Show how far the setuid search got, and start a fresh one when the terminal asks (hq issue 361)

The walk kept its progress every minute and nobody could read it: root-free said only that a search ran.
The account verdict now carries the progress (counts, times, mount points; never a path) as fields and in
its reason, outside what makes a verdict changed. A signed ask from the controller's terminal throws the last
search away and starts a full one, after the operator removed by hand what it found.

cmd/mesh-host/main.go

@@ -1199,8 +1199,15 @@ func runLink(ctx context.Context, opts options) error {
 		// And the operator's hand-over of a directory used as found, carried by the controller from the
 		// terminal (novox/hq issue 356): judged and recorded here, applied by the next apply.
 		HandOver: handOverFrom(opts.state),
-		Say:      say,
-		Timeout:  opts.timeout,
+		// A fresh search for setuid programs, asked at the controller's terminal (novox/hq issue 361).
+		SetuidSearch: func(by string) (string, error) {
+			if setuidSearch == nil {
+				return "", errors.New("this engine judges no account for root, so it keeps no search for setuid programs")
+			}
+			return setuidSearch.SearchNow(by), nil
+		},
+		Say:     say,
+		Timeout: opts.timeout,
 	}
 	worker := make(chan struct{})
 	go func() {
@@ -1668,11 +1675,36 @@ func withAccounts(h *link.Health, as *accounts.Statement) *link.Health {
 		if v.Root {
 			rh.Root = declaration.RootNever
 		}
+		// How far the setuid search got, while the verdict waits for it (novox/hq issue 361): in the reason the
+		// root-free verb repeats, and as fields. Never in the journal's line, which says a change alone.
+		if v.Search != nil {
+			rh.Reason += "; " + v.Search.Words()
+			rh.Search = searchAsReported(v.Search)
+		}
 		h.Resources = append(h.Resources, rh)
 	}
 	return h
 }
 
+// searchAsReported is a search's progress as the statement carries it.
+func searchAsReported(sp *accounts.SearchProgress) *link.SetuidSearch {
+	out := &link.SetuidSearch{Started: sp.Started.UTC(), Filesystems: sp.Filesystems, Done: sp.Done,
+		Walking: sp.Walking, Visited: sp.Visited, Found: sp.Found}
+	if !sp.Kept.IsZero() {
+		kept := sp.Kept.UTC()
+		out.Kept = &kept
+	}
+	for _, f := range sp.Finished {
+		sf := link.SearchedFilesystem{Mount: f.Mount}
+		if f.Took >= 0 {
+			secs := int64(f.Took.Round(time.Second) / time.Second)
+			sf.TookSeconds = &secs
+		}
+		out.Finished = append(out.Finished, sf)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // userOf is the account whose own service manager a unit is in (novox/hq ADR 0254), empty for the
 // machine's own manager.
 func userOf(scope, user string) string {

cmd/mesh-host/units_test.go

@@ -98,3 +98,25 @@ func TestTheStatementSaysAnAccountJudgedForRoot(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("root said: %v", got)
 	}
 }
+
+// A verdict waiting for the setuid search says how far it got, in the reason the root-free verb repeats and as
+// fields (novox/hq issue 361); a mount point, never a path the walk visited or found.
+func TestTheStatementSaysHowFarTheSetuidSearchGot(t *testing.T) {
+	at := time.Date(2026, 10, 10, 1, 40, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	sp := &accounts.SearchProgress{Started: at, Filesystems: 3, Done: 1, Walking: "/home", Visited: 42, Found: 2,
+		Kept: at, Finished: []accounts.SearchedFilesystem{{Mount: "/", Took: 90 * time.Second}}}
+	as := &accounts.Statement{At: at, Accounts: []accounts.Verdict{{Account: accounts.Account{Module: "claude-code",
+		ID: "claude-code.agent", Name: "agent", Root: true}, State: accounts.Unknown,
+		Reason: accounts.ReasonPending + ": the search for setuid programs, started 2026-10-10 01:27, has not finished yet",
+		Since:  at, Search: sp}}}
+	h := withAccounts(healthAsReported(liveness.Statement{At: at}, nil), as)
+	r := h.Resources[0]
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(r.Reason, accounts.ReasonPending) || !strings.Contains(r.Reason, "1 of 3 filesystems walked, walking /home, 42 entries visited") {
+		t.Fatalf("the reason: %s", r.Reason)
+	}
+	s := r.Search
+	if s == nil || s.Filesystems != 3 || s.Done != 1 || s.Walking != "/home" || s.Visited != 42 || s.Found != 2 ||
+		s.Kept == nil || len(s.Finished) != 1 || s.Finished[0].Mount != "/" || *s.Finished[0].TookSeconds != 90 {
+		t.Fatalf("the fields: %+v", s)
+	}
+}

internal/accounts/accounts.go

@@ -153,6 +153,10 @@ type Verdict struct {
 	Reason string
 	Since  time.Time
 	Streak int
+	// Search is how far the setuid search got, while the verdict waits for it (novox/hq issue 361); nil
+	// otherwise. Never part of Reason: it moves every minute, and a verdict that changed every minute would
+	// be said in the journal every minute.
+	Search *SearchProgress
 }
 
 // Statement is one look at every account.
@@ -219,14 +223,14 @@ func (j *Judge) Look(ctx context.Context) (Statement, bool) {
 	st := Statement{At: now}
 	changed := len(j.last.Accounts) != len(j.accounts)
 	for _, a := range j.accounts {
-		state, reason := j.judge(ctx, a)
+		state, reason, search := j.judge(ctx, a)
 		k := j.kept[a.ID]
 		if k == nil || k.State != state || k.Reason != reason {
 			changed = true
 			k = &Verdict{Account: a, State: state, Reason: reason, Since: now}
 			j.kept[a.ID] = k
 		}
-		k.Account = a
+		k.Account, k.Search = a, search
 		if state == Unhealthy {
 			k.Streak++
 		} else {
@@ -238,8 +242,8 @@ func (j *Judge) Look(ctx context.Context) (Statement, bool) {
 	return st, changed
 }
 
-// judge is one account's verdict on one look.
-func (j *Judge) judge(ctx context.Context, a Account) (string, string) {
+// judge is one account's verdict on one look, and how far the setuid search got while it waits for one.
+func (j *Judge) judge(ctx context.Context, a Account) (string, string, *SearchProgress) {
 	if a.Root {
 		ways, err := j.reader.Escalation(ctx, a.Name, a.Secrets)
 		var notJudged *SetuidNotJudged
@@ -250,22 +254,26 @@ func (j *Judge) judge(ctx context.Context, a Account) (string, string) {
 			if errors.As(err, &notJudged) {
 				reason += "; " + firstLine(err.Error())
 			}
-			return Unhealthy, reason
+			var progress *SearchProgress
+			if notJudged != nil {
+				progress = notJudged.Progress
+			}
+			return Unhealthy, reason, progress
 		case errors.As(err, &notJudged):
 			// The setuid search has no result yet: not judged, said as such — the same words on every look
 			// until it has one, never a search that stalls the look (novox/hq ADR 0266).
-			return Unknown, firstLine(err.Error())
+			return Unknown, firstLine(err.Error()), notJudged.Progress
 		case err != nil:
-			return Unknown, "whether the account can become root could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error())
+			return Unknown, "whether the account can become root could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error()), nil
 		}
 		if len(a.Groups) == 0 {
 			// Declared for root alone: nothing of a session to read.
-			return Healthy, ""
+			return Healthy, "", nil
 		}
 	}
 	in, err := j.reader.InDatabase(ctx, a.Name)
 	if err != nil {
-		return Unknown, "the user database could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error())
+		return Unknown, "the user database could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error()), nil
 	}
 	listed := map[string]bool{}
 	for _, g := range in {
@@ -281,15 +289,15 @@ func (j *Judge) judge(ctx context.Context, a Account) (string, string) {
 	}
 	if len(missing) > 0 {
 		return Unhealthy, fmt.Sprintf("not in the group %s: the apply has not put %s there; its outcome says why",
-			strings.Join(missing, ", "), a.Name)
+			strings.Join(missing, ", "), a.Name), nil
 	}
 	s, err := j.reader.Session(ctx, a.Name, inDB)
 	if err != nil {
-		return Unknown, "the account's own service manager could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error())
+		return Unknown, "the account's own service manager could not be read: " + firstLine(err.Error()), nil
 	}
 	if !s.Running {
 		// Nobody is logged in, and the account does not linger: the next login takes every group.
-		return Healthy, ""
+		return Healthy, "", nil
 	}
 	var lacking []string
 	for _, g := range inDB {
@@ -299,9 +307,9 @@ func (j *Judge) judge(ctx context.Context, a Account) (string, string) {
 	}
 	if len(lacking) > 0 {
 		return Unhealthy, fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s is in the group %s, and its running session began before it was; "+
-			"log out of every session and in again, or reboot", ReasonRelogin, a.Name, strings.Join(lacking, ", "))
+			"log out of every session and in again, or reboot", ReasonRelogin, a.Name, strings.Join(lacking, ", ")), nil
 	}
-	return Healthy, ""
+	return Healthy, "", nil
 }
 
 func firstLine(s string) string {

internal/accounts/setuid_cache.go

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"slices"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"
@@ -55,11 +56,14 @@ type SetuidCache struct {
 	loaded     bool
 	last       *setuidResult   // the last complete search
 	unfinished *SetuidProgress // a walk that did not finish, to resume
+	progress   *SearchProgress // how far the running search got, as of its last checkpoint
 	running    bool
-	startedAt  time.Time // when the search running, or the last one, was started (a resumed one: its start)
-	attemptAt  time.Time // when the running or last search was started or resumed
-	endedAt    time.Time // when the last search ended, on the same clock
-	again      bool      // asked to search again since the running or last one started
+	gen        int                // counts SearchNow: a search started under an older one is thrown away
+	cancel     context.CancelFunc // ends the running search's walk
+	startedAt  time.Time          // when the search running, or the last one, was started (a resumed one: its start)
+	attemptAt  time.Time          // when the running or last search was started or resumed
+	endedAt    time.Time          // when the last search ended, on the same clock
+	again      bool               // asked to search again since the running or last one started
 	failedAt   time.Time
 	failed     error
 	backoff    time.Duration
@@ -101,6 +105,84 @@ type SetuidNotJudged struct {
 	Err     error
 	// Last is when the last complete search started, when there is one too old to judge.
 	Last time.Time
+	// Progress is how far the running search got, as of its last checkpoint: nil when none runs.
+	Progress *SearchProgress
+}
+
+// SearchProgress is how far a running search got, as of its last checkpoint, for anybody to read (novox/hq
+// issue 361): counts, times and mount points only. **Never a path the walk visited or found**: the cursor and
+// the files found are under accounts' homes as often as not, and stay in the engine's state and journal.
+type SearchProgress struct {
+	// Started is when the search began, on the cache's clock.
+	Started time.Time
+	// Filesystems is how many it walks; Done how many it has walked to their end; Walking the mount point of
+	// the one it walks now, empty when every one is walked.
+	Filesystems, Done int
+	Walking           string
+	// Visited is how many entries it has gone past; Found how many setuid- or setgid-root files it found so
+	// far, before the package manager is asked about them.
+	Visited int64
+	Found   int
+	// Kept is when its progress was last kept, zero before the first time.
+	Kept time.Time
+	// Finished is every filesystem walked to its end, in order, and how long its walk took.
+	Finished []SearchedFilesystem
+}
+
+// SearchedFilesystem is one filesystem a search walked to its end. Took is negative when not known: walked by
+// an engine before it counted.
+type SearchedFilesystem struct {
+	Mount string
+	Took  time.Duration
+}
+
+// progressOf is p as anybody may read it. Counts and mount points, no I/O.
+func progressOf(p *SetuidProgress, kept time.Time) *SearchProgress {
+	sp := &SearchProgress{Started: p.Started, Filesystems: len(p.Mounts), Done: len(p.Done), Visited: p.Visited,
+		Found: len(p.Found), Kept: kept}
+	for i, m := range p.Done {
+		took := time.Duration(-1)
+		if i < len(p.Took) {
+			took = p.Took[i]
+		}
+		sp.Finished = append(sp.Finished, SearchedFilesystem{Mount: m, Took: took})
+	}
+	for _, m := range p.Mounts {
+		if !slices.Contains(p.Done, m) {
+			sp.Walking = m
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	return sp
+}
+
+// Words are the progress in one line, as the verdict says it beside "not judged yet".
+func (sp *SearchProgress) Words() string {
+	if sp == nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	s := fmt.Sprintf("progress: %d of %d filesystems walked", sp.Done, sp.Filesystems)
+	if sp.Walking != "" {
+		s += ", walking " + sp.Walking
+	}
+	s += fmt.Sprintf(", %d entries visited, %d setuid- or setgid-root files found so far", sp.Visited, sp.Found)
+	if sp.Kept.IsZero() {
+		s += ", not kept yet"
+	} else {
+		s += ", kept " + sp.Kept.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05")
+	}
+	var took []string
+	for _, f := range sp.Finished {
+		if f.Took < 0 {
+			took = append(took, f.Mount+" in a time not known")
+		} else {
+			took = append(took, f.Mount+" in "+f.Took.Round(time.Second).String())
+		}
+	}
+	if len(took) > 0 {
+		s += "; walked " + strings.Join(took, ", ")
+	}
+	return s
 }
 
 func (e *SetuidNotJudged) Error() string {
@@ -152,6 +234,44 @@ func (c *SetuidCache) SearchAgain() {
 	c.forgetProgress()
 }
 
+// SearchNow throws away the last complete search, kept or in memory, and any walk under way or kept, and has
+// the next look start a full search at once, past AgainAfter and any back-off (novox/hq issue 361): the
+// operator changed by hand what the last one found, which no apply says. Until the new one completes the
+// verdict is "not judged yet". Asked at the controller's terminal alone (`nox node setuid-search <node>`): a
+// search can never make a machine free wrongly, but asked again and again it would keep a machine unjudged
+// and its disks busy. by is who asked, for the journal. Nil c has nothing to throw away.
+func (c *SetuidCache) SearchNow(by string) string {
+	if c == nil {
+		return "this engine keeps no search for setuid programs"
+	}
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	c.loaded = true // nothing kept is read after this: it is thrown away
+	what := "no complete search was kept"
+	if c.last != nil {
+		what = "the complete search started " + c.last.Started.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04") + " is thrown away"
+	}
+	if c.running {
+		what += ", and the search running since " + c.startedAt.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04") + " is ended"
+		if c.cancel != nil {
+			c.cancel()
+		}
+	}
+	c.gen++
+	c.last, c.unfinished, c.progress = nil, nil, nil
+	c.failed, c.failedAt, c.backoff, c.again = nil, time.Time{}, 0, false
+	c.forgetProgress()
+	if c.Path != "" {
+		if err := os.Remove(c.Path); err != nil && !errors.Is(err, fs.ErrNotExist) {
+			c.say("the search for setuid programs could not forget the complete search it kept: " + err.Error())
+		}
+	}
+	said := "a new search for setuid programs starts at the next look, asked by " + by + ": " + what +
+		"; until it completes, whether an account can become root through one is not judged"
+	c.say(said)
+	return said
+}
+
 // SetuidSearch is one search: it carries p on to its end — walking what p has not walked, calling checkpoint
 // as it goes so its progress can be kept — and answers the setuid-root programs no package owns.
 type SetuidSearch func(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, checkpoint func()) ([]string, error)
@@ -199,7 +319,8 @@ func (c *SetuidCache) Look(now time.Time, mounts []string, search SetuidSearch)
 	case fresh:
 		return slices.Clone(c.last.Found), c.last.Started, nil
 	case c.running:
-		return nil, time.Time{}, &SetuidNotJudged{Pending: true, Since: c.startedAt, Last: c.lastStarted()}
+		return nil, time.Time{}, &SetuidNotJudged{Pending: true, Since: c.startedAt, Last: c.lastStarted(),
+			Progress: c.progress}
 	case c.failed != nil:
 		return nil, time.Time{}, &SetuidNotJudged{Since: c.failedAt, Err: c.failed, Last: c.lastStarted()}
 	default:
@@ -243,11 +364,17 @@ func (c *SetuidCache) start(now time.Time, mounts []string, search SetuidSearch)
 	}
 	c.running, c.startedAt, c.attemptAt, c.again = true, p.Started, now, false
 	c.starts++
+	// What a look says until the first checkpoint: where the kept walk was, or nothing walked.
+	kept := p.Kept
+	c.progress = progressOf(p, kept)
 	if resumed {
 		c.say(fmt.Sprintf("the search for setuid programs started %s carries on where it was (%d of %d "+
 			"filesystems walked)", p.Started.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04"), len(p.Done), len(p.Mounts)))
 	}
 	began := time.Now()
+	gen := c.gen
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	c.cancel = cancel
 	c.wg.Add(1)
 	go func() {
 		defer c.wg.Done()
@@ -261,25 +388,50 @@ func (c *SetuidCache) start(now time.Time, mounts []string, search SetuidSearch)
 		}
 		if err == nil {
 			unkept := false
-			found, err = search(context.Background(), p, func() {
+			found, err = search(ctx, p, func() {
 				c.mu.Lock()
-				superseded := c.again
+				superseded := c.again || c.gen != gen
 				c.mu.Unlock()
-				if superseded {
-					return // root acted since this walk started: its progress is not to be carried on
+				if !superseded { // root acted since this walk started: its progress is not to be carried on
+					at := time.Now()
+					p.Kept = at
+					if kerr := c.keepProgress(p); kerr != nil {
+						p.Kept = kept // not kept: the file still says the time before
+						if !unkept {
+							unkept = true
+							c.say("the search for setuid programs could not keep how far it got, and starts over " +
+								"if the engine stops: " + kerr.Error())
+						}
+					} else {
+						kept = at
+					}
 				}
-				if kerr := c.keepProgress(p); kerr != nil && !unkept {
-					unkept = true
-					c.say("the search for setuid programs could not keep how far it got, and starts over if " +
-						"the engine stops: " + kerr.Error())
+				// What a look says from now: computed from p here, on the walk's own goroutine, never read
+				// by a look while the walk changes it.
+				sp := progressOf(p, kept)
+				c.mu.Lock()
+				if c.gen == gen {
+					c.progress = sp
 				}
+				c.mu.Unlock()
 			})
 		}
 		took := time.Since(began)
+		cancel()
 		c.mu.Lock()
 		defer c.mu.Unlock()
-		c.running = false
+		c.running, c.progress, c.cancel = false, nil, nil
 		c.endedAt = now.Add(took)
+		if c.gen != gen {
+			// Thrown away by SearchNow while it ran: neither a result nor a failure, and nothing to carry on. The
+			// next look starts the search asked for.
+			c.endedAt = time.Time{}
+			// A checkpoint that read its generation just before SearchNow may have kept this walk again.
+			c.forgetProgress()
+			c.say(fmt.Sprintf("the search for setuid programs started %s was ended, as asked (%s this time)",
+				p.Started.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04"), took.Round(time.Second)))
+			return
+		}
 		if err != nil {
 			// The back-off counts from when it failed.
 			c.failed, c.failedAt = err, c.endedAt

internal/accounts/setuid_progress_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+package accounts
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// How far a running search got is readable through the verdict (novox/hq issue 361): counts, times and mount
+// points, counted once across a resume, and never a path the walk visited or found.
+
+// A walk stopped midway and resumed counts every entry once, as the walk that was never stopped does, and says
+// how long each filesystem took.
+func TestTheProgressCountsEachEntryOnceAcrossAResume(t *testing.T) {
+	top := tree(t, "a/1!", "a/2", "a-b/3!", "b/c/4!", "b/c/5", "b/d!", "c/6!", "d/7!")
+	other := tree(t, "x/1", "y!")
+	whole := &SetuidProgress{Mounts: []string{top, other}}
+	if err := mine().walk(t.Context(), whole, func() {}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// top and the 14 entries below it, and other and its 3.
+	if whole.Visited != 15+4 || len(whole.Took) != 2 || whole.Took[0] < 0 || whole.Walking != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the whole walk: visited %d, took %v, walking %v", whole.Visited, whole.Took, whole.Walking)
+	}
+
+	w := mine()
+	w.every = 0
+	ctx, stop := context.WithCancel(t.Context())
+	p := &SetuidProgress{Mounts: []string{top, other}}
+	var kept []byte
+	err := w.walk(ctx, p, func() {
+		kept = mustJSON(t, p)
+		if strings.HasSuffix(p.Cursor[top], "/b/c/4") {
+			stop()
+		}
+	})
+	if !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+		t.Fatalf("the walk was stopped: %v", err)
+	}
+	var resumed SetuidProgress
+	fromJSON(t, kept, &resumed)
+	if resumed.Visited == 0 || resumed.Visited >= whole.Visited || resumed.Walking < 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the kept walk counted %d of %d", resumed.Visited, whole.Visited)
+	}
+	if err := mine().walk(t.Context(), &resumed, func() {}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if resumed.Visited != whole.Visited || len(resumed.Took) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("the resumed walk counted %d entries (the whole one %d), took %v", resumed.Visited,
+			whole.Visited, resumed.Took)
+	}
+}
+
+// A walk kept before the times were counted has them not known, never shifted onto the next filesystem.
+func TestAWalkKeptWithoutTimesSaysThemNotKnown(t *testing.T) {
+	top, other := tree(t, "a"), tree(t, "b")
+	p := &SetuidProgress{Mounts: []string{top, other}, Done: Paths{top}}
+	if err := mine().walk(t.Context(), p, func() {}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(p.Took) != 2 || p.Took[0] >= 0 || p.Took[1] < 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("took %v", p.Took)
+	}
+	if w := progressOf(p, time.Time{}).Words(); !strings.Contains(w, top+" in a time not known") {
+		t.Fatalf("the words: %s", w)
+	}
+}
+
+// A look while the search runs says how far it got at its last checkpoint, with no path it visited or found.
+func TestALookSaysHowFarTheRunningSearchGotAndNoPath(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	c := &SetuidCache{ProgressPath: filepath.Join(dir, SetuidProgressFile)}
+	secret := "/home/someone/private/rootshell"
+	checkpointed, release := make(chan struct{}), make(chan struct{})
+	search := func(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, checkpoint func()) ([]string, error) {
+		p.Mounts = Paths{"/", "/home", "/boot"}
+		p.Done, p.Took = Paths{"/"}, []time.Duration{90 * time.Minute}
+		p.Cursor["/home"] = "/home/someone/private"
+		p.Found = Paths{"/usr/bin/odd", secret}
+		p.Visited = 1234567
+		checkpoint()
+		close(checkpointed)
+		<-release
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	_, _, err := c.Look(at, root, search)
+	nj := notJudged(t, err, true)
+	if nj.Progress == nil || nj.Progress.Visited != 0 || nj.Progress.Walking != "/" {
+		t.Fatalf("before the first checkpoint: %+v", nj.Progress)
+	}
+	<-checkpointed
+	_, _, err = c.Look(at.Add(time.Minute), root, search)
+	nj = notJudged(t, err, true)
+	sp := nj.Progress
+	if sp == nil || sp.Filesystems != 3 || sp.Done != 1 || sp.Walking != "/home" || sp.Visited != 1234567 ||
+		sp.Found != 2 || sp.Kept.IsZero() || len(sp.Finished) != 1 || sp.Finished[0].Took != 90*time.Minute {
+		t.Fatalf("the progress: %+v", sp)
+	}
+	words := sp.Words()
+	for _, want := range []string{"1 of 3 filesystems walked", "walking /home", "1234567 entries visited",
+		"2 setuid- or setgid-root files found so far", "kept " + sp.Kept.Local().Format("2006-01-02 15:04:05"),
+		"walked / in 1h30m0s"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(words, want) {
+			t.Errorf("the words lack %q: %s", want, words)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, leak := range []string{"someone", "private", "odd", "rootshell"} {
+		if strings.Contains(words, leak) || strings.Contains(err.Error(), leak) {
+			t.Errorf("a path leaks (%q): %s / %v", leak, words, err)
+		}
+	}
+	close(release)
+	c.Wait()
+	if _, _, err := c.Look(at.Add(2*time.Minute), root, search); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the complete search judges: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// The progress moves every minute; the verdict does not change for it, so the journal says it once.
+type waiting struct{ progress *SearchProgress }
+
+func (w *waiting) InDatabase(context.Context, string) ([]string, error) { return nil, nil }
+func (w *waiting) Session(context.Context, string, []string) (Session, error) {
+	return Session{}, nil
+}
+func (w *waiting) Escalation(context.Context, string, []string) ([]string, error) {
+	return nil, &SetuidNotJudged{Pending: true, Since: at, Progress: w.progress}
+}
+
+func TestTheProgressMovesWithoutChangingTheVerdict(t *testing.T) {
+	r := &waiting{progress: &SearchProgress{Filesystems: 2, Visited: 10}}
+	j := New(r)
+	j.Set([]Account{{Module: "claude-code", ID: "claude-code.agent", Name: "agent", Root: true}})
+	st, changed := j.Look(t.Context())
+	if !changed || st.Accounts[0].State != Unknown || st.Accounts[0].Search.Visited != 10 {
+		t.Fatalf("first look: changed %v, %+v", changed, st.Accounts[0])
+	}
+	r.progress = &SearchProgress{Filesystems: 2, Visited: 20}
+	st, changed = j.Look(t.Context())
+	if changed || st.Accounts[0].Search.Visited != 20 || strings.Contains(st.Accounts[0].Reason, "progress") {
+		t.Fatalf("second look: changed %v, %+v", changed, st.Accounts[0])
+	}
+}
+
+// Asked at the terminal, a search starts afresh at the next look: the last complete one is thrown away, kept or
+// in memory, and a running one is ended and neither judges nor is carried on.
+func TestSearchNowThrowsAwayTheLastSearchAndStartsAFullOne(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	c := &SetuidCache{Path: filepath.Join(dir, SetuidSearchFile), ProgressPath: filepath.Join(dir, SetuidProgressFile)}
+	g := newGate()
+	g.found = []string{"/home/someone/rootshell"}
+	c.Look(at, root, g.search)
+	<-g.started
+	g.finish(c)
+	if found, _, err := c.Look(at.Add(time.Hour), root, g.search); err != nil || len(found) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the complete search judges: %v %v", found, err)
+	}
+	said := c.SearchNow("jo at the controller's terminal")
+	if !strings.Contains(said, "thrown away") || strings.Contains(said, "someone") {
+		t.Fatalf("said: %s", said)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(c.Path); !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		t.Fatalf("the kept search is still there: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The next look starts a full search at once, though the last ended only an hour ago.
+	ended := make(chan error, 1)
+	running := func(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, checkpoint func()) ([]string, error) {
+		if len(p.Done) != 0 || len(p.Cursor) != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("not a full search: %+v", p)
+		}
+		checkpoint()
+		<-ctx.Done()
+		ended <- ctx.Err()
+		return nil, ctx.Err()
+	}
+	_, _, err := c.Look(at.Add(time.Hour+time.Minute), root, running)
+	notJudged(t, err, true)
+	if starts(c) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("searches started: %d", starts(c))
+	}
+	// Asked again while it runs: it is ended, judges nothing, fails nothing, and is not carried on.
+	c.SearchNow("jo")
+	if err := <-ended; !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) {
+		t.Fatalf("the running search was not ended: %v", err)
+	}
+	c.Wait()
+	if _, err := os.Stat(c.ProgressPath); !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		t.Fatalf("the ended walk is still kept: %v", err)
+	}
+	g2 := newGate()
+	_, _, err = c.Look(at.Add(time.Hour+2*time.Minute), root, g2.search)
+	notJudged(t, err, true)
+	<-g2.started
+	g2.finish(c)
+	if starts(c) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("searches started: %d", starts(c))
+	}
+	if _, _, err := c.Look(at.Add(time.Hour+3*time.Minute), root, g2.search); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the new search judges: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/accounts/setuid_walk.go

@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@ type SetuidProgress struct {
 	Cursor Cursors `json:"cursor"`
 	// Found is every setuid- or setgid-root regular file found so far, before the package manager is asked.
 	Found Paths `json:"found"`
+	// Visited is how many entries the walk has gone past: each once, across a resume, as it is kept with the
+	// cursor it matches.
+	Visited int64 `json:"visited"`
+	// Took is how long the walk spent in each of Done, in its order (negative: not known, a walk kept by an
+	// engine before it counted); Walking how long it has spent in the filesystem it walks now. Time the
+	// engine did not run is in neither.
+	Took    []time.Duration `json:"took"`
+	Walking time.Duration   `json:"walking"`
+	// Kept is when this progress was kept, as the cache wrote it; zero before the first time.
+	Kept time.Time `json:"kept"`
 }
 
 // Paths are paths kept as their bytes. **Never as JSON strings**: encoding/json replaces bytes that are not
@@ -120,6 +130,11 @@ func (w walker) walk(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, checkpoint func())
 	if p.Cursor == nil {
 		p.Cursor = Cursors{}
 	}
+	// One Took for each of Done: a walk kept before they were counted has them not known.
+	for len(p.Took) < len(p.Done) {
+		p.Took = append(p.Took, -1)
+	}
+	p.Took = p.Took[:len(p.Done)]
 	last := time.Now()
 	for _, m := range p.Mounts {
 		if slices.Contains(p.Done, m) {
@@ -129,6 +144,8 @@ func (w walker) walk(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, checkpoint func())
 			return err
 		}
 		p.Done = append(p.Done, m)
+		p.Took = append(p.Took, p.Walking)
+		p.Walking = 0
 		delete(p.Cursor, m)
 		checkpoint()
 		last = time.Now()
@@ -166,6 +183,9 @@ func (w walker) walkMount(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, mount string,
 	if c := p.Cursor[mount]; c != "" {
 		cursor = components(c)
 	}
+	// How long it walks this filesystem, carried on from what a resumed walk had spent in it.
+	began, before := time.Now(), p.Walking
+	defer func() { p.Walking = before + time.Since(began) }()
 	return filepath.WalkDir(mount, func(path string, d fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
 		if ctxErr := ctx.Err(); ctxErr != nil {
 			return ctxErr
@@ -212,10 +232,13 @@ func (w walker) walkMount(ctx context.Context, p *SetuidProgress, mount string,
 			}
 		}
 		// The cursor only moves on: the directories on the way back to it are visited again, and are before it.
+		// Counted here alone, so an entry visited again on the way back to the cursor is counted once.
 		if cursor == nil || walkOrder(at, cursor) > 0 {
 			p.Cursor[mount], cursor = path, at
+			p.Visited++
 		}
 		if time.Since(*last) >= w.every {
+			p.Walking = before + time.Since(began)
 			checkpoint()
 			*last = time.Now()
 		}

internal/link/handover.go

@@ -120,20 +120,36 @@ func AnswerHandOver(check HandOverCheck, handle HandOverFunc, body []byte) HandO
 	if handle == nil {
 		return refusedAsk("this engine takes no hand-over")
 	}
+	ask, refused := believed(check, HandOverContext, true, body)
+	if refused != "" {
+		return refusedAsk(refused)
+	}
+	said, err := handle(ask.Path, ask.By)
+	if err != nil {
+		return HandOverAnswer{Refused: err.Error()}
+	}
+	return HandOverAnswer{Said: said}
+}
+
+// believed is an ask's bytes held to what every signed ask is: signed by the mesh over context and its bytes,
+// for this node, unexpired and good no longer than an ask may be, with a nonce of its own taken once here, and
+// one short line naming who asked, and a path when withPath and none otherwise. The nonce is taken last, after
+// every other check passed. It answers the ask with who asked trimmed, or why it is refused.
+func believed(check HandOverCheck, context string, withPath bool, body []byte) (HandOverAsk, string) {
 	if len(body) > MaxHandOverAsk {
-		return refusedAsk(fmt.Sprintf("the ask is %d bytes, more than a hand-over", len(body)))
+		return HandOverAsk{}, fmt.Sprintf("the ask is %d bytes, more than an ask", len(body))
 	}
 	var signed SignedHandOver
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &signed); err != nil {
-		return refusedAsk("the ask is not a signed hand-over: " + err.Error())
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask is not a signed ask: " + err.Error()
 	}
 	if len(check.Signer) != ed25519.PublicKeySize ||
-		!ed25519.Verify(check.Signer, append([]byte(HandOverContext), signed.Ask...), signed.Signature) {
-		return refusedAsk("the ask is not signed by the mesh")
+		!ed25519.Verify(check.Signer, append([]byte(context), signed.Ask...), signed.Signature) {
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask is not signed by the mesh"
 	}
 	var ask HandOverAsk
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(signed.Ask, &ask); err != nil {
-		return refusedAsk("the signed ask is not a hand-over: " + err.Error())
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the signed ask is not an ask: " + err.Error()
 	}
 	now := time.Now()
 	if check.Now != nil {
@@ -143,31 +159,29 @@ func AnswerHandOver(check HandOverCheck, handle HandOverFunc, body []byte) HandO
 	if nonces == nil {
 		nonces = HandOverNonces
 	}
-	by := strings.TrimSpace(ask.By)
+	ask.By = strings.TrimSpace(ask.By)
 	nonce, nonceErr := hex.DecodeString(ask.Nonce)
 	switch {
 	case check.Node == "" || ask.Node != check.Node:
-		return refusedAsk(fmt.Sprintf("the ask is for %q, and this is %q", ask.Node, check.Node))
+		return HandOverAsk{}, fmt.Sprintf("the ask is for %q, and this is %q", ask.Node, check.Node)
 	case ask.Expires.IsZero() || !now.Before(ask.Expires):
-		return refusedAsk("the ask has expired")
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask has expired"
 	case ask.Expires.After(now.Add(HandOverGood + HandOverSkew)):
-		return refusedAsk("the ask is good for longer than an ask may be")
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask is good for longer than an ask may be"
 	case nonceErr != nil || len(nonce) < 16:
-		return refusedAsk("the ask carries no nonce of its own")
-	case by == "":
-		return refusedAsk("the ask names nobody as asking")
-	case len(by) > MaxHandOverBy || strings.ContainsAny(by, "\r\n\x00"):
-		return refusedAsk("who asked is not one short line")
-	case ask.Path == "":
-		return refusedAsk("the ask names no directory")
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask carries no nonce of its own"
+	case ask.By == "":
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask names nobody as asking"
+	case len(ask.By) > MaxHandOverBy || strings.ContainsAny(ask.By, "\r\n\x00"):
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "who asked is not one short line"
+	case withPath && ask.Path == "":
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask names no directory"
+	case !withPath && ask.Path != "":
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask names a path, and this ask takes none"
 	case !nonces.take(ask.Nonce, ask.Expires, now):
-		return refusedAsk("the ask was taken already")
+		return HandOverAsk{}, "the ask was taken already"
 	}
-	said, err := handle(ask.Path, by)
-	if err != nil {
-		return HandOverAnswer{Refused: err.Error()}
-	}
-	return HandOverAnswer{Said: said}
+	return ask, ""
 }
 
 // HandOverReply is what a hand-over request is answered with, and whether to answer: a request with no reply
@@ -188,3 +202,63 @@ func HandOverReply(check HandOverCheck, handle HandOverFunc, reply string, body
 type HandOvers interface {
 	HearHandOvers(HandOverFunc)
 }
+
+// A search for setuid programs asked over the bus (novox/hq issue 361).
+//
+// The operator who changed by hand what the last search found — removed a setuid-root copy no package owns —
+// asks for a fresh one at the controller's terminal: `nox node setuid-search <node>` on the control-node. The
+// controller asks this node's engine on AskSetuidSearchSubject, signed as a hand-over is and held to the same
+// checks (believed), under a signing context of its own so neither ask's signature is the other's. The engine
+// throws away the last search and starts a full one; it never names a path in its answer.
+//
+// **At the terminal alone, never a verb** (decided in issue 361): a search can never make a machine free
+// wrongly — it judges only once complete — but one asked again and again would keep the machine unjudged and
+// its disks busy, and whoever may call a verb includes agents.
+
+// AskSetuidSearchSubject is where the controller asks this node's engine for a fresh search.
+func AskSetuidSearchSubject(node string) string { return "mesh.node." + node + ".ask.setuid-search" }
+
+// SetuidSearchContext is prefixed to a search ask's bytes before signing: never a hand-over's, nor a
+// declaration's.
+const SetuidSearchContext = "novox-mesh setuid-search v1\n"
+
+// SetuidSearchFunc throws away the last search and starts a full one, asked by by: the words to answer with.
+type SetuidSearchFunc func(by string) (string, error)
+
+func refusedSearch(why string) HandOverAnswer {
+	return HandOverAnswer{Refused: why + "; no search was started"}
+}
+
+// AnswerSetuidSearch is the engine's judgement of one search ask's bytes: believed as a hand-over is, a path
+// refused, and only then the handler.
+func AnswerSetuidSearch(check HandOverCheck, handle SetuidSearchFunc, body []byte) HandOverAnswer {
+	if handle == nil {
+		return refusedSearch("this engine searches for setuid programs on no ask")
+	}
+	ask, refused := believed(check, SetuidSearchContext, false, body)
+	if refused != "" {
+		return refusedSearch(refused)
+	}
+	said, err := handle(ask.By)
+	if err != nil {
+		return refusedSearch(err.Error())
+	}
+	return HandOverAnswer{Said: said}
+}
+
+// SetuidSearchReply is what a search request is answered with, and whether to answer, as HandOverReply.
+func SetuidSearchReply(check HandOverCheck, handle SetuidSearchFunc, reply string, body []byte) ([]byte, bool) {
+	if reply == "" {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	answer, err := json.Marshal(AnswerSetuidSearch(check, handle, body))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	return answer, true
+}
+
+// SetuidSearches is a link that hears the controller asking this node for a fresh search. Optional.
+type SetuidSearches interface {
+	HearSetuidSearches(SetuidSearchFunc)
+}

internal/link/hearing_nats.go

@@ -62,7 +62,9 @@ type natsLink struct {
 	asking  *nats.Subscription
 	asked   chan struct{}
 	handing *nats.Subscription
-	node    string
+	// searching hears the controller's terminal asking for a fresh setuid search (novox/hq issue 361).
+	searching *nats.Subscription
+	node      string
 	// signer is the mesh's key, which a hand-over ask is verified with as a declaration is (issue 356).
 	signer  ed25519.PublicKey
 	arrived chan Declaration
@@ -217,6 +219,25 @@ func (l *natsLink) HearHandOvers(handle HandOverFunc) {
 	}
 }
 
+// HearSetuidSearches listens for the controller asking this node for a fresh search for setuid programs
+// (novox/hq issue 361), on this machine's own subject, verified as a hand-over is (AnswerSetuidSearch). A bus
+// whose user list is older than the grant refuses the subscription, said by the client; the operator's line
+// then says that nothing on this node answers.
+func (l *natsLink) HearSetuidSearches(handle SetuidSearchFunc) {
+	if handle == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	check := HandOverCheck{Signer: l.signer, Node: l.node}
+	searching, err := l.conn.Subscribe(AskSetuidSearchSubject(l.node), func(msg *nats.Msg) {
+		if body, answer := SetuidSearchReply(check, handle, msg.Reply, msg.Data); answer {
+			_ = msg.Respond(body)
+		}
+	})
+	if err == nil {
+		l.searching = searching
+	}
+}
+
 func (l *natsLink) Declarations() <-chan Declaration { return l.arrived }
 func (l *natsLink) AskedToReport() <-chan struct{}   { return l.asked }
 func (l *natsLink) Lost() <-chan error               { return l.lost }
@@ -231,6 +252,9 @@ func (l *natsLink) Close() {
 	if l.handing != nil {
 		_ = l.handing.Unsubscribe()
 	}
+	if l.searching != nil {
+		_ = l.searching.Unsubscribe()
+	}
 	if l.conn != nil {
 		l.conn.Close()
 	}

internal/link/messages.go

@@ -373,6 +373,31 @@ type ResourceHealth struct {
 	// a person (novox/hq ADR 0266): healthy then also means the engine found no way for it to. Empty on
 	// every other verdict, and on an account judged for its groups alone.
 	Root string `json:"root,omitempty"`
+	// Search is how far the setuid search got, on an account's verdict that waits for it (novox/hq issue
+	// 361): Reason says the same in words. Absent otherwise.
+	Search *SetuidSearch `json:"search,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// SetuidSearch is how far a running search for setuid programs got, as of its last checkpoint. Counts, times
+// and mount points only: never a path the walk visited or found.
+type SetuidSearch struct {
+	Started     time.Time `json:"started"`
+	Filesystems int       `json:"filesystems"`
+	Done        int       `json:"done"`
+	// Walking is the mount point of the filesystem walked now; empty when every one is walked.
+	Walking string `json:"walking,omitempty"`
+	Visited int64  `json:"visited"`
+	// Found is how many setuid- or setgid-root files it found so far, before the package manager is asked.
+	Found int `json:"found"`
+	// Kept is when its progress was last kept; absent before the first time.
+	Kept     *time.Time           `json:"kept,omitempty"`
+	Finished []SearchedFilesystem `json:"finished,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// SearchedFilesystem is one filesystem a search walked to its end; TookSeconds is absent when not known.
+type SearchedFilesystem struct {
+	Mount       string `json:"mount"`
+	TookSeconds *int64 `json:"took_seconds,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // HealthSaid is the health event: a machine's statement between its reports, on HealthSubject.

internal/link/queue.go

@@ -54,8 +54,11 @@ type Queue struct {
 	// HandOver judges and records a directory used as found handed to the mesh by the operator, asked by
 	// the controller over the link (novox/hq issue 356). Nil answers every such ask with a refusal.
 	HandOver HandOverFunc
-	Say      Announce
-	Timeout  time.Duration
+	// SetuidSearch throws away the last search for setuid programs and starts a full one, asked by the
+	// controller's terminal over the link (novox/hq issue 361). Nil answers every such ask with a refusal.
+	SetuidSearch SetuidSearchFunc
+	Say          Announce
+	Timeout      time.Duration
 
 	once sync.Once
 	wake chan struct{}

internal/link/run.go

@@ -244,6 +244,10 @@ func serve(ctx context.Context, link Link, m Membership, queue *Queue, say Annou
 	if h, ok := link.(HandOvers); ok {
 		h.HearHandOvers(queue.HandOver)
 	}
+	// And asking for a fresh search for setuid programs (novox/hq issue 361).
+	if s, ok := link.(SetuidSearches); ok {
+		s.HearSetuidSearches(queue.SetuidSearch)
+	}
 
 	for {
 		// Asked to stop — by standing aside, say — nothing further is taken in.

internal/link/setuid_search_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+package link
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// The subject and the signing context the controller holds the same words for (mesh-controller internal/link).
+func TestTheSetuidSearchAskKeepsItsSubjectAndContext(t *testing.T) {
+	if AskSetuidSearchSubject("laptop") != "mesh.node.laptop.ask.setuid-search" {
+		t.Fatalf("the subject is %q", AskSetuidSearchSubject("laptop"))
+	}
+	if SetuidSearchContext != "novox-mesh setuid-search v1\n" || SetuidSearchContext == HandOverContext {
+		t.Fatalf("the signing context is %q", SetuidSearchContext)
+	}
+}
+
+func signedSearch(t *testing.T, key ed25519.PrivateKey, context string, ask HandOverAsk) []byte {
+	t.Helper()
+	raw, _ := json.Marshal(ask)
+	body, _ := json.Marshal(SignedHandOver{Ask: raw, Signature: ed25519.Sign(key, append([]byte(context), raw...))})
+	return body
+}
+
+// A search ask is believed as a hand-over is: signed by the mesh under its own context (a hand-over's signature
+// starts no search), for this node, unexpired, once, and naming no path.
+func TestASetuidSearchAskIsBelievedOnlySignedForThisNodeAndOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	m, key := aMember(t)
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 10, 2, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	var asked []string
+	handle := func(by string) (string, error) { asked = append(asked, by); return "a new search starts", nil }
+	check := HandOverCheck{Signer: m.Signer, Node: "n1", Now: func() time.Time { return now }, Nonces: &Nonces{}}
+	good := HandOverAsk{Node: "n1", By: " jo ", Expires: now.Add(HandOverGood), Nonce: aNonce}
+	for name, body := range map[string][]byte{
+		"a hand-over's signature": signedSearch(t, key, HandOverContext, good),
+		"another node":            signedSearch(t, key, SetuidSearchContext, HandOverAsk{Node: "n2", By: "jo", Expires: good.Expires, Nonce: aNonce}),
+		"a path":                  signedSearch(t, key, SetuidSearchContext, HandOverAsk{Node: "n1", Path: "/x", By: "jo", Expires: good.Expires, Nonce: aNonce}),
+		"expired":                 signedSearch(t, key, SetuidSearchContext, HandOverAsk{Node: "n1", By: "jo", Expires: now, Nonce: aNonce}),
+	} {
+		if a := AnswerSetuidSearch(check, handle, body); !strings.HasSuffix(a.Refused, "no search was started") || a.Said != "" {
+			t.Errorf("%s: %+v", name, a)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(asked) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a refused ask reached the handler: %v", asked)
+	}
+	body := signedSearch(t, key, SetuidSearchContext, good)
+	if a := AnswerSetuidSearch(check, handle, body); a.Said != "a new search starts" || len(asked) != 1 || asked[0] != "jo" {
+		t.Fatalf("the good ask: %+v, %v", a, asked)
+	}
+	if a := AnswerSetuidSearch(check, handle, body); !strings.Contains(a.Refused, "taken already") {
+		t.Fatalf("the same ask again: %+v", a)
+	}
+	if a := AnswerSetuidSearch(check, nil, body); a.Refused == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("no handler: %+v", a)
+	}
+}