internal/declaration/declaration.go

@@ -1145,6 +1145,13 @@ type envelope struct {
 	Version  int       `json:"declaration"`
 	For      string    `json:"for,omitempty"`
 	Adoption *Adoption `json:"adoption,omitempty"`
+	// OwnsNothing is the control plane saying, explicitly, that this node's declaration is empty
+	// on purpose — it owns nothing the mesh put there (novox/hq issue 127). Without it an empty
+	// resources list is refused as a likely mistake; with it the node applies the empty
+	// declaration and drops what it last held. The two are distinguished because a truncated or
+	// mis-composed body arrives as empty too, and a host that could not tell them apart would let
+	// a bug quietly strip a machine.
+	OwnsNothing bool              `json:"owns_nothing,omitempty"`
 	Resources   []json.RawMessage `json:"resources"`
 }
 
@@ -1165,7 +1172,7 @@ func parse(raw []byte, allowActions bool) (*Declaration, error) {
 	d := &Declaration{Version: env.Version, For: env.For, Adoption: env.Adoption}
 	var problems []string
 
-	if len(env.Resources) == 0 {
+	if len(env.Resources) == 0 && !env.OwnsNothing {
 		problems = append(problems, "no resources. An empty declaration is a mistake, not a "+
 			"machine with nothing on it — say so with an explicit empty list if that is meant")
 	}

internal/declaration/declaration_test.go

@@ -451,3 +451,16 @@ func TestAContainersResolverAndAddressAreAddressesOrRefused(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("a well-formed resolver and address were refused: %v", p)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAnExplicitlyEmptyDeclarationIsAccepted(t *testing.T) {
+	// A deliberately-empty declaration (novox/hq issue 127) says owns_nothing, and is applied so
+	// the node drops what it last held — distinct from an accidental empty body, which is refused.
+	if _, err := Parse([]byte(`{"declaration":1,"owns_nothing":true,"resources":[]}`)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("an explicitly-empty declaration must be accepted: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Without the marker, an empty declaration is still refused as a likely mistake.
+	_, err := Parse([]byte(`{"declaration":1,"resources":[]}`))
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "no resources") {
+		t.Fatalf("an unmarked empty declaration must still be refused; got %v", err)
+	}
+}