Merge pull request 'Let the tool runner's account hear the event families its manifest names (issue 745, ADR 0367)' (#342) from 745-mesh-wait into main

A session on the mesh MCP server polls for every verdict, answer and delivery because the tool
runner's account hears no event. ADR 0367 lets the tool runner's module name, one by one, the
families a session may wait on: the manifest's `waits`, refused for any other module and for a
wildcard. The controller grants the runtime's account a plain subscription on those subjects
alone, makes no durable consumer for them, and issues the same list in the tool runner's
membership, so the grant and what `mesh_wait` offers come from one composition and no call or
setting widens it. A family on a seat whose events end in a kind or an asker must name it, and is
refused at composition without it, so it is never granted a subject nothing publishes on.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

RELEASE-57.md

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-# 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.

cmd/mesh-builder/main.go

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"os/signal"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
 
@@ -272,7 +273,12 @@ func answer(ctx context.Context, publisher builder.Publisher, on, workspace stri
 	// 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" {
@@ -313,20 +319,25 @@ func answer(ctx context.Context, publisher builder.Publisher, on, workspace stri
 			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,
-				Seats: request.Seats}
+				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)}
+				Head: v.Head, Trunk: v.Trunk, Beside: v.Beside, Built: checkBuiltOf(v.Built),
+				Release: v.Release, JudgedBy: v.JudgedBy, BesideAt: v.BesideAt, Validator: v.Validator}
 			// 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,
@@ -352,15 +363,7 @@ func answer(ctx context.Context, publisher builder.Publisher, on, workspace stri
 				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).
-			for _, b := range request.Reuse.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)
-				}
-				reuse.Named = append(reuse.Named, named)
-			}
+			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)
@@ -424,11 +427,6 @@ func answer(ctx context.Context, publisher builder.Publisher, on, workspace stri
 			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))
 		}
 	}
@@ -469,9 +467,9 @@ func checkSpecOf(request link.BuildRequest) builder.CheckSpec {
 		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}
+		Tests: c.Tests, StoreOnly: c.StoreOnly, Release: c.Release}
 	for dir, b := range c.Beside {
-		spec.Beside[dir] = builder.Beside{Repository: b.Repository, Ref: b.Ref}
+		spec.Beside[dir] = builder.Beside{Repository: b.Repository, Ref: b.Ref, Else: b.Else}
 	}
 	for _, b := range c.Builds {
 		spec.Builds = append(spec.Builds, builder.CheckBuildSpec{Module: b.Module, Repository: b.Repository, Path: b.Path,
@@ -484,6 +482,11 @@ func checkSpecOf(request link.BuildRequest) builder.CheckSpec {
 	return spec
 }
 
+// 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 {
@@ -501,11 +504,28 @@ func triedOf(v builder.CheckVerdict) link.Tried {
 	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()}
+		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})
 		}

cmd/mesh-builder/release_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// **A pull request into a release branch reaches the check as one** (novox/hq ADR 0358): the build seat hands the
+// check the release branch and, beside it, the trunk each repository is read at when it has no branch of that name;
+// and it hands the check the judge cache the build agent declares (MESH_JUDGE_CACHE), never a path of its own.
+func TestTheBuildSeatHandsTheCheckItsReleaseBranch(t *testing.T) {
+	spec := checkSpecOf(link.BuildRequest{ID: "b", Repository: "r", Ref: "abc", Check: &link.CheckRequest{
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Base: "feat/57", Release: "feat/57",
+		Beside: map[string]link.CheckedOut{"mesh-host": {Repository: "h", Ref: "feat/57", Else: "main"}}}})
+	if spec.Release != "feat/57" || spec.Beside["mesh-host"].Ref != "feat/57" || spec.Beside["mesh-host"].Else != "main" {
+		t.Fatalf("the check was handed release %q and mesh-host %+v", spec.Release, spec.Beside["mesh-host"])
+	}
+	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)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/acting.go

@@ -26,8 +26,11 @@ import (
 //
 //   - **The serving controller** takes it before it does anything else — before it asserts the bus's
 //     objects, which are the controller's to write — waiting while another holds it, and renews it.
-//     A renewal refused or failed is the lease lost: the gate closes at once and the process exits, so
-//     its service manager restarts it as a candidate (serve, in push.go).
+//     Another holder seen, or the key's age passed with no renewal made, is the lease lost: the gate
+//     closes at once and the process exits, so its service manager restarts it as a candidate (serve,
+//     in push.go). A renewal the bus does not answer in time is not a loss (novox/hq issue 477): the
+//     lease is kept, no new act starts once half the key's age passed unrenewed, and the next renewal
+//     made opens the gate again.
 //   - **A command run at a shell** — `push` in the installer, the lab, a person repairing a mesh whose
 //     controller is down (issue 201) — acts **under the holder's epoch** when a controller holds the
 //     lease: it is the same mesh's word, composed and sent under the store's hold of each machine like

cmd/mesh-controller/addresses_test.go

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func TestTheRegistryTrustAndEveryImageFollowThePortTheNodeGaveTheStore(t *testin
 	}
 
 	// And a replay to the catalogue says where the store is now.
-	announced, err := following{open}.Announceable(ctx)
+	announced, err := following{open: open}.Announceable(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/adoption.go

@@ -424,9 +424,8 @@ func comparisonOf(module string, c comparison, opts takeOptions) (preview string
 	}
 	// And its settings on this machine, composed against its definition (rule 1, rule 6).
 	for _, layer := range c.layers {
-		said := layer.Whole()
-		keys := make([]string, 0, len(said))
-		for k := range said {
+		keys := make([]string, 0, len(layer.Values))
+		for k := range layer.Values {
 			keys = append(keys, k)
 		}
 		sort.Strings(keys)

cmd/mesh-controller/batches.go

@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ func spelledOf(m inventory.BatchedMerge) string {
 func namedOf(m inventory.BatchedMerge, repository string) inventory.PlanMerge {
 	k := announcedOf(m)
 	return inventory.PlanMerge{Repository: repository, Commit: m.Commit, Number: k.Number, Title: k.Title, Moves: k.Moves,
-		Merged: m.Merged, Heard: m.Heard}
+		Head: k.HeadSHA, Merged: m.Merged, Heard: m.Heard}
 }
 
 // laterMerge says a was merged after b: by the forge's merge time, then by when each was heard.
@@ -1000,10 +1000,15 @@ func planBatch(ctx context.Context, open *stores, batch *inventory.Plan, carry [
 	plan.Delivery.Merges = named
 	plan.Delivery.Alone = batch.Delivery != nil && batch.Delivery.Alone
 	plan.Delivery.Withheld = withheld
+	// **Left where it is, a module whose program did not change** (novox/hq issue 721): its check found it the same as
+	// the build the mesh holds.
+	for n, why := range leaveSameAsRunning(ctx, inv, &plan, moved, append(append([]inventory.Edge{}, edges...), ordered...)) {
+		unchanged[n] = why
+	}
 	plan.Delivery.Unchanged = unchangedLeft(unchanged, plan.Modules)
 	// **Its moments and its class** (novox/hq ADR 0282 decision 6): measured, never acted on.
 	plan.Times = walkTimesAtCut(*batch, plan, entries, now)
-	if len(moved) == 0 {
+	if len(moved) == 0 || len(plan.Modules) == 0 {
 		plan.State = inventory.PlanDone
 		plan.Tiers = [][]string{}
 		plan.Note = "moved nothing the mesh holds: nothing to walk"
@@ -1044,7 +1049,7 @@ func planBatch(ctx context.Context, open *stores, batch *inventory.Plan, carry [
 		return nil
 	}
 	// Written and its first tier asked as one act on the plans (novox/hq issue 213), under the caller's hold.
-	if err := askTier(ctx, inv, &plan); err != nil {
+	if err := askTier(ctx, inv, &plan, plan.Tiers[plan.Tier]); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &plan); err != nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/batches_test.go

@@ -758,7 +758,7 @@ func TestTheCatchUpKeepsWhatACutMadeHistory(t *testing.T) {
 		return entries, read, err
 	}
 	if err := catchUpOnMerges(ctx, time.Now(), unheardMerges{announcedList(lost), open.inventory}, catalogued,
-		(following{open}).SourceMoved, t.Logf); err != nil {
+		(following{open: open}).SourceMoved, t.Logf); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 	got, _ := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, w.ID)

cmd/mesh-controller/build.go

@@ -183,10 +183,8 @@ func buildFrom(result link.BuildResult) inventory.Build {
 	kept.Manifest = recordedManifest(result.Manifest, announced)
 	// The module name comes from the manifest, which only exists when the build got that far.
 	if len(kept.Manifest) > 0 {
-		if list, err := judgedWith(result); err == nil {
-			if m, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith(kept.Manifest, list); err == nil {
-				kept.Module = m.Module
-			}
+		if m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(kept.Manifest); err == nil {
+			kept.Module = m.Module
 		}
 	}
 	return kept
@@ -605,11 +603,6 @@ func saysWhenThePolicyActs(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, module
 // written with the same values.
 func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResult) (
 	catalogue.Manifest, inventory.Build, error) {
-	// The list of predefined keys as the store keeps it now: another controller process may have kept a newer one.
-	if err := loadPredefined(ctx, inv); err != nil {
-		return catalogue.Manifest{}, inventory.Build{}, fmt.Errorf("the list of predefined keys kept cannot be "+
-			"read: %w", err)
-	}
 	kept := buildFrom(result)
 	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, kept); err != nil {
 		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, err
@@ -620,15 +613,7 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s could not build %s:\n%s",
 			result.On, result.Repository, result.Failed)
 	}
-	// Judged first against the list the build was judged against: the catalogue's at the commit built (novox/hq
-	// ADR 0348 §7), so a module naming a key its own commit adds is read; and again below against the list the
-	// mesh publishes, before it is registered.
-	list, err := judgedWith(result)
-	if err != nil {
-		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: %w", result.On,
-			result.Repository, short(result.Commit), err)
-	}
-	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith(kept.Manifest, list)
+	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(kept.Manifest)
 	if err != nil {
 		return catalogue.Manifest{}, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s and what came back is not a manifest: %w",
 			result.On, result.Repository, err)
@@ -702,23 +687,6 @@ func takeIn(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResu
 			"back: it is recorded and not registered again — a newer build is", result.On, manifest.Module,
 			short(result.Commit))
 	}
-	// **The newest trunk build's list of predefined keys is published** (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7): a build of the
-	// catalogue that may be registered keeps its list when its commit is newer than the one kept. Then the module
-	// is judged against the list the mesh publishes, as every manifest read again is: one naming a key that list
-	// does not hold, or of another type, is refused here and never enters the catalogue.
-	if carried, err := carriedList(result); err != nil {
-		return manifest, kept, err
-	} else if carried != nil {
-		if err := publishPredefined(ctx, inv, result, carried); err != nil {
-			fmt.Printf("%s: the list of predefined keys it carried is not published: %v\n", result.ID, err)
-		}
-	}
-	if manifest.NamesPredefined() {
-		if _, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(kept.Manifest); err != nil {
-			return manifest, kept, fmt.Errorf("%s built %s (%s), recorded and not registered: judged against the "+
-				"list of predefined keys the mesh publishes, %w", result.On, manifest.Module, short(result.Commit), err)
-		}
-	}
 	// **A build whose source is unchanged is never a move** (novox/hq issue 280): a rebuild made from
 	// what the build the mesh stands on was made from registers that build's artifacts at the new
 	// commit, so no machine is sent a new digest for a source nobody changed — an image is not
@@ -931,6 +899,34 @@ type answers struct {
 //
 // Routed through the artifact store as the network reaches it now (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/102): a
 // base is recorded by digest and path, and a build machine needs something it can pull.
+// runningBy is, keyed "<module>/<artifact>", each artifact of the build the mesh has registered for its module, as a
+// builder reaches the artifact store (novox/hq issue 721): what a check compares its builds with. Empty when it cannot
+// be read, said, and then nothing is said unchanged.
+func runningBy(ctx context.Context) map[string]string {
+	open, err := openStores(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not read what this mesh runs, so the check compares nothing: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; a check given nothing to compare with says no module unchanged, and all move
+		return nil
+	}
+	defer open.Close()
+	running, err := open.inventory.RegisteredHeld(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "could not read what this mesh runs, so the check compares nothing: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; a check given nothing to compare with says no module unchanged, and all move
+		return nil
+	}
+	address, err := whereABuilderReachesTheStore(ctx, open.inventory)
+	if err != nil || address == "" {
+		return running
+	}
+	routed := make(map[string]string, len(running))
+	for key, reference := range running {
+		routed[key] = catalogue.Rerouted(reference, address)
+	}
+	return routed
+}
+
 func heldBy(ctx context.Context) map[string]string {
 	open, err := openStores(ctx)
 	if err != nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/bus_users_closed_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// **Every user's slow consumer is S9's, not the controller's alone** (novox/hq ADR 0357, issue 270). On
+// 2026-10-07 the bus closed two clients on the laptop as slow consumers and nothing raised a condition:
+// the controller heard only its own connection. Said by the bus module and read back, a user the bus
+// closes is one condition naming the module and its machine, raised at the first look and cleared an hour
+// after the last closure.
+func TestAUserTheBusClosedAsASlowConsumerIsOneConditionNamingItsModuleAndMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	closed := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	now := closed.Add(20 * time.Second)
+	store := conditions.NewInMemory()
+	k := conditions.NewKeeper(t.Context(), conditions.Options{Store: store, History: store,
+		Teller: &conditions.Told{}, Now: func() time.Time { return now }})
+	t.Cleanup(func() { k.Close(t.Context()) })
+
+	advisories := link.BusClosures([]link.BusClosure{
+		{User: "laptop.claude-code", CID: 10, Reason: "Slow Consumer (Write Deadline)", Opened: closed.Add(-time.Hour),
+			Closed: closed.Add(-10 * time.Minute)},
+		{User: "laptop.claude-code", CID: 44, Reason: "Slow Consumer (Write Deadline)", Opened: closed.Add(-time.Minute),
+			Closed: closed},
+		{User: "anchor.desk", CID: 7, Reason: "Maximum Message Payload Exceeded", Opened: closed.Add(-time.Hour),
+			Closed: closed},
+	}, []string{link.AdvisorySlowConsumer, link.AdvisorySlowConsumer, link.AdvisoryConnectionClosed}, closed.Add(-time.Hour))
+	look := func() {
+		t.Helper()
+		f := &signalFacts{now: now, host: "anchor", advisories: advisories}
+		if err := k.Reconcile(t.Context(), "S9", watchAdvisories(f)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	look()
+
+	slow, found, err := conditions.ReadOne(t.Context(), store, "bus.laptop.claude-code.slow-consumer")
+	if err != nil || !found {
+		t.Fatalf("no slow-consumer condition for the user: %v %v", found, err)
+	}
+	if slow.Subject.Machine != "laptop" || slow.Observations != 2 || !slow.LastObserved.Equal(closed) {
+		t.Fatalf("the slow consumer is said on %q, %d closure(s), last %s: %+v", slow.Subject.Machine, slow.Observations,
+			slow.LastObserved, slow)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(slow.Summary, "claude-code on laptop") || strings.Contains(slow.Summary, "laptop.claude-code") {
+		t.Fatalf("the summary does not name the module in words, or carries the dotted user: %q", slow.Summary)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(slow.Headline, "Claude-code on laptop") {
+		t.Fatalf("the headline is %q", slow.Headline)
+	}
+	cut, found, err := conditions.ReadOne(t.Context(), store, "bus.anchor.desk.connection-closed")
+	if err != nil || !found || cut.Subject.Machine != "anchor" || !strings.Contains(cut.Summary, "maximum message payload exceeded") {
+		t.Fatalf("the user cut off for breaking the bus's rules: %v %v %+v", found, err, cut)
+	}
+
+	// An hour after the newest closure without another, both clear.
+	now = closed.Add(time.Hour + time.Minute)
+	look()
+	for _, key := range []string{"bus.laptop.claude-code.slow-consumer", "bus.anchor.desk.connection-closed"} {
+		if _, found, _ := k.Get(t.Context(), key); found {
+			t.Fatalf("%s is still open an hour after the last closure", key)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// **A read of the bus module's events that fails does not blind S9** (review of #326): the controller's own
+// signals are still said, and the failed read is a condition of its own.
+func TestABusModuleReadThatFailsKeepsTheControllersOwnSignals(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	f := &signalFacts{now: at.Add(time.Minute), host: "anchor",
+		advisories: []link.Advisory{{Kind: link.AdvisorySlowConsumer, ID: "controller", Said: "the controller fell behind",
+			First: at, Last: at, Count: 1}},
+		busFaultsErr: errors.New("nats: timeout")}
+	keys := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, o := range watchAdvisories(f) {
+		keys[o.Key()] = true
+	}
+	if !keys["bus.controller.slow-consumer"] || !keys["bus.bus-module.bus-faults-unread"] {
+		t.Fatalf("observed %v: the controller's own slow consumer and the unread events, both", keys)
+	}
+	for _, row := range signalsTable {
+		if row.Row == "S9" && row.needs(f) != nil {
+			t.Fatal("the S9 row went blind for a read of the bus module's events")
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/busobjects.go

@@ -60,9 +60,19 @@ func assertBusObjects(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, r broker.Ra
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	// And every module's own stream (novox/hq ADR 0363), from the catalogue, before the consumers on it.
+	modStreams, err := inv.DeclaredStreams(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
 	// Every one tried, and every failure named: one module's consumer the bus refuses is no reason
 	// the modules after it in the list hear nothing (novox/hq issue 208, where this runs on each send).
 	var failed []error
+	for _, s := range broker.ModuleStreams(modStreams) {
+		if err := r.EnsureStream(s); err != nil {
+			failed = append(failed, fmt.Errorf("the module stream %s: %w", s.Name, err))
+		}
+	}
 	for _, s := range trafficStreams {
 		if err := r.EnsureStream(s); err != nil {
 			failed = append(failed, fmt.Errorf("the work queue %s: %w", s.Name, err))
@@ -73,11 +83,30 @@ func assertBusObjects(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, r broker.Ra
 			failed = append(failed, fmt.Errorf("the worker %s on %s: %w", c.Name, c.Stream, err))
 		}
 	}
+	restricted := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range modStreams {
+		restricted[s.Name] = s.Restricted
+	}
 	for _, c := range consumers {
-		if err := r.EnsureConsumer(c.Consumer); err != nil {
+		if err := broker.EnsureHeard(r, c.Consumer, restricted[c.Consumer.Stream]); err != nil {
 			failed = append(failed, fmt.Errorf("how %s on %s hears what it consumes: %w", c.Module, c.Node, err))
 		}
 	}
+	// **And a consumer no longer granted loses what it reads through** (novox/hq ADR 0363 §6): every consumer
+	// on a module's stream the composition no longer asks for is removed, on this very send.
+	if p, prunes := r.(broker.Pruner); prunes && len(modStreams) > 0 {
+		var wanted []broker.Consumer
+		for _, c := range consumers {
+			wanted = append(wanted, c.Consumer)
+		}
+		removed, err := broker.PruneHeard(p, modStreams, wanted)
+		if err != nil {
+			failed = append(failed, err)
+		}
+		for _, gone := range removed {
+			fmt.Printf("  removed the consumer %s: its module is no longer granted that stream (novox/hq ADR 0363)\n", gone)
+		}
+	}
 	if len(failed) > 0 {
 		return nil, errors.Join(failed...)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/check.go

@@ -47,24 +47,6 @@ func moduleCheckFor(paths []string, longestMachine int, out io.Writer) error {
 	shelf := catalogue.Shelf{}
 	faulted := map[string]bool{}
 	failed := 0
-	// The list of predefined keys at the root of the repository above each manifest (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7), read
-	// once per repository: a manifest naming a key is judged against the list its own tree holds.
-	lists := map[string]catalogue.PredefinedList{}
-	listOf := func(path string) (catalogue.PredefinedList, error) {
-		root := catalogue.RepositoryRoot(filepath.Dir(path))
-		if root == "" {
-			return nil, nil
-		}
-		if list, read := lists[root]; read {
-			return list, nil
-		}
-		list, err := catalogue.ReadPredefined(root)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		lists[root] = list
-		return list, nil
-	}
 	for _, path := range paths {
 		raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -72,18 +54,7 @@ func moduleCheckFor(paths []string, longestMachine int, out io.Writer) error {
 			failed++
 			continue
 		}
-		list, err := listOf(path)
-		if err != nil {
-			fmt.Fprintf(out, "%s: %v\n", path, err)
-			failed++
-			continue
-		}
-		m, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith(raw, list)
-		if err == nil {
-			// Each template's text read from the tree beside the manifest, and judged as inline content is
-			// (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2): a missing template is refused by name.
-			m, err = catalogue.WithTemplatesFrom(m, filepath.Dir(path))
-		}
+		m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw)
 		if err != nil {
 			fmt.Fprintf(out, "%s: %v\n", path, err)
 			failed++

cmd/mesh-controller/check_builds_test.go

@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ func TestAWalksBuildSaysWhetherItReusedOrBuilt(t *testing.T) {
 // build as it judges one the walk built. A scratch reference is refused. Needs the store (MESH_TEST_POSTGRES), and
 // is named in testdata/store-tests.
 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
@@ -190,27 +191,90 @@ func TestAReusedCheckBuildIsRegisteredByItsDigestAndGatedAsABuiltOne(t *testing.
 	}
 }
 
-// A walk's leave names the builds its own pull requests' verdicts made, and none when they cannot be read: the
-// builder takes nothing a verdict does not name (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2).
+// 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
-	t.Cleanup(func() { checkedBuildsOf = was })
-	var asked []link.PullRef
-	named := []link.CheckedBuild{{Pull: link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}, Check: "build-1",
-		Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "app", Key: "r1:1"}}}
+	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 = pulls
-		return named, nil
+		asked = append(asked, pulls)
+		return []link.CheckedBuild{atHead, earlier}, nil
 	}
-	pulls := []link.PullRef{{Owner: "novox", Repo: "shop", Number: 7}}
-	if got := reuseWithVerdicts(t.Context(), &link.ReuseAsk{Pulls: pulls}); !reflect.DeepEqual(got.Builds, named) ||
-		!reflect.DeepEqual(asked, pulls) {
-		t.Fatalf("the leave names %+v, read for %+v", got.Builds, asked)
+	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(), &link.ReuseAsk{Pulls: pulls}); got.Builds != nil {
+	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/checks.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"path"
 	"regexp"
@@ -188,6 +189,8 @@ func (f following) PullUpdated(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated) error {
 	if err := ask.Ask(ctx, request); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
+	// A new head ends the check of the old one (novox/hq issue 726).
+	endingSupersededChecks(ctx, seat, p, request.ID, f.oneShot)
 	what := "its own merge-check.sh alone: " + noModuleTouched
 	if scope.gated() {
 		what = fmt.Sprintf("the gate over %s (a merge would build %d module(s) in %d tier(s))",
@@ -248,31 +251,16 @@ func checkRequestFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p link.PullUpdated, scop
 	if err != nil {
 		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
 	}
-	// Beside it, at what the mesh runs: each core repository by the module the mesh builds from it.
-	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 link.BuildRequest{}, err
-		}
-		refs := besideRefs(dir, current[e.Manifest.Module].Commit)
-		beside[dir] = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs[dir]}
-		if dir == "mesh-controller" {
-			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]}
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}
+	// **A pull request into a release branch is judged by that branch** (novox/hq ADR 0358): asked of the forge once.
+	release, err := releaseBranchOf(ctx, p, scope, entries)
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
 	}
+	beside, err := besideOf(entries, func(module string) string { return current[module].Commit }, clone, release)
+	if err != nil {
+		return link.BuildRequest{}, err
+	}
+	builds := checkBuildsOf(p, scope, entries, clone)
 	return link.BuildRequest{
 		ID:         link.NewBuildID(time.Now()),
 		Repository: repository,
@@ -282,10 +270,188 @@ func checkRequestFor(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p link.PullUpdated, scop
 		Source:     sourceOnSeat(source),
 		Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: p.Owner, Repo: p.Repo, Number: p.Number, Base: p.Base,
 			Paths: p.Paths, Beside: beside, Modules: scope.Modules, Dependents: scope.Dependents, New: scope.New,
-			Manifests: scope.Manifests, Judge: scope.Judge, Builds: checkBuildsOf(p, scope, entries, clone)},
+			Manifests: scope.Manifests, Judge: scope.Judge, Builds: builds, Named: namedForTheCheck(ctx, p, builds),
+			Release: release, Running: runningBy(ctx)},
 	}, nil
 }
 
+// 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 — or, for a pull request into a release branch (novox/hq ADR
+// 0358 §3), at its branch of that name where it has one and at its trunk otherwise, the controller's main kept for
+// its judge, and mesh-lab at its trunk whatever the base: its replays run with the container runtime's socket. 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), release string) (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))
+		at := func(dir, trunk string) link.CheckedOut {
+			if release == "" {
+				return link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs[dir]}
+			}
+			if trunk == "" {
+				trunk = "main"
+			}
+			return link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: release, Else: trunk}
+		}
+		beside[dir] = at(dir, followedBranch(e.Source.Ref))
+		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 release != "" {
+				// mesh-controller has the release branch: that is what makes it one (ADR 0358 §1).
+				beside[dir] = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: release}
+			}
+			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 {
+						b := link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: refs[sibling]}
+						// **mesh-lab is read at its trunk, always** (ADR 0358): its replays run with the container
+						// runtime's socket, so they are only ever reviewed code — never a branch anyone may create.
+						if release != "" && sibling != "mesh-lab" {
+							b = link.CheckedOut{Repository: url, Ref: release, Else: "main"}
+						}
+						beside[sibling] = b
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return beside, nil
+}
+
+// releaseBranchOf is the release branch a pull request merges into (novox/hq ADR 0358 §1): its base, when that is not
+// its repository's trunk and mesh-controller has a branch of that name; empty otherwise, and the pull request is
+// checked as before it. **A base that is a trunk asks nothing**: the branch a module built from the repository follows
+// (main when it records none), or mesh-controller's own trunk. Any other base is asked of the forge once, and an
+// answer it cannot give is an error, never read as "no release branch".
+func releaseBranchOf(ctx context.Context, p link.PullUpdated, scope checkScope, entries []inventory.Entry) (string, error) {
+	base := p.Base
+	if base == "" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	if scope.From != nil && base == trunkOf(scope.From.Source) {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	var controller *inventory.Entry
+	for i, e := range entries {
+		if e.Manifest.Module == "mesh-controller" && !e.Provided && e.Source.Repository != "" {
+			controller = &entries[i]
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if controller == nil || base == trunkOf(controller.Source) {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	if !tryRef.MatchString(base) || strings.Contains(base, "..") {
+		return "", nil // no branch the forge could hold: checked as before
+	}
+	owner, repo := sourceOwner(controller.Source.Repository), sourceName(controller.Source.Repository)
+	if owner == "" || repo == "" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	has, err := forgeHasBranch(ctx, owner, repo, base)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("whether %s/%s#%d merges into a release branch cannot be told — the forge did not say "+
+			"whether %s/%s has a branch %s (novox/hq ADR 0358): %w", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, owner, repo, base, err)
+	}
+	if !has {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	return base, 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]
+}
+
+// forgeHasBranch asks the forge, through its module's tools on the bus, whether a repository has a branch. A
+// variable so a test needs no forge.
+var forgeHasBranch = func(ctx context.Context, owner, repo, branch string) (bool, error) {
+	js, err := aBus()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"path": "/repos/" + owner + "/" + repo + "/branches/" + branch})
+	answer, err := link.Ask(ctx, link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}, "gitea", "gitea_api", raw, 30*time.Second)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return branchAnswered(answer, branch)
+}
+
+// branchAnswered reads the forge's answer about a branch: a 404 is "no such branch"; an answer naming the branch is
+// "it has it"; anything else — another error, an unreadable answer, one naming no branch or another — is an error,
+// never read as "no release branch".
+func branchAnswered(answer link.Answer, branch string) (bool, error) {
+	if answer.Error != "" {
+		if strings.Contains(answer.Error, " 404 ") {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+		return false, errors.New(answer.Error)
+	}
+	var found struct {
+		Result struct {
+			Name string `json:"name"`
+		} `json:"result"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(answer.Result, &found); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("the forge's answer about branch %s cannot be read: %w", branch, err)
+	}
+	if found.Result.Name != branch {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("the forge answered about branch %s naming %q", branch, found.Result.Name)
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+// 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
@@ -432,6 +598,8 @@ func checkedOf(result link.BuildResult) link.Checked {
 		// 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.Release, c.JudgedBy, c.BesideAt = result.Check.Release, result.Check.JudgedBy, result.Check.BesideAt
+		c.Validator = result.Check.Validator
 		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}

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery.go

@@ -952,7 +952,7 @@ func deliveryCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		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.
-			if err := sayingOnTheBus(ctx, inv, func() error { return (following{open}).PullUpdated(ctx, members[0].pull()) }); err != nil {
+			if err := sayingOnTheBus(ctx, inv, func() error { return (following{open: open, oneShot: true}).PullUpdated(ctx, members[0].pull()) }); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 			return answer(map[string]any{"rechecked": members[0].ID})

cmd/mesh-controller/desk_secret.go

@@ -67,9 +67,6 @@ type deskGive struct {
 	// nil keeps no record (a test that does not look). end closes it with how it ended.
 	open func(node, module, name, desk string) (int64, error)
 	end  func(id int64, outcome string) error
-	// vault, when set, is the path of a module whose secrets are filled the new way (vault_secrets.go): the vault
-	// records the ask, holds its bounds and opens what is typed; open, end and accept are not used.
-	vault vaultAsker
 }
 
 // askedByName is the caller as the prompt names it: the first clause of what the bus said, in the characters
@@ -136,9 +133,6 @@ func (d deskGive) give(node, module, name, desk string) (string, error) {
 				"bus, where an agent may answer first (novox/hq ADR 0259 §10)", module, name, node, module, name)
 		}
 	}
-	if d.vault != nil {
-		return d.giveToVault(node, module, name, desk)
-	}
 	// The bounds, read and kept before anybody is asked to type (novox/hq ADR 0277): one open prompt per secret,
 	// few an hour. How the ask ends is recorded whatever happens below.
 	outcome := "failed"
@@ -281,11 +275,6 @@ func askAtDesk(ctx context.Context, node, module, name, desk string) error {
 		},
 		announce: func(node, module, name, how string) error { return announceSecretGiven(ctx, node, module, name, how) },
 	}
-	// A module whose secrets are filled the new way is asked for by the vault (ADR 0349 clause 9); every other
-	// keeps today's path (clause 17).
-	if secretsOfTheVault(module) {
-		d.vault = theVault(ctx)
-	}
 	words, err := d.give(node, module, name, desk)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

cmd/mesh-controller/facts.go

@@ -348,11 +348,11 @@ func gatherFacts(ctx context.Context, open *stores, busVersion string) (snapshot
 				if layer.From == catalogue.MeshWideLayer {
 					if !meshWide[module] {
 						meshWide[module] = true
-						f.Settings = append(f.Settings, snapshot.Settings{Module: module, Values: scrub.Values(layer.Whole())})
+						f.Settings = append(f.Settings, snapshot.Settings{Module: module, Values: scrub.Values(layer.Values)})
 					}
 					continue
 				}
-				m.Settings = append(m.Settings, snapshot.Settings{Module: module, Values: scrub.Values(layer.Whole())})
+				m.Settings = append(m.Settings, snapshot.Settings{Module: module, Values: scrub.Values(layer.Values)})
 			}
 		}
 		m.Declaration = declarationFacts(ctx, open, n.Name, gens, gensErr, scrub)

cmd/mesh-controller/found_wait_test.go

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ func foundDirectory(module string, since time.Time) inventory.ResourceHealth {
 }
 
 func TestADirectoryFoundBeforeTheSendIsAWaitForAPerson(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	now := time.Now()
 	sent := now.Add(-time.Minute)
 	f := gateFacts{now: now, health: map[string]inventory.NodeHealth{"laptop": {Node: "laptop", HeardAt: now,
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ func TestADirectoryFoundBeforeTheSendIsAWaitForAPerson(t *testing.T) {
 // The whole walk: a module whose directory was used as found long before still gets its fix to every machine,
 // its pass kept and the wait said; a directory this very send found holds it and puts it back.
 func TestAFixGoesThroughPastADirectoryFoundBefore(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		name   string
 		found  time.Duration // when the directory was found, against now
@@ -116,6 +118,7 @@ func TestAFixGoesThroughPastADirectoryFoundBefore(t *testing.T) {
 
 // The condition says the wait in its own kind: the operator's, never urgent, and cleared once handed over.
 func TestADirectoryUsedAsFoundIsItsOwnCondition(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	k, _ := withConditionsInMemory(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	rs := map[string][]inventory.ResourceHealth{"notes": {foundDirectory("notes", time.Now().Add(-time.Hour))}}

cmd/mesh-controller/gate_followup_test.go

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ func healthyContainer(module string) inventory.ResourceHealth {
 // tools' witness put its build back at once, and the send waits for the healthy module's own verdict — a pass,
 // counted over the gate's spacing — before it says its own. The broken one alone is put back.
 func TestAFaultBeforeTheSettleTimeWaitsForTheModuleBesideIt(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -99,6 +100,7 @@ const broker_runtime = "node-tools"
 // **A pass is counted only the gate's spacing after the one before** (review (c)): a send judged every tick
 // while a module beside it is not yet healthy counts the healthy one once.
 func TestAPassIsCountedNoFasterThanTheGatesSpacing(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	withGateBounds(t, time.Hour, time.Hour, time.Hour)
@@ -123,6 +125,7 @@ func TestAPassIsCountedNoFasterThanTheGatesSpacing(t *testing.T) {
 
 // **A carried build's pass carries its own wait, never another's** (review (e)).
 func TestACarriedPassCarriesOnlyItsOwnWait(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := b.open.inventory
@@ -147,6 +150,7 @@ func TestACarriedPassCarriesOnlyItsOwnWait(t *testing.T) {
 // carried its own module, healthy, and a build waiting on that machine that never became healthy. At the
 // bound the waiting one is put back and marked; the plan's own module keeps its pass, so no walk waits on it.
 func TestThePlansOwnModuleKeepsItsPassWhenItsSendFails(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
@@ -227,6 +231,7 @@ func TestThePlansOwnModuleKeepsItsPassWhenItsSendFails(t *testing.T) {
 // **A provider waiting for a login says who waits on it** (review (g)): its consumer, failing a check that
 // needs it, is held under it, and the provider's relogin-needed condition lists it and is urgent.
 func TestAProviderWaitingForALoginSaysWhoWaitsOnIt(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
@@ -289,6 +294,7 @@ func TestAProviderWaitingForALoginSaysWhoWaitsOnIt(t *testing.T) {
 // tools are marked and put back in the very judging that found them broken — their registered build is the
 // one before, and the laptop is sent it — while `app` goes on being judged, recovers, and keeps its own pass.
 func TestABrokenModuleIsPutBackAtOnceAndTheOneBesideItGetsItsOwnVerdict(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -431,6 +437,7 @@ func TestABrokenModuleIsPutBackAtOnceAndTheOneBesideItGetsItsOwnVerdict(t *testi
 // **A move from a build not known excuses no wait** (issue 318 review): a plan's own module whose previous
 // build was not recorded, or whose previous manifest is not kept, cannot be shown to have added the group.
 func TestAMoveFromAnUnknownBuildExcusesNoWait(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory

cmd/mesh-controller/gate_test.go

@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ func aGateMesh(t *testing.T) *gateMesh {
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
 	g := &gateMesh{open: open, health: map[string]health{}}
+	// The gate's own tests judge a first machine, as walks a controller before novox/hq ADR 0360 started still are.
+	wasGated := gateFirstMachine
+	gateFirstMachine = true
+	t.Cleanup(func() { gateFirstMachine = wasGated })
 	g.keeper, _ = withConditionsInMemory(t)
 	g.told = &conditions.Told{}
 	was := doctorFrom
@@ -271,6 +275,34 @@ func TestABuildThatPassesItsGateRollsEverywhereUnattended(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// A build rolls everywhere with no hand and no gate (novox/hq ADR 0360 §1): both machines in one send, no health
+// judged, and the walk done once both reported on the send. Before, anchor was judged first, then laptop sent.
+func TestABuildRollsToEveryMachineAtOnceWithNoGate(t *testing.T) {
+	g := aGateMesh(t)
+	gateFirstMachine = false
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	judged := false
+	wasGather := gatherGateFacts
+	gatherGateFacts = func(ctx context.Context, open *stores, component string) (gateFacts, error) {
+		judged = true
+		return wasGather(ctx, open, component)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { gatherGateFacts = wasGather })
+	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
+		advancePlans(ctx, g.open)
+	}
+	p := g.plan(t)
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(g.sent, [][]string{{"anchor", "laptop"}}) {
+		t.Fatalf("sent %v, not both machines in one send", g.sent)
+	}
+	if s := p.Modules["app"]; p.State != inventory.PlanDone || s.Gate != nil || s.FirstAt != nil || judged {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan is %s (%s), app %+v, judged %v", p.State, p.Note, s, judged)
+	}
+	if obs, err := probeGates(ctx, doctorFrom); err != nil || len(obs) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a rolled build left a condition: %+v %v", obs, err)
+	}
+}
+
 // A leaf module passes its gate on one reading, as soon as its first machine is healthy, without waiting out the
 // core's settle time (novox/hq ADR 0282 decision 4 as ADR 0304 decision 3 changed it, issue 524).
 func TestALeafModulePassesOnOneHealthyReading(t *testing.T) {

cmd/mesh-controller/issue352_test.go

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 // another send reaches anchor, unreported; the gate still passes. And a send that moves a judged module
 // to another build supersedes the judging: no verdict, nothing put back.
 func TestReplay352(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	t.Run("a newer send to the judged machine does not unreport the gate's", testANewerSendDoesNotUnreportTheGatesOwn)
 	t.Run("a send that moves the module supersedes the judging", testASendThatMovesTheModuleSupersedesTheJudging)
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ func testANewerSendDoesNotUnreportTheGatesOwn(t *testing.T) {
 
 // A plan's own first send waits while a release judges the same module on that machine with another build.
 func TestAPlansFirstSendWaitsForAReleaseJudgingTheModuleThere(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -82,6 +84,7 @@ func TestAPlansFirstSendWaitsForAReleaseJudgingTheModuleThere(t *testing.T) {
 
 // A merge plan's judging is superseded the same way: another send moved its module on the first machine.
 func TestAPlansJudgingIsSupersededByASendThatMovesItsModule(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	g := aGateMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -140,6 +143,7 @@ func testASendThatMovesTheModuleSupersedesTheJudging(t *testing.T) {
 // A report is on the gate's own send: the declaration itself, or one sequenced after it; a gate kept
 // without its send reads the report against the send made last, as before. Pure.
 func TestAReportIsHeldAgainstTheGatesOwnSend(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	sent := inventory.SentDeclaration{Digest: "d-490", Sequence: 490}
 	for _, c := range []struct {
 		r    inventory.Reported
@@ -185,6 +189,7 @@ func TestAReportIsHeldAgainstTheGatesOwnSend(t *testing.T) {
 // A gate judges only the build the machine was last sent: last sent another build of the module, the
 // judging is superseded, whatever the machine reports. Pure.
 func TestAGateJudgesOnlyTheBuildTheMachineWasLastSent(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	at := time.Now()
 	f := gateFacts{now: at, reports: map[string]inventory.Reported{"anchor": {Node: "anchor", Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied,
 		At: &at, Current: true}}, engines: map[string]string{}, served: map[string]served{}, rolledBack: map[string][]lease.Rollback{},
@@ -212,6 +217,7 @@ func TestAGateJudgesOnlyTheBuildTheMachineWasLastSent(t *testing.T) {
 // A move of another build of a module to a machine where a release or a plan is judging that module
 // waits for that judging; the same build to that machine is already there. Pure.
 func TestAWalkWaitsForAJudgingOfTheSameModuleOnThatMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	at := time.Now()
 	release := inventory.Plan{ID: "release-1", State: inventory.PlanRolling, Release: &inventory.PlanRelease{
 		Gate: &inventory.PlanGate{Machines: []string{"novox"}, Carried: []inventory.CarriedMove{
@@ -249,6 +255,7 @@ func TestAWalkWaitsForAJudgingOfTheSameModuleOnThatMachine(t *testing.T) {
 // The controller is never put back to a build that reaches less of the store's schema than the store
 // has, or to one that never said what it reaches: the current build is kept, and the condition says so.
 func TestTheControllerIsNotPutBackToABuildOlderThanTheStoresSchema(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory
@@ -345,6 +352,7 @@ func TestTheControllerIsNotPutBackToABuildOlderThanTheStoresSchema(t *testing.T)
 
 // The lease's holder names the build the declaration told it it is, and the version stamp only without one.
 func TestTheHolderNamesTheBuildTheDeclarationToldIt(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	t.Setenv(RunningBuildVar, " ad62528c47c7 ")
 	if h := holderOf("x"); h.Build != "ad62528c47c7" {
 		t.Fatalf("the holder's build is %q", h.Build)

cmd/mesh-controller/issue648_test.go

@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ func TestANoMoveTierWaitsForNoNewReport(t *testing.T) {
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := g.open.inventory
 
-	// app is the build machine, so a module of the next tier is built by it: the tier gates the next on app
-	// running on its machines.
+	// app holds the build seat, so a module of the next tier is built by it; since novox/hq ADR 0360 §3 that gates
+	// nothing.
 	for _, m := range []catalogue.Manifest{
 		{Module: "app", Version: "c2", Claims: []catalogue.Claim{{Name: "node-build-agent", Scope: catalogue.ScopeNode}}},
 		{Module: "web", Version: "w1"},
@@ -71,7 +71,8 @@ func TestANoMoveTierWaitsForNoNewReport(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("the walk waits on a no-move tier for a report nothing will cause: tier %d, %s %q", p.Tier, p.State, p.Note)
 	}
 
-	// A machine that has not answered its last send is still waited on: no move is not "never sent".
+	// A machine that has not answered its last send is not waited on either: a built-by edge gates no tier
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3). Before, the walk waited for app on laptop.
 	p.Tier, p.State, p.Note = 0, inventory.PlanRolling, ""
 	if err := inv.RecordSent(ctx, nodeID(t, g.open, "laptop"), "d-laptop-later", map[string]string{"app": "c1"}); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ func TestANoMoveTierWaitsForNoNewReport(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	advancePlans(ctx, g.open)
 	p = g.plan(t)
-	if p.Tier != 0 || !strings.Contains(p.Note, "waiting for app on laptop") {
-		t.Fatalf("a machine that has not answered its last send was not waited on: tier %d, %q", p.Tier, p.Note)
+	if p.Tier < 1 || strings.Contains(p.Note, "waiting for app") {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk waits on a built-by edge: tier %d, %q", p.Tier, p.Note)
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/issued.go

@@ -53,10 +53,6 @@ type issuedTaker struct {
 	keep      func(provision, provider, value string) (inventory.IssuedKept, error)
 	record    func(act link.HandAct) error
 	send      func(machines []string) error
-	// ofTheVault says whether a provider module's secrets are filled the new way; for one that is, the value goes
-	// into the vault (vault, vault_secrets.go) and nothing is kept, sealed or sent here. Nil is none.
-	ofTheVault func(module string) bool
-	vault      vaultAsker
 }
 
 // take asks every provider of the provision for its software's value and keeps each; it answers what it did, in
@@ -94,9 +90,6 @@ func (t issuedTaker) take(provision string) (string, error) {
 
 // takeFrom is one provider: asked, opened, kept, recorded and sent when it changed.
 func (t issuedTaker) takeFrom(provision string, p issuedProvider) (string, error) {
-	if t.ofTheVault != nil && t.ofTheVault(p.Module) {
-		return t.takeIntoVault(provision, p)
-	}
 	public, private, err := secrets.Keypair()
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("no key could be made to take the value: %w", err)
@@ -269,9 +262,7 @@ func secretIssued(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 				return err
 			})
 		},
-		send:       func(machines []string) error { return sendTo(ctx, open, machines) },
-		ofTheVault: secretsOfTheVault,
-		vault:      theVault(ctx),
+		send: func(machines []string) error { return sendTo(ctx, open, machines) },
 	}
 	words, err := t.take(provision)
 	if words != "" {

cmd/mesh-controller/lean_walk_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+)
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0360 §4, §5: a walk ends on its machines' reports — every machine sent has reported on its send,
+// or is silent past ApplySilentAfter — and names a failed or refused apply; it never waits for a health reading.
+func TestAWalkEndsOnItsMachinesReports(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	sent := now.Add(-time.Minute)
+	long := now.Add(-inventory.ApplySilentAfter - time.Minute)
+	at := now.Add(-10 * time.Second)
+	p := inventory.Plan{Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+		"app": {Rest: map[string]inventory.SentDeclaration{
+			"ace":    {Digest: "d-ace", At: sent},
+			"novox":  {Digest: "d-novox", At: sent},
+			"shanks": {Digest: "d-shanks", At: sent},
+			"laptop": {Digest: "d-laptop", At: long},
+		}},
+		"proxy": {Rest: map[string]inventory.SentDeclaration{"ace": {Digest: "d-ace", At: sent}}},
+	}}
+	reports := []inventory.Reported{
+		{Node: "ace", Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied, At: &at, Declared: "d-ace"},
+		{Node: "novox", Outcome: inventory.OutcomeFailed, At: &at, Declared: "d-novox"},
+		{Node: "shanks", Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied, At: &at, Declared: "d-before"},
+	}
+	waiting, failed, silent := walkReports(p, reports, now)
+	if !slices.Equal(waiting, []string{"shanks"}) || !slices.Equal(failed, []string{"novox"}) ||
+		!slices.Equal(silent, []string{"laptop"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("waiting %v, failed %v, silent %v", waiting, failed, silent)
+	}
+	reports[2].Declared = "d-shanks"
+	if waiting, _, _ := walkReports(p, reports, now); len(waiting) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk still waits once every machine reported: %v", waiting)
+	}
+}
+
+// withTheGate turns the first-machine gate on for a test of its own path: kept for the walks a controller before
+// novox/hq ADR 0360 started.
+func withTheGate(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	was := gateFirstMachine
+	gateFirstMachine = true
+	t.Cleanup(func() { gateFirstMachine = was })
+}
+
+// Every machine heard from is sent at once and passed on its applied report, with no judging (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7);
+// before, the first machine was judged before the rest were sent (ADR 0353 §1).
+func TestAReleaseSendsEveryMachineAtOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
+	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	said := events(t)
+	for i := 0; i < 12; i++ {
+		advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	}
+	p := b.release(t)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanDone || len(p.Release.Done) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the release is %s: %s %+v", p.State, p.Note, p.Release)
+	}
+	for _, n := range []string{"desk", "laptop", "anchor"} {
+		if !slices.Contains(*said, "send "+n) {
+			t.Fatalf("%s was not sent: %v", n, *said)
+		}
+	}
+	if slices.Contains(*said, "judge") {
+		t.Fatalf("a machine was judged by its health: %v", *said)
+	}
+	if v, found, err := b.open.inventory.GateOf(ctx, "build-late-c2"); err != nil || !found || v.Verdict != inventory.GatePassed {
+		t.Fatalf("late's pass on laptop was not kept: %+v %v %v", v, found, err)
+	}
+}
+
+// A machine that reports its apply failed is named and fails the release, with nothing put back, and every other
+// machine goes on to its own report (novox/hq ADR 0360 §5, §7); before, it was put back (ADR 0353 §3).
+func TestAMachineThatFailsItsApplyIsNamedAndNothingIsPutBack(t *testing.T) {
+	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
+	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := b.open.inventory
+	b.broken["desk"] = true // desk fails what it is sent
+	advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	for i := 0; i < 12 && b.release(t).Open(); i++ {
+		advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	}
+	p := b.release(t)
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanFailed || !slices.Equal(p.Release.Failed, []string{"desk"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the release is %s: %s %+v", p.State, p.Note, p.Release)
+	}
+	if !slices.Contains(p.Release.Done, "laptop") || !slices.Contains(p.Release.Done, "anchor") {
+		t.Fatalf("the others have no verdict of their own: %+v", p.Release)
+	}
+	if v, found, err := inv.GateOf(ctx, "build-late-c2"); err != nil || !found || v.Verdict != inventory.GatePassed {
+		t.Fatalf("late's pass on laptop was not kept: %+v %v %v", v, found, err)
+	}
+	if sent, _, _ := inv.SentBuilds(ctx, "desk"); sent["app"] != "c2" {
+		t.Fatalf("desk was put back: %v", sent)
+	}
+}
+
+// A release's send kept before it was made, and made, is judged by the controller that takes over without being
+// made again (ADR 0353 §8), with every machine sent at once (ADR 0360 §7).
+func TestAReleaseSendKeptAndMadeIsNotMadeAgainAtOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
+	b := aBacklog(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := b.open.inventory
+	p, err := releaseBacklog(ctx, b.open, "")
+	if err != nil || p == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("no release opened: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := advanceRelease(ctx, b.open, p); err != nil || p.Release.Gates["anchor"] == nil || !p.Release.Gates["anchor"].Pending {
+		t.Fatalf("the send was not kept before it was made: %+v %v", p.Release, err)
+	}
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// The send is made, and the controller is replaced before it keeps it.
+	if _, err := sendRollout(ctx, b.open, []string{"anchor"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	if n := len(slices.DeleteFunc(slices.Clone(b.sent), func(s []string) bool { return !slices.Equal(s, []string{"anchor"}) })); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("anchor was sent again: %v", b.sent)
+	}
+	g := b.release(t).Release.Gates["anchor"]
+	if g == nil || g.Pending || g.Since == nil || len(g.Carried) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("anchor is not judged on the send made: %+v", g)
+	}
+}
+
+// A machine of the rest that says nothing on its send is left silent after fifteen minutes: not failed, not put
+// back; a rest that went silent whole ends failed, said as a condition (ADR 0353 §4); its step also sent anchor, so the release is done, not failed (ADR 0360 §7).
+func TestAMachineSilentPastItsBoundIsLeftAndSaidAtOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
+	b := aBacklog(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := b.open.inventory
+	reporting := sendRollout
+	sendRollout = func(ctx context.Context, open *stores, names []string) ([]string, error) {
+		if slices.Equal(names, []string{"laptop"}) { // laptop sleeps: sent, and says nothing
+			b.sent = append(b.sent, names)
+			current, _ := open.inventory.CurrentBuilds(ctx)
+			return names, open.inventory.RecordSent(ctx, nodeID(t, open, "laptop"), "d-laptop-asleep",
+				map[string]string{"app": current["app"].Commit, "late": current["late"].Commit, "same": current["same"].Commit})
+		}
+		return reporting(ctx, open, names)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { sendRollout = reporting })
+	for i := 0; i < 8; i++ {
+		advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	}
+	p := b.release(t)
+	g := p.Release.Gates["laptop"]
+	if !p.Open() || g == nil || g.Verdict != "" || g.Silent {
+		t.Fatalf("laptop is judged before fifteen minutes: %s %s %+v", p.State, p.Note, g)
+	}
+	since := time.Now().Add(-inventory.ApplySilentAfter - time.Minute)
+	g.Since = &since
+	if err := inv.SavePlan(ctx, &p); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	advancePlans(ctx, b.open)
+	p = b.release(t)
+	// anchor applied in the same step, so the release is done, laptop named silent (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7).
+	if p.State != inventory.PlanDone || !slices.Equal(p.Release.Silent, []string{"laptop"}) || len(p.Release.Failed) > 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the release is %s: %s %+v", p.State, p.Note, p.Release)
+	}
+	if failed, _ := inv.GateFailed(ctx, "build-late-c2"); failed {
+		t.Fatal("a silent machine's build was marked failed")
+	}
+	if sent, _, _ := inv.SentBuilds(ctx, "laptop"); sent["late"] != "c2" {
+		t.Fatalf("laptop was put back: %v", sent)
+	}
+	obs, err := silentObservation(ctx, inv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(obs) != 1 || obs[0].Kind != "release-silent" || !slices.Equal(obs[0].Also, []string{"laptop"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the silence is not said: %+v", obs)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/merge_gate.go

@@ -550,17 +550,8 @@ func shelfWithChange(base map[string]catalogue.Manifest, sources map[string]inve
 		out[k] = m
 	}
 	var failures []string
-	// The list of predefined keys at the tree's root (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7): what the build of this tree judges each
-	// manifest against and registration publishes, so what the gate judges each against too. A list that is
-	// wrong is refused by name, and every manifest is then judged against none.
-	predefined, err := catalogue.ReadPredefined(tree)
-	if err != nil {
-		failures = append(failures, fmt.Sprintf("%s: the controller judging this (%s) refuses it — %s",
-			catalogue.PredefinedFile, version, oneLine(err.Error())))
-		predefined = nil
-	}
 	found := map[string]string{} // module → its directory in the tree
-	err = filepath.WalkDir(tree, func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
+	err := filepath.WalkDir(tree, func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
@@ -584,12 +575,7 @@ func shelfWithChange(base map[string]catalogue.Manifest, sources map[string]inve
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		m, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith(raw, predefined)
-		if err == nil {
-			// Each template's text from the tree beside the manifest, as the build reads it back from the archive it
-			// packs (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2): so a change to a template alone is a change to its module.
-			m, err = catalogue.WithTemplatesFrom(m, filepath.Dir(path))
-		}
+		m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw)
 		if err != nil {
 			if inScope(dir) {
 				failures = append(failures, fmt.Sprintf("%s: the controller judging this (%s) refuses it — %s",
@@ -619,7 +605,7 @@ func shelfWithChange(base map[string]catalogue.Manifest, sources map[string]inve
 			// As registration reads a built manifest: strictly, again (takeIn).
 			var raw []byte
 			if raw, err = json.Marshal(resolved); err == nil {
-				resolved, err = catalogue.ParseManifestWith(raw, predefined)
+				resolved, err = catalogue.ParseManifest(raw)
 			}
 		}
 		if err == nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/mesh_for_test.go

@@ -33,21 +33,7 @@ import (
 func aMesh(t *testing.T) *stores {
 	t.Helper()
 	inventory.ForTest(t) // raises the store, migrates it, and points the environment at it
-	return aMeshOnTheStore(t)
-}
-
-// aMeshBefore is aMesh on a store migrated only below migration `number`, with the function that runs the
-// rest: for a test of what a migration that moves data does to what the mesh composes (novox/hq issue 651).
-func aMeshBefore(t *testing.T, number int) (*stores, func()) {
-	t.Helper()
-	_, migrate := inventory.ForTestBefore(t, number)
-	return aMeshOnTheStore(t), migrate
-}
-
-// aMeshOnTheStore is the mesh aMesh makes, on the store the environment points at.
-func aMeshOnTheStore(t *testing.T) *stores {
-	t.Helper()
-	licences.ForTest(t) // planning reaches this one too, by name and never by connection
+	licences.ForTest(t)  // planning reaches this one too, by name and never by connection
 
 	open, err := openStores(t.Context())
 	if err != nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/meshcli.go

@@ -7,7 +7,10 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os/exec"
 	"slices"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
@@ -123,8 +126,82 @@ func answerMeshCLI(inv *inventory.Inventory) link.CLIHandler {
 // cliJournal says one line in the controller's journal (its standard output); a variable so a test can read it.
 var cliJournal = func(line string) { fmt.Println(line) }
 
-// runForMeshCLI runs a judged line and answers what it said. Every line is said in the journal first: its call,
-// who asked on which node, its command word only, and how it runs (review of ADR 0272).
+// onlyReads says a line only reads, judged by the generic `command` verb's reading forms (novox/hq ADR 0266) — the
+// same allow list that decides what an ordinary call may run, never a second list kept here — judged on the line's
+// every word, so `plans go`, `conditions silence` and `settings set` are not reads while `plans`, `conditions` and
+// `settings show` are. A line those forms do not name is not judged a read, and is said (novox/hq issue 762).
+func onlyReads(asked link.CLIAsked, v cliVerdict) bool {
+	if v.refused != "" || len(asked.Line) == 0 || len(asked.Stdin) > 0 || cliServers[asked.Line[0]] {
+		return false
+	}
+	return commandReads(asked.Line) == nil && terminalOnly(asked.Line) == nil
+}
+
+// readCalls counts the read calls said in no line, per caller, until the next hourly line says them.
+type readCalls struct {
+	mu     sync.Mutex
+	counts map[string]int
+}
+
+// cliReads are this controller's read calls not yet said.
+var cliReads = &readCalls{}
+
+func (r *readCalls) add(caller string) {
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	defer r.mu.Unlock()
+	if r.counts == nil {
+		r.counts = map[string]int{}
+	}
+	r.counts[caller]++
+}
+
+// said is the line that says the read calls counted since the last, and starts counting again; empty when there
+// were none, so an idle hour says nothing.
+func (r *readCalls) said(over time.Duration) string {
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	counts := r.counts
+	r.counts = nil
+	r.mu.Unlock()
+	if len(counts) == 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	callers := make([]string, 0, len(counts))
+	for c := range counts {
+		callers = append(callers, c)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(callers)
+	parts := make([]string, len(callers))
+	for i, c := range callers {
+		parts[i] = fmt.Sprintf("%s %d", c, counts[c])
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("mesh-cli read calls in the last %s, said in no line of their own: %s", over,
+		strings.Join(parts, ", "))
+}
+
+// readCallsEvery is how often the count of read calls is said.
+const readCallsEvery = time.Hour
+
+// sayReadCalls says, every readCallsEvery until ctx ends, how many read calls each caller made — when any did — so
+// a runaway poller stays visible while its calls write no line each (novox/hq issue 762).
+func sayReadCalls(ctx context.Context) {
+	tick := time.NewTicker(readCallsEvery)
+	defer tick.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-tick.C:
+			if line := cliReads.said(readCallsEvery); line != "" {
+				cliJournal(line)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// runForMeshCLI runs a judged line and answers what it said. Every line that changes something, is refused or fails
+// is said in the journal: its call, who asked on which node, its command word only, and how it runs (review of ADR
+// 0272). A line that only reads and succeeds is counted instead, and the count said hourly (novox/hq issue 762): a
+// page polling `plans` every few seconds would otherwise write thousands of lines a day.
 func runForMeshCLI(ctx context.Context, node string, asked link.CLIAsked, v cliVerdict) link.CLIAnswer {
 	how := "as an ordinary call"
 	switch {
@@ -137,7 +214,23 @@ func runForMeshCLI(ctx context.Context, node string, asked link.CLIAsked, v cliV
 	if call == "" {
 		call = "(no call)"
 	}
-	cliJournal(fmt.Sprintf("mesh-cli %s: %s on %s asked %q, %s", call, asked.Account, node, asked.Line[0], how))
+	line := fmt.Sprintf("mesh-cli %s: %s on %s asked %q, %s", call, asked.Account, node, asked.Line[0], how)
+	if !onlyReads(asked, v) {
+		cliJournal(line)
+		return runJudgedLine(ctx, node, asked, v)
+	}
+	answer := runJudgedLine(ctx, node, asked, v)
+	if answer.Exit != 0 || answer.Refused != "" {
+		// A read that was refused or failed is said, as a change is.
+		cliJournal(fmt.Sprintf("%s, and it failed (exit %d)", line, answer.Exit))
+	} else {
+		cliReads.add(fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s", asked.Account, node))
+	}
+	return answer
+}
+
+// runJudgedLine runs a line runForMeshCLI has said or counted.
+func runJudgedLine(ctx context.Context, node string, asked link.CLIAsked, v cliVerdict) link.CLIAnswer {
 	if v.refused != "" {
 		return link.CLIRefusal(v.refused)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/meshcli_reads_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// echoFails makes the echoing test binary end with a failure, as a read that failed would.
+const echoFails = "MESH_TEST_ECHO_FAILS"
+
+// journalled runs lines through runForMeshCLI and answers what the journal said, with a fresh count of read calls.
+func journalled(t *testing.T) *[]string {
+	t.Helper()
+	t.Setenv(echoEnvironment, "1")
+	said := &[]string{}
+	was, wasReads := cliJournal, cliReads
+	cliJournal = func(line string) { *said = append(*said, line) }
+	cliReads = &readCalls{}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { cliJournal, cliReads = was, wasReads })
+	return said
+}
+
+// **A call that only reads writes no journal line; one that changes something does** (novox/hq issue 762).
+func TestAReadCallWritesNoJournalLine(t *testing.T) {
+	said := journalled(t)
+	ctx := link.WithCallID(context.Background(), "call-1")
+	ordinary := cliVerdict{why: "not the terminal"}
+	for _, line := range [][]string{{"plans"}, {"status"}, {"conditions"}, {"node", "list"}, {"builds"}, {"queue"},
+		{"settings", "show", "zsh"}, {"plans", "--json"}} {
+		if a := runForMeshCLI(ctx, "g14", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, line...), ordinary); a.Exit != 0 || a.Refused != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("%q did not run: %+v", line, a)
+		}
+	}
+	runForMeshCLI(ctx, "control", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "plans"), cliVerdict{terminal: true, why: "the terminal"})
+	if len(*said) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("read calls wrote journal lines: %q", *said)
+	}
+	runForMeshCLI(ctx, "control", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "assign", "g14", "zsh"), cliVerdict{terminal: true, why: "the terminal"})
+	if len(*said) != 1 || !strings.Contains((*said)[0], `asked "assign"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("a call that changes something was not said: %q", *said)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A refused or failed read keeps its line** (novox/hq issue 762).
+func TestAFailedOrRefusedReadIsSaid(t *testing.T) {
+	said := journalled(t)
+	runForMeshCLI(context.Background(), "g14", cliAsked("root", 0, "plans"), cliVerdict{refused: "root is not answered"})
+	t.Setenv(echoFails, "1")
+	a := runForMeshCLI(context.Background(), "g14", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "plans"), cliVerdict{why: "not the terminal"})
+	if a.Exit == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the read did not fail: %+v", a)
+	}
+	if len(*said) != 2 || !strings.Contains((*said)[0], "refused") || !strings.Contains((*said)[1], "failed (exit 3)") {
+		t.Fatalf("the journal said %q", *said)
+	}
+	if line := cliReads.said(readCallsEvery); line != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed read was counted as a read: %q", line)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A verb is classed by what the call does, not its name** (novox/hq issue 762): the same command word reads with
+// some arguments and writes with others, and a line no reading form names is said.
+func TestAVerbIsClassedByItsArguments(t *testing.T) {
+	ordinary := cliVerdict{why: "not the terminal"}
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		line  []string
+		reads bool
+	}{
+		{[]string{"settings", "show", "zsh"}, true},
+		{[]string{"settings", "preferences"}, true},
+		{[]string{"settings", "set", "zsh", `{"a":1}`}, false},
+		{[]string{"settings", "clear", "zsh"}, false},
+		{[]string{"plans"}, true},
+		{[]string{"plans", "p-1"}, true},
+		{[]string{"plans", "go", "p-1"}, false},
+		{[]string{"plans", "--json", "stop", "p-1"}, false},
+		{[]string{"plans", "close", "p-1"}, false},
+		{[]string{"plans", "retry", "p-1"}, false},
+		{[]string{"conditions"}, true},
+		{[]string{"conditions", "show", "x"}, true},
+		{[]string{"conditions", "silence", "x"}, false},
+		{[]string{"doctor", "run"}, false},
+		{[]string{"node", "account", "g14", "x"}, false},
+		{[]string{"assign", "g14", "zsh"}, false},
+		{[]string{"a-command-added-later"}, false},
+		{[]string{"serve"}, false},
+	} {
+		if got := onlyReads(cliAsked("jochen", 1000, c.line...), ordinary); got != c.reads {
+			t.Errorf("%q judged a read: %v, want %v", c.line, got, c.reads)
+		}
+	}
+	if onlyReads(cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "plans"), cliVerdict{refused: "no"}) {
+		t.Error("a refused line judged a read")
+	}
+	stdin := cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "status")
+	stdin.Stdin = []byte("x")
+	if onlyReads(stdin, cliVerdict{terminal: true}) {
+		t.Error("a line carrying standard input judged a read")
+	}
+}
+
+// **Once an hour the read calls are counted per caller, only if there were any** (novox/hq issue 762).
+func TestTheReadCallsAreCountedPerCaller(t *testing.T) {
+	said := journalled(t)
+	ordinary := cliVerdict{why: "not the terminal"}
+	for range 3 {
+		runForMeshCLI(context.Background(), "g14", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "plans"), ordinary)
+	}
+	runForMeshCLI(context.Background(), "ace", cliAsked("jochen", 1000, "status"), ordinary)
+	if len(*said) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("read calls wrote lines: %q", *said)
+	}
+	line := cliReads.said(readCallsEvery)
+	if !strings.Contains(line, "jochen on ace 1, jochen on g14 3") || !strings.Contains(line, "1h0m0s") {
+		t.Fatalf("the hourly line said %q", line)
+	}
+	if again := cliReads.said(readCallsEvery); again != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("an hour with no read calls said %q", again)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/missed_merges.go

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func owedToTheRecord(ctx context.Context, announced merges, m link.SourceMoved,
 
 // catchingUpOnMerges reads back the forge's announcements on a timer, until the context ends.
 func catchingUpOnMerges(ctx context.Context, open *stores, announced merges) {
-	f := following{open}
+	f := following{open: open}
 	catalogued := func(ctx context.Context) ([]inventory.Entry, map[string][]inventory.ReadRepository, error) {
 		entries, err := open.inventory.Catalogued(ctx)
 		if err != nil {

cmd/mesh-controller/module_health.go

@@ -240,6 +240,7 @@ func judgeModuleHealth(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, k *conditi
 			continue
 		}
 		o := moduleUnhealthyObservation(m, node, unhealthy[m])
+		declaredSeverity(&o, hold, m)
 		if hold != nil {
 			if by, held := hold.heldWith(node, m, unhealthy[m]); held {
 				// Held under the provider's condition: nothing of its own, and the provider's says it waits. The
@@ -347,6 +348,7 @@ func sayWaiters(ctx context.Context, k *conditions.Keeper, hold *holding, p cata
 	} else {
 		_, rest := besideAWait(p.Module, rs)
 		o = moduleUnhealthyObservation(p.Module, p.Node, rest)
+		declaredSeverity(&o, hold, p.Module)
 		if said, waits := personWait(p.Module, p.Node, rest); waits {
 			o = reloginObservation(p.Module, p.Node, said, operatorOn(ctx, hold.inv, p.Node), rest)
 		}
@@ -481,6 +483,19 @@ func sayWaitingOn(o *conditions.Observation, waiters []string) {
 	o.Explanation += fmt.Sprintf(" %d module(s) that depend on it wait for it.", len(waiters))
 }
 
+// declaredSeverity raises a module's unhealthy condition urgent when its manifest declares `unhealthy` urgent
+// (novox/hq ADR 0355 §1). Only that condition changes (ADR 0355 §4): a wait for a new login, a module that needs
+// the operator and a directory used as found keep their severities, and without the field, or without a manifest
+// to read it from, it stays the warning it was.
+func declaredSeverity(o *conditions.Observation, hold *holding, module string) {
+	if o.Kind != kindModuleUnhealthy || hold == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if m, ok := hold.manifestOf(module); ok && m.UnhealthyIsUrgent() {
+		o.Severity = conditions.Urgent
+	}
+}
+
 // moduleUnhealthyObservation is a module unhealthy on a machine, in words: the summary names the module,
 // the machine and what is wrong with each resource; the detail — targets, streaks, since — is evidence.
 func moduleUnhealthyObservation(module, node string, rs []inventory.ResourceHealth) conditions.Observation {

cmd/mesh-controller/modules.go

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -128,10 +127,6 @@ func moduleCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		// A manifest handed over by hand takes each template's text from the tree beside it (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2).
-		if m, err = catalogue.WithTemplatesFrom(m, filepath.Dir(positionals[0])); err != nil {
-			return err
-		}
 		from, err := whereItComesFrom(*repo, *ref, *commit, *path, *self)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -542,10 +537,6 @@ func settingsCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 				if p.SetBy != "" {
 					by = "; " + p.SetBy
 				}
-				if p.Why != "" {
-					// A layer whose placement moved out of it (migration 0097): still the layer, as it stands.
-					by += "; " + p.Why
-				}
 				fmt.Printf("%s on %s, until %s (%s%s):\n  %s\n", positionals[0], where,
 					p.ReplacedAt.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05"), p.ReplacedBy, by, shown)
 			}

cmd/mesh-controller/person_wait_test.go

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ func userUnit(module, account string) inventory.ResourceHealth {
 // Only what depends on the new login alone is a wait; anything else unhealthy of the module is judged as
 // before, so that a fault is never excused.
 func TestOnlyWhatDependsOnTheNewLoginIsAWait(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	notInGroup := relogin("lights", "operator")
 	notInGroup.Reason = "not in the group lights: the apply has not put operator there; its outcome says why"
 	systemUnit := userUnit("lights", "operator")
@@ -74,6 +75,7 @@ func TestOnlyWhatDependsOnTheNewLoginIsAWait(t *testing.T) {
 // The gate reads a wait for a person as its own reading, never a fault, and passes with it; the same module
 // with a container down beside it is not yet healthy, as before.
 func TestAWaitForAPersonIsAPassCarriedAlong(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	now := time.Now()
 	since := now.Add(-time.Minute)
 	account := relogin("lights", "operator")
@@ -102,6 +104,7 @@ func TestAWaitForAPersonIsAPassCarriedAlong(t *testing.T) {
 // The module's condition says the wait in one sentence for a person, and clears on the first statement that
 // no longer says it — said as the module's own fault when its unit still fails after the new login.
 func TestTheReloginConditionSaysTheWaitAndClearsAfterTheLogin(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	k, _ := withConditionsInMemory(t)
@@ -158,6 +161,7 @@ func TestTheReloginConditionSaysTheWaitAndClearsAfterTheLogin(t *testing.T) {
 // A module that is healthy on its own keeps its pass when another module of the same send fails at the
 // bound: it is neither put back nor left without a verdict for every other walk to wait on.
 func TestAModuleHealthyOnItsOwnKeepsItsPassWhenItsSendFails(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := b.open.inventory
@@ -207,6 +211,7 @@ func TestAModuleHealthyOnItsOwnKeepsItsPassWhenItsSendFails(t *testing.T) {
 // What the operator reads of the wait (ADR 0253, ADR 0254): it needs them, so it is never quiet, and it offers
 // no button, since nothing but their own new login can do it.
 func TestTheReloginConditionNeedsTheOperatorAndOffersNoButton(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	o := reloginObservation("openrazer", "g14", "relogin needed on g14: …", "operator", []inventory.ResourceHealth{
 		relogin("openrazer", "operator"), userUnit("openrazer", "operator")})
 	plainExample(t, o, "openrazer waits for a new login on g14",
@@ -238,6 +243,7 @@ func TestTheReloginConditionNeedsTheOperatorAndOffersNoButton(t *testing.T) {
 // When a module not working turns into one waiting for a new login, and back, the clearing line says what it
 // became, never that it works again (issue 318 review).
 func TestAConditionThatBecameTheOtherKindSaysSoWhenItClears(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	store := conditions.NewInMemory()
@@ -286,6 +292,7 @@ func TestAConditionThatBecameTheOtherKindSaysSoWhenItClears(t *testing.T) {
 
 // Which moves add an account group, read from the builds' manifests (issue 318 review).
 func TestOnlyAMoveThatAddsAnAccountGroupCanBringAWait(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	user := func(groups ...any) catalogue.Manifest {
 		return catalogue.Manifest{Module: "lights", Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "operator", "type": "user",
 			"name": "operator", "groups": groups}}}

cmd/mesh-controller/placement_moved_test.go

@@ -1,113 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"encoding/json"
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"sort"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-)
-
-// **Placement leaves the settings layers and no machine is told anything new** (novox/hq ADR 0348 clause
-// 11, issue 651). A mesh is seeded as the store holds it before migration 0097 — `places`, `accesses` and a
-// kept network among the settings, at the mesh's level and a machine's, one layer of placement only — then
-// migrated, and every machine's declaration is composed. What each machine is told of the seeded modules is
-// byte for byte what the controller before this change composed from the same seed: the golden files were
-// written by the integration branch's controller at bfc79c6 running this same test (MESH_WRITE_GOLDEN=1),
-// where there was no migration 0097 to run.
-func TestADeclarationIsTheSameAfterPlacementMoves(t *testing.T) {
-	open, migrate := aMeshBefore(t, 97)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	inv := open.inventory
-	image := "registry.invalid:5000/library@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("a", 64)
-	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "library", Version: "1",
-		Accesses: []catalogue.Access{{ID: "series"}, {ID: "downloads", Mode: catalogue.AccessRead}},
-		Resources: []map[string]any{
-			{"id": "config", "type": "directory", "mode": "0750"},
-			{"id": "server", "type": "container", "image": image,
-				"volumes": []any{"${dir:config}:/config", "${access:series}:/series", "${access:downloads}:/downloads:ro"}},
-			// Today's form: a mergeable file naming no keys takes every key of the layer (ADR 0326 §3).
-			{"id": "runtime-config", "type": "file", "path": "${dir:config}/runtime.json", "mode": "0640",
-				"content": `{"log":"info"}`, "merge": "json"},
-		}})
-	register(t, open, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "found", Version: "1",
-		Resources: []map[string]any{{"id": "server", "type": "container", "image": image}}})
-	if err := inv.SetAdopted(ctx, "anchor", true); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	for _, l := range []struct{ node, module, values string }{
-		{"", "library", `{"accesses": {"downloads": "/storage/downloads"}, "log": "warn"}`},
-		{"anchor", "library", `{"places": {"config": {"path": "/var/lib/library/config", "owner": "1001:2000"}},
-			"accesses": {"series": "/storage/media/series"}, "workers": 4}`},
-		{"laptop", "library", `{"accesses": {"series": "/home/media/series"}}`},
-		{"anchor", "found", `{"networks": {"server": ["predecessor_default"]}}`},
-	} {
-		if l.node == "" {
-			inv.ExecForTest(t, `insert into settings (node, module, values) values (null, $1, $2)`, l.module, l.values)
-			continue
-		}
-		inv.ExecForTest(t, `insert into settings (node, module, values) select id, $2, $3 from node where name = $1`,
-			l.node, l.module, l.values)
-	}
-
-	migrate()
-	// Assigned once the store is migrated: an assignment reads the layers, as this controller holds them.
-	for _, a := range [][]string{{"anchor", "library", "found"}, {"laptop", "library"}} {
-		if _, err := assign(ctx, open, a[0], a[1:]...); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("assign %v: %v", a, err)
-		}
-	}
-
-	gens, err := generators(ctx, open)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	for _, node := range []string{"anchor", "laptop"} {
-		plan, settings, err := planFor(ctx, open, node)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		with, _, err := renderingFor(ctx, open, node, plan, settings, gens, Allocating)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		composed, err := plan.Compose(with)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if len(composed.LeftOut) > 0 {
-			t.Fatalf("%s leaves out %v", node, composed.LeftOut)
-		}
-		var told []map[string]any
-		for _, r := range composed.Resources {
-			if owner := composed.Owner[r["id"].(string)]; owner == "library" || owner == "found" {
-				told = append(told, r)
-			}
-		}
-		sort.Slice(told, func(i, j int) bool { return told[i]["id"].(string) < told[j]["id"].(string) })
-		got, err := json.MarshalIndent(told, "", "  ")
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		golden := filepath.Join("testdata", "placement-moved", node+".json")
-		if os.Getenv("MESH_WRITE_GOLDEN") != "" {
-			if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(golden), 0o755); err != nil {
-				t.Fatal(err)
-			}
-			if err := os.WriteFile(golden, append(got, '\n'), 0o644); err != nil {
-				t.Fatal(err)
-			}
-			continue
-		}
-		want, err := os.ReadFile(golden)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if string(want) != string(got)+"\n" {
-			t.Errorf("%s is told something else after placement moved:\n%s\nwas:\n%s", node, got, want)
-		}
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/plain_words.go

@@ -620,6 +620,18 @@ var plainWordings = map[string]func(conditions.Observation) words{
 			Explanation: "The bus reports a listener too slow to keep up, so messages to it are late.",
 			Resolved:    "The listener keeps up again"}
 	}),
+	kindBusFaultsUnread: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Slow clients of the bus cannot be checked",
+			Explanation: "The controller could not read what the bus said about its clients' connections, so a " +
+				"client the bus cut off would go unnoticed. It tries again at every check.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the bus's clients are checked again"}
+	}),
+	"connection-closed": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The bus cut a client off",
+			Explanation: "The bus closed a client's connection because it broke the bus's rules, so what it was " +
+				"sending was lost.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the client keeps to the bus's rules"}
+	}),
 	kindBusReconnects: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
 		return words{Headline: "A client keeps losing the bus",
 			Explanation: "One of the mesh's clients lost its connection to the bus again and again in the last hour. " +

cmd/mesh-controller/plan_retry.go

@@ -372,6 +372,13 @@ func joinAPlan(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module string) (bool, string,
 	if !found {
 		return false, "", nil
 	}
+	// **A walk that waits for its delivery's word asks nothing** (novox/hq ADR 0239, issue 754): a rebuild does not
+	// join it, and its outcome is not the walk's. The walk asks its own tier once it has its word.
+	if p.Waiting() {
+		return false, fmt.Sprintf("not joining %s (%s at %s): it waits for %s's word, so this build is not its "+
+			"outcome; once let go, the walk asks %s itself", p.ID, p.Repository, short(p.Commit), p.Delivery.Awaits,
+			module), nil
+	}
 	entries, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, "", err

cmd/mesh-controller/planner_records_test.go

@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func TestASharedRepositoryIsPlannedFromTheRecordedBuildSources(t *testing.T) {
 		{"the route proxy's program: the route proxy alone", "mesh-controller",
 			[]string{"examples/route-proxy/main.go"}, "route-proxy", true},
 		{"a package all three build from: all three", "mesh-controller",
-			[]string{"internal/broker/broker.go"}, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy", false},
+			[]string{"internal/broker/broker.go"}, "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent", false},
 		{"the route proxy's directory in the catalogue: it alone", "mesh-catalog",
 			[]string{"modules/route-proxy/module.json"}, "route-proxy", false},
 		{"the build agent's directory: it alone, nothing it builds", "mesh-catalog",

cmd/mesh-controller/planner_rules_test.go

@@ -145,8 +145,9 @@ func TestAPlanIsWhatTheChangeTouchedAndWhatIsBuiltOnIt(t *testing.T) {
 			repo: "one", paths: []string{"modules/a/x", "modules/x/y"}, want: "a,x"},
 		{what: "built-by never widens", edges: []inventory.Edge{dep("x", builtBy, "a")},
 			repo: "one", paths: []string{"modules/a/x"}, want: "a"},
-		{what: "built-by orders", edges: []inventory.Edge{dep("x", builtBy, "a")},
-			repo: "one", paths: []string{"modules/a/x", "modules/x/y"}, want: "a | x"},
+		// Whichever builder runs builds it (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): built-by orders nothing, as before it ordered.
+		{what: "built-by does not order", edges: []inventory.Edge{dep("x", builtBy, "a")},
+			repo: "one", paths: []string{"modules/a/x", "modules/x/y"}, want: "a,x"},
 		{what: "worker-of never widens", edges: []inventory.Edge{dep("x", workerOf, "a")},
 			repo: "one", paths: []string{"modules/a/x"}, want: "a"},
 		{what: "worker-of orders", edges: []inventory.Edge{dep("x", workerOf, "a")},
@@ -296,18 +297,18 @@ func TestASharedRepositoryMovesOnlyWhatItsBuildSourceHolds(t *testing.T) {
 			[]string{"internal/inventory/migrations/0088-a-build-says-its-build-source.sql"}, read,
 			"mesh-controller | build-agent", ""},
 		// A package all three build from: all three; the build seat's holder after the controller whose worker
-		// it binds (worker-of, issue 206), the proxy after the holder that builds it (built-by).
+		// it binds (worker-of, issue 206), the proxy beside the controller: built-by orders nothing (ADR 0360 §3).
 		{"a package all three build from: all three", "mesh-controller",
-			[]string{"internal/broker/broker.go"}, read, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy", ""},
+			[]string{"internal/broker/broker.go"}, read, "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent", ""},
 		{"a vendored package all three build from: all three", "mesh-controller",
-			[]string{"vendor/github.com/nats-io/nats.go/nats.go"}, read, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy", ""},
+			[]string{"vendor/github.com/nats-io/nats.go/nats.go"}, read, "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent", ""},
 		{"go.sum: all three", "mesh-controller",
-			[]string{"go.sum"}, read, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy", ""},
+			[]string{"go.sum"}, read, "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent", ""},
 		{"a file added to the proxy's package: the proxy", "mesh-controller",
 			[]string{"examples/route-proxy/new.go"}, read, "route-proxy", ""},
 		// Before any build source is said: as before.
 		{"no build source said: a README moves all three, as before", "mesh-controller",
-			[]string{"README.md"}, unsaid, "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy", ""},
+			[]string{"README.md"}, unsaid, "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent", ""},
 		// In the catalogue, where they live, each by its own build source.
 		{"the route proxy's recipe: it alone", "mesh-catalog",
 			[]string{"modules/route-proxy/Dockerfile"}, read, "route-proxy", ""},
@@ -331,7 +332,7 @@ func TestASharedRepositoryMovesOnlyWhatItsBuildSourceHolds(t *testing.T) {
 	// Files not all said: everything the repository builds, as before.
 	m := link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Base: "main", Commit: "head",
 		Paths: []string{"README.md"}, PathsTruncated: true}
-	if got := tiered(reachOfMerge(m, entries, read, edges).Plan.Tiers); got != "mesh-controller | build-agent | route-proxy" {
+	if got := tiered(reachOfMerge(m, entries, read, edges).Plan.Tiers); got != "mesh-controller,route-proxy | build-agent" {
 		t.Errorf("a merge whose files were not all said: planned %q, wanted all three", got)
 	}
 }
@@ -452,8 +453,9 @@ func TestAPlanIsTheTouchedModulesAndWhatIsReachableAlongTheWideningEdges(t *test
 	kinds := []string{inventory.EdgeStandsOn, inventory.EdgeDeclared, inventory.EdgePackages,
 		inventory.EdgeBuiltBy, inventory.EdgeWorkerOf}
 	widens := map[string]bool{inventory.EdgeStandsOn: true, inventory.EdgeDeclared: true}
+	// Built-by orders nothing since novox/hq ADR 0360 §3.
 	orders := map[string]bool{inventory.EdgeStandsOn: true, inventory.EdgeDeclared: true,
-		inventory.EdgeBuiltBy: true, inventory.EdgeWorkerOf: true}
+		inventory.EdgeWorkerOf: true}
 	// Directory names drawn from one pool, so two repositories hold directories of the same name, and one
 	// is a prefix of another.
 	dirs := []string{"a", "ab", "b", "c", "lib/x", "lib/y", "modules/a", "modules/a/sub"}

cmd/mesh-controller/predefined.go

@@ -1,93 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"fmt"
-	"path"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// The list of predefined keys the mesh publishes (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7, design 57 package K2, issue 661).
-//
-// **The newest trunk build of the catalogue wins.** A build of the catalogue reads predefined.json at the commit
-// it builds and carries it with the commit's generation (link.PredefinedList). Registration keeps it in the
-// controller's store when that generation is larger than the one kept (inventory.KeepPredefined), so an older
-// build's list heard later never replaces a newer one, and every manifest the controller reads again is judged
-// against the list kept (catalogue.UsePredefined). mesh-config publishes it on the bus from there (design 57
-// package K3); the controller keeps no config value, only the keys.
-
-// fromTheCatalogue is whether a build is of the catalogue's repository, whose list alone the mesh publishes: by
-// its name, in the URL form or the seat form.
-func fromTheCatalogue(result link.BuildResult) bool {
-	for _, repository := range []string{result.Repository, sourceRepository(result)} {
-		name := strings.TrimSuffix(path.Base(strings.TrimRight(repository, "/")), ".git")
-		if name == catalogue.CatalogueRepository {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
-
-func sourceRepository(result link.BuildResult) string {
-	if result.Source == nil {
-		return ""
-	}
-	return result.Source.Repository
-}
-
-// carriedList is the list a build of the catalogue carried, read strictly; nil for a build of another
-// repository, or one that carried none.
-func carriedList(result link.BuildResult) (catalogue.PredefinedList, error) {
-	if result.Predefined == nil || !fromTheCatalogue(result) {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	list, err := catalogue.ParsePredefined(result.Predefined.Keys)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s carried a list of predefined keys that is refused: %w", result.ID, err)
-	}
-	return list, nil
-}
-
-// judgedWith is the list a build's manifest is first judged against at registration: the catalogue's own at the
-// commit built, which its build judged it against, where it carried one; the list kept otherwise.
-func judgedWith(result link.BuildResult) (catalogue.PredefinedList, error) {
-	list, err := carriedList(result)
-	if err != nil || list != nil {
-		return list, err
-	}
-	return catalogue.PublishedPredefined(), nil
-}
-
-// loadPredefined makes the list kept in the store the one this controller judges manifests against. A store
-// keeping none leaves the list it has.
-func loadPredefined(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory) error {
-	kept, has, err := inv.PredefinedKept(ctx)
-	if err != nil || !has {
-		return err
-	}
-	catalogue.UsePredefined(kept.Keys)
-	return nil
-}
-
-// publishPredefined keeps a trunk build's list when it is newer than the one kept, says so, and loads what the
-// store keeps then — this build's, or a newer one another controller process kept.
-func publishPredefined(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, result link.BuildResult,
-	list catalogue.PredefinedList) error {
-	kept, err := inv.KeepPredefined(ctx, inventory.PredefinedRecord{Keys: list, Repository: result.Repository,
-		Commit: result.Commit, Generation: result.Predefined.Generation, Build: result.ID})
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	if kept {
-		fmt.Printf("%s: the list of predefined keys at %s (generation %d) is published: %s\n", result.ID,
-			short(result.Commit), result.Predefined.Generation, strings.Join(list.Keys(), ", "))
-	} else {
-		fmt.Printf("%s: the list of predefined keys at %s (generation %d) is not newer than the one kept, which "+
-			"stands\n", result.ID, short(result.Commit), result.Predefined.Generation)
-	}
-	return loadPredefined(ctx, inv)
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/predefined_test.go

@@ -1,197 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
-)
-
-// The list of predefined keys (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7, design 57 package K2, issue 661): `module check` and the
-// merge gate judge each manifest against the list at the root of its tree; registration publishes the newest
-// trunk build's list of the catalogue and judges every module against the list the mesh publishes.
-
-const theFirstKeys = `{
-  "font-size": {"type": "number", "description": "the size text is shown in, in points", "minimum": 6, "maximum": 72},
-  "agent-managed-settings": {"type": "object", "description": "the managed settings of every agent session, a JSON object", "trusted": true}
-}`
-
-// notifierFallingBackTo is the notifier in the config form, its font size falling back to the key named.
-func notifierFallingBackTo(key, kind string) string {
-	def := "10"
-	if kind == "string" {
-		def = `"10"`
-	}
-	return `{"module":"notifier","version":"1",
-  "config":{"font-size":{"type":"` + kind + `","description":"the notification's font size, in points",
-    "default":` + def + `,"predefined":"` + key + `"}},
-  "resources":[{"id":"conf","type":"file","path":"/etc/notifier/notifier.conf","mode":"0644",
-    "content":"font = ${config:font-size}\n"}]}`
-}
-
-// withoutAPublishedList judges the test against no list the mesh published, and puts the process's back after.
-func withoutAPublishedList(t *testing.T) {
-	t.Helper()
-	was := catalogue.ReplacePublished(nil)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { catalogue.ReplacePublished(was) })
-}
-
-// aRepositoryTree is a repository's checkout holding one module at modules/notifier, and the list when given.
-func aRepositoryTree(t *testing.T, manifest string, list *string) string {
-	t.Helper()
-	root := t.TempDir()
-	if err := os.Mkdir(filepath.Join(root, ".git"), 0o755); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if list != nil {
-		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(root, catalogue.PredefinedFile), []byte(*list), 0o644); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-	return aTemplatedModule(t, filepath.Join(root, "modules", "notifier"), manifest, nil)
-}
-
-func TestModuleCheckJudgesAManifestAgainstTheListAtItsRepositoryRoot(t *testing.T) {
-	withoutAPublishedList(t)
-	list := theFirstKeys
-	check := func(path string) (string, error) {
-		var out bytes.Buffer
-		err := moduleCheck([]string{path}, &out)
-		return out.String(), err
-	}
-	if out, err := check(aRepositoryTree(t, notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), &list)); err != nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(out, "notifier: ok") {
-		t.Fatalf("a module naming font-size was refused: %v\n%s", err, out)
-	}
-	for _, c := range []struct {
-		manifest string
-		list     *string
-		says     string
-	}{
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-scale", "number"), &list, `"font-scale", which is not on the list`},
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "string"), &list, "which is a number, and this value is a string"},
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), nil, "is not present"},
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), ptr(`{"font-size": {"type": "number"}}`), "no description"},
-	} {
-		if out, err := check(aRepositoryTree(t, c.manifest, c.list)); err == nil || !strings.Contains(out, c.says) {
-			t.Errorf("wanted the check refused saying %q, got %v:\n%s", c.says, err, out)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func ptr(s string) *string { return &s }
-
-// writeTheList puts the list at the root of a tree the gate judges.
-func writeTheList(t *testing.T, tree, list string) string {
-	t.Helper()
-	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tree, catalogue.PredefinedFile), []byte(list), 0o644); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	return tree
-}
-
-func TestTheMergeGateJudgesEachManifestAgainstTheListOfTheTree(t *testing.T) {
-	withoutAPublishedList(t)
-	f, manifests := templatedMesh(t)
-
-	v := gateJudged(t, f, writeTheList(t, aTree(t, withEdit(manifests, "notifier",
-		notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"))), theFirstKeys), "modules/notifier/module.json")
-	if v.Verdict == "fail" || v.Modules["notifier"] != "changed" {
-		t.Fatalf("a module naming font-size on the tree's list failed the gate (%v):\n%s", v.Modules, v.Report())
-	}
-	for _, c := range []struct{ manifest, list, says string }{
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-scale", "number"), theFirstKeys, `"font-scale", which is not on the list`},
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "string"), theFirstKeys, "which is a number"},
-		{inlineNotifier, `{"font-size": {"type": "number", "description": "points", "unit": "pt"}}`, `unknown field "unit"`},
-	} {
-		v := gateJudged(t, f, writeTheList(t, aTree(t, withEdit(manifests, "notifier", c.manifest)), c.list),
-			"modules/notifier/module.json", catalogue.PredefinedFile)
-		if v.Verdict != "fail" || !strings.Contains(v.Report(), c.says) {
-			t.Errorf("wanted the gate to fail saying %q:\n%s", c.says, v.Report())
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// catalogueBuild is a trunk build of the catalogue carrying the list at a generation.
-func catalogueBuild(id, manifest, list string, generation int) link.BuildResult {
-	r := link.BuildResult{ID: id, Repository: "http://forge.internal:20000/novox/mesh-catalog.git",
-		Path: "modules/notifier", Ref: "main", On: "anchor", Commit: strings.Repeat(id[len(id)-1:], 12),
-		Manifest: json.RawMessage(manifest), Source: &link.SourceOnSeat{Seat: "git", Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog"}}
-	if list != "" {
-		r.Predefined = &link.PredefinedList{Keys: json.RawMessage(list), Generation: generation}
-	}
-	return r
-}
-
-func TestRegistrationPublishesTheNewestTrunkListAndJudgesEveryModuleAgainstIt(t *testing.T) {
-	withoutAPublishedList(t)
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-
-	// A manifest naming font-size registers, and its build's list is published.
-	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, asTheOperator(t, open.inventory,
-		catalogueBuild("b-1", notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), theFirstKeys, 10))); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a module naming font-size was not registered: %v", err)
-	}
-	kept, has, err := open.inventory.PredefinedKept(ctx)
-	if err != nil || !has || kept.Generation != 10 || kept.Build != "b-1" {
-		t.Fatalf("the list was not published: %+v %v %v", kept, has, err)
-	}
-	if got := catalogue.PublishedPredefined(); len(got) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("the controller judges against %v, not the list published", got)
-	}
-
-	// One naming a key not on the list, or of another type, is refused and never enters the catalogue.
-	for i, c := range []struct{ manifest, says string }{
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-scale", "number"), "not on the list"},
-		{notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "string"), "which is a number"},
-	} {
-		id := []string{"b-2", "b-3"}[i]
-		if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, catalogueBuild(id, c.manifest, theFirstKeys, 10)); err == nil ||
-			!strings.Contains(err.Error(), c.says) {
-			t.Errorf("wanted the registration refused saying %q, got %v", c.says, err)
-		}
-	}
-	src, err := open.inventory.SourceOf(ctx, "notifier")
-	if err != nil || src.BuiltFrom != strings.Repeat("1", 12) {
-		t.Fatalf("a refused build replaced the registered one: %+v %v", src, err)
-	}
-
-	// A newer build's list, which drops agent-managed-settings, replaces the published one.
-	smaller := `{"font-size": {"type": "number", "description": "points", "minimum": 6, "maximum": 72}}`
-	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, catalogueBuild("b-4",
-		notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), smaller, 12)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	// The older build's outcome heard later registers nothing new about the list: the newer stands.
-	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, catalogueBuild("b-5",
-		notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), theFirstKeys, 11)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	kept, _, _ = open.inventory.PredefinedKept(ctx)
-	if kept.Build != "b-4" || len(kept.Keys) != 1 || len(catalogue.PublishedPredefined()) != 1 {
-		t.Fatalf("an older build's list heard later replaced the newer one: %+v", kept)
-	}
-
-	// A build of another repository publishes nothing, and its manifest is judged against the published list.
-	other := catalogueBuild("b-6", notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), theFirstKeys, 99)
-	other.Repository, other.Source.Repository = "http://forge.internal:20000/novox/notifier.git", "novox/notifier"
-	other.Manifest = json.RawMessage(strings.Replace(notifierFallingBackTo("font-size", "number"), `"notifier"`,
-		`"chimes"`, 1))
-	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, asTheOperator(t, open.inventory, other)); err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a module of another repository naming a published key: %v", err)
-	}
-	if kept, _, _ = open.inventory.PredefinedKept(ctx); kept.Build != "b-4" {
-		t.Fatalf("a build of another repository published its list: %+v", kept)
-	}
-	other.ID, other.Manifest = "b-7", json.RawMessage(strings.Replace(notifierFallingBackTo("agent-managed-settings",
-		"number"), `"notifier"`, `"chimes"`, 1))
-	if _, _, err := takeIn(ctx, open.inventory, other); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "not on the list") {
-		t.Fatalf("a key only another repository's list holds was registered: %v", err)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/push.go

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 	// And what the catalogue decided a build meant. The builder's own result is already handled
 	// above; this is the other half — the control plane is the only one of the three that knows
 	// which machines run the thing, so it is the one that acts (novox/hq ADR 0072).
-	if err := server.Follows(following{open}); err != nil {
+	if err := server.Follows(following{open: open}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	// And the merges the bus announced and never handed over, read back on a timer and acted on late
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 	go catchingUpOnMerges(ctx, open, server)
 	// And a catalogue that has just started, asking for what it missed. The same type answers
 	// both: what a build meant and what the builds were are two questions about one record.
-	if err := server.Answers(following{open}); err != nil {
+	if err := server.Answers(following{open: open}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	// And what providers say about consumers they keep failing, kept for `status` (novox/hq ADR
@@ -256,7 +257,7 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 			go forgetChecksOfWalk(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), open.inventory, p)
 		}
 	}
-	if err := server.Checks(following{open}); err != nil {
+	if err := server.Checks(following{open: open}); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	// Composed now and kept current, before the verb that answers from it is served.
@@ -296,6 +297,8 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context) (err error) {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer stopCLI()
+	// Its read calls write no line each; how many each caller made is said once an hour (novox/hq issue 762).
+	go sayReadCalls(ctx)
 	// And says so on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0197): what it serves, as the NATS services protocol asks.
 	stopAnnouncing, err := bus.Announce(seatAnnouncement(handlers), log.New(os.Stdout, "", log.LstdFlags))
 	if err != nil {
@@ -1386,6 +1389,13 @@ func issueMemberships(ctx context.Context, open *stores, server *link.Server, se
 	if issued > 0 {
 		fmt.Printf("  issued %d membership(s)\n", issued)
 	}
+	// **And what every other machine hears of a module's stream** (novox/hq ADR 0363 §6): a grant the provider's
+	// setting changed reaches a consumer on a machine this send does not reach. Its membership is issued again
+	// as last issued, with only what it hears changed, so nothing else of it moves before its own send.
+	reheard := reissueHearing(ctx, bus, records, where, sent)
+	if reheard > 0 {
+		fmt.Printf("  issued %d membership(s) again for what they hear of a module's stream\n", reheard)
+	}
 	if len(refused) > 0 {
 		// Returned, never passed over (novox/hq issue 249): the declarations of the machines they are
 		// for are not sent, and the rollout that asked is tried again rather than waiting for a push.
@@ -1744,3 +1754,78 @@ func schemaReach() (int, error) {
 	}
 	return reach, nil
 }
+
+// reissueHearing issues again, on every machine not just sent, the membership of each assignment whose
+// `consumes` names a module owning a stream, when what it hears changed: read as last issued from the bus,
+// its `hears` replaced, and published. One that was never issued is left to its own send. Failures are said
+// and passed over: the send that carries the grant is not the consumer's, and its own next send issues it.
+func reissueHearing(ctx context.Context, bus link.OverNATS, records broker.Records, where broker.Placements,
+	sent []readyNode) int {
+	reached := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range sent {
+		reached[s.node] = true
+	}
+	issued := 0
+	for node, declared := range records.Assigned {
+		if reached[node] {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, d := range declared {
+			if !d.HearsAStream {
+				continue
+			}
+			subject := broker.MembershipSubject(node, d.Module)
+			last, err := bus.JS.GetLastMsg(broker.AssignmentsStream, subject)
+			if err != nil {
+				if !errors.Is(err, nats.ErrMsgNotFound) {
+					fmt.Printf("  %s on %s: its membership could not be read to issue what it hears again: %v\n",
+						d.Module, node, err)
+				}
+				continue
+			}
+			body, changed, err := withHearing(last.Data, broker.HeardIssuedFor(node, d))
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("  %s on %s: its membership could not be read to issue what it hears again: %v\n",
+					d.Module, node, err)
+				continue
+			}
+			if !changed {
+				continue
+			}
+			if err := bus.PublishMembership(ctx, node, d.Module, body); err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("  %s on %s: what it hears could not be issued again: %v\n", d.Module, node, err)
+				continue
+			}
+			issued++
+		}
+	}
+	return issued
+}
+
+// withHearing is a membership as issued with its `hears` replaced, and whether that changed it. Pure.
+func withHearing(issued []byte, hears []broker.HeardIssued) ([]byte, bool, error) {
+	var fields map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(issued, &fields); err != nil {
+		return nil, false, err
+	}
+	var had []broker.HeardIssued
+	if raw, ok := fields["hears"]; ok {
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &had); err != nil {
+			return nil, false, err
+		}
+	}
+	if slices.Equal(had, hears) {
+		return issued, false, nil
+	}
+	if len(hears) == 0 {
+		delete(fields, "hears")
+	} else {
+		raw, err := json.Marshal(hears)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, false, err
+		}
+		fields["hears"] = raw
+	}
+	body, err := json.Marshal(fields)
+	return body, true, err
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/queue.go

@@ -340,7 +340,10 @@ func cancelAsk(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream, open *stores, seat str
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s is marked cancelled and could not be deleted from the queue (seq %d): %w — a "+
 			"holder taking it ends it as cancelled", ask.ID, ask.Seq, err)
 	}
-	recordCancelled(ctx, open, ask)
+	// A check ended because its pull request has a newer head records nothing (novox/hq issue 726): open is nil.
+	if open != nil {
+		recordCancelled(ctx, open, ask)
+	}
 	return cancelSaid(ask, seat, removed), nil
 }
 
@@ -518,7 +521,9 @@ func rebuildCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	}
 
 	// **A module a plan holds unbuilt, or failed, joins that plan** rather than running beside it: the
-	// plan would ask it again, or stay failed on an outcome a rebuild has replaced.
+	// plan would ask it again, or stay failed on an outcome a rebuild has replaced. A walk waiting for its word
+	// is not joined (novox/hq issue 754): the rebuild runs beside it, and says so.
+	var beside string
 	if module != "" {
 		joined, said, err := joinAPlan(ctx, open, module)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -528,6 +533,7 @@ func rebuildCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 			fmt.Println(said)
 			return nil
 		}
+		beside = said
 	}
 	id, err := askABuild(ctx, source, path, ref)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -535,6 +541,10 @@ func rebuildCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	}
 	recordAsked(ctx, inventory.BuildRequest{ID: id, Repository: source.Repository, Seat: source.Seat, Path: path,
 		Ref: ref, For: "rebuild"})
+	if beside != "" {
+		fmt.Printf("rebuild asked as %s, beside the walk: %s\n", id, beside)
+		return nil
+	}
 	fmt.Printf("rebuild asked as %s\n", id)
 	return nil
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/queue_test.go

@@ -616,6 +616,7 @@ func TestKillAndPauseAskTheHolderOnTheMachine(t *testing.T) {
 // A plan that stopped at its first machine is retried: the module sent to that machine again, the
 // send recorded as the first anew, and the plan goes on — unless a newer plan holds the module.
 func TestAPlanStoppedAtItsFirstMachineIsRetried(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate's own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	asked := asksRecorded(t)
@@ -636,8 +637,9 @@ func TestAPlanStoppedAtItsFirstMachineIsRetried(t *testing.T) {
 	stopped := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-rollout", Repository: "novox/a", Branch: "main", Commit: "c0ffee",
 		Created: long, State: inventory.PlanFailed, Tiers: [][]string{{"a"}, {"b"}},
 		Note: "a stopped at its first machine in tier 0: laptop refused what it was sent",
-		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &long, Commit: "c0ffee",
-			First: []string{"laptop"}, FirstAt: &long, Why: "laptop refused what it was sent"}}}
+		// Asked by the plan, as every module a plan holds built is (novox/hq issue 754).
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"a": {State: "built", AskedAt: &long, Build: "build-a", BuiltAt: &long,
+			Commit: "c0ffee", First: []string{"laptop"}, FirstAt: &long, Why: "laptop refused what it was sent"}}}
 	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, &stopped); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/reissue_hearing_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+)
+
+// A membership issued again for what it hears changes nothing else of it (novox/hq ADR 0363 §6).
+func TestAMembershipIssuedAgainChangesOnlyWhatItHears(t *testing.T) {
+	issued := []byte(`{"node":"ace","module":"reader","receives":{"x":[1]},"emits":"mesh.mod.reader.event.{event}"}`)
+	hears := []broker.HeardIssued{{Stream: "MAIL", Consumer: "ace_reader"}}
+	body, changed, err := withHearing(issued, hears)
+	if err != nil || !changed {
+		t.Fatalf("changed %v, %v", changed, err)
+	}
+	var got map[string]any
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if got["receives"] == nil || got["emits"] != "mesh.mod.reader.event.{event}" || got["hears"] == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("issued again as %s", body)
+	}
+	if _, again, _ := withHearing(body, hears); again {
+		t.Fatal("the same hearing issued again counts as a change")
+	}
+	gone, changed, err := withHearing(body, nil)
+	if err != nil || !changed {
+		t.Fatalf("a withdrawal: %v, %v", changed, err)
+	}
+	got = nil
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(gone, &got); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, still := got["hears"]; still {
+		t.Fatalf("a withdrawn hearing is still issued: %s", gone)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/release.go

@@ -750,6 +750,11 @@ func advanceRelease(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan) (bool,
 	if r.Rest {
 		return advanceRest(ctx, open, p, now)
 	}
+	if r.Gate == nil && !gateFirstMachine {
+		// **No first machine** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7): every machine heard from is sent at once, in one step.
+		r.Rest = true
+		return advanceRest(ctx, open, p, now)
+	}
 	if r.Gate == nil {
 		heard, err := releaseHeard(ctx, open)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -1015,6 +1020,25 @@ func advanceRest(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan, now time.
 			judging = append(judging, node+": not yet reported on its send")
 			continue
 		}
+		if !gateFirstMachine {
+			// **Judged by its report alone** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7): applied passes; failed or refused is named and
+			// fails the walk, with nothing put back — apply-failing says it.
+			switch rep := byNode[node]; rep.Outcome {
+			case inventory.OutcomeApplied:
+				decide(g, inventory.GatePassed, node+" reported it applied its send (novox/hq ADR 0360)", now)
+				passCarried(ctx, open, p, g, "")
+				r.Done = append(r.Done, node)
+				changed = true
+			case inventory.OutcomeFailed, inventory.OutcomeRefused:
+				decide(g, inventory.GateFailed, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s its send", node, rep.Outcome), now)
+				r.Failed = append(r.Failed, node)
+				changed = true
+				notes = append(notes, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s its send: nothing put back, apply-failing says it", node, rep.Outcome))
+			default:
+				judging = append(judging, node+": not yet reported on its send")
+			}
+			continue
+		}
 		verdict, err := judgeMoves(ctx, open, g, nil, now)
 		if err != nil {
 			return changed, err
@@ -1099,6 +1123,9 @@ func advanceRest(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan, now time.
 // keptStepGrew says why a step's kept sends would now carry a build no gate passed that they were not kept with;
 // empty when none would.
 func keptStepGrew(ctx context.Context, open *stores, r *inventory.PlanRelease, pending []string) (string, error) {
+	if !gateFirstMachine {
+		return "", nil // every machine goes at once (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7): a send carries what waits when it is made
+	}
 	f, err := readMoveFacts(ctx, open.inventory)
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", err
@@ -1207,7 +1234,11 @@ func openRestStep(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan) (bool, s
 	if err != nil {
 		return false, "", err
 	}
-	step := restStep(nodes, waiting, f.gated, func(module string) bool { return oneAtATime(module, shelf[module]) })
+	// **Every machine at once** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §2, §7): no build waits for one machine to pass first.
+	step := nodes
+	if gateFirstMachine {
+		step = restStep(nodes, waiting, f.gated, func(module string) bool { return oneAtATime(module, shelf[module]) })
+	}
 	if len(step) == 0 {
 		if len(walked) > 0 {
 			return false, "waiting before " + strings.Join(walked, "; "), nil

cmd/mesh-controller/release_branch_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,273 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// **A pull request into a release branch is judged by that branch** (novox/hq ADR 0358, issue 704): a base that is
+// not its repository's trunk, where mesh-controller has a branch of that name, is a release branch; the check then
+// reads every repository beside it at its branch of that name where it has one, else at its trunk. Any other base is
+// checked exactly as before.
+
+const aRelease = "feat/57-config-and-provisioning"
+
+// theCore is the mesh's core as a check reads it beside: the controller, the node-engine, the tool runner and the
+// catalogue's bus, on the git seat.
+func theCore() []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"
+	return []inventory.Entry{onSeat("mesh-controller", "novox/mesh-controller"), onSeat("mesh-host", "novox/mesh-host"),
+		onSeat("node-tools", "novox/mesh-tools"), nats, onSeat("gitea", "novox/mesh-catalog")}
+}
+
+// aForgeWithBranches stands in for the forge: which branches each repository has, and how often it was asked.
+func aForgeWithBranches(t *testing.T, branches map[string][]string, failing error) *int {
+	t.Helper()
+	asked := 0
+	was := forgeHasBranch
+	t.Cleanup(func() { forgeHasBranch = was })
+	forgeHasBranch = func(_ context.Context, owner, repo, branch string) (bool, error) {
+		asked++
+		if failing != nil {
+			return false, failing
+		}
+		for _, b := range branches[owner+"/"+repo] {
+			if b == branch {
+				return true, nil
+			}
+		}
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	return &asked
+}
+
+func TestABaseIsAReleaseBranchWhenTheControllerHasABranchOfThatName(t *testing.T) {
+	entries := theCore()
+	scopeOf := func(p link.PullUpdated) checkScope { return pullScope(p, entries, nil, nil) }
+	pull := func(repo, base string) link.PullUpdated {
+		return link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: repo, Number: 286, Base: base, Commit: "abc",
+			Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}}
+	}
+
+	asked := aForgeWithBranches(t, map[string][]string{"novox/mesh-controller": {"main", aRelease}}, nil)
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		what    string
+		p       link.PullUpdated
+		release string
+		asks    int
+	}{
+		{"a pull request into the trunk asks nothing and is no release", pull("mesh-catalog", "main"), "", 0},
+		{"a catalogue pull request into the release branch", pull("mesh-catalog", aRelease), aRelease, 1},
+		{"a controller pull request into the release branch", pull("mesh-controller", aRelease), aRelease, 1},
+		{"a base mesh-controller has no branch of is checked as today", pull("mesh-catalog", "feat/other"), "", 1},
+		{"no base: as today", pull("mesh-catalog", ""), "", 0},
+	} {
+		*asked = 0
+		got, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), c.p, scopeOf(c.p), entries)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", c.what, err)
+		}
+		if got != c.release || *asked != c.asks {
+			t.Errorf("%s: release %q after %d question(s) to the forge, not %q after %d", c.what, got, *asked,
+				c.release, c.asks)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The branch a module built from the repository follows is its trunk: never asked about.
+	photos := fromRepo("photos", "novox/photos", "")
+	photos.Source.Ref = "nox-mesh"
+	withPhotos := append(theCore(), photos)
+	p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "photos", Base: "nox-mesh", Commit: "abc", Paths: []string{"x.js"}}
+	*asked = 0
+	if got, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), p, pullScope(p, withPhotos, nil, nil), withPhotos); err != nil ||
+		got != "" || *asked != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a module's own trunk read as release %q (%v) after %d question(s)", got, err, *asked)
+	}
+
+	// A forge that cannot answer is an error, never "no release branch".
+	aForgeWithBranches(t, nil, errors.New("nothing serves gitea.gitea_api"))
+	q := pull("mesh-catalog", aRelease)
+	if _, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), q, scopeOf(q), entries); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "cannot be told") {
+		t.Fatalf("an unanswered forge was read as an answer: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBesideAReleaseBranchCheckEachRepositoryIsReadAtThatBranchElseItsTrunk(t *testing.T) {
+	entries := theCore()
+	clone := func(s inventory.Source) (string, error) { return "http://git/" + s.Repository + ".git", nil }
+	running := func(module string) string { return "running-" + module }
+
+	beside, err := besideOf(entries, running, clone, aRelease)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	at := func(repo string, ref, orElse string) link.CheckedOut {
+		return link.CheckedOut{Repository: "http://git/novox/" + repo + ".git", Ref: ref, Else: orElse}
+	}
+	want := map[string]link.CheckedOut{
+		// The judge: mesh-controller's release branch, which it has.
+		"mesh-controller":      at("mesh-controller", aRelease, ""),
+		"mesh-controller-main": at("mesh-controller", "main", ""),
+		// A controller pull request into the release branch reads mesh-host at that branch where it has one.
+		"mesh-host":    at("mesh-host", aRelease, "main"),
+		"mesh-tools":   at("mesh-tools", aRelease, "main"),
+		"mesh-catalog": at("mesh-catalog", aRelease, "main"),
+		// mesh-lab at its trunk, always: its replays run with the container runtime's socket.
+		"mesh-lab": at("mesh-lab", "main", ""),
+		"mesh-sdk": at("mesh-sdk", aRelease, "main"),
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(beside, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("beside a release-branch check:\n got %v\nwant %v", beside, want)
+	}
+
+	// Any other base: exactly as before — what the mesh runs, the catalogue's and the lab's main.
+	beside, err = besideOf(entries, running, clone, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want = map[string]link.CheckedOut{
+		"mesh-controller":      at("mesh-controller", "running-mesh-controller", ""),
+		"mesh-controller-main": at("mesh-controller", "main", ""),
+		"mesh-host":            at("mesh-host", "running-mesh-host", ""),
+		"mesh-tools":           at("mesh-tools", "running-node-tools", ""),
+		"mesh-catalog":         at("mesh-catalog", "main", ""),
+		"mesh-lab":             at("mesh-lab", "main", ""),
+		"mesh-sdk":             at("mesh-sdk", sdkPinned(), ""),
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(beside, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("beside a trunk check:\n got %v\nwant %v", beside, want)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAReleaseBranchVerdictNamesTheBranchTheJudgeAndWhatItRead(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: aRelease, Release: aRelease}
+	c := checkedOf(link.BuildResult{ID: "b", Ref: "aaaaaaaaaaaa0000", Checked: asked, Check: &link.CheckOutcome{
+		Verdict: "pass", Head: "aaaaaaaaaaaa", Trunk: "111111111111", Gate: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"},
+		RepoCheck: &link.CheckLayer{Verdict: "pass"}, Release: aRelease, JudgedBy: "fcdecb436117",
+		Beside:    map[string]string{"mesh-host": "222222222222", "mesh-lab": "333333333333"},
+		BesideAt:  map[string]string{"mesh-host": aRelease, "mesh-lab": "main"},
+		Validator: "mesh-host's validator of " + aRelease + " at 222222222222"}})
+	if c.Release != aRelease || c.JudgedBy != "fcdecb436117" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names release %q judged by %q", c.Release, c.JudgedBy)
+	}
+	if c.BesideAt["mesh-host"] != aRelease || c.BesideAt["mesh-lab"] != "main" || c.Beside["mesh-host"] != "222222222222" ||
+		c.Validator != "mesh-host's validator of "+aRelease+" at 222222222222" {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names what it read beside it as %v at %v", c.Beside, c.BesideAt)
+	}
+}
+
+// **Clause 5** (ADR 0358 §5): a release branch's own pull request into its trunk is no release-branch check: the forge
+// is asked nothing, the request names no release branch, and the repositories beside it are read as for any trunk
+// pull request. Its delivery group's composed check is asked as for any other (askGroupCheck, unchanged).
+func TestAReleaseBranchsPullRequestIntoItsTrunkIsCheckedAsAnyTrunkPullRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	entries := theCore()
+	asked := aForgeWithBranches(t, map[string][]string{"novox/mesh-controller": {"main", aRelease}}, nil)
+	for _, repo := range []string{"mesh-catalog", "mesh-controller", "mesh-host"} {
+		p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: repo, Number: 400, Head: aRelease, Base: "main", Commit: "abc",
+			Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}}
+		got, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), p, pullScope(p, entries, nil, nil), entries)
+		if err != nil || got != "" || *asked != 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("%s's release branch into main read as release %q (%v) after %d question(s)", repo, got, err, *asked)
+		}
+	}
+	clone := func(s inventory.Source) (string, error) { return "http://git/" + s.Repository + ".git", nil }
+	beside, err := besideOf(entries, func(module string) string { return "running-" + module }, clone, "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for dir, b := range beside {
+		if b.Ref == aRelease || b.Else != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("beside a trunk pull request %s is read at %+v", dir, b)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// **A forge answer that names no branch is an error**, never "no release branch"; a 404 is "no such branch".
+func TestTheForgesAnswerAboutABranchIsReadStrictly(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		what   string
+		answer link.Answer
+		has    bool
+		fails  bool
+	}{
+		{"the branch named", link.Answer{Result: []byte(`{"result":{"name":"` + aRelease + `"}}`)}, true, false},
+		{"not found", link.Answer{Error: "Gitea API /repos/novox/mesh-controller/branches/x: 404 {\"message\":\"not found\"}"},
+			false, false},
+		{"an empty branch name", link.Answer{Result: []byte(`{"result":{"name":""}}`)}, false, true},
+		{"no result", link.Answer{Result: []byte(`{}`)}, false, true},
+		{"another branch named", link.Answer{Result: []byte(`{"result":{"name":"main"}}`)}, false, true},
+		{"unreadable", link.Answer{Result: []byte(`not json`)}, false, true},
+		{"another error", link.Answer{Error: "Gitea API: 500 internal"}, false, true},
+	} {
+		has, err := branchAnswered(c.answer, aRelease)
+		if has != c.has || (err != nil) != c.fails {
+			t.Errorf("%s: has %v, error %v", c.what, has, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// **The trunk is the repository's own, not a name**: a repository whose trunk is not main, one that follows main, and
+// a controller whose trunk is not main.
+func TestATrunkIsTheBranchTheRepositoryFollows(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := aForgeWithBranches(t, map[string][]string{"novox/mesh-controller": {"main", aRelease, "master"}}, nil)
+	legacy := fromRepo("legacy", "novox/legacy", "")
+	legacy.Source.Ref = "master"
+	onMain := fromRepo("photos", "novox/photos", "")
+	onMain.Source.Ref = "main"
+	entries := append(theCore(), legacy, onMain)
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		what, repo, base, release string
+		asks                      int
+	}{
+		{"a repository whose trunk is master, into master", "legacy", "master", "", 0},
+		{"a repository whose trunk is master, into the release branch", "legacy", aRelease, aRelease, 1},
+		{"a repository whose module follows main, into main", "photos", "main", "", 0},
+		{"a repository whose module follows main, into the release branch", "photos", aRelease, aRelease, 1},
+	} {
+		*asked = 0
+		p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: c.repo, Base: c.base, Commit: "abc", Paths: []string{"x"}}
+		got, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), p, pullScope(p, entries, nil, nil), entries)
+		if err != nil || got != c.release || *asked != c.asks {
+			t.Errorf("%s: release %q (%v) after %d question(s), not %q after %d", c.what, got, err, *asked, c.release, c.asks)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// A controller whose trunk is not main: main may be a release branch there, and its own trunk never is.
+	core := theCore()
+	core[0].Source.Ref = "trunk"
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		base, release string
+		asks          int
+	}{{"trunk", "", 0}, {"main", "main", 1}} {
+		*asked = 0
+		p := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "hq", Base: c.base, Commit: "abc", Paths: []string{"x"}}
+		got, err := releaseBranchOf(t.Context(), p, pullScope(p, core, nil, nil), core)
+		if err != nil || got != c.release || *asked != c.asks {
+			t.Errorf("hq into %s, the controller following trunk: release %q (%v) after %d question(s)", c.base, got, err,
+				*asked)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// trunkOf: the branch a source follows, and main when it records none or records a commit (issue 215's rule).
+func TestATrunkIsMainWhenTheSourceRecordsNone(t *testing.T) {
+	for ref, want := range map[string]string{"": "main", "main": "main", "master": "master", "nox-mesh": "nox-mesh",
+		"0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef01234567": "main", "  ": "main"} {
+		if got := trunkOf(inventory.Source{Ref: ref}); got != want {
+			t.Errorf("a source recording %q follows %q, not %q", ref, got, want)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan.go

@@ -9,11 +9,13 @@ import (
 	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/builder"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
 )
@@ -26,6 +28,10 @@ import (
 // alone cannot (a tier waiting for machines to report); a controller replaced mid-plan finds the
 // plan where it left it.
 
+// gateFirstMachine sends a module that rolls out to one machine first and judges it there (ADR 0236). Off since
+// novox/hq ADR 0360: the gate's code is kept for the walks a controller before it started, and its tests turn it on.
+var gateFirstMachine = false
+
 // planWaitBound is how long a plan may wait on one thing before `status` names it red.
 const planWaitBound = 30 * time.Minute
 
@@ -42,29 +48,15 @@ func tiersOf(set []string, edges []inventory.Edge) [][]string {
 	for _, m := range set {
 		deps[m] = map[string]bool{}
 	}
-	// The build seat's holders follow the controller that defines their worker (EdgeWorkerOf,
-	// novox/hq issue 206), so the built-by edge from that controller to such a holder yields: the
-	// controller is built by whichever build machine is running, as the runtime image always was.
-	worker := map[string]map[string]bool{}
-	for _, e := range edges {
-		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeWorkerOf && in[e.From] && in[e.To] {
-			if worker[e.To] == nil {
-				worker[e.To] = map[string]bool{}
-			}
-			worker[e.To][e.From] = true
-		}
-	}
 	for _, e := range edges {
 		// A code dependency — B packages A's source — rebuilds B with A, in the same tier: B's
-		// build needs nothing of A's first. The other kinds order: stands-on and declared after
-		// the base is built, built-by after the build machine is built and running — except for
-		// what the build machine itself stands on, and for the controller whose worker the build
-		// machine binds. The runtime image is built by the builder and the builder is built on the
-		// runtime image; the image comes first, built by the builder that is running.
+		// build needs nothing of A's first. Stands-on and declared order after the base is built, and the
+		// build seat's holder follows the controller that defines its worker (EdgeWorkerOf, issue 206).
 		if !in[e.From] || !in[e.To] || e.From == e.To || e.Kind == inventory.EdgePackages {
 			continue
 		}
-		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy && (isBaseOf(e.From, e.To, edges, in) || worker[e.From][e.To]) {
+		// **Being built by the builder orders nothing** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): whichever builder runs builds it.
+		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy {
 			continue
 		}
 		deps[e.From][e.To] = true
@@ -105,29 +97,6 @@ func tiersOf(set []string, edges []inventory.Edge) [][]string {
 	return tiers
 }
 
-// isBaseOf says whether `to` stands on `base`, directly or through other bases in the set, along
-// the build edges alone.
-func isBaseOf(base, to string, edges []inventory.Edge, in map[string]bool) bool {
-	seen := map[string]bool{}
-	var walk func(string) bool
-	walk = func(m string) bool {
-		if m == base {
-			return true
-		}
-		if seen[m] {
-			return false
-		}
-		seen[m] = true
-		for _, e := range edges {
-			if e.From == m && in[e.To] && (e.Kind == inventory.EdgeStandsOn || e.Kind == inventory.EdgeDeclared) && walk(e.To) {
-				return true
-			}
-		}
-		return false
-	}
-	return walk(to)
-}
-
 // reachableFrom is the moved modules plus everything that depends on them, through every layer:
 // what a merge rebuilds. Along the code and build edges only: a module *built by* the build machine
 // is not changed by a new build machine, so a built-by edge orders and gates a plan and never
@@ -163,7 +132,7 @@ func reachableFrom(moved []string, edges []inventory.Edge) []string {
 }
 
 // hasCycle says whether the tiers' last tier holds modules that still depend on each other. A packages
-// edge orders nothing (tiersOf), so a module and what packages its source share a tier by rule: that is
+// or built-by edge orders nothing (tiersOf), so a module and what packages its source share a tier by rule: that is
 // no cycle, and saying one was is a false report in every such plan's log.
 func hasCycle(tiers [][]string, edges []inventory.Edge) bool {
 	if len(tiers) == 0 {
@@ -174,7 +143,7 @@ func hasCycle(tiers [][]string, edges []inventory.Edge) bool {
 		last[m] = true
 	}
 	for _, e := range edges {
-		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgePackages {
+		if e.Kind == inventory.EdgePackages || e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy {
 			continue
 		}
 		if last[e.From] && last[e.To] {
@@ -220,12 +189,6 @@ func gates(p inventory.Plan, edges []inventory.Edge, rollsOut func(string) bool)
 		return nil
 	}
 	inTier := map[string]bool{}
-	all := map[string]bool{}
-	for _, tier := range p.Tiers {
-		for _, m := range tier {
-			all[m] = true
-		}
-	}
 	for _, m := range p.Tiers[p.Tier] {
 		inTier[m] = true
 	}
@@ -240,8 +203,8 @@ func gates(p inventory.Plan, edges []inventory.Edge, rollsOut func(string) bool)
 	for _, e := range edges {
 		// A delivery group's order inside a walk (novox/hq ADR 0276 decision 5) gates as built-by does: the
 		// member before is running on its machines before the member after is asked.
-		ordered := e.Kind == edgeGroupOrder ||
-			e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy && !isBaseOf(e.From, e.To, edges, all)
+		// A built-by edge waits for nothing since novox/hq ADR 0360 §3.
+		ordered := e.Kind == edgeGroupOrder
 		if later[e.From] && inTier[e.To] && ordered && !seen[e.To] && rollsOut(e.To) {
 			seen[e.To] = true
 			out = append(out, e.To)
@@ -296,10 +259,11 @@ func applied(module string, builtAt time.Time, running []string, reports []inven
 	return len(waiting) == 0, waiting
 }
 
-// askTier asks the build machine for every module of the tier, and marks each asked. A module
+// askTier asks the build machine for the named modules of the plan's tier — all of it, or what of it is still
+// unasked (novox/hq issue 754) — and marks each asked. A module
 // the catalogue no longer holds, or whose ask could not be made, is a failure of the plan: a tier
 // half asked is a tier that will never complete.
-func askTier(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p *inventory.Plan) error {
+func askTier(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p *inventory.Plan, names []string) error {
 	entries, err := inv.Catalogued(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -308,12 +272,62 @@ func askTier(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, p *inventory.Plan) e
 	for _, e := range entries {
 		byName[e.Manifest.Module] = e
 	}
-	for _, name := range p.Tiers[p.Tier] {
+	for _, name := range names {
 		askModule(ctx, p, name, byName)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
+// unaskedOf are the modules of a plan's current tier it has still to ask: those it never asked, and one it holds
+// built that it never asked for (novox/hq issue 754) — a build taken in by a controller from before a walk took
+// only its own asks, somebody else's, which the walk would otherwise send as its own (ADR 0219). A tier partly asked is asked the rest, not
+// waited on for ever: a walk that waits for every build of a tier it never asked whole never moves again.
+func unaskedOf(p inventory.Plan) []string {
+	if p.Tier >= len(p.Tiers) {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, m := range p.Tiers[p.Tier] {
+		s := p.Modules[m]
+		switch {
+		case s == nil || s.State == "":
+			out = append(out, m)
+		case s.State == "built" && s.Build == "" && s.AskedAt == nil:
+			out = append(out, m)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// askedInTier says the plan asked a module of its current tier itself: under an id, or at a time it kept.
+func askedInTier(p inventory.Plan) bool {
+	if p.Tier >= len(p.Tiers) {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, m := range p.Tiers[p.Tier] {
+		if s := p.Modules[m]; s != nil && (s.Build != "" || s.AskedAt != nil) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// takesOutcome says whether a build's outcome is the plan's for a module of its current tier (novox/hq ADR 0219,
+// issues 219 and 754). **A walk that waits for its delivery's word asks nothing, and so is answered by nothing**
+// (ADR 0239): a rebuild that lands in the wait is somebody else's build. **Nor is a module the plan never asked
+// answered**: taken, the plan held a module built that it never asked, and waited for the rest of the tier for
+// ever. Asked under an id, the plan takes that id's outcome and no other; asked before ids were kept, a build
+// asked at or after the plan's ask.
+func takesOutcome(p inventory.Plan, state *inventory.PlanModule, asked time.Time, id string) bool {
+	if p.Waiting() || state == nil || (state.Build == "" && state.AskedAt == nil) {
+		return false
+	}
+	if state.Build != "" {
+		return state.Build == id
+	}
+	return !askedBefore(asked, state.AskedAt)
+}
+
 // askABuild is how a plan asks for one build, not waited for, and learns the id it asked under. A
 // variable so a test of what a plan does around an ask needs no build machine.
 //
@@ -386,15 +400,73 @@ var checkedBuildsOf = func(ctx context.Context, pulls []link.PullRef) ([]link.Ch
 	return link.ReadCheckBuilds(ctx, js, buildSeatHeld(ctx), pulls, time.Now().Add(-builder.CheckBuildsKept))
 }
 
+// mergedHeadsOf are the head commits the walk's merges merged, by pull request (novox/hq issue 703): a pull request
+// merged twice in one walk, or whose head the announcement did not say, has none, and takes no check's build.
+func mergedHeadsOf(p *inventory.Plan) map[link.PullRef]string {
+	heads := map[link.PullRef]string{}
+	if p.Delivery == nil {
+		return heads
+	}
+	seen := map[link.PullRef]bool{}
+	for _, m := range p.Delivery.Merges {
+		pull, ok := pullOf(m)
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		if seen[pull] && heads[pull] != m.Head {
+			heads[pull] = ""
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[pull] = true
+		heads[pull] = m.Head
+	}
+	return heads
+}
+
+// walkVerdicts are the checks' builds a walk read, by the walk's plan: read once per walk (novox/hq issue 649), not
+// once per module it asks for. Kept a day; a walk lasts minutes.
+var walkVerdicts = struct {
+	sync.Mutex
+	read map[string]verdictsRead
+}{read: map[string]verdictsRead{}}
+
+type verdictsRead struct {
+	at     time.Time
+	builds []link.CheckedBuild
+}
+
 // reuseWithVerdicts is a walk's leave with the builds its pull requests' verdicts name: the only builds the builder
-// may take (ADR 0350 §2). When they cannot be read the leave names none, and the walk builds, saying why.
-func reuseWithVerdicts(ctx context.Context, r *link.ReuseAsk) *link.ReuseAsk {
-	builds, err := checkedBuildsOf(ctx, r.Pulls)
-	if err != nil {
-		fmt.Printf("  the checks' builds of %d pull request(s) could not be read, so the walk builds: %v\n", len(r.Pulls), err)
-		return r
+// may take (ADR 0350 §2), and **only those of a check of the head each merge merged** (novox/hq issue 703): a build
+// a check made at an earlier head of the same pull request is never registered. Read once per walk. When they
+// cannot be read the leave names none, and the walk builds, saying why.
+func reuseWithVerdicts(ctx context.Context, walk string, r *link.ReuseAsk, heads map[link.PullRef]string) *link.ReuseAsk {
+	walkVerdicts.Lock()
+	read, known := walkVerdicts.read[walk]
+	walkVerdicts.Unlock()
+	if !known || walk == "" {
+		builds, err := checkedBuildsOf(ctx, r.Pulls)
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Printf("  the checks' builds of %d pull request(s) could not be read, so the walk builds: %v\n", len(r.Pulls), err)
+			return r
+		}
+		read = verdictsRead{at: time.Now(), builds: builds}
+		if walk != "" {
+			walkVerdicts.Lock()
+			for id, w := range walkVerdicts.read {
+				if time.Since(w.at) > 24*time.Hour {
+					delete(walkVerdicts.read, id)
+				}
+			}
+			walkVerdicts.read[walk] = read
+			walkVerdicts.Unlock()
+		}
+	}
+	r.Builds = nil
+	for _, b := range read.builds {
+		if link.SameHead(b.Head, heads[b.Pull]) {
+			r.Builds = append(r.Builds, b)
+		}
 	}
-	r.Builds = builds
 	return r
 }
 
@@ -437,7 +509,8 @@ func askModule(ctx context.Context, p *inventory.Plan, name string, byName map[s
 	}
 	// **The walk takes the check's build of the same key** (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2): its ask says so, with the pull
 	// requests it answers, whose checks name the part of a differing key.
-	id, err := askABuild(withReuse(ctx, reuseWithVerdicts(ctx, reuseAskOf(p))), source, e.Source.Path, ref)
+	id, err := askABuild(withReuse(ctx, reuseWithVerdicts(ctx, p.ID, reuseAskOf(p), mergedHeadsOf(p))), source,
+		e.Source.Path, ref)
 	if err != nil {
 		state.State = "failed"
 		state.Why = err.Error()
@@ -504,22 +577,15 @@ func planBuiltSaying(ctx context.Context, open *stores, module, commit, failed s
 		if !inTier {
 			continue
 		}
-		state := p.Modules[module]
-		if state == nil {
-			state = &inventory.PlanModule{}
-			p.Modules[module] = state
-		}
 		// **The plan's own ask is its outcome, by id** (novox/hq ADR 0219); another build of the module
 		// is, as before, when it was asked at or after the plan's ask (issue 219).
 		// **A module asked under an id is answered by that id's outcome and no other** (novox/hq ADR
 		// 0219): a replay, a rebuild beside the plan, or an older ask finishing late is somebody else's
 		// build, made from other source, and settling the plan with it would send that. A plan from
-		// before ids were kept is matched as it was: by when the build was asked (issue 219).
-		if state.Build != "" {
-			if state.Build != id {
-				continue
-			}
-		} else if askedBefore(asked, state.AskedAt) {
+		// before ids were kept is matched as it was: by when the build was asked (issue 219). A walk
+		// waiting for its word, or a module it never asked, takes no outcome at all (issue 754).
+		state := p.Modules[module]
+		if !takesOutcome(*p, state, asked, id) {
 			continue
 		}
 		if failed != "" && deletedAtSource(failed) {
@@ -725,17 +791,11 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 		return true, nil
 	}
 	tier := p.Tiers[p.Tier]
-	// Not yet asked: ask.
-	unasked := 0
-	for _, m := range tier {
-		if s := p.Modules[m]; s == nil || s.State == "" {
-			unasked++
-		}
-	}
-	if unasked == len(tier) {
+	// Not yet asked: ask — the whole tier, or what of it is still unasked (novox/hq issue 754).
+	if unasked := unaskedOf(*p); len(unasked) > 0 {
 		// **One walk at a time** (novox/hq ADR 0276): a walk about to ask its first tier while another started
 		// walk is open waits for that one to end, let go or not, and says so.
-		if p.Tier == 0 {
+		if p.Tier == 0 && !askedInTier(*p) {
 			if behind, err := startedBeside(ctx, inv, p.ID, p.Created); err != nil {
 				return false, err
 			} else if behind != "" {
@@ -745,7 +805,10 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 				return changed, nil
 			}
 		}
-		if err := askTier(ctx, inv, p); err != nil {
+		if len(unasked) < len(tier) {
+			fmt.Printf("%s: tier %d was asked in part; asking the rest: %s\n", p.ID, p.Tier, strings.Join(unasked, ", "))
+		}
+		if err := askTier(ctx, inv, p, unasked); err != nil {
 			return false, err
 		}
 		return true, nil
@@ -828,6 +891,12 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 		if err != nil {
 			return false, err
 		}
+		// **Every machine at once** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §1, §2): a module that rolls out is sent to every machine
+		// running it in one step, with no first machine and no gate, whatever module it is. A module a controller
+		// before ADR 0360 already sent to its first machine finishes under its gate.
+		if !gateFirstMachine && state.FirstAt == nil {
+			policy.Together = true
+		}
 		var reports []inventory.Reported
 		if !policy.Together {
 			// Read for the choice of the first machine as well as for its report.
@@ -1057,15 +1126,92 @@ func advanceOnce(ctx context.Context, open *stores, p *inventory.Plan,
 			return changed, nil
 		}
 	}
+	// **A walk ends on its machines' reports** (novox/hq ADR 0360 §4, §5): after its last tier, every machine it sent
+	// has reported on that send, or is silent past ApplySilentAfter; never a health reading.
+	end := ""
+	if p.Tier == len(p.Tiers)-1 {
+		reports, err := inv.LastReports(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		waiting, failed, silent := walkReports(*p, reports, time.Now().UTC())
+		if len(waiting) > 0 {
+			note := "sent; waiting for " + strings.Join(waiting, ", ") + " to report on their send"
+			changed := p.State != inventory.PlanRolling || p.Note != note
+			p.State = inventory.PlanRolling
+			p.Note = note
+			return changed, nil
+		}
+		var said []string
+		if len(failed) > 0 {
+			said = append(said, "failed or refused its send (apply-failing says it): "+strings.Join(failed, ", "))
+		}
+		if len(silent) > 0 {
+			said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf("said nothing on its send within %s: %s", inventory.ApplySilentAfter,
+				strings.Join(silent, ", ")))
+		}
+		end = strings.Join(said, "; ")
+		// **The new controller's user list follows its walk** (ADR 0236 §34, read without the gate since ADR 0360):
+		// once a walk that moved the controller ends, the bus's machine is sent the list it composes, if behind.
+		if s := p.Modules[catalogue.ControllerSeatName]; s != nil && s.SentAt != nil && s.Gate == nil && !noMove(s) {
+			carryUserList(ctx, open, p)
+		}
+	}
 	p.Tier++
 	p.State = inventory.PlanBuilding
-	p.Note = ""
+	p.Note = end
 	if p.Tier < len(p.Tiers) {
 		fmt.Printf("%s: tier %d done; asking tier %d: %s\n", p.ID, p.Tier-1, p.Tier, strings.Join(p.Tiers[p.Tier], ", "))
 	}
 	return true, nil
 }
 
+// walkReports is, for every machine a walk sent its rest, whether it reported on that send (novox/hq ADR 0360 §4):
+// those still waiting, those that reported a failed or refused apply, and those silent past ApplySilentAfter,
+// each sorted. Pure.
+func walkReports(p inventory.Plan, reports []inventory.Reported, now time.Time) (waiting, failed, silent []string) {
+	byNode := map[string]inventory.Reported{}
+	for _, r := range reports {
+		byNode[r.Node] = r
+	}
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range p.Modules {
+		if s == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		for node, sent := range s.Rest {
+			if seen[node] {
+				continue
+			}
+			r := byNode[node]
+			at := sent.At
+			if at.IsZero() && s.SentAt != nil {
+				at = *s.SentAt
+			}
+			switch {
+			case r.At != nil && sent.ReportsOn(r):
+				seen[node] = true
+				if r.Outcome == inventory.OutcomeFailed || r.Outcome == inventory.OutcomeRefused {
+					failed = append(failed, node)
+				}
+			case !at.IsZero() && now.Sub(at) > inventory.ApplySilentAfter:
+				seen[node] = true
+				silent = append(silent, node)
+			default:
+				if !slices.Contains(waiting, node) {
+					waiting = append(waiting, node)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// A machine one module's send was reported on and another's not yet is the same send: reported.
+	waiting = slices.DeleteFunc(waiting, func(n string) bool { return seen[n] })
+	sort.Strings(waiting)
+	sort.Strings(failed)
+	sort.Strings(silent)
+	return waiting, failed, silent
+}
+
 // restOf is, for one module, every machine of its rest that the send reached and what it carried there.
 func restOf(to, sent []string, what map[string]inventory.SentDeclaration) map[string]inventory.SentDeclaration {
 	out := map[string]inventory.SentDeclaration{}

cmd/mesh-controller/release_plan_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"slices"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -49,8 +50,10 @@ func TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency(t *testing.T) {
 	if pos["mesh-tools"] != 0 || pos["builder"] != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("the runtime then the builder: %v", tiers)
 	}
-	if !(pos["shop"] > pos["builder"] && pos["postgres"] > pos["builder"]) {
-		t.Fatalf("what the builder builds comes after the builder: %v", tiers)
+	// Built-by orders nothing (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): what the builder builds is beside it, after the runtime it
+	// stands on.
+	if pos["shop"] != 1 || pos["postgres"] != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("what the builder builds waits for the builder: %v", tiers)
 	}
 	if pos["shop-plugin"] <= pos["shop"] {
 		t.Fatalf("a plugin after what it is declared on: %v", tiers)
@@ -67,24 +70,23 @@ func TestAMergeIsPlannedInTiersAlongTheThreeKindsOfDependency(t *testing.T) {
 	// A change to a package all three build from moves all three. The builder holds
 	// the build seat, whose worker the controller defines, so it follows the controller (worker-of,
 	// novox/hq issue 206), and the controller's built-by edge to it yields: the controller is built by the
-	// build machine that is running. The proxy is built by the new builder: the controller, the builder,
-	// the proxy — the live plan of every controller merge. (This read "the builder, then the controller
-	// and the proxy together" before issue 206, and the fixture had no worker-of edge.)
+	// build machine that is running. The proxy is built by whichever builder runs, so it goes beside the
+	// controller (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3; it read "the controller, the builder, the proxy" before).
 	small := reachableFrom([]string{"mesh-controller", "builder", "route-proxy"}, edges)
 	smallTiers := tiersOf(small, edges)
-	if got := tiered(smallTiers); got != "mesh-controller | builder | route-proxy" {
-		t.Fatalf("the controller, then the builder, then the proxy: %v", smallTiers)
+	if got := tiered(smallTiers); got != "mesh-controller,route-proxy | builder" {
+		t.Fatalf("the controller and the proxy, then the builder: %v", smallTiers)
 	}
 	// The builder alone moved: the builder, and nothing it builds.
 	if only := reachableFrom([]string{"builder"}, edges); len(only) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("a build machine change rebuilds the build machine alone: %v", only)
 	}
 
-	// Only a runtime dependency gates on deployment, and only when the module rolls out.
+	// Nothing waits on deployment for a built-by edge (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): the builder gates no tier after it.
 	p := planOfMerge(link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-tools", Commit: "abc"}, []string{"mesh-tools"}, edges)
 	p.Tier = pos["builder"]
 	rollsOut := func(m string) bool { return m == "builder" }
-	if g := gates(p, edges, rollsOut); len(g) != 1 || g[0] != "builder" {
+	if g := gates(p, edges, rollsOut); len(g) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("the builder gates the tier after it: %v", g)
 	}
 	p.Tier = 0
@@ -253,10 +255,10 @@ func TestAChangeToTheBuildAgentRebuildsTheBuildAgentAlone(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("%v planned %v: the build agent alone", paths, p.Tiers)
 		}
 	}
-	// With what it builds moved beside it, the agent comes first and they follow: an order, not a widening.
+	// With what it builds moved beside it, both go in one tier (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): built-by orders nothing.
 	p := planOfMerge(link.SourceMoved{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Commit: "abc"},
 		[]string{"build-agent", "redis"}, edges)
-	if len(p.Tiers) != 2 || p.Tiers[0][0] != "build-agent" || p.Tiers[1][0] != "redis" || len(p.Modules) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("the agent, then what moved beside it: %v", p.Tiers)
+	if len(p.Tiers) != 1 || !slices.Equal(p.Tiers[0], []string{"build-agent", "redis"}) || len(p.Modules) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the agent and what moved beside it, in one tier: %v", p.Tiers)
 	}
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/release_test.go

@@ -111,8 +111,13 @@ func aBacklog(t *testing.T) *backlogMesh {
 			if err := open.inventory.RecordSent(ctx, nodeID(t, open, node), digest, carried); err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
+			// A broken machine reports its apply failed (novox/hq ADR 0360 §7: the report is the verdict).
+			outcome := inventory.OutcomeApplied
+			if b.broken[node] {
+				outcome = inventory.OutcomeFailed
+			}
 			if _, err := open.inventory.RecordDoing(ctx, nodeID(t, open, node), inventory.Doing{Node: node,
-				Outcome: inventory.OutcomeApplied, Declared: digest, Applied: 1, At: time.Now()}); err != nil {
+				Outcome: outcome, Declared: digest, Applied: 1, At: time.Now()}); err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
 		}
@@ -164,6 +169,7 @@ func (b *backlogMesh) release(t *testing.T) inventory.Plan {
 // The backlog goes out one machine at a time: the first judged before the second is sent, each build's
 // pass kept; a rebuild with the same bytes is no move at all; and a send outside a gate is refused.
 func TestTheBacklogIsReleasedOneMachineAtATimeEachJudged(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate's own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -219,6 +225,7 @@ func TestTheBacklogIsReleasedOneMachineAtATimeEachJudged(t *testing.T) {
 // A release that fails on its first machine puts back what it carried there, goes no further, and the
 // next one waits for a person, said as a condition; a person releases it with why.
 func TestAFailedReleaseIsPutBackAndTheNextWaitsForAPerson(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate's own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := b.open.inventory

cmd/mesh-controller/replay318_test.go

@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ import (
 // nothing is put back, the walk goes on to the workstation, and openrazer's condition says, in one sentence
 // for the operator, that a new login is needed on the laptop.
 func TestReplay318(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory

cmd/mesh-controller/replay335_test.go

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 // at its gate with the pass's own words, and put it back. Written with only what the controller had before
 // its fix, so it is laid over the commit before.
 func TestReplay335(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	t.Run("the first machine's later reports", testAPassedGateIsNotJudgedAgainFromTheFirstMachinesLaterReports)
 	t.Run("a walk stopped after the pass", testAWalkStoppedAfterItsGatePassedKeepsThePass)
 }
@@ -77,6 +78,7 @@ func testAWalkStoppedAfterItsGatePassedKeepsThePass(t *testing.T) {
 // the first send is older than the wait for a first machine's report. Read before the pass is taken over, the
 // carried module's step said the first machine never applied it, and the passed build was put back.
 func TestACarriedModuleTakesItsLeadsPassBeforeItsStepIsRead(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	tm := aTierMesh(t, "m01", "m02")
 	ctx := t.Context()

cmd/mesh-controller/replay336_test.go

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 // had before its fix — the stores, register, assign, a plan saved and advanced, the watchdogs' gathering and
 // seeing — so it is laid over the commit before.
 func TestReplay336(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory

cmd/mesh-controller/replays_test.go

@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ func TestReplay273AConsumerBesideItsStoreStaysBoundToIt(t *testing.T) {
 // one, kept below. Heard as bytes, so an older controller reads them as it reads any report — this file is
 // written only with what the controller had before the judging, for the prover to lay over that commit.
 func TestReplayCrashLoopFailsItsGateOnTheFirstMachine(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate's own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	open := aMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := open.inventory

cmd/mesh-controller/rest_at_once_test.go

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
 )
 
-// novox/hq ADR 0353: after its first machine passes, a build goes to every other machine at once, each judged by
+// novox/hq ADR 0353, kept behind gateFirstMachine for walks a controller before ADR 0360 started: after its first machine passes, a build goes to every other machine at once, each judged by
 // its own gate and a failing one put back by itself; and a gate's readings outlive the controller that took them —
 // a machine already sent what a send is for is not sent again, and its judging goes on from what was read.
 //
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ func events(t *testing.T) *[]string {
 // Once the first machine passed, the rest are both sent before either is judged (ADR 0353 §1); before, the second
 // was judged to its verdict before the third was sent.
 func TestAReleaseSendsTheRestAtOnceAfterTheFirstPasses(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ func TestAReleaseSendsTheRestAtOnceAfterTheFirstPasses(t *testing.T) {
 // A machine of the rest whose gate fails is put back at once, and the other machine of the step goes on to its own
 // verdict (ADR 0353 §3); before, the walk stopped at the failure and the machine after it was never sent.
 func TestARestMachineThatFailsIsPutBackAloneAndTheOthersAreJudgedOn(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -125,6 +127,7 @@ func TestARestMachineThatFailsIsPutBackAloneAndTheOthersAreJudgedOn(t *testing.T
 // A walk whose first machine already runs its build under another walk's gate sends nothing and goes on from that
 // gate's readings (ADR 0353 §7); before, it sent the machine again and judged from its first reading.
 func TestAWalkTakesOverTheReadingsOfAGateJudgingTheSameBuildThere(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -163,6 +166,7 @@ func TestAWalkTakesOverTheReadingsOfAGateJudgingTheSameBuildThere(t *testing.T)
 // A walk's first send that was made and not kept — the controller replaced between the two — is not made again
 // by the controller that takes over: the gate counts from that send (ADR 0353 §5, §6).
 func TestAFirstSendMadeAndNotKeptIsNotSentAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	g := aGateMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -200,6 +204,7 @@ func TestAFirstSendMadeAndNotKeptIsNotSentAgain(t *testing.T) {
 // A release's send kept before it was made, and made, is judged by the controller that takes over without being
 // made again (ADR 0353 §8).
 func TestAReleaseSendKeptAndMadeIsNotMadeAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -231,6 +236,7 @@ func TestAReleaseSendKeptAndMadeIsNotMadeAgain(t *testing.T) {
 // A build no gate has passed goes to one machine of a step, its first; a machine that would be its second waits
 // for the next step, and one whose every build passed goes now (ADR 0353 §2).
 func TestABuildThatPassedNoGateGoesToOneMachineOfAStep(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	waiting := map[string][]inventory.CarriedMove{
 		"desk":   {{Module: "app", To: "c2"}, {Module: "new", To: "n1"}},
 		"laptop": {{Module: "app", To: "c2"}, {Module: "new", To: "n1"}},
@@ -251,6 +257,7 @@ func TestABuildThatPassedNoGateGoesToOneMachineOfAStep(t *testing.T) {
 // The node-engine and the mesh's resolver go to the rest one machine at a time, even passed (ADR 0353 §9): a step
 // carries either to one machine only, while what else passed goes everywhere at once.
 func TestTheNodeEngineAndTheResolverGoToTheRestOneAtATime(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	waiting := map[string][]inventory.CarriedMove{
 		"desk":   {{Module: hostModule, To: "h2"}},
 		"laptop": {{Module: hostModule, To: "h2"}, {Module: "app", To: "c2"}},
@@ -277,6 +284,7 @@ func TestTheNodeEngineAndTheResolverGoToTheRestOneAtATime(t *testing.T) {
 
 // A first machine that fails still stops the walk (ADR 0236 §5, kept by ADR 0353 §3): the rest are never sent.
 func TestAFirstMachineThatFailsStillStopsTheWalk(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	gateEvery = 0
@@ -298,6 +306,7 @@ func TestAFirstMachineThatFailsStillStopsTheWalk(t *testing.T) {
 // The control node is sent last in a step of the rest (ADR 0353 §1): the machine holding the controller is
 // ordered after every other.
 func TestTheControlNodeIsSentLastInAStep(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklogOnThree(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -322,6 +331,7 @@ func TestTheControlNodeIsSentLastInAStep(t *testing.T) {
 // A machine of the rest that says nothing on its send is left silent after fifteen minutes: not failed, not put
 // back; a rest that went silent whole ends failed, said as a condition (ADR 0353 §4).
 func TestARestMachineSilentPastItsBoundIsLeftAndSaid(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	b := aBacklog(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()

cmd/mesh-controller/same_program.go

@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"slices"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// **A module moves only when its program changes** (novox/hq issue 721). A merge check builds every module the
+// delivery plan moves and compares each with the build the mesh holds of it; a walk is cut without a module whose
+// check found its whole image the same as that build, while the mesh still holds it, and says so among the modules
+// it left unchanged. A merge of one sentence in a package a program imports but never reaches moves no build of it.
+
+// sameAsRunning are the modules of a walk its checks found the same as the build the mesh holds, each with what its
+// check said. **Only when every pull request the walk answers was checked at the head it merged, and every one of
+// those checks built the module and found it the same as the build the mesh still holds**: a merge the walk answers
+// without a pull request, a check of another head, a check that built it differently, or a held build that moved
+// since, leaves the module in the walk.
+func sameAsRunning(plan *inventory.Plan, builds []link.CheckedBuild, held map[string]string) map[string]string {
+	if plan.Delivery == nil || len(plan.Delivery.Merges) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, m := range plan.Delivery.Merges {
+		if _, ok := pullOf(m); !ok {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	pulls := reuseAskOf(plan).Pulls
+	heads := mergedHeadsOf(plan)
+	out := map[string]string{}
+	for name := range plan.Modules {
+		said := ""
+		for _, pull := range pulls {
+			b, ok := checkedBuildOf(builds, pull, heads[pull], name)
+			if !ok || !stillHeld(b.Built, name, held) {
+				said = ""
+				break
+			}
+			if said == "" {
+				said = b.Built.Same
+			}
+		}
+		if said != "" {
+			out[name] = said
+		}
+	}
+	if len(out) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// checkedBuildOf is the newest build a check of the pull request at head made of the module; false when none did.
+func checkedBuildOf(builds []link.CheckedBuild, pull link.PullRef, head, module string) (link.CheckedBuild, bool) {
+	if head == "" {
+		return link.CheckedBuild{}, false
+	}
+	for _, b := range builds {
+		if b.Pull == pull && b.Built.Module == module && link.SameHead(b.Head, head) {
+			return b, true
+		}
+	}
+	return link.CheckedBuild{}, false
+}
+
+// stillHeld is whether a check found every artifact of the module the same as a build the mesh still holds.
+func stillHeld(b link.CheckBuilt, module string, held map[string]string) bool {
+	if b.Same == "" || b.NotBuilt != "" || len(b.Made) == 0 || len(b.SameAs) != len(b.Made) {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, m := range b.Made {
+		was := pinnedDigest(b.SameAs[m.Name])
+		if was == "" || was != pinnedDigest(held[module+"/"+m.Name]) {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+// pinnedDigest is a reference's pinned digest, empty when it is not pinned.
+func pinnedDigest(ref string) string {
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(ref, "@"); i >= 0 {
+		return ref[i+1:]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// leaveSameAsRunning takes from a walk being cut every module its checks found the same as the build the mesh holds
+// (sameAsRunning), and every dependent in the walk only for one of those (withDependentsOf): what was taken, with why. **Anything not read leaves the walk as it was**, said.
+func leaveSameAsRunning(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, plan *inventory.Plan, moved []string,
+	edges []inventory.Edge) map[string]string {
+	if plan.Delivery == nil || len(plan.Modules) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	pulls := reuseAskOf(plan).Pulls
+	if len(pulls) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	builds, err := checkedBuildsOf(ctx, pulls)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("  the checks' builds could not be read, so every module moves: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; nothing left out of the walk is the safe answer, every module moves as before
+		return nil
+	}
+	held, err := inv.RegisteredHeld(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf("  what the mesh holds could not be read, so every module moves: %v\n", err)
+		// empty-on-error: said above; nothing left out of the walk is the safe answer, every module moves as before
+		return nil
+	}
+	same := withDependentsOf(sameAsRunning(plan, builds, held), plan, moved, edges)
+	if len(same) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(same))
+	for n := range same {
+		names = append(names, n)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	withhold(plan, names, nil)
+	for _, n := range names {
+		fmt.Printf("  %s left out: %s\n", n, same[n])
+	}
+	return same
+}
+
+// withDependentsOf adds to the modules found the same every module of the walk that is in it only as a dependent of
+// one of them (novox/hq ADR 0267 rule 3): **a dependent is left out when its base comes out the same**, since the
+// base it stands on stays the build the mesh holds. A module a merge moves itself, or a dependent of a base that
+// still moves, stays. moved are the modules the walk's merges move; edges the graph the walk was planned along.
+func withDependentsOf(same map[string]string, plan *inventory.Plan, moved []string, edges []inventory.Edge) map[string]string {
+	if len(same) == 0 {
+		return same
+	}
+	var still []string
+	for _, n := range moved {
+		if same[n] == "" {
+			still = append(still, n)
+		}
+	}
+	keep := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, n := range reachableFrom(still, edges) {
+		keep[n] = true
+	}
+	// Until nothing more is found: a dependent of a dependent left out is left out too.
+	for grew := true; grew; {
+		grew = false
+		for n := range plan.Modules {
+			if keep[n] || same[n] != "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			var bases []string
+			for _, e := range edges {
+				ordering := e.Kind == inventory.EdgeBuiltBy || e.Kind == inventory.EdgeWorkerOf ||
+					e.Kind == inventory.EdgePackages || e.Kind == edgeGroupOrder
+				if !ordering && e.From == n && same[e.To] != "" && !slices.Contains(bases, e.To) {
+					bases = append(bases, e.To)
+				}
+			}
+			sort.Strings(bases)
+			if len(bases) == 0 {
+				// In the walk for no base found the same: whatever brought it in is not said here, so it moves.
+				continue
+			}
+			same[n] = "unchanged: it is in the walk only for " + strings.Join(bases, ", ") +
+				", which came out the same as the build the mesh holds (ADR 0267 rule 3)"
+			grew = true
+		}
+	}
+	return same
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/same_program_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// TestAWalkLeavesOutAModuleWhoseProgramDidNotChange is novox/hq issue 721: mesh-controller #335 changed one sentence
+// that mesh-builder never reaches; its check found build-agent the same as the build the mesh holds, so the walk moves
+// mesh-controller alone and says build-agent is unchanged.
+func TestAWalkLeavesOutAModuleWhoseProgramDidNotChange(t *testing.T) {
+	pull := link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 335}
+	head := "34050dc6aaaabbbbccccdddd"
+	aPlan := func() *inventory.Plan {
+		return &inventory.Plan{Tiers: [][]string{{"mesh-controller", "build-agent"}},
+			Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"mesh-controller": {}, "build-agent": {}},
+			Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Merges: []inventory.PlanMerge{{Repository: "novox/mesh-controller",
+				Commit: "c2ec0a60", Number: 335, Head: head}}}}
+	}
+	held := map[string]string{"build-agent/agent": "store/build-agent@sha256:aaaa",
+		"mesh-controller/controller": "store/mesh-controller@sha256:cccc"}
+	builds := []link.CheckedBuild{
+		{Pull: pull, Head: head[:12], Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "build-agent", Key: "k1",
+			Made:   []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "agent", Kind: "image", Reference: "scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb"}},
+			Same:   "unchanged: its program is the same as running build agent aaaa",
+			SameAs: map[string]string{"agent": "10.0.0.1:5000/build-agent@sha256:aaaa"}}},
+		{Pull: pull, Head: head[:12], Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "mesh-controller", Key: "k2",
+			Made: []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "controller", Kind: "image", Reference: "scratch/mesh-controller@sha256:dddd"}}}},
+	}
+
+	p := aPlan()
+	same := sameAsRunning(p, builds, held)
+	if len(same) != 1 || same["build-agent"] == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk leaves out %v, want build-agent alone", same)
+	}
+	withhold(p, []string{"build-agent"}, nil)
+	if len(p.Tiers) != 1 || len(p.Tiers[0]) != 1 || p.Tiers[0][0] != "mesh-controller" {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk moves %v, want mesh-controller alone", p.Tiers)
+	}
+
+	// **The held build moved since the check**: what it was compared with no longer runs.
+	moved := map[string]string{"build-agent/agent": "store/build-agent@sha256:eeee"}
+	if same := sameAsRunning(aPlan(), builds, moved); len(same) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a module compared with a build the mesh no longer holds is left out: %v", same)
+	}
+	// **A check of another head** says nothing of this merge.
+	other := aPlan()
+	other.Delivery.Merges[0].Head = "ffffffffffffffff"
+	if same := sameAsRunning(other, builds, held); len(same) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a check of another head left out %v", same)
+	}
+	// **Another pull request the walk answers** that did not find it the same leaves it in.
+	two := aPlan()
+	two.Delivery.Merges = append(two.Delivery.Merges, inventory.PlanMerge{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
+		Commit: "1234", Number: 9, Head: "abcdefabcdefabcdef"})
+	if same := sameAsRunning(two, builds, held); len(same) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a module another merge moves is left out: %v", same)
+	}
+	// **A merge with no pull request** leaves the walk as it is.
+	direct := aPlan()
+	direct.Delivery.Merges[0].Number = 0
+	if same := sameAsRunning(direct, builds, held); len(same) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a walk answering a merge without a pull request left out %v", same)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestADependentOfABaseThatCameOutTheSameIsLeftOut is ADR 0267 rule 3 (novox/hq issue 607): a dependent is in a walk
+// for its base; when the base comes out the same as the build the mesh holds, the dependent stands on that build
+// still, and leaves the walk with it — and so does a dependent of that dependent. One a merge moves itself stays.
+func TestADependentOfABaseThatCameOutTheSameIsLeftOut(t *testing.T) {
+	edges := []inventory.Edge{{From: "app", To: "base", Kind: inventory.EdgeDeclared},
+		{From: "app2", To: "app", Kind: inventory.EdgeDeclared}, {From: "own", To: "base", Kind: inventory.EdgeDeclared}}
+	plan := &inventory.Plan{Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{"base": {}, "app": {}, "app2": {}, "own": {}}}
+	same := withDependentsOf(map[string]string{"base": "unchanged: its program is the same"}, plan,
+		[]string{"base", "own"}, edges)
+	if !strings.Contains(same["app"], "only for base") || !strings.Contains(same["app2"], "only for app") {
+		t.Fatalf("the dependents of a base that came out the same are not left out: %v", same)
+	}
+	if _, left := same["own"]; left {
+		t.Fatalf("a module its merge moves itself is left out for its base: %v", same)
+	}
+	// A dependent of a base that still moves stays.
+	edges = append(edges, inventory.Edge{From: "app", To: "own", Kind: inventory.EdgeDeclared})
+	same = withDependentsOf(map[string]string{"base": "unchanged"}, plan, []string{"base", "own"}, edges)
+	if _, left := same["app"]; left {
+		t.Fatalf("a dependent of a base that still moves is left out: %v", same)
+	}
+}
+
+// Against the store, the path a real merge takes (novox/hq issues 721 and 611): a merge whose check built its one
+// module the same as the build the mesh holds is cut into a walk done with nothing to walk, whose record names the
+// module unchanged and why — the walk mesh-delivery reads as delivered, never stranded.
+func TestAWalkWhoseEveryBuildCameOutTheSameIsDone(t *testing.T) {
+	open := windowed(t)
+	endsItsLine(t)
+	asksRecorded(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	inv := open.inventory
+	if err := inv.RecordBuild(ctx, inventory.Build{ID: "build-one", Repository: "novox/one", Ref: "main",
+		Module: "one", Commit: "c0", On: "builder", Asked: t0.Add(-time.Hour),
+		Made:    []inventory.Artifact{{Name: "one", Kind: "image", Reference: "store/one@sha256:aaaa"}},
+		Sources: []inventory.BuildSource{{Paths: []string{"main.go", "go.mod"}}}}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// What runs: the module registered with that build's image (RegisteredHeld reads the module table).
+	if err := inv.RegisterModule(ctx, catalogue.Manifest{Module: "one", Version: "1", Resources: []map[string]any{
+		{"id": "app", "type": "container", "name": "one", "image": "store/one@sha256:aaaa"}}},
+		inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/one", Ref: "main", BuiltFrom: "c0", Asked: time.Now()}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	pull := link.PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "one", Number: 7}
+	was := checkedBuildsOf
+	checkedBuildsOf = func(context.Context, []link.PullRef) ([]link.CheckedBuild, error) {
+		return []link.CheckedBuild{{Pull: pull, Head: "headaaaaaaaa", Built: link.CheckBuilt{Module: "one", Key: "k",
+			Made:   []link.MadeArtifact{{Name: "one", Kind: "image", Reference: "scratch/one@sha256:bbbb"}},
+			Same:   "unchanged: its program is the same as running build one aaaa",
+			SameAs: map[string]string{"one": "10.0.0.1:5000/one@sha256:aaaa"}}}}, nil
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { checkedBuildsOf = was })
+	code := repoMerge("one", "one1aaaaaaaa", t0)
+	code.Number, code.HeadSHA = 7, "headaaaaaaaa1111"
+	hear(t, open, code, t0.Add(time.Second))
+	cutAt(t, open, t0.Add(2*time.Minute))
+	ws, _ := walks(t, open)
+	if len(ws) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("walks: %+v", ws)
+	}
+	w := ws[0]
+	if w.State != inventory.PlanDone || len(w.Tiers) != 0 || len(w.Modules) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk reads %s, tiers %v, modules %v; want done with nothing to walk", w.State, w.Tiers, w.Modules)
+	}
+	if w.Delivery == nil || !strings.Contains(w.Delivery.Unchanged["one"], "its program is the same as running build") {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk does not say one matched what runs: %+v", w.Delivery)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/sayable_test.go

@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 	}
 	if os.Getenv(echoEnvironment) != "" {
 		fmt.Printf("verb=%q caller=%q terminal=%v\n", os.Getenv("MESH_VERB"), os.Getenv("MESH_CALLER"), startedAtTheTerminal())
+		if os.Getenv(echoFails) != "" {
+			os.Exit(3)
+		}
 		os.Exit(0)
 	}
 	conditions.Unsayable = func(o conditions.Observation, field string, r outward.Refusal) {

cmd/mesh-controller/secret.go

@@ -108,12 +108,7 @@ func secretCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		if value == "" {
 			return errors.New("there is nothing to seal")
 		}
-		// The provider's module decides the path: filled the new way, the vault keeps the provision's credential.
-		return bySwitch(module, secretsOfTheVault,
-			func() error { return acceptForProvision(ctx, node, module, name, value) },
-			func() error {
-				return said(acceptIntoVault(theVault(ctx), provisionArgs(node, name), value, actingAs()))
-			})
+		return acceptForProvision(ctx, node, module, name, value)
 	}
 	if *desk != "" {
 		if *from != "" || *provider != "" {
@@ -130,50 +125,23 @@ func secretCommand(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 	if value == "" {
 		return errors.New("there is nothing to seal")
 	}
-	return bySwitch(module, secretsOfTheVault,
-		func() error { return acceptKept(ctx, node, module, name, *provider, *local, value) },
-		func() error {
-			// Sealed here to the vault's key for this one call; only the sealed box leaves this process.
-			target := ownSecretArgs(node, module, name)
-			if *provider != "" {
-				if *local != "" {
-					return errors.New("--local names a credential inside the module; the vault keeps one credential " +
-						"per provider and provision, so it takes no --local: nothing was sealed")
-				}
-				target = provisionArgs(*provider, name)
-			}
-			return said(acceptIntoVault(theVault(ctx), target, value, actingAs()))
-		})
-}
 
-// said prints what was done, or answers why not.
-func said(words string, err error) error {
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	fmt.Println(words)
-	return nil
-}
-
-// acceptKept is today's `secret accept`: the value sealed into the controller's store, for a module whose secrets
-// are filled the old way.
-func acceptKept(ctx context.Context, node, module, name, provider, local, value string) error {
 	open, err := openStores(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer open.Close()
 
-	if provider != "" {
+	if *provider != "" {
 		// Into the pair, not into the module's own secrets: what the provider is asked to create
 		// and what the consumer reads are the same value, and neither end can be told a different
 		// one later without the other (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/070).
-		if err := open.inventory.AcceptSecretForPair(ctx, name, node, module, provider, local, value); err != nil {
+		if err := open.inventory.AcceptSecretForPair(ctx, name, node, module, *provider, *local, value); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-		fmt.Printf("%s on %s now holds %q from %s%s, sealed to both machines.\n", module, node, name, provider, asLocal(local))
+		fmt.Printf("%s on %s now holds %q from %s%s, sealed to both machines.\n", module, node, name, *provider, asLocal(*local))
 		fmt.Printf("  the mesh cannot read it back, will not replace it with one of its own, and will not rotate it\n")
-		fmt.Printf("  run `push %s` and `push %s` to send it\n", provider, node)
+		fmt.Printf("  run `push %s` and `push %s` to send it\n", *provider, node)
 		return nil
 	}
 	// A trusted party's secret is announced before it is kept (the confirmation review of 2026-10-09, N1-give):
@@ -517,22 +485,6 @@ func secretRotate(ctx context.Context, args []string) error {
 		return errors.New(secretUsage)
 	}
 	node, module, name := rest[0], rest[1], rest[2]
-	return bySwitch(module, secretsOfTheVault,
-		func() error { return rotateKept(ctx, node, module, name, why) },
-		func() error {
-			words, err := rotateInVault(theVault(ctx), ownSecretArgs(node, module, name), actingAs())
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			why.record(ctx, "secret rotate", []string{node, module, name})
-			fmt.Println(words)
-			return nil
-		})
-}
-
-// rotateKept is today's `secret rotate`: made anew in the controller's store and sent, for a module whose
-// secrets are filled the old way.
-func rotateKept(ctx context.Context, node, module, name string, why handActFlags) error {
 	open, err := openStores(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

cmd/mesh-controller/signals.go

@@ -153,11 +153,15 @@ var signalsTable = []signalRow{
 			return newestOf(f.standings, func(c conditions.Condition) time.Time { return c.LastObserved })
 		}},
 	{Row: "S9", Signal: "bus advisories: maximum deliveries, consumer deleted; the controller's own slow " +
-		"consumer and refused subjects", Emitter: "bus server's advisory subjects; the controller's connection",
+		"consumer and refused subjects; every user's connection the server closed as a slow consumer or for " +
+		"breaking the bus's rules (ADR 0357)",
+		Emitter: "bus server's advisory subjects; the controller's connection; the bus module's watch of its " +
+			"server (bus.slow-consumer, bus.connection-closed)",
 		Trigger: "any", Bound: "any occurrence; clears after an hour without another, a deleted consumer " +
 			"once it exists again or the mesh no longer expects it, and a message given up on once DEAD_LETTERS " +
 			"no longer holds it (novox/hq issue 330)",
-		Kind: "slow-consumer, max-deliveries, refused, consumer-lost", Severity: conditions.Warning, Phase: 1,
+		Kind: "slow-consumer, connection-closed, max-deliveries, refused, consumer-lost", Severity: conditions.Warning,
+		Phase: 1,
 		needs: func(f *signalFacts) error { return f.advisoriesErr }, watch: watchAdvisories,
 		newest: func(f *signalFacts) time.Time {
 			return newestOf(f.advisories, func(a link.Advisory) time.Time { return a.Last })
@@ -569,6 +573,9 @@ func watchAdvisories(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 			// The advisory is remembered and read again on every look for an hour: the condition counts
 			// what the bus said and when, not the looks (novox/hq issue 402).
 			Happened: a.Last, Times: a.Count}
+		if a.User != "" && a.Reason != "" {
+			busUserClosed(&o, a, f.host)
+		}
 		if a.Kind == link.AdvisoryMaxDeliveries && a.Token == link.AdvisoryNotKept {
 			o.Machine = consumerMachine(a.Stream, a.Consumer)
 			o.Headline = clip(conditions.Capital(fmt.Sprintf("%s gave up on a message, not kept",
@@ -579,9 +586,58 @@ func watchAdvisories(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 		}
 		out = append(out, o)
 	}
+	if f.busFaultsErr != nil {
+		out = append(out, busFaultsUnread(f.busFaultsErr))
+	}
 	return append(out, watchDeadLetters(f)...)
 }
 
+// kindBusFaultsUnread is the bus module's events not read back (novox/hq ADR 0357): every other user's
+// slow consumer is unheard while it lasts, and the controller's own signals are still said.
+const kindBusFaultsUnread = "bus-faults-unread"
+
+func busFaultsUnread(err error) conditions.Observation {
+	return conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeBus, ID: "bus-module", Kind: kindBusFaultsUnread,
+		Severity: conditions.Warning, Confirm: true,
+		Summary: "what the bus module said of its users' connections could not be read back, so a slow consumer " +
+			"or a connection the bus closed is not said until it can",
+		Said: firstLine(err.Error())}
+}
+
+// busUserClosed words an advisory about a bus user's connection the server closed (novox/hq ADR 0357): the
+// user as the operator says it and the machine it is on, the dotted user name kept in the evidence only.
+func busUserClosed(o *conditions.Observation, a link.Advisory, host string) {
+	who, machine := busUserWords(a.User)
+	if machine == "" && a.User == "controller" {
+		machine = host
+	}
+	o.Machine = machine
+	times, count := "once", "once"
+	if a.Count > 1 {
+		times = fmt.Sprintf("%d times since %s", a.Count, a.First.UTC().Format("15:04 MST"))
+		count = fmt.Sprintf("%d times", a.Count)
+	}
+	switch a.Kind {
+	case link.AdvisorySlowConsumer:
+		o.Summary = fmt.Sprintf("the bus closed the connection of %s as a slow consumer %s in the last hour, "+
+			"newest at %s: it could not take what it was sent fast enough, and what was on its way to it was lost",
+			who, times, a.Last.UTC().Format("15:04 MST"))
+		o.Headline = clip(conditions.Capital(who)+" was too slow for the bus", 60)
+		o.Explanation = conditions.Capital(fmt.Sprintf("%s could not keep up with what the bus sent it, so the bus "+
+			"closed its connection (%s in the last hour) and what was on its way was lost. It connects again "+
+			"by itself; this clears an hour after the last time.", who, count))
+		o.Resolved = "Resolved: " + who + " kept up for an hour"
+	default:
+		o.Summary = fmt.Sprintf("the bus closed the connection of %s for breaking its rules %s in the last hour, "+
+			"newest at %s: %s", who, times, a.Last.UTC().Format("15:04 MST"), strings.ToLower(a.Reason))
+		o.Headline = clip(conditions.Capital(who)+" was cut off by the bus", 60)
+		o.Explanation = conditions.Capital(fmt.Sprintf("The bus closed the connection of %s because it broke "+
+			"the bus's rules (%s, %s in the last hour), so what it was sending was lost. This clears an hour "+
+			"after the last time.", who, strings.ToLower(a.Reason), count))
+		o.Resolved = "Resolved: " + who + " kept to the bus's rules for an hour"
+	}
+}
+
 // watchDeadLetters says each consumer that DEAD_LETTERS holds a message for (novox/hq issue 330): open
 // while it holds any, so it clears when they are delivered again or dropped, never because the server
 // stopped saying it.
@@ -806,7 +862,7 @@ func watchLease(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 		}
 	}
 	if len(lost) > 0 {
-		how := "lost it: its renewal was refused or could not be made"
+		how := "lost it: another holder wrote its key, or no renewal was made within the key's age"
 		if newest.How == inventory.EpochExpired {
 			how = "stopped renewing it without giving it back, and was taken over"
 		}

cmd/mesh-controller/stores.go

@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"os"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
@@ -125,11 +124,6 @@ func openInventory(ctx context.Context) (*inventory.Inventory, error) {
 	if aliases, err := inv.Aliases(ctx); err == nil {
 		catalogue.UseAliases(aliases)
 	}
-	// And the list of predefined keys the mesh publishes (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7), which every manifest read again
-	// is judged against. A store a migration has not reached yet keeps none, and nothing names a key then.
-	if err := loadPredefined(ctx, inv); err != nil {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "the list of predefined keys kept cannot be read: %v\n", err)
-	}
 	return inv, nil
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/superseded.go

@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// A new push to a pull request ends the check of its old head (novox/hq issue 726).
+//
+// A check judges one head; once the pull request has another, its verdict answers nobody and its run holds a build
+// machine for minutes the new head waits behind. So when a check is asked for pull request N of a repository at a
+// head, **every check of that pull request at another head ends**: a waiting one is dropped from the queue as
+// `cancel` drops it, one in flight is ended on its machine as `kill` ends it. Each is said in the log.
+//
+// **Never anything else**: a try (`try`, asked for no pull request), a walk's build (no check), a delivery group's
+// composed check (it answers several pull requests), another pull request's check, a dead ask (left for `clear
+// --dead`), and a check of the same head — a recheck of that head is not another head.
+
+// **Only for the pull request's current head.** Announcements of a pull request are not ordered, one is heard again
+// after a restart, and a recheck asks for the head it recorded: a check asked for a head the pull request no longer
+// has must never end the check of the head it has. So the forge is asked first which head the pull request has; only
+// when it names this one does anything end, and when it cannot be asked, or names another, nothing ends and that is
+// said.
+
+// forgePullHead asks the forge, through its module's tools on the bus, which commit a pull request's head is. A
+// variable so a test needs no forge.
+var forgePullHead = func(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream, owner, repo string, number int) (string, error) {
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"path": fmt.Sprintf("/repos/%s/%s/pulls/%d", owner, repo, number)})
+	answer, err := link.Ask(ctx, link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}, "gitea", "gitea_api", raw, 30*time.Second)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if answer.Error != "" {
+		return "", errors.New(answer.Error)
+	}
+	var pull struct {
+		Result struct {
+			Head struct {
+				SHA string `json:"sha"`
+			} `json:"head"`
+		} `json:"result"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(answer.Result, &pull); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("the forge's answer about the pull request cannot be read: %w", err)
+	}
+	if pull.Result.Head.SHA == "" {
+		return "", errors.New("the forge named no head for the pull request")
+	}
+	return pull.Result.Head.SHA, nil
+}
+
+// supersededChecks are the checks in the queue that a check of owner/repo#number at head ends: of the same pull
+// request, at another head, waiting or in flight, and not the ask keep.
+func supersededChecks(q link.Queue, owner, repo string, number int, head, keep string) []link.QueuedAsk {
+	if number <= 0 || head == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var out []link.QueuedAsk
+	for _, a := range q.Asks {
+		c := a.Request.Check
+		switch {
+		case c == nil, link.IsTry(a.Request), c.Group != "", c.Number != number, a.ID == keep,
+			!strings.EqualFold(c.Owner, owner), !strings.EqualFold(c.Repo, repo),
+			a.State != link.AskWaiting && a.State != link.AskInFlight:
+			continue
+		}
+		ref := a.Request.Ref
+		if ref == "" {
+			ref = a.Ref
+		}
+		if ref == "" || ref == head || link.SameHead(ref, head) {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, a)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// endSupersededChecks ends the checks a check of p at its head supersedes, keep being the new check's own ask, and
+// says each in the log. A waiting one is cancelled — nothing recorded: a check builds nothing, and the forge's status
+// of the old head is no longer the pull request's — and one a machine builds is killed there.
+func endSupersededChecks(ctx context.Context, js *broker.JetStream, seat string, p link.PullUpdated, keep string) []string {
+	if p.Number <= 0 || p.Commit == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	current, err := forgePullHead(ctx, js, p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number)
+	if err != nil {
+		return []string{fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s#%d (%.8s): nothing ended — the forge could not say the pull request's "+
+			"current head, so checks of its other heads keep running: %v", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, err)}
+	}
+	if current != p.Commit && !link.SameHead(current, p.Commit) {
+		return []string{fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s#%d (%.8s): nothing ended — the pull request's head is %.12s now, not "+
+			"this one", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, current)}
+	}
+	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, seat)
+	if err != nil {
+		return []string{fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s#%d (%.8s): could not read the %s queue for checks of its earlier heads: %v",
+			p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, seat, err)}
+	}
+	var said []string
+	for _, a := range supersededChecks(q, p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, keep) {
+		old := a.Request.Ref
+		if old == "" {
+			old = a.Ref
+		}
+		what := fmt.Sprintf("check of %s/%s#%d at %.12s", p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, old)
+		var err error
+		if a.State == link.AskInFlight && a.On != "" {
+			var answer link.Answer
+			answer, err = link.AskSeatTool(ctx, js.Conn(), seat, "kill", a.On, map[string]string{"id": a.ID}, killAnswer)
+			if err == nil && answer.Error != "" {
+				err = fmt.Errorf("%s refused: %s", a.On, answer.Error)
+			}
+		} else {
+			_, err = cancelAsk(ctx, js, nil, seat, a)
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf("not ended: %s (%s) — superseded by %.12s, but: %v", what, a.ID, p.Commit, err))
+			continue
+		}
+		said = append(said, fmt.Sprintf("ended: %s — superseded by %.12s (%s, %s)", what, p.Commit, a.ID, a.State))
+	}
+	return said
+}
+
+// endingSupersededChecks ends them beside the announcement, so a kill waiting on its machine never holds the
+// handler: on its own connection to the bus, within twice a kill's wait. A one-shot process (oneShot) ends them
+// within the call instead, as its exit would cut them off.
+func endingSupersededChecks(ctx context.Context, seat string, p link.PullUpdated, keep string, oneShot bool) {
+	end := func() {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), 2*killAnswer)
+		defer cancel()
+		js, err := dialTheBus()
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s/%s#%d (%.8s): could not reach the bus to end checks of its earlier heads: %v\n",
+				p.Owner, p.Repo, p.Number, p.Commit, err)
+			return
+		}
+		defer js.Close()
+		for _, line := range endSupersededChecks(ctx, js, seat, p, keep) {
+			fmt.Println(line)
+		}
+	}
+	if oneShot {
+		end()
+		return
+	}
+	go end()
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/superseded_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/broker"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// A new push to a pull request ends the check of its old head (novox/hq issue 726): the waiting one is dropped from
+// the queue, the one in flight is killed on its machine, and each is said. A try, a walk's build, another pull
+// request's check, a group's check and a recheck of the new head are left alone. On the bus alone: no store.
+func TestANewHeadEndsTheChecksOfTheOldOnes(t *testing.T) {
+	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	const (
+		oldHead   = "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+		olderHead = "2222222222222222222222222222222222222222"
+		newHead   = "3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"
+	)
+	publish := func(r link.BuildRequest) {
+		t.Helper()
+		body, _ := json.Marshal(r)
+		if _, err := js.Context().Publish(link.BuildWork(), body); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	check := func(id string, number int, head string) link.BuildRequest {
+		return link.BuildRequest{ID: id, Repository: "https://forge.example/novox/a.git", Ref: head,
+			Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: number}}
+	}
+	// In flight first: taken by a holder, started on ace.
+	publish(check("check-running", 7, olderHead))
+	worker, _ := broker.HolderConsumerFor("", "", broker.DeclaredSeat{Name: link.TheBuildMachine, Accepts: []string{"build"}})
+	sub, err := js.Context().PullSubscribe(worker.Filters[0], worker.Name, nats.Bind(worker.Stream, worker.Name), nats.ManualAck())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = sub.Unsubscribe() }()
+	if _, err := sub.Fetch(1, nats.MaxWait(3*time.Second)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	started, _ := json.Marshal(link.BuildStart{ID: "check-running", On: "ace", At: time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339Nano)})
+	if _, err := js.Context().Publish(link.BuildStarted(), started); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	publish(check("check-old", 7, oldHead))
+	publish(check("check-other-pull", 8, oldHead))
+	publish(check("check-recheck", 7, newHead))
+	publish(check("check-new", 7, newHead))
+	try := check("try-old", 7, oldHead)
+	try.Check.Number, try.Check.Try = 0, true
+	publish(try)
+	group := check("group-old", 7, oldHead)
+	group.Check.Group = "g1"
+	publish(group)
+	publish(link.BuildRequest{ID: "walk-build", Repository: "https://forge.example/novox/a.git", Ref: oldHead})
+
+	var mu sync.Mutex
+	var killed []string
+	stop, err := link.OverNATS{Conn: js.Conn()}.ServeNodeSeatTools(link.TheBuildMachine, "ace", map[string]link.ToolHandler{
+		"kill": func(_ context.Context, raw json.RawMessage) (any, error) {
+			var args struct{ ID string }
+			_ = json.Unmarshal(raw, &args)
+			mu.Lock()
+			killed = append(killed, args.ID)
+			mu.Unlock()
+			return map[string]any{"said": "killed " + args.ID}, nil
+		}}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer stop()
+
+	forgeSays(t, newHead, nil)
+	said := endSupersededChecks(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine,
+		link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: 7, Commit: newHead}, "check-new")
+
+	mu.Lock()
+	if len(killed) != 1 || killed[0] != "check-running" {
+		t.Errorf("the holder was asked to kill %v, want only the in-flight check of the older head", killed)
+	}
+	mu.Unlock()
+	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, found := q.Find("check-old"); found {
+		t.Error("the waiting check of the old head is still in the queue")
+	}
+	for _, id := range []string{"check-other-pull", "check-recheck", "check-new", "try-old", "group-old", "walk-build"} {
+		if _, found := q.Find(id); !found {
+			t.Errorf("%s was ended; only checks of the same pull request at another head end", id)
+		}
+	}
+	text := strings.Join(said, "\n")
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"ended: check of novox/a#7 at " + oldHead[:12] + " — superseded by " + newHead[:12],
+		"ended: check of novox/a#7 at " + olderHead[:12] + " — superseded by " + newHead[:12],
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(text, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the log does not say %q:\n%s", want, text)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(said) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("said %d lines, want 2:\n%s", len(said), text)
+	}
+}
+
+// Which asks a check supersedes, read from the queue alone.
+func TestSupersededChecksAreOnlyThePullRequestsOtherHeads(t *testing.T) {
+	ask := func(id, state, ref string, c *link.CheckRequest) link.QueuedAsk {
+		return link.QueuedAsk{ID: id, State: state, Ref: ref, Request: link.BuildRequest{ID: id, Ref: ref, Check: c}}
+	}
+	pr := func(n int) *link.CheckRequest { return &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "Novox", Repo: "A", Number: n} }
+	head := "abcdefabcdefabcdef0123456789abcdef012345"
+	q := link.Queue{Asks: []link.QueuedAsk{
+		ask("old", link.AskWaiting, "0123456789ab0123456789ab0123456789ab0123", pr(7)),
+		ask("short-same", link.AskWaiting, head[:12], pr(7)),
+		ask("dead", link.AskDead, "0123456789ab0123456789ab0123456789ab0123", pr(7)),
+		ask("other", link.AskWaiting, "0123456789ab0123456789ab0123456789ab0123", pr(8)),
+		ask("build", link.AskWaiting, "0123456789ab0123456789ab0123456789ab0123", nil),
+		ask("keep", link.AskWaiting, "0123456789ab0123456789ab0123456789ab0123", pr(7)),
+	}}
+	got := supersededChecks(q, "novox", "a", 7, head, "keep")
+	if len(got) != 1 || got[0].ID != "old" {
+		t.Fatalf("superseded %+v, want only old", got)
+	}
+	if got := supersededChecks(q, "novox", "a", 0, head, ""); got != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a check of no pull request superseded %+v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// forgeSays makes the forge name head as every pull request's current head, or fail with err.
+func forgeSays(t *testing.T, head string, err error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	was := forgePullHead
+	forgePullHead = func(context.Context, *broker.JetStream, string, string, int) (string, error) { return head, err }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { forgePullHead = was })
+}
+
+// An older head heard after a newer one — an announcement out of order, one heard again after a restart, a recheck
+// of a recorded head — ends nothing: the forge says the pull request's head is the newer one. Nor does a check whose
+// pull request's head the forge cannot say.
+func TestAnOlderHeadHeardLateEndsNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	js, _ := aBuildQueue(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	const (
+		oldHead = "1111111111111111111111111111111111111111"
+		newHead = "3333333333333333333333333333333333333333"
+	)
+	for _, id := range []string{"check-new", "check-old-late"} {
+		head := newHead
+		if id == "check-old-late" {
+			head = oldHead
+		}
+		body, _ := json.Marshal(link.BuildRequest{ID: id, Repository: "https://forge.example/novox/a.git", Ref: head,
+			Check: &link.CheckRequest{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: 7}})
+		if _, err := js.Context().Publish(link.BuildWork(), body); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	late := link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: 7, Commit: oldHead}
+	forgeSays(t, newHead, nil)
+	said := endSupersededChecks(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine, late, "check-old-late")
+	if len(said) != 1 || !strings.Contains(said[0], "nothing ended") {
+		t.Errorf("an older head heard late said %q", said)
+	}
+	forgeSays(t, "", errors.New("nothing serves gitea.gitea_api"))
+	said = endSupersededChecks(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine,
+		link.PullUpdated{Owner: "novox", Repo: "a", Number: 7, Commit: newHead}, "check-new")
+	if len(said) != 1 || !strings.Contains(said[0], "nothing ended") {
+		t.Errorf("a head the forge could not confirm said %q", said)
+	}
+	q, err := link.ReadQueue(ctx, js, link.TheBuildMachine)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, id := range []string{"check-new", "check-old-late"} {
+		if _, found := q.Find(id); !found {
+			t.Errorf("%s was ended", id)
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/template_test.go

@@ -1,204 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-	snapshot "github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/facts"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
-)
-
-// A file's text kept as a template file in its module's repository (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2, design 57 package T1,
-// issue 654): `module check` and the merge gate read it from the tree beside the manifest, so a change to a
-// template alone is judged as a change to its module.
-
-const templatedNotifier = `{"module":"notifier","version":"1",
-  "build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"files","kind":"archive","from":"files"}]},
-  "resources":[{"id":"conf","type":"file","path":"/etc/notifier/notifier.conf","mode":"0644","template":"files/notifier.conf"}]}`
-
-// inlineNotifier is the same module as the mesh holds it: built, its text inline.
-const inlineNotifier = `{"module":"notifier","version":"1",
-  "resources":[{"id":"conf","type":"file","path":"/etc/notifier/notifier.conf","mode":"0644","content":"volume = 3\n"}]}`
-
-// aTemplatedModule writes a module's directory: its manifest and its files/.
-func aTemplatedModule(t *testing.T, dir, manifest string, files map[string]string) string {
-	t.Helper()
-	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	path := filepath.Join(dir, "module.json")
-	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(manifest), 0o644); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	for name, text := range files {
-		full := filepath.Join(dir, filepath.FromSlash(name))
-		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(full), 0o755); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if err := os.WriteFile(full, []byte(text), 0o644); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}
-	return path
-}
-
-func TestModuleCheckReadsTemplatesFromTheTreeBesideTheManifest(t *testing.T) {
-	good := aTemplatedModule(t, t.TempDir(), templatedNotifier, map[string]string{"files/notifier.conf": "volume = 3\n"})
-	var out bytes.Buffer
-	if err := moduleCheck([]string{good}, &out); err != nil || !strings.Contains(out.String(), "notifier: ok") {
-		t.Fatalf("a module with its text in files/ was refused: %v\n%s", err, out.String())
-	}
-
-	// A change to the template alone, to text the controller refuses inline, is refused the same.
-	bad := aTemplatedModule(t, t.TempDir(), templatedNotifier,
-		map[string]string{"files/notifier.conf": "volume = 3\nstore = ${dir:nowhere}\n"})
-	out.Reset()
-	if err := moduleCheck([]string{bad}, &out); err == nil || !strings.Contains(out.String(), "nowhere") {
-		t.Fatalf("a template whose text is refused inline passed:\n%s", out.String())
-	}
-
-	// A symlink under files/ that no template names: the build's packing refuses it, so the check does too.
-	linked := t.TempDir()
-	aTemplatedModule(t, linked, templatedNotifier, map[string]string{"files/notifier.conf": "volume = 3\n"})
-	if err := os.Symlink("/etc/hostname", filepath.Join(linked, "files", "elsewhere")); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	out.Reset()
-	if err := moduleCheck([]string{filepath.Join(linked, "module.json")}, &out); err == nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(out.String(), "files/elsewhere is a symlink") {
-		t.Fatalf("a symlink under files/ passed the check:\n%s", out.String())
-	}
-
-	// And a template the tree lacks, by name.
-	missing := aTemplatedModule(t, t.TempDir(), templatedNotifier, nil)
-	out.Reset()
-	if err := moduleCheck([]string{missing}, &out); err == nil || !strings.Contains(out.String(), "files/notifier.conf") {
-		t.Fatalf("a missing template was not refused by name:\n%s", out.String())
-	}
-}
-
-// templatedMesh is catalogueMesh with the notifier on the laptop, registered as built: its text inline.
-func templatedMesh(t *testing.T) (snapshot.Facts, map[string]string) {
-	t.Helper()
-	open := aMesh(t)
-	ctx := t.Context()
-	manifests := map[string]string{
-		"lemurs": `{"module":"lemurs","version":"1","capabilities":["systemd"],
-			"resources":[{"id":"service","type":"service","unit":"lemurs.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}]}`,
-		"notifier": inlineNotifier,
-	}
-	for name, raw := range manifests {
-		m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(raw))
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", name, err)
-		}
-		if err := open.inventory.RegisterModule(ctx, m, inventory.Source{Repository: "novox/mesh-catalog",
-			Path: "modules/" + name, BuiltFrom: "c0ffee"}); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		if _, err := assign(ctx, open, "laptop", name); err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("assign %s: %v", name, err)
-		}
-	}
-	f, err := gatherFacts(ctx, open, "2.11.17")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	return f, manifests
-}
-
-// aTemplatedTree is the catalogue's checkout with the notifier's text in files/.
-func aTemplatedTree(t *testing.T, manifests map[string]string, text string, has bool) string {
-	t.Helper()
-	tree := aTree(t, withEdit(manifests, "notifier", ""))
-	files := map[string]string{}
-	if has {
-		files["files/notifier.conf"] = text
-	}
-	aTemplatedModule(t, filepath.Join(tree, "modules", "notifier"), templatedNotifier, files)
-	return tree
-}
-
-const notifierTemplate = "modules/notifier/files/notifier.conf"
-
-func TestTheMergeGateJudgesAChangeToATemplateAlone(t *testing.T) {
-	f, manifests := templatedMesh(t)
-
-	// The module moved to its template, the same text: nothing changes on any machine.
-	v := gateJudged(t, f, aTemplatedTree(t, manifests, "volume = 3\n", true), "modules/notifier/module.json",
-		notifierTemplate)
-	if v.Verdict == "fail" || v.Modules["notifier"] != "" {
-		t.Fatalf("the module moved to its template with the same text reads as a change (%v):\n%s", v.Modules, v.Report())
-	}
-
-	// The template alone changed: its module changed, and composes.
-	v = gateJudged(t, f, aTemplatedTree(t, manifests, "volume = 4\n", true), notifierTemplate)
-	if v.Verdict == "fail" || v.Modules["notifier"] != "changed" {
-		t.Fatalf("a change to the template alone is not a change to its module (%v):\n%s", v.Modules, v.Report())
-	}
-	if v.Width == nil || strings.Join(v.Width.Modules, ",") != "notifier" {
-		t.Fatalf("a change to the template rebuilds %+v, not its module", v.Width)
-	}
-
-	// The template alone changed to text the controller refuses: the pull request fails, naming the module.
-	v = gateJudged(t, f, aTemplatedTree(t, manifests, "store = ${dir:nowhere}\n", true), notifierTemplate)
-	if v.Verdict != "fail" || !strings.Contains(v.Report(), "notifier") {
-		t.Fatalf("a template the controller refuses passed the gate:\n%s", v.Report())
-	}
-
-	// A symlinked files/ fails: nothing is read from outside the tree.
-	tree := aTree(t, withEdit(manifests, "notifier", ""))
-	elsewhere := t.TempDir()
-	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(elsewhere, "notifier.conf"), []byte("volume = 3\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	aTemplatedModule(t, filepath.Join(tree, "modules", "notifier"), templatedNotifier, nil)
-	if err := os.Symlink(elsewhere, filepath.Join(tree, "modules", "notifier", "files")); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	v = gateJudged(t, f, tree, notifierTemplate)
-	if v.Verdict != "fail" || !strings.Contains(v.Report(), "files/ is a symlink") {
-		t.Fatalf("a symlinked files/ passed the gate:\n%s", v.Report())
-	}
-
-	// And the template removed from the tree fails, naming it.
-	v = gateJudged(t, f, aTemplatedTree(t, manifests, "", false), notifierTemplate)
-	if v.Verdict != "fail" || !strings.Contains(v.Report(), "files/notifier.conf") {
-		t.Fatalf("a missing template passed the gate:\n%s", v.Report())
-	}
-}
-
-// What the gate composes for the module in its template form is what the mesh composes for it inline.
-func TestTheMergeGateResolvesATemplatedModuleToItsInlineTwin(t *testing.T) {
-	dir := t.TempDir()
-	path := aTemplatedModule(t, dir, templatedNotifier, map[string]string{"files/notifier.conf": "volume = 3\n"})
-	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	m, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	m, err = catalogue.WithTemplatesFrom(m, dir)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	resolved, err := standInBuild(m)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	inline, err := catalogue.ParseManifest([]byte(inlineNotifier))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if builtAlike(resolved) != builtAlike(inline) {
-		got, _ := json.Marshal(resolved)
-		t.Fatalf("the templated module resolves to %s, not its inline twin", got)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/testdata/placement-moved/anchor.json

@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
-[
-  {
-    "id": "found.server",
-    "image": "registry.invalid:5000/library@sha256:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
-    "networks": [
-      "predecessor_default"
-    ],
-    "type": "container"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.access-storage/downloads",
-    "mode": "read",
-    "path": "/storage/downloads",
-    "type": "access"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.access-storage/media/series",
-    "mode": "read",
-    "path": "/storage/media/series",
-    "type": "access"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.config",
-    "mode": "0750",
-    "owner": "1001:2000",
-    "path": "/var/lib/library/config",
-    "type": "directory"
-  },
-  {
-    "content": "{\n  \"accesses\": {\n    \"downloads\": \"/storage/downloads\",\n    \"series\": \"/storage/media/series\"\n  },\n  \"log\": \"warn\",\n  \"places\": {\n    \"config\": {\n      \"owner\": \"1001:2000\",\n      \"path\": \"/var/lib/library/config\"\n    }\n  },\n  \"workers\": 4\n}\n",
-    "id": "library.runtime-config",
-    "mode": "0640",
-    "path": "/var/lib/library/config/runtime.json",
-    "type": "file"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.server",
-    "image": "registry.invalid:5000/library@sha256:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
-    "type": "container",
-    "volumes": [
-      "/var/lib/library/config:/config",
-      "/storage/media/series:/series",
-      "/storage/downloads:/downloads:ro"
-    ]
-  }
-]

cmd/mesh-controller/testdata/placement-moved/laptop.json

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-[
-  {
-    "id": "library.access-home/media/series",
-    "mode": "read",
-    "path": "/home/media/series",
-    "type": "access"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.access-storage/downloads",
-    "mode": "read",
-    "path": "/storage/downloads",
-    "type": "access"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.config",
-    "mode": "0750",
-    "path": "/var/lib/library/config",
-    "type": "directory"
-  },
-  {
-    "content": "{\n  \"accesses\": {\n    \"downloads\": \"/storage/downloads\",\n    \"series\": \"/home/media/series\"\n  },\n  \"log\": \"warn\"\n}\n",
-    "id": "library.runtime-config",
-    "mode": "0640",
-    "path": "/var/lib/library/config/runtime.json",
-    "type": "file"
-  },
-  {
-    "id": "library.server",
-    "image": "registry.invalid:5000/library@sha256:aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
-    "type": "container",
-    "volumes": [
-      "/var/lib/library/config:/config",
-      "/home/media/series:/series",
-      "/storage/downloads:/downloads:ro"
-    ]
-  }
-]

cmd/mesh-controller/tier_send_test.go

@@ -171,6 +171,7 @@ func (tm *tierMesh) raise(machine, kind, summary string) {
 // The incident's tier, small: a dozen modules whose first machine is the same are sent there in one
 // send, judged by one gate, and the rest of their machines are sent once — two sends, not two dozen.
 func TestATierOfManyModulesIsSentToEachMachineOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	var modules []string
 	for i := 1; i <= 12; i++ {
@@ -223,6 +224,7 @@ func TestATierOfManyModulesIsSentToEachMachineOnce(t *testing.T) {
 // settling, is the node tools' — inside their settle window, the gate's bound — and no failure of the
 // modules sent with them: at the bound only the node tools are put back.
 func TestACoreBehindWhileTheNodeToolsSettleFailsNoOtherModule(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	tm := aTierMesh(t, "app1", "app2", broker.RuntimeModule)
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	inv := tm.open.inventory
@@ -276,6 +278,7 @@ func TestACoreBehindWhileTheNodeToolsSettleFailsNoOtherModule(t *testing.T) {
 // A machine-level condition about anything else holds the machine back as a whole: everything the send
 // moved there fails together, once, with that reason — not one module for it.
 func TestAMachineUnhealthyAsAWholeFailsTheWholeSendTogether(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	tm := aTierMesh(t, "app1", "app2", "app3")
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -307,6 +310,7 @@ func TestAMachineUnhealthyAsAWholeFailsTheWholeSendTogether(t *testing.T) {
 // The machine-level conditions, sorted: one naming a module is that module's; the core behind is the
 // core's when the send moved it and nobody's when it did not; anything else is the machine's as a whole.
 func TestTheConditionsAboutAMachineItself(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	since := time.Now().Add(-time.Minute)
 	about := func(kind, id string) conditions.Condition {
 		return conditions.Condition{Key: "machine." + id + "." + kind, Kind: kind, Raised: time.Now(),
@@ -339,6 +343,7 @@ func TestTheConditionsAboutAMachineItself(t *testing.T) {
 // rollback that failed; and `plans retry` asks it again rather than refusing a build that was never
 // judged (the incident's "NOT put back: no build kept").
 func TestAModuleItsSendChangedNothingOfIsLeftAsItWasAndRetried(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	g := aGateMesh(t)
 	ctx := t.Context()
@@ -394,6 +399,7 @@ func TestAModuleItsSendChangedNothingOfIsLeftAsItWasAndRetried(t *testing.T) {
 // them, they are registered back and marked in the judging that finds them broken, the plan goes on judging
 // the other module to its own pass, and only then fails.
 func TestATierPutsABrokenModuleBackAtOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	judgeLeavesAsTheCore(t)
 	for _, order := range [][]string{{broker.RuntimeModule, "app1"}, {"app1", broker.RuntimeModule}} {
 		t.Run("gate kept on "+order[0], func(t *testing.T) {
@@ -454,6 +460,7 @@ func TestATierPutsABrokenModuleBackAtOnce(t *testing.T) {
 // decision 4): the leaf beside the node tools has its one reading at once, but the send is judged by the tool
 // runner's rule: one reading, not before the node-engine's witness window for it has ended.
 func TestASendCarryingTheToolRunnerWaitsForItsWitnessWindow(t *testing.T) {
+	withTheGate(t) // the first-machine gate\'s own path (novox/hq ADR 0360 keeps it for earlier walks)
 	tm := aTierMesh(t, broker.RuntimeModule, "app1")
 	ctx := t.Context()
 	// One reading counted per advance, as every test with a gate left open does: a gate judged with no time

cmd/mesh-controller/upgrades.go

@@ -23,7 +23,12 @@ import (
 // **It holds the stores, not a copy of the decision.** What to do about an upgrade is read when
 // one arrives, so changing it takes effect on the next upgrade rather than on the next restart of
 // the control plane.
-type following struct{ open *stores }
+type following struct {
+	open *stores
+	// oneShot is a process that ends after the call (a recheck through `delivery check`): what it would do beside
+	// the call it does within it, or the process's exit would cut it off (novox/hq issue 726).
+	oneShot bool
+}
 
 // Upgraded sends the machines running a module the version the catalogue now considers current —
 // or records that they are behind, which is the default and needs no record.

cmd/mesh-controller/urgent_unhealthy_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// A module may declare its unhealthy urgent (novox/hq ADR 0355): its module-unhealthy condition is then raised
+// urgent; without the field it stays a warning; a wait for a new login stays a warning whatever the module says.
+
+// judgedTwice judges one machine's statement twice, over a catalogue in which mail declares its unhealthy
+// urgent and notes says nothing, and returns what is open.
+func judgedTwice(t *testing.T, unhealthy map[string][]inventory.ResourceHealth) []conditions.Condition {
+	t.Helper()
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	k, _ := withConditionsInMemory(t)
+	was := readHoldingFor
+	t.Cleanup(func() { readHoldingFor = was })
+	readHoldingFor = func(_ context.Context, _ *inventory.Inventory, open []conditions.Condition) (*holding, error) {
+		return &holding{ctx: context.Background(), open: open, providers: map[string]providerLookup{},
+			shelf: map[string]catalogue.Manifest{
+				"mail": {Module: "mail", Version: "1", Unhealthy: &catalogue.UnhealthyPolicy{
+					Severity: catalogue.UnhealthyUrgent, Why: "mail is refused or stuck for everyone with a mailbox"}},
+				"notes": {Module: "notes", Version: "1"},
+			}}, nil
+	}
+	streaks := map[string]int{}
+	for look := 1; look <= 2; look++ {
+		for m := range unhealthy {
+			streaks[m] = look
+		}
+		if err := judgeModuleHealth(ctx, nil, k, "anchor", unhealthy, streaks, time.Now()); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	open, err := k.Open(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return open
+}
+
+func containerDown(module string) inventory.ResourceHealth {
+	return inventory.ResourceHealth{Module: module, Resource: module + ".web", Kind: "container", Target: module,
+		State: link.StateUnhealthy, Reason: "down"}
+}
+
+func TestAModuleThatDeclaresItsUnhealthyUrgentIsRaisedUrgent(t *testing.T) {
+	open := judgedTwice(t, map[string][]inventory.ResourceHealth{"mail": {containerDown("mail")}})
+	c := conditionOf(open, "module.mail.anchor.unhealthy")
+	if c == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mail's unhealthy condition was not raised: %+v", open)
+	}
+	if c.Severity != conditions.Urgent {
+		t.Errorf("mail declares its unhealthy urgent, and it was raised %s", c.Severity)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAModuleThatSaysNothingOfItsUnhealthyStaysAWarning(t *testing.T) {
+	open := judgedTwice(t, map[string][]inventory.ResourceHealth{"notes": {containerDown("notes")}})
+	c := conditionOf(open, "module.notes.anchor.unhealthy")
+	if c == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("notes' unhealthy condition was not raised: %+v", open)
+	}
+	if c.Severity != conditions.Warning {
+		t.Errorf("notes says nothing of its unhealthy, and it was raised %s", c.Severity)
+	}
+}
+
+// Only the module-unhealthy condition changes (ADR 0355 §4): a wait for a new login (ADR 0254) of a module that
+// declares its unhealthy urgent stays a warning.
+func TestAWaitForANewLoginStaysAWarningWhenTheModuleDeclaresItsUnhealthyUrgent(t *testing.T) {
+	open := judgedTwice(t, map[string][]inventory.ResourceHealth{"mail": {relogin("mail", "operator"),
+		userUnit("mail", "operator")}})
+	c := conditionOf(open, "module.mail.anchor.relogin-needed")
+	if c == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mail's relogin-needed condition was not raised: %+v", open)
+	}
+	if c.Severity != conditions.Warning {
+		t.Errorf("a wait for a new login was raised %s; want a warning", c.Severity)
+	}
+	if conditionOf(open, "module.mail.anchor.unhealthy") != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a wait for a new login raised mail's unhealthy condition beside it: %+v", open)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/vault_secrets.go

@@ -1,281 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"errors"
-	"fmt"
-	"strings"
-	"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/secrets"
-)
-
-// The vault's verbs, reached from the controller's (novox/hq ADR 0349 clauses 8 to 10; design 57's V2, issue 675).
-//
-// **Each module is filled the old way or the new way, by its form** (ADR 0349 clause 17, the release lead's
-// decision of 2026-10-14 on issue 675). `secret accept`, `secret ask` (and `accept --at-desk`), `secret issued`
-// and `secret rotate` go to the vault only for a module whose secrets are filled the new way — its machine asks
-// the vault for them — and keep today's path, the controller's store and the declaration it seals, for every other
-// module. Forwarding a module still filled the old way would report success and change nothing on its machine:
-// the vault hands it nothing, and its machine never asks.
-//
-// **What the controller carries, it cannot open.** The vault takes a value in two steps of one verb: the first
-// names the secret and answers a key the vault made for that one call; the second carries the value sealed to it.
-// The value given at this terminal is sealed here before it leaves the process (clause 8); what a desk's prompt or
-// a provider's tool answers is sealed there to the vault's key, and the controller only passes it on (clauses 9
-// and 10). The controller still asks the desk and the provider, because the bus lets only the controller ask
-// them, and asks the vault in its own name, so the vault knows the call is the controller's.
-
-// secretsOfTheVault says whether a module's secrets are filled the new way: the switch the controller's secret
-// verbs turn on. **No module's are until design 57's V4** (issue 647), which fills a moved module's
-// `${secret:}` from the vault and sets this; until then it is false for every module, so every verb keeps today's
-// path.
-func secretsOfTheVault(module string) bool { return false }
-
-// bySwitch runs the vault's path for a module whose secrets are filled the new way, and today's for every other.
-func bySwitch(module string, ofTheVault func(string) bool, today, vault func() error) error {
-	if ofTheVault != nil && ofTheVault(module) {
-		return vault()
-	}
-	return today()
-}
-
-// vaultAsker asks one of the vault's verbs in the controller's name and answers its result, or its refusal.
-type vaultAsker func(verb string, args map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error)
-
-// vaultWithin is how long the vault is given to answer one step.
-const vaultWithin = 20 * time.Second
-
-// theVault asks the vault's seat on this controller's bus, on the subject that names the controller.
-func theVault(ctx context.Context) vaultAsker {
-	return func(verb string, args map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error) {
-		var result json.RawMessage
-		err := onTheBus(func(conn *nats.Conn) error {
-			answer, err := link.AskMeshSeatToolAs(ctx, conn, broker.ControllerName, "mesh-vault", verb, args, vaultWithin)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			if answer.Error != "" {
-				return errors.New(answer.Error)
-			}
-			result = answer.Result
-			return nil
-		})
-		return result, err
-	}
-}
-
-// vaultOpened is a first step's answer: the call, the key made for it, the secret's name in the vault, and who
-// asked as the vault recorded it. Never a value.
-type vaultOpened struct {
-	Call    string `json:"call"`
-	SealTo  string `json:"seal_to"`
-	Secret  string `json:"secret"`
-	AskedBy string `json:"asked_by"`
-}
-
-// vaultChanged is what the vault kept: never the value.
-type vaultChanged struct {
-	Name       string `json:"name"`
-	Generation int    `json:"generation"`
-	By         string `json:"by"`
-	Unchanged  bool   `json:"unchanged"`
-}
-
-func openVaultCall(ask vaultAsker, verb string, args map[string]any) (vaultOpened, error) {
-	raw, err := ask(verb, args)
-	if err != nil {
-		return vaultOpened{}, fmt.Errorf("the vault did not open the call: %w", err)
-	}
-	var o vaultOpened
-	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &o); err != nil || o.Call == "" || o.SealTo == "" {
-		return vaultOpened{}, errors.New("the vault answered no call and no key to seal to")
-	}
-	return o, nil
-}
-
-func endVaultCall(ask vaultAsker, verb string, args map[string]any) (vaultChanged, error) {
-	raw, err := ask(verb, args)
-	if err != nil {
-		return vaultChanged{}, err
-	}
-	var c vaultChanged
-	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &c); err != nil {
-		return vaultChanged{}, errors.New("the vault answered something that is not what it kept")
-	}
-	return c, nil
-}
-
-// ownSecretArgs names a module's own secret on one machine, as the vault's verbs take it.
-func ownSecretArgs(node, module, name string) map[string]any {
-	return map[string]any{"node": node, "module": module, "name": name}
-}
-
-// provisionArgs names the one credential of a provider assignment and provision.
-func provisionArgs(provider, provision string) map[string]any {
-	return map[string]any{"provider": provider, "provision": provision}
-}
-
-// acceptIntoVault is `secret accept` for a module filled the new way: the value read at this terminal is sealed
-// here to the key the vault made for this call, and only the sealed box crosses the bus (ADR 0349 clause 8).
-func acceptIntoVault(ask vaultAsker, target map[string]any, value, by string) (string, error) {
-	first := map[string]any{"by": by}
-	for k, v := range target {
-		first[k] = v
-	}
-	opened, err := openVaultCall(ask, "accept", first)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("nothing was read or sealed: %w", err)
-	}
-	sealed, err := secrets.Seal(opened.SealTo, []byte(value))
-	value = ""
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the vault's key for this call is not a sealing key; nothing was sent: %w", err)
-	}
-	changed, err := endVaultCall(ask, "accept", map[string]any{"call": opened.Call, "sealed": sealed})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the vault did not take it: %w", err)
-	}
-	if changed.Unchanged {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("the vault already holds this value as %s (generation %d); nothing changed", opened.Secret,
-			changed.Generation), nil
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("the vault now holds %s (generation %d), accepted: sealed at this terminal to the vault's key "+
-		"for this call, opened in the vault alone and never remade by it; its machine takes it from the vault",
-		opened.Secret, changed.Generation), nil
-}
-
-// rotateInVault is `secret rotate` for a module filled the new way: the vault makes the value anew and says it
-// changed; the module's machine takes it from the vault, with no declaration sent.
-func rotateInVault(ask vaultAsker, target map[string]any, by string) (string, error) {
-	args := map[string]any{"by": by}
-	for k, v := range target {
-		args[k] = v
-	}
-	changed, err := endVaultCall(ask, "rotate", args)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("not rotated: %w", err)
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("rotated %s in the vault (generation %d), asked by %s; the value is sealed and not shown, and "+
-		"its machine takes it from the vault", changed.Name, changed.Generation, changed.By), nil
-}
-
-// giveToVault is the desk's path for a module filled the new way (ADR 0349 clause 9, ADR 0277 §22–§27 in the
-// vault): the vault records the ask and holds its bounds before the prompt opens and answers the key the prompt
-// seals to and who asked as it recorded them; the prompt names that asker; what is typed comes back sealed to
-// the vault's key and is passed on unopened; how the ask ended is the vault's record.
-func (d deskGive) giveToVault(node, module, name, desk string) (string, error) {
-	opened, err := openVaultCall(d.vault, "secret-ask", map[string]any{"node": node, "module": module, "name": name,
-		"desk": desk, "asked_by": askedByName(d.askedBy)})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("nobody was asked to type anything: %w", err)
-	}
-	end := func(outcome string) {
-		_, _ = endVaultCall(d.vault, "secret-ask", map[string]any{"call": opened.Call, "outcome": outcome})
-	}
-	raw, err := d.ask(desk, map[string]any{
-		"module":          module,
-		"secret":          name,
-		"node":            node,
-		"asked_by":        opened.AskedBy,
-		"seal_to":         opened.SealTo,
-		"timeout_seconds": deskPromptWithin,
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		end("refused")
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the desk on %s could not be asked: %w", desk, err)
-	}
-	var answer struct {
-		Sealed    string `json:"sealed"`
-		Cancelled bool   `json:"cancelled"`
-		TimedOut  bool   `json:"timed_out"`
-	}
-	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &answer); err != nil {
-		end("failed")
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the desk on %s answered something that is not the prompt's answer", desk)
-	}
-	switch {
-	case answer.TimedOut:
-		end("timed-out")
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: the prompt on %s was not answered within %d seconds", errNothingGiven, desk, deskPromptWithin)
-	case answer.Cancelled:
-		end("dismissed")
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("%w: the prompt on %s was dismissed", errNothingGiven, desk)
-	case answer.Sealed == "":
-		end("failed")
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the desk on %s answered no sealed value", desk)
-	}
-	changed, err := endVaultCall(d.vault, "secret-ask", map[string]any{"call": opened.Call, "sealed": answer.Sealed})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the vault did not take what was typed at the desk on %s: %w", desk, err)
-	}
-	act := link.HandAct{Verb: "secret accept", Args: []string{node, module, name, "--at-desk", desk},
-		Why: fmt.Sprintf("the operator gave %s for %s on %s at the desk on %s, asked by %s; kept in the vault", name,
-			module, node, desk, opened.AskedBy),
-		Cause: "given-at-the-desk"}
-	recorded := ""
-	if err := d.record(act); err != nil {
-		recorded = fmt.Sprintf("\n  this act could NOT be recorded in the hand-act log, and is done anyway: %v", err)
-	}
-	if d.announce != nil {
-		if err := d.announce(node, module, name, "at the desk on "+desk); err != nil {
-			recorded += fmt.Sprintf("\n  this change could NOT be announced on the operator's channels: %v", err)
-		}
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s now holds %q, given at the desk on %s and kept in the vault as %s (generation %d); "+
-		"it opened in the vault alone, and %s takes it from there", module, node, name, desk, opened.Secret,
-		changed.Generation, node) + recorded, nil
-}
-
-// takeIntoVault is `secret issued` for a provider filled the new way (ADR 0349 clause 10): the vault opens a call;
-// the provider's tool, asked by the controller as today — the one caller the bus lets ask it — seals its
-// software's value to the vault's key; the controller passes it on unopened. Nothing is sealed or sent here: each
-// holder takes it from the vault.
-func (t issuedTaker) takeIntoVault(provision string, p issuedProvider) (string, error) {
-	opened, err := openVaultCall(t.vault, "issued", map[string]any{"provision": provision, "provider": p.Node,
-		"module": p.Module})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	answer, err := t.ask(p, map[string]any{"provision": provision, "seal_to": opened.SealTo})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("its tool %s could not be asked: %w", p.Tool, err)
-	}
-	if answer.Error != "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("its tool %s refused: %s", p.Tool, answer.Error)
-	}
-	var given struct {
-		Sealed string `json:"sealed"`
-	}
-	if err := unmarshalAnswer(answer, &given); err != nil || given.Sealed == "" {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("its tool %s answered no sealed value", p.Tool)
-	}
-	changed, err := endVaultCall(t.vault, "issued", map[string]any{"call": opened.Call, "sealed": given.Sealed})
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("the vault did not take what its tool %s answered: %w", p.Tool, err)
-	}
-	if changed.Unchanged {
-		return fmt.Sprintf("%s from %s on %s: the vault already holds the value its software issued (generation %d); "+
-			"nothing was written", provision, p.Module, p.Node, changed.Generation), nil
-	}
-	recorded := ""
-	if err := t.record(link.HandAct{Verb: handActIssued, Args: []string{provision},
-		Why: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s gave the credential its software issued for %s; kept in the vault as %s", p.Module,
-			p.Node, provision, opened.Secret),
-		Cause: "issued-by-software"}); err != nil {
-		recorded = fmt.Sprintf("\n  this was NOT recorded in the hand-act log, and is done anyway: %v", err)
-	}
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%s from %s on %s: the value its software issued is kept in the vault as %s (generation %d); "+
-		"each holder takes it from there%s", provision, p.Module, p.Node, opened.Secret, changed.Generation,
-		recorded), nil
-}
-
-// actingAs is who acts in this process, as the vault records it beside the controller that carries the act.
-func actingAs() string {
-	return strings.TrimSpace(askedByName(link.Caller()))
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/vault_secrets_test.go

@@ -1,346 +0,0 @@
-package main
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"errors"
-	"fmt"
-	"log"
-	"strings"
-	"sync"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/nats-io/nats.go"
-
-	"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/secrets"
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
-)
-
-// The controller's secret verbs reach the vault only for a module filled the new way (design 57's V2, issue 675,
-// the release lead's decision on it; novox/hq ADR 0349 clauses 8 to 10 and 17).
-
-// standInVault answers the vault's two-step verbs as mesh-vault does: a key made for each call, the value opened
-// with it here and nowhere else. It keeps what it took and every argument it was sent, as the bus carried them.
-type standInVault struct {
-	t       *testing.T
-	mu      sync.Mutex
-	keys    map[string]string // call → private key
-	taken   map[string]string // secret → value
-	sent    []string          // every argument, as JSON
-	refuse  error             // refuses every first step when set
-	outcome []string
-	again   bool // the value is held already
-}
-
-func newStandInVault(t *testing.T) *standInVault {
-	return &standInVault{t: t, keys: map[string]string{}, taken: map[string]string{}}
-}
-
-func (v *standInVault) ask(verb string, args map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error) {
-	v.mu.Lock()
-	defer v.mu.Unlock()
-	raw, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"verb": verb, "args": args})
-	v.sent = append(v.sent, string(raw))
-	if verb == "rotate" {
-		return json.Marshal(vaultChanged{Name: "own/g14/dunst/token", Generation: 2, By: fmt.Sprint(args["by"])})
-	}
-	call, _ := args["call"].(string)
-	if call == "" {
-		if v.refuse != nil {
-			return nil, v.refuse
-		}
-		public, private, err := secrets.Keypair()
-		if err != nil {
-			v.t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-		call = fmt.Sprintf("call-%d", len(v.keys)+1)
-		v.keys[call] = private
-		secret := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%v", verb, args["name"])
-		return json.Marshal(vaultOpened{Call: call, SealTo: public, Secret: secret, AskedBy: "as-the-vault-recorded"})
-	}
-	private, ok := v.keys[call]
-	if !ok {
-		return nil, errors.New("no such call")
-	}
-	delete(v.keys, call)
-	if o, _ := args["outcome"].(string); o != "" {
-		v.outcome = append(v.outcome, o)
-		return json.Marshal(vaultChanged{Unchanged: true})
-	}
-	value, err := secrets.Open(private, fmt.Sprint(args["sealed"]))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, errors.New("not sealed to this call")
-	}
-	// As mesh-vault takes a typed value: its line ending off (intake.go AskEnd).
-	v.taken[verb] = strings.TrimRight(string(value), "\r\n")
-	return json.Marshal(vaultChanged{Name: verb, Generation: 1, Unchanged: v.again})
-}
-
-func (v *standInVault) said() string {
-	v.mu.Lock()
-	defer v.mu.Unlock()
-	return strings.Join(v.sent, "\n")
-}
-
-// No module's secrets are filled the new way before V4: every verb keeps today's path for every module.
-func TestNoModulesSecretsAreTheVaultsBeforeV4(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, module := range []string{"telegram", "dunst", "plex", "postgres", "mesh-vault", "kometa", ""} {
-		if secretsOfTheVault(module) {
-			t.Errorf("%q is filled the new way before V4", module)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-// The switch: today's path for a module filled the old way, the vault's for one filled the new way, and never
-// both.
-func TestTheSwitchRunsOnePathByTheModulesForm(t *testing.T) {
-	moved := func(m string) bool { return m == "dunst" }
-	for module, want := range map[string]string{"telegram": "today", "dunst": "vault"} {
-		var ran []string
-		err := bySwitch(module, moved,
-			func() error { ran = append(ran, "today"); return nil },
-			func() error { ran = append(ran, "vault"); return nil })
-		if err != nil || strings.Join(ran, ",") != want {
-			t.Errorf("%s ran %v (%v), not %s", module, ran, err, want)
-		}
-	}
-	var ran []string
-	_ = bySwitch("dunst", nil, func() error { ran = append(ran, "today"); return nil },
-		func() error { ran = append(ran, "vault"); return nil })
-	if strings.Join(ran, ",") != "today" {
-		t.Errorf("no switch ran %v", ran)
-	}
-}
-
-// `secret accept` for a module filled the new way: the value read at the terminal is sealed there to the key the
-// vault made for this one call; no clear value crosses the bus or reaches the controller's log. Over a real bus,
-// with a tap on every subject.
-func TestAnAcceptedValueCrossesTheBusOnlySealedToTheVault(t *testing.T) {
-	conn, err := nats.Connect(testbus.URL(t))
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	t.Cleanup(conn.Close)
-	before := handActConn
-	handActConn = conn
-	t.Cleanup(func() { handActConn = before })
-
-	var tapped bytes.Buffer
-	var tapMu sync.Mutex
-	tap, err := conn.Subscribe(">", func(m *nats.Msg) {
-		tapMu.Lock()
-		defer tapMu.Unlock()
-		tapped.WriteString(m.Subject + " " + string(m.Data) + "\n")
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer tap.Unsubscribe()
-
-	vault := newStandInVault(t)
-	var subjects []string
-	holder, err := conn.Subscribe(broker.CalledPattern(link.SeatToolSubject("mesh-vault", "accept")), func(m *nats.Msg) {
-		subjects = append(subjects, m.Subject)
-		var args map[string]any
-		_ = json.Unmarshal(m.Data, &args)
-		result, err := vault.ask("accept", args)
-		answer := link.Answer{Result: result}
-		if err != nil {
-			answer = link.Answer{Error: err.Error()}
-		}
-		raw, _ := json.Marshal(answer)
-		_ = m.Respond(raw)
-	})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	defer holder.Unsubscribe()
-
-	var logged bytes.Buffer
-	log.SetOutput(&logged)
-	t.Cleanup(func() { log.SetOutput(nil) })
-
-	const value = "pw-of-last-year-that-must-not-show"
-	words, err := acceptIntoVault(theVault(context.Background()), provisionArgs("novox", "postgres"), value, "jochen")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if vault.taken["accept"] != value {
-		t.Fatalf("the vault opened %q", vault.taken["accept"])
-	}
-	if err := conn.Flush(); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	tapMu.Lock()
-	crossed := tapped.String()
-	tapMu.Unlock()
-	if !strings.Contains(crossed, "mesh.seat.mesh-vault.call.accept.controller") {
-		t.Fatalf("the tap heard no call to the vault: %s", crossed)
-	}
-	for _, s := range subjects {
-		if !strings.HasSuffix(s, ".controller") {
-			t.Errorf("the vault was asked on %s, not in the controller's name", s)
-		}
-	}
-	for where, text := range map[string]string{"the bus": crossed, "the log": logged.String(), "the answer": words} {
-		if strings.Contains(text, value) || strings.Contains(text, "must-not-show") {
-			t.Errorf("the value crossed %s in the clear", where)
-		}
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(words, "sealed at this terminal") {
-		t.Errorf("the answer: %q", words)
-	}
-	// A vault that refuses the first step: nothing is sealed or sent.
-	vault.refuse = errors.New("the vault has no operator key")
-	if _, err := acceptIntoVault(vault.ask, ownSecretArgs("g14", "dunst", "token"), value, "jochen"); err == nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nothing was read or sealed") {
-		t.Errorf("a refused call said %v", err)
-	}
-}
-
-// The desk's path for a module filled the new way: the vault records the ask and holds its bounds before the
-// prompt; the prompt names the asker as the vault recorded it; what is typed passes the controller sealed and
-// unopened; today's store is not touched. For a module filled the old way, the vault is never asked.
-func TestAnAskForAModuleFilledTheNewWayIsTheVaults(t *testing.T) {
-	d, accepted, acts, asked := aDesk(t, sealedTo(t, typed))
-	d.askedBy = "g14/claude-code"
-	d.open = func(node, module, name, desk string) (int64, error) {
-		t.Fatal("today's record was asked")
-		return 0, nil
-	}
-	vault := newStandInVault(t)
-	d.vault = vault.ask
-	words, err := d.give("anchor", "telegram", "telegram-token", "laptop")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if len(*accepted) != 0 {
-		t.Fatal("the controller opened and kept what was typed")
-	}
-	if vault.taken["secret-ask"] != typed {
-		t.Fatalf("the vault opened %q", vault.taken["secret-ask"])
-	}
-	if p := (*asked)[0]; p["asked_by"] != "as-the-vault-recorded" || p["seal_to"] == "" {
-		t.Errorf("the prompt was asked %v", p)
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"asked_by":"g14/claude-code"`) {
-		t.Errorf("the vault was not told who asked: %s", vault.said())
-	}
-	if len(*acts) != 1 || (*acts)[0].Cause != "given-at-the-desk" || !strings.Contains((*acts)[0].Why, "kept in the vault") {
-		t.Errorf("the act: %+v", *acts)
-	}
-	raw, _ := json.Marshal(struct {
-		Words string
-		Acts  []link.HandAct
-		Asked []map[string]any
-	}{words, *acts, *asked})
-	if strings.Contains(string(raw)+vault.said(), typed) || strings.Contains(string(raw)+vault.said(), "AAEhBP0") {
-		t.Fatal("the value appears in what was said, asked, recorded or sent to the vault")
-	}
-
-	// Dismissed: the vault's record ends the ask so.
-	d2, _, _, _ := aDesk(t, func(map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error) { return json.RawMessage(`{"cancelled":true}`), nil })
-	v2 := newStandInVault(t)
-	d2.vault = v2.ask
-	if _, err := d2.give("anchor", "telegram", "telegram-token", "laptop"); !errors.Is(err, errNothingGiven) {
-		t.Fatalf("%v", err)
-	}
-	if strings.Join(v2.outcome, ",") != "dismissed" {
-		t.Errorf("the vault was told %v", v2.outcome)
-	}
-	// The vault's bounds refuse: nobody is asked to type.
-	d3, _, _, asked3 := aDesk(t, sealedTo(t, typed))
-	v3 := newStandInVault(t)
-	v3.refuse = errors.New("an ask for telegram-token of telegram on anchor is still open")
-	d3.vault = v3.ask
-	if _, err := d3.give("anchor", "telegram", "telegram-token", "laptop"); err == nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nobody was asked to type anything") || len(*asked3) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("a refused ask: %v, prompts %d", err, len(*asked3))
-	}
-
-	// Filled the old way: today's path, the vault never asked.
-	d4, accepted4, _, _ := aDesk(t, sealedTo(t, typed))
-	if _, err := d4.give("anchor", "telegram", "telegram-token", "laptop"); err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if len(*accepted4) != 1 || d4.vault != nil {
-		t.Error("a module filled the old way did not take today's path")
-	}
-}
-
-// `secret issued` for a provider filled the new way: the provider's tool seals to the vault's key for the call,
-// the controller passes it on unopened, and nothing is kept, sealed or sent here. A provider filled the old way
-// keeps today's path and the vault is never asked.
-func TestAnIssuedValueForAProviderFilledTheNewWayGoesToTheVault(t *testing.T) {
-	var r issuedRecorder
-	vault := newStandInVault(t)
-	taker := r.taker(t, issuedSealed(t, "the-servers-own-token"))
-	taker.keep = func(string, string, string) (inventory.IssuedKept, error) {
-		t.Fatal("today's store was asked to keep it")
-		return inventory.IssuedKept{}, nil
-	}
-	taker.ofTheVault = func(m string) bool { return m == "plex" }
-	taker.vault = vault.ask
-	words, err := taker.take("plex-api")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if vault.taken["issued"] != "the-servers-own-token" {
-		t.Fatalf("the vault opened %q", vault.taken["issued"])
-	}
-	if len(r.sent) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("machines were sent: %v", r.sent)
-	}
-	if len(r.acts) != 1 || r.acts[0].Verb != handActIssued || !strings.Contains(r.acts[0].Why, "kept in the vault") {
-		t.Errorf("the act: %+v", r.acts)
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"provider":"ace"`) || !strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"module":"plex"`) {
-		t.Errorf("the vault was told %s", vault.said())
-	}
-	for _, said := range []string{words, r.acts[0].Why, vault.said()} {
-		if strings.Contains(said, "the-servers-own-token") {
-			t.Fatalf("the value was said: %q", said)
-		}
-	}
-	// The same value again: the vault writes nothing, and nothing is recorded.
-	again := newStandInVault(t)
-	again.again = true
-	r2 := issuedRecorder{}
-	t2 := r2.taker(t, issuedSealed(t, "the-servers-own-token"))
-	t2.ofTheVault, t2.vault = func(string) bool { return true }, again.ask
-	if words, err := t2.take("plex-api"); err != nil || len(r2.acts) != 0 || !strings.Contains(words, "nothing was written") {
-		t.Errorf("%q %v %+v", words, err, r2.acts)
-	}
-
-	// Filled the old way: today's path.
-	var r3 issuedRecorder
-	t3 := r3.taker(t, issuedSealed(t, "the-servers-own-token"))
-	t3.ofTheVault = func(string) bool { return false }
-	t3.vault = func(string, map[string]any) (json.RawMessage, error) {
-		t.Fatal("the vault was asked for a provider filled the old way")
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-	if _, err := t3.take("plex-api"); err != nil || len(r3.kept) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("today's path: %v, kept %d", err, len(r3.kept))
-	}
-}
-
-// `secret rotate` for a module filled the new way asks the vault, naming who asked; nothing is sent.
-func TestARotationForAModuleFilledTheNewWayIsTheVaults(t *testing.T) {
-	vault := newStandInVault(t)
-	words, err := rotateInVault(vault.ask, ownSecretArgs("g14", "dunst", "token"), "g14/claude-code")
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"verb":"rotate"`) || !strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"by":"g14/claude-code"`) ||
-		!strings.Contains(vault.said(), `"module":"dunst"`) {
-		t.Errorf("the vault was told %s", vault.said())
-	}
-	if !strings.Contains(words, "generation 2") || !strings.Contains(words, "takes it from the vault") {
-		t.Errorf("%q", words)
-	}
-}

cmd/mesh-controller/walk_wait_rebuild_754_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 754: a walk waiting for its delivery's word takes no build's outcome, nor does a walk take one for
+// a module it never asked; asked under an id, it takes that id's alone.
+func TestAWalkTakesOnlyTheOutcomesOfWhatItAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	asked := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 23, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	before := asked.Add(-time.Minute)
+	waiting := inventory.Plan{Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Awaits: "mesh-delivery"}}
+	letGo := inventory.Plan{Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Awaits: "mesh-delivery", Go: &asked}}
+	own := &inventory.PlanModule{State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked, Build: "build-own"}
+	old := &inventory.PlanModule{State: "asked", AskedAt: &asked}
+	for _, c := range []struct {
+		what  string
+		p     inventory.Plan
+		state *inventory.PlanModule
+		at    time.Time
+		id    string
+		takes bool
+	}{
+		{"a rebuild while the walk waits", waiting, nil, asked, "build-rebuild", false},
+		{"its own id while it waits", waiting, own, asked, "build-own", false},
+		{"a module it never asked", letGo, nil, asked, "build-rebuild", false},
+		{"a module it never asked, state kept empty", letGo, &inventory.PlanModule{}, asked, "build-rebuild", false},
+		{"another id", letGo, own, asked, "build-rebuild", false},
+		{"its own id", letGo, own, asked, "build-own", true},
+		{"a plan from before ids, asked after it", letGo, old, asked.Add(time.Second), "x", true},
+		{"a plan from before ids, asked before it", letGo, old, before, "x", false},
+		{"a plan with no delivery, its own id", inventory.Plan{}, own, asked, "build-own", true},
+	} {
+		if got := takesOutcome(c.p, c.state, c.at, c.id); got != c.takes {
+			t.Errorf("%s: takes %v, want %v", c.what, got, c.takes)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq issue 754: a tier partly asked asks the rest; a module held built that the plan never asked — the live
+// shape, a hand rebuild taken in during the wait, built after the plan was made — is asked again; one asked is kept.
+func TestATierPartlyAskedAsksTheRest(t *testing.T) {
+	created := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 23, 30, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	earlier, later := created.Add(-time.Hour), created.Add(7*time.Minute)
+	p := inventory.Plan{Created: created, Tiers: [][]string{{"build-agent", "gitea", "route-proxy", "stale", "kept", "own"}},
+		Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{
+			"gitea":       {},
+			"route-proxy": {State: "built", BuiltAt: &later, Commit: "c51357f8"},
+			"stale":       {State: "built", BuiltAt: &earlier},
+			"kept":        {State: "asked", AskedAt: &created, Build: "build-kept"},
+			"own":         {State: "built", AskedAt: &created, BuiltAt: &later, Build: "build-own"},
+		}}
+	if got, want := unaskedOf(p), []string{"build-agent", "gitea", "route-proxy", "stale"}; !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("unasked %v, want %v", got, want)
+	}
+	if !askedInTier(p) {
+		t.Fatal("a tier with a module asked under an id reads as never asked")
+	}
+	p.Modules["kept"], p.Modules["own"] = nil, nil
+	if askedInTier(p) {
+		t.Fatal("a tier the plan never asked reads as asked")
+	}
+}
+
+// novox/hq issue 754, as seen on 2026-10-14: a rebuild lands while the walk waits for its word; the walk is let go;
+// it asks every module of its tier, and completes it once those builds come in.
+func TestARebuildInTheWaitIsNotTheWalksBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	open := aMesh(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	asked := asksRecorded(t)
+	twoTiers(t, open)
+	created := time.Now().UTC().Add(-10 * time.Minute)
+	plan := inventory.Plan{ID: "plan-754", Repository: "novox/a", Branch: "main", Commit: "c0ffee", Created: created,
+		State: inventory.PlanBuilding, Tiers: [][]string{{"a", "b"}}, Modules: map[string]*inventory.PlanModule{},
+		Delivery: &inventory.PlanDelivery{Awaits: "mesh-delivery"}}
+	if err := open.inventory.SavePlan(ctx, &plan); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// A rebuild of a, beside the waiting walk: not joined, and its outcome not taken.
+	joined, said, err := joinAPlan(ctx, open, "a")
+	if err != nil || joined || said == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a rebuild joined a waiting walk: %v %q %v", joined, said, err)
+	}
+	planBuilt(ctx, open, "a", "c0ffee", "", time.Now().UTC(), "build-rebuild")
+	p, _ := open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, plan.ID)
+	if s := p.Modules["a"]; s != nil && s.State != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the waiting walk took a rebuild as its build: %+v", s)
+	}
+	if len(*asked) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a waiting walk asked %v", *asked)
+	}
+
+	// Let go: both are asked, and their outcomes complete the tier.
+	if _, err := letGo(ctx, open.inventory, plan.ID, "operator", "test"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	p, _ = open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, plan.ID)
+	for _, m := range []string{"a", "b"} {
+		if s := p.Modules[m]; s == nil || s.State != "asked" || s.Build == "" {
+			t.Fatalf("let go, %s is %+v", m, s)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(*asked) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("asked %v", *asked)
+	}
+	for _, m := range []string{"a", "b"} {
+		id := p.Modules[m].Build
+		at, _ := link.BuildAskedAt(id)
+		planBuilt(ctx, open, m, "c0ffee", "", at, id)
+	}
+	advancePlans(ctx, open)
+	if p, _ = open.inventory.PlanByID(ctx, plan.ID); p.Open() && p.Tier == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk did not get past its tier: %s at %d, %q", p.State, p.Tier, p.Note)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/watchdogs.go

@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ type signalFacts struct {
 	// consumers: the condition counts the messages given up on, not the looks (novox/hq issue 440).
 	deadLettersNewest map[string]time.Time
 	advisoriesErr     error
+	// busFaultsErr is why the bus module's events could not be read this tick (novox/hq ADR 0357).
+	busFaultsErr error
 
 	selfCheck selfCheckFacts
 
@@ -358,6 +360,15 @@ func (w *watchdogs) gather(ctx context.Context) *signalFacts {
 	}
 	f.advisories = link.Advisories.Since(now.Add(-advisoryQuiet))
 	f.lostConsumers, f.advisoriesErr = w.lostConsumers(ctx, f.advisories)
+	// And what the bus did to every other user's connection, as the bus module said it (novox/hq ADR 0357):
+	// read back for the same hour, and one advisory with the controller's own where both are its.
+	// A read that fails is its own condition, never S9 blind: the controller's own signals are still said.
+	if w.server != nil && w.js != nil {
+		var faults []link.Advisory
+		if faults, f.busFaultsErr = w.server.BusFaults(ctx, now.Add(-advisoryQuiet)); f.busFaultsErr == nil {
+			f.advisories = link.MergeAdvisories(f.advisories, faults)
+		}
+	}
 	if f.advisoriesErr == nil && w.js != nil {
 		f.deadLetters, f.advisoriesErr = link.HeldDeadLetters(w.js.Context())
 	}

cmd/mesh-controller/worker_order_test.go

@@ -38,8 +38,9 @@ func TestTheBuildSeatsHolderFollowsTheControllerThatDefinesItsWorker(t *testing.
 	if pos["build-agent"] <= pos["mesh-controller"] {
 		t.Fatalf("the build machine after the controller that defines its worker: %v", tiers)
 	}
-	if pos["route-proxy"] <= pos["build-agent"] {
-		t.Fatalf("what the build machine builds comes after it: %v", tiers)
+	// Built-by orders nothing (novox/hq ADR 0360 §3): whichever builder runs builds the proxy, beside the controller.
+	if pos["route-proxy"] != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("what the builder builds waits for a new one: %v", tiers)
 	}
 	if hasCycle(tiers, edges) {
 		t.Fatalf("no cycle here: %v", tiers)

internal/broker/bus_module_emits_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// **The bus module's watch speaks through the runtime that carries it** (novox/hq ADR 0357): the node's
+// runtime is granted the events the bus module declares, under the module's name, while the bus's own
+// account keeps the snapshot API and nothing else (ADR 0235).
+func TestTheRuntimeCarryingTheBusModuleMayPublishItsEventsAndTheBussAccountMayNot(t *testing.T) {
+	events := []string{"bus.slow-consumer", "bus.connection-closed"}
+	runtime := Principal{Kind: KindNodeTools, Node: "anchor", Module: RuntimeModule,
+		Carries: []Declared{{Module: "nats", Emits: events}}}
+	p, err := PermissionsFor(runtime)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, e := range events {
+		if !slices.Contains(p.Publish, "mesh.mod.nats.event."+e) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime carrying the bus module may not publish %s: %v", e, p.Publish)
+		}
+	}
+	account := Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "anchor", Module: "nats", Emits: events, SnapshotsTheBus: true}
+	a, err := PermissionsFor(account)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, s := range a.Publish {
+		if s == "mesh.mod.nats.event.bus.slow-consumer" || s == "mesh.mod.nats.event.bus.connection-closed" {
+			t.Errorf("the bus's own account is granted %s", s)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/broker/controller_buckets_test.go

@@ -96,47 +96,3 @@ func TestWhatTheControllerAskedIsBounded(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("history %d, age %s, bytes %d", status.History(), status.TTL(), info.Config.MaxBytes)
 	}
 }
-
-// **The controller may ask the vault's intake verbs in its own name** (design 57's V2, issue 675): the vault
-// takes a value only from the controller, which it knows from the subject that names its caller — so the
-// controller is granted that subject for the verbs the vault's holder serves, and no more of the vault's seat.
-// Composed from the records, as the issued tools are: the installer's first user list carries none.
-func TestTheControllerMayAskTheVaultInItsOwnName(t *testing.T) {
-	vault := Declared{Module: "mesh-vault", Holds: []Seat{{Name: "mesh-vault",
-		Serves: []string{"get", "accept", "secret-ask", "issued", "rotate"}}}}
-	users, err := Users(Records{Nodes: []string{"novox"}, Assigned: map[string][]Declared{"novox": {vault}}})
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	controller := users[0]
-	if strings.Join(controller.AsksTheVault, ",") != "accept,issued,rotate,secret-ask" {
-		t.Fatalf("composed %v", controller.AsksTheVault)
-	}
-	p, err := PermissionsFor(controller)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	for _, verb := range []string{"accept", "secret-ask", "issued", "rotate"} {
-		if !MayPublish(p, CalledSubject("mesh.seat.mesh-vault.tool."+verb, ControllerName)) {
-			t.Errorf("the controller may not ask the vault's %s in its own name", verb)
-		}
-		if MayPublish(p, CalledSubject("mesh.seat.mesh-vault.tool."+verb, "anchor.node-tools")) {
-			t.Errorf("the controller may ask the vault's %s in another's name", verb)
-		}
-	}
-	if MayPublish(p, CalledSubject("mesh.seat.mesh-vault.tool.get", ControllerName)) {
-		t.Error("the controller may ask the vault for a secret: it seals nothing the vault holds")
-	}
-	// A vault that serves none of them yet — the running one — composes no grant, nor does genesis.
-	older := Declared{Module: "mesh-vault", Holds: []Seat{{Name: "mesh-vault", Serves: []string{"get"}}}}
-	users, _ = Users(Records{Nodes: []string{"novox"}, Assigned: map[string][]Declared{"novox": {older}}})
-	if len(users[0].AsksTheVault) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("a vault serving none composed %v", users[0].AsksTheVault)
-	}
-	genesis, _ := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindController, PasswordHash: "x"})
-	for _, s := range genesis.Publish {
-		if strings.Contains(s, "mesh-vault") {
-			t.Errorf("the installer's controller may publish %s", s)
-		}
-	}
-}

internal/broker/derived.go

@@ -128,7 +128,13 @@ func ConsumerFor(p Principal) (Consumer, bool) {
 	// connected, and its graph stayed empty with nothing anywhere reporting why.
 	// And one that hears its own answers on a seat it uses (novox/hq ADR 0259 §3): an asker's warrants.
 	hearsItsOwn := len(SeatTrafficOf(p.Module, nil, p.Uses, nil).Subscribe) > 0
-	if p.Kind != KindModule || (len(p.Consumes) == 0 && len(p.Watches) == 0 && !hearsItsOwn) {
+	hearsAStream := false
+	for _, h := range p.Hears {
+		if len(h.Filters) > 0 {
+			hearsAStream = true
+		}
+	}
+	if p.Kind != KindModule || (len(p.Consumes) == 0 && len(p.Watches) == 0 && !hearsItsOwn && !hearsAStream) {
 		return Consumer{}, false
 	}
 	perms, err := PermissionsFor(p)
@@ -140,11 +146,14 @@ func ConsumerFor(p Principal) (Consumer, bool) {
 	// business, which is why this is a filter and not the whole list.
 	var filters []string
 	for _, s := range perms.Subscribe {
-		if strings.Contains(s, ".event.") {
+		// Not a module stream's, which its own consumer on that stream hears (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+		if strings.Contains(s, ".event.") && !strings.HasPrefix(s, moduleStreamPrefix) {
 			filters = append(filters, s)
 		}
 	}
-	if len(filters) == 0 {
+	// **A module that hears only a module's stream still has one here** (novox/hq ADR 0363 §7): what it
+	// gives up on there is delivered again under `mesh.again.<consumer>.` on EVENTS, and only this filters it.
+	if len(filters) == 0 && !hearsAStream {
 		return Consumer{}, false
 	}
 	sort.Strings(filters)
@@ -181,6 +190,13 @@ func ConsumersOf(users []Principal) []ModuleConsumer {
 		}
 		seen[p.Node+"/"+p.Module] = true
 		out = append(out, ModuleConsumer{Node: p.Node, Module: p.Module, Consumer: c})
+		// And one on each module stream it hears (novox/hq ADR 0363 §5).
+		for _, h := range p.Hears {
+			if len(h.Filters) == 0 {
+				continue
+			}
+			out = append(out, ModuleConsumer{Node: p.Node, Module: p.Module, Consumer: heardConsumer(p, h)})
+		}
 	}
 	for _, p := range users {
 		if p.Kind == KindModule {
@@ -193,7 +209,8 @@ func ConsumersOf(users []Principal) []ModuleConsumer {
 		}
 		for _, d := range p.Carries {
 			add(Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: p.Node, Module: d.Module, Emits: d.Emits,
-				Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves, Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches})
+				Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves, Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches,
+				Streams: d.Streams, Hears: d.Hears})
 		}
 	}
 	return out

internal/broker/jetstream.go

@@ -486,3 +486,25 @@ func (j *JetStream) LogStreams() ([]string, error) {
 	}
 	return out, lister.Err()
 }
+
+// ConsumerNames is every durable consumer on a stream; none for a stream that does not exist yet.
+func (j *JetStream) ConsumerNames(stream string) ([]string, error) {
+	if _, err := j.js.StreamInfo(stream); errors.Is(err, nats.ErrStreamNotFound) {
+		return nil, nil
+	} else if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for name := range j.js.ConsumerNames(stream) {
+		out = append(out, name)
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// RemoveConsumer deletes one durable consumer (novox/hq ADR 0363 §6): one the composition no longer asks for.
+func (j *JetStream) RemoveConsumer(stream, name string) error {
+	if err := j.js.DeleteConsumer(stream, name); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, nats.ErrConsumerNotFound) {
+		return err
+	}
+	return nil
+}

internal/broker/membership.go

@@ -61,6 +61,15 @@ type Membership struct {
 	// over every module on the machine, so one module's code reaching another's name or kind through
 	// the runtime is the runtime's to refuse.
 	SeatTraffic *SeatTraffic `json:"seat-traffic,omitempty"`
+	// Streams are this module's own streams (novox/hq ADR 0363 §2): an event one of them carries is published
+	// on that stream's subject, never on Emits. Hears are the module streams it hears, each through a durable
+	// consumer on that stream the runtime binds beside the one on EVENTS (§8).
+	Streams []StreamIssued `json:"streams,omitempty"`
+	Hears   []HeardIssued  `json:"hears,omitempty"`
+	// Waits are the event families a session may wait on through the mesh MCP server, the tool runner's
+	// alone (novox/hq ADR 0367 §2): the subjects its account is granted, under the names a session asks for.
+	// The tool runner refuses any family not listed here.
+	Waits []WaitIssued `json:"waits,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // Served is one address a tool is answered on.
@@ -126,6 +135,9 @@ func MembershipFor(node string, d Declared, where Placements) Membership {
 	}
 	m.State = stateIssuedFor(d, node)
 	m.Logs = logsIssuedFor(d)
+	m.Streams = streamsIssuedFor(d)
+	m.Hears = HeardIssuedFor(node, d)
+	m.Waits = waitsIssuedFor(d)
 	t := SeatTrafficOf(d.Module, d.Holds, d.Uses, d.Watches)
 	for _, s := range append(append([]Seat{}, d.Uses...), d.Watches...) {
 		if !s.Kinded {

internal/broker/modstreams.go

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// A module's own stream on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+//
+// A module declares a stream as it declares a log: named locally, created by the controller from the
+// catalogue on every raise and every send, never removed by the mesh. Its events are published on
+// `mesh.stream.<module>.event.<event>`, a subject space the shared EVENTS stream (`mesh.mod.*.event.>`)
+// does not take — the bus refuses two streams claiming one subject, so a module's stream cannot share
+// EVENTS' — and a consumer hears it through a durable consumer of its own on that stream, named as on
+// EVENTS. Pure; the controller's raise asserts what is composed here.
+
+// moduleStreamPrefix starts every subject a module's own stream takes.
+const moduleStreamPrefix = "mesh.stream."
+
+// ModuleStreamSubject is where a module's event on its own stream lands: `mesh.stream.<module>.event.<event>`.
+// The token before `.event.` is the emitter, as on EVENTS, so a runtime reads the same key from it.
+func ModuleStreamSubject(module, event string) string {
+	return moduleStreamPrefix + module + ".event." + event
+}
+
+// OnAModuleStream says a subject is one a module's own stream takes.
+func OnAModuleStream(subject string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(subject, moduleStreamPrefix) }
+
+// WirePattern is a local event pattern as the bus spells it: `**` is `>`.
+func WirePattern(local string) string {
+	parts := strings.Split(local, ".")
+	for i, p := range parts {
+		if p == "**" {
+			parts[i] = ">"
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.Join(parts, ".")
+}
+
+// A ModuleStream is one module's declared stream as the bus holds it.
+type ModuleStream struct {
+	Module string
+	// Name is its name on the bus, `MAIL`.
+	Name string
+	// Events are the events it carries, as the bus spells them (WirePattern).
+	Events     []string
+	MaxAgeDays int
+	MaxMiB     int
+	// Restricted says a trusted config value of the module grants who hears it (ADR 0363 §4).
+	Restricted bool
+}
+
+// Subjects are the subjects the stream takes.
+func (s ModuleStream) Subjects() []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, e := range s.Events {
+		out = append(out, ModuleStreamSubject(s.Module, e))
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}
+
+// Stream is the stream the controller asserts: kept by limits, its age and size the module's, dropping
+// its oldest when full — a consumer that was away catches up within the age, and the module's own record
+// answers for anything older.
+func (s ModuleStream) Stream() Stream {
+	why := fmt.Sprintf("%s's own stream (novox/hq ADR 0363): its events, kept %d days and at most %d MiB so a "+
+		"consumer that was away catches up", s.Module, s.MaxAgeDays, s.MaxMiB)
+	if s.Restricted {
+		why += "; heard only by the consumers its trusted config value grants"
+	}
+	return Stream{
+		Name:      s.Name,
+		Subjects:  s.Subjects(),
+		Retention: RetentionLimits,
+		MaxAge:    s.MaxAgeDays * 24 * 60 * 60,
+		MaxBytes:  int64(s.MaxMiB) * 1024 * 1024,
+		Why:       why,
+	}
+}
+
+// ModuleStreams is every declared module stream as the controller asserts it, in name order.
+func ModuleStreams(declared []ModuleStream) []Stream {
+	sorted := append([]ModuleStream(nil), declared...)
+	sort.Slice(sorted, func(i, j int) bool { return sorted[i].Name < sorted[j].Name })
+	out := make([]Stream, 0, len(sorted))
+	for _, s := range sorted {
+		out = append(out, s.Stream())
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// Heard is a module's stream another module hears, and the subjects it hears of it: its `consumes`
+// within the stream and, for a restricted stream, within what the provider's trusted config value grants it
+// (ADR 0363 §5). Composed only with at least one subject.
+type Heard struct {
+	Stream  string
+	Emitter string
+	Filters []string
+}
+
+// heardConsumer is the durable consumer a module hears a module's stream through: named as its consumer
+// on EVENTS, on that stream, with the subjects it was granted as its filters.
+func heardConsumer(p Principal, h Heard) Consumer {
+	filters := append([]string(nil), h.Filters...)
+	sort.Strings(filters)
+	return Consumer{
+		Name:           consumerDurable(p),
+		Stream:         h.Stream,
+		Filters:        filters,
+		AckWaitSeconds: 30,
+		MaxDeliver:     5,
+		Why: "what " + p.Module + " consumes of " + h.Emitter + "'s stream " + h.Stream + " and is granted " +
+			"(novox/hq ADR 0363); after max-deliver it gives an event up, and the controller keeps it in " +
+			"DEAD_LETTERS until a person delivers it again or drops it",
+	}
+}
+
+// heardGrants are what a principal publishes to read and acknowledge the consumers it hears module streams
+// through: asking about each, pulling from it, acknowledging it — its own name on each stream, no other's.
+func heardGrants(p Principal, hears []Heard) []string {
+	var out []string
+	durable := consumerDurable(p)
+	for _, h := range hears {
+		if !safeSubject.MatchString(h.Stream) || len(h.Filters) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out,
+			"$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO."+h.Stream+"."+durable,
+			"$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT."+h.Stream+"."+durable,
+			"$JS.ACK."+h.Stream+"."+durable+".>")
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// ownStreamGrants are the subjects a module publishes its own streams' events on, and no other's.
+func ownStreamGrants(module string, streams []ModuleStream) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, s := range streams {
+		if s.Module != module {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, s.Subjects()...)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// StreamIssued is one of a module's own streams as its membership names it (ADR 0363 §2): the events it
+// carries, as the bus spells them, and the subject an event of them is published on, `{event}` the event.
+type StreamIssued struct {
+	Stream  string   `json:"stream"`
+	Events  []string `json:"events"`
+	Subject string   `json:"subject"`
+}
+
+// HeardIssued is one module stream an assignment hears, as its membership names it (ADR 0363 §8): the
+// stream and the durable consumer on it the runtime binds.
+type HeardIssued struct {
+	Stream   string `json:"stream"`
+	Consumer string `json:"consumer"`
+}
+
+// streamsIssuedFor is every stream of its own a module's membership names.
+func streamsIssuedFor(d Declared) []StreamIssued {
+	var out []StreamIssued
+	for _, s := range d.Streams {
+		if s.Module != d.Module || !safeSubject.MatchString(d.Module) {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, StreamIssued{Stream: s.Name, Events: append([]string(nil), s.Events...),
+			Subject: ModuleStreamSubject(d.Module, "{event}")})
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// HeardIssuedFor is every module stream an assignment hears, as its membership names it.
+func HeardIssuedFor(node string, d Declared) []HeardIssued {
+	var out []HeardIssued
+	for _, h := range d.Hears {
+		if len(h.Filters) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, HeardIssued{Stream: h.Stream, Consumer: node + "_" + d.Module})
+	}
+	sort.Slice(out, func(i, j int) bool { return out[i].Stream < out[j].Stream })
+	return out
+}
+
+// Pruner is the part of a JetStream connection that removes a module's consumer on a module's stream it
+// may no longer hear (ADR 0363 §6). Optional: what only records what it is asked to assert has none.
+type Pruner interface {
+	ConsumerNames(stream string) ([]string, error)
+	RemoveConsumer(stream, name string) error
+}
+
+// PruneHeard removes, from each module stream, every durable consumer the composition no longer asks for,
+// and answers what it removed as `<stream>/<consumer>`. A consumer that loses its grant loses what it reads
+// through, whatever its runtime still holds; a stream that does not exist yet has nothing to remove.
+func PruneHeard(p Pruner, streams []ModuleStream, wanted []Consumer) ([]string, error) {
+	keep := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, c := range wanted {
+		keep[c.Stream+"/"+c.Name] = true
+	}
+	var removed []string
+	for _, s := range streams {
+		names, err := p.ConsumerNames(s.Name)
+		if err != nil {
+			return removed, fmt.Errorf("listing the consumers on %s: %w", s.Name, err)
+		}
+		for _, n := range names {
+			if keep[s.Name+"/"+n] {
+				continue
+			}
+			if err := p.RemoveConsumer(s.Name, n); err != nil {
+				return removed, fmt.Errorf("removing %s's consumer on %s, which is no longer granted: %w", n, s.Name, err)
+			}
+			removed = append(removed, s.Name+"/"+n)
+		}
+	}
+	return removed, nil
+}
+
+// EnsureHeard asserts a consumer on a module's stream (ADR 0363 §5, §6). **On a restricted stream, a consumer
+// the bus will not bring to match is removed**: a pull consumer delivers to whoever pulls it, so one left with
+// its wider filters after a narrowing was refused would keep handing over what the grant no longer names,
+// whatever the user list now says. The next assertion makes it again with the granted filters. The refusal is
+// returned either way, saying what was done, so the send says it and raises it.
+func EnsureHeard(r Raiser, c Consumer, restricted bool) error {
+	err := r.EnsureConsumer(c)
+	if err == nil || !restricted {
+		return err
+	}
+	p, prunes := r.(Pruner)
+	if !prunes {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w; it could not be removed here, and may still deliver more than it is granted", err)
+	}
+	if rerr := p.RemoveConsumer(c.Stream, c.Name); rerr != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w; REMOVING IT FAILED TOO, so it may still deliver more than it is granted: %v", err, rerr)
+	}
+	return fmt.Errorf("%w; REMOVED, so it delivers nothing it is no longer granted: the next assertion makes it "+
+		"again with its granted filters (novox/hq ADR 0363 §6)", err)
+}

internal/broker/modstreams_live_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/testbus"
+)
+
+// On a real bus: a module's stream is made beside EVENTS without a clash, keeps what the module publishes on
+// its own subjects, a granted consumer hears only its part, a narrowed grant narrows it, and a withdrawn one
+// is removed (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+//
+//	go test ./internal/broker/ -run TestAModuleStreamOnARealBus
+func TestAModuleStreamOnARealBus(t *testing.T) {
+	js, err := Dial(testbus.URL(t))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer js.Close()
+	for _, s := range []Stream{MeshStreams()[3], mailStream.Stream()} {
+		_ = js.js.DeleteStream(s.Name)
+		if err := js.EnsureStream(s); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", s.Name, err)
+		}
+		defer func(name string) { _ = js.js.DeleteStream(name) }(s.Name)
+	}
+	for _, account := range []string{"mesh", "work"} {
+		if _, err := js.js.Publish(ModuleStreamSubject("mesh-mail", "mail."+account+".message.added"), []byte("{}")); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("publishing %s's mail: %v", account, err)
+		}
+	}
+	if info, _ := js.js.StreamInfo(EventsStream); info.State.Msgs != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("EVENTS kept %d of the module stream's events", info.State.Msgs)
+	}
+
+	reader := Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "ace", Module: "reader", Hears: []Heard{mailHeard}}
+	c := heardConsumer(reader, mailHeard)
+	if err := js.EnsureConsumer(c); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+	if info, _ := js.js.ConsumerInfo("MAIL", c.Name); info.NumPending != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the reader granted `mesh` has %d pending, want 1", info.NumPending)
+	}
+	narrowed := c
+	narrowed.Filters = []string{"mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.mesh.message.changed"}
+	if err := EnsureHeard(js, narrowed, true); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("narrowing the grant: %v", err)
+	}
+	if info, _ := js.js.ConsumerInfo("MAIL", c.Name); info.Config.FilterSubject != narrowed.Filters[0] || len(info.Config.FilterSubjects) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("narrowed to %q %v, want only %s", info.Config.FilterSubject, info.Config.FilterSubjects, narrowed.Filters[0])
+	}
+	if info, _ := js.js.ConsumerInfo("MAIL", c.Name); info.NumPending != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("after narrowing, %d of the reader's former grant are still pending", info.NumPending)
+	}
+	removed, err := PruneHeard(js, []ModuleStream{mailStream}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(removed, []string{"MAIL/ace_reader"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("removed %v", removed)
+	}
+	if names, _ := js.ConsumerNames("MAIL"); len(names) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("still on MAIL: %v", names)
+	}
+}

internal/broker/modstreams_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,210 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"reflect"
+	"slices"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// mailStream is mesh-mail's own stream as the bus holds it (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+var mailStream = ModuleStream{Module: "mesh-mail", Name: "MAIL",
+	Events:     []string{"mail.*.message.added", "mail.*.message.changed", "mail.*.message.removed"},
+	MaxAgeDays: 7, MaxMiB: 1024, Restricted: true}
+
+// mailHeard is what a reader granted the account `mesh` hears of it.
+var mailHeard = Heard{Stream: "MAIL", Emitter: "mesh-mail", Filters: []string{
+	"mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.mesh.message.added", "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.mesh.message.changed"}}
+
+// A module's stream is its own: subjects EVENTS does not claim, its age and size, kept by limits (ADR 0363 §1, §2).
+func TestAModuleStreamTakesSubjectsEventsDoesNot(t *testing.T) {
+	s := mailStream.Stream()
+	if s.Name != "MAIL" || s.Retention != RetentionLimits || s.MaxAge != 7*24*60*60 || s.MaxBytes != 1024<<20 || s.DiscardNew {
+		t.Fatalf("composed as %+v", s)
+	}
+	want := []string{"mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.*.message.added", "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.*.message.changed",
+		"mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.*.message.removed"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(s.Subjects, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("subjects %v", s.Subjects)
+	}
+	for _, own := range MeshStreams() {
+		for _, a := range own.Subjects {
+			for _, b := range s.Subjects {
+				if SubjectsOverlap(a, b) {
+					t.Fatalf("%s claims %s, which overlaps %s of %s: the bus would refuse the stream", s.Name, b, a, own.Name)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if WirePattern("mail.**") != "mail.>" {
+		t.Fatal("`**` is spelled `>` on the wire")
+	}
+}
+
+// The provider publishes its stream's events on their subjects and nowhere on EVENTS for them; a consumer
+// granted a part hears it through its own consumer on the stream, and one not granted has nothing there
+// (ADR 0363 §2, §5).
+func TestTheProviderPublishesItsStreamAndOnlyAGrantedConsumerHearsIt(t *testing.T) {
+	provider, err := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "novox", Module: "mesh-mail",
+		Streams: []ModuleStream{mailStream}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !MayPublish(provider, "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.work.message.added") {
+		t.Fatal("the provider may not publish its own stream's event")
+	}
+	if MayPublish(provider, "mesh.mod.mesh-mail.event.mail.work.message.added") {
+		t.Fatal("the provider may publish its stream's event on EVENTS")
+	}
+	if MayPublish(provider, "mesh.stream.other.event.mail.work.message.added") {
+		t.Fatal("the provider may publish on another module's stream")
+	}
+
+	reader := Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "ace", Module: "reader", Hears: []Heard{mailHeard}}
+	perms, err := PermissionsFor(reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, s := range []string{"$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.MAIL.ace_reader", "$JS.API.CONSUMER.INFO.MAIL.ace_reader",
+		"$JS.ACK.MAIL.ace_reader.1"} {
+		if !MayPublish(perms, s) {
+			t.Errorf("the granted reader may not publish %s", s)
+		}
+	}
+	if !MaySubscribe(perms, "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.mesh.message.added") ||
+		MaySubscribe(perms, "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.work.message.added") {
+		t.Fatal("the reader's subscription is not what it was granted")
+	}
+	if MayPublish(perms, "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.MAIL.ace_other") {
+		t.Fatal("the reader may pull another's consumer")
+	}
+
+	stranger, err := PermissionsFor(Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: "ace", Module: "stranger",
+		Consumes: []string{"billing.paid"}})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if MayPublish(stranger, "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.MAIL.ace_stranger") ||
+		MaySubscribe(stranger, "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.mail.mesh.message.added") {
+		t.Fatal("a module not granted reaches the stream")
+	}
+}
+
+// A granted consumer has a durable consumer on the stream, with its granted subjects as filters, and an EVENTS
+// consumer that hears what it gives up on delivered again (ADR 0363 §5, §7); the runtime carrying it may read both.
+func TestAGrantedConsumerHasAConsumerOnTheStream(t *testing.T) {
+	records := Records{Nodes: []string{"ace", "novox"}, Assigned: map[string][]Declared{
+		"novox": {{Module: "mesh-mail", Streams: []ModuleStream{mailStream}}},
+		"ace":   {{Module: RuntimeModule}, {Module: "reader", Hears: []Heard{mailHeard}, HearsAStream: true}, {Module: "stranger", HearsAStream: true}},
+	}}
+	users, err := Users(records)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var onMail, onEvents []Consumer
+	for _, c := range ConsumersOf(users) {
+		switch c.Consumer.Stream {
+		case "MAIL":
+			onMail = append(onMail, c.Consumer)
+		case EventsStream:
+			onEvents = append(onEvents, c.Consumer)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(onMail) != 1 || onMail[0].Name != "ace_reader" || !slices.Equal(onMail[0].Filters, mailHeard.Filters) {
+		t.Fatalf("on MAIL: %+v", onMail)
+	}
+	if len(onEvents) != 1 || onEvents[0].Name != "ace_reader" || !slices.Equal(onEvents[0].Filters, []string{AgainFilter("ace_reader")}) {
+		t.Fatalf("on EVENTS: %+v", onEvents)
+	}
+	for _, u := range users {
+		if u.Kind != KindNodeTools || u.Node != "ace" {
+			continue
+		}
+		perms, err := PermissionsFor(u)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if !MayPublish(perms, "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.MAIL.ace_reader") || !MayPublish(perms, "$JS.ACK.MAIL.ace_reader.1") {
+			t.Fatal("the runtime carrying the reader may not read its consumer on MAIL")
+		}
+		if MayPublish(perms, "$JS.API.CONSUMER.MSG.NEXT.MAIL.ace_stranger") {
+			t.Fatal("the runtime may read a consumer no module it carries is granted")
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// The membership says where a module's stream events go and which consumers on module streams to bind
+// (ADR 0363 §2, §8).
+func TestTheMembershipNamesTheStreamAndWhatIsHeard(t *testing.T) {
+	where := Placements{Nodes: map[string][]string{}}
+	provider := MembershipFor("novox", Declared{Module: "mesh-mail", Streams: []ModuleStream{mailStream}}, where)
+	if len(provider.Streams) != 1 || provider.Streams[0].Stream != "MAIL" ||
+		provider.Streams[0].Subject != "mesh.stream.mesh-mail.event.{event}" ||
+		!slices.Equal(provider.Streams[0].Events, mailStream.Events) {
+		t.Fatalf("the provider's membership: %+v", provider.Streams)
+	}
+	reader := MembershipFor("ace", Declared{Module: "reader", Hears: []Heard{mailHeard}}, where)
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(reader.Hears, []HeardIssued{{Stream: "MAIL", Consumer: "ace_reader"}}) {
+		t.Fatalf("the reader's membership: %+v", reader.Hears)
+	}
+	if none := MembershipFor("ace", Declared{Module: "stranger", HearsAStream: true}, where); none.Hears != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a module not granted is told to bind %+v", none.Hears)
+	}
+}
+
+type fakePruner struct {
+	on      map[string][]string
+	removed []string
+}
+
+func (f *fakePruner) ConsumerNames(stream string) ([]string, error) { return f.on[stream], nil }
+func (f *fakePruner) RemoveConsumer(stream, name string) error {
+	f.removed = append(f.removed, stream+"/"+name)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// A consumer that lost its grant has its consumer on the stream removed by the next assertion (ADR 0363 §6).
+func TestAConsumerThatLostItsGrantIsRemoved(t *testing.T) {
+	f := &fakePruner{on: map[string][]string{"MAIL": {"ace_reader", "ace_former"}}}
+	wanted := []Consumer{{Name: "ace_reader", Stream: "MAIL"}, {Name: "ace_former", Stream: EventsStream}}
+	removed, err := PruneHeard(f, []ModuleStream{mailStream}, wanted)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(removed, []string{"MAIL/ace_former"}) || !slices.Equal(f.removed, removed) {
+		t.Fatalf("removed %v", removed)
+	}
+}
+
+type refusingRaiser struct {
+	fakePruner
+	refuse bool
+}
+
+func (r *refusingRaiser) EnsureStream(Stream) error { return nil }
+func (r *refusingRaiser) EnsureConsumer(Consumer) error {
+	if r.refuse {
+		return errors.New("consumer update refused")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// A narrowing the bus refuses on a restricted stream removes the consumer, so its wider filters deliver nothing
+// more; on an unrestricted stream the refusal is only said (review of PR 338, ADR 0363 §6).
+func TestARefusedNarrowingOnARestrictedStreamRemovesTheConsumer(t *testing.T) {
+	c := Consumer{Name: "ace_reader", Stream: "MAIL", Filters: mailHeard.Filters[:1]}
+	r := &refusingRaiser{refuse: true}
+	err := EnsureHeard(r, c, true)
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "REMOVED") || !slices.Equal(r.removed, []string{"MAIL/ace_reader"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("restricted: %v, removed %v", err, r.removed)
+	}
+	r = &refusingRaiser{refuse: true}
+	if err := EnsureHeard(r, c, false); err == nil || len(r.removed) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unrestricted: %v, removed %v", err, r.removed)
+	}
+	r = &refusingRaiser{}
+	if err := EnsureHeard(r, c, true); err != nil || len(r.removed) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("accepted: %v, removed %v", err, r.removed)
+	}
+}

internal/broker/nats.go

@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"regexp"
-	"slices"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -131,11 +130,6 @@ type Principal struct {
 	// grants.
 	AsksIssued []string
 
-	// AsksTheVault are the vault's verbs the controller asks in its own name (VerbsTheControllerAsksTheVault,
-	// issue 675), those the vault's holder serves: on the subject that names its caller, so the vault knows the
-	// controller asks. Composed from the records like AsksIssued, so the installer's first user list carries none.
-	AsksTheVault []string
-
 	// State is the local names of the state this principal's module keeps, and Reads the state of
 	// others it reads as `<module>.<name>` (novox/hq ADR 0201): a bucket each, kept by the owner's
 	// instances and read by whoever declares it.
@@ -147,6 +141,10 @@ type Principal struct {
 	KeyedReads []KeyedRead
 	// Logs is the local names of the logs this principal's module keeps (novox/hq ADR 0297).
 	Logs []string
+	// Streams are the streams this principal's module owns, and Hears the module streams it hears with the
+	// subjects it was granted (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+	Streams []ModuleStream
+	Hears   []Heard
 
 	// SnapshotsTheBus is the bus's own module, the one holding mesh-broker (novox/hq ADR 0235). Its
 	// whole authority is BusSnapshotGrants: it copies the streams for the night's backup and nothing
@@ -275,14 +273,6 @@ var VerbsTheControllerAsksTheDeliveryOwner = []SeatVerb{{Seat: "mesh-delivery",
 	{Seat: "mesh-delivery", Verb: "close"}, {Seat: "mesh-delivery", Verb: "release"}, {Seat: "mesh-delivery", Verb: "stop"},
 	{Seat: "mesh-delivery", Verb: "times"}, {Seat: "mesh-delivery", Verb: "groups"}}
 
-// VerbsTheControllerAsksTheVault are the mesh-vault seat's verbs the controller calls in its own name (novox/hq
-// ADR 0349 clauses 8 to 10, design 57's V2, issue 675): it carries a value given at its terminal, typed at a desk
-// or issued by a provider's software into the vault, sealed to a key the vault made for the call, and asks a
-// rotation. The vault takes these from the controller alone, which it knows from the subject that names its
-// caller; granted as Principal.AsksTheVault says.
-var VerbsTheControllerAsksTheVault = []SeatVerb{{Seat: "mesh-vault", Verb: "accept"},
-	{Seat: "mesh-vault", Verb: "secret-ask"}, {Seat: "mesh-vault", Verb: "issued"}, {Seat: "mesh-vault", Verb: "rotate"}}
-
 // VerbsTheControllerActsOnAWarrant are the other seat verbs the controller calls when the operator's warrant
 // chooses them (novox/hq ADR 0259): a machine's service restarted, and a walk started or stopped through the
 // controller's own `plans`. Named one by one; a node seat's on any machine, a mesh seat's flat.
@@ -651,6 +641,8 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		for _, e := range p.Emits {
 			pub = append(pub, own+".event."+e)
 		}
+		// And its own streams' events, on their own subjects (novox/hq ADR 0363 §2).
+		pub = append(pub, ownStreamGrants(p.Module, p.Streams)...)
 		// Every tool under its own name, not a list: the tools a module serves are what its code
 		// answers, and a second copy of that list in the manifest would be a second source of
 		// truth for the mesh to keep in step (2026-09-28: every module that served a tool was
@@ -692,6 +684,16 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 			sub = append(sub, subject)
 		}
 
+		// 2a. What it hears of a module's own stream, as it was granted (novox/hq ADR 0363 §5): the subjects,
+		//     and its own consumer on that stream, asked about, pulled from and acknowledged.
+		for _, h := range p.Hears {
+			if len(h.Filters) == 0 {
+				continue
+			}
+			sub = append(sub, h.Filters...)
+		}
+		pub = append(pub, heardGrants(p, p.Hears)...)
+
 		// 2b. Events of a role it watches, under the seat's own namespace. Subscribe only: watching a
 		//     role is hearing what it announced, not taking part in it.
 		for _, w := range p.Watches {
@@ -814,6 +816,8 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 			for _, e := range d.Emits {
 				pub = append(pub, own+".event."+e)
 			}
+			// And its own streams' events (novox/hq ADR 0363 §2).
+			pub = append(pub, ownStreamGrants(d.Module, d.Streams)...)
 			for _, s := range d.Holds {
 				if servedOnlyByTheController(s) {
 					continue
@@ -852,7 +856,10 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		// consumer is still the controller's to make, from the module's own principal.
 		for _, d := range p.Carries {
 			own := Principal{Kind: KindModule, Node: p.Node, Module: d.Module, Emits: d.Emits,
-				Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves, Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches}
+				Consumes: d.Consumes, Serves: d.Serves, Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches,
+				Streams: d.Streams, Hears: d.Hears}
+			// And the module streams it hears, each through its own consumer there (novox/hq ADR 0363 §8).
+			pub = append(pub, heardGrants(own, d.Hears)...)
 			if _, consumes := ConsumerFor(own); !consumes {
 				continue
 			}
@@ -876,6 +883,14 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 		for _, d := range p.Carries {
 			pub = append(pub, logGrants(d.Module, logNames(d.Logs))...)
 		}
+		// **And the event families a session may wait on** (novox/hq ADR 0367 §2): the tool runner's module's own,
+		// named one by one in its manifest, as a plain subscription — no consumer is made for them, and no
+		// call or setting adds one.
+		waits, err := waitGrants(p.Carries)
+		if err != nil {
+			return Permissions{}, err
+		}
+		sub = append(sub, waits...)
 		// **Never the traffic of a trusted holder** (novox/hq ADR 0259 §8): the machine's runtime runs as the
 		// operator's account, which every agent runs as, so a module saying warrants or speaking for a kind
 		// that proves its sender is never composed into it — refused here, naming it, whatever registration
@@ -944,13 +959,6 @@ func PermissionsFor(p Principal) (Permissions, error) {
 			}
 			pub = append(pub, "mesh.mod."+module+"."+CallKind+"."+tool+".*."+CallerToken(p.Username()))
 		}
-		// **And the vault's intake verbs** (issue 675): the vault takes a value from the controller alone, known
-		// from the subject's last token — the verbs its holder serves, flat, and nothing else of its seat.
-		for _, v := range VerbsTheControllerAsksTheVault {
-			if slices.Contains(p.AsksTheVault, v.Verb) {
-				pub = append(pub, "mesh.seat."+v.Seat+"."+CallKind+"."+v.Verb+"."+CallerToken(p.Username()))
-			}
-		}
 	}
 
 	sort.Strings(pub)

internal/broker/stream_names_agreement_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+)
+
+// The catalogue's list of the mesh's own stream names, which a module's stream may not take, is the broker's
+// own list (novox/hq ADR 0363 §1): read from MeshStreams, so a stream added there cannot be forgotten there.
+func TestTheCataloguesReservedStreamNamesAreTheMeshsOwn(t *testing.T) {
+	var own []string
+	for _, s := range MeshStreams() {
+		own = append(own, s.Name)
+	}
+	reserved := append([]string(nil), catalogue.MeshStreamNames...)
+	slices.Sort(own)
+	slices.Sort(reserved)
+	if !slices.Equal(own, reserved) {
+		t.Fatalf("the broker's own streams are %v, the catalogue reserves %v", own, reserved)
+	}
+}

internal/broker/users.go

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package broker
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
-	"slices"
 	"sort"
 )
 
@@ -37,10 +36,20 @@ type Declared struct {
 	Watches []Seat
 	// Invokes are the tools it calls, `<module>.<tool>` or `*` (novox/hq ADR 0152).
 	Invokes []string
+	// Waits are the event families a session may wait on through the tool runner, the tool runner's module's
+	// alone (novox/hq ADR 0367 §2): its account subscribes them for a call, through no consumer.
+	Waits []Wait
 	// State is the state it keeps, each a bucket its instances write (novox/hq ADR 0201).
 	State []Bucket
 	// Logs are the logs it keeps, each a stream its instances append to (novox/hq ADR 0297).
 	Logs []Log
+	// Streams are the streams it owns, each its events' one place (novox/hq ADR 0363).
+	Streams []ModuleStream
+	// Hears are the module streams it hears on this machine, each with the subjects it was granted
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0363 §5); HearsAStream says its `consumes` names a module that owns a stream, granted
+	// or not, so its membership is issued again when a grant changes.
+	Hears        []Heard
+	HearsAStream bool
 	// Reads are other modules' state it reads, each `<module>.<name>` (novox/hq ADR 0201).
 	Reads []string
 	// KeyedReads are keys of other modules' state it reads, each one key alone: what a seat's holder is
@@ -88,7 +97,7 @@ type Records struct {
 // is a mesh that cannot be told anything, and there is no state of the records in which that is
 // correct.
 func Users(r Records) ([]Principal, error) {
-	out := []Principal{{Kind: KindController, Uses: asksSeatOf(r), AsksIssued: issuedOf(r), AsksTheVault: vaultVerbsOf(r)}}
+	out := []Principal{{Kind: KindController, Uses: asksSeatOf(r), AsksIssued: issuedOf(r)}}
 
 	for _, node := range sortedCopy(r.Nodes) {
 		witness := false
@@ -130,7 +139,7 @@ func Users(r Records) ([]Principal, error) {
 				Holds: d.Holds, Uses: d.Uses, Watches: d.Watches, Invokes: d.Invokes,
 				State: stateNames(d.State), Reads: d.Reads, SnapshotsTheBus: d.SnapshotsTheBus,
 				PerMachine: perMachineNames(d.State), KeyedReads: d.KeyedReads,
-				Logs: logNames(d.Logs),
+				Logs: logNames(d.Logs), Streams: d.Streams, Hears: d.Hears,
 			})
 		}
 		if runtimeHere {
@@ -243,24 +252,3 @@ func asksSeatOf(r Records) []Seat {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
-
-// vaultVerbsOf are the vault's intake verbs its holder serves, as the records say (issue 675): what the controller
-// is granted to ask it in its own name. None while no holder serves them.
-func vaultVerbsOf(r Records) []string {
-	seen := map[string]bool{}
-	var out []string
-	for _, node := range sortedCopy(r.Nodes) {
-		for _, d := range r.Assigned[node] {
-			for _, s := range d.Holds {
-				for _, v := range VerbsTheControllerAsksTheVault {
-					if s.Name == v.Seat && slices.Contains(s.Serves, v.Verb) && !seen[v.Verb] {
-						seen[v.Verb] = true
-						out = append(out, v.Verb)
-					}
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
-	sort.Strings(out)
-	return out
-}

internal/broker/waits.go

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// What a session may wait on through the mesh MCP server (novox/hq ADR 0367).
+//
+// **A grant apart from `consumes`, and the tool runner's alone.** The tool runner's module names in its
+// manifest the event families a session may wait on, one by one; the runtime's account is granted a plain
+// subscription on those subjects and nothing wider — no durable consumer, no queue of its own — and its
+// membership names the same list, from which `mesh_wait` refuses any other. Both are read from this one
+// composition, so the grant and what the tool runner offers cannot disagree, and nothing but the manifest
+// adds a family (§6).
+
+// Wait is one event family the tool runner's module declares: its name as the manifest gives it, and the
+// emitter — a seat or a module — and the event, as the inventory resolved them.
+type Wait struct {
+	// Name is the family as the manifest names it, `<emitter>.<event>`: what a session asks for.
+	Name    string
+	Emitter string
+	// Seat says the emitter is a seat, whose events live under the seat's namespace (novox/hq ADR 0121).
+	Seat bool
+	// Event is the event, with any further token the subject carries: `decided.claude-code`, the asker of a
+	// seat that names it last (ADR 0259 §3).
+	Event string
+	// Last names what the seat's event subject ends in — "kind" for a kinded bench, "asker" for a seat naming
+	// its caller (ADR 0259 §3) — and is empty for an event that ends at its name. A family needing it is waited
+	// on with it given, and refused without.
+	Last string
+}
+
+// WaitIssued is one family as a membership issues it: the name a session asks for, and its subject.
+type WaitIssued struct {
+	Event   string `json:"event"`
+	Subject string `json:"subject"`
+}
+
+// WaitSubject is where a family's events land. Each token is checked before it becomes a subject: a
+// wildcard, a dot inside a name or an empty token would widen the grant.
+func WaitSubject(w Wait) (string, error) {
+	if !safeSubject.MatchString(w.Emitter) {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%q cannot name an emitter of a waited event: it would widen the subject", w.Emitter)
+	}
+	for _, t := range strings.Split(w.Event, ".") {
+		if !safeSubject.MatchString(t) {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("%q cannot name a waited event: each of its names is plain, never a wildcard "+
+				"(novox/hq ADR 0367 §2)", w.Event)
+		}
+	}
+	if w.Last != "" && !strings.Contains(w.Event, ".") {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("%s names no %s: %s's events are said for each %s, so a family is %s.%s.<%s>; "+
+			"without it no event would ever be heard (novox/hq ADR 0367 §5)",
+			w.Name, w.Last, w.Emitter, w.Last, w.Emitter, w.Event, w.Last)
+	}
+	if w.Seat {
+		return "mesh.seat." + w.Emitter + ".event." + w.Event, nil
+	}
+	return "mesh.mod." + w.Emitter + ".event." + w.Event, nil
+}
+
+// waitGrants is the subscription the tool runner's account is granted for its module's families, and an
+// error for a carried module other than the tool runner's that declares any (ADR 0367 §2).
+func waitGrants(carries []Declared) ([]string, error) {
+	var sub []string
+	for _, d := range carries {
+		if len(d.Waits) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		if d.Module != RuntimeModule {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s declares what a session waits on; only %s, the tool runner's module, "+
+				"does (novox/hq ADR 0367 §2)", d.Module, RuntimeModule)
+		}
+		for _, w := range d.Waits {
+			s, err := WaitSubject(w)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+			sub = append(sub, s)
+		}
+	}
+	return sub, nil
+}
+
+// waitsIssuedFor is the families a membership names: the tool runner's module's, and nobody else's.
+func waitsIssuedFor(d Declared) []WaitIssued {
+	if d.Module != RuntimeModule {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var out []WaitIssued
+	for _, w := range d.Waits {
+		s, err := WaitSubject(w)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue // refused where the account is composed, which names it
+		}
+		out = append(out, WaitIssued{Event: w.Name, Subject: s})
+	}
+	return out
+}

internal/broker/waits_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+package broker
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// The families ADR 0367 §5 starts the grant with, resolved as the inventory resolves a manifest: a seat's
+// event under the seat's namespace, a module's under the module's.
+var firstFamilies = []Wait{
+	{Name: "mesh-knowledge.reviewed", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: "reviewed"},
+	{Name: "mesh-delivery.transition", Emitter: "mesh-delivery", Event: "transition"},
+	{Name: "gitea.forge.status", Emitter: "gitea", Event: "forge.status"},
+	{Name: "mesh-controller.checked", Emitter: "mesh-controller", Seat: true, Event: "checked"},
+	{Name: "operator-channel.decided.claude-code", Emitter: "operator-channel", Seat: true, Event: "decided.claude-code"},
+}
+
+var firstSubjects = []string{
+	"mesh.mod.gitea.event.forge.status",
+	"mesh.mod.mesh-delivery.event.transition",
+	"mesh.mod.mesh-knowledge.event.reviewed",
+	"mesh.seat.mesh-controller.event.checked",
+	"mesh.seat.operator-channel.event.decided.claude-code",
+}
+
+func runtimeCarrying(waits []Wait) Principal {
+	return Principal{Kind: KindNodeTools, Node: "desk", Module: RuntimeModule, PasswordHash: "x", Carries: []Declared{
+		{Module: "shop", Emits: []string{"order.placed"}, Consumes: []string{"billing.paid"}, Serves: []string{"price"}},
+		{Module: RuntimeModule, Invokes: []string{"*"}, Waits: waits},
+	}}
+}
+
+func without(all, some []string) []string {
+	drop := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range some {
+		drop[s] = true
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, s := range all {
+		if !drop[s] {
+			out = append(out, s)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// novox/hq ADR 0367 "How it is checked": the account's wait grant equals the manifest's families. The tool
+// runner's account subscribes exactly the families' subjects beyond what it had without them — nothing
+// published, nothing wider — and the membership it is issued names the same subjects.
+func TestTheToolRunnersWaitGrantIsTheManifestsFamiliesAlone(t *testing.T) {
+	before, err := PermissionsFor(runtimeCarrying(nil))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	after, err := PermissionsFor(runtimeCarrying(firstFamilies))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	added := without(after.Subscribe, before.Subscribe)
+	sort.Strings(added)
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(added, firstSubjects) {
+		t.Errorf("the wait grant is %v, want the families' subjects %v", added, firstSubjects)
+	}
+	if extra := without(after.Publish, before.Publish); len(extra) > 0 {
+		t.Errorf("waiting granted a publish: %v", extra)
+	}
+	for _, s := range after.Subscribe {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(s, "mesh.mod.*.event") || s == "mesh.>" || s == ">" || strings.HasSuffix(s, ".event.>") {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime may subscribe every event: %s", s)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, other := range []string{"mesh.seat.operator-channel.event.decided.shop",
+		"mesh.mod.mesh-knowledge.event.proposed", "mesh.mod.gitea.event.forge.push"} {
+		if MaySubscribe(after, other) {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime may subscribe %s, which no family names", other)
+		}
+	}
+
+	issued := MembershipFor("desk", runtimeCarrying(firstFamilies).Carries[1], Placements{})
+	var subjects []string
+	for _, w := range issued.Waits {
+		subjects = append(subjects, w.Subject)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(subjects)
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(subjects, firstSubjects) {
+		t.Errorf("the membership names %v, want the grant %v", subjects, firstSubjects)
+	}
+	if issued.Waits[0].Event != "mesh-knowledge.reviewed" {
+		t.Errorf("a family is issued under its manifest name: %+v", issued.Waits[0])
+	}
+	if shop := MembershipFor("desk", runtimeCarrying(firstFamilies).Carries[0], Placements{}); len(shop.Waits) > 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a module beside the runtime is issued waits: %+v", shop.Waits)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A subscription for the call, never a durable consumer** (ADR 0367 §2): composing the users makes no
+// consumer that filters a family, and none for the runtime's module at all.
+func TestAWaitMakesNoDurableConsumer(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, c := range ConsumersOf([]Principal{runtimeCarrying(firstFamilies)}) {
+		if c.Module == RuntimeModule {
+			t.Errorf("the runtime's module has a durable consumer: %+v", c.Consumer)
+		}
+		for _, f := range c.Consumer.Filters {
+			for _, s := range firstSubjects {
+				if f == s {
+					t.Errorf("%s's consumer filters the family %s", c.Module, s)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Only the tool runner's module waits (ADR 0367 §2): a carried module declaring waits is refused at
+// composition, naming it, and no name that would widen a subject is composed.
+func TestAWaitIsComposedOnlyForTheToolRunnerAndOnlyWhole(t *testing.T) {
+	p := runtimeCarrying(nil)
+	p.Carries[0].Waits = []Wait{{Name: "mesh-knowledge.reviewed", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: "reviewed"}}
+	if _, err := PermissionsFor(p); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "shop") {
+		t.Errorf("a carried module's waits were composed: %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, w := range []Wait{
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: "*"},
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: "a.>"},
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "*", Event: "reviewed"},
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "mesh.knowledge", Event: "reviewed"},
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: ""},
+		{Name: "x", Emitter: "mesh-knowledge", Event: "a..b"},
+	} {
+		if _, err := PermissionsFor(runtimeCarrying([]Wait{w})); err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%+v was composed", w)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/builder/builder.go

@@ -108,17 +108,6 @@ type Result struct {
 	// recipe and the package it compiles; for any other, nothing is said and the whole of what the build
 	// sees stays its source, as before.
 	Sources []BuildSource
-
-	// Predefined is the list of predefined keys at the root of the repository at the commit built (novox/hq ADR
-	// 0348 §7), which the manifest was judged against; nil for a repository that holds none.
-	Predefined *Predefined
-}
-
-// Predefined is the list of predefined keys a build read: its text, canonical (catalogue.PredefinedList), and
-// the generation of the commit built — how many commits it stands on, which orders two builds of one trunk.
-type Predefined struct {
-	Keys       []byte
-	Generation int
 }
 
 // BuildSource is the build source a build read in one repository (novox/hq ADR 0267).
@@ -173,6 +162,10 @@ type Reuse struct {
 	// keyFirst is a check's build (§1): its key is taken before anything is built, and a module with none is not
 	// built at all — nothing could ever take it.
 	keyFirst bool
+	// pull and head are the check's own pull request and the head it judged (novox/hq issue 703): it keeps only a
+	// build an earlier check of the same pull request at the same head made.
+	pull PullRef
+	head string
 }
 
 // errNoKey is a check's build of a module whose source does not pin it: not built (ADR 0350 §1).
@@ -272,38 +265,14 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 			"%s has no %s at %s, so there is nothing saying what it is: %w",
 			repository, ManifestName, describe(path), err)
 	}
-	// **The list of predefined keys at the commit built** (novox/hq ADR 0348 §7): predefined.json at the
-	// repository's root, read strictly; a list that is wrong fails the build, and the manifest is judged against
-	// the list of its own tree, never against one the mesh published from another commit.
-	predefined, err := catalogue.ReadPredefined(tree)
-	if err != nil {
-		say("predefined", "INVALID: %v", err)
-		return Result{}, err
-	}
-	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifestWith(raw, predefined)
+	manifest, err := catalogue.ParseManifest(raw)
 	if err != nil {
 		say("manifest", "INVALID: %v", err)
 		return Result{}, err
 	}
-	var listed *Predefined
-	if predefined != nil {
-		text, err := predefined.Canonical()
-		if err != nil {
-			return Result{}, err
-		}
-		listed = &Predefined{Keys: text, Generation: generationOf(ctx, run, tree, commit)}
-		say("predefined", "%d key(s) at %s, generation %d", len(predefined), short(commit), listed.Generation)
-	}
 	// What is judged only where a definition is written (novox/hq ADR 0326 §3, issue 574): a build is
 	// where a changed definition is first read, so it is refused here before anything is made of it.
-	// Judged with each template's text in its file, as written in the tree (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2): a template the
-	// module's directory lacks is refused here, before anything is built.
-	judged, err := catalogue.WithTemplatesFrom(manifest, within)
-	if err != nil {
-		say("manifest", "INVALID: %v", err)
-		return Result{}, err
-	}
-	if problems := catalogue.WrittenSettingsProblems(judged); len(problems) > 0 {
+	if problems := catalogue.WrittenSettingsProblems(manifest); len(problems) > 0 {
 		err := fmt.Errorf("%s", strings.Join(problems, "; "))
 		say("manifest", "INVALID: %v", err)
 		return Result{}, err
@@ -319,11 +288,6 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 	if src.tree, err = gitTree(ctx, run, tree, path); err != nil {
 		src.notPinned("its tree could not be named: " + err.Error())
 	}
-	// A module falling back to a predefined key was judged against the list, so a change to the list is a change
-	// to it: the planner rebuilds it, and its build publishes the list (ADR 0348 §7).
-	if predefined != nil && manifest.NamesPredefined() {
-		src.rootHas(catalogue.PredefinedFile)
-	}
 
 	// A build-time credential, written into the build context as .npmrc, but ONLY for a module that
 	// asks for it: a `package` artifact (which publishes), or an image whose Dockerfile COPYs .npmrc.
@@ -414,7 +378,7 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 		// only when asked — a check, a dry run, `build --ref` and `rebuild` never are. Its key is taken by the same
 		// steps a build takes, stopped before anything is built; what it takes is copied by digest.
 		if reuse != nil && reuse.keyFirst {
-			_, key, err := keyFor(ctx, run, publish, manifest, within, workspace, commit, credentials, artifacts, args,
+			keyed, key, err := keyFor(ctx, run, publish, manifest, within, workspace, commit, credentials, artifacts, args,
 				held, npmrcPath, npmrc, seatBases, src, say)
 			if err == nil && key.Key == "" {
 				err = fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", errNoKey, key.Why)
@@ -423,6 +387,11 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 				say("reuse", "not built for the merge: %v", err)
 				return Result{Commit: commit, NoKey: err.Error()}, err
 			}
+			// **A check keeps a build of the same key a verdict names** (novox/hq issue 703): asked again when only
+			// the trunk moved, it builds nothing the earlier check built of an unchanged source.
+			if kept := keptCheckBuild(ctx, *reuse, manifest.Module, key.Key, len(artifacts), say); kept != nil {
+				built, src, reused = kept.Made, keyed, kept
+			}
 		} else if reuse != nil && reuse.Scratch != nil {
 			taken, keyed, why := takeACheckBuild(ctx, run, publish, *reuse, manifest, within, workspace, commit,
 				credentials, artifacts, args, held, npmrcPath, npmrc, seatBases, src, onTrunk, say)
@@ -450,11 +419,6 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Each template's text, read back from the archive the build made or took (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2).
-	if built, err = withTemplateTexts(manifest, within, built); err != nil {
-		say("templates", "FAILED: %v", err)
-		return Result{}, err
-	}
 	resolved, err := manifest.Resolve(built)
 	if err != nil {
 		say("resolve", "FAILED: %v", err)
@@ -484,23 +448,7 @@ func build(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher,
 	return Result{Manifest: resolved, Commit: commit, Built: built,
 		Against: against(within, manifest, stoodOn), Read: readBy(manifest), Source: fingerprint,
 		Trunk: trunk, OnTrunk: onTrunk, Branches: branches, Sources: sources,
-		ReuseKey: key.Key, ReuseParts: key.Parts, NoKey: key.Why, Reused: reused, Why: builtWhy,
-		Predefined: listed}, nil
-}
-
-// generationOf is how many commits the commit built stands on, itself included: of two commits on one trunk the
-// later has more, so the controller keeps the list of the newer one whatever order it hears them in (ADR 0348
-// §7). 0 when git could not say.
-func generationOf(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree, commit string) int {
-	out, err := run(ctx, tree, "git", "rev-list", "--count", commit)
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0
-	}
-	n, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(out))
-	if err != nil || n < 0 {
-		return 0
-	}
-	return n
+		ReuseKey: key.Key, ReuseParts: key.Parts, NoKey: key.Why, Reused: reused, Why: builtWhy}, nil
 }
 
 // takeACheckBuild is the walk's look for a check build of its key (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2, §3): the key taken by
@@ -553,6 +501,47 @@ func takeACheckBuild(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher, reuse R
 	return taken, keyed, ""
 }
 
+// keptCheckBuild is the build a check keeps instead of building (novox/hq issue 703): the one kept under the
+// module's key by an earlier check of the same pull request at the same head — only the trunk moved — when a verdict
+// of the build seat names its key and every digest — the record alone is never trusted (ADR 0350 §2) — and it holds
+// every artifact the module declares. Another pull request's build, or an earlier head's, is never kept. Nil, and
+// the check builds, otherwise.
+func keptCheckBuild(ctx context.Context, reuse Reuse, module, key string, artifacts int,
+	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) *Reused {
+	if reuse.Scratch == nil || reuse.head == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var same []NamedBuild
+	for _, n := range reuse.Named {
+		if n.Pull == reuse.pull {
+			same = append(same, n)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(same) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	found, ok, err := reuse.Scratch.Find(ctx, module, key)
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		say("reuse", "the scratch namespace could not be read, so the check builds: %v", err)
+		return nil
+	case !ok:
+		return nil
+	case found.Pull != reuse.pull || found.Head == "" || twelve(found.Head) != twelve(reuse.head):
+		say("reuse", "the build kept under %s is %s, not this pull request's at this head: built", twelve(key[3:]),
+			found.Said())
+		return nil
+	case unnamed(same, module, key, found) != "":
+		say("reuse", "a build is kept under %s and no verdict names it with its digests: built", twelve(key[3:]))
+		return nil
+	case len(found.Made) != artifacts:
+		return nil
+	}
+	kept := &Reused{From: found, Made: found.Made}
+	say("reuse", "kept, not built: %s", strings.Replace(kept.Words(), "reused from", "the build of", 1))
+	return kept
+}
+
 // keyFor takes a build's reuse key by the steps a build takes, each artifact stopped before anything is built or
 // published (ADR 0350 §2): its own copy of the source inputs, so the build's are untouched.
 func keyFor(ctx context.Context, run Runner, publish Publisher, manifest catalogue.Manifest,

internal/builder/builder_test.go

@@ -83,8 +83,6 @@ func (r *recorded) run(_ context.Context, dir, name string, args ...string) (str
 		return r.tree + "\n", nil
 	case name == "git" && len(args) > 0 && args[0] == "rev-parse":
 		return "c0ffeec0ffeec0ffeec0ffeec0ffeec0ffeec0ff\n", nil
-	case name == "git" && len(args) > 1 && args[0] == "rev-list" && args[1] == "--count":
-		return "42\n", nil
 	}
 	return "", nil
 }

internal/builder/check.go

@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/artifacts"
@@ -87,6 +89,19 @@ type CheckSpec struct {
 	// Judge is who judges the gate: "" the controller the mesh runs, "self" the change's own, "validator"
 	// the running one with the change's validator.
 	Judge string
+	// Release is the release branch the pull request merges into (novox/hq ADR 0358), empty for any other base. The
+	// gate is then judged by the controller beside it as mesh-controller — mesh-controller's release branch, never
+	// the controller the mesh runs nor its main — with mesh-host's validator from beside it when mesh-host was read at
+	// the release branch too; a change to the controller still judges itself and a change to the node-engine brings
+	// its own validator. The verdict names the branch, the judge's commit and the branch each beside was read at.
+	Release string
+	// JudgeCache is the judge cache (novox/hq ADR 0358 §6): a directory of the build agent's own, outside the
+	// workspace, that only judge builds mount — never a check's containers, so no pull request's script can write it.
+	// It holds the Go build cache every judge is built with (judges stay warm), the release-branch judges kept by the
+	// commits they are built from (judges/, one per release-branch head), and each judge build's fresh home (homes/,
+	// removed after the build). Empty: each judge is built cold under the check's own root, which every check empties
+	// before it clones, and nothing is kept.
+	JudgeCache string
 	// Toolchain is the image a check's Go runs in: the mesh's own Go toolchain, as it holds it.
 	// Toolchains is every toolchain the mesh holds, by language, for a script that declares another.
 	Toolchain  string
@@ -153,10 +168,12 @@ func ToolchainsOf(held map[string]string) map[string]string {
 	return out
 }
 
-// Beside is one repository cloned next to the one checked.
+// Beside is one repository cloned next to the one checked: at Ref, or at Else when Else is said and the repository
+// has no branch Ref (novox/hq ADR 0358 §3).
 type Beside struct {
 	Repository string
 	Ref        string
+	Else       string
 }
 
 // CheckVerdict is what came of one check. Verdict and Summary are the gate's; Gate and Repo each layer.
@@ -179,6 +196,16 @@ type CheckVerdict struct {
 	Members []JudgedHead
 	// Built are the builds it made for its merge (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1), each with its key, or why not.
 	Built []CheckBuilt
+	// Release is the release branch it was judged for (novox/hq ADR 0358 §4), JudgedBy the commit of the controller
+	// that judged its gate (twelve characters), and BesideAt the branch each repository beside it was read at, by
+	// directory. Empty for a check of any other base.
+	Release  string
+	JudgedBy string
+	BesideAt map[string]string
+	// Validator says which node-engine validator the judge of a release-branch check was built with (ADR 0358 §2):
+	// mesh-host's of the release branch with its commit, the one the release branch's controller vendors, the
+	// change's own, or the one the change's own controller vendors. Empty for a check of any other base.
+	Validator string
 }
 
 // Layer is one layer of a check, judged.
@@ -274,7 +301,17 @@ func ScriptToolchain(script []byte) string {
 // Check runs one merge check. An error is that it could not run; the verdict is then "error".
 func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry string, forge GitCredential,
 	log Log) (CheckVerdict, error) {
-	// Everything a check says goes to the build's log, which the bus keeps: said redacted (novox/hq issue 462).
+	// Everything a check says goes to the build's log, which the bus keeps: said redacted (novox/hq issue 462). A line
+	// at a time: its builds for the merge say theirs while its tests run (novox/hq issue 716).
+	if log != nil {
+		var saying sync.Mutex
+		inner := log
+		log = func(step, message string) {
+			saying.Lock()
+			defer saying.Unlock()
+			inner(step, message)
+		}
+	}
 	redact := redactorFor(forge)
 	say := logging(func(step, message string) {
 		if log != nil {
@@ -303,13 +340,32 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 	if err := forgetLeftCredentials(workspace); err != nil {
 		return CheckVerdict{}, err
 	}
-	clone := func(repository, ref, dir string) error {
+	// **mesh-lab's replays run where no pull request reaches** (novox/hq issue 709, ADR 0358 §6): they hold the
+	// container runtime's socket, so their sources, home, Go cache and module cache are none of the workspace's.
+	replay, err := replayDirs(spec.JudgeCache, workspace, root, spec.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return CheckVerdict{}, err
+	}
+	if replay.base != "" {
+		defer os.RemoveAll(replay.base)
+	}
+	// cloneAt clones a repository and checks out ref — or, when the repository has no branch ref and orElse is said,
+	// orElse (novox/hq ADR 0358 §3); readAt keeps which, by directory.
+	readAt := map[string]string{}
+	cloneAt := func(repository, ref, orElse, dir string) error {
 		if _, err := run(ctx, root, "git", cloneWith(credentials, "clone", "--quiet", repository, dir)...); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("cannot clone %s: %s", redact.redact(repository), redact.redact(err.Error()))
 		}
 		if err := recordedWithoutUserinfo(ctx, run, filepath.Join(root, dir), repository); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
+		if orElse != "" && ref != "" {
+			if _, err := run(ctx, filepath.Join(root, dir), "git", "rev-parse", "--verify", "--quiet",
+				"refs/remotes/origin/"+ref); err != nil {
+				ref = orElse
+			}
+		}
+		readAt[dir] = ref
 		if ref != "" {
 			if _, err := run(ctx, filepath.Join(root, dir), "git", "checkout", "--quiet", ref); err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("%s has no %s: %w", redact.redact(repository), ref, err)
@@ -317,6 +373,9 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 		}
 		return nil
 	}
+	clone := func(repository, ref, dir string) error {
+		return cloneAt(repository, ref, "", dir)
+	}
 	name := spec.Repo
 	if name == "" || !safeName.MatchString(name) {
 		name = "checked"
@@ -352,8 +411,28 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 	}
 	named := func(v CheckVerdict) CheckVerdict {
 		v.Head, v.Trunk, v.Merge, v.Beside, v.Members = judged.Head, judged.Trunk, judged.Merge, judged.Beside, judged.Members
+		v.Release, v.JudgedBy, v.BesideAt, v.Validator = spec.Release, judged.JudgedBy, judged.BesideAt, judged.Validator
 		return v
 	}
+	// **What the merge would move is built from a checkout nothing of the check touches** (novox/hq issue 703): the
+	// gate and the repository's own check run in containers that mount the workspace read-write, so they can change
+	// its tree, its objects and its caches. The builds are made from a copy of the merge's objects, cloned before
+	// anything of the change runs, outside the workspace — so what is kept under a key is what the key describes. Each
+	// build's working copy is cloned from it into the workspace only after the check has ended (forTheMerge): the
+	// host's container engine sees no other directory of the holder's (novox/hq issue 713).
+	buildingTree := ""
+	if len(spec.Builds) > 0 && spec.BuildWith != nil && len(spec.Group) == 0 {
+		at := judged.Merge
+		if at == "" {
+			at = spec.Ref
+		}
+		var building string
+		building, buildingTree, err = checkoutForTheBuilds(ctx, run, tree, at, workspace)
+		if err != nil {
+			return CheckVerdict{}, err
+		}
+		defer os.RemoveAll(building)
+	}
 	// **The base branch's check judges the change** (novox/hq issue 310), never the one the change brings.
 	judging, err := TheCheckThatJudges(ctx, tree, spec.Base)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -376,9 +455,35 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 		if dir == name || !safeName.MatchString(dir) {
 			continue
 		}
-		if err := clone(b.Repository, b.Ref, dir); err != nil {
+		if dir == "mesh-lab" {
+			// **mesh-lab is never read at a release branch** (novox/hq ADR 0358): its replays run with the container
+			// runtime's socket, so a branch of a release's name — which anyone may create — is never what runs there,
+			// whether it is asked with a fallback or without.
+			if b.Else != "" || (spec.Release != "" && b.Ref == spec.Release) {
+				b.Ref = b.Else
+				if b.Ref == "" {
+					b.Ref = "main"
+				}
+			}
+			b.Else = ""
+		}
+		if err := cloneAt(b.Repository, b.Ref, b.Else, dir); err != nil {
 			return CheckVerdict{}, fmt.Errorf("beside it, %w", err)
 		}
+		if dir == "mesh-lab" {
+			// The copy the replays run from, made before anything of the change runs, outside every check container
+			// (novox/hq issue 709) — and whether it holds replays, read now, so nothing written later decides it.
+			if err := replay.copyLab(ctx, run, filepath.Join(root, dir)); err != nil {
+				return CheckVerdict{}, fmt.Errorf("mesh-lab could not be copied for its replays: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		if spec.Release != "" {
+			// The branch each was read at is named with its commit (ADR 0358 §4).
+			if judged.BesideAt == nil {
+				judged.BesideAt = map[string]string{}
+			}
+			judged.BesideAt[dir] = readAt[dir]
+		}
 		// The commit each one read is named in the verdict (ADR 0323 §3): its move is issue 568's question.
 		if at := headAt(ctx, run, filepath.Join(root, dir)); at != "" {
 			if judged.Beside == nil {
@@ -386,7 +491,7 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 			}
 			judged.Beside[dir] = at
 		}
-		say("check", "beside it %s at %s", dir, short(b.Ref))
+		say("check", "beside it %s at %s", dir, refWords(readAt[dir]))
 	}
 
 	// A delivery group's other heads (novox/hq ADR 0239), each at its head, for the gate to compose with this.
@@ -438,6 +543,25 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 	// Every clone is made: the credential is gone before anything of the check runs (novox/hq issue 462).
 	forget()
 
+	// **What the merge moves is built beside the tests** (novox/hq issue 716) when the build agent has a judge cache to
+	// build it in, where no container of the check reaches; without one, after the check has judged.
+	logged := func(step, message string) {
+		if log != nil {
+			log(step, redact.redact(message))
+		}
+	}
+	var beside *besideTheTests
+	if buildingTree != "" {
+		place, err := buildsBesideTheTests(spec.JudgeCache, workspace, spec.ID)
+		if err != nil {
+			return CheckVerdict{}, err
+		}
+		if place != "" {
+			beside = startBesideTheTests(ctx, run, spec, place, buildingTree, judged, forge, logged, say)
+			defer beside.abandon()
+		}
+	}
+
 	// The facts, and the versions they say the mesh runs.
 	if registry == "" {
 		return CheckVerdict{}, errors.New("no artifact store to read the facts snapshot from")
@@ -500,21 +624,56 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 		user = fmt.Sprintf("%d:%d", os.Getuid(), os.Getgid())
 	}
 	in := func(image, dir string, env []string, command ...string) []string {
+		home := workspace
+		for _, e := range env {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(e, "HOME=") {
+				home = strings.TrimPrefix(e, "HOME=")
+			}
+		}
 		// As the builder itself: what a check writes into the workspace is the builder's to remove.
 		args := []string{"run", "--rm", "--network", "host", "--volume", workspace + ":" + workspace, "--workdir", dir,
-			"--user", user, "--env", "HOME=" + workspace,
+			"--user", user, "--env", "HOME=" + home,
 			// The check's own checkouts, whoever cloned them: git in a container of another user than the
 			// one that cloned refuses a repository it does not own ("dubious ownership"), and Go's build
 			// stamps the version from git — a judge that would not build for want of it.
 			"--env", "GIT_CONFIG_COUNT=1", "--env", "GIT_CONFIG_KEY_0=safe.directory", "--env", "GIT_CONFIG_VALUE_0=*"}
 		for _, e := range env {
-			args = append(args, "--env", e)
+			if !strings.HasPrefix(e, "HOME=") {
+				args = append(args, "--env", e)
+			}
 		}
 		return append(append(args, image), command...)
 	}
 	inToolchain := func(dir string, env []string, command ...string) []string {
 		return in(spec.Toolchain, dir, env, command...)
 	}
+	// **Every judge is built where no pull request can reach** (novox/hq issue 482, ADR 0358 review): the workspace's
+	// Go cache, HOME and git configuration are written by pull requests' own scripts, and git runs during a Go build
+	// to stamp its version — a planted hook would rewrite the judge's sources before they compile. So a judge is built
+	// with a HOME and configuration made fresh for this check and a Go cache only judge builds mount (judgeBuildDirs),
+	// no global or system git configuration, no Go environment file, and no version stamping from git.
+	judgeHome, judgeGoCache, err := judgeBuildDirs(spec.JudgeCache, workspace, root, spec.ID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return CheckVerdict{}, err
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(judgeHome)
+	inJudgeBuild := func(dir string, _ []string, command ...string) []string {
+		args := in(spec.Toolchain, dir, JudgeBuildEnv(judgeHome, judgeGoCache), command...)
+		if spec.JudgeCache == "" {
+			return args // under the check's root, in the workspace mounted already
+		}
+		// The judge cache's parts this build needs, mounted into judge builds alone (ADR 0358 §6).
+		return append([]string{args[0], "--volume", judgeHome + ":" + judgeHome, "--volume",
+			judgeGoCache + ":" + judgeGoCache}, args[1:]...)
+	}
+	inReplays := func(env []string, command ...string) []string {
+		args := in(spec.Toolchain, filepath.Join(replay.lab, "replays"), append(ReplayEnv(replay.home, replay.goCache,
+			replay.modCache), env...), command...)
+		// The socket goes to the replays alone, never to the change's own code.
+		mounts := []string{"--volume", "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock", "--volume", replay.base + ":" +
+			replay.base, "--volume", replay.goCache + ":" + replay.goCache, "--volume", replay.modCache + ":" + replay.modCache}
+		return append(append([]string{args[0]}, mounts...), args[1:]...)
+	}
 	var out tail
 	// running runs one container of the check, its output into the report, in a process group of its own.
 	running := func(args []string) error {
@@ -526,10 +685,23 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 
 	// The judge. Its failing to build is the change's fault when the change is the judge or its validator,
 	// and the check's when it is the controller the mesh runs.
-	gate, judgeFault, err := judgeFor(ctx, labelled, run, spec, root, tree, inToolchain, say)
+	gate, judgeFault, err := judgeFor(ctx, labelled, run, spec, root, tree, judged.BesideAt, inJudgeBuild, say)
 	if err != nil {
 		return CheckVerdict{}, err
 	}
+	if spec.Release != "" {
+		// **A release-branch judgement says so** (novox/hq ADR 0358 §4): the branch, the controller's commit that
+		// judged, and each repository read beside it at its branch and commit.
+		judgedBy := filepath.Join(root, "mesh-controller")
+		if spec.Judge == "self" {
+			judgedBy = tree
+		}
+		judged.JudgedBy = headAt(ctx, run, judgedBy)
+		judged.Validator = releaseValidator(spec, judged.BesideAt, judged.Beside)
+		said := releaseWords(spec.Release, judged.JudgedBy, judged.Validator, judged.BesideAt, judged.Beside)
+		fmt.Fprintf(&out, "--- %s\n", said)
+		say("check", "%s", said)
+	}
 	verdictFile := filepath.Join(root, "verdict.json")
 	env := []string{EnvFacts + "=" + factsFile, EnvGate + "=" + gate, EnvGateStore + "=" + storeURL,
 		EnvTestStore + "=" + storeURL, EnvTestBus + "=nats://" + bus, EnvRepository + "=" + spec.Owner + "/" + spec.Repo,
@@ -555,7 +727,7 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 			say("check", "the gate: %d module(s) of the graph touched — %s", len(modules), strings.Join(modules, ", "))
 			fmt.Fprintf(&out, "--- the gate: %s\n", strings.Join(modules, ", "))
 			v.Gate.Verdict, v.Gate.Summary = gateLayer(ctx, spec, tree, root, gate, verdictFile, env, inToolchain,
-				running, &out, bus, workspace, name, say)
+				running, &out, bus, name, replay.hasReplays, replay.refused(), inReplays, say)
 		}
 		if timedOut() {
 			v.Gate.Verdict, v.Gate.Summary = "error", fmt.Sprintf("the check ran past %s and was ended", CheckTimeout)
@@ -595,6 +767,11 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 		}
 	}
 
+	if spec.Release != "" {
+		// The statuses name the release branch and the judge first, so the forge's short description keeps them.
+		mark := releaseMark(spec.Release, judged.JudgedBy)
+		v.Gate.Summary, v.Repo.Summary = mark+v.Gate.Summary, mark+v.Repo.Summary
+	}
 	// What the check printed travels in the verdict to the forge and the controller: redacted as the log is.
 	v.Gate.Summary, v.Repo.Summary, v.Repo.Failed = redact.redact(v.Gate.Summary), redact.redact(v.Repo.Summary),
 		redact.redact(v.Repo.Failed)
@@ -605,24 +782,68 @@ func Check(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, workspace, registry
 
 	// **What the merge would move, built once, here** (novox/hq ADR 0350 §1): after the judging, from the merge it
 	// judged, into the scratch namespace — so the walk of the merge commit takes it rather than building again.
-	if len(spec.Builds) > 0 && spec.BuildWith != nil && len(spec.Group) == 0 {
-		if why := skipsTheBuilds(v); why != "" {
-			say("check", "%s", why)
-		} else {
-			began := time.Now()
-			v.Built = buildForTheMerge(ctx, run, spec, *spec.BuildWith, workspace, tree, judged.Merge, judged, forge,
-				func(step, message string) {
-					if log != nil {
-						log(step, redact.redact(message))
-					}
-				}, say)
-			say("check", "built for the merge: %d of %d module(s) (%s)", builtCount(v.Built), len(v.Built),
-				time.Since(began).Round(time.Second))
-		}
+	switch {
+	case beside != nil:
+		v.Built = beside.settle(ctx, v)
+	case len(spec.Builds) > 0 && spec.BuildWith != nil && len(spec.Group) == 0:
+		v.Built = forTheMerge(ctx, run, spec, v, workspace, buildingTree, judged, forge, logged, say)
 	}
 	return named(v), nil
 }
 
+// forTheMerge builds what the merge moves once the check has judged it, from merged — the copy of the merge
+// checkoutForTheBuilds made outside the workspace — **in the builder's own workspace** (novox/hq issue 713). A build's
+// containers are run by the host's container engine, which mounts a path as the host names it: the build seat's
+// holder runs in a container that shares only its workspace with the host, at the same path, so a working copy in
+// its own temporary directory reaches the toolchain as an empty directory ("go.mod file not found"), every check
+// build failed, and every walk built again. The copy stays outside the workspace, so nothing the tests ran reaches it;
+// the working copy cloned from it is made only now, after every container of the check has ended.
+func forTheMerge(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, verdict CheckVerdict, workspace, merged string,
+	judged CheckVerdict, forge GitCredential, log Log, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) []CheckBuilt {
+	if why := skipsTheBuilds(verdict); why != "" {
+		say("check", "%s", why)
+		return nil
+	}
+	began := time.Now()
+	built := buildForTheMerge(ctx, run, spec, *spec.BuildWith, workspace, merged, judged.Merge, judged, forge, log, say)
+	say("check", "built for the merge: %d of %d module(s) (%s)", builtCount(built), len(built),
+		time.Since(began).Round(time.Second))
+	return built
+}
+
+// checkoutForTheBuilds is a clone of the commit a check builds for its merge, made before anything of the check runs,
+// outside the workspace its containers mount (novox/hq issue 703): the directory to remove, and the clone in it.
+// Cloned over git's own transport, never by linking the objects: what the check's containers later write into the
+// workspace's objects cannot reach it.
+func checkoutForTheBuilds(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree, at, workspace string) (string, string, error) {
+	dir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", "mesh-check-builds-")
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+	if withinDir(workspace, dir) {
+		os.RemoveAll(dir)
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the temporary directory %s is inside the workspace %s, which a check's containers "+
+			"mount: the merge is not built from where its tests could change it", dir, workspace)
+	}
+	commit, err := run(ctx, tree, "git", "rev-parse", "--verify", at+"^{commit}")
+	if err != nil {
+		os.RemoveAll(dir)
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the commit to build for the merge, %s: %w", at, err)
+	}
+	commit = strings.TrimSpace(commit)
+	if _, err := run(ctx, tree, "git", "update-ref", "refs/heads/mesh-check-builds", commit); err != nil {
+		os.RemoveAll(dir)
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+	cloned := filepath.Join(dir, "merged")
+	if _, err := run(ctx, dir, "git", "clone", "--quiet", "--no-local", "--no-checkout", "--branch",
+		"mesh-check-builds", tree, cloned); err != nil {
+		os.RemoveAll(dir)
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("cannot copy the merge to build it: %w", err)
+	}
+	return dir, cloned, nil
+}
+
 // builtCount is how many of a check's builds for its merge were built.
 func builtCount(built []CheckBuilt) int {
 	n := 0
@@ -794,8 +1015,9 @@ const SomeManifestsEnv = "MESH_MODULE_CHECK_SOME=1"
 // gateLayer runs the gate: the touched manifests through `module check`, every machine composed with the
 // change, and the replays of what the mesh runs. It answers the gate's verdict and summary.
 func gateLayer(ctx context.Context, spec CheckSpec, tree, root, gate, verdictFile string, env []string,
-	inToolchain func(string, []string, ...string) []string, running func([]string) error, out *tail, bus, workspace,
-	name string, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (string, string) {
+	inToolchain func(string, []string, ...string) []string, running func([]string) error, out *tail, bus,
+	name string, hasReplays bool, replaysRefused string, inReplays func([]string, ...string) []string,
+	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (string, string) {
 	// 1. The manifests the change touches, as the judge reads them: a manifest it cannot read, or one with a
 	// problem the change brings, fails here. **What was already so on the base branch is said and fails
 	// nothing** — the gate's own rule: a module whose manifest the running controller already finds fault
@@ -887,24 +1109,37 @@ func gateLayer(ctx context.Context, spec CheckSpec, tree, root, gate, verdictFil
 	// 3. **The replays of what the mesh runs** (to-be 45 §9, M9): mesh-lab's, from its main — reviewed code,
 	// so given the container runtime the resolver replay raises containers with — against the bus of the
 	// release the mesh runs and the change's own catalogue when the change is to the catalogue.
-	if lab := filepath.Join(root, "mesh-lab", "replays"); ctx.Err() == nil {
-		if _, err := os.Stat(lab); err == nil {
+	if ctx.Err() == nil && hasReplays && replaysRefused != "" {
+		// **Never from the workspace** (novox/hq issue 709): without the judge cache there is no place outside it.
+		say("check", "%s", replaysRefused)
+		fmt.Fprintf(out, "--- the replays: %s\n", replaysRefused)
+		return "error", replaysRefused
+	}
+	if ctx.Err() == nil {
+		if hasReplays {
 			catalogue := filepath.Join(root, "mesh-catalog")
 			if name == "mesh-catalog" {
 				catalogue = tree
 			}
 			say("check", "the replays of what the mesh runs, from mesh-lab")
 			fmt.Fprintln(out, "--- the replays (mesh-lab replays/)")
-			args := inToolchain(lab, []string{EnvTestBus + "=nats://" + bus, "MESH_REPLAY_CATALOGUE=" + catalogue,
-				"GOCACHE=" + filepath.Join(workspace, "go-cache"), "GOMODCACHE=" + filepath.Join(workspace, "go-modules")},
+			// In the replays' own environment (inReplays): reviewed code, the socket, and nothing the workspace holds
+			// but the catalogue they read.
+			args := inReplays([]string{EnvTestBus + "=nats://" + bus, "MESH_REPLAY_CATALOGUE=" + catalogue},
 				"go", "test", "-count=1", "./...")
-			// The socket goes to the replays alone, never to the change's own code above.
-			args = append([]string{args[0], "--volume", "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock"}, args[1:]...)
 			if err := running(args); err != nil {
 				if ctx.Err() != nil {
 					return "error", "the check was ended during the replays"
 				}
-				return "fail", "a replay of a core incident fails with this change: " + lastLine(out.String())
+				if replaysNotStarted(err) {
+					// The container runtime could not start them (a mount, an image): the check's fault, never the change's.
+					said := "the replays could not be started, so the change is not judged by them: " + lastLine(out.String())
+					say("check", "%s", said)
+					return "error", said
+				}
+				said := "a replay of a core incident fails with this change: " + lastLine(out.String())
+				say("check", "%s", said)
+				return "fail", said
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -919,21 +1154,32 @@ func gateLayer(ctx context.Context, spec CheckSpec, tree, root, gate, verdictFil
 // the mesh runs. It answers the judge's path; or, when the change makes its own judge unbuildable, why —
 // the change's fault, a failing gate; or an error when the check cannot build a judge at all. A check
 // whose gate does not run builds a judge only to hand its scripts one, and goes on without when it cannot.
-func judgeFor(ctx context.Context, labelled, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, root, tree string,
+//
+// **A pull request into a release branch is judged by that branch's controller** (novox/hq ADR 0358 §2): the one
+// beside it as mesh-controller, read at the release branch — with mesh-host's validator from beside it when mesh-host
+// has that branch too, or with the change's own validator for a change to the node-engine — never the controller the
+// mesh runs. besideAt is the branch each repository beside it was read at.
+func judgeFor(ctx context.Context, labelled, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, root, tree string, besideAt map[string]string,
 	inToolchain func(string, []string, ...string) []string, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (string, string, error) {
 	gated := spec.Gated()
 	switch spec.Judge {
 	case "self":
 		bin := filepath.Join(root, "bin", "judge-of-itself")
-		if _, err := labelled(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(tree,
-			[]string{"CGO_ENABLED=0", "GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor", "GOPROXY=off", "GOCACHE=" + filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(root), "go-cache")},
+		if _, err := labelled(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(tree, nil,
 			"go", "build", "-o", bin, "./cmd/mesh-controller")...); err != nil {
 			return "", "the change's controller, which judges itself, does not build: " + firstLine(err.Error()), nil
 		}
 		say("check", "judged by the change's own controller")
 		return bin, "", nil
 	}
-	bin, judgeTree, err := judge(ctx, labelled, run, root, inToolchain, say)
+	var bin, judgeTree string
+	var err error
+	if spec.Release != "" {
+		withHost := spec.Judge != "validator" && besideAt["mesh-host"] == spec.Release
+		bin, judgeTree, err = releaseJudge(ctx, labelled, run, spec, root, withHost, inToolchain, say)
+	} else {
+		bin, judgeTree, err = judge(ctx, labelled, run, root, inToolchain, say)
+	}
 	if err != nil {
 		if !gated {
 			say("check", "no judge for its script: %v", err)
@@ -952,15 +1198,346 @@ func judgeFor(ctx context.Context, labelled, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, root, t
 		}
 	}
 	withValidator := filepath.Join(root, "bin", "judge-with-this-validator")
-	if _, err := labelled(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(filepath.Join(root, judgeTree),
-		[]string{"CGO_ENABLED=0", "GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor", "GOPROXY=off", "GOCACHE=" + filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(root), "go-cache")},
+	if _, err := labelled(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(filepath.Join(root, judgeTree), nil,
 		"go", "build", "-o", withValidator, "./cmd/mesh-controller")...); err != nil {
+		if spec.Release != "" {
+			return "", spec.Release + "'s controller does not build with this change's validator: " +
+				firstLine(err.Error()), nil
+		}
 		return "", "the controller the mesh runs does not build with this change's validator: " + firstLine(err.Error()), nil
 	}
+	if spec.Release != "" {
+		say("check", "judged by %s's controller, with this change's validator", spec.Release)
+		return withValidator, "", nil
+	}
 	say("check", "judged by the controller the mesh runs, with this change's validator")
 	return withValidator, "", nil
 }
 
+// releaseJudge builds the controller that judges a pull request into a release branch (novox/hq ADR 0358 §2): the
+// one beside the check as mesh-controller, read at that branch — with mesh-host's validator from beside it in place
+// of the one it vendors when withHost. **Built once per release-branch head**: kept in the spec's judge cache by the
+// commits it is built from and taken from there while they stand. It answers the binary and the directory it was
+// built from.
+func releaseJudge(ctx context.Context, run, plain Runner, spec CheckSpec, root string, withHost bool,
+	inToolchain func(string, []string, ...string) []string, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (string, string, error) {
+	const dir = "mesh-controller"
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(root, dir)); err != nil {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("no controller of %s beside the check to judge it with", spec.Release)
+	}
+	key := fullHeadAt(ctx, plain, filepath.Join(root, dir))
+	if key == "" {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the controller of %s beside the check names no commit", spec.Release)
+	}
+	with := ""
+	if withHost {
+		host := fullHeadAt(ctx, plain, filepath.Join(root, "mesh-host"))
+		if host == "" {
+			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("mesh-host of %s beside the check names no commit", spec.Release)
+		}
+		key += "-with-mesh-host-" + host
+		with = ", with mesh-host's validator of " + spec.Release + " at " + twelve(host)
+	}
+	bin := filepath.Join(root, "bin", "mesh-controller")
+	if took := judgeKept(keptJudges(spec.JudgeCache), key, bin); took {
+		say("check", "judged by %s's controller at %s%s, built for an earlier check of that head", spec.Release,
+			twelve(key), with)
+		return bin, dir, nil
+	}
+	if withHost {
+		vendored := filepath.Join(root, dir, "vendor", "github.com", "novox", "mesh-host")
+		for _, pkg := range []string{"validate", filepath.Join("internal", "declaration")} {
+			if err := replaceGoFiles(filepath.Join(root, "mesh-host", pkg), filepath.Join(vendored, pkg)); err != nil {
+				return "", "", fmt.Errorf("mesh-host's validator of %s could not be put in its controller: %w", spec.Release, err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// Built where no pull request reaches (JudgeBuildEnv): a judge kept for this head is the head's, nothing else.
+	if _, err := run(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(filepath.Join(root, dir), nil,
+		"go", "build", "-o", bin, "./cmd/mesh-controller")...); err != nil {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the controller of %s does not build%s: %w", spec.Release, with, err)
+	}
+	// Kept before anything of the change runs: nothing a pull request's script writes can reach the cache.
+	keepJudge(keptJudges(spec.JudgeCache), key, bin, say)
+	say("check", "judged by %s's controller at %s%s", spec.Release, twelve(key), with)
+	return bin, dir, nil
+}
+
+// JudgeBuildEnv is the environment every judge is built in (novox/hq ADR 0358 §6, issue 482): home, made fresh for the
+// build, as HOME and configuration; goCache, the judge cache's Go cache that no check's container mounts; no global
+// or system git configuration; no Go environment file; and no version stamped from git, so no git runs at all.
+func JudgeBuildEnv(home, goCache string) []string {
+	return []string{"HOME=" + home, "XDG_CONFIG_HOME=" + filepath.Join(home, ".config"),
+		"GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL=/dev/null", "GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM=1", "GOENV=off",
+		"GOCACHE=" + goCache, "GOPATH=" + filepath.Join(home, "go"),
+		"CGO_ENABLED=0", "GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor -buildvcs=false", "GOPROXY=off"}
+}
+
+// judgeBuildDirs are the home and the Go cache a check's judge builds use (ADR 0358 §6). With a judge cache: a home
+// made fresh under its homes/ for this check, and its go-cache/, kept warm between checks — both on the host path the
+// build agent declares, so the container runtime mounts what the agent sees, and nothing is left in a temporary
+// directory of the host. Without one: both under the check's root, which every check empties before it clones. A
+// judge cache inside the workspace is refused: a check's containers mount the workspace.
+func judgeBuildDirs(cache, workspace, root, id string) (string, string, error) {
+	if cache == "" {
+		home, goCache := filepath.Join(root, "judge-home"), filepath.Join(root, "judge-go-cache")
+		for _, d := range []string{home, goCache} {
+			if err := os.MkdirAll(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+				return "", "", err
+			}
+		}
+		return home, goCache, nil
+	}
+	if withinDir(workspace, cache) {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the judge cache %s is inside the workspace %s, which a check's containers mount: "+
+			"no judge is built where a pull request could reach it", cache, workspace)
+	}
+	if !safeName.MatchString(id) {
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("the check's id %q cannot name its place in the judge cache", id)
+	}
+	home, goCache := filepath.Join(cache, "homes", id), filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache")
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(home); err != nil {
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+	for _, d := range []string{home, goCache} {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+			return "", "", err
+		}
+	}
+	return home, goCache, nil
+}
+
+// replayPlace is where mesh-lab's replays run from and with (novox/hq issue 709), never anything a pull request can
+// write: base, the directory made for this check under the judge cache's homes/ (the same path on the host and in the
+// build agent), removed after it; lab, the copy of mesh-lab they run; home, their HOME and configuration; and the judge
+// cache's Go build and module caches. Empty without a judge cache: the replays are then refused. hasReplays says whether
+// mesh-lab held replays when it was cloned, before anything of the change ran.
+type replayPlace struct {
+	base, lab, home, goCache, modCache string
+	hasReplays                         bool
+}
+
+// replaysNeedTheJudgeCache is the gate's error when mesh-lab holds replays and the build agent has no judge cache.
+const replaysNeedTheJudgeCache = "the replays need the build agent's judge cache (mesh-catalog#297); refused rather " +
+	"than run from the workspace"
+
+// refused is why the replays cannot run here, empty when they can.
+func (p replayPlace) refused() string {
+	if p.base == "" {
+		return replaysNeedTheJudgeCache
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// replayDirs makes the replays' place (issue 709, ADR 0358 §6). The replays' build is as trusted as a judge's: it
+// compiles mesh-lab's trunk, reviewed code, and nothing of the pull request, which hands them only its catalogue, as
+// data. Never the workspace: the gate runs before the replays, a pull request's own code among its containers. Without
+// a judge cache there is no place: the build agent declares no other host path, and the replays are refused.
+func replayDirs(cache, workspace, root, id string) (replayPlace, error) {
+	if cache == "" {
+		return replayPlace{}, nil
+	}
+	if withinDir(workspace, cache) {
+		return replayPlace{}, fmt.Errorf("the judge cache %s is inside the workspace %s, which a check's containers "+
+			"mount: no replay is run where a pull request could reach it", cache, workspace)
+	}
+	if !safeName.MatchString(id) {
+		return replayPlace{}, fmt.Errorf("the check's id %q cannot name its place in the judge cache", id)
+	}
+	base := filepath.Join(cache, "homes", id+"-replays")
+	p := replayPlace{base: base, lab: filepath.Join(base, "mesh-lab"), home: filepath.Join(base, "home"),
+		goCache: filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache"), modCache: filepath.Join(cache, "go-modules")}
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(base); err != nil {
+		return replayPlace{}, err
+	}
+	for _, d := range []string{p.home, p.goCache, p.modCache} {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+			return replayPlace{}, err
+		}
+	}
+	return p, nil
+}
+
+// copyLab reads whether mesh-lab's checkout, freshly cloned and before anything of the change runs, holds replays, and
+// copies it over git's own transport to where the replays run it — when there is such a place.
+func (p *replayPlace) copyLab(ctx context.Context, run Runner, from string) error {
+	_, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(from, "replays"))
+	p.hasReplays = err == nil
+	if p.lab == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return copyCheckout(ctx, run, from, p.lab)
+}
+
+// replaysNotStarted says the container runtime could not start the replays' container — its own exit status 125, or
+// 126 and 127 for a command it could not run — rather than that a replay failed.
+func replaysNotStarted(err error) bool {
+	var exit *exec.ExitError
+	if !errors.As(err, &exit) {
+		return true
+	}
+	code := exit.ExitCode()
+	return code == 125 || code == 126 || code == 127
+}
+
+// ReplayEnv is the environment mesh-lab's replays run in (novox/hq issue 709): home as HOME and configuration, the Go
+// build and module caches given, no global or system git configuration, no Go environment file, and no version
+// stamped from git — as a judge is built (JudgeBuildEnv), with the modules the replays fetch.
+func ReplayEnv(home, goCache, modCache string) []string {
+	return []string{"HOME=" + home, "XDG_CONFIG_HOME=" + filepath.Join(home, ".config"),
+		"GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL=/dev/null", "GIT_CONFIG_NOSYSTEM=1", "GOENV=off",
+		"GOCACHE=" + goCache, "GOMODCACHE=" + modCache, "GOPATH=" + filepath.Join(home, "go"),
+		"GOFLAGS=-buildvcs=false", "GOWORK=off"}
+}
+
+// copyCheckout copies a checkout at the commit it stands at into dir, over git's own transport — never by linking
+// objects — so what is written into the source afterwards does not reach the copy.
+func copyCheckout(ctx context.Context, run Runner, from, dir string) error {
+	commit := fullHeadAt(ctx, run, from)
+	if commit == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s names no commit", from)
+	}
+	if _, err := run(ctx, filepath.Dir(dir), "git", "clone", "--quiet", "--no-local", "--no-checkout", from, dir); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	_, err := run(ctx, dir, "git", "checkout", "--quiet", "--detach", commit)
+	return err
+}
+
+// keptJudges is where a judge cache keeps the release-branch judges, empty when there is no judge cache.
+func keptJudges(cache string) string {
+	if cache == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(cache, "judges")
+}
+
+// judgesKept is how many release-branch judges a judge cache keeps: a head moved past is not built from again.
+const judgesKept = 4
+
+// judgeKept puts the judge kept under key in the cache at bin, and says whether there was one.
+func judgeKept(cache, key, bin string) bool {
+	if cache == "" {
+		return false
+	}
+	body, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(cache, key, "mesh-controller"))
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(bin), 0o755); err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(bin, body, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	now := time.Now()
+	_ = os.Chtimes(filepath.Join(cache, key), now, now)
+	return true
+}
+
+// keepJudge keeps a judge just built under key, and lets go of all but the judgesKept most recently used. A judge
+// that cannot be kept is said and built again next time: the cache only saves time.
+func keepJudge(cache, key, bin string, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) {
+	if cache == "" {
+		return
+	}
+	body, err := os.ReadFile(bin)
+	if err == nil {
+		err = os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(cache, key), 0o755)
+	}
+	if err == nil {
+		kept := filepath.Join(cache, key, "mesh-controller")
+		if err = os.WriteFile(kept+".part", body, 0o755); err == nil {
+			err = os.Rename(kept+".part", kept)
+		}
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		say("check", "the judge could not be kept for the next check, which builds it again: %v", err)
+		return
+	}
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(cache)
+	if err != nil || len(entries) <= judgesKept {
+		return
+	}
+	type used struct {
+		name string
+		at   time.Time
+	}
+	var all []used
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if info, err := e.Info(); err == nil && e.IsDir() {
+			all = append(all, used{e.Name(), info.ModTime()})
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool { return all[i].at.After(all[j].at) })
+	for _, u := range all[min(judgesKept, len(all)):] {
+		if u.name != key {
+			_ = os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(cache, u.name))
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// fullHeadAt is the whole commit a checkout stands at, empty when it names none.
+func fullHeadAt(ctx context.Context, run Runner, tree string) string {
+	out, err := run(ctx, tree, "git", "rev-parse", "--verify", "--quiet", "HEAD^{commit}")
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(out)
+}
+
+// releaseValidator says which node-engine validator a release-branch check's judge is built with (novox/hq ADR 0358
+// §2), by the rule judgeFor builds it by.
+func releaseValidator(spec CheckSpec, at, commits map[string]string) string {
+	switch {
+	case spec.Judge == "self":
+		return "the validator the change's own controller vendors"
+	case spec.Judge == "validator":
+		return "the change's own validator"
+	case at["mesh-host"] == spec.Release:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("mesh-host's validator of %s at %s", spec.Release, commits["mesh-host"])
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("the validator %s's controller vendors (mesh-host has no branch %s)", spec.Release, spec.Release)
+}
+
+// releaseWords is how a release-branch check says what judged it and what it read (novox/hq ADR 0358 §4).
+func releaseWords(release, judgedBy, validator string, at, commits map[string]string) string {
+	var read []string
+	for _, dir := range sortedKeys(at) {
+		read = append(read, fmt.Sprintf("%s %s at %s", dir, refWords(at[dir]), commits[dir]))
+	}
+	said := fmt.Sprintf("judged for the release branch %s by its controller at %s, with %s", release, judgedBy, validator)
+	if len(read) > 0 {
+		said += "; read beside it: " + strings.Join(read, ", ")
+	}
+	return said
+}
+
+// releaseMark opens each layer's summary of a release-branch check, so a status says it first.
+func releaseMark(release, judgedBy string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("[release %s, judged by its controller %s] ", release, judgedBy)
+}
+
+// refWords is a ref as a line says it: a commit by its first eight characters, a branch whole.
+func refWords(ref string) string {
+	if commitLike.MatchString(ref) {
+		return short(ref)
+	}
+	return ref
+}
+
+// commitLike is a ref that names a commit.
+var commitLike = regexp.MustCompile(`^[0-9a-f]{7,40}$`)
+
+func sortedKeys(m map[string]string) []string {
+	keys := make([]string, 0, len(m))
+	for k := range m {
+		keys = append(keys, k)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(keys)
+	return keys
+}
+
 // replaceGoFiles puts a package's Go files — never its tests — in place of another copy's.
 func replaceGoFiles(from, into string) error {
 	old, err := filepath.Glob(filepath.Join(into, "*.go"))
@@ -1195,8 +1772,7 @@ func judge(ctx context.Context, run, plain Runner, root string, inToolchain func
 	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) (string, string, error) {
 	bin := filepath.Join(root, "bin", "mesh-controller")
 	build := func(dir string) error {
-		_, err := run(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(filepath.Join(root, dir),
-			[]string{"CGO_ENABLED=0", "GOFLAGS=-mod=vendor", "GOPROXY=off", "GOCACHE=" + filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(root), "go-cache")},
+		_, err := run(ctx, root, "docker", inToolchain(filepath.Join(root, dir), nil,
 			"go", "build", "-o", bin, "./cmd/mesh-controller")...)
 		return err
 	}

internal/builder/check_builds.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
@@ -35,8 +36,17 @@ type CheckBuilding struct {
 	Publish Publisher
 	Scratch Scratch
 	Held    map[string]string
+	// Running is each artifact of the build the mesh has registered for its module, keyed "<module>/<artifact>"
+	// (novox/hq issue 721): what a build for the merge is compared with — never Held's newest build, which may be one
+	// its gate failed and the mesh put back.
+	Running map[string]string
 	Npmrc   Npmrc
 	Seats   map[string]string
+	// Named are the builds the build seat's verdicts of earlier checks of this pull request at this head name
+	// (novox/hq issue 703): a build kept under a module's key is kept again, instead of built, only when one of them
+	// names its key and every digest, and the build is this pull request's at this head. The record alone is never
+	// enough.
+	Named []NamedBuild
 }
 
 // CheckBuilt is one module a check built for its merge, as its verdict lists it (§1): its key and its artifacts, or
@@ -48,6 +58,14 @@ type CheckBuilt struct {
 	// NotBuilt says why it was not: no key, a build that failed, or a module after one of those.
 	NotBuilt string
 	Took     time.Duration
+	// Kept is the check whose build this check kept instead of building, its key unchanged (novox/hq issue 703):
+	// the verdict names that build, by key and digest, as that check's. Empty when this check built it.
+	Kept string
+	// Same says every artifact came out the same as the build the mesh holds of the module (novox/hq issue 721), and
+	// SameAs names, per artifact, the held reference it was compared with: the walk leaves the module where it is
+	// while the mesh still holds that build. Empty when it differs, or could not be compared.
+	Same   string
+	SameAs map[string]string
 }
 
 // skipsTheBuilds is why a check builds nothing for its merge; empty when it builds.
@@ -60,13 +78,45 @@ func skipsTheBuilds(v CheckVerdict) string {
 	return ""
 }
 
-// buildForTheMerge builds each module the plan moves, tier by tier, into the scratch namespace, and keeps what it
-// built under its keys. A module standing after one not built is not built either: what it stands on in the walk
-// is not what it would stand on here. tree is the check's clone and merge the merge commit it made there.
+// buildForTheMerge builds each module the plan moves into the scratch namespace (makeForTheMerge), and keeps what it
+// built under its keys (keepForTheMerge): the order of a check that builds after it has judged.
 func buildForTheMerge(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, with CheckBuilding, workspace, tree, merge string,
 	judged CheckVerdict, forge GitCredential, log Log, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) []CheckBuilt {
+	out, kept := makeForTheMerge(ctx, run, spec, with, workspace, tree, merge, judged, forge, log, say)
+	return keepForTheMerge(ctx, spec, with, out, kept, say)
+}
+
+// makeForTheMerge builds each module the plan moves, tier by tier, into the scratch namespace — **the modules of a
+// tier at the same time** (novox/hq issue 716): none of them stands on another, and a tier waits only for the ones
+// before it, whose builds it is handed. A module standing after one not built is not built either: what it stands on
+// in the walk is not what it would stand on here. tree is the check's copy of the merge and merge the merge commit it
+// made there; workspace is where each build's working copy is made, one directory per module, which the host's
+// container engine sees at the same path (novox/hq issue 713). Answers what each module came to, in the plan's order,
+// and the builds to keep — nothing is kept here.
+func makeForTheMerge(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, with CheckBuilding, workspace, tree, merge string,
+	judged CheckVerdict, forge GitCredential, log Log, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) ([]CheckBuilt, []CheckBuild) {
 	if len(spec.Builds) == 0 || with.Publish == nil || with.Scratch == nil {
-		return nil
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	// What an earlier check left, ended before it could remove it, is not built on.
+	place := filepath.Join(workspace, "for-the-merge")
+	_ = os.RemoveAll(place)
+	defer os.RemoveAll(place)
+	// One log, said to by builds running at once: a line at a time.
+	var saying sync.Mutex
+	if log != nil {
+		inner := log
+		log = func(step, message string) {
+			saying.Lock()
+			defer saying.Unlock()
+			inner(step, message)
+		}
+	}
+	inner := say
+	say = func(step, format string, args ...any) {
+		saying.Lock()
+		defer saying.Unlock()
+		inner(step, format, args...)
 	}
 	ref := merge
 	if ref == "" {
@@ -76,76 +126,230 @@ func buildForTheMerge(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, with Chec
 	for k, v := range with.Held {
 		held[k] = v
 	}
-	var out []CheckBuilt
+	out := make([]CheckBuilt, len(spec.Builds))
+	results := make([]Result, len(spec.Builds))
 	var kept []CheckBuild
 	stopAt, stopWhy := -1, ""
-	for _, b := range spec.Builds {
-		began := time.Now()
-		if stopAt >= 0 && b.Tier > stopAt {
-			out = append(out, CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, NotBuilt: stopWhy})
-			continue
+	for start := 0; start < len(spec.Builds); {
+		tier := spec.Builds[start].Tier
+		end := start
+		for end < len(spec.Builds) && spec.Builds[end].Tier == tier {
+			end++
 		}
-		if b.Skip != "" {
-			say("build", "%s not built for the merge: %s", b.Module, b.Skip)
-			out = append(out, CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, NotBuilt: b.Skip})
-			if stopAt < 0 || b.Tier < stopAt {
-				stopAt, stopWhy = b.Tier, "it stands after "+b.Module+", which was not built for the merge"
+		// What this tier's builds are handed: the builds of the tiers before it, read alone while they run.
+		handed := map[string]string{}
+		for k, v := range held {
+			handed[k] = v
+		}
+		var building sync.WaitGroup
+		for i := start; i < end; i++ {
+			b := spec.Builds[i]
+			if stopAt >= 0 && b.Tier > stopAt {
+				out[i] = CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, NotBuilt: stopWhy}
+				continue
 			}
-			continue
-		}
-		repository, at := b.Repository, b.Ref
-		if b.Merged {
-			repository, at = tree, ref
-		}
-		say("build", "for the merge: %s (tier %d)", b.Module, b.Tier)
-		var mirrored []string
-		result, err := build(ctx, run, scratchPublisher{to: with.Publish}, repository, b.Path, at,
-			filepath.Join(workspace, "for-the-merge"), held, with.Npmrc, forge, log, &mirrored, &Reuse{keyFirst: true},
-			with.Seats)
-		built := CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, Key: result.ReuseKey, Took: time.Since(began)}
-		switch {
-		case errors.Is(err, errNoKey):
-			built.NotBuilt = err.Error()
-		case err != nil:
-			built.NotBuilt = "its build failed: " + err.Error()
-		case result.ReuseKey == "":
-			built.NotBuilt = "it has no reuse key: " + result.NoKey
-		}
-		if built.NotBuilt != "" {
-			say("build", "%s not built for the merge: %s", b.Module, built.NotBuilt)
-			out = append(out, built)
-			if stopAt < 0 || b.Tier < stopAt {
-				stopAt, stopWhy = b.Tier, "it stands after "+b.Module+", which was not built for the merge"
+			if b.Skip != "" {
+				say("build", "%s not built for the merge: %s", b.Module, b.Skip)
+				out[i] = CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, NotBuilt: b.Skip}
+				continue
 			}
-			continue
-		}
-		built.Made = result.Built
-		for _, m := range result.Built {
-			held[b.Module+"/"+m.Name] = m.Reference
-		}
-		say("build", "%s built for the merge under %s (%s)", b.Module, twelve(result.ReuseKey[3:]), built.Took.Round(time.Second))
-		out = append(out, built)
-		if len(result.Built) > 0 {
-			kept = append(kept, CheckBuild{Key: result.ReuseKey, Module: b.Module, Parts: result.ReuseParts,
-				Made: result.Built, Pull: PullRef{Owner: spec.Owner, Repo: spec.Repo, Number: spec.Number},
-				Head: judged.Head, Trunk: judged.Trunk, Check: spec.ID, At: time.Now().UTC()})
-		}
-	}
-	_ = os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(workspace, "for-the-merge"))
-	if len(kept) > 0 {
-		if err := with.Scratch.Keep(ctx, PullRef{Owner: spec.Owner, Repo: spec.Repo, Number: spec.Number}, spec.ID,
-			time.Now().UTC(), kept); err != nil {
-			// Built and not findable: the walk builds, and says no check built it. Said, never the check's verdict.
-			say("build", "the builds for the merge could not be kept, and the walk will build: %v", err)
-			if err := with.Scratch.Discard(ctx, kept); err != nil {
-				say("build", "and what they made could not all be let go of: %v", err)
+			repository, at := b.Repository, b.Ref
+			if b.Merged {
+				repository, at = tree, ref
 			}
-			for i := range out {
-				if out[i].NotBuilt == "" {
-					out[i].NotBuilt = fmt.Sprintf("built, and could not be kept: %v", err)
+			name := b.Module
+			if !safeName.MatchString(name) {
+				name = fmt.Sprintf("module-%d", i)
+			}
+			building.Add(1)
+			go func(i int, b CheckBuildSpec, repository, at, dir string) {
+				defer building.Done()
+				began := time.Now()
+				say("build", "for the merge: %s (tier %d)", b.Module, b.Tier)
+				var mirrored []string
+				result, err := build(ctx, run, scratchPublisher{to: with.Publish}, repository, b.Path, at, dir, handed,
+					with.Npmrc, forge, log, &mirrored, &Reuse{keyFirst: true, Scratch: with.Scratch, Named: with.Named,
+						pull: PullRef{Owner: spec.Owner, Repo: spec.Repo, Number: spec.Number}, head: judged.Head},
+					with.Seats)
+				built := CheckBuilt{Module: b.Module, Key: result.ReuseKey, Took: time.Since(began)}
+				switch {
+				case errors.Is(err, errNoKey):
+					built.NotBuilt = err.Error()
+				case err != nil:
+					built.NotBuilt = "its build failed: " + err.Error()
+				case result.ReuseKey == "":
+					built.NotBuilt = "it has no reuse key: " + result.NoKey
 				}
+				if built.NotBuilt == "" {
+					// **Compared with what runs** (novox/hq issue 721): a failed comparison says nothing, and the
+					// module moves as before.
+					same, against, err := sameAsHeld(ctx, run, dir, b.Module, result.Built, with.Running)
+					switch {
+					case err != nil:
+						say("build", "%s could not be compared with the build the mesh holds, so it moves: %v", b.Module, err)
+					case same != "":
+						built.Same, built.SameAs = same, against
+						say("build", "%s %s", b.Module, same)
+					}
+				}
+				out[i], results[i] = built, result
+			}(i, b, repository, at, filepath.Join(place, name))
+		}
+		building.Wait()
+		for i := start; i < end; i++ {
+			b, built, result := spec.Builds[i], &out[i], results[i]
+			if built.NotBuilt != "" {
+				if built.Key != "" || built.Took > 0 {
+					say("build", "%s not built for the merge: %s", b.Module, built.NotBuilt)
+				}
+				if stopAt < 0 || b.Tier < stopAt {
+					stopAt, stopWhy = b.Tier, "it stands after "+b.Module+", which was not built for the merge"
+				}
+				continue
+			}
+			built.Made = result.Built
+			for _, m := range result.Built {
+				held[b.Module+"/"+m.Name] = m.Reference
+			}
+			if result.Reused != nil {
+				// **Kept, not built** (novox/hq issue 703): the earlier check's build, named as that check's, so the
+				// walk takes it as the verdict names it; this check's document names it too, so it stays while this
+				// check does (ADR 0350 §5).
+				built.Kept = result.Reused.From.Check
+				say("build", "%s kept for the merge under %s: %s", b.Module, twelve(result.ReuseKey[3:]),
+					result.Reused.From.Said())
+				kept = append(kept, result.Reused.From)
+				continue
+			}
+			say("build", "%s built for the merge under %s (%s)", b.Module, twelve(result.ReuseKey[3:]),
+				built.Took.Round(time.Second))
+			if len(result.Built) > 0 {
+				kept = append(kept, CheckBuild{Key: result.ReuseKey, Module: b.Module, Parts: result.ReuseParts,
+					Made: result.Built, Pull: PullRef{Owner: spec.Owner, Repo: spec.Repo, Number: spec.Number},
+					Head: judged.Head, Trunk: judged.Trunk, Check: spec.ID, At: time.Now().UTC()})
+			}
+		}
+		start = end
+	}
+	return out, kept
+}
+
+// keepForTheMerge keeps a check's builds under their keys, its own document naming them, so the walk of its merge
+// finds them; what cannot be kept is let go of, said, and each module says it — never the check's verdict.
+func keepForTheMerge(ctx context.Context, spec CheckSpec, with CheckBuilding, out []CheckBuilt, kept []CheckBuild,
+	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) []CheckBuilt {
+	if len(kept) == 0 {
+		return out
+	}
+	if err := with.Scratch.Keep(ctx, PullRef{Owner: spec.Owner, Repo: spec.Repo, Number: spec.Number}, spec.ID,
+		time.Now().UTC(), kept); err != nil {
+		// Built and not findable: the walk builds, and says no check built it. Said, never the check's verdict.
+		say("build", "the builds for the merge could not be kept, and the walk will build: %v", err)
+		if err := with.Scratch.Discard(ctx, kept); err != nil {
+			say("build", "and what they made could not all be let go of: %v", err)
+		}
+		for i := range out {
+			if out[i].NotBuilt == "" {
+				out[i].NotBuilt = fmt.Sprintf("built, and could not be kept: %v", err)
 			}
 		}
 	}
 	return out
 }
+
+// discardForTheMerge lets go of builds a check made beside its tests when the check did not pass (novox/hq issue 716):
+// a change that fails is not merged, and nothing it built is kept. A build another check names stays (Discard).
+func discardForTheMerge(ctx context.Context, with CheckBuilding, kept []CheckBuild, why string,
+	say func(step, format string, args ...any)) {
+	say("check", "%s: the %d build(s) made beside it are let go of", why, len(kept))
+	if len(kept) == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	if err := with.Scratch.Discard(ctx, kept); err != nil {
+		say("build", "what they made could not all be let go of, and goes with the week's sweep: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// besideTheTests are a check's builds for its merge running while its gate and its own check run (novox/hq issue
+// 716): started once every clone is made, waited for when the check has judged, kept when it passed and let go of
+// when it did not.
+type besideTheTests struct {
+	spec    CheckSpec
+	with    CheckBuilding
+	cancel  context.CancelFunc
+	done    chan struct{}
+	place   string
+	out     []CheckBuilt
+	kept    []CheckBuild
+	began   time.Time
+	settled bool
+	say     func(step, format string, args ...any)
+}
+
+// buildsBesideTheTests is where a check's builds run beside its tests: a directory made for this check under the judge
+// cache's homes/ (ADR 0358 §6), on the host path the build agent declares — so the host's container engine mounts what
+// the agent sees (issue 713) — and never mounted by a check's container, so nothing a pull request's script runs can
+// change a build while it is made (issue 703). Empty, and the builds wait for the check, without a judge cache.
+func buildsBesideTheTests(cache, workspace, id string) (string, error) {
+	if cache == "" {
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	if withinDir(workspace, cache) {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("the judge cache %s is inside the workspace %s, which a check's containers mount: "+
+			"nothing is built for the merge where a pull request could reach it", cache, workspace)
+	}
+	if !safeName.MatchString(id) {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("the check's id %q cannot name its place in the judge cache", id)
+	}
+	place := filepath.Join(cache, "homes", id+"-builds")
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(place); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(place, 0o700); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return place, nil
+}
+
+// startBesideTheTests starts the builds for the merge in place, from merged, the check's copy of the merge.
+func startBesideTheTests(ctx context.Context, run Runner, spec CheckSpec, place, merged string, judged CheckVerdict,
+	forge GitCredential, log Log, say func(step, format string, args ...any)) *besideTheTests {
+	building, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+	b := &besideTheTests{spec: spec, with: *spec.BuildWith, cancel: cancel, done: make(chan struct{}), place: place,
+		began: time.Now(), say: say}
+	say("check", "building what the merge moves (%d module(s)) beside its tests", len(spec.Builds))
+	go func() {
+		defer close(b.done)
+		b.out, b.kept = makeForTheMerge(building, run, spec, b.with, place, merged, judged.Merge, judged, forge, log, say)
+	}()
+	return b
+}
+
+// settle waits for the builds and keeps them when the check passed; a check that did not pass lets go of them, and
+// its verdict names none.
+func (b *besideTheTests) settle(ctx context.Context, verdict CheckVerdict) []CheckBuilt {
+	<-b.done
+	b.settled = true
+	defer os.RemoveAll(b.place)
+	if why := skipsTheBuilds(verdict); why != "" {
+		discardForTheMerge(ctx, b.with, b.kept, why, b.say)
+		return nil
+	}
+	built := keepForTheMerge(ctx, b.spec, b.with, b.out, b.kept, b.say)
+	b.say("check", "built for the merge: %d of %d module(s), beside the tests (%s)", builtCount(built), len(built),
+		time.Since(b.began).Round(time.Second))
+	return built
+}
+
+// abandon ends builds a check that ended without a verdict leaves, and lets go of what they made.
+func (b *besideTheTests) abandon() {
+	if b.settled {
+		return
+	}
+	b.cancel()
+	<-b.done
+	defer os.RemoveAll(b.place)
+	letGo, done := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), time.Minute)
+	defer done()
+	discardForTheMerge(letGo, b.with, b.kept, "the check ended without a verdict", b.say)
+}

internal/builder/check_merge_test.go

@@ -210,3 +210,53 @@ func TestACheckMergeRunsNoHook(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a hook ran when the check made its merge: %s", said)
 	}
 }
+
+// What a check's tests change in the workspace never reaches what it builds for the merge (novox/hq issue 703): the
+// builds are made from a copy of the merge, outside the workspace, cloned before anything of the change runs.
+func TestWhatTheTestsChangeInTheWorkspaceNeverReachesTheBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	repo, head, _ := aTrunkAndABranch(t, map[string]string{"main.go": "package main // the merge\n"},
+		map[string]string{"trunk-only": "t"}, map[string]string{"head-only": "h"})
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	tree := filepath.Join(workspace, "check", "checked")
+	if out, err := exec.Command("git", "clone", "--quiet", repo, tree).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	dir, cloned, err := checkoutForTheBuilds(t.Context(), Command, tree, head, workspace)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
+	if withinDir(workspace, cloned) {
+		t.Fatalf("the builds' checkout %s is inside the workspace %s the tests mount", cloned, workspace)
+	}
+
+	// The tests rewrite the tree, its branch and every object it holds.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(tree, "main.go"), []byte("package main // planted\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := filepath.WalkDir(filepath.Join(tree, ".git", "objects"), func(path string, d os.DirEntry, err error) error {
+		if err != nil || d.IsDir() {
+			return err
+		}
+		_ = os.Chmod(path, 0o644)
+		return os.WriteFile(path, []byte("planted"), 0o644)
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// The build clones the merge from its own checkout, as buildForTheMerge does, and reads what the merge holds.
+	build := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "source")
+	if out, err := exec.Command("git", "clone", "--quiet", cloned, build).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	if out, err := exec.Command("git", "-C", build, "checkout", "--quiet", head).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("%v\n%s", err, out)
+	}
+	body, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(build, "main.go"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if string(body) != "package main // the merge\n" {
+		t.Fatalf("the build read %q: what the tests wrote reached it", body)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/predefined_test.go

@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-package builder
-
-import (
-	"context"
-	"slices"
-	"strings"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-)
-
-// A build reads the list of predefined keys at the root of the repository at the commit it builds (novox/hq ADR
-// 0348 §7, design 57 package K2, issue 661): it refuses a list that is wrong, judges the manifest against it, and
-// carries it with the commit's generation for the controller to publish.
-
-const theFirstKeys = `{
-  "font-size": {"type": "number", "description": "the size text is shown in, in points", "minimum": 6, "maximum": 72},
-  "agent-managed-settings": {"type": "object", "description": "the managed settings of every agent session, a JSON object", "trusted": true}
-}`
-
-// fallingBack is a module of the catalogue whose font size falls back to the predefined key named.
-func fallingBack(key, kind string) string {
-	def := "10"
-	if kind == "string" {
-		def = `"10"`
-	}
-	return `{"module":"dunst","version":"1",
-  "build":{"artifacts":[{"name":"look","kind":"archive","from":"files"}]},
-  "config":{"font-size":{"type":"` + kind + `","description":"the notification's font size, in points",
-    "default":` + def + `,"predefined":"` + key + `"}},
-  "resources":[
-    {"id":"theme","type":"archive","path":"/opt/dunst","artifact":"look"},
-    {"id":"rc","type":"file","path":"/etc/xdg/dunst/dunstrc","content":"font = Inter ${config:font-size}\n"}]}`
-}
-
-func buildInTheCatalogue(t *testing.T, manifest string, list *string) (Result, error) {
-	t.Helper()
-	r := &recorded{contents: map[string]string{"modules/dunst/" + ManifestName: manifest,
-		"modules/dunst/files/theme.conf": "dark", "README.md": "the catalogue"}}
-	if list != nil {
-		r.contents[catalogue.PredefinedFile] = *list
-	}
-	return Build(context.Background(), onTrunk{recorded: r}.run, r, "https://forge.invalid/mesh-catalog.git",
-		"modules/dunst", "", t.TempDir(), nil, Npmrc{}, GitCredential{}, nil)
-}
-
-func TestABuildNamingAPredefinedKeyIsJudgedAgainstItsTreesListAndCarriesIt(t *testing.T) {
-	list := theFirstKeys
-	got, err := buildInTheCatalogue(t, fallingBack("font-size", "number"), &list)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a module falling back to font-size did not build: %v", err)
-	}
-	if got.Predefined == nil || got.Predefined.Generation != 42 {
-		t.Fatalf("the list was not carried with its generation: %+v", got.Predefined)
-	}
-	carried, err := catalogue.ParsePredefined(got.Predefined.Keys)
-	if err != nil || len(carried) != 2 || carried["font-size"].Type != catalogue.ConfigNumber {
-		t.Fatalf("the list carried is %s (%v)", got.Predefined.Keys, err)
-	}
-	// A change to the list is a change to the module that was judged against it.
-	if len(got.Sources) == 0 || !slices.Contains(got.Sources[0].Paths, catalogue.PredefinedFile) {
-		t.Fatalf("its build source leaves the list out: %+v", got.Sources)
-	}
-
-	for _, c := range []struct{ manifest, says string }{
-		{fallingBack("font-scale", "number"), `"font-scale", which is not on the list`},
-		{fallingBack("font-size", "string"), "which is a number, and this value is a string"},
-	} {
-		if _, err := buildInTheCatalogue(t, c.manifest, &list); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), c.says) {
-			t.Errorf("wanted the build refused saying %q, got %v", c.says, err)
-		}
-	}
-}
-
-func TestABuildRefusesAWrongList(t *testing.T) {
-	wrong := `{"font-size": {"type": "number", "description": "points", "unit": "pt"}}`
-	if _, err := buildInTheCatalogue(t, fallingBack("font-size", "number"), &wrong); err == nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), `unknown field "unit"`) {
-		t.Fatalf("a wrong list was built with: %v", err)
-	}
-}
-
-// A repository without the list builds as before, carrying none; a value naming a key there is refused.
-func TestABuildWithoutAListCarriesNone(t *testing.T) {
-	plain := strings.Replace(fallingBack("font-size", "number"), `,"predefined":"font-size"`, "", 1)
-	got, err := buildInTheCatalogue(t, plain, nil)
-	if err != nil {
-		t.Fatal(err)
-	}
-	if got.Predefined != nil {
-		t.Fatalf("a list was carried from a tree holding none: %+v", got.Predefined)
-	}
-	if slices.Contains(got.Sources[0].Paths, catalogue.PredefinedFile) {
-		t.Fatalf("the build source names a list: %+v", got.Sources)
-	}
-	if _, err := buildInTheCatalogue(t, fallingBack("font-size", "number"), nil); err == nil ||
-		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "is not present") {
-		t.Fatalf("a key named where no list is: %v", err)
-	}
-	// A list present and a module naming no key: carried, and not the module's build source.
-	list := theFirstKeys
-	got, err = buildInTheCatalogue(t, plain, &list)
-	if err != nil || got.Predefined == nil || slices.Contains(got.Sources[0].Paths, catalogue.PredefinedFile) {
-		t.Fatalf("a module naming no key: %+v %+v %v", got.Predefined, got.Sources, err)
-	}
-}

internal/builder/release_branch_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,870 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// **A pull request into a release branch is judged by the controller of that branch** (novox/hq ADR 0358, issue
+// 704): the build seat's check builds the judge from mesh-controller read at the release branch — with mesh-host's
+// validator of that branch when mesh-host has one — reads every repository beside it at that branch where it has one
+// and at its trunk otherwise, and names the branch, the judge's commit and each repository read with its commit.
+
+const releaseBranch = "feat/57-config-and-provisioning"
+
+// gitInRepo runs git in a repository made for a test.
+func gitInRepo(t *testing.T, dir string, args ...string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	cmd := exec.Command("git", args...)
+	cmd.Dir = dir
+	cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "GIT_AUTHOR_NAME=t", "GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL=t@example.org",
+		"GIT_COMMITTER_NAME=t", "GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL=t@example.org")
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("git %v: %v\n%s", args, err, out)
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(string(out))
+}
+
+// commitFiles writes files into a repository and commits them on the branch checked out.
+func commitFiles(t *testing.T, dir string, files map[string]string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	for name, body := range files {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(filepath.Join(dir, name)), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, name), []byte(body), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	gitInRepo(t, dir, "add", "-A")
+	gitInRepo(t, dir, "commit", "--quiet", "-m", "x")
+	return gitInRepo(t, dir, "rev-parse", "HEAD")
+}
+
+// aRepositoryWithARelease is a repository whose main holds mainFiles and, when releaseFiles is not nil, a release
+// branch over them holding releaseFiles. It answers the repository, main's head and the release branch's head.
+func aRepositoryWithARelease(t *testing.T, mainFiles, releaseFiles map[string]string) (string, string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	gitInRepo(t, dir, "init", "--quiet", "-b", "main")
+	main := commitFiles(t, dir, mainFiles)
+	if releaseFiles == nil {
+		return dir, main, ""
+	}
+	gitInRepo(t, dir, "checkout", "--quiet", "-b", releaseBranch)
+	head := commitFiles(t, dir, releaseFiles)
+	gitInRepo(t, dir, "checkout", "--quiet", "main")
+	return dir, main, head
+}
+
+// aJudgeOf is a controller that judges as told: its gate passes, saying who it is and the word of the node-engine
+// validator it vendors — the one it was built with.
+func aJudgeOf(who string) map[string]string {
+	return map[string]string{
+		"go.mod":             "module example.org/judge\n\ngo 1.22\n\nrequire github.com/novox/mesh-host v0.0.0\n",
+		"vendor/modules.txt": "# github.com/novox/mesh-host v0.0.0\n## explicit; go 1.22\ngithub.com/novox/mesh-host/validate\n",
+		"vendor/github.com/novox/mesh-host/validate/v.go":             "package validate\n\nconst Word = \"the vendored validator\"\n",
+		"vendor/github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/declaration/d.go": "package declaration\n",
+		"cmd/mesh-controller/main.go": `package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/validate"
+)
+
+func main() {
+	if len(os.Args) == 2 && os.Args[1] == "merge-gate" {
+		fmt.Println("usage: merge-gate --facts <file> --store <postgres>")
+		os.Exit(2)
+	}
+	fmt.Printf("{\"verdict\":\"pass\",\"summary\":\"%s with %s\"}\n", "` + who + `", validate.Word)
+}
+`,
+	}
+}
+
+// aHostSaying is the node-engine's validator, saying a word.
+func aHostSaying(word string) map[string]string {
+	return map[string]string{
+		"validate/v.go":                  "package validate\n\nconst Word = \"" + word + "\"\n",
+		"internal/declaration/d.go":      "package declaration\n",
+		"validate/v_test.go":             "package validate\n",
+		"internal/declaration/x_test.go": "package declaration\n",
+	}
+}
+
+// aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge puts a container runtime on PATH that runs every container's command on this machine,
+// in the directory and with the environment the check gives it — the judge's build too — and a store and a bus that
+// answer. It answers the file each `go` the check runs is written to.
+func aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	if _, err := exec.LookPath("go"); err != nil {
+		t.Skip("no Go toolchain on this machine to build a judge with")
+	}
+	bus, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { bus.Close() })
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			c, err := bus.Accept()
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			c.Close()
+		}
+	}()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	built := filepath.Join(dir, "built")
+	runtime := `#!/bin/sh
+cmd="$1"; shift
+case "$cmd" in
+ps|rm|exec) exit 0 ;;
+volume)
+  if [ -n "$VOLUMES" ]; then echo "$*" >> "$VOLUMES"; fi
+  exit 0 ;;
+port) echo "` + bus.Addr().String() + `"; exit 0 ;;
+run)
+  if [ -n "$RUNS" ]; then echo "$*" >> "$RUNS"; fi
+  workdir=""; detached=""
+  while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
+    case "$1" in
+      -d) detached=1; shift ;;
+      --rm) shift ;;
+      --workdir) workdir="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+      --env) export "$2"; shift 2 ;;
+      --network|--volume|--user|--label|--name|-p|-e) shift 2 ;;
+      *) break ;;
+    esac
+  done
+  if [ -n "$detached" ]; then echo a-container; exit 0; fi
+  shift
+  if [ "$1" = go ]; then echo "GOCACHE=$GOCACHE GOENV=$GOENV $*" >> "` + built + `"; fi
+  if [ "$1" = go ] && [ "$2" = build ] && [ -n "$JUDGE_HOMES" ]; then echo "$HOME" >> "$JUDGE_HOMES"; fi
+  if [ "$1" = go ] && [ "$2" = test ] && [ -n "$REPLAYS_CANNOT_START" ]; then
+    echo "docker: Error response from daemon: invalid mount config for type bind" >&2; exit 125
+  fi
+  if [ "$1" = go ] && [ "$2" = test ] && [ -n "$REPLAYS" ]; then
+    echo "HOME=$HOME GOCACHE=$GOCACHE GOMODCACHE=$GOMODCACHE GOENV=$GOENV GOFLAGS=$GOFLAGS DIR=$workdir" >> "$REPLAYS"
+  fi
+  if [ "$1" = go ] && [ -n "$WARM_GO_CACHE" ] && [ -n "$GOCACHE" ] && [ -z "$(ls -A "$GOCACHE" 2>/dev/null)" ]; then
+    mkdir -p "$GOCACHE" && cp -R "$WARM_GO_CACHE/." "$GOCACHE/"
+  fi
+  cd "$workdir" && exec "$@" ;;
+esac
+exit 1
+`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(dir, "docker"), []byte(runtime), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv("PATH", dir+string(os.PathListSeparator)+os.Getenv("PATH"))
+	t.Setenv("GOTOOLCHAIN", "local")
+	// An empty Go cache the check names is filled from a warm one before `go` runs (warm_go_cache_test.go).
+	t.Setenv("WARM_GO_CACHE", warmGoCache(t))
+	return built
+}
+
+// builds is how many times the check ran go to build a judge.
+func builds(t *testing.T, file string) int {
+	t.Helper()
+	body, err := os.ReadFile(file)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return strings.Count(string(body), "go build")
+}
+
+// theReleasedMesh is the core beside a release-branch check: a controller whose main and release branch judge
+// differently, a node-engine with a validator of each, and a lab with no release branch.
+func theReleasedMesh(t *testing.T) (map[string]Beside, string, string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	controller, _, controllerRelease := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("main's controller"),
+		aJudgeOf("the release branch's controller"))
+	host, _, hostRelease := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aHostSaying("main's validator"),
+		aHostSaying("the release branch's validator"))
+	lab, labMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, map[string]string{"README": "the lab"}, nil)
+	return map[string]Beside{
+		"mesh-controller":      {Repository: controller, Ref: releaseBranch},
+		"mesh-controller-main": {Repository: controller, Ref: "main"},
+		"mesh-host":            {Repository: host, Ref: releaseBranch, Else: "main"},
+		"mesh-lab":             {Repository: lab, Ref: releaseBranch, Else: "main"},
+	}, controllerRelease, hostRelease, labMain
+}
+
+// aPullRequestInto is a repository whose pull request's head is cut from base, with a change.
+func aPullRequestInto(t *testing.T, files map[string]string, base string, change map[string]string) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	repo, _, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, files, map[string]string{"released": "r"})
+	gitInRepo(t, repo, "checkout", "--quiet", "-b", "change", base)
+	head := commitFiles(t, repo, change)
+	gitInRepo(t, repo, "checkout", "--quiet", "main")
+	return repo, head
+}
+
+func TestACataloguePullRequestIntoAReleaseBranchIsJudgedByThatBranchsController(t *testing.T) {
+	built := aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	beside, controllerRelease, hostRelease, labMain := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, releaseBranch, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	cache := t.TempDir()
+	check := func(id string) CheckVerdict {
+		t.Helper()
+		v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: id, Repository: catalogue, Ref: head, Owner: "novox",
+			Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch, JudgeCache: cache,
+			Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Beside: beside, Toolchain: "golang"},
+			t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		return v
+	}
+	v := check("check-704-catalogue")
+	// The release branch's controller judged, with mesh-host's validator of the release branch.
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "pass" ||
+		!strings.HasSuffix(v.Gate.Summary, "the release branch's controller with the release branch's validator") {
+		t.Fatalf("the gate was not judged by the release branch's controller with its node-engine's validator: %+v\n%s",
+			v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	// It names the release branch, the judge's commit, and each repository read beside it at its branch and commit.
+	mark := "[release " + releaseBranch + ", judged by its controller " + controllerRelease[:12] + "] "
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(v.Gate.Summary, mark) || !strings.HasPrefix(v.Repo.Summary, mark) {
+		t.Fatalf("the statuses do not name the release branch and its judge first:\n%s\n%s", v.Gate.Summary, v.Repo.Summary)
+	}
+	if v.Release != releaseBranch || v.JudgedBy != controllerRelease[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names release %q judged by %q, not %s by %s", v.Release, v.JudgedBy, releaseBranch,
+			controllerRelease[:12])
+	}
+	if v.BesideAt["mesh-host"] != releaseBranch || v.Beside["mesh-host"] != hostRelease[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("mesh-host was read at %q (%s), not its release branch at %s", v.BesideAt["mesh-host"],
+			v.Beside["mesh-host"], hostRelease[:12])
+	}
+	// A repository with no release branch is read at its trunk, and says so.
+	if v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"] != "main" || v.Beside["mesh-lab"] != labMain[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("the lab, with no release branch, was read at %q (%s), not main at %s", v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"],
+			v.Beside["mesh-lab"], labMain[:12])
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(v.Report, "read beside it: ") || !strings.Contains(v.Report, "mesh-host "+releaseBranch+" at "+hostRelease[:12]) {
+		t.Fatalf("the report does not say what was read beside it:\n%s", v.Report)
+	}
+	// It says which validator judged: mesh-host's of the release branch, with its commit.
+	if want := "mesh-host's validator of " + releaseBranch + " at " + hostRelease[:12]; v.Validator != want ||
+		!strings.Contains(v.Report, want) {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict says the validator was %q, not %q:\n%s", v.Validator, want, v.Report)
+	}
+	// Each repository read beside it is named with the branch and the commit read.
+	for dir := range beside {
+		if v.BesideAt[dir] == "" || v.Beside[dir] == "" ||
+			!strings.Contains(v.Report, dir+" "+v.BesideAt[dir]+" at "+v.Beside[dir]) {
+			t.Fatalf("%s is not named with its branch and commit: at %q, commit %q\n%s", dir, v.BesideAt[dir],
+				v.Beside[dir], v.Report)
+		}
+	}
+	if n := builds(t, built); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the judge was built %d times for one check", n)
+	}
+	// **The judge is built with the judge cache's Go cache** (ADR 0358 §6), which no check's container mounts, and no
+	// Go environment file.
+	said, _ := os.ReadFile(built)
+	if !strings.Contains(string(said), "GOCACHE="+filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache")+" GOENV=off go build") {
+		t.Fatalf("the release judge was not built with the judge cache's Go cache:\n%s", said)
+	}
+	// **Clause 5**: the head was merged onto the release branch's head, which the verdict names as its trunk commit,
+	// so the release branch's move puts it out of date as a trunk's move does (ADR 0323 §4, the forge's holder).
+	if releaseHead := gitInRepo(t, catalogue, "rev-parse", releaseBranch); v.Trunk != releaseHead[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names trunk %q, not the release branch's head %s", v.Trunk, releaseHead[:12])
+	}
+
+	// **Built once per release-branch head**: a second check while that head stands takes the judge kept.
+	v = check("check-704-catalogue-again")
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(v.Gate.Summary, "the release branch's controller with the release branch's validator") {
+		t.Fatalf("the kept judge did not judge: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if n := builds(t, built); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the judge of the same release-branch head was built again: %d builds", n)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAControllerPullRequestIntoAReleaseBranchReadsTheNodeEngineAtThatBranch(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	beside, _, hostRelease, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	delete(beside, "mesh-controller")
+	controller, head := aPullRequestInto(t, aJudgeOf("the change's controller"), releaseBranch,
+		map[string]string{"cmd/x.txt": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-controller", Repository: controller, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 315, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch,
+		JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"cmd/x.txt"}, Modules: []string{"mesh-controller"}, Judge: "self",
+		Beside: beside, Toolchain: "golang"}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || !strings.HasSuffix(v.Gate.Summary, "the change's controller with the vendored validator") {
+		t.Fatalf("a controller change into a release branch did not judge itself: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if v.BesideAt["mesh-host"] != releaseBranch || v.Beside["mesh-host"] != hostRelease[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("mesh-host was read beside it at %q (%s), not at the release branch's %s", v.BesideAt["mesh-host"],
+			v.Beside["mesh-host"], hostRelease[:12])
+	}
+	if v.Release != releaseBranch || v.JudgedBy == "" || v.JudgedBy != v.Merge[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict names release %q judged by %q, not its own merge %s", v.Release, v.JudgedBy, v.Merge)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAPullRequestIntoTheTrunkIsJudgedAsBefore(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("main's controller"),
+		aJudgeOf("the release branch's controller"))
+	host, hostMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aHostSaying("main's validator"),
+		aHostSaying("the release branch's validator"))
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, "main", map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-trunk", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 1, Base: "main", JudgeCache: t.TempDir(),
+		Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Toolchain: "golang",
+		Beside: map[string]Beside{"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain},
+			"mesh-host": {Repository: host, Ref: hostMain}}}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Summary != "main's controller with the vendored validator" {
+		t.Fatalf("a trunk pull request was not judged by the controller beside it as before: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if v.Release != "" || v.JudgedBy != "" || v.BesideAt != nil || strings.Contains(v.Report, "release branch") {
+		t.Fatalf("a trunk pull request's verdict speaks of a release branch: %q %q %v", v.Release, v.JudgedBy, v.BesideAt)
+	}
+	if v.Beside["mesh-host"] != hostMain[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("mesh-host was read at %s, not the commit asked %s", v.Beside["mesh-host"], hostMain[:12])
+	}
+}
+
+// **Without mesh-host's release branch, the release branch's controller keeps the validator it vendors** (ADR 0358
+// §2), and the verdict says so.
+func TestWithoutTheNodeEnginesReleaseBranchTheJudgeKeepsItsVendoredValidator(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	beside, controllerRelease, _, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	host, hostMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aHostSaying("main's validator"), nil)
+	beside["mesh-host"] = Beside{Repository: host, Ref: releaseBranch, Else: "main"}
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, releaseBranch, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-vendored", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch,
+		JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Beside: beside,
+		Toolchain: "golang"}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || !strings.HasSuffix(v.Gate.Summary, "the release branch's controller with the vendored validator") {
+		t.Fatalf("without mesh-host's release branch the judge did not keep its vendored validator: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if v.JudgedBy != controllerRelease[:12] || v.BesideAt["mesh-host"] != "main" || v.Beside["mesh-host"] != hostMain[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("judged by %q, mesh-host read at %q (%s)", v.JudgedBy, v.BesideAt["mesh-host"], v.Beside["mesh-host"])
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(v.Validator, "controller vendors") || !strings.Contains(v.Report, v.Validator) {
+		t.Fatalf("the verdict does not say the vendored validator judged: %q\n%s", v.Validator, v.Report)
+	}
+}
+
+// **Clause 7** (ADR 0358 §7): a release branch's own pull request into its trunk is checked as any pull request into a
+// trunk — by the controller beside it as the mesh runs it, the repositories at what a trunk check reads — and its
+// verdict names no release branch.
+func TestAReleaseBranchsPullRequestIntoItsTrunkIsJudgedByTheControllerTheMeshRuns(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("the controller the mesh runs"),
+		aJudgeOf("the release branch's controller"))
+	host, hostMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aHostSaying("main's validator"),
+		aHostSaying("the release branch's validator"))
+	catalogue, _, releaseHead := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, map[string]string{
+		"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`, CheckScript: "true\n"},
+		map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "released"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-release-into-trunk", Repository: catalogue,
+		Ref: releaseHead, Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 300, Base: "main", JudgeCache: t.TempDir(),
+		Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Toolchain: "golang",
+		Beside: map[string]Beside{"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain},
+			"mesh-host": {Repository: host, Ref: hostMain}}}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Summary != "the controller the mesh runs with the vendored validator" {
+		t.Fatalf("the release branch's pull request into its trunk was not judged by the controller the mesh runs: %+v\n%s",
+			v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if v.Release != "" || v.JudgedBy != "" || v.BesideAt != nil || v.Validator != "" ||
+		strings.Contains(v.Report, "release branch") || strings.Contains(v.Gate.Summary, "[release") {
+		t.Fatalf("its verdict names a release branch: %q %q %v %q", v.Release, v.JudgedBy, v.BesideAt, v.Validator)
+	}
+	if v.Beside["mesh-host"] != hostMain[:12] || v.Beside["mesh-controller"] != controllerMain[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("beside it were read %v, not the trunk's %s and %s", v.Beside, controllerMain[:12], hostMain[:12])
+	}
+}
+
+// **mesh-lab is read at its trunk, always** (ADR 0358): its replays run with the container runtime's socket, so a
+// branch of the release's name in mesh-lab — which anyone may create — is never what a check reads.
+func TestAReleaseBranchCheckReadsMeshLabAtItsTrunkEvenWhenItHasThatBranch(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	beside, _, _, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	lab, labMain, labRelease := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, map[string]string{"README": "the lab"},
+		map[string]string{"README": "a branch anyone could push"})
+	beside["mesh-lab"] = Beside{Repository: lab, Ref: releaseBranch, Else: "main"}
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, releaseBranch, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-lab", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch,
+		JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Beside: beside,
+		Toolchain: "golang"}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"] != "main" || v.Beside["mesh-lab"] != labMain[:12] || v.Beside["mesh-lab"] == labRelease[:12] {
+		t.Fatalf("mesh-lab was read at %q (%s), not its trunk main at %s", v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"], v.Beside["mesh-lab"],
+			labMain[:12])
+	}
+}
+
+// aPlantedWorkspace is a workspace a pull request's own script has written into, as it can: a git configuration in its
+// HOME whose fsmonitor hook says each directory git runs in, a git configuration under XDG_CONFIG_HOME doing the same,
+// and a Go environment file that would hand the judge's build a tool of its own. It answers the workspace and the
+// file the hook writes to.
+func aPlantedWorkspace(t *testing.T) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	workspace, logs := t.TempDir(), t.TempDir()
+	ran := filepath.Join(logs, "hook-ran")
+	hook := filepath.Join(workspace, "hook.sh")
+	files := map[string]string{
+		hook:                                   "#!/bin/sh\necho \"$PWD\" >> " + ran + "\n",
+		filepath.Join(workspace, ".gitconfig"): "[core]\n\tfsmonitor = " + hook + "\n",
+		filepath.Join(workspace, ".config", "git", "config"): "[core]\n\tfsmonitor = " + hook + "\n",
+		filepath.Join(workspace, ".config", "go", "env"):     "GOFLAGS=-toolexec=" + hook + "\n",
+	}
+	for name, body := range files {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(name), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if err := os.WriteFile(name, []byte(body), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	return workspace, ran
+}
+
+// judgeRanTheHook says whether the planted hook ran in a judge's tree: the controller beside the check, or the
+// change's own when it judges itself.
+func judgeRanTheHook(t *testing.T, ran string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	body, _ := os.ReadFile(ran)
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(body), "\n") {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(line, "/check/mesh-controller") {
+			return string(body)
+		}
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// **Every judge is built where no pull request reaches** (issue 482, ADR 0358 review): a git configuration with a
+// hook, and a Go environment file, planted in the workspace by an earlier pull request's script, do not run during
+// the release judge's build — while the pull request's own script, in the workspace, still meets them.
+func TestAHookPlantedInTheWorkspaceDoesNotRunDuringTheReleaseJudgesBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	homes := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "homes")
+	t.Setenv("JUDGE_HOMES", homes)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	workspace, ran := aPlantedWorkspace(t)
+	beside, _, _, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "git status >/dev/null 2>&1; true\n"}, releaseBranch, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-planted", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch,
+		JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Beside: beside,
+		Toolchain: "golang"}, workspace, registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "pass" {
+		t.Fatalf("the check did not judge: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if body, _ := os.ReadFile(ran); !strings.Contains(string(body), "/check/mesh-catalog") {
+		t.Fatalf("the planted hook never ran, so this test proves nothing: %q", body)
+	}
+	if said := judgeRanTheHook(t, ran); said != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the hook planted in the workspace ran during the judge's build:\n%s", said)
+	}
+	if body, _ := os.ReadFile(homes); len(body) == 0 || strings.Contains(string(body), workspace) {
+		t.Fatalf("the judge was built with a HOME in the workspace: %q", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// The same for the judge built with a node-engine change's own validator, into a release branch (ADR 0358 §2).
+func TestAHookPlantedInTheWorkspaceDoesNotRunDuringTheValidatorJudgesBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	homes := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "homes")
+	t.Setenv("JUDGE_HOMES", homes)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	workspace, ran := aPlantedWorkspace(t)
+	beside, _, _, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+	delete(beside, "mesh-host")
+	files := aHostSaying("the release branch's validator")
+	files["module.json"] = `{"module":"mesh-host"}`
+	files[CheckScript] = "git status >/dev/null 2>&1; true\n"
+	host, head := aPullRequestInto(t, files, releaseBranch, aHostSaying("this change's validator"))
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-planted-validator", Repository: host, Ref: head,
+		Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-host", Number: 111, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch, Judge: "validator",
+		JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"validate/v.go"}, Modules: []string{"mesh-host"}, Beside: beside,
+		Toolchain: "golang"}, workspace, registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || !strings.HasSuffix(v.Gate.Summary, "the release branch's controller with this change's validator") {
+		t.Fatalf("a node-engine change into a release branch was not judged by that branch's controller with its own "+
+			"validator: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	if body, _ := os.ReadFile(ran); !strings.Contains(string(body), "/check/mesh-host") {
+		t.Fatalf("the planted hook never ran, so this test proves nothing: %q", body)
+	}
+	if said := judgeRanTheHook(t, ran); said != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the hook planted in the workspace ran during a judge's build:\n%s", said)
+	}
+	if body, _ := os.ReadFile(homes); strings.Count(string(body), "\n") != 2 || strings.Contains(string(body), workspace) {
+		t.Fatalf("the judges were not both built with a HOME outside the workspace: %q", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// **mesh-lab is never read at a release branch**, asked with a fallback or without (ADR 0358).
+func TestTheBuildSeatNeverReadsMeshLabAtAReleaseBranch(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	lab, labMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, map[string]string{"README": "the lab"},
+		map[string]string{"README": "a branch anyone could push"})
+	for _, asked := range []Beside{{Repository: lab, Ref: releaseBranch}, {Repository: lab, Ref: releaseBranch, Else: "main"}} {
+		beside, _, _, _ := theReleasedMesh(t)
+		beside["mesh-lab"] = asked
+		catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+			CheckScript: "true\n"}, releaseBranch, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+		v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-lab-asked", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head,
+			Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 286, Base: releaseBranch, Release: releaseBranch,
+			JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Beside: beside,
+			Toolchain: "golang"}, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"] != "main" || v.Beside["mesh-lab"] != labMain[:12] {
+			t.Fatalf("mesh-lab asked as %+v was read at %q (%s), not main at %s", asked, v.BesideAt["mesh-lab"],
+				v.Beside["mesh-lab"], labMain[:12])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// **Judges are built warm and where no pull request reaches** (ADR 0358 §6): every judge build uses the judge cache's
+// one Go cache, kept between checks; its home is made fresh under the judge cache and removed after; nothing is left in
+// a temporary directory of the host; and no container a check runs for the pull request mounts the judge cache.
+func TestJudgesAreBuiltWarmFromAJudgeCacheNoCheckContainerMounts(t *testing.T) {
+	built := aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	// Not filled from the test's warm cache: what the first judge's build leaves in the judge cache is what is proved.
+	t.Setenv("WARM_GO_CACHE", "")
+	runs := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "runs")
+	t.Setenv("RUNS", runs)
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", tmp)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	cache := t.TempDir()
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("the controller the mesh runs"), nil)
+	beside := map[string]Beside{"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain}}
+	for i := range 2 {
+		catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+			CheckScript: "true\n"}, "main", map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": fmt.Sprint(i)})
+		v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: fmt.Sprintf("check-704-warm-%d", i), Repository: catalogue,
+			Ref: head, Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 1, Base: "main", JudgeCache: cache,
+			Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Toolchain: "golang", Beside: beside},
+			t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Summary != "the controller the mesh runs with the vendored validator" {
+			t.Fatalf("check %d was not judged: %+v\n%s", i, v.Gate, v.Report)
+		}
+		if i == 0 {
+			if entries, _ := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache")); len(entries) == 0 {
+				t.Fatal("the judge's build left nothing in the judge cache's Go cache to build the next judge warm")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// Both judges built with the one Go cache of the judge cache.
+	said, _ := os.ReadFile(built)
+	if n := strings.Count(string(said), "GOCACHE="+filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache")+" GOENV=off go build"); n != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("%d of 2 judge builds used the judge cache's Go cache:\n%s", n, said)
+	}
+	// Nothing left behind: no home under the judge cache, nothing in the host's temporary directory.
+	if left, _ := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(cache, "homes")); len(left) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("judge builds left %d home(s) under the judge cache", len(left))
+	}
+	if left, _ := os.ReadDir(tmp); len(left) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a check left %d entr(ies) in the temporary directory, e.g. %s", len(left), left[0].Name())
+	}
+	// Only a judge build mounts the judge cache: no container the check runs for the pull request does.
+	body, _ := os.ReadFile(runs)
+	judgeBuilds := 0
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(string(body)), "\n") {
+		judging := strings.Contains(line, " go build ")
+		if judging {
+			judgeBuilds++
+			if !strings.Contains(line, "--volume "+filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache")+":") {
+				t.Fatalf("a judge build did not mount the judge cache's Go cache: %s", line)
+			}
+			continue
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(line, cache) {
+			t.Fatalf("a container the check runs for the pull request names the judge cache: %s", line)
+		}
+	}
+	if judgeBuilds != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("%d judge builds were run, not 2", judgeBuilds)
+	}
+}
+
+// Without a judge cache, a judge is built cold under the check's own root — never in a temporary directory of the
+// host — and a judge cache inside the workspace is refused.
+func TestWithoutAJudgeCacheAJudgeIsBuiltColdUnderTheChecksRoot(t *testing.T) {
+	built := aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	tmp := t.TempDir()
+	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", tmp)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("the controller the mesh runs"), nil)
+	beside := map[string]Beside{"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain}}
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, "main", map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "check-704-cold", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head, Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog",
+		Number: 1, Base: "main", Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"}, Modules: []string{"gitea"},
+		Toolchain: "golang", Beside: beside}
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, spec, workspace, registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "pass" {
+		t.Fatalf("the check was not judged: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	said, _ := os.ReadFile(built)
+	if !strings.Contains(string(said), "GOCACHE="+filepath.Join(workspace, "check", "judge-go-cache")+" GOENV=off go build") {
+		t.Fatalf("without a judge cache the judge was not built under the check's root:\n%s", said)
+	}
+	if left, _ := os.ReadDir(tmp); len(left) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a check left %d entr(ies) in the temporary directory", len(left))
+	}
+	spec.JudgeCache = filepath.Join(workspace, "judge-cache")
+	if _, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, spec, workspace, registry, GitCredential{}, nil); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "inside the workspace") {
+		t.Fatalf("a judge cache inside the workspace was taken: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// aLabWithReplays is mesh-lab with replays: a Go module of its own whose one test passes, needing nothing fetched.
+func aLabWithReplays(t *testing.T) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	lab, labMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, map[string]string{
+		"replays/go.mod":         "module example.org/replays\n\ngo 1.22\n",
+		"replays/replay_test.go": "package replays\n\nimport \"testing\"\n\nfunc TestAReplay(t *testing.T) {}\n",
+	}, nil)
+	return lab, labMain
+}
+
+// **mesh-lab's replays run where no pull request reaches** (novox/hq issue 709, ADR 0358 §6): they hold the container
+// runtime's socket, so a Go environment file with a -toolexec hook and a Go cache and module cache planted in the
+// workspace by a pull request's script are neither run nor read — the replays run from a copy of mesh-lab outside
+// the workspace with a fresh home and the judge cache's caches, all removed or kept outside every check container.
+func TestTheReplaysRunWhereNoPullRequestReaches(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	replays := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "replays")
+	t.Setenv("REPLAYS", replays)
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	workspace, ran := aPlantedWorkspace(t)
+	for _, poisoned := range []string{filepath.Join(workspace, "go-cache", "README"),
+		filepath.Join(workspace, "go-modules", "cache", "download", "planted")} {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(poisoned), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if err := os.WriteFile(poisoned, []byte("planted by a pull request"), 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	cache := t.TempDir()
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("the controller the mesh runs"), nil)
+	lab, labMain := aLabWithReplays(t)
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, "main", map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-709", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head, Owner: "novox",
+		Repo: "mesh-catalog", Number: 1, Base: "main", JudgeCache: cache, Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"},
+		Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Toolchain: "golang", Beside: map[string]Beside{
+			"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain}, "mesh-lab": {Repository: lab, Ref: labMain}}},
+		workspace, registry, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "pass" || !strings.Contains(v.Report, "--- the replays") {
+		t.Fatalf("the replays did not run and pass: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+	}
+	body, _ := os.ReadFile(replays)
+	said := strings.TrimSpace(string(body))
+	if said == "" || strings.Count(said, "\n") != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the replays ran %q, not once", said)
+	}
+	for _, want := range []string{"GOCACHE=" + filepath.Join(cache, "go-cache") + " ",
+		"GOMODCACHE=" + filepath.Join(cache, "go-modules") + " ", "GOENV=off ", "GOFLAGS=-buildvcs=false ",
+		"HOME=" + filepath.Join(cache, "homes", "check-709-replays", "home") + " ",
+		"DIR=" + filepath.Join(cache, "homes", "check-709-replays", "mesh-lab", "replays")} {
+		if !strings.Contains(said, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("the replays did not run with %q: %s", want, said)
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(said, workspace) {
+		t.Fatalf("the replays ran with something of the workspace: %s", said)
+	}
+	if body, _ := os.ReadFile(ran); strings.Contains(string(body), "replays") || strings.Contains(string(body), "mesh-lab") {
+		t.Fatalf("a hook planted in the workspace ran during the replays:\n%s", body)
+	}
+	if left, _ := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(cache, "homes")); len(left) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the replays left %d entr(ies) under the judge cache's homes", len(left))
+	}
+}
+
+// aSelfJudgingControllerThatWritesIntoTheReplays is a controller pull request whose own judge, while the gate runs it,
+// writes a test into the replays beside the check — the reviewer's case for issue 709: code of the pull request's,
+// run before the replays, reaching what they run.
+func aSelfJudgingControllerThatWritesIntoTheReplays(t *testing.T, marker string) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	files := aJudgeOf("the change's controller")
+	evil := "package replays\n\nimport (\n\t\"os\"\n\t\"testing\"\n)\n\nfunc TestEvil(t *testing.T) {\n\t_ = os.WriteFile(" +
+		fmt.Sprintf("%q", marker) + ", []byte(\"ran\"), 0o644)\n}\n"
+	files["cmd/mesh-controller/main.go"] = strings.Replace(files["cmd/mesh-controller/main.go"], "func main() {",
+		"func main() {\n\tif len(os.Args) > 2 && os.Args[1] == \"merge-gate\" {\n\t\t_ = os.WriteFile(os.Getenv(\"MESH_CHECK_BESIDE\")+"+
+			"\"/mesh-lab/replays/evil_test.go\", []byte("+fmt.Sprintf("%q", evil)+"), 0o644)\n\t\t_ = os.WriteFile("+
+			fmt.Sprintf("%q", marker+".wrote")+", nil, 0o644)\n\t}", 1)
+	return aPullRequestInto(t, files, "main", map[string]string{"cmd/x.txt": "x"})
+}
+
+// **The replays never read what a pull request wrote** (issue 709, reviews 12303 and 12308): with a judge cache they
+// run from a copy under it, and a self-judging controller pull request writing a test into the replays beside the
+// check, a planted GOFLAGS hook and a poisoned cache entry in the workspace neither run nor are read. Without one the
+// replays are refused — the gate an error that says why, never a pass, never the workspace — they never start, and
+// nothing is made on the host.
+func TestTheReplaysNeverReadWhatAPullRequestWroteAndNeedAJudgeCache(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, withCache := range []bool{true, false} {
+		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("judge cache %v", withCache), func(t *testing.T) {
+			aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+			replays, volumes := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "replays"), filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "volumes")
+			t.Setenv("REPLAYS", replays)
+			t.Setenv("VOLUMES", volumes)
+			tmp := t.TempDir()
+			t.Setenv("TMPDIR", tmp)
+			registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+			workspace, ran := aPlantedWorkspace(t)
+			if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(workspace, "go-cache"), 0o755); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(workspace, "go-cache", "README"), []byte("planted"), 0o644); err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			evilRan := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "evil-ran")
+			controller, head := aSelfJudgingControllerThatWritesIntoTheReplays(t, evilRan)
+			lab, labMain := aLabWithReplays(t)
+			cache := ""
+			if withCache {
+				cache = t.TempDir()
+			}
+			v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, CheckSpec{ID: "check-709-self", Repository: controller, Ref: head,
+				Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 330, Base: "main", Judge: "self", JudgeCache: cache,
+				Paths: []string{"cmd/x.txt"}, Modules: []string{"mesh-controller"}, Toolchain: "golang",
+				Beside: map[string]Beside{"mesh-lab": {Repository: lab, Ref: labMain}}}, workspace, registry,
+				GitCredential{}, nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if _, err := os.Stat(evilRan + ".wrote"); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("the self-judging pull request did not write into the replays beside it, so this proves nothing: %v", err)
+			}
+			if _, err := os.Stat(evilRan); err == nil {
+				t.Fatal("the test the pull request wrote into the replays ran with the socket")
+			}
+			if body, _ := os.ReadFile(ran); strings.Contains(string(body), "replays") || strings.Contains(string(body), "mesh-lab") {
+				t.Fatalf("a hook planted in the workspace ran during the replays:\n%s", body)
+			}
+			body, _ := os.ReadFile(replays)
+			said := strings.TrimSpace(string(body))
+			if vols, _ := os.ReadFile(volumes); len(vols) != 0 {
+				t.Fatalf("the check made a container volume: %q", vols)
+			}
+			if left, _ := os.ReadDir(tmp); len(left) != 0 {
+				t.Fatalf("a check left %d entr(ies) in the temporary directory", len(left))
+			}
+			if !withCache {
+				if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "error" || !strings.Contains(v.Gate.Summary, replaysNeedTheJudgeCache) ||
+					v.Verdict != "error" {
+					t.Fatalf("without a judge cache the gate said %+v, not an error saying the replays need it", v.Gate)
+				}
+				if said != "" {
+					t.Fatalf("without a judge cache the replays started: %s", said)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+			if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "pass" || !strings.Contains(v.Report, "--- the replays") {
+				t.Fatalf("the replays did not run and pass: %+v\n%s", v.Gate, v.Report)
+			}
+			base := filepath.Join(cache, "homes", "check-709-self-replays")
+			if said == "" || strings.Contains(said, workspace) || !strings.Contains(said, "GOENV=off ") ||
+				!strings.Contains(said, "DIR="+filepath.Join(base, "mesh-lab", "replays")) {
+				t.Fatalf("the replays did not run from the copy under %s, apart from the workspace: %q", base, said)
+			}
+			if _, err := os.Stat(base); err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("the replays' place %s was left after the check", base)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// **Replays the container runtime could not start are the check's error, never the change's failure**, said in the
+// build's log (review 12308); and a check whose id cannot name a place in the judge cache is refused, never given a
+// shared one.
+func TestReplaysThatCannotStartAreAnErrorAndAnUnsafeIDIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	aRuntimeThatBuildsTheJudge(t)
+	t.Setenv("REPLAYS_CANNOT_START", "1")
+	registry := aFactsRegistry(t)
+	controller, controllerMain, _ := aRepositoryWithARelease(t, aJudgeOf("the controller the mesh runs"), nil)
+	lab, labMain := aLabWithReplays(t)
+	catalogue, head := aPullRequestInto(t, map[string]string{"modules/gitea/module.json": `{"module":"gitea"}`,
+		CheckScript: "true\n"}, "main", map[string]string{"modules/gitea/index.ts": "x"})
+	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "check-709-start", Repository: catalogue, Ref: head, Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-catalog",
+		Number: 1, Base: "main", JudgeCache: t.TempDir(), Paths: []string{"modules/gitea/index.ts"},
+		Modules: []string{"gitea"}, Toolchain: "golang", Beside: map[string]Beside{
+			"mesh-controller": {Repository: controller, Ref: controllerMain}, "mesh-lab": {Repository: lab, Ref: labMain}}}
+	var logged []string
+	v, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, spec, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, func(step, message string) {
+		logged = append(logged, message)
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if v.Gate == nil || v.Gate.Verdict != "error" || !strings.Contains(v.Gate.Summary, "could not be started") ||
+		!strings.Contains(v.Gate.Summary, "invalid mount config") {
+		t.Fatalf("replays that could not start were said %+v, not an error naming why", v.Gate)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(strings.Join(logged, "\n"), "the replays could not be started") {
+		t.Fatalf("the build's log does not say what failed:\n%s", strings.Join(logged, "\n"))
+	}
+
+	spec.ID = "Check 1/../../x"
+	if _, err := Check(t.Context(), Command, spec, t.TempDir(), registry, GitCredential{}, nil); err == nil ||
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "cannot name its place in the judge cache") {
+		t.Fatalf("a check with an unsafe id was taken: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/replay713_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 713: after ADR 0350 the walk of novox/mesh-controller#331 built mesh-controller, build-agent and
+// route-proxy again, each "built: no check of novox/mesh-controller#331 built it". The check had built none: its
+// build log said "built for the merge: 0 of 3 module(s)", mesh-controller's go bundle failing with "go.mod file not
+// found". The build seat's holder runs in a container sharing only its workspace with the host, and a build's
+// toolchain container is run by the host's container engine, which mounts a path as the host names it. The check
+// built in a temporary directory of the holder's own (issue 703's copy), which the engine mounted as an empty one.
+
+// aHostsEngine runs as the host's container engine does for a holder in a container: a mount of a path outside the
+// workspace the holder shares with the host is an empty directory, and a Go toolchain finds no go.mod in it.
+type aHostsEngine struct {
+	onTrunk
+	shared string
+}
+
+func (h aHostsEngine) run(ctx context.Context, dir, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+	if name == "docker" && len(args) > 0 && args[0] == "run" {
+		for i, a := range args {
+			if a != "--volume" || i+1 >= len(args) {
+				continue
+			}
+			from, _, _ := strings.Cut(args[i+1], ":")
+			if !withinDir(h.shared, from) {
+				return "", errors.New("go: go.mod file not found in current directory or any parent directory")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return h.onTrunk.run(ctx, dir, name, args...)
+}
+
+// aGoModule is a module of one Go bundle built from a repository's root.
+func aGoModule(module string) map[string]string {
+	files := aSharedRepository("one", "1")
+	files[ManifestName] = `{"module":"` + module + `","version":"1","build":{"artifacts":[
+	  {"name":"server","kind":"bundle","language":"go","system":"arch","from":"cmd/ctl","binary":"ctl"}]},
+	  "resources":[{"id":"server","type":"process","name":"` + module + `","artifact":"server","run":["./ctl"]}]}`
+	return files
+}
+
+// A controller change whose walk moves mesh-controller, build-agent and route-proxy (#331's) has its check build all
+// three, in the workspace the host's engine sees, and the walk of its merge takes each from the check by its key.
+func TestReplay713TheWalkOfAControllerChangeTakesAllThreeFromItsCheck(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	pull := PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 331}
+	held := map[string]string{"mesh-tools-go/build": "registry.invalid/mesh-tools-go/build@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)}
+	repositories := map[string]string{"build-agent": "https://forge.invalid/mesh-catalog-build-agent.git",
+		"route-proxy": "https://forge.invalid/mesh-catalog-route-proxy.git"}
+	checked := func(shared string) (*recorded, aHostsEngine) {
+		r := &recorded{tree: "tree-of-the-merge", contents: aGoModule("mesh-controller"),
+			secondary: map[string]map[string]string{}}
+		for module, repository := range repositories {
+			r.secondary[repository] = aGoModule(module)
+		}
+		return r, aHostsEngine{onTrunk: onTrunk{recorded: r}, shared: shared}
+	}
+	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "build-331", Owner: pull.Owner, Repo: pull.Repo, Number: pull.Number,
+		Builds: []CheckBuildSpec{{Module: "mesh-controller", Merged: true, Tier: 0},
+			{Module: "build-agent", Repository: repositories["build-agent"], Ref: "main", Tier: 1},
+			{Module: "route-proxy", Repository: repositories["route-proxy"], Ref: "main", Tier: 2}}}
+	judged := CheckVerdict{Head: "98e856874913", Trunk: "c975dbf7b053", Merge: "2d22279b1d07"}
+	passed := CheckVerdict{Gate: &Layer{Verdict: "pass"}, Repo: &Layer{Verdict: "pass"}}
+
+	// As it ran: the builds made in the holder's own temporary directory, which the host's engine does not see.
+	shared, outside := t.TempDir(), t.TempDir()
+	merged := filepath.Join(outside, "merged")
+	r, engine := checked(shared)
+	asItRan := buildForTheMerge(t.Context(), engine.run, spec, CheckBuilding{Publish: r, Scratch: newScratch(), Held: held},
+		outside, merged, judged.Merge, judged, GitCredential{}, nil, logging(nil))
+	if builtCount(asItRan) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the engine of this test sees the holder's temporary directory: %+v", asItRan)
+	}
+
+	// The check as it builds now: every module its merge moves, kept under its key.
+	scratch := newScratch()
+	spec.BuildWith = &CheckBuilding{Publish: r, Scratch: scratch, Held: held}
+	built := forTheMerge(t.Context(), engine.run, spec, passed, shared, merged, judged, GitCredential{}, nil,
+		logging(nil))
+	if len(built) != 3 || builtCount(built) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the check built %d of %d module(s) its merge moves: %+v", builtCount(built), len(built), built)
+	}
+	var names []NamedBuild
+	for _, b := range built {
+		n := NamedBuild{Pull: pull, Check: spec.ID, Module: b.Module, Key: b.Key, Digests: map[string]string{}}
+		for _, m := range b.Made {
+			d := m.Digest
+			if d == "" {
+				d = DigestOf(m.Reference)
+			}
+			n.Digests[m.Name] = d
+		}
+		names = append(names, n)
+	}
+
+	// The walk of the merge commit, tier by tier: each module taken from the check, none built.
+	walked := map[string]string{"mesh-controller": "https://forge.invalid/mesh-controller.git"}
+	for module, repository := range repositories {
+		walked[module] = repository
+	}
+	for _, module := range []string{"mesh-controller", "build-agent", "route-proxy"} {
+		w, walk := checked(shared)
+		w.secondary[walked["mesh-controller"]] = aGoModule("mesh-controller")
+		got, err := BuildReusing(t.Context(), walk.run, w, Reuse{Scratch: scratch, Pulls: []PullRef{pull}, Named: names},
+			walked[module], "", "main", t.TempDir(), held, Npmrc{}, GitCredential{}, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%s: %v", module, err)
+		}
+		if got.Reused == nil || got.Why != "" {
+			t.Fatalf("the walk built %s again: %s", module, got.Why)
+		}
+		for _, line := range w.ran {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(line, "docker run") && strings.Contains(line, "go build") {
+				t.Fatalf("the walk compiled %s: %s", module, line)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/builder/replay716_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// novox/hq issue 716: a check built the images its merge moves one after another, and only after its merge-check.sh
+// had passed — 3 to 6 minutes on a check of about 5. The modules of a tier stand on none of each other and are built
+// at the same time; with a judge cache, beside the tests; a check that does not pass lets go of them.
+
+// atOnce is a fake engine whose compiles wait until every one of a tier's has started: builds one after another never
+// get there, and the first one's compile says so.
+type atOnce struct {
+	mu      sync.Mutex
+	r       *recorded
+	want    int
+	started int
+	all     chan struct{}
+	shared  string
+}
+
+func (a *atOnce) run(ctx context.Context, dir, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+	if name == "docker" && len(args) > 0 && args[0] == "run" && strings.Contains(strings.Join(args, " "), "go build") {
+		a.mu.Lock()
+		a.started++
+		if a.started == a.want {
+			close(a.all)
+		}
+		a.mu.Unlock()
+		select {
+		case <-a.all:
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+			return "", errors.New("built alone: no other module of its tier was being built")
+		}
+	}
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	defer a.mu.Unlock()
+	return onTrunk{recorded: a.r}.run(ctx, dir, name, args...)
+}
+
+func (a *atOnce) PublishImage(ctx context.Context, localTag, repository string) (string, error) {
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	defer a.mu.Unlock()
+	return a.r.PublishImage(ctx, localTag, repository)
+}
+
+func (a *atOnce) PublishArchive(ctx context.Context, repository string, body []byte, digest string) (string, error) {
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	defer a.mu.Unlock()
+	return a.r.PublishArchive(ctx, repository, body, digest)
+}
+
+// aLockedScratch is the scratch namespace in memory, said to by builds at once.
+type aLockedScratch struct {
+	mu sync.Mutex
+	*aScratch
+	discarded []CheckBuild
+}
+
+func (s *aLockedScratch) Keep(ctx context.Context, p PullRef, c string, at time.Time, b []CheckBuild) error {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	return s.aScratch.Keep(ctx, p, c, at, b)
+}
+
+func (s *aLockedScratch) Find(ctx context.Context, module, key string) (CheckBuild, bool, error) {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	return s.aScratch.Find(ctx, module, key)
+}
+
+func (s *aLockedScratch) Discard(_ context.Context, b []CheckBuild) error {
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+	s.discarded = append(s.discarded, b...)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// threeAtOnce are three Go modules in one tier, each from its own repository.
+func threeAtOnce(t *testing.T) (*atOnce, CheckSpec, map[string]string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	r := &recorded{tree: "tree-of-the-merge", contents: aGoModule("mesh-controller"),
+		secondary: map[string]map[string]string{}}
+	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "build-716", Owner: "novox", Repo: "mesh-controller", Number: 716,
+		Builds: []CheckBuildSpec{{Module: "mesh-controller", Merged: true, Tier: 0}}}
+	for _, module := range []string{"build-agent", "route-proxy"} {
+		repository := "https://forge.invalid/" + module + ".git"
+		r.secondary[repository] = aGoModule(module)
+		spec.Builds = append(spec.Builds, CheckBuildSpec{Module: module, Repository: repository, Ref: "main", Tier: 0})
+	}
+	held := map[string]string{"mesh-tools-go/build": "registry.invalid/mesh-tools-go/build@sha256:" + strings.Repeat("b", 64)}
+	return &atOnce{r: r, want: 3, all: make(chan struct{})}, spec, held
+}
+
+// The modules of one tier are built at the same time, each in a working copy of its own.
+func TestReplay716TheModulesOfATierAreBuiltAtTheSameTime(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	engine, spec, held := threeAtOnce(t)
+	scratch := &aLockedScratch{aScratch: newScratch()}
+	built := buildForTheMerge(t.Context(), engine.run, spec, CheckBuilding{Publish: engine, Scratch: scratch, Held: held},
+		t.TempDir(), filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "merged"), "2d22279b1d07",
+		CheckVerdict{Head: "98e856874913", Trunk: "c975dbf7b053"}, GitCredential{}, nil, logging(nil))
+	if builtCount(built) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the check built %d of 3 module(s) of one tier: %+v", builtCount(built), built)
+	}
+	if len(scratch.builds) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("the check kept %d build(s), not 3", len(scratch.builds))
+	}
+}
+
+// With a judge cache, the builds run while the tests run, where no container of the check reaches; a check that passed
+// keeps them, and one that failed lets go of every one and names none.
+func TestReplay716TheBuildsRunBesideTheTestsAndAFailedCheckLetsGoOfThem(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	workspace := t.TempDir()
+	if _, err := buildsBesideTheTests(filepath.Join(workspace, "judge-cache"), workspace, "build-716"); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a judge cache inside the workspace was built in, where a pull request's script reaches")
+	}
+	for _, passed := range []bool{true, false} {
+		cache := t.TempDir()
+		place, err := buildsBesideTheTests(cache, workspace, "build-716")
+		if err != nil || !withinDir(cache, place) || withinDir(workspace, place) {
+			t.Fatalf("the builds' place %q (%v) is not the judge cache's, outside the workspace", place, err)
+		}
+		engine, spec, held := threeAtOnce(t)
+		scratch := &aLockedScratch{aScratch: newScratch()}
+		spec.BuildWith = &CheckBuilding{Publish: engine, Scratch: scratch, Held: held}
+		judged := CheckVerdict{Head: "98e856874913", Trunk: "c975dbf7b053", Merge: "2d22279b1d07"}
+		beside := startBesideTheTests(t.Context(), engine.run, spec, place, filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "merged"),
+			judged, GitCredential{}, nil, logging(nil))
+		// The tests: the builds are under way before the check has a verdict.
+		select {
+		case <-engine.all:
+		case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+			t.Fatal("nothing was built while the tests ran")
+		}
+		verdict := CheckVerdict{Gate: &Layer{Verdict: "pass"}, Repo: &Layer{Verdict: "pass"}}
+		if !passed {
+			verdict.Repo.Verdict = "fail"
+		}
+		built := beside.settle(t.Context(), verdict)
+		beside.abandon()
+		switch {
+		case passed && (builtCount(built) != 3 || len(scratch.builds) != 3 || len(scratch.discarded) != 0):
+			t.Fatalf("a check that passed: built %+v, kept %d, let go of %d", built, len(scratch.builds),
+				len(scratch.discarded))
+		case !passed && (built != nil || len(scratch.builds) != 0 || len(scratch.discarded) != 3):
+			t.Fatalf("a check that failed: named %+v, kept %d, let go of %d", built, len(scratch.builds),
+				len(scratch.discarded))
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/builder/reuse.go

@@ -494,11 +494,15 @@ func (r Registry) Discard(ctx context.Context, builds []CheckBuild) error {
 func (r Registry) letGo(ctx context.Context, checks, all map[string]checkIndex) (int, error) {
 	store := r.store()
 	stays := map[string]bool{}
+	// recorded are the records under a key another check still names (novox/hq issue 703): a later check that kept
+	// the build names it as the check's that built it, and the walk finds it by that record.
+	recorded := map[string]bool{}
 	for tag, c := range all {
 		if _, going := checks[tag]; going {
 			continue
 		}
 		for _, b := range c.Builds {
+			recorded[b.Module+" "+b.Key+" "+b.Check] = true
 			for _, m := range b.Made {
 				stays[catalogue.Recorded(m.Reference)] = true
 			}
@@ -523,8 +527,10 @@ func (r Registry) letGo(ctx context.Context, checks, all map[string]checkIndex)
 				}
 			}
 			// The record under the key, only while it is still this check's: a later check of the same key
-			// replaced it, and that one is its own check's to let go of.
-			if kept, found, err := r.Find(ctx, b.Module, b.Key); err == nil && found && kept.Check == c.Check {
+			// replaced it, and that one is its own check's to let go of. A build a check kept is that build's
+			// check's record, and goes with the last check naming it (novox/hq issue 703).
+			if kept, found, err := r.Find(ctx, b.Module, b.Key); err == nil && found &&
+				(kept.Check == c.Check || kept.Check == b.Check) && !recorded[b.Module+" "+b.Key+" "+kept.Check] {
 				if err := store.DeleteTagged(ctx, ScratchPrefix+b.Module, tagOf(b.Key)); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, artifacts.Gone) {
 					ok = false
 					failed = append(failed, fmt.Sprintf("%s's record: %v", b.Module, err))
@@ -610,6 +616,8 @@ func unnamed(named []NamedBuild, module, key string, found CheckBuild) string {
 			return ""
 		}
 	}
-	return "a build is kept under this key, and no check verdict of the walk's pull requests names it with its " +
-		"digests: not taken"
+	// A build of another pull request, or of a head the forge did not merge, is in no verdict the walk is handed
+	// (novox/hq issue 703): said with the check that made it, whose head names which head it was.
+	return "a build is kept under this key, by " + found.Said() + ", and no check verdict of the walk's pull requests " +
+		"at the head the forge merged names it with its digests: not taken"
 }

internal/builder/reuse_test.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
+	"reflect"
 	"slices"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
@@ -73,14 +74,8 @@ const reusedModule = `{"module":"meshboard","version":"1",
 // aModuleAt is a repository holding the module under mod/, whose directory git names as tree, on its trunk.
 func aModuleAt(t *testing.T, tree string) (*recorded, Runner, string) {
 	t.Helper()
-	return aModuleWith(t, tree, map[string]string{"mod/" + ManifestName: reusedModule,
-		"mod/Dockerfile": "FROM scratch", "mod/files/theme.conf": "dark"})
-}
-
-// aModuleWith is aModuleAt with the repository's files given.
-func aModuleWith(t *testing.T, tree string, contents map[string]string) (*recorded, Runner, string) {
-	t.Helper()
-	r := &recorded{tree: tree, contents: contents}
+	r := &recorded{tree: tree, contents: map[string]string{"mod/" + ManifestName: reusedModule,
+		"mod/Dockerfile": "FROM scratch", "mod/files/theme.conf": "dark"}}
 	run := func(ctx context.Context, dir, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
 		if name == "git" && len(args) > 0 && args[0] == "symbolic-ref" {
 			r.ran = append(r.ran, name+" "+strings.Join(args, " "))
@@ -106,12 +101,6 @@ var aPull = PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "meshboard", Number: 7}
 func aCheckBuilt(t *testing.T, scratch *aScratch, tree string) CheckBuilt {
 	t.Helper()
 	r, run, workspace := aModuleAt(t, tree)
-	return aCheckBuiltBy(t, scratch, r, run, workspace)
-}
-
-// aCheckBuiltBy is aCheckBuilt of the repository given.
-func aCheckBuiltBy(t *testing.T, scratch *aScratch, r *recorded, run Runner, workspace string) CheckBuilt {
-	t.Helper()
 	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "build-1", Owner: aPull.Owner, Repo: aPull.Repo, Number: aPull.Number,
 		Builds: []CheckBuildSpec{{Module: "meshboard", Repository: "https://forge.invalid/meshboard.git", Path: "mod",
 			Ref: "main"}}}
@@ -227,7 +216,8 @@ func TestARecordNoVerdictNamesIsRefusedAndBuilt(t *testing.T) {
 			if got.Reused != nil || len(scratch.took) > 0 || !dockerBuilt(r) {
 				t.Fatalf("a record no verdict names was taken: %+v, copied %v", got.Reused, scratch.took)
 			}
-			if !strings.Contains(got.Why, "no check verdict of the walk's pull requests names it") {
+			if !strings.Contains(got.Why, "no check verdict of the walk's pull requests at the head the forge merged names it") ||
+				!strings.Contains(got.Why, "at head abcdefabcdef") {
 				t.Fatalf("the walk says %q", got.Why)
 			}
 		})
@@ -637,3 +627,153 @@ func TestABuildTwoChecksShareGoesWithTheLastOfThem(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("the build stayed after the last check naming it went")
 	}
 }
+
+// aCheckAgain is a later check (build-2) of aPull building the module from a tree, with the builds the build seat's
+// verdicts name for it (novox/hq issue 703).
+func aCheckAgain(t *testing.T, scratch *aScratch, tree string, leave []NamedBuild) (CheckBuilt, *recorded) {
+	t.Helper()
+	return aCheckOf(t, scratch, aPull, "abcdefabcdef", tree, leave)
+}
+
+// aCheckOf is a later check (build-2) of a pull request at a head, the trunk moved since build-1.
+func aCheckOf(t *testing.T, scratch *aScratch, pull PullRef, head, tree string, leave []NamedBuild) (CheckBuilt, *recorded) {
+	t.Helper()
+	r, run, workspace := aModuleAt(t, tree)
+	spec := CheckSpec{ID: "build-2", Owner: pull.Owner, Repo: pull.Repo, Number: pull.Number,
+		Builds: []CheckBuildSpec{{Module: "meshboard", Repository: "https://forge.invalid/meshboard.git", Path: "mod",
+			Ref: "main"}}}
+	built := buildForTheMerge(t.Context(), run, spec, CheckBuilding{Publish: r, Scratch: scratch, Named: leave},
+		workspace, "", "", CheckVerdict{Head: head, Trunk: "654321654321"}, GitCredential{}, nil, logging(nil))
+	if len(built) != 1 || built[0].NotBuilt != "" || built[0].Key == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the second check did not answer the module for its merge: %+v", built)
+	}
+	return built[0], r
+}
+
+// A check asked again when only the trunk moved, whose key is unchanged, builds nothing: it keeps the build an
+// earlier verdict names and names it by key and digest, so the walk can take it (novox/hq issue 703).
+func TestASecondCheckWhoseKeyIsUnchangedBuildsNothingAndNamesTheEarlierBuild(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	scratch := newScratch()
+	first := aCheckBuilt(t, scratch, "tree-one")
+
+	again, r := aCheckAgain(t, scratch, "tree-one", named(first))
+	if dockerBuilt(r) || len(r.images) > 0 || len(r.archives) > 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the second check built again: ran %v, published %v %v", r.ran, r.images, r.archives)
+	}
+	if again.Key != first.Key || again.Kept != "build-1" || !reflect.DeepEqual(again.Made, first.Made) {
+		t.Fatalf("the second check names %+v, not the first check's build %+v", again, first)
+	}
+	// The walk takes it by what the second verdict names.
+	leave := named(again)
+	leave[0].Check = again.Kept
+	w, run, workspace := aModuleAt(t, "tree-one")
+	got, err := BuildReusing(t.Context(), run, w, Reuse{Scratch: scratch, Pulls: []PullRef{aPull}, Named: leave},
+		"https://forge.invalid/meshboard.git", "mod", "main", workspace, nil, Npmrc{}, GitCredential{}, nil)
+	if err != nil || got.Reused == nil || dockerBuilt(w) {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk did not take the kept build: %v, why %q", err, got.Why)
+	}
+}
+
+// A check whose key changed builds, as before.
+func TestASecondCheckWhoseKeyChangedBuilds(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	scratch := newScratch()
+	first := aCheckBuilt(t, scratch, "tree-one")
+
+	again, r := aCheckAgain(t, scratch, "tree-two", named(first))
+	if !dockerBuilt(r) || again.Kept != "" || again.Key == first.Key {
+		t.Fatalf("a check whose key changed did not build: %+v", again)
+	}
+}
+
+// A scratch record no verdict names is never kept: the store takes writes from anything on its network, so a
+// check builds rather than name a planted record (novox/hq issue 703, ADR 0350 §2).
+func TestASecondCheckKeepsNoRecordAVerdictDoesNotName(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	scratch := newScratch()
+	first := aCheckBuilt(t, scratch, "tree-one")
+	for name, leave := range map[string][]NamedBuild{
+		"no verdict": nil,
+		"another digest": func() []NamedBuild {
+			n := named(first)
+			n[0].Digests["server"] = "sha256:" + strings.Repeat("e", 64)
+			return n
+		}(),
+		"another key": func() []NamedBuild { n := named(first); n[0].Key = "r1:" + strings.Repeat("f", 64); return n }(),
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			again, r := aCheckAgain(t, scratch, "tree-one", leave)
+			if !dockerBuilt(r) || again.Kept != "" {
+				t.Fatalf("a record no verdict names was kept: %+v", again)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// A build a later check kept stays when the check that built it goes: its artifacts and its record, which the later
+// check's verdict names (novox/hq issue 703, ADR 0350 §5).
+func TestABuildALaterCheckKeptStaysWhenTheCheckThatBuiltItGoes(t *testing.T) {
+	m := &aTaggingRegistry{aRegistryOfRepositories: newRegistryOfRepositories(), tags: map[string]map[string]string{}}
+	server := httptest.NewServer(m.serve())
+	defer server.Close()
+	address := strings.TrimPrefix(server.URL, "http://")
+	registry := Registry{Address: address}
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 14, 9, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	body := `{"mediaType":"` + mediaManifestOCI + `","layers":[]}`
+	digest := digestOf([]byte(body))
+	m.manifests["scratch/meshboard/server@"+digest] = []byte(body)
+	key := "r1:" + strings.Repeat("1", 64)
+	b := CheckBuild{Key: key, Module: "meshboard", Pull: aPull, Check: "build-1", At: now,
+		Made: []catalogue.Built{{Name: "server", Kind: "image", Reference: address + "/scratch/meshboard/server@" + digest}}}
+	if err := registry.Keep(ctx, aPull, "build-1", now, []CheckBuild{b}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Another pull request's check keeps it: its own document names the build, which stays the first check's.
+	other := PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "meshboard", Number: 8}
+	if err := registry.Keep(ctx, other, "build-2", now, []CheckBuild{b}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	held := func() bool { _, ok := m.manifests["scratch/meshboard/server@"+digest]; return ok }
+	found := func() bool { _, ok, _ := registry.Find(ctx, "meshboard", key); return ok }
+
+	if n, err := registry.Forget(ctx, aPull); err != nil || n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("forgot %d (%v)", n, err)
+	}
+	if !held() || !found() {
+		t.Fatalf("the build a later check names went with the check that built it: held %v, record %v", held(), found())
+	}
+	if n, err := registry.Forget(ctx, other); err != nil || n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("forgot %d (%v)", n, err)
+	}
+	if held() || found() {
+		t.Fatalf("the build stayed after the last check naming it went: held %v, record %v", held(), found())
+	}
+}
+
+// Only an earlier check of the same pull request at the same head is kept from: another head of it, or another pull
+// request whose verdict names the same key and digests, builds (novox/hq issue 703).
+func TestACheckKeepsNoBuildOfAnotherHeadOrPullRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	withVersion(t, "builder-1")
+	other := PullRef{Owner: "novox", Repo: "meshboard", Number: 8}
+	for name, c := range map[string]struct {
+		pull PullRef
+		head string
+	}{
+		"another head":         {aPull, "999999999999"},
+		"another pull request": {other, "abcdefabcdef"},
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			scratch := newScratch()
+			first := aCheckBuilt(t, scratch, "tree-one")
+			leave := named(first)
+			leave[0].Pull = c.pull // as if its own verdict named it
+			again, r := aCheckOf(t, scratch, c.pull, c.head, "tree-one", leave)
+			if !dockerBuilt(r) || again.Kept != "" {
+				t.Fatalf("a build of %s was kept: %+v", name, again)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

internal/builder/same_program.go

@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+)
+
+// A module moves only when its program changes (novox/hq issue 721). A merge check builds every module the delivery
+// plan moves; a module whose every artifact comes out the same as the build the mesh holds of it — the same files,
+// the same modes and owners, the same entrypoint and environment — is said unchanged, and the walk leaves it where it
+// is. **The whole image is compared, never its main binary alone**: a module whose image differs in any file moves.
+// What is ignored is only what a rebuild cannot help changing: each file's time, the image's labels and its creation
+// time. **A comparison that cannot be made says nothing**, and the module is built and moved as before.
+
+// sameAsHeld says whether every artifact made is the same as the build the mesh holds of the module: the sentence
+// that says so and, per artifact, the held reference it was compared with. Empty when any artifact differs, is not
+// an image, has no held build, or could not be compared.
+func sameAsHeld(ctx context.Context, run Runner, dir, module string, made []catalogue.Built,
+	held map[string]string) (string, map[string]string, error) {
+	if len(made) == 0 {
+		return "", nil, nil
+	}
+	against := map[string]string{}
+	for _, m := range made {
+		if m.Kind != "image" || m.Reference == "" {
+			return "", nil, nil
+		}
+		was := held[module+"/"+m.Name]
+		if was == "" {
+			return "", nil, nil
+		}
+		if digestPart(was) != "" && digestPart(was) == digestPart(m.Reference) {
+			against[m.Name] = was
+			continue
+		}
+		now, err := imageContent(ctx, run, dir, m.Reference)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("%s's new image: %w", m.Name, err)
+		}
+		before, err := imageContent(ctx, run, dir, was)
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("%s's held image: %w", m.Name, err)
+		}
+		if now != before {
+			return "", nil, nil
+		}
+		against[m.Name] = was
+	}
+	var names []string
+	for name, ref := range against {
+		names = append(names, name+" "+shortRef(ref))
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return "unchanged: its program is the same as running build " + strings.Join(names, ", "), against, nil
+}
+
+// digestPart is a reference's "sha256:…", empty when it is not pinned.
+func digestPart(ref string) string {
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(ref, "@"); i >= 0 {
+		return ref[i+1:]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// shortRef names a reference by its digest's first twelve characters when it has one.
+func shortRef(ref string) string {
+	if d := strings.TrimPrefix(digestPart(ref), "sha256:"); d != "" {
+		return twelve(d)
+	}
+	return ref
+}
+
+// imageContent is an image's content as one digest: its platform, its configuration without labels, and every file
+// of its filesystem by path, type, mode, owner, link, extended attributes and bytes — never by time.
+func imageContent(ctx context.Context, run Runner, dir, ref string) (string, error) {
+	if _, err := run(ctx, dir, "docker", "pull", "--quiet", ref); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("pulling %s: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	config, err := run(ctx, dir, "docker", "image", "inspect", "--format",
+		"{{.Os}}/{{.Architecture}}/{{.Variant}} {{json .Config}}", ref)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading %s's configuration: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	said, err := configContent(config)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading %s's configuration: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	id, err := run(ctx, dir, "docker", "create", "--entrypoint", "/", ref)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("opening %s's filesystem: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	id = strings.TrimSpace(id)
+	if id == "" {
+		return "", errors.New("the container engine named no container for " + ref)
+	}
+	defer func() { _, _ = run(context.WithoutCancel(ctx), dir, "docker", "rm", "--force", id) }()
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o700); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	file := filepath.Join(dir, "content-"+twelve(id)+".tar")
+	defer os.Remove(file)
+	if _, err := run(ctx, dir, "docker", "export", "--output", file, id); err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading %s's filesystem: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	f, err := os.Open(file)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+	files, err := treeContent(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("reading %s's filesystem: %w", ref, err)
+	}
+	sum := sha256.Sum256([]byte(said + "\n" + files))
+	return "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:]), nil
+}
+
+// configContent is an image's platform and configuration as compared: Labels, the parent's id and the hostname the
+// builder ran under are left out — the first holds the commit, the others no part of what runs.
+func configContent(inspected string) (string, error) {
+	platform, raw, ok := strings.Cut(strings.TrimSpace(inspected), " ")
+	if !ok {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected inspection %q", inspected)
+	}
+	var config map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(raw), &config); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	for _, k := range []string{"Labels", "Image", "Hostname", "Domainname"} {
+		delete(config, k)
+	}
+	out, err := json.Marshal(config) // map keys are sorted
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return platform + " " + string(out), nil
+}
+
+// treeContent is a filesystem tarball's entries, sorted by path, each with everything but its times.
+func treeContent(r io.Reader) (string, error) {
+	tr := tar.NewReader(r)
+	var lines []string
+	for {
+		h, err := tr.Next()
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+		sum := sha256.New()
+		if _, err := io.Copy(sum, tr); err != nil {
+			return "", err
+		}
+		var xattrs []string
+		for k, v := range h.PAXRecords {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(k, "SCHILY.xattr.") {
+				xattrs = append(xattrs, k+"="+hex.EncodeToString([]byte(v)))
+			}
+		}
+		sort.Strings(xattrs)
+		lines = append(lines, fmt.Sprintf("%q %c %o %d:%d %q %d,%d %d %x %s",
+			strings.TrimPrefix(h.Name, "./"), h.Typeflag, h.Mode, h.Uid, h.Gid, h.Linkname, h.Devmajor, h.Devminor,
+			h.Size, sum.Sum(nil), strings.Join(xattrs, ";")))
+	}
+	sort.Strings(lines)
+	return strings.Join(lines, "\n"), nil
+}

internal/builder/same_program_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+package builder
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
+)
+
+// aFilesystem is a filesystem tarball of files, each written at the time given.
+func aFilesystem(t *testing.T, at time.Time, files map[string]string) []byte {
+	t.Helper()
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(&buf)
+	for _, name := range []string{"usr/local/bin/mesh-builder", "etc/apk/world"} {
+		body, ok := files[name]
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{Name: name, Mode: 0o755, Size: int64(len(body)), ModTime: at,
+			Typeflag: tar.TypeReg}); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if _, err := tw.Write([]byte(body)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := tw.Close(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return buf.Bytes()
+}
+
+// anEngine answers the container engine's commands for images by reference: each image's filesystem and labels.
+func anEngine(images map[string][]byte, labels map[string]string, failing string) Runner {
+	created := map[string]string{}
+	return func(_ context.Context, _ string, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+		joined := strings.Join(args, " ")
+		ref := args[len(args)-1]
+		if failing != "" && strings.Contains(joined, failing) {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("the engine refused %s", joined)
+		}
+		switch {
+		case args[0] == "pull", args[0] == "rm":
+			return "", nil
+		case args[0] == "image":
+			return fmt.Sprintf(`linux/amd64/ {"Entrypoint":["/usr/local/bin/mesh-builder"],"Labels":{"commit":%q}}`,
+				labels[ref]), nil
+		case args[0] == "create":
+			id := fmt.Sprintf("container%04d", len(created))
+			created[id] = ref
+			return id + "\n", nil
+		case args[0] == "export":
+			return "", os.WriteFile(args[2], images[created[ref]], 0o600)
+		}
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected %s %s", name, joined)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestAModuleWhoseProgramDidNotChangeIsSaidUnchanged is novox/hq issue 721: mesh-controller #335 changed one sentence
+// in a package mesh-builder imports and never reaches, and build-agent moved. Built again, its image differs only in
+// the files' times and its commit label, and the check says it is the same as the build the mesh holds.
+func TestAModuleWhoseProgramDidNotChangeIsSaidUnchanged(t *testing.T) {
+	held := map[string]string{"build-agent/agent": "store/build-agent@sha256:aaaa"}
+	made := []catalogue.Built{{Name: "agent", Kind: "image", Reference: "scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb"}}
+	files := map[string]string{"usr/local/bin/mesh-builder": "the same program", "etc/apk/world": "docker-cli\ngit\n"}
+	images := map[string][]byte{
+		"store/build-agent@sha256:aaaa":   aFilesystem(t, time.Unix(1000, 0), files),
+		"scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb": aFilesystem(t, time.Unix(2000, 0), files),
+	}
+	labels := map[string]string{"store/build-agent@sha256:aaaa": "a5500f73", "scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb": "c2ec0a60"}
+	same, against, err := sameAsHeld(context.Background(), anEngine(images, labels, ""), t.TempDir(), "build-agent",
+		made, held)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(same, "unchanged: its program is the same as running build agent") ||
+		against["agent"] != held["build-agent/agent"] {
+		t.Fatalf("an image the same but for its times and labels is not said unchanged: %q %v", same, against)
+	}
+
+	// **Any file differing moves it**, not only its program.
+	changed := map[string]string{"usr/local/bin/mesh-builder": "the same program", "etc/apk/world": "docker-cli\ngit\ncurl\n"}
+	images["scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb"] = aFilesystem(t, time.Unix(2000, 0), changed)
+	if same, _, err := sameAsHeld(context.Background(), anEngine(images, labels, ""), t.TempDir(), "build-agent", made,
+		held); err != nil || same != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("an image with another file is said unchanged: %q %v", same, err)
+	}
+
+	// **A comparison that fails says nothing**, and the module moves.
+	images["scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb"] = aFilesystem(t, time.Unix(2000, 0), files)
+	if same, _, err := sameAsHeld(context.Background(), anEngine(images, labels, "export"), t.TempDir(), "build-agent",
+		made, held); err == nil || same != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a comparison that failed said %q, %v", same, err)
+	}
+
+	// No held build, or an artifact that is not an image: nothing compared.
+	if same, _, _ := sameAsHeld(context.Background(), anEngine(images, labels, ""), t.TempDir(), "build-agent", made,
+		nil); same != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("a module the mesh holds no build of is said unchanged: %q", same)
+	}
+	archive := []catalogue.Built{{Name: "agent", Kind: "archive", Reference: "scratch/build-agent@sha256:bbbb"}}
+	if same, _, _ := sameAsHeld(context.Background(), anEngine(images, labels, ""), t.TempDir(), "build-agent",
+		archive, held); same != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("an archive is said unchanged without being compared: %q", same)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestAnImageWithAnotherEntrypointIsNotTheSame: the configuration counts, but for its labels.
+func TestAnImageWithAnotherEntrypointIsNotTheSame(t *testing.T) {
+	a, err := configContent(`linux/amd64/ {"Entrypoint":["/a"],"Labels":{"commit":"1"}}`)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	b, _ := configContent(`linux/amd64/ {"Labels":{"commit":"2"},"Entrypoint":["/a"]}`)
+	c, _ := configContent(`linux/amd64/ {"Entrypoint":["/b"],"Labels":{"commit":"1"}}`)
+	if a != b || a == c {
+		t.Fatalf("labels count, or the entrypoint does not: %q %q %q", a, b, c)
+	}
+}

internal/builder/source.go

@@ -58,9 +58,6 @@ type sourceInputs struct {
 	// whole when an artifact's is not known (novox/hq ADR 0267).
 	own      map[string]bool
 	ownIsAll bool
-	// root is the module's build source in its own repository outside its directory, relative to the
-	// repository's root: the list of predefined keys a manifest naming one was judged against (ADR 0348 §7).
-	root map[string]bool
 	// read is, per context (repository and ref), the build source read there; nil for one read whole.
 	read   map[string]map[string]bool
 	readAs map[string]catalogue.ArtifactContext
@@ -89,9 +86,6 @@ func (s *sourceInputs) copy() *sourceInputs {
 	for k, v := range s.own {
 		c.own[k] = v
 	}
-	for k, v := range s.root {
-		c.root[k] = v
-	}
 	for k, v := range s.read {
 		if v == nil {
 			c.read[k] = nil
@@ -118,7 +112,7 @@ func (s *sourceInputs) contextOffHead() {
 
 func newSourceInputs(module string) *sourceInputs {
 	return &sourceInputs{module: module, contexts: map[string]string{}, toolchains: map[string]string{},
-		own: map[string]bool{}, root: map[string]bool{}, read: map[string]map[string]bool{}, readAs: map[string]catalogue.ArtifactContext{},
+		own: map[string]bool{}, read: map[string]map[string]bool{}, readAs: map[string]catalogue.ArtifactContext{},
 		contextsAtHead: true}
 }
 
@@ -132,16 +126,6 @@ func (s *sourceInputs) ownHas(entries ...string) {
 	}
 }
 
-// rootHas adds entries, relative to the repository's root, to the module's build source in its own repository.
-func (s *sourceInputs) rootHas(entries ...string) {
-	if s == nil {
-		return
-	}
-	for _, e := range entries {
-		s.root[e] = true
-	}
-}
-
 // ownWhole says an artifact's build source in the module's own repository is not known: the module's
 // whole directory is its source, as it was before.
 func (s *sourceInputs) ownWhole() {
@@ -194,9 +178,6 @@ func (s *sourceInputs) buildSources() []BuildSource {
 		for e := range s.own {
 			own = append(own, withPrefix(s.prefix, e))
 		}
-		for e := range s.root {
-			own = append(own, e)
-		}
 		sort.Strings(own)
 		out = append(out, BuildSource{Paths: compactSorted(own)})
 	}

internal/builder/template.go

@@ -1,94 +0,0 @@
-package builder
-
-import (
-	"archive/tar"
-	"bytes"
-	"compress/gzip"
-	"crypto/sha256"
-	"encoding/hex"
-	"errors"
-	"fmt"
-	"io"
-	"path/filepath"
-
-	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/catalogue"
-)
-
-// withTemplateTexts is what was built with each template's text, for a module whose files name templates
-// (novox/hq ADR 0349 §2): its templates archive gains the text of every file in it, read back from the packed
-// bytes, by its path inside the archive. Resolve reads them into the files' content.
-//
-// **Read from the archive, proven by its digest.** The module's files/ is packed again, as the build packs it,
-// and the bytes are read only when they hash to the digest the build made or took: a fresh build's own archive,
-// or a check's build a walk copied by digest without building (novox/hq ADR 0350 §2). Packing is deterministic,
-// so one source packs to one digest; a tree that packs to another is not the archive, and its text is refused.
-func withTemplateTexts(manifest catalogue.Manifest, within string, built []catalogue.Built) ([]catalogue.Built, error) {
-	if !manifest.Templated() {
-		return built, nil
-	}
-	name := catalogue.TemplatesArtifact(manifest)
-	at := -1
-	for i, b := range built {
-		if b.Name == name {
-			at = i
-		}
-	}
-	if name == "" || at < 0 {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s names templates and built no archive of %s/ to read them from",
-			manifest.Module, catalogue.TemplatesDir)
-	}
-	body, err := pack(filepath.Join(within, catalogue.TemplatesDir))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: packing %s/ to read its templates back failed: %w", manifest.Module,
-			catalogue.TemplatesDir, err)
-	}
-	sum := sha256.Sum256(body)
-	digest := "sha256:" + hex.EncodeToString(sum[:])
-	if built[at].Digest != digest {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %s/ packs to the digest %s, and the archive %q built or taken is %s: the "+
-			"templates are read only from the archive the mesh records", manifest.Module, catalogue.TemplatesDir,
-			digest, name, orNone(built[at].Digest))
-	}
-	texts, err := unpackTexts(body)
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: reading the archive %q back failed: %w", manifest.Module, name, err)
-	}
-	out := append([]catalogue.Built(nil), built...)
-	out[at].Texts = texts
-	return out, nil
-}
-
-// unpackTexts is every file of a packed archive (pack), by its path inside it.
-func unpackTexts(body []byte) (map[string]string, error) {
-	zipped, err := gzip.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(body))
-	if err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-	defer zipped.Close()
-	reader := tar.NewReader(zipped)
-	texts := map[string]string{}
-	for {
-		header, err := reader.Next()
-		if errors.Is(err, io.EOF) {
-			return texts, nil
-		}
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		if header.Typeflag != tar.TypeReg {
-			continue
-		}
-		text, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
-		if err != nil {
-			return nil, err
-		}
-		texts[header.Name] = string(text)
-	}
-}
-
-func orNone(digest string) string {
-	if digest == "" {
-		return "no digest"
-	}
-	return digest
-}