fix(panel): stop shipping a fabricated router in the binary

mock.ts was a static import and the mock switch was read from the query string at
runtime, so the bundle that ships inside the daemon carried a complete fictional
router and a link ending in ?dev rendered it: protected, 119 of 122 nodes alive,
without a single request to the daemon. The only tell was a line in the footer.
That is worse than any wrong number — there is no data at all and nothing says
so. It is out of the production bundle now, which is 21 kB smaller for it.

Unknown state stopped reading as good news in two more places. The kill-switch
tile treated an absent plane as armed, because the check was "not none" and
undefined satisfies it — the contract in the API types says the opposite. And the
apply page announced "daemon auto-rolled back" from its own timer, while the
daemon, seeing the state generation move, disarms and says it is NOT rolling back
in the log only.

Alerts moved to Settings. They are about the kill switch, apply failures, new
devices and subscription expiry, and they lived at the bottom of the DNS page,
while Settings mentioned them in prose with nothing to click.

Findings truncation is visible now: the notice that says how many were suppressed
arrives as info, and the attention list keeps only critical and warning, so past
fifty findings the operator saw forty-nine and no hint of the rest.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

common/urltest/board_capacity_lx_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+// lx:begin health-board
+
+package urltest
+
+import (
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/adapter"
+)
+
+// captureEvictions swaps the eviction notice sink for the duration of a test and
+// returns a func that reads back everything reported.
+func captureEvictions(t *testing.T) func() []string {
+	t.Helper()
+	var (
+		mu   sync.Mutex
+		msgs []string
+	)
+	orig := boardEvictionLog
+	boardEvictionLog = func(m string) {
+		mu.Lock()
+		msgs = append(msgs, m)
+		mu.Unlock()
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { boardEvictionLog = orig })
+	return func() []string {
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		return append([]string(nil), msgs...)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBoardHoldsAGenerationWithoutEvicting is the "what it holds" half of the
+// bound. A live generation on this box is ~1200 tags (≈380 nodes plus their
+// per-group egress copies and chain hops); the board must carry that — and a
+// second generation's worth of overlap during a subscription rename — with no
+// eviction at all, or the ceiling would be silently degrading real health data.
+func TestBoardHoldsAGenerationWithoutEvicting(t *testing.T) {
+	read := captureEvictions(t)
+	s := NewHistoryStorage()
+
+	const generation = 1200
+	for gen := 0; gen < 2; gen++ {
+		for i := 0; i < generation; i++ {
+			s.StoreURLTestHistory("gen"+strconv.Itoa(gen)+"-node-"+strconv.Itoa(i),
+				&adapter.URLTestHistory{LastOK: time.Now(), Delay: 20})
+		}
+	}
+	if got := s.Evicted(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("two full generations (%d tags) evicted %d entries; the board must hold them",
+			2*generation, got)
+	}
+	if msgs := read(); len(msgs) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected eviction notices: %v", msgs)
+	}
+	// Everything is still readable.
+	if s.LoadURLTestHistory("gen0-node-0") == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the first tag of the first generation was lost without an eviction")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBoardEvictsOldestAndSaysSo is the "what happens when it overflows" half.
+// Overflow must (a) actually bound the map, (b) drop the LEAST RECENTLY MEASURED
+// tags — on this box, exactly the ones no config names any more — and (c) be
+// audible: a silent eviction is a health board quietly forgetting nodes it is
+// still being asked about.
+func TestBoardEvictsOldestAndSaysSo(t *testing.T) {
+	read := captureEvictions(t)
+	s := NewHistoryStorage()
+
+	base := time.Now().Add(-24 * time.Hour)
+	// Stale generation first: measured a day ago, nothing since.
+	const stale = 1500
+	for i := 0; i < stale; i++ {
+		s.StoreURLTestHistory("stale-"+strconv.Itoa(i),
+			&adapter.URLTestHistory{LastOK: base.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Millisecond), Delay: 30})
+	}
+	if s.Evicted() != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("evicted before the ceiling was reached")
+	}
+	// Now push past the ceiling with fresh measurements.
+	for i := 0; i <= maxBoardEntries; i++ {
+		s.StoreURLTestHistory("fresh-"+strconv.Itoa(i),
+			&adapter.URLTestHistory{LastOK: time.Now(), Delay: 15})
+	}
+
+	if got := s.Evicted(); got == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("board grew past %d entries without evicting anything — it is still unbounded", maxBoardEntries)
+	}
+	s.access.RLock()
+	size := len(s.delayHistory)
+	s.access.RUnlock()
+	if size > maxBoardEntries {
+		t.Fatalf("board holds %d entries, above the %d ceiling", size, maxBoardEntries)
+	}
+
+	// The day-old generation is what went, not the fresh one.
+	if s.LoadURLTestHistory("stale-0") != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the oldest observation survived while newer ones were dropped")
+	}
+	if s.LoadURLTestHistory("fresh-"+strconv.Itoa(maxBoardEntries)) == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("the newest measurement was evicted")
+	}
+
+	msgs := read()
+	if len(msgs) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("entries were evicted with no notice — eviction must never be silent")
+	}
+	m := msgs[0]
+	for _, want := range []string{"health board full", "evicted", "re-probed"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(m, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("eviction notice %q does not say %q", m, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBoardEvictionThroughMarkFailed pins the OTHER write path. MarkFailed is how
+// a dead node is recorded, and a flood of dead renamed nodes is exactly the shape
+// of the leak — so it has to prune too, not just the success path.
+func TestBoardEvictionThroughMarkFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	captureEvictions(t)
+	s := NewHistoryStorage()
+	for i := 0; i <= maxBoardEntries; i++ {
+		s.MarkFailed("dead-" + strconv.Itoa(i))
+	}
+	s.access.RLock()
+	size := len(s.delayHistory)
+	s.access.RUnlock()
+	if size > maxBoardEntries {
+		t.Fatalf("MarkFailed grew the board to %d, above the %d ceiling", size, maxBoardEntries)
+	}
+	if s.Evicted() == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("MarkFailed never prunes — the failure path is still unbounded")
+	}
+}
+
+// lx:end health-board

common/urltest/board_lx.go

@@ -10,11 +10,128 @@
 package urltest
 
 import (
+	"sort"
+	"strconv"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/adapter"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
 )
 
+// --- board capacity ---------------------------------------------------------
+//
+// The board is the one structure in the daemon whose key space is chosen by
+// somebody else. Its keys are outbound TAGS, and on this box a tag is a node
+// NAME straight out of the subscription — plus the derived per-group egress
+// copies ("group-<g>-m<i>-<node>") and per-chain hop copies the probe planner
+// creates for the same nodes. Providers rename their nodes freely, so a daily
+// subscription refresh introduces a whole new generation of keys, while the
+// store itself is pinned to the ENGINE's context (shater/engine.New) and so
+// outlives every generation and every Apply — by design, so health survives a
+// config change.
+//
+// Nothing ever removed a key. DeleteURLTestHistory exists but no shater path
+// calls it (only daemon/ and clashapi/, which this fork does not run), so the
+// map was strictly append-only for the life of the process — and the process is
+// expected to live for months.
+//
+// The arithmetic: ~380 nodes, and a config with a couple of egress-bound groups
+// plus a handful of chains puts a LIVE generation at roughly 380 base tags +
+// 2x380 group copies + ~100 chain copies ≈ 1200 keys. One new generation per day
+// is ~440k keys a year, at ~200 B per entry (map bucket + a tag string that is
+// routinely 30-50 B with flag emoji, + a 56 B URLTestHistory) ≈ 88 MB of a
+// 512 MB box — spent entirely on nodes that no longer exist.
+const (
+	// maxBoardEntries is the hard ceiling. 4096 is ~3.4 live generations, so the
+	// board comfortably holds the current config plus the overlap while a
+	// subscription refresh swaps names, and still costs under a megabyte. A tighter
+	// bound would start evicting tags the running config actually uses; a looser one
+	// would stop being a bound in any useful sense.
+	maxBoardEntries = 4096
+	// keepBoardEntries is the prune target: drop a quarter at a time so the
+	// O(n log n) selection is amortised over ~1024 inserts instead of running on
+	// every probe once the board is full.
+	keepBoardEntries = 3072
+)
+
+// boardEvictionLog reports an eviction. A package var so tests can capture it;
+// production leaves it writing to the process log, which under procd is the same
+// syslog/logsink stream every other daemon line lands in.
+//
+// Eviction is NEVER silent. It is not free either: an evicted tag reverts to
+// "untested" and its next probe re-measures it, so a board that evicts entries
+// belonging to the LIVE config is a board whose ceiling is too low — and the only
+// way anyone finds that out is this line.
+var boardEvictionLog = func(msg string) { boardLogger().Warn(msg) }
+
+// pruneLocked drops the least-recently-OBSERVED entries when the board exceeds
+// maxBoardEntries. "Least recently observed" is max(LastOK, LastFail): the entry
+// nothing has measured for the longest is, on this box, precisely a tag that no
+// longer exists in any config — a renamed node, a removed group copy, a retired
+// chain hop. Caller holds access.
+func (s *HistoryStorage) pruneLocked() {
+	if len(s.delayHistory) <= maxBoardEntries {
+		return
+	}
+	type kv struct {
+		tag  string
+		seen time.Time
+	}
+	all := make([]kv, 0, len(s.delayHistory))
+	for tag, h := range s.delayHistory {
+		seen := h.LastOK
+		if h.LastFail.After(seen) {
+			seen = h.LastFail
+		}
+		all = append(all, kv{tag, seen})
+	}
+	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool { return all[i].seen.Before(all[j].seen) })
+	drop := len(all) - keepBoardEntries
+	var oldest time.Time
+	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
+		if i == 0 {
+			oldest = all[i].seen
+		}
+		delete(s.delayHistory, all[i].tag)
+	}
+	s.evicted += uint64(drop)
+
+	msg := "urltest: health board full (" + strconv.Itoa(maxBoardEntries) + " tags) — evicted " +
+		strconv.Itoa(drop) + " least-recently-measured entries (" + strconv.FormatUint(s.evicted, 10) +
+		" total since start); they revert to untested and will be re-probed"
+	if !oldest.IsZero() {
+		msg += "; oldest observation was " + time.Since(oldest).Truncate(time.Second).String() + " ago"
+	}
+	boardEvictionLog(msg)
+}
+
+// Evicted reports how many entries the capacity bound has dropped since the store
+// was created. Nonzero means the board reached maxBoardEntries at least once.
+func (s *HistoryStorage) Evicted() uint64 {
+	if s == nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	s.access.RLock()
+	defer s.access.RUnlock()
+	return s.evicted
+}
+
+// boardLogger is the process-wide fallback logger for eviction notices. The store
+// is built from a plain constructor with no logger in sight (box.New, the daemon,
+// shater/engine all call NewHistoryStorage()), so rather than change that
+// signature everywhere the notice goes to the standard logger — which on the
+// router is the daemon's own stderr, i.e. the same sink logsink owns.
+var (
+	boardLogOnce sync.Once
+	boardLog     log.ContextLogger
+)
+
+func boardLogger() log.ContextLogger {
+	boardLogOnce.Do(func() { boardLog = log.StdLogger() })
+	return boardLog
+}
+
 // HealthVerdict classifies a stored history entry at read time.
 type HealthVerdict int
 
@@ -54,6 +171,7 @@ func (s *HistoryStorage) MarkFailed(tag string) {
 		updated.Delay = previous.Delay
 	}
 	s.delayHistory[tag] = updated
+	s.pruneLocked()
 	s.notifyUpdated()
 	s.access.Unlock()
 }

common/urltest/urltest.go

@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@ type HistoryStorage struct {
 	access       sync.RWMutex
 	delayHistory map[string]*adapter.URLTestHistory
 	updateHooks  []*observable.Subscriber[struct{}]
+	// evicted counts entries dropped by the capacity bound (board_lx.go). The map
+	// is keyed by outbound tags chosen by a subscription provider, so it needs a
+	// ceiling; see the comment on maxBoardEntries.
+	evicted uint64
 }
 
 func NewHistoryStorage() *HistoryStorage {
@@ -71,6 +75,11 @@ func (s *HistoryStorage) StoreURLTestHistory(tag string, history *adapter.URLTes
 	}
 	// lx:end health-board
 	s.delayHistory[tag] = history
+	// lx:begin health-board — the map is keyed by provider-chosen tags and the
+	// store outlives every engine generation, so it must bound itself here: no
+	// shater path ever calls DeleteURLTestHistory. See maxBoardEntries.
+	s.pruneLocked()
+	// lx:end health-board
 	s.notifyUpdated()
 	s.access.Unlock()
 }

dns/transport/quic/http3.go

@@ -126,6 +126,12 @@ func (t *HTTP3Transport) newTransport() *http3.Transport {
 				conn.Close()
 				return nil, dialErr
 			}
+			// quic-go does not take ownership of the packet conn passed to
+			// DialEarly: when the connection ends it only stops reading.
+			go func() {
+				<-quicConn.Context().Done()
+				conn.Close()
+			}()
 			return quicConn, nil
 		},
 		TLSClientConfig: t.tlsConfig,

dns/transport/quic/packetconn_leak_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,351 @@
+package quic
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/quic-go"
+	"github.com/sagernet/quic-go/http3"
+	sbTLS "github.com/sagernet/sing-box/common/tls"
+	C "github.com/sagernet/sing-box/constant"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/dns"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/dns/transport"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing/common"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing/common/logger"
+	M "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/metadata"
+	N "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/network"
+
+	mDNS "github.com/miekg/dns"
+)
+
+var _ N.Dialer = (*trackingDialer)(nil)
+
+// These tests pin down who owns the UDP socket handed to quic-go.
+//
+// quic-go's Dial/DialEarly take a net.PacketConn but do NOT take ownership of
+// it: quic.setupTransport() builds a Transport with createdConn=false, and
+// Transport.Close() then only calls conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now()) instead of
+// conn.Close(). So every QUIC connection torn down here — idle timeout, a
+// retryable error, an engine reload calling Reset() — used to strand the UDP
+// socket that carried it for the rest of the process's life. On a router that
+// resolves through DoQ/DoH3 for months that is an unbounded fd leak.
+//
+// Both tests reconnect once and assert the socket from the FIRST connection is
+// actually closed. Without the `<-conn.Context().Done() -> rawConn.Close()`
+// watchdogs in quic.go / http3.go they fail on that assertion.
+
+type trackedConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+	closeOnce sync.Once
+	closed    chan struct{}
+}
+
+func (c *trackedConn) Close() error {
+	c.closeOnce.Do(func() { close(c.closed) })
+	return c.Conn.Close()
+}
+
+// trackingDialer hands out real UDP sockets and remembers every one of them.
+type trackingDialer struct {
+	access sync.Mutex
+	conns  []*trackedConn
+}
+
+func (d *trackingDialer) DialContext(ctx context.Context, network string, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.Conn, error) {
+	conn, err := (&net.Dialer{}).DialContext(ctx, network, destination.String())
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	tracked := &trackedConn{Conn: conn, closed: make(chan struct{})}
+	d.access.Lock()
+	d.conns = append(d.conns, tracked)
+	d.access.Unlock()
+	return tracked, nil
+}
+
+func (d *trackingDialer) ListenPacket(ctx context.Context, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.PacketConn, error) {
+	return net.ListenUDP("udp", nil)
+}
+
+func (d *trackingDialer) count() int {
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	return len(d.conns)
+}
+
+func (d *trackingDialer) at(index int) *trackedConn {
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	return d.conns[index]
+}
+
+func (d *trackingDialer) closeAll() {
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	for _, conn := range d.conns {
+		conn.Close()
+	}
+}
+
+func requireClosed(t *testing.T, conn *trackedConn, what string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	select {
+	case <-conn.closed:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("%s: the UDP socket of the retired QUIC connection was never closed — quic-go does not own it, we must", what)
+	}
+}
+
+func requireDialed(t *testing.T, dialer *trackingDialer, want int) {
+	t.Helper()
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		if dialer.count() >= want {
+			return
+		}
+		time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("expected at least %d dial(s), got %d", want, dialer.count())
+}
+
+func testServerTLSConfig(t *testing.T, nextProtos []string) *tls.Config {
+	t.Helper()
+	certificate, err := sbTLS.GenerateKeyPair(nil, nil, nil, "localhost")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return &tls.Config{
+		Certificates: []tls.Certificate{*certificate},
+		NextProtos:   nextProtos,
+		MinVersion:   tls.VersionTLS13,
+	}
+}
+
+func testClientTLSConfig(t *testing.T, nextProtos []string) sbTLS.Config {
+	t.Helper()
+	config, err := sbTLS.NewClient(context.Background(), logger.NOP(), "localhost", option.OutboundTLSOptions{
+		Enabled:    true,
+		Insecure:   true,
+		ServerName: "localhost",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	config.SetNextProtos(nextProtos)
+	return config
+}
+
+// startDoQServer serves a minimal DoQ responder and returns its address.
+func startDoQServer(t *testing.T) M.Socksaddr {
+	t.Helper()
+	listener, err := quic.ListenAddr("127.0.0.1:0", testServerTLSConfig(t, []string{"doq"}), nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		cancel()
+		listener.Close()
+	})
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			conn, acceptErr := listener.Accept(ctx)
+			if acceptErr != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			go func(conn *quic.Conn) {
+				for {
+					stream, streamErr := conn.AcceptStream(ctx)
+					if streamErr != nil {
+						return
+					}
+					go func(stream *quic.Stream) {
+						defer stream.Close()
+						request, readErr := transport.ReadMessage(stream)
+						if readErr != nil {
+							return
+						}
+						response := new(mDNS.Msg)
+						response.SetReply(request)
+						transport.WriteMessage(stream, 0, response)
+					}(stream)
+				}
+			}(conn)
+		}
+	}()
+	return M.ParseSocksaddr(listener.Addr().String())
+}
+
+func testQuery() *mDNS.Msg {
+	message := new(mDNS.Msg)
+	message.SetQuestion("example.com.", mDNS.TypeA)
+	return message
+}
+
+func TestQUICTransportClosesPacketConnOnReconnect(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	serverAddr := startDoQServer(t)
+	dialer := &trackingDialer{}
+	t.Cleanup(dialer.closeAll)
+
+	dnsTransport := &Transport{
+		TransportAdapter: dns.NewTransportAdapter(C.DNSTypeQUIC, "test-doq", nil),
+		dialer:           dialer,
+		serverAddr:       serverAddr,
+		tlsConfig:        testClientTLSConfig(t, []string{"doq"}),
+		connection: transport.NewConnPool(transport.ConnPoolOptions[*quic.Conn]{
+			Mode: transport.ConnPoolSingle,
+			IsAlive: func(conn *quic.Conn) bool {
+				return conn != nil && !common.Done(conn.Context())
+			},
+			Close: func(conn *quic.Conn, _ error) {
+				conn.CloseWithError(0, "")
+			},
+		}),
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { dnsTransport.Close() })
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 15*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	if _, err := dnsTransport.Exchange(ctx, testQuery()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("first exchange: ", err)
+	}
+	requireDialed(t, dialer, 1)
+	first := dialer.at(0)
+
+	// Retire the connection the way a retryable error or an engine reload does.
+	dnsTransport.Reset()
+	requireClosed(t, first, "Reset()")
+
+	// The reconnect must still work, on a fresh socket.
+	if _, err := dnsTransport.Exchange(ctx, testQuery()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("second exchange: ", err)
+	}
+	requireDialed(t, dialer, 2)
+	second := dialer.at(1)
+	if second == first {
+		t.Fatal("expected a new UDP socket for the reconnect")
+	}
+
+	if err := dnsTransport.Close(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	requireClosed(t, second, "Close()")
+}
+
+func TestHTTP3TransportClosesPacketConnOnReconnect(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	mux := http.NewServeMux()
+	mux.HandleFunc("/dns-query", func(writer http.ResponseWriter, request *http.Request) {
+		message, err := readRequestMessage(request)
+		if err != nil {
+			writer.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadRequest)
+			return
+		}
+		response := new(mDNS.Msg)
+		response.SetReply(message)
+		rawResponse, err := response.Pack()
+		if err != nil {
+			writer.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+			return
+		}
+		writer.Header().Set("Content-Type", transport.MimeType)
+		writer.Write(rawResponse)
+	})
+	listener, err := quic.ListenAddrEarly("127.0.0.1:0", testServerTLSConfig(t, []string{http3.NextProtoH3}), nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	server := &http3.Server{Handler: mux}
+	go server.ServeListener(listener)
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		server.Close()
+		listener.Close()
+	})
+	serverAddr := M.ParseSocksaddr(listener.Addr().String())
+
+	dialer := &trackingDialer{}
+	t.Cleanup(dialer.closeAll)
+
+	stdConfig := &tls.Config{
+		InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+		ServerName:         "localhost",
+		NextProtos:         []string{http3.NextProtoH3},
+		MinVersion:         tls.VersionTLS13,
+	}
+	dnsTransport := &HTTP3Transport{
+		TransportAdapter: dns.NewTransportAdapter(C.DNSTypeHTTP3, "test-doh3", nil),
+		logger:           logger.NOP(),
+		dialer:           dialer,
+		destination:      &url.URL{Scheme: "https", Host: "localhost", Path: "/dns-query"},
+		headers:          http.Header{},
+		serverAddr:       serverAddr,
+		tlsConfig:        stdConfig,
+	}
+	dnsTransport.transport = dnsTransport.newTransport()
+	t.Cleanup(func() { dnsTransport.Close() })
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 15*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	if _, err = dnsTransport.Exchange(ctx, testQuery()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("first exchange: ", err)
+	}
+	requireDialed(t, dialer, 1)
+	first := dialer.at(0)
+
+	dnsTransport.Reset()
+	requireClosed(t, first, "Reset()")
+
+	if _, err = dnsTransport.Exchange(ctx, testQuery()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("second exchange: ", err)
+	}
+	requireDialed(t, dialer, 2)
+	second := dialer.at(1)
+	if second == first {
+		t.Fatal("expected a new UDP socket for the reconnect")
+	}
+
+	if err = dnsTransport.Close(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	requireClosed(t, second, "Close()")
+}
+
+func readRequestMessage(request *http.Request) (*mDNS.Msg, error) {
+	defer request.Body.Close()
+	rawMessage := make([]byte, 4096)
+	n, err := readFull(request.Body, rawMessage)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var message mDNS.Msg
+	err = message.Unpack(rawMessage[:n])
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &message, nil
+}
+
+func readFull(reader interface{ Read([]byte) (int, error) }, buffer []byte) (int, error) {
+	var total int
+	for total < len(buffer) {
+		n, err := reader.Read(buffer[total:])
+		total += n
+		if err != nil {
+			if total > 0 {
+				return total, nil
+			}
+			return total, err
+		}
+	}
+	return total, nil
+}

dns/transport/quic/quic.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"os"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/sagernet/quic-go"
 	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/adapter"
@@ -117,6 +118,12 @@ func (t *Transport) Exchange(ctx context.Context, message *mDNS.Msg) (*mDNS.Msg,
 				rawConn.Close()
 				return nil, E.Cause(err, "establish QUIC connection")
 			}
+			// quic-go does not take ownership of the packet conn passed to
+			// DialEarly: when the connection ends it only stops reading.
+			go func() {
+				<-earlyConnection.Context().Done()
+				rawConn.Close()
+			}()
 			return earlyConnection, nil
 		})
 		if err != nil {
@@ -144,6 +151,11 @@ func (t *Transport) exchange(ctx context.Context, message *mDNS.Msg, conn *quic.
 		return nil, E.Cause(err, "open stream")
 	}
 	defer stream.CancelRead(0)
+	stopWatch := context.AfterFunc(ctx, func() {
+		stream.CancelRead(0)
+		_ = stream.SetWriteDeadline(time.Now())
+	})
+	defer stopWatch()
 	err = transport.WriteMessage(stream, 0, message)
 	if err != nil {
 		stream.Close()

openwrt/shater-core/Makefile

@@ -80,6 +80,10 @@ define Package/shater-core/install
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/etc/init.d
 	$(INSTALL_BIN) ./files/etc/init.d/shater $(1)/etc/init.d/shater
 	$(INSTALL_BIN) ./files/etc/init.d/shater-cron $(1)/etc/init.d/shater-cron
+	# START=21 one-shot that loads the persisted fail-closed plane before fw4's
+	# `lan -> wan ACCEPT` can be the only thing on the box (the main init is
+	# START=99, i.e. seconds of plaintext forwarding on every boot).
+	$(INSTALL_BIN) ./files/etc/init.d/shater-armor $(1)/etc/init.d/shater-armor
 
 	$(INSTALL_DIR) $(1)/etc/hotplug.d/iface
 	$(INSTALL_BIN) ./files/etc/hotplug.d/iface/99-shater $(1)/etc/hotplug.d/iface/99-shater

openwrt/shater-core/files/etc/init.d/shater

@@ -33,6 +33,24 @@
 #     be running. `start` raises ACTIVE_FLAG, `stop` clears it; hotplug/cron
 #     reconcile ONLY while the flag is up, so an admin `stop` STICKS — no
 #     background actor may resurrect interception behind a stopped daemon.
+#   * BEING REPLACED IS NOT BEING SWITCHED OFF. `restart`, `reload` (which is
+#     stop+start, i.e. every LuCI Save & Apply) and every package upgrade all run
+#     through `stop`, and the daemon's SIGTERM teardown removes the fail-closed
+#     table unconditionally — it does not consult kill_switch at all. Between that
+#     teardown and the successor's first apply the init GUARANTEES a gap: it waits
+#     for the old process to exit (shater_wait_stopped), then runs `shaterd
+#     migrate`, then starts a daemon that still has to build an engine. So a
+#     restart is announced with RESTART_FLAG, which tells the outgoing daemon to
+#     leave the fail-closed holding plane behind instead of bare routing. A real
+#     `stop` raises no flag and therefore still means what it says.
+#   * The FAIL-CLOSED PLANE MUST ALSO EXIST BEFORE THIS SCRIPT DOES. START=99 is
+#     after fw4 (19) and netifd (20), so at every boot the LAN forwards to the WAN
+#     in the clear for as long as it takes procd to decompress the daemon off
+#     flash and get an engine up. /etc/init.d/shater-armor (START=21) loads
+#     BOOT_ARMOR — a copy of the holding plane the daemon persists on every apply
+#     — to close that window. This script owns the DISARM half: a deliberate
+#     `stop`, or a missing daemon binary, removes the armor so it cannot outlive
+#     the product it protects.
 #   * The engine must never be permanently abandoned while interception stands:
 #     respawn retries are infinite (procd never gives up); a sustained-dead
 #     daemon is additionally escalated by the shater-cron watchdog.
@@ -50,11 +68,36 @@ ACTIVE_FLAG=/var/run/shater.active
 # Written by `shaterd run`; the single-owner token this init waits on so a
 # restart never overlaps a new data plane with the previous one's teardown.
 PIDFILE=/var/run/shaterd.pid
+# Raised around a restart/reload, read by the OUTGOING `shaterd run` at SIGTERM:
+# present => "you are being replaced, leave the fail-closed plane standing";
+# absent  => "you are being switched off, take everything down". tmpfs, so a
+# power cut can never make the next boot look like a restart.
+RESTART_FLAG=/var/run/shater.restarting
+# The persisted fail-closed holding plane. Written by the daemon on every apply,
+# loaded by /etc/init.d/shater-armor at boot. Its PRESENCE is the arm token, so
+# removing it here is how a deliberate stop stops the next boot from blocking.
+BOOT_ARMOR=/etc/shater/boot.nft
 # Seconds `start` will wait for a predecessor to finish its teardown. Must be
 # >= term_timeout below (procd's hard cap on a predecessor's life after SIGTERM)
 # so we never give up while procd is still letting it shut down cleanly.
 STOP_WAIT_SECS=40
 
+# WHICH ACTION rc.common was invoked with, frozen at source time.
+#
+# rc.common sets `action=${2:-help}` before it sources this file, and every action
+# then runs as a function in THAT SAME shell — so `stop_service` can see whether it
+# was reached by `stop` or as the first half of `restart`/`reload`. That is the one
+# distinction procd itself does not expose (`restart` is literally `stop; start`,
+# and stop_service is called identically by both).
+#
+# Frozen into our own variable because `action` is a short, generic name that other
+# framework helpers also use as a local; a snapshot taken before any function runs
+# cannot be shadowed later. An EMPTY or unexpected value degrades to "real stop",
+# which is the pre-existing behaviour and the safe direction to be wrong in: it
+# costs a plaintext window on restart, where the other default would leave a
+# deliberately stopped router blocked.
+SHATER_RC_ACTION="$action"
+
 # --- helpers ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 # True only when the stack is explicitly enabled in UCI.
@@ -73,6 +116,21 @@ _slog() {
 	[ "$(uci -q get shater.globals.log_syslog)" = "0" ] || logger -t shater "$@"
 }
 
+# Announce/withdraw "this daemon is being replaced, not switched off". Read by
+# `shaterd run` when it receives SIGTERM.
+shater_mark_restart() {
+	mkdir -p "$(dirname "$RESTART_FLAG")" 2>/dev/null
+	: > "$RESTART_FLAG"
+}
+shater_clear_restart() { rm -f "$RESTART_FLAG"; }
+
+# Remove the persisted boot armor, so the LAN is NOT blocked at the next boot
+# before the daemon starts. Called when the operator stops the service and when
+# the daemon binary is gone — in both cases nothing is going to come along and
+# replace the armor with a real data plane, and a kill switch with nothing behind
+# it is just a brick.
+shater_disarm_boot() { rm -f "$BOOT_ARMOR"; }
+
 # Echo the pid of a LIVE `shaterd run`, or fail. The pidfile is written by the
 # daemon itself and removed only by the daemon that owns it, AFTER its teardown
 # has completed — so "pidfile names a live process" is precisely "the previous
@@ -136,9 +194,20 @@ start_service() {
 	# Guard: never claim to run without the daemon binary. A half-removed/failed
 	# shaterd upgrade must degrade to "plugin off", not to a box that thinks
 	# interception is live with nothing behind it.
+	#
+	# "Plugin off" now has to include DISARMING. With the boot armor in play, a
+	# missing binary is the one case where the fail-closed plane could stand
+	# forever with nothing able to replace it: the armor loads at START=21, the
+	# daemon never starts, and every later boot repeats it. The product being gone
+	# is not a security event — it is an uninstall — so the plane comes down and
+	# the LAN returns to plain routing, loudly.
 	if [ ! -x "$PROG" ]; then
+		shater_clear_restart
+		shater_disarm_boot
+		rm -f "$ACTIVE_FLAG"
+		nft delete table inet shater 2>/dev/null
 		_slog -p daemon.err \
-			"shaterd binary missing/not executable at $PROG — refusing to start (LAN stays on plain routing)"
+			"shaterd binary missing/not executable at $PROG — refusing to start; the fail-closed plane and its boot armor have been REMOVED (LAN back to plain routing, unprotected). Reinstall shaterd."
 		return 0
 	fi
 
@@ -150,6 +219,11 @@ start_service() {
 	# running, which is the boot case.
 	shater_wait_stopped
 
+	# The predecessor is gone and has already consumed the flag (it reads it in its
+	# SIGTERM handler). Withdraw it now, so a LATER `stop` is unambiguous even if
+	# this start fails further down.
+	shater_clear_restart
+
 	# Bring the UCI schema forward before the daemon reads it (idempotent;
 	# refuses a newer schema) so an upgraded package never applies a stale config.
 	#
@@ -214,6 +288,33 @@ start_service() {
 }
 
 stop_service() {
+	# Say WHY we are stopping before procd sends the signal, because the daemon
+	# cannot tell from the signal alone and the answer changes what it leaves in
+	# the kernel:
+	#
+	#   restart / reload  -> a successor is coming. Raise RESTART_FLAG so the
+	#                        outgoing daemon replaces its data plane with the
+	#                        fail-closed HOLDING plane instead of removing it. The
+	#                        gap until the successor applies is not a moment: this
+	#                        script waits out the old process, runs `shaterd
+	#                        migrate`, then starts a daemon that must build an
+	#                        engine — all of it, until now, with `lan -> wan
+	#                        ACCEPT` and nothing else.
+	#   anything else     -> a deliberate `stop`. Everything comes down, and the
+	#                        boot armor goes with it so the next boot does not
+	#                        quietly reinstate what the operator just switched off.
+	#                        An admin `stop` has to STICK; that is the same rule
+	#                        ACTIVE_FLAG has always enforced for hotplug/cron.
+	case "$SHATER_RC_ACTION" in
+		restart|reload)
+			shater_mark_restart
+			;;
+		*)
+			shater_clear_restart
+			shater_disarm_boot
+			;;
+	esac
+
 	# Drop the live-flag FIRST so a concurrent hotplug/cron tick cannot rebuild
 	# what we are about to tear down. procd then sends SIGTERM to `shaterd run`,
 	# which runs its OWN honest teardown (engine.Close + netplane restore) — we
@@ -233,6 +334,11 @@ reload_service() {
 	# disabled, `start` is a no-op, so a disable+apply cleanly tears everything
 	# down. Because the wait lives in start_service, this path gets the same
 	# stop-then-start ordering guarantee as `restart`.
+	#
+	# Marked EXPLICITLY as well as via SHATER_RC_ACTION: this is the path a routine
+	# Save & Apply takes, so it is the one that must not depend on reading an
+	# rc.common variable correctly. Belt and braces, one line.
+	shater_mark_restart
 	stop
 	start
 }

openwrt/shater-core/files/etc/init.d/shater-armor

@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+#!/bin/sh /etc/rc.common
+# /etc/init.d/shater-armor — the fail-closed plane, before the daemon exists.
+#
+# WHAT THIS CLOSES
+#
+# /etc/init.d/shater is START=99. By then fw4 (START=19) has long since loaded
+# `lan -> wan ACCEPT` and netifd (START=20) has brought the LAN bridge up, so the
+# router forwards LAN traffic to the WAN in the clear from the moment the link
+# comes up until `shaterd run` has been decompressed off flash, has waited out any
+# predecessor, has migrated UCI, has read the config and has installed its first
+# table. On router-class hardware with a UPX-packed binary that is seconds — and
+# they are exactly the seconds in which Wi-Fi finishes associating and every
+# client on the network reconnects and starts talking. `kill_switch=closed` was
+# configured the whole time and covered none of it.
+#
+# There was nothing in the package that could cover it either: no /etc/nftables.d
+# include, no `nft -f` in uci-defaults. Protection existed only inside a Go
+# process that had not started yet.
+#
+# HOW
+#
+# The daemon persists a copy of its fail-closed HOLDING plane (the same ruleset it
+# installs when the engine is down: one forward chain, LAN-to-LAN and router
+# traffic accepted, everything else from the diverted devices dropped) to
+# $ARMOR on every apply. This script loads it early. When the daemon comes up it
+# replaces the table atomically — the ruleset begins with `delete table` and adds
+# its own in one netlink transaction — so there is never a moment with no table.
+#
+# `iifname` matches by NAME at packet time, not by ifindex at load time, so
+# loading this before netifd has created br-lan is fine: the rules simply start
+# matching when the device appears. That is why START can sit here rather than
+# racing netifd.
+#
+# START=21: after fw4 (19) and netifd (20), because fw4's own start tears its
+# table down and rebuilds it and we do not want to be in the middle of that, and
+# because there is nothing to protect before the LAN device is being created. The
+# residual exposure is the fraction of a second between netifd's `ifup` and this
+# script, against seconds-to-a-minute before.
+#
+# THE ESCAPE HATCHES (a kill switch that cannot be switched off is a brick)
+#
+#   * $ARMOR only exists while the daemon's last applied config was BOTH enabled
+#     and fail-closed. `globals.enabled=0`, `kill_switch=open` and a deliberate
+#     `/etc/init.d/shater stop` each remove it.
+#   * We refuse to arm when the main service is disabled in rc.d, or when the
+#     daemon binary is gone — in either case nothing would ever come along to
+#     replace the armor with a real data plane.
+#   * We refuse to arm when UCI can be read AND says the stack is disabled. A
+#     config that cannot be read is NOT a refusal: that case is precisely why the
+#     armor is a file rather than a query.
+#   * The chain hooks `forward` only, so SSH, LuCI and the admin panel (all input
+#     hook, to the router's own addresses) stay reachable. The operator can always
+#     get in and undo this.
+#
+# busybox ash only — no bashisms.
+
+START=21          # after firewall (19) and network (20), long before shater (99)
+STOP=89
+
+ARMOR=/etc/shater/boot.nft
+PROG=/usr/bin/shaterd
+
+# Syslog line that honors globals.log_syslog, like the other two inits. An
+# unreadable UCI leaves the option empty => ON, which is what we want here: the
+# one boot where the config cannot be read is the boot worth logging.
+_slog() {
+	[ "$(uci -q get shater.globals.log_syslog)" = "0" ] || logger -t shater-armor "$@"
+}
+
+# Is the MAIN service enabled at boot? Answered by looking for its rc.d symlink
+# rather than by running `/etc/init.d/shater enabled`: that is a USE_PROCD script,
+# so every action of it sources procd.sh, which takes a blocking flock — and this
+# runs at START=21, in the middle of boot, for a question a glob answers exactly
+# as well. The START number is not hardcoded; any S<NN>shater counts.
+shater_service_enabled() {
+	local f
+	for f in /etc/rc.d/S[0-9][0-9]shater; do
+		[ -e "$f" ] && return 0
+	done
+	return 1
+}
+
+start() {
+	# No saved plane => the stack has never applied an enabled, fail-closed config
+	# (or it was explicitly switched off). Nothing to do, and nothing to say.
+	[ -f "$ARMOR" ] || return 0
+	[ -s "$ARMOR" ] || {
+		_slog -p daemon.err "$ARMOR is empty — NOT arming; the LAN is unprotected until shaterd starts"
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	# Never arm something nothing can disarm.
+	[ -x "$PROG" ] || {
+		_slog -p daemon.err \
+			"$PROG is missing — NOT arming (nothing would replace the block with a working data plane); the LAN stays on plain routing"
+		return 0
+	}
+	shater_service_enabled || {
+		_slog -p daemon.warn \
+			"the shater service is disabled in rc.d — NOT arming (nothing would replace the block with a working data plane); the LAN stays on plain routing"
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	# A READABLE config that says "off" wins over the saved plane (it means the
+	# daemon was stopped before it could disarm). An UNREADABLE config does not:
+	# that is the case this whole mechanism exists for.
+	en=$(uci -q get shater.globals.enabled 2>/dev/null)
+	if [ -n "$en" ] && [ "$en" != "1" ]; then
+		rm -f "$ARMOR"
+		_slog -p daemon.info "globals.enabled=$en — boot armor removed, not arming"
+		return 0
+	fi
+
+	command -v nft >/dev/null 2>&1 || {
+		_slog -p daemon.err "nft is not installed — cannot arm; the LAN is unprotected until shaterd starts"
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	# Validate before loading: a truncated/incompatible snapshot must not leave a
+	# half-built table behind on the one boot it is needed.
+	if ! nft -c -f "$ARMOR" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+		_slog -p daemon.err \
+			"$ARMOR did not validate (nft -c) — NOT arming; the LAN is unprotected until shaterd starts"
+		return 0
+	fi
+	if nft -f "$ARMOR" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+		_slog -p daemon.warn \
+			"fail-closed plane armed from $ARMOR: LAN->WAN forwarding is BLOCKED until shaterd applies. SSH, LuCI and the admin panel stay reachable."
+	else
+		_slog -p daemon.err \
+			"could not load $ARMOR — the LAN is unprotected until shaterd starts"
+	fi
+	return 0
+}
+
+stop() {
+	# Deliberately a NO-OP. By the time anything stops this service the daemon owns
+	# `inet shater`, and deleting the table here would dismantle a LIVE data plane
+	# on the strength of a service that only ever ran for one second at boot. The
+	# disarm paths that matter live where the decision is actually made:
+	# /etc/init.d/shater stop (operator switched it off) and the daemon itself
+	# (globals.enabled=0 / kill_switch=open).
+	return 0
+}

openwrt/shater-core/files/etc/uci-defaults/30_shater-core

@@ -110,6 +110,14 @@ SHATER_BRINGUP='
 	done
 	[ -x /etc/init.d/shater ] && /etc/init.d/shater enable
 	[ -x /etc/init.d/shater-cron ] && /etc/init.d/shater-cron enable
+	# The boot-time fail-closed armor. `enable` only — it is a one-shot that loads
+	# the persisted holding plane at START=21, and running it NOW would install a
+	# block on a live box moments before the daemon replaces it anyway. It has to
+	# be enabled here regardless of whether the stack is on: the file it loads only
+	# exists while the daemon wants it to, so an enabled-but-unarmed service is a
+	# no-op, and enabling it later would mean the first boot after an upgrade is
+	# the one boot still exposed.
+	[ -x /etc/init.d/shater-armor ] && /etc/init.d/shater-armor enable
 	[ -x /etc/init.d/shater ] && /etc/init.d/shater restart
 	[ -x /etc/init.d/shater-cron ] && /etc/init.d/shater-cron restart
 	exit 0

panel/src/App.css

@@ -262,6 +262,65 @@
   }
 }
 
+/* ---- fixture band (dev builds only; see App.tsx MockBanner) ----
+   Deliberately outside the crit/amber vocabulary: nothing is wrong with the
+   router, there is no router. The hazard hatch is the service-sticker language a
+   piece of network hardware already uses for "this unit is not in service". */
+.mock-band {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 1.5);
+  margin-top: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 2);
+  padding: 10px 14px;
+  border: 1px dashed var(--faint);
+  border-radius: 9px;
+  background: repeating-linear-gradient(
+    -45deg,
+    var(--sink),
+    var(--sink) 9px,
+    var(--panel) 9px,
+    var(--panel) 18px
+  );
+}
+.mock-band-tag {
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+  align-self: flex-start;
+  padding: 3px 7px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--faint);
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  background: var(--raised);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 10px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: 0.14em;
+  color: var(--dim);
+}
+.mock-band-copy {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 2px;
+}
+.mock-band-headline {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 12.5px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+  color: var(--ink);
+}
+.mock-band-detail {
+  font-size: 12.5px;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  color: var(--dim);
+  max-width: 76ch;
+}
+.mock-band-detail code {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  color: var(--ink);
+}
+
 /* ---- commit-confirm band (every page except Apply, which has the full panel) ----
    Same plate as the protection banner so the two read as one family; the seconds
    are the loud element because they are the only thing that is running out. */
@@ -397,6 +456,13 @@
 .finding--warning {
   border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--amber) 40%, var(--groove));
 }
+/* The daemon's "the list is capped" disclosure. Dashed, because the row is about
+   what ISN'T here — it must not read as one more finding to work through. */
+.finding--truncated {
+  border-style: dashed;
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--amber) 40%, var(--groove));
+  background: var(--panel);
+}
 .finding-copy {
   flex: 1;
   min-width: 0;

panel/src/App.tsx

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { usePendingConfirm } from './pendingConfirm'
 import { bootstrapSession } from './session'
 import { ROUTES, navigate, useRoute } from './router'
 import { engineState, protectionState } from './planeState'
+import { truncationNote } from './findings'
 import type { Route } from './router'
 import { Overview, Placeholder, Nodes, Routing, Apply, DNS, Devices, Targets, Settings, Profiles, Insights, Networks } from './pages'
 
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ export function App() {
       footer={<StatusBar status={status} />}
     >
       <Nav route={route} />
+      <MockBanner />
       <PlaneBanner status={status} route={route} />
       <ConfirmBand route={route} onChanged={() => void refreshStatus()} />
       <Page route={route} status={status} onStatusChange={() => void refreshStatus()} />
@@ -170,6 +172,31 @@ function ConfirmBand({ route, onChanged }: { route: Route; onChanged: () => void
   )
 }
 
+/**
+ * Says, on every page, that nothing on screen came from a router.
+ *
+ * Only a DEV build can ever render this — the fixtures are not in a production
+ * bundle (api.ts initMockBackend), so an operator cannot reach this state at all.
+ * It is here for the person who CAN: a footer line reading "DEMO DATA" is easy to
+ * work past for an afternoon and then screenshot into a bug report, and every
+ * number above it is invented.
+ */
+function MockBanner() {
+  if (!MOCK) return null
+  return (
+    <div className="mock-band" role="status">
+      <span className="mock-band-tag">FIXTURES</span>
+      <div className="mock-band-copy">
+        <span className="mock-band-headline">No router is being read</span>
+        <span className="mock-band-detail">
+          Every reading on this page is invented by <code>src/mock.ts</code> for offline
+          development. Drop <code>?mock</code> from the address to talk to a daemon.
+        </span>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
+
 /**
  * The protection state, pinned under the nav on every page EXCEPT Overview
  * (which shows the same state as its own headline readout — see planeState.ts).
@@ -195,12 +222,15 @@ function PlaneBanner({ status, route }: { status: Status | null; route: Route })
 
   const criticals = (status.warnings ?? []).filter((w) => w.severity === 'critical').length
   const state = protectionState(status)
+  // The published list is capped at 50, so with a note attached the count is a
+  // floor. Say "at least" rather than quoting a total the daemon didn't send.
+  const atLeast = truncationNote(status.warnings) ? 'At least ' : ''
 
   // Wording comes from the shared source of truth so the banner and Overview can
   // never describe the same router differently.
   const headline = state.alarm
     ? state.headline
-    : `${criticals} protection ${criticals === 1 ? 'gap' : 'gaps'} from the last apply`
+    : `${atLeast}${criticals} protection ${criticals === 1 ? 'gap' : 'gaps'} from the last apply`
   const detail = state.alarm
     ? state.detail
     : 'Something you configured isn’t in effect. Review the findings before relying on it.'

panel/src/api.ts

@@ -13,8 +13,12 @@
 // serves in-memory fixtures instead of hitting the network, so `npm run dev`
 // and screenshot runs render without a live backend. A real backend in dev is
 // reachable instead via the Vite proxy in vite.config.ts (no flag ⇒ real fetch).
+//
+// THE FIXTURES ARE A DEV-BUILD-ONLY ARTEFACT — see initMockBackend below. They
+// used to be a plain static import, decided at RUNTIME off `location.search`, so
+// the invented router shipped inside the binary that goes on real hardware and a
+// link ending in `?dev` painted a healthy appliance without making one request.
 
-import * as mock from './mock'
 import { armPendingConfirm, clearPendingConfirm, noteConfirmTimeout } from './pendingConfirm'
 
 // --- error type -------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1120,12 +1124,59 @@ export interface Model {
 
 // --- transport --------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/** True when the URL asks for the offline fixture backend (?mock or ?dev). */
-export const MOCK: boolean = (() => {
+// --- the offline fixture backend (dev builds only) ---------------------------
+
+/**
+ * True when the in-memory fixtures are serving this session instead of the
+ * daemon. ALWAYS false in a production build — see {@link initMockBackend}.
+ *
+ * A live binding, not a constant: it is decided once during boot, before the
+ * first render, and every importer sees the same value for the whole session.
+ */
+export let MOCK = false
+
+/** The loaded fixture module. `null` unless a dev build was asked for `?mock`. */
+let fixtures: typeof import('./mock') | null = null
+
+/**
+ * Load the fixture backend, if this build has one and the URL asks for it.
+ * Call ONCE from the entry point and await it before the first render — the
+ * pages read {@link MOCK} while they render, so flipping it afterwards would
+ * leave a half-mocked screen.
+ *
+ * Two gates, and the order matters. `import.meta.env.DEV` is folded to a literal
+ * `false` by Vite at build time, so in a production build the whole body is
+ * unreachable, `import('./mock')` is tree-shaken out of the module graph, and the
+ * fixtures are not in the emitted bundle AT ALL — not lazily, not behind a flag.
+ * `vite.config.ts` fails the build if that ever stops being true.
+ *
+ * This is deliberately stronger than "hide the mock behind a query flag". The
+ * flag was the bug: `?dev` on a production URL rendered an invented healthy
+ * router — 119 of 122 nodes alive, "Protected" — with no request made and one
+ * line of small print in the footer to say so. A person cannot audit a bundle;
+ * the only honest guarantee is that the invented data is not in it.
+ */
+export async function initMockBackend(): Promise<boolean> {
+  if (import.meta.env.DEV && mockRequested()) {
+    fixtures = await import('./mock')
+    MOCK = true
+  }
+  return MOCK
+}
+
+/** Does the URL ask for the offline fixture backend (`?mock` or `?dev`)? */
+function mockRequested(): boolean {
   if (typeof location === 'undefined') return false
   const q = new URLSearchParams(location.search)
   return q.has('mock') || q.has('dev')
-})()
+}
+
+/** The fixture backend, for the `MOCK ? … : …` branches below. Throws rather
+ *  than inventing data if it is ever reached without having been loaded. */
+function mock(): NonNullable<typeof fixtures> {
+  if (!fixtures) throw new Error('mock backend not loaded — call initMockBackend() first')
+  return fixtures
+}
 
 /** A decoded response plus the raw Headers, for endpoints whose contract puts
  *  pagination metadata outside the JSON body (see the stats log endpoints). */
@@ -1174,11 +1225,11 @@ async function req<T>(path: string, init?: RequestInit): Promise<T> {
 // --- endpoints --------------------------------------------------------------
 
 export function getStatus(): Promise<Status> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getStatus() : req<Status>('api/status')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getStatus() : req<Status>('api/status')
 }
 
 export async function getConfig(): Promise<Model> {
-  const m = await (MOCK ? mock.getConfig() : req<Model>('api/config'))
+  const m = await (MOCK ? mock().getConfig() : req<Model>('api/config'))
   // Every page reads the config, and the commit-confirm window's length is the
   // only thing needed to arm a countdown — so it is captured here once instead of
   // being threaded through eight pages. See pendingConfirm.ts.
@@ -1188,7 +1239,7 @@ export async function getConfig(): Promise<Model> {
 
 export function putConfig(m: Model): Promise<{ ok: boolean; applied: boolean }> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.putConfig(m)
+    ? mock().putConfig(m)
     : req('api/config', { method: 'PUT', body: JSON.stringify(m) })
 }
 
@@ -1203,25 +1254,25 @@ export function putConfig(m: Model): Promise<{ ok: boolean; applied: boolean }>
  * state. See pendingConfirm.ts.
  */
 export async function apply(): Promise<ApplyResult> {
-  const r = await (MOCK ? mock.apply() : req<ApplyResult>('api/apply', { method: 'POST' }))
+  const r = await (MOCK ? mock().apply() : req<ApplyResult>('api/apply', { method: 'POST' }))
   if (!r.error && r.changed) armPendingConfirm()
   return r
 }
 
 export async function confirm(): Promise<ApplyResult> {
-  const r = await (MOCK ? mock.confirm() : req<ApplyResult>('api/confirm', { method: 'POST' }))
+  const r = await (MOCK ? mock().confirm() : req<ApplyResult>('api/confirm', { method: 'POST' }))
   if (!r.error) clearPendingConfirm()
   return r
 }
 
 export async function rollback(): Promise<ApplyResult> {
-  const r = await (MOCK ? mock.rollback() : req<ApplyResult>('api/rollback', { method: 'POST' }))
+  const r = await (MOCK ? mock().rollback() : req<ApplyResult>('api/rollback', { method: 'POST' }))
   if (!r.error) clearPendingConfirm()
   return r
 }
 
 export function getStats(): Promise<Stats> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getStats() : req<Stats>('api/stats')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getStats() : req<Stats>('api/stats')
 }
 
 // --- daemon log download ------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1273,7 +1324,7 @@ function saveBlob(blob: Blob, filename: string): void {
  */
 export async function downloadLog(range: LogRange): Promise<void> {
   if (MOCK) {
-    saveBlob(new Blob([mock.getLogText(range)], { type: 'text/plain' }), `shater-log-${range}.txt`)
+    saveBlob(new Blob([mock().getLogText(range)], { type: 'text/plain' }), `shater-log-${range}.txt`)
     return
   }
   let res: Response
@@ -1352,14 +1403,14 @@ function logPage<T>(env: { body: T[] | null; headers: Headers }): StatsLogPage<T
 /** GET /api/stats/log — one page of the DNS query log with its cursor metadata. */
 export function getStatsLogPage(q: StatsLogQuery = {}): Promise<StatsLogPage<QueryLogEntry>> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.getStatsLogPage(q)
+    ? mock().getStatsLogPage(q)
     : reqFull<QueryLogEntry[] | null>(`api/stats/log${statsLogQS(q)}`).then(logPage)
 }
 
 /** GET /api/stats/conns — one page of the connection log with its cursor metadata. */
 export function getStatsConnsPage(q: StatsLogQuery = {}): Promise<StatsLogPage<ConnLogEntry>> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.getStatsConnsPage(q)
+    ? mock().getStatsConnsPage(q)
     : reqFull<ConnLogEntry[] | null>(`api/stats/conns${statsLogQS(q)}`).then(logPage)
 }
 
@@ -1367,13 +1418,13 @@ export function getStatsConnsPage(q: StatsLogQuery = {}): Promise<StatsLogPage<C
  *  Rows only; callers that tail the stream want {@link getStatsLogPage} instead. */
 export function getStatsLog(q: number | StatsLogQuery = {}): Promise<QueryLogEntry[]> {
   const o: StatsLogQuery = typeof q === 'number' ? { limit: q } : q
-  return MOCK ? mock.getStatsLog(o) : req<QueryLogEntry[]>(`api/stats/log${statsLogQS(o)}`)
+  return MOCK ? mock().getStatsLog(o) : req<QueryLogEntry[]>(`api/stats/log${statsLogQS(o)}`)
 }
 
 /** GET /api/stats/conns — the live connection-event log (device→dest), newest first. */
 export function getStatsConns(q: number | StatsLogQuery = {}): Promise<ConnLogEntry[]> {
   const o: StatsLogQuery = typeof q === 'number' ? { limit: q } : q
-  return MOCK ? mock.getStatsConns(o) : req<ConnLogEntry[]>(`api/stats/conns${statsLogQS(o)}`)
+  return MOCK ? mock().getStatsConns(o) : req<ConnLogEntry[]>(`api/stats/conns${statsLogQS(o)}`)
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1428,12 +1479,12 @@ export interface RulesReachability {
 
 /** GET /api/rules/reachability — which routing rules can never fire, and why. */
 export function getRulesReachability(): Promise<RulesReachability> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getRulesReachability() : req<RulesReachability>('api/rules/reachability')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getRulesReachability() : req<RulesReachability>('api/rules/reachability')
 }
 
 /** GET /api/ruleset/status — remote rule-set / blocklist freshness + rule counts. */
 export function getRulesetStatus(): Promise<RulesetStatus[]> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getRulesetStatus() : req<RulesetStatus[]>('api/ruleset/status')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getRulesetStatus() : req<RulesetStatus[]>('api/ruleset/status')
 }
 
 /**
@@ -1444,7 +1495,7 @@ export function getRulesetStatus(): Promise<RulesetStatus[]> {
  */
 export function updateRuleset(tag: string): Promise<RulesetStatus | { ok: boolean }> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.updateRuleset(tag)
+    ? mock().updateRuleset(tag)
     : req('api/ruleset/update', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ tag }) })
 }
 
@@ -1472,7 +1523,7 @@ export interface RulesetCheck {
  */
 export function checkRulesetCategory(source: string, category: string): Promise<RulesetCheck> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.checkRulesetCategory(source, category)
+    ? mock().checkRulesetCategory(source, category)
     : req<RulesetCheck>('api/ruleset/check', {
         method: 'POST',
         body: JSON.stringify({ source, category }),
@@ -1501,18 +1552,18 @@ export interface RulesetCategories {
  */
 export function getRulesetCategories(source: string): Promise<RulesetCategories> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.getRulesetCategories(source)
+    ? mock().getRulesetCategories(source)
     : req<RulesetCategories>(`api/ruleset/categories?source=${encodeURIComponent(source)}`)
 }
 
 /** GET /api/devices — discovered LAN clients merged with per-device config. */
 export function getDevices(): Promise<DiscoveredDevice[]> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getDevices() : req<DiscoveredDevice[]>('api/devices')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getDevices() : req<DiscoveredDevice[]>('api/devices')
 }
 
 /** GET /api/interfaces — the router's UCI network interfaces for the egress picker. */
 export function getInterfaces(): Promise<Interface[]> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getInterfaces() : req<Interface[]>('api/interfaces')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getInterfaces() : req<Interface[]>('api/interfaces')
 }
 
 /** POST /api/session — exchange a single-use handoff token for a session cookie. */
@@ -1548,7 +1599,7 @@ export function importWg(conf: string): Promise<{ uri: string; name: string }> {
  */
 export function updateSubscription(name: string): Promise<{ added: number }> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.updateSubscription(name)
+    ? mock().updateSubscription(name)
     : req('api/subscription/update', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ name }) })
 }
 
@@ -1568,7 +1619,7 @@ export function updateSubscription(name: string): Promise<{ added: number }> {
 export function getGroupsHealth(
   opts: { group?: string; members?: boolean } = {},
 ): Promise<GroupsHealth> {
-  if (MOCK) return mock.getGroupsHealth(opts)
+  if (MOCK) return mock().getGroupsHealth(opts)
   const p = new URLSearchParams()
   if (opts.group) p.set('group', opts.group)
   if (opts.members) p.set('members', '1')
@@ -1683,11 +1734,11 @@ export interface GroupTestStart {
  */
 export function postGroupsTest(name = ''): Promise<GroupTestStart> {
   return MOCK
-    ? mock.postGroupsTest(name)
+    ? mock().postGroupsTest(name)
     : req<GroupTestStart>('api/groups/test', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ name }) })
 }
 
 /** GET /api/groups/test — progress + results of the current/last group test. */
 export function getGroupsTest(): Promise<GroupTestStatus> {
-  return MOCK ? mock.getGroupsTest() : req<GroupTestStatus>('api/groups/test')
+  return MOCK ? mock().getGroupsTest() : req<GroupTestStatus>('api/groups/test')
 }

panel/src/findings.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+// findings.ts — which apply-time finding is shown where.
+//
+// Run with `npm test` (node's built-in test runner + native TypeScript
+// stripping; no test dependency is added to the SPA, which ships inside the
+// daemon binary).
+//
+// Two defects are pinned here.
+//
+// 1. THE TRUNCATION NOTE WAS UNREACHABLE. The daemon caps Status.warnings at 50
+//    and overwrites the last slot with an `info` note counting what it dropped.
+//    Overview filtered `info` away wholesale, and the settings-page route keys on
+//    a section (`generate`) that no page owns — so the single line telling the
+//    operator "you are not seeing all of it" reached no screen at all.
+//
+// 2. FINDINGS ABOUT AN ENTITY NEVER REACHED THAT ENTITY'S PAGE. The generator
+//    drops a node it cannot build and names it; the Nodes page rendered that node
+//    as an ordinary row with a green toggle, because it never read the findings.
+
+import { test } from 'node:test'
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+
+import {
+  attentionFindings,
+  entityFindings,
+  findingsByName,
+  sectionNotes,
+  truncationNote,
+  worstSeverity,
+} from './findings.ts'
+import type { StatusWarning } from './api.ts'
+
+const crit = (section: string, name: string, message = 'broken'): StatusWarning => ({
+  severity: 'critical',
+  section,
+  name,
+  message,
+})
+const warn = (section: string, name: string, message = 'degraded'): StatusWarning => ({
+  severity: 'warning',
+  section,
+  name,
+  message,
+})
+const info = (section: string, name: string, message: string): StatusWarning => ({
+  severity: 'info',
+  section,
+  name,
+  message,
+})
+
+/** Verbatim from apply/warnings.go finalizeWarnings. */
+const SUPPRESSED = info(
+  'generate',
+  '',
+  '7 further warning(s) suppressed; run `logread -e shater` for the full list',
+)
+
+// --- the truncation note ----------------------------------------------------
+
+test('the truncation note is found, whatever else is in the list', () => {
+  const note = truncationNote([crit('rule', 'a'), warn('node', 'b'), SUPPRESSED])
+  assert.notEqual(note, null)
+  assert.match(note!.message, /7 further warning/)
+})
+
+test('a whole list has no truncation note', () => {
+  assert.equal(truncationNote([crit('rule', 'a'), warn('node', 'b')]), null)
+  assert.equal(truncationNote([]), null)
+  assert.equal(truncationNote(undefined), null)
+})
+
+test('an ordinary info note is not mistaken for the truncation note', () => {
+  const notes = [info('untunnelable', 'block', 'Ping and traceroute do not work…')]
+  assert.equal(truncationNote(notes), null)
+})
+
+test('the truncation note is kept out of the settings-page notes it would pollute', () => {
+  const all = [info('generate', '', 'cache: moved to /overlay'), SUPPRESSED]
+  const notes = sectionNotes(all, 'generate')
+  assert.equal(notes.length, 1)
+  assert.match(notes[0].message, /cache:/)
+})
+
+test('the attention list still carries only critical and warning', () => {
+  const all = [crit('rule', 'a'), warn('node', 'b'), info('untunnelable', 'block', 'x'), SUPPRESSED]
+  const attention = attentionFindings(all)
+  assert.equal(attention.length, 2)
+  assert.ok(attention.every((w) => w.severity !== 'info'))
+})
+
+// --- per-entity findings ----------------------------------------------------
+
+test('a page takes only the sections it owns', () => {
+  const all = [
+    crit('node', 'tokyo-01', 'parse share-link: bad scheme (skipped)'),
+    warn('subscription', 'qomar', 'fetch failed'),
+    crit('rule', 'default', 'never applies'),
+    info('generate', '', 'cache: x'),
+  ]
+  const mine = entityFindings(all, ['node', 'subscription'])
+  assert.deepEqual(
+    mine.map((w) => w.name),
+    ['tokyo-01', 'qomar'],
+  )
+})
+
+test('entity findings never include info notes', () => {
+  const all = [info('node', 'tokyo-01', 'just a note'), SUPPRESSED]
+  assert.equal(entityFindings(all, ['node', 'generate']).length, 0)
+})
+
+test('findings index by name, and global (unnamed) ones are left out', () => {
+  const all = [
+    crit('node', 'tokyo-01', 'first'),
+    warn('node', 'tokyo-01', 'second'),
+    crit('node', '', 'global to the section'),
+  ]
+  const byName = findingsByName(entityFindings(all, ['node']))
+  assert.equal(byName.size, 1)
+  assert.equal(byName.get('tokyo-01')!.length, 2)
+})
+
+test('one lamp per row takes the loudest severity', () => {
+  assert.equal(worstSeverity([warn('node', 'a'), crit('node', 'a')]), 'critical')
+  assert.equal(worstSeverity([warn('node', 'a')]), 'warning')
+  assert.equal(worstSeverity([]), null)
+})

panel/src/findings.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@
 //
 //   critical / warning — something needs attention: a protection promise is
 //     broken, or something you configured isn't in effect. These belong on
-//     Overview, where the operator looks first.
+//     Overview, where the operator looks first — and, when they name an entity,
+//     ALSO on the page that owns that entity (see `entityFindings`).
 //
 //   info — a statement ABOUT the configuration, not a problem. It never clears,
 //     because nothing is wrong: it is simply describing a choice that was made.
@@ -16,9 +17,49 @@
 // page that never goes away and never asks for anything trains people to skim
 // the list — which is exactly how a real critical finding gets missed. Anything
 // standing in the findings list should be something you could act on.
+//
+// The one exception is carved out below: the daemon's own note that it dropped
+// findings to fit the cap. It is `info` by severity and unactionable by nature,
+// and it is the single most important line in the list, because it is the list
+// telling you it is not the whole list.
 
 import type { StatusWarning } from './api'
 
+/**
+ * The daemon's truncation disclosure, verbatim from apply/warnings.go
+ * finalizeWarnings:
+ *
+ *   "%d further warning(s) suppressed; run `logread -e shater` for the full list"
+ *
+ * Matched on the stable clause rather than the whole sentence so a reworded tail
+ * still registers. If this ever stops matching, the failure mode is a list that
+ * silently claims to be complete — which is why `truncationNote` is tested.
+ */
+const SUPPRESSED_RE = /further warning\(s\) suppressed/
+
+/**
+ * The daemon's "this list is incomplete" note, or null when the list is whole.
+ *
+ * Status.warnings is capped at 50, sorted critical-first, and the last slot is
+ * REPLACED by an `info` note counting what was dropped. That note therefore
+ * arrives on the one channel the panel filtered away wholesale: `info` never
+ * reached Overview, and the settings-page route (`sectionNotes`) keys on
+ * section `generate`, which no page owns. So the single line saying "there are
+ * findings you are not being shown" was the only one guaranteed to be invisible.
+ *
+ * Callers must render this WITH the attention list, not instead of it.
+ */
+export function truncationNote(warnings: StatusWarning[] | undefined): StatusWarning | null {
+  return (
+    (warnings ?? []).find((w) => w.severity === 'info' && SUPPRESSED_RE.test(w.message)) ?? null
+  )
+}
+
+/** Is this the truncation disclosure rather than an ordinary note? */
+function isTruncationNote(w: StatusWarning): boolean {
+  return w.severity === 'info' && SUPPRESSED_RE.test(w.message)
+}
+
 /** Findings that need attention — the Overview list. Info notes are excluded. */
 export function attentionFindings(warnings: StatusWarning[] | undefined): StatusWarning[] {
   return (warnings ?? []).filter((w) => w.severity === 'critical' || w.severity === 'warning')
@@ -29,10 +70,58 @@ export function attentionFindings(warnings: StatusWarning[] | undefined): Status
  * (e.g. `untunnelable` → the Networks page's "Other traffic" section). Only info:
  * a critical/warning is an attention item and stays on Overview, so it can't be
  * quietly buried on a settings page instead.
+ *
+ * The truncation note is excluded: it is about the LIST, not about any section,
+ * and it has its own home beside the list ({@link truncationNote}).
  */
 export function sectionNotes(
   warnings: StatusWarning[] | undefined,
   section: string,
 ): StatusWarning[] {
-  return (warnings ?? []).filter((w) => w.severity === 'info' && w.section === section)
+  return (warnings ?? []).filter(
+    (w) => w.severity === 'info' && w.section === section && !isTruncationNote(w),
+  )
+}
+
+/**
+ * The attention findings about entities ONE page owns — for that page to show
+ * beside the entities themselves.
+ *
+ * Overview is where you look when you already suspect something; a page like
+ * Nodes is where you look when you don't. The generator drops a node it cannot
+ * build — an unparseable share link, a WireGuard key materialised twice — and
+ * says so by name ("node \"x\": parse share-link: … (skipped)"), yet that node
+ * kept rendering as an ordinary row with a green toggle, because the page never
+ * read the findings at all. The switch says on; the engine has no such outbound.
+ *
+ * This does NOT move anything off Overview: the same finding appears in both
+ * places, which is correct — one list is "what is wrong with this router", the
+ * other is "what is wrong with this node".
+ */
+export function entityFindings(
+  warnings: StatusWarning[] | undefined,
+  sections: readonly string[],
+): StatusWarning[] {
+  const want = new Set(sections)
+  return attentionFindings(warnings).filter((w) => want.has(w.section))
+}
+
+/** Index attention findings by entity name, for badging a row directly. Entries
+ *  with an empty `name` are global to their section and are left out. */
+export function findingsByName(findings: StatusWarning[]): Map<string, StatusWarning[]> {
+  const out = new Map<string, StatusWarning[]>()
+  for (const f of findings) {
+    if (!f.name) continue
+    const list = out.get(f.name)
+    if (list) list.push(f)
+    else out.set(f.name, [f])
+  }
+  return out
+}
+
+/** The loudest severity in a set — for a row badge that has room for one lamp. */
+export function worstSeverity(findings: StatusWarning[]): 'critical' | 'warning' | null {
+  if (findings.some((f) => f.severity === 'critical')) return 'critical'
+  if (findings.length > 0) return 'warning'
+  return null
 }

panel/src/main.tsx

@@ -2,17 +2,33 @@ import { StrictMode } from 'react'
 import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client'
 import './tokens.css'
 import { App } from './App'
+import { initMockBackend } from './api'
 import { ConfirmProvider } from './components'
 
 const rootEl = document.getElementById('root')
 if (!rootEl) throw new Error('#root not found')
 
-// ConfirmProvider sits ABOVE <App> so it survives App's early returns (the
-// unauth / no-link plates) — useConfirm() can never find itself without a host.
-createRoot(rootEl).render(
-  <StrictMode>
-    <ConfirmProvider>
-      <App />
-    </ConfirmProvider>
-  </StrictMode>,
-)
+// Settle the fixture question BEFORE the first render: pages read `MOCK` while
+// they render, so a backend that arrives afterwards would paint half a screen
+// from the daemon and half from fixtures. In a production build this resolves
+// immediately and to `false` — the fixtures are not in the bundle to load (see
+// api.ts initMockBackend and the assertNoMockFixtures plugin in vite.config.ts).
+function mount() {
+  // ConfirmProvider sits ABOVE <App> so it survives App's early returns (the
+  // unauth / no-link plates) — useConfirm() can never find itself without a host.
+  createRoot(rootEl!).render(
+    <StrictMode>
+      <ConfirmProvider>
+        <App />
+      </ConfirmProvider>
+    </StrictMode>,
+  )
+}
+
+// A fixture module that fails to load is a broken dev checkout, not a reason to
+// hand the operator a blank plate — mount anyway and let the shell report that it
+// cannot reach a daemon, which by then is the truth.
+void initMockBackend().then(mount, (e) => {
+  console.error('mock backend failed to load; continuing against the real API', e)
+  mount()
+})

panel/src/mock.ts

@@ -500,7 +500,15 @@ export async function getRulesetCategories(source: string): Promise<RulesetCateg
 //                      the field case the readout used to call "Protected" (one
 //                      rule, `default → direct`); `unknown` is a daemon too old to
 //                      report. Default: tunnel.
-function mockPlane(): { plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none'; engine: boolean; killSwitch: string } {
+//   ?mock&plane=unreported → a daemon that sends NO `plane` field. The panel then
+//                      knows nothing about what is installed, which is the state
+//                      the Kill-switch module used to render as a green "ARMED"
+//                      (`undefined !== 'none'` is true).
+function mockPlane(): {
+  plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none' | undefined
+  engine: boolean
+  killSwitch: string
+} {
   const q = typeof location === 'undefined' ? '' : location.search
   const params = new URLSearchParams(q)
   const killSwitch = params.get('ks') === 'open' ? 'open' : 'closed'
@@ -508,6 +516,7 @@ function mockPlane(): { plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none'; engine: boolean; killSw
   if (p === 'hold') return { plane: 'hold', engine: false, killSwitch: 'closed' }
   if (p === 'none') return { plane: 'none', engine: false, killSwitch }
   if (p === 'open') return { plane: 'none', engine: false, killSwitch: 'open' }
+  if (p === 'unreported') return { plane: undefined, engine: true, killSwitch }
   return { plane: 'full', engine: true, killSwitch }
 }
 
@@ -515,7 +524,7 @@ function mockPlane(): { plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none'; engine: boolean; killSw
 // meaningful with the plane installed: with the engine down there is no running
 // config to judge, and the daemon reports the unknown/zero value — so do the same
 // here rather than leaving a stale "tunnel" behind a dead engine.
-function mockTraffic(plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none'): Traffic | undefined {
+function mockTraffic(plane: 'full' | 'hold' | 'none' | undefined): Traffic | undefined {
   if (plane !== 'full') return { verdict: '', default: '', tunnel_rules: 0 }
   const params = new URLSearchParams(typeof location === 'undefined' ? '' : location.search)
   switch (params.get('traffic')) {
@@ -560,6 +569,29 @@ const MOCK_WARNINGS: StatusWarning[] = [
     name: 'fakeip-pool',
     message: 'fake-IP resolver cannot be used as a fallback; the failover chain was not built',
   },
+  // Two findings the generator attributes to a NODE by name — the class that the
+  // Nodes page never showed, leaving a node the engine threw away rendered as an
+  // ordinary row with a green toggle. Both name real fixture nodes so the row
+  // badge, the collapsed-bucket "N flagged" count and the per-row strip all fire.
+  {
+    severity: 'warning',
+    section: 'node',
+    name: 'fi-trojan',
+    message: 'parse share-link: unsupported scheme "trojan+ws" (skipped)',
+  },
+  {
+    severity: 'warning',
+    section: 'node',
+    name: 'home-wg',
+    message:
+      'this WireGuard node is materialised twice in the engine config — as "home-wg" and as "group-stealth-m1-home-wg" — and traffic can reach both. A WireGuard peer keeps ONE session per public key, so two devices built from one private key evict each other continuously and NEITHER tunnel passes traffic. Only "home-wg" is kept; everything that routed through "group-stealth-m1-home-wg" is fail-closed (blocked) instead of leaving over the plain WAN',
+  },
+  {
+    severity: 'warning',
+    section: 'subscription',
+    name: 'backup',
+    message: 'fetch failed: dial tcp 203.0.113.9:443: i/o timeout — serving the nodes cached earlier',
+  },
   {
     severity: 'info',
     section: 'generate',
@@ -568,6 +600,19 @@ const MOCK_WARNINGS: StatusWarning[] = [
   },
 ]
 
+/**
+ * The daemon's truncation disclosure, exactly as apply/warnings.go writes it when
+ * the published set overflows the 50-entry cap. Served under `?mock&trunc` so the
+ * "this list is incomplete" rendering is exercisable — it used to be dropped
+ * wholesale by the panel's `info` filter and reached no screen at all.
+ */
+const MOCK_TRUNCATION: StatusWarning = {
+  severity: 'info',
+  section: 'generate',
+  name: '',
+  message: '7 further warning(s) suppressed; run `logread -e shater` for the full list',
+}
+
 /**
  * The standing `untunnelable` note the daemon reports. It is INFO, never a
  * problem: it states a correct, chosen configuration. Two shapes, mirroring the
@@ -614,9 +659,12 @@ function mockWarnings(killSwitch: string): StatusWarning[] {
   const params = new URLSearchParams(q)
   const mode = (CONFIG.Globals as { Untunnelable?: string }).Untunnelable ?? 'block'
   const notes = untunnelableNote(mode, killSwitch)
+  // `?trunc` adds the daemon's "the published list is capped" disclosure, which
+  // it appends IN PLACE OF the last entry it had room for.
+  const trunc = params.has('trunc') ? [{ ...MOCK_TRUNCATION }] : []
   // A degraded plane always comes with the findings that explain it.
-  if (params.has('warn') || params.get('plane')) {
-    return [...MOCK_WARNINGS.map((w) => ({ ...w })), ...notes]
+  if (params.has('warn') || params.get('plane') || trunc.length > 0) {
+    return [...MOCK_WARNINGS.map((w) => ({ ...w })), ...notes, ...trunc]
   }
   return notes
 }

panel/src/pages/Alerts.css

@@ -0,0 +1,443 @@
+/* Alerts section (rendered on Settings) — inherits the Faceplate tokens and the
+ * shared page chrome from App.css (.toast, .mono). Every rule below is a
+ * one-to-one copy of the DNS.css rule the markup used before the section moved
+ * here, renamed `dns-*` → `alr-*` so nothing collides. Orange stays an accent. */
+
+/* ---- section shell (matches the Settings group plates one-to-one) ---- */
+.alr-section {
+  margin-top: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 3.5);
+}
+.alr-sec-hd {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: baseline;
+  gap: 12px;
+  padding-bottom: 10px;
+  border-bottom: 1px solid var(--groove);
+}
+.alr-sec-title {
+  margin: 0;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: var(--track-label, 0.18em);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--dim);
+}
+.alr-sec-count {
+  font-size: 11px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.06em;
+  color: var(--faint);
+}
+.alr-sec-note {
+  margin: 10px 2px 0;
+  font-family: var(--font-sans);
+  font-size: 12.5px;
+  line-height: 1.55;
+  color: var(--dim);
+  max-width: 56ch;
+}
+
+/* ---- add form ---- */
+.alr-add {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 10px;
+  margin-top: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 2);
+}
+.alr-add-top {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 10px;
+}
+.alr-input {
+  min-width: 0;
+  padding: 9px 12px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 7px;
+  background: var(--sink);
+  color: var(--ink);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 12.5px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+  box-shadow: 0 1px 2px var(--shadow) inset;
+  transition: border-color 0.15s, box-shadow 0.15s;
+}
+.alr-input::placeholder {
+  color: var(--faint);
+}
+.alr-input:focus-visible {
+  border-color: var(--accent);
+  outline: 2px solid var(--accent);
+  outline-offset: 1px;
+}
+.alr-input:disabled {
+  opacity: 0.55;
+}
+.alr-input--name {
+  flex: 0 1 14rem;
+}
+
+/* segmented type picker */
+.alr-seg {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 7px;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  background: var(--sink);
+}
+.alr-seg-btn {
+  padding: 8px 14px;
+  border: 0;
+  background: transparent;
+  color: var(--dim);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 11px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.08em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  transition: background 0.15s, color 0.15s;
+}
+.alr-seg-btn + .alr-seg-btn {
+  border-left: 1px solid var(--groove);
+}
+.alr-seg-btn.on {
+  background: var(--accent);
+  color: #fff;
+}
+.alr-seg-btn:focus-visible {
+  outline: 2px solid var(--accent);
+  outline-offset: -2px;
+}
+
+.alr-resp {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+}
+.alr-resp-label {
+  font-size: 10px;
+  letter-spacing: var(--track-label, 0.18em);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--faint);
+}
+.alr-select {
+  padding: 8px 10px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 7px;
+  background: var(--sink);
+  color: var(--ink);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.04em;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.alr-select:focus-visible {
+  border-color: var(--accent);
+  outline: 2px solid var(--accent);
+  outline-offset: 1px;
+}
+
+.alr-add-actions {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: flex-end;
+  gap: 14px;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+.alr-field-err {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 0;
+  margin: 0;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  color: var(--crit);
+}
+
+/* ---- rows ---- */
+.alr-rows {
+  list-style: none;
+  margin: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 2) 0 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 8px;
+}
+.alr-row {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 1.5);
+  padding: 12px 14px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: linear-gradient(
+    180deg,
+    var(--raised),
+    color-mix(in srgb, var(--raised) 82%, var(--panel))
+  );
+  box-shadow: 0 1px 0 var(--edge) inset;
+}
+.alr-row-main {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 4px;
+}
+.alr-row-l1 {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+}
+.alr-row-name {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  letter-spacing: 0.01em;
+  color: var(--ink);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  max-width: 24ch;
+}
+.alr-row-l2 {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 10px;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+}
+.alr-row-detail {
+  color: var(--dim);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  max-width: 40ch;
+}
+
+/* badge — groove-bordered, not orange (accent stays reserved) */
+.alr-badge {
+  display: inline-block;
+  padding: 2px 7px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 5px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--sink) 60%, transparent);
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 10px;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  letter-spacing: 0.1em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--dim);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.alr-badge--accent {
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 55%, var(--groove));
+  color: var(--accent);
+}
+
+.alr-masked {
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 10px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.08em;
+  color: var(--faint);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  cursor: help;
+}
+
+.alr-del {
+  flex: none;
+  padding: 6px 12px;
+  font-size: 10.5px;
+}
+
+/* ---- empty plate ---- */
+.alr-empty {
+  margin-top: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 2);
+  padding: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 3);
+  border: 1px dashed var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 9px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--raised) 55%, transparent);
+  text-align: center;
+}
+.alr-empty-title {
+  display: block;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  letter-spacing: 0.06em;
+  color: var(--dim);
+}
+.alr-empty-body {
+  margin: 8px auto 0;
+  max-width: 48ch;
+  font-family: var(--font-sans);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  line-height: 1.55;
+  color: var(--dim);
+}
+
+/* ---- loading skeleton ---- */
+.alr-skel {
+  height: 62px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--groove);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: linear-gradient(90deg, var(--raised), var(--sink), var(--raised));
+  background-size: 200% 100%;
+  animation: alr-skel-shift 1.4s ease-in-out infinite;
+}
+@keyframes alr-skel-shift {
+  from {
+    background-position: 200% 0;
+  }
+  to {
+    background-position: -200% 0;
+  }
+}
+
+/* the per-row delivery picker sits inline in the row */
+.alr-detour {
+  flex: none;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 5px;
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+.alr-detour-label {
+  font-size: 10px;
+  letter-spacing: var(--track-label, 0.18em);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--faint);
+}
+.alr-detour-select {
+  max-width: 22rem;
+}
+
+/* current delivery-path readout on the row */
+.alr-path {
+  color: var(--faint);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+.alr-path[data-active='on'] {
+  color: var(--dim);
+}
+.alr-path-name {
+  color: var(--led-on);
+  font-weight: 600;
+}
+.alr-path[data-missing='y'] .alr-path-name {
+  color: var(--amber);
+}
+.alr-path-flag {
+  color: var(--amber);
+}
+
+/* alert delivery: deliver-via picker + fallback toggle + caution note */
+.alr-delivery {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 10px 20px;
+}
+.alr-fallback {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.alr-fallback-label {
+  font-size: 10px;
+  letter-spacing: var(--track-label, 0.18em);
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--faint);
+}
+/* the per-row delivery controls sit inline in the row (like .alr-detour) */
+.alr-ctl {
+  flex: none;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 8px;
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+.alr-note {
+  margin: 0;
+  font-family: var(--font-sans);
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  color: var(--amber);
+  max-width: 56ch;
+}
+.alr-note--row {
+  margin-top: 2px;
+}
+
+/* alert event checkboxes */
+.alr-events {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: 8px 16px;
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  border: 0;
+}
+.alr-event {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 6px;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  color: var(--fp-text, inherit);
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.alr-event input {
+  accent-color: var(--fp-accent, currentColor);
+}
+
+/* ---- responsive ---- */
+@media (max-width: 640px) {
+  .alr-row {
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+  }
+  .alr-row-main {
+    flex-basis: calc(100% - 90px);
+  }
+  .alr-del {
+    margin-left: auto;
+  }
+  .alr-input--name {
+    flex-basis: 100%;
+  }
+  .alr-detour {
+    flex-basis: 100%;
+    order: 3;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+  }
+  /* A <select> won't shrink below its widest option unless it's allowed to:
+     without min-width:0 the long detour labels push the page into a horizontal
+     scroll at 390px. Let them fill the row and clip instead. */
+  .alr-detour-select,
+  .alr-resp .alr-select {
+    max-width: 100%;
+    width: 100%;
+    min-width: 0;
+  }
+  .alr-resp {
+    display: flex;
+    flex-wrap: wrap;
+    max-width: 100%;
+  }
+  .alr-ctl {
+    flex-basis: 100%;
+    order: 3;
+  }
+}
+
+@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
+  .alr-skel {
+    animation: none;
+  }
+  .alr-input,
+  .alr-seg-btn {
+    transition: none;
+  }
+}

panel/src/pages/Alerts.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,690 @@
+import './Alerts.css'
+import { useCallback, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { Button, Toggle, useConfirm } from '../components'
+import type { Alert, Model } from '../api'
+
+// The Alerts section — out-of-band notifications (Telegram bot / webhook) for
+// kill-switch trips, apply failures, new devices and subscription expiry. It
+// lived at the bottom of the DNS page, which is the last place an operator
+// looking for "tell me when the tunnel dies" would think to look; it now renders
+// as a group on Settings. The component owns no I/O: every mutation goes through
+// the `onSave` prop so Settings keeps a single dirty banner and a single toast.
+//
+// NOTE on duplication: the detour helpers below (DetourCatalog, canonDetour,
+// detourValues, describeDetour, DetourSelect) plus asArray / uniqueName /
+// maskUrl / EmptyPlate are deliberate copies of the ones in DNS.tsx. DNS keeps
+// its own for resolvers and DNS rules; extracting a shared module would couple
+// two pages that otherwise share nothing, and that refactor is out of scope
+// here. If a third consumer ever appears, promote them then.
+
+// ---- local Model extension --------------------------------------------------
+
+/** The Model with the Alerts slice surfaced (index-signature passthrough). */
+type AlertsModel = Model & { Alerts?: Alert[] | null }
+
+/**
+ * Every event the daemon actually sends. A retired health-probe event was left
+ * out on purpose: nothing ever fired it, so a channel that subscribed to it would
+ * just stay quiet forever — the one failure mode an alert must not have. Only
+ * events with a live firing path are offered here.
+ */
+const ALERT_EVENTS: ReadonlyArray<{ id: string; label: string }> = [
+  { id: 'killswitch', label: 'Kill-switch' },
+  { id: 'apply_fail', label: 'Apply failure' },
+  { id: 'new_device', label: 'New device' },
+  { id: 'sub_expiry', label: 'Subscription expiring' },
+]
+
+// Shown when an alert routes through a detour with no direct fallback — the exact
+// case where a tunnel-down alert could fail to send. The user asked for this.
+const VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE =
+  'A kill-switch/tunnel-down alert may not send if it routes through the affected tunnel — enable fallback.'
+
+// ---- helpers (copies of DNS.tsx — see the header note) ----------------------
+
+const asArray = <T,>(a: T[] | null | undefined): T[] => (a ? a : [])
+
+const HTTP_RE = /^https?:\/\//i
+
+/** A remote URL often carries a token in its query/path — show host only. */
+function maskUrl(url: string): { host: string; masked: boolean } {
+  try {
+    const u = new URL(url)
+    return { host: u.host, masked: u.search !== '' || u.pathname.replace(/\/+$/, '') !== '' }
+  } catch {
+    return { host: url || '—', masked: false }
+  }
+}
+
+function uniqueName(base: string, taken: Set<string>): string {
+  const seed = base.trim() || 'alert'
+  if (!taken.has(seed)) return seed
+  let i = 2
+  while (taken.has(`${seed}-${i}`)) i++
+  return `${seed}-${i}`
+}
+
+/** The live targets an alert's delivery can be pinned to (the picker). */
+interface DetourCatalog {
+  groups: string[]
+  chains: string[]
+  egresses: { name: string; type: string }[]
+  nodes: string[]
+}
+
+/**
+ * Normalise a stored `Via` to a picker option value. Empty/`direct` ⇒
+ * `direct`; already-prefixed values (`group:`/`chain:`/`egress:`/`node:`) pass
+ * through; a bare legacy name is resolved against the catalog so a still-valid
+ * setup isn't mislabelled; anything unresolved is kept verbatim (shown stale).
+ */
+function canonDetour(raw: string | undefined, cat: DetourCatalog): string {
+  const d = (raw ?? '').trim()
+  if (!d || d.toLowerCase() === 'direct') return 'direct'
+  if (/^(node|group|chain|egress):/i.test(d)) return d
+  if (cat.egresses.some((e) => e.name === d)) return `egress:${d}`
+  if (cat.groups.includes(d)) return `group:${d}`
+  if (cat.chains.includes(d)) return `chain:${d}`
+  if (cat.nodes.includes(d)) return `node:${d}`
+  return d
+}
+
+/** Every valid option value for a catalog, including `direct`. */
+function detourValues(cat: DetourCatalog): Set<string> {
+  const s = new Set<string>(['direct'])
+  for (const g of cat.groups) s.add(`group:${g}`)
+  for (const c of cat.chains) s.add(`chain:${c}`)
+  for (const e of cat.egresses) s.add(`egress:${e.name}`)
+  for (const n of cat.nodes) s.add(`node:${n}`)
+  return s
+}
+
+/** Describe a canonical detour value for the row readout. */
+function describeDetour(
+  canon: string,
+  cat: DetourCatalog,
+  valid: Set<string>,
+): { direct: boolean; prefix: string; name: string; missing: boolean } {
+  if (canon === 'direct') return { direct: true, prefix: '', name: '', missing: false }
+  const i = canon.indexOf(':')
+  const kind = i === -1 ? '' : canon.slice(0, i)
+  const name = i === -1 ? canon : canon.slice(i + 1)
+  const missing = !valid.has(canon)
+  let prefix = 'via'
+  if (kind === 'group') prefix = 'via group'
+  else if (kind === 'chain') prefix = 'via chain'
+  else if (kind === 'node') prefix = 'via node'
+  else if (kind === 'egress') {
+    const eg = cat.egresses.find((e) => e.name === name)
+    prefix = eg?.type === 'interface' ? 'via interface' : 'via egress'
+  }
+  return { direct: false, prefix, name, missing }
+}
+
+// ---- section ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+export function AlertsSection({
+  config,
+  busy,
+  loading,
+  onSave,
+}: {
+  /** Full desired-state model; null until it has loaded. */
+  config: Model | null
+  /** A save/apply is in flight — controls lock. */
+  busy: boolean
+  /** The config is still loading — show a skeleton row. */
+  loading: boolean
+  /** Persist the whole next model; resolves true on success (Settings' `save`). */
+  onSave: (next: Model, okMsg: string) => Promise<boolean>
+}): JSX.Element {
+  const confirm = useConfirm()
+  const model = config as AlertsModel | null
+  const alerts = useMemo<Alert[]>(() => asArray(model?.Alerts), [model])
+
+  // Alerts route through Direct/group/node/egress only (no chains) — the contract
+  // vocabulary for Alert.Via. Built straight from the Model with chains dropped.
+  const alertCatalog = useMemo<DetourCatalog>(
+    () => ({
+      groups: asArray(config?.Groups).map((g) => g.Name),
+      chains: [],
+      egresses: asArray(config?.Egresses).map((e) => ({ name: e.Name, type: e.Type })),
+      nodes: asArray(config?.Nodes).map((n) => n.Name),
+    }),
+    [config],
+  )
+  const alertValid = useMemo(() => detourValues(alertCatalog), [alertCatalog])
+
+  const alertNames = useMemo(() => new Set(alerts.map((a) => a.Name)), [alerts])
+  const alertsOn = alerts.filter((a) => a.Enabled).length
+
+  // ---- mutations — all writes go through onSave -----------------------------
+  const addAlert = useCallback(
+    (draft: Alert): Promise<boolean> => {
+      if (!model) return Promise.resolve(false)
+      const taken = new Set(alerts.map((a) => a.Name))
+      const a: Alert = { ...draft, Name: uniqueName(draft.Name, taken) }
+      return onSave({ ...model, Alerts: [...alerts, a] }, `Added ${a.Name}`)
+    },
+    [model, alerts, onSave],
+  )
+
+  const toggleAlert = useCallback(
+    (idx: number, on: boolean) => {
+      if (!model) return
+      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Enabled: on } : a))
+      void onSave({ ...model, Alerts: next }, `${next[idx].Name} ${on ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}`)
+    },
+    [model, alerts, onSave],
+  )
+
+  const removeAlert = useCallback(
+    async (idx: number) => {
+      if (!model) return
+      const target = alerts[idx]
+      const ok = await confirm({
+        label: 'Delete alert',
+        title: `Delete alert “${target.Name}”?`,
+        body: 'This removes it from the config.',
+      })
+      if (!ok) return
+      const next = alerts.filter((_, i) => i !== idx)
+      void onSave({ ...model, Alerts: next }, `Deleted ${target.Name}`)
+    },
+    [model, alerts, onSave, confirm],
+  )
+
+  const setAlertVia = useCallback(
+    (idx: number, v: string) => {
+      if (!model) return
+      const via = v === 'direct' ? '' : v
+      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Via: via || undefined } : a))
+      void onSave(
+        { ...model, Alerts: next },
+        via ? `${next[idx].Name} delivers via ${via}` : `${next[idx].Name} delivers direct`,
+      )
+    },
+    [model, alerts, onSave],
+  )
+
+  const setAlertFallback = useCallback(
+    (idx: number, on: boolean) => {
+      if (!model) return
+      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Fallback: on || undefined } : a))
+      void onSave(
+        { ...model, Alerts: next },
+        `${next[idx].Name} direct fallback ${on ? 'on' : 'off'}`,
+      )
+    },
+    [model, alerts, onSave],
+  )
+
+  return (
+    <div className="alr-section" aria-label="Alerts">
+      <header className="alr-sec-hd">
+        <h2 className="alr-sec-title">Alerts</h2>
+        <span className="alr-sec-count mono">
+          {alertsOn} / {alerts.length} on
+        </span>
+      </header>
+      <p className="alr-sec-note">
+        Out-of-band notifications. Delivered <strong>direct to the internet</strong> by default — so a
+        kill-switch or engine-down alert still reaches you when the proxy is down. You can route one
+        through a group, node or egress instead, with a direct fallback if that detour fails.
+      </p>
+
+      <AddAlertForm
+        busy={busy}
+        disabled={!config}
+        taken={alertNames}
+        catalog={alertCatalog}
+        valid={alertValid}
+        onAdd={addAlert}
+      />
+
+      {loading ? (
+        <ul className="alr-rows" aria-hidden="true">
+          <li className="alr-skel" />
+        </ul>
+      ) : alerts.length === 0 ? (
+        <EmptyPlate
+          title="No alerts"
+          body="Add a Telegram bot or a webhook above to get notified when the kill-switch trips, a new device joins, or an apply fails."
+        />
+      ) : (
+        <ul className="alr-rows">
+          {alerts.map((a, i) => (
+            <AlertRow
+              key={`${a.Name}-${i}`}
+              alert={a}
+              busy={busy}
+              catalog={alertCatalog}
+              valid={alertValid}
+              onToggle={(on) => toggleAlert(i, on)}
+              onVia={(v) => setAlertVia(i, v)}
+              onFallback={(on) => setAlertFallback(i, on)}
+              onDelete={() => removeAlert(i)}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </ul>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  )
+}
+
+// ---- alert add form + row ----------------------------------------------------
+
+function AddAlertForm({
+  busy,
+  disabled,
+  taken,
+  catalog,
+  valid,
+  onAdd,
+}: {
+  busy: boolean
+  disabled: boolean
+  taken: Set<string>
+  catalog: DetourCatalog
+  valid: Set<string>
+  onAdd: (a: Alert) => Promise<boolean>
+}) {
+  const [name, setName] = useState('')
+  const [type, setType] = useState<'telegram' | 'webhook'>('telegram')
+  const [token, setToken] = useState('')
+  const [chatId, setChatId] = useState('')
+  const [url, setUrl] = useState('')
+  const [events, setEvents] = useState<string[]>(['killswitch'])
+  const [via, setVia] = useState('direct')
+  const [fallback, setFallback] = useState(false)
+  const [err, setErr] = useState<string | null>(null)
+
+  const reset = () => {
+    setName('')
+    setType('telegram')
+    setToken('')
+    setChatId('')
+    setUrl('')
+    setEvents(['killswitch'])
+    setVia('direct')
+    setFallback(false)
+  }
+
+  const toggleEvent = (id: string) =>
+    setEvents((prev) => (prev.includes(id) ? prev.filter((e) => e !== id) : [...prev, id]))
+
+  const submit = async () => {
+    const nm = name.trim()
+    if (!nm) {
+      setErr('Give the alert a name.')
+      return
+    }
+    if (taken.has(nm)) {
+      setErr(`An alert named “${nm}” already exists.`)
+      return
+    }
+    if (type === 'telegram') {
+      if (!token.trim() || !chatId.trim()) {
+        setErr('Telegram needs a bot token and a chat ID.')
+        return
+      }
+    } else if (!HTTP_RE.test(url.trim())) {
+      setErr('Enter an http(s):// webhook URL.')
+      return
+    }
+    if (events.length === 0) {
+      setErr('Pick at least one event to notify on.')
+      return
+    }
+    setErr(null)
+    const routed = via !== 'direct'
+    const routing = { Via: routed ? via : undefined, Fallback: routed && fallback ? true : undefined }
+    const draft: Alert =
+      type === 'telegram'
+        ? { Name: nm, Enabled: true, Type: 'telegram', Token: token.trim(), ChatID: chatId.trim(), Events: events, ...routing }
+        : { Name: nm, Enabled: true, Type: 'webhook', URL: url.trim(), Events: events, ...routing }
+    const ok = await onAdd(draft)
+    if (ok) reset()
+  }
+
+  const routed = via !== 'direct'
+
+  return (
+    <form
+      className="alr-add"
+      onSubmit={(e) => {
+        e.preventDefault()
+        void submit()
+      }}
+    >
+      <div className="alr-add-top">
+        <input
+          className="alr-input alr-input--name"
+          type="text"
+          spellCheck={false}
+          autoComplete="off"
+          placeholder="Alert name"
+          aria-label="Alert name"
+          value={name}
+          onChange={(e) => {
+            setName(e.target.value)
+            if (err) setErr(null)
+          }}
+          disabled={busy || disabled}
+        />
+        <div className="alr-seg" role="group" aria-label="Alert type">
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            className={type === 'telegram' ? 'alr-seg-btn on' : 'alr-seg-btn'}
+            aria-pressed={type === 'telegram'}
+            onClick={() => setType('telegram')}
+            disabled={busy || disabled}
+          >
+            Telegram
+          </button>
+          <button
+            type="button"
+            className={type === 'webhook' ? 'alr-seg-btn on' : 'alr-seg-btn'}
+            aria-pressed={type === 'webhook'}
+            onClick={() => setType('webhook')}
+            disabled={busy || disabled}
+          >
+            Webhook
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+
+      {type === 'telegram' ? (
+        <>
+          <input
+            className="alr-input"
+            type="password"
+            spellCheck={false}
+            autoComplete="off"
+            placeholder="Bot token (kept secret)"
+            aria-label="Telegram bot token"
+            value={token}
+            onChange={(e) => {
+              setToken(e.target.value)
+              if (err) setErr(null)
+            }}
+            disabled={busy || disabled}
+          />
+          <input
+            className="alr-input"
+            type="text"
+            spellCheck={false}
+            autoComplete="off"
+            placeholder="Chat ID (e.g. -1001234567890)"
+            aria-label="Telegram chat ID"
+            value={chatId}
+            onChange={(e) => {
+              setChatId(e.target.value)
+              if (err) setErr(null)
+            }}
+            disabled={busy || disabled}
+          />
+        </>
+      ) : (
+        <input
+          className="alr-input"
+          type="text"
+          inputMode="url"
+          spellCheck={false}
+          autoComplete="off"
+          placeholder="https://hooks.example.com/…"
+          aria-label="Webhook URL"
+          value={url}
+          onChange={(e) => {
+            setUrl(e.target.value)
+            if (err) setErr(null)
+          }}
+          disabled={busy || disabled}
+        />
+      )}
+
+      <fieldset className="alr-events" aria-label="Events to notify on">
+        {ALERT_EVENTS.map((ev) => (
+          <label key={ev.id} className="alr-event">
+            <input
+              type="checkbox"
+              checked={events.includes(ev.id)}
+              onChange={() => toggleEvent(ev.id)}
+              disabled={busy || disabled}
+            />
+            <span>{ev.label}</span>
+          </label>
+        ))}
+      </fieldset>
+
+      <div className="alr-delivery">
+        <label className="alr-resp">
+          <span className="alr-resp-label mono">Deliver via</span>
+          <DetourSelect
+            value={via}
+            catalog={catalog}
+            valid={valid}
+            busy={busy}
+            disabled={disabled}
+            ariaLabel="Deliver alert via"
+            onChange={setVia}
+            directLabel="Direct (default)"
+          />
+        </label>
+        <label className="alr-fallback">
+          <Toggle
+            pressed={fallback}
+            onChange={setFallback}
+            label={fallback ? 'Disable direct fallback' : 'Enable direct fallback'}
+            disabled={busy || disabled || !routed}
+          />
+          <span className="alr-fallback-label mono">Fallback to direct</span>
+        </label>
+      </div>
+      {routed && !fallback && (
+        <p className="alr-note" role="note">
+          {VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE}
+        </p>
+      )}
+
+      <div className="alr-add-actions">
+        {err && (
+          <p className="alr-field-err" role="alert">
+            {err}
+          </p>
+        )}
+        <Button type="submit" variant="primary" disabled={busy || disabled}>
+          {busy ? 'Saving…' : 'Add alert'}
+        </Button>
+      </div>
+    </form>
+  )
+}
+
+function AlertRow({
+  alert,
+  busy,
+  catalog,
+  valid,
+  onToggle,
+  onVia,
+  onFallback,
+  onDelete,
+}: {
+  alert: Alert
+  busy: boolean
+  catalog: DetourCatalog
+  valid: Set<string>
+  onToggle: (on: boolean) => void
+  onVia: (v: string) => void
+  onFallback: (on: boolean) => void
+  onDelete: () => void
+}) {
+  // Never render the token/URL in clear — show a masked descriptor only.
+  const detail = useMemo(() => {
+    if (alert.Type === 'telegram') {
+      return { text: `chat ${alert.ChatID || '—'}`, masked: !!alert.Token }
+    }
+    const { host, masked } = maskUrl(alert.URL ?? '')
+    return { text: host, masked: masked || !!alert.URL }
+  }, [alert.Type, alert.ChatID, alert.Token, alert.URL])
+
+  const events = asArray(alert.Events)
+  const canon = useMemo(() => canonDetour(alert.Via, catalog), [alert.Via, catalog])
+  const route = useMemo(() => describeDetour(canon, catalog, valid), [canon, catalog, valid])
+  const routed = canon !== 'direct'
+  const fallback = alert.Fallback ?? false
+
+  return (
+    <li className="alr-row">
+      <Toggle
+        pressed={alert.Enabled}
+        onChange={onToggle}
+        label={`${alert.Enabled ? 'Disable' : 'Enable'} alert ${alert.Name}`}
+        disabled={busy}
+      />
+      <div className="alr-row-main">
+        <div className="alr-row-l1">
+          <span className="alr-row-name">{alert.Name}</span>
+          <span className="alr-badge">{alert.Type}</span>
+          {events.map((e) => (
+            <span key={e} className="alr-badge alr-badge--accent">
+              {e}
+            </span>
+          ))}
+        </div>
+        <div className="alr-row-l2 mono">
+          <span className="alr-row-detail">{detail.text}</span>
+          {detail.masked && (
+            <span className="alr-masked" title="Secret is stored but hidden here">
+              secret hidden
+            </span>
+          )}
+          {route.direct ? (
+            <span className="alr-path">direct</span>
+          ) : (
+            <span className="alr-path" data-active="on" data-missing={route.missing ? 'y' : undefined}>
+              {route.prefix} <strong className="alr-path-name">{route.name}</strong>
+              {route.missing && <span className="alr-path-flag"> (missing)</span>}
+              {fallback ? ' · +direct fallback' : ' · no fallback'}
+            </span>
+          )}
+        </div>
+        {routed && !fallback && <p className="alr-note alr-note--row">{VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE}</p>}
+      </div>
+      <div className="alr-ctl">
+        <label className="alr-detour">
+          <span className="alr-detour-label mono">Deliver via</span>
+          <DetourSelect
+            value={canon}
+            catalog={catalog}
+            valid={valid}
+            busy={busy}
+            disabled={false}
+            ariaLabel={`Deliver alert ${alert.Name} via`}
+            onChange={onVia}
+            directLabel="Direct (default)"
+          />
+        </label>
+        <label className="alr-fallback">
+          <Toggle
+            pressed={fallback}
+            onChange={onFallback}
+            label={`${fallback ? 'Disable' : 'Enable'} direct fallback for ${alert.Name}`}
+            disabled={busy || !routed}
+          />
+          <span className="alr-fallback-label mono">Fallback to direct</span>
+        </label>
+      </div>
+      <Button
+        className="alr-del"
+        onClick={onDelete}
+        disabled={busy}
+        aria-label={`Delete alert ${alert.Name}`}
+      >
+        Delete
+      </Button>
+    </li>
+  )
+}
+
+/** The live delivery picker: option list built from the Model's targets. */
+function DetourSelect({
+  value,
+  catalog,
+  valid,
+  busy,
+  disabled,
+  ariaLabel,
+  onChange,
+  directLabel = 'Direct (no proxy)',
+}: {
+  value: string // canonical value
+  catalog: DetourCatalog
+  valid: Set<string>
+  busy: boolean
+  disabled: boolean
+  ariaLabel: string
+  onChange: (v: string) => void
+  directLabel?: string
+}) {
+  const missing = value !== 'direct' && !valid.has(value)
+  return (
+    <select
+      className="alr-select alr-detour-select"
+      value={value}
+      onChange={(e) => onChange(e.target.value)}
+      disabled={busy || disabled}
+      aria-label={ariaLabel}
+    >
+      <option value="direct">{directLabel}</option>
+      {catalog.groups.length > 0 && (
+        <optgroup label="Groups">
+          {catalog.groups.map((g) => (
+            <option key={g} value={`group:${g}`}>
+              Group {g} (balancer)
+            </option>
+          ))}
+        </optgroup>
+      )}
+      {catalog.chains.length > 0 && (
+        <optgroup label="Chains">
+          {catalog.chains.map((c) => (
+            <option key={c} value={`chain:${c}`}>
+              Chain {c}
+            </option>
+          ))}
+        </optgroup>
+      )}
+      {catalog.egresses.length > 0 && (
+        <optgroup label="Interfaces / egresses">
+          {catalog.egresses.map((e) => (
+            <option key={e.name} value={`egress:${e.name}`}>
+              Interface/egress {e.name}
+              {e.type ? ` (${e.type})` : ''}
+            </option>
+          ))}
+        </optgroup>
+      )}
+      {catalog.nodes.length > 0 && (
+        <optgroup label="Nodes">
+          {catalog.nodes.map((n) => (
+            <option key={n} value={`node:${n}`}>
+              Node {n}
+            </option>
+          ))}
+        </optgroup>
+      )}
+      {missing && <option value={value}>{value} (missing)</option>}
+    </select>
+  )
+}
+
+function EmptyPlate({ title, body }: { title: string; body: string }) {
+  return (
+    <div className="alr-empty">
+      <span className="alr-empty-title mono">{title}</span>
+      <p className="alr-empty-body">{body}</p>
+    </div>
+  )
+}

panel/src/pages/Apply.tsx

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import {
   ApiError,
 } from '../api'
 import type { Globals, Status } from '../api'
-import { engineReadout } from '../planeState'
+import { engineReadout, killSwitchReadout } from '../planeState'
 import { onPendingConfirmExpire, usePendingConfirm } from '../pendingConfirm'
 
 // Short, readable config hash — drops the "sha256:" prefix like the footer does.
@@ -103,30 +103,64 @@ export default function Apply() {
     void loadConfig()
   }, [loadConfig])
 
-  // The window running out is the daemon reverting on its own — observe it and
-  // say so. The countdown itself ticks inside usePendingConfirm; this only reacts
-  // to the end of it, and the store makes sure that fires exactly once even with
-  // the app-wide band mounted alongside.
+  // The window running out does NOT mean the daemon rolled back.
+  //
+  // apply.ArmRollback captures the data-plane generation when it arms, and on
+  // expiry it compares. If anything re-applied the plane in between — another
+  // panel apply, SIGHUP, a hotplug or the once-a-minute cron reconcile, the WAN
+  // profile auto-switch — it disarms and KEEPS the running config, logging "NOT
+  // rolling back" and nothing else. That is the common case on a production
+  // router, and this page used to print "daemon auto-rolled back to last-good
+  // config" for it: a confident report of an event that did not happen, with a
+  // hash pair underneath that quietly said "unchanged".
+  //
+  // The panel cannot see which branch ran — the daemon says so only in its log.
+  // So it reports the one thing it CAN observe, the live config hash, and waits
+  // for the revert to land before reading it (a rollback is a full re-apply and
+  // does not complete the instant the timer fires).
   const liveHashRef = useRef('')
   liveHashRef.current = status?.hash ?? ''
-  useEffect(
-    () =>
-      onPendingConfirmExpire(() => {
-        const before = liveHashRef.current
-        flash('Auto-rolled back')
-        void (async () => {
-          const after = (await refreshStatus())?.hash ?? ''
-          setResult({
-            kind: 'expire',
-            tone: 'warn',
-            text: 'Confirm window elapsed — daemon auto-rolled back to last-good config.',
-            before,
-            after,
-          })
-        })()
-      }),
-    [flash, refreshStatus],
-  )
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false
+    const off = onPendingConfirmExpire(() => {
+      const before = liveHashRef.current
+      flash('Confirm window elapsed')
+      setResult({
+        kind: 'expire',
+        tone: 'warn',
+        text: 'Confirm window elapsed. Reading what the daemon did…',
+        before,
+        after: before,
+      })
+      void (async () => {
+        let after = before
+        for (let i = 0; i < 4 && !cancelled; i++) {
+          await new Promise((r) => window.setTimeout(r, 1500))
+          if (cancelled) return
+          after = (await refreshStatus())?.hash ?? after
+          if (after !== before) break
+        }
+        if (cancelled) return
+        setResult({
+          kind: 'expire',
+          tone: 'warn',
+          text:
+            after !== before
+              ? 'Confirm window elapsed and the live config changed — the daemon reverted to its last-good config.'
+              : 'Confirm window elapsed and the live config has not changed, so this config is still running. ' +
+                'The daemon only reverts if nothing else re-applied the data plane while the window was open; ' +
+                'otherwise it stands down and keeps what is live. Which one happened is in the daemon log — ' +
+                'download it from Settings, or run `logread -e shater`.',
+          before,
+          after,
+        })
+      })()
+    })
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true
+      off()
+    }
+  }, [flash, refreshStatus])
 
   const confirmWindow = globals?.ConfirmTimeout ?? 0
 
@@ -241,6 +275,17 @@ export default function Apply() {
   // is a status readout, and the config on disk can already differ from what is
   // installed. Falls back to the config only while /api/status is unread.
   const killArmed = (status?.kill_switch ?? globals?.KillSwitch ?? 'closed') === 'closed'
+  // Whether that setting is actually installed — same three-plus-unknown reading
+  // as Overview, so the two pages cannot disagree about the same router.
+  const kill = killSwitchReadout(status, globals?.KillSwitch)
+  const killWord =
+    kill.state === 'open'
+      ? 'open'
+      : kill.state === 'armed'
+        ? 'fail-closed'
+        : kill.state === 'inert'
+          ? 'closed · not in effect'
+          : 'closed · not reported'
   // Every engine mark on this page comes from ONE reading, and that reading is
   // able to say "stopped" — see planeState.engineState for why `status.running`
   // could not. This page is where someone lands when the network is down; three
@@ -282,11 +327,7 @@ export default function Apply() {
           variant={dataVariant}
           value={status?.table ? 'nft installed' : 'no table'}
         />
-        <StatusPip
-          label="Kill-switch"
-          variant={killArmed ? 'on' : 'amber'}
-          value={killArmed ? 'fail-closed' : 'open'}
-        />
+        <StatusPip label="Kill-switch" variant={kill.variant} value={killWord} />
       </div>
 
       {statusError && (
@@ -320,7 +361,7 @@ export default function Apply() {
               v: status?.table ? 'nft installed' : 'no table',
               hot: dataVariant === 'crit',
             },
-            { k: 'kill-switch', v: killArmed ? 'fail-closed' : 'open', hot: !killArmed },
+            { k: 'kill-switch', v: killWord, hot: kill.variant === 'crit' || !killArmed },
           ]}
         />
         <Module
@@ -374,8 +415,9 @@ export default function Apply() {
                     is what "live but not kept" means — so the readout survives a
                     reload instead of depending on what this tab remembers. */}
                 Applied config <span className="mono">{liveHash}</span> is live but not yet kept.
-                Confirm to keep it — otherwise the daemon rolls back to the last-good config when
-                the timer hits zero.
+                Confirm to keep it. At zero the daemon rolls back to the last-good config — unless
+                something else re-applies the data plane first, in which case it stands down and
+                keeps whatever is live.
               </p>
               <div className="cc-bar" aria-hidden="true">
                 <span className="cc-bar-fill" style={{ width: `${pct}%` }} />
@@ -492,7 +534,9 @@ function labelFor(kind: ActionKind): string {
     case 'rollback':
       return 'Rollback'
     case 'expire':
-      return 'Auto-rollback'
+      // NOT "Auto-rollback": on expiry the daemon either reverts or stands down,
+      // and this page cannot tell which. Name the event it did observe.
+      return 'Window elapsed'
   }
 }
 

panel/src/pages/DNS.css

@@ -648,73 +648,6 @@
   }
 }
 
-/* alert delivery: deliver-via picker + fallback toggle + caution note */
-.dns-alert-delivery {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-wrap: wrap;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 10px 20px;
-}
-.dns-fallback {
-  display: inline-flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 8px;
-  cursor: pointer;
-}
-.dns-fallback-label {
-  font-size: 10px;
-  letter-spacing: var(--track-label, 0.18em);
-  text-transform: uppercase;
-  color: var(--faint);
-}
-/* the per-alert-row delivery controls sit inline in the row (like .dns-detour) */
-.dns-alert-ctl {
-  flex: none;
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 8px;
-  min-width: 0;
-}
-.dns-alert-note {
-  margin: 0;
-  font-family: var(--font-sans);
-  font-size: 11.5px;
-  line-height: 1.5;
-  color: var(--amber);
-  max-width: 56ch;
-}
-.dns-alert-note--row {
-  margin-top: 2px;
-}
-
-@media (max-width: 640px) {
-  .dns-alert-ctl {
-    flex-basis: 100%;
-    order: 3;
-  }
-}
-
-/* alert event checkboxes */
-.dns-events {
-  display: flex;
-  flex-wrap: wrap;
-  gap: 8px 16px;
-  margin: 0;
-  padding: 0;
-  border: 0;
-}
-.dns-event {
-  display: inline-flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 6px;
-  font-size: 13px;
-  color: var(--fp-text, inherit);
-  cursor: pointer;
-}
-.dns-event input {
-  accent-color: var(--fp-accent, currentColor);
-}
-
 @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
   .dns-skel {
     animation: none;

panel/src/pages/DNS.tsx

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import {
   updateRuleset as apiUpdateRuleset,
   ApiError,
 } from '../api'
-import type { Alert, DNSRule, Model, Resolver, RulesetStatus } from '../api'
+import type { DNSRule, Model, Resolver, RulesetStatus } from '../api'
 import { everyLabel, relFetch } from '../format'
 
 // The DNS / Blocklists page is a thin editor over the desired-state Model —
@@ -60,28 +60,9 @@ type GlobalsX = Model['Globals'] & { DNSFilter?: boolean }
 type DNSModel = Model & {
   Blocklists?: Blocklist[] | null
   Allowlists?: Allowlist[] | null
-  Alerts?: Alert[] | null
   DNSRules?: DNSRule[] | null
 }
 
-/**
- * Every event the daemon actually sends. A retired health-probe event was left
- * out on purpose: nothing ever fired it, so a channel that subscribed to it would
- * just stay quiet forever — the one failure mode an alert must not have. Only
- * events with a live firing path are offered here.
- */
-const ALERT_EVENTS: ReadonlyArray<{ id: string; label: string }> = [
-  { id: 'killswitch', label: 'Kill-switch' },
-  { id: 'apply_fail', label: 'Apply failure' },
-  { id: 'new_device', label: 'New device' },
-  { id: 'sub_expiry', label: 'Subscription expiring' },
-]
-
-// Shown when an alert routes through a detour with no direct fallback — the exact
-// case where a tunnel-down alert could fail to send. The user asked for this.
-const VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE =
-  'A kill-switch/tunnel-down alert may not send if it routes through the affected tunnel — enable fallback.'
-
 // ---- helpers ---------------------------------------------------------------
 
 const asArray = <T,>(a: T[] | null | undefined): T[] => (a ? a : [])
@@ -310,7 +291,6 @@ export default function DNS() {
   const blocklists = useMemo(() => asArray(config?.Blocklists), [config])
   const allowlists = useMemo(() => asArray(config?.Allowlists), [config])
   const resolvers = useMemo<Resolver[]>(() => asArray(config?.Resolvers), [config])
-  const alerts = useMemo<Alert[]>(() => asArray(config?.Alerts), [config])
   // Ascending Order — the engine evaluates DNS rules first-match, so the list is
   // shown and edited in the order it actually runs.
   const dnsRules = useMemo<DNSRule[]>(
@@ -719,78 +699,6 @@ export default function DNS() {
     [config, dnsRules, save, confirm],
   )
 
-  // ---- alert mutations ------------------------------------------------------
-  const addAlert = useCallback(
-    (draft: Alert): Promise<boolean> => {
-      if (!config) return Promise.resolve(false)
-      const taken = new Set(alerts.map((a) => a.Name))
-      const a: Alert = { ...draft, Name: uniqueName(draft.Name, taken) }
-      return save({ ...config, Alerts: [...alerts, a] }, `Added ${a.Name}`)
-    },
-    [config, alerts, save],
-  )
-
-  const toggleAlert = useCallback(
-    (idx: number, on: boolean) => {
-      if (!config) return
-      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Enabled: on } : a))
-      void save({ ...config, Alerts: next }, `${next[idx].Name} ${on ? 'enabled' : 'disabled'}`)
-    },
-    [config, alerts, save],
-  )
-
-  const removeAlert = useCallback(
-    async (idx: number) => {
-      if (!config) return
-      const target = alerts[idx]
-      const ok = await confirm({
-        label: 'Delete alert',
-        title: `Delete alert “${target.Name}”?`,
-        body: 'This removes it from the config.',
-      })
-      if (!ok) return
-      const next = alerts.filter((_, i) => i !== idx)
-      void save({ ...config, Alerts: next }, `Deleted ${target.Name}`)
-    },
-    [config, alerts, save, confirm],
-  )
-
-  const setAlertVia = useCallback(
-    (idx: number, v: string) => {
-      if (!config) return
-      const via = v === 'direct' ? '' : v
-      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Via: via || undefined } : a))
-      void save(
-        { ...config, Alerts: next },
-        via ? `${next[idx].Name} delivers via ${via}` : `${next[idx].Name} delivers direct`,
-      )
-    },
-    [config, alerts, save],
-  )
-
-  const setAlertFallback = useCallback(
-    (idx: number, on: boolean) => {
-      if (!config) return
-      const next = alerts.map((a, i) => (i === idx ? { ...a, Fallback: on || undefined } : a))
-      void save(
-        { ...config, Alerts: next },
-        `${next[idx].Name} direct fallback ${on ? 'on' : 'off'}`,
-      )
-    },
-    [config, alerts, save],
-  )
-
-  // Alerts route through Direct/group/node/egress only (no chains) — the contract
-  // vocabulary for Alert.Via. Reuse the resolver detour catalog with chains dropped.
-  const alertCatalog = useMemo<DetourCatalog>(
-    () => ({ ...detourCatalog, chains: [] }),
-    [detourCatalog],
-  )
-  const alertValid = useMemo(() => detourValues(alertCatalog), [alertCatalog])
-
-  const alertNames = useMemo(() => new Set(alerts.map((a) => a.Name)), [alerts])
-  const alertsOn = alerts.filter((a) => a.Enabled).length
-
   const loading = config === null && loadError === null
 
   return (
@@ -1211,57 +1119,6 @@ export default function DNS() {
         )}
       </div>
 
-      {/* ---- 5. ALERTS ---- */}
-      <div className="dns-section" aria-label="Alerts">
-        <header className="dns-sec-hd">
-          <h2 className="dns-sec-title">Alerts</h2>
-          <span className="dns-sec-count mono">
-            {alertsOn} / {alerts.length} on
-          </span>
-        </header>
-        <p className="dns-sec-note">
-          Out-of-band notifications. Delivered <strong>direct to the internet</strong> by default — so a
-          kill-switch or engine-down alert still reaches you when the proxy is down. You can route one
-          through a group, node or egress instead, with a direct fallback if that detour fails.
-        </p>
-
-        <AddAlertForm
-          busy={busy}
-          disabled={!config}
-          taken={alertNames}
-          catalog={alertCatalog}
-          valid={alertValid}
-          onAdd={addAlert}
-        />
-
-        {loading ? (
-          <ul className="dns-rows" aria-hidden="true">
-            <li className="dns-skel" />
-          </ul>
-        ) : alerts.length === 0 ? (
-          <EmptyPlate
-            title="No alerts"
-            body="Add a Telegram bot or a webhook above to get notified when the kill-switch trips, a new device joins, or an apply fails."
-          />
-        ) : (
-          <ul className="dns-rows">
-            {alerts.map((a, i) => (
-              <AlertRow
-                key={`${a.Name}-${i}`}
-                alert={a}
-                busy={busy}
-                catalog={alertCatalog}
-                valid={alertValid}
-                onToggle={(on) => toggleAlert(i, on)}
-                onVia={(v) => setAlertVia(i, v)}
-                onFallback={(on) => setAlertFallback(i, on)}
-                onDelete={() => removeAlert(i)}
-              />
-            ))}
-          </ul>
-        )}
-      </div>
-
       {toast && (
         <div className="toast" role="status">
           {toast}
@@ -1271,342 +1128,6 @@ export default function DNS() {
   )
 }
 
-// ---- alert add form + row --------------------------------------------------
-
-function AddAlertForm({
-  busy,
-  disabled,
-  taken,
-  catalog,
-  valid,
-  onAdd,
-}: {
-  busy: boolean
-  disabled: boolean
-  taken: Set<string>
-  catalog: DetourCatalog
-  valid: Set<string>
-  onAdd: (a: Alert) => Promise<boolean>
-}) {
-  const [name, setName] = useState('')
-  const [type, setType] = useState<'telegram' | 'webhook'>('telegram')
-  const [token, setToken] = useState('')
-  const [chatId, setChatId] = useState('')
-  const [url, setUrl] = useState('')
-  const [events, setEvents] = useState<string[]>(['killswitch'])
-  const [via, setVia] = useState('direct')
-  const [fallback, setFallback] = useState(false)
-  const [err, setErr] = useState<string | null>(null)
-
-  const reset = () => {
-    setName('')
-    setType('telegram')
-    setToken('')
-    setChatId('')
-    setUrl('')
-    setEvents(['killswitch'])
-    setVia('direct')
-    setFallback(false)
-  }
-
-  const toggleEvent = (id: string) =>
-    setEvents((prev) => (prev.includes(id) ? prev.filter((e) => e !== id) : [...prev, id]))
-
-  const submit = async () => {
-    const nm = name.trim()
-    if (!nm) {
-      setErr('Give the alert a name.')
-      return
-    }
-    if (taken.has(nm)) {
-      setErr(`An alert named “${nm}” already exists.`)
-      return
-    }
-    if (type === 'telegram') {
-      if (!token.trim() || !chatId.trim()) {
-        setErr('Telegram needs a bot token and a chat ID.')
-        return
-      }
-    } else if (!HTTP_RE.test(url.trim())) {
-      setErr('Enter an http(s):// webhook URL.')
-      return
-    }
-    if (events.length === 0) {
-      setErr('Pick at least one event to notify on.')
-      return
-    }
-    setErr(null)
-    const routed = via !== 'direct'
-    const routing = { Via: routed ? via : undefined, Fallback: routed && fallback ? true : undefined }
-    const draft: Alert =
-      type === 'telegram'
-        ? { Name: nm, Enabled: true, Type: 'telegram', Token: token.trim(), ChatID: chatId.trim(), Events: events, ...routing }
-        : { Name: nm, Enabled: true, Type: 'webhook', URL: url.trim(), Events: events, ...routing }
-    const ok = await onAdd(draft)
-    if (ok) reset()
-  }
-
-  const routed = via !== 'direct'
-
-  return (
-    <form
-      className="dns-add"
-      onSubmit={(e) => {
-        e.preventDefault()
-        void submit()
-      }}
-    >
-      <div className="dns-add-top">
-        <input
-          className="dns-input dns-input--name"
-          type="text"
-          spellCheck={false}
-          autoComplete="off"
-          placeholder="Alert name"
-          aria-label="Alert name"
-          value={name}
-          onChange={(e) => {
-            setName(e.target.value)
-            if (err) setErr(null)
-          }}
-          disabled={busy || disabled}
-        />
-        <div className="dns-seg" role="group" aria-label="Alert type">
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            className={type === 'telegram' ? 'dns-seg-btn on' : 'dns-seg-btn'}
-            aria-pressed={type === 'telegram'}
-            onClick={() => setType('telegram')}
-            disabled={busy || disabled}
-          >
-            Telegram
-          </button>
-          <button
-            type="button"
-            className={type === 'webhook' ? 'dns-seg-btn on' : 'dns-seg-btn'}
-            aria-pressed={type === 'webhook'}
-            onClick={() => setType('webhook')}
-            disabled={busy || disabled}
-          >
-            Webhook
-          </button>
-        </div>
-      </div>
-
-      {type === 'telegram' ? (
-        <>
-          <input
-            className="dns-input"
-            type="password"
-            spellCheck={false}
-            autoComplete="off"
-            placeholder="Bot token (kept secret)"
-            aria-label="Telegram bot token"
-            value={token}
-            onChange={(e) => {
-              setToken(e.target.value)
-              if (err) setErr(null)
-            }}
-            disabled={busy || disabled}
-          />
-          <input
-            className="dns-input"
-            type="text"
-            spellCheck={false}
-            autoComplete="off"
-            placeholder="Chat ID (e.g. -1001234567890)"
-            aria-label="Telegram chat ID"
-            value={chatId}
-            onChange={(e) => {
-              setChatId(e.target.value)
-              if (err) setErr(null)
-            }}
-            disabled={busy || disabled}
-          />
-        </>
-      ) : (
-        <input
-          className="dns-input"
-          type="text"
-          inputMode="url"
-          spellCheck={false}
-          autoComplete="off"
-          placeholder="https://hooks.example.com/…"
-          aria-label="Webhook URL"
-          value={url}
-          onChange={(e) => {
-            setUrl(e.target.value)
-            if (err) setErr(null)
-          }}
-          disabled={busy || disabled}
-        />
-      )}
-
-      <fieldset className="dns-events" aria-label="Events to notify on">
-        {ALERT_EVENTS.map((ev) => (
-          <label key={ev.id} className="dns-event">
-            <input
-              type="checkbox"
-              checked={events.includes(ev.id)}
-              onChange={() => toggleEvent(ev.id)}
-              disabled={busy || disabled}
-            />
-            <span>{ev.label}</span>
-          </label>
-        ))}
-      </fieldset>
-
-      <div className="dns-alert-delivery">
-        <label className="dns-resp">
-          <span className="dns-resp-label mono">Deliver via</span>
-          <DetourSelect
-            value={via}
-            catalog={catalog}
-            valid={valid}
-            busy={busy}
-            disabled={disabled}
-            ariaLabel="Deliver alert via"
-            onChange={setVia}
-            directLabel="Direct (default)"
-          />
-        </label>
-        <label className="dns-fallback">
-          <Toggle
-            pressed={fallback}
-            onChange={setFallback}
-            label={fallback ? 'Disable direct fallback' : 'Enable direct fallback'}
-            disabled={busy || disabled || !routed}
-          />
-          <span className="dns-fallback-label mono">Fallback to direct</span>
-        </label>
-      </div>
-      {routed && !fallback && (
-        <p className="dns-alert-note" role="note">
-          {VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE}
-        </p>
-      )}
-
-      <div className="dns-add-actions">
-        {err && (
-          <p className="dns-field-err" role="alert">
-            {err}
-          </p>
-        )}
-        <Button type="submit" variant="primary" disabled={busy || disabled}>
-          {busy ? 'Saving…' : 'Add alert'}
-        </Button>
-      </div>
-    </form>
-  )
-}
-
-function AlertRow({
-  alert,
-  busy,
-  catalog,
-  valid,
-  onToggle,
-  onVia,
-  onFallback,
-  onDelete,
-}: {
-  alert: Alert
-  busy: boolean
-  catalog: DetourCatalog
-  valid: Set<string>
-  onToggle: (on: boolean) => void
-  onVia: (v: string) => void
-  onFallback: (on: boolean) => void
-  onDelete: () => void
-}) {
-  // Never render the token/URL in clear — show a masked descriptor only.
-  const detail = useMemo(() => {
-    if (alert.Type === 'telegram') {
-      return { text: `chat ${alert.ChatID || '—'}`, masked: !!alert.Token }
-    }
-    const { host, masked } = maskUrl(alert.URL ?? '')
-    return { text: host, masked: masked || !!alert.URL }
-  }, [alert.Type, alert.ChatID, alert.Token, alert.URL])
-
-  const events = asArray(alert.Events)
-  const canon = useMemo(() => canonDetour(alert.Via, catalog), [alert.Via, catalog])
-  const route = useMemo(() => describeDetour(canon, catalog, valid), [canon, catalog, valid])
-  const routed = canon !== 'direct'
-  const fallback = alert.Fallback ?? false
-
-  return (
-    <li className="dns-row">
-      <Toggle
-        pressed={alert.Enabled}
-        onChange={onToggle}
-        label={`${alert.Enabled ? 'Disable' : 'Enable'} alert ${alert.Name}`}
-        disabled={busy}
-      />
-      <div className="dns-row-main">
-        <div className="dns-row-l1">
-          <span className="dns-row-name">{alert.Name}</span>
-          <span className="dns-badge">{alert.Type}</span>
-          {events.map((e) => (
-            <span key={e} className="dns-badge dns-badge--accent">
-              {e}
-            </span>
-          ))}
-        </div>
-        <div className="dns-row-l2 mono">
-          <span className="dns-row-detail">{detail.text}</span>
-          {detail.masked && (
-            <span className="dns-masked" title="Secret is stored but hidden here">
-              secret hidden
-            </span>
-          )}
-          {route.direct ? (
-            <span className="dns-path">direct</span>
-          ) : (
-            <span className="dns-path" data-active="on" data-missing={route.missing ? 'y' : undefined}>
-              {route.prefix} <strong className="dns-path-name">{route.name}</strong>
-              {route.missing && <span className="dns-path-flag"> (missing)</span>}
-              {fallback ? ' · +direct fallback' : ' · no fallback'}
-            </span>
-          )}
-        </div>
-        {routed && !fallback && <p className="dns-alert-note dns-alert-note--row">{VIA_NO_FALLBACK_NOTE}</p>}
-      </div>
-      <div className="dns-alert-ctl">
-        <label className="dns-detour">
-          <span className="dns-detour-label mono">Deliver via</span>
-          <DetourSelect
-            value={canon}
-            catalog={catalog}
-            valid={valid}
-            busy={busy}
-            disabled={false}
-            ariaLabel={`Deliver alert ${alert.Name} via`}
-            onChange={onVia}
-            directLabel="Direct (default)"
-          />
-        </label>
-        <label className="dns-fallback">
-          <Toggle
-            pressed={fallback}
-            onChange={onFallback}
-            label={`${fallback ? 'Disable' : 'Enable'} direct fallback for ${alert.Name}`}
-            disabled={busy || !routed}
-          />
-          <span className="dns-fallback-label mono">Fallback to direct</span>
-        </label>
-      </div>
-      <Button
-        className="dns-del"
-        onClick={onDelete}
-        disabled={busy}
-        aria-label={`Delete alert ${alert.Name}`}
-      >
-        Delete
-      </Button>
-    </li>
-  )
-}
-
 // ---- add form --------------------------------------------------------------
 
 interface AddDraft {

panel/src/pages/Nodes.css

@@ -196,6 +196,52 @@
   border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--amber) 55%, var(--groove));
   color: var(--amber);
 }
+/* "not built" — the saved switch says on and the engine has no such outbound. */
+.badge--crit {
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--crit) 55%, var(--groove));
+  color: var(--crit);
+}
+
+/* ---- last-apply findings, attached to the row they are about ----
+   Sits under the row's own two lines, inside the row plate, so a node the
+   generator threw away cannot read as an ordinary enabled node. Severity carries
+   the colour; the accent stays reserved for controls. */
+.row-findings {
+  margin: 6px 0 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  list-style: none;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 5px;
+}
+.row-finding {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: flex-start;
+  gap: 8px;
+  padding: 7px 9px;
+  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--amber) 40%, var(--groove));
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--sink) 35%, transparent);
+}
+.row-finding--critical {
+  border-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--crit) 45%, var(--groove));
+}
+.row-finding-msg {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 0;
+  font-size: 12px;
+  line-height: 1.5;
+  color: var(--ink);
+  max-width: 82ch;
+  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
+}
+/* Findings that belong to no single row (see Nodes.tsx globalFindings). */
+.node-findings {
+  margin-bottom: calc(var(--u, 8px) * 2);
+}
+.node-findings .row-findings {
+  margin-top: 0;
+}
 
 /* masked-credential marker */
 .masked {
@@ -641,6 +687,20 @@ select.fp-input {
   letter-spacing: 0.06em;
   color: var(--faint);
 }
+/* A collapsed bucket has to carry its own bad news: a 300-node subscription is
+   closed by default, and the per-row findings inside it are otherwise unreachable
+   without knowing to look. */
+.group-flagged {
+  flex: none;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 6px;
+  font-family: var(--font-mono);
+  font-size: 10.5px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.06em;
+  text-transform: uppercase;
+  color: var(--amber);
+}
 .group-rows {
   margin-top: 8px;
 }

panel/src/pages/Nodes.tsx

@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ import { Button, Led, Toggle, useConfirm } from '../components'
 import {
   apply as apiApply,
   getConfig,
+  getStatus,
   putConfig,
   importWg,
   updateSubscription,
   ApiError,
 } from '../api'
-import type { Model, Node as NodeCfg, Subscription } from '../api'
+import type { Model, Node as NodeCfg, StatusWarning, Subscription } from '../api'
+import { entityFindings, findingsByName } from '../findings'
 import { fmtBytes, fmtDate, fmtUntil } from '../format'
 
 // The whole page is a thin editor over the desired-state Model: every mutation
@@ -519,6 +521,43 @@ export default function Nodes() {
     void loadConfig()
   }, [loadConfig])
 
+  // ---- what the last apply said about these nodes ---------------------------
+  //
+  // The generator drops a node it cannot build and names it: an unparseable
+  // share link (generate/outbound.go), a name colliding with a reserved tag, a
+  // WireGuard private key materialised twice (generate/wgdedup.go). Until now
+  // this page never read /api/status, so a node the engine had thrown away
+  // rendered as an ordinary row with a green toggle — the switch said on and
+  // there was no such outbound anywhere in the running config.
+  //
+  // Findings are attached to the ROWS, not summarised at the top: a 300-node
+  // subscription makes a list of names useless, and the row is where the false
+  // reassurance was.
+  const [findings, setFindings] = useState<StatusWarning[]>([])
+  const loadFindings = useCallback(async () => {
+    try {
+      const s = await getStatus()
+      setFindings(entityFindings(s.warnings, ['node', 'subscription']))
+    } catch {
+      // Status is a supplement here, not the page. Keep the last set rather than
+      // clearing it — a dropped poll is not the same as "the problem is fixed".
+    }
+  }, [])
+  useEffect(() => {
+    void loadFindings()
+  }, [loadFindings])
+
+  const nodeFindings = useMemo(
+    () => findingsByName(findings.filter((w) => w.section === 'node')),
+    [findings],
+  )
+  const subFindings = useMemo(
+    () => findingsByName(findings.filter((w) => w.section === 'subscription')),
+    [findings],
+  )
+  // Findings about nodes/subscriptions in general, which belong to no single row.
+  const globalFindings = useMemo(() => findings.filter((w) => !w.name), [findings])
+
   // ---- toast + persistent apply banner --------------------------------------
   const [toast, setToast] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const toastTimer = useRef<number | undefined>(undefined)
@@ -573,8 +612,11 @@ export default function Nodes() {
       flash(`Apply failed — ${errText(e)}`)
     } finally {
       setApplying(false)
+      // An apply is exactly what rewrites the findings — including clearing the
+      // ones the operator just fixed.
+      void loadFindings()
     }
-  }, [flash, loadConfig])
+  }, [flash, loadConfig, loadFindings])
 
   // ---- node mutations -------------------------------------------------------
   const nodes = useMemo(() => asArray(config?.Nodes), [config])
@@ -994,6 +1036,14 @@ export default function Nodes() {
         </div>
       )}
 
+      {/* Findings about nodes in general — no single row owns them, so they sit
+          above the lists rather than being dropped for having no name. */}
+      {globalFindings.length > 0 && (
+        <div className="node-findings">
+          <RowFindings findings={globalFindings} />
+        </div>
+      )}
+
       {/* ---- NODES ---- */}
       <div className="node-section" aria-label="Nodes">
         <header className="sec-hd">
@@ -1149,6 +1199,7 @@ export default function Nodes() {
               <NodeGroup
                 key={g.key || '__manual__'}
                 group={g}
+                findings={nodeFindings}
                 open={isGroupOpen(g)}
                 busy={busy}
                 egressNames={egressNames}
@@ -1238,6 +1289,7 @@ export default function Nodes() {
                 busy={busy}
                 catalog={detourCatalog}
                 valid={detourValid}
+                findings={subFindings.get(s.Name) ?? EMPTY_FINDINGS}
                 onToggle={(on) => toggleSub(i, on)}
                 onDelete={() => removeSub(i)}
                 onEdit={(patch) => editSub(i, patch)}
@@ -1264,6 +1316,7 @@ function NodeGroup({
   open,
   busy,
   egressNames,
+  findings,
   onToggle,
   onToggleNode,
   onRemoveNode,
@@ -1274,6 +1327,8 @@ function NodeGroup({
   open: boolean
   busy: boolean
   egressNames: string[]
+  /** Last-apply findings per node name (findings.ts findingsByName). */
+  findings: Map<string, StatusWarning[]>
   onToggle: () => void
   onToggleNode: (idx: number, on: boolean) => void
   onRemoveNode: (idx: number) => void
@@ -1283,6 +1338,13 @@ function NodeGroup({
   const panelId = `node-group-${group.key || 'manual'}`
   // The same inventory count as the section header, scoped to this bucket.
   const count = useMemo(() => fmtEnabled(group.items.map((i) => i.node)), [group.items])
+  // How many nodes in this bucket the last apply had something to say about —
+  // shown on the COLLAPSED header, because a subscription of 300 nodes is
+  // collapsed by default and the row badge below would never be seen otherwise.
+  const flagged = useMemo(
+    () => group.items.filter(({ node }) => findings.has(node.Name)).length,
+    [group.items, findings],
+  )
   return (
     <section className={`node-group${open ? ' node-group--open' : ''}`}>
       <h3 className="group-hd-wrap">
@@ -1296,6 +1358,12 @@ function NodeGroup({
           <span className="group-caret" aria-hidden="true" />
           <span className="group-name">{group.label}</span>
           <span className="group-count mono">{count}</span>
+          {flagged > 0 && (
+            <span className="group-flagged" title="Findings from the last apply">
+              <Led variant="amber" />
+              {flagged} flagged
+            </span>
+          )}
         </button>
       </h3>
       {open && group.key !== '' && (
@@ -1312,6 +1380,7 @@ function NodeGroup({
               node={node}
               busy={busy}
               egressNames={egressNames}
+              findings={findings.get(node.Name) ?? EMPTY_FINDINGS}
               onToggle={(on) => onToggleNode(idx, on)}
               onDelete={() => onRemoveNode(idx)}
               onRename={(name, onError) => onRenameNode(idx, name, onError)}
@@ -1324,10 +1393,29 @@ function NodeGroup({
   )
 }
 
+/** One shared empty array, so a clean row doesn't get a fresh identity per render. */
+const EMPTY_FINDINGS: StatusWarning[] = []
+
+/**
+ * Did the generator say it left this entity OUT of the engine config?
+ *
+ * The producers all end the sentence with the same word — "(skipped)" for an
+ * unparseable share link or a bad WireGuard endpoint (generate/outbound.go),
+ * "skipped" for a name colliding with a reserved tag — and wgdedup says only one
+ * of the duplicates "is kept". Read the daemon's word rather than inventing a
+ * verdict: a finding that does NOT say this may well be about a node that is
+ * running perfectly, and badging it "not built" would be a new lie in place of
+ * the old one.
+ */
+function skipped(findings: StatusWarning[]): boolean {
+  return findings.some((f) => /\bskipped\b|\bis kept\b/i.test(f.message))
+}
+
 function NodeRow({
   node,
   busy,
   egressNames,
+  findings,
   onToggle,
   onDelete,
   onRename,
@@ -1336,6 +1424,8 @@ function NodeRow({
   node: NodeCfg
   busy: boolean
   egressNames: string[]
+  /** What the last apply said about THIS node; empty when it said nothing. */
+  findings: StatusWarning[]
   onToggle: (on: boolean) => void
   onDelete: () => void
   onRename: (name: string, onError: (msg: string) => void) => Promise<boolean>
@@ -1483,6 +1573,16 @@ function NodeRow({
             )}
             <span className="badge">{proto}</span>
             {node.Stale && <span className="badge badge--warn">stale</span>}
+            {/* The toggle above is the SAVED state. When the last apply couldn't
+                build this node the engine has no such outbound, and the two
+                disagree — so the row says which, rather than leaving a green
+                switch to imply the node is carrying traffic. The word is the
+                daemon's own where it used one. */}
+            {findings.length > 0 && (
+              <span className={`badge badge--${skipped(findings) ? 'crit' : 'warn'}`}>
+                {skipped(findings) ? 'not built' : 'flagged'}
+              </span>
+            )}
           </div>
           {renameErr && (
             <p className="row-err" role="alert">
@@ -1506,6 +1606,7 @@ function NodeRow({
               </span>
             )}
           </div>
+          <RowFindings findings={findings} />
         </div>
         <div className="row-actions">
           {canPin && (
@@ -1625,6 +1726,7 @@ function SubRow({
   busy,
   catalog,
   valid,
+  findings,
   onToggle,
   onDelete,
   onEdit,
@@ -1635,6 +1737,8 @@ function SubRow({
   busy: boolean
   catalog: DetourCatalog
   valid: Set<string>
+  /** What the last apply said about THIS subscription; empty when it said nothing. */
+  findings: StatusWarning[]
   onToggle: (on: boolean) => void
   onDelete: () => void
   onEdit: (patch: Subscription) => Promise<boolean>
@@ -1659,6 +1763,7 @@ function SubRow({
             <span className="row-name">{sub.Name}</span>
             {sub.Format && sub.Format !== 'auto' && <span className="badge">{sub.Format}</span>}
             {sub.FetchVia === 'proxy' && <span className="badge">via proxy</span>}
+            {findings.length > 0 && <span className="badge badge--warn">flagged</span>}
           </div>
           <div className="row-line2 mono">
             <span className="row-host">{host}</span>
@@ -1671,6 +1776,7 @@ function SubRow({
               every {interval} · {count} node{count === 1 ? '' : 's'}
             </span>
           </div>
+          <RowFindings findings={findings} />
         </div>
         <div className="row-actions">
           <Button
@@ -2142,6 +2248,29 @@ function HeaderRows({
   )
 }
 
+/**
+ * What the last apply said about THIS row, under the row it is about.
+ *
+ * Deliberately inside the row rather than in a list at the top of the page: the
+ * failure being fixed is a node that looks fine, and a name in a summary three
+ * screens up does not fix that. The wording is the daemon's own — these messages
+ * already name the entity and say what was done about it ("(skipped)", "only X
+ * is kept"), so paraphrasing them here would only invent a second vocabulary.
+ */
+function RowFindings({ findings }: { findings: StatusWarning[] }) {
+  if (findings.length === 0) return null
+  return (
+    <ul className="row-findings" aria-label="Findings from the last apply">
+      {findings.map((f, i) => (
+        <li key={i} className={`row-finding row-finding--${f.severity}`}>
+          <Led variant={f.severity === 'critical' ? 'crit' : 'amber'} />
+          <span className="row-finding-msg">{f.message}</span>
+        </li>
+      ))}
+    </ul>
+  )
+}
+
 function EmptyPlate({ title, body }: { title: string; body: string }) {
   return (
     <div className="empty-plate">

panel/src/pages/Overview.tsx

@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ import type { Model, Stats, Status, StatusWarning } from '../api'
 import { confirmTimeout } from '../pendingConfirm'
 import { navigate } from '../router'
 import type { Route } from '../router'
-import { attentionFindings } from '../findings'
-import { engineReadout, protectionState } from '../planeState'
+import { attentionFindings, truncationNote } from '../findings'
+import { engineReadout, killSwitchReadout, protectionState } from '../planeState'
 
 // null-safe length for a Go slice that may arrive as null.
 const len = (a: unknown[] | null | undefined): number => (a ? a.length : 0)
@@ -309,15 +309,19 @@ export function Overview({
   const engineVariant: LedVariant = engine.variant
 
   const protection = protectionState(status)
-  // Configured fail-closed AND actually enforcing it. `none` means nothing is
-  // installed, so the setting is inert no matter what it says.
-  const killInEffect = killArmed && status?.plane !== 'none'
+  // Configured fail-closed, actually enforcing it, or not known — three answers,
+  // and the third is not folded into the first. See planeState.killSwitchReadout.
+  const kill = killSwitchReadout(status, g?.KillSwitch)
 
   // Findings that need attention. `info` notes are statements about the config,
   // not problems, so they live beside the setting they describe (see findings.ts)
   // — keeping this list to things someone could actually act on.
   const warnings = attentionFindings(status?.warnings)
   const criticalCount = warnings.filter((w) => w.severity === 'critical').length
+  // The daemon caps the published list at 50 and says so in an `info` note — the
+  // one channel this page filters away. Carried separately so the list can admit
+  // it is not the whole list. See findings.ts truncationNote.
+  const truncated = truncationNote(status?.warnings)
 
   return (
     <section className="page" aria-label="Overview">
@@ -340,7 +344,7 @@ export function Overview({
         </p>
       )}
 
-      <Findings warnings={warnings} criticalCount={criticalCount} />
+      <Findings warnings={warnings} criticalCount={criticalCount} truncated={truncated} />
 
       <div className="grid">
         {/* Groups, not nodes: a group is where a dial path is defined, so it is the
@@ -447,17 +451,17 @@ export function Overview({
         />
 
         {/* A kill-switch set to fail-closed is only ARMED if something is actually
-            installed to enforce it. With no plane it is configured but inert, and
-            saying "ARMED" there would be a false reassurance next to a readout
-            that says nothing is protected. */}
+            installed to enforce it, and "we haven't been told" is neither. With no
+            plane it is configured but inert; with no reading the lamp stays unlit
+            rather than joining the healthy branch by default. */}
         <Module
           name="Kill-switch"
-          value={killInEffect ? 'ARMED' : killArmed ? 'NOT IN EFFECT' : 'OPEN'}
-          led={{ variant: killInEffect ? 'on' : killArmed ? 'crit' : 'amber' }}
+          value={kill.value}
+          led={{ variant: kill.variant }}
           rows={[
             { k: 'setting', v: killArmed ? 'fail-closed' : 'fail-open', hot: !killArmed },
-            ...(killArmed && !killInEffect
-              ? [{ k: 'blocking now', v: 'no — nothing installed', hot: true }]
+            ...(kill.blockingNow
+              ? [{ k: 'blocking now', v: kill.blockingNow, hot: kill.hot }]
               : [{ k: 'ipv6', v: g?.IPv6 ? 'covered' : 'off' }]),
             { k: 'confirm', v: g?.ConfirmTimeout ? `${g.ConfirmTimeout}s window` : 'no auto-rollback' },
           ]}
@@ -536,11 +540,23 @@ const SECTION_ROUTE: Record<string, Route> = {
   rule: 'routing',
   ruleset: 'routing',
   blocklist: 'dns',
+  allowlist: 'dns',
   resolver: 'dns',
+  dns_rule: 'dns',
   device: 'devices',
   chain: 'targets',
   group: 'targets',
+  // A node the generator dropped (unparseable share link, duplicate WireGuard
+  // key, name colliding with a reserved tag) is reported under `node` — and had
+  // nowhere to jump to, so the one page that could show it a green toggle was
+  // also the one page the finding could not reach.
+  node: 'nodes',
+  subscription: 'nodes',
+  egress: 'targets',
+  inbound: 'networks',
   interface: 'networks',
+  profile: 'profiles',
+  alert: 'settings',
   // The standing note about non-TCP/UDP traffic — its control lives on Networks.
   untunnelable: 'networks',
 }
@@ -558,11 +574,14 @@ const SECTION_ROUTE: Record<string, Route> = {
 function Findings({
   warnings,
   criticalCount,
+  truncated,
 }: {
   warnings: StatusWarning[]
   criticalCount: number
+  /** The daemon's "N further suppressed" note, when the list was capped. */
+  truncated: StatusWarning | null
 }) {
-  if (warnings.length === 0) return null
+  if (warnings.length === 0 && !truncated) return null
 
   const rank = { critical: 0, warning: 1, info: 2 } as const
   const sorted = [...warnings].sort((a, b) => rank[a.severity] - rank[b.severity])
@@ -572,6 +591,10 @@ function Findings({
       <header className="findings-hd">
         <h2 className="findings-title">Last apply</h2>
         <span className="findings-count mono">
+          {/* "at least" whenever the list was capped: the counts below it are a
+              floor, not a total, and the cap drops the least severe FIRST — so
+              on a config with fifty criticals the thing it drops is a critical. */}
+          {truncated ? 'at least ' : ''}
           {criticalCount > 0
             ? `${criticalCount} critical · ${warnings.length} total`
             : `${warnings.length} note${warnings.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}`}
@@ -610,6 +633,20 @@ function Findings({
             </li>
           )
         })}
+        {/* The list saying it is not the whole list. Last, because it is about
+            everything above it — and never filtered out with the other `info`
+            notes, which is where it used to disappear. */}
+        {truncated && (
+          <li className="finding finding--truncated">
+            <Led variant="amber" />
+            <div className="finding-copy">
+              <span className="finding-where mono">list truncated</span>
+              <span className="finding-msg">
+                Some findings are missing from this list. {truncated.message}
+              </span>
+            </div>
+          </li>
+        )}
       </ul>
     </section>
   )

panel/src/pages/Settings.tsx

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import './Settings.css'
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import type { ReactNode } from 'react'
 import { Button, Led, Select, Toggle, useConfirm } from '../components'
+import { AlertsSection } from './Alerts'
 import { apply as apiApply, downloadLog, getConfig, putConfig, ApiError } from '../api'
 import type { Globals, LogRange, Model } from '../api'
 
@@ -406,7 +407,7 @@ export default function Settings() {
 
             <Field
               label="Log level"
-              note="Verbosity of the daemon log. “none” silences the engine and drops the control-plane to panic-only — a turn-down, not a true off: even warnings and errors are hidden. The toggles below decide where whatever is emitted gets written; turning both off is the only full silence. Failures still raise alerts regardless of this level."
+              note="Verbosity of the daemon log. “none” silences the engine and drops the control-plane to panic-only — a turn-down, not a true off: even warnings and errors are hidden. The toggles below decide where whatever is emitted gets written; turning both off is the only full silence. Failures still raise alerts regardless of this level — set up where they go in the Alerts section below."
             >
               <Select
                 value={globals?.LogLevel || 'warning'}
@@ -620,6 +621,13 @@ export default function Settings() {
             </Field>
           </Group>
 
+          {/* ---- ALERTS ---- */}
+          {/* Extracted from the DNS page — out-of-band notifications belong with
+              the appliance-wide knobs, next to the log level whose note points
+              here. Renders its own section header (same plate as a Group); all
+              writes go through `save`, so the dirty banner and toast stay one. */}
+          <AlertsSection config={config} busy={busy} loading={loading} onSave={save} />
+
           {/* ---- STATISTICS & LOGGING ---- */}
           <Group
             title="Statistics &amp; logging"

panel/src/planeState.test.ts

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 import { test } from 'node:test'
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
 
-import { engineReadout, engineState, protectionState } from './planeState.ts'
+import { engineReadout, engineState, killSwitchReadout, protectionState } from './planeState.ts'
 import type { Status, Traffic } from './api.ts'
 
 /** A healthy, fully-installed router; `traffic` is what each case varies. */
@@ -189,3 +189,65 @@ test('no status at all is unknown, not down', () => {
   assert.equal(engineReadout(null).variant, 'off')
   assert.equal(engineReadout(null).word, 'checking…')
 })
+
+// --- killSwitchReadout: "I don't know" is not "it's armed" -------------------
+//
+// The Overview module read `killArmed && status?.plane !== 'none'`, and
+// `undefined !== 'none'` is true — so a daemon that never reported `plane`, and
+// the seconds before the first status arrives, both lit a green lamp over the
+// word ARMED. These pin the fourth answer that expression could not express.
+
+test('a daemon that does not report `plane` reads as not reported, never ARMED', () => {
+  const { plane, ...noPlane } = status()
+  void plane
+  const k = killSwitchReadout(noPlane as Status)
+  assert.equal(k.state, 'unknown')
+  assert.notEqual(k.value, 'ARMED')
+  assert.equal(k.variant, 'off')
+  assert.notEqual(k.variant, 'on')
+  assert.equal(k.blockingNow, 'not known')
+})
+
+test('no status at all is unknown too, and says there is no reading', () => {
+  const k = killSwitchReadout(null)
+  assert.equal(k.state, 'unknown')
+  assert.equal(k.variant, 'off')
+  assert.equal(k.blockingNow, 'no reading yet')
+})
+
+test('fail-closed with a plane installed is armed', () => {
+  for (const plane of ['full', 'hold'] as const) {
+    const k = killSwitchReadout(status({ plane }))
+    assert.equal(k.state, 'armed')
+    assert.equal(k.value, 'ARMED')
+    assert.equal(k.variant, 'on')
+    assert.equal(k.blockingNow, null)
+  }
+})
+
+test('fail-closed with no plane is configured but blocking nothing', () => {
+  const k = killSwitchReadout(status({ plane: 'none', table: false }))
+  assert.equal(k.state, 'inert')
+  assert.equal(k.value, 'NOT IN EFFECT')
+  assert.equal(k.variant, 'crit')
+  assert.equal(k.hot, true)
+})
+
+test('fail-open is the operator’s choice — amber, and never a plane question', () => {
+  for (const plane of ['full', 'none', undefined] as const) {
+    const k = killSwitchReadout(status({ kill_switch: 'open', plane }))
+    assert.equal(k.state, 'open')
+    assert.equal(k.value, 'OPEN')
+    assert.equal(k.variant, 'amber')
+  }
+})
+
+test('the live kill_switch wins over the saved one; the saved one only fills a gap', () => {
+  const { kill_switch, ...noKill } = status()
+  void kill_switch
+  // Live says open, config says closed → live wins.
+  assert.equal(killSwitchReadout(status({ kill_switch: 'open' }), 'closed').state, 'open')
+  // Nothing live → fall back to the saved policy.
+  assert.equal(killSwitchReadout(noKill as Status, 'open').state, 'open')
+  assert.equal(killSwitchReadout(noKill as Status, 'closed').state, 'armed')
+})

panel/src/planeState.ts

@@ -71,6 +71,85 @@ export function engineReadout(status: Status | null): { variant: LedVariant; wor
   }
 }
 
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Is the kill-switch actually blocking anything?
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/**
+ * Four answers, and "unknown" is one of them.
+ *
+ *   armed   — configured fail-closed AND a data plane is installed to enforce it.
+ *   inert   — configured fail-closed, but there is no plane. Nothing is blocking.
+ *   unknown — the daemon has not said how much plane is installed, so whether the
+ *             setting is in force is not known. NEVER paint this green.
+ *   open    — configured fail-open. Nothing is meant to be blocked.
+ */
+export type KillSwitchState = 'armed' | 'inert' | 'unknown' | 'open'
+
+export interface KillSwitchReadout {
+  state: KillSwitchState
+  /** The word the module puts in its readout. */
+  value: string
+  variant: LedVariant
+  /** Is it blocking right now — the row under the readout. `null` ⇒ nothing to add. */
+  blockingNow: string | null
+  /** True when `blockingNow` is bad news and should be drawn hot. */
+  hot: boolean
+}
+
+/**
+ * THE UNKNOWN BRANCH IS THE WHOLE POINT. This used to be
+ *
+ *     killArmed && status?.plane !== 'none'
+ *
+ * and `undefined !== 'none'` is true — so a daemon that had not reported `plane`
+ * at all, and a panel that had not yet received its first status, both landed in
+ * the "ARMED" branch under a green lamp. Every other unknown in this file is an
+ * unlit socket for exactly this reason (see engineReadout): the kill-switch is
+ * the last thing standing between the LAN and the plain WAN, and "I don't know
+ * whether it is installed" must never be dressed as "it is".
+ *
+ * `configured` is the SAVED policy from /api/config, used only while
+ * /api/status has not reported one. The live value wins wherever it exists, as
+ * everywhere else in the panel: this is a status readout, and the config on disk
+ * can already differ from what is installed.
+ */
+export function killSwitchReadout(
+  status: Status | null,
+  configured?: string,
+): KillSwitchReadout {
+  const closed = (status?.kill_switch ?? configured ?? 'closed') === 'closed'
+
+  if (!closed) {
+    return { state: 'open', value: 'OPEN', variant: 'amber', blockingNow: null, hot: false }
+  }
+
+  switch (status?.plane) {
+    case 'full':
+    case 'hold':
+      // Something is installed, so the fail-closed guard is really in the path.
+      return { state: 'armed', value: 'ARMED', variant: 'on', blockingNow: null, hot: false }
+    case 'none':
+      return {
+        state: 'inert',
+        value: 'NOT IN EFFECT',
+        variant: 'crit',
+        blockingNow: 'no — nothing installed',
+        hot: true,
+      }
+    default:
+      return {
+        state: 'unknown',
+        value: 'NOT REPORTED',
+        variant: 'off',
+        // Terse on purpose: this is a two-column readout row, and the long form
+        // wrapped onto three lines beside a one-word key.
+        blockingNow: status ? 'not known' : 'no reading yet',
+        hot: false,
+      }
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * `plane` + `engine_running` express the state more precisely than the three
  * booleans the old status strip exposed (engine active / config enabled / nft

panel/vite.config.ts

@@ -1,15 +1,62 @@
 import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
+import type { Plugin } from 'vite'
 import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
 
 // Minimal ambient for the dev-proxy target override — avoids pulling in @types/node
 // just for one env read. Vite runs this file under Node where `process` exists.
 declare const process: { env: Record<string, string | undefined> }
 
+/** `src/mock.ts`, as the module graph spells it (POSIX-normalised for Windows). */
+const MOCK_MODULE = 'src/mock.ts'
+
+/**
+ * Refuse to emit a production bundle that contains the offline fixture backend.
+ *
+ * `src/mock.ts` describes an invented, healthy router: a full config, 122 nodes
+ * with 119 of them alive, "Protected". It exists so `npm run dev` renders without
+ * a daemon. It shipped inside the binary that goes on real hardware, switched on
+ * by nothing more than a `?dev` on the end of the URL — so a link someone was
+ * sent, or a bookmark they saved, showed an appliance in perfect health while
+ * making no request to the appliance at all.
+ *
+ * api.ts now loads it behind `import.meta.env.DEV`, which Vite folds to a literal
+ * `false` for a build, so Rollup drops the dynamic import and the module never
+ * enters the graph. That is a property of a build tool's optimiser, and an
+ * optimiser is not a promise: one refactor that makes the condition non-static
+ * silently puts the fixtures back. So the property is CHECKED rather than
+ * trusted — if `src/mock.ts` reaches any emitted chunk, the build fails here
+ * instead of shipping.
+ */
+function assertNoMockFixtures(): Plugin {
+  return {
+    name: 'shater:assert-no-mock-fixtures',
+    apply: 'build',
+    generateBundle(_options, bundle) {
+      const guilty: string[] = []
+      for (const [file, output] of Object.entries(bundle)) {
+        if (output.type !== 'chunk') continue
+        for (const id of output.moduleIds) {
+          if (id.replace(/\\/g, '/').endsWith(MOCK_MODULE)) guilty.push(`${file} ← ${id}`)
+        }
+      }
+      if (guilty.length > 0) {
+        this.error(
+          `the offline fixture backend (${MOCK_MODULE}) reached the production bundle:\n  ` +
+            guilty.join('\n  ') +
+            `\nFixtures describe a router that does not exist. Keep every path to them behind ` +
+            `\`import.meta.env.DEV\` so Rollup can drop them, and never gate them on a runtime ` +
+            `flag such as a query parameter.`,
+        )
+      }
+    },
+  }
+}
+
 // The SPA is embedded in the forked sing-box binary and served by the daemon on
 // its own port. Relative base so it works under any mount path; single small
 // bundle (no code-splitting) keeps the embed simple and the flash budget low.
 export default defineConfig({
-  plugins: [react()],
+  plugins: [react(), assertNoMockFixtures()],
   base: './',
   build: {
     outDir: 'dist',

route/prematch_metadata_lx_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+package route
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"net/netip"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/adapter"
+	C "github.com/sagernet/sing-box/constant"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	R "github.com/sagernet/sing-box/route/rule"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing/common/json/badoption"
+	M "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/metadata"
+	N "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/network"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// The pre-match path (adapter.JudgeFlow -> Router.PreMatch, used by the TUN/
+// WireGuard-endpoint flow dispatcher) used to prepare only fakeip and the IP
+// version. Everything a rule matches on that the inbound cannot know — the
+// connection owner and the neighbor behind the source address — was resolved in
+// matchRule only, so a `source_mac_address` / `source_hostname` rule silently
+// failed to match in pre-match and the flow fell through to the default
+// outbound. Upstream b911fb078 shares one prepareMatchMetadata between both
+// paths; these tests pin that.
+
+// stubNeighborResolver answers for exactly one address.
+type stubNeighborResolver struct {
+	address  netip.Addr
+	mac      net.HardwareAddr
+	hostname string
+}
+
+func (r *stubNeighborResolver) LookupMAC(address netip.Addr) (net.HardwareAddr, bool) {
+	if address != r.address || r.mac == nil {
+		return nil, false
+	}
+	return r.mac, true
+}
+
+func (r *stubNeighborResolver) LookupHostname(address netip.Addr) (string, bool) {
+	if address != r.address || r.hostname == "" {
+		return "", false
+	}
+	return r.hostname, true
+}
+
+func (r *stubNeighborResolver) LookupAddresses(hostname string) []netip.Addr {
+	if hostname != r.hostname {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return []netip.Addr{r.address}
+}
+
+func (r *stubNeighborResolver) Start() error { return nil }
+func (r *stubNeighborResolver) Close() error { return nil }
+
+// stubDNSRouter / stubDNSTransportManager implement only what
+// prepareMatchMetadata reaches; every other method is left to the embedded nil
+// interface and would panic if it were ever called.
+type stubDNSRouter struct {
+	adapter.DNSRouter
+}
+
+func (s *stubDNSRouter) LookupReverseMapping(netip.Addr) (string, bool) { return "", false }
+
+type stubDNSTransportManager struct {
+	adapter.DNSTransportManager
+}
+
+func (s *stubDNSTransportManager) FakeIP() adapter.FakeIPTransport { return nil }
+
+// stubOutboundManager's default outbound supports no network at all, so a flow
+// that reaches preMatchFlow bails out with PreMatchContinue instead of nil-
+// dereferencing. That is exactly the pre-fix verdict we assert against.
+type stubOutboundManager struct {
+	adapter.OutboundManager
+	defaultOutbound adapter.Outbound
+}
+
+func (s *stubOutboundManager) Default() adapter.Outbound { return s.defaultOutbound }
+
+type stubNoNetworkOutbound struct {
+	adapter.Outbound
+}
+
+func (o *stubNoNetworkOutbound) Tag() string       { return "stub" }
+func (o *stubNoNetworkOutbound) Type() string      { return "direct" }
+func (o *stubNoNetworkOutbound) Network() []string { return nil }
+
+func newPreMatchTestRouter(t *testing.T, resolver adapter.NeighborResolver, rules ...option.Rule) *Router {
+	t.Helper()
+	logger := log.NewNOPFactory().NewLogger("test")
+	router := &Router{
+		ctx:              context.Background(),
+		logger:           logger,
+		dns:              &stubDNSRouter{},
+		dnsTransport:     &stubDNSTransportManager{},
+		outbound:         &stubOutboundManager{defaultOutbound: &stubNoNetworkOutbound{}},
+		neighborResolver: resolver,
+		needFindNeighbor: true,
+	}
+	for i, ruleOptions := range rules {
+		rule, err := R.NewRule(router.ctx, logger, ruleOptions, false)
+		require.NoError(t, err, "build rule[%d]", i)
+		router.rules = append(router.rules, rule)
+	}
+	return router
+}
+
+func rejectOnSourceMAC(macAddress string) option.Rule {
+	return option.Rule{
+		Type: C.RuleTypeDefault,
+		DefaultOptions: option.DefaultRule{
+			RawDefaultRule: option.RawDefaultRule{
+				SourceMACAddress: badoption.Listable[string]{macAddress},
+			},
+			RuleAction: option.RuleAction{
+				Action:        C.RuleActionTypeReject,
+				RejectOptions: option.RejectActionOptions{Method: C.RuleActionRejectMethodDefault},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func rejectOnSourceHostname(hostname string) option.Rule {
+	return option.Rule{
+		Type: C.RuleTypeDefault,
+		DefaultOptions: option.DefaultRule{
+			RawDefaultRule: option.RawDefaultRule{
+				SourceHostname: badoption.Listable[string]{hostname},
+			},
+			RuleAction: option.RuleAction{
+				Action:        C.RuleActionTypeReject,
+				RejectOptions: option.RejectActionOptions{Method: C.RuleActionRejectMethodDefault},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+}
+
+func preMatchMetadata() adapter.InboundContext {
+	return adapter.InboundContext{
+		Inbound:     "tun-in",
+		InboundType: C.TypeTun,
+		Network:     N.NetworkUDP,
+		Source:      M.ParseSocksaddr("192.168.1.5:41234"),
+		Destination: M.ParseSocksaddr("1.1.1.1:443"),
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreMatchResolvesNeighborMAC(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	mac, err := net.ParseMAC("de:ad:be:ef:00:01")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	resolver := &stubNeighborResolver{
+		address:  netip.MustParseAddr("192.168.1.5"),
+		mac:      mac,
+		hostname: "kitchen-tv",
+	}
+	router := newPreMatchTestRouter(t, resolver, rejectOnSourceMAC("de:ad:be:ef:00:01"))
+	result := router.PreMatch(preMatchMetadata(), nil)
+	require.Equal(t, adapter.PreMatchReject, result.Action,
+		"source_mac_address rule must match in pre-match; the MAC has to be resolved there too")
+}
+
+func TestPreMatchResolvesNeighborHostname(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	resolver := &stubNeighborResolver{
+		address:  netip.MustParseAddr("192.168.1.5"),
+		hostname: "kitchen-tv",
+	}
+	router := newPreMatchTestRouter(t, resolver, rejectOnSourceHostname("kitchen-tv"))
+	result := router.PreMatch(preMatchMetadata(), nil)
+	require.Equal(t, adapter.PreMatchReject, result.Action,
+		"source_hostname rule must match in pre-match; the hostname has to be resolved there too")
+}
+
+// A source the neighbor resolver does not know must still fall through, not
+// match on a half-filled metadata.
+func TestPreMatchNeighborMissDoesNotMatch(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	mac, err := net.ParseMAC("de:ad:be:ef:00:01")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	resolver := &stubNeighborResolver{
+		address: netip.MustParseAddr("192.168.1.9"),
+		mac:     mac,
+	}
+	router := newPreMatchTestRouter(t, resolver, rejectOnSourceMAC("de:ad:be:ef:00:01"))
+	result := router.PreMatch(preMatchMetadata(), nil)
+	require.Equal(t, adapter.PreMatchContinue, result.Action)
+}

route/route.go

@@ -319,22 +319,14 @@ func (r *Router) PreMatch(metadata adapter.InboundContext, firstPacket []byte) a
 	metadata.PreMatch = true
 	continueResult := adapter.PreMatchResult{Action: adapter.PreMatchContinue}
 	packetDestination := metadata.Destination
-	if metadata.Destination.Addr.IsValid() && r.dnsTransport.FakeIP() != nil && r.dnsTransport.FakeIP().Store().Contains(metadata.Destination.Addr) {
-		domain, loaded := r.dnsTransport.FakeIP().Store().Lookup(metadata.Destination.Addr)
-		if !loaded || domain == "" {
-			return continueResult
-		}
-		metadata.OriginDestination = metadata.Destination
-		metadata.Destination = M.Socksaddr{
-			Fqdn: domain,
-			Port: metadata.Destination.Port,
-		}
-		metadata.FakeIP = true
-	}
-	if metadata.Destination.IsIPv4() {
-		metadata.IPVersion = 4
-	} else if metadata.Destination.IsIPv6() {
-		metadata.IPVersion = 6
+	// lx: pre-match used to prepare only fakeip + IP version, so process/neighbor
+	// rule items (process_name, source_mac_address, source_hostname, …) never had
+	// their metadata filled here and silently failed to match — they were resolved
+	// in matchRule only. Both paths now share prepareMatchMetadata (upstream
+	// b911fb078).
+	err := r.prepareMatchMetadata(ctx, &metadata)
+	if err != nil {
+		return continueResult
 	}
 	for currentRuleIndex, currentRule := range r.rules {
 		metadata.ResetRuleCache()
@@ -540,13 +532,11 @@ func (r *Router) preMatchFlow(ctx context.Context, metadata *adapter.InboundCont
 	return result
 }
 
-func (r *Router) matchRule(
-	ctx context.Context, metadata *adapter.InboundContext,
-	inputConn net.Conn, inputPacketConn N.PacketConn,
-) (
-	selectedRule adapter.Rule, selectedRuleIndex int,
-	buffers []*buf.Buffer, packetBuffers []*N.PacketBuffer, fatalErr error,
-) {
+// prepareMatchMetadata fills in everything a rule may match on but the inbound
+// cannot know: the connection owner, the neighbor (MAC/hostname) behind the
+// source address, the fakeip / reverse-mapped domain and the IP version. Shared
+// by matchRule and PreMatch — see the note at the PreMatch call site.
+func (r *Router) prepareMatchMetadata(ctx context.Context, metadata *adapter.InboundContext) error {
 	r.searchProcessInfo(ctx, metadata)
 	if r.neighborResolver != nil && metadata.SourceMACAddress == nil && metadata.Source.Addr.IsValid() {
 		mac, macFound := r.neighborResolver.LookupMAC(metadata.Source.Addr)
@@ -568,8 +558,7 @@ func (r *Router) matchRule(
 	if metadata.Destination.Addr.IsValid() && r.dnsTransport.FakeIP() != nil && r.dnsTransport.FakeIP().Store().Contains(metadata.Destination.Addr) {
 		domain, loaded := r.dnsTransport.FakeIP().Store().Lookup(metadata.Destination.Addr)
 		if !loaded {
-			fatalErr = E.New("missing fakeip record, try enable `experimental.cache_file`")
-			return
+			return E.New("missing fakeip record, try enable `experimental.cache_file`")
 		}
 		if domain != "" {
 			metadata.OriginDestination = metadata.Destination
@@ -592,6 +581,20 @@ func (r *Router) matchRule(
 	} else if metadata.Destination.IsIPv6() {
 		metadata.IPVersion = 6
 	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (r *Router) matchRule(
+	ctx context.Context, metadata *adapter.InboundContext,
+	inputConn net.Conn, inputPacketConn N.PacketConn,
+) (
+	selectedRule adapter.Rule, selectedRuleIndex int,
+	buffers []*buf.Buffer, packetBuffers []*N.PacketBuffer, fatalErr error,
+) {
+	fatalErr = r.prepareMatchMetadata(ctx, metadata)
+	if fatalErr != nil {
+		return
+	}
 
 match:
 	for currentRuleIndex, currentRule := range r.rules {

scripts/run-tests.sh

@@ -80,15 +80,15 @@ SKIP_COMMON='^TestIntegration'
 #   RoutineReceiveIncoming() with no lock, caught by
 #   transport/wireguard.TestAwgDetourClientBindDelivers; that one has since been
 #   fixed in client_bind.go and is NOT skipped — it is exactly what this pass is
-#   for. What is left:
-#     - shater/alert.TestExpiryDedupWithinDay — the test's own closure
-#       (expiry_test.go:78) reads a variable the test body writes at :85 while
-#       Notifier.dispatch's goroutine is still delivering. A test-side bug, ~one
-#       mutex to fix, but it lives in shater/ and is nobody's blocker to ship.
-#   Naming it here keeps the gate a gate from day one. It is skipped ONLY in the
-#   -race pass — it still runs, and still has to pass, in the main pass below.
-#   DELETE THE ENTRY THE MOMENT THE RACE IS FIXED.
-RACE_SKIP='^TestExpiryDedupWithinDay$'
+#   for. What was left:
+#     - shater/alert.TestExpiryDedupWithinDay — the test's own closure read a
+#       variable the test body wrote while Notifier.dispatch's goroutine was
+#       still delivering. FIXED 2026-07-26 (the simulated clock now has a mutex),
+#       so the entry is gone and the -race pass covers the whole tree again.
+#   Nothing is skipped under -race any more. Keep it that way: an entry here is a
+#   hole in the gate, so add one only with a named reason and delete it the moment
+#   the race is fixed.
+RACE_SKIP='^$'
 
 echo "== shater test gate =="
 echo "  tags   : $SHATER_ROUTER_TAGS"
@@ -234,8 +234,8 @@ echo
 # upstream code exercised by upstream CI.
 if [ "$RACE" -eq 1 ]; then
 	echo "== [4/4] go test -race — the fork's trees =="
-	echo "  known-red under -race, skipped BY NAME (fix it and delete from RACE_SKIP):"
-	echo "    TestExpiryDedupWithinDay   shater/alert   (test-side race, expiry_test.go:78/85)"
+	echo "  nothing is skipped under -race"
+	
 	run_suite race "-race -skip $RACE_SKIP" "${ROOTS[@]}"
 else
 	echo "== [4/4] -race pass skipped (--no-race) =="

shater/alert/dedup_bound_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+package alert
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// warnLogger records Warn lines so a test can assert that an eviction was
+// actually announced. Everything else falls through to the standard logger.
+type warnLogger struct {
+	log.ContextLogger
+	mu    sync.Mutex
+	warns []string
+}
+
+func newWarnLogger() *warnLogger { return &warnLogger{ContextLogger: log.StdLogger()} }
+
+func (l *warnLogger) Warn(args ...any) {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	l.warns = append(l.warns, fmt.Sprint(args...))
+	l.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+func (l *warnLogger) lines() []string {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	defer l.mu.Unlock()
+	return append([]string(nil), l.warns...)
+}
+
+// notifierAt builds a Notifier with no channels (so nothing is ever delivered —
+// only the dedup bookkeeping runs) and a clock the test drives.
+func notifierAt(t *testing.T, clock *time.Time) (*Notifier, *warnLogger) {
+	t.Helper()
+	lg := newWarnLogger()
+	n := New([]model.Alert{}, lg)
+	n.now = func() time.Time { return *clock }
+	return n, lg
+}
+
+func (n *Notifier) dedupSize() int {
+	n.mu.Lock()
+	defer n.mu.Unlock()
+	return len(n.dedup)
+}
+
+// TestDedupTableIsBoundedOverTime is the leak itself: a guest network whose
+// clients randomise their MAC produces an endless stream of distinct
+// "new_device:<MAC>" keys, and nothing ever deleted one. Spread over time — which
+// is how it actually happens — the table must stay small, and nothing may be
+// reported as evicted, because an entry past the dedup window could no longer
+// suppress anything anyway.
+func TestDedupTableIsBoundedOverTime(t *testing.T) {
+	clock := time.Now()
+	n, lg := notifierAt(t, &clock)
+
+	// Ten times the cap, at one incident per second: every key is long past the
+	// 60s window by the time the next batch arrives.
+	const fires = maxDedupKeys * 10
+	for i := 0; i < fires; i++ {
+		clock = clock.Add(time.Second)
+		n.FireIncident(Incident{
+			Events: []string{"new_device"},
+			Title:  "New device on the LAN",
+			Key:    fmt.Sprintf("new_device:02:00:00:%02x:%02x:%02x", i>>16&0xff, i>>8&0xff, i&0xff),
+		})
+	}
+
+	if got := n.dedupSize(); got > maxDedupKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("dedup table holds %d entries after %d distinct incidents; cap is %d",
+			got, fires, maxDedupKeys)
+	}
+	if got := n.DedupEvicted(); got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d LIVE evictions; entries aged out of the window and losing them costs nothing", got)
+	}
+	if lines := lg.lines(); len(lines) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expiry sweep must be silent (it loses nothing), got: %v", lines)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDedupTableEvictionIsAnnounced is the other half: when the cap genuinely
+// bites — more distinct incidents inside ONE dedup window than the table holds —
+// live suppression state is lost and repeats may notify twice. That must be said
+// out loud, not absorbed.
+func TestDedupTableEvictionIsAnnounced(t *testing.T) {
+	clock := time.Now()
+	n, lg := notifierAt(t, &clock)
+
+	// The clock does not move: every key stays inside its window.
+	for i := 0; i < maxDedupKeys+10; i++ {
+		clock = clock.Add(time.Millisecond) // still far inside dedupWindow
+		n.FireIncident(Incident{
+			Events: []string{"new_device"},
+			Title:  "New device on the LAN",
+			Key:    fmt.Sprintf("new_device:flood-%d", i),
+		})
+	}
+
+	if got := n.dedupSize(); got > maxDedupKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("dedup table grew to %d, above the %d cap", got, maxDedupKeys)
+	}
+	if n.DedupEvicted() == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a flood of %d in-window incidents evicted nothing — the cap is not enforced", maxDedupKeys+10)
+	}
+	lines := lg.lines()
+	if len(lines) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("live suppression entries were dropped with no notice")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lines[0], "dedup table full") || !strings.Contains(lines[0], "notify twice") {
+		t.Fatalf("eviction notice does not explain the consequence: %q", lines[0])
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDedupStillSuppressesWithinTheWindow guards the behaviour the bound must not
+// break: a repeat inside the window is still collapsed, and one outside it is not.
+func TestDedupStillSuppressesWithinTheWindow(t *testing.T) {
+	clock := time.Now()
+	n, _ := notifierAt(t, &clock)
+
+	fire := func() bool {
+		n.mu.Lock()
+		defer n.mu.Unlock()
+		return n.suppressedLocked("killswitch\x00Kill-switch engaged")
+	}
+	if fire() {
+		t.Fatalf("first fire was suppressed")
+	}
+	clock = clock.Add(dedupWindow / 2)
+	if !fire() {
+		t.Fatalf("a repeat inside the window was NOT suppressed")
+	}
+	clock = clock.Add(dedupWindow)
+	if fire() {
+		t.Fatalf("a repeat past the window was suppressed")
+	}
+}

shater/alert/detour_close_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+package alert
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// closingRT is an http.RoundTripper that also implements the CloseIdleConnections
+// hook http.Client forwards to, so a test can observe whether the client was ever
+// released. http.Transport implements the same hook — this stands in for it.
+type closingRT struct {
+	rt     http.RoundTripper
+	closed atomic.Int32
+}
+
+func (c *closingRT) RoundTrip(r *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) { return c.rt.RoundTrip(r) }
+func (c *closingRT) CloseIdleConnections()                            { c.closed.Add(1) }
+
+// TestDetourClientIsClosedAfterDelivery: the detour factory (engine.HTTPClient)
+// mints a NEW http.Transport for every call, and that transport's idle connections
+// are live proxying sessions through an engine outbound whose object the dial
+// closure pins. The notifier used one per delivery and dropped it, so every alert
+// left a keep-alive session — and a reference to a possibly-retired engine
+// generation — behind for the whole idle timeout.
+func TestDetourClientIsClosedAfterDelivery(t *testing.T) {
+	c, srv := newSink(t)
+	n := New([]model.Alert{{
+		Name: "hook", Enabled: true, Type: "webhook", URL: srv.URL,
+		Events: []string{"killswitch"}, Via: "node:tunnel",
+	}}, nil)
+
+	var made []*closingRT
+	n.SetClientFactory(func(via string) (*http.Client, error) {
+		rt := &closingRT{rt: http.DefaultTransport}
+		made = append(made, rt)
+		return &http.Client{Transport: rt}, nil
+	})
+
+	n.Fire("killswitch", "Kill-switch engaged", "the tunnel is down")
+	n.Wait()
+
+	if c.n() != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("delivery count = %d, want 1", c.n())
+	}
+	if len(made) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("factory called %d times, want 1", len(made))
+	}
+	if got := made[0].closed.Load(); got == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the per-delivery detour client was never closed — its idle connections " +
+			"(and the engine outbound its dialer pins) outlive the alert")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDetourClientIsClosedWhenTheSendFails covers the fallback path: a detour that
+// errors and falls back to direct still built a transport, and that one leaked too.
+func TestDetourClientIsClosedWhenTheSendFails(t *testing.T) {
+	// A sink that rejects, so the detour send fails and Fallback kicks in.
+	reject := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+	}))
+	defer reject.Close()
+
+	n := New([]model.Alert{{
+		Name: "hook", Enabled: true, Type: "webhook", URL: reject.URL,
+		Events: []string{"killswitch"}, Via: "node:tunnel", Fallback: true,
+	}}, nil)
+
+	var rt *closingRT
+	n.SetClientFactory(func(via string) (*http.Client, error) {
+		rt = &closingRT{rt: http.DefaultTransport}
+		return &http.Client{Transport: rt}, nil
+	})
+
+	n.Fire("killswitch", "Kill-switch engaged", "the tunnel is down")
+	n.Wait()
+
+	if rt == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("factory was never called")
+	}
+	if got := rt.closed.Load(); got == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a failed detour delivery still leaked its transport")
+	}
+}

shater/alert/expiry_test.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -74,22 +75,37 @@ func TestExpiryDedupWithinDay(t *testing.T) {
 	// test compresses 24 simulated hours into a few milliseconds of wall clock — so
 	// without this the second delivery is (correctly) suppressed by that window and
 	// the test would be measuring the fixture, not the behaviour.
+	// The clock is shared with the notifier's DELIVERY goroutines (buildPayload
+	// stamps the payload with n.now()), which are still in flight while this body
+	// advances the simulated time — so it needs a lock, not a bare variable.
+	var clockMu sync.Mutex
 	simNow := now
-	e.n.now = func() time.Time { return simNow }
+	setNow := func(t time.Time) {
+		clockMu.Lock()
+		simNow = t
+		clockMu.Unlock()
+	}
+	e.n.now = func() time.Time {
+		clockMu.Lock()
+		defer clockMu.Unlock()
+		return simNow
+	}
 
 	if got := e.Run(m, now); got != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("first Run fired %d, want 1", got)
 	}
 	// Simulate a minute-by-minute reconcile for the next 23 hours.
 	for i := 1; i <= 23; i++ {
-		simNow = now.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Hour)
-		if got := e.Run(m, simNow); got != 0 {
+		at := now.Add(time.Duration(i) * time.Hour)
+		setNow(at)
+		if got := e.Run(m, at); got != 0 {
 			t.Fatalf("Run at +%dh fired %d alerts, want 0 (dedup window is 24h)", i, got)
 		}
 	}
 	// Just past the window it may speak again.
-	simNow = now.Add(24*time.Hour + time.Minute)
-	if got := e.Run(m, simNow); got != 1 {
+	past := now.Add(24*time.Hour + time.Minute)
+	setNow(past)
+	if got := e.Run(m, past); got != 1 {
 		t.Errorf("Run just past 24h fired %d, want 1", got)
 	}
 	e.n.Wait()

shater/alert/notifier.go

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
+	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
@@ -31,6 +32,29 @@ import (
 const (
 	httpTimeout = 8 * time.Second
 	dedupWindow = 60 * time.Second
+
+	// maxDedupKeys / keepDedupKeys bound the dedup table.
+	//
+	// Nothing ever deleted from it. Every key that had EVER fired stayed forever,
+	// and its highest-cardinality producer is "new_device:<MAC>" — on a guest
+	// network where clients randomise their MAC per association, that is a fresh
+	// key per device per join, for the life of a daemon that runs for months.
+	//
+	// The real bound is not this cap, it is the window: an entry older than
+	// dedupWindow (60s) can never suppress anything again, so it is pure garbage
+	// and sweeping it costs nothing and changes no behaviour. compactDedupLocked
+	// does that first. The cap only bites when 1024 DISTINCT incidents fired inside
+	// one 60-second window — and there the eviction is a real loss of suppression
+	// state, so it is reported rather than done quietly.
+	//
+	// Why 1024: the new_device watcher polls every ~45s, so a poll would have to
+	// discover a thousand previously-unseen MACs at once to reach it — roughly 20x
+	// the worst guest-network churn this box has seen. At ~100 B per entry (a
+	// 28-byte "new_device:<MAC>" key plus a time.Time plus map overhead) the full
+	// table is ~100 KB of a 512 MB router: cheap enough that a generous headroom
+	// costs nothing.
+	maxDedupKeys  = 1024
+	keepDedupKeys = 512
 )
 
 // telegramAPIBase is the Telegram Bot API root. A package var so tests can point
@@ -43,6 +67,10 @@ type Notifier struct {
 	mu     sync.Mutex
 	alerts []model.Alert
 	dedup  map[string]time.Time // (event\x00title) -> last fire time
+	// dedupEvicted counts LIVE dedup entries dropped by the capacity bound (see
+	// compactDedupLocked). Expired entries swept out are NOT counted: they could no
+	// longer suppress anything, so dropping them loses nothing.
+	dedupEvicted uint64
 
 	client *http.Client
 	log    log.ContextLogger
@@ -227,10 +255,69 @@ func (n *Notifier) suppressedLocked(key string) bool {
 	if last, ok := n.dedup[key]; ok && now.Sub(last) < dedupWindow {
 		return true
 	}
+	if len(n.dedup) >= maxDedupKeys {
+		n.compactDedupLocked(now)
+	}
 	n.dedup[key] = now
 	return false
 }
 
+// compactDedupLocked bounds the dedup table. Caller holds n.mu.
+//
+// Two stages, deliberately distinct because only one of them loses anything:
+//
+//  1. Drop every entry older than dedupWindow. Such an entry cannot suppress a
+//     future fire (suppressedLocked already ignores it), so this is garbage
+//     collection, not eviction: no notification changes, and nothing is reported.
+//     On any realistic traffic this stage alone keeps the table at "keys seen in
+//     the last minute".
+//  2. If the table is STILL full, a thousand distinct incidents fired inside one
+//     window. Now eviction is real — the oldest live entries go, and a repeat of
+//     one of them within its window will notify a second time instead of being
+//     collapsed. That is a visible change in behaviour, so it is logged, with the
+//     running total, rather than silently absorbed.
+func (n *Notifier) compactDedupLocked(now time.Time) {
+	for k, last := range n.dedup {
+		if now.Sub(last) >= dedupWindow {
+			delete(n.dedup, k)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(n.dedup) < maxDedupKeys {
+		return
+	}
+
+	type kv struct {
+		key string
+		at  time.Time
+	}
+	all := make([]kv, 0, len(n.dedup))
+	for k, at := range n.dedup {
+		all = append(all, kv{k, at})
+	}
+	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool { return all[i].at.Before(all[j].at) })
+	drop := len(all) - keepDedupKeys
+	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
+		delete(n.dedup, all[i].key)
+	}
+	n.dedupEvicted += uint64(drop)
+	n.log.Warn("alert: dedup table full (", maxDedupKeys,
+		" incidents inside one ", dedupWindow, " window) — dropped ", drop,
+		" live suppression entries (", n.dedupEvicted,
+		" total); repeats of those incidents may notify twice")
+}
+
+// DedupEvicted reports how many LIVE suppression entries the cap has dropped since
+// start (stage 2 of compactDedupLocked only — the expiry sweep is not counted,
+// because it loses nothing). Nonzero means alerts may have been delivered twice.
+func (n *Notifier) DedupEvicted() uint64 {
+	if n == nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	n.mu.Lock()
+	defer n.mu.Unlock()
+	return n.dedupEvicted
+}
+
 // dispatch delivers to a single alert in its own goroutine. Panics are recovered
 // and logged; a delivery error is logged. It never crashes the daemon.
 func (n *Notifier) dispatch(a model.Alert, event, title, body string) {
@@ -276,6 +363,18 @@ func (n *Notifier) deliver(a model.Alert, event, title, body string) error {
 
 	if detour && factory != nil {
 		client, cerr := factory(via)
+		if cerr == nil && client != nil {
+			// The factory (engine.HTTPClient) builds a BRAND NEW http.Transport per
+			// call, with keep-alive and a 90s idle timeout, and we use it for exactly
+			// one POST. Dropping it without this leaves the idle connection — a real
+			// proxying session through an engine outbound, plus its read and write
+			// loops — alive for the whole idle timeout. Worse, the transport's
+			// DialContext closure captures that outbound object, so the idle
+			// connection PINS a retired engine generation whose close budget is 5
+			// seconds. One alert delivery per minute keeps a permanent rolling set of
+			// them.
+			defer client.CloseIdleConnections()
+		}
 		if cerr != nil {
 			if a.Fallback {
 				n.log.Warn("alert: ", a.Name, " detour ", via, " unavailable (", cerr, ") — falling back to direct")

shater/apply/apply.go

@@ -61,10 +61,16 @@ type Applier struct {
 	// silently skipped. "" until the first successful nft load.
 	lastNft string
 
-	// holding is true while the fail-closed HOLDING PLANE is installed: the engine
+	// holding is the LATCH half of the hold state: true while a fail-closed HOLDING
+	// PLANE that THIS Applier installed (holdLocked) is in the kernel — the engine
 	// is down and LAN->WAN forwarding is blocked. Surfaced in Status so the panel
 	// can say "protected but not proxying" instead of showing a healthy-looking UI
 	// over an unprotected router.
+	//
+	// It is deliberately NOT the whole answer: a plane installed by the boot armor
+	// or left by a predecessor blocks the LAN just as hard and never touches this
+	// field. Read it through Holding()/holdingWith(), which add the derived half;
+	// writing an inference into this latch would create a claim nothing clears.
 	// holding + lastWarnings live behind their OWN lock, NOT the apply mutex.
 	// Status() reads them, and Status is polled by the LuCI dashboard, the cron
 	// watchdog and hotplug; making those reads queue behind a running apply
@@ -342,6 +348,19 @@ func (a *Applier) UpdateSubscription(name string) (added int, err error) {
 		if err != nil {
 			return 0, fmt.Errorf("subscription %q detour %q: %w", name, sub.FetchDetour, err)
 		}
+		// engine.HTTPClient builds a FRESH http.Transport per call, and its dialer
+		// closes over the resolved outbound. Dropping the client on the floor leaves
+		// that transport's idle keep-alives open — those are real proxied sessions
+		// through the engine, a goroutine pair each — and the closure PINS the engine
+		// generation they were dialled on. A generation's shutdown budget is five
+		// seconds; an idle connection outlives it, which is how a retired box stays
+		// alive with its WireGuard devices still held.
+		//
+		// Deferred rather than closed at the end on purpose: every exit from here is
+		// covered, including the four error returns below, and those are the ones that
+		// leak in the field — a subscription whose feed is broken is retried by cron
+		// once a refresh interval, forever.
+		defer client.CloseIdleConnections()
 	}
 
 	// FetchWithInfo additionally parses the provider's `subscription-userinfo`
@@ -542,14 +561,14 @@ func (a *Applier) applyDataPlaneLocked(m *model.Model, opts option.Options, now
 		out.stage = "rendering the nft ruleset"
 		return out, err
 	}
-	nftCurrent := ruleset == a.lastNft && netplane.TableExists()
+	nftCurrent := ruleset == a.lastNft && tableExists()
 	if !nftCurrent {
 		if err := netplane.ApplyNft(ruleset); err != nil {
 			// The engine may be up, but with no table loaded nothing is diverted into
 			// it — LAN traffic goes straight out the WAN. That is the same silent
 			// fail-open as a dead engine, so it gets the same answer: if there is no
 			// table at all, hold the line rather than leave the LAN exposed.
-			if !netplane.TableExists() {
+			if !tableExists() {
 				a.holdLocked(m, err)
 			}
 			out.stage = "loading the nft ruleset"
@@ -726,10 +745,35 @@ func killSwitchClosed(g model.Globals) bool {
 // attempted, so the window between daemon start and a successful engine start is
 // protected rather than open. The daemon calls it at startup.
 //
-// It is a no-op when the plane is disabled, the kill-switch is open, or a table
-// is already loaded. A successful apply replaces the holding plane atomically
-// (the full ruleset is a single `delete table` + `table` transaction), so the
-// cost on a healthy boot is a few seconds of blocked forwarding — which is
+// It is a no-op when the plane is disabled or the kill-switch is open: fail-open
+// is the operator's documented choice and must not be quietly overridden.
+//
+// It is NO LONGER a no-op when a table is already loaded, and that is the change.
+// The early return on netplane.TableExists() cost two things:
+//
+//   - It deferred to a table this process cannot inspect. Since the boot armor
+//     landed, the table found here is usually /etc/init.d/shater-armor's snapshot
+//     — which may have been rendered before an interface rename and therefore
+//     protects a device that no longer exists. cmd/shaterd's own armorRender
+//     preference says a fresh render beats a snapshot for exactly this reason.
+//   - It skipped setHolding entirely, so with the boot armor loaded the daemon
+//     reported holding=false over a LAN that really was cut off. Status then
+//     published plane="full" and the apply-failure alert (cmd/shaterd
+//     fireApplyFail) told the operator traffic was NOT being blocked at the very
+//     moment it was — sending them to dismantle a protection that was working.
+//
+// Rather than adopt a table it cannot vouch for, ArmHold installs its own,
+// rendered from the model it was handed: what it then publishes is a fact about
+// something this process did, not a guess about something it found. That is also
+// why the fix is not simply "call setHolding(true) when a table is present" — see
+// foreignHold for the case where installing is impossible and a claim has to be
+// derived instead.
+//
+// Replacing a loaded table costs nothing in exposure: `nft -f` commits as ONE
+// netlink transaction (netplane.runNftStdin), so there is no window between the
+// delete and the new table, and a ruleset that fails to load leaves the previous
+// one in place. A successful apply then replaces the holding plane the same way,
+// so the cost on a healthy boot is a few seconds of blocked forwarding — which is
 // precisely what fail-closed is supposed to mean.
 func (a *Applier) ArmHold(m *model.Model) {
 	if m == nil || !m.Globals.Enabled || !killSwitchClosed(m.Globals) {
@@ -742,9 +786,6 @@ func (a *Applier) ArmHold(m *model.Model) {
 	defer release()
 	a.mu.Lock()
 	defer a.mu.Unlock()
-	if netplane.TableExists() {
-		return
-	}
 	a.holdLocked(m, errEngineNotStartedYet)
 }
 
@@ -755,13 +796,103 @@ var errEngineNotStartedYet = errors.New("engine has not started yet")
 // running nft.
 var applyHoldNft = netplane.ApplyNft
 
-// Holding reports whether the fail-closed holding plane is currently installed
-// (engine down, LAN->WAN blocked). Takes only the leaf lock, so it never waits
-// on a running apply.
+// tableExists and bootArmorPresent are the two OUTSIDE-WORLD facts this file's
+// honesty now rests on: is our table in the kernel, and does the persisted
+// fail-closed plane exist on flash. Seams for the same reason as engineApply and
+// applyDataPlane — what the daemon SAYS about a plane it did not install can
+// otherwise only be exercised on a router, with root, a real nft and a real
+// /etc/shater, i.e. never, in the gate. Production reads netplane.
+var (
+	tableExists      = netplane.TableExists
+	bootArmorPresent = netplane.BootArmorPresent
+)
+
+// Holding reports whether forwarded LAN traffic is currently being BLOCKED by a
+// fail-closed plane while the engine is down. It never waits on a running apply.
+//
+// It has two sources, and the second one is the whole point.
+//
+// The LATCH (a.holding) is written by holdLocked, i.e. when THIS process
+// installed the plane. It used to be the only source, which quietly made this a
+// record of what the process had DONE rather than a description of the router.
+// The boot armor (netplane/armor.go) opened the gap: /etc/init.d/shater-armor
+// loads the persisted holding plane at START=21, long before the daemon exists,
+// and the daemon's own unreadable-config path (cmd/shaterd armOnUnreadableConfig)
+// reinstates it without going anywhere near the apply pipeline. In both cases the
+// LAN really is cut off and the latch reads false. With an unreadable config
+// NOTHING ever corrects it, because the correction only happens on an apply and
+// no apply can run: Status publishes plane="full" over a blocked LAN, and
+// fireApplyFail words its incident as "traffic is NOT being blocked" at the exact
+// moment it is. That is the inverted lie — it does not hide a fault, it invents
+// one, and the obvious response to it is to tear down the protection that works.
+//
+// The DERIVED half (foreignHold) closes that, and it self-clears: it is computed
+// at read time from the kernel and the engine, so it goes false the instant
+// either fact changes, whereas a latch set from an inference would have to be
+// remembered to be cleared. Same reasoning as Warnings' live half.
 func (a *Applier) Holding() bool {
+	return a.holdingWith(tableExists(), a.eng != nil && a.eng.Running())
+}
+
+// holdingWith is Holding against facts the caller has already established, so
+// Status does not shell out to `nft list table` twice for one poll.
+func (a *Applier) holdingWith(tableLoaded, engineUp bool) bool {
 	a.stateMu.RLock()
-	defer a.stateMu.RUnlock()
-	return a.holding
+	latched := a.holding
+	a.stateMu.RUnlock()
+	return latched || foreignHold(tableLoaded, engineUp)
+}
+
+// foreignHold answers: is a plane THIS PROCESS DID NOT INSTALL holding the LAN?
+//
+// It deliberately does not try to identify the loaded table, because it cannot.
+// netplane exposes no read-back of the loaded ruleset, `#` comments do not
+// survive `nft -f`, and the two candidates — our holding plane, or a full ruleset
+// left behind by a generation that died without tearing down — are not
+// distinguishable from here. Guessing which one it is would be a second lie
+// inside the fix for the first.
+//
+// It does not need to. What `holding` asserts is not "the holding plane is the
+// object in the kernel", it is "the engine is down and forwarded traffic is being
+// dropped" — and BOTH candidates do that, provided they were rendered from an
+// enabled, fail-closed config:
+//
+//   - the holding plane drops by construction: netplane.RenderHoldNftAt ends in
+//     `<iif> meta nfproto ipv4 drop` and its v6 twin;
+//   - a leftover FULL ruleset drops too, by design. With no engine socket the
+//     `tproxy` statement returns NFT_BREAK, which aborts its own rule before the
+//     trailing `meta mark set ... accept`, so the packet reaches the forward chain
+//     unmarked and meets the PRIMARY FAIL-CLOSED DROP there (netplane/nft.go).
+//     That is the kill-switch leak this project fixed in the forward chain, and
+//     netplane/armor.go restates the property in prose.
+//
+// So the question that actually decides the claim is whether the last config this
+// router applied was enabled AND fail-closed — and the boot armor's PRESENCE is
+// exactly that fact, by its own contract ("the file IS the arm token",
+// netplane/armor.go): written after every successful config read while enabled
+// with the kill switch closed, removed the moment either stops being true. A
+// leftover full plane from a kill_switch=open config — the one that really does
+// drop nothing — therefore reads FALSE here, which is the answer the operator
+// needs and the case condition (1) of this fix exists to protect.
+//
+// engineUp must be false. With the engine up, a loaded table is the working full
+// plane doing its job and nothing is being held; this is also what keeps a
+// successful apply's setHolding(false) from being undone one line later.
+//
+// Two residual gaps, named rather than papered over:
+//
+//   - a full plane rendered under kill_switch=open, still loaded after the
+//     operator closed the switch and the armor was rewritten, reads as holding
+//     while it is not. Any reconcile closes it, and cron runs one a minute.
+//   - a boot armor whose device set predates an interface rename protects the old
+//     name. That is a property of the snapshot, not of this predicate, and it is
+//     why ArmHold now replaces it with a fresh render the moment this daemon has a
+//     readable model.
+func foreignHold(tableLoaded, engineUp bool) bool {
+	if !tableLoaded || engineUp {
+		return false
+	}
+	return bootArmorPresent()
 }
 
 func (a *Applier) setHolding(v bool) {
@@ -1344,10 +1475,14 @@ func processUptime(now time.Time) (startedUnix, uptimeSeconds int64) {
 // traffic verdict — which is the state this field exists to make expressible.
 func (a *Applier) Status() Status {
 	engineUp := a.eng != nil && a.eng.Running()
+	// Read the kernel ONCE and hand the same fact to both Table and the hold
+	// verdict. Asking twice is not just an extra `nft` fork per poll: the two reads
+	// could disagree across a teardown and publish table=false with plane="hold".
+	tableLoaded := tableExists()
 	s := Status{
 		Running:       engineUp,
 		Active:        ActiveFlagPresent(),
-		Table:         netplane.TableExists(),
+		Table:         tableLoaded,
 		Hash:          a.eng.Hash(),
 		CanRollback:   a.canRollback(),
 		EngineRunning: engineUp,
@@ -1356,9 +1491,13 @@ func (a *Applier) Status() Status {
 	}
 	s.StartedUnix, s.UptimeSeconds = processUptime(time.Now())
 	switch {
-	case !s.Table:
+	case !tableLoaded:
 		s.Plane = "none"
-	case a.Holding():
+	case a.holdingWith(tableLoaded, engineUp):
+		// Includes the plane THIS PROCESS DID NOT INSTALL — the boot armor loaded by
+		// /etc/init.d/shater-armor, or what a predecessor left behind. Without that
+		// the branch below claimed "full" (documented as "traffic is diverted into a
+		// RUNNING engine") over a dead engine and a blocked LAN.
 		s.Plane = "hold"
 	default:
 		s.Plane = "full"

shater/apply/holdstate_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,270 @@
+package apply
+
+// The hold state must describe THE ROUTER, not this process's memory of what it
+// did.
+//
+// The boot armor (netplane/armor.go) put a fail-closed plane in the kernel that
+// the Applier never installs: /etc/init.d/shater-armor loads it at START=21,
+// before the daemon exists, and cmd/shaterd reinstates it when the config cannot
+// be read. The latch behind Holding() knew nothing about either, so the daemon
+// reported `holding=false` and `plane="full"` over a LAN that was blocked — and
+// with an unreadable config that state is PERMANENT, because the only thing that
+// ever wrote the latch was an apply and no apply can run.
+//
+// What comes out the other end is an alert (cmd/shaterd fireApplyFail) that
+// chooses its wording from exactly this bool and tells the operator "Traffic is
+// NOT being blocked" while it is. That is the inverted failure: not a fault
+// hidden, but a fault invented — and the obvious response to it is to go and
+// dismantle the protection that is doing its job.
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/engine"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// stubPlaneFacts pins the two outside-world seams — is our table in the kernel,
+// is the persisted fail-closed plane on flash — for the duration of a test.
+func stubPlaneFacts(t *testing.T, table, armor bool) func() {
+	t.Helper()
+	origTable, origArmor := tableExists, bootArmorPresent
+	tableExists = func() bool { return table }
+	bootArmorPresent = func() bool { return armor }
+	return func() { tableExists, bootArmorPresent = origTable, origArmor }
+}
+
+// TestHoldingSeesAPlaneThisProcessDidNotInstall is the core regression.
+//
+// All three cases share the same latch value (false — this Applier has installed
+// nothing) and must still produce three different, correct answers.
+func TestHoldingSeesAPlaneThisProcessDidNotInstall(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(engine.New(), nil)
+
+	// (1) No table at all. Nothing is protecting the LAN and nothing may claim to.
+	restore := stubPlaneFacts(t, false, true)
+	if a.Holding() {
+		t.Errorf("Holding() = true with no table loaded")
+	}
+	if got := a.Status().Plane; got != "none" {
+		t.Errorf("Plane = %q with no table loaded, want \"none\"", got)
+	}
+	restore()
+
+	// (2) The boot armor's plane IS loaded and this engine never started. This is
+	// what /etc/init.d/shater-armor leaves behind at every boot, and what the
+	// daemon reinstates when /etc/config/shater cannot be read — the case where
+	// nothing else will ever correct the answer.
+	restore = stubPlaneFacts(t, true, true)
+	if !a.Holding() {
+		t.Errorf("Holding() = false while the boot armor's fail-closed plane is loaded and the " +
+			"engine is down — the LAN is blocked and the daemon says it is not; the apply-failure " +
+			"alert would send the operator to fix a protection that is working")
+	}
+	s := a.Status()
+	if s.Plane != "hold" {
+		t.Errorf("Plane = %q over a blocked LAN with a dead engine, want \"hold\" "+
+			"(\"full\" means traffic is diverted into a RUNNING engine)", s.Plane)
+	}
+	if !s.Table {
+		t.Errorf("Table = false although a table is loaded")
+	}
+	if s.Running || s.EngineRunning {
+		t.Errorf("running/engine_running must stay false while holding: %+v", s)
+	}
+	restore()
+
+	// (3) A table is loaded but there is NO armor on flash. refreshBootArmor
+	// removes that file exactly when the operator disables the stack or opens the
+	// kill switch, so what is loaded here is a leftover that drops nothing.
+	// Claiming a hold would be the new lie: it would tell someone who deliberately
+	// chose fail-open that their LAN is cut off.
+	restore = stubPlaneFacts(t, true, false)
+	if a.Holding() {
+		t.Errorf("Holding() = true with no fail-closed armor on flash — a leftover plane from a " +
+			"kill_switch=open config blocks nothing, and saying otherwise is the same lie inverted")
+	}
+	restore()
+}
+
+// TestSuccessfulApplyStillClearsTheHold: the self-healing path must survive the
+// derived half. A read-time inference that ignored the engine would re-assert the
+// hold one line after setHolding(false) and pin the router in "protected, not
+// proxying" forever — with the table loaded and the armor on flash, which is the
+// steady state of every healthy router.
+func TestSuccessfulApplyStillClearsTheHold(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(engine.New(), nil)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = a.eng.Close() })
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Remove(ActiveFlag) })
+
+	// A REAL started instance: the derived half asks the engine, so a stub would
+	// not exercise the thing under test.
+	if _, err := a.eng.Apply(mixedOn(18841)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("bring a real engine up: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !a.eng.Running() {
+		t.Fatalf("precondition: the engine must be running")
+	}
+
+	// The steady state of a healthy router: our table loaded, armor on flash.
+	defer stubPlaneFacts(t, true, true)()
+
+	a.setHolding(true) // whatever put us on hold before this apply
+	if !a.Holding() {
+		t.Fatalf("precondition: the latch must read through")
+	}
+
+	m := holdModel("closed")
+	m.Globals.GroupHealth = false // no background probing from a unit test
+	defer stubApplyStages(t,
+		func(*Applier, option.Options) (bool, error) { return true, nil },
+		func(*Applier, *model.Model, option.Options, time.Time) (planeOutcome, error) {
+			return planeOutcome{changed: true}, nil
+		})()
+
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	_, err := a.applyLocked(m)
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyLocked: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if a.Holding() {
+		t.Fatalf("a successful apply did not clear the hold — the router is proxying and the " +
+			"panel would still show \"protected, not proxying\"")
+	}
+	if got := a.Status().Plane; got != "full" {
+		t.Errorf("Plane = %q after a successful apply with the engine up, want \"full\"", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestApplyFailureOverAForeignPlaneReportsBlocked pins the input cmd/shaterd's
+// fireApplyFail words its incident from.
+//
+// The shape is the real one: the engine will not start, so applyLocked calls
+// holdLocked — and holdLocked cannot install anything either (nft refuses, the
+// overlay is full). The latch therefore stays false. But the boot armor's plane
+// is still standing in the kernel, so forwarded traffic IS being dropped, and the
+// incident must say so. With only the latch, this is precisely where the daemon
+// said "Traffic is NOT being blocked (kill switch is open)" on a router whose
+// kill switch was closed and whose LAN was cut off.
+func TestApplyFailureOverAForeignPlaneReportsBlocked(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(engine.New(), nil)
+	defer stubPlaneFacts(t, true, true)()
+
+	origHold := applyHoldNft
+	applyHoldNft = func(string) error { return errors.New("nft -f (load) failed: no space left on device") }
+	defer func() { applyHoldNft = origHold }()
+
+	defer stubApplyStages(t,
+		func(*Applier, option.Options) (bool, error) {
+			return false, errors.New("start rule-set[geosite]: connection refused")
+		},
+		func(*Applier, *model.Model, option.Options, time.Time) (planeOutcome, error) {
+			t.Errorf("the data-plane stage must not run after the engine stage failed")
+			return planeOutcome{}, nil
+		})()
+
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	_, err := a.applyLocked(holdModel("closed"))
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("applyLocked must surface the engine failure")
+	}
+
+	a.stateMu.RLock()
+	latched := a.holding
+	a.stateMu.RUnlock()
+	if latched {
+		t.Fatalf("precondition: holdLocked could not install a plane, so the latch must be false")
+	}
+
+	// fireApplyFail(notifier, err, applier.Holding()) — this bool picks between
+	// "forwarded LAN traffic is being dropped" and "Traffic is NOT being blocked".
+	if !a.Holding() {
+		t.Fatalf("Holding() = false while a fail-closed plane blocks the LAN: the incident would " +
+			"read \"Traffic is NOT being blocked\" at the exact moment it is being blocked")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestArmHoldReplacesAPlaneItDidNotInstall: ArmHold used to return early on
+// TableExists() and publish nothing, which is how the boot armor's plane came to
+// be loaded with holding=false. It now installs its own — rendered from the model
+// it was handed, so the state it publishes is a fact about something this process
+// did rather than a guess about something it found (and the fresh render also
+// replaces a snapshot that may predate an interface rename).
+func TestArmHoldReplacesAPlaneItDidNotInstall(t *testing.T) {
+	loaded := withHoldProbe(t)
+	defer stubPlaneFacts(t, true, true)() // a table is ALREADY loaded
+	a := New(engine.New(), nil)
+
+	a.ArmHold(holdModel("closed"))
+
+	if len(*loaded) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("ArmHold loaded %d rulesets over an existing table, want 1 — it deferred to a "+
+			"table it cannot inspect instead of installing one it can vouch for", len(*loaded))
+	}
+	if !a.Holding() {
+		t.Errorf("ArmHold installed the holding plane but did not publish it")
+	}
+	if got := a.Status().Plane; got != "hold" {
+		t.Errorf("Plane = %q after ArmHold, want \"hold\"", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestArmHoldStillRespectsFailOpen: replacing a foreign table must not become a
+// licence to install a plane the operator did not ask for. kill_switch=open and
+// globals.enabled=0 are explicit choices and ArmHold must keep obeying both.
+func TestArmHoldStillRespectsFailOpen(t *testing.T) {
+	loaded := withHoldProbe(t)
+	defer stubPlaneFacts(t, true, false)()
+	a := New(engine.New(), nil)
+
+	a.ArmHold(holdModel("open"))
+	if len(*loaded) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("kill_switch=open loaded %d rulesets, want 0", len(*loaded))
+	}
+
+	disabled := holdModel("closed")
+	disabled.Globals.Enabled = false
+	a.ArmHold(disabled)
+	if len(*loaded) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("globals.enabled=0 loaded %d rulesets, want 0", len(*loaded))
+	}
+
+	a.ArmHold(nil)
+	if len(*loaded) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("a nil model loaded %d rulesets, want 0", len(*loaded))
+	}
+	if a.Holding() {
+		t.Errorf("nothing was installed, so nothing may be reported as holding")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestForeignHoldMatrix pins the predicate itself, including the two facts it
+// refuses to guess about.
+func TestForeignHoldMatrix(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct {
+		name              string
+		table, engine, armor bool
+		want              bool
+	}{
+		{"no table", false, false, true, false},
+		{"engine up: the table is the working full plane", true, true, true, false},
+		{"armor on flash, engine down: blocked", true, false, true, true},
+		{"no armor: the last config was disabled or fail-open", true, false, false, false},
+		{"nothing at all", false, false, false, false},
+	} {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			defer stubPlaneFacts(t, tc.table, tc.armor)()
+			if got := foreignHold(tc.table, tc.engine); got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("foreignHold(table=%v, engineUp=%v) = %v, want %v",
+					tc.table, tc.engine, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}

shater/cmd/shaterd/armor.go

@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+// Keeping the fail-closed plane alive across the moments the daemon is not.
+//
+// The daemon owns the `inet shater` table, which means the table exists exactly
+// while the daemon does. Three of those moments are not covered by anything else,
+// and all three are the same defect wearing different clothes: the protection is
+// an in-process thing, and the process is not always there.
+//
+//	BOOT      /etc/init.d/shater is START=99. fw4 loaded `lan -> wan ACCEPT` at 19
+//	          and netifd brought the LAN up at 20; the clients that reconnect in
+//	          between are unprotected until the daemon has been decompressed off
+//	          flash, waited out any predecessor, migrated UCI and applied.
+//	RESTART   SIGTERM ran an unconditional Teardown — kill_switch was not so much
+//	          as consulted — and the successor cannot apply until the init's
+//	          shater_wait_stopped loop, `shaterd migrate` and engine start have all
+//	          finished. `reload_service` is stop+start, and so is every package
+//	          upgrade, so this ran on a routine `Save & Apply`.
+//	NO CONFIG model.ReadUCI failing left the arming call unreached: it sat in the
+//	          else-branch of the successful read. Nothing recovered from it either
+//	          — Reconcile returns before any plane work, and the cron watchdog sees
+//	          a live pidof and its own `uci -q get` fails the same way.
+//
+// The answer to all three is one artifact: netplane's BOOT ARMOR, a persisted copy
+// of the fail-closed holding plane (netplane/armor.go). This file is the daemon's
+// half — it keeps that copy honest, and it reinstates it in the two cases the
+// daemon is the only one who can.
+//
+// Everything here is deliberately conservative in ONE direction: it never installs
+// a plane the operator did not ask for. `globals.enabled=0` or `kill_switch=open`
+// removes the armor and installs nothing, and a deliberate `/etc/init.d/shater
+// stop` is a handoff-free exit that leaves nothing behind. Fail-closed is a
+// policy, and a kill switch that outlives its own off switch is not one.
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/netplane"
+)
+
+// restartHandoffPath is raised by /etc/init.d/shater around a restart/reload and
+// cleared by its start (and by a real stop). Its presence at SIGTERM means "this
+// daemon is being REPLACED", as opposed to "this daemon is being switched off".
+//
+// tmpfs on purpose: a marker that survived a power cut would make the first boot
+// after it look like a restart.
+//
+// A var, not a const, only so tests can point it at a temp dir.
+var restartHandoffPath = "/var/run/shater.restarting"
+
+// restartHandoffPending reports whether the init script announced a restart.
+//
+// Absent is read as "a real stop", which is the SAFE direction to be wrong in: it
+// degrades to exactly the behaviour that shipped before this file existed (full
+// teardown), whereas the other default would leave a stopped router blocked.
+func restartHandoffPending() bool {
+	_, err := os.Stat(restartHandoffPath)
+	return err == nil
+}
+
+// armorPlan is what to do about the fail-closed plane at a decision point.
+type armorPlan int
+
+const (
+	// armorNothing: install nothing. Either the operator does not want a plane
+	// (disabled / kill_switch=open), or there is nothing to install from.
+	armorNothing armorPlan = iota
+	// armorRender: build the holding plane from the model we just read. Preferred
+	// whenever a model is readable — it reflects the CURRENT interface set, where a
+	// snapshot may predate an interface rename.
+	armorRender
+	// armorSnapshot: reinstate the persisted boot armor. The only option when the
+	// config cannot be read, which is precisely when it is needed.
+	armorSnapshot
+)
+
+// armorWanted reports whether m asks for a fail-closed plane at all: the stack is
+// enabled AND the kill switch is closed. Both halves are the operator's explicit
+// choice and neither may be second-guessed — `kill_switch=open` is a documented
+// decision to let traffic through when the engine is down, not an oversight.
+func armorWanted(m *model.Model) bool {
+	return m != nil && m.Globals.Enabled && netplane.KillSwitchClosed(m.Globals)
+}
+
+// planStartupArmor decides what to install when the daemon starts and could NOT
+// read its config.
+//
+// It is only ever consulted on the read-failure path: with a readable model the
+// applier's own ArmHold does this job (and does it better — it holds the apply
+// lock while it works). With no model there is nothing to render from, so the
+// persisted snapshot is the entire answer; with no snapshot either, nothing is
+// installed, because "this router has never applied an enabled, fail-closed
+// config" is then the most likely truth and blacking out a LAN on a guess is not
+// a recovery.
+func planStartupArmor(readErr error, snapshot bool) armorPlan {
+	if readErr == nil {
+		return armorNothing
+	}
+	if snapshot {
+		return armorSnapshot
+	}
+	return armorNothing
+}
+
+// planExitArmor decides what the daemon leaves behind when it is asked to exit.
+//
+// The handoff flag is the whole distinction the old code was missing. A restart,
+// a reload and a package upgrade all reach this point, and in all three the
+// operator has not asked for protection to end — only for this process to be
+// replaced. A `stop` has asked for exactly that, and must be obeyed: it is the
+// operator's escape hatch, and a kill switch that cannot be switched off is a
+// brick.
+func planExitArmor(handoff bool, m *model.Model, readErr error, snapshot bool) armorPlan {
+	if !handoff {
+		return armorNothing
+	}
+	if readErr != nil {
+		// Being replaced with an unreadable config: the snapshot is the last thing
+		// this router is known to have wanted, and it is still the honest answer.
+		if snapshot {
+			return armorSnapshot
+		}
+		return armorNothing
+	}
+	if !armorWanted(m) {
+		return armorNothing
+	}
+	return armorRender
+}
+
+// refreshBootArmor keeps the persisted holding plane in step with the desired
+// state. Called after every successful UCI read, so the snapshot on flash always
+// describes the config the router is actually running.
+//
+// Writing is content-gated inside netplane.SaveBootArmor (this runs once a minute
+// under cron; rewriting an identical file that often is how flash dies), and the
+// REMOVE half matters just as much as the write: turning the stack off, or opening
+// the kill switch, has to disarm the next boot too, or the operator's change would
+// silently come back after a power cut.
+func refreshBootArmor(m *model.Model, logger log.ContextLogger) {
+	if !armorWanted(m) {
+		if netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+			if err := netplane.RemoveBootArmor(); err != nil {
+				logger.Warn("boot armor: could not remove ", netplane.BootArmorPath, ": ", err)
+			} else {
+				logger.Info("boot armor removed (the stack is disabled or the kill switch is open): ",
+					"the LAN is no longer blocked at boot before the daemon starts")
+			}
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	ruleset, err := netplane.RenderHoldNft(m)
+	if err != nil {
+		// A transient render failure must not disarm: a stale fail-closed plane is
+		// recoverable (the daemon replaces it seconds into the next boot), an absent
+		// one is a leak.
+		logger.Warn("boot armor: could not render the fail-closed plane: ", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if ruleset == "" {
+		// No divert devices at all — this config intercepts nothing, so there is
+		// nothing for a boot-time plane to protect. Blocking the LAN at boot on
+		// behalf of a config that does not touch it would be a pure outage.
+		if netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+			if rerr := netplane.RemoveBootArmor(); rerr != nil {
+				logger.Warn("boot armor: could not remove ", netplane.BootArmorPath, ": ", rerr)
+			}
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	changed, serr := netplane.SaveBootArmor(ruleset)
+	switch {
+	case serr != nil:
+		logger.Warn("boot armor: could not write ", netplane.BootArmorPath, ": ", serr,
+			" — the LAN will be unprotected between boot and this daemon's first apply")
+	case changed:
+		logger.Info("boot armor updated (", netplane.BootArmorPath,
+			"): the LAN is fail-closed from early boot until the engine is up")
+	}
+}
+
+// armFromSnapshot reinstates the persisted holding plane. why is a short phrase
+// for the log ("config is unreadable", "restart handoff").
+func armFromSnapshot(why string, logger log.ContextLogger) {
+	loaded, err := netplane.LoadBootArmor()
+	switch {
+	case err != nil:
+		logger.Error("FAIL-CLOSED PLANE NOT INSTALLED (", why, "): the saved plane ",
+			netplane.BootArmorPath, " could not be loaded: ", err,
+			" — LAN traffic may be reaching the WAN unprotected")
+	case loaded:
+		logger.Error("fail-closed plane reinstated from ", netplane.BootArmorPath,
+			" (", why, "): LAN->WAN forwarding is BLOCKED. ",
+			"SSH, LuCI and the admin panel remain reachable.")
+	default:
+		logger.Warn("no saved fail-closed plane at ", netplane.BootArmorPath, " (", why,
+			"): nothing was installed")
+	}
+}
+
+// armFromModel renders the holding plane for m and installs it.
+func armFromModel(m *model.Model, why string, logger log.ContextLogger) {
+	ruleset, err := netplane.RenderHoldNft(m)
+	if err != nil {
+		logger.Error("FAIL-CLOSED PLANE NOT INSTALLED (", why, "): render failed: ", err)
+		return
+	}
+	if ruleset == "" {
+		// No divert devices: there is nothing this plane would protect.
+		return
+	}
+	if err := netplane.ApplyNft(ruleset); err != nil {
+		logger.Error("FAIL-CLOSED PLANE NOT INSTALLED (", why, "): ", err,
+			" — LAN traffic may be reaching the WAN unprotected")
+		return
+	}
+	logger.Info("fail-closed plane left in place (", why,
+		"): LAN->WAN forwarding stays BLOCKED until the next daemon applies. ",
+		"SSH, LuCI and the admin panel remain reachable.")
+}
+
+// armOnUnreadableConfig is the window-3 answer: the daemon is up but cannot read
+// its own desired state, so it falls back to the last state it persisted.
+//
+// A table that is ALREADY loaded is left alone. This runs on every reconcile —
+// cron fires one a minute — and a `nft -f` is a delete-and-recreate of the whole
+// table plus a DNS conntrack flush, so re-installing an identical plane sixty
+// times an hour would be pure churn, and each replacement is itself a brief hole.
+// The question this path answers is "is there anything at all standing", and once
+// the answer is yes it stays yes until an apply succeeds and replaces it properly.
+func armOnUnreadableConfig(logger log.ContextLogger) {
+	if netplane.TableExists() {
+		return
+	}
+	if planStartupArmor(errUnreadableConfig, netplane.BootArmorPresent()) != armorSnapshot {
+		logger.Warn("the config could not be read and there is no saved fail-closed plane at ",
+			netplane.BootArmorPath, " — nothing is protecting the LAN; fix /etc/config/shater ",
+			"(a full /overlay is the usual cause) and reconcile")
+		return
+	}
+	armFromSnapshot("the config could not be read", logger)
+}
+
+// errUnreadableConfig is a stand-in for "the read failed" in the call above,
+// where the concrete error has already been logged by the caller.
+var errUnreadableConfig = os.ErrInvalid
+
+// armOnExit is the window-2 answer: what this daemon leaves in the kernel when it
+// is asked to go away. See planExitArmor for the policy.
+func armOnExit(handoff bool, logger log.ContextLogger) {
+	m, err := model.ReadUCI()
+	switch planExitArmor(handoff, m, err, netplane.BootArmorPresent()) {
+	case armorRender:
+		armFromModel(m, "restart handoff", logger)
+	case armorSnapshot:
+		armFromSnapshot("restart handoff, config unreadable", logger)
+	}
+}

shater/cmd/shaterd/armor_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+package main
+
+// The daemon's half of the fail-closed armor: the two decisions that decide
+// whether the LAN is protected in the moments this process is not running.
+//
+// Both are pure functions on purpose. The behaviour they encode can otherwise
+// only be observed on a router, with root, by killing a daemon at the right
+// moment and reading `nft list ruleset` — i.e. never, in a gate.
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/netplane"
+)
+
+func enabledClosed() *model.Model {
+	return &model.Model{Globals: model.Globals{
+		Enabled: true, KillSwitch: "closed", FwmarkBase: 0x2000, TableBase: 0x2000,
+	}, Inbounds: []model.Inbound{{
+		Name: "lan", Enabled: true, Type: "tproxy", Network: "lan",
+		TproxyPort: 12345, TCP: true, UDP: true,
+	}}}
+}
+
+// TestPlanExitArmor is W2. SIGTERM used to run an unconditional Teardown — the
+// only place in this codebase that removes the fail-closed plane without so much
+// as reading kill_switch — and every `restart`, every `reload_service` (which is
+// what a LuCI Save & Apply runs) and every package upgrade went through it. The
+// gap that follows is guaranteed non-empty by the init script itself.
+//
+// So the exit has to know WHY it is exiting. What it must never do is confuse the
+// two directions: a restart that leaves nothing behind is a plaintext window, and
+// a stop that leaves a block behind is a router the operator cannot un-brick.
+//
+// RED BEFORE: there was no such decision — the daemon always tore everything down.
+func TestPlanExitArmor(t *testing.T) {
+	open := enabledClosed()
+	open.Globals.KillSwitch = "open"
+	disabled := enabledClosed()
+	disabled.Globals.Enabled = false
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		handoff  bool
+		m        *model.Model
+		readErr  error
+		snapshot bool
+		want     armorPlan
+	}{
+		{"restart, enabled + fail-closed => leave the plane standing",
+			true, enabledClosed(), nil, true, armorRender},
+		{"restart, no snapshot on disk => still render from the live model",
+			true, enabledClosed(), nil, false, armorRender},
+		{"restart, kill_switch=open => the operator chose fail-open; install nothing",
+			true, open, nil, true, armorNothing},
+		{"restart, stack disabled => nothing to protect",
+			true, disabled, nil, true, armorNothing},
+		{"restart, config unreadable => the persisted plane is the last known truth",
+			true, nil, errors.New("uci: no such file"), true, armorSnapshot},
+		{"restart, config unreadable and nothing persisted => nothing to install",
+			true, nil, errors.New("uci: no such file"), false, armorNothing},
+
+		// The escape hatch. A deliberate `/etc/init.d/shater stop` must mean what it
+		// says in every one of these, or the kill switch has no off switch.
+		{"stop, enabled + fail-closed => the plane goes away",
+			false, enabledClosed(), nil, true, armorNothing},
+		{"stop, config unreadable => still goes away",
+			false, nil, errors.New("uci: no such file"), true, armorNothing},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			if got := planExitArmor(c.handoff, c.m, c.readErr, c.snapshot); got != c.want {
+				t.Errorf("planExitArmor(handoff=%v, readErr=%v, snapshot=%v) = %v, want %v",
+					c.handoff, c.readErr, c.snapshot, got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPlanStartupArmor is W3. An unreadable /etc/config/shater — a full /overlay
+// caught mid `uci commit` is the cause the init script itself documents — left the
+// arming call unreached, because it sat in the else-branch of the successful read.
+// Nothing recovered from that: Reconcile returns before any plane work and the
+// cron watchdog's own `uci -q get` fails identically, so the box sat there with a
+// live daemon, an answering panel and no table at all.
+//
+// RED BEFORE: no decision existed; the read-failure branch only logged.
+func TestPlanStartupArmor(t *testing.T) {
+	readErr := errors.New("uci: cannot read /etc/config/shater")
+	if got := planStartupArmor(readErr, true); got != armorSnapshot {
+		t.Errorf("unreadable config with a persisted plane = %v, want armorSnapshot", got)
+	}
+	// Nothing persisted means this router has never applied an enabled,
+	// fail-closed config. Blacking out a LAN on that guess is not a recovery.
+	if got := planStartupArmor(readErr, false); got != armorNothing {
+		t.Errorf("unreadable config with no persisted plane = %v, want armorNothing", got)
+	}
+	// A readable config is the applier's business (ArmHold), not this path's.
+	if got := planStartupArmor(nil, true); got != armorNothing {
+		t.Errorf("readable config = %v, want armorNothing", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRefreshBootArmorTracksDesiredState is W1's durable half: the file
+// /etc/init.d/shater-armor loads at START=21 only exists while the operator wants
+// it to. Writing it is half the contract; REMOVING it when the stack is switched
+// off or the kill switch is opened is the other half, and the more dangerous one
+// to get wrong — a stale armor would reinstate, at the next power cut, a block the
+// operator had already turned off.
+//
+// RED BEFORE: neither the file nor this function existed.
+func TestRefreshBootArmorTracksDesiredState(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := netplane.BootArmorPath
+	netplane.BootArmorPath = filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "shater", "boot.nft")
+	defer func() { netplane.BootArmorPath = orig }()
+	logger := log.StdLogger()
+
+	refreshBootArmor(enabledClosed(), logger)
+	if !netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Fatalf("an enabled, fail-closed config must persist a boot armor")
+	}
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(netplane.BootArmorPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("read: %v", err)
+	}
+	// It must be the HOLDING plane — a forward chain that drops — and not the full
+	// tproxy ruleset, which would reference an engine that is not running at boot.
+	for _, must := range []string{"table inet shater", "hook forward", "drop"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(string(b), must) {
+			t.Errorf("the persisted armor must contain %q; got:\n%s", must, string(b))
+		}
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(string(b), "tproxy") {
+		t.Errorf("the persisted armor must NOT divert to an engine that is not running:\n%s", string(b))
+	}
+
+	openKS := enabledClosed()
+	openKS.Globals.KillSwitch = "open"
+	refreshBootArmor(openKS, logger)
+	if netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Errorf("kill_switch=open is a documented choice to let traffic through; " +
+			"the boot armor must be removed, not left to block the next boot")
+	}
+
+	refreshBootArmor(enabledClosed(), logger)
+	if !netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Fatalf("re-arming after a disarm must work")
+	}
+	off := enabledClosed()
+	off.Globals.Enabled = false
+	refreshBootArmor(off, logger)
+	if netplane.BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Errorf("globals.enabled=0 must remove the boot armor")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRestartHandoffPending pins the marker's read side, including the default
+// that matters: an ABSENT marker means "a real stop". Defaulting the other way
+// would leave a stopped router blocked whenever the init script failed to write
+// the flag.
+func TestRestartHandoffPending(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := restartHandoffPath
+	defer func() { restartHandoffPath = orig }()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	restartHandoffPath = filepath.Join(dir, "shater.restarting")
+
+	if restartHandoffPending() {
+		t.Errorf("an absent marker must read as a real stop")
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(restartHandoffPath, nil, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write marker: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !restartHandoffPending() {
+		t.Errorf("a present marker must read as a restart handoff")
+	}
+}

shater/cmd/shaterd/main.go

@@ -289,10 +289,27 @@ func cmdRun() int {
 	// reconcile. No-op when no iface-driven profiles are configured.
 	go watchActiveProfile(applier, logger)
 
+	// Keep the persisted fail-closed plane in step with the config BEFORE anything
+	// is attempted: it is what protects the LAN at the NEXT boot (and across the
+	// next restart), and an engine start that hangs for a minute must not be what
+	// stands between a config change and its armor being written.
+	if readErr == nil {
+		refreshBootArmor(m, logger)
+	}
+
 	// Initial apply. A failed initial apply must NOT crash-loop the box into a
 	// blackout: log it and stay up so a later SIGHUP/apply can fix the config.
 	if readErr != nil {
 		logger.Error("initial ReadUCI failed (staying up): ", readErr)
+		// ...but STAYING UP IS NOT THE SAME AS BEING SAFE. This branch used to end
+		// here, which meant an unreadable /etc/config/shater — a full /overlay caught
+		// mid `uci commit` is the documented cause — left the router with no table at
+		// all, permanently: nothing else installs one (Reconcile returns before any
+		// plane work, and the cron watchdog's own `uci -q get` fails identically), and
+		// the panel reported a live daemon the whole time. The persisted holding plane
+		// is the last thing this router is KNOWN to have wanted, and it needs nothing
+		// readable to be true.
+		armOnUnreadableConfig(logger)
 	} else if m.Globals.Enabled {
 		// ARM FIRST, THEN TRY. Install the fail-closed holding plane BEFORE the
 		// engine is attempted, so the gap between daemon start and a working engine
@@ -369,9 +386,20 @@ func cmdRun() int {
 			// learn whether the plane is meant to be up (globals.enabled) so a
 			// reconcile error can raise the kill-switch alert.
 			enabled := false
-			if mm, e := model.ReadUCI(); e == nil {
+			if mm, e := model.ReadUCI(); e != nil {
+				// The live config just became unreadable. Same answer as at startup:
+				// reinstate what this router last persisted, rather than run on with
+				// whatever the kernel happens to hold.
+				logger.Error("reconcile: could not read the config: ", e)
+				armOnUnreadableConfig(logger)
+			} else {
 				notifier.Update(mm.Alerts)
 				enabled = mm.Globals.Enabled
+				// Keep the persisted fail-closed plane in step with the config the
+				// operator just changed — including the disarm half, so turning the
+				// stack off (or opening the kill switch) also stops the next boot from
+				// blocking the LAN.
+				refreshBootArmor(mm, logger)
 				// Pick up a changed stats backend / sizing without a daemon restart.
 				// A no-op when nothing changed, so a routine reconcile never churns
 				// the store (and never restarts its log cursors).
@@ -393,10 +421,27 @@ func cmdRun() int {
 			// DNS-query manager). Re-point the aggregator at the current manager.
 			statsAgg.Resubscribe()
 		case syscall.SIGTERM, syscall.SIGINT:
-			logger.Info("signal ", sig, ": honest teardown + exit")
+			// Being REPLACED is not the same as being switched off, and until now
+			// this path could not tell the difference: Teardown does not consult
+			// kill_switch at all (compare holdLocked, which does), so `restart`,
+			// `reload_service` — which is stop+start, i.e. every LuCI Save & Apply —
+			// and every package upgrade dismantled the fail-closed plane and left the
+			// LAN forwarding in the clear for as long as the successor needed to come
+			// up. That interval is guaranteed non-empty by the init itself: it waits
+			// for this process to exit, then runs `shaterd migrate`, then starts the
+			// daemon, which then has to build an engine.
+			//
+			// The init script announces a restart with a tmpfs marker; absent it, this
+			// is a deliberate stop and the plane goes away for good, which is the
+			// operator's escape hatch and must keep working.
+			handoff := restartHandoffPending()
+			logger.Info("signal ", sig, ": honest teardown + exit (restart handoff: ", handoff, ")")
 			if err := applier.Teardown(); err != nil {
 				logger.Error("teardown: ", err)
 			}
+			// AFTER the teardown, never before: Teardown deletes the table, so a plane
+			// installed first would simply be removed again.
+			armOnExit(handoff, logger)
 			return 0
 		}
 	}
@@ -991,14 +1036,23 @@ func handleCtl(conn net.Conn, a *apply.Applier, ps *panel.Server, sa stats.Stats
 		writeLine(conn, string(b))
 	case "reconcile":
 		ch, err := a.Reconcile()
+		// The panel and the CLI reconcile over this socket, not by SIGHUP, so the
+		// persisted fail-closed plane has to be refreshed here too — otherwise
+		// enabling the stack from the panel left the next boot unarmed (and
+		// DISABLING it left the next boot armed) until some unrelated SIGHUP
+		// happened along.
+		if mm, e := model.ReadUCI(); e == nil {
+			refreshBootArmor(mm, l)
+		}
 		writeResult(conn, ch, err)
 	case "apply":
 		a.Snapshot()
 		changed, err := a.Reconcile()
-		if err == nil {
-			if m, e := model.ReadUCI(); e == nil {
+		if m, e := model.ReadUCI(); e == nil {
+			if err == nil {
 				a.ArmRollback(m.Globals.ConfirmTimeout)
 			}
+			refreshBootArmor(m, l)
 		}
 		writeResult(conn, changed, err)
 	case "confirm":

shater/engine/httpclient.go

@@ -104,6 +104,18 @@ func (e *Engine) HTTPClient(via string) (*http.Client, error) {
 // resolved one (the group test, grouptest.go) guarantee the request cannot end up
 // anywhere else — in particular not on the direct outbound, which would report the
 // ISP's address as the tunnel's exit address.
+//
+// # Every caller MUST call CloseIdleConnections on the returned client
+//
+// A fresh http.Transport is built per call and belongs to that call alone. Its idle
+// connections are not ordinary sockets: each is a live proxying session through an
+// engine outbound, with a read loop and a write loop of its own, and the DialContext
+// closure above captures the outbound OBJECT — so an idle connection keeps a whole
+// retired engine generation reachable long after Apply swapped it out and its 5s
+// close budget expired. Dropping the client without closing it therefore leaks far
+// more than a socket.
+//
+// grouptest.go and shater/generate/ruleset.go get this right; copy them.
 func httpClientVia(ob adapter.Outbound, timeout time.Duration) *http.Client {
 	transport := &http.Transport{
 		// Dial the underlying TCP connection through the selected outbound. The
@@ -112,9 +124,16 @@ func httpClientVia(ob adapter.Outbound, timeout time.Duration) *http.Client {
 		DialContext: func(ctx context.Context, network, addr string) (net.Conn, error) {
 			return ob.DialContext(ctx, network, M.ParseSocksaddr(addr))
 		},
-		ForceAttemptHTTP2:     true,
-		MaxIdleConns:          8,
-		IdleConnTimeout:       90 * time.Second,
+		ForceAttemptHTTP2: true,
+		MaxIdleConns:      8,
+		// The backstop for a caller that forgets to close, not the intended
+		// mechanism. 90s (the net/http default this used to carry) is eighteen times
+		// the engine's 5s close budget, so a single forgotten client could pin a dead
+		// generation through more than a minute and a half of it. 15s is still ample
+		// for the reuse this actually buys — a redirect chain or the second request of
+		// a subscription fetch, both within seconds — while bounding the damage of a
+		// leak to about one apply cycle.
+		IdleConnTimeout:       15 * time.Second,
 		TLSHandshakeTimeout:   15 * time.Second,
 		ExpectContinueTimeout: 1 * time.Second,
 	}

shater/model/validate.go

@@ -116,6 +116,17 @@ func isWANIfaceName(name string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(name, "wan") }
 // inbound connections — port forwards stop working, and nothing in the UI explains
 // why.
 //
+// THE REVERSE CHECK IS NOT HERE, ON PURPOSE. "This router has a LAN the config
+// never mentions" is the mirror image of this one and matters more (the factory
+// config ships a single `lan` inbound, and a VLAN added in LuCI is then proxied by
+// nothing and covered by no kill switch), but it cannot be answered from this
+// package: it needs the ENUMERATION of the router's interfaces and the fw4
+// forwarding graph, and this package is a stdlib-only leaf that netplane imports
+// — the dependency runs the wrong way, and NetClassifier deliberately answers one
+// question about one name rather than exposing an inventory. It lives in
+// netplane/coverage.go, where both the inventory and the divert set already are,
+// and reaches Status on the netplane warning channel.
+//
 // classify may be nil, in which case only the name heuristic applies.
 func ValidateRules(rules []Rule, classify NetClassifier) []Warning {
 	if classify == nil {

shater/netplane/apply.go

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"net/netip"
+	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
@@ -657,11 +658,47 @@ func fwmarkRulePresent(out string, mark uint32) bool {
 	return false
 }
 
+// sysClassNet is the kernel's list of network devices. A var only so a test can
+// point DeviceExists at a fixture directory.
+var sysClassNet = "/sys/class/net"
+
+// DeviceExists reports whether the kernel actually has a network device by this
+// name.
+//
+// It exists because IfaceDevice's last resort is to hand back the name it was
+// given (see below), and nothing downstream could tell that apart from a real
+// device: nftValidDev checks the CHARACTERS of a name, not its existence, so
+// `lan` passes as readily as `br-lan` and produces rules that load cleanly and
+// match nothing. This is the one cheap question that separates the two, and it
+// asks the kernel rather than netifd so a device netifd does not manage still
+// counts. Used by coverage.go; deliberately not consulted by IfaceDevice itself,
+// which must keep returning a usable string for every caller.
+func DeviceExists(dev string) bool {
+	dev = strings.TrimSpace(dev)
+	if dev == "" || strings.ContainsAny(dev, "/\\") {
+		return false
+	}
+	_, err := os.Stat(sysClassNet + "/" + dev)
+	return err == nil
+}
+
 // IfaceDevice resolves a UCI interface name (e.g. "lan") to its actual L3 device
 // (e.g. "br-lan") for nft iifname matching / SO_BINDTODEVICE — bridges/VLANs have
 // device != name, so matching the raw UCI name would silently intercept nothing.
 // Empty name defaults to br-lan; an unresolvable name is returned unchanged (it
 // may already be a device).
+//
+// THAT LAST FALLBACK IS A KNOWN TRAP, and it is deliberate. Returning the raw
+// name is right for the case it was written for — an operator who wrote a device
+// name where an interface name was expected — and it is a silent leak for the
+// case where the name resolves to nothing at all: the caller renders
+// `iifname "lan" ... drop`, the kernel accepts it, and that network is neither
+// diverted nor failed closed on. The fallback is kept (refusing here would strand
+// every legitimate device-name user) and the ambiguity is resolved one level up
+// instead: divertRef carries what the operator wrote alongside what it resolved
+// to, and coverage.go asks DeviceExists whether the result is real, reporting the
+// gap to the operator. Callers that need the distinction must go through there,
+// not re-derive it from the string.
 func IfaceDevice(name string) string {
 	if name == "" {
 		return "br-lan"

shater/netplane/armor.go

@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+package netplane
+
+// The BOOT ARMOR: the fail-closed holding plane, persisted to flash so that
+// something OTHER than the running daemon can put it back.
+//
+// # Why a file exists at all
+//
+// Every protection this package installs lives inside one long-lived Go process.
+// That is fine while the process is running, and it is exactly nothing in the two
+// windows where it is not:
+//
+//   - BOOT. /etc/init.d/shater is START=99, i.e. after fw4 (START=19) has already
+//     loaded `lan -> wan ACCEPT` and after netifd (START=20) has brought the LAN
+//     bridge up. Wi-Fi associates and every client reconnects in that window, and
+//     the daemon only reaches applier.ArmHold after procd has decompressed a
+//     UPX-packed binary off flash, waited out any predecessor, run `shaterd
+//     migrate` and read UCI. On a small router that is seconds — every one of
+//     them with `kill_switch=closed` configured and the LAN forwarding to the WAN
+//     in the clear.
+//   - AN UNREADABLE CONFIG. model.ReadUCI failing (a full /overlay caught mid
+//     `uci commit` is the documented cause — see /etc/init.d/shater) used to mean
+//     NO plane was ever installed: the arming call sat in the else-branch of the
+//     successful read, Reconcile returns before any of it, and the cron watchdog
+//     sees a live pidof and its own `uci -q get` fails too. Nothing in the system
+//     could recover, and nothing said so.
+//
+// Both need a description of the fail-closed plane that survives the process. So
+// the daemon writes RenderHoldNft's output here on every apply, and two readers
+// use it: /etc/init.d/shater-armor at boot (before the daemon exists), and the
+// daemon itself when it cannot read its own config.
+//
+// # Why the HOLDING plane and not the full ruleset
+//
+// The full ruleset diverts to the engine's tproxy port. With no engine listening,
+// every `tproxy` statement returns NFT_BREAK and the packets fall through to the
+// forward chain, which does drop them — so it would "work". But it also needs
+// kmod-nft-tproxy loaded, declares dynamic sets and counters, and encodes a
+// tproxy port that may no longer be the configured one. The holding plane is a
+// single forward chain of accepts and two drops: it needs nothing but nf_tables,
+// it is what the daemon itself installs when the engine is down, and it says
+// exactly one thing — this device's forwarded traffic does not leave.
+//
+// # The file IS the arm token
+//
+// Its presence means "the last configuration this router applied was enabled and
+// fail-closed". Nothing else has to be readable for that to be true, which is the
+// whole point in the unreadable-config case. Correspondingly it is REMOVED the
+// moment that stops being true: globals.enabled=0, kill_switch=open, or a
+// deliberate `/etc/init.d/shater stop`. An operator who turned the stack off must
+// not find it reinstated by the next power cut.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// BootArmorPath is where the persisted holding plane lives. It is a var, not a
+// const, ONLY so tests can point it at a temp dir; production never assigns it.
+//
+// /etc/shater, not /var/run: it has to survive the reboot it exists for. The
+// daemon already creates that directory for the engine's cache DB (D16).
+var BootArmorPath = "/etc/shater/boot.nft"
+
+// KillSwitchClosed reports the EFFECTIVE kill-switch policy: closed (fail-closed)
+// unless the operator explicitly wrote "open". Exported so the daemon decides with
+// the same rule the ruleset renderer does — a second copy of this predicate is how
+// the plane and the policy end up disagreeing.
+func KillSwitchClosed(g model.Globals) bool { return genGlobalClosed(g) }
+
+// BootArmorPresent reports whether a persisted holding plane exists.
+func BootArmorPresent() bool {
+	st, err := os.Stat(BootArmorPath)
+	return err == nil && st.Mode().IsRegular() && st.Size() > 0
+}
+
+// SaveBootArmor persists ruleset as the boot armor and reports whether the file's
+// contents actually changed.
+//
+// The no-change fast path is not an optimisation, it is a durability requirement:
+// this is called on EVERY apply, cron reconciles once a minute, and the target is
+// raw flash on a router that is expected to run for years. Rewriting an identical
+// 700-byte file 525 600 times a year is how an eMMC/NAND block wears out for
+// nothing.
+//
+// The write is atomic (temp file in the same directory, then rename), so a power
+// cut mid-write leaves either the previous armor or none — never a half-written
+// ruleset that `nft -f` would reject at the next boot, which is precisely the
+// boot where it matters.
+func SaveBootArmor(ruleset string) (changed bool, err error) {
+	if strings.TrimSpace(ruleset) == "" {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("refusing to save an empty boot armor")
+	}
+	if old, rerr := os.ReadFile(BootArmorPath); rerr == nil && string(old) == ruleset {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	dir := filepath.Dir(BootArmorPath)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	tmp, err := os.CreateTemp(dir, ".boot.nft.*")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	name := tmp.Name()
+	defer func() {
+		if err != nil {
+			_ = os.Remove(name)
+		}
+	}()
+	if _, err = tmp.WriteString(ruleset); err != nil {
+		_ = tmp.Close()
+		return false, err
+	}
+	// Sync before the rename: the rename is what makes the file visible, and on
+	// the flash filesystems this ships on an unsynced payload can survive the
+	// rename as zeroes.
+	if err = tmp.Sync(); err != nil {
+		_ = tmp.Close()
+		return false, err
+	}
+	if err = tmp.Close(); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	if err = os.Chmod(name, 0o644); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	if err = os.Rename(name, BootArmorPath); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+// RemoveBootArmor deletes the persisted holding plane. Absent is success: this is
+// called on every apply that finds the stack disabled or fail-open, and "there was
+// nothing to remove" is the normal case, not a fault.
+func RemoveBootArmor() error {
+	if err := os.Remove(BootArmorPath); err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return err
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// LoadBootArmor installs the persisted holding plane into the kernel and reports
+// whether there was one to install.
+//
+// It goes through ApplyNft rather than `nft -f <path>` so the snapshot is
+// VALIDATED (`nft -c`) before it is loaded and so a wedged nft is killed rather
+// than left blocking — the same treatment every other ruleset in this package
+// gets. A snapshot that no longer parses (an nft downgrade, a truncated file) is
+// therefore an error the caller can report, not a half-loaded table.
+func LoadBootArmor() (loaded bool, err error) {
+	b, rerr := os.ReadFile(BootArmorPath)
+	if rerr != nil {
+		if os.IsNotExist(rerr) {
+			return false, nil
+		}
+		return false, rerr
+	}
+	if strings.TrimSpace(string(b)) == "" {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("boot armor %s is empty", BootArmorPath)
+	}
+	if err := ApplyNft(string(b)); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}

shater/netplane/armor_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+package netplane
+
+// The BOOT ARMOR's storage contract. It is the artifact three separate windows
+// depend on (early boot, restart handoff, unreadable config), so the properties
+// that matter are the durability ones: it must survive, it must not wear flash
+// out, and a power cut must never leave a half-written ruleset behind for the one
+// boot that reads it.
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+func armorTempPath(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	p := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "shater", "boot.nft")
+	orig := BootArmorPath
+	BootArmorPath = p
+	t.Cleanup(func() { BootArmorPath = orig })
+	return p
+}
+
+// TestBootArmorSaveIsContentGated: the daemon calls this on every apply and cron
+// reconciles once a minute, so an unconditional write is ~525 000 rewrites a year
+// of an identical file onto raw flash. An unchanged ruleset must not touch the
+// file at all.
+func TestBootArmorSaveIsContentGated(t *testing.T) {
+	path := armorTempPath(t)
+
+	if BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Fatalf("BootArmorPresent must be false before anything is written")
+	}
+	changed, err := SaveBootArmor("table inet shater { }\n")
+	if err != nil || !changed {
+		t.Fatalf("first SaveBootArmor = (%v, %v), want (true, nil)", changed, err)
+	}
+	if !BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Fatalf("BootArmorPresent must be true after a save")
+	}
+	st1, err := os.Stat(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stat: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	changed, err = SaveBootArmor("table inet shater { }\n")
+	if err != nil || changed {
+		t.Fatalf("identical SaveBootArmor = (%v, %v), want (false, nil) — an unchanged "+
+			"armor must not be rewritten", changed, err)
+	}
+	st2, err := os.Stat(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stat: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !st1.ModTime().Equal(st2.ModTime()) {
+		t.Errorf("the file was rewritten for identical content (mtime %v -> %v)",
+			st1.ModTime(), st2.ModTime())
+	}
+
+	if changed, err = SaveBootArmor("table inet shater { chain forward { } }\n"); err != nil || !changed {
+		t.Fatalf("changed SaveBootArmor = (%v, %v), want (true, nil)", changed, err)
+	}
+	b, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil || !strings.Contains(string(b), "chain forward") {
+		t.Fatalf("file does not hold the new ruleset: %q (%v)", string(b), err)
+	}
+
+	// An empty armor is worse than none: shater-armor would load a file that
+	// blocks nothing while the log claims the LAN is protected.
+	if _, err := SaveBootArmor("   \n"); err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("SaveBootArmor must refuse an empty ruleset")
+	}
+
+	if err := RemoveBootArmor(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RemoveBootArmor: %v", err)
+	}
+	if BootArmorPresent() {
+		t.Fatalf("BootArmorPresent must be false after removal")
+	}
+	// Removing what is not there is the normal case (every apply of a disabled
+	// stack), not a fault.
+	if err := RemoveBootArmor(); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("RemoveBootArmor on an absent file = %v, want nil", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBootArmorSaveIsAtomic: nothing but the finished file may ever be visible at
+// BootArmorPath. The one boot that reads it is the boot after a power cut.
+func TestBootArmorSaveIsAtomic(t *testing.T) {
+	path := armorTempPath(t)
+	if _, err := SaveBootArmor("table inet shater { }\n"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("SaveBootArmor: %v", err)
+	}
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(filepath.Dir(path))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("readdir: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(entries) != 1 || entries[0].Name() != filepath.Base(path) {
+		var names []string
+		for _, e := range entries {
+			names = append(names, e.Name())
+		}
+		t.Errorf("the save left temp files behind: %v", names)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestLoadBootArmorFeedsNft proves the reinstate path actually reaches the kernel
+// through the SAME validated loader every other ruleset uses (nft -c, then nft
+// -f), rather than a bare `nft -f <file>` that could half-load a truncated
+// snapshot.
+func TestLoadBootArmorFeedsNft(t *testing.T) {
+	armorTempPath(t)
+
+	// Nothing saved: not an error, just nothing to do.
+	loaded, err := LoadBootArmor()
+	if err != nil || loaded {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadBootArmor with no armor = (%v, %v), want (false, nil)", loaded, err)
+	}
+
+	const ruleset = "table inet shater { chain forward { } }\n"
+	if _, err := SaveBootArmor(ruleset); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("SaveBootArmor: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var rec []string
+	orig := execCommand
+	defer func() { execCommand = orig }()
+	execCommand = func(name string, arg ...string) *exec.Cmd {
+		rec = append(rec, strings.Join(append([]string{name}, arg...), " "))
+		cs := append([]string{"-test.run=TestNetplaneHelperProcess", "--", name}, arg...)
+		cmd := exec.Command(os.Args[0], cs...)
+		cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "GO_WANT_HELPER_PROCESS=1")
+		return cmd
+	}
+
+	loaded, err = LoadBootArmor()
+	if err != nil || !loaded {
+		t.Fatalf("LoadBootArmor = (%v, %v), want (true, nil)", loaded, err)
+	}
+	var sawCheck, sawLoad bool
+	for _, c := range rec {
+		switch c {
+		case "nft -c -f -":
+			sawCheck = true
+		case "nft -f -":
+			sawLoad = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !sawCheck || !sawLoad {
+		t.Errorf("LoadBootArmor must VALIDATE then load (nft -c -f -, nft -f -); commands: %v", rec)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestKillSwitchClosed pins that the daemon's arming decision and the renderer's
+// drop decision come from one predicate. Two copies of "is the kill switch
+// closed" is how an armed boot ends up protecting a router the operator asked to
+// fail open (or the reverse).
+func TestKillSwitchClosed(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		val  string
+		want bool
+	}{
+		{"", true}, {"closed", true}, {"CLOSED", true}, {"nonsense", true},
+		{"open", false}, {"OPEN", false}, {"  open  ", false},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		if got := KillSwitchClosed(model.Globals{KillSwitch: c.val}); got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("KillSwitchClosed(%q) = %v, want %v", c.val, got, c.want)
+		}
+		if got := genGlobalClosed(model.Globals{KillSwitch: c.val}); got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("genGlobalClosed(%q) = %v, want %v — the two must not diverge", c.val, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}

shater/netplane/coverage.go

@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+package netplane
+
+// COVERAGE: the gap between the networks this router carries and the networks
+// this data plane actually touches.
+//
+// Everything else in this package answers "what does the plan say?". This file
+// answers the question nothing asked before: "what does the plan leave out?".
+// Two omissions, both silent, both leaks:
+//
+//  1. A DEVICE NAME THAT NAMES NOTHING. IfaceDevice returns the raw UCI name when
+//     neither ubus nor uci can resolve it, and nftValidDev happily accepts "lan"
+//     as a syntactically fine device name. The resulting `iifname "lan" ... drop`
+//     loads into the kernel without a murmur and matches no packet ever, so that
+//     network is neither diverted nor failed closed on. This is the failure mode
+//     nftValidDev's own doc comment warns about at length — but the warning it
+//     emits only fires for names it REJECTED, never for names it accepted that
+//     resolve to nothing.
+//
+//  2. A CLIENT NETWORK NOBODY NAMED. The divert set is built exclusively from
+//     what the operator listed: `config inbound` plus rules with `iface:`/`zone:`
+//     sources. The factory config ships ONE inbound, `lan`. Add a VLAN or a guest
+//     SSID in LuCI and its clients route to the internet through this router
+//     without ever entering the engine — no proxy, and no kill switch either.
+//     netplane.Interfaces() has been able to enumerate exactly this since the
+//     egress picker was built; the result went to the panel and nowhere else.
+//
+// # Why these WARN and do not refuse
+//
+// The rejected-name path refuses the whole apply when the kill switch is closed,
+// and that is right there: a name we cannot express is a stable configuration
+// error, refusing leaves the PREVIOUS ruleset loaded and protecting, and the
+// operator has something concrete to fix.
+//
+// Neither of these has that shape.
+//
+// An unresolved name has no fail-closed action available at all — we do not know
+// the device, so there is nothing to write a drop against. Refusing would abort
+// the apply and leave the LAN on plain routing, i.e. it would produce the very
+// leak it is objecting to, plus an outage. And it is not necessarily stable: at
+// boot, netifd may not have answered yet.
+//
+// An uncovered network must not be closed silently for a much simpler reason:
+// this router does not know whether the operator MEANT to proxy it. A guest SSID
+// or an IoT VLAN deliberately kept off the tunnel is a legitimate configuration,
+// and dropping its forwarded traffic because our inbound list does not mention it
+// would cut a working network on a guess. So it is named, loudly, and the
+// decision stays with the person who built the network.
+//
+// Both travel on the netplane warning channel, which apply grades CRITICAL
+// wholesale — which is exactly the severity apply/warnings.go defines for "an
+// interface the kill-switch does not cover", in those words.
+//
+// # Why the whole file is silent off a router
+//
+// Every check here is gated on Interfaces() returning something. With no ubus
+// there is no inventory, and a coverage claim built on no inventory is a guess.
+// That also keeps the checks out of the unit suite's hair: on a build machine the
+// probe fails, the gate closes, and rendering behaves exactly as it did before.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// coverageWarnings reports what this plan does not cover. refs is the divert set
+// with provenance (nftDivertRefs); m supplies the egress list, which is the one
+// thing that tells a client network apart from an uplink we deliberately send
+// traffic OUT of.
+//
+// Returns nil when the router cannot be enumerated — see the package comment.
+func coverageWarnings(m *model.Model, refs []divertRef) []string {
+	infos := Interfaces()
+	if len(infos) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var out []string
+	out = append(out, unresolvedDeviceWarnings(refs, infos)...)
+	out = append(out, uncoveredNetworkWarnings(m, refs, infos)...)
+	return out
+}
+
+// unresolvedDeviceWarnings reports each diverted device that the kernel does not
+// have.
+//
+// "Does not have" is answered from two independent sources, and a hit in either
+// clears the device: the netifd inventory (which is how a normal interface is
+// resolved) and /sys/class/net (which is how a raw device pulled straight out of
+// a firewall zone's `list device`, or any device netifd does not manage, still
+// counts). Only a device unknown to BOTH is reported — an over-eager warning here
+// would be indistinguishable from the real one and would train the operator to
+// ignore both.
+func unresolvedDeviceWarnings(refs []divertRef, infos []IfaceInfo) []string {
+	known := make(map[string]bool, len(infos))
+	for _, i := range infos {
+		if i.Device != "" {
+			known[i.Device] = true
+		}
+	}
+	var out []string
+	for _, r := range refs {
+		if known[r.Dev] || DeviceExists(r.Dev) {
+			continue
+		}
+		out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf(
+			"interface %q: this router has no network device called %q, and that is the name the "+
+				"ruleset was written against — every rule scoped to it (the TPROXY divert, the "+
+				"fail-closed drop, the accept_local ingress knob) loads into the kernel cleanly and "+
+				"matches NOTHING. The traffic of this network is therefore neither proxied nor "+
+				"blocked when the engine is down: it goes straight out the WAN in the clear. It "+
+				"happens when a `config inbound`'s network (or a rule's iface:/zone: source) names "+
+				"something netifd does not know — a typo, a deleted interface, or a device name used "+
+				"where a UCI interface name belongs. Point it at an existing interface, or remove it.",
+			r.Src, r.Dev))
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// uncoveredNetworkWarnings reports every client network of this router whose
+// traffic reaches the internet without passing through the plan.
+//
+// # What counts as a client network
+//
+// Not "has a private address" — that catches tunnels and management links. The
+// test is the firewall's own: the interface sits in a zone that is FORWARDED TO A
+// WAN ZONE. That is precisely the statement "the devices on this network use this
+// router to reach the internet", written by the operator, in the file that
+// decides it. A zone with no such forwarding (a management VLAN, an egress tunnel
+// zone) reaches nothing through us and is not this check's business.
+//
+// On top of that, four exclusions, each removing a class of false positive:
+//
+//   - the WAN zones themselves (traffic arriving there is not a client's);
+//   - interfaces already in the divert set (the whole point);
+//   - interfaces this model uses as an EGRESS — we send traffic out of those on
+//     purpose, and their zone may well forward to wan;
+//   - interfaces netifd reports as down, because they carry no clients right now
+//     and the ifup hotplug reconciles the moment they do.
+func uncoveredNetworkWarnings(m *model.Model, refs []divertRef, infos []IfaceInfo) []string {
+	forwarded := internetForwardedZones()
+	if len(forwarded) == 0 {
+		// Either there is no firewall config we can read, or nothing forwards to a
+		// WAN zone at all. Both mean we cannot say a network reaches the internet
+		// through us, and this check refuses to guess.
+		return nil
+	}
+	covered := make(map[string]bool, len(refs))
+	for _, r := range refs {
+		covered[r.Dev] = true
+	}
+	egress := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, eg := range m.Egresses {
+		if n := strings.TrimSpace(eg.Interface); n != "" {
+			egress[n] = true
+		}
+	}
+
+	var out []string
+	for _, i := range infos {
+		zone := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(i.Zone))
+		switch {
+		case covered[i.Device], !i.Up, zone == "", model.WANZoneNames[zone],
+			!forwarded[zone], egress[i.Name]:
+			continue
+		}
+		where := i.Device
+		if i.Subnet != "" {
+			where = fmt.Sprintf("%s, %s", i.Device, i.Subnet)
+		}
+		out = append(out, fmt.Sprintf(
+			"interface %q: this is a client network of this router (%s; firewall zone %q, which is "+
+				"forwarded to the internet) and NOTHING in this configuration touches it. Its devices "+
+				"are not proxied, their DNS is not filtered, and the kill switch does not cover them "+
+				"— when the engine is down their traffic keeps flowing to the WAN in the clear, "+
+				"because the fail-closed drop is scoped to the interfaces named in the config and "+
+				"this is not one of them. This is not closed automatically: doing so would cut a "+
+				"network you may have meant to leave off the tunnel. Decide explicitly — add a "+
+				"`config inbound` for it (or a rule with source iface:%s, which may still target "+
+				"`direct`) to bring it under the plane, or move it into a firewall zone that is not "+
+				"forwarded to the WAN.",
+			i.Name, where, i.Zone, i.Name))
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// internetForwardedZones returns the set of firewall zone names (lower-cased)
+// that are forwarded to a WAN zone, i.e. the zones whose members use this router
+// to reach the internet.
+//
+// It reads the SAME `uci -q export firewall` the zone map does — one more read of
+// a plane we already talk to, rather than a second notion of which zone is which.
+// Fail-open: an unreadable or zone-less firewall yields an empty set, and the
+// caller then reports nothing.
+func internetForwardedZones() map[string]bool {
+	out, err := execCommand("uci", "-q", "export", "firewall").Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return parseInternetForwardedZones(string(out))
+}
+
+// parseInternetForwardedZones is internetForwardedZones' pure half.
+//
+// A zone is a WAN zone when its NAME is one of the conventional uplink names
+// (model.WANZoneNames — the same list rule-source validation uses). A `config
+// forwarding` whose dest is such a zone marks its src zone as internet-forwarded.
+func parseInternetForwardedZones(exportText string) map[string]bool {
+	secs := scanUCISections(exportText)
+	wan := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range secs {
+		if s.typ != "zone" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if n := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(s.options["name"])); n != "" && model.WANZoneNames[n] {
+			wan[n] = true
+		}
+	}
+	if len(wan) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	fwd := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, s := range secs {
+		if s.typ != "forwarding" {
+			continue
+		}
+		src := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(s.options["src"]))
+		dest := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(s.options["dest"]))
+		if src != "" && wan[dest] {
+			fwd[src] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return fwd
+}

shater/netplane/coverage_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+package netplane
+
+// W4 + the adjacent defect: what the plan does NOT cover has to reach the
+// operator, not just the panel's interface picker.
+//
+// Both tests drive the real RenderNftWithWarningsAt, because the warning channel
+// it returns is the one apply folds into Status — a check that only exercised the
+// helper would prove nothing about whether the news ever leaves netplane.
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// A three-network router of exactly the shape this defect was found on: two LAN
+// bridges in the `lan` firewall zone, one uplink, and a forwarding that says the
+// lan zone reaches the internet through this box.
+const coverageFirewallExport = `package firewall
+
+config defaults
+	option input 'ACCEPT'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'lan'
+	list network 'lan'
+	list network 'sex'
+	option input 'ACCEPT'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'wan'
+	list network 'wan0'
+	option masq '1'
+
+config forwarding
+	option src 'lan'
+	option dest 'wan'
+`
+
+const coverageIfaceDump = `{"interface":[
+	{"interface":"loopback","up":true,"l3_device":"lo"},
+	{"interface":"lan","up":true,"l3_device":"br-lan","ipv4-address":[{"address":"192.168.1.1","mask":24}]},
+	{"interface":"sex","up":true,"l3_device":"br-sex","ipv4-address":[{"address":"10.67.0.1","mask":24}]},
+	{"interface":"wan0","up":true,"l3_device":"eth1","ipv4-address":[{"address":"10.0.2.15","mask":24}]}
+]}`
+
+// coverageExec answers the three probes the coverage checks make (the interface
+// dump, the firewall export, and IfaceDevice's per-interface status) and returns
+// empty output for everything else, which is what every other netplane test sees.
+func coverageExec(status map[string]string) func(string, ...string) *exec.Cmd {
+	return func(name string, arg ...string) *exec.Cmd {
+		joined := strings.Join(append([]string{name}, arg...), " ")
+		out := ""
+		switch {
+		case joined == "ubus call network.interface dump":
+			out = coverageIfaceDump
+		case joined == "uci -q export firewall":
+			out = coverageFirewallExport
+		case strings.HasPrefix(joined, "ubus call network.interface.") &&
+			strings.HasSuffix(joined, " status"):
+			iface := strings.TrimSuffix(
+				strings.TrimPrefix(joined, "ubus call network.interface."), " status")
+			out = status[iface]
+		}
+		cs := append([]string{"-test.run=TestSysctlRevertHelperProcess", "--", name}, arg...)
+		cmd := exec.Command(os.Args[0], cs...)
+		cmd.Env = append(os.Environ(), "GO_WANT_HELPER_PROCESS=1", "GO_HELPER_STDOUT="+out)
+		return cmd
+	}
+}
+
+// fakeSysClassNet points DeviceExists at a directory holding exactly the devices
+// the kernel is pretending to have.
+func fakeSysClassNet(t *testing.T, devs ...string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	for _, d := range devs {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, d), 0o755); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("fixture %s: %v", d, err)
+		}
+	}
+	orig := sysClassNet
+	sysClassNet = dir
+	t.Cleanup(func() { sysClassNet = orig })
+}
+
+func coverageModel() *model.Model {
+	return &model.Model{
+		Globals: model.Globals{
+			Enabled: true, KillSwitch: "closed", FwmarkBase: 0x2000, TableBase: 0x2000,
+		},
+		Inbounds: []model.Inbound{{
+			Name: "lan", Enabled: true, Type: "tproxy", Network: "lan",
+			TproxyPort: 12345, TCP: true, UDP: true,
+		}},
+	}
+}
+
+func warningsAbout(ws []string, iface string) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, w := range ws {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(w, "interface \""+iface+"\":") {
+			out = append(out, w)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// TestRenderNftWarnsUncoveredLANNetwork is W4. `sex` is a client network of this
+// router — it sits in the `lan` firewall zone, which is forwarded to `wan`, so its
+// devices reach the internet through this box — and NOTHING in the config mentions
+// it. Its traffic is neither proxied nor covered by the fail-closed drop, and
+// before this the only place that was visible was the panel's interface picker.
+//
+// RED BEFORE: renderNft produced warnings only for device names it had REJECTED,
+// so this returned an empty warning list.
+func TestRenderNftWarnsUncoveredLANNetwork(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := execCommand
+	defer func() { execCommand = orig }()
+	execCommand = coverageExec(map[string]string{
+		"lan":  `{"l3_device":"br-lan"}`,
+		"sex":  `{"l3_device":"br-sex"}`,
+		"wan0": `{"l3_device":"eth1"}`,
+	})
+	fakeSysClassNet(t, "br-lan", "br-sex", "eth1", "lo")
+
+	rs, warnings, err := RenderNftWithWarningsAt(coverageModel(), time.Now())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RenderNftWithWarningsAt: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(rs, `iifname "br-lan"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("the plan should still divert br-lan; ruleset:\n%s", rs)
+	}
+
+	got := warningsAbout(warnings, "sex")
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want exactly one warning about the uncovered network \"sex\", got %d: %v",
+			len(got), warnings)
+	}
+	for _, must := range []string{"client network", "kill switch does not cover", "iface:sex"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(got[0], must) {
+			t.Errorf("the uncovered-network warning must say %q; got:\n%s", must, got[0])
+		}
+	}
+	// The covered network and the uplink must NOT be reported: a check that also
+	// fires on the interfaces it is fine with teaches the operator to ignore it.
+	if w := warningsAbout(warnings, "lan"); len(w) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the DIVERTED network must not be reported as uncovered: %v", w)
+	}
+	if w := warningsAbout(warnings, "wan0"); len(w) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the WAN uplink is not a client network and must not be reported: %v", w)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRenderNftWarnsUnresolvedDivertDevice is the adjacent defect. The inbound
+// names an interface that does not exist, IfaceDevice hands the raw UCI name back
+// (its documented last resort), nftValidDev accepts it as a syntactically fine
+// device name — and the ruleset loads with `iifname "lann"` matching nothing at
+// all. The divert does nothing, the fail-closed drop does nothing, and the apply
+// reports success.
+//
+// RED BEFORE: nftValidDev checks characters, not existence, so nothing anywhere
+// noticed. The warning must name what the operator wrote AND what it resolved to.
+func TestRenderNftWarnsUnresolvedDivertDevice(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := execCommand
+	defer func() { execCommand = orig }()
+	// No status entry for "lann": ubus knows nothing about it, and neither does
+	// `uci get network.lann.device` — the fallback-to-raw-name path.
+	execCommand = coverageExec(map[string]string{
+		"lan":  `{"l3_device":"br-lan"}`,
+		"sex":  `{"l3_device":"br-sex"}`,
+		"wan0": `{"l3_device":"eth1"}`,
+	})
+	fakeSysClassNet(t, "br-lan", "br-sex", "eth1", "lo")
+
+	m := coverageModel()
+	m.Inbounds[0].Network = "lann"
+
+	rs, warnings, err := RenderNftWithWarningsAt(m, time.Now())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RenderNftWithWarningsAt: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The point of the defect: this loads cleanly. The test pins that the plan is
+	// still produced, so the only thing standing between the operator and a silent
+	// leak is the warning.
+	if !strings.Contains(rs, `iifname "lann"`) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected the (useless) rule to still be rendered; ruleset:\n%s", rs)
+	}
+
+	got := warningsAbout(warnings, "lann")
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("want exactly one warning about the unresolved device, got %d: %v",
+			len(got), warnings)
+	}
+	for _, must := range []string{"no network device called", `"lann"`, "matches NOTHING"} {
+		if !strings.Contains(got[0], must) {
+			t.Errorf("the unresolved-device warning must say %q; got:\n%s", must, got[0])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestCoverageSilentWithoutInventory is the fail-open half of the contract: with
+// no ubus to enumerate the router (a build host, a stripped image, a boot before
+// netifd answers) a coverage claim would be a guess, so nothing is said at all.
+func TestCoverageSilentWithoutInventory(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := execCommand
+	defer func() { execCommand = orig }()
+	var rec []string
+	execCommand = fakeExec(&rec) // every probe succeeds with EMPTY output
+	fakeSysClassNet(t)           // and no device exists either
+
+	_, warnings, err := RenderNftWithWarningsAt(coverageModel(), time.Now())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("RenderNftWithWarningsAt: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(warnings) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("with no interface inventory the coverage checks must stay silent, got: %v", warnings)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestParseInternetForwardedZones pins what "a client network" means: a zone the
+// operator forwards to the uplink, read out of the firewall config rather than
+// guessed from addresses. A vpn zone that is not forwarded to wan is NOT one.
+func TestParseInternetForwardedZones(t *testing.T) {
+	const export = `package firewall
+
+config zone
+	option name 'lan'
+	list network 'lan'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'guest'
+	list network 'guest'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'mgmt'
+	list network 'mgmt'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'vpn'
+	list network 'awg0'
+
+config zone
+	option name 'wan'
+	list network 'wan0'
+
+config forwarding
+	option src 'lan'
+	option dest 'wan'
+
+config forwarding
+	option src 'guest'
+	option dest 'wan'
+
+config forwarding
+	option src 'lan'
+	option dest 'vpn'
+`
+	got := parseInternetForwardedZones(export)
+	for _, want := range []string{"lan", "guest"} {
+		if !got[want] {
+			t.Errorf("zone %q forwards to wan and must count as a client zone; got %v", want, got)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, notWant := range []string{"mgmt", "vpn", "wan"} {
+		if got[notWant] {
+			t.Errorf("zone %q does not forward to the uplink and must NOT count; got %v", notWant, got)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// No WAN zone at all => nothing can be said about reaching the internet.
+	if m := parseInternetForwardedZones("package firewall\n\nconfig zone\n\toption name 'lan'\n"); len(m) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("with no wan zone the set must be empty, got %v", m)
+	}
+	if m := parseInternetForwardedZones(""); len(m) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("empty input must yield an empty set, got %v", m)
+	}
+}

shater/netplane/nft.go

@@ -358,11 +358,33 @@ func nftPlanRules(m *model.Model, _ time.Time) []model.Rule {
 	return sortedRules(rules)
 }
 
-// nftDivertDevs returns EVERY LAN-ingress device whose traffic this ruleset
-// diverts into the engine: the enabled tproxy inbounds' devices PLUS the devices
-// named by any enabled rule's `iface:`/`zone:` source. rules is the EFFECTIVE
-// rule list (profile overrides applied — nftPlanRules), never raw m.Rules: the
-// divert set must match what RenderNft actually emits per-rule.
+// divertRef is one device this ruleset diverts, together with WHAT THE OPERATOR
+// WROTE to bring it in — the inbound's `network`, an `iface:` source, a `zone:`
+// source.
+//
+// The provenance is not decoration. IfaceDevice returns the UCI name unchanged
+// when it cannot resolve it (see its doc comment), so a divert set is a list of
+// strings in which "br-lan" and "lan" are indistinguishable — one is a device,
+// the other is a name that will match nothing. Reporting that to an operator as
+// `device "lan" does not exist` is useless; reporting it as `interface "lan"
+// resolved to no device` is actionable, and only the reference knows which is
+// which. coverage.go is the only consumer.
+type divertRef struct {
+	// Src is the operator-facing name: the inbound's UCI network, the bare name
+	// from an `iface:` source, or "zone:<name>" for a device pulled out of a
+	// firewall zone.
+	Src string
+	// Dev is what IfaceDevice/nftZoneDevices resolved Src to — the string that
+	// actually appears in `iifname "..."`.
+	Dev string
+}
+
+// nftDivertRefs returns EVERY LAN-ingress device whose traffic this ruleset
+// diverts into the engine, with its provenance: the enabled tproxy inbounds'
+// devices PLUS the devices named by any enabled rule's `iface:`/`zone:` source.
+// rules is the EFFECTIVE rule list (profile overrides applied — nftPlanRules),
+// never raw m.Rules: the divert set must match what RenderNft actually emits
+// per-rule.
 //
 // The distinction matters for fail-closed correctness. RenderNft emits per-rule
 // tproxy lines for `iface:`/`zone:` sources, and those devices need NOT be tproxy
@@ -374,15 +396,22 @@ func nftPlanRules(m *model.Model, _ time.Time) []model.Rule {
 // the tproxied packet to the engine socket at all.
 //
 // So: everything we divert, we must also be able to fail closed on and set the
-// ingress sysctls for. Result is deduped and order-stable (inbounds first).
-func nftDivertDevs(m *model.Model, rules []model.Rule) []string {
-	devs := nftEnabledInboundDevs(m)
-	if _, ok := nftPrimaryInbound(m); !ok {
-		// No tproxy inbound => RenderNft emits no per-rule divert lines either.
-		return devs
+// ingress sysctls for. Result is deduped BY DEVICE and order-stable (inbounds
+// first), so the first reference that produced a device is the one reported.
+func nftDivertRefs(m *model.Model, rules []model.Rule) []divertRef {
+	var refs []divertRef
+	for _, in := range m.Inbounds {
+		if model.IsTproxyInbound(in) {
+			refs = append(refs, divertRef{
+				Src: orDefault(strings.TrimSpace(in.Network), "lan"),
+				Dev: IfaceDevice(in.Network),
+			})
+		}
 	}
-	if len(devs) == 0 {
-		return devs
+	// No tproxy inbound => RenderNft emits no per-rule divert lines either; and
+	// with no inbound device there is nothing for a rule source to add to.
+	if _, ok := nftPrimaryInbound(m); !ok || len(refs) == 0 {
+		return dedupRefs(refs)
 	}
 	for _, r := range rules {
 		if !r.Enabled {
@@ -392,12 +421,44 @@ func nftDivertDevs(m *model.Model, rules []model.Rule) []string {
 			s := strings.TrimSpace(raw)
 			switch {
 			case strings.HasPrefix(s, "iface:"):
-				devs = append(devs, IfaceDevice(strings.TrimPrefix(s, "iface:")))
+				name := strings.TrimPrefix(s, "iface:")
+				refs = append(refs, divertRef{Src: name, Dev: IfaceDevice(name)})
 			case strings.HasPrefix(s, "zone:"):
-				devs = append(devs, nftZoneDevices(strings.TrimPrefix(s, "zone:"))...)
+				zone := strings.TrimPrefix(s, "zone:")
+				for _, dev := range nftZoneDevices(zone) {
+					refs = append(refs, divertRef{Src: "zone:" + zone, Dev: dev})
+				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	return dedupRefs(refs)
+}
+
+// dedupRefs drops references whose device was already seen (and blank devices),
+// preserving order.
+func dedupRefs(in []divertRef) []divertRef {
+	seen := map[string]bool{}
+	var out []divertRef
+	for _, r := range in {
+		dev := strings.TrimSpace(r.Dev)
+		if dev == "" || seen[dev] {
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[dev] = true
+		r.Dev = dev
+		out = append(out, r)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// nftDivertDevs is nftDivertRefs projected onto the device names, which is what
+// every renderer and the sysctl/fail-closed scoping consume.
+func nftDivertDevs(m *model.Model, rules []model.Rule) []string {
+	refs := nftDivertRefs(m, rules)
+	devs := make([]string, 0, len(refs))
+	for _, r := range refs {
+		devs = append(devs, r.Dev)
+	}
 	return nftDedupStr(devs)
 }
 
@@ -598,7 +659,11 @@ func renderNft(m *model.Model, plan *UntunnelablePlan, now time.Time) (string, [
 	// Validate every device the plan wants to divert BEFORE rendering a single
 	// line, so a name we cannot express never reaches the kernel as a rule that
 	// matches nothing. See the refusal contract in the doc comment.
-	divertDevs := nftDivertDevs(m, planRules)
+	divertRefs := nftDivertRefs(m, planRules)
+	divertDevs := make([]string, 0, len(divertRefs))
+	for _, r := range divertRefs {
+		divertDevs = append(divertDevs, r.Dev)
+	}
 	validDevs, rejectedDevs := nftSplitDevs(divertDevs)
 	var warnings []string
 	for _, bad := range rejectedDevs {
@@ -606,6 +671,13 @@ func renderNft(m *model.Model, plan *UntunnelablePlan, now time.Time) (string, [
 			"interface name %q is not a usable device name and was REJECTED: it is not covered by the "+
 				"fail-closed guard and its traffic is not diverted", bad))
 	}
+	// What this plan does NOT cover: a device name that resolves to nothing the
+	// kernel has, and a client network of this router that the plan never mentions.
+	// Both are silent leaks of exactly the kind the rejected-name check above
+	// exists for, and both were previously visible only in the panel's interface
+	// picker (or nowhere at all). Collected BEFORE the refusal below, so a refused
+	// plan still tells the operator everything that is wrong with it.
+	warnings = append(warnings, coverageWarnings(m, divertRefs)...)
 	if len(rejectedDevs) > 0 && genGlobalClosed(m.Globals) {
 		return "", warnings, fmt.Errorf(
 			"refusing to apply: %d interface name(s) cannot be expressed in the ruleset (%s), so the "+

shater/panel/api.go

@@ -379,11 +379,26 @@ var (
 	// the best-effort fallback when file logging is off but syslog is on. logread
 	// has no wall-clock retention worth promising, hence "ranges approximate" in
 	// the note the handler prepends.
-	logSyslogScrape = func(w io.Writer) error {
-		cmd := exec.Command("logread", "-e", "shater")
+	//
+	// The ctx is the REQUEST's, narrowed by logScrapeTimeout, and it is the only
+	// thing that ever ends this child process. Without it, a browser tab that was
+	// closed mid-download left `logread` running, its pipe open and the handler
+	// goroutine blocked writing into a socket nobody reads — one leaked process and
+	// two leaked descriptors per abandoned download, on a daemon that runs for
+	// months. CommandContext kills the child on cancel, which closes the pipe, which
+	// releases the copy goroutine Run is waiting on.
+	logSyslogScrape = func(ctx context.Context, w io.Writer) error {
+		cmd := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "logread", "-e", "shater")
 		cmd.Stdout = w
 		return cmd.Run()
 	}
+	// logScrapeTimeout hard-bounds the scrape even for a client that is still there.
+	//
+	// Why 30s: `logread` reads a ring buffer that is a few hundred KiB at most and
+	// exits; on a healthy box it completes in milliseconds. 30s is therefore not a
+	// budget anybody spends, it is the answer to "logread itself has wedged" — which
+	// is exactly the situation an operator downloads the log during.
+	logScrapeTimeout = 30 * time.Second
 	// logSyncTimeout bounds how long a download waits for the log sink's barrier
 	// (Server.SetLogSync). See syncLogSink for why the wait is bounded at all.
 	//
@@ -494,21 +509,30 @@ func (s *Server) handleLog(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	w.Header().Set("Content-Disposition",
 		`attachment; filename="shaterd-`+rng+`-`+now.Format("20060102")+`.log"`)
 
+	// The download is the one response that is legitimately big (the sink's file
+	// budget tops out at model.LogMaxKBMax = 8 MiB) and so the one that cannot live
+	// under a fixed WriteTimeout: a slow-but-real client would be cut off mid-file.
+	// out renews the write deadline on every chunk instead, so progress buys time and
+	// only a client that has genuinely STOPPED reading is dropped. See streamWriter.
+	out := newStreamWriter(w)
+
 	switch {
 	case !g.LogToFile && !g.LogToSyslog:
-		_, _ = io.WriteString(w, "# logging disabled\n")
+		_, _ = io.WriteString(out, "# logging disabled\n")
 	case !g.LogToFile:
-		_, _ = io.WriteString(w, "# note: file logging disabled; showing syslog ring only, ranges approximate\n")
-		if err := logSyslogScrape(w); err != nil {
-			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "# logread unavailable: %v\n", err)
+		_, _ = io.WriteString(out, "# note: file logging disabled; showing syslog ring only, ranges approximate\n")
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(r.Context(), logScrapeTimeout)
+		defer cancel()
+		if err := logSyslogScrape(ctx, out); err != nil {
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(out, "# logread unavailable: %v\n", err)
 		}
 	default:
 		segs := logsink.Segments(logSinkPath(g.LogPersist))
 		if len(segs) == 0 {
-			_, _ = io.WriteString(w, "# no log file yet\n")
+			_, _ = io.WriteString(out, "# no log file yet\n")
 			return
 		}
-		if err := logsink.CopyRange(w, segs, cutoff); err != nil {
+		if err := logsink.CopyRange(out, segs, cutoff); err != nil {
 			// Headers are long gone; nothing to do but note it server-side
 			// (usually the client hung up mid-download).
 			s.log.Debug("log download aborted: ", err)
@@ -516,6 +540,39 @@ func (s *Server) handleLog(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	}
 }
 
+// streamChunkTimeout is how long ONE write of a streamed response may block before
+// the connection is torn down.
+//
+// Why 15s: a write blocks only while the socket send buffer is full, i.e. while the
+// peer is not reading. A client that is reading at any rate at all — even a few KiB/s
+// on a bad wireless link — drains the buffer far inside 15s and gets the deadline
+// pushed forward again, so a slow download is never truncated. A client that has
+// stopped (a suspended phone, a closed tab whose FIN was lost) is released in 15s
+// instead of holding the goroutine, socket and fd until the process restarts.
+const streamChunkTimeout = 15 * time.Second
+
+// streamWriter renews the connection's write deadline before each chunk, turning a
+// fixed server-wide WriteTimeout into a per-chunk idle timeout for one response. It
+// is the only correct way to bound a large streamed body: the total is unknown, the
+// per-write stall is not.
+//
+// SetWriteDeadline returning http.ErrNotSupported (httptest.NewRecorder, a wrapped
+// ResponseWriter) is ignored on purpose — the writer then behaves exactly like the
+// bare one and the server-wide WriteTimeout still applies.
+type streamWriter struct {
+	w  io.Writer
+	rc *http.ResponseController
+}
+
+func newStreamWriter(w http.ResponseWriter) *streamWriter {
+	return &streamWriter{w: w, rc: http.NewResponseController(w)}
+}
+
+func (s *streamWriter) Write(p []byte) (int, error) {
+	_ = s.rc.SetWriteDeadline(time.Now().Add(streamChunkTimeout))
+	return s.w.Write(p)
+}
+
 // handleStatsLog → GET /api/stats/log?limit=&before=&after=: the live DNS query log,
 // ALWAYS newest first, each row carrying a monotonic `seq` cursor. With no cursor it
 // returns the newest `limit` rows; before=<seq> returns the next OLDER page (seq<before);

shater/panel/auth.go

@@ -109,9 +109,30 @@ type sessionRequest struct {
 	Token string `json:"token"`
 }
 
+// sessionBodyTimeout bounds how long the ONE unauthenticated route will wait for
+// its (tiny) body.
+//
+// The server-wide DefaultReadTimeout has to accommodate a 4 MiB config PUT, so it is
+// 60s. This route is different in kind: it is reachable with no credentials at all,
+// and its entire legitimate body is a 64-hex-char token inside a JSON object — under
+// 100 bytes, already delivered in the same TCP segment as the headers in every real
+// client. Anything that needs longer than 5 seconds to produce it is not a panel.
+//
+// Without this, "Content-Length: 4096" plus one byte an hour bought an anonymous peer
+// a goroutine, a socket and a file descriptor for as long as the read timeout allowed
+// — repeatable until the daemon runs out of descriptors.
+//
+// A var, not a const, purely so the timeout tests can dial it down; production never
+// assigns it.
+var sessionBodyTimeout = 5 * time.Second
+
 // handleSession validates a minted token and, on success, sets the session cookie.
 // POST only. This is the panel's sole unauthenticated API route.
 func (s *Server) handleSession(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	// Tighten the read deadline for this route only. ErrNotSupported is expected
+	// under httptest.NewRecorder (no real connection) and is not a failure: the
+	// server-wide ReadTimeout still applies.
+	_ = http.NewResponseController(w).SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(sessionBodyTimeout))
 	if r.Method != http.MethodPost {
 		writeError(w, http.StatusMethodNotAllowed, "method not allowed")
 		return

shater/panel/log_test.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ package panel
 // are all package-var seams; each test swaps them and restores via t.Cleanup.
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
@@ -131,7 +132,7 @@ func TestLogFileOffFallsBackToSyslogScrape(t *testing.T) {
 	g.LogToFile = false // syslog stays on
 	withLogSeams(t, g, "")
 	origScrape := logSyslogScrape
-	logSyslogScrape = func(w io.Writer) error {
+	logSyslogScrape = func(_ context.Context, w io.Writer) error {
 		_, err := io.WriteString(w, "ring line from logread\n")
 		return err
 	}
@@ -188,7 +189,7 @@ func TestLogFileOffIgnoresLeftoverSegments(t *testing.T) {
 	g.LogToFile = false // syslog stays on
 	withLogSeams(t, g, "2026-07-23T08:00:00Z INFO leftover line\n")
 	origScrape := logSyslogScrape
-	logSyslogScrape = func(w io.Writer) error {
+	logSyslogScrape = func(_ context.Context, w io.Writer) error {
 		_, err := io.WriteString(w, "ring line from logread\n")
 		return err
 	}

shater/panel/server.go

@@ -39,6 +39,51 @@ const (
 	DefaultTokenTTL   = 60 * time.Second
 )
 
+// Connection deadlines. Every one of these bounds a resource a REMOTE peer would
+// otherwise hold indefinitely: a goroutine, a socket and a file descriptor each.
+// On this box that matters more than on a server — a phone whose panel tab went to
+// sleep mid-request is the normal case, not an attack, and the daemon runs for
+// months without a restart, so "leaks one fd per stalled tab" is a countdown to the
+// process-wide fd limit.
+//
+// Only ReadHeaderTimeout existed before. It bounds the request LINE and HEADERS and
+// nothing else, so a peer that finished its headers, announced a Content-Length and
+// then stopped sending was parked forever — reachable without any authentication at
+// all through POST /api/session.
+const (
+	// DefaultReadHeaderTimeout bounds the request line + headers. Unchanged value;
+	// named so the whole set is visible in one place.
+	DefaultReadHeaderTimeout = 10 * time.Second
+
+	// DefaultReadTimeout bounds reading an ENTIRE request, headers plus body.
+	//
+	// Why 60s: the largest legitimate body is a PUT /api/config at the 4 MiB cap
+	// (maxConfigBytes) — a real 380-node config is ~10x smaller, but the cap is what
+	// has to fit. 4 MiB in 60s is a 70 KB/s floor, which even a phone on a bad
+	// corner of the LAN clears by an order of magnitude. It is also short enough
+	// that a stalled connection is a bounded 60s cost instead of a permanent one.
+	// The unauthenticated route gets a much tighter budget of its own — see
+	// sessionBodyTimeout in auth.go.
+	DefaultReadTimeout = 60 * time.Second
+
+	// DefaultWriteTimeout bounds writing a response.
+	//
+	// Why 60s: every JSON endpoint answers in milliseconds; the one legitimately
+	// large response is the GET /api/log download, and that one renews its own
+	// deadline per chunk while the client keeps reading (see streamWriter in
+	// api.go), so this value is not the download's budget — it is the budget for a
+	// client that has stopped reading altogether.
+	DefaultWriteTimeout = 60 * time.Second
+
+	// DefaultIdleTimeout bounds an idle keep-alive connection between requests.
+	//
+	// Why 90s: the panel's own polling is the fastest legitimate reuse cadence and it
+	// is seconds, not minutes, so 90s never costs a live tab its connection, while a
+	// tab that was closed or suspended gives its fd back within a minute and a half
+	// instead of never.
+	DefaultIdleTimeout = 90 * time.Second
+)
+
 // Options configures a Server. The zero value is valid: every field falls back to
 // the Default* above (or a safe built-in) in NewServer.
 type Options struct {
@@ -56,6 +101,15 @@ type Options struct {
 	CookieSecure bool
 	// Logger is the daemon logger; nil => log.StdLogger().
 	Logger log.ContextLogger
+
+	// Connection deadlines. Zero => the Default* above; they exist as knobs mainly
+	// so tests can dial them down to milliseconds, but an embedder fronting the
+	// panel with a slow link can raise them. See the const block for the reasoning
+	// behind each default.
+	ReadHeaderTimeout time.Duration
+	ReadTimeout       time.Duration
+	WriteTimeout      time.Duration
+	IdleTimeout       time.Duration
 }
 
 func (o Options) withDefaults() Options {
@@ -74,6 +128,18 @@ func (o Options) withDefaults() Options {
 	if o.Logger == nil {
 		o.Logger = log.StdLogger()
 	}
+	if o.ReadHeaderTimeout <= 0 {
+		o.ReadHeaderTimeout = DefaultReadHeaderTimeout
+	}
+	if o.ReadTimeout <= 0 {
+		o.ReadTimeout = DefaultReadTimeout
+	}
+	if o.WriteTimeout <= 0 {
+		o.WriteTimeout = DefaultWriteTimeout
+	}
+	if o.IdleTimeout <= 0 {
+		o.IdleTimeout = DefaultIdleTimeout
+	}
 	return o
 }
 
@@ -119,7 +185,10 @@ func NewServer(a *apply.Applier, opts Options) *Server {
 	s.handler = s.buildRouter()
 	s.srv = &http.Server{
 		Handler:           s.handler,
-		ReadHeaderTimeout: 10 * time.Second,
+		ReadHeaderTimeout: opts.ReadHeaderTimeout,
+		ReadTimeout:       opts.ReadTimeout,
+		WriteTimeout:      opts.WriteTimeout,
+		IdleTimeout:       opts.IdleTimeout,
 	}
 	return s
 }

shater/panel/timeout_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,264 @@
+// Timeout coverage for the panel's own http.Server (server.go) and for the two
+// unbounded streaming paths in handleLog (api.go).
+//
+// These tests drive the REAL listener (Server.Start), not httptest over
+// Server.Handler(): the whole point is the *http.Server field set, which
+// httptest replaces with its own. Every deadline is dialled down through
+// Options so the suite stays sub-second.
+package panel
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"net"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strconv"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/apply"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/engine"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/shater/model"
+)
+
+// startLive brings up a Server on a real loopback port with the given Options
+// overrides applied on top of the test defaults, and returns its address.
+func startLive(t *testing.T, opts Options) (*Server, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	t.Setenv("SHATER_SUBS_DIR", t.TempDir())
+	eng := engine.New()
+	a := apply.New(eng, nil)
+	opts.Addr = "127.0.0.1:0"
+	if opts.SessionTTL == 0 {
+		opts.SessionTTL = time.Hour
+	}
+	if opts.TokenTTL == 0 {
+		opts.TokenTTL = time.Minute
+	}
+	s := NewServer(a, opts)
+
+	ln, err := net.Listen("tcp", opts.Addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("listen: %v", err)
+	}
+	s.lnMu.Lock()
+	s.ln = ln
+	s.lnMu.Unlock()
+	go func() { _ = s.srv.Serve(ln) }()
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = s.Close() })
+	return s, ln.Addr().String()
+}
+
+// TestSlowBodyDoesNotHoldConnectionForever is the unauthenticated slow-loris:
+// POST /api/session announcing a full 4 KiB body and then dribbling. Before the
+// read deadline existed, the goroutine + socket + fd stayed parked until the
+// client felt like finishing — i.e. forever.
+func TestSlowBodyDoesNotHoldConnectionForever(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := sessionBodyTimeout
+	sessionBodyTimeout = 200 * time.Millisecond
+	t.Cleanup(func() { sessionBodyTimeout = orig })
+
+	_, addr := startLive(t, Options{
+		ReadTimeout:  30 * time.Second, // deliberately generous: the route's OWN budget must bite
+		WriteTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
+	})
+
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("dial: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+
+	// Full headers (so ReadHeaderTimeout is satisfied), then one byte of a
+	// promised 4096-byte body and nothing more.
+	req := "POST /api/session HTTP/1.1\r\n" +
+		"Host: panel\r\n" +
+		"Content-Type: application/json\r\n" +
+		"Content-Length: 4096\r\n\r\n{"
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(conn, req); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write request: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// The server must give up on us. Either it closes (EOF/reset) or it answers
+	// 400 and closes; both end the read. What must NOT happen is a hang.
+	_ = conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second))
+	done := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		_, err := io.Copy(io.Discard, conn)
+		done <- err
+	}()
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		if ne, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && ne.Timeout() {
+			t.Fatalf("connection still open 5s into a stalled 4 KiB body — the read deadline is not set")
+		}
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("read never returned — the connection is held open by a stalled body")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSlowBodyOnAuthenticatedRouteIsBounded covers the server-wide ReadTimeout —
+// the backstop for every route that is NOT /api/session (which has its own,
+// tighter budget). PUT /api/config accepts up to 4 MiB, so before ReadTimeout a
+// stalled upload parked a goroutine and an fd indefinitely.
+func TestSlowBodyOnAuthenticatedRouteIsBounded(t *testing.T) {
+	s, addr := startLive(t, Options{
+		ReadTimeout:  300 * time.Millisecond,
+		WriteTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
+	})
+	tok := s.MintToken()
+
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("dial: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+
+	// Log in on this very connection, then start a PUT and stall it.
+	body := `{"token":"` + tok + `"}`
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(conn, "POST /api/session HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: panel\r\n"+
+		"Content-Type: application/json\r\n"+
+		"Content-Length: "+strconv.Itoa(len(body))+"\r\n\r\n"+body); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write session: %v", err)
+	}
+	br := bufio.NewReader(conn)
+	resp, err := http.ReadResponse(br, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("session response: %v", err)
+	}
+	_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	var cookie string
+	for _, c := range resp.Cookies() {
+		if c.Name == DefaultCookieName {
+			cookie = c.Name + "=" + c.Value
+		}
+	}
+	if cookie == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("no session cookie")
+	}
+
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(conn, "PUT /api/config HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: panel\r\n"+
+		"Cookie: "+cookie+"\r\n"+
+		"Content-Type: application/json\r\n"+
+		"Content-Length: 65536\r\n\r\n{"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write PUT: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	_ = conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second))
+	if _, err := io.Copy(io.Discard, br); err != nil {
+		if ne, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && ne.Timeout() {
+			t.Fatalf("authenticated stalled body held the connection past ReadTimeout")
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSlowHeaderStillBounded pins the pre-existing ReadHeaderTimeout so a later
+// refactor of the field set cannot drop it while adding the others.
+func TestSlowHeaderStillBounded(t *testing.T) {
+	_, addr := startLive(t, Options{
+		ReadHeaderTimeout: 200 * time.Millisecond,
+		ReadTimeout:       5 * time.Second,
+		WriteTimeout:      2 * time.Second,
+	})
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("dial: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(conn, "GET /api/status HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: panel\r\n"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write: %v", err)
+	}
+	_ = conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(3 * time.Second))
+	if _, err := io.Copy(io.Discard, conn); err != nil {
+		if ne, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && ne.Timeout() {
+			t.Fatalf("header read was never bounded")
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestIdleKeepAliveIsBounded: a client that completes a request and then holds
+// the keep-alive connection open without ever sending another one must be
+// dropped. Without IdleTimeout the fd is that client's for as long as it wants.
+func TestIdleKeepAliveIsBounded(t *testing.T) {
+	_, addr := startLive(t, Options{
+		ReadTimeout:  2 * time.Second,
+		WriteTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
+		IdleTimeout:  300 * time.Millisecond,
+	})
+	conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", addr)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("dial: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer conn.Close()
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(conn, "GET /api/status HTTP/1.1\r\nHost: panel\r\n\r\n"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write: %v", err)
+	}
+	br := bufio.NewReader(conn)
+	resp, err := http.ReadResponse(br, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("read response: %v", err)
+	}
+	_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+	resp.Body.Close()
+
+	// Now go quiet. The server must close the idle connection.
+	_ = conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second))
+	if _, err := br.ReadByte(); err != nil {
+		if ne, ok := err.(net.Error); ok && ne.Timeout() {
+			t.Fatalf("idle keep-alive connection still open after 5s — IdleTimeout is not set")
+		}
+		return // EOF: the server closed it, which is the point
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("unexpected bytes on an idle connection")
+}
+
+// TestLogSyslogScrapeIsCancelledWithTheRequest: with file logging off, GET
+// /api/log shells `logread`. The exec had no context, so a client that walked
+// away left the child process, its pipe and the handler goroutine running.
+func TestLogSyslogScrapeIsCancelledWithTheRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	g := model.DefaultGlobals()
+	g.LogToFile = false // syslog stays on -> the scrape path
+	withLogSeams(t, g, "")
+
+	entered := make(chan struct{})
+	released := make(chan struct{})
+	origScrape := logSyslogScrape
+	logSyslogScrape = func(ctx context.Context, w io.Writer) error {
+		close(entered)
+		<-ctx.Done() // in production this is what kills the `logread` child
+		close(released)
+		return ctx.Err()
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { logSyslogScrape = origScrape })
+
+	s := newTestServer(t)
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(s.Handler())
+	defer srv.Close()
+	cookie := login(t, srv, s)
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	req, _ := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, srv.URL+"/api/log?range=all", nil)
+	req.AddCookie(cookie)
+	go func() {
+		r, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+		if err == nil {
+			_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, r.Body)
+			r.Body.Close()
+		}
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case <-entered:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("scrape never started")
+	}
+	cancel()
+	select {
+	case <-released:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("the syslog scrape outlived the request it was serving — no context is threaded into it")
+	}
+}

shater/stats/bounds_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,314 @@
+package stats
+
+// Coverage for the retention bounds that were missing (the per-resolver and
+// per-outbound DNS maps), for the visibility of every eviction, and for the size of
+// Snapshot's critical section.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"net/netip"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/common/dnstrack"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+)
+
+// warnLog records Warn lines so a test can assert an eviction was announced.
+type warnLog struct {
+	log.ContextLogger
+	mu    sync.Mutex
+	warns []string
+}
+
+func newWarnLog() *warnLog { return &warnLog{ContextLogger: log.StdLogger()} }
+
+func (l *warnLog) Warn(args ...any) {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	l.warns = append(l.warns, fmt.Sprint(args...))
+	l.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+func (l *warnLog) lines() []string {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	defer l.mu.Unlock()
+	return append([]string(nil), l.warns...)
+}
+
+// dnsEvent builds a LAN-sourced query event carrying a resolver tag and an outbound.
+func dnsEvent(domain, server, outbound string) dnstrack.QueryEvent {
+	return dnstrack.QueryEvent{
+		Domain:    domain,
+		QueryType: 1,
+		Client:    netip.MustParseAddr("192.168.1.10"),
+		DNSServer: server,
+		Outbound:  []string{outbound},
+	}
+}
+
+// TestOutboundMapHoldsAGenerationThenBoundsItself is the arithmetic behind
+// maxOutboundKeys made executable. A live generation on this box is ~1000 outbound
+// tags (≈380 nodes plus their per-group and per-chain copies); the map must carry
+// that plus a rename-day overlap untouched, and must NOT carry an unbounded number
+// of dead generations.
+func TestOutboundMapHoldsAGenerationThenBoundsItself(t *testing.T) {
+	lg := newWarnLog()
+	a := New(nil, lg)
+
+	// Two whole generations: nothing may be evicted.
+	for gen := 0; gen < 2; gen++ {
+		for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
+			a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", "dns-local",
+				fmt.Sprintf("gen%d-node-%d", gen, i)))
+		}
+	}
+	if got := a.Snapshot().Dropped.Outbounds; got != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("two live generations (2000 tags) already evicted %d entries — the cap is too low", got)
+	}
+	if len(lg.lines()) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected eviction notices while under the cap: %v", lg.lines())
+	}
+
+	// Now blow past it.
+	for i := 0; i < maxOutboundKeys; i++ {
+		a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", "dns-local", fmt.Sprintf("gen9-node-%d", i)))
+	}
+
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	size := len(a.outbounds)
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if size > maxOutboundKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("outbound map holds %d entries, above the %d cap — still unbounded", size, maxOutboundKeys)
+	}
+	snap := a.Snapshot()
+	if snap.Dropped.Outbounds == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("map was capped but Snapshot reports nothing dropped — the eviction is invisible")
+	}
+	lines := lg.lines()
+	if len(lines) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("entries were evicted with no log line")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lines[0], "outbounds") || !strings.Contains(lines[0], "sample, not a total") {
+		t.Fatalf("eviction notice does not name the map or its consequence: %q", lines[0])
+	}
+}
+
+// TestServerMapIsBounded: the resolver-tag map is small in practice, but "small in
+// practice" was also true of every other map that turned out to grow forever.
+func TestServerMapIsBounded(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(nil, nil)
+	for i := 0; i < maxServerKeys*3; i++ {
+		a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", fmt.Sprintf("resolver-%d", i), ""))
+	}
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	size := len(a.servers)
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if size > maxServerKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("server map holds %d entries, above the %d cap", size, maxServerKeys)
+	}
+	if a.Snapshot().Dropped.Servers == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("server map was capped but nothing was reported dropped")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPruneKeepsTheBusiestEntries: eviction is by count, so the tags that actually
+// carry traffic survive and the long tail goes. A cap that dropped the wrong ones
+// would quietly falsify the panel's "top outbounds".
+func TestPruneKeepsTheBusiestEntries(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(nil, nil)
+	// One heavily-used tag...
+	for i := 0; i < 50; i++ {
+		a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", "dns-local", "busy-node"))
+	}
+	// ...and a long tail of one-hit wonders that overflows the cap.
+	for i := 0; i < maxOutboundKeys*2; i++ {
+		a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", "dns-local", fmt.Sprintf("tail-%d", i)))
+	}
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	_, kept := a.outbounds["busy-node"]
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if !kept {
+		t.Fatalf("the busiest outbound was evicted while single-hit entries survived")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRetentionDisabledStillMeansUnlimited: the new caps must obey the existing
+// master switch, or a deployment that deliberately asked for unlimited retention
+// would silently get a bounded map instead.
+func TestRetentionDisabledStillMeansUnlimited(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(nil, nil, Config{RingSize: -1, TimelineMinutes: -1, MaxDomains: -1, RetentionDisabled: true})
+	for i := 0; i < maxOutboundKeys+50; i++ {
+		a.handleEvent(dnsEvent("a.example", fmt.Sprintf("resolver-%d", i), fmt.Sprintf("node-%d", i)))
+	}
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	outs, servers := len(a.outbounds), len(a.servers)
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+	if outs <= maxOutboundKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("RetentionDisabled still pruned the outbound map (%d entries)", outs)
+	}
+	if servers <= maxServerKeys {
+		t.Fatalf("RetentionDisabled still pruned the server map (%d entries)", servers)
+	}
+	if d := a.Snapshot().Dropped; d != (DropStats{}) {
+		t.Fatalf("RetentionDisabled reported drops: %+v", d)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestTopKMatchesAFullSort pins the refactor that shrank Snapshot's critical
+// section: the top-K selections must produce exactly what the old
+// materialise-everything-and-sort produced, order included. A projection that is
+// merely "close" would reorder the panel's charts at random.
+func TestTopKMatchesAFullSort(t *testing.T) {
+	rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(20260726))
+	for trial := 0; trial < 200; trial++ {
+		n := rng.Intn(60)
+		m := make(map[string]uint64, n)
+		for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+			m[fmt.Sprintf("name-%d", rng.Intn(80))] = uint64(rng.Intn(5))
+		}
+		for _, k := range []int{1, 3, 25, 1000} {
+			got := mapToServerStats(m, k)
+
+			want := make([]ServerStat, 0, len(m))
+			for name, c := range m {
+				want = append(want, ServerStat{Name: name, Count: c})
+			}
+			sort.Slice(want, func(i, j int) bool {
+				if want[i].Count != want[j].Count {
+					return want[i].Count > want[j].Count
+				}
+				return want[i].Name < want[j].Name
+			})
+			if k > 0 && len(want) > k {
+				want = want[:k]
+			}
+			if len(got) != len(want) {
+				t.Fatalf("trial %d k=%d: got %d rows, want %d", trial, k, len(got), len(want))
+			}
+			for i := range got {
+				if got[i] != want[i] {
+					t.Fatalf("trial %d k=%d row %d: got %+v, want %+v", trial, k, i, got[i], want[i])
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSnapshotResolvesNamesOutsideTheLock is item 4. Snapshot used to resolve every
+// device's DHCP hostname while holding the aggregator mutex, and that resolution can
+// read /tmp/dhcp.leases. While the mutex is held, handleEvent and handleConnEvent are
+// parked — and the 64-slot buffers feeding them drop on overflow with no counter and
+// no log, so the cost of a slow read is silently missing query-log rows.
+func TestSnapshotResolvesNamesOutsideTheLock(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(nil, nil)
+
+	// One real device row, so Snapshot has a name to resolve.
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	a.deviceDomains["192.168.1.50"] = map[string]uint64{"example.com": 3}
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+
+	var once sync.Once
+	entered := make(chan struct{})
+	release := make(chan struct{})
+	orig := parseLeases
+	parseLeases = func(path string) map[string]string {
+		once.Do(func() { close(entered) })
+		<-release
+		return map[string]string{}
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { parseLeases = orig })
+
+	snapDone := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		a.Snapshot()
+		close(snapDone)
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case <-entered:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		close(release)
+		t.Fatalf("Snapshot never resolved a device name")
+	}
+
+	// Snapshot is now parked inside the lease read. The DNS hot path must be free.
+	// (A non-LAN client label needs no lease lookup of its own, so this measures the
+	// aggregator mutex and nothing else.)
+	folded := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		a.handleEvent(dnstrack.QueryEvent{
+			Domain: "hot.example", QueryType: 1,
+			Client: netip.MustParseAddr("198.51.100.7"),
+		})
+		close(folded)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-folded:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		close(release)
+		t.Fatalf("handleEvent blocked behind Snapshot's lease-file read — the read is still under a.mu")
+	}
+
+	close(release)
+	<-snapDone
+}
+
+// TestSnapshotDeviceDomainsStillNamedAndOrdered guards the output of the same
+// refactor: moving the work out of the lock must not change a single field.
+func TestSnapshotDeviceDomainsStillNamedAndOrdered(t *testing.T) {
+	orig := parseLeases
+	parseLeases = func(path string) map[string]string {
+		return map[string]string{"192.168.1.50": "laptop"}
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { parseLeases = orig })
+
+	a := New(nil, nil)
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	a.deviceDomains["192.168.1.50"] = map[string]uint64{"a.example": 1}
+	a.deviceDomains["192.168.1.60"] = map[string]uint64{"b.example": 9}
+	a.deviceDomains[routerDevice] = map[string]uint64{"c.example": 5}
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+
+	rows := a.Snapshot().DeviceDomains
+	if len(rows) != 3 {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d device rows, want 3", len(rows))
+	}
+	// Busiest first: .60 (9), router (5), .50 (1).
+	if rows[0].IP != "192.168.1.60" || rows[1].Name != routerDevice || rows[2].IP != "192.168.1.50" {
+		t.Fatalf("rows are not ordered by hit count: %+v", rows)
+	}
+	if rows[2].Name != "laptop" {
+		t.Fatalf("DHCP hostname was not resolved: %+v", rows[2])
+	}
+	if rows[1].IP != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the router pseudo-row must carry no IP: %+v", rows[1])
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDeviceDomainDropsAreReported: the per-device caps existed already but evicted
+// in silence. They are now counted, so an operator can tell "these are the top
+// domains" from "these are the top domains we still had room for".
+func TestDeviceDomainDropsAreReported(t *testing.T) {
+	a := New(nil, nil)
+	a.mu.Lock()
+	for i := 0; i < maxDomainsPerDevice+50; i++ {
+		a.foldDeviceDomainLocked("192.168.1.50", fmt.Sprintf("d%d.example", i))
+	}
+	// Overflow the client cap too.
+	for i := 0; i < maxDeviceClients+10; i++ {
+		a.foldDeviceDomainLocked(fmt.Sprintf("10.0.0.%d", i%256)+fmt.Sprintf("-%d", i), "x.example")
+	}
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+
+	d := a.Snapshot().Dropped
+	if d.DeviceDomains == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a device blew past the %d-domain cap and nothing was reported", maxDomainsPerDevice)
+	}
+	if d.DeviceClients == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("clients were refused at the %d-client cap and nothing was reported", maxDeviceClients)
+	}
+}

shater/stats/device.go

@@ -21,12 +21,30 @@ var leasesPath = "/tmp/dhcp.leases"
 
 // leaseCache resolves a client IP to its DHCP hostname, caching the parsed lease
 // table and refreshing it at most once per ttl. Concurrency-safe.
+//
+// # Why the TTL refresh is asynchronous
+//
+// name() is called from paths that hold the AGGREGATOR mutex — handleEvent's
+// deviceLabel (the DNS hot path), leaseName, and Snapshot's per-device projection.
+// The cache has its own lock, so there is no deadlock, but a refresh is an
+// os.ReadFile of /tmp/dhcp.leases, and doing that inline meant a blocking disk
+// syscall ran while a.mu was held: every DNS event and every connection event in
+// the daemon parked behind it, and the bounded 64-slot event buffers they feed
+// from drop on overflow WITHOUT a counter. A file read on tmpfs is fast — until
+// the one time it isn't, and then the cost is silently missing query-log rows.
+//
+// So only the COLD load is synchronous (once per process, and in production it
+// happens on the poll loop's first tick, off any lock). Every later refresh runs
+// in its own goroutine while the caller is served from the previous table, which
+// is at most ttl stale — a DHCP hostname that is 30 seconds out of date is not a
+// defect, a stalled DNS pipeline is.
 type leaseCache struct {
 	ttl time.Duration
 
 	mu      sync.Mutex
 	byIP    map[string]string
 	fetched time.Time
+	loading bool // a refresh goroutine is in flight
 }
 
 func newLeaseCache() *leaseCache {
@@ -35,15 +53,20 @@ func newLeaseCache() *leaseCache {
 
 // name returns a friendly device name for ip: the DHCP hostname when known, else
 // the bare IP (never empty). Best-effort — a missing/uparseable lease file just
-// yields the IP.
+// yields the IP. Never blocks on disk except on the very first call.
 func (c *leaseCache) name(ip string) string {
 	if ip == "" {
 		return ip
 	}
 	c.mu.Lock()
-	if c.byIP == nil || time.Since(c.fetched) > c.ttl {
+	switch {
+	case c.byIP == nil:
+		// Cold: nothing to serve, so this one read is unavoidable.
 		c.byIP = parseLeases(leasesPath)
 		c.fetched = time.Now()
+	case time.Since(c.fetched) > c.ttl && !c.loading:
+		c.loading = true
+		go c.refresh()
 	}
 	host := c.byIP[ip]
 	c.mu.Unlock()
@@ -53,6 +76,17 @@ func (c *leaseCache) name(ip string) string {
 	return ip
 }
 
+// refresh re-reads the lease table off any caller's lock and publishes it.
+func (c *leaseCache) refresh() {
+	table := parseLeases(leasesPath)
+	now := time.Now()
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	c.byIP = table
+	c.fetched = now
+	c.loading = false
+	c.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
 // lanNetCache decides whether a connection SOURCE IP is a LAN client. It caches the
 // LAN-side subnets parsed from /etc/config/network (via shater/devices.LANNets, which
 // reuses the same UCI network parser the device-discovery page uses) and refreshes them
@@ -118,7 +152,10 @@ func (c *lanNetCache) isLAN(addr netip.Addr) bool {
 
 // parseLeases reads the dnsmasq lease table into an ip->hostname map. Any read or
 // parse failure yields an empty map (callers fall back to the raw IP).
-func parseLeases(path string) map[string]string {
+//
+// A package var so a test can make the read block and prove that no caller performs
+// it while holding the aggregator mutex; production never reassigns it.
+var parseLeases = func(path string) map[string]string {
 	out := map[string]string{}
 	data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
 	if err != nil {

shater/stats/helpers.go

@@ -75,67 +75,137 @@ func classifyCounter(name string) (display, kind string) {
 }
 
 // --- projection / sorting helpers ------------------------------------------
+//
+// Every projection below runs while the aggregator mutex is held, and while it is
+// held the DNS and connection folding paths are parked. Their event buffers are 64
+// slots deep and drop on overflow without a counter, so time spent here is paid in
+// missing query-log rows and undercounted stats — invisibly.
+//
+// That is why these are top-K SELECTIONS, not "materialise everything, sort it,
+// slice off 25". The domain and host maps hold up to 5000 entries and the answer is
+// 25 of them; the old shape allocated a 5000-element slice and ran a 5000-element
+// sort (~61k comparisons) under the lock to throw 99.5% of it away. topKInsert keeps
+// only the K survivors and rejects a candidate that cannot beat the weakest of them
+// in a single comparison, which is what almost every candidate does — so the work
+// drops to about one comparison per map entry and the allocation to K elements.
+//
+// The ORDER is unchanged: same comparator, same "highest count first, name as
+// tiebreak", so the output is byte-identical to what the sort produced.
+
+// topKInsert inserts item into buf, a descending-ordered buffer holding at most k
+// items under the strict weak ordering `before`. It returns the updated buffer.
+// k <= 0 means unbounded, which degrades to insertion sort — callers with large
+// inputs must pass a positive k.
+func topKInsert[T any](buf []T, k int, item T, before func(a, b T) bool) []T {
+	if k > 0 && len(buf) >= k && !before(item, buf[len(buf)-1]) {
+		return buf // cannot displace even the weakest survivor: one comparison, done
+	}
+	i := sort.Search(len(buf), func(j int) bool { return before(item, buf[j]) })
+	if k > 0 && len(buf) >= k {
+		copy(buf[i+1:], buf[i:len(buf)-1]) // drop the weakest, shift right
+		buf[i] = item
+		return buf
+	}
+	buf = append(buf, item)
+	copy(buf[i+1:], buf[i:len(buf)-1])
+	buf[i] = item
+	return buf
+}
+
+// topKBuf allocates a buffer sized for a top-k selection over n candidates.
+func topKBuf[T any](k, n int) []T {
+	if k > 0 && k < n {
+		n = k
+	}
+	return make([]T, 0, n)
+}
 
 // topDomainsLocked returns the n highest-count domains, most-popular first, with a
 // stable tiebreak on the domain name. Caller holds the aggregator mutex.
 func topDomainsLocked(m map[string]*domainAgg, n int) []DomainStat {
-	all := make([]DomainStat, 0, len(m))
-	for dom, ag := range m {
-		all = append(all, DomainStat{Domain: dom, Count: ag.count, Blocked: ag.blocked})
-	}
-	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool {
-		if all[i].Count != all[j].Count {
-			return all[i].Count > all[j].Count
+	before := func(a, b DomainStat) bool {
+		if a.Count != b.Count {
+			return a.Count > b.Count
 		}
-		return all[i].Domain < all[j].Domain
-	})
-	if n > 0 && len(all) > n {
-		all = all[:n]
+		return a.Domain < b.Domain
 	}
-	return all
+	out := topKBuf[DomainStat](n, len(m))
+	for dom, ag := range m {
+		out = topKInsert(out, n, DomainStat{Domain: dom, Count: ag.count, Blocked: ag.blocked}, before)
+	}
+	return out
 }
 
 // topHostsLocked returns the n highest-count destination hosts, most-popular first,
 // with a stable tiebreak on the host key. Caller holds the aggregator mutex.
 func topHostsLocked(m map[string]*hostAgg, n int) []HostStat {
-	all := make([]HostStat, 0, len(m))
+	before := func(a, b HostStat) bool {
+		if a.Count != b.Count {
+			return a.Count > b.Count
+		}
+		return a.Host < b.Host
+	}
+	out := topKBuf[HostStat](n, len(m))
 	for _, h := range m {
-		all = append(all, HostStat{
+		out = topKInsert(out, n, HostStat{
 			Host:    h.host,
 			IP:      h.ip,
 			Network: h.network,
 			Proto:   h.proto,
 			Count:   h.count,
 			Bytes:   h.bytes,
-		})
+		}, before)
 	}
-	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool {
-		if all[i].Count != all[j].Count {
-			return all[i].Count > all[j].Count
-		}
-		return all[i].Host < all[j].Host
-	})
-	if n > 0 && len(all) > n {
-		all = all[:n]
-	}
-	return all
+	return out
 }
 
-// mapToServerStats projects a name->count map into a count-sorted slice.
-func mapToServerStats(m map[string]uint64) []ServerStat {
-	out := make([]ServerStat, 0, len(m))
-	for name, c := range m {
-		out = append(out, ServerStat{Name: name, Count: c})
-	}
-	sort.Slice(out, func(i, j int) bool {
-		if out[i].Count != out[j].Count {
-			return out[i].Count > out[j].Count
+// mapToServerStats projects a name->count map into a count-sorted slice, keeping the
+// n highest counts (n <= 0 keeps everything).
+//
+// The limit is not cosmetic. a.outbounds is keyed by OUTBOUND TAG — a node name from
+// the subscription — so it is one of the two maps whose key space a provider chooses,
+// and this projection handed the whole thing to the panel on every /api/stats poll.
+// The panel already renders only the top 10 (Insights.tsx), so nothing on screen
+// changes; what changes is that a 2000-entry map stops being marshalled into JSON
+// several times a minute.
+func mapToServerStats(m map[string]uint64, n int) []ServerStat {
+	before := func(a, b ServerStat) bool {
+		if a.Count != b.Count {
+			return a.Count > b.Count
 		}
-		return out[i].Name < out[j].Name
-	})
+		return a.Name < b.Name
+	}
+	out := topKBuf[ServerStat](n, len(m))
+	for name, c := range m {
+		out = topKInsert(out, n, ServerStat{Name: name, Count: c}, before)
+	}
 	return out
 }
 
+// pruneCountMapLocked drops the lowest-count entries of a name->count map until keep
+// remain, and reports how many it dropped. Same amortised strategy as
+// pruneDomainsLocked: run only on overflow, so the sort is paid once per (max-keep)
+// inserts. Caller holds the aggregator mutex.
+func pruneCountMapLocked(m map[string]uint64, keep int) int {
+	if len(m) <= keep {
+		return 0
+	}
+	type kv struct {
+		name  string
+		count uint64
+	}
+	all := make([]kv, 0, len(m))
+	for name, c := range m {
+		all = append(all, kv{name, c})
+	}
+	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool { return all[i].count < all[j].count })
+	drop := len(all) - keep
+	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
+		delete(m, all[i].name)
+	}
+	return drop
+}
+
 func sortDevicesByBytes(d []DeviceStat) {
 	sort.Slice(d, func(i, j int) bool {
 		if d[i].Bytes != d[j].Bytes {

shater/stats/stats.go

@@ -79,6 +79,40 @@ const (
 	maxDomainsPerDevice  = 400 // per-client domain-map cap before it is pruned
 	keepDomainsPerDevice = 200 // per-client prune target (kept by count)
 	topDomainsPerDevice  = 15  // domains Snapshot returns per device (highest count first)
+
+	// Caps for the two per-tag DNS maps. These were the last aggregates with no
+	// bound of any kind: every distinct DNSServer and every distinct outbound tag
+	// ever seen stayed in the map for the life of the process.
+	//
+	// a.servers is keyed by RESOLVER tag, which comes from the config — a handful
+	// on any real box. maxServerKeys is therefore a backstop against churn (a tag
+	// renamed on each of a few thousand applies), not against volume; 256 is ~25x
+	// the largest resolver set this generator emits, and at ~80 B/entry the full
+	// table is 20 KB.
+	maxServerKeys  = 256
+	keepServerKeys = 128
+
+	// a.outbounds is keyed by OUTBOUND tag — on this box a node NAME chosen by the
+	// subscription provider, plus the derived per-group and per-chain copies. With
+	// ~380 nodes a live generation is on the order of 1000 distinct tags, and the
+	// provider renames nodes on the daily refresh, so this map grew by a whole
+	// generation per day forever. 2048 is two live generations, enough that a
+	// rename-day overlap never evicts a tag still in use; at ~120 B/entry (tag
+	// strings run 30-50 B) the full table is under 250 KB of a 512 MB box.
+	maxOutboundKeys  = 2048
+	keepOutboundKeys = 1024
+
+	// topServersN is how many rows Snapshot returns for Servers / Outbounds. Mirrors
+	// topDomainsN; the panel renders the top 10 of either (Insights.tsx), so 25 is
+	// already generous.
+	topServersN = 25
+
+	// dropLogInterval throttles the "aggregate pruned" notices. Every prune is
+	// counted in Snapshot.Dropped and so is always visible in the API; the log line
+	// exists for an operator who is watching logread, and once per aggregate per
+	// five minutes is enough to make a standing condition obvious without becoming
+	// the flood the log sink then has to collapse.
+	dropLogInterval = 5 * time.Minute
 )
 
 // Config holds the memory-retention tuning knobs, sourced from model.Globals (Task B,
@@ -277,6 +311,35 @@ type ServerStat struct {
 	Count uint64 `json:"count"`
 }
 
+// DropStats reports what the retention caps have EVICTED since the daemon started —
+// one running total per bounded aggregate.
+//
+// It exists because eviction that nobody can see is indistinguishable from data that
+// never existed. Every one of these maps is bounded on purpose, and a bound that is
+// working is fine; a bound that is CONSTANTLY working means the box is seeing more
+// distinct domains / hosts / clients / outbound tags than the cap was sized for, and
+// the numbers in TopDomains, TopHosts and DeviceDomains are then a sample rather than
+// a total. That is a materially different claim, and the operator is entitled to
+// know which one they are reading.
+//
+// A zero DropStats — the normal state — says every aggregate above is complete.
+type DropStats struct {
+	// Domains / Hosts count entries dropped from the network-wide domain and
+	// destination-host maps by the maxDomains cap (lowest-count entries go first).
+	Domains uint64 `json:"domains"`
+	Hosts   uint64 `json:"hosts"`
+	// DeviceDomains counts per-device domain entries dropped by maxDomainsPerDevice,
+	// summed over all devices. DeviceClients counts whole CLIENTS never tracked at
+	// all because maxDeviceClients was already reached (a spoofed-source flood, or a
+	// genuinely huge LAN).
+	DeviceDomains uint64 `json:"device_domains"`
+	DeviceClients uint64 `json:"device_clients"`
+	// Servers / Outbounds count entries dropped from the per-resolver and
+	// per-outbound-tag DNS maps (maxServerKeys / maxOutboundKeys).
+	Servers   uint64 `json:"servers"`
+	Outbounds uint64 `json:"outbounds"`
+}
+
 // NodeHealthStat is one node's REAL health as measured by the engine's internal
 // urltest probing (feedback #3 — replaces the panel's fake "enabled-count/total").
 // A node's tag equals its node name (the generator emits every leaf node with
@@ -390,6 +453,11 @@ type Snapshot struct {
 	// Recent is a small tail of the query log embedded for convenience; the full
 	// log is served by GET /api/stats/log (RecentQueries).
 	Recent []LogEntry `json:"recent"`
+	// Dropped reports what the retention caps have evicted since start — see
+	// DropStats. All zeros (the normal state) means every aggregate above is a
+	// complete total rather than a sample. Additive field: a client that ignores it
+	// sees exactly the pre-existing contract.
+	Dropped DropStats `json:"dropped"`
 }
 
 // Normalized returns a copy of the snapshot in which EVERY slice field is non-nil,
@@ -521,6 +589,13 @@ type Aggregator struct {
 	keepDomains         int
 	retentionDisabled   bool
 
+	// dropped counts what the caps above have evicted, surfaced as Snapshot.Dropped.
+	// Guarded by mu like every aggregate it describes. dropLogged remembers when each
+	// kind last produced a log line so a standing overflow is reported at
+	// dropLogInterval instead of on every prune.
+	dropped    DropStats
+	dropLogged map[string]time.Time
+
 	// which manager each consume loop is currently attached to (pointer identity is how
 	// Resubscribe detects a box-swap that replaced the manager).
 	curManager     *dnstrack.Manager
@@ -603,6 +678,7 @@ func newAggregatorShared(eng *engine.Engine, logger log.ContextLogger, cfg ...Co
 		outbounds:           make(map[string]uint64),
 		deviceDomains:       make(map[string]map[string]uint64),
 		hosts:               make(map[string]*hostAgg),
+		dropLogged:          make(map[string]time.Time),
 		timelineMinutes:     tlMin,
 		timelineUnlimited:   tlUnlimited,
 		maxDomains:          maxDom,
@@ -859,13 +935,26 @@ func (a *Aggregator) handleEvent(ev dnstrack.QueryEvent) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	// Per-server / per-outbound.
+	// Per-server / per-outbound. Both maps are keyed by tags that come from OUTSIDE
+	// this process (config resolver tags; subscription-chosen node names for the
+	// outbounds), so both are bounded the same insert-then-prune way as the domain
+	// map — and, like it, skipped when retention is deliberately disabled.
 	if ev.DNSServer != "" {
 		a.servers[ev.DNSServer]++
+		if !a.retentionDisabled && len(a.servers) > maxServerKeys {
+			n := pruneCountMapLocked(a.servers, keepServerKeys)
+			a.dropped.Servers += uint64(n)
+			a.noteDropLocked("servers", n, a.dropped.Servers, maxServerKeys)
+		}
 	}
 	for _, ob := range ev.Outbound {
 		if ob != "" {
 			a.outbounds[ob]++
+			if !a.retentionDisabled && len(a.outbounds) > maxOutboundKeys {
+				n := pruneCountMapLocked(a.outbounds, keepOutboundKeys)
+				a.dropped.Outbounds += uint64(n)
+				a.noteDropLocked("outbounds", n, a.dropped.Outbounds, maxOutboundKeys)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -945,6 +1034,32 @@ func (a *Aggregator) pruneDomainsLocked() {
 	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
 		delete(a.domains, all[i].domain)
 	}
+	a.dropped.Domains += uint64(drop)
+	a.noteDropLocked("domains", drop, a.dropped.Domains, a.maxDomains)
+}
+
+// noteDropLocked records an eviction in the log, throttled per kind.
+//
+// Eviction is never silent here — the running totals go out on every /api/stats in
+// Snapshot.Dropped — but the API is a pull, and an operator staring at logread while
+// the numbers look wrong is exactly the person who needs to be told that TopDomains
+// is a sample and not a total. Throttling to dropLogInterval per kind keeps a
+// standing overflow visible without turning it into the flood logsink then has to
+// collapse. Caller holds mu.
+func (a *Aggregator) noteDropLocked(kind string, n int, total uint64, limit int) {
+	if n <= 0 || a.log == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	now := time.Now()
+	if last, ok := a.dropLogged[kind]; ok && now.Sub(last) < dropLogInterval {
+		return
+	}
+	a.dropLogged[kind] = now
+	// Deliberately "dropped", not "evicted": most kinds here evict the lowest-count
+	// entries already held, but device-clients drops the NEW arrival instead. One
+	// word that is true of both beats a precise one that is false half the time.
+	a.log.Warn("stats: ", kind, " at its ", limit, "-entry cap — dropped ", n,
+		" (", total, " total since start); this aggregate is a sample, not a total")
 }
 
 // --- connection consume loop (per-device domains) ---------------------------
@@ -1206,6 +1321,8 @@ func (a *Aggregator) pruneHostsLocked() {
 	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
 		delete(a.hosts, all[i].key)
 	}
+	a.dropped.Hosts += uint64(drop)
+	a.noteDropLocked("hosts", drop, a.dropped.Hosts, a.maxDomains)
 }
 
 // leaseName resolves a source IP to its DHCP hostname, returning "" (not the bare IP)
@@ -1255,6 +1372,8 @@ func (a *Aggregator) foldDeviceDomainLocked(ip, domain string) {
 		// the outer map unbounded). When full, existing clients keep updating but new
 		// ones are dropped. Skipped entirely when retention is disabled.
 		if !a.retentionDisabled && len(a.deviceDomains) >= maxDeviceClients {
+			a.dropped.DeviceClients++
+			a.noteDropLocked("device-clients", 1, a.dropped.DeviceClients, maxDeviceClients)
 			return
 		}
 		dm = make(map[string]uint64)
@@ -1262,27 +1381,19 @@ func (a *Aggregator) foldDeviceDomainLocked(ip, domain string) {
 	}
 	dm[domain]++
 	if !a.retentionDisabled && len(dm) > maxDomainsPerDevice {
-		pruneDeviceDomainsLocked(dm, keepDomainsPerDevice)
+		n := pruneDeviceDomainsLocked(dm, keepDomainsPerDevice)
+		a.dropped.DeviceDomains += uint64(n)
+		a.noteDropLocked("device-domains", n, a.dropped.DeviceDomains, maxDomainsPerDevice)
 	}
 }
 
 // pruneDeviceDomainsLocked trims one device's domain map back to keep entries, dropping
 // the lowest-count domains (same amortised strategy as pruneDomainsLocked). Caller
 // holds mu.
-func pruneDeviceDomainsLocked(dm map[string]uint64, keep int) {
-	type kv struct {
-		domain string
-		count  uint64
-	}
-	all := make([]kv, 0, len(dm))
-	for dom, c := range dm {
-		all = append(all, kv{dom, c})
-	}
-	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool { return all[i].count < all[j].count })
-	drop := len(all) - keep
-	for i := 0; i < drop; i++ {
-		delete(dm, all[i].domain)
-	}
+// It returns how many entries it dropped, so the caller can account for them in
+// Snapshot.Dropped.
+func pruneDeviceDomainsLocked(dm map[string]uint64, keep int) int {
+	return pruneCountMapLocked(dm, keep)
 }
 
 // --- nft poll loop ----------------------------------------------------------
@@ -1403,8 +1514,6 @@ func (a *Aggregator) Snapshot() Snapshot {
 	nodeHealth := a.collectNodeHealth()
 
 	a.mu.Lock()
-	defer a.mu.Unlock()
-
 	snap := Snapshot{
 		Backend:       a.backend,
 		EngineUp:      a.eng != nil && a.eng.Running(),
@@ -1415,13 +1524,23 @@ func (a *Aggregator) Snapshot() Snapshot {
 		DeviceDomains: a.deviceDomainsLocked(),
 		TopHosts:      topHostsLocked(a.hosts, topHostsN),
 		RuleTraffic:   append([]RuleStat(nil), a.ruleTraffic...),
-		Servers:       mapToServerStats(a.servers),
-		Outbounds:     mapToServerStats(a.outbounds),
+		Servers:       mapToServerStats(a.servers, topServersN),
+		Outbounds:     mapToServerStats(a.outbounds, topServersN),
 		NodeHealth:    nodeHealth,
 		Recent:        a.recentLocked(20),
+		Dropped:       a.dropped,
 	}
-	if !a.lastPoll.IsZero() {
-		snap.UpdatedAt = a.lastPoll.Format(time.RFC3339)
+	lastPoll := a.lastPoll
+	a.mu.Unlock()
+
+	// Naming and ordering happen OUTSIDE the lock. snap.DeviceDomains is already a
+	// private copy at this point, and a.leases.name may miss its cache — a disk read
+	// under a.mu parks the DNS and connection folding paths, whose 64-slot event
+	// buffers then drop silently. See finishDeviceDomains.
+	a.finishDeviceDomains(snap.DeviceDomains)
+
+	if !lastPoll.IsZero() {
+		snap.UpdatedAt = lastPoll.Format(time.RFC3339)
 	} else {
 		snap.UpdatedAt = time.Now().Format(time.RFC3339)
 	}
@@ -1432,10 +1551,14 @@ func (a *Aggregator) Snapshot() Snapshot {
 }
 
 // deviceDomainsLocked projects the per-device domain map into the serializable
-// []DeviceDomainStat, resolving each source IP to a DHCP hostname and returning each
-// device's top domains (highest count first). Devices are ordered by total hit count
-// (busiest first), tie-broken by IP for stability. Caller holds mu. (leaseCache has its
-// own lock, so name() here does not deadlock against a.mu.)
+// []DeviceDomainStat: one row per tracked source IP carrying that device's top
+// domains. Caller holds mu.
+//
+// It does the map walk and NOTHING else. Resolving DHCP hostnames and ordering the
+// rows are deliberately left to finishDeviceDomains, which runs unlocked: the row
+// slice is a private copy the moment this returns, so neither step needs the
+// aggregator mutex, and both used to be paid with the DNS hot path stopped behind
+// them — the name lookup potentially including an os.ReadFile of /tmp/dhcp.leases.
 func (a *Aggregator) deviceDomainsLocked() []DeviceDomainStat {
 	out := make([]DeviceDomainStat, 0, len(a.deviceDomains))
 	for ip, dm := range a.deviceDomains {
@@ -1447,38 +1570,52 @@ func (a *Aggregator) deviceDomainsLocked() []DeviceDomainStat {
 			stat.Name = routerDevice
 		} else {
 			stat.IP = ip
-			stat.Name = a.leases.name(ip)
 		}
 		out = append(out, stat)
 	}
-	sort.Slice(out, func(i, j int) bool {
-		ti, tj := totalDomainCount(out[i].Domains), totalDomainCount(out[j].Domains)
+	return out
+}
+
+// finishDeviceDomains resolves each row's DHCP hostname and orders the rows by total
+// hit count (busiest first, tie-broken by IP for stability) — the second half of
+// deviceDomainsLocked, run WITHOUT the aggregator mutex. The output is identical to
+// what the single locked pass produced.
+func (a *Aggregator) finishDeviceDomains(rows []DeviceDomainStat) {
+	for i := range rows {
+		if rows[i].IP != "" {
+			rows[i].Name = a.leases.name(rows[i].IP)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Slice(rows, func(i, j int) bool {
+		ti, tj := totalDomainCount(rows[i].Domains), totalDomainCount(rows[j].Domains)
 		if ti != tj {
 			return ti > tj
 		}
-		return out[i].IP < out[j].IP
+		return rows[i].IP < rows[j].IP
 	})
-	return out
 }
 
 // topDeviceDomains returns one device's n highest-count domains, most-popular first
 // with a stable name tiebreak. Note the returned Count is the (possibly-capped) live
 // count for domains that survived any prune.
+// This is the single hottest projection in Snapshot: it runs once per tracked
+// device, up to maxDeviceClients (512) of them, over maps of up to
+// maxDomainsPerDevice (400) entries, all under the aggregator mutex. Materialising
+// and fully sorting 400 entries per device to keep 15 was ~1.8M comparisons and
+// ~200k slice elements of allocation with the DNS hot path stopped; the top-K
+// selection rejects a candidate in one comparison and allocates 15 slots.
 func topDeviceDomains(dm map[string]uint64, n int) []DomainCount {
-	all := make([]DomainCount, 0, len(dm))
-	for dom, c := range dm {
-		all = append(all, DomainCount{Domain: dom, Count: c})
-	}
-	sort.Slice(all, func(i, j int) bool {
-		if all[i].Count != all[j].Count {
-			return all[i].Count > all[j].Count
+	before := func(a, b DomainCount) bool {
+		if a.Count != b.Count {
+			return a.Count > b.Count
 		}
-		return all[i].Domain < all[j].Domain
-	})
-	if n > 0 && len(all) > n {
-		all = all[:n]
+		return a.Domain < b.Domain
 	}
-	return all
+	out := topKBuf[DomainCount](n, len(dm))
+	for dom, c := range dm {
+		out = topKInsert(out, n, DomainCount{Domain: dom, Count: c}, before)
+	}
+	return out
 }
 
 // totalDomainCount sums a device's returned domain counts (used only to order devices).

transport/v2rayhttpupgrade/client.go

@@ -87,22 +87,27 @@ func (c *Client) DialContext(ctx context.Context) (net.Conn, error) {
 	request.Header.Set("Upgrade", "websocket")
 	err = request.Write(conn)
 	if err != nil {
+		conn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	bufReader := std_bufio.NewReader(conn)
 	response, err := http.ReadResponse(bufReader, request)
 	if err != nil {
+		conn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if response.StatusCode != 101 ||
 		!strings.EqualFold(response.Header.Get("Connection"), "upgrade") ||
 		!strings.EqualFold(response.Header.Get("Upgrade"), "websocket") {
+		conn.Close()
+		response.Body.Close()
 		return nil, E.New("v2ray-http-upgrade: unexpected status: ", response.Status)
 	}
 	if bufReader.Buffered() > 0 {
 		buffer := buf.NewSize(bufReader.Buffered())
 		_, err = buffer.ReadFullFrom(bufReader, buffer.Len())
 		if err != nil {
+			conn.Close()
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		conn = bufio.NewCachedConn(conn, buffer)

transport/v2rayhttpupgrade/client_leak_lx_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+package v2rayhttpupgrade
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	M "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/metadata"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// A failed http-upgrade handshake used to return the error while leaving the
+// dialed TCP connection open: nothing in the caller chain owns a conn that was
+// never returned. On a router that keeps ~380 nodes under a health checker, one
+// leaked descriptor per failed handshake is a slow death. Upstream 0f1763877.
+
+type trackedConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+	closed atomic.Bool
+}
+
+func (c *trackedConn) Close() error {
+	c.closed.Store(true)
+	return c.Conn.Close()
+}
+
+// dialRecorder dials the real (test) listener and remembers every conn handed
+// out, so the test can assert on the exact conn the client was given.
+type dialRecorder struct {
+	access sync.Mutex
+	conns  []*trackedConn
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) DialContext(ctx context.Context, network string, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.Conn, error) {
+	conn, err := new(net.Dialer).DialContext(ctx, network, destination.String())
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	tracked := &trackedConn{Conn: conn}
+	d.access.Lock()
+	d.conns = append(d.conns, tracked)
+	d.access.Unlock()
+	return tracked, nil
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) ListenPacket(ctx context.Context, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.PacketConn, error) {
+	return nil, net.ErrClosed
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) only(t *testing.T) *trackedConn {
+	t.Helper()
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	require.Len(t, d.conns, 1, "client must have dialed exactly once")
+	return d.conns[0]
+}
+
+// serveOnce accepts one connection, drains the request and writes raw response
+// bytes back.
+func serveOnce(t *testing.T, response string) net.Listener {
+	t.Helper()
+	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { listener.Close() })
+	go func() {
+		conn, acceptErr := listener.Accept()
+		if acceptErr != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		defer conn.Close()
+		buffer := make([]byte, 4096)
+		conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second))
+		conn.Read(buffer)
+		if response != "" {
+			conn.Write([]byte(response))
+		}
+	}()
+	return listener
+}
+
+func newTestClient(t *testing.T, dialer *dialRecorder, listener net.Listener) *Client {
+	t.Helper()
+	client, err := NewClient(
+		context.Background(),
+		dialer,
+		M.ParseSocksaddr(listener.Addr().String()),
+		option.V2RayHTTPUpgradeOptions{Path: "/"},
+		nil,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	return client
+}
+
+func TestClientClosesConnOnUnexpectedStatus(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	listener := serveOnce(t, "HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden\r\nContent-Length: 0\r\n\r\n")
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, listener)
+
+	conn, err := client.DialContext(context.Background())
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Nil(t, conn)
+	require.True(t, dialer.only(t).closed.Load(),
+		"the dialed conn must be closed when the upgrade is refused")
+}
+
+func TestClientClosesConnOnResponseFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	// The server hangs up without answering: http.ReadResponse fails.
+	listener := serveOnce(t, "")
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, listener)
+
+	conn, err := client.DialContext(context.Background())
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Nil(t, conn)
+	require.True(t, dialer.only(t).closed.Load(),
+		"the dialed conn must be closed when the response cannot be read")
+}

transport/v2rayquic/client.go

@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@ func (c *Client) offerNew() (*quic.Conn, error) {
 		packetConn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
+	// quic-go does not take ownership of the packet conn passed to Dial:
+	// when the connection ends it only stops reading.
+	go func() {
+		<-quicConn.Context().Done()
+		packetConn.Close()
+	}()
 	c.conn.Store(quicConn)
 	c.rawConn = udpConn
 	return quicConn, nil

transport/v2rayquic/client_leak_lx_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+//go:build with_quic
+
+package v2rayquic
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/quic-go"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/common/tls"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/log"
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	qtls "github.com/sagernet/sing-quic"
+	M "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/metadata"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// quic-go does not take ownership of the packet conn handed to Dial: when the
+// QUIC connection ends it only stops reading from it. offerNew() then dials a
+// fresh one and overwrites c.rawConn, so the previous UDP socket was leaked for
+// the lifetime of the process — one per reconnect, on a box with 512 MB and a
+// health checker that reconnects constantly. Upstream 7067276170.
+
+const testALPN = "shater-test"
+
+type trackedConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+	closed atomic.Bool
+}
+
+func (c *trackedConn) Close() error {
+	c.closed.Store(true)
+	return c.Conn.Close()
+}
+
+type dialRecorder struct {
+	access sync.Mutex
+	conns  []*trackedConn
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) DialContext(ctx context.Context, network string, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.Conn, error) {
+	conn, err := new(net.Dialer).DialContext(ctx, network, destination.String())
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	tracked := &trackedConn{Conn: conn}
+	d.access.Lock()
+	d.conns = append(d.conns, tracked)
+	d.access.Unlock()
+	return tracked, nil
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) ListenPacket(ctx context.Context, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.PacketConn, error) {
+	return nil, net.ErrClosed
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) only(t *testing.T) *trackedConn {
+	t.Helper()
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	require.Len(t, d.conns, 1, "client must have dialed exactly once")
+	return d.conns[0]
+}
+
+// serveQUIC brings up a real QUIC listener on localhost with a self-signed
+// certificate, runs handler for every accepted connection, and returns its
+// address.
+func serveQUIC(t *testing.T, handler func(conn *quic.Conn)) M.Socksaddr {
+	t.Helper()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	logger := log.NewNOPFactory().NewLogger("test")
+
+	keyPem, certificatePem, err := tls.GenerateCertificate(nil, nil, time.Now, "localhost", time.Now().Add(time.Hour))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	serverTLSConfig, err := tls.NewSTDServer(ctx, logger, option.InboundTLSOptions{
+		Enabled:     true,
+		ServerName:  "localhost",
+		ALPN:        []string{testALPN},
+		Certificate: []string{string(certificatePem)},
+		Key:         []string{string(keyPem)},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, serverTLSConfig.Start())
+	t.Cleanup(func() { serverTLSConfig.Close() })
+
+	packetConn, err := net.ListenPacket("udp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { packetConn.Close() })
+
+	listener, err := qtls.Listen(packetConn, serverTLSConfig, &quic.Config{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { listener.Close() })
+
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			conn, acceptErr := listener.Accept(ctx)
+			if acceptErr != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			go handler(conn)
+		}
+	}()
+	return M.ParseSocksaddr(packetConn.LocalAddr().String())
+}
+
+func newTestClient(t *testing.T, dialer *dialRecorder, serverAddr M.Socksaddr) *Client {
+	t.Helper()
+	clientTLSConfig, err := tls.NewSTDClient(context.Background(), log.NewNOPFactory().NewLogger("test"), "localhost", option.OutboundTLSOptions{
+		Enabled:    true,
+		Insecure:   true,
+		ServerName: "localhost",
+		ALPN:       []string{testALPN},
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	transport, err := NewClient(context.Background(), dialer, serverAddr, option.V2RayQUICOptions{}, clientTLSConfig)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	client, isClient := transport.(*Client)
+	require.True(t, isClient)
+	return client
+}
+
+func TestClientClosesPacketConnWhenConnectionEnds(t *testing.T) {
+	// Drop the connection right after the handshake: this is the server-side
+	// reset / idle timeout the client must survive without leaking its socket.
+	serverAddr := serveQUIC(t, func(conn *quic.Conn) {
+		conn.CloseWithError(0, "bye")
+	})
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, serverAddr)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { client.Close() })
+
+	quicConn, err := client.offer()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NotNil(t, quicConn)
+
+	// The server hangs up; the client keeps its Client alive (a health checker
+	// would simply dial again later).
+	select {
+	case <-quicConn.Context().Done():
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("server never closed the QUIC connection")
+	}
+
+	tracked := dialer.only(t)
+	require.Eventually(t, tracked.closed.Load, 5*time.Second, 10*time.Millisecond,
+		"the UDP socket behind a dead QUIC connection must be closed, not leaked until Client.Close()")
+}
+
+// quic-go's Stream.Close() does not unblock a Write parked on flow control. The
+// writer goroutine (for us: the copy loop of a proxied connection) then survives
+// its own connection forever. Closing has to push the write deadline into the
+// past as well.
+func TestStreamCloseUnblocksBlockedWrite(t *testing.T) {
+	serverIsDone := make(chan struct{})
+	t.Cleanup(func() { close(serverIsDone) })
+	// Accept the stream but never read from it, so the client's writes fill the
+	// receive window and block.
+	serverAddr := serveQUIC(t, func(conn *quic.Conn) {
+		_, err := conn.AcceptStream(context.Background())
+		if err != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		<-serverIsDone
+	})
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, serverAddr)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { client.Close() })
+
+	stream, err := client.DialContext(context.Background())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	writeDone := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		payload := make([]byte, 64*1024)
+		// 32 MiB is far past any quic-go receive window, so this must park.
+		for range 512 {
+			_, writeErr := stream.Write(payload)
+			if writeErr != nil {
+				writeDone <- writeErr
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		writeDone <- nil
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case err = <-writeDone:
+		t.Fatal("the write never blocked, the test proves nothing: ", err)
+	case <-time.After(time.Second):
+	}
+
+	require.NoError(t, stream.Close())
+	select {
+	case <-writeDone:
+	case <-time.After(5 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("Write stayed blocked after Close: the writer goroutine is leaked")
+	}
+}

transport/v2rayquic/stream.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package v2rayquic
 
 import (
 	"net"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/sagernet/quic-go"
 	qtls "github.com/sagernet/sing-quic"
@@ -37,5 +38,8 @@ func (s *StreamWrapper) Upstream() any {
 func (s *StreamWrapper) Close() error {
 	s.CancelRead(0)
 	s.Stream.Close()
+	// quic-go's Stream.Close does not unblock a Write blocked on flow control,
+	// but a past write deadline does; buffered data and the FIN are unaffected.
+	s.Stream.SetWriteDeadline(time.Now())
 	return nil
 }

transport/v2raywebsocket/client.go

@@ -93,12 +93,14 @@ func (c *Client) dialContext(ctx context.Context, requestURL *url.URL, headers h
 	reader, _, err := ws.Dialer{Header: ws.HandshakeHeaderHTTP(headers), Protocols: protocols}.Upgrade(deadlineConn, requestURL)
 	deadlineConn.SetDeadline(time.Time{})
 	if err != nil {
+		conn.Close()
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	if reader != nil {
 		buffer := buf.NewSize(reader.Buffered())
 		_, err = buffer.ReadFullFrom(reader, buffer.Len())
 		if err != nil {
+			conn.Close()
 			return nil, err
 		}
 		conn = bufio.NewCachedConn(conn, buffer)

transport/v2raywebsocket/client_leak_lx_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+package v2raywebsocket
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"net"
+	"sync"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/sagernet/sing-box/option"
+	M "github.com/sagernet/sing/common/metadata"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// A refused websocket upgrade used to return the error while leaving the dialed
+// TCP connection open — the conn was never returned, so nobody else could close
+// it. With ~380 nodes under a health checker every failing node leaks one
+// descriptor per probe. Upstream 0f1763877.
+
+type trackedConn struct {
+	net.Conn
+	closed atomic.Bool
+}
+
+func (c *trackedConn) Close() error {
+	c.closed.Store(true)
+	return c.Conn.Close()
+}
+
+type dialRecorder struct {
+	access sync.Mutex
+	conns  []*trackedConn
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) DialContext(ctx context.Context, network string, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.Conn, error) {
+	conn, err := new(net.Dialer).DialContext(ctx, network, destination.String())
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	tracked := &trackedConn{Conn: conn}
+	d.access.Lock()
+	d.conns = append(d.conns, tracked)
+	d.access.Unlock()
+	return tracked, nil
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) ListenPacket(ctx context.Context, destination M.Socksaddr) (net.PacketConn, error) {
+	return nil, net.ErrClosed
+}
+
+func (d *dialRecorder) only(t *testing.T) *trackedConn {
+	t.Helper()
+	d.access.Lock()
+	defer d.access.Unlock()
+	require.Len(t, d.conns, 1, "client must have dialed exactly once")
+	return d.conns[0]
+}
+
+func serveOnce(t *testing.T, response string) net.Listener {
+	t.Helper()
+	listener, err := net.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { listener.Close() })
+	go func() {
+		conn, acceptErr := listener.Accept()
+		if acceptErr != nil {
+			return
+		}
+		defer conn.Close()
+		buffer := make([]byte, 4096)
+		conn.SetReadDeadline(time.Now().Add(5 * time.Second))
+		conn.Read(buffer)
+		if response != "" {
+			conn.Write([]byte(response))
+		}
+	}()
+	return listener
+}
+
+func newTestClient(t *testing.T, dialer *dialRecorder, listener net.Listener) *Client {
+	t.Helper()
+	transport, err := NewClient(
+		context.Background(),
+		dialer,
+		M.ParseSocksaddr(listener.Addr().String()),
+		option.V2RayWebsocketOptions{Path: "/"},
+		nil,
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	client, isClient := transport.(*Client)
+	require.True(t, isClient)
+	return client
+}
+
+func TestClientClosesConnOnRefusedUpgrade(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	listener := serveOnce(t, "HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden\r\nContent-Length: 0\r\n\r\n")
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, listener)
+
+	conn, err := client.DialContext(context.Background())
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Nil(t, conn)
+	require.True(t, dialer.only(t).closed.Load(),
+		"the dialed conn must be closed when the websocket upgrade is refused")
+}
+
+func TestClientClosesConnOnHandshakeEOF(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	// The server hangs up mid-handshake: ws.Dialer.Upgrade fails on read.
+	listener := serveOnce(t, "")
+	dialer := &dialRecorder{}
+	client := newTestClient(t, dialer, listener)
+
+	conn, err := client.DialContext(context.Background())
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	require.Nil(t, conn)
+	require.True(t, dialer.only(t).closed.Load(),
+		"the dialed conn must be closed when the handshake cannot complete")
+}

transport/v2raywebsocket/conn.go

@@ -187,6 +187,7 @@ func (c *EarlyWebsocketConn) writeRequest(content []byte) error {
 	if len(lateData) > 0 {
 		_, err = conn.Write(lateData)
 		if err != nil {
+			conn.Close()
 			return err
 		}
 	}