US08-03: Compose the Runtime and Mount the Library Safely

US08-02: Build a Reproducible Application Image (#97 )
US08-01: Make the Trust Boundary Configurable and Authenticated (#96 )
2026-08-19 19:46:20 +02:00 · 2026-08-18 23:11:15 +02:00 · 2026-08-18 22:00:09 +02:00 · 2026-08-17 23:44:54 +02:00 · 2026-08-17 23:05:52 +02:00
34 changed files with 4023 additions and 52 deletions
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# Deny-by-default build context (US08-02): the image must contain no secrets, no
+# photos, no database, no logs, and no .git. An allow list is the only version of this
+# rule that stays true when a new file appears in the working copy.
+*
+
+!pyproject.toml
+!alembic.ini
+!README.md
+!photo_pipeline
+!migrations
+!frontend
+!docker
+
+# Nothing generated, even under an allowed directory.
+**/__pycache__
+**/*.py[cod]
+**/.DS_Store
+**/*.env
+**/*.log
+**/*.db
+**/*.db-*
+**/*.sqlite*
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+# Every setting the application and its composition read, with no values in it.
+# Copy to `.env`, fill in what you need, and keep that copy out of git (it is
+# gitignored, and the work-item safety checks refuse to stage it).
+#
+#   cp .env.example .env
+#
+# Empty means "use the default noted beside it". Anything already exported in the
+# shell wins over this file, both for the app and for `docker compose`.
+
+# ── the composition (host side; read by docker-compose.yml only) ─────────────
+# The photo library on this host. Bind-mounted at PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH=
+# Which image to run. Default: photo-pipeline:dev (what `up --build` builds).
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMAGE=
+# Must be the owner of the library above: what the containers rename and rewrite
+# keeps this ownership. Default: 1000 / 1000.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID=
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_GID=
+# Host address the API port is published on. Default: 127.0.0.1. Anything else
+# exposes the app beyond this machine — then ALLOWED_HOSTS and ACCESS_SECRET below
+# are what stand in for the loopback boundary (US08-01).
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_PUBLISH_ADDRESS=
+# This file's own path, if it is not ./.env. Default: .env.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE=
+
+# ── library and data ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# os.pathsep-separated. In a container these are the *container-side* mount paths,
+# and `serve`/`worker` refuse to start when they are not mounted.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=
+# Database, WAL, thumbnail cache, journals, backups. Default: data (the container
+# sets /data, which is the persistent volume; a network mount is unsupported).
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR=
+# Database file, if it should not live in the data directory. Default:
+# <data dir>/photo_pipeline.db.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_DB_PATH=
+
+# ── serving ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Bind address. Default: 127.0.0.1. The composition sets 0.0.0.0 inside the
+# container and publishes to loopback on the host instead.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_HOST=
+# Under the composition this is the *published* host port; the container serves
+# 8000. Default: 8000.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT=
+# Comma-separated hostnames the app answers to besides loopback. Empty means
+# loopback only. Naming one makes the access secret mandatory.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS=
+# Traded for the session cookie at GET /api/v1/session via X-Access-Secret.
+# Required as soon as the app is reachable from anywhere but loopback. Generate
+# one with: python -c 'import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(32))'
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET=
+# Comma-separated peer addresses whose X-Forwarded-Proto/-Host may be believed.
+# Only the reverse proxy's address belongs here. Default: none.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_TRUSTED_PROXIES=
+# Largest request body accepted, in bytes. Default: 1048576.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_MAX_REQUEST_BYTES=
+
+# ── logging ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Default: INFO.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_LOG_LEVEL=
+# json or text. Default: json.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_LOG_FORMAT=
+
+# ── limits ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Thumbnail cache quota in bytes. Default: 500000000.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_THUMBNAIL_CACHE_QUOTA_BYTES=
+# Refuse to decode images larger than this many pixels. Default: 100000000.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_THUMBNAIL_MAX_PIXELS=
+# Free space an archive destination must keep beyond the transfer. Default:
+# 1000000000.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_ARCHIVE_FREE_SPACE_RESERVE_BYTES=
+
+# ── safety gate ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# true refuses every mutating request until a read-only dry run of this library has
+# been produced and approved (US07-07). Default: false. Turn it on before pointing
+# the app at photos that cannot be replaced.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL=
+
+# ── external services ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Vision provider key for the analysis stage. Without it, analysis cannot run.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_VISION_API_KEY=
+# Immich server and its API key, for the upload stage.
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_SERVER_URL=
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_API_KEY=
+# Uploader binary. Default: immich-go (on PATH; pinned inside the image).
+PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_GO_BINARY=
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -20,3 +20,12 @@ _IGNORE/

 # Test failure evidence (US07-04)
 .artifacts/
+
+# Any dotenv, not only the default name.
+*.env
+
+# Local virtualenv for running the app.
+.venv/
+
+# setuptools editable-install metadata.
+*.egg-info/
--- a/115
+++ b/115
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+# One image, two roles (US08-02).
+#
+# The application is not self-contained Python: it shells out to `exiftool` for every
+# EXIF checkpoint and to `immich-go` for every upload, and it serves the static
+# frontend from `frontend/`. All three are installed here at pinned versions, because
+# an image whose external tools drift is an image whose metadata checkpoints and
+# upload reports drift with them (concept §15, "External integration risks").
+#
+# Everything is pinned:
+#   * the base image by tag *and* digest, so a moved tag cannot change the runtime;
+#   * exiftool by its Debian package version, verified against `exiftool -ver`;
+#   * immich-go by release version and per-architecture SHA-256 of the release asset.
+# The verified versions become image labels and /etc/photo-pipeline/versions.json,
+# which `python -m photo_pipeline diagnostics` reports — so a running container can
+# prove what it contains instead of being trusted about it.
+#
+# The project is installed editable on purpose: `photo_pipeline.db` resolves
+# `alembic.ini` and `migrations/`, and the API resolves `frontend/`, relative to the
+# repository root. An editable install keeps that one layout instead of scattering the
+# same files across site-packages and a source tree.
+
+ARG PYTHON_IMAGE=python:3.12.14-slim-trixie@sha256:2c941e860699f878900b0edc2403613c234d4b32eda3cc9fa7036991a2a63c4a
+
+# ── the uploader, fetched and verified outside the final layer ────────────────
+FROM ${PYTHON_IMAGE} AS uploader
+
+ARG IMMICH_GO_VERSION=0.32.0
+ARG IMMICH_GO_SHA256_AMD64=6e2ad86bafdadb9466d6515de7cb882726c0aea1a21d51164dff361d7d480a97
+ARG IMMICH_GO_SHA256_ARM64=2c35d9284baae407ef9540bdac5f488971b0bdc7be758a4d7c05ab270af09fdb
+
+COPY docker/fetch-immich-go.py /tmp/fetch-immich-go.py
+RUN python /tmp/fetch-immich-go.py \
+        --version "${IMMICH_GO_VERSION}" \
+        --sha256-amd64 "${IMMICH_GO_SHA256_AMD64}" \
+        --sha256-arm64 "${IMMICH_GO_SHA256_ARM64}" \
+        --into /usr/local/bin \
+    && /usr/local/bin/immich-go version
+
+# ── the application ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+FROM ${PYTHON_IMAGE} AS runtime
+
+ARG EXIFTOOL_VERSION=13.25+dfsg-1
+ARG IMMICH_GO_VERSION=0.32.0
+# The library is mounted from the host, so the container's identity must match the
+# ownership that library already has: everything this application renames, writes
+# EXIF into, or archives has to stay owned by the host user afterwards.
+ARG UID=1000
+ARG GID=1000
+
+LABEL org.opencontainers.image.title="photo_pipeline" \
+      org.opencontainers.image.source="https://github.com/domverse/photoanalyzer" \
+      io.photoanalyzer.exiftool.version="${EXIFTOOL_VERSION}" \
+      io.photoanalyzer.immich-go.version="${IMMICH_GO_VERSION}"
+
+ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 \
+    PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1 \
+    PATH=/opt/venv/bin:$PATH \
+    PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR=/data
+
+RUN set -eu; \
+    apt-get update; \
+    DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        "libimage-exiftool-perl=${EXIFTOOL_VERSION}"; \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+COPY --from=uploader /usr/local/bin/immich-go /usr/local/bin/immich-go
+
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY pyproject.toml alembic.ini README.md ./
+COPY photo_pipeline ./photo_pipeline
+COPY migrations ./migrations
+COPY frontend ./frontend
+COPY docker/entrypoint.sh docker/healthcheck.sh /usr/local/bin/
+
+# Runtime dependencies only: the `test` extra (pytest, playwright) and the `vision`
+# extra stay out, and pip's build isolation leaves no build tooling behind.
+RUN set -eu; \
+    python -m venv /opt/venv; \
+    /opt/venv/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir -e .
+
+# What is installed must be what was pinned, or the labels and the version record
+# would be a claim rather than a fact.
+RUN set -eu; \
+    mkdir -p /etc/photo-pipeline; \
+    exiftool_version="$(exiftool -ver)"; \
+    immich_go_version="$(immich-go version | head -n 1 | tr -d '\r')"; \
+    expected_exiftool="$(printf '%s' "${EXIFTOOL_VERSION}" | cut -d+ -f1 | cut -d- -f1)"; \
+    [ "${exiftool_version}" = "${expected_exiftool}" ] \
+      || { echo "exiftool ${exiftool_version} is not the pinned ${expected_exiftool}" >&2; exit 1; }; \
+    case "${immich_go_version}" in \
+      *"${IMMICH_GO_VERSION}"*) ;; \
+      *) echo "immich-go '${immich_go_version}' is not pinned ${IMMICH_GO_VERSION}" >&2; exit 1 ;; \
+    esac; \
+    printf '{\n  "exiftool": "%s",\n  "immich-go": "%s"\n}\n' \
+        "${exiftool_version}" "${IMMICH_GO_VERSION}" > /etc/photo-pipeline/versions.json
+
+# Non-root, with the host library's ownership. /data is the persistent volume; the
+# photo library itself is mounted by the deployment (US08-03), never baked in.
+RUN set -eu; \
+    groupadd --gid "${GID}" --non-unique app; \
+    useradd --uid "${UID}" --gid "${GID}" --non-unique --no-create-home --home-dir /app app; \
+    mkdir -p /data; \
+    chown "${UID}:${GID}" /data
+USER ${UID}:${GID}
+
+EXPOSE 8000
+
+# Readiness, not liveness: an unmigrated or misconfigured database answers
+# /api/v1/health/ready with 503, and a container that cannot serve must not be
+# reported healthy. The worker role has no endpoint, so its check is a no-op here.
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=10s --start-period=30s --retries=3 \
+    CMD ["/usr/local/bin/healthcheck.sh"]
+
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh"]
+CMD ["serve"]
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,16 +7,49 @@ archive workflow. Planning lives in `INTEGRATED_PIPELINE_CONCEPT.md` and
 ## Application (`photo_pipeline`)

 The target application lives in `photo_pipeline/` (FastAPI + SQLAlchemy + Alembic).
-Run it with:
+Install it into a virtualenv once:

 ```bash
-python -m photo_pipeline migrate   # apply database migrations
-python -m photo_pipeline serve     # start the API + static review UI (127.0.0.1:8000)
+python3.12 -m venv .venv
+.venv/bin/pip install -e ".[vision]"   # drop [vision] for a review-only install
 ```

+Then run the two processes:
+
+```bash
+.venv/bin/python -m photo_pipeline migrate   # apply database migrations
+.venv/bin/python -m photo_pipeline serve     # API + review UI at 127.0.0.1:8000/app/
+.venv/bin/python -m photo_pipeline worker    # second terminal: runs the jobs
+```
+
+The server enqueues work and serves the UI; nothing actually scans, scores,
+analyses, uploads, or archives without a worker. `work_item/scripts/python` is the
+*helper's* launcher — it prefers Conda base and falls back to a bare system
+interpreter, so it is not how the application is run.
+
 Configuration comes from `PHOTO_PIPELINE_*` environment variables (see
 `photo_pipeline/config.py`); secrets are referenced, never logged.

+### Configuration file
+
+`.env` in the working directory is read at startup, or any path named by
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE`. It is parsed, never executed: `KEY=value` lines,
+`#` comments, optional quotes — no interpolation and no `export`. **Anything already
+exported wins**, so the file is the standing configuration and the shell is the
+override for one run.
+
+The archived CLI's variable names still work, so an existing `photo_analyzer.env`
+can be used as-is:
+
+| in the file | applied as |
+|---|---|
+| `LLM_API_KEY` / `GEMINI_API_KEY` | `OPENAI_API_KEY` |
+| `LLM_BASE_URL` | `OPENAI_BASE_URL` |
+| `LIBRARY` | `PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS` |
+
+`.env` and `*.env` are gitignored and denied by the work-item safety checks: the
+file holds a real key and must never be committed.
+
 ### API access (US07-02)

 The app listens on loopback, so its attacker is another page in the same browser.
@@ -36,6 +69,131 @@ not a loopback name (DNS rebinding), when `Origin` is any other origin, when
 thumbnail), or when the body exceeds `PHOTO_PIPELINE_MAX_REQUEST_BYTES`. There is no
 CORS middleware at all, so no other origin can read a response.

+### Reaching it through a hostname or proxy (US08-01)
+
+| variable | meaning |
+|---|---|
+| `PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS` | comma-separated extra names the app answers to; empty means loopback only |
+| `PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET` | traded for the session cookie at `GET /api/v1/session` via `X-Access-Secret` |
+| `PHOTO_PIPELINE_TRUSTED_PROXIES` | comma-separated peer addresses whose `X-Forwarded-Proto`/`X-Forwarded-Host` are believed |
+
+Being reachable *was* the authentication: whoever could open `127.0.0.1:8000` owned
+the library. So naming any non-loopback host — or binding to one, `0.0.0.0` included
+— makes the access secret mandatory, and `serve` refuses to start without it rather
+than publishing the library. Loopback-only deployments need no secret and behave
+exactly as before.
+
+```bash
+curl -sc /tmp/pp.jar -H "X-Access-Secret: $PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET" \
+  https://photos.example.com/api/v1/session
+```
+
+The browser asks for the secret once per tab and keeps it in `sessionStorage`.
+Wrong secrets are rate-limited (5 per minute) and logged with the caller's address
+only. `Host` and `Origin` are judged against the configured names; the *external*
+scheme and host come from the forwarded headers only when the request arrived from a
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_TRUSTED_PROXIES` address, so a client cannot declare its own origin,
+and the session cookie is marked `Secure` when that external scheme is HTTPS. Health
+endpoints stay reachable without the secret so an orchestrator can restart the
+container; nothing else does.
+
+## Container image (US08-02)
+
+One image runs either role. It is built from a clean checkout with no arguments:
+
+```bash
+docker build -t photo-pipeline:dev .
+```
+
+Everything external is pinned, and the build fails rather than drifting: the Python
+base image by tag *and* digest, `exiftool` by its Debian package version (verified
+against `exiftool -ver`), and `immich-go` by release version and per-architecture
+SHA-256 of the release asset. The verified versions become image labels and
+`/etc/photo-pipeline/versions.json`, which `diagnostics` reports as `tools[].pinned`
+beside the version actually installed — so a replaced binary shows up as a
+`tool_version_drift` warning instead of as a misparsed upload report.
+
+| build argument | default | why change it |
+|---|---|---|
+| `UID` / `GID` | `1000` | must match the owner of the mounted photo library |
+| `PYTHON_IMAGE` | pinned digest | upgrading the base image |
+| `EXIFTOOL_VERSION` | Debian package version | upgrading exiftool |
+| `IMMICH_GO_VERSION` + `IMMICH_GO_SHA256_AMD64`/`_ARM64` | pinned release | upgrading the uploader (take the digests from that release's `checksums.txt`) |
+
+The first argument is the role, and every other management command still works:
+
+```bash
+docker run --rm -v /srv/photos:/srv/photos -v pp-data:/data \
+  -e PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=/srv/photos photo-pipeline:dev migrate
+
+docker run -d -p 127.0.0.1:8000:8000 -v /srv/photos:/srv/photos -v pp-data:/data \
+  -e PHOTO_PIPELINE_HOST=0.0.0.0 -e PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET=... \
+  -e PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=/srv/photos photo-pipeline:dev serve
+
+docker run -d -v /srv/photos:/srv/photos -v pp-data:/data \
+  -e PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=/srv/photos photo-pipeline:dev worker
+```
+
+One role per container: `serve` and `worker` each take the library process lock for
+their role (US07-05), so no supervisor starts both. The container refuses to run as
+UID 0 — files it renames or writes must keep the ownership the host library expects —
+and `/data` is the persistent volume holding the database, journals, backups, and
+thumbnail cache. Binding to `0.0.0.0` makes the access secret mandatory
+([above](#reaching-it-through-a-hostname-or-proxy-us08-01)); `serve` refuses to start
+without it. The declared `HEALTHCHECK` polls `/api/v1/health/ready`, so a container
+whose database is unmigrated or misconfigured is never reported healthy.
+
+## Composed runtime (US08-03)
+
+`docker-compose.yml` is the deployment: one `serve` container, one `worker`
+container, one bind-mounted library, one data volume, and a one-shot `migrate` that
+both roles wait for.
+
+```bash
+cp .env.example .env && $EDITOR .env    # nothing has a value in it; fill in yours
+docker compose up -d --build
+```
+
+`.env.example` lists every `PHOTO_PIPELINE_*` variable with its default in a comment
+and no values at all. The three the composition cannot start without are
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH` (the library on this host),
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS` (where it is mounted *inside* the container), and
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET` — publishing the port means the app is reachable from
+outside the container, so US08-01 makes the secret mandatory. Set
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID`/`GID` to the owner of the library: what the containers rename
+and rewrite keeps that ownership.
+
+| invariant | how the composition keeps it |
+|---|---|
+| one writer | `serve` and `worker` take their role's library lock (US07-05) in the shared `/data` volume, so `--scale worker=2` is refused by the lock, not by convention |
+| migrations first | `migrate` runs the backup-then-migrate path and must exit 0 before `api` and `worker` start; a failed upgrade leaves the previous database and its pre-migration backup intact |
+| container paths | `PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS` is both the mount target and the configured root; a root that is not mounted makes `serve`/`worker` exit 5 at startup instead of writing into the container's throwaway layer |
+| loopback by default | the port is published to `127.0.0.1` unless `PHOTO_PIPELINE_PUBLISH_ADDRESS` says otherwise, and exposing it needs the hostname in `PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS` plus the access secret |
+| restart safety | both roles are `restart: unless-stopped` with a 30 s stop grace period, and a job interrupted by a restart resumes exactly as it does on a host restart |
+
+The `data` volume holds the database, its write-ahead log, the thumbnail cache,
+journals, and backups. **It must stay on a local filesystem** — SQLite in WAL mode
+needs real local locking, so NFS, SMB, and network volume drivers are unsupported
+there and corrupt the database rather than slow it down. The library bind mount has
+no such restriction.
+
+Operating the deployment is operating the same CLI:
+
+```bash
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps api diagnostics
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps api backup --reason pre-upgrade
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps api verify-backup /data/backups/<name>
+docker compose run --rm --no-deps api restore /data/backups/<name> --into /data/restored
+docker compose logs -f worker
+```
+
+`--no-deps` keeps a one-off command from starting a second stack; `api` is only the
+service the command borrows the image and mounts from. `restore` is deliberately not
+an API call: it replaces the state of an installation and belongs to a stopped one,
+so stop `api` and `worker` first and restart them against the restored directory.
+
+Publishing and deploying the image is US08-04.
+
 ## Testing

 One offline command runs the whole suite (unit, integration, and browser
@@ -281,6 +439,51 @@ file in the temporary library are copied to `.artifacts/<test id>/` before pytes
 deletes the directory. Point `PHOTO_PIPELINE_TEST_ARTIFACTS` elsewhere to collect
 them from CI.

+## Release gate (US07-07)
+
+One command runs every suite in an isolated stack and keeps the evidence:
+
+```bash
+work_item/scripts/python -m photo_pipeline release-gate --output data/release/$(date -u +%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ)
+```
+
+It fails — and exits non-zero — when any stage fails, when a suite skips a test for
+a reason that is not a documented environment limit (`exiftool not installed`,
+`root ignores directory permissions`), or when the story matrix has a hole. The
+evidence directory holds `release-report.json` (revision, per-stage result, timings,
+summaries), `logs/<stage>.log`, and `CHECKSUMS.sha256` over both.
+
+**The story matrix** lives in `tests/story_traceability.json`: every story under
+`delivery_backlog/stories/` is either mapped to test files that exist, or listed in
+`planned` as an accepted but unimplemented story. A story that is neither, or a
+mapping to a file that has been deleted, fails the gate.
+
+**The journey** (`tests/e2e/test_release_journey.py`) takes one fresh library through
+discovery, duplicate review, safety, analysis, EXIF verification, album proposal,
+guarded rename, rescan, upload with server-side verification, archive, offline
+deduplication, and restore — over HTTP against real server and worker processes,
+with a full restart in the middle and at the end.
+
+### Real-library dry run and approval
+
+Before the application is pointed at photos that cannot be replaced:
+
+```bash
+work_item/scripts/python -m photo_pipeline dry-run --output dry-run.json
+work_item/scripts/python -m photo_pipeline approve-dry-run dry-run.json --approver "$(whoami)"
+```
+
+The dry run is strictly read-only: it opens no file for writing, writes no database
+row, and reports what it found — file counts by extension, folders, bytes, unreadable
+files, excluded directories, and a reconciliation against what the database already
+knows (already registered, new, recorded but absent). Set
+`PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL=1` and **every mutating API request is
+refused with `403 dry_run_not_approved`** until a report for exactly those library
+roots has been approved. Reading stays open — you have to be able to see what was
+found in order to approve it — and so does taking a backup. Change the library roots
+and the approval no longer applies: it approves that reconciliation, not the idea of
+mutating.
+
 ## Performance budgets (US07-06)

 Budgets are measured, not asserted in prose. `python -m photo_pipeline benchmark`
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+# The deployed runtime (US08-03): one API, one worker, one library, one volume.
+#
+# The same image (US08-02) runs both roles, so what is composed here is process
+# topology, not a second application. Three invariants shape it:
+#
+#   * one writer — `serve` and `worker` each take the library process lock for their
+#     role (US07-05), and both containers mount the *same* data volume, which is what
+#     makes the lock file visible to both. Scaling `worker` past 1 is refused by that
+#     lock rather than by anyone remembering not to;
+#   * one local filesystem — the database, its write-ahead log, the thumbnail cache,
+#     and the backups live in the `data` volume, and SQLite in WAL mode requires real
+#     local-filesystem locking. A network mount (NFS, SMB, or a cloud volume driver)
+#     is unsupported for it; that is a corrupted database, not a slow one;
+#   * one library path vocabulary — `PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS` names the path
+#     *inside* the container, which is also the bind mount's target below. A root
+#     that is not mounted there makes `serve` and `worker` refuse at startup instead
+#     of writing into the container's throwaway layer.
+#
+# Configuration and secrets come from the environment only: copy `.env.example` to
+# `.env` and fill it in. Nothing is baked into the image and nothing with a value in
+# it is committed.
+#
+#   cp .env.example .env && $EDITOR .env
+#   docker compose up -d --build
+#
+# Operating it is operating the same CLI — `docker compose run --rm --no-deps api
+# <command>` — see README, "Composed runtime".
+
+name: photo-pipeline
+
+x-runtime: &runtime
+  image: ${PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMAGE:-photo-pipeline:dev}
+  build:
+    context: .
+    args:
+      # Everything the app renames or rewrites has to stay owned by the host user
+      # the library already belongs to.
+      UID: ${PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID:-1000}
+      GID: ${PHOTO_PIPELINE_GID:-1000}
+  user: "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID:-1000}:${PHOTO_PIPELINE_GID:-1000}"
+  env_file:
+    - ${PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE:-.env}
+  volumes:
+    - data:/data
+    - "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH:?set PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH to the photo library on this host}:${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS:?set PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS to the container-side library path}"
+  # Jobs check for cancellation between items and leave a resumable record; a
+  # too-short grace period turns an orderly stop into a recovery on next start.
+  stop_grace_period: 30s
+
+x-environment: &environment
+  # Set here rather than left to the file: these two are what the composition itself
+  # promises, and an `.env` that disagreed would move the database off the volume or
+  # the library off its mount.
+  PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR: /data
+  PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS: ${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS}
+
+services:
+  # Migrations run to completion before either role accepts work, through the same
+  # backup-then-migrate path the roles use (US07-05): a pending upgrade is snapshotted
+  # first, and a failed one exits non-zero with the backup named — so `api` and
+  # `worker` never start, and the previous database is left intact and restorable.
+  migrate:
+    <<: *runtime
+    command: ["migrate"]
+    environment: *environment
+    restart: "no"
+
+  api:
+    <<: *runtime
+    command: ["serve"]
+    environment:
+      <<: *environment
+      # Published to host loopback below. Inside the container the server must bind
+      # the container's own interface for that publish to reach it, which is exactly
+      # what makes the access secret mandatory (US08-01) — `serve` refuses to start
+      # without one. Exposing the port beyond loopback additionally needs
+      # PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS to name the hostname it is reached under.
+      PHOTO_PIPELINE_HOST: 0.0.0.0
+      PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT: 8000
+    ports:
+      # Host side only: PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT in `.env` moves the *published* port, and
+      # the container always serves 8000, which is what the image's health check probes.
+      - "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_PUBLISH_ADDRESS:-127.0.0.1}:${PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT:-8000}:8000"
+    depends_on:
+      migrate:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+  # One worker. A second one is refused by the library lock in the shared data
+  # volume, which is the point: `docker compose up --scale worker=2` fails loudly
+  # instead of running two writers against one library.
+  worker:
+    <<: *runtime
+    command: ["worker", "--id", "worker-1"]
+    environment: *environment
+    depends_on:
+      migrate:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
+    restart: unless-stopped
+
+volumes:
+  # Local driver on purpose: the database, WAL, thumbnail cache, and backups need a
+  # real local filesystem. Do not point this at NFS, SMB, or a network volume driver.
+  data:
+    driver: local
--- a/docker/entrypoint.sh
+++ b/docker/entrypoint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# One entrypoint, one role per container (US08-02).
+#
+# The first argument is the management command the image runs — `serve` and `worker`
+# are the two roles, and every other `python -m photo_pipeline` command (migrate,
+# diagnostics, backup, restore, dry-run) is passed through unchanged so operating the
+# container is operating the same CLI. No supervisor: two roles in one container would
+# share a process lock they are each meant to hold alone (US07-05).
+set -eu
+
+if [ "$(id -u)" = "0" ]; then
+    echo "refusing to run as root: start this image with a non-root UID/GID so files" \
+         "it renames or writes keep the ownership the mounted library expects" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+role="${1:-serve}"
+# The health check has to know which role it is checking, and only the API has an
+# endpoint to check. /tmp is writable for the unprivileged user; /run may not be.
+printf '%s' "${role}" > "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_ROLE_FILE:-/tmp/photo-pipeline-role}" 2>/dev/null || true
+
+exec python -m photo_pipeline "$@"
--- a/docker/fetch-immich-go.py
+++ b/docker/fetch-immich-go.py
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+"""Download one pinned immich-go release and verify it before unpacking (US08-02).
+
+Run at image build time by the `uploader` stage, with the interpreter that is already
+in the base image: no curl, no wget, and no download tooling in the layer that ships.
+The checksum is not advisory — a release asset that does not match the pinned digest
+is a failed build, not a warning, because the uploader's flags and report format are
+what the upload parser is written against (concept §15).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import hashlib
+import platform
+import tarfile
+import tempfile
+import urllib.request
+from pathlib import Path
+
+RELEASE_URL = "https://github.com/simulot/immich-go/releases/download/v{version}/{asset}"
+# Debian/BuildKit architecture as the interpreter sees it → release asset name.
+ASSETS = {
+    "x86_64": ("immich-go_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz", "amd64"),
+    "amd64": ("immich-go_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz", "amd64"),
+    "aarch64": ("immich-go_Linux_arm64.tar.gz", "arm64"),
+    "arm64": ("immich-go_Linux_arm64.tar.gz", "arm64"),
+}
+TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 300
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+    parser.add_argument("--version", required=True, help="immich-go release, without the v")
+    parser.add_argument("--sha256-amd64", required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--sha256-arm64", required=True)
+    parser.add_argument("--into", default="/usr/local/bin")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    machine = platform.machine().lower()
+    if machine not in ASSETS:
+        raise SystemExit(f"unsupported architecture: {machine}")
+    asset, arch = ASSETS[machine]
+    expected = {"amd64": args.sha256_amd64, "arm64": args.sha256_arm64}[arch]
+    url = RELEASE_URL.format(version=args.version, asset=asset)
+
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=TIMEOUT_SECONDS) as response:  # noqa: S310
+        payload = response.read()
+    digest = hashlib.sha256(payload).hexdigest()
+    if digest != expected:
+        raise SystemExit(f"checksum mismatch for {url}: {digest} != {expected}")
+
+    target = Path(args.into)
+    target.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as work:
+        archive = Path(work) / asset
+        archive.write_bytes(payload)
+        with tarfile.open(archive) as tar:
+            member = tar.getmember("immich-go")
+            # Extract exactly the one file this pin is about, by name, so nothing
+            # else in the archive can decide where it lands.
+            extracted = tar.extractfile(member)
+            if extracted is None:
+                raise SystemExit("release archive contains no immich-go binary")
+            binary = target / "immich-go"
+            binary.write_bytes(extracted.read())
+            binary.chmod(0o755)
+    print(f"immich-go {args.version} ({arch}) verified {digest}")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
--- a/docker/healthcheck.sh
+++ b/docker/healthcheck.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Container health for the `serve` role: readiness, not liveness (US08-02).
+#
+# /api/v1/health/ready is 503 until the database is reachable, migrated, and in WAL
+# mode with foreign keys on, so an unmigrated or misconfigured container never reports
+# healthy. Health endpoints need no session and no access secret, which is what lets an
+# orchestrator restart a container it holds no credentials for (US08-01).
+set -eu
+
+role="$(cat "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_ROLE_FILE:-/tmp/photo-pipeline-role}" 2>/dev/null || echo unknown)"
+if [ "${role}" != "serve" ]; then
+    # ponytail: the worker has no endpoint to probe; its liveness is its lease and job
+    # heartbeat in the database. Add a `worker --health` command if a restart policy
+    # ever needs to act on it.
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+port="${PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT:-8000}"
+exec python - "${port}" <<'PY'
+import sys
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.request
+
+url = f"http://127.0.0.1:{sys.argv[1]}/api/v1/health/ready"
+try:
+    with urllib.request.urlopen(url, timeout=5) as response:  # noqa: S310 — loopback
+        sys.exit(0 if response.status == 200 else 1)
+except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
+    print(f"not ready: HTTP {error.code}", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+except OSError as error:
+    print(f"not ready: {error}", file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(1)
+PY
--- a/frontend/js/api.js
+++ b/frontend/js/api.js
@@ -7,9 +7,28 @@ export const BASE = "/api/v1";
 // what makes it proof that the caller is this app and not another page.
 let csrfToken = null;

+// A deployment reachable through a proxy trades an operator secret for that cookie.
+// Kept per tab: sessionStorage dies with the tab, and the secret never enters a URL.
+const SECRET_KEY = "pp_access_secret";
+
+async function bootstrap(secret) {
+  return fetch(BASE + "/session", {
+    credentials: "same-origin",
+    headers: secret ? { "X-Access-Secret": secret } : {},
+  });
+}
+
 async function session() {
  if (csrfToken === null) {
-    const response = await fetch(BASE + "/session", { credentials: "same-origin" });
+    let response = await bootstrap(sessionStorage.getItem(SECRET_KEY));
+    if (response.status === 401) {
+      sessionStorage.removeItem(SECRET_KEY);
+      const secret = prompt("Access secret");
+      if (secret) {
+        response = await bootstrap(secret);
+        if (response.ok) sessionStorage.setItem(SECRET_KEY, secret);
+      }
+    }
    const body = await response.json().catch(() => null);
    csrfToken = (body && body.csrf_token) || null;
  }
--- a/photo_pipeline/main.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/main.py
@@ -11,8 +11,11 @@ from __future__ import annotations

 import argparse
 import json
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Sequence

+from photo_pipeline import path_policy
 from photo_pipeline.config import Config
 from photo_pipeline.services.app_lock import LegacyProcessActive, LibraryLock, LockHeld
 from photo_pipeline.services.backup import BackupError, BackupService, migrate_with_backup
@@ -63,11 +66,37 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
    )
    bench_cmd.add_argument("--output", help="Write the JSON report here as well as to stdout")

+    gate_cmd = commands.add_parser(
+        "release-gate", help="Run every suite in an isolated stack and keep the evidence"
+    )
+    gate_cmd.add_argument("--output", help="Evidence directory (default: data/release/<stamp>)")
+    dry_cmd = commands.add_parser(
+        "dry-run", help="Read-only reconciliation of the configured library (US07-07)"
+    )
+    dry_cmd.add_argument("--output", help="Write the report here as well as to stdout")
+    approve_cmd = commands.add_parser(
+        "approve-dry-run", help="Approve a dry-run report, which is what enables mutation"
+    )
+    approve_cmd.add_argument("report", help="Path to the dry-run report")
+    approve_cmd.add_argument("--approver", required=True, help="Who is accepting this")
+
    args = parser.parse_args(argv)

    config = Config.from_env()
    config.database_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

+    # In a container the two roles that touch the library check their boundary before
+    # they take a lock or bind a port: the configured roots must name the mount paths,
+    # and a mismatch is cheaper to refuse than to discover at the first write (US08-03).
+    # Only in a container — on a host an unmounted root is an ordinary Tuesday (an
+    # archive medium that is not plugged in), and refusing to serve would take the
+    # offline half of the library away with it.
+    if args.command in ("serve", "worker") and path_policy.in_container():
+        refusal = path_policy.roots_refusal(config.library_roots, require_mount=True)
+        if refusal is not None:
+            print(refusal, file=sys.stderr)
+            return 5
+
    if args.command == "migrate":
        manifest = migrate_with_backup(config)
        if manifest:
@@ -115,6 +144,41 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
        # anyone reading the JSON.
        return 0 if report["ok"] else 1

+    if args.command == "release-gate":
+        from photo_pipeline.services import release
+
+        report = release.run_gate(config, output=args.output)
+        print(
+            json.dumps(
+                {k: v for k, v in report.items() if k not in ("stages", "matrix")}, indent=2
+            )
+        )
+        return 0 if report["ok"] else 1
+
+    if args.command == "dry-run":
+        from photo_pipeline.services import release
+
+        try:
+            report = release.dry_run(config)
+        except release.ReleaseError as error:
+            print(str(error))
+            return 1
+        if args.output:
+            Path(args.output).write_text(json.dumps(report, indent=2))
+        print(json.dumps(report, indent=2))
+        return 0
+
+    if args.command == "approve-dry-run":
+        from photo_pipeline.services import release
+
+        try:
+            record = release.approve(config, args.report, approver=args.approver)
+        except (release.ReleaseError, OSError, ValueError) as error:
+            print(str(error))
+            return 1
+        print(json.dumps(record, indent=2))
+        return 0
+
    if args.command == "diagnostics":
        from photo_pipeline.services import diagnostics

@@ -161,13 +225,21 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:

    import uvicorn

-    from photo_pipeline.api.app import create_app
+    from photo_pipeline.api.app import ConfigurationRefused, create_app
+
+    # An exposed deployment without an access secret must not reach the port at all,
+    # and the operator needs a sentence, not a traceback (US08-01).
+    try:
+        app = create_app(config)
+    except ConfigurationRefused as error:
+        print(str(error), file=sys.stderr)
+        return 4

    lock = LibraryLock(config, "api")
    if (held := _acquire(lock, allow_legacy=args.allow_legacy)) is not None:
        return held
    try:
-        uvicorn.run(create_app(config), host=config.host, port=config.port)
+        uvicorn.run(app, host=config.host, port=config.port)
    finally:
        lock.release()
    return 0
@@ -178,8 +250,6 @@ def _acquire(lock: LibraryLock, *, allow_legacy: bool) -> int | None:

    Returns an exit code to return, or ``None`` when the lock was acquired.
    """
-    import sys
-
    try:
        lock.acquire(allow_legacy=allow_legacy)
    except LockHeld as error:
--- a/photo_pipeline/api/app.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/api/app.py
@@ -35,7 +35,13 @@ from photo_pipeline.api.routes import (
    uploads,
    workflow,
 )
-from photo_pipeline.api.security import DEFAULT_HEADERS, SecurityMiddleware, Session
+from photo_pipeline.api.security import (
+    DEFAULT_HEADERS,
+    FailureLimiter,
+    SecurityMiddleware,
+    Session,
+    trust_refusal,
+)

 # Registers the safety_score / analysis job handlers on import.
 import photo_pipeline.jobs.domain_handlers  # noqa: F401
@@ -84,9 +90,16 @@ def _install_error_handlers(app: FastAPI) -> None:
        return _envelope(500, "internal_error", "internal error")


+class ConfigurationRefused(RuntimeError):
+    """The configuration would serve the library to callers it cannot authenticate."""
+
+
 def create_app(config: Config | None = None) -> FastAPI:
    config = config or Config.from_env()
    configure_logging(config.log_level, config.log_format)
+    # Before anything is built, let alone bound to a port (US08-01).
+    if (why := trust_refusal(config)) is not None:
+        raise ConfigurationRefused(why)

    @asynccontextmanager
    async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
@@ -114,6 +127,10 @@ def create_app(config: Config | None = None) -> FastAPI:
    # One session per process: the browser exchanges it for a cookie + CSRF token,
    # and every other origin is refused before a route ever runs (US07-02).
    app.state.session = Session.create()
+    app.state.access_limiter = FailureLimiter()
+    # Also set in the lifespan, but the bootstrap route reads it, and a caller can
+    # arrive before anything else has touched app.state.
+    app.state.config = config
    app.add_middleware(SecurityMiddleware, session=app.state.session, config=config)
    _install_error_handlers(app)
    app.include_router(session_routes.router, prefix="/api/v1")
--- a/photo_pipeline/api/routes/session.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/api/routes/session.py
@@ -3,21 +3,52 @@
 It sets the ``HttpOnly``/``SameSite=Strict`` session cookie and returns the CSRF
 token in the body. A foreign page can call this — it just cannot read the answer,
 because the app sends no CORS headers — and the cookie it received is never attached
-to a request that foreign page initiates.
+to a request that foreign page initiated.
+
+When an access secret is configured (mandatory as soon as the app is reachable from
+another machine, US08-01) this is also the authentication gate: the secret buys the
+cookie, and every route behind it keeps asking for exactly the session and CSRF token
+it asked for before. Wrong secrets are counted, and a burst of them stops being
+answered — otherwise a proxy-exposed deployment could be guessed at indefinitely.
 """

 from __future__ import annotations

+import logging
+import secrets
+
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Request
 from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse

-from photo_pipeline.api.security import SESSION_COOKIE
+from photo_pipeline.api.security import ACCESS_SECRET_HEADER, SESSION_COOKIE

 router = APIRouter(tags=["session"])

+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def _refuse(status: int, code: str, message: str) -> JSONResponse:
+    return JSONResponse(status_code=status, content={"error": {"code": code, "message": message}})
+

@router.get("/session")
 def start_session(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
+    config = request.app.state.config
+    secret = config.access_secret
+    if secret is not None:
+        limiter = request.app.state.access_limiter
+        if limiter.blocked():
+            return _refuse(429, "too_many_attempts", "too many failed attempts; retry later")
+        offered = request.headers.get(ACCESS_SECRET_HEADER, "")
+        if not secrets.compare_digest(offered, secret.get_secret_value()):
+            limiter.record_failure()
+            # The client address is the whole record: the offered secret, the issued
+            # session, and the request body all stay out of the log.
+            log.warning(
+                "access secret rejected", extra={"client": _client(request), "path": "/session"}
+            )
+            return _refuse(401, "access_denied", "a valid access secret is required")
+
    session = request.app.state.session
    response = JSONResponse({"csrf_token": session.csrf_token})
    response.set_cookie(
@@ -25,6 +56,13 @@ def start_session(request: Request) -> JSONResponse:
        session.id,
        httponly=True,
        samesite="strict",
+        # HTTPS outside means the cookie must never travel over a plain hop, even one
+        # this process cannot see. Loopback http keeps working unchanged.
+        secure=request.scope.get("state", {}).get("external_scheme") == "https",
        path="/",
    )
    return response
+
+
+def _client(request: Request) -> str:
+    return request.client.host if request.client else "unknown"
--- a/photo_pipeline/api/security.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/api/security.py
@@ -19,6 +19,14 @@ The defenses stack, because each one alone has a hole:
  only in the bootstrap response body, which a foreign page cannot read (no CORS) —
  so possessing it proves the caller is same-origin.

+Behind a reverse proxy (US08-01) the same stack holds with two substitutions: the
+allowed host set comes from configuration instead of being the loopback names, and
+the host/scheme the policy judges is the *external* one, which is only read from
+``X-Forwarded-*`` when the request actually arrived from a configured proxy. The
+loopback check was standing in for authentication, so naming a non-loopback host
+also makes an access secret mandatory — ``trust_refusal`` refuses to start without
+one, and the secret is what the bootstrap endpoint trades for the session cookie.
+
 ``evaluate`` is a pure function over the request metadata: the whole policy is one
 table that a unit test can enumerate, and the middleware only applies its verdict.
 """
@@ -26,6 +34,7 @@ table that a unit test can enumerate, and the middleware only applies its verdic
 from __future__ import annotations

 import secrets
+import time
 from collections.abc import Mapping
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from urllib.parse import urlsplit
@@ -35,6 +44,7 @@ from starlette.responses import JSONResponse

 SESSION_COOKIE = "pp_session"
 CSRF_HEADER = "x-csrf-token"
+ACCESS_SECRET_HEADER = "x-access-secret"
 API_PREFIX = "/api/v1"
 SAFE_METHODS = frozenset({"GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS"})
 # Reachable without a session: liveness/readiness (an orchestrator has no cookie)
@@ -43,6 +53,9 @@ PUBLIC_PATHS = frozenset(
    {f"{API_PREFIX}/health/live", f"{API_PREFIX}/health/ready", f"{API_PREFIX}/session"}
 )
 LOOPBACK_HOSTS = frozenset({"127.0.0.1", "localhost", "::1", "[::1]"})
+# Mutating endpoints that must stay reachable while mutation itself is gated: the
+# backup a careful operator takes first, and its retention (US07-07).
+MUTATION_EXEMPT_PATHS = frozenset({f"{API_PREFIX}/backups", f"{API_PREFIX}/backups/prune"})

 # Applied to every response. No inline script/style is used by the frontend, so the
 # policy can stay strict; `frame-ancestors 'none'` and CORP keep other pages from
@@ -93,6 +106,28 @@ def split_host(value: str) -> tuple[str, str]:
    return host, port


+def external_view(
+    *,
+    client: str | None,
+    headers: Mapping[str, str],
+    scheme: str,
+    trusted_proxies: frozenset[str],
+) -> tuple[str, str]:
+    """The ``(scheme, host)`` the caller used, as opposed to the one this hop saw.
+
+    Forwarded headers are a client-supplied claim. Believing them from anyone lets a
+    request declare its own origin — and origin is half of this module's evidence —
+    so they count only when the connection came from a configured proxy.
+    """
+    host = headers.get("host", "")
+    if client is None or client not in trusted_proxies:
+        return scheme, host
+    # A chain appends: the first entry is what the original client asked for.
+    forwarded_proto = headers.get("x-forwarded-proto", "").split(",")[0].strip().lower()
+    forwarded_host = headers.get("x-forwarded-host", "").split(",")[0].strip()
+    return forwarded_proto or scheme, forwarded_host or host
+
+
 def evaluate(
    *,
    method: str,
@@ -100,20 +135,26 @@ def evaluate(
    headers: Mapping[str, str],
    session: Session,
    allowed_hosts: frozenset[str] = LOOPBACK_HOSTS,
+    scheme: str = "http",
    max_request_bytes: int,
 ) -> Refusal | None:
-    """Why this request must be refused, or ``None`` when it may proceed."""
+    """Why this request must be refused, or ``None`` when it may proceed.
+
+    ``headers["host"]`` and ``scheme`` are the external ones (see ``external_view``);
+    the allowed origins are the allowed hosts under that scheme and port, so there is
+    no second list that can drift away from the first.
+    """
    host_header = headers.get("host", "")
    host, port = split_host(host_header)
    if host.lower() not in allowed_hosts:
-        return Refusal(403, "host_not_allowed", "request host is not a local address")
+        return Refusal(403, "host_not_allowed", "request host is not an allowed address")

    origin = headers.get("origin")
    if origin is not None and origin != "":
        parts = urlsplit(origin)
        origin_host, origin_port = split_host(parts.netloc)
        if (
-            parts.scheme not in ("http", "https")
+            parts.scheme != scheme
            or origin_host.lower() not in allowed_hosts
            or origin_port != port
        ):
@@ -139,14 +180,66 @@ def evaluate(
    return None


+def exposed_hosts(config) -> list[str]:
+    """Configured names by which this application is reachable from another machine."""
+    names = {str(config.host).lower()}
+    names.update(split_host(name)[0].lower() for name in config.allowed_hosts)
+    return sorted(names - LOOPBACK_HOSTS)
+
+
+def trust_refusal(config) -> str | None:
+    """Why this configuration must not serve at all, or ``None``.
+
+    Reaching the app used to prove ownership of it. The moment a configuration makes
+    it reachable from elsewhere that stops being true, so serving without a secret
+    would publish the library — refuse at startup rather than at the first request,
+    when the operator is no longer watching (US08-01).
+    """
+    exposed = exposed_hosts(config)
+    if exposed and config.access_secret is None:
+        return (
+            f"refusing to serve: {', '.join(exposed)} is reachable from outside this "
+            "machine, so PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET must be set"
+        )
+    return None
+
+
+class FailureLimiter:
+    """Bounded failed access-secret attempts, so the secret cannot be guessed online.
+
+    ponytail: one counter for the whole process rather than per client address —
+    behind a proxy every attempt arrives from the same address anyway. Per-caller
+    buckets if the app is ever exposed without one.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self, limit: int = 5, window: float = 60.0) -> None:
+        self.limit = limit
+        self.window = window
+        self._failures: list[float] = []
+
+    def blocked(self) -> bool:
+        now = time.monotonic()
+        self._failures = [at for at in self._failures if now - at < self.window]
+        return len(self._failures) >= self.limit
+
+    def record_failure(self) -> None:
+        self._failures.append(time.monotonic())
+
+
 class SecurityMiddleware:
    """Pure-ASGI so the SSE stream keeps streaming (BaseHTTPMiddleware buffers)."""

    def __init__(self, app, *, session: Session, config) -> None:
        self.app = app
        self.session = session
+        self.config = config
        self.max_request_bytes = config.max_request_bytes
-        self.allowed_hosts = frozenset(LOOPBACK_HOSTS | {str(config.host).lower()})
+        self.allowed_hosts = frozenset(
+            LOOPBACK_HOSTS
+            | {str(config.host).lower()}
+            | {split_host(name)[0].lower() for name in config.allowed_hosts}
+        )
+        self.trusted_proxies = frozenset(config.trusted_proxies)

    async def __call__(self, scope, receive, send) -> None:
        if scope["type"] != "http":
@@ -157,14 +250,26 @@ class SecurityMiddleware:
        # policy never has to parse a Cookie header.
        lookup = dict(headers)
        lookup["cookie-session"] = _cookie(headers.get("cookie", ""), SESSION_COOKIE)
+        client = scope.get("client")
+        scheme, lookup["host"] = external_view(
+            client=client[0] if client else None,
+            headers=headers,
+            scheme=scope.get("scheme", "http"),
+            trusted_proxies=self.trusted_proxies,
+        )
+        # What the session cookie's Secure flag is decided from, one hop later.
+        scope.setdefault("state", {})["external_scheme"] = scheme
        refusal = evaluate(
            method=scope.get("method", "GET"),
            path=scope.get("path", "/"),
            headers=lookup,
            session=self.session,
            allowed_hosts=self.allowed_hosts,
+            scheme=scheme,
            max_request_bytes=self.max_request_bytes,
        )
+        if refusal is None:
+            refusal = self._mutation_refusal(scope)
        if refusal is not None:
            response = JSONResponse(
                status_code=refusal.status,
@@ -183,6 +288,26 @@ class SecurityMiddleware:

        await self.app(scope, receive, send_with_headers)

+    def _mutation_refusal(self, scope) -> Refusal | None:
+        """Refuse every mutating request while the library's dry run is unapproved.
+
+        One choke point for the whole API: every mutation the browser can start is a
+        non-safe method under ``/api/v1``. Reading stays open — an operator has to be
+        able to look at what the application found in order to approve it (US07-07).
+        """
+        method = scope.get("method", "GET").upper()
+        path = scope.get("path", "/")
+        if method in SAFE_METHODS or not path.startswith(API_PREFIX):
+            return None
+        if path in MUTATION_EXEMPT_PATHS:
+            return None
+        from photo_pipeline.services.release import mutation_blockers
+
+        blockers = mutation_blockers(self.config)
+        if not blockers:
+            return None
+        return Refusal(403, blockers[0]["code"], blockers[0]["message"])
+

 def _cookie(header: str, name: str) -> str:
    for part in header.split(";"):
--- a/photo_pipeline/config.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/config.py
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ real external call needs them.

 pydantic-settings would do this too, but a prefix-scan over the declared fields
 is a few lines and one fewer dependency.
+
+Tuple-valued settings are lists in one variable: library roots are ``os.pathsep``
+separated because they are paths, everything else is comma separated.
 """

 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -18,6 +21,62 @@ from typing import Mapping
 from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, SecretStr

 ENV_PREFIX = "PHOTO_PIPELINE_"
+ENV_FILE_VAR = f"{ENV_PREFIX}ENV_FILE"
+DEFAULT_ENV_FILE = Path(".env")
+COMMA_LIST_FIELDS = frozenset({"allowed_hosts", "trusted_proxies"})
+
+# The archived CLI's variable names, so the configuration file an operator already
+# has keeps working. The vision provider reads the OpenAI SDK's names, and the
+# library root is configuration here rather than a bare path (US07-01 donor).
+LEGACY_ALIASES = {
+    "LLM_API_KEY": "OPENAI_API_KEY",
+    "GEMINI_API_KEY": "OPENAI_API_KEY",
+    "LLM_BASE_URL": "OPENAI_BASE_URL",
+    "LIBRARY": f"{ENV_PREFIX}LIBRARY_ROOTS",
+}
+
+
+def parse_env_file(text: str) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """``KEY=value`` lines into a mapping. Comments, blanks, and quotes handled.
+
+    Deliberately not a shell: no interpolation, no ``export``, no multi-line values.
+    A configuration file that can run code is a configuration file that can be a
+    vulnerability.
+    """
+    values: dict[str, str] = {}
+    for line in text.splitlines():
+        line = line.strip()
+        if not line or line.startswith("#") or "=" not in line:
+            continue
+        key, _, raw = line.partition("=")
+        key = key.strip()
+        if not key or key.startswith("#"):
+            continue
+        value = raw.strip().strip('"').strip("'")
+        values[key] = value
+        alias = LEGACY_ALIASES.get(key)
+        if alias:
+            values.setdefault(alias, value)
+    return values
+
+
+def load_env_file(path: Path | str | None = None) -> dict[str, str]:
+    """Load ``PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE`` (or ``./.env``) into the environment.
+
+    Anything already exported wins: a file is the standing configuration, the shell
+    is what you meant *this time*. Returns what it applied, which is what the CLI
+    prints — names only, never values.
+    """
+    candidate = path or os.environ.get(ENV_FILE_VAR) or DEFAULT_ENV_FILE
+    candidate = Path(candidate)
+    if not candidate.is_file():
+        return {}
+    applied = {}
+    for key, value in parse_env_file(candidate.read_text()).items():
+        if key not in os.environ:
+            os.environ[key] = value
+            applied[key] = value
+    return applied


 class Config(BaseModel):
@@ -30,6 +89,19 @@ class Config(BaseModel):
    log_level: str = "INFO"
    log_format: str = "json"  # "json" or "text"

+    # Trust boundary (US08-01). Empty means loopback only, which is what the app did
+    # before there was a setting: a request whose Host is not a loopback name is
+    # refused, and no secret is needed because nothing outside this machine can call.
+    # Naming a real hostname here is what makes the app reachable through a reverse
+    # proxy, and it is exactly then that ``access_secret`` becomes mandatory.
+    allowed_hosts: tuple[str, ...] = ()
+    # Addresses whose ``X-Forwarded-Proto``/``X-Forwarded-Host`` may be believed. A
+    # client that is not the proxy can otherwise declare its own origin.
+    trusted_proxies: tuple[str, ...] = ()
+    # Exchanged for the session cookie at the bootstrap endpoint. Once set it is
+    # required even on loopback, so a development setup cannot half-enable it.
+    access_secret: SecretStr | None = None
+
    # Largest request body the API accepts. Every endpoint takes small JSON commands;
    # anything larger is a mistake or an attempt to exhaust memory (US07-02).
    max_request_bytes: int = 1_048_576
@@ -42,6 +114,12 @@ class Config(BaseModel):
    # Free space an archive destination must keep beyond the transfer itself.
    archive_free_space_reserve_bytes: int = 1_000_000_000

+    # Refuse every mutating request until a read-only dry run of the configured
+    # library has been produced and explicitly approved (US07-07). Off by default so
+    # a development setup is unchanged; turn it on before pointing the application at
+    # a library whose photos cannot be replaced.
+    require_dry_run_approval: bool = False
+
    vision_api_key: SecretStr | None = None
    immich_api_key: SecretStr | None = None
    immich_server_url: str = ""
@@ -62,10 +140,18 @@ class Config(BaseModel):
    @classmethod
    def from_env(cls, environ: Mapping[str, str] | None = None) -> "Config":
        env = os.environ if environ is None else environ
+        if environ is None:
+            load_env_file()  # a file never overrides what the shell already set
+            env = os.environ
        data: dict = {}
        for name in cls.model_fields:
            raw = env.get(ENV_PREFIX + name.upper())
            if not raw:
                continue
-            data[name] = raw.split(os.pathsep) if name == "library_roots" else raw
+            if name == "library_roots":
+                data[name] = raw.split(os.pathsep)
+            elif name in COMMA_LIST_FIELDS:
+                data[name] = [part.strip() for part in raw.split(",") if part.strip()]
+            else:
+                data[name] = raw
        return cls(**data)
--- a/photo_pipeline/integrations/exiftool.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/integrations/exiftool.py
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ nt-apply-list, pa-nsfw-filter). No dependency on the archived entry points.

 from __future__ import annotations

+import functools
 import json
 import os
+import shutil
 import subprocess
 from collections.abc import Iterable

@@ -32,6 +34,27 @@ def _timeout() -> float:
        return DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS


+def find_binary(binary: str = "exiftool") -> str | None:
+    """Absolute path of exiftool, or ``None`` when it is not installed."""
+    return shutil.which(binary)
+
+
+@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=1)
+def version() -> str | None:
+    """Reported exiftool version, or ``None`` when it is missing or unusable.
+
+    Cached: it cannot change inside a running process, and diagnostics asks for it
+    on every report (US08-02, where a container image pins this version).
+    """
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["exiftool", "-ver"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=_timeout()
+        )
+    except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+        return None
+    return (result.stdout or "").strip() or None
+
+
 def read_keyword_sets(paths: Iterable[str]) -> dict[str, set[str]]:
    """Map each path to its lowercased set of ``Keywords`` + ``Subject`` values.

--- a/photo_pipeline/path_policy.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/path_policy.py
@@ -15,9 +15,7 @@ import os
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Iterable, Iterator

-SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS = {
-    ".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp", ".heic", ".heif", ".tiff", ".tif"
-}
+SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS = {".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".webp", ".heic", ".heif", ".tiff", ".tif"}
 EXCLUDED_DIR_NAMES = {"_IGNORE", ".@__thumb"}


@@ -72,6 +70,63 @@ def resolve_in_roots(roots: Iterable[os.PathLike | str], path: os.PathLike | str
    raise PathPolicyError("path is outside the configured library roots")


+def in_container() -> bool:
+    """Whether this process is running inside a container image build of the app."""
+    return Path("/.dockerenv").exists()
+
+
+def _under_mount(path: Path) -> bool:
+    """Whether ``path`` or one of its parents below ``/`` is a mounted filesystem."""
+    current = path.resolve()
+    while current != current.parent:
+        if os.path.ismount(current):
+            return True
+        current = current.parent
+    return False
+
+
+def roots_refusal(roots: Iterable[os.PathLike | str], *, require_mount: bool = False) -> str | None:
+    """Why the configured library roots cannot be worked with, or ``None`` (US08-03).
+
+    The roots name the directories this installation renames folders in, rewrites
+    EXIF in, and archives from. Container path policy is the same problem as host
+    path policy with one new failure mode: the configured roots must name the
+    *container-side* mount paths. A host path configured inside a container is
+    either absent or an ordinary directory of the image, so the library looks empty
+    and the first write lands in the container's throwaway layer instead of in the
+    library. That is worth refusing at startup, while an operator is still watching,
+    rather than at the first write.
+
+    ``require_mount`` is the container-only half of that: inside a container a real
+    library arrives through a bind mount, so a root that is not on (or under) a
+    mount point is not the library the deployment meant.
+
+    Writability is deliberately *not* checked: a bind mount's ownership is
+    virtualised by Docker Desktop and Colima (it arrives as ``root:root``), so
+    ``os.access`` there is evidence about the virtio layer rather than about the
+    library. A wrong UID/GID surfaces as a refused rename with the real errno, which
+    is at least true; a refusal here would be false on two supported platforms.
+    """
+    for root in roots:
+        path = Path(root)
+        if not path.exists():
+            return (
+                f"library root {path} does not exist: PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS must "
+                "name paths that exist here, and in a container that means the mount path"
+            )
+        if not path.is_dir():
+            return f"library root {path} is not a directory"
+        if not os.access(path, os.R_OK | os.X_OK):
+            return f"library root {path} is not readable by this process"
+        if require_mount and not _under_mount(path):
+            return (
+                f"library root {path} is not on a mounted filesystem in this container: "
+                "the library was not bind-mounted there, so PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS "
+                "names a directory of the image rather than the library"
+            )
+    return None
+
+
 def iter_supported_files(root: os.PathLike | str) -> Iterator[Path]:
    """Yield supported, non-excluded files under ``root`` in deterministic order.

--- a/photo_pipeline/services/analysis.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/analysis.py
@@ -264,8 +264,11 @@ class AnalysisService:
            asset = session.get(Asset, asset_id)
            if asset is not None and checkpoint.sha256:
                # The bytes changed when the container was rewritten; upload must use
-                # the hash of what is actually on disk now (concept §3).
+                # the hash of what is actually on disk now (concept §3), and the
+                # recorded size has to move with it (US07-07).
                asset.current_sha256 = checkpoint.sha256
+                if checkpoint.byte_size is not None:
+                    asset.byte_size = checkpoint.byte_size
            session.commit()

    def get(self, asset_id: str) -> dict | None:
--- a/photo_pipeline/services/app_lock.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/app_lock.py
@@ -15,9 +15,17 @@ package:
     "started_at": "...", "library_roots": ["..."]}

 One holder per role: an API and a worker are designed to run together, a second
-worker is not. A lock whose process is gone is stale and is taken over with the
-takeover recorded — refusing to start because of a crashed predecessor would turn
-one outage into two.
+worker is not. A lock whose process is gone is stale and is taken over — refusing
+to start because of a crashed predecessor would turn one outage into two.
+
+Ownership is an advisory ``flock`` on that file, not the record inside it. The
+record says *who*; the kernel says *whether*. That distinction is what makes the
+lock work in containers (US08-03), where a PID and a hostname are namespaced: a
+lock left behind by a container that no longer exists names a pid that still
+"exists" in the new container and a host that cannot be probed, so believing the
+file would deadlock every restart. A flock is released when its holder dies however
+it dies, and is seen by every process that can open the file — which for a local
+data directory is every container of this deployment.

 Legacy detection is deliberately a heuristic, not a promise: the archived CLI has
 no lock of its own, so what can be observed is its state files being written right
@@ -27,6 +35,7 @@ mutating stage should refuse until it stops.

 from __future__ import annotations

+import fcntl
 import json
 import os
 import socket
@@ -109,6 +118,12 @@ def _now() -> datetime:
    return datetime.now(timezone.utc)


+def _in_container() -> bool:
+    from photo_pipeline import path_policy
+
+    return path_policy.in_container()
+
+
 def legacy_activity(config: Config) -> dict:
    """Legacy state files written within the activity window, if any."""
    seen: list[dict] = []
@@ -139,6 +154,7 @@ class LibraryLock:
        self.role = role
        self.path = Path(config.data_dir) / f"{role}{LOCK_SUFFIX}"
        self._acquired = False
+        self._handle = None

    # ── inspection ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

@@ -178,12 +194,31 @@ class LibraryLock:
                    "stop it before running the application"
                )

+        self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        # The kernel decides, because the file cannot: a container's PID and hostname
+        # are namespaced, so a lock left by a container that no longer exists names a
+        # pid that "exists" and a host that cannot be probed (US08-03). An advisory
+        # flock is held by a live process or by nobody, is released when that process
+        # dies however it dies, and is shared by every process that can open this
+        # file — which, for a local data directory, is every role in every container
+        # of this deployment.
+        handle = open(self.path, "a+", encoding="utf-8")
+        try:
+            fcntl.flock(handle.fileno(), fcntl.LOCK_EX | fcntl.LOCK_NB)
+        except OSError:
+            handle.close()
+            raise LockHeld(self.holder() or Holder(self.role, -1, "unknown", "unknown")) from None
+
        current = self.holder()
-        if current is not None:
-            if current.alive:
-                raise LockHeld(current)
-            # Stale: its process is gone. Take over, and say so.
-            self.path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        if current is not None and current.host != socket.gethostname() and not _in_container():
+            # We hold the kernel's lock, so nothing on *this* machine holds the file.
+            # On a host that still leaves one case open: a data directory shared with
+            # another machine, whose flock we cannot trust. Believe its record rather
+            # than run two writers. In a container the data volume is local by
+            # construction (US08-03), and a foreign hostname is only a dead container.
+            fcntl.flock(handle.fileno(), fcntl.LOCK_UN)
+            handle.close()
+            raise LockHeld(current)

        mine = Holder(
            role=self.role,
@@ -192,15 +227,14 @@ class LibraryLock:
            started_at=_now().isoformat(),
            library_roots=tuple(str(root) for root in self._config.library_roots),
        )
-        self.path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
        payload = {k: v for k, v in mine.as_dict().items() if k != "alive"}
-        # Exclusive create, so two processes racing here cannot both believe they won.
-        try:
-            with open(self.path, "x", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
-                json.dump(payload, handle, indent=2)
-        except FileExistsError:
-            winner = self.holder()
-            raise LockHeld(winner or mine) from None
+        handle.seek(0)
+        handle.truncate()
+        json.dump(payload, handle, indent=2)
+        handle.flush()
+        # Held open on purpose: closing it is what releases the lock, and that must
+        # happen when this process ends, not when this method returns.
+        self._handle = handle
        self._acquired = True
        return mine

@@ -208,9 +242,10 @@ class LibraryLock:
        """Give up a lock this process owns. Another holder's lock is left alone."""
        if not self._acquired:
            return
-        current = self.holder()
-        if current is not None and current.pid == os.getpid():
-            self.path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        self.path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        if self._handle is not None:
+            self._handle.close()  # closing the descriptor releases the kernel lock
+            self._handle = None
        self._acquired = False

    def __enter__(self) -> "LibraryLock":
--- a/photo_pipeline/services/diagnostics.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/diagnostics.py
@@ -15,10 +15,13 @@ application.

 from __future__ import annotations

+import functools
+import json
 import shutil
 from pathlib import Path

 from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+from photo_pipeline.integrations import exiftool, immich_go
 from photo_pipeline.services import app_lock

 # Below this much free space, mutating stages should stop rather than risk a
@@ -26,6 +29,12 @@ from photo_pipeline.services import app_lock
 LOW_DISK_BYTES = 1_000_000_000
 CRITICAL_DISK_BYTES = 200_000_000

+# Written into the container image at build time (US08-02). The image pins exiftool
+# and immich-go, and this file is how a running container reports which versions it
+# was built with — so a drifted or missing binary is visible here rather than in a
+# failed EXIF checkpoint or a misparsed upload report.
+IMAGE_VERSIONS_FILE = Path("/etc/photo-pipeline/versions.json")
+

 def _tree_bytes(path: Path) -> int:
    if not path.exists():
@@ -69,8 +78,47 @@ def disk(path: Path) -> dict:
    }


+def _pinned_versions() -> dict[str, str]:
+    """The versions this image recorded at build time; empty outside a container."""
+    try:
+        recorded = json.loads(IMAGE_VERSIONS_FILE.read_text())
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return {}
+    if not isinstance(recorded, dict):
+        return {}
+    return {str(name): str(value) for name, value in recorded.items()}
+
+
+@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=4)
+def _uploader_version(binary: str) -> str | None:
+    """Cached: the uploader cannot change version inside one process."""
+    return immich_go.version(binary)
+
+
+def tools(config: Config) -> list[dict]:
+    """The external executables the pipeline shells out to, and their versions.
+
+    ``pinned`` is what the image was built against, ``version`` is what is actually
+    installed. They differ only when the binary was replaced or mounted over.
+    """
+    return [
+        {
+            "name": "exiftool",
+            "path": exiftool.find_binary(),
+            "version": exiftool.version(),
+            "pinned": _pinned_versions().get("exiftool"),
+        },
+        {
+            "name": "immich-go",
+            "path": immich_go.find_binary(config.immich_go_binary),
+            "version": _uploader_version(config.immich_go_binary),
+            "pinned": _pinned_versions().get("immich-go"),
+        },
+    ]
+
+
 def report(config: Config) -> dict:
-    """Sizes, disk headroom, warnings, and who currently holds the library lock."""
+    """Sizes, disk headroom, tool versions, warnings, and who holds the library lock."""
    database = config.database_path
    components = [
        _component("database", database),
@@ -132,6 +180,23 @@ def report(config: Config) -> dict:
            }
        )

+    installed_tools = tools(config)
+    for tool in installed_tools:
+        # A missing tool is reported as ``version: null`` rather than warned about: on a
+        # development machine the uploader is legitimately absent, and the stages that
+        # need it already refuse to run. A *drifted* tool is different — the image pinned
+        # a version and something replaced it.
+        if tool["version"] and tool["pinned"] and tool["pinned"] not in tool["version"]:
+            warnings.append(
+                {
+                    "code": "tool_version_drift",
+                    "message": (
+                        f"{tool['name']} reports {tool['version']} but this image pinned "
+                        f"{tool['pinned']}"
+                    ),
+                }
+            )
+
    locks = {}
    for role in ("api", "worker"):
        holder = app_lock.LibraryLock(config, role).holder()
@@ -151,6 +216,7 @@ def report(config: Config) -> dict:
        "components": components,
        "total_bytes": sum(component["bytes"] for component in components),
        "disk": space,
+        "tools": installed_tools,
        "warnings": warnings,
        "locks": locks,
        "legacy_activity": legacy,
--- a/photo_pipeline/services/exif_checkpoint.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/exif_checkpoint.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ unreadable file, or a write that did not take is not evidence that metadata is f
 from __future__ import annotations

 import json
+import os
 import uuid
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
@@ -58,6 +59,11 @@ class CheckpointResult:
    state: str  # verified | divergent | failed
    changed_fields: tuple[str, ...] = ()
    sha256: str | None = None
+    # exiftool rewrites the container, so the file's size moves with its hash. Both
+    # are inventory facts about the current bytes and both have to be refreshed
+    # together, or the next stage compares against a size that no longer exists
+    # (US07-07: a rename plan blocked itself forever after any EXIF write).
+    byte_size: int | None = None
    verified_at: datetime | None = None
    reason: str | None = None

@@ -137,9 +143,12 @@ def run(

    changed = compare(before, after)
    sha256 = hashing.sha256_file(path)
+    byte_size = os.path.getsize(path)
    if changed:
-        return CheckpointResult(DIVERGENT, changed_fields=changed, sha256=sha256)
-    return CheckpointResult(VERIFIED, sha256=sha256, verified_at=_now())
+        return CheckpointResult(
+            DIVERGENT, changed_fields=changed, sha256=sha256, byte_size=byte_size
+        )
+    return CheckpointResult(VERIFIED, sha256=sha256, byte_size=byte_size, verified_at=_now())


 def record(
--- a/photo_pipeline/services/release.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/release.py
@@ -0,0 +1,399 @@
+"""The release gate, the real-library dry run, and the approval that unlocks
+mutation (US07-07, concept §18 release gates).
+
+Three things live here because they are one decision:
+
+1. **The gate** — one command that provisions an isolated stack, runs every suite in
+   a fixed order, and retains versioned evidence with checksums. A release is not
+   "the tests passed on my machine last Tuesday"; it is a report that says which
+   revision, which suites, how long, and what the artefacts hash to.
+2. **The dry run** — a strictly read-only pass over the real photo library that
+   answers "what would this application do to it?" before it is allowed to do
+   anything. It opens no file for writing, creates no database rows, and touches no
+   metadata; it counts, classifies, and reconciles against whatever the database
+   already knows.
+3. **The approval** — a person reads that report and signs it off for exactly the
+   library roots it describes. Until then, with
+   ``PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL`` set, every mutating request is
+   refused. Change the roots, or produce a newer report, and the approval no longer
+   matches: it approves *that* reconciliation, not the idea of mutating.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import hashlib
+import json
+import os
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import time
+from collections import Counter
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from photo_pipeline import path_policy
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+
+SCHEMA_VERSION = 1
+APPROVAL_NAME = "dry-run-approval.json"
+CHECKSUMS_NAME = "CHECKSUMS.sha256"
+REPORT_NAME = "release-report.json"
+
+# The suites, in the order a failure is cheapest to read: units before the stacks
+# they compose. ``label`` is what the report and the operator see.
+STAGES: tuple[tuple[str, tuple[str, ...]], ...] = (
+    ("unit", ("tests/unit",)),
+    ("characterization", ("tests/characterization",)),
+    ("integration", ("tests/integration",)),
+    ("browser", ("tests/e2e",)),
+)
+
+# Skips the gate accepts, because they describe the machine rather than the code. The
+# container ones (US08-02) belong here for the same reason exiftool does: the image
+# build needs a Docker daemon and the network, and its definition is still checked
+# offline in tests/integration/test_container_image.py.
+ALLOWED_SKIP_REASONS = (
+    "exiftool not installed",
+    "root ignores directory permissions",
+    "no Docker daemon available",
+    "bind-mount ownership is virtualised",
+)
+
+
+class ReleaseError(RuntimeError):
+    pass
+
+
+def _now() -> datetime:
+    return datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+
+def sha256_file(path: Path) -> str:
+    digest = hashlib.sha256()
+    with path.open("rb") as handle:
+        for chunk in iter(lambda: handle.read(1024 * 1024), b""):
+            digest.update(chunk)
+    return digest.hexdigest()
+
+
+def sha256_bytes(payload: bytes) -> str:
+    return hashlib.sha256(payload).hexdigest()
+
+
+def revision() -> str | None:
+    """The commit this gate ran against, when the tree is a git checkout."""
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "rev-parse", "HEAD"],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            timeout=10,
+            cwd=str(Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]),
+        )
+    except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+        return None
+    return result.stdout.strip() or None
+
+
+# ── the story matrix ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def story_matrix(repo: Path | None = None) -> dict:
+    """Every backlog story, and how it is covered.
+
+    A story is ``delivered`` (mapped to test files that exist) or ``planned`` (an
+    accepted, not-yet-implemented story). Anything else — a story file nobody
+    mapped, or a mapping to a file that is gone — is a hole in the matrix, and the
+    gate fails on it rather than reporting a green run over missing coverage.
+    """
+    repo = repo or Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+    traceability = json.loads((repo / "tests" / "story_traceability.json").read_text())
+    mapped: dict[str, list[str]] = traceability["stories"]
+    planned: list[str] = traceability.get("planned", [])
+    stories = sorted(
+        "-".join(path.stem.split("-")[:2])
+        for path in (repo / "delivery_backlog" / "stories").glob("US*.md")
+    )
+
+    missing_tests = [
+        f"{story}: {rel}"
+        for story, files in mapped.items()
+        for rel in files
+        if not (repo / rel).is_file()
+    ]
+    unmapped = [s for s in stories if s not in mapped and s not in planned]
+    unknown = [s for s in list(mapped) + planned if s not in stories]
+    overlap = sorted(set(mapped) & set(planned))
+    return {
+        "stories": len(stories),
+        "delivered": sorted(mapped),
+        "planned": sorted(planned),
+        "problems": [
+            *(f"story with no tests and not planned: {s}" for s in unmapped),
+            *(f"mapped test file is missing — {entry}" for entry in missing_tests),
+            *(f"mapped story is not in the backlog: {s}" for s in unknown),
+            *(f"story is both delivered and planned: {s}" for s in overlap),
+        ],
+    }
+
+
+# ── the gate ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@dataclass
+class StageResult:
+    label: str
+    command: list[str]
+    returncode: int
+    seconds: float
+    summary: str
+    skipped: list[str]
+
+    def as_dict(self) -> dict:
+        return {
+            "stage": self.label,
+            "command": self.command,
+            "returncode": self.returncode,
+            "seconds": round(self.seconds, 2),
+            "summary": self.summary,
+            "skipped": self.skipped,
+            "ok": self.returncode == 0,
+        }
+
+
+def _run_stage(label: str, paths: tuple[str, ...], *, repo: Path, log_dir: Path) -> StageResult:
+    command = [sys.executable, "-m", "pytest", *paths, "-q", "-rs"]
+    started = time.monotonic()
+    result = subprocess.run(command, cwd=str(repo), capture_output=True, text=True)
+    elapsed = time.monotonic() - started
+    output = result.stdout + result.stderr
+    (log_dir / f"{label}.log").write_text(output)
+    lines = [line for line in output.splitlines() if line.strip()]
+    summary = lines[-1] if lines else ""
+    skipped = [line for line in lines if line.startswith("SKIPPED")]
+    return StageResult(label, command, result.returncode, elapsed, summary, skipped)
+
+
+def unexpected_skips(results: list[StageResult]) -> list[str]:
+    """Skips the gate will not accept: everything but the documented environment ones."""
+    return [
+        line
+        for result in results
+        for line in result.skipped
+        if not any(reason in line for reason in ALLOWED_SKIP_REASONS)
+    ]
+
+
+def run_gate(
+    config: Config,
+    *,
+    output: Path | str | None = None,
+    stages: tuple[tuple[str, tuple[str, ...]], ...] = STAGES,
+    repo: Path | None = None,
+) -> dict:
+    """Run every suite in an isolated stack and retain checksummed evidence.
+
+    The stack is isolated by construction: each pytest run builds its own temporary
+    data directories and libraries, so the gate never reads or writes the operator's
+    photos. What it keeps afterwards is the report, the per-stage logs, and a
+    checksum file over both.
+    """
+    repo = repo or Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+    directory = Path(output) if output else Path(config.data_dir) / "release" / _now().strftime(
+        "%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ"
+    )
+    logs = directory / "logs"
+    logs.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+    matrix = story_matrix(repo)
+    results = [_run_stage(label, paths, repo=repo, log_dir=logs) for label, paths in stages]
+    skips = unexpected_skips(results)
+
+    report = {
+        "schema_version": SCHEMA_VERSION,
+        "started_at": _now().isoformat(),
+        "revision": revision(),
+        "python": sys.version.split()[0],
+        "platform": os.uname().sysname,
+        "matrix": matrix,
+        "stages": [result.as_dict() for result in results],
+        "unexpected_skips": skips,
+        "failures": [result.label for result in results if result.returncode != 0],
+    }
+    report["ok"] = not report["failures"] and not matrix["problems"] and not skips
+    report["finished_at"] = _now().isoformat()
+
+    (directory / REPORT_NAME).write_text(json.dumps(report, indent=2))
+    # The evidence is only evidence if it can be shown to be the evidence that was
+    # produced. Checksums are the honest version of "signed" without a key: a real
+    # signature belongs to whatever key management the release actually has.
+    checksums = "\n".join(
+        f"{sha256_file(path)}  {path.relative_to(directory)}"
+        for path in sorted(directory.rglob("*"))
+        if path.is_file() and path.name != CHECKSUMS_NAME
+    )
+    (directory / CHECKSUMS_NAME).write_text(checksums + "\n")
+    report["evidence"] = str(directory)
+    return report
+
+
+# ── the real-library dry run ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def dry_run(config: Config, *, roots: tuple[Path, ...] | None = None) -> dict:
+    """Read-only reconciliation of the configured library. Changes nothing.
+
+    Opens no file for writing, writes no database row, and reads only what
+    ``os.stat`` and the existing database already say. The point is to be able to
+    look at a real library — the one with the irreplaceable photos in it — and see
+    what the application believes about it before it is allowed to act.
+    """
+    roots = roots or tuple(Path(root) for root in config.library_roots)
+    if not roots:
+        raise ReleaseError("no library roots are configured")
+
+    by_extension: Counter = Counter()
+    folders: set[str] = set()
+    files: list[str] = []
+    unreadable: list[str] = []
+    excluded = 0
+    total_bytes = 0
+    for root in roots:
+        if not Path(root).is_dir():
+            raise ReleaseError(f"library root {root} is not a directory")
+        for path in sorted(Path(root).rglob("*")):
+            if path.is_dir():
+                # Never traverse into an excluded directory, and never report its
+                # contents: proving exclusion must not require opening it.
+                if path_policy.is_excluded(path):
+                    excluded += 1
+                continue
+            if path_policy.is_excluded(path):
+                continue
+            try:
+                stat = path.stat()
+            except OSError:
+                unreadable.append(str(path))
+                continue
+            files.append(str(path))
+            folders.add(str(path.parent))
+            by_extension[path.suffix.lower() or "(none)"] += 1
+            total_bytes += stat.st_size
+
+    known = _known_paths(config)
+    on_disk = set(files)
+    report = {
+        "schema_version": SCHEMA_VERSION,
+        "generated_at": _now().isoformat(),
+        "revision": revision(),
+        "library_roots": [str(root) for root in roots],
+        "files": len(files),
+        "folders": len(folders),
+        "bytes": total_bytes,
+        "excluded_directories": excluded,
+        "unreadable": unreadable,
+        "by_extension": dict(sorted(by_extension.items())),
+        "reconciliation": {
+            "known_to_database": len(known),
+            "already_registered": len(on_disk & known),
+            "new_to_the_application": len(on_disk - known),
+            "recorded_but_absent": sorted(known - on_disk)[:100],
+            "recorded_but_absent_total": len(known - on_disk),
+        },
+        "mutation": "none — this pass is read-only",
+    }
+    report["checksum"] = sha256_bytes(
+        json.dumps(report, sort_keys=True).encode("utf-8")
+    )
+    return report
+
+
+def _known_paths(config: Config) -> set[str]:
+    """Current asset paths the database holds, or an empty set if there is none."""
+    if not config.database_path.exists():
+        return set()
+    from sqlalchemy import select
+
+    from photo_pipeline.db import create_db_engine, create_session_factory
+    from photo_pipeline.models import Asset
+
+    engine = create_db_engine(config.database_url)
+    try:
+        with create_session_factory(engine)() as session:
+            return {
+                path
+                for path in session.scalars(select(Asset.current_path))
+                if path is not None
+            }
+    except Exception:
+        return set()
+    finally:
+        engine.dispose()
+
+
+# ── the approval ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def approval_path(config: Config) -> Path:
+    return Path(config.data_dir) / APPROVAL_NAME
+
+
+def approve(config: Config, report: dict | Path | str, *, approver: str) -> dict:
+    """Record that a person read this reconciliation and accepts mutation for it."""
+    if isinstance(report, (str, Path)):
+        report = json.loads(Path(report).read_text())
+    if "checksum" not in report:
+        raise ReleaseError("this is not a dry-run report: it has no checksum")
+    record = {
+        "schema_version": SCHEMA_VERSION,
+        "approved_at": _now().isoformat(),
+        "approved_by": approver,
+        "report_checksum": report["checksum"],
+        "library_roots": report["library_roots"],
+        "files": report["files"],
+        "revision": report.get("revision"),
+    }
+    path = approval_path(config)
+    path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    path.write_text(json.dumps(record, indent=2))
+    return record
+
+
+def mutation_blockers(config: Config) -> list[dict]:
+    """Why mutation must stay refused, or an empty list.
+
+    Only enforced when ``require_dry_run_approval`` is configured — the loopback
+    developer setup keeps working unchanged, and an operator turns this on before
+    pointing the application at the library they cannot replace.
+    """
+    if not config.require_dry_run_approval:
+        return []
+    path = approval_path(config)
+    if not path.exists():
+        return [
+            {
+                "code": "dry_run_not_approved",
+                "message": (
+                    "run `python -m photo_pipeline dry-run` and approve its report "
+                    "before mutation is enabled"
+                ),
+            }
+        ]
+    try:
+        record = json.loads(path.read_text())
+    except ValueError:
+        return [{"code": "approval_unreadable", "message": f"{path} is not readable JSON"}]
+    approved_roots = [str(root) for root in record.get("library_roots", [])]
+    configured = [str(root) for root in config.library_roots]
+    if sorted(approved_roots) != sorted(configured):
+        return [
+            {
+                "code": "approval_scope_mismatch",
+                "message": (
+                    f"the approval covers {approved_roots}, but the configured library "
+                    f"is {configured}; run a new dry run"
+                ),
+            }
+        ]
+    return []
--- a/photo_pipeline/services/safety.py
+++ b/photo_pipeline/services/safety.py
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ class SafetyService:

        exif_verified_at = None
        result_sha256 = None
+        result_byte_size = None
        if write_exif and decision in (SFW, NSFW) and path:
            ops = exif_projection(decision)
            # The full checkpoint: write the owned keyword, read the whole file back,
@@ -314,6 +315,7 @@ class SafetyService:
            if result.verified:
                exif_verified_at = result.verified_at
                result_sha256 = result.sha256
+                result_byte_size = result.byte_size

        now = _now()
        with self._session_factory() as session:
@@ -332,6 +334,8 @@ class SafetyService:
            if result_sha256:
                asset = session.get(Asset, asset_id)
                asset.current_sha256 = result_sha256
+                if result_byte_size is not None:
+                    asset.byte_size = result_byte_size
            session.commit()
        return {
            "asset_id": asset_id,
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,18 +8,32 @@ dependencies = [
    "sqlalchemy>=2.0",
    "alembic>=1.13",
    "pydantic>=2.7",
-]
-
-[project.optional-dependencies]
-test = [
-    "pytest>=8",
-    "httpx>=0.27",
+    # Imaging is runtime, not test-only: thumbnails decode through Pillow, and the
+    # perceptual hash is a DCT over the decoded pixels (services/hashing.py).
    "pillow>=10",
    "numpy>=1.26",
    "scipy>=1.11",
+]
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+# The cloud vision provider. Optional because the analysis stage is the only thing
+# that needs it, and a local review-only install should not pull an API client.
+vision = ["openai>=1.30"]
+test = [
+    "pytest>=8",
+    "httpx>=0.27",
    "playwright>=1.40",
    "pytest-playwright>=0.4",
 ]
+
+[build-system]
+requires = ["setuptools>=68"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+# The importable application. ``migrations`` and ``work_item`` live beside it but
+# are not part of the package; without this, an editable install cannot guess.
+packages = ["photo_pipeline"]
 # Browser end-to-end tests also require: python -m playwright install chromium

 [tool.ruff]
@@ -35,4 +49,5 @@ markers = [
    "phase_d: Phase D end-to-end acceptance (US04-06) — guarded rename API, fault, and browser journeys",
    "phase_e: Phase E end-to-end acceptance (US05-06) — upload preflight, uploader, and browser journeys",
    "phase_f: Phase F end-to-end acceptance (US06-06) — archive destination, transfer, and restore journeys",
+    "container: builds and runs the container image and its composition (US08-02, US08-03) — needs a Docker daemon, the compose plugin, and the network",
 ]
--- a/tests/e2e/test_compose_stack.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_compose_stack.py
@@ -0,0 +1,337 @@
+"""US08-03: the composition, actually composed.
+
+Nothing here is faked below the process boundary: Docker builds the image, Compose
+starts the migrate/API/worker containers against a temporary fixture library on a
+real bind mount, and every assertion is made over HTTP or against what the stack
+left in its data volume. The vision provider is the deterministic fake seam the
+other end-to-end suites use, because an upload of real photos to a real model is not
+what this story is about — the mount, the lock, the volume, and the restart are.
+
+The file contract (one API, one worker, migrations first, no committed values) is
+checked without a daemon in ``tests/integration/test_compose_runtime.py``; only the
+running proof needs Docker, and CI is where it runs unskipped (US08-04).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import shutil
+import socket
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import tempfile
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import httpx
+import pytest
+from PIL import Image
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+PROJECT = "photo-pipeline-us0803"
+IMAGE = "photo-pipeline-test:us08-03"
+SECRET = "compose-acceptance-secret"
+CONTAINER_LIBRARY = "/library"
+READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 180
+JOB_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 180
+UP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 30 * 60
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.container
+
+
+def compose_available() -> bool:
+    try:
+        return (
+            subprocess.run(
+                ["docker", "compose", "version"], capture_output=True, timeout=60
+            ).returncode
+            == 0
+        )
+    except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+        return False
+
+
+needs_compose = pytest.mark.skipif(
+    not compose_available(), reason="no Docker daemon with the compose plugin"
+)
+
+
+def free_port() -> int:
+    with socket.socket() as sock:
+        sock.bind(("127.0.0.1", 0))
+        return sock.getsockname()[1]
+
+
+class Stack:
+    """The composition under test, plus the environment it was started with."""
+
+    def __init__(self, library: Path, env_file: Path) -> None:
+        self.library = library
+        self.port = free_port()
+        self.base = f"http://127.0.0.1:{self.port}"
+        # Compose reads the repository's own .env for substitution; the process
+        # environment wins over it, so the test's values are the ones that apply.
+        self.env = {
+            **os.environ,
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMAGE": IMAGE,
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE": str(env_file),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH": str(library),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS": CONTAINER_LIBRARY,
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT": str(self.port),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID": str(os.getuid()),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_GID": str(os.getgid()),
+        }
+
+    def compose(self, *args: str, check: bool = True, timeout: int = 300):
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            ["docker", "compose", "-p", PROJECT, "-f", str(REPO / "docker-compose.yml"), *args],
+            capture_output=True,
+            text=True,
+            env=self.env,
+            cwd=REPO,
+            timeout=timeout,
+        )
+        if check and result.returncode != 0:
+            raise AssertionError(
+                f"docker compose {' '.join(args)} failed:\n{result.stdout}\n{result.stderr}\n"
+                f"{self.compose('logs', '--tail', '80', check=False).stdout}"
+            )
+        return result
+
+    def wait_until_ready(self) -> None:
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+        while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+            try:
+                if httpx.get(f"{self.base}/api/v1/health/ready", timeout=5).status_code == 200:
+                    return
+            except httpx.HTTPError:
+                pass
+            time.sleep(0.5)
+        logs = self.compose("logs", "--tail", "120", check=False)
+        raise AssertionError(f"the stack never became ready:\n{logs.stdout}\n{logs.stderr}")
+
+    def client(self) -> httpx.Client:
+        client = httpx.Client(base_url=f"{self.base}/api/v1", timeout=60)
+        bootstrap = client.get("/session", headers={"X-Access-Secret": SECRET})
+        assert bootstrap.status_code == 200, bootstrap.text
+        client.headers["X-CSRF-Token"] = bootstrap.json()["csrf_token"]
+        return client
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def library() -> Path:
+    """A small fixture library on the host, mounted into both containers.
+
+    Not under pytest's ``tmp_path``: on macOS that is ``/var/folders/...``, which a
+    Docker VM (Colima, Docker Desktop) does not share, so the bind mount would arrive
+    empty and every assertion below would be about nothing. ``$HOME`` is shared by
+    every default configuration.
+    """
+    base = Path(
+        os.environ.get("PHOTO_PIPELINE_TEST_MOUNT_BASE", Path.home() / ".cache" / "photo-pipeline")
+    )
+    base.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    root = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="library-", dir=base))
+    for album, count in (("01_day", 2), ("02_night", 1)):
+        (root / album).mkdir()
+        for index in range(count):
+            colour = (40 * (index + 1), 90, 160)
+            Image.new("RGB", (64, 48), colour).save(root / album / f"{album}_{index}.jpg")
+    # The exclusion sentinel: it must never be discovered, counted, or analyzed.
+    (root / "_IGNORE").mkdir()
+    Image.new("RGB", (32, 32), (0, 0, 0)).save(root / "_IGNORE" / "sentinel.jpg")
+    try:
+        yield root
+    finally:
+        shutil.rmtree(root, ignore_errors=True)
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def env_file(tmp_path_factory) -> Path:
+    """Configuration and secrets come from the environment, so the test writes its
+    own file rather than borrowing the operator's."""
+    path = tmp_path_factory.mktemp("config") / "compose.env"
+    path.write_text(
+        "\n".join(
+            [
+                f"PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET={SECRET}",
+                "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LOG_FORMAT=text",
+                # The deterministic vision seam, in the data volume so both roles and
+                # the test can see it (concept §18).
+                "PHOTO_PIPELINE_FAKE_VISION_LOG=/data/vision.log",
+            ]
+        )
+        + "\n"
+    )
+    return path
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def stack(library, env_file):
+    if not compose_available():
+        pytest.skip("no Docker daemon with the compose plugin")
+    running = Stack(library, env_file)
+    running.compose("down", "--volumes", "--remove-orphans", check=False)
+    running.compose("up", "--detach", "--build", timeout=UP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+    try:
+        running.wait_until_ready()
+        yield running
+    finally:
+        running.compose("down", "--volumes", "--remove-orphans", check=False, timeout=300)
+
+
+def await_job(client: httpx.Client, job_id: str, states=("succeeded",)) -> dict:
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + JOB_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+    snapshot: dict = {}
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        response = client.get(f"/jobs/{job_id}")
+        if response.status_code == 200:
+            snapshot = response.json()
+            if snapshot["state"] in states:
+                return snapshot
+        time.sleep(0.5)
+    raise AssertionError(f"job {job_id} never reached {states}: {snapshot}")
+
+
+# ── the mounted library ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_the_stack_scans_the_bind_mounted_library_at_its_container_paths(stack):
+    client = stack.client()
+    try:
+        scanned = client.post("/inventory/scan")
+        assert scanned.status_code == 200, scanned.text
+        assets = client.get("/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200}).json()["items"]
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+
+    assert len(assets) == 3, assets
+    paths = {asset["current_path"] for asset in assets}
+    assert all(path.startswith(CONTAINER_LIBRARY + "/") for path in paths), paths
+    assert not any("_IGNORE" in path or "sentinel" in path for path in paths)
+    # The host paths are what the operator mounted, and they are not what the
+    # application records: the roots are the container's.
+    assert not any(str(stack.library) in path for path in paths)
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_a_library_root_that_is_not_mounted_is_refused_at_startup(stack):
+    """The container-specific failure: configured roots that name nothing mounted."""
+    refused = stack.compose(
+        "run",
+        "--rm",
+        "--no-deps",
+        "--env",
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=/srv/photos",
+        "api",
+        "serve",
+        check=False,
+    )
+    assert refused.returncode == 5, refused.stdout + refused.stderr
+    assert "library root /srv/photos" in refused.stdout + refused.stderr
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_a_second_worker_is_refused_by_the_library_lock(stack):
+    """Not by convention: the running worker's lock is in the shared data volume."""
+    refused = stack.compose(
+        "run", "--rm", "--no-deps", "worker", "worker", "--id", "worker-2", check=False
+    )
+    assert refused.returncode == 2, refused.stdout + refused.stderr
+    assert "worker is already running" in refused.stdout + refused.stderr
+
+
+# ── restart, resume, and the data volume ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_a_queued_job_resumes_after_both_containers_restart(stack):
+    client = stack.client()
+    try:
+        client.post("/inventory/scan").raise_for_status()
+        assets = client.get("/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200}).json()["items"]
+        for asset in assets:
+            decided = client.post(
+                "/safety/decisions", json={"asset_id": asset["id"], "decision": "sfw"}
+            )
+            assert decided.status_code == 200, decided.text
+
+        # Stop the worker first, so the job is provably still queued when the restart
+        # happens: a job that finished before the restart would prove nothing.
+        stack.compose("stop", "worker")
+        job = client.post("/analysis/jobs").json()
+        assert client.get(f"/jobs/{job['id']}").json()["state"] == "queued"
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+
+    stack.compose("restart", "api", "worker")
+    stack.wait_until_ready()
+
+    client = stack.client()  # the session is per API process, so it is re-bootstrapped
+    try:
+        finished = await_job(client, job["id"])
+        assert finished["state"] == "succeeded", finished
+        # The database is intact and the work is durable, not merely reported.
+        after = client.get("/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200}).json()["items"]
+        assert {asset["id"] for asset in after} == {asset["id"] for asset in assets}
+        analysed = client.get(f"/analysis/results/{assets[0]['id']}")
+        assert analysed.status_code == 200, analysed.text
+        assert analysed.json()["description"]
+        # Only the mounted library's own photos were analysed: the sentinel under
+        # _IGNORE is not an asset, so it can never have become an item of this job.
+        assert finished["progress"]["total"] == len(assets)
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_the_data_volume_survives_recreating_the_containers(stack):
+    """`down` without `--volumes` then `up` is the upgrade path: state stays."""
+    client = stack.client()
+    try:
+        client.post("/inventory/scan").raise_for_status()
+        before = {a["id"] for a in client.get("/inventory/assets").json()["items"]}
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+
+    stack.compose("down", "--remove-orphans", timeout=300)
+    stack.compose("up", "--detach", timeout=UP_TIMEOUT_SECONDS)
+    stack.wait_until_ready()
+
+    client = stack.client()
+    try:
+        after = {a["id"] for a in client.get("/inventory/assets").json()["items"]}
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+    assert after == before, "the same assets, from the same database, on the same volume"
+
+
+# ── operating it ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@needs_compose
+def test_backup_verify_and_diagnostics_run_as_container_commands(stack):
+    backup = stack.compose("run", "--rm", "--no-deps", "api", "backup", "--reason", "compose")
+    manifest = json.loads(backup.stdout[backup.stdout.index("{") :])
+    assert manifest["name"].startswith("2")
+
+    verified = stack.compose(
+        "run", "--rm", "--no-deps", "api", "verify-backup", f"/data/backups/{manifest['name']}"
+    )
+    assert json.loads(verified.stdout[verified.stdout.index("{") :])["ok"] is True
+
+    report = stack.compose("run", "--rm", "--no-deps", "api", "diagnostics")
+    diagnostics = json.loads(report.stdout[report.stdout.index("{") :])
+    components = {c["name"]: c["path"] for c in diagnostics["components"]}
+    # Database, WAL, thumbnail cache, and backups all live in the mounted volume.
+    for name in ("database", "write_ahead_log", "thumbnail_cache", "backups"):
+        assert components[name].startswith("/data/"), (name, components[name])
+    assert {tool["name"] for tool in diagnostics["tools"]} >= {"exiftool", "immich-go"}
+    # And the worker running beside this command is visible as the lock's holder.
+    assert diagnostics["locks"]["worker"]["role"] == "worker"
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":  # a quick way to run just this file
+    raise SystemExit(pytest.main([__file__, "-v", *sys.argv[1:]]))
--- a/tests/e2e/test_container_runtime.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_container_runtime.py
@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
+"""US08-02: the built image, actually built and actually run.
+
+This is the acceptance test for the image itself, so nothing here is faked: Docker
+builds from a clean context, the container starts under a chosen UID/GID against a
+mounted data directory, and the assertions are made over HTTP and against the files
+the container left on the host.
+
+It is skipped without a Docker daemon — the build also needs the network for the base
+image, the pinned exiftool package, and the pinned uploader release. The contract the
+Dockerfile itself has to keep (pins, non-root, health target, build context) is checked
+offline in ``tests/integration/test_container_image.py``, so a machine without Docker
+still fails on a broken image definition; only the running proof needs the daemon. CI
+builds the image on every change (US08-04), which is where this runs unskipped.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import platform
+import re
+import socket
+import subprocess
+import sys
+import time
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import httpx
+import pytest
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+IMAGE = "photo-pipeline-test:us08-02"
+SECRET = "container-acceptance-secret"
+HOSTNAME = "photos.test"
+READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 120
+BUILD_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 30 * 60
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.container
+
+
+def docker_available() -> bool:
+    try:
+        return subprocess.run(["docker", "info"], capture_output=True, timeout=60).returncode == 0
+    except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+        return False
+
+
+needs_docker = pytest.mark.skipif(not docker_available(), reason="no Docker daemon available")
+
+
+def docker(*args: str, check: bool = True, timeout: int = 120) -> subprocess.CompletedProcess:
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["docker", *args], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=timeout
+    )
+    if check and result.returncode != 0:
+        raise AssertionError(f"docker {' '.join(args)} failed:\n{result.stdout}\n{result.stderr}")
+    return result
+
+
+def pins() -> dict[str, str]:
+    """The pinned versions, read from the Dockerfile that produced the image."""
+    text = (REPO / "Dockerfile").read_text()
+    found = dict(re.findall(r"^ARG\s+([A-Z0-9_]+)=(.+)$", text, re.MULTILINE))
+    return {
+        # The Debian package version carries a packaging suffix; exiftool reports the
+        # upstream version only.
+        "exiftool": found["EXIFTOOL_VERSION"].split("+")[0].split("-")[0],
+        "immich-go": found["IMMICH_GO_VERSION"],
+    }
+
+
+def free_port() -> int:
+    with socket.socket() as sock:
+        sock.bind(("127.0.0.1", 0))
+        return sock.getsockname()[1]
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="module")
+def image() -> str:
+    """Build from a clean checkout: the build context is the repository, unmodified."""
+    if not docker_available():
+        pytest.skip("no Docker daemon available")
+    docker(
+        "build",
+        "--build-arg",
+        f"UID={os.getuid()}",
+        "--build-arg",
+        f"GID={os.getgid()}",
+        "-t",
+        IMAGE,
+        str(REPO),
+        timeout=BUILD_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+    )
+    return IMAGE
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def data_dir(tmp_path) -> Path:
+    data = tmp_path / "data"
+    data.mkdir()
+    return data
+
+
+def run_detached(image: str, port: int, *args: str, data: Path | None = None) -> str:
+    """Start a container. ``data`` bind-mounts the host's data directory when the test
+    is about the files themselves; otherwise the image's own /data is used, because a
+    macOS bind mount arrives with an ownership the container did not choose."""
+    result = docker(
+        "run",
+        "--detach",
+        "--rm",
+        "--publish",
+        f"127.0.0.1:{port}:8000",
+        *(("--volume", f"{data}:/data") if data is not None else ()),
+        "--env",
+        # Reachable from outside the container means reachable from another machine as
+        # far as the application is concerned, so the access secret is mandatory
+        # (US08-01) — the image must not weaken that.
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_HOST=0.0.0.0",
+        "--env",
+        f"PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET={SECRET}",
+        "--env",
+        f"PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS={HOSTNAME}",
+        image,
+        *args,
+    )
+    return result.stdout.strip()
+
+
+def wait_until_ready(base: str, container: str) -> None:
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        try:
+            if httpx.get(f"{base}/api/v1/health/ready", timeout=5).status_code == 200:
+                return
+        except httpx.HTTPError:
+            pass
+        if docker("inspect", "-f", "{{.State.Running}}", container, check=False).stdout.strip() in (
+            "false",
+            "",
+        ):
+            break
+        time.sleep(0.5)
+    logs = docker("logs", container, check=False)
+    raise AssertionError(f"container never became ready:\n{logs.stdout}\n{logs.stderr}")
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def serving(image):
+    port = free_port()
+    container = run_detached(image, port, "serve")
+    try:
+        base = f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}"
+        wait_until_ready(base, container)
+        yield base, container
+    finally:
+        docker("rm", "--force", container, check=False)
+
+
+def session(base: str) -> httpx.Client:
+    client = httpx.Client(base_url=base, timeout=30)
+    bootstrap = client.get("/api/v1/session", headers={"X-Access-Secret": SECRET})
+    assert bootstrap.status_code == 200, bootstrap.text
+    client.headers["X-CSRF-Token"] = bootstrap.json()["csrf_token"]
+    return client
+
+
+# ── the image serves, and says what it contains ──────────────────────────────
+
+
+@needs_docker
+def test_the_container_serves_the_frontend_and_the_pinned_tool_versions(serving):
+    base, container = serving
+
+    index = httpx.get(f"{base}/app/index.html", timeout=30)
+    assert index.status_code == 200
+    assert "<title" in index.text.lower(), "the application shell, not an API error"
+
+    client = session(base)
+    try:
+        tools = {tool["name"]: tool for tool in client.get("/api/v1/diagnostics").json()["tools"]}
+    finally:
+        client.close()
+    for name, pinned in pins().items():
+        assert tools[name]["pinned"] == pinned, name
+        # Recorded *and* installed: the reported version comes from running the binary.
+        assert pinned in tools[name]["version"], (name, tools[name])
+        assert tools[name]["path"], f"{name} is not on PATH inside the image"
+
+    logs = docker("logs", container, check=False)
+    assert SECRET not in logs.stdout + logs.stderr, "the access secret never reaches the log"
+
+
+@needs_docker
+def test_the_declared_health_check_reports_readiness(serving):
+    """The declared HEALTHCHECK is readiness, so Docker's own verdict is the assertion."""
+    _, container = serving
+    deadline = time.monotonic() + READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+    status = ""
+    while time.monotonic() < deadline:
+        status = docker(
+            "inspect", "-f", "{{.State.Health.Status}}", container, check=False
+        ).stdout.strip()
+        if status == "healthy":
+            break
+        time.sleep(1)
+    assert status == "healthy"
+
+    probe = docker("exec", container, "/usr/local/bin/healthcheck.sh", check=False)
+    assert probe.returncode == 0
+    # Point the probe at a port nothing serves: the same script must fail, which is
+    # what makes the healthy verdict above evidence rather than a default.
+    unready = docker(
+        "exec",
+        "--env",
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT=1",
+        container,
+        "/usr/local/bin/healthcheck.sh",
+        check=False,
+    )
+    assert unready.returncode != 0
+
+
+# ── identity: never root, always the configured owner ────────────────────────
+
+
+@needs_docker
+def test_the_container_refuses_to_run_as_root(image, data_dir):
+    result = docker(
+        "run",
+        "--rm",
+        "--user",
+        "0:0",
+        "--volume",
+        f"{data_dir}:/data",
+        image,
+        "diagnostics",
+        check=False,
+    )
+    assert result.returncode != 0
+    assert "refusing to run as root" in result.stderr + result.stdout
+    assert not list(data_dir.iterdir()), "a refused container writes nothing"
+
+
+@needs_docker
+def test_what_the_container_writes_is_owned_by_the_build_arguments(image):
+    """The identity the image was built with is the identity on disk afterwards.
+
+    Asserted from inside the container so it holds on every host: a macOS bind mount
+    reports an ownership the container never chose. The host-side proof, which is what
+    the mounted library actually needs, is the Linux test below.
+    """
+    port = free_port()
+    container = run_detached(image, port, "serve")
+    try:
+        wait_until_ready(f"http://127.0.0.1:{port}", container)
+        owner = docker(
+            "exec", container, "stat", "-c", "%u:%g", "/data/photo_pipeline.db"
+        ).stdout.strip()
+        assert owner == f"{os.getuid()}:{os.getgid()}"
+        assert docker("exec", container, "id", "-u").stdout.strip() == str(os.getuid())
+    finally:
+        docker("rm", "--force", container, check=False)
+
+
+@needs_docker
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    platform.system() != "Linux",
+    reason="bind-mount ownership is virtualised by Docker Desktop on macOS/Windows",
+)
+def test_files_the_container_writes_keep_the_configured_ownership(image, data_dir):
+    docker("run", "--rm", "--volume", f"{data_dir}:/data", image, "migrate", timeout=300)
+
+    written = sorted(path for path in data_dir.rglob("*") if path.is_file())
+    assert written, "migrate creates the database in the mounted data directory"
+    for path in written:
+        assert (path.stat().st_uid, path.stat().st_gid) == (os.getuid(), os.getgid()), path
+
+
+@needs_docker
+def test_the_worker_role_runs_from_the_same_image(image, data_dir):
+    """One image, two roles: the worker is the same entrypoint with another argument."""
+    port = free_port()
+    container = run_detached(image, port, "worker", "--id", "container-worker")
+    try:
+        # Taking the worker's library lock is the observable proof that it started,
+        # migrated, and reached its job loop — no sleep required (US07-05).
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + READY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS
+        lock = ""
+        while not lock and time.monotonic() < deadline:
+            assert docker("inspect", "-f", "{{.State.Running}}", container).stdout.strip() == (
+                "true"
+            ), docker("logs", container, check=False).stdout
+            lock = docker("exec", container, "cat", "/data/worker.lock.json", check=False).stdout
+            time.sleep(0.5)
+        assert lock, docker("logs", container, check=False).stdout
+        assert json.loads(lock)["role"] == "worker"
+
+        role = docker("exec", container, "cat", "/tmp/photo-pipeline-role").stdout.strip()
+        assert role == "worker", "the health check can tell which role this container is"
+    finally:
+        docker("rm", "--force", container, check=False)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":  # a quick way to run just this file
+    raise SystemExit(pytest.main([__file__, "-v", *sys.argv[1:]]))
--- a/tests/e2e/test_release_gate.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_release_gate.py
@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+"""The release gate, the read-only dry run, and the approval that unlocks mutation
+(US07-07).
+
+The gate itself is exercised with a tiny stage set — running the whole suite from
+inside the suite would be a fork bomb with better manners. What is proven here is
+the machinery a release depends on: the story matrix is complete, a failing stage
+fails the gate, an unexpected skip fails the gate, and the evidence is written with
+checksums that match what was written.
+
+The dry run is proven to be read-only against a real temporary library, and the
+approval is proven to be what stands between a configured library and any mutation.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import uuid
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+from fastapi.testclient import TestClient
+
+from photo_pipeline.api.app import create_app
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+from photo_pipeline.db import create_db_engine, create_session_factory, run_migrations
+from photo_pipeline.models import Asset
+from photo_pipeline.services import release
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+NOW = datetime(2026, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+
+# Two throwaway stages: one that passes, one the test can point at a failure.
+PASSING = ("tests/e2e/test_traceability.py",)
+
+
+def _config(tmp_path, **extra) -> Config:
+    data = tmp_path / "data"
+    data.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    lib = tmp_path / "lib"
+    lib.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
+    return Config.from_env(
+        {
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR": str(data),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS": str(lib),
+            **extra,
+        }
+    )
+
+
+# ── the story matrix ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_every_backlog_story_is_delivered_or_explicitly_planned():
+    matrix = release.story_matrix(REPO)
+
+    assert matrix["problems"] == [], "the story matrix has holes"
+    assert len(matrix["delivered"]) + len(matrix["planned"]) == matrix["stories"]
+    assert "US01-01" in matrix["delivered"] and "US07-07" in matrix["delivered"]
+
+
+def test_a_story_without_tests_is_a_gate_failure(tmp_path):
+    """A story file nobody covered must not pass quietly as 'no tests ran'."""
+    fake = tmp_path / "repo"
+    (fake / "delivery_backlog" / "stories").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (fake / "tests").mkdir()
+    (fake / "delivery_backlog" / "stories" / "US99-01-invented.md").write_text("# US99-01")
+    (fake / "tests" / "story_traceability.json").write_text(json.dumps({"stories": {}}))
+
+    matrix = release.story_matrix(fake)
+
+    assert matrix["problems"] == ["story with no tests and not planned: US99-01"]
+
+
+def test_a_mapping_to_a_deleted_test_file_is_a_gate_failure(tmp_path):
+    fake = tmp_path / "repo"
+    (fake / "delivery_backlog" / "stories").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (fake / "tests").mkdir()
+    (fake / "delivery_backlog" / "stories" / "US99-01-invented.md").write_text("# US99-01")
+    (fake / "tests" / "story_traceability.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"stories": {"US99-01": ["tests/gone.py"]}})
+    )
+
+    assert release.story_matrix(fake)["problems"] == [
+        "mapped test file is missing — US99-01: tests/gone.py"
+    ]
+
+
+# ── the gate ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_the_gate_runs_its_stages_and_keeps_checksummed_evidence(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)
+    evidence = tmp_path / "evidence"
+
+    report = release.run_gate(config, output=evidence, stages=(("smoke", PASSING),))
+
+    assert report["ok"] is True and report["failures"] == []
+    assert report["stages"][0]["stage"] == "smoke" and report["stages"][0]["ok"] is True
+    assert report["revision"], "the evidence must say which commit it covers"
+    assert report["matrix"]["problems"] == []
+
+    written = json.loads((evidence / release.REPORT_NAME).read_text())
+    assert written["ok"] is True
+    assert (evidence / "logs" / "smoke.log").exists()
+    checksums = (evidence / release.CHECKSUMS_NAME).read_text().splitlines()
+    assert len(checksums) >= 2
+    for line in checksums:
+        digest, name = line.split("  ", 1)
+        assert release.sha256_file(evidence / name) == digest
+
+
+def test_a_failing_stage_fails_the_gate(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)
+    failing = tmp_path / "failing_test.py"
+    failing.write_text("def test_no():\n    assert False\n")
+
+    report = release.run_gate(
+        config, output=tmp_path / "evidence", stages=(("broken", (str(failing),)),)
+    )
+
+    assert report["ok"] is False and report["failures"] == ["broken"]
+    assert report["stages"][0]["returncode"] != 0
+
+
+def test_an_unexpected_skip_fails_the_gate_but_an_environment_skip_does_not():
+    environment = release.StageResult(
+        "unit", [], 0, 0.1, "1 skipped", ["SKIPPED [1] x.py:1: exiftool not installed"]
+    )
+    silent = release.StageResult(
+        "unit", [], 0, 0.1, "1 skipped", ["SKIPPED [1] x.py:1: flaky, look later"]
+    )
+
+    assert release.unexpected_skips([environment]) == []
+    assert release.unexpected_skips([silent, environment]) == [
+        "SKIPPED [1] x.py:1: flaky, look later"
+    ]
+
+
+# ── the real-library dry run ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def _library(root: Path) -> None:
+    (root / "album").mkdir(parents=True)
+    (root / "album" / "a.jpg").write_bytes(b"a" * 128)
+    (root / "album" / "b.png").write_bytes(b"b" * 64)
+    (root / "loose.JPG").write_bytes(b"c" * 32)
+    excluded = root / "_IGNORE" / "private"
+    excluded.mkdir(parents=True)
+    (excluded / "secret.jpg").write_bytes(b"never read")
+
+
+def test_the_dry_run_describes_the_library_without_touching_it(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)
+    root = Path(config.library_roots[0])
+    _library(root)
+    before = {
+        str(p): (p.stat().st_mtime_ns, p.read_bytes()) for p in root.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
+    }
+
+    report = release.dry_run(config)
+
+    assert report["files"] == 3, "the excluded sentinel is not counted"
+    assert report["by_extension"] == {".jpg": 2, ".png": 1}
+    assert report["excluded_directories"] >= 1
+    assert report["mutation"] == "none — this pass is read-only"
+    assert report["checksum"]
+    assert not any("secret" in json.dumps(report) for _ in [0]), "excluded content never appears"
+    after = {
+        str(p): (p.stat().st_mtime_ns, p.read_bytes()) for p in root.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
+    }
+    assert after == before, "a read-only pass changed the library"
+
+
+def test_the_dry_run_reconciles_against_what_the_database_already_knows(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)
+    root = Path(config.library_roots[0])
+    _library(root)
+    run_migrations(config.database_url)
+    engine = create_db_engine(config.database_url)
+    with create_session_factory(engine)() as session:
+        session.add(
+            Asset(
+                id=str(uuid.uuid4()),
+                original_path=str(root / "album" / "a.jpg"),
+                current_path=str(root / "album" / "a.jpg"),
+                discovered_at=NOW,
+                hash_version=1,
+                byte_size=128,
+            )
+        )
+        session.add(
+            Asset(
+                id=str(uuid.uuid4()),
+                original_path=str(root / "album" / "gone.jpg"),
+                current_path=str(root / "album" / "gone.jpg"),
+                discovered_at=NOW,
+                hash_version=1,
+                byte_size=1,
+            )
+        )
+        session.commit()
+    engine.dispose()
+
+    reconciliation = release.dry_run(config)["reconciliation"]
+
+    assert reconciliation["known_to_database"] == 2
+    assert reconciliation["already_registered"] == 1
+    assert reconciliation["new_to_the_application"] == 2
+    assert reconciliation["recorded_but_absent_total"] == 1
+    assert reconciliation["recorded_but_absent"][0].endswith("gone.jpg")
+
+
+def test_a_library_root_that_is_not_there_is_refused(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path, PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS=str(tmp_path / "nowhere"))
+    with pytest.raises(release.ReleaseError, match="not a directory"):
+        release.dry_run(config)
+
+
+# ── the approval ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_mutation_is_refused_until_the_dry_run_is_approved(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path, PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL="1")
+    _library(Path(config.library_roots[0]))
+
+    blockers = release.mutation_blockers(config)
+    assert [blocker["code"] for blocker in blockers] == ["dry_run_not_approved"]
+
+    record = release.approve(config, release.dry_run(config), approver="domverse")
+    assert record["approved_by"] == "domverse" and record["report_checksum"]
+    assert release.mutation_blockers(config) == []
+
+
+def test_an_approval_covers_the_library_it_was_written_for(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path, PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL="1")
+    _library(Path(config.library_roots[0]))
+    release.approve(config, release.dry_run(config), approver="domverse")
+
+    other = tmp_path / "other-library"
+    other.mkdir()
+    moved = config.model_copy(update={"library_roots": (other,)})
+
+    assert [b["code"] for b in release.mutation_blockers(moved)] == ["approval_scope_mismatch"]
+
+
+def test_without_the_requirement_nothing_changes(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)  # the loopback development default
+    assert release.mutation_blockers(config) == []
+
+
+def test_the_api_refuses_every_mutation_until_the_report_is_approved(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path, PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL="1")
+    _library(Path(config.library_roots[0]))
+    with TestClient(create_app(config)) as client:
+        # Reading stays open: an operator has to see what was found to approve it.
+        assert client.get("/api/v1/workflow").status_code == 200
+        refused = client.post("/api/v1/inventory/scan", json={})
+        assert refused.status_code == 403
+        assert refused.json()["error"]["code"] == "dry_run_not_approved"
+        # A backup is the one mutation a careful operator takes first.
+        assert client.post("/api/v1/backups", json={}).status_code == 201
+
+        release.approve(config, release.dry_run(config), approver="domverse")
+        assert client.post("/api/v1/inventory/scan", json={}).status_code in (200, 201, 202)
+
+
+def test_approving_something_that_is_not_a_report_is_refused(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path)
+    with pytest.raises(release.ReleaseError, match="not a dry-run report"):
+        release.approve(config, {"files": 3}, approver="domverse")
+
+
+def test_the_cli_runs_the_dry_run_and_the_approval(tmp_path):
+    config = _config(tmp_path, PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL="1")
+    _library(Path(config.library_roots[0]))
+    from photo_pipeline.__main__ import main
+
+    environment = {
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR": str(config.data_dir),
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS": str(config.library_roots[0]),
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_REQUIRE_DRY_RUN_APPROVAL": "1",
+    }
+    previous = {key: os.environ.get(key) for key in environment}
+    os.environ.update(environment)
+    try:
+        report_path = tmp_path / "dry-run.json"
+        assert main(["dry-run", "--output", str(report_path)]) == 0
+        assert json.loads(report_path.read_text())["files"] == 3
+        assert main(["approve-dry-run", str(report_path), "--approver", "domverse"]) == 0
+    finally:
+        for key, value in previous.items():
+            if value is None:
+                os.environ.pop(key, None)
+            else:
+                os.environ[key] = value
+    assert release.mutation_blockers(config) == []
--- a/tests/e2e/test_release_journey.py
+++ b/tests/e2e/test_release_journey.py
@@ -0,0 +1,348 @@
+"""The release journey (US07-07): one library, one fresh environment, every stage.
+
+This is the acceptance the whole backlog builds up to — discovery, duplicate review,
+safety, analysis, EXIF verification, album proposal, guarded rename, rescan and
+reconciliation, upload, archive, offline deduplication, restore — driven over HTTP
+against real ``photo_pipeline serve`` and worker child processes, with full process
+restarts in the middle and at the end.
+
+Nothing is reached into. External services are the deterministic fakes the earlier
+phases already use, invoked through the real integration layer: a vision fake that
+records every path it was given, a real fake ``immich-go`` executable, and an
+archive medium that is an ordinary directory whose marker file is its identity.
+
+The invariants asserted along the way are the ones the concept calls non-negotiable:
+
+- an asset's identity survives a rename, an upload, an archive, and a restore;
+- an ``_IGNORE`` sentinel is never discovered, counted, analysed, or uploaded;
+- an NSFW asset never reaches the vision provider but still reaches Immich;
+- no photo's bytes are lost at any point — every hash is still reachable somewhere;
+- every stage's durable state survives a restart of both processes.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import hashlib
+import shutil
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import httpx
+import pytest
+
+from tests.e2e._pipeline_harness import (
+    SENTINEL_KEY,
+    FakeImmich,
+    Server,
+    fake_uploader,
+    image,
+    seed_library,
+    start_worker,
+    wait_until,
+)
+
+TIMEOUT = 30
+ALBUM = "rome"
+UPLOADER = 'echo "INFO  uploaded $6"\necho "Uploaded 2, duplicates 0"\nexit 0\n'
+
+
+def _sha256(path: Path) -> str:
+    return hashlib.sha256(path.read_bytes()).hexdigest()
+
+
+def _hashes(*roots: Path) -> set[str]:
+    return {
+        _sha256(path)
+        for root in roots
+        for path in root.rglob("*.jpg")
+        if path.is_file() and not path.name.startswith(".")
+    }
+
+
+def _post(base: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> httpx.Response:
+    response = httpx.post(f"{base}/api/v1{path}", timeout=TIMEOUT, **kwargs)
+    response.raise_for_status()
+    return response
+
+
+def _get(base: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> dict:
+    response = httpx.get(f"{base}/api/v1{path}", timeout=TIMEOUT, **kwargs)
+    response.raise_for_status()
+    return response.json()
+
+
+def _await_job(base: str, job_id: str, *, states=("succeeded",)) -> dict:
+    return wait_until(
+        lambda: (
+            snapshot
+            if (snapshot := _get(base, f"/jobs/{job_id}"))["state"] in states
+            else None
+        ),
+        timeout=90,
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def library(tmp_path):
+    """A fresh library: an album, an exact duplicate, and an excluded sentinel."""
+    seeded = seed_library(tmp_path, {}, {})
+    album = seeded.lib / ALBUM
+    image(album / "a.jpg", 11)
+    image(album / "b.jpg", 12)
+    shutil.copyfile(album / "a.jpg", album / "a-copy.jpg")  # exact duplicate
+    ignored = seeded.lib / "_IGNORE" / "private"
+    ignored.mkdir(parents=True)
+    image(ignored / "sentinel-9f3a2b.jpg", 99)
+    return seeded
+
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("exiftool") is None, reason="exiftool not installed")
+def test_the_full_release_journey_survives_every_stage_and_two_restarts(library, tmp_path):
+    immich = FakeImmich()
+    uploader = fake_uploader(tmp_path, UPLOADER)
+    vision_log = tmp_path / "vision.log"
+    archive_root = tmp_path / "medium"
+    archive_root.mkdir()
+    environment = {
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_SERVER_URL": immich.url,
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_API_KEY": SENTINEL_KEY,
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_IMMICH_GO_BINARY": str(uploader),
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ARCHIVE_FREE_SPACE_RESERVE_BYTES": "0",
+        "PHOTO_PIPELINE_FAKE_VISION_LOG": str(vision_log),
+    }
+    server = Server(library, extra_env=environment).start()
+    worker = start_worker(library, extra_env=environment)
+    base = server.base
+
+    try:
+        # ── 0. discovery ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        _post(base, "/inventory/scan")
+        assets = _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+        assert len(assets) == 3, "the sentinel under _IGNORE is not an asset"
+        paths = {asset["current_path"] for asset in assets}
+        assert not any("_IGNORE" in path or "sentinel" in path for path in paths)
+        identity = {asset["id"]: Path(asset["current_path"]).name for asset in assets}
+
+        # ── 1. duplicate review ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+        _post(base, "/duplicates/detect")
+        clusters = _get(base, "/duplicates/clusters")["items"]
+        assert len(clusters) == 1 and clusters[0]["member_total"] == 2
+        cluster = _get(base, f"/duplicates/clusters/{clusters[0]['id']}")
+        canonical = sorted(member["asset_id"] for member in cluster["members"])[0]
+        _post(
+            base,
+            f"/duplicates/clusters/{cluster['id']}/decision",
+            json={
+                "decision": "canonical",
+                "canonical_asset_id": canonical,
+                "expected_version": cluster["version"],
+            },
+        )
+
+        # ── 2. safety, with its EXIF checkpoint ──────────────────────────────
+        queue = _get(base, "/safety/queue", params={"limit": 100})["items"]
+        assert len(queue) == 2, "a non-canonical variant is not reviewed twice"
+        decisions = {}
+        for index, item in enumerate(sorted(queue, key=lambda row: row["current_path"])):
+            decision = "nsfw" if index == 0 else "sfw"
+            decisions[item["asset_id"]] = decision
+            result = _post(
+                base, "/safety/decisions", json={"asset_id": item["asset_id"], "decision": decision}
+            ).json()
+            assert result["exif_verified"] is True, "the safety checkpoint must verify"
+
+        # ── restart: everything so far has to be durable ─────────────────────
+        server.stop()
+        server.start()
+        base = server.base
+        assert _get(base, "/safety/counts")["nsfw"] == 1
+        assert {a["id"] for a in _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]} == set(
+            identity
+        )
+
+        # ── 3. analysis, gated to confirmed-SFW assets ───────────────────────
+        job = _post(base, "/analysis/jobs").json()
+        _await_job(base, job["id"])
+        analysed = [
+            name
+            for name, decision in (
+                (identity[asset_id], decision) for asset_id, decision in decisions.items()
+            )
+            if decision == "sfw"
+        ]
+        seen = vision_log.read_text().splitlines()
+        assert len(seen) == len(analysed) == 1
+        assert not any("sentinel" in line or "_IGNORE" in line for line in seen)
+        nsfw_id = next(aid for aid, decision in decisions.items() if decision == "nsfw")
+        assert all(identity[nsfw_id] not in line for line in seen), "NSFW reached the provider"
+
+        # From here on no stage may change a photo's bytes: the metadata stages are
+        # done, and moving, uploading, archiving, and restoring only relocate them.
+        stable_hashes = _hashes(library.lib)
+
+        # ── 4. album proposal and guarded rename ─────────────────────────────
+        _post(base, "/albums/proposals", json={})
+        proposal = _get(base, f"/albums/proposals/{ALBUM}")
+        _post(
+            base,
+            f"/albums/proposals/{ALBUM}/edit",
+            json={"name": "2019 Rome", "expected_version": proposal["version"]},
+        )
+        proposal = _get(base, f"/albums/proposals/{ALBUM}")
+        _post(
+            base,
+            f"/albums/proposals/{ALBUM}/approve",
+            json={"expected_version": proposal["version"]},
+        )
+        plan = _post(base, "/rename-plans").json()
+        assert plan["blockers"] == [], [
+            (issue["code"], issue["message"])
+            for op in plan["operations"]
+            for issue in op["issues"]
+        ]
+        response = httpx.post(
+            f"{base}/api/v1/rename-plans/{plan['id']}/apply",
+            json={"expected_version": plan["version"], "expected_checksum": plan["checksum"]},
+            timeout=TIMEOUT,
+        )
+        assert response.status_code == 200, response.text
+        applied = response.json()
+        assert applied["failed"] == 0 and applied["applied"] == 1
+        assert (library.lib / "2019 Rome").is_dir() and not (library.lib / ALBUM).exists()
+
+        # ── 5. rescan and reconciliation: identity survives the move ─────────
+        _post(base, "/inventory/scan")
+        after_rename = _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+        assert {asset["id"] for asset in after_rename} == set(identity)
+        assert all("2019 Rome" in asset["current_path"] for asset in after_rename)
+        assert _hashes(library.lib) == stable_hashes, "a rename changed a photo's bytes"
+
+        # ── 6. upload ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        report = _post(base, "/upload-preflight", json={"albums": ["2019 Rome"]}).json()
+        assert report["state"] == "ready", report["blockers"]
+        batch = _post(
+            base,
+            "/upload-batches",
+            json={"albums": ["2019 Rome"], "token": report["token"]},
+        ).json()["batches"][0]
+        started = _post(base, f"/upload-batches/{batch['id']}/start").json()
+        _await_job(base, started["job"]["id"])
+        uploaded = _get(base, f"/upload-batches/{batch['id']}")
+        assert uploaded["state"] == "succeeded"
+        # The uploader said nothing per file, so the outcome is uncertain until the
+        # server itself is asked whether it holds those exact bytes (US05-04).
+        assert uploaded["outcome_state"] == "requires_verification"
+        verified = _post(base, f"/upload-batches/{batch['id']}/verify").json()
+        assert verified["outcome_state"] == "verified", verified
+        uploaded = _get(base, f"/upload-batches/{batch['id']}")
+        # Reviewed NSFW is uploaded; it simply never reached the analyser.
+        assert {item["asset_id"] for item in uploaded["items"]} >= {nsfw_id}
+
+        # ── 7. archive ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        location = _post(
+            base, "/archive-locations", json={"name": "external", "root": str(archive_root)}
+        ).json()
+        preflight = _post(
+            base, "/archive-preflight", json={"location_id": location["id"]}
+        ).json()
+        assert preflight["state"] == "ready", [
+            (asset["asset_id"], asset["blockers"])
+            for album in preflight["albums"]
+            for asset in album["assets"]
+            if asset["blockers"]
+        ] or preflight
+        archive_plan = _post(
+            base,
+            "/archive-plans",
+            json={"location_id": location["id"], "token": preflight["token"]},
+        ).json()
+        uploaded_ids = {item["asset_id"] for item in uploaded["items"]}
+        _post(base, f"/archive-plans/{archive_plan['id']}/apply")
+        wait_until(
+            lambda: all(
+                asset["availability_state"].startswith("archived")
+                for asset in _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+                if asset["id"] in uploaded_ids
+            ),
+            timeout=90,
+        )
+        assert _hashes(library.lib, archive_root) == stable_hashes, "archiving lost bytes"
+
+        # ── 8. offline deduplication ─────────────────────────────────────────
+        (archive_root / ".photo-pipeline-archive.json").rename(
+            archive_root / ".photo-pipeline-archive.json.away"
+        )
+        # A copy of an archived photo turns up in the library under its own name —
+        # the real shape of "I re-imported an old card" — so nothing occupies the
+        # path the archived original would be restored to.
+        returned = library.lib / "2019 Rome" / "rediscovered.jpg"
+        returned.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        archived_copy = next(archive_root.rglob("*.jpg"))
+        shutil.copyfile(archived_copy, returned)
+        _post(base, "/inventory/scan")
+        _post(base, "/duplicates/detect")
+        offline = _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+        archived = [a for a in offline if a["availability_state"].startswith("archived")]
+        assert archived, "an unmounted medium must not make assets missing"
+        assert all(a["availability_state"] != "missing_unexpected" for a in offline)
+        assert any(
+            cluster["member_total"] >= 2 for cluster in _get(base, "/duplicates/clusters")["items"]
+        ), "the rediscovered copy did not meet its archived original"
+
+        # ── 9. restore ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        (archive_root / ".photo-pipeline-archive.json.away").rename(
+            archive_root / ".photo-pipeline-archive.json"
+        )
+        restore_report = _post(
+            base, "/restore-preflight", json={"location_id": location["id"]}
+        ).json()
+        restore_plan = _post(
+            base,
+            "/restore-plans",
+            json={"location_id": location["id"], "token": restore_report["token"]},
+        ).json()
+        _post(base, f"/restore-plans/{restore_plan['id']}/apply")
+        wait_until(
+            lambda: all(
+                asset["availability_state"] == "active"
+                for asset in _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+                if asset["id"] in identity
+            ),
+            timeout=90,
+        )
+
+        # ── 10. the final restart proves every stage was durable ─────────────
+        worker.kill()
+        worker.wait(timeout=20)
+        server.stop()
+        server.start()
+        base = server.base
+        final = {
+            asset["id"]: asset
+            for asset in _get(base, "/inventory/assets", params={"limit": 200})["items"]
+        }
+        assert set(identity) <= set(final), "an asset id did not survive the journey"
+        assert _get(base, "/safety/counts")["nsfw"] == 1
+        assert _get(base, "/upload-batches")["batches"][0]["state"] == "succeeded"
+        reachable = {
+            _sha256(path): str(path)
+            for root in (library.lib, archive_root)
+            for path in root.rglob("*.jpg")
+            if path.is_file() and not path.name.startswith(".")
+        }
+        assert stable_hashes <= set(reachable), (
+            "a photo was lost",
+            sorted(stable_hashes - set(reachable)),
+            sorted(reachable.values()),
+        )
+        workflow = _get(base, "/workflow")
+        assert {stage["key"] for stage in workflow["stages"]} >= {
+            "inventory",
+            "duplicates",
+            "safety",
+            "analysis",
+        }
+    finally:
+        worker.kill()
+        worker.wait(timeout=20)
+        server.stop()
+        immich.stop()
--- a/tests/integration/test_compose_runtime.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_compose_runtime.py
@@ -0,0 +1,299 @@
+"""US08-03: the composition's contract, and the library-root check it depends on.
+
+Bringing the stack up needs a Docker daemon and the network, which is what
+``tests/e2e/test_compose_stack.py`` does. What can be checked without either is
+checked here, because the parts that rot silently — a second writer that is only
+prevented by convention, a data volume that stopped being the same volume for both
+roles, migrations that stopped running first, a committed value in a file that must
+carry none — are all readable from the files.
+
+The startup refusal is the other half: in a container the configured library roots
+must name the mount paths, and a mismatch has to fail before the lock is taken, not
+at the first rename.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import re
+import stat
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+import yaml
+
+from photo_pipeline import path_policy
+from photo_pipeline.__main__ import main
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+COMPOSE_FILE = REPO / "docker-compose.yml"
+COMPOSE = yaml.safe_load(COMPOSE_FILE.read_text())
+ENV_EXAMPLE = REPO / ".env.example"
+
+SERVICES = COMPOSE["services"]
+DATA_VOLUME = "data:/data"
+
+
+def env_example_keys() -> list[str]:
+    """The variables the example file declares, in file order."""
+    return [
+        line.split("=", 1)[0]
+        for line in ENV_EXAMPLE.read_text().splitlines()
+        if "=" in line and not line.lstrip().startswith("#")
+    ]
+
+
+# ── one API, one worker, one library, one volume ─────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_exactly_one_serving_and_one_working_container_from_the_same_image():
+    roles = {name: service["command"][0] for name, service in SERVICES.items()}
+    assert sorted(roles.values()) == ["migrate", "serve", "worker"]
+    assert [name for name, role in roles.items() if role == "serve"] == ["api"]
+    assert [name for name, role in roles.items() if role == "worker"] == ["worker"]
+
+    images = {service["image"] for service in SERVICES.values()}
+    assert len(images) == 1, "both roles must run the same build of the application"
+    assert "latest" not in images.pop()
+    # No `replicas`/`scale` key promising a second worker is fine; the lock decides.
+    assert not any("deploy" in service for service in SERVICES.values())
+
+
+def test_both_roles_share_the_data_volume_so_the_lock_is_visible_to_both():
+    """A second worker is refused by the library lock (US07-05) only if it can see it."""
+    for name, service in SERVICES.items():
+        assert DATA_VOLUME in service["volumes"], name
+    assert COMPOSE["volumes"]["data"]["driver"] == "local"
+    text = COMPOSE_FILE.read_text()
+    # The composition has to say why, because the failure is silent corruption.
+    assert "WAL" in text and re.search(r"NFS|SMB|network", text)
+
+
+def test_the_library_is_a_bind_mount_whose_target_is_the_configured_root():
+    for name, service in SERVICES.items():
+        mounts = [volume for volume in service["volumes"] if volume != DATA_VOLUME]
+        assert len(mounts) == 1, name
+        source, target = re.match(r"^(\$\{.*?\}):(\$\{.*?\})$", mounts[0]).groups()
+        # An unset host path fails the composition rather than mounting something else.
+        assert source.startswith("${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_HOST_PATH:?")
+        # The container-side path and the configured root are one variable, so they
+        # cannot drift apart into a library that is mounted but not configured.
+        assert target.startswith("${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS:?")
+        assert service["environment"]["PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS"] == (
+            "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS}"
+        )
+        assert service["environment"]["PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR"] == "/data"
+
+
+def test_migrations_run_to_completion_before_either_role_accepts_work():
+    """`migrate` runs the backup-then-migrate path, and a failed upgrade exits
+    non-zero with its pre-migration backup intact — proven in
+    tests/integration/test_backup_recovery.py. What the composition adds is that
+    neither role starts until it succeeded."""
+    assert SERVICES["migrate"]["command"] == ["migrate"]
+    assert SERVICES["migrate"]["restart"] == "no", "a one-shot that retries is not a gate"
+    for role in ("api", "worker"):
+        assert SERVICES[role]["depends_on"] == {
+            "migrate": {"condition": "service_completed_successfully"}
+        }, role
+
+
+def test_the_api_port_is_published_to_host_loopback_by_default():
+    published = SERVICES["api"]["ports"]
+    assert published == [
+        "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_PUBLISH_ADDRESS:-127.0.0.1}:${PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT:-8000}:8000"
+    ]
+    # Reachable from the host means reachable from elsewhere as far as the app is
+    # concerned, so the access secret stays mandatory (US08-01).
+    assert SERVICES["api"]["environment"]["PHOTO_PIPELINE_HOST"] == "0.0.0.0"
+    assert SERVICES["api"]["environment"]["PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT"] == 8000
+    assert "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET" not in SERVICES["api"]["environment"]
+
+
+def test_containers_restart_by_themselves_and_stop_with_time_to_drain():
+    for role in ("api", "worker"):
+        assert SERVICES[role]["restart"] == "unless-stopped", role
+        assert SERVICES[role]["stop_grace_period"] == "30s", role
+
+
+def test_the_containers_run_as_the_library_owner_and_never_as_root():
+    for name, service in SERVICES.items():
+        assert service["user"] == "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID:-1000}:${PHOTO_PIPELINE_GID:-1000}", name
+        assert service["build"]["args"]["UID"] == "${PHOTO_PIPELINE_UID:-1000}", name
+
+
+# ── configuration comes from the environment, never from a committed file ────
+
+
+def test_configuration_and_secrets_come_from_the_environment_only():
+    for name, service in SERVICES.items():
+        assert service["env_file"] == ["${PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE:-.env}"], name
+        for key, value in service["environment"].items():
+            # Every value is either a variable reference or a property of the
+            # composition itself (the volume path, the container's own port).
+            composed = isinstance(value, int) or value in ("/data", "0.0.0.0")
+            assert composed or value.startswith("${"), (name, key, value)
+    assert not (REPO / ".env").is_file() or ".env" in (REPO / ".gitignore").read_text()
+
+
+def test_the_example_file_lists_every_setting_and_carries_no_values():
+    declared = env_example_keys()
+    assert declared == sorted(set(declared), key=declared.index), "no variable twice"
+    for line in ENV_EXAMPLE.read_text().splitlines():
+        if "=" in line and not line.lstrip().startswith("#"):
+            assert line.endswith("="), f"a value in the example file: {line}"
+
+    expected = {f"PHOTO_PIPELINE_{name.upper()}" for name in Config.model_fields}
+    assert expected <= set(declared), sorted(expected - set(declared))
+    # And every variable the composition substitutes is documented there too.
+    substituted = set(re.findall(r"\$\{(PHOTO_PIPELINE_[A-Z_]+)", COMPOSE_FILE.read_text()))
+    assert substituted <= set(declared), sorted(substituted - set(declared))
+
+
+def test_the_example_file_is_not_a_dotenv_that_could_be_loaded_by_accident():
+    """`.env.example` must not be what `.env` is: no values means nothing to leak."""
+    assert ENV_EXAMPLE.name != ".env"
+    parsed = {k: v for k, v in _parse(ENV_EXAMPLE.read_text()).items() if v}
+    assert parsed == {}
+
+
+def _parse(text: str) -> dict[str, str]:
+    from photo_pipeline.config import parse_env_file
+
+    return parse_env_file(text)
+
+
+# ── the lock across container lifetimes ──────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_a_lock_left_by_a_container_that_is_gone_does_not_block_the_restart(
+    tmp_path, monkeypatch
+):
+    """A restarted container is a new hostname and a recycled pid 1, so the record
+    in the lock file proves nothing; the kernel's flock does (US08-03)."""
+    from photo_pipeline.services.app_lock import LibraryLock
+
+    config = Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data", library_roots=(tmp_path,))
+    (tmp_path / "data").mkdir()
+    (tmp_path / "data" / "worker.lock.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps(
+            {
+                "lock_version": 1,
+                "role": "worker",
+                "pid": 1,  # pid 1 of a container that no longer exists
+                "host": "3f2a1b9c4d5e",  # its hostname was its container id
+                "started_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
+                "library_roots": ["/library"],
+            }
+        )
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr(path_policy, "in_container", lambda: True)
+
+    taken = LibraryLock(config, "worker").acquire()
+
+    assert taken.pid == os.getpid(), "the worker must come back after a restart"
+
+
+def test_a_second_worker_is_still_refused_while_the_first_holds_the_lock(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """The other half: the same flock refuses a concurrent second writer, whether it
+    is a process or another container of the same composition."""
+    from photo_pipeline.services.app_lock import LibraryLock, LockHeld
+
+    config = Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data", library_roots=(tmp_path,))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(path_policy, "in_container", lambda: True)
+    first = LibraryLock(config, "worker")
+    first.acquire()
+
+    with pytest.raises(LockHeld, match="worker is already running"):
+        LibraryLock(config, "worker").acquire()
+
+    first.release()
+    LibraryLock(config, "worker").acquire()  # free again
+
+
+# ── the startup check the mount depends on ───────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_configured_roots_that_are_mounted_and_writable_are_accepted(tmp_path):
+    assert path_policy.roots_refusal([tmp_path]) is None
+    assert path_policy.roots_refusal([]) is None, "no roots is a configuration, not a fault"
+
+
+def test_an_unmounted_library_root_is_refused_by_name(tmp_path):
+    refusal = path_policy.roots_refusal([tmp_path / "srv" / "photos"])
+    assert refusal is not None
+    assert "does not exist" in refusal and "PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS" in refusal
+
+
+def test_a_root_that_is_not_a_directory_or_not_readable_is_refused(tmp_path):
+    a_file = tmp_path / "photos.txt"
+    a_file.write_text("not a library")
+    assert "not a directory" in path_policy.roots_refusal([a_file])
+
+    unreadable = tmp_path / "unreadable"
+    unreadable.mkdir()
+    unreadable.chmod(0o000)
+    try:
+        refusal = path_policy.roots_refusal([unreadable])
+    finally:
+        unreadable.chmod(0o755)
+    if os.getuid() != 0:  # root ignores the mode, and CI may well be root
+        assert refusal is not None and "not readable" in refusal
+
+
+def test_an_unwritable_root_is_not_refused_here(tmp_path):
+    """A bind mount's ownership is virtualised on macOS and Windows, so os.access
+    would refuse a working deployment. The real errno at the first rename is at
+    least true; this check is about the mount, not the mode."""
+    read_only = tmp_path / "read-only"
+    read_only.mkdir()
+    read_only.chmod(stat.S_IRUSR | stat.S_IXUSR)
+    try:
+        assert path_policy.roots_refusal([read_only]) is None
+    finally:
+        read_only.chmod(0o755)
+
+
+def test_in_a_container_a_root_that_was_never_mounted_is_refused(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """The container-only failure: the path exists, but it belongs to the image."""
+    unmounted = tmp_path / "library"
+    (unmounted / "album").mkdir(parents=True)
+    refusal = path_policy.roots_refusal([unmounted], require_mount=True)
+    assert refusal is not None and "not on a mounted filesystem" in refusal
+
+    # A bind mount is a mount point, and a root *below* one is mounted too: a
+    # deployment may mount /srv and configure /srv/photos.
+    monkeypatch.setattr(os.path, "ismount", lambda path: Path(path) == unmounted.resolve())
+    assert path_policy.roots_refusal([unmounted], require_mount=True) is None
+    assert path_policy.roots_refusal([unmounted / "album"], require_mount=True) is None
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("role", ["serve", "worker"])
+def test_a_root_mismatch_refuses_at_startup_before_any_lock_is_taken(
+    role, tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys
+):
+    data = tmp_path / "data"
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR", str(data))
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS", str(tmp_path / "not-mounted"))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(path_policy, "in_container", lambda: True)
+
+    assert main([role]) == 5
+    assert "does not exist" in capsys.readouterr().err
+    assert not list(data.glob("*.lock.json")), "nothing started, so nothing is locked"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("role", ["serve", "worker"])
+def test_an_unmounted_root_on_a_host_is_not_a_reason_to_refuse(role, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """An archive medium that is not plugged in is a Tuesday, not a misconfiguration:
+    refusing would take the offline half of the library away with it (concept §9)."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR", str(tmp_path / "data"))
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS", str(tmp_path / "not-mounted"))
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET", "unused-on-loopback")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(path_policy, "in_container", lambda: False)
+    # Reaching the lock is the proof: that is the next thing either role does, and
+    # stopping there keeps the test out of a uvicorn/worker loop.
+    monkeypatch.setattr("photo_pipeline.__main__._acquire", lambda *_, **__: 99)
+
+    assert main([role]) == 99
--- a/tests/integration/test_container_image.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_container_image.py
@@ -0,0 +1,284 @@
+"""US08-02: the image's build contract, its entrypoint, and its health check.
+
+Building the image needs a Docker daemon and the network, which is what
+``tests/e2e/test_container_runtime.py`` does. Everything that can be checked without
+either is checked here, because the parts most likely to rot silently — a pin that
+stopped being a pin, a build context that started including the library, a health
+check pointed at liveness instead of readiness — are all readable from the files.
+
+The entrypoint and health check are shell, so they are exercised as shell: run with a
+stubbed ``id`` and ``python`` on ``PATH``, which is enough to prove the refusal, the
+role marker, and the argument pass-through without a container.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import re
+import shutil
+import stat
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+from photo_pipeline.services import diagnostics
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[2]
+DOCKERFILE = (REPO / "Dockerfile").read_text()
+DOCKERIGNORE = (REPO / ".dockerignore").read_text()
+ENTRYPOINT = REPO / "docker" / "entrypoint.sh"
+HEALTHCHECK = REPO / "docker" / "healthcheck.sh"
+
+SHA256 = re.compile(r"^[0-9a-f]{64}$")
+
+
+def instructions(text: str) -> list[str]:
+    """The lines that do something: comments explain, they do not build."""
+    return [line.strip() for line in text.splitlines() if line.strip() and not line.startswith("#")]
+
+
+def build_args() -> dict[str, str]:
+    """Every ``ARG name=default`` in the Dockerfile — the pins, in other words."""
+    found = {}
+    for match in re.finditer(r"^ARG\s+([A-Z0-9_]+)=(.+)$", DOCKERFILE, re.MULTILINE):
+        found[match.group(1)] = match.group(2).strip()
+    return found
+
+
+# ── pins ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_the_base_image_is_pinned_by_version_and_digest():
+    base = build_args()["PYTHON_IMAGE"]
+    assert base.startswith("python:3.12.")
+    assert "@sha256:" in base, "a tag can be moved; a digest cannot"
+    assert ":latest" not in DOCKERFILE
+    # Both stages build from the same pinned base, so the tool that was verified in one
+    # is the tool that ships in the other.
+    assert DOCKERFILE.count("FROM ${PYTHON_IMAGE}") == 2
+
+
+def test_exiftool_and_the_uploader_are_pinned_and_verified():
+    args = build_args()
+    assert re.match(r"^\d+\.\d+", args["EXIFTOOL_VERSION"])
+    assert re.match(r"^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$", args["IMMICH_GO_VERSION"])
+    for arch in ("AMD64", "ARM64"):
+        assert SHA256.match(args[f"IMMICH_GO_SHA256_{arch}"]), arch
+    # The pinned exiftool package is installed by version, not by name alone.
+    assert 'libimage-exiftool-perl=${EXIFTOOL_VERSION}"' in DOCKERFILE
+    # And the build fails if what got installed is not what was pinned.
+    assert "is not the pinned" in DOCKERFILE and "is not pinned" in DOCKERFILE
+
+
+def test_the_uploader_download_refuses_a_mismatching_checksum(tmp_path):
+    """The verification is the point of pinning a URL, so it is run, not read."""
+    script = REPO / "docker" / "fetch-immich-go.py"
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        [
+            sys.executable,
+            str(script),
+            "--version",
+            "0.0.0-does-not-exist",
+            "--sha256-amd64",
+            "0" * 64,
+            "--sha256-arm64",
+            "0" * 64,
+            "--into",
+            str(tmp_path),
+        ],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+    )
+    assert result.returncode != 0
+    assert not list(tmp_path.iterdir()), "nothing is written before it is verified"
+
+
+def test_the_recorded_versions_are_reported_by_diagnostics(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    """What the image records is what `diagnostics` answers with (acceptance criterion 2)."""
+    recorded = tmp_path / "versions.json"
+    recorded.write_text(json.dumps({"exiftool": "13.25", "immich-go": "0.32.0"}))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics, "IMAGE_VERSIONS_FILE", recorded)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics.exiftool, "version", lambda: "13.25")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics, "_uploader_version", lambda _binary: "immich-go 0.32.0")
+
+    config = Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data")
+    reported = {tool["name"]: tool for tool in diagnostics.tools(config)}
+
+    assert reported["exiftool"]["pinned"] == "13.25"
+    assert reported["immich-go"]["pinned"] == "0.32.0"
+    assert "0.32.0" in reported["immich-go"]["version"]
+    assert diagnostics.report(config)["tools"] == list(reported.values())
+    assert "tool_version_drift" not in {w["code"] for w in diagnostics.report(config)["warnings"]}
+
+
+def test_a_replaced_tool_is_reported_as_drift(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    recorded = tmp_path / "versions.json"
+    recorded.write_text(json.dumps({"exiftool": "13.25"}))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics, "IMAGE_VERSIONS_FILE", recorded)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics.exiftool, "version", lambda: "12.57")
+
+    report = diagnostics.report(Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data"))
+
+    drift = [w for w in report["warnings"] if w["code"] == "tool_version_drift"]
+    assert drift and "13.25" in drift[0]["message"] and "12.57" in drift[0]["message"]
+
+
+def test_versions_are_absent_rather_than_invented_outside_a_container(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(diagnostics, "IMAGE_VERSIONS_FILE", tmp_path / "nothing.json")
+    for tool in diagnostics.tools(Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data")):
+        assert tool["pinned"] is None
+
+
+# ── the final layer ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+def test_no_test_or_build_tooling_is_installed_in_the_image():
+    runtime = "\n".join(instructions(DOCKERFILE.split("AS runtime", 1)[1]))
+    for unwanted in ("[test]", "pytest", "playwright", "build-essential", "gcc"):
+        assert unwanted not in runtime, unwanted
+    assert "pip install --no-cache-dir -e ." in runtime
+
+
+def test_neither_secrets_nor_library_data_can_enter_the_build_context():
+    lines = instructions(DOCKERIGNORE)
+    assert lines[0] == "*", "the context is deny-by-default"
+    allowed = {line[1:] for line in lines if line.startswith("!")}
+    # Everything the Dockerfile copies has to be allowed, and nothing else is.
+    copied = {
+        source
+        for match in re.finditer(r"^COPY (?!--from)(.+)$", DOCKERFILE, re.MULTILINE)
+        for source in match.group(1).split()[:-1]
+    }
+    assert {Path(source).parts[0] for source in copied} <= allowed
+    assert not {"data", ".git", ".env", "tests", ".venv"} & allowed
+    for generated in ("**/*.env", "**/*.db", "**/*.log", "**/__pycache__"):
+        assert generated in lines, generated
+
+
+def test_the_image_runs_as_a_non_root_user_whose_ids_are_build_arguments():
+    args = build_args()
+    assert args["UID"] == "1000" and args["GID"] == "1000"
+    assert "USER ${UID}:${GID}" in DOCKERFILE
+    assert re.search(r"^USER (root|0)", DOCKERFILE, re.MULTILINE) is None
+    assert 'useradd --uid "${UID}" --gid "${GID}"' in DOCKERFILE
+
+
+def test_the_health_check_is_readiness_and_the_default_role_is_serve():
+    assert "HEALTHCHECK" in DOCKERFILE
+    assert "/usr/local/bin/healthcheck.sh" in DOCKERFILE
+    assert 'CMD ["serve"]' in DOCKERFILE
+    assert 'ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh"]' in DOCKERFILE
+    assert "/api/v1/health/ready" in HEALTHCHECK.read_text()
+    assert "/api/v1/health/live" not in HEALTHCHECK.read_text()
+    # No supervisor: one role per container (acceptance criterion 4).
+    for supervisor in ("supervisord", "s6-overlay", "runit"):
+        assert supervisor not in DOCKERFILE
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("script", [ENTRYPOINT, HEALTHCHECK])
+def test_the_scripts_are_executable(script):
+    assert script.stat().st_mode & stat.S_IXUSR, f"{script.name} must be executable in git"
+
+
+# ── the entrypoint, run as shell ─────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def stubs(tmp_path):
+    """A PATH where ``python`` records its arguments and ``id`` can be told a UID."""
+    bin_dir = tmp_path / "bin"
+    bin_dir.mkdir()
+    recorded = tmp_path / "argv"
+    python = bin_dir / "python"
+    python.write_text(f'#!/bin/sh\nprintf "%s\\n" "$@" > {recorded}\nexit 0\n')
+    python.chmod(0o755)
+    (bin_dir / "id").write_text('#!/bin/sh\nprintf "%s" "${STUB_UID:-1000}"\n')
+    (bin_dir / "id").chmod(0o755)
+    return bin_dir, recorded, tmp_path / "role"
+
+
+def run_script(script: Path, *args, stubs, env=None):
+    bin_dir, recorded, role_file = stubs
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["/bin/sh", str(script), *args],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        env={
+            "PATH": f"{bin_dir}:{os.environ['PATH']}",
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ROLE_FILE": str(role_file),
+            **(env or {}),
+        },
+    )
+    argv = recorded.read_text().splitlines() if recorded.exists() else []
+    return result, argv
+
+
+def test_the_container_refuses_to_run_as_root(stubs):
+    result, argv = run_script(ENTRYPOINT, "serve", stubs=stubs, env={"STUB_UID": "0"})
+    assert result.returncode == 1
+    assert "refusing to run as root" in result.stderr
+    assert argv == [], "the application is never started as root"
+    assert not stubs[2].exists(), "not even the role marker is written"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "given,expected",
+    [
+        (["serve"], ["-m", "photo_pipeline", "serve"]),
+        (["worker", "--id", "worker-2"], ["-m", "photo_pipeline", "worker", "--id", "worker-2"]),
+        # Every other management command stays reachable: operating the container is
+        # operating the same CLI.
+        (["diagnostics"], ["-m", "photo_pipeline", "diagnostics"]),
+        ([], ["-m", "photo_pipeline"]),
+    ],
+)
+def test_the_role_selects_the_command_and_arguments_pass_through(given, expected, stubs):
+    result, argv = run_script(ENTRYPOINT, *given, stubs=stubs)
+    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+    assert argv == expected
+
+
+def test_the_role_is_recorded_for_the_health_check(stubs):
+    run_script(ENTRYPOINT, "worker", stubs=stubs)
+    assert stubs[2].read_text() == "worker"
+
+
+def test_the_health_check_only_probes_the_serving_role(stubs):
+    stubs[2].write_text("worker")
+    result, argv = run_script(HEALTHCHECK, stubs=stubs)
+    assert result.returncode == 0 and argv == [], "a worker has no endpoint to probe"
+
+    stubs[2].write_text("serve")
+    result, argv = run_script(HEALTHCHECK, stubs=stubs, env={"PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT": "9123"})
+    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+    assert argv == ["-", "9123"], "the configured port is the one probed"
+
+
+def test_the_health_check_fails_while_the_api_is_not_ready(stubs):
+    """No python stub: the real interpreter probes a port nothing is listening on."""
+    stubs[2].write_text("serve")
+    result = subprocess.run(
+        ["/bin/sh", str(HEALTHCHECK)],
+        capture_output=True,
+        text=True,
+        env={
+            "PATH": os.path.dirname(sys.executable) + os.pathsep + os.environ["PATH"],
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ROLE_FILE": str(stubs[2]),
+            "PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT": "1",
+        },
+    )
+    assert result.returncode == 1
+    assert "not ready" in result.stderr
+
+
+def test_the_scripts_are_posix_shell():
+    """They run in the image's /bin/sh, which is dash — not bash."""
+    shells = ["/bin/sh"] + ([dash] if (dash := shutil.which("dash")) else [])
+    for shell in shells:
+        for script in (ENTRYPOINT, HEALTHCHECK):
+            checked = subprocess.run([shell, "-n", str(script)], capture_output=True, text=True)
+            assert checked.returncode == 0, f"{shell} {script.name}: {checked.stderr}"
--- a/tests/integration/test_trusted_hosts.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_trusted_hosts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,253 @@
+"""US08-01: the configurable trust boundary and its authentication gate.
+
+Until now, reaching the app proved ownership of it: it answered only to loopback
+names. A container behind a reverse proxy answers to a real hostname, so these tests
+pin the two halves that replace that proof — the app refuses to start exposed without
+an access secret, and the secret is the only way to obtain the session every other
+route already required (US07-02, unchanged and re-asserted here).
+
+The suite's ``conftest`` bootstraps a session for any ``TestClient`` automatically,
+which is precisely what an unauthenticated caller does not get; ``raw_client``
+pre-seeds a placeholder CSRF header to opt out of that convenience.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+from starlette.testclient import TestClient
+
+from photo_pipeline.api.app import ConfigurationRefused, create_app
+from photo_pipeline.api.security import ACCESS_SECRET_HEADER, CSRF_HEADER, SESSION_COOKIE
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config
+
+SECRET = "operator-secret-value"
+HOSTNAME = "photos.example.com"
+# What Starlette reports as the peer address of an in-process request.
+TESTCLIENT_ADDRESS = "testclient"
+
+# One of each route class: a read, a mutation, and a media endpoint.
+PROTECTED = [
+    ("GET", "/api/v1/workflow", None),
+    ("POST", "/api/v1/albums/proposals", {}),
+    ("GET", "/api/v1/assets/unknown-asset/thumbnail?size=256", None),
+]
+
+
+def config(tmp_path, **overrides) -> Config:
+    return Config(data_dir=tmp_path / "data", **overrides)
+
+
+def raw_client(app, base_url="http://127.0.0.1") -> TestClient:
+    client = TestClient(app, base_url=base_url)
+    client.headers[CSRF_HEADER] = "placeholder"
+    return client
+
+
+def exchange(client, secret=SECRET, headers=None):
+    return client.get("/api/v1/session", headers={ACCESS_SECRET_HEADER: secret, **(headers or {})})
+
+
+# ── startup: exposure without a secret is refused, loopback is unchanged ──────
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "exposure,exposed",
+    [({"allowed_hosts": (HOSTNAME,)}, HOSTNAME), ({"host": "0.0.0.0"}, "0.0.0.0")],
+)
+def test_an_exposed_configuration_refuses_to_serve_without_a_secret(tmp_path, exposure, exposed):
+    with pytest.raises(ConfigurationRefused) as refused:
+        create_app(config(tmp_path, **exposure))
+    assert "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET" in str(refused.value)
+    # The message names what is exposed, so the operator knows which setting did it.
+    assert exposed in str(refused.value)
+
+
+def test_the_serve_command_reports_the_refusal_instead_of_binding(tmp_path, monkeypatch, capsys):
+    """Exit before the port, the lock, and the database, with a sentence not a trace."""
+    from photo_pipeline.__main__ import main
+
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_DATA_DIR", str(tmp_path / "data"))
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_ALLOWED_HOSTS", HOSTNAME)
+    monkeypatch.delenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET", raising=False)
+
+    assert main(["serve"]) == 4
+    assert "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET" in capsys.readouterr().err
+
+
+def test_an_exposed_configuration_with_a_secret_starts(tmp_path):
+    app = create_app(config(tmp_path, allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,), access_secret=SECRET))
+    with raw_client(app, base_url=f"http://{HOSTNAME}") as client:
+        assert exchange(client).status_code == 200
+
+
+def test_a_loopback_configuration_still_needs_no_secret(tmp_path):
+    """An unset trust boundary must behave exactly as it did before this story."""
+    with raw_client(create_app(config(tmp_path))) as client:
+        response = client.get("/api/v1/session")
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert response.json()["csrf_token"]
+        assert "secure" not in response.headers["set-cookie"].lower()
+
+
+# ── the exchange: secret in, session out ─────────────────────────────────────
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def gated(tmp_path):
+    app = create_app(
+        config(
+            tmp_path,
+            allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,),
+            access_secret=SECRET,
+            trusted_proxies=(TESTCLIENT_ADDRESS,),
+        )
+    )
+    with raw_client(app, base_url=f"http://{HOSTNAME}") as client:
+        yield client
+
+
+def test_the_secret_buys_the_session_and_the_session_buys_the_routes(gated):
+    response = exchange(gated)
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    cookie = response.headers["set-cookie"].lower()
+    assert "httponly" in cookie and "samesite=strict" in cookie
+    gated.headers[CSRF_HEADER] = response.json()["csrf_token"]
+
+    # The session and CSRF requirements behind the gate are the ones US07-02 set.
+    assert gated.get("/api/v1/workflow").status_code == 200
+    assert gated.post("/api/v1/albums/proposals", json={}).status_code == 200
+    refused = gated.post("/api/v1/albums/proposals", json={}, headers={CSRF_HEADER: "guessed"})
+    assert refused.json()["error"]["code"] == "csrf_failed"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("offered", ["", "wrong-secret", SECRET + "x", SECRET.upper()])
+def test_a_wrong_secret_buys_nothing(gated, offered):
+    response = exchange(gated, secret=offered)
+    assert response.status_code == 401
+    assert response.json()["error"]["code"] == "access_denied"
+    assert "set-cookie" not in response.headers
+
+
+def test_a_refusal_never_echoes_the_secret_or_the_session(gated, caplog):
+    with caplog.at_level("WARNING"):
+        response = exchange(gated, secret="wrong-secret")
+    assert SECRET not in response.text and "wrong-secret" not in response.text
+    assert SECRET not in caplog.text
+    # Logged as an event with its caller, without the session it did not get.
+    assert "access secret rejected" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_guessing_is_rate_limited(gated):
+    codes = [exchange(gated, secret=f"guess-{n}").status_code for n in range(6)]
+    assert codes.count(401) == 5 and codes[-1] == 429
+    assert gated.get("/api/v1/session").status_code == 429
+    # The right secret is refused too while the limiter holds: that is the point.
+    blocked = exchange(gated)
+    assert blocked.status_code == 429
+    assert SECRET not in blocked.text
+
+
+def test_every_route_class_is_unreachable_without_the_secret(gated):
+    for method, path, body in PROTECTED:
+        response = gated.request(method, path, json=body)
+        assert response.status_code == 401, path
+        assert response.json()["error"]["code"] == "unauthenticated", path
+    # Health stays open: an orchestrator restarting the container holds no secret.
+    assert gated.get("/api/v1/health/live").status_code == 200
+    assert gated.get("/api/v1/health/ready").status_code == 200
+
+
+def test_a_session_from_another_process_is_not_replayable(tmp_path):
+    """Sessions live in the process, so a cookie captured from a previous one — a
+    restarted container, or a second deployment — must not open this one."""
+    settings = dict(allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,), access_secret=SECRET)
+    first, second = (create_app(config(tmp_path / str(n), **settings)) for n in (1, 2))
+    with raw_client(first, base_url=f"http://{HOSTNAME}") as client:
+        exchange(client)
+        stolen = client.cookies[SESSION_COOKIE]
+
+    with raw_client(second, base_url=f"http://{HOSTNAME}") as client:
+        client.cookies.set(SESSION_COOKIE, stolen, domain=HOSTNAME)
+        response = client.get("/api/v1/workflow")
+    assert response.status_code == 401
+    assert response.json()["error"]["code"] == "unauthenticated"
+
+
+def test_a_cross_site_request_is_still_refused_behind_the_gate(gated):
+    gated.headers[CSRF_HEADER] = exchange(gated).json()["csrf_token"]
+    refused = gated.post(
+        "/api/v1/albums/proposals", json={}, headers={"Origin": "https://evil.example"}
+    )
+    assert refused.json()["error"]["code"] == "origin_not_allowed"
+    embedded = gated.get(
+        "/api/v1/assets/unknown-asset/thumbnail?size=256", headers={"Sec-Fetch-Site": "cross-site"}
+    )
+    assert embedded.json()["error"]["code"] == "cross_site_blocked"
+
+
+def test_an_unconfigured_host_is_refused_even_with_a_valid_session(gated):
+    gated.headers[CSRF_HEADER] = exchange(gated).json()["csrf_token"]
+    for host in ("other.example.com", "192.168.1.10"):
+        response = gated.get("/api/v1/workflow", headers={"Host": host})
+        assert response.status_code == 403, host
+        assert response.json()["error"]["code"] == "host_not_allowed", host
+
+
+# ── forwarded headers: believed from the proxy, ignored from anyone else ──────
+
+
+def test_a_trusted_proxys_https_makes_the_cookie_secure(gated):
+    """The proxy speaks HTTPS outward and HTTP to this app, so only the header knows."""
+    assert "secure" in exchange(gated, headers={"X-Forwarded-Proto": "https"}).headers[
+        "set-cookie"
+    ].lower()
+    assert "secure" not in exchange(gated).headers["set-cookie"].lower()
+
+
+def test_the_external_scheme_is_part_of_the_accepted_origin(gated):
+    gated.headers[CSRF_HEADER] = exchange(gated).json()["csrf_token"]
+    allowed = gated.post(
+        "/api/v1/albums/proposals",
+        json={},
+        headers={"X-Forwarded-Proto": "https", "Origin": f"https://{HOSTNAME}"},
+    )
+    assert allowed.status_code == 200
+    # The scheme is part of the origin: the same name over plain HTTP is not it.
+    refused = gated.post(
+        "/api/v1/albums/proposals",
+        json={},
+        headers={"X-Forwarded-Proto": "https", "Origin": f"http://{HOSTNAME}"},
+    )
+    assert refused.json()["error"]["code"] == "origin_not_allowed"
+
+
+def test_a_trusted_proxys_forwarded_host_is_the_host_that_is_judged(tmp_path):
+    """The proxy terminates the operator's hostname and dials this app by address."""
+    app = create_app(
+        config(
+            tmp_path,
+            allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,),
+            access_secret=SECRET,
+            trusted_proxies=(TESTCLIENT_ADDRESS,),
+        )
+    )
+    with raw_client(app, base_url="http://10.0.0.5") as client:
+        forwarded = {"X-Forwarded-Host": HOSTNAME}
+        assert exchange(client, headers=forwarded).status_code == 200
+        # Without the header the address it was dialled by is not an allowed name.
+        assert exchange(client).json()["error"]["code"] == "host_not_allowed"
+
+
+def test_forwarded_headers_from_an_untrusted_client_are_ignored(tmp_path):
+    """Otherwise any caller could declare the hostname and scheme of its choosing."""
+    app = create_app(config(tmp_path, allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,), access_secret=SECRET))
+    with raw_client(app, base_url="http://evil.example") as client:
+        forged = exchange(client, headers={"X-Forwarded-Host": HOSTNAME})
+        assert forged.json()["error"]["code"] == "host_not_allowed"
+
+    with raw_client(app, base_url=f"http://{HOSTNAME}") as client:
+        # A forged scheme would flip the cookie's Secure flag on a plain connection,
+        # which is how a cookie gets set and then never sent again.
+        response = exchange(client, headers={"X-Forwarded-Proto": "https"})
+        assert response.status_code == 200
+        assert "secure" not in response.headers["set-cookie"].lower()
--- a/tests/story_traceability.json
+++ b/tests/story_traceability.json
@@ -15,9 +15,10 @@
      "tests/characterization/test_webapp_query.py"
    ],
    "US01-02": [
-      "tests/unit/test_config.py",
+      "tests/integration/test_app_lifecycle.py",
      "tests/integration/test_migrations.py",
-      "tests/integration/test_app_lifecycle.py"
+      "tests/unit/test_config.py",
+      "tests/unit/test_env_file.py"
    ],
    "US01-03": [
      "tests/unit/test_path_policy.py",
@@ -169,6 +170,27 @@
    ],
    "US07-06": [
      "tests/integration/test_performance_budgets.py"
+    ],
+    "US07-07": [
+      "tests/e2e/test_release_gate.py",
+      "tests/e2e/test_release_journey.py"
+    ],
+    "US08-01": [
+      "tests/unit/test_security_policy.py",
+      "tests/integration/test_trusted_hosts.py"
+    ],
+    "US08-02": [
+      "tests/integration/test_container_image.py",
+      "tests/e2e/test_container_runtime.py"
+    ],
+    "US08-03": [
+      "tests/integration/test_compose_runtime.py",
+      "tests/e2e/test_compose_stack.py"
    ]
-  }
+  },
+  "planned": [
+    "US08-04",
+    "US08-05"
+  ],
+  "_planned_comment": "Accepted backlog stories that are not implemented yet. The release gate (US07-07) requires every story file to be either mapped to tests or listed here, so an unimplemented story is a visible decision rather than a hole in the matrix."
 }
--- a/tests/unit/test_env_file.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_env_file.py
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+"""Configuration from a dotenv file, including the archived CLI's variable names.
+
+An operator who already has a ``photo_analyzer.env`` should not have to rewrite it
+to run the application it was replaced by. The file is standing configuration; the
+shell is what you meant this time, so the shell always wins.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config, load_env_file, parse_env_file
+
+SAMPLE = """
+# The archived CLI's shape, comments and all.
+LLM_API_KEY=not-real
+LLM_BASE_URL="https://example.invalid/v1beta/openai/"
+LLM_MODEL='gemini-2.5-flash'
+LIBRARY=/tmp/pictures
+
+MAX_WORKERS=4
+# commented=ignored
+malformed line without an equals sign
+"""
+
+
+def test_the_file_is_parsed_and_never_executed():
+    values = parse_env_file(SAMPLE)
+
+    assert values["LLM_BASE_URL"] == "https://example.invalid/v1beta/openai/"  # quotes stripped
+    assert values["LLM_MODEL"] == "gemini-2.5-flash"
+    assert values["MAX_WORKERS"] == "4"
+    assert "commented" not in values and "malformed line without an equals sign" not in values
+
+
+def test_the_archived_cli_names_still_configure_the_application():
+    values = parse_env_file(SAMPLE)
+
+    assert values["OPENAI_API_KEY"] == "not-real"
+    assert values["OPENAI_BASE_URL"] == "https://example.invalid/v1beta/openai/"
+    assert values["PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS"] == "/tmp/pictures"
+
+
+def test_an_explicit_shell_variable_beats_the_file(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    path = tmp_path / "photo_analyzer.env"
+    path.write_text(SAMPLE)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "from-the-shell")
+    monkeypatch.delenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS", raising=False)
+
+    applied = load_env_file(path)
+
+    assert "OPENAI_API_KEY" not in applied, "the file overrode an exported value"
+    assert os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"] == "from-the-shell"
+    assert os.environ["PHOTO_PIPELINE_LIBRARY_ROOTS"] == "/tmp/pictures"
+    assert Config.from_env().library_roots[0].name == "pictures"
+
+
+def test_the_file_is_found_through_its_variable(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    path = tmp_path / "custom.env"
+    path.write_text("PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT=9123\n")
+    monkeypatch.delenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_PORT", raising=False)
+    monkeypatch.setenv("PHOTO_PIPELINE_ENV_FILE", str(path))
+    monkeypatch.chdir(tmp_path)  # no ./.env here, so only the variable can find it
+
+    assert Config.from_env().port == 9123
+
+
+def test_a_missing_file_is_not_an_error(tmp_path):
+    assert load_env_file(tmp_path / "nothing-here.env") == {}
--- a/tests/unit/test_security_policy.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_security_policy.py
@@ -13,18 +13,31 @@ import pytest

 from photo_pipeline.api.security import (
    CSRF_HEADER,
+    LOOPBACK_HOSTS,
    PUBLIC_PATHS,
+    FailureLimiter,
    Session,
    evaluate,
+    exposed_hosts,
+    external_view,
    split_host,
+    trust_refusal,
 )
+from photo_pipeline.config import Config

 SESSION = Session(id="session-id", csrf_token="csrf-token")
 HOST = "127.0.0.1:8000"
 LIMIT = 1024
+HOSTNAME = "photos.example.com"


-def check(method="GET", path="/api/v1/workflow", **headers):
+def check(
+    method="GET",
+    path="/api/v1/workflow",
+    allowed_hosts=LOOPBACK_HOSTS,
+    scheme="http",
+    **headers,
+):
    """Evaluate a request that is authenticated and same-origin unless overridden."""
    sent = {
        "host": HOST,
@@ -38,6 +51,8 @@ def check(method="GET", path="/api/v1/workflow", **headers):
        path=path,
        headers=sent,
        session=SESSION,
+        allowed_hosts=allowed_hosts,
+        scheme=scheme,
        max_request_bytes=LIMIT,
    )

@@ -155,6 +170,115 @@ def test_refusals_name_no_path_secret_or_internal():
        assert "/" not in refusal.message


+# ── US08-01: the same table with a configured trust boundary ─────────────────
+
+CONFIGURED = frozenset(LOOPBACK_HOSTS | {HOSTNAME})
+
+
+def test_a_configured_host_is_accepted_and_its_neighbours_are_not():
+    assert check(host=HOSTNAME, allowed_hosts=CONFIGURED) is None
+    for host in ("other.example.com", f"evil-{HOSTNAME}", "192.168.1.10"):
+        refusal = check(host=host, allowed_hosts=CONFIGURED)
+        assert (refusal.status, refusal.code) == (403, "host_not_allowed"), host
+
+
+def test_the_loopback_default_refuses_a_host_nobody_configured():
+    """The default set is what the app enforced before there was a setting."""
+    refusal = check(host=HOSTNAME)
+    assert (refusal.status, refusal.code) == (403, "host_not_allowed")
+
+
+def test_the_origin_must_match_the_external_scheme():
+    for scheme in ("http", "https"):
+        assert (
+            check(
+                method="POST",
+                host=HOSTNAME,
+                origin=f"{scheme}://{HOSTNAME}",
+                allowed_hosts=CONFIGURED,
+                scheme=scheme,
+            )
+            is None
+        )
+    # An HTTPS deployment whose caller claims plain HTTP is a different origin.
+    refusal = check(
+        method="POST",
+        host=HOSTNAME,
+        origin=f"http://{HOSTNAME}",
+        allowed_hosts=CONFIGURED,
+        scheme="https",
+    )
+    assert (refusal.status, refusal.code) == (403, "origin_not_allowed")
+
+
+def view(client, *, trusted=(), **headers):
+    sent = {name.replace("_", "-"): value for name, value in headers.items()}
+    return external_view(
+        client=client,
+        headers={"host": HOST, **sent},
+        scheme="http",
+        trusted_proxies=frozenset(trusted),
+    )
+
+
+def test_forwarded_headers_are_ignored_without_a_trusted_proxy():
+    forged = {"x_forwarded_proto": "https", "x_forwarded_host": HOSTNAME}
+    assert view("10.0.0.9", **forged) == ("http", HOST)
+    assert view(None, **forged) == ("http", HOST)
+    # Configuring *a* proxy does not trust a caller that is not it.
+    assert view("10.0.0.9", trusted=("10.0.0.1",), **forged) == ("http", HOST)
+
+
+def test_a_trusted_proxy_defines_the_external_scheme_and_host():
+    assert view(
+        "10.0.0.1", trusted=("10.0.0.1",), x_forwarded_proto="https", x_forwarded_host=HOSTNAME
+    ) == ("https", HOSTNAME)
+    # A chain: the first entry is what the original client asked for.
+    assert view(
+        "10.0.0.1",
+        trusted=("10.0.0.1",),
+        x_forwarded_proto="https, http",
+        x_forwarded_host=f"{HOSTNAME}, inner.internal",
+    ) == ("https", HOSTNAME)
+    # Trusted but silent: this hop's own view stands.
+    assert view("10.0.0.1", trusted=("10.0.0.1",)) == ("http", HOST)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "settings,exposed",
+    [
+        ({}, []),
+        ({"host": "127.0.0.1"}, []),
+        ({"allowed_hosts": ("localhost", "127.0.0.1")}, []),
+        ({"allowed_hosts": (f"{HOSTNAME}:8443",)}, [HOSTNAME]),
+        ({"host": "0.0.0.0", "allowed_hosts": (HOSTNAME,)}, ["0.0.0.0", HOSTNAME]),
+    ],
+)
+def test_exposed_hosts_names_only_what_another_machine_can_reach(settings, exposed):
+    assert exposed_hosts(Config(**settings)) == exposed
+
+
+def test_an_exposed_configuration_without_a_secret_must_not_serve():
+    refusal = trust_refusal(Config(allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,)))
+    assert HOSTNAME in refusal and "PHOTO_PIPELINE_ACCESS_SECRET" in refusal
+    assert trust_refusal(Config(allowed_hosts=(HOSTNAME,), access_secret="s")) is None
+    # Loopback-only, with and without a secret, is unchanged.
+    assert trust_refusal(Config()) is None
+    assert trust_refusal(Config(access_secret="s")) is None
+
+
+def test_failed_attempts_are_bounded_per_window():
+    limiter = FailureLimiter(limit=2, window=60.0)
+    assert not limiter.blocked()
+    limiter.record_failure()
+    assert not limiter.blocked()
+    limiter.record_failure()
+    assert limiter.blocked()
+    # Attempts age out, so a locked-out operator is not locked out forever.
+    limiter._failures = [-120.0, -120.0]
+    assert not limiter.blocked()
+
+
@pytest.mark.parametrize(
    "value,expected",
    [
Author	SHA1	Message	Date
domverse	90df4be7f8	US08-03: Compose the Runtime and Mount the Library Safely	2026-08-19 19:46:20 +02:00
domverse	888d859e93	US08-02: Build a Reproducible Application Image (#97 )	2026-08-18 23:11:15 +02:00
domverse	eea50802af	US08-01: Make the Trust Boundary Configurable and Authenticated (#96 )	2026-08-18 22:00:09 +02:00
domverse	ded83178bd	chore: run the app from a venv and read configuration from a dotenv (#95 )	2026-08-17 23:44:54 +02:00
domverse	74f4b1b640	US07-07: Automate Full Release Acceptance (#94 )	2026-08-17 23:05:52 +02:00