) and a real bus: the first build of a module a
-// merge adds on the operator's Approve is queued on the build seat; the same ask without that warrant, and the warrant's
-// ask for a path the merge does not hold, are refused by the guard of a build through a verb.
-func TestTheApprovedFirstBuildPassesTheGuardOfAVerbAndIsQueued(t *testing.T) {
-	const head, commit = "a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1", "0177ea7a00000000"
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	js := aForgeAndABuildSeat(t, open)
-
-	a := aDeliveryMergeOf(t, head, map[string]string{"novox/mesh-delivery@a1a1a1a1a1a1": head})
-	wasKept, wasAsk := keptDeliveryMerge, routerAskOf
-	keptDeliveryMerge = func(context.Context, string, string, int, string) (deliveryMerge, bool, error) {
-		return a.merge, true, nil
-	}
-	routerAskOf = func(context.Context, catalogueReader, string, string) (*asks.Ask, *asks.Warrant, error) {
-		return &a.ask, &a.warrant, nil
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { keptDeliveryMerge, routerAskOf = wasKept, wasAsk })
-
-	// Without the warrant the guard refuses, whatever the repository holds.
-	_, err := askABuild(ctx, buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "", "main")
-	var policy *heldAtTheTerminal
-	if !errors.As(err, &policy) {
-		t.Fatalf("1146/AC9: a first build asked without the warrant was not refused: %v", err)
-	}
-	// And a path the merge does not hold is refused on the warrant.
-	warranted := withFirstBuildWarrant(ctx, "novox/mesh-delivery", []string{""}, "the Approve")
-	if _, err := askABuild(warranted, buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "other", "main"); !errors.As(err, &policy) {
-		t.Fatalf("1146/AC9: the warrant covered a path the merge does not hold: %v", err)
-	}
-
-	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-delivery", Base: "main", HeadSHA: head, Commit: commit, Number: 7,
-		MergedAt: time.Now().Add(-time.Hour).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339Nano), Paths: []string{"module.json", "main.go"},
-		ModuleDirs: []string{"."}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
-	if err := (following{open: open}).SourceMoved(ctx, m); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	queue, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if len(queue.Asks) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("1146/AC9: the build queue holds %+v, want the one first build", queue)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/first_build_warrant_test.go

@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import "testing"
-
-// 1146/AC9: the warrant the controller checked covers exactly the repository on the git seat and the module paths the
-// merge holds; nothing else passes verbMayAsk on it.
-func TestTheFirstBuildWarrantCoversOnlyItsRepositoryAndItsModulePaths(t *testing.T) {
-	ctx := withFirstBuildWarrant(t.Context(), "novox/mesh-delivery", []string{"", "view"}, "the Approve")
-	w := firstBuildWarrantIn(ctx)
-	for _, c := range []struct {
-		source buildSource
-		path   string
-		covers bool
-	}{
-		{buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "", true},
-		{buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "/view/", true},
-		{buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "other", false},
-		{buildSource{Repository: "agent/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "", false},
-		{buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery"}, "", false},
-		{buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "elsewhere"}, "", false},
-	} {
-		if got := w.covers(c.source, c.path); got != c.covers {
-			t.Errorf("1146/AC9: %v at %q covered = %v, want %v", c.source, c.path, got, c.covers)
-		}
-	}
-	if firstBuildWarrantIn(t.Context()).covers(buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}, "") {
-		t.Error("1146/AC9: a context with no warrant covers an ask")
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/first_builds.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ func (f following) firstBuilds(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved, entries
 	case len(added) == 0:
 		return false, nil
 	}
-	if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, inv, m, now, added, why); err != nil {
+	if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, f.open, m, now, added, why); err != nil {
 		return true, notNow(err)
 	}
 	return true, nil
@@ -67,27 +68,35 @@ func keepFirstMerge(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m link.Source
 	return err
 }
 
-// askFirstBuilds keeps the merge, asks the builds, and marks the merge as no longer waiting for them.
-func askFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m link.SourceMoved, now time.Time, added []string,
+// askFirstBuilds keeps the merge as answered and registers its modules from the builder's done keys (novox/hq ADR 0501
+// §3, §6): nothing asks their first builds. The merge kept is the registration's warrant (approvedMove reads it by the
+// commit the indexer's trunk value names); a module whose key is not done yet is registered when the key's write wakes
+// the take-in (new_modules.go).
+func askFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, open *stores, m link.SourceMoved, now time.Time, added []string,
 	why string) error {
+	inv := open.inventory
 	repository := m.Owner + "/" + m.Repo
 	if err := keepFirstMerge(ctx, inv, m, now, false); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	fmt.Printf("%s merged into %s (%.8s) on the operator's Approve (%s): the mesh builds nothing from it yet, so the "+
-		"first build of %s is asked\n", repository, m.Base, m.Commit, why, strings.Join(added, ", "))
-	// The ask carries the warrant just checked, for this repository and these module paths alone: the guard of a build
-	// through a verb (verbMayAsk) lets exactly that through.
-	paths := make([]string, 0, len(added))
-	for _, dir := range added {
-		if dir == "." {
-			dir = ""
-		}
-		paths = append(paths, dir)
+	fmt.Printf("%s merged into %s (%.8s) on the operator's Approve (%s): the mesh builds nothing from it yet, so %s "+
+		"are registered from the builder's done keys, asking no build\n", repository, m.Base, m.Commit, why,
+		strings.Join(added, ", "))
+	// Answered: it no longer waits, so the word's arrival again does nothing twice.
+	if err := inv.AnswerMerge(ctx, repository, m.Commit, inventory.WaitingRecord, false); err != nil {
+		return err
 	}
-	askBuilds(withFirstBuildWarrant(ctx, repository, paths, why), inv, m, buildSource{Repository: repository, Seat: gitSeat}, added)
-	// Answered: it no longer waits, so the word's arrival again asks nothing twice.
-	return inv.AnswerMerge(ctx, repository, m.Commit, inventory.WaitingRecord, false)
+	modules, err := newModulesOf(ctx, repository)
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		// Said, not failed: the merge is answered, and the look at every module when a controller starts, or the next
+		// write of the builder or the indexer for one of them, registers them.
+		fmt.Printf("  the indexer's modules of %s cannot be read now (%v): they are registered when the builder's next "+
+			"write of one wakes the take-in\n", repository, err)
+	case len(modules) > 0:
+		inBackground(func() { takeNewModules(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), open, modules...) })
+	}
+	return nil
 }
 
 // resumeFirstBuilds runs firstBuilds for the first merges waiting for the word mesh-delivery just announced for a pull
@@ -102,7 +111,7 @@ func (f following) resumeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d deliveryMerge) error
 	}
 	for _, w := range waiting {
 		k := announcedOf(w)
-		if !k.FirstBuild || !strings.EqualFold(k.Owner+"/"+k.Repo, d.Owner+"/"+d.Repo) || k.Number != d.Number ||
+		if !k.FirstBuild || len(k.Held) > 0 || !strings.EqualFold(k.Owner+"/"+k.Repo, d.Owner+"/"+d.Repo) || k.Number != d.Number ||
 			k.HeadSHA != d.HeadSHA {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -125,7 +134,7 @@ func (f following) resumeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d deliveryMerge) error
 		case err != nil:
 			return notNow(err)
 		case len(added) > 0:
-			if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, inv, k.SourceMoved, time.Now().UTC(), added, why); err != nil {
+			if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, f.open, k.SourceMoved, time.Now().UTC(), added, why); err != nil {
 				return notNow(err)
 			}
 		}
@@ -172,6 +181,29 @@ func firstBuildsOf(ctx context.Context, inv catalogueReader, m link.SourceMoved,
 	return nil, "", err
 }
 
+// heldFirstBuild says a first build was refused because its manifest uses a word the running build-agent does not read,
+// and its merge is kept waiting for a build-agent that reads it (novox/hq ADR 0482 §5, issue 1173). Read from a merge kept
+// before R4e, never written since: nothing asks a first build (ADR 0501 §6), and a controller that starts answers such a
+// merge and registers its modules from their keys (answerHeldMerges).
+type heldFirstBuild struct {
+	Module string    `json:"module"`
+	Path   string    `json:"path"`
+	Word   string    `json:"word"`
+	At     time.Time `json:"at"`
+}
+
+// unknownWord is how the strict reading of a manifest says a word is not one it knows: encoding/json's own words, which
+// the build-agent's answer carries whole. The build's answer has no typed field for it (Failed is the builder's words).
+var unknownWord = regexp.MustCompile(`json: unknown field "([^"]+)"`)
+
+// refusedWord is the word a build's failure says the reader did not know; empty when it says none.
+func refusedWord(failed string) string {
+	if m := unknownWord.FindStringSubmatch(failed); m != nil {
+		return m[1]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 // probeFirstBuildsID is the probe that reads the first merges waiting for mesh-delivery's word.
 const probeFirstBuildsID = "D18"
 
@@ -203,9 +235,10 @@ func firstBuildObservations(waiting []inventory.BatchedMerge, now time.Time) []c
 			Headline: fmt.Sprintf("The first build of %s is not asked: no Approve was announced", repository),
 			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The merge %.8s into %s adds modules the mesh builds nothing from yet. It registers them "+
 				"only when mesh-delivery announces that it merged the pull request on your Approve of that head, and no such "+
-				"announcement has come in %s. The merge is kept, and the builds are asked the moment the announcement is kept.",
+				"announcement has come in %s. The merge is kept, and the modules are registered from the builder's keys the moment "+
+				"the announcement is kept.",
 				k.Commit, repository, for_),
-			Resolved: "mesh-delivery announces the merge, or a hand `build` registers the modules",
+			Resolved: "mesh-delivery announces the merge, or the operator registers the modules at the controller's terminal",
 		})
 	}
 	return out
@@ -217,5 +250,28 @@ func probeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d *doctor) ([]conditions.Observation,
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return firstBuildObservations(waiting, time.Now().UTC()), nil
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	return append(firstBuildObservations(waiting, now), newModuleObservations(now)...), nil
+}
+
+// answerHeldMerges answers every merge a controller of before held for a build-agent that reads its new modules'
+// manifests (issue 1173): nothing asks their first builds any more, and the look at every module when this controller
+// starts registers them from their keys (ADR 0501 §6, §7).
+func answerHeldMerges(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
+	waiting, err := inv.WaitingMerges(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("the merges held for a newer build-agent could not be read: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	for _, w := range waiting {
+		if k := announcedOf(w); len(k.Held) > 0 {
+			if err := inv.AnswerMerge(ctx, w.Repository, w.Commit, inventory.WaitingRecord, false); err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("the merge %.8s of %s held for a newer build-agent could not be answered: %v\n", w.Commit,
+					w.Repository, err)
+				continue
+			}
+			fmt.Printf("the merge %.8s of %s was held for a newer build-agent; its modules are registered from the "+
+				"builder's keys instead\n", w.Commit, w.Repository)
+		}
+	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/first_builds_integration_test.go

@@ -5,71 +5,48 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
-	"slices"
-	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
 )
 
-// 1146/AC7, whole against a real bus and the store, in both orders of the two events (novox/hq ADR 0432, issue 1146):
-// mesh-delivery #7 merged on the operator's Approve into a repository the mesh builds nothing from. The forge's merge,
-// heard as the controller hears it (SourceMoved), and mesh-delivery's word, published on the subject the controller
-// consumes with the router's record of the ask in its bucket, come in either order; each way the first build of the
-// module the merge commit holds is asked exactly once, its outcome registers the module, and it is in the catalogue.
-// Without the Approve in the record nothing is asked. Store-backed: skips without one.
-func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryAsksTheFirstBuildAndItsOutcomeRegistersTheModule(t *testing.T) {
+// 1146/AC7 on keys (ADR 0501 §3, §6; issue 1851, A5), whole against a real bus and the store, in both orders of the two
+// events: mesh-delivery #7 merged on the operator's Approve into a repository the mesh builds nothing from. The forge's
+// merge, heard as the controller hears it (SourceMoved), and mesh-delivery's word, published on the subject the
+// controller consumes with the router's record of the ask in its bucket, come in either order; each way the module the
+// merge commit holds is registered from the builder's done key of it, and nothing asks a build. Without the Approve in
+// the record it is not registered. Store-backed: skips without one.
+func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryRegistersItsModuleFromItsKey(t *testing.T) {
 	const head, commit = "a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1", "0177ea7a00000000"
 	for _, c := range []struct {
-		what        string
-		wordFirst   bool
-		approved    bool // the router's record holds the operator's Approve of the merged head
-		wantRegiter bool
+		what         string
+		wordFirst    bool
+		approved     bool // the router's record holds the operator's Approve of the merged head
+		wantRegister bool
 	}{
-		{what: "the forge's merge before mesh-delivery's word", approved: true, wantRegiter: true},
-		{what: "mesh-delivery's word before the forge's merge", wordFirst: true, approved: true, wantRegiter: true},
+		{what: "the forge's merge before mesh-delivery's word", approved: true, wantRegister: true},
+		{what: "mesh-delivery's word before the forge's merge", wordFirst: true, approved: true, wantRegister: true},
 		{what: "a word whose record holds no Approve", wordFirst: true},
 	} {
 		t.Run(c.what, func(t *testing.T) {
 			open := aMesh(t)
 			ctx := t.Context()
 			inv := open.inventory
-			// The real ask, guard and queue included: only its answers are kept, so the build's outcome can be matched.
-			aForgeAndABuildSeat(t, open)
-			// Written by the controller's merge path on its own goroutine, read by the test: under one lock.
-			var mu sync.Mutex
-			var asks [][3]string
-			var ids []string
-			asked := func() [][3]string { mu.Lock(); defer mu.Unlock(); return slices.Clone(asks) }
-			realAsk := askABuild
-			askABuild = func(c context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string) (string, error) {
-				id, err := realAsk(c, source, path, ref)
-				if err == nil {
-					mu.Lock()
-					asks = append(asks, [3]string{source.Repository, path, ref})
-					ids = append(ids, id)
-					mu.Unlock()
-				}
-				return id, err
-			}
-			t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = realAsk })
+			noBuildAsked(t)
+			b := aBuilderOnTheBus(t)
+			js := b.js
 			if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "operator-channel", Version: "1",
 				DefinesSeats: []catalogue.SeatDeclaration{{Name: broker.AsksSeat, Records: []string{"asks"}}}},
 				inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Path: "modules/operator-channel", BuiltFrom: "c0ffee"}); err != nil {
 				t.Fatal(err)
 			}
-			js, err := broker.Dial(testbus.URL(t))
-			if err != nil {
-				t.Fatal(err)
-			}
-			t.Cleanup(js.Close)
 			if err := broker.AssertMeshStreams(js); err != nil {
 				t.Fatal(err)
 			}
@@ -87,10 +64,14 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryAsksTheFirstBuildAndItsOutcomeRegis
 			a := aDeliveryMergeOf(t, head, map[string]string{"novox/mesh-delivery@a1a1a1a1a1a1": head})
 			if c.approved {
 				record, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"state": "closed", "ask": a.ask, "warrant": a.warrant})
-				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, theDelivery+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
+				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, sdkdelivery.TellerModule+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
 					t.Fatal(err)
 				}
 			}
+			// The indexer's value and the builder's done key of the module the merge commit holds.
+			fp := fpOf('9')
+			manifest := b.indexed(t, "mesh-delivery-view", "1", "novox/mesh-delivery", ".", commit, fp)
+			b.built(t, "mesh-delivery-view", "1", fp, manifest, sdkdelivery.BuildDone)
 
 			following := following{open: open}
 			server := link.ConnectNats(js, nil, noListener{})
@@ -104,8 +85,6 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryAsksTheFirstBuildAndItsOutcomeRegis
 			done := make(chan struct{})
 			go func() { defer close(done); _ = server.Serve(serving) }()
 			t.Cleanup(func() { stop(); <-done })
-			servingBus.Store(js)
-			t.Cleanup(func() { servingBus.Store(nil) })
 
 			word := func() {
 				t.Helper()
@@ -133,37 +112,27 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryAsksTheFirstBuildAndItsOutcomeRegis
 				forge()
 			} else {
 				forge()
-				if len(asked()) != 0 {
-					t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: the merge asked %v before mesh-delivery's word was kept", asked())
+				time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+				if _, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "mesh-delivery-view"); known {
+					t.Fatal("1146/AC7: registered before mesh-delivery's word was kept")
 				}
 				word()
 			}
-			if !c.wantRegiter {
-				if len(asked()) != 0 {
-					t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: a merge whose record holds no Approve asked %v", asked())
+			if !c.wantRegister {
+				time.Sleep(time.Second)
+				if _, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "mesh-delivery-view"); known {
+					t.Fatal("1146/AC7: a merge whose record holds no Approve registered its module")
 				}
 				return
 			}
-			want := [3]string{"novox/mesh-delivery", "", "main"}
-			becomes(t, 10*time.Second, "the first build asked", func() bool { return len(asked()) >= 1 })
-			if got := asked(); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != want {
-				t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: the merge asked %v, want %v once", got, want)
-			}
-			mu.Lock()
-			first := ids[0]
-			mu.Unlock()
-			build := onTrunk(first, "novox/mesh-delivery", "git", "", map[string]any{"module": "mesh-delivery-view", "version": "1"})
-			build.Commit = commit
-			if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, inv, build); err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: the outcome of the first build was refused: %v", err)
-			}
+			becomes(t, 10*time.Second, "the module registered", func() bool {
+				_, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "mesh-delivery-view")
+				return known
+			})
 			src, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, "mesh-delivery-view")
 			if err != nil || src.Repository != "novox/mesh-delivery" {
 				t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: the module is built from %q (%v)", src.Repository, err)
 			}
-			if _, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "mesh-delivery-view"); !known {
-				t.Fatal("1146/AC7: the module is not in the catalogue")
-			}
 		})
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/forge_address_test.go

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ func registerFrom(t *testing.T, forms *sourceForms) (int64, error) {
 	mesh := &aMeshRegisteredFromTheURL{anEmptyMesh{asked: true,
 		request: inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1", Repository: aRepoOnTheForge, For: "build"}}, aRepoOnTheForge}
 	return mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, forms, "mesh-delivery-view", inventory.Source{Repository: aRepoOnTheForge},
-		"build-1", "", "main")
+		byBuild("build-1"), "", "main")
 }
 
 // 1277/AC2: an address unread twice, then read, is waited out and the forge is asked.
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func TestAKnownAddressAndAnotherHostIsStillNotOnTheForge(t *testing.T) {
 	const elsewhere = "http://elsewhere.example/x/y.git"
 	mesh := &aMeshRegisteredFromTheURL{anEmptyMesh{asked: true, request: inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1", For: "build"}}, elsewhere}
 	_, err := mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, sourceFormsRead(context.Background(), time.Now, read), "mesh-delivery-view",
-		inventory.Source{Repository: elsewhere}, "build-1", "", "main")
+		inventory.Source{Repository: elsewhere}, byBuild("build-1"), "", "main")
 	if !errors.Is(err, errNotItsSource) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "is not on the mesh's forge") {
 		t.Fatalf("1277/AC4: the refusal changed: %v", err)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/forge_wait_test.go

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func TestTheForgeNotAnsweringInTimeIsNotAskedAgain(t *testing.T) {
 // An ask that hangs past the bound is cut off at the bound, not at its own wait, and the failure still says it
 // waited: the receive loop is held no longer than the bound (novox/hq issue 486).
 func TestAnAskHangingPastTheBoundIsCutOffAtIt(t *testing.T) {
-	w := waitOut{bound: 200 * time.Millisecond, first: 10 * time.Millisecond, most: 50 * time.Millisecond,
+	w := waitOut{bound: 100 * time.Millisecond, first: 10 * time.Millisecond, most: 50 * time.Millisecond,
 		now: time.Now, sleep: sleepOrDone}
 	asked := 0
 	began := time.Now()

cmd/mesh-controller/group_check_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package main
+
+import "testing"
+
+// C2 (ADR 0503 §3; issue 1299): a delivery group's composed check is answered as the checker's, and nothing is asked
+// of build-agent: the command answers before any ask is composed.
+func TestTheGroupCheckNamesTheCheckerAndAsksNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	a := groupCheckAnswer("feat/x")
+	if a["judged-by"] != "mesh-delivery-checker" || a["asked"] != "" || a["group"] != "feat/x" {
+		t.Fatalf("the group check answered %v", a)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/held_moves.go

@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A move held for a person is asked of the person (novox/hq issue 1732, issue 1320; ADR 0377, ADR 0259).
+//
+// **A wait only a person can end is said to that person at once.** ADR 0377 holds a recorded module's move that
+// recreates a container or touches its data until a person pushes the machine. The walk said so in its note and
+// ended "done", `status` named the machine behind, and nobody was asked: on 2026-10-21 mailu's new build waited on
+// novox for 40 minutes behind a plan that read "done, 3 tier(s)", and on 2026-10-19 mssql waited on ace the same way.
+// Row S24 raises one condition per machine that has such a move, for the operator, with the answer **Release**: the
+// push of that machine, which the controller's own `push` verb performs on the operator's warrant (ADR 0259). It ends
+// when the machine no longer waits, whoever pushed it.
+//
+// A hold a person chose is not asked again — a module they set to `record` with a why, and the bus, whose step has
+// its own row (S17).
+
+// kindMovesHeld is S24's kind: machine.<node>.moves-held.
+const kindMovesHeld = "moves-held"
+
+// heldFacts is one machine and the moves of recorded modules that wait there for a person.
+type heldFacts struct {
+	node  string
+	moves []heldMove
+}
+
+// gatherHeldMoves is, per machine that holds at least one move no person chose to hold, all its held moves, by machine.
+func gatherHeldMoves(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) ([]heldFacts, error) {
+	nodes, err := inv.Nodes(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the machines cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	f, err := readMoveFacts(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var out []heldFacts
+	for _, n := range nodes {
+		moves, err := heldMovesOn(ctx, inv, f, n.Name)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		h := heldFacts{node: n.Name, moves: moves}
+		if len(h.asked()) > 0 {
+			out = append(out, h)
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// asked are the moves no person chose to hold, and chosen the ones a person did (a module set to record with a why, the bus).
+func (h heldFacts) asked() []heldMove  { return h.byChoice(false) }
+func (h heldFacts) chosen() []heldMove { return h.byChoice(true) }
+
+func (h heldFacts) byChoice(chosen bool) []heldMove {
+	var out []heldMove
+	for _, m := range h.moves {
+		if m.Chosen == chosen {
+			out = append(out, m)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// modules are the held moves' modules, in order, of all of them.
+func (h heldFacts) modules() []string { return moduleNames(h.moves) }
+
+func moduleNames(moves []heldMove) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(moves))
+	for _, m := range moves {
+		out = append(out, m.Module)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// releaseAction is the one answer a held move offers: the push of the machine, approved by the operator. The push
+// names every module whose move waits there as one that may move its data: the operator's Approve is the word
+// ADR 0217 asks for, and the ask says so. Offered only where no person's own hold is on the machine too: a push
+// composes every recorded module at its current build, so it would send that move as well, which the ask never named
+// (ADR 0259 §6), and hold the whole machine if that module's data would move.
+func (h heldFacts) releaseAction() conditions.Action {
+	return conditions.Action{Label: "Release", Verb: "mesh-controller.push", Level: conditions.LevelApprove,
+		Arguments: map[string]string{"node": h.node, "move": strings.Join(moduleNames(h.asked()), ","), "why": "",
+			"cause": conditions.CauseOperatorAnswer}}
+}
+
+// heldWords are the plain words of a machine's held moves: which modules wait, why in general, and what an Approve does.
+func heldWords(h heldFacts) (headline, explanation, needs string, resolved string) {
+	names := namesWords(moduleNames(h.asked()), 3)
+	headline = clipWords(conditions.Capital(names)+" waits for you on "+h.node, conditions.HeadlineMax)
+	recreates, data := false, false
+	for _, m := range h.asked() {
+		switch {
+		case strings.Contains(m.Why, "recreates"):
+			recreates = true
+		default:
+			data = true
+		}
+	}
+	why := "would change what it runs"
+	switch {
+	case recreates && data:
+		why = "would restart a container or touch its data"
+	case recreates:
+		why = "would restart one of its containers"
+	case data:
+		why = "would touch its files or data"
+	}
+	explanation = clipWords(fmt.Sprintf("The new version of %s %s on %s, so it does not go out with its delivery; "+
+		"it waits for you. Release sends %s everything it is owed, these among it, and lets their data move where it "+
+		"has to. Nothing is sent until you answer.", names, why, h.node, h.node), conditions.ExplanationMax)
+	needs = "release them " + FromMeshMCPServer
+	if chosen := h.chosen(); len(chosen) > 0 {
+		// A push of the machine would send the move a person chose to hold as well: no answer is offered here.
+		explanation = clipWords(fmt.Sprintf("The new version of %s %s on %s, so it does not go out with its delivery; "+
+			"it waits for you. %s is also held there by your own choice, and a push of %s would send that too, so "+
+			"nothing is offered here: the push is yours at the controller's terminal.",
+			names, why, h.node, conditions.Capital(namesWords(moduleNames(chosen), 3)), h.node), conditions.ExplanationMax)
+		needs = fmt.Sprintf("push %s at the controller's terminal, once you have decided about %s.", h.node,
+			namesWords(moduleNames(chosen), 3))
+	}
+	resolved = "Resolved: " + names + " is no longer waiting on " + h.node
+	return
+}
+
+// watchMovesHeld is S24: a machine that has moves of recorded modules waiting for a person, said to the operator with the
+// answer that sends them. The condition ends when the machine no longer waits: it is no longer among the facts.
+func watchMovesHeld(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
+	var out []conditions.Observation
+	for _, h := range f.held {
+		var said []string
+		for _, m := range h.moves {
+			said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s → %s %s", m.Module, short(m.From), short(m.To), m.Why))
+		}
+		headline, explanation, needs, resolved := heldWords(h)
+		if c := h.chosen(); len(c) > 0 {
+			said = append(said, "held by a person's own choice: "+strings.Join(moduleNames(c), ", "))
+		}
+		var actions []conditions.Action
+		if len(h.chosen()) == 0 {
+			actions = []conditions.Action{h.releaseAction()}
+		}
+		out = append(out, conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeMachine, ID: h.node, Kind: kindMovesHeld,
+			Machine: h.node, Severity: conditions.Warning, Resolver: conditions.ResolverOperator,
+			Summary: fmt.Sprintf("%s has %d move(s) of recorded modules waiting for a person's push: %s — `push %s` sends them",
+				h.node, len(h.moves), strings.Join(h.modules(), ", "), h.node),
+			Said:     strings.Join(said, "; "),
+			Headline: headline, Explanation: explanation, Needs: needs, Resolved: resolved,
+			Actions: actions})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// planHeld is, for a plan that ended or is running, the moves its modules carried that a machine still holds for a
+// person: "module on machine", sorted. The plan's own record says the move waited when it was judged
+// (PlanModule.Recorded); the machines say whether it still does, and for the build this plan carried, so a plan older
+// than the build now held is not named.
+func planHeld(p inventory.Plan, held []heldFacts) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, h := range held {
+		for _, m := range h.moves {
+			s := p.Modules[m.Module]
+			if s == nil || !strings.HasPrefix(s.Recorded[h.node], "waits:") || !sameCommit(s.Commit, m.To) {
+				continue
+			}
+			out = append(out, m.Module+" on "+h.node)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}
+
+// heldSaid is what a plan's line adds when it carries a move that a machine holds for a person (novox/hq issue 1732): a
+// plan whose module waits for a push is not plainly "done".
+func heldSaid(p inventory.Plan, held []heldFacts) string {
+	waiting := planHeld(p, held)
+	if len(waiting) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf(" — %d held for a person: %s (the operator is asked)", len(waiting), strings.Join(waiting, ", "))
+}
+
+// heldNow reads the machines' held moves for a plan's line, nil when they cannot be read: the line then reads as before.
+func heldNow(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) []heldFacts {
+	held, err := gatherHeldMoves(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil // empty-on-error: a plan's line then reads as it did before; the watchdog (S24) says it cannot read
+	}
+	return held
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/held_moves_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+func inventoryUpgrade(why string) inventory.Upgrade { return inventory.Upgrade{Why: why, By: "jochen"} }
+
+func mustMoveFacts(t *testing.T, rm *recordedMesh) moveFacts {
+	t.Helper()
+	f, err := readMoveFacts(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return f
+}
+
+// 1732/AC8 (integration): a mesh running mailu at c1 on two machines, whose registered c2 recreates a container, is read
+// as two machines each holding mailu's move for a person; a bundle-only c3 on top changes nothing of it; after a machine
+// is sent c2 (as a push records it) it is no longer among them, and plans that carried c2 say nothing more of it.
+func TestMachinesHoldingAMoveForAPersonAreReadFromTheRecords(t *testing.T) {
+	rm := aRecordedMesh(t, aMailu(true))
+	c2 := aMailu(true)
+	resourceOf(&c2, "imap")["image"] = "registry.invalid/imap@sha256:2"
+	rm.register(t, c2, "c2", time.Now().Add(-time.Minute))
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	held, err := gatherHeldMoves(ctx, rm.open.inventory)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(held) != 2 || held[0].node != "anchor" || held[1].node != "laptop" || len(held[0].moves) != 1 ||
+		held[0].moves[0].Module != "mailu" || held[0].moves[0].To != "c2" || !strings.Contains(held[0].moves[0].Why, "recreates") {
+		t.Fatalf("held %+v", held)
+	}
+	if err := rm.open.inventory.RecordSent(ctx, nodeID(t, rm.open, "anchor"), "d-anchor-c2", map[string]string{"mailu": "c2"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	held, err = gatherHeldMoves(ctx, rm.open.inventory)
+	if err != nil || len(held) != 1 || held[0].node != "laptop" {
+		t.Fatalf("after anchor was sent c2: %+v (%v)", held, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC9 (integration): a module a person set to record is no ask: they chose the hold.
+func TestAHoldAPersonChoseIsNotAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	rm := aRecordedMesh(t, aMailu(false))
+	c2 := aMailu(false)
+	c2.Bundles[0].Digest = "sha256:bbb"
+	rm.register(t, c2, "c2", time.Now().Add(-time.Minute))
+	if err := rm.open.inventory.SetUpgradeOf(t.Context(), "mailu", inventoryUpgrade("the migration week")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	held, err := gatherHeldMoves(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory)
+	if err != nil || len(held) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine holding only a person's own hold is asked: %+v (%v)", held, err)
+	}
+	if moves, _ := heldMovesOn(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory, mustMoveFacts(t, rm), "anchor"); len(moves) != 1 || !moves[0].Chosen {
+		t.Fatalf("status still names it, marked as chosen: %+v", moves)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1742/AC4 (integration): a registered build naming an image of the store that the store lacks is read as a missing
+// image on each machine that runs the module; one the store holds is not; and what the store holds is not asked twice.
+func TestARegisteredBuildNamingAnImageTheStoreLacksIsRead(t *testing.T) {
+	m := aMailu(true)
+	resourceOf(&m, "imap")["image"] = "artifact-store://mailu/imap@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("e", 64)
+	rm := aRecordedMesh(t, m)
+	asked := 0
+	lacking := func(_ context.Context, reference string) (bool, error) { asked++; return false, nil }
+	imagesHeld.Lock()
+	imagesHeld.held = map[string]bool{}
+	imagesHeld.Unlock()
+	got, err := gatherMissingImages(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory, lacking)
+	if err != nil || len(got) != 2 || got[0].Module != "mailu" || got[0].Node != "anchor" || got[1].Node != "laptop" {
+		t.Fatalf("missing %+v (%v)", got, err)
+	}
+	holding := func(_ context.Context, reference string) (bool, error) { asked++; return true, nil }
+	if got, err := gatherMissingImages(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory, holding); err != nil || len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("an image the store holds is missing: %+v (%v)", got, err)
+	}
+	before := asked
+	if _, err := gatherMissingImages(t.Context(), rm.open.inventory, lacking); err != nil || asked != before {
+		t.Fatalf("an image the store was found to hold was asked about again (%d, %v)", asked-before, err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/held_moves_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,237 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/asks"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// **A move held for a person is asked of the person** (novox/hq issue 1732, issue 1320; ADR 0377, ADR 0259).
+
+// aHeldMailu is novox holding mailu's new build because it would recreate a container: the walk's own words.
+func aHeldMailu() heldFacts {
+	return heldFacts{node: "novox", moves: []heldMove{{Module: "mailu", From: "b2f5ebb2aaaa", To: "3259765dbbbb",
+		Why: "waits: recreates 1 of mailu's 12 container(s) (with a new image: automx)"}}}
+}
+
+func heldConditionOn(f *signalFacts) conditions.Condition {
+	o := watchMovesHeld(f)[0]
+	return conditions.Condition{Key: o.Key(), Kind: o.Kind, Severity: o.Severity, Headline: o.Headline,
+		Explanation: conditions.Verdict(o.Needs, o.Explanation), Needs: o.Needs, Actions: o.Actions}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC1: a machine holding a move of a recorded module for a person raises one condition for the operator, with
+// Release as its only answer: the machine's push, approved, naming the modules whose moves wait there.
+func TestAHeldMoveIsRaisedWithReleaseAsItsOnlyAction(t *testing.T) {
+	f := calm(time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 17, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	f.held = []heldFacts{aHeldMailu()}
+	got := watchMovesHeld(f)
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	o := got[0]
+	if o.Kind != "moves-held" || o.Scope != conditions.ScopeMachine || o.ID != "novox" || o.Severity != conditions.Warning ||
+		o.Resolver != conditions.ResolverOperator || o.Key() != "machine.novox.moves-held" {
+		t.Fatalf("kind, scope, subject, severity or resolver: %+v (%s)", o, o.Key())
+	}
+	if len(o.Actions) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("actions: %+v", o.Actions)
+	}
+	a := o.Actions[0]
+	if a.Label != "Release" || a.Verb != "mesh-controller.push" || a.Level != conditions.LevelApprove ||
+		a.Arguments["node"] != "novox" || a.Arguments["move"] != "mailu" || a.Arguments["cause"] != conditions.CauseOperatorAnswer {
+		t.Fatalf("the action is not the push of novox: %+v", a)
+	}
+	if _, takes := a.Arguments["why"]; !takes {
+		t.Fatal("the push takes a why, which the asker fills in with the operator's answer")
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"mailu", "novox"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(o.Headline+o.Explanation, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the words do not name %q: %q / %q", want, o.Headline, o.Explanation)
+		}
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(o.Said, "recreates 1 of mailu's 12") {
+		t.Errorf("the evidence does not carry the walk's own words: %q", o.Said)
+	}
+	if w := (conditions.Observation{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Needs: o.Needs, Resolved: o.Resolved}); w.Headline == "" || len(o.Headline) > conditions.HeadlineMax {
+		t.Errorf("headline: %q", o.Headline)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC2: a machine with nothing held raises nothing, so the condition ends the look after the move is sent.
+func TestAMachineHoldingNothingRaisesNoHeldMoveCondition(t *testing.T) {
+	f := calm(time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 17, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	if got := watchMovesHeld(f); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC3: the condition is asked on a channel at the approve level in words that say what Release does, and the
+// operator's warrant calls the controller's own push with the machine and the modules, once.
+func TestAHeldMovesReleaseIsAskedAndAWarrantPushesTheMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	f := calm(time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 17, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	f.held = []heldFacts{aHeldMailu()}
+	c := heldConditionOn(f)
+	r := newAskerRig(t)
+	r.open = []conditions.Condition{c}
+	if err := r.a.reconcile(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	sent := r.asksSent(t)
+	if len(sent) != 1 || len(sent[0].Options) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("asked %+v", sent)
+	}
+	o := sent[0].Options[0]
+	if o.Label != "Release" || o.Level != asks.Approve || o.Does != "the held builds are sent to novox" {
+		t.Errorf("the option is %+v", o)
+	}
+	if err := sent[0].Check(r.now); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("the ask is refused as made: %v", err)
+	}
+	w := r.warrantFor(t, c.Key, "Release")
+	answerWith(t, r, w)
+	answerWith(t, r, w)
+	if len(r.called) != 1 || !strings.HasPrefix(r.called[0], "mesh-controller.push@ ") ||
+		!strings.Contains(r.called[0], `"node":"novox"`) || !strings.Contains(r.called[0], `"move":"mailu"`) ||
+		!strings.Contains(r.called[0], `"cause":"`+conditions.CauseOperatorAnswer+`"`) ||
+		!strings.Contains(r.called[0], "chose Release") {
+		t.Fatalf("called %v", r.called)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC4: the controller may call its own push and upgrade verbs on a warrant: the grant names them.
+func TestTheControllerMayActOnAWarrantForPushAndUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, verb := range []string{"push", "upgrade"} {
+		granted := false
+		for _, v := range broker.VerbsTheControllerActsOnAWarrant {
+			granted = granted || (v.Seat == broker.ControllerSeat && v.Verb == verb)
+		}
+		if !granted {
+			t.Errorf("the controller may not act on a warrant for %s", verb)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func aDoneMailuPlan() inventory.Plan {
+	return inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1792585970446304628", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", State: inventory.PlanDone,
+		Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}, {"b"}, {"mailu"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"mailu": {State: "built", Commit: "3259765dbbbbcccc",
+			Recorded: map[string]string{"novox": "waits: recreates 1 of mailu's 12 container(s)"}}}}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC5: a done plan that carries a move a machine still holds for a person says so on its line; once the machine
+// no longer holds it, or holds another build of the module, the line says nothing more.
+func TestADonePlanSaysWhatItHoldsForAPerson(t *testing.T) {
+	p := aDoneMailuPlan()
+	line := planLine(p, time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 16, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)) + heldSaid(p, []heldFacts{aHeldMailu()})
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "done, 3 tier(s)") || !strings.Contains(line, "1 held for a person: mailu on novox") {
+		t.Errorf("the line: %q", line)
+	}
+	if said := heldSaid(p, nil); said != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a plan whose moves were sent says %q", said)
+	}
+	other := aHeldMailu()
+	other.moves[0].To = "9999999ffff"
+	if said := heldSaid(p, []heldFacts{other}); said != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a plan older than the build now held says %q", said)
+	}
+	p.Modules["mailu"].Recorded = map[string]string{"novox": recordedRollsWhy}
+	if said := heldSaid(p, []heldFacts{aHeldMailu()}); said != "" {
+		t.Errorf("a move the plan sent says %q", said)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC6: the builds held after a failed release are asked of the operator: the held-release condition offers
+// Release, which calls the controller's own `upgrade` with release-backlog and nothing else, once, on a warrant.
+func TestTheBuildsHeldAfterAFailedReleaseAreAskedAndReleasedOnAWarrant(t *testing.T) {
+	saved := backlogNow
+	t.Cleanup(func() { backlogNow = saved })
+	backlogNow.held = "release-1792595552499982311 failed (failed on novox); what waits is released again by a person"
+	backlogNow.waiting = map[string][]inventory.CarriedMove{"novox": {{Module: "indexer"}, {Module: "nextcloud"}}}
+	got := backlogObservation()
+	if len(got) != 1 || len(got[0].Actions) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("raised %+v", got)
+	}
+	a := got[0].Actions[0]
+	if a.Label != "Release" || a.Verb != "mesh-controller.upgrade" || a.Level != conditions.LevelApprove ||
+		a.Arguments["release-backlog"] != "true" || a.Arguments["cause"] != conditions.CauseOperatorAnswer {
+		t.Fatalf("the action: %+v", a)
+	}
+	o := got[0]
+	c := conditions.Condition{Key: o.Key(), Kind: o.Kind, Severity: o.Severity, Headline: o.Headline,
+		Explanation: conditions.Verdict(o.Needs, o.Explanation), Needs: o.Needs, Actions: o.Actions}
+	r := newAskerRig(t)
+	r.open = []conditions.Condition{c}
+	if err := r.a.reconcile(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	sent := r.asksSent(t)
+	if len(sent) != 1 || len(sent[0].Options) != 1 || sent[0].Options[0].Does != "the builds held after the failed delivery are released" {
+		t.Fatalf("asked %+v", sent)
+	}
+	w := r.warrantFor(t, c.Key, "Release")
+	answerWith(t, r, w)
+	answerWith(t, r, w)
+	if len(r.called) != 1 || !strings.HasPrefix(r.called[0], "mesh-controller.upgrade@ ") ||
+		!strings.Contains(r.called[0], `"release-backlog":"true"`) || !strings.Contains(r.called[0], "chose Release") {
+		t.Fatalf("called %v", r.called)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC7: a plan whose send waits for a gate while the builds are held after a failed release reads as waiting for
+// a person to release them, not "building ... LATE"; with nothing held it still reads as the wait it is.
+func TestAPlanWaitingForAGateBehindAFailedReleaseIsNotLate(t *testing.T) {
+	saved := backlogNow
+	t.Cleanup(func() { backlogNow = saved })
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 18, 50, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1", Repository: "novox/mesh-sdk", Commit: "c0ffee00", State: inventory.PlanBuilding,
+		Tiers: [][]string{{"indexer"}}, TierEntered: now.Add(-100 * time.Minute), Created: now.Add(-110 * time.Minute),
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"indexer": {State: "built"}},
+		Note:    refusalNote(0, errors.New("a build waits there for its gate: novox"))}
+	backlogNow.held = ""
+	if line := planLine(p, now); !strings.Contains(line, "a build waits there for its gate: novox") {
+		t.Errorf("the wait is not said: %q", line)
+	}
+	backlogNow.held = "release-1 failed (failed on novox); what waits is released again by a person"
+	line := planLine(p, now)
+	if strings.Contains(line, "LATE") || strings.Contains(line, "building") ||
+		!strings.Contains(line, "until a person releases it") {
+		t.Errorf("a plan held behind a failed release reads %q", line)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1732/AC10: a machine that also holds a move a person chose to hold gets no Release, since a push would send that move
+// too; the condition names both and says the push is the controller's terminal. A machine with only asked moves keeps it.
+func TestAMachineAlsoHoldingAPersonsOwnHoldIsOfferedNoRelease(t *testing.T) {
+	f := calm(time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 17, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	h := aHeldMailu()
+	h.moves = append(h.moves, heldMove{Module: "nftables", From: "n1aaaa", To: "n2bbbb",
+		Why: "waits: a person set it to record, and holds every move of it until they push", Chosen: true})
+	f.held = []heldFacts{h}
+	got := watchMovesHeld(f)
+	if len(got) != 1 || len(got[0].Actions) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	o := got[0]
+	text := o.Headline + o.Explanation + o.Needs + o.Summary + o.Said
+	for _, want := range []string{"mailu", "nftables", "terminal", "push novox"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(text, want) {
+			t.Errorf("does not say %q: %q", want, text)
+		}
+	}
+	w := conditions.Words{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Resolved: o.Resolved, Needs: o.Needs}
+	if why, ok := conditions.PlainWords(w, "novox"); !ok {
+		t.Errorf("not plain: %s", why)
+	}
+	f.held = []heldFacts{aHeldMailu()}
+	if got := watchMovesHeld(f); len(got) != 1 || len(got[0].Actions) != 1 || got[0].Actions[0].Arguments["move"] != "mailu" {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine with only asked moves: %+v", got)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/image_missing.go

@@ -0,0 +1,245 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// No declaration is sent that names an image the artifact store does not hold (novox/hq issue 1742).
+//
+// On 2026-10-21 at 17:13 a send to novox named `mailu/automx@sha256:c62150b8…`; the build record keeps that digest
+// ("recent-build") and the store did not hold it. The node-engine removed the running container, then could not pull
+// the replacement, and every later apply on novox failed for the next hour while the mail clients' autoconfiguration
+// had no backend. The node-engine's half (pull first, replace after) is its own change; this is the controller's: **a
+// module whose image the store lacks is left out of the declaration**, as a module whose setting nobody gave is
+// (ADR 0163, rule 6) — the node-engine keeps what it has of it and touches none of its containers — and **it is said**,
+// row S25: a condition naming the module, the machine and the image, until the store holds the image again (a new build
+// of the module, or the copy put back).
+//
+// Judged only for an image the store's own address names, from the send's own resources; an image of another registry
+// is no business of the store's. A store that cannot be asked judges nothing: a send is not refused for a question
+// that did not answer.
+
+// kindImageMissing is S25's kind: module.<module>.<machine>.image-missing.
+const kindImageMissing = "image-missing"
+
+// missingImage is a module held out of a machine's declaration because the store lacks an image it names.
+type missingImage struct {
+	Node, Module, Image string
+}
+
+// storeHolds is whether the store holds the manifest an image reference at its address names.
+type storeHolds func(ctx context.Context, reference string) (bool, error)
+
+// imageInStore is the artifact-store reference of an image the store's address names, "" for any other.
+func imageInStore(image, address string) string {
+	if address == "" || !strings.HasPrefix(image, address+"/") || !strings.Contains(image, "@sha256:") {
+		return ""
+	}
+	reference := catalogue.Recorded(image)
+	if _, ours := catalogue.InArtifactStore(reference); !ours {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return reference
+}
+
+// holdBackMissingImages leaves out of the declaration every module that names an image the store does not hold,
+// and answers what it left out. The module's resources go, it joins LeftOut with the reason, and its build stays the
+// one the machine was last sent (`was`).
+func holdBackMissingImages(ctx context.Context, node string, s *sendable, address string, holds storeHolds,
+	was map[string]string) []missingImage {
+	lacks := map[string]bool{} // reference → the store does not hold it; absent: not asked, or no answer
+	asked := map[string]bool{}
+	lacking := map[string]string{} // module → the image
+	for _, r := range s.Resources {
+		if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) != "container" {
+			continue
+		}
+		image, _ := r["image"].(string)
+		reference := imageInStore(image, address)
+		module := s.moduleOf[fmt.Sprint(r["id"])]
+		if reference == "" || module == "" || lacking[module] != "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !asked[reference] {
+			asked[reference] = true
+			held, err := holds(ctx, reference)
+			// empty-on-error: the store did not answer, so nothing is held back for a question unanswered
+			lacks[reference] = err == nil && !held
+		}
+		if lacks[reference] {
+			lacking[module] = image
+		}
+	}
+	if len(lacking) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	kept := s.Resources[:0:0]
+	for _, r := range s.Resources {
+		if _, out := lacking[s.moduleOf[fmt.Sprint(r["id"])]]; !out {
+			kept = append(kept, r)
+		}
+	}
+	s.Resources = kept
+	if s.leftOutWhy == nil {
+		s.leftOutWhy = map[string]string{}
+	}
+	var found []missingImage
+	for module, image := range lacking {
+		s.leftOutWhy[module] = "its image " + image + " is not in the artifact store"
+		if !slices.Contains(s.LeftOut, module) {
+			s.LeftOut = append(s.LeftOut, module)
+		}
+		if s.Builds != nil {
+			if prior, sent := was[module]; sent {
+				s.Builds[module] = prior
+			} else {
+				delete(s.Builds, module)
+			}
+		}
+		found = append(found, missingImage{Node: node, Module: module, Image: image})
+	}
+	sort.Strings(s.LeftOut)
+	sort.Slice(found, func(i, j int) bool { return found[i].Module < found[j].Module })
+	return found
+}
+
+// withoutMissingImages is composeSend's last step: the store asked about the images the declaration names, the modules
+// whose image it lacks left out and kept in the ledger S25 reads. A store that cannot be found or asked leaves the
+// declaration as composed.
+func withoutMissingImages(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node string, s sendable) sendable {
+	inv := open.inventory
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return s
+	}
+	address, err := artifactStoreAddress(ctx, inv, shelf, node)
+	if err != nil || address == "" {
+		return s
+	}
+	sent, known, err := inv.SentBuilds(ctx, node)
+	if err != nil || !known {
+		sent = nil
+	}
+	store := artifacts.Store{Address: address}
+	found := holdBackMissingImages(ctx, node, &s, address, store.HoldsManifest, sent)
+	for _, m := range found {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %s is left out of the declaration: its image %s is not in the artifact store\n", node, m.Module, m.Image)
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
+// imageFacts are the images S25 raises: a module whose registered build names an image the store lacks, on each machine
+// that runs it.
+type imageFacts struct {
+	missingImage
+}
+
+// imagesHeld remembers the images the store was found to hold: a stored image is named by its digest and stays what it
+// is, so it is asked about once; one it lacks is asked again at every look.
+var imagesHeld = struct {
+	sync.Mutex
+	held map[string]bool
+}{held: map[string]bool{}}
+
+// gatherMissingImages is every machine's module whose registered build — the one a send would carry — names an image of
+// the artifact store that the store does not hold. Read from the catalogue and the store, never from what a send did:
+// a push is a command of its own, and the serving controller's watchdog hears nothing of it.
+func gatherMissingImages(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, holds storeHolds) ([]imageFacts, error) {
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the catalogue cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	var out []imageFacts
+	for _, module := range sortedKeysOf(modulesOf(shelf)) {
+		for _, r := range shelf[module].Resources {
+			if fmt.Sprint(r["type"]) != "container" {
+				continue
+			}
+			image, _ := r["image"].(string)
+			if _, ours := catalogue.InArtifactStore(image); !ours || !strings.Contains(image, "@sha256:") {
+				continue
+			}
+			imagesHeld.Lock()
+			known := imagesHeld.held[image]
+			imagesHeld.Unlock()
+			if !known {
+				held, err := holds(ctx, image)
+				if err != nil {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("the artifact store cannot be asked about %s: %w", image, err)
+				}
+				if held {
+					imagesHeld.Lock()
+					imagesHeld.held[image] = true
+					imagesHeld.Unlock()
+					continue
+				}
+			} else {
+				continue
+			}
+			running, err := inv.Running(ctx, module)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			for _, node := range running {
+				out = append(out, imageFacts{missingImage{Node: node, Module: module, Image: image}})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// modulesOf is the shelf's modules as a map of names, for sortedKeysOf.
+func modulesOf(shelf map[string]catalogue.Manifest) map[string]string {
+	out := make(map[string]string, len(shelf))
+	for m := range shelf {
+		out[m] = m
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// watchMissingImages is S25: a module left out of a machine's declaration because the store lacks its image, said at
+// once. The condition ends when the store holds the image, or a send names another.
+func watchMissingImages(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
+	var out []conditions.Observation
+	for _, m := range f.images {
+		out = append(out, conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeModule, ID: m.Module + "." + m.Node, Kind: kindImageMissing,
+			Machine: m.Node, Severity: conditions.Warning, Resolver: conditions.ResolverOperator,
+			Summary: fmt.Sprintf("%s is left out of every send to %s: its declaration names an image that the artifact store does "+
+				"not hold (the evidence names it); the running container is untouched", m.Module, m.Node),
+			Said:     "image " + m.Image + " is not in the store",
+			Headline: clipWords(conditions.Capital(m.Module)+" is not updated on "+m.Node, conditions.HeadlineMax),
+			Explanation: clipWords(fmt.Sprintf("The new version of %s names a container image that the mesh's store does not "+
+				"hold, so it was not sent to %s. What runs there is untouched, and the rest of %s is sent as usual.",
+				m.Module, m.Node, m.Node), conditions.ExplanationMax),
+			Needs:    fmt.Sprintf("build %s again; the details name the image.", m.Module),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the store holds the image of " + m.Module + " again"})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// gatherMissingImagesHere is gatherMissingImages asking the mesh's own artifact store; nothing to ask where the mesh has
+// none on its network yet.
+func gatherMissingImagesHere(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) ([]imageFacts, error) {
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the catalogue cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	address, err := artifactStoreAddress(ctx, inv, shelf, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if address == "" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	return gatherMissingImages(ctx, inv, artifacts.Store{Address: address}.HoldsManifest)
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/image_missing_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+)
+
+// **No declaration is sent that names an image the artifact store does not hold** (novox/hq issue 1742).
+
+const storeAt = "novox.internal:5100"
+
+// automx is the image the send of 2026-10-21 17:13 named and the store lacked; the others are held.
+const (
+	automxImage = storeAt + "/mailu/automx@sha256:c62150b8e2cbcc18cb911b098c2877f928761a1e6251667f39ea18251ea35591"
+	imapImage   = storeAt + "/mailu/imap@sha256:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
+)
+
+func aMailSend() sendable {
+	return sendable{
+		Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "mailu.automx", "type": "container", "image": automxImage},
+			{"id": "mailu.automx-config", "type": "file", "path": "/etc/automx.conf"},
+			{"id": "mailu.imap", "type": "container", "image": imapImage},
+			{"id": "other.web", "type": "container", "image": "docker.io/library/nginx@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)},
+			{"id": "dns.dnsmasq", "type": "container", "image": storeAt + "/dnsmasq/main@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64)},
+		},
+		moduleOf: map[string]string{"mailu.automx": "automx", "mailu.automx-config": "automx", "mailu.imap": "mailu",
+			"other.web": "other", "dns.dnsmasq": "dnsmasq"},
+		Builds: map[string]string{"automx": "b2f5ebb2new", "mailu": "m2", "other": "o1", "dnsmasq": "d1"},
+	}
+}
+
+func storeHolding(missing ...string) (storeHolds, *[]string) {
+	var asked []string
+	return func(_ context.Context, reference string) (bool, error) {
+		asked = append(asked, reference)
+		for _, m := range missing {
+			if strings.Contains(reference, m) {
+				return false, nil
+			}
+		}
+		return true, nil
+	}, &asked
+}
+
+// 1742/AC1: given a send naming automx's image, which the store does not hold, when the declaration is judged, then
+// every resource of automx is out of it, automx is among the modules left out with the reason, its build is the one the
+// machine was last sent, and every other module — an image of another registry among them — is as composed.
+func TestAModuleWhoseImageTheStoreLacksIsLeftOutOfTheSend(t *testing.T) {
+	s := aMailSend()
+	holds, asked := storeHolding("mailu/automx@")
+	found := holdBackMissingImages(t.Context(), "novox", &s, storeAt, holds, map[string]string{"automx": "b2f5ebb2old"})
+	if len(found) != 1 || found[0].Module != "automx" || found[0].Node != "novox" || found[0].Image != automxImage {
+		t.Fatalf("found %+v", found)
+	}
+	var ids []string
+	for _, r := range s.Resources {
+		ids = append(ids, r["id"].(string))
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(ids, ","); got != "mailu.imap,other.web,dns.dnsmasq" {
+		t.Errorf("the declaration keeps %s", got)
+	}
+	if len(s.LeftOut) != 1 || s.LeftOut[0] != "automx" || !strings.Contains(s.leftOutWhy["automx"], "not in the artifact store") {
+		t.Errorf("left out %v because %v", s.LeftOut, s.leftOutWhy)
+	}
+	if s.Builds["automx"] != "b2f5ebb2old" || s.Builds["mailu"] != "m2" || s.Builds["other"] != "o1" {
+		t.Errorf("builds %v", s.Builds)
+	}
+	for _, a := range *asked {
+		if strings.Contains(a, "docker.io") {
+			t.Errorf("the store was asked about an image of another registry: %s", a)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// 1742/AC2: given a module never sent to the machine, when its image is missing, then it has no build in the record of the
+// send; given the store does not answer, then nothing is held back for a question unanswered.
+func TestAnUnansweredStoreHoldsNothingBackAndANewModuleHasNoBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	s := aMailSend()
+	holds, _ := storeHolding("mailu/automx@")
+	found := holdBackMissingImages(t.Context(), "novox", &s, storeAt, holds, nil)
+	if len(found) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", found)
+	}
+	if _, has := s.Builds["automx"]; has {
+		t.Errorf("a module never sent is recorded as sent: %v", s.Builds)
+	}
+	s = aMailSend()
+	silent := func(context.Context, string) (bool, error) { return false, errors.New("registry: connection refused") }
+	if found := holdBackMissingImages(t.Context(), "novox", &s, storeAt, silent, nil); len(found) != 0 || len(s.LeftOut) != 0 ||
+		len(s.Resources) != 5 {
+		t.Errorf("an unanswered store held back %+v, left out %v", found, s.LeftOut)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1742/AC3: a module left out for its image raises a condition for the operator naming the module, the machine and the
+// image in the evidence, plain words, and no answer to give; a mesh whose images are all held raises nothing.
+func TestAMissingImageIsRaisedForTheOperator(t *testing.T) {
+	f := calm(time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 17, 40, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	if got := watchMissingImages(f); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	f.images = []imageFacts{{missingImage{Node: "novox", Module: "automx", Image: automxImage}}}
+	got := watchMissingImages(f)
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	o := got[0]
+	if o.Kind != "image-missing" || o.Key() != "module.automx.novox.image-missing" || o.Resolver != conditions.ResolverOperator ||
+		o.Severity != conditions.Warning || o.Machine != "novox" {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v (%s)", o, o.Key())
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(o.Said, "c62150b8") || !strings.Contains(o.Headline+o.Explanation, "automx") {
+		t.Errorf("words: %q / %q / %q", o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Said)
+	}
+	w := conditions.Words{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Resolved: o.Resolved, Needs: o.Needs}
+	if why, ok := conditions.PlainWords(w, "novox"); !ok {
+		t.Errorf("not plain: %s", why)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/issue611_test.go

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ func TestAMergeSaysTheModulesWhoseBuildSourceItLeftUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
 			{Own: true, Paths: []string{"modules/build-agent/Dockerfile", "modules/build-agent/module.json"}},
 		},
 		"route-proxy": {
-			{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Ref: "main", Paths: []string{"go.mod", "examples/route-proxy/"}},
+			{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Ref: "main", Paths: []string{"go.mod", "modules/route-proxy/cmd/route-proxy/"}},
 			{Own: true, Paths: []string{"modules/route-proxy/Dockerfile", "modules/route-proxy/module.json"}},
 		},
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/key_takein.go

@@ -0,0 +1,460 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"path"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/buildstep"
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/buildreads"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// The take-in from the builder's done key (novox/hq ADR 0501, ADR 0498 §8, ADR 0453 §5; issue 1851).
+//
+// From R4e the controller asks no build but the builder's own module's: a module of a merge is taken from the builder's
+// key for the fingerprint the indexer's trunk value of the module names (ADR 0501 §2). Only a done key whose every
+// artifact names a reference is taken (ADR 0498 §8); a key not done yet, one waiting for a reference, a templates
+// archive the store does not answer, or a list of predefined keys the forge does not answer is waited for and said,
+// never failed and never delivered from. A failed key fails, in the builder's own words. The take-in then records the
+// key as a build of today's record layout, so a controller of before reads it on a rollback, and judges it as every
+// build is judged (registerJudged).
+
+// errKeyWaits says a take-in from a key waits: for the builder, a reference, the store or the forge. Never a failure.
+var errKeyWaits = errors.New("waits")
+
+// errKeyFailed says the module's key failed: the builder's own words follow.
+var errKeyFailed = errors.New("the builder's key failed")
+
+// keyReads is what a take-in from a key reads of the builder and the indexer (builderkeys.Reader, or a test's).
+type keyReads interface {
+	Build(ctx context.Context, module, fp string) (builderkeys.Key, error)
+	Manifest(ctx context.Context, digest string) (sdkdelivery.Manifest, error)
+}
+
+// keyBuildID is the id a key's build is recorded under: the key and its revision, so the same revision recorded twice
+// is one record, and a rebuild of the same fingerprint (a new revision, ADR 0429 §18) another.
+func keyBuildID(k builderkeys.Key) string {
+	part, err := sdkdelivery.FingerprintKeyPart(k.Fingerprint)
+	if err != nil {
+		part = strings.TrimPrefix(k.Fingerprint, sdkdelivery.SourcePrefix2)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("key-%s-%d", part, k.Revision)
+}
+
+// readArchive is the archive a key's reference names, read from the artifact store and checked against its digest. A
+// variable so a test needs no store.
+var readArchive = func(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, reference string) ([]byte, error) {
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	address, err := artifactStoreAddress(ctx, inv, shelf, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	if address == "" {
+		return nil, errors.New("the artifact store is on no network the controller reaches")
+	}
+	return artifacts.Store{Address: address}.GetBlob(ctx, reference)
+}
+
+// predefinedHead is the list of predefined keys at the head of the catalogue repository's trunk, and that head.
+type predefinedHead struct {
+	List       catalogue.PredefinedList
+	Repository string
+	Commit     string
+	// Generation orders two heads of the trunk: the head's commit time in seconds. A list kept from a build's
+	// generation (its commit count) is always older than a head read here.
+	Generation int
+}
+
+// predefinedAtTrunk is the list of predefined keys at the head of the catalogue repository's trunk (ADR 0501 §8), read
+// from the forge. A variable so a test needs no forge.
+var predefinedAtTrunk = func(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) (predefinedHead, error) {
+	entries, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return predefinedHead{}, err
+	}
+	repository := ""
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.Source.Seat == gitSeat && path.Base(strings.Trim(e.Source.Repository, "/")) == catalogue.CatalogueRepository {
+			repository = strings.Trim(e.Source.Repository, "/")
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if repository == "" {
+		return predefinedHead{}, fmt.Errorf("no module of the catalogue names the repository %s on the forge",
+			catalogue.CatalogueRepository)
+	}
+	var heads []struct {
+		SHA    string `json:"sha"`
+		Commit struct {
+			Committer struct {
+				Date time.Time `json:"date"`
+			} `json:"committer"`
+		} `json:"commit"`
+	}
+	if err := askGitea(ctx, "gitea_api", map[string]any{"path": "/repos/" + repository +
+		"/commits?limit=1&stat=false&verification=false&files=false"}, &heads); err != nil {
+		return predefinedHead{}, err
+	}
+	if len(heads) == 0 || heads[0].SHA == "" {
+		return predefinedHead{}, fmt.Errorf("the forge named no head of %s's trunk", repository)
+	}
+	head := predefinedHead{Repository: repository, Commit: heads[0].SHA,
+		Generation: int(heads[0].Commit.Committer.Date.Unix())}
+	var file struct {
+		Content  string `json:"content"`
+		Encoding string `json:"encoding"`
+	}
+	if err := askGitea(ctx, "gitea_api", map[string]any{"path": "/repos/" + repository + "/contents/" +
+		catalogue.PredefinedFile + "?ref=" + head.Commit}, &file); err != nil {
+		return predefinedHead{}, err
+	}
+	if file.Encoding != "base64" {
+		return predefinedHead{}, fmt.Errorf("the forge answered %s at %.8s in the encoding %q", catalogue.PredefinedFile,
+			head.Commit, file.Encoding)
+	}
+	raw, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(file.Content)
+	if err != nil {
+		return predefinedHead{}, err
+	}
+	if head.List, err = catalogue.ParsePredefined(raw); err != nil {
+		return predefinedHead{}, fmt.Errorf("%s at %.8s is refused: %w", catalogue.PredefinedFile, head.Commit, err)
+	}
+	return head, nil
+}
+
+// askGitea asks the forge's module one tool on the bus and reads its result into into.
+func askGitea(ctx context.Context, tool string, args map[string]any, into any) error {
+	js, err := aBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(args)
+	answer, err := link.Ask(ctx, link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}, "gitea", tool, raw, 30*time.Second)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if answer.Error != "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("gitea.%s: %s", tool, answer.Error)
+	}
+	var wrapped struct {
+		Result json.RawMessage `json:"result"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(answer.Result, &wrapped); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return json.Unmarshal(wrapped.Result, into)
+}
+
+// keyTake is one take-in from a key: the module, the indexer's trunk value naming the key's fingerprint, and the
+// registration's warrant.
+type keyTake struct {
+	Module string
+	Trunk  sdkdelivery.Module
+	Ask    registrationAsk
+}
+
+// takeInKey takes a module in from the builder's key for the fingerprint its trunk value names: records the key as a
+// build and registers the module, or says why not. errKeyWaits when it waits, errKeyFailed when the key failed.
+func takeInKey(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, keys keyReads, t keyTake) (
+	catalogue.Manifest, inventory.Build, error) {
+	head, err := predefinedAtTrunk(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return catalogue.Manifest{}, inventory.Build{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: the list of predefined keys at the catalogue's "+
+			"trunk head cannot be read, so %s is not judged: %v", errKeyWaits, t.Module, err)
+	}
+	keepPredefinedHead(ctx, inv, head)
+	previous, err := inv.Builds(ctx, t.Module, 5)
+	if err != nil {
+		return catalogue.Manifest{}, inventory.Build{}, err
+	}
+	kept, manifest, err := buildOfKey(ctx, keys, t, keyContext{list: head.List, previous: previous,
+		archive: func(ctx context.Context, reference string) ([]byte, error) { return readArchive(ctx, inv, reference) }})
+	if err != nil {
+		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, err
+	}
+	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, kept); err != nil {
+		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, err
+	}
+	recorded := inventory.Source{Repository: t.Trunk.Repository, Seat: gitSeat, Path: keyPath(t.Trunk),
+		BuiltFrom: t.Trunk.Commit, Head: t.Trunk.Commit, Against: kept.Against}
+	trunk := "main"
+	if was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, manifest.Module); err == nil {
+		recorded.Ref = followedBranch(was.Ref)
+		if recorded.Ref != "" {
+			trunk = recorded.Ref
+		}
+	}
+	registered, err := registerJudged(ctx, inv, takenBuild{kept: kept, manifest: manifest, recorded: recorded,
+		ask: t.Ask, path: recorded.Path, trunk: trunk, by: "the builder", what: t.Trunk.Repository,
+		commit: t.Trunk.Commit})
+	return registered, kept, err
+}
+
+// keyContext is what a key's build is made with besides the key: the list of predefined keys its manifest is judged
+// against, the module's recent builds (the bases its last one stood on are carried) and how an archive is read.
+type keyContext struct {
+	list     catalogue.PredefinedList
+	previous []inventory.Build
+	archive  func(ctx context.Context, reference string) ([]byte, error)
+}
+
+// keyPath is a module's directory as the catalogue records it: empty for a module at its repository's root.
+func keyPath(m sdkdelivery.Module) string {
+	if m.Path == sdkdelivery.RootPath {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return strings.Trim(m.Path, "/")
+}
+
+// buildOfKey reads the key of the trunk value's fingerprint and makes its build record and the manifest it resolves to
+// (ADR 0498 §8, ADR 0501 §1, §8): the module's manifest by the key's digest, judged against the list of predefined keys
+// at the catalogue's trunk head, resolved with the key's artifacts.
+func buildOfKey(ctx context.Context, keys keyReads, t keyTake, kc keyContext) (
+	inventory.Build, catalogue.Manifest, error) {
+	waits := func(format string, a ...any) (inventory.Build, catalogue.Manifest, error) {
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: "+format, append([]any{errKeyWaits}, a...)...)
+	}
+	if t.Trunk.FP2 == "" {
+		why := t.Trunk.None2
+		if why == "" {
+			why = "the indexer wrote no fingerprint of the new form"
+		}
+		return waits("%s at %.8s has no fingerprint to take a build by: %s", t.Module, t.Trunk.Commit, why)
+	}
+	k, err := keys.Build(ctx, t.Module, t.Trunk.FP2)
+	if err != nil {
+		return waits("%s's key cannot be read: %v", t.Module, err)
+	}
+	switch {
+	case k.Failed():
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", errKeyFailed, k.Says())
+	case !k.Done():
+		return waits("%s", k.Says())
+	case len(k.Unreferenced()) > 0:
+		return waits("%s", k.Says())
+	}
+	src, err := keys.Manifest(ctx, k.Build.Manifest)
+	if err != nil {
+		return waits("%s's manifest: %v", t.Module, err)
+	}
+	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith([]byte(src.JSON), kc.list)
+	if err != nil {
+		// **A word the running controller does not read waits for the controller that reads it** (ADR 0501 §7): the
+		// key stays done, and the controller that reads the word registers it with no second build.
+		if word := refusedWord(err.Error()); word != "" {
+			return waits("%s's manifest uses the word %q, which this controller does not read: it is registered "+
+				"when a controller that reads it runs", t.Module, word)
+		}
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, fmt.Errorf("the builder built %s and its manifest is "+
+			"refused: %w", t.Module, err)
+	}
+	if manifest.Module != t.Module {
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, fmt.Errorf("the key of %s names the manifest of %s",
+			t.Module, manifest.Module)
+	}
+	built, err := builtOfKey(ctx, kc.archive, manifest, k)
+	if err != nil {
+		return waits("%v", err)
+	}
+	resolved, err := manifest.Resolve(built)
+	if err != nil {
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, fmt.Errorf("the builder built %s and it does not resolve: %w",
+			t.Module, err)
+	}
+	raw, err := json.Marshal(resolved)
+	if err != nil {
+		return inventory.Build{}, catalogue.Manifest{}, err
+	}
+	kept := inventory.Build{ID: keyBuildID(k), Repository: t.Trunk.Repository, Module: t.Module,
+		Commit: t.Trunk.Commit, On: k.Build.By, Path: keyPath(t.Trunk), Manifest: raw,
+		SourceFingerprint: k.Fingerprint, At: time.Now().UTC()}
+	// **Read from the manifest, fresh at every key** (the same rule build-agent says, internal/buildreads). Sources are
+	// left unsaid but for a module whose every artifact names its paths: the planner then reads the module's whole
+	// directory, over-planning and never under-planning, and a fingerprint that did not change moves nothing (R4e A9).
+	// **Its build source where its every artifact names its paths** (novox/hq ADR 0499 §1, §5; issue 1758, B1): the
+	// planner reads a merge's changed files against those paths and the manifest alone, so a change elsewhere in the
+	// module's directory touches nothing it builds from.
+	if own := pathsBuildSource(manifest, keyPath(t.Trunk)); own != nil {
+		kept.Sources = []inventory.BuildSource{{Paths: own}}
+	}
+	for _, c := range buildreads.Of(manifest) {
+		kept.Read = append(kept.Read, inventory.ReadRepository{Repository: c.Repository, Ref: c.Ref})
+	}
+	// **The bases its last build stood on, carried** (R4e, lead decision): what the collector keeps a mirrored base by.
+	// A key names none; the module's newest successful build's are carried so the keep set does not change.
+	for _, b := range kc.previous {
+		if b.Worked() && b.Module == t.Module && b.ID != kept.ID {
+			kept.Against = append([]string(nil), b.Against...)
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	for _, a := range k.Build.Artifacts {
+		kept.Made = append(kept.Made, inventory.Artifact{Name: a.Name, Kind: kindOf(manifest, a),
+			Reference: catalogue.Recorded(a.Reference)})
+	}
+	return kept, resolved, nil
+}
+
+// kindOf is an artifact's kind: the key's, else the manifest's.
+func kindOf(m catalogue.Manifest, a sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact) string {
+	if a.Kind != "" || m.Build == nil {
+		return a.Kind
+	}
+	for _, d := range m.Build.Artifacts {
+		if d.Name == a.Name {
+			return d.Kind
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// builtOfKey is each of a done key's artifacts as Resolve reads it: its reference and digest, a TypeScript bundle's
+// launchers by the build modules' one rule (mesh-sdk buildstep.Launchers), and, for the archive a module packs its
+// templates into, each template's text read back from the archive the store holds under the key's reference.
+func builtOfKey(ctx context.Context, archive func(context.Context, string) ([]byte, error), m catalogue.Manifest,
+	k builderkeys.Key) (
+	[]catalogue.Built, error) {
+	declared := map[string]catalogue.Artifact{}
+	if m.Build != nil {
+		for _, a := range m.Build.Artifacts {
+			declared[a.Name] = a
+		}
+	}
+	templates := ""
+	if m.Templated() {
+		templates = catalogue.TemplatesArtifact(m)
+	}
+	var out []catalogue.Built
+	for _, a := range k.Build.Artifacts {
+		d := declared[a.Name]
+		b := catalogue.Built{Name: a.Name, Kind: kindOf(m, a), Reference: catalogue.Recorded(a.Reference),
+			Digest: a.Digest}
+		if launchers := buildstep.Launchers(d.Language, d.Entrypoints); len(launchers) > 0 {
+			b.Launchers = launchers
+		}
+		if a.Name == templates && templates != "" {
+			body, err := archive(ctx, b.Reference)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("the templates archive %q of %s cannot be read from the artifact store: %v",
+					a.Name, m.Module, err)
+			}
+			if b.Texts, err = unpackTexts(body); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("the templates archive %q of %s cannot be read back: %v", a.Name, m.Module, err)
+			}
+		}
+		out = append(out, b)
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// unpackTexts is every file of a packed templates archive (gzip over tar), by its path inside it.
+func unpackTexts(body []byte) (map[string]string, error) {
+	zipped, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(body))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer zipped.Close()
+	reader := tar.NewReader(zipped)
+	texts := map[string]string{}
+	for {
+		header, err := reader.Next()
+		if errors.Is(err, io.EOF) {
+			return texts, nil
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if header.Typeflag != tar.TypeReg {
+			continue
+		}
+		text, err := io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(reader, 16<<20))
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		texts[strings.TrimPrefix(header.Name, "./")] = string(text)
+	}
+}
+
+// keepPredefinedHead keeps the list read at the catalogue's trunk head when it is newer than the one kept, as a build of
+// the catalogue's did (ADR 0348 §7), and judges every manifest read again against it. Said, never fatal: the list read
+// is the one this take-in judges against either way.
+func keepPredefinedHead(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, head predefinedHead) {
+	kept, err := inv.KeepPredefined(ctx, inventory.PredefinedRecord{Keys: head.List, Repository: head.Repository,
+		Commit: head.Commit, Generation: head.Generation, Build: "the trunk head " + short(head.Commit)})
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("the list of predefined keys at %s's trunk head %s is not kept: %v\n", head.Repository,
+			short(head.Commit), err)
+		return
+	}
+	if kept {
+		fmt.Printf("the list of predefined keys at %s's trunk head %s is published: %s\n", head.Repository,
+			short(head.Commit), strings.Join(head.List.Keys(), ", "))
+	}
+	if err := loadPredefined(ctx, inv); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("the list of predefined keys kept cannot be read: %v\n", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// openBuilderKeys is the builder's and the indexer's buckets, read on a connection for the moment.
+func openBuilderKeys() (builderkeys.Reader, func(), error) {
+	js, err := aBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return builderkeys.Reader{}, nil, err
+	}
+	api, err := jetstream.New(js.Conn())
+	if err != nil {
+		js.Close()
+		return builderkeys.Reader{}, nil, err
+	}
+	return builderkeys.Reader{JS: api}, js.Close, nil
+}
+
+// pathsBuildSource is the build source of a module whose every artifact names the paths it is built from (ADR 0499
+// §1): its manifest and each path, relative to its repository's root, a path read as a file or everything below a
+// directory of that name (`<path>/**` holds both). Nil when an artifact names none: the module reads its directory.
+func pathsBuildSource(m catalogue.Manifest, dir string) []string {
+	if m.Build == nil || len(m.Build.Artifacts) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	in := func(p string) string {
+		if dir == "" {
+			return p
+		}
+		return dir + "/" + p
+	}
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	out := []string{in("module.json")}
+	for _, a := range m.Build.Artifacts {
+		if len(a.Paths) == 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		for _, p := range a.Paths {
+			entry := in(strings.Trim(path.Clean(p), "/")) + "/**"
+			if !seen[entry] {
+				seen[entry] = true
+				out = append(out, entry)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/key_takein_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,251 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// withTrunkList stands in for the catalogue's trunk head: an empty list of predefined keys, readable, or not.
+func withTrunkList(t *testing.T, readable bool) {
+	t.Helper()
+	was := predefinedAtTrunk
+	predefinedAtTrunk = func(context.Context, *inventory.Inventory) (predefinedHead, error) {
+		if !readable {
+			return predefinedHead{}, errors.New("the forge did not answer")
+		}
+		list, err := catalogue.ParsePredefined([]byte(`{}`))
+		return predefinedHead{List: list, Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "abcdef0123456789",
+			Generation: 1 << 40}, err
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { predefinedAtTrunk = was })
+}
+
+// aKeyFor is a done key of module at fp, of one archive with a reference, and the indexer's trunk value naming it at
+// commit in repository/path.
+func aKeyFor(module, version, fp, repository, path, commit string) (keyBuckets, sdkdelivery.Module) {
+	raw := `{"module":"` + module + `","version":"` + version + `","build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"a","kind":"archive","from":"files"}]},` +
+		`"resources":[{"id":"a","type":"archive","path":"/opt/` + module + `","artifact":"a"}]}`
+	digest := sdkdelivery.ManifestDigest([]byte(raw))
+	blob := shaOf(module + version)
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: module, Fingerprint: fp, Found: true, Revision: 1,
+		Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, By: "ace", Manifest: digest,
+			Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "a", Kind: "archive", Digest: blob,
+				Reference: "artifact-store://" + module + "/a/blobs/" + blob}}}}
+	return keyBuckets{keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{module: k}, manifests: map[string]string{digest: raw}},
+		sdkdelivery.Module{FP2: fp, Manifest: digest, Repository: repository, Commit: commit, Path: path}
+}
+
+func fpOf(c byte) string { return "src2:" + strings.Repeat(string(c), 64) }
+
+// A3, A4 (ADR 0498 §8, ADR 0501 §1-§3, §8): a done key of a trunk fingerprint records one build of today's layout,
+// whose artifacts are the key's, and registers the module under the same rules of who may register as before.
+func TestADoneKeyOfTheTrunkRegistersUnderTheSameRules(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t) // sudo from novox/mesh-catalog modules/sudo, mesh-host from novox/mesh-host
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	withTrunkList(t, true)
+
+	// A known module from the repository and path the catalogue builds it from: registered from its key.
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "2", fpOf('a'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sudo", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	_, kept, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §1: a done key of sudo's trunk fingerprint was not taken in: %v", err)
+	}
+	if shelf, _ := inv.Catalogue(ctx); shelf["sudo"].Version != "2" {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §1: sudo is %q", shelf["sudo"].Version)
+	}
+	got, found, err := inv.BuildByID(ctx, kept.ID)
+	if err != nil || !found || len(got.Made) != 1 || got.Made[0].Reference != kept.Made[0].Reference {
+		t.Fatalf("0498 §8: the recorded build is %+v (%v)", got, err)
+	}
+	if fps, err := inv.BuildSourceFingerprints(ctx, "sudo"); err != nil || fps["c0ffee0123456789"] != fpOf('a') {
+		t.Fatalf("0498 §8: the recorded build's fingerprint is %v (%v), not the key's", fps, err)
+	}
+	// Recording the same key again is one record.
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	builds, _ := inv.Builds(ctx, "sudo", 20)
+	n := 0
+	for _, b := range builds {
+		if b.ID == kept.ID {
+			n++
+		}
+	}
+	if n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("0498 §8: one key taken in twice is %d records", n)
+	}
+
+	// A known module from another repository: refused, as a build of it was (ADR 0266).
+	other, otherTrunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "evil", fpOf('b'), "agent/sudo", "modules/sudo", "d00d0123456789ab")
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, other, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: otherTrunk,
+		Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: otherTrunk.Commit}}); !errors.Is(err, errNotItsSource) {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §3: a known module from another repository was taken in: %v", err)
+	}
+	// A new module from a repository the catalogue builds from: registered.
+	zram, zramTrunk := aKeyFor("zram", "1", fpOf('c'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/zram", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, zram, keyTake{Module: "zram", Trunk: zramTrunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: zramTrunk.Commit}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §3: a new module from a built repository was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	// A new module from a repository nothing is built from, with no Approve: refused.
+	tools, toolsTrunk := aKeyFor("agent-tools", "1", fpOf('d'), "agent/tools", "", "e0e0e0e0e0e0e0e0")
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, tools, keyTake{Module: "agent-tools", Trunk: toolsTrunk,
+		Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: toolsTrunk.Commit}}); !errors.Is(err, errNotItsSource) {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §3: a new repository's module was taken in with no warrant: %v", err)
+	}
+	// At the terminal the operator registers it (ADR 0501 §4).
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, tools, keyTake{Module: "agent-tools", Trunk: toolsTrunk,
+		Ask: registrationAsk{Terminal: true}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §4: the terminal's registration was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// ADR 0501 §2: a key only a candidate names registers nothing: the trunk value names another fingerprint, whose key is
+// not there, and the take-in waits.
+func TestAKeyOnlyACandidateNamesRegistersNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	withTrunkList(t, true)
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "3", fpOf('e'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sudo", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	trunk.FP2 = fpOf('f') // the trunk names another fingerprint than the candidate's done key
+	_, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, open.inventory, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}})
+	if !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §2: %v", err)
+	}
+	if shelf, _ := open.inventory.Catalogue(ctx); shelf["sudo"].Version != "1" {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §2: a candidate's key registered sudo %q", shelf["sudo"].Version)
+	}
+}
+
+// ADR 0501 §8: a take-in that cannot read the list of predefined keys at the catalogue's trunk head waits, says so and
+// registers nothing.
+func TestATakeInWithoutTheTrunksListWaits(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	withTrunkList(t, false)
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "4", fpOf('1'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sudo", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	_, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, open.inventory, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}})
+	if !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "predefined keys") {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §8: %v", err)
+	}
+	if shelf, _ := open.inventory.Catalogue(ctx); shelf["sudo"].Version != "1" {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §8: registered %q", shelf["sudo"].Version)
+	}
+}
+
+// A3 (the lead's decision on Against and Read): a key's record keeps the collector's keep set as it was and its read
+// repositories are its manifest's, fresh at every key.
+func TestAKeysRecordKeepsTheKeepSetAndReadsItsManifest(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	withTrunkList(t, true)
+	before, err := inv.KeepSet(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	raw := `{"module":"sudo","version":"5","build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"img","kind":"image","from":"Dockerfile",` +
+		`"context":{"repository":"novox/elsewhere","seat":"git"}}]},"resources":[{"id":"run","type":"container","artifact":"img"}]}`
+	digest := sdkdelivery.ManifestDigest([]byte(raw))
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: "sudo", Fingerprint: fpOf('2'), Found: true, Revision: 1,
+		Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, By: "g14", Manifest: digest,
+			Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "img", Kind: "image", Digest: shaOf("img5"),
+				Reference: "artifact-store://sudo/img@" + shaOf("img5")}}}}
+	keys := keyBuckets{keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"sudo": k}, manifests: map[string]string{digest: raw}}
+	trunk := sdkdelivery.Module{FP2: fpOf('2'), Manifest: digest, Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
+		Commit: "c0ffee0123456789", Path: "modules/sudo"}
+	if _, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	after, err := inv.KeepSet(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for reference, why := range before {
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(after[reference], why) && !strings.Contains(strings.Join(after[reference], ","), strings.Join(why, ",")) {
+			t.Errorf("the keep set changed for %s: %v, was %v", reference, after[reference], why)
+		}
+	}
+	read, err := inv.ReadRepositories(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	found := false
+	for _, r := range read["sudo"] {
+		if !r.Own && r.Repository == "novox/elsewhere" {
+			found = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		text, _ := json.Marshal(read["sudo"])
+		t.Fatalf("the key's record does not read its manifest's context: %s", text)
+	}
+}
+
+// A9 (ADR 0453 §6, ADR 0499 consequences): at the switch, a key's build whose every artifact has the digest of the
+// build-agent build the mesh holds (`src1:`) is no move: it is registered with that build's artifacts, and a walk sends
+// nothing for it.
+func TestAKeyWithTheHeldBuildsDigestsIsNoMove(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	withTrunkList(t, true)
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "6", fpOf('6'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sudo", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	k := keys.keys["sudo"]
+	held := inventory.Build{ID: "build-sudo-old", Module: "sudo", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Path: "modules/sudo",
+		Commit: "0ld0ld0ld0ld0ld0", SourceFingerprint: "src1:" + strings.Repeat("9", 64),
+		Made: []inventory.Artifact{{Name: "a", Kind: "archive", Reference: k.Build.Artifacts[0].Reference}}}
+	held.Manifest, _ = json.Marshal(catalogue.Manifest{Module: "sudo", Version: "held"})
+	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, held); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, kept, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, keys, keyTake{Module: "sudo", Trunk: trunk, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	same, err := inv.SameSourceCommits(ctx, "sudo", kept.ID)
+	if err != nil || !same["0ld0ld0ld0ld0ld0"] {
+		t.Fatalf("A9: the key's build does not stand on the held build of the same digests: %v %v", same, err)
+	}
+	if shelf, _ := inv.Catalogue(ctx); shelf["sudo"].Version != "held" {
+		t.Fatalf("A9: sudo is registered as %q, not with the held build's artifacts", shelf["sudo"].Version)
+	}
+}
+
+// A13 against the store: the switch's list reads the build the mesh holds of each module and the builder's key of its
+// trunk fingerprint, and names each module unmoved, moved or not known.
+func TestTheSwitchsListReadsTheHeldBuildsAndTheKeys(t *testing.T) {
+	open := theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	keys, trunk := aKeyFor("sudo", "1", fpOf('b'), "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sudo", "c0ffee0123456789")
+	k := keys.keys["sudo"]
+	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-sudo-held", Module: "sudo", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
+		Commit: "c0ffee0123456789", Made: []inventory.Artifact{{Name: "a", Kind: "archive",
+			Reference: k.Build.Artifacts[0].Reference}}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	reads := planKeysOf{values: map[string]sdkdelivery.Module{"sudo@": trunk}, keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"sudo": k}}
+	lines, err := switchList(ctx, inv, reads)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	got := map[string]string{}
+	for _, l := range lines {
+		got[l.Module] = l.Verdict
+	}
+	if got["sudo"] != switchUnmoved || got["mesh-host"] != switchUnknown {
+		t.Fatalf("A13: the switch's list is %+v", lines)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/key_takein_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,231 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// keyBuckets is the builder's and the indexer's buckets as a take-in reads them, for a test: keys by module, manifests by
+// digest.
+type keyBuckets struct {
+	keys      map[string]builderkeys.Key
+	manifests map[string]string
+}
+
+func (k keyBuckets) Build(_ context.Context, module, fp string) (builderkeys.Key, error) {
+	if key, ok := k.keys[module]; ok && key.Fingerprint == fp {
+		return key, nil
+	}
+	return builderkeys.Key{Module: module, Fingerprint: fp}, nil
+}
+
+func (k keyBuckets) Manifest(_ context.Context, digest string) (sdkdelivery.Manifest, error) {
+	raw, ok := k.manifests[digest]
+	if !ok {
+		return sdkdelivery.Manifest{}, errors.New("the indexer holds no manifest " + digest)
+	}
+	return sdkdelivery.Manifest{Module: "x", JSON: raw}, nil
+}
+
+const keyFP = "src2:" + "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+
+// aKeyOf is a done key of module x at keyFP for the manifest raw, with these artifacts.
+func aKeyOf(raw string, revision uint64, made ...sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact) (keyBuckets, sdkdelivery.Module) {
+	digest := sdkdelivery.ManifestDigest([]byte(raw))
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: "x", Fingerprint: keyFP, Found: true, Revision: revision,
+		Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, By: "ace", Manifest: digest, Artifacts: made}}
+	trunk := sdkdelivery.Module{FP2: keyFP, Manifest: digest, Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "c0ffee0123456789",
+		Path: "modules/x"}
+	return keyBuckets{keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"x": k}, manifests: map[string]string{digest: raw}}, trunk
+}
+
+const tsBundle = `{"module":"x","version":"1","tools":["x_read"],
+  "build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"tools","kind":"bundle","language":"typescript","entrypoints":["dist/index.js"]},
+    {"name":"img","kind":"image","from":"Dockerfile","context":{"repository":"novox/other","seat":"git"}}]},
+  "resources":[{"id":"run","type":"container","artifact":"img"}]}`
+
+func shaOf(b string) string {
+	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(b))
+	return "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+}
+
+// A3 (ADR 0498 §8, ADR 0501 §1): a done key whose every artifact names a reference is one recorded build, its artifacts
+// the key's, its launchers by the build modules' rule, its reads from its manifest, the bases its last build stood on
+// carried; recorded twice it is one record.
+func TestADoneKeyIsOneRecordedBuildOfItsArtifacts(t *testing.T) {
+	keys, trunk := aKeyOf(tsBundle, 3,
+		sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "tools", Kind: "bundle", Digest: shaOf("t"),
+			Reference: "artifact-store://x/tools/blobs/" + shaOf("t")},
+		sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "img", Kind: "image", Digest: shaOf("i"),
+			Reference: "artifact-store://x/img@" + shaOf("i")})
+	previous := []inventory.Build{{ID: "build-1", Module: "x", Against: []string{"artifact-store://base@sha256:aa"}}}
+	take := keyTake{Module: "x", Trunk: trunk}
+	kept, resolved, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keys, take, keyContext{previous: previous})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if kept.ID != "key-1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111-3" {
+		t.Errorf("the record's id is %s", kept.ID)
+	}
+	again, _, _ := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keys, take, keyContext{previous: previous})
+	if again.ID != kept.ID {
+		t.Errorf("one key recorded twice is two records: %s and %s", kept.ID, again.ID)
+	}
+	if kept.SourceFingerprint != keyFP || kept.Commit != trunk.Commit || kept.Path != "modules/x" || kept.On != "ace" ||
+		kept.Module != "x" || kept.Repository != "novox/mesh-catalog" {
+		t.Errorf("the record: %+v", kept)
+	}
+	if len(kept.Made) != 2 || kept.Made[0].Reference != "artifact-store://x/tools/blobs/"+shaOf("t") ||
+		kept.Made[1].Reference != "artifact-store://x/img@"+shaOf("i") || kept.Made[1].Kind != "image" {
+		t.Errorf("Made is not the key's artifacts: %+v", kept.Made)
+	}
+	if len(kept.Read) != 1 || kept.Read[0].Repository != "novox/other" {
+		t.Errorf("Read is not the manifest's contexts: %+v", kept.Read)
+	}
+	if kept.Sources != nil || kept.Mirrored != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a key's record says build sources or mirrored bases it cannot know: %+v %+v", kept.Sources, kept.Mirrored)
+	}
+	if len(kept.Against) != 1 || kept.Against[0] != "artifact-store://base@sha256:aa" {
+		t.Errorf("the bases the last build stood on are not carried: %v", kept.Against)
+	}
+	if len(resolved.Bundles) != 1 || resolved.Bundles[0].Launchers["dist/index.js"] != "dist/index.serve.mjs" {
+		t.Errorf("the bundle's launchers: %+v", resolved.Bundles)
+	}
+	var m map[string]any
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(kept.Manifest, &m); err != nil || !strings.Contains(string(kept.Manifest), shaOf("i")) {
+		t.Errorf("the recorded manifest names no image digest: %s", kept.Manifest)
+	}
+}
+
+// A3 (ADR 0498 §8): a key with an artifact naming no reference, a key not done and a missing key are waited for, said;
+// a failed key fails in the builder's words; a module with no fingerprint of the new form waits, naming why.
+func TestAKeyNotReadyWaitsAndAFailedKeyFails(t *testing.T) {
+	noRef, trunk := aKeyOf(tsBundle, 1,
+		sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "tools", Kind: "bundle", Digest: shaOf("t"),
+			Reference: "artifact-store://x/tools/blobs/" + shaOf("t")},
+		sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "img", Kind: "image", Digest: shaOf("i")})
+	take := keyTake{Module: "x", Trunk: trunk}
+	_, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), noRef, take, keyContext{})
+	if !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "waits for the reference of img") {
+		t.Errorf("a key without a reference: %v", err)
+	}
+	building := noRef
+	k := building.keys["x"]
+	k.Build = sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildBuilding, By: "g14"}
+	building.keys = map[string]builderkeys.Key{"x": k}
+	if _, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), building, take, keyContext{}); !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "building on g14") {
+		t.Errorf("a building key: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keyBuckets{}, take, keyContext{}); !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no build of x") {
+		t.Errorf("no key: %v", err)
+	}
+	k.Build = sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildFailed, Error: "digests differ: ace sha256:1, g14 sha256:2"}
+	failed := keyBuckets{keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"x": k}}
+	if _, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), failed, take, keyContext{}); !errors.Is(err, errKeyFailed) ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "digests differ: ace sha256:1, g14 sha256:2") {
+		t.Errorf("a failed key: %v", err)
+	}
+	none := take
+	none.Trunk.FP2, none.Trunk.None2 = "", "no lock"
+	if _, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), noRef, none, keyContext{}); !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no lock") {
+		t.Errorf("no fingerprint: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// ADR 0501 §7: a manifest word this controller does not read waits for the controller that reads it; never fails.
+func TestAManifestWordTheControllerDoesNotReadWaits(t *testing.T) {
+	raw := `{"module":"x","version":"1","not-a-word-yet":true,"build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"a","kind":"archive","from":"files"}]},
+  "resources":[{"id":"a","type":"archive","path":"/opt/x","artifact":"a"}]}`
+	keys, trunk := aKeyOf(raw, 1, sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "a", Kind: "archive", Digest: shaOf("a"),
+		Reference: "artifact-store://x/a/blobs/" + shaOf("a")})
+	_, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keys, keyTake{Module: "x", Trunk: trunk}, keyContext{})
+	if !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), `"not-a-word-yet"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("an unread word: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func packed(t *testing.T, files map[string]string) []byte {
+	t.Helper()
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	z := gzip.NewWriter(&buf)
+	w := tar.NewWriter(z)
+	for name, text := range files {
+		if err := w.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: name, Mode: 0o644, Size: int64(len(text)), Typeflag: tar.TypeReg}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if _, err := w.Write([]byte(text)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := w.Close(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := z.Close(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return buf.Bytes()
+}
+
+// A templated module's texts are read back from the archive the store holds under the key's reference; an archive the
+// store does not answer is waited for (the lead's Q1b).
+func TestATemplatedModulesTextsAreReadFromItsArchive(t *testing.T) {
+	raw := `{"module":"x","version":"1","templates":"templates",
+  "build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"templates","kind":"archive","from":"templates"}]},
+  "resources":[{"id":"main","type":"file","path":"/etc/x.conf","mode":"0644","template":"templates/x.conf"}]}`
+	body := packed(t, map[string]string{"x.conf": "listen 1\n"})
+	sum := sha256.Sum256(body)
+	digest := "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+	keys, trunk := aKeyOf(raw, 1, sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{Name: "templates", Kind: "archive", Digest: digest,
+		Reference: "artifact-store://x/templates/blobs/" + digest})
+	asked := ""
+	archive := func(_ context.Context, reference string) ([]byte, error) { asked = reference; return body, nil }
+	_, resolved, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keys, keyTake{Module: "x", Trunk: trunk}, keyContext{archive: archive})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if asked != "artifact-store://x/templates/blobs/"+digest {
+		t.Errorf("the archive asked: %q", asked)
+	}
+	if text, _ := json.Marshal(resolved.Resources); !strings.Contains(string(text), "listen 1") {
+		t.Errorf("the template's text is not in the file: %s", text)
+	}
+	gone := func(context.Context, string) ([]byte, error) { return nil, errors.New("the store does not hold it") }
+	if _, _, err := buildOfKey(t.Context(), keys, keyTake{Module: "x", Trunk: trunk}, keyContext{archive: gone}); !errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits) ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "cannot be read from the artifact store") {
+		t.Errorf("an archive the store does not answer: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// The launchers a key's bundle is resolved with are mesh-sdk's one rule (buildstep.Launchers), the names
+// mesh-build-node writes: a TypeScript bundle's entrypoint x.js runs as x.serve.mjs, a Go bundle has none.
+func TestALaunchersRuleIsTheBuildModules(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(tsBundle))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "tools", Digest: "sha256:1",
+		Reference: "artifact-store://x/tools/blobs/sha256:1"}}}}
+	built, err := builtOfKey(t.Context(), nil, m, k)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if built[0].Launchers["dist/index.js"] != "dist/index.serve.mjs" || built[0].Kind != "bundle" {
+		t.Fatalf("built: %+v", built[0])
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/main.go

@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ func run() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("no command given")
 	}
 
+	// The bus's users are composed from what each module announced it keeps (novox/hq ADR 0495, issue 1790).
+	inventory.Announcements = readAnnouncements
 	// Every connection this process dials says what it is (novox/hq issue 327).
 	broker.ConnectionName = connectionName(args[0], os.Getenv(verbVar))
 
@@ -73,8 +75,13 @@ func run() error {
 	}
 
 	switch args[0] {
-	case "build":
-		return buildCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	case "switch":
+		return switchCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	case "register":
+		return registerCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+	case "build", "rebuild":
+		// **The hand build goes with the asks** (novox/hq ADR 0501 §5): refused by name, naming the replacement.
+		return removedByName(args[0])
 	case "builder":
 		return builderCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "board":
@@ -98,14 +105,12 @@ func run() error {
 		return cancelCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "clear":
 		return clearCommand(ctx, args[1:])
-	case "rebuild":
-		return rebuildCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "replay":
 		return replayCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "kill":
 		return killCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "forget-checks":
-		return forgetChecksCommand(ctx, args[1:])
+		return removedByName("forget-checks")
 	case "try":
 		return tryCommand(ctx, args[1:])
 	case "pause", "resume":
@@ -232,8 +237,8 @@ func run() error {
 	}
 }
 
-func usage() {
-	fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, `mesh-controller — the control plane
+// usageText is the terminal's help: every command it has, and none it refuses as removed (removedByName).
+var usageText = `mesh-controller — the control plane
 
   On a node the operator types these as 'mesh-cli <command>' (in zsh, 'nox <command>'): asked
   through the node's engine, and run as the controller's terminal only on the control-node
@@ -307,15 +312,14 @@ func usage() {
   operator key make [--out <file>]          make the operator's sealing key, off the mesh; private half to the file only
   operator key set <public> [--replace]     tell the mesh which operator key to seal to
   operator key show                         the operator key, and what it can recover
-  build <repository> [--ref R]   have a build machine build it, and record what came out
-  build --behind                 build every module the mesh holds older than its source
-  build --on <module>            rebuild every module that stands on this module's artifacts, bases first
+  register <module> <owner>/<repository> <path>   register a module from a repository the catalogue does not
+                                 build, from the builder's done key of its fingerprint (ADR 0501 §4)
+  switch [--json]                the switch's list: each module, the build it runs, and what the builder holds
   builds [<module>]              what has been built lately, and what came of it
   queue [--json]                 every ask in the build queue: waiting, in flight (where, how long), dead
   cancel <id>                    drop a waiting or dead ask; recorded failed, cancelled by hand
   clear [--dead]                 cancel every waiting ask (and the dead ones); never one in flight
-  rebuild <module|build-id>      ask the module's source again, or that build's, under a new id
-  replay <build-id> [--register [--older]]   that build's commit again; a dry run unless --register
+  replay <build-id>              that build's commit again, a dry run: what a build of it makes
   kill <id>                      end a build where it runs; recorded failed, killed by hand
   pause [<node>] / resume [<node>]   the build seat's holder there, or every holder, takes nothing new / again
   plans retry <id>               ask a failed plan's failed builds again, and carry the plan on
@@ -350,10 +354,13 @@ func usage() {
   version                        what this binary is
 
 Each context reaches its own store through its own credential (novox/hq ADR 0008), named
-`+store.Variable("<context>")+` — or `+store.FileVariable("<context>")+`, naming a file that holds
+` + store.Variable("<context>") + ` — or ` + store.FileVariable("<context>") + `, naming a file that holds
 the same thing and keeps the password out of the environment. This process holds:
 
-`)
+`
+
+func usage() {
+	fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, usageText)
 	for _, c := range held {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  %-12s database %-12s from %s\n",
 			c.name, store.Database(c.name), store.Variable(c.name))
@@ -475,3 +482,26 @@ func connectionName(command, verb string) string {
 	}
 	return "mesh-controller command " + command
 }
+
+// removedByName refuses a command the controller no longer has, naming what replaced it (novox/hq ADR 0501 §4, §5;
+// ADR 0429 §18; ADR 0503 §3; issue 1851, A11, and issue 1318).
+func removedByName(command string) error {
+	replacement := map[string]string{
+		"build": "the controller asks no build (ADR 0501 §5): the builder builds every fingerprint the indexer writes, a " +
+			"module is registered from its done key, and a branch is tried with `try`; a module from a repository the " +
+			"catalogue does not build is registered at the controller's terminal with `register`",
+		"rebuild": "the controller asks no build (ADR 0501 §5): a failed key is built again by the builder as a new " +
+			"revision (ADR 0429 §18), and a walk's Retry waits for it",
+		"replay --register": "a build is registered only from the builder's done key of a trunk fingerprint (ADR 0501 " +
+			"§1, §2); `replay` without --register still shows what a build of a recorded commit makes",
+		"forget-checks": "build-agent makes no check build from R4e (ADR 0503 §3), so there is nothing to let go of",
+		"delivery-plan": "a delivery's plan is read with `delivery-order` and the checker's verdict (ADR 0503 §3)",
+	}[command]
+	return &removedCommand{msg: fmt.Sprintf("`%s` is removed: %s", command, replacement)}
+}
+
+// removedCommand is a command or verb the controller no longer has: a refusal that is the verb's whole answer, not a
+// verb of a newer build this one cannot run.
+type removedCommand struct{ msg string }
+
+func (r *removedCommand) Error() string { return r.msg }

cmd/mesh-controller/merge_gate.go

@@ -65,6 +65,9 @@ type mergeCheckInput struct {
 	// group are the other heads of a delivery group composed with this one (novox/hq ADR 0239), each laid
 	// over the mesh after the one before: the group judged as one future state.
 	group []groupChange
+	// held are the approved config values held for the keys the pull requests introduce (novox/hq ADR 0502 clause 4),
+	// laid over the composition with the change only.
+	held []heldValue
 	// admin is a PostgreSQL the gate may create and drop databases in.
 	admin string
 	// beside is the directory holding the core clones beside the check (MESH_CHECK_BESIDE), for finding moves.
@@ -189,6 +192,8 @@ func mergeGateCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		"--changed, for a list too long for an argument (novox/hq issue 1247)")
 	group := set.String("group", "", "a delivery group's other heads, as JSON [{repository, tree, changed}], composed "+
 		"with this one as one future state (novox/hq ADR 0239)")
+	heldFile := set.String("held", "", "a file of the config values approved for keys the change's pull requests introduce, as JSON "+
+		"[{pull, node, module, key, value, approved_by}], laid over the composition with the change (novox/hq ADR 0502)")
 	asJSON := set.Bool("json", false, "print the verdict as JSON")
 	if _, err := parseAround(set, args); err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -208,6 +213,10 @@ func mergeGateCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	held, err := readHeld(*heldFile)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	out := io.Writer(os.Stdout)
 	stdout := os.Stdout
 	if *asJSON {
@@ -223,7 +232,7 @@ func mergeGateCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	v, err := judgeChange(ctx, mergeCheckInput{facts: f, repository: *repository, tree: *tree, changed: changedList,
-		group: others, admin: *admin, say: out, beside: os.Getenv("MESH_CHECK_BESIDE")})
+		group: others, held: held, admin: *admin, say: out, beside: os.Getenv("MESH_CHECK_BESIDE")})
 	os.Stdout = stdout
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -387,7 +396,16 @@ func judgeChange(ctx context.Context, in mergeCheckInput) (mergeVerdict, error)
 		}
 	}
 	sort.Strings(added)
-	after, tried, notes, err := composeEveryMachine(ctx, in, change, changeSources, added)
+	// **The held values are laid in this composition only** (novox/hq ADR 0502 clause 4): the mesh as it is does not
+	// declare their keys, so the base composition would refuse them.
+	withHeld := in
+	var heldNotes []string
+	withHeld.facts, heldNotes = layHeld(in.facts, in.held, change)
+	for _, n := range heldNotes {
+		say("%s", n)
+	}
+	v.Notes = append(v.Notes, heldNotes...)
+	after, tried, notes, err := composeEveryMachine(ctx, withHeld, change, changeSources, added)
 	if err != nil {
 		return v, fmt.Errorf("the mesh with the change could not be raised: %w", err)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/merge_gate_held.go

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	snapshot "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/facts"
+)
+
+// Config values held for the keys an open pull request introduces (novox/hq ADR 0502 clause 4, issue 1826): the gate
+// lays each approved one over its module's values on its node in the composition with the change, and in that one
+// only. In the mesh as it is the key is not declared, so the value would be refused there.
+
+// heldValue is one approved held value as the build agent writes it (--held): the value of Key for Module on Node,
+// a machine's real name, which the snapshot holds only as a pseudonym.
+type heldValue struct {
+	Pull     string          `json:"pull"`
+	Head     string          `json:"head,omitempty"`
+	Node     string          `json:"node"`
+	Module   string          `json:"module"`
+	Key      string          `json:"key"`
+	Value    json.RawMessage `json:"value"`
+	Approved string          `json:"approved,omitempty"`
+	By       string          `json:"by,omitempty"`
+	At       string          `json:"at,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// readHeld reads the file --held names; none named, none held.
+func readHeld(path string) ([]heldValue, error) {
+	if path == "" {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var held []heldValue
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &held); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("the held values are not readable: %w", err)
+	}
+	for _, h := range held {
+		if h.Node == "" || h.Module == "" || h.Key == "" || len(h.Value) == 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("a held value of %s names no node, module, key or value", h.Pull)
+		}
+	}
+	return held, nil
+}
+
+// layHeld is the snapshot with each held value laid as the value of its key in its node's layer of its module, and what
+// it said of them. The snapshot given is not changed. **A held value for a machine the snapshot does not hold, or a
+// module the change does not define, is said and not laid**, never dropped silently; one for a module not assigned to
+// its machine is laid and said. The notes name machines as the snapshot does (roles and pseudonym), not by their names.
+func layHeld(f snapshot.Facts, held []heldValue, shelf map[string]catalogue.Manifest) (snapshot.Facts, []string) {
+	if len(held) == 0 {
+		return f, nil
+	}
+	out := f
+	out.Machines = make([]snapshot.Machine, len(f.Machines))
+	copy(out.Machines, f.Machines)
+	var notes, laid []string
+	pulls := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, h := range held {
+		at := -1
+		pseudonym := snapshot.Pseudonym("machine", h.Node)
+		for i, m := range out.Machines {
+			if m.Name == pseudonym {
+				at = i
+			}
+		}
+		if at < 0 {
+			notes = append(notes, fmt.Sprintf("the value held for %s of %s (%s=%s) is not composed: the snapshot holds no machine %s",
+				h.Module, h.Pull, h.Key, h.Value, pseudonym))
+			continue
+		}
+		if _, defined := shelf[h.Module]; !defined {
+			notes = append(notes, fmt.Sprintf("the value held for %s of %s (%s=%s) is not composed: the change defines no module %s",
+				h.Module, h.Pull, h.Key, h.Value, h.Module))
+			continue
+		}
+		var value any
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(h.Value, &value); err != nil {
+			notes = append(notes, fmt.Sprintf("the value held for %s of %s (%s) is not composed: it is not a value: %v",
+				h.Module, h.Pull, h.Key, err))
+			continue
+		}
+		m := &out.Machines[at]
+		layers := make([]snapshot.Settings, len(m.Settings))
+		copy(layers, m.Settings)
+		found := false
+		for i := range layers {
+			if layers[i].Module == h.Module {
+				values := make(map[string]any, len(layers[i].Values)+1)
+				for k, v := range layers[i].Values {
+					values[k] = v
+				}
+				values[h.Key] = value
+				layers[i].Values = values
+				found = true
+			}
+		}
+		if !found {
+			layers = append(layers, snapshot.Settings{Module: h.Module, Values: map[string]any{h.Key: value}})
+			sort.Slice(layers, func(a, b int) bool { return layers[a].Module < layers[b].Module })
+		}
+		m.Settings = layers
+		assigned := false
+		for _, a := range m.Assigned {
+			assigned = assigned || a == h.Module
+		}
+		by := ""
+		if h.Approved != "" {
+			by = ", approved by " + h.Approved
+		}
+		line := fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s %s=%s%s", h.Module, m.Described(), h.Key, h.Value, by)
+		if !assigned {
+			line += " (not assigned there in the snapshot)"
+		}
+		laid = append(laid, line)
+		pulls[h.Pull] = true
+	}
+	if len(laid) > 0 {
+		var names []string
+		for p := range pulls {
+			names = append(names, p)
+		}
+		sort.Strings(names)
+		notes = append([]string{fmt.Sprintf("composed with %d value(s) held for %s: %s", len(laid), strings.Join(names, ", "),
+			strings.Join(laid, "; "))}, notes...)
+	}
+	return out, notes
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/merge_gate_held_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	snapshot "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/facts"
+)
+
+func heldGateFacts() snapshot.Facts {
+	return snapshot.Facts{Machines: []snapshot.Machine{
+		{Name: snapshot.Pseudonym("machine", "ace"), Roles: []string{"the build node"}, Assigned: []string{"n8n"},
+			Settings: []snapshot.Settings{{Module: "n8n", Values: map[string]any{"port": 5678.0}}}},
+		{Name: snapshot.Pseudonym("machine", "g14")},
+	}}
+}
+
+var heldShelf = map[string]catalogue.Manifest{"n8n": {Module: "n8n"}}
+
+// 1826/AC3: a held value is laid in its node's layer of its module, beside what the layer holds, and said.
+func TestAHeldValueIsLaidOverItsNodesLayerAndSaid(t *testing.T) {
+	f := heldGateFacts()
+	got, notes := layHeld(f, []heldValue{{Pull: "novox/mesh-catalog#434", Node: "ace", Module: "n8n", Key: "media-gid",
+		Value: []byte("2000"), Approved: "the operator"}}, heldShelf)
+	layer := got.Machines[0].Settings[0].Values
+	if layer["media-gid"] != 2000.0 || layer["port"] != 5678.0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the layer holds %v", layer)
+	}
+	if _, has := f.Machines[0].Settings[0].Values["media-gid"]; has {
+		t.Fatal("the snapshot given was changed")
+	}
+	if len(notes) != 1 || !strings.Contains(notes[0], "composed with 1 value(s) held for novox/mesh-catalog#434") ||
+		!strings.Contains(notes[0], "media-gid=2000") || !strings.Contains(notes[0], "approved by the operator") ||
+		strings.Contains(notes[0], "ace") {
+		t.Fatalf("said %q", notes)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1826/AC3: a machine with no layer of the module gets one.
+func TestAHeldValueMakesTheLayerAMachineLacks(t *testing.T) {
+	got, _ := layHeld(heldGateFacts(), []heldValue{{Pull: "p", Node: "g14", Module: "n8n", Key: "k", Value: []byte(`"x"`)}}, heldShelf)
+	s := got.Machines[1].Settings
+	if len(s) != 1 || s[0].Module != "n8n" || s[0].Values["k"] != "x" {
+		t.Fatalf("layers %+v", s)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1826/AC3: a held value for a machine or a module the snapshot or the change does not hold is said, never laid.
+func TestAHeldValueForWhatIsNotHeldIsSaidNotLaid(t *testing.T) {
+	f := heldGateFacts()
+	got, notes := layHeld(f, []heldValue{
+		{Pull: "p", Node: "nowhere", Module: "n8n", Key: "k", Value: []byte("1")},
+		{Pull: "p", Node: "ace", Module: "ghost", Key: "k", Value: []byte("1")},
+	}, heldShelf)
+	if len(notes) != 2 || !strings.Contains(notes[0], "holds no machine") || !strings.Contains(notes[1], "defines no module ghost") {
+		t.Fatalf("said %q", notes)
+	}
+	if _, has := got.Machines[0].Settings[0].Values["k"]; has {
+		t.Fatal("laid")
+	}
+}
+
+// 1826/AC3: none held lays nothing and says nothing; the file is read and refuses a value without a node.
+func TestNoHeldValuesLayNothingAndTheFileIsRead(t *testing.T) {
+	if got, notes := layHeld(heldGateFacts(), nil, heldShelf); len(notes) != 0 || len(got.Machines) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v", got, notes)
+	}
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	good := filepath.Join(dir, "good.json")
+	os.WriteFile(good, []byte(`[{"pull":"p","node":"ace","module":"n8n","key":"k","value":1}]`), 0o644)
+	if h, err := readHeld(good); err != nil || len(h) != 1 || h[0].Key != "k" {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v", h, err)
+	}
+	bad := filepath.Join(dir, "bad.json")
+	os.WriteFile(bad, []byte(`[{"pull":"p","module":"n8n","key":"k","value":1}]`), 0o644)
+	if _, err := readHeld(bad); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a value without a node was read")
+	}
+	if h, err := readHeld(""); h != nil || err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%v %v", h, err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/merge_gate_integration_test.go

@@ -526,3 +526,57 @@ func TestAMemberJudgedAloneSeesAMoveThroughTheClonesBeside(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("nothing beside, yet moves %v", got)
 	}
 }
+
+// 1826/AC3 (integration level, a throwaway store): a change whose container says ${config:media-gid} fails the gate for
+// want of the value, passes it with the value the operator approved held for its pull request, and the mesh as it is
+// composes the same either way.
+func TestAChangeNeedingAHeldValueFailsWithoutItAndPassesWithIt(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	trunk := `{"module":"n8n","version":"1","resources":[{"id":"server","type":"container","name":"n8n",
+		"image":"n8nio/n8n@sha256:4846eb2f4b874ab04cde7fc1e249d2ddaec66e9aea64439beb2972cfea88e3c0"}]}`
+	m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(trunk))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, m, inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
+		Path: "modules/n8n", BuiltFrom: "c0ffee"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "n8n"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	f, err := gatherFacts(ctx, open, "2.11.17")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for i := range f.Machines {
+		f.Machines[i].Capabilities = append(f.Machines[i].Capabilities, snapshot.Capability{Name: "container-groups", Present: true})
+	}
+	tree := aTree(t, map[string]string{"n8n": n8nWithAGroup})
+	judge := func(held []heldValue) mergeVerdict {
+		v, err := judgeChange(t.Context(), mergeCheckInput{facts: f, admin: os.Getenv("MESH_TEST_POSTGRES"),
+			repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", tree: tree, changed: []string{"modules/n8n/module.json"}, held: held})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		return v
+	}
+	without := judge(nil)
+	if without.Verdict != "fail" || !strings.Contains(without.Report(), "media-gid") {
+		t.Fatalf("a required value nothing sets passed, or failed for another reason:\n%s", without.Report())
+	}
+	with := judge([]heldValue{{Pull: "novox/mesh-catalog#434", Node: "laptop", Module: "n8n", Key: "media-gid",
+		Value: []byte("2000"), Approved: "the operator"}})
+	if with.Verdict == "fail" || with.Verdict == "error" {
+		t.Fatalf("the held value did not make it compose:\n%s", with.Report())
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(with.Report(), "composed with 1 value(s) held for novox/mesh-catalog#434") {
+		t.Fatalf("the value laid is not said:\n%s", with.Report())
+	}
+	for i := range with.Machines {
+		if with.Machines[i].Base.Composes != without.Machines[i].Base.Composes {
+			t.Fatalf("the mesh as it is composes differently with a held value: %+v / %+v", with.Machines[i].Base, without.Machines[i].Base)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/mesh_for_test.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/overlay"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/licences"
@@ -55,9 +56,18 @@ func aMeshOnTheStore(t *testing.T) *stores {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	t.Cleanup(open.Close)
+	// The work this mesh started in the background ends before its stores close (cleanups run last first).
+	t.Cleanup(background.Wait)
 	// A condition store of its own, held in memory (novox/hq to-be 45 §2): status leads with what is
 	// open, and a mesh with no bus would otherwise read as one whose conditions cannot be read.
 	withConditionsInMemory(t)
+	// The indexer holds no module unless a test puts one on its bus (aBuilderOnTheBus): an assignment's look at it
+	// reads "not held" on a mesh with no bus of its own.
+	wasIndexed := indexedModule
+	indexedModule = func(context.Context, string) (sdkdelivery.Module, bool, error) {
+		return sdkdelivery.Module{}, false, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { indexedModule = wasIndexed })
 	for _, m := range provided {
 		if err := open.inventory.Provide(t.Context(), m); err != nil {
 			t.Fatal(err)

cmd/mesh-controller/moved.go

@@ -52,23 +52,22 @@ type deliveryMerge struct {
 	Asker string `json:"asker,omitempty"`
 }
 
-// askerOf is the asker whose warrant the merge is read under: the one the announcement names, mesh-delivery when it
-// names none.
-func (d deliveryMerge) askerOf() string {
-	if d.Asker == "" {
-		return theDelivery
-	}
-	return d.Asker
-}
+// askerOf is the asker whose warrant the merge is read under: the one the announcement names. One that names none is
+// from mesh-delivery of before the gate, whose warrant is no longer taken (novox/hq ADR 0450 §8; issue 1318).
+func (d deliveryMerge) askerOf() string { return d.Asker }
 
-// askerAccepted is whether the controller takes a warrant from this asker for a merge: the teller, and mesh-delivery
-// until the gate takes the seat over (novox/hq ADR 0437 §6). Any other registers no move.
+// askerAccepted is whether the controller takes a warrant from this asker for a merge: the teller alone, since the gate
+// took the delivery seat over (novox/hq ADR 0437 §6, ADR 0450 §8; issue 1318). Any other registers no move.
 func askerAccepted(asker string) error {
-	if asker == theDelivery || asker == sdkdelivery.TellerModule {
+	if asker == sdkdelivery.TellerModule {
 		return nil
 	}
-	return fmt.Errorf("the merge names the asker %q, and the controller takes a warrant only from %s and %s",
-		asker, sdkdelivery.TellerModule, theDelivery)
+	if asker == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the merge names no asker, as mesh-delivery's of before the gate did, and the controller takes "+
+			"a warrant only from %s (ADR 0450 §8)", sdkdelivery.TellerModule)
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("the merge names the asker %q, and the controller takes a warrant only from %s (ADR 0450 §8)",
+		asker, sdkdelivery.TellerModule)
 }
 
 // parseDeliveryMerge reads an announcement, refusing one that names no pull request, head or ask.
@@ -265,25 +264,32 @@ var errNotAMerge = errors.New("the build is not of a merge")
 // (ADR 0420 §7): the build is of a merge, that merge is a pull request mesh-delivery announced it made, and the
 // ask it made it on holds an Approve by the operator of that head. Answers why it was accepted; an error says why
 // it was not, and the refusal of ADR 0266 stands.
-func approvedMove(ctx context.Context, inv registrations, forms *sourceForms, buildID string,
+func approvedMove(ctx context.Context, inv registrations, forms *sourceForms, ask registrationAsk,
 	built inventory.Source) (string, error) {
-	r, found, err := inv.BuildRequestByID(ctx, buildID)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
+	commit := ask.Merge
+	if ask.Build != "" {
+		r, found, err := inv.BuildRequestByID(ctx, ask.Build)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+		if !found || r.For != "merge" || r.Commit == "" {
+			return "", errNotAMerge
+		}
+		commit = r.Commit
 	}
-	if !found || r.For != "merge" || r.Commit == "" {
+	if commit == "" {
 		return "", errNotAMerge
 	}
 	owner, name, onForge := forms.onTheForge(built.Repository, built.Seat)
 	if !onForge {
 		return "", errors.New("the repository is not on the mesh's forge")
 	}
-	merged, known, err := inv.MergeOf(ctx, owner+"/"+name, r.Commit)
+	merged, known, err := inv.MergeOf(ctx, owner+"/"+name, commit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
 	}
 	if !known {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the controller kept no merge of %s/%s at %.8s", owner, name, r.Commit)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("the controller kept no merge of %s/%s at %.8s", owner, name, commit)
 	}
 	return approvedAnnounced(ctx, inv, owner, name, announcedOf(merged))
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/moved_asker_test.go

@@ -48,18 +48,19 @@ func TestAMergeNamingTheTellerIsMovedOnTheTellersWarrant(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// 1213/AC2: an announcement naming mesh-delivery, or none (today's module): read under mesh-delivery, registered.
-func TestAMergeNamingNoAskerIsMovedOnMeshDeliverysWarrant(t *testing.T) {
+// 1318 (ADR 0450 §8): a merge naming no asker, or the asker mesh-delivery of before the gate, registers no move; the
+// teller's is taken, and its warrant read under its name.
+func TestAMergeOfMeshDeliveryOrNoAskerMovesNothing(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, named := range []string{"", theDelivery} {
 		a := askedBy(t, named, theDelivery)
-		if _, err := movedOnApprove(a.merge, &a.ask, &a.warrant); err != nil {
-			t.Errorf("asker %q: refused: %v", named, err)
+		if _, err := movedOnApprove(a.merge, &a.ask, &a.warrant); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "ADR 0450 §8") {
+			t.Errorf("asker %q: %v", named, err)
 		}
 	}
 	was := routerAskOf
 	wasKept := keptDeliveryMerge
 	t.Cleanup(func() { routerAskOf, keptDeliveryMerge = was, wasKept })
-	a := askedBy(t, "", theDelivery)
+	a := askedBy(t, sdkdelivery.TellerModule, sdkdelivery.TellerModule)
 	keptDeliveryMerge = func(context.Context, string, string, int, string) (deliveryMerge, bool, error) {
 		return a.merge, true, nil
 	}
@@ -71,8 +72,8 @@ func TestAMergeNamingNoAskerIsMovedOnMeshDeliverysWarrant(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := approvedAnnounced(t.Context(), nil, "novox", "mesh-controller", announcedPull(7, a.merge.HeadSHA)); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if readUnder != theDelivery {
-		t.Errorf("with no asker named the warrant was read under %q, not %q", readUnder, theDelivery)
+	if readUnder != sdkdelivery.TellerModule {
+		t.Errorf("the warrant was read under %q, not %q", readUnder, sdkdelivery.TellerModule)
 	}
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/moved_bus_test.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ func TestAModuleBuiltFromANewRepositoryIsRegisteredOnlyOnTheOperatorsApproveOnTh
 			a.merge.Owner, a.merge.Repo, a.merge.Number = "novox", "mesh-host", 7
 			if c.answer {
 				record, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"state": "closed", "ask": a.ask, "warrant": a.warrant})
-				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, theDelivery+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
+				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, sdkdelivery.TellerModule+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
 					t.Fatal(err)
 				}
 			}

cmd/mesh-controller/moved_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ func approvedMerge(t *testing.T) anApprovedMerge {
 	heads := map[string]string{"novox/mesh-controller@aaaaaaaaaaaa": "a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1",
 		"novox/mesh-catalog@bbbbbbbbbbbb": "b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2b2"}
 	m := deliveryMerge{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 7, HeadSHA: "a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1",
-		Group: "g1", AskID: "merge-g1", Option: optionApprove, Heads: heads}
+		Group: "g1", AskID: "merge-g1", Option: optionApprove, Heads: heads, Asker: sdkdelivery.TellerModule}
 	bind := func(option string, h map[string]string) string {
 		d, err := asks.ActDigest(mergeAct(m.AskID, option, h))
 		if err != nil {
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ func approvedMerge(t *testing.T) anApprovedMerge {
 		Options: []asks.Option{
 			{ID: optionApprove, Label: "Approve", Does: "merges the group", Level: asks.Approve, Binds: bind(optionApprove, heads)},
 			{ID: "decline", Label: "Decline", Does: "leaves it", Level: asks.Approve, Binds: bind("decline", heads)}}}
-	w := asks.Warrant{Ask: m.AskID, Asker: theDelivery, Outcome: asks.OutcomeChosen, Option: optionApprove, Label: "Approve",
+	w := asks.Warrant{Ask: m.AskID, Asker: sdkdelivery.TellerModule, Outcome: asks.OutcomeChosen, Option: optionApprove, Label: "Approve",
 		Level: asks.Approve, By: &asks.Person{Who: asks.Operator, Kind: "telegram", Identity: "1", Verified: "user id"},
 		At: at, AskDigest: ask.Digest()}
 	return anApprovedMerge{merge: m, ask: ask, warrant: w}

cmd/mesh-controller/new_head_words_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+)
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0505 §5: a delivery whose cure is its author's new head reaches the operator in words that name its
+// author and say a new head is needed, offer no Stop and never call it the operator's; the line as mesh-delivery-gate
+// says it (ready.go readyLines: needs "new-head", author, branch).
+func TestADeliveryThatNeedsANewHeadNamesItsAuthorAndOffersNoStop(t *testing.T) {
+	l := stalledLine{ID: "novox/mesh-controller@499ff5c21861", Number: 432, State: "rejected", For: "2h1m0s", Bound: "2h0m0s",
+		H2: "none: a new head from its author, or a recheck that passes", Needs: needsNewHead,
+		Author: "the author of feat/quiet-deliveries (quiet-deliveries on shanks)", Branch: "feat/quiet-deliveries",
+		Says: "novox/mesh-controller#432 passed its checks at 499ff5c21861 and is not merged: a conflict"}
+	o := stalledObservations([]stalledLine{l})[0]
+	for _, words := range []string{o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Resolved, o.Needs} {
+		if why, ok := conditions.Plain(words); !ok {
+			t.Errorf("%q is not plain: %s", words, why)
+		}
+		for _, never := range []string{"stop it", "operator's"} {
+			if strings.Contains(words, never) {
+				t.Errorf("%q says %q", words, never)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if o.Headline != "Pull request 432 of mesh-controller needs a new head from its author" ||
+		!strings.Contains(o.Explanation, "until the author of feat/quiet-deliveries (quiet-deliveries on shanks) pushes a new head") ||
+		!strings.Contains(o.Explanation, "for 2 hours") || len(o.Actions) != 0 ||
+		o.Needs != "ask the author of feat/quiet-deliveries (quiet-deliveries on shanks) for a new head." {
+		t.Fatalf("words: %q / %q / %q / %v", o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Needs, o.Actions)
+	}
+	// A branch in code is not said; the author is then "its author".
+	l.Author = "the author of fix/a1b2c3d4e5f6"
+	if o := stalledObservations([]stalledLine{l})[0]; !strings.Contains(o.Needs, "ask its author") {
+		t.Fatalf("a dotted branch was said: %q", o.Needs)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/new_module_approved_test.go

@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ func TestANewModuleIsRegisteredOnTheOperatorsApproveOfItsMergeAndRefusedOtherwis
 			if c.built != nil {
 				src = *c.built
 			}
-			id, err := mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, forms, "mesh-delivery-view", src, "build-1", "", "main")
+			id, err := mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, forms, "mesh-delivery-view", src, byBuild("build-1"), "", "main")
 			switch {
 			case c.accepted && err != nil:
 				t.Fatalf("%s: the Approved merge's new module was refused: %v", c.ac, err)
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func TestASecondNewModuleFromARepositoryIsJudgedAlongsideAndAsksNoWarrant(t *tes
 		request: inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-2", Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git", For: "build"}}}
 	forms := &sourceForms{bases: map[string]string{}, base: func(string) string { return "http://forge.internal:20000" }}
 	built := inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-delivery", Seat: "git"}
-	if id, err := mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, forms, "mesh-delivery-watchman", built, "build-2", "", "main"); err != nil || id == 0 {
+	if id, err := mayRegisterIn(t.Context(), mesh, forms, "mesh-delivery-watchman", built, byBuild("build-2"), "", "main"); err != nil || id == 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("1146/AC5: a second module from a repository the catalogue builds from was refused (id %d): %v", id, err)
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/new_module_asked_once_test.go

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"reflect"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-)
-
-// 1617/AC2 (unit): a new module whose first build a merge's hearing asked is not asked again when its batch is cut,
-// and one whose ask failed, was never handed over or is long lost is.
-func TestAModuleWhoseBuildIsComingIsNotAskedAgain(t *testing.T) {
-	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
-	source := buildSource{Repository: "http://forge/novox/mesh-catalog.git", Seat: "git"}
-	asked := func(path string, mod func(*inventory.RequestOutcome)) inventory.RequestOutcome {
-		r := inventory.RequestOutcome{BuildRequest: inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "b-" + path, Repository: source.Repository,
-			Seat: "git", Path: path, For: "merge", At: now.Add(-3 * time.Minute)}}
-		if mod != nil {
-			mod(&r)
-		}
-		return r
-	}
-	requests := []inventory.RequestOutcome{
-		asked("modules/go", nil),
-		asked("modules/failed", func(r *inventory.RequestOutcome) { r.Heard, r.Failed = true, "no module.json" }),
-		asked("modules/notasked", func(r *inventory.RequestOutcome) { r.NotAsked = "the bus is silent" }),
-		asked("modules/lost", func(r *inventory.RequestOutcome) { r.At = now.Add(-2 * time.Hour) }),
-		asked("modules/byhand", func(r *inventory.RequestOutcome) { r.For = "build" }),
-	}
-	got := unaskedDirs([]string{"modules/go", "modules/failed", "modules/notasked", "modules/lost", "modules/byhand",
-		"modules/nodejs"}, requests, source, now)
-	want := []string{"modules/failed", "modules/notasked", "modules/lost", "modules/byhand", "modules/nodejs"}
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
-		t.Fatalf("asked again %v, want %v", got, want)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/new_module_bus_test.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -69,7 +70,7 @@ func TestANewModuleFromANewRepositoryIsRegisteredOnlyOnTheOperatorsApproveOnTheB
 				map[string]string{"novox/mesh-delivery@a1a1a1a1a1a1": "a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1a1"})
 			if c.answer {
 				record, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"state": "closed", "ask": a.ask, "warrant": a.warrant})
-				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, theDelivery+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
+				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, sdkdelivery.TellerModule+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
 					t.Fatal(err)
 				}
 			}

cmd/mesh-controller/new_module_on_merge_test.go

@@ -4,134 +4,110 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"sync"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
-// asksWithPaths records every build a merge asks for, as repository, path and ref. The merge window's goroutine and
-// the test's own may ask at once, so the record is written under a lock (issue 1543).
-func asksWithPaths(t *testing.T) *[][3]string {
-	t.Helper()
-	var asked [][3]string
-	var mu sync.Mutex
-	was := askABuild
-	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, path, ref string) (string, error) {
-		mu.Lock()
-		defer mu.Unlock()
-		asked = append(asked, [3]string{source.Repository, path, ref})
-		return "b-" + path, nil
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
-	return &asked
-}
-
-// The live case of 2026-10-07 (novox/hq issue 300), replayed: a merge of the catalogue adds one module's
-// directory and touches nothing else the mesh holds. Its delivery plan said "builds new: …, sent nowhere";
-// the merge said it changed nothing any module the mesh holds is built from, and built nothing, so the
-// module was never registered and `assign` refused it. The merge asks for its build, at the branch merged
-// into, from the repository as the mesh spells it — and opens no plan, since nothing it holds moved.
-func TestAMergeBuildsTheNewModuleItAdds(t *testing.T) {
+// ADR 0501 §6 (issue 1851, A5): the live case of 2026-10-07 (novox/hq issue 300), on keys. A merge of the catalogue adds
+// one module's directory and touches nothing else the mesh holds: nothing asks its first build, it opens no plan, and
+// the module is registered from the builder's first done key of it, assigned nowhere, with no build request written.
+func TestAMergeAddingAModuleEndsRegisteredFromItsKeyAndAsksNoBuild(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
-	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
+	noBuildAsked(t)
+	b := aBuilderOnTheBus(t)
 	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "networkmanager", Version: "1"},
 		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Path: "modules/networkmanager", Ref: "main",
 			BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: "3da80a4b00",
+	watching, stop := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	t.Cleanup(stop)
+	watchNewModules(watching, open)
+
+	const commit = "3da80a4b00000000"
+	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: commit,
 		Paths:      []string{"modules/systemd-resolved/module.json", "modules/systemd-resolved/cmd/main.go"},
 		ModuleDirs: []string{"modules/systemd-resolved"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
 	if err := (following{open: open}).SourceMoved(ctx, m); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	want := [3]string{"novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/systemd-resolved", "main"}
-	if len(*asked) != 1 || (*asked)[0] != want {
-		t.Fatalf("the merge adding modules/systemd-resolved asked for %v, not %v", *asked, want)
-	}
 	if plans, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx); err != nil || len(plans) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("a merge moving nothing the mesh holds opened a plan: %+v %v", plans, err)
 	}
+	// The indexer writes the module's trunk value; the builder builds it, then its key is done.
+	fp := fpOf('7')
+	manifest := b.indexed(t, "systemd-resolved", "1", "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/systemd-resolved", commit, fp)
+	b.built(t, "systemd-resolved", "1", fp, manifest, sdkdelivery.BuildBuilding)
+	time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+	if _, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "systemd-resolved"); known {
+		t.Fatal("0501 §1: registered from a key still building")
+	}
+	if obs := newModuleObservations(time.Now().Add(time.Hour)); len(obs) != 1 || obs[0].Kind != kindNewModuleWaits {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §6: the new module waiting on its key past its bound is named by %+v", obs)
+	}
+	b.built(t, "systemd-resolved", "1", fp, manifest, sdkdelivery.BuildDone)
+	becomes(t, 10*time.Second, "the new module registered", func() bool {
+		_, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "systemd-resolved")
+		return known
+	})
+	// The take-in forgets the wait just after the registration it made is seen.
+	becomes(t, 5*time.Second, "the registered module no longer named waiting", func() bool {
+		return len(newModuleObservations(time.Now().Add(time.Hour))) == 0
+	})
+	requests, err := inv.RequestsNamed(ctx, inventory.BuildRequest{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
+		Path: "modules/systemd-resolved"}.Name())
+	if err != nil || len(requests) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §6: a build request was written: %+v (%v)", requests, err)
+	}
 }
 
-// A merge that changes a held module and adds a new one does both: the held one walks its plan, the new
-// one is asked for beside it. A merge adding nothing builds nothing new.
-func TestAMergeBuildsItsNewModuleBesideItsPlan(t *testing.T) {
+// ADR 0501 §7: a new module whose manifest uses a word this controller does not read is named waiting at once, never
+// failed, and registered from the same key, with no second build, when a controller that reads it looks.
+func TestANewModuleWithAnUnreadWordWaitsForTheControllerThatReadsIt(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
-	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
-	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "app", Version: "1"},
-		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Path: "modules/app", Ref: "main",
+	noBuildAsked(t)
+	b := aBuilderOnTheBus(t)
+	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "networkmanager", Version: "1"},
+		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Path: "modules/networkmanager", Ref: "main",
 			BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: "c1aaaaaaaa",
-		Paths:      []string{"modules/app/index.ts", "modules/fresh/module.json"},
-		ModuleDirs: []string{"modules/app", "modules/fresh"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
-	if err := (following{open: open}).SourceMoved(ctx, m); err != nil {
+	fp := fpOf('8')
+	raw := `{"module":"watchman","version":"1","not-a-word-yet":"5m","build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"a","kind":"archive","from":"files"}]},` +
+		`"resources":[{"id":"a","type":"archive","path":"/opt/watchman","artifact":"a"}]}`
+	digest := sdkdelivery.ManifestDigest([]byte(raw))
+	value, _ := sdkdelivery.EncodeManifest(sdkdelivery.Manifest{Module: "watchman", JSON: raw})
+	if _, err := b.manifests.Put(ctx, digest, value); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	paths := map[string]bool{}
-	for _, a := range *asked {
-		paths[a[1]] = true
-	}
-	if !paths["modules/fresh"] || !paths["modules/app"] || len(*asked) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("asked %v; want the new module and the plan's first tier", *asked)
-	}
-	plans, err := inv.OpenPlans(ctx)
-	if err != nil || len(plans) != 1 || plans[0].Modules["fresh"] != nil || plans[0].Modules["app"] == nil {
-		t.Fatalf("the plan should walk app alone: %+v %v", plans, err)
-	}
-
-	*asked = nil
-	m2 := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: "c2aaaaaaaa",
-		Paths: []string{"README.md"}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
-	if err := (following{open: open}).SourceMoved(ctx, m2); err != nil {
+	trunk, _ := sdkdelivery.EncodeModule(sdkdelivery.Module{FP: "src1:" + fp[5:], FP2: fp, Manifest: digest,
+		Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "4444444400000000", Path: "modules/watchman"})
+	if _, err := b.modules.Put(ctx, "watchman", trunk); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if len(*asked) != 0 {
-		t.Fatalf("a merge adding no module asked for %v", *asked)
+	b.built(t, "watchman", "1", fp, digest, sdkdelivery.BuildDone)
+	takeNewModules(ctx, open, "watchman")
+	if _, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "watchman"); known {
+		t.Fatal("0501 §7: a manifest with an unread word was registered")
 	}
-}
-
-// 1617/AC1 (integration): a merge adding a module to a repository the mesh builds modules from, heard while a batch of
-// that repository is still assembling (its window running), asks the module's first build when it is heard, so the
-// module is registered while the batch waits; cutting the batch asks it no second time (1617/AC2).
-func TestAMergeAddingAModuleAsksItsBuildBeforeItsBatchIsCut(t *testing.T) {
-	open := windowed(t)
-	groupsWaiting(t, "pr/c1")
-	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
-	catalog := func(commit string, made time.Time, paths ...string) link.SourceMoved {
-		return link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: commit,
-			Head: "pr/" + commit, MergedAt: made.Format(time.RFC3339Nano), Paths: paths}
+	obs := newModuleObservations(time.Now())
+	if len(obs) != 1 || obs[0].Kind != kindNewModuleWaits || !strings.Contains(obs[0].Summary, `"not-a-word-yet"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("0501 §7: the module waiting for a reader of its word is named by %+v", obs)
 	}
-	hear(t, open, catalog("c1", t0, "modules/app/index.ts"), t0)
-	if len(*asked) != 0 {
-		t.Fatalf("a merge adding no module asked %v", *asked)
-	}
-	hear(t, open, lone(catalog("c2", t0.Add(10*time.Second), "modules/go/packages.json", "modules/go/module.json")), t0.Add(10*time.Second))
-	if ws, bs := walks(t, open); len(ws) != 0 || len(bs) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("the batch should still be assembling: %d walk(s), %d batch(es)", len(ws), len(bs))
-	}
-	want := [3]string{"novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/go", "main"}
-	if len(*asked) != 1 || (*asked)[0] != want {
-		t.Fatalf("heard with its batch assembling, the merge asked %v, not %v", *asked, want)
-	}
-	cutAt(t, open, t0.Add(10*time.Second+90*time.Second))
-	n := 0
-	for _, a := range *asked {
-		if a[1] == "modules/go" {
-			n++
+	builds, _ := inv.Builds(ctx, "watchman", 5)
+	for _, b := range builds {
+		if !b.Worked() {
+			t.Fatalf("0501 §7: a failed build was recorded: %+v", b)
 		}
 	}
-	if n != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("modules/go was asked %d times: %v", n, *asked)
-	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/new_modules.go

@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A new module is registered from its first done key (novox/hq ADR 0501 §1, §6; issue 1851, A5).
+//
+// Nothing asks a new module's first build: the builder builds every fingerprint the indexer writes, a new module's
+// included (ADR 0429 §5). The controller registers a module the catalogue does not hold from the builder's done key of the
+// fingerprint the indexer's trunk value names, under the same rules of who may register as before (ADR 0501 §3): from a
+// repository the catalogue builds another module from, or on the operator's Approve of the merge the trunk value names
+// (a first merge, kept with mesh-delivery's word), or at the terminal (ADR 0501 §4). It is assigned nowhere.
+//
+// **No timer** (ADR 0426): a write of the builder or the indexer wakes it for that module (builderkeys.Watch), a first
+// merge's word wakes it for that repository, and a controller that starts looks at every module once (ADR 0501 §7: a
+// manifest the controller before could not read is registered when the controller that reads it runs).
+
+// newModulesMu keeps one take-in of new modules at a time in this process.
+var newModulesMu sync.Mutex
+
+// newModuleWait is a new module the controller could not register yet, and why: what the first-builds condition names.
+type newModuleWait struct {
+	Module, Repository, Commit, Why string
+	// Word is the manifest word this controller does not read, when that is why (ADR 0501 §7).
+	Word  string
+	Since time.Time
+}
+
+// newModulesWaiting are the new modules waiting, by module, in this process: a restart looks at every module again.
+var newModulesWaiting = struct {
+	sync.Mutex
+	by map[string]newModuleWait
+}{by: map[string]newModuleWait{}}
+
+// takeNewModules looks at the modules the indexer holds that the catalogue does not, all of them or those named, and
+// registers each whose done key may register it. Each outcome is said once: a module still waiting for the same reason
+// is not said again.
+func takeNewModules(ctx context.Context, open *stores, only ...string) {
+	newModulesMu.Lock()
+	defer newModulesMu.Unlock()
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("new modules: the builder's keys cannot be read: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	defer closeKeys()
+	for _, module := range takeNewModulesWith(ctx, open.inventory, keys, only...) {
+		// An assignment waiting for it is made now (ADR 0501 §6; issue 1851, A10).
+		for _, line := range settlePendingOnKey(ctx, open, module) {
+			fmt.Println(line)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// takeNewModulesWith is takeNewModules on the buckets handed in; it answers the modules it registered.
+func takeNewModulesWith(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, keys newModuleReads, only ...string) []string {
+	entries, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("new modules: the catalogue cannot be read: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; nothing is registered this time, and the next write of a key looks again
+		return nil
+	}
+	held := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		held[e.Manifest.Module] = true
+	}
+	values, unread, err := keys.Modules(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("new modules: the indexer's modules cannot be read: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; nothing is registered this time, and the next write of a key looks again
+		return nil
+	}
+	for module, err := range unread {
+		if !held[module] && (len(only) == 0 || slices.Contains(only, module)) {
+			sayNewModuleWait(newModuleWait{Module: module, Why: "the indexer's value of it cannot be read: " + err.Error()})
+		}
+	}
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(values))
+	for module := range values {
+		if !held[module] && (len(only) == 0 || slices.Contains(only, module)) {
+			names = append(names, module)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	var registered []string
+	for _, module := range names {
+		v := values[module]
+		_, _, err := takeInKey(ctx, inv, keys, keyTake{Module: module, Trunk: v, Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: v.Commit}})
+		switch {
+		case err == nil:
+			forgetNewModuleWait(module)
+			registered = append(registered, module)
+			fmt.Printf("%s is new in %s at %.8s: registered from the builder's done key, assigned nowhere\n", module,
+				v.Repository, v.Commit)
+		case errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits):
+			w := newModuleWait{Module: module, Repository: v.Repository, Commit: v.Commit, Why: err.Error()}
+			if word := wordIn(err.Error()); word != "" {
+				w.Word = word
+			}
+			sayNewModuleWait(w)
+		default:
+			sayNewModuleWait(newModuleWait{Module: module, Repository: v.Repository, Commit: v.Commit,
+				Why: "not registered: " + err.Error()})
+		}
+	}
+	return registered
+}
+
+// newModuleReads is what the take-in of new modules reads of the builder and the indexer.
+type newModuleReads interface {
+	keyReads
+	Modules(ctx context.Context) (map[string]sdkdelivery.Module, map[string]error, error)
+}
+
+var _ newModuleReads = builderkeys.Reader{}
+
+// wordIn is the manifest word a take-in's words say this controller does not read.
+func wordIn(said string) string {
+	_, rest, ok := strings.Cut(said, "uses the word \"")
+	if !ok {
+		return ""
+	}
+	word, _, _ := strings.Cut(rest, "\"")
+	return word
+}
+
+// sayNewModuleWait keeps a new module waiting and says it, once for each reason.
+func sayNewModuleWait(w newModuleWait) {
+	newModulesWaiting.Lock()
+	defer newModulesWaiting.Unlock()
+	was, known := newModulesWaiting.by[w.Module]
+	if known && was.Why == w.Why && was.Commit == w.Commit {
+		return
+	}
+	w.Since = time.Now().UTC()
+	if known && was.Commit == w.Commit {
+		w.Since = was.Since
+	}
+	newModulesWaiting.by[w.Module] = w
+	fmt.Printf("%s is new at %.8s and not registered yet: %s\n", w.Module, w.Commit, firstLine(w.Why))
+}
+
+func forgetNewModuleWait(module string) {
+	newModulesWaiting.Lock()
+	defer newModulesWaiting.Unlock()
+	delete(newModulesWaiting.by, module)
+}
+
+// kindNewModuleWaits is what a new module waiting for this controller's reader of its manifest, or waiting past its
+// bound, raises (ADR 0501 §6, §7: the first-builds condition reads the key, not a build request).
+const kindNewModuleWaits = "new-module-waits"
+
+// newModuleWaitBound is how long a new module waits for its key before it is said: the builder builds a fingerprint in
+// minutes. Not a delay: its key's write registers it the moment it is done.
+const newModuleWaitBound = 30 * time.Minute
+
+// newModuleObservations names the new modules waiting: one whose manifest uses a word this controller does not read at
+// once (nothing is lost, but the operator sees what waits for which controller), any other past the bound.
+func newModuleObservations(now time.Time) []conditions.Observation {
+	newModulesWaiting.Lock()
+	defer newModulesWaiting.Unlock()
+	var out []conditions.Observation
+	for _, w := range newModulesWaiting.by {
+		if w.Word == "" && now.Sub(w.Since) <= newModuleWaitBound {
+			continue
+		}
+		head := fmt.Sprintf("%s is not registered: %s", w.Module, firstLine(w.Why))
+		resolved := "its key is done and its take-in registers it"
+		if w.Word != "" {
+			head = fmt.Sprintf("%s waits for a controller that reads the manifest word %q", w.Module, w.Word)
+			resolved = "a controller that reads the word runs and registers it from the same key, with no second build"
+		}
+		out = append(out, conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeMerge,
+			ID: fmt.Sprintf("%s_%s", w.Module, short(w.Commit)), Kind: kindNewModuleWaits, Severity: conditions.Warning,
+			Summary:  head,
+			Said:     fmt.Sprintf("%s at %s waits since %s: %s", w.Module, w.Commit, w.Since.Format(time.RFC3339), w.Why),
+			Headline: fmt.Sprintf("The new module %s is not registered yet", w.Module),
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The merge %.8s of %s adds %s. The mesh registers it from the builder's done key of its "+
+				"fingerprint, and has not yet: %s", w.Commit, w.Repository, w.Module, w.Why),
+			Resolved: resolved,
+		})
+	}
+	sort.Slice(out, func(i, j int) bool { return out[i].ID < out[j].ID })
+	return out
+}
+
+// watchNewModules wakes the take-in of new modules for each module the builder or the indexer writes, until ctx ends, and
+// looks at every module once now. A bucket not there yet is said: the look at start and a first merge's word still work.
+func watchNewModules(ctx context.Context, open *stores) {
+	inBackground(func() {
+		answerHeldMerges(ctx, open.inventory)
+		takeNewModules(ctx, open)
+	})
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("new modules: the builder's keys are not watched: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if err := builderkeys.Watch(ctx, keys.JS, func(module string) { wakeNewModule(ctx, open, module) }); err != nil {
+		closeKeys()
+		fmt.Printf("new modules: the builder's keys are not watched: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+	go func() {
+		<-ctx.Done()
+		closeKeys()
+	}()
+}
+
+// wakeNewModule takes module in when the catalogue does not hold it: never on the watch's own goroutine, which must keep
+// draining.
+func wakeNewModule(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module string) {
+	inBackground(func() {
+		entries, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			if e.Manifest.Module == module {
+				// Known: a plan waiting on its key is woken by the plans' own look.
+				askToLook()
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		takeNewModules(ctx, open, module)
+	})
+}
+
+// background is the work the take-ins of keys and of announcements start beside the event that woke them, so a test
+// ends only once the work its mesh started has.
+var background sync.WaitGroup
+
+// inBackground runs work beside the caller, counted in background.
+func inBackground(work func()) {
+	background.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer background.Done()
+		work()
+	}()
+}
+
+// newModulesOf are the modules the indexer holds in a repository: what a first merge's word wakes.
+func newModulesOf(ctx context.Context, repository string) ([]string, error) {
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer closeKeys()
+	values, _, err := keys.Modules(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for module, v := range values {
+		if strings.EqualFold(v.Repository, repository) {
+			out = append(out, module)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out, nil
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/new_modules_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// ADR 0501 §6, §7 (issue 1851, A5b): the condition of a new module reads its key's take-in: one waiting for a controller
+// that reads its manifest's word is named at once, one waiting for its key only past the bound, each reason said once.
+func TestANewModuleWaitingIsNamedByWhatItWaitsFor(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		newModulesWaiting.Lock()
+		newModulesWaiting.by = map[string]newModuleWait{}
+		newModulesWaiting.Unlock()
+	})
+	word := `waits: watchman's manifest uses the word "key-ttl", which this controller does not read: it is registered when a controller that reads it runs`
+	sayNewModuleWait(newModuleWait{Module: "watchman", Commit: "c1", Why: word, Word: wordIn(word)})
+	sayNewModuleWait(newModuleWait{Module: "view", Commit: "c1", Why: "waits: the build of view at aaaa is building on ace"})
+	now := time.Now()
+	obs := newModuleObservations(now)
+	if len(obs) != 1 || !strings.Contains(obs[0].Summary, `"key-ttl"`) || obs[0].Kind != kindNewModuleWaits {
+		t.Fatalf("at once, only the unread word is named: %+v", obs)
+	}
+	if obs := newModuleObservations(now.Add(newModuleWaitBound + time.Minute)); len(obs) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("past the bound, both are named: %+v", obs)
+	}
+	forgetNewModuleWait("watchman")
+	forgetNewModuleWait("view")
+	if obs := newModuleObservations(now.Add(time.Hour)); len(obs) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("registered modules are still named: %+v", obs)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/not_asked_id_test.go

@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/chain"
-)
-
-// 1146: a merge's ask that failed is kept under an id the bus takes as a key, for a module at the repository's root
-// (".") as for one in a folder.
-func TestTheIdOfABuildNotAskedIsAKeyTheBusTakes(t *testing.T) {
-	for dir, want := range map[string]string{
-		".":                          "not-asked-0177ea7a",
-		"modules/mesh-delivery-view": "not-asked-0177ea7a-modules-mesh-delivery-view",
-	} {
-		id := notAskedID("0177ea7a00000000", dir)
-		if id != want {
-			t.Errorf("notAskedID(%q) = %q, want %q", dir, id, want)
-		}
-		if !chain.ValidKey("req." + id) {
-			t.Errorf("notAskedID(%q) = %q: the bus takes no key req.%s", dir, id, id)
-		}
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/one_group_one_plan_test.go

@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ func TestAFeatureWithANewSeatVerbIsOneBatchAndOnePlanInOrderWithNoAfterLine(t *t
 }
 
 // Issue 1049: a move delivered half before its second merge. The controller adds a module the catalogue removes, in one
-// group: the merges are one batch and one plan in either order, the module is built once and from the controller's
-// repository, and the catalogue's removal does not forget it.
+// group: the merges are one batch and one plan in either order, no build of the module is asked (it is registered from
+// the builder's key, ADR 0501 §6), and the catalogue's removal does not forget it.
 func TestAMoveOfAModuleAcrossTwoRepositoriesIsOnePlanAndBuildsItOnceFromTheNewOne(t *testing.T) {
 	for name, controllerFirst := range map[string]bool{"controller_first": true, "catalogue_first": false} {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -149,17 +149,12 @@ func TestAMoveOfAModuleAcrossTwoRepositoriesIsOnePlanAndBuildsItOnceFromTheNewOn
 			if len(ws) != 1 || len(bs) != 0 {
 				t.Fatalf("a move: %d walk(s), %d batch(es); want exactly one plan", len(ws), len(bs))
 			}
-			var fromController int
+			// **No build of it is asked from either repository** (ADR 0501 §6, issue 1851): the move is registered from the
+			// builder's done key of route-proxy in the controller's repository, on the operator's Approve of the group.
 			for _, a := range *asked {
-				if strings.Contains(a[0], "mesh-controller") && a[1] == "modules/route-proxy" {
-					fromController++
+				if a[1] == "modules/route-proxy" {
+					t.Errorf("a build of route-proxy was asked: %v", a)
 				}
-				if strings.Contains(a[0], "mesh-catalog") && a[1] == "modules/route-proxy" {
-					t.Errorf("route-proxy was built from the repository it left: %v", a)
-				}
-			}
-			if fromController != 1 {
-				t.Fatalf("route-proxy was built %d time(s) from the controller's repository: %v", fromController, *asked)
 			}
 			entries, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
 			if err != nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/order_test.go

@@ -28,48 +28,6 @@ func stoodOn(edges map[string][]string) map[string][]string {
 	return out
 }
 
-// A module built before the module it stands on is built against the old one and reports success
-// (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/131). So bases come first, however the set arrived.
-func TestBasesAreBuiltBeforeWhatStandsOnThem(t *testing.T) {
-	in := []inventory.Entry{entry("app"), entry("runtime"), entry("other"), entry("base")}
-	edges := stoodOn(map[string][]string{"app": {"runtime"}, "runtime": {"base"}})
-	got := orderByBases(in, edges)
-	pos := map[string]int{}
-	for i, e := range got {
-		pos[e.Manifest.Module] = i
-	}
-	if !(pos["base"] < pos["runtime"] && pos["runtime"] < pos["app"]) {
-		t.Fatalf("bases not first: %v", pos)
-	}
-	if len(got) != 4 {
-		t.Fatalf("an entry was lost or doubled: %d", len(got))
-	}
-	// A base outside the set is not waited for: it is not being rebuilt.
-	got = orderByBases([]inventory.Entry{entry("app")}, stoodOn(map[string][]string{"app": {"elsewhere"}}))
-	if len(got) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("a dependency outside the set changed the set: %v", got)
-	}
-}
-
-// A module registered from its manifest and never built still names its bases there; once built,
-// the recorded edge is what says so. Both are read, and a module never stands on itself.
-func TestWhatStandsOnAModuleIsReadFromItsBuildOrItsManifest(t *testing.T) {
-	built := entry("gitea")
-	edges := stoodOn(map[string][]string{"gitea": {"mesh-tools"}})
-	if !standsOnModule(built, "mesh-tools", edges) {
-		t.Fatal("a recorded edge was not read")
-	}
-	if standsOnModule(built, "gitea", edges) || standsOnModule(built, "postgres", edges) {
-		t.Fatal("an edge was invented")
-	}
-	fresh := inventory.Entry{Manifest: catalogue.Manifest{Module: "plex", Build: &catalogue.Build{
-		On: []catalogue.BuildsOn{{Arg: "RUNTIME_BASE", Module: "mesh-tools", Artifact: "runtime"}},
-	}}}
-	if !standsOnModule(fresh, "mesh-tools", nil) {
-		t.Fatal("a manifest's own base was not read")
-	}
-}
-
 // A merge names a repository the way the forge does; a source is recorded the way a build was
 // asked for. The two meet on owner/repo and branch, whichever form the record took.
 func TestAMergeMatchesTheSourcesBuiltFromIt(t *testing.T) {

cmd/mesh-controller/own_grants.go

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+// A new controller's own grants reach the bus before it writes (novox/hq issue 1800).
+//
+// A controller's grants are composed by the controller binary itself (broker.PermissionsFor), so the controller that
+// walks a delivery cannot put its successor's grants in the bus's user list: the list that carries them was sent only
+// once the new controller passed its gate on its first machine (carryUserList). Until then the new controller wrote
+// buckets its account was not granted, and the bus refused them: plans-building on 2026-10-21, declared-packages on
+// 2026-10-22, and R4e's states-announced would be the third.
+//
+// So a controller that starts, holding the lease and before it starts anything that writes its buckets, sends the
+// machine holding the bus its user list when the list it composes is not the one that machine was last sent: the grants
+// step's send (release.go grantsStep), every build there kept at the one it runs, refused unsent when the declaration
+// would change more than the user list (errNotGrantsOnly). No build of a running plan reaches that machine before the
+// plan's own tier sends it (ADR 0503 §8). A send that cannot be made is said once, and the controller serves on.
+//
+// It does not ask heldMachines, as carryUserList does: every reason that gives is a build that would move with the
+// list (a policy, a plan not yet sent there, no gate passed), and here none can. The running plan that brought this
+// controller holds the bus's machine until its tier sends it; asking would leave the list behind exactly when 1800
+// meets it. The refusal unsent (errNotGrantsOnly) is the guard instead.
+
+// ownGrantsCarrier is what the start's send reads and does: whether the bus's list is behind and on which machine, and
+// the grants-only send to it. Variables so a test needs no store and no bus.
+type ownGrantsCarrier struct {
+	behind func(ctx context.Context) (holder string, behind bool, err error)
+	send   func(ctx context.Context, holder string) error
+}
+
+// carry sends the machine holding the bus the controller's own user list when it is behind, and says what it did.
+func (c ownGrantsCarrier) carry(ctx context.Context) string {
+	holder, behind, err := c.behind(ctx)
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("whether the bus's user list carries this controller's grants cannot be read, so it is not sent "+
+			"at start; a bucket it newly writes may be refused until the gate carries it: %v", err)
+	case holder == "" || !behind:
+		return ""
+	}
+	if err := c.send(ctx, holder); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("this controller's grants could not be sent to %s, which holds the bus, at its start; a bucket "+
+			"it newly writes may be refused until the gate carries them: %v", holder, err)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("sent %s, which holds the bus, this controller's user list alone, every build there kept, "+
+		"before it writes", holder)
+}
+
+// startWithOwnGrants carries the controller's own grants to the bus and only then starts what writes (then).
+func startWithOwnGrants(ctx context.Context, c ownGrantsCarrier, then func()) {
+	if said := c.carry(ctx); said != "" {
+		fmt.Println(said)
+	}
+	then()
+}
+
+// ownGrantsOf is the carrier of the serving controller: the grants step's reading and its grants-only send.
+func ownGrantsOf(open *stores) ownGrantsCarrier {
+	return ownGrantsCarrier{
+		behind: func(ctx context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return brokerBehindOf(ctx, open, nil) },
+		send: func(ctx context.Context, holder string) error {
+			_, err := sendRollout(keepingEveryBuild(withScope(ctx, sendScope{}), holder), open, []string{holder})
+			return err
+		},
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/own_grants_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// 1800 (1): a controller starting with the bus's list behind its own sends the bus's machine once, before anything
+// that writes its buckets starts.
+func TestAStartingControllerSendsItsGrantsBeforeItWrites(t *testing.T) {
+	var order []string
+	c := ownGrantsCarrier{
+		behind: func(context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return "novox", true, nil },
+		send:   func(_ context.Context, holder string) error { order = append(order, "send "+holder); return nil },
+	}
+	startWithOwnGrants(t.Context(), c, func() { order = append(order, "writers") })
+	if strings.Join(order, ", ") != "send novox, writers" {
+		t.Fatalf("the start did %v", order)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1800 (3), (4): no send when the list is current or there is no bus with a list; one that cannot be read or sent is
+// said once, and the controller goes on.
+func TestAStartingControllerSendsNothingWhenTheListIsCurrentAndGoesOnWhenRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	sends := 0
+	send := func(context.Context, string) error { sends++; return nil }
+	for _, c := range []ownGrantsCarrier{
+		{behind: func(context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return "novox", false, nil }, send: send},
+		{behind: func(context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return "", true, nil }, send: send},
+	} {
+		if said := c.carry(t.Context()); said != "" || sends != 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("a current list sent %d and said %q", sends, said)
+		}
+	}
+	refused := ownGrantsCarrier{behind: func(context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return "novox", true, nil },
+		send: func(context.Context, string) error { return errNotGrantsOnly }}
+	went := false
+	startWithOwnGrants(t.Context(), refused, func() { went = true })
+	if !went {
+		t.Fatal("a refused send stopped the controller")
+	}
+	if said := refused.carry(t.Context()); !strings.Contains(said, "could not be sent to novox") ||
+		!strings.Contains(said, errNotGrantsOnly.Error()) {
+		t.Fatalf("a refused send is said as %q", said)
+	}
+	unread := ownGrantsCarrier{behind: func(context.Context) (string, bool, error) { return "", false, errors.New("no store") },
+		send: send}
+	if said := unread.carry(t.Context()); !strings.Contains(said, "cannot be read") || sends != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("an unread list: sent %d, said %q", sends, said)
+	}
+}
+
+// 1800 (2): the start's send is the grants step's: composed with every build of the bus's machine kept at the one it
+// runs, so the declaration differs from its last only by the user list (and is refused unsent otherwise,
+// errNotGrantsOnly, release.go), whatever a running plan registered since.
+func TestAStartingControllersSendKeepsEveryBuildOfTheBusMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	was := sendRollout
+	t.Cleanup(func() { sendRollout = was })
+	var kept bool
+	var named []string
+	sendRollout = func(ctx context.Context, _ *stores, names []string) ([]string, error) {
+		kept, named = everyBuildKept(ctx, "novox"), names
+		return names, nil
+	}
+	if err := ownGrantsOf(nil).send(t.Context(), "novox"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !kept || len(named) != 1 || named[0] != "novox" {
+		t.Fatalf("the start's send keeps every build: %v, names %v", kept, named)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/paths_source_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// B1 (ADR 0499 §1, §5; issue 1758): a module whose every artifact names the paths it is built from is read from those
+// paths and its manifest alone. mesh-sdk's TypeScript package at its repository's root: a change to its go/ touches no
+// module, one to its src/ or its package.json touches it. A module with an artifact naming no paths reads its directory.
+func TestAModuleNamingItsPathsIsReadFromThemAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(`{"module":"mesh-sdk","version":"1","build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"lib",
+		"kind":"package","language":"typescript","paths":["src","package.json","package-lock.json","tsconfig.json"]}]},
+		"resources":[]}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	own := pathsBuildSource(m, "")
+	read := inventory.WithBuildSources(nil, []inventory.BuildSource{{Paths: own}})
+	e := inventory.Entry{Manifest: m, Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-sdk", Path: ""}}
+	for file, reads := range map[string]bool{
+		"go/delivery/builder.go": false, "go/go.mod": false, "README.md": false,
+		"src/index.ts": true, "src/deep/x.ts": true, "package.json": true, "module.json": true,
+	} {
+		if got := readsFile(e, read, file); got != reads {
+			t.Errorf("%s: read %v, want %v", file, got, reads)
+		}
+	}
+	// In a module's directory, the paths are under it.
+	if got := pathsBuildSource(m, "modules/sdk"); got[0] != "modules/sdk/module.json" || got[1] != "modules/sdk/src/**" {
+		t.Errorf("paths under a directory: %v", got)
+	}
+	// An artifact naming no paths: the whole directory, as before.
+	m.Build.Artifacts = append(m.Build.Artifacts, catalogue.Artifact{Name: "files", Kind: "archive", From: "files"})
+	if got := pathsBuildSource(m, ""); got != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a module with an artifact naming no paths is narrowed to %v", got)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/pending.go

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
@@ -85,8 +88,30 @@ const (
 	unknownModule = iota
 	buildInFlight
 	knownNotBuilt
+	// keyComing is a module the indexer holds and the catalogue does not yet: registered from the builder's done key
+	// of it (ADR 0501 §6), which nobody asks.
+	keyComing
 )
 
+// keyPendingPrefix opens the build a pending assignment waits for when it waits for a module's key: no build is asked
+// (ADR 0501 §5, §6; issue 1851, A10), so it names the module's key, not a build id.
+const keyPendingPrefix = "key:"
+
+// indexedModule is the indexer's trunk value of a module the catalogue does not hold, found when it holds one. A
+// variable so a test needs no bus.
+var indexedModule = func(ctx context.Context, module string) (sdkdelivery.Module, bool, error) {
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		return sdkdelivery.Module{}, false, err
+	}
+	defer closeKeys()
+	v, err := keys.ModuleAt(ctx, module, "")
+	if errors.Is(err, builderkeys.ErrNoValue) {
+		return sdkdelivery.Module{}, false, nil
+	}
+	return v, err == nil, err
+}
+
 // notHeld is where a module the catalogue does not hold stands: its case, the build request it was read
 // from, and the sentence that says it.
 type notHeld struct {
@@ -96,7 +121,24 @@ type notHeld struct {
 }
 
 // whereIs looks for a module the catalogue does not hold among the build requests the controller keeps.
-func whereIs(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, module string, now time.Time) (notHeld, error) {
+// notHeldReads is what whereIs reads of the records (*inventory.Inventory, or a test's).
+type notHeldReads interface {
+	RequestsNamed(ctx context.Context, name string) ([]inventory.RequestOutcome, error)
+	Catalogue(ctx context.Context) (map[string]catalogue.Manifest, error)
+	RequestedNames(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error)
+}
+
+func whereIs(ctx context.Context, inv notHeldReads, module string, now time.Time) (notHeld, error) {
+	// **Its key is coming** (ADR 0501 §6): the indexer holds it, and the controller registers it from the builder's done
+	// key of it. Read before the build requests of before R4e, which nothing writes any more.
+	if v, held, err := indexedModule(ctx, module); err != nil {
+		return notHeld{}, fmt.Errorf("whether the indexer holds %s cannot be read: %w", module, err)
+	} else if held {
+		return notHeld{kind: keyComing, request: inventory.RequestOutcome{BuildRequest: inventory.BuildRequest{
+			ID: keyPendingPrefix + module, Repository: v.Repository, Seat: gitSeat, Path: keyPath(v)}},
+			said: fmt.Sprintf("%s is not registered yet: the indexer holds it in %s at %.8s, and it is registered from "+
+				"the builder's done key of it, which no one asks", module, v.Repository, v.Commit)}, nil
+	}
 	requests, err := inv.RequestsNamed(ctx, module)
 	if err != nil {
 		return notHeld{}, err
@@ -169,6 +211,12 @@ func notRegistered(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string, opts
 		return "", err
 	}
 	switch where.kind {
+	case keyComing:
+		lead := where.said
+		if opts.Build {
+			lead += "\n  build \"true\" asks nothing: the builder builds every fingerprint the indexer writes (ADR 0501 §6)"
+		}
+		return keepPending(ctx, open, node, module, where.request, waiting, lead)
 	case buildInFlight:
 		lead := where.said
 		if opts.Build {
@@ -183,30 +231,20 @@ func notRegistered(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string, opts
 				also = fmt.Sprintf("\n  %s already has a pending assignment of %s, waiting for build %s; build "+
 					"\"true\" asks for a new build and makes it wait for that one", node, module, waiting.Build)
 			}
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: %s%s\n  assign it again with build \"true\" to ask for its build and keep this "+
-				"assignment until the build registers it; or `build` it (repository %s, path %s) and assign it "+
-				"once it is registered", inventory.ErrNoSuchModule, where.said, also, last.Repository, orRoot(last.Path))
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: %s%s\n  it is registered from the builder's done key once a merge adds it to %s "+
+				"(path %s) and the indexer holds it, or at the controller's terminal; assign it then",
+				inventory.ErrNoSuchModule, where.said, also, last.Repository, orRoot(last.Path))
 		}
-		if waiting != nil && waiting.State == inventory.PendingApplying {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is being assigned %s now; nothing was asked", node, module)
-		}
-		source := buildSource{Repository: last.Repository, Seat: last.Seat}
-		id, err := askABuild(ctx, source, last.Path, last.Ref)
-		if err != nil {
-			return "", fmt.Errorf("%s\n  its build could not be asked for: %w; nothing was assigned", where.said, err)
-		}
-		asked := inventory.RequestOutcome{BuildRequest: inventory.BuildRequest{ID: id, Repository: last.Repository,
-			Seat: last.Seat, Path: last.Path, Ref: last.Ref, For: "assign", At: now.UTC()}}
-		recordBuildRequest(ctx, inv, asked.BuildRequest)
-		lead := fmt.Sprintf("%s\n  build %s of %s is asked for now; %s can be assigned once it registers it",
-			where.said, id, requestSource(asked), module)
-		return keepPending(ctx, open, node, module, asked, waiting, lead)
+		// **No build is asked** (ADR 0501 §5, §6): a module the indexer does not hold has no key coming.
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: %s\n  build \"true\" asks no build: the controller asks none (ADR 0501 §5); a module "+
+			"is registered from the builder's done key once a merge adds it to a repository the catalogue builds from, or "+
+			"at the controller's terminal, and the indexer holds no %s", inventory.ErrNoSuchModule, where.said, module)
 	}
 	answer := strings.TrimPrefix(where.said, inventory.ErrNoSuchModule.Error()) +
-		"\n  a module in a repository is built with `build` (its repository and path), then assigned"
+		"\n  a module in a repository is registered from the builder's done key of it, then assigned"
 	if opts.Build {
-		answer += "\n  build \"true\" asks for nothing here: the controller has no build request saying where a " +
-			"module of that name is"
+		answer += "\n  build \"true\" asks for nothing: the controller asks no build (ADR 0501 §5), and the indexer " +
+			"holds no module of that name"
 	}
 	return "", fmt.Errorf("%w%s", inventory.ErrNoSuchModule, answer)
 }
@@ -316,7 +354,7 @@ func clock(t time.Time) string { return t.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05 MS
 
 // closestNames is up to three names near the one asked: registered modules and directories the controller
 // asked to build.
-func closestNames(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, name string) []string {
+func closestNames(ctx context.Context, inv notHeldReads, name string) []string {
 	var candidates []string
 	if shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx); err == nil {
 		for m := range shelf {
@@ -535,6 +573,19 @@ func settlePending(ctx context.Context, open *stores, now time.Time) []string {
 			}
 			continue
 		}
+		if strings.HasPrefix(p.Build, keyPendingPrefix) {
+			why, err := keyPendingEnded(ctx, p.Module)
+			if err != nil {
+				say("the key %s waits for cannot be read: %v", p.Module, err)
+				continue
+			}
+			if why != "" {
+				if line := expirePending(ctx, inv, p, why); line != "" {
+					said = append(said, line)
+				}
+			}
+			continue
+		}
 		requests, err := inv.RequestsNamed(ctx, p.Module)
 		if err != nil {
 			say("the build requests for %s could not be read: %v", p.Module, err)
@@ -744,3 +795,46 @@ func withdrawPending(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, node, module
 	}
 	return "", false, nil
 }
+
+// keyPendingEnded is why a pending assignment waiting for a module's key ends: the indexer no longer holds the module,
+// or the builder's key of its fingerprint failed; empty while it is coming. A variable so a test needs no bus.
+var keyPendingEnded = func(ctx context.Context, module string) (string, error) {
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer closeKeys()
+	v, err := keys.ModuleAt(ctx, module, "")
+	if errors.Is(err, builderkeys.ErrNoValue) {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("the indexer no longer holds %s", module), nil
+	}
+	if err != nil || v.FP2 == "" {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	k, err := keys.Build(ctx, module, v.FP2)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if k.Failed() {
+		return k.Says(), nil
+	}
+	return "", nil
+}
+
+// settlePendingOnKey assigns, now, every pending assignment of a module its done key just registered (ADR 0501 §6):
+// what an outcome of a build did for one waiting on that build.
+func settlePendingOnKey(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module string) []string {
+	waiting, err := open.inventory.Pending(ctx, time.Time{})
+	if err != nil {
+		return []string{fmt.Sprintf("the pending assignments could not be read after %s was registered: %v", module, err)}
+	}
+	var said []string
+	for _, p := range waiting {
+		if p.Module == module {
+			if line := applyPending(ctx, open, p, keyPendingPrefix+module); line != "" {
+				said = append(said, line)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return said
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/pending_integration_test.go

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
@@ -13,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
@@ -36,11 +36,13 @@ func aCatalogueMesh(t *testing.T) *stores {
 	return open
 }
 
+// mergeAdding keeps the build request a merge adding a module asked before R4e (issue 300): nothing asks one since (ADR
+// 0501 §6), and the pending assignments still read the ones kept. These tests are of what an assignment does with one.
 func mergeAdding(t *testing.T, open *stores, dir, commit string) {
 	t.Helper()
-	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: commit,
-		Paths: []string{dir + "/module.json"}, ModuleDirs: []string{dir}, ModuleDirsSaid: true}
-	if err := (following{open: open}).SourceMoved(t.Context(), m); err != nil {
+	if err := open.inventory.RecordBuildRequest(t.Context(), inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "b-" + dir,
+		Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git", Path: dir, Ref: "main", Commit: commit, For: "merge",
+		At: time.Now().UTC()}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 }
@@ -175,7 +177,7 @@ func TestAPendingAssignmentExpiresWhenItsBuildFails(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a module whose build failed: %v", err)
 	}
 	for _, want := range []string{"sensors is known and not registered", "its last build, b-modules/sensors",
-		"failed: go build: undefined: sensorsRead", "build \"true\"", "repository novox/mesh-catalog, path modules/sensors"} {
+		"failed: go build: undefined: sensorsRead", "registered from the builder's done key", "novox/mesh-catalog (path modules/sensors)"} {
 		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
 			t.Fatalf("the refusal does not say %q:\n%v", want, err)
 		}
@@ -225,100 +227,10 @@ func TestTheConditionClearsWhenTheModuleIsAssignedLater(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestAssignWithBuildAsksForAKnownModule(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	inv := open.inventory
-	if err := inv.RecordBuildRequest(ctx, inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-old", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
-		Seat: "git", Path: "modules/sensors", Ref: "main", For: "build", At: time.Now().Add(-time.Hour)}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-old", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Ref: "main",
-		Path: "modules/sensors", On: "anchor", Failed: "no space left on device"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
-	said, err := assignWith(ctx, open, "laptop", assignOptions{Build: true}, "sensors")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if len(*asked) != 1 || (*asked)[0] != [3]string{"novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sensors", "main"} {
-		t.Fatalf("asked %v", *asked)
-	}
-	for _, want := range []string{"known and not registered", "no space left on device",
-		"build b-modules/sensors of novox/mesh-catalog@main (modules/sensors) is asked for now", "kept as pending"} {
-		if !strings.Contains(said, want) {
-			t.Fatalf("the answer does not say %q:\n%s", want, said)
-		}
-	}
-	pending := pendingOf(t, open)
-	if len(pending) != 1 || pending[0].Build != "b-modules/sensors" {
-		t.Fatalf("pending: %+v", pending)
-	}
-	requests, _ := inv.RequestsNamed(ctx, "sensors")
-	if len(requests) != 2 || requests[0].ID != "b-modules/sensors" || requests[0].For != "assign" {
-		t.Fatalf("the request is not kept as assign's: %+v", requests)
-	}
-}
-
-func TestAssignWithBuildRepointsTheWaitingAssignment(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	inv := open.inventory
-	if err := inv.RecordBuildRequest(ctx, inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-old", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
-		Seat: "git", Path: "modules/sensors", Ref: "main", For: "merge", At: time.Now().Add(-time.Hour)}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-old", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Ref: "main",
-		Path: "modules/sensors", On: "anchor", Failed: "boom"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	// Waiting on the failed build, its expiry not yet settled.
-	if _, err := inv.RecordPending(ctx, inventory.PendingAssignment{Node: "laptop", Module: "sensors",
-		Build: "build-old", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Path: "modules/sensors"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	_, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "sensors")
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "already has a pending assignment of sensors, waiting for build build-old") {
-		t.Fatalf("known and not built with a pending assignment waiting: %v", err)
-	}
-	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
-	said, err := assignWith(ctx, open, "laptop", assignOptions{Build: true}, "sensors")
-	if err != nil || !strings.Contains(said, "which waited for build build-old, now waits for build b-modules/sensors") {
-		t.Fatalf("assign with build: %q %v", said, err)
-	}
-	if len(*asked) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("asked %v", *asked)
-	}
-	pending := pendingOf(t, open)
-	if len(pending) != 1 || pending[0].Build != "b-modules/sensors" || pending[0].State != inventory.PendingWaiting {
-		t.Fatalf("pending: %+v", pending)
-	}
-	// The new build in flight now: build "true" again asks nothing.
-	if said, err := assignWith(ctx, open, "laptop", assignOptions{Build: true}, "sensors"); err != nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(said, "no second build was asked") || len(*asked) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("a second build true while the build runs: %q %v, asked %v", said, err, *asked)
-	}
-}
-
 func TestAFailedAskIsNotABuildInFlight(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
-	was := askABuild
-	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
-		return "", errors.New("cannot submit a build: nats: timeout")
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
-	mergeAdding(t, open, "modules/sensors", "3da80a4b00aa")
-	_, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "sensors")
-	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "the merge that added it (3da80a4b) could not ask for its build: cannot submit") {
-		t.Fatalf("a merge that could not ask: %v", err)
-	}
-	if len(pendingOf(t, open)) != 0 {
-		t.Fatal("a pending assignment waits on a build never asked")
-	}
-
 	if err := inv.RecordBuildRequest(ctx, inventory.BuildRequest{ID: "build-waited", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
 		Seat: "git", Path: "modules/gauges", Ref: "main", For: "build"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -326,7 +238,7 @@ func TestAFailedAskIsNotABuildInFlight(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := inv.MarkNotAsked(ctx, "build-waited", "cannot submit a build: no responders"); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	_, err = assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "gauges")
+	_, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "gauges")
 	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "build build-waited, asked by build, was not handed over") {
 		t.Fatalf("a build not handed over: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -395,7 +307,7 @@ func TestAnUnknownModuleIsRefusedWithTheClosestNames(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	for _, want := range []string{"no module of that name: sensors", "the catalogue holds no module of that name",
 		"no build request the controller kept (the last 30 days)", "the closest names it holds: sensord",
-		"asks for nothing here"} {
+		"asks for nothing: the controller asks no build"} {
 		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
 			t.Fatalf("the refusal does not say %q:\n%v", want, err)
 		}
@@ -565,59 +477,6 @@ func TestAPendingAssignmentNeverWaitsSilently(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestASecondAssignmentNotMadeKeepsItsCondition(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	asked := 0
-	was := askABuild
-	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
-		asked++
-		return fmt.Sprintf("b-%d", asked), nil
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
-	mergeAdding(t, open, "modules/sensors", "3da80a4b00aa")
-	if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", "sensors"); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	failedBuild(t, open, "b-1")
-	settlePending(ctx, open, time.Now())
-	first := pendingOf(t, open)[0]
-	if !conditionOpen(t, first) {
-		t.Fatal("the first assignment not made raised nothing")
-	}
-
-	if _, err := assignWith(ctx, open, "laptop", assignOptions{Build: true}, "sensors"); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	failedBuild(t, open, "b-2")
-	settlePending(ctx, open, time.Now())
-
-	var second inventory.PendingAssignment
-	for _, p := range pendingOf(t, open) {
-		if p.Build == "b-2" {
-			second = p
-		}
-	}
-	if second.State != inventory.PendingExpired {
-		t.Fatalf("the second: %+v", second)
-	}
-	if !conditionOpen(t, second) {
-		t.Fatal("the second assignment's condition was cleared in the tick that raised it")
-	}
-	if !conditionOpen(t, rowOf(t, open, first.ID)) {
-		t.Fatal("the first was judged answered by a second that itself was not made")
-	}
-	// unassign takes both back, and the next tick clears both.
-	if said, err := unassign(ctx, open, "laptop", "sensors"); err != nil || !strings.Contains(said, "b-1") ||
-		!strings.Contains(said, "b-2") {
-		t.Fatalf("unassign: %q %v", said, err)
-	}
-	settlePending(ctx, open, time.Now())
-	if conditionOpen(t, first) || conditionOpen(t, second) {
-		t.Fatal("a condition stayed open after both were taken back")
-	}
-}
-
 func TestARaisedRowIsKeptUntilItsConditionClears(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -735,3 +594,31 @@ func TestABuildNoLongerWaitedForIsStillInFlight(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("past the bound: %+v", rows)
 	}
 }
+
+// A10 (ADR 0501 §6; issue 1851): an assignment of a module the indexer holds and the catalogue does not yet waits for
+// the builder's done key of it, asking nothing, and is made when that key registers the module.
+func TestAnAssignmentWaitsForTheKeyAndAsksNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aCatalogueMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	noBuildAsked(t)
+	b := aBuilderOnTheBus(t)
+	fp := fpOf('a')
+	manifest := b.indexed(t, "sensors", "1", "novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/sensors", "3da80a4b00aa0000", fp)
+	b.built(t, "sensors", "1", fp, manifest, sdkdelivery.BuildBuilding)
+	said, err := assignWith(ctx, open, "laptop", assignOptions{Build: true}, "sensors")
+	if err != nil || !strings.Contains(said, "registered from the builder's done key") || !strings.Contains(said, "kept as pending") {
+		t.Fatalf("A10: the assignment of a module whose key is coming: %q %v", said, err)
+	}
+	if p := pendingOf(t, open); len(p) != 1 || p[0].Build != keyPendingPrefix+"sensors" {
+		t.Fatalf("A10: pending %+v", p)
+	}
+	settlePending(ctx, open, time.Now().Add(time.Hour))
+	if p := pendingOf(t, open); p[0].State != inventory.PendingWaiting {
+		t.Fatalf("A10: a pending assignment waiting for a building key expired: %+v", p)
+	}
+	b.built(t, "sensors", "1", fp, manifest, sdkdelivery.BuildDone)
+	takeNewModules(ctx, open, "sensors")
+	if !slices.Contains(assignedTo(t, open, "laptop"), "sensors") {
+		t.Fatalf("A10: the key registered sensors and the pending assignment was not made: %+v", pendingOf(t, open))
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/pending_keys_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A10 (ADR 0501 §6; issue 1851): a module the catalogue does not hold and the indexer does is one whose key is coming:
+// an assignment of it waits for that key, named by the module, with no build asked and no build request read.
+func TestAModuleTheIndexerHoldsIsWaitedForByItsKey(t *testing.T) {
+	was := indexedModule
+	indexedModule = func(_ context.Context, module string) (sdkdelivery.Module, bool, error) {
+		return sdkdelivery.Module{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "3da80a4b00aa", Path: "modules/" + module}, true, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { indexedModule = was })
+	where, err := whereIs(t.Context(), noRequests{}, "sensors", time.Now())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if where.kind != keyComing || where.request.ID != keyPendingPrefix+"sensors" || where.request.Path != "modules/sensors" ||
+		!strings.Contains(where.said, "registered from the builder's done key") {
+		t.Fatalf("a module whose key is coming is read as %+v", where)
+	}
+}
+
+// noRequests is records with no build request and no module: what a mesh after R4e reads of a new module.
+type noRequests struct{}
+
+func (noRequests) RequestsNamed(context.Context, string) ([]inventory.RequestOutcome, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (noRequests) Catalogue(context.Context) (map[string]catalogue.Manifest, error) { return nil, nil }
+func (noRequests) RequestedNames(context.Context) ([]string, error)                 { return nil, nil }

cmd/mesh-controller/plain_words.go

@@ -195,6 +195,14 @@ var plainWordings = map[string]func(conditions.Observation) words{
 				"there yet is sealed by the controller until the vault holds it.", m, m),
 			Resolved: "Resolved: the vault gave " + m + " the core's credentials"}
 	}),
+	kindFilesNotPut: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "The big files for " + m + " cannot be put on the bus",
+			Needs: "look at the bus's permissions for the controller; the details give the reason.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The mesh could not put the large files of %s's instructions in their place on the bus, "+
+				"send after send, so %s is sent them inside the instructions instead, which may make them too big.", m, m),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the big files for " + m + " reach the bus again"}
+	}),
 	kindDeclarationNearLimit: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
 		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
 		if o.Severity == conditions.Urgent {
@@ -449,6 +457,18 @@ var plainWordings = map[string]func(conditions.Observation) words{
 			Explanation: "A delivery did not finish. Nothing is tried again until you say so.",
 			Resolved:    "Resolved: the delivery is no longer failed"}
 	}),
+	kindMovesHeld: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "An update waits for you",
+			Explanation: "A new version of a module would restart a container or touch its data, so it waits for you.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the update is no longer waiting"}
+	}),
+	kindImageMissing: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A module is not updated",
+			Explanation: "The new version of a module names a container image that the mesh's store does not hold, so it " +
+				"was not sent. What runs is untouched.",
+			Needs:    "build the module again; the details name the image.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the store holds the image again"}
+	}),
 	"ask-lost": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
 		return words{Headline: "A build has no result",
 			Explanation: "A build was asked for and never answered. It is asked again with the next delivery.",
@@ -946,6 +966,9 @@ func stalledWords(l stalledLine, o conditions.Observation) (headline, explanatio
 	if l.State == "unanswered" {
 		return unansweredWords(l, o)
 	}
+	if l.Needs == needsNewHead {
+		return newHeadWords(l, name)
+	}
 	held := l.State
 	if held == "" {
 		held = "held"
@@ -979,6 +1002,29 @@ func stalledWords(l stalledLine, o conditions.Observation) (headline, explanatio
 		fmt.Sprintf("Delivery of %s is no longer %s", name, held), needs, actions
 }
 
+// newHeadWords are the words of a delivery whose cure is its author's new head (novox/hq ADR 0505 §5): it names the
+// author and says a new head is needed; it offers no Stop and never calls it the operator's, because the operator
+// hears of it only once the author's own watch has failed, after two hours with no new head.
+func newHeadWords(l stalledLine, name string) (headline, explanation, resolved, needs string, actions []conditions.Action) {
+	pull := "A pull request of " + name
+	if l.Number > 0 {
+		pull = fmt.Sprintf("Pull request %d of %s", l.Number, name)
+	}
+	author := l.Author
+	if _, plain := conditions.Plain(author); !plain {
+		author = "its author" // a branch named in code (a dotted name, a number) is not said
+	}
+	long := "for a long time"
+	if d, err := time.ParseDuration(l.For); err == nil {
+		long = "for " + humanDuration(d)
+	}
+	return pull + " needs a new head from its author",
+		fmt.Sprintf("%s cannot merge until %s pushes a new head: its check failed after its Approve, and no new head "+
+			"came %s.", pull, author, long),
+		pull + " has a new head, or is closed",
+		"ask " + author + " for a new head.", nil
+}
+
 // stoppedNeeds is what ends a delivery that is already stopped, from the stalled line's healer words ("none: a
 // merge that delivers its modules ends it — the operator's"): the part that says what ends it.
 func stoppedNeeds(l stalledLine) string {

cmd/mesh-controller/plain_words_test.go

@@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ func TestUpdatesHeldNameWhatWaitsAndWhereItIsReleased(t *testing.T) {
 	plainExample(t, got[0], "Updates of openrazer and sensors wait for your release",
 		"Needs you: release them from the mesh MCP server; this notification cannot do it. Updates of openrazer and "+
 			"sensors on g14 and shanks wait for a person to release them, because the last walk failed. "+
-			"They are not delivered until then, and stay held if you leave them.")
+			"They are not delivered until then, and stay held if you leave them.", "Release")
 }
 
 // **What held them is said in the glossary's words** (2026-10-08 review): the backlog is held after any

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_clock_test.go

@@ -78,3 +78,50 @@ func TestAPlansLineCountsFromItsTierNotFromItsLastSave(t *testing.T) {
 
 // novox/hq issue 296: a plan whose tier stands still is not written again by every advance — its revision,
 // its last save and its `plan-moved` stay where its last change left them.
+
+// novox/hq issue 920: a building plan whose current tier is all built waits on its note (a send refused at the
+// gate), and its line, `status` and the stalled condition say that, not "building for ... LATE".
+func TestAPlanLineSaysTheRefusalOnceItsTierIsBuilt(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 19, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	built := now.Add(-time.Hour)
+	refusal := "tier 1: a build waits there for its gate: novox (mesh-delivery-indexer d68d7ef3→a5aa69a4) — tried again"
+	mk := func(second string) inventory.Plan {
+		return inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-r", Repository: "novox/mesh-sdk", Commit: "b2f5ebb2", State: inventory.PlanBuilding,
+			Tier: 1, Created: now.Add(-2 * time.Hour), Updated: now, TierEntered: now.Add(-time.Hour), Note: refusal,
+			Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}, {"b", "c"}},
+			Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &built},
+				"b": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &built}, "c": {State: second}}}
+	}
+
+	// 920/AC1
+	p := mk("built")
+	line := planLine(p, now)
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "a build waits there for its gate: novox") || strings.Contains(line, "building for") {
+		t.Errorf("920/AC1: a plan with its tier built and a refusal reads %q", line)
+	}
+	st := planStatuses([]inventory.Plan{p}, now, pauseView{}, nil)
+	if len(st) != 1 || !st[0].Late {
+		t.Errorf("920/AC1: status: %+v", st)
+	}
+
+	// 920/AC2
+	if line := planLine(mk("asked"), now); !strings.Contains(line, "building for 1h0m0s") {
+		t.Errorf("920/AC2: a plan with a tier module not built reads %q", line)
+	}
+}
+
+// 920/AC3: a tier move writes the previous tier's summary into the note; with the new tier all built, the line still
+// says "building for", for that note is no refusal.
+func TestAPlanLineDoesNotHoldOnATiersSummary(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 21, 19, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	built := now.Add(-time.Hour)
+	for _, note := range []string{"failed or refused its send (apply-failing says it): novox", "tier 0 built; sent mesh-sdk to novox first, in one send"} {
+		p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-s", Repository: "novox/mesh-sdk", Commit: "b2f5ebb2", State: inventory.PlanBuilding,
+			Tier: 1, Created: now.Add(-2 * time.Hour), Updated: now, TierEntered: now.Add(-time.Hour), Note: note,
+			Tiers:   [][]string{{"a"}, {"b"}},
+			Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &built}, "b": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &built}}}
+		if line := planLine(p, now); !strings.Contains(line, "building for 1h0m0s") || strings.Contains(line, "held") {
+			t.Errorf("920/AC3: a plan with the note %q reads %q", note, line)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_keys.go

@@ -0,0 +1,280 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A walk takes its modules from the builder's done keys (novox/hq ADR 0503 §6, ADR 0501 §1, ADR 0498 §8; issue 1851, A6
+// and A7).
+//
+// From R4e a walk asks build-agent for no module but the builder's own (ADR 0453 §5). A module of its tier is marked
+// taken from a key (PlanModule.Key) and settled by the look: its fingerprint is read from the indexer's trunk value
+// written for the commit the walk carries of its repository; the builder's key of that fingerprint, done with every
+// artifact referenced, is taken in (recorded and registered, off the plans' hold) and the module is built; a key not done
+// yet, or waiting for a reference, holds the tier and says so; a failed key fails the walk in the builder's own words.
+// **No timer**: the builder's and the indexer's writes wake the look (builderkeys.Watch, watchNewModules).
+
+// isBuildersOwn says a module is build-agent's own: asked of build-agent on a merge and taken from its build record, never
+// from the builder's key, until R4g (ADR 0453 §5, ADR 0498 §7, ADR 0520 §1).
+func isBuildersOwn(module string) bool { return buildersOwn(module) }
+
+// buildAgentsOwn are those modules, named (ADR 0520 §1): the builder's; build-agent itself, whose image's context is another
+// repository's; and mesh-tools, the toolchain image build-agent's builds stand on. The builder writes no key of any of them,
+// and a walk waiting for one would hold its tier for ever. mesh-tools-go is not among them: it builds from a Dockerfile in
+// its own directory on a pinned base, and has its key from mesh-build-image.
+var buildAgentsOwn = map[string]bool{sdkdelivery.BuilderModule: true, builder.AgentModule: true, "mesh-tools": true}
+
+// buildersOwn is isBuildersOwn's rule: a variable only so a test of the asks left (their bus waits, their plan key) may
+// name modules of its own as build-agent's.
+var buildersOwn = func(module string) bool { return buildAgentsOwn[module] }
+
+// planKeyReads is what a walk reads of the indexer and the builder (builderkeys.Reader, or a test's).
+type planKeyReads interface {
+	ModuleAt(ctx context.Context, module, commit string) (sdkdelivery.Module, error)
+	Build(ctx context.Context, module, fp string) (builderkeys.Key, error)
+}
+
+// openPlanKeys opens what a walk reads of the indexer and the builder. A variable so a test needs no bus.
+var openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
+	r, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, err
+	}
+	return r, closeKeys, nil
+}
+
+// takeFromKey marks a module of a walk's tier as taken from the builder's key: asked of nobody (ADR 0501 §6).
+func takeFromKey(p *inventory.Plan, state *inventory.PlanModule, e inventory.Entry, now time.Time) {
+	state.BusWaitFrom = nil
+	state.State = "asked"
+	state.AskedAt = &now
+	state.Key = true
+	state.Build, state.Fingerprint = "", ""
+	state.KeyAt = p.CommitOn(e.Source.Repository, followedBranch(e.Source.Ref))
+	state.Why = "waits for the builder's key"
+	state.Commit, state.BuiltAt, state.Made = "", nil, ""
+	fmt.Printf("  tier %d: %s is taken from the builder's key, asking no build\n", p.Tier, e.Manifest.Module)
+}
+
+// keyTakes are the take-ins of keys a look started and has not seen end, by key build id, and what each said when it
+// waits: kept in this process, so a look starts each once and a settle says why it waits.
+var keyTakes = struct {
+	sync.Mutex
+	running map[string]bool
+	waits   map[string]string
+	// taken are the keys whose take-in ended registered, or found the module already at a later build (superseded).
+	taken map[string]bool
+}{running: map[string]bool{}, waits: map[string]string{}, taken: map[string]bool{}}
+
+// settleFromKeys settles every module of the tier taken from a key: built from its key's record, failed with the key's
+// words or the take-in's refusal, or still waiting, saying for what. It says whether it changed the plan. It reads only
+// the buckets and the records; a done key not recorded yet is taken in off the plans' hold, and its end asks the look.
+func settleFromKeys(ctx context.Context, open *stores, keys planKeyReads, p *inventory.Plan, tier []string) (bool, error) {
+	return settleKeys(ctx, open.inventory, keys, p, tier, func(module string, trunk sdkdelivery.Module, id string) {
+		inBackground(func() { takeKeyOffTheHold(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), open, module, trunk, id) })
+	})
+}
+
+// keyRecords is what settling from keys reads of the records (*inventory.Inventory, or a test's).
+type keyRecords interface {
+	BuildByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (inventory.Build, bool, error)
+	RefusedOf(ctx context.Context, ids []string) (map[string]string, error)
+	SourceOf(ctx context.Context, module string) (inventory.Source, error)
+}
+
+// settleKeys is settleFromKeys on the records handed in, starting a take-in with take.
+func settleKeys(ctx context.Context, inv keyRecords, keys planKeyReads, p *inventory.Plan, tier []string,
+	take func(module string, trunk sdkdelivery.Module, id string)) (bool, error) {
+	changed := false
+	set := func(s *inventory.PlanModule, why string) {
+		if s.Why != why {
+			s.Why = why
+			changed = true
+		}
+	}
+	for _, m := range tier {
+		s := p.Modules[m]
+		if s == nil || !s.Key || s.State != "asked" {
+			continue
+		}
+		trunk, err := keys.ModuleAt(ctx, m, s.KeyAt)
+		if errors.Is(err, builderkeys.ErrNoValue) {
+			set(s, fmt.Sprintf("waits for the indexer's value of %s at %s", m, orNow(s.KeyAt)))
+			continue
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return changed, err
+		}
+		if trunk.FP2 == "" {
+			why := trunk.None2
+			if why == "" {
+				why = "the indexer wrote no fingerprint of the new form"
+			}
+			set(s, fmt.Sprintf("waits: %s at %s has no fingerprint to take a build by: %s", m, orNow(s.KeyAt), why))
+			continue
+		}
+		if s.Fingerprint != trunk.FP2 {
+			s.Fingerprint, changed = trunk.FP2, true
+		}
+		k, err := keys.Build(ctx, m, trunk.FP2)
+		if err != nil {
+			return changed, err
+		}
+		switch {
+		case k.Failed():
+			// **A failed key fails the walk in the builder's own words** (`digests differ:`, `not stored:`, `not pinned:`,
+			// `version taken:`), and a rebuild of it is a new revision the next walk takes.
+			s.State, s.Why = "failed", k.Build.Error
+			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
+			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("%s failed to build in tier %d: %s", m, p.Tier, firstLine(k.Build.Error))
+			changed = true
+			continue
+		case !k.Done() || len(k.Unreferenced()) > 0:
+			set(s, "waits: "+k.Says())
+			continue
+		}
+		id := keyBuildID(k)
+		refused, err := inv.RefusedOf(ctx, []string{id})
+		if err != nil {
+			return changed, fmt.Errorf("the refused registrations cannot be read: %w", err)
+		}
+		for kept, why := range refusalsKeptFor([]string{id}) {
+			refused[kept] = why
+		}
+		if why, ok := refused[id]; ok {
+			s.State, s.Why, s.Build = "failed", why, id
+			p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
+			p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("%s failed to build in tier %d: %s", m, p.Tier, firstLine(why))
+			changed = true
+			continue
+		}
+		b, found, err := inv.BuildByID(ctx, id)
+		if err != nil {
+			return changed, err
+		}
+		if found && b.Worked() {
+			keyTakes.Lock()
+			taken := keyTakes.taken[id]
+			keyTakes.Unlock()
+			registered := taken
+			if !registered {
+				if registered, err = registeredAt(ctx, inv, m, trunk.Commit); err != nil {
+					return changed, err
+				}
+			}
+			if registered {
+				at := b.At
+				s.State, s.BuiltAt, s.Commit, s.Build = "built", &at, trunk.Commit, id
+				s.Made = fmt.Sprintf("taken from the builder's key %s (revision %d), no build asked", short(trunk.FP2), k.Revision)
+				s.Why = ""
+				fmt.Printf("%s: %s taken from the builder's key %s\n", p.ID, m, short(trunk.FP2))
+				changed = true
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		running, waits := keyTakes.running[id], keyTakes.waits[id]
+		if !running {
+			keyTakes.running[id] = true
+		}
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+		if waits != "" {
+			set(s, firstLine(waits))
+		} else {
+			set(s, "taking in the builder's done key "+short(trunk.FP2))
+		}
+		if !running {
+			take(m, trunk, id)
+		}
+	}
+	return changed, nil
+}
+
+// registeredAt says the catalogue holds the module registered at the commit the walk takes it at: its key's take-in
+// registered it there, whether with the key's artifacts or, unchanged, with the build it stands on (no move). A key
+// recorded at an earlier commit (the same fingerprint at an older merge) is taken in again, to register it here.
+func registeredAt(ctx context.Context, inv keyRecords, module, commit string) (bool, error) {
+	src, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, module)
+	if errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrNoSuchModule) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return sameCommitID(src.BuiltFrom, commit), nil
+}
+
+func sameCommitID(a, b string) bool {
+	if a == "" || b == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	if a == b {
+		return true
+	}
+	n := min(len(a), len(b))
+	return n >= 7 && a[:n] == b[:n]
+}
+
+func orNow(commit string) string {
+	if commit == "" {
+		return "its value now"
+	}
+	return short(commit)
+}
+
+// takeKeyOffTheHold takes a walk's module in from its done key, off the plans' hold: a registration may sweep the
+// artifact store, and the plans are held by one look at a time. Its end asks the look, which settles the module from the
+// record; a refusal is kept by the key's build id, so the look fails the walk with it; a wait is said by the look.
+func takeKeyOffTheHold(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module string, trunk sdkdelivery.Module, id string) {
+	defer func() {
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		delete(keyTakes.running, id)
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+		askToLook()
+	}()
+	keys, closeKeys, err := openBuilderKeys()
+	if err != nil {
+		keepKeyWait(id, "waits: the builder's keys cannot be read: "+err.Error())
+		return
+	}
+	defer closeKeys()
+	_, _, err = takeInKey(ctx, open.inventory, keys, keyTake{Module: module, Trunk: trunk,
+		Ask: registrationAsk{Merge: trunk.Commit}})
+	switch {
+	case err == nil, errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrSuperseded):
+		// Superseded is no failure: the module is already at what a later merge's key built, which a walk that carries
+		// this merge is answered by, as a build-agent outcome superseded was.
+		keepKeyWait(id, "")
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		keyTakes.taken[id] = true
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+	case errors.Is(err, errKeyWaits):
+		keepKeyWait(id, err.Error())
+	default:
+		why := err.Error()
+		if rerr := open.inventory.RecordRefused(ctx, id, module, why); rerr != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("plans: %s's refusal could not be kept in the store, only in this controller: %v\n", module, rerr)
+		}
+		keepRefusalFor(id, why, time.Now())
+	}
+}
+
+func keepKeyWait(id, why string) {
+	keyTakes.Lock()
+	defer keyTakes.Unlock()
+	if why == "" {
+		delete(keyTakes.waits, id)
+		return
+	}
+	keyTakes.waits[id] = why
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_keys_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// planKeysOf is the indexer and the builder as a walk reads them, for a test: values by module and commit, keys by
+// module.
+type planKeysOf struct {
+	values map[string]sdkdelivery.Module // by module + "@" + commit
+	keys   map[string]builderkeys.Key
+}
+
+func (k planKeysOf) ModuleAt(_ context.Context, module, commit string) (sdkdelivery.Module, error) {
+	if v, ok := k.values[module+"@"+commit]; ok {
+		return v, nil
+	}
+	return sdkdelivery.Module{}, builderkeys.ErrNoValue
+}
+
+func (k planKeysOf) Build(_ context.Context, module, fp string) (builderkeys.Key, error) {
+	if key, ok := k.keys[module]; ok && key.Fingerprint == fp {
+		return key, nil
+	}
+	return builderkeys.Key{Module: module, Fingerprint: fp}, nil
+}
+
+// recordsOf is the build records and refusals a settle reads, for a test.
+type recordsOf struct {
+	builds  map[string]inventory.Build
+	refused map[string]string
+	sources map[string]inventory.Source
+}
+
+func (r recordsOf) BuildByID(_ context.Context, id string) (inventory.Build, bool, error) {
+	b, ok := r.builds[id]
+	return b, ok, nil
+}
+
+func (r recordsOf) RefusedOf(_ context.Context, ids []string) (map[string]string, error) {
+	out := map[string]string{}
+	for _, id := range ids {
+		if why, ok := r.refused[id]; ok {
+			out[id] = why
+		}
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+func (r recordsOf) SourceOf(_ context.Context, module string) (inventory.Source, error) {
+	if s, ok := r.sources[module]; ok {
+		return s, nil
+	}
+	return inventory.Source{}, inventory.ErrNoSuchModule
+}
+
+func aWalkOfOne(module string) (*inventory.Plan, map[string]inventory.Entry) {
+	p := &inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1", State: inventory.PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{module}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{}, Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "c0ffee0123456789",
+		Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Merges: []inventory.PlanMerge{{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: "c0ffee0123456789"}}}}
+	byName := map[string]inventory.Entry{module: {Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git",
+		Path: "modules/" + module, Ref: "main"}}}
+	return p, byName
+}
+
+// A6 (ADR 0503 §6, ADR 0498 check §7): a walk whose module has a done key goes asked to built with no build asked: the
+// ask stub is never called, the key is taken in once, and `plans` says it was taken from the builder's key.
+func TestAWalkTakesADoneKeyAndAsksNoBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
+		t.Fatal("a walk asked build-agent for a module that is not the builder's own")
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("sudo")
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "sudo", byName)
+	s := p.Modules["sudo"]
+	if s.State != "asked" || !s.Key || s.Build != "" || s.KeyAt != "c0ffee0123456789" {
+		t.Fatalf("the module is not taken from a key: %+v", s)
+	}
+	fp := "src2:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64)
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: "sudo", Fingerprint: fp, Found: true, Revision: 2, Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{
+		State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, Manifest: strings.Repeat("b", 64), Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "a",
+			Digest: "sha256:1", Reference: "artifact-store://sudo/a/blobs/sha256:1"}}}}
+	keys := planKeysOf{values: map[string]sdkdelivery.Module{"sudo@c0ffee0123456789": {FP2: fp, Commit: "c0ffee0123456789"}},
+		keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"sudo": k}}
+	records := recordsOf{builds: map[string]inventory.Build{}, sources: map[string]inventory.Source{}}
+	var taken []string
+	take := func(m string, _ sdkdelivery.Module, id string) { taken = append(taken, m+" "+id) }
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		keyTakes.running, keyTakes.waits, keyTakes.taken = map[string]bool{}, map[string]string{}, map[string]bool{}
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+	})
+
+	changed, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take)
+	if err != nil || !changed || len(taken) != 1 || s.State != "asked" || s.Fingerprint != fp {
+		t.Fatalf("a done key not recorded yet is taken in once: %v %v %v %+v", changed, err, taken, s)
+	}
+	// A second look while the take-in runs starts no second one.
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take); err != nil || len(taken) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("a second look took the key in again: %v %v", taken, err)
+	}
+	// The take-in recorded and registered it: the look settles it built from the record.
+	id := keyBuildID(k)
+	records.builds[id] = inventory.Build{ID: id, Module: "sudo", Commit: "c0ffee0123456789", At: time.Now()}
+	records.sources["sudo"] = inventory.Source{BuiltFrom: "c0ffee0123456789"}
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if s.State != "built" || s.Build != id || !strings.Contains(s.Made, "taken from the builder's key") {
+		t.Fatalf("the module is not built from its key: %+v", s)
+	}
+	if takesOutcome(*p, &inventory.PlanModule{Key: true, State: "asked", AskedAt: s.AskedAt}, time.Now(), "build-1") {
+		t.Fatal("a build-agent outcome answers a module taken from a key")
+	}
+}
+
+// A7: a key building waits and says so, then moves on when done, with no timer and no ask; a failed key fails the walk
+// in the builder's words; a value the indexer has not written yet waits, named.
+func TestAWalkWaitsForAKeyAndFailsWithItsWords(t *testing.T) {
+	asksOfNone := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
+		t.Fatal("a walk asked a build")
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = asksOfNone })
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		keyTakes.running, keyTakes.waits, keyTakes.taken = map[string]bool{}, map[string]string{}, map[string]bool{}
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+	})
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("view")
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "view", byName)
+	s := p.Modules["view"]
+	records := recordsOf{builds: map[string]inventory.Build{}}
+	take := func(string, sdkdelivery.Module, string) {}
+	keys := planKeysOf{values: map[string]sdkdelivery.Module{}, keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{}}
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take); err != nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(s.Why, "waits for the indexer's value of view at c0ffee01") {
+		t.Fatalf("no indexer value yet: %q %v", s.Why, err)
+	}
+	fp := "src2:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64)
+	keys.values["view@c0ffee0123456789"] = sdkdelivery.Module{FP2: fp}
+	keys.keys["view"] = builderkeys.Key{Module: "view", Fingerprint: fp, Found: true,
+		Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildBuilding, By: "g14"}}
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take); err != nil ||
+		s.State != "asked" || !strings.Contains(s.Why, "building on g14") || p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding {
+		t.Fatalf("a building key: %+v %v", s, err)
+	}
+	keys.keys["view"] = builderkeys.Key{Module: "view", Fingerprint: fp, Found: true,
+		Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{State: sdkdelivery.BuildFailed, Error: "not stored: tools: the store answered 500"}}
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], take); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if s.State != "failed" || p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !strings.Contains(p.Note, "not stored: tools") {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed key does not fail the walk in its words: %+v %q", s, p.Note)
+	}
+}
+
+// A7: a take-in refused (a module from another repository, a manifest refused) fails the walk with the refusal.
+func TestARefusedTakeInFailsTheWalk(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		keyTakes.running, keyTakes.waits, keyTakes.taken = map[string]bool{}, map[string]string{}, map[string]bool{}
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+	})
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("sudo")
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "sudo", byName)
+	fp := "src2:" + strings.Repeat("d", 64)
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: "sudo", Fingerprint: fp, Found: true, Revision: 1, Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{
+		State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, Manifest: strings.Repeat("b", 64), Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "a",
+			Digest: "sha256:1", Reference: "artifact-store://sudo/a/blobs/sha256:1"}}}}
+	keys := planKeysOf{values: map[string]sdkdelivery.Module{"sudo@c0ffee0123456789": {FP2: fp}},
+		keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"sudo": k}}
+	records := recordsOf{refused: map[string]string{keyBuildID(k): "sudo is built from novox/mesh-catalog, and this build is of agent/sudo"}}
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], func(string, sdkdelivery.Module, string) {}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !strings.Contains(p.Note, "agent/sudo") {
+		t.Fatalf("a refused take-in did not fail the walk: %s %q", p.State, p.Note)
+	}
+}
+
+// A6: a walk's module whose fingerprint did not change since an earlier merge has its key recorded at that merge's
+// commit: the walk takes it in again, so the module is registered at the commit the walk carries, before it is built.
+func TestAKeyRecordedAtAnEarlierCommitIsTakenInAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		keyTakes.Lock()
+		keyTakes.running, keyTakes.waits, keyTakes.taken = map[string]bool{}, map[string]string{}, map[string]bool{}
+		keyTakes.Unlock()
+	})
+	p, byName := aWalkOfOne("sudo")
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "sudo", byName)
+	fp := "src2:" + strings.Repeat("e", 64)
+	k := builderkeys.Key{Module: "sudo", Fingerprint: fp, Found: true, Revision: 1, Build: sdkdelivery.BuilderBuild{
+		State: sdkdelivery.BuildDone, Manifest: strings.Repeat("b", 64), Artifacts: []sdkdelivery.BuiltArtifact{{Name: "a",
+			Digest: "sha256:1", Reference: "artifact-store://sudo/a/blobs/sha256:1"}}}}
+	keys := planKeysOf{values: map[string]sdkdelivery.Module{"sudo@c0ffee0123456789": {FP2: fp, Commit: "c0ffee0123456789"}},
+		keys: map[string]builderkeys.Key{"sudo": k}}
+	id := keyBuildID(k)
+	records := recordsOf{builds: map[string]inventory.Build{id: {ID: id, Module: "sudo", Commit: "0ld0ld0ld0ld"}},
+		sources: map[string]inventory.Source{"sudo": {BuiltFrom: "0ld0ld0ld0ld"}}}
+	var taken []string
+	if _, err := settleKeys(t.Context(), records, keys, p, p.Tiers[0], func(m string, _ sdkdelivery.Module, _ string) {
+		taken = append(taken, m)
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["sudo"]; s.State != "asked" || len(taken) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("a key recorded at an earlier commit settled the walk at that commit: %+v, taken %v", s, taken)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_looks.go

@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ func startRolloutEvents(ctx context.Context, open *stores, js *broker.JetStream)
 	if err := startProvAppliedLooks(ctx, js); err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("plans: the provisioner clients' words could not be watched (%v); a walk waits for them until the next look\n", err)
 	}
-	if err := startPlanMovedLooks(ctx, js); err != nil {
+	if err := startPlanMovedLooks(ctx, js, open); err != nil {
 		fmt.Printf("plans: the plans moved by other processes could not be followed (%v)\n", err)
 	}
 	done := startPlanLooks(ctx, open)
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ func servingPlanSaved(ctx context.Context, bus link.Bus, open *stores) func(*inv
 	return func(_ *inventory.Inventory, p inventory.Plan) {
 		sayPlanMoved(ctx, bus, open.inventory, p)
 		planKept(p)
+		keepBuildingKey(ctx, p)
 		if p.WalkSaid == inventory.WalkEnded {
 			go forgetChecksOfWalk(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), open.inventory, p)
 		}
@@ -562,7 +563,7 @@ func startProvAppliedLooks(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream) error {
 // `plan-moved`, so a plan a person moved with a verb at the control node's terminal — a process this one did not spawn,
 // whose saves it does not hear — is looked at all the same (novox/hq ADR 0406 §2, §5, issue 974). New messages only; the
 // first look reads the rest. A look its own save asks is the same look: asks are one.
-func startPlanMovedLooks(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream) error {
+func startPlanMovedLooks(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream, open *stores) error {
 	api, err := jetstream.New(js.Conn())
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -577,7 +578,18 @@ func startPlanMovedLooks(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("following the plans moved: %w", err)
 	}
-	consuming, err := consumer.Consume(func(jetstream.Msg) { askToLook() })
+	var bus link.Bus
+	if core, err := js.Conn().JetStream(); err == nil {
+		bus = link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn(), JS: core}
+	}
+	consuming, err := consumer.Consume(func(m jetstream.Msg) {
+		askToLook()
+		if bus != nil && open != nil {
+			// A walk's start or end, said by this controller or a verb: said again with the machines whose
+			// declaration it changes (novox/hq ADR 0505 §2, walk_declared.go).
+			go sayDeclared(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), bus, open, m.Data())
+		}
+	})
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("following the plans moved: %w", err)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_looks_integration_test.go

@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ func TestAPlanMovedByAnotherProcessAsksForALook(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx, stop := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	defer stop()
 	go l.run(ctx)
-	if err := startPlanMovedLooks(ctx, js); err != nil {
+	if err := startPlanMovedLooks(ctx, js, nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	legacy, err := js.Conn().JetStream()

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_moved_every_writer_test.go

@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ func TestNoPlanIsWrittenButThroughSavePlansMoving(t *testing.T) {
 				return err
 			}
 			text := string(raw)
-			if write.MatchString(text) {
+			// The regular expression is the costly part of reading every source: only a file that names the table can match.
+			if strings.Contains(strings.ToLower(text), "release_plan") && write.MatchString(text) {
 				found = append(found, path+" writes the plan table")
 			}
 			// A plan record is written by the bucket's raw create and update, which only the plans' own file calls.