diff --git a/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/build.go b/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/build.go
index a2ec9f3a8..f250eecf6 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/build.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/build.go
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ func (b *Builder[T]) Add(t *Template, m Mask, v T) error {
 	idx := b.n
 	b.n++
 
-	if ambiguousTemplate(t) {
+	if t.Ambiguous() {
 		b.ambiguous = append(b.ambiguous, t.raw)
 	}
 
@@ -125,24 +125,6 @@ func singleRun[T any](e *buildEdge[T]) bool {
 	return true
 }
 
-// ambiguousTemplate reports whether a template's own shape can force a search,
-// independent of what other templates put in the tree.
-func ambiguousTemplate(t *Template) bool {
-	for i, e := range t.elements {
-		if e.kind == kindLiteral || e.kind == kindUUID {
-			continue
-		}
-		if i == len(t.elements)-1 {
-			continue // terminal: only the greedy run can reach the end
-		}
-		next := t.elements[i+1]
-		if next.kind != kindLiteral || e.kind.charset(next.lit[0]) {
-			return true
-		}
-	}
-	return false
-}
-
 func insertLiteral[T any](n *buildNode[T], lit string, idx uint32) *buildNode[T] {
 	for len(lit) > 0 {
 		e := literalEdge(n, lit[0])
diff --git a/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/template.go b/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/template.go
index 97a5d9f14..a065f8390 100644
--- a/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/template.go
+++ b/pkg/agent/endpoint/router/template.go
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ package router
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"unicode/utf8"
 )
@@ -67,6 +68,46 @@ type Template struct {
 // String returns the template as declared.
 func (t *Template) String() string { return t.raw }
 
+// Canonical returns a key identifying what the template matches: two templates
+// with the same canonical form accept exactly the same paths and differ only in
+// param names. Literals are length-prefixed so that a literal brace cannot forge
+// a convertor - "/x/{:str}" is literal text, and must not collide with "/x/{a}".
+func (t *Template) Canonical() string {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for _, e := range t.elements {
+		if e.kind == kindLiteral {
+			b.WriteByte('L')
+			b.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(len(e.lit)))
+			b.WriteByte(':')
+			b.WriteString(e.lit)
+			continue
+		}
+		b.WriteByte('K')
+		b.WriteString(strconv.Itoa(int(e.kind)))
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}
+
+// Ambiguous reports whether the template's own shape can force the matcher to
+// backtrack - a param a following literal can extend, adjacent params, or a
+// non-final path convertor - independent of what other templates put in the
+// tree.
+func (t *Template) Ambiguous() bool {
+	for i, e := range t.elements {
+		if e.kind == kindLiteral || e.kind == kindUUID {
+			continue
+		}
+		if i == len(t.elements)-1 {
+			continue // terminal: only the greedy run can reach the end
+		}
+		next := t.elements[i+1]
+		if next.kind != kindLiteral || e.kind.charset(next.lit[0]) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // ParseTemplate parses a starlette path template. Custom convertors are
 // rejected: only the five built-ins may travel over the wire.
 func ParseTemplate(path string) (*Template, error) {