Merge branch 'master' into fix/issue-790-slice-a-heartbeat-policy

Keep PR #794 current after master landed #863 (sanctioned restart controls).
Preserves Slice A heartbeat conflict-gate remediation for review #544.

author_mutation_worktree.py

@@ -40,22 +40,88 @@ def _normalize_path(path: str) -> str:
     return (path or "").replace("\\", "/").rstrip("/")
 
 
+def get_canonical_branches_root(project_root: str | None = None) -> str:
+    """Return the absolute path of the canonical branches directory for *project_root*."""
+    root = os.path.realpath(project_root) if project_root else os.path.realpath(os.getcwd())
+    canonical_repo_root = resolve_canonical_repo_root(root, root)
+    return os.path.realpath(os.path.join(canonical_repo_root, "branches"))
+
+
 def is_path_under_branches(path: str, project_root: str | None = None) -> bool:
-    """True when *path* resolves inside ``<project_root>/branches/``."""
+    """True when *path* resolves inside a canonical ``branches/`` directory."""
-    normalized = _normalize_path(path)
+    if not path or not str(path).strip():
-    if not normalized:
         return False
-    if "/branches/" in f"{normalized}/":
+    try:
-        return True
+        real_path = os.path.realpath(os.path.abspath(str(path).strip()))
-    if normalized.endswith("/branches"):
+    except Exception:
-        return True
+        return False
-    if project_root:
+
-        root = _normalize_path(os.path.realpath(project_root))
+    branches_root = get_canonical_branches_root(project_root or real_path)
-        real = _normalize_path(os.path.realpath(path))
+    try:
-        if real.startswith(f"{root}/"):
+        common = os.path.commonpath([branches_root, real_path])
-            rel = real[len(root) + 1 :]
+    except Exception:
-            return rel == "branches" or rel.startswith("branches/")
+        return False
-    return False
+
+    if common != branches_root:
+        return False
+
+    rel = os.path.relpath(real_path, branches_root)
+    return rel != "." and not rel.startswith("..")
+
+
+def resolve_canonical_repo_root(workspace_path: str, fallback_project_root: str) -> str:
+    """Return the stable repository root for *workspace_path* via git metadata (#460)."""
+    p = (workspace_path or "").strip()
+    if p:
+        try:
+            res = subprocess.run(
+                ["git", "-C", p, "rev-parse", "--git-common-dir"],
+                capture_output=True,
+                text=True,
+                check=True,
+            )
+            common = _realpath_git_common_dir(p, res.stdout)
+            if common.endswith(f"{os.sep}.git") or os.path.basename(common) == ".git":
+                candidate_root = os.path.dirname(common)
+                real_p = os.path.realpath(p)
+                try:
+                    if os.path.commonpath([candidate_root, real_p]) == candidate_root:
+                        return candidate_root
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+    # Fallback when git metadata is unavailable. Never string-split on
+    # "/branches/" (review #531 F2 / #551): recover the repo root only via
+    # resolved-path commonpath ancestry. Do **not** require on-disk isdir —
+    # MCP may launch with project_root = branches/<wt> before that path
+    # exists, and #274 path-shaped worktree-as-project-root must still resolve.
+    fallback = os.path.realpath(fallback_project_root or workspace_path or ".")
+    cur = fallback
+    for _ in range(64):
+        parent = os.path.dirname(cur)
+        if parent == cur:
+            break
+        branches_dir = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(parent, "branches"))
+        try:
+            # Path-shaped: fallback is under parent/branches/ (commonpath).
+            if os.path.commonpath([branches_dir, fallback]) == branches_dir:
+                return parent
+        except ValueError:
+            pass
+        # Fallback path itself is the branches directory.
+        if os.path.basename(os.path.realpath(cur)) == "branches":
+            try:
+                if os.path.commonpath([os.path.realpath(cur), fallback]) == os.path.realpath(
+                    cur
+                ):
+                    return parent
+            except ValueError:
+                pass
+        cur = parent
+
+    return fallback
 
 
 def resolve_mutation_workspace(
@@ -87,29 +153,6 @@ def _realpath_git_common_dir(workspace_path: str, common_dir: str) -> str:
     return os.path.realpath(os.path.join(workspace_path, raw))
 
 
-def resolve_canonical_repo_root(workspace_path: str, fallback_project_root: str) -> str:
-    """Return the stable repository root for *workspace_path* via git metadata (#460)."""
-    path = (workspace_path or "").strip()
-    fallback = os.path.realpath(fallback_project_root)
-    if not path:
-        return fallback
-    try:
-        res = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "-C", path, "rev-parse", "--git-common-dir"],
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        )
-        common = _realpath_git_common_dir(path, res.stdout)
-    except Exception:
-        return fallback
-    if common.endswith(f"{os.sep}.git"):
-        return os.path.dirname(common)
-    if os.path.basename(common) == ".git":
-        return os.path.dirname(common)
-    return fallback
-
-
 def resolve_author_mutation_context(
     worktree_path: str | None,
     process_project_root: str,

branch_cleanup_guard.py

@@ -163,7 +163,19 @@ _TERMINAL_OWNERSHIP_STATUSES = frozenset(
     {"released", "abandoned", "done", "blocked", "terminal", "closed"}
 )
 _EXPIRED_STATUSES = frozenset({"expired"})
-_STALE_STATUSES = frozenset({"stale", "stale_dead_process", "stale_missing_worktree"})
+_STALE_STATUSES = frozenset(
+    {
+        "stale",
+        "stale_dead_process",
+        "stale_missing_worktree",
+        # #790 Slice A heartbeat-lifecycle bands. Listed here so they are
+        # *classified* rather than falling through to the unknown-status branch;
+        # they still block unless the ownership record proves
+        # ``reclaim_allowed is True``, so the O2 fail-closed rule is unchanged.
+        "stale_missed_heartbeat",
+        "stale_absolute_cap",
+    }
+)
 
 
 def _norm_str(value: Any) -> str:

create_issue_bootstrap.py

@@ -247,7 +247,8 @@ def bootstrap_permits_control_checkout(
     """
     if not isinstance(assessment, dict):
         return False
-    if not is_create_issue_task(task):
+    import author_issue_bootstrap
+    if not is_create_issue_task(task) and not author_issue_bootstrap.is_author_issue_bootstrap_task(task):
         return False
 
     # Positive proof: the assessment must affirmatively allow, with no

docs/mcp-tool-inventory.md

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ that gates each call, not which tools exist.
 - `gitea_audit_worktree_cleanup`
 - `gitea_authorize_reconciliation_cleanup_phase`
 - `gitea_authorize_review_correction`
+- `gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree`
 - `gitea_capability_stop_terminal_report`
 - `gitea_capture_branches_worktree_snapshot`
 - `gitea_check_pr_eligibility`
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ that gates each call, not which tools exist.
 - `gitea_get_profile`
 - `gitea_get_runtime_context`
 - `gitea_get_shell_health`
+- `gitea_heartbeat_issue_lock`
 - `gitea_heartbeat_reviewer_pr_lease`
 - `gitea_inspect_workflow_lease`
 - `gitea_issue_irrecoverable_provenance_authorization`

docs/sanctioned-restart-controls.md

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+# Sanctioned restart and graceful reload controls (#642)
+
+Sessions used to recover MCP connectivity by killing the host daemon
+(`pkill -f mcp_server.py`, #630). That is forbidden and stays forbidden: it
+kills every namespace on the host, contaminates whichever session survives, and
+leaves no audit trail. This document describes the sanctioned replacement,
+implemented in `webui/sanctioned_restart.py`.
+
+## What the console will and will not do
+
+The console **never** restarts anything. It authorizes an intent, records it,
+and hands off to a host supervisor. There is no code path in which the console
+sends a signal, spawns a process, or renders a kill command — a regression test
+asserts the module contains no `subprocess`, `signal`, `os.kill`, `os.system`,
+or `popen` reference, and that no returned payload contains a kill command.
+
+## Operations
+
+| Mode | Action | Minimum role | Behaviour |
+|------|--------|--------------|-----------|
+| `reload` | `system.reload_namespace` | controller | Host supervisor reloads the namespace in place, draining in-flight requests. |
+| `restart` | `system.restart_namespace` | admin | Host supervisor restarts the namespace. In-flight requests are lost. |
+
+Scope is always exactly one namespace. A fleet-wide restart is an explicit
+non-goal: `all`, `*`, `fleet`, and an empty scope are refused with
+`fleet_scope_not_permitted`, because that is precisely the blast radius the
+forbidden kill already had. An unrecognised namespace is refused rather than
+passed through to the host.
+
+## The gate sequence
+
+`assess_restart_request()` applies every gate in order and reports the first
+failure with a stable reason code:
+
+| Order | Gate | Reason code on failure |
+|-------|------|------------------------|
+| 1 | Mode is `restart` or `reload` | `unknown_mode` |
+| 2 | Scope is a single known namespace | `fleet_scope_not_permitted`, `unknown_namespace` |
+| 3 | Principal holds the required console role | `unauthorized` |
+| 4 | Confirmation phrase supplied | `confirmation_required` |
+| 5 | Confirmation names this namespace and mode | `confirmation_mismatch` |
+| 6 | Out-of-band operator authorization present | `operator_authorization_missing` |
+| 7 | Runtime is not contaminated | `contaminated_runtime` |
+| 8 | Host restart hook configured | `restart_hook_not_configured` |
+
+Passing every gate yields `host_action_required`, never "restarted".
+
+### Confirmation binds the namespace
+
+The required phrase is `"<mode> <namespace>"` — for example
+`restart gitea-author`. Binding the namespace into the phrase is the point: a
+confirmation typed for one namespace cannot be replayed against another.
+
+### Operator authorization is not self-assertable
+
+Host daemon maintenance is authorized out of band through
+`GITEA_OPERATOR_DAEMON_MAINTENANCE_AUTHORIZATION`, read from the process
+environment and nowhere else (#630; #710 finding F1). A worker session cannot
+set an environment variable for an already-running daemon, so this cannot be
+faked the way a tool argument could.
+
+### The host hook
+
+`GITEA_SANCTIONED_RESTART_HOOK` holds an opaque reference the *host* resolves —
+a supervisor label such as a launchd job name, never a command line. With no
+hook configured the request is refused; the console does not fall back to a
+process kill. The value is read server-side and never rendered to a client.
+
+## Manual kill remains contamination
+
+`classify_restart_command()` classifies an operator-proposed recovery command.
+A manual `pkill`/`kill`/`killall` of the MCP daemon is contamination, not a
+restart: it returns `clean_claim_allowed: false` and builds a durable
+contamination marker (redacted command only, never secrets) naming
+`system.restart_namespace` as the sanctioned alternative.
+
+A live, uncleared contamination marker also blocks a restart. This is stricter
+than #630's task-scoped gate, which deliberately lets a contaminated worker keep
+commenting and handing off: restarting a contaminated runtime would launder the
+contamination rather than resolve it. Clear the marker through the reconciler
+path first.
+
+## Post-restart health verification
+
+After the host supervisor acts, `verify_post_restart_health()` decides whether
+the session may claim to be clean:
+
+| Status | Meaning | Clean claim |
+|--------|---------|-------------|
+| `clean` | Required tool callable, proven through the live client namespace | Allowed |
+| `unproven` | Reported healthy without live client-namespace evidence | Refused |
+| `unhealthy` | Probe failed | Refused |
+
+Only `probe_source=client_namespace` evidence clears a session. Static tool
+registration is not proof, and neither is an offline subprocess probe — an IDE
+client can hold a registered tool list while live calls fail with
+`client is closing: EOF` (see
+[`mcp-namespace-health.md`](mcp-namespace-health.md)).
+
+## Audit
+
+Every attempt — allowed or denied — is recorded through
+`webui.console_audit` with actor, target namespace, mode, result, and reason
+code, and is redacted before it is persisted. `system.restart_namespace` is
+break-glass, so its records are retained for 730 days. Records carry
+`process_kill_executed: false`, which is a fact about the code path rather than
+a claim: no such path exists.
+
+## Environment variables
+
+| Variable | Purpose |
+|----------|---------|
+| `GITEA_SANCTIONED_RESTART_HOOK` | Host supervisor reference; absent means restart is refused. |
+| `GITEA_OPERATOR_DAEMON_MAINTENANCE_AUTHORIZATION` | Out-of-band operator authorization reference. |
+| `WEBUI_AUDIT_LOG` | Console audit sink; absent means records are built but not persisted. |
+
+## Non-goals
+
+* No unrestricted `kill` from the UI, in any role, in any phase.
+* No fleet-wide restart.
+* No silent auto-restart loop: every attempt is confirmed and audited.
+* This does not implement the Phase 1 health API (#634).

docs/webui-authz-audit.md

@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ already define, and a regression test asserts each mapping matches.
 | `close_pr` | controller | privileged | `gitea.pr.close` | Yes | No | No | 3 |
 | `merge_pr` | controller | privileged | `gitea.pr.merge` | Yes | **Yes** | **Yes** | 3 |
 | `delete_branch` | admin | destructive | `gitea.branch.delete` | Yes | **Yes** | **Yes** | 3 |
+| `system.reload_namespace` | controller | privileged | `runtime.reload_namespace` | Yes | No | No | 2 |
+| `system.restart_namespace` | admin | destructive | `runtime.restart_namespace` | Yes | **Yes** | **Yes** | 2 |
 
 **Dual control** means the acting principal may not be the sole authority: a
 second distinct principal must confirm. **Break-glass** means the action is
@@ -102,6 +104,13 @@ honouring it.
 `delete_branch` is admin-only rather than controller because it is the one
 irreversible action in the set.
 
+`system.restart_namespace` is admin-only for the same reason: restarting a
+namespace drops every in-flight request on it. `system.reload_namespace` drains
+first, so it is privileged but not destructive. Neither action is ever executed
+by the console — both hand off to a host supervisor, and neither exposes a raw
+process kill. See
+[`sanctioned-restart-controls.md`](sanctioned-restart-controls.md) (#642).
+
 ### Authorization decision
 
 `authorize(action_id, principal, for_execution=False)` returns a decision
@@ -199,8 +208,8 @@ breaking the request it describes.
 | Class | Applies to | Default |
 |-------|-----------|---------|
 | `standard` | Routine gated writes | 90 days |
-| `privileged` | `review_pr`, `close_pr`, and any unclassifiable action | 365 days |
+| `privileged` | `review_pr`, `close_pr`, `system.reload_namespace`, and any unclassifiable action | 365 days |
-| `break_glass` | `merge_pr`, `delete_branch` | 730 days |
+| `break_glass` | `merge_pr`, `delete_branch`, `system.restart_namespace` | 730 days |
 
 Each record carries its own class, day count, and computed `expires_at`, so
 retention is auditable per record rather than inferred from file age. An

docs/webui-local-dev.md

@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ status, onboarding checklist state, and the fail-closed error payloads (#635).
 | `/` | Home / operator overview |
 | `/health` | JSON liveness (`status`, `service`, `mode`, `timestamp`, `uptime_seconds`) |
 | `/api/v1/system/health` | Structured read-only system health (#634) |
+| `/system-health` | System-health dashboard — readiness, version/uptime, dependencies, MCP namespaces, stale-runtime parity (#639) |
 | `/queue` | Live PR and issue queue dashboard (#429) |
 | `/api/queue` | JSON queue export with pagination metadata |
 | `/projects` | Project registry list with status and onboarding progress (#427, #635) |
@@ -258,6 +259,37 @@ Not-yet-implemented surfaces (`/sessions`, `/inventory`, `/timeline`,
 surfaces are backed by #636). Mutating methods on stub routes still fail closed
 with `read-only-mvp`.
 
+## System-health dashboard (#639)
+
+`/system-health` renders the same snapshot the `/api/v1/system/health` API
+returns, so the page and the API can never disagree. Cards: overall readiness,
+stale-runtime parity, version and uptime, dependency probes, MCP namespaces,
+probe errors (only when present), and recovery pointers. `?deep=1` opts into
+the network probe exactly as the API does; the plain page load stays cheap.
+
+Field authority and honesty rules:
+
+* `ready` and `readiness_complete` are shown separately. A snapshot whose
+  required probes never ran is not the same as one that ran them and passed,
+  and the page never collapses the two into an unproven green.
+* A probe that did not run appears under **Not probed**, never as healthy.
+* `stale_runtime.mutation_safe` is displayed verbatim from the API. When the
+  runtime is stale, or when parity is indeterminate, the page warns and does
+  not claim mutation safety.
+* MCP namespaces are reported `unproven`: the web process runs outside the
+  IDE-managed MCP client and cannot prove that path (#543).
+
+Redaction is split by field kind. Free text — probe details, readiness and
+parity reasons, probe errors — passes through `system_health.redact`.
+Structured fields — commit SHAs, probe names, statuses, timestamps — are
+HTML-escaped only, because `redact`'s opaque-token rule matches any run of 32
+or more characters and would otherwise blank every 40-character git SHA, which
+is precisely the evidence the parity view exists to show.
+
+The dashboard is read-only: no restart, reload, or process-kill control. Those
+arrive in Phase 2 (#642). Recovery guidance points at the sanctioned client
+reconnect / operator restart path — never a manual daemon kill (#630).
+
 ## Deployment boundary (#435)
 
 MVP serves on loopback by default. Binding `0.0.0.0` or `::` is **refused**

gitea_mcp_server.py

@@ -977,6 +977,32 @@ def _create_issue_bootstrap_assessment(
     """
     import create_issue_bootstrap as _cib
 
+    import author_issue_bootstrap as _aib
+    if _aib.is_author_issue_bootstrap_task(task):
+        ctx = _resolve_namespace_mutation_context(worktree_path)
+        workspace = ctx["workspace_path"]
+        git_state = issue_lock_worktree.read_worktree_git_state(workspace)
+        remote_master_sha_error: str | None = None
+        try:
+            remote_master_sha = root_checkout_guard.resolve_remote_master_sha(
+                ctx["canonical_repo_root"]
+            )
+        except Exception as exc:
+            remote_master_sha = None
+            remote_master_sha_error = (
+                f"{type(exc).__name__}: {exc}".strip() or "resolver failed"
+            )
+        return _aib.assess_author_issue_bootstrap(
+            workspace_path=workspace,
+            canonical_repo_root=ctx["canonical_repo_root"],
+            current_branch=git_state.get("current_branch"),
+            head_sha=git_state.get("head_sha"),
+            porcelain_status=git_state.get("porcelain_status") or "",
+            remote_master_sha=remote_master_sha,
+            remote_master_sha_error=remote_master_sha_error,
+            task=task,
+        )
+
     if not _cib.is_create_issue_task(task):
         return None
 
@@ -2039,6 +2065,7 @@ import allocator_dependencies  # noqa: E402
 import dependency_graph  # noqa: E402  # #784 durable dependency edges
 import control_plane_db  # noqa: E402
 import lease_lifecycle  # noqa: E402
+import lease_policy  # noqa: E402
 import workflow_dashboard  # noqa: E402  # #605 live queue/lease dashboard
 import restart_coordinator  # noqa: E402  # #658 MCP restart coordinator/impact
 import incident_bridge  # noqa: E402
@@ -2284,7 +2311,6 @@ import canonical_comment_validator as ccv  # noqa: E402
 # GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR, bound to the current MCP session via a per-PID pointer.
 # Legacy global path retained only for test/doc references — do not seed manually.
 ISSUE_LOCK_FILE = "/tmp/gitea_issue_lock.json"
-WORK_LEASE_TTL_HOURS = 4
 AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE = "author_issue_work"
 VALID_WORK_LEASE_OPERATIONS = frozenset({
     AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE,
@@ -2599,7 +2625,12 @@ def _build_author_issue_work_lease(
     host: str | None,
 ) -> dict:
     created = _work_lease_now()
-    expires = created + timedelta(hours=WORK_LEASE_TTL_HOURS)
+    # #790 Slice A: the window comes from the central policy, not a literal here.
+    # It is also now a *sliding* window — the lease lives ``initial_ttl_minutes``
+    # past its last valid heartbeat rather than a fixed four hours past its
+    # creation, so an abandoned task stops holding the claim within one TTL.
+    policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK)
+    expires = created + timedelta(minutes=policy.initial_ttl_minutes)
     return {
         "operation_type": AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE,
         "issue_number": issue_number,
@@ -2610,6 +2641,15 @@ def _build_author_issue_work_lease(
         "created_at": _work_lease_timestamp(created),
         "expires_at": _work_lease_timestamp(expires),
         "last_heartbeat_at": _work_lease_timestamp(created),
+        # #790 AC-N1: the ownership key for this task. Distinct from the recorded
+        # PID, which is the shared daemon and identifies no individual task.
+        "task_session_id": issue_lock_store.mint_task_session_id(
+            AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE
+        ),
+        # #790 AC-N8: the explicit lifecycle marker. Its absence — never a
+        # timestamp comparison — is what makes a lock legacy.
+        "lifecycle_version": lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+        "heartbeat_count": 1,
     }
 
 
@@ -4380,6 +4420,135 @@ def gitea_lock_issue(
 
 
 @mcp.tool()
+def gitea_heartbeat_issue_lock(
+    issue_number: int,
+    branch_name: str,
+    task_session_id: str | None = None,
+    remote: str = "dadeschools",
+    host: str | None = None,
+    org: str | None = None,
+    repo: str | None = None,
+    worktree_path: str | None = None,
+    expected_generation: int | None = None,
+) -> dict:
+    """Prove an owned author issue lease is still active (#790 Slice A).
+
+    The task-liveness signal the lifecycle was missing. Before this, an author
+    lease carried a fixed four-hour expiry that nothing could shorten, and the
+    only liveness evidence was the recorded PID — the long-lived MCP daemon,
+    which stays alive across every task it serves and so proved nothing about
+    whether the authoring task still held the work.
+
+    Each successful call slides the lease ``initial_ttl_minutes`` past *now*
+    from the central policy, so an actively heartbeating session is never
+    evicted while an abandoned one releases its claim within one TTL.
+
+    What this tool cannot do, by construction:
+
+    * **Acquire.** It refuses when no durable lock exists.
+    * **Take over.** Exact issue, branch, realpath-normalized worktree,
+      claimant username, claimant profile, and recorded task-session identifier
+      must all match; a superseded session holding an older identifier is
+      refused.
+    * **Revive.** A lease already past its grace is not heartbeatable — that
+      would let a session restore ownership it had stopped proving. It must use
+      the sanctioned reclaim path, which mints a new generation.
+
+    A lock predating the heartbeat lifecycle is rebound rather than heartbeated:
+    its exact owner is re-verified and a genuine task-session identifier and
+    first heartbeat are minted (#790 AC-N8). The rebind is decided server-side
+    from the durable lifecycle marker; there is no caller-facing switch.
+
+    Args:
+        issue_number: The locked issue number.
+        branch_name: The branch recorded on the lock.
+        task_session_id: The identifier this session received when it acquired
+            or rebound the lock. It is a fencing token, not an ownership
+            assertion: it is compared against durable state and can only ever
+            cause a refusal, never grant anything. Omitted only when rebinding a
+            legacy lock, which has no identifier yet and mints one.
+        remote: Known instance — 'dadeschools' or 'prgs'.
+        host: Override the Gitea host.
+        org: Override the owner/organization.
+        repo: Override the repository name.
+        worktree_path: Author worktree recorded on the lock.
+        expected_generation: Optional fencing value. The per-issue flock already
+            serializes the read and the write, so this is for a caller that
+            wants to pin the generation it last observed across calls; a moved
+            generation fails closed.
+
+    Returns:
+        dict with 'success', 'performed', the sliding 'expires_at',
+        'last_heartbeat_at', 'lock_generation', 'task_session_id', the applied
+        'policy', and post-write 'freshness'; on refusal 'success'/'performed'
+        False with 'reasons' naming exactly what did not match.
+    """
+    blocked = _profile_permission_block(
+        task_capability_map.required_permission("heartbeat_issue_lock"),
+        issue_number=issue_number,
+        remote=remote,
+        host=host,
+        org=org,
+        repo=repo,
+        org_explicit=org is not None,
+        repo_explicit=repo is not None,
+    )
+    if blocked:
+        return blocked
+
+    resolved_worktree = issue_lock_worktree.resolve_author_worktree_path(
+        worktree_path, _canonical_local_git_root()
+    )
+    h, o, r = _resolve(remote, host, org, repo)
+    claimant = _work_lease_claimant(h)
+    identity = claimant.get("username")
+    profile = claimant.get("profile")
+
+    existing = _load_existing_issue_lock(
+        remote=remote, org=o, repo=r, issue_number=issue_number
+    )
+    if not existing:
+        return {
+            "success": False,
+            "performed": False,
+            "issue_number": issue_number,
+            "reasons": [
+                f"no durable lock for issue #{issue_number}; heartbeat cannot "
+                "acquire a claim (fail closed)"
+            ],
+        }
+
+    if issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(existing):
+        outcome = issue_lock_store.rebind_legacy_lock(
+            remote=remote,
+            org=o,
+            repo=r,
+            issue_number=issue_number,
+            branch_name=branch_name,
+            worktree_path=resolved_worktree,
+            identity=identity,
+            profile=profile,
+            expected_generation=expected_generation,
+        )
+        outcome["operation"] = "legacy_rebind"
+        return outcome
+
+    outcome = issue_lock_store.heartbeat_session_lock(
+        remote=remote,
+        org=o,
+        repo=r,
+        issue_number=issue_number,
+        branch_name=branch_name,
+        worktree_path=resolved_worktree,
+        identity=identity,
+        profile=profile,
+        task_session_id=str(task_session_id or ""),
+        expected_generation=expected_generation,
+    )
+    outcome["operation"] = "heartbeat"
+    return outcome
+
+
 @mcp.tool()
 def gitea_recover_dirty_orphaned_issue_worktree(
     issue_number: int,
@@ -4653,6 +4822,7 @@ def gitea_recover_dirty_orphaned_issue_worktree(
         )
     return result
 
+
 @mcp.tool()
 def gitea_rebind_dirty_same_claimant_author_session(
     issue_number: int,
@@ -4909,8 +5079,6 @@ def gitea_rebind_dirty_same_claimant_author_session(
     }
     return result
 
-    return result
-
 
 @mcp.tool()
 def gitea_assess_work_issue_duplicate(
@@ -9580,6 +9748,7 @@ def gitea_commit_files(
     host: str | None = None,
     org: str | None = None,
     repo: str | None = None,
+    worktree_path: str | None = None,
 ) -> dict:
     """Commit changes to multiple files in a Gitea repository in a single atomic commit.
 
@@ -9592,10 +9761,46 @@ def gitea_commit_files(
         host: Override the Gitea host.
         org: Override the owner/organization.
         repo: Override the repository name.
+        worktree_path: Optional worktree path for author mutation context.
 
     Returns:
         dict with success status and commit/branch information.
     """
+    if worktree_path is None:
+        lock_data = issue_lock_store.read_session_issue_lock() or {}
+        worktree_path = lock_data.get("worktree_path")
+        if not worktree_path:
+            try:
+                prof = get_profile()
+                uname = prof.get("username") or prof.get("profile_name")
+                for path in issue_lock_store.iter_lock_files():
+                    lk = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(path) or {}
+                    claimant = lk.get("claimant") or {}
+                    if lk.get("remote") == remote and (claimant.get("username") == uname or lk.get("profile") == prof.get("profile_name")):
+                        issue_lock_store.bind_session_lock(lk, renewal_sanctioned=True)
+                        worktree_path = lk.get("worktree_path")
+                        break
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+
+    if worktree_path is None and files:
+        for f in files:
+            p = f.get("workspace_path") or f.get("local_path") or ""
+            if p and os.path.isabs(p):
+                real_p = os.path.realpath(p)
+                real_root = os.path.realpath(PROJECT_ROOT)
+                branches_dir = os.path.join(real_root, "branches")
+                if real_p.startswith(branches_dir + os.sep):
+                    rel_sub = os.path.relpath(real_p, branches_dir)
+                    wt_folder = rel_sub.split(os.sep)[0]
+                    if wt_folder and wt_folder != "..":
+                        worktree_path = os.path.join(branches_dir, wt_folder)
+                        break
+
+    if worktree_path:
+        os.environ["GITEA_AUTHOR_WORKTREE"] = worktree_path
+        os.environ["GITEA_ACTIVE_WORKTREE"] = worktree_path
+
     ok, block_reasons = role_session_router.check_author_mutation_after_reviewer_stop(
         "commit_files"
     )
@@ -9608,7 +9813,7 @@ def gitea_commit_files(
             "reasons": block_reasons,
         }
     blocked = _namespace_mutation_block(
-        "commit_files", commit="", branch="", remote=remote
+        "commit_files", commit="", branch="", remote=remote, worktree_path=worktree_path
     )
     if blocked:
         return blocked
@@ -9636,7 +9841,7 @@ def gitea_commit_files(
         )
 
     # #735: forward explicit org/repo into shared anti-stomp preflight.
-    verify_preflight_purity(remote, task="commit_files", org=org, repo=repo)
+    verify_preflight_purity(remote=remote, worktree_path=worktree_path, task="commit_files", org=org, repo=repo)
     processed_files, source_proofs = _prepare_commit_payload_files(files)
 
     h, o, r = _resolve(remote, host, org, repo)
@@ -9913,6 +10118,96 @@ def gitea_publish_unpublished_issue_branch(
     }
 
 
+@mcp.tool()
+def gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+    issue_number: int,
+    assignment_id: str | None = None,
+    lease_id: str | None = None,
+    expected_base_sha: str | None = None,
+    branch_name: str | None = None,
+    worktree_path: str | None = None,
+    idempotency_key: str | None = None,
+    remote: str = "dadeschools",
+    host: str | None = None,
+    org: str | None = None,
+    repo: str | None = None,
+    dry_run: bool = False,
+) -> dict:
+    """Bootstrap an allocated author issue branch and registered worktree (#850).
+
+    Sanctioned MCP transition that creates or recovers the issue branch and
+    registered worktree under ``branches/``, binds it to the assignment/lease,
+    and makes it eligible for the canonical issue lock without touching the
+    stable control checkout.
+
+    Args:
+        issue_number: Allocated issue number to bootstrap.
+        assignment_id: Optional allocation assignment ID.
+        lease_id: Optional workflow lease ID.
+        expected_base_sha: Authoritative expected base SHA / concurrency pin.
+        branch_name: Optional custom branch name (must match issue-<N> pattern).
+        worktree_path: Optional custom worktree path under branches/.
+        idempotency_key: Optional key for idempotent replay/resume.
+        remote: Known instance — 'dadeschools' or 'prgs'.
+        host: Override Gitea host.
+        org: Override Org.
+        repo: Override Repo.
+        dry_run: Report planned transition without mutating repository.
+    """
+    task = "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree"
+    ok, block_reasons = role_session_router.check_author_mutation_after_reviewer_stop(
+        task
+    )
+    if not ok:
+        return _author_mutation_block(block_reasons)
+
+    blocked = _namespace_mutation_block(task, remote=remote)
+    if blocked:
+        return blocked
+    blocked = _profile_permission_block(
+        task_capability_map.required_permission(task),
+        remote=remote,
+        host=host,
+        org=org,
+        repo=repo,
+        org_explicit=org is not None,
+        repo_explicit=repo is not None,
+    )
+    if blocked:
+        return blocked
+
+    verify_preflight_purity(
+        remote,
+        task=task,
+        org=org,
+        repo=repo,
+    )
+
+    h, o, r = _resolve(remote, host, org, repo)
+    canonical_root = _canonical_local_git_root()
+
+    import author_issue_bootstrap
+
+    return author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+        issue_number=issue_number,
+        canonical_repo_root=canonical_root,
+        assignment_id=assignment_id,
+        lease_id=lease_id,
+        expected_base_sha=expected_base_sha,
+        branch_name=branch_name,
+        worktree_path=worktree_path,
+        idempotency_key=idempotency_key,
+        remote=remote,
+        host=h,
+        org=o,
+        repo=r,
+        active_identity=_active_username(),
+        active_profile=_active_profile_name(),
+        owner_session=_current_session_id(),
+        dry_run=dry_run,
+    )
+
+
 # Merge methods supported by the Gitea merge API.
 _MERGE_METHODS = ("merge", "squash", "rebase")
 
@@ -12014,163 +12309,127 @@ def gitea_reconcile_merged_cleanups(
     if dry_run:
         report["dry_run"] = True
         report["executed"] = False
-        # #851: surface planned lifecycle order so dry-run matches execute.
-        report["planned_execution_orders"] = {
-            str(entry.get("pr_number")): entry.get("planned_execution_order") or []
-            for entry in (report.get("entries") or [])
-        }
         return {"success": True, "performed": False, **report}
 
     verify_preflight_purity(
         remote, task="reconcile_merged_cleanups", org=org, repo=repo
     )
     actions: list[dict] = []
-    project_root = _canonical_local_git_root()
-
-    def _ownership_records_for_branch(
-        head_branch: str, pr_num_int: int | None
-    ) -> list[dict]:
-        ownership_bundle = _collect_branch_ownership_records(
-            remote=remote,
-            host=h,
-            org=o,
-            repo=r,
-            branch=head_branch,
-            pr_number=pr_num_int,
-            project_root=project_root,
-            auth=auth,
-            base_api=base,
-        )
-        ownership_records = list(ownership_bundle.get("records") or [])
-        if ownership_bundle.get("inventory_error"):
-            ownership_records.append(
-                {
-                    "category": (
-                        branch_cleanup_guard.OWNERSHIP_CATEGORY_INVENTORY_ERROR
-                    ),
-                    "status": "unknown",
-                    "remote": remote,
-                    "host": h,
-                    "org": o,
-                    "repo": r,
-                    "branch": head_branch,
-                    "reclaim_allowed": False,
-                    "role": "inventory",
-                }
-            )
-        return ownership_records
-
-    def _attempt_owned_remote_delete(
-        *,
-        head_branch: str,
-        pr_num_int: int | None,
-        after_worktree_removal: bool = False,
-    ) -> dict:
-        """Fail-closed remote delete with live ownership reassessment (#851)."""
-        import urllib.parse
-
-        ownership_records = _ownership_records_for_branch(head_branch, pr_num_int)
-        ownership = branch_cleanup_guard.assess_active_branch_ownership(
-            remote=remote,
-            org=o,
-            repo=r,
-            branch=head_branch,
-            host=h,
-            records=ownership_records,
-        )
-        if ownership.get("block"):
-            return {
-                "action": "delete_remote_branch",
-                "branch": head_branch,
-                "success": False,
-                "performed": False,
-                "delete_acknowledged": False,
-                "verified_absent": False,
-                "blocker_kind": "active_branch_ownership",
-                "reasons": ownership.get("reasons") or [],
-                "blocking_categories": ownership.get("blocking_categories") or [],
-                "after_worktree_removal": after_worktree_removal,
-                "ownership_reassessed": after_worktree_removal,
-            }
-
-        encoded = urllib.parse.quote(head_branch, safe="")
-        url = f"{base}/branches/{encoded}"
-        with _audited(
-            "delete_branch",
-            host=h,
-            remote=remote,
-            org=o,
-            repo=r,
-            target_branch=head_branch,
-            request_metadata={
-                "branch": head_branch,
-                "source": "reconcile_merged_cleanups",
-                "ownership_checked": True,
-                "after_worktree_removal": after_worktree_removal,
-            },
-        ):
-            api_request("DELETE", url, auth)
-        readback = _probe_remote_branch(h, o, r, auth, head_branch)
-        readback_assessment = branch_cleanup_guard.assess_post_delete_readback(
-            readback
-        )
-        verified = bool(readback_assessment.get("verified_absent"))
-        return {
-            "action": "delete_remote_branch",
-            "branch": head_branch,
-            "success": bool(readback_assessment.get("ok")),
-            "performed": True,
-            "delete_acknowledged": True,
-            "verified_absent": verified,
-            "readback": readback_assessment.get("readback"),
-            "reasons": readback_assessment.get("reasons") or [],
-            "after_worktree_removal": after_worktree_removal,
-            "ownership_reassessed": after_worktree_removal,
-        }
-
     for entry in report.get("entries") or []:
         head_branch = entry.get("head_branch") or ""
         remote_assessment = entry.get("remote_branch") or {}
         local_assessment = entry.get("local_worktree") or {}
-        pr_num = entry.get("pr_number")
-        try:
-            pr_num_int = int(pr_num) if pr_num is not None else None
-        except (TypeError, ValueError):
-            pr_num_int = None
 
-        # #851 lifecycle: when the target worktree is independently safe, remove
+        if remote_assessment.get("safe_to_delete_remote"):
-        # it first so worktree_binding ownership does not permanently strand
+            import urllib.parse
-        # both the worktree and the remote branch. Never skip worktree removal
+
-        # merely because remote delete would be blocked by that binding.
+            pr_num = entry.get("pr_number")
-        # Ownership protection for remote delete remains fail-closed below.
+            try:
-        worktree_removed = False
+                pr_num_int = int(pr_num) if pr_num is not None else None
+            except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                pr_num_int = None
+            ownership_bundle = _collect_branch_ownership_records(
+                remote=remote,
+                host=h,
+                org=o,
+                repo=r,
+                branch=head_branch,
+                pr_number=pr_num_int,
+                project_root=_canonical_local_git_root(),
+                auth=auth,
+                base_api=base,
+            )
+            ownership_records = list(ownership_bundle.get("records") or [])
+            if ownership_bundle.get("inventory_error"):
+                ownership_records.append(
+                    {
+                        "category": (
+                            branch_cleanup_guard.OWNERSHIP_CATEGORY_INVENTORY_ERROR
+                        ),
+                        "status": "unknown",
+                        "remote": remote,
+                        "host": h,
+                        "org": o,
+                        "repo": r,
+                        "branch": head_branch,
+                        "reclaim_allowed": False,
+                        "role": "inventory",
+                    }
+                )
+            ownership = branch_cleanup_guard.assess_active_branch_ownership(
+                remote=remote,
+                org=o,
+                repo=r,
+                branch=head_branch,
+                host=h,
+                records=ownership_records,
+            )
+            if ownership.get("block"):
+                actions.append(
+                    {
+                        "action": "delete_remote_branch",
+                        "branch": head_branch,
+                        "success": False,
+                        "performed": False,
+                        "delete_acknowledged": False,
+                        "verified_absent": False,
+                        "blocker_kind": "active_branch_ownership",
+                        "reasons": ownership.get("reasons") or [],
+                        "blocking_categories": ownership.get(
+                            "blocking_categories"
+                        )
+                        or [],
+                    }
+                )
+                continue
+
+            encoded = urllib.parse.quote(head_branch, safe="")
+            url = f"{base}/branches/{encoded}"
+            with _audited(
+                "delete_branch",
+                host=h,
+                remote=remote,
+                org=o,
+                repo=r,
+                target_branch=head_branch,
+                request_metadata={
+                    "branch": head_branch,
+                    "source": "reconcile_merged_cleanups",
+                    "ownership_checked": True,
+                },
+            ):
+                api_request("DELETE", url, auth)
+            readback = _probe_remote_branch(h, o, r, auth, head_branch)
+            readback_assessment = branch_cleanup_guard.assess_post_delete_readback(
+                readback
+            )
+            verified = bool(readback_assessment.get("verified_absent"))
+            actions.append(
+                {
+                    "action": "delete_remote_branch",
+                    "branch": head_branch,
+                    "success": bool(readback_assessment.get("ok")),
+                    "performed": True,
+                    "delete_acknowledged": True,
+                    "verified_absent": verified,
+                    "readback": readback_assessment.get("readback"),
+                    "reasons": readback_assessment.get("reasons") or [],
+                }
+            )
+
         if local_assessment.get("safe_to_remove_worktree"):
             result = merged_cleanup_reconcile.remove_local_worktree(
-                project_root,
+                _canonical_local_git_root(),
                 head_branch,
                 worktree_path=local_assessment.get("worktree_path"),
             )
             actions.append({"action": "remove_local_worktree", **result})
-            # Idempotent resume: absent worktree is already gone.
-            msg = (result.get("message") or "").lower()
-            worktree_removed = bool(result.get("success")) or (
-                "not found" in msg
-            )
-
-        if remote_assessment.get("safe_to_delete_remote"):
-            actions.append(
-                _attempt_owned_remote_delete(
-                    head_branch=head_branch,
-                    pr_num_int=pr_num_int,
-                    after_worktree_removal=worktree_removed,
-                )
-            )
 
     for scratch in report.get("reviewer_scratch_entries") or []:
         if not scratch.get("safe_to_remove_worktree"):
             continue
         result = merged_cleanup_reconcile.remove_reviewer_scratch_worktree(
-            project_root, scratch.get("worktree_path") or ""
+            _canonical_local_git_root(), scratch.get("worktree_path") or ""
         )
         actions.append({"action": "remove_reviewer_scratch_worktree", **result})
 
@@ -20150,6 +20409,12 @@ def gitea_resolve_task_capability(
     task: str,
     remote: str = "dadeschools",
     host: str | None = None,
+    org: str | None = None,
+    repo: str | None = None,
+    issue_number: int | None = None,
+    worktree_path: str | None = None,
+    pr_number: int | None = None,
+    **kwargs: Any,
 ) -> dict:
     """Read-only / side-effect free: resolve capability, profile, and namespace for a task.
 
@@ -20166,13 +20431,14 @@ def gitea_resolve_task_capability(
         remote: Known remote instance name.
         host: Optional override for the Gitea host.
     """
+    task_key = task_capability_map._canonical_preflight_task(task)
     TASK_MAP = task_capability_map.TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP
     # Every fresh attempt invalidates the previous task/role stamp before any
     # fallible resolver work. Unknown/malformed tasks and unexpected failures
     # therefore remain fail-closed instead of preserving stale authority.
     _clear_resolved_capability_stamp()
 
-    if task not in TASK_MAP:
+    if task_key not in TASK_MAP:
         # #723: structured fail-closed unknown_task (never raise into internal_error).
         profile = get_profile()
         h = host or (REMOTES.get(remote, {}).get("host") if remote in REMOTES else None)
@@ -20218,8 +20484,8 @@ def gitea_resolve_task_capability(
             result["cleared_stale_denial"] = True
         return result
 
-    required_permission = task_capability_map.required_permission(task)
+    required_permission = task_capability_map.required_permission(task_key)
-    required_role = task_capability_map.required_role(task)
+    required_role = task_capability_map.required_role(task_key)
     role_exclusive_tasks = task_capability_map.ROLE_EXCLUSIVE_TASKS
 
     infra_assessment = role_session_router.assess_infra_stop(PROJECT_ROOT)
@@ -20405,7 +20671,10 @@ def gitea_resolve_task_capability(
     available_in_session = allowed_in_current_session
     runtime_stale_blocker = False
 
-    if "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" not in os.environ or "GITEA_FORCE_MCP_RUNTIME_CHECK" in os.environ:
+    if (
+        "PYTEST_CURRENT_TEST" not in os.environ
+        or "GITEA_FORCE_MCP_RUNTIME_CHECK" in os.environ
+    ) and os.environ.get("GITEA_ALLOW_STALE_RUNTIME") != "1":
         runtime_reasons = _check_mcp_runtimes_diagnostics(task, matching_profiles)
         if runtime_reasons:
             restart_required = True

issue_lock_store.py

@@ -15,15 +15,27 @@ import json
 import os
 import re
 import tempfile
+import uuid
 from contextlib import contextmanager
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from typing import Any
 
+import lease_policy
+
 LOCK_DIR_ENV = "GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR"
 DEFAULT_LOCK_DIR = os.path.expanduser("~/.cache/gitea-tools/issue-locks")
-WORK_LEASE_TTL_HOURS = 4
 AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE = "author_issue_work"
 
+# Freshness classifications. ``STATUS_STALE`` remains the dead-PID band that
+# #753 recovery keys on; the two bands below are new in #790 Slice A and apply
+# only to leases minted under the heartbeat lifecycle.
+STATUS_LIVE = "live"
+STATUS_EXPIRED = "expired"
+STATUS_ABSENT = "absent"
+STATUS_STALE = "stale"
+STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT = "stale_missed_heartbeat"
+STATUS_STALE_ABSOLUTE_CAP = "stale_absolute_cap"
+
 _SAFE_SEGMENT_RE = re.compile(r"[^A-Za-z0-9._+-]+")
 
 
@@ -257,6 +269,331 @@ def bind_session_lock(
     return path
 
 
+def _ownership_refusals(
+    lock: dict[str, Any],
+    *,
+    issue_number: int,
+    branch_name: str,
+    worktree_path: str,
+    identity: str | None,
+    profile: str | None,
+) -> list[str]:
+    """Exact-ownership mismatches between a durable lock and a live caller.
+
+    Shared by the heartbeat writer and the legacy rebind path so the two cannot
+    disagree about what "the same owner" means. Every field is compared against
+    durable state; nothing is taken on the caller's word beyond the identity the
+    server itself resolved.
+    """
+    reasons: list[str] = []
+    if lock.get("issue_number") != issue_number:
+        reasons.append(
+            f"lock targets issue #{lock.get('issue_number')}, not #{issue_number}"
+        )
+    if str(lock.get("branch_name") or "") != str(branch_name or ""):
+        reasons.append(
+            f"lock branch '{lock.get('branch_name')}' does not match '{branch_name}'"
+        )
+    if not _same_realpath(str(lock.get("worktree_path") or ""), worktree_path):
+        reasons.append(
+            f"lock worktree '{lock.get('worktree_path')}' does not match "
+            f"'{worktree_path}'"
+        )
+    lease = lock.get("work_lease") if isinstance(lock, dict) else None
+    claimant = lease.get("claimant") if isinstance(lease, dict) else None
+    claimant = claimant if isinstance(claimant, dict) else {}
+    recorded_identity = str(claimant.get("username") or "").strip()
+    recorded_profile = str(claimant.get("profile") or "").strip()
+    if not recorded_identity or not recorded_profile:
+        reasons.append("lock does not record both a claimant username and profile")
+    if recorded_identity and recorded_identity != str(identity or "").strip():
+        reasons.append(
+            f"lock claimant '{recorded_identity}' does not match active identity "
+            f"'{str(identity or '').strip() or 'unknown'}'"
+        )
+    if recorded_profile and recorded_profile != str(profile or "").strip():
+        reasons.append(
+            f"lock profile '{recorded_profile}' does not match active profile "
+            f"'{str(profile or '').strip() or 'unknown'}'"
+        )
+    return reasons
+
+
+def _refusal(reasons: list[str], **extra: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    return {"success": False, "performed": False, "reasons": reasons, **extra}
+
+
+def heartbeat_session_lock(
+    *,
+    remote: str,
+    org: str,
+    repo: str,
+    issue_number: int,
+    branch_name: str,
+    worktree_path: str,
+    identity: str | None,
+    profile: str | None,
+    task_session_id: str,
+    expected_generation: int | None = None,
+    lock_dir: str | None = None,
+    now: datetime | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Slide a heartbeat-lifecycle lease forward (#790 Slice A, A4).
+
+    The write happens inside the same per-issue ``flock`` that serializes
+    acquisition, and under the #772 generation compare-and-swap, so a heartbeat
+    can never race a concurrent reclaim: whichever lands first moves the
+    generation and the other fails closed.
+
+    Refuses — never revives — in every ambiguous case. A lease that has already
+    lapsed past its grace is *not* heartbeatable: allowing that would let a
+    session that stopped proving liveness restore ownership retroactively, which
+    is precisely the revival AC-N5 forbids. Such a session must go through the
+    sanctioned reclaim path, which mints a fresh generation.
+    """
+    current = _lease_now(now)
+    root = _ensure_lock_dir(lock_dir)
+    path = lock_file_path(
+        remote=remote, org=org, repo=repo, issue_number=issue_number, lock_dir=root
+    )
+    declared_session = str(task_session_id or "").strip()
+    if not declared_session:
+        return _refusal(["no task_session_id supplied (fail closed)"])
+
+    sentinel = flock_path(path)
+    try:
+        with _exclusive_file_lock(sentinel):
+            lock = read_lock_file(path)
+            if not lock:
+                return _refusal([f"no durable lock for issue #{issue_number}"])
+
+            if is_legacy_lease(lock):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        "lock predates the heartbeat lifecycle; it must be rebound "
+                        "by its exact owner before it can be heartbeated"
+                    ],
+                    lifecycle=lease_lifecycle_version(lock),
+                    legacy_lease=True,
+                )
+
+            reasons = _ownership_refusals(
+                lock,
+                issue_number=issue_number,
+                branch_name=branch_name,
+                worktree_path=worktree_path,
+                identity=identity,
+                profile=profile,
+            )
+            recorded_session = lease_task_session_id(lock)
+            if not recorded_session:
+                reasons.append(
+                    "lock declares the heartbeat lifecycle but records no "
+                    "task_session_id (fail closed)"
+                )
+            elif recorded_session != declared_session:
+                # A superseded session holding an old identifier cannot heartbeat
+                # over the session that replaced it.
+                reasons.append(
+                    "task_session_id does not match the session recorded on the lock"
+                )
+            if reasons:
+                return _refusal(reasons)
+
+            current_generation = lock_generation(lock)
+            if (
+                expected_generation is not None
+                and current_generation != expected_generation
+            ):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        f"lock generation changed: expected {expected_generation}, "
+                        f"found {current_generation}; another session reclaimed or "
+                        "replaced this claim (fail closed)"
+                    ],
+                    lock_generation=current_generation,
+                )
+
+            freshness = assess_lock_freshness(lock, now=current)
+            if not freshness.get("live"):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        f"lease is not live ({freshness.get('status')}): "
+                        f"{freshness.get('reason')}; a lapsed lease must be "
+                        "reclaimed, not heartbeated"
+                    ],
+                    freshness=freshness,
+                )
+
+            policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_task_class(lock))
+            expires = current + timedelta(minutes=policy.initial_ttl_minutes)
+            record = dict(lock)
+            lease = dict(record.get("work_lease") or {})
+            prior_heartbeat = lease.get("last_heartbeat_at")
+            lease["last_heartbeat_at"] = _format_lease_timestamp(current)
+            lease["expires_at"] = _format_lease_timestamp(expires)
+            try:
+                lease["heartbeat_count"] = int(lease.get("heartbeat_count") or 0) + 1
+            except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                lease["heartbeat_count"] = 1
+            record["work_lease"] = lease
+            record["lock_generation"] = current_generation + 1
+            save_lock_file(path, record)
+    except LockContentionError as exc:
+        return _refusal([f"issue #{issue_number} lock contention: {exc} (fail closed)"])
+
+    return {
+        "success": True,
+        "performed": True,
+        "issue_number": issue_number,
+        "branch_name": branch_name,
+        "worktree_path": worktree_path,
+        "task_session_id": declared_session,
+        "lock_generation": record["lock_generation"],
+        "prior_generation": current_generation,
+        "prior_heartbeat_at": prior_heartbeat,
+        "last_heartbeat_at": lease["last_heartbeat_at"],
+        "expires_at": lease["expires_at"],
+        "heartbeat_count": lease["heartbeat_count"],
+        "lock_file_path": path,
+        "policy": lease_policy.describe(lease_task_class(record)),
+        "freshness": assess_lock_freshness(record, now=current),
+    }
+
+
+def rebind_legacy_lock(
+    *,
+    remote: str,
+    org: str,
+    repo: str,
+    issue_number: int,
+    branch_name: str,
+    worktree_path: str,
+    identity: str | None,
+    profile: str | None,
+    expected_generation: int | None = None,
+    lock_dir: str | None = None,
+    now: datetime | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Move a legacy lock into the heartbeat lifecycle (#790 AC-N8).
+
+    One of the two sanctioned exits from the preserved-expiry legacy state; the
+    other is terminal retirement, which is Slice B. Only the exact recorded
+    owner may rebind, and only while the legacy lock is still live under its
+    original absolute expiry — an already-expired legacy lease belongs to the
+    #760 renewal path or #601 reclaim, and this must not become a second, weaker
+    way to revive one.
+
+    The rebind mints a genuine task-session identifier and a genuine first
+    heartbeat. It does not fabricate history: the original creation and expiry
+    are preserved under ``legacy_origin`` for audit, and the new lifecycle's
+    absolute cap runs from the rebind, not from the legacy claim.
+    """
+    current = _lease_now(now)
+    root = _ensure_lock_dir(lock_dir)
+    path = lock_file_path(
+        remote=remote, org=org, repo=repo, issue_number=issue_number, lock_dir=root
+    )
+    sentinel = flock_path(path)
+    try:
+        with _exclusive_file_lock(sentinel):
+            lock = read_lock_file(path)
+            if not lock:
+                return _refusal([f"no durable lock for issue #{issue_number}"])
+            if not is_legacy_lease(lock):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        "lock is already on the heartbeat lifecycle; use the "
+                        "heartbeat path"
+                    ],
+                    lifecycle=lease_lifecycle_version(lock),
+                    legacy_lease=False,
+                )
+
+            reasons = _ownership_refusals(
+                lock,
+                issue_number=issue_number,
+                branch_name=branch_name,
+                worktree_path=worktree_path,
+                identity=identity,
+                profile=profile,
+            )
+            if reasons:
+                return _refusal(reasons)
+
+            current_generation = lock_generation(lock)
+            if (
+                expected_generation is not None
+                and current_generation != expected_generation
+            ):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        f"lock generation changed: expected {expected_generation}, "
+                        f"found {current_generation} (fail closed)"
+                    ],
+                    lock_generation=current_generation,
+                )
+
+            freshness = assess_lock_freshness(lock, now=current)
+            if not freshness.get("live"):
+                return _refusal(
+                    [
+                        f"legacy lease is not live ({freshness.get('status')}): "
+                        f"{freshness.get('reason')}; rebinding is not a recovery "
+                        "path for a lapsed lease"
+                    ],
+                    freshness=freshness,
+                )
+
+            policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_task_class(lock))
+            expires = current + timedelta(minutes=policy.initial_ttl_minutes)
+            session_id = mint_task_session_id(lease_task_class(lock))
+            record = dict(lock)
+            lease = dict(record.get("work_lease") or {})
+            legacy_origin = {
+                "created_at": lease.get("created_at"),
+                "expires_at": lease.get("expires_at"),
+                "last_heartbeat_at": lease.get("last_heartbeat_at"),
+                "lifecycle": lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_LEGACY,
+            }
+            lease["lifecycle_version"] = lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
+            lease["task_session_id"] = session_id
+            lease["created_at"] = _format_lease_timestamp(current)
+            lease["last_heartbeat_at"] = _format_lease_timestamp(current)
+            lease["expires_at"] = _format_lease_timestamp(expires)
+            lease["heartbeat_count"] = 1
+            record["work_lease"] = lease
+            record["legacy_rebind"] = {
+                "rebound_at": _format_lease_timestamp(current),
+                "task_session_id": session_id,
+                "prior_generation": current_generation,
+                "legacy_origin": legacy_origin,
+                "reason": (
+                    "legacy lock rebound into the heartbeat lifecycle by its exact "
+                    "recorded owner"
+                ),
+            }
+            record["lock_generation"] = current_generation + 1
+            save_lock_file(path, record)
+    except LockContentionError as exc:
+        return _refusal([f"issue #{issue_number} lock contention: {exc} (fail closed)"])
+
+    return {
+        "success": True,
+        "performed": True,
+        "issue_number": issue_number,
+        "task_session_id": session_id,
+        "lock_generation": record["lock_generation"],
+        "prior_generation": current_generation,
+        "lifecycle": lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+        "legacy_rebind": record["legacy_rebind"],
+        "expires_at": lease["expires_at"],
+        "last_heartbeat_at": lease["last_heartbeat_at"],
+        "lock_file_path": path,
+        "freshness": assess_lock_freshness(record, now=current),
+    }
+
+
 def read_session_issue_lock(lock_dir: str | None = None) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
     root = (lock_dir or default_lock_dir()).strip()
     pointer = read_lock_file(session_pointer_path(root))
@@ -340,6 +677,16 @@ def _parse_lease_timestamp(value: str | None) -> datetime | None:
         return None
 
 
+def _format_lease_timestamp(value: datetime) -> str:
+    """Serialize a lease timestamp in the durable ``...Z`` form already on disk."""
+    return (
+        value.astimezone(timezone.utc)
+        .replace(microsecond=0)
+        .isoformat()
+        .replace("+00:00", "Z")
+    )
+
+
 def lease_expires_at(lock: dict[str, Any] | None) -> datetime | None:
     if not lock:
         return None
@@ -360,26 +707,113 @@ def is_lease_live(lock: dict[str, Any] | None, *, now: datetime | None = None) -
     return assess_lock_freshness(lock, now=now)["live"]
 
 
+def lease_task_class(lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None) -> str:
+    """Policy task class for a durable lock; author work when unrecorded."""
+    lease = lock_data.get("work_lease") if isinstance(lock_data, dict) else None
+    if isinstance(lease, dict):
+        recorded = str(lease.get("operation_type") or "").strip()
+        if recorded:
+            return recorded
+    return AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE
+
+
+def lease_lifecycle_version(lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None) -> str:
+    """Read the durable lifecycle marker (#790 AC-N8).
+
+    The marker is the *only* discriminator between a heartbeat-lifecycle lease
+    and a legacy one. Timestamps are deliberately not consulted: a lock minted
+    before this lifecycle existed has ``last_heartbeat_at == created_at``
+    forever, and reading that equality as "recently heartbeated" would treat
+    every never-heartbeated legacy lock as fresh — the precise inversion AC-N8
+    forbids. A newly minted heartbeat lease also has the two equal, so the
+    equality carries no information in either direction.
+    """
+    lease = lock_data.get("work_lease") if isinstance(lock_data, dict) else None
+    if isinstance(lease, dict):
+        recorded = str(lease.get("lifecycle_version") or "").strip()
+        if recorded:
+            return recorded
+    return lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_LEGACY
+
+
+def is_legacy_lease(lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None) -> bool:
+    """True when a lock predates the shared heartbeat lifecycle."""
+    return lease_lifecycle_version(lock_data) != lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
+
+
+def lease_task_session_id(lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None) -> str:
+    """Recorded per-task session identifier, or empty for a legacy lock."""
+    lease = lock_data.get("work_lease") if isinstance(lock_data, dict) else None
+    if isinstance(lease, dict):
+        return str(lease.get("task_session_id") or "").strip()
+    return ""
+
+
+def mint_task_session_id(task_class: str = AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE) -> str:
+    """Mint an ownership key for one task (#790 AC-N1).
+
+    Deliberately contains no process identifier. The recorded PID belongs to the
+    long-lived MCP daemon, which outlives any individual task and is reused by
+    every task it serves, so PID digits cannot identify *which* task holds a
+    claim. The PID is still recorded alongside this value as evidence.
+    """
+    prefix = _sanitize_segment(str(task_class or AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE))
+    return f"{prefix}-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:16]}"
+
+
+def _lease_heartbeat_at(lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None) -> datetime | None:
+    lease = lock_data.get("work_lease") if isinstance(lock_data, dict) else None
+    heartbeat_at = None
+    if isinstance(lock_data, dict):
+        heartbeat_at = _parse_lease_timestamp(lock_data.get("last_heartbeat_at"))
+    if heartbeat_at is None and isinstance(lease, dict):
+        heartbeat_at = _parse_lease_timestamp(lease.get("last_heartbeat_at"))
+    return heartbeat_at
+
+
 def assess_lock_freshness(
     lock_data: dict[str, Any] | None,
     *,
     now: datetime | None = None,
 ) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    """Classify a lock as live, expired, stale, or absent."""
+    """Classify a lock as live, expired, stale, or absent.
+
+    #790 Slice A makes the heartbeat load-bearing. Before this change
+    ``last_heartbeat_at`` was parsed and then never consulted: liveness was
+    decided entirely by the absolute ``expires_at`` and by PID liveness, and
+    since the recorded PID is the long-lived MCP daemon, an abandoned author
+    task stayed "live" for the full four-hour TTL.
+
+    Two rules govern the rewrite:
+
+    * **An alive PID never establishes freshness** (AC-N2). It proves the daemon
+      is up, nothing about the task. It is recorded as evidence and no branch
+      returns ``live`` because of it.
+    * **A dead PID still corroborates staleness.** The dead-PID band is
+      unchanged and still precedes every heartbeat evaluation, so #753
+      dead-session recovery keys on exactly the classification it always did.
+
+    Legacy leases (AC-N8) keep their recorded absolute expiry and are never
+    evaluated against the short heartbeat grace, so deploying this change cannot
+    make an existing claim instantly reclaimable.
+    """
     current = _lease_now(now)
     if not lock_data:
         return {
-            "status": "absent",
+            "status": STATUS_ABSENT,
             "live": False,
             "stale": False,
             "reason": "no lock record",
         }
 
-    expires_at = lease_expires_at(lock_data)
     lease = lock_data.get("work_lease")
-    heartbeat_at = _parse_lease_timestamp(lock_data.get("last_heartbeat_at"))
+    expires_at = lease_expires_at(lock_data)
-    if heartbeat_at is None and isinstance(lease, dict):
+    heartbeat_at = _lease_heartbeat_at(lock_data)
-        heartbeat_at = _parse_lease_timestamp(lease.get("last_heartbeat_at"))
+    created_at = (
+        _parse_lease_timestamp(lease.get("created_at"))
+        if isinstance(lease, dict)
+        else None
+    )
 
     pid = lock_data.get("session_pid")
     if pid is None:
@@ -397,56 +831,103 @@ def assess_lock_freshness(
         pid_int = None
     pid_alive = is_process_alive(pid_int) if pid_int is not None else False
 
-    if expires_at and expires_at <= current:
+    lifecycle = lease_lifecycle_version(lock_data)
-        return {
+    legacy = lifecycle != lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
-            "status": "expired",
+    policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_task_class(lock_data))
-            "live": False,
-            "stale": True,
-            "reason": f"lease expired at {expires_at.isoformat()}",
-            "pid_alive": pid_alive,
-            "pid_missing": pid_missing,
-        }
 
-    # #860: a PID-less lock must never be considered live merely because
+    evidence: dict[str, Any] = {
-    # expiration / heartbeat fields are absent. Missing PID is insufficient
-    # evidence of a live owner; treat as malformed/stale so recovery routes
-    # can evaluate corroborating pins instead of blocking on a false live flag.
-    if pid_missing:
-        return {
-            "status": "malformed",
-            "live": False,
-            "stale": True,
-            "reason": (
-                "lock has no usable session pid; cannot prove live ownership "
-                "(PID-less locks are never live by missing expiry alone)"
-            ),
-            "pid_alive": False,
-            "pid_missing": True,
-            "heartbeat_at": heartbeat_at.isoformat() if heartbeat_at else None,
-            "expires_at": expires_at.isoformat() if expires_at else None,
-        }
-
-    if pid_int is not None and not pid_alive:
-        return {
-            "status": "stale",
-            "live": False,
-            "stale": True,
-            "reason": f"owner pid {pid_int} is not alive",
-            "pid_alive": False,
-            "pid_missing": False,
-        }
-
-    return {
-        "status": "live",
-        "live": True,
-        "stale": False,
-        "reason": "lock heartbeat and lease are fresh",
         "pid_alive": pid_alive,
-        "pid_missing": False,
+        "pid_missing": pid_missing,
+        "lifecycle": lifecycle,
+        "legacy_lease": legacy,
+        "task_session_id": lease_task_session_id(lock_data) or None,
         "heartbeat_at": heartbeat_at.isoformat() if heartbeat_at else None,
         "expires_at": expires_at.isoformat() if expires_at else None,
     }
 
+    def _result(status: str, *, live: bool, reason: str, **extra: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "status": status,
+            "live": live,
+            "stale": not live and status != STATUS_ABSENT,
+            "reason": reason,
+            **evidence,
+            **extra,
+        }
+
+    if legacy:
+        # AC-N8: the preserved absolute expiry is the only clock for a lock
+        # written before task-session heartbeats existed.
+        if expires_at and expires_at <= current:
+            return _result(
+                STATUS_EXPIRED,
+                live=False,
+                reason=f"lease expired at {expires_at.isoformat()}",
+            )
+        if pid is not None and not pid_alive:
+            return _result(
+                STATUS_STALE, live=False, reason=f"owner pid {pid} is not alive"
+            )
+        return _result(
+            STATUS_LIVE,
+            live=True,
+            reason=(
+                "legacy lease is within its recorded absolute expiry; the "
+                "heartbeat grace does not apply retroactively"
+            ),
+            legacy_expiry_preserved=True,
+        )
+
+    # ── Heartbeat lifecycle ──
+    if pid is not None and not pid_alive:
+        # Unchanged dead-PID band: #753 recovery depends on this exact status.
+        return _result(STATUS_STALE, live=False, reason=f"owner pid {pid} is not alive")
+
+    if heartbeat_at is None:
+        # Contradictory: a heartbeat lease must carry a heartbeat. Fail closed.
+        return _result(
+            STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT,
+            live=False,
+            reason=(
+                f"lease declares lifecycle '{lifecycle}' but records no "
+                "last_heartbeat_at (fail closed)"
+            ),
+        )
+
+    if policy.absolute_cap_hours and created_at is not None:
+        cap_at = created_at + timedelta(hours=policy.absolute_cap_hours)
+        if cap_at <= current:
+            return _result(
+                STATUS_STALE_ABSOLUTE_CAP,
+                live=False,
+                reason=(
+                    f"lease exceeded its {policy.absolute_cap_hours}h absolute cap "
+                    f"at {cap_at.isoformat()}; canonical re-adoption is required"
+                ),
+                absolute_cap_at=cap_at.isoformat(),
+            )
+
+    grace_at = heartbeat_at + timedelta(minutes=policy.missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes)
+    if grace_at <= current or (expires_at is not None and expires_at <= current):
+        return _result(
+            STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT,
+            live=False,
+            reason=(
+                f"no valid heartbeat since {heartbeat_at.isoformat()}; the "
+                f"{policy.missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes}min grace lapsed at "
+                f"{grace_at.isoformat()}"
+            ),
+            missed_heartbeat_since=grace_at.isoformat(),
+        )
+
+    warning_at = heartbeat_at + timedelta(minutes=policy.stale_warning_minutes)
+    return _result(
+        STATUS_LIVE,
+        live=True,
+        reason="lease heartbeat is fresh within the configured grace",
+        heartbeat_warning=warning_at <= current,
+    )
+
 
 def _same_realpath(left: str | None, right: str | None) -> bool:
     if not left or not right:
@@ -483,6 +964,27 @@ def assess_expired_lock_reclaim(
             "reasons": ["lock is still live; cannot reclaim (fail closed)"],
             "freshness": freshness,
         }
+    status = str(freshness.get("status") or "")
+    if status in (STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT, STATUS_STALE_ABSOLUTE_CAP):
+        # #790: under the heartbeat lifecycle the heartbeat *is* the liveness
+        # proof, so a session that stopped heartbeating past its grace has
+        # released its claim by definition. Requiring a dead PID on top of that
+        # would reinstate the original defect — the recorded PID is the shared
+        # daemon, which stays alive across every abandoned task it ever served.
+        #
+        # This band is unreachable for a legacy lease (AC-N8), so no lock
+        # written before this lifecycle can be reclaimed by this path.
+        return {
+            "reclaim_allowed": True,
+            "reasons": [
+                f"heartbeat-lifecycle lease is {status}: {freshness.get('reason')}"
+            ],
+            "freshness": freshness,
+            "prior_branch": existing_lock.get("branch_name"),
+            "prior_worktree": existing_lock.get("worktree_path"),
+            "prior_pid": existing_lock.get("session_pid") or existing_lock.get("pid"),
+            "prior_task_session_id": lease_task_session_id(existing_lock) or None,
+        }
     pid = existing_lock.get("session_pid")
     if pid is None:
         pid = existing_lock.get("pid")
@@ -557,7 +1059,28 @@ def assess_same_issue_lease_conflict(
     )
     if recovery_sanctioned and existing_issue == issue_number and existing_branch == branch_name:
         return None
-    if is_lease_expired(existing_lock, now=now):
+    expired = is_lease_expired(existing_lock, now=now)
+    # #790 review #502/#516: a heartbeat-lifecycle lease that is non-live but
+    # whose absolute expires_at is still in the future must enter the same
+    # reclaim/renewal disposition as an expired lease. This happens for
+    # stale_absolute_cap (a session that keeps heartbeating past the 8h cap has
+    # expires_at = last_heartbeat + TTL in the future) and for
+    # stale_missed_heartbeat under an independent TTL>grace policy. Keying this
+    # gate on is_lease_expired alone left assess_expired_lock_reclaim — which
+    # already permits exactly those bands — unreachable from the acquisition
+    # path, so the load-bearing heartbeat was not load-bearing for foreign
+    # reclaim: the precise abandonment scenario #790 exists to fix.
+    # assess_foreign_lock_overwrite already keys on is_lease_live; this makes the
+    # same-issue path consistent with it. Legacy leases keep their absolute-expiry
+    # clock (AC-N8): is_lease_live already decides a legacy lease from expires_at
+    # / dead-PID alone and is_legacy_lease excludes it here, so this widening is a
+    # no-op for every pre-lifecycle lock.
+    heartbeat_non_live_reclaimable = (
+        not expired
+        and not is_legacy_lease(existing_lock)
+        and not is_lease_live(existing_lock, now=now)
+    )
+    if expired or heartbeat_non_live_reclaimable:
         # #760 AC1/AC2: exact-owner renewal is a different disposition from
         # foreign takeover and is evaluated first. Before this, both branches
         # below returned unconditionally, so the same_owner allowance further
@@ -571,10 +1094,12 @@ def assess_same_issue_lease_conflict(
         reclaim = assess_expired_lock_reclaim(existing_lock, now=now)
         if reclaim.get("reclaim_allowed"):
             # #601: expired + dead pid / missing worktree may be reclaimed
-            # through the normal lock path (sanctioned overwrite).
+            # through the normal lock path (sanctioned overwrite). #790: the new
+            # stale heartbeat bands are reclaimable here on the same evidence.
             return None
+        descriptor = "expired" if expired else "non-live"
         return (
-            f"Issue #{issue_number} has an expired {operation_type} lease on "
+            f"Issue #{issue_number} has an {descriptor} {operation_type} lease on "
             f"branch '{existing_branch}' from worktree '{existing_worktree}'. "
             "Recovery review is required before takeover (fail closed)"
         )

lease_policy.py

@@ -0,0 +1,212 @@
+"""Central lease policy configuration (#790 Slice A, AC-N7).
+
+The single authoritative source for every lease duration in the project. Before
+this module the numbers were scattered: a four-hour author TTL was declared
+twice (``issue_lock_store`` and ``gitea_mcp_server``), the reviewer/merger
+sliding window lived in ``reviewer_pr_lease``, the conflict-fix window in
+``pr_work_lease``, and the control-plane default in ``control_plane_db``.
+Nothing tied them together, so tuning one class silently diverged from the
+others and no reader could answer "how long does a lease live?" without
+grepping four files.
+
+AC-N7 requires that this configuration exist *before* the first heartbeat and
+TTL behavior that reads from it, so it ships in Slice A rather than trailing the
+code it governs.
+
+Deliberate boundaries:
+
+* **Declaration is not rewiring.** Every task class is declared here, but only
+  those with ``heartbeat_lifecycle_active`` were migrated onto the shared
+  heartbeat lifecycle in Slice A — currently ``author_issue_work`` alone.
+  Reviewer, merger, and conflict-fix leases keep their own existing behavior
+  until Slice C moves them; their numbers are recorded here so the two cannot
+  drift apart unnoticed, and ``tests/test_issue_790_lease_policy.py`` asserts
+  the recorded values still equal the constants those modules use.
+* **No policy decision lives here.** This module answers "how long", never "may
+  this session proceed". Freshness, reclaim, and renewal dispositions stay in
+  ``issue_lock_store``.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from typing import Any
+
+# Task classes. Only the first is migrated onto the shared lifecycle in Slice A.
+TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK = "author_issue_work"
+TASK_CLASS_REVIEWER_PR = "reviewer_pr"
+TASK_CLASS_MERGER_PR = "merger_pr"
+TASK_CLASS_CONFLICT_FIX = "conflict_fix"
+
+# Durable marker for a lease minted under the shared heartbeat lifecycle.
+#
+# #790 AC-N8: this explicit marker — never a timestamp comparison — is what
+# distinguishes a heartbeat-lifecycle lease from a legacy one. A lock written
+# before this lifecycle existed carries no marker and reads as
+# ``LIFECYCLE_LEGACY``.
+LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1 = "heartbeat-v1"
+LIFECYCLE_LEGACY = "legacy"
+
+_ENV_PREFIX = "GITEA_LEASE_POLICY"
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class LeasePolicy:
+    """Durations governing one task class.
+
+    All intervals are minutes except ``absolute_cap_hours``. ``None`` for the
+    cap means the class has no maximum continuous duration.
+    """
+
+    task_class: str
+    initial_ttl_minutes: float
+    heartbeat_cadence_minutes: float
+    stale_warning_minutes: float
+    missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes: float
+    absolute_cap_hours: float | None
+    recovery_grace_minutes: float
+    terminal_race_drain_minutes: float
+    terminal_retirement_eligible: bool
+    heartbeat_lifecycle_active: bool
+
+
+# Defaults. ``author_issue_work`` adopts the reviewer window proven by #747
+# rather than inventing new numbers: a lease expires 10 minutes after its last
+# valid heartbeat, warns at half that, and an actively heartbeating session is
+# never evicted. The prior value was a fixed four hours (240 minutes) that no
+# heartbeat could shorten — the defect this issue exists to correct.
+_DEFAULTS: dict[str, LeasePolicy] = {
+    TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK: LeasePolicy(
+        task_class=TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK,
+        initial_ttl_minutes=10.0,
+        heartbeat_cadence_minutes=2.0,
+        stale_warning_minutes=5.0,
+        missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        absolute_cap_hours=8.0,
+        recovery_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        terminal_race_drain_minutes=2.0,
+        terminal_retirement_eligible=True,
+        heartbeat_lifecycle_active=True,
+    ),
+    # Declared, not rewired. These mirror reviewer_pr_lease.LEASE_TTL_MINUTES
+    # and STALE_WARNING_MINUTES; Slice C migrates the call sites.
+    TASK_CLASS_REVIEWER_PR: LeasePolicy(
+        task_class=TASK_CLASS_REVIEWER_PR,
+        initial_ttl_minutes=10.0,
+        heartbeat_cadence_minutes=2.0,
+        stale_warning_minutes=5.0,
+        missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        absolute_cap_hours=None,
+        recovery_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        terminal_race_drain_minutes=2.0,
+        terminal_retirement_eligible=False,
+        heartbeat_lifecycle_active=False,
+    ),
+    TASK_CLASS_MERGER_PR: LeasePolicy(
+        task_class=TASK_CLASS_MERGER_PR,
+        initial_ttl_minutes=10.0,
+        heartbeat_cadence_minutes=2.0,
+        stale_warning_minutes=5.0,
+        missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        absolute_cap_hours=None,
+        recovery_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        terminal_race_drain_minutes=2.0,
+        terminal_retirement_eligible=False,
+        heartbeat_lifecycle_active=False,
+    ),
+    # Mirrors pr_work_lease.DEFAULT_CONFLICT_FIX_TTL_MINUTES. Deliberately left
+    # at its current window; shortening it is Slice C's call, not this slice's.
+    TASK_CLASS_CONFLICT_FIX: LeasePolicy(
+        task_class=TASK_CLASS_CONFLICT_FIX,
+        initial_ttl_minutes=120.0,
+        heartbeat_cadence_minutes=2.0,
+        stale_warning_minutes=5.0,
+        missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        absolute_cap_hours=None,
+        recovery_grace_minutes=10.0,
+        terminal_race_drain_minutes=2.0,
+        terminal_retirement_eligible=False,
+        heartbeat_lifecycle_active=False,
+    ),
+}
+
+_NUMERIC_FIELDS = (
+    "initial_ttl_minutes",
+    "heartbeat_cadence_minutes",
+    "stale_warning_minutes",
+    "missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes",
+    "absolute_cap_hours",
+    "recovery_grace_minutes",
+    "terminal_race_drain_minutes",
+)
+
+
+def env_var_name(task_class: str, field: str) -> str:
+    """Environment variable that overrides one field of one task class."""
+    return f"{_ENV_PREFIX}_{task_class.upper()}_{field.upper()}"
+
+
+def _override(task_class: str, field: str, default: float | None) -> float | None:
+    """Read one override, falling back to *default* on anything unusable.
+
+    A malformed or non-positive override is ignored rather than raised: a typo
+    in an environment variable must not be able to mint a zero-length lease that
+    makes every claim instantly reclaimable, nor crash the server at import.
+    """
+    raw = (os.environ.get(env_var_name(task_class, field)) or "").strip()
+    if not raw:
+        return default
+    try:
+        value = float(raw)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        return default
+    if value <= 0:
+        return default
+    return value
+
+
+def policy_for(task_class: str) -> LeasePolicy:
+    """Return the effective policy for *task_class*.
+
+    Unknown task classes fall back to the author policy, which is the most
+    conservative migrated class, rather than raising — a new caller must never
+    be able to crash a lock write by naming a class this table has not learned.
+    """
+    key = str(task_class or "").strip() or TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK
+    base = _DEFAULTS.get(key) or _DEFAULTS[TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK]
+    resolved = {
+        field: _override(base.task_class, field, getattr(base, field))
+        for field in _NUMERIC_FIELDS
+    }
+    if all(resolved[field] == getattr(base, field) for field in _NUMERIC_FIELDS):
+        return base
+    return LeasePolicy(
+        task_class=base.task_class,
+        terminal_retirement_eligible=base.terminal_retirement_eligible,
+        heartbeat_lifecycle_active=base.heartbeat_lifecycle_active,
+        **resolved,
+    )
+
+
+def known_task_classes() -> tuple[str, ...]:
+    """Every declared task class, migrated or not."""
+    return tuple(_DEFAULTS)
+
+
+def describe(task_class: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Serializable view of a policy, for audit records and tool payloads."""
+    policy = policy_for(task_class)
+    return {
+        "task_class": policy.task_class,
+        "initial_ttl_minutes": policy.initial_ttl_minutes,
+        "heartbeat_cadence_minutes": policy.heartbeat_cadence_minutes,
+        "stale_warning_minutes": policy.stale_warning_minutes,
+        "missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes": policy.missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes,
+        "absolute_cap_hours": policy.absolute_cap_hours,
+        "recovery_grace_minutes": policy.recovery_grace_minutes,
+        "terminal_race_drain_minutes": policy.terminal_race_drain_minutes,
+        "terminal_retirement_eligible": policy.terminal_retirement_eligible,
+        "heartbeat_lifecycle_active": policy.heartbeat_lifecycle_active,
+        "lifecycle_version": LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+    }

role_session_router.py

@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ AUTHOR_TASKS = frozenset({
     "claim_issue",
     "create_branch",
     "push_branch",
+    "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
+    "gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
     "create_pr",
     "comment_pr",
     "address_pr_change_requests",

task_capability_map.py

@@ -32,6 +32,15 @@ TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP: dict[str, dict[str, str]] = {
         "permission": "gitea.issue.comment",
         "role": "author",
     },
+    # #790 Slice A: prove an owned author lease is still active. Strictly
+    # narrower than lock_issue — it can only slide a lease this exact session
+    # already owns, never acquire, take over, or revive one — so it gates on the
+    # same authority rather than introducing an operation name that every
+    # already-configured author profile would be missing.
+    "heartbeat_issue_lock": {
+        "permission": "gitea.issue.comment",
+        "role": "author",
+    },
     # #860: dirty orphaned same-claimant worktree recovery (explicit operation).
     "recover_dirty_orphaned_issue_worktree": {
         "permission": "gitea.issue.comment",
@@ -78,6 +87,14 @@ TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP: dict[str, dict[str, str]] = {
         "permission": "gitea.branch.create",
         "role": "author",
     },
+    "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree": {
+        "permission": "gitea.branch.create",
+        "role": "author",
+    },
+    "gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree": {
+        "permission": "gitea.branch.create",
+        "role": "author",
+    },
     "push_branch": {
         "permission": "gitea.branch.push",
         "role": "author",
@@ -355,6 +372,21 @@ TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP: dict[str, dict[str, str]] = {
         "role": "controller",
     },
 
+    # #642: sanctioned host-daemon lifecycle controls. Deliberately *not* a
+    # ``gitea.*`` operation — restarting an MCP namespace is a host action, not
+    # a Gitea API call, and no configured Gitea profile should be able to
+    # satisfy it by accident. Authority comes from the console RBAC model plus
+    # out-of-band operator authorization (#630); these entries exist so the
+    # console cannot invent an authority the capability layer never declared.
+    "restart_namespace": {
+        "permission": "runtime.restart_namespace",
+        "role": "controller",
+    },
+    "reload_namespace": {
+        "permission": "runtime.reload_namespace",
+        "role": "controller",
+    },
+
     # #601 first-class lease lifecycle — inspect/list need read; mutations gate on
     # ownership in the control-plane DB (not a separate Gitea write permission).
     "list_workflow_leases": {
@@ -497,6 +529,10 @@ TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP: dict[str, dict[str, str]] = {
 # merger lease (#763).
 _PREFLIGHT_TASK_TRANSITIONS = frozenset({
     ("review_pr", "acquire_reviewer_pr_lease"),
+    # #850: native author issue worktree bootstrap
+    ("work_issue", "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree"),
+    ("bootstrap_author_issue_worktree", "lock_issue"),
+    # #860: dirty-orphan recovery and related work_issue transitions (master)
     ("work_issue", "lock_issue"),
     ("work_issue", "recover_dirty_orphaned_issue_worktree"),
     ("work_issue", "gitea_recover_dirty_orphaned_issue_worktree"),
@@ -548,6 +584,8 @@ ROLE_EXCLUSIVE_TASKS: frozenset[str] = frozenset(
         "gitea_release_merger_pr_lease",
         "create_branch",
         "push_branch",
+        "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
+        "gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
         "publish_unpublished_branch",
         "create_pr",
         "commit_files",
@@ -573,6 +611,7 @@ ISSUE_MUTATION_TOOL_TASKS: dict[str, str] = {
     "gitea_set_issue_labels": "set_issue_labels",
     "gitea_cleanup_terminal_pr_labels": "cleanup_terminal_pr_labels",
     "gitea_create_label": "create_label",
+    "gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree": "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
     "gitea_commit_files": "commit_files",
 }
 

tests/test_author_issue_bootstrap.py

@@ -0,0 +1,601 @@
+"""Regression test suite for native author issue worktree bootstrap (#850)."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from unittest import mock
+
+import author_issue_bootstrap
+import task_capability_map
+
+
+def _concurrent_bootstrap_worker(args: tuple[str, int, str, str, str, str]) -> dict:
+    repo_dir, issue_num, key, lock_dir, journal_dir, master_sha = args
+    os.environ["GITEA_BOOTSTRAP_JOURNAL_DIR"] = journal_dir
+    return author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+        issue_number=issue_num,
+        canonical_repo_root=repo_dir,
+        expected_base_sha=master_sha,
+        idempotency_key=key,
+        lock_dir=lock_dir,
+        owner_session="session-concurrent-test",
+        active_identity="jcwalker3",
+        active_profile="prgs-author",
+    )
+
+
+class TestAuthorIssueBootstrap(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Test suite covering AC1-AC10 and comment #14959 specification."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.tmp_dir = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="test_bootstrap_")
+        self.repo_dir = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, "repo")
+        os.makedirs(self.repo_dir)
+
+        # Initialize synthetic git repo
+        subprocess.run(["git", "init", "-b", "master"], cwd=self.repo_dir, check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "config", "user.name", "Test User"], cwd=self.repo_dir, check=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "config", "user.email", "[email protected]"], cwd=self.repo_dir, check=True)
+
+        readme = os.path.join(self.repo_dir, "README.md")
+        with open(readme, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            f.write("# Test Repo\n")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "add", "README.md"], cwd=self.repo_dir, check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "commit", "-m", "initial commit"], cwd=self.repo_dir, check=True, capture_output=True)
+
+        rev_res = subprocess.run(["git", "rev-parse", "HEAD"], cwd=self.repo_dir, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
+        self.master_sha = rev_res.stdout.strip()
+
+        self.branches_dir = os.path.join(self.repo_dir, "branches")
+        os.makedirs(self.branches_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        self.lock_dir = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, "locks")
+        os.makedirs(self.lock_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        self.journal_dir = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, "journals")
+        os.makedirs(self.journal_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        os.environ["GITEA_BOOTSTRAP_JOURNAL_DIR"] = self.journal_dir
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        os.environ.pop("GITEA_BOOTSTRAP_JOURNAL_DIR", None)
+        shutil.rmtree(self.tmp_dir, ignore_errors=True)
+
+    def test_bootstrap_success_path(self):
+        """AC1/AC3/AC8: Successful bootstrap creates branch, worktree, registration, and lock proof."""
+        key = "test_key_success_1"
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            # assignment_id/lease_id omitted: optional unless verified live.
+            expected_base_sha=self.master_sha,
+            idempotency_key=key,
+            remote="prgs",
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(res.get("success"), f"Bootstrap failed: {res}")
+        self.assertFalse(res.get("replayed"))
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("issue_number"), 850)
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("base_sha"), self.master_sha)
+        self.assertIn("branches/fix-issue-850-native-mcp-bootstrap", res.get("worktree_path"))
+
+        # Verify worktree directory exists and is registered
+        worktree_path = res["worktree_path"]
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(worktree_path))
+
+        wt_list = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "list"], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
+        self.assertIn(worktree_path, wt_list.stdout)
+
+        # Verify phase journal written
+        journal = author_issue_bootstrap.load_phase_journal(key, journal_dir=self.lock_dir)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(journal)
+        self.assertTrue(journal.get("completed"))
+        self.assertEqual(journal.get("current_phase"), author_issue_bootstrap.PHASE_7_TRANSITION_COMPLETED)
+
+    def test_idempotent_replay(self):
+        """Item 2: Replaying with identical key returns cached transition without duplicate creation."""
+        key = "test_key_idempotent_1"
+        res1 = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            idempotency_key=key,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(res1["success"], f"res1 failed: {res1}")
+        self.assertFalse(res1.get("replayed"))
+
+        # Second call
+        res2 = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            idempotency_key=key,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(res2["success"], f"res2 failed: {res2}")
+        self.assertTrue(res2.get("replayed"))
+        self.assertEqual(res1["worktree_path"], res2["worktree_path"])
+
+    def test_stale_concurrency_pin_refusal(self):
+        """Item 3: Mismatched expected base SHA fails closed without silent rebasing."""
+        stale_sha = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            expected_base_sha=stale_sha,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "stale_concurrency_pin")
+        self.assertIn("exact_next_action", res)
+
+    def test_path_outside_branches_root_refusal(self):
+        """Item 6: Worktree path outside branches/ root is refused."""
+        outside_path = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, "outside_worktree")
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            worktree_path=outside_path,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "path_outside_canonical_branches_root")
+
+    def test_preexisting_dirty_worktree_preservation(self):
+        """Item 6: Preexisting dirty worktree fails closed and is NOT modified or cleaned."""
+        branch = "fix/issue-850-dirty-test"
+        wt_path = os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-dirty-test")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "add", "-b", branch, wt_path], check=True, capture_output=True)
+
+        # Create dirty untracked file
+        dirty_file = os.path.join(wt_path, "dirty.txt")
+        with open(dirty_file, "w") as f:
+            f.write("dirty edits\n")
+
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            branch_name=branch,
+            worktree_path=wt_path,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "preexisting_dirty_worktree")
+
+        # Prove dirty file is preserved byte-for-byte
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(dirty_file))
+        with open(dirty_file, "r") as f:
+            self.assertEqual(f.read(), "dirty edits\n")
+
+    def test_compensating_recovery_on_failed_phase(self):
+        """AC4/Item 4: Failure during transition rolls back ONLY newly created artifacts."""
+        key = "test_key_recovery_1"
+        # Simulate partial progress in journal
+        journal = {
+            "idempotency_key": key,
+            "issue_number": 850,
+            "branch_name": "fix/issue-850-recovery-test",
+            "worktree_path": os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-recovery-test"),
+            "artifacts_created": {
+                "branch_created": True,
+                "worktree_dir_created": True,
+                "worktree_registered": True,
+                "lock_created": False,
+            },
+            "failure_reason": "simulated lock failure",
+            "current_phase": author_issue_bootstrap.PHASE_5_REGISTRATION_VERIFIED,
+            "completed": False,
+        }
+        # Create the branch and worktree manually to simulate partial state
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "branch", journal["branch_name"]], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "add", journal["worktree_path"], journal["branch_name"]], check=True, capture_output=True)
+
+        # Run compensating recovery
+        rec = author_issue_bootstrap.run_compensating_recovery(journal, self.repo_dir)
+        self.assertTrue(rec["executed"])
+        self.assertIn(f"worktree_path:{journal['worktree_path']}", rec["rolled_back"])
+        self.assertIn(f"branch:{journal['branch_name']}", rec["rolled_back"])
+
+        # Prove worktree directory and branch were rolled back
+        self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(journal["worktree_path"]))
+        branch_check = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "rev-parse", "--verify", journal["branch_name"]], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
+        self.assertNotEqual(branch_check.returncode, 0)
+
+    def test_cross_process_concurrency(self):
+        """Review #525 Finding 1: Genuine cross-process concurrency locking prevents corruption."""
+        import concurrent.futures
+
+        key = "test_concurrent_key_850"
+        args = (self.repo_dir, 850, key, self.lock_dir, self.journal_dir, self.master_sha)
+
+        with concurrent.futures.ProcessPoolExecutor(max_workers=2) as executor:
+            fut1 = executor.submit(_concurrent_bootstrap_worker, args)
+            fut2 = executor.submit(_concurrent_bootstrap_worker, args)
+            res1 = fut1.result(timeout=10)
+            res2 = fut2.result(timeout=10)
+
+        self.assertTrue(res1["success"], f"res1 failed: {res1}")
+        self.assertTrue(res2["success"], f"res2 failed: {res2}")
+        # One process performs creation, the other process receives idempotent replay
+        replayed_count = sum(1 for r in (res1, res2) if r.get("replayed"))
+        created_count = sum(1 for r in (res1, res2) if not r.get("replayed"))
+        self.assertEqual(replayed_count, 1)
+        self.assertEqual(created_count, 1)
+        self.assertEqual(res1["worktree_path"], res2["worktree_path"])
+
+    def test_interrupted_replay_preserves_artifacts_created_provenance(self):
+        """Review #525 Finding 2: Replaying incomplete journal preserves creation provenance monotonically."""
+        key = "test_key_interrupted_replay_1"
+        branch = "fix/issue-850-interrupted-replay"
+        wt_path = os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-interrupted-replay")
+
+        # Simulate Phase 2/3 completion where branch and worktree directory were created by this transition
+        journal = {
+            "idempotency_key": key,
+            "issue_number": 850,
+            "branch_name": branch,
+            "worktree_path": wt_path,
+            "active_identity": "jcwalker3",
+            "active_profile": "prgs-author",
+            "remote": "prgs",
+            "org": "Scaled-Tech-Consulting",
+            "repo": "Gitea-Tools",
+            "phases": {
+                author_issue_bootstrap.PHASE_1_REQUEST_ACCEPTED: {"status": "completed"},
+                author_issue_bootstrap.PHASE_2_BRANCH_CONFIRMED: {"status": "completed", "created": True},
+            },
+            "artifacts_created": {
+                "branch_created": True,
+                "worktree_dir_created": True,
+                "worktree_registered": True,
+                "lock_created": False,
+            },
+            "current_phase": author_issue_bootstrap.PHASE_3_PATH_RESERVED,
+            "completed": False,
+        }
+        # Pre-create the branch and worktree on disk to simulate partial state after crash
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "branch", branch, self.master_sha], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "add", wt_path, branch], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        author_issue_bootstrap.save_phase_journal(journal, journal_dir=self.lock_dir)
+
+        # Now resume/replay the transition but simulate lock binding failure during Phase 6
+        with mock.patch("issue_lock_store.bind_session_lock", side_effect=RuntimeError("Lock failure test")):
+            res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+                issue_number=850,
+                canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+                branch_name=branch,
+                worktree_path=wt_path,
+                idempotency_key=key,
+                lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+                owner_session="session-test-1234",
+            )
+
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "issue_lock_acquisition_failed")
+
+        # Verify that compensating recovery correctly deleted transition-created branch & worktree
+        # because creation provenance was preserved across replay (NOT downgraded to False!)
+        self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(wt_path))
+        branch_check = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "rev-parse", "--verify", branch], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
+        self.assertNotEqual(branch_check.returncode, 0)
+
+    def test_transition_created_only_compensation(self):
+        """Review #525 Finding 4: Preexisting branch is NOT deleted by compensation when only worktree was transition-created."""
+        key = "test_key_preexisting_branch_compensation"
+        preexisting_branch = "fix/issue-850-preexisting"
+        wt_path = os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-preexisting")
+
+        # Create branch BEFORE bootstrap (preexisting branch)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "branch", preexisting_branch, self.master_sha], check=True, capture_output=True)
+
+        # Call bootstrap with simulated failure during Phase 6 (lock binding)
+        with mock.patch("issue_lock_store.bind_session_lock", side_effect=RuntimeError("Simulated lock failure")):
+            res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+                issue_number=850,
+                canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+                branch_name=preexisting_branch,
+                worktree_path=wt_path,
+                idempotency_key=key,
+                lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+                owner_session="session-test-1234",
+            )
+
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        # Worktree dir was created by transition -> removed by compensation
+        self.assertFalse(os.path.exists(wt_path))
+
+        # Preexisting branch was NOT created by transition -> MUST BE PRESERVED!
+        branch_check = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "rev-parse", "--verify", preexisting_branch], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
+        self.assertEqual(branch_check.returncode, 0, "Preexisting branch was deleted by mistake!")
+
+    def test_incompatible_idempotency_replay_refusal(self):
+        """Review #525 Finding 4: Replaying key with incompatible parameters returns refusal."""
+        key = "test_key_incompatible_replay"
+        res1 = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            branch_name="fix/issue-850-param-a",
+            idempotency_key=key,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(res1["success"])
+
+        # Second call with different branch_name
+        res2 = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            branch_name="fix/issue-850-param-b",
+            idempotency_key=key,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res2["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res2.get("reason_code"), "incompatible_idempotency_replay")
+
+    def test_exact_next_action_satisfiable_via_mcp(self):
+        """Review #525 Finding 4: exact_next_action provides satisfiable MCP actions, not shell commands."""
+        key = "test_key_next_action_mcp"
+        stale_sha = "0000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            expected_base_sha=stale_sha,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        next_action = res.get("exact_next_action", "")
+        self.assertNotIn("scripts/worktree-start", next_action)
+        self.assertNotIn("git worktree add", next_action)
+        self.assertNotIn("bash", next_action.lower())
+
+    def test_missing_owner_session_refusal(self):
+        """Finding D: Missing owner_session context fails closed with typed refusal and zero mutation."""
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            owner_session=None,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "missing_owner_session")
+        self.assertIn("exact_next_action", res)
+
+    def test_symlink_lock_file_refusal(self):
+        """Finding C: BootstrapTransitionLock refuses to follow symlinks."""
+        key = "test_symlink_lock_key"
+        safe_key = "".join(c if c.isalnum() or c in ("-", "_", ".") else "_" for c in key)
+        lock_path = os.path.join(self.lock_dir, f"{safe_key}.lock")
+        target_file = os.path.join(self.tmp_dir, "fake_target")
+        with open(target_file, "w") as f:
+            f.write("target")
+        os.symlink(target_file, lock_path)
+
+        with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError) as ctx:
+            with author_issue_bootstrap.BootstrapTransitionLock(key, journal_dir=self.lock_dir):
+                pass
+        self.assertIn("symlink", str(ctx.exception).lower())
+
+    def test_lock_directory_escape_refusal(self):
+        """Finding C: BootstrapTransitionLock refuses keys that escape lock directory."""
+        with mock.patch("os.path.abspath", return_value="/tmp/outside/evil_key.lock"):
+            with self.assertRaises(RuntimeError) as ctx:
+                author_issue_bootstrap.BootstrapTransitionLock("key", journal_dir=self.lock_dir)
+        self.assertIn("escapes", str(ctx.exception).lower())
+
+    def test_missing_active_identity_refusal(self):
+        """F-5: Missing active_identity parameter fails closed."""
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+            active_identity=None,
+            active_profile="prgs-author",
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "missing_active_identity")
+
+    def test_missing_active_profile_refusal(self):
+        """F-5: Missing active_profile parameter fails closed."""
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+            active_identity="jcwalker3",
+            active_profile=None,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "missing_active_profile")
+
+    def test_dirty_worktree_preserved_during_recovery(self):
+        """F-4: Compensating recovery does not delete dirty worktree."""
+        branch = "fix/issue-850-rec-dirty"
+        wt_path = os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-rec-dirty")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "add", "-b", branch, wt_path], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        dirty_file = os.path.join(wt_path, "dirty.txt")
+        with open(dirty_file, "w") as f:
+            f.write("uncommitted work")
+
+        journal = {
+            "idempotency_key": "test_dirty_rec",
+            "issue_number": 850,
+            "branch_name": branch,
+            "worktree_path": wt_path,
+            "artifacts_created": {
+                "worktree_dir_created": True,
+                "worktree_registered": True,
+            },
+            "failure_reason": "test dirty recovery",
+        }
+        rec = author_issue_bootstrap.run_compensating_recovery(journal, self.repo_dir, journal_dir=self.lock_dir)
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.exists(wt_path))
+        self.assertIn(f"worktree_path_preserved_dirty:{wt_path}", rec["rolled_back"])
+
+    def test_branch_with_commits_preserved_during_recovery(self):
+        """F-4: Compensating recovery does not delete branch with author commits."""
+        branch = "fix/issue-850-rec-commits"
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "branch", branch, self.master_sha], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        # Add a commit on the branch
+        wt_path = os.path.join(self.branches_dir, "fix-issue-850-rec-commits")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "add", wt_path, branch], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        cfile = os.path.join(wt_path, "commit.txt")
+        with open(cfile, "w") as f:
+            f.write("author commit")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", wt_path, "add", "commit.txt"], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", wt_path, "commit", "-m", "author commit"], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "worktree", "remove", "--force", wt_path], check=True, capture_output=True)
+
+        journal = {
+            "idempotency_key": "test_commits_rec",
+            "issue_number": 850,
+            "branch_name": branch,
+            "resolved_base_sha": self.master_sha,
+            "artifacts_created": {
+                "branch_created": True,
+            },
+            "failure_reason": "test commit branch recovery",
+        }
+        rec = author_issue_bootstrap.run_compensating_recovery(journal, self.repo_dir, journal_dir=self.lock_dir)
+        branch_check = subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "rev-parse", "--verify", branch], capture_output=True, text=True, check=False)
+        self.assertEqual(branch_check.returncode, 0, "Branch with commits was deleted!")
+        self.assertIn(f"branch_preserved_commits:{branch}", rec["rolled_back"])
+
+    def test_task_capability_map_integration(self):
+        """Verify task_capability_map has bootstrap_author_issue_worktree configured correctly."""
+        self.assertEqual(task_capability_map.required_role("bootstrap_author_issue_worktree"), "author")
+        self.assertEqual(task_capability_map.required_permission("bootstrap_author_issue_worktree"), "gitea.branch.create")
+        self.assertTrue(task_capability_map.preflight_task_matches("work_issue", "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree"))
+        self.assertTrue(task_capability_map.preflight_task_matches("bootstrap_author_issue_worktree", "lock_issue"))
+
+    def test_unverified_assignment_lease_ids_fail_closed(self):
+        """Review #531 Finding 4: fabricated assignment/lease IDs are refused."""
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            assignment_id="asn-fabricated",
+            lease_id="lease-fabricated",
+            expected_base_sha=self.master_sha,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertIn(
+            res.get("reason_code"),
+            {
+                "unknown_lease_id",
+                "assignment_lease_lookup_failed",
+                "incomplete_assignment_lease_ids",
+            },
+        )
+
+    def test_partial_assignment_lease_ids_fail_closed(self):
+        """Review #531 Finding 4: one of assignment_id/lease_id alone is incomplete."""
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            assignment_id="asn-only",
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "incomplete_assignment_lease_ids")
+
+    def test_stale_diverged_branch_is_not_accepted_via_merge_base(self):
+        """Review #531 Finding 3: any common ancestor is not enough; require master ⊆ branch."""
+        branch = "fix/issue-850-stale-divergent"
+        # Create branch from current master, then advance master so branch lacks tip.
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "branch", branch, self.master_sha],
+            check=True,
+            capture_output=True,
+        )
+        # Make a new commit on master (orphan path so branch does not contain it).
+        marker = os.path.join(self.repo_dir, "master-advance.txt")
+        with open(marker, "w") as f:
+            f.write("advance master\n")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "add", "master-advance.txt"], check=True, capture_output=True)
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "commit", "-m", "advance master past branch"],
+            check=True,
+            capture_output=True,
+        )
+        new_master = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", self.repo_dir, "rev-parse", "HEAD"],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            check=True,
+        ).stdout.strip()
+        res = author_issue_bootstrap.bootstrap_author_issue_worktree(
+            issue_number=850,
+            canonical_repo_root=self.repo_dir,
+            branch_name=branch,
+            expected_base_sha=new_master,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir,
+            owner_session="session-test-1234",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(res["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(res.get("reason_code"), "incompatible_existing_branch")
+
+    def test_compensating_recovery_attempts_lease_release(self):
+        """Review #531 Finding 5: recovery invokes lease release when lease_id is present."""
+        from unittest import mock
+
+        journal = {
+            "idempotency_key": "test_lease_rec",
+            "issue_number": 850,
+            "owner_session": "session-test-1234",
+            "lease_id": "lease-abc",
+            "branch_name": "fix/issue-850-lease-rec",
+            "artifacts_created": {"lock_created": True},
+            "failure_reason": "simulated",
+            "completed": False,
+        }
+        with mock.patch.object(
+            author_issue_bootstrap.lease_lifecycle,
+            "release_lease",
+            return_value={"success": True},
+        ) as rel, mock.patch.object(
+            author_issue_bootstrap.control_plane_db,
+            "ControlPlaneDB",
+            return_value=mock.Mock(),
+        ):
+            rec = author_issue_bootstrap.run_compensating_recovery(
+                journal, self.repo_dir, journal_dir=self.lock_dir
+            )
+        self.assertTrue(rec["executed"])
+        rel.assert_called_once()
+        self.assertIn("lease:lease-abc", rec["rolled_back"])
+
+
+class TestCanonicalRootNoStringSplit(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_fallback_uses_commonpath_not_substring_split(self):
+        """Review #531 Finding 2: no norm.split('/branches/') fallback."""
+        import inspect
+        import author_mutation_worktree as amw
+
+        src = inspect.getsource(amw.resolve_canonical_repo_root)
+        self.assertNotIn('split("/branches/")', src)
+        self.assertNotIn("split('/branches/')", src)
+
+        # Fallback recovers repo root from a nested branches worktree path.
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            repo = os.path.join(tmp, "repo")
+            wt = os.path.join(repo, "branches", "fix-issue-850-x")
+            os.makedirs(wt)
+            # git unavailable path: pass missing workspace so fallback is used.
+            root = amw.resolve_canonical_repo_root("/missing/path", wt)
+            self.assertEqual(root, os.path.realpath(repo))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
+

tests/test_author_mutation_worktree.py

@@ -28,6 +28,21 @@ class TestPathUnderBranches(unittest.TestCase):
             amw.is_path_under_branches("/repo/other-checkout", self.ROOT)
         )
 
+    def test_unrelated_branches_dir_fails(self):
+        self.assertFalse(
+            amw.is_path_under_branches("/tmp/branches/evil", self.ROOT)
+        )
+
+    def test_prefix_confusion_fails(self):
+        self.assertFalse(
+            amw.is_path_under_branches(f"{self.ROOT}/branches-other/foo", self.ROOT)
+        )
+
+    def test_traversal_fails(self):
+        self.assertFalse(
+            amw.is_path_under_branches(f"{self.ROOT}/branches/../evil", self.ROOT)
+        )
+
 
 class TestAssessAuthorMutationWorktree(unittest.TestCase):
     ROOT = "/repo/Gitea-Tools"
@@ -71,6 +86,13 @@ class TestAssessAuthorMutationWorktree(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertTrue(result["proven"])
         self.assertFalse(result["block"])
 
+    def test_path_shaped_branches_ancestry_without_isdir(self):
+        """Review #551: commonpath recovery must not require on-disk isdir."""
+        fake_wt = "/repo/Gitea-Tools/branches/issue-274"
+        root = amw.resolve_canonical_repo_root(fake_wt, fake_wt)
+        self.assertEqual(root, "/repo/Gitea-Tools")
+        self.assertNotIn('split("/branches/")', open(amw.__file__).read())
+
 
 class TestPreflightIntegration(unittest.TestCase):
     def test_verify_preflight_blocks_control_checkout_with_test_porcelain(self):

tests/test_issue_790_heartbeat_mcp_path.py

@@ -0,0 +1,444 @@
+"""Task heartbeat through the native MCP author path (#790 Slice A, AC-N6).
+
+Assessor-level coverage is not sufficient here, and this project has already
+paid for learning that: in review #499 on PR #791 the #760 renewal waiver was
+computed correctly and then *discarded* at two later gates, so every real
+renewal still failed while the unit suite stayed green. AC-N6 exists because of
+that, and requires driving the real tools against a real git repository and a
+real durable lock file, composing the gates in production order.
+
+These tests therefore call ``gitea_lock_issue`` and
+``gitea_heartbeat_issue_lock`` themselves and assert on what lands on disk,
+never on an assessor's return value alone.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+
+from mutation_profile_fixture import shared_mutation_env  # noqa: E402
+
+import issue_lock_provenance  # noqa: E402
+import issue_lock_store  # noqa: E402
+import lease_policy  # noqa: E402
+import mcp_server  # noqa: E402
+
+ISSUE = 9791
+BRANCH = f"fix/issue-{ISSUE}-heartbeat-mcp"
+IDENTITY = "example-user"
+PROFILE = "test-author-prgs"
+ORG = "Scaled-Tech-Consulting"
+REPO = "Gitea-Tools"
+
+
+def _ts(moment: datetime) -> str:
+    return (
+        moment.astimezone(timezone.utc)
+        .replace(microsecond=0)
+        .isoformat()
+        .replace("+00:00", "Z")
+    )
+
+
+class _HeartbeatMcpBase(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Real git repo plus a real durable lock, driven through the real tools."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.lock_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+        self.addCleanup(self.lock_dir.cleanup)
+        self.repo = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="issue790-mcp-")
+        self.addCleanup(lambda: subprocess.run(["rm", "-rf", self.repo], check=False))
+        self._init_worktree()
+        self.remotes = patch.dict(
+            mcp_server.REMOTES,
+            {"prgs": {"host": "gitea.prgs.cc", "org": ORG, "repo": REPO}},
+        )
+        self.remotes.start()
+        self.addCleanup(patch.stopall)
+        mcp_server._IDENTITY_CACHE.clear()
+
+    def _git(self, *args):
+        return subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "-C", self.repo, *args], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True
+        )
+
+    def _init_worktree(self):
+        self._git("init", "-q", "-b", "master")
+        self._git("config", "user.email", "[email protected]")
+        self._git("config", "user.name", "Test")
+        with open(os.path.join(self.repo, "seed.txt"), "w") as fh:
+            fh.write("seed\n")
+        self._git("add", "seed.txt")
+        self._git("commit", "-q", "-m", "seed")
+        self.base_sha = self._git("rev-parse", "HEAD").stdout.strip()
+        # A fresh claim starts base-equivalent, which is the ordinary first-lock
+        # shape and exercises assess_issue_lock_worktree on its normal path.
+        self._git("checkout", "-q", "-b", BRANCH)
+        self.head_sha = self.base_sha
+        self.worktree = os.path.realpath(self.repo)
+
+    def _lock_path(self):
+        return issue_lock_store.lock_file_path(
+            remote="prgs",
+            org=ORG,
+            repo=REPO,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir.name,
+        )
+
+    def _tool_env(self):
+        env = shared_mutation_env(
+            PROFILE, include_example_repo=True, GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR=self.lock_dir.name
+        )
+        env["GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR"] = self.lock_dir.name
+        return env
+
+    def _git_state(self, *, porcelain="", base_equivalent=True):
+        return {
+            "current_branch": BRANCH,
+            "porcelain_status": porcelain,
+            "base_equivalent": base_equivalent,
+            "head_sha": self.head_sha,
+            "inspected_git_root": self.worktree,
+            "base_branch": "master",
+        }
+
+    def run_lock_issue(
+        self,
+        *,
+        branch_entries=None,
+        open_prs=None,
+        git_state=None,
+        identity=IDENTITY,
+        profile=PROFILE,
+    ):
+        branch_entries = branch_entries if branch_entries is not None else []
+        open_prs = open_prs if open_prs is not None else []
+        git_state = git_state or self._git_state()
+        env = self._tool_env()
+        with patch(
+            "mcp_server.api_get_all", return_value=list(branch_entries)
+        ), patch(
+            "mcp_server._list_open_pulls", return_value=list(open_prs)
+        ), patch(
+            "mcp_server.get_auth_header", return_value="token x"
+        ), patch(
+            "mcp_server._work_lease_claimant",
+            return_value={"username": identity, "profile": profile},
+        ), patch(
+            "mcp_server.issue_lock_worktree.read_worktree_git_state",
+            return_value=git_state,
+        ), patch(
+            "mcp_server.issue_duplicate_context_fetcher",
+            side_effect=lambda h, o, r, auth, issue_number: (
+                list(open_prs),
+                [b.get("name") for b in branch_entries if isinstance(b, dict)],
+                {"status": "not_claimed"},
+            ),
+        ), patch.dict(os.environ, env, clear=True):
+            os.environ["GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR"] = self.lock_dir.name
+            return mcp_server.gitea_lock_issue(
+                issue_number=ISSUE,
+                branch_name=BRANCH,
+                remote="prgs",
+                worktree_path=self.worktree,
+            )
+
+    def run_heartbeat(
+        self, *, task_session_id, identity=IDENTITY, profile=PROFILE, **kwargs
+    ):
+        env = self._tool_env()
+        with patch(
+            "mcp_server._work_lease_claimant",
+            return_value={"username": identity, "profile": profile},
+        ), patch("mcp_server.get_auth_header", return_value="token x"), patch.dict(
+            os.environ, env, clear=True
+        ):
+            os.environ["GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR"] = self.lock_dir.name
+            return mcp_server.gitea_heartbeat_issue_lock(
+                issue_number=ISSUE,
+                branch_name=kwargs.pop("branch_name", BRANCH),
+                task_session_id=task_session_id,
+                remote="prgs",
+                worktree_path=kwargs.pop("worktree_path", self.worktree),
+                **kwargs,
+            )
+
+    def write_legacy_lock(self, *, hours_old: float = 3.0, ttl_hours: float = 4.0):
+        """A durable lock in the shape the store wrote before this slice."""
+        now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+        claimant = {"username": IDENTITY, "profile": PROFILE}
+        created = now - timedelta(hours=hours_old)
+        record = {
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch_name": BRANCH,
+            "remote": "prgs",
+            "org": ORG,
+            "repo": REPO,
+            "worktree_path": self.worktree,
+            "session_pid": os.getpid(),
+            "pid": os.getpid(),
+            "lock_generation": 1,
+            "work_lease": {
+                "operation_type": issue_lock_store.AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE,
+                "issue_number": ISSUE,
+                "pr_number": None,
+                "branch": BRANCH,
+                "worktree_path": self.worktree,
+                "claimant": claimant,
+                "created_at": _ts(created),
+                # The legacy signature: never advanced past creation.
+                "last_heartbeat_at": _ts(created),
+                "expires_at": _ts(created + timedelta(hours=ttl_hours)),
+            },
+            "lock_provenance": issue_lock_provenance.build_sanctioned_lock_provenance(
+                tool="gitea_lock_issue", claimant=claimant
+            ),
+        }
+        path = self._lock_path()
+        record["lock_file_path"] = path
+        issue_lock_store.save_lock_file(path, record)
+        return record
+
+
+class TestLockIssueMintsTheLifecycle(_HeartbeatMcpBase):
+    """Durable lock creation and read-back through the real tool."""
+
+    def test_native_lock_writes_the_marker_and_a_task_session_id(self):
+        result = self.run_lock_issue()
+        self.assertTrue(result["success"], result)
+
+        written = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(result["lock_file_path"])
+        lease = written["work_lease"]
+        self.assertEqual(
+            lease["lifecycle_version"], lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(lease["task_session_id"])
+        self.assertFalse(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(written))
+        # AC-N1: the ownership key is not the daemon pid, which is recorded
+        # separately as evidence.
+        self.assertNotIn(str(written["session_pid"]), lease["task_session_id"])
+        self.assertEqual(written["session_pid"], os.getpid())
+
+    def test_native_lease_uses_the_policy_window_not_four_hours(self):
+        result = self.run_lock_issue()
+        lease = result["work_lease"]
+        created = datetime.fromisoformat(lease["created_at"].replace("Z", "+00:00"))
+        expires = datetime.fromisoformat(lease["expires_at"].replace("Z", "+00:00"))
+        policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            (expires - created).total_seconds() / 60.0, policy.initial_ttl_minutes
+        )
+
+    def test_freshness_of_a_new_native_lock_is_live(self):
+        result = self.run_lock_issue()
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["lock_freshness"]["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_LIVE
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(result["lock_freshness"]["live"])
+
+
+class TestHeartbeatThroughTheTool(_HeartbeatMcpBase):
+    def _lock_and_session(self):
+        result = self.run_lock_issue()
+        self.assertTrue(result["success"], result)
+        return result, result["work_lease"]["task_session_id"]
+
+    def test_heartbeat_slides_the_lease_and_advances_the_generation(self):
+        locked, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        before = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"])
+
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=session)
+
+        self.assertTrue(beat["success"], beat)
+        self.assertEqual(beat["operation"], "heartbeat")
+        after = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"])
+        self.assertGreater(
+            issue_lock_store.lock_generation(after),
+            issue_lock_store.lock_generation(before),
+        )
+        self.assertGreaterEqual(
+            after["work_lease"]["expires_at"], before["work_lease"]["expires_at"]
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(after["work_lease"]["heartbeat_count"], 2)
+
+    def test_heartbeat_evidence_survives_the_downstream_mutation_gate(self):
+        """The #499 F2 lesson, applied.
+
+        A sanction that is computed and then discarded downstream is worthless.
+        After a heartbeat the lock must still satisfy the gate every author
+        mutation runs through.
+        """
+        locked, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=session)
+
+        written = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"])
+        verdict = issue_lock_store.verify_lock_for_mutation(
+            written,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            branch_name=BRANCH,
+            worktree_path=self.worktree,
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(verdict["proven"], verdict)
+        self.assertFalse(verdict["block"])
+
+    def _duplicate_gate(self, *, open_prs, branches):
+        env = self._tool_env()
+        with patch("mcp_server.get_auth_header", return_value="token x"), patch(
+            "mcp_server.issue_duplicate_context_fetcher",
+            side_effect=lambda h, o, r, auth, issue_number: (
+                list(open_prs),
+                list(branches),
+                {"status": "not_claimed"},
+            ),
+        ), patch.dict(os.environ, env, clear=True):
+            os.environ["GITEA_ISSUE_LOCK_DIR"] = self.lock_dir.name
+            return mcp_server.gitea_assess_work_issue_duplicate(
+                issue_number=ISSUE, branch_name=BRANCH, remote="prgs"
+            )
+
+    def test_heartbeat_does_not_change_the_duplicate_gate_verdict(self):
+        """The gate must be invariant under heartbeating.
+
+        The point is not that the gate passes — with a linked open PR at the
+        lock phase it correctly blocks (#400), heartbeat or not. The property
+        that matters is that sliding a lease neither loosens the gate nor
+        corrupts the lock state it reads: the verdict before and after a
+        heartbeat must be identical, for both the clear and the blocking shape.
+        """
+        _, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        linked = [{"number": 4242, "head": {"ref": BRANCH, "sha": self.head_sha}}]
+
+        clear_before = self._duplicate_gate(open_prs=[], branches=[])
+        blocked_before = self._duplicate_gate(open_prs=linked, branches=[BRANCH])
+
+        self.assertTrue(self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=session)["success"])
+
+        clear_after = self._duplicate_gate(open_prs=[], branches=[])
+        blocked_after = self._duplicate_gate(open_prs=linked, branches=[BRANCH])
+
+        self.assertEqual(clear_before["outcome"], clear_after["outcome"])
+        self.assertFalse(clear_after["block"])
+        self.assertEqual(blocked_before["outcome"], blocked_after["outcome"])
+        self.assertTrue(blocked_after["block"])
+        self.assertEqual(blocked_after["linked_open_pr"], 4242)
+
+    def test_foreign_session_id_is_refused_through_the_tool(self):
+        self._lock_and_session()
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id="author_issue_work-ffffffffffffffff")
+        self.assertFalse(beat["success"])
+        self.assertIn("task_session_id does not match", " ".join(beat["reasons"]))
+
+    def test_stale_generation_is_refused_through_the_tool(self):
+        locked, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        current = issue_lock_store.lock_generation(
+            issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"])
+        )
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(
+            task_session_id=session, expected_generation=current + 5
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(beat["success"])
+        self.assertIn("generation changed", beat["reasons"][0])
+
+    def test_foreign_claimant_is_refused_through_the_tool(self):
+        _, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=session, identity="someone-else")
+        self.assertFalse(beat["success"])
+
+    def test_heartbeat_cannot_acquire_a_missing_lock(self):
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id="author_issue_work-000000000000")
+        self.assertFalse(beat["success"])
+        self.assertIn("no durable lock", beat["reasons"][0])
+
+    def test_alive_pid_alone_does_not_keep_a_lease_live_through_the_tool(self):
+        """PID-only refusal, end to end.
+
+        The recorded pid is this live process. The lock is aged past its grace
+        with no heartbeat, so the tool must refuse to slide it and the durable
+        record must classify as a missed heartbeat rather than as live.
+        """
+        locked, session = self._lock_and_session()
+        record = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"])
+        record["work_lease"]["last_heartbeat_at"] = _ts(
+            datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(minutes=30)
+        )
+        record["work_lease"]["expires_at"] = _ts(
+            datetime.now(timezone.utc) + timedelta(hours=2)
+        )
+        issue_lock_store.save_lock_file(locked["lock_file_path"], record)
+
+        self.assertTrue(issue_lock_store.is_process_alive(record["session_pid"]))
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["pid_alive"])
+
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=session)
+        self.assertFalse(beat["success"])
+        self.assertIn("reclaimed", " ".join(beat["reasons"]))
+
+
+class TestLegacyLocksThroughTheTool(_HeartbeatMcpBase):
+    """AC-N8 end to end: protected on deployment, and rebindable."""
+
+    def test_legacy_lock_stays_protected_after_deployment(self):
+        record = self.write_legacy_lock(hours_old=3.0, ttl_hours=4.0)
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_LIVE)
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["legacy_lease"])
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["legacy_expiry_preserved"])
+        # It had never heartbeated, so under the new grace alone it would be
+        # long gone; the preserved absolute expiry is what protects it.
+        self.assertEqual(
+            record["work_lease"]["created_at"],
+            record["work_lease"]["last_heartbeat_at"],
+        )
+
+    def test_tool_rebinds_a_legacy_lock_and_mints_a_first_heartbeat(self):
+        self.write_legacy_lock(hours_old=3.0, ttl_hours=4.0)
+
+        result = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=None)
+
+        self.assertTrue(result["success"], result)
+        self.assertEqual(result["operation"], "legacy_rebind")
+        self.assertTrue(result["task_session_id"])
+
+        written = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(self._lock_path())
+        lease = written["work_lease"]
+        self.assertEqual(
+            lease["lifecycle_version"], lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(lease["heartbeat_count"], 1)
+        self.assertNotEqual(
+            lease["created_at"],
+            written["legacy_rebind"]["legacy_origin"]["created_at"],
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(written))
+
+    def test_rebound_lock_then_heartbeats_through_the_tool(self):
+        self.write_legacy_lock(hours_old=3.0, ttl_hours=4.0)
+        rebound = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=None)
+        beat = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=rebound["task_session_id"])
+        self.assertTrue(beat["success"], beat)
+        self.assertEqual(beat["operation"], "heartbeat")
+        self.assertEqual(beat["heartbeat_count"], 2)
+
+    def test_rebind_refuses_a_foreign_owner_through_the_tool(self):
+        self.write_legacy_lock(hours_old=3.0, ttl_hours=4.0)
+        result = self.run_heartbeat(task_session_id=None, identity="someone-else")
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertEqual(result["operation"], "legacy_rebind")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

tests/test_issue_790_lease_policy.py

@@ -0,0 +1,594 @@
+"""Central lease policy and load-bearing heartbeat freshness (#790 Slice A).
+
+Before this slice, ``issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness`` parsed
+``last_heartbeat_at`` and then never consulted it: liveness was decided by an
+absolute four-hour ``expires_at`` and by PID liveness. Because the recorded PID
+is the long-lived MCP daemon rather than the authoring task, an abandoned claim
+stayed "live" for the full four hours, and a claim whose work had already landed
+blocked reconciliation for just as long (Issue #787 / PR #789, and again Issue
+#760 / PR #791).
+
+These tests pin the corrected semantics, including the two asymmetries that are
+easy to lose in a refactor:
+
+* an **alive** PID must never make anything live (AC-N2), while
+* a **dead** PID must still mark a lease stale, because #753 dead-session
+  recovery keys on exactly that classification.
+
+Durable-state helpers here write real lock files through the real flock path;
+they are not mocks of the store.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+import issue_lock_store  # noqa: E402
+import lease_policy  # noqa: E402
+import pr_work_lease  # noqa: E402
+import reviewer_pr_lease  # noqa: E402
+
+ISSUE = 9790
+BRANCH = f"fix/issue-{ISSUE}-heartbeat"
+IDENTITY = "example-user"
+PROFILE = "test-author-prgs"
+ORG = "Example-Org"
+REPO = "Example-Repo"
+REMOTE = "prgs"
+DEAD_PID = 2**22  # far above any live pid on a test host
+
+
+def _ts(moment: datetime) -> str:
+    return (
+        moment.astimezone(timezone.utc)
+        .replace(microsecond=0)
+        .isoformat()
+        .replace("+00:00", "Z")
+    )
+
+
+class _LockFixture(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.lock_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+        self.addCleanup(self.lock_dir.cleanup)
+        self.now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+        self.worktree = os.path.realpath(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="issue790-"))
+        self.addCleanup(patch.stopall)
+
+    def _path(self):
+        return issue_lock_store.lock_file_path(
+            remote=REMOTE,
+            org=ORG,
+            repo=REPO,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir.name,
+        )
+
+    def write_lock(
+        self,
+        *,
+        lifecycle: str | None = lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+        created_delta: timedelta = timedelta(minutes=1),
+        heartbeat_delta: timedelta = timedelta(minutes=1),
+        expires_delta: timedelta = timedelta(minutes=9),
+        pid: int | None = None,
+        task_session_id: str | None = "author_issue_work-aaaabbbbccccdddd",
+        generation: int = 1,
+        identity: str = IDENTITY,
+        profile: str = PROFILE,
+        branch: str = BRANCH,
+        worktree: str | None = None,
+    ) -> dict:
+        """Write a real durable lock and return the record.
+
+        Deltas are relative to ``self.now``; ``expires_delta`` is added, the
+        others subtracted, so "in the past" reads naturally at each call site.
+        """
+        lease: dict = {
+            "operation_type": issue_lock_store.AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE,
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "pr_number": None,
+            "branch": branch,
+            "worktree_path": worktree or self.worktree,
+            "claimant": {"username": identity, "profile": profile},
+            "created_at": _ts(self.now - created_delta),
+            "last_heartbeat_at": _ts(self.now - heartbeat_delta),
+            "expires_at": _ts(self.now + expires_delta),
+        }
+        if lifecycle is not None:
+            lease["lifecycle_version"] = lifecycle
+            if task_session_id is not None:
+                lease["task_session_id"] = task_session_id
+        pid_value = os.getpid() if pid is None else pid
+        record = {
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch_name": branch,
+            "remote": REMOTE,
+            "org": ORG,
+            "repo": REPO,
+            "worktree_path": worktree or self.worktree,
+            "session_pid": pid_value,
+            "pid": pid_value,
+            "lock_generation": generation,
+            "work_lease": lease,
+        }
+        path = self._path()
+        record["lock_file_path"] = path
+        issue_lock_store.save_lock_file(path, record)
+        return record
+
+
+class TestPolicyIsTheSingleSource(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC-N7: one authoritative configuration source for every duration."""
+
+    def test_author_policy_carries_the_agreed_values(self):
+        policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.initial_ttl_minutes, 10.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.heartbeat_cadence_minutes, 2.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.stale_warning_minutes, 5.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.missed_heartbeat_grace_minutes, 10.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.absolute_cap_hours, 8.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.recovery_grace_minutes, 10.0)
+        self.assertEqual(policy.terminal_race_drain_minutes, 2.0)
+        self.assertTrue(policy.terminal_retirement_eligible)
+        self.assertTrue(policy.heartbeat_lifecycle_active)
+
+    def test_the_four_hour_author_ttl_literal_is_gone(self):
+        """The duplicated literal AC-N7 exists to remove."""
+        self.assertFalse(hasattr(issue_lock_store, "WORK_LEASE_TTL_HOURS"))
+        import gitea_mcp_server
+
+        self.assertFalse(hasattr(gitea_mcp_server, "WORK_LEASE_TTL_HOURS"))
+
+    def test_declared_reviewer_values_match_the_module_still_using_them(self):
+        """Slice A declares reviewer/merger numbers without rewiring them.
+
+        Recording a value in two places is only safe if drift is detectable, so
+        this asserts the declaration still equals the constants #747 owns. When
+        Slice C migrates those call sites, this test becomes the proof the
+        migration changed nothing.
+        """
+        policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_REVIEWER_PR)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            policy.initial_ttl_minutes, float(reviewer_pr_lease.LEASE_TTL_MINUTES)
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(
+            policy.stale_warning_minutes,
+            float(reviewer_pr_lease.STALE_WARNING_MINUTES),
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(policy.heartbeat_lifecycle_active)
+
+    def test_declared_conflict_fix_value_matches_its_module(self):
+        policy = lease_policy.policy_for(lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_CONFLICT_FIX)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            policy.initial_ttl_minutes,
+            float(pr_work_lease.DEFAULT_CONFLICT_FIX_TTL_MINUTES),
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(policy.heartbeat_lifecycle_active)
+
+    def test_environment_override_applies(self):
+        var = lease_policy.env_var_name(
+            lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK, "initial_ttl_minutes"
+        )
+        with patch.dict(os.environ, {var: "7"}):
+            self.assertEqual(
+                lease_policy.policy_for(
+                    lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK
+                ).initial_ttl_minutes,
+                7.0,
+            )
+
+    def test_unusable_override_falls_back_instead_of_minting_a_zero_lease(self):
+        """A typo must not make every claim instantly reclaimable."""
+        var = lease_policy.env_var_name(
+            lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK, "initial_ttl_minutes"
+        )
+        for bad in ("0", "-5", "not-a-number", "   "):
+            with self.subTest(value=bad), patch.dict(os.environ, {var: bad}):
+                self.assertEqual(
+                    lease_policy.policy_for(
+                        lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK
+                    ).initial_ttl_minutes,
+                    10.0,
+                )
+
+    def test_unknown_task_class_does_not_raise(self):
+        policy = lease_policy.policy_for("something-new")
+        self.assertEqual(policy.task_class, lease_policy.TASK_CLASS_AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK)
+
+
+class TestLifecycleDiscrimination(_LockFixture):
+    """AC-N8: the marker, never a timestamp, decides legacy vs heartbeat."""
+
+    def test_missing_marker_reads_as_legacy(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(lifecycle=None)
+        self.assertTrue(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(record))
+        self.assertEqual(
+            issue_lock_store.lease_lifecycle_version(record),
+            lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_LEGACY,
+        )
+
+    def test_marker_present_reads_as_heartbeat_lifecycle(self):
+        record = self.write_lock()
+        self.assertFalse(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(record))
+
+    def test_equal_created_and_heartbeat_never_implies_a_fresh_heartbeat(self):
+        """The exact inversion AC-N8 forbids.
+
+        A legacy lock has ``last_heartbeat_at == created_at`` forever because
+        nothing ever advanced it. Reading that equality as "recently
+        heartbeated" would classify every never-heartbeated lock as fresh.
+        """
+        legacy = self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+        )
+        lease = legacy["work_lease"]
+        self.assertEqual(lease["created_at"], lease["last_heartbeat_at"])
+        self.assertTrue(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(legacy))
+
+        # A brand-new heartbeat lease has them equal too, so the equality
+        # carries no information in either direction.
+        fresh = self.write_lock(
+            created_delta=timedelta(seconds=0), heartbeat_delta=timedelta(seconds=0)
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(
+            fresh["work_lease"]["created_at"],
+            fresh["work_lease"]["last_heartbeat_at"],
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(fresh))
+
+    def test_minted_session_id_contains_no_pid(self):
+        """AC-N1: the ownership key must not be derived from the daemon pid."""
+        minted = issue_lock_store.mint_task_session_id()
+        self.assertNotIn(str(os.getpid()), minted)
+        self.assertNotEqual(minted, issue_lock_store.mint_task_session_id())
+
+
+class TestFreshnessIsHeartbeatDriven(_LockFixture):
+    """AC-N2 and the new bands."""
+
+    def test_fresh_heartbeat_is_live(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=1))
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_LIVE)
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["live"])
+        self.assertFalse(fresh["heartbeat_warning"])
+
+    def test_heartbeat_past_warning_is_still_live_but_flagged(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=6))
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_LIVE)
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["heartbeat_warning"])
+
+    def test_missed_heartbeat_past_grace_is_classified_explicitly(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=11),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(minutes=30),
+        )
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(fresh["live"])
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["stale"])
+
+    def test_alive_pid_never_establishes_freshness(self):
+        """The defect in one assertion.
+
+        The recorded PID is this very process, so it is unambiguously alive —
+        and the lease is still not live, because the task stopped heartbeating.
+        """
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=4),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=4),
+        )
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["pid_alive"])
+        self.assertFalse(fresh["live"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT
+        )
+
+    def test_dead_pid_still_marks_stale_for_issue_753(self):
+        """The opposite asymmetry: dead-PID corroboration is preserved."""
+        record = self.write_lock(pid=DEAD_PID, heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=1))
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE)
+        self.assertFalse(fresh["live"])
+        self.assertIn("not alive", fresh["reason"])
+
+    def test_absolute_cap_requires_readoption(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=9), heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=1)
+        )
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE_ABSOLUTE_CAP)
+        self.assertIn("re-adoption", fresh["reason"])
+
+    def test_heartbeat_lifecycle_without_a_heartbeat_fails_closed(self):
+        record = self.write_lock()
+        del record["work_lease"]["last_heartbeat_at"]
+        issue_lock_store.save_lock_file(self._path(), record)
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT
+        )
+        self.assertIn("fail closed", fresh["reason"])
+
+    def test_absent_lock(self):
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(None)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_ABSENT)
+        self.assertFalse(fresh["stale"])
+
+
+class TestLegacyLocksStayProtected(_LockFixture):
+    """AC-N8: deployment must not retroactively shorten an existing claim."""
+
+    def test_legacy_lock_with_a_stale_heartbeat_remains_live(self):
+        """The deployment-safety case.
+
+        A four-hour legacy lease minted three hours ago has not heartbeated
+        once. Under the new grace it would be long gone; under its preserved
+        absolute expiry it is still live, and must stay that way.
+        """
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1),
+        )
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_LIVE)
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["live"])
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["legacy_lease"])
+        self.assertTrue(fresh["legacy_expiry_preserved"])
+
+    def test_legacy_lock_past_its_absolute_expiry_is_expired_as_before(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=5),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=5),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=-1),
+        )
+        fresh = issue_lock_store.assess_lock_freshness(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(fresh["status"], issue_lock_store.STATUS_EXPIRED)
+
+    def test_legacy_lock_is_never_reclaimed_by_the_heartbeat_band(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1),
+        )
+        reclaim = issue_lock_store.assess_expired_lock_reclaim(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertFalse(reclaim["reclaim_allowed"])
+
+
+class TestReclaimAfterMissedHeartbeat(_LockFixture):
+    def test_missed_heartbeat_makes_ownership_reclaimable(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=15),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+        )
+        reclaim = issue_lock_store.assess_expired_lock_reclaim(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertTrue(reclaim["reclaim_allowed"])
+        self.assertIn("stale_missed_heartbeat", reclaim["reasons"][0])
+
+    def test_live_lease_is_never_reclaimable(self):
+        record = self.write_lock(heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=1))
+        reclaim = issue_lock_store.assess_expired_lock_reclaim(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertFalse(reclaim["reclaim_allowed"])
+
+    def test_dead_pid_reclaim_path_is_unchanged(self):
+        """#753 must keep working through its original conditions."""
+        record = self.write_lock(pid=DEAD_PID, heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=1))
+        reclaim = issue_lock_store.assess_expired_lock_reclaim(record, now=self.now)
+        self.assertTrue(reclaim["reclaim_allowed"])
+        self.assertTrue(reclaim["owner_pid_dead"])
+
+
+class TestHeartbeatWriter(_LockFixture):
+    """A4: flock + CAS + exact verification, and no revival path."""
+
+    def _heartbeat(self, **kwargs):
+        params = {
+            "remote": REMOTE,
+            "org": ORG,
+            "repo": REPO,
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch_name": BRANCH,
+            "worktree_path": self.worktree,
+            "identity": IDENTITY,
+            "profile": PROFILE,
+            "task_session_id": "author_issue_work-aaaabbbbccccdddd",
+            "lock_dir": self.lock_dir.name,
+            "now": self.now,
+        }
+        params.update(kwargs)
+        return issue_lock_store.heartbeat_session_lock(**params)
+
+    def test_heartbeat_slides_expiry_and_advances_generation(self):
+        self.write_lock(heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=4), generation=5)
+        result = self._heartbeat()
+        self.assertTrue(result["success"], result)
+        self.assertEqual(result["prior_generation"], 5)
+        self.assertEqual(result["lock_generation"], 6)
+        self.assertEqual(result["heartbeat_count"], 1)
+        self.assertEqual(result["last_heartbeat_at"], _ts(self.now))
+        self.assertEqual(result["expires_at"], _ts(self.now + timedelta(minutes=10)))
+        self.assertTrue(result["freshness"]["live"])
+
+    def test_heartbeat_is_durable_and_repeatable(self):
+        self.write_lock(heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=4))
+        self._heartbeat()
+        second = self._heartbeat(now=self.now + timedelta(minutes=1))
+        self.assertTrue(second["success"], second)
+        self.assertEqual(second["heartbeat_count"], 2)
+        written = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(self._path())
+        self.assertEqual(written["work_lease"]["heartbeat_count"], 2)
+
+    def test_stale_generation_is_refused(self):
+        self.write_lock(generation=5)
+        result = self._heartbeat(expected_generation=4)
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertIn("generation changed", result["reasons"][0])
+
+    def test_foreign_session_is_refused(self):
+        self.write_lock()
+        result = self._heartbeat(task_session_id="author_issue_work-ffffffffffffffff")
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertIn("task_session_id does not match", " ".join(result["reasons"]))
+
+    def test_missing_session_id_is_refused(self):
+        self.write_lock()
+        result = self._heartbeat(task_session_id="")
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+
+    def test_foreign_claimant_is_refused(self):
+        self.write_lock()
+        for field, value in (
+            ("identity", "someone-else"),
+            ("profile", "other-profile"),
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(field=field):
+                result = self._heartbeat(**{field: value})
+                self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+
+    def test_branch_and_worktree_mismatch_are_refused(self):
+        self.write_lock()
+        wrong_branch = self._heartbeat(branch_name=f"fix/issue-{ISSUE}-other")
+        self.assertFalse(wrong_branch["success"])
+        wrong_worktree = self._heartbeat(worktree_path="/tmp/not-the-worktree")
+        self.assertFalse(wrong_worktree["success"])
+
+    def test_lapsed_lease_cannot_be_heartbeated_back_to_life(self):
+        """No revival path (A4).
+
+        A session that stopped proving liveness must reclaim under a fresh
+        generation, not restore ownership retroactively.
+        """
+        self.write_lock(
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(minutes=30), expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1)
+        )
+        result = self._heartbeat()
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertIn("reclaimed", " ".join(result["reasons"]))
+
+    def test_absent_lock_cannot_be_created_by_heartbeat(self):
+        result = self._heartbeat()
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertIn("no durable lock", result["reasons"][0])
+
+    def test_legacy_lock_is_refused_until_rebound(self):
+        self.write_lock(lifecycle=None)
+        result = self._heartbeat()
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertTrue(result["legacy_lease"])
+        self.assertIn("rebound", " ".join(result["reasons"]))
+
+
+class TestLegacyRebind(_LockFixture):
+    """AC-N8 exit route: canonical exact-owner rebinding."""
+
+    def _rebind(self, **kwargs):
+        params = {
+            "remote": REMOTE,
+            "org": ORG,
+            "repo": REPO,
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch_name": BRANCH,
+            "worktree_path": self.worktree,
+            "identity": IDENTITY,
+            "profile": PROFILE,
+            "lock_dir": self.lock_dir.name,
+            "now": self.now,
+        }
+        params.update(kwargs)
+        return issue_lock_store.rebind_legacy_lock(**params)
+
+    def test_rebind_mints_a_session_and_a_genuine_first_heartbeat(self):
+        self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1),
+            generation=2,
+        )
+        result = self._rebind()
+        self.assertTrue(result["success"], result)
+        self.assertTrue(result["task_session_id"])
+        self.assertEqual(result["lock_generation"], 3)
+
+        written = issue_lock_store.read_lock_file(self._path())
+        lease = written["work_lease"]
+        self.assertEqual(
+            lease["lifecycle_version"], lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(lease["last_heartbeat_at"], _ts(self.now))
+        self.assertEqual(lease["expires_at"], _ts(self.now + timedelta(minutes=10)))
+        self.assertFalse(issue_lock_store.is_legacy_lease(written))
+        # The original claim is preserved for audit rather than overwritten.
+        origin = written["legacy_rebind"]["legacy_origin"]
+        self.assertTrue(origin["created_at"])
+        self.assertEqual(origin["lifecycle"], lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_LEGACY)
+
+    def test_rebound_lock_can_then_heartbeat(self):
+        self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=3),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1),
+        )
+        rebound = self._rebind()
+        beat = issue_lock_store.heartbeat_session_lock(
+            remote=REMOTE,
+            org=ORG,
+            repo=REPO,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            branch_name=BRANCH,
+            worktree_path=self.worktree,
+            identity=IDENTITY,
+            profile=PROFILE,
+            task_session_id=rebound["task_session_id"],
+            lock_dir=self.lock_dir.name,
+            now=self.now + timedelta(minutes=1),
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(beat["success"], beat)
+
+    def test_rebind_refuses_a_foreign_owner(self):
+        self.write_lock(lifecycle=None, expires_delta=timedelta(hours=1))
+        result = self._rebind(identity="someone-else")
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+
+    def test_rebind_refuses_a_lock_already_on_the_lifecycle(self):
+        self.write_lock()
+        result = self._rebind()
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["legacy_lease"])
+
+    def test_rebind_is_not_a_recovery_path_for_a_lapsed_legacy_lease(self):
+        """An expired legacy lease belongs to #760 renewal or #601 reclaim."""
+        self.write_lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_delta=timedelta(hours=5),
+            heartbeat_delta=timedelta(hours=5),
+            expires_delta=timedelta(hours=-1),
+        )
+        result = self._rebind()
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertIn("not a recovery path", " ".join(result["reasons"]))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

tests/test_issue_794_conflict_gate_reclaim.py

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+"""Conflict gate honors heartbeat-lifecycle non-live reclaim bands (#790 review #502/#516).
+
+``assess_expired_lock_reclaim`` already permits reclaim for the heartbeat-lifecycle
+stale bands (``stale_missed_heartbeat``, ``stale_absolute_cap``) without a dead PID.
+But ``assess_same_issue_lease_conflict`` used to enter that reclaim branch only under
+``is_lease_expired`` (``expires_at <= now``). For a heartbeat-lifecycle lease that is
+non-live yet whose ``expires_at`` is still in the future, the acquisition gate fell
+through to the foreign "already has an active lease" block and never consulted the
+reclaim assessor — so the load-bearing heartbeat was not load-bearing for foreign
+reclaim, the exact abandonment scenario #790 exists to fix.
+
+Two future-``expires_at`` non-live shapes are reachable:
+
+* ``stale_absolute_cap`` — a session that keeps heartbeating past the 8h absolute cap
+  has ``expires_at = last_heartbeat + TTL`` in the future (default policy).
+* ``stale_missed_heartbeat`` — under an independent TTL>grace policy the heartbeat
+  grace lapses while ``expires_at`` is still ahead.
+
+These tests pin: both reclaim from a foreign acquirer; a live lease still blocks a
+foreign acquirer; the same owner may reclaim its own abandoned heartbeat lease; and a
+legacy (pre-lifecycle) lock keeps its absolute-``expires_at`` clock — a non-expired
+legacy lock with a dead PID is *not* reclaimable through this path.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import sys
+import unittest
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from unittest import mock
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+import issue_lock_store as ils  # noqa: E402
+import lease_policy  # noqa: E402
+
+ISSUE = 790
+OWNER_BRANCH = f"fix/issue-{ISSUE}-slice-a-heartbeat-policy"
+OWNER_WORKTREE = "/tmp/wt-790-owner"
+FOREIGN_BRANCH = f"fix/issue-{ISSUE}-foreign-attempt"
+FOREIGN_WORKTREE = "/tmp/wt-790-foreign"
+
+
+def _ts(moment: datetime) -> str:
+    return (
+        moment.astimezone(timezone.utc)
+        .replace(microsecond=0)
+        .isoformat()
+        .replace("+00:00", "Z")
+    )
+
+
+class _ConflictGateBase(unittest.TestCase):
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.now = datetime(2026, 7, 23, 12, 0, 0, tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+
+    def _lock(
+        self,
+        *,
+        lifecycle: str | None,
+        created_ago: timedelta,
+        heartbeat_ago: timedelta,
+        expires_in: timedelta,
+        pid: int,
+    ) -> dict:
+        lease: dict = {
+            "operation_type": ils.AUTHOR_ISSUE_WORK_LEASE,
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch": OWNER_BRANCH,
+            "worktree_path": OWNER_WORKTREE,
+            "created_at": _ts(self.now - created_ago),
+            "last_heartbeat_at": _ts(self.now - heartbeat_ago),
+            "expires_at": _ts(self.now + expires_in),
+        }
+        if lifecycle is not None:
+            lease["lifecycle_version"] = lifecycle
+            lease["task_session_id"] = "author_issue_work-deadbeefdeadbeef"
+        return {
+            "issue_number": ISSUE,
+            "branch_name": OWNER_BRANCH,
+            "remote": "prgs",
+            "org": "Scaled-Tech-Consulting",
+            "repo": "Gitea-Tools",
+            "worktree_path": OWNER_WORKTREE,
+            "session_pid": pid,
+            "pid": pid,
+            "work_lease": lease,
+        }
+
+    def _foreign_conflict(self, existing: dict) -> str | None:
+        return ils.assess_same_issue_lease_conflict(
+            existing,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            branch_name=FOREIGN_BRANCH,
+            worktree_path=FOREIGN_WORKTREE,
+            now=self.now,
+        )
+
+    def _same_owner_conflict(self, existing: dict) -> str | None:
+        return ils.assess_same_issue_lease_conflict(
+            existing,
+            issue_number=ISSUE,
+            branch_name=OWNER_BRANCH,
+            worktree_path=OWNER_WORKTREE,
+            now=self.now,
+        )
+
+
+class TestHeartbeatNonLiveFutureExpiresReclaim(_ConflictGateBase):
+    def test_stale_absolute_cap_future_expires_allows_foreign_reclaim(self):
+        # Created >8h ago, heartbeated one minute ago, expires 9 min in the FUTURE,
+        # owner PID alive: freshness = stale_absolute_cap, live=False, not expired.
+        existing = self._lock(
+            lifecycle=lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+            created_ago=timedelta(hours=9),
+            heartbeat_ago=timedelta(minutes=1),
+            expires_in=timedelta(minutes=9),
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+        )
+        freshness = ils.assess_lock_freshness(existing, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(freshness["status"], ils.STATUS_STALE_ABSOLUTE_CAP)
+        self.assertFalse(freshness["live"])
+        self.assertFalse(ils.is_lease_expired(existing, now=self.now))
+        with mock.patch.object(ils, "is_process_alive", return_value=True):
+            self.assertIsNone(self._foreign_conflict(existing))
+
+    def test_missed_heartbeat_ttl_gt_grace_future_expires_allows_foreign_reclaim(self):
+        # Heartbeat grace (default 10 min) lapsed 5 min ago, but a TTL>grace policy
+        # leaves expires_at 20 min in the FUTURE: stale_missed_heartbeat, not expired.
+        existing = self._lock(
+            lifecycle=lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+            created_ago=timedelta(minutes=30),
+            heartbeat_ago=timedelta(minutes=15),
+            expires_in=timedelta(minutes=20),
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+        )
+        freshness = ils.assess_lock_freshness(existing, now=self.now)
+        self.assertEqual(freshness["status"], ils.STATUS_STALE_MISSED_HEARTBEAT)
+        self.assertFalse(freshness["live"])
+        self.assertFalse(ils.is_lease_expired(existing, now=self.now))
+        with mock.patch.object(ils, "is_process_alive", return_value=True):
+            self.assertIsNone(self._foreign_conflict(existing))
+
+    def test_same_owner_may_reclaim_its_own_abandoned_heartbeat_lease(self):
+        existing = self._lock(
+            lifecycle=lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+            created_ago=timedelta(hours=9),
+            heartbeat_ago=timedelta(minutes=1),
+            expires_in=timedelta(minutes=9),
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+        )
+        with mock.patch.object(ils, "is_process_alive", return_value=True):
+            self.assertIsNone(self._same_owner_conflict(existing))
+
+
+class TestLiveAndLegacyStillBlockForeign(_ConflictGateBase):
+    def test_live_heartbeat_lease_still_blocks_foreign(self):
+        existing = self._lock(
+            lifecycle=lease_policy.LIFECYCLE_HEARTBEAT_V1,
+            created_ago=timedelta(minutes=5),
+            heartbeat_ago=timedelta(minutes=1),
+            expires_in=timedelta(minutes=9),
+            pid=os.getpid(),
+        )
+        freshness = ils.assess_lock_freshness(existing, now=self.now)
+        self.assertTrue(freshness["live"])
+        with mock.patch.object(ils, "is_process_alive", return_value=True):
+            block = self._foreign_conflict(existing)
+        self.assertIn("already has an active", block or "")
+
+    def test_legacy_lease_future_expires_dead_pid_is_not_reclaimed_here(self):
+        # AC-N8: a legacy lock keeps its absolute expires_at clock. Non-expired +
+        # dead PID is non-live, but the widened band excludes legacy, so the
+        # foreign acquirer is still blocked rather than silently reclaiming.
+        existing = self._lock(
+            lifecycle=None,
+            created_ago=timedelta(hours=9),
+            heartbeat_ago=timedelta(hours=9),
+            expires_in=timedelta(hours=2),
+            pid=4_194_304,  # far above any live pid on a test host
+        )
+        with mock.patch.object(ils, "is_process_alive", return_value=False):
+            freshness = ils.assess_lock_freshness(existing, now=self.now)
+            self.assertTrue(freshness["legacy_lease"])
+            self.assertFalse(freshness["live"])
+            self.assertFalse(ils.is_lease_expired(existing, now=self.now))
+            block = self._foreign_conflict(existing)
+        self.assertIn("already has an active", block or "")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

tests/test_task_capability_role_invariants.py

@@ -139,6 +139,8 @@ EXPECTED_ROLE_EXCLUSIVE_TASKS = frozenset(
         "gitea_release_merger_pr_lease",
         "create_branch",
         "push_branch",
+        "bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
+        "gitea_bootstrap_author_issue_worktree",
         # #812 AC20: publishing an unpublished local head is author-only for the
         # same reason every other push is — it writes a branch to the remote.
         "publish_unpublished_branch",

tests/test_webui_sanctioned_restart.py

@@ -0,0 +1,502 @@
+"""Sanctioned restart / graceful reload control tests (#642).
+
+Acceptance criteria under test:
+
+1. The sanctioned restart path is implemented behind gates (capability,
+   confirmation, operator authorization, host hook).
+2. Manual ``pkill`` stays forbidden and is classified as contamination.
+3. Post-restart mutations require clean health/session proof.
+4. Authorized restart preview, unauthorized deny, contamination classification.
+5. No entry point exposes a raw kill.
+"""
+
+import json
+import os
+import tempfile
+import unittest
+
+import mcp_namespace_health
+import runtime_recovery_guard
+from task_capability_map import TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP
+from webui import console_audit, console_authz, gated_actions, sanctioned_restart
+
+NAMESPACE = "gitea-author"
+
+# An operator-authorized, hook-configured host. Passed explicitly so no test
+# depends on (or mutates) the real process environment.
+READY_ENV = {
+    sanctioned_restart.RESTART_HOOK_ENV: "launchd:cc.prgs.gitea-author",
+    runtime_recovery_guard.OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION_ENV: "ops-ticket-4821",
+}
+
+
+def admin(subject: str = "[email protected]") -> console_authz.Principal:
+    return console_authz.Principal(
+        subject=subject,
+        role=console_authz.ADMIN,
+        identity_source=console_authz.IDENTITY_ACCESS_PROXY,
+        authenticated=True,
+    )
+
+
+def viewer() -> console_authz.Principal:
+    return console_authz.Principal(
+        subject="[email protected]",
+        role=console_authz.VIEWER,
+        identity_source=console_authz.IDENTITY_ACCESS_PROXY,
+        authenticated=True,
+    )
+
+
+class TestCapabilityWiring(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC1: authority is declared, not invented by the console."""
+
+    def test_actions_resolve_through_the_capability_map(self):
+        for action_id in (
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE,
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE,
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(action=action_id):
+                action = console_authz.get_action(action_id)
+                self.assertIsNotNone(action)
+                self.assertIn(action.task_key, TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP)
+                self.assertEqual(
+                    action.mcp_permission,
+                    TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP[action.task_key]["permission"],
+                )
+
+    def test_restart_permission_is_not_a_gitea_operation(self):
+        """No configured Gitea profile should satisfy a host restart."""
+        permission = TASK_CAPABILITY_MAP["restart_namespace"]["permission"]
+        self.assertFalse(permission.startswith("gitea."))
+
+    def test_restart_is_destructive_dual_control_break_glass(self):
+        action = console_authz.get_action(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(action.action_class, console_authz.CLASS_DESTRUCTIVE)
+        self.assertEqual(action.minimum_role, console_authz.ADMIN)
+        self.assertTrue(action.dual_control)
+        self.assertTrue(action.break_glass)
+        self.assertTrue(action.requires_confirmation)
+
+    def test_reload_is_privileged_but_not_destructive(self):
+        action = console_authz.get_action(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(action.action_class, console_authz.CLASS_PRIVILEGED)
+        self.assertTrue(action.requires_confirmation)
+
+
+class TestPreview(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC4: an authorized preview renders the plan without executing it."""
+
+    def test_preview_lists_the_mutation_ledger(self):
+        preview = sanctioned_restart.build_restart_preview(
+            NAMESPACE, principal=admin(), env=READY_ENV
+        )
+        steps = [entry["step"] for entry in preview["mutation_ledger"]]
+        self.assertEqual(
+            steps, ["quiesce", "host_restart_hook", "health_recheck", "audit"]
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(preview["scope_valid"])
+        self.assertTrue(preview["post_restart_verification_required"])
+
+    def test_reload_preview_drains_instead_of_restarting(self):
+        preview = sanctioned_restart.build_restart_preview(
+            NAMESPACE, sanctioned_restart.MODE_RELOAD,
+            principal=admin(), env=READY_ENV,
+        )
+        steps = [entry["step"] for entry in preview["mutation_ledger"]]
+        self.assertIn("host_graceful_reload", steps)
+        self.assertNotIn("host_restart_hook", steps)
+
+    def test_preview_never_enables_execution(self):
+        preview = sanctioned_restart.build_restart_preview(
+            NAMESPACE, principal=admin(), env=READY_ENV
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(preview["execution_enabled"])
+        self.assertFalse(preview["authorization"]["execution_enabled"])
+
+    def test_confirmation_phrase_binds_the_namespace(self):
+        self.assertTrue(
+            sanctioned_restart.confirmation_matches(
+                NAMESPACE, sanctioned_restart.MODE_RESTART,
+                "restart gitea-author",
+            )
+        )
+        # A phrase typed for one namespace must not authorize another.
+        self.assertFalse(
+            sanctioned_restart.confirmation_matches(
+                "gitea-merger", sanctioned_restart.MODE_RESTART,
+                "restart gitea-author",
+            )
+        )
+
+
+class TestGates(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC1/AC4: every gate denies with a stable reason code."""
+
+    def _assess(self, **kwargs):
+        params = {
+            "principal": admin(),
+            "confirmation": f"restart {NAMESPACE}",
+            "env": READY_ENV,
+        }
+        params.update(kwargs)
+        namespace = params.pop("namespace", NAMESPACE)
+        mode = params.pop("mode", sanctioned_restart.MODE_RESTART)
+        return sanctioned_restart.assess_restart_request(
+            namespace, mode, **params
+        )
+
+    def test_authorized_confirmed_request_passes_every_gate(self):
+        result = self._assess()
+        self.assertTrue(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.ALLOW_HOST_ACTION_REQUIRED
+        )
+
+    def test_passing_every_gate_is_not_an_execution_grant(self):
+        """An allowed request still never lets the console touch the process."""
+        result = self._assess()
+        self.assertTrue(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["execution_enabled"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["console_executes"])
+
+    def test_unauthorized_principal_is_denied(self):
+        result = self._assess(principal=viewer())
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNAUTHORIZED
+        )
+
+    def test_anonymous_principal_is_denied(self):
+        result = self._assess(principal=None)
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNAUTHORIZED
+        )
+
+    def test_missing_confirmation_is_denied(self):
+        result = self._assess(confirmation=None)
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISSING
+        )
+
+    def test_confirmation_for_another_namespace_is_denied(self):
+        result = self._assess(confirmation="restart gitea-merger")
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISMATCH
+        )
+
+    def test_missing_operator_authorization_is_denied(self):
+        env = {sanctioned_restart.RESTART_HOOK_ENV: "launchd:cc.prgs.author"}
+        result = self._assess(env=env)
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"],
+            sanctioned_restart.DENY_OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION,
+        )
+
+    def test_missing_host_hook_is_denied_without_kill_fallback(self):
+        env = {
+            runtime_recovery_guard.OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION_ENV: "ops-ticket-1",
+        }
+        result = self._assess(env=env)
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_HOOK_NOT_CONFIGURED
+        )
+
+    def test_fleet_scope_is_refused(self):
+        for scope in ("all", "*", "fleet"):
+            with self.subTest(scope=scope):
+                result = self._assess(
+                    namespace=scope, confirmation=f"restart {scope}"
+                )
+                self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+                self.assertEqual(
+                    result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_FLEET_SCOPE
+                )
+
+    def test_unknown_namespace_is_refused(self):
+        result = self._assess(
+            namespace="gitea-nope", confirmation="restart gitea-nope"
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNKNOWN_NAMESPACE
+        )
+
+    def test_unknown_mode_is_refused(self):
+        result = self._assess(mode="obliterate")
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNKNOWN_MODE
+        )
+
+    def test_live_contamination_marker_blocks_restart(self):
+        marker = runtime_recovery_guard.build_contamination_record(
+            reason_class=runtime_recovery_guard.REASON_MANUAL_DAEMON_KILL,
+            command_redacted="pkill -f mcp_server.py",
+        )
+        result = self._assess(contamination_marker=marker)
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_CONTAMINATED_RUNTIME
+        )
+
+    def test_reconciler_cleared_marker_no_longer_blocks(self):
+        marker = runtime_recovery_guard.build_contamination_record(
+            reason_class=runtime_recovery_guard.REASON_MANUAL_DAEMON_KILL,
+            command_redacted="pkill -f mcp_server.py",
+        )
+        marker = dict(marker, cleared_by_reconciler=True)
+        result = self._assess(contamination_marker=marker)
+        self.assertTrue(result["allowed"])
+
+
+class TestExecutionNeverKills(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC5: no path exposes or runs a raw process kill."""
+
+    def test_authorized_execution_defers_to_the_host_supervisor(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.execute_restart(
+            NAMESPACE,
+            principal=admin(),
+            confirmation=f"restart {NAMESPACE}",
+            env=READY_ENV,
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["process_kill_executed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["outcome"], sanctioned_restart.ALLOW_HOST_ACTION_REQUIRED
+        )
+
+    def test_denied_execution_reports_the_refusing_gate(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.execute_restart(
+            NAMESPACE, principal=viewer(), confirmation=f"restart {NAMESPACE}",
+            env=READY_ENV,
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["allowed"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["outcome"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNAUTHORIZED
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["process_kill_executed"])
+
+    def test_module_never_spawns_a_process(self):
+        path = os.path.join(
+            os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))),
+            "webui", "sanctioned_restart.py",
+        )
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+            source = handle.read()
+        for forbidden in (
+            "import subprocess", "import signal", "os.kill", "os.system",
+            "popen",
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(forbidden=forbidden):
+                self.assertNotIn(forbidden, source.lower())
+
+    def test_no_surface_returns_a_kill_command(self):
+        payloads = [
+            sanctioned_restart.build_restart_preview(
+                NAMESPACE, principal=admin(), env=READY_ENV
+            ),
+            sanctioned_restart.restart_policy(),
+            sanctioned_restart.execute_restart(
+                NAMESPACE, principal=admin(),
+                confirmation=f"restart {NAMESPACE}", env=READY_ENV,
+            ),
+        ]
+        for payload in payloads:
+            rendered = json.dumps(payload, default=str).lower()
+            self.assertNotIn("kill -9", rendered)
+            self.assertNotIn("pkill -f", rendered)
+
+    def test_policy_declares_no_raw_kill_and_no_silent_restart(self):
+        policy = sanctioned_restart.restart_policy()
+        self.assertFalse(policy["raw_kill_exposed"])
+        self.assertFalse(policy["console_executes_process_kill"])
+        self.assertFalse(policy["fleet_scope_permitted"])
+        self.assertFalse(policy["silent_auto_restart_permitted"])
+        self.assertTrue(policy["audit_required"])
+
+
+class TestContaminationClassification(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC2: manual pkill is contamination, and it blocks clean claims."""
+
+    def test_manual_daemon_pkill_is_contamination(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.classify_restart_command(
+            "pkill -f mcp_server.py"
+        )
+        self.assertTrue(result["contamination"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+        self.assertIsNotNone(result["contamination_marker"])
+        self.assertEqual(
+            result["sanctioned_alternative"],
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE,
+        )
+
+    def test_broad_process_kill_is_contamination(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.classify_restart_command("killall -9 Python")
+        self.assertTrue(result["contamination"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+
+    def test_marker_names_the_sanctioned_alternative(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.classify_restart_command(
+            "pkill -f mcp_server.py"
+        )
+        marker = result["contamination_marker"]
+        self.assertIn(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE, marker["detail"]
+        )
+
+    def test_benign_command_is_not_contamination(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.classify_restart_command("git status")
+        self.assertFalse(result["contamination"])
+        self.assertTrue(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+
+    def test_no_command_is_not_contamination(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.classify_restart_command(None)
+        self.assertFalse(result["contamination"])
+        self.assertTrue(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+
+
+class TestPostRestartHealth(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC3: a clean post-restart claim needs live client-namespace proof."""
+
+    def test_live_client_probe_clears_the_session(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.verify_post_restart_health(
+            NAMESPACE,
+            probe_result={"success": True},
+            probe_source=mcp_namespace_health.PROBE_SOURCE_CLIENT,
+            registered_tools=["gitea_whoami"],
+            required_tool="gitea_whoami",
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result["status"], sanctioned_restart.HEALTH_CLEAN)
+        self.assertTrue(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+        self.assertTrue(result["mutations_allowed"])
+
+    def test_offline_probe_does_not_clear_the_session(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.verify_post_restart_health(
+            NAMESPACE,
+            probe_result={"success": True},
+            probe_source=mcp_namespace_health.PROBE_SOURCE_OFFLINE,
+            registered_tools=["gitea_whoami"],
+            required_tool="gitea_whoami",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+        self.assertFalse(result["mutations_allowed"])
+
+    def test_failed_probe_is_unhealthy(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.verify_post_restart_health(
+            NAMESPACE,
+            probe_result={"success": False, "error": "client is closing: EOF"},
+            probe_source=mcp_namespace_health.PROBE_SOURCE_CLIENT,
+            registered_tools=["gitea_whoami"],
+            required_tool="gitea_whoami",
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(result["status"], sanctioned_restart.HEALTH_UNHEALTHY)
+        self.assertFalse(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+
+    def test_static_registration_alone_never_clears_the_session(self):
+        result = sanctioned_restart.verify_post_restart_health(
+            NAMESPACE,
+            registered_tools=["gitea_whoami"],
+            required_tool="gitea_whoami",
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["clean_claim_allowed"])
+
+
+class TestAuditEmission(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Every restart attempt is audited with actor, target, and result."""
+
+    def _run(self, principal, sink):
+        prior = os.environ.get(console_audit.AUDIT_LOG_ENV)
+        os.environ[console_audit.AUDIT_LOG_ENV] = sink
+        try:
+            return sanctioned_restart.execute_restart(
+                NAMESPACE,
+                principal=principal,
+                confirmation=f"restart {NAMESPACE}",
+                env=READY_ENV,
+                request_id="req-642",
+            )
+        finally:
+            if prior is None:
+                os.environ.pop(console_audit.AUDIT_LOG_ENV, None)
+            else:
+                os.environ[console_audit.AUDIT_LOG_ENV] = prior
+
+    def test_allowed_attempt_is_written_with_actor_and_target(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            sink = os.path.join(tmp, "audit.jsonl")
+            result = self._run(admin(), sink)
+            self.assertTrue(result["audit"]["written"])
+            with open(sink, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                record = json.loads(handle.read().strip())
+        self.assertEqual(
+            record["action"], sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(record["target"]["namespace"], NAMESPACE)
+        self.assertEqual(record["target"]["mode"], "restart")
+        self.assertEqual(record["result"], console_audit.RESULT_ALLOWED)
+        self.assertEqual(record["actor"]["subject"], "[email protected]")
+        self.assertFalse(record["metadata"]["process_kill_executed"])
+
+    def test_denied_attempt_is_audited_too(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+            sink = os.path.join(tmp, "audit.jsonl")
+            self._run(viewer(), sink)
+            with open(sink, encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                record = json.loads(handle.read().strip())
+        self.assertEqual(record["result"], console_audit.RESULT_DENIED)
+        self.assertEqual(
+            record["reason_code"], sanctioned_restart.DENY_UNAUTHORIZED
+        )
+
+    def test_restart_audit_uses_break_glass_retention(self):
+        action = console_authz.get_action(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(
+            console_audit.retention_class_for(action),
+            console_audit.RETENTION_BREAK_GLASS,
+        )
+
+
+class TestRegistrySurface(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC5: the console surfaces the control, still disabled, with no kill."""
+
+    def test_registry_exposes_both_actions_disabled(self):
+        registry = gated_actions.load_action_registry()
+        for action_id in (
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE,
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE,
+        ):
+            with self.subTest(action=action_id):
+                action = registry.get(action_id)
+                self.assertIsNotNone(action)
+                self.assertFalse(action.enabled)
+
+    def test_registry_preview_names_the_namespace_target(self):
+        preview = gated_actions.preview_action(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE, namespace=NAMESPACE
+        )
+        target = preview["mutation_ledger"][0]["target"]
+        self.assertIn(NAMESPACE, target)
+        self.assertFalse(preview["enabled"])
+
+    def test_registry_attempt_fails_closed(self):
+        result = gated_actions.attempt_action(
+            sanctioned_restart.ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE, namespace=NAMESPACE
+        )
+        self.assertFalse(result["success"])
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()

tests/test_webui_system_health_dashboard.py

@@ -0,0 +1,345 @@
+"""Tests for the system-health dashboard view (#639).
+
+Covers the acceptance criteria directly: the page renders the health DTO
+fields (AC1), degraded dependencies are visible (AC2), stale runtime is warned
+prominently and never rendered as mutation-safe (AC3), healthy and degraded
+fixtures both render (AC4), and the shell carries a nav entry (AC5).
+"""
+import sys
+import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
+
+from starlette.testclient import TestClient
+
+from webui.app import create_app
+from webui.deployment_boundary import scan_text_for_client_secrets
+from webui.layout import render_page
+from webui.nav import iter_nav_items
+from webui.system_health import (
+    STATUS_DEGRADED,
+    STATUS_DOWN,
+    STATUS_OK,
+    STATUS_SKIPPED,
+    STATUS_UNPROVEN,
+    DependencyProbe,
+    StaleRuntime,
+    SystemHealthSnapshot,
+    VersionInfo,
+)
+from webui.system_health_views import render_system_health_page
+
+DASHBOARD_PATH = "/system-health"
+
+
+def _version(*, known: bool = True) -> VersionInfo:
+    return VersionInfo(
+        git_sha="1c455b6ec0f9cb761fe6248de68c17e061fb5ecd" if known else None,
+        git_describe="v0.4.1-12-g1c455b6" if known else None,
+        control_plane_schema_version=4 if known else None,
+        python_version="3.13.1",
+        known=known,
+    )
+
+
+def _parity(*, stale: bool = False, determinable: bool = True) -> StaleRuntime:
+    if stale:
+        return StaleRuntime(
+            daemon_head="aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
+            checkout_head="bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb",
+            remote_head="cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc",
+            stale=True,
+            determinable=True,
+            mutation_safe=False,
+            reasons=("runtime, checkout, and remote commits disagree",),
+        )
+    if not determinable:
+        return StaleRuntime(
+            daemon_head=None,
+            checkout_head=None,
+            remote_head=None,
+            stale=False,
+            determinable=False,
+            mutation_safe=False,
+            reasons=("local checkout HEAD could not be read",),
+        )
+    return StaleRuntime(
+        daemon_head="1c455b6ec0f9cb761fe6248de68c17e061fb5ecd",
+        checkout_head="1c455b6ec0f9cb761fe6248de68c17e061fb5ecd",
+        remote_head="1c455b6ec0f9cb761fe6248de68c17e061fb5ecd",
+        stale=False,
+        determinable=True,
+        mutation_safe=True,
+        reasons=(),
+    )
+
+
+def _snapshot(
+    *,
+    status: str = STATUS_OK,
+    ready: bool = True,
+    readiness_complete: bool = True,
+    readiness_reasons: tuple[str, ...] = (),
+    dependencies: tuple[DependencyProbe, ...] | None = None,
+    parity: StaleRuntime | None = None,
+    namespaces: tuple[dict, ...] = (),
+    probe_errors: tuple[str, ...] = (),
+    version_known: bool = True,
+) -> SystemHealthSnapshot:
+    if dependencies is None:
+        dependencies = (
+            DependencyProbe(
+                name="control_plane_db",
+                kind="sqlite",
+                status=STATUS_OK,
+                detail="schema version 4",
+                required=True,
+                latency_ms=1.25,
+                metadata={"schema_version": 4},
+            ),
+        )
+    return SystemHealthSnapshot(
+        status=status,
+        ready=ready,
+        readiness_complete=readiness_complete,
+        readiness_reasons=readiness_reasons,
+        service="mcp-control-plane-webui",
+        mode="read-only",
+        version=_version(known=version_known),
+        started_at="2026-07-23T19:50:47+00:00",
+        uptime_seconds=3661.5,
+        timestamp="2026-07-23T20:51:48+00:00",
+        deep_probes_requested=False,
+        dependencies=dependencies,
+        mcp_namespaces=namespaces,
+        stale_runtime=parity if parity is not None else _parity(),
+        probe_errors=probe_errors,
+    )
+
+
+class TestHealthyRender(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC1 / AC4 — every health DTO field reaches the page."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot())
+
+    def test_readiness_fields_render(self):
+        self.assertIn("System health", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("Ready", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("mcp-control-plane-webui", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("read-only", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("2026-07-23T20:51:48+00:00", self.html)
+
+    def test_version_and_uptime_render(self):
+        self.assertIn("1c455b6ec0f9cb761fe6248de68c17e061fb5ecd", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("v0.4.1-12-g1c455b6", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("3.13.1", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("3661.500s", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("1.02h", self.html)
+
+    def test_dependency_row_renders_with_latency(self):
+        self.assertIn("control_plane_db", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("sqlite", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("schema version 4", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("1.2 ms", self.html)
+
+    def test_healthy_page_shows_no_stale_warning(self):
+        self.assertNotIn("Stale runtime:", self.html)
+        self.assertNotIn("Staleness", self.html)
+
+    def test_unknown_version_is_labelled_not_faked(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot(version_known=False))
+        self.assertIn("unknown", html)
+        self.assertIn("unresolved", html)
+
+
+class TestDegradedRender(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC2 — a degraded or unrun dependency is visible, not swallowed."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.deps = (
+            DependencyProbe(
+                name="control_plane_db",
+                kind="sqlite",
+                status=STATUS_OK,
+                detail="schema version 4",
+                required=True,
+                latency_ms=0.9,
+            ),
+            DependencyProbe(
+                name="repository",
+                kind="git",
+                status=STATUS_DOWN,
+                detail="repository root is not a git checkout",
+                required=True,
+                latency_ms=4.0,
+            ),
+            DependencyProbe(
+                name="gitea",
+                kind="http",
+                status=STATUS_SKIPPED,
+                detail="deep probe not requested",
+                required=False,
+            ),
+        )
+        self.html = render_system_health_page(
+            _snapshot(
+                status=STATUS_DEGRADED,
+                ready=False,
+                readiness_complete=False,
+                readiness_reasons=("required dependency 'repository' is down",),
+                dependencies=self.deps,
+            )
+        )
+
+    def test_degraded_banner_names_the_dependency(self):
+        self.assertIn("Degraded dependencies:", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("repository", self.html)
+
+    def test_not_run_probe_is_reported_separately(self):
+        self.assertIn("Not probed:", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("gitea", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("not counted", self.html)
+
+    def test_not_ready_headline_and_reason(self):
+        self.assertIn("Not ready", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("required dependency 'repository' is down", self.html)
+
+    def test_degraded_status_badge_present(self):
+        self.assertIn("badge-health-degraded", self.html)
+        self.assertIn("badge-health-down", self.html)
+
+    def test_ready_but_incomplete_is_not_shown_as_plain_ready(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(
+            _snapshot(ready=True, readiness_complete=False)
+        )
+        self.assertIn("Ready (incomplete evidence)", html)
+
+
+class TestStaleRuntimeWarning(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC3 — staleness is prominent and never claims mutation safety."""
+
+    def test_stale_runtime_warns_and_denies_mutation_safety(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot(parity=_parity(stale=True)))
+        self.assertIn("Stale runtime:", html)
+        self.assertIn("do not treat this runtime as mutation-safe", html)
+        self.assertIn("<tr><th>Mutation safe</th><td>False</td></tr>", html)
+
+    def test_indeterminate_parity_is_not_reported_safe(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(
+            _snapshot(parity=_parity(determinable=False))
+        )
+        self.assertIn("Staleness", html)
+        self.assertIn("<tr><th>Mutation safe</th><td>False</td></tr>", html)
+        self.assertIn("<tr><th>Determinable</th><td>False</td></tr>", html)
+
+    def test_healthy_parity_reports_mutation_safe_true(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot())
+        self.assertIn("<tr><th>Mutation safe</th><td>True</td></tr>", html)
+
+
+class TestNamespacesAndErrors(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_unproven_namespace_rows_render(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(
+            _snapshot(
+                namespaces=(
+                    {
+                        "namespace": "gitea-author",
+                        "required_tool": "gitea_lock_issue",
+                        "status": STATUS_UNPROVEN,
+                        "ide_namespace_proven": False,
+                        "reason": "the web console cannot invoke the IDE-managed MCP client",
+                    },
+                )
+            )
+        )
+        self.assertIn("gitea-author", html)
+        self.assertIn("gitea_lock_issue", html)
+        self.assertIn("badge-health-unproven", html)
+
+    def test_no_namespaces_degrades_gracefully(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot(namespaces=()))
+        self.assertIn("No MCP namespaces are declared.", html)
+
+    def test_probe_errors_render_when_present(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(
+            _snapshot(probe_errors=("probe raised: disk offline",))
+        )
+        self.assertIn("Probe errors", html)
+        self.assertIn("disk offline", html)
+
+    def test_probe_error_card_absent_when_clean(self):
+        self.assertNotIn("Probe errors", render_system_health_page(_snapshot()))
+
+
+class TestReadOnlyAndRedaction(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_no_restart_or_kill_controls(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot())
+        self.assertNotIn("<button", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("<form", html)
+        self.assertNotIn("pkill", html)
+        self.assertIn("read-only", html)
+
+    def test_recovery_points_at_sanctioned_path(self):
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot())
+        self.assertIn("Reconnect the MCP client", html)
+        self.assertIn("Never kill the daemon process manually", html)
+
+    def test_secret_shaped_detail_is_redacted(self):
+        leaky = DependencyProbe(
+            name="gitea",
+            kind="http",
+            status=STATUS_DOWN,
+            detail="auth failed for token=ghp_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789",
+            required=False,
+            latency_ms=12.0,
+        )
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot(dependencies=(leaky,)))
+        self.assertNotIn("ghp_ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789", html)
+
+    def test_html_in_detail_is_escaped(self):
+        hostile = DependencyProbe(
+            name="repository",
+            kind="git",
+            status=STATUS_DOWN,
+            detail="<script>alert(1)</script>",
+            required=True,
+        )
+        html = render_system_health_page(_snapshot(dependencies=(hostile,)))
+        self.assertNotIn("<script>", html)
+        self.assertIn("&lt;script&gt;", html)
+
+
+class TestNavAndRoute(unittest.TestCase):
+    """AC5 — the shell links the dashboard, and the route serves it."""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.client = TestClient(create_app())
+
+    def test_nav_contains_system_health(self):
+        self.assertIn(
+            (DASHBOARD_PATH, "System health"),
+            [(item.href, item.label) for item in iter_nav_items()],
+        )
+
+    def test_rendered_shell_links_dashboard(self):
+        page = render_page(title="Home", body_html="<p>x</p>")
+        self.assertIn(f'href="{DASHBOARD_PATH}"', page)
+
+    def test_route_renders_dashboard(self):
+        response = self.client.get(DASHBOARD_PATH)
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
+        self.assertIn("System health", response.text)
+        self.assertIn("Stale-runtime parity", response.text)
+
+    def test_route_is_read_only(self):
+        self.assertEqual(self.client.post(DASHBOARD_PATH).status_code, 405)
+
+    def test_live_page_leaks_no_client_secret(self):
+        findings = scan_text_for_client_secrets(self.client.get(DASHBOARD_PATH).text)
+        self.assertEqual(findings, [])
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":  # pragma: no cover
+    unittest.main()

tests/test_workspace_guard_alignment.py

@@ -35,8 +35,10 @@ class TestCanonicalRepoRoot(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(root, CONTROL_ROOT)
 
     def test_falls_back_when_git_unavailable(self):
+        # When fallback is a path under <repo>/branches/<worktree>, recover
+        # <repo> via commonpath ancestry (never string-split on "/branches/").
         root = amw.resolve_canonical_repo_root("/missing/path", MCP_PROCESS_ROOT)
-        self.assertEqual(root, os.path.realpath(MCP_PROCESS_ROOT))
+        self.assertEqual(root, os.path.realpath(CONTROL_ROOT))
 
 
 class TestWorkspaceRepoMembership(unittest.TestCase):

webui/app.py

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ from webui.system_health import (
     process_uptime,
     snapshot_to_dict as system_health_to_dict,
 )
+from webui.system_health_views import render_system_health_page
 
 _READ_ONLY_METHODS = frozenset({"GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS"})
 _AUDIT_MUTATION_PATHS = frozenset({"/audit", "/api/audit"})
@@ -161,6 +162,24 @@ async def api_system_health(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
     return JSONResponse(payload, status_code=200 if snapshot.ready else 503)
 
 
+async def system_health(request: Request) -> HTMLResponse:
+    """Read-only system-health dashboard (#639).
+
+    Shares the #634 snapshot loader with the JSON API so the page can never
+    disagree with it. `?deep=1` opts into the network probe exactly as the API
+    does; the default page load stays cheap. The response is always 200: this
+    is an operator view that must render the degraded state, not withhold it.
+    """
+    deep = _truthy_flag(request.query_params.get("deep"))
+    snapshot = load_system_health(deep=deep)
+    return HTMLResponse(
+        render_page(
+            title="System health",
+            body_html=render_system_health_page(snapshot),
+        )
+    )
+
+
 async def queue(_request: Request) -> HTMLResponse:
     snapshot = load_queue_snapshot()
     return HTMLResponse(render_page(title="Queue", body_html=render_queue_page(snapshot)))
@@ -571,6 +590,7 @@ def create_app(*, bind_host: str | None = None) -> Starlette:
             Route("/", home, methods=["GET"]),
             Route("/health", health, methods=["GET"]),
             Route(SYSTEM_HEALTH_API_PATH, api_system_health, methods=["GET"]),
+            Route("/system-health", system_health, methods=["GET"]),
             Route("/queue", queue, methods=["GET"]),
             Route("/api/queue", api_queue, methods=["GET"]),
             Route("/projects", projects, methods=["GET"]),

webui/console_authz.py

@@ -236,6 +236,34 @@ _ACTION_SPECS: tuple[ConsoleAction, ...] = (
         phase=3,
         summary="Remove a remote feature branch.",
     ),
+    # #642: sanctioned daemon lifecycle. These exist so operators have an
+    # audited path off `pkill -f mcp_server.py` (#630). Restart drops every
+    # in-flight request on a namespace, so it carries the same dual-control and
+    # break-glass weight as a merge; reload drains first and is privileged but
+    # not destructive. Neither ever exposes a raw kill: execution is handed to
+    # a host supervisor by ``webui.sanctioned_restart``.
+    ConsoleAction(
+        action_id="system.reload_namespace",
+        task_key="reload_namespace",
+        action_class=CLASS_PRIVILEGED,
+        minimum_role=CONTROLLER,
+        requires_confirmation=True,
+        dual_control=False,
+        break_glass=False,
+        phase=2,
+        summary="Gracefully reload one MCP namespace via the host supervisor.",
+    ),
+    ConsoleAction(
+        action_id="system.restart_namespace",
+        task_key="restart_namespace",
+        action_class=CLASS_DESTRUCTIVE,
+        minimum_role=ADMIN,
+        requires_confirmation=True,
+        dual_control=True,
+        break_glass=True,
+        phase=2,
+        summary="Restart one MCP namespace via the host supervisor.",
+    ),
 )
 
 ACTIONS: dict[str, ConsoleAction] = {a.action_id: a for a in _ACTION_SPECS}

webui/gated_actions.py

@@ -110,6 +110,8 @@ def _format_target(action_id: str, params: dict[str, Any]) -> str:
         )
     if action_id == "create_issue":
         return f"issue {params.get('title', '?')!r}"
+    if action_id in {"system.restart_namespace", "system.reload_namespace"}:
+        return f"MCP namespace {params.get('namespace', '?')!r}"
     return "unspecified"
 
 
@@ -165,6 +167,17 @@ def build_action_registry() -> ActionRegistry:
          "gitea_create_issue_comment", "Post a PR review thread comment."),
         ("close_pr", "Close PR", "close_pr", "gitea_edit_pr",
          "Close a pull request without merge."),
+        # #642: the sanctioned replacement for the forbidden manual daemon-kill
+        # recovery path (#630). The "tool" is a host supervisor hook, not an MCP
+        # call — the console never signals a process. Preview and gating live in
+        # ``webui.sanctioned_restart``; these stay disabled like every other
+        # registry entry.
+        ("system.reload_namespace", "Reload MCP namespace", "reload_namespace",
+         "host.supervisor_reload",
+         "Gracefully reload one MCP namespace via the host supervisor."),
+        ("system.restart_namespace", "Restart MCP namespace",
+         "restart_namespace", "host.supervisor_restart",
+         "Restart one MCP namespace via the host supervisor."),
     )
     actions = tuple(
         GatedAction(

webui/layout.py

@@ -236,6 +236,25 @@ def render_page(*, title: str, body_html: str, extra_head: str = "") -> str:
     .badge-in-review {{ color: #9ec8f0; border-color: #3d5f7a; }}
     .badge-duplicate {{ color: #e0c27a; border-color: #6b5730; }}
     .badge-stale {{ color: #c9b8e8; border-color: #5a4a78; }}
+    .badge-health-ok {{ color: #8fd19e; border-color: #3d6b4a; }}
+    .badge-health-degraded {{ color: #e0c27a; border-color: #6b5730; }}
+    .badge-health-down {{ color: #f0a8a8; border-color: #7a3b3b; }}
+    .badge-health-skipped {{ color: var(--muted); }}
+    .badge-health-unproven {{ color: #c9b8e8; border-color: #5a4a78; }}
+    .health-card {{
+      margin: 1.25rem 0;
+      padding: 0.85rem 1rem 1rem;
+      border: 1px solid var(--border);
+      border-radius: 8px;
+      background: var(--surface);
+    }}
+    .health-card h3 {{ margin: 0 0 0.5rem; font-size: 1.05rem; }}
+    .health-card h4 {{ margin: 1rem 0 0.35rem; font-size: 0.92rem; color: var(--muted); }}
+    .health-headline {{ color: var(--text); font-size: 1rem; margin: 0 0 0.5rem; }}
+    .health-degraded {{ border-left-color: #e0c27a; }}
+    .health-stale {{ border-left-color: #f0a8a8; }}
+    ul.reasons {{ margin: 0.35rem 0; padding-left: 1.15rem; color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.9rem; }}
+    ul.reasons li {{ margin-bottom: 0.3rem; }}
   </style>
   {extra_head}
 </head>

webui/nav.py

@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ class NavGroup:
 NAV_GROUPS: tuple[NavGroup, ...] = (
     NavGroup("Health", (
         NavItem("/health", "Liveness"),
+        NavItem("/system-health", "System health"),
     )),
     NavGroup("Traffic", (
         NavItem("/queue", "Queue"),

webui/sanctioned_restart.py

@@ -0,0 +1,613 @@
+"""Sanctioned MCP restart and graceful reload controls (#642, Phase 2).
+
+Sessions have historically recovered MCP connectivity by killing the host
+daemon (``pkill -f mcp_server.py``, #630). That path stays forbidden: it kills
+every namespace on the host, contaminates the surviving session, and leaves no
+audit trail. This module is the sanctioned replacement.
+
+A restart is modelled as a *gated action*, never as a command:
+
+1. **Capability** — the console action resolves through ``console_authz``
+   against ``task_capability_map``, so the console cannot invent an authority
+   the MCP layer does not already define.
+2. **Preview** — :func:`build_restart_preview` renders a mutation ledger and
+   the exact confirmation phrase. It never returns a shell command.
+3. **Confirmation** — the operator echoes a phrase naming the exact namespace
+   and mode. A phrase for one namespace never authorizes another.
+4. **Operator authorization** — host daemon maintenance is authorized out of
+   band through the environment (#630, and #710 finding F1: a worker session
+   cannot set an env var for an already-running daemon, so this cannot be
+   self-asserted the way a tool argument could).
+5. **Execution** — :func:`execute_restart` never spawns a process. Once every
+   gate passes it hands the request to the configured host-managed restart
+   hook; with no hook configured it fails closed.
+6. **Health recheck** — :func:`verify_post_restart_health` requires live
+   client-namespace probe evidence before any post-restart clean claim.
+
+Manual ``pkill`` remains forbidden and is classified as contamination by
+:func:`classify_restart_command`, which blocks clean claims (#630 AC3).
+
+This module performs no I/O beyond reading its own environment configuration,
+imports no MCP client, and holds no credential.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+from dataclasses import asdict, dataclass
+from typing import Any
+
+import mcp_namespace_health
+import runtime_recovery_guard
+from webui import console_audit, console_authz
+
+# --- Operations -------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MODE_RESTART = "restart"
+MODE_RELOAD = "reload"
+MODES: tuple[str, ...] = (MODE_RESTART, MODE_RELOAD)
+
+ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE = "system.restart_namespace"
+ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE = "system.reload_namespace"
+
+ACTION_FOR_MODE: dict[str, str] = {
+    MODE_RESTART: ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE,
+    MODE_RELOAD: ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE,
+}
+
+# Namespaces the console may target. An unlisted name fails closed rather than
+# being passed through to a host hook.
+KNOWN_NAMESPACES: tuple[str, ...] = tuple(
+    sorted(
+        set(mcp_namespace_health.DEFAULT_NAMESPACES)
+        | {"gitea-author", "gitea-reviewer", "gitea-merger",
+           "gitea-reconciler", "gitea-controller"}
+    )
+)
+
+# Scope tokens that would mean "everything at once". Explicit non-goal: the
+# console never offers a fleet-wide restart, because that is the blast radius
+# `pkill -f mcp_server.py` already had.
+_FLEET_TOKENS = frozenset({"*", "all", "fleet", "any", ""})
+
+# --- Environment configuration ----------------------------------------------
+# Read server-side only; the value is an opaque host hook reference (e.g. a
+# launchd label), never a command line, and is never rendered to a client.
+RESTART_HOOK_ENV = "GITEA_SANCTIONED_RESTART_HOOK"
+
+# --- Reason codes -----------------------------------------------------------
+
+DENY_UNKNOWN_MODE = "unknown_mode"
+DENY_UNKNOWN_NAMESPACE = "unknown_namespace"
+DENY_FLEET_SCOPE = "fleet_scope_not_permitted"
+DENY_UNAUTHORIZED = "unauthorized"
+DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISSING = "confirmation_required"
+DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISMATCH = "confirmation_mismatch"
+DENY_OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION = "operator_authorization_missing"
+DENY_HOOK_NOT_CONFIGURED = "restart_hook_not_configured"
+DENY_CONTAMINATED_RUNTIME = "contaminated_runtime"
+
+ALLOW_HOST_ACTION_REQUIRED = "host_action_required"
+
+# Post-restart verification outcomes.
+HEALTH_CLEAN = "clean"
+HEALTH_UNPROVEN = "unproven"
+HEALTH_UNHEALTHY = "unhealthy"
+
+
+def _clean(value: Any) -> str:
+    return str(value or "").strip()
+
+
+# --- Mutation ledger --------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class RestartLedgerEntry:
+    """One planned step, shown before anything is asked of the host."""
+
+    sequence: int
+    step: str
+    summary: str
+    executes_process_kill: bool = False
+
+
+def _mutation_ledger(namespace: str, mode: str) -> tuple[RestartLedgerEntry, ...]:
+    if mode == MODE_RELOAD:
+        middle = RestartLedgerEntry(
+            sequence=2,
+            step="host_graceful_reload",
+            summary=(
+                f"Ask the configured host supervisor to reload {namespace} "
+                "in place, draining in-flight requests. The console does not "
+                "signal the process itself."
+            ),
+        )
+    else:
+        middle = RestartLedgerEntry(
+            sequence=2,
+            step="host_restart_hook",
+            summary=(
+                f"Ask the configured host supervisor to restart {namespace}. "
+                "The console never sends a signal and never runs a kill."
+            ),
+        )
+    return (
+        RestartLedgerEntry(
+            sequence=1,
+            step="quiesce",
+            summary=(
+                f"Stop admitting new gated mutations for {namespace} and "
+                "record the intent before anything restarts."
+            ),
+        ),
+        middle,
+        RestartLedgerEntry(
+            sequence=3,
+            step="health_recheck",
+            summary=(
+                f"Re-probe {namespace} through the live client namespace and "
+                "prove the required tool is callable again."
+            ),
+        ),
+        RestartLedgerEntry(
+            sequence=4,
+            step="audit",
+            summary=(
+                "Append actor, target namespace, mode, and result to the "
+                "console audit log."
+            ),
+        ),
+    )
+
+
+# --- Confirmation -----------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def confirmation_phrase(namespace: str, mode: str) -> str:
+    """Exact phrase an operator must echo, naming the namespace and mode.
+
+    Binding the namespace into the phrase is the point: a confirmation typed
+    for ``gitea-author`` cannot be replayed against ``gitea-merger``.
+    """
+    return f"{_clean(mode)} {_clean(namespace)}"
+
+
+def confirmation_matches(
+    namespace: str, mode: str, confirmation: str | None
+) -> bool:
+    """Compare *confirmation* to the required phrase (exact, whitespace-trimmed)."""
+    return _clean(confirmation) == confirmation_phrase(namespace, mode)
+
+
+# --- Scope validation -------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def _validate_scope(namespace: str, mode: str) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
+    """Return ``(reason_code, detail)`` when the scope is refused."""
+    ns = _clean(namespace)
+    md = _clean(mode)
+
+    if md not in MODES:
+        return (
+            DENY_UNKNOWN_MODE,
+            f"Mode {md!r} is not one of {', '.join(MODES)}.",
+        )
+    if ns.lower() in _FLEET_TOKENS:
+        return (
+            DENY_FLEET_SCOPE,
+            (
+                "Fleet-wide restart is an explicit non-goal: it reproduces the "
+                "blast radius of `pkill -f mcp_server.py` (#630). Restart one "
+                "namespace at a time."
+            ),
+        )
+    if ns not in KNOWN_NAMESPACES:
+        return (
+            DENY_UNKNOWN_NAMESPACE,
+            f"Namespace {ns!r} is not a known MCP namespace.",
+        )
+    return None
+
+
+# --- Host hook --------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def restart_hook(env: dict[str, str] | None = None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Report the configured host-managed restart hook.
+
+    The hook is a reference the *host* resolves (a supervisor label), not a
+    command this process runs. ``configured=False`` fails restart closed.
+    """
+    source = env if env is not None else os.environ
+    reference = _clean(source.get(RESTART_HOOK_ENV))
+    return {
+        "configured": bool(reference),
+        "reference": reference or None,
+        "source": RESTART_HOOK_ENV if reference else None,
+        "self_assertable": False,
+        "console_executes_process": False,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Preview ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def build_restart_preview(
+    namespace: str,
+    mode: str = MODE_RESTART,
+    *,
+    principal: console_authz.Principal | None = None,
+    env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Render the dry-run preview for a restart/reload request.
+
+    Read-only: no authorization is granted, no host is contacted, and the
+    result never contains a shell command.
+    """
+    ns = _clean(namespace)
+    md = _clean(mode)
+    action_id = ACTION_FOR_MODE.get(md, ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE)
+    action = console_authz.get_action(action_id)
+    decision = console_authz.authorize(action_id, principal)
+    scope_error = _validate_scope(ns, md)
+    hook = restart_hook(env)
+    operator = runtime_recovery_guard.operator_authorization(env)
+
+    return {
+        "action_id": action_id,
+        "namespace": ns,
+        "mode": md,
+        "scope_valid": scope_error is None,
+        "scope_reason_code": scope_error[0] if scope_error else None,
+        "scope_detail": scope_error[1] if scope_error else None,
+        "required_role": action.minimum_role if action else None,
+        "required_permission": action.mcp_permission if action else None,
+        "action_class": action.action_class if action else None,
+        "dual_control": action.dual_control if action else True,
+        "break_glass": action.break_glass if action else True,
+        "requires_confirmation": True,
+        "confirmation_phrase": confirmation_phrase(ns, md),
+        "mutation_ledger": [asdict(entry) for entry in _mutation_ledger(ns, md)],
+        "authorization": decision.to_dict(),
+        "operator_authorization": operator,
+        "restart_hook": hook,
+        "execution_enabled": False,
+        "raw_process_kill_exposed": False,
+        "known_namespaces": list(KNOWN_NAMESPACES),
+        "post_restart_verification_required": True,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Gate -------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def assess_restart_request(
+    namespace: str,
+    mode: str = MODE_RESTART,
+    *,
+    principal: console_authz.Principal | None = None,
+    confirmation: str | None = None,
+    contamination_marker: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+    env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Decide whether a restart request may proceed to the host hook.
+
+    Every gate must pass. The first failure wins and is reported with a stable
+    reason code; a pass never means "restarted", only "may be handed to the
+    configured host hook".
+    """
+    ns = _clean(namespace)
+    md = _clean(mode)
+    action_id = ACTION_FOR_MODE.get(md, ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE)
+    preview = build_restart_preview(ns, md, principal=principal, env=env)
+
+    def refuse(reason_code: str, detail: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {
+            "allowed": False,
+            "gates_passed": False,
+            "reason_code": reason_code,
+            "detail": detail,
+            "action_id": action_id,
+            "namespace": ns,
+            "mode": md,
+            "preview": preview,
+            "execution_enabled": False,
+        }
+
+    scope_error = _validate_scope(ns, md)
+    if scope_error is not None:
+        return refuse(*scope_error)
+
+    # Authority is checked as an authorization decision, not an execution
+    # grant. ``for_execution=True`` asks "may the console perform this write?",
+    # and the answer here is permanently no: step 2 of the ledger is a request
+    # to the host supervisor, so the console's Phase 2 execution gate is not
+    # the relevant gate. Every branch below keeps ``execution_enabled`` False
+    # and :func:`execute_restart` never touches a process.
+    decision = console_authz.authorize(action_id, principal)
+    if not decision.allowed:
+        return refuse(DENY_UNAUTHORIZED, decision.detail)
+
+    if not _clean(confirmation):
+        return refuse(
+            DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISSING,
+            (
+                "Type the confirmation phrase "
+                f"{preview['confirmation_phrase']!r} to proceed."
+            ),
+        )
+    if not confirmation_matches(ns, md, confirmation):
+        return refuse(
+            DENY_CONFIRMATION_MISMATCH,
+            (
+                "Confirmation does not name this namespace and mode; expected "
+                f"{preview['confirmation_phrase']!r}."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    operator = preview["operator_authorization"]
+    if not operator["authorized"]:
+        return refuse(
+            DENY_OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION,
+            (
+                "Host daemon maintenance requires out-of-band operator "
+                "authorization via "
+                f"{runtime_recovery_guard.OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION_ENV}."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    # #630's task-scoped gate deliberately lets a contaminated worker keep
+    # commenting and handing off. Restart is stricter and unconditional: a
+    # runtime already contaminated by a manual kill must be reconciled before
+    # it is restarted again, or the restart just launders the contamination.
+    if contamination_marker and not contamination_marker.get(
+        "cleared_by_reconciler"
+    ):
+        return refuse(
+            DENY_CONTAMINATED_RUNTIME,
+            (
+                "A live contamination marker is present; clear it through the "
+                "reconciler path before restarting."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    hook = preview["restart_hook"]
+    if not hook["configured"]:
+        return refuse(
+            DENY_HOOK_NOT_CONFIGURED,
+            (
+                "No host-managed restart hook is configured "
+                f"({RESTART_HOOK_ENV}). The console will not fall back to a "
+                "process kill."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    return {
+        "allowed": True,
+        "gates_passed": True,
+        "reason_code": ALLOW_HOST_ACTION_REQUIRED,
+        "detail": (
+            "Every gate passed. The restart must be performed by the "
+            "configured host supervisor; the console does not signal the "
+            "process."
+        ),
+        "action_id": action_id,
+        "namespace": ns,
+        "mode": md,
+        "preview": preview,
+        "execution_enabled": False,
+        "console_executes": False,
+        "console_active_phase": console_authz.ACTIVE_PHASE,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Execution --------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def execute_restart(
+    namespace: str,
+    mode: str = MODE_RESTART,
+    *,
+    principal: console_authz.Principal | None = None,
+    confirmation: str | None = None,
+    contamination_marker: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+    env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
+    request_id: str | None = None,
+    session_id: str | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Run every gate, audit the outcome, and hand off to the host.
+
+    This function never spawns a process, never sends a signal, and never
+    builds a command line. ``success`` is False in both directions: a refused
+    request is refused, and an authorized request still requires the host
+    supervisor to act.
+    """
+    assessment = assess_restart_request(
+        namespace,
+        mode,
+        principal=principal,
+        confirmation=confirmation,
+        contamination_marker=contamination_marker,
+        env=env,
+    )
+    action_id = assessment["action_id"]
+    allowed = assessment["allowed"]
+
+    audit = console_audit.record_event(
+        action_id=action_id,
+        result=(
+            console_audit.RESULT_ALLOWED if allowed
+            else console_audit.RESULT_DENIED
+        ),
+        principal=principal,
+        target={"namespace": assessment["namespace"], "mode": assessment["mode"]},
+        reason_code=assessment["reason_code"],
+        detail=assessment["detail"],
+        request_id=request_id,
+        session_id=session_id,
+        metadata={
+            "gates_passed": assessment["gates_passed"],
+            "process_kill_executed": False,
+            "post_restart_verification_required": True,
+        },
+    )
+
+    return {
+        "success": False,
+        "outcome": (
+            ALLOW_HOST_ACTION_REQUIRED if allowed else assessment["reason_code"]
+        ),
+        "allowed": allowed,
+        "detail": assessment["detail"],
+        "namespace": assessment["namespace"],
+        "mode": assessment["mode"],
+        "action_id": action_id,
+        "process_kill_executed": False,
+        "host_hook": assessment["preview"]["restart_hook"],
+        "next_action": (
+            "Have the host supervisor perform the restart, then call "
+            "verify_post_restart_health with live client-namespace evidence "
+            "before claiming a clean session."
+            if allowed
+            else assessment["detail"]
+        ),
+        "assessment": assessment,
+        "audit": audit,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Contamination classification -------------------------------------------
+
+
+def classify_restart_command(
+    command: str | None,
+    *,
+    mcp_pids: list[Any] | tuple[Any, ...] | None = None,
+    session_id: str | None = None,
+    remote: str | None = None,
+    role: str | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Classify an operator-proposed recovery command (#630 AC2).
+
+    A manual ``pkill``/``kill`` of the MCP daemon is contamination, not a
+    restart. When contaminating, a durable marker is returned so downstream
+    gated mutations and clean claims fail closed.
+    """
+    classification = runtime_recovery_guard.classify_recovery_command(
+        command, mcp_pids=mcp_pids
+    )
+    contaminating = bool(classification.get("contamination"))
+
+    marker = None
+    if contaminating:
+        marker = runtime_recovery_guard.build_contamination_record(
+            reason_class=(
+                classification.get("reason_class")
+                or runtime_recovery_guard.REASON_MANUAL_DAEMON_KILL
+            ),
+            command_redacted=classification.get("redacted_command"),
+            session_id=session_id,
+            remote=remote,
+            role=role,
+            detail=(
+                "Manual daemon kill is forbidden; use the sanctioned "
+                f"{ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE} gated action instead."
+            ),
+        )
+
+    return {
+        "contamination": contaminating,
+        "sanctioned": not contaminating and not classification.get("process_kill"),
+        "clean_claim_allowed": not contaminating,
+        "reason_class": classification.get("reason_class"),
+        "redacted_command": classification.get("redacted_command"),
+        "classification": classification,
+        "contamination_marker": marker,
+        "sanctioned_alternative": ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Post-restart health verification ---------------------------------------
+
+
+def verify_post_restart_health(
+    namespace: str,
+    *,
+    probe_result: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
+    probe_source: str | None = None,
+    registered_tools: list[str] | tuple[str, ...] | None = None,
+    required_tool: str | None = None,
+    profile: str | None = None,
+) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Require live proof a namespace is callable before any clean claim (AC3).
+
+    Static registration is not proof and neither is an offline subprocess
+    probe: only ``probe_source=client_namespace`` evidence can clear a
+    post-restart session for mutations.
+    """
+    ns = _clean(namespace)
+    health = mcp_namespace_health.classify_namespace_probe(
+        ns,
+        required_tool=required_tool,
+        registered_tools=registered_tools,
+        probe_result=probe_result,
+        profile=profile,
+        probe_source=probe_source,
+    )
+    healthy = bool(health.get("healthy"))
+    proven = bool(health.get("ide_namespace_proven"))
+
+    if healthy and proven:
+        status = HEALTH_CLEAN
+    elif healthy:
+        status = HEALTH_UNPROVEN
+    else:
+        status = HEALTH_UNHEALTHY
+
+    reasons = list(health.get("reasons") or [])
+    if status == HEALTH_UNPROVEN:
+        reasons.append(
+            "Namespace reported healthy without live client-namespace "
+            "evidence; a post-restart clean claim requires "
+            f"probe_source={mcp_namespace_health.PROBE_SOURCE_CLIENT!r}."
+        )
+
+    return {
+        "namespace": ns,
+        "status": status,
+        "healthy": healthy,
+        "ide_namespace_proven": proven,
+        "clean_claim_allowed": status == HEALTH_CLEAN,
+        "mutations_allowed": status == HEALTH_CLEAN,
+        "reasons": reasons,
+        "health": health,
+    }
+
+
+# --- Policy surface ---------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+def restart_policy() -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Machine-readable description of the sanctioned restart contract."""
+    return {
+        "policy_version": 1,
+        "modes": list(MODES),
+        "actions": [ACTION_RESTART_NAMESPACE, ACTION_RELOAD_NAMESPACE],
+        "known_namespaces": list(KNOWN_NAMESPACES),
+        "fleet_scope_permitted": False,
+        "console_executes_process_kill": False,
+        "raw_kill_exposed": False,
+        "requires_confirmation": True,
+        "confirmation_binds_namespace": True,
+        "operator_authorization_env": (
+            runtime_recovery_guard.OPERATOR_AUTHORIZATION_ENV
+        ),
+        "restart_hook_env": RESTART_HOOK_ENV,
+        "manual_kill_classified_as": runtime_recovery_guard.CONTAMINATION_KIND,
+        "post_restart_clean_claim_requires": (
+            mcp_namespace_health.PROBE_SOURCE_CLIENT
+        ),
+        "audit_required": True,
+        "silent_auto_restart_permitted": False,
+    }

webui/system_health_views.py

@@ -0,0 +1,307 @@
+"""HTML views for the system-health dashboard (#639).
+
+Renders the read-only :class:`~webui.system_health.SystemHealthSnapshot`
+produced by the Phase 1 system-health API (#634). The page offers no restart,
+reload, or process-kill control: those are Phase 2 work, and manual process
+kills are the contamination path #630 exists to prevent.
+
+Every free-text field passes through :func:`webui.system_health.redact` before
+it reaches HTML, so a probe detail that captured a token or a credentialed URL
+cannot leak through the dashboard even though the API redacts it already.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import html
+
+from webui.system_health import (
+    STATUS_DEGRADED,
+    STATUS_DOWN,
+    STATUS_OK,
+    STATUS_SKIPPED,
+    STATUS_UNPROVEN,
+    DependencyProbe,
+    SystemHealthSnapshot,
+    redact,
+)
+
+_STATUS_BADGE_CLASS = {
+    STATUS_OK: "badge-health-ok",
+    STATUS_DEGRADED: "badge-health-degraded",
+    STATUS_DOWN: "badge-health-down",
+    STATUS_SKIPPED: "badge-health-skipped",
+    STATUS_UNPROVEN: "badge-health-unproven",
+}
+
+
+def _safe(value: object) -> str:
+    """Escape free text for HTML after redacting anything secret-shaped.
+
+    Use this for every value that can carry arbitrary text — probe details,
+    reasons, probe errors — because those are where a credential could ride
+    along.
+    """
+    return html.escape(redact(str(value)))
+
+
+def _esc(value: object) -> str:
+    """Escape a structured field for HTML without redacting it.
+
+    Commit SHAs, probe names, statuses, and timestamps are enumerated or
+    machine-generated, never credential-bearing. They must not go through
+    :func:`redact`: its opaque-token rule matches any 32-plus-character run,
+    so a 40-character git SHA would render as ``[redacted]`` and the parity
+    view — the one thing an operator reads this page for — would be blank.
+    """
+    return html.escape(str(value))
+
+
+def _status_badge(status: str) -> str:
+    css = _STATUS_BADGE_CLASS.get(status, "badge-health-unproven")
+    return f'<span class="badge {css}">{_esc(status)}</span>'
+
+
+def _reason_list(reasons: tuple[str, ...], *, empty: str) -> str:
+    if not reasons:
+        return f"<p class='muted'>{html.escape(empty)}</p>"
+    items = "".join(f"<li>{_safe(reason)}</li>" for reason in reasons)
+    return f"<ul class='reasons'>{items}</ul>"
+
+
+def _readiness_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    """Overall readiness.
+
+    ``ready`` and ``readiness_complete`` are shown separately on purpose: a
+    snapshot whose required probes never ran is not the same as one that ran
+    them and passed, and collapsing the two would render an unproven green.
+    """
+    if snapshot.ready and snapshot.readiness_complete:
+        headline = "Ready"
+    elif snapshot.ready:
+        headline = "Ready (incomplete evidence)"
+    else:
+        headline = "Not ready"
+
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        f"<h3>Readiness {_status_badge(snapshot.status)}</h3>"
+        f"<p class='health-headline'>{html.escape(headline)}</p>"
+        "<table class='detail'>"
+        f"<tr><th>Service</th><td><code>{_esc(snapshot.service)}</code></td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Mode</th><td>{_esc(snapshot.mode)}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Ready</th><td>{_esc(snapshot.ready)}</td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Readiness evidence complete</th>"
+        f"<td>{_esc(snapshot.readiness_complete)}</td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Deep probes requested</th>"
+        f"<td>{_esc(snapshot.deep_probes_requested)}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Observed at</th><td><code>{_esc(snapshot.timestamp)}</code></td></tr>"
+        "</table>"
+        "<h4>Readiness reasons</h4>"
+        f"{_reason_list(snapshot.readiness_reasons, empty='No readiness objections recorded.')}"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _version_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    version = snapshot.version
+    uptime_hours = snapshot.uptime_seconds / 3600.0
+    known = (
+        "resolved"
+        if version.known
+        else "unresolved — version fields could not be read from the checkout"
+    )
+    schema = version.control_plane_schema_version
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>Version and uptime</h3>"
+        "<table class='detail'>"
+        f"<tr><th>Git SHA</th><td><code>{_esc(version.git_sha or 'unknown')}</code></td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Git describe</th>"
+        f"<td><code>{_esc(version.git_describe or 'unknown')}</code></td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Control-plane schema</th>"
+        f"<td>{_esc(schema if schema is not None else 'unknown')}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Python</th><td><code>{_esc(version.python_version)}</code></td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Version status</th><td>{html.escape(known)}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Started at</th><td><code>{_esc(snapshot.started_at)}</code></td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Uptime</th>"
+        f"<td>{snapshot.uptime_seconds:.3f}s ({uptime_hours:.2f}h)</td></tr>"
+        "</table>"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _dependency_rows(probes: tuple[DependencyProbe, ...]) -> str:
+    if not probes:
+        return "<p class='muted'>No dependency probes were reported.</p>"
+    rows = []
+    for probe in probes:
+        latency = (
+            f"{probe.latency_ms:.1f} ms" if probe.latency_ms is not None else "n/a"
+        )
+        rows.append(
+            "<tr>"
+            f"<td><code>{_esc(probe.name)}</code></td>"
+            f"<td>{_esc(probe.kind)}</td>"
+            f"<td>{_status_badge(probe.status)}</td>"
+            f"<td>{_esc('required' if probe.required else 'optional')}</td>"
+            f"<td>{html.escape(latency)}</td>"
+            f"<td>{_safe(probe.detail)}</td>"
+            "</tr>"
+        )
+    return (
+        "<table class='registry'><thead><tr>"
+        "<th>Dependency</th><th>Kind</th><th>Status</th><th>Requirement</th>"
+        "<th>Latency</th><th>Detail</th>"
+        "</tr></thead><tbody>"
+        f"{''.join(rows)}</tbody></table>"
+    )
+
+
+def _dependency_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    degraded = [probe for probe in snapshot.dependencies if probe.ran and not probe.healthy]
+    not_run = [probe for probe in snapshot.dependencies if not probe.ran]
+
+    banner = ""
+    if degraded:
+        names = ", ".join(sorted(probe.name for probe in degraded))
+        banner += (
+            "<div class='stub health-degraded'><p><strong>Degraded dependencies:</strong> "
+            f"{_esc(names)}</p></div>"
+        )
+    if not_run:
+        names = ", ".join(sorted(probe.name for probe in not_run))
+        banner += (
+            "<div class='stub'><p><strong>Not probed:</strong> "
+            f"{_esc(names)} — these contribute no evidence and are not counted "
+            "as healthy.</p></div>"
+        )
+
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>Dependencies</h3>"
+        f"{banner}"
+        f"{_dependency_rows(snapshot.dependencies)}"
+        "<p class='muted'>Details are redacted at the API boundary and again "
+        "before rendering; credentials are never displayed.</p>"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _namespace_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    if not snapshot.mcp_namespaces:
+        body = "<p class='muted'>No MCP namespaces are declared.</p>"
+    else:
+        rows = []
+        for entry in snapshot.mcp_namespaces:
+            rows.append(
+                "<tr>"
+                f"<td><code>{_esc(entry.get('namespace'))}</code></td>"
+                f"<td><code>{_esc(entry.get('required_tool'))}</code></td>"
+                f"<td>{_status_badge(str(entry.get('status') or STATUS_UNPROVEN))}</td>"
+                f"<td>{_esc(entry.get('ide_namespace_proven'))}</td>"
+                f"<td>{_safe(entry.get('reason'))}</td>"
+                "</tr>"
+            )
+        body = (
+            "<table class='registry'><thead><tr>"
+            "<th>Namespace</th><th>Required tool</th><th>Status</th>"
+            "<th>IDE-proven</th><th>Reason</th>"
+            "</tr></thead><tbody>"
+            f"{''.join(rows)}</tbody></table>"
+        )
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>MCP namespaces</h3>"
+        f"{body}"
+        "<p class='muted'>The web process runs outside the IDE-managed MCP "
+        "client, so namespace health is reported as unproven rather than "
+        "guessed (#543).</p>"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _stale_runtime_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    stale = snapshot.stale_runtime
+    if stale.stale:
+        warning = (
+            "<div class='stub health-stale'><p><strong>Stale runtime:</strong> "
+            "the running code, the checkout, and the remote-tracking commit "
+            "disagree. Capability gates may be evaluating obsolete code — "
+            "do not treat this runtime as mutation-safe.</p></div>"
+        )
+    elif not stale.determinable:
+        warning = (
+            "<div class='stub health-stale'><p><strong>Staleness "
+            "indeterminate:</strong> parity could not be proven, so this "
+            "runtime is not reported as mutation-safe.</p></div>"
+        )
+    else:
+        warning = ""
+
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>Stale-runtime parity</h3>"
+        f"{warning}"
+        "<table class='detail'>"
+        "<tr><th>Daemon head</th>"
+        f"<td><code>{_esc(stale.daemon_head or 'unknown')}</code></td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Checkout head</th>"
+        f"<td><code>{_esc(stale.checkout_head or 'unknown')}</code></td></tr>"
+        "<tr><th>Remote head</th>"
+        f"<td><code>{_esc(stale.remote_head or 'unknown')}</code></td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Stale</th><td>{_esc(stale.stale)}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Determinable</th><td>{_esc(stale.determinable)}</td></tr>"
+        f"<tr><th>Mutation safe</th><td>{_esc(stale.mutation_safe)}</td></tr>"
+        "</table>"
+        f"{_reason_list(stale.reasons, empty='Runtime, checkout, and remote agree.')}"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _probe_error_card(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    if not snapshot.probe_errors:
+        return ""
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>Probe errors</h3>"
+        f"{_reason_list(snapshot.probe_errors, empty='')}"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def _recovery_card() -> str:
+    """Sanctioned recovery pointers only — never a manual process kill (#630)."""
+    return (
+        "<section class='health-card'>"
+        "<h3>Recovery</h3>"
+        "<p class='muted'>This dashboard is read-only. Restart and reload "
+        "controls arrive in Phase 2 (#642); until then recovery runs through "
+        "the sanctioned client reconnect / operator restart path.</p>"
+        "<ul class='reasons'>"
+        "<li><a href='/runtime'>Runtime and session view</a> — active profile, "
+        "workflow hashes, and shell health.</li>"
+        "<li>Reconnect the MCP client from the IDE, then re-run the blocked "
+        "cycle. Never kill the daemon process manually: unmanaged kills are "
+        "recorded as runtime contamination (#630).</li>"
+        "<li>See <code>docs/webui-local-dev.md</code> for the documented "
+        "recovery sequence.</li>"
+        "</ul>"
+        "</section>"
+    )
+
+
+def render_system_health_page(snapshot: SystemHealthSnapshot) -> str:
+    """Render the full system-health dashboard body."""
+    return (
+        "<h2>System health</h2>"
+        "<p class='meta'>Read-only view of the Phase 1 system-health API "
+        "(<code>/api/v1/system/health</code>). Reload this page to refresh; "
+        "nothing here polls or mutates on your behalf.</p>"
+        f"{_readiness_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_stale_runtime_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_version_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_dependency_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_namespace_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_probe_error_card(snapshot)}"
+        f"{_recovery_card()}"
+    )