Take mesh-sdk at c8e3509, which counts an item's text as a placement of a config value (issue 1658)

.gitignore

@@ -2,11 +2,9 @@
 
 # A built binary. The lab writes one here when pointed at the repository root by mistake;
 # built artifacts belong in build/, which is already ignored.
+/mesh-builder
 /mesh-controller
 /postgres-provisioner
 /redis-provisioner
 # And where `go build` in cmd/mesh-controller leaves it (novox/hq issue 233).
 /cmd/mesh-controller/mesh-controller
-
-# No repository commits its dependencies (issue 1305).
-vendor/

Dockerfile

@@ -21,15 +21,17 @@ ARG GO_BASE=golang@sha256:8ac98ca534ac3f51e1f420a1dd2c15e74c75cfa0f23f3ad27eb5d7
 FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
 WORKDIR /src
 
-# **No dependency is committed** (issue 1305): go.sum names each one's version and checksum, and the build
-# resolves them with -mod=mod. Dependencies first, so a change to the source does not re-copy them.
+# **Nothing is fetched** (novox/hq to-be 45 Phase 1): every dependency is in vendor/, committed, so
+# the image builds from this repository alone — the host's validator among them, whose module no
+# public proxy is asked for. Dependencies first, so a change to the source does not re-copy them.
 COPY go.mod go.sum ./
+COPY vendor/ vendor/
 
 # `COPY . .` brings `.git` along, so Go is told not to stamp the commit: the version is said by -X, and a
 # rebuild of an unchanged program is the same bytes (novox/hq ADR 0267 rule 6, issue 363).
 COPY . .
 ARG VERSION=development
-RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOFLAGS=-mod=mod go build -trimpath -buildvcs=false \
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor GOPROXY=off go build -trimpath -buildvcs=false \
         -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=${VERSION}" \
         -o /mesh-controller ./cmd/mesh-controller
 

Makefile

@@ -46,6 +46,17 @@ image:
 	@echo
 	@docker image inspect $(IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
 
+# The builder ships as an image too, because it is a module the mesh assigns rather than a program
+# somebody starts on a machine by hand.
+BUILDER_IMAGE ?= mesh-builder:$(VERSION)
+BUILDER_DEV_TAG ?= mesh-builder:development
+
+builder-image:
+	@test -n "$(GO_BASE)" || { echo "no GO_BASE; pass GO_BASE=<image>"; exit 1; }
+	docker build --build-arg GO_BASE=$(GO_BASE) -f cmd/mesh-builder/Dockerfile -t $(BUILDER_IMAGE) -t $(BUILDER_DEV_TAG) .
+	@echo
+	@docker image inspect $(BUILDER_IMAGE) --format 'built {{.RepoTags}}  {{.Size}} bytes'
+
 # The provisioner ships as an image too, because it is the thing that makes a sealed credential
 # true on a machine -- and the mesh cannot, having discarded the plaintext.
 PROVISIONER_IMAGE ?= mesh-provision-postgres:$(VERSION)
@@ -79,6 +90,35 @@ 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
+# target's.
+#
+# **It calls the script rather than restating it** (novox/hq issue 431): this target used to list its
+# own steps, its formatting step walked vendor/ where the script's does not, and it failed on
+# third-party code no change could fix -- so a developer's check and the gate disagreed, and the steps
+# after formatting never ran through it. The script is the one list of steps; this target only gives it
+# a database (MESH_TEST_POSTGRES, exported above).
+#
+# **Two levels** (issue 895): the unit level, `go test ./...` untagged, timed and held to a bound; and the integration
+# level, `-tags integration`, the tests that start a bus, a store or another process. Each is said with its time.
+#
+# **Packages in parallel, under the race detector, each test on a bus of its own** (internal/testbus),
+# 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
+
 # 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
 # store's tests would skip rather than fail anyway.
@@ -88,13 +128,14 @@ test:
 vet:
 	go vet ./...
 
-# A quick step for a developer: the checker runs the build module's own formatting and vet (ADR 0501 §5, D7).
+# Quick steps for a developer, not part of `check`. The directories gofmt reads must be the ones
+# merge-check.sh lists, never `.`, which walks vendor/ (novox/hq issue 431).
 fmt:
 	@unformatted=$$(gofmt -l cmd internal examples) ; \
 	if [ -n "$$unformatted" ] ; then echo "not gofmt'd:" ; echo "$$unformatted" ; exit 1 ; fi
 
 postgres:
-	@docker rm -f -v $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	@docker rm -f $(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'
@@ -106,7 +147,7 @@ postgres:
 	echo ' — never came up' ; docker logs $(PG_CONTAINER) | tail -20 ; exit 1
 
 postgres-stop:
-	@docker rm -f -v $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+	@docker rm -f $(PG_CONTAINER) >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 
 clean:
 	rm -rf build/

RELEASE-57.md

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# Release 57: config and provisioning
+
+This branch carries the work of hq design 57 (ADR 0348, ADR 0349) in this repository. Each package
+merges here through its own reviewed pull request; the branch reaches main as one pull request, in one
+delivery group with the branch of the same name in mesh-controller, mesh-host, mesh-sdk, mesh-catalog
+and hq, after a rehearsal in the lab. This file is deleted by the last commit before that pull request.

check-nested-modules.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# The unit tests of every Go module of its own below this repository's root, run from the root, for merge-check.sh
+# and for the test that tries it on a tree (merge_check_nested_test.go). Its own file so that the test needs no
+# particular merge-check.sh: the check that judges a change to merge-check.sh is main's.
+set -eu
+cgo="${cgo:-0}"
+race="${race:-}"
+
+# nested_modules vets and tests every Go module of its own below the root, `modules/<name>/go.mod` (novox/hq ADR 0420
+# §5, issue 1025): `./...` stops at a nested go.mod, so a module that lives whole in this repository would have its
+# unit tests run by nobody. None is a pass. Each runs in its own directory, outside the vendor directory this
+# repository's own packages are built from; a nested module vendors what the forge holds (its own `vendor/`, so the
+# check runs offline), as this repository's root module does (issue 1019). A failing module fails the check; the others are still run.
+nested_modules() {
+	nested=0
+	for gomod in modules/*/go.mod; do
+		[ -e "$gomod" ] || continue
+		dir=$(dirname "$gomod")
+		echo "nested module $dir:"
+		if ! (cd "$dir" && GOFLAGS= CGO_ENABLED=0 go vet ./... &&
+			GOFLAGS= CGO_ENABLED="${cgo:-0}" go test ${race:-} -count=1 -timeout 30m ./...); then
+			echo "nested module $dir FAILED"
+			nested=1
+		fi
+	done
+	return $nested
+}
+
+nested_modules

cmd/mesh-builder/Dockerfile

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+ARG ALPINE_BASE=alpine:3
+ARG GO_BASE=golang:1.25-alpine
+# The builder, as a module ships one.
+#
+# Not FROM scratch, unlike the control plane: this one runs git and a container client, so it
+# needs a filesystem with them on it. That is the honest cost of a machine whose job is to build —
+# and it is why building is a MODULE on a machine that has a runtime rather than something the
+# control plane does (novox/hq ADR 0005).
+FROM ${GO_BASE} AS build
+WORKDIR /src
+COPY go.mod go.sum ./
+RUN go mod download
+COPY . .
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -trimpath -buildvcs=false -ldflags '-s -w' -o /mesh-builder ./cmd/mesh-builder
+
+FROM ${ALPINE_BASE}
+# git to clone what it is asked to build, and the docker client to build and push it. The daemon
+# is the machine's, reached through its socket — a build machine shares the runtime it was given
+# rather than running one inside itself.
+RUN apk add --no-cache git docker-cli
+COPY --from=build /mesh-builder /usr/local/bin/mesh-builder
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/mesh-builder"]

cmd/mesh-builder/busy.go

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// **The build agent says whether it is busy, and being asked drains it** (novox/hq ADR 0335 §1, §5). Its
+// container declares `busy` as `mesh-builder busy`: the node-engine runs it inside the container before it
+// replaces it. It exits 0 while a build is in hand and 1 when none is; and from the first ask the agent takes
+// no new build request, so its answer ends once the build in hand ends — a replaced builder finishes the check
+// it runs, instead of the build queue handing it out again from the start (issue 594).
+//
+// Two marks in the container's own temporary directory, as the ready mark (ready.go): a new container starts
+// without them, and a restarted one removes them before it takes work again.
+//
+//   - in hand: written by the agent when it claims a request, before it reads whether it is drained; removed
+//     when the build ends.
+//   - drained: written by the ask, before it reads whether a build is in hand.
+//
+// Each side writes its own mark before it reads the other's, so an ask racing a fetch sees the build in hand,
+// or the agent sees the drain and hands the request back; never neither.
+
+func inHandMark() string { return filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "mesh-builder.in-hand") }
+func drainMark() string  { return filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "mesh-builder.drained") }
+
+// The drain lapses when no ask has come for drainLapse: the node-engine asks every 20 seconds for as long as it
+// really waits, so an agent whose replacement was withdrawn — the declaration put back, the walk stopped —
+// takes work again rather than staying drained for ever (review of ADR 0335). And an agent drained for longer
+// than the node-engine's bound and the slack says it is not ready: the replacement it was drained for never
+// came, which is a fault to see.
+const (
+	drainLapse   = 2 * time.Minute
+	drainTooLong = 15*time.Minute + 5*time.Minute
+)
+
+// drainedAt is when the drain began and when it was last asked, from its mark; false when there is no mark.
+func drainedAt() (began, asked time.Time, ok bool) {
+	info, err := os.Stat(drainMark())
+	if err != nil {
+		return time.Time{}, time.Time{}, false
+	}
+	asked = info.ModTime()
+	began = asked
+	if raw, err := os.ReadFile(drainMark()); err == nil {
+		if t, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, strings.TrimSpace(string(raw))); err == nil && !t.After(asked) {
+			began = t
+		}
+	}
+	return began, asked, true
+}
+
+// drained says the agent was asked whether it is busy within drainLapse: it takes no new build request.
+func drained() bool { return drainedSince(time.Now()) }
+
+func drainedSince(now time.Time) bool {
+	_, asked, ok := drainedAt()
+	return ok && now.Sub(asked) < drainLapse
+}
+
+// drainedTooLong is the health check's second half: nil unless the agent has been drained, asked all along, for
+// longer than its node-engine's bound and the slack.
+func drainedTooLong(now time.Time) error {
+	began, asked, ok := drainedAt()
+	if !ok || now.Sub(asked) >= drainLapse || now.Sub(began) <= drainTooLong {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("drained since %s and still asked: the replacement its node-engine waits for has not come "+
+		"within %s (novox/hq ADR 0335)", began.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), drainTooLong)
+}
+
+// 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 {
+	// 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)
+		return false
+	}
+	_, err = f.WriteString(time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339) + "\n")
+	if closeErr := f.Close(); err == nil {
+		err = closeErr
+	}
+	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)
+		return false
+	}
+	if drained() {
+		_ = os.Remove(inHandMark())
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "asked whether busy, so this agent takes no new build: handed back")
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+// holding says what is in hand, for the ask to print: written once the request is read.
+func holding(what string) {
+	_ = os.WriteFile(inHandMark(), []byte(time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)+" "+what+"\n"), 0o644)
+}
+
+// released ends the build in hand.
+func released() {
+	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)
+	}
+}
+
+// undrained clears both marks at the start of a holder: a container started again is asked afresh.
+func undrained() error {
+	for _, mark := range []string{drainMark(), inHandMark()} {
+		if err := os.Remove(mark); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot remove %s: %w", mark, err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// busy is the ask: it drains the agent, then says whether a build is in hand. Nil — exit 0 — while one is.
+func busy() (string, error) {
+	// The mark keeps when the drain began while it is asked within drainLapse, and is written again on every
+	// ask: its time is the last ask.
+	began := time.Now().UTC()
+	if was, _, ok := drainedAt(); ok && drained() {
+		began = was.UTC()
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(drainMark(), []byte(began.Format(time.RFC3339)+"\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		// Not drained, it could take the next build: said, and answered busy only for what is in hand now.
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot mark this agent drained (%s): %v\n", drainMark(), err)
+	}
+	held, err := os.ReadFile(inHandMark())
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", errors.New("idle: no build in hand, and this agent takes no new one")
+	}
+	since, what, _ := strings.Cut(strings.TrimSpace(string(held)), " ")
+	if what == "" {
+		what = "a build"
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("busy: %s, in hand since %s; taking no new build", what, since), nil
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/busy_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// `mesh-builder busy` answers 0 while a build is in hand and non-zero when idle, and after its first ask the
+// agent takes no new build request (novox/hq ADR 0335 §5).
+func TestBusyAnswersWhileABuildIsInHandAndDrainsTheAgent(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if drained() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent never asked is drained")
+	}
+	// A build is claimed and runs.
+	if !claim() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent never asked refused a build")
+	}
+	holding("novox/mesh-controller (check-280)")
+	said, err := busy()
+	if err != nil || !strings.Contains(said, "novox/mesh-controller (check-280)") {
+		t.Fatalf("an agent with a build in hand did not answer busy with what it holds: %q %v", said, err)
+	}
+	// From that ask on it takes nothing new: the fetch is not made, and one fetched is handed back.
+	if !drained() {
+		t.Fatal("the ask did not drain the agent")
+	}
+	if claim() {
+		t.Fatal("a drained agent took a new build")
+	}
+	// The build in hand is still in hand after the refused claim, and busy goes on saying so.
+	if _, err := busy(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a refused claim ended the build in hand: %v", err)
+	}
+	// It ends: idle, and still drained.
+	released()
+	if _, err := busy(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an agent with nothing in hand answered busy")
+	}
+	if claim() {
+		t.Fatal("a drained agent took a build after its last one ended")
+	}
+	// Started again, it is asked afresh.
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if drained() || !claim() {
+		t.Fatal("a holder started again is still drained")
+	}
+	released()
+}
+
+// An ask racing a fetch sees the build in hand, or the agent sees the drain and hands the request back: never
+// neither, which would replace the container under a build just taken.
+func TestAnAskRacingAFetchNeverMissesTheBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	for i := 0; i < 200; i++ {
+		if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		var claimed bool
+		var askErr error
+		var wg sync.WaitGroup
+		wg.Add(2)
+		go func() { defer wg.Done(); claimed = claim() }()
+		go func() { defer wg.Done(); _, askErr = busy() }()
+		wg.Wait()
+		if claimed && askErr != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("round %d: the agent took a build and the ask said idle", i)
+		}
+		released()
+	}
+}
+
+// A drain no longer asked lapses: an agent whose replacement was withdrawn after the first ask (a put-back, a
+// revert, a stopped walk) takes work again after drainLapse, rather than staying drained with its health green.
+func TestADrainNoLongerAskedLapses(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := busy(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an idle agent answered busy")
+	}
+	if !drained() || claim() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent just asked takes work")
+	}
+	// The last ask was three minutes ago.
+	old := time.Now().Add(-3 * time.Minute)
+	if err := os.Chtimes(drainMark(), old, old); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if drained() {
+		t.Fatal("a drain no longer asked for three minutes still holds")
+	}
+	if !claim() {
+		t.Fatal("an agent whose drain lapsed takes no work")
+	}
+	released()
+}
+
+// An agent drained, and asked all along, for longer than its node-engine's bound and the slack is not ready: the
+// replacement it was drained for never came. One asked again after a lapse starts a new drain.
+func TestAnAgentDrainedTooLongIsNotReady(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	taking("mesh-build-machine")
+	if _, err := busy(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an idle agent answered busy")
+	}
+	now := time.Now()
+	if err := drainedTooLong(now); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an agent drained a moment ago is not ready: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The drain began 25 minutes ago, and the node-engine asked a moment ago.
+	began := now.Add(-25 * time.Minute).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	if err := os.WriteFile(drainMark(), []byte(began+"\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	err := drainedTooLong(time.Now())
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "has not come") {
+		t.Fatalf("an agent drained for 25 minutes reads ready: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Each ask keeps when the drain began.
+	if _, err := busy(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an idle agent answered busy")
+	}
+	if err := drainedTooLong(time.Now()); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an ask started the drain again")
+	}
+	// The asks stopped: the drain lapsed, and so did the fault.
+	old := time.Now().Add(-3 * time.Minute)
+	if err := os.Chtimes(drainMark(), old, old); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := drainedTooLong(time.Now()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a lapsed drain still reads not ready: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// An ask this build does not know exits non-zero: an older image asked `busy` reads idle, not busy for the
+// node-engine's whole bound.
+func TestAnUnknownCommandFails(t *testing.T) {
+	was := os.Args
+	t.Cleanup(func() { os.Args = was })
+	os.Args = []string{"mesh-builder", "some-later-word"}
+	if err := run(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unknown command exited 0")
+	}
+	os.Args = []string{"mesh-builder", "help"}
+	if err := run(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("help failed: %v", err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/check_spec_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// The build seat hands the check the judge cache the build agent declares (MESH_JUDGE_CACHE), never a path of its own.
+func TestTheBuildSeatHandsTheCheckTheJudgeCacheItDeclares(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MESH_JUDGE_CACHE", "/var/lib/mesh/build-agent/judge-cache")
+	if got := judgeCache(); got != "/var/lib/mesh/build-agent/judge-cache" {
+		t.Fatalf("the judge cache the manifest declares is read as %q", got)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("MESH_JUDGE_CACHE", "")
+	if got := judgeCache(); got != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("with no judge cache declared, %q is used", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// The siblings a check is asked to read reach the build seat's spec and, as read, the outcome (novox/hq ADR 0382).
+func TestTheSiblingsAnAskNamesReachTheSpecAndTheOutcome(t *testing.T) {
+	spec := checkSpecOf(link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Base: "main",
+		Siblings:        []link.CheckSibling{{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Number: 346, Head: "a", Base: "main", Dir: "mesh-controller"}},
+		SiblingsUnknown: "why"}})
+	if len(spec.Siblings) != 1 || spec.Siblings[0] != (builder.Sibling{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Number: 346,
+		Head: "a", Base: "main", Dir: "mesh-controller"}) || spec.SiblingsUnknown != "why" {
+		t.Fatalf("the spec reads %+v", spec)
+	}
+	out := siblingsOut([]builder.JudgedSibling{{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller", Number: 346, Head: "a", Base: "main", BaseCommit: "b"}})
+	if len(out) != 1 || out[0].BaseCommit != "b" || out[0].Number != 346 {
+		t.Fatalf("the outcome reads %+v", out)
+	}
+	if plain := checkSpecOf(link.BuildRequest{Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "o", Repo: "r"}}); plain.Siblings != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a request that names none has siblings %+v", plain.Siblings)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/holder.go

@@ -0,0 +1,433 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/micro"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// What a holder of the build seat answers for, on its own machine (novox/hq ADR 0219).
+//
+// **The queue is the controller's; the build running here is this machine's.** The controller can
+// see and change what waits in the seat's queue, but an ask a holder already took is a process tree
+// on this machine and containers in this machine's runtime, and only this machine can end them. So
+// the holder serves four verbs on the seat's subjects for this machine: what it is building, kill
+// it, pause, resume.
+//
+// **One build at a time** (ADR 0190), which is also what builder.Said assumes — a package global
+// set per build — so "the build running here" is one or none, and kill names it by id so a call
+// that arrives as one build ends and the next begins cannot end the wrong one.
+
+// holder is this machine's state as a holder of the build seat.
+type holder struct {
+	on, seat string
+	// workspace is where the paused flag is kept, so a holder restarted while paused stays paused
+	// rather than silently taking work again.
+	workspace string
+	// say publishes this machine's state: whether it takes work (link.HolderState).
+	say func(link.HolderState) error
+	// remove runs what a kill needs outside the build: the containers left behind.
+	remove builder.Runner
+	// scratch is where check builds are kept (novox/hq ADR 0350 §5): what the week's sweep lets go of. Nil where
+	// this machine publishes to no artifact store.
+	scratch builder.Scratch
+
+	mu      sync.Mutex
+	paused  bool
+	running *running
+}
+
+// running is the build this machine is doing.
+type running struct {
+	request link.BuildRequest
+	step    string
+	started time.Time
+	cancel  context.CancelFunc
+	killed  bool
+	// returned is the build's own work having ended, before a kill or not; outcome is what was then
+	// announced, and announced whether it went out.
+	returned  bool
+	outcome   string
+	announced bool
+	done      chan struct{}
+}
+
+// pausedFile is where the flag lives in the workspace.
+func pausedFile(workspace string) string { return filepath.Join(workspace, ".mesh-builder-paused") }
+
+// newHolder reads the paused flag the workspace keeps.
+func newHolder(on, seat, workspace string, say func(link.HolderState) error) *holder {
+	h := &holder{on: on, seat: seat, workspace: workspace, say: say, remove: plainRun}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(pausedFile(workspace)); err == nil {
+		h.paused = true
+	}
+	return h
+}
+
+// Paused is asked by the taking loop before every fetch.
+func (h *holder) Paused() bool {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	return h.paused
+}
+
+// setPaused records the flag in the workspace first and then in memory, so what this holder says
+// it is and what it would be after a restart never differ.
+func (h *holder) setPaused(paused bool) error {
+	path := pausedFile(h.workspace)
+	if paused {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(h.workspace, 0o755); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)+"\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("cannot keep the paused flag in %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+	} else if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot remove the paused flag %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	h.paused = paused
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	h.announce()
+	return nil
+}
+
+// announce says whether this machine takes work. Never fatal: the flag is kept either way, and the
+// controller reading an older state is a plan read as late rather than a build lost.
+func (h *holder) announce() {
+	if h.say == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if err := h.say(link.HolderState{On: h.on, Paused: h.Paused(), At: time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339Nano)}); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot say whether this machine takes builds: %v\n", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// stateWhilePaused says this machine's state at start, and again every while it stays paused, so
+// a pause outlives the events stream's retention.
+func (h *holder) stateWhilePaused(ctx context.Context, every time.Duration) {
+	h.announce()
+	tick := time.NewTicker(every)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-tick.C:
+			if h.Paused() {
+				h.announce()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// expireChecks lets go of every check build older than a week (novox/hq ADR 0350 §5), at start and every while
+// after. Every holder sweeps the one store; what one let go of, another finds gone.
+func (h *holder) expireChecks(ctx context.Context, every time.Duration, now func() time.Time) {
+	sweep := func() {
+		if h.scratch == nil {
+			return
+		}
+		n, err := h.scratch.Expire(ctx, builder.CheckBuildsKept, now())
+		switch {
+		case err != nil:
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "check builds older than %s: %d let go of, and not all: %v\n", builder.CheckBuildsKept, n, err)
+		case n > 0:
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "check builds older than %s: %d check(s)' builds let go of\n", builder.CheckBuildsKept, n)
+		}
+	}
+	sweep()
+	tick := time.NewTicker(every)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-tick.C:
+			sweep()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// begin records the build this machine took, with the cancel that ends it.
+func (h *holder) begin(request link.BuildRequest, cancel context.CancelFunc) *running {
+	r := &running{request: request, started: time.Now(), cancel: cancel, done: make(chan struct{})}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	h.running = r
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	return r
+}
+
+// end clears it, and lets a kill waiting on it know it is over.
+func (h *holder) end(r *running) {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	if h.running == r {
+		h.running = nil
+	}
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	close(r.done)
+}
+
+// stepped records the step a build is at, for `current`.
+func (h *holder) stepped(r *running, step string) {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	r.step = step
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// currentBuild is what `current` answers.
+type currentBuild struct {
+	On      string `json:"on"`
+	Paused  bool   `json:"paused"`
+	Running *struct {
+		ID         string `json:"id"`
+		Repository string `json:"repository"`
+		Path       string `json:"path,omitempty"`
+		Ref        string `json:"ref,omitempty"`
+		Step       string `json:"step,omitempty"`
+		Started    string `json:"started"`
+		Elapsed    string `json:"elapsed"`
+	} `json:"running,omitempty"`
+	Said string `json:"said"`
+}
+
+func (h *holder) current() currentBuild {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	out := currentBuild{On: h.on, Paused: h.paused}
+	taking := "taking builds"
+	if h.paused {
+		taking = "paused, taking no new build"
+	}
+	if h.running == nil {
+		out.Said = fmt.Sprintf("%s is building nothing; %s", h.on, taking)
+		return out
+	}
+	r := h.running
+	elapsed := time.Since(r.started).Round(time.Second)
+	out.Running = &struct {
+		ID         string `json:"id"`
+		Repository string `json:"repository"`
+		Path       string `json:"path,omitempty"`
+		Ref        string `json:"ref,omitempty"`
+		Step       string `json:"step,omitempty"`
+		Started    string `json:"started"`
+		Elapsed    string `json:"elapsed"`
+	}{r.request.ID, r.request.Repository, r.request.Path, r.request.Ref, r.step,
+		r.started.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), elapsed.String()}
+	out.Said = fmt.Sprintf("%s is building %s (%s) at %s for %s; %s",
+		h.on, r.request.Repository, r.request.ID, orNothing(r.step), elapsed, taking)
+	return out
+}
+
+// The bounds a kill keeps: each pass removing containers, and the wait for the build to end between
+// them. The worst case — 15s, 20s, 15s — is inside what the controller waits for the answer
+// (killAnswer in the controller's queue.go, 75s).
+var (
+	killRemoves = 15 * time.Second
+	killWaits   = 20 * time.Second
+)
+
+// kill ends the build with this id, if it is the one running here and still working: its context
+// cancelled — which kills each command's process group — and the containers it started removed by
+// their label, once at once and again after the build has ended, so one created while it was being
+// killed is not left. The build's own goroutine announces it failed, killed by hand, and settles the
+// ask so it is not redelivered; the answer says whether that happened.
+func (h *holder) kill(id string) (string, error) {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	r := h.running
+	if r == nil || r.request.ID != id {
+		doing := "nothing"
+		if r != nil {
+			doing = r.request.ID
+		}
+		h.mu.Unlock()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is not building %s; it is building %s. `queue` says where an ask is", h.on, id, doing)
+	}
+	if r.returned {
+		h.mu.Unlock()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s on %s has already ended on its own and is saying how; `builds` shows it", id, h.on)
+	}
+	r.killed = true
+	cancel, done := r.cancel, r.done
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+
+	cancel()
+	removed, removeErr := h.removeContainers(id)
+	ended := false
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+		ended = true
+	case <-time.After(killWaits):
+	}
+	again, againErr := h.removeContainers(id)
+	removed += again
+	if removeErr == nil {
+		removeErr = againErr
+	}
+	containers := fmt.Sprintf("%d container(s) it started removed", removed)
+	if removeErr != nil {
+		containers = "its containers could not all be listed or removed: " + removeErr.Error()
+	}
+	if !ended {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("killed %s on %s: %s; the build has not finished ending yet — `builds` says when "+
+			"its outcome is in", id, h.on, containers), nil
+	}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	outcome, announced := r.outcome, r.announced
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	if !announced {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("killed %s (%s) on %s: its commands ended and %s, and its outcome could not be "+
+			"announced — the ask is not settled and will be handed out again", id, r.request.Repository, h.on,
+			containers), nil
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("killed %s (%s) on %s: its commands ended, %s, and its outcome announced as failed, %s — "+
+		"settled, so it is not handed to another machine", id, r.request.Repository, h.on, containers, outcome), nil
+}
+
+// removeContainers is one pass of removing what the build left, bounded.
+func (h *holder) removeContainers(id string) (int, error) {
+	cleanup, stop := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), killRemoves)
+	defer stop()
+	return builder.RemoveContainersOf(cleanup, h.remove, id)
+}
+
+// removeLeftBehind removes, once, what earlier holders on this machine left — called before anything is
+// taken, so none of it is this holder's — and says what it did. A runtime that cannot be asked is said
+// and the holder takes work all the same: what is left is waste, not a reason to stop building.
+func (h *holder) removeLeftBehind() int {
+	cleanup, stop := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), killRemoves)
+	defer stop()
+	n, err := builder.RemoveLeftBehind(cleanup, h.remove)
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not look for containers earlier builds left on %s: %v\n", h.on, err)
+	case n > 0:
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "removed %d container(s) earlier builds left on %s\n", n, h.on)
+	}
+	return n
+}
+
+// returned records that the build's work ended, and says whether a kill came first — only then is
+// the build killed; an error it ended with on its own is its own outcome.
+func (h *holder) returned(r *running) bool {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	r.returned = true
+	return r.killed
+}
+
+// said records the outcome announced, and whether it went out, for a kill to answer with.
+func (h *holder) said(r *running, outcome string, announced bool) {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	r.outcome, r.announced = outcome, announced
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// handlers are the seat's verbs, as this machine answers them.
+func (h *holder) handlers() map[string]link.ToolHandler {
+	return map[string]link.ToolHandler{
+		"current": func(context.Context, json.RawMessage) (any, error) { return h.current(), nil },
+		"kill": func(_ context.Context, raw json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+			var args struct {
+				ID string `json:"id"`
+			}
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &args); err != nil || strings.TrimSpace(args.ID) == "" {
+				return nil, errors.New("kill needs the build's id")
+			}
+			said, err := h.kill(strings.TrimSpace(args.ID))
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			return map[string]any{"said": said}, nil
+		},
+		"pause": func(context.Context, json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+			if err := h.setPaused(true); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			said := h.on + " is paused: it takes no new build until resumed"
+			if c := h.current(); c.Running != nil {
+				said += "; " + c.Running.ID + " runs on and finishes"
+			}
+			return map[string]any{"said": said, "paused": true}, nil
+		},
+		"resume": func(context.Context, json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+			if err := h.setPaused(false); err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			return map[string]any{"said": h.on + " takes builds again", "paused": false}, nil
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func orNothing(s string) string {
+	if s == "" {
+		return "its start"
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
+// plainRun runs a command outside any build: no line reaches a build's log, because the build whose
+// log it would be is the one being ended.
+func plainRun(ctx context.Context, dir, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+	cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, name, args...)
+	cmd.Dir = dir
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return string(out), fmt.Errorf("%s %s: %w: %s", name, strings.Join(args, " "), err, strings.TrimSpace(string(out)))
+	}
+	return string(out), nil
+}
+
+// announcement is what this holder answers discovery with (novox/hq ADR 0195, ADR 0197): this
+// machine's verbs of the seat, in the shape every tool runtime announces a seat's verb — kind seat,
+// the module answering, the seat, scope node, the machine, its description and argument schema — so
+// the console finds `<node>/node-build-agent.kill` by searching, as it finds any seat's verb.
+//
+// One service per machine, named for the seat and identified by the machine, so the answer is this
+// machine's four verbs and nothing more. The verbs are the compiled seat row's: a build machine has no
+// store, and what it serves is what this binary was built to serve.
+func announcement(seat, module, node string) micro.Info {
+	s, _ := catalogue.SeatNamed(seat)
+	var endpoints []micro.EndpointInfo
+	for _, v := range s.Serves {
+		schema, _ := json.Marshal(v.Input)
+		endpoints = append(endpoints, micro.EndpointInfo{
+			Name:    seat + "__" + v.Name,
+			Subject: link.NodeSeatToolSubject(seat, v.Name, node),
+			// The queue group the verbs are served in, as every runtime announces its own.
+			QueueGroup: "seat." + seat,
+			Metadata: map[string]string{
+				"kind": "seat", "module": module, "tool": v.Name, "seat": seat, "scope": "node",
+				"node": node, "interchangeable": "false", "description": v.Description, "schema": string(schema),
+			},
+		})
+	}
+	return micro.Info{
+		ServiceIdentity: micro.ServiceIdentity{Name: seat, ID: node, Version: "0.1.0",
+			Metadata: map[string]string{"seat": seat, "scope": "node", "node": node, "module": module}},
+		Description: "what the build running on " + node + " is, and ending, pausing and resuming it (novox/hq ADR 0219)",
+		Endpoints:   endpoints,
+	}
+}
+
+// moduleOf is the module a credential was issued for: its user is `<node>.<module>`.
+func moduleOf(user string) string {
+	if _, module, ok := strings.Cut(user, "."); ok && module != "" {
+		return module
+	}
+	return "build-agent"
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/holder_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// A holder paused stays paused across its restart: the flag is kept in its workspace (novox/hq ADR
+// 0219), and what it says about itself follows.
+func TestAPausedHolderStaysPausedAcrossARestart(t *testing.T) {
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	var said []link.HolderState
+	h := newHolder("ace", link.TheBuildMachine, workspace, func(s link.HolderState) error {
+		said = append(said, s)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if h.Paused() {
+		t.Fatal("a new holder starts paused")
+	}
+	if _, err := h.handlers()["pause"](context.Background(), json.RawMessage(`{}`)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !h.Paused() || len(said) != 1 || !said[0].Paused || said[0].On != "ace" {
+		t.Fatalf("paused: %v, said %+v", h.Paused(), said)
+	}
+	again := newHolder("ace", link.TheBuildMachine, workspace, nil)
+	if !again.Paused() {
+		t.Fatal("restarted, the holder forgot it was paused")
+	}
+	if _, err := again.handlers()["resume"](context.Background(), json.RawMessage(`{}`)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if newHolder("ace", link.TheBuildMachine, workspace, nil).Paused() {
+		t.Fatal("resumed, the holder came back paused")
+	}
+}
+
+// kill ends the build with that id — its context, which ends its commands — removes what it left by
+// label, and refuses an id it is not building.
+func TestKillEndsTheBuildRunningHereAndNoOther(t *testing.T) {
+	h := newHolder("ace", link.TheBuildMachine, t.TempDir(), nil)
+	var removed []string
+	h.remove = func(_ context.Context, _ string, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+		removed = append(removed, name+" "+strings.Join(args, " "))
+		if args[0] == "ps" {
+			return "c1\n", nil
+		}
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	kill := h.handlers()["kill"]
+	if _, err := kill(context.Background(), json.RawMessage(`{"id":"build-1"}`)); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("killed a build while none ran")
+	}
+
+	building, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	r := h.begin(link.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1", Repository: "novox/a"}, cancel)
+	h.stepped(r, "image")
+	if c := h.current(); c.Running == nil || c.Running.ID != "build-1" || c.Running.Step != "image" {
+		t.Fatalf("current says %+v", c)
+	}
+	if _, err := kill(context.Background(), json.RawMessage(`{"id":"build-2"}`)); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "build-1") {
+		t.Fatalf("killed another id: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The build's own goroutine: it ends when its context does, as a build's commands do, and
+	// announces what came of it.
+	go func() {
+		<-building.Done()
+		if h.returned(r) {
+			h.said(r, link.KilledByHand, true)
+		}
+		h.end(r)
+	}()
+	answer, err := kill(context.Background(), json.RawMessage(`{"id":"build-1"}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if building.Err() == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the build's context was not cancelled")
+	}
+	if !r.killed {
+		t.Error("the build is not marked killed, so it would be announced as an ordinary failure")
+	}
+	said := answer.(map[string]any)["said"].(string)
+	if !strings.Contains(said, "2 container(s)") || !strings.Contains(said, "announced as failed") || !strings.Contains(said, link.KilledByHand) {
+		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") {
+		t.Errorf("removed %v", removed)
+	}
+	if c := h.current(); c.Running != nil {
+		t.Errorf("after the kill current says %+v", c)
+	}
+}
+
+// A holder announces this machine's verbs of the seat as the console reads a seat's verb, and no more.
+func TestAHolderAnnouncesItsMachinesVerbsForTheConsole(t *testing.T) {
+	info := announcement(link.TheBuildMachine, moduleOf("ace.build-agent"), "ace")
+	if info.Name != "node-build-agent" || info.ID != "ace" || len(info.Endpoints) != 4 {
+		t.Fatalf("announced %s/%s with %d endpoints", info.Name, info.ID, len(info.Endpoints))
+	}
+	kill := info.Endpoints[1]
+	md := kill.Metadata
+	if kill.Subject != "mesh.seat.node-build-agent.tool.kill.ace" || kill.QueueGroup != "seat.node-build-agent" || md["kind"] != "seat" || md["seat"] != "node-build-agent" ||
+		md["scope"] != "node" || md["node"] != "ace" || md["tool"] != "kill" || md["module"] != "build-agent" ||
+		!strings.Contains(md["description"], "killed by hand") || !strings.Contains(md["schema"], `"id"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("kill is announced as %+v", kill)
+	}
+	body, err := json.Marshal(info)
+	if err != nil || len(body) > 8*1024 {
+		t.Fatalf("the answer is %d bytes (%v)", len(body), err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A build that ended on its own as the kill arrived says what it did: the kill is refused, and its
+// own error is its outcome. One whose outcome could not be announced is not said to be settled.
+func TestAKillArrivingAfterTheBuildEndedIsRefusedAndAnUnannouncedKillSaysSo(t *testing.T) {
+	h := newHolder("ace", link.TheBuildMachine, t.TempDir(), nil)
+	h.remove = func(context.Context, string, string, ...string) (string, error) { return "", nil }
+	_, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	r := h.begin(link.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1"}, cancel)
+	if killed := h.returned(r); killed {
+		t.Fatal("a build nobody killed reads as killed")
+	}
+	if _, err := h.kill("build-1"); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "ended on its own") {
+		t.Fatalf("killed a build that had ended: %v", err)
+	}
+	h.end(r)
+
+	building, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	r = h.begin(link.BuildRequest{ID: "build-2"}, cancel)
+	go func() {
+		<-building.Done()
+		if h.returned(r) {
+			h.said(r, link.KilledByHand, false)
+		}
+		h.end(r)
+	}()
+	said, err := h.kill("build-2")
+	if err != nil || strings.Contains(said, "announced as failed") || !strings.Contains(said, "could not be announced") {
+		t.Fatalf("kill said %q (%v)", said, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// **Issue 306**: a holder starting removes the containers earlier builds left on its machine, through
+// the runner a kill uses, and a runtime that cannot be asked does not stop it.
+func TestAHolderStartingRemovesWhatEarlierBuildsLeftHere(t *testing.T) {
+	h := newHolder("novox", link.TheBuildMachine, t.TempDir(), nil)
+	var removed []string
+	h.remove = func(_ context.Context, _ string, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+		removed = append(removed, name+" "+strings.Join(args, " "))
+		if args[0] == "ps" {
+			return "c1 build-1\nc2 build-1\nc3 check-here-2\n", nil
+		}
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	if n := h.removeLeftBehind(); n != 2 || len(removed) != 2 || removed[1] != "docker rm -f c1 c2" {
+		t.Fatalf("removed %d: %v", n, removed)
+	}
+	h.remove = func(context.Context, string, string, ...string) (string, error) {
+		return "", errors.New("no runtime")
+	}
+	if n := h.removeLeftBehind(); n != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a runtime that cannot be asked removed %d", n)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/main.go

@@ -0,0 +1,936 @@
+// mesh-builder — the thing a build machine runs.
+//
+// It takes work from the mesh, turns a repository into artifacts, publishes them, and says what
+// came out. It is **not** the control plane and it is **not** the host:
+//
+//   - the control plane decides and never touches a machine. Building runs commands on one, and
+//     what the control plane may send a machine is bounded by the declaration language
+//     (novox/hq ADR 0005). "Run this build" is not in it, and widening the language so it could
+//     be would make the control plane able to run anything anywhere.
+//   - the host applies declarations and holds no opinion about what they contain. A host that
+//     also built things would need a container runtime and git, on every machine, to do something
+//     almost none of them will ever do.
+//
+// So it is a module: a program a machine runs because the mesh told it to, holding its own broker
+// credential and nothing else. Compromise of a build machine is compromise of a build machine.
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"log"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"os/signal"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// version is set at build time.
+var version = "development"
+
+func main() {
+	if err := run(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "mesh-builder: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+}
+
+const usage = `mesh-builder — builds modules for the mesh
+
+It consumes build requests and answers with what it made. Nothing is listened on and nothing
+is dialled except the broker.
+
+  MESH_BROKER_FILE   a file the mesh sealed to this machine holding the same
+  MESH_REGISTRY      host:port to publish artifacts to, when the mesh has not said
+  MESH_BINDING       a file the mesh wrote saying where the artifact store is
+  MESH_PACKAGE_BINDING  a file the mesh wrote saying where the package registry is
+  MESH_NPM_TOKEN_FILE   a file the mesh sealed holding the token for it
+  MESH_GENESIS_PACKAGE_REGISTRY  the document the installer sealed at genesis, read while no
+                     binding is present (novox/hq ADR 0336)
+  MESH_NPM_REGISTRY  a package registry URL, when the mesh has not said (a person, the bootstrap)
+  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)
+
+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:
+
+  mesh-builder build <repository> [--path P] [--ref COMMIT] [--registry HOST:PORT]
+
+Without --registry the artifacts stay in this machine's container runtime, named by the
+digest of their own configuration. The result is printed as JSON.
+
+  mesh-builder ready
+
+exits 0 once the agent running in this container is bound to its build work and pulls it, and
+1 before: its container's health check.
+
+  mesh-builder busy
+
+exits 0 while the agent running in this container has a build in hand, and 1 when it has none;
+from the first ask the agent takes no new build: its container's busy command, asked before the
+container is replaced (novox/hq ADR 0335).
+`
+
+func run() error {
+	if len(os.Args) > 1 {
+		switch os.Args[1] {
+		case "version":
+			fmt.Println(version)
+			return nil
+		case "build":
+			return buildOnce(context.Background(), os.Args[2:])
+		case "ready":
+			// The container's health check (novox/hq issue 544): exits non-zero until the agent takes work, and
+			// once it has been drained longer than its node-engine would wait to replace it (ADR 0335).
+			if err := ready(); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			return drainedTooLong(time.Now())
+		case "busy":
+			// The container's busy command (novox/hq ADR 0335): drains the agent, and exits non-zero once
+			// nothing is in hand.
+			said, err := busy()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			fmt.Println(said)
+			return nil
+		case "help", "-h", "--help":
+			fmt.Print(usage)
+			return nil
+		default:
+			// **An ask this build does not know fails** (novox/hq ADR 0335): an image older than `busy`, asked
+			// it, must read as idle — exiting 0 would hold its container for the node-engine's whole bound.
+			fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, usage)
+			return fmt.Errorf("%q is not a command this mesh-builder knows", os.Args[1])
+		}
+	}
+
+	if err := notReady(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	// **The builder's own version is part of every reuse key** (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1): a builder that builds
+	// differently never takes a build another one made.
+	builder.Version = builder.SelfVersion(version)
+	if err := undrained(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	credential, err := brokerFrom()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	registry, err := whereToPublish()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	workspace := os.Getenv("MESH_WORKSPACE")
+	if workspace == "" {
+		workspace = os.TempDir() + "/mesh-builder"
+	}
+	// **The mesh's name for this machine, not the container's.** A build is reported to the rest
+	// of the mesh, and a report whose origin reads `104cb10e105b` names something no other module
+	// can look up. The mesh already knows the answer and has a way to say it — `${machine:name}`
+	// in the environment file this module is handed — so the hostname is only what is left when
+	// nobody said.
+	on := os.Getenv("MESH_NODE")
+	if on == "" {
+		hostname, err := os.Hostname()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("this build machine has no name: nothing said MESH_NODE and the host would not say either: %w", err)
+		}
+		on = hostname
+	}
+
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer stop()
+
+	js, seat, err := dialFor(credential)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+
+	// **This machine's holder: paused or not, and the build it is running** (novox/hq ADR 0219). The
+	// paused flag is read from the workspace before anything is taken, so a holder restarted while
+	// paused takes nothing.
+	h := newHolder(on, seat, workspace, func(state link.HolderState) error {
+		body, err := json.Marshal(state)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		_, err = js.Context().Publish(link.BuildPausedOf(seat, on), body)
+		return err
+	})
+	if h.Paused() {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "paused (kept in %s): taking no build until resumed\n", pausedFile(workspace))
+	}
+	// **What an earlier holder here left goes before anything is taken** (novox/hq issue 306): a holder
+	// recreated mid-check left the check's store and bus running, and the ask went to another machine.
+	h.removeLeftBehind()
+	// 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() },
+		Taking: func() { taking(seat) },
+		Claim:  claim,
+	})
+	defer machine.Close()
+
+	// The seat's verbs, on this machine's subjects. Only the seat that declares them: the retired
+	// one serves none, and a subscription its holder has no grant for would be refused for ever.
+	if seat == link.TheBuildMachine {
+		stopServing, err := link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}.ServeNodeSeatTools(seat, on, h.handlers(),
+			log.New(os.Stderr, "", 0))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer stopServing()
+		// And says so, for the console to find (novox/hq ADR 0197).
+		stopAnnouncing, err := link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}.Announce(
+			announcement(seat, moduleOf(credential.User), on), log.New(os.Stderr, "", 0))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer stopAnnouncing()
+		go h.stateWhilePaused(ctx, time.Hour)
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "building for the mesh, publishing to %s\n", registry)
+	publisher := builder.Registry{Address: registry, Run: builder.Command}
+	// Check builds are let go of after a week (novox/hq ADR 0350 §5).
+	h.scratch = publisher
+	go h.expireChecks(ctx, time.Hour, time.Now)
+
+	return machine.Take(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, work link.Build) {
+		defer released()
+		holding(work.Request().Repository + " (" + work.Request().ID + ")")
+		answer(ctx, publisher, on, workspace, work, h)
+	})
+}
+
+// dialFor opens this machine's link to whichever bus the mesh is on, and says which build seat it
+// holds.
+//
+// **One place chooses**, as everywhere else the bus change went (novox/hq ADR 0116 step 5): a build
+// machine told about both would take work from one and answer on the other, and every log line would
+// say it was fine.
+func dialFor(credential Credential) (*broker.JetStream, string, error) {
+	// **The credential names the bus, and there is one** (novox/hq ADR 0131, design 28 task 5.5).
+	// A credential for the mesh's bus carries user, password and fingerprint beside the address,
+	// and that is enough to dial it, pinned.
+	if !credential.onTheNewBus() {
+		return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("the credential at hand names %q, which is not the mesh's bus", credential.URL)
+	}
+	// Named for what it is, not the controller whose code dials it (novox/hq issue 327).
+	host, _ := os.Hostname()
+	js, err := broker.DialPinned(credential.natsURL(), credential.Fingerprint, nats.Name("build agent on "+host))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, "", err
+	}
+	// **The seat this machine serves is the one its credential claims** (novox/hq ADR 0190, the
+	// handover): the mesh issues a build machine's credential naming the seat its module claims,
+	// and one binary serves the old role as `builder` and the new as `build-agent` from that alone.
+	seat := link.BuildSeatClaimed(credential.seatsClaimed())
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "taking build work as a holder of %s\n", seat)
+	return js, seat, nil
+}
+
+// answer does one build and says what happened, whichever way it went.
+func answer(ctx context.Context, publisher builder.Publisher, on, workspace string, work link.Build, h *holder) {
+	request := work.Request()
+
+	// **Its own context, so it can be killed alone** (novox/hq ADR 0219): cancelled by `kill`, it ends
+	// this build's commands and nothing else; the machine's own context ending — a SIGTERM — still
+	// reaches it through the parent, and that keeps today's meaning below.
+	building, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+	defer cancel()
+	var mine *running
+	if h != nil {
+		mine = h.begin(request, cancel)
+		defer h.end(mine)
+	}
+
+	// **First thing, and to stdout.** A build request that arrives and produces no visible line until
+	// it either finishes or fails is indistinguishable from one that never arrived — which cost a long
+	// diagnosis against a running mesh, chasing "the handler never fired" when the truth was only that
+	// the handler said nothing until the end.
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "a build request arrived for %s (%s)\n", request.Repository, request.ID)
+
+	// **Everything a build says goes two ways**: to stderr, as always, and onto the bus as the
+	// role's own events under the build's id (novox/hq ADR 0157) — so whoever asked, and anybody
+	// watching, reads the same lines this container's log holds, live, and after the fact from the
+	// stream. Said first, before anything runs, so a build that hangs is one that visibly started.
+	// One line at a time: a check's builds for its merge say their lines while its tests say theirs (novox/hq
+	// issue 716).
+	var saying sync.Mutex
+	say := func(step, message string) {
+		saying.Lock()
+		defer saying.Unlock()
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  [%s] %s\n", step, message)
+		work.Say(step, message)
+		if mine != nil && step != "run" && step != "output" {
+			h.stepped(mine, step)
+		}
+	}
+	builder.Said = say
+	defer func() { builder.Said = nil }()
+	if err := work.Began(ctx); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot say a build started: %v\n", err)
+	}
+	// **A running check watches its pull request's key** (novox/hq ADR 0406 §4, issue 974): when the head or the trunk
+	// commit in it moves, the check is for a state nobody wants any more, and ends itself — nothing is asked of the forge
+	// (issue 726). A group's check, a try and a build watch nothing.
+	var superseded atomic.Bool
+	if w, ok := work.(interface {
+		WatchPull(context.Context, func(link.PullKey)) (func(), error)
+	}); ok && request.Check != nil {
+		stopWatching, err := w.WatchPull(building, func(k link.PullKey) {
+			superseded.Store(true)
+			say("superseded", fmt.Sprintf("the pull request's key moved to %.12s on %.12s while this checked %.12s on %.12s: stopped",
+				k.Head, k.Trunk, request.Ref, request.Check.Trunk))
+			cancel()
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the key of %s/%s#%d could not be watched, so its check runs on if the key moves: %v\n",
+				request.Check.Owner, request.Check.Repo, request.Check.Number, err)
+		} else {
+			defer stopWatching()
+		}
+	}
+
+	result := link.BuildResult{
+		ID: request.ID, Repository: request.Repository, Path: request.Path,
+		Ref: request.Ref, On: on, Source: request.Source, DryRun: request.DryRun,
+	}
+	what := "building " + request.Repository
+	if request.Path != "" {
+		what += " at " + request.Path
+	}
+	if request.Ref != "" {
+		what += " on " + request.Ref
+	}
+	say("build", what)
+
+	npmrc, err := packagesFrom(on)
+	if err == nil {
+		say("packages", saysRegistry(npmrc))
+	}
+	registryHere, isRegistry := publisher.(builder.Registry)
+	var built builder.Result
+	if request.Check != nil {
+		// **A pull request's merge check, not a build** (novox/hq to-be 45 §9): nothing is built,
+		// published or registered; the verdict is the outcome.
+		result.Checked = request.Check
+		registry := ""
+		if r, ok := publisher.(builder.Registry); ok {
+			registry = r.Address
+		}
+		spec := checkSpecOf(request)
+		// The judge cache the build agent declares as its own data, never in the workspace: only judge builds and
+		// mesh-lab's replays mount it, never a check's containers, so no pull request's script can write what a judge
+		// is built with or kept as, or what the replays run (novox/hq ADR 0358 §6, issue 709).
+		spec.JudgeCache = judgeCache()
+		// What the merge would move, built by the check for the walk to take (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1): into the
+		// scratch namespace. **Never with the package registry's credential**: this is code nobody has approved
+		// yet, and a recipe could read the credential it is handed (issue 462). A module that resolves packages
+		// at build time has no reuse key anyway, so nothing is lost by refusing it here.
+		if isRegistry && len(spec.Builds) > 0 {
+			spec.BuildWith = &builder.CheckBuilding{Publish: publisher, Scratch: registryHere, Held: request.Held,
+				Running: request.Check.Running, Seats: request.Seats, Named: namedOf(request.Check.Named)}
+		}
+		var v builder.CheckVerdict
+		v, err = builder.Check(building, builder.Command, spec, workspace, registry, forgeFrom(), say)
+		if err == nil {
+			result.Check = &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: v.Verdict, Summary: v.Summary, Report: v.Report,
+				Took: v.Took.Round(time.Second).String(), Gate: layerOf(v.Gate), RepoCheck: layerOf(v.Repo),
+				Head: v.Head, Trunk: v.Trunk, Beside: v.Beside, Built: checkBuiltOf(v.Built),
+				Validator: v.Validator, Siblings: siblingsOut(v.Siblings), SiblingsUnknown: v.SiblingsUnknown, JudgeFrom: v.JudgeFrom}
+			// What each of a group's heads was judged as (novox/hq ADR 0323 §6).
+			for _, m := range v.Members {
+				result.Check.Members = append(result.Check.Members, link.CheckedMember{Owner: m.Owner, Repo: m.Repo,
+					Commit: m.Head, Trunk: m.Trunk})
+			}
+			// A branch tried before its pull request reads its outcome from this log, whole (novox/hq issue 686).
+			if request.Check.Try {
+				if line, err := json.Marshal(triedOf(v)); err == nil {
+					say(link.StepTried, string(line))
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	} else if err == nil {
+		// The package-registry credential is a build input, so it is resolved before the clone: a
+		// build that could not have resolved its dependencies is refused in front of the reason, not
+		// after a clone that then fails at npm ci.
+		// Every container it starts is labelled with its id, so a kill finds what outlived the
+		// docker client (ADR 0219).
+		if request.Reuse != nil && isRegistry && !request.DryRun {
+			// **A walk's build takes the check's build of the same key** (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2).
+			reuse := builder.Reuse{Scratch: registryHere}
+			for _, p := range request.Reuse.Pulls {
+				reuse.Pulls = append(reuse.Pulls, builder.PullRef{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number})
+			}
+			// Only what a verdict names is taken (ADR 0350 §2).
+			reuse.Named = namedOf(request.Reuse.Builds)
+			built, err = builder.BuildReusing(building, builder.Labelled(builder.Command, request.ID), publisher, reuse,
+				request.Repository, request.Path, request.Ref, workspace, request.Held, npmrc,
+				forgeFrom(), say, request.Seats)
+		} else {
+			built, err = builder.Build(building, builder.Labelled(builder.Command, request.ID), publisher,
+				request.Repository, request.Path, request.Ref, workspace, request.Held, npmrc,
+				forgeFrom(), say, request.Seats)
+		}
+	}
+	// What it copied into the store, whatever became of the build (novox/hq ADR 0257).
+	result.Mirrored = built.Mirrored
+	// Only a build the kill ended: the kill came before its work did. One that finished — built, or
+	// failed on its own — in the moment the kill arrived says what it did, and the kill is refused.
+	killed := false
+	if mine != nil {
+		killed = h.returned(mine) && err != nil
+	}
+	if superseded.Load() && err != nil {
+		// Ended by its own key moving on (ADR 0406 §4): said as the check's failure, as a kill is.
+		result.Failed = link.SupersededByKey
+		say("failed", link.SupersededByKey)
+	} else if killed {
+		// **Killed by hand is the outcome, whatever the build was doing** (novox/hq ADR 0219): the
+		// error it ended with is the kill's consequence, not a fault of the source.
+		result.Failed = link.KilledByHand
+		say("failed", link.KilledByHand)
+	} else if err != nil {
+		// A failure is a result. A build that fails and says nothing is indistinguishable from a
+		// builder that is not running, and those want completely different responses.
+		result.Failed = err.Error()
+		say("failed", err.Error())
+	} else if request.Check != nil {
+		say("checked", result.Check.Verdict+": "+result.Check.Summary)
+	} else {
+		manifest, marshalErr := json.Marshal(built.Manifest)
+		if marshalErr != nil {
+			result.Failed = marshalErr.Error()
+		} else {
+			result.Commit = built.Commit
+			result.Manifest = manifest
+			for _, made := range built.Built {
+				result.Made = append(result.Made, link.MadeArtifact{
+					Name: made.Name, Kind: made.Kind, Reference: made.Reference,
+				})
+			}
+			result.Against = built.Against
+			result.SourceFingerprint = built.Source
+			result.SourceInputs = built.SourceInputs
+			// What the walk did instead of building, or why it built (novox/hq ADR 0350 §3, §4).
+			result.ReuseKey = built.ReuseKey
+			if built.Reused != nil {
+				f := built.Reused.From
+				result.Reused = built.Reused.Words()
+				result.ReusedFrom = &link.ReusedFrom{Pull: link.PullRef{Owner: f.Pull.Owner, Repo: f.Pull.Repo,
+					Number: f.Pull.Number}, Head: f.Head, Trunk: f.Trunk, Check: f.Check, Key: f.Key}
+			} else if request.Reuse != nil {
+				result.BuiltWhy = built.Why
+				if result.BuiltWhy == "" {
+					result.BuiltWhy = "it has no artifact to build"
+				}
+			}
+			result.Trunk, result.OnTrunk, result.Branches = built.Trunk, built.OnTrunk, built.Branches
+			for _, r := range built.Read {
+				result.Read = append(result.Read, link.ReadRepository{Repository: r.Repository, Ref: r.Ref})
+			}
+			for _, s := range built.Sources {
+				result.Sources = append(result.Sources, link.BuildSource{Repository: s.Repository, Ref: s.Ref, Paths: s.Paths})
+			}
+			// The list of predefined keys the manifest was judged against, for the controller to publish
+			// (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7).
+			if p := built.Predefined; p != nil {
+				result.Predefined = &link.PredefinedList{Keys: p.Keys, Generation: p.Generation}
+			}
+			say("built", built.Manifest.Module+" from "+short(built.Commit))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// A killed build is announced on a context of its own: the build's was the one cancelled, and the
+	// outcome must go out and the ask be settled — acknowledged, never redelivered to another machine
+	// to be built again. A machine being stopped is the other case and keeps its meaning: the
+	// parent's context is gone, nothing is announced or settled, and the ask is redelivered.
+	announcing := ctx
+	if killed {
+		fresh, stop := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 30*time.Second)
+		defer stop()
+		announcing = fresh
+	}
+	announceErr := work.Announce(announcing, result)
+	if mine != nil {
+		h.said(mine, result.Failed, announceErr == nil)
+	}
+	if err := announceErr; err != nil {
+		// Said, not fatal: the build happened. A build reported as failed because announcing it
+		// failed is a lie about work that was done — and the request stays unsettled below only if
+		// nothing was said at all, so another machine can try.
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot say what came of a build: %v\n", err)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// Settled only once the outcome is away, so a machine that dies before answering leaves the work
+	// for another rather than losing it.
+	if err := work.Done(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the outcome is away and the request could not be settled: %v\n", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// checkSpecOf is a check request as the builder runs it.
+func checkSpecOf(request link.BuildRequest) builder.CheckSpec {
+	c := request.Check
+	spec := builder.CheckSpec{ID: request.ID, Repository: request.Repository, Ref: request.Ref,
+		Owner: c.Owner, Repo: c.Repo, Number: c.Number, Paths: c.Paths, Beside: map[string]builder.Beside{},
+		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 _, 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})
+	}
+	for dir, b := range c.Beside {
+		spec.Beside[dir] = builder.Beside{Repository: b.Repository, Ref: b.Ref}
+	}
+	for _, b := range c.Builds {
+		spec.Builds = append(spec.Builds, builder.CheckBuildSpec{Module: b.Module, Repository: b.Repository, Path: b.Path,
+			Ref: b.Ref, Merged: b.Merged, Tier: b.Tier, Skip: b.Skip})
+	}
+	for _, m := range c.Members {
+		spec.Group = append(spec.Group, builder.GroupHead{Owner: m.Owner, Repo: m.Repo, Repository: m.Repository,
+			Ref: m.Ref, Paths: m.Paths, Base: m.Base})
+	}
+	return spec
+}
+
+// siblingsOut is the siblings a check read as the outcome carries them (novox/hq ADR 0382 §4).
+func siblingsOut(read []builder.JudgedSibling) []link.CheckSibling {
+	var out []link.CheckSibling
+	for _, s := range read {
+		out = append(out, link.CheckSibling{Repository: s.Repository, Number: s.Number, Head: s.Head, Base: s.Base,
+			BaseCommit: s.BaseCommit})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// judgeCache is the judge cache the build agent's manifest declares (MESH_JUDGE_CACHE, novox/hq ADR 0358 §6): a
+// directory mounted at the same path on the host, so a judge build's mounts name what the agent sees. Empty when the
+// agent declares none, and every judge is then built cold under its check's root.
+func judgeCache() string { return os.Getenv("MESH_JUDGE_CACHE") }
+
+// triedOf is a try's outcome as its log line says it (novox/hq issue 686): the repository's own check's verdict,
+// or the check's where that did not run — a head that does not merge — and the lines naming what failed.
+func triedOf(v builder.CheckVerdict) link.Tried {
+	t := link.Tried{Verdict: v.Verdict, Summary: v.Summary, Took: v.Took.Round(time.Second).String(),
+		Head: v.Head, Trunk: v.Trunk}
+	if v.Repo != nil && (v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict == "pass") {
+		t.Verdict, t.Summary = v.Repo.Verdict, v.Repo.Summary
+	}
+	if v.Repo != nil && v.Repo.Failed != "" {
+		t.Failed = strings.Split(v.Repo.Failed, "\n")
+	}
+	if t.Verdict == "" {
+		t.Verdict = "error"
+	}
+	return t
+}
+
+// namedOf are the builds the seat's verdicts name, as the builder believes a scratch record by them (novox/hq ADR
+// 0350 §2, issue 703): each module's key with every artifact's digest.
+func namedOf(builds []link.CheckedBuild) []builder.NamedBuild {
+	var out []builder.NamedBuild
+	for _, b := range builds {
+		named := builder.NamedBuild{Pull: builder.PullRef{Owner: b.Pull.Owner, Repo: b.Pull.Repo,
+			Number: b.Pull.Number}, Check: b.Check, Module: b.Built.Module, Key: b.Built.Key,
+			Digests: map[string]string{}}
+		for _, m := range b.Built.Made {
+			named.Digests[m.Name] = builder.DigestOf(m.Reference)
+		}
+		out = append(out, named)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// checkBuiltOf is a check's builds for its merge as the outcome carries them (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1).
+func checkBuiltOf(built []builder.CheckBuilt) []link.CheckBuilt {
+	var out []link.CheckBuilt
+	for _, b := range built {
+		c := link.CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, Key: b.Key, NotBuilt: b.NotBuilt, Took: b.Took.Round(time.Second).String(),
+			Kept: b.Kept, Same: b.Same, SameAs: b.SameAs}
+		for _, m := range b.Made {
+			c.Made = append(c.Made, link.MadeArtifact{Name: m.Name, Kind: m.Kind, Reference: m.Reference})
+		}
+		out = append(out, c)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// layerOf is one layer of a check as the outcome carries it.
+func layerOf(l *builder.Layer) *link.CheckLayer {
+	if l == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: l.Verdict, Summary: l.Summary, Modules: l.Modules}
+}
+
+// packagesFrom is where a build resolves the mesh's own published packages — the SDK above all
+// (novox/hq ADR 0076, issue 053) — on this machine.
+//
+// **The binding wins, then the genesis document** (novox/hq ADR 0336 §3, §4). The build agent's
+// npm-package-registry requirement is optional: on genesis's node, before the gitea module is assigned,
+// nothing provides it, and the installer sealed the forge it raised to this agent as one document
+// instead. Once the requirement binds, the binding names the endpoint the way the artifact store's
+// does and a sealed token file the credential, and the genesis document is left unread. A binding
+// file named and absent is a requirement not bound here, never a fault: the environment names the
+// path whether or not the mesh wrote it.
+//
+// The environment variables remain for a builder run by a person. With none of the three the result
+// is disabled and says this machine, so a build that needs the registry is refused naming it (§6),
+// and a build that needs none builds anyway.
+func packagesFrom(machine string) (builder.Npmrc, error) {
+	scope := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_SCOPE"))
+	if scope == "" {
+		scope = "@novox"
+	}
+	none := builder.Npmrc{Machine: machine}
+
+	if path := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_PACKAGE_BINDING")); path != "" {
+		raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+		switch {
+		case errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist):
+			// Not bound on this machine: the genesis document, or nothing.
+		case err != nil:
+			return none, fmt.Errorf("cannot read what the mesh said about the package registry: %w", err)
+		default:
+			return fromBinding(path, raw, scope, machine)
+		}
+	}
+	if path := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_GENESIS_PACKAGE_REGISTRY")); path != "" {
+		raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+		switch {
+		case errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist):
+			// Not this mesh's genesis node, or the installer has not sealed it yet.
+		case err != nil:
+			return none, fmt.Errorf("cannot read the genesis document for the package registry: %w", err)
+		default:
+			return fromGenesis(path, raw, scope, machine)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// A builder run by a person.
+	registry := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_REGISTRY"))
+	secret := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_TOKEN"))
+	username := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_USER"))
+	if registry == "" && secret == "" {
+		return none, nil
+	}
+	n := builder.Npmrc{Scope: scope, Registry: registry, From: builder.FromEnvironment, Machine: machine}
+	if username != "" {
+		n.Username, n.Password = username, secret
+	} else {
+		n.Token = secret
+	}
+	return n, nil
+}
+
+// fromBinding composes the registry from the npm-package-registry binding the mesh wrote and the
+// credential it sealed beside it. The mesh authenticates the ordinary way — a generated password the
+// provider only applies (novox/hq ADR 0048) — so with a username the secret is a password (basic
+// auth); without one it is a bearer token a provider minted.
+func fromBinding(path string, raw []byte, scope, machine string) (builder.Npmrc, error) {
+	none := builder.Npmrc{Machine: machine}
+	var told struct {
+		From   string         `json:"from"`
+		At     string         `json:"at"`
+		As     string         `json:"as"`
+		Serves map[string]any `json:"serves"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &told); err != nil {
+		return none, fmt.Errorf("%s is not a binding: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	if told.At == "" {
+		return none, fmt.Errorf(
+			"%s says the package registry is on %q and gives no address for it", path, told.From)
+	}
+	// Composed from what the provider serves, so nothing here knows gitea's URL shape from
+	// another registry's: it states its port, the path its registry answers on, and the scheme.
+	scheme := "https"
+	if s, ok := told.Serves["scheme"]; ok {
+		scheme = fmt.Sprintf("%v", s)
+	}
+	port, ok := told.Serves["port"]
+	if !ok {
+		return none, fmt.Errorf("%s says nothing about which port the package registry answers on", path)
+	}
+	npmPath, ok := told.Serves["npm-path"]
+	if !ok {
+		return none, fmt.Errorf("%s says nothing about the path the package registry answers on", path)
+	}
+	secret := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_TOKEN"))
+	if file := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_TOKEN_FILE")); file != "" {
+		raw, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+		if err != nil {
+			return none, fmt.Errorf("cannot read this builder's package-registry credential: %w", err)
+		}
+		secret = strings.TrimSpace(string(raw))
+	}
+	n := builder.Npmrc{Scope: scope, Registry: fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s:%v%v", scheme, told.At, port, npmPath),
+		From: builder.FromBinding, Machine: machine}
+	if told.As != "" {
+		n.Username, n.Password = told.As, secret
+	} else {
+		n.Token = secret
+	}
+	return n, nil
+}
+
+// GenesisRegistry is the genesis document (novox/hq ADR 0336 §3): what the installer sealed to the
+// build agent on its node at genesis's packages step, as the `genesis-package-registry` own-secret —
+// the forge it raised, the port this node gave the package registry, its npm path, and the account it
+// made with that account's password. mesh-host writes it; the field names are the two repositories'
+// agreement.
+type GenesisRegistry struct {
+	Scheme   string `json:"scheme"`
+	At       string `json:"at"`
+	Port     int    `json:"port"`
+	NpmPath  string `json:"npm-path"`
+	As       string `json:"as"`
+	Password string `json:"password"`
+}
+
+// fromGenesis composes the registry from the genesis document.
+func fromGenesis(path string, raw []byte, scope, machine string) (builder.Npmrc, error) {
+	none := builder.Npmrc{Machine: machine}
+	var g GenesisRegistry
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &g); err != nil {
+		return none, fmt.Errorf("%s is not the genesis document for the package registry: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	var missing []string
+	for name, value := range map[string]string{"at": g.At, "npm-path": g.NpmPath, "as": g.As, "password": g.Password} {
+		if strings.TrimSpace(value) == "" {
+			missing = append(missing, name)
+		}
+	}
+	if g.Port <= 0 {
+		missing = append(missing, "port")
+	}
+	if len(missing) > 0 {
+		sort.Strings(missing)
+		return none, fmt.Errorf("%s, the genesis document for the package registry, says nothing of %s",
+			path, strings.Join(missing, ", "))
+	}
+	scheme := g.Scheme
+	if scheme == "" {
+		scheme = "http"
+	}
+	return builder.Npmrc{Scope: scope, Registry: fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s:%d%s", scheme, g.At, g.Port, g.NpmPath),
+		Username: g.As, Password: g.Password, From: builder.FromGenesis, Machine: machine}, nil
+}
+
+// saysRegistry is the line each build's log carries about the package registry (novox/hq ADR 0336
+// §4): which of the binding and the genesis document it resolved from, or that it has neither here.
+func saysRegistry(n builder.Npmrc) string {
+	if n.Enabled() {
+		return "the package registry is resolved from " + n.From
+	}
+	machine := n.Machine
+	if machine == "" {
+		machine = "this machine"
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("no package registry: %s is unbound on %s and no genesis document is here; "+
+		"a build needing it is refused", builder.RegistryRequirement, machine)
+}
+
+// forgeFrom is the git credential this builder may offer a clone, composed from the same binding
+// and sealed secret its package-registry half already reads: the forge that answers npm is the
+// forge that hosts the repositories, and its provisioner applies one password to one user for
+// both. Anything missing means no credential, and every clone stays anonymous — which is all a
+// mesh of public repositories ever needs.
+//
+// The URL names the binding's own address — the machine the mesh says the forge is on — so a
+// private repository is registered and built by that address, and a clone of anything else is
+// never shown this credential (git's credential store matches the whole origin).
+func forgeFrom() builder.GitCredential {
+	path := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_PACKAGE_BINDING"))
+	if path == "" {
+		return builder.GitCredential{}
+	}
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return builder.GitCredential{}
+	}
+	var told struct {
+		At     string         `json:"at"`
+		As     string         `json:"as"`
+		Serves map[string]any `json:"serves"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &told); err != nil || told.At == "" || told.As == "" {
+		return builder.GitCredential{}
+	}
+	secret := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_TOKEN"))
+	if file := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_NPM_TOKEN_FILE")); file != "" {
+		if raw, err := os.ReadFile(file); err == nil {
+			secret = strings.TrimSpace(string(raw))
+		}
+	}
+	if secret == "" {
+		return builder.GitCredential{}
+	}
+	scheme := "https"
+	if s, ok := told.Serves["scheme"]; ok {
+		scheme = fmt.Sprintf("%v", s)
+	}
+	host := told.At
+	if port, ok := told.Serves["port"]; ok {
+		host = fmt.Sprintf("%s:%v", told.At, port)
+	}
+	made := url.URL{Scheme: scheme, User: url.UserPassword(told.As, secret), Host: host}
+	return builder.GitCredential{URL: made.String()}
+}
+
+func short(commit string) string {
+	if len(commit) > 8 {
+		return commit[:8]
+	}
+	return commit
+}
+
+// whereToPublish is the artifact store this builder uses.
+//
+// **Preferably from the mesh.** A builder that is a module requires an artifact store, and the
+// mesh writes it a file saying which machine answers that and on what port — the same binding any
+// consumer of any provision gets. Reading it means the address is not a setting somebody keeps in
+// step by hand, and moving the store is an ordinary reassignment rather than an edit on every
+// build machine.
+//
+// The environment variable remains for a builder run by a person, which is how this started and
+// how it is still run while being developed.
+func whereToPublish() (string, error) {
+	binding := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_BINDING"))
+	if binding == "" {
+		registry := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_REGISTRY"))
+		if registry == "" {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("neither MESH_BINDING nor MESH_REGISTRY: a built artifact " +
+				"nobody can fetch is not built")
+		}
+		return registry, nil
+	}
+
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(binding)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("cannot read what the mesh said about the artifact store: %w", err)
+	}
+	var told struct {
+		From   string         `json:"from"`
+		At     string         `json:"at"`
+		Serves map[string]any `json:"serves"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &told); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is not a binding: %w", binding, err)
+	}
+	if told.At == "" {
+		// The provider is not on the private network, so there is no name to reach it by. Said
+		// rather than falling back to the machine's own name, which would publish to a store on
+		// the wrong machine and be found out much later.
+		return "", fmt.Errorf(
+			"%s says the artifact store is on %q and gives no address for it", binding, told.From)
+	}
+	port, ok := told.Serves["port"]
+	if !ok {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s says nothing about which port the artifact store answers on",
+			binding)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%v", told.At, port), nil
+}
+
+// brokerFrom is where this builder connects, and with what.
+//
+// **Preferably from a file the mesh sealed to this machine.** A builder that is a module is given
+// its credential the way every other module is given one: generated or accepted centrally, sealed
+// to the machine, written by the host. Putting it in an environment variable instead would mean
+// the one copy that matters passing through a terminal and a process listing.
+//
+// The variable remains for a builder run by a person.
+func brokerFrom() (Credential, error) {
+	if path := strings.TrimSpace(os.Getenv("MESH_BROKER_FILE")); path != "" {
+		raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Credential{}, fmt.Errorf("cannot read this builder's credential: %w", err)
+		}
+		said := strings.TrimSpace(string(raw))
+		if said == "" {
+			// An empty credential file is a machine that will connect as nobody and be refused,
+			// with the reason three layers away.
+			return Credential{}, fmt.Errorf("%s is empty, so this builder has no credential", path)
+		}
+		var held Credential
+		if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(said), &held); err == nil && held.URL != "" {
+			return held, nil
+		}
+		// A file holding only a URL, which is what a person writing one by hand produces. The
+		// broker is then verified against whatever this machine already trusts.
+		return Credential{URL: said}, nil
+	}
+	return Credential{}, fmt.Errorf(
+		"no MESH_BROKER_FILE: a build machine with no credential for the bus has nothing to build")
+}
+
+// Credential is what a build machine is given so it can reach the broker.
+//
+// Two things, because reaching a broker over TLS needs both: who to connect as, and what to check
+// the certificate against. A mesh's broker presents a certificate of the mesh's own, which is in
+// no public trust store, so a URL alone can only connect to a broker somebody else vouches for.
+//
+// **The same shape a node gets, for the same reason** (novox/hq ADR 0004): the fingerprint travels
+// out of band — here, sealed with the credential — and the endpoint is verified once at connect.
+type Credential struct {
+	URL         string `json:"url"`
+	Fingerprint string `json:"fingerprint,omitempty"`
+	// User and Password ride beside the address on the bus being built (design 25): a credential
+	// embedded in a URL leaks into every log line that prints a connection, so the mesh seals them
+	// as two fields and this machine joins them once, here, to dial.
+	User     string `json:"user,omitempty"`
+	Password string `json:"password,omitempty"`
+	// Claims are the seats the module this credential was issued for claims, as the mesh writes
+	// them beside the credential (novox/hq ADR 0159). The first is the build role this machine
+	// serves; a credential naming none is from before claims travelled in it.
+	Claims []struct {
+		Seat string `json:"seat"`
+	} `json:"claims,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// seatsClaimed is the seats the credential names, in order.
+func (c Credential) seatsClaimed() []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(c.Claims))
+	for _, claim := range c.Claims {
+		out = append(out, claim.Seat)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// onTheNewBus is whether a credential is for the bus being built: its address says so, and the
+// mesh only ever seals such a credential with the user and password beside it.
+func (c Credential) onTheNewBus() bool { return strings.HasPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(c.URL), "nats://") }
+
+// natsURL is the address with this machine's credential in it, for the one dial that needs it.
+func (c Credential) natsURL() string {
+	rest := strings.TrimPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(c.URL), "nats://")
+	if c.User == "" {
+		return "nats://" + rest
+	}
+	return "nats://" + c.User + ":" + c.Password + "@" + rest
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/once.go

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+)
+
+// buildOnce is the builder doing one build and stopping, with no broker and no mesh.
+//
+// **This is how a mesh is raised** (novox/hq ADR 0073). The installer carries this program and runs
+// it once, before anything else exists, to produce the control plane from the same repository and
+// path that every later rebuild of it will use. What raises the mesh is therefore the same thing
+// that maintains it — not a second mechanism that has to be kept in step with the first and is
+// exercised once per new mesh, which is how often enough to rot.
+//
+// It takes no work from a queue and answers nobody: there is no broker yet, and the only thing
+// waiting for the answer is the installer that started it. So the result goes to standard output as
+// JSON, which is what the installer reads.
+//
+// With no --registry it publishes nowhere and the image stays in this machine's container runtime,
+// named by the digest of its own configuration (see builder.Local). That is the genesis case. With
+// one, it publishes as it always does — the same command is how an operator builds a module by hand
+// on a mesh that already exists.
+func buildOnce(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("build", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	path := set.String("path", "", "the module's directory inside the repository (default: its root)")
+	ref := set.String("ref", "", "the commit to build; a branch is a moving target somebody else controls")
+	registry := set.String("registry", "",
+		"host:port to publish to. Without it the artifacts stay in this machine's container runtime, which is the genesis case")
+	workspace := set.String("workspace", "", "where to clone and build (default: a temporary directory)")
+	on := multiple(set, "on",
+		"a base this build stands on, as <module>/<artifact>=<reference>. Repeatable")
+	positionals, err := parseAround(set, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if len(positionals) != 1 {
+		return errors.New("mesh-builder build <repository> [--path P] [--ref COMMIT] [--registry HOST:PORT]")
+	}
+	repository := positionals[0]
+
+	where := *workspace
+	if where == "" {
+		where = os.TempDir() + "/mesh-builder-once"
+	}
+
+	// What this build may stand on, said on the command line because there is no mesh to ask.
+	//
+	// **This is the genesis case and it is meant to be awkward.** On a running mesh the control
+	// plane answers this, because only it knows what this mesh holds. Here nothing has been built
+	// yet, so whoever runs this says what to use — and for the control plane, which is the one
+	// module raised before anything else exists, the answer is ordinarily nothing at all.
+	bases := map[string]string{}
+	for _, pair := range *on {
+		key, reference, found := strings.Cut(pair, "=")
+		if !found || key == "" || reference == "" {
+			return fmt.Errorf(
+				"--on takes <module>/<artifact>=<reference>, and %q is not that", pair)
+		}
+		bases[key] = reference
+	}
+
+	// Local unless told otherwise, because the moment this exists for has nowhere to publish. A
+	// default pointing at a registry would mean genesis failing at a push to something that is not
+	// there yet, one step away from the thing that could explain it.
+	var publisher builder.Publisher = builder.Local{Run: builder.Command}
+	if *registry != "" {
+		publisher = builder.Registry{Address: *registry, Run: builder.Command}
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "building %s", repository)
+	if *path != "" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, " at %s", *path)
+	}
+	if *ref != "" {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, " at %s", *ref)
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr)
+
+	machine := os.Getenv("MESH_NODE")
+	if machine == "" {
+		machine, _ = os.Hostname()
+	}
+	npmrc, err := packagesFrom(machine)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  [packages] %s\n", saysRegistry(npmrc))
+	built, buildErr := builder.Build(ctx, builder.Command, publisher, repository, *path, *ref, where, bases, npmrc,
+		forgeFrom(),
+		func(step, message string) { fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  [%s] %s\n", step, message) })
+	if buildErr != nil {
+		return buildErr
+	}
+
+	// To standard output, and everything else to standard error, so the caller can read this
+	// without having to separate it from progress.
+	out := onceResult{
+		Module:     built.Manifest.Module,
+		Commit:     built.Commit,
+		Repository: repository,
+		Path:       *path,
+		Ref:        *ref,
+		Manifest:   built.Manifest,
+		Against:    built.Against,
+		Source:     built.Source,
+	}
+	for _, r := range built.Read {
+		out.Read = append(out.Read, readRepository{Repository: r.Repository, Ref: r.Ref})
+	}
+	for _, made := range built.Built {
+		out.Made = append(out.Made, madeArtifact{Name: made.Name, Kind: made.Kind, Reference: made.Reference})
+	}
+	body, err := json.MarshalIndent(out, "", "  ")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	fmt.Println(string(body))
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  built %s from %s\n", built.Manifest.Module, short(built.Commit))
+	return nil
+}
+
+// onceResult is what one build reports to whoever started it.
+//
+// The same fields the mesh records for a build, so a reader comparing a genesis build against an
+// ordinary one is comparing the same thing said the same way.
+type onceResult struct {
+	Module     string           `json:"module"`
+	Commit     string           `json:"commit"`
+	Repository string           `json:"repository"`
+	Path       string           `json:"path,omitempty"`
+	Ref        string           `json:"ref,omitempty"`
+	Manifest   any              `json:"manifest"`
+	Made       []madeArtifact   `json:"made"`
+	Against    []string         `json:"against,omitempty"`
+	Read       []readRepository `json:"read,omitempty"`
+	Source     string           `json:"source-fingerprint,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// readRepository is a repository this build read source from besides the module's own.
+type readRepository struct {
+	Repository string `json:"repository"`
+	Ref        string `json:"ref,omitempty"`
+}
+
+type madeArtifact struct {
+	Name      string `json:"name"`
+	Kind      string `json:"kind"`
+	Reference string `json:"reference"`
+}
+
+// parseAround lets flags appear on either side of the repository, because a person writing this by
+// hand will put them wherever reads best and the standard parser stops at the first thing that is
+// not a flag. The same helper the control plane's commands use, for the same reason.
+func parseAround(set *flag.FlagSet, args []string) ([]string, error) {
+	var positionals []string
+	rest := args
+	for {
+		if err := set.Parse(rest); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		rest = set.Args()
+		if len(rest) == 0 {
+			return positionals, nil
+		}
+		positionals = append(positionals, rest[0])
+		rest = rest[1:]
+	}
+}
+
+// multiple is a flag that may be given more than once.
+type repeated []string
+
+func (r *repeated) String() string     { return strings.Join(*r, ", ") }
+func (r *repeated) Set(v string) error { *r = append(*r, v); return nil }
+
+func multiple(set *flag.FlagSet, name, usage string) *[]string {
+	var values repeated
+	set.Var(&values, name, usage)
+	return (*[]string)(&values)
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/packages_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+)
+
+// The build agent's package registry (novox/hq ADR 0336, issue 121): its npm-package-registry
+// requirement is optional, so the binding may be absent, and on genesis's node the installer seals
+// the forge it raised as one genesis document instead.
+
+// registryFiles names the three paths the build agent's environment always names, writing only those
+// given.
+func registryFiles(t *testing.T, binding, token, genesis string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	for env, content := range map[string]string{
+		"MESH_PACKAGE_BINDING":          binding,
+		"MESH_NPM_TOKEN_FILE":           token,
+		"MESH_GENESIS_PACKAGE_REGISTRY": genesis,
+	} {
+		path := filepath.Join(dir, env)
+		t.Setenv(env, path)
+		if content != "" {
+			if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), 0o600); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, env := range []string{"MESH_NPM_REGISTRY", "MESH_NPM_TOKEN", "MESH_NPM_USER", "MESH_NPM_SCOPE"} {
+		t.Setenv(env, "")
+	}
+}
+
+const (
+	aBinding = `{"from":"gitea","at":"anchor.mesh","as":"anchor-agent",
+	  "serves":{"scheme":"http","port":3000,"npm-path":"/api/packages/novox/npm/"}}`
+	aGenesisDocument = `{"scheme":"http","at":"127.0.0.1","port":3100,"npm-path":"/api/packages/novox/npm/",
+	  "as":"mesh-builder","password":"genesis-secret"}`
+)
+
+func TestUntilTheRequirementBindsTheGenesisDocumentIsRead(t *testing.T) {
+	registryFiles(t, "", "", aGenesisDocument)
+	n, err := packagesFrom("anchor")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an absent binding beside a genesis document was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	if n.From != builder.FromGenesis || n.Registry != "http://127.0.0.1:3100/api/packages/novox/npm/" ||
+		n.Username != "mesh-builder" || n.Password != "genesis-secret" || n.Scope != "@novox" {
+		t.Fatalf("the genesis document was not what the registry came from: %+v", n)
+	}
+	file, err := n.File()
+	if err != nil || !strings.Contains(file, "//127.0.0.1:3100/api/packages/novox/npm/:username=mesh-builder") {
+		t.Fatalf("the .npmrc is not written from the genesis document: %v\n%s", err, file)
+	}
+	if got := saysRegistry(n); !strings.Contains(got, "genesis document") {
+		t.Errorf("the log does not say the genesis document: %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestARealBindingWinsOverTheGenesisDocument(t *testing.T) {
+	registryFiles(t, aBinding, "bound-secret\n", aGenesisDocument)
+	n, err := packagesFrom("anchor")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if n.From != builder.FromBinding || n.Registry != "http://anchor.mesh:3000/api/packages/novox/npm/" ||
+		n.Username != "anchor-agent" || n.Password != "bound-secret" {
+		t.Fatalf("the binding did not win over the genesis document: %+v", n)
+	}
+	if got := saysRegistry(n); !strings.Contains(got, "binding") {
+		t.Errorf("the log does not say the binding: %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWithNeitherTheAgentHasNoRegistryAndSaysWhere(t *testing.T) {
+	registryFiles(t, "", "", "")
+	n, err := packagesFrom("workstation")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an unbound optional requirement was a fault: %v", err)
+	}
+	if n.Enabled() || n.Machine != "workstation" {
+		t.Fatalf("a registry came from nowhere: %+v", n)
+	}
+	got := saysRegistry(n)
+	for _, want := range []string{"npm-package-registry", "unbound", "workstation"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(got, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the log does not say %q: %s", want, got)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAGenesisDocumentMissingAFieldIsRefusedByName(t *testing.T) {
+	registryFiles(t, "", "", `{"at":"127.0.0.1","port":3000,"npm-path":"/api/packages/novox/npm/","as":"mesh-builder"}`)
+	if _, err := packagesFrom("anchor"); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "password") {
+		t.Fatalf("a genesis document with no password was taken: %v", err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/ready.go

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+// **The build agent says it is ready** (novox/hq issue 544). It listens on nothing, so no http or tcp
+// check can see it work; it writes a mark once it is bound to its worker and pulls build work, and its
+// container's health check runs `mesh-builder ready`, which passes only while the mark is there. Without
+// it the node-engine could judge the agent only alive, and every walk that moved it waited out the whole
+// grace on each machine.
+//
+// The mark lives in the container's own temporary directory, never in the workspace the machine keeps:
+// a new container starts without it, and a restarted one removes it before it binds again.
+func readyMark() string { return filepath.Join(os.TempDir(), "mesh-builder.ready") }
+
+// notReady removes the mark: a holder starting is not taking work until it says so again.
+func notReady() error {
+	if err := os.Remove(readyMark()); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot remove the mark that this agent takes build work (%s): %w", readyMark(), err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// taking writes the mark. A mark that cannot be written is said, and the agent goes on building: its
+// check then says it is not ready, which is the truth the gate should hear.
+func taking(seat string) {
+	if err := os.WriteFile(readyMark(), []byte(seat+"\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "cannot mark that this agent takes build work (%s): %v\n", readyMark(), err)
+		return
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "taking build work from %s\n", seat)
+}
+
+// ready is the health check: nil when this container's agent is bound and pulling build work.
+func ready() error {
+	if _, err := os.Stat(readyMark()); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("not taking build work yet: %s is not there", readyMark())
+	}
+	return nil
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/ready_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The health check passes only between the agent saying it takes work and its next start (novox/hq
+// issue 544).
+func TestTheAgentIsReadyOnlyOnceItTakesWork(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", t.TempDir())
+	if err := ready(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an agent that never took work is ready")
+	}
+	taking("mesh-build-machine")
+	if err := ready(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an agent taking work is not ready: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Started again, it is not ready until it binds again.
+	if err := notReady(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := ready(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an agent starting again is ready before it takes work")
+	}
+	if err := notReady(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("removing a mark that is not there failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(readyMark()); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("the mark is still there")
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/seat_test.go

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

cmd/mesh-builder/stdout_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// **The genesis path writes its result to stdout and nothing else there.** The installer captures
+// stdout alone and parses it as JSON; one stray log line makes that fail with "invalid character"
+// — exactly what a builder fmt.Printf caused, breaking a build that had worked. This keeps
+// diagnostics on stderr so a future print cannot repeat it silently.
+func TestBuilderDiagnosticsStayOffStdout(t *testing.T) {
+	allowed := map[string]bool{
+		"string(body)": true, // once.go: the result JSON, which IS stdout
+		"version)":     true, // --version
+		`"stopping")`:  true, // the loop.s shutdown line
+		"usage)":       true, // --help text, for a human
+		"said)":        true, // busy: the answer its node-engine reads (novox/hq ADR 0335)
+	}
+	for _, file := range []string{"once.go", "main.go"} {
+		src, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		for i, raw := range strings.Split(string(src), "\n") {
+			line := strings.TrimSpace(raw)
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(line, "fmt.Printf(") &&
+				!strings.HasPrefix(line, "fmt.Println(") &&
+				!strings.HasPrefix(line, "fmt.Print(") {
+				continue
+			}
+			ok := false
+			for token := range allowed {
+				if strings.Contains(line, token) {
+					ok = true
+				}
+			}
+			if !ok {
+				t.Errorf("%s:%d writes a diagnostic to stdout, which the installer parses as JSON:\n  %s",
+					file, i+1, line)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/tried_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+)
+
+// A try's outcome, as the build seat says it in the build's log (novox/hq issue 686): the repository's own
+// check's verdict, how long it took, and each line naming what failed.
+func TestATrysOutcomeNamesWhatFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	tried := triedOf(builder.CheckVerdict{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "the change touches no module", Took: 303 * time.Second,
+		Head: "c0ffee", Trunk: "ca3f43c", Gate: &builder.Layer{Verdict: "pass"},
+		Repo: &builder.Layer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "its merge-check.sh failed: TestX",
+			Failed: "--- FAIL: TestX (0.01s)\n    x_test.go:12: got 1, want 2"}})
+	if tried.Verdict != "fail" || tried.Took != "5m3s" || len(tried.Failed) != 2 || tried.Trunk != "ca3f43c" ||
+		tried.Summary != "its merge-check.sh failed: TestX" {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed try: %+v", tried)
+	}
+	// A head that does not merge fails both layers: the check's own word.
+	conflict := triedOf(builder.CheckVerdict{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "does not merge", Gate: &builder.Layer{Verdict: "fail"},
+		Repo: &builder.Layer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "does not merge"}})
+	if conflict.Verdict != "fail" || conflict.Summary != "does not merge" {
+		t.Fatalf("a try that does not merge: %+v", conflict)
+	}
+	// No verdict is an error, never a pass.
+	if none := triedOf(builder.CheckVerdict{}); none.Verdict != "error" {
+		t.Fatalf("a try with no verdict: %+v", none)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-builder/where_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"crypto/x509/pkix"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"math/big"
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+)
+
+// Where a builder publishes.
+//
+// Preferably from the mesh: a builder that is a module requires an artifact store, and the mesh
+// writes it a binding saying which machine answers and on what port. Reading it means the address
+// is not a setting somebody keeps in step by hand.
+
+func binding(t *testing.T, body string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "artifact-store.json")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(body), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return path
+}
+
+func TestTheMeshSaysWhereToPublish(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BINDING", binding(t, `{"binding":1,"provision":"artifact-store",
+		"from":"anchor","at":"anchor.internal","serves":{"port":5000,"scheme":"http"}}`))
+	where, err := whereToPublish()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if where != "anchor.internal:5000" {
+		t.Fatalf("got %q", where)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestABindingWithNoAddressIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	// The provider is not on the private network, so there is no name to reach it by. Falling
+	// back to anything would publish to a store on the wrong machine and be found out much later.
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BINDING", binding(t, `{"binding":1,"from":"anchor","serves":{"port":5000}}`))
+	_, err := whereToPublish()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a binding with nowhere to reach was accepted")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "anchor") {
+		t.Fatalf("the failure does not name the machine: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestABindingWithNoPortIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BINDING", binding(t, `{"binding":1,"from":"a","at":"a.internal","serves":{}}`))
+	if _, err := whereToPublish(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a binding saying nothing about a port was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheVariableStillWorksForABuilderRunByAPerson(t *testing.T) {
+	// Which is how this started and how it is still run while being developed.
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BINDING", "")
+	t.Setenv("MESH_REGISTRY", "127.0.0.1:5000")
+	where, err := whereToPublish()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if where != "127.0.0.1:5000" {
+		t.Fatalf("got %q", where)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNeitherIsRefusedRatherThanGuessed(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BINDING", "")
+	t.Setenv("MESH_REGISTRY", "")
+	if _, err := whereToPublish(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a builder with nowhere to publish reported somewhere")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheCredentialComesFromAFileTheMeshSealed(t *testing.T) {
+	// A builder that is a module is given its credential the way every module is: sealed to the
+	// machine and written by the host. An environment variable instead would put the one copy
+	// that matters through a terminal and a process listing.
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "broker")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte("amqps://a-builder:secret@broker.internal:5671/\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_FILE", path)
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_AMQP", "amqp://should-not-be-used@nowhere/")
+
+	got, err := brokerFrom()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got.URL != "amqps://a-builder:secret@broker.internal:5671/" {
+		t.Fatalf("got %q", got.URL)
+	}
+}
+
+// The credential the mesh seals carries what to check the broker's certificate against, because a
+// mesh's broker presents a certificate of the mesh's own and no public trust store has it. A URL
+// alone can only reach a broker somebody else vouches for.
+func TestTheSealedCredentialCarriesWhatVerifiesTheBroker(t *testing.T) {
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "broker")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(
+		`{"url":"amqps://a-builder:secret@broker.internal:5671/","fingerprint":"abc123"}`),
+		0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_FILE", path)
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_AMQP", "")
+
+	got, err := brokerFrom()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got.URL != "amqps://a-builder:secret@broker.internal:5671/" {
+		t.Fatalf("the url was lost: %q", got.URL)
+	}
+	if got.Fingerprint != "abc123" {
+		t.Fatal("the builder was given nothing to check the broker against, so it can only " +
+			"connect to a broker some public authority vouches for")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAnEmptyCredentialFileIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	// Otherwise the builder connects as nobody and is refused, with the reason three layers away.
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "broker")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte("\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_FILE", path)
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_AMQP", "")
+	if _, err := brokerFrom(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an empty credential was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestABuilderWithNoCredentialAtAllSaysSo(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_FILE", "")
+	t.Setenv("MESH_BROKER_AMQP", "")
+	if _, err := brokerFrom(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a builder with no broker reported one")
+	}
+}
+
+// The pin is compared in the spelling the mesh writes it.
+//
+// A bare digest against a written fingerprint never matches, and the failure is indistinguishable
+// from being pointed at the wrong broker — which is the one thing this check exists to report
+// truthfully. It cost a lab run.
+func TestThePinIsComparedInTheSpellingTheMeshWritesIt(t *testing.T) {
+	certificate, key := aServerCertificate(t)
+	der := certificate.Certificate[0]
+	sum := sha256.Sum256(der)
+	written := "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
+
+	listener, err := tls.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0", &tls.Config{
+		Certificates: []tls.Certificate{certificate}, MinVersion: tls.VersionTLS12,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer listener.Close()
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			conn, err := listener.Accept()
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			_ = conn.(*tls.Conn).Handshake()
+			conn.Close()
+		}
+	}()
+	_ = key
+
+	// The pin the mesh wrote must be accepted.
+	if err := handshakeWith(listener.Addr().String(), written); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the broker this builder was told about was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	// And a different one refused, or the check reports nothing.
+	other := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("ab", 32)
+	if err := handshakeWith(listener.Addr().String(), other); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a broker this builder was not told about was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+// handshakeWith runs the pin check the builder dials with against an address.
+func handshakeWith(address, pin string) error {
+	conn, err := tls.Dial("tcp", address, broker.PinnedToFingerprint(pin))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return conn.Close()
+}
+
+func aServerCertificate(t *testing.T) (tls.Certificate, ed25519.PrivateKey) {
+	t.Helper()
+	public, private, err := ed25519.GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	template := &x509.Certificate{
+		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(1),
+		Subject:      pkix.Name{CommonName: "a broker"},
+		NotBefore:    time.Now().Add(-time.Hour),
+		NotAfter:     time.Now().Add(time.Hour),
+		IPAddresses:  []net.IP{net.ParseIP("127.0.0.1")},
+	}
+	der, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, template, template, public, private)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return tls.Certificate{Certificate: [][]byte{der}, PrivateKey: private}, private
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/acts.go

@@ -408,21 +408,12 @@ func issueOnAssign(ctx context.Context, open *stores, node, module string) strin
 		return ""
 	}
 	user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: node, Module: module}.Username()
-	_, 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 {
+	if _, reads := m.OwnSecrets["broker"]; !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 {
+	if _, minted, err := inv.BusUserHash(ctx, user); err != nil || minted {
 		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 {
@@ -435,16 +426,6 @@ 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/addresses_integration_test.go

@@ -221,4 +221,8 @@ func TestOnANodeWithNoNetworkTheStoreIsReachedByLoopback(t *testing.T) {
 	if image != "127.0.0.1:5100/postgres/runtime@"+aDigest {
 		t.Fatalf("on the store's own node, off any network, the image is fetched as %v", image)
 	}
+	held := heldBy(ctx)
+	if got := held["postgres/runtime"]; got != "127.0.0.1:5100/postgres/runtime@"+aDigest {
+		t.Fatalf("a builder beside the store is handed the base %q", got)
+	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/addresses_test.go

@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
 	"strings"
+	"testing"
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // An address is read from the node's settings where it is used, never recorded with a port
@@ -11,6 +14,62 @@ import (
 
 var aDigest = "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("e", 64)
 
+// **A build is recorded by digest and path**, whatever address the builder pushed to — what it
+// made and what it stood on both; an image the module runs from elsewhere is left where it says.
+func TestABuildIsRecordedWithoutTheStoresAddress(t *testing.T) {
+	manifest, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{
+		"module": "gitea", "version": "1",
+		"resources": []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "server", "type": "container", "name": "mesh-gitea",
+				"image": "anchor.internal:5100/gitea/server@" + aDigest},
+			{"id": "config", "type": "archive", "path": "/etc/gitea", "digest": aDigest,
+				"source": "http://anchor.internal:5100/v2/gitea/config/blobs/" + aDigest},
+			{"id": "cache", "type": "container", "name": "mesh-gitea-cache",
+				"image": "valkey/valkey@" + aDigest},
+		},
+	})
+	kept := buildFrom(link.BuildResult{
+		ID: "b1", Repository: "https://forge.example/gitea.git", Commit: "abc", On: "laptop",
+		Manifest: manifest,
+		Made: []link.MadeArtifact{
+			{Name: "server", Kind: "image", Reference: "anchor.internal:5100/gitea/server@" + aDigest},
+			{Name: "config", Kind: "archive", Reference: "http://anchor.internal:5100/v2/gitea/config/blobs/" + aDigest},
+		},
+		Against: []string{"anchor.internal:5100/mesh-tools/runtime@" + aDigest},
+	})
+	if kept.Module != "gitea" {
+		t.Fatalf("the module was not read from the recorded manifest: %q", kept.Module)
+	}
+	if kept.Made[0].Reference != catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme+"gitea/server@"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("the image is recorded as %q, address and all", kept.Made[0].Reference)
+	}
+	if kept.Made[1].Reference != catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme+"gitea/config/blobs/"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("the archive is recorded as %q, address and all", kept.Made[1].Reference)
+	}
+	recorded, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(kept.Manifest)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got := recorded.Resources[0]["image"]; got != catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme+"gitea/server@"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("the recorded manifest's image is %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := recorded.Resources[1]["source"]; got != catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme+"gitea/config/blobs/"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("the recorded manifest's archive is %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := recorded.Resources[2]["image"]; got != "valkey/valkey@"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("an image the build did not make was rewritten: %v", got)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(string(kept.Manifest), "anchor.internal:5100") {
+		t.Errorf("the recorded manifest still carries the store's address:\n%s", kept.Manifest)
+	}
+	// What the build stood on is an edge to another module's artifact, and it is recorded the way
+	// that artifact is: by path in the store, so the edge still names the same thing when the
+	// store answers at another address.
+	if kept.Against[0] != catalogue.ArtifactStoreScheme+"mesh-tools/runtime@"+aDigest {
+		t.Errorf("what the build stood on was recorded by address: %v", kept.Against)
+	}
+}
+
 // aStore is a module offering the artifact store on 5000, published the long way as the
 // distribution module does, so a node may be given another number for it.
 func aStore() catalogue.Manifest {

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_look_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// Issue 1334, the look: when the bus did not answer an ask of any module of a tier, no build is in flight and no event follows,
+// so the look itself comes back (it fails, and the looker retries it), asks the modules again, and past the bound fails the plan.
+func TestALookComesBackForATierTheBusRefusedWhole(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	for _, name := range []string{"a", "b"} {
+		if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: name, Version: "1"},
+			inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/" + name, Seat: "git", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-bus", Repository: "novox/a", Branch: "main", Commit: "c1", Created: time.Now().UTC(),
+		State: inventory.PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{"a", "b"}}, Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {}, "b": {}}}
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	bus := false
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, _, _ string) (string, error) {
+		if !bus {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: nats: no responders available for request", inventory.ErrNoChain)
+		}
+		return "build-" + source.Repository, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	look := func() bool {
+		t.Helper()
+		release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		defer release()
+		return advanceHeld(ctx, open)
+	}
+	read := func() inventory.Plan {
+		t.Helper()
+		got, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-bus")
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		return got
+	}
+
+	// Every module refused: the look says it failed, which has the looker come back; the plan is building and says why.
+	if !look() {
+		t.Fatal("a look that left the whole tier unasked for the bus did not fail, so nothing would come back to it")
+	}
+	if got := read(); got.State != inventory.PlanBuilding || !strings.Contains(got.Note, "bus did not answer") ||
+		got.Modules["a"].State != "" || got.Modules["b"].State != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan after a refused tier: %s %q %+v %+v", got.State, got.Note, got.Modules["a"], got.Modules["b"])
+	}
+	// Again, still refused: the same fact is not saved again, and the look still comes back.
+	before := read().Revision
+	if !look() || read().Revision != before {
+		t.Fatalf("a second refused look failed to come back or saved the plan again (revision %d, was %d)", read().Revision, before)
+	}
+
+	// The bus answers at the next look: both are asked, and nothing waits any more.
+	bus = true
+	if look() {
+		t.Fatal("a look that asked the whole tier failed")
+	}
+	if got := read(); got.Modules["a"].State != "asked" || got.Modules["b"].State != "asked" || got.Modules["a"].BusWaitFrom != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the tier was not asked once the bus answered: %+v %+v", got.Modules["a"], got.Modules["b"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestALookFailsTheTierTheBusRefusedPastTheBound(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "a", Version: "1"},
+		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/a", Seat: "git", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Head: "c0"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	long := time.Now().UTC().Add(-busWaitBound - time.Minute)
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-bus", Repository: "novox/a", Branch: "main", Commit: "c1", Created: time.Now().UTC(),
+		State: inventory.PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}}, Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {BusWaitFrom: &long}}}
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: nats: no responders available for request", inventory.ErrNoChain)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	release, err := inv.HoldPlans(ctx, true)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
+	release()
+	got, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-bus")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !strings.Contains(got.Note, "the bus did not answer an ask for 10m0s (since ") {
+		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 {
+		got.Modules["a"].State, got.Modules["a"].Why = "failed", "x"
+		if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &got); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		said, err := retryPlan(ctx, open, "plan-bus")
+		if err != nil || !strings.Contains(said, "not asked yet: the bus did not answer") {
+			t.Fatalf("a retry left for the bus is said as %q %v", said, err)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_moment_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// Issue 1334: a bus that does not answer for a moment (it reloads its user list, and JetStream's API has no responder for a few
+// 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.
+
+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{}}
+	byName := map[string]inventory.Entry{}
+	for _, m := range []string{"a", "b", "c"} {
+		byName[m] = inventory.Entry{Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/" + m, Seat: "git", Ref: "main"}}
+	}
+	return p, byName
+}
+
+func TestABusThatDoesNotAnswerForAMomentDoesNotFailTheTier(t *testing.T) {
+	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
+	bus := false
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, _, _ string) (string, error) {
+		if source.Repository == "novox/b" && !bus {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: the bucket mesh-controller_builds is not on the bus: nats: no responders available for request",
+				inventory.ErrNoChain)
+		}
+		return "build-" + source.Repository, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+
+	for _, m := range []string{"a", "b", "c"} {
+		askModule(t.Context(), p, m, byName)
+	}
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding {
+		t.Fatalf("a bus that did not answer for a moment failed the plan: %s, %q", p.State, p.Note)
+	}
+	if p.Modules["a"].State != "asked" || p.Modules["c"].State != "asked" {
+		t.Fatalf("the modules the bus did answer for were not asked: %+v %+v", p.Modules["a"], p.Modules["c"])
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["b"]; s.State != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the module the bus did not answer for is %q, not left unasked", s.State)
+	}
+	if got := unaskedOf(*p); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "b" {
+		t.Fatalf("the next look would ask %v, not b", got)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(p.Note, "bus did not answer") {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan says nothing of the wait: %q", p.Note)
+	}
+
+	// The next look, the bus answering: b is asked and the plan goes on.
+	bus = true
+	for _, m := range unaskedOf(*p) {
+		askModule(t.Context(), p, m, byName)
+	}
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding || p.Modules["b"].State != "asked" || p.Modules["b"].Build == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("b was not asked once the bus answered: %s %+v", p.State, p.Modules["b"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestABusSilentForTenMinutesFailsTheTierAsBefore(t *testing.T) {
+	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: nats: no responders available for request", inventory.ErrNoChain)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding {
+		t.Fatalf("the first refusal failed the plan: %q", p.Note)
+	}
+	long := time.Now().Add(-busWaitBound - time.Minute)
+	p.Modules["a"].BusWaitFrom = &long
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || p.Modules["a"].State != "failed" {
+		t.Fatalf("a bus silent past its bound did not fail the plan: %s %+v", p.State, p.Modules["a"])
+	}
+	// Said in plain words: the bus, the wait, and since when.
+	want := "a could not be asked for: the bus did not answer an ask for 10m0s (since " + long.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339) +
+		"): this kind of record lives on the bus"
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(p.Note, want) || p.Modules["a"].Why != strings.TrimPrefix(want, "a could not be asked for: ")+p.Note[len(want):] {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan says %q, not words starting %q", p.Note, want)
+	}
+	// The wait has ended: a Retry made while the bus still reloads waits again, and does not fail at its first refusal.
+	if p.Modules["a"].BusWaitFrom != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed module still holds the start of its wait: %v", p.Modules["a"].BusWaitFrom)
+	}
+	p.State = inventory.PlanBuilding
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding || p.Modules["a"].State != "" || p.Modules["a"].BusWaitFrom == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a retry made while the bus is silent did not wait afresh: %s %+v", p.State, p.Modules["a"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAPlanWithAModuleWaitingForTheBusIsOneTheLookComesBackTo(t *testing.T) {
+	p, _ := aTierOfThree()
+	if busWaiting(*p) {
+		t.Fatal("a plan whose modules are not asked yet waits for the bus")
+	}
+	now := time.Now()
+	p.Modules["b"] = &inventory.PlanModule{BusWaitFrom: &now}
+	p.Modules["a"] = &inventory.PlanModule{State: "asked"}
+	if got := busWaitingIn(*p); len(got) != 1 || got[0] != "b" {
+		t.Fatalf("the modules waiting for the bus are %v, not b", got)
+	}
+	p.State = inventory.PlanFailed
+	if busWaiting(*p) {
+		t.Fatal("a plan that is not open is waited for")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAModulesOwnFaultStillFailsThePlan(t *testing.T) {
+	p, byName := aTierOfThree()
+	delete(byName, "a")
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !strings.Contains(p.Note, "no longer in the catalogue") {
+		t.Fatalf("a module gone from the catalogue did not fail the plan: %s %q", p.State, p.Note)
+	}
+
+	p, byName = aTierOfThree()
+	was := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(context.Context, buildSource, string, string) (string, error) {
+		return "", errors.New("git.example/novox/a is no repository the catalogue builds a module from")
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = was })
+	askModule(t.Context(), p, "a", byName)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || p.Modules["a"].State != "failed" {
+		t.Fatalf("a module's own refusal did not fail the plan: %s %+v", p.State, p.Modules["a"])
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_wait.go

@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
+
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 )
 
@@ -14,6 +18,37 @@ import (
 // (issue 1334).
 const busWaitBound = 10 * time.Minute
 
+// busDidNotAnswer says an ask failed because the bus's JetStream had no responder at that moment, as it has for a few seconds
+// when the bus reloads its user list (novox/hq issue 353), and not because of the module: the same ask is made again.
+func busDidNotAnswer(err error) bool {
+	if err == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if errors.Is(err, nats.ErrNoResponders) || errors.Is(err, nats.ErrJetStreamNotEnabled) ||
+		errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrJetStreamNotEnabled) || errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrNoChain) {
+		return true
+	}
+	// An error that crossed a boundary as text only.
+	text := err.Error()
+	return strings.Contains(text, "no responders available") || strings.Contains(text, "jetstream not enabled")
+}
+
+// waitForTheBus leaves a module whose ask the bus did not answer unasked, the plan building, and says so in the plan's note: the
+// next look asks the tier's unasked modules again. It says false, so the caller fails the plan as for any refusal, once the bus
+// has been silent for busWaitBound.
+func waitForTheBus(p *inventory.Plan, state *inventory.PlanModule, name string, err error, now time.Time) bool {
+	if state.BusWaitFrom == nil {
+		state.BusWaitFrom = &now
+	}
+	if now.Sub(*state.BusWaitFrom) > busWaitBound {
+		return false
+	}
+	state.State, state.Why = "", ""
+	p.Note = fmt.Sprintf("tier %d: %s not asked: the bus did not answer (%v); asked again at the next look, failing after %s",
+		p.Tier, name, firstLine(err.Error()), busWaitBound)
+	return true
+}
+
 // busWaiting says an open plan has a module of its current tier that the bus did not answer an ask of: the look must come back
 // for it, as nothing else will when no build of the tier is in flight (issue 1334).
 func busWaiting(p inventory.Plan) bool {

cmd/mesh-controller/ask_bus_wait_test.go

@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-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

@@ -645,10 +645,6 @@ 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/asker_retry_integration_test.go

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ import (
 func TestAWarrantForRetryRetriesAFailedPlanInTheStoreAndEndsItsCondition(t *testing.T) {
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
-	asksRecorded(t)
+	asked := asksRecorded(t)
 	planMovedHeard(t) // the bus the verb says its moves on, and the hand-act log
 	twoTiers(t, open)
 	before := time.Now().UTC().Add(-time.Hour)
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func TestAWarrantForRetryRetriesAFailedPlanInTheStoreAndEndsItsCondition(t *test
 		Note:     "a failed to build in tier 0",
 		Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{},
 		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "failed", AskedAt: &before, Build: "build-1",
-			Why: "killed by hand"}},
+			Why: link.KilledByHand}},
 		Times: &inventory.PlanTimes{Cut: &before, Started: &before, Ended: &ended, Class: inventory.ClassLeaf}}
 	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, &failed); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -123,9 +123,12 @@ func TestAWarrantForRetryRetriesAFailedPlanInTheStoreAndEndsItsCondition(t *test
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	m := p.Modules["a"]
-	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding || p.Tier != 0 || m.State != "asked" || !m.Key || m.Why != "waits for the builder's key" || m.Build == "build-1" {
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanBuilding || p.Tier != 0 || m.State != "asked" || m.Build == "" || m.Build == "build-1" {
 		t.Fatalf("after the warrant the plan is %s at tier %d and a is %+v", p.State, p.Tier, m)
 	}
+	if len(*asked) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the build was asked %d times: %v", len(*asked), *asked)
+	}
 	if got := store[w.Ask]; got.Acted != "done" {
 		t.Fatalf("the ask ended %q", got.Acted)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/away_integration_test.go

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
-	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -16,7 +15,6 @@ import (
 
 	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builderkeys"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
@@ -68,18 +66,17 @@ func TestAPlanGoesOnWithoutAMachineAwayWhenItsTierIsSent(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// The build machine and the machines, as far as the plan meets them: an ask is counted, a send is recorded and kept.
 	var mu sync.Mutex
+	var asks []string
 	var sends [][]string
-	everyKeyDone(t) // the builds of the tiers: each module is taken from a done key as soon as the walk reaches it
-	// Except tier 1's module b, whose key is not built until the test says so: a walk that takes it in the same look
-	// goes on through tier 1's send and overwrites the note of the move before the test reads it (the old build ask
-	// was where the walk paused).
-	wholeKeys := openPlanKeys
-	var holdB atomic.Bool
-	holdB.Store(true)
-	openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
-		all, done, err := wholeKeys()
-		return keysHolding{all, "b", &holdB, ""}, done, err
+	wasAsk := askABuild
+	askABuild = func(_ context.Context, source buildSource, _, _ string) (string, error) {
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		id := link.NewBuildID(time.Now().Add(time.Duration(len(asks)) * time.Millisecond))
+		asks = append(asks, source.Repository+"#"+id)
+		return id, nil
 	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { askABuild = wasAsk })
 	digests := 0
 	wasSend := sendRollout
 	sendRollout = func(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) ([]string, error) {
@@ -201,9 +198,13 @@ func TestAPlanGoesOnWithoutAMachineAwayWhenItsTierIsSent(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.Contains(moved, "laptop was away: sent when it is heard again") || strings.Contains(moved, "anchor") {
 		t.Errorf("1161/AC2: the plan says %q; want laptop named away and not anchor", moved)
 	}
-	// Tier 1's module is taken from its key once that is built, which the walk's look does by itself.
-	holdB.Store(false)
-	askToLook()
+	// The ask for tier 1's build is the next step, and records its build id on the module.
+	eventually(t, "tier 1 asked", func() bool { m := plan().Modules["b"]; return m != nil && m.Build != "" })
+	b := plan().Modules["b"]
+	askedAt, _ := link.BuildAskedAt(b.Build)
+	record(b.Build, "b", "c2", askedAt)
+	register("b", "c2", askedAt)
+	planBuilt(ctx, open, "b", "c2", "", askedAt, b.Build)
 	eventually(t, "tier 1 sent to anchor alone", func() bool {
 		mu.Lock()
 		defer mu.Unlock()
@@ -225,39 +226,3 @@ func TestAPlanGoesOnWithoutAMachineAwayWhenItsTierIsSent(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("1161/AC2: the plan keeps %v away; want laptop", got)
 	}
 }
-
-// keysHolding is the stand-in builder's keys but for one module, whose key is not built while held; only the key of
-// the fingerprint fp when that is given.
-type keysHolding struct {
-	planKeyReads
-	module string
-	held   *atomic.Bool
-	fp     string
-}
-
-func (k keysHolding) Build(ctx context.Context, module, fp string) (builderkeys.Key, error) {
-	if module == k.module && k.held.Load() && (k.fp == "" || fp == k.fp) {
-		return builderkeys.Key{Module: module, Fingerprint: fp}, nil
-	}
-	return k.planKeyReads.Build(ctx, module, fp)
-}
-
-// holdKeys has the stand-in builder's keys of these modules (at any commit) unbuilt until the returned flag is cleared,
-// so a walk that took them stays on its tier as it did while its build ran. It restores what it replaced at the end of
-// the test, and the flag is set until the test lowers it.
-func holdKeys(t *testing.T, modules ...string) *atomic.Bool {
-	t.Helper()
-	held := &atomic.Bool{}
-	held.Store(true)
-	was := openPlanKeys
-	openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
-		all, done, err := was()
-		var keys planKeyReads = all
-		for _, m := range modules {
-			keys = keysHolding{keys, m, held, ""}
-		}
-		return keys, done, err
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { openPlanKeys = was })
-	return held
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/backups_before_send_integration_test.go

@@ -211,12 +211,8 @@ func TestADeliveryThatMovesABackedUpModuleWaitsForItsBackupAndAFailedOneHoldsItA
 	}
 	seats["laptop"].answers("notes", true, "")
 	advancePlans(ctx, open)
-	// One key taken, not two: plan-one and plan-two carry the same module at the same commit, so they share one key
-	// build id (key_takein.go keyBuildID), and a walk finds a key already taken (keyTakes.taken, plan_keys.go) and takes
-	// it in no more. So that the smaller count hides no plan that stopped, plan-two's module must be built from that key.
-	if got := read("plan-two"); got.Backups.State != inventory.BackupDone || len(*asked) != 1 ||
-		got.Modules["notes"].Build == "" || got.Modules["notes"].State == "failed" || got.Modules["notes"].Key && got.Modules["notes"].State == "asked" {
-		t.Fatalf("the plan did not go on: %+v module=%+v builds=%v", got.Backups, got.Modules["notes"], *asked)
+	if got := read("plan-two"); got.Backups.State != inventory.BackupDone || len(*asked) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan did not go on: %+v builds=%v", got.Backups, *asked)
 	}
 	if said, _ := probeBackupHeld(ctx, &doctor{open: open}); len(said) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("the condition stays: %+v", said)

cmd/mesh-controller/batches.go

@@ -232,8 +232,6 @@ 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 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))
@@ -800,9 +798,6 @@ 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/batches_integration_test.go

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
-	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -66,7 +65,7 @@ func cutAt(t *testing.T, open *stores, now time.Time) {
 func TestTwoMergesSecondsApartAreOneWalkAtTheLaterCommit(t *testing.T) {
 	open := windowed(t)
 	everyHeadWaits(t)
-	asksWithPaths(t)
+	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
 	claude := catalogueMerge("553b7191claude", "app", t0)
 	dunst := catalogueMerge("48bda475dunst", "notes", t0.Add(17*time.Second))
 	hear(t, open, claude, t0.Add(time.Second))
@@ -97,12 +96,8 @@ func TestTwoMergesSecondsApartAreOneWalkAtTheLaterCommit(t *testing.T) {
 	if w.Delivery == nil || !slices.EqualFunc(w.Delivery.Merges, want, sameMerge) {
 		t.Fatalf("the walk answers %+v, want %+v", w.Delivery, want)
 	}
-	// The cut takes its first tier from the builder's keys (a look takes them in later; none runs here), and says at
-	// which commit: the one the branch holds, which is the later merge the walk carries.
-	for _, m := range w.Tiers[w.Tier] {
-		if s := w.Modules[m]; s == nil || !s.Key || s.State != "asked" || s.KeyAt != dunst.Commit {
-			t.Fatalf("the walk did not take %s from its key at the commit it carries (%s): %+v", m, dunst.Commit, s)
-		}
+	if len(*asked) != 2 || (*asked)[0][2] != "main" || (*asked)[1][2] != "main" {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk did not ask its modules at the branch, which holds the commit it carries: %v", *asked)
 	}
 	// Heard again, as the bus may hand it over twice: never a second merge, nor a second walk.
 	hear(t, open, claude, t0.Add(5*time.Minute))
@@ -136,10 +131,11 @@ func TestThreeRepositoriesInOneWindowAreOneWalk(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("the walk does not build %s: %v", r, w.Modules)
 		}
 	}
-	// Each module of the first tier is taken from its key at its own repository's commit (the cut asks no build).
-	for _, r := range w.Tiers[w.Tier] {
-		if s := w.Modules[r]; s == nil || !s.Key || s.State != "asked" || s.KeyAt != "c-"+r {
-			t.Fatalf("%s was not taken from its key at its own commit: %+v", r, s)
+	// Each module's ask is recorded at its own repository's commit.
+	for _, r := range []string{"one", "two", "three"} {
+		q, found, err := open.inventory.BuildRequestByID(t.Context(), w.Modules[r].Build)
+		if err != nil || !found || q.Commit != "c-"+r {
+			t.Fatalf("%s's build was not recorded at its own commit: %+v %v %v", r, q, found, err)
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -344,7 +340,7 @@ func TestALateMergeIsAnsweredByTheWalkOfTheLaterOne(t *testing.T) {
 func TestAFailedWalkWalksItsEarlierMergesAlone(t *testing.T) {
 	open := windowed(t)
 	everyHeadWaits(t)
-	asksWithPaths(t)
+	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	// Made before the cut marks their modules seen, as merges are: walked again, they are news all the same.
 	oldest := catalogueMerge("aaaa0001", "app", t0.Add(-3*time.Minute))
@@ -371,10 +367,9 @@ func TestAFailedWalkWalksItsEarlierMergesAlone(t *testing.T) {
 		!sameMerge(alone.Delivery.Merges[0], inventory.PlanMerge{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Commit: middle.Commit}) {
 		t.Fatalf("the newest earlier merge was not walked alone on its own commit: %+v", alone)
 	}
-	// The cut takes the first tier from the builder's keys and asks no build, so nothing is recorded as asked: the
-	// module is taken from its key at the commit the merge was walked on.
-	if app := alone.Modules["app"]; app == nil || !app.Key || app.State != "asked" || app.KeyAt != middle.Commit {
-		t.Fatalf("the merge walked alone does not build app at its own commit: %v", alone.Modules)
+	if _, in := alone.Modules["app"]; !in || (*asked)[len(*asked)-1] != [3]string{"novox/mesh-catalog", "modules/app",
+		middle.Commit} {
+		t.Fatalf("the merge walked alone does not build app at its own commit: %v, asked %v", alone.Modules, *asked)
 	}
 	// Retried, the failed walk would name merges the search answers now.
 	if _, err := retryPlan(ctx, open, failed.ID); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "walked alone") {
@@ -513,14 +508,6 @@ func TestALateMergeOfAOneModuleRepositoryIsNamed(t *testing.T) {
 func TestAWalkLetGoBesideAStartedOneStartsOnceItEnded(t *testing.T) {
 	open := windowed(t)
 	asked := asksWithPaths(t)
-	// The started walk's key (one at c1) is not built, so that walk stays started as it did while its build ran: with
-	// the stand-in builder's key done at once, one step would carry it to done and nothing would be beside the other.
-	wholeKeys, held := openPlanKeys, &atomic.Bool{}
-	held.Store(true)
-	openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
-		all, done, err := wholeKeys()
-		return keysHolding{all, "one", held, fpOfModuleAt("one", "c1")}, done, err
-	}
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	hear(t, open, repoMerge("one", "c1", t0), t0)
 	cutAt(t, open, t0.Add(2*time.Minute))
@@ -554,11 +541,7 @@ func TestAWalkLetGoBesideAStartedOneStartsOnceItEnded(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("a deferred walk is watched as a tier running late: %+v", f)
 		}
 	}
-	// Read again: the steps since wrote the started walk (what its key waits for), so the copy read at its cut is stale.
-	done, err := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, started[0].ID)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
+	done := started[0]
 	done.State = inventory.PlanDone
 	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, &done); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -641,14 +624,6 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheControllersPathNeverSharesABatch(t *testing.T) {
 	// A catalogue walk waiting for its word when an own-path batch is cut keeps waiting beside the own-path
 	// walk, is not folded into it, and its word is taken meanwhile: it starts once the own-path walk ended.
 	catalogueWalk := ws[0]
-	// The controller's second walk keeps its key unbuilt, so it stays started as it did while its build ran; with the
-	// stand-in builder's key done at once one step would carry it to done and nothing would be beside the catalogue walk.
-	wholeKeys, held := openPlanKeys, &atomic.Bool{}
-	held.Store(true)
-	openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
-		all, done, err := wholeKeys()
-		return keysHolding{all, "mesh-controller", held, fpOfModuleAt("mesh-controller", "k2")}, done, err
-	}
 	hear(t, open, repoMerge("mesh-controller", "k2", t0.Add(4*time.Minute)), t0.Add(4*time.Minute))
 	cutAt(t, open, t0.Add(6*time.Minute))
 	ws, _ = walks(t, open)
@@ -667,11 +642,7 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheControllersPathNeverSharesABatch(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(*asked) != before {
 		t.Fatalf("the catalogue walk started beside the controller's: asked %v", (*asked)[before:])
 	}
-	// Read again: the step above wrote the walk (what its key waits for), so the copy read at its cut is stale.
-	own2, err := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, ws[0].ID)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
+	own2 := ws[0]
 	own2.State = inventory.PlanDone
 	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, &own2); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)

cmd/mesh-controller/batches_test.go

@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ func TestAPlanLineNamesWhatItMoves(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
-	if got, want := planLineOn(p, now, tierAtLeast, running),
+	if got, want := planLineOn(p, now, pauseView{}, tierAtLeast, running),
 		"mesh-catalog #175 a tap shows its outcome · messenger, telegram → novox · tier 1 of 1, building for 2m0s"; got != want {
 		t.Fatalf("the line reads %q, want %q", got, want)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/beside_test.go

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"strings"
-	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -16,14 +15,6 @@ import (
 func TestAnUnrelatedBatchWalksBesideAnOpenWalk(t *testing.T) {
 	open := windowed(t)
 	asksWithPaths(t)
-	// Both modules' keys are not built, so each walk stays open as it did while its build ran: with the stand-in
-	// builder's key done at once, one step would carry a one-module walk to done.
-	wholeKeys, held := openPlanKeys, &atomic.Bool{}
-	held.Store(true)
-	openPlanKeys = func() (planKeyReads, func(), error) {
-		all, done, err := wholeKeys()
-		return keysHolding{keysHolding{all, "one", held, ""}, "two", held, ""}, done, err
-	}
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	hear(t, open, repoMerge("one", "c1", t0), t0)
 	cutAt(t, open, t0.Add(90*time.Second))

cmd/mesh-controller/build_seat_test.go

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

cmd/mesh-controller/build_source.go

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"regexp"
-	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -189,13 +188,25 @@ func (f *sourceForms) same(aRepository, aSeat, bRepository, bSeat string) bool {
 	return f.canonical(aRepository, aSeat) == f.canonical(bRepository, bSeat)
 }
 
+// buildsFrom says the catalogue builds some module from this repository.
+func (f *sourceForms) buildsFrom(entries []inventory.Entry, repository, seat string) bool {
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.Provided || e.Source.Repository == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if f.same(e.Source.Repository, e.Source.Seat, repository, seat) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // forgeFacts is what the mesh's forge says of a repository a module is registered from (novox/hq ADR 0266).
 type forgeFacts struct {
 	// ID is the forge's own id of the repository: what tells it from one deleted and made again by its name.
 	ID int64
-	// Guarded is whether the branch is protected as a module's trunk must be: no direct push, a merge whitelist naming
-	// the tools' account and no agent's account, and no administrator merging past the rule (novox/hq ADR 0534 §6; no
-	// required status, which the forge no longer asks, §1). Why says what is missing when it is not.
+	// Guarded is whether the branch is protected as a module's trunk must be: no direct push, at least one
+	// required status, and no administrator merging past one. Why says what is missing when it is not.
 	Guarded bool
 	Why     string
 }
@@ -350,68 +361,46 @@ func askTheForgeOnce(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, branch string) (forgeFact
 	return facts, nil
 }
 
-// forgeToolsAccount is the forge tools' account, which main's merge whitelist names for mesh-delivery (novox/hq ADR 0398
-// §2, the gitea module's tools-account.ts TOOLS_ACCOUNT); beside it the whitelist names only people's own logins, the
-// operator's (ADR 0534 §2), never an agent's account.
-const forgeToolsAccount = "mesh-tools"
-
-// isAgentAccount is whether a forge login is a node's agent's account, agent-<node> (novox/hq ADR 0398 §1): one that
-// may never merge into a module's trunk by itself.
-func isAgentAccount(login string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(login, "agent-") }
-
 // protectionRule is a branch protection rule as the forge's tool summarises it.
 type protectionRule struct {
 	Rule             string   `json:"rule"`
 	Push             bool     `json:"push"`
 	RequiredStatuses []string `json:"required_statuses"`
 	AdminMayOverride bool     `json:"admin_may_override"`
-	// MergeWhitelist is who may merge into the branch; nil when the rule keeps no merge whitelist (anyone who writes).
-	MergeWhitelist []string `json:"merge_whitelist"`
 }
 
 // judgedRule judges the one rule the forge applies to a branch, as the forge picks it: the rule named for the
 // 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. A trunk is trusted for who can land a commit on
-// it, not for a status it requires (novox/hq ADR 0534 §6): no push, a merge whitelist naming the tools' account and
-// beside it only people's own logins, never an agent's, and no administrator merging past the rule; then a commit lands
-// there through mesh-delivery, on a passing mesh/check and the operator's Approve (ADR 0534 §4), or by the operator's
-// own hand at the forge (§2).
+// later rule that happens to be stronger: the forge does not read it.
 func judgedRule(rules []protectionRule, branch string) forgeFacts {
-	switch r := appliedRule(rules, branch); {
+	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; {
 	case r == nil:
 		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("no protection rule covers %s", branch)}
 	case r.Push:
 		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s lets a person push to %s directly", r.Rule, branch)}
-	case r.MergeWhitelist == nil || len(r.MergeWhitelist) == 0:
-		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s keeps no merge whitelist naming %s alone for %s", r.Rule, forgeToolsAccount, branch)}
-	case !slices.Contains(r.MergeWhitelist, forgeToolsAccount):
-		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s lets %s merge into %s, and not %s", r.Rule,
-			strings.Join(r.MergeWhitelist, ", "), branch, forgeToolsAccount)}
-	case slices.ContainsFunc(r.MergeWhitelist, isAgentAccount):
-		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s lets an agent's account merge into %s: %s", r.Rule, branch,
-			strings.Join(r.MergeWhitelist, ", "))}
+	case len(r.RequiredStatuses) == 0:
+		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s requires no status before a merge into %s", r.Rule, branch)}
 	case r.AdminMayOverride:
-		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s lets an administrator merge into %s past it", r.Rule, branch)}
+		return forgeFacts{Why: fmt.Sprintf("the rule %s lets an administrator merge into %s past a status", r.Rule, branch)}
 	}
 	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 {
@@ -474,42 +463,14 @@ func (f *sourceForms) onTheForge(repository, seat string) (owner, name string, o
 //   - from the module's registered repository — the same repository by the forge's own id, not only its name; or,
 //     for a module new to the catalogue, from a repository the catalogue builds another module from;
 //   - and from a repository on the mesh's forge whose trunk is protected as a trunk must be: no direct push, at
-//     a merge whitelist naming the tools' account and no agent's, no administrator merging past the rule (ADR 0534 §6).
+//     least one required status, no administrator merging past one.
 //
 // Anything else only when the build request was kept as asked at the controller's terminal, for this very
 // 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,
-	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
-}
-
-// 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"
+	buildID, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
+	return mayRegisterIn(ctx, inv, newSourceForms(ctx, inv), module, built, buildID, path, branch)
 }
 
 // catalogueReader is the catalogue's manifests, as the router's records are found in them.
@@ -529,19 +490,15 @@ 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,
-	ask registrationAsk, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
-	buildID := ask.String()
+	buildID, path, branch string) (int64, error) {
 	was, err := inv.SourceOf(ctx, module)
 	isNew := errors.Is(err, inventory.ErrNoSuchModule)
 	if err != nil && !isNew {
 		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
-		}
+	terminal, err := askedHereFor(ctx, inv, forms, buildID, built, path)
+	if 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 "+
@@ -585,7 +542,7 @@ 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, ask, built)
+		accepted, err := approvedMove(ctx, inv, forms, buildID, built)
 		switch {
 		case err == nil:
 			movedWhy, why = accepted, ""
@@ -704,3 +661,65 @@ 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.
+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
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	entries, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	forms := newSourceForms(ctx, open.inventory)
+	if forms.buildsFrom(entries, source.Repository, source.Seat) || forms.buildsFrom(entries, url, "") {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return terminalRefusal("%s is no repository the catalogue builds a module from, and a build of any other is "+
+		"asked at the controller's terminal only, never through a verb: a build node runs what the repository "+
+		"says, and its outcome would register a module the next push sends — whoever may call a verb includes "+
+		"agents (novox/hq ADR 0266). Nothing was asked", source)
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/build_source_integration_test.go

@@ -129,6 +129,27 @@ func TestADeliveryFromTheRegisteredRepositoryIsRegistered(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestAVerbAsksNoBuildOfARepositoryTheCatalogueDoesNotBuildFrom(t *testing.T) {
+	theCatalogue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	t.Setenv(verbVar, "build")
+	t.Setenv(link.CallerVar, "node-tools.anchor, through the mesh-controller seat")
+	err := verbMayAsk(ctx, buildSource{Repository: "agent/sudo", Seat: "git"}, "http://forge.internal:20000/agent/sudo.git", "")
+	var policy *heldAtTheTerminal
+	if !errors.As(err, &policy) {
+		t.Fatalf("a verb's build of an agent's repository was asked: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := verbMayAsk(ctx, buildSource{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Seat: "git"},
+		"http://forge.internal:20000/novox/mesh-catalog.git", ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a verb's build of the catalogue repository was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv(verbVar, "")
+	t.Setenv(link.CallerVar, "")
+	if err := verbMayAsk(ctx, buildSource{Repository: "agent/sudo", Seat: "git"}, "", ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the terminal was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestARollbackNeverPutsBackABuildFromAnotherRepository(t *testing.T) {
 	open := theCatalogue(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()

cmd/mesh-controller/build_source_test.go

@@ -102,17 +102,16 @@ func init() {
 // The forge applies one rule to a branch: the rule named for it, else the first glob that covers it. A stronger
 // rule later in the list is not what guards the branch, and is not read as if it were (the confirmation review).
 func TestTheRuleJudgedIsTheOneTheForgeApplies(t *testing.T) {
-	tools := []string{forgeToolsAccount}
-	guarded := protectionRule{Rule: "*", MergeWhitelist: tools}
-	open := protectionRule{Rule: "main", Push: true, MergeWhitelist: tools}
+	guarded := protectionRule{Rule: "*", RequiredStatuses: []string{"mesh/merge-gate"}}
+	open := protectionRule{Rule: "main", Push: true, RequiredStatuses: []string{"mesh/merge-gate"}}
 	if f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{guarded, open}, "main"); f.Guarded {
 		t.Error("an exact rule letting pushes was passed over for a glob that guards")
 	}
-	if f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{{Rule: "ma*", MergeWhitelist: nil}, {Rule: "*", MergeWhitelist: tools}},
+	if f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{{Rule: "ma*", RequiredStatuses: nil}, {Rule: "*", RequiredStatuses: []string{"x"}}},
 		"main"); f.Guarded || !strings.Contains(f.Why, "ma*") {
 		t.Errorf("the first glob covering the branch was not the one judged: %+v", f)
 	}
-	if f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{{Rule: "release/*"}, {Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: tools}}, "main"); !f.Guarded {
+	if f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{{Rule: "release/*"}, {Rule: "main", RequiredStatuses: []string{"x"}}}, "main"); !f.Guarded {
 		t.Errorf("the rule named for the branch was not judged: %+v", f)
 	}
 	if f := judgedRule(nil, "main"); f.Guarded {
@@ -120,39 +119,6 @@ func TestTheRuleJudgedIsTheOneTheForgeApplies(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-// **A module's trunk is trusted when it takes no push, only the tools' account and people's own logins merge into it,
-// and no administrator merges past its rule** (novox/hq ADR 0534 §2, §6): the forge requires no status to merge (§1), so
-// a rule requiring none is trusted; one with no merge whitelist, no tools' account in it, an agent's account in it, a
-// push allowed or an administrator's override is not.
-func TestATrunkIsTrustedForItsMergersNotForAStatus(t *testing.T) {
-	tools := []string{forgeToolsAccount}
-	for _, c := range []struct {
-		name string
-		rule protectionRule
-		want bool
-		why  string
-	}{
-		{"no status, no push, the tools alone merge", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: tools}, true, ""},
-		{"a status required as well", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: tools, RequiredStatuses: []string{"mesh/check"}}, true, ""},
-		{"no merge whitelist", protectionRule{Rule: "main"}, false, "merge whitelist"},
-		{"an empty merge whitelist", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: []string{}}, false, "merge whitelist"},
-		{"the operator's own login beside the tools", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: []string{forgeToolsAccount, "jschoubben"}}, true, ""},
-		{"an agent's account in the whitelist", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: []string{forgeToolsAccount, "agent-ace"}}, false, "agent-ace"},
-		{"an agent's account alone", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: []string{"agent-ace"}}, false, "agent-ace"},
-		{"a person's login without the tools", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: []string{"jschoubben"}}, false, forgeToolsAccount},
-		{"a push allowed", protectionRule{Rule: "main", Push: true, MergeWhitelist: tools}, false, "push"},
-		{"an administrator's override", protectionRule{Rule: "main", MergeWhitelist: tools, AdminMayOverride: true}, false, "administrator"},
-	} {
-		f := judgedRule([]protectionRule{c.rule}, "main")
-		if f.Guarded != c.want || !strings.Contains(f.Why, c.why) {
-			t.Errorf("%s: %+v, want guarded %v saying %q", c.name, f, c.want, c.why)
-		}
-		if strings.Contains(f.Why, "requires no status") {
-			t.Errorf("%s: a trunk is still judged on a required status: %s", c.name, f.Why)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 // An id the forge could not give keeps the id already recorded.
 
 // **The operator's Approve of a reviewed group registers a moved module from its new repository** (novox/hq ADR 0420 §7,

cmd/mesh-controller/build_test.go

@@ -2,10 +2,12 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"reflect"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
+	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
@@ -66,3 +68,12 @@ func TestBuildsSaysTheSourceFingerprint(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the other lines changed:\n%s\nwant\n%s", plain.String(), want)
 	}
 }
+
+// 1215/AC4: what the builder said of the inputs is what the controller keeps of the build.
+func TestTheControllerKeepsTheInputsABuilderSaid(t *testing.T) {
+	in := &sdkdelivery.SourceInputs{Module: "mailu", Tree: "t", Toolchains: map[string]string{"code": "ts sha256:aa 01"}}
+	kept := buildFrom(link.BuildResult{ID: "build-1", Repository: "r", Commit: "c", SourceFingerprint: "src1:x", SourceInputs: in})
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(kept.SourceInputs, in) {
+		t.Errorf("the controller keeps %+v, the builder said %+v", kept.SourceInputs, in)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/builder_on_the_bus_test.go

@@ -1,109 +0,0 @@
-//go:build integration
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"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)
-	}
-}
-
-// theIndexedModule is the look at the indexer as the controller makes it, kept before any test replaces it.
-var theIndexedModule = indexedModule

cmd/mesh-controller/busobjects.go

@@ -32,13 +32,6 @@ 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/busobjects_test.go

@@ -46,33 +46,25 @@ func aCarriedConsumer(t *testing.T, open *stores) broker.Consumer {
 	return broker.Consumer{}
 }
 
-// aLateHolder is a module holding a build seat (node-build-go) on anchor, assigned after the controller started, and
-// the worker its seat's queue should have for it: a build seat is pulled by kind, so the worker is the one for the
-// seat's first accepted kind (the build agent's seat, which had one worker for all, is gone with the builder).
+// aLateHolder is a module holding the build agent's seat on anchor, assigned after the controller
+// started, and the worker its seat's queue should have for it.
 func aLateHolder(t *testing.T, open *stores) broker.Consumer {
 	t.Helper()
-	// With an account to read, as a holder has: a module with none is no bus user, so its seat's workers are not derived.
 	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "late-builder", Version: "1",
-		OwnSecrets: catalogue.OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh/late-builder/broker"}},
-		Claims:     []catalogue.Claim{{Name: "node-build-go", Scope: catalogue.ScopeNode}}})
+		Claims: []catalogue.Claim{{Name: "node-build-agent", Scope: catalogue.ScopeNode}}})
 	if _, err := open.inventory.Assign(t.Context(), "anchor", "late-builder"); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	_, workers, err := seatTrafficObjects(t.Context(), open.inventory)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
 	for _, s := range inventory.MeshSeats() {
-		if s.Name != "node-build-go" || len(s.Accepts) == 0 {
-			continue
-		}
-		for _, w := range workers {
-			if w.Name == broker.WorkerName(s.Name, s.Accepts[0]) {
-				return w
+		if s.Name == "node-build-agent" {
+			c, needed := broker.HolderConsumerFor("anchor", "late-builder", s)
+			if !needed {
+				t.Fatal("the build agent's seat needs no worker")
 			}
+			return c
 		}
 	}
-	t.Fatal("the build seat's holder is derived no worker")
+	t.Fatal("the mesh declares no build agent's seat")
 	return broker.Consumer{}
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/catch_up.go

@@ -241,9 +241,10 @@ 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 alone (ADR 0437 §6), since R4e stopped taking
-// mesh-delivery's (ADR 0450 §8; issue 1318).
-func askersOfMerges() []string { return []string{sdkdelivery.TellerModule} }
+// 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} }
 
 // 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
@@ -390,6 +391,9 @@ 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)
-	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")
+	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("keycloak", &ok.ask, &ok.warrant); err == nil {
 		t.Error("a warrant of an asker the controller takes none from was accepted")
@@ -229,6 +229,34 @@ 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

@@ -51,13 +51,55 @@ 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)
 	}
-	// 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 the requests the move of delivery 1 found never handed over, asked again once (askAgain), once it is serving.
+	go askAgainSoon(ctx, inv)
 	// 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/chain_integration_test.go

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/chain"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/lease"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // **Acceptance 10 of design 47: one read of an assignment names the commit, the build and the rollout that put it there,
@@ -79,7 +80,7 @@ func TestOneReadOfAnAssignmentNamesItsCommitBuildAndRolloutAndOneReadOfTheRollou
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	for try := 0; try < 6 && (asking.Modules["notes"] == nil || asking.Modules["notes"].Build == "" || asking.Modules["notes"].State == "asked"); try++ {
+	for try := 0; try < 3 && (asking.Modules["notes"] == nil || asking.Modules["notes"].Build == ""); try++ {
 		advancePlans(ctx, open)
 		if asking, err = inv.PlanByID(ctx, rollout); err != nil {
 			t.Fatal(err)
@@ -89,6 +90,13 @@ func TestOneReadOfAnAssignmentNamesItsCommitBuildAndRolloutAndOneReadOfTheRollou
 	if buildID == "" || len(*asked) != 1 || !strings.HasSuffix((*asked)[0], "#"+buildID) {
 		t.Fatalf("the walk asked %v, and notes' build is %q", *asked, buildID)
 	}
+	digest := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64)
+	result := outcome(buildID, "modules/notes", "c-notes", "notes", "")
+	result.ReuseKey = "rk-notes"
+	result.Made = []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "notes", Kind: "image", Reference: "artifact-store://notes/notes@" + digest}}
+	if err := (builds{inv: inv, open: open}).Built(ctx, result); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 
 	// The walk sends the tier to its first machine.
 	for try := 0; try < 3 && len(sent) == 0; try++ {
@@ -108,9 +116,9 @@ func TestOneReadOfAnAssignmentNamesItsCommitBuildAndRolloutAndOneReadOfTheRollou
 	if wireguard, pulled := assignmentOf(on, "mesh-wireguard"); pulled && (wireguard.Build != "" || wireguard.Rollout != "") {
 		t.Fatalf("a module this rollout did not send names a build or a rollout: %+v", wireguard)
 	}
-	if a.Module != "notes" || a.Commit != "c-notes" || a.Build != buildID || a.Rollout != rollout ||
+	if a.Module != "notes" || a.Commit != "c-notes" || a.Build != buildID || a.Rollout != rollout || a.Artifact != digest ||
 		a.Since.IsZero() || a.Assigned.IsZero() || !a.Stands() {
-		t.Fatalf("the assignment names %+v, not commit c-notes, build %s, rollout %s", a, buildID, rollout)
+		t.Fatalf("the assignment names %+v, not commit c-notes, build %s, artifact %s, rollout %s", a, buildID, digest, rollout)
 	}
 	// One read of the rollout.
 	p, err := inv.PlanByID(ctx, rollout)
@@ -122,11 +130,16 @@ func TestOneReadOfAnAssignmentNamesItsCommitBuildAndRolloutAndOneReadOfTheRollou
 		p.Steps[0].Node != "anchor" || p.Steps[0].Sent == nil {
 		t.Fatalf("the rollout lists changed %+v, builds %v, steps %+v; want %+v", p.Changed, p.Builds, p.Steps, wantChange)
 	}
-	// And one read of the build names the same commit.
+	// And one read of the build names the same commit, with what it published and its reuse key.
 	built, found, err := inv.BuildByID(ctx, buildID)
 	if err != nil || !found || built.Commit != "c-notes" || built.Module != "notes" {
 		t.Fatalf("the build: %+v %v %v", built, found, err)
 	}
+	lately, err := inv.Builds(ctx, "notes", 1)
+	if err != nil || len(lately) != 1 || lately[0].ReuseKey != "rk-notes" || lately[0].Published == nil ||
+		lately[0].Published.Artifact != digest {
+		t.Fatalf("what the build published: %+v %v", lately, err)
+	}
 	// The verbs say the links.
 	if lines := changedLines(p); len(lines) != 2 || !strings.Contains(lines[1], "anchor/notes") ||
 		!strings.Contains(lines[1], buildID) {

cmd/mesh-controller/chain_no_table_integration_test.go

@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // **Acceptance 12 of design 47: no table in the controller's store holds builds, rollouts or assignments** (novox/hq ADR
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@ func TestNoTableOfTheControllersStoreHoldsBuildsRolloutsOrAssignments(t *testing
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	for try := 0; try < 6 && (asking.Modules["notes"] == nil || asking.Modules["notes"].Build == "" || asking.Modules["notes"].State == "asked"); try++ {
+	for try := 0; try < 3 && (asking.Modules["notes"] == nil || asking.Modules["notes"].Build == ""); try++ {
 		advancePlans(ctx, open)
 		if asking, err = inv.PlanByID(ctx, rollout); err != nil {
 			t.Fatal(err)
@@ -42,6 +44,12 @@ func TestNoTableOfTheControllersStoreHoldsBuildsRolloutsOrAssignments(t *testing
 	if buildID == "" || len(*asked) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("the walk asked %v, and notes' build is %q", *asked, buildID)
 	}
+	digest := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)
+	result := outcome(buildID, "modules/notes", "c-notes", "notes", "")
+	result.Made = []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "notes", Kind: "image", Reference: "artifact-store://notes/notes@" + digest}}
+	if err := (builds{inv: inv, open: open}).Built(ctx, result); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 
 	// What the live path made is in the chain.
 	if built, found, err := inv.BuildByID(ctx, buildID); err != nil || !found || built.Commit != "c-notes" {

cmd/mesh-controller/changeplan.go

@@ -190,3 +190,32 @@ func summaryOf(p link.ChangePlan) string {
 	}
 	return strings.Join(parts, "; ")
 }
+
+// planText is a change plan as a person reads it, for the pull request's comment.
+func planText(p link.ChangePlan) string {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "change plan of %s at %.8s into %s: %s\n", p.Repository, p.Head, p.Base, p.Summary)
+	for i, tier := range p.Tiers {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  tier %d: %s\n", i, strings.Join(tier, ", "))
+	}
+	for _, m := range p.Machines {
+		line := "  " + m.Machine + ": "
+		if len(m.Receives) > 0 {
+			line += "receives " + strings.Join(m.Receives, ", ")
+		}
+		if len(m.Waits) > 0 {
+			if len(m.Receives) > 0 {
+				line += "; "
+			}
+			line += "waits for a person: " + strings.Join(m.Waits, ", ")
+		}
+		b.WriteString(line + "\n")
+	}
+	for _, s := range p.Steps {
+		b.WriteString("  - " + s + "\n")
+	}
+	if len(p.Unread) > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "  read by no module's build: %s\n", strings.Join(p.Unread, ", "))
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/changeplan_test.go

@@ -72,4 +72,7 @@ func TestAChangePlanSaysWhatEachMachineReceives(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.HasPrefix(p.Summary, "builds nothing") || len(p.Machines) != 0 || strings.Join(p.Unread, ",") != "merge-check.sh" {
 		t.Errorf("a root file's plan reads %+v", p)
 	}
+	if !strings.Contains(planText(p), "read by no module's build: merge-check.sh") {
+		t.Errorf("the plan's text does not say why nothing is built:\n%s", planText(p))
+	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds.go

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// A pull request's check builds go when it closes (novox/hq ADR 0350 §5): the build seat keeps them in the artifact
+// store's scratch namespace for the walk of its merge to take. **Let go of where the moment is heard**: the
+// controller ends the walk answering a merge — after that walk took what it reuses — and the delivery's owner, which
+// hears the forge say a pull request closed unmerged, asks the `forget-checks` verb; both let go through the store,
+// as the controller's own collection does. The build seat's holders let go of anything a week old on their own,
+// so a word lost here leaves a week's builds, never more.
+
+// checkBuildsIn is the scratch namespace as the controller reaches the artifact store.
+func checkBuildsIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) (builder.Scratch, 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 not on the mesh's network")
+	}
+	return builder.Registry{Address: address}, nil
+}
+
+// forgetChecks lets go of a pull request's check builds and answers what it did.
+var forgetChecks = func(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, pull builder.PullRef) (string, error) {
+	scratch, err := checkBuildsIn(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	n, err := scratch.Forget(ctx, pull)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s: %d check(s)' builds let go of, and not all: %w", pull, n, err)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s: %d check(s)' builds let go of", pull, n), nil
+}
+
+// forgetChecksOfWalk lets go, on the save that ends a walk, of the check builds of every pull request whose merge
+// it answers: the walk took what it reuses. Said, never fatal.
+func forgetChecksOfWalk(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p inventory.Plan) {
+	if p.WalkSaid != inventory.WalkEnded || p.Delivery == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	for _, pull := range reuseAskOf(&p).Pulls {
+		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)
+			continue
+		}
+		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

@@ -0,0 +1,102 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+func TestOnlyAWalksAskTakesAChecksBuildAndADryRunNever(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")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAReusedCheckBuildIsRegisteredByItsDigestAndGatedAsABuiltOne(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate's own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
+	g := aGateMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := g.open.inventory
+	gateEvery = 0
+
+	digest := "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("c", 64)
+	reused := func(id, reference string) link.BuildResult {
+		manifest := mustJSON(t, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "app", Version: "c3", Resources: []map[string]any{
+			{"id": "svc", "type": "container", "name": "app", "image": reference}}})
+		return link.BuildResult{ID: id, Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", Path: "modules/app", Ref: "main", On: "anchor",
+			Commit: "c3", Manifest: manifest, Trunk: "main", OnTrunk: true, Branches: []string{"main"},
+			Made:   []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "server", Kind: "image", Reference: reference}},
+			Source: &link.SourceOnSeat{Seat: "git", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog"},
+			Reused: "reused from the check of novox/mesh-catalog#9 at head abcdefabcdef (merged into trunk 123456123456): server " + digest,
+			ReusedFrom: &link.ReusedFrom{Pull: link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 9},
+				Head: "abcdefabcdef", Trunk: "123456123456", Key: "r1:" + strings.Repeat("1", 64)}}
+	}
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, inv, reused(link.NewBuildID(time.Now()), "store.internal:5000/scratch/app/server@"+digest)); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "scratch") {
+		t.Fatalf("a build in the scratch namespace was registered: %v", err)
+	}
+	id := link.NewBuildID(time.Now().Add(time.Second))
+	result := reused(id, "store.internal:5000/app/server@"+digest)
+	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, inv, result); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	current, err := inv.CurrentBuilds(ctx)
+	if err != nil || current["app"].Commit != "c3" {
+		t.Fatalf("the reused build is not what app is registered at: %+v %v", current["app"], err)
+	}
+	shelf, err := inv.Catalogue(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(shelf["app"].Resources)
+	if !strings.Contains(string(raw), "app/server@"+digest) {
+		t.Fatalf("app is registered as %s, not by the check's digest in its own namespace", raw)
+	}
+
+	// The walk asked it: the walk keeps what its build did, and its gate judges the registered build.
+	asked := time.Now().UTC()
+	p := g.plan(t)
+	p.Commit = "c3"
+	p.Modules["app"] = &inventory.PlanModule{State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked, Build: id}
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	planBuiltSaying(ctx, g.open, "app", "c3", "", asked, id, result.MadeWords())
+	p = g.plan(t)
+	if m := p.Modules["app"]; m.State != "built" || !strings.HasPrefix(m.Made, "reused from the check of novox/mesh-catalog#9") {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk keeps %+v", m)
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
+		advancePlans(ctx, g.open)
+	}
+	p = g.plan(t)
+	gate := p.Modules["app"].Gate
+	if gate == nil || gate.To != "c3" || gate.Verdict != inventory.GatePassed {
+		t.Fatalf("the gate judged %+v, not the reused build", gate)
+	}
+	if sent, _, _ := inv.SentBuilds(ctx, "anchor"); sent["app"] != "c3" {
+		t.Fatalf("the first machine was sent %v, not the reused build", sent)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// One build per change (novox/hq ADR 0350), as the controller asks it and takes it in.
+
+// The check of a change is asked to build what a merge of it would move, in the walk's order: a module of the
+// repository checked from the merge, one standing on it from its own repository as the walk builds it, and one
+// that reads the repository through a context not at all. A change that moves no module builds nothing.
+func TestACheckIsAskedToBuildWhatTheMergeWouldMove(t *testing.T) {
+	entries := []inventory.Entry{
+		{Manifest: catalogue.Manifest{Module: "app"}, Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/shop", Seat: "git", Path: "modules/app"}},
+		{Manifest: catalogue.Manifest{Module: "web"}, Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/web", Seat: "git", Ref: "main"}},
+		{Manifest: catalogue.Manifest{Module: "docs"}, Source: inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/docs", Seat: "git"}},
+	}
+	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7, Base: "main", Commit: "abc"}
+	scope := checkScope{Reach: mergeReach{Packaging: entries[2:], Plan: inventory.Plan{Tiers: [][]string{{"app", "docs"}, {"web"}}}}}
+	clone := func(s inventory.Source) (string, error) { return "http://forge.invalid/" + s.Repository + ".git", nil }
+
+	got := checkBuildsOf(p, scope, entries, clone)
+	want := []link.CheckBuild{
+		{Module: "app", Path: "modules/app", Merged: true, Tier: 0},
+		{Module: "docs", Tier: 0, Skip: "its build reads novox/shop through a context, which a check cannot hand the merge"},
+		{Module: "web", Repository: "http://forge.invalid/novox/web.git", Ref: "main", Tier: 1},
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("the check is asked to build\n%+v\nwant\n%+v", got, want)
+	}
+	if got := checkBuildsOf(p, checkScope{}, entries, clone); got != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a change that moves no module asks for builds: %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A walk's ask carries its leave to take a check's build, naming the pull requests of the merges it answers; a dry
+// run never does, and neither does an ask that is not a walk's.
+
+// A walk ended lets go of its merges' check builds — only once it ended, after it took what it reuses.
+func TestAWalkEndedLetsGoOfItsMergesCheckBuilds(t *testing.T) {
+	var forgot []builder.PullRef
+	was := forgetChecks
+	forgetChecks = func(_ context.Context, _ *inventory.Inventory, pull builder.PullRef) (string, error) {
+		forgot = append(forgot, pull)
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { forgetChecks = was })
+	p := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-1", Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Merges: []inventory.PlanMerge{
+		{Repository: "novox/shop", Number: 7}}}}
+
+	p.WalkSaid = inventory.WalkStarted
+	forgetChecksOfWalk(t.Context(), nil, p)
+	p.WalkSaid = ""
+	forgetChecksOfWalk(t.Context(), nil, p)
+	if len(forgot) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a walk not ended let go of %v, which it may still take", forgot)
+	}
+	p.WalkSaid = inventory.WalkEnded
+	forgetChecksOfWalk(t.Context(), nil, p)
+	if want := []builder.PullRef{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}}; !reflect.DeepEqual(forgot, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk ended let go of %v", forgot)
+	}
+}
+
+// A build in the scratch namespace is never registered: only the walk's copy in the module's own namespace is.
+func TestABuildInTheScratchNamespaceIsNeverRegistered(t *testing.T) {
+	if got := inScratch([]link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "server", Reference: "store.internal:5000/app/server@sha256:aa"}}); got != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a module's own build reads as a scratch build: %s", got)
+	}
+	scratch := "store.internal:5000/scratch/app/server@sha256:aa"
+	if got := inScratch([]link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "server", Reference: scratch}}); got != scratch {
+		t.Fatalf("a scratch build was not found: %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := inScratch([]link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "look", Reference: "http://store.internal:5000/v2/scratch/app/look/blobs/sha256:bb"}}); got == "" {
+		t.Fatal("a scratch archive was not found")
+	}
+}
+
+// The walk says per module what it did: "reused from …" or "built: <why>" — and a build seat from before says
+// neither, which is said.
+func TestAWalksBuildSaysWhetherItReusedOrBuilt(t *testing.T) {
+	if got := (link.BuildResult{Reused: "reused from the check of novox/shop#7"}).MadeWords(); got != "reused from the check of novox/shop#7" {
+		t.Fatalf("said %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := (link.BuildResult{BuiltWhy: "no check built it"}).MadeWords(); got != "built: no check built it" {
+		t.Fatalf("said %q", got)
+	}
+	if got := (link.BuildResult{}).MadeWords(); !strings.Contains(got, "predates ADR 0350") {
+		t.Fatalf("said %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// A walk's module the check's build stood in for is registered by the digest the check built — the copy in the
+// module's namespace — and the walk keeps "reused from …" for it; its first-node gate judges that registered
+// 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) {
+	was := checkedBuildsOf
+	t.Cleanup(func() { checkedBuildsOf = was })
+	pull := link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}
+	mine := link.CheckedBuild{Pull: pull, Check: "build-1", Head: "bbbbbbbbbbbb", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:1"}}
+	earlier := link.CheckedBuild{Pull: pull, Check: "build-0", Head: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:1"}}
+	another := link.CheckedBuild{Pull: link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 8}, Check: "build-9",
+		Head: "bbbbbbbbbbbb", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:1"}}
+	var asked [][]link.PullRef
+	checkedBuildsOf = func(_ context.Context, pulls []link.PullRef) ([]link.CheckedBuild, error) {
+		asked = append(asked, pulls)
+		return []link.CheckedBuild{mine, earlier, another}, nil
+	}
+	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7, Commit: "bbbbbbbbbbbb0123456789"}
+	builds := []link.CheckBuild{{Module: "app"}}
+	if got := namedForTheCheck(t.Context(), p, builds); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, []link.CheckedBuild{mine}) ||
+		!reflect.DeepEqual(asked, [][]link.PullRef{{pull}}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the check is handed %+v, read for %v", got, asked)
+	}
+	checkedBuildsOf = func(context.Context, []link.PullRef) ([]link.CheckedBuild, error) {
+		return nil, errors.New("no bus")
+	}
+	if got := namedForTheCheck(t.Context(), p, builds); got != nil {
+		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_here.go

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// `check-here` is a pull request's merge check run on the machine at hand **exactly as the build seat
+// runs it** (novox/hq issue 286): the same code (builder.Check), the same ask the controller would make of
+// the seat — the gate's modules and judge by the planner's own answer over the facts snapshot, the
+// repositories beside it at the refs the snapshot says the seat clones them at — in the toolchain image
+// the mesh holds, as the user the build seat runs as, against a throwaway store and bus of the versions
+// the mesh runs.
+//
+// **The build seat is the reference.** A merge-check.sh that passed on an agent's machine failed on the
+// seat for three reasons that were each the agent's environment, never the change: a newer Go whose gofmt
+// lays a file out differently, a sibling checkout at the agent's feature branch where the seat had the
+// commit the mesh runs, and a different user. Run here, a check sees what the seat will.
+//
+//	check-here [--tree <checkout>] [--base main] [--registry <artifact store>] [--forge <url of the owner>]
+//	           [--number <n>] [--user uid:gid] [--facts store|<file>] [--keep]
+//
+// The checkout's HEAD is what is checked, and it must be committed: the seat checks a commit, never a
+// working tree.
+func checkHereCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
+	set := flag.NewFlagSet("check-here", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	tree := set.String("tree", ".", "the change's checkout; its HEAD is checked")
+	base := set.String("base", "main", "the branch the change would merge into")
+	registry := set.String("registry", os.Getenv("MESH_REGISTRY"), "the artifact store holding the facts and the toolchains")
+	forge := set.String("forge", "", "where the repositories beside it are cloned from, as <forge>/<repository>.git; "+
+		"the checkout's origin without its own name when not given")
+	number := set.Int("number", 0, "the pull request's number, when there is one")
+	// The build seat's service runs as root, and its check containers run as the builder does.
+	user := set.String("user", "0:0", "the user the check's containers run as: the build seat's")
+	keep := set.Bool("keep", false, "keep the workspace afterwards")
+	factsFrom := set.String("facts", "store", "the facts snapshot: `store`, the one the artifact store holds — "+
+		"what the seat reads — or a file")
+	if _, err := parseAround(set, args); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if *registry == "" {
+		return errors.New("check-here reads the facts and the toolchains from the artifact store: --registry <host:port> or MESH_REGISTRY")
+	}
+	dir, err := filepath.Abs(*tree)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	git := func(args ...string) (string, error) {
+		cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "git", args...)
+		cmd.Dir = dir
+		out, err := cmd.Output()
+		return strings.TrimSpace(string(out)), err
+	}
+	if dirty, err := git("status", "--porcelain", "--untracked-files=no"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s is not a checkout: %w", dir, err)
+	} else if dirty != "" {
+		return errors.New("the checkout has changes not committed: the build seat checks a commit, so commit first")
+	}
+	head, err := git("rev-parse", "HEAD")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	origin, err := git("remote", "get-url", "origin")
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the checkout has no origin to say which repository it is: %w", err)
+	}
+	owner, repo, prefix := ownerRepoOf(origin)
+	if *forge == "" {
+		*forge = prefix
+	}
+	if _, err := git("fetch", "--quiet", "origin", *base); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("cannot fetch %s to say what the change touches: %w", *base, err)
+	}
+	// Without rename detection, so a file moved out of a build source is said under its old name as well:
+	// its going is a change to the build that held it (novox/hq ADR 0267).
+	changedText, err := git("diff", "--name-only", "--no-renames", "origin/"+*base+"...HEAD")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	var paths, removed []string
+	for _, p := range strings.Split(changedText, "\n") {
+		if p = strings.TrimSpace(p); p == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		paths = append(paths, p)
+		if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, p)); os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			removed = append(removed, p)
+		}
+	}
+
+	_ = os.Setenv("MESH_REGISTRY", *registry)
+	f, err := readFacts(ctx, *factsFrom)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the facts snapshot cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	entries, read, edges, err := graphOfFacts(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: owner, Repo: repo, Number: *number, Base: *base, Commit: head, Paths: paths,
+		Removed: removed, ModuleDirs: moduleDirsIn(dir, paths), ModuleDirsSaid: true}
+	scope := pullScope(p, entries, read, edges)
+	_, scriptErr := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, builder.CheckScript))
+	if !scope.gated() && !scope.Mesh {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %s, and the repository is not the mesh's: the build seat runs nothing for it\n",
+			owner+"/"+repo, noModuleTouched)
+		return nil
+	}
+	if !scope.gated() && scriptErr != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: %s; %s\n", owner+"/"+repo, noModuleTouched, noMergeCheck)
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	toolchains := map[string]string{}
+	for language, reference := range f.Versions.Toolchains {
+		toolchains[language] = catalogue.Rerouted(reference, *registry)
+	}
+	if len(toolchains) == 0 {
+		return errors.New("the facts snapshot names no toolchain: it was taken by a controller from before " +
+			"issue 286, and the seat's toolchain cannot be known here")
+	}
+	beside := map[string]builder.Beside{}
+	for d, ref := range f.Beside {
+		from := d
+		if d == "mesh-controller-main" {
+			from = "mesh-controller"
+		}
+		beside[d] = builder.Beside{Repository: strings.TrimSuffix(*forge, "/") + "/" + from + ".git", Ref: ref}
+	}
+	id := fmt.Sprintf("check-here-%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+	spec := builder.CheckSpec{ID: id, Repository: dir, Ref: head, Owner: owner, Repo: repo, Number: *number,
+		Paths: paths, Beside: beside, Modules: scope.Modules, New: scope.New, Manifests: scope.Manifests,
+		Base: *base, Judge: scope.Judge, Toolchain: toolchains["go"], Toolchains: toolchains, User: *user}
+
+	workspace, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "mesh-check-here-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if !*keep {
+		defer removeWorkspace(spec.Toolchain, workspace, *user)
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "checking %s/%s at %.8s as the build seat would, against the facts of %s, in %s\n",
+		owner, repo, head, f.Taken.Format(time.RFC3339), workspace)
+	v, err := builder.Check(ctx, builder.Command, spec, workspace, *registry, builder.GitCredential{},
+		func(step, message string) {
+			if step != "output" {
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "  [%s] %s\n", step, message)
+			}
+		})
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("the check could not run — on the seat an error, never a pass: %w", err)
+	}
+	fmt.Println(v.Report)
+	fmt.Println()
+	fmt.Printf("mesh/merge-gate: %s — %s\n", strings.ToUpper(v.Gate.Verdict), v.Gate.Summary)
+	if v.Repo != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("mesh/repo-check: %s — %s\n", strings.ToUpper(v.Repo.Verdict), v.Repo.Summary)
+	}
+	for _, l := range []*builder.Layer{v.Gate, v.Repo} {
+		if l != nil && l.Verdict != "pass" && l.Verdict != "warning" {
+			return errors.New("the build seat would not pass this change")
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// ownerRepoOf reads owner, repository and the owner's URL from a remote: ssh://git@host:222/novox/mesh-host.git
+// → novox, mesh-host, ssh://git@host:222/novox.
+func ownerRepoOf(remote string) (string, string, string) {
+	trimmed := strings.TrimSuffix(strings.TrimSuffix(remote, "/"), ".git")
+	cut := strings.LastIndexAny(trimmed, "/:")
+	if cut < 0 {
+		return "", trimmed, ""
+	}
+	repo, prefix := trimmed[cut+1:], trimmed[:cut]
+	owner := prefix
+	if at := strings.LastIndexAny(prefix, "/:"); at >= 0 {
+		owner = prefix[at+1:]
+	}
+	return owner, repo, prefix
+}
+
+// removeWorkspace removes what the check left, written as the seat's user: by a container of that user
+// when it is not this one.
+func removeWorkspace(image, workspace, user string) {
+	if image != "" && user != fmt.Sprintf("%d:%d", os.Getuid(), os.Getgid()) {
+		// Everything in it — the check's HOME is the workspace, so the toolchain's own files are there too.
+		_ = exec.Command("docker", "run", "--rm", "--user", user, "--volume", workspace+":/workspace", image,
+			"sh", "-c", "rm -rf /workspace/* /workspace/.[!.]*").Run()
+	}
+	_ = os.RemoveAll(workspace)
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_pulls_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// 1212/AC1 and AC2: the check request names the pulls bucket of each module claiming the delivery seat, in the order
+// of the claimants' names.
+func TestACheckNamesThePullsBucketsOfTheSeatsClaimants(t *testing.T) {
+	for name, c := range map[string]struct {
+		entries []inventory.Entry
+		want    []string
+	}{
+		"only the gate":    {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery-gate"), namedOnly("mesh-delivery")}, []string{"mesh-delivery-gate_pulls"}},
+		"only today's":     {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery"), namedOnly("gitea")}, []string{"mesh-delivery_pulls"}},
+		"both, name order": {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery-gate"), claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery")}, []string{"mesh-delivery_pulls", "mesh-delivery-gate_pulls"}},
+		"none":             {[]inventory.Entry{namedOnly("gitea")}, nil},
+	} {
+		if got := pullsBucketsOf(c.entries); !reflect.DeepEqual(got, c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %v, want %v", name, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// 1212/AC1 and AC2: the check a request carries names those buckets (the wiring, not only the helper).
+func TestTheCheckRequestCarriesThePullsBuckets(t *testing.T) {
+	for name, c := range map[string]struct {
+		entries []inventory.Entry
+		want    []string
+	}{
+		"only the gate":    {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery-gate")}, []string{"mesh-delivery-gate_pulls"}},
+		"only today's":     {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery")}, []string{"mesh-delivery_pulls"}},
+		"both, name order": {[]inventory.Entry{claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery-gate"), claimingTheSeat("mesh-delivery")}, []string{"mesh-delivery_pulls", "mesh-delivery-gate_pulls"}},
+	} {
+		got := checkOf(link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: 7}, checkScope{}, c.entries, nil, nil, nil, nil)
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(got.Pulls, c.want) || got.Owner != "novox" || got.Number != 7 {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %+v, want pulls %v", name, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/check_siblings.go

@@ -0,0 +1,165 @@
+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

@@ -0,0 +1,248 @@
+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

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path"
@@ -10,18 +12,46 @@ import (
 	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
+	"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"
 )
 
-// What a pull request reaches of the mesh's graph (novox/hq to-be 45 §9, issue 280). The controller no longer checks a
-// pull request or says a verdict on it (R4g, ADR 0503 §3, ADR 0501 §5): the checker judges the heads, and mesh-delivery
-// asks the operator's Approve on its verdict. What stays here is the mapping of a pull request's changed paths onto the
-// mesh's module graph by the planner's own answer (reachOfMerge, touchedBy), which the delivery verbs (`delivery order`,
-// the change plan) and the head's declared config (tellPullDeclares) read: **a changed file touches exactly the modules
-// whose build reads it** — a module's own directory (the whole repository for one built from its root), or a repository
-// its recipe packages — and a directory the change adds a module.json in is a new module.
+// A pull request's merge check (novox/hq to-be 45 §9, ADR 0237 as amended 2026-10-06): the forge
+// announces every pull request's new head, the controller decides what is checked, asks the build seat to
+// check it, and says the verdict as `checked`, which the forge's holder sets as the pull request's
+// statuses. **Before merge, never after**: every check the mesh had ran after a merge, on a machine.
+//
+// **The mesh's module graph decides, not the repository.** The controller holds the graph — every module,
+// the repository and directory it is built from — and maps the pull request's changed paths onto it by
+// the planner's own answer (reachOfMerge, touchedBy — the one place a changed file is mapped onto modules,
+// for the merge handler, the release planner, the merge gate and this check; issue 280): **a changed file
+// touches exactly the modules whose build reads it** — a module's own directory (the whole repository for
+// one built from its root), or a repository its recipe packages. A file no build reads — a script at the
+// root, a README — touches no module. A directory the change adds a module.json in, which the graph does
+// not hold yet (said by the head, issue 278), is a new module and is checked too.
+//
+//   - touches a module: the build seat runs **the gate** — `mesh/merge-gate`, the touched manifests, every
+//     machine composed with the change, the replays — and the repository's own merge-check.sh beside it;
+//   - touches none, in a repository that is the mesh's (it sources a module on some branch, or shares the
+//     core's owner): the gate is a pass that says so — a fact, not a missing check — and the repository's
+//     own merge-check.sh runs as `mesh/repo-check`, a warning when it has none;
+//   - touches none, anywhere else: the gate is a pass that says so, and nothing more is said.
+//
+// What is checked is decided here and run there (internal/builder/check.go).
+
+// checkTimeout is how long one check may run on the build seat. Said here so the ask's watchdog (S6)
+// and the builder agree on what late means.
+const checkTimeout = 45 * time.Minute
+
+// noModuleTouched is the gate's word for a change that touches nothing of the graph.
+const noModuleTouched = "the change touches no module of the mesh's graph"
+
+// noMergeCheck is the repository layer's word for a repository of the mesh with no merge-check.sh.
+const noMergeCheck = "the repository declares no merge-check.sh: none of its own tests run before it merges"
 
 // coreModules are the modules whose repositories are the mesh's core, by the directory a check finds
 // each beside it — and whose owner is the mesh's own.
@@ -45,6 +75,8 @@ type checkScope struct {
 	// Mesh says the repository is the mesh's: modules are built from it on some branch, its owner is the
 	// core's, or the change adds a module to it.
 	Mesh bool
+	// Judge is who judges the gate (link.JudgeSelf, or the running controller).
+	Judge string
 	// From is a module built from the repository, for how the mesh clones it; nil when none is.
 	From *inventory.Entry
 	// Reach is the planner's whole answer, which the change plan is made from.
@@ -66,6 +98,10 @@ func pullScope(p link.PullUpdated, entries []inventory.Entry, read map[string][]
 		Width: len(r.Plan.Modules), Tiers: len(r.Plan.Tiers), Reach: r}
 	for _, e := range append(append([]inventory.Entry{}, r.Touched...), r.Deleted...) {
 		s.Manifests = append(s.Manifests, path.Join(strings.Trim(e.Source.Path, "/"), moduleManifestFile))
+		switch e.Manifest.Module {
+		case "mesh-controller":
+			s.Judge = link.JudgeSelf
+		}
 	}
 	for _, d := range r.Added {
 		s.Manifests = append(s.Manifests, path.Join(d, moduleManifestFile))
@@ -101,37 +137,315 @@ func sourceOwner(repository string) string {
 	return strings.ToLower(parts[len(parts)-2])
 }
 
-// PullUpdated hears a pull request's new head. It asks no check and says no verdict (pullUpdated).
+// PullUpdated decides a pull request's merge check, and asks for it when there is something to run.
 func (f following) PullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated) error {
-	return f.pullUpdated(ctx, p, os.Stdout)
+	_, err := f.pullUpdated(ctx, p, os.Stdout)
+	return err
 }
 
-// pullUpdated is PullUpdated saying what it did to w. It asks nothing of anybody and says no verdict (R4g; ADR 0503 §3, §5,
-// ADR 0527): the checker judges every repository whose trunk requires `mesh/check`, hq included. All it still does is tell
-// mesh-config what the head declares (ADR 0502), whatever judges it.
-func (f following) pullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, w io.Writer) error {
+// pullUpdated is PullUpdated saying what it did to w. It returns the id of the check it asked of the build seat, or
+// "" when it said a verdict itself and asked nothing. A command that answers JSON on standard output (`delivery
+// check`) gives it standard error, so its output stays the document alone (novox/hq issue 1311).
+func (f following) pullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, w io.Writer) (string, error) {
 	inv := f.open.inventory
 	entries, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return "", err
 	}
 	read, err := readForPlanning(ctx, inv)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return "", err
 	}
 	edges, err := inv.Dependencies(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
-		return err
+		return "", err
 	}
 	scope := pullScope(p, entries, read, edges)
-	this := pullAtOf(p)
-	if this.Truncated {
-		this.Paths, this.Truncated = truncatedPaths(entries, p.Owner, p.Repo, scope.Modules), false
+	// **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)
+		return "", nil
 	}
-	if scope.gated() || holdsModules(entries, p.Owner, p.Repo) {
-		tellPullDeclares(ctx, w, []pullAt{this})
+	// **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.
+	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)
 	}
-	return nil
+	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)
+		sayChecked(ctx, w, direct)
+		return "", nil
+	case !scope.gated() && 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)
+		sayChecked(ctx, w, direct)
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	request, err := checkRequestFor(ctx, f.open, p, scope, 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 {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer ask.Close()
+	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)
+	return request.ID, 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"
+
+// gateComposed is a gate layer's verdict when no gate was run for the member alone: never a pass. Mesh-delivery reads it
+// as the composed check's to judge, and the forge's holder sets no mesh/merge-gate from it.
+const gateComposed = "composed"
+
+// composedGate says a group member's own verdict has no gate of its own: its gate layer, and the verdict that is
+// the gate's, read "composed" in place of a pass.
+func composedGate(c *link.Checked) {
+	c.Verdict, c.Summary = gateComposed, composedWords
+	c.Gate = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: gateComposed, Summary: composedWords}
+}
+
+// directVerdict is the verdict of a change no build judges — it touches no module, and either the repository is not
+// the mesh's or the head holds no merge-check.sh. **It names the trunk commit it holds for** (novox/hq ADR 0323 §3):
+// the base branch's head the forge announced with the head, so the merge tool can weigh it against the trunk's head
+// and does not refuse it for ever (a verdict naming no trunk is never the trunk's head's). Nothing was built to
+// judge: the trunk commit is the one the forge said the change was announced against.
+func directVerdict(p link.PullUpdated, plan link.ChangePlan) link.Checked {
+	trunk := p.BaseSHA
+	if len(trunk) > 12 {
+		trunk = trunk[:12]
+	}
+	if trunk != "" {
+		plan.Trunk = trunk
+	}
+	return link.Checked{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number, Commit: p.Commit,
+		ID: link.NewBuildID(time.Now()), Verdict: "pass", Summary: noModuleTouched,
+		Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass", Summary: noModuleTouched}, Plan: &plan, Trunk: trunk}
+}
+
+// checkRequestFor is the ask for one pull request's head: the repository as the mesh clones it, the head,
+// and what is read beside it.
+func checkRequestFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p link.PullUpdated, scope checkScope,
+	entries []inventory.Entry) (link.BuildRequest, error) {
+	shelf := map[string]catalogue.Manifest{}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		shelf[e.Manifest.Module] = e.Manifest
+	}
+	world, err := restOfTheMesh(ctx, open, shelf, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
+	}
+	clone := func(s inventory.Source) (string, error) {
+		if s.Seat == "" {
+			return s.Repository, nil
+		}
+		return clonedFromSeat(world, s.Seat, s.Repository)
+	}
+	// 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: p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo}
+	if scope.From != nil {
+		source = scope.From.Source
+	}
+	repository, err := clone(source)
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
+	}
+	current, err := open.inventory.CurrentBuilds(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
+	}
+	beside, err := besideOf(entries, func(module string) string { return current[module].Commit }, clone)
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
+	}
+	builds := checkBuildsOf(p, scope, entries, clone)
+	return link.BuildRequest{
+		ID:         link.NewBuildID(time.Now()),
+		Repository: repository,
+		Ref:        p.Commit,
+		Held:       heldBy(ctx),
+		Seats:      seatBases(ctx),
+		Source:     sourceOnSeat(source),
+		Check:      checkOf(p, scope, entries, beside, builds, namedForTheCheck(ctx, p, builds), runningBy(ctx)),
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// checkOf is the check a request carries: the pull request, what the change touches, and the buckets of the pull
+// requests' keys of the modules claiming the delivery seat (novox/hq ADR 0437 §3, issue 1212).
+func checkOf(p link.PullUpdated, scope checkScope, entries []inventory.Entry, beside map[string]link.CheckedOut,
+	builds []link.CheckBuild, named []link.CheckedBuild, running map[string]string) *link.CheckRequest {
+	return &link.CheckRequest{Pulls: pullsBucketsOf(entries), Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number, Base: p.Base,
+		Trunk: p.BaseSHA, Ready: p.Ready, Paths: p.Paths, Beside: beside, Modules: scope.Modules, Dependents: scope.Dependents,
+		New: scope.New, Manifests: scope.Manifests, Judge: scope.Judge, Builds: builds, Named: named, Running: running}
+}
+
+// besideOf is what a check reads beside its own repository, by the directory it is found under: each core repository
+// by the module the mesh builds from it, at besideRefs. running is the commit the mesh runs of a module.
+func besideOf(entries []inventory.Entry, running func(module string) string,
+	clone func(inventory.Source) (string, error)) (map[string]link.CheckedOut, error) {
+	beside := map[string]link.CheckedOut{}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		dir, core := coreModules[e.Manifest.Module]
+		if !core || e.Provided || e.Source.Repository == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		url, err := clone(e.Source)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		refs := besideRefs(dir, running(e.Manifest.Module))
+		beside[dir] = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs[dir]}
+		if dir == "mesh-controller" {
+			// The controller's main stays its main: it judges only a check the running controller predates.
+			beside["mesh-controller-main"] = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs["mesh-controller-main"]}
+			if e.Source.Seat != "" {
+				for _, sibling := range []string{"mesh-lab", "mesh-sdk"} {
+					if url, err := clone(inventory.Source{Seat: e.Source.Seat, Repository: siblingOf(e.Source.Repository,
+						sibling)}); err == nil {
+						beside[sibling] = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs[sibling]}
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return beside, nil
+}
+
+// trunkOf is the branch a module's source follows: main when it records none, or records a commit.
+func trunkOf(s inventory.Source) string {
+	if t := strings.TrimSpace(followedBranch(s.Ref)); t != "" {
+		return t
+	}
+	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
+// read, and the check builds, as before.
+func namedForTheCheck(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, builds []link.CheckBuild) []link.CheckedBuild {
+	if len(builds) == 0 || p.Commit == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	pull := link.PullRef{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number}
+	read, err := checkedBuildsOf(ctx, []link.PullRef{pull})
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("  the earlier checks' builds of %s/%s#%d could not be read, so the check builds: %v\n",
+			p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; a check handed no named build builds every module, as before issue 703
+		return nil
+	}
+	var named []link.CheckedBuild
+	for _, b := range read {
+		if b.Pull == pull && link.SameHead(b.Head, p.Commit) {
+			named = append(named, b)
+		}
+	}
+	return named
+}
+
+// checkBuildsOf are the modules a merge of the change would build, in the walk's order, as the check builds them
+// for the walk to take (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1): a module built from the repository checked, at the branch it merges
+// into, from the merge the check makes; any other — a module standing on one — from its own repository at the
+// branch it follows, as the walk builds it. A module whose build reads the repository checked through a context,
+// or that the merge deletes, cannot be built as the walk would: said, and nothing after it is built. A change that
+// moves no module builds nothing.
+func checkBuildsOf(p link.PullUpdated, scope checkScope, entries []inventory.Entry,
+	clone func(inventory.Source) (string, error)) []link.CheckBuild {
+	if len(scope.Reach.Plan.Tiers) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Base: p.Base, CloneURL: p.CloneURL}
+	byName := map[string]inventory.Entry{}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		byName[e.Manifest.Module] = e
+	}
+	skip := map[string]string{}
+	for _, e := range scope.Reach.Packaging {
+		skip[e.Manifest.Module] = "its build reads " + p.Owner + "/" + p.Repo + " through a context, which a check " +
+			"cannot hand the merge"
+	}
+	for _, e := range scope.Reach.Deleted {
+		skip[e.Manifest.Module] = "the merge deletes it"
+	}
+	var out []link.CheckBuild
+	for tier, names := range scope.Reach.Plan.Tiers {
+		for _, name := range names {
+			e, known := byName[name]
+			b := link.CheckBuild{Module: name, Tier: tier, Skip: skip[name]}
+			switch {
+			case !known:
+				b.Skip = "the catalogue does not hold it"
+			case b.Skip != "":
+			case sourceIs(e.Source, m):
+				b.Merged, b.Path = true, e.Source.Path
+			default:
+				url, err := clone(e.Source)
+				if err != nil {
+					b.Skip = "its repository cannot be cloned: " + err.Error()
+					break
+				}
+				b.Repository, b.Path, b.Ref = url, e.Source.Path, followedBranch(e.Source.Ref)
+			}
+			out = append(out, b)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
 }
 
 // besideRefs is the ref each repository is cloned at beside a check, by the directory it is found under:
@@ -187,5 +501,186 @@ func sdkPinned() string {
 	return "main"
 }
 
+// siblingOf is another repository of the same owner: novox/mesh-controller → novox/mesh-lab.
+func siblingOf(repository, name string) string {
+	if cut := strings.LastIndex(repository, "/"); cut >= 0 {
+		return repository[:cut+1] + name
+	}
+	return name
+}
+
+// sourceOnSeat is a source's seat form, nil for one on no seat.
+func sourceOnSeat(s inventory.Source) *link.SourceOnSeat {
+	if s.Seat == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return &link.SourceOnSeat{Seat: s.Seat, Repository: s.Repository}
+}
+
 // checkEvents is where the serving controller says a check's verdict; nil in a command.
 var checkEvents link.Bus
+
+// maxCheckReport is how much of a check's report travels in its verdict: enough for the failures and
+// the machines, never a log.
+const maxCheckReport = 60 << 10
+
+// checked says a merge check's verdict as the controller's `checked`. Nothing is recorded or
+// registered: a check builds nothing (issue 240's rule for a dry run, kept for a check).
+func checked(ctx context.Context, result link.BuildResult) {
+	// **A check stopped by its key says nothing** (novox/hq ADR 0406 §4, issue 974, review 2): it stopped because the head or
+	// the trunk commit moved on, and the newer request will judge. Said as an error it would name the live head — red
+	// statuses on the forge, a delivery refused — and written to the key it would stand in the newer request's way.
+	if result.Failed == link.SupersededByKey {
+		fmt.Printf("%s: stopped, its pull request's key moved on; the newer check will judge\n", result.ID)
+		return
+	}
+	sayChecked(ctx, os.Stdout, checkedOf(result))
+}
+
+// checkedOf is what a check's outcome says: each layer, and an error — never a pass — for a check that
+// could not run.
+func checkedOf(result link.BuildResult) link.Checked {
+	c := link.Checked{ID: result.ID, On: result.On, Commit: result.Ref}
+	if result.Checked != nil {
+		c.Owner, c.Repo, c.Number = result.Checked.Owner, result.Checked.Repo, result.Checked.Number
+	}
+	switch {
+	case result.Check != nil:
+		c.Verdict, c.Summary, c.Report = result.Check.Verdict, result.Check.Summary, result.Check.Report
+		c.Gate, c.RepoCheck = result.Check.Gate, result.Check.RepoCheck
+		// What was judged (novox/hq ADR 0323 §3): the head merged into the trunk commit, and the commits of the
+		// repositories read beside it.
+		c.Trunk, c.Beside, c.Took = result.Check.Trunk, result.Check.Beside, result.Check.Took
+		c.Built = result.Check.Built
+		c.Validator = result.Check.Validator
+		c.Siblings, c.SiblingsUnknown, c.JudgeFrom = result.Check.Siblings, result.Check.SiblingsUnknown, result.Check.JudgeFrom
+		if c.Gate == nil {
+			// A build seat from before the layers: its verdict is the gate's.
+			c.Gate = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: c.Verdict, Summary: c.Summary}
+		}
+	case result.Failed != "":
+		// The check could not run: an error, never read as a pass — on both layers it was asked for.
+		c.Verdict, c.Summary = "error", "the check could not run: "+firstLine(result.Failed)
+	default:
+		c.Verdict, c.Summary = "error", "the build seat answered the check with no verdict"
+	}
+	if c.Verdict == "" {
+		c.Verdict = "error"
+	}
+	if result.Check == nil {
+		c.Gate = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: c.Verdict, Summary: c.Summary}
+		c.RepoCheck = &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: c.Verdict, Summary: c.Summary}
+	}
+	// **A group member's own check has no gate of its own** (novox/hq ADR 0403 clause 1): what ran was the repository's
+	// check alone, and its gate layer is "composed", never a pass. A failure or an error stays what it was.
+	if result.Checked != nil && result.Checked.Composed && result.Check != nil && c.Gate != nil &&
+		(c.Gate.Verdict == "pass" || c.Gate.Verdict == "warning") {
+		composedGate(&c)
+	}
+	if result.Checked != nil && c.Gate != nil && len(c.Gate.Modules) == 0 {
+		c.Gate.Modules = append(append([]string{}, result.Checked.Modules...), prefixedAll("new:", result.Checked.New)...)
+	}
+	if result.Checked != nil && c.Gate != nil && len(c.Gate.Dependents) == 0 {
+		c.Gate.Dependents = result.Checked.Dependents
+	}
+	if result.Checked != nil {
+		c.Plan = result.Checked.Plan
+		if c.Plan != nil && c.Trunk != "" {
+			// The kept delivery plan records the trunk commit with its other inputs (ADR 0323 §3).
+			plan := *c.Plan
+			plan.Trunk = c.Trunk
+			c.Plan = &plan
+		}
+		// 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
+			c.Members = append(c.Members, link.CheckedMember{Owner: g.Owner, Repo: g.Repo, Number: g.Number,
+				Commit: result.Ref, Trunk: c.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)})
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, l := range []*link.CheckLayer{c.Gate, c.RepoCheck} {
+		if l != nil && l.Verdict == "" {
+			l.Verdict = "error"
+		}
+	}
+	// **A check run again says so** (novox/hq issue 594). The summaries are the lines the pull request
+	// shows, clipped by the forge to a few words, so they get only a short marker after the verdict's own
+	// words; the report gets the whole sentence. Layers copied, so the build's own outcome is left as it came.
+	if mark := link.RunMarker(result.Delivery); mark != "" {
+		c.Summary += " " + mark
+		for _, l := range []**link.CheckLayer{&c.Gate, &c.RepoCheck} {
+			if *l != nil {
+				layer := **l
+				layer.Summary += " " + mark
+				*l = &layer
+			}
+		}
+		c.Report = link.Restarted(result.Delivery) + "\n\n" + c.Report
+	}
+	if len(c.Report) > maxCheckReport {
+		c.Report = "…" + c.Report[len(c.Report)-maxCheckReport:]
+	}
+	return c
+}
+
+// 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 {
+	if outcome == nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	for _, j := range outcome.Members {
+		if strings.EqualFold(j.Owner, m.Owner) && strings.EqualFold(j.Repo, m.Repo) && strings.HasPrefix(m.Ref, j.Commit) {
+			return j.Trunk
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+func prefixedAll(prefix string, items []string) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(items))
+	for _, i := range items {
+		out = append(out, prefix+i)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// 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) {
+	repo := "none"
+	if c.RepoCheck != nil {
+		repo = strings.ToUpper(c.RepoCheck.Verdict) + " — " + c.RepoCheck.Summary
+	}
+	judged := ""
+	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)
+	if checkEvents == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	body, err := json.Marshal(c)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+	stating, stop := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 10*time.Second)
+	defer stop()
+	if err := checkEvents.PublishSeatEvent(stating, link.MeshControllerSeat, link.KeyChecked, body); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s: the verdict could not be said, so the pull request is not told it: %v\n", c.ID, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// pullsBucketsOf are the buckets of the pull requests' keys a check names for the build agent: one per module
+// claiming the delivery seat, in the order of their names (novox/hq ADR 0437 §3, issue 1212).
+func pullsBucketsOf(entries []inventory.Entry) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, m := range claimantsOf(entries, catalogue.DeliverySeat) {
+		out = append(out, broker.BucketName(m, "pulls"))
+	}
+	return out
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
+)
+
+func TestACheckStoppedByItsKeyIsAnnouncedAsNoVerdict(t *testing.T) {
+	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)
+	}
+	legacy, err := js.Conn().JetStream()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	was := checkEvents
+	checkEvents = link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn(), JS: legacy}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { checkEvents = was })
+	heard := make(chan *nats.Msg, 4)
+	sub, err := js.Conn().ChanSubscribe(link.SeatEventSubject(link.MeshControllerSeat, link.KeyChecked), heard)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = sub.Unsubscribe() }()
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 3}
+	checked(t.Context(), link.BuildResult{ID: "stopped", Ref: "abc", Checked: asked, Failed: link.SupersededByKey})
+	checked(t.Context(), link.BuildResult{ID: "broken", Ref: "abc", Checked: asked, Failed: "the facts snapshot cannot be read"})
+	select {
+	case m := <-heard:
+		var c link.Checked
+		_ = json.Unmarshal(m.Data, &c)
+		if c.ID != "broken" || c.Verdict != "error" {
+			t.Fatalf("the first verdict said is %+v; want only the broken check's error", c)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("nothing was said")
+	}
+	select {
+	case m := <-heard:
+		t.Fatalf("a second verdict was said: %s", m.Data)
+	case <-time.After(300 * time.Millisecond):
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/checks_queue_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+//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_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
@@ -75,8 +76,8 @@ func TestThePullRequestIsMappedOntoTheModuleGraph(t *testing.T) {
 				t.Errorf("%s: %s %q, wanted %q", c.what, what, got[i], want[i])
 			}
 		}
-		if s.Mesh != c.mesh {
-			t.Errorf("%s: the mesh's %v, wanted %v", c.what, s.Mesh, c.mesh)
+		if s.Mesh != c.mesh || s.Judge != c.judge {
+			t.Errorf("%s: the mesh's %v judged by %q, wanted %v by %q", c.what, s.Mesh, s.Judge, c.mesh, c.judge)
 		}
 		if s.gated() != (c.modules != "" || c.new != "") {
 			t.Errorf("%s: gated %v", c.what, s.gated())
@@ -94,6 +95,28 @@ func TestAPullRequestTouchesWhatPackagesItsRepository(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Each layer is said; a check that could not run is an error on both, never a pass; a build seat from
+// before the layers is read as the gate.
+func TestAChecksLayersAreEachSaidAndAnErrorIsNeverAPass(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 3, Modules: []string{"gitea"}}
+	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: "abc", Checked: asked, Failed: "the facts snapshot cannot be read"})
+	if c.Verdict != "error" || c.Gate == nil || c.Gate.Verdict != "error" || c.RepoCheck == nil || c.RepoCheck.Verdict != "error" {
+		t.Fatalf("a check that could not run said %+v", c)
+	}
+	if strings.Join(c.Gate.Modules, ",") != "gitea" {
+		t.Errorf("the gate names %v", c.Gate.Modules)
+	}
+	c = checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: "abc", Checked: asked, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "warning", Summary: "wide"}})
+	if c.Gate == nil || c.Gate.Verdict != "warning" || c.RepoCheck != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an outcome without layers said %+v", c)
+	}
+	c = checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: "abc", Checked: asked, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass",
+		Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"}, RepoCheck: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "its merge-check.sh failed"}}})
+	if c.RepoCheck.Verdict != "fail" || c.Gate.Verdict != "pass" {
+		t.Fatalf("the layers said %+v / %+v", c.Gate, c.RepoCheck)
+	}
+}
+
 // **The check asks the planner, never a mapping of its own** (novox/hq ADR 0238): what a pull request
 // reaches is reachOfMerge's answer — the same that plans a merge — so a file at the root touches no
 // module in both, and what stands on a touched module is named as its dependents in both.
@@ -148,5 +171,123 @@ func TestAPullRequestReachesWhatAMergeOfItWouldPlan(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// **Only a commit on the trunk is published** (novox/hq ADR 0238): a build of a commit off its repository's
+// default branch — a pull request's head, a branch built by hand, a rebuild or replay of one — is recorded
+// and never registered, so nothing can send it; a check or a dry run never is either.
+func TestABuildOffTheTrunkIsNeverPublished(t *testing.T) {
+	on := link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Commit: "abc", Trunk: "main", OnTrunk: true}
+	if err := publishable(on, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a build on the trunk was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	off := link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Commit: "abc", Trunk: "main"}
+	if err := publishable(off, ""); !errors.Is(err, errOffTheTrunk) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "main") {
+		t.Errorf("a build off the trunk was let through: %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, r := range []link.BuildResult{
+		{ID: "c", Trunk: "main", OnTrunk: true, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass"}},
+		{ID: "d", Trunk: "main", OnTrunk: true, Checked: &link.CheckRequest{}},
+		{ID: "e", Trunk: "main", OnTrunk: true, DryRun: true},
+	} {
+		if publishable(r, "") == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s, a check or a dry run, was publishable", r.ID)
+		}
+	}
+	// A module that follows a branch other than the default: that branch is its trunk, and the default
+	// is not.
+	follows := link.BuildResult{ID: "g", Commit: "abc", Trunk: "master", Branches: []string{"nox-mesh"}}
+	if err := publishable(follows, "nox-mesh"); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a commit on the branch a module follows was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := publishable(link.BuildResult{ID: "h", Commit: "abc", Trunk: "master", OnTrunk: true,
+		Branches: []string{"master"}}, "nox-mesh"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("a commit on the default but not on the branch the module follows was published")
+	}
+	if err := publishable(link.BuildResult{ID: "i", Commit: "abc", Trunk: "main", Branches: []string{"feat/x"}}, ""); err == nil {
+		t.Error("a feature branch's commit was published")
+	}
+	// A build seat older than the rule says nothing: let through and said, so the rule can reach the mesh.
+	if err := publishable(link.BuildResult{ID: "f", Commit: "abc"}, ""); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a build seat that said nothing was refused: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A verdict names the trunk commit it judged** (novox/hq ADR 0323 §3, issue 341): the controller's `checked`
+// carries the head and the trunk commit the build seat merged it into, the commits of the repositories read beside
+// it, how long it took, and the kept delivery plan records the trunk commit with its other inputs. A group's
+// composed check names, per member, the trunk commit that head was merged into (§6).
+func TestAVerdictNamesTheTrunkCommitItJudged(t *testing.T) {
+	plan := &link.ChangePlan{Repository: "novox/mesh-host", Base: "main", Head: "dfb1415aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
+		Summary: "builds mesh-host"}
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 66, Base: "main", Plan: plan}
+	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: "dfb1415aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa", Checked: asked,
+		Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass", Took: "4m12s", Head: "dfb1415aaaaa", Trunk: "d28ca95bbbbb",
+			Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"}, RepoCheck: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"},
+			Beside: map[string]string{"mesh-catalog": "0123456789ab", "mesh-lab": "ba9876543210"}}})
+	if c.Trunk != "d28ca95bbbbb" || c.Commit != "dfb1415aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names head %s and trunk %q", c.Commit, c.Trunk)
+	}
+	if c.Beside["mesh-catalog"] != "0123456789ab" || c.Beside["mesh-lab"] != "ba9876543210" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names the repositories read beside it as %v", c.Beside)
+	}
+	if c.Took != "4m12s" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict says it took %q", c.Took)
+	}
+	if c.Plan == nil || c.Plan.Trunk != "d28ca95bbbbb" || c.Plan.Head != plan.Head {
+		t.Fatalf("the kept plan records %+v", c.Plan)
+	}
+	if plan.Trunk != "" {
+		t.Fatal("the plan the controller asked with was changed: the verdict's is a copy")
+	}
+
+	group := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 7, Base: "main", Group: "feat/x",
+		Members: []link.GroupMember{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 8, Ref: "cccccccccccc0000", Base: "main"}}}
+	c = checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "g", Ref: "aaaaaaaaaaaa0000", Checked: group, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{
+		Verdict: "pass", Head: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Trunk: "111111111111", Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"},
+		Members: []link.CheckedMember{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Commit: "cccccccccccc", Trunk: "222222222222"}}}})
+	if len(c.Members) != 2 || c.Members[0].Trunk != "111111111111" || c.Members[1].Trunk != "222222222222" ||
+		c.Members[1].Commit != "cccccccccccc0000" {
+		t.Fatalf("the composed check names its members %+v", 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.
+func TestABuildOfACheckMergeIsRefusedNamingTheTrunk(t *testing.T) {
+	merge := link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Commit: "4b5c6d7e8f90aabbccddeeff0011223344556677", Trunk: "main"}
+	err := publishable(merge, "")
+	if !errors.Is(err, errOffTheTrunk) || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "not on main") {
+		t.Fatalf("a build of a check's merge was answered %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A verdict no build judges names its trunk commit too** (novox/hq ADR 0323 §3): a change touching no module of a
+// repository with no merge-check.sh (novox/mesh-tools-go) is answered by the controller itself. Naming no trunk, the
+// merge tool refused it, asked again, got the same verdict, and refused for ever.
+func TestADirectVerdictNamesTheTrunkTheForgeAnnounced(t *testing.T) {
+	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-tools-go", Number: 3, Base: "main", Commit: "1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d",
+		BaseSHA: "7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b"}
+	c := directVerdict(p, link.ChangePlan{Repository: "novox/mesh-tools-go", Base: "main", Head: p.Commit})
+	if c.Trunk != "7a8b9c0d1e2f" || c.Plan == nil || c.Plan.Trunk != "7a8b9c0d1e2f" {
+		t.Fatalf("the direct verdict names trunk %q, its plan %+v", c.Trunk, c.Plan)
+	}
+	if c.Verdict != "pass" || c.Commit != p.Commit {
+		t.Fatalf("the direct verdict is %+v", c)
+	}
+	if c := directVerdict(link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "x", Commit: "abc"}, link.ChangePlan{}); c.Trunk != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a forge that said no base head gave the trunk %q", c.Trunk)
+	}
+}
+
+// A head checked again through mesh-delivery (`delivery check --members`, a recheck) reaches the same direct verdict:
+// it names the base head the forge last announced, kept on the member, or the merge tool would refuse it for ever.
+func TestARecheckedHeadsDirectVerdictNamesItsTrunk(t *testing.T) {
+	m := orderMember{ID: "novox/mesh-tools-go@1a2b3c4d5e6f", Repository: "novox/mesh-tools-go", Base: "main",
+		Head: "1a2b3c4d5e6f7a8b9c0d", Number: 3, BaseSHA: "7a8b9c0d1e2f3a4b5c6d7e8f9a0b1c2d3e4f5a6b"}
+	if c := directVerdict(m.pull(), link.ChangePlan{}); c.Trunk != "7a8b9c0d1e2f" {
+		t.Fatalf("a rechecked head's direct verdict names trunk %q", c.Trunk)
+	}
+}
+
 // 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.

cmd/mesh-controller/collect.go

@@ -4,9 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"os"
-	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
@@ -217,34 +215,27 @@ func collect(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) {
 	}
 
 	r := sweep(ctx, inv, artifacts.Store{Address: address}, references, kept, afterBuild)
-	sayCollected(os.Stderr, r)
-}
-
-// sayCollected says what one sweep after a build did.
-func sayCollected(w io.Writer, r sweepResult) {
 	if r.HoldersWritten > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "the artifact store now holds %d more kept archive(s) by a manifest\n", r.HoldersWritten)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store now holds %d more kept archive(s) by a manifest\n", r.HoldersWritten)
 	}
 	if r.Missing > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d archive(s) the mesh keeps are not in the artifact store at all; "+
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d archive(s) the mesh keeps are not in the artifact store at all; "+
 			"`collection` lists them\n", r.Missing)
 	}
 	if len(r.LetGo) > 0 {
-		// **Each one named** (novox/hq issue 1933): a count could not say which archive a machine's 404 was let go of.
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "the artifact store let go of %d artifact(s) the mesh no longer keeps: %s\n", len(r.LetGo),
-			strings.Join(r.LetGo, ", "))
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the artifact store let go of %d artifact(s) the mesh no longer keeps\n", len(r.LetGo))
 	}
 	if r.Stopped != "" && !r.Bounded {
-		fmt.Fprintln(w, r.Stopped)
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, r.Stopped)
 	}
 	if r.Held && r.Left > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d more to collect; the next build asks again\n", r.Left)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d more to collect; the next build asks again\n", r.Left)
 	}
 	if r.Skipped > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d artifact(s) the sweep will not address were skipped\n", r.Skipped)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d artifact(s) the sweep will not address were skipped\n", r.Skipped)
 	}
 	if r.Indexes > 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%d eligible index(es) wait for a collect a person confirms, which takes their platforms too\n", r.Indexes)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%d eligible index(es) wait for a collect a person confirms, which takes their platforms too\n", r.Indexes)
 	}
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/compose_perform.go

@@ -233,12 +233,6 @@ 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

@@ -200,7 +200,6 @@ 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
 	}
@@ -239,11 +238,7 @@ 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)
-	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
+	return declared, err
 }
 
 // composeSendValidated is composeSend and what the node-engine's validator refuses of the declaration it composed, for the
@@ -286,7 +281,6 @@ 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)
@@ -372,7 +366,7 @@ func sayFound(ctx context.Context, d compose.Declared) {
 
 // sendableOf is a composed declaration as the controller's sends know it.
 func sendableOf(d compose.Declared) sendable {
-	out := sendable{Resources: compactKept(d.Resources), Sequence: d.Sequence, Epoch: d.Epoch, Generation: d.Generation,
+	out := sendable{Resources: d.Resources, Sequence: d.Sequence, Epoch: d.Epoch, Generation: d.Generation,
 		ReadsModules: d.ReadsModules, moduleOf: d.ModuleOf, buildIDs: d.BuildIDs, modules: d.Modules,
 		localNetwork: d.LocalNetwork, Received: d.Received, Mesh: d.Mesh, BusUsers: d.BusUsers,
 		LeftOut: d.LeftOut, leftOutWhy: d.LeftOutWhy, withheld: d.Withheld, unbound: d.Unbound, foreseen: d.Foreseen,

cmd/mesh-controller/composed_member_check_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+//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

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+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")
+	}
+}
+
+// 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.
+func TestAComposedMembersVerdictHasNoPassingGate(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Composed: true}
+	pass := link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: headHost, Checked: asked, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "no module touched",
+		Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "no module touched"}, RepoCheck: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "ok"}}}
+	c := checkedOf(pass)
+	if c.Gate == nil || c.Gate.Verdict != "composed" || c.Verdict != "composed" || c.RepoCheck == nil || c.RepoCheck.Verdict != "pass" {
+		t.Fatalf("the member's verdict says %+v gate %+v", c, c.Gate)
+	}
+	asked.Composed = false
+	if c := checkedOf(pass); c.Gate.Verdict != "pass" || c.Verdict != "pass" {
+		t.Fatalf("a member of no composed group has its own gate: %+v", c.Gate)
+	}
+	asked.Composed = true
+	failing := pass
+	failing.Check = &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "conflict", Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "conflict"},
+		RepoCheck: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "fail", Summary: "conflict"}}
+	if c := checkedOf(failing); c.Gate.Verdict != "fail" || c.Verdict != "fail" {
+		t.Fatalf("a failure was read as composed: %+v", c.Gate)
+	}
+	broken := link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: headHost, Checked: asked, Failed: "the facts snapshot cannot be read"}
+	if c := checkedOf(broken); c.Verdict != "error" || c.Gate.Verdict != "error" {
+		t.Fatalf("an error was read as composed: %+v", c)
+	}
+}
+
+// The composed verdict on the bus carries every member, each with its trunk commit, for the forge's holder to set each
+// member's mesh/merge-gate from it.
+func TestTheComposedVerdictCarriesEveryMember(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 114, Group: "feat/x",
+		Members: []link.GroupMember{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 346, Ref: headController}}}
+	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "g", Ref: headHost, Checked: asked, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{Verdict: "pass", Summary: "ok",
+		Trunk: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Members: []link.CheckedMember{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Commit: headController[:12], Trunk: "bbbbbbbbbbbb"}}}})
+	body, _ := json.Marshal(c)
+	for _, want := range []string{`"group":"feat/x"`, `"members":[{"owner":"novox","repo":"mesh-host","number":114,"commit":"` + headHost + `","trunk":"aaaaaaaaaaaa"}`,
+		`{"owner":"novox","repo":"mesh-controller","number":346,"commit":"` + headController + `","trunk":"bbbbbbbbbbbb"}`} {
+		if !strings.Contains(string(body), want) {
+			t.Fatalf("the composed verdict lacks %s:\n%s", want, body)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// 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

@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-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

@@ -1,110 +0,0 @@
-//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

@@ -1,253 +0,0 @@
-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

@@ -1,246 +0,0 @@
-//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

@@ -1,534 +0,0 @@
-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

@@ -1,96 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"fmt"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// **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 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"
-
-// declarationRoomSource is the condition's source: the sends.
-const declarationRoomSource = "sends"
-
-func declarationRoomObservation(node string, size, limit int64) conditions.Observation {
-	o := conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeMachine, ID: node, Kind: kindDeclarationNearLimit,
-		Token: kindDeclarationNearLimit, Machine: node, Severity: conditions.Warning, Source: declarationRoomSource}
-	if size > limit {
-		o.Severity = conditions.Urgent
-	}
-	o.Summary = fmt.Sprintf("%s's declaration is %d bytes on the wire, %d%% of the bus's largest message of %d bytes",
-		node, size, size*100/limit, limit)
-	if size > limit {
-		o.Summary += ": over it, so it cannot be sent"
-	}
-	return o
-}
-
-func init() {
-	link.DeclarationMeasured = func(ctx context.Context, node string, size, limit int64) {
-		settleDeclarationRoom(ctx, conditionsFrom, node, size, limit)
-	}
-}
-
-// settleDeclarationRoom raises or clears the condition of a declaration's size. A nil keeper (a tool, not the
-// serving controller) says nothing.
-func settleDeclarationRoom(ctx context.Context, keeper *conditions.Keeper, node string, size, limit int64) {
-	if keeper == nil || limit <= 0 {
-		return
-	}
-	obs := declarationRoomObservation(node, size, limit)
-	if float64(size) < link.NearTheLimit*float64(limit) {
-		if _, err := keeper.Clear(ctx, obs.Key(), fmt.Sprintf("%s's declaration is %d bytes, under the limit's margin", node, size)); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("the condition %s could not be cleared: %v\n", obs.Key(), err)
-		}
-		return
-	}
-	fmt.Printf("NEAR THE LIMIT: %s\n", obs.Summary)
-	if _, err := keeper.Observe(ctx, obs); err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("the condition %s could not be raised: %v\n", obs.Key(), err)
-	}
-}
-
-// compactKept writes the vault's export compact. The composition (the SDK's keptFile) writes it indented, and its 334
-// sealed secrets were 164,763 bytes of it against 138,474 compact: a fifth of the declaration's room, in whitespace,
-// base64-encoded again on the wire. Every reader parses JSON, so the spacing is nobody's. A resource that is not
-// the export, or whose content is not JSON, is left as it is. The resources are copied, never changed in place.
-func compactKept(resources []map[string]any) []map[string]any {
-	out := make([]map[string]any, len(resources))
-	for i, r := range resources {
-		out[i] = r
-		id, _ := r["id"].(string)
-		path, _ := r["path"].(string)
-		content, ok := r["content"].(string)
-		if !ok || (id != "kept" && !strings.HasSuffix(id, ".kept")) || !strings.HasSuffix(path, "/export.json") {
-			continue
-		}
-		var dst bytes.Buffer
-		if json.Compact(&dst, []byte(content)) != nil {
-			continue
-		}
-		if strings.HasSuffix(content, "\n") {
-			dst.WriteByte('\n')
-		}
-		if dst.String() == content {
-			continue
-		}
-		c := make(map[string]any, len(r))
-		for k, v := range r {
-			c[k] = v
-		}
-		c["content"] = dst.String()
-		out[i] = c
-	}
-	return out
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_room_test.go

@@ -1,71 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
-)
-
-// The vault's export is sent compact (issue 1689): same document, no indentation, one rewrite.
-func TestTheVaultsExportIsSentCompactAndNothingElseIsTouched(t *testing.T) {
-	indented := "{\n  \"export\": 1,\n  \"kept\": [\n    {\n      \"name\": \"a\"\n    }\n  ]\n}\n"
-	other := "{\n  \"x\": 1\n}\n"
-	in := []map[string]any{
-		{"id": "mesh-vault.kept", "type": "file", "path": "/srv/vault/export.json", "mode": "0600", "content": indented},
-		{"id": "mesh-vault.config", "type": "file", "path": "/srv/vault/config.json", "content": other},
-		{"id": "other.kept", "type": "file", "path": "/srv/other/notes.json", "content": other},
-	}
-	out := compactKept(in)
-	want := "{\"export\":1,\"kept\":[{\"name\":\"a\"}]}\n"
-	if out[0]["content"] != want || out[0]["mode"] != "0600" || out[0]["path"] != "/srv/vault/export.json" {
-		t.Fatalf("the export is %q (%v), expected %q with its mode and path kept", out[0]["content"], out[0], want)
-	}
-	if out[1]["content"] != other || out[2]["content"] != other {
-		t.Fatalf("a file that is not the export was rewritten: %v %v", out[1], out[2])
-	}
-	if in[0]["content"] != indented {
-		t.Fatalf("the composed resource was changed in place")
-	}
-	if again := compactKept(out); again[0]["content"] != want {
-		t.Fatalf("compacting twice changed it: %q", again[0]["content"])
-	}
-}
-
-// 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,
-		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()) })
-	const limit = 1000
-	key := declarationRoomObservation("novox", 0, limit).Key()
-	read := func() (conditions.Condition, bool) {
-		t.Helper()
-		c, found, err := conditions.ReadOne(t.Context(), store, key)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		return c, found
-	}
-
-	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 749, limit)
-	if _, found := read(); found {
-		t.Fatal("a declaration at 74.9% raised a condition")
-	}
-	settleDeclarationRoom(t.Context(), k, "novox", 750, limit)
-	c, found := read()
-	if !found || c.Severity != conditions.Warning || !strings.Contains(c.Summary, "750 bytes") ||
-		!strings.Contains(c.Summary, "1000") || c.Subject.Machine != "novox" {
-		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", 700, limit)
-	if _, found := read(); found {
-		t.Fatal("the condition stayed after the declaration fell under 75%")
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/declaration_sweep.go

@@ -1,273 +0,0 @@
-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

@@ -1,89 +0,0 @@
-//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

@@ -815,21 +815,20 @@ 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 order|go|stop|walks")
+		return errors.New("delivery plan|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")
-	}
-	if sub == "check" {
-		// Removed (ADR 0503 §3, ADR 0527; issue 1318): the checker judges every head, so the controller asks nothing.
-		return removedByName("delivery-check")
-	}
 	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)")
+	group := set.String("group", "", "a delivery group's id")
 	ready := set.Bool("ready", false, "the head's pull request is marked ready: its check is queued before every other check "+
 		"(novox/hq ADR 0406 §3)")
 	by := set.String("by", catalogue.DeliverySeat, "who says it")
@@ -873,6 +872,19 @@ 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")
@@ -886,6 +898,27 @@ func deliveryCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("what the members say of their manifests cannot be read: %w", err)
 		}
 		return answer(orderOf(members, reachOfMembers(members, entries, read, edges), edges, changes))
+	case "check":
+		if *group == "" && len(members) == 1 {
+			// One head, checked again as the forge's announcement would have it (a recheck): the controller's
+			// own path for a pull request, run because the delivery's owner asked.
+			return recheckOneHead(members[0].ID, answer, func() (string, error) {
+				var asked string
+				err := sayingOnTheBus(ctx, inv, func() (err error) {
+					asked, err = (following{open: open, oneShot: true}).pullUpdated(ctx, members[0].pull(), os.Stderr)
+					return err
+				})
+				return asked, err
+			})
+		}
+		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})
 	case "go":
 		if len(positionals) != 1 {
 			return errors.New("delivery go <plan> [--by <who>] [--why <text>]")
@@ -1060,6 +1093,133 @@ 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 {
+		return c[:12]
+	}
+	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 {
@@ -1070,6 +1230,15 @@ 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
@@ -1211,3 +1380,25 @@ func overNATS(conn *nats.Conn) (link.Bus, error) {
 	}
 	return link.OverNATS{Conn: conn, JS: js}, nil
 }
+
+// recheckAnswer is what `delivery check` answers for one head: the id of the check asked of the build seat (empty when
+// the controller said the verdict itself and asked nothing), which mesh-delivery reads, and the head rechecked.
+func recheckAnswer(asked, member string) map[string]any {
+	return map[string]any{"asked": asked, "rechecked": member}
+}
+
+// recheckOneHead runs a one-head `delivery check` and answers it as data. Standard output is the answer's JSON alone,
+// or the seat verb reads no answer from it (novox/hq issue 1311): while the check runs, whatever it prints to standard
+// output (the controller's own path prints its prose there, as do the stores it reads) goes to standard error.
+func recheckOneHead(member string, answer func(any) error, ask func() (string, error)) error {
+	real := os.Stdout
+	os.Stdout = os.Stderr
+	asked, err := func() (string, error) {
+		defer func() { os.Stdout = real }()
+		return ask()
+	}()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return answer(recheckAnswer(asked, member))
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_check_answer_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// `delivery check` with one head answers the id of the check it asked, as data (novox/hq issue 1311): the prose
+// the check says goes to standard error, so standard output is the document alone and answerOf reads it.
+func TestDeliveryCheckOfOneHeadAnswersTheRequestID(t *testing.T) {
+	argv := []string{"delivery", "check", "--members", "[]"}
+	doc, err := json.Marshal(recheckAnswer("check-42", "novox/x@abc"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Seen failing first: the prose the command used to print on standard output before the document.
+	polluted := append([]byte("novox/x#7 (abc): asked the build seat as check-42\n"), doc...)
+	if got := answerOf(argv, polluted, "", true); got.Answer != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("prose before the document should leave no answer; got %v", got.Answer)
+	}
+	got := answerOf(argv, doc, "novox/x#7 (abc): asked the build seat as check-42\n", true)
+	m, ok := got.Answer.(map[string]any)
+	if !ok || m["asked"] != "check-42" || m["rechecked"] != "novox/x@abc" {
+		t.Fatalf("the answer is %v; want asked check-42 and rechecked novox/x@abc", got.Answer)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(got.Output, "asked the build seat") {
+		t.Fatalf("the prose is still said in the text: %q", got.Output)
+	}
+}
+
+// The text of the other callers does not change: sayChecked writes the same line to the writer it is given, and
+// the controller's own path still gives PullUpdated standard output.
+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"
+	if w.String() != want {
+		t.Fatalf("sayChecked said %q; want %q", w.String(), want)
+	}
+}
+
+// Whatever the check prints to standard output while it runs (checks.go namedForTheCheck, the inventory's pointer
+// repair) must not reach the answer's standard output: it is exactly one JSON document (novox/hq issue 1311).
+func TestOneHeadRecheckLeavesStandardOutputTheAnswerAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	r, w, err := os.Pipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	e, ew, err := os.Pipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	realOut, realErr := os.Stdout, os.Stderr
+	os.Stdout, os.Stderr = w, ew
+	runErr := recheckOneHead("novox/x@abc", func(v any) error { return json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout).Encode(v) },
+		func() (string, error) {
+			fmt.Println("  the earlier checks' builds could not be read, so the check builds")
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stdout, "repaired a pointer")
+			return "check-42", nil
+		})
+	os.Stdout, os.Stderr = realOut, realErr
+	w.Close()
+	ew.Close()
+	if runErr != nil {
+		t.Fatal(runErr)
+	}
+	var out, errOut bytes.Buffer
+	_, _ = out.ReadFrom(r)
+	_, _ = errOut.ReadFrom(e)
+	var doc map[string]any
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(out.Bytes(), &doc); err != nil || doc["asked"] != "check-42" || doc["rechecked"] != "novox/x@abc" {
+		t.Fatalf("standard output %q is not the answer alone (%v)", out.String(), err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(errOut.String(), "repaired a pointer") {
+		t.Fatalf("the prose should be on standard error: %q", errOut.String())
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_conditions.go

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ type stalledLine struct {
 	// waiting for the owner's word and what holds it (novox/hq issues 362, 529).
 	Walk string `json:"walk,omitempty"`
 	// Waiting are the merge checks a line of the state `unanswered` waits on, as mesh-delivery says each:
-	// "mesh/check pending since <UTC time>", "mesh/check never set" (novox/hq issue 438).
+	// "mesh/merge-gate pending since <UTC time>", "mesh/repo-check never set" (novox/hq issue 438).
 	Waiting []string `json:"waiting,omitempty"`
 	// Checks are the same merge checks as data, which the controller words in the operator's own time (novox/hq
 	// issue 443): a time inside a finished sentence cannot be said again in another zone. A mesh-delivery from before
@@ -58,17 +58,8 @@ 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

@@ -181,3 +181,32 @@ 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

@@ -59,23 +59,8 @@ 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.
-	// A cut takes its first tier from the builder's keys and a step of the walk records the take (the walk asks no
-	// build), so each walk that starts is stepped once before its takes are counted.
 	p := merge("c1aaaaaaaa", "modules/app/index.ts")
-	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
 	if p.Waiting() || len(*asked) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("with no holder on record the walk waited (%v) or asked %v", p.Waiting(), *asked)
 	}
@@ -105,7 +90,6 @@ 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)
@@ -119,7 +103,6 @@ func TestAMergeWaitsForItsDeliverysWordAndThePersonsWordWorksWithoutIt(t *testin
 	// ADR 0276): the merge's batch is cut once it ended.
 	finish(p.ID)
 	p = merge("c3cccccccc", "modules/mesh-delivery/main.go")
-	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
 	if p.Waiting() || len(*asked) != 3 {
 		t.Fatalf("mesh-delivery's own walk waited for mesh-delivery: %v %v", p.Waiting(), *asked)
 	}
@@ -136,7 +119,6 @@ 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 {
@@ -161,9 +143,7 @@ func TestAMergeWaitsForItsDeliverysWordAndThePersonsWordWorksWithoutIt(t *testin
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	asks := len(*asked)
-	p = merge("c6ffffffff", "modules/app/index.ts")
-	advanceHeld(ctx, open)
-	if p.Waiting() || len(*asked) != asks+1 {
+	if p = merge("c6ffffffff", "modules/app/index.ts"); p.Waiting() || len(*asked) != asks+1 {
 		t.Fatalf("with the holder gone the walk waited: %v", p.Waiting())
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_test.go

@@ -136,6 +136,10 @@ func TestTheDeliveryVerbsComposeTheirCommands(t *testing.T) {
 		{"delivery-walks", map[string]any{}, []string{"delivery", "walks"}},
 		{"delivery-walks", map[string]any{"plan": "plan-1"}, []string{"delivery", "walks", "--plan", "plan-1"}},
 		{"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

@@ -35,6 +35,16 @@ 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/doctor.go

@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ func localDoctor(ctx context.Context) (*doctor, func(), error) {
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
-	js, err := aBus()
+	js, err := dialTheBus()
 	if err != nil {
 		open.Close()
 		return nil, nil, err

cmd/mesh-controller/dry_run_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+func TestADryRunsOutcomeIsTakenInByNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	err := builds{}.Built(t.Context(), link.BuildResult{
+		ID: "build-1", Repository: "ssh://forge/app.git", Ref: "unreviewed", Module: "app", DryRun: true,
+		Manifest: json.RawMessage(`{"module":"app","version":"1"}`),
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a dry run's outcome was not simply set aside: %v", err)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/dry_run_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// A dry run's outcome is looked at, never taken in (novox/hq issue 240). The daemon here holds no
+// store at all, so anything that tried to record or register would fail rather than pass quietly.
+
+// The mark survives the wire both ways: asked as a dry run, answered as one.
+func TestTheDryRunMarkTravelsWithTheBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(link.BuildRequest{ID: "build-1", Repository: "r", DryRun: true})
+	var asked link.BuildRequest
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &asked); err != nil || !asked.DryRun {
+		t.Fatalf("the request lost its dry-run mark: %s", raw)
+	}
+	raw, _ = json.Marshal(link.BuildResult{ID: "build-1", DryRun: true})
+	var answered link.BuildResult
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &answered); err != nil || !answered.DryRun {
+		t.Fatalf("the outcome lost its dry-run mark: %s", raw)
+	}
+	raw, _ = json.Marshal(link.BuildResult{ID: "build-2"})
+	if string(raw) != `{"id":"build-2","repository":"","on":""}` {
+		t.Fatalf("an ordinary outcome carries a dry-run mark: %s", raw)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/durations.go

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // What the core's bounds are set from (novox/hq to-be 45 Phase 0).
@@ -23,6 +24,25 @@ import (
 // controller as it hears each — a send's first report, a machine's next word, a plan leaving a tier, a
 // build's outcome — and summarised here per machine, repository or module.
 
+// recordBuildDuration measures one build from its ask to its outcome heard.
+func recordBuildDuration(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResult, asked time.Time) {
+	if asked.IsZero() || result.ID == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	subject := result.Module
+	if subject == "" {
+		subject = result.Repository
+	}
+	detail := "built"
+	if result.Failed != "" {
+		detail = "failed: " + firstLine(result.Failed)
+	}
+	if err := inv.RecordDuration(ctx, inventory.Duration{Kind: inventory.DurationBuild, Subject: subject,
+		Node: result.On, Ref: result.ID, Started: asked, Took: time.Since(asked), Detail: detail}); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s: how long it took could not be recorded: %v\n", result.ID, err)
+	}
+}
+
 // durationSummary is one subject's measurements of one kind.
 type durationSummary struct {
 	Kind    string `json:"kind"`

cmd/mesh-controller/facts.go

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	snapshot "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/facts"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
@@ -240,6 +241,17 @@ func gatherFacts(ctx context.Context, open *stores, busVersion string) (snapshot
 		scrub.Site(o.Site)
 	}
 
+	// What a merge check runs in and reads beside it, as the build seat would be asked for it.
+	if held, err := inv.Held(ctx); err == nil {
+		for language, reference := range builder.ToolchainsOf(held) {
+			if f.Versions.Toolchains == nil {
+				f.Versions.Toolchains = map[string]string{}
+			}
+			f.Versions.Toolchains[language] = catalogue.Recorded(reference)
+		}
+	} else {
+		return snapshot.Facts{}, err
+	}
 	for _, e := range entries {
 		if dir, core := coreModules[e.Manifest.Module]; core && !e.Provided && e.Source.Repository != "" {
 			for d, ref := range besideRefs(dir, current[e.Manifest.Module].Commit) {

cmd/mesh-controller/first_build_ask_integration_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+//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

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+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

@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -47,7 +46,7 @@ func (f following) firstBuilds(ctx context.Context, m link.SourceMoved, entries
 	case len(added) == 0:
 		return false, nil
 	}
-	if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, f.open, m, now, added, why); err != nil {
+	if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, inv, m, now, added, why); err != nil {
 		return true, notNow(err)
 	}
 	return true, nil
@@ -68,35 +67,27 @@ func keepFirstMerge(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, m link.Source
 	return err
 }
 
-// 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,
+// 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,
 	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 %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
+	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)
 	}
-	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
+	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)
 }
 
 // resumeFirstBuilds runs firstBuilds for the first merges waiting for the word mesh-delivery just announced for a pull
@@ -111,7 +102,7 @@ func (f following) resumeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d deliveryMerge) error
 	}
 	for _, w := range waiting {
 		k := announcedOf(w)
-		if !k.FirstBuild || len(k.Held) > 0 || !strings.EqualFold(k.Owner+"/"+k.Repo, d.Owner+"/"+d.Repo) || k.Number != d.Number ||
+		if !k.FirstBuild || !strings.EqualFold(k.Owner+"/"+k.Repo, d.Owner+"/"+d.Repo) || k.Number != d.Number ||
 			k.HeadSHA != d.HeadSHA {
 			continue
 		}
@@ -134,7 +125,7 @@ func (f following) resumeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d deliveryMerge) error
 		case err != nil:
 			return notNow(err)
 		case len(added) > 0:
-			if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, f.open, k.SourceMoved, time.Now().UTC(), added, why); err != nil {
+			if err := askFirstBuilds(ctx, inv, k.SourceMoved, time.Now().UTC(), added, why); err != nil {
 				return notNow(err)
 			}
 		}
@@ -181,29 +172,6 @@ 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"
 
@@ -235,10 +203,9 @@ 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 modules are registered from the builder's keys the moment "+
-				"the announcement is kept.",
+				"announcement has come in %s. The merge is kept, and the builds are asked the moment the announcement is kept.",
 				k.Commit, repository, for_),
-			Resolved: "mesh-delivery announces the merge, or the operator registers the modules at the controller's terminal",
+			Resolved: "mesh-delivery announces the merge, or a hand `build` registers the modules",
 		})
 	}
 	return out
@@ -250,28 +217,5 @@ func probeFirstBuilds(ctx context.Context, d *doctor) ([]conditions.Observation,
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	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)
-		}
-	}
+	return firstBuildObservations(waiting, time.Now().UTC()), nil
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/first_builds_integration_test.go

@@ -5,48 +5,71 @@ 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 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) {
+// 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) {
 	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
-		wantRegister bool
+		what        string
+		wordFirst   bool
+		approved    bool // the router's record holds the operator's Approve of the merged head
+		wantRegiter bool
 	}{
-		{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: "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: "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
-			noBuildAsked(t)
-			b := aBuilderOnTheBus(t)
-			js := b.js
+			// 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 })
 			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)
 			}
@@ -64,14 +87,10 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryRegistersItsModuleFromItsKey(t *tes
 			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, sdkdelivery.TellerModule+"."+a.merge.AskID, record); err != nil {
+				if _, err := records.Put(ctx, theDelivery+"."+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{})
@@ -85,6 +104,8 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryRegistersItsModuleFromItsKey(t *tes
 			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()
@@ -112,27 +133,37 @@ func TestAMergeOnTheApproveIntoANewRepositoryRegistersItsModuleFromItsKey(t *tes
 				forge()
 			} else {
 				forge()
-				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")
+				if len(asked()) != 0 {
+					t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: the merge asked %v before mesh-delivery's word was kept", asked())
 				}
 				word()
 			}
-			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")
+			if !c.wantRegiter {
+				if len(asked()) != 0 {
+					t.Fatalf("1146/AC7: a merge whose record holds no Approve asked %v", asked())
 				}
 				return
 			}
-			becomes(t, 10*time.Second, "the module registered", func() bool {
-				_, known := inventoryHolds(t, inv, "mesh-delivery-view")
-				return known
-			})
+			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)
+			}
 			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},
-		registrationAsk{Build: "build-1"}, "", "main")
+		"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}, registrationAsk{Build: "build-1"}, "", "main")
+		inventory.Source{Repository: elsewhere}, "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: 100 * time.Millisecond, first: 10 * time.Millisecond, most: 50 * time.Millisecond,
+	w := waitOut{bound: 200 * time.Millisecond, first: 10 * time.Millisecond, most: 50 * time.Millisecond,
 		now: time.Now, sleep: sleepOrDone}
 	asked := 0
 	began := time.Now()

cmd/mesh-controller/gate_integration_test.go

@@ -444,12 +444,8 @@ func TestAMergeThatDeletesAModulePlansNothingToBuildForIt(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &plan); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-k", Module: "kept", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
-		At: time.Now().UTC(), Asked: asked0, Failed: "http://forge/novox/mesh-catalog.git has no module.json at modules/kept, so " +
-			"there is nothing saying what it is: open …/module.json: no such file or directory"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	planBuilt(ctx, open, "kept", "", "http://forge/novox/mesh-catalog.git has no module.json at modules/kept, so "+
+		"there is nothing saying what it is: open …/module.json: no such file or directory", asked0, "build-k")
 	p, _ := inv.PlanByID(ctx, "plan-deleted")
 	if p.State == inventory.PlanFailed || p.Modules["kept"].State != planDeleted {
 		t.Fatalf("a module deleted at its source failed the plan: %s %+v", p.State, p.Modules["kept"])

cmd/mesh-controller/grants.go

@@ -1,168 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"errors"
-	"fmt"
-	"sort"
-	"strings"
-
-	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/inventory"
-)
-
-// The grants issued (novox/hq ADR 0528 clause 2, ADR 0429 §6 rule 6, issue 1394): what the assigner's sixth rule reads,
-// that a module's bus credential for a fingerprint exists. A module's permissions on the bus are what the bus's user list
-// composes from its registered manifest (inv.BusRecords), and a module's manifest is registered at a fingerprint when the
-// controller takes it in from the builder's key; so once the list is sent to the machine that runs the bus, the
-// credential of every module it carried is issued at the fingerprint of the build it is registered at. The controller
-// writes `<module>.<fingerprint hex>` then, naming the accounts it composed for the module, never removed. A module one
-// of whose accounts has no password yet (the list leaves it out) has no grant until a later send carries it.
-
-// grantsFrom is the grant of every module whose accounts all have a password in hashes, at the fingerprint current names
-// for it; a module whose current build names no fingerprint of the new form has none. principals are the bus's users
-// as broker.Users composes them.
-func grantsFrom(principals []broker.Principal, hashes map[string]string, current map[string]string) map[string]sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant {
-	accounts, missing := map[string][]string{}, map[string]bool{}
-	for _, p := range principals {
-		if p.Module == "" || (p.Kind != broker.KindModule && p.Kind != broker.KindProcess) {
-			continue
-		}
-		if hashes[p.Username()] == "" {
-			missing[p.Module] = true
-			continue
-		}
-		accounts[p.Module] = append(accounts[p.Module], p.Username())
-	}
-	out := map[string]sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant{}
-	for module, fp := range current {
-		if missing[module] || !strings.HasPrefix(fp, sdkdelivery.SourcePrefix2) {
-			continue
-		}
-		key, err := sdkdelivery.ControllerGrantKey(module, fp)
-		if err != nil {
-			continue
-		}
-		names := accounts[module]
-		sort.Strings(names)
-		out[key] = sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant{Accounts: names}
-	}
-	return out
-}
-
-// currentFingerprints is, by module, the fingerprint of the build each registered module is registered at: its
-// manifest's commit (built_from), that commit's newest successful build, and the fingerprint that build names.
-func currentFingerprints(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) (map[string]string, error) {
-	builds, err := inv.CurrentBuilds(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	out := map[string]string{}
-	for module, b := range builds {
-		if b.Commit == "" {
-			continue
-		}
-		id, err := inv.BuildOf(ctx, module, b.Commit)
-		if err != nil || id == "" {
-			continue
-		}
-		build, found, err := inv.BuildByID(ctx, id)
-		if err != nil || !found {
-			continue
-		}
-		out[module] = build.SourceFingerprint
-	}
-	return out, nil
-}
-
-// grantsKV is what writing the grants needs of their bucket.
-type grantsKV interface {
-	Get(ctx context.Context, key string) (jetstream.KeyValueEntry, error)
-	Create(ctx context.Context, key string, value []byte, opts ...jetstream.KVCreateOpt) (uint64, error)
-	Update(ctx context.Context, key string, value []byte, revision uint64) (uint64, error)
-}
-
-// keepGrants writes every grant the list just sent issued that the bucket does not hold as it is: a create for a new one,
-// a compare-and-set for one whose accounts changed. It answers how many it wrote.
-func keepGrants(ctx context.Context, kv grantsKV, grants map[string]sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant) (int, error) {
-	keys := make([]string, 0, len(grants))
-	for k := range grants {
-		keys = append(keys, k)
-	}
-	sort.Strings(keys)
-	wrote := 0
-	var errs []error
-	for _, key := range keys {
-		value, err := sdkdelivery.EncodeControllerGrant(grants[key])
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", key, err))
-			continue
-		}
-		e, err := kv.Get(ctx, key)
-		switch {
-		case errors.Is(err, jetstream.ErrKeyNotFound):
-			_, err = kv.Create(ctx, key, value)
-		case err != nil:
-		default:
-			if before, derr := sdkdelivery.DecodeControllerGrant(e.Value()); derr == nil && sdkdelivery.SameControllerGrant(before, withVersion(grants[key])) {
-				continue
-			}
-			_, err = kv.Update(ctx, key, value, e.Revision())
-		}
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", key, err))
-			continue
-		}
-		wrote++
-	}
-	return wrote, errors.Join(errs...)
-}
-
-func withVersion(g sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant) sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant {
-	g.V = sdkdelivery.Version
-	return g
-}
-
-// grantsIssued writes the grants the bus's user list just sent to its machine issued (ADR 0528 clause 2). Said, never
-// fatal: a grant not written now is written at the next send of the list, and the assigner's wants wait for it.
-func grantsIssued(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, js jetstream.JetStream, indent string) {
-	kv, err := js.KeyValue(ctx, broker.GrantsBucket)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%sthe grants issued are not written: the bucket %s: %v\n", indent, broker.GrantsBucket, err)
-		return
-	}
-	records, err := inv.BusRecords(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%sthe grants issued are not written: %v\n", indent, err)
-		return
-	}
-	principals, err := broker.Users(records)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%sthe grants issued are not written: %v\n", indent, err)
-		return
-	}
-	kept, err := inv.BusUsers(ctx)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%sthe grants issued are not written: %v\n", indent, err)
-		return
-	}
-	hashes := make(map[string]string, len(kept))
-	for name, u := range kept {
-		hashes[name] = u.PasswordHash
-	}
-	current, err := currentFingerprints(ctx, inv)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%sthe grants issued are not written: %v\n", indent, err)
-		return
-	}
-	wrote, err := keepGrants(ctx, kv, grantsFrom(principals, hashes, current))
-	if wrote > 0 {
-		fmt.Printf("%s%d grant(s) issued written for the assigner\n", indent, wrote)
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("%ssome grants issued are not written: %v\n", indent, err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/grants_integration_test.go

@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-//go:build integration
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"testing"
-
-	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
-	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
-	"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"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
-)
-
-// 1394/AC1 of C9 (ADR 0528 clause 2): when the controller has issued mesh-x's credential for fingerprint F (mesh-x
-// registered at a build of F, its account minted, the bus's machine sent its declaration with the user list, through
-// overTheBus.declare as a push sends it), then grants.mesh-x.F exists on the bus,
-// and a second pass writes it again as nothing new.
-func TestTheGrantOfAnIssuedCredentialIsOnTheBus(t *testing.T) {
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	inv := open.inventory
-	fp := grantFP('d')
-	m := catalogue.Manifest{Module: "mesh-x", Version: "1", OwnSecrets: catalogue.OwnSecrets{"broker": {Path: "/var/lib/mesh-x/broker"}}}
-	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-x1", Repository: "novox/mesh-x", Module: "mesh-x", Commit: "c0ffee1",
-		SourceFingerprint: fp}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, m, inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-x", BuiltFrom: "c0ffee1", Head: "c0ffee1"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "anchor", "mesh-x"); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	user := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: "anchor", Module: "mesh-x"}.Username()
-	if _, err := inv.MintBusPassword(ctx, inventory.BusUser{Username: user, Kind: inventory.BusModule, Node: "anchor", Module: "mesh-x"}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	conn, err := nats.Connect(testbus.URL(t))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(conn.Close)
-	js, err := jetstream.New(conn)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if err := broker.OnConn(conn).EnsureControllerBuckets(); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	// The live path: a send of the bus's machine's declaration carrying the user list (overTheBus.declare), which records
-	// the list sent and then writes the grants it issued.
-	legacy, err := conn.JetStream()
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	_ = js.DeleteStream(ctx, "GRANTS_DECLARED")
-	if _, err := js.CreateStream(ctx, jetstream.StreamConfig{Name: "GRANTS_DECLARED", Subjects: []string{link.DeclareSubject("anchor")}}); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = js.DeleteStream(context.Background(), "GRANTS_DECLARED") })
-	send := overTheBus{open: open, server: link.SendingOn(link.OverNATS{Conn: conn, JS: legacy}), signer: aSignerOfZeros{}}
-	ready := readyNode{node: "anchor", declared: sendable{BusUsers: "the user list the bus's machine is sent"}}
-	if _, err := send.declare(ctx, ready, []byte(`{}`)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("the send of the bus's machine: %v", err)
-	}
-	kv, err := js.KeyValue(ctx, broker.GrantsBucket)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	key, _ := sdkdelivery.ControllerGrantKey("mesh-x", fp)
-	e, err := kv.Get(ctx, key)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("no grant %s after the list was issued: %v", key, err)
-	}
-	g, err := sdkdelivery.DecodeControllerGrant(e.Value())
-	if err != nil || len(g.Accounts) != 1 || g.Accounts[0] != user {
-		t.Fatalf("the grant reads %+v, %v; want the account %s", g, err, user)
-	}
-	if _, err := send.declare(ctx, ready, []byte(`{}`)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("the second send: %v", err)
-	}
-	if again, _ := kv.Get(ctx, key); again.Revision() != e.Revision() {
-		t.Errorf("a second pass wrote the grant again (revision %d, was %d)", again.Revision(), e.Revision())
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/grants_step_test.go

@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/catalogue"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
 
 // The grants reach the bus before the gate (novox/hq issue 490).
@@ -174,3 +176,35 @@ func TestTheGrantsStepKeepsOneMachinesBuilds(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("the grants step keeps the builds of a machine it does not send")
 	}
 }
+
+// The delivery plan says the step before the merge.
+func TestAChangePlanSaysTheGrantsStep(t *testing.T) {
+	const catalogue_ = "http://forge.internal:20000/novox/mesh-catalog.git"
+	entry := func(name string, on ...string) inventory.Entry {
+		e := fromRepo(name, catalogue_, "modules/"+name)
+		e.Source.BuiltFrom = "old"
+		e.On = on
+		return e
+	}
+	nats := entry("nats", "novox")
+	nats.Manifest.BusUsers = "/etc/nats/users.conf"
+	nats.Manifest.Claims = []catalogue.Claim{{Name: catalogue.BrokerSeat, Scope: catalogue.ScopeMesh}}
+	restic := entry("restic", "ace", "novox", "shanks")
+	only := entry("bus-tools", "novox")
+	entries := []inventory.Entry{nats, restic, only}
+	rollsOut := func(string) (inventory.Upgrade, bool) { return inventory.Upgrade{RollOut: true}, true }
+	plan := func(paths ...string) link.ChangePlan {
+		m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "main", Commit: "head", Paths: paths}
+		return changePlanOf("novox/mesh-catalog", "main", "head", reachOfMerge(m, entries, nil, nil), entries, rollsOut)
+	}
+
+	text := planText(plan("modules/restic/module.json"))
+	if !strings.Contains(text, "grants step: if this changes what the bus's user list says (a new tool, subject or "+
+		"user), novox is sent that list alone, every build there kept, before restic is judged on its first machine") {
+		t.Errorf("the change plan does not say the grants step:\n%s", text)
+	}
+	// A module only on the bus's machine goes there with the list in its own send: no step of its own.
+	if text := planText(plan("modules/bus-tools/module.json")); strings.Contains(text, "grants step") {
+		t.Errorf("a module on the bus's machine alone reads:\n%s", text)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/grants_test.go

@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-	"time"
-
-	sdkdelivery "git.novox.be/novox/mesh-sdk/go/delivery"
-	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go/jetstream"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
-)
-
-func grantFP(c byte) string { return sdkdelivery.SourcePrefix2 + strings.Repeat(string(c), 64) }
-
-// 1394/AC (unit half): the list sent issues the credential of every module whose accounts all have a password, at the
-// fingerprint its build names; a module with an account the list leaves out, and one registered at a fingerprint not of
-// the new form, get no grant; a module with no account of its own is granted with none.
-func TestTheGrantsAListIssues(t *testing.T) {
-	x := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: "novox", Module: "mesh-x"}
-	xp := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindProcess, Node: "novox", Module: "mesh-x", Process: "run"}
-	y := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindModule, Node: "ace", Module: "mesh-y"}
-	node := broker.Principal{Kind: broker.KindNode, Node: "novox"}
-	hashes := map[string]string{x.Username(): "h1", xp.Username(): "h2", node.Username(): "h3"}
-	got := grantsFrom([]broker.Principal{x, xp, y, node}, hashes,
-		map[string]string{"mesh-x": grantFP('a'), "mesh-y": grantFP('b'), "web": grantFP('c'), "old": "src1:abc"})
-	xKey, _ := sdkdelivery.ControllerGrantKey("mesh-x", grantFP('a'))
-	webKey, _ := sdkdelivery.ControllerGrantKey("web", grantFP('c'))
-	if len(got) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("grants = %v, want mesh-x's and web's", got)
-	}
-	if g := got[xKey]; len(g.Accounts) != 2 || g.Accounts[0] != x.Username() && g.Accounts[1] != x.Username() {
-		t.Errorf("mesh-x's grant = %+v, want both its accounts", g)
-	}
-	if g, ok := got[webKey]; !ok || len(g.Accounts) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("web, with no account of its own, is granted %+v, %v", g, ok)
-	}
-}
-
-// fakeGrants is the grants bucket in memory.
-type fakeGrants struct {
-	values  map[string][]byte
-	creates int
-	updates int
-}
-
-type fakeEntry struct {
-	key   string
-	value []byte
-	rev   uint64
-}
-
-func (e fakeEntry) Bucket() string                  { return broker.GrantsBucket }
-func (e fakeEntry) Key() string                     { return e.key }
-func (e fakeEntry) Value() []byte                   { return e.value }
-func (e fakeEntry) Revision() uint64                { return e.rev }
-func (e fakeEntry) Created() time.Time              { return time.Time{} }
-func (e fakeEntry) Delta() uint64                   { return 0 }
-func (e fakeEntry) Operation() jetstream.KeyValueOp { return jetstream.KeyValuePut }
-
-func (f *fakeGrants) Get(_ context.Context, key string) (jetstream.KeyValueEntry, error) {
-	v, ok := f.values[key]
-	if !ok {
-		return nil, jetstream.ErrKeyNotFound
-	}
-	return fakeEntry{key: key, value: v, rev: 1}, nil
-}
-
-func (f *fakeGrants) Create(_ context.Context, key string, value []byte, _ ...jetstream.KVCreateOpt) (uint64, error) {
-	if _, ok := f.values[key]; ok {
-		return 0, jetstream.ErrKeyExists
-	}
-	f.values[key] = value
-	f.creates++
-	return 1, nil
-}
-
-func (f *fakeGrants) Update(_ context.Context, key string, value []byte, _ uint64) (uint64, error) {
-	f.values[key] = value
-	f.updates++
-	return 2, nil
-}
-
-// 1394/AC (unit half): a grant is created once; a second send of the same list writes nothing; a reissue for other
-// accounts is a new revision of the same key.
-func TestAGrantIsWrittenOnceAndMovedOnAReissue(t *testing.T) {
-	kv := &fakeGrants{values: map[string][]byte{}}
-	key, _ := sdkdelivery.ControllerGrantKey("mesh-x", grantFP('a'))
-	grants := map[string]sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant{key: {Accounts: []string{"novox.mesh-x"}}}
-	for range 2 {
-		if _, err := keepGrants(t.Context(), kv, grants); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-	if kv.creates != 1 || kv.updates != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("creates %d, updates %d, want one create", kv.creates, kv.updates)
-	}
-	grants[key] = sdkdelivery.ControllerGrant{Accounts: []string{"ace.mesh-x"}}
-	if wrote, err := keepGrants(t.Context(), kv, grants); err != nil || wrote != 1 || kv.updates != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("a reissue wrote %d (%v), updates %d", wrote, err, kv.updates)
-	}
-	if g, err := sdkdelivery.DecodeControllerGrant(kv.values[key]); err != nil || g.Accounts[0] != "ace.mesh-x" {
-		t.Errorf("the grant reads %+v, %v", g, err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/handacts.go

@@ -64,9 +64,6 @@ var handActVerbs = []handActVerb{
 	{Verb: "plans stop", Decision: "the operator's answer to an ask is their decision, not a repair (ADR 0259)",
 		DecidedFor: []string{conditions.CauseOperatorAnswer}},
 	{Verb: "plans close"},
-	// A module registered at references by hand, because the builder had no key for it (ADR 0526 clause 3): a repair
-	// the builder should have made, so it counts.
-	{Verb: "register"},
 	// A walk started by a person instead of its delivery's owner (novox/hq ADR 0239): the owner down, or
 	// not trusted with it — either is a repair the owner should have made. Unless the operator chose it on
 	// a warrant (ADR 0259).