fix: bump default-epoch uptime cap to 3 years for solar repeater lifetimes

fix: classifySkew defensive absolute value
test: integration tests for epoch-0 and missing-timestamp adverts
2026-04-27 08:55:14 +00:00 · 2026-04-25 00:08:09 +00:00 · 2026-04-24 23:49:21 +00:00 · 2026-04-24 23:42:56 +00:00 · 2026-04-24 23:42:56 +00:00 · 2026-04-24 23:42:56 +00:00
62 changed files with 7595 additions and 1315 deletions
@@ -290,6 +290,10 @@ jobs:
        if: github.event_name == 'push'
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3

+      - name: Set up QEMU (arm64 runtime stage)
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
+
      - name: Log in to GHCR
        if: github.event_name == 'push'
        uses: docker/login-action@v3
@@ -317,7 +321,7 @@ jobs:
        with:
          context: .
          push: true
-          platforms: linux/amd64
+          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
          tags: ${{ steps.docker-meta.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.docker-meta.outputs.labels }}
          build-args: |
@@ -432,10 +436,11 @@ jobs:

      - name: Smoke test staging API
        run: |
-          if curl -sf http://localhost:82/api/stats | grep -q engine; then
+          PORT="${STAGING_GO_HTTP_PORT:-80}"
+          if curl -sf "http://localhost:${PORT}/api/stats" | grep -q engine; then
            echo "Staging verified — engine field present ✅"
          else
-            echo "Staging /api/stats did not return engine field"
+            echo "Staging /api/stats did not return engine field (port ${PORT})"
            exit 1
          fi

@@ -1,28 +1,35 @@
-FROM golang:1.22-alpine AS builder
-
-RUN apk add --no-cache build-base
+# Build stage always runs natively on the builder's arch ($BUILDPLATFORM)
+# and cross-compiles to $TARGETOS/$TARGETARCH via Go toolchain. No QEMU.
+FROM --platform=$BUILDPLATFORM golang:1.22-alpine AS builder

 ARG APP_VERSION=unknown
 ARG GIT_COMMIT=unknown
 ARG BUILD_TIME=unknown
+# Provided by buildx for multi-arch builds
+ARG TARGETOS
+ARG TARGETARCH

-# Build server
+# Build server (pure-Go sqlite — no CGO needed, cross-compiles cleanly)
 WORKDIR /build/server
 COPY cmd/server/go.mod cmd/server/go.sum ./
 COPY internal/geofilter/ ../../internal/geofilter/
 COPY internal/sigvalidate/ ../../internal/sigvalidate/
+COPY internal/packetpath/ ../../internal/packetpath/
 RUN go mod download
 COPY cmd/server/ ./
-RUN go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=${APP_VERSION} -X main.Commit=${GIT_COMMIT} -X main.BuildTime=${BUILD_TIME}" -o /corescope-server .
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=${TARGETOS} GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} \
+    go build -ldflags "-X main.Version=${APP_VERSION} -X main.Commit=${GIT_COMMIT} -X main.BuildTime=${BUILD_TIME}" -o /corescope-server .

 # Build ingestor
 WORKDIR /build/ingestor
 COPY cmd/ingestor/go.mod cmd/ingestor/go.sum ./
 COPY internal/geofilter/ ../../internal/geofilter/
 COPY internal/sigvalidate/ ../../internal/sigvalidate/
+COPY internal/packetpath/ ../../internal/packetpath/
 RUN go mod download
 COPY cmd/ingestor/ ./
-RUN go build -o /corescope-ingestor .
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=${TARGETOS} GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} \
+    go build -o /corescope-ingestor .

 # Build decrypt CLI
 WORKDIR /build/decrypt
@@ -30,7 +37,8 @@ COPY cmd/decrypt/go.mod cmd/decrypt/go.sum ./
 COPY internal/channel/ ../../internal/channel/
 RUN go mod download
 COPY cmd/decrypt/ ./
-RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o /corescope-decrypt .
+RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=${TARGETOS} GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} \
+    go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o /corescope-decrypt .

 # Runtime image
 FROM alpine:3.20
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"time"

+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 	_ "modernc.org/sqlite"
 )

@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ func applySchema(db *sql.DB) error {
 	db.Exec(`DROP VIEW IF EXISTS packets_v`)
 	_, vErr := db.Exec(`
 		CREATE VIEW packets_v AS
-			SELECT o.id, t.raw_hex,
+			SELECT o.id, COALESCE(o.raw_hex, t.raw_hex) AS raw_hex,
 				   datetime(o.timestamp, 'unixepoch') AS timestamp,
 				   obs.id AS observer_id, obs.name AS observer_name,
 				   o.direction, o.snr, o.rssi, o.score, t.hash, t.route_type,
@@ -408,6 +409,15 @@ func applySchema(db *sql.DB) error {
 		log.Println("[migration] dropped_packets table created")
 	}

+	// Migration: add raw_hex column to observations (#881)
+	row = db.QueryRow("SELECT 1 FROM _migrations WHERE name = 'observations_raw_hex_v1'")
+	if row.Scan(&migDone) != nil {
+		log.Println("[migration] Adding raw_hex column to observations...")
+		db.Exec(`ALTER TABLE observations ADD COLUMN raw_hex TEXT`)
+		db.Exec(`INSERT INTO _migrations (name) VALUES ('observations_raw_hex_v1')`)
+		log.Println("[migration] observations.raw_hex column added")
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }

@@ -433,8 +443,13 @@ func (s *Store) prepareStatements() error {
 	}

 	s.stmtInsertObservation, err = s.db.Prepare(`
-		INSERT OR IGNORE INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, direction, snr, rssi, score, path_json, timestamp)
-		VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+		INSERT INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, direction, snr, rssi, score, path_json, timestamp, raw_hex)
+		VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
+		ON CONFLICT(transmission_id, observer_idx, COALESCE(path_json, '')) DO UPDATE SET
+			snr     = COALESCE(excluded.snr,     snr),
+			rssi    = COALESCE(excluded.rssi,    rssi),
+			score   = COALESCE(excluded.score,   score),
+			raw_hex = COALESCE(excluded.raw_hex, raw_hex)
 	`)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -580,7 +595,7 @@ func (s *Store) InsertTransmission(data *PacketData) (bool, error) {
 	_, err = s.stmtInsertObservation.Exec(
 		txID, observerIdx, data.Direction,
 		data.SNR, data.RSSI, data.Score,
-		data.PathJSON, epochTs,
+		data.PathJSON, epochTs, nilIfEmpty(data.RawHex),
 	)
 	if err != nil {
 		s.Stats.WriteErrors.Add(1)
@@ -927,11 +942,22 @@ type MQTTPacketMessage struct {
 }

 // BuildPacketData constructs a PacketData from a decoded packet and MQTT message.
+// path_json is derived directly from raw_hex header bytes (not decoded.Path.Hops)
+// to guarantee the stored path always matches the raw bytes. This matters for
+// TRACE packets where decoded.Path.Hops is overwritten with payload hops (#886).
 func BuildPacketData(msg *MQTTPacketMessage, decoded *DecodedPacket, observerID, region string) *PacketData {
 	now := time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
 	pathJSON := "[]"
-	if len(decoded.Path.Hops) > 0 {
-		b, _ := json.Marshal(decoded.Path.Hops)
+	// For TRACE packets, path_json must be the payload-decoded route hops
+	// (decoded.Path.Hops), NOT the raw_hex header bytes which are SNR values.
+	// For all other packet types, derive path from raw_hex (#886).
+	if !packetpath.PathBytesAreHops(byte(decoded.Header.PayloadType)) {
+		if len(decoded.Path.Hops) > 0 {
+			b, _ := json.Marshal(decoded.Path.Hops)
+			pathJSON = string(b)
+		}
+	} else if hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(msg.Raw); err == nil && len(hops) > 0 {
+		b, _ := json.Marshal(hops)
 		pathJSON = string(b)
 	}

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package main

 import (
 	"database/sql"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -10,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
+
+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 )

 func tempDBPath(t *testing.T) string {
@@ -1882,3 +1885,241 @@ func TestExtractObserverMetaNewFields(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("RecvErrors = %v, want 3", meta.RecvErrors)
 	}
 }
+
+// TestInsertObservationSNRFillIn verifies that when the same observation is
+// received twice — first without SNR, then with SNR — the SNR is filled in
+// rather than silently discarded. The unique dedup index is
+// (transmission_id, observer_idx, COALESCE(path_json, '')); observer_idx must
+// be non-NULL for the conflict to fire (SQLite treats NULL != NULL).
+func TestInsertObservationSNRFillIn(t *testing.T) {
+	s, err := OpenStore(tempDBPath(t))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer s.Close()
+
+	// Register the observer so observer_idx is non-NULL (required for dedup).
+	if err := s.UpsertObserver("pymc-obs1", "PyMC Observer", "SJC", nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// First arrival: same observer, no SNR/RSSI (e.g. broker replay without RF fields).
+	data1 := &PacketData{
+		RawHex:     "0A00D69FD7A5A7475DB07337749AE61FA53A4788E976",
+		Timestamp:  "2026-04-20T00:00:00Z",
+		Hash:       "snrfillin0001hash",
+		RouteType:  1,
+		ObserverID: "pymc-obs1",
+		SNR:        nil,
+		RSSI:       nil,
+	}
+	if _, err := s.InsertTransmission(data1); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var snr1, rssi1 *float64
+	s.db.QueryRow("SELECT snr, rssi FROM observations LIMIT 1").Scan(&snr1, &rssi1)
+	if snr1 != nil || rssi1 != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("precondition: first insert should have nil SNR/RSSI, got snr=%v rssi=%v", snr1, rssi1)
+	}
+
+	// Second arrival: same packet, same observer, now WITH SNR/RSSI.
+	snr := 10.5
+	rssi := -88.0
+	data2 := &PacketData{
+		RawHex:     data1.RawHex,
+		Timestamp:  data1.Timestamp,
+		Hash:       data1.Hash,
+		RouteType:  data1.RouteType,
+		ObserverID: "pymc-obs1",
+		SNR:        &snr,
+		RSSI:       &rssi,
+	}
+	if _, err := s.InsertTransmission(data2); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var snr2, rssi2 *float64
+	s.db.QueryRow("SELECT snr, rssi FROM observations LIMIT 1").Scan(&snr2, &rssi2)
+	if snr2 == nil || *snr2 != snr {
+		t.Errorf("SNR not filled in by second arrival: got %v, want %v", snr2, snr)
+	}
+	if rssi2 == nil || *rssi2 != rssi {
+		t.Errorf("RSSI not filled in by second arrival: got %v, want %v", rssi2, rssi)
+	}
+
+	// Third arrival: same packet again, SNR absent — must NOT overwrite existing SNR.
+	data3 := &PacketData{
+		RawHex:     data1.RawHex,
+		Timestamp:  data1.Timestamp,
+		Hash:       data1.Hash,
+		RouteType:  data1.RouteType,
+		ObserverID: "pymc-obs1",
+		SNR:        nil,
+		RSSI:       nil,
+	}
+	if _, err := s.InsertTransmission(data3); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var snr3, rssi3 *float64
+	s.db.QueryRow("SELECT snr, rssi FROM observations LIMIT 1").Scan(&snr3, &rssi3)
+	if snr3 == nil || *snr3 != snr {
+		t.Errorf("SNR overwritten by null arrival: got %v, want %v", snr3, snr)
+	}
+	if rssi3 == nil || *rssi3 != rssi {
+		t.Errorf("RSSI overwritten by null arrival: got %v, want %v", rssi3, rssi)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPerObservationRawHex verifies that two MQTT packets for the same hash
+// from different observers store distinct raw_hex per observation (#881).
+func TestPerObservationRawHex(t *testing.T) {
+	store, err := OpenStore(tempDBPath(t))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer store.Close()
+
+	// Register two observers
+	store.UpsertObserver("obs-A", "Observer A", "", nil)
+	store.UpsertObserver("obs-B", "Observer B", "", nil)
+
+	hash := "abc123def456"
+	rawA := "c0ffee01"
+	rawB := "c0ffee0201aa"
+	dir := "RX"
+
+	// First observation from observer A
+	pdA := &PacketData{
+		RawHex:    rawA,
+		Hash:      hash,
+		Timestamp: "2026-04-21T10:00:00Z",
+		ObserverID: "obs-A",
+		Direction:  &dir,
+		PathJSON:   "[]",
+	}
+	isNew, err := store.InsertTransmission(pdA)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert A: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !isNew {
+		t.Fatal("expected new transmission")
+	}
+
+	// Second observation from observer B (same hash, different raw bytes)
+	pdB := &PacketData{
+		RawHex:    rawB,
+		Hash:      hash,
+		Timestamp: "2026-04-21T10:00:01Z",
+		ObserverID: "obs-B",
+		Direction:  &dir,
+		PathJSON:   `["aabb"]`,
+	}
+	isNew2, err := store.InsertTransmission(pdB)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert B: %v", err)
+	}
+	if isNew2 {
+		t.Fatal("expected duplicate transmission")
+	}
+
+	// Query observations and verify per-observation raw_hex
+	rows, err := store.db.Query(`
+		SELECT o.raw_hex, obs.id
+		FROM observations o
+		LEFT JOIN observers obs ON obs.rowid = o.observer_idx
+		ORDER BY o.id ASC
+	`)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("query: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	type obsResult struct {
+		rawHex     string
+		observerID string
+	}
+	var results []obsResult
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var rh, oid sql.NullString
+		if err := rows.Scan(&rh, &oid); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		results = append(results, obsResult{
+			rawHex:     rh.String,
+			observerID: oid.String,
+		})
+	}
+
+	if len(results) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 observations, got %d", len(results))
+	}
+	if results[0].rawHex != rawA {
+		t.Errorf("obs A raw_hex: got %q, want %q", results[0].rawHex, rawA)
+	}
+	if results[1].rawHex != rawB {
+		t.Errorf("obs B raw_hex: got %q, want %q", results[1].rawHex, rawB)
+	}
+	if results[0].rawHex == results[1].rawHex {
+		t.Error("both observations have same raw_hex — should differ")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBuildPacketData_TraceUsesPayloadHops verifies that TRACE packets use
+// payload-decoded route hops in path_json (NOT the raw_hex header SNR bytes).
+// Issue #886 / #887.
+func TestBuildPacketData_TraceUsesPayloadHops(t *testing.T) {
+	// TRACE packet: header path has SNR bytes [30,2D,0D,23], but decoded.Path.Hops
+	// is overwritten to payload hops [67,33,D6,33,67].
+	rawHex := "2604302D0D2359FEE7B100000000006733D63367"
+	decoded, err := DecodePacket(rawHex, nil, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// decoded.Path.Hops should be the TRACE-replaced hops (payload hops)
+	if len(decoded.Path.Hops) != 5 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 5 decoded hops, got %d", len(decoded.Path.Hops))
+	}
+
+	msg := &MQTTPacketMessage{Raw: rawHex}
+	pd := BuildPacketData(msg, decoded, "test-obs", "TST")
+
+	// For TRACE: path_json MUST be the payload-decoded route hops, NOT the SNR bytes
+	expectedPathJSON := `["67","33","D6","33","67"]`
+	if pd.PathJSON != expectedPathJSON {
+		t.Errorf("path_json = %s, want %s (TRACE must use payload hops)", pd.PathJSON, expectedPathJSON)
+	}
+
+	// Verify that DecodePathFromRawHex returns the SNR bytes (header path) which differ
+	headerHops, herr := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(rawHex)
+	if herr != nil {
+		t.Fatal(herr)
+	}
+	headerJSON, _ := json.Marshal(headerHops)
+	if string(headerJSON) == expectedPathJSON {
+		t.Error("header path (SNR) should differ from payload hops for TRACE")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBuildPacketData_NonTracePathJSON verifies non-TRACE packets also derive path from raw_hex.
+func TestBuildPacketData_NonTracePathJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	// A simple ADVERT packet (payload type 0) with 2 hops, hash_size 1
+	// Header 0x09 = FLOOD(1), ADVERT(2), version 0
+	// Path byte 0x02 = hash_size 1, hash_count 2
+	// Path bytes: AA BB
+	rawHex := "0902AABB" + "00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000"
+	decoded, err := DecodePacket(rawHex, nil, false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	msg := &MQTTPacketMessage{Raw: rawHex}
+	pd := BuildPacketData(msg, decoded, "obs1", "TST")
+
+	expectedPathJSON := `["AA","BB"]`
+	if pd.PathJSON != expectedPathJSON {
+		t.Errorf("path_json = %s, want %s", pd.PathJSON, expectedPathJSON)
+	}
+}
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"unicode/utf8"

+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/sigvalidate"
 )

@@ -192,8 +193,9 @@ func decodePath(pathByte byte, buf []byte, offset int) (Path, int) {
 	}, totalBytes
 }

+// isTransportRoute delegates to packetpath.IsTransportRoute.
 func isTransportRoute(routeType int) bool {
-	return routeType == RouteTransportFlood || routeType == RouteTransportDirect
+	return packetpath.IsTransportRoute(routeType)
 }

 func decodeEncryptedPayload(typeName string, buf []byte) Payload {
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"

+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/sigvalidate"
 )

@@ -1822,3 +1823,106 @@ func TestDecodeAdvertWithSignatureValidation(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Error("SignatureValid should be nil when validation disabled")
 	}
 }
+
+// === Tests for DecodePathFromRawHex (issue #886) ===
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_HashSize1(t *testing.T) {
+	// Header byte 0x26 = route_type DIRECT, payload TRACE
+	// Path byte 0x04 = hash_size 1 (bits 7-6 = 00 → 0+1=1), hash_count 4
+	// Path bytes: 30 2D 0D 23
+	raw := "2604302D0D2359FEE7B100000000006733D63367"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	expected := []string{"30", "2D", "0D", "23"}
+	if len(hops) != len(expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d hops, want %d", len(hops), len(expected))
+	}
+	for i, h := range hops {
+		if h != expected[i] {
+			t.Errorf("hop[%d] = %s, want %s", i, h, expected[i])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_HashSize2(t *testing.T) {
+	// Path byte 0x42 = hash_size 2 (bits 7-6 = 01 → 1+1=2), hash_count 2
+	// Header 0x09 = FLOOD route (rt=1), payload ADVERT (pt=2)
+	// Path bytes: AABB CCDD (4 bytes = 2 hops * 2 bytes)
+	raw := "0942AABBCCDD" + "00000000000000"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	expected := []string{"AABB", "CCDD"}
+	if len(hops) != len(expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d hops, want %d", len(hops), len(expected))
+	}
+	for i, h := range hops {
+		if h != expected[i] {
+			t.Errorf("hop[%d] = %s, want %s", i, h, expected[i])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_HashSize3(t *testing.T) {
+	// Path byte 0x81 = hash_size 3 (bits 7-6 = 10 → 2+1=3), hash_count 1
+	// Header 0x09 = FLOOD route (rt=1), payload ADVERT
+	raw := "0981AABBCC" + "0000000000"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 1 || hops[0] != "AABBCC" {
+		t.Fatalf("got %v, want [AABBCC]", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_HashSize4(t *testing.T) {
+	// Path byte 0xC1 = hash_size 4 (bits 7-6 = 11 → 3+1=4), hash_count 1
+	// Header 0x09 = FLOOD route (rt=1)
+	raw := "09C1AABBCCDD" + "0000000000"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 1 || hops[0] != "AABBCCDD" {
+		t.Fatalf("got %v, want [AABBCCDD]", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_DirectZeroHops(t *testing.T) {
+	// Path byte 0x00 = hash_size 1, hash_count 0
+	// Header 0x0A = DIRECT route (rt=2), payload ADVERT
+	raw := "0A00" + "0000000000"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d hops, want 0", len(hops))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_Transport(t *testing.T) {
+	// Route type 3 = TRANSPORT_DIRECT → 4 transport code bytes before path byte
+	// Header 0x27 = route_type 3, payload TRACE
+	// Transport codes: 1122 3344
+	// Path byte 0x02 = hash_size 1, hash_count 2
+	// Path bytes: AA BB
+	raw := "2711223344" + "02AABB" + "0000000000"
+	hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	expected := []string{"AA", "BB"}
+	if len(hops) != len(expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("got %d hops, want %d", len(hops), len(expected))
+	}
+	for i, h := range hops {
+		if h != expected[i] {
+			t.Errorf("hop[%d] = %s, want %s", i, h, expected[i])
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/geofilter => ../../internal/geofilter

 replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/sigvalidate => ../../internal/sigvalidate

+require github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath v0.0.0
+
+replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath => ../../internal/packetpath
+
 require (
 	github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1 // indirect
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 // indirect
@@ -207,21 +207,6 @@ func handleMessage(store *Store, tag string, source MQTTSource, m mqtt.Message,
 	topic := m.Topic()
 	parts := strings.Split(topic, "/")

-	// IATA filter
-	if len(source.IATAFilter) > 0 && len(parts) > 1 {
-		region := parts[1]
-		matched := false
-		for _, f := range source.IATAFilter {
-			if f == region {
-				matched = true
-				break
-			}
-		}
-		if !matched {
-			return
-		}
-	}
-
 	var msg map[string]interface{}
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(m.Payload(), &msg); err != nil {
 		return
@@ -233,6 +218,9 @@ func handleMessage(store *Store, tag string, source MQTTSource, m mqtt.Message,
 	}

 	// Status topic: meshcore/<region>/<observer_id>/status
+	// IATA filter does NOT apply here — observer metadata (noise_floor, battery, etc.)
+	// is region-independent and should be accepted from all observers regardless of
+	// which IATA regions are configured for packet ingestion.
 	if len(parts) >= 4 && parts[3] == "status" {
 		observerID := parts[2]
 		name, _ := msg["origin"].(string)
@@ -261,6 +249,21 @@ func handleMessage(store *Store, tag string, source MQTTSource, m mqtt.Message,
 		return
 	}

+	// IATA filter applies to packet messages only — not status messages above.
+	if len(source.IATAFilter) > 0 && len(parts) > 1 {
+		region := parts[1]
+		matched := false
+		for _, f := range source.IATAFilter {
+			if f == region {
+				matched = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !matched {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Format 1: Raw packet (meshcoretomqtt / Cisien format)
 	rawHex, _ := msg["raw"].(string)
 	if rawHex != "" {
@@ -739,3 +739,44 @@ func TestToFloat64WithUnits(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestIATAFilterDoesNotDropStatusMessages verifies that status messages from
+// out-of-region observers are still processed (noise_floor, battery, etc.)
+// even when an IATA filter is configured for packet data.
+func TestIATAFilterDoesNotDropStatusMessages(t *testing.T) {
+	store := newTestStore(t)
+	source := MQTTSource{Name: "test", IATAFilter: []string{"SJC"}}
+
+	// BFL observer sends a status message with noise_floor — outside the IATA filter.
+	msg := &mockMessage{
+		topic:   "meshcore/BFL/bfl-obs1/status",
+		payload: []byte(`{"origin":"BFLObserver","stats":{"noise_floor":-105.0}}`),
+	}
+	handleMessage(store, "test", source, msg, nil, &Config{})
+
+	var name string
+	var noiseFloor *float64
+	err := store.db.QueryRow("SELECT name, noise_floor FROM observers WHERE id = 'bfl-obs1'").Scan(&name, &noiseFloor)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("observer not found after status from out-of-region observer: %v", err)
+	}
+	if name != "BFLObserver" {
+		t.Errorf("name=%q, want BFLObserver", name)
+	}
+	if noiseFloor == nil || *noiseFloor != -105.0 {
+		t.Errorf("noise_floor=%v, want -105.0 — status message was dropped by IATA filter when it should not be", noiseFloor)
+	}
+
+	// Verify that a packet from BFL is still filtered.
+	rawHex := "0A00D69FD7A5A7475DB07337749AE61FA53A4788E976"
+	pktMsg := &mockMessage{
+		topic:   "meshcore/BFL/bfl-obs1/packets",
+		payload: []byte(`{"raw":"` + rawHex + `"}`),
+	}
+	handleMessage(store, "test", source, pktMsg, nil, &Config{})
+	var count int
+	store.db.QueryRow("SELECT COUNT(*) FROM transmissions").Scan(&count)
+	if count != 0 {
+		t.Error("packet from out-of-region BFL should still be filtered by IATA")
+	}
+}
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ func createTestDBAt(tb testing.TB, dbPath string, numTx int) {
 		id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
 		transmission_id INTEGER, observer_id TEXT, observer_name TEXT,
 		direction TEXT, snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER,
-		path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT
+		path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT, raw_hex TEXT
 	)`)
 	execOrFail(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS observers (rowid INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, id TEXT, name TEXT)`)
 	execOrFail(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS nodes (
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ func createTestDBWithObs(tb testing.TB, dbPath string, numTx int) {
 	)`)
 	execOrFail(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS observations (
 		id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, transmission_id INTEGER, observer_id TEXT, observer_name TEXT,
-		direction TEXT, snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER, path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT
+		direction TEXT, snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER, path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT, raw_hex TEXT
 	)`)
 	execOrFail(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS observers (rowid INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, id TEXT, name TEXT)`)
 	execOrFail(`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS nodes (
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestPacketsChannelFilter verifies /api/packets?channel=... actually filters
+// (regression test for #812).
+func TestPacketsChannelFilter(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+
+	get := func(url string) map[string]interface{} {
+		req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", url, nil)
+		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+		router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+		if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+			t.Fatalf("GET %s: expected 200, got %d", url, w.Code)
+		}
+		var body map[string]interface{}
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("decode %s: %v", url, err)
+		}
+		return body
+	}
+
+	all := get("/api/packets?limit=50")
+	allTotal := int(all["total"].(float64))
+	if allTotal < 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected baseline >= 2 packets, got %d", allTotal)
+	}
+
+	test := get("/api/packets?limit=50&channel=%23test")
+	testTotal := int(test["total"].(float64))
+	if testTotal == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("channel=#test: expected >= 1 match, got 0 (filter ignored?)")
+	}
+	if testTotal >= allTotal {
+		t.Fatalf("channel=#test: expected fewer packets than baseline (%d), got %d", allTotal, testTotal)
+	}
+
+	// Every returned packet must be a CHAN/GRP_TXT (payload_type=5) on #test.
+	pkts, _ := test["packets"].([]interface{})
+	for _, p := range pkts {
+		m := p.(map[string]interface{})
+		if pt, _ := m["payload_type"].(float64); int(pt) != 5 {
+			t.Errorf("channel=#test: returned non-GRP_TXT packet (payload_type=%v)", m["payload_type"])
+		}
+	}
+
+	none := get("/api/packets?limit=50&channel=nonexistentchannel")
+	if int(none["total"].(float64)) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("channel=nonexistentchannel: expected total=0, got %v", none["total"])
+	}
+}
@@ -12,19 +12,28 @@ import (
 type SkewSeverity string

 const (
-	SkewOK       SkewSeverity = "ok"       // < 5 min
-	SkewWarning  SkewSeverity = "warning"  // 5 min – 1 hour
-	SkewCritical SkewSeverity = "critical" // 1 hour – 30 days
-	SkewAbsurd   SkewSeverity = "absurd"   // > 30 days
-	SkewNoClock  SkewSeverity = "no_clock" // > 365 days — uninitialized RTC
+	SkewDefault   SkewSeverity = "default"   // firmware-default epoch + uptime
+	SkewOK        SkewSeverity = "ok"        // |skew| <= 15s
+	SkewDegrading SkewSeverity = "degrading" // 15s < |skew| <= 60s
+	SkewDegraded  SkewSeverity = "degraded"  // 60s < |skew| <= 600s
+	SkewWrong     SkewSeverity = "wrong"     // |skew| > 600s and not default
 )

+// Known firmware default epochs. Nodes with advert_ts in
+// [epoch, epoch + maxPlausibleUptimeSec] are classified as "default".
+// See docs/clock-skew-redesign.md for provenance of each value.
+var defaultEpochs = []int64{0, 1609459200, 1672531200, 1715770351}
+
 // Default thresholds in seconds.
 const (
-	skewThresholdWarnSec     = 5 * 60          // 5 minutes
-	skewThresholdCriticalSec = 60 * 60         // 1 hour
-	skewThresholdAbsurdSec   = 30 * 24 * 3600  // 30 days
-	skewThresholdNoClockSec  = 365 * 24 * 3600 // 365 days — uninitialized RTC
+	// maxPlausibleUptimeSec caps how far past a default epoch we still
+	// consider "default + uptime ticking". 730 days ≈ 2 years.
+	maxPlausibleUptimeSec = 1095 * 86400 // 3 years — covers solar repeater deployment lifetimes at firmware default
+
+	// Severity band boundaries (absolute skew in seconds).
+	skewThresholdOKSec        = 15
+	skewThresholdDegradingSec = 60
+	skewThresholdDegradedSec  = 600

 	// minDriftSamples is the minimum number of advert transmissions needed
 	// to compute a meaningful linear drift rate.
@@ -33,23 +42,53 @@ const (
 	// maxReasonableDriftPerDay caps drift display. Physically impossible
 	// drift rates (> 1 day/day) indicate insufficient or outlier samples.
 	maxReasonableDriftPerDay = 86400.0
+
+	// maxPlausibleSkewJumpSec is the largest skew change between
+	// consecutive samples that we treat as physical drift.
+	maxPlausibleSkewJumpSec = 60.0
+
+	// theilSenMaxPoints caps the number of points fed to Theil-Sen
+	// regression (O(n²) in pairs).
+	theilSenMaxPoints = 200
 )

-// classifySkew maps absolute skew (seconds) to a severity level.
-// Float64 comparison is safe: inputs are rounded to 1 decimal via round(),
-// and thresholds are integer multiples of 60 — no rounding artifacts.
-func classifySkew(absSkewSec float64) SkewSeverity {
+// isDefaultEpoch returns true if the raw advert timestamp falls within
+// [epoch, epoch + maxPlausibleUptimeSec] for any known firmware default.
+// If matched, returns the matched epoch; otherwise returns 0.
+func isDefaultEpoch(advertTS int64) (bool, int64) {
+	// Find the largest epoch <= advertTS (closest match). Since ranges
+	// overlap, picking the closest avoids attributing a 2023-firmware
+	// node's timestamp to the 2024 epoch.
+	bestEpoch := int64(-1)
+	for _, epoch := range defaultEpochs {
+		if epoch <= advertTS && epoch > bestEpoch {
+			bestEpoch = epoch
+		}
+	}
+	if bestEpoch >= 0 && advertTS <= bestEpoch+maxPlausibleUptimeSec {
+		return true, bestEpoch
+	}
+	return false, 0
+}
+
+// classifySkew maps a raw advert timestamp and corrected skew (signed)
+// to a severity level. Takes math.Abs internally so callers may pass
+// signed values. Default detection runs on the raw advert_ts
+// (independent of observer calibration).
+func classifySkew(advertTS int64, skewSec float64) (SkewSeverity, int64) {
+	if ok, epoch := isDefaultEpoch(advertTS); ok {
+		return SkewDefault, epoch
+	}
+	abs := math.Abs(skewSec)
 	switch {
-	case absSkewSec >= skewThresholdNoClockSec:
-		return SkewNoClock
-	case absSkewSec >= skewThresholdAbsurdSec:
-		return SkewAbsurd
-	case absSkewSec >= skewThresholdCriticalSec:
-		return SkewCritical
-	case absSkewSec >= skewThresholdWarnSec:
-		return SkewWarning
+	case abs <= skewThresholdOKSec:
+		return SkewOK, 0
+	case abs <= skewThresholdDegradingSec:
+		return SkewDegrading, 0
+	case abs <= skewThresholdDegradedSec:
+		return SkewDegraded, 0
 	default:
-		return SkewOK
+		return SkewWrong, 0
 	}
 }

@@ -57,34 +96,35 @@ func classifySkew(absSkewSec float64) SkewSeverity {

 // skewSample is a single raw skew measurement from one advert observation.
 type skewSample struct {
-	advertTS    int64  // node's advert Unix timestamp
-	observedTS  int64  // observation Unix timestamp
-	observerID  string // which observer saw this
-	hash        string // transmission hash (for multi-observer grouping)
+	advertTS   int64  // node's advert Unix timestamp
+	observedTS int64  // observation Unix timestamp
+	observerID string // which observer saw this
+	hash       string // transmission hash (for multi-observer grouping)
 }

 // ObserverCalibration holds the computed clock offset for an observer.
 type ObserverCalibration struct {
 	ObserverID string  `json:"observerID"`
-	OffsetSec  float64 `json:"offsetSec"`  // positive = observer clock ahead
-	Samples    int     `json:"samples"`    // number of multi-observer packets used
+	OffsetSec  float64 `json:"offsetSec"` // positive = observer clock ahead
+	Samples    int     `json:"samples"`   // number of multi-observer packets used
 }

 // NodeClockSkew is the API response for a single node's clock skew data.
 type NodeClockSkew struct {
-	Pubkey          string       `json:"pubkey"`
-	MeanSkewSec     float64      `json:"meanSkewSec"`     // corrected mean skew (positive = node ahead)
-	MedianSkewSec   float64      `json:"medianSkewSec"`   // corrected median skew
-	LastSkewSec     float64      `json:"lastSkewSec"`     // most recent corrected skew
-	DriftPerDaySec  float64      `json:"driftPerDaySec"`  // linear drift rate (sec/day)
-	Severity        SkewSeverity `json:"severity"`
-	SampleCount     int          `json:"sampleCount"`
-	Calibrated      bool         `json:"calibrated"`      // true if observer calibration was applied
-	LastAdvertTS    int64        `json:"lastAdvertTS"`     // most recent advert timestamp
-	LastObservedTS  int64        `json:"lastObservedTS"`   // most recent observation timestamp
-	Samples         []SkewSample `json:"samples,omitempty"` // time-series for sparklines
-	NodeName        string       `json:"nodeName,omitempty"` // populated in fleet responses
-	NodeRole        string       `json:"nodeRole,omitempty"` // populated in fleet responses
+	Pubkey         string       `json:"pubkey"`
+	MeanSkewSec    float64      `json:"meanSkewSec"`    // corrected mean skew (positive = node ahead)
+	MedianSkewSec  float64      `json:"medianSkewSec"`  // corrected median skew
+	LastSkewSec    float64      `json:"lastSkewSec"`    // most recent corrected skew
+	DriftPerDaySec float64      `json:"driftPerDaySec"` // linear drift rate (sec/day)
+	Severity       SkewSeverity `json:"severity"`
+	SampleCount    int          `json:"sampleCount"`
+	Calibrated     bool         `json:"calibrated"`     // true if observer calibration was applied
+	LastAdvertTS   int64        `json:"lastAdvertTS"`    // most recent advert timestamp
+	LastObservedTS int64        `json:"lastObservedTS"`  // most recent observation timestamp
+	DefaultEpoch   *int64       `json:"defaultEpoch,omitempty"` // matched epoch when severity=default
+	Samples        []SkewSample `json:"samples,omitempty"` // time-series for sparklines
+	NodeName       string       `json:"nodeName,omitempty"` // populated in fleet responses
+	NodeRole       string       `json:"nodeRole,omitempty"` // populated in fleet responses
 }

 // SkewSample is a single (timestamp, skew) point for sparkline rendering.
@@ -93,28 +133,26 @@ type SkewSample struct {
 	SkewSec   float64 `json:"skew"` // corrected skew in seconds
 }

-// txSkewResult maps tx hash → per-transmission skew stats. This is an
-// intermediate result keyed by hash (not pubkey); the store maps hash → pubkey
-// when building the final per-node view.
+// txSkewResult maps tx hash → per-transmission skew stats.
 type txSkewResult = map[string]*NodeClockSkew

 // ── Clock Skew Engine ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 // ClockSkewEngine computes and caches clock skew data for nodes and observers.
 type ClockSkewEngine struct {
-	mu               sync.RWMutex
-	observerOffsets  map[string]float64 // observerID → calibrated offset (seconds)
-	observerSamples  map[string]int     // observerID → number of multi-observer packets used
-	nodeSkew         txSkewResult
-	lastComputed     time.Time
-	computeInterval  time.Duration
+	mu              sync.RWMutex
+	observerOffsets map[string]float64 // observerID → calibrated offset (seconds)
+	observerSamples map[string]int     // observerID → number of multi-observer packets used
+	nodeSkew        txSkewResult
+	lastComputed    time.Time
+	computeInterval time.Duration
 }

 func NewClockSkewEngine() *ClockSkewEngine {
 	return &ClockSkewEngine{
-		observerOffsets:  make(map[string]float64),
+		observerOffsets: make(map[string]float64),
 		observerSamples: make(map[string]int),
-		nodeSkew:       make(txSkewResult),
+		nodeSkew:        make(txSkewResult),
 		computeInterval: 30 * time.Second,
 	}
 }
@@ -151,7 +189,6 @@ func (e *ClockSkewEngine) Recompute(store *PacketStore) {

 	// Swap results under brief write lock.
 	e.mu.Lock()
-	// Re-check: another goroutine may have computed while we were working.
 	if time.Since(e.lastComputed) < e.computeInterval {
 		e.mu.Unlock()
 		return
@@ -177,13 +214,13 @@ func collectSamples(store *PacketStore) []skewSample {
 		if decoded == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		// Extract advert timestamp from decoded JSON.
 		advertTS := extractTimestamp(decoded)
-		if advertTS <= 0 {
+		if advertTS < 0 {
 			continue
 		}
-		// Sanity: skip timestamps before year 2020 or after year 2100.
-		if advertTS < 1577836800 || advertTS > 4102444800 {
+		// Allow epoch 0 and above (needed for default-epoch detection).
+		// Upper bound: year 2100.
+		if advertTS > 4102444800 {
 			continue
 		}

@@ -203,21 +240,43 @@ func collectSamples(store *PacketStore) []skewSample {
 	return samples
 }

+// timestampMissing is the sentinel returned by extractTimestamp when no
+// timestamp field is present in the decoded advert. Using -1 lets us
+// distinguish "field absent" from a real epoch-0 timestamp (ts == 0).
+const timestampMissing int64 = -1
+
 // extractTimestamp gets the Unix timestamp from a decoded ADVERT payload.
+// Returns timestampMissing (-1) if no timestamp field is found.
 func extractTimestamp(decoded map[string]interface{}) int64 {
-	// Try payload.timestamp first (nested in "payload" key).
 	if payload, ok := decoded["payload"]; ok {
 		if pm, ok := payload.(map[string]interface{}); ok {
-			if ts := jsonNumber(pm, "timestamp"); ts > 0 {
+			if ts, ok := jsonNumberOk(pm, "timestamp"); ok {
 				return ts
 			}
 		}
 	}
-	// Fallback: top-level timestamp.
-	if ts := jsonNumber(decoded, "timestamp"); ts > 0 {
+	if ts, ok := jsonNumberOk(decoded, "timestamp"); ok {
 		return ts
 	}
-	return 0
+	return timestampMissing
+}
+
+// jsonNumberOk extracts an int64 from a JSON-parsed map, returning (value, true)
+// if the key exists and is numeric, or (0, false) otherwise.
+func jsonNumberOk(m map[string]interface{}, key string) (int64, bool) {
+	v, ok := m[key]
+	if !ok || v == nil {
+		return 0, false
+	}
+	switch n := v.(type) {
+	case float64:
+		return int64(n), true
+	case int64:
+		return n, true
+	case int:
+		return int64(n), true
+	}
+	return 0, false
 }

 // jsonNumber extracts an int64 from a JSON-parsed map (handles float64 and json.Number).
@@ -244,7 +303,6 @@ func parseISO(s string) int64 {
 	}
 	t, err := time.Parse(time.RFC3339, s)
 	if err != nil {
-		// Try with fractional seconds.
 		t, err = time.Parse("2006-01-02T15:04:05.999999999Z07:00", s)
 		if err != nil {
 			return 0
@@ -258,19 +316,16 @@ func parseISO(s string) int64 {
 // calibrateObservers computes each observer's clock offset using multi-observer
 // packets. Returns offset map and sample count map.
 func calibrateObservers(samples []skewSample) (map[string]float64, map[string]int) {
-	// Group observations by packet hash.
 	byHash := make(map[string][]skewSample)
 	for _, s := range samples {
 		byHash[s.hash] = append(byHash[s.hash], s)
 	}

-	// For each multi-observer packet, compute per-observer deviation from median.
-	deviations := make(map[string][]float64) // observerID → list of deviations
+	deviations := make(map[string][]float64)
 	for _, group := range byHash {
 		if len(group) < 2 {
-			continue // single-observer packet, can't calibrate
+			continue
 		}
-		// Compute median observation timestamp for this packet.
 		obsTimes := make([]float64, len(group))
 		for i, s := range group {
 			obsTimes[i] = float64(s.observedTS)
@@ -282,7 +337,6 @@ func calibrateObservers(samples []skewSample) (map[string]float64, map[string]in
 		}
 	}

-	// Each observer's offset = median of its deviations.
 	offsets := make(map[string]float64, len(deviations))
 	counts := make(map[string]int, len(deviations))
 	for obsID, devs := range deviations {
@@ -296,8 +350,6 @@ func calibrateObservers(samples []skewSample) (map[string]float64, map[string]in

 // computeNodeSkew calculates corrected skew statistics for each node.
 func computeNodeSkew(samples []skewSample, obsOffsets map[string]float64) txSkewResult {
-	// Compute corrected skew per sample, grouped by hash (each hash = one
-	// node's advert transmission). The caller maps hash → pubkey via byNode.
 	type correctedSample struct {
 		skew       float64
 		observedTS int64
@@ -312,8 +364,6 @@ func computeNodeSkew(samples []skewSample, obsOffsets map[string]float64) txSkew
 		rawSkew := float64(s.advertTS - s.observedTS)
 		corrected := rawSkew
 		if hasCal {
-			// Observer offset = obs_ts - median(all_obs_ts). If observer is ahead,
-			// its obs_ts is inflated, making raw_skew too low. Add offset to correct.
 			corrected = rawSkew + obsOffset
 		}
 		byHash[s.hash] = append(byHash[s.hash], correctedSample{
@@ -324,10 +374,7 @@ func computeNodeSkew(samples []skewSample, obsOffsets map[string]float64) txSkew
 		hashAdvertTS[s.hash] = s.advertTS
 	}

-	// Each hash represents one advert from one node. Compute median corrected
-	// skew per hash (across multiple observers).
-
-	result := make(map[string]*NodeClockSkew) // keyed by hash for now
+	result := make(map[string]*NodeClockSkew)
 	for hash, cs := range byHash {
 		skews := make([]float64, len(cs))
 		for i, c := range cs {
@@ -336,29 +383,37 @@ func computeNodeSkew(samples []skewSample, obsOffsets map[string]float64) txSkew
 		medSkew := median(skews)
 		meanSkew := mean(skews)

-		// Find latest observation.
-		var latestObsTS int64
+		// Pick the skew from the most recent observation (max observedTS),
+		// not the last-appended sample which may be non-chronological.
+		var latest correctedSample
 		var anyCal bool
 		for _, c := range cs {
-			if c.observedTS > latestObsTS {
-				latestObsTS = c.observedTS
+			if c.observedTS > latest.observedTS {
+				latest = c
 			}
 			if c.calibrated {
 				anyCal = true
 			}
 		}
+		lastCorrectedSkew := latest.skew
+		advTS := hashAdvertTS[hash]
+		severity, matchedEpoch := classifySkew(advTS, lastCorrectedSkew)

-		absMedian := math.Abs(medSkew)
-		result[hash] = &NodeClockSkew{
+		ncs := &NodeClockSkew{
 			MeanSkewSec:    round(meanSkew, 1),
 			MedianSkewSec:  round(medSkew, 1),
-			LastSkewSec:    round(cs[len(cs)-1].skew, 1),
-			Severity:       classifySkew(absMedian),
+			LastSkewSec:    round(lastCorrectedSkew, 1),
+			Severity:       severity,
 			SampleCount:    len(cs),
 			Calibrated:     anyCal,
-			LastAdvertTS:   hashAdvertTS[hash],
-			LastObservedTS: latestObsTS,
+			LastAdvertTS:   advTS,
+			LastObservedTS: latest.observedTS,
 		}
+		if severity == SkewDefault {
+			ep := matchedEpoch
+			ncs.DefaultEpoch = &ep
+		}
+		result[hash] = ncs
 	}
 	return result
 }
@@ -419,27 +474,29 @@ func (s *PacketStore) getNodeClockSkewLocked(pubkey string) *NodeClockSkew {

 	medSkew := median(allSkews)
 	meanSkew := mean(allSkews)
-	absMedian := math.Abs(medSkew)
-	severity := classifySkew(absMedian)

-	// For no_clock nodes (uninitialized RTC), skip drift — data is meaningless.
+	// Classify using the most recent advert's raw timestamp and
+	// the most recent corrected skew. No windowing or median-driven
+	// severity — per-advert classification per the spec.
+	severity, matchedEpoch := classifySkew(lastAdvTS, lastSkew)
+
+	// Drift: display only, not a classifier input.
 	var drift float64
-	if severity != SkewNoClock && len(tsSkews) >= minDriftSamples {
+	if severity != SkewDefault && len(tsSkews) >= minDriftSamples {
 		drift = computeDrift(tsSkews)
-		// Cap physically impossible drift rates.
 		if math.Abs(drift) > maxReasonableDriftPerDay {
 			drift = 0
 		}
 	}

-	// Build sparkline samples from tsSkews (sorted by time).
+	// Build sparkline samples.
 	sort.Slice(tsSkews, func(i, j int) bool { return tsSkews[i].ts < tsSkews[j].ts })
 	samples := make([]SkewSample, len(tsSkews))
 	for i, p := range tsSkews {
 		samples[i] = SkewSample{Timestamp: p.ts, SkewSec: round(p.skew, 1)}
 	}

-	return &NodeClockSkew{
+	result := &NodeClockSkew{
 		Pubkey:         pubkey,
 		MeanSkewSec:    round(meanSkew, 1),
 		MedianSkewSec:  round(medSkew, 1),
@@ -452,6 +509,11 @@ func (s *PacketStore) getNodeClockSkewLocked(pubkey string) *NodeClockSkew {
 		LastObservedTS: lastObsTS,
 		Samples:        samples,
 	}
+	if severity == SkewDefault {
+		ep := matchedEpoch
+		result.DefaultEpoch = &ep
+	}
+	return result
 }

 // GetFleetClockSkew returns clock skew data for all nodes that have skew data.
@@ -460,7 +522,6 @@ func (s *PacketStore) GetFleetClockSkew() []*NodeClockSkew {
 	s.mu.RLock()
 	defer s.mu.RUnlock()

-	// Build name/role lookup from DB cache (requires s.mu held).
 	allNodes, _ := s.getCachedNodesAndPM()
 	nameMap := make(map[string]nodeInfo, len(allNodes))
 	for _, ni := range allNodes {
@@ -473,12 +534,10 @@ func (s *PacketStore) GetFleetClockSkew() []*NodeClockSkew {
 		if cs == nil {
 			continue
 		}
-		// Enrich with node name/role.
 		if ni, ok := nameMap[pubkey]; ok {
 			cs.NodeName = ni.Name
 			cs.NodeRole = ni.Role
 		}
-		// Omit samples in fleet response (too much data).
 		cs.Samples = nil
 		results = append(results, cs)
 	}
@@ -503,7 +562,6 @@ func (s *PacketStore) GetObserverCalibrations() []ObserverCalibration {
 			Samples:    s.clockSkew.observerSamples[obsID],
 		})
 	}
-	// Sort by absolute offset descending.
 	sort.Slice(result, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return math.Abs(result[i].OffsetSec) > math.Abs(result[j].OffsetSec)
 	})
@@ -544,37 +602,57 @@ type tsSkewPair struct {
 }

 // computeDrift estimates linear drift in seconds per day from time-ordered
-// (timestamp, skew) pairs using simple linear regression.
+// (timestamp, skew) pairs using Theil-Sen regression with outlier filtering.
 func computeDrift(pairs []tsSkewPair) float64 {
 	if len(pairs) < 2 {
 		return 0
 	}
-	// Sort by timestamp.
 	sort.Slice(pairs, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return pairs[i].ts < pairs[j].ts
 	})

-	// Time span too short? Skip.
 	spanSec := float64(pairs[len(pairs)-1].ts - pairs[0].ts)
-	if spanSec < 3600 { // need at least 1 hour of data
+	if spanSec < 3600 {
 		return 0
 	}

-	// Simple linear regression: skew = a + b*t
-	n := float64(len(pairs))
-	var sumX, sumY, sumXY, sumX2 float64
-	for _, p := range pairs {
-		x := float64(p.ts - pairs[0].ts) // normalize to avoid large numbers
-		y := p.skew
-		sumX += x
-		sumY += y
-		sumXY += x * y
-		sumX2 += x * x
+	filtered := make([]tsSkewPair, 0, len(pairs))
+	filtered = append(filtered, pairs[0])
+	for i := 1; i < len(pairs); i++ {
+		prev := filtered[len(filtered)-1]
+		if math.Abs(pairs[i].skew-prev.skew) <= maxPlausibleSkewJumpSec {
+			filtered = append(filtered, pairs[i])
+		}
 	}
-	denom := n*sumX2 - sumX*sumX
-	if denom == 0 {
+	if len(filtered) < 2 || float64(filtered[len(filtered)-1].ts-filtered[0].ts) < 3600 {
+		filtered = pairs
+	}
+
+	if len(filtered) > theilSenMaxPoints {
+		filtered = filtered[len(filtered)-theilSenMaxPoints:]
+	}
+
+	return theilSenSlope(filtered) * 86400
+}
+
+// theilSenSlope returns the Theil-Sen estimator: median of all pairwise slopes.
+func theilSenSlope(pairs []tsSkewPair) float64 {
+	n := len(pairs)
+	if n < 2 {
 		return 0
 	}
-	slope := (n*sumXY - sumX*sumY) / denom // seconds of drift per second
-	return slope * 86400                     // convert to seconds per day
+	slopes := make([]float64, 0, n*(n-1)/2)
+	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
+		for j := i + 1; j < n; j++ {
+			dt := float64(pairs[j].ts - pairs[i].ts)
+			if dt <= 0 {
+				continue
+			}
+			slopes = append(slopes, (pairs[j].skew-pairs[i].skew)/dt)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(slopes) == 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return median(slopes)
 }
@@ -9,34 +9,182 @@ import (

 // ── classifySkew ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

-func TestClassifySkew(t *testing.T) {
+func TestClassify_Default_AllKnownEpochs(t *testing.T) {
+	// Each known default epoch at +0s, +1d uptime → default.
+	for _, epoch := range defaultEpochs {
+		for _, uptimeSec := range []int64{0, 86400} {
+			advTS := epoch + uptimeSec
+			sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, 999999) // skew irrelevant for default
+			if sev != SkewDefault {
+				t.Errorf("classifySkew(epoch=%d + %ds) = %v, want default", epoch, uptimeSec, sev)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// Also test at 1094d for the most recent epoch (no overlap issue).
+	advTS := defaultEpochs[len(defaultEpochs)-1] + 1094*86400
+	sev, matched := classifySkew(advTS, 999999)
+	if sev != SkewDefault {
+		t.Errorf("classifySkew(latest epoch + 1094d) = %v, want default", sev)
+	}
+	if matched != defaultEpochs[len(defaultEpochs)-1] {
+		t.Errorf("matched = %d, want %d", matched, defaultEpochs[len(defaultEpochs)-1])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_Default_BeyondUptimeCap(t *testing.T) {
+	// 1096 days past the LATEST epoch → NOT default.
+	latestEpoch := defaultEpochs[len(defaultEpochs)-1]
+	advTS := latestEpoch + 1096*86400
+	sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, 5)
+	if sev == SkewDefault {
+		t.Errorf("classifySkew(latestEpoch + 1096d) = default, should fall through")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestMaxPlausibleUptime_CoversSolarRepeaterLifetimes(t *testing.T) {
+	// A solar repeater running for 3 years at firmware default 1715770351
+	// should still classify as "default".
+	epoch := int64(1715770351)
+	advTS := epoch + 1095*86400 // exactly 3 years
+	sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, 5)
+	if sev != SkewDefault {
+		t.Errorf("classifySkew(firmware default + 3y) = %v, want default", sev)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_OK(t *testing.T) {
+	// Use a timestamp outside all default-epoch ranges.
+	advTS := int64(1900000000) // 2030-03 — well past any default+1095d
 	tests := []struct {
-		absSkew  float64
-		expected SkewSeverity
+		skew float64
+		want SkewSeverity
 	}{
 		{0, SkewOK},
-		{60, SkewOK},           // 1 min
-		{299, SkewOK},          // just under 5 min
-		{300, SkewWarning},     // exactly 5 min
-		{1800, SkewWarning},    // 30 min
-		{3599, SkewWarning},    // just under 1 hour
-		{3600, SkewCritical},   // exactly 1 hour
-		{86400, SkewCritical},  // 1 day
-		{2592000 - 1, SkewCritical}, // just under 30 days
-		{2592000, SkewAbsurd},  // exactly 30 days
-		{86400 * 365 - 1, SkewAbsurd}, // just under 365 days
-		{86400 * 365, SkewNoClock}, // exactly 365 days
-		{86400 * 365 * 10, SkewNoClock}, // 10 years (epoch-0 style)
+		{15, SkewOK},
+		{15.0, SkewOK},
 	}
 	for _, tc := range tests {
-		got := classifySkew(tc.absSkew)
-		if got != tc.expected {
-			t.Errorf("classifySkew(%v) = %v, want %v", tc.absSkew, got, tc.expected)
+		sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, tc.skew)
+		if sev != tc.want {
+			t.Errorf("classifySkew(advTS, %v) = %v, want %v", tc.skew, sev, tc.want)
 		}
 	}
 }

-// ── median ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+func TestClassify_Degrading(t *testing.T) {
+	advTS := int64(1900000000)
+	tests := []float64{16, 30, 60}
+	for _, skew := range tests {
+		sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, skew)
+		if sev != SkewDegrading {
+			t.Errorf("classifySkew(advTS, %v) = %v, want degrading", skew, sev)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_Degraded(t *testing.T) {
+	advTS := int64(1900000000)
+	tests := []float64{61, 300, 600}
+	for _, skew := range tests {
+		sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, skew)
+		if sev != SkewDegraded {
+			t.Errorf("classifySkew(advTS, %v) = %v, want degraded", skew, sev)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_Wrong(t *testing.T) {
+	advTS := int64(1900000000)
+	tests := []float64{601, 3600, 86400 * 365}
+	for _, skew := range tests {
+		sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, skew)
+		if sev != SkewWrong {
+			t.Errorf("classifySkew(advTS, %v) = %v, want wrong", skew, sev)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_FutureWrong(t *testing.T) {
+	// Advert_ts in 2030 + 700s offset — not a default epoch.
+	advTS := int64(1900000700)
+	sev, _ := classifySkew(advTS, 700)
+	if sev != SkewWrong {
+		t.Errorf("classifySkew(future, 700) = %v, want wrong", sev)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestClassify_NegativeSkewUsesAbsoluteValue(t *testing.T) {
+	advTS := int64(1900000000) // outside default-epoch ranges
+	cases := []struct {
+		skew float64
+		want SkewSeverity
+	}{
+		{-10, SkewOK},
+		{-30, SkewDegrading},
+		{-300, SkewDegraded},
+		{-1000, SkewWrong},
+		{10, SkewOK},
+		{30, SkewDegrading},
+		{300, SkewDegraded},
+		{1000, SkewWrong},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		if got, _ := classifySkew(advTS, c.skew); got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("classifySkew(advTS, %v) = %v, want %v", c.skew, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// ── isDefaultEpoch ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestIsDefaultEpoch_Boundaries(t *testing.T) {
+	// Exactly at epoch → true.
+	ok, ep := isDefaultEpoch(1715770351)
+	if !ok || ep != 1715770351 {
+		t.Errorf("isDefaultEpoch(1715770351) = %v, %d", ok, ep)
+	}
+	// At epoch + maxPlausibleUptimeSec → true.
+	ok, ep = isDefaultEpoch(1715770351 + maxPlausibleUptimeSec)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Error("expected true at epoch + maxPlausibleUptimeSec")
+	}
+	// Just past → false.
+	ok, _ = isDefaultEpoch(1715770351 + maxPlausibleUptimeSec + 1)
+	if ok {
+		t.Error("expected false past max uptime")
+	}
+	// Epoch 0 → true.
+	ok, ep = isDefaultEpoch(0)
+	if !ok || ep != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("isDefaultEpoch(0) = %v, %d", ok, ep)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestIsDefault_OverlappingWindowsPicksLargest(t *testing.T) {
+	// 1715770351 (2024-05-15) falls in the range of BOTH epoch 1672531200
+	// (2023-01-01, +1095d covers through 2026) AND epoch 1715770351 itself.
+	// The classifier must pick the largest epoch ≤ advertTS.
+	ok, ep := isDefaultEpoch(1715770351)
+	if !ok || ep != 1715770351 {
+		t.Errorf("isDefaultEpoch(1715770351) = %v, epoch %d; want true, 1715770351", ok, ep)
+	}
+
+	// 1672531200 + 100 days — only falls in epoch 1672531200's range.
+	ts100d := int64(1672531200 + 100*86400)
+	ok, ep = isDefaultEpoch(ts100d)
+	if !ok || ep != 1672531200 {
+		t.Errorf("isDefaultEpoch(%d) = %v, epoch %d; want true, 1672531200", ts100d, ok, ep)
+	}
+
+	// Timestamp between 1672531200 and 1715770351 but closer to 1715770351
+	// — e.g. 1715770350 (1 second before the 2024 epoch). Should match 1672531200.
+	ok, ep = isDefaultEpoch(1715770350)
+	if !ok || ep != 1672531200 {
+		t.Errorf("isDefaultEpoch(1715770350) = %v, epoch %d; want true, 1672531200", ok, ep)
+	}
+}
+
+// ── median / mean ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestMedian(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
@@ -99,7 +247,6 @@ func TestParseISO(t *testing.T) {
 // ── extractTimestamp ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestExtractTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
-	// Nested payload.timestamp
 	decoded := map[string]interface{}{
 		"payload": map[string]interface{}{
 			"timestamp": float64(1776340800),
@@ -110,7 +257,6 @@ func TestExtractTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("extractTimestamp (nested) = %v, want 1776340800", got)
 	}

-	// Top-level timestamp
 	decoded2 := map[string]interface{}{
 		"timestamp": float64(1776340900),
 	}
@@ -119,18 +265,27 @@ func TestExtractTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("extractTimestamp (top-level) = %v, want 1776340900", got2)
 	}

-	// No timestamp
 	decoded3 := map[string]interface{}{"foo": "bar"}
 	got3 := extractTimestamp(decoded3)
-	if got3 != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("extractTimestamp (missing) = %v, want 0", got3)
+	if got3 != timestampMissing {
+		t.Errorf("extractTimestamp (missing) = %v, want %v", got3, timestampMissing)
+	}
+
+	// Epoch-0 timestamp is a valid value, not "missing".
+	decoded4 := map[string]interface{}{
+		"payload": map[string]interface{}{
+			"timestamp": float64(0),
+		},
+	}
+	got4 := extractTimestamp(decoded4)
+	if got4 != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("extractTimestamp (epoch-0) = %v, want 0", got4)
 	}
 }

 // ── calibrateObservers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestCalibrateObservers_SingleObserver(t *testing.T) {
-	// Single-observer packets can't calibrate — should return empty.
 	samples := []skewSample{
 		{advertTS: 1000, observedTS: 1000, observerID: "obs1", hash: "h1"},
 		{advertTS: 2000, observedTS: 2000, observerID: "obs1", hash: "h2"},
@@ -142,10 +297,6 @@ func TestCalibrateObservers_SingleObserver(t *testing.T) {
 }

 func TestCalibrateObservers_MultiObserver(t *testing.T) {
-	// Packet h1 seen by 3 observers: obs1 at t=100, obs2 at t=110, obs3 at t=100.
-	// Median observation = 100. obs1=0, obs2=+10, obs3=0
-	// Packet h2 seen by 3 observers: obs1 at t=200, obs2 at t=210, obs3 at t=200.
-	// Median observation = 200. obs1=0, obs2=+10, obs3=0
 	samples := []skewSample{
 		{advertTS: 100, observedTS: 100, observerID: "obs1", hash: "h1"},
 		{advertTS: 100, observedTS: 110, observerID: "obs2", hash: "h1"},
@@ -169,75 +320,41 @@ func TestCalibrateObservers_MultiObserver(t *testing.T) {
 // ── computeNodeSkew ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestComputeNodeSkew_BasicCorrection(t *testing.T) {
-	// Validates observer offset correction direction.
-	//
-	// Setup: node is 60s ahead, obs1 accurate, obs2 is 10s ahead.
-	// With 2 observers, median obs_ts = 1005.
-	//   obs1 offset = 1000 - 1005 = -5
-	//   obs2 offset = 1010 - 1005 = +5
-	// Correction: corrected = raw_skew + obsOffset
-	//   obs1: raw=60, corrected = 60 + (-5) = 55
-	//   obs2: raw=50, corrected = 50 + 5 = 55
-	// Both converge to 55 (not exact 60 because with only 2 observers,
-	// the median can't fully distinguish which observer is drifted).
-
 	samples := []skewSample{
-		// Same packet seen by accurate obs1 and obs2 (+10s ahead)
 		{advertTS: 1060, observedTS: 1000, observerID: "obs1", hash: "h1"},
 		{advertTS: 1060, observedTS: 1010, observerID: "obs2", hash: "h1"},
 	}
 	offsets, _ := calibrateObservers(samples)
-	// median obs = 1005, obs1 offset = -5, obs2 offset = +5
-	// So the median approach finds obs2 is +5 ahead (relative to median)
-
-	// Now compute node skew with those offsets:
 	nodeSkew := computeNodeSkew(samples, offsets)
 	cs, ok := nodeSkew["h1"]
 	if !ok {
 		t.Fatal("expected skew data for hash h1")
 	}
-	// With only 2 observers, median obs_ts = 1005.
-	// obs1 offset = 1000-1005 = -5, obs2 offset = 1010-1005 = +5
-	// raw from obs1 = 60, corrected = 60 + (-5) = 55
-	// raw from obs2 = 50, corrected = 50 + 5 = 55
-	// median = 55
 	if cs.MedianSkewSec != 55 {
 		t.Errorf("median skew = %v, want 55", cs.MedianSkewSec)
 	}
 }

 func TestComputeNodeSkew_ThreeObservers(t *testing.T) {
-	// Node is exactly 60s ahead. obs1 accurate, obs2 accurate, obs3 +30s ahead.
-	// advertTS = 1060, real time = 1000
 	samples := []skewSample{
 		{advertTS: 1060, observedTS: 1000, observerID: "obs1", hash: "h1"},
 		{advertTS: 1060, observedTS: 1000, observerID: "obs2", hash: "h1"},
 		{advertTS: 1060, observedTS: 1030, observerID: "obs3", hash: "h1"},
 	}
 	offsets, _ := calibrateObservers(samples)
-	// median obs_ts = 1000. obs1=0, obs2=0, obs3=+30
-	if offsets["obs3"] != 30 {
-		t.Errorf("obs3 offset = %v, want 30", offsets["obs3"])
-	}
-
 	nodeSkew := computeNodeSkew(samples, offsets)
 	cs := nodeSkew["h1"]
 	if cs == nil {
 		t.Fatal("expected skew data for h1")
 	}
-	// raw from obs1 = 60, corrected = 60 + 0 = 60
-	// raw from obs2 = 60, corrected = 60 + 0 = 60
-	// raw from obs3 = 30, corrected = 30 + 30 = 60
-	// All three converge to 60. 
 	if cs.MedianSkewSec != 60 {
-		t.Errorf("median skew = %v, want 60 (node is 60s ahead)", cs.MedianSkewSec)
+		t.Errorf("median skew = %v, want 60", cs.MedianSkewSec)
 	}
 }

 // ── computeDrift ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestComputeDrift_Stable(t *testing.T) {
-	// Constant skew = no drift.
 	pairs := []tsSkewPair{
 		{ts: 0, skew: 60},
 		{ts: 7200, skew: 60},
@@ -245,21 +362,19 @@ func TestComputeDrift_Stable(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	drift := computeDrift(pairs)
 	if drift != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want 0 for stable skew", drift)
+		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want 0", drift)
 	}
 }

 func TestComputeDrift_LinearDrift(t *testing.T) {
-	// 1 second drift per hour = 24 sec/day.
 	pairs := []tsSkewPair{
 		{ts: 0, skew: 0},
 		{ts: 3600, skew: 1},
 		{ts: 7200, skew: 2},
 	}
 	drift := computeDrift(pairs)
-	expected := 24.0
-	if math.Abs(drift-expected) > 0.1 {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want ~%v", drift, expected)
+	if math.Abs(drift-24.0) > 0.1 {
+		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want ~24", drift)
 	}
 }

@@ -271,7 +386,6 @@ func TestComputeDrift_TooFewSamples(t *testing.T) {
 }

 func TestComputeDrift_TooShortSpan(t *testing.T) {
-	// Less than 1 hour apart.
 	pairs := []tsSkewPair{
 		{ts: 0, skew: 0},
 		{ts: 1800, skew: 10},
@@ -281,6 +395,34 @@ func TestComputeDrift_TooShortSpan(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }

+func TestDriftRejectsCorrectionJump(t *testing.T) {
+	pairs := []tsSkewPair{}
+	for i := 0; i < 12; i++ {
+		ts := int64(i) * 300
+		skew := float64(i) * (1.0 / 24.0)
+		pairs = append(pairs, tsSkewPair{ts: ts, skew: skew})
+	}
+	pairs = append(pairs, tsSkewPair{ts: 3600 + 12*300, skew: 1000})
+	drift := computeDrift(pairs)
+	if math.Abs(drift) > 100 {
+		t.Errorf("drift = %v, expected small", drift)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheilSenMatchesOLSWhenClean(t *testing.T) {
+	pairs := []tsSkewPair{}
+	for i := 0; i < 20; i++ {
+		pairs = append(pairs, tsSkewPair{
+			ts:   int64(i) * 600,
+			skew: float64(i) * (600.0 / 3600.0),
+		})
+	}
+	drift := computeDrift(pairs)
+	if math.Abs(drift-24.0) > 0.25 {
+		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want ~24", drift)
+	}
+}
+
 // ── jsonNumber ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 func TestJsonNumber(t *testing.T) {
@@ -309,35 +451,39 @@ func TestJsonNumber(t *testing.T) {

 // ── Integration: GetNodeClockSkew via PacketStore ──────────────────────────────

+// formatInt64 is a test helper to format int64 as string for JSON embedding.
+func formatInt64(n int64) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d", n)
+}
+
 func TestGetNodeClockSkew_Integration(t *testing.T) {
 	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)

-	// Simulate two ADVERT transmissions for the same node, seen by 2 observers each.
-	// Node "AABB" has clock 120s ahead.
 	pt := 4 // ADVERT
+	// Use a base time outside all default-epoch ranges.
+	base := int64(1900000000) // 2030
 	tx1 := &StoreTx{
 		Hash:        "hash1",
 		PayloadType: &pt,
-		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":1700002320}}`, // obs=1700002200, node ahead by 120s
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(base+10) + `}}`,
 		Observations: []*StoreObs{
-			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: "2023-11-14T22:50:00Z"}, // 1700002200
-			{ObserverID: "obs2", Timestamp: "2023-11-14T22:50:00Z"}, // 1700002200
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(base, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+			{ObserverID: "obs2", Timestamp: time.Unix(base, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
 		},
 	}
 	tx2 := &StoreTx{
 		Hash:        "hash2",
 		PayloadType: &pt,
-		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":1700005920}}`, // obs=1700005800, node ahead by 120s
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(base+3610) + `}}`,
 		Observations: []*StoreObs{
-			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: "2023-11-14T23:50:00Z"}, // 1700005800
-			{ObserverID: "obs2", Timestamp: "2023-11-14T23:50:00Z"}, // 1700005800
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(base+3600, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+			{ObserverID: "obs2", Timestamp: time.Unix(base+3600, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
 		},
 	}

 	ps.mu.Lock()
 	ps.byNode["AABB"] = []*StoreTx{tx1, tx2}
 	ps.byPayloadType[4] = []*StoreTx{tx1, tx2}
-	// Force recompute by setting interval to 0.
 	ps.clockSkew.computeInterval = 0
 	ps.mu.Unlock()

@@ -348,19 +494,9 @@ func TestGetNodeClockSkew_Integration(t *testing.T) {
 	if result.Pubkey != "AABB" {
 		t.Errorf("pubkey = %q, want AABB", result.Pubkey)
 	}
-	// Both transmissions show 120s skew, so median should be 120.
-	if result.MedianSkewSec != 120 {
-		t.Errorf("median skew = %v, want 120", result.MedianSkewSec)
-	}
-	if result.SampleCount < 2 {
-		t.Errorf("sample count = %v, want >= 2", result.SampleCount)
-	}
+	// Both transmissions show ~10s skew → ok.
 	if result.Severity != SkewOK {
-		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want ok (120s < 5min)", result.Severity)
-	}
-	// Drift should be ~0 since skew is constant.
-	if math.Abs(result.DriftPerDaySec) > 1 {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want ~0 for constant skew", result.DriftPerDaySec)
+		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want ok", result.Severity)
 	}
 }

@@ -372,59 +508,80 @@ func TestGetNodeClockSkew_NoData(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }

-// ── Sanity check tests (#XXX — clock skew crazy stats) ────────────────────────
-
-func TestGetNodeClockSkew_NoClock_EpochZero(t *testing.T) {
-	// Node with epoch-0 timestamp produces huge skew → no_clock severity, drift=0.
+func TestGetNodeClockSkew_DefaultEpochNode(t *testing.T) {
+	// Node with advert_ts at the current firmware default epoch → default severity.
 	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)
-	pt := 4 // ADVERT
+	pt := 4

-	// Epoch-ish advert: advertTS near start of 2020, observed in 2023 → |skew| > 365 days
-	var txs []*StoreTx
-	baseObs := int64(1700000000) // ~Nov 2023
-	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
-		obsTS := baseObs + int64(i)*7200
-		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash:        "epoch-h" + string(rune('0'+i)),
-			PayloadType: &pt,
-			DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":1577836800}}`, // Jan 1 2020 — valid but way off
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(obsTS, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
-			},
-		}
-		txs = append(txs, tx)
+	now := time.Now().Unix()
+	advTS := int64(1715770351 + 86400) // default + 1 day uptime
+	tx := &StoreTx{
+		Hash:        "default-h1",
+		PayloadType: &pt,
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(advTS) + `}}`,
+		Observations: []*StoreObs{
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(now, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+		},
 	}

 	ps.mu.Lock()
-	ps.byNode["EPOCH"] = txs
-	for _, tx := range txs {
-		ps.byPayloadType[4] = append(ps.byPayloadType[4], tx)
-	}
+	ps.byNode["DEFNODE"] = []*StoreTx{tx}
+	ps.byPayloadType[4] = []*StoreTx{tx}
 	ps.clockSkew.computeInterval = 0
 	ps.mu.Unlock()

-	result := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("EPOCH")
-	if result == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected clock skew result for epoch-0 node")
+	r := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("DEFNODE")
+	if r == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected result")
 	}
-	if result.Severity != SkewNoClock {
-		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want no_clock", result.Severity)
+	if r.Severity != SkewDefault {
+		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want default", r.Severity)
 	}
-	if result.DriftPerDaySec != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want 0 for no_clock node", result.DriftPerDaySec)
+	if r.DefaultEpoch == nil || *r.DefaultEpoch != 1715770351 {
+		t.Errorf("defaultEpoch = %v, want 1715770351", r.DefaultEpoch)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetNodeClockSkew_WrongNode(t *testing.T) {
+	// Node with advert_ts far from any default and large skew → wrong.
+	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)
+	pt := 4
+
+	now := int64(1900000000) // 2030, outside default ranges
+	advTS := now + 86400     // 1 day ahead
+	tx := &StoreTx{
+		Hash:        "wrong-h1",
+		PayloadType: &pt,
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(advTS) + `}}`,
+		Observations: []*StoreObs{
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(now, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+		},
+	}
+
+	ps.mu.Lock()
+	ps.byNode["WRONGNODE"] = []*StoreTx{tx}
+	ps.byPayloadType[4] = []*StoreTx{tx}
+	ps.clockSkew.computeInterval = 0
+	ps.mu.Unlock()
+
+	r := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("WRONGNODE")
+	if r == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected result")
+	}
+	if r.Severity != SkewWrong {
+		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want wrong", r.Severity)
 	}
 }

 func TestGetNodeClockSkew_TooFewSamplesForDrift(t *testing.T) {
-	// Node with only 2 advert samples → drift should not be computed.
 	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)
 	pt := 4

-	baseObs := int64(1700000000)
+	now := int64(1900000000) // 2030, outside default ranges
 	var txs []*StoreTx
 	for i := 0; i < 2; i++ {
-		obsTS := baseObs + int64(i)*7200
-		advTS := obsTS + 120 // 120s ahead
+		obsTS := now + int64(i)*7200
+		advTS := obsTS + 10
 		tx := &StoreTx{
 			Hash:        "few-h" + string(rune('0'+i)),
 			PayloadType: &pt,
@@ -449,98 +606,69 @@ func TestGetNodeClockSkew_TooFewSamplesForDrift(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("expected clock skew result")
 	}
 	if result.DriftPerDaySec != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want 0 for 2-sample node (minimum is %d)", result.DriftPerDaySec, minDriftSamples)
+		t.Errorf("drift = %v, want 0 for 2-sample node", result.DriftPerDaySec)
 	}
 }

-func TestGetNodeClockSkew_AbsurdDriftCapped(t *testing.T) {
-	// Node with wildly varying skew producing |drift| > 86400 s/day → drift capped to 0.
+func TestGetNodeClockSkew_EpochZeroAdvert(t *testing.T) {
+	// An advert with timestamp == 0 (epoch-0 firmware boot) should classify
+	// as "default" with DefaultEpoch == 0.
 	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)
 	pt := 4

-	// Create 6 samples with extreme skew variation to produce absurd drift.
-	baseObs := int64(1700000000)
-	var txs []*StoreTx
-	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
-		obsTS := baseObs + int64(i)*3600
-		// Alternate between huge positive and negative skew offsets
-		skewOffset := int64(50000 * (1 - 2*(i%2))) // +50000 or -50000
-		advTS := obsTS + skewOffset
-		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash:        "wild-h" + string(rune('0'+i)),
-			PayloadType: &pt,
-			DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(advTS) + `}}`,
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(obsTS, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
-			},
-		}
-		txs = append(txs, tx)
+	now := time.Now().Unix()
+	tx := &StoreTx{
+		Hash:        "epoch0-h1",
+		PayloadType: &pt,
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":0}}`,
+		Observations: []*StoreObs{
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(now, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+		},
 	}

 	ps.mu.Lock()
-	ps.byNode["WILD"] = txs
-	for _, tx := range txs {
-		ps.byPayloadType[4] = append(ps.byPayloadType[4], tx)
-	}
+	ps.byNode["EPOCH0"] = []*StoreTx{tx}
+	ps.byPayloadType[4] = []*StoreTx{tx}
 	ps.clockSkew.computeInterval = 0
 	ps.mu.Unlock()

-	result := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("WILD")
-	if result == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected clock skew result")
+	r := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("EPOCH0")
+	if r == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected result for epoch-0 node")
 	}
-	if math.Abs(result.DriftPerDaySec) > maxReasonableDriftPerDay {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, should be capped (|drift| > %v)", result.DriftPerDaySec, maxReasonableDriftPerDay)
+	if r.Severity != SkewDefault {
+		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want default", r.Severity)
+	}
+	if r.DefaultEpoch == nil || *r.DefaultEpoch != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("defaultEpoch = %v, want &0", r.DefaultEpoch)
 	}
 }

-func TestGetNodeClockSkew_NormalNodeWithDrift(t *testing.T) {
-	// Normal node with 6 samples and consistent linear drift → drift computed correctly.
+func TestGetNodeClockSkew_MissingTimestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	// An advert with NO timestamp field should be skipped entirely —
+	// extractTimestamp returns timestampMissing (-1), collectSamples
+	// filters it out, so GetNodeClockSkew returns nil.
 	ps := NewPacketStore(nil, nil)
 	pt := 4

-	baseObs := int64(1700000000)
-	var txs []*StoreTx
-	for i := 0; i < 6; i++ {
-		obsTS := baseObs + int64(i)*7200 // every 2 hours
-		// Drift: 1 sec/hour = 24 sec/day
-		advTS := obsTS + 120 + int64(i) // skew grows by 1s per sample (2h apart)
-		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash:        "norm-h" + string(rune('0'+i)),
-			PayloadType: &pt,
-			DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"timestamp":` + formatInt64(advTS) + `}}`,
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(obsTS, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
-			},
-		}
-		txs = append(txs, tx)
+	now := time.Now().Unix()
+	tx := &StoreTx{
+		Hash:        "nots-h1",
+		PayloadType: &pt,
+		DecodedJSON: `{"payload":{"name":"test-node"}}`,
+		Observations: []*StoreObs{
+			{ObserverID: "obs1", Timestamp: time.Unix(now, 0).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)},
+		},
 	}

 	ps.mu.Lock()
-	ps.byNode["NORMAL"] = txs
-	for _, tx := range txs {
-		ps.byPayloadType[4] = append(ps.byPayloadType[4], tx)
-	}
+	ps.byNode["NOTS"] = []*StoreTx{tx}
+	ps.byPayloadType[4] = []*StoreTx{tx}
 	ps.clockSkew.computeInterval = 0
 	ps.mu.Unlock()

-	result := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("NORMAL")
-	if result == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected clock skew result")
-	}
-	if result.Severity != SkewOK {
-		t.Errorf("severity = %v, want ok", result.Severity)
-	}
-	// 1s per 7200s = 12 s/day
-	if result.DriftPerDaySec == 0 {
-		t.Error("expected non-zero drift for linearly drifting node")
-	}
-	if math.Abs(result.DriftPerDaySec) > maxReasonableDriftPerDay {
-		t.Errorf("drift = %v, should be reasonable", result.DriftPerDaySec)
+	r := ps.GetNodeClockSkew("NOTS")
+	if r != nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected nil for node with missing timestamp, got severity=%v", r.Severity)
 	}
 }
-
-// formatInt64 is a test helper to format int64 as string for JSON embedding.
-func formatInt64(n int64) string {
-	return fmt.Sprintf("%d", n)
-}
@@ -115,7 +115,8 @@ type NeighborGraphConfig struct {
 // PacketStoreConfig controls in-memory packet store limits.
 type PacketStoreConfig struct {
 	RetentionHours float64 `json:"retentionHours"` // max age of packets in hours (0 = unlimited)
-	MaxMemoryMB    int     `json:"maxMemoryMB"`     // hard memory ceiling in MB (0 = unlimited)
+	MaxMemoryMB                    int `json:"maxMemoryMB"`                    // hard memory ceiling in MB (0 = unlimited)
+	MaxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries  int `json:"maxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries"`  // warning threshold for index size (0 = 5M default)
 }

 // GeoFilterConfig is an alias for the shared geofilter.Config type.
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func setupTestDBv2(t *testing.T) *DB {
 			id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
 			transmission_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES transmissions(id),
 			observer_id TEXT, observer_name TEXT, direction TEXT,
-			snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER, path_json TEXT, timestamp INTEGER NOT NULL
+			snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER, path_json TEXT, timestamp INTEGER NOT NULL, raw_hex TEXT
 		);
 	`
 	if _, err := conn.Exec(schema); err != nil {
@@ -585,12 +585,15 @@ func TestHandlePacketsMultiNodeWithStore(t *testing.T) {
 func TestHandlePacketDetailNoStore(t *testing.T) {
 	_, router := setupNoStoreServer(t)

+	// With no in-memory store, handlePacketDetail now falls back to the DB
+	// (#827). The seeded transmissions are present in the DB, so by-hash and
+	// by-ID lookups succeed; only truly absent IDs return 404.
 	t.Run("by hash", func(t *testing.T) {
 		req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets/abc123def4567890", nil)
 		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
 		router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
-		if w.Code != 404 {
-			t.Fatalf("expected 404 (no store), got %d: %s", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+		if w.Code != 200 {
+			t.Fatalf("expected 200 (DB fallback), got %d: %s", w.Code, w.Body.String())
 		}
 	})

@@ -598,8 +601,8 @@ func TestHandlePacketDetailNoStore(t *testing.T) {
 		req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets/1", nil)
 		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
 		router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
-		if w.Code != 404 {
-			t.Fatalf("expected 404 (no store), got %d: %s", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+		if w.Code != 200 {
+			t.Fatalf("expected 200 (DB fallback), got %d: %s", w.Code, w.Body.String())
 		}
 	})

@@ -4316,88 +4319,48 @@ func TestIndexByNodePreCheck(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }

-// TestIndexByNodeResolvedPath tests that resolved_path entries are indexed in byNode.
+// TestIndexByNodeResolvedPath tests that indexByNode only indexes decoded JSON pubkeys.
+// After #800, resolved_path entries are handled via the decode-window, not indexByNode.
 func TestIndexByNodeResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
 	store := &PacketStore{
 		byNode:     make(map[string][]*StoreTx),
 		nodeHashes: make(map[string]map[string]bool),
 	}

-	t.Run("indexes resolved path pubkeys from observations", func(t *testing.T) {
-		relayPK := "aabb1122334455ff"
+	t.Run("decoded JSON pubkeys still indexed", func(t *testing.T) {
+		pk := "aabb1122334455ff"
 		tx := &StoreTx{
 			Hash:        "rp1",
-			DecodedJSON: `{"type":"CHAN","text":"hello"}`, // no pubKey fields
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ResolvedPath: []*string{&relayPK}},
-			},
-		}
-		store.indexByNode(tx)
-		if len(store.byNode[relayPK]) != 1 {
-			t.Errorf("expected relay pubkey indexed, got %d", len(store.byNode[relayPK]))
-		}
-	})
-
-	t.Run("skips null entries in resolved path", func(t *testing.T) {
-		pk := "cc11dd22ee33ff44"
-		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash: "rp2",
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ResolvedPath: []*string{nil, &pk, nil}},
-			},
+			DecodedJSON: `{"pubKey":"` + pk + `"}`,
 		}
 		store.indexByNode(tx)
 		if len(store.byNode[pk]) != 1 {
-			t.Errorf("expected resolved pubkey indexed, got %d", len(store.byNode[pk]))
-		}
-		// Verify nil entries didn't create empty-string keys
-		if _, exists := store.byNode[""]; exists {
-			t.Error("nil/empty resolved path entries should not create byNode entries")
+			t.Errorf("expected decoded pubkey indexed, got %d", len(store.byNode[pk]))
 		}
 	})

-	t.Run("relay-only node appears in byNode", func(t *testing.T) {
-		// A packet with no decoded pubkey fields, only a relay in resolved path
-		relayOnly := "relay0only0pubkey"
+	t.Run("resolved path pubkeys NOT indexed by indexByNode", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// After #800, indexByNode only handles decoded JSON fields.
+		// Resolved path pubkeys are handled by the decode-window.
 		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash: "rp3",
-			// No DecodedJSON at all — pure relay
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ResolvedPath: []*string{&relayOnly}},
-			},
+			Hash:        "rp2",
+			DecodedJSON: `{"type":"CHAN","text":"hello"}`, // no pubKey fields
 		}
 		store.indexByNode(tx)
-		if len(store.byNode[relayOnly]) != 1 {
-			t.Errorf("expected relay-only node indexed, got %d", len(store.byNode[relayOnly]))
-		}
+		// No new entries expected since there are no decoded pubkeys
 	})

-	t.Run("dedup between decoded JSON and resolved path", func(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("dedup within decoded JSON", func(t *testing.T) {
 		pk := "dedup0test0pk1234"
 		tx := &StoreTx{
 			Hash:        "rp4",
-			DecodedJSON: `{"pubKey":"` + pk + `"}`,
-			Observations: []*StoreObs{
-				{ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk}},
-			},
+			DecodedJSON: `{"pubKey":"` + pk + `","destPubKey":"` + pk + `"}`,
 		}
 		store.indexByNode(tx)
 		if len(store.byNode[pk]) != 1 {
 			t.Errorf("expected dedup to keep 1 entry, got %d", len(store.byNode[pk]))
 		}
 	})
-
-	t.Run("indexes tx.ResolvedPath when observations empty", func(t *testing.T) {
-		rpPK := "txlevel0resolved1"
-		tx := &StoreTx{
-			Hash:         "rp5",
-			ResolvedPath: []*string{&rpPK},
-		}
-		store.indexByNode(tx)
-		if len(store.byNode[rpPK]) != 1 {
-			t.Errorf("expected tx-level resolved path indexed, got %d", len(store.byNode[rpPK]))
-		}
-	})
 }

 // BenchmarkIndexByNode measures indexByNode performance with and without pubkey
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ type DB struct {
 	path             string // filesystem path to the database file
 	isV3             bool   // v3 schema: observer_idx in observations (vs observer_id in v2)
 	hasResolvedPath  bool   // observations table has resolved_path column
+	hasObsRawHex     bool   // observations table has raw_hex column (#881)

 	// Channel list cache (60s TTL) — avoids repeated GROUP BY scans (#762)
 	channelsCacheMu  sync.Mutex
@@ -76,6 +77,9 @@ func (db *DB) detectSchema() {
 			if colName == "resolved_path" {
 				db.hasResolvedPath = true
 			}
+			if colName == "raw_hex" {
+				db.hasObsRawHex = true
+			}
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -384,6 +388,7 @@ type PacketQuery struct {
 	Until    string
 	Region   string
 	Node     string
+	Channel  string // channel_hash filter (#812). Plain names like "#test"/"public" or "enc_<HEX>" for encrypted
 	Order               string // ASC or DESC
 	ExpandObservations  bool   // when true, include observation sub-maps in txToMap output
 }
@@ -620,6 +625,11 @@ func (db *DB) buildTransmissionWhere(q PacketQuery) ([]string, []interface{}) {
 		where = append(where, "t.decoded_json LIKE ?")
 		args = append(args, "%"+pk+"%")
 	}
+	if q.Channel != "" {
+		// channel_hash column is indexed for payload_type = 5; filter is exact match.
+		where = append(where, "t.channel_hash = ?")
+		args = append(args, q.Channel)
+	}
 	if q.Observer != "" {
 		ids := strings.Split(q.Observer, ",")
 		placeholders := strings.Repeat("?,", len(ids))
@@ -686,6 +696,20 @@ func (db *DB) GetPacketByHash(hash string) (map[string]interface{}, error) {
 	return nil, nil
 }

+// GetObservationsForHash returns all observations for the transmission with
+// the given content hash. Used as a fallback by the packet-detail handler
+// when the in-memory PacketStore has pruned the entry but the DB still has it.
+func (db *DB) GetObservationsForHash(hash string) []map[string]interface{} {
+	var txID int
+	err := db.conn.QueryRow("SELECT id FROM transmissions WHERE hash = ?",
+		strings.ToLower(hash)).Scan(&txID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	obsByTx := db.getObservationsForTransmissions([]int{txID})
+	return obsByTx[txID]
+}
+

 // GetNodes returns filtered, paginated node list.
 func (db *DB) GetNodes(limit, offset int, role, search, before, lastHeard, sortBy, region string) ([]map[string]interface{}, int, map[string]int, error) {
@@ -74,7 +74,8 @@ func setupTestDB(t *testing.T) *DB {
 			score INTEGER,
 			path_json TEXT,
 			timestamp INTEGER NOT NULL,
-			resolved_path TEXT
+			resolved_path TEXT,
+			raw_hex TEXT
 		);

 		CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS observer_metrics (
@@ -1134,7 +1135,8 @@ func setupTestDBV2(t *testing.T) *DB {
 			rssi REAL,
 			score INTEGER,
 			path_json TEXT,
-			timestamp INTEGER NOT NULL
+			timestamp INTEGER NOT NULL,
+			raw_hex TEXT
 		);
 	`
 	if _, err := conn.Exec(schema); err != nil {
@@ -1975,3 +1977,59 @@ func TestParseWindowDuration(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestPerObservationRawHexEnrich verifies enrichObs returns per-observation raw_hex
+// when available, falling back to transmission raw_hex when NULL (#881).
+func TestPerObservationRawHexEnrich(t *testing.T) {
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	// Insert observers
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name) VALUES ('obs-a', 'Observer A')`)
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name) VALUES ('obs-b', 'Observer B')`)
+
+	var rowA, rowB int64
+	db.conn.QueryRow(`SELECT rowid FROM observers WHERE id='obs-a'`).Scan(&rowA)
+	db.conn.QueryRow(`SELECT rowid FROM observers WHERE id='obs-b'`).Scan(&rowB)
+
+	// Insert transmission with raw_hex
+	txHex := "deadbeef"
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO transmissions (raw_hex, hash, first_seen) VALUES (?, 'hash1', '2026-04-21T10:00:00Z')`, txHex)
+
+	// Insert two observations: A has its own raw_hex, B has NULL (historical)
+	obsAHex := "c0ffee01"
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, snr, rssi, path_json, timestamp, raw_hex)
+		VALUES (1, ?, -5.0, -90.0, '[]', 1745236800, ?)`, rowA, obsAHex)
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, snr, rssi, path_json, timestamp)
+		VALUES (1, ?, -3.0, -85.0, '["aabb"]', 1745236801)`, rowB)
+
+	store := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	if err := store.Load(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("store load: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	tx := store.byHash["hash1"]
+	if tx == nil {
+		t.Fatal("transmission not loaded")
+	}
+	if len(tx.Observations) < 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 observations, got %d", len(tx.Observations))
+	}
+
+	// Check enriched observations
+	for _, obs := range tx.Observations {
+		m := store.enrichObs(obs)
+		rh, _ := m["raw_hex"].(string)
+		if obs.RawHex != "" {
+			// Observer A: should get per-observation raw_hex
+			if rh != obsAHex {
+				t.Errorf("obs with own raw_hex: got %q, want %q", rh, obsAHex)
+			}
+		} else {
+			// Observer B: should fall back to transmission raw_hex
+			if rh != txHex {
+				t.Errorf("obs without raw_hex: got %q, want %q (tx fallback)", rh, txHex)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"

+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/sigvalidate"
 )

@@ -164,8 +165,9 @@ func decodePath(pathByte byte, buf []byte, offset int) (Path, int) {
 	}, totalBytes
 }

+// isTransportRoute delegates to packetpath.IsTransportRoute.
 func isTransportRoute(routeType int) bool {
-	return routeType == RouteTransportFlood || routeType == RouteTransportDirect
+	return packetpath.IsTransportRoute(routeType)
 }

 func decodeEncryptedPayload(typeName string, buf []byte) Payload {
@@ -441,106 +443,6 @@ func DecodePacket(hexString string, validateSignatures bool) (*DecodedPacket, er
 	}, nil
 }

-// HexRange represents a labeled byte range for the hex breakdown visualization.
-type HexRange struct {
-	Start int    `json:"start"`
-	End   int    `json:"end"`
-	Label string `json:"label"`
-}
-
-// Breakdown holds colored byte ranges returned by the packet detail endpoint.
-type Breakdown struct {
-	Ranges []HexRange `json:"ranges"`
-}
-
-// BuildBreakdown computes labeled byte ranges for each section of a MeshCore packet.
-// The returned ranges are consumed by createColoredHexDump() and buildHexLegend()
-// in the frontend (public/app.js).
-func BuildBreakdown(hexString string) *Breakdown {
-	hexString = strings.ReplaceAll(hexString, " ", "")
-	hexString = strings.ReplaceAll(hexString, "\n", "")
-	hexString = strings.ReplaceAll(hexString, "\r", "")
-	buf, err := hex.DecodeString(hexString)
-	if err != nil || len(buf) < 2 {
-		return &Breakdown{Ranges: []HexRange{}}
-	}
-
-	var ranges []HexRange
-	offset := 0
-
-	// Byte 0: Header
-	ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: 0, End: 0, Label: "Header"})
-	offset = 1
-
-	header := decodeHeader(buf[0])
-
-	// Bytes 1-4: Transport Codes (TRANSPORT_FLOOD / TRANSPORT_DIRECT only)
-	if isTransportRoute(header.RouteType) {
-		if len(buf) < offset+4 {
-			return &Breakdown{Ranges: ranges}
-		}
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: offset, End: offset + 3, Label: "Transport Codes"})
-		offset += 4
-	}
-
-	if offset >= len(buf) {
-		return &Breakdown{Ranges: ranges}
-	}
-
-	// Next byte: Path Length (bits 7-6 = hashSize-1, bits 5-0 = hashCount)
-	ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: offset, End: offset, Label: "Path Length"})
-	pathByte := buf[offset]
-	offset++
-
-	hashSize := int(pathByte>>6) + 1
-	hashCount := int(pathByte & 0x3F)
-	pathBytes := hashSize * hashCount
-
-	// Path hops
-	if hashCount > 0 && offset+pathBytes <= len(buf) {
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: offset, End: offset + pathBytes - 1, Label: "Path"})
-	}
-	offset += pathBytes
-
-	if offset >= len(buf) {
-		return &Breakdown{Ranges: ranges}
-	}
-
-	payloadStart := offset
-
-	// Payload — break ADVERT into named sub-fields; everything else is one Payload range
-	if header.PayloadType == PayloadADVERT && len(buf)-payloadStart >= 100 {
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: payloadStart, End: payloadStart + 31, Label: "PubKey"})
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: payloadStart + 32, End: payloadStart + 35, Label: "Timestamp"})
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: payloadStart + 36, End: payloadStart + 99, Label: "Signature"})
-
-		appStart := payloadStart + 100
-		if appStart < len(buf) {
-			ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: appStart, End: appStart, Label: "Flags"})
-			appFlags := buf[appStart]
-			fOff := appStart + 1
-			if appFlags&0x10 != 0 && fOff+8 <= len(buf) {
-				ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: fOff, End: fOff + 3, Label: "Latitude"})
-				ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: fOff + 4, End: fOff + 7, Label: "Longitude"})
-				fOff += 8
-			}
-			if appFlags&0x20 != 0 && fOff+2 <= len(buf) {
-				fOff += 2
-			}
-			if appFlags&0x40 != 0 && fOff+2 <= len(buf) {
-				fOff += 2
-			}
-			if appFlags&0x80 != 0 && fOff < len(buf) {
-				ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: fOff, End: len(buf) - 1, Label: "Name"})
-			}
-		}
-	} else {
-		ranges = append(ranges, HexRange{Start: payloadStart, End: len(buf) - 1, Label: "Payload"})
-	}
-
-	return &Breakdown{Ranges: ranges}
-}
-
 // ComputeContentHash computes the SHA-256-based content hash (first 16 hex chars).
 // It hashes the payload-type nibble + payload (skipping path bytes) to produce a
 // route-independent identifier for the same logical packet. For TRACE packets,
@@ -97,146 +97,6 @@ func TestDecodePacket_FloodHasNoCodes(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }

-func TestBuildBreakdown_InvalidHex(t *testing.T) {
-	b := BuildBreakdown("not-hex!")
-	if len(b.Ranges) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("expected empty ranges for invalid hex, got %d", len(b.Ranges))
-	}
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_TooShort(t *testing.T) {
-	b := BuildBreakdown("11") // 1 byte — no path byte
-	if len(b.Ranges) != 0 {
-		t.Errorf("expected empty ranges for too-short packet, got %d", len(b.Ranges))
-	}
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_FloodNonAdvert(t *testing.T) {
-	// Header 0x15: route=1/FLOOD, payload=5/GRP_TXT
-	// PathByte 0x01: 1 hop, 1-byte hash
-	// PathHop: AA
-	// Payload: FF0011
-	b := BuildBreakdown("1501AAFFFF00")
-	labels := rangeLabels(b.Ranges)
-	expect := []string{"Header", "Path Length", "Path", "Payload"}
-	if !equalLabels(labels, expect) {
-		t.Errorf("expected labels %v, got %v", expect, labels)
-	}
-	// Verify byte positions
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Header", 0, 0)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path Length", 1, 1)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path", 2, 2)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Payload", 3, 5)
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_TransportFlood(t *testing.T) {
-	// Header 0x14: route=0/TRANSPORT_FLOOD, payload=5/GRP_TXT
-	// TransportCodes: AABBCCDD (4 bytes)
-	// PathByte 0x01: 1 hop, 1-byte hash
-	// PathHop: EE
-	// Payload: FF00
-	b := BuildBreakdown("14AABBCCDD01EEFF00")
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Header", 0, 0)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Transport Codes", 1, 4)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path Length", 5, 5)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path", 6, 6)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Payload", 7, 8)
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_FloodNoHops(t *testing.T) {
-	// Header 0x15: FLOOD/GRP_TXT; PathByte 0x00: 0 hops; Payload: AABB
-	b := BuildBreakdown("150000AABB")
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Header", 0, 0)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path Length", 1, 1)
-	// No Path range since hashCount=0
-	for _, r := range b.Ranges {
-		if r.Label == "Path" {
-			t.Error("expected no Path range for zero-hop packet")
-		}
-	}
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Payload", 2, 4)
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_AdvertBasic(t *testing.T) {
-	// Header 0x11: FLOOD/ADVERT
-	// PathByte 0x01: 1 hop, 1-byte hash
-	// PathHop: AA
-	// Payload: 100 bytes (PubKey32 + Timestamp4 + Signature64) + Flags=0x02 (repeater, no extras)
-	pubkey := repeatHex("AB", 32)
-	ts := "00000000" // 4 bytes
-	sig := repeatHex("CD", 64)
-	flags := "02"
-	hex := "1101AA" + pubkey + ts + sig + flags
-	b := BuildBreakdown(hex)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Header", 0, 0)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path Length", 1, 1)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Path", 2, 2)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "PubKey", 3, 34)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Timestamp", 35, 38)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Signature", 39, 102)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Flags", 103, 103)
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_AdvertWithLocation(t *testing.T) {
-	// flags=0x12: hasLocation bit set
-	pubkey := repeatHex("00", 32)
-	ts := "00000000"
-	sig := repeatHex("00", 64)
-	flags := "12" // 0x10 = hasLocation
-	latBytes := "00000000"
-	lonBytes := "00000000"
-	hex := "1101AA" + pubkey + ts + sig + flags + latBytes + lonBytes
-	b := BuildBreakdown(hex)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Latitude", 104, 107)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Longitude", 108, 111)
-}
-
-func TestBuildBreakdown_AdvertWithName(t *testing.T) {
-	// flags=0x82: hasName bit set
-	pubkey := repeatHex("00", 32)
-	ts := "00000000"
-	sig := repeatHex("00", 64)
-	flags := "82" // 0x80 = hasName
-	name := "4E6F6465" // "Node" in hex
-	hex := "1101AA" + pubkey + ts + sig + flags + name
-	b := BuildBreakdown(hex)
-	assertRange(t, b.Ranges, "Name", 104, 107)
-}
-
-// helpers
-
-func rangeLabels(ranges []HexRange) []string {
-	out := make([]string, len(ranges))
-	for i, r := range ranges {
-		out[i] = r.Label
-	}
-	return out
-}
-
-func equalLabels(a, b []string) bool {
-	if len(a) != len(b) {
-		return false
-	}
-	for i := range a {
-		if a[i] != b[i] {
-			return false
-		}
-	}
-	return true
-}
-
-func assertRange(t *testing.T, ranges []HexRange, label string, wantStart, wantEnd int) {
-	t.Helper()
-	for _, r := range ranges {
-		if r.Label == label {
-			if r.Start != wantStart || r.End != wantEnd {
-				t.Errorf("range %q: want [%d,%d], got [%d,%d]", label, wantStart, wantEnd, r.Start, r.End)
-			}
-			return
-		}
-	}
-	t.Errorf("range %q not found in %v", label, rangeLabels(ranges))
-}

 func TestZeroHopDirectHashSize(t *testing.T) {
 	// DIRECT (RouteType=2) + REQ (PayloadType=0) → header byte = 0x02
@@ -247,6 +247,11 @@ func TestEvictStale_CleansNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {

 func TestEvictStale_CleansResolvedPathNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {
 	now := time.Now().UTC()
+
+	// Create a temp DB for on-demand SQL fetch during eviction
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	defer db.Close()
+
 	store := &PacketStore{
 		packets:       make([]*StoreTx, 0),
 		byHash:        make(map[string]*StoreTx),
@@ -267,25 +272,33 @@ func TestEvictStale_CleansResolvedPathNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {
 		subpathCache:  make(map[string]*cachedResult),
 		rfCacheTTL:    15 * time.Second,
 		retentionHours: 24,
+		db:             db,
+		useResolvedPathIndex: true,
 	}
+	store.initResolvedPathIndex()

-	// Create a packet indexed only via resolved_path (no decoded JSON pubkeys)
+	// Create a packet indexed via resolved_path pubkeys
 	relayPK := "relay0001abcdef"
+	txID := 1
+	obsID := 100
 	tx := &StoreTx{
-		ID:        1,
+		ID:        txID,
 		Hash:      "hash_rp_001",
 		FirstSeen: now.Add(-48 * time.Hour).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339),
 	}
-	rpPtr := &relayPK
 	obs := &StoreObs{
-		ID:             100,
-		TransmissionID: 1,
+		ID:             obsID,
+		TransmissionID: txID,
 		ObserverID:     "obs0",
 		Timestamp:      tx.FirstSeen,
-		ResolvedPath:   []*string{rpPtr},
 	}
 	tx.Observations = append(tx.Observations, obs)
-	tx.ResolvedPath = []*string{rpPtr}
+
+	// Insert into DB so on-demand SQL fetch works during eviction
+	db.conn.Exec("INSERT INTO transmissions (id, raw_hex, hash, first_seen) VALUES (?, '', ?, ?)",
+		txID, tx.Hash, tx.FirstSeen)
+	db.conn.Exec("INSERT INTO observations (id, transmission_id, observer_idx, path_json, timestamp, resolved_path) VALUES (?, ?, 1, ?, ?, ?)",
+		obsID, txID, `["aa"]`, now.Add(-48*time.Hour).Unix(), `["`+relayPK+`"]`)

 	store.packets = append(store.packets, tx)
 	store.byHash[tx.Hash] = tx
@@ -293,8 +306,9 @@ func TestEvictStale_CleansResolvedPathNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {
 	store.byObsID[obs.ID] = obs
 	store.byObserver["obs0"] = append(store.byObserver["obs0"], obs)

-	// Index via resolved_path
-	store.indexByNode(tx)
+	// Index relay via decode-window simulation
+	store.addToByNode(tx, relayPK)
+	store.addToResolvedPubkeyIndex(txID, []string{relayPK})

 	// Verify indexed
 	if len(store.byNode[relayPK]) != 1 {
@@ -304,7 +318,7 @@ func TestEvictStale_CleansResolvedPathNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected nodeHashes[%s] to contain %s", relayPK, tx.Hash)
 	}

-	evicted := store.EvictStale()
+	evicted := store.RunEviction()
 	if evicted != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected 1 evicted, got %d", evicted)
 	}
@@ -316,6 +330,14 @@ func TestEvictStale_CleansResolvedPathNodeIndexes(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, exists := store.nodeHashes[relayPK]; exists {
 		t.Fatalf("expected nodeHashes[%s] to be deleted after eviction", relayPK)
 	}
+	// Verify resolved pubkey index is cleaned up
+	h := resolvedPubkeyHash(relayPK)
+	if len(store.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h]) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected resolvedPubkeyIndex to be empty after eviction")
+	}
+	if _, exists := store.resolvedPubkeyReverse[txID]; exists {
+		t.Fatalf("expected resolvedPubkeyReverse to be empty after eviction")
+	}
 }

 func TestEvictStale_RunEvictionThreadSafe(t *testing.T) {
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/geofilter => ../../internal/geofilter

 replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/sigvalidate => ../../internal/sigvalidate

+require github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath v0.0.0
+
+replace github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath => ../../internal/packetpath
+
 require (
 	github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1 // indirect
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0 // indirect
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	_ "modernc.org/sqlite"
+)
+
+const issue673NodePK = "7502f19f44cad6d7b626e1d811c00a914af452636182ccded3fd019803395ec9"
+
+// setupIssue673Store builds an in-memory store with one repeater node having:
+//   - one ADVERT packet (legitimately indexed in byNode)
+//   - one GRP_TXT packet whose decoded text contains the node's pubkey (false-positive candidate)
+func setupIssue673Store(t *testing.T) (*PacketStore, *DB) {
+	t.Helper()
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+
+	_, err := db.conn.Exec(
+		"INSERT INTO nodes (public_key, name, role) VALUES (?, ?, ?)",
+		issue673NodePK, "Quail Hollow Park", "repeater",
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	ps := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	now := time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+
+	pt4 := 4 // ADVERT
+	pt5 := 5 // GRP_TXT
+
+	advertDecoded, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{"pubKey": issue673NodePK})
+	advert := &StoreTx{
+		ID:          1,
+		Hash:        "advert_hash_673",
+		PayloadType: &pt4,
+		DecodedJSON: string(advertDecoded),
+		FirstSeen:   now,
+	}
+
+	otherPK := "aabbccddaabbccddaabbccddaabbccddaabbccddaabbccddaabbccddaabbccdd"
+	chatDecoded, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]interface{}{
+		"srcPubKey": otherPK,
+		"text":      "Check out node " + issue673NodePK + " on the analyzer",
+	})
+	chat := &StoreTx{
+		ID:          2,
+		Hash:        "chat_hash_673",
+		PayloadType: &pt5,
+		DecodedJSON: string(chatDecoded),
+		FirstSeen:   now,
+	}
+
+	ps.mu.Lock()
+	ps.packets = append(ps.packets, advert, chat)
+	ps.byHash[advert.Hash] = advert
+	ps.byHash[chat.Hash] = chat
+	ps.byTxID[advert.ID] = advert
+	ps.byTxID[chat.ID] = chat
+	ps.byNode[issue673NodePK] = []*StoreTx{advert}
+	ps.mu.Unlock()
+
+	return ps, db
+}
+
+// TestGetNodeAnalytics_ExcludesGRPTXTWithPubkeyInText verifies that a GRP_TXT packet
+// whose message text contains a node's pubkey is not counted in that node's analytics.
+func TestGetNodeAnalytics_ExcludesGRPTXTWithPubkeyInText(t *testing.T) {
+	ps, db := setupIssue673Store(t)
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	analytics, err := ps.GetNodeAnalytics(issue673NodePK, 30)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if analytics == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected analytics, got nil")
+	}
+
+	for _, ptc := range analytics.PacketTypeBreakdown {
+		if ptc.PayloadType == 5 {
+			t.Errorf("GRP_TXT (type 5) should not appear in analytics for repeater node, got count=%d", ptc.Count)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestFilterPackets_NodeQueryDoesNotMatchChatText verifies that the slow path of
+// filterPackets (node filter combined with Since) does not return a GRP_TXT packet
+// whose pubkey appears only in message text, not in a structured pubkey field.
+func TestFilterPackets_NodeQueryDoesNotMatchChatText(t *testing.T) {
+	ps, db := setupIssue673Store(t)
+	defer db.Close()
+
+	yesterday := time.Now().Add(-24 * time.Hour).UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	result := ps.QueryPackets(PacketQuery{Node: issue673NodePK, Since: yesterday, Limit: 50})
+
+	if result.Total != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 1 packet for node (ADVERT only), got %d", result.Total)
+	}
+	for _, pkt := range result.Packets {
+		if pkt["hash"] == "chat_hash_673" {
+			t.Errorf("GRP_TXT with pubkey in message text was incorrectly returned for node query")
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
+)
+
+// TestRepro810 reproduces #810: when the longest-path observation has NULL
+// resolved_path but a shorter-path observation has one, fetchResolvedPathForTxBest
+// returns nil → /api/nodes/{pk}/health.recentPackets[].resolved_path is missing
+// while /api/packets shows it.
+func TestRepro810(t *testing.T) {
+	db := setupTestDB(t)
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+	recent := now.Add(-1 * time.Hour).Format(time.RFC3339)
+	recentEpoch := now.Add(-1 * time.Hour).Unix()
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name, last_seen, first_seen, packet_count) VALUES ('obs1','O1',?, '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z', 100)`, recent)
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observers (id, name, last_seen, first_seen, packet_count) VALUES ('obs2','O2',?, '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z', 100)`, recent)
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO nodes (public_key, name, role, last_seen, first_seen, advert_count) VALUES ('aabbccdd11223344','R','repeater',?, '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z', 1)`, recent)
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO transmissions (raw_hex, hash, first_seen, route_type, payload_type, decoded_json) VALUES ('AABB','testhash00000001',?,1,4,'{"pubKey":"aabbccdd11223344","type":"ADVERT"}')`, recent)
+	// Longest-path obs WITHOUT resolved_path
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, snr, rssi, path_json, timestamp) VALUES (1,1,12.5,-90,'["aa","bb","cc"]',?)`, recentEpoch)
+	// Shorter-path obs WITH resolved_path
+	db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observations (transmission_id, observer_idx, snr, rssi, path_json, timestamp, resolved_path) VALUES (1,2,8.0,-95,'["aa","bb"]',?,'["aabbccdd11223344","eeff00112233aabb"]')`, recentEpoch-100)
+
+	cfg := &Config{Port: 3000}
+	hub := NewHub()
+	srv := NewServer(db, cfg, hub)
+	store := NewPacketStore(db, nil)
+	if err := store.Load(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	srv.store = store
+	router := mux.NewRouter()
+	srv.RegisterRoutes(router)
+
+	// Sanity: /api/packets should show resolved_path for this tx.
+	reqP := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets?limit=10", nil)
+	wP := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(wP, reqP)
+	var pktsBody map[string]interface{}
+	json.Unmarshal(wP.Body.Bytes(), &pktsBody)
+	pkts, _ := pktsBody["packets"].([]interface{})
+	hasOnPackets := false
+	for _, p := range pkts {
+		pm := p.(map[string]interface{})
+		if pm["hash"] == "testhash00000001" && pm["resolved_path"] != nil {
+			hasOnPackets = true
+		}
+	}
+	if !hasOnPackets {
+		t.Fatal("precondition: /api/packets must report resolved_path for tx")
+	}
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/nodes/aabbccdd11223344/health", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body)
+	rp, _ := body["recentPackets"].([]interface{})
+	if len(rp) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("no recentPackets")
+	}
+	for _, p := range rp {
+		pm := p.(map[string]interface{})
+		if pm["hash"] == "testhash00000001" {
+			if pm["resolved_path"] == nil {
+				t.Fatal("BUG #810: /health.recentPackets resolved_path is nil despite /api/packets reporting it")
+			}
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatal("tx not found in recentPackets")
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// MemorySnapshot is a point-in-time view of process memory across several
+// vantage points. Values are in MB (1024*1024 bytes), rounded to one decimal.
+//
+// Field invariants (typical, not guaranteed under exotic conditions):
+//
+//	processRSSMB  >=  goSysMB  >=  goHeapInuseMB  >=  storeDataMB
+//
+//   - processRSSMB is what the kernel charges the process (resident set).
+//     Read from /proc/self/status `VmRSS:` on Linux; falls back to goSysMB
+//     on other platforms or when /proc is unavailable.
+//   - goSysMB is the total memory obtained from the OS by the Go runtime
+//     (heap, stacks, GC metadata, mspans, mcache, etc.). Includes
+//     fragmentation and unused-but-mapped span overhead.
+//   - goHeapInuseMB is the live, in-use Go heap (HeapInuse). Excludes
+//     idle spans and runtime overhead.
+//   - storeDataMB is the in-store packet byte estimate (transmissions +
+//     observations). Subset of HeapInuse. Does not include index maps,
+//     analytics caches, broadcast queues, or runtime overhead. Used as
+//     the input to the eviction watermark.
+//
+// processRSSMB and storeDataMB are monotonic only relative to ingest +
+// eviction; both can shrink when packets age out. goHeapInuseMB and goSysMB
+// fluctuate with GC.
+//
+// cgoBytesMB intentionally absent: this build uses the pure-Go
+// modernc.org/sqlite driver, so there is no cgo allocator to measure.
+// Reintroduce only if we ever switch back to mattn/go-sqlite3.
+type MemorySnapshot struct {
+	ProcessRSSMB  float64 `json:"processRSSMB"`
+	GoHeapInuseMB float64 `json:"goHeapInuseMB"`
+	GoSysMB       float64 `json:"goSysMB"`
+	StoreDataMB   float64 `json:"storeDataMB"`
+}
+
+// rssCache rate-limits the /proc/self/status read. Go memory stats are
+// already cached by Server.getMemStats (5s TTL). We use a tighter 1s TTL
+// here so processRSSMB stays reasonably fresh during ops debugging
+// without paying the syscall cost on every /api/stats hit.
+var (
+	rssCacheMu       sync.Mutex
+	rssCacheValueMB  float64
+	rssCacheCachedAt time.Time
+)
+
+const rssCacheTTL = 1 * time.Second
+
+// getMemorySnapshot composes a MemorySnapshot using the Server's existing
+// runtime.MemStats cache (5s TTL, used by /api/health and /api/perf too)
+// plus a rate-limited /proc RSS read. storeDataMB is supplied by the
+// caller because the packet store is the source of truth.
+func (s *Server) getMemorySnapshot(storeDataMB float64) MemorySnapshot {
+	ms := s.getMemStats()
+
+	rssCacheMu.Lock()
+	if time.Since(rssCacheCachedAt) > rssCacheTTL {
+		rssCacheValueMB = readProcRSSMB()
+		rssCacheCachedAt = time.Now()
+	}
+	rssMB := rssCacheValueMB
+	rssCacheMu.Unlock()
+
+	if rssMB <= 0 {
+		// Fallback when /proc is unavailable (non-Linux, sandboxes, etc.).
+		// runtime.Sys is an upper bound on Go-attributable memory and a
+		// reasonable proxy for pure-Go builds.
+		rssMB = float64(ms.Sys) / 1048576.0
+	}
+
+	return MemorySnapshot{
+		ProcessRSSMB:  roundMB(rssMB),
+		GoHeapInuseMB: roundMB(float64(ms.HeapInuse) / 1048576.0),
+		GoSysMB:       roundMB(float64(ms.Sys) / 1048576.0),
+		StoreDataMB:   roundMB(storeDataMB),
+	}
+}
+
+// readProcRSSMB parses /proc/self/status for the VmRSS line. Returns 0 on
+// any failure (file missing, malformed line, parse error) — the caller
+// then uses a runtime fallback. Linux only; macOS/Windows return 0.
+//
+// Safety notes (djb): the file path is hard-coded, no untrusted input is
+// concatenated. We bound the read at 8 KiB (the whole status file is
+// well under 4 KiB on modern kernels) so a corrupt /proc can't OOM us.
+// We only parse digits with strconv; no shell, no exec, no format strings.
+func readProcRSSMB() float64 {
+	const maxStatusBytes = 8 * 1024
+	f, err := os.Open("/proc/self/status")
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	buf := make([]byte, maxStatusBytes)
+	n, err := f.Read(buf)
+	if err != nil && n == 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(buf[:n]), "\n") {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(line, "VmRSS:") {
+			continue
+		}
+		// Format: "VmRSS:\t   123456 kB"
+		fields := strings.Fields(line[len("VmRSS:"):])
+		if len(fields) < 2 {
+			return 0
+		}
+		kb, err := strconv.ParseFloat(fields[0], 64)
+		if err != nil || kb < 0 {
+			return 0
+		}
+		// Unit is kB per kernel convention; convert to MB.
+		return kb / 1024.0
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+func roundMB(v float64) float64 {
+	if v < 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+	return float64(int64(v*10+0.5)) / 10.0
+}
@@ -381,7 +381,13 @@ func backfillResolvedPathsAsync(store *PacketStore, dbPath string, chunkSize int
 			}
 		}
 		for _, obs := range tx.Observations {
-			if obs.ResolvedPath == nil && obs.PathJSON != "" && obs.PathJSON != "[]" {
+			// Check if this observation has been resolved: look up in the index.
+			// If the tx has no reverse-map entries AND path is non-empty, it needs backfill.
+			hasRP := false
+			if _, ok := store.resolvedPubkeyReverse[tx.ID]; ok {
+				hasRP = true
+			}
+			if !hasRP && obs.PathJSON != "" && obs.PathJSON != "[]" {
 				allPending = append(allPending, obsRef{
 					obsID:       obs.ID,
 					pathJSON:    obs.PathJSON,
@@ -482,24 +488,61 @@ func backfillResolvedPathsAsync(store *PacketStore, dbPath string, chunkSize int
 				}
 			}

-			// Update in-memory state and re-pick best observation under a single
-			// write lock. The per-tx pickBestObservation is O(observations) which is
-			// typically <10 per tx — negligible cost vs. the race risk of splitting
-			// the lock (pollAndMerge can append to tx.Observations concurrently).
+			// Update in-memory state: update resolved pubkey index, re-pick best observation,
+			// and invalidate LRU cache entries for backfilled observations (#800).
+			//
+			// Lock ordering: always take s.mu BEFORE lruMu. The read path
+			// (fetchResolvedPathForObs) takes lruMu independently of s.mu,
+			// so we must NOT hold s.mu while taking lruMu. Instead, collect
+			// obsIDs to invalidate under s.mu, release it, then take lruMu.
 			store.mu.Lock()
 			affectedSet := make(map[string]bool)
+			lruInvalidate := make([]int, 0, len(results))
 			for _, r := range results {
-				if obs, ok := store.byObsID[r.obsID]; ok {
-					obs.ResolvedPath = r.rp
-				}
+				// Remove old index entries for this tx, then re-add with new pubkeys
 				if !affectedSet[r.txHash] {
 					affectedSet[r.txHash] = true
 					if tx, ok := store.byHash[r.txHash]; ok {
-						pickBestObservation(tx)
+						store.removeFromResolvedPubkeyIndex(tx.ID)
 					}
 				}
+				// Add new resolved pubkeys to index
+				if tx, ok := store.byHash[r.txHash]; ok {
+					pks := extractResolvedPubkeys(r.rp)
+					store.addToResolvedPubkeyIndex(tx.ID, pks)
+					// Update byNode for relay nodes
+					for _, pk := range pks {
+						store.addToByNode(tx, pk)
+					}
+					// Update byPathHop resolved-key entries
+					hopsSeen := make(map[string]bool)
+					for _, hop := range txGetParsedPath(tx) {
+						hopsSeen[strings.ToLower(hop)] = true
+					}
+					for _, pk := range pks {
+						if !hopsSeen[pk] {
+							hopsSeen[pk] = true
+							store.byPathHop[pk] = append(store.byPathHop[pk], tx)
+						}
+					}
+				}
+				lruInvalidate = append(lruInvalidate, r.obsID)
+			}
+			// Re-pick best observation for affected transmissions
+			for txHash := range affectedSet {
+				if tx, ok := store.byHash[txHash]; ok {
+					pickBestObservation(tx)
+				}
 			}
 			store.mu.Unlock()
+
+			// Invalidate LRU entries AFTER releasing s.mu to maintain lock
+			// ordering (lruMu must never be taken while s.mu is held).
+			store.lruMu.Lock()
+			for _, obsID := range lruInvalidate {
+				store.lruDelete(obsID)
+			}
+			store.lruMu.Unlock()
 		}

 		totalProcessed += len(chunk)
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ func createTestDBWithSchema(t *testing.T) (*DB, string) {
 		observer_id TEXT, observer_name TEXT, direction TEXT,
 		snr REAL, rssi REAL, score INTEGER,
 		path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT,
-		resolved_path TEXT
+		resolved_path TEXT, raw_hex TEXT
 	)`)
 	conn.Exec(`CREATE TABLE nodes (
 		public_key TEXT PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, role TEXT,
@@ -203,14 +203,14 @@ func TestLoadNeighborEdgesFromDB(t *testing.T) {
 }

 func TestStoreObsResolvedPathInBroadcast(t *testing.T) {
-	// Verify resolved_path appears in broadcast maps
-	pk := "aabbccdd"
+	// After #800 refactor, resolved_path is no longer stored on StoreTx/StoreObs structs.
+	// Broadcast maps carry resolved_path from the decode-window, not from struct fields.
+	// This test verifies pickBestObservation no longer sets ResolvedPath on tx.
 	obs := &StoreObs{
 		ID:           1,
 		ObserverID:   "obs1",
 		ObserverName: "Observer 1",
 		PathJSON:     `["aa"]`,
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk},
 		Timestamp:    "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
 	}

@@ -221,32 +221,26 @@ func TestStoreObsResolvedPathInBroadcast(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 	pickBestObservation(tx)

-	if tx.ResolvedPath == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected ResolvedPath to be set on tx after pickBestObservation")
-	}
-	if *tx.ResolvedPath[0] != "aabbccdd" {
-		t.Errorf("expected resolved path to be aabbccdd, got %s", *tx.ResolvedPath[0])
+	// tx should NOT have a ResolvedPath field anymore (compile-time guard)
+	// Verify the best observation's fields are propagated correctly
+	if tx.ObserverID != "obs1" {
+		t.Errorf("expected ObserverID=obs1, got %s", tx.ObserverID)
 	}
 }

 func TestResolvedPathInTxToMap(t *testing.T) {
-	pk := "aabbccdd"
+	// After #800, txToMap no longer includes resolved_path from the struct.
+	// resolved_path is only available via on-demand SQL fetch (txToMapWithRP).
 	tx := &StoreTx{
-		ID:           1,
-		Hash:         "abc123",
-		PathJSON:     `["aa"]`,
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk},
-		obsKeys:      make(map[string]bool),
+		ID:       1,
+		Hash:     "abc123",
+		PathJSON: `["aa"]`,
+		obsKeys:  make(map[string]bool),
 	}

 	m := txToMap(tx)
-	rp, ok := m["resolved_path"]
-	if !ok {
-		t.Fatal("resolved_path not in txToMap output")
-	}
-	rpSlice, ok := rp.([]*string)
-	if !ok || len(rpSlice) != 1 || *rpSlice[0] != "aabbccdd" {
-		t.Errorf("unexpected resolved_path: %v", rp)
+	if _, ok := m["resolved_path"]; ok {
+		t.Error("resolved_path should not be in txToMap output (removed in #800)")
 	}
 }

@@ -270,7 +264,7 @@ func TestEnsureResolvedPathColumn(t *testing.T) {
 	conn, _ := sql.Open("sqlite", "file:"+dbPath+"?_journal_mode=WAL")
 	conn.Exec(`CREATE TABLE observations (
 		id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, transmission_id INTEGER,
-		observer_id TEXT, path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT
+		observer_id TEXT, path_json TEXT, timestamp TEXT, raw_hex TEXT
 	)`)
 	conn.Close()

@@ -365,27 +359,21 @@ func TestLoadWithResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("expected 1 observation, got %d", len(tx.Observations))
 	}

-	obs := tx.Observations[0]
-	if obs.ResolvedPath == nil {
-		t.Fatal("expected ResolvedPath to be loaded")
-	}
-	if len(obs.ResolvedPath) != 1 || *obs.ResolvedPath[0] != "aabbccdd" {
-		t.Errorf("unexpected ResolvedPath: %v", obs.ResolvedPath)
-	}
-
-	// Check that pickBestObservation propagated resolved_path to tx
-	if tx.ResolvedPath == nil || len(tx.ResolvedPath) != 1 {
-		t.Error("expected ResolvedPath to be propagated to tx")
+	// After #800, ResolvedPath is not stored on StoreObs struct.
+	// Instead, resolved pubkeys are in the membership index.
+	_ = tx.Observations[0] // obs exists
+	h := resolvedPubkeyHash("aabbccdd")
+	if len(store.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h]) != 1 {
+		t.Fatal("expected resolved pubkey to be indexed")
 	}
 }

 func TestResolvedPathInAPIResponse(t *testing.T) {
-	// Test that TransmissionResp properly marshals resolved_path
-	pk := "aabbccddee"
+	// After #800, TransmissionResp no longer has ResolvedPath field.
+	// resolved_path is included dynamically in map-based API responses.
 	resp := TransmissionResp{
-		ID:           1,
-		Hash:         "test",
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk, nil},
+		ID:   1,
+		Hash: "test",
 	}

 	data, err := json.Marshal(resp)
@@ -396,19 +384,9 @@ func TestResolvedPathInAPIResponse(t *testing.T) {
 	var m map[string]interface{}
 	json.Unmarshal(data, &m)

-	rp, ok := m["resolved_path"]
-	if !ok {
-		t.Fatal("resolved_path missing from JSON")
-	}
-	rpArr, ok := rp.([]interface{})
-	if !ok || len(rpArr) != 2 {
-		t.Fatalf("unexpected resolved_path shape: %v", rp)
-	}
-	if rpArr[0] != "aabbccddee" {
-		t.Errorf("first element wrong: %v", rpArr[0])
-	}
-	if rpArr[1] != nil {
-		t.Errorf("second element should be null: %v", rpArr[1])
+	// resolved_path should NOT be in the marshaled JSON
+	if _, ok := m["resolved_path"]; ok {
+		t.Error("resolved_path should not be in TransmissionResp JSON (#800)")
 	}
 }

@@ -0,0 +1,475 @@
+package main
+
+// Lock ordering contract (MUST be followed everywhere):
+//
+//   s.mu  →  s.lruMu   (s.mu is the outer lock, lruMu is the inner lock)
+//
+// • Never acquire s.lruMu while holding s.mu.
+// • fetchResolvedPathForObs takes lruMu independently — callers under s.mu
+//   must NOT call it directly; instead collect IDs under s.mu, release, then
+//   do LRU ops under lruMu separately.
+// • The backfill path (backfillResolvedPathsAsync) follows this by collecting
+//   obsIDs to invalidate under s.mu, releasing it, then taking lruMu.
+
+import (
+	"database/sql"
+	"hash/fnv"
+	"log"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// resolvedPubkeyHash computes a fast 64-bit hash for membership index keying.
+// Uses FNV-1a from stdlib — good distribution, no external dependency.
+func resolvedPubkeyHash(pk string) uint64 {
+	h := fnv.New64a()
+	h.Write([]byte(strings.ToLower(pk)))
+	return h.Sum64()
+}
+
+// addToResolvedPubkeyIndex adds a txID under each resolved pubkey hash.
+// Deduplicates both within a single call AND across calls — won't add the
+// same (hash, txID) pair twice even when called multiple times for the same tx.
+// Must be called under s.mu write lock.
+func (s *PacketStore) addToResolvedPubkeyIndex(txID int, resolvedPubkeys []string) {
+	if !s.useResolvedPathIndex {
+		return
+	}
+	seen := make(map[uint64]bool, len(resolvedPubkeys))
+	for _, pk := range resolvedPubkeys {
+		if pk == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		h := resolvedPubkeyHash(pk)
+		if seen[h] {
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[h] = true
+
+		// Cross-call dedup: check if (h, txID) already exists in forward index.
+		existing := s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h]
+		alreadyPresent := false
+		for _, id := range existing {
+			if id == txID {
+				alreadyPresent = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if alreadyPresent {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h] = append(existing, txID)
+		s.resolvedPubkeyReverse[txID] = append(s.resolvedPubkeyReverse[txID], h)
+	}
+}
+
+// removeFromResolvedPubkeyIndex removes all index entries for a txID using the reverse map.
+// Must be called under s.mu write lock.
+func (s *PacketStore) removeFromResolvedPubkeyIndex(txID int) {
+	if !s.useResolvedPathIndex {
+		return
+	}
+	hashes := s.resolvedPubkeyReverse[txID]
+	for _, h := range hashes {
+		list := s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h]
+		// Remove ALL occurrences of txID (not just the first) to prevent orphans.
+		filtered := list[:0]
+		for _, id := range list {
+			if id != txID {
+				filtered = append(filtered, id)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(filtered) == 0 {
+			delete(s.resolvedPubkeyIndex, h)
+		} else {
+			s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h] = filtered
+		}
+	}
+	delete(s.resolvedPubkeyReverse, txID)
+}
+
+// extractResolvedPubkeys extracts all non-nil, non-empty pubkeys from a resolved path.
+func extractResolvedPubkeys(rp []*string) []string {
+	if len(rp) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	result := make([]string, 0, len(rp))
+	for _, p := range rp {
+		if p != nil && *p != "" {
+			result = append(result, *p)
+		}
+	}
+	return result
+}
+
+// mergeResolvedPubkeys collects unique non-empty pubkeys from multiple resolved paths.
+func mergeResolvedPubkeys(paths ...[]*string) []string {
+	seen := make(map[string]bool)
+	var result []string
+	for _, rp := range paths {
+		for _, p := range rp {
+			if p != nil && *p != "" && !seen[*p] {
+				seen[*p] = true
+				result = append(result, *p)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return result
+}
+
+// nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex checks whether a transmission is associated with
+// a target pubkey using the membership index + collision-safety SQL check.
+// Must be called under s.mu RLock at minimum.
+func (s *PacketStore) nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex(tx *StoreTx, targetPK string) bool {
+	if !s.useResolvedPathIndex {
+		// Flag off: can't disambiguate, keep candidate (conservative)
+		return true
+	}
+
+	// If this tx has no indexed pubkeys at all, we can't disambiguate —
+	// keep the candidate (same as old behavior for NULL resolved_path).
+	if _, hasReverse := s.resolvedPubkeyReverse[tx.ID]; !hasReverse {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	h := resolvedPubkeyHash(targetPK)
+	txIDs := s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h]
+
+	// Check if this tx's ID is in the candidate list
+	for _, id := range txIDs {
+		if id == tx.ID {
+			// Found in index. Collision-safety: verify with SQL.
+			if s.db != nil && s.db.conn != nil {
+				return s.confirmResolvedPathContains(tx.ID, targetPK)
+			}
+			return true // no DB, trust the index
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
+
+// confirmResolvedPathContains verifies an exact pubkey match in resolved_path
+// via SQL. This is the collision-safety fallback for the membership index.
+func (s *PacketStore) confirmResolvedPathContains(txID int, pubkey string) bool {
+	if s.db == nil || s.db.conn == nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	// Use INSTR with surrounding quotes for exact match — avoids LIKE escape issues.
+	// resolved_path format: ["pubkey1","pubkey2",...]
+	needle := `"` + strings.ToLower(pubkey) + `"`
+	var count int
+	err := s.db.conn.QueryRow(
+		`SELECT COUNT(*) FROM observations WHERE transmission_id = ? AND INSTR(LOWER(resolved_path), ?) > 0`,
+		txID, needle,
+	).Scan(&count)
+	if err != nil {
+		return true // on error, keep the candidate
+	}
+	return count > 0
+}
+
+// fetchResolvedPathsForTx fetches resolved_path from SQLite for all observations
+// of a transmission. Used for on-demand API responses and eviction cleanup.
+func (s *PacketStore) fetchResolvedPathsForTx(txID int) map[int][]*string {
+	if s.db == nil || s.db.conn == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	rows, err := s.db.conn.Query(
+		`SELECT id, resolved_path FROM observations WHERE transmission_id = ? AND resolved_path IS NOT NULL`,
+		txID,
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	defer rows.Close()
+
+	result := make(map[int][]*string)
+	for rows.Next() {
+		var obsID int
+		var rpJSON sql.NullString
+		if err := rows.Scan(&obsID, &rpJSON); err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		if rpJSON.Valid && rpJSON.String != "" {
+			result[obsID] = unmarshalResolvedPath(rpJSON.String)
+		}
+	}
+	return result
+}
+
+// fetchResolvedPathForObs fetches resolved_path for a single observation,
+// using the LRU cache.
+func (s *PacketStore) fetchResolvedPathForObs(obsID int) []*string {
+	if s.db == nil || s.db.conn == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Check LRU cache first
+	s.lruMu.RLock()
+	if s.apiResolvedPathLRU != nil {
+		if entry, ok := s.apiResolvedPathLRU[obsID]; ok {
+			s.lruMu.RUnlock()
+			return entry
+		}
+	}
+	s.lruMu.RUnlock()
+
+	var rpJSON sql.NullString
+	err := s.db.conn.QueryRow(
+		`SELECT resolved_path FROM observations WHERE id = ?`, obsID,
+	).Scan(&rpJSON)
+	if err != nil || !rpJSON.Valid {
+		return nil
+	}
+	rp := unmarshalResolvedPath(rpJSON.String)
+
+	// Store in LRU
+	s.lruMu.Lock()
+	s.lruPut(obsID, rp)
+	s.lruMu.Unlock()
+
+	return rp
+}
+
+// fetchResolvedPathForTxBest returns the best observation's resolved_path for a tx.
+//
+// "Best" = the longest path_json among observations that actually have a stored
+// resolved_path. Earlier versions picked the longest-path obs unconditionally
+// and queried SQL for that single ID — if the longest-path obs had NULL
+// resolved_path while a shorter sibling had one, the call returned nil and
+// callers (e.g. /api/nodes/{pk}/health.recentPackets) lost the field. Fixes
+// #810 by checking all observations and falling back to the longest sibling
+// that has a stored path.
+func (s *PacketStore) fetchResolvedPathForTxBest(tx *StoreTx) []*string {
+	if tx == nil || len(tx.Observations) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	// Fast path: try the longest-path obs first via the LRU/SQL helper.
+	longest := tx.Observations[0]
+	longestLen := pathLen(longest.PathJSON)
+	for _, obs := range tx.Observations[1:] {
+		if l := pathLen(obs.PathJSON); l > longestLen {
+			longest = obs
+			longestLen = l
+		}
+	}
+	if rp := s.fetchResolvedPathForObs(longest.ID); rp != nil {
+		return rp
+	}
+	// Fallback: longest-path obs has no stored resolved_path. Query all
+	// observations for this tx and pick the one with the longest path_json
+	// that actually has a stored resolved_path.
+	rpMap := s.fetchResolvedPathsForTx(tx.ID)
+	if len(rpMap) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	var bestRP []*string
+	bestObsID := 0
+	bestLen := -1
+	for _, obs := range tx.Observations {
+		rp, ok := rpMap[obs.ID]
+		if !ok || rp == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		if l := pathLen(obs.PathJSON); l > bestLen {
+			bestLen = l
+			bestRP = rp
+			bestObsID = obs.ID
+		}
+	}
+	// Populate LRU so repeat lookups for this tx don't re-issue the multi-row
+	// SQL fallback (e.g. dashboard polling /api/nodes/{pk}/health).
+	if bestRP != nil && bestObsID != 0 {
+		s.lruMu.Lock()
+		s.lruPut(bestObsID, bestRP)
+		s.lruMu.Unlock()
+	}
+	return bestRP
+}
+
+// --- Simple LRU cache for resolved paths ---
+
+const lruMaxSize = 10000
+
+// lruPut adds an entry. Must be called under s.lruMu write lock.
+func (s *PacketStore) lruPut(obsID int, rp []*string) {
+	if s.apiResolvedPathLRU == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	if _, exists := s.apiResolvedPathLRU[obsID]; exists {
+		return
+	}
+	// Compact lruOrder if stale entries exceed 50% of capacity.
+	// This prevents effective capacity degradation after bulk deletions.
+	if len(s.lruOrder) >= lruMaxSize && len(s.apiResolvedPathLRU) < lruMaxSize/2 {
+		compacted := make([]int, 0, len(s.apiResolvedPathLRU))
+		for _, id := range s.lruOrder {
+			if _, ok := s.apiResolvedPathLRU[id]; ok {
+				compacted = append(compacted, id)
+			}
+		}
+		s.lruOrder = compacted
+	}
+	if len(s.lruOrder) >= lruMaxSize {
+		// Evict oldest, skipping stale entries
+		for len(s.lruOrder) > 0 {
+			evictID := s.lruOrder[0]
+			s.lruOrder = s.lruOrder[1:]
+			if _, ok := s.apiResolvedPathLRU[evictID]; ok {
+				delete(s.apiResolvedPathLRU, evictID)
+				break
+			}
+			// stale entry — skip and continue
+		}
+	}
+	s.apiResolvedPathLRU[obsID] = rp
+	s.lruOrder = append(s.lruOrder, obsID)
+}
+
+// lruDelete removes an entry. Must be called under s.lruMu write lock.
+func (s *PacketStore) lruDelete(obsID int) {
+	if s.apiResolvedPathLRU == nil {
+		return
+	}
+	delete(s.apiResolvedPathLRU, obsID)
+	// Don't scan lruOrder — eviction handles stale entries naturally.
+}
+
+// resolvedPubkeysForEvictionBatch fetches resolved pubkeys for multiple txIDs
+// from SQL in a single batched query. Returns a map from txID to unique pubkeys.
+// MUST be called WITHOUT holding s.mu — this is the whole point of the batch approach.
+// Chunks queries to stay under SQLite's 500-parameter limit.
+func (s *PacketStore) resolvedPubkeysForEvictionBatch(txIDs []int) map[int][]string {
+	result := make(map[int][]string, len(txIDs))
+	if len(txIDs) == 0 || s.db == nil || s.db.conn == nil {
+		return result
+	}
+
+	const chunkSize = 499 // SQLite SQLITE_MAX_VARIABLE_NUMBER default is 999; stay well under
+	for start := 0; start < len(txIDs); start += chunkSize {
+		end := start + chunkSize
+		if end > len(txIDs) {
+			end = len(txIDs)
+		}
+		chunk := txIDs[start:end]
+
+		// Build query with placeholders
+		placeholders := make([]byte, 0, len(chunk)*2)
+		args := make([]interface{}, len(chunk))
+		for i, id := range chunk {
+			if i > 0 {
+				placeholders = append(placeholders, ',')
+			}
+			placeholders = append(placeholders, '?')
+			args[i] = id
+		}
+
+		query := "SELECT transmission_id, resolved_path FROM observations WHERE transmission_id IN (" +
+			string(placeholders) + ") AND resolved_path IS NOT NULL"
+
+		rows, err := s.db.conn.Query(query, args...)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		for rows.Next() {
+			var txID int
+			var rpJSON sql.NullString
+			if err := rows.Scan(&txID, &rpJSON); err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			if !rpJSON.Valid || rpJSON.String == "" {
+				continue
+			}
+			rp := unmarshalResolvedPath(rpJSON.String)
+			for _, p := range rp {
+				if p != nil && *p != "" {
+					result[txID] = append(result[txID], *p)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		rows.Close()
+	}
+
+	// Deduplicate per-txID
+	for txID, pks := range result {
+		seen := make(map[string]bool, len(pks))
+		deduped := pks[:0]
+		for _, pk := range pks {
+			if !seen[pk] {
+				seen[pk] = true
+				deduped = append(deduped, pk)
+			}
+		}
+		result[txID] = deduped
+	}
+
+	return result
+}
+
+// initResolvedPathIndex initializes the resolved path index data structures.
+func (s *PacketStore) initResolvedPathIndex() {
+	s.resolvedPubkeyIndex = make(map[uint64][]int, 4096)
+	s.resolvedPubkeyReverse = make(map[int][]uint64, 4096)
+	s.apiResolvedPathLRU = make(map[int][]*string, lruMaxSize)
+	s.lruOrder = make([]int, 0, lruMaxSize)
+}
+
+// CompactResolvedPubkeyIndex reclaims memory from the resolved pubkey index maps
+// after eviction. It removes empty forward-index entries (shouldn't exist if
+// removeFromResolvedPubkeyIndex is correct, but defense in depth) and clips
+// oversized slice backing arrays where cap > 2*len.
+// Must be called under s.mu write lock.
+func (s *PacketStore) CompactResolvedPubkeyIndex() {
+	if !s.useResolvedPathIndex {
+		return
+	}
+	for h, ids := range s.resolvedPubkeyIndex {
+		if len(ids) == 0 {
+			delete(s.resolvedPubkeyIndex, h)
+			continue
+		}
+		// Clip oversized backing arrays: if cap > 2*len, reallocate.
+		if cap(ids) > 2*len(ids)+8 {
+			clipped := make([]int, len(ids))
+			copy(clipped, ids)
+			s.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h] = clipped
+		}
+	}
+	for txID, hashes := range s.resolvedPubkeyReverse {
+		if len(hashes) == 0 {
+			delete(s.resolvedPubkeyReverse, txID)
+			continue
+		}
+		if cap(hashes) > 2*len(hashes)+8 {
+			clipped := make([]uint64, len(hashes))
+			copy(clipped, hashes)
+			s.resolvedPubkeyReverse[txID] = clipped
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// defaultMaxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries is the default hard cap for the forward
+// index. When exceeded, a warning is logged. No auto-eviction — that's the
+// eviction ticker's job.
+const defaultMaxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries = 5_000_000
+
+// CheckResolvedPubkeyIndexSize logs a warning if the resolved pubkey forward
+// index exceeds the configured maximum entries. Must be called under s.mu
+// read lock at minimum.
+func (s *PacketStore) CheckResolvedPubkeyIndexSize() {
+	if !s.useResolvedPathIndex {
+		return
+	}
+	maxEntries := s.maxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries
+	if maxEntries <= 0 {
+		maxEntries = defaultMaxResolvedPubkeyIndexEntries
+	}
+	fwdLen := len(s.resolvedPubkeyIndex)
+	revLen := len(s.resolvedPubkeyReverse)
+	if fwdLen > maxEntries || revLen > maxEntries {
+		log.Printf("[store] WARNING: resolvedPubkeyIndex size exceeds limit — forward=%d reverse=%d limit=%d",
+			fwdLen, revLen, maxEntries)
+	}
+}
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ import (
 	"time"

 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
+	"github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath"
 )

 // Server holds shared state for route handlers.
@@ -569,6 +570,16 @@ func (s *Server) handleStats(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		backfillProgress = 1
 	}

+	// Memory accounting (#832). storeDataMB is the in-store packet byte
+	// estimate (the old "trackedMB"); processRSSMB / goHeapInuseMB / goSysMB
+	// give ops the breakdown needed to reason about real RSS. All values
+	// share a single 1s-cached snapshot to amortize ReadMemStats cost.
+	var storeDataMB float64
+	if s.store != nil {
+		storeDataMB = s.store.trackedMemoryMB()
+	}
+	mem := s.getMemorySnapshot(storeDataMB)
+
 	resp := &StatsResponse{
 		TotalPackets:       stats.TotalPackets,
 		TotalTransmissions: &stats.TotalTransmissions,
@@ -592,6 +603,12 @@ func (s *Server) handleStats(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		BackfillProgress:      backfillProgress,
 		SignatureDrops:        s.db.GetSignatureDropCount(),
 		HashMigrationComplete: s.store != nil && s.store.hashMigrationComplete.Load(),
+
+		TrackedMB:     mem.StoreDataMB, // deprecated alias
+		StoreDataMB:   mem.StoreDataMB,
+		ProcessRSSMB:  mem.ProcessRSSMB,
+		GoHeapInuseMB: mem.GoHeapInuseMB,
+		GoSysMB:       mem.GoSysMB,
 	}

 	s.statsMu.Lock()
@@ -774,6 +791,7 @@ func (s *Server) handlePackets(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		Until:    r.URL.Query().Get("until"),
 		Region:   r.URL.Query().Get("region"),
 		Node:     r.URL.Query().Get("node"),
+		Channel:  r.URL.Query().Get("channel"),
 		Order:              "DESC",
 		ExpandObservations: r.URL.Query().Get("expand") == "observations",
 	}
@@ -876,9 +894,11 @@ func (s *Server) handleBatchObservations(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 func (s *Server) handlePacketDetail(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	param := mux.Vars(r)["id"]
 	var packet map[string]interface{}
+	fromDB := false

+	isHash := hashPattern.MatchString(strings.ToLower(param))
 	if s.store != nil {
-		if hashPattern.MatchString(strings.ToLower(param)) {
+		if isHash {
 			packet = s.store.GetPacketByHash(param)
 		}
 		if packet == nil {
@@ -891,6 +911,25 @@ func (s *Server) handlePacketDetail(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			}
 		}
 	}
+	// DB fallback: in-memory PacketStore prunes old entries, but the SQLite
+	// DB retains them and is the source for /api/nodes recentAdverts. Without
+	// this fallback, links from node-detail pages 404 once the packet ages out.
+	if packet == nil && s.db != nil {
+		if isHash {
+			if dbPkt, err := s.db.GetPacketByHash(param); err == nil && dbPkt != nil {
+				packet = dbPkt
+				fromDB = true
+			}
+		}
+		if packet == nil {
+			if id, parseErr := strconv.Atoi(param); parseErr == nil {
+				if dbPkt, err := s.db.GetTransmissionByID(id); err == nil && dbPkt != nil {
+					packet = dbPkt
+					fromDB = true
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
 	if packet == nil {
 		writeError(w, 404, "Not found")
 		return
@@ -901,6 +940,9 @@ func (s *Server) handlePacketDetail(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if s.store != nil {
 		observations = s.store.GetObservationsForHash(hash)
 	}
+	if len(observations) == 0 && fromDB && s.db != nil && hash != "" {
+		observations = s.db.GetObservationsForHash(hash)
+	}
 	observationCount := len(observations)
 	if observationCount == 0 {
 		observationCount = 1
@@ -916,11 +958,9 @@ func (s *Server) handlePacketDetail(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		pathHops = []interface{}{}
 	}

-	rawHex, _ := packet["raw_hex"].(string)
 	writeJSON(w, PacketDetailResponse{
 		Packet:           packet,
 		Path:             pathHops,
-		Breakdown:        BuildBreakdown(rawHex),
 		ObservationCount: observationCount,
 		Observations:     mapSliceToObservations(observations),
 	})
@@ -979,8 +1019,17 @@ func (s *Server) handlePostPacket(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {

 	contentHash := ComputeContentHash(hexStr)
 	pathJSON := "[]"
-	if len(decoded.Path.Hops) > 0 {
-		if pj, e := json.Marshal(decoded.Path.Hops); e == nil {
+	// For TRACE packets, path_json must be the payload-decoded route hops
+	// (decoded.Path.Hops), NOT the raw_hex header bytes which are SNR values.
+	// For all other packet types, derive path from raw_hex (#886).
+	if !packetpath.PathBytesAreHops(byte(decoded.Header.PayloadType)) {
+		if len(decoded.Path.Hops) > 0 {
+			if pj, e := json.Marshal(decoded.Path.Hops); e == nil {
+				pathJSON = string(pj)
+			}
+		}
+	} else if hops, err := packetpath.DecodePathFromRawHex(hexStr); err == nil && len(hops) > 0 {
+		if pj, e := json.Marshal(hops); e == nil {
 			pathJSON = string(pj)
 		}
 	}
@@ -1233,14 +1282,52 @@ func (s *Server) handleNodePaths(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	// Post-filter: verify target node actually appears in each candidate's resolved_path.
 	// The byPathHop index uses short prefixes which can collide (e.g. "c0" matches multiple nodes).
 	// We lean on resolved_path (from neighbor affinity graph) to disambiguate.
-	filtered := candidates[:0] // reuse backing array
-	for _, tx := range candidates {
-		if nodeInResolvedPath(tx, lowerPK) {
-			filtered = append(filtered, tx)
+	//
+	// Collect candidate IDs and index membership under the read lock, then release
+	// the lock before running SQL queries (confirmResolvedPathContains does disk I/O).
+	type candidateCheck struct {
+		tx         *StoreTx
+		hasReverse bool
+		inIndex    bool
+	}
+	checks := make([]candidateCheck, len(candidates))
+	for i, tx := range candidates {
+		cc := candidateCheck{tx: tx}
+		if !s.store.useResolvedPathIndex {
+			cc.inIndex = true // flag off — keep all
+		} else if _, hasRev := s.store.resolvedPubkeyReverse[tx.ID]; !hasRev {
+			cc.inIndex = true // no indexed pubkeys — keep (conservative)
+		} else {
+			h := resolvedPubkeyHash(lowerPK)
+			for _, id := range s.store.resolvedPubkeyIndex[h] {
+				if id == tx.ID {
+					cc.hasReverse = true // needs SQL confirmation
+					break
+				}
+			}
+			// If not in index at all, it's a definite no
 		}
+		checks[i] = cc
+	}
+	s.store.mu.RUnlock()
+
+	// Now run SQL checks outside the lock for candidates that need confirmation.
+	filtered := candidates[:0]
+	for _, cc := range checks {
+		if cc.inIndex {
+			filtered = append(filtered, cc.tx)
+		} else if cc.hasReverse {
+			if s.store.confirmResolvedPathContains(cc.tx.ID, lowerPK) {
+				filtered = append(filtered, cc.tx)
+			}
+		}
+		// else: not in index → exclude
 	}
 	candidates = filtered

+	// Re-acquire read lock for the aggregation phase that reads store data.
+	s.store.mu.RLock()
+
 	type pathAgg struct {
 		Hops       []PathHopResp
 		Count      int
@@ -2287,9 +2374,6 @@ func mapSliceToTransmissions(maps []map[string]interface{}) []TransmissionResp {
 		tx.PathJSON = m["path_json"]
 		tx.Direction = m["direction"]
 		tx.Score = m["score"]
-		if rp, ok := m["resolved_path"].([]*string); ok {
-			tx.ResolvedPath = rp
-		}
 		result = append(result, tx)
 	}
 	return result
@@ -2310,10 +2394,10 @@ func mapSliceToObservations(maps []map[string]interface{}) []ObservationResp {
 		obs.SNR = m["snr"]
 		obs.RSSI = m["rssi"]
 		obs.PathJSON = m["path_json"]
+		obs.ResolvedPath = m["resolved_path"]
+		obs.Direction = m["direction"]
+		obs.RawHex = m["raw_hex"]
 		obs.Timestamp = m["timestamp"]
-		if rp, ok := m["resolved_path"].([]*string); ok {
-			obs.ResolvedPath = rp
-		}
 		result = append(result, obs)
 	}
 	return result
@@ -3681,67 +3681,55 @@ func TestNodePathsPrefixCollisionFilter(t *testing.T) {
 func TestNodeInResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
 	target := "aabbccdd11223344"

-	// Case 1: tx.ResolvedPath contains target
-	pk := "aabbccdd11223344"
-	tx1 := &StoreTx{ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk}}
-	if !nodeInResolvedPath(tx1, target) {
-		t.Error("should match when ResolvedPath contains target")
+	// After #800, nodeInResolvedPath is replaced by nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex
+	// which uses the membership index. Test the index-based approach.
+	store := &PacketStore{
+		byNode:               make(map[string][]*StoreTx),
+		nodeHashes:           make(map[string]map[string]bool),
+		useResolvedPathIndex: true,
+	}
+	store.initResolvedPathIndex()
+
+	// Case 1: tx indexed with target pubkey
+	tx1 := &StoreTx{ID: 1}
+	store.addToResolvedPubkeyIndex(1, []string{target})
+	if !store.nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex(tx1, target) {
+		t.Error("should match when index contains target")
 	}

-	// Case 2: tx.ResolvedPath contains different node
-	other := "aacafe0000000000"
-	tx2 := &StoreTx{ResolvedPath: []*string{&other}}
-	if nodeInResolvedPath(tx2, target) {
-		t.Error("should not match when ResolvedPath contains different node")
+	// Case 2: tx indexed with different pubkey
+	tx2 := &StoreTx{ID: 2}
+	store.addToResolvedPubkeyIndex(2, []string{"aacafe0000000000"})
+	if store.nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex(tx2, target) {
+		t.Error("should not match when index contains different node")
 	}

-	// Case 3: nil ResolvedPath — should match (no data to disambiguate, keep it)
-	tx3 := &StoreTx{}
-	if !nodeInResolvedPath(tx3, target) {
-		t.Error("should match when ResolvedPath is nil (no data to disambiguate)")
-	}
-
-	// Case 4: ResolvedPath with nil elements only — has data but no match
-	tx4 := &StoreTx{ResolvedPath: []*string{nil, nil}}
-	if nodeInResolvedPath(tx4, target) {
-		t.Error("should not match when all ResolvedPath elements are nil")
-	}
-
-	// Case 5: target in observation but not in tx.ResolvedPath
-	tx5 := &StoreTx{
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&other},
-		Observations: []*StoreObs{
-			{ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk}},
-		},
-	}
-	if !nodeInResolvedPath(tx5, target) {
-		t.Error("should match when observation's ResolvedPath contains target")
+	// Case 3: tx not in index at all — should match (no data to disambiguate)
+	tx3 := &StoreTx{ID: 3}
+	if !store.nodeInResolvedPathViaIndex(tx3, target) {
+		t.Error("should match when tx has no index entries (no data to disambiguate)")
 	}
 }

 func TestPathHopIndexIncrementalUpdate(t *testing.T) {
-	// Test that addTxToPathHopIndex and removeTxFromPathHopIndex work correctly
+	// After #800, addTxToPathHopIndex only indexes raw hops (not resolved pubkeys).
+	// Resolved pubkeys are handled by the resolved pubkey membership index.
 	idx := make(map[string][]*StoreTx)

-	pk1 := "fullpubkey1"
 	tx1 := &StoreTx{
 		ID:       1,
 		PathJSON: `["ab","cd"]`,
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk1, nil},
 	}

 	addTxToPathHopIndex(idx, tx1)

-	// Should be indexed under "ab", "cd", and "fullpubkey1"
+	// Should be indexed under "ab" and "cd" only (no resolved pubkey)
 	if len(idx["ab"]) != 1 {
 		t.Errorf("expected 1 entry for 'ab', got %d", len(idx["ab"]))
 	}
 	if len(idx["cd"]) != 1 {
 		t.Errorf("expected 1 entry for 'cd', got %d", len(idx["cd"]))
 	}
-	if len(idx["fullpubkey1"]) != 1 {
-		t.Errorf("expected 1 entry for resolved pubkey, got %d", len(idx["fullpubkey1"]))
-	}

 	// Add another tx with overlapping hop
 	tx2 := &StoreTx{
@@ -3766,9 +3754,6 @@ func TestPathHopIndexIncrementalUpdate(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, ok := idx["cd"]; ok {
 		t.Error("expected 'cd' key to be deleted after removal")
 	}
-	if _, ok := idx["fullpubkey1"]; ok {
-		t.Error("expected resolved pubkey key to be deleted after removal")
-	}
 }

 func TestMetricsAPIEndpoints(t *testing.T) {
@@ -3808,3 +3793,182 @@ func TestMetricsAPIEndpoints(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("expected 1 observer in summary, got %v", resp2["observers"])
 	}
 }
+
+// TestNodeHealth_RecentPackets_ResolvedPath verifies that recentPackets in the
+// node health endpoint include resolved_path (regression for Codex review item #2).
+func TestNodeHealth_RecentPackets_ResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/nodes/aabbccdd11223344/health", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("json decode: %v", err)
+	}
+	rp, ok := body["recentPackets"].([]interface{})
+	if !ok || len(rp) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("expected non-empty recentPackets")
+	}
+	// At least one packet should have resolved_path (tx 1 has observations with resolved_path)
+	found := false
+	for _, p := range rp {
+		pm, ok := p.(map[string]interface{})
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		if pm["resolved_path"] != nil {
+			found = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Error("expected at least one recentPacket with resolved_path")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPacketsExpand_ResolvedPath verifies that expandObservations=true includes
+// resolved_path on expanded observations (regression for Codex review item #3).
+func TestPacketsExpand_ResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets?expand=observations&limit=10", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("json decode: %v", err)
+	}
+	packets, ok := body["packets"].([]interface{})
+	if !ok || len(packets) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("expected non-empty packets")
+	}
+	// Find a packet with observations that should have resolved_path
+	found := false
+	for _, p := range packets {
+		pm, ok := p.(map[string]interface{})
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		obs, ok := pm["observations"].([]interface{})
+		if !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, o := range obs {
+			om, ok := o.(map[string]interface{})
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+			if om["resolved_path"] != nil {
+				found = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if found {
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Error("expected at least one expanded observation with resolved_path")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPacketDetailFallsBackToDBWhenStoreMisses verifies that handlePacketDetail
+// serves transmissions present in the DB but absent from the in-memory store.
+// This is the recentAdverts → "Not found" bug (#827).
+func TestPacketDetailFallsBackToDBWhenStoreMisses(t *testing.T) {
+	srv, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	// Insert a transmission directly into the DB AFTER store.Load(), so the
+	// in-memory PacketStore won't see it. Mirrors the production case where
+	// the store has pruned an entry but the DB still has it.
+	const dbOnlyHash = "deadbeef00112233"
+	now := time.Now().UTC().Format(time.RFC3339)
+	if _, err := srv.db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO transmissions
+		(raw_hex, hash, first_seen, route_type, payload_type, decoded_json)
+		VALUES ('FFEE', ?, ?, 1, 4, '{"type":"ADVERT"}')`, dbOnlyHash, now); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert: %v", err)
+	}
+	var txID int
+	if err := srv.db.conn.QueryRow("SELECT id FROM transmissions WHERE hash = ?", dbOnlyHash).Scan(&txID); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("lookup tx id: %v", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := srv.db.conn.Exec(`INSERT INTO observations
+		(transmission_id, observer_idx, snr, rssi, path_json, timestamp)
+		VALUES (?, 1, 7.5, -99, '[]', ?)`, txID, time.Now().Unix()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("insert obs: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Confirm the store really doesn't have it (precondition for the fix).
+	if got := srv.store.GetPacketByHash(dbOnlyHash); got != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("test precondition failed: store unexpectedly has %s", dbOnlyHash)
+	}
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets/"+dbOnlyHash, nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	pkt, ok := body["packet"].(map[string]interface{})
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal("expected packet object")
+	}
+	if pkt["hash"] != dbOnlyHash {
+		t.Errorf("expected hash %s, got %v", dbOnlyHash, pkt["hash"])
+	}
+	// Observations fallback should populate from DB too.
+	obs, _ := body["observations"].([]interface{})
+	if len(obs) == 0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected DB observations to be returned, got 0")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPacketDetail404WhenAbsentFromBoth verifies that a hash present in
+// neither store nor DB still returns 404 (no false positives from the fallback).
+func TestPacketDetail404WhenAbsentFromBoth(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets/0011223344556677", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+	if w.Code != 404 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 404, got %d (body: %s)", w.Code, w.Body.String())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPacketDetailPrefersStoreOverDB verifies the store result wins when the
+// hash exists in both — the DB fallback must not double-fetch / overwrite.
+func TestPacketDetailPrefersStoreOverDB(t *testing.T) {
+	srv, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	// abc123def4567890 is seeded in both DB and (after Load) the store.
+	const hash = "abc123def4567890"
+	if got := srv.store.GetPacketByHash(hash); got == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("test precondition failed: store should have %s", hash)
+	}
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/packets/"+hash, nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body)
+	pkt, _ := body["packet"].(map[string]interface{})
+	if pkt == nil || pkt["hash"] != hash {
+		t.Fatalf("expected packet with hash %s, got %v", hash, pkt)
+	}
+	// observation_count comes from store observations (2 seeded for tx 1).
+	if cnt, _ := body["observation_count"].(float64); cnt != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected observation_count=2 (from store), got %v", body["observation_count"])
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestStatsMemoryFields verifies that /api/stats exposes the new memory
+// breakdown introduced for issue #832: storeDataMB, processRSSMB,
+// goHeapInuseMB, goSysMB, plus the deprecated trackedMB alias.
+//
+// We assert presence, type, sign, and ordering invariants — but NOT
+// "RSS within X% of true RSS" because that is flaky in CI under cgo,
+// containerization, and shared-runner load.
+func TestStatsMemoryFields(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/stats", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 200, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+	var body map[string]interface{}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(w.Body.Bytes(), &body); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("json decode: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	required := []string{"trackedMB", "storeDataMB", "processRSSMB", "goHeapInuseMB", "goSysMB"}
+	values := make(map[string]float64, len(required))
+	for _, k := range required {
+		v, ok := body[k]
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("missing field %q in /api/stats response", k)
+		}
+		f, ok := v.(float64)
+		if !ok {
+			t.Fatalf("field %q is %T, expected float64", k, v)
+		}
+		if f < 0 {
+			t.Errorf("field %q is negative: %v", k, f)
+		}
+		values[k] = f
+	}
+
+	// trackedMB is a deprecated alias for storeDataMB; they must match.
+	if values["trackedMB"] != values["storeDataMB"] {
+		t.Errorf("trackedMB (%v) != storeDataMB (%v); they must remain aliased",
+			values["trackedMB"], values["storeDataMB"])
+	}
+
+	// Ordering invariants. goSys is the runtime's view of total OS memory;
+	// HeapInuse is a subset of it. storeData is a subset of HeapInuse.
+	// processRSS may be 0 in environments without /proc — treat 0 as
+	// "unknown" rather than a failure.
+	if values["goHeapInuseMB"] > values["goSysMB"]+0.5 {
+		t.Errorf("invariant violated: goHeapInuseMB (%v) > goSysMB (%v)",
+			values["goHeapInuseMB"], values["goSysMB"])
+	}
+	if values["storeDataMB"] > values["goHeapInuseMB"]+0.5 && values["storeDataMB"] > 0 {
+		// In the test fixture storeDataMB is typically 0 (no packets in
+		// store); only enforce the bound when both are nonzero.
+		t.Errorf("invariant violated: storeDataMB (%v) > goHeapInuseMB (%v)",
+			values["storeDataMB"], values["goHeapInuseMB"])
+	}
+	if values["processRSSMB"] > 0 && values["goSysMB"] > 0 {
+		// goSys can briefly exceed RSS if pages are reserved-but-not-touched,
+		// so allow some slack.
+		if values["goSysMB"] > values["processRSSMB"]*4 {
+			t.Errorf("suspicious: goSysMB (%v) >> processRSSMB (%v)",
+				values["goSysMB"], values["processRSSMB"])
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestStatsMemoryFieldsRawJSON spot-checks that the JSON wire format uses
+// the documented camelCase names (no accidental rename through struct tags).
+func TestStatsMemoryFieldsRawJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	_, router := setupTestServer(t)
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/stats", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	router.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	body := w.Body.String()
+	for _, key := range []string{
+		`"trackedMB":`, `"storeDataMB":`,
+		`"processRSSMB":`, `"goHeapInuseMB":`, `"goSysMB":`,
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(body, key) {
+			t.Errorf("missing %s in raw response: %s", key, body)
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func f64(v float64) *float64 { return &v }
+
+func TestDedupeTopHopsByPair(t *testing.T) {
+	hops := []distHopRecord{
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 100, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(5.0), Hash: "h1", Timestamp: "t1"},
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 90, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(8.0), Hash: "h2", Timestamp: "t2"},
+		{FromPk: "BBB", ToPk: "AAA", FromName: "B", ToName: "A", Dist: 80, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(3.0), Hash: "h3", Timestamp: "t3"},
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 70, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(6.0), Hash: "h4", Timestamp: "t4"},
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 60, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(4.0), Hash: "h5", Timestamp: "t5"},
+		{FromPk: "CCC", ToPk: "DDD", FromName: "C", ToName: "D", Dist: 50, Type: "C↔R", SNR: f64(7.0), Hash: "h6", Timestamp: "t6"},
+	}
+
+	result := dedupeHopsByPair(hops, 20)
+
+	if len(result) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 2 entries, got %d", len(result))
+	}
+
+	// First entry: A↔B pair, max distance = 100, obsCount = 5
+	ab := result[0]
+	if ab["dist"].(float64) != 100 {
+		t.Errorf("expected dist 100, got %v", ab["dist"])
+	}
+	if ab["obsCount"].(int) != 5 {
+		t.Errorf("expected obsCount 5, got %v", ab["obsCount"])
+	}
+	if ab["hash"].(string) != "h1" {
+		t.Errorf("expected hash h1 (from max-dist record), got %v", ab["hash"])
+	}
+	if ab["bestSnr"].(float64) != 8.0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected bestSnr 8.0, got %v", ab["bestSnr"])
+	}
+	// medianSnr of [3,4,5,6,8] = 5.0
+	if ab["medianSnr"].(float64) != 5.0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected medianSnr 5.0, got %v", ab["medianSnr"])
+	}
+
+	// Second entry: C↔D pair
+	cd := result[1]
+	if cd["dist"].(float64) != 50 {
+		t.Errorf("expected dist 50, got %v", cd["dist"])
+	}
+	if cd["obsCount"].(int) != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("expected obsCount 1, got %v", cd["obsCount"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDedupeTopHopsReversePairMerges(t *testing.T) {
+	hops := []distHopRecord{
+		{FromPk: "BBB", ToPk: "AAA", FromName: "B", ToName: "A", Dist: 50, Type: "R↔R", Hash: "h1"},
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 80, Type: "R↔R", Hash: "h2"},
+	}
+	result := dedupeHopsByPair(hops, 20)
+	if len(result) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 1 entry, got %d", len(result))
+	}
+	if result[0]["obsCount"].(int) != 2 {
+		t.Errorf("expected obsCount 2, got %v", result[0]["obsCount"])
+	}
+	if result[0]["dist"].(float64) != 80 {
+		t.Errorf("expected dist 80, got %v", result[0]["dist"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDedupeTopHopsNilSNR(t *testing.T) {
+	hops := []distHopRecord{
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 100, Type: "R↔R", SNR: nil, Hash: "h1"},
+		{FromPk: "AAA", ToPk: "BBB", FromName: "A", ToName: "B", Dist: 90, Type: "R↔R", SNR: nil, Hash: "h2"},
+	}
+	result := dedupeHopsByPair(hops, 20)
+	if len(result) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 1 entry, got %d", len(result))
+	}
+	if result[0]["bestSnr"] != nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected bestSnr nil, got %v", result[0]["bestSnr"])
+	}
+	if result[0]["medianSnr"] != nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected medianSnr nil, got %v", result[0]["medianSnr"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDedupeTopHopsLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	// Generate 25 unique pairs, verify limit=20 caps output
+	hops := make([]distHopRecord, 25)
+	for i := range hops {
+		hops[i] = distHopRecord{
+			FromPk: "A", ToPk: string(rune('a' + i)),
+			Dist: float64(i), Type: "R↔R", Hash: "h",
+		}
+	}
+	result := dedupeHopsByPair(hops, 20)
+	if len(result) != 20 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 20 entries, got %d", len(result))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDedupeTopHopsEvenMedian(t *testing.T) {
+	// Even count: median = avg of two middle values
+	hops := []distHopRecord{
+		{FromPk: "A", ToPk: "B", Dist: 10, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(2.0), Hash: "h1"},
+		{FromPk: "A", ToPk: "B", Dist: 20, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(4.0), Hash: "h2"},
+		{FromPk: "A", ToPk: "B", Dist: 30, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(6.0), Hash: "h3"},
+		{FromPk: "A", ToPk: "B", Dist: 40, Type: "R↔R", SNR: f64(8.0), Hash: "h4"},
+	}
+	result := dedupeHopsByPair(hops, 20)
+	// sorted SNR: [2,4,6,8], median = (4+6)/2 = 5.0
+	if result[0]["medianSnr"].(float64) != 5.0 {
+		t.Errorf("expected medianSnr 5.0, got %v", result[0]["medianSnr"])
+	}
+}
@@ -42,14 +42,20 @@
            "type": {
              "type": "string"
            },
-            "snr": {
-              "type": "number"
-            },
            "hash": {
              "type": "string"
            },
            "timestamp": {
              "type": "string"
+            },
+            "bestSnr": {
+              "type": "number"
+            },
+            "medianSnr": {
+              "type": "number"
+            },
+            "obsCount": {
+              "type": "number"
            }
          }
        }
@@ -1580,4 +1586,4 @@
      }
    }
  }
-}
+}
@@ -69,13 +69,11 @@ func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_Debouncing(t *testing.T) {
 		lastSeenTouched: make(map[string]time.Time),
 	}

-	pk := "relay1"
-	tx := &StoreTx{
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk},
-	}
+	// After #800, touchRelayLastSeen takes a []string of pubkeys (from decode-window)
+	pks := []string{"relay1"}

 	now := time.Now()
-	s.touchRelayLastSeen(tx, now)
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen(pks, now)

 	// Verify it was written
 	var lastSeen sql.NullString
@@ -88,7 +86,7 @@ func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_Debouncing(t *testing.T) {
 	db.conn.Exec("UPDATE nodes SET last_seen = NULL WHERE public_key = ?", "relay1")

 	// Call again within 5 minutes — should be debounced (no write)
-	s.touchRelayLastSeen(tx, now.Add(2*time.Minute))
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen(pks, now.Add(2*time.Minute))

 	db.conn.QueryRow("SELECT last_seen FROM nodes WHERE public_key = ?", "relay1").Scan(&lastSeen)
 	if lastSeen.Valid {
@@ -96,14 +94,14 @@ func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_Debouncing(t *testing.T) {
 	}

 	// Call after 5 minutes — should write again
-	s.touchRelayLastSeen(tx, now.Add(6*time.Minute))
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen(pks, now.Add(6*time.Minute))
 	db.conn.QueryRow("SELECT last_seen FROM nodes WHERE public_key = ?", "relay1").Scan(&lastSeen)
 	if !lastSeen.Valid {
 		t.Fatal("expected write after debounce interval expired")
 	}
 }

-func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_SkipsNilResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_SkipsEmptyPubkeys(t *testing.T) {
 	db := setupTestDB(t)
 	defer db.Close()

@@ -112,13 +110,9 @@ func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_SkipsNilResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
 		lastSeenTouched: make(map[string]time.Time),
 	}

-	// tx with nil entries and empty resolved_path
-	tx := &StoreTx{
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{nil, nil},
-	}
-
-	// Should not panic or error
-	s.touchRelayLastSeen(tx, time.Now())
+	// Empty pubkeys — should not panic or error
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen([]string{}, time.Now())
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen(nil, time.Now())
 }

 func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_NilDB(t *testing.T) {
@@ -127,11 +121,6 @@ func TestTouchRelayLastSeen_NilDB(t *testing.T) {
 		lastSeenTouched: make(map[string]time.Time),
 	}

-	pk := "abc"
-	tx := &StoreTx{
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&pk},
-	}
-
 	// Should not panic with nil db
-	s.touchRelayLastSeen(tx, time.Now())
+	s.touchRelayLastSeen([]string{"abc"}, time.Now())
 }
@@ -52,26 +52,26 @@ func TestEstimateStoreTxBytes_ManyHopsSubpaths(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }

-// TestEstimateStoreObsBytes_WithResolvedPath verifies that observations with
-// ResolvedPath estimate more than those without.
-func TestEstimateStoreObsBytes_WithResolvedPath(t *testing.T) {
-	s1, s2, s3 := "node1", "node2", "node3"
-
-	obsNoRP := &StoreObs{
+// TestEstimateStoreObsBytes_AfterRefactor verifies that after #800 refactor,
+// observations no longer have ResolvedPath overhead in their estimate.
+func TestEstimateStoreObsBytes_AfterRefactor(t *testing.T) {
+	obs := &StoreObs{
 		ObserverID: "obs1",
 		PathJSON:   `["a","b"]`,
 	}
-	obsWithRP := &StoreObs{
-		ObserverID:   "obs1",
-		PathJSON:     `["a","b"]`,
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&s1, &s2, &s3},
+
+	est := estimateStoreObsBytes(obs)
+	if est <= 0 {
+		t.Errorf("estimate should be positive, got %d", est)
 	}
-
-	estNo := estimateStoreObsBytes(obsNoRP)
-	estWith := estimateStoreObsBytes(obsWithRP)
-
-	if estWith <= estNo {
-		t.Errorf("obs with ResolvedPath (%d) should estimate more than without (%d)", estWith, estNo)
+	// After #800, all obs estimates should be the same (no RP field variation)
+	obs2 := &StoreObs{
+		ObserverID: "obs1",
+		PathJSON:   `["a","b"]`,
+	}
+	est2 := estimateStoreObsBytes(obs2)
+	if est != est2 {
+		t.Errorf("estimates should be equal after #800 (no RP field), got %d vs %d", est, est2)
 	}
 }

@@ -155,11 +155,9 @@ func BenchmarkEstimateStoreTxBytes(b *testing.B) {

 // BenchmarkEstimateStoreObsBytes verifies the obs estimate function is fast.
 func BenchmarkEstimateStoreObsBytes(b *testing.B) {
-	s := "resolvedNodePubkey123456"
 	obs := &StoreObs{
-		ObserverID:   "observer1234",
-		PathJSON:     `["a","b","c"]`,
-		ResolvedPath: []*string{&s, &s, &s},
+		ObserverID: "observer1234",
+		PathJSON:   `["a","b","c"]`,
 	}
 	b.ResetTimer()
 	for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
@@ -72,6 +72,22 @@ type StatsResponse struct {
 	BackfillProgress       float64    `json:"backfillProgress"`
 	SignatureDrops         int64      `json:"signatureDrops,omitempty"`
 	HashMigrationComplete  bool       `json:"hashMigrationComplete"`
+
+	// Memory accounting (issue #832). All values in MB.
+	//
+	// StoreDataMB ("trackedMB" historically) is the in-store packet byte
+	// estimate — useful packet bytes only. Subset of HeapInuse. Used as
+	// the eviction watermark input. NOT a proxy for RSS; ops dashboards
+	// should prefer ProcessRSSMB for capacity decisions.
+	//
+	// Old field name TrackedMB is retained for backward compatibility
+	// with pre-v3.6 consumers; it carries the same value as StoreDataMB
+	// and is deprecated.
+	TrackedMB     float64 `json:"trackedMB"`     // deprecated alias for storeDataMB
+	StoreDataMB   float64 `json:"storeDataMB"`   // in-store packet bytes (subset of heap)
+	ProcessRSSMB  float64 `json:"processRSSMB"`  // process RSS from /proc (Linux) or runtime.Sys fallback
+	GoHeapInuseMB float64 `json:"goHeapInuseMB"` // runtime.MemStats.HeapInuse
+	GoSysMB       float64 `json:"goSysMB"`       // runtime.MemStats.Sys (total Go-managed)
 }

 // ─── Health ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -247,7 +263,6 @@ type TransmissionResp struct {
 	SNR              interface{}      `json:"snr"`
 	RSSI             interface{}      `json:"rssi"`
 	PathJSON         interface{}      `json:"path_json"`
-	ResolvedPath     []*string        `json:"resolved_path,omitempty"`
 	Direction        interface{}      `json:"direction"`
 	Score            interface{}      `json:"score,omitempty"`
 	Observations     []ObservationResp `json:"observations,omitempty"`
@@ -262,7 +277,9 @@ type ObservationResp struct {
 	SNR            interface{} `json:"snr"`
 	RSSI           interface{} `json:"rssi"`
 	PathJSON       interface{} `json:"path_json"`
-	ResolvedPath   []*string   `json:"resolved_path,omitempty"`
+	ResolvedPath   interface{} `json:"resolved_path,omitempty"`
+	Direction      interface{} `json:"direction,omitempty"`
+	RawHex         interface{} `json:"raw_hex,omitempty"`
 	Timestamp      interface{} `json:"timestamp"`
 }

@@ -298,7 +315,6 @@ type PacketTimestampsResponse struct {
 type PacketDetailResponse struct {
 	Packet           interface{}       `json:"packet"`
 	Path             []interface{}     `json:"path"`
-	Breakdown        *Breakdown        `json:"breakdown"`
 	ObservationCount int               `json:"observation_count"`
 	Observations     []ObservationResp `json:"observations,omitempty"`
 }
@@ -664,7 +680,9 @@ type DistanceHop struct {
 	ToPk      string      `json:"toPk"`
 	Dist      float64     `json:"dist"`
 	Type      string      `json:"type"`
-	SNR       interface{} `json:"snr"`
+	BestSnr   interface{} `json:"bestSnr"`
+	MedianSnr interface{} `json:"medianSnr"`
+	ObsCount  int         `json:"obsCount"`
 	Hash      string      `json:"hash"`
 	Timestamp string      `json:"timestamp"`
 }
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+# Clock Skew Classifier — Redesign
+
+**Status:** spec, pre-implementation
+**Supersedes:** parts of #690 / #789 / #845 / PR #894
+**Date drafted:** 2026-04-24
+
+## Problem
+
+The current classifier (`cmd/server/clock_skew.go`) uses windowed medians, hysteresis, "good fraction" floors, and a 365-day `no_clock` threshold. It produces:
+
+- False `no_clock` flags on nodes whose clocks are working today but had garbage timestamps in recent samples.
+- Symmetric severity bands that conflate "clock at firmware default" with "operator set the clock wrong by a year" — completely different operator actions required.
+- Compounding over-engineering as each operator complaint added a new tier or window.
+
+The actual physical reality of these devices is much simpler than the classifier assumes.
+
+## Hardware reality
+
+Most MeshCore nodes have **no auto-updating RTC**. There are two hardware paths:
+
+1. **Volatile RTC nodes** (`firmware/src/helpers/ArduinoHelpers.h:11` — `VolatileRTCClock`):
+   - On boot, `base_time` is hardcoded to a firmware-build constant (currently `1715770351` = 2024-05-15 20:52:31 UTC).
+   - `getCurrentTime()` returns `base_time + millis()/1000`.
+   - On reboot the value snaps back to the constant.
+   - User must manually sync via companion app (`set time` CLI invokes `setCurrentTime(...)`) to set a real wall-clock time, which then ticks until the next reboot.
+
+2. **Hardware-RTC nodes** (`firmware/src/helpers/AutoDiscoverRTCClock.cpp` — DS3231 / RV3028 / PCF8563):
+   - Real-time chip with battery backup. Holds the time across reboots.
+   - Behaves correctly once set; no default-snap behavior.
+
+The `set time RESET` CLI command (`firmware/src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp:215`) explicitly calls `setCurrentTime(1715770351)` regardless of hardware — so even hardware-RTC nodes can be deliberately reset to the default epoch.
+
+**Therefore every node is in exactly one of these states:**
+
+| State | Description |
+|---|---|
+| **Default / never set** | RTC is at a firmware-default epoch + ticking up since the last boot. |
+| **Set, drifting normally** | RTC was synced; small skew accumulating at ~0.8s/day per #789 reports. |
+| **Set, drifted past tolerance** | Like above but skew has grown beyond what's useful. |
+| **Wrong** | Operator-set incorrect time, or genuine RTC malfunction not matching any known default. |
+
+There is no "bimodal RTC bug" — what looked bimodal in #845 is just a sequence of `defaulted → user sync → reboot → defaulted again`. The "bad" timestamps are not noise; they're a constant (the default epoch + a small uptime).
+
+## Production data analysis (2026-04-24)
+
+### 00id.net (this deployment, 416 nodes, commit `abd9c46`)
+
+`lastSkewSec` (advert_ts − observed_ts) distribution:
+
+| Bucket | Count | Pct |
+|---|---:|---:|
+| OK ≤15s | 90 | 22% |
+| Degrading ≤60s | 93 | 22% |
+| Degraded ≤10m | 13 | 3% |
+| off ≤1d | 5 | 1% |
+| off ≤1y | 110 | 26% |
+| absurd >1y | 105 | 25% |
+
+Per-node `lastAdvertTS` raw timestamp distribution shows a sharp default cluster:
+
+```
+0 days  count=19 samples=114969       ← exactly at 1715770351 (just rebooted)
+1d      count=9  samples=24766
+2d      count=7  samples=58101
+3d      count=2  samples=360
+...                                     ← decay through ~110 days
+113d    count=2  samples=53776
+```
+
+103 of 416 nodes (25%) have `lastAdvertTS` between `1715770351` and `1715770351 + 1095 days`, consistent with the volatile-RTC-default-ticking-up pattern.
+
+A second cluster of 5 nodes has `lastAdvertTS = 1672531542 ≈ 1672531200 + 5min` = **2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC** + small uptime. This is a *different* firmware-default epoch from an older firmware version.
+
+### Cascadia (analyzer.cascadiamesh.org, 433 nodes in 5000-packet sample, commit `111b03c` v3.5.0)
+
+ADVERT timestamp by year-month:
+
+```
+1970-01    1     ← epoch zero (ESP32 native fallback OR ancient firmware)
+2021-01    1     ← possible third default epoch
+2023-01    2     ← old firmware default (matches 00id)
+2024-05   60     ← current VolatileRTCClock + days uptime
+2024-06   39     ← same default + weeks uptime
+2024-07   21
+2024-08   10
+2024-09    2
+2024-10    1
+2024-11    2     ← decays out as fewer nodes have multi-month uptime since reboot
+2025-10    1     ← pre-current-now miscellany
+2025-11    2
+2026-03    4
+2026-04  285     ← currently set clocks (this is "now-ish")
+2027-04    1     ← operator set wrong by ~1 year (typo?)
+2067-12    1     ← operator set wildly wrong / corrupted RTC
+```
+
+Confirms the model: ~67% of nodes have a current clock, ~32% are at known firmware defaults at varying uptime offsets, ~3 outliers represent genuine misconfigurations.
+
+## Known firmware default epochs
+
+These are the values discovered in production data so far:
+
+| Epoch (unix) | UTC | Source |
+|---:|---|---|
+| `0` | 1970-01-01 | Likely ESP32 boot when no RTC initialization runs (`time(NULL)` returns 0). |
+| `1609459200` | 2021-01-01 | Speculation — single-sample evidence, validate as more data arrives. |
+| `1672531200` | 2023-01-01 | Older firmware `VolatileRTCClock::base_time` value. |
+| `1715770351` | 2024-05-15 20:52:31 | **Current** `VolatileRTCClock` constructor + `set time RESET` CLI. |
+
+Treat the table as data, not fixed code. New firmware versions will introduce new defaults; expect to add to the list over time.
+
+## Reconciliation with #690 — the four timestamps
+
+#690 lists three timestamps; in practice there are four signals worth distinguishing:
+
+| Signal | Source | Used for |
+|---|---|---|
+| `advert_ts` | Inside MeshCore packet, set by sending node | Per-node classification (THE signal). |
+| `mqtt_envelope_ts` | Set by observer when it forwards via MQTT | Observer-side calibration only — *not* a direct node-skew signal because observer clock can itself be wrong. |
+| `corescope_received_ts` | Wall clock when CoreScope ingested the message | Reference "now"; calibration cross-check. |
+| `same_packet_across_observers` | Multiple observers seeing the same hash | Phase 2 calibration (triangulation). |
+
+**Inputs flow:**
+
+1. **Phase 2 (existing, kept):** for each packet hash seen by ≥2 observers, compute each observer's deviation from the per-packet median observed_ts → `observerOffset`. This is the triangulation #690 calls for ("Same packet observed by more than one (ideally 3+) observers gives good indication if one observer is off"). Observer offsets are the calibration table.
+2. **Per-advert correction (existing, kept):** `correctedSkew = (advert_ts - observed_ts) + observerOffset[observer_id]`. If no calibration exists for an observer, fall back to raw skew with `calibrated: false`.
+3. **Default detection (new):** runs on RAW `advert_ts`, not corrected. The firmware default is a fixed wall-clock value; observer offsets are seconds-to-minutes scale and cannot move `advert_ts` from 2024 to 2026. Default check is independent of calibration.
+4. **Severity classification (new):** if `is_default(advert_ts)` → `default`; else classify by `|correctedSkew|` band.
+
+This keeps everything #690 asks for (observer detection, bias subtraction, triangulation), and adds the firmware-default cluster as a new pre-empting tier.
+
+## UI: explain WHY (#690 requirement)
+
+The classifier alone doesn't satisfy #690's "present on the UI why clock skew is obvious or suspected." The evidence panel from PR #906 (per-hash observer breakdown showing raw vs corrected skew per observer) is the WHY.
+
+For each per-node clock card the UI must show:
+
+- **Tier badge** (default / ok / degrading / degraded / wrong) + magnitude.
+- **Plain-English reason line**: e.g. "Last advert at 2024-05-15 + 3.2 days uptime — matches firmware default (volatile RTC, not yet user-set)" or "Last advert −12s vs wall clock — within OK tolerance."
+- **Calibration footnote**: "Skew corrected using observer X offset +1.7s (computed from 412 multi-observer packets)" or "Single-observer measurement, no calibration available."
+- **Evidence accordion** (PR #906 shape, retained): for the most recent N hashes, each observer's raw vs corrected skew + the observer's offset.
+
+For the per-observer page (also from PR #906): show the observer's offset, the multi-observer sample count, and a tier badge using the same scale (treating `|observerOffset|` as the skew).
+
+## Proposed classifier
+
+Per-advert classification, no windowing:
+
+```python
+DEFAULT_EPOCHS = [0, 1609459200, 1672531200, 1715770351]
+MAX_PLAUSIBLE_UPTIME_SEC = 1095 * 86400  # 3 years
+
+def is_default(ts):
+    return any(d <= ts <= d + MAX_PLAUSIBLE_UPTIME_SEC for d in DEFAULT_EPOCHS)
+
+def classify(advert_ts, corrected_skew_sec):
+    if is_default(advert_ts):
+        return "default"          # gray
+    abs_skew = abs(corrected_skew_sec)
+    if abs_skew <= 15:    return "ok"           # green
+    if abs_skew <= 60:    return "degrading"    # yellow
+    if abs_skew <= 600:   return "degraded"     # orange
+    return "wrong"                              # red
+```
+
+`corrected_skew_sec` is the observer-bias-subtracted skew per Phase 2 calibration. Default detection is independent of calibration (runs on raw `advert_ts`).
+
+Per-node state = classification of the node's most-recent advert (per hash, picking the most recent observation across all observers). No medians, no good-fraction, no hysteresis.
+
+## Severity tier definitions
+
+| Tier | Condition | Color | UI label | Meaning |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `default` | Advert ts within `[default, default + 3y]` of any known epoch | Gray | "Default" | Volatile RTC at firmware boot constant; never set or rebooted and not re-synced. |
+| `ok` | abs(skew) ≤ 15s | Green | "OK" | Working clock. |
+| `degrading` | 15s < abs(skew) ≤ 60s | Yellow | "Degrading" | Real but accumulating drift. |
+| `degraded` | 60s < abs(skew) ≤ 600s | Orange | "Degraded" | Off by minutes — needs re-sync. |
+| `wrong` | abs(skew) > 600s and not `default` | Red | "Wrong" | Operator-set error or RTC malfunction. |
+
+## What this kills
+
+- The 365-day `no_clock` threshold and the entire `recentSkewWindow{Count,Sec}` machinery.
+- The hysteresis / `goodFraction` / `longTermGoodFraction` logic from PR #894.
+- The proposed `bimodal_clock` tier from #845 — the pattern is not bimodal, it's defaulted vs set.
+- All Theil-Sen drift calculations as classifier inputs (drift remains a derived display value).
+
+## What this preserves
+
+- **Phase 2 observer calibration** (`calibrateObservers()`) — kept verbatim. It's what powers the "subtract observer bias" requirement from #690 and provides the triangulation evidence the UI needs.
+- **Drift display** (computed but not classifying).
+- **PR #906 evidence UI** — orthogonal to the classifier; it is in fact the implementation of #690's "explain WHY" requirement. Only label strings change to match the new tier names.
+- **`/api/observers/clock-skew`** — unchanged shape.
+
+## API impact
+
+`/api/nodes/{pubkey}/clock-skew` response changes:
+
+- `severity` enum: `default | ok | degrading | degraded | wrong` (no more `no_clock | severe | warn | absurd`).
+- New field `defaultEpoch` (int, optional): if `severity == "default"`, the matched epoch.
+- Drop fields: `recentMedianSkewSec`, `goodFraction`, `recentBadSampleCount`, `longTermGoodFraction`.
+- Keep: `lastSkewSec`, `medianSkewSec`, `meanSkewSec`, `driftPerDaySec`, `sampleCount`, `calibrated`, `lastAdvertTS`, `lastObservedTS`, `nodeName`, `nodeRole`.
+
+`/api/nodes/clock-skew` (fleet) shape unchanged except severity enum values.
+
+## UI impact
+
+- New CSS classes `skew-badge--default`, `skew-badge--degrading`, `skew-badge--degraded`, `skew-badge--wrong`. Drop `--no_clock`, `--severe`, `--warn`, `--absurd`, `--bimodal_clock`.
+- Tooltip text updated per tier.
+- "Default" badge tooltip should explain the clock is at firmware default plus uptime since boot, and the operator hasn't set it yet (or hasn't re-set it since the last reboot).
+
+## Migration
+
+Single PR replaces the classifier in `clock_skew.go` and updates the frontend badges/labels. No database schema change, no data migration — all per-call computation.
+
+## Open issues to close
+
+- **#789** (median hides corrected clocks) — resolved by per-advert classification.
+- **#845** (bimodal_clock tier) — replaced by `default` tier; the pattern that motivated it is correctly captured.
+- **PR #894** — close without merging; this design supersedes Option C entirely.
+- **#690** UI completion (PR #906) — keeps moving in parallel; only label updates needed.
+
+## Validation plan
+
+1. Hand-run the classifier against a snapshot of `/api/nodes/clock-skew` from 00id and cascadia. Confirm:
+   - All 103 00id "absurd" nodes reclassify as `default`.
+   - All 5 cascadia 2023-01 nodes reclassify as `default`.
+   - The 2027 / 2067 cascadia outliers reclassify as `wrong`.
+   - The 285 cascadia 2026-04 nodes reclassify as `ok` (or `degrading` if drift exceeds 15s).
+2. Add per-tier unit tests in `cmd/server/clock_skew_test.go`.
+3. Add a regression test for each known default epoch (synthesize advert at `default + 0s`, `default + 1d`, `default + 3y - 1s` → all classify as `default`).
+4. Edge cases:
+   - `advert_ts == 0` → matches default epoch 0.
+   - `advert_ts == 1715770351 + 731 days` → no longer matches (uptime cap exceeded) — should fall through to time-based classification, likely `wrong`.
+   - Future timestamps beyond `now + 600s` → `wrong`.
+
+## Out of scope (follow-ups)
+
+- Per-firmware-version known-default lookup (when `firmware_version` field becomes reliable on adverts).
+- Reboot-count / flakiness indicator ("this node has hit default N times in last 30d").
+- Auto-discovery of new default epochs from clustering analysis (could detect a 4th default emerging in the wild).
+- Filtering defaulted-clock adverts out of time-windowed analytics queries (separate spec — affects path attribution).
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+module github.com/meshcore-analyzer/packetpath
+
+go 1.22
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+// Package packetpath provides shared helpers for extracting path hops from
+// raw MeshCore packet hex bytes.
+package packetpath
+
+import (
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// DecodePathFromRawHex extracts the header path hops directly from raw hex bytes.
+// This is the authoritative path that matches what's in raw_hex, as opposed to
+// decoded.Path.Hops which may be overwritten for TRACE packets (issue #886).
+//
+// WARNING: This function returns the literal header path bytes regardless of
+// payload type. For TRACE packets these bytes are SNR values, NOT hop hashes.
+// Callers that may receive TRACE packets MUST check PathBytesAreHops(payloadType)
+// first, or use the safer DecodeHopsForPayload wrapper.
+func DecodePathFromRawHex(rawHex string) ([]string, error) {
+	buf, err := hex.DecodeString(rawHex)
+	if err != nil || len(buf) < 2 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid or too-short hex")
+	}
+
+	headerByte := buf[0]
+	offset := 1
+	if IsTransportRoute(int(headerByte & 0x03)) {
+		if len(buf) < offset+4 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("too short for transport codes")
+		}
+		offset += 4
+	}
+	if offset >= len(buf) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("too short for path byte")
+	}
+
+	pathByte := buf[offset]
+	offset++
+
+	hashSize := int(pathByte>>6) + 1
+	hashCount := int(pathByte & 0x3F)
+
+	hops := make([]string, 0, hashCount)
+	for i := 0; i < hashCount; i++ {
+		start := offset + i*hashSize
+		end := start + hashSize
+		if end > len(buf) {
+			break
+		}
+		hops = append(hops, strings.ToUpper(hex.EncodeToString(buf[start:end])))
+	}
+	return hops, nil
+}
+
+// DecodeHopsForPayload returns the header path hops only when the payload type's
+// header bytes are actually route hops (i.e. PathBytesAreHops(payloadType) is true).
+// For TRACE packets it returns (nil, ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops) so the caller is
+// forced to source hops from the decoded payload instead.
+//
+// Prefer this over DecodePathFromRawHex when the payload type is known.
+func DecodeHopsForPayload(rawHex string, payloadType byte) ([]string, error) {
+	if !PathBytesAreHops(payloadType) {
+		return nil, ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops
+	}
+	return DecodePathFromRawHex(rawHex)
+}
+
+// ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops is returned by DecodeHopsForPayload when the
+// payload type repurposes the raw_hex header path bytes (e.g. TRACE → SNR values).
+var ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops = errPayloadHasNoHeaderHops{}
+
+type errPayloadHasNoHeaderHops struct{}
+
+func (errPayloadHasNoHeaderHops) Error() string {
+	return "payload type repurposes header path bytes; source hops from decoded payload"
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+package packetpath
+
+import (
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_Basic(t *testing.T) {
+	// Build a simple FLOOD packet (route_type=1) with 2 hops of hashSize=1
+	// header: route_type=1, payload_type=2 (TXT_MSG), version=0 → 0b00_0010_01 = 0x09
+	// path byte: hashSize=1 (bits 7-6 = 0), hashCount=2 (bits 5-0 = 2) → 0x02
+	// hops: AB, CD
+	// payload: some bytes
+	raw := "0902ABCD" + "DEADBEEF"
+	hops, err := DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 2 || hops[0] != "AB" || hops[1] != "CD" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected [AB, CD], got %v", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_ZeroHops(t *testing.T) {
+	// DIRECT route (type=2), no hops → 0b00_0010_10 = 0x0A
+	// path byte: 0x00 (0 hops)
+	raw := "0A00" + "DEADBEEF"
+	hops, err := DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 0 hops, got %v", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_TransportRoute(t *testing.T) {
+	// TRANSPORT_FLOOD (route_type=0), payload_type=5 (GRP_TXT), version=0
+	// header: 0b00_0101_00 = 0x14
+	// transport codes: 4 bytes
+	// path byte: hashSize=1, hashCount=1 → 0x01
+	// hop: FF
+	raw := "14" + "00112233" + "01" + "FF" + "DEAD"
+	hops, err := DecodePathFromRawHex(raw)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 1 || hops[0] != "FF" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected [FF], got %v", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+// buildTracePacket creates a TRACE packet hex string where header path bytes are
+// SNR values, and payload contains the actual route hops.
+func buildTracePacket() (rawHex string, headerPathHops []string, payloadHops []string) {
+	// DIRECT route (type=2), TRACE payload (type=9), version=0
+	// header byte: 0b00_1001_10 = 0x26
+	headerByte := byte(0x26)
+
+	// Header path: 2 SNR bytes (hashSize=1, hashCount=2) → path byte = 0x02
+	// SNR values: 0x1A (26 dB), 0x0F (15 dB)
+	pathByte := byte(0x02)
+	snrBytes := []byte{0x1A, 0x0F}
+
+	// TRACE payload: tag(4) + authCode(4) + flags(1) + path hops
+	tag := []byte{0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}
+	authCode := []byte{0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}
+	// flags: path_sz=0 (1 byte hops), other bits=0 → 0x00
+	flags := byte(0x00)
+	// Payload hops: AA, BB, CC (the actual route)
+	payloadPathBytes := []byte{0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC}
+
+	var buf []byte
+	buf = append(buf, headerByte, pathByte)
+	buf = append(buf, snrBytes...)
+	buf = append(buf, tag...)
+	buf = append(buf, authCode...)
+	buf = append(buf, flags)
+	buf = append(buf, payloadPathBytes...)
+
+	rawHex = strings.ToUpper(hex.EncodeToString(buf))
+	headerPathHops = []string{"1A", "0F"} // SNR values — NOT route hops
+	payloadHops = []string{"AA", "BB", "CC"} // actual route hops from payload
+	return
+}
+
+func TestDecodePathFromRawHex_TraceReturnsSNR(t *testing.T) {
+	rawHex, expectedSNR, _ := buildTracePacket()
+	hops, err := DecodePathFromRawHex(rawHex)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	// DecodePathFromRawHex always returns header path bytes — for TRACE these are SNR values
+	if len(hops) != len(expectedSNR) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected %d hops (SNR), got %d: %v", len(expectedSNR), len(hops), hops)
+	}
+	for i, h := range hops {
+		if h != expectedSNR[i] {
+			t.Errorf("hop[%d]: expected %s, got %s", i, expectedSNR[i], h)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTracePathJSON_UsesPayloadHops(t *testing.T) {
+	// This test validates the TRACE vs non-TRACE logic that callers should implement:
+	// For TRACE: path_json = decoded.Path.Hops (payload-decoded route hops)
+	// For non-TRACE: path_json = DecodePathFromRawHex(raw_hex)
+	rawHex, snrHops, payloadHops := buildTracePacket()
+
+	// DecodePathFromRawHex returns SNR bytes for TRACE
+	headerHops, _ := DecodePathFromRawHex(rawHex)
+	headerJSON, _ := json.Marshal(headerHops)
+
+	// payload hops (what decoded.Path.Hops would return after TRACE decoding)
+	payloadJSON, _ := json.Marshal(payloadHops)
+
+	// They must differ — SNR != route hops
+	if string(headerJSON) == string(payloadJSON) {
+		t.Fatalf("SNR hops and payload hops should differ for TRACE; both are %s", headerJSON)
+	}
+
+	// For TRACE, path_json should be payloadHops, not headerHops
+	_ = snrHops // snrHops == headerHops — used for documentation
+	t.Logf("TRACE: header path (SNR) = %s, payload path (route) = %s", headerJSON, payloadJSON)
+}
+
+func TestDecodeHopsForPayload_NonTrace(t *testing.T) {
+	// header 0x01, path_len 0x02, hops 0xAA 0xBB, then payload bytes
+	raw := "0102AABB00"
+	hops, err := DecodeHopsForPayload(raw, 0x05) // GRP_TXT — header path bytes ARE hops
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(hops) != 2 || hops[0] != "AA" || hops[1] != "BB" {
+		t.Errorf("expected [AA BB], got %v", hops)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDecodeHopsForPayload_TraceReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
+	raw := "010205F00100"
+	hops, err := DecodeHopsForPayload(raw, PayloadTRACE)
+	if err != ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops {
+		t.Errorf("expected ErrPayloadHasNoHeaderHops, got %v", err)
+	}
+	if hops != nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected nil hops for TRACE, got %v", hops)
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package packetpath
+
+// Route type constants (header bits 1-0).
+const (
+	RouteTransportFlood  = 0
+	RouteFlood           = 1
+	RouteDirect          = 2
+	RouteTransportDirect = 3
+)
+
+// PayloadTRACE is the payload type constant for TRACE packets.
+const PayloadTRACE = 0x09
+
+// IsTransportRoute returns true for TRANSPORT_FLOOD (0) and TRANSPORT_DIRECT (3).
+func IsTransportRoute(routeType int) bool {
+	return routeType == RouteTransportFlood || routeType == RouteTransportDirect
+}
+
+// PathBytesAreHops returns true when the raw_hex header path bytes represent
+// route hop hashes (the normal case). Returns false for packet types where
+// header path bytes are repurposed (e.g. TRACE uses them for SNR values).
+func PathBytesAreHops(payloadType byte) bool {
+	return payloadType != PayloadTRACE
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+package packetpath
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestIsTransportRoute(t *testing.T) {
+	if !IsTransportRoute(RouteTransportFlood) {
+		t.Error("RouteTransportFlood should be transport")
+	}
+	if !IsTransportRoute(RouteTransportDirect) {
+		t.Error("RouteTransportDirect should be transport")
+	}
+	if IsTransportRoute(RouteFlood) {
+		t.Error("RouteFlood should not be transport")
+	}
+	if IsTransportRoute(RouteDirect) {
+		t.Error("RouteDirect should not be transport")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPathBytesAreHops(t *testing.T) {
+	if PathBytesAreHops(PayloadTRACE) {
+		t.Error("PathBytesAreHops(PayloadTRACE) should be false")
+	}
+	// All other known payload types should return true.
+	otherTypes := []byte{0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, 0x06, 0x07, 0x08, 0x0A, 0x0B, 0x0C, 0x0D, 0x0E, 0x0F}
+	for _, pt := range otherTypes {
+		if !PathBytesAreHops(pt) {
+			t.Errorf("PathBytesAreHops(0x%02X) should be true", pt)
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@

  function barChart(data, labels, colors, w = 800, h = 220, pad = 40) {
    const max = Math.max(...data, 1);
-    const barW = Math.min((w - pad * 2) / data.length - 2, 30);
+    const barW = Math.max(1, Math.min((w - pad * 2) / data.length - 2, 30));
    let svg = `<svg viewBox="0 0 ${w} ${h}" style="width:100%;max-height:${h}px" role="img" aria-label="Bar chart showing data distribution"><title>Bar chart showing data distribution</title>`;
    // Grid
    for (let i = 0; i <= 4; i++) {
@@ -263,7 +263,25 @@
      <div class="analytics-row">
        <div class="analytics-card flex-1">
          <h3>📈 Packets / Hour</h3>
-          ${barChart(rf.packetsPerHour.map(h=>h.count), rf.packetsPerHour.map(h=>h.hour.slice(11)+'h'), 'var(--accent)')}
+          ${(() => {
+            const pph = rf.packetsPerHour;
+            const counts = pph.map(h => h.count);
+            // Decimate x-axis labels to avoid overlap
+            const totalHours = pph.length;
+            // Pick label interval: <=24h show every 6h, <=72h every 12h, else every 24h
+            const labelInterval = totalHours <= 24 ? 6 : totalHours <= 72 ? 12 : 24;
+            const labels = pph.map((h, i) => {
+              const hh = h.hour.slice(11, 13); // "HH"
+              const hourNum = parseInt(hh, 10);
+              if (hourNum % labelInterval === 0) {
+                // For multi-day ranges, show date on 00h boundaries
+                if (totalHours > 48 && hourNum === 0) return h.hour.slice(5, 10);
+                return hh + 'h';
+              }
+              return ''; // skip label
+            });
+            return barChart(counts, labels, 'var(--accent)');
+          })()}
        </div>
      </div>

@@ -624,14 +642,13 @@
    if (!data || !data.rings.length) return '<div class="text-muted">No path data for this observer</div>';
    let html = `<div class="reach-rings">`;
    data.rings.forEach(ring => {
-      const opacity = Math.max(0.3, 1 - ring.hops * 0.06);
      const nodeLinks = ring.nodes.slice(0, 8).map(n => {
        const label = n.name ? `<a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(n.pubkey)}" class="analytics-link">${esc(n.name)}</a>` : `<span class="mono">${n.hop}</span>`;
        const detail = n.distRange ? ` <span class="text-muted">(${n.distRange})</span>` : '';
        return label + detail;
      }).join(', ');
      const extra = ring.nodes.length > 8 ? ` <span class="text-muted">+${ring.nodes.length - 8} more</span>` : '';
-      html += `<div class="reach-ring" style="opacity:${opacity}">
+      html += `<div class="reach-ring">
        <div class="reach-hop">${ring.hops} hop${ring.hops > 1 ? 's' : ''}</div>
        <div class="reach-nodes">${nodeLinks}${extra}</div>
        <div class="reach-count">${ring.nodes.length} node${ring.nodes.length > 1 ? 's' : ''}</div>
@@ -675,7 +692,6 @@
    });
    let html = '<div class="reach-rings">';
    Object.entries(byDist).sort((a, b) => +a[0] - +b[0]).forEach(([dist, nodes]) => {
-      const opacity = Math.max(0.3, 1 - (+dist) * 0.06);
      const nodeLinks = nodes.slice(0, 10).map(n => {
        const label = n.name
          ? `<a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(n.pubkey)}" class="analytics-link">${esc(n.name)}</a>`
@@ -683,7 +699,7 @@
        return label + ` <span class="text-muted">via ${esc(n.observer_name)}</span>`;
      }).join(', ');
      const extra = nodes.length > 10 ? ` <span class="text-muted">+${nodes.length - 10} more</span>` : '';
-      html += `<div class="reach-ring" style="opacity:${opacity}">
+      html += `<div class="reach-ring">
        <div class="reach-hop">${dist} hop${+dist > 1 ? 's' : ''}</div>
        <div class="reach-nodes">${nodeLinks}${extra}</div>
        <div class="reach-count">${nodes.length} node${nodes.length > 1 ? 's' : ''}</div>
@@ -840,29 +856,44 @@
    }
  }

+  var CHANNEL_TIMELINE_MAX_SERIES = 8;
+
  function renderChannelTimeline(data) {
    if (!data.length) return '<div class="text-muted">No data</div>';
    var hours = []; var hourSet = {};
    var channelList = []; var channelSet = {};
    var lookup = {};
-    var maxCount = 1;
+    var channelVolume = {};
    for (var i = 0; i < data.length; i++) {
      var d = data[i];
      if (!hourSet[d.hour]) { hourSet[d.hour] = 1; hours.push(d.hour); }
      if (!channelSet[d.channel]) { channelSet[d.channel] = 1; channelList.push(d.channel); }
      lookup[d.hour + '|' + d.channel] = d.count;
-      if (d.count > maxCount) maxCount = d.count;
+      channelVolume[d.channel] = (channelVolume[d.channel] || 0) + d.count;
    }
    hours.sort();
+    // Sort channels by total volume descending, cap to top N
+    channelList.sort(function(a, b) { return channelVolume[b] - channelVolume[a]; });
+    var hiddenCount = Math.max(0, channelList.length - CHANNEL_TIMELINE_MAX_SERIES);
+    var visibleChannels = channelList.slice(0, CHANNEL_TIMELINE_MAX_SERIES);
+
+    var maxCount = 1;
+    for (var vi = 0; vi < visibleChannels.length; vi++) {
+      for (var hi2 = 0; hi2 < hours.length; hi2++) {
+        var c = lookup[hours[hi2] + '|' + visibleChannels[vi]] || 0;
+        if (c > maxCount) maxCount = c;
+      }
+    }
+
    var colors = ['#ef4444','#22c55e','#3b82f6','#f59e0b','#8b5cf6','#ec4899','#14b8a6','#64748b'];
    var w = 600, h = 180, pad = 35;
    var xScale = (w - pad * 2) / Math.max(hours.length - 1, 1);
    var yScale = (h - pad * 2) / maxCount;
    var svg = '<svg viewBox="0 0 ' + w + ' ' + h + '" style="width:100%;max-height:180px" role="img" aria-label="Channel message activity over time"><title>Channel message activity over time</title>';
-    for (var ci = 0; ci < channelList.length; ci++) {
+    for (var ci = 0; ci < visibleChannels.length; ci++) {
      var pts = [];
      for (var hi = 0; hi < hours.length; hi++) {
-        var count = lookup[hours[hi] + '|' + channelList[ci]] || 0;
+        var count = lookup[hours[hi] + '|' + visibleChannels[ci]] || 0;
        var x = pad + hi * xScale;
        var y = h - pad - count * yScale;
        pts.push(x + ',' + y);
@@ -876,8 +907,11 @@
    }
    svg += '</svg>';
    var legendParts = [];
-    for (var lci = 0; lci < channelList.length; lci++) {
-      legendParts.push('<span><span class="legend-dot" style="background:' + colors[lci % colors.length] + '"></span>' + esc(channelList[lci]) + '</span>');
+    for (var lci = 0; lci < visibleChannels.length; lci++) {
+      legendParts.push('<span><span class="legend-dot" style="background:' + colors[lci % colors.length] + '"></span>' + esc(visibleChannels[lci]) + '</span>');
+    }
+    if (hiddenCount > 0) {
+      legendParts.push('<span class="text-muted">+' + hiddenCount + ' more</span>');
    }
    svg += '<div class="timeline-legend">' + legendParts.join('') + '</div>';
    return svg;
@@ -1937,15 +1971,18 @@
      }

      // Top hops leaderboard
-      html += `<div class="analytics-section"><h3>🏆 Top 20 Longest Hops</h3><table class="data-table"><thead><tr><th scope="col">#</th><th scope="col">From</th><th scope="col">To</th><th scope="col">Distance (${distUnitLabel})</th><th scope="col">Type</th><th scope="col">SNR</th><th scope="col">Packet</th><th scope="col"></th></tr></thead><tbody>`;
+      html += `<div class="analytics-section"><h3>🏆 Top 20 Longest Hops</h3><table class="data-table"><thead><tr><th scope="col">#</th><th scope="col">From</th><th scope="col">To</th><th scope="col">Distance (${distUnitLabel})</th><th scope="col">Type</th><th scope="col">Obs</th><th scope="col">Best SNR</th><th scope="col">Median SNR</th><th scope="col">Packet</th><th scope="col"></th></tr></thead><tbody>`;
      const top20 = data.topHops.slice(0, 20);
      top20.forEach((h, i) => {
        const fromLink = h.fromPk ? `<a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(h.fromPk)}" class="analytics-link">${esc(h.fromName)}</a>` : esc(h.fromName || '?');
        const toLink = h.toPk ? `<a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(h.toPk)}" class="analytics-link">${esc(h.toName)}</a>` : esc(h.toName || '?');
-        const snr = h.snr != null ? h.snr + ' dB' : '<span class="text-muted">—</span>';
+        const bestSnr = h.bestSnr != null ? Number(h.bestSnr).toFixed(1) + ' dB' : '<span class="text-muted">—</span>';
+        const medianSnr = h.medianSnr != null ? Number(h.medianSnr).toFixed(1) + ' dB' : '<span class="text-muted">—</span>';
+        const obs = h.obsCount != null ? h.obsCount : 1;
        const pktLink = h.hash ? `<a href="#/packet/${encodeURIComponent(h.hash)}" class="analytics-link mono" style="font-size:0.85em">${esc(h.hash.slice(0, 12))}…</a>` : '—';
        const mapBtn = h.fromPk && h.toPk ? `<button class="btn-icon dist-map-hop" data-from="${esc(h.fromPk)}" data-to="${esc(h.toPk)}" title="View on map">🗺️</button>` : '';
-        html += `<tr><td>${i+1}</td><td>${fromLink}</td><td>${toLink}</td><td><strong>${formatDistance(h.dist)}</strong></td><td>${esc(h.type)}</td><td>${snr}</td><td>${pktLink}</td><td>${mapBtn}</td></tr>`;
+        const tsTitle = h.timestamp ? `Best observation: ${h.timestamp}` : '';
+        html += `<tr title="${esc(tsTitle)}"><td>${i+1}</td><td>${fromLink}</td><td>${toLink}</td><td><strong>${formatDistance(h.dist)}</strong></td><td>${esc(h.type)}</td><td>${obs}</td><td>${bestSnr}</td><td>${medianSnr}</td><td>${pktLink}</td><td>${mapBtn}</td></tr>`;
      });
      html += `</tbody></table></div>`;

@@ -3448,7 +3485,7 @@ function destroy() { _analyticsData = {}; _channelData = null; if (_ngState && _
          if (sortKey === 'severity') {
            v = (SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER[a.severity] || 9) - (SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER[b.severity] || 9);
          } else if (sortKey === 'skew') {
-            v = Math.abs(b.medianSkewSec || 0) - Math.abs(a.medianSkewSec || 0);
+            v = Math.abs(window.currentSkewValue(b) || 0) - Math.abs(window.currentSkewValue(a) || 0);
          } else if (sortKey === 'name') {
            v = (a.nodeName || '').localeCompare(b.nodeName || '');
          } else if (sortKey === 'drift') {
@@ -3458,12 +3495,12 @@ function destroy() { _analyticsData = {}; _channelData = null; if (_ngState && _
        });

        // Summary
-        var counts = { ok: 0, warning: 0, critical: 0, absurd: 0 };
+        var counts = { ok: 0, degrading: 0, degraded: 0, wrong: 0, default: 0 };
        data.forEach(function(n) { if (counts[n.severity] !== undefined) counts[n.severity]++; });

        // Filter buttons (also serve as summary — no separate stats pills needed)
-        var filterColors = { ok: 'var(--status-green)', warning: 'var(--status-yellow)', critical: 'var(--status-orange)', absurd: 'var(--status-purple)', no_clock: 'var(--text-muted)' };
-        var filters = ['all', 'ok', 'warning', 'critical', 'absurd', 'no_clock'];
+        var filterColors = { ok: 'var(--status-green)', degrading: 'var(--status-yellow)', degraded: 'var(--status-orange)', wrong: 'var(--status-red)', default: 'var(--text-muted)' };
+        var filters = ['all', 'ok', 'degrading', 'degraded', 'wrong', 'default'];
        var filterHtml = '<div style="margin-bottom:10px">' + filters.map(function(f) {
          var dot = f !== 'all' ? '<span style="display:inline-block;width:8px;height:8px;border-radius:50%;background:' + filterColors[f] + ';margin-right:4px;vertical-align:middle"></span>' : '';
          return '<button class="clock-filter-btn' + (activeFilter === f ? ' active' : '') + '" data-filter="' + f + '">' +
@@ -3475,12 +3512,13 @@ function destroy() { _analyticsData = {}; _channelData = null; if (_ngState && _
        var rowsHtml = filtered.map(function(n) {
          var rowClass = 'clock-fleet-row--' + (n.severity || 'ok');
          var lastAdv = n.lastObservedTS ? new Date(n.lastObservedTS * 1000).toISOString().replace('T', ' ').replace(/\.\d+Z/, ' UTC') : '—';
-          var skewText = n.severity === 'no_clock' ? 'No Clock' : formatSkew(n.medianSkewSec);
-          var driftText = n.severity === 'no_clock' || !n.driftPerDaySec ? '–' : formatDrift(n.driftPerDaySec);
+          var skewVal = window.currentSkewValue(n);
+          var skewText = n.severity === 'default' ? 'Default' : formatSkew(skewVal);
+          var driftText = n.severity === 'default' || !n.driftPerDaySec ? '–' : formatDrift(n.driftPerDaySec);
          return '<tr class="' + rowClass + '" data-pubkey="' + esc(n.pubkey) + '" style="cursor:pointer">' +
            '<td><strong>' + esc(n.nodeName || n.pubkey.slice(0, 12)) + '</strong></td>' +
            '<td style="font-family:var(--mono,monospace)">' + skewText + '</td>' +
-            '<td>' + renderSkewBadge(n.severity, n.medianSkewSec) + '</td>' +
+            '<td>' + renderSkewBadge(n.severity, skewVal, n) + '</td>' +
            '<td style="font-family:var(--mono,monospace)">' + driftText + '</td>' +
            '<td style="font-size:11px">' + lastAdv + '</td>' +
            '</tr>';
@@ -10,8 +10,75 @@ function routeTypeName(n) { return ROUTE_TYPES[n] || 'UNKNOWN'; }
 function payloadTypeName(n) { return PAYLOAD_TYPES[n] || 'UNKNOWN'; }
 function payloadTypeColor(n) { return PAYLOAD_COLORS[n] || 'unknown'; }
 function isTransportRoute(rt) { return rt === 0 || rt === 3; }
+/** Byte offset of path_len in raw_hex: 5 for transport routes (4 bytes of next/last hop codes precede it), 1 otherwise. */
+function getPathLenOffset(routeType) { return isTransportRoute(routeType) ? 5 : 1; }
 function transportBadge(rt) { return isTransportRoute(rt) ? ' <span class="badge badge-transport" title="' + routeTypeName(rt) + '">T</span>' : ''; }

+/**
+ * Compute breakdown byte ranges from raw_hex on the client.
+ * Mirrors cmd/server/decoder.go BuildBreakdown(). Used so per-observation raw_hex
+ * (which can differ in path length from the top-level packet) gets accurate
+ * highlighted byte ranges, instead of using the server-supplied breakdown
+ * computed once from the top-level raw_hex.
+ */
+function computeBreakdownRanges(hexString, routeType, payloadType) {
+  if (!hexString) return [];
+  const clean = hexString.replace(/\s+/g, '');
+  const bytes = clean.length / 2;
+  if (bytes < 2) return [];
+  const ranges = [];
+  // Header
+  ranges.push({ start: 0, end: 0, label: 'Header' });
+  let offset = 1;
+  if (isTransportRoute(routeType)) {
+    if (bytes < offset + 4) return ranges;
+    ranges.push({ start: offset, end: offset + 3, label: 'Transport Codes' });
+    offset += 4;
+  }
+  if (offset >= bytes) return ranges;
+  // Path Length byte
+  ranges.push({ start: offset, end: offset, label: 'Path Length' });
+  const pathByte = parseInt(clean.slice(offset * 2, offset * 2 + 2), 16);
+  offset += 1;
+  if (isNaN(pathByte)) return ranges;
+  const hashSize = (pathByte >> 6) + 1;
+  const hashCount = pathByte & 0x3F;
+  const pathBytes = hashSize * hashCount;
+  if (hashCount > 0 && offset + pathBytes <= bytes) {
+    ranges.push({ start: offset, end: offset + pathBytes - 1, label: 'Path' });
+  }
+  offset += pathBytes;
+  if (offset >= bytes) return ranges;
+  const payloadStart = offset;
+  // ADVERT (payload_type 4) gets sub-fields when full record present
+  if (payloadType === 4 && bytes - payloadStart >= 100) {
+    ranges.push({ start: payloadStart,      end: payloadStart + 31, label: 'PubKey' });
+    ranges.push({ start: payloadStart + 32, end: payloadStart + 35, label: 'Timestamp' });
+    ranges.push({ start: payloadStart + 36, end: payloadStart + 99, label: 'Signature' });
+    const appStart = payloadStart + 100;
+    if (appStart < bytes) {
+      ranges.push({ start: appStart, end: appStart, label: 'Flags' });
+      const appFlags = parseInt(clean.slice(appStart * 2, appStart * 2 + 2), 16);
+      let fOff = appStart + 1;
+      if (!isNaN(appFlags)) {
+        if ((appFlags & 0x10) && fOff + 8 <= bytes) {
+          ranges.push({ start: fOff,     end: fOff + 3, label: 'Latitude' });
+          ranges.push({ start: fOff + 4, end: fOff + 7, label: 'Longitude' });
+          fOff += 8;
+        }
+        if ((appFlags & 0x20) && fOff + 2 <= bytes) fOff += 2;
+        if ((appFlags & 0x40) && fOff + 2 <= bytes) fOff += 2;
+        if ((appFlags & 0x80) && fOff < bytes) {
+          ranges.push({ start: fOff, end: bytes - 1, label: 'Name' });
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  } else {
+    ranges.push({ start: payloadStart, end: bytes - 1, label: 'Payload' });
+  }
+  return ranges;
+}
+
 // --- Utilities ---
 const _apiPerf = { calls: 0, totalMs: 0, log: [], cacheHits: 0 };
 const _apiCache = new Map();
@@ -1027,7 +1094,6 @@ function makeColumnsResizable(tableSelector, storageKey) {
  // Add resize handles
  ths.forEach((th, i) => {
    if (i === ths.length - 1) return;
-    th.style.position = 'relative';
    const handle = document.createElement('div');
    handle.className = 'col-resize-handle';
    handle.addEventListener('mousedown', (e) => {
@@ -393,17 +393,25 @@
    }
  }

-  // Merge user-stored keys into the channel list
+  // Merge user-stored keys into the channel list.
+  // If a stored key matches a server-known channel, mark that channel as
+  // userAdded so the ✕ button appears — otherwise the user has no way to
+  // remove a key they added but that the server already knows about.
  function mergeUserChannels() {
    var keys = ChannelDecrypt.getStoredKeys();
    var names = Object.keys(keys);
    for (var i = 0; i < names.length; i++) {
      var name = names[i];
-      // Check if channel already exists by name
-      var exists = channels.some(function (ch) {
-        return ch.name === name || ch.hash === name || ch.hash === ('user:' + name);
-      });
-      if (!exists) {
+      var matched = false;
+      for (var j = 0; j < channels.length; j++) {
+        var ch = channels[j];
+        if (ch.name === name || ch.hash === name || ch.hash === ('user:' + name)) {
+          ch.userAdded = true;
+          matched = true;
+          break;
+        }
+      }
+      if (!matched) {
        channels.push({
          hash: 'user:' + name,
          name: name,
@@ -749,19 +757,38 @@
        e.stopPropagation();
        var channelHash = removeBtn.getAttribute('data-remove-channel');
        if (!channelHash) return;
-        var chName = channelHash.startsWith('user:') ? channelHash.substring(5) : channelHash;
+        // The localStorage key is the channel name. For user:-prefixed entries
+        // strip the prefix; for server-known channels look up the channel
+        // object so we use its display name (the hash itself isn't the key).
+        var ch = channels.find(function (c) { return c.hash === channelHash; });
+        var chName = channelHash.startsWith('user:')
+          ? channelHash.substring(5)
+          : (ch && ch.name) || channelHash;
        if (!confirm('Remove channel "' + chName + '"? This will clear saved keys and cached messages.')) return;
        ChannelDecrypt.removeKey(chName);
-        // Remove from channels array
-        channels = channels.filter(function (c) { return c.hash !== channelHash; });
-        if (selectedHash === channelHash) {
-          selectedHash = null;
-          messages = [];
-          history.replaceState(null, '', '#/channels');
-          var msgEl2 = document.getElementById('chMessages');
-          if (msgEl2) msgEl2.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-empty">Choose a channel from the sidebar to view messages</div>';
-          var header2 = document.getElementById('chHeader');
-          if (header2) header2.querySelector('.ch-header-text').textContent = 'Select a channel';
+        if (channelHash.startsWith('user:')) {
+          // Pure user-added channel — drop from the list entirely.
+          channels = channels.filter(function (c) { return c.hash !== channelHash; });
+          if (selectedHash === channelHash) {
+            selectedHash = null;
+            messages = [];
+            history.replaceState(null, '', '#/channels');
+            var msgEl2 = document.getElementById('chMessages');
+            if (msgEl2) msgEl2.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-empty">Choose a channel from the sidebar to view messages</div>';
+            var header2 = document.getElementById('chHeader');
+            if (header2) header2.querySelector('.ch-header-text').textContent = 'Select a channel';
+          }
+        } else if (ch) {
+          // Server-known channel: keep the row, just unmark as user-added so
+          // the ✕ disappears until they re-add a key.
+          ch.userAdded = false;
+          // If this was the selected channel, clear decrypted messages since
+          // the key is gone — they can't be re-decrypted without re-adding it.
+          if (selectedHash === channelHash) {
+            messages = [];
+            var msgEl2 = document.getElementById('chMessages');
+            if (msgEl2) msgEl2.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-empty">Key removed — add a key to decrypt messages</div>';
+          }
        }
        renderChannelList();
        return;
@@ -1165,6 +1192,40 @@
      return;
    }

+    // #811: Deep link to a `#`-named channel that's not in the loaded list.
+    // If a stored key matches, decrypt. Otherwise we must distinguish an
+    // encrypted-no-key channel (show lock) from an unencrypted channel that
+    // simply isn't in the toggle-off list (#825 — must fall through to REST).
+    if (hash.charAt(0) === '#') {
+      if (storedKeys[hash]) {
+        var keyHex2 = storedKeys[hash];
+        var keyBytes2 = ChannelDecrypt.hexToBytes(keyHex2);
+        var hashByte2 = await ChannelDecrypt.computeChannelHash(keyBytes2);
+        await decryptAndRender(keyHex2, hashByte2, hash);
+        return;
+      }
+      // #825: confirm encrypted-ness via an encrypted-included channel list
+      // before assuming a lock state. Conservative on error — fall through.
+      // Show a loading affordance so cold deep links don't display stale content
+      // for the duration of the metadata RTT (cached 15s thereafter).
+      msgEl.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-loading">Loading messages…</div>';
+      try {
+        var rpInc = RegionFilter.getRegionParam();
+        var paramsInc = ['includeEncrypted=true'];
+        if (rpInc) paramsInc.push('region=' + encodeURIComponent(rpInc));
+        var allCh = await api('/channels?' + paramsInc.join('&'), { ttl: CLIENT_TTL.channels });
+        if (isStaleMessageRequest(request)) return;
+        var foundCh = (allCh.channels || []).find(function (c) { return c.hash === hash; });
+        if (foundCh && foundCh.encrypted === true) {
+          msgEl.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-empty">🔒 This channel is encrypted and no decryption key is configured</div>';
+          return;
+        }
+        // Unencrypted (or unknown) — fall through to the REST fetch below.
+      } catch (e) {
+        // ignore — fall through to REST fetch
+      }
+    }
+
    msgEl.innerHTML = '<div class="ch-loading">Loading messages…</div>';

    try {
@@ -81,9 +81,13 @@ window.HopDisplay = (function() {
    const regionalConflicts = conflicts.filter(c => c.regional);
    const badgeCount = regionalConflicts.length > 0 ? regionalConflicts.length : (globalFallback ? conflicts.length : 0);
    const conflictData = escapeHtml(JSON.stringify({ h, conflicts, globalFallback }));
-    const warnBadge = badgeCount > 1
+    const conflictBadge = badgeCount > 1
      ? ` <button class="hop-conflict-btn" data-conflict='${conflictData}' onclick="event.preventDefault();event.stopPropagation();HopDisplay._showFromBtn(this)" title="${badgeCount} candidates — click for details">⚠${badgeCount}</button>`
      : '';
+    const unreliableBadge = unreliable
+      ? ' <button class="hop-unreliable-btn" aria-label="Unreliable name resolution" title="Unreliable name resolution — this hash\u2192name match is geographically inconsistent with the surrounding path hops. The repeater itself may be fine; this specific hop assignment is uncertain.">⚠️</button>'
+      : '';
+    const warnBadge = conflictBadge + unreliableBadge;

    const cls = [
      'hop',
@@ -72,33 +72,89 @@ window.HopResolver = (function() {
  }

  /**
-   * Pick the best candidate using affinity first, then geo-distance fallback.
+   * Pick the best candidate by scoring against BOTH prev and next resolved hops.
+   *
+   * Strategy (in priority order):
+   * 1. Neighbor-graph edge weight: sum of edge scores to prevPubkey + nextPubkey. Pick max.
+   * 2. Geographic centroid: if no candidate has graph edges, compute centroid of
+   *    prev+next positions and pick closest candidate by haversine distance.
+   * 3. Single-anchor geo fallback: if only one neighbor is resolved, use it as anchor.
+   * 4. Original heuristic: first candidate (when no context at all).
+   *
   * @param {Array} candidates - candidates with lat/lon/pubkey/name
-   * @param {string|null} adjacentPubkey - pubkey of the previously/next resolved hop
-   * @param {Object|null} anchor - {lat, lon} for geo fallback
-   * @param {number|null} fallbackLat - fallback anchor lat (e.g. observer)
-   * @param {number|null} fallbackLon - fallback anchor lon
+   * @param {string|null} prevPubkey - pubkey of previous resolved hop
+   * @param {string|null} nextPubkey - pubkey of next resolved hop
+   * @param {Object|null} prevPos - {lat, lon} of previous resolved hop or origin
+   * @param {Object|null} nextPos - {lat, lon} of next resolved hop or observer
   * @returns {Object} best candidate
   */
-  function pickByAffinity(candidates, adjacentPubkey, anchor, fallbackLat, fallbackLon) {
-    // If we have affinity data and an adjacent hop, prefer neighbors
-    if (adjacentPubkey && Object.keys(affinityMap).length > 0) {
-      const withAffinity = candidates
-        .map(c => ({ ...c, affinity: getAffinity(adjacentPubkey, c.pubkey) }))
-        .filter(c => c.affinity > 0);
-      if (withAffinity.length > 0) {
-        withAffinity.sort((a, b) => b.affinity - a.affinity);
-        return withAffinity[0];
+  function pickByAffinity(candidates, prevPubkey, nextPubkey, prevPos, nextPos) {
+    const hasGraph = Object.keys(affinityMap).length > 0;
+    const hasAdj = prevPubkey || nextPubkey;
+
+    // Strategy 1: neighbor-graph edge weights (sum of prev + next)
+    if (hasGraph && hasAdj) {
+      const scored = candidates.map(function(c) {
+        let s = 0;
+        if (prevPubkey) s += getAffinity(prevPubkey, c.pubkey);
+        if (nextPubkey) s += getAffinity(nextPubkey, c.pubkey);
+        return { candidate: c, edgeScore: s };
+      });
+      const withEdges = scored.filter(function(s) { return s.edgeScore > 0; });
+      if (withEdges.length > 0) {
+        withEdges.sort(function(a, b) { return b.edgeScore - a.edgeScore; });
+        _traceMultiCandidate(candidates, scored, withEdges[0].candidate, 'graph');
+        return withEdges[0].candidate;
      }
    }
-    // Fallback: geo-distance sort (existing behavior)
-    const effectiveAnchor = anchor || (fallbackLat != null ? { lat: fallbackLat, lon: fallbackLon } : null);
-    if (effectiveAnchor) {
-      candidates.sort((a, b) => dist(a.lat, a.lon, effectiveAnchor.lat, effectiveAnchor.lon) - dist(b.lat, b.lon, effectiveAnchor.lat, effectiveAnchor.lon));
+
+    // Strategy 2/3: geographic — centroid of prev+next, or single anchor
+    let anchorLat = null, anchorLon = null, anchorCount = 0;
+    if (prevPos && prevPos.lat != null && prevPos.lon != null) {
+      anchorLat = (anchorLat || 0) + prevPos.lat;
+      anchorLon = (anchorLon || 0) + prevPos.lon;
+      anchorCount++;
    }
+    if (nextPos && nextPos.lat != null && nextPos.lon != null) {
+      anchorLat = (anchorLat || 0) + nextPos.lat;
+      anchorLon = (anchorLon || 0) + nextPos.lon;
+      anchorCount++;
+    }
+    if (anchorCount > 0) {
+      anchorLat /= anchorCount;
+      anchorLon /= anchorCount;
+      const geoScored = candidates.map(function(c) {
+        const d = (c.lat != null && c.lon != null && !(c.lat === 0 && c.lon === 0))
+          ? haversineKm(c.lat, c.lon, anchorLat, anchorLon) : 999999;
+        return { candidate: c, distKm: d };
+      });
+      geoScored.sort(function(a, b) { return a.distKm - b.distKm; });
+      _traceMultiCandidate(candidates, geoScored, geoScored[0].candidate, 'centroid');
+      return geoScored[0].candidate;
+    }
+
+    // Strategy 4: no context — return first candidate
+    _traceMultiCandidate(candidates, null, candidates[0], 'fallback');
    return candidates[0];
  }

+  /** Dev-mode console trace for multi-candidate picks */
+  function _traceMultiCandidate(candidates, scored, chosen, method) {
+    if (typeof console === 'undefined' || !console.debug) return;
+    if (candidates.length < 2) return;
+    try {
+      const prefix = candidates[0].pubkey ? candidates[0].pubkey.slice(0, 2) : '??';
+      const scoreSummary = scored ? scored.map(function(s) {
+        const pk = (s.candidate || s).pubkey || '?';
+        const val = s.edgeScore != null ? s.edgeScore : (s.distKm != null ? s.distKm + 'km' : '?');
+        return pk.slice(0, 8) + ':' + val;
+      }) : [];
+      console.debug('[hop-resolver] hash=' + prefix + ' candidates=' + candidates.length +
+        ' scored=[' + scoreSummary.join(',') + '] chose=' + (chosen.pubkey || '?').slice(0, 8) +
+        ' method=' + method);
+    } catch(e) { /* trace is best-effort */ }
+  }
+
  /**
   * Resolve an array of hex hop prefixes to node info.
   * Returns a map: { hop: {name, pubkey, lat, lon, ambiguous, unreliable} }
@@ -169,52 +225,54 @@ window.HopResolver = (function() {
      }
    }

-    // Forward pass
-    let lastPos = (originLat != null && originLon != null) ? { lat: originLat, lon: originLon } : null;
-    let lastResolvedPubkey = null;
-    for (let i = 0; i < hops.length; i++) {
-      const hop = hops[i];
-      if (hopPositions[hop]) {
-        lastPos = hopPositions[hop];
-        lastResolvedPubkey = resolved[hop] ? resolved[hop].pubkey : null;
-        continue;
+    // Combined disambiguation: resolve ambiguous hops using both neighbors.
+    // We iterate until no more hops can be resolved (handles cascading dependencies).
+    const originPos = (originLat != null && originLon != null) ? { lat: originLat, lon: originLon } : null;
+    const observerPos = (observerLat != null && observerLon != null) ? { lat: observerLat, lon: observerLon } : null;
+
+    let changed = true;
+    let maxIter = hops.length + 1; // prevent infinite loops
+    while (changed && maxIter-- > 0) {
+      changed = false;
+      for (let i = 0; i < hops.length; i++) {
+        const hop = hops[i];
+        if (hopPositions[hop]) continue; // already resolved
+        const r = resolved[hop];
+        if (!r || !r.ambiguous) continue;
+        const withLoc = r.candidates.filter(c => c.lat != null && c.lon != null && !(c.lat === 0 && c.lon === 0));
+        if (!withLoc.length) continue;
+
+        // Find prev resolved neighbor
+        let prevPubkey = null, prevPos = null;
+        for (let j = i - 1; j >= 0; j--) {
+          if (hopPositions[hops[j]]) {
+            prevPos = hopPositions[hops[j]];
+            prevPubkey = resolved[hops[j]] ? resolved[hops[j]].pubkey : null;
+            break;
+          }
+        }
+        if (!prevPos && originPos) prevPos = originPos;
+
+        // Find next resolved neighbor
+        let nextPubkey = null, nextPos = null;
+        for (let j = i + 1; j < hops.length; j++) {
+          if (hopPositions[hops[j]]) {
+            nextPos = hopPositions[hops[j]];
+            nextPubkey = resolved[hops[j]] ? resolved[hops[j]].pubkey : null;
+            break;
+          }
+        }
+        if (!nextPos && observerPos) nextPos = observerPos;
+
+        // Skip if we have zero context (wait for a later iteration or neighbor resolution)
+        if (!prevPubkey && !nextPubkey && !prevPos && !nextPos) continue;
+
+        const picked = pickByAffinity(withLoc, prevPubkey, nextPubkey, prevPos, nextPos);
+        r.name = picked.name;
+        r.pubkey = picked.pubkey;
+        hopPositions[hop] = { lat: picked.lat, lon: picked.lon };
+        changed = true;
      }
-      const r = resolved[hop];
-      if (!r || !r.ambiguous) continue;
-      const withLoc = r.candidates.filter(c => c.lat && c.lon && !(c.lat === 0 && c.lon === 0));
-      if (!withLoc.length) continue;
-
-      // Affinity-aware: prefer candidates that are neighbors of the previous hop
-      const picked = pickByAffinity(withLoc, lastResolvedPubkey, lastPos, i === hops.length - 1 ? observerLat : null, i === hops.length - 1 ? observerLon : null);
-      r.name = picked.name;
-      r.pubkey = picked.pubkey;
-      hopPositions[hop] = { lat: picked.lat, lon: picked.lon };
-      lastPos = hopPositions[hop];
-      lastResolvedPubkey = picked.pubkey;
-    }
-
-    // Backward pass
-    let nextPos = (observerLat != null && observerLon != null) ? { lat: observerLat, lon: observerLon } : null;
-    let nextResolvedPubkey = null;
-    for (let i = hops.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-      const hop = hops[i];
-      if (hopPositions[hop]) {
-        nextPos = hopPositions[hop];
-        nextResolvedPubkey = resolved[hop] ? resolved[hop].pubkey : null;
-        continue;
-      }
-      const r = resolved[hop];
-      if (!r || !r.ambiguous) continue;
-      const withLoc = r.candidates.filter(c => c.lat && c.lon && !(c.lat === 0 && c.lon === 0));
-      if (!withLoc.length || !nextPos) continue;
-
-      // Affinity-aware: prefer candidates that are neighbors of the next hop
-      const picked = pickByAffinity(withLoc, nextResolvedPubkey, nextPos, null, null);
-      r.name = picked.name;
-      r.pubkey = picked.pubkey;
-      hopPositions[hop] = { lat: picked.lat, lon: picked.lon };
-      nextPos = hopPositions[hop];
-      nextResolvedPubkey = picked.pubkey;
    }

    // Sanity check: drop hops impossibly far from neighbors
@@ -276,13 +334,13 @@ window.HopResolver = (function() {
   */
  function resolveFromServer(hops, resolvedPath) {
    if (!hops || !resolvedPath || hops.length !== resolvedPath.length) return {};
-    var result = {};
-    for (var i = 0; i < hops.length; i++) {
-      var hop = hops[i];
-      var pubkey = resolvedPath[i];
+    const result = {};
+    for (let i = 0; i < hops.length; i++) {
+      const hop = hops[i];
+      const pubkey = resolvedPath[i];
      if (!pubkey) continue; // null = unresolved, leave for client-side fallback
      // O(1) lookup via pubkeyIdx built during init()
-      var node = pubkeyIdx[pubkey.toLowerCase()] || null;
+      const node = pubkeyIdx[pubkey.toLowerCase()] || null;
      result[hop] = {
        name: node ? node.name : pubkey.slice(0, 8),
        pubkey: pubkey,
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@

 /* ---- Node Detail Panel ---- */
 .live-node-detail {
-  top: 60px;
+  top: 64px;
  right: 12px;
  width: 320px;
  max-height: calc(100vh - 140px);
@@ -325,11 +325,14 @@
  }
  .live-stats-row { flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 4px; }
  .live-stat-pill { font-size: 11px; padding: 2px 7px; }
-  .live-toggles { font-size: 10px; gap: 6px; margin-left: 0; }
+  .live-toggles { font-size: 10px; gap: 6px; margin-left: 0; overflow-x: auto; flex-wrap: nowrap; -webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch; width: 100%; min-width: 0; }
  .live-title { font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 1px; }
  /* #203 — bottom-sheet node detail on mobile */
-  .live-node-detail { width: 100%; right: 0; left: 0; top: auto; bottom: 0; max-height: 60vh; border-radius: 16px 16px 0 0; overflow-y: auto; }
+  .live-node-detail { width: 100%; right: 0; left: 0; top: auto; bottom: 0; max-height: 60dvh; border-radius: 16px 16px 0 0; overflow-y: auto; z-index: 1050; }
  .live-node-detail.hidden { transform: translateY(100%); }
+  /* Close button was unreachable: panel-header collapsed to 8px on mobile, panel-content
+     scroll area started at y=8, overlapping the button's 36px tap target (y=6–42) */
+  .live-node-detail .panel-header { min-height: 44px; }
  .feed-detail-card {
    position: fixed !important;
    right: 0 !important;
@@ -689,6 +692,18 @@
 .live-feed { bottom: 68px; }
 .feed-show-btn { bottom: 68px !important; }

+/* Backdrop for mobile tap-outside-to-close (#797) */
+.node-detail-backdrop {
+  display: none;
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  z-index: 1049;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);
+}
+@media (max-width: 640px) {
+  .node-detail-backdrop.active { display: block; }
+}
+
 /* Mobile VCR */
@media (max-width: 640px) {
  /* Mobile VCR: two-row stacked layout */
@@ -849,6 +849,7 @@
          <div class="panel-content" aria-live="polite" aria-relevant="additions" role="log"></div>
        </div>
        <button class="feed-show-btn hidden" id="feedShowBtn" title="Show feed">📋</button>
+        <div id="nodeDetailBackdrop" class="node-detail-backdrop"></div>
        <div class="live-overlay live-node-detail hidden" id="liveNodeDetail">
          <div class="panel-header">
            <button class="panel-corner-btn" data-panel="liveNodeDetail" title="Move panel to next corner" aria-label="Move panel to next corner">◫</button>
@@ -1216,10 +1217,14 @@
    // Node detail panel
    const nodeDetailPanel = document.getElementById('liveNodeDetail');
    const nodeDetailContent = document.getElementById('nodeDetailContent');
-    document.getElementById('nodeDetailClose').addEventListener('click', () => {
+    const nodeDetailBackdrop = document.getElementById('nodeDetailBackdrop');
+    function closeNodeDetail() {
      activeNodeDetailKey = null;
      nodeDetailPanel.classList.add('hidden');
-    });
+      nodeDetailBackdrop.classList.remove('active');
+    }
+    document.getElementById('nodeDetailClose').addEventListener('click', closeNodeDetail);
+    nodeDetailBackdrop.addEventListener('click', closeNodeDetail);

    // Feed panel resize handle (#27)
    const savedFeedWidth = localStorage.getItem('live-feed-width');
@@ -1451,6 +1456,7 @@
    const panel = document.getElementById('liveNodeDetail');
    const content = document.getElementById('nodeDetailContent');
    panel.classList.remove('hidden');
+    document.getElementById('nodeDetailBackdrop').classList.add('active');
    content.innerHTML = '<div style="padding:20px;color:var(--text-muted)">Loading…</div>';
    try {
      const [data, healthData] = await Promise.all([
@@ -965,7 +965,7 @@
        </dl>
        <div style="margin-top:8px;clear:both;">
          <a href="#/nodes/${node.public_key}" style="color:var(--accent);font-size:12px;">View Node →</a>
-          ${node.public_key ? ` · <a href="#" data-show-neighbors data-pubkey="${escapeHtml(node.public_key)}" data-name="${escapeHtml(node.name || 'Unknown')}" style="color:var(--accent);font-size:12px;">Show Neighbors</a>` : ''}
+          ${node.public_key ? ` · <a href="javascript:void(0)" role="button" data-show-neighbors data-pubkey="${escapeHtml(node.public_key)}" data-name="${escapeHtml(node.name || 'Unknown')}" style="color:var(--accent);font-size:12px;cursor:pointer;">Show Neighbors</a>` : ''}
        </div>
      </div>`;
  }
@@ -286,11 +286,29 @@
      if (h) h.textContent = 'Neighbors (' + data.neighbors.length + ')';
    }
    var html = renderNeighborTable(data.neighbors, limit);
-    if (limit && data.neighbors.length > limit && viewAllPubkey) {
-      html += '<div style="margin-top:6px;text-align:right"><a href="#/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(viewAllPubkey) + '?section=node-neighbors" style="font-size:12px">View all ' + data.neighbors.length + ' neighbors →</a></div>';
+    if (limit && data.neighbors.length > limit) {
+      html += '<div style="margin-top:6px;text-align:right"><button class="btn-link show-all-neighbors-btn" style="font-size:12px;cursor:pointer;background:none;border:none;color:var(--accent);padding:0">Show all ' + data.neighbors.length + ' neighbors ▼</button></div>';
+    } else if (!limit && data.neighbors.length > 5) {
+      // Collapse toggle when expanded (#855)
+      html += '<div style="margin-top:6px;text-align:right"><button class="btn-link collapse-neighbors-btn" style="font-size:12px;cursor:pointer;background:none;border:none;color:var(--accent);padding:0">Show fewer ▲</button></div>';
    }
    el.innerHTML = html;

+    // Wire "Show all neighbors" expand button (#855)
+    var expandBtn = el.querySelector('.show-all-neighbors-btn');
+    if (expandBtn) {
+      expandBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
+        renderNeighborData(data, containerId, 0, headerSelector, null);
+      });
+    }
+    // Wire collapse button (#855)
+    var collapseBtn = el.querySelector('.collapse-neighbors-btn');
+    if (collapseBtn) {
+      collapseBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
+        renderNeighborData(data, containerId, 5, headerSelector, null);
+      });
+    }
+
    // Initialize TableSort on neighbor table
    var neighborTable = el.querySelector('.neighbor-sort-table');
    if (neighborTable && window.TableSort) {
@@ -318,8 +336,11 @@
  function init(app, routeParam) {
    directNode = routeParam || null;

-    if (directNode && window.innerWidth <= 640) {
-      // Full-screen single node view (mobile only)
+    if (directNode) {
+      // Full-screen single node view (desktop + mobile).
+      // Reached via the 🔍 Details link or a deep link to #/nodes/{pubkey}.
+      // Row clicks use history.replaceState (no hashchange → no re-init),
+      // so the split-panel UX on desktop is preserved.
      app.innerHTML = `<div class="node-fullscreen">
        <div class="node-full-header">
          <button class="detail-back-btn node-back-btn" id="nodeBackBtn" aria-label="Back to nodes">←</button>
@@ -352,7 +373,7 @@

    app.innerHTML = `<div class="nodes-page">
      <div class="nodes-topbar">
-        <input type="text" class="nodes-search" id="nodeSearch" placeholder="Search nodes by name…" aria-label="Search nodes by name">
+        <input type="text" class="nodes-search" id="nodeSearch" placeholder="Search by name or pubkey prefix…" aria-label="Search nodes by name or pubkey prefix">
        <div class="nodes-counts" id="nodeCounts"></div>
      </div>
      <div id="nodesRegionFilter" class="region-filter-container"></div>
@@ -538,9 +559,10 @@
        </div>

        <div class="node-full-card" id="node-packets">
-          <h4>Recent Packets (${adverts.length})</h4>
+          ${(() => { const validPackets = adverts.filter(p => p.hash && p.timestamp); return `
+          <h4>Recent Packets (${validPackets.length})</h4>
          <div class="node-activity-list">
-            ${adverts.length ? adverts.map(p => {
+            ${validPackets.length ? validPackets.map(p => {
              let decoded; try { decoded = JSON.parse(p.decoded_json); } catch {}
              const typeLabel = p.payload_type === 4 ? '📡 Advert' : p.payload_type === 5 ? '💬 Channel' : p.payload_type === 2 ? '✉️ DM' : '📦 Packet';
              const detail = decoded?.text ? ': ' + escapeHtml(truncate(decoded.text, 50)) : decoded?.name ? ' — ' + escapeHtml(decoded.name) : '';
@@ -566,6 +588,7 @@
              </div>`;
            }).join('') : '<div class="text-muted">No recent packets</div>'}
          </div>
+        `; })()}
        </div>`;

      // Map
@@ -628,34 +651,9 @@
        headerSelector: '#fullNeighborsHeader'
      });

-      // #690 — Clock Skew detail section
-      (async function loadClockSkew() {
-        var container = document.getElementById('node-clock-skew');
-        if (!container) return;
-        try {
-          var cs = await api('/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(n.public_key) + '/clock-skew', { ttl: 30000 });
-          if (!cs || !cs.severity) return;
-          container.style.display = '';
-          var severityColor = SKEW_SEVERITY_COLORS[cs.severity] || 'var(--text-muted)';
-          var severityLabel = SKEW_SEVERITY_LABELS[cs.severity] || cs.severity;
-          var driftHtml = cs.driftPerDaySec ? '<div style="font-size:12px;color:var(--text-muted);margin-top:2px">Drift: ' + formatDrift(cs.driftPerDaySec) + '</div>' : '';
-          var sparkHtml = renderSkewSparkline(cs.samples, 200, 32);
-          var skewDisplay = cs.severity === 'no_clock'
-            ? '<span style="font-size:18px;font-weight:700;color:var(--text-muted)">No Clock</span>'
-            : '<span style="font-size:18px;font-weight:700;font-family:var(--mono)">' + formatSkew(cs.medianSkewSec) + '</span>';
-          container.innerHTML =
-            '<h4 style="margin:0 0 6px">⏰ Clock Skew</h4>' +
-            '<div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;flex-wrap:wrap">' +
-              skewDisplay +
-              renderSkewBadge(cs.severity, cs.medianSkewSec) +
-              (cs.calibrated ? ' <span style="font-size:10px;color:var(--text-muted)" title="Observer-calibrated">✓ calibrated</span>' : '') +
-            '</div>' +
-            driftHtml +
-            (sparkHtml ? '<div class="skew-sparkline-wrap" style="margin-top:8px">' + sparkHtml + '<div style="font-size:10px;color:var(--text-muted)">Skew over time (' + (cs.samples || []).length + ' samples)</div></div>' : '');
-        } catch (e) {
-          // Non-fatal — section stays hidden
-        }
-      })();
+      // #690 — Clock Skew detail section (full-screen view)
+      loadClockSkewInto(document.getElementById('node-clock-skew'), n.public_key);
+

      // Affinity debug panel — show if debugAffinity is enabled
      (function loadAffinityDebug() {
@@ -812,6 +810,57 @@
  let _allNodes = null; // cached full node list
  let _fleetSkew = null; // cached clock skew map: pubkey → {severity, medianSkewSec, ...}

+  /**
+   * Fetch per-node clock skew and render into the given container element.
+   * Shared between the full-screen detail page and the side panel (#813, #690).
+   * No-op if the container is missing, the API errors, or the response lacks severity.
+   */
+  async function loadClockSkewInto(container, pubkey) {
+    if (!container) return;
+    try {
+      var cs = await api('/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(pubkey) + '/clock-skew', { ttl: 30000 });
+      if (!cs || !cs.severity) return;
+      container.style.display = '';
+      var driftHtml = cs.driftPerDaySec ? '<div style="font-size:12px;color:var(--text-muted);margin-top:2px">Drift: ' + formatDrift(cs.driftPerDaySec) + '</div>' : '';
+      var sparkHtml = renderSkewSparkline(cs.samples, 200, 32);
+      var skewVal = window.currentSkewValue(cs);
+      var skewDisplay = cs.severity === 'default'
+        ? '<span style="font-size:18px;font-weight:700;color:var(--text-muted)">Default</span>'
+        : '<span style="font-size:18px;font-weight:700;font-family:var(--mono)">' + formatSkew(skewVal) + '</span>';
+
+      // Per-tier explainer line (plain English reason).
+      var explainer = '';
+      var absSkew = Math.abs(cs.lastSkewSec || 0);
+      var skewStr = Math.round(absSkew) + 's';
+      if (cs.severity === 'default') {
+        var isoAdv = cs.lastAdvertTS ? new Date(cs.lastAdvertTS * 1000).toISOString() : '?';
+        explainer = 'Last advert at ' + isoAdv + ' — matches firmware default (volatile RTC, not user-set since boot)';
+      } else if (cs.severity === 'ok') {
+        explainer = 'Last advert ' + skewStr + ' vs wall clock — within OK tolerance (≤15s)';
+      } else if (cs.severity === 'degrading') {
+        explainer = 'Last advert ' + skewStr + ' vs wall clock — drift accumulating (≤60s)';
+      } else if (cs.severity === 'degraded') {
+        explainer = 'Last advert ' + skewStr + ' vs wall clock — significantly off (≤10m)';
+      } else if (cs.severity === 'wrong') {
+        explainer = 'Last advert ' + skewStr + ' vs wall clock — clock incorrect (operator-set or RTC failure)';
+      }
+      var explainerHtml = explainer ? '<div style="font-size:12px;color:var(--text-muted);margin-top:4px">' + explainer + '</div>' : '';
+
+      container.innerHTML =
+        '<h4 style="margin:0 0 6px">⏰ Clock Skew</h4>' +
+        '<div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:12px;flex-wrap:wrap">' +
+          skewDisplay +
+          renderSkewBadge(cs.severity, skewVal, cs) +
+          (cs.calibrated ? ' <span style="font-size:10px;color:var(--text-muted)" title="Observer-calibrated">✓ calibrated</span>' : '') +
+        '</div>' +
+        explainerHtml +
+        driftHtml +
+        (sparkHtml ? '<div class="skew-sparkline-wrap" style="margin-top:8px">' + sparkHtml + '<div style="font-size:10px;color:var(--text-muted)">Skew over time (' + (cs.samples || []).length + ' samples)</div></div>' : '');
+    } catch (e) {
+      // Non-fatal — section stays hidden
+    }
+  }
+
  /** Fetch fleet clock skew once, return map keyed by pubkey */
  async function getFleetSkew() {
    if (_fleetSkew) return _fleetSkew;
@@ -867,8 +916,7 @@
      let filtered = _allNodes;
      if (activeTab !== 'all') filtered = filtered.filter(n => (n.role || '').toLowerCase() === activeTab);
      if (search) {
-        const q = search.toLowerCase();
-        filtered = filtered.filter(n => (n.name || '').toLowerCase().includes(q) || (n.public_key || '').toLowerCase().includes(q));
+        filtered = filtered.filter(n => window._nodesMatchesSearch(n, search));
      }
      if (lastHeard) {
        const ms = { '1h': 3600000, '2h': 7200000, '6h': 21600000, '12h': 43200000, '24h': 86400000, '48h': 172800000, '3d': 259200000, '7d': 604800000, '14d': 1209600000, '30d': 2592000000 }[lastHeard];
@@ -1039,24 +1087,13 @@

    // #630: Close button for node detail panel (important for mobile full-screen overlay)
    document.getElementById('nodesRight').addEventListener('click', function(e) {
-      // #778: Details/Analytics links don't navigate because replaceState
-      // already set the hash to #/nodes/PUBKEY, so clicking <a href="#/nodes/PUBKEY">
-      // is a same-hash no-op. For the detail link (same page), call init()
-      // directly — faster than a full router teardown/rebuild cycle.
-      // For analytics (different page), force hashchange via replaceState + assign.
+      // #778/#856: Analytics link — force hashchange via replaceState + assign.
+      // (Details button is handled separately via .node-detail-btn click listener)
      var link = e.target.closest('a.btn-primary[href^="#/nodes/"]');
      if (link) {
        e.preventDefault();
        var href = link.getAttribute('href');
-        if (href.indexOf('/analytics') === -1) {
-          // Detail link — re-init with the pubkey directly;
-          // destroy() first to clean up WS handlers, maps, listeners
-          destroy();
-          var pubkey = href.replace('#/nodes/', '').split('/')[0];
-          var appEl = document.getElementById('app');
-          init(appEl, decodeURIComponent(pubkey));
-          history.replaceState(null, '', href);
-        } else {
+        if (href.indexOf('/analytics') !== -1) {
          // Analytics link — different page, force hashchange via replaceState + assign
          history.replaceState(null, '', '#/');
          location.hash = href.substring(1);
@@ -1108,7 +1145,7 @@
      const status = getNodeStatus(n.role || 'companion', lastSeenTime ? new Date(lastSeenTime).getTime() : 0);
      const lastSeenClass = status === 'active' ? 'last-seen-active' : 'last-seen-stale';
      const cs = _fleetSkew && _fleetSkew[n.public_key];
-      const skewBadgeHtml = cs && cs.severity && cs.severity !== 'ok' ? renderSkewBadge(cs.severity, cs.medianSkewSec) : '';
+      const skewBadgeHtml = cs && cs.severity && cs.severity !== 'ok' ? renderSkewBadge(cs.severity, window.currentSkewValue(cs), cs) : '';
      return `<tr data-key="${n.public_key}" data-action="select" data-value="${n.public_key}" tabindex="0" role="row" class="${selectedKey === n.public_key ? 'selected' : ''}${isClaimed ? ' claimed-row' : ''}">
        <td>${favStar(n.public_key, 'node-fav')}${isClaimed ? '<span class="claimed-badge" title="My Mesh">★</span> ' : ''}<strong>${n.name || '(unnamed)'}</strong>${dupNameBadge(n.name, n.public_key, dupMap)}${skewBadgeHtml}</td>
        <td class="mono col-pubkey">${truncate(n.public_key, 16)}</td>
@@ -1121,6 +1158,19 @@
    makeColumnsResizable('#nodesTable', 'meshcore-nodes-col-widths');
  }

+  /**
+   * Navigate to the full-screen node view for `pubkey` from anywhere within
+   * the nodes module. Single source of navigation truth — works regardless
+   * of current hash state (hash assignment alone is a no-op when the hash
+   * is already the target).
+   */
+  function navigateToNode(pubkey) {
+    destroy();
+    var appEl = document.getElementById('app');
+    history.replaceState(null, '', '#/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(pubkey));
+    init(appEl, pubkey);
+  }
+
  async function selectNode(pubkey) {
    // On mobile, navigate to full-screen node view
    if (window.innerWidth <= 640) {
@@ -1167,7 +1217,7 @@
      <div class="node-detail">
        <div class="node-detail-name">${escapeHtml(n.name || '(unnamed)')}${dupBadge}</div>
        <div class="node-detail-role">${renderNodeBadges(n, roleColor)}
-          <a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(n.public_key)}" class="btn-primary" style="display:inline-block;text-decoration:none;font-size:11px;padding:2px 8px;margin-left:8px">🔍 Details</a>
+          <button class="btn-primary node-detail-btn" data-pubkey="${encodeURIComponent(n.public_key)}" aria-label="View details for ${escapeHtml(n.name || n.public_key)}" style="font-size:11px;padding:2px 8px;margin-left:8px;cursor:pointer">🔍 Details</button>
          <a href="#/nodes/${encodeURIComponent(n.public_key)}/analytics" class="btn-primary" style="display:inline-block;margin-left:4px;text-decoration:none;font-size:11px;padding:2px 8px">📊 Analytics</a>
        </div>
        ${renderStatusExplanation(n)}
@@ -1194,6 +1244,8 @@
          </dl>
        </div>

+        <div class="node-detail-section skew-detail-section" id="node-clock-skew" style="display:none"></div>
+
        ${observers.length ? `<div class="node-detail-section">
          ${(() => { const regions = [...new Set(observers.map(o => o.iata).filter(Boolean))]; return regions.length ? `<div style="margin-bottom:6px;font-size:12px"><strong>Regions:</strong> ${regions.join(', ')}</div>` : ''; })()}
          <h4>Heard By (${observers.length} observer${observers.length > 1 ? 's' : ''})</h4>
@@ -1216,9 +1268,10 @@
        </div>

        <div class="node-detail-section">
-          <h4>Recent Packets (${adverts.length})</h4>
+          ${(() => { const validPackets = adverts.filter(a => a.hash && a.timestamp); return `
+          <h4>Recent Packets (${validPackets.length})</h4>
          <div id="advertTimeline">
-            ${adverts.length ? adverts.map(a => {
+            ${validPackets.length ? validPackets.map(a => {
              let decoded;
              try { decoded = JSON.parse(a.decoded_json); } catch {}
              const pType = PAYLOAD_TYPES[a.payload_type] || 'Packet';
@@ -1237,6 +1290,7 @@
              </div>`;
            }).join('') : '<div class="text-muted" style="padding:8px">No recent packets</div>'}
          </div>
+          `; })()}
        </div>
      </div>`;

@@ -1280,6 +1334,14 @@
      } catch {}
    }

+    // Wire "Details" button via the unified navigateToNode helper
+    var detailBtn = panel.querySelector('.node-detail-btn');
+    if (detailBtn) {
+      detailBtn.addEventListener('click', function() {
+        navigateToNode(decodeURIComponent(detailBtn.getAttribute('data-pubkey')));
+      });
+    }
+
    // Fetch neighbors for this node (condensed panel — top 5)
    fetchAndRenderNeighbors(n.public_key, 'panelNeighborsContent', {
      limit: 5,
@@ -1287,6 +1349,10 @@
      viewAllPubkey: n.public_key
    });

+    // #813 — Clock Skew section in side panel (mirrors full-screen view)
+    loadClockSkewInto(document.getElementById('node-clock-skew'), n.public_key);
+
+
    // Fetch paths through this node
    api('/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(n.public_key) + '/paths', { ttl: CLIENT_TTL.nodeDetail }).then(pathData => {
      const el = document.getElementById('pathsContent');
@@ -1385,4 +1451,14 @@
  window._nodesRenderNodeTimestampText = renderNodeTimestampText;
  window._nodesGetStatusInfo = getStatusInfo;
  window._nodesGetStatusTooltip = getStatusTooltip;
+
+  // #862: Expose search filter logic for testing
+  window._nodesMatchesSearch = function(node, query) {
+    if (!query) return true;
+    var q = query.toLowerCase();
+    var isHex = /^[0-9a-f]+$/i.test(q);
+    if ((node.name || '').toLowerCase().includes(q)) return true;
+    if (isHex && (node.public_key || '').toLowerCase().startsWith(q)) return true;
+    return false;
+  };
 })();
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
    if (filters.hash) parts.push('hash=' + encodeURIComponent(filters.hash));
    if (filters.node) parts.push('node=' + encodeURIComponent(filters.node));
    if (filters.observer) parts.push('observer=' + encodeURIComponent(filters.observer));
+    if (filters.channel) parts.push('channel=' + encodeURIComponent(filters.channel));
    if (filters._filterExpr) parts.push('filter=' + encodeURIComponent(filters._filterExpr));
    return parts.length ? '?' + parts.join('&') : '';
  }
@@ -352,6 +353,8 @@
    if (_urlNode) { filters.node = _urlNode; filters.nodeName = _urlNode.slice(0, 8); }
    var _urlObserver = _initUrlParams.get('observer');
    if (_urlObserver) filters.observer = _urlObserver;
+    var _urlChannel = _initUrlParams.get('channel');
+    if (_urlChannel) filters.channel = _urlChannel;
    var _urlFilterExpr = _initUrlParams.get('filter');
    if (_urlFilterExpr) filters._filterExpr = _urlFilterExpr;

@@ -384,9 +387,9 @@
            const obs = data.observations.find(o => String(o.id) === String(obsTarget));
            if (obs) {
              expandedHashes.add(h);
-              const obsPacket = {...data.packet, observer_id: obs.observer_id, observer_name: obs.observer_name, snr: obs.snr, rssi: obs.rssi, path_json: obs.path_json, resolved_path: obs.resolved_path, timestamp: obs.timestamp, first_seen: obs.timestamp};
+              const obsPacket = {...data.packet, observer_id: obs.observer_id, observer_name: obs.observer_name, snr: obs.snr, rssi: obs.rssi, path_json: obs.path_json, resolved_path: obs.resolved_path, direction: obs.direction, timestamp: obs.timestamp, first_seen: obs.timestamp};
              clearParsedCache(obsPacket);
-              selectPacket(obs.id, h, {packet: obsPacket, breakdown: data.breakdown, observations: data.observations}, obs.id);
+              selectPacket(obs.id, h, {packet: obsPacket, observations: data.observations}, obs.id);
            } else {
              selectPacket(data.packet.id, h, data);
            }
@@ -516,7 +519,7 @@
              if (p.decoded_json) existing.decoded_json = p.decoded_json;
              // Update expanded children if this group is expanded
              if (expandedHashes.has(h) && existing._children) {
-                existing._children.unshift(p);
+                existing._children.unshift(clearParsedCache({...p, _isObservation: true}));
                if (existing._children.length > 200) existing._children.length = 200;
                sortGroupChildren(existing);
                // Invalidate row counts — child count changed, so virtual scroll
@@ -622,6 +625,7 @@
      if (filters.hash) params.set('hash', filters.hash);
      if (filters.node) params.set('node', filters.node);
      if (filters.observer) params.set('observer', filters.observer);
+      if (filters.channel) params.set('channel', filters.channel);
      if (groupByHash) {
        params.set('groupByHash', 'true');
      } else {
@@ -679,10 +683,14 @@
      // Restore expanded group children (parallel fetch, Map lookup)
      if (groupByHash && expandedHashes.size > 0) {
        const expandedArr = [...expandedHashes];
+        // Fetch the full packet detail (which includes per-observation rows) for each expanded hash.
+        // Previously this used `/packets?hash=X&limit=20` which returned ONE aggregate row, causing
+        // every "child" row in the table to carry the parent packet.id instead of unique observation
+        // ids — so clicking any child pointed the side pane at the same aggregate. See #866.
        const results = await Promise.all(expandedArr.map(hash => {
          const group = hashIndex.get(hash);
          if (!group) return { hash, group: null, data: null };
-          return api(`/packets?hash=${hash}&limit=20`)
+          return api(`/packets/${hash}`)
            .then(data => ({ hash, group, data }))
            .catch(() => ({ hash, group, data: null }));
        }));
@@ -690,7 +698,15 @@
          if (!group) {
            expandedHashes.delete(hash);
          } else if (data) {
-            group._children = data.packets || [];
+            const pkt = data.packet || group;
+            // Build per-observation children. Spread (pkt, obs) so obs-level fields
+            // (id, observer_id/name, path_json, snr/rssi, timestamp, raw_hex) override
+            // the aggregate. Each child's `id` is the observation id (unique per observer).
+            const obs = data.observations || [];
+            group._children = obs.length
+              ? obs.map(o => clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...o, _isObservation: true}))
+              : [pkt];
+            group._fetchedData = { packet: pkt, observations: obs };
            sortGroupChildren(group);
          }
        }
@@ -750,6 +766,11 @@
            <button class="multi-select-trigger" id="typeTrigger" title="Filter by packet type">All Types ▾</button>
            <div class="multi-select-menu" id="typeMenu"></div>
          </div>
+          <div class="filter-group" style="display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:4px">
+            <select id="fChannel" class="filter-select" aria-label="Filter by channel" title="Filter Channel Messages (GRP_TXT) by channel">
+              <option value="">All Channels</option>
+            </select>
+          </div>
        </div>
        <div class="filter-group">
          <button class="btn ${groupByHash ? 'active' : ''}" id="fGroup" title="Collapse duplicate observations of the same packet into expandable groups">Group by Hash</button>
@@ -938,6 +959,63 @@
      renderTableRows();
    });

+    // --- Channel filter (#812) ---
+    // Server-side filter: /api/packets?channel=<hash>. Triggers loadPackets()
+    // (not just renderTableRows) so the filter applies before pagination.
+    const channelSel = document.getElementById('fChannel');
+    if (channelSel) {
+      if (filters.channel) {
+        // Pre-seed an option so the current filter shows as selected even
+        // before the channels list arrives. Replaced when populateChannels resolves.
+        const opt = document.createElement('option');
+        opt.value = filters.channel;
+        opt.textContent = filters.channel;
+        opt.selected = true;
+        channelSel.appendChild(opt);
+      }
+      api('/channels').then(data => {
+        const channels = (data && data.channels) || [];
+        // Build options via DOM API: channel names are network-supplied
+        // and must NOT be interpolated into innerHTML (XSS, #812).
+        // Sort alphabetically (case-insensitive) for predictable picker order;
+        // the API returns last-activity order which is unstable for a dropdown.
+        const sorted = channels.slice().sort((a, b) => {
+          const an = (a.name || a.hash || '').toLowerCase();
+          const bn = (b.name || b.hash || '').toLowerCase();
+          return an < bn ? -1 : an > bn ? 1 : 0;
+        });
+        channelSel.textContent = '';
+        const allOpt = document.createElement('option');
+        allOpt.value = '';
+        allOpt.textContent = 'All Channels';
+        channelSel.appendChild(allOpt);
+        let matched = false;
+        for (const ch of sorted) {
+          const v = ch.hash || ch.name || '';
+          if (!v) continue;
+          const opt = document.createElement('option');
+          opt.value = v;
+          opt.textContent = ch.name || v;
+          if (v === filters.channel) { opt.selected = true; matched = true; }
+          channelSel.appendChild(opt);
+        }
+        // If current filter isn't in the list (encrypted hash, stale, or
+        // race with cache), keep it as a selected option so the UI reflects state.
+        if (filters.channel && !matched) {
+          const opt = document.createElement('option');
+          opt.value = filters.channel;
+          opt.textContent = filters.channel;
+          opt.selected = true;
+          channelSel.appendChild(opt);
+        }
+      }).catch(() => {});
+      channelSel.addEventListener('change', (e) => {
+        filters.channel = e.target.value || undefined;
+        updatePacketsUrl();
+        loadPackets();
+      });
+    }
+
    // Close multi-select menus on outside click
    bindDocumentHandler('menu', 'click', (e) => {
      const obsWrap = document.getElementById('observerFilterWrap');
@@ -1099,7 +1177,7 @@
        const nodes = data.nodes || [];
        if (nodes.length === 0) { fNodeDrop.classList.add('hidden'); fNode.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'false'); return; }
        fNodeDrop.innerHTML = nodes.map((n, i) =>
-          `<div class="node-filter-option" id="fNodeOpt-${i}" role="option" data-key="${n.public_key}" data-name="${escapeHtml(n.name || n.public_key.slice(0,8))}">${escapeHtml(n.name || n.public_key.slice(0,8))} <span style="color:var(--muted);font-size:0.8em">${n.public_key.slice(0,8)}</span></div>`
+          `<div class="node-filter-option" id="fNodeOpt-${i}" role="option" data-key="${n.public_key}" data-name="${escapeHtml(n.name || n.public_key.slice(0,8))}">${escapeHtml(n.name || n.public_key.slice(0,8))} <span style="color:var(--text-muted);font-size:0.8em">${n.public_key.slice(0,8)}</span></div>`
        ).join('');
        fNodeDrop.classList.remove('hidden');
        fNode.setAttribute('aria-expanded', 'true');
@@ -1180,9 +1258,9 @@
          const child = group?._children?.find(c => String(c.id) === String(value));
          if (child) {
            const parentData = group._fetchedData;
-            const obsPacket = parentData ? {...parentData.packet, observer_id: child.observer_id, observer_name: child.observer_name, snr: child.snr, rssi: child.rssi, path_json: child.path_json, resolved_path: child.resolved_path, timestamp: child.timestamp, first_seen: child.timestamp} : child;
+            const obsPacket = parentData ? {...parentData.packet, observer_id: child.observer_id, observer_name: child.observer_name, snr: child.snr, rssi: child.rssi, path_json: child.path_json, resolved_path: child.resolved_path, direction: child.direction, timestamp: child.timestamp, first_seen: child.timestamp} : child;
            if (parentData) { clearParsedCache(obsPacket); }
-            selectPacket(child.id, parentHash, {packet: obsPacket, breakdown: parentData?.breakdown, observations: parentData?.observations}, child.id);
+            selectPacket(child.id, parentHash, {packet: obsPacket, observations: parentData?.observations}, child.id);
          }
        }
        else if (action === 'select-hash') pktSelectHash(value);
@@ -1731,19 +1809,56 @@
      panel.innerHTML = isMobileNow ? '' : '<div class="panel-resize-handle" id="pktResizeHandle"></div>' + PANEL_CLOSE_HTML;
      const content = document.createElement('div');
      panel.appendChild(content);
-      await renderDetail(content, data);
+      await renderDetail(content, data, selectedObservationId);
      if (!isMobileNow) initPanelResize();
    } catch (e) {
      panel.innerHTML = `<div class="text-muted">Error: ${e.message}</div>`;
    }
  }

-  async function renderDetail(panel, data) {
+  async function renderDetail(panel, data, chosenObsId) {
    const pkt = data.packet;
-    const breakdown = data.breakdown || {};
-    const ranges = breakdown.ranges || [];
-    const decoded = getParsedDecoded(pkt) || {};
-    const pathHops = getParsedPath(pkt) || [];
+    const observations = data.observations || [];
+
+    // Per-observation rendering (issue #849):
+    // When opened from a packet row (no specific observer), default to first observation.
+    // When opened from an observation child row, use that observation.
+    // Clicking a different observation row in the detail re-renders with that observation.
+    let currentObs = null;
+    const targetObsId = chosenObsId || selectedObservationId;
+    if (targetObsId && observations.length) {
+      currentObs = observations.find(o => String(o.id) === String(targetObsId));
+    }
+    if (!currentObs && observations.length) {
+      currentObs = observations[0]; // fall back to first observation
+    }
+
+    // If we have a current observation, build pkt fields from it so summary is per-observation
+    const effectivePkt = currentObs ? clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...currentObs, _isObservation: true}) : pkt;
+    const decoded = getParsedDecoded(effectivePkt) || {};
+    const pathHops = getParsedPath(effectivePkt) || [];
+
+    // Compute breakdown ranges from the actually-rendered raw_hex (per-observation).
+    // Single source of truth — derived from the same bytes we display, so a
+    // post-#882 per-obs raw_hex with a different path length than the top-level
+    // packet's raw_hex still gets accurate byte highlights.
+    const obsRawHexForRanges = effectivePkt.raw_hex || pkt.raw_hex || '';
+    const ranges = obsRawHexForRanges
+      ? computeBreakdownRanges(obsRawHexForRanges, pkt.route_type, pkt.payload_type)
+      : [];
+
+    // Cross-check: hop count from raw_hex path_len byte vs path_json length
+    const obsRawHex = effectivePkt.raw_hex || pkt.raw_hex || '';
+    let rawHopCount = null;
+    if (obsRawHex.length >= 4) {
+      // path_len byte position depends on route type
+      const plOff = getPathLenOffset(pkt.route_type);
+      const plByte = parseInt(obsRawHex.slice(plOff * 2, plOff * 2 + 2), 16);
+      if (!isNaN(plByte)) rawHopCount = plByte & 0x3F;
+    }
+    if (rawHopCount != null && pathHops.length !== rawHopCount) {
+      console.warn(`[CoreScope] Hop count inconsistency for packet ${pkt.hash}: path_json has ${pathHops.length} hops but raw_hex path_len has ${rawHopCount}. UI shows path_json.`);
+    }

    // Resolve sender GPS — from packet directly, or from known node in DB
    let senderLat = decoded.lat != null ? decoded.lat : (decoded.latitude || null);
@@ -1787,15 +1902,16 @@
    }

    // Parse hash size from path byte
-    const rawPathByte = pkt.raw_hex ? parseInt(pkt.raw_hex.slice(2, 4), 16) : NaN;
+    const plOff = getPathLenOffset(pkt.route_type);
+    const rawPathByte = pkt.raw_hex ? parseInt(pkt.raw_hex.slice(plOff * 2, plOff * 2 + 2), 16) : NaN;
    const hashSize = (isNaN(rawPathByte) || (rawPathByte & 0x3F) === 0) ? null : ((rawPathByte >> 6) + 1);

-    const size = pkt.raw_hex ? Math.floor(pkt.raw_hex.length / 2) : 0;
+    const size = effectivePkt.raw_hex ? Math.floor(effectivePkt.raw_hex.length / 2) : (pkt.raw_hex ? Math.floor(pkt.raw_hex.length / 2) : 0);
    const typeName = payloadTypeName(pkt.payload_type);

-    const snr = pkt.snr ?? decoded.SNR ?? decoded.snr ?? null;
-    const rssi = pkt.rssi ?? decoded.RSSI ?? decoded.rssi ?? null;
-    const hasRawHex = !!pkt.raw_hex;
+    const snr = effectivePkt.snr ?? decoded.SNR ?? decoded.snr ?? null;
+    const rssi = effectivePkt.rssi ?? decoded.RSSI ?? decoded.rssi ?? null;
+    const hasRawHex = !!(effectivePkt.raw_hex || pkt.raw_hex);

    // Build message preview
    let messageHtml = '';
@@ -1806,17 +1922,16 @@
      const meta = [chLabel, hopLabel, snrLabel].filter(Boolean).join(' · ');
      messageHtml = `<div class="detail-message" style="padding:12px;margin:8px 0;background:var(--card-bg);border-radius:8px;border-left:3px solid var(--accent)">
        <div style="font-size:1.1em">${escapeHtml(decoded.text)}</div>
-        ${meta ? `<div style="font-size:0.85em;color:var(--muted);margin-top:4px">${meta}</div>` : ''}
+        ${meta ? `<div style="font-size:0.85em;color:var(--text-muted);margin-top:4px">${meta}</div>` : ''}
      </div>`;
    } else if (decoded.type === 'GRP_TXT' && decoded.channelHash != null) {
      const hashHex = decoded.channelHashHex || decoded.channelHash.toString(16).padStart(2, '0').toUpperCase();
      const statusLabel = decoded.decryptionStatus === 'no_key' ? 'no key' : 'decryption failed';
      messageHtml = `<div class="detail-message" style="padding:12px;margin:8px 0;background:var(--card-bg);border-radius:8px;border-left:3px solid var(--warning, #f0ad4e)">
-        <div style="font-size:1.1em">🔒 Channel Hash: 0x${hashHex} <span style="color:var(--muted)">(${statusLabel})</span></div>
+        <div style="font-size:1.1em">🔒 Channel Hash: 0x${hashHex} <span style="color:var(--text-muted)">(${statusLabel})</span></div>
      </div>`;
    }

-    const observations = data.observations || [];
    const obsCount = data.observation_count || observations.length || 1;
    const uniqueObservers = new Set(observations.map(o => o.observer_id)).size;

@@ -1879,21 +1994,30 @@
      ? `<div class="anomaly-banner" style="background:var(--warning, #f0ad4e); color:#000; padding:8px 12px; border-radius:4px; margin-bottom:8px; font-weight:600;">⚠️ Anomaly: ${escapeHtml(decoded.anomaly)}</div>`
      : '';

+    // Hop count display: use pathHops length (= effective observation's path_json).
+    // The raw_hex/path_json mismatch warning is logged above for diagnostics; the UI
+    // must stay self-consistent — top pill names and byte breakdown rows must agree.
+    const displayHopCount = pathHops.length;
+    const obsIndicator = currentObs && observations.length > 1
+      ? `<span style="font-size:0.8em;color:var(--text-muted);margin-left:6px">(observation ${observations.indexOf(currentObs) + 1} of ${observations.length})</span>`
+      : '';
+
    panel.innerHTML = `
      ${anomalyBanner}
      <div class="detail-title">${hasRawHex ? `Packet Byte Breakdown (${size} bytes)` : typeName + ' Packet'}</div>
-      <div class="detail-hash">${pkt.hash || 'Packet #' + pkt.id}</div>
+      <div class="detail-hash">${pkt.hash || 'Packet #' + pkt.id}${obsIndicator}</div>
      ${messageHtml}
      <dl class="detail-meta">
-        <dt>Observer</dt><dd>${obsName(pkt.observer_id)}</dd>
+        <dt>Observer</dt><dd>${obsName(effectivePkt.observer_id)}</dd>
        <dt>Location</dt><dd>${locationHtml}</dd>
        <dt>SNR / RSSI</dt><dd>${snr != null ? snr + ' dB' : '—'} / ${rssi != null ? rssi + ' dBm' : '—'}</dd>
        <dt>Route Type</dt><dd>${routeTypeName(pkt.route_type)}</dd>
        <dt>Payload Type</dt><dd><span class="badge badge-${payloadTypeColor(pkt.payload_type)}">${typeName}</span></dd>
        ${hashSize ? `<dt>Hash Size</dt><dd>${hashSize} byte${hashSize !== 1 ? 's' : ''}</dd>` : ''}
-        <dt>Timestamp</dt><dd>${renderTimestampCell(pkt.timestamp)}</dd>
+        <dt>Timestamp</dt><dd>${renderTimestampCell(effectivePkt.timestamp)}</dd>
        <dt>Propagation</dt><dd>${propagationHtml}</dd>
-        <dt>Path</dt><dd>${pathHops.length ? renderPath(pathHops, pkt.observer_id) : '—'}</dd>
+        <dt>Path</dt><dd>${displayHopCount > 0 ? `<span class="badge badge-info">${displayHopCount} hop${displayHopCount !== 1 ? 's' : ''}</span> ` + renderPath(pathHops, effectivePkt.observer_id) : '— (direct)'}</dd>
+        ${effectivePkt.direction ? `<dt>Direction</dt><dd>${escapeHtml(effectivePkt.direction)}</dd>` : ''}
      </dl>
      <div class="detail-actions">
        <button class="copy-link-btn" data-packet-hash="${pkt.hash || ''}" data-packet-id="${pkt.id}" title="Copy link to this packet">🔗 Copy Link</button>
@@ -1903,11 +2027,59 @@
      </div>

      ${hasRawHex ? `<div class="hex-legend">${buildHexLegend(ranges)}</div>
-      <div class="hex-dump">${createColoredHexDump(pkt.raw_hex, ranges)}</div>` : ''}
+      <div class="hex-dump">${createColoredHexDump(effectivePkt.raw_hex || pkt.raw_hex, ranges)}</div>` : ''}

-      ${hasRawHex ? buildFieldTable(pkt, decoded, pathHops, ranges) : buildDecodedTable(decoded)}
+      ${hasRawHex ? buildFieldTable(effectivePkt.raw_hex ? effectivePkt : pkt, decoded, pathHops, ranges) : buildDecodedTable(decoded)}
+
+      ${observations.length > 1 ? `
+      <div class="detail-observations" style="margin-top:16px">
+        <div style="font-weight:600;margin-bottom:6px">Observations (${observations.length})</div>
+        <table class="detail-obs-table" style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:0.9em">
+          <thead><tr style="border-bottom:1px solid var(--border)">
+            <th style="padding:4px 6px;text-align:left">Observer</th>
+            <th style="padding:4px 6px;text-align:left">Hops</th>
+            <th style="padding:4px 6px;text-align:left">SNR</th>
+            <th style="padding:4px 6px;text-align:left">RSSI</th>
+            <th style="padding:4px 6px;text-align:left">Time</th>
+          </tr></thead>
+          <tbody>${observations.map(o => {
+            const oPath = getParsedPath(o);
+            const isCurrent = currentObs && String(o.id) === String(currentObs.id);
+            return `<tr class="detail-obs-row${isCurrent ? ' observation-current' : ''}" data-obs-id="${o.id}" style="cursor:pointer;${isCurrent ? 'background:var(--accent-bg, rgba(0,122,255,0.1))' : ''}" title="Click to view this observation">
+              <td style="padding:4px 6px">${obsName(o.observer_id)}</td>
+              <td style="padding:4px 6px">${oPath.length}</td>
+              <td style="padding:4px 6px">${o.snr != null ? o.snr + ' dB' : '—'}</td>
+              <td style="padding:4px 6px">${o.rssi != null ? o.rssi + ' dBm' : '—'}</td>
+              <td style="padding:4px 6px">${renderTimestampCell(o.timestamp)}</td>
+            </tr>`;
+          }).join('')}</tbody>
+        </table>
+      </div>` : ''}
+
+      ${observations.length > 1 ? (() => {
+        // Cross-observer aggregate (Option B): show longest observed path across all observers
+        const aggregatePath = getParsedPath(pkt) || [];
+        return `<div class="detail-aggregate" style="margin-top:12px;padding:10px;background:var(--card-bg);border-radius:6px;border:1px solid var(--border);font-size:0.9em">
+          <div style="font-weight:600;margin-bottom:4px;color:var(--text-muted)">Cross-observer aggregate</div>
+          <div>Longest observed path: ${aggregatePath.length ? `${aggregatePath.length} hops — ${renderPath(aggregatePath, pkt.observer_id)}` : '— (direct)'}</div>
+          <div style="font-size:0.8em;color:var(--text-muted);margin-top:2px">Longest path seen across all ${uniqueObservers} observer${uniqueObservers !== 1 ? 's' : ''}</div>
+        </div>`;
+      })() : ''}
    `;

+    // Wire up observation row click handlers — re-render detail with clicked observation
+    panel.querySelectorAll('.detail-obs-row').forEach(row => {
+      row.addEventListener('click', () => {
+        const obsId = row.dataset.obsId;
+        selectedObservationId = obsId;
+        // Update URL hash to reflect selected observation (deep linking)
+        const pktHash = pkt.hash || pkt.id;
+        const obsParam = obsId ? `?obs=${obsId}` : '';
+        history.replaceState(null, '', `#/packets/${pktHash}${obsParam}`);
+        renderDetail(panel, data, obsId);
+      });
+    });
+
    // Wire up copy link button
    const copyLinkBtn = panel.querySelector('.copy-link-btn');
    if (copyLinkBtn) {
@@ -2015,7 +2187,7 @@

    // Transport codes come BEFORE path length for transport routes (bytes 1-4)
    let off = 1;
-    if (pkt.route_type === 0 || pkt.route_type === 3) {
+    if (isTransportRoute(pkt.route_type)) {
      rows += sectionRow('Transport Codes', 'section-transport');
      rows += fieldRow(off, 'Next Hop', buf.slice(off * 2, (off + 2) * 2), '');
      rows += fieldRow(off + 2, 'Last Hop', buf.slice((off + 2) * 2, (off + 4) * 2), '');
@@ -2030,14 +2202,17 @@
    rows += fieldRow(off, 'Path Length', '0x' + (buf.slice(off * 2, off * 2 + 2) || '??'), hashCountVal === 0 ? `hash_count=0 (direct advert)` : `hash_size=${hashSizeVal} byte${hashSizeVal !== 1 ? 's' : ''}, hash_count=${hashCountVal}`);
    off += 1;

-    // Path
+    // Path — render hops from path_json (what this observation reported).
+    // Byte offsets advance by hashSize * pathHops.length to match.
+    const hashSize = isNaN(pathByte0) ? 1 : ((pathByte0 >> 6) + 1);
    if (pathHops.length > 0) {
      rows += sectionRow('Path (' + pathHops.length + ' hops)', 'section-path');
-      const hashSize = isNaN(pathByte0) ? 1 : ((pathByte0 >> 6) + 1);
      for (let i = 0; i < pathHops.length; i++) {
-        const hopHtml = HopDisplay.renderHop(pathHops[i], hopNameCache[pathHops[i]]);
+        const hopOff = off + i * hashSize;
+        const hex = String(pathHops[i] || '').toUpperCase();
+        const hopHtml = HopDisplay.renderHop(hex, hopNameCache[hex]);
        const label = `Hop ${i} — ${hopHtml}`;
-        rows += fieldRow(off + i * hashSize, label, pathHops[i], '');
+        rows += fieldRow(hopOff, label, hex, '');
      }
      off += hashSize * pathHops.length;
    }
@@ -2313,7 +2488,7 @@
      renderTableRows();
      return;
    }
-    // Single fetch — gets packet + observations + path + breakdown
+    // Single fetch — gets packet + observations + path
    try {
      const data = await api(`/packets/${hash}`);
      const pkt = data.packet;
@@ -397,16 +397,16 @@

  // #690 — Clock Skew shared helpers
  var SKEW_SEVERITY_COLORS = {
+    default: 'var(--text-muted)',
    ok: 'var(--status-green)',
-    warning: 'var(--status-yellow)',
-    critical: 'var(--status-orange)',
-    absurd: 'var(--status-purple)',
-    no_clock: 'var(--text-muted)'
+    degrading: 'var(--status-yellow)',
+    degraded: 'var(--status-orange)',
+    wrong: 'var(--status-red)'
  };
  var SKEW_SEVERITY_LABELS = {
-    ok: 'OK', warning: 'Warning', critical: 'Critical', absurd: 'Absurd', no_clock: 'No Clock'
+    default: 'Default', ok: 'OK', degrading: 'Degrading', degraded: 'Degraded', wrong: 'Wrong'
  };
-  var SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER = { no_clock: 0, absurd: 1, critical: 2, warning: 3, ok: 4 };
+  var SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER = { default: 0, wrong: 1, degraded: 2, degrading: 3, ok: 4 };

  window.SKEW_SEVERITY_COLORS = SKEW_SEVERITY_COLORS;
  window.SKEW_SEVERITY_LABELS = SKEW_SEVERITY_LABELS;
@@ -429,12 +429,19 @@
    return (secPerDay >= 0 ? '+' : '') + secPerDay.toFixed(1) + ' s/day';
  };

+  /** Pick the skew value that drives current-health UI. Uses lastSkewSec
+   *  (most recent corrected skew) when available, falls back to medianSkewSec. */
+  window.currentSkewValue = function(cs) {
+    if (!cs) return null;
+    return cs.lastSkewSec != null ? cs.lastSkewSec : cs.medianSkewSec;
+  };
+
  /** Render a clock skew badge HTML */
-  window.renderSkewBadge = function(severity, skewSec) {
+  window.renderSkewBadge = function(severity, skewSec, cs) {
    if (!severity) return '';
    var cls = 'skew-badge skew-badge--' + severity;
-    if (severity === 'no_clock') {
-      return '<span class="' + cls + '" title="Uninitialized RTC — no valid clock">🚫 No Clock</span>';
+    if (severity === 'default') {
+      return '<span class="' + cls + '" title="Firmware default clock — volatile RTC not yet user-set since boot">⏰ Default</span>';
    }
    var label = severity === 'ok' ? '⏰' : '⏰ ' + window.formatSkew(skewSec);
    return '<span class="' + cls + '" title="Clock skew: ' + window.formatSkew(skewSec) + ' (' + (SKEW_SEVERITY_LABELS[severity] || severity) + ')">' + label + '</span>';
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@
  --status-red: #ef4444;
  --status-orange: #f97316;
  --status-purple: #a855f7;
+  --status-amber: #f59e0b;
+  --status-amber-light: #fef3c7;
+  --status-amber-text: #92400e;
  --role-observer: #8b5cf6;
  --accent-hover: #6db3ff;
  --text: #1a1a2e;
@@ -46,6 +49,9 @@
    --status-red: #ef4444;
    --status-orange: #f97316;
    --status-purple: #a855f7;
+    --status-amber: #f59e0b;
+    --status-amber-light: #422006;
+    --status-amber-text: #fcd34d;
    --surface-0: #0f0f23;
    --surface-1: #1a1a2e;
    --surface-2: #232340;
@@ -72,6 +78,9 @@
  --status-red: #ef4444;
  --status-orange: #f97316;
  --status-purple: #a855f7;
+  --status-amber: #f59e0b;
+  --status-amber-light: #422006;
+  --status-amber-text: #fcd34d;
  --surface-0: #0f0f23;
  --surface-1: #1a1a2e;
  --surface-2: #232340;
@@ -345,6 +354,9 @@ a:focus-visible, button:focus-visible, input:focus-visible, select:focus-visible
 }
 .detail-meta dt { color: var(--text-muted); font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .3px; }
 .detail-meta dd { font-weight: 500; margin-bottom: 4px; }
+.observation-current { background: var(--accent-bg, rgba(0,122,255,0.1)); font-weight: 600; }
+.detail-obs-row:hover { background: var(--hover-bg, rgba(255,255,255,0.05)); }
+.detail-obs-table th { font-size: 0.8em; text-transform: uppercase; color: var(--text-muted); }

 /* === Hex Dump === */
 .hex-dump {
@@ -697,7 +709,9 @@ button.ch-item:hover .ch-remove-btn { opacity: 0.6; }
 .advert-dot {
  width: 10px; height: 10px; border-radius: 50%; flex-shrink: 0; margin-top: 4px;
 }
-.advert-info { font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; }
+/* #829: explicit color so text stays readable when inherited color matches card-bg */
+.advert-info { font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5; color: var(--text); }
+.advert-info a { color: var(--accent); }

 /* === Traces Page === */
 .traces-page { padding: 16px; max-width: var(--trace-max-width, 95vw); margin: 0 auto; }
@@ -1423,7 +1437,9 @@ button.ch-item.ch-item-encrypted .ch-badge { filter: grayscale(0.6); }
 .hop-conflict-name { font-weight: 600; flex: 1; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; }
 .hop-conflict-dist { font-size: 11px; color: var(--text-muted); font-family: var(--mono); white-space: nowrap; }
 .hop-conflict-pk { font-size: 10px; color: var(--text-muted); font-family: var(--mono); }
-.hop-unreliable { opacity: 0.5; text-decoration: line-through; }
+.hop-unreliable { opacity: 0.85; }
+.hop-unreliable-btn { background: none; border: none; color: var(--status-yellow, #f59e0b); font-size: 13px;
+  cursor: help; vertical-align: middle; margin-left: 2px; padding: 0 2px; line-height: 1; }
 .hop-global-fallback { border-bottom: 1px dashed var(--status-red); }
 .hop-current { font-weight: 700 !important; color: var(--accent) !important; }

@@ -2275,21 +2291,21 @@ th.sort-active { color: var(--accent, #60a5fa); }

 /* #690 — Clock Skew badges & fleet table */
 .skew-badge { display: inline-block; font-size: 10px; padding: 1px 5px; border-radius: 3px; margin-left: 4px; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; }
+.skew-badge--default { background: var(--text-muted); color: #fff; }
 .skew-badge--ok { background: var(--status-green); color: #fff; }
-.skew-badge--warning { background: var(--status-yellow); color: #000; }
-.skew-badge--critical { background: var(--status-orange); color: #fff; }
-.skew-badge--absurd { background: var(--status-purple); color: #fff; }
-.skew-badge--no_clock { background: var(--text-muted); color: #fff; }
+.skew-badge--degrading { background: var(--status-yellow); color: #000; }
+.skew-badge--degraded { background: var(--status-orange); color: #fff; }
+.skew-badge--wrong { background: var(--status-red); color: #fff; }

 .skew-detail-section { padding: 10px 16px; margin-bottom: 8px; }
 .skew-sparkline-wrap { margin-top: 6px; }
 .skew-sparkline-wrap svg { display: block; }


-.clock-fleet-row--warning { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-yellow) 10%, transparent); }
-.clock-fleet-row--critical { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-orange) 10%, transparent); }
-.clock-fleet-row--absurd { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-purple) 10%, transparent); }
-.clock-fleet-row--no_clock { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text-muted) 10%, transparent); }
+.clock-fleet-row--degrading { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-yellow) 10%, transparent); }
+.clock-fleet-row--degraded { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-orange) 10%, transparent); }
+.clock-fleet-row--wrong { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--status-red) 10%, transparent); }
+.clock-fleet-row--default { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text-muted) 10%, transparent); }

 .clock-filter-btn { font-size: 12px; padding: 3px 8px; border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 4px; background: var(--card-bg, #fff); color: var(--text); cursor: pointer; margin-right: 4px; }
 .clock-filter-btn.active { background: var(--accent); color: #fff; border-color: var(--accent); }
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# CoreScope QA artifacts
+
+Project-specific assets for the [`qa-suite`](https://github.com/Kpa-clawbot/ai-sdlc/tree/master/skills/qa-suite) skill.
+
+## Layout
+
+```
+qa/
+├── README.md                  ← this file
+├── plans/
+│   └── <release>.md           ← per-release test plans (one file per RC)
+└── scripts/
+    └── api-contract-diff.sh   ← CoreScope-tuned API contract diff
+```
+
+## How to run
+
+```
+qa staging              # use the latest plans/v*-rc.md against staging
+qa pr 806               # use plans/pr-806.md if it exists, else latest plans/v*-rc.md
+qa v3.6.0-rc            # use plans/v3.6.0-rc.md
+```
+
+The parent agent loads the qa-suite skill, which reads:
+1. The plan file from `qa/plans/`
+2. Bundled scripts from `qa/scripts/`
+3. The reusable engine + qa-engineer persona from the skill itself
+
+## Adding a new plan
+
+For each release candidate, copy the latest `plans/v*-rc.md` to `plans/<new-tag>.md` and update:
+- The commit-range header (`vN.M..master`)
+- Any new sections for new features in the release
+- The "Test data" section if new fixture types are needed
+- The GO criteria (which sections are blockers)
+
+## Adding a new script
+
+Custom scripts go in `qa/scripts/` with `mode=auto: <script-name>` referenced from the plan. The qa-engineer subagent runs them with two args: `BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL`.
+
+Authoring rules from the qa-suite skill:
+- 4-way error classification: `curl-failed` / `parse-empty` / `shape-diff` / field-missing
+- Distinguish HTTP errors from jq parse failures
+- Don't silence stderr — script bugs must surface
+- Exit code = number of failures
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+# Plan: v3.6.0-rc
+
+Targets the changes between v3.5.1 and v3.6.0 candidate (~34 commits).
+
+## Test data
+The qa-engineer should pick concrete test fixtures at run time and include them in the report:
+- **Pivot node pubkey**: pick the top-result from `/api/nodes?limit=20&sort=advert_count` that has `role=repeater` AND a non-zero `totalPaths` from `/api/nodes/{pk}/paths`. Used for sections 5.1, 8.1, 8.2.
+- **Multi-role pubkey** (section 8.6): pick a node whose pubkey appears in BOTH `/api/observers` and `/api/nodes?role=repeater`. If none → mark 8.6 `needs-human`.
+- **Sample packet hash**: `/api/packets?limit=1` → `.packets[0].hash`. Used for sections 3.x.
+- **Channel sample**: pick a channel name from `/api/channels` (if endpoint exists) or scrape `/#channels` page.
+
+Record every fixture used in the final report so failures are reproducible.
+
+## Sections
+
+### 1. Memory & Load
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 1.1 | Container with **3 GB** limit starts on heaviest available DB | No OOM, steady state under limit. Note: 1 GB cap is unrealistic without `GOMEMLIMIT` and bounded cold-load — see #836 | #806/#836 | human |
+| 1.2 | Hit `/debug/pprof/heap` after Load completes; run `pprof-snapshot.sh` | `unmarshalResolvedPath` absent from top-15 inuse_space; `Load()`-attributed inuse_space ≤ 250 MB on staging-sized DB (~1.5M obs); total heap < 1 GB | #806 | auto: pprof-snapshot.sh |
+| 1.3 | Set tight `MaxLoadMemMB`, restart | Load stops gracefully at budget; server still serves `/api/stats` 200 | #790 | human |
+| 1.4 | Watch `processRSSMB` (from `/api/stats`) vs procfs RSS over ingest+eviction cycles | `processRSSMB` tracks `cat /proc/$(pidof corescope)/status | awk '/VmRSS/{print $2}'` (kB → MB) within ±20% across one full eviction cycle. Note: `storeDataMB` (formerly `trackedMB`) is the in-store packet byte estimate and is expected to be a **subset** of RSS, not equal to it. | #751, #832 | human |
+| 1.5 | Run 30 min under live ingest | Sawtooth heap pattern (≥1 eviction-driven dip), not monotonic ramp | #806/#807 | human |
+
+### 2. API contract
+Run `scripts/api-contract-diff.sh BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL` once. Report the script's exit code; nonzero = failures.
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 2.1 | api-contract-diff baseline vs target | Exit code 0; all endpoints carry `resolved_path` where expected | #806 | auto: api-contract-diff.sh |
+| 2.2 | WebSocket `/ws` carries `resolved_path` on broadcasts | Run JS hook in browser console: `(function(){let n=0,r=0; const W=WebSocket; window.WebSocket=function(...a){const s=new W(...a); s.addEventListener('message',e=>{n++; try{const m=JSON.parse(e.data); if(m && (m.resolved_path !== undefined || (m.observations||[]).some(o=>o.resolved_path!==undefined))) r++;}catch{}}); return s;}; window.__wsCount=()=>({n,r});})()` then navigate to `/`, wait 30s, eval `__wsCount()` — `r` must be ≥ 1 if `n` ≥ 1 | #806 | browser |
+
+### 3. Decoder & hashing
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 3.1 | Recompute content hashes for sample of recent packets vs stored | All match (hash uses payload-type bits only) | #787 | human |
+| 3.2 | Inspect a TRACE packet detail panel | path_json length matches path_sz from flags byte | #732 | browser |
+| 3.3 | Check `hash_size` on transport-route packet AND zero-hop advert | Correct hash_size detected | #747 | browser |
+| 3.4 | Field-table column offsets for transport-route packet | Snapshot of detail panel: each field row has nonzero `offset`/`length` cells AND offsets monotonically increase | #766 | browser |
+| 3.5 | Corrupt advert ingest log check | Rejected, counted, no DB entry | #794 | human |
+| 3.6 | Public channel packet rendering | No empty/garbled decode | #761 | browser |
+
+### 4. Channels (#725)
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 4.1 | Channel list — full message history loads from DB | Past messages persist across reload | #726 | browser |
+| 4.2 | Add custom channel via UI (then remove it as teardown) | Channel appears, encrypted msgs decrypt; teardown removes it cleanly. STAGING ONLY. | #733 | browser |
+| 4.3 | PSK channel add + channel removal (already a self-teardown) | Both work, UI state correct after | #750 | browser |
+| 4.4 | Deep link to encrypted channel without key | Lock message shows | #783 | browser |
+| 4.5 | Undecryptable msgs hidden by default + toggle | Hidden default; toggle shows | #728 | browser |
+| 4.6 | Add-channel button + hint + status feedback | All present | #760 | browser |
+| 4.7 | Filter packets by channel | Functional: filter applies, packet count drops; performance: response time ≤ 500 ms for `/api/packets?channel=<name>&limit=100` (timed via `curl -w '%{time_total}'`) | #762/#763 | browser+auto |
+
+### 5. Clock skew (#690)
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 5.1 | Node detail clock-skew badge + sparkline | Both render | #746/#752 | browser |
+| 5.2 | Analytics fleet clock-skew page | Renders, epoch-0 filtered | #769 | browser |
+| 5.3 | Outlier sample doesn't poison median | Sanity caps respected; severity uses `recentMedianSkewSec` (#789), not all-time `medianSkewSec` | #769/#789 | human |
+| 5.4 | Roles page clock-skew indicator | Renders | #752 | browser |
+
+### 6. Observers
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 6.1 | Observer with no packets in N days disappears after retention sweep | Removed | #764 | human |
+| 6.2 | Analytics observer-graph (M1+M2) | Renders (`#observerGraph` element present at `public/analytics.js:2048-2051`) | #774 | browser |
+
+### 7. Multi-byte hash adopters
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 7.1 | Hash Usage Matrix collision details for all hash sizes | Click cell → colliding pubkeys shown | #758 | browser |
+| 7.2 | Multi-byte adopter table includes all node types | Repeaters, room servers, sensors all present | #767 | browser |
+| 7.3 | Role column reflects multi-byte adoption + advert precedence | For 3 sample multi-byte adopter pubkeys (from #758 matrix), the Role column on `/#nodes` matches the role inferred from their latest advert flags via `/api/nodes/{pk}/health` | #767 | browser |
+
+### 8. Frontend nav & deep linking
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 8.1 | Click node on map/list — URL hash updates, panel opens | Hash matches | #739 | browser |
+| 8.2 | Open saved deep-link to a node | Full-screen detail view opens (post-#823: desktop deep links match the Details-link path) | #739/#823 | browser |
+| 8.3 | Packets page filter URL hash | Reload preserves filters | #740 | browser |
+| 8.4 | Details/Analytics links in node detail panel | Navigate without router glitch | #779/#785 | browser |
+| 8.5 | Neighbor graph slider | Persists across reloads, default 0.7 | #776 | browser |
+| 8.6 | Repeater that's also observer | Single map marker | #745 | browser |
+| 8.7 | Side-panel "Recent Packets" — click any entry, lands on packet detail (no 404), entry text is readable in current theme | DB-fallback works (#827); `.advert-info` has explicit color (#829) | #827/#829 | browser |
+
+### 9. Geofilter & customizer
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 9.1 | Customize → "Open geofilter builder" link | Opens app-served builder | #735 | browser |
+| 9.2 | Build a filter, save, reload (STAGING ONLY; teardown: delete the saved filter) | Persists across reload; teardown removes it | #735 | browser |
+| 9.3 | Geofilter docs page | Renders, content matches behavior | #734 | browser |
+
+### 10. Node blacklist
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 10.1 | Add node pubkey to nodeBlacklist config; restart | Hidden from listings/map/neighbor graph | #742 | auto: blacklist-test.sh |
+| 10.2 | Packets still in DB | Yes (filter not delete) | #742 | auto: blacklist-test.sh |
+
+`blacklist-test.sh` covers both 10.1 and 10.2 in one run. Required env: `TEST_NODE_PUBKEY` (hex, of a real visible node on TARGET), `TARGET_SSH_HOST`, `TARGET_CONFIG_PATH`, `TARGET_CONTAINER`. Optional: `TARGET_DB_PATH` or `ADMIN_API_TOKEN` for §10.2 probe; `TARGET_SSH_KEY` (default `/root/.ssh/id_ed25519`). Mandatory teardown removes the pubkey and verifies the node returns to listings.
+
+### 11. Deploy/ops
+| # | Step | Pass criteria | Source | Mode |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| 11.1 | Force-redeploy staging | Container removed cleanly even if `docker run`, not compose. Playwright E2E `Desktop: deep link #/nodes/{pubkey} opens full-screen detail view` passes (updated #833 — was asserting old pre-#823 split-panel behavior). | fa348ef/#833 | human |
+
+## GO criteria
+- Sections 1.2, 2, 3 must all pass — release blockers
+- Section 4 (channels) — any visible regression must be fixed before tag
+- Other sections: file follow-up issues; decide per-item whether to tag with known issues
@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# api-contract-diff.sh — diff CoreScope API endpoints between two deployments.
+# Usage: api-contract-diff.sh BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL [-k AUTH_HEADER]
+#
+# Compares JSON shape (recursive key set) per endpoint and asserts presence of
+# `resolved_path` where contract requires it. Prints a per-endpoint result line
+# (✅/❌) and a summary. Exit code = number of failures.
+#
+# Distinguishes:
+#   curl-failed  → HTTP error or network timeout (real outage)
+#   parse-empty  → curl succeeded but response shape unexpected (probable
+#                  contract drift in this script or in the API)
+#   shape-diff   → recursive key set differs between baseline and target
+#   rp-missing   → resolved_path absent on target where it was promised
+#
+# PUBLIC repo: do not commit URLs or keys here. Caller passes them.
+
+set -uo pipefail
+
+OLD="${1:-}"; NEW="${2:-}"
+[[ -z "$OLD" || -z "$NEW" ]] && { echo "usage: $0 BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL [-k AUTH_HEADER]" >&2; exit 2; }
+shift 2 || true
+AUTH=""
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    -k) AUTH="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+    *) echo "unknown arg: $1" >&2; exit 2 ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+TMP=$(mktemp -d); trap 'rm -rf "$TMP"' EXIT
+
+# Wrapper: fetch URL, return body on stdout, exit 1 on HTTP error / timeout.
+fetch() {
+  local url="$1" out="$2"
+  local code
+  code=$(curl -s -m 30 -o "$out" -w "%{http_code}" ${AUTH:+-H "$AUTH"} "$url" 2>/dev/null) || code="000"
+  if [[ "$code" != "2"* ]]; then
+    echo "  HTTP $code"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# Seed lookups from TARGET (so the picked IDs are guaranteed present there).
+seed_packets="$TMP/seed_packets.json"
+seed_observers="$TMP/seed_observers.json"
+seed_nodes="$TMP/seed_nodes.json"
+
+if ! fetch "$NEW/api/packets?limit=1" "$seed_packets"; then echo "seed /api/packets failed" >&2; fi
+if ! fetch "$NEW/api/observers"       "$seed_observers"; then echo "seed /api/observers failed" >&2; fi
+if ! fetch "$NEW/api/nodes?limit=1"   "$seed_nodes"; then echo "seed /api/nodes failed" >&2; fi
+
+HASH=$(jq -r '.packets[0].hash // empty'         "$seed_packets"   2>/dev/null || true)
+OBSID=$(jq -r '.observers[0].id // empty'        "$seed_observers" 2>/dev/null || true)
+NODEPK=$(jq -r '.nodes[0].public_key // empty'   "$seed_nodes"     2>/dev/null || true)
+
+[[ -z "$HASH"   ]] && echo "warn: no packet hash from /api/packets — packet-detail endpoints will be skipped" >&2
+[[ -z "$OBSID"  ]] && echo "warn: no observer id   from /api/observers — observer-detail endpoints will be skipped" >&2
+[[ -z "$NODEPK" ]] && echo "warn: no node pubkey   from /api/nodes — node-detail endpoints will be skipped" >&2
+
+# Endpoints to diff: path | jq filter (selects subobject to compare) | RP-required(yes/no)
+declare -a ENDPOINTS
+ENDPOINTS+=("/api/packets?limit=20|.packets[0]|yes")
+ENDPOINTS+=("/api/packets?limit=20&expandObservations=true|.packets[0]|yes")
+ENDPOINTS+=("/api/observers|.observers[0]|no")
+[[ -n "$HASH"   ]] && ENDPOINTS+=("/api/packets/$HASH|.|yes")
+[[ -n "$OBSID"  ]] && ENDPOINTS+=("/api/observers/$OBSID|.|no")
+[[ -n "$OBSID"  ]] && ENDPOINTS+=("/api/observers/$OBSID/analytics|.|no")
+[[ -n "$NODEPK" ]] && ENDPOINTS+=("/api/nodes/$NODEPK/health|.recentPackets[0]|yes")
+[[ -n "$NODEPK" ]] && ENDPOINTS+=("/api/nodes/$NODEPK/paths|.|no")
+
+# Strip volatile fields (timestamps + counters) from a JSON value.
+STRIP='walk(if type=="object" then del(.timestamp, .first_seen, .last_seen, .last_heard, .updated_at, .server_time, .packet_count, .packetsLastHour, .uptime_secs, .battery_mv, .noise_floor, .observation_count, .advert_count) else . end)'
+
+fails=0
+for ep in "${ENDPOINTS[@]}"; do
+  IFS='|' read -r path filter need_rp <<<"$ep"
+  echo "=== $path  (resolved_path required: $need_rp) ==="
+
+  oldfile="$TMP/old.json"; newfile="$TMP/new.json"
+  if ! fetch "$OLD$path" "$oldfile"; then echo "  ❌ baseline curl-failed"; fails=$((fails+1)); continue; fi
+  if ! fetch "$NEW$path" "$newfile"; then echo "  ❌ target curl-failed";   fails=$((fails+1)); continue; fi
+
+  # Selector + strip on each side. jq stderr is preserved so script bugs surface.
+  oldj=$(jq "$filter | $STRIP" "$oldfile")
+  jq_old_rc=$?
+  newj=$(jq "$filter | $STRIP" "$newfile")
+  jq_new_rc=$?
+
+  if [[ $jq_old_rc -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "  ❌ baseline jq-error (filter='$filter') — likely script bug or API shape changed"
+    fails=$((fails+1)); continue
+  fi
+  if [[ $jq_new_rc -ne 0 ]]; then
+    echo "  ❌ target jq-error (filter='$filter') — likely script bug or API shape changed"
+    fails=$((fails+1)); continue
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$oldj" || "$oldj" == "null" ]]; then
+    echo "  ❌ baseline parse-empty (filter returned empty/null; check API shape)"
+    fails=$((fails+1)); continue
+  fi
+  if [[ -z "$newj" || "$newj" == "null" ]]; then
+    echo "  ❌ target parse-empty (filter returned empty/null; check API shape)"
+    fails=$((fails+1)); continue
+  fi
+
+  # Recursive key-set diff. Canonicalize array indices (numbers) → "[]" so two
+  # different sample responses with different array lengths don't false-positive.
+  KEYS_FILTER='[paths(scalars or type=="null" or (type=="array" and length==0) or (type=="object" and length==0)) | map(if type=="number" then "[]" else . end) | join(".")] | unique | .[]'
+  oldkeys=$(echo "$oldj" | jq -r "$KEYS_FILTER" | sort -u)
+  newkeys=$(echo "$newj" | jq -r "$KEYS_FILTER" | sort -u)
+  if ! diff <(echo "$oldkeys") <(echo "$newkeys") >/dev/null; then
+    echo "  ❌ shape-diff (key set differs):"
+    diff <(echo "$oldkeys") <(echo "$newkeys") | sed 's/^/    /'
+    fails=$((fails+1))
+    continue
+  fi
+
+  # If RP expected, assert present on target (any value, may be null).
+  if [[ "$need_rp" == "yes" ]]; then
+    if ! echo "$newj" | jq -e '.. | objects | select(has("resolved_path")) | .resolved_path' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+      echo "  ❌ rp-missing (resolved_path not present anywhere in selector)"
+      fails=$((fails+1))
+      continue
+    fi
+  fi
+
+  echo "  ✅ ok"
+done
+
+echo
+echo "failures: $fails / ${#ENDPOINTS[@]}"
+exit $fails
@@ -0,0 +1,271 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# blacklist-test.sh — verify nodeBlacklist hides a pubkey from API surface
+# while retaining its packets in the DB. Implements QA plan §10.1 + §10.2.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   blacklist-test.sh BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL
+#
+# BASELINE_URL is currently unused for assertions but kept as a positional
+# arg for parity with other qa-suite scripts (always called with two URLs).
+#
+# Required env (target host control + test data):
+#   TEST_NODE_PUBKEY      — hex pubkey of a real, currently-visible node on TARGET_URL
+#   TARGET_SSH_HOST       — e.g. runner@example
+#   TARGET_SSH_KEY        — path to ssh private key (default: /root/.ssh/id_ed25519)
+#   TARGET_CONFIG_PATH    — absolute path to config.json on the target
+#   TARGET_CONTAINER      — docker container name on the target
+# Optional env:
+#   TARGET_DB_PATH        — sqlite db path on the target (for §10.2 sqlite probe)
+#   ADMIN_API_TOKEN       — if /api/admin/transmissions exists, use it instead of ssh+sqlite
+#                            (read from env, not argv — never appears in ps)
+#   CURL_TIMEOUT          — per-request curl timeout, seconds (default 60)
+#   RESTART_WAIT_S        — max wait for /api/stats after restart (default 120)
+#
+# Distinguishes:
+#   ssh-failed     → cannot reach/control target
+#   restart-stuck  → /api/stats not 200 within RESTART_WAIT_S
+#   hide-failed    → blacklisted pubkey still surfaced via API (§10.1 fail)
+#   retain-failed  → blacklisted pubkey absent from DB (§10.2 fail)
+#   teardown-failed→ post-test removal did not restore listing
+#
+# Exit code = number of failures (0 = pass).
+# PUBLIC repo: zero PII — no real pubkeys, IPs, or hostnames as defaults.
+
+set -uo pipefail
+
+BASELINE_URL="${1:-}"
+TARGET_URL="${2:-}"
+if [[ -z "$BASELINE_URL" || -z "$TARGET_URL" ]]; then
+  echo "usage: $0 BASELINE_URL TARGET_URL  (TEST_NODE_PUBKEY+TARGET_* via env)" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+TEST_PUBKEY="${TEST_NODE_PUBKEY:-}"
+TARGET_SSH_HOST="${TARGET_SSH_HOST:-}"
+TARGET_SSH_KEY="${TARGET_SSH_KEY:-/root/.ssh/id_ed25519}"
+TARGET_CONFIG_PATH="${TARGET_CONFIG_PATH:-}"
+TARGET_CONTAINER="${TARGET_CONTAINER:-}"
+TARGET_DB_PATH="${TARGET_DB_PATH:-}"
+ADMIN_API_TOKEN="${ADMIN_API_TOKEN:-}"
+
+if [[ -z "$TEST_PUBKEY" || -z "$TARGET_SSH_HOST" || -z "$TARGET_CONFIG_PATH" || -z "$TARGET_CONTAINER" ]]; then
+  echo "error: TEST_NODE_PUBKEY, TARGET_SSH_HOST, TARGET_CONFIG_PATH, TARGET_CONTAINER are required" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+# Hard input validation — these strings are interpolated into remote shell/SQL.
+# Pubkey must be hex (MeshCore pubkeys are hex-encoded ed25519 prefixes).
+if ! [[ "$TEST_PUBKEY" =~ ^[0-9a-fA-F]+$ ]]; then
+  echo "error: TEST_NODE_PUBKEY must be hex (got: redacted)" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+# Container name must match docker's allowed chars: [a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_.-]*
+if ! [[ "$TARGET_CONTAINER" =~ ^[a-zA-Z0-9][a-zA-Z0-9_.-]*$ ]]; then
+  echo "error: TARGET_CONTAINER has illegal chars" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+# Config path must be an absolute, sane path (no spaces, quotes, $, ;, etc.).
+if ! [[ "$TARGET_CONFIG_PATH" =~ ^/[A-Za-z0-9_./-]+$ ]]; then
+  echo "error: TARGET_CONFIG_PATH must be a sane absolute path" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+if [[ -n "$TARGET_DB_PATH" ]] && ! [[ "$TARGET_DB_PATH" =~ ^/[A-Za-z0-9_./-]+$ ]]; then
+  echo "error: TARGET_DB_PATH must be a sane absolute path" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+CURL_TIMEOUT="${CURL_TIMEOUT:-60}"
+RESTART_WAIT_S="${RESTART_WAIT_S:-120}"
+
+SSH_OPTS=(-i "$TARGET_SSH_KEY" -o StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new -o ConnectTimeout=15 -o BatchMode=yes)
+ssh_t() { ssh "${SSH_OPTS[@]}" "$TARGET_SSH_HOST" "$@"; }
+
+TMP=$(mktemp -d)
+fails=0
+TEARDOWN_DONE=0
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Teardown — MANDATORY in all exit paths.
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+teardown() {
+  local rc=$?
+  if [[ "$TEARDOWN_DONE" == "1" ]]; then rm -rf "$TMP"; exit "$rc"; fi
+  TEARDOWN_DONE=1
+  echo "=== teardown: removing $TEST_PUBKEY from nodeBlacklist ==="
+  if remove_from_blacklist && restart_target && wait_for_stats; then
+    if node_visible; then
+      echo "  ✅ teardown ok — node returned to listings"
+    else
+      echo "  ❌ teardown-failed: node still hidden after removal"
+      rc=$((rc + 1))
+    fi
+  else
+    echo "  ❌ teardown-failed: could not restore config / restart / stats"
+    rc=$((rc + 1))
+  fi
+  rm -rf "$TMP"
+  exit "$rc"
+}
+trap teardown EXIT INT TERM
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Helpers
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+fetch_code() {
+  local url="$1" out="$2"
+  curl -s -m "$CURL_TIMEOUT" -o "$out" -w "%{http_code}" "$url" 2>/dev/null || echo "000"
+}
+
+wait_for_stats() {
+  local deadline code
+  echo "  waiting up to ${RESTART_WAIT_S}s for $TARGET_URL/api/stats ..."
+  deadline=$(( $(date +%s) + RESTART_WAIT_S ))
+  while (( $(date +%s) < deadline )); do
+    code=$(fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/stats" "$TMP/stats.json")
+    if [[ "$code" == "200" ]]; then echo "  stats OK"; return 0; fi
+    sleep 3
+  done
+  echo "  ❌ restart-stuck: /api/stats never returned 200"
+  return 1
+}
+
+restart_target() {
+  echo "  restarting container $TARGET_CONTAINER ..."
+  # TARGET_CONTAINER is validated above; still quote defensively.
+  if ! ssh_t "docker restart $(printf %q "$TARGET_CONTAINER")" >/dev/null; then
+    echo "  ❌ ssh-failed: docker restart failed"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+# Mutate config.json on target. Values pass via env (printf %q + single-quoted
+# heredoc) so $TEST_PUBKEY etc. never enter the remote shell as code.
+set_blacklist_state() {
+  local mode="$1"  # add | remove
+  ssh_t "CFG=$(printf %q "$TARGET_CONFIG_PATH") PK=$(printf %q "$TEST_PUBKEY") MODE=$(printf %q "$mode") bash -s" <<'REMOTE'
+set -euo pipefail
+TMP="$(mktemp)"
+trap 'rm -f "$TMP"' EXIT
+if command -v jq >/dev/null; then
+  if [ "$MODE" = "add" ]; then
+    jq --arg pk "$PK" '.nodeBlacklist = ((.nodeBlacklist // []) + [$pk] | unique)' "$CFG" > "$TMP"
+  else
+    jq --arg pk "$PK" '.nodeBlacklist = ((.nodeBlacklist // []) - [$pk])' "$CFG" > "$TMP"
+  fi
+else
+  python3 - "$CFG" "$PK" "$MODE" "$TMP" <<'PY'
+import json, sys
+cfg, pk, mode, out = sys.argv[1:]
+with open(cfg) as f: d = json.load(f)
+bl = list(dict.fromkeys(d.get("nodeBlacklist") or []))
+if mode == "add":
+    if pk not in bl: bl.append(pk)
+else:
+    bl = [x for x in bl if x != pk]
+d["nodeBlacklist"] = bl
+with open(out, "w") as f: json.dump(d, f, indent=2)
+PY
+fi
+# Preserve mode and ownership; mv across same FS is atomic.
+chmod --reference="$CFG" "$TMP" 2>/dev/null || true
+chown --reference="$CFG" "$TMP" 2>/dev/null || true
+mv "$TMP" "$CFG"
+trap - EXIT
+REMOTE
+  local rc=$?
+  if (( rc != 0 )); then
+    echo "  ❌ ssh-failed: could not edit $TARGET_CONFIG_PATH ($mode)"
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
+add_to_blacklist()      { set_blacklist_state add; }
+remove_from_blacklist() { set_blacklist_state remove; }
+
+node_visible() {
+  # Returns 0 if the pubkey is currently visible via API.
+  local code
+  code=$(fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/nodes/$TEST_PUBKEY" "$TMP/node.json")
+  if [[ "$code" == "200" ]]; then return 0; fi
+  fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/nodes?limit=10000" "$TMP/nodes.json" >/dev/null
+  if grep -qF -- "\"$TEST_PUBKEY\"" "$TMP/nodes.json" 2>/dev/null; then
+    return 0
+  fi
+  return 1
+}
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# §10.1 — hide
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+echo "=== §10.1 add $TEST_PUBKEY to nodeBlacklist ==="
+if ! add_to_blacklist; then fails=$((fails+1)); exit "$fails"; fi
+if ! restart_target;    then fails=$((fails+1)); exit "$fails"; fi
+if ! wait_for_stats;    then fails=$((fails+1)); exit "$fails"; fi
+
+detail_code=$(fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/nodes/$TEST_PUBKEY" "$TMP/detail.json")
+list_code=$(fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/nodes?limit=10000" "$TMP/list.json")
+in_list=0
+if [[ "$list_code" == "200" ]] && grep -qF -- "\"$TEST_PUBKEY\"" "$TMP/list.json"; then
+  in_list=1
+fi
+if [[ "$detail_code" == "404" || "$in_list" == "0" ]]; then
+  echo "  ✅ hide ok: detail=$detail_code in_list=$in_list"
+else
+  echo "  ❌ hide-failed: detail=$detail_code in_list=$in_list — pubkey still surfaced"
+  fails=$((fails+1))
+fi
+
+topo_code=$(fetch_code "$TARGET_URL/api/topology" "$TMP/topo.json")
+if [[ "$topo_code" != "200" ]]; then
+  echo "  ⚠️  /api/topology HTTP $topo_code — skipping topology assertion"
+elif grep -qF -- "$TEST_PUBKEY" "$TMP/topo.json"; then
+  echo "  ❌ hide-failed: /api/topology references blacklisted pubkey"
+  fails=$((fails+1))
+else
+  echo "  ✅ topology clean"
+fi
+
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# §10.2 — DB retain
+# -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+echo "=== §10.2 verify packets retained in DB ==="
+count=""
+if [[ -n "$ADMIN_API_TOKEN" ]]; then
+  # Read auth header from stdin so the token never enters argv (ps-safe).
+  code=$(printf 'header = "Authorization: Bearer %s"\n' "$ADMIN_API_TOKEN" | \
+    curl -s -m "$CURL_TIMEOUT" -K - -o "$TMP/admin.json" -w "%{http_code}" \
+      "$TARGET_URL/api/admin/transmissions?from_node=$TEST_PUBKEY&count=1" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+  if [[ "$code" == "200" ]]; then
+    count=$(jq -r '.count // ((.transmissions // []) | length)' "$TMP/admin.json" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+  fi
+fi
+if [[ -z "$count" ]]; then
+  if [[ -z "$TARGET_DB_PATH" ]]; then
+    echo "  ❌ retain-failed: TARGET_DB_PATH unset and no ADMIN_API_TOKEN — cannot probe"
+    fails=$((fails+1))
+  else
+    # TEST_PUBKEY is hex-validated → safe to inline single-quoted in SQL.
+    # Container/db path also validated; printf %q for defense in depth.
+    q="SELECT COUNT(*) FROM transmissions WHERE from_node = '$TEST_PUBKEY';"
+    qq=$(printf %q "$q")
+    if ! count=$(ssh_t "docker exec $(printf %q "$TARGET_CONTAINER") sqlite3 $(printf %q "$TARGET_DB_PATH") $qq" 2>/dev/null); then
+      count=$(ssh_t "sqlite3 $(printf %q "$TARGET_DB_PATH") $qq" 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [[ -z "$count" ]]; then
+  echo "  ❌ retain-failed: could not read transmissions count"
+  fails=$((fails+1))
+elif [[ "$count" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && (( count > 0 )); then
+  echo "  ✅ DB retains $count packets from $TEST_PUBKEY"
+else
+  echo "  ❌ retain-failed: count=$count (expected > 0)"
+  fails=$((fails+1))
+fi
+
+echo "=== summary: $fails failure(s) before teardown ==="
+# trap handles teardown + exit
+exit "$fails"
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ async function test(name, fn) {
    results.push({ name, pass: true });
    console.log(`  \u2705 ${name}`);
  } catch (err) {
+    if (err.skip) {
+      results.push({ name, pass: true, skipped: true });
+      console.log(`  ⏭ ${name}: ${err.message}`);
+      return;
+    }
    results.push({ name, pass: false, error: err.message });
    console.log(`  \u274c ${name}: ${err.message}`);
    console.log(`\nFail-fast: stopping after first failure.`);
@@ -1701,18 +1706,18 @@ async function run() {
    assert(!url.includes('node-fullscreen') || await page.$('#nodesRight:not(.empty)'), 'Split panel should be visible on desktop');
  });

-  // Test: loading #/nodes/{pubkey} on desktop shows split panel (#676)
-  await test('Desktop: deep link #/nodes/{pubkey} opens split panel, not full-screen', async () => {
+  // Test: loading #/nodes/{pubkey} on desktop opens full-screen detail view (#823)
+  // Updated from #676's earlier "split panel on desktop" assertion. The Details
+  // link now opens the full-screen single-node view on desktop too — see PR #824.
+  await test('Desktop: deep link #/nodes/{pubkey} opens full-screen detail view', async () => {
    await page.setViewportSize({ width: 1280, height: 800 });
    await page.goto(BASE + '#/nodes', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
    await page.waitForSelector('#nodesBody tr[data-key]', { timeout: 10000 });
    const pubkey = await page.$eval('#nodesBody tr[data-key]', el => el.dataset.key);
    await page.goto(BASE + '#/nodes/' + encodeURIComponent(pubkey), { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
-    const hasSplitPanel = await page.$('#nodesRight:not(.empty)');
    const hasFullScreen = await page.$('.node-fullscreen');
-    assert(hasSplitPanel, 'Split panel should be open on desktop deep link');
-    assert(!hasFullScreen, 'Full-screen view should NOT appear on desktop deep link');
+    assert(hasFullScreen, 'Full-screen detail view should be open on desktop deep link (#823)');
  });

  // Test: packets timeWindow deep link
@@ -1778,12 +1783,343 @@ async function run() {
    }
  });

+  // Test: Expanded group children have unique observation ids (#866)
+  await test('Expanded group children update detail pane per-observation', async () => {
+    await page.goto(`${BASE}/#/packets`, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    // Ensure grouped mode and wide time window
+    await page.evaluate(() => {
+      localStorage.setItem('meshcore-time-window', '525600');
+      localStorage.setItem('meshcore-groupbyhash', 'true');
+    });
+    await page.reload({ waitUntil: 'load' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr', { timeout: 15000 });
+
+    // Find a group row with observation_count > 1 (has expand button)
+    const expandBtn = await page.$('table tbody tr .expand-btn, table tbody tr [data-expand]');
+    if (!expandBtn) {
+      console.log('    ℹ️  No expandable groups found — skipping child assertion');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Click expand and wait for the /packets/<hash> detail API call
+    const [detailResp] = await Promise.all([
+      page.waitForResponse(resp => {
+        const u = new URL(resp.url(), BASE);
+        // Match /api/packets/<hash> but not /api/packets?... or /api/packets/observations
+        return /\/api\/packets\/[A-Fa-f0-9]+$/.test(u.pathname) && resp.status() === 200;
+      }, { timeout: 15000 }),
+      expandBtn.click(),
+    ]);
+    assert(detailResp, 'Expected /api/packets/<hash> response on expand');
+
+    // Wait for child rows to appear
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr.child-row, table tbody tr[class*="child"]', { timeout: 5000 });
+    const childRows = await page.$$('table tbody tr.child-row, table tbody tr[class*="child"]');
+    if (childRows.length < 2) {
+      console.log('    ℹ️  Group has < 2 children — skipping per-observation assertion');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Click first child row
+    await childRows[0].click();
+    await page.waitForFunction(() => {
+      const panel = document.getElementById('pktRight');
+      return panel && !panel.classList.contains('empty') && panel.textContent.trim().length > 0;
+    }, { timeout: 10000 });
+    const content1 = await page.$eval('#pktRight', el => el.textContent.trim());
+    const url1 = page.url();
+
+    // Click second child row
+    await childRows[1].click();
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+    const content2 = await page.$eval('#pktRight', el => el.textContent.trim());
+    const url2 = page.url();
+
+    // URL should contain ?obs= with a real observation id
+    assert(url1.includes('obs=') || url2.includes('obs='), `URL should contain obs= parameter, got: ${url1}`);
+
+    // The two children should show different detail pane content (different observers)
+    // At minimum, the URL obs= values should differ
+    if (url1.includes('obs=') && url2.includes('obs=')) {
+      const obs1 = new URL(url1).hash.match(/obs=(\d+)/)?.[1];
+      const obs2 = new URL(url2).hash.match(/obs=(\d+)/)?.[1];
+      if (obs1 && obs2) {
+        assert(obs1 !== obs2, `Two children should have different obs ids, both got obs=${obs1}`);
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Verify obs id is NOT the aggregate packet id (the bug from #866)
+    const obsMatch = url2.match(/obs=(\d+)/);
+    if (obsMatch) {
+      const detailJson = await detailResp.json().catch(() => null);
+      if (detailJson?.packet?.id) {
+        const aggId = String(detailJson.packet.id);
+        // At least one child obs id should differ from the aggregate packet id
+        const obs1 = url1.match(/obs=(\d+)/)?.[1];
+        const obs2 = url2.match(/obs=(\d+)/)?.[1];
+        const allSameAsAgg = obs1 === aggId && obs2 === aggId;
+        assert(!allSameAsAgg, `Child obs ids should not all equal aggregate packet.id (${aggId})`);
+      }
+    }
+  });
+
+  // Test: per-observation raw_hex — hex pane updates when switching observations (#881)
+  await test('Packet detail hex pane updates per observation', async () => {
+    await page.goto(BASE + '#/packets', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr', { timeout: 15000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+    // Try clicking packet rows to find one with multiple observations
+    const rows = await page.$$('table tbody tr[data-action]');
+    let obsRows = [];
+    for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(rows.length, 10); i++) {
+      await rows[i].click({ timeout: 3000 }).catch(() => null);
+      await page.waitForTimeout(600);
+      obsRows = await page.$$('.detail-obs-row');
+      if (obsRows.length >= 2) break;
+    }
+
+    if (obsRows.length < 2) {
+      console.log('    ⏭ Skipped: no packet with ≥2 observations found in first 10 rows');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Click first observation, capture hex dump
+    await obsRows[0].click({ timeout: 5000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+    const hex1 = await page.$eval('.hex-dump', el => el.textContent).catch(() => '');
+
+    // Click second observation, capture hex dump
+    await obsRows[1].click({ timeout: 5000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+    const hex2 = await page.$eval('.hex-dump', el => el.textContent).catch(() => '');
+
+    // If both have content and differ, the feature works
+    if (hex1 && hex2 && hex1 !== hex2) {
+      console.log('    ✓ Hex pane content differs between observations');
+    } else if (hex1 && hex2 && hex1 === hex2) {
+      console.log('    ⏭ Hex same for both observations (likely historical NULL raw_hex — OK)');
+    } else {
+      console.log('    ⏭ Could not capture hex content from both observations');
+    }
+  });
+
+  // Test: path pill (top) and byte breakdown (bottom) agree on hop count
+  // Regression for visual mismatch where badge said "1 hop" but path text listed N names
+  await test('Packet detail path pill and byte breakdown agree on hop count', async () => {
+    await page.goto(BASE + '#/packets', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr', { timeout: 15000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+    // Click rows until we find one whose detail pane renders a multi-hop path
+    const rows = await page.$$('table tbody tr[data-action]');
+    let found = false;
+    for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(rows.length, 15); i++) {
+      await rows[i].click({ timeout: 3000 }).catch(() => null);
+      await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+      const result = await page.evaluate(() => {
+        // Path pill: <dt>Path</dt><dd><span class="badge ...">N hops</span> ...names...</dd>
+        const dts = document.querySelectorAll('dl.detail-meta dt');
+        let pillBadgeCount = null;
+        let pillNameCount = null;
+        for (const dt of dts) {
+          if (dt.textContent.trim() === 'Path') {
+            const dd = dt.nextElementSibling;
+            if (!dd) break;
+            const badge = dd.querySelector('.badge');
+            if (badge) {
+              const m = badge.textContent.match(/(\d+)\s*hop/);
+              if (m) pillBadgeCount = parseInt(m[1], 10);
+            }
+            // Count rendered hop links/spans (HopDisplay.renderHop output)
+            const hops = dd.querySelectorAll('.hop-link, [data-hop-link], .hop-named, .hop-anonymous');
+            pillNameCount = hops.length;
+            break;
+          }
+        }
+        // Byte breakdown: section row "Path (N hops)" + N "Hop X — ..." rows
+        let breakdownSectionCount = null;
+        let breakdownRowCount = 0;
+        const fieldTable = document.querySelector('table.field-table');
+        if (fieldTable) {
+          for (const tr of fieldTable.querySelectorAll('tr')) {
+            const txt = tr.textContent.trim();
+            const sec = txt.match(/^Path\s*\((\d+)\s*hops?\)/);
+            if (sec) breakdownSectionCount = parseInt(sec[1], 10);
+            if (/^\s*\d+\s*Hop\s+\d+\s*—/.test(txt) || /^Hop\s+\d+\s*—/.test(txt.replace(/^\d+/, '').trim())) {
+              breakdownRowCount++;
+            }
+          }
+        }
+        return { pillBadgeCount, pillNameCount, breakdownSectionCount, breakdownRowCount };
+      });
+
+      if (result.pillBadgeCount && result.pillBadgeCount > 0 && result.breakdownSectionCount != null) {
+        found = true;
+        // Top badge count must equal bottom section count
+        assert(result.pillBadgeCount === result.breakdownSectionCount,
+          `Path pill badge says ${result.pillBadgeCount} hops but byte breakdown says ${result.breakdownSectionCount} hops`);
+        // Number of rendered hop names in pill should also match (within 1, since renderPath may add separators)
+        if (result.pillNameCount != null && result.pillNameCount > 0) {
+          assert(Math.abs(result.pillNameCount - result.pillBadgeCount) <= 1,
+            `Path pill badge ${result.pillBadgeCount} but rendered ${result.pillNameCount} hop names`);
+        }
+        // And breakdown rendered rows should match its own section count
+        assert(result.breakdownRowCount > 0,
+          'breakdown rows selector matched nothing — selector or DOM changed');
+        assert(result.breakdownRowCount === result.breakdownSectionCount,
+          `Byte breakdown section says ${result.breakdownSectionCount} hops but rendered ${result.breakdownRowCount} hop rows`);
+        console.log(`    ✓ Path pill (${result.pillBadgeCount}) and byte breakdown (${result.breakdownSectionCount}) agree`);
+        break;
+      }
+    }
+    if (!found) {
+      if (process.env.E2E_REQUIRE_PATH_TEST === '1') {
+        throw new Error('BLOCKED — no multi-hop packet found in first 15 rows (E2E_REQUIRE_PATH_TEST=1 requires it)');
+      }
+      const skipErr = new Error('SKIP: No multi-hop packet with byte breakdown found in first 15 rows — needs fixture');
+      skipErr.skip = true;
+      throw skipErr;
+    }
+  });
+
+  // Test: hex-strip color spans match the labeled byte rows (per-obs raw_hex).
+  // Regression #891: server-supplied breakdown was computed once from top-level
+  // raw_hex, so per-observation rendering had off-by-N highlights vs the labels.
+  await test('Packet detail hex strip Path range matches hop row count', async () => {
+    await page.goto(BASE + '#/packets', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr', { timeout: 15000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+    const rows = await page.$$('table tbody tr[data-action]');
+    let checked = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(rows.length, 25) && checked < 3; i++) {
+      await rows[i].click({ timeout: 3000 }).catch(() => null);
+      await page.waitForTimeout(400);
+
+      const result = await page.evaluate(() => {
+        const dump = document.querySelector('.hex-dump');
+        const fieldTable = document.querySelector('table.field-table');
+        if (!dump || !fieldTable) return null;
+        const pathSpan = dump.querySelector('span.hex-byte.hex-path');
+        const pathBytes = pathSpan ? pathSpan.textContent.trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length : 0;
+        const hopRows = [];
+        for (const tr of fieldTable.querySelectorAll('tr')) {
+          const cells = [...tr.cells].map(c => c.textContent.trim());
+          if (cells.length >= 2 && /^Hop\s+\d+/.test(cells[1])) hopRows.push(cells[2]);
+        }
+        return { pathBytes, hopRows };
+      });
+
+      if (!result || (result.pathBytes === 0 && result.hopRows.length === 0)) continue;
+      checked++;
+      // Either both zero, or the count of bytes inside hex-path == hop rows.
+      // (For multi-byte hash sizes this is bytes-per-hop * hops; for hash_size=1 it's just hops.)
+      // The simpler invariant: if there are hop rows, hex-path span must exist and have at least
+      // as many bytes as there are hops (== exactly hops * hash_size).
+      assert(result.hopRows.length > 0,
+        `row ${i}: hex-path span has ${result.pathBytes} bytes but no hop rows in the labeled table`);
+      assert(result.pathBytes >= result.hopRows.length,
+        `row ${i}: hex-path has ${result.pathBytes} bytes but ${result.hopRows.length} hop rows — strip and labels disagree`);
+      assert(result.pathBytes % result.hopRows.length === 0,
+        `row ${i}: hex-path has ${result.pathBytes} bytes but ${result.hopRows.length} hop rows — bytes/hops not divisible (hash_size violated)`);
+      console.log(`    ✓ row ${i}: hex-path ${result.pathBytes} bytes / ${result.hopRows.length} hop rows (hash_size=${result.pathBytes / result.hopRows.length})`);
+    }
+    if (checked === 0) {
+      const skipErr = new Error('SKIP: no packet with rendered hex strip + hop rows found in first 25 rows');
+      skipErr.skip = true;
+      throw skipErr;
+    }
+  });
+
+  // Test: clicking a different observation row re-renders strip + breakdown consistently.
+  // Regression: observations of the same packet hash have different raw_hex (#882),
+  // so picking a different obs must recompute the byte ranges, not reuse the old ones.
+  await test('Packet detail switches consistently across observations', async () => {
+    await page.goto(BASE + '#/packets?groupByHash=1', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr', { timeout: 15000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+    let opened = false;
+    const groupRows = await page.$$('table tbody tr[data-action]');
+    for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(groupRows.length, 10); i++) {
+      await groupRows[i].click({ timeout: 3000 }).catch(() => null);
+      await page.waitForTimeout(400);
+      const obsCount = await page.evaluate(() => {
+        return document.querySelectorAll('table.observations-table tbody tr, .obs-row').length;
+      });
+      if (obsCount >= 2) { opened = true; break; }
+    }
+    if (!opened) {
+      const skipErr = new Error('SKIP: no multi-observation packet found in first 10 group rows');
+      skipErr.skip = true;
+      throw skipErr;
+    }
+
+    async function snapshot() {
+      return page.evaluate(() => {
+        const dump = document.querySelector('.hex-dump');
+        const fieldTable = document.querySelector('table.field-table');
+        if (!dump || !fieldTable) return null;
+        const pathSpan = dump.querySelector('span.hex-byte.hex-path');
+        const pathBytes = pathSpan ? pathSpan.textContent.trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length : 0;
+        const hopRows = [];
+        for (const tr of fieldTable.querySelectorAll('tr')) {
+          const cells = [...tr.cells].map(c => c.textContent.trim());
+          if (cells.length >= 2 && /^Hop\s+\d+/.test(cells[1])) hopRows.push(cells[2]);
+        }
+        const rawHexParts = [...dump.querySelectorAll('span.hex-byte')].map(s => s.textContent.trim());
+        return { pathBytes, hopCount: hopRows.length, rawHexJoined: rawHexParts.join('|') };
+      });
+    }
+
+    const snapA = await snapshot();
+    assert(snapA, 'first snapshot must have hex dump + field table');
+    assert(snapA.hopCount === 0 || snapA.pathBytes >= snapA.hopCount,
+      `obs A inconsistent: hex-path ${snapA.pathBytes} bytes vs ${snapA.hopCount} hop rows`);
+
+    const switched = await page.evaluate(() => {
+      const obsRows = [...document.querySelectorAll('table.observations-table tbody tr, .obs-row')];
+      if (obsRows.length < 2) return false;
+      obsRows[1].click();
+      return true;
+    });
+    assert(switched, 'should click second observation row');
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+
+    const snapB = await snapshot();
+    assert(snapB, 'second snapshot must have hex dump + field table');
+    assert(snapB.hopCount === 0 || snapB.pathBytes >= snapB.hopCount,
+      `obs B inconsistent: hex-path ${snapB.pathBytes} bytes vs ${snapB.hopCount} hop rows`);
+    console.log(`    ✓ obs A: ${snapA.pathBytes} path bytes / ${snapA.hopCount} hops; obs B: ${snapB.pathBytes} / ${snapB.hopCount}`);
+  });
+
+  // Test: clicking the 🔍 Details button in the nodes side panel navigates to
+  // the full-screen node detail view. Regression: hash already === target,
+  // so location.hash assignment was a no-op and the panel stayed open.
+  await test('Nodes side panel Details button opens full-screen view', async () => {
+    await page.goto(BASE + '#/nodes', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
+    await page.waitForSelector('table tbody tr[data-action]', { timeout: 15000 });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(500);
+    // Open side panel
+    await page.click('table tbody tr[data-action]');
+    await page.waitForSelector('#nodesRight .node-detail-btn', { timeout: 5000 });
+    // Click Details
+    await page.click('#nodesRight .node-detail-btn');
+    // Wait for full-screen view to appear
+    await page.waitForSelector('.node-fullscreen', { timeout: 5000 });
+    const isFullScreen = await page.evaluate(() => !!document.querySelector('.node-fullscreen'));
+    assert(isFullScreen, 'Details button should open full-screen node view');
+  });
+
  await browser.close();

  // Summary
-  const passed = results.filter(r => r.pass).length;
+  const skipped = results.filter(r => r.skipped).length;
+  const passed = results.filter(r => r.pass && !r.skipped).length;
  const failed = results.filter(r => !r.pass).length;
-  console.log(`\n${passed}/${results.length} tests passed${failed ? `, ${failed} failed` : ''}`);
+  console.log(`\n${passed}/${results.length} tests passed${skipped ? `, ${skipped} skipped` : ''}${failed ? `, ${failed} failed` : ''}`);
  process.exit(failed > 0 ? 1 : 0);
 }

@@ -222,6 +222,10 @@ console.log('\n=== app.js: routeTypeName / payloadTypeName ===');
  test('payloadTypeName(4) = Advert', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.payloadTypeName(4), 'Advert'));
  test('payloadTypeName(2) = Direct Msg', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.payloadTypeName(2), 'Direct Msg'));
  test('payloadTypeName(99) = UNKNOWN', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.payloadTypeName(99), 'UNKNOWN'));
+  test('getPathLenOffset: transport route (0) → 5', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.getPathLenOffset(0), 5));
+  test('getPathLenOffset: transport route (3) → 5', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.getPathLenOffset(3), 5));
+  test('getPathLenOffset: flood route (1) → 1', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.getPathLenOffset(1), 1));
+  test('getPathLenOffset: direct route (2) → 1', () => assert.strictEqual(ctx.getPathLenOffset(2), 1));
 }

 console.log('\n=== app.js: truncate ===');
@@ -686,6 +690,88 @@ console.log('\n=== haversineKm (hop-resolver.js) ===');
  });
 }

+// ===== pickByAffinity — neighbor-graph + centroid scoring (#874) =====
+console.log('\n=== pickByAffinity neighbor-graph scoring (#874) ===');
+{
+  const ctx = makeSandbox();
+  ctx.IATA_COORDS_GEO = {};
+  loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/hop-resolver.js');
+  const HR = ctx.window.HopResolver;
+
+  // Two nodes sharing prefix "ab", hundreds of km apart.
+  // NodeSF is near San Francisco, NodeDEN is near Denver.
+  const nodeSF = { public_key: 'ab11111111111111', name: 'NodeSF', lat: 37.7, lon: -122.4 };
+  const nodeDEN = { public_key: 'ab22222222222222', name: 'NodeDEN', lat: 39.7, lon: -104.9 };
+  // A known neighbor of NodeSF (in the graph)
+  const nodeNeighbor = { public_key: 'cc33333333333333', name: 'SFNeighbor', lat: 37.8, lon: -122.3 };
+  // Another known node near Denver
+  const nodeDenNeighbor = { public_key: 'dd44444444444444', name: 'DENNeighbor', lat: 39.8, lon: -105.0 };
+
+  test('#874: graph edge scoring picks correct regional candidate (SF)', () => {
+    HR.init([nodeSF, nodeDEN, nodeNeighbor, nodeDenNeighbor]);
+    HR.setAffinity({ edges: [
+      { source: 'cc33333333333333', target: 'ab11111111111111', weight: 5 },
+      { source: 'dd44444444444444', target: 'ab22222222222222', weight: 5 },
+    ]});
+    // Path: SFNeighbor → [ab??] → DENNeighbor
+    // With graph edges, ab11 (NodeSF) has edge to SFNeighbor, ab22 (NodeDEN) has edge to DENNeighbor
+    // Prev=SFNeighbor, Next=DENNeighbor → both have score 5, but SFNeighbor edge only to ab11
+    const result = HR.resolve(['cc', 'ab', 'dd'],
+      null, null, null, null);
+    assert.strictEqual(result['ab'].name, 'NodeSF',
+      'Should pick NodeSF because it has a graph edge to prev hop SFNeighbor');
+  });
+
+  test('#874: graph edge scoring — next hop breaks tie', () => {
+    HR.init([nodeSF, nodeDEN, nodeNeighbor, nodeDenNeighbor]);
+    HR.setAffinity({ edges: [
+      { source: 'dd44444444444444', target: 'ab22222222222222', weight: 8 },
+      // No edge from SFNeighbor to either ab node
+    ]});
+    // Path: SFNeighbor → [ab??] → DENNeighbor
+    // Only ab22 (NodeDEN) has edge to DENNeighbor (next hop)
+    const result = HR.resolve(['cc', 'ab', 'dd'],
+      null, null, null, null);
+    assert.strictEqual(result['ab'].name, 'NodeDEN',
+      'Should pick NodeDEN because it has graph edge to next hop DENNeighbor');
+  });
+
+  test('#874: centroid fallback when no graph edges exist', () => {
+    HR.init([nodeSF, nodeDEN, nodeNeighbor]);
+    HR.setAffinity({ edges: [] }); // no edges at all
+    // Path: SFNeighbor → [ab??]
+    // SFNeighbor is at (37.8, -122.3), centroid is just that point
+    // NodeSF (37.7, -122.4) is ~14km away, NodeDEN (39.7, -104.9) is ~1500km away
+    const result = HR.resolve(['cc', 'ab'],
+      null, null, null, null);
+    assert.strictEqual(result['ab'].name, 'NodeSF',
+      'Should pick NodeSF via centroid proximity to SFNeighbor');
+  });
+
+  test('#874: centroid uses average of prev+next positions', () => {
+    // Prev near SF, next near Denver → centroid is midpoint (~Nevada)
+    // NodeDEN is closer to Nevada midpoint than NodeSF
+    const nodeMid = { public_key: 'ee55555555555555', name: 'MidNode', lat: 38.5, lon: -114.0 };
+    HR.init([nodeSF, nodeDEN, nodeNeighbor, nodeDenNeighbor, nodeMid]);
+    HR.setAffinity({ edges: [] });
+    // Path: SFNeighbor → [ab??] → DENNeighbor
+    // centroid = avg(37.8,-122.3, 39.8,-105.0) = (38.8, -113.65) — closer to Denver
+    const result = HR.resolve(['cc', 'ab', 'dd'],
+      null, null, null, null);
+    assert.strictEqual(result['ab'].name, 'NodeDEN',
+      'Should pick NodeDEN because centroid of SF+Denver neighbors is closer to Denver');
+  });
+
+  test('#874: fallback when no context at all', () => {
+    HR.init([nodeSF, nodeDEN]);
+    HR.setAffinity({ edges: [] });
+    // Single ambiguous hop, no origin/observer, no neighbors
+    const result = HR.resolve(['ab'], null, null, null, null);
+    assert.ok(result['ab'].ambiguous || result['ab'].name != null,
+      'Should resolve to some candidate without crashing');
+  });
+}
+
 // ===== SNR/RSSI Number casting =====
 {
  // These test the pattern used in observer-detail.js, home.js, traces.js, live.js
@@ -1718,6 +1804,128 @@ console.log('\n=== app.js: formatEngineBadge ===');
  });
 }

+// ===== APP.JS: computeBreakdownRanges =====
+console.log('\n=== app.js: computeBreakdownRanges ===');
+{
+  const ctx = makeSandbox();
+  loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/roles.js');
+  loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/app.js');
+  const computeBreakdownRanges = ctx.computeBreakdownRanges;
+
+  function findRange(ranges, label) {
+    return ranges.find(r => r.label === label);
+  }
+
+  test('returns [] for empty hex', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(computeBreakdownRanges('', 1, 5), []);
+  });
+
+  test('returns [] for too-short hex (< 2 bytes)', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(computeBreakdownRanges('15', 1, 5), []);
+  });
+
+  test('FLOOD non-transport: 4-hop hash_size=1', () => {
+    // header=15, plb=04 → hash_size=1, hash_count=4
+    // bytes: 15 04 90 FA F9 10 6E 01 D9
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges('150490FAF910 6E01D9'.replace(/\s/g,''), 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Header'),      { start: 0, end: 0, label: 'Header' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path Length'), { start: 1, end: 1, label: 'Path Length' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'),        { start: 2, end: 5, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'),     { start: 6, end: 8, label: 'Payload' });
+    assert.strictEqual(findRange(r, 'Transport Codes'), undefined);
+  });
+
+  test('FLOOD non-transport: 7-hop hash_size=1', () => {
+    // header=15, plb=07
+    const hex = '15077f6d7d1cadeca33988fd95e0851ebf01ea12e1879e';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), { start: 2, end: 8, label: 'Path' });
+    const payload = findRange(r, 'Payload');
+    assert.strictEqual(payload.start, 9, 'payload starts after the 7 path bytes');
+  });
+
+  test('FLOOD non-transport: 8-hop hash_size=1', () => {
+    const hex = '1508' + '11223344556677AA' + 'BBCCDD';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), { start: 2, end: 9, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'), { start: 10, end: 12, label: 'Payload' });
+  });
+
+  test('Direct advert: 0-hop, no Path range', () => {
+    // plb=00 → 0 hops; expect Path Length but NO Path range
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges('1100AABBCCDD', 1, 4);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path Length'), { start: 1, end: 1, label: 'Path Length' });
+    assert.strictEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), undefined);
+  });
+
+  test('Transport route shifts path-length offset by 4', () => {
+    // route_type=0 (TRANSPORT_FLOOD): bytes 1..4 are Transport Codes
+    // header=14, transport=AABBCCDD, plb=02, hops=11 22, payload=99
+    const hex = '14AABBCCDD021122' + '99';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 0, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Transport Codes'), { start: 1, end: 4, label: 'Transport Codes' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path Length'),     { start: 5, end: 5, label: 'Path Length' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'),            { start: 6, end: 7, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'),         { start: 8, end: 8, label: 'Payload' });
+  });
+
+  test('hash_size=2 (plb top bits=01): 4 hops × 2 bytes', () => {
+    // plb = 01 0001 00 = 0x44 → hash_size=2, hash_count=4 → 8 path bytes
+    const hex = '15' + '44' + 'AABB' + 'CCDD' + 'EEFF' + '1122' + '9988';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), { start: 2, end: 9, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'), { start: 10, end: 11, label: 'Payload' });
+  });
+
+  test('hash_size=3 (plb top bits=10): 2 hops × 3 bytes', () => {
+    // plb = 10 0000 10 = 0x82 → hash_size=3, hash_count=2 → 6 path bytes
+    const hex = '15' + '82' + 'AABBCC' + 'DDEEFF' + '99';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), { start: 2, end: 7, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'), { start: 8, end: 8, label: 'Payload' });
+  });
+
+  test('hash_size=4 (plb top bits=11): 2 hops × 4 bytes', () => {
+    // plb = 11 0000 10 = 0xC2 → hash_size=4, hash_count=2 → 8 path bytes
+    const hex = '15' + 'C2' + 'AABBCCDD' + 'EEFF1122' + '99887766';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), { start: 2, end: 9, label: 'Path' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Payload'), { start: 10, end: 13, label: 'Payload' });
+  });
+
+  test('truncated path: not enough bytes → no Path range', () => {
+    // plb=04 says 4 hops but only 2 bytes remain
+    const hex = '1504AABB';
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 5);
+    assert.strictEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), undefined);
+  });
+
+  test('ADVERT (payload_type=4) with full record: PubKey/Timestamp/Signature/Flags', () => {
+    // header=11, plb=00 (direct advert)
+    // payload: 32 bytes pubkey + 4 bytes ts + 64 bytes sig + 1 byte flags
+    const pubkey = 'AB'.repeat(32);
+    const ts = '11223344';
+    const sig = 'CD'.repeat(64);
+    const flags = '00';
+    const hex = '1100' + pubkey + ts + sig + flags;
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges(hex, 1, 4);
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'PubKey'),    { start: 2,  end: 33,  label: 'PubKey' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Timestamp'), { start: 34, end: 37,  label: 'Timestamp' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Signature'), { start: 38, end: 101, label: 'Signature' });
+    assert.deepEqual(findRange(r, 'Flags'),     { start: 102, end: 102, label: 'Flags' });
+  });
+
+  test('NaN-safe: malformed path-length byte produces no Path range', () => {
+    // hex with non-hex char in plb position would parseInt-fail → bail
+    // Use a 1-byte payload that makes pathByte parseInt produce NaN-ish via X
+    // (parseInt of 'XY' is NaN). Since fs reads only hex chars, simulate via short hex.
+    // Easier: empty string already returns []; 1-byte returns []. Both covered above.
+    // Use plb=FF (hash_size=4, hash_count=63) too long for input → no Path
+    const r = computeBreakdownRanges('15FF' + 'AA', 1, 5);
+    assert.strictEqual(findRange(r, 'Path'), undefined);
+  });
+}
+
 // ===== APP.JS: isTransportRoute + transportBadge =====
 console.log('\n=== app.js: isTransportRoute + transportBadge ===');
 {
@@ -2807,6 +3015,126 @@ console.log('\n=== channels.js: encrypted channel without key shows lock message
    const messageApiFetched = apiCallPaths.some(p => p.indexOf('/messages') !== -1);
    assert.ok(!messageApiFetched, 'should NOT fetch messages API for encrypted channel without key');
  });
+
+  // #825 regression: deep link to a `#`-named channel not in the loaded list.
+  // The 3 acceptance cases (unencrypted / encrypted-no-key / encrypted-with-key)
+  // must each behave correctly without the unconditional lock affordance.
+  async function runHashDeepLinkScenario(opts) {
+    // opts: { includeEncryptedChannels: [...], storedKey: { name, hex } | null, target: '#name' }
+    const ctx = makeSandbox();
+    const dom = {};
+    function makeEl(id) {
+      if (dom[id]) return dom[id];
+      dom[id] = {
+        id, innerHTML: '', textContent: '', value: '',
+        scrollTop: 0, scrollHeight: 100, clientHeight: 80,
+        style: {}, dataset: {},
+        classList: { add() {}, remove() {}, toggle() {}, contains() { return false; } },
+        addEventListener() {}, removeEventListener() {},
+        querySelector() { return null; }, querySelectorAll() { return []; },
+        getBoundingClientRect() { return { left: 0, bottom: 0, width: 0 }; },
+        setAttribute() {}, removeAttribute() {}, focus() {},
+      };
+      return dom[id];
+    }
+    const headerText = { textContent: '' };
+    makeEl('chHeader').querySelector = (sel) => (sel === '.ch-header-text' ? headerText : null);
+    ['chMessages', 'chList', 'chScrollBtn', 'chAriaLive', 'chBackBtn', 'chRegionFilter'].forEach(makeEl);
+    const appEl = {
+      innerHTML: '',
+      querySelector(sel) {
+        if (sel === '.ch-sidebar' || sel === '.ch-sidebar-resize' || sel === '.ch-main') return makeEl(sel);
+        if (sel === '.ch-layout') return { classList: { add() {}, remove() {}, contains() { return false; } } };
+        return makeEl(sel);
+      },
+      addEventListener() {},
+    };
+    let apiCallPaths = [];
+    ctx.document.getElementById = makeEl;
+    ctx.document.querySelector = (sel) => {
+      if (sel === '.ch-layout') return { classList: { add() {}, remove() {}, contains() { return false; } } };
+      return null;
+    };
+    ctx.document.querySelectorAll = () => [];
+    ctx.document.addEventListener = () => {};
+    ctx.document.removeEventListener = () => {};
+    ctx.document.documentElement = { getAttribute: () => null, setAttribute: () => {} };
+    ctx.document.body = { appendChild() {}, removeChild() {}, contains() { return false; } };
+    ctx.history = { replaceState() {} };
+    ctx.matchMedia = () => ({ matches: false });
+    ctx.window.matchMedia = ctx.matchMedia;
+    ctx.MutationObserver = function () { this.observe = () => {}; this.disconnect = () => {}; };
+    ctx.RegionFilter = { init() {}, onChange() { return () => {}; }, offChange() {}, getRegionParam() { return ''; } };
+    ctx.debouncedOnWS = (fn) => fn;
+    ctx.onWS = () => {};
+    ctx.offWS = () => {};
+    ctx.api = (path) => {
+      apiCallPaths.push(path);
+      if (path.indexOf('/observers') === 0) return Promise.resolve({ observers: [] });
+      if (path.indexOf('/channels') === 0 && path.indexOf('/messages') === -1) {
+        // Toggle-off list never includes encrypted channels for the initial load
+        if (path.indexOf('includeEncrypted=true') !== -1) {
+          return Promise.resolve({ channels: opts.includeEncryptedChannels || [] });
+        }
+        return Promise.resolve({ channels: [] });
+      }
+      if (path.indexOf('/messages') !== -1) {
+        return Promise.resolve({ messages: [{ sender: 'X', text: 'hello', timestamp: '2025-01-01T00:00:00Z' }] });
+      }
+      return Promise.resolve({});
+    };
+    ctx.CLIENT_TTL = { observers: 120000, channels: 15000, channelMessages: 10000, nodeDetail: 10000 };
+    ctx.ROLE_EMOJI = {}; ctx.ROLE_LABELS = {};
+    ctx.timeAgo = () => '1m ago';
+    ctx.registerPage = (name, handlers) => { ctx._pageHandlers = handlers; };
+    ctx.btoa = (s) => Buffer.from(String(s), 'utf8').toString('base64');
+    ctx.atob = (s) => Buffer.from(String(s), 'base64').toString('utf8');
+    ctx.crypto = { subtle: require('crypto').webcrypto.subtle };
+    ctx.TextEncoder = TextEncoder; ctx.TextDecoder = TextDecoder; ctx.Uint8Array = Uint8Array;
+    loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/channel-decrypt.js');
+    loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/channels.js');
+    if (opts.storedKey) {
+      ctx.ChannelDecrypt.saveKey(opts.storedKey.name, opts.storedKey.hex);
+    }
+    ctx._pageHandlers.init(appEl);
+    for (let i = 0; i < 10; i++) await Promise.resolve();
+    apiCallPaths = [];
+    await ctx.window._channelsSelectChannelForTest(opts.target);
+    return { msgHtml: dom['chMessages'].innerHTML, apiCallPaths };
+  }
+
+  test('#825: deep link to unencrypted #channel falls through to REST and renders messages', async () => {
+    const r = await runHashDeepLinkScenario({
+      target: '#test',
+      includeEncryptedChannels: [{ hash: '#test', name: '#test', messageCount: 3, lastActivity: null, encrypted: null }],
+      storedKey: null,
+    });
+    assert.ok(!r.msgHtml.includes('🔒'), 'unencrypted #channel must NOT show lock affordance');
+    const messageApiFetched = r.apiCallPaths.some(p => p.indexOf('/messages') !== -1);
+    assert.ok(messageApiFetched, 'unencrypted #channel must fetch messages REST endpoint');
+  });
+
+  test('#811 preserved: deep link to encrypted #channel without key shows lock', async () => {
+    const r = await runHashDeepLinkScenario({
+      target: '#private',
+      includeEncryptedChannels: [{ hash: '#private', name: '#private', messageCount: 5, lastActivity: null, encrypted: true }],
+      storedKey: null,
+    });
+    assert.ok(r.msgHtml.includes('🔒'), 'encrypted #channel without key must show lock affordance');
+    assert.ok(r.msgHtml.includes('no decryption key'), 'lock should mention no decryption key');
+    const messageApiFetched = r.apiCallPaths.some(p => p.indexOf('/messages') !== -1);
+    assert.ok(!messageApiFetched, 'must NOT fetch /messages REST for encrypted channel without key');
+  });
+
+  test('#815 preserved: deep link to #channel with stored key triggers decrypt path (no lock)', async () => {
+    const r = await runHashDeepLinkScenario({
+      target: '#private',
+      includeEncryptedChannels: [{ hash: '#private', name: '#private', messageCount: 5, lastActivity: null, encrypted: true }],
+      storedKey: { name: '#private', hex: 'abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234abcd1234' },
+    });
+    assert.ok(!r.msgHtml.includes('no decryption key'), 'must not show no-key lock when key is stored');
+    // Decrypt path either renders something or shows decrypt-specific empty/wrong-key state — never the no-key lock.
+  });
 }
 // ===== PACKETS.JS: savedTimeWindowMin default guard =====
 console.log('\n=== packets.js: savedTimeWindowMin defaults ===');
@@ -5240,6 +5568,11 @@ console.log('\n=== packets.js: buildFieldTable transport offsets (#765) ===');
  ftCtx.window.truncate = ftCtx.truncate;
  ftCtx.escapeHtml = (s) => String(s || '').replace(/&/g,'&amp;').replace(/</g,'&lt;').replace(/>/g,'&gt;');
  ftCtx.window.escapeHtml = ftCtx.escapeHtml;
+  ftCtx.window.HopDisplay = { renderHop: (hex) => hex };
+  ftCtx.isTransportRoute = (rt) => rt === 0 || rt === 3;
+  ftCtx.window.isTransportRoute = ftCtx.isTransportRoute;
+  ftCtx.getPathLenOffset = (rt) => ftCtx.isTransportRoute(rt) ? 5 : 1;
+  ftCtx.window.getPathLenOffset = ftCtx.getPathLenOffset;
  loadInCtx(ftCtx, 'public/packets.js');
  const { buildFieldTable, fieldRow } = ftCtx.window._packetsTestAPI;

@@ -5305,6 +5638,73 @@ console.log('\n=== packets.js: buildFieldTable transport offsets (#765) ===');
  });
 }

+// ===== packets.js: buildFieldTable hop count from path_len (#844) =====
+console.log('\n=== packets.js: buildFieldTable hop count from path_len (#844) ===');
+{
+  const ftCtx = makeSandbox();
+  ftCtx.registerPage = () => {};
+  ftCtx.onWS = () => {};
+  ftCtx.offWS = () => {};
+  ftCtx.api = () => Promise.resolve({});
+  ftCtx.window.getParsedPath = () => [];
+  ftCtx.window.getParsedDecoded = () => ({});
+  const ROUTE_TYPES = {0:'TRANSPORT_FLOOD',1:'FLOOD',2:'DIRECT',3:'TRANSPORT_DIRECT'};
+  const PAYLOAD_TYPES = {0:'ADVERT',1:'TXT_MSG',2:'GRP_TXT',3:'REQ',4:'ACK'};
+  ftCtx.routeTypeName = (n) => ROUTE_TYPES[n] || 'UNKNOWN';
+  ftCtx.payloadTypeName = (n) => PAYLOAD_TYPES[n] || 'UNKNOWN';
+  ftCtx.window.routeTypeName = ftCtx.routeTypeName;
+  ftCtx.window.payloadTypeName = ftCtx.payloadTypeName;
+  ftCtx.truncate = (str, len) => str && str.length > len ? str.slice(0, len) + '…' : (str || '');
+  ftCtx.window.truncate = ftCtx.truncate;
+  ftCtx.escapeHtml = (s) => String(s || '').replace(/&/g,'&amp;').replace(/</g,'&lt;').replace(/>/g,'&gt;');
+  ftCtx.window.escapeHtml = ftCtx.escapeHtml;
+  ftCtx.window.HopDisplay = { renderHop: (hex) => hex };
+  ftCtx.isTransportRoute = (rt) => rt === 0 || rt === 3;
+  ftCtx.window.isTransportRoute = ftCtx.isTransportRoute;
+  ftCtx.getPathLenOffset = (rt) => ftCtx.isTransportRoute(rt) ? 5 : 1;
+  ftCtx.window.getPathLenOffset = ftCtx.getPathLenOffset;
+  loadInCtx(ftCtx, 'public/packets.js');
+  const { buildFieldTable } = ftCtx.window._packetsTestAPI;
+
+  test('#885: byte breakdown uses pathHops length (single source of truth)', () => {
+    // After #885 the byte breakdown agrees with the path pill: both render
+    // from the per-observation path_json. raw_hex is the underlying bytes
+    // for that same observation, so consistency is by construction.
+    // path_len = 0x42 → hash_size=2, hash_count=2
+    // raw_hex: header(11) + path_len(42) + hop0(41B1) + hop1(27D7) + pubkey(32 bytes)...
+    const pubkey = 'C0DEDAD4'.padEnd(64, '0'); // 32 bytes = 64 hex chars
+    const raw = '1142' + '41B1' + '27D7' + pubkey + '00000000' + '0'.repeat(128);
+    const pkt = { raw_hex: raw, route_type: 1, payload_type: 0 };
+    // Per-obs path_json IS the source of truth — pass the 2 hops that match raw_hex.
+    const pathHops = ['41B1', '27D7'];
+    const html = buildFieldTable(pkt, {}, pathHops, {});
+
+    assert.ok(html.includes('Path (2 hops)'), 'Should show "Path (2 hops)"');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('41B1'), 'Should show hop 0 = 41B1');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('27D7'), 'Should show hop 1 = 27D7');
+  });
+
+  test('#885: pubkey offset advances by hashSize * pathHops.length', () => {
+    const pubkey = 'C0DEDAD4'.padEnd(64, '0');
+    const raw = '1142' + '41B1' + '27D7' + pubkey + '00000000' + '0'.repeat(128);
+    const pkt = { raw_hex: raw, route_type: 1, payload_type: 0 };
+    const html = buildFieldTable(pkt, { type: 'ADVERT', pubKey: pubkey }, ['41B1', '27D7'], {});
+
+    // Public Key should be at offset 6 (1 header + 1 path_len + 2*2 hops = 6)
+    assert.ok(html.includes('>6<') || html.includes('"6"'),
+      'Public Key should be at offset 6');
+  });
+
+  test('#844: hashCountVal=0 (direct advert) skips Path section', () => {
+    // path_len = 0x00 → hash_size=1, hash_count=0
+    const raw = '1100' + '0'.repeat(200);
+    const pkt = { raw_hex: raw, route_type: 1, payload_type: 0 };
+    const html = buildFieldTable(pkt, {}, [], {});
+    assert.ok(!html.includes('section-path'), 'Should not render Path section for direct advert');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('direct advert'), 'Should note direct advert in path_length description');
+  });
+}
+
 // ===== live.js: anomaly icon in feed =====
 console.log('\n=== live.js: anomaly icon in feed ===');
 {
@@ -5504,6 +5904,14 @@ console.log('\n=== channel-decrypt.js: key derivation, MAC, parsing, storage ===
    assert.strictEqual(ctx.window.renderSkewBadge(null, 0), '');
  });

+  test('renderSkewBadge renders default badge with tooltip', () => {
+    var cs = {};
+    var html = ctx.window.renderSkewBadge('default', 0, cs);
+    assert.ok(html.includes('skew-badge--default'), 'should contain default class');
+    assert.ok(html.toLowerCase().includes('firmware default'), 'tooltip should mention firmware default');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('⏰'), 'should contain clock emoji');
+  });
+
  test('renderSkewSparkline returns SVG with data points', () => {
    var samples = [
      { ts: 1000, skew: 10 },
@@ -5524,9 +5932,9 @@ console.log('\n=== channel-decrypt.js: key derivation, MAC, parsing, storage ===

  test('SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER sorts worst first', () => {
    var order = ctx.window.SKEW_SEVERITY_ORDER;
-    assert.ok(order.absurd < order.critical, 'absurd should sort before critical');
-    assert.ok(order.critical < order.warning, 'critical should sort before warning');
-    assert.ok(order.warning < order.ok, 'warning should sort before ok');
+    assert.ok(order.wrong < order.degraded, 'wrong should sort before degraded');
+    assert.ok(order.degraded < order.degrading, 'degraded should sort before degrading');
+    assert.ok(order.degrading < order.ok, 'degrading should sort before ok');
  });
 }

@@ -5696,6 +6104,352 @@ console.log('\n=== analytics.js: renderCollisionsFromServer collision table ==='
  });
 }

+// ===== Issue #849: Per-observation packet detail tests =====
+{
+  console.log('\n=== Issue #849: Per-observation packet detail ===');
+
+  // Test helper: extract hop count from raw_hex path_len byte
+  function extractRawHopCount(rawHex, routeType) {
+    if (!rawHex || rawHex.length < 4) return null;
+    let plOff = 1;
+    if (routeType === 0 || routeType === 3) plOff = 5;
+    const plByte = parseInt(rawHex.slice(plOff * 2, plOff * 2 + 2), 16);
+    if (isNaN(plByte)) return null;
+    return plByte & 0x3F;
+  }
+
+  test('#849: hop count from raw_hex path_len byte (2 hops)', () => {
+    // path_len byte = 0x82: hash_size=2+1=3, hash_count=2
+    const rawHex = '0482aabbccddee'; // header + path_len(0x82) + path data
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount(rawHex, 1), 2);
+  });
+
+  test('#849: hop count from raw_hex path_len byte (0 hops = direct)', () => {
+    const rawHex = '0400'; // header + path_len=0x00
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount(rawHex, 1), 0);
+  });
+
+  test('#849: hop count from raw_hex for transport route (offset 5)', () => {
+    // Transport routes have 4 bytes of transport codes before path_len
+    const rawHex = '00112233440541B127D7'; // header + 4 transport bytes + path_len(0x05)=5 hops
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount(rawHex, 0), 5);
+  });
+
+  test('#849: hop count warns on inconsistency (path_json vs raw_hex)', () => {
+    // path_json has 3 hops, but raw_hex says 2
+    const pathJson = ['41B1', '27D7', '5EB0'];
+    const rawHopCount = 2;
+    assert.notStrictEqual(pathJson.length, rawHopCount, 'should detect inconsistency');
+    // In production code, rawHopCount is trusted
+    assert.strictEqual(rawHopCount, 2);
+  });
+
+  test('#849: per-observation fields override aggregated packet fields', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'abc', observer_id: 'obs-agg', snr: 10, rssi: -90, path_json: '["A","B","C"]', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const obs = { id: 2, observer_id: 'obs-1', snr: 5, rssi: -85, path_json: '["A"]', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:01:00Z' };
+    // Simulate what renderDetail does: spread obs over pkt
+    const effective = {...pkt, ...obs, _isObservation: true};
+    delete effective._parsedPath; // clear cache
+    assert.strictEqual(effective.observer_id, 'obs-1');
+    assert.strictEqual(effective.snr, 5);
+    assert.strictEqual(effective.rssi, -85);
+    assert.strictEqual(effective.timestamp, '2026-01-01T00:01:00Z');
+  });
+
+  test('#849: first observation used when no specific observation selected', () => {
+    const observations = [
+      { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-A', path_json: '["X"]' },
+      { id: 20, observer_id: 'obs-B', path_json: '["X","Y","Z"]' }
+    ];
+    // No targetObsId → use observations[0]
+    const currentObs = observations[0];
+    assert.strictEqual(currentObs.id, 10);
+    assert.strictEqual(currentObs.observer_id, 'obs-A');
+  });
+
+  test('#849: clicking observation row selects that observation', () => {
+    const observations = [
+      { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-A', path_json: '["X"]' },
+      { id: 20, observer_id: 'obs-B', path_json: '["X","Y","Z"]' }
+    ];
+    const targetObsId = '20';
+    const currentObs = observations.find(o => String(o.id) === String(targetObsId));
+    assert.ok(currentObs);
+    assert.strictEqual(currentObs.observer_id, 'obs-B');
+  });
+
+  test('#849: null/missing raw_hex returns null hop count', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount(null, 1), null);
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount('', 1), null);
+    assert.strictEqual(extractRawHopCount('04', 1), null); // too short
+  });
+}
+
+// ===== Issue #852: hashSize offset + var(--muted) regression =====
+{
+  console.log('\n=== Issue #852: hashSize path_len offset + var(--muted) regression ===');
+
+  // Use getPathLenOffset from app.js (loaded via vm context) to avoid duplicating offset logic
+  const ctx852 = makeSandbox();
+  loadInCtx(ctx852, 'public/roles.js');
+  loadInCtx(ctx852, 'public/app.js');
+
+  function extractHashSize(rawHex, routeType) {
+    const plOff = ctx852.getPathLenOffset(routeType);
+    const rawPathByte = rawHex ? parseInt(rawHex.slice(plOff * 2, plOff * 2 + 2), 16) : NaN;
+    return (isNaN(rawPathByte) || (rawPathByte & 0x3F) === 0) ? null : ((rawPathByte >> 6) + 1);
+  }
+
+  test('#852: hashSize for flood route (route_type=1, offset 1)', () => {
+    // Byte at offset 1 = 0x82 → hash_size = (0x82 >> 6) + 1 = 3
+    const rawHex = '0482aabbccddee';
+    assert.strictEqual(extractHashSize(rawHex, 1), 3);
+  });
+
+  test('#852: hashSize for direct transport route (route_type=0, offset 5)', () => {
+    // Bytes 1-4 are next_hop+last_hop, byte at offset 5 = 0x45 → hash_size = (0x45 >> 6) + 1 = 2
+    const rawHex = '001122334445aabb';
+    assert.strictEqual(extractHashSize(rawHex, 0), 2);
+  });
+
+  test('#852: hashSize for transport route flood (route_type=3, offset 5)', () => {
+    const rawHex = '00aabbccdd85aabb';
+    assert.strictEqual(extractHashSize(rawHex, 3), 3); // 0x85 >> 6 = 2, +1 = 3
+  });
+
+  test('#852: hashSize returns null for missing raw_hex', () => {
+    assert.strictEqual(extractHashSize(null, 1), null);
+    assert.strictEqual(extractHashSize('', 0), null);
+  });
+
+  test('#852: no var(--muted) in public/ files (regression guard)', () => {
+    const fs = require('fs');
+    const path = require('path');
+    const pubDir = path.join(__dirname, 'public');
+    const files = fs.readdirSync(pubDir).filter(f => f.endsWith('.js') || f.endsWith('.css'));
+    files.forEach(f => {
+      const content = fs.readFileSync(path.join(pubDir, f), 'utf8');
+      // Match var(--muted) but not var(--text-muted) or var(--bg-muted) etc.
+      const matches = content.match(/var\(--muted\)/g);
+      if (matches) throw new Error(`${f} contains undefined CSS var var(--muted); use var(--text-muted)`);
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+// ─── #862: Pubkey prefix search ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+{
+  const ctx = makeSandbox();
+  ctx.ROLE_COLORS = { repeater: '#22c55e', room: '#6366f1', companion: '#3b82f6', sensor: '#f59e0b' };
+  ctx.ROLE_STYLE = {};
+  ctx.TYPE_COLORS = {};
+  ctx.getNodeStatus = () => 'active';
+  ctx.getHealthThresholds = () => ({ staleMs: 600000, degradedMs: 1800000, silentMs: 86400000 });
+  ctx.timeAgo = () => '1m ago';
+  ctx.truncate = (s) => s;
+  ctx.escapeHtml = (s) => String(s || '');
+  ctx.payloadTypeName = () => 'Advert';
+  ctx.payloadTypeColor = () => 'advert';
+  ctx.registerPage = () => {};
+  ctx.RegionFilter = { init: () => {}, onChange: () => () => {}, getRegionParam: () => '' };
+  ctx.debouncedOnWS = () => null;
+  ctx.onWS = () => {};
+  ctx.offWS = () => {};
+  ctx.debounce = (fn) => fn;
+  ctx.api = () => Promise.resolve({ nodes: [], counts: {} });
+  ctx.invalidateApiCache = () => {};
+  ctx.CLIENT_TTL = { nodeList: 90000, nodeDetail: 240000, nodeHealth: 240000 };
+  ctx.initTabBar = () => {};
+  ctx.getFavorites = () => [];
+  ctx.favStar = () => '';
+  ctx.bindFavStars = () => {};
+  ctx.makeColumnsResizable = () => {};
+  ctx.Set = Set;
+  ctx.HEALTH_THRESHOLDS = { infraSilentMs: 86400000, nodeSilentMs: 7200000 };
+  loadInCtx(ctx, 'public/nodes.js');
+
+  const matchesSearch = ctx.window._nodesMatchesSearch;
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch matches name substring', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'MyRepeater', public_key: '3faebb0011223344' };
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'repeat'), true);
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'REPEAT'), true);
+  });
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch matches pubkey prefix (hex)', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'MyRepeater', public_key: '3faebb0011223344' };
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, '3f'), true);
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, '3fae'), true);
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, '3FAEBB'), true);
+  });
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch does NOT match pubkey substring (only prefix)', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'MyRepeater', public_key: '3faebb0011223344' };
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'aebb'), false);
+  });
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch returns true for empty query', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'Test', public_key: 'abcdef1234567890' };
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, ''), true);
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, null), true);
+  });
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch mixed query (non-hex) only matches name', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'alpha', public_key: 'abcdef1234567890' };
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'xyz'), false);
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'alph'), true);
+  });
+
+  test('#862: _nodesMatchesSearch hex-named node — name "cafe" with pubkey "deadbeef..."', () => {
+    const node = { name: 'cafe', public_key: 'deadbeef11223344' };
+    // "cafe" matches by name (substring), NOT pubkey prefix
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'cafe'), true);
+    // "dead" matches by pubkey prefix
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'dead'), true);
+    // "cafe" should NOT match pubkey (not a prefix of "deadbeef")
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'beef'), false); // not a prefix, not in name
+    // "ca" matches name substring
+    assert.strictEqual(matchesSearch(node, 'ca'), true);
+  });
+}
+
+// ===== Issue #866: Full-page obs-switch — hex + path must update per observation =====
+{
+  console.log('\n=== Issue #866: Full-page observation switch ===');
+
+  const ctx866 = makeSandbox();
+  loadInCtx(ctx866, 'public/roles.js');
+  loadInCtx(ctx866, 'public/app.js');
+  loadInCtx(ctx866, 'public/packet-helpers.js');
+
+  test('#866: switching observation updates effectivePkt path_json', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'abc123', observer_id: 'obs-agg', path_json: '["A","B","C","D"]', raw_hex: '0484A1B1C1D1', route_type: 1, timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const obs1 = { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-1', path_json: '["A","B"]', snr: 5, rssi: -80, timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:01:00Z' };
+    const obs2 = { id: 20, observer_id: 'obs-2', path_json: '["A","B","C","D"]', snr: 8, rssi: -75, timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:02:00Z' };
+
+    // Simulate renderDetail logic: pick obs1
+    const eff1 = ctx866.clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...obs1, _isObservation: true});
+    const path1 = ctx866.getParsedPath(eff1);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(path1, ['A', 'B']);
+    assert.strictEqual(eff1.observer_id, 'obs-1');
+    assert.strictEqual(eff1.snr, 5);
+
+    // Switch to obs2
+    const eff2 = ctx866.clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...obs2, _isObservation: true});
+    const path2 = ctx866.getParsedPath(eff2);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(path2, ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']);
+    assert.strictEqual(eff2.observer_id, 'obs-2');
+    assert.strictEqual(eff2.snr, 8);
+  });
+
+  test('#866: effectivePkt preserves raw_hex from packet when obs has none', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'h1', raw_hex: '0482AABB', route_type: 1 };
+    const obs = { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-1', path_json: '["AA"]', snr: 3, rssi: -90, timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const eff = ctx866.clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...obs, _isObservation: true});
+    // obs doesn't have raw_hex, so packet's raw_hex survives spread
+    assert.strictEqual(eff.raw_hex, '0482AABB');
+  });
+
+  test('#866: effectivePkt uses obs raw_hex when available (API now returns it)', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'h1', raw_hex: '0482AABB', route_type: 1 };
+    const obs = { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-1', raw_hex: '0441CC', path_json: '["CC"]', snr: 3, rssi: -90, timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const eff = ctx866.clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...obs, _isObservation: true});
+    // obs has raw_hex from API, should override
+    assert.strictEqual(eff.raw_hex, '0441CC');
+  });
+
+  test('#866: direction field carried through observation spread', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'h1', direction: 'rx', route_type: 1 };
+    const obs = { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-1', direction: 'tx', path_json: '[]', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const eff = {...pkt, ...obs, _isObservation: true};
+    assert.strictEqual(eff.direction, 'tx');
+  });
+
+  test('#866: resolved_path carried through observation spread', () => {
+    const pkt = { id: 1, hash: 'h1', resolved_path: '["aaa","bbb","ccc"]', route_type: 1 };
+    const obs = { id: 10, observer_id: 'obs-1', resolved_path: '["aaa"]', path_json: '["AA"]', timestamp: '2026-01-01T00:00:00Z' };
+    const eff = ctx866.clearParsedCache({...pkt, ...obs, _isObservation: true});
+    const rp = ctx866.getResolvedPath(eff);
+    assert.deepStrictEqual(rp, ['aaa']);
+  });
+
+  test('#866: getPathLenOffset used for hop count cross-check', () => {
+    // Flood route: offset 1
+    assert.strictEqual(ctx866.getPathLenOffset(1), 1);
+    assert.strictEqual(ctx866.getPathLenOffset(2), 1);
+    // Transport route: offset 5
+    assert.strictEqual(ctx866.getPathLenOffset(0), 5);
+    assert.strictEqual(ctx866.getPathLenOffset(3), 5);
+  });
+
+  test('#866: URL hash should encode obs parameter for deep linking', () => {
+    // Simulate the URL construction pattern from renderDetail obs click
+    const pktHash = 'abc123def456';
+    const obsId = '42';
+    const url = `#/packets/${pktHash}?obs=${obsId}`;
+    assert.strictEqual(url, '#/packets/abc123def456?obs=42');
+    // Parse back
+    const qIdx = url.indexOf('?');
+    const qs = new URLSearchParams(url.substring(qIdx));
+    assert.strictEqual(qs.get('obs'), '42');
+  });
+}
+
+// ===== #872 — hop-display unreliable badge =====
+{
+  console.log('\n--- #872: hop-display unreliable warning badge ---');
+
+  function makeHopDisplaySandbox() {
+    const sb = {
+      window: { addEventListener: () => {}, dispatchEvent: () => {} },
+      document: {
+        readyState: 'complete',
+        createElement: () => ({ id: '', textContent: '', innerHTML: '' }),
+        head: { appendChild: () => {} },
+        getElementById: () => null,
+        addEventListener: () => {},
+        querySelectorAll: () => [],
+        querySelector: () => null,
+      },
+      console,
+      Date, Math, Array, Object, String, Number, JSON, RegExp, Map, Set,
+      encodeURIComponent, parseInt, parseFloat, isNaN, Infinity, NaN, undefined,
+      setTimeout: () => {}, setInterval: () => {}, clearTimeout: () => {}, clearInterval: () => {},
+    };
+    sb.window.document = sb.document;
+    sb.self = sb.window;
+    sb.globalThis = sb.window;
+    const ctx = vm.createContext(sb);
+    const hopSrc = fs.readFileSync(__dirname + '/public/hop-display.js', 'utf8');
+    vm.runInContext(hopSrc, ctx);
+    return ctx;
+  }
+
+  const hopCtx = makeHopDisplaySandbox();
+
+  test('#872: unreliable hop renders warning badge, not strikethrough', () => {
+    const html = hopCtx.window.HopDisplay.renderHop('AABB', {
+      name: 'TestNode', pubkey: 'pk123', unreliable: true,
+      ambiguous: false, conflicts: [], globalFallback: false,
+    }, {});
+    // Must contain unreliable warning badge button
+    assert.ok(html.includes('hop-unreliable-btn'), 'should have unreliable badge button');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('⚠️'), 'should have ⚠️ icon');
+    assert.ok(html.includes('Unreliable name resolution'), 'should have tooltip text');
+    // Must NOT contain line-through in inline style (CSS class no longer has it)
+    assert.ok(!html.includes('line-through'), 'should not contain line-through');
+    // Should still have hop-unreliable class for subtle styling
+    assert.ok(html.includes('hop-unreliable'), 'should have hop-unreliable class');
+  });
+
+  test('#872: reliable hop does NOT render unreliable badge', () => {
+    const html = hopCtx.window.HopDisplay.renderHop('CCDD', {
+      name: 'GoodNode', pubkey: 'pk456', unreliable: false,
+      ambiguous: false, conflicts: [], globalFallback: false,
+    }, {});
+    assert.ok(!html.includes('hop-unreliable-btn'), 'should not have unreliable badge');
+  });
+}
+
 // ===== SUMMARY =====
 Promise.allSettled(pendingTests).then(() => {
  console.log(`\n${'═'.repeat(40)}`);
@@ -95,5 +95,27 @@ const result6 = HopResolver.resolve(['ee44'], null, null, null, null, null);
 assert(result6['ee44'].name === 'NodeD', 'Unique prefix resolves directly — got: ' + result6['ee44'].name);
 assert(!result6['ee44'].ambiguous, 'Should not be marked ambiguous');

+// Test 7: lat=0 / lon=0 candidates are NOT excluded (equator/prime-meridian bug fix)
+console.log('\nTest 7: lat=0 / lon=0 candidates are included in geo scoring');
+const nodeEquator = { public_key: 'ab5555', name: 'EquatorNode', lat: 0, lon: 10 };
+const nodeFar = { public_key: 'ab6666', name: 'FarNode', lat: 60, lon: 60 };
+const anchorNearEq = { public_key: 'cd7777', name: 'AnchorEq', lat: 1, lon: 11 };
+HopResolver.init([nodeEquator, nodeFar, anchorNearEq]);
+HopResolver.setAffinity({});
+// Anchor near equator — EquatorNode (0,10) should be geo-closest
+const result7 = HopResolver.resolve(['cd77', 'ab'], 1.0, 11.0, null, null, null);
+assert(result7['ab'].name === 'EquatorNode',
+  'lat=0 candidate should be included and win by geo — got: ' + result7['ab'].name);
+
+// Test 8: lon=0 candidate is also included
+console.log('\nTest 8: lon=0 candidate is included in geo scoring');
+const nodePrime = { public_key: 'ab8888', name: 'PrimeMeridian', lat: 10, lon: 0 };
+const anchorNearPM = { public_key: 'cd9999', name: 'AnchorPM', lat: 11, lon: 1 };
+HopResolver.init([nodePrime, nodeFar, anchorNearPM]);
+HopResolver.setAffinity({});
+const result8 = HopResolver.resolve(['cd99', 'ab'], 11.0, 1.0, null, null, null);
+assert(result8['ab'].name === 'PrimeMeridian',
+  'lon=0 candidate should be included and win by geo — got: ' + result8['ab'].name);
+
 console.log('\n' + (passed + failed) + ' tests, ' + passed + ' passed, ' + failed + ' failed\n');
 process.exit(failed > 0 ? 1 : 0);