chore(release): stage v1.7.52-alpha

docs(testing): track Phase 3.4 race fix + drift-sync hook
* L0 unit count: 630 → 631 (translate_health_check_http_does_not_double_prefix_scheme) * Phase 3 row: add TimeoutStartSec=600 race fix (44f275ed) + drift-sync hook (0889367d) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-05 11:29:18 -04:00 · 2026-05-02 11:53:18 -04:00 · 2026-05-02 11:43:18 -04:00 · 2026-05-02 07:14:48 -04:00 · 2026-05-02 06:37:37 -04:00 · 2026-05-02 05:44:09 -04:00
257 changed files with 24797 additions and 5633 deletions
@@ -73,3 +73,14 @@ loop/loop.log.bak
 # Separate repos nested in tree
 web/

+._*
+
+# Resilience harness reports (generated, contains session cookies)
+scripts/resilience/reports/
+
+# Codex / pnpm / python caches / editor backups
+.codex
+.pnpm-store/
+**/__pycache__/
+*.bak
+.claude/scheduled_tasks.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,57 @@
 # Changelog

+## v1.7.52-alpha (2026-05-05)
+
+- Tailscale now launches the local installed web UI on port `8240` and starts `tailscaled` before `tailscale web`, fixing unreachable installs after container creation.
+- Grafana install/start/restart now repairs missing rootless host listeners on port `3000`, matching the existing SearXNG, Uptime Kuma, and Gitea recovery path.
+- Debian 13/Trixie ISO and disk-install paths now force security updates from `trixie-security` during image/install creation so rebuilt release media includes patched base packages.
+- Broad `.198` lifecycle audit passes with the current qualified app set; known absent blockers remain `electrumx`, `photoprism`, `dwn`, and `ollama`.
+
+## v1.7.49-alpha (2026-04-30)
+
+- Bitcoin Knots/Core UI now reports connection, reconnecting, syncing, and error states from a backend status bridge instead of showing a stale "Unable to connect" message while the node is warming up.
+- ElectrumX UI now exposes indexed height, local Bitcoin height, known headers, status, and progress source so indexing/waiting states are readable during long initial sync.
+- Added container doctor timer and smoke/lifecycle test coverage for Bitcoin Knots/Core, ElectrumX, Mempool, BTCPay/NBXplorer, and UI surface availability.
+- Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots are mutually exclusive variants, with a real Bitcoin Core manifest and corrected install conflict handling.
+- IndeeHub now launches only on direct web UI port `7778`; the broken `/app/indeedhub/` path proxy was removed, and port `7777` remains the Nostr relay.
+- BTCPay/NBXplorer Postgres environment formatting fixed so installs do not carry malformed connection strings.
+
+## v1.7.48-alpha (2026-04-29)
+
+- archipelago.service no longer fails to start with "Failed to set up mount namespacing: /run/containers: No such file or directory" on nodes where /run/containers wasn't pre-created. ExecStartPre now creates it. Existing nodes need a one-time `systemctl edit archipelago` to add the mkdir; ISO installs from this version forward have the fix baked in.
+
+## v1.7.47-alpha (2026-04-29)
+
+- Bitcoin Knots/Core sync is now significantly faster. The container now uses every available core for script verification (was capped at 2) and has 8GB of memory instead of 4GB so its 4GB UTXO cache has headroom for the mempool and peer connections. Existing nodes pick up the new limits on next install/update; freshly-installed nodes start at full speed.
+- ElectrumX initial indexing is faster too. Its container memory bumped from 1GB to 2GB and its internal cache is now 2GB (default was 1.2GB).
+
+## v1.7.46-alpha (2026-04-29)
+
+- Health monitor no longer pages "Auto-restart failed" for orphaned containers. After a variant switch (bitcoin-core ↔ bitcoin-knots) the previous variant's container could survive uninstall and the health monitor would try restarting it forever. Now skipped silently with a debug log.
+- Apps no longer disappear from My Apps when an install fails. The card stays visible with state=Stopped so the user can retry or uninstall, with the failure reason surfaced via the new install_progress.message field.
+- "Downloading…" progress now actually advances during multi-image stack pulls. Was sticking at 20% until all pulls finished; now interpolates 20%→70% based on which image of N has landed.
+- Pulled four docker.io images (bitcoin, gitea, nextcloud, valkey) into the lfg2025 registries on OVH and tx1138. Removes a docker.io dependency from first-boot installs.
+- Resilience harness improvements: install-fail entries no longer vanish, install/uninstall/probe cells are timing-tolerant (60s retry on ui_probe and auth_probe), dep snapshots no longer leak companion containers into the dependent app's "new containers" set.
+
+## v1.7.45-alpha (2026-04-29)
+
+- Bitcoin RPC auth is durable. The dashboard reliably connects across container restart, image update, and reboot. Was failing on registry-pulled images that shipped a stale baked-in password.
+- Multi-container apps show real install progress. IndeedHub (7), BTCPay (4), Mempool (3), Immich (3) — bar advances through Preparing → Pulling → Creating → Done instead of sitting at 0% until the very end.
+- Apps no longer disappear from the dashboard mid-install. The container scanner now respects in-flight installs and updates instead of evicting an entry while its containers are still being created.
+- IndeedHub installs cleanly on a fresh node. Five missing environment variables fixed; Nostr sign-in works on first install.
+- Tailscale install no longer fails with "executable not found". Container command was a malformed shell string; now a proper command array.
+- Removed three catalog entries that hung installs for ten minutes (dwn, endurain, ollama — no source images in our registries). Restored Nextcloud, sourced from docker.io.
+- Bitcoin Core update path uses the correct image name (was pulling from a non-existent path).
+- New ISO installs now allocate swap (sized to RAM, capped at 8GB, on the encrypted data partition). Without swap, container image builds and memory spikes were hitting OOM under load.
+
+## v1.7.44-alpha (2026-04-28)
+
+43de3b73 feat(orchestrator): complete container migration and release hardening
+ce39430b feat(self-update): sync and rebuild UI containers on OTA
+72dec5aa fix(lnd-ui): align container port across all specs
+83aacdf2 chore(release): archive ISO build recipes, tarball-only releases
+
+
 All notable changes to Archipelago will be documented in this file.

 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
@@ -101,14 +101,20 @@ npm run build      # Production build → web/dist/neode-ui/
 ./scripts/deploy-to-target.sh --both   # Deploy to both LAN servers
 ```

-### Build ISO
+### Release (tarball-only)
+
+Releases ship as a backend binary and a frontend tarball referenced by
+`releases/manifest.json`. Nodes OTA-update via `scripts/self-update.sh`.

 ```bash
-ssh archipelago@<server>
-cd ~/archy/image-recipe
-sudo ./build-auto-installer-iso.sh
+./scripts/create-release.sh 1.2.3
+git push gitea-local main --tags
+git push gitea-vps2 main --tags
 ```

+ISO builds are archived under `image-recipe/_archived/` and not part of the
+release deliverable.
+
 ## Architecture

 ```
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
  "version": 2,
  "updated": "2026-04-22T00:00:00Z",
-  "registry": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025",
+  "registry": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025",
  "featured": {
    "id": "indeedhub",
    "banner": "/assets/img/featured/indeedhub-banner.jpg",
@@ -11,240 +11,260 @@
  },
  "apps": [
    {
-      "id": "bitcoin-knots", "title": "Bitcoin Knots", "version": "28.1.0",
+      "id": "bitcoin-knots",
+      "title": "Bitcoin Knots",
+      "version": "28.1.0",
      "description": "Run a full Bitcoin node. Validate and relay blocks and transactions.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-knots.webp",
-      "author": "Bitcoin Knots", "category": "money", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest",
+      "author": "Bitcoin Knots",
+      "category": "money",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin"
    },
    {
-      "id": "bitcoin-core", "title": "Bitcoin Core", "version": "28.4",
-      "description": "Reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol. Run a full node validating and relaying blocks.",
+      "id": "bitcoin-core",
+      "title": "Bitcoin Core",
+      "version": "28.4",
+      "description": "Reference Bitcoin node implementation. Alternative to Bitcoin Knots; uninstall Knots before switching.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-core.svg",
-      "author": "Bitcoin Core contributors", "category": "money", "tier": "optional",
-      "dockerImage": "bitcoin/bitcoin:28.4",
+      "author": "Bitcoin Core contributors",
+      "category": "money",
+      "tier": "optional",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin:28.4",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin"
    },
    {
-      "id": "lnd", "title": "LND", "version": "0.18.4",
+      "id": "lnd",
+      "title": "LND",
+      "version": "0.18.4",
      "description": "Lightning Network Daemon. Fast Bitcoin payments through Lightning.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/lnd.svg",
-      "author": "Lightning Labs", "category": "money", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta",
+      "author": "Lightning Labs",
+      "category": "money",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/lightningnetwork/lnd",
-      "requires": ["bitcoin-knots"]
+      "requires": [
+        "bitcoin-knots"
+      ]
    },
    {
-      "id": "btcpay-server", "title": "BTCPay Server", "version": "1.13.7",
+      "id": "btcpay-server",
+      "title": "BTCPay Server",
+      "version": "1.13.7",
      "description": "Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/btcpay-server.png",
-      "author": "BTCPay Server Foundation", "category": "commerce", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/btcpayserver:1.13.7",
+      "author": "BTCPay Server Foundation",
+      "category": "commerce",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/btcpayserver:1.13.7",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/btcpayserver/btcpayserver",
-      "requires": ["bitcoin-knots"]
+      "requires": [
+        "bitcoin-knots"
+      ]
    },
    {
-      "id": "mempool", "title": "Mempool Explorer", "version": "3.0.0",
+      "id": "mempool",
+      "title": "Mempool Explorer",
+      "version": "3.0.0",
      "description": "Self-hosted Bitcoin blockchain and mempool visualizer.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/mempool.webp",
-      "author": "Mempool", "category": "money", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/mempool-frontend:v3.0.0",
+      "author": "Mempool",
+      "category": "money",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/mempool-frontend:v3.0.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/mempool/mempool",
-      "requires": ["bitcoin-knots", "electrumx"]
+      "requires": [
+        "bitcoin-knots",
+        "electrumx"
+      ]
    },
    {
-      "id": "electrumx", "title": "ElectrumX", "version": "1.18.0",
+      "id": "electrumx",
+      "title": "ElectrumX",
+      "version": "1.18.0",
      "description": "Electrum protocol server. Index the blockchain for fast wallet lookups.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/electrumx.webp",
-      "author": "Luke Childs", "category": "money", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/electrumx:v1.18.0",
+      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/electrumx.png",
+      "author": "Luke Childs",
+      "category": "money",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/electrumx:v1.18.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/spesmilo/electrumx",
-      "requires": ["bitcoin-knots"]
+      "requires": [
+        "bitcoin-knots"
+      ]
    },
    {
-      "id": "indeedhub", "title": "IndeeHub", "version": "1.0.0",
+      "id": "indeedhub",
+      "title": "IndeeHub",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
      "description": "Bitcoin documentary streaming with Nostr identity.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/indeedhub.png",
-      "author": "IndeeHub", "category": "community",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/indeedhub:1.0.0",
+      "author": "IndeeHub",
+      "category": "community",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/indeedhub:1.0.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/indeedhub/indeedhub"
    },
    {
-      "id": "botfights", "title": "BotFights", "version": "1.1.0",
+      "id": "botfights",
+      "title": "BotFights",
+      "version": "1.1.0",
      "description": "Bot arena + 2-player arcade fighter with controller support and Adventure Mode.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/botfights.svg",
-      "author": "BotFights", "category": "community",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/botfights:1.1.0",
+      "author": "BotFights",
+      "category": "community",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/botfights:1.1.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://botfights.net"
    },
    {
-      "id": "gitea", "title": "Gitea", "version": "1.23",
+      "id": "gitea",
+      "title": "Gitea",
+      "version": "1.23",
      "description": "Self-hosted Git service with container registry, CI/CD, issue tracking.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/gitea.svg",
-      "author": "Gitea", "category": "development",
-      "dockerImage": "docker.io/gitea/gitea:1.23",
+      "author": "Gitea",
+      "category": "development",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/gitea:1.23",
      "repoUrl": "https://gitea.com"
    },
    {
-      "id": "filebrowser", "title": "File Browser", "version": "2.27.0",
+      "id": "filebrowser",
+      "title": "File Browser",
+      "version": "2.27.0",
      "description": "Web-based file manager.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/file-browser.webp",
-      "author": "File Browser", "category": "data", "tier": "core",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/filebrowser:v2.27.0",
+      "author": "File Browser",
+      "category": "data",
+      "tier": "core",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/filebrowser:v2.27.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser"
    },
    {
-      "id": "vaultwarden", "title": "Vaultwarden", "version": "1.30.0",
+      "id": "vaultwarden",
+      "title": "Vaultwarden",
+      "version": "1.30.0",
      "description": "Self-hosted password vault with zero-knowledge encryption.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/vaultwarden.webp",
-      "author": "Vaultwarden", "category": "data", "tier": "recommended",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/vaultwarden:1.30.0-alpine",
+      "author": "Vaultwarden",
+      "category": "data",
+      "tier": "recommended",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/vaultwarden:1.30.0-alpine",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden"
    },
    {
-      "id": "searxng", "title": "SearXNG", "version": "2024.1.0",
+      "id": "searxng",
+      "title": "SearXNG",
+      "version": "2024.1.0",
      "description": "Privacy-respecting metasearch engine.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/searxng.png",
-      "author": "SearXNG", "category": "data", "tier": "recommended",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/searxng:latest",
+      "author": "SearXNG",
+      "category": "data",
+      "tier": "recommended",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/searxng:latest",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/searxng/searxng"
    },
    {
-      "id": "nostr-rs-relay", "title": "Nostr Relay", "version": "0.9.0",
-      "description": "Your own Nostr relay. Store events locally, relay for friends.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/nostr-rs-relay.svg",
-      "author": "scsiblade", "category": "nostr",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/nostr-rs-relay:0.9.0",
-      "repoUrl": "https://sr.ht/~gheartsfield/nostr-rs-relay/"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "fedimint", "title": "Fedimint", "version": "0.10.0",
+      "id": "fedimint",
+      "title": "Fedimint",
+      "version": "0.10.0",
      "description": "Federated Bitcoin mint with privacy through federated guardians.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/fedimint.png",
-      "author": "Fedimint", "category": "money",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/fedimintd:v0.10.0",
+      "author": "Fedimint",
+      "category": "money",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/fedimintd:v0.10.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/fedimint/fedimint"
    },
    {
-      "id": "ollama", "title": "Ollama", "version": "0.5.4",
-      "description": "Run AI models locally. Private and on your hardware.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/ollama.png",
-      "author": "Ollama", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/ollama:latest",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/ollama/ollama"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "nextcloud", "title": "Nextcloud", "version": "28",
-      "description": "Your own private cloud. File sync, calendars, contacts.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/nextcloud.webp",
-      "author": "Nextcloud", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/nextcloud:28",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/nextcloud/server"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "jellyfin", "title": "Jellyfin", "version": "10.8.13",
+      "id": "jellyfin",
+      "title": "Jellyfin",
+      "version": "10.8.13",
      "description": "Free media server. Stream movies, music, and photos.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/jellyfin.webp",
-      "author": "Jellyfin", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/jellyfin:10.8.13",
+      "author": "Jellyfin",
+      "category": "data",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/jellyfin:10.8.13",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin"
    },
    {
-      "id": "immich", "title": "Immich", "version": "1.90.0",
+      "id": "immich",
+      "title": "Immich",
+      "version": "1.90.0",
      "description": "High-performance photo and video backup with ML.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/immich.png",
-      "author": "Immich", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/immich-server:release",
+      "author": "Immich",
+      "category": "data",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/immich-server:release",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/immich-app/immich"
    },
    {
-      "id": "homeassistant", "title": "Home Assistant", "version": "2024.1",
+      "id": "homeassistant",
+      "title": "Home Assistant",
+      "version": "2024.1",
      "description": "Open-source home automation.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/homeassistant.png",
-      "author": "Home Assistant", "category": "home",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/home-assistant:2024.1",
+      "author": "Home Assistant",
+      "category": "home",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/home-assistant:2024.1",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/home-assistant/core"
    },
    {
-      "id": "grafana", "title": "Grafana", "version": "10.2.0",
+      "id": "grafana",
+      "title": "Grafana",
+      "version": "10.2.0",
      "description": "Analytics and monitoring dashboards.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/grafana.png",
-      "author": "Grafana Labs", "category": "data", "tier": "recommended",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/grafana:10.2.0",
+      "author": "Grafana Labs",
+      "category": "data",
+      "tier": "recommended",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/grafana:10.2.0",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/grafana/grafana"
    },
    {
-      "id": "tailscale", "title": "Tailscale", "version": "1.78.0",
+      "id": "tailscale",
+      "title": "Tailscale",
+      "version": "1.78.0",
      "description": "Zero-config VPN with WireGuard mesh networking.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/tailscale.webp",
-      "author": "Tailscale", "category": "networking", "tier": "recommended",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/tailscale:stable",
+      "author": "Tailscale",
+      "category": "networking",
+      "tier": "recommended",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/tailscale:stable",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale"
    },
    {
-      "id": "uptime-kuma", "title": "Uptime Kuma", "version": "1.23.0",
+      "id": "uptime-kuma",
+      "title": "Uptime Kuma",
+      "version": "1.23.0",
      "description": "Self-hosted uptime monitoring.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/uptime-kuma.webp",
-      "author": "Uptime Kuma", "category": "data", "tier": "recommended",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/uptime-kuma:1",
+      "author": "Uptime Kuma",
+      "category": "data",
+      "tier": "recommended",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/uptime-kuma:1",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/louislam/uptime-kuma"
    },
    {
-      "id": "nostr-vpn", "title": "Nostr VPN", "version": "0.3.7",
-      "description": "Tailscale-style mesh VPN with Nostr control plane.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/nostr-vpn.svg",
-      "author": "Martti Malmi", "category": "networking",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/nostr-vpn:v0.3.7",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/mmalmi/nostr-vpn"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "fips", "title": "FIPS", "version": "0.1.0",
-      "description": "Free Internetworking Peering System. Encrypted mesh network.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/fips.svg",
-      "author": "Jim Corgan", "category": "networking",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/fips:v0.1.0",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/jmcorgan/fips"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "routstr", "title": "Routstr", "version": "0.4.3",
-      "description": "Decentralized AI inference proxy with Cashu ecash.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/routstr.svg",
-      "author": "Routstr", "category": "community",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/routstr:v0.4.3",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/routstr/routstr-core"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "dwn", "title": "Decentralized Web Node", "version": "0.4.0",
-      "description": "Own your data with DID-based access control.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/dwn.svg",
-      "author": "TBD", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/dwn-server:main",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/TBD54566975/dwn-server"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "endurain", "title": "Endurain", "version": "0.8.0",
-      "description": "Self-hosted fitness tracking. Strava alternative.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/endurain.png",
-      "author": "Endurain", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/endurain:0.8.0",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/joaovitoriasilva/endurain"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "penpot", "title": "Penpot", "version": "2.4",
-      "description": "Open-source design platform. Self-hosted Figma alternative.",
-      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/penpot.webp",
-      "author": "Penpot", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/penpot-frontend:2.4",
-      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/penpot/penpot"
-    },
-    {
-      "id": "photoprism", "title": "PhotoPrism", "version": "240915",
+      "id": "photoprism",
+      "title": "PhotoPrism",
+      "version": "240915",
      "description": "AI-powered photo management with facial recognition.",
      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/photoprism.svg",
-      "author": "PhotoPrism", "category": "data",
-      "dockerImage": "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/photoprism:240915",
+      "author": "PhotoPrism",
+      "category": "data",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/photoprism:240915",
      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism"
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "nextcloud",
+      "title": "Nextcloud",
+      "version": "28",
+      "description": "Your own private cloud. File sync, calendars, contacts.",
+      "icon": "/assets/img/app-icons/nextcloud.webp",
+      "author": "Nextcloud",
+      "category": "data",
+      "dockerImage": "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/nextcloud:28",
+      "repoUrl": "https://github.com/nextcloud/server"
    }
  ]
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+app:
+  id: archy-btcpay-db
+  name: BTCPay Postgres
+  version: 15.17
+  description: Postgres backend for BTCPay and NBXplorer.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/postgres:15.17
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    data_uid: "100998:100998"
+    secret_env:
+      - key: POSTGRES_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: btcpay-db-password
+
+  dependencies:
+    - storage: 20Gi
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 1Gi
+    disk_limit: 20Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE]
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports: []
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/postgres-btcpay
+      target: /var/lib/postgresql/data
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - POSTGRES_DB=btcpay
+    - POSTGRES_USER=btcpay
+
+  health_check:
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:5432
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: none
+    sync_required: false
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+app:
+  id: archy-mempool-db
+  name: Mempool MariaDB
+  version: 11.4.10
+  description: MariaDB backend for the mempool explorer stack.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/mariadb:11.4.10
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    data_uid: "100998:100998"
+    secret_env:
+      - key: MYSQL_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: mempool-db-password
+      - key: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: mysql-root-db-password
+
+  dependencies:
+    - storage: 20Gi
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 512Mi
+    disk_limit: 20Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE]
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports: []
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/mysql-mempool
+      target: /var/lib/mysql
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - MYSQL_DATABASE=mempool
+    - MYSQL_USER=mempool
+
+  health_check:
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:3306
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: none
+    sync_required: false
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+app:
+  id: archy-mempool-web
+  name: Mempool Web
+  version: 3.0.0
+  description: Frontend web UI for mempool explorer.
+  container_name: mempool
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/mempool-frontend:v3.0.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: mempool-api
+      version: ">=3.0.0"
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 512Mi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: []
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 4080
+      container: 8080
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  environment:
+    - FRONTEND_HTTP_PORT=8080
+    - BACKEND_MAINNET_HTTP_HOST=mempool-api
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://localhost:8080
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: none
+    sync_required: false
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+app:
+  id: archy-nbxplorer
+  name: NBXplorer
+  version: 2.6.0
+  description: BTCPay blockchain indexer service.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/nbxplorer:2.6.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    secret_env:
+      - key: NBXPLORER_BTCRPCPASSWORD
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+      - key: BTCPAY_DB_PASS
+        secret_file: btcpay-db-password
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: bitcoin-core
+      version: ">=26.0"
+    - app_id: archy-btcpay-db
+      version: ">=15.17"
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 2Gi
+    disk_limit: 20Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: []
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 32838
+      container: 32838
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/nbxplorer
+      target: /data
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - NBXPLORER_DATADIR=/data
+    - NBXPLORER_NETWORK=mainnet
+    - NBXPLORER_CHAINS=btc
+    - NBXPLORER_BIND=0.0.0.0:32838
+    - NBXPLORER_BTCRPCURL=http://bitcoin-knots:8332
+    - NBXPLORER_BTCRPCUSER=archipelago
+    - NBXPLORER_BTCNODEENDPOINT=bitcoin-knots:8333
+    - NBXPLORER_NOAUTH=1
+    - NBXPLORER_POSTGRES=Username=btcpay;Password=${BTCPAY_DB_PASS};Host=archy-btcpay-db;Port=5432;Database=nbxplorer
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://localhost:32838
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: read-only
+    sync_required: true
@@ -2,60 +2,82 @@ app:
  id: bitcoin-core
  name: Bitcoin Core
  version: 28.4.0
-  description: Full Bitcoin node implementation. The reference implementation of the Bitcoin protocol.
+  description: Reference Bitcoin Core node with dynamic prune/full-mode startup based on host disk.
+
+  container_name: bitcoin-core

  container:
-    image: bitcoin/bitcoin:28.4
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: verify-signature
-    
+    image: 146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin:28.4
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    entrypoint: ["sh", "-lc"]
+    custom_args:
+      # Sync-speed flags: -par=0 uses every core (was capped at 2 by
+      # --cpus=2, now removed for bitcoin/electrumx). -dbcache sized to
+      # the IBD sweet spot - 4GB on full nodes, 1GB on pruned. Container
+      # --memory=8g (config.rs::get_memory_limit) leaves headroom for
+      # mempool + connections.
+      - >-
+        BITCOIND="$(command -v bitcoind || true)";
+        if [ -z "$BITCOIND" ]; then
+          BITCOIND="$(find /opt -path '*/bin/bitcoind' -type f 2>/dev/null | sort | tail -n 1)";
+        fi;
+        if [ -z "$BITCOIND" ]; then
+          echo "bitcoind not found in image" >&2;
+          exit 127;
+        fi;
+        if [ "${DISK_GB:-0}" -lt 1000 ]; then
+          exec "$BITCOIND" -datadir=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin -noconf -server=1 -prune=550 -rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 -rpcbind=0.0.0.0:8332 -listen=1 -bind=0.0.0.0:8333 -dbcache=1024 -par=0 -maxconnections=125 -rpcuser="${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}" -rpcpassword="${BITCOIN_RPC_PASS}";
+        else
+          exec "$BITCOIND" -datadir=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin -noconf -server=1 -txindex=1 -rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 -rpcbind=0.0.0.0:8332 -listen=1 -bind=0.0.0.0:8333 -dbcache=4096 -par=0 -maxconnections=125 -rpcuser="${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}" -rpcpassword="${BITCOIN_RPC_PASS}";
+        fi
+    derived_env:
+      - key: DISK_GB
+        template: "{{DISK_GB}}"
+    secret_env:
+      - key: BITCOIN_RPC_PASS
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+    data_uid: "100101:100101"
+
  dependencies:
-    - storage: 500Gi  # Minimum disk space for mainnet
-    
+    - storage: 500Gi
+
  resources:
-    cpu_limit: 0      # 0 = unlimited; bitcoind uses -par=auto across all cores
-    memory_limit: 4Gi # matches container-specs.sh bitcoin-knots large-disk dbcache=4096
+    cpu_limit: 0
+    memory_limit: 4Gi
    disk_limit: 500Gi
-    
+
  security:
-    capabilities: []  # No special capabilities needed
-    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE]
+    readonly_root: false
    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: bitcoin-core
-    
+
  ports:
    - host: 8332
      container: 8332
-      protocol: tcp  # RPC
+      protocol: tcp
    - host: 8333
      container: 8333
-      protocol: tcp  # P2P
-    
+      protocol: tcp
+
  volumes:
    - type: bind
      source: /var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin
      target: /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin
      options: [rw]
-      
+
  environment:
-    - NETWORK=mainnet
-    - RPC_USER=${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}
-    - RPC_PASSWORD=${BITCOIN_RPC_PASSWORD}
-    - PRUNE=0  # Full node (set to 550 for pruned)
-    
+    - BITCOIN_RPC_USER=archipelago
+
  health_check:
-    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:8332
-    path: /
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:8332
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 3
-    
+
  bitcoin_integration:
    rpc_access: admin
    sync_required: true
-    testnet_support: true
+    testnet_support: false
    pruning_support: true
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+app:
+  id: bitcoin-knots
+  name: Bitcoin Knots
+  version: 28.1.0
+  description: Full Bitcoin Knots node with dynamic prune/full-mode startup based on host disk.
+
+  container_name: bitcoin-knots
+
+  container:
+    image: 146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    entrypoint: ["sh", "-lc"]
+    custom_args:
+      # Sync-speed flags: -par=0 uses every core (was capped at 2 by
+      # --cpus=2, now removed for bitcoin/electrumx). -dbcache sized to
+      # the IBD sweet spot - 4GB on full nodes, 1GB on pruned. Container
+      # --memory=8g (config.rs::get_memory_limit) leaves headroom for
+      # mempool + connections.
+      - >-
+        BITCOIND="$(command -v bitcoind || true)";
+        if [ -z "$BITCOIND" ]; then
+          BITCOIND="$(find /opt -path '*/bin/bitcoind' -type f 2>/dev/null | sort | tail -n 1)";
+        fi;
+        if [ -z "$BITCOIND" ]; then
+          echo "bitcoind not found in image" >&2;
+          exit 127;
+        fi;
+        if [ "${DISK_GB:-0}" -lt 1000 ]; then
+          exec "$BITCOIND" -datadir=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin -noconf -server=1 -prune=550 -rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 -rpcbind=0.0.0.0:8332 -listen=1 -bind=0.0.0.0:8333 -dbcache=1024 -par=0 -maxconnections=125 -rpcuser="${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}" -rpcpassword="${BITCOIN_RPC_PASS}";
+        else
+          exec "$BITCOIND" -datadir=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin -noconf -server=1 -txindex=1 -rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0 -rpcbind=0.0.0.0:8332 -listen=1 -bind=0.0.0.0:8333 -dbcache=4096 -par=0 -maxconnections=125 -rpcuser="${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}" -rpcpassword="${BITCOIN_RPC_PASS}";
+        fi
+    derived_env:
+      - key: DISK_GB
+        template: "{{DISK_GB}}"
+    secret_env:
+      - key: BITCOIN_RPC_PASS
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+    data_uid: "100101:100101"
+
+  dependencies:
+    - storage: 500Gi
+
+  resources:
+    cpu_limit: 0
+    memory_limit: 4Gi
+    disk_limit: 500Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE]
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 8332
+      container: 8332
+      protocol: tcp
+    - host: 8333
+      container: 8333
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin
+      target: /home/bitcoin/.bitcoin
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - BITCOIN_RPC_USER=archipelago
+
+  health_check:
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:8332
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: admin
+    sync_required: true
+    testnet_support: false
+    pruning_support: true
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+app:
+  id: bitcoin-ui
+  name: Bitcoin UI
+  version: 1.0.0
+  description: |
+    Archipelago-native HTTP proxy + static site for interacting with the
+    Bitcoin Core / Bitcoin Knots JSON-RPC. Runs nginx inside a container
+    and reverse-proxies /bitcoin-rpc/ to 127.0.0.1:8332 on the host. The
+    upstream Authorization header is substituted from
+    /var/lib/archipelago/secrets/bitcoin-rpc-password by the prod
+    orchestrator's pre-start hook, rendered into an nginx.conf that is
+    bind-mounted read-only at container start.
+
+  container:
+    build:
+      context: /opt/archipelago/docker/bitcoin-ui
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      tag: localhost/bitcoin-ui:local
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: bitcoin-core
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 128Mi
+
+  security:
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: host
+
+  # Host networking: nginx listens on 8334 directly on the host IP, and
+  # proxies to 127.0.0.1:8332 which is where the bitcoin backend binds
+  # its RPC. `ports:` is intentionally empty because host networking
+  # bypasses port mapping.
+  ports: []
+
+  volumes:
+    # Bind-mount the rendered nginx.conf read-only. The prod orchestrator
+    # renders /var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin-ui/nginx.conf on every install
+    # and every reconcile pass, substituting the base64 RPC auth from
+    # the plaintext password secret. If the rendered bytes change (the
+    # password rotated, or the template was updated by OTA), the
+    # reconciler restarts this container so nginx re-reads the config.
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin-ui/nginx.conf
+      target: /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
+      options: [ro]
+
+  environment: []
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:8334
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
@@ -1,66 +1,81 @@
 app:
  id: btcpay-server
  name: BTCPay Server
-  version: 1.12.0
+  version: 1.13.7
  description: Self-hosted Bitcoin payment processor. Accept Bitcoin payments without intermediaries.
-  
+
  container:
-    image: btcpayserver/btcpayserver:1.12.0
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: verify-signature
-    
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/btcpayserver:1.13.7
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    secret_env:
+      - key: BTCPAY_BTCRPCPASSWORD
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+      - key: BTCPAY_DB_PASS
+        secret_file: btcpay-db-password
+    derived_env:
+      - key: BTCPAY_HOST
+        template: "{{HOST_IP}}:23000"
+
  dependencies:
    - app_id: bitcoin-core
      version: ">=26.0"
-    - app_id: lnd
-      version: ">=0.18.0"
-    
+    - app_id: archy-btcpay-db
+      version: ">=15.17"
+    - app_id: archy-nbxplorer
+      version: ">=2.6.0"
+
  resources:
    cpu_limit: 2
    memory_limit: 2Gi
    disk_limit: 20Gi
-    
+
  security:
-    capabilities: [NET_BIND_SERVICE]
-    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
+    capabilities: []
+    readonly_root: false
    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: btcpay
-    
+
  ports:
-    - host: 80
-      container: 80
+    - host: 23000
+      container: 49392
      protocol: tcp
-    - host: 443
-      container: 443
-      protocol: tcp
-    
+
  volumes:
    - type: bind
      source: /var/lib/archipelago/btcpay
      target: /datadir
      options: [rw]
-      
+
  environment:
-    - BTCPAY_NETWORK=mainnet
-    - BTCPAY_CHAIN=btc
-    - BTCPAY_BTCEXPLORERURL=http://bitcoin-core:8332
-    - BTCPAY_LIGHTNING=type=lnd-rest;server=http://lnd:8080;allowinsecure=true
-    
+    - ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://0.0.0.0:49392
+    - BTCPAY_PROTOCOL=http
+    - BTCPAY_CHAINS=btc
+    - BTCPAY_BTCEXPLORERURL=http://archy-nbxplorer:32838
+    - BTCPAY_BTCRPCURL=http://bitcoin-knots:8332
+    - BTCPAY_BTCRPCUSER=archipelago
+    - BTCPAY_POSTGRES=Username=btcpay;Password=${BTCPAY_DB_PASS};Host=archy-btcpay-db;Port=5432;Database=btcpay
+
  health_check:
    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost
-    path: /health
+    endpoint: http://localhost:49392
+    path: /
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 3
-    
+
  bitcoin_integration:
    rpc_access: read-only
    sync_required: true
-    
+
  lightning_integration:
-    payment_processing: true
+    payment_processing: false
    invoice_management: true
+
+  interfaces:
+    main:
+      name: Web UI
+      description: BTCPay Server dashboard
+      type: ui
+      port: 23000
+      protocol: http
+      path: /
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+app:
+  id: electrs-ui
+  name: Electrs UI
+  version: 1.0.0
+  description: |
+    Archipelago-native HTTP frontend for electrs/electrumx status. Runs
+    nginx inside a container, serves static assets, and proxies
+    /electrs-status to the archipelago backend on 127.0.0.1:5678.
+
+  container:
+    build:
+      context: /opt/archipelago/docker/electrs-ui
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      tag: localhost/electrs-ui:local
+
+  dependencies: []
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 64Mi
+
+  security:
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: host
+
+  # Host networking: nginx listens on 50002 directly on the host IP.
+  ports: []
+
+  volumes: []
+
+  environment: []
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:50002
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+app:
+  id: electrumx
+  name: ElectrumX
+  version: 1.18.0
+  description: Electrum server indexing Bitcoin chain data for lightweight wallet queries.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/electrumx:v1.18.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    data_uid: "1000:1000"
+    entrypoint: ["sh", "-lc"]
+    custom_args:
+      - >-
+        export DAEMON_URL="http://archipelago:${BITCOIN_RPC_PASS}@bitcoin-knots:8332/";
+        exec electrumx_server
+    secret_env:
+      - key: BITCOIN_RPC_PASS
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: bitcoin-knots
+      version: ">=26.0"
+    - storage: 50Gi
+
+  resources:
+    cpu_limit: 2
+    memory_limit: 2Gi
+    disk_limit: 50Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: [DAC_OVERRIDE]
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 50001
+      container: 50001
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/electrumx
+      target: /data
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - COIN=Bitcoin
+    - DB_DIRECTORY=/data
+    - SERVICES=tcp://:50001,rpc://0.0.0.0:8000
+
+  health_check:
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:50001
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: read-only
+    sync_required: true
+    pruning_support: false
@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-node_modules
-dist
-*.log
-.git
-.gitignore
-README.md
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-FROM node:20-alpine AS builder
-
-WORKDIR /app
-
-# Copy package files
-COPY package*.json ./
-RUN npm ci --only=production
-
-# Copy source code
-COPY . .
-
-# Build the application
-RUN npm run build
-
-# Production stage
-FROM node:20-alpine
-
-WORKDIR /app
-
-# Copy built application
-COPY --from=builder /app/dist ./dist
-COPY --from=builder /app/node_modules ./node_modules
-COPY --from=builder /app/package.json ./
-
-# Create non-root user
-RUN addgroup -g 1000 appuser && \
-    adduser -D -u 1000 -G appuser appuser && \
-    mkdir -p /app/data && \
-    chown -R appuser:appuser /app
-
-USER appuser
-
-EXPOSE 8080
-
-ENV ENDURAIN_DATA_DIR=/app/data
-
-CMD ["node", "dist/index.js"]
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-app:
-  id: endurain
-  name: Endurain
-  version: 1.0.0
-  description: Endurain application platform. Custom application runtime.
-  
-  container:
-    image: archipelago/endurain:1.0.0
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: if-not-present
-    
-  dependencies:
-    - storage: 2Gi
-    
-  resources:
-    cpu_limit: 2
-    memory_limit: 1Gi
-    disk_limit: 2Gi
-    
-  security:
-    capabilities: []
-    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
-    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: endurain
-    
-  ports:
-    - host: 8085
-      container: 8080
-      protocol: tcp  # Web UI
-    
-  volumes:
-    - type: bind
-      source: /var/lib/archipelago/endurain
-      target: /app/data
-      options: [rw]
-      
-  environment:
-    - ENDURAIN_ENV=production
-    - ENDURAIN_DATA_DIR=/app/data
-    
-  health_check:
-    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:8085
-    path: /health
-    interval: 30s
-    timeout: 5s
-    retries: 3
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "name": "endurain",
-  "version": "1.0.0",
-  "description": "Endurain application platform",
-  "main": "dist/index.js",
-  "scripts": {
-    "build": "tsc",
-    "start": "node dist/index.js",
-    "dev": "ts-node src/index.ts"
-  },
-  "dependencies": {
-    "express": "^4.18.2"
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "@types/express": "^4.17.21",
-    "@types/node": "^20.10.0",
-    "typescript": "^5.3.3",
-    "ts-node": "^10.9.2"
-  }
-}
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-import express from 'express';
-
-const app = express();
-const port = 8080;
-
-// Middleware
-app.use(express.json());
-
-// Health check endpoint
-app.get('/health', (req, res) => {
-  res.json({ status: 'ok', service: 'endurain', version: '1.0.0' });
-});
-
-// API endpoints
-app.get('/api/info', (req, res) => {
-  res.json({
-    name: 'Endurain',
-    version: '1.0.0',
-    status: 'running'
-  });
-});
-
-// Start server
-app.listen(port, '0.0.0.0', () => {
-  console.log(`Endurain listening on port ${port}`);
-  console.log(`Data directory: ${process.env.ENDURAIN_DATA_DIR || '/app/data'}`);
-});
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "compilerOptions": {
-    "target": "ES2020",
-    "module": "commonjs",
-    "lib": ["ES2020"],
-    "outDir": "./dist",
-    "rootDir": "./src",
-    "strict": true,
-    "esModuleInterop": true,
-    "skipLibCheck": true,
-    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
-    "resolveJsonModule": true
-  },
-  "include": ["src/**/*"],
-  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
-}
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+app:
+  id: fedimint-gateway
+  name: Fedimint Gateway
+  version: 0.10.0
+  description: Fedimint gateway service with automatic LND-or-LDK backend selection.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/gatewayd:v0.10.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    entrypoint: ["sh", "-lc"]
+    custom_args:
+      - >-
+        if [ -f /lnd/tls.cert ] && [ -f /lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon ]; then
+          exec gatewayd --data-dir /data --listen 0.0.0.0:8176 --bcrypt-password-hash "$FEDI_HASH" --network bitcoin --bitcoind-url http://host.archipelago:8332 --bitcoind-username "$FM_BITCOIND_USERNAME" --bitcoind-password "$FM_BITCOIND_PASSWORD" lnd --lnd-rpc-host lnd:10009 --lnd-tls-cert /lnd/tls.cert --lnd-macaroon /lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon;
+        else
+          exec gatewayd --data-dir /data --listen 0.0.0.0:8176 --bcrypt-password-hash "$FEDI_HASH" --network bitcoin --bitcoind-url http://host.archipelago:8332 --bitcoind-username "$FM_BITCOIND_USERNAME" --bitcoind-password "$FM_BITCOIND_PASSWORD" ldk --ldk-lightning-port 9737 --ldk-alias archipelago-gateway;
+        fi
+    secret_env:
+      - key: FM_BITCOIND_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+      - key: FEDI_HASH
+        secret_file: fedimint-gateway-hash
+    data_uid: "1000:1000"
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: bitcoin-core
+      version: ">=26.0"
+    - app_id: fedimint
+      version: ">=0.10.0"
+
+  resources:
+    cpu_limit: 2
+    memory_limit: 2Gi
+    disk_limit: 10Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: []
+    readonly_root: true
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 8176
+      container: 8176
+      protocol: tcp
+    - host: 9737
+      container: 9737
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/fedimint-gateway
+      target: /data
+      options: [rw]
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/lnd
+      target: /lnd
+      options: [ro]
+
+  environment:
+    - FM_BITCOIND_USERNAME=archipelago
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://localhost:8176
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: admin
+    sync_required: true
@@ -3,56 +3,62 @@ app:
  name: Fedimint
  version: 0.10.0
  description: Federated Bitcoin minting service with built-in Guardian UI. Privacy-preserving Bitcoin custody.
-  
+
  container:
-    image: fedimint/fedimintd:v0.10.0
-    image_signature: cosign://...
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/fedimintd:v0.10.0
    pull_policy: if-not-present
-    
+    network: archy-net
+    derived_env:
+      - key: FM_P2P_URL
+        template: fedimint://{{HOST_MDNS}}:8173
+      - key: FM_API_URL
+        template: ws://{{HOST_MDNS}}:8174
+    secret_env:
+      - key: FM_BITCOIND_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+    data_uid: "1000:1000"
+
  dependencies:
    - app_id: bitcoin-core
-      version: ">=24.0"
+      version: ">=26.0"
    - storage: 20Gi
-    
+
  resources:
    cpu_limit: 4
    memory_limit: 4Gi
    disk_limit: 20Gi
-    
+
  security:
    capabilities: []
    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: fedimint
-    
+
  ports:
    - host: 8173
      container: 8173
-      protocol: tcp  # P2P
+      protocol: tcp
    - host: 8174
      container: 8174
-      protocol: tcp  # API
+      protocol: tcp
    - host: 8175
      container: 8175
-      protocol: tcp  # Built-in Guardian UI
-    
+      protocol: tcp
+
  volumes:
    - type: bind
      source: /var/lib/archipelago/fedimint
-      target: /fedimint
+      target: /data
      options: [rw]
-      
+
  environment:
-    - FM_DATA_DIR=/fedimint
-    - FM_BITCOIND_URL=http://bitcoin-core:8332
-    - FM_BITCOIND_USERNAME=${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}
-    - FM_BITCOIND_PASSWORD=${BITCOIN_RPC_PASSWORD}
+    - FM_DATA_DIR=/data
+    - FM_BITCOIND_URL=http://host.archipelago:8332
+    - FM_BITCOIND_USERNAME=archipelago
    - FM_BITCOIN_NETWORK=bitcoin
+    - FM_BIND_P2P=0.0.0.0:8173
+    - FM_BIND_API=0.0.0.0:8174
    - FM_BIND_UI=0.0.0.0:8175
-    
+
  health_check:
    type: http
    endpoint: http://localhost:8175
@@ -60,7 +66,7 @@ app:
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 3
-    
+
  bitcoin_integration:
    rpc_access: admin
    sync_required: true
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+app:
+  id: filebrowser
+  name: File Browser
+  version: 2.27.0
+  description: Baseline Archipelago file manager service.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/filebrowser:v2.27.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    custom_args: ["--config", "/data/.filebrowser.json"]
+    data_uid: "100000:100000"
+
+  dependencies:
+    - storage: 10Gi
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 256Mi
+    disk_limit: 10Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE, NET_BIND_SERVICE]
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 8083
+      container: 80
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser
+      target: /srv
+      options: [rw]
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser-data
+      target: /data
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment: []
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://localhost:80
+    path: /health
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: none
+    sync_required: false
@@ -29,9 +29,8 @@ environment:
  GITEA__repository__ENABLE_PUSH_CREATE_USER: "true"
  GITEA__repository__ENABLE_PUSH_CREATE_ORG: "true"

-# Gitea hardcodes X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN which blocks iframe embedding.
-# Container binds to internal_port (3001), nginx proxies public port (3000)
-# stripping the X-Frame-Options header so the app works in Archipelago's iframe.
+# Gitea hardcodes X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN, so Archipelago opens it in a
+# new tab on host port 3001 instead of embedding it in an iframe.
 nginx_proxy:
  listen: 3000
  proxy_pass: "http://127.0.0.1:3001"
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ app:
    apparmor_profile: grafana
    
  ports:
-    - host: 3001
+    - host: 3000
      container: 3000
      protocol: tcp  # Web UI
    
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@ app:
  environment:
    - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_USER=admin
    - GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${GRAFANA_ADMIN_PASSWORD}
-    - GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3001
+    - GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
    - GF_INSTALL_PLUGINS=
    
  health_check:
    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:3001
+    endpoint: http://localhost:3000
    path: /api/health
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
@@ -6,8 +6,9 @@ app:
  category: media

  container:
-    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/indeedhub:latest
+    image: 146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/indeedhub:latest
    pull_policy: always  # Pull from registry; falls back to local build
+    network: indeedhub-net

  dependencies:
    - storage: 1Gi
@@ -27,9 +28,9 @@ app:
    apparmor_profile: default

  ports:
-    - host: 7777
-      container: 3000
-      protocol: tcp  # Web UI (Next.js)
+    - host: 7778
+      container: 7777
+      protocol: tcp  # Web UI. Port 7777 on the host is reserved for Nostr relay.

  volumes:
    - type: tmpfs
@@ -38,6 +39,12 @@ app:
    - type: tmpfs
      target: /app/.next/cache
      options: [rw,noexec,nosuid,size=128m]
+    - type: tmpfs
+      target: /run
+      options: [rw,nosuid,nodev,size=16m]
+    - type: tmpfs
+      target: /var/cache/nginx
+      options: [rw,nosuid,nodev,size=32m]

  environment:
    - NODE_ENV=production
@@ -57,7 +64,7 @@ app:
      name: Web UI
      description: Stream Bitcoin documentaries with Nostr identity
      type: ui
-      port: 7777
+      port: 7778
      protocol: http
      path: /

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+app:
+  id: lnd-ui
+  name: LND UI
+  version: 1.0.0
+  description: |
+    Archipelago-native HTTP frontend for LND. Runs nginx inside a
+    container and serves static assets. LND connection info is fetched
+    via an absolute URL that the host nginx routes to the archipelago
+    backend on 127.0.0.1:5678, so no upstream auth is baked in.
+
+  container:
+    build:
+      context: /opt/archipelago/docker/lnd-ui
+      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      tag: localhost/lnd-ui:local
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: lnd
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 64Mi
+
+  security:
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: bridge
+
+  # Bridge networking via archy-net. Container nginx listens on 80;
+  # host nginx proxies /app/lnd/ -> 127.0.0.1:18083 -> container:80.
+  ports:
+    - host: 18083
+      container: 80
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes: []
+
+  environment: []
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:18083
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
@@ -1,67 +1,65 @@
 app:
  id: lnd
  name: Lightning Network Daemon
-  version: 0.18.0
+  version: 0.18.4
  description: Lightning Network implementation by Lightning Labs. Enables instant, low-cost Bitcoin payments.
-  
+
  container:
-    image: lightninglabs/lnd:v0.18.0
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: verify-signature
-    
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/lnd:v0.18.4-beta
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    secret_env:
+      - key: BITCOIND_RPCPASS
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+    data_uid: "100000:100000"
+
  dependencies:
    - app_id: bitcoin-core
      version: ">=26.0"
-    
+
  resources:
    cpu_limit: 2
    memory_limit: 1Gi
    disk_limit: 10Gi
-    
+
  security:
-    capabilities: [NET_BIND_SERVICE]
-    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
+    capabilities: [CHOWN, FOWNER, SETUID, SETGID, DAC_OVERRIDE, NET_RAW]
+    readonly_root: false
    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: lnd
-    
+
  ports:
    - host: 9735
      container: 9735
-      protocol: tcp  # P2P
+      protocol: tcp
    - host: 10009
      container: 10009
-      protocol: tcp  # gRPC
+      protocol: tcp
    - host: 8080
      container: 8080
-      protocol: tcp  # REST
-    
+      protocol: tcp
+
  volumes:
    - type: bind
      source: /var/lib/archipelago/lnd
      target: /root/.lnd
      options: [rw]
-      
+
  environment:
-    - BITCOIND_HOST=bitcoin-core
-    - BITCOIND_RPCUSER=${BITCOIN_RPC_USER}
-    - BITCOIND_RPCPASS=${BITCOIN_RPC_PASSWORD}
+    - BITCOIND_HOST=bitcoin-knots
+    - BITCOIND_RPCUSER=archipelago
    - NETWORK=mainnet
-    
+
  health_check:
-    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:8080
-    path: /v1/getinfo
+    type: tcp
+    endpoint: localhost:10009
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
    retries: 3
-    
+
  bitcoin_integration:
    rpc_access: admin
    sync_required: true
-    
+
  lightning_integration:
    channel_management: true
    payment_routing: true
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+app:
+  id: mempool-api
+  name: Mempool API
+  version: 3.0.0
+  description: Backend API for mempool explorer.
+
+  container:
+    image: git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/mempool-backend:v3.0.0
+    pull_policy: if-not-present
+    network: archy-net
+    secret_env:
+      - key: CORE_RPC_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: bitcoin-rpc-password
+      - key: DATABASE_PASSWORD
+        secret_file: mempool-db-password
+
+  dependencies:
+    - app_id: bitcoin-knots
+      version: ">=26.0"
+    - app_id: electrumx
+      version: ">=1.18.0"
+    - app_id: archy-mempool-db
+      version: ">=11.4.10"
+
+  resources:
+    memory_limit: 2Gi
+    disk_limit: 20Gi
+
+  security:
+    capabilities: []
+    readonly_root: false
+    network_policy: isolated
+
+  ports:
+    - host: 8999
+      container: 8999
+      protocol: tcp
+
+  volumes:
+    - type: bind
+      source: /var/lib/archipelago/mempool
+      target: /data
+      options: [rw]
+
+  environment:
+    - MEMPOOL_BACKEND=electrum
+    - ELECTRUM_HOST=electrumx
+    - ELECTRUM_PORT=50001
+    - ELECTRUM_TLS_ENABLED=false
+    - CORE_RPC_HOST=bitcoin-knots
+    - CORE_RPC_PORT=8332
+    - CORE_RPC_USERNAME=archipelago
+    - DATABASE_ENABLED=true
+    - DATABASE_HOST=archy-mempool-db
+    - DATABASE_DATABASE=mempool
+    - DATABASE_USERNAME=mempool
+
+  health_check:
+    type: http
+    endpoint: http://localhost:8999
+    path: /
+    interval: 30s
+    timeout: 5s
+    retries: 3
+
+  bitcoin_integration:
+    rpc_access: read-only
+    sync_required: true
+    pruning_support: false
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ app:
    image: scsibug/nostr-rs-relay:0.8.9
    image_signature: cosign://...
    pull_policy: verify-signature
+    data_uid: "1000:1000"
    
  dependencies:
    - storage: 10Gi  # For event storage
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ app:
  volumes:
    - type: bind
      source: /var/lib/archipelago/nostr-relay
-      target: /app/db
+      target: /usr/src/app/db
      options: [rw]
      
  environment:
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# Ollama - uses official image
-FROM ollama/ollama:latest
-
-# Default configuration is in the image
-# No additional setup needed
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-app:
-  id: ollama
-  name: Ollama
-  version: 0.1.0
-  description: Run large language models locally. Privacy-preserving AI on your node.
-  
-  container:
-    image: ollama/ollama:0.6.2
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: if-not-present
-    
-  dependencies:
-    - storage: 50Gi  # Models can be large
-    
-  resources:
-    cpu_limit: 4
-    memory_limit: 8Gi  # LLMs need lots of RAM
-    disk_limit: 50Gi
-    
-  security:
-    capabilities: []
-    readonly_root: false  # Ollama needs write access for models
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
-    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: ollama
-    
-  ports:
-    - host: 11434
-      container: 11434
-      protocol: tcp  # API
-    
-  volumes:
-    - type: bind
-      source: /var/lib/archipelago/ollama
-      target: /root/.ollama
-      options: [rw]
-      
-  environment:
-    - OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0:11434
-    - OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVE=24h
-    
-  health_check:
-    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:11434
-    path: /api/tags
-    interval: 30s
-    timeout: 10s
-    retries: 3
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-# Penpot - uses official image
-FROM penpot/penpot:latest
-
-# Default configuration is in the image
-# No additional setup needed
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-app:
-  id: penpot
-  name: Penpot
-  version: 2.0.0
-  description: Open-source design and prototyping platform. Design tools for teams.
-  
-  container:
-    image: penpotapp/frontend:2.13.3
-    image_signature: cosign://...
-    pull_policy: if-not-present
-    
-  dependencies:
-    - storage: 10Gi
-    
-  resources:
-    cpu_limit: 4
-    memory_limit: 4Gi
-    disk_limit: 10Gi
-    
-  security:
-    capabilities: []
-    readonly_root: true
-    no_new_privileges: true
-    user: 1000
-    seccomp_profile: default
-    network_policy: isolated
-    apparmor_profile: penpot
-    
-  ports:
-    - host: 8089
-      container: 80
-      protocol: tcp  # Web UI
-    
-  volumes:
-    - type: bind
-      source: /var/lib/archipelago/penpot
-      target: /app/data
-      options: [rw]
-      
-  environment:
-    - PENPOT_PUBLIC_URI=http://localhost:8089
-    - PENPOT_DATABASE_URI=postgresql://penpot:penpot@penpot-db:5432/penpot
-    - PENPOT_REDIS_URI=redis://penpot-redis:6379
-    
-  health_check:
-    type: http
-    endpoint: http://localhost:8089
-    path: /api/health
-    interval: 30s
-    timeout: 5s
-    retries: 3
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 app:
  id: searxng
  name: SearXNG
-  version: 2024.1.0
+  version: latest
  description: Privacy-respecting metasearch engine. Search the web without tracking.
  
  container:
-    image: searxng/searxng:2024.1.0
-    image_signature: cosign://...
+    image: 146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/searxng:latest
    pull_policy: if-not-present
    
  dependencies:
@@ -80,13 +80,14 @@ checksum = "a23eb6b1614318a8071c9b2521f36b424b2c83db5eb3a0fead4a6c0809af6e61"

 [[package]]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.36-alpha"
+version = "1.7.52-alpha"
 dependencies = [
 "anyhow",
 "archipelago-container",
 "archipelago-performance",
 "archipelago-security",
 "argon2",
+ "async-trait",
 "base64 0.21.7",
 "bcrypt",
 "bip39",
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "archipelago"
-version = "1.7.36-alpha"
+version = "1.7.52-alpha"
 edition = "2021"
 description = "Archipelago Bitcoin Node OS - Native backend"
 authors = ["Archipelago Team"]
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ mdns-sd = "0.18"
 # Systemd watchdog notification
 sd-notify = "0.4"

+# Trait objects for async methods (container orchestrator trait, Step 4)
+async-trait = "0.1"
+
 [dev-dependencies]
 tokio-test = "0.4"
 tempfile = "3.10"
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ mod websocket;
 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
 use crate::blobs::BlobStore;
 use crate::config::Config;
+use crate::container::{ContainerOrchestrator, DevContainerOrchestrator};
 use crate::monitoring::MetricsStore;
 use crate::session::{self, SessionStore};
 use crate::state::StateManager;
@@ -54,6 +55,8 @@ impl ApiHandler {
        config: Config,
        state_manager: Arc<StateManager>,
        metrics_store: Arc<MetricsStore>,
+        orchestrator: Option<Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator>>,
+        dev_orchestrator: Option<Arc<DevContainerOrchestrator>>,
    ) -> Result<Self> {
        let session_store = SessionStore::new().await;
        let rpc_handler = Arc::new(
@@ -62,6 +65,8 @@ impl ApiHandler {
                state_manager.clone(),
                metrics_store.clone(),
                session_store.clone(),
+                orchestrator,
+                dev_orchestrator,
            )
            .await?,
        );
@@ -125,8 +130,7 @@ impl ApiHandler {
    /// persisted a registry config yet. 15s total timeout.
    async fn handle_app_catalog_proxy(&self) -> Result<Response<hyper::Body>> {
        let mut upstreams: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
-        if let Ok(config) =
-            crate::container::registry::load_registries(&self.config.data_dir).await
+        if let Ok(config) = crate::container::registry::load_registries(&self.config.data_dir).await
        {
            for reg in config.active_registries() {
                let scheme = if reg.tls_verify { "https" } else { "http" };
@@ -141,7 +145,7 @@ impl ApiHandler {
        }
        if upstreams.is_empty() {
            upstreams.push(
-                "http://23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025/app-catalog/raw/branch/main/catalog.json"
+                "http://146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/app-catalog/raw/branch/main/catalog.json"
                    .to_string(),
            );
            upstreams.push(
@@ -316,7 +320,7 @@ impl ApiHandler {

        match (method, path.as_str()) {
            // RPC — auth is handled inside rpc handler per-method
-            (Method::POST, "/rpc/v1") => self.rpc_handler.handle(req_with_bytes).await,
+            (Method::POST, "/rpc/v1") => self.rpc_handler.clone().handle(req_with_bytes).await,

            // Health — unauthenticated, returns JSON with service status
            (Method::GET, "/health") => {
@@ -425,6 +429,7 @@ impl ApiHandler {

            // Electrs status — unauthenticated (read-only sync status)
            (Method::GET, "/electrs-status") => Self::handle_electrs_status().await,
+            (Method::GET, "/bitcoin-status") => Self::handle_bitcoin_status().await,

            // App-catalog proxy — fetches catalog.json from the configured
            // upstream URLs server-side so the browser doesn't hit CORS
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use super::build_response;
 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
+use crate::bitcoin_status;
 use crate::electrs_status;
 use anyhow::Result;
 use hyper::{Response, StatusCode};
@@ -76,11 +77,23 @@ impl ApiHandler {
    pub(super) async fn handle_electrs_status() -> Result<Response<hyper::Body>> {
        let status = electrs_status::get_electrs_sync_status().await;
        let body = serde_json::to_vec(&status).unwrap_or_default();
-        Ok(build_response(
-            StatusCode::OK,
-            "application/json",
-            hyper::Body::from(body),
-        ))
+        Ok(Response::builder()
+            .status(StatusCode::OK)
+            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+            .header("Cache-Control", "no-store")
+            .body(hyper::Body::from(body))
+            .unwrap_or_else(|_| Response::new(hyper::Body::from("{}"))))
+    }
+
+    pub(super) async fn handle_bitcoin_status() -> Result<Response<hyper::Body>> {
+        let status = bitcoin_status::get_bitcoin_status().await;
+        let body = serde_json::to_vec(&status).unwrap_or_default();
+        Ok(Response::builder()
+            .status(StatusCode::OK)
+            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+            .header("Cache-Control", "no-store")
+            .body(hyper::Body::from(body))
+            .unwrap_or_else(|_| Response::new(hyper::Body::from("{}"))))
    }

    pub(super) async fn handle_lnd_connect_info(
@@ -3,6 +3,55 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use zeroize::Zeroize;

+/// Retry configuration for [`bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry`].
+///
+/// Exposed as a struct (rather than hard-coded constants inside the function)
+/// so tests can dial down timeouts to keep the suite fast while still
+/// exercising real retry/backoff behavior.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+struct RetryConfig {
+    max_attempts: u32,
+    attempt_timeout: std::time::Duration,
+    /// Length must equal `max_attempts - 1` (one backoff between each
+    /// successive attempt). The last attempt is not followed by a backoff.
+    backoffs: Vec<std::time::Duration>,
+}
+
+impl RetryConfig {
+    /// Production retry policy: 3 attempts, 15s each, 500ms + 1500ms backoffs.
+    /// Total worst-case wall time: 3 * 15 + 0.5 + 1.5 = 47s.
+    fn production() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            max_attempts: BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS,
+            attempt_timeout: BITCOIN_RPC_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT,
+            backoffs: BITCOIN_RPC_BACKOFFS.to_vec(),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Max retry attempts for a single bitcoin_rpc_call invocation.
+/// First attempt + 2 retries = 3 total.
+const BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS: u32 = 3;
+
+/// Per-attempt deadline. Must be >= the reqwest client's own timeout (we
+/// build it at 15s in handle_bitcoin_getinfo) — this is the outer safety net.
+const BITCOIN_RPC_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT: std::time::Duration = std::time::Duration::from_secs(15);
+
+/// Backoff between attempts. Index 0 = after first failure, 1 = after second, etc.
+/// Chosen to absorb bitcoind's typical block-validation stall (2-5s) without
+/// adding noticeable latency on the happy path (first attempt succeeds in ~30ms).
+const BITCOIN_RPC_BACKOFFS: [std::time::Duration; 2] = [
+    std::time::Duration::from_millis(500),
+    std::time::Duration::from_millis(1500),
+];
+
+/// Classify a reqwest error as transient (retryable) or fatal.
+/// Transient: timeout, connect refused, request/response body IO errors.
+/// Fatal: TLS errors, URL parse errors, redirect loops, builder errors.
+fn is_transient_transport_error(e: &reqwest::Error) -> bool {
+    e.is_timeout() || e.is_connect() || e.is_request() || e.is_body()
+}
+
 #[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
 struct BitcoinInfo {
    block_height: u64,
@@ -37,8 +86,15 @@ struct MempoolInfo {

 impl RpcHandler {
    pub(super) async fn handle_bitcoin_getinfo(&self) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        // Per-attempt timeout (see bitcoin_rpc_call for retry semantics).
+        // 15s is enough room for bitcoind to answer getblockchaininfo even
+        // during block validation; bitcoin_rpc_call wraps each attempt in a
+        // separate tokio::time::timeout too, so this is belt-and-suspenders.
+        // connect_timeout is tighter so a dead bitcoind doesn't steal the
+        // whole attempt budget on TCP connect alone.
        let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
-            .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(10))
+            .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(15))
+            .connect_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(3))
            .build()
            .context("Failed to create HTTP client")?;

@@ -68,6 +124,19 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Ok(serde_json::to_value(info)?)
    }

+    /// Call a Bitcoin Core JSON-RPC method.
+    ///
+    /// Retries up to [`BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS`] times on transient
+    /// transport errors (timeout / connection refused / send/recv IO).
+    /// Does **not** retry when bitcoind responds with a well-formed
+    /// `{"error": ...}` body — those are real RPC errors and surfacing
+    /// them quickly is the right behavior.
+    ///
+    /// Motivation: on a syncing pruned node, bitcoind's RPC thread can block
+    /// for 5-10 seconds during block validation. A single 10s timeout means
+    /// ~30% of UI calls error out even though the node is perfectly healthy.
+    /// With retry + backoff, the UI sees a uniform slow-but-successful
+    /// response instead of intermittent failures.
    async fn bitcoin_rpc_call<T: serde::de::DeserializeOwned>(
        &self,
        client: &reqwest::Client,
@@ -75,33 +144,15 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        params: &[serde_json::Value],
    ) -> Result<T> {
        let (rpc_user, rpc_pass) = crate::bitcoin_rpc::bitcoin_rpc_credentials().await;
-        let body = serde_json::json!({
-            "jsonrpc": "1.0",
-            "id": "archy",
-            "method": method,
-            "params": params,
-        });
-
-        let resp = client
-            .post(crate::constants::BITCOIN_RPC_URL)
-            .basic_auth(&rpc_user, Some(&rpc_pass))
-            .json(&body)
-            .send()
-            .await
-            .context("Bitcoin RPC connection failed")?;
-
-        let rpc_resp: BitcoinRpcResponse<T> = resp
-            .json()
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to parse Bitcoin RPC response")?;
-
-        if let Some(err) = rpc_resp.error {
-            anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC error: {}", err);
-        }
-
-        rpc_resp
-            .result
-            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Bitcoin RPC returned null result"))
+        bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry(
+            client,
+            crate::constants::BITCOIN_RPC_URL,
+            &rpc_user,
+            &rpc_pass,
+            method,
+            params,
+        )
+        .await
    }

    /// Initialize a Bitcoin Core descriptor wallet with keys derived from the master seed.
@@ -243,3 +294,351 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        }))
    }
 }
+
+/// Free-function counterpart to `RpcHandler::bitcoin_rpc_call`.
+///
+/// Takes the URL + credentials as parameters so it can be exercised by unit
+/// tests against a mock HTTP server without constructing a full `RpcHandler`.
+///
+/// Production callers go through `RpcHandler::bitcoin_rpc_call`, which loads
+/// credentials from the secrets file and points at `BITCOIN_RPC_URL`.
+async fn bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry<T: serde::de::DeserializeOwned>(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    url: &str,
+    rpc_user: &str,
+    rpc_pass: &str,
+    method: &str,
+    params: &[serde_json::Value],
+) -> Result<T> {
+    bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry_cfg(
+        client,
+        url,
+        rpc_user,
+        rpc_pass,
+        method,
+        params,
+        &RetryConfig::production(),
+    )
+    .await
+}
+
+/// Inner implementation with configurable retry policy (for tests).
+async fn bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry_cfg<T: serde::de::DeserializeOwned>(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    url: &str,
+    rpc_user: &str,
+    rpc_pass: &str,
+    method: &str,
+    params: &[serde_json::Value],
+    cfg: &RetryConfig,
+) -> Result<T> {
+    debug_assert_eq!(
+        cfg.backoffs.len(),
+        (cfg.max_attempts - 1) as usize,
+        "RetryConfig: backoffs.len() must equal max_attempts - 1"
+    );
+
+    let body = serde_json::json!({
+        "jsonrpc": "1.0",
+        "id": "archy",
+        "method": method,
+        "params": params,
+    });
+
+    let mut last_err: Option<anyhow::Error> = None;
+    for attempt in 0..cfg.max_attempts {
+        if attempt > 0 {
+            let backoff = cfg
+                .backoffs
+                .get(attempt as usize - 1)
+                .copied()
+                .unwrap_or_else(|| std::time::Duration::from_secs(2));
+            tracing::warn!(
+                "bitcoin_rpc({}): attempt {} failed, backing off {:?}",
+                method,
+                attempt,
+                backoff
+            );
+            tokio::time::sleep(backoff).await;
+        }
+
+        // Per-attempt hard deadline. Independent of reqwest's built-in timeout
+        // so we always cap total time even if reqwest blocks on something
+        // weird (e.g., DNS starvation).
+        let fut = client
+            .post(url)
+            .basic_auth(rpc_user, Some(rpc_pass))
+            .json(&body)
+            .send();
+
+        let send_result = match tokio::time::timeout(cfg.attempt_timeout, fut).await {
+            Err(_elapsed) => {
+                last_err = Some(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                    "Bitcoin RPC send timed out after {:?}",
+                    cfg.attempt_timeout
+                ));
+                continue; // transient: retry
+            }
+            Ok(r) => r,
+        };
+
+        let resp = match send_result {
+            Ok(r) => r,
+            Err(e) if is_transient_transport_error(&e) => {
+                last_err = Some(anyhow::Error::from(e).context("Bitcoin RPC connection failed"));
+                continue; // transient: retry
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                return Err(anyhow::Error::from(e).context("Bitcoin RPC connection failed"));
+            }
+        };
+
+        let rpc_resp: BitcoinRpcResponse<T> = resp
+            .json()
+            .await
+            .context("Failed to parse Bitcoin RPC response")?;
+
+        if let Some(err) = rpc_resp.error {
+            // RPC-level error: this is a real bitcoind response, not transient.
+            anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC error: {}", err);
+        }
+
+        return rpc_resp
+            .result
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Bitcoin RPC returned null result"));
+    }
+
+    Err(last_err
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Bitcoin RPC exhausted retries with no error captured")))
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use hyper::service::{make_service_fn, service_fn};
+    use hyper::{Body, Request, Response, Server, StatusCode};
+    use std::convert::Infallible;
+    use std::net::SocketAddr;
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU32, Ordering};
+    use std::sync::Arc;
+
+    /// Spin up a mock bitcoind HTTP server that behaves according to `handler`.
+    /// Returns the bound URL and a JoinHandle (dropped = server shutdown via the
+    /// oneshot cancel channel).
+    async fn spawn_mock<F, Fut>(
+        handler: F,
+    ) -> (
+        String,
+        tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>,
+        tokio::sync::oneshot::Sender<()>,
+    )
+    where
+        F: Fn(Request<Body>) -> Fut + Send + Sync + Clone + 'static,
+        Fut: std::future::Future<Output = Response<Body>> + Send + 'static,
+    {
+        let addr = SocketAddr::from(([127, 0, 0, 1], 0));
+        let make_svc = make_service_fn(move |_| {
+            let handler = handler.clone();
+            async move {
+                Ok::<_, Infallible>(service_fn(move |req| {
+                    let handler = handler.clone();
+                    async move { Ok::<_, Infallible>(handler(req).await) }
+                }))
+            }
+        });
+        let server = Server::bind(&addr).serve(make_svc);
+        let url = format!("http://{}", server.local_addr());
+        let (tx, rx) = tokio::sync::oneshot::channel::<()>();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let graceful = server.with_graceful_shutdown(async {
+                let _ = rx.await;
+            });
+            let _ = graceful.await;
+        });
+        (url, handle, tx)
+    }
+
+    /// Reply body bitcoind would send for a successful getblockcount.
+    fn ok_reply() -> Body {
+        Body::from(r#"{"result":42,"error":null,"id":"archy"}"#)
+    }
+
+    fn err_reply() -> Body {
+        Body::from(r#"{"result":null,"error":{"code":-8,"message":"nope"},"id":"archy"}"#)
+    }
+
+    /// Succeeds on first attempt — should not retry.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn happy_path_first_attempt() {
+        let count = Arc::new(AtomicU32::new(0));
+        let c = count.clone();
+        let (url, _h, _tx) = spawn_mock(move |_req| {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            async move {
+                c.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                Response::new(ok_reply())
+            }
+        })
+        .await;
+
+        let client = reqwest::Client::builder().build().unwrap();
+        let v: u64 =
+            bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry(&client, &url, "user", "pass", "getblockcount", &[])
+                .await
+                .expect("should succeed");
+        assert_eq!(v, 42);
+        assert_eq!(count.load(Ordering::SeqCst), 1, "should not have retried");
+    }
+
+    /// HTTP 503 with non-JSON body: produces a JSON-parse error which is NOT
+    /// classified as transient. Must fail after first attempt.
+    /// This guards against the tempting mistake of blanket-retrying every
+    /// non-2xx response — which would mask real bitcoind misconfig.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn does_not_retry_parse_errors() {
+        let count = Arc::new(AtomicU32::new(0));
+        let c = count.clone();
+        let (url, _h, _tx) = spawn_mock(move |_req| {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            async move {
+                c.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                Response::builder()
+                    .status(StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE)
+                    .body(Body::from("busy"))
+                    .unwrap()
+            }
+        })
+        .await;
+
+        let client = reqwest::Client::builder().build().unwrap();
+        let result: Result<u64> =
+            bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry(&client, &url, "user", "pass", "getblockcount", &[]).await;
+        assert!(result.is_err(), "non-JSON response should error out");
+        assert_eq!(
+            count.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+            1,
+            "parse errors are not retryable"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Connect-refused (port closed) is the canonical transient transport
+    /// error. Must exhaust BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS and the total elapsed
+    /// time must include at least the sum of the backoffs.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn retries_exhausted_on_persistent_connect_refused() {
+        // Bind a port then immediately drop the listener so the port is closed.
+        let listener = tokio::net::TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0").await.unwrap();
+        let closed_url = format!("http://{}", listener.local_addr().unwrap());
+        drop(listener);
+
+        let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+            .connect_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_millis(500))
+            .build()
+            .unwrap();
+        let start = std::time::Instant::now();
+        let result: Result<u64> =
+            bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry(&client, &closed_url, "user", "pass", "getblockcount", &[])
+                .await;
+        let elapsed = start.elapsed();
+        assert!(result.is_err(), "connect-refused should exhaust retries");
+        let min_backoff: std::time::Duration = BITCOIN_RPC_BACKOFFS.iter().sum();
+        assert!(
+            elapsed >= min_backoff,
+            "should have backed off between retries (elapsed={:?}, expected at least {:?})",
+            elapsed,
+            min_backoff
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// The motivating scenario: first attempt times out (bitcoind busy),
+    /// subsequent attempt succeeds. Uses a short test-only RetryConfig so
+    /// the test runs in <1s instead of 15s.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn retries_on_timeout_then_succeeds() {
+        let count = Arc::new(AtomicU32::new(0));
+        let c = count.clone();
+        // Mock server: first request hangs for 500ms, subsequent requests reply OK.
+        let (url, _h, _tx) = spawn_mock(move |_req| {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            async move {
+                let n = c.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                if n == 0 {
+                    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(500)).await;
+                }
+                Response::new(ok_reply())
+            }
+        })
+        .await;
+
+        let client = reqwest::Client::builder().build().unwrap();
+        // Attempt timeout 100ms < server's 500ms sleep => first attempt times out.
+        // Backoff 20ms between attempts.
+        let cfg = RetryConfig {
+            max_attempts: 3,
+            attempt_timeout: std::time::Duration::from_millis(100),
+            backoffs: vec![
+                std::time::Duration::from_millis(20),
+                std::time::Duration::from_millis(20),
+            ],
+        };
+        let v: u64 = bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry_cfg(
+            &client,
+            &url,
+            "user",
+            "pass",
+            "getblockcount",
+            &[],
+            &cfg,
+        )
+        .await
+        .expect("second attempt should succeed");
+        assert_eq!(v, 42);
+        assert!(
+            count.load(Ordering::SeqCst) >= 2,
+            "expected at least 2 attempts (got {})",
+            count.load(Ordering::SeqCst)
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// bitcoind returned a well-formed `{"error": ...}` body. Must NOT retry.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn does_not_retry_on_rpc_level_error() {
+        let count = Arc::new(AtomicU32::new(0));
+        let c = count.clone();
+        let (url, _h, _tx) = spawn_mock(move |_req| {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            async move {
+                c.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+                Response::new(err_reply())
+            }
+        })
+        .await;
+
+        let client = reqwest::Client::builder().build().unwrap();
+        let result: Result<u64> =
+            bitcoin_rpc_post_with_retry(&client, &url, "user", "pass", "getblockcount", &[]).await;
+        assert!(result.is_err());
+        assert_eq!(
+            count.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+            1,
+            "RPC-level errors are not transient"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Sanity: retry budget invariants. Chosen to catch regressions where
+    /// someone bumps these constants without realizing the total worst-case
+    /// wall time implications.
+    #[test]
+    fn retry_budget_invariants() {
+        assert_eq!(BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS, 3);
+        assert_eq!(
+            BITCOIN_RPC_BACKOFFS.len(),
+            (BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS - 1) as usize
+        );
+        // Total wall-time ceiling:
+        //   3 attempts * 15s  +  (0.5s + 1.5s) backoff  =  47s
+        let total: std::time::Duration = BITCOIN_RPC_ATTEMPT_TIMEOUT * BITCOIN_RPC_MAX_ATTEMPTS
+            + BITCOIN_RPC_BACKOFFS.iter().sum::<std::time::Duration>();
+        assert!(total < std::time::Duration::from_secs(60));
+    }
+}
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use super::package::validate_app_id;
+use super::transitional::Op;
 use super::RpcHandler;
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};

@@ -7,8 +8,13 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
+        // The `container-install { manifest_path }` RPC is a dev-mode convenience
+        // that points at an arbitrary YAML on disk. Production install happens via
+        // the reconciler (BootReconciler, Step 5) and via the unified
+        // ContainerOrchestrator::install(app_id) trait call, which can be exposed
+        // through a separate `container-install-by-id` RPC when needed.
+        let dev = self.dev_orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
+            anyhow::anyhow!("container-install with manifest_path is only available in dev mode")
        })?;

        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
@@ -45,7 +51,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        let manifest: archipelago_container::AppManifest =
            serde_yaml::from_str(&manifest_content).context("Failed to parse manifest")?;

-        let container_name = orchestrator
+        let container_name = dev
            .install_container(&manifest, manifest_path)
            .await
            .context("Failed to install container")?;
@@ -57,10 +63,6 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
-
        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
        let app_id = params
            .get("app_id")
@@ -68,22 +70,24 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing app_id"))?;
        validate_app_id(app_id)?;

-        orchestrator
-            .start_container(app_id)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to start container")?;
+        // User explicitly started the app — clear the user-stopped marker so
+        // crash recovery / health monitor won't second-guess it. Must happen
+        // BEFORE the spawn (see runtime.rs:145-148 for the symmetric stop
+        // side and the ordering contract crash recovery depends on).
+        crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, app_id).await;

-        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "started" }))
+        // spawn_transitional returns as soon as the background task is
+        // launched (<1s). The UI sees Starting… immediately via WebSocket.
+        self.spawn_transitional(Op::Start, app_id.to_string())
+            .await?;
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "starting" }))
    }

    pub(super) async fn handle_container_stop(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
-
        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
        let app_id = params
            .get("app_id")
@@ -91,21 +95,51 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing app_id"))?;
        validate_app_id(app_id)?;

-        orchestrator
-            .stop_container(app_id)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to stop container")?;
+        // Mark as user-stopped BEFORE the spawn — ordering is load-bearing
+        // (crash recovery / health monitor inspect this flag concurrently
+        // with the in-flight stop; see runtime.rs:145-148 for the package
+        // path that also writes this in the same order).
+        crate::crash_recovery::mark_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, app_id).await;

-        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "stopped" }))
+        // podman stop -t 600 (bitcoin-core) / -t 330 (lnd) runs in the
+        // background; the RPC returns now with "stopping".
+        self.spawn_transitional(Op::Stop, app_id.to_string())
+            .await?;
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "stopping" }))
+    }
+
+    pub(super) async fn handle_container_restart(
+        &self,
+        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
+        let app_id = params
+            .get("app_id")
+            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing app_id"))?;
+        validate_app_id(app_id)?;
+
+        // Restart does not mark user-stopped (the user wants the app to
+        // keep running). Clear the marker as a defensive measure in case a
+        // prior stop left it set and the restart is intended to revive the
+        // normal running state.
+        crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, app_id).await;
+
+        self.spawn_transitional(Op::Restart, app_id.to_string())
+            .await?;
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "restarting" }))
    }

    pub(super) async fn handle_container_remove(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?;

        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
        let app_id = params
@@ -119,7 +153,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .unwrap_or(false);

        orchestrator
-            .remove_container(app_id, preserve_data)
+            .remove(app_id, preserve_data)
            .await
            .context("Failed to remove container")?;

@@ -137,12 +171,25 @@ impl RpcHandler {
                .package_data
                .iter()
                .map(|(id, pkg)| {
+                    // Keep this mapping in sync with the UI's
+                    // ContainerStatus.state union in
+                    // neode-ui/src/api/container-client.ts. The UI maps
+                    // transitional variants to single-button labels
+                    // (Stopping… / Starting… / Restarting…).
                    let state = match &pkg.state {
                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Running => "running",
                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Stopped => "stopped",
                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Exited => "exited",
-                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Starting => "created",
-                        _ => "unknown",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Starting => "starting",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Stopping => "stopping",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Restarting => "restarting",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Installing => "installing",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Installed => "installed",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Updating => "updating",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::Removing => "removing",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::CreatingBackup => "creating-backup",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::RestoringBackup => "restoring-backup",
+                        crate::data_model::PackageState::BackingUp => "backing-up",
                    };
                    let lan = pkg
                        .installed
@@ -163,9 +210,9 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Ok(serde_json::json!(containers));
        }

-        // Fallback: scanner hasn't run yet, query podman directly
+        // Fallback: scanner hasn't run yet, query the orchestrator directly.
        if let Some(orchestrator) = &self.orchestrator {
-            if let Ok(containers) = orchestrator.list_containers().await {
+            if let Ok(containers) = orchestrator.list().await {
                if !containers.is_empty() {
                    return Ok(serde_json::to_value(containers)?);
                }
@@ -242,9 +289,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?;

        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
        let app_id = params
@@ -253,21 +301,36 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing app_id"))?;
        validate_app_id(app_id)?;

-        let status = orchestrator
-            .get_container_status(app_id)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to get container status")?;
+        let mut last_err: Option<anyhow::Error> = None;
+        for candidate in status_app_id_candidates(app_id) {
+            match orchestrator.status(&candidate).await {
+                Ok(status) => return Ok(serde_json::to_value(status)?),
+                Err(e) => last_err = Some(e),
+            }
+        }

-        Ok(serde_json::to_value(status)?)
+        // Fallback for alias drift: query podman directly by likely container
+        // names so status checks stay useful during migration.
+        for name in status_container_name_candidates(app_id) {
+            if let Some(v) = inspect_container_state_value(&name).await {
+                return Ok(v);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if let Some(e) = last_err {
+            return Err(e.context("Failed to get container status"));
+        }
+        Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to get container status"))
    }

    pub(super) async fn handle_container_logs(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?;

        let params = params.ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
        let app_id = params
@@ -278,7 +341,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        let lines = params.get("lines").and_then(|v| v.as_u64()).unwrap_or(100) as u32;

        let logs = orchestrator
-            .get_container_logs(app_id, lines)
+            .logs(app_id, lines)
            .await
            .context("Failed to get container logs")?;

@@ -291,12 +354,13 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        app_id: &str,
        lines: u32,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?;

        let logs = orchestrator
-            .get_container_logs(app_id, lines)
+            .logs(app_id, lines)
            .await
            .context("Failed to get container logs")?;

@@ -307,43 +371,63 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
-            anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available (dev mode required)")
-        })?;
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?;

-        // If app_id is provided, get health for that app
+        // If app_id is provided, get health for that app.
        if let Some(params) = params {
            if let Some(app_id) = params.get("app_id").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
-                let health = orchestrator
-                    .get_health_status(app_id)
-                    .await
-                    .context("Failed to get container health")?;
-                return Ok(serde_json::json!({ app_id: health }));
+                let mut last_err: Option<anyhow::Error> = None;
+                for candidate in status_app_id_candidates(app_id) {
+                    match orchestrator.health(&candidate).await {
+                        Ok(health) => return Ok(serde_json::json!({ app_id: health })),
+                        Err(e) => last_err = Some(e),
+                    }
+                }
+                for name in status_container_name_candidates(app_id) {
+                    if let Some(health) = inspect_container_health_value(&name).await {
+                        return Ok(serde_json::json!({ app_id: health }));
+                    }
+                }
+                if let Some(e) = last_err {
+                    return Err(e.context("Failed to get container health"));
+                }
+                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to get container health"));
            }
        }

-        // Otherwise, get health for all containers
+        // Otherwise, get health for all containers.
        let containers = orchestrator
-            .list_containers()
+            .list()
            .await
            .context("Failed to list containers")?;

        let mut health_map = serde_json::Map::new();
        for container in containers {
-            if let Some(app_id) = container.name.strip_prefix("archipelago-") {
-                if let Some(app_id) = app_id.strip_suffix("-dev") {
-                    match orchestrator.get_health_status(app_id).await {
-                        Ok(health) => {
-                            health_map
-                                .insert(app_id.to_string(), serde_json::Value::String(health));
-                        }
-                        Err(_) => {
-                            health_map.insert(
-                                app_id.to_string(),
-                                serde_json::Value::String("unknown".to_string()),
-                            );
-                        }
-                    }
+            // Map the runtime container name back to the app_id the orchestrator
+            // knows about. Dev orchestrator uses `archipelago-<id>-dev`; Prod
+            // uses bare `<id>` (or `archy-<id>` for UIs — health() accepts the
+            // app_id either way since UI_APP_IDS is centralised).
+            let app_id_candidate = container
+                .name
+                .strip_prefix("archipelago-")
+                .and_then(|s| s.strip_suffix("-dev"))
+                .or_else(|| container.name.strip_prefix("archy-"))
+                .unwrap_or(container.name.as_str());
+            match orchestrator.health(app_id_candidate).await {
+                Ok(health) => {
+                    health_map.insert(
+                        app_id_candidate.to_string(),
+                        serde_json::Value::String(health),
+                    );
+                }
+                Err(_) => {
+                    health_map.insert(
+                        app_id_candidate.to_string(),
+                        serde_json::Value::String("unknown".to_string()),
+                    );
                }
            }
        }
@@ -351,3 +435,111 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Ok(serde_json::Value::Object(health_map))
    }
 }
+
+fn status_app_id_candidates(app_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut push = |s: &str| {
+        if !out.iter().any(|e: &String| e == s) {
+            out.push(s.to_string());
+        }
+    };
+
+    match app_id {
+        "bitcoin-knots" => {
+            push("bitcoin-knots");
+            push("bitcoin-core");
+            push("bitcoin");
+        }
+        "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin" => {
+            push("bitcoin-core");
+            push("bitcoin-knots");
+            push("bitcoin");
+        }
+        "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => {
+            push("electrs");
+            push("mempool-electrs");
+            push("electrumx");
+        }
+        "mempool" | "mempool-web" => {
+            push("mempool");
+            push("archy-mempool-web");
+        }
+        "immich" => {
+            push("immich");
+            push("immich_server");
+        }
+        _ => push(app_id),
+    }
+
+    out
+}
+
+fn status_container_name_candidates(app_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut push = |s: &str| {
+        if !out.iter().any(|e: &String| e == s) {
+            out.push(s.to_string());
+        }
+    };
+
+    match app_id {
+        "bitcoin-knots" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin" => push("bitcoin-knots"),
+        "bitcoin-ui" => push("archy-bitcoin-ui"),
+        "lnd-ui" => push("archy-lnd-ui"),
+        "electrs-ui" => push("archy-electrs-ui"),
+        "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => push("electrumx"),
+        "mempool" | "mempool-web" | "archy-mempool-web" => push("mempool"),
+        "immich" => push("immich_server"),
+        _ => {}
+    }
+
+    push(app_id);
+    if let Some(stripped) = app_id.strip_prefix("archy-") {
+        push(stripped);
+    } else {
+        push(&format!("archy-{}", app_id));
+    }
+
+    out
+}
+
+async fn inspect_container_state_value(name: &str) -> Option<serde_json::Value> {
+    let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args([
+            "inspect",
+            name,
+            "--format",
+            "{{.State.Status}} {{.State.Running}}",
+        ])
+        .output()
+        .await
+        .ok()?;
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        return None;
+    }
+
+    let line = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout).trim().to_string();
+    if line.is_empty() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let mut parts = line.split_whitespace();
+    let status = parts.next().unwrap_or("unknown");
+    let running = parts.next().unwrap_or("false") == "true";
+    Some(serde_json::json!({
+        "name": name,
+        "status": status,
+        "state": status,
+        "running": running,
+    }))
+}
+
+async fn inspect_container_health_value(name: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    let v = inspect_container_state_value(name).await?;
+    match v.get("state").and_then(|s| s.as_str()).unwrap_or("unknown") {
+        "running" => Some("healthy".to_string()),
+        "created" => Some("starting".to_string()),
+        "paused" => Some("paused".to_string()),
+        "exited" | "stopped" => Some("unhealthy".to_string()),
+        other => Some(format!("unknown:{other}")),
+    }
+}
@@ -231,8 +231,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {

        let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
        let local_did = crate::identity::did_key_from_pubkey_hex(&data.server_info.pubkey)?;
-        let fips_npub =
-            crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
+        let fips_npub = crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;

        let path = format!("/content/{}", content_id);
        let (response, _transport) =
@@ -287,10 +286,13 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Invalid v3 onion address"));
        }

-        let fips_npub =
-            crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
+        let fips_npub = crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;

-        debug!("Browsing peer content at {} (fips={})", onion, fips_npub.is_some());
+        debug!(
+            "Browsing peer content at {} (fips={})",
+            onion,
+            fips_npub.is_some()
+        );

        let (response, _transport) =
            crate::fips::dial::PeerRequest::new(fips_npub.as_deref(), onion, "/content")
@@ -348,8 +350,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {

        let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
        let local_did = crate::identity::did_key_from_pubkey_hex(&data.server_info.pubkey)?;
-        let fips_npub =
-            crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
+        let fips_npub = crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;

        let path = format!("/content/{}", content_id);
        let (response, _transport) =
@@ -407,11 +408,15 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Invalid v3 onion address"));
        }

-        let fips_npub =
-            crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
+        let fips_npub = crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;

        let path = format!("/content/{}/preview", content_id);
-        debug!("Fetching content preview from {}{} (fips={})", onion, path, fips_npub.is_some());
+        debug!(
+            "Fetching content preview from {}{} (fips={})",
+            onion,
+            path,
+            fips_npub.is_some()
+        );

        let (response, _transport) =
            crate::fips::dial::PeerRequest::new(fips_npub.as_deref(), onion, &path)
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 use super::RpcHandler;
 use anyhow::Result;
+use std::sync::Arc;

 impl RpcHandler {
    /// Route an RPC method name to its handler, returning the result value.
    pub(super) async fn dispatch(
-        &self,
+        self: &Arc<Self>,
        method: &str,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
        session_token: &Option<String>,
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        match method {
            "echo" => self.handle_echo(params).await,
            "server.echo" => self.handle_echo(params).await,
+            "server.get-state" => self.handle_server_get_state().await,
            "health" => self.handle_health().await,
            "auth.login" => self.handle_auth_login(params).await,
            "auth.logout" => self.handle_auth_logout().await,
@@ -36,19 +38,23 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            "container-install" => self.handle_container_install(params).await,
            "container-start" => self.handle_container_start(params).await,
            "container-stop" => self.handle_container_stop(params).await,
+            "container-restart" => self.handle_container_restart(params).await,
            "container-remove" => self.handle_container_remove(params).await,
            "container-list" => self.handle_container_list().await,
            "container-status" => self.handle_container_status(params).await,
            "container-logs" => self.handle_container_logs(params).await,
            "container-health" => self.handle_container_health(params).await,

-            // Package management (for docker-compose apps)
-            "package.install" => self.handle_package_install(params).await,
+            // Package management (for docker-compose apps).
+            // install/uninstall/update return immediately with a
+            // transitional status; the actual work runs in a background
+            // tokio::spawn so the HTTP request doesn't block for minutes.
+            "package.install" => self.clone().spawn_package_install(params).await,
            "package.start" => self.handle_package_start(params).await,
            "package.stop" => self.handle_package_stop(params).await,
            "package.restart" => self.handle_package_restart(params).await,
-            "package.uninstall" => self.handle_package_uninstall(params).await,
-            "package.update" => self.handle_package_update(params).await,
+            "package.uninstall" => self.clone().spawn_package_uninstall(params).await,
+            "package.update" => self.clone().spawn_package_update(params).await,
            "app.filebrowser-token" => self.handle_filebrowser_token().await,

            // Bundled app management (for pre-loaded container images)
@@ -525,6 +531,11 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "message": "Hello from Archipelago!" }))
    }

+    async fn handle_server_get_state(&self) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        let (data, rev) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "data": data, "rev": rev }))
+    }
+
    pub(super) async fn handle_health(&self) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
        let recovery_complete = crate::crash_recovery::is_recovery_complete();
        let uptime = crate::crash_recovery::uptime_seconds();
@@ -403,7 +403,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            });
        let own_fips_npub = match own_fips_npub {
            Some(n) => Some(n),
-            None => crate::fips::service::read_upstream_npub().await.ok().flatten(),
+            None => crate::fips::service::read_upstream_npub()
+                .await
+                .ok()
+                .flatten(),
        };

        let state = federation::build_local_state(
@@ -461,8 +464,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        // the entry causes sync loops where the node syncs with itself
        // forever. Drop it quietly — no useful recovery path.
        let (own_data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
-        let own_did_result =
-            identity::did_key_from_pubkey_hex(&own_data.server_info.pubkey).ok();
+        let own_did_result = identity::did_key_from_pubkey_hex(&own_data.server_info.pubkey).ok();
        let own_onion_trim = own_data
            .server_info
            .tor_address
@@ -568,11 +570,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        let new_peer_did = did.to_string();
        tokio::spawn(async move {
            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
-            if let Err(e) = crate::federation::sync_with_peer_by_did(
-                &data_dir,
-                &new_peer_did,
-            )
-            .await
+            if let Err(e) = crate::federation::sync_with_peer_by_did(&data_dir, &new_peer_did).await
            {
                tracing::debug!(
                    peer_did = %new_peer_did,
@@ -98,21 +98,14 @@ impl RpcHandler {

        // Anchor bootstrap window: poll the status every ~3s for up to
        // 20s. Bail as soon as the anchor is connected.
-        let mut last_status: Option<fips::FipsStatus> = None;
        let deadline = std::time::Instant::now() + std::time::Duration::from_secs(20);
-        loop {
+        let after = loop {
            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(3)).await;
            let s = fips::FipsStatus::query(&self.config.data_dir).await;
-            if s.anchor_connected {
-                last_status = Some(s);
-                break;
+            if s.anchor_connected || std::time::Instant::now() >= deadline {
+                break s;
            }
-            last_status = Some(s);
-            if std::time::Instant::now() >= deadline {
-                break;
-            }
-        }
-        let after = last_status.unwrap_or_else(|| before.clone());
+        };

        let recovered = after.anchor_connected && !before.anchor_connected;
        let likely_cause = if after.anchor_connected {
@@ -169,8 +162,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        if !anchor.address.contains(':') {
            anyhow::bail!("address must be host:port (e.g. 192.168.1.116:8668)");
        }
-        let list =
-            fips::anchors::add(&self.config.data_dir, anchor.clone()).await?;
+        let list = fips::anchors::add(&self.config.data_dir, anchor.clone()).await?;
        // Push just the newly-added anchor into the running daemon so
        // the user sees effect without waiting for the periodic apply.
        let results = fips::anchors::apply(&[anchor]).await;
@@ -742,24 +742,25 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing required parameter: id"))?;
        validate_identity_id(id)?;

-        let relay_urls: Vec<String> = if let Some(arr) = params.get("relays").and_then(|v| v.as_array()) {
-            arr.iter()
-                .filter_map(|v| v.as_str())
-                .map(|s| s.to_string())
-                .collect()
-        } else if let Some(single) = params.get("relay").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
-            vec![single.to_string()]
-        } else {
-            // Default: every enabled relay in the user's Manage Relays list.
-            let statuses = crate::nostr_relays::list_relays(&self.config.data_dir)
-                .await
-                .unwrap_or_default();
-            statuses
-                .into_iter()
-                .filter(|s| s.enabled)
-                .map(|s| s.url)
-                .collect()
-        };
+        let relay_urls: Vec<String> =
+            if let Some(arr) = params.get("relays").and_then(|v| v.as_array()) {
+                arr.iter()
+                    .filter_map(|v| v.as_str())
+                    .map(|s| s.to_string())
+                    .collect()
+            } else if let Some(single) = params.get("relay").and_then(|v| v.as_str()) {
+                vec![single.to_string()]
+            } else {
+                // Default: every enabled relay in the user's Manage Relays list.
+                let statuses = crate::nostr_relays::list_relays(&self.config.data_dir)
+                    .await
+                    .unwrap_or_default();
+                statuses
+                    .into_iter()
+                    .filter(|s| s.enabled)
+                    .map(|s| s.url)
+                    .collect()
+            };

        if relay_urls.is_empty() {
            anyhow::bail!("No enabled relays configured; add one under Manage Relays");
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use base64::Engine;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};

-use super::{LndAmount, LndBalanceResponse};
+use super::{read_lnd_admin_macaroon, LndAmount, LndBalanceResponse};

 #[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
 struct LndInfo {
@@ -34,11 +34,7 @@ struct LndChannelBalanceResponse {

 impl RpcHandler {
    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn handle_lnd_getinfo(&self) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let macaroon_path = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";
-
-        let macaroon_bytes = tokio::fs::read(macaroon_path)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to read LND admin macaroon — is LND installed?")?;
+        let macaroon_bytes = read_lnd_admin_macaroon().await?;
        let macaroon_hex = hex::encode(&macaroon_bytes);

        let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
@@ -114,7 +110,6 @@ impl RpcHandler {
    /// for building lndconnect:// URIs in the frontend.
    pub(crate) async fn handle_lnd_connect_info(&self) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
        let cert_path = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/tls.cert";
-        let macaroon_path = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";

        // Read and encode TLS cert (PEM -> DER -> base64url)
        let cert_pem = tokio::fs::read_to_string(cert_path)
@@ -130,9 +125,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        let cert_b64url = base64::engine::general_purpose::URL_SAFE_NO_PAD.encode(&cert_der);

        // Read and encode macaroon (binary -> base64url)
-        let macaroon_bytes = tokio::fs::read(macaroon_path)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to read LND admin macaroon")?;
+        let macaroon_bytes = read_lnd_admin_macaroon().await?;
        let macaroon_b64url =
            base64::engine::general_purpose::URL_SAFE_NO_PAD.encode(&macaroon_bytes);

@@ -183,10 +176,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn handle_lnd_export_channel_backup(
        &self,
    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
-        let macaroon_path = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";
-        let macaroon_bytes = tokio::fs::read(macaroon_path)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to read LND admin macaroon")?;
+        let macaroon_bytes = read_lnd_admin_macaroon().await?;
        let macaroon_hex = hex::encode(&macaroon_bytes);

        let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
@@ -4,7 +4,11 @@ mod payments;
 mod wallet;

 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
-use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use anyhow::{anyhow, Context, Result};
+
+/// Canonical on-host path for LND's admin macaroon.
+pub(crate) const LND_ADMIN_MACAROON_PATH: &str =
+    "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";

 // Shared LND response types used by multiple submodules
 #[derive(Debug, serde::Deserialize)]
@@ -17,15 +21,45 @@ pub(super) struct LndAmount {
    pub sat: Option<String>,
 }

+/// Read LND's admin macaroon from disk.
+///
+/// The macaroon lives inside LND's container data dir and is owned by a
+/// rootless-podman subordinate UID (typically 100000), mode 640. The
+/// archipelago server runs as UID 1000 and therefore cannot read it
+/// directly. We first try a plain read (works if an operator has relaxed
+/// permissions), then fall back to `sudo cat` — mirroring the pattern
+/// already used for Tor hidden-service hostnames.
+pub(crate) async fn read_lnd_admin_macaroon() -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+    match tokio::fs::read(LND_ADMIN_MACAROON_PATH).await {
+        Ok(bytes) => Ok(bytes),
+        Err(direct_err) => {
+            let output = tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+                .args(["-n", "cat", LND_ADMIN_MACAROON_PATH])
+                .output()
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| {
+                    format!(
+                        "Failed to read LND admin macaroon (direct: {direct_err}); sudo fallback also failed"
+                    )
+                })?;
+            if !output.status.success() {
+                let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+                return Err(anyhow!(
+                    "Failed to read LND admin macaroon — is LND installed? (direct: {direct_err}; sudo: {})",
+                    stderr.trim()
+                ));
+            }
+            Ok(output.stdout)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl RpcHandler {
    /// Helper: create an authenticated LND REST client.
    /// Returns an HTTP client configured for LND's self-signed TLS and the
    /// hex-encoded admin macaroon for request headers.
    pub(crate) async fn lnd_client(&self) -> Result<(reqwest::Client, String)> {
-        let macaroon_path = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";
-        let macaroon_bytes = tokio::fs::read(macaroon_path)
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to read LND admin macaroon — is LND installed?")?;
+        let macaroon_bytes = read_lnd_admin_macaroon().await?;
        let macaroon_hex = hex::encode(&macaroon_bytes);
        let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
            .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(15))
@@ -761,7 +761,9 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .await
            .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Read body failed: {}", e))?;

-        let meta = blob_store.put(&bytes, &mime, filename_hint, None, false).await?;
+        let meta = blob_store
+            .put(&bytes, &mime, filename_hint, None, false)
+            .await?;
        if meta.cid != cid {
            anyhow::bail!("CID mismatch: expected {}, got {}", cid, meta.cid);
        }
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ mod streaming;
 mod system;
 mod tor;
 mod totp;
+mod transitional;
 mod transport;
 mod update;
 mod vpn;
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ mod webhooks;

 use crate::auth::AuthManager;
 use crate::config::Config;
-use crate::container::DevContainerOrchestrator;
+use crate::container::{ContainerOrchestrator, DevContainerOrchestrator};
 use crate::monitoring::MetricsStore;
 use crate::port_allocator::PortAllocator;
 use crate::rate_limit::{EndpointRateLimiter, LoginRateLimiter};
@@ -62,7 +63,14 @@ pub(crate) const DEV_DEFAULT_PASSWORD: &str = "password123";
 pub struct RpcHandler {
    config: Config,
    auth_manager: AuthManager,
-    orchestrator: Option<Arc<DevContainerOrchestrator>>,
+    /// Shared lifecycle orchestrator (Dev or Prod). Always `Some` in a normal
+    /// build — the only reason it is `Option` is so tests that don't exercise
+    /// container RPCs can skip constructing one.
+    orchestrator: Option<Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator>>,
+    /// Concrete handle to the dev orchestrator, when we're in dev mode. Used by
+    /// `container-install { manifest_path }` which takes an ad-hoc manifest
+    /// path and is not part of the shared trait.
+    dev_orchestrator: Option<Arc<DevContainerOrchestrator>>,
    state_manager: Arc<StateManager>,
    pub(crate) metrics_store: Arc<MetricsStore>,
    port_allocator: Arc<tokio::sync::Mutex<PortAllocator>>,
@@ -79,6 +87,15 @@ pub struct RpcHandler {
    /// Our own Ed25519 pubkey hex — needed by ContentRef senders for cap scoping
    /// and by ContentRef receivers to request caps scoped to themselves.
    pub(crate) self_pubkey_hex: Arc<tokio::sync::RwLock<Option<String>>>,
+    /// Kick the package scanner to run immediately (bypassing the 60s interval).
+    /// Used by install/update success paths so the fresh manifest (with populated
+    /// `interfaces.main.ui`) lands before we flip state to Running — closes the
+    /// "Launch button is missing for up to 60s after install" UX gap.
+    pub(crate) scan_kick: Arc<tokio::sync::Notify>,
+    /// Monotonic counter incremented by the scan loop after each completed scan.
+    /// Install/update success paths subscribe to this to know when a kicked scan
+    /// has actually finished before flipping to the terminal state.
+    pub(crate) scan_tick: Arc<tokio::sync::watch::Sender<u64>>,
 }

 impl RpcHandler {
@@ -87,15 +104,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        state_manager: Arc<StateManager>,
        metrics_store: Arc<MetricsStore>,
        session_store: SessionStore,
+        orchestrator: Option<Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator>>,
+        dev_orchestrator: Option<Arc<DevContainerOrchestrator>>,
    ) -> Result<Self> {
        let auth_manager = AuthManager::new(config.data_dir.clone());
-        let orchestrator = if config.dev_mode {
-            Some(Arc::new(
-                DevContainerOrchestrator::new(config.clone()).await?,
-            ))
-        } else {
-            None
-        };
        let port_allocator = Arc::new(tokio::sync::Mutex::new(
            PortAllocator::new(&config.data_dir).await?,
        ));
@@ -129,6 +141,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            config,
            auth_manager,
            orchestrator,
+            dev_orchestrator,
            state_manager,
            metrics_store,
            port_allocator,
@@ -140,6 +153,8 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            transport_router: Arc::new(tokio::sync::RwLock::new(None)),
            blob_store: Arc::new(tokio::sync::RwLock::new(None)),
            self_pubkey_hex: Arc::new(tokio::sync::RwLock::new(None)),
+            scan_kick: Arc::new(tokio::sync::Notify::new()),
+            scan_tick: Arc::new(tokio::sync::watch::channel(0u64).0),
        })
    }

@@ -180,6 +195,21 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Arc::clone(&self.mesh_service)
    }

+    /// Shared Notify handle the package-scanner loop waits on (in addition to
+    /// its periodic tick). Install/update success paths call `notify_one()` to
+    /// trigger an immediate scan so the fresh manifest lands before we flip to
+    /// the terminal Running state.
+    pub fn scan_kick(&self) -> Arc<tokio::sync::Notify> {
+        Arc::clone(&self.scan_kick)
+    }
+
+    /// Sender half of the scan-completion watch channel. The scanner bumps this
+    /// counter after every finished scan; install/update wait for an advance
+    /// after kicking so they know the fresh manifest has landed.
+    pub fn scan_tick(&self) -> Arc<tokio::sync::watch::Sender<u64>> {
+        Arc::clone(&self.scan_tick)
+    }
+
    fn cookie_suffix_for_request(&self, headers: &hyper::header::HeaderMap) -> &'static str {
        // Only set Secure flag when the original request was over HTTPS.
        // Nginx sends X-Forwarded-Proto: https for HTTPS connections.
@@ -197,7 +227,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        ""
    }

-    pub async fn handle(&self, req: Request<hyper::Body>) -> Result<Response<hyper::Body>> {
+    pub async fn handle(
+        self: Arc<Self>,
+        req: Request<hyper::Body>,
+    ) -> Result<Response<hyper::Body>> {
        // Extract session cookie before consuming the request
        let (parts, body) = req.into_parts();
        let session_token = session::extract_session_cookie(&parts.headers);
@@ -376,7 +409,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {

        // Route to handler (track latency for metrics)
        let rpc_start = std::time::Instant::now();
-        let result = self.dispatch(&rpc_req.method, params, &session_token).await;
+        let result = Self::dispatch(&self, &rpc_req.method, params, &session_token).await;

        // Record RPC latency for monitoring
        let elapsed_ms = rpc_start.elapsed().as_secs_f64() * 1000.0;
@@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
+//! Async wrappers for `package.install`, `package.uninstall`, `package.update`.
+//!
+//! The inner `handle_package_*` functions are large (install is 480 lines with
+//! the stack dispatchers, update is 300, uninstall is 200) and do their own
+//! fine-grained progress tracking via `install_progress` and `uninstall_stage`.
+//! We wrap them rather than refactor them.
+//!
+//! Each wrapper:
+//!   1. Parses + validates the RPC params (cheap, synchronous). Errors here
+//!      return immediately to the caller before any state change.
+//!   2. Flips the package state to the transitional variant
+//!      (`Installing` / `Removing` / `Updating`) so the UI sees it on the
+//!      next WebSocket push (before the RPC response even lands).
+//!   3. `tokio::spawn`s a background task that invokes the existing
+//!      `handle_package_*` method on the Arc-held self.
+//!   4. On task success: no state change needed — the inner handler has
+//!      already written the terminal state (Running for install/update, or
+//!      removed the entry for uninstall).
+//!   5. On task failure: revert state to the pre-transition value (or delete
+//!      the entry for install, since there was no pre-state), write a line
+//!      to the persistent install log, and clear any stale progress fields.
+//!   6. Returns `{ "status": "installing" }` etc. immediately.
+//!
+//! The server package-scan loop's `merge_preserving_transitional` helper
+//! already knows to preserve `Installing` / `Removing` / `Updating` between
+//! scans, so live progress updates broadcast from inside the spawned task
+//! reach the UI correctly.
+
+use super::install::install_log;
+use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
+use crate::data_model::PackageState;
+use crate::state::StateManager;
+use anyhow::Result;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tracing::{error, info, warn};
+
+impl RpcHandler {
+    /// Async wrapper for `package.install`. Returns `{ "status": "installing" }`
+    /// immediately after flipping state to `Installing` and spawning the
+    /// actual install pipeline. On failure, removes the package entry from
+    /// state so the UI reverts to "not installed".
+    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn spawn_package_install(
+        self: Arc<Self>,
+        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        // Extract + validate package_id synchronously so bad params fail
+        // fast without touching state.
+        let params_val = params
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
+        let package_id = params_val
+            .get("id")
+            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing package id"))?
+            .to_string();
+        super::validation::validate_app_id(&package_id)?;
+
+        // Reject if already in a transitional lifecycle (prevents double-click
+        // queuing two installs on the same package).
+        {
+            let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+            if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get(&package_id) {
+                if matches!(
+                    entry.state,
+                    PackageState::Installing | PackageState::Removing | PackageState::Updating
+                ) {
+                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                        "{} is already {:?}",
+                        package_id,
+                        entry.state
+                    ));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Flip state to Installing BEFORE the spawn so the first WebSocket
+        // push carries the transitional state. Uses the same
+        // `create_installing_entry` path the inner handler would use once
+        // it starts pulling, so the UI sees a consistent shape.
+        flip_to_installing(&self.state_manager, &package_id).await;
+
+        install_log(&format!("INSTALL SPAWN: {}", package_id)).await;
+
+        let handler = Arc::clone(&self);
+        let package_id_spawn = package_id.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            match handler.handle_package_install(params).await {
+                Ok(_) => {
+                    info!("package.install {}: complete", package_id_spawn);
+                    // The install pipeline has verified the container is up
+                    // and healthy (see install.rs post-start exit check).
+                    // Kick the scanner first so the fresh manifest (with
+                    // `interfaces.main.ui` from the live port binding) lands
+                    // BEFORE we flip to Running — without this the Launch
+                    // button is missing for up to 60s after a successful
+                    // install, because the skeletal install-time manifest
+                    // has `interfaces: None`.
+                    kick_scanner_and_wait(&handler).await;
+                    // We MUST explicitly transition out of Installing here:
+                    // `merge_preserving_transitional` in the package-scan
+                    // loop treats Installing as RPC-owned and refuses to
+                    // let the scanner overwrite it with the observed
+                    // Running state. Without this write, the entry stays
+                    // stuck at Installing forever.
+                    set_package_state(
+                        &handler.state_manager,
+                        &package_id_spawn,
+                        PackageState::Running,
+                    )
+                    .await;
+                    handler.clear_install_progress(&package_id_spawn).await;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    error!("package.install {} failed: {:#}", package_id_spawn, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("INSTALL FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_spawn, e)).await;
+                    // Don't remove the entry — that's what made the card
+                    // vanish from My Apps mid-install / between retry-loop
+                    // attempts (e.g. tailscale's entrypoint failure). Leave
+                    // the entry visible with state=Stopped + the install
+                    // error in install_progress.message so the user can see
+                    // what went wrong and decide whether to retry or
+                    // uninstall. clear_install_progress would erase the
+                    // message, so we set it explicitly here instead.
+                    let err_msg = format!("Install failed: {:#}", e);
+                    let (mut data, _) = handler.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+                    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(&package_id_spawn) {
+                        entry.state = PackageState::Stopped;
+                        entry.install_progress = Some(crate::data_model::InstallProgress {
+                            size: 0,
+                            downloaded: 0,
+                            phase: None,
+                            message: Some(err_msg),
+                        });
+                        handler.state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({
+            "status": "installing",
+            "package_id": package_id,
+        }))
+    }
+
+    /// Async wrapper for `package.uninstall`. Returns `{ "status": "removing" }`
+    /// immediately. State stays `Removing` until the inner handler finishes
+    /// (including the `sudo rm -rf` of app data, which can take minutes for
+    /// bitcoin-core's chainstate). On failure, reverts to the pre-transition
+    /// state (usually Running or Stopped) so the user can retry.
+    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn spawn_package_uninstall(
+        self: Arc<Self>,
+        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        let params_val = params
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
+        let package_id = params_val
+            .get("id")
+            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing package id"))?
+            .to_string();
+        super::validation::validate_app_id(&package_id)?;
+
+        // Reject if already in a transitional lifecycle.
+        {
+            let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+            if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get(&package_id) {
+                if matches!(
+                    entry.state,
+                    PackageState::Installing | PackageState::Removing | PackageState::Updating
+                ) {
+                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                        "{} is already {:?}",
+                        package_id,
+                        entry.state
+                    ));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_package_state(&self.state_manager, &package_id, PackageState::Removing).await;
+
+        install_log(&format!("UNINSTALL SPAWN: {}", package_id)).await;
+
+        let handler = Arc::clone(&self);
+        let package_id_spawn = package_id.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            match handler.handle_package_uninstall(params).await {
+                Ok(_) => {
+                    info!("package.uninstall {}: complete", package_id_spawn);
+                    // Inner handler already removed the package entry on
+                    // success. Nothing more to do here.
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    error!("package.uninstall {} failed: {:#}", package_id_spawn, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("UNINSTALL FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_spawn, e)).await;
+                    // Revert to pre-transition state so the user can retry.
+                    // Also clear any stale uninstall_stage label.
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_package_state_and_clear_uninstall_stage(
+                            &handler.state_manager,
+                            &package_id_spawn,
+                            prev,
+                        )
+                        .await;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({
+            "status": "removing",
+            "package_id": package_id,
+        }))
+    }
+
+    /// Async wrapper for `package.update`. Returns `{ "status": "updating" }`
+    /// immediately. The inner handler already manages its own rollback on
+    /// failure (restarts old containers); this wrapper just flips state and
+    /// spawns.
+    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn spawn_package_update(
+        self: Arc<Self>,
+        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    ) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+        let params_val = params
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing params"))?;
+        let package_id = params_val
+            .get("id")
+            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing package id"))?
+            .to_string();
+        super::validation::validate_app_id(&package_id)?;
+
+        // Reject if already in a transitional lifecycle.
+        {
+            let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+            if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get(&package_id) {
+                if matches!(
+                    entry.state,
+                    PackageState::Installing | PackageState::Removing | PackageState::Updating
+                ) {
+                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                        "{} is already {:?}",
+                        package_id,
+                        entry.state
+                    ));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // The inner handler flips state to Updating itself, but we do it
+        // here too so the transitional state lands before the spawn yields.
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_package_state(&self.state_manager, &package_id, PackageState::Updating).await;
+
+        install_log(&format!("UPDATE SPAWN: {}", package_id)).await;
+
+        let handler = Arc::clone(&self);
+        let package_id_spawn = package_id.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            match handler.handle_package_update(params).await {
+                Ok(_) => {
+                    info!("package.update {}: complete", package_id_spawn);
+                    // Same reasoning as install: the merge_preserving_transitional
+                    // helper treats Updating as RPC-owned, so we MUST write the
+                    // terminal Running state ourselves or the entry will stay
+                    // stuck at Updating forever. The update pipeline has
+                    // already verified the new container is running via its
+                    // post-recreate check.
+                    // Kick the scanner first so any manifest changes from the
+                    // new image version (interfaces, ports, etc.) land before
+                    // we flip to Running.
+                    kick_scanner_and_wait(&handler).await;
+                    set_package_state(
+                        &handler.state_manager,
+                        &package_id_spawn,
+                        PackageState::Running,
+                    )
+                    .await;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    error!("package.update {} failed: {:#}", package_id_spawn, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("UPDATE FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_spawn, e)).await;
+                    // Inner handler already ran rollback_update + cleared
+                    // update state, but be defensive: revert to pre-state
+                    // in case the inner flow died before its cleanup.
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_package_state(&handler.state_manager, &package_id_spawn, prev).await;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({
+            "status": "updating",
+            "package_id": package_id,
+        }))
+    }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// State-manager helpers (free fns, usable from inside spawned tasks)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// Create or update the entry for this package with `Installing` state.
+/// Matches what the inner handler's `set_install_progress` would do on first
+/// call, but fires before the spawn so the UI sees it immediately.
+async fn flip_to_installing(state_manager: &StateManager, package_id: &str) {
+    use crate::data_model::{Description, Manifest, PackageDataEntry, StaticFiles};
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    let entry = data
+        .package_data
+        .entry(package_id.to_string())
+        .or_insert_with(|| PackageDataEntry {
+            state: PackageState::Installing,
+            health: None,
+            exit_code: None,
+            static_files: StaticFiles {
+                license: String::new(),
+                instructions: String::new(),
+                // Leave icon empty during the transient Installing window:
+                // hardcoding `<id>.png` is wrong for ~half our apps (many use
+                // `.svg` / `.webp`), producing a broken-image flicker until
+                // the scanner refreshes the entry. The frontend's `icon`
+                // computed falls through to `curatedMap.get(id)?.icon` which
+                // has the correct extensions for known apps.
+                icon: String::new(),
+            },
+            manifest: Manifest {
+                id: package_id.to_string(),
+                title: package_id.to_string(),
+                version: String::new(),
+                description: Description {
+                    short: "Installing...".to_string(),
+                    long: String::new(),
+                },
+                release_notes: String::new(),
+                license: String::new(),
+                wrapper_repo: String::new(),
+                upstream_repo: String::new(),
+                support_site: String::new(),
+                marketing_site: String::new(),
+                donation_url: None,
+                author: None,
+                website: None,
+                interfaces: None,
+                tier: None,
+            },
+            installed: None,
+            install_progress: None,
+            uninstall_stage: None,
+            available_update: None,
+        });
+    entry.state = PackageState::Installing;
+    state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+}
+
+/// Flip an existing entry's state and return the pre-flip value (or None if
+/// no entry existed). Used for revert-on-failure.
+async fn flip_package_state(
+    state_manager: &StateManager,
+    package_id: &str,
+    new_state: PackageState,
+) -> Option<PackageState> {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    let prev = data.package_data.get(package_id).map(|e| e.state.clone());
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(package_id) {
+        entry.state = new_state;
+        state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+    } else {
+        warn!(
+            "flip_package_state: no entry for {} — cannot flip",
+            package_id
+        );
+    }
+    prev
+}
+
+/// Set state unconditionally (no-op if entry no longer exists).
+async fn set_package_state(
+    state_manager: &StateManager,
+    package_id: &str,
+    new_state: PackageState,
+) {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(package_id) {
+        if entry.state != new_state {
+            entry.state = new_state;
+            state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Set state and clear the uninstall_stage label. Used when an uninstall
+/// fails and we revert — the user doesn't want a stale "Removing app data"
+/// message sitting on a Running entry.
+async fn set_package_state_and_clear_uninstall_stage(
+    state_manager: &StateManager,
+    package_id: &str,
+    new_state: PackageState,
+) {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(package_id) {
+        entry.state = new_state;
+        entry.uninstall_stage = None;
+        state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+    }
+}
+
+/// Kick the container scanner to run immediately and wait for it to finish
+/// (with a 2s timeout). Used by install/update success paths so the fresh
+/// manifest — with `interfaces.main.ui` populated from the now-running
+/// container's port binding — lands BEFORE we flip state to Running.
+///
+/// Without this, the frontend sees `state = running` but the skeletal
+/// install-time manifest (interfaces = None), and hides the Launch button
+/// for up to the full 60s scan interval.
+///
+/// The scan merges via `merge_preserving_transitional`, which keeps
+/// state = Installing (we haven't flipped yet) while taking the fresh
+/// manifest. After this returns, the caller writes Running on top of the
+/// now-populated manifest.
+async fn kick_scanner_and_wait(handler: &RpcHandler) {
+    let mut rx = handler.scan_tick.subscribe();
+    let start = *rx.borrow_and_update();
+    handler.scan_kick.notify_one();
+    // 2s is well above a typical podman scan (~200ms on .228, ~500ms worst
+    // case). If it times out we proceed anyway — the next 60s scan will
+    // self-heal and the worst case is the pre-fix behavior (Launch button
+    // appears a bit late).
+    let _ = tokio::time::timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2), async {
+        while *rx.borrow_and_update() == start {
+            if rx.changed().await.is_err() {
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    })
+    .await;
+}
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ pub(super) const TRUSTED_REGISTRIES: &[&str] = &[
    "ghcr.io/",
    "localhost/",
    "git.tx1138.com/",
-    "23.182.128.160:3000/",
+    "146.59.87.168:3000/",
 ];

 /// Validate Docker image against trusted registry allowlist.
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ pub(super) fn is_valid_docker_image(image: &str) -> bool {
    };
    matches!(
        registry,
-        "docker.io" | "ghcr.io" | "localhost" | "git.tx1138.com" | "23.182.128.160:3000"
+        "docker.io" | "ghcr.io" | "localhost" | "git.tx1138.com" | "146.59.87.168:3000"
    )
 }

@@ -70,19 +70,30 @@ pub(super) fn get_app_capabilities(app_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
            "--cap-add=SETGID".to_string(),
            "--cap-add=NET_BIND_SERVICE".to_string(),
        ],
-        // Bitcoin and Lightning need file ownership ops + NET_BIND_SERVICE for port binding
-        // LND additionally needs NET_RAW for TLS certificate generation (netlinkrib interface enumeration)
-        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" | "lnd" | "fedimint" | "fedimint-gateway" => {
-            vec![
-                "--cap-add=CHOWN".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=FOWNER".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=SETUID".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=SETGID".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=DAC_OVERRIDE".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=NET_BIND_SERVICE".to_string(),
-                "--cap-add=NET_RAW".to_string(),
-            ]
-        }
+        // Bitcoin needs only file-ownership ops + NET_BIND_SERVICE for the
+        // RPC port. NO NET_RAW — bitcoind never opens raw sockets and
+        // dropping it removes a class of intra-pod spoofing capability.
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => vec![
+            "--cap-add=CHOWN".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=FOWNER".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=SETUID".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=SETGID".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=DAC_OVERRIDE".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=NET_BIND_SERVICE".to_string(),
+        ],
+        // LND additionally needs NET_RAW for TLS certificate generation
+        // (netlink interface enumeration during `lnd --tlscertpath` first run).
+        // Fedimint inherits the same set because the gateway also enumerates
+        // network interfaces on startup.
+        "lnd" | "fedimint" | "fedimint-gateway" => vec![
+            "--cap-add=CHOWN".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=FOWNER".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=SETUID".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=SETGID".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=DAC_OVERRIDE".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=NET_BIND_SERVICE".to_string(),
+            "--cap-add=NET_RAW".to_string(),
+        ],
        // Vaultwarden needs file ownership + NET_BIND_SERVICE (binds port 80 internally)
        "vaultwarden" => vec![
            "--cap-add=CHOWN".to_string(),
@@ -174,7 +185,7 @@ pub(super) fn get_health_check_args(app_id: &str, _rpc_pass: &str) -> Vec<String
            ("curl -sf http://localhost:8000/ || exit 1", "60s", "3")
        }
        "nextcloud" => (
-            "curl -sf http://localhost:80/status.php || exit 1",
+            "curl -s -o /dev/null http://localhost:80/status.php || exit 1",
            "30s",
            "3",
        ),
@@ -194,7 +205,12 @@ pub(super) fn get_health_check_args(app_id: &str, _rpc_pass: &str) -> Vec<String
        "vaultwarden" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:80/alive || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
        "uptime-kuma" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:3001/ || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
        "filebrowser" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:80/health || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
-        "searxng" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:8080/ || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
+        "botfights" => (
+            "node -e \"fetch(\\\"http://127.0.0.1:9100/api/health\\\").then(r=>process.exit(r.ok?0:1)).catch(()=>process.exit(1))\"",
+            "30s",
+            "3",
+        ),
+        "searxng" => ("wget -q -O /dev/null http://localhost:8080/ || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
        "photoprism" => (
            "curl -sf http://localhost:2342/api/v1/status || exit 1",
            "60s",
@@ -210,11 +226,7 @@ pub(super) fn get_health_check_args(app_id: &str, _rpc_pass: &str) -> Vec<String
            "30s",
            "3",
        ),
-        "portainer" => (
-            "curl -sf http://localhost:9000/api/status || exit 1",
-            "30s",
-            "3",
-        ),
+        "portainer" => return vec![],
        "ollama" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:11434/ || exit 1", "30s", "3"),
        "fedimint" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:8175/ || exit 1", "60s", "3"),
        "fedimint-gateway" => ("curl -sf http://localhost:8176/ || exit 1", "60s", "3"),
@@ -243,13 +255,19 @@ pub(super) fn get_health_check_args(app_id: &str, _rpc_pass: &str) -> Vec<String
 /// Get per-app memory limit.
 pub(super) fn get_memory_limit(app_id: &str) -> &'static str {
    match app_id {
-        // Heavy apps
-        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => "4g",
+        // Heavy apps. Bitcoin: dbcache uses ~4GB; the daemon also needs
+        // headroom for mempool + connection buffers + script-verifier
+        // memory + I/O. 4g caused OOM-cascades during IBD. 8g is the
+        // floor; ideally this would be host-RAM aware (next pass).
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => "8g",
+        // ElectrumX: bumped from 1g to 2g so its CACHE_MB has somewhere
+        // to live during initial blockchain indexing. CACHE_MB=2048 in
+        // env vars below requires this much.
+        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" => "2g",
        "cryptpad" => "512m",
        "ollama" => "4g",
        // Medium apps
        "lnd" => "512m",
-        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" => "1g",
        "nextcloud" => "1g",
        "immich_server" | "immich" => "1g",
        "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver" => "1g",
@@ -291,16 +309,23 @@ pub(super) fn all_container_names(package_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
    let archy = format!("archy-{}", package_id);

    match package_id {
-        // Bitcoin: multiple historical names
-        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => vec![
+        // Bitcoin variants share the UI but not the backend process. Keep
+        // backend names precise so stopping one implementation does not clear
+        // stop markers or issue podman operations for the other.
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-knots" => vec![
            "bitcoin-knots".into(),
            "bitcoin".into(),
-            "bitcoin-core".into(),
            "archy-bitcoin-knots".into(),
            "archy-bitcoin".into(),
            "bitcoin-ui".into(),
            "archy-bitcoin-ui".into(),
        ],
+        "bitcoin-core" => vec![
+            "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            "archy-bitcoin-core".into(),
+            "bitcoin-ui".into(),
+            "archy-bitcoin-ui".into(),
+        ],
        // LND + UI
        "lnd" => vec!["lnd".into(), "archy-lnd".into(), "archy-lnd-ui".into()],
        // Electrumx: multiple aliases
@@ -359,6 +384,15 @@ pub(super) fn all_container_names(package_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
            "penpot-exporter".into(),
            "penpot-frontend".into(),
        ],
+        "indeedhub" => vec![
+            "indeedhub-postgres".into(),
+            "indeedhub-redis".into(),
+            "indeedhub-minio".into(),
+            "indeedhub-relay".into(),
+            "indeedhub-api".into(),
+            "indeedhub-ffmpeg".into(),
+            "indeedhub".into(),
+        ],
        "nostr-vpn" => vec![
            "nostr-vpn".into(),
            "archy-nostr-vpn".into(),
@@ -393,16 +427,34 @@ pub(super) async fn get_containers_for_app(package_id: &str) -> Result<Vec<Strin
    Ok(result)
 }

+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::all_container_names;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bitcoin_variant_container_names_are_precise() {
+        let core = all_container_names("bitcoin-core");
+        assert!(core.contains(&"bitcoin-core".to_string()));
+        assert!(!core.contains(&"bitcoin-knots".to_string()));
+
+        let knots = all_container_names("bitcoin-knots");
+        assert!(knots.contains(&"bitcoin-knots".to_string()));
+        assert!(!knots.contains(&"bitcoin-core".to_string()));
+    }
+}
+
 /// Get data directories to clean for an app.
 /// Caller must validate package_id before calling.
 pub(super) fn get_data_dirs_for_app(package_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
    let base = "/var/lib/archipelago";
    match package_id {
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => {
+            vec![format!("{}/bitcoin", base), format!("{}/bitcoin-ui", base)]
+        }
        "mempool" | "mempool-web" => vec![
            format!("{}/mempool", base),
            format!("{}/mysql-mempool", base),
            format!("{}/electrumx", base),
-            format!("{}/mempool-electrs", base),
        ],
        "fedimint" => vec![
            format!("{}/fedimint", base),
@@ -483,7 +535,43 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
            None,
            None,
        ),
-        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => (
+        "bitcoin-core" => (
+            vec![
+                "8332:8332".to_string(),
+                "8333:8333".to_string(),
+                "28332:28332".to_string(),
+                "28333:28333".to_string(),
+            ],
+            vec!["/var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin:/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin".to_string()],
+            vec![],
+            None,
+            // Vanilla bitcoin/bitcoin image has no entrypoint wrapper and reads
+            // only what's in bitcoin.conf + argv. The shared bitcoin.conf
+            // carries rpcauth; we inject the networking flags as CLI args so
+            // RPC is reachable from the bitcoin-ui companion container.
+            //
+            // Sync-speed flags:
+            //   -dbcache=4096 — UTXO set cache; 4GB is the sweet spot before
+            //     diminishing returns. Container has --memory=8g now so
+            //     there's headroom for mempool + connections.
+            //   -par=0       — use all available cores for script
+            //     verification (defaults to NCPU-1 capped at 16). Was
+            //     effectively pinned at 2 by --cpus=2 (now removed).
+            //   -maxconnections=125 — default but explicit, so ops can
+            //     tune downward on bandwidth-constrained nodes.
+            Some(vec![
+                "-server=1".to_string(),
+                "-rpcbind=0.0.0.0".to_string(),
+                "-rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0".to_string(),
+                "-rpcport=8332".to_string(),
+                "-printtoconsole=1".to_string(),
+                "-datadir=/home/bitcoin/.bitcoin".to_string(),
+                "-dbcache=4096".to_string(),
+                "-par=0".to_string(),
+                "-maxconnections=125".to_string(),
+            ]),
+        ),
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-knots" => (
            vec![
                "8332:8332".to_string(),
                "8333:8333".to_string(),
@@ -510,9 +598,7 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                "--bitcoin.node=bitcoind".to_string(),
                format!("--bitcoind.rpcuser={}", rpc_user),
                format!("--bitcoind.rpcpass={}", rpc_pass),
-                "--bitcoind.rpchost=host.containers.internal:8332".to_string(),
-                "--bitcoind.zmqpubrawblock=tcp://host.containers.internal:28332".to_string(),
-                "--bitcoind.zmqpubrawtx=tcp://host.containers.internal:28333".to_string(),
+                "--bitcoind.rpchost=bitcoin-knots:8332".to_string(),
                "--rpclisten=0.0.0.0:10009".to_string(),
                "--restlisten=0.0.0.0:8080".to_string(),
                "--listen=0.0.0.0:9735".to_string(),
@@ -526,7 +612,8 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                "BTCPAY_PROTOCOL=http".to_string(),
                format!("BTCPAY_HOST={}:23000", host_ip),
                "BTCPAY_CHAINS=btc".to_string(),
-                format!("BTCPAY_BTCRPCURL=http://{}:8332", host_ip),
+                "BTCPAY_BTCEXPLORERURL=http://archy-nbxplorer:32838".to_string(),
+                "BTCPAY_BTCRPCURL=http://bitcoin-knots:8332".to_string(),
                format!("BTCPAY_BTCRPCUSER={}", rpc_user),
                format!("BTCPAY_BTCRPCPASSWORD={}", rpc_pass),
                format!("BTCPAY_POSTGRES=User ID=btcpay;Password={};Host=archy-btcpay-db;Port=5432;Database=btcpay;Include Error Detail=true",
@@ -538,7 +625,7 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
        "mempool" | "mempool-web" => (
            vec!["4080:8080".to_string()],
            vec![],
-            vec![format!("BACKEND_MAINNET_HTTP_HOST={}", host_ip)],
+            vec!["BACKEND_MAINNET_HTTP_HOST=mempool-api".to_string()],
            None,
            None,
        ),
@@ -547,12 +634,12 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
            vec!["/var/lib/archipelago/mempool:/data".to_string()],
            vec![
                "MEMPOOL_BACKEND=electrum".to_string(),
-                "ELECTRUM_HOST=host.containers.internal".to_string(),
+                "ELECTRUM_HOST=electrumx".to_string(),
                "ELECTRUM_PORT=50001".to_string(),
                "ELECTRUM_TLS_ENABLED=false".to_string(),
-                format!("CORE_RPC_HOST={}", host_ip),
+                "CORE_RPC_HOST=bitcoin-knots".to_string(),
                "CORE_RPC_PORT=8332".to_string(),
-                format!("CORE_RPC_USERNAME={}", rpc_user),
+                "CORE_RPC_USERNAME=archipelago".to_string(),
                format!("CORE_RPC_PASSWORD={}", rpc_pass),
                "DATABASE_ENABLED=true".to_string(),
                "DATABASE_HOST=archy-mempool-db".to_string(),
@@ -569,12 +656,19 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                vec!["/var/lib/archipelago/electrumx:/data".to_string()],
                vec![
                    format!(
-                        "DAEMON_URL=http://{}:{}@host.containers.internal:8332/",
+                        "DAEMON_URL=http://{}:{}@bitcoin-knots:8332/",
                        rpc_user, rpc_pass
                    ),
                    "COIN=Bitcoin".to_string(),
                    "DB_DIRECTORY=/data".to_string(),
                    "SERVICES=tcp://:50001,rpc://0.0.0.0:8000".to_string(),
+                    // Sync-speed: bigger LRU/write cache during initial
+                    // history index. Default is 1200MB, container now
+                    // gets 2g (config.rs::get_memory_limit) so 2048 fits.
+                    "CACHE_MB=2048".to_string(),
+                    // Block-fetcher concurrency — defaults are conservative
+                    // for shared hosts; 4 is plenty for one bitcoind backend.
+                    "MAX_SEND=10000000".to_string(),
                ],
                None,
                None,
@@ -587,7 +681,7 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                "MYSQL_DATABASE=mempool".to_string(),
                "MYSQL_USER=mempool".to_string(),
                format!("MYSQL_PASSWORD={}", read_secret("mempool-db-password", "mempoolpass")),
-                format!("MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD={}", read_secret("mempool-db-root-password", "rootpass")),
+                format!("MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD={}", read_secret("mysql-root-db-password", "rootpass")),
            ],
            None,
            None,
@@ -729,27 +823,38 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
            vec!["9000:9000".to_string()],
            vec![
                "/var/lib/archipelago/portainer:/data".to_string(),
-                "/var/run/podman/podman.sock:/var/run/docker.sock".to_string(),
+                "/run/user/1000/podman/podman.sock:/var/run/docker.sock".to_string(),
            ],
            vec![],
            None,
            None,
        ),
        "uptime-kuma" => (
-            vec!["3001:3001".to_string()],
+            vec!["3002:3001".to_string()],
            vec!["/var/lib/archipelago/uptime-kuma:/app/data".to_string()],
            vec!["TZ=UTC".to_string()],
            None,
-            None,
+            Some(vec![
+                "--".to_string(),
+                "node".to_string(),
+                "server/server.js".to_string(),
+            ]),
        ),
        "tailscale" => (
            vec!["8240:8240".to_string()],
            vec!["/var/lib/archipelago/tailscale:/var/lib/tailscale".to_string()],
            vec!["TS_STATE_DIR=/var/lib/tailscale".to_string()],
-            Some(
-                "sh -c 'tailscale web --listen 0.0.0.0:8240 & exec tailscaled'".to_string(),
-            ),
+            // Don't use custom_command (Option<String>) — install.rs passes
+            // it as a SINGLE arg to podman, which then treats the whole
+            // "sh -c 'tailscale web …'" string as the executable name and
+            // fails: "executable file `sh -c 'tailscale web …'` not found".
+            // custom_args (Option<Vec<String>>) splits properly.
            None,
+            Some(vec![
+                "sh".to_string(),
+                "-c".to_string(),
+                "tailscaled --tun=userspace-networking & sleep 2; tailscale web --listen 0.0.0.0:8240 & wait".to_string(),
+            ]),
        ),
        "fedimint" => (
            vec![
@@ -768,13 +873,13 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                "FM_BIND_UI=0.0.0.0:8175".to_string(),
                format!("FM_P2P_URL=fedimint://{}:8173", host_ip),
                format!("FM_API_URL=ws://{}:8174", host_ip),
-                format!("FM_BITCOIND_URL=http://{}:8332", host_ip),
+                "FM_BITCOIND_URL=http://bitcoin-knots:8332".to_string(),
            ],
            None,
            Some(vec![
                "--data-dir".to_string(),
                "/data".to_string(),
-                format!("--bitcoind-url=http://{}:{}@{}:8332", rpc_user, rpc_pass, host_ip),
+                format!("--bitcoind-url=http://{}:{}@bitcoin-knots:8332", rpc_user, rpc_pass),
            ]),
        ),
        "fedimint-gateway" => {
@@ -798,7 +903,7 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                    "--network".to_string(),
                    "bitcoin".to_string(),
                    "--bitcoind-url".to_string(),
-                    format!("http://{}:8332", host_ip),
+                    "http://bitcoin-knots:8332".to_string(),
                    "--bitcoind-username".to_string(),
                    rpc_user.to_string(),
                    "--bitcoind-password".to_string(),
@@ -909,8 +1014,8 @@ pub(super) async fn get_app_config(
                None,
            )
        }
-        // Gitea binds to 3001 internally. Nginx on port 3000 strips X-Frame-Options
-        // so Gitea works in Archipelago's iframe. See nginx-gitea-iframe.conf.
+        // Gitea listens on container port 3000 and is launched directly on
+        // host port 3001 because it blocks iframe embedding.
        "gitea" => (
            vec!["3001:3000".to_string(), "2222:22".to_string()],
            vec![
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 use super::config::get_containers_for_app;
-use anyhow::Result;
+use crate::data_model::{PackageDataEntry, PackageState};
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use tracing::info;

 /// Names of container variants that represent a running Bitcoin node
@@ -8,6 +10,13 @@ const BITCOIN_NAMES: &[&str] = &["bitcoin-knots", "bitcoin-core", "bitcoin"];
 /// Names of container variants that represent a running Electrum indexer
 const ELECTRUM_NAMES: &[&str] = &["electrumx", "mempool-electrs", "electrs"];

+fn requires_unpruned_bitcoin(package_id: &str) -> bool {
+    matches!(
+        package_id,
+        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" | "mempool" | "mempool-web"
+    )
+}
+
 /// Snapshot of which dependency services are currently running.
 pub(super) struct RunningDeps {
    pub has_bitcoin: bool,
@@ -15,13 +24,43 @@ pub(super) struct RunningDeps {
    pub has_lnd: bool,
 }

+pub(super) fn detect_running_deps_from_package_data(
+    packages: &HashMap<String, PackageDataEntry>,
+) -> RunningDeps {
+    let is_running = |names: &[&str]| {
+        names.iter().any(|name| {
+            packages
+                .get(*name)
+                .map(|pkg| pkg.state == PackageState::Running)
+                .unwrap_or(false)
+        })
+    };
+
+    RunningDeps {
+        has_bitcoin: is_running(BITCOIN_NAMES),
+        has_electrumx: is_running(ELECTRUM_NAMES),
+        has_lnd: is_running(&["lnd"]),
+    }
+}
+
 /// Query podman for currently running containers and return dependency status.
 pub(super) async fn detect_running_deps() -> Result<RunningDeps> {
-    let dep_check = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-        .args(["ps", "--format", "{{.Names}}"])
-        .output()
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to check running containers: {}", e))?;
+    let dep_check = tokio::time::timeout(
+        std::time::Duration::from_secs(30),
+        tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .args(["ps", "--format", "{{.Names}}"])
+            .output(),
+    )
+    .await
+    .map_err(|_| anyhow::anyhow!("Timed out checking running containers"))?
+    .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to check running containers: {}", e))?;
+
+    if !dep_check.status.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "Failed to check running containers: {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&dep_check.stderr).trim()
+        );
+    }

    let running = String::from_utf8_lossy(&dep_check.stdout);
    let is_running = |names: &[&str]| {
@@ -76,6 +115,65 @@ pub(super) fn check_install_deps(package_id: &str, deps: &RunningDeps) -> Result
    }
 }

+/// ElectrumX and Mempool's Electrum backend need historical blocks from an
+/// unpruned node while building their indexes. A pruned Bitcoin node can be
+/// running and RPC-reachable but still leave them stuck with closed ports.
+pub(super) async fn check_bitcoin_pruning_compatibility(package_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    if !requires_unpruned_bitcoin(package_id) {
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    let (rpc_user, rpc_pass) = crate::bitcoin_rpc::bitcoin_rpc_credentials().await;
+    let body = serde_json::json!({
+        "jsonrpc": "1.0",
+        "id": "package-install-prune-check",
+        "method": "getblockchaininfo",
+        "params": [],
+    });
+
+    let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(10))
+        .build()
+        .context("building Bitcoin RPC client")?;
+    let resp = client
+        .post(crate::constants::BITCOIN_RPC_URL)
+        .basic_auth(rpc_user, Some(rpc_pass))
+        .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+        .json(&body)
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .context("checking Bitcoin pruning status")?;
+
+    let status = resp.status();
+    let json: serde_json::Value = resp.json().await.context("decode Bitcoin RPC response")?;
+    if !status.is_success() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "Bitcoin RPC returned {} while checking pruning status",
+            status
+        );
+    }
+    if let Some(error) = json.get("error").filter(|e| !e.is_null()) {
+        anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC error while checking pruning status: {}", error);
+    }
+
+    let Some(result) = json.get("result") else {
+        anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC response missing result while checking pruning status");
+    };
+    if result
+        .get("pruned")
+        .and_then(|v| v.as_bool())
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+    {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "{} requires an unpruned Bitcoin node while indexing. Current Bitcoin is pruned; use a full node with enough disk for txindex/full block history, then reinstall/restart {}.",
+            package_id,
+            package_id
+        );
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// Log informational messages about optional dependencies.
 pub(super) fn log_optional_dep_info(package_id: &str, deps: &RunningDeps) {
    if matches!(package_id, "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver") && !deps.has_lnd {
@@ -129,6 +227,18 @@ pub(super) fn startup_order(package_id: &str) -> &'static [&'static str] {
            "mempool",
        ],
        "immich" => &["immich_postgres", "immich_redis", "immich_server"],
+        "indeedhub" => &[
+            "indeedhub-postgres",
+            "indeedhub-redis",
+            "indeedhub-minio",
+            "indeedhub-relay",
+            "indeedhub-api",
+            "indeedhub-ffmpeg",
+            "indeedhub",
+        ],
+        "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver" | "btcpay" => {
+            &["archy-btcpay-db", "archy-nbxplorer", "btcpay-server"]
+        }
        "penpot" | "penpot-frontend" => &[
            "penpot-postgres",
            "penpot-valkey",
@@ -211,3 +321,24 @@ pub(super) fn configure_fedimint_lnd(
        ]);
    }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::requires_unpruned_bitcoin;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn unpruned_bitcoin_required_for_electrum_indexers_and_mempool() {
+        for package_id in [
+            "electrumx",
+            "mempool-electrs",
+            "electrs",
+            "mempool",
+            "mempool-web",
+        ] {
+            assert!(requires_unpruned_bitcoin(package_id), "{package_id}");
+        }
+        for package_id in ["bitcoin-knots", "btcpay-server", "lnd", "fedimint"] {
+            assert!(!requires_unpruned_bitcoin(package_id), "{package_id}");
+        }
+    }
+}
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+mod async_lifecycle;
 mod config;
 mod dependencies;
 mod install;
@@ -8,5 +9,6 @@ mod stacks;
 mod update;
 mod validation;

-// Re-export items needed by sibling modules (container.rs, security.rs)
+// Re-export items needed by sibling modules (container.rs, security.rs, transitional.rs)
+pub(in crate::api::rpc) use install::install_log;
 pub(super) use validation::validate_app_id;
@@ -2,12 +2,17 @@

 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
 use crate::data_model::{
-    Description, InstallProgress, Manifest, PackageDataEntry, PackageState, StaticFiles,
+    Description, InstallPhase, InstallProgress, Manifest, PackageDataEntry, PackageState,
+    StaticFiles,
 };

 impl RpcHandler {
    /// Set install progress for a package and broadcast the update.
    /// Creates a minimal package entry if one doesn't exist yet.
+    ///
+    /// Prefer `set_install_phase` — this byte-counter API is kept for
+    /// the rare case where the pull stream actually parses, but podman
+    /// almost never emits parseable progress on a piped stderr.
    pub(super) async fn set_install_progress(&self, package_id: &str, downloaded: u64, size: u64) {
        let (mut data, _rev) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
        let entry = data
@@ -15,7 +20,44 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .entry(package_id.to_string())
            .or_insert_with(|| create_installing_entry(package_id));
        entry.state = PackageState::Installing;
-        entry.install_progress = Some(InstallProgress { size, downloaded });
+        let existing_phase = entry.install_progress.as_ref().and_then(|p| p.phase);
+        entry.install_progress = Some(InstallProgress {
+            size,
+            downloaded,
+            phase: existing_phase,
+            message: None,
+        });
+        self.state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+    }
+
+    /// Set the install pipeline phase and broadcast. This is the
+    /// primary progress signal — the UI maps each phase to a
+    /// percentage and a user-facing label. Byte counters are retained
+    /// for the rare case podman emits parseable progress.
+    pub(super) async fn set_install_phase(&self, package_id: &str, phase: InstallPhase) {
+        let (mut data, _rev) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+        let entry = data
+            .package_data
+            .entry(package_id.to_string())
+            .or_insert_with(|| create_installing_entry(package_id));
+        // Preparing / PullingImage / CreatingContainer / StartingContainer /
+        // WaitingHealthy / PostInstall all map to the Installing state.
+        // Updates use Updating state — the wrapper has already flipped
+        // state to Updating, so don't clobber it.
+        if entry.state != PackageState::Updating {
+            entry.state = PackageState::Installing;
+        }
+        let (size, downloaded) = entry
+            .install_progress
+            .as_ref()
+            .map(|p| (p.size, p.downloaded))
+            .unwrap_or((0, 0));
+        entry.install_progress = Some(InstallProgress {
+            size,
+            downloaded,
+            phase: Some(phase),
+            message: None,
+        });
        self.state_manager.update_data(data).await;
    }

@@ -52,9 +94,12 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .package_data
            .entry(package_id.to_string())
            .or_insert_with(|| create_installing_entry(package_id));
+        let existing_phase = entry.install_progress.as_ref().and_then(|p| p.phase);
        entry.install_progress = Some(InstallProgress {
            size: total,
            downloaded,
+            phase: existing_phase,
+            message: None,
        });
        state_manager.update_data(data).await;
    }
@@ -69,7 +114,11 @@ fn create_installing_entry(package_id: &str) -> PackageDataEntry {
        static_files: StaticFiles {
            license: String::new(),
            instructions: String::new(),
-            icon: format!("/assets/img/app-icons/{}.png", package_id),
+            // Empty icon: hardcoding `<id>.png` is wrong for apps that use
+            // `.svg` or `.webp` assets and produces a broken-image flicker.
+            // The frontend's `icon` computed falls through to the curated
+            // map which has correct extensions for known apps.
+            icon: String::new(),
        },
        manifest: Manifest {
            id: package_id.to_string(),
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@ use super::dependencies::ordered_containers_for_start;
 use super::install::install_log;
 use super::validation::validate_app_id;
 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
+use crate::data_model::PackageState;
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tracing::warn;

 /// Per-container graceful shutdown timeout in seconds.
 /// Bitcoin Core needs 600s to flush UTXO set, LND 330s for channel state,
@@ -25,6 +28,12 @@ pub fn stop_timeout_secs(container_name: &str) -> &'static str {

 impl RpcHandler {
    /// Start a package: start all containers in dependency order.
+    ///
+    /// Returns immediately with `{ "status": "starting" }` after flipping
+    /// the package state to `Starting` in the StateManager. The actual
+    /// podman-start sequence + post-start exit verification runs in a
+    /// background task. On success the state becomes `Running`; on error
+    /// it reverts to the pre-transition state.
    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn handle_package_start(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
@@ -42,83 +51,60 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("No containers found for {}", package_id));
        }

-        // Clear user-stopped flag — user explicitly started this app
+        // Clear user-stopped flag — user explicitly started this app.
+        // Must happen BEFORE the spawn (ordering contract with crash recovery).
        crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, package_id).await;
        for name in &to_start {
            crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, name).await;
        }

+        let package_id_owned = package_id.to_string();
+        let companion_app_id = package_id_owned.clone();
+        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.clone();
+        let state_manager = Arc::clone(&self.state_manager);
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Starting).await;
+
        install_log(&format!(
            "START: {} (containers: {:?})",
-            package_id, to_start
+            package_id_owned, to_start
        ))
        .await;
-        let mut errors = Vec::new();
-        for (i, name) in to_start.iter().enumerate() {
-            // Brief delay between dependent containers to allow initialization
-            if i > 0 {
-                tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
-            }
-            tracing::info!("Starting container: {}", name);
-            let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                .args(["start", name])
-                .output()
-                .await
-                .context(format!("Failed to exec podman start {}", name))?;
-            if !out.status.success() {
-                let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
-                tracing::error!("Failed to start {}: {}", name, stderr);
-                install_log(&format!("START FAIL: {} — {}", name, stderr)).await;
-                errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, stderr));
-            }
-        }

-        if !errors.is_empty() {
-            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Start failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
-        }
-
-        // Verify containers actually reached running state (podman start can
-        // succeed even if the container exits immediately after)
-        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(3)).await;
-        for name in &to_start {
-            let status = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                .args(["inspect", name, "--format", "{{.State.Status}}"])
-                .output()
-                .await;
-            if let Ok(o) = status {
-                let state = String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout).trim().to_string();
-                if state == "exited" {
-                    let logs = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                        .args(["logs", "--tail", "5", name])
-                        .output()
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let result = if let Some(orchestrator) = orchestrator.as_ref() {
+                do_orchestrator_package_start(orchestrator.as_ref(), &to_start).await
+            } else {
+                do_package_start(&to_start).await
+            };
+            match result {
+                Ok(()) => {
+                    reconcile_companions_for(&companion_app_id).await;
+                    set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Running)
                        .await;
-                    let log_text = logs
-                        .map(|o| {
-                            let combined = format!(
-                                "{}{}",
-                                String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout),
-                                String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stderr)
-                            );
-                            combined.chars().take(200).collect::<String>()
-                        })
-                        .unwrap_or_default();
-                    tracing::error!("Container {} exited after start: {}", name, log_text);
-                    install_log(&format!("START EXITED: {} — {}", name, log_text)).await;
-                    errors.push(format!("{}: exited after start", name));
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::error!("package.start {} failed: {:#}", package_id_owned, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("START FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_owned, e)).await;
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, prev).await;
+                    } else {
+                        warn!(
+                            "package.start {}: no pre-state recorded; relying on next scan",
+                            package_id_owned
+                        );
+                    }
                }
            }
-        }
+        });

-        if !errors.is_empty() {
-            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
-                "Containers exited after start: {}",
-                errors.join("; ")
-            ));
-        }
-        Ok(serde_json::Value::Null)
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "starting" }))
    }

    /// Stop a package: mark as user-stopped and stop all containers.
+    ///
+    /// Returns immediately with `{ "status": "stopping" }`. podman stop
+    /// (up to 600s for bitcoin-core) runs in the background.
    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn handle_package_stop(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
@@ -136,43 +122,55 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("No containers found for {}", package_id));
        }

-        install_log(&format!(
-            "STOP: {} (containers: {:?})",
-            package_id, containers
-        ))
-        .await;
-        // Mark as user-stopped so health monitor and crash recovery don't auto-restart
+        // Mark as user-stopped BEFORE the spawn so health monitor and
+        // crash recovery don't auto-restart mid-flight. Ordering is
+        // load-bearing — see runtime.rs:145-148 original note.
        crate::crash_recovery::mark_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, package_id).await;
        for name in &containers {
            crate::crash_recovery::mark_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, name).await;
        }

-        let mut errors = Vec::new();
-        for name in &containers {
-            tracing::info!(
-                "Stopping container: {} (timeout: {}s)",
-                name,
-                stop_timeout_secs(name)
-            );
-            let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                .args(["stop", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
-                .output()
-                .await
-                .context(format!("Failed to exec podman stop {}", name))?;
-            if !out.status.success() {
-                let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
-                tracing::error!("Failed to stop {}: {}", name, stderr);
-                errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, stderr));
-            }
-        }
+        let package_id_owned = package_id.to_string();
+        let to_stop = containers.clone();
+        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.clone();
+        let state_manager = Arc::clone(&self.state_manager);
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Stopping).await;

-        if !errors.is_empty() {
-            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Stop failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
-        }
-        Ok(serde_json::Value::Null)
+        install_log(&format!(
+            "STOP: {} (containers: {:?})",
+            package_id_owned, containers
+        ))
+        .await;
+
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let result = if let Some(orchestrator) = orchestrator.as_ref() {
+                do_orchestrator_package_stop(orchestrator.as_ref(), &to_stop).await
+            } else {
+                do_package_stop(&containers).await
+            };
+            match result {
+                Ok(()) => {
+                    set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Stopped)
+                        .await;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::error!("package.stop {} failed: {:#}", package_id_owned, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("STOP FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_owned, e)).await;
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, prev).await;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "stopping" }))
    }

    /// Restart a package: restart all containers.
+    ///
+    /// Returns immediately with `{ "status": "restarting" }`. The restart
+    /// (up to 600s per container for bitcoin-core) runs in the background.
    pub(in crate::api::rpc) async fn handle_package_restart(
        &self,
        params: Option<serde_json::Value>,
@@ -190,55 +188,51 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("No containers found for {}", package_id));
        }

+        // Restart does not mark user-stopped; user wants the app to keep
+        // running. Clear any lingering marker so downstream layers don't
+        // interpret the brief podman stop as user intent.
+        crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, package_id).await;
+        for name in &containers {
+            crate::crash_recovery::clear_user_stopped(&self.config.data_dir, name).await;
+        }
+
+        let package_id_owned = package_id.to_string();
+        let companion_app_id = package_id_owned.clone();
+        let to_restart = ordered_containers_for_start(package_id).await?;
+        let state_manager = Arc::clone(&self.state_manager);
+        let orchestrator = self.orchestrator.clone();
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Restarting).await;
+
        install_log(&format!(
            "RESTART: {} (containers: {:?})",
-            package_id, containers
+            package_id_owned, containers
        ))
        .await;
-        let mut errors = Vec::new();
-        for name in &containers {
-            tracing::info!("Restarting container: {}", name);
-            let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                .args(["restart", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
-                .output()
-                .await
-                .context(format!("Failed to exec podman restart {}", name))?;

-            if !out.status.success() {
-                let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
-                tracing::warn!(
-                    "podman restart {} failed: {}, trying stop+start",
-                    name,
-                    stderr
-                );
-
-                // Fallback: stop then start (handles rootless podman loopback issues)
-                let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                    .args(["stop", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
-                    .output()
-                    .await;
-                let start_out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-                    .args(["start", name])
-                    .output()
-                    .await
-                    .context(format!("Failed to exec podman start {}", name))?;
-
-                if !start_out.status.success() {
-                    let start_err = String::from_utf8_lossy(&start_out.stderr)
-                        .trim()
-                        .to_string();
-                    tracing::error!("stop+start {} also failed: {}", name, start_err);
-                    errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, start_err));
-                } else {
-                    tracing::info!("Restarted {} via stop+start fallback", name);
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            let result = if let Some(orchestrator) = orchestrator.as_ref() {
+                do_orchestrator_package_restart(orchestrator.as_ref(), &to_restart).await
+            } else {
+                do_package_restart(&containers).await
+            };
+            match result {
+                Ok(()) => {
+                    reconcile_companions_for(&companion_app_id).await;
+                    set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, PackageState::Running)
+                        .await;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::error!("package.restart {} failed: {:#}", package_id_owned, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("RESTART FAIL: {} — {:#}", package_id_owned, e)).await;
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_package_state(&state_manager, &package_id_owned, prev).await;
+                    }
                }
            }
-        }
+        });

-        if !errors.is_empty() {
-            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Restart failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
-        }
-        Ok(serde_json::Value::Null)
+        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "restarting" }))
    }

    /// Uninstall a package: stop and remove all related containers, clean data.
@@ -257,6 +251,20 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .and_then(|v| v.as_bool())
            .unwrap_or(false);

+        // Disable + remove Quadlet companion units BEFORE the rm loop.
+        // Otherwise systemd's Restart=always will respawn each companion
+        // within ~10s of `podman rm`, leaving them orphaned post-uninstall.
+        crate::container::companion::remove_for(package_id).await;
+
+        // Keep the production reconciler from recreating an app immediately
+        // after uninstall. The reconciler owns a manifest map independent of
+        // podman state, so a raw `podman rm` alone is not enough.
+        if let Some(orchestrator) = &self.orchestrator {
+            for app_id in orchestrator_uninstall_app_ids(package_id) {
+                let _ = orchestrator.remove(&app_id, preserve_data).await;
+            }
+        }
+
        let containers_to_remove = get_containers_for_app(package_id).await?;
        if containers_to_remove.is_empty() {
            tracing::warn!("Uninstall {}: no containers found", package_id);
@@ -342,7 +350,8 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            }
        }

-        self.set_uninstall_stage(package_id, "Cleaning up volumes").await;
+        self.set_uninstall_stage(package_id, "Cleaning up volumes")
+            .await;
        // Clean up dangling volumes associated with removed containers
        let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
            .args(["volume", "prune", "-f"])
@@ -371,7 +380,8 @@ impl RpcHandler {

        // Clean data directories unless preserve_data
        if !preserve_data {
-            self.set_uninstall_stage(package_id, "Removing app data").await;
+            self.set_uninstall_stage(package_id, "Removing app data")
+                .await;
            let data_dirs = get_data_dirs_for_app(package_id);
            for dir in &data_dirs {
                tracing::info!("Uninstall {}: removing data {}", package_id, dir);
@@ -579,3 +589,550 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Ok(serde_json::json!({ "status": "stopped", "app_id": app_id }))
    }
 }
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Background workers for async package lifecycle RPCs.
+//
+// Extracted from the pre-async RPC handlers so the transitional state is
+// visible to the UI immediately. Each worker is pure IO over podman + the
+// crash_recovery helpers — no StateManager access here so we don't need
+// a handler reference. The caller does state flipping before/after.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// Start containers in dependency order. Includes the post-start 3s wait +
+/// exit-check verification from the original synchronous handler (critical
+/// for catching "podman start succeeded but container immediately exited"
+/// failure modes).
+async fn do_package_start(to_start: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    for (i, name) in to_start.iter().enumerate() {
+        if i > 0 {
+            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
+        }
+        repair_before_package_start(name).await;
+        tracing::info!("Starting container: {}", name);
+        let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .args(["start", name])
+            .output()
+            .await
+            .context(format!("Failed to exec podman start {}", name))?;
+        if !out.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
+            tracing::error!("Failed to start {}: {}", name, stderr);
+            cleanup_start_conflict(name, &stderr).await;
+            install_log(&format!("START FAIL: {} — {}", name, stderr)).await;
+            errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, stderr));
+        }
+    }
+    if !errors.is_empty() {
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Start failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
+    }
+
+    // Post-start exit verification (podman start can succeed even if the
+    // container exits immediately after).
+    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(3)).await;
+    for name in to_start {
+        let status = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .args(["inspect", name, "--format", "{{.State.Status}}"])
+            .output()
+            .await;
+        if let Ok(o) = status {
+            let state = String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout).trim().to_string();
+            if state == "exited" {
+                let logs = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+                    .args(["logs", "--tail", "5", name])
+                    .output()
+                    .await;
+                let log_text = logs
+                    .map(|o| {
+                        let combined = format!(
+                            "{}{}",
+                            String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stdout),
+                            String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stderr)
+                        );
+                        combined.chars().take(200).collect::<String>()
+                    })
+                    .unwrap_or_default();
+                tracing::error!("Container {} exited after start: {}", name, log_text);
+                install_log(&format!("START EXITED: {} — {}", name, log_text)).await;
+                errors.push(format!("{}: exited after start", name));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if !errors.is_empty() {
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "Containers exited after start: {}",
+            errors.join("; ")
+        ));
+    }
+
+    for name in to_start {
+        ensure_runtime_host_port_listener(name).await?;
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+async fn do_orchestrator_package_start(
+    orchestrator: &dyn crate::container::traits::ContainerOrchestrator,
+    to_start: &[String],
+) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    for (i, name) in to_start.iter().enumerate() {
+        if i > 0 {
+            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
+        }
+        match orchestrator.start(name).await {
+            Ok(()) => wait_after_orchestrator_start(name).await,
+            Err(e) if is_unknown_app_id_error(&e) => {
+                do_package_start(&[name.clone()]).await?;
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::error!(container = %name, error = %e, "orchestrator start failed");
+                install_log(&format!("START FAIL: {} — {:#}", name, e)).await;
+                errors.push(format!("{}: {:#}", name, e));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if errors.is_empty() {
+        Ok(())
+    } else {
+        Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Start failed: {}", errors.join("; ")))
+    }
+}
+
+async fn wait_after_orchestrator_start(name: &str) {
+    let delay = match name {
+        "archy-btcpay-db" => 5,
+        "archy-nbxplorer" => 8,
+        _ => 0,
+    };
+    if delay > 0 {
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(delay)).await;
+    }
+}
+
+async fn do_orchestrator_package_stop(
+    orchestrator: &dyn crate::container::traits::ContainerOrchestrator,
+    containers: &[String],
+) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    for name in containers.iter().rev() {
+        match orchestrator.stop(name).await {
+            Ok(()) => {}
+            Err(e) if is_unknown_app_id_error(&e) => {
+                if let Err(e) = do_package_stop(&[name.clone()]).await {
+                    errors.push(format!("{}: {:#}", name, e));
+                }
+            }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::error!(container = %name, error = %e, "orchestrator stop failed");
+                errors.push(format!("{}: {:#}", name, e));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    if errors.is_empty() {
+        Ok(())
+    } else {
+        Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Stop failed: {}", errors.join("; ")))
+    }
+}
+
+async fn do_orchestrator_package_restart(
+    orchestrator: &dyn crate::container::traits::ContainerOrchestrator,
+    to_restart: &[String],
+) -> Result<()> {
+    do_orchestrator_package_stop(orchestrator, to_restart).await?;
+    do_orchestrator_package_start(orchestrator, to_restart).await
+}
+
+/// Stop all containers with their per-container graceful-shutdown timeout.
+async fn do_package_stop(containers: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    for name in containers {
+        tracing::info!(
+            "Stopping container: {} (timeout: {}s)",
+            name,
+            stop_timeout_secs(name)
+        );
+        let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .args(["stop", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
+            .output()
+            .await
+            .context(format!("Failed to exec podman stop {}", name))?;
+        if !out.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
+            if is_missing_companion_ok(name, &stderr) {
+                tracing::debug!(container = %name, "companion already absent during stop");
+                continue;
+            }
+            tracing::error!("Failed to stop {}: {}", name, stderr);
+            errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, stderr));
+        }
+    }
+    if !errors.is_empty() {
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Stop failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Restart via `podman restart`, falling back to stop+start when restart
+/// fails (rootless podman loopback issues).
+async fn do_package_restart(containers: &[String]) -> Result<()> {
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    for name in containers {
+        tracing::info!("Restarting container: {}", name);
+        repair_before_package_start(name).await;
+        let out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .args(["restart", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
+            .output()
+            .await
+            .context(format!("Failed to exec podman restart {}", name))?;
+
+        if !out.status.success() {
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim().to_string();
+            if is_missing_companion_ok(name, &stderr) {
+                tracing::debug!(container = %name, "companion absent during restart; reconcile will recreate it");
+                continue;
+            }
+            tracing::warn!(
+                "podman restart {} failed: {}, trying stop+start",
+                name,
+                stderr
+            );
+            // Fallback: stop then start
+            let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+                .args(["stop", "-t", stop_timeout_secs(name), name])
+                .output()
+                .await;
+            let start_out = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+                .args(["start", name])
+                .output()
+                .await
+                .context(format!("Failed to exec podman start {}", name))?;
+            if !start_out.status.success() {
+                let start_err = String::from_utf8_lossy(&start_out.stderr)
+                    .trim()
+                    .to_string();
+                cleanup_start_conflict(name, &start_err).await;
+                if is_missing_companion_ok(name, &start_err) {
+                    tracing::debug!(container = %name, "companion absent during restart fallback; reconcile will recreate it");
+                    continue;
+                }
+                tracing::error!("stop+start {} also failed: {}", name, start_err);
+                errors.push(format!("{}: {}", name, start_err));
+            } else {
+                tracing::info!("Restarted {} via stop+start fallback", name);
+            }
+        }
+        ensure_runtime_host_port_listener(name).await?;
+    }
+    if !errors.is_empty() {
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("Restart failed: {}", errors.join("; ")));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn is_unknown_app_id_error(err: &anyhow::Error) -> bool {
+    err.chain()
+        .any(|cause| cause.to_string().contains("unknown app_id"))
+}
+
+async fn repair_before_package_start(container_name: &str) {
+    match container_name {
+        "btcpay-server" | "archy-nbxplorer" => repair_btcpay_dirs().await,
+        "indeedhub-postgres" | "indeedhub-redis" | "indeedhub-minio" | "indeedhub-relay"
+        | "indeedhub-api" | "indeedhub-ffmpeg" | "indeedhub" => repair_indeedhub_network().await,
+        "grafana" => cleanup_stale_pasta_port("3000").await,
+        "gitea" => cleanup_gitea_stale_ports().await,
+        _ => {}
+    }
+}
+
+async fn ensure_runtime_host_port_listener(container_name: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let Some(port) = runtime_required_host_port(container_name) else {
+        return Ok(());
+    };
+
+    if wait_for_runtime_host_port(port, 10).await {
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    install_log(&format!(
+        "START REPAIR: {} — host port {} missing after start; restarting container",
+        container_name, port
+    ))
+    .await;
+    let output = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args(["restart", container_name])
+        .output()
+        .await
+        .context("failed to restart container after missing host port")?;
+    if !output.status.success() {
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr);
+        return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "Container {} host port {} was not listening and restart failed: {}",
+            container_name,
+            port,
+            stderr.trim()
+        ));
+    }
+
+    if wait_for_runtime_host_port(port, 60).await {
+        install_log(&format!(
+            "START REPAIR OK: {} — host port {} is listening after restart",
+            container_name, port
+        ))
+        .await;
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+        "Container {} is running but host port {} is not listening",
+        container_name,
+        port
+    ))
+}
+
+fn runtime_required_host_port(container_name: &str) -> Option<u16> {
+    match container_name {
+        "grafana" => Some(3000),
+        "searxng" => Some(8888),
+        "uptime-kuma" => Some(3002),
+        "gitea" => Some(3001),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+async fn wait_for_runtime_host_port(port: u16, timeout_secs: u64) -> bool {
+    let deadline = std::time::Instant::now() + std::time::Duration::from_secs(timeout_secs);
+    loop {
+        if tokio::net::TcpStream::connect(("127.0.0.1", port))
+            .await
+            .is_ok()
+        {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        if std::time::Instant::now() >= deadline {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    }
+}
+
+async fn repair_btcpay_dirs() {
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+        .args([
+            "mkdir",
+            "-p",
+            "/var/lib/archipelago/btcpay/Main",
+            "/var/lib/archipelago/nbxplorer/Main",
+        ])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+    for dir in [
+        "/var/lib/archipelago/btcpay",
+        "/var/lib/archipelago/nbxplorer",
+    ] {
+        let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+            .args(["chown", "-R", "1000:1000", dir])
+            .output()
+            .await;
+    }
+    repair_btcpay_database_password().await;
+}
+
+async fn repair_btcpay_database_password() {
+    let Ok(db_pass) =
+        tokio::fs::read_to_string("/var/lib/archipelago/secrets/btcpay-db-password").await
+    else {
+        return;
+    };
+    let db_pass = db_pass.trim();
+    if db_pass.is_empty() {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args(["start", "archy-btcpay-db"])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
+
+    let escaped = db_pass.replace('\'', "''");
+    let sql = format!("ALTER USER btcpay WITH PASSWORD '{}';", escaped);
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args([
+            "exec",
+            "archy-btcpay-db",
+            "psql",
+            "-U",
+            "btcpay",
+            "-d",
+            "btcpay",
+            "-c",
+            &sql,
+        ])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args([
+            "exec",
+            "archy-btcpay-db",
+            "createdb",
+            "-U",
+            "btcpay",
+            "nbxplorer",
+        ])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+}
+
+async fn repair_indeedhub_network() {
+    super::stacks::repair_indeedhub_network_aliases().await;
+}
+
+async fn cleanup_start_conflict(container_name: &str, stderr: &str) {
+    if !stderr.contains("address already in use") && !stderr.contains("pasta failed") {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if container_name == "gitea" {
+        cleanup_gitea_stale_ports().await;
+        return;
+    }
+
+    if container_name != "grafana" {
+        return;
+    }
+
+    cleanup_stale_pasta_port("3000").await;
+}
+
+async fn cleanup_stale_pasta_port(port: &str) {
+    let kill_listener = format!(
+        "ss -ltnp 'sport = :{}' 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/.*pid=\\([0-9]*\\).*/\\1/p' | xargs -r kill 2>/dev/null || true",
+        port
+    );
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("sh")
+        .args(["-c", &kill_listener])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+
+    let pattern = format!("pasta.*{}", port);
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("pkill")
+        .args(["-f", &pattern])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+    let pattern = format!("rootlessport.*{}", port);
+    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("pkill")
+        .args(["-f", &pattern])
+        .output()
+        .await;
+    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+}
+
+async fn cleanup_gitea_stale_ports() {
+    for port in ["3001", "2222", "3000"] {
+        let kill_listener = format!(
+            "ss -ltnp 'sport = :{}' 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/.*pid=\\([0-9]*\\).*/\\1/p' | xargs -r kill 2>/dev/null || true",
+            port
+        );
+        let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("sh")
+            .args(["-c", &kill_listener])
+            .output()
+            .await;
+
+        let pattern = format!("pasta.*{}", port);
+        let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("pkill")
+            .args(["-f", &pattern])
+            .output()
+            .await;
+        let pattern = format!("rootlessport.*{}", port);
+        let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("pkill")
+            .args(["-f", &pattern])
+            .output()
+            .await;
+    }
+    tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+}
+
+pub(super) fn is_missing_companion_ok(name: &str, stderr: &str) -> bool {
+    matches!(
+        name,
+        "archy-bitcoin-ui" | "archy-lnd-ui" | "archy-electrs-ui"
+    ) && stderr.contains("no container with name or ID")
+}
+
+/// Flip the primary package entry's state and return the pre-transition
+/// state for revert on error. Mirrors `transitional::flip_to_transitional`
+/// but lives here because the package path keys by `package_id` (which may
+/// differ from the container name used by orchestrator-level entries).
+async fn flip_package_state(
+    state_manager: &crate::state::StateManager,
+    package_id: &str,
+    transitional: PackageState,
+) -> Option<PackageState> {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    let prev = data.package_data.get(package_id).map(|e| e.state.clone());
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(package_id) {
+        entry.state = transitional;
+        state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+    }
+    prev
+}
+
+/// Write the package entry's final state. No-op if the entry has since
+/// been removed (uninstall race).
+async fn set_package_state(
+    state_manager: &crate::state::StateManager,
+    package_id: &str,
+    new_state: PackageState,
+) {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(package_id) {
+        if entry.state != new_state {
+            entry.state = new_state;
+            state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+pub(super) async fn reconcile_companions_for(package_id: &str) {
+    let app_ids = match package_id {
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" => vec!["bitcoin-core".to_string(), "bitcoin-ui".to_string()],
+        "bitcoin-knots" => vec!["bitcoin-knots".to_string(), "bitcoin-ui".to_string()],
+        "lnd" => vec!["lnd".to_string(), "lnd-ui".to_string()],
+        "electrumx" | "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => {
+            vec!["electrumx".to_string(), "electrs-ui".to_string()]
+        }
+        _ => return,
+    };
+    for (companion, err) in crate::container::companion::reconcile(&app_ids).await {
+        tracing::warn!(companion = %companion, error = %err, "companion reconcile failed");
+    }
+}
+
+pub(super) fn orchestrator_uninstall_app_ids(package_id: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    match package_id {
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" => vec!["bitcoin-core".into(), "bitcoin-ui".into()],
+        "bitcoin-knots" => vec!["bitcoin-knots".into(), "bitcoin-ui".into()],
+        "lnd" => vec!["lnd".into(), "lnd-ui".into()],
+        "electrumx" | "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => {
+            vec!["electrumx".into(), "electrs-ui".into()]
+        }
+        "mempool" | "mempool-web" => vec![
+            "mempool-api".into(),
+            "archy-mempool-web".into(),
+            "archy-mempool-db".into(),
+        ],
+        "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver" | "btcpay" => vec![
+            "btcpay-server".into(),
+            "archy-nbxplorer".into(),
+            "archy-btcpay-db".into(),
+        ],
+        "fedimint" => vec!["fedimint".into(), "fedimint-gateway".into()],
+        _ => vec![package_id.to_string()],
+    }
+}
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 //! Per-app manual update handler.
 //!
 //! Flow: validate → set Updating state → graceful stop → pull new image(s) →
-//! remove old container(s) → recreate via reconcile script → verify running.
+//! remove old container(s) → recreate (orchestrator-first, legacy fallback) → verify running.
 //! Data volumes are preserved (bind mounts, not stored in container).

 use super::config::get_containers_for_app;
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ use super::runtime::stop_timeout_secs;
 use super::validation::validate_app_id;
 use crate::api::rpc::RpcHandler;
 use crate::container::image_versions;
-use crate::data_model::PackageState;
+use crate::data_model::{InstallPhase, PackageState};
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, BufReader};
 use tracing::{error, info, warn};
@@ -34,15 +34,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        let pinned = image_versions::pinned_image_for_app(package_id)
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("No pinned image found for {}", package_id))?;

-        // Reject if already updating
-        {
-            let (data, _) = self.state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
-            if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get(package_id) {
-                if entry.state == PackageState::Updating {
-                    return Err(anyhow::anyhow!("{} is already updating", package_id));
-                }
-            }
-        }
+        // Note: the `already updating` guard lives in `spawn_package_update`
+        // (the async wrapper that dispatch actually routes to). By the time
+        // this inner function runs, the wrapper has already flipped state to
+        // `Updating`, so duplicating the check here would be a false positive.

        install_log(&format!("UPDATE: {} → {}", package_id, pinned)).await;

@@ -56,6 +51,64 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            self.state_manager.update_data(data).await;
        }

+        // Preferred path: for single-container apps managed by manifests, route
+        // updates through the orchestrator's upgrade lifecycle instead of the
+        // legacy shell/CLI flow. Keep stack-style packages on legacy for now.
+        if should_try_orchestrator_update(package_id, self.orchestrator.is_some()) {
+            let orchestrator_app_id = orchestrator_update_app_id(package_id);
+            self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::Preparing)
+                .await;
+            install_log(&format!(
+                "UPDATE ORCH: {} — attempting orchestrator upgrade as {}",
+                package_id, orchestrator_app_id
+            ))
+            .await;
+
+            if let Some(orchestrator) = self.orchestrator.as_ref() {
+                match orchestrator.upgrade(orchestrator_app_id).await {
+                    Ok(()) => {
+                        self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::WaitingHealthy)
+                            .await;
+                        if let Ok(health) = orchestrator.health(orchestrator_app_id).await {
+                            if health != "healthy" {
+                                warn!(
+                                    "Update {}: orchestrator upgrade completed with health={} (expected healthy)",
+                                    package_id, health
+                                );
+                            }
+                        }
+                        install_log(&format!(
+                            "UPDATE ORCH OK: {} (app={})",
+                            package_id, orchestrator_app_id
+                        ))
+                        .await;
+                        self.clear_install_progress(package_id).await;
+                        return Ok(serde_json::json!({
+                            "status": "updated",
+                            "package_id": package_id,
+                        }));
+                    }
+                    Err(e) if is_unknown_app_id_error(&e) => {
+                        info!(
+                            "Update {}: orchestrator has no manifest mapping yet, falling back to legacy updater",
+                            package_id
+                        );
+                        install_log(&format!(
+                            "UPDATE ORCH SKIP: {} — unknown app_id, using legacy flow",
+                            package_id
+                        ))
+                        .await;
+                    }
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        install_log(&format!("UPDATE ORCH FAIL: {} — {}", package_id, e)).await;
+                        self.clear_install_progress(package_id).await;
+                        self.clear_update_state(package_id).await;
+                        return Err(e.context(format!("Orchestrator update {} failed", package_id)));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
        // Resolve images to pull — either a stack or single container
        let images_to_pull = self.resolve_images_to_pull(package_id, &pinned);

@@ -101,6 +154,11 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        containers: &[String],
        images_to_pull: &[(String, String)],
    ) -> Result<()> {
+        // Phase: Preparing — about to stop the running container(s) so
+        // we can swap images. Fast.
+        self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::Preparing)
+            .await;
+
        // 1. Graceful stop all containers (reverse order for dependencies)
        info!(
            "Update {}: stopping {} containers",
@@ -130,6 +188,10 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            }
        }

+        // Phase: PullingImage — about to fetch each pinned image in turn.
+        self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::PullingImage)
+            .await;
+
        // 2. Pull new images with progress
        info!(
            "Update {}: pulling {} images",
@@ -173,38 +235,23 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            }
        }

-        // 4. Recreate via reconcile script (single source of truth for container specs)
-        info!("Update {}: recreating containers via reconcile", package_id);
+        // Phase: CreatingContainer — about to recreate each container.
+        self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::CreatingContainer)
+            .await;
+
+        // 4. Recreate containers (orchestrator-first, reconcile fallback)
+        info!("Update {}: recreating containers", package_id);
        for name in containers {
-            let out = tokio::process::Command::new("bash")
-                .args([
-                    "/opt/archipelago/scripts/reconcile-containers.sh",
-                    &format!("--container={}", name),
-                    "--force",
-                ])
-                .output()
-                .await
-                .context(format!("Failed to reconcile {}", name))?;
-            if !out.status.success() {
-                let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr);
-                let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout);
-                error!(
-                    "Update {}: reconcile {} failed:\nstdout: {}\nstderr: {}",
-                    package_id,
-                    name,
-                    stdout.trim(),
-                    stderr.trim()
-                );
-                return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
-                    "Reconcile failed for {}: {}",
-                    name,
-                    stderr.trim()
-                ));
-            }
+            self.recreate_container_for_update(package_id, name).await?;
            // Brief delay between containers for dependency initialization
            tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
        }

+        // Phase: WaitingHealthy — reconcile has started every container,
+        // now verifying each reached running state.
+        self.set_install_phase(package_id, InstallPhase::WaitingHealthy)
+            .await;
+
        // 5. Verify containers reached running state
        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(5)).await;
        for name in containers {
@@ -226,12 +273,62 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        Ok(())
    }

+    async fn recreate_container_for_update(
+        &self,
+        package_id: &str,
+        container_name: &str,
+    ) -> Result<()> {
+        let Some(orchestrator) = self.orchestrator.as_ref() else {
+            return Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+                "Cannot recreate {} during update {}: orchestrator unavailable",
+                container_name,
+                package_id
+            ));
+        };
+
+        let mut attempted = Vec::new();
+        for app_id in candidate_app_ids_for_container(container_name) {
+            attempted.push(app_id.clone());
+            match orchestrator.install(&app_id).await {
+                Ok(created_name) => {
+                    install_log(&format!(
+                        "UPDATE ORCH RECREATE OK: {} — container={} app_id={} created={}",
+                        package_id, container_name, app_id, created_name
+                    ))
+                    .await;
+                    return Ok(());
+                }
+                Err(e) if is_unknown_app_id_error(&e) => {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    return Err(e.context(format!(
+                        "orchestrator recreate failed for update {} (container={}, app_id={})",
+                        package_id, container_name, app_id
+                    )));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        Err(anyhow::anyhow!(
+            "No manifest mapping found while recreating {} during update {} (attempted app_ids: {})",
+            container_name,
+            package_id,
+            attempted.join(", ")
+        ))
+    }
+
    /// Pull a single image with progress broadcasting (reuses install progress pattern).
    async fn pull_update_image(&self, package_id: &str, image: &str) -> Result<()> {
        self.set_install_progress(package_id, 0, 0).await;

-        let mut child = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
-            .args(["pull", image])
+        let mut cmd = tokio::process::Command::new("podman");
+        cmd.arg("pull");
+        if archipelago_container::image_uses_insecure_registry(image) {
+            cmd.arg("--tls-verify=false");
+        }
+        let mut child = cmd
+            .arg(image)
            .stdout(std::process::Stdio::piped())
            .stderr(std::process::Stdio::piped())
            .spawn()
@@ -296,15 +393,16 @@ impl RpcHandler {
                Ok(o) => {
                    let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&o.stderr);
                    warn!("Rollback: could not restart {}: {}", name, stderr.trim());
-                    // Container was already removed — try reconcile to recreate with old image
-                    let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("bash")
-                        .args([
-                            "/opt/archipelago/scripts/reconcile-containers.sh",
-                            &format!("--container={}", name),
-                            "--force",
-                        ])
-                        .output()
-                        .await;
+                    // Container was already removed (forward path ran `podman rm`).
+                    // Recreate via orchestrator-first path with legacy fallback.
+                    if let Err(recreate_err) =
+                        self.recreate_container_for_update(package_id, name).await
+                    {
+                        error!(
+                            "Rollback: failed to recreate {} during rollback of {}: {}",
+                            name, package_id, recreate_err
+                        );
+                    }
                }
                Err(e) => {
                    error!("Rollback: failed to restart {}: {}", name, e);
@@ -325,3 +423,129 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        self.state_manager.update_data(data).await;
    }
 }
+
+fn should_try_orchestrator_update(package_id: &str, orchestrator_available: bool) -> bool {
+    orchestrator_available && !uses_legacy_update_flow(package_id)
+}
+
+fn orchestrator_update_app_id(package_id: &str) -> &str {
+    match package_id {
+        "bitcoin-knots" => "bitcoin-core",
+        "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => "electrumx",
+        _ => package_id,
+    }
+}
+
+fn uses_legacy_update_flow(package_id: &str) -> bool {
+    matches!(
+        package_id,
+        // Multi-container stacks still updated via the stack-aware path.
+        "immich" | "penpot" | "penpot-frontend" | "indeedhub"
+    )
+}
+
+fn is_unknown_app_id_error(err: &anyhow::Error) -> bool {
+    err.chain()
+        .any(|cause| cause.to_string().contains("unknown app_id"))
+}
+
+fn candidate_app_ids_for_container(container_name: &str) -> Vec<String> {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut push = |s: &str| {
+        if !out.iter().any(|e: &String| e == s) {
+            out.push(s.to_string());
+        }
+    };
+
+    match container_name {
+        "bitcoin-knots" | "bitcoin-core" => {
+            push("bitcoin-core");
+            push("bitcoin-knots");
+        }
+        "archy-bitcoin-ui" => push("bitcoin-ui"),
+        "archy-lnd-ui" => push("lnd-ui"),
+        "archy-electrs-ui" => push("electrs-ui"),
+        "mempool" => {
+            push("archy-mempool-web");
+            push("mempool");
+        }
+        _ => {}
+    }
+
+    push(container_name);
+    if let Some(stripped) = container_name.strip_prefix("archy-") {
+        push(stripped);
+    }
+    out
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::{
+        candidate_app_ids_for_container, orchestrator_update_app_id,
+        should_try_orchestrator_update, uses_legacy_update_flow,
+    };
+
+    #[test]
+    fn legacy_flow_for_stack_apps() {
+        for app in ["immich", "penpot", "indeedhub"] {
+            assert!(uses_legacy_update_flow(app), "{app} should stay legacy");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn orchestrator_flow_for_single_apps() {
+        for app in [
+            "lnd",
+            "bitcoin-core",
+            "searxng",
+            "grafana",
+            "btcpay-server",
+            "mempool",
+            "fedimint",
+        ] {
+            assert!(
+                !uses_legacy_update_flow(app),
+                "{app} should be orchestrator-first"
+            );
+            assert!(
+                should_try_orchestrator_update(app, true),
+                "{app} should use orchestrator when available"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn no_orchestrator_means_no_orchestrator_flow() {
+        assert!(!should_try_orchestrator_update("lnd", false));
+        assert!(!should_try_orchestrator_update("btcpay-server", false));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn container_name_candidates_cover_common_aliases() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            candidate_app_ids_for_container("bitcoin-knots"),
+            vec!["bitcoin-core", "bitcoin-knots"]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            candidate_app_ids_for_container("archy-bitcoin-ui"),
+            vec!["bitcoin-ui", "archy-bitcoin-ui"]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            candidate_app_ids_for_container("mempool"),
+            vec!["archy-mempool-web", "mempool"]
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            candidate_app_ids_for_container("archy-mempool-db"),
+            vec!["archy-mempool-db", "mempool-db"]
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn update_aliases_map_to_manifest_app_ids() {
+        assert_eq!(orchestrator_update_app_id("bitcoin-knots"), "bitcoin-core");
+        assert_eq!(orchestrator_update_app_id("electrs"), "electrumx");
+        assert_eq!(orchestrator_update_app_id("mempool-electrs"), "electrumx");
+        assert_eq!(orchestrator_update_app_id("fedimint"), "fedimint");
+    }
+}
@@ -147,8 +147,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
            .get("onion")
            .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Missing onion"))?;
-        let fips_npub =
-            crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
+        let fips_npub = crate::federation::fips_npub_for_onion(&self.config.data_dir, onion).await;
        let reachable = node_message::check_peer_reachable(onion, fips_npub.as_deref())
            .await
            .unwrap_or(false);
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ pub(in crate::api::rpc) fn known_service_port(name: &str) -> u16 {
        "penpot" => 9001,
        "nginx-proxy-manager" => 81,
        "vaultwarden" => 8343,
-        "indeedhub" => 7777,
+        "indeedhub" => 7778,
        _ => 0,
    }
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+//! Async lifecycle helper for container Stop/Start/Restart RPCs.
+//!
+//! The `ContainerOrchestrator` trait is intentionally synchronous — blocking
+//! calls keep the reconciler, boot flow, chaos harness, and unit tests
+//! deterministic. But the RPC layer must return to the UI in <1s so the
+//! dashboard can render a transitional "Stopping…" / "Starting…" label while
+//! the underlying `podman stop` (up to 600s for bitcoin-core) runs in the
+//! background.
+//!
+//! `RpcHandler::spawn_transitional` bridges the two: it
+//!   1. flips the package state in `StateManager` to the appropriate
+//!      transitional variant (`Stopping` / `Starting` / `Restarting`),
+//!      which fans out to WebSocket clients immediately.
+//!   2. `tokio::spawn`s the actual orchestrator call.
+//!   3. on success, writes the final state (`Stopped` / `Running`).
+//!   4. on error, reverts to the pre-transition state and logs via
+//!      `install_log()` so the incident shows up in
+//!      `/var/log/archipelago/container-installs.log`.
+//!
+//! The server.rs package-scan loop must also be taught to preserve
+//! transitional states — see `server.rs:scan_and_update_packages`'s merge
+//! logic and the companion `merge_preserving_transitional` helper.
+
+use super::package::install_log;
+use super::RpcHandler;
+use crate::container::ContainerOrchestrator;
+use crate::data_model::PackageState;
+use crate::state::StateManager;
+use anyhow::Result;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tracing::{error, info, warn};
+
+/// The three transitional lifecycle operations that run asynchronously from
+/// the RPC handler. `Install` and `Remove` are intentionally NOT here — they
+/// already have their own progress-tracking paths (`install_progress`,
+/// `uninstall_stage`) with multi-step UI feedback.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy)]
+pub(super) enum Op {
+    Stop,
+    Start,
+    Restart,
+}
+
+impl Op {
+    /// The `PackageState` to set on the entry while the operation is in
+    /// flight. The package-scan merge loop must preserve this variant and
+    /// refuse to overwrite it with whatever podman reports (see
+    /// `merge_preserving_transitional` in server.rs).
+    fn transitional_state(self) -> PackageState {
+        match self {
+            Op::Stop => PackageState::Stopping,
+            Op::Start => PackageState::Starting,
+            Op::Restart => PackageState::Restarting,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The `PackageState` to set on success. On error the caller reverts to
+    /// the pre-transition state rather than using these.
+    fn final_state_on_success(self) -> PackageState {
+        match self {
+            Op::Stop => PackageState::Stopped,
+            Op::Start => PackageState::Running,
+            Op::Restart => PackageState::Running,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Prefix used in `install_log` entries so post-mortem readers can grep
+    /// the operation that failed.
+    fn log_prefix(self) -> &'static str {
+        match self {
+            Op::Stop => "STOP",
+            Op::Start => "START",
+            Op::Restart => "RESTART",
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Call the orchestrator for this op. Kept in one place so the spawned
+    /// task doesn't repeat the match four times.
+    async fn dispatch(self, orch: &dyn ContainerOrchestrator, app_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        match self {
+            Op::Stop => orch.stop(app_id).await,
+            Op::Start => orch.start(app_id).await,
+            Op::Restart => orch.restart(app_id).await,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl RpcHandler {
+    /// Flip the package state to `op.transitional_state()`, spawn a background
+    /// task that runs `op.dispatch()`, and return immediately. The spawned
+    /// task writes the final state on completion or reverts to the
+    /// pre-transition state on failure.
+    ///
+    /// If no package entry exists for `app_id` (e.g. Start on a container
+    /// that was never installed), no pre-state is recorded and the spawn
+    /// still runs — the post-success path will no-op the state write and
+    /// the next scan will pick up the newly-created entry with the correct
+    /// state. This keeps the helper usable for stacks that lazily create
+    /// their entries.
+    pub(super) async fn spawn_transitional(&self, op: Op, app_id: String) -> Result<()> {
+        let orchestrator = self
+            .orchestrator
+            .as_ref()
+            .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Container orchestrator not available"))?
+            .clone();
+        let state_manager = Arc::clone(&self.state_manager);
+
+        // Snapshot pre-transition state (for revert on error) and flip to
+        // transitional variant. Done BEFORE the spawn so the WebSocket push
+        // beats the RPC response — the UI should see "Stopping…" the moment
+        // it gets the RPC ok, not on the next scan.
+        let pre_state =
+            flip_to_transitional(&state_manager, &app_id, op.transitional_state()).await;
+
+        let log_prefix = op.log_prefix();
+        let app_id_log = app_id.clone();
+        install_log(&format!("{}: {}", log_prefix, app_id_log)).await;
+
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            match op.dispatch(orchestrator.as_ref(), &app_id).await {
+                Ok(()) => {
+                    info!("{} complete: {}", log_prefix, app_id);
+                    set_state(&state_manager, &app_id, op.final_state_on_success()).await;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    error!("{} failed for {}: {:#}", log_prefix, app_id, e);
+                    install_log(&format!("{} FAIL: {} — {:#}", log_prefix, app_id, e)).await;
+                    // Revert to pre-transition state if we had one; otherwise
+                    // leave the entry untouched so the next scan reconciles.
+                    if let Some(prev) = pre_state {
+                        set_state(&state_manager, &app_id, prev).await;
+                    } else {
+                        warn!(
+                            "{}: no pre-transition state recorded for {}; leaving entry to next scan",
+                            log_prefix, app_id
+                        );
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+/// Flip the entry's state to `transitional` and return the previous state.
+/// Returns `None` if there is no entry for `app_id`.
+async fn flip_to_transitional(
+    state_manager: &StateManager,
+    app_id: &str,
+    transitional: PackageState,
+) -> Option<PackageState> {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    let prev = data.package_data.get(app_id).map(|e| e.state.clone());
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(app_id) {
+        entry.state = transitional;
+        state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+    }
+    prev
+}
+
+/// Set the entry's state to `new_state`. No-ops if the entry has since been
+/// removed (e.g. uninstall ran concurrently).
+async fn set_state(state_manager: &StateManager, app_id: &str, new_state: PackageState) {
+    let (mut data, _) = state_manager.get_snapshot().await;
+    if let Some(entry) = data.package_data.get_mut(app_id) {
+        if entry.state != new_state {
+            entry.state = new_state;
+            state_manager.update_data(data).await;
+        }
+    }
+}
@@ -162,10 +162,8 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        // progress bar after navigation instead of showing the fake
        // creep again. An RPC poll every ~1s during download drives a
        // real progress indicator that survives route changes.
-        let downloaded = update::DOWNLOAD_BYTES
-            .load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
-        let total = update::DOWNLOAD_TOTAL
-            .load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let downloaded = update::DOWNLOAD_BYTES.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let total = update::DOWNLOAD_TOTAL.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
        let active = total > 0 && downloaded < total;
        let completed = total > 0 && downloaded >= total;

@@ -175,8 +173,7 @@ impl RpcHandler {
        // read timeout). The UI uses this to surface a Cancel button
        // with explanatory copy.
        let stalled = if active {
-            let last_at = update::DOWNLOAD_PROGRESS_AT
-                .load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
+            let last_at = update::DOWNLOAD_PROGRESS_AT.load(std::sync::atomic::Ordering::Relaxed);
            if last_at > 0 {
                let now = std::time::SystemTime::now()
                    .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
@@ -185,12 +185,32 @@ impl AuthManager {
                }
            }
        }
-        // Fallback: user.json
-        Ok(self
-            .get_user()
-            .await?
-            .map(|u| u.onboarding_complete)
-            .unwrap_or(false))
+        // Fallback: user.json. A node that has a password set AND
+        // setup_complete=true has been through onboarding by
+        // definition — you can't reach the password-set step any
+        // other way. The separate `onboarding_complete` flag can drift
+        // out of sync (e.g. the completion RPC never reached disk, or
+        // the node was seeded from a backup pre-dating the flag), so
+        // auto-heal by inferring from setup_complete + password_hash.
+        // Without this, a fully-onboarded node whose `onboarding_complete`
+        // is stuck false will force its user back through the intro
+        // wizard on every cleared browser cache.
+        if let Some(u) = self.get_user().await? {
+            if u.onboarding_complete {
+                return Ok(true);
+            }
+            if u.setup_complete && !u.password_hash.is_empty() {
+                // Persist the healed state so subsequent calls skip this
+                // inference. Ignore write errors — returning true is
+                // still correct even if we can't persist.
+                let healed = OnboardingState { complete: true };
+                if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&healed) {
+                    let _ = fs::write(&onboarding_file, json).await;
+                }
+                return Ok(true);
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(false)
    }

    /// Check if 2FA is enabled for the user.
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@ use base64::Engine;
 /// Convert a byte to an HSL triple biased toward readable foregrounds on
 /// dark backgrounds (saturation 60–85%, lightness 52–70%).
 fn hue_color(seed: u8) -> String {
-    let hue = (seed as u16) * 360 / 256;
+    let hue = (seed as u32) * 360 / 256;
    format!("hsl({}, 72%, 60%)", hue)
 }

 fn accent_color(seed: u8) -> String {
-    let hue = (seed as u16) * 360 / 256;
+    let hue = (seed as u32) * 360 / 256;
    format!("hsl({}, 80%, 68%)", hue)
 }

@@ -37,7 +37,10 @@ fn encode_svg(svg: &str) -> String {
 /// avatar rather than an error.
 fn seed_bytes(pubkey_hex: &str) -> [u8; 8] {
    let mut out = [0u8; 8];
-    let clean: String = pubkey_hex.chars().filter(|c| c.is_ascii_hexdigit()).collect();
+    let clean: String = pubkey_hex
+        .chars()
+        .filter(|c| c.is_ascii_hexdigit())
+        .collect();
    for (i, byte) in out.iter_mut().enumerate() {
        let lo = i * 2;
        if clean.len() >= lo + 2 {
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+//! Cached Bitcoin node status for browser UIs.
+//!
+//! The bitcoin-ui should not poll Bitcoin RPC directly for display state.
+//! During container restarts, reindexing, and IBD, direct browser RPC polling
+//! turns short RPC gaps into visible UI failures. This module owns the RPC
+//! polling loop, caches the last successful snapshot, and serves stale-but-known
+//! state while the node is reconnecting.
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use serde::Serialize;
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
+use tokio::sync::RwLock;
+use tracing::{debug, warn};
+
+const CACHE_REFRESH_SECS: u64 = 5;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
+pub struct BitcoinNodeStatus {
+    pub ok: bool,
+    pub stale: bool,
+    pub updated_at_ms: u64,
+    pub error: Option<String>,
+    pub blockchain_info: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    pub network_info: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    pub index_info: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+    pub zmq_notifications: Option<serde_json::Value>,
+}
+
+impl Default for BitcoinNodeStatus {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            ok: false,
+            stale: false,
+            updated_at_ms: 0,
+            error: Some("Connecting to Bitcoin node...".to_string()),
+            blockchain_info: None,
+            network_info: None,
+            index_info: None,
+            zmq_notifications: None,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+static STATUS_CACHE: OnceLock<RwLock<BitcoinNodeStatus>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+fn cache() -> &'static RwLock<BitcoinNodeStatus> {
+    STATUS_CACHE.get_or_init(|| RwLock::new(BitcoinNodeStatus::default()))
+}
+
+fn now_ms() -> u64 {
+    SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .unwrap_or_default()
+        .as_millis() as u64
+}
+
+fn transient_error(err_msg: &str) -> bool {
+    let lower = err_msg.to_lowercase();
+    lower.contains("connect")
+        || lower.contains("reset")
+        || lower.contains("refused")
+        || lower.contains("timed out")
+        || lower.contains("timeout")
+        || lower.contains("broken pipe")
+        || lower.contains("eof")
+        || lower.contains("500 internal server error")
+}
+
+pub fn spawn_status_cache() {
+    tokio::spawn(async {
+        loop {
+            let fresh = fetch_bitcoin_status().await;
+            let mut cached = cache().write().await;
+            match fresh {
+                Ok(mut status) => {
+                    status.ok = true;
+                    status.stale = false;
+                    status.error = None;
+                    *cached = status;
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    let err_msg = e.to_string();
+                    if transient_error(&err_msg) {
+                        debug!("Bitcoin status: transient RPC failure: {}", err_msg);
+                    } else {
+                        warn!("Bitcoin status: RPC failure: {}", err_msg);
+                    }
+
+                    if cached.blockchain_info.is_some() {
+                        cached.ok = false;
+                        cached.stale = true;
+                        cached.error = Some(format!(
+                            "Bitcoin node is reconnecting; showing last known state: {}",
+                            err_msg
+                        ));
+                    } else {
+                        *cached = BitcoinNodeStatus {
+                            ok: false,
+                            stale: false,
+                            updated_at_ms: now_ms(),
+                            error: Some(format!("Connecting to Bitcoin node: {}", err_msg)),
+                            ..BitcoinNodeStatus::default()
+                        };
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            drop(cached);
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(CACHE_REFRESH_SECS)).await;
+        }
+    });
+}
+
+pub async fn get_bitcoin_status() -> BitcoinNodeStatus {
+    cache().read().await.clone()
+}
+
+async fn fetch_bitcoin_status() -> Result<BitcoinNodeStatus> {
+    let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .timeout(Duration::from_secs(8))
+        .build()
+        .context("build Bitcoin status HTTP client")?;
+
+    let blockchain_info = bitcoin_rpc_call(&client, "getblockchaininfo", serde_json::json!([]))
+        .await
+        .context("getblockchaininfo")?;
+    let network_info = bitcoin_rpc_call(&client, "getnetworkinfo", serde_json::json!([]))
+        .await
+        .context("getnetworkinfo")
+        .ok();
+    let index_info = bitcoin_rpc_call(&client, "getindexinfo", serde_json::json!([]))
+        .await
+        .context("getindexinfo")
+        .ok();
+    let zmq_notifications = bitcoin_rpc_call(&client, "getzmqnotifications", serde_json::json!([]))
+        .await
+        .context("getzmqnotifications")
+        .ok();
+
+    Ok(BitcoinNodeStatus {
+        ok: true,
+        stale: false,
+        updated_at_ms: now_ms(),
+        error: None,
+        blockchain_info: Some(blockchain_info),
+        network_info,
+        index_info,
+        zmq_notifications,
+    })
+}
+
+async fn bitcoin_rpc_call(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    method: &str,
+    params: serde_json::Value,
+) -> Result<serde_json::Value> {
+    let (rpc_user, rpc_pass) = crate::bitcoin_rpc::bitcoin_rpc_credentials().await;
+    let body = serde_json::json!({
+        "jsonrpc": "1.0",
+        "id": "bitcoin-status",
+        "method": method,
+        "params": params,
+    });
+
+    let resp = client
+        .post(crate::constants::BITCOIN_RPC_URL)
+        .basic_auth(rpc_user, Some(rpc_pass))
+        .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+        .json(&body)
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .context("Bitcoin RPC request failed")?;
+
+    let status = resp.status();
+    let json: serde_json::Value = resp.json().await.context("decode Bitcoin RPC JSON")?;
+    if !status.is_success() {
+        anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC returned {}: {}", status, json);
+    }
+    if let Some(error) = json.get("error").filter(|e| !e.is_null()) {
+        anyhow::bail!("Bitcoin RPC {} error: {}", method, error);
+    }
+    json.get("result")
+        .cloned()
+        .context("missing Bitcoin RPC result")
+}
@@ -1,18 +1,21 @@
-//! Bootstrap host-side doctor artifacts on every archipelago startup.
+//! Bootstrap host-side artifacts on every archipelago startup.
 //!
 //! The update pipeline swaps the archipelago binary but does not touch
-//! scripts or systemd units — those are installed once by the ISO builder.
-//! Without this module, changes to `container-doctor.sh` or the doctor
-//! service/timer never reach boxes installed before the change.
+//! scripts, systemd units, or nginx configuration — those are installed
+//! once by the ISO builder. Without this module, changes to
+//! `container-doctor.sh`, the doctor service/timer, or the nginx config
+//! never reach boxes installed before the change.
 //!
-//! On startup we compare three embedded files against their on-disk
-//! copies and rewrite any that differ, then enable the doctor timer if
-//! it isn't already. Idempotent: no-ops on boxes that match the
-//! embedded version. All work is best-effort — failures are logged but
-//! never abort the backend.
+//! Two things are synced on startup:
+//!   1. Doctor artifacts (container-doctor.sh + service + timer).
+//!   2. An nginx `location /api/app-catalog` proxy block — required for
+//!      the App Store catalog proxy to actually reach the backend.
+//!
+//! Idempotent: no-ops on boxes that are already in sync. All work is
+//! best-effort — failures are logged but never abort the backend.

 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
-use std::path::Path;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use tokio::fs;
 use tracing::{debug, info, warn};

@@ -21,21 +24,330 @@ use crate::update::host_sudo;
 const DOCTOR_SH: &str = include_str!("../../../scripts/container-doctor.sh");
 const DOCTOR_SERVICE: &str =
    include_str!("../../../image-recipe/configs/archipelago-doctor.service");
-const DOCTOR_TIMER: &str =
-    include_str!("../../../image-recipe/configs/archipelago-doctor.timer");
+const DOCTOR_TIMER: &str = include_str!("../../../image-recipe/configs/archipelago-doctor.timer");

 const DOCTOR_SH_PATH: &str = "/home/archipelago/archy/scripts/container-doctor.sh";
 const DOCTOR_SERVICE_PATH: &str = "/etc/systemd/system/archipelago-doctor.service";
 const DOCTOR_TIMER_PATH: &str = "/etc/systemd/system/archipelago-doctor.timer";

+const NGINX_CONF_PATH: &str = "/etc/nginx/sites-available/archipelago";
+const RUNTIME_ASSETS_DIR: &str = "/opt/archipelago/web-ui/archipelago-runtime";
+
+/// Inserted into every server block of the nginx config that lacks the
+/// `/api/app-catalog` proxy. Kept in sync with the canonical block in
+/// image-recipe/configs/nginx-archipelago.conf.
+const NGINX_APP_CATALOG_BLOCK: &str = "\n    # App Store catalog proxy — backend fetches from configured registries\n    # so the browser doesn't hit CORS/CSP. Without this block nginx falls\n    # through to the SPA index.html and the frontend gets HTML back instead\n    # of JSON.\n    location /api/app-catalog {\n        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5678;\n        proxy_http_version 1.1;\n        proxy_set_header Host $host;\n        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;\n        proxy_set_header Cookie $http_cookie;\n        proxy_connect_timeout 15s;\n        proxy_read_timeout 30s;\n        proxy_send_timeout 15s;\n        error_page 502 503 = @backend_unavailable;\n        error_page 504 = @backend_timeout;\n    }\n\n";
+
 /// Entry point called from main startup. Never returns an error to the caller —
-/// failing to bootstrap the doctor must not prevent the backend from serving.
+/// failing to bootstrap host artifacts must not prevent the backend from serving.
 pub async fn ensure_doctor_installed() {
+    match run_service_override_repair().await {
+        Ok(true) => info!("Removed stale Archipelago dev-mode service override"),
+        Ok(false) => debug!("No stale Archipelago dev-mode service override found"),
+        Err(e) => warn!("Service override repair failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
+    }
+    match run_runtime_assets().await {
+        Ok(changed) if changed => info!("Runtime assets synchronized from OTA payload"),
+        Ok(_) => debug!("No OTA runtime payload to synchronize"),
+        Err(e) => warn!("Runtime asset bootstrap failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
+    }
    match run().await {
        Ok(changed) if changed => info!("Doctor artifacts synchronized with binary"),
        Ok(_) => debug!("Doctor artifacts already in sync"),
        Err(e) => warn!("Doctor bootstrap failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
    }
+    match run_nginx().await {
+        Ok(true) => info!("Patched nginx config to proxy /api/app-catalog"),
+        Ok(false) => debug!("Nginx already has /api/app-catalog block"),
+        Err(e) => warn!("Nginx bootstrap failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
+    }
+    match run_bitcoin_rpc_repair().await {
+        Ok(true) => info!("Repaired Bitcoin RPC bind settings and restarted Bitcoin containers"),
+        Ok(false) => debug!("Bitcoin RPC bind settings already usable"),
+        Err(e) => warn!("Bitcoin RPC repair failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
+    }
+    match tighten_secrets_dir().await {
+        Ok(n) if n > 0 => info!(tightened = n, "Tightened mode on secret files"),
+        Ok(_) => debug!("Secrets directory already at expected mode"),
+        Err(e) => warn!("Secrets dir tightening failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e),
+    }
+    // Podman probing MUST be the last bootstrap stage. We used to delete
+    // transient runroot state here when `podman info` failed, but live nodes
+    // can still have rootlessport/conmon processes holding that state. Removing
+    // it automatically makes failures worse: containers lose `.containerenv`,
+    // ports stay bound, and later starts fail. Report the fault instead; repair
+    // must be deliberate/operator-driven.
+    match heal_podman_state().await {
+        Ok(PodmanHealOutcome::Healthy) => debug!("podman runtime state healthy"),
+        Ok(PodmanHealOutcome::Unhealthy) => warn!(
+            "podman runtime state is unhealthy at startup — skipping automatic runroot cleanup"
+        ),
+        Err(e) => warn!(
+            "podman self-heal failed (non-fatal, will retry next boot): {:#}",
+            e
+        ),
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum PodmanHealOutcome {
+    Healthy,
+    Unhealthy,
+}
+
+async fn heal_podman_state() -> Result<PodmanHealOutcome> {
+    if probe_podman_ok().await {
+        return Ok(PodmanHealOutcome::Healthy);
+    }
+    Ok(PodmanHealOutcome::Unhealthy)
+}
+
+/// True iff `podman info` returns 0 within 5s. Any timeout, spawn
+/// failure, or non-zero exit reads as "wedged" and triggers cleanup.
+async fn probe_podman_ok() -> bool {
+    use std::time::Duration;
+    let probe = tokio::time::timeout(
+        Duration::from_secs(5),
+        tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+            .arg("info")
+            .arg("--format=json")
+            .output(),
+    )
+    .await;
+    match probe {
+        Ok(Ok(out)) => out.status.success(),
+        Ok(Err(_)) | Err(_) => false,
+    }
+}
+
+/// Make sure /var/lib/archipelago/secrets/ stays 0700 owned by archipelago,
+/// and every file inside is 0600. The parent dir mode is the load-bearing
+/// boundary against host-side reads from other UIDs (rootless container
+/// escapes get mapped to UID >= 100000 and can't traverse a 0700/uid=1000
+/// directory). The per-file 0600 sweep is defense-in-depth in case some
+/// installer wrote a 0644 file.
+async fn tighten_secrets_dir() -> Result<u32> {
+    let dir = Path::new("/var/lib/archipelago/secrets");
+    if !dir.exists() {
+        return Ok(0);
+    }
+    use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+    fs::set_permissions(dir, std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o700))
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("chmod 0700 {}", dir.display()))?;
+
+    let mut entries = fs::read_dir(dir)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("read_dir {}", dir.display()))?;
+    let mut tightened = 0u32;
+    while let Some(entry) = entries.next_entry().await? {
+        let path = entry.path();
+        let meta = match entry.metadata().await {
+            Ok(m) => m,
+            Err(_) => continue,
+        };
+        if !meta.is_file() {
+            continue;
+        }
+        if meta.permissions().mode() & 0o777 != 0o600 {
+            fs::set_permissions(&path, std::fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600))
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| format!("chmod 0600 {}", path.display()))?;
+            tightened += 1;
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(tightened)
+}
+
+async fn run_service_override_repair() -> Result<bool> {
+    let override_path = Path::new("/etc/systemd/system/archipelago.service.d/override.conf");
+    let Ok(content) = fs::read_to_string(override_path).await else {
+        return Ok(false);
+    };
+    if !content.contains("ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE=true") {
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    let only_dev_mode_override = content
+        .lines()
+        .map(str::trim)
+        .filter(|line| !line.is_empty() && !line.starts_with('#'))
+        .all(|line| line == "[Service]" || line == "Environment=ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE=true");
+    if !only_dev_mode_override {
+        warn!(
+            path = %override_path.display(),
+            "Archipelago service override contains ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE=true plus other settings; leaving it untouched"
+        );
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    let path_s = override_path.to_string_lossy().to_string();
+    let status = host_sudo(&["rm", "-f", &path_s])
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("remove {}", override_path.display()))?;
+    if !status.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!("remove {} exited with {}", override_path.display(), status);
+    }
+    let _ = host_sudo(&["systemctl", "daemon-reload"]).await;
+    Ok(true)
+}
+
+async fn run_runtime_assets() -> Result<bool> {
+    // The v1.7.50 OTA bridge puts scripts/apps/docker assets inside the
+    // frontend tarball because older binaries only know how to apply the
+    // backend binary and frontend archive. Once the new backend starts, it
+    // promotes that payload into /opt so app installs use the matching specs.
+    let runtime_dir = Path::new(RUNTIME_ASSETS_DIR);
+    if !runtime_dir.exists() {
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    let mut changed = false;
+    for (relative, dest) in [
+        ("apps", "/opt/archipelago/apps"),
+        ("scripts", "/opt/archipelago/scripts"),
+        ("docker", "/opt/archipelago/docker"),
+    ] {
+        let src = runtime_dir.join(relative);
+        if src.exists() {
+            replace_dir_from_runtime(&src, dest).await?;
+            if relative == "scripts" {
+                let _ = host_sudo(&[
+                    "find", dest, "-type", "f", "-name", "*.sh", "-exec", "chmod", "755", "{}", "+",
+                ])
+                .await;
+                let image_versions = format!("{}/image-versions.sh", dest);
+                if Path::new(&image_versions).exists() {
+                    let _ =
+                        host_sudo(&["cp", &image_versions, "/opt/archipelago/image-versions.sh"])
+                            .await;
+                }
+            }
+            changed = true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    let configs = runtime_dir.join("image-recipe/configs");
+    for unit in ["archipelago-doctor.service", "archipelago-doctor.timer"] {
+        let src = configs.join(unit);
+        if src.exists() {
+            let src_s = src.to_string_lossy().to_string();
+            let dest = format!("/etc/systemd/system/{}", unit);
+            let status = host_sudo(&["install", "-m", "644", &src_s, &dest])
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| format!("install {}", unit))?;
+            if !status.success() {
+                anyhow::bail!("install {} exited with {}", unit, status);
+            }
+            changed = true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    if changed {
+        let _ = host_sudo(&["systemctl", "daemon-reload"]).await;
+    }
+    Ok(changed)
+}
+
+async fn replace_dir_from_runtime(src: &Path, dest: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let tmp = format!("{}.new.{}", dest, chrono::Utc::now().timestamp_millis());
+    let src_dot = path_dot(src);
+    let mkdir = host_sudo(&["mkdir", "-p", &tmp])
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("mkdir {}", tmp))?;
+    if !mkdir.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!("mkdir {} exited with {}", tmp, mkdir);
+    }
+    let copy = host_sudo(&["cp", "-a", &src_dot, &tmp])
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("copy runtime {} -> {}", src.display(), tmp))?;
+    if !copy.success() {
+        let _ = host_sudo(&["rm", "-rf", &tmp]).await;
+        anyhow::bail!("copy runtime {} exited with {}", src.display(), copy);
+    }
+    let _ = host_sudo(&["mkdir", "-p", dest]).await;
+    let cleanup = host_sudo(&[
+        "find",
+        dest,
+        "-mindepth",
+        "1",
+        "-maxdepth",
+        "1",
+        "-exec",
+        "rm",
+        "-rf",
+        "{}",
+        "+",
+    ])
+    .await
+    .with_context(|| format!("clean {}", dest))?;
+    if !cleanup.success() {
+        let _ = host_sudo(&["rm", "-rf", &tmp]).await;
+        anyhow::bail!("clean {} exited with {}", dest, cleanup);
+    }
+    let tmp_dot = format!("{}/.", tmp);
+    let promote = host_sudo(&["cp", "-a", &tmp_dot, dest])
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("promote {} -> {}", tmp, dest))?;
+    let _ = host_sudo(&["rm", "-rf", &tmp]).await;
+    if !promote.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!("promote {} exited with {}", dest, promote);
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn path_dot(path: &Path) -> String {
+    let mut p = PathBuf::from(path);
+    p.push(".");
+    p.to_string_lossy().to_string()
+}
+
+async fn run_bitcoin_rpc_repair() -> Result<bool> {
+    // Older installs can have a container-owned bitcoin.conf with only rpcauth
+    // and printtoconsole. In that state bitcoind is healthy internally, but the
+    // host-network bitcoin-ui proxy to 127.0.0.1:8332 gets connection resets.
+    // Repair it at startup so OTA fixes existing nodes without a manual
+    // uninstall/reinstall.
+    let script = r#"
+set -eu
+conf=/var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin/bitcoin.conf
+[ -f "$conf" ] || exit 0
+changed=0
+ensure_line() {
+    line="$1"
+    key="${line%%=*}"
+    if ! grep -q "^${key}=" "$conf"; then
+        printf '%s\n' "$line" >> "$conf"
+        changed=1
+    fi
+}
+ensure_line server=1
+ensure_line rpcbind=0.0.0.0
+ensure_line rpcallowip=0.0.0.0/0
+ensure_line rpcport=8332
+ensure_line listen=1
+[ "$changed" -eq 0 ] && exit 0
+exit 2
+"#;
+    let status = host_sudo(&["sh", "-lc", script])
+        .await
+        .context("repair bitcoin.conf RPC bind settings")?;
+    match status.code() {
+        Some(0) => Ok(false),
+        Some(2) => {
+            for name in ["bitcoin-knots", "bitcoin-core", "archy-bitcoin-ui"] {
+                let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+                    .args(["restart", name])
+                    .status()
+                    .await;
+            }
+            Ok(true)
+        }
+        _ => {
+            warn!("Bitcoin RPC repair helper exited with {}", status);
+            Ok(false)
+        }
+    }
 }

 async fn run() -> Result<bool> {
@@ -87,21 +399,14 @@ async fn run() -> Result<bool> {
    let timer_changed = write_root_if_needed(DOCTOR_TIMER_PATH, DOCTOR_TIMER).await?;
    changed = changed || service_changed || timer_changed;

-    // 3. Reload + enable. Only when we actually touched units, or when the
-    // timer isn't enabled yet (catches fresh upgrades of boxes that predate
-    // the doctor entirely).
-    let timer_enabled = is_timer_enabled().await;
-    if service_changed || timer_changed || !timer_enabled {
+    // 3. Reload if units changed. Do not enable/start the timer here: lifecycle
+    // qualification and explicit app operations need deterministic Podman
+    // ownership, and the doctor can race those flows. Operators can enable it
+    // separately when they want periodic host repair.
+    if service_changed || timer_changed {
        if let Err(e) = host_sudo(&["systemctl", "daemon-reload"]).await {
            warn!("daemon-reload failed: {:#}", e);
        }
-        if let Err(e) = host_sudo(&["systemctl", "enable", "--now", "archipelago-doctor.timer"])
-            .await
-        {
-            warn!("enable archipelago-doctor.timer failed: {:#}", e);
-        } else if !timer_enabled {
-            info!("Enabled archipelago-doctor.timer");
-        }
    }

    Ok(changed)
@@ -142,11 +447,107 @@ async fn write_root_if_needed(path: &str, content: &str) -> Result<bool> {
    Ok(true)
 }

-async fn is_timer_enabled() -> bool {
-    tokio::process::Command::new("systemctl")
-        .args(["is-enabled", "--quiet", "archipelago-doctor.timer"])
-        .status()
+/// Patch the nginx site config to add a `/api/app-catalog` proxy block if
+/// it's missing. The original ISO shipped individual per-endpoint `location`
+/// blocks and no catch-all `/api/`, so `/api/app-catalog` silently fell
+/// through to the SPA `index.html` and the frontend got HTML instead of
+/// JSON. We anchor the insert to the DWN comment that already sits right
+/// after the `/api/blob` block, so the new block lands in both the HTTP
+/// and HTTPS server blocks.
+///
+/// Validates via `nginx -t` before reloading. On failure the patch is
+/// rolled back from a backup written just before the write.
+async fn run_nginx() -> Result<bool> {
+    // Skip on dev symlinks — we don't want to touch `/etc/nginx` on laptops.
+    let home_archy = Path::new("/home/archipelago/archy");
+    if fs::symlink_metadata(home_archy)
        .await
-        .map(|s| s.success())
+        .map(|m| m.file_type().is_symlink())
        .unwrap_or(false)
+    {
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    if !Path::new(NGINX_CONF_PATH).exists() {
+        debug!("{} missing — skipping nginx bootstrap", NGINX_CONF_PATH);
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    let content = fs::read_to_string(NGINX_CONF_PATH)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("read {}", NGINX_CONF_PATH))?;
+    if content.contains("location /api/app-catalog") {
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    // The DWN comment sits at the same indent right after the `/api/blob`
+    // block in both server blocks — a stable anchor that existed on every
+    // ISO shipped to date. If it's absent (config got heavily customized),
+    // we bail rather than guess where to splice.
+    let anchor = "    # DWN endpoints — peer access over Tor (no auth)";
+    if !content.contains(anchor) {
+        warn!("nginx conf missing DWN anchor — skipping /api/app-catalog patch");
+        return Ok(false);
+    }
+
+    let replacement = format!("{}{}", NGINX_APP_CATALOG_BLOCK, anchor);
+    let patched = content.replace(anchor, &replacement);
+
+    // Write patched config via a user-owned tmp + sudo mv, after stashing
+    // a backup so we can revert if `nginx -t` hates what we produced.
+    let pid = std::process::id();
+    let tmp = format!("/tmp/archipelago-nginx-{}.conf", pid);
+    fs::write(&tmp, &patched)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("write {}", tmp))?;
+
+    let backup = format!("/tmp/archipelago-nginx-backup-{}.conf", pid);
+    if let Err(e) = host_sudo(&["cp", NGINX_CONF_PATH, &backup]).await {
+        let _ = fs::remove_file(&tmp).await;
+        return Err(e.context("backup nginx conf"));
+    }
+
+    let mv = host_sudo(&["mv", &tmp, NGINX_CONF_PATH]).await;
+    match mv {
+        Ok(s) if s.success() => {}
+        Ok(s) => {
+            let _ = fs::remove_file(&tmp).await;
+            anyhow::bail!("sudo mv nginx conf exited with {}", s);
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            let _ = fs::remove_file(&tmp).await;
+            return Err(e.context("mv tmp -> nginx conf"));
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Validate.
+    let test = host_sudo(&["nginx", "-t"]).await;
+    let valid = matches!(&test, Ok(s) if s.success());
+    if !valid {
+        warn!("nginx -t failed after patch — reverting");
+        let _ = host_sudo(&["mv", &backup, NGINX_CONF_PATH]).await;
+        if let Err(e) = test {
+            return Err(e.context("nginx -t"));
+        }
+        anyhow::bail!("nginx config invalid after patch — reverted");
+    }
+
+    // Reload nginx so the new block takes effect immediately. Reload (not
+    // restart) keeps in-flight connections alive.
+    if let Err(e) = host_sudo(&["systemctl", "reload", "nginx"]).await {
+        warn!("nginx reload failed (non-fatal): {:#}", e);
+    }
+    let _ = host_sudo(&["rm", "-f", &backup]).await;
+    Ok(true)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn podman_heal_outcome_no_longer_has_cleanup_variant() {
+        let outcome = PodmanHealOutcome::Unhealthy;
+        assert_ne!(outcome, PodmanHealOutcome::Healthy);
+    }
 }
@@ -62,6 +62,14 @@ pub struct Config {
    /// Tor SOCKS5 proxy (e.g. 127.0.0.1:9050). When set, ALL Nostr traffic routes through Tor.
    #[serde(default)]
    pub nostr_tor_proxy: Option<String>,
+    /// Phase 3.2 of v1.7.52: route orchestrator-managed backend installs
+    /// through Quadlet (`.container` units in ~/.config/containers/systemd
+    /// + systemctl --user start) instead of `podman create + start`. Default
+    /// off so the legacy path stays the production path until the harness
+    /// at tests/lifecycle/run-20x.sh has gone green against the new path
+    /// on .228 + .198. See `project_v1_7_52_phase3_quadlet_design`.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub use_quadlet_backends: bool,
 }

 impl Config {
@@ -132,9 +140,12 @@ impl Config {
            config.log_level = level;
        }

-        // Dev mode configuration
-        if let Ok(dev_mode) = std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE") {
-            config.dev_mode = dev_mode.parse().unwrap_or(false);
+        // Production binaries must not be switched into dev orchestration by
+        // host environment. Several live nodes carried a stale systemd
+        // ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE override, which rewrote production volume
+        // mounts into /tmp and prevented real installs from starting.
+        if std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE").is_ok() {
+            tracing::warn!("Ignoring ARCHIPELAGO_DEV_MODE in production config");
        }

        if let Ok(runtime) = std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_CONTAINER_RUNTIME") {
@@ -171,6 +182,17 @@ impl Config {
            config.nostr_tor_proxy = if s.is_empty() { None } else { Some(s) };
        }

+        // Phase 3.2 of v1.7.52. Truthy values (1, true, yes, on — case-insensitive)
+        // route backend installs through the Quadlet path without requiring a
+        // config.json edit + archipelago.service restart (which would trigger
+        // FM3 cgroup cascade until 3.5 ships). Anything else (or unset) leaves
+        // the config.json value untouched.
+        if let Ok(v) = std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_USE_QUADLET_BACKENDS") {
+            if parse_truthy_env(&v) {
+                config.use_quadlet_backends = true;
+            }
+        }
+
        // Host IP for container env vars (detect if not set)
        if let Ok(ip) = std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_HOST_IP") {
            config.host_ip = ip;
@@ -218,10 +240,23 @@ impl Default for Config {
                "wss://relay.nostr.info".into(),
            ],
            nostr_tor_proxy: Some("127.0.0.1:9050".into()),
+            use_quadlet_backends: false,
        }
    }
 }

+/// Recognise the canonical "the user meant true" forms for boolean env
+/// vars: 1, true, yes, on (case-insensitive, surrounding whitespace
+/// trimmed). Anything else — including the typo'd "ture" or the empty
+/// string — counts as false. Centralised so future env flags stay
+/// consistent with each other.
+fn parse_truthy_env(raw: &str) -> bool {
+    matches!(
+        raw.trim().to_ascii_lowercase().as_str(),
+        "1" | "true" | "yes" | "on"
+    )
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
    use super::*;
@@ -425,4 +460,24 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(!config.nostr_relays.is_empty());
        assert!(config.nostr_relays.iter().all(|r| r.starts_with("wss://")));
    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parse_truthy_env_recognises_canonical_forms() {
+        for t in ["1", "true", "TRUE", "yes", "Yes", "on", "ON", "  true  "] {
+            assert!(parse_truthy_env(t), "{t:?} should parse truthy");
+        }
+        for f in ["", "0", "false", "no", "off", "ture", "anything else", " "] {
+            assert!(!parse_truthy_env(f), "{f:?} should NOT parse truthy");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_config_use_quadlet_backends_defaults_off() {
+        // Phase 3.2 of v1.7.52 — the new path stays gated until the 20×
+        // harness goes green on .228 and .198. Flipping this default
+        // ahead of that would route every backend install through code
+        // we haven't fleet-validated yet.
+        let config = Config::default();
+        assert!(!config.use_quadlet_backends);
+    }
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+//! bitcoin-ui nginx.conf renderer.
+//!
+//! Step 7 of the rust-orchestrator migration. Replaces the old
+//! `sed -i __BITCOIN_RPC_AUTH__` approach from `first-boot-containers.sh`
+//! (which destructively overwrote its own template, broke on rotation,
+//! and had no story for dual Knots/Core UIs) with a binary-embedded
+//! template rendered at install/reconcile time and atomic-written to
+//! disk.
+//!
+//! The manifest bind-mounts the rendered file read-only into the
+//! container at `/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf`. On every reconcile
+//! pass we re-render and compare — if the rendered bytes would differ
+//! from what's on disk (password rotated, template changed via OTA),
+//! we rewrite atomically and the reconciler restarts the container.
+//!
+//! Source of truth:
+//!   * RPC user: hardcoded `archipelago` (matches the image's `bitcoin.conf`).
+//!   * RPC password: `/var/lib/archipelago/secrets/bitcoin-rpc-password`,
+//!     plaintext, written by the seed-derived credential setup.
+//!
+//! Both Knots and Core back-ends expose RPC on 127.0.0.1:8332 with the
+//! same auth shape, so one template serves both.
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use base64::Engine;
+use sha2::{Digest, Sha256};
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, Ordering};
+use std::time::{SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
+use tokio::fs;
+
+/// The nginx.conf template. Embedded at compile time so it can never
+/// drift from the code that renders it, and ships atomically with OTA.
+///
+/// `{{BITCOIN_RPC_AUTH}}` is the only placeholder — replaced with a
+/// `base64(user:password)` blob at render time.
+pub(crate) const TEMPLATE: &str = include_str!("bitcoin_ui_nginx.conf.template");
+
+/// The single placeholder in `TEMPLATE`.
+const PLACEHOLDER: &str = "{{BITCOIN_RPC_AUTH}}";
+
+/// Hardcoded RPC user. Matches the user written into `bitcoin.conf` by
+/// the bitcoin-core/bitcoin-knots bootstrap, and the legacy
+/// `BITCOIN_RPC_USER="archipelago"` from `first-boot-containers.sh`.
+const RPC_USER: &str = "archipelago";
+
+/// Default path to the plaintext RPC password secret.
+///
+/// Written by the seed-derived credential flow; same file the bash
+/// scripts read today at `first-boot-containers.sh:277` and `:1225`.
+pub const DEFAULT_SECRET_PATH: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/secrets/bitcoin-rpc-password";
+
+/// Default output path for the rendered nginx.conf.
+///
+/// The manifest bind-mounts this file read-only into the bitcoin-ui
+/// container at `/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf`.
+pub const DEFAULT_RENDERED_PATH: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin-ui/nginx.conf";
+
+/// Parameters for rendering. Injectable so tests can hit a tmpdir
+/// instead of `/var/lib/archipelago`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct RenderPaths {
+    /// Path to read the plaintext RPC password from.
+    pub secret_path: PathBuf,
+    /// Path to write the rendered nginx.conf to.
+    pub rendered_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl Default for RenderPaths {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            secret_path: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_SECRET_PATH),
+            rendered_path: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_RENDERED_PATH),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Outcome of a render pass. `Written` if the rendered bytes differed
+/// from the current on-disk contents and we rewrote; `Unchanged` if
+/// they matched and we left the file alone.
+///
+/// The caller (reconciler / install path) decides whether to restart
+/// the bitcoin-ui container based on this.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum RenderOutcome {
+    Written,
+    Unchanged,
+}
+
+/// Render the bitcoin-ui nginx.conf and atomic-write it to disk if it
+/// differs from what's already there.
+///
+/// Idempotent: safe to call on every reconcile pass. Does a byte
+/// comparison before writing so an unchanged password + template is a
+/// no-op (no inode churn, no container restart cascade).
+///
+/// Errors if the secret file is missing or empty. Upstream callers
+/// treat that as "bitcoin-ui isn't installable yet" rather than fatal
+/// — the RPC password comes into being during bitcoin-core's own
+/// bootstrap, which may not have happened yet on a fresh node.
+pub async fn render(paths: &RenderPaths) -> Result<RenderOutcome> {
+    let password = read_password(&paths.secret_path).await?;
+    let auth_b64 = encode_basic_auth(RPC_USER, &password);
+    let rendered = TEMPLATE.replace(PLACEHOLDER, &auth_b64);
+
+    // Compare against existing. read-to-string fails on ENOENT (first
+    // install) — treat as "different".
+    let existing = fs::read_to_string(&paths.rendered_path).await.ok();
+    if existing.as_deref() == Some(rendered.as_str()) {
+        return Ok(RenderOutcome::Unchanged);
+    }
+
+    // Atomic write: write to sibling tmp + rename. Keeps the bind-
+    // mounted file pointing at a fully-formed config at all times.
+    let parent = paths
+        .rendered_path
+        .parent()
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("rendered_path has no parent directory"))?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(parent)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("creating {}", parent.display()))?;
+
+    let tmp = unique_tmp_path(&paths.rendered_path);
+    fs::write(&tmp, &rendered)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("writing tmp {}", tmp.display()))?;
+    fs::rename(&tmp, &paths.rendered_path)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| {
+            format!(
+                "renaming {} -> {}",
+                tmp.display(),
+                paths.rendered_path.display()
+            )
+        })?;
+
+    tracing::info!(
+        path = %paths.rendered_path.display(),
+        auth_hash = %short_hash(&auth_b64),
+        "bitcoin-ui nginx.conf rendered"
+    );
+
+    Ok(RenderOutcome::Written)
+}
+
+fn unique_tmp_path(dest: &Path) -> PathBuf {
+    static COUNTER: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    let n = COUNTER.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    let ts = SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .map(|d| d.as_nanos())
+        .unwrap_or(0);
+    dest.with_extension(format!("tmp.{ts}.{n}"))
+}
+
+/// Read the plaintext RPC password from disk. Trims trailing newlines
+/// (common from `echo "$PASS" > file`) but rejects an empty result.
+async fn read_password(path: &Path) -> Result<String> {
+    let raw = fs::read_to_string(path)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("reading bitcoin RPC password from {}", path.display()))?;
+    let trimmed = raw.trim().to_string();
+    if trimmed.is_empty() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "bitcoin RPC password file {} is empty — bitcoin-core bootstrap hasn't written it yet",
+            path.display()
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(trimmed)
+}
+
+/// `base64("user:password")` — the value nginx puts after `Basic ` in
+/// the upstream `Authorization` header.
+fn encode_basic_auth(user: &str, password: &str) -> String {
+    let raw = format!("{user}:{password}");
+    base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode(raw.as_bytes())
+}
+
+/// Short hash of the auth value for logging — we never want the
+/// plaintext or full base64 in logs (it's a credential), but a stable
+/// fingerprint helps correlate rotations.
+fn short_hash(s: &str) -> String {
+    let mut hasher = Sha256::new();
+    hasher.update(s.as_bytes());
+    let digest = hasher.finalize();
+    hex::encode(&digest[..4])
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use tempfile::TempDir;
+
+    fn paths_in(dir: &Path, password: &str) -> RenderPaths {
+        let secret = dir.join("bitcoin-rpc-password");
+        std::fs::write(&secret, password).unwrap();
+        RenderPaths {
+            secret_path: secret,
+            rendered_path: dir.join("nginx.conf"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_writes_file_with_substitution() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = paths_in(tmp.path(), "hunter2");
+        let outcome = render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(outcome, RenderOutcome::Written);
+        let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(&paths.rendered_path).unwrap();
+        // archipelago:hunter2 -> "YXJjaGlwZWxhZ286aHVudGVyMg=="
+        assert!(
+            contents.contains("YXJjaGlwZWxhZ286aHVudGVyMg=="),
+            "base64 auth not found in rendered config:\n{contents}"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            !contents.contains(PLACEHOLDER),
+            "placeholder left in output"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_is_idempotent_when_password_unchanged() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = paths_in(tmp.path(), "hunter2");
+        let first = render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(first, RenderOutcome::Written);
+        let second = render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(second, RenderOutcome::Unchanged);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_rewrites_on_password_rotation() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = paths_in(tmp.path(), "old-pass");
+        render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        // Rotate.
+        std::fs::write(&paths.secret_path, "new-pass").unwrap();
+        let outcome = render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(outcome, RenderOutcome::Written);
+        let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(&paths.rendered_path).unwrap();
+        // archipelago:new-pass -> "YXJjaGlwZWxhZ286bmV3LXBhc3M="
+        assert!(contents.contains("YXJjaGlwZWxhZ286bmV3LXBhc3M="));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_trims_trailing_newline_from_secret() {
+        // Matches `echo "$PASS" > file` behaviour.
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = paths_in(tmp.path(), "hunter2\n");
+        render(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(&paths.rendered_path).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            contents.contains("YXJjaGlwZWxhZ286aHVudGVyMg=="),
+            "trailing newline should be stripped before encoding"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_errors_on_empty_password() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = paths_in(tmp.path(), "");
+        let err = render(&paths).await.unwrap_err();
+        let msg = format!("{err}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("empty"), "unexpected error: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn render_errors_when_secret_missing() {
+        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = RenderPaths {
+            secret_path: tmp.path().join("does-not-exist"),
+            rendered_path: tmp.path().join("nginx.conf"),
+        };
+        let err = render(&paths).await.unwrap_err();
+        let msg = format!("{err}");
+        assert!(
+            msg.contains("reading bitcoin RPC password"),
+            "unexpected error: {msg}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn template_contains_exactly_one_placeholder() {
+        // Safety net: if someone adds a second placeholder to the
+        // template without updating the renderer, we want a test to
+        // fail loudly rather than ship a half-substituted config.
+        let count = TEMPLATE.matches(PLACEHOLDER).count();
+        assert_eq!(count, 1, "template must contain exactly one {PLACEHOLDER}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn template_proxies_bitcoin_rpc_on_8332() {
+        // Lock in the core shape so a bad template edit doesn't ship.
+        assert!(TEMPLATE.contains("proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8332/"));
+        assert!(TEMPLATE.contains("location /bitcoin-rpc/"));
+        assert!(TEMPLATE.contains("listen 8334"));
+    }
+}
@@ -9,11 +9,19 @@ server {
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
-        proxy_set_header Authorization "Basic __BITCOIN_RPC_AUTH__";
+        proxy_set_header Authorization "Basic {{BITCOIN_RPC_AUTH}}";
        add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin *;
        add_header Access-Control-Allow-Methods "POST, GET, OPTIONS";
        add_header Access-Control-Allow-Headers "Content-Type, Authorization";
        if ($request_method = OPTIONS) { return 204; }
    }
+    location /bitcoin-status {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:5678/bitcoin-status;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        add_header Cache-Control "no-store";
+    }
    location / { try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html; }
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,379 @@
+//! BootReconciler — the long-running task that keeps the prod orchestrator's
+//! desired-state view in lockstep with what podman actually has.
+//!
+//! Step 5 of the rust-orchestrator migration. Spawned once from `main.rs`
+//! (Step 6) after the initial `adopt_existing()` pass. Every `interval` it
+//! calls `ProdContainerOrchestrator::reconcile_existing()`, which repairs
+//! containers that already exist without installing every catalog manifest.
+//!
+//! Per answered design Q3, `interval` defaults to 30 seconds.
+//!
+//! Shutdown is signalled via `Arc<Notify>`. The reconciler finishes its
+//! current `reconcile_all` call before exiting — we don't interrupt an
+//! in-flight pull or build.
+//!
+//! See `docs/rust-orchestrator-migration.md` §269-352.
+
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+use tokio::sync::Notify;
+use tokio::time::{self, Instant};
+
+use crate::container::prod_orchestrator::{ProdContainerOrchestrator, ReconcileReport};
+
+/// Default reconciler cadence (answered design Q3).
+pub const DEFAULT_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_secs(30);
+
+pub struct BootReconciler {
+    orchestrator: Arc<ProdContainerOrchestrator>,
+    interval: Duration,
+    shutdown: Arc<Notify>,
+    /// Run the companion-unit repair stage each tick. Default true.
+    /// Tests disable this — companion reconcile shells out to
+    /// `systemctl --user` and `podman`, which both block real time
+    /// and would race the paused-clock test fixtures.
+    companion_stage: bool,
+}
+
+impl BootReconciler {
+    pub fn new(
+        orchestrator: Arc<ProdContainerOrchestrator>,
+        interval: Duration,
+        shutdown: Arc<Notify>,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            orchestrator,
+            interval,
+            shutdown,
+            companion_stage: true,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Disable the companion-unit reconcile stage. Used by unit tests
+    /// that exercise loop cadence without the real systemd / podman
+    /// surface. Production must not call this.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub fn without_companion_stage(mut self) -> Self {
+        self.companion_stage = false;
+        self
+    }
+
+    /// Run the reconcile loop until `shutdown` is notified.
+    ///
+    /// Does one reconcile immediately, then sleeps `interval` between
+    /// subsequent passes. A `shutdown.notify_one()` call unblocks the sleep
+    /// and the task returns after the *next* pass completes.
+    ///
+    /// Each pass is two stages:
+    /// 1. App reconcile: `reconcile_all()` keeps every loaded manifest's
+    ///    container running.
+    /// 2. Companion reconcile: any expected Quadlet companion unit that
+    ///    is missing or inactive is repaired (writes the unit, daemon-
+    ///    reloads, starts the service). This is the safety net for the
+    ///    "someone deleted my unit file" / "systemd lost the service"
+    ///    failure modes.
+    ///
+    /// Never panics: per-app failures are absorbed into `ReconcileReport`
+    /// by the orchestrator, and companion failures are logged but never
+    /// propagated.
+    pub async fn run_forever(self) {
+        // Initial pass: no delay.
+        self.tick().await;
+
+        loop {
+            let deadline = Instant::now() + self.interval;
+            tokio::select! {
+                _ = time::sleep_until(deadline) => {
+                    self.tick().await;
+                }
+                _ = self.shutdown.notified() => {
+                    tracing::info!("boot reconciler: shutdown requested, exiting loop");
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn tick(&self) {
+        let report = self.orchestrator.reconcile_existing().await;
+        Self::log_report(&report);
+
+        if !self.companion_stage {
+            return;
+        }
+        let installed = self.orchestrator.manifest_ids().await;
+        for (companion, err) in crate::container::companion::reconcile(&installed).await {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                companion = %companion,
+                error = %err,
+                "companion reconcile failed"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn log_report(report: &ReconcileReport) {
+        for (app_id, action) in &report.actions {
+            tracing::debug!(app_id = %app_id, action = ?action, "reconcile action");
+        }
+        for (app_id, err) in &report.failures {
+            tracing::warn!(app_id = %app_id, error = %err, "reconcile failure");
+        }
+        if report.failures.is_empty() {
+            tracing::debug!(count = report.actions.len(), "reconcile pass complete");
+        } else {
+            tracing::warn!(
+                ok = report.actions.len(),
+                failed = report.failures.len(),
+                "reconcile pass completed with failures"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Tests
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::container::prod_orchestrator::ProdContainerOrchestrator;
+    use anyhow::Result;
+    use archipelago_container::{
+        AppManifest, BuildConfig, ContainerRuntime as ContainerRuntimeTrait, ContainerState,
+        ContainerStatus,
+    };
+    use async_trait::async_trait;
+    use std::collections::HashMap;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+    use std::sync::Mutex as StdMutex;
+
+    /// Instrumented runtime that counts reconcile-loop side effects so tests
+    /// can tell exactly how many passes have fired. All containers are
+    /// reported as already Running so `reconcile_all` will NoOp — we are only
+    /// measuring loop cadence, not install behavior.
+    #[derive(Default)]
+    struct CountingRuntime {
+        /// Number of times get_container_status has been called. Each
+        /// reconcile_all pass hits this once per manifest, so with one
+        /// manifest this equals the number of reconcile passes.
+        status_calls: StdMutex<u32>,
+        running: StdMutex<HashMap<String, ContainerState>>,
+    }
+
+    impl CountingRuntime {
+        fn new_with(names: &[&str]) -> Self {
+            let me = Self::default();
+            let mut m = me.running.lock().unwrap();
+            for n in names {
+                m.insert((*n).to_string(), ContainerState::Running);
+            }
+            drop(m);
+            me
+        }
+        fn status_call_count(&self) -> u32 {
+            *self.status_calls.lock().unwrap()
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[async_trait]
+    impl ContainerRuntimeTrait for CountingRuntime {
+        async fn pull_image(&self, _: &str, _: Option<&str>) -> Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        async fn create_container(&self, _: &AppManifest, name: &str, _: u16) -> Result<String> {
+            Ok(name.to_string())
+        }
+        async fn start_container(&self, _: &str) -> Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        async fn stop_container(&self, _: &str) -> Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        async fn remove_container(&self, _: &str) -> Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        async fn get_container_status(&self, name: &str) -> Result<ContainerStatus> {
+            *self.status_calls.lock().unwrap() += 1;
+            let state = self
+                .running
+                .lock()
+                .unwrap()
+                .get(name)
+                .cloned()
+                .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("not found: {name}"))?;
+            Ok(ContainerStatus {
+                id: format!("id-{name}"),
+                name: name.to_string(),
+                state,
+                health: None,
+                exit_code: None,
+                started_at: None,
+                image: "test".into(),
+                created: "now".into(),
+                ports: vec![],
+                lan_address: None,
+            })
+        }
+        async fn get_container_logs(&self, _: &str, _: u32) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
+            Ok(vec![])
+        }
+        async fn list_containers(&self) -> Result<Vec<ContainerStatus>> {
+            Ok(vec![])
+        }
+        async fn image_exists(&self, _: &str) -> Result<bool> {
+            Ok(true)
+        }
+        async fn build_image(&self, _: &BuildConfig) -> Result<()> {
+            Ok(())
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn pull_manifest(id: &str, image: &str) -> AppManifest {
+        let yaml = format!(
+            "app:\n  id: {id}\n  name: {id}\n  version: 1.0.0\n  container:\n    image: {image}\n"
+        );
+        AppManifest::parse(&yaml).unwrap()
+    }
+
+    async fn orch_with_one_running_manifest(
+        rt: Arc<CountingRuntime>,
+    ) -> Arc<ProdContainerOrchestrator> {
+        let mut orch =
+            ProdContainerOrchestrator::with_runtime(rt, PathBuf::from("/nonexistent-for-tests"));
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap().keep();
+        orch.set_data_dir(tmp);
+        let orch = Arc::new(orch);
+        orch.insert_manifest_for_test(
+            pull_manifest("bitcoin-knots", "docker.io/bitcoin/knots:28"),
+            PathBuf::from("/tmp/bk"),
+        )
+        .await;
+        orch
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    async fn initial_pass_fires_immediately() {
+        let rt = Arc::new(CountingRuntime::new_with(&["bitcoin-knots"]));
+        let orch = orch_with_one_running_manifest(rt.clone()).await;
+        let shutdown = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+        let reconciler =
+            BootReconciler::new(orch.clone(), Duration::from_secs(30), shutdown.clone())
+                .without_companion_stage();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(reconciler.run_forever());
+
+        // Yield so the spawned task gets CPU to run its initial reconcile.
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+
+        // We expect exactly one reconcile pass to have run by now (the initial),
+        // NOT a second one (the 30s sleep hasn't elapsed in paused time).
+        assert_eq!(rt.status_call_count(), 1, "initial pass should fire once");
+
+        shutdown.notify_one();
+        // Under paused clock the select! is blocked on sleep_until; the notify
+        // will unblock it. Advance wall-clock a hair so the notify gets polled.
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        let _ = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(1), handle).await;
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    async fn second_pass_fires_after_interval() {
+        let rt = Arc::new(CountingRuntime::new_with(&["bitcoin-knots"]));
+        let orch = orch_with_one_running_manifest(rt.clone()).await;
+        let shutdown = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+        let reconciler =
+            BootReconciler::new(orch.clone(), Duration::from_secs(30), shutdown.clone())
+                .without_companion_stage();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(reconciler.run_forever());
+
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        assert_eq!(rt.status_call_count(), 1);
+
+        // Fast-forward past one interval; the sleep_until should fire.
+        tokio::time::advance(Duration::from_secs(31)).await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            rt.status_call_count(),
+            2,
+            "a second reconcile pass should fire after one interval"
+        );
+
+        shutdown.notify_one();
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        let _ = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(1), handle).await;
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    async fn shutdown_terminates_loop() {
+        let rt = Arc::new(CountingRuntime::new_with(&["bitcoin-knots"]));
+        let orch = orch_with_one_running_manifest(rt.clone()).await;
+        let shutdown = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+        let reconciler =
+            BootReconciler::new(orch.clone(), Duration::from_secs(30), shutdown.clone())
+                .without_companion_stage();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(reconciler.run_forever());
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+
+        shutdown.notify_one();
+        // The select! should wake on Notified and return. Use a real timeout
+        // with advancing the paused clock to make sure the task exits.
+        tokio::time::advance(Duration::from_millis(10)).await;
+        let result = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(5), handle).await;
+        assert!(result.is_ok(), "reconciler did not exit after shutdown");
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test(start_paused = true)]
+    async fn failure_in_one_pass_does_not_stop_loop() {
+        // Manifest references a container the runtime does not have AND
+        // cannot create (no install path — install_fresh will also fail to
+        // pull, since CountingRuntime::pull_image returns Ok but the
+        // manifest's referenced container stays uncreated). In practice
+        // reconcile_all will observe the missing container, install_fresh
+        // will run, and the next pass will see a new state. We care about
+        // "loop keeps ticking even when the report has actions".
+        let rt = Arc::new(CountingRuntime::default());
+        let mut orch = ProdContainerOrchestrator::with_runtime(
+            rt.clone(),
+            PathBuf::from("/nonexistent-for-tests"),
+        );
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap().keep();
+        orch.set_data_dir(tmp);
+        let orch = Arc::new(orch);
+        orch.insert_manifest_for_test(
+            pull_manifest("bitcoin-knots", "docker.io/bitcoin/knots:28"),
+            PathBuf::from("/tmp/bk"),
+        )
+        .await;
+        let shutdown = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+        let reconciler =
+            BootReconciler::new(orch.clone(), Duration::from_secs(30), shutdown.clone())
+                .without_companion_stage();
+        let handle = tokio::spawn(reconciler.run_forever());
+
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        let first = rt.status_call_count();
+        assert!(first >= 1, "initial pass should have touched the runtime");
+
+        // Advance one interval — second pass should fire regardless of what
+        // the first pass did.
+        tokio::time::advance(Duration::from_secs(31)).await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        let second = rt.status_call_count();
+        assert!(
+            second > first,
+            "loop should have fired a second pass after the interval"
+        );
+
+        shutdown.notify_one();
+        tokio::time::advance(Duration::from_millis(10)).await;
+        let _ = tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(5), handle).await;
+    }
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,392 @@
+//! Companion UI container lifecycle, entirely Quadlet-managed.
+//!
+//! A "companion" is a small nginx-based container that exposes a
+//! browser-friendly UI on top of a headless backend service:
+//!
+//! | Backend          | Companion          | Purpose                  |
+//! |------------------|--------------------|--------------------------|
+//! | bitcoin-knots    | archy-bitcoin-ui   | RPC viewer               |
+//! | bitcoin-core     | archy-bitcoin-ui   | RPC viewer               |
+//! | lnd              | archy-lnd-ui       | wallet/channel UI        |
+//! | electrumx        | archy-electrs-ui   | indexer status UI        |
+//!
+//! Lifecycle: `install` writes a Quadlet `.container` unit to
+//! `~/.config/containers/systemd/`, daemon-reloads, then starts the
+//! generated `.service`. systemd owns supervision from that point on
+//! — archipelago can crash, restart, or be uninstalled without
+//! touching the companion.
+//!
+//! This replaces the old `tokio::spawn { podman run }` block in
+//! `install.rs` (~165 lines of fire-and-forget shellouts) with a
+//! single declarative call.
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use tokio::fs;
+use tokio::process::Command;
+use tracing::{info, warn};
+
+use crate::container::quadlet::{self, BindMount, NetworkMode, QuadletUnit};
+use archipelago_container::image_uses_insecure_registry;
+
+const COMPANION_REGISTRY: &str = "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025";
+
+/// Static description of one companion. The full list per backend
+/// app_id lives in `companions_for`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct CompanionSpec {
+    /// Container + unit name (e.g. "archy-bitcoin-ui").
+    pub name: &'static str,
+    /// Image base name in the lfg2025 registry namespace
+    /// (e.g. "bitcoin-ui" → "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-ui:latest").
+    pub image_base: &'static str,
+    /// Filesystem locations to look for a local Dockerfile (build wins
+    /// over registry pull). Searched in order; first hit wins.
+    pub build_dir_candidates: &'static [&'static str],
+    /// Optional pre-start hook that renders config files referenced
+    /// by `bind_mounts`. Returns Ok(()) on success; bind-mount must
+    /// be present at start time or the companion will 502.
+    pub pre_start: Option<PreStartHook>,
+    /// Bind mounts. Always read-only — companions don't write to
+    /// host paths.
+    pub bind_mounts: &'static [(&'static str, &'static str)],
+    /// Host-to-container TCP ports for non-host-network companions.
+    pub ports: &'static [(u16, u16)],
+    /// Whether the companion must share the host network namespace.
+    pub host_network: bool,
+}
+
+pub type PreStartHook = fn() -> futures_util::future::BoxFuture<'static, Result<()>>;
+
+/// Companions to install when `package_id` lands. Empty for apps
+/// without a companion UI.
+pub fn companions_for(package_id: &str) -> &'static [CompanionSpec] {
+    match package_id {
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => BITCOIN_UI,
+        "lnd" => LND_UI,
+        "electrumx" | "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => ELECTRS_UI,
+        _ => &[],
+    }
+}
+
+const BITCOIN_UI: &[CompanionSpec] = &[CompanionSpec {
+    name: "archy-bitcoin-ui",
+    image_base: "bitcoin-ui",
+    build_dir_candidates: &[
+        "/opt/archipelago/docker/bitcoin-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/archy/docker/bitcoin-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/docker/bitcoin-ui",
+    ],
+    pre_start: Some(render_bitcoin_ui),
+    bind_mounts: &[(
+        "/var/lib/archipelago/bitcoin-ui/nginx.conf",
+        "/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf",
+    )],
+    ports: &[],
+    host_network: true,
+}];
+
+const LND_UI: &[CompanionSpec] = &[CompanionSpec {
+    name: "archy-lnd-ui",
+    image_base: "lnd-ui",
+    build_dir_candidates: &[
+        "/opt/archipelago/docker/lnd-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/archy/docker/lnd-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/docker/lnd-ui",
+    ],
+    pre_start: None,
+    bind_mounts: &[],
+    ports: &[(18083, 80)],
+    host_network: false,
+}];
+
+const ELECTRS_UI: &[CompanionSpec] = &[CompanionSpec {
+    name: "archy-electrs-ui",
+    image_base: "electrs-ui",
+    build_dir_candidates: &[
+        "/opt/archipelago/docker/electrs-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/archy/docker/electrs-ui",
+        "/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/docker/electrs-ui",
+    ],
+    pre_start: None,
+    bind_mounts: &[],
+    ports: &[],
+    host_network: true,
+}];
+
+fn render_bitcoin_ui() -> futures_util::future::BoxFuture<'static, Result<()>> {
+    Box::pin(async {
+        let paths = crate::container::bitcoin_ui::RenderPaths::default();
+        crate::container::bitcoin_ui::render(&paths)
+            .await
+            .map(|_| ())
+            .context("render bitcoin-ui nginx.conf")
+    })
+}
+
+/// Provision and start every companion for `package_id`. Each
+/// companion is independent — a failure in one is logged but does
+/// not abort the others.
+pub async fn install_for(package_id: &str) -> Vec<(String, anyhow::Error)> {
+    let mut failures = Vec::new();
+    for spec in companions_for(package_id) {
+        if let Err(e) = install_one(spec).await {
+            warn!(companion = spec.name, error = %e, "companion install failed");
+            failures.push((spec.name.to_string(), e));
+        }
+    }
+    failures
+}
+
+/// Stop and remove every companion for `package_id`. Best effort:
+/// errors are logged but do not abort the sequence.
+pub async fn remove_for(package_id: &str) {
+    let dir = match quadlet::unit_dir().await {
+        Ok(d) => d,
+        Err(e) => {
+            warn!("companion remove: cannot resolve quadlet dir: {e:#}");
+            return;
+        }
+    };
+    for spec in companions_for(package_id) {
+        if let Err(e) = quadlet::disable_remove(spec.name, &dir).await {
+            warn!(companion = spec.name, error = %e, "companion remove failed");
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Provision one companion: pre-start hook → image present → write
+/// quadlet → daemon-reload → start.
+pub async fn install_one(spec: &CompanionSpec) -> Result<()> {
+    if let Some(hook) = spec.pre_start {
+        hook().await.with_context(|| {
+            format!(
+                "pre-start hook failed for {} — companion will not start",
+                spec.name
+            )
+        })?;
+    }
+    let image = ensure_image_present(spec).await?;
+    let unit = build_unit(spec, &image);
+    let dir = quadlet::unit_dir().await?;
+    let changed = quadlet::write_if_changed(&unit, &dir).await?;
+    if changed {
+        info!(companion = spec.name, "wrote quadlet unit");
+        quadlet::daemon_reload_user().await?;
+    }
+    // Start is idempotent — if already running, systemctl returns 0.
+    quadlet::enable_now(&unit.service_name()).await?;
+    info!(companion = spec.name, "companion started");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Build companion image locally if a Dockerfile exists, otherwise
+/// pull from the lfg2025 registry. Returns the image ref the quadlet
+/// should reference (`localhost/<base>:latest` for build, registry
+/// URL for pull).
+async fn ensure_image_present(spec: &CompanionSpec) -> Result<String> {
+    let local_image = format!("localhost/{}:latest", spec.image_base);
+    let registry_image = format!("{}/{}:latest", COMPANION_REGISTRY, spec.image_base);
+
+    // Prefer local build — companions can carry build-time customizations
+    // (e.g. nginx.conf templates baked in). Search known candidates.
+    for dir in spec.build_dir_candidates {
+        let dockerfile = PathBuf::from(dir).join("Dockerfile");
+        if fs::try_exists(&dockerfile).await.unwrap_or(false) {
+            if image_exists(&local_image).await {
+                return Ok(local_image);
+            }
+            info!(companion = spec.name, "building locally from {dir}");
+            let out = Command::new("podman")
+                .args(["build", "-t", &local_image, dir])
+                .output()
+                .await
+                .context("spawn podman build")?;
+            if out.status.success() {
+                return Ok(local_image);
+            }
+            warn!(
+                companion = spec.name,
+                "local build failed: {}",
+                String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim()
+            );
+            // Fall through to registry pull rather than fail outright.
+            break;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Registry pull. Use insecure flag only for whitelisted hosts.
+    let mut cmd = Command::new("podman");
+    cmd.arg("pull");
+    if image_uses_insecure_registry(&registry_image) {
+        cmd.arg("--tls-verify=false");
+    }
+    cmd.arg(&registry_image);
+    let out = cmd.output().await.context("spawn podman pull")?;
+    if !out.status.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "no local Dockerfile and registry pull failed for {}: {}",
+            spec.name,
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim()
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(registry_image)
+}
+
+async fn image_exists(image: &str) -> bool {
+    Command::new("podman")
+        .args(["image", "exists", image])
+        .status()
+        .await
+        .is_ok_and(|status| status.success())
+}
+
+fn build_unit(spec: &CompanionSpec, image: &str) -> QuadletUnit {
+    QuadletUnit {
+        name: spec.name.into(),
+        description: format!("Archipelago companion UI: {}", spec.name),
+        image: image.into(),
+        network: if spec.host_network {
+            NetworkMode::Host
+        } else {
+            NetworkMode::Bridge("bridge".into())
+        },
+        // Run as root inside the container so nginx can chown its
+        // worker dirs. Rootless podman maps this to a high host UID,
+        // so it is unprivileged on the host.
+        user: Some("0:0".into()),
+        memory_mb: Some(128),
+        cap_drop_all: true,
+        cap_add: vec![
+            "CHOWN".into(),
+            "DAC_OVERRIDE".into(),
+            "NET_BIND_SERVICE".into(),
+            "SETUID".into(),
+            "SETGID".into(),
+        ],
+        bind_mounts: spec
+            .bind_mounts
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(host, container)| BindMount {
+                host: PathBuf::from(*host),
+                container: PathBuf::from(*container),
+                read_only: true,
+            })
+            .collect(),
+        ports: spec
+            .ports
+            .iter()
+            .map(|(host, container)| (*host, *container, "tcp".into()))
+            .collect(),
+        extra_podman_args: vec![],
+        depends_on: vec![],
+        // Companions don't use the backend-manifest extension fields;
+        // the renderer skips empty/false directives so the rendered
+        // bytes are unchanged from before quadlet.rs grew the new fields.
+        ..QuadletUnit::default()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Is a user systemd manager reachable? In production archipelago.service
+/// inherits XDG_RUNTIME_DIR from systemd; in unit tests / CI sandboxes it
+/// is unset, in which case `systemctl --user` would fail and write to
+/// HOME would be an unwanted side effect. The reconciler skips its
+/// companion stage when this is false.
+fn user_systemd_available() -> bool {
+    std::env::var_os("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR")
+        .map(|v| !v.is_empty())
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+}
+
+/// Reconcile companion presence: every expected companion for the
+/// given installed apps must have its quadlet unit on disk and its
+/// service active. Returns a list of (companion, error) for anything
+/// that needed correction and failed.
+///
+/// Called from `boot_reconciler` so a deleted unit file or a stopped
+/// service is repaired within one tick. No-ops if the user systemd
+/// manager is not reachable (CI / test environments).
+pub async fn reconcile(installed_apps: &[String]) -> Vec<(String, anyhow::Error)> {
+    if !user_systemd_available() {
+        return Vec::new();
+    }
+    let mut failures = Vec::new();
+    for app_id in installed_apps {
+        for spec in companions_for(app_id) {
+            match needs_repair(spec).await {
+                Ok(false) => {}
+                Ok(true) => {
+                    info!(
+                        companion = spec.name,
+                        "reconcile: companion not active, repairing"
+                    );
+                    if let Err(e) = install_one(spec).await {
+                        failures.push((spec.name.to_string(), e));
+                    }
+                }
+                Err(e) => {
+                    warn!(companion = spec.name, error = %e, "reconcile probe failed");
+                    failures.push((spec.name.to_string(), e));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    failures
+}
+
+/// Does this companion need install_one to be re-run? Returns true if
+/// the unit file is missing OR the service is not active.
+async fn needs_repair(spec: &CompanionSpec) -> Result<bool> {
+    let dir = quadlet::unit_dir().await?;
+    let unit_path = dir.join(format!("{}.container", spec.name));
+    if !fs::try_exists(&unit_path).await.unwrap_or(false) {
+        return Ok(true);
+    }
+    let svc = format!("{}.service", spec.name);
+    Ok(!quadlet::is_active(&svc).await)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn companions_for_known_apps_returns_expected_set() {
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("bitcoin-knots").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("bitcoin-core").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("bitcoin").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("lnd").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("electrumx").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("electrs").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("mempool-electrs").len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("nextcloud").len(), 0);
+        assert_eq!(companions_for("not-a-real-app").len(), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn build_unit_uses_host_network_and_drops_caps() {
+        let spec = &BITCOIN_UI[0];
+        let u = build_unit(spec, "localhost/bitcoin-ui:latest");
+        assert_eq!(u.name, "archy-bitcoin-ui");
+        assert!(matches!(u.network, NetworkMode::Host));
+        assert!(u.cap_drop_all);
+        assert!(u.cap_add.iter().any(|c| c == "NET_BIND_SERVICE"));
+        assert_eq!(u.user.as_deref(), Some("0:0"));
+        assert_eq!(u.memory_mb, Some(128));
+        assert_eq!(u.bind_mounts.len(), 1);
+        assert_eq!(
+            u.bind_mounts[0].container,
+            PathBuf::from("/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf")
+        );
+        assert!(u.bind_mounts[0].read_only);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn lnd_ui_uses_port_mapping_not_host_port_80() {
+        let spec = &LND_UI[0];
+        let u = build_unit(spec, "localhost/lnd-ui:latest");
+        assert_eq!(u.name, "archy-lnd-ui");
+        assert!(matches!(u.network, NetworkMode::Bridge(ref n) if n == "bridge"));
+        assert_eq!(u.ports, vec![(18083, 80, "tcp".into())]);
+    }
+}
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use archipelago_container::{
    AppManifest, BitcoinSimulationMode, BitcoinSimulator,
-    ContainerRuntime as ContainerRuntimeTrait, ContainerStatus, PortManager,
+    ContainerRuntime as ContainerRuntimeTrait, ContainerStatus, PortManager, ResolvedSource,
 };
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::Arc;

 use crate::config::{BitcoinSimulation, Config, ContainerRuntime};
 use crate::container::data_manager::DevDataManager;
+use crate::container::traits::ContainerOrchestrator;

 pub struct DevContainerOrchestrator {
    runtime: Arc<dyn ContainerRuntimeTrait>,
@@ -103,14 +106,27 @@ impl DevContainerOrchestrator {
            volume.source = dev_path.to_string_lossy().to_string();
        }

-        // Pull image
-        self.runtime
-            .pull_image(
-                &manifest.app.container.image,
-                manifest.app.container.image_signature.as_deref(),
-            )
-            .await
-            .context("Failed to pull image")?;
+        // Resolve pull-or-build. Dev orchestrator currently only supports pull;
+        // Build support lands in Step 2 of the rust-orchestrator migration.
+        match manifest.app.container.resolve().ok_or_else(|| {
+            anyhow::anyhow!("manifest container config invalid (neither image nor build)")
+        })? {
+            ResolvedSource::Pull {
+                image,
+                image_signature,
+                ..
+            } => {
+                self.runtime
+                    .pull_image(&image, image_signature.as_deref())
+                    .await
+                    .context("Failed to pull image")?;
+            }
+            ResolvedSource::Build(_) => {
+                anyhow::bail!(
+                    "dev orchestrator does not yet support local image builds (see rust-orchestrator-migration.md Step 2)"
+                );
+            }
+        }

        // Create container with port offset
        let port_offset = if self.config.dev_mode {
@@ -242,4 +258,153 @@ impl DevContainerOrchestrator {
            archipelago_container::ContainerState::Unknown(_) => Ok("unknown".to_string()),
        }
    }
+
+    /// Load a manifest for `app_id` from the dev-mode apps directory.
+    ///
+    /// Used by the trait-level `install(app_id)` entry point.
+    ///
+    /// Search order intentionally mirrors production/operator reality:
+    /// 1) `$ARCHIPELAGO_APPS_DIR` (explicit override)
+    /// 2) `/opt/archipelago/apps` (image-recipe canonical path)
+    /// 3) `/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/apps` (repo-local fallback on dev nodes)
+    /// 4) `<data_dir>/apps` (legacy dev layout)
+    async fn load_manifest_for(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<AppManifest> {
+        let candidates = candidate_manifest_paths(app_id, &self.config.data_dir);
+        let mut last_err: Option<anyhow::Error> = None;
+
+        for path in candidates {
+            let content = match tokio::fs::read_to_string(&path).await {
+                Ok(c) => c,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    last_err = Some(e.into());
+                    continue;
+                }
+            };
+
+            let manifest: AppManifest = serde_yaml::from_str(&content)
+                .with_context(|| format!("parsing manifest {}", path.display()))?;
+            return Ok(manifest);
+        }
+
+        let msg = format!(
+            "manifest for {} not found in any search path (set ARCHIPELAGO_APPS_DIR or install /opt/archipelago/apps)",
+            app_id
+        );
+        Err(match last_err {
+            Some(e) => e.context(msg),
+            None => anyhow::anyhow!(msg),
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+fn candidate_manifest_paths(app_id: &str, data_dir: &Path) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
+    let mut roots: Vec<PathBuf> = Vec::new();
+
+    if let Ok(v) = std::env::var("ARCHIPELAGO_APPS_DIR") {
+        let v = v.trim();
+        if !v.is_empty() {
+            roots.push(PathBuf::from(v));
+        }
+    }
+
+    roots.push(PathBuf::from("/opt/archipelago/apps"));
+    roots.push(PathBuf::from("/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/apps"));
+    roots.push(data_dir.join("apps"));
+
+    let mut deduped: Vec<PathBuf> = Vec::new();
+    for root in roots {
+        if !deduped.iter().any(|p| p == &root) {
+            deduped.push(root);
+        }
+    }
+
+    deduped
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|root| root.join(app_id).join("manifest.yml"))
+        .collect()
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Trait impl (Step 4): expose the shared ContainerOrchestrator surface.
+// Forwards to the inherent methods, which internally apply the `-dev` suffix
+// and the port offset. The trait keeps the RPC layer mode-agnostic; Dev's
+// install_container (manifest_path-based) stays as an inherent method for the
+// ad-hoc dev-mode RPC and is not exposed on the trait.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl ContainerOrchestrator for DevContainerOrchestrator {
+    async fn install(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<String> {
+        let manifest = self.load_manifest_for(app_id).await?;
+        let name = self.install_container(&manifest, "").await?;
+        Ok(name)
+    }
+
+    async fn start(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        self.start_container(app_id).await
+    }
+
+    async fn stop(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        self.stop_container(app_id).await
+    }
+
+    async fn restart(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        let _ = self.stop_container(app_id).await;
+        self.start_container(app_id).await
+    }
+
+    async fn remove(&self, app_id: &str, preserve_data: bool) -> Result<()> {
+        self.remove_container(app_id, preserve_data).await
+    }
+
+    async fn upgrade(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
+        // Dev upgrade: stop, remove (preserving data), re-install from the loaded manifest.
+        let _ = self.stop_container(app_id).await;
+        let _ = self.remove_container(app_id, true).await;
+        let manifest = self.load_manifest_for(app_id).await?;
+        self.install_container(&manifest, "").await?;
+        self.start_container(app_id).await
+    }
+
+    async fn status(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<ContainerStatus> {
+        self.get_container_status(app_id).await
+    }
+
+    async fn list(&self) -> Result<Vec<ContainerStatus>> {
+        self.list_containers().await
+    }
+
+    async fn logs(&self, app_id: &str, lines: u32) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
+        self.get_container_logs(app_id, lines).await
+    }
+
+    async fn health(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<String> {
+        self.get_health_status(app_id).await
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::candidate_manifest_paths;
+    use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn candidate_manifest_paths_include_expected_fallbacks() {
+        let app_id = "bitcoin-ui";
+        let paths = candidate_manifest_paths(app_id, &PathBuf::from("/var/lib/archipelago"));
+        let as_strings: Vec<String> = paths
+            .iter()
+            .map(|p| p.to_string_lossy().into_owned())
+            .collect();
+
+        assert!(as_strings
+            .iter()
+            .any(|p| p == "/opt/archipelago/apps/bitcoin-ui/manifest.yml"));
+        assert!(as_strings
+            .iter()
+            .any(|p| p == "/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/apps/bitcoin-ui/manifest.yml"));
+        assert!(as_strings
+            .iter()
+            .any(|p| p == "/var/lib/archipelago/apps/bitcoin-ui/manifest.yml"));
+    }
 }
@@ -44,11 +44,6 @@ impl DockerPackageScanner {
            "nbxplorer",
            "mempool-db",
            "mempool-api",
-            "penpot-postgres",
-            "penpot-backend",
-            "penpot-exporter",
-            "penpot-valkey",
-            "penpot-mailcatch",
            "immich_postgres",
            "immich_redis",
            "endurain-db",
@@ -68,10 +63,14 @@ impl DockerPackageScanner {
            "indeedhub-build_ffmpeg-worker_1",
        ];

-        // First pass: collect UI containers
+        // First pass: collect running UI containers. Custom UI-backed apps must
+        // not advertise a launch URL unless their companion is actually alive.
        let mut ui_containers: HashMap<String, String> = HashMap::new();
        for container in &containers {
            if container.name.ends_with("-ui") {
+                if !matches!(container.state, ContainerState::Running) {
+                    continue;
+                }
                // Map fedimint-ui -> fedimint, lnd-ui -> lnd (normalize archy- prefix for lookup)
                let parent_app = container
                    .name
@@ -81,10 +80,10 @@ impl DockerPackageScanner {
                    .strip_prefix("archy-")
                    .unwrap_or(parent_app)
                    .to_string();
-                if !container.ports.is_empty() {
-                    if let Some(ui_address) = extract_lan_address(&container.ports) {
-                        ui_containers.insert(canonical_id, ui_address);
-                    }
+                let ui_address = extract_lan_address(&container.ports)
+                    .or_else(|| companion_lan_address(&canonical_id));
+                if let Some(ui_address) = ui_address {
+                    ui_containers.insert(canonical_id, ui_address);
                }
            }
        }
@@ -138,12 +137,6 @@ impl DockerPackageScanner {
                // Apps with separate UI containers (e.g. archy-bitcoin-ui, archy-lnd-ui)
                debug!("Using UI container for {}: {}", app_id, ui_address);
                Some(ui_address.clone())
-            } else if app_id == "bitcoin-knots" {
-                Some("http://localhost:8334".to_string())
-            } else if app_id == "lnd" {
-                Some("http://localhost:8081".to_string())
-            } else if app_id == "electrumx" || app_id == "mempool-electrs" || app_id == "electrs" {
-                Some("http://localhost:50002".to_string())
            } else {
                // Dynamic: use actual port bindings from container, fall back to static map
                extract_lan_address(&container.ports)
@@ -297,9 +290,16 @@ fn get_app_tier(app_id: &str) -> &'static str {

 fn get_app_metadata(app_id: &str) -> AppMetadata {
    let mut meta = match app_id {
-        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-core" | "bitcoin-knots" => AppMetadata {
+        "bitcoin-core" => AppMetadata {
+            title: "Bitcoin Core".to_string(),
+            description: "Reference Bitcoin node implementation".to_string(),
+            icon: "/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-core.svg".to_string(),
+            repo: "https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin".to_string(),
+            tier: "",
+        },
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-knots" => AppMetadata {
            title: "Bitcoin Knots".to_string(),
-            description: "Full Bitcoin node implementation".to_string(),
+            description: "Enhanced Bitcoin node implementation".to_string(),
            icon: "/assets/img/app-icons/bitcoin-knots.webp".to_string(),
            repo: "https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin".to_string(),
            tier: "",
@@ -409,13 +409,6 @@ fn get_app_metadata(app_id: &str) -> AppMetadata {
            repo: "https://github.com/cryptpad/cryptpad".to_string(),
            tier: "",
        },
-        "penpot" | "penpot-frontend" => AppMetadata {
-            title: "Penpot".to_string(),
-            description: "Open-source design and prototyping".to_string(),
-            icon: "/assets/img/app-icons/penpot.webp".to_string(),
-            repo: "https://github.com/penpot/penpot".to_string(),
-            tier: "",
-        },
        "nextcloud" => AppMetadata {
            title: "Nextcloud".to_string(),
            description: "Self-hosted cloud storage and file management".to_string(),
@@ -493,13 +486,6 @@ fn get_app_metadata(app_id: &str) -> AppMetadata {
            repo: "https://github.com/indeedhub/indeedhub".to_string(),
            tier: "",
        },
-        "nostr-rs-relay" => AppMetadata {
-            title: "Nostr Relay".to_string(),
-            description: "Run your own Nostr relay for sovereign event storage".to_string(),
-            icon: "/assets/img/app-icons/nostr-rs-relay.svg".to_string(),
-            repo: "https://sr.ht/~gheartsfield/nostr-rs-relay/".to_string(),
-            tier: "",
-        },
        "dwn" => AppMetadata {
            title: "Decentralized Web Node".to_string(),
            description: "Store and sync personal data with DID-based access control".to_string(),
@@ -645,6 +631,14 @@ fn extract_lan_address(ports: &[String]) -> Option<String> {
    None
 }

+fn companion_lan_address(app_id: &str) -> Option<String> {
+    match app_id {
+        "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-knots" | "bitcoin-core" => Some("http://localhost:8334".to_string()),
+        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" => Some("http://localhost:50002".to_string()),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
 fn convert_state(container_state: &ContainerState) -> (PackageState, ServiceStatus) {
    match container_state {
        ContainerState::Running => (PackageState::Running, ServiceStatus::Running),
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+//! filebrowser config bootstrap helper.
+//!
+//! Mirrors the legacy first-boot behavior that writes
+//! `/var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser-data/.filebrowser.json` before
+//! starting the container with `--config /data/.filebrowser.json`.
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use tokio::fs;
+
+pub const DEFAULT_SRV_ROOT: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser";
+pub const DEFAULT_DATA_DIR: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser-data";
+pub const DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/filebrowser-data/.filebrowser.json";
+
+const DEFAULT_CONFIG_JSON: &str =
+    "{\"port\":80,\"baseURL\":\"\",\"address\":\"0.0.0.0\",\"database\":\"/data/filebrowser.db\",\"root\":\"/srv\",\"log\":\"stdout\"}\n";
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct EnsurePaths {
+    pub srv_root: PathBuf,
+    pub data_dir: PathBuf,
+    pub config_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl Default for EnsurePaths {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            srv_root: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_SRV_ROOT),
+            data_dir: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_DATA_DIR),
+            config_path: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_CONFIG_PATH),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum EnsureOutcome {
+    Written,
+    Unchanged,
+}
+
+pub async fn ensure_config(paths: &EnsurePaths) -> Result<EnsureOutcome> {
+    fs::create_dir_all(&paths.srv_root)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("creating {}", paths.srv_root.display()))?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(&paths.data_dir)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("creating {}", paths.data_dir.display()))?;
+
+    for d in ["Documents", "Photos", "Music", "Downloads", "Builds"] {
+        fs::create_dir_all(paths.srv_root.join(d))
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("creating {}/{}", paths.srv_root.display(), d))?;
+    }
+
+    if paths.config_path.exists() {
+        return Ok(EnsureOutcome::Unchanged);
+    }
+
+    let parent = paths
+        .config_path
+        .parent()
+        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("config_path has no parent directory"))?;
+    fs::create_dir_all(parent)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("creating {}", parent.display()))?;
+
+    let tmp = paths.config_path.with_extension("tmp");
+    fs::write(&tmp, DEFAULT_CONFIG_JSON)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("writing tmp {}", tmp.display()))?;
+    fs::rename(&tmp, &paths.config_path)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| {
+            format!(
+                "renaming {} -> {}",
+                tmp.display(),
+                paths.config_path.display()
+            )
+        })?;
+
+    Ok(EnsureOutcome::Written)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn ensure_config_creates_dirs_and_file() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = EnsurePaths {
+            srv_root: tmp.path().join("filebrowser"),
+            data_dir: tmp.path().join("filebrowser-data"),
+            config_path: tmp.path().join("filebrowser-data/.filebrowser.json"),
+        };
+
+        let out = ensure_config(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(out, EnsureOutcome::Written);
+        assert!(paths.config_path.exists());
+        assert!(paths.srv_root.join("Documents").exists());
+        assert!(paths.srv_root.join("Photos").exists());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn ensure_config_is_idempotent() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = EnsurePaths {
+            srv_root: tmp.path().join("filebrowser"),
+            data_dir: tmp.path().join("filebrowser-data"),
+            config_path: tmp.path().join("filebrowser-data/.filebrowser.json"),
+        };
+
+        let first = ensure_config(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(first, EnsureOutcome::Written);
+        let second = ensure_config(&paths).await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(second, EnsureOutcome::Unchanged);
+    }
+}
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 //! Parser for image-versions.sh — single source of truth for pinned container images.
 //!
-//! Reads the deployed file at /opt/archipelago/image-versions.sh (or the repo-local
-//! scripts/image-versions.sh as fallback) and exposes lookup functions so the container
-//! scanner can compare running images against pinned targets.
+//! Reads the deployed file at /opt/archipelago/scripts/image-versions.sh (the canonical
+//! location installed by the image-recipe) with fallbacks for older layouts and the
+//! repo-local scripts/image-versions.sh for development runs from the repo root.

 use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::path::Path;
@@ -18,9 +18,15 @@ struct CacheEntry {
    images: HashMap<String, String>,
 }

-/// File search order — production path first, then repo-local for dev.
+/// File search order — canonical production path first, older layout second,
+/// repo-local for dev last. The canonical deployed path is
+/// /opt/archipelago/scripts/image-versions.sh; earlier builds put it directly
+/// in /opt/archipelago/, so that path is kept as a fallback for not-yet-updated
+/// nodes. The repo-relative entry matches `cargo run` from the repo root.
 const PATHS: &[&str] = &[
+    "/opt/archipelago/scripts/image-versions.sh",
    "/opt/archipelago/image-versions.sh",
+    "/home/archipelago/Projects/archy/scripts/image-versions.sh",
    "scripts/image-versions.sh",
 ];

@@ -102,8 +108,11 @@ fn parse_image_versions(content: &str) -> HashMap<String, String> {
        }
    }

-    // Keep only *_IMAGE entries
-    vars.retain(|k, _| k.ends_with("_IMAGE"));
+    // Keep only *_IMAGE entries whose value looks like a container image
+    // reference (contains a `:` tag separator and at least one `/` path
+    // component). Rejects placeholder values like "something" so a
+    // hand-edit typo in image-versions.sh never gets treated as an image.
+    vars.retain(|k, v| k.ends_with("_IMAGE") && v.contains(':') && v.contains('/'));
    vars
 }

@@ -134,12 +143,15 @@ fn image_var_for_app(app_id: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
        "lnd" => Some("LND_IMAGE"),
        "electrumx" => Some("ELECTRUMX_IMAGE"),
        "electrs" | "mempool-electrs" => Some("ELECTRUMX_IMAGE"),
+        "bitcoin-ui" | "archy-bitcoin-ui" => Some("BITCOIN_UI_IMAGE"),
+        "lnd-ui" | "archy-lnd-ui" => Some("LND_UI_IMAGE"),
+        "electrs-ui" | "archy-electrs-ui" => Some("ELECTRS_UI_IMAGE"),

        // Mempool stack (primary = web)
-        "mempool" | "mempool-web" => Some("MEMPOOL_WEB_IMAGE"),
+        "mempool" | "mempool-web" | "archy-mempool-web" => Some("MEMPOOL_WEB_IMAGE"),

        // BTCPay stack (primary = server)
-        "btcpay" | "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver" => Some("BTCPAY_IMAGE"),
+        "btcpay" | "btcpay-server" | "btcpayserver" | "archy-btcpay-ui" => Some("BTCPAY_IMAGE"),

        // Apps
        "homeassistant" | "home-assistant" => Some("HOMEASSISTANT_IMAGE"),
@@ -0,0 +1,425 @@
+//! lnd config bootstrap helper.
+
+use anyhow::{Context, Result};
+use base64::Engine;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+use tokio::fs;
+
+use crate::update::host_sudo;
+
+pub const DEFAULT_DATA_DIR: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd";
+pub const DEFAULT_CONF_PATH: &str = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/lnd.conf";
+pub const WALLET_PASSWORD: &str = "hellohello";
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct EnsurePaths {
+    pub data_dir: PathBuf,
+    pub conf_path: PathBuf,
+}
+
+impl Default for EnsurePaths {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            data_dir: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_DATA_DIR),
+            conf_path: PathBuf::from(DEFAULT_CONF_PATH),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub enum EnsureOutcome {
+    Written,
+    Unchanged,
+}
+
+pub async fn ensure_config(paths: &EnsurePaths, rpc_pass: &str) -> Result<EnsureOutcome> {
+    fs::create_dir_all(&paths.data_dir)
+        .await
+        .with_context(|| format!("creating {}", paths.data_dir.display()))?;
+
+    if paths.conf_path.exists() {
+        let existing = fs::read_to_string(&paths.conf_path)
+            .await
+            .with_context(|| format!("reading {}", paths.conf_path.display()))?;
+        if has_required_lnd_flags(&existing) {
+            return Ok(EnsureOutcome::Unchanged);
+        }
+    }
+
+    let conf = format!(
+        "debuglevel=info\n\
+maxpendingchannels=10\n\
+alias=Archipelago Node\n\
+color=#f7931a\n\
+listen=0.0.0.0:9735\n\
+rpclisten=0.0.0.0:10009\n\
+restlisten=0.0.0.0:8080\n\
+bitcoin.active=true\n\
+bitcoin.mainnet=true\n\
+bitcoin.node=bitcoind\n\
+bitcoind.rpchost=bitcoin-knots:8332\n\
+bitcoind.rpcuser=archipelago\n\
+bitcoind.rpcpass={}\n\
+bitcoind.rpcpolling=true\n\
+bitcoind.estimatemode=ECONOMICAL\n",
+        rpc_pass
+    );
+
+    write_config_atomically(paths, &conf).await?;
+
+    Ok(EnsureOutcome::Written)
+}
+
+pub async fn ensure_wallet_initialized() -> Result<()> {
+    let admin_macaroon = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/admin.macaroon";
+    let wallet_db = "/var/lib/archipelago/lnd/data/chain/bitcoin/mainnet/wallet.db";
+    if file_exists_as_root(wallet_db).await {
+        if file_exists_as_root(admin_macaroon).await && lnd_getinfo_ready(admin_macaroon).await {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        unlock_existing_wallet().await?;
+        wait_for_admin_macaroon(admin_macaroon).await?;
+        return Ok(());
+    }
+
+    init_wallet_via_rest().await?;
+    wait_for_admin_macaroon(admin_macaroon).await
+}
+
+async fn file_exists_as_root(path: &str) -> bool {
+    if std::path::Path::new(path).exists() {
+        return true;
+    }
+    tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+        .args(["test", "-f", path])
+        .status()
+        .await
+        .map(|status| status.success())
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+}
+
+async fn read_file_as_root(path: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+    match fs::read(path).await {
+        Ok(bytes) => Ok(bytes),
+        Err(direct_err) => {
+            let out = tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+                .args(["cat", path])
+                .output()
+                .await
+                .with_context(|| format!("reading {path} via sudo"))?;
+            if out.status.success() {
+                Ok(out.stdout)
+            } else {
+                anyhow::bail!(
+                    "reading {path} failed (direct: {direct_err}; sudo: {})",
+                    String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr).trim()
+                )
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+async fn unlock_existing_wallet() -> Result<()> {
+    let mut last_err = None;
+    for _ in 0..60 {
+        let mut cmd = tokio::process::Command::new("podman");
+        cmd.args(["exec", "-i", "lnd", "lncli", "unlock", "--stdin"]);
+        cmd.stdin(std::process::Stdio::piped());
+        cmd.stdout(std::process::Stdio::piped());
+        cmd.stderr(std::process::Stdio::piped());
+
+        let mut child = cmd.spawn().context("spawning lncli wallet unlock")?;
+        if let Some(mut stdin) = child.stdin.take() {
+            use tokio::io::AsyncWriteExt;
+            stdin
+                .write_all(format!("{}\n", WALLET_PASSWORD).as_bytes())
+                .await
+                .context("writing lncli password")?;
+        }
+        let out = child
+            .wait_with_output()
+            .await
+            .context("waiting for lncli")?;
+        if out.status.success() {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stderr);
+        let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&out.stdout);
+        let msg = format!("{stderr}{stdout}");
+        if msg.contains("wallet already unlocked") || msg.contains("already unlocked") {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        last_err = Some(msg);
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!(
+        "lncli wallet unlock failed: {}",
+        last_err.unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown error".to_string())
+    )
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+struct GenSeedResponse {
+    cipher_seed_mnemonic: Vec<String>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+enum UnlockerResponse<T> {
+    Value(T),
+    WalletAlreadyExists,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Serialize)]
+struct InitWalletRequest {
+    wallet_password: String,
+    cipher_seed_mnemonic: Vec<String>,
+}
+
+async fn init_wallet_via_rest() -> Result<()> {
+    let client = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(20))
+        .danger_accept_invalid_certs(true)
+        .build()
+        .context("building LND REST client")?;
+
+    let seed: GenSeedResponse = match get_lnd_unlocker_json(&client, "/v1/genseed")
+        .await
+        .context("generating LND wallet seed")?
+    {
+        UnlockerResponse::Value(seed) => seed,
+        UnlockerResponse::WalletAlreadyExists => {
+            unlock_existing_wallet().await?;
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+    };
+    if seed.cipher_seed_mnemonic.is_empty() {
+        anyhow::bail!("LND genseed returned no seed words");
+    }
+
+    let wallet_password = base64::engine::general_purpose::STANDARD.encode(WALLET_PASSWORD);
+    let req = InitWalletRequest {
+        wallet_password,
+        cipher_seed_mnemonic: seed.cipher_seed_mnemonic,
+    };
+    match post_lnd_unlocker_json::<serde_json::Value>(
+        &client,
+        "/v1/initwallet",
+        serde_json::to_value(req)?,
+    )
+    .await
+    .context("initializing LND wallet")?
+    {
+        UnlockerResponse::Value(_) => {}
+        UnlockerResponse::WalletAlreadyExists => unlock_existing_wallet().await?,
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+async fn get_lnd_unlocker_json<T: for<'de> Deserialize<'de>>(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    path: &str,
+) -> Result<UnlockerResponse<T>> {
+    let url = format!("https://127.0.0.1:8080{path}");
+    let mut last_err = None;
+    for _ in 0..60 {
+        match client.get(&url).send().await {
+            Ok(resp) => match decode_lnd_unlocker_response(resp, path).await {
+                Ok(value) => return Ok(value),
+                Err(e) => last_err = Some(e.to_string()),
+            },
+            Err(e) => last_err = Some(e.to_string()),
+        }
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!(
+        "LND REST {path} unavailable: {}",
+        last_err.unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown error".to_string())
+    )
+}
+
+async fn post_lnd_unlocker_json<T: for<'de> Deserialize<'de>>(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    path: &str,
+    body: serde_json::Value,
+) -> Result<UnlockerResponse<T>> {
+    let url = format!("https://127.0.0.1:8080{path}");
+    let mut last_err = None;
+    for _ in 0..60 {
+        match client.post(&url).json(&body).send().await {
+            Ok(resp) => match decode_lnd_unlocker_response(resp, path).await {
+                Ok(value) => return Ok(value),
+                Err(e) => last_err = Some(e.to_string()),
+            },
+            Err(e) => last_err = Some(e.to_string()),
+        }
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!(
+        "LND REST {path} unavailable: {}",
+        last_err.unwrap_or_else(|| "unknown error".to_string())
+    )
+}
+
+async fn decode_lnd_unlocker_response<T: for<'de> Deserialize<'de>>(
+    resp: reqwest::Response,
+    path: &str,
+) -> Result<UnlockerResponse<T>> {
+    let status = resp.status();
+    let text = resp.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+    if status.is_success() {
+        let value = serde_json::from_str(&text)
+            .with_context(|| format!("parsing LND REST response from {path}"))?;
+        return Ok(UnlockerResponse::Value(value));
+    }
+    if text.contains("wallet already exists") {
+        return Ok(UnlockerResponse::WalletAlreadyExists);
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!("LND REST {path} returned {status}: {text}")
+}
+
+async fn lnd_getinfo_ready(admin_macaroon: &str) -> bool {
+    let Ok(macaroon) = read_file_as_root(admin_macaroon).await else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    let Ok(client) = reqwest::Client::builder()
+        .timeout(std::time::Duration::from_secs(5))
+        .danger_accept_invalid_certs(true)
+        .build()
+    else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    client
+        .get("https://127.0.0.1:8080/v1/getinfo")
+        .header("Grpc-Metadata-macaroon", hex::encode(macaroon))
+        .send()
+        .await
+        .map(|resp| resp.status().is_success())
+        .unwrap_or(false)
+}
+
+async fn wait_for_admin_macaroon(admin_macaroon: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    for _ in 0..60 {
+        if file_exists_as_root(admin_macaroon).await {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+        tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    }
+    anyhow::bail!("LND admin macaroon not created after wallet init")
+}
+
+async fn write_config_atomically(paths: &EnsurePaths, conf: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let tmp = paths.conf_path.with_extension("tmp");
+    match fs::write(&tmp, conf).await {
+        Ok(()) => {
+            fs::rename(&tmp, &paths.conf_path).await.with_context(|| {
+                format!(
+                    "renaming {} -> {}",
+                    tmp.display(),
+                    paths.conf_path.display()
+                )
+            })?;
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::PermissionDenied => {
+            let script = format!(
+                "set -eu\ncat > '{}' <<'LNDCONF'\n{}LNDCONF\n",
+                shell_quote(&paths.conf_path.to_string_lossy()),
+                conf
+            );
+            let status = host_sudo(&["sh", "-lc", &script])
+                .await
+                .context("writing lnd.conf via sudo")?;
+            if !status.success() {
+                anyhow::bail!("writing lnd.conf via sudo exited with {status}");
+            }
+            Ok(())
+        }
+        Err(e) => Err(e).with_context(|| format!("writing tmp {}", tmp.display())),
+    }
+}
+
+fn shell_quote(s: &str) -> String {
+    s.replace('\'', "'\\''")
+}
+
+fn has_required_lnd_flags(conf: &str) -> bool {
+    [
+        "bitcoin.active=true",
+        "bitcoin.mainnet=true",
+        "bitcoin.node=bitcoind",
+        "bitcoind.rpchost=bitcoin-knots:8332",
+    ]
+    .iter()
+    .all(|needle| conf.lines().any(|line| line.trim() == *needle))
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn ensure_config_writes_required_bitcoin_network_flags() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = EnsurePaths {
+            data_dir: tmp.path().join("lnd"),
+            conf_path: tmp.path().join("lnd/lnd.conf"),
+        };
+
+        let out = ensure_config(&paths, "secret").await.unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(out, EnsureOutcome::Written);
+        let conf = fs::read_to_string(&paths.conf_path).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoin.active=true"));
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoin.mainnet=true"));
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoin.node=bitcoind"));
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoind.rpchost=bitcoin-knots:8332"));
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoind.rpcpass=secret"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn ensure_config_is_idempotent() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = EnsurePaths {
+            data_dir: tmp.path().join("lnd"),
+            conf_path: tmp.path().join("lnd/lnd.conf"),
+        };
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            ensure_config(&paths, "first").await.unwrap(),
+            EnsureOutcome::Written
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            ensure_config(&paths, "second").await.unwrap(),
+            EnsureOutcome::Unchanged
+        );
+        let conf = fs::read_to_string(&paths.conf_path).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoind.rpcpass=first"));
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn ensure_config_repairs_incomplete_existing_config() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::TempDir::new().unwrap();
+        let paths = EnsurePaths {
+            data_dir: tmp.path().join("lnd"),
+            conf_path: tmp.path().join("lnd/lnd.conf"),
+        };
+        fs::create_dir_all(&paths.data_dir).await.unwrap();
+        fs::write(&paths.conf_path, "debuglevel=info\n")
+            .await
+            .unwrap();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            ensure_config(&paths, "repaired").await.unwrap(),
+            EnsureOutcome::Written
+        );
+        let conf = fs::read_to_string(&paths.conf_path).await.unwrap();
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoin.mainnet=true"));
+        assert!(conf.contains("bitcoind.rpcpass=repaired"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wallet_password_is_valid_for_lncli() {
+        assert!(WALLET_PASSWORD.len() > 8);
+    }
+}
@@ -1,8 +1,19 @@
+pub mod bitcoin_ui;
+pub mod boot_reconciler;
+pub mod companion;
 pub mod data_manager;
 pub mod dev_orchestrator;
 pub mod docker_packages;
+pub mod filebrowser;
 pub mod image_versions;
+pub mod lnd;
+pub mod prod_orchestrator;
+pub mod quadlet;
 pub mod registry;
+pub mod traits;

+pub use boot_reconciler::{BootReconciler, DEFAULT_INTERVAL as RECONCILER_DEFAULT_INTERVAL};
 pub use dev_orchestrator::DevContainerOrchestrator;
 pub use docker_packages::DockerPackageScanner;
+pub use prod_orchestrator::ProdContainerOrchestrator;
+pub use traits::ContainerOrchestrator;
@@ -8,14 +8,15 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::path::Path;
 use tokio::fs;
-use tracing::{debug, info};

 const REGISTRY_FILE: &str = "config/registries.json";
+const OVH_REGISTRY_URL: &str = "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025";
+const TX1138_REGISTRY_URL: &str = "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025";

 /// A single container registry.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Registry {
-    /// Registry URL (e.g., "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025" or "23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025").
+    /// Registry URL (e.g., "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025" or "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025").
    pub url: String,
    /// Human-readable name.
    pub name: String,
@@ -44,26 +45,19 @@ impl Default for RegistryConfig {
        Self {
            registries: vec![
                Registry {
-                    url: "23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025".to_string(),
-                    name: "Server 1 (VPS)".to_string(),
+                    url: OVH_REGISTRY_URL.to_string(),
+                    name: "Server 1 (OVH)".to_string(),
                    tls_verify: false,
                    enabled: true,
                    priority: 0,
                },
                Registry {
-                    url: "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025".to_string(),
+                    url: TX1138_REGISTRY_URL.to_string(),
                    name: "Server 2 (tx1138)".to_string(),
                    tls_verify: true,
                    enabled: true,
                    priority: 10,
                },
-                Registry {
-                    url: "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025".to_string(),
-                    name: "Server 3 (OVH)".to_string(),
-                    tls_verify: false,
-                    enabled: true,
-                    priority: 20,
-                },
            ],
        }
    }
@@ -78,15 +72,14 @@ impl RegistryConfig {
    }

    /// Rewrite an image reference to use a specific registry.
-    /// E.g., "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest" with registry "23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025"
-    /// becomes "23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest".
+    /// E.g., "git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest" with registry "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025"
+    /// becomes "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest".
    pub fn rewrite_image(&self, image: &str, registry: &Registry) -> String {
        // Extract the image name (last component after the org/namespace)
        // Handles: "registry/org/image:tag" -> "image:tag"
        let image_name = extract_image_name(image);
        format!("{}/{}", registry.url, image_name)
    }
-
 }

 /// Extract the image name from a full image reference.
@@ -114,6 +107,19 @@ pub async fn load_registries(data_dir: &Path) -> Result<RegistryConfig> {
    let mut config: RegistryConfig =
        serde_json::from_str(&content).unwrap_or_else(|_| RegistryConfig::default());

+    // One-time migration: the Hetzner VPS at 23.182.128.160 was
+    // decommissioned 2026-04-23. Existing nodes have it baked into
+    // their saved registry list (was the original Server 1). Strip it
+    // on load so every container pull doesn't pay a connection-refused
+    // timeout against a dead host. Exception to the usual "explicit
+    // removals stick" rule: the user never chose to add this — it
+    // was a default.
+    let before = config.registries.len();
+    config
+        .registries
+        .retain(|r| !r.url.contains("23.182.128.160"));
+    let mut changed = config.registries.len() != before;
+
    // Migrate: any default registry URL that isn't already in the
    // saved list gets appended at the end (so existing priority order
    // is preserved for anything the operator already configured).
@@ -126,22 +132,65 @@ pub async fn load_registries(data_dir: &Path) -> Result<RegistryConfig> {
        .map(|r| r.priority)
        .max()
        .unwrap_or(0);
-    let mut added = false;
    for (i, def) in defaults.registries.iter().enumerate() {
        if !known.contains(&def.url) {
            let mut cloned = def.clone();
            cloned.priority = max_priority.saturating_add(10 + i as u32);
            config.registries.push(cloned);
-            added = true;
+            changed = true;
        }
    }
-    if added {
+    let before_order: Vec<(String, bool, u32)> = config
+        .registries
+        .iter()
+        .map(|r| (r.url.clone(), r.enabled, r.priority))
+        .collect();
+    force_ovh_registry_primary(&mut config);
+    changed = changed
+        || before_order
+            != config
+                .registries
+                .iter()
+                .map(|r| (r.url.clone(), r.enabled, r.priority))
+                .collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    if changed {
        // Persist so the next load doesn't have to re-merge.
        let _ = save_registries(data_dir, &config).await;
    }
    Ok(config)
 }

+fn force_ovh_registry_primary(config: &mut RegistryConfig) {
+    let defaults = RegistryConfig::default();
+    for def in defaults.registries {
+        if !config.registries.iter().any(|r| r.url == def.url) {
+            config.registries.push(def);
+        }
+    }
+
+    for registry in config.registries.iter_mut() {
+        match registry.url.as_str() {
+            OVH_REGISTRY_URL => {
+                registry.name = "Server 1 (OVH)".to_string();
+                registry.tls_verify = false;
+                registry.enabled = true;
+                registry.priority = 0;
+            }
+            TX1138_REGISTRY_URL => {
+                registry.name = "Server 2 (tx1138)".to_string();
+                registry.tls_verify = true;
+                registry.enabled = true;
+                registry.priority = 10;
+            }
+            _ => {
+                if registry.priority <= 10 {
+                    registry.priority = registry.priority.saturating_add(20);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 /// Save registry config to disk.
 pub async fn save_registries(data_dir: &Path, config: &RegistryConfig) -> Result<()> {
    let dir = data_dir.join("config");
@@ -178,12 +227,12 @@ mod tests {
    #[test]
    fn test_rewrite_image() {
        let config = RegistryConfig::default();
-        // Default primary is now VPS (index 0). A tx1138-hardcoded image
-        // rewrites to VPS when asked for the primary mirror.
+        // Default primary is now the OVH VPS (index 0). A tx1138-hardcoded
+        // image rewrites to OVH when asked for the primary mirror.
        let primary = &config.registries[0];
        assert_eq!(
            config.rewrite_image("git.tx1138.com/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest", primary),
-            "23.182.128.160:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest"
+            "146.59.87.168:3000/lfg2025/bitcoin-knots:latest"
        );
    }

@@ -191,16 +240,15 @@ mod tests {
    fn test_active_registries_sorted() {
        let config = RegistryConfig::default();
        let active = config.active_registries();
-        assert_eq!(active.len(), 3);
+        assert_eq!(active.len(), 2);
        assert!(active[0].priority <= active[1].priority);
-        assert!(active[1].priority <= active[2].priority);
    }

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_load_default() {
        let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
        let config = load_registries(tmp.path()).await.unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(config.registries.len(), 3);
+        assert_eq!(config.registries.len(), 2);
    }

    #[tokio::test]
@@ -216,6 +264,6 @@ mod tests {
        });
        save_registries(tmp.path(), &config).await.unwrap();
        let loaded = load_registries(tmp.path()).await.unwrap();
-        assert_eq!(loaded.registries.len(), 4);
+        assert_eq!(loaded.registries.len(), 3);
    }
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+//! Orchestrator trait — the shared surface the RPC layer talks to.
+//!
+//! Step 4 of the rust-orchestrator migration. Unifies the container lifecycle
+//! surface of `DevContainerOrchestrator` and `ProdContainerOrchestrator` so
+//! `RpcHandler` can hold `Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator>` and stop caring
+//! which mode it is in.
+//!
+//! The trait takes `app_id: &str` everywhere (never a manifest path). Dev and
+//! Prod both resolve app_id → manifest internally. The legacy
+//! `container-install { manifest_path }` RPC shape is preserved as a concrete
+//! `install_container_from_path` method on `DevContainerOrchestrator` only,
+//! since that ad-hoc workflow is a dev convenience and has no prod meaning.
+//!
+//! See `docs/rust-orchestrator-migration.md`.
+
+use anyhow::Result;
+use archipelago_container::ContainerStatus;
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+
+/// Lifecycle + query operations every orchestrator exposes to the RPC layer.
+#[async_trait]
+pub trait ContainerOrchestrator: Send + Sync {
+    /// Build-or-pull the image, create the container, and start it. Returns the
+    /// podman container name that was created. Assumes the app_id corresponds
+    /// to a manifest the orchestrator already knows about.
+    async fn install(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<String>;
+
+    /// Start an already-created container.
+    async fn start(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()>;
+
+    /// Stop a running container. No-op on Prod if already stopped.
+    async fn stop(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()>;
+
+    /// Stop-then-start. Best-effort: ignores stop failure.
+    async fn restart(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()>;
+
+    /// Remove the container. `preserve_data = true` keeps the volumes; `false`
+    /// is honored on a best-effort basis (Dev cleans, Prod leaves the volume
+    /// management to the data layer).
+    async fn remove(&self, app_id: &str, preserve_data: bool) -> Result<()>;
+
+    /// Pull/rebuild the image and recreate the container from scratch.
+    async fn upgrade(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<()>;
+
+    /// Current state of a single container.
+    async fn status(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<ContainerStatus>;
+
+    /// All containers this orchestrator knows about.
+    async fn list(&self) -> Result<Vec<ContainerStatus>>;
+
+    /// Tail the container's stdout+stderr.
+    async fn logs(&self, app_id: &str, lines: u32) -> Result<Vec<String>>;
+
+    /// Coarse health summary: "healthy", "unhealthy", "starting", "paused", "unknown".
+    async fn health(&self, app_id: &str) -> Result<String>;
+}
@@ -412,6 +412,19 @@ pub async fn start_stopped_containers(data_dir: &Path) -> RecoveryReport {
        };
    }

+    let names: Vec<String> = names
+        .into_iter()
+        .filter(|n| should_auto_start_stopped_container(n))
+        .collect();
+
+    if names.is_empty() {
+        return RecoveryReport {
+            total: 0,
+            recovered: 0,
+            failed: Vec::new(),
+        };
+    }
+
    // Sort by startup tier: databases first, then core, then dependent services, then apps
    let mut records: Vec<RunningContainerRecord> = names
        .iter()
@@ -430,6 +443,13 @@ pub async fn start_stopped_containers(data_dir: &Path) -> RecoveryReport {
    recover_containers(&records).await
 }

+fn should_auto_start_stopped_container(name: &str) -> bool {
+    // Keep generic boot recovery narrow. The Rust manifest reconciler owns
+    // managed app stacks; starting every exited Podman container here races
+    // it and resurrects legacy/orphan helper containers.
+    matches!(name, "filebrowser" | "nostr-rs-relay")
+}
+
 /// Simple tier ordering for boot recovery (mirrors health_monitor tiers).
 fn container_boot_tier(name: &str) -> u8 {
    let id = name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(name);
@@ -603,4 +623,13 @@ mod tests {
        let result = check_for_crash(tmp.path()).await.unwrap();
        assert!(result.is_none());
    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn generic_boot_recovery_skips_manifest_owned_and_legacy_stacks() {
+        assert!(should_auto_start_stopped_container("filebrowser"));
+        assert!(should_auto_start_stopped_container("nostr-rs-relay"));
+        assert!(!should_auto_start_stopped_container("bitcoin-knots"));
+        assert!(!should_auto_start_stopped_container("lnd"));
+        assert!(!should_auto_start_stopped_container("indeedhub-postgres"));
+    }
 }
@@ -129,9 +129,21 @@ pub fn is_revoked(vc: &VerifiableCredential) -> bool {
 mod tests {
    use super::*;

+    /// Create a tempdir with a dummy `identity/node_key` so that the
+    /// credential store's encrypt/decrypt path can derive a key.
+    /// Returns the tempdir guard (drop it to clean up).
+    fn test_dir_with_node_key() -> tempfile::TempDir {
+        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let identity_dir = dir.path().join("identity");
+        std::fs::create_dir_all(&identity_dir).unwrap();
+        // 32 bytes of deterministic test material; never a real key.
+        std::fs::write(identity_dir.join("node_key"), [0xAB; 32]).unwrap();
+        dir
+    }
+
    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_issue_credential_w3c_format() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        let vc = issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:issuer",
@@ -163,7 +175,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_issue_credential_serializes_as_jsonld() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        let vc = issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:issuer",
@@ -185,7 +197,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_save_and_load_roundtrip() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:a",
@@ -205,7 +217,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_issue_credential_sign_fn_failure_propagates() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        let result = issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:issuer",
@@ -257,7 +269,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_revoke_credential() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        let vc = issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:issuer",
@@ -288,7 +300,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_revoke_nonexistent_credential_fails() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        let result = revoke_credential(dir.path(), "urn:uuid:does-not-exist").await;
        assert!(result.is_err());
        assert!(result
@@ -299,7 +311,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_list_credentials_no_filter() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:a",
@@ -329,7 +341,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[tokio::test]
    async fn test_list_credentials_filter_by_did() {
-        let dir = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let dir = test_dir_with_node_key();
        issue_credential(
            dir.path(),
            "did:key:alice",
@@ -143,7 +143,11 @@ pub struct PackageDataEntry {
    /// pipeline so the UI can show real progress instead of a generic
    /// "Uninstalling…" spinner. Cleared after the package entry is
    /// removed.
-    #[serde(rename = "uninstall-stage", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none", default)]
+    #[serde(
+        rename = "uninstall-stage",
+        skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none",
+        default
+    )]
    pub uninstall_stage: Option<String>,
    /// Pinned image version from image-versions.sh when it differs from running version
    #[serde(rename = "available-update", skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
@@ -245,6 +249,44 @@ pub enum ServiceStatus {
 pub struct InstallProgress {
    pub size: u64,
    pub downloaded: u64,
+    /// High-level pipeline phase. Preferred by the UI over the byte
+    /// counters (podman pull doesn't emit parseable progress on a piped
+    /// stderr, so `size`/`downloaded` are often 0). Each phase maps to
+    /// a fixed UI percentage and a descriptive label.
+    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub phase: Option<InstallPhase>,
+    /// Optional explicit message — used to surface install failures so
+    /// the UI can keep the app card visible with an error description
+    /// instead of silently removing the entry on fail. UI's PHASE_INFO
+    /// label takes precedence when phase is set.
+    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    pub message: Option<String>,
+}
+
+/// Phases of the install / update pipeline, surfaced to the UI so users
+/// see where the pipeline is rather than a stuck 0% bar.
+///
+/// Ordered so each variant's index roughly corresponds to pipeline time.
+/// Serialized as kebab-case: "preparing", "pulling-image", …
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]
+#[serde(rename_all = "kebab-case")]
+pub enum InstallPhase {
+    /// Validating params, checking deps, writing dynamic configs.
+    Preparing,
+    /// `podman pull` in progress (the longest phase — up to several
+    /// minutes for large images on slow networks).
+    PullingImage,
+    /// Creating data directories, writing app-specific configs
+    /// (bitcoin.conf, lnd.conf, searxng settings.yml, chown).
+    CreatingContainer,
+    /// `podman run` has returned; container is transitioning to running.
+    StartingContainer,
+    /// Post-start loop waiting up to 60s for `State.Status == running`.
+    WaitingHealthy,
+    /// Running post-install hooks (chain init, wallet setup, …).
+    PostInstall,
+    /// Pipeline finished successfully. Terminal phase, UI clears entry.
+    Done,
 }

 /// WebSocket message sent to clients
@@ -30,9 +30,11 @@ async fn bitcoin_rpc_auth() -> String {
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize)]
 pub struct ElectrsSyncStatus {
    pub indexed_height: u64,
+    pub bitcoin_height: u64,
    pub network_height: u64,
    pub progress_pct: f64,
    pub status: String,
+    pub stale: bool,
    pub error: Option<String>,
    /// Index data size in human-readable format (e.g. "11.2 GB")
    pub index_size: Option<String>,
@@ -44,9 +46,11 @@ impl Default for ElectrsSyncStatus {
    fn default() -> Self {
        Self {
            indexed_height: 0,
+            bitcoin_height: 0,
            network_height: 0,
            progress_pct: 0.0,
            status: "starting".to_string(),
+            stale: false,
            error: None,
            index_size: None,
            tor_onion: None,
@@ -64,15 +68,31 @@ fn cache() -> &'static RwLock<ElectrsSyncStatus> {
 /// Spawn background task that refreshes ElectrumX status every CACHE_REFRESH_SECS.
 pub fn spawn_status_cache() {
    tokio::spawn(async {
-        // Initial delay — let services start up before first query
-        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5)).await;
-
-        let mut interval = tokio::time::interval(Duration::from_secs(CACHE_REFRESH_SECS));
        loop {
-            interval.tick().await;
-            let fresh = fetch_electrs_sync_status().await;
+            let mut fresh = fetch_electrs_sync_status().await;
            let mut cached = cache().write().await;
+            if fresh.indexed_height == 0
+                && cached.indexed_height > 0
+                && matches!(fresh.status.as_str(), "indexing" | "waiting")
+            {
+                fresh.indexed_height = cached.indexed_height;
+                if fresh.network_height == 0 {
+                    fresh.network_height = cached.network_height;
+                }
+                if fresh.bitcoin_height == 0 {
+                    fresh.bitcoin_height = cached.bitcoin_height;
+                }
+                if fresh.progress_pct <= 0.0 {
+                    fresh.progress_pct = cached.progress_pct;
+                }
+                fresh.stale = true;
+                fresh.error = Some(fresh.error.unwrap_or_else(|| {
+                    "ElectrumX is reconnecting; showing last known indexed height.".to_string()
+                }));
+            }
            *cached = fresh;
+            drop(cached);
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(CACHE_REFRESH_SECS)).await;
        }
    });
 }
@@ -187,13 +207,69 @@ async fn electrumx_indexed_height() -> Result<u64> {
    Ok(height)
 }

-/// Fetch Bitcoin network height via JSON-RPC.
-async fn bitcoin_network_height() -> Result<u64> {
+fn parse_electrumx_height_from_logs(logs: &str) -> Option<u64> {
+    let mut height = None;
+
+    for line in logs.lines() {
+        if let Some(idx) = line.find("BlockProcessor:our height:") {
+            let rest = &line[idx + "BlockProcessor:our height:".len()..];
+            if let Some(parsed) = parse_first_u64_token(rest) {
+                height = Some(parsed);
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        if let Some(idx) = line.find("DB:height:") {
+            let rest = &line[idx + "DB:height:".len()..];
+            if let Some(parsed) = parse_first_u64_token(rest) {
+                height = Some(parsed);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    height
+}
+
+fn parse_first_u64_token(input: &str) -> Option<u64> {
+    let token: String = input
+        .trim_start()
+        .chars()
+        .take_while(|c| c.is_ascii_digit() || *c == ',')
+        .filter(|c| *c != ',')
+        .collect();
+
+    if token.is_empty() {
+        None
+    } else {
+        token.parse().ok()
+    }
+}
+
+async fn electrumx_log_indexed_height() -> Result<u64> {
+    let output = tokio::process::Command::new("podman")
+        .args(["logs", "--tail", "500", "electrumx"])
+        .output()
+        .await
+        .context("Failed to read ElectrumX logs")?;
+
+    if !output.status.success() {
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "podman logs electrumx failed: {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr).trim()
+        );
+    }
+
+    let logs = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+    parse_electrumx_height_from_logs(&logs).context("No ElectrumX indexed height in logs")
+}
+
+/// Fetch Bitcoin local block height and best-known network header height via JSON-RPC.
+async fn bitcoin_chain_heights() -> Result<(u64, u64)> {
    let client = reqwest::Client::new();
    let body = serde_json::json!({
        "jsonrpc": "1.0",
        "id": "electrs-status",
-        "method": "getblockcount",
+        "method": "getblockchaininfo",
        "params": []
    });
    let resp = client
@@ -211,11 +287,18 @@ async fn bitcoin_network_height() -> Result<u64> {
    }

    let json: serde_json::Value = resp.json().await?;
-    let height = json
+    let result = json
        .get("result")
-        .and_then(|r| r.as_u64())
        .context("Missing result in Bitcoin RPC")?;
-    Ok(height)
+    let blocks = result
+        .get("blocks")
+        .and_then(|h| h.as_u64())
+        .context("Missing blocks in Bitcoin RPC")?;
+    let headers = result
+        .get("headers")
+        .and_then(|h| h.as_u64())
+        .unwrap_or(blocks);
+    Ok((blocks, headers.max(blocks)))
 }

 /// Fetch fresh ElectrumX sync status (called by background cache task).
@@ -260,15 +343,22 @@ async fn fetch_electrs_sync_status() -> ElectrsSyncStatus {
        onion
    };

-    let network_height = match bitcoin_network_height().await {
-        Ok(h) => h,
+    let (bitcoin_blocks, network_height) = match bitcoin_chain_heights().await {
+        Ok(heights) => heights,
        Err(e) => {
-            warn!("ElectrumX status: Bitcoin RPC failed: {}", e);
+            let err_msg = e.to_string();
+            if is_transient_error(&err_msg) {
+                tracing::debug!("ElectrumX status: Bitcoin RPC transient: {}", err_msg);
+            } else {
+                warn!("ElectrumX status: Bitcoin RPC failed: {}", err_msg);
+            }
            return ElectrsSyncStatus {
                indexed_height: 0,
+                bitcoin_height: 0,
                network_height: 0,
                progress_pct: 0.0,
                status: "waiting".to_string(),
+                stale: false,
                error: Some("Waiting for Bitcoin node...".to_string()),
                index_size,
                tor_onion,
@@ -278,21 +368,25 @@ async fn fetch_electrs_sync_status() -> ElectrsSyncStatus {

    let indexed_height = match electrumx_indexed_height().await {
        Ok(h) => h,
-        Err(e) => {
-            let err_msg = e.to_string();
-            if is_transient_error(&err_msg) {
-                // ElectrumX is starting up or busy — estimate from data size
-                let progress_pct = if data_bytes > 0 {
-                    ((data_bytes as f64 / ESTIMATED_FULL_INDEX_BYTES) * 100.0).min(99.0)
-                } else {
-                    0.0
-                };
-                let size_str = index_size.clone().unwrap_or_else(|| "0 MB".to_string());
-                return ElectrsSyncStatus {
+        Err(e) => match electrumx_log_indexed_height().await {
+            Ok(h) if h > 0 => h,
+            _ => {
+                let err_msg = e.to_string();
+                if is_transient_error(&err_msg) {
+                    // ElectrumX is starting up or busy — estimate from data size
+                    let progress_pct = if data_bytes > 0 {
+                        ((data_bytes as f64 / ESTIMATED_FULL_INDEX_BYTES) * 100.0).min(99.0)
+                    } else {
+                        0.0
+                    };
+                    let size_str = index_size.clone().unwrap_or_else(|| "0 MB".to_string());
+                    return ElectrsSyncStatus {
                    indexed_height: 0,
+                    bitcoin_height: bitcoin_blocks,
                    network_height,
                    progress_pct,
                    status: "indexing".to_string(),
+                    stale: false,
                    error: Some(format!(
                        "Building index ({} / ~130 GB estimated). Electrum RPC will be available when complete.",
                        size_str
@@ -300,40 +394,90 @@ async fn fetch_electrs_sync_status() -> ElectrsSyncStatus {
                    index_size,
                    tor_onion,
                };
+                }
+                // Genuine unexpected error
+                warn!("ElectrumX status: unexpected error: {}", err_msg);
+                return ElectrsSyncStatus {
+                    indexed_height: 0,
+                    bitcoin_height: bitcoin_blocks,
+                    network_height,
+                    progress_pct: 0.0,
+                    status: "error".to_string(),
+                    stale: false,
+                    error: Some(format!("ElectrumX: {}", err_msg)),
+                    index_size,
+                    tor_onion,
+                };
            }
-            // Genuine unexpected error
-            warn!("ElectrumX status: unexpected error: {}", err_msg);
-            return ElectrsSyncStatus {
-                indexed_height: 0,
-                network_height,
-                progress_pct: 0.0,
-                status: "error".to_string(),
-                error: Some(format!("ElectrumX: {}", err_msg)),
-                index_size,
-                tor_onion,
-            };
-        }
+        },
    };

-    let progress_pct = if network_height > 0 {
-        (indexed_height as f64 / network_height as f64) * 100.0
+    let observed_header_height = network_height.max(indexed_height);
+    let bitcoin_catching_up = bitcoin_blocks > 0 && bitcoin_blocks < observed_header_height;
+    let electrum_waiting_on_bitcoin =
+        bitcoin_catching_up && indexed_height >= bitcoin_blocks.saturating_sub(1);
+    let sync_target_height = if bitcoin_blocks > 0 {
+        bitcoin_blocks
+    } else {
+        observed_header_height
+    };
+
+    let progress_pct = if electrum_waiting_on_bitcoin && observed_header_height > 0 {
+        ((bitcoin_blocks as f64 / observed_header_height as f64) * 100.0).min(99.9)
+    } else if sync_target_height > 0 {
+        ((indexed_height as f64 / sync_target_height as f64) * 100.0).min(100.0)
    } else {
        0.0
    };

-    let status = if indexed_height >= network_height.saturating_sub(1) {
+    let status = if sync_target_height == 0 {
+        "waiting"
+    } else if electrum_waiting_on_bitcoin {
+        "waiting"
+    } else if indexed_height >= sync_target_height.saturating_sub(1) {
        "synced"
    } else {
        "syncing"
    };

+    let error = if electrum_waiting_on_bitcoin {
+        Some(format!(
+            "ElectrumX is indexed to {:}; waiting for the local Bitcoin node to catch up from {:} to known header {:}.",
+            indexed_height, bitcoin_blocks, observed_header_height
+        ))
+    } else if status == "syncing" && bitcoin_blocks < observed_header_height {
+        Some(format!(
+            "Indexing local Bitcoin node height {:} of {:}. Bitcoin node is still catching up to known header {:}.",
+            indexed_height, bitcoin_blocks, observed_header_height
+        ))
+    } else {
+        None
+    };
+
    ElectrsSyncStatus {
        indexed_height,
-        network_height,
+        bitcoin_height: bitcoin_blocks,
+        network_height: observed_header_height,
        progress_pct,
        status: status.to_string(),
-        error: None,
+        stale: false,
+        error,
        index_size,
        tor_onion,
    }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::parse_electrumx_height_from_logs;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parses_latest_electrumx_progress_height_from_logs() {
+        let logs = r#"
+INFO:DB:height: 228,238
+INFO:BlockProcessor:our height: 228,248 daemon: 731,568 UTXOs 1MB hist 1MB
+INFO:BlockProcessor:our height: 232,117 daemon: 732,108 UTXOs 281MB hist 83MB
+"#;
+        assert_eq!(parse_electrumx_height_from_logs(logs), Some(232_117));
+    }
+}
@@ -80,8 +80,7 @@ pub async fn record_peer_transport(
    let mut modified = false;
    for node in nodes.iter_mut() {
        let did_match = did.is_some_and(|d| d == node.did);
-        let onion_match = onion_target
-            .is_some_and(|t| node.onion.trim_end_matches(".onion") == t);
+        let onion_match = onion_target.is_some_and(|t| node.onion.trim_end_matches(".onion") == t);
        if did_match || onion_match {
            node.last_transport = Some(transport.to_string());
            node.last_transport_at = Some(now.clone());
@@ -182,9 +181,7 @@ pub async fn update_node_state(data_dir: &Path, did: &str, state: NodeStateSnaps
        // routing over FIPS on the very next sync. Refresh if the peer
        // rotated their FIPS key, too.
        if let Some(ref npub) = state.own_fips_npub {
-            if !npub.is_empty()
-                && node.fips_npub.as_deref().map(str::trim) != Some(npub.trim())
-            {
+            if !npub.is_empty() && node.fips_npub.as_deref().map(str::trim) != Some(npub.trim()) {
                node.fips_npub = Some(npub.clone());
            }
        }
@@ -8,9 +8,7 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use std::path::Path;

 use super::storage::update_node_state;
-use super::types::{
-    AppStatus, FederatedNode, FederationPeerHint, NodeStateSnapshot, TrustLevel,
-};
+use super::types::{AppStatus, FederatedNode, FederationPeerHint, NodeStateSnapshot, TrustLevel};
 use crate::fips::dial::PeerRequest;

 /// Sync state with a single federated peer. Tries FIPS first; falls back
@@ -68,9 +66,7 @@ pub async fn sync_with_peer(
    // hop. Only runs when the source is Trusted — Observer-level peers
    // don't get to expand our federation on their own authority.
    if peer.trust_level == TrustLevel::Trusted {
-        if let Err(e) =
-            merge_transitive_peers(data_dir, &peer.did, &state.federated_peers).await
-        {
+        if let Err(e) = merge_transitive_peers(data_dir, &peer.did, &state.federated_peers).await {
            tracing::warn!(
                peer_did = %peer.did,
                error = %e,
@@ -87,10 +83,7 @@ pub async fn sync_with_peer(
 /// call sync_with_peer. Used by transitive-discovery code paths where
 /// the caller only knows the peer's DID (e.g. the peer-joined RPC's
 /// follow-up task).
-pub async fn sync_with_peer_by_did(
-    data_dir: &Path,
-    peer_did: &str,
-) -> Result<NodeStateSnapshot> {
+pub async fn sync_with_peer_by_did(data_dir: &Path, peer_did: &str) -> Result<NodeStateSnapshot> {
    let nodes = super::storage::load_nodes(data_dir).await?;
    let peer = nodes
        .into_iter()
@@ -98,8 +91,7 @@ pub async fn sync_with_peer_by_did(
        .ok_or_else(|| anyhow::anyhow!("Unknown federation peer: {}", peer_did))?;

    let identity_dir = data_dir.join("identity");
-    let node_identity =
-        crate::identity::NodeIdentity::load_or_create(&identity_dir).await?;
+    let node_identity = crate::identity::NodeIdentity::load_or_create(&identity_dir).await?;
    let local_pubkey_hex = node_identity.pubkey_hex();
    let local_did = crate::identity::did_key_from_pubkey_hex(&local_pubkey_hex)?;

@@ -258,7 +250,11 @@ pub async fn deploy_to_peer(
        .context("Failed to reach federated peer for deploy")?;

    if !resp.status().is_success() {
-        anyhow::bail!("Remote node returned HTTP {} (via {})", resp.status(), transport);
+        anyhow::bail!(
+            "Remote node returned HTTP {} (via {})",
+            resp.status(),
+            transport
+        );
    }

    let result: serde_json::Value = resp.json().await.context("Invalid response from peer")?;
@@ -355,10 +351,7 @@ mod tests {
                last_transport_at: None,
            },
        ];
-        let state = build_local_state(
-            vec![],
-            0.0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, true, None, None, None, &peers,
-        );
+        let state = build_local_state(vec![], 0.0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, true, None, None, None, &peers);
        assert_eq!(state.federated_peers.len(), 1);
        assert_eq!(state.federated_peers[0].did, "did:key:zTrusted");
        assert_eq!(
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ pub async fn load(data_dir: &Path) -> Result<Vec<SeedAnchor>> {
    let bytes = tokio::fs::read(&path)
        .await
        .with_context(|| format!("read {}", path.display()))?;
-    let anchors: Vec<SeedAnchor> = serde_json::from_slice(&bytes)
-        .with_context(|| format!("parse {}", path.display()))?;
+    let anchors: Vec<SeedAnchor> =
+        serde_json::from_slice(&bytes).with_context(|| format!("parse {}", path.display()))?;
    Ok(anchors)
 }

@@ -125,12 +125,7 @@ pub async fn apply(anchors: &[SeedAnchor]) -> Vec<ApplyResult> {
    let mut results = Vec::with_capacity(anchors.len());
    for anchor in anchors {
        let out = Command::new("fipsctl")
-            .args([
-                "connect",
-                &anchor.npub,
-                &anchor.address,
-                &anchor.transport,
-            ])
+            .args(["connect", &anchor.npub, &anchor.address, &anchor.transport])
            .output()
            .await;
        let result = match out {
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use std::path::Path;
 use tokio::process::Command;

-use super::{DAEMON_CONFIG_PATH, DAEMON_KEY_PATH, DAEMON_PUB_PATH, DEFAULT_TCP_PORT, DEFAULT_UDP_PORT};
+use super::{
+    DAEMON_CONFIG_PATH, DAEMON_KEY_PATH, DAEMON_PUB_PATH, DEFAULT_TCP_PORT, DEFAULT_UDP_PORT,
+};

 /// Write the FIPS daemon config based on the local npub and default
 /// transports. Overwrites any existing file — callers are expected to
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ fn encode_query(id: u16, npub: &str) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
    encode_label(&mut out, npub)?;
    encode_label(&mut out, FIPS_DNS_SUFFIX)?;
    out.push(0); // root
-    // QTYPE + QCLASS
+                 // QTYPE + QCLASS
    out.extend_from_slice(&QTYPE_AAAA.to_be_bytes());
    out.extend_from_slice(&QCLASS_IN.to_be_bytes());
    Ok(out)
@@ -247,11 +247,7 @@ pub struct PeerRequest<'a> {
 }

 impl<'a> PeerRequest<'a> {
-    pub fn new(
-        fips_npub: Option<&'a str>,
-        onion_host: &'a str,
-        path: &'a str,
-    ) -> Self {
+    pub fn new(fips_npub: Option<&'a str>, onion_host: &'a str, path: &'a str) -> Self {
        Self {
            fips_npub,
            onion_host,
@@ -312,9 +308,7 @@ impl<'a> PeerRequest<'a> {
    }

    /// GET with optional header-based auth.
-    pub async fn send_get(
-        &self,
-    ) -> Result<(reqwest::Response, crate::transport::TransportKind)> {
+    pub async fn send_get(&self) -> Result<(reqwest::Response, crate::transport::TransportKind)> {
        use crate::settings::transport::TransportPref;
        let pref = self.preference().await;
        if matches!(pref, TransportPref::Auto | TransportPref::Fips) {
@@ -392,19 +386,14 @@ impl<'a> PeerRequest<'a> {
        }
    }

-    async fn send_tor_post_json<B: serde::Serialize>(
-        &self,
-        body: &B,
-    ) -> Result<reqwest::Response> {
+    async fn send_tor_post_json<B: serde::Serialize>(&self, body: &B) -> Result<reqwest::Response> {
        let url = self.tor_url();
        let client = self.tor_client()?;
        let mut rb = client.post(&url).json(body);
        for (k, v) in &self.headers {
            rb = rb.header(*k, v);
        }
-        rb.send()
-            .await
-            .with_context(|| format!("Tor POST {}", url))
+        rb.send().await.with_context(|| format!("Tor POST {}", url))
    }

    async fn send_tor_get(&self) -> Result<reqwest::Response> {
@@ -414,9 +403,7 @@ impl<'a> PeerRequest<'a> {
        for (k, v) in &self.headers {
            rb = rb.header(*k, v);
        }
-        rb.send()
-            .await
-            .with_context(|| format!("Tor GET {}", url))
+        rb.send().await.with_context(|| format!("Tor GET {}", url))
    }

    fn tor_url(&self) -> String {
@@ -449,7 +436,7 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(&q[0..2], &[0x12, 0x34]);
        assert_eq!(&q[2..4], &[0x01, 0x00]); // flags RD=1
        assert_eq!(&q[4..6], &[0x00, 0x01]); // QDCOUNT=1
-        // Tail: QTYPE=28, QCLASS=1
+                                             // Tail: QTYPE=28, QCLASS=1
        assert_eq!(&q[q.len() - 4..], &[0x00, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x01]);
    }

@@ -471,7 +458,7 @@ mod tests {
        r.extend_from_slice(&1u16.to_be_bytes()); // ANCOUNT
        r.extend_from_slice(&0u16.to_be_bytes()); // NSCOUNT
        r.extend_from_slice(&0u16.to_be_bytes()); // ARCOUNT
-        // Question: 1 label "a" + "fips"
+                                                  // Question: 1 label "a" + "fips"
        r.extend_from_slice(b"\x01a\x04fips\x00");
        r.extend_from_slice(&QTYPE_AAAA.to_be_bytes());
        r.extend_from_slice(&QCLASS_IN.to_be_bytes());
@@ -24,9 +24,7 @@ pub const FIPS_IFACE: &str = "fips0";
 /// - Link-local (`fe80::/10`) and non-ULA addresses are ignored — we
 ///   only want the mesh-routable ULA that `<npub>.fips` DNS resolves to.
 pub fn fips0_ula() -> Option<Ipv6Addr> {
-    addresses_on(FIPS_IFACE)
-        .into_iter()
-        .find(|a| is_ula(a))
+    addresses_on(FIPS_IFACE).into_iter().find(|a| is_ula(a))
 }

 /// List every IPv6 address bound to a given interface from
@@ -122,8 +122,7 @@ impl FipsStatus {
        };
        let service_state = service::unit_state(SERVICE_UNIT).await;
        let upstream_service_state = service::unit_state(UPSTREAM_SERVICE_UNIT).await;
-        let service_active =
-            service_state == "active" || upstream_service_state == "active";
+        let service_active = service_state == "active" || upstream_service_state == "active";
        let key_present = crate::identity::fips_key_exists(&identity_dir);

        // Prefer the seed-derived npub; otherwise read the daemon's own
@@ -180,7 +179,10 @@ mod tests {
        // anchor is the only candidate.
        let status = FipsStatus::query(dir.path()).await;
        assert!(!status.key_present, "no key before onboarding");
-        assert!(status.npub.is_none());
+        // `npub` falls back to whatever an already-running local fips
+        // daemon advertises, so on a dev machine or node with fips
+        // installed this field can be Some(...) even when the test
+        // data_dir is empty. We only assert that key_present is false.
        // `installed`, `service_state`, `version` depend on the host and are
        // not asserted here — query() must return cleanly regardless.
    }
@@ -150,11 +150,10 @@ pub async fn peer_connectivity_summary(anchor_candidates: &[String]) -> (u32, bo
        Ok(o) if o.status.success() => o.stdout,
        _ => return (0, false),
    };
-    let parsed: serde_json::Value =
-        match serde_json::from_slice(&peers_json) {
-            Ok(v) => v,
-            Err(_) => return (0, false),
-        };
+    let parsed: serde_json::Value = match serde_json::from_slice(&peers_json) {
+        Ok(v) => v,
+        Err(_) => return (0, false),
+    };
    let peers = parsed
        .get("peers")
        .and_then(|p| p.as_array())
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 // handles "created" state containers, resets dependent counters when deps recover,
 // and sends WebSocket notifications to the UI on failure.

-use crate::data_model::{Notification, NotificationLevel};
+use crate::data_model::{Notification, NotificationLevel, PackageState};
 use crate::state::StateManager;
 use crate::webhooks::{self, WebhookEvent};
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
@@ -67,14 +67,14 @@ fn container_dependencies(name: &str) -> &'static [&'static str] {
    let id = name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(name);
    match id {
        // Bitcoin-dependent chain
-        "lnd" => &["bitcoin-knots"],
-        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" => &["bitcoin-knots"],
-        "nbxplorer" => &["bitcoin-knots"],
+        "lnd" => &["bitcoin"],
+        "electrumx" | "mempool-electrs" | "electrs" => &["bitcoin"],
+        "nbxplorer" => &["bitcoin"],
        "btcpay-server" => &["btcpay-db", "nbxplorer"],
        "mempool-api" => &["mempool-db", "electrumx"],
        "mempool-web" => &["mempool-api"],
-        "fedimint" => &["bitcoin-knots"],
-        "fedimint-gateway" => &["bitcoin-knots", "fedimint"],
+        "fedimint" => &["bitcoin"],
+        "fedimint-gateway" => &["bitcoin", "fedimint"],

        // IndeedHub stack
        "indeedhub-api" => &["indeedhub-postgres", "indeedhub-redis"],
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ fn container_dependencies(name: &str) -> &'static [&'static str] {
        "penpot-frontend" => &["penpot-backend"],

        // UI containers
-        "bitcoin-ui" => &["bitcoin-knots"],
+        "bitcoin-ui" => &["bitcoin"],
        "lnd-ui" => &["lnd"],
        "electrs-ui" => &["electrumx"],

@@ -103,6 +103,16 @@ fn deps_are_running(name: &str, containers: &[ContainerHealth]) -> bool {
        return true;
    }
    for dep in deps {
+        if *dep == "bitcoin" {
+            let bitcoin_running = containers.iter().any(|c| {
+                let c_id = c.name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(&c.name);
+                matches!(c_id, "bitcoin" | "bitcoin-knots" | "bitcoin-core") && c.state == "running"
+            });
+            if !bitcoin_running {
+                return false;
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
        // Check both plain name and archy- prefixed name
        let dep_running = containers.iter().any(|c| {
            let c_id = c.name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(&c.name);
@@ -115,6 +125,24 @@ fn deps_are_running(name: &str, containers: &[ContainerHealth]) -> bool {
    true
 }

+fn conflicting_bitcoin_variant(name: &str) -> Option<&'static str> {
+    match name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(name) {
+        "bitcoin-core" => Some("bitcoin-knots"),
+        "bitcoin-knots" | "bitcoin" => Some("bitcoin-core"),
+        _ => None,
+    }
+}
+
+fn has_running_bitcoin_conflict(name: &str, containers: &[ContainerHealth]) -> bool {
+    let Some(conflict) = conflicting_bitcoin_variant(name) else {
+        return false;
+    };
+    containers.iter().any(|c| {
+        let id = c.name.strip_prefix("archy-").unwrap_or(&c.name);
+        id == conflict && c.state == "running"
+    })
+}
+
 /// Track restart attempts per container with exponential backoff and stability reset.
 struct RestartTracker {
    attempts: HashMap<String, u32>,
@@ -539,6 +567,30 @@ pub fn spawn_health_monitor(state: Arc<StateManager>, data_dir: PathBuf) {
                        debug!("Skipping uninstalled container: {}", container.name);
                        continue;
                    }
+                    if matches!(
+                        pkg.state,
+                        PackageState::Starting | PackageState::Stopping | PackageState::Restarting
+                    ) {
+                        debug!(
+                            "Skipping container during package lifecycle transition: {} ({:?})",
+                            container.name, pkg.state
+                        );
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    // Orphan: container exists in podman but archipelago has
+                    // no package_data entry for it. Common after a variant
+                    // switch (bitcoin-core ↔ bitcoin-knots) where the
+                    // uninstall removed the package entry but the prior
+                    // variant's container survived in stopped state. Without
+                    // this guard the health monitor pages every minute with
+                    // "Auto-restart failed (attempt N/10)" for an app the
+                    // user can no longer see in the dashboard.
+                    debug!(
+                        "Skipping orphan container (not in package_data): {}",
+                        container.name
+                    );
+                    continue;
                }

                if container.healthy {
@@ -636,6 +688,14 @@ pub fn spawn_health_monitor(state: Arc<StateManager>, data_dir: PathBuf) {
                    continue;
                }

+                if has_running_bitcoin_conflict(&container.name, &containers) {
+                    debug!(
+                        "Skipping auto-restart for {} because the other Bitcoin implementation is running",
+                        container.name
+                    );
+                    continue;
+                }
+
                // When transitioning to a higher tier, wait briefly for previous tier to stabilize
                if let Some(prev) = prev_tier {
                    if tier > prev {
@@ -902,7 +962,7 @@ mod tests {

    #[test]
    fn test_container_dependencies() {
-        assert!(container_dependencies("lnd").contains(&"bitcoin-knots"));
+        assert!(container_dependencies("lnd").contains(&"bitcoin"));
        assert!(container_dependencies("indeedhub-api").contains(&"indeedhub-postgres"));
        assert!(container_dependencies("indeedhub-api").contains(&"indeedhub-redis"));
        assert!(container_dependencies("mempool-api").contains(&"mempool-db"));
@@ -943,6 +1003,59 @@ mod tests {
        assert!(!deps_are_running("indeedhub-api", &partial));
    }

+    #[test]
+    fn test_bitcoin_dependency_accepts_core_or_knots() {
+        let core = vec![ContainerHealth {
+            name: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            app_id: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            state: "running".into(),
+            healthy: true,
+        }];
+        assert!(deps_are_running("lnd", &core));
+
+        let knots = vec![ContainerHealth {
+            name: "bitcoin-knots".into(),
+            app_id: "bitcoin-knots".into(),
+            state: "running".into(),
+            healthy: true,
+        }];
+        assert!(deps_are_running("fedimint", &knots));
+
+        let stopped = vec![ContainerHealth {
+            name: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            app_id: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            state: "stopped".into(),
+            healthy: false,
+        }];
+        assert!(!deps_are_running("electrumx", &stopped));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_bitcoin_conflict_detection() {
+        let containers = vec![ContainerHealth {
+            name: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            app_id: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            state: "running".into(),
+            healthy: true,
+        }];
+
+        assert!(has_running_bitcoin_conflict("bitcoin-knots", &containers));
+        assert!(!has_running_bitcoin_conflict("bitcoin-core", &containers));
+        assert!(!has_running_bitcoin_conflict("lnd", &containers));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_bitcoin_conflict_ignores_stopped_sibling() {
+        let containers = vec![ContainerHealth {
+            name: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            app_id: "bitcoin-core".into(),
+            state: "stopped".into(),
+            healthy: false,
+        }];
+
+        assert!(!has_running_bitcoin_conflict("bitcoin-knots", &containers));
+    }
+
    #[test]
    fn test_container_tier_core() {
        assert_eq!(container_tier("bitcoin-knots"), StartupTier::CoreInfra);
@@ -111,11 +111,7 @@ pub struct ProfilePublishOutcome {
 /// (trailing slash, case). nostr-sdk canonicalises URLs internally and
 /// we compare on the surface strings, so be liberal about what matches.
 fn relay_url_matches(a: &str, b: &str) -> bool {
-    let norm = |s: &str| {
-        s.trim_end_matches('/')
-            .trim()
-            .to_ascii_lowercase()
-    };
+    let norm = |s: &str| s.trim_end_matches('/').trim().to_ascii_lowercase();
    norm(a) == norm(b)
 }

@@ -262,8 +258,8 @@ impl IdentityManager {
            derivation_index: Some(0),
        };

-        let json = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&identity_file)
-            .context("Failed to serialize identity")?;
+        let json =
+            serde_json::to_string_pretty(&identity_file).context("Failed to serialize identity")?;
        fs::write(&file_path, json.as_bytes())
            .await
            .context("Failed to write identity file")?;
@@ -701,11 +697,8 @@ impl IdentityManager {
        let event_id = output.id().to_hex();
        // `Output` has `success: HashSet<RelayUrl>` + `failed: HashMap<RelayUrl, String>`.
        // Normalise to string comparisons (RelayUrl trims trailing slashes etc.).
-        let success_strs: std::collections::HashSet<String> = output
-            .success
-            .iter()
-            .map(|u| u.to_string())
-            .collect();
+        let success_strs: std::collections::HashSet<String> =
+            output.success.iter().map(|u| u.to_string()).collect();
        let failed_strs: std::collections::HashMap<String, String> = output
            .failed
            .iter()
@@ -714,14 +707,11 @@ impl IdentityManager {
        let mut accepted: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
        let mut rejected: Vec<(String, String)> = Vec::new();
        for url in relay_urls {
-            let match_url = success_strs
-                .iter()
-                .any(|s| relay_url_matches(s, url));
+            let match_url = success_strs.iter().any(|s| relay_url_matches(s, url));
            if match_url {
                accepted.push(url.clone());
-            } else if let Some((_, reason)) = failed_strs
-                .iter()
-                .find(|(s, _)| relay_url_matches(s, url))
+            } else if let Some((_, reason)) =
+                failed_strs.iter().find(|(s, _)| relay_url_matches(s, url))
            {
                rejected.push((url.clone(), reason.clone()));
            } else {
@@ -885,11 +875,13 @@ mod tests {
    async fn test_create_nostr_key_npub_format() {
        let dir = tempdir().unwrap();
        let mgr = IdentityManager::new(dir.path()).await.unwrap();
+        // `create()` auto-provisions a Nostr key for every identity, so the
+        // returned record should already have a valid bech32 npub.
        let record = mgr
-            .create("Nostr".to_string(), IdentityPurpose::Personal)
+            .create("Personal".to_string(), IdentityPurpose::Personal)
            .await
            .unwrap();
-        let npub = mgr.create_nostr_key(&record.id).await.unwrap();
+        let npub = record.nostr_npub.expect("nostr npub should be populated");
        assert!(
            npub.starts_with("npub1"),
            "npub should start with npub1, got {}",
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@

 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use std::net::SocketAddr;
+use std::sync::Arc;
 use tokio::signal;
+use tokio::sync::Notify;
 use tracing::info;

 mod api;
@@ -27,6 +29,7 @@ mod auth;
 mod avatar;
 mod backup;
 mod bitcoin_rpc;
+mod bitcoin_status;
 mod blobs;
 mod bootstrap;
 mod config;
@@ -69,6 +72,10 @@ mod wallet;
 mod webhooks;

 use config::Config;
+use container::{
+    BootReconciler, ContainerOrchestrator, DevContainerOrchestrator, ProdContainerOrchestrator,
+    RECONCILER_DEFAULT_INTERVAL,
+};
 use server::Server;

 #[tokio::main]
@@ -86,6 +93,33 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {

    info!("Starting Archipelago Bitcoin Node OS");

+    // Self-heal web-ui permissions. The OTA updater in <=v1.7.38 left
+    // /opt/archipelago/web-ui as drwx------ (700) after the atomic
+    // swap — nginx (www-data) then returned 500/403 on every request
+    // until someone shelled in and chmod'd it. Check on every boot
+    // and repair if needed so a node auto-recovers after the next
+    // service restart that follows a broken OTA.
+    tokio::spawn(async move {
+        use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+        let web_ui = std::path::Path::new("/opt/archipelago/web-ui");
+        if let Ok(meta) = tokio::fs::metadata(web_ui).await {
+            let mode = meta.permissions().mode() & 0o777;
+            if mode & 0o005 != 0o005 {
+                tracing::warn!("web-ui perms {:o} not world-readable — self-healing", mode);
+                let _ = tokio::process::Command::new("sudo")
+                    .args([
+                        "-n",
+                        "chmod",
+                        "-R",
+                        "u=rwX,go=rX",
+                        "/opt/archipelago/web-ui",
+                    ])
+                    .status()
+                    .await;
+            }
+        }
+    });
+
    // Load configuration
    let config = Config::load().await?;
    info!("📁 Data directory: {}", config.data_dir.display());
@@ -103,49 +137,94 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
    // Write PID marker early so we can detect crashes on next startup
    crash_recovery::write_pid_marker(&config.data_dir).await?;

-    // Crash recovery runs in background so health endpoint is available immediately
-    {
-        let data_dir = config.data_dir.clone();
-        tokio::spawn(async move {
-            // Check if previous instance shut down cleanly
-            match crash_recovery::check_for_crash(&data_dir).await {
-                Ok(Some(containers)) => {
-                    info!(
-                        "🔧 Recovering {} containers from previous crash...",
-                        containers.len()
-                    );
-                    let report = crash_recovery::recover_containers(&containers).await;
-                    info!(
-                        "🔧 Recovery complete: {}/{} containers restarted (failed: {:?})",
-                        report.recovered, report.total, report.failed
-                    );
-                }
-                Ok(None) => {}
-                Err(e) => {
-                    tracing::warn!("Crash recovery check failed: {}", e);
-                }
-            }
+    // Run crash recovery before starting the manifest reconciler. Both paths
+    // mutate Podman; running them concurrently can corrupt transient runtime
+    // state and leave netavark/conmon unable to start containers.
+    match crash_recovery::check_for_crash(&config.data_dir).await {
+        Ok(Some(containers)) => {
+            info!(
+                "🔧 Recovering {} containers from previous crash...",
+                containers.len()
+            );
+            let report = crash_recovery::recover_containers(&containers).await;
+            info!(
+                "🔧 Recovery complete: {}/{} containers restarted (failed: {:?})",
+                report.recovered, report.total, report.failed
+            );
+        }
+        Ok(None) => {}
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::warn!("Crash recovery check failed: {}", e);
+        }
+    }

-            // Start any stopped containers (handles clean reboot)
-            // Skips user-stopped containers, uses tier ordering
-            let boot_report = crash_recovery::start_stopped_containers(&data_dir).await;
-            if boot_report.total > 0 {
+    // Start any stopped containers (handles clean reboot). This remains
+    // synchronous for the same reason: no concurrent reconciler during Podman
+    // startup/recovery operations.
+    let boot_report = crash_recovery::start_stopped_containers(&config.data_dir).await;
+    if boot_report.total > 0 {
+        info!(
+            "🔄 Boot startup: {}/{} containers started (failed: {:?})",
+            boot_report.recovered, boot_report.total, boot_report.failed
+        );
+    }
+    crash_recovery::mark_recovery_complete();
+
+    // Construct the container orchestrator once. In prod mode we load the
+    // on-disk app manifests, do an initial adoption pass, and spawn the
+    // BootReconciler loop (Step 5/6 of the rust-orchestrator migration).
+    // Dev mode uses the in-memory DevContainerOrchestrator and has no
+    // reconciler (manifests are pushed via RPC, not discovered from disk).
+    let shutdown_notify = Arc::new(Notify::new());
+    let (orchestrator, dev_orchestrator): (
+        Option<Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator>>,
+        Option<Arc<DevContainerOrchestrator>>,
+    ) = if config.dev_mode {
+        let dev = Arc::new(DevContainerOrchestrator::new(config.clone()).await?);
+        let trait_obj: Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator> = dev.clone();
+        (Some(trait_obj), Some(dev))
+    } else {
+        let prod = Arc::new(ProdContainerOrchestrator::new(config.clone()).await?);
+        // Best-effort manifest load; a missing /opt/archipelago/apps is
+        // logged inside load_manifests and not fatal.
+        match prod.load_manifests().await {
+            Ok(n) => info!("📦 Loaded {n} app manifest(s) from disk"),
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::error!(error = %e, "prod orchestrator: load_manifests failed at startup");
+            }
+        }
+        // Adoption pass: link existing podman containers back to their
+        // manifests so the reconciler doesn't recreate them.
+        match prod.adopt_existing().await {
+            Ok(report) => {
                info!(
-                    "🔄 Boot startup: {}/{} containers started (failed: {:?})",
-                    boot_report.recovered, boot_report.total, boot_report.failed
+                    "🔗 Adopted {} existing container(s): {:?}",
+                    report.adopted.len(),
+                    report.adopted
                );
            }
-
-            // Signal to health monitor that boot recovery is done
-            crash_recovery::mark_recovery_complete();
-
-            // Boot reconciliation disabled — the reconciler creates ALL containers
-            // from specs, which is wrong on unbundled installs where only user-chosen
-            // apps should exist. The health monitor handles restarting existing
-            // containers. Run reconcile-containers.sh manually when needed.
-            // crash_recovery::run_boot_reconciliation().await;
-        });
-    }
+            Err(e) => {
+                tracing::warn!(error = %e, "prod orchestrator: adopt_existing failed (non-fatal)");
+            }
+        }
+        // Spawn the boot reconciler loop. Runs an initial reconcile
+        // immediately, then re-checks every RECONCILER_DEFAULT_INTERVAL
+        // until shutdown_notify fires.
+        {
+            let reconciler = BootReconciler::new(
+                prod.clone(),
+                RECONCILER_DEFAULT_INTERVAL,
+                shutdown_notify.clone(),
+            );
+            tokio::spawn(reconciler.run_forever());
+            info!(
+                "🔄 Boot reconciler started (interval: {:?})",
+                RECONCILER_DEFAULT_INTERVAL
+            );
+        }
+        let trait_obj: Arc<dyn ContainerOrchestrator> = prod;
+        (Some(trait_obj), None)
+    };

    // Ensure a default user exists so login works after install/onboarding.
    // In production, the default password is "password123" (shown during install).
@@ -155,7 +234,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
    // "Create Password" form instead of login form.

    // Create server
-    let server = Server::new(config.clone()).await?;
+    let server = Server::new(config.clone(), orchestrator, dev_orchestrator).await?;

    // Start server
    let addr: SocketAddr = format!("{}:{}", config.bind_host, config.bind_port)
@@ -166,6 +245,19 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
    // on a 30s poll of fips0 — so a post-onboarding fips.install brings it
    // online without needing an archipelago restart.

+    // Post-OTA verification: if apply_update() wrote a pending-verify
+    // marker right before the restart, probe the frontend now and auto-
+    // rollback if it's broken. This is the guardrail that stops fleet-
+    // wide breakage when an OTA lands a subtly-bad release (v1.7.38/39
+    // tarball-perms → nginx 500 was the trigger). Runs concurrently
+    // with normal startup — doesn't delay the server coming up.
+    {
+        let data_dir = config.data_dir.clone();
+        tokio::spawn(async move {
+            update::verify_pending_update(&data_dir).await;
+        });
+    }
+
    // Spawn background update scheduler
    let update_data_dir = config.data_dir.clone();
    tokio::spawn(async move {
@@ -193,6 +285,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {

    // Spawn ElectrumX status cache (refreshes every 15s, serves cached data to avoid race conditions)
    electrs_status::spawn_status_cache();
+    bitcoin_status::spawn_status_cache();

    let startup_ms = startup_start.elapsed().as_millis();
    info!(
@@ -218,6 +311,7 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
    // Graceful shutdown: wait for SIGTERM or SIGINT
    let mut sigterm = signal::unix::signal(signal::unix::SignalKind::terminate())
        .context("Failed to register SIGTERM handler")?;
+    let shutdown_notify_for_signal = shutdown_notify.clone();
    let shutdown = async move {
        tokio::select! {
            _ = signal::ctrl_c() => {
@@ -227,6 +321,10 @@ async fn main() -> Result<()> {
                info!("Received SIGTERM, initiating graceful shutdown...");
            }
        }
+        // Signal the boot reconciler (and any other subscribers) to stop.
+        // `notify_one` stores a permit if no task is currently parked on
+        // `notified()`, so we don't race the reconciler's reconcile_all pass.
+        shutdown_notify_for_signal.notify_one();
    };

    server.serve_with_shutdown(addr, shutdown).await?;
@@ -457,8 +457,9 @@ mod tests {
        let key = SigningKey::generate(&mut OsRng);
        let wire = build_block_header_announcement(
            890412,
-            "0000000000000000000abc",
-            "0000000000000000000aab",
+            // Block hashes must be 32 bytes (64 hex chars). Use realistic-shaped placeholders.
+            "0000000000000000000abc00000000000000000000000000000000000000abcd",
+            "0000000000000000000aab0000000000000000000000000000000000000aabcd",
            1710633600,
            "did:key:z6MkTest",
            &key,
@@ -469,7 +470,9 @@ mod tests {
        assert_eq!(wire[0], 0x02);
        let envelope = TypedEnvelope::from_wire(&wire).unwrap();
        assert_eq!(envelope.t, MeshMessageType::BlockHeader as u8);
-        assert!(envelope.sig.is_some());
+        // Block header announcements are intentionally unsigned to save 64 bytes
+        // on the 160-byte LoRa payload (see builder comment).
+        assert!(envelope.sig.is_none());
    }

    #[test]
@@ -52,7 +52,10 @@ impl PendingMessage {
            return true; // Can't parse = treat as expired
        };
        let age = chrono::Utc::now().signed_duration_since(created);
-        age.num_seconds() as u64 > self.ttl_secs
+        // Use `>=` so a ttl_secs=0 message is expired immediately (used by
+        // tests and by callers that want a fire-and-forget behavior when
+        // the relay can't deliver on first try).
+        age.num_seconds() as u64 >= self.ttl_secs
    }

    /// Check if this message can be relayed further.
--- a/Show More
+++ b/Show More