diff --git a/internal/apply/apply.go b/internal/apply/apply.go
index fff75e1..6bdb549 100644
--- a/internal/apply/apply.go
+++ b/internal/apply/apply.go
@@ -56,6 +56,8 @@ type Outcome struct {
 	kept string
 	// stateless is a service whose unit's lifecycle is the machine's (novox/hq ADR 0117).
 	stateless bool
+	// found is, for a service, its unit as the host first found it (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	found *store.FoundUnit
 	// reads is, for a container, the digest of each file it was created reading, by path — so
 	// the next apply can say which one changed (novox/hq 04-ISSUES/103).
 	reads map[string]string
@@ -168,6 +170,14 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 		// as the service that took it over is (novox/hq ADR 0105).
 		declared[takeOverID(svc)] = true
 	}
+	// What an unfinished apply found a unit as is kept only while its service is declared: one
+	// declared again later is read afresh, as any resource with no record is (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	known.DropFoundUndeclared(declared, origin)
+
+	// Which units the mesh made, read before any removal can take a unit file's record away — so
+	// whichever order a module declared a unit and its file in, the unit is known for the mesh's
+	// when its service goes (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	made := meshMadeUnits(known)
 
 	// Which firewall is found here, before anything else, since an unsupported one refuses the
 	// whole declaration (novox/hq ADR 0100). Nothing for a converged node.
@@ -186,7 +196,7 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 		if declaration.Type(orphan.Type) == declaration.TypeOpening {
 			action, detail, err = removeOpening(ctx, orphan, run, known.Firewall)
 		} else {
-			action, detail, err = remove(ctx, sys, orphan, run)
+			action, detail, err = remove(ctx, sys, orphan, run, made)
 		}
 		if err != nil {
 			return &Error{Resource: orphan.ID, Err: err, Done: report}
@@ -383,6 +393,14 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 		}
 
 		was, _ := known.Find(resource.Identity())
+		// What an earlier apply of this service found its unit as and could not yet record is
+		// newer than anything the record says — the record's own finding with what was read
+		// since — so it is what this apply goes on from (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+		previous := was
+		if p, ok := known.FoundFirst[resource.Identity()]; ok {
+			f := p.FoundUnit
+			previous.Found = &f
+		}
 		var outcome Outcome
 		var err error
 		if o, isOpening := resource.(*declaration.Opening); isOpening {
@@ -395,9 +413,15 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 				!known.Recorded(string(declaration.TypeFile), f.Path) {
 				keepFound = keep
 			}
-			outcome, err = applyOne(ctx, sys, resource, run, changed, in, was, unseal, keepFound)
+			outcome, err = applyOne(ctx, sys, resource, run, changed, in, previous, unseal, keepFound)
 		}
 		if err != nil {
+			// **What was found is kept whatever the apply then did** (novox/hq ADR 0118). The
+			// failure may have come after the mesh enabled or started the unit, and the next apply
+			// would otherwise read that as the machine's own.
+			if outcome.found != nil {
+				known.KeepFound(resource.Identity(), origin, *outcome.found)
+			}
 			failed := &Error{Resource: resource.Identity(), Err: err, Done: report}
 			failures = append(failures, failed)
 			log(fmt.Sprintf("  failed %s (%s): %v", resource.Identity(), outcome.Target, err))
@@ -465,8 +489,12 @@ func ApplyKeeping(
 			Kept:      kept,
 			Reads:     outcome.reads,
 			Stateless: outcome.stateless,
+			Found:     outcome.found,
 			Holds:     holds(resource),
 		})
+		if outcome.found != nil {
+			known.DropFound(resource.Identity())
+		}
 		// Its module has been taken, and what was held for it is now the mesh's. A file written
 		// into, or a service whose lifecycle is the machine's, replaced nothing that was found, so
 		// its outcome says what the apply did, not that a cutover happened; a hold from when it was
@@ -545,7 +573,7 @@ func applyOne(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r declaration.Resource, ru
 	case *declaration.File:
 		return applyFile(res, previous, unseal, keepFound)
 	case *declaration.Service:
-		return applyService(ctx, sys, res, run, changed)
+		return applyService(ctx, sys, res, run, changed, previous)
 	case *declaration.Package:
 		return applyPackage(ctx, sys, res, run)
 	case *declaration.Container:
@@ -922,7 +950,7 @@ type unitReloader interface {
 }
 
 func applyService(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r *declaration.Service, run Runner,
-	changed map[string]bool) (Outcome, error) {
+	changed map[string]bool, previous store.Applied) (Outcome, error) {
 	if r.Stateless() {
 		return reflectOnly(ctx, sys, r, run, changed)
 	}
@@ -940,6 +968,21 @@ func applyService(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r *declaration.Service
 		}
 	}
 
+	// **What the unit was before the mesh touched it**, read once and carried in the record from
+	// then on (novox/hq ADR 0118). Undeclared, the unit is given back to exactly this: it is the one
+	// fact that separates the container runtime, running before the mesh arrived and to be left
+	// running, from the mesh's packet filter, stopped until the mesh started it and to be stopped
+	// again. Read after the reload above, never before it: a unit whose file this same apply wrote
+	// is not a unit the service manager knows until then, and reading it first would find nothing.
+	found, gaveBack, err := foundAs(ctx, sys, r, run, previous)
+	if err != nil {
+		return out, err
+	}
+	out.found = found
+	if gaveBack != "" {
+		changes = append(changes, gaveBack)
+	}
+
 	// Boot first. A unit asked to be running and enabled should survive this apply failing
 	// half way in the more useful direction: enabled-and-stopped comes back at the next boot,
 	// where running-and-disabled does not.
@@ -948,6 +991,15 @@ func applyService(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r *declaration.Service
 		if err != nil {
 			return out, err
 		}
+		// Whether it started at boot is found the first time the mesh is about to change that —
+		// which is not always the first apply: a declaration that said nothing about boot never
+		// touched it, so what is there when one first does is still the machine's (novox/hq ADR
+		// 0118). Kept before the change, so a failure after it still has it.
+		if out.found != nil && out.found.Boot == "" {
+			f := *out.found
+			f.Boot = bootBefore
+			out.found = &f
+		}
 		if bootBefore != r.Boot {
 			if err := sys.SetServiceBoot(ctx, run, r.Unit, r.Boot); err != nil {
 				return out, fmt.Errorf("setting %s to %s at boot: %w", r.Unit, r.Boot, err)
@@ -1112,7 +1164,10 @@ func reflectOnly(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r *declaration.Service,
 // It returns the action rather than assuming "removed", because for half the vocabulary the
 // honest word is "forgotten". A host that reported a package removed when it left the package
 // installed would be describing an effect it declined to have.
-func remove(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, a store.Applied, run Runner) (string, string, error) {
+//
+// made is the units whose unit file this host wrote where there was none (meshMadeUnits).
+func remove(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, a store.Applied, run Runner,
+	made map[string]bool) (string, string, error) {
 	switch declaration.Type(a.Type) {
 	case declaration.TypeDirectory:
 		// **A directory with anything left in it is kept, and that is the rule that protects
@@ -1160,30 +1215,12 @@ func remove(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, a store.Applied, run Runner)
 		return "removed", "no longer declared", nil
 
 	case declaration.TypeService:
-		// A unit whose lifecycle was the machine's is left exactly as it is (novox/hq ADR 0117):
-		// stopping it here is how unassigning an uplink module would take down the machine's
-		// network manager, and with it the channel the mesh reaches the machine on.
-		if a.Stateless {
-			return "forgotten", "its state was never the mesh's", nil
-		}
-		// A unit that is no longer declared is stopped, not deleted. The host did not install
-		// it and does not own the unit file — only the state it put the unit into.
-		//
-		// A unit that no longer EXISTS is already in the state removal is trying to reach, and
-		// saying so matters: stopping it fails, and a failure here fails the whole apply. A
-		// host holding a record of an uninstalled unit would then be unable to apply anything,
-		// ever, with no way out but editing its state by hand. Removal is idempotent for the
-		// same reason `os.RemoveAll` is.
-		if _, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, a.Target); err != nil {
-			if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "does not exist on this machine") {
-				return "forgotten", "the unit no longer exists", nil
-			}
-			return "", "", err
-		}
-		if err := sys.SetServiceState(ctx, run, a.Target, "stopped"); err != nil {
-			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("stopping %s: %w", a.Target, err)
-		}
-		return "removed", "stopped; the unit file is not the host's to delete", nil
+		return removeService(ctx, sys, a, run, made[a.Target])
+
+	case declaration.TypeProcess:
+		// The other side of the same line: a process's unit is the host's own — it wrote the unit
+		// file and unpacked the bundle — so it goes with its declaration (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+		return removeProcess(ctx, a, run)
 
 	case declaration.TypeContainer:
 		// The host CREATED this one, so the host removes it. That is the line: it removes what
@@ -2019,3 +2056,180 @@ func declaredDigest(r declaration.Resource) string {
 	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%x", sha256.Sum256([]byte(material)))
 }
+
+// removeService gives a unit back the state the host first found it in, and nothing more.
+//
+// **Removes what it made, gives back what it changed, leaves what was the machine's**
+// (novox/hq ADR 0118). A service resource never installs a unit; it puts one that already existed
+// into a state. So undeclaring it cannot mean stopping it — that is how unassigning the private
+// network stopped the container runtime and every container with it, how unassigning sshd would
+// have stopped ssh, and how an uplink module would have taken a machine off its only link
+// (novox/hq issue 130). It means undoing what the mesh did to it: a unit found running is left
+// running; a unit the mesh started is stopped again, and disabled again if the mesh enabled it.
+//
+// **A unit whose file the mesh wrote is the mesh's, whatever was found** — made is that. The
+// adoption guard and the converge filter are units of exactly this kind: their unit files are the
+// mesh's own `file` resources, written where there was none, and records written before the host
+// kept what it found say nothing about them. Forgetting one would leave its table loaded — the
+// guard beside a converged node's own filter, or the filter beside the predecessor's firewall
+// re-enabled — and its unit file then deleted from under a running unit. So it is stopped and
+// disabled at boot, as a process's unit is, before its file goes: orphans are removed newest
+// first, and a unit's file is declared before the service that starts it.
+//
+// **Never started on the way out.** A unit the mesh stopped is not started again when its
+// declaration goes: starting something is a decision, and the operator makes it. The report says
+// what was actually done — a unit already as it was found is forgotten, not "restored".
+func removeService(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, a store.Applied, run Runner,
+	made bool) (string, string, error) {
+	if a.Stateless {
+		// Declared with no state (novox/hq ADR 0117): its lifecycle was never the mesh's, and the
+		// declaration that said so is the operator's word to hold to, a file of the mesh's or not.
+		return "forgotten", "its state was never the mesh's", nil
+	}
+	if !made && a.Found == nil {
+		// Recorded before the host kept what it found. Not knowing, it leaves the unit as it is:
+		// a unit left running can be stopped by the operator, and one stopped by mistake may be
+		// the link the operator would use to do it.
+		return "forgotten", "recorded before the host kept what it found; left as it is", nil
+	}
+	stop := made || a.Found.State == "stopped"
+	disable := made || a.Found.Boot == "disabled"
+
+	if !stop && !disable {
+		// Found running, and not disabled by anyone but the mesh: nothing to give back. What the
+		// mesh did since is said, so a unit left stopped is not reported as the machine's doing —
+		// read as well as the machine answers, since nothing here acts on the answer.
+		state, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, a.Target)
+		if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "does not exist on this machine") {
+			return "forgotten", "the unit no longer exists", nil
+		}
+		var did []string
+		if err == nil && state == "stopped" {
+			did = append(did, "stopped it")
+		}
+		if a.Found.Boot == "enabled" {
+			if boot, err := sys.ServiceBoot(ctx, run, a.Target); err == nil && boot == "disabled" {
+				did = append(did, "disabled it at boot")
+			}
+		}
+		if len(did) > 0 {
+			return "forgotten", "left as it is; the mesh " + strings.Join(did, " and ") +
+				" and does not start anything on the way out", nil
+		}
+		return "forgotten", "it was running before the mesh; left as it is", nil
+	}
+
+	// Something may be given back, so the unit must still be there to give it to. One since
+	// uninstalled is already as far from the mesh as it can be, and saying so keeps a record of it
+	// from failing every apply.
+	state, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, a.Target)
+	if err != nil {
+		if strings.Contains(err.Error(), "does not exist on this machine") {
+			return "forgotten", "the unit no longer exists", nil
+		}
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+	var did, already []string
+	if stop {
+		if state != "stopped" {
+			if err := sys.SetServiceState(ctx, run, a.Target, "stopped"); err != nil {
+				return "", "", fmt.Errorf("stopping %s, which the mesh started: %w", a.Target, err)
+			}
+			did = append(did, "stopped")
+		} else {
+			already = append(already, "stopped")
+		}
+	}
+	if disable {
+		// Disabled unless it reads as disabled: a unit the service manager cannot say a boot state
+		// for — one with no install section — takes a disable as a no-op, and asking is how the
+		// host stays sure the mesh's enable did not outlive it.
+		if boot, err := sys.ServiceBoot(ctx, run, a.Target); err == nil && boot == "disabled" {
+			already = append(already, "disabled at boot")
+		} else {
+			if err := sys.SetServiceBoot(ctx, run, a.Target, "disabled"); err != nil {
+				return "", "", fmt.Errorf("disabling %s, which the mesh enabled: %w", a.Target, err)
+			}
+			did = append(did, "disabled at boot")
+		}
+	}
+
+	if made {
+		if len(did) == 0 {
+			return "forgotten", "already stopped and disabled at boot; the mesh wrote its unit file", nil
+		}
+		return "removed", strings.Join(did, ", ") + "; the mesh wrote its unit file, so the unit is the mesh's own", nil
+	}
+	if len(did) == 0 {
+		return "forgotten", "already as the host found it (" + strings.Join(already, ", ") + ")", nil
+	}
+	detail := strings.Join(did, ", ") + ", as the host found it"
+	if len(already) > 0 {
+		detail += "; already " + strings.Join(already, ", ")
+	}
+	return "restored", detail, nil
+}
+
+// foundAs is what a service's unit was before the mesh touched it, as far as this host can know:
+// what an earlier apply recorded, or — the first time the mesh is about to act on the unit — what
+// is there now (novox/hq ADR 0118). Nil when it cannot be known: a record written before the host
+// kept this has had the mesh acting on the unit since, and a reading now would be the mesh's doing.
+//
+// Read now as well, besides on a first apply, where the mesh has never acted on this unit's state
+// although a record exists: the record is of a service declared with no state (novox/hq ADR 0117),
+// which the mesh never starts or stops, or of another unit altogether. What was found about one
+// unit says nothing about another, so a service moved to a new unit gives the old one back, just as
+// if it had been undeclared, and is read afresh for the new one; gave says what that gave back.
+func foundAs(ctx context.Context, sys system.System, r *declaration.Service, run Runner,
+	previous store.Applied) (found *store.FoundUnit, gave string, err error) {
+	if f := previous.Found; f != nil {
+		unit := f.Unit
+		if unit == "" {
+			unit = previous.Target
+		}
+		if unit == "" || unit == r.Unit {
+			return f, "", nil
+		}
+		// Given back as if undeclared, never as the mesh's own: whether the mesh wrote the old
+		// unit's file is known to the removal of orphans, and that file's own record goes with it.
+		action, detail, err := removeService(ctx, sys,
+			store.Applied{Type: string(declaration.TypeService), Target: unit, Found: f}, run, false)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, "", fmt.Errorf("giving %s back as the host found it, now that %s is declared instead: %w",
+				unit, r.Unit, err)
+		}
+		if action == "restored" {
+			gave = unit + " " + detail
+		}
+	} else if previous.ID != "" && !previous.Stateless && previous.Target == r.Unit {
+		return nil, "", nil
+	}
+	state, err := sys.ServiceState(ctx, run, r.Unit)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, gave, err
+	}
+	return &store.FoundUnit{Unit: r.Unit, State: state}, gave, nil
+}
+
+// meshMadeUnits is every unit whose unit file this host wrote whole where there was none: a `file`
+// record with no kept original and not written into, at a unit's own path under a directory the
+// service manager loads administrators' units from — or the one the host writes a process's unit
+// in. Such a unit is the mesh's, whatever was found (novox/hq ADR 0118); see removeService.
+//
+// A drop-in is not the unit's own file, and a file the host wrote over is the machine's unit with
+// the mesh's text in it: its original is kept, and put back when the file's record goes.
+func meshMadeUnits(known store.State) map[string]bool {
+	made := map[string]bool{}
+	dirs := map[string]bool{"/etc/systemd/system": true, "/run/systemd/system": true,
+		filepath.Clean(unitDir): true}
+	for _, r := range known.Resources {
+		if r.Type != string(declaration.TypeFile) || r.Kept != "" || r.Into != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		path := filepath.Clean(r.Target)
+		if dirs[filepath.Dir(path)] {
+			made[filepath.Base(path)] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return made
+}
diff --git a/internal/apply/apply_test.go b/internal/apply/apply_test.go
index 31c04e5..fdde6c0 100644
--- a/internal/apply/apply_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/apply_test.go
@@ -348,33 +348,111 @@ func TestAnUnknownServiceStateIsRefusedNotGuessed(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestADroppedServiceIsStoppedNotDeleted(t *testing.T) {
-	// The host did not install the unit and does not own the unit file — only the state it put
-	// the unit into.
-	var commands []string
+func TestADroppedServiceIsGivenBackTheStateItWasFoundIn(t *testing.T) {
+	// novox/hq ADR 0118: undeclaring removes what the mesh made, gives back what it changed, and
+	// leaves what was the machine's. A service resource never installs a unit — so undeclaring it
+	// undoes what the mesh did to the unit, and nothing more. Stopping every undeclared unit is
+	// how unassigning the private network stopped the container runtime (novox/hq issue 130).
+	cases := []struct {
+		name    string
+		found   *store.FoundUnit
+		action  string
+		stop    bool
+		disable bool
+	}{
+		{"recorded before the host kept what it found", nil, "forgotten", false, false},
+		{"running before the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running"}, "forgotten", false, false},
+		{"running and enabled before the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running", Boot: "enabled"}, "forgotten", false, false},
+		{"started by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped"}, "restored", true, false},
+		{"started and enabled by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped", Boot: "disabled"}, "restored", true, true},
+		{"enabled by the mesh, running before it", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running", Boot: "disabled"}, "restored", false, true},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			var commands []string
+			run := func(ctx context.Context, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+				commands = append(commands, strings.Join(args, " "))
+				if args[0] == "show" {
+					return "LoadState=loaded\nActiveState=active\n", nil
+				}
+				return "", nil
+			}
+			state := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{
+				{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "unit.service", Found: c.found},
+			}}
+			d := parse(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+			  {"id":"other","type":"file","path":"`+filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "a")+`","content":"a\n"}
+			]}`)
+			report, after, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, state, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			joined := strings.Join(commands, "; ")
+			if stopped := strings.Contains(joined, "stop unit.service"); stopped != c.stop {
+				t.Errorf("stopped %v, want %v: %s", stopped, c.stop, joined)
+			}
+			if disabled := strings.Contains(joined, "disable unit.service"); disabled != c.disable {
+				t.Errorf("disabled %v, want %v: %s", disabled, c.disable, joined)
+			}
+			if strings.Contains(joined, "start unit.service") || strings.Contains(joined, "mask") {
+				t.Errorf("the host started or masked a unit on its way out: %s", joined)
+			}
+			if o := outcomeOf(report, "s"); o.Action != c.action {
+				t.Errorf("outcome %+v, want %s", o, c.action)
+			}
+			if _, still := after.Find("s"); still {
+				t.Error("the host still believes it owns the undeclared service")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAServiceRecordsTheStateItWasFoundInOnceAndCarriesIt(t *testing.T) {
+	// Read the first time the host applies the unit — before it starts or enables anything —
+	// and never again: by the next apply, the unit's state is the mesh's doing.
+	active := "inactive"
+	enabled := "disabled"
 	run := func(ctx context.Context, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
-		commands = append(commands, strings.Join(args, " "))
-		if args[0] == "show" {
-			return "LoadState=loaded\nActiveState=active\n", nil
+		switch args[0] {
+		case "show":
+			return "LoadState=loaded\nActiveState=" + active + "\n", nil
+		case "is-enabled":
+			return enabled, nil
+		case "start":
+			active = "active"
+		case "enable":
+			enabled = "enabled"
 		}
 		return "", nil
 	}
-	state := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{
-		{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "gone.service"},
-	}}
 	d := parse(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
-	  {"id":"other","type":"file","path":"`+filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "a")+`","content":"a\n"}
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"filter.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}
 	]}`)
-
-	if _, _, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, state, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil); err != nil {
+	_, first, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, store.State{}, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	joined := strings.Join(commands, "; ")
-	if !strings.Contains(joined, "stop gone.service") {
-		t.Errorf("the dropped service was not stopped: %s", joined)
+	rec, _ := first.Find("s")
+	if rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "stopped" || rec.Found.Boot != "disabled" {
+		t.Fatalf("first apply recorded %+v, want stopped and disabled", rec.Found)
 	}
-	if strings.Contains(joined, "disable") || strings.Contains(joined, "mask") {
-		t.Errorf("the host did more than stop a unit it does not own: %s", joined)
+	_, second, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, first, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	rec, _ = second.Find("s")
+	if rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "stopped" {
+		t.Errorf("a later apply replaced what was found with what the mesh made: %+v", rec.Found)
+	}
+
+	// A record from before the host kept what it found is not given one later.
+	old := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "filter.service"}}}
+	_, third, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, old, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if rec, _ = third.Find("s"); rec.Found != nil {
+		t.Errorf("a record that predates the field was given one after the mesh had acted: %+v", rec.Found)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/apply/found_test.go b/internal/apply/found_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01a5248
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/apply/found_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,387 @@
+package apply
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/store"
+)
+
+// Defends novox/hq ADR 0118: undeclaring removes what the mesh made, gives back what it changed,
+// and leaves what was the machine's — which needs what was found kept exactly, and a unit the mesh
+// made known for the mesh's whatever its record says.
+
+func unitsMachine(units map[string]*fakeUnit) *machine {
+	return &machine{containers: map[string]*fakeContainer{}, units: units}
+}
+
+// nothingButA is a declaration of one unrelated file, so everything recorded is undeclared.
+func nothingButA(t *testing.T) string {
+	return `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"other","type":"file","path":"` + filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "a") + `","content":"a\n"}]}`
+}
+
+// copyOf is a state as a later load of it would be: sharing nothing with the one it came from.
+func copyOf(t *testing.T, s store.State) store.State {
+	t.Helper()
+	raw, err := json.Marshal(s)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var out store.State
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &out); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func applyOn(t *testing.T, raw string, known store.State, m *machine) (Report, store.State, error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	return Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), parse(t, raw), known, store.OriginDeclared, m.run, nil, nil)
+}
+
+func TestAUnitWhoseFileTheMeshWroteIsStoppedWhateverItsRecordSays(t *testing.T) {
+	// The adoption guard's unit file is the mesh's own file resource, written where there was none.
+	// Its service recorded before the host kept what it found has no Found, and forgetting it left
+	// the guard's table loaded on a converged node and its unit file deleted from under it.
+	units := t.TempDir()
+	was := unitDir
+	unitDir = units
+	t.Cleanup(func() { unitDir = was })
+	unitFile := filepath.Join(units, "mesh-guard.service")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(unitFile, []byte("[Unit]\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"mesh-guard.service": {active: "active", enabled: "enabled"}})
+	fileThereAtStop := false
+	run := func(ctx context.Context, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+		if name == "systemctl" && args[0] == "stop" {
+			_, err := os.Stat(unitFile)
+			fileThereAtStop = err == nil
+		}
+		return m.run(ctx, name, args...)
+	}
+	// As a host before this change recorded them: the unit file first, then the service it
+	// starts, and no Found on the service.
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{
+		{ID: "adoption.guard-unit", Type: "file", Target: unitFile, Origin: store.OriginDeclared},
+		{ID: "adoption.guard-running", Type: "service", Target: "mesh-guard.service", Origin: store.OriginDeclared},
+	}}
+	report, after, err := applyWith(t, parse(t, nothingButA(t)), known, run)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["mesh-guard.service"]; u.active != "inactive" || u.enabled != "disabled" {
+		t.Errorf("the mesh's own unit was left %s and %s: %v", u.active, u.enabled, m.asked)
+	}
+	if !fileThereAtStop {
+		t.Error("the unit was stopped after its file was deleted, or not at all")
+	}
+	if o := outcomeOf(report, "adoption.guard-running"); o.Action != "removed" || !strings.Contains(o.Detail, "unit file") {
+		t.Errorf("outcome %+v", o)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(unitFile); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		t.Error("the unit file outlived its record")
+	}
+	if len(after.Resources) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("still recorded: %v", after.IDs())
+	}
+
+	// A unit file the host wrote OVER — its original kept — is the machine's unit, and a record
+	// with no Found leaves it as it is.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(unitFile, []byte("[Unit]\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	m = unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"mesh-guard.service": {active: "active", enabled: "enabled"}})
+	known.Resources[0].Kept = filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "original")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(known.Resources[0].Kept, []byte("[Unit]\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, _, err := applyWith(t, parse(t, nothingButA(t)), known, m.run); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if m.did("systemctl stop") || m.did("systemctl disable") {
+		t.Errorf("a unit whose file the mesh only wrote over was stopped: %v", m.asked)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestOnlyAUnitsOwnFileTheMeshCreatedMakesItTheMeshs(t *testing.T) {
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{
+		{ID: "a", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/made.service"},
+		{ID: "b", Type: "file", Target: "/run/systemd/system/runtime.service"},
+		{ID: "c", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/kept.service", Kept: "/var/lib/mesh-host/kept/x"},
+		{ID: "d", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/into.service", Into: &store.Into{Format: "block"}},
+		{ID: "e", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d/mesh.conf"},
+		{ID: "f", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/mesh/elsewhere.service"},
+		{ID: "g", Type: "directory", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/dir.service"},
+	}}
+	made := meshMadeUnits(known)
+	for unit, want := range map[string]bool{"made.service": true, "runtime.service": true, "kept.service": false,
+		"into.service": false, "mesh.conf": false, "docker.service.d": false, "elsewhere.service": false, "dir.service": false} {
+		if made[unit] != want {
+			t.Errorf("%s: made %v, want %v", unit, made[unit], want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWhatWasFoundOutlivesAFirstApplyThatFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	// Enabled, then it would not start: no record. The next apply must not read the enable as
+	// the machine's — or undeclaring leaves enabled a unit the mesh enabled.
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"filter.service": {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled", wontStart: true}})
+	declared := `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"filter.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}]}`
+	_, first, err := applyOn(t, declared, store.State{}, m)
+	if err == nil || !m.did("systemctl enable filter.service") {
+		t.Fatalf("the fixture did not enable and then fail: %v, %v", err, m.asked)
+	}
+	if _, ok := first.Find("s"); ok {
+		t.Fatal("a failed apply was recorded")
+	}
+	if p := first.FoundFirst["s"]; p.State != "stopped" || p.Boot != "disabled" || p.Unit != "filter.service" {
+		t.Fatalf("what was found was not kept through the failure: %+v", first.FoundFirst)
+	}
+
+	failed := copyOf(t, first)
+
+	m.units["filter.service"].wontStart = false
+	_, second, err := applyOn(t, declared, first, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if rec, _ := second.Find("s"); rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "stopped" || rec.Found.Boot != "disabled" {
+		t.Errorf("the record carries the mesh's own effect as found: %+v", rec.Found)
+	}
+	if second.FoundFirst != nil {
+		t.Errorf("kept apart after the record carried it: %+v", second.FoundFirst)
+	}
+
+	if _, _, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), second, m); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["filter.service"]; u.active != "inactive" || u.enabled != "disabled" {
+		t.Errorf("undeclared, the unit was left %s and %s", u.active, u.enabled)
+	}
+
+	// Undeclared before it was ever recorded, what was found goes with it — only for its origin.
+	if _, kept, _ := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), parse(t, nothingButA(t)), copyOf(t, failed),
+		store.OriginCarried, m.run, nil, nil); kept.FoundFirst["s"].State == "" {
+		t.Error("a carried apply dropped what the mesh's declaration found")
+	}
+	if _, dropped, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), copyOf(t, failed), m); err != nil || dropped.FoundFirst != nil {
+		t.Errorf("kept for a service no longer declared: %+v, %v", dropped.FoundFirst, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBootIsFoundTheFirstTimeTheMeshSetsIt(t *testing.T) {
+	// The declaration said nothing about boot at first, so the mesh never touched it: what is
+	// there when a declaration first does is still the machine's.
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"web.service": {active: "active", enabled: "disabled"}})
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "web.service",
+		Origin: store.OriginDeclared, Found: &store.FoundUnit{Unit: "web.service", State: "running"}}}}
+	_, after, err := applyOn(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"web.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}]}`, known, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	rec, _ := after.Find("s")
+	if rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "running" || rec.Found.Boot != "disabled" {
+		t.Fatalf("found %+v, want running and disabled", rec.Found)
+	}
+	report, _, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), after, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["web.service"]; u.active != "active" || u.enabled != "disabled" {
+		t.Errorf("undeclared, the unit is %s and %s; want running, and disabled again", u.active, u.enabled)
+	}
+	if o := outcomeOf(report, "s"); o.Action != "restored" || o.Detail != "disabled at boot, as the host found it" {
+		t.Errorf("outcome %+v", o)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAServiceOnceDeclaredWithNoStateIsFoundWhenFirstGivenOne(t *testing.T) {
+	// Declared with no state (novox/hq ADR 0117), the mesh never started or stopped it — so what
+	// is there when a declaration first gives it one is what the machine had.
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"net.service": {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"}})
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "net.service",
+		Origin: store.OriginDeclared, Stateless: true}}}
+	_, after, err := applyOn(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"net.service","state":"running"}]}`, known, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if rec, _ := after.Find("s"); rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "stopped" {
+		t.Fatalf("found %+v, want stopped", rec.Found)
+	}
+	if _, _, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), after, m); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if m.units["net.service"].active != "inactive" {
+		t.Error("the unit the mesh started outlived its declaration")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAUnitWrittenInTheSameApplyIsLoadedBeforeItIsRead(t *testing.T) {
+	// Read before the service manager is told about its new file, the unit is not there to find.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"fresh.service": {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"}})
+	_, _, err := applyOn(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"unit","type":"file","path":"`+filepath.Join(dir, "fresh.service")+`","content":"[Unit]\n"},
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"fresh.service","state":"running","restart-on":["unit"]}]}`,
+		store.State{}, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	reload, show := -1, -1
+	for i, a := range m.asked {
+		if a == "systemctl daemon-reload" && reload < 0 {
+			reload = i
+		}
+		if strings.HasPrefix(a, "systemctl show fresh.service") && show < 0 {
+			show = i
+		}
+	}
+	if reload < 0 || show < 0 || reload > show {
+		t.Errorf("the unit was read before its file was loaded: %v", m.asked)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAServiceMovedToAnotherUnitGivesTheOldOneBackAndFindsTheNewOne(t *testing.T) {
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{
+		"old.service": {active: "active", enabled: "enabled"},
+		"new.service": {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"},
+	})
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "old.service",
+		Origin: store.OriginDeclared, Found: &store.FoundUnit{Unit: "old.service", State: "stopped"}}}}
+	report, after, err := applyOn(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"s","type":"service","unit":"new.service","state":"running"}]}`, known, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if m.units["old.service"].active != "inactive" {
+		t.Error("the unit the mesh started is still running though nothing declares it")
+	}
+	if m.units["new.service"].active != "active" {
+		t.Error("the unit now declared was not started")
+	}
+	rec, _ := after.Find("s")
+	if rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.Unit != "new.service" || rec.Found.State != "stopped" {
+		t.Errorf("what was found about the old unit was carried to the new one: %+v", rec.Found)
+	}
+	if o := outcomeOf(report, "s"); !strings.Contains(o.Detail, "old.service stopped, as the host found it") {
+		t.Errorf("giving the old unit back went unsaid: %+v", o)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestARemovalSaysWhatItDid(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name           string
+		found          *store.FoundUnit
+		unit           *fakeUnit
+		action, detail string
+	}{
+		{"found stopped and still stopped", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"}, "forgotten", "already as the host found it (stopped)"},
+		{"started by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "active", enabled: "disabled"}, "restored", "stopped, as the host found it"},
+		{"started and enabled by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped", Boot: "disabled"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "active", enabled: "enabled"}, "restored", "stopped, disabled at boot, as the host found it"},
+		{"found running, stopped by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"}, "forgotten",
+			"left as it is; the mesh stopped it and does not start anything on the way out"},
+		{"found running and enabled, disabled by the mesh", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running", Boot: "enabled"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "active", enabled: "disabled"}, "forgotten",
+			"left as it is; the mesh disabled it at boot and does not start anything on the way out"},
+		{"found running, still running", &store.FoundUnit{State: "running"},
+			&fakeUnit{active: "active", enabled: "enabled"}, "forgotten", "it was running before the mesh; left as it is"},
+		// Found says to stop it, so the machine is asked about it — and it is gone.
+		{"started by the mesh, since uninstalled", &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped"},
+			nil, "forgotten", "the unit no longer exists"},
+		{"recorded before the host kept what it found", nil,
+			&fakeUnit{active: "active", enabled: "enabled"}, "forgotten", "recorded before the host kept what it found; left as it is"},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			units := map[string]*fakeUnit{}
+			if c.unit != nil {
+				units["unit.service"] = c.unit
+			}
+			m := unitsMachine(units)
+			known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "s", Type: "service", Target: "unit.service",
+				Origin: store.OriginDeclared, Found: c.found}}}
+			report, after, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), known, m)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatal(err)
+			}
+			if o := outcomeOf(report, "s"); o.Action != c.action || o.Detail != c.detail {
+				t.Errorf("said %s: %s; want %s: %s", o.Action, o.Detail, c.action, c.detail)
+			}
+			if c.unit == nil && !m.did("systemctl show unit.service") {
+				t.Errorf("the machine was never asked whether the unit is there: %v", m.asked)
+			}
+			if m.did("systemctl start") || m.did("systemctl enable") {
+				t.Errorf("something was started on the way out: %v", m.asked)
+			}
+			if _, still := after.Find("s"); still {
+				t.Error("still recorded")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAUnitTheMeshStartedIsStoppedWhenUndeclaredAndOneFoundRunningIsNot(t *testing.T) {
+	// End to end: found by the first apply, carried, given back.
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{
+		"filter.service":  {active: "inactive", enabled: "disabled"},
+		"runtime.service": {active: "active", enabled: "enabled"},
+	})
+	_, state, err := applyOn(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"filter","type":"service","unit":"filter.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"},
+	  {"id":"runtime","type":"service","unit":"runtime.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}]}`,
+		store.State{}, m)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if m.units["filter.service"].active != "active" {
+		t.Fatal("the fixture did not start the filter")
+	}
+	if _, _, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), state, m); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["filter.service"]; u.active != "inactive" || u.enabled != "disabled" {
+		t.Errorf("the filter the mesh started and enabled is %s and %s", u.active, u.enabled)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["runtime.service"]; u.active != "active" || u.enabled != "enabled" {
+		t.Errorf("the runtime that was running before the mesh is %s and %s", u.active, u.enabled)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAUnitHeldAndThenTakenIsFoundAsThePredecessorLeftIt(t *testing.T) {
+	// Held while its module was untaken, nothing was applied and nothing found; taken, the first
+	// apply finds the predecessor's unit — stopped, but started at boot — before starting it.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	m := unitsMachine(map[string]*fakeUnit{"hello.service": {active: "inactive", enabled: "enabled"}})
+	service := `{"id":"hello-web.unit","type":"service","unit":"hello.service","state":"running","boot":"enabled"}`
+	_, held := applyAdopted(t, adopted(t, untaken("hello-web.unit"), service), store.State{}, m, dir)
+	if _, ok := held.HeldAt("hello-web.unit"); !ok {
+		t.Fatal("the fixture's unit was not held")
+	}
+	_, taken := applyAdopted(t, adopted(t, `{"taken":["hello-web"]}`, service), held, m, dir)
+	rec, _ := taken.Find("hello-web.unit")
+	if rec.Found == nil || rec.Found.State != "stopped" || rec.Found.Boot != "enabled" {
+		t.Fatalf("found %+v, want the predecessor's stopped and enabled", rec.Found)
+	}
+	if m.units["hello.service"].active != "active" {
+		t.Fatal("the taken unit was not started")
+	}
+	if _, _, err := applyOn(t, nothingButA(t), taken, m); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if u := m.units["hello.service"]; u.active != "inactive" || u.enabled != "enabled" {
+		t.Errorf("given back as %s and %s; the predecessor left it stopped and enabled", u.active, u.enabled)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/apply/opening_test.go b/internal/apply/opening_test.go
index 5f976ee..15a3a90 100644
--- a/internal/apply/opening_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/opening_test.go
@@ -339,8 +339,18 @@ func TestReturningToAdoptedLoadsTheGuardBeforeRemovingTheFilter(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 	guard := filepath.Join(dir, "guard.nft")
 	guardFile := `{"id":"adoption.guard","type":"file","path":"` + guard + `","content":"table inet mesh_guard {}\n"}`
+	// The filter's unit file is the mesh's own, written where there was none — which is what makes
+	// its unit the mesh's to stop, with or without a record of what was found (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	units := t.TempDir()
+	was := unitDir
+	unitDir = units
+	t.Cleanup(func() { unitDir = was })
+	filterUnit := filepath.Join(units, "mesh-filter.service")
 	for _, stopFails := range []bool{false, true} {
 		_ = os.Remove(guard)
+		if err := os.WriteFile(filterUnit, []byte("[Unit]\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
 		guardUpAtStop := false
 		run := func(_ context.Context, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
 			if name != "systemctl" {
@@ -358,7 +368,9 @@ func TestReturningToAdoptedLoadsTheGuardBeforeRemovingTheFilter(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			return "", nil
 		}
+		// As a host recorded them before it kept what it found: no Found on the service.
 		converged := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{
+			{ID: "nftables.unit", Type: "file", Target: filterUnit, Origin: store.OriginDeclared},
 			{ID: "nftables.load", Type: "service", Target: "mesh-filter.service", Origin: store.OriginDeclared}}}
 		_, state, err := applyWith(t, adopted(t, `{"taken":[]}`, withConf(dir)+","+guardFile), converged, run)
 		if !guardUpAtStop {
diff --git a/internal/apply/plan.go b/internal/apply/plan.go
index c79212b..1937617 100644
--- a/internal/apply/plan.go
+++ b/internal/apply/plan.go
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import (
 
 // Step is one thing an apply would do to this machine.
 type Step struct {
-	// Verb is create · update · check · hold · run · remove · forget · disable · enable.
+	// Verb is create · update · check · hold · run · remove · forget · restore · disable · enable.
 	Verb   string `json:"verb"`
 	Type   string `json:"type,omitempty"`
 	ID     string `json:"id,omitempty"`
@@ -77,11 +77,41 @@ func Plan(d *declaration.Declaration, known store.State, origin string) []Step {
 	}
 
 	var protecting, orphans []Step
+	made := meshMadeUnits(known)
 	for _, orphan := range known.Orphans(declared, origin) {
 		step := Step{Verb: "remove", Type: orphan.Type, ID: orphan.ID, Target: orphan.Target,
 			Why: "recorded here and no longer declared"}
-		if orphan.Stateless {
+		switch {
+		case orphan.Stateless:
 			step.Verb, step.Why = "forget", "no longer declared; its unit's state was never the mesh's and is left as it is"
+		case orphan.Type == string(declaration.TypeService):
+			// What removal will do, said before it does it (novox/hq ADR 0118), in removeService's
+			// words. "restore" only where it may stop or disable something — the record cannot say
+			// whether the unit is still as the mesh left it, so "may" is as far as a preview goes —
+			// and a unit whose file the mesh wrote is named as the mesh's, since that one is
+			// stopped whatever was found.
+			f := orphan.Found
+			switch {
+			case made[orphan.Target]:
+				step.Verb, step.Why = "remove", "no longer declared; the mesh wrote its unit file, so it is "+
+					"stopped and disabled at boot before that file goes"
+			case f == nil:
+				step.Verb, step.Why = "forget", "no longer declared; recorded before the host kept what it "+
+					"found, so it is left as it is"
+			case f.State == "stopped" || f.Boot == "disabled":
+				var back []string
+				if f.State == "stopped" {
+					back = append(back, "stopped")
+				}
+				if f.Boot == "disabled" {
+					back = append(back, "disabled at boot")
+				}
+				step.Verb, step.Why = "restore", "no longer declared; the host found it "+
+					strings.Join(back, " and ")+", and it goes back to that if the mesh changed it"
+			default:
+				step.Verb, step.Why = "forget", "no longer declared; it was running before the mesh and is "+
+					"left as it is — nothing is started or stopped on the way out"
+			}
 		}
 		if d.Adoption == nil && strings.HasPrefix(orphan.ID, declaration.AdoptionPrefix) {
 			step.Why = "what protected this node while adopted; removed last, once everything else applied"
diff --git a/internal/apply/plan_test.go b/internal/apply/plan_test.go
index 4f8f7ce..dcbeecc 100644
--- a/internal/apply/plan_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/plan_test.go
@@ -261,3 +261,42 @@ func TestAPlanSaysAContainerIsRecreatedWhenAFileItReadsChanged(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("a container with no record of what it read is planned as %q", got)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAPlanSaysWhichUnitsAnUndeclareGivesBackAndWhichItLeaves(t *testing.T) {
+	// novox/hq ADR 0118, said before it is done: "restore" only where removal may stop or disable
+	// something, and a unit whose file the mesh wrote named as the mesh's.
+	known := store.State{}
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "guard-unit", Type: "file", Target: "/etc/systemd/system/mesh-guard.service"})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "guard", Type: "service", Target: "mesh-guard.service"})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "filter", Type: "service", Target: "filter.service",
+		Found: &store.FoundUnit{State: "stopped"}})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "boot", Type: "service", Target: "boot.service",
+		Found: &store.FoundUnit{State: "running", Boot: "disabled"}})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "runtime", Type: "service", Target: "docker.service",
+		Found: &store.FoundUnit{State: "running", Boot: "enabled"}})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "old", Type: "service", Target: "sshd.service"})
+	known.Record(store.Applied{ID: "nm", Type: "service", Target: "NetworkManager.service", Stateless: true})
+
+	steps := Plan(parse(t, nothingButA(t)), known, store.OriginCarried)
+	got := verbs(steps)
+	want := "forget nm, forget old, forget runtime, restore boot, restore filter, remove guard, remove guard-unit, create other"
+	if got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("planned %s\nwant    %s", got, want)
+	}
+	for _, s := range steps {
+		switch s.ID {
+		case "guard":
+			if !strings.Contains(s.Why, "unit file") {
+				t.Errorf("the mesh's own unit was not named as the mesh's: %q", s.Why)
+			}
+		case "filter":
+			if !strings.Contains(s.Why, "found it stopped") {
+				t.Errorf("what the unit goes back to went unsaid: %q", s.Why)
+			}
+		case "old":
+			if !strings.Contains(s.Why, "left as it is") {
+				t.Errorf("a unit with nothing found was not said to be left: %q", s.Why)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/apply/process.go b/internal/apply/process.go
index d9956e7..b3c5978 100644
--- a/internal/apply/process.go
+++ b/internal/apply/process.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import (
 // Under the mesh's own directory rather than somewhere a distribution owns: these are files the
 // mesh puts there and replaces, and putting them where a package manager also writes is how two
 // owners end up disagreeing about one path.
-const daemonRoot = "/var/lib/mesh/daemons"
+var daemonRoot = "/var/lib/mesh/daemons"
 
 // unitDir is where the mesh writes the units it owns. A variable only so a test can point it at a
 // directory of its own.
@@ -290,3 +290,54 @@ func unitValue(key, value string) string {
 	).Replace(value)
 	return `"` + key + "=" + escaped + `"`
 }
+
+// removeProcess takes away a process the mesh no longer declares: its timer and unit stopped and
+// disabled, their files removed, the supervisor told, and the unpacked bundle deleted.
+//
+// **All of it is the host's**, which is why all of it goes (novox/hq ADR 0118). Before this there
+// was no way to remove a process at all, and one left undeclared failed every apply on its node
+// until someone edited the host's state by hand — unassigning any module that ran its own code
+// stranded the machine.
+//
+// Idempotent, like every removal: a unit already gone is not an error, and a record whose files
+// have all vanished is forgotten rather than reported as removed.
+func removeProcess(ctx context.Context, a store.Applied, run Runner) (string, string, error) {
+	name := a.Target
+	if problem := declaration.ProcessNameProblem(name); problem != "" {
+		// The name is a unit name and a directory under the mesh's own, and what goes is that
+		// directory, whole. One that could climb out of either — ".." is the mesh's own directory's
+		// parent — is refused rather than acted on, whatever wrote it into the record.
+		return "", "", fmt.Errorf("a process recorded under %q cannot be removed by name: %s", name, problem)
+	}
+	found := false
+	for _, unit := range []string{name + ".timer", name + ".service"} {
+		path := filepath.Join(unitDir, unit)
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		found = true
+		// The timer first, so a scheduled run cannot start the service between the two.
+		if _, err := run(ctx, "systemctl", "disable", "--now", unit); err != nil {
+			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("stopping %s: %w", unit, err)
+		}
+		if err := os.Remove(path); err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			return "", "", err
+		}
+	}
+	if found {
+		if _, err := run(ctx, "systemctl", "daemon-reload"); err != nil {
+			return "", "", err
+		}
+	}
+	bundle := filepath.Join(daemonRoot, name)
+	if _, err := os.Stat(bundle); err == nil {
+		found = true
+		if err := os.RemoveAll(bundle); err != nil {
+			return "", "", err
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		return "forgotten", "no longer there", nil
+	}
+	return "removed", "stopped; its unit and its bundle removed — the mesh's own code", nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/apply/process_test.go b/internal/apply/process_test.go
index 3d38e22..7f055f7 100644
--- a/internal/apply/process_test.go
+++ b/internal/apply/process_test.go
@@ -1,10 +1,14 @@
 package apply
 
 import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/declaration"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-host/internal/store"
 )
 
 func aProcess() *declaration.Process {
@@ -163,3 +167,92 @@ func TestAnEnvironmentValueMeansWhatTheDeclarationSaid(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("a quote was not escaped, so the value ends early: %s", line)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAnUndeclaredProcessIsRemovedWithItsUnitAndBundle(t *testing.T) {
+	// novox/hq ADR 0118: a process's unit and bundle are the host's own, so they go with the
+	// declaration. Before, there was no way to remove a process at all, and one left undeclared
+	// failed every apply on its node.
+	units, bundles := t.TempDir(), t.TempDir()
+	wasUnits, wasBundles := unitDir, daemonRoot
+	unitDir, daemonRoot = units, bundles
+	t.Cleanup(func() { unitDir, daemonRoot = wasUnits, wasBundles })
+
+	for _, f := range []string{"mesh-job.service", "mesh-job.timer"} {
+		if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(units, f), []byte("[Unit]\n"), 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(bundles, "mesh-job", "bin"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var commands []string
+	run := func(ctx context.Context, name string, args ...string) (string, error) {
+		commands = append(commands, strings.Join(args, " "))
+		return "", nil
+	}
+	known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "p", Type: "process", Target: "mesh-job"}}}
+	d := parse(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+	  {"id":"f","type":"file","path":"`+filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "a")+`","content":"a\n"}
+	]}`)
+	report, after, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, known, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an undeclared process failed the apply: %v", err)
+	}
+	joined := strings.Join(commands, "; ")
+	timer, service := strings.Index(joined, "disable --now mesh-job.timer"), strings.Index(joined, "disable --now mesh-job.service")
+	if timer < 0 || service < 0 || timer > service {
+		t.Errorf("the timer and the unit were not stopped, timer first: %s", joined)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "daemon-reload") {
+		t.Errorf("the service manager was not told its units changed: %s", joined)
+	}
+	for _, gone := range []string{filepath.Join(units, "mesh-job.service"), filepath.Join(units, "mesh-job.timer"), filepath.Join(bundles, "mesh-job")} {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(gone); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+			t.Errorf("%s is still there", gone)
+		}
+	}
+	if o := outcomeOf(report, "p"); o.Action != "removed" {
+		t.Errorf("outcome %+v, want removed", o)
+	}
+	if _, still := after.Find("p"); still {
+		t.Error("the host still believes it owns the process")
+	}
+
+	// Again, with everything already gone: forgotten, not an error.
+	_, _, err = Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, known, store.OriginCarried, run, nil, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("removing a process that is already gone failed: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAProcessRecordedUnderAPathlikeNameIsRefusedNotRemoved(t *testing.T) {
+	// filepath.Join(daemonRoot, "..") is the mesh's own directory, and removal deletes what that
+	// names, whole. A record is what some host wrote, perhaps under looser rules than today's, so
+	// the removal holds the name to the declaration's rule again (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	bundles := filepath.Join(root, "daemons")
+	wasUnits, wasBundles := unitDir, daemonRoot
+	unitDir, daemonRoot = t.TempDir(), bundles
+	t.Cleanup(func() { unitDir, daemonRoot = wasUnits, wasBundles })
+	precious := filepath.Join(root, "state.json")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(bundles, "other"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(precious, []byte("{}"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	for _, name := range []string{"..", ".", "", "-x"} {
+		known := store.State{Resources: []store.Applied{{ID: "p", Type: "process", Target: name}}}
+		d := parse(t, `{"declaration":1,"resources":[
+		  {"id":"f","type":"file","path":"`+filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "a")+`","content":"a\n"}
+		]}`)
+		if _, _, err := Apply(context.Background(), archHost(t), d, known, store.OriginCarried, noServices, nil, nil); err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("a process recorded as %q was removed by name", name)
+		}
+		for _, still := range []string{precious, filepath.Join(bundles, "other")} {
+			if _, err := os.Stat(still); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("removing a process recorded as %q took %s with it", name, still)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/declaration/declaration.go b/internal/declaration/declaration.go
index 5ba9091..5cc738f 100644
--- a/internal/declaration/declaration.go
+++ b/internal/declaration/declaration.go
@@ -575,16 +575,34 @@ func (d *Process) Identity() string { return d.ID }
 func (d *Process) Kind() Type       { return TypeProcess }
 func (d *Process) Target() string   { return d.Name }
 
+// ProcessNameProblem says what is wrong with a process name, or nothing.
+//
+// The name becomes a unit name, a file under the unit directory and a directory under the mesh's
+// own — the one removing the process deletes, whole (novox/hq ADR 0118). So a name that is not one
+// plain path element is refused: with a separator it writes somewhere nobody meant, and "." or
+// ".." IS the mesh's directory or its parent — removing a process named ".." would delete every
+// bundle the mesh has, and more. One with a leading dash is read by the service manager as an
+// option, not a unit. Exported because the removal checks the recorded name again: a record is
+// what the host wrote, and a host of an older version wrote it under looser rules.
+func ProcessNameProblem(name string) string {
+	switch {
+	case name == "":
+		return "a process needs a name, which is what its unit is called"
+	case strings.ContainsAny(name, "/ \t"):
+		return "a process name becomes a unit name, so it cannot contain a path separator or a space"
+	case name == "." || name == "..":
+		return fmt.Sprintf("a process name becomes a directory under the mesh's own, and %q would be "+
+			"that directory or its parent", name)
+	case strings.HasPrefix(name, "-"):
+		return "a process name cannot begin with a dash: the service manager would read it as an option"
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
 func (d *Process) validate(where string, _ bool) []string {
 	var problems []string
-	if d.Name == "" {
-		problems = append(problems, where+": a process needs a name, which is what its unit is called")
-	}
-	if strings.ContainsAny(d.Name, "/ \t") {
-		// It becomes a unit name and a file on disk. A name with a separator in it would write
-		// somewhere nobody meant.
-		problems = append(problems, where+": a process name becomes a unit name, so it cannot "+
-			"contain a path separator or a space")
+	if problem := ProcessNameProblem(d.Name); problem != "" {
+		problems = append(problems, where+": "+problem)
 	}
 	if d.Source == "" {
 		problems = append(problems, where+": a process needs somewhere to fetch its bundle from")
diff --git a/internal/declaration/process_test.go b/internal/declaration/process_test.go
index c52519f..9a7c7e9 100644
--- a/internal/declaration/process_test.go
+++ b/internal/declaration/process_test.go
@@ -55,7 +55,10 @@ func TestAProcessMustSayWhatToRun(t *testing.T) {
 
 // Its name becomes a unit name and a path, so a separator in it would write somewhere nobody meant.
 func TestAProcesssNameCannotEscapeItsUnit(t *testing.T) {
-	for _, bad := range []string{"", "../escape", "two words", "a/b"} {
+	// "." and ".." are one path element each, and the mesh's own bundle directory and its parent:
+	// removing a process named ".." would delete every bundle the mesh has, and more (novox/hq ADR
+	// 0118). A leading dash is an option to the service manager, not a unit.
+	for _, bad := range []string{"", "../escape", "two words", "a/b", ".", "..", "-", "--now"} {
 		d := aProcess()
 		d.Name = bad
 		if problems := d.validate("a process", false); len(problems) == 0 {
diff --git a/internal/store/store.go b/internal/store/store.go
index fc1d26b..71485a0 100644
--- a/internal/store/store.go
+++ b/internal/store/store.go
@@ -82,6 +82,13 @@ type Applied struct {
 	// service removed as if it had a state is stopped: the machine's network manager, for one.
 	Stateless bool `json:"stateless,omitempty"`
 
+	// Found is, for a service, the state its unit was in when this host first applied it — before
+	// the mesh started, stopped, enabled or disabled anything. Removal gives that back and nothing
+	// more (novox/hq ADR 0118): a unit that was running before the mesh arrived keeps running
+	// when its declaration goes; one the mesh started is stopped again. Absent on a record written
+	// before the host kept it, and then the unit is left exactly as it is.
+	Found *FoundUnit `json:"found,omitempty"`
+
 	// Into is set for a file written into rather than over (novox/hq ADR 0102): the format, what
 	// each of the mesh's keys held before it set them, which of them were absent, and whether the
 	// file itself was — so undeclaring it gives the machine back exactly what it had.
@@ -147,6 +154,18 @@ type State struct {
 	// other mode can be refused before it is applied (novox/hq issue 104).
 	Mode string `json:"mode,omitempty"`
 
+	// FoundFirst is, by resource id, what a service's unit was found as by an apply of it that did
+	// not finish — kept apart from Resources, because a record follows the fact and this apply's
+	// fact never came (novox/hq ADR 0118).
+	//
+	// **The capture is the one reading that cannot be taken again.** A first apply that enabled a
+	// unit and then failed to start it leaves no record; without this, the next apply would find
+	// the unit enabled, take that for what the machine had, and undeclaring would leave enabled a
+	// unit the mesh enabled. So what is found is written the moment it is read, whatever the apply
+	// of the resource then does, and a later apply reads it here before it reads the machine.
+	// Dropped once a record carrying it is written, and when its resource is no longer declared.
+	FoundFirst map[string]PendingFound `json:"found_first,omitempty"`
+
 	// Genesis is the bundle this host consumed raising the foundation, if it has. Once recorded,
 	// the bundle carried in the binary is not applied again: what genesis applied was rewritten
 	// for this machine, and the mesh has said more since (novox/hq issue 104).
@@ -447,3 +466,50 @@ func originOf(r Applied) string {
 	}
 	return r.Origin
 }
+
+// FoundUnit is a service's unit as the host first found it.
+type FoundUnit struct {
+	// Unit is which unit this was read from. What was found about one unit says nothing about
+	// another, so a service whose declaration moves to a different unit is read again for that one
+	// (novox/hq ADR 0118). Empty on what was kept before this was: the record's Target then says.
+	Unit string `json:"unit,omitempty"`
+	// State is "running" or "stopped".
+	State string `json:"state"`
+	// Boot is "enabled" or "disabled" — or empty when the declaration never set it, and the host
+	// never touched it.
+	Boot string `json:"boot,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// PendingFound is a unit as found by an apply of its service that has not yet been recorded, and
+// who asked for that apply — so only a declaration from the same origin can say it is gone.
+type PendingFound struct {
+	FoundUnit
+	Origin string `json:"origin,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// KeepFound writes down what an unfinished apply found a service's unit as.
+func (s *State) KeepFound(id, origin string, f FoundUnit) {
+	if s.FoundFirst == nil {
+		s.FoundFirst = map[string]PendingFound{}
+	}
+	s.FoundFirst[id] = PendingFound{FoundUnit: f, Origin: origin}
+}
+
+// DropFound forgets what was found for one resource: its record now carries it, or it is gone.
+func (s *State) DropFound(id string) {
+	delete(s.FoundFirst, id)
+	if len(s.FoundFirst) == 0 {
+		s.FoundFirst = nil
+	}
+}
+
+// DropFoundUndeclared forgets what was found for every resource of this origin the declaration no
+// longer names. Only this origin's, for the reason Orphans gives: a mesh declaration's silence says
+// nothing about what the bundle applies, nor the other way round.
+func (s *State) DropFoundUndeclared(declared map[string]bool, origin string) {
+	for id, p := range s.FoundFirst {
+		if !declared[id] && originOf(Applied{Origin: p.Origin}) == origin {
+			s.DropFound(id)
+		}
+	}
+}