Surface recent-files load failures with a retry instead of a silent empty state

The file-add modal's "Recent" list treated a failed or stalled load
identically to an empty history: loadRecentFiles swallowed errors into an
empty array (console.error/warn only) and FileListArea rendered just
"Loading files..." or "No recent files", with no error message, no retry,
and no telemetry.

- Track a loadError flag in useFileManager and thread it through
  FileManagerContext to FileListArea, which now renders four distinct
  states: loading / loaded / error (with a "Try again" retry) / empty.
- Capture the previously-swallowed errors as PostHog $exception events via
  a new analytics.captureException helper (top-level, server-files, and
  share-links failures) so the failure stops being invisible.
- Add a 30s timeout to the storage metadata GETs so a stalled connection
  surfaces as an error/retry instead of an indefinite spinner.
- Add FileListArea state-machine tests.

Generated-By: PostHog Code
Task-Id: 63a8e289-0cd7-4a4c-9914-43504209029d

.claude/skills/feature-walkthrough/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+---
+name: feature-walkthrough
+description: >-
+  Explain the full logic and process of the current branch end-to-end so someone
+  with no prior knowledge of the task can understand, review, and reproduce it.
+  Scopes the change from the branch diff, traces the flow across every layer it
+  touches (frontend tool/hook/component, Java controller/service/endpoint, Python
+  engine, config, i18n, tests), and produces a self-contained walkthrough document
+  with Mermaid diagrams (sequence/flow/architecture), annotated file map with
+  clickable references, before/after behavior, screenshots where a UI is involved,
+  a "try it locally" section, and edge cases/risks. Use when asked for a feature or
+  branch walkthrough, "explain what this branch does", a design/logic writeup, PR
+  reviewer onboarding, or a hand-off doc. Pass --html to also emit a rendered HTML
+  version; --no-screens to skip screenshots.
+argument-hint: "[branch-or-area] [--html] [--no-screens]"
+allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash
+---
+
+# Feature / Branch Walkthrough
+
+Turn the current branch into a walkthrough a newcomer can follow. Audience:
+**someone who has never seen this task**. Explain the *why*, the *flow*, and *how to
+try it* - not just a diff summary.
+
+`$ARGUMENTS` may name a branch or area to focus on; default is the current branch
+vs `main`. Flags: `--html` (also emit a rendered HTML twin), `--no-screens`.
+
+## Process
+
+### 1. Scope the change
+- `git log --oneline main..HEAD` and `git diff --stat main...HEAD` for the shape.
+- Read the PR description / commit messages for stated intent. Do **not** invent
+  history or motivation that isn't evidenced (state current behavior in present tense).
+- Classify touched files by layer:
+  - **Frontend**: tools (`frontend/editor/src/core/components/tools/*` or `.../core/tools/*`),
+    hooks (`core/hooks/tools/*`, `useToolOperation`), contexts, routes, i18n
+    (`public/locales/en-US`).
+  - **Java backend**: controllers (`.../controller/api/...`), services, models, config.
+  - **Engine**: `engine/src/stirling/{agents,contracts,api,services}`.
+  - **Config / build / docker / tests.**
+
+### 2. Trace the flow end-to-end
+Follow one real path from user action to result. For a typical PDF tool that's:
+UI control → `useToolOperation` hook → `POST /api/v1/...` → Spring controller →
+service (PDFBox / LibreOffice / engine call) → response → review panel → download.
+Read the actual files so the narrative is true to the code, and collect the exact
+file:line anchors you'll cite.
+
+### 3. Draw the diagrams (Mermaid)
+Pick what fits; usually 2-3 of:
+- **Sequence diagram** - request/response across frontend → backend → engine.
+- **Flowchart** - the core decision/branching logic of the feature.
+- **Architecture/component** - new pieces and how they wire to existing ones.
+- **State** - if the feature has modes/steps.
+Keep nodes labeled in plain language. Validate the Mermaid parses before shipping.
+
+### 4. Screenshots (unless --no-screens)
+If a UI is involved, capture key states with the stubbed Playwright harness
+(see the **ui-walkthrough** skill and `files-page-screenshots.spec.ts` for the
+pattern) or, for before/after, capture `main` then the branch. Drop PNGs in
+`walkthrough/<feature>/` and reference them from the doc. For backend-only
+changes, show request/response examples (curl + JSON) instead.
+
+### 5. Write the walkthrough
+Create `walkthrough/<feature>/FEATURE-WALKTHROUGH.md` with:
+1. **TL;DR** - what the branch does and who it's for, in 3-4 sentences.
+2. **Problem & approach** - what wasn't possible before; the chosen solution.
+3. **Architecture diagram** + 1-paragraph orientation.
+4. **End-to-end flow** - the sequence diagram + a numbered walk of each step,
+   each citing the real file (clickable `path:line`).
+5. **Key files** - annotated map (path → one line on its role).
+6. **Logic deep-dive** - the flowchart + prose for the non-obvious decisions.
+7. **Behavior** - before vs after; screenshots or request/response examples.
+8. **Try it locally** - exact steps (`task dev` / `task dev:all`, the route to
+   open or the curl to run, any env like `DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY` or a test
+   license key). Make it copy-pasteable.
+9. **Edge cases, risks, follow-ups** - what's untested, known limits, gotchas.
+
+Markdown is the primary deliverable - it renders with diagrams in GitHub PRs and
+IDEs, no build step, ideal for review.
+
+### 6. If `--html`
+Also emit `walkthrough/<feature>/walkthrough.html`: the same content with Mermaid
+rendered via `mermaid.initialize({startOnLoad:true})` (script from CDN; note in
+the file that rendering diagrams needs network, the `.md` is the offline copy) and
+screenshots inline. Keep it self-contained otherwise.
+
+### 7. Deliver
+Give the doc path and a short chat summary. Offer to `SendUserFile` it.
+
+## Principles
+- **True to the code.** Every claim traces to a file you read; cite `path:line`.
+  No fabricated migration/version history.
+- **Newcomer-first.** Define repo-specific terms (FileContext, `useToolOperation`,
+  the `@app/*` layer cascade, stubbed vs live tests) on first use.
+- **Show, don't assert.** Prefer a diagram + a real example over adjectives.
+- Don't commit the `walkthrough/` output unless asked.

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+---
+name: ui-before-after
+description: >-
+  Analyse a branch or PR and automatically capture before/after screenshots of
+  every UI surface its changes touch, then pixel-diff the pairs to surface what
+  actually changed and assemble PR-ready before/after montage images. Generic and
+  diff-driven: it derives the capture targets from the diff (changed tools/routes →
+  URLs) instead of hand-listing screens, captures "before" from the base branch and
+  "after" from the head, then keeps only the views that visually differ. Each
+  comparison is auto-cropped to the region that actually changed (the bounding box of
+  differing pixels), falling back to the full page only when the change spans most of
+  it. Use for before/after shots, a visual diff of a branch/PR, "screenshots for the
+  PR description", "show what changed in the UI", or a side-by-side of UI changes.
+  Takes a PR number/URL (resolved via gh) or a branch; defaults to the current branch
+  vs its base. Flags: --scope <selector>, --base <ref|merge-base>, --theme
+  light|dark|both, --all (capture every route, not just changed), --no-autocrop,
+  --pagewide <n>, --threshold <n>.
+argument-hint: "[PR# | PR-url | branch] [--scope <sel>] [--base <ref>] [--theme both] [--all] [--no-autocrop]"
+allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash
+---
+
+# UI Before / After (generic visual diff)
+
+Point it at a branch or PR; it figures out which UI changed, screenshots every
+affected surface **before** (base) and **after** (head), pixel-diffs the pairs, and
+montages the ones that actually changed into images for the PR description.
+
+`$ARGUMENTS`: a PR number/URL, a branch, or nothing (current branch vs base).
+By default it captures the full viewport and auto-crops each comparison to the region
+that changed. Flags: `--scope <css>` (narrow the *capture* to a container, e.g.
+`[data-sidebar="tool-panel"]`, when you already know where the change is),
+`--no-autocrop` (keep full frames), `--pagewide <fraction>` (above this share of the
+page, skip cropping; default 0.6), `--base <ref|merge-base>`,
+`--theme light|dark|both`, `--all` (walk every route, not just changed),
+`--threshold <fraction>` (diff sensitivity, default 0.001).
+
+Shares the capture harness with **ui-walkthrough** - read its SKILL.md for the
+stubbed-Playwright setup, worktree node_modules + `generate-icons`, the
+stale-`:5173` gotcha, and the dark-mode init-script. Bundled helpers:
+[capture-spec.template.ts](capture-spec.template.ts), [diff-shots.mjs](diff-shots.mjs),
+[montage-template.html](montage-template.html), [shoot-sections.mjs](shoot-sections.mjs).
+
+## Process
+
+### 1. Resolve target + base
+```
+gh pr view <pr> --json number,title,headRefName,baseRefName,url,files   # PR
+# or branch: base = merge-base(main, HEAD); head = HEAD
+gh pr diff <pr> --name-only        # or: git diff --name-only <base>...HEAD
+```
+
+### 2. Derive capture targets from the diff (the "analyse" step - no hand-listing)
+Map changed frontend files to URLs generically:
+- **Tools**: a changed `components/tools/<toolDir>/…` or `hooks/tools/<tool>/…` →
+  toolId → URL via the repo's own rule `getToolUrlPath` in
+  [toolsTaxonomy.ts:200](frontend/editor/src/core/data/toolsTaxonomy.ts): `/` + the
+  id kebab-cased (`addPageNumbers` → `/add-page-numbers`).
+- **Pages/routes**: changed `filesPage/*` → `/files`, etc.
+- `--all`: enumerate every tool in the registry instead of just changed ones.
+Write `frontend/editor/screenshots/ui-diff/targets.json` =
+`[{ "id":"compress", "url":"/compress", "name":"Compress" }]`. This is what makes
+it generic - the spec never names a tool.
+
+### 3. Capture AFTER (head) then BEFORE (base)
+Copy [capture-spec.template.ts](capture-spec.template.ts) →
+`src/core/tests/stubbed/ui-before-after.spec.ts` (it loops `targets.json`, seeds a
+sample PDF so file-dependent panels render, navigates to each URL, and screenshots
+the full viewport - or the `--scope` container if given). Ensure the harness is ready
+(node_modules + icons).
+```
+# after = current head
+cd frontend/editor && PR_SHOT_SIDE=after PR_SHOT_THEME=light \
+  npx playwright test --project=stubbed ui-before-after.spec.ts
+# before = base, in an isolated worktree (copy the spec + targets.json in)
+git worktree add ../ba-base origin/<baseRefName>        # or the merge-base
+#   set up its frontend, copy spec + screenshots/ui-diff/targets.json across, then:
+cd ../ba-base/frontend/editor && PR_SHOT_SIDE=before PR_SHOT_THEME=light \
+  npx playwright test --project=stubbed ui-before-after.spec.ts
+#   copy its screenshots/ui-diff/before/ back next to after/. Repeat with
+#   PR_SHOT_THEME=dark if --theme includes dark. Remove worktree when done.
+```
+
+### 4. Auto-diff (surface what changed)
+```
+cd frontend/editor && node <skill>/diff-shots.mjs \
+  screenshots/ui-diff/before screenshots/ui-diff/after screenshots/ui-diff
+```
+Produces `diff-report.json` classifying each view `unchanged | changed | added |
+removed`. For each changed view it computes the bounding box of differing pixels and
+writes cropped `__before_crop.png` / `__after_crop.png` / `__diff.png` to that region
+(+ padding) - **unless** the change covers more than `--pagewide` of the frame, where
+it keeps the full frame (`pageWide:true`). Drop `unchanged` - that's the noise the
+user doesn't want.
+
+### 5. Montage the changes
+Build the manifest from the non-unchanged entries (group by tab/tool; each becomes a
+state row with before/after). For changed views use the cropped `cropBefore` /
+`cropAfter` from `diff-report.json` (tight on the affected region; full frame when
+`pageWide`); `added`/`removed` render the "not present" placeholder. Fill
+[montage-template.html](montage-template.html) (replace the `window.__BA__` data
+block; base64-inline the PNGs for portability), then render one PNG per section with
+[shoot-sections.mjs](shoot-sections.mjs). Optionally include the `__diff.png` overlay
+as a third column.
+
+### 6. Deliver
+Output the `montage_<tab>.png` files + a short summary (N changed / added / removed,
+M unchanged skipped) and a paste-ready Markdown block. GitHub has no PR-body image
+API, so tell the user to drag the PNGs into the description. Do **not** post to the
+PR.
+
+## Gotchas
+- Two installs (base worktree + head); junction main's node_modules only if its deps
+  match that ref, else `npm ci` (see ui-walkthrough's stale-dep note).
+- A view that errors on one side (refactored/removed) → that side is missing; the
+  diff marks it added/removed rather than failing the run.
+- Pixel diff needs equal dimensions, so capture at a fixed viewport (the template
+  does); a view whose size changed is reported as "changed (dimensions differ)",
+  uncropped.
+- Auto-crop uses a single bounding box, so two far-apart changes give one large crop
+  (or trip `--pagewide`); narrow with `--scope` if that happens.
+- `getToolUrlPath` is the source of truth for tool URLs - use it, don't guess slugs.
+- Don't commit `screenshots/`, the throwaway spec, or the base worktree.

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/capture-spec.template.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+// Generic before/after capturer. NOT app-specific: it walks a targets.json that
+// the ui-before-after skill generates from the branch/PR diff, so nothing here is
+// hand-listed. Copy to src/core/tests/stubbed/ui-before-after.spec.ts, then run
+// once per (side, theme):
+//   PR_SHOT_SIDE=after  PR_SHOT_THEME=light \
+//     npx playwright test --project=stubbed ui-before-after.spec.ts
+//
+// targets.json shape: [{ "id":"compress", "url":"/compress", "name":"Compress",
+//                        "needsFile": true }]
+import { test } from "@app/tests/helpers/stub-test-base";
+import type { Page } from "@playwright/test";
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+const SIDE = process.env.PR_SHOT_SIDE ?? "after";
+const THEME = process.env.PR_SHOT_THEME ?? "light";
+// Capture the full viewport by default so the affected region is in frame
+// wherever it is; diff-shots.mjs crops each comparison to what actually changed.
+// Set PR_SHOT_SCOPE to a selector to narrow the capture to one container.
+const SCOPE = process.env.PR_SHOT_SCOPE ?? "";
+const ROOT = path.resolve(process.cwd(), "screenshots", "ui-diff");
+const OUT = path.join(ROOT, SIDE);
+// A tiny sample PDF so file-dependent tool panels render. Point at a real fixture.
+const SAMPLE_PDF = process.env.PR_SHOT_SAMPLE ?? "src/core/tests/test-fixtures/sample.pdf";
+
+type Target = { id: string; url: string; name?: string; needsFile?: boolean };
+const targets: Target[] = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(ROOT, "targets.json"), "utf-8"));
+
+test.use({ autoGoto: false, viewport: { width: 1600, height: 900 }, seedJwt: true });
+
+async function applyTheme(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  if (THEME !== "dark") return;
+  await page.addInitScript(() => {
+    localStorage.setItem("mantine-color-scheme", "dark");
+    localStorage.setItem("mantine-color-scheme-value", "dark");
+  });
+  await page.emulateMedia({ colorScheme: "dark" });
+}
+
+async function seedFile(page: Page): Promise<void> {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(SAMPLE_PDF)) return;
+  await page.goto("/", { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded" });
+  await page.getByTestId("files-button").click().catch(() => {});
+  await page.locator('[data-testid="file-input"]').setInputFiles(SAMPLE_PDF).catch(() => {});
+  await page.locator(".file-sidebar-file-item").first().isVisible({ timeout: 8_000 }).catch(() => {});
+}
+
+for (const t of targets) {
+  // One test per target so a single failure doesn't drop the rest.
+  test(`${SIDE}/${THEME} ${t.id}`, async ({ page }) => {
+    fs.mkdirSync(OUT, { recursive: true });
+    await applyTheme(page);
+    if (t.needsFile !== false) await seedFile(page);
+    await page.goto(t.url, { waitUntil: "domcontentloaded" });
+    await page.waitForTimeout(400); // settle Mantine portals/transitions
+    const shot = path.join(OUT, `${t.id}__${THEME}.png`);
+    if (SCOPE) {
+      const scope = page.locator(SCOPE).first();
+      if (await scope.isVisible({ timeout: 8_000 }).catch(() => false)) {
+        await scope.screenshot({ path: shot });
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+    // Full viewport (fixed size → stable dimensions for pixel diffing).
+    await page.screenshot({ path: shot });
+  });
+}

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/diff-shots.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+// Auto-diff before/ vs after/ screenshots, classify each as
+// unchanged | changed | added | removed, and CROP each changed pair to the
+// affected region (bounding box of differing pixels + padding) - unless the
+// change spans most of the page, in which case the full frame is kept.
+// Run from frontend/editor (so deps resolve):
+//   node <skill>/diff-shots.mjs <beforeDir> <afterDir> [outDir]
+// Env:
+//   DIFF_THRESHOLD  min fraction of differing pixels to count as changed (default 0.001)
+//   DIFF_PAD        padding px around the affected region (default 24)
+//   DIFF_PAGEWIDE   if affected bbox area / image area exceeds this, keep full frame (default 0.6)
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+
+const require = createRequire(path.join(process.cwd(), "noop.js"));
+const pm = require("pixelmatch");
+const pixelmatch = pm.default || pm;
+const { PNG } = require("pngjs");
+
+const beforeDir = path.resolve(process.argv[2]);
+const afterDir = path.resolve(process.argv[3]);
+const outDir = path.resolve(process.argv[4] || afterDir);
+const THRESHOLD = Number(process.env.DIFF_THRESHOLD ?? "0.001");
+const PAD = Number(process.env.DIFF_PAD ?? "24");
+const PAGEWIDE = Number(process.env.DIFF_PAGEWIDE ?? "0.6");
+
+const read = (p) => PNG.sync.read(fs.readFileSync(p));
+const isShot = (f) => f.endsWith(".png") && !/__(diff|before_crop|after_crop)\.png$/.test(f);
+const list = (d) => (fs.existsSync(d) ? fs.readdirSync(d).filter(isShot) : []);
+const names = [...new Set([...list(beforeDir), ...list(afterDir)])].sort();
+fs.mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true });
+
+function cropPNG(src, x, y, w, h) {
+  const out = new PNG({ width: w, height: h });
+  PNG.bitblt(src, out, x, y, w, h, 0, 0);
+  return out;
+}
+const writePNG = (p, png) => fs.writeFileSync(p, PNG.sync.write(png));
+
+// Bounding box of differing pixels using a diff mask (alpha>0 where changed).
+function changedBBox(before, after, w, h) {
+  const mask = new PNG({ width: w, height: h });
+  pixelmatch(before.data, after.data, mask.data, w, h, { threshold: 0.1, diffMask: true });
+  let minX = w, minY = h, maxX = -1, maxY = -1, count = 0;
+  for (let y = 0; y < h; y++) {
+    for (let x = 0; x < w; x++) {
+      if (mask.data[(y * w + x) * 4 + 3] > 0) {
+        count++;
+        if (x < minX) minX = x; if (x > maxX) maxX = x;
+        if (y < minY) minY = y; if (y > maxY) maxY = y;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return maxX < 0 ? null : { minX, minY, maxX, maxY, count };
+}
+
+const report = [];
+for (const name of names) {
+  const id = name.replace(/\.png$/, "");
+  const bp = path.join(beforeDir, name), ap = path.join(afterDir, name);
+  const hasB = fs.existsSync(bp), hasA = fs.existsSync(ap);
+  if (hasB && !hasA) { report.push({ id, status: "removed", before: bp }); continue; }
+  if (!hasB && hasA) { report.push({ id, status: "added", after: ap }); continue; }
+
+  const before = read(bp), after = read(ap);
+  if (before.width !== after.width || before.height !== after.height) {
+    report.push({ id, status: "changed", note: "dimensions differ", before: bp, after: ap });
+    continue;
+  }
+  const w = after.width, h = after.height;
+  const overlay = new PNG({ width: w, height: h });
+  const px = pixelmatch(before.data, after.data, overlay.data, w, h, { threshold: 0.1 });
+  const ratio = px / (w * h);
+  if (ratio <= THRESHOLD) { report.push({ id, status: "unchanged", ratio: Number(ratio.toFixed(5)), before: bp, after: ap }); continue; }
+
+  const box = changedBBox(before, after, w, h);
+  // Pad + clamp the affected region.
+  const x = Math.max(0, box.minX - PAD), y = Math.max(0, box.minY - PAD);
+  const x2 = Math.min(w, box.maxX + 1 + PAD), y2 = Math.min(h, box.maxY + 1 + PAD);
+  const bw = x2 - x, bh = y2 - y;
+  const pageWide = (bw * bh) / (w * h) > PAGEWIDE;
+
+  const entry = { id, status: "changed", ratio: Number(ratio.toFixed(5)), before: bp, after: ap, pageWide };
+  if (pageWide) {
+    // Change spans most of the page - keep the full frame, full overlay.
+    const dp = path.join(outDir, `${id}__diff.png`); writePNG(dp, overlay);
+    entry.diff = dp;
+  } else {
+    entry.bbox = { x, y, w: bw, h: bh };
+    const cb = path.join(outDir, `${id}__before_crop.png`); writePNG(cb, cropPNG(before, x, y, bw, bh));
+    const ca = path.join(outDir, `${id}__after_crop.png`); writePNG(ca, cropPNG(after, x, y, bw, bh));
+    const dp = path.join(outDir, `${id}__diff.png`); writePNG(dp, cropPNG(overlay, x, y, bw, bh));
+    entry.cropBefore = cb; entry.cropAfter = ca; entry.diff = dp;
+  }
+  report.push(entry);
+}
+
+fs.writeFileSync(path.join(outDir, "diff-report.json"), JSON.stringify(report, null, 2));
+const changed = report.filter((r) => r.status !== "unchanged");
+console.log(`diffed ${report.length} view(s): ${changed.length} changed/added/removed, ${report.length - changed.length} unchanged`);
+for (const r of changed) {
+  const tail = r.status !== "changed" ? ""
+    : r.pageWide ? " (page-wide → full frame)"
+    : ` (${(r.ratio * 100).toFixed(2)}%, cropped to ${r.bbox.w}×${r.bbox.h})`;
+  console.log(`  ${r.status.padEnd(9)} ${r.id}${tail}${r.note ? " - " + r.note : ""}`);
+}

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/make_example.py

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+"""Build EXAMPLE.html from montage-template.html using REAL files-page shots as
+stand-in before/after pairs (layout demo, not an actual PR diff). Inlines PNGs as
+data URIs so the HTML is portable. Run: python make_example.py"""
+import base64
+import json
+import pathlib
+import re
+
+HERE = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent
+SHOTS = pathlib.Path(
+    r"C:\Users\systo\git\Stirling-PDFNew\.claude\worktrees\kind-faraday-522a30"
+    r"\frontend\editor\screenshots\files-page"
+)
+
+
+def uri(fname):
+    p = SHOTS / fname
+    return "data:image/png;base64," + base64.b64encode(p.read_bytes()).decode() if p.exists() else None
+
+
+data = {
+    "pr": "DEMO",
+    "title": "EXAMPLE — before/after montage (layout demo, real Files-page shots; not a real PR diff)",
+    "base": "main", "head": "demo-branch",
+    "cropSelector": "[data-sidebar=\"tool-panel\"]  (real runs crop to the side; these demo shots are full-page)",
+    "tabs": [
+        {"id": "files", "title": "Files page", "ctx": "Each row = one flow state; left = base branch, right = this PR.",
+         "states": [
+             {"name": "Empty folder", "before": uri("01_empty_state_ctas.png"), "after": uri("02_empty_state_storage_off.png")},
+             {"name": "Files + details panel", "before": uri("03_subtoolbar_with_files.png"), "after": uri("06_details_panel_save_to_server.png")},
+             {"name": "Delete folder confirm", "before": None, "after": uri("19_delete_folder_dialog.png"), "note": "New in this PR"},
+         ]},
+        {"id": "move", "title": "Move-to-folder dialog",
+         "states": [
+             {"name": "Dialog opened", "before": uri("07_move_dialog_collapsed.png"), "after": uri("08_move_dialog_create_folder_expanded.png")},
+             {"name": "After folder created", "before": None, "after": uri("08b_move_dialog_after_create_folder.png"), "note": "New flow"},
+         ]},
+    ],
+}
+
+tpl = (HERE / "montage-template.html").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+out = re.sub(
+    r"/\*__DATA__\*/.*?/\*__END__\*/",
+    lambda _m: "/*__DATA__*/" + json.dumps(data) + "/*__END__*/",
+    tpl, count=1, flags=re.S,
+)
+(HERE / "EXAMPLE.html").write_text(out, encoding="utf-8")
+print("wrote", HERE / "EXAMPLE.html", "(", (HERE / "EXAMPLE.html").stat().st_size // 1024, "KB )")

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/montage-template.html

@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<!--
+  Before/After montage for a PR description. The ui-before-after skill replaces
+  the JSON in the window.__BA__ data block below with the captured manifest, then
+  screenshots each .tab-section (id="section-<tabId>") into a PNG to drag into the
+  PR description. Self-contained; images may be relative paths or data URIs.
+
+  Data shape:
+  {
+    "pr":"6552","title":"...","base":"main","head":"feat/x",
+    "cropSelector":"[data-sidebar=\"tool-panel\"]",
+    "tabs":[
+      { "id":"sign","title":"Sign tool","states":[
+        {"name":"Initial","before":"before/sign__initial.png","after":"after/sign__initial.png"},
+        {"name":"Cert selected","before":null,"after":"after/sign__cert.png","note":"New in this PR"}
+      ]}
+    ]
+  }
+-->
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta charset="utf-8" />
+<title>Before / After</title>
+<style>
+  :root { --bg:#ffffff; --ink:#0b0c0e; --muted:#6b7280; --line:#e5e7eb;
+          --before:#6b7280; --after:#1f883d; --frame:#f3f4f6; --note:#b45309; }
+  * { box-sizing: border-box; }
+  body { margin:0; background:var(--bg); color:var(--ink);
+         font:14px/1.5 -apple-system,"Segoe UI",Roboto,system-ui,sans-serif; }
+  .wrap { max-width:1100px; margin:0 auto; padding:24px; }
+  .doc-head { margin-bottom:8px; }
+  .doc-head h1 { font-size:18px; margin:0 0 2px; }
+  .doc-head .sub { color:var(--muted); font-size:12.5px; }
+  .legend { display:flex; gap:14px; align-items:center; margin:10px 0 4px; font-size:12px; color:var(--muted); }
+  .chip { font-size:10px; font-weight:700; letter-spacing:.04em; text-transform:uppercase;
+          padding:2px 8px; border-radius:999px; color:#fff; }
+  .chip.before { background:var(--before); } .chip.after { background:var(--after); }
+
+  .tab-section { border:1px solid var(--line); border-radius:14px; padding:18px 18px 8px;
+                 margin:18px 0; background:var(--bg); }
+  .tab-section > h2 { font-size:16px; margin:0 0 2px; }
+  .tab-section > .ctx { color:var(--muted); font-size:12px; margin-bottom:14px; }
+  .state { margin-bottom:18px; }
+  .state .name { font-weight:600; font-size:13.5px; margin-bottom:8px; display:flex; gap:8px; align-items:center; }
+  .state .name .note { font-weight:500; color:var(--note); font-size:12px; }
+  .pair { display:grid; grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr; gap:14px; align-items:start; }
+  .cell { border:1px solid var(--line); border-radius:10px; overflow:hidden; background:var(--frame); }
+  .cell .cap { display:flex; align-items:center; gap:8px; padding:7px 10px; border-bottom:1px solid var(--line);
+               background:var(--bg); }
+  .cell .cap .meta { color:var(--muted); font-size:11px; }
+  .cell img { display:block; width:100%; height:auto; background:#fff; }
+  .cell.empty .ph { display:flex; align-items:center; justify-content:center; height:160px; color:var(--muted);
+                    font-size:12.5px; text-align:center; padding:0 16px; }
+  .single .pair { grid-template-columns:1fr; }
+  .empty-doc { color:var(--muted); padding:40px; text-align:center; }
+  @media (max-width:760px){ .pair{ grid-template-columns:1fr; } }
+</style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<div class="wrap" id="root"></div>
+
+<script id="data">
+window.__BA__ = /*__DATA__*/{"pr":"","title":"No data","base":"","head":"","cropSelector":"","tabs":[]}/*__END__*/;
+</script>
+<script>
+(function(){
+  var D = window.__BA__ || { tabs: [] };
+  var root = document.getElementById("root");
+  function el(html){ var t=document.createElement("template"); t.innerHTML=html.trim(); return t.content.firstChild; }
+  function esc(s){ return (s==null?"":String(s)).replace(/[&<>]/g, function(c){return {"&":"&amp;","<":"&lt;",">":"&gt;"}[c];}); }
+
+  function cell(kind, src){
+    if (src) {
+      return '<div class="cell"><div class="cap"><span class="chip '+kind+'">'+kind+'</span></div>'+
+             '<img src="'+esc(src)+'" alt="'+kind+'"/></div>';
+    }
+    return '<div class="cell empty"><div class="cap"><span class="chip '+kind+'">'+kind+'</span>'+
+           '<span class="meta">not present</span></div><div class="ph">No '+kind+' screenshot for this state</div></div>';
+  }
+
+  var head = '<div class="doc-head"><h1>'+esc(D.title || ("PR #"+D.pr))+'</h1>'+
+    '<div class="sub">Before / after &nbsp;·&nbsp; base <code>'+esc(D.base)+'</code> → head <code>'+esc(D.head)+'</code>'+
+    (D.cropSelector ? ' &nbsp;·&nbsp; cropped to <code>'+esc(D.cropSelector)+'</code>' : '')+'</div></div>'+
+    '<div class="legend"><span class="chip before">Before</span> base branch'+
+    '<span class="chip after">After</span> this PR</div>';
+  root.appendChild(el('<div>'+head+'</div>'));
+
+  if (!D.tabs || !D.tabs.length){ root.appendChild(el('<div class="empty-doc">No tabs captured yet.</div>')); return; }
+
+  D.tabs.forEach(function(tab){
+    var states = (tab.states||[]).map(function(s){
+      var onlyOne = (!s.before || !s.after);
+      return '<div class="state'+(onlyOne?' ':'')+'">'+
+        '<div class="name">'+esc(s.name)+(s.note?'<span class="note">'+esc(s.note)+'</span>':'')+'</div>'+
+        '<div class="pair">'+cell("before", s.before)+cell("after", s.after)+'</div></div>';
+    }).join("");
+    var sec = '<section class="tab-section" id="section-'+esc(tab.id)+'">'+
+      '<h2>'+esc(tab.title)+'</h2>'+
+      (tab.ctx?'<div class="ctx">'+esc(tab.ctx)+'</div>':'')+
+      states+'</section>';
+    root.appendChild(el(sec));
+  });
+})();
+</script>
+</body>
+</html>

.claude/skills/ui-before-after/shoot-sections.mjs

@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+// Render each .tab-section of a montage HTML into its own PNG (the PR-ready image).
+// Run from frontend/editor (so @playwright/test resolves):
+//   node <skill>/shoot-sections.mjs <montage.html> <outDir>
+import path from "node:path";
+import { pathToFileURL } from "node:url";
+import { createRequire } from "node:module";
+
+const require = createRequire(path.join(process.cwd(), "noop.js"));
+const { chromium } = require("@playwright/test");
+
+const htmlPath = path.resolve(process.argv[2]);
+const outDir = path.resolve(process.argv[3] || path.dirname(htmlPath));
+
+const browser = await chromium.launch();
+const page = await browser.newPage({ viewport: { width: 1200, height: 1200 }, deviceScaleFactor: 2 });
+await page.goto(pathToFileURL(htmlPath).href, { waitUntil: "load" });
+await page.waitForTimeout(250); // let images/fonts paint
+const ids = await page.$$eval(".tab-section", (els) => els.map((e) => e.id));
+if (!ids.length) { console.error("no .tab-section found"); process.exit(1); }
+for (const id of ids) {
+  const name = id.replace(/^section-/, "");
+  await page.locator("#" + id).screenshot({ path: path.join(outDir, `montage_${name}.png`) });
+  console.log("wrote montage_" + name + ".png");
+}
+await browser.close();

.claude/skills/ui-walkthrough/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+---
+name: ui-walkthrough
+description: >-
+  Full UI investigation of the current branch's feature. Enumerates every view
+  and state (empty, populated, loading, error, each dialog/menu/panel, responsive
+  breakpoints, light + dark + RTL), captures them with the stubbed Playwright
+  harness, assembles a single-image HTML walkthrough with a global light/dark
+  toggle slider, then runs two review passes: visual/consistency (alignment,
+  spacing, professionalism, dark/light parity, contrast, truncation) and
+  UX/ease-of-use (flow, discoverability, affordances, empty/error states,
+  expectations). Use when asked for a UI walkthrough, screenshot review, design
+  or QA pass, "find anywhere to make it easier/better for users", or before
+  merging frontend work. Pass --fix to auto-apply safe frontend fixes and
+  re-capture; --theme to limit themes; --no-rtl to skip RTL.
+argument-hint: "[feature/area] [--fix] [--theme light|dark|both] [--no-rtl] [--breakpoints]"
+allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash
+---
+
+# UI Walkthrough
+
+Produce a reviewable HTML walkthrough of a feature's UI in every state and theme,
+then critique it. Optionally auto-fix and re-capture.
+
+`$ARGUMENTS` may name the feature/area to focus on. If empty, scope from the
+current branch diff. Flags: `--fix`, `--theme light|dark|both` (default both),
+`--no-rtl`, `--breakpoints` (also capture phone/narrow widths).
+
+## What this repo gives you (use it, don't reinvent)
+
+- **Stubbed Playwright project** = backend-free screenshots via `page.route()` mocks.
+  Reference implementation: `frontend/editor/src/core/tests/stubbed/files-page-screenshots.spec.ts`.
+  It already shows the light / **dark** / **RTL** passes, JWT seeding, IndexedDB
+  seeding, and dumping PNGs to a `screenshots/<area>/` folder. Copy its shape.
+- Helpers: `frontend/editor/src/core/tests/helpers/ui-helpers.ts`
+  (`uploadFiles`, `openSettings`, `waitForModalOpen`, `dismissTourTooltip`, …)
+  and the `stub-test-base` fixtures (`autoGoto`, `seedJwt`, `viewport`).
+- Config: `frontend/editor/playwright.config.ts` (run from `frontend/editor/`).
+- Report template: [report-template.html](report-template.html) - self-contained,
+  one big image at a time, a global light/dark slider that flips every shot,
+  thumbnail rail, prev/next + arrow keys, and a Findings tab.
+
+## Process
+
+### 1. Scope the feature
+- If `$ARGUMENTS` is empty: `git diff --name-only main...HEAD` and read the PR/commits.
+  Identify changed pages, tools (`core/components/tools/<tool>` or `core/tools/<tool>`),
+  dialogs, panels, and routes.
+- Enumerate **every view and state** to capture, e.g.:
+  empty / populated / loading / error / disabled; each dialog, menu, popover, tooltip;
+  each tab or step; selection + multi-select; success/result panel; and (if relevant)
+  permission/role variants. Write the list down before capturing - it's the report's spine.
+
+### 2. Prepare the harness (worktree-safe)
+Worktrees have no `node_modules` and no generated icons. From repo root:
+```
+cd frontend && npm ci                       # or junction main's node_modules (see memory)
+cd frontend/editor && node scripts/generate-icons.js
+```
+Kill any stale dev server first (it serves old modules):
+`Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 5173 -State Listen | %{ Stop-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -Force }`
+
+### 3. Write the capture spec
+Create `frontend/editor/src/core/tests/stubbed/<feature>-walkthrough.spec.ts`,
+modeled on `files-page-screenshots.spec.ts`. For each enumerated view:
+- stub the APIs it needs, drive the UI to that state, wait on a real locator
+  (not a fixed sleep), `await settle(page)` for Mantine portals, then
+  `page.screenshot({ path: shotPath("NN_name_<theme>") })`.
+- Capture each view in **light and dark** (and RTL unless `--no-rtl`). Reuse the
+  `enableDarkMode` / `enableRtl` init-script pattern from the reference spec
+  (`localStorage["mantine-color-scheme"]="dark"` + `emulateMedia({colorScheme:"dark"})`).
+- Name shots `NN_<view>_<theme>.png` so light/dark pair up by suffix.
+- Prefer **stable test-ids** over translated accessible names (RTL/i18n breaks text locators).
+
+Run it: `cd frontend/editor && npx playwright test --project=stubbed <feature>-walkthrough.spec.ts`.
+Add `--project=stubbed-firefox`/`-webkit` only if cross-browser layout matters.
+
+### 4. Build the report
+- Copy `report-template.html` to `screenshots/<feature>/walkthrough.html` (so the
+  relative `screenshots/...` image paths resolve, or rewrite paths to sit beside it).
+- Build the manifest and inject it: replace the JSON between the
+  `/*__DATA__*/` … `/*__END__*/` markers with one `views[]` entry per view
+  (`{id,title,light,dark,viewport,notes}`) and an empty `findings` object you'll
+  fill in step 5. Keep `light`/`dark` as relative paths.
+- The toggle slider answers the "one big image + flip light/dark for all" request:
+  it shows a single large screenshot, and switching the slider re-themes every view.
+
+### 5. Review pass 1 - visual & consistency
+Open each screenshot (Read the PNG) and judge against the others:
+alignment & spacing rhythm, control placement, button hierarchy, typography,
+**light/dark parity** (contrast, invisible borders, washed-out text, wrong tokens),
+truncation/overflow, RTL mirroring, focus states, icon consistency, professional polish.
+Record each issue as a finding `{severity:high|med|low, view, title, detail, fix}`.
+
+### 6. Review pass 2 - UX & ease of use
+Walk the flow as a first-time user: discoverability, number of steps, affordance
+clarity, empty-state guidance, error recovery, destructive-action confirmation,
+defaults, loading feedback, mobile reachability, accessible names, and whether the
+UI matches user expectations for this kind of tool. Record findings the same way.
+
+Write both finding lists into the report's `findings.visual` / `findings.ux`,
+and add short per-view `notes`. Re-inject the manifest.
+
+### 7. If `--fix`
+Only safe, self-contained frontend fixes (spacing, alignment, tokens, missing
+dark-mode colors, labels, aria, obvious copy). For each: edit the component/CSS,
+mark the finding `fixed:true` with what changed, then **re-run the spec** to
+re-capture the affected shots and regenerate the report. Run `task frontend:check`.
+Leave anything risky or ambiguous as a finding, not a change.
+
+### 8. Deliver
+Tell the user the report path and give a tight chat summary: N views ×
+themes captured, top findings by severity, and (if `--fix`) what changed.
+Optionally `SendUserFile` the `walkthrough.html`.
+
+## Gotchas
+- Stale `:5173` server serves old bundles - kill it before capturing (see step 2).
+- Missing `material-symbols-icons.json` → blank app → every shot times out. Run
+  `generate-icons.js` first.
+- `await settle(page)` before shots or portals/transitions tear mid-capture.
+- Don't commit the generated `screenshots/` or the throwaway spec unless asked.

.claude/skills/ui-walkthrough/make_example.py

@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+"""Build a self-contained EXAMPLE.html from report-template.html with mock
+light/dark screenshots, so the viewer + global theme slider can be demoed
+without a real capture run. Run: python make_example.py"""
+import base64
+import json
+import pathlib
+import re
+
+HERE = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent
+
+
+def svg(bg, fg, panel, accent, muted, label, kind):
+    """A simple fake 'screen' SVG: title bar, sidebar, content varies by kind."""
+    parts = [
+        f'<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1600" height="900" viewBox="0 0 1600 900">',
+        f'<rect width="1600" height="900" fill="{bg}"/>',
+        # top bar
+        f'<rect width="1600" height="64" fill="{panel}"/>',
+        f'<circle cx="40" cy="32" r="12" fill="{accent}"/>',
+        f'<rect x="64" y="24" width="160" height="16" rx="6" fill="{muted}"/>',
+        f'<rect x="1430" y="20" width="130" height="24" rx="12" fill="{accent}"/>',
+        # left sidebar
+        f'<rect x="0" y="64" width="220" height="836" fill="{panel}"/>',
+    ]
+    for i in range(6):
+        y = 100 + i * 56
+        parts.append(f'<rect x="24" y="{y}" width="172" height="32" rx="8" fill="{bg}"/>')
+    if kind == "empty":
+        parts += [
+            f'<rect x="700" y="360" width="200" height="120" rx="16" fill="none" stroke="{muted}" stroke-width="3" stroke-dasharray="10 8"/>',
+            f'<rect x="690" y="510" width="220" height="44" rx="10" fill="{accent}"/>',
+            f'<text x="800" y="600" fill="{muted}" font-family="sans-serif" font-size="26" text-anchor="middle">{label}</text>',
+        ]
+    elif kind == "form":
+        for i in range(4):
+            y = 140 + i * 90
+            parts.append(f'<rect x="280" y="{y}" width="160" height="16" rx="6" fill="{muted}"/>')
+            parts.append(f'<rect x="280" y="{y+26}" width="900" height="44" rx="8" fill="{panel}" stroke="{muted}" stroke-width="1"/>')
+        parts.append(f'<rect x="280" y="560" width="200" height="50" rx="10" fill="{accent}"/>')
+        parts.append(f'<text x="800" y="850" fill="{muted}" font-family="sans-serif" font-size="24" text-anchor="middle">{label}</text>')
+    else:  # dialog
+        parts += [
+            f'<rect width="1600" height="900" fill="{fg}" opacity="0.45"/>',
+            f'<rect x="520" y="280" width="560" height="360" rx="18" fill="{panel}"/>',
+            f'<rect x="556" y="320" width="280" height="22" rx="8" fill="{fg}"/>',
+            f'<rect x="556" y="372" width="488" height="14" rx="6" fill="{muted}"/>',
+            f'<rect x="556" y="398" width="420" height="14" rx="6" fill="{muted}"/>',
+            f'<rect x="820" y="560" width="110" height="44" rx="9" fill="{bg}" stroke="{muted}"/>',
+            f'<rect x="946" y="560" width="98" height="44" rx="9" fill="{accent}"/>',
+            f'<text x="800" y="700" fill="#fff" font-family="sans-serif" font-size="24" text-anchor="middle">{label}</text>',
+        ]
+    parts.append("</svg>")
+    return "".join(parts)
+
+
+def data_uri(s):
+    return "data:image/svg+xml;base64," + base64.b64encode(s.encode()).decode()
+
+
+LIGHT = dict(bg="#ffffff", fg="#111418", panel="#f1f3f6", accent="#2f6fed", muted="#c2c8d0")
+DARK = dict(bg="#16181c", fg="#000000", panel="#1f232a", accent="#5b8cff", muted="#3a414b")
+
+
+def pair(kind, label):
+    return (
+        data_uri(svg(LIGHT["bg"], LIGHT["fg"], LIGHT["panel"], LIGHT["accent"], LIGHT["muted"], label, kind)),
+        data_uri(svg(DARK["bg"], DARK["fg"], DARK["panel"], DARK["accent"], DARK["muted"], label, kind)),
+    )
+
+
+views = []
+for idx, (kind, title, label) in enumerate([
+    ("empty", "Empty state", "Drop a PDF to start"),
+    ("form", "Tool options panel", "Compress options"),
+    ("dialog", "Confirm dialog", "Replace original file?"),
+], start=1):
+    light, dark = pair(kind, label)
+    views.append({
+        "id": f"{idx:02d}_{kind}",
+        "title": title,
+        "light": light,
+        "dark": dark,
+        "viewport": "1600x900",
+        "notes": ["This is mock data to demo the viewer."],
+    })
+
+data = {
+    "feature": "EXAMPLE - Compress PDF (mock data)",
+    "branch": "demo",
+    "generated": "example",
+    "views": views,
+    "findings": {
+        "visual": [
+            {"severity": "high", "view": "03_dialog", "title": "Dialog buttons too close",
+             "detail": "Cancel/Confirm have only 8px gap; easy to misclick.",
+             "fix": "Increase gap to var(--mantine-spacing-md)."},
+            {"severity": "low", "view": "02_form", "title": "Field labels low contrast in dark mode",
+             "detail": "Muted token fails WCAG AA on the dark panel.",
+             "fix": "Use --mantine-color-dimmed instead of a hard-coded grey."},
+        ],
+        "ux": [
+            {"severity": "med", "view": "01_empty", "title": "Primary CTA below the dropzone",
+             "detail": "Users expect the action button adjacent to the dropzone.",
+             "fix": "Move the button directly under the dashed zone."},
+        ],
+    },
+}
+
+tpl = (HERE / "report-template.html").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+out = re.sub(
+    r"/\*__DATA__\*/.*?/\*__END__\*/",
+    lambda _m: "/*__DATA__*/" + json.dumps(data) + "/*__END__*/",
+    tpl, count=1, flags=re.S,
+)
+(HERE / "EXAMPLE.html").write_text(out, encoding="utf-8")
+print("wrote", (HERE / "EXAMPLE.html"))

.claude/skills/ui-walkthrough/report-template.html

@@ -0,0 +1,298 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<!--
+  UI Walkthrough report template (self-contained, works from file://).
+  The ui-walkthrough skill replaces the JSON in the window.__WALKTHROUGH__ data
+  block below with the captured manifest. Do not add external CDN deps - it must open offline.
+
+  Data shape:
+  {
+    "feature": "Compress PDF tool",
+    "branch": "claude/...",
+    "generated": "2026-06-21",
+    "views": [
+      { "id": "01_empty", "title": "Empty state",
+        "light": "screenshots/compress/01_empty_light.png",
+        "dark":  "screenshots/compress/01_empty_dark.png",
+        "viewport": "1600x900",
+        "notes": ["Heading is centered", "Primary CTA below the fold on mobile"] }
+    ],
+    "findings": {
+      "visual": [ { "severity":"high", "view":"01_empty", "title":"...", "detail":"...", "fix":"..." } ],
+      "ux":     [ { "severity":"med",  "view":"03_dialog", "title":"...", "detail":"...", "fix":"..." } ]
+    }
+  }
+-->
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+<meta charset="utf-8" />
+<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
+<title>UI Walkthrough</title>
+<style>
+  :root {
+    --bg: #f6f7f9; --panel: #ffffff; --panel-2: #f0f2f5; --text: #1a1b1e;
+    --muted: #6b7280; --border: #e2e5ea; --accent: #2f6fed; --accent-weak: #e8f0fe;
+    --shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.08), 0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,.06);
+    --hi: #d92d20; --med: #d98e00; --low: #2f6fed; --stage: #0b0c0e;
+  }
+  html[data-theme="dark"] {
+    --bg: #0d0e10; --panel: #16181c; --panel-2: #1d2024; --text: #e6e8eb;
+    --muted: #9aa3ad; --border: #2a2e35; --accent: #5b8cff; --accent-weak: #1a2336;
+    --shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.5), 0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,.4); --stage: #000;
+  }
+  * { box-sizing: border-box; }
+  body { margin: 0; font: 14px/1.5 -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, system-ui, sans-serif;
+         background: var(--bg); color: var(--text); }
+  header { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 16px; padding: 12px 20px;
+           background: var(--panel); border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border); position: sticky; top: 0; z-index: 5; }
+  header h1 { font-size: 15px; margin: 0; font-weight: 650; }
+  header .sub { color: var(--muted); font-size: 12px; }
+  .spacer { flex: 1; }
+  .counter { color: var(--muted); font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; font-size: 13px; }
+  .tabs { display: flex; gap: 4px; }
+  .tab { border: 1px solid var(--border); background: var(--panel-2); color: var(--text);
+         padding: 6px 12px; border-radius: 8px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; }
+  .tab.active { background: var(--accent); color: #fff; border-color: var(--accent); }
+
+  /* Light/Dark slider */
+  .theme-toggle { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 9px; user-select: none; }
+  .theme-toggle .lbl { font-size: 12px; color: var(--muted); }
+  .theme-toggle .lbl.on { color: var(--text); font-weight: 600; }
+  .switch { position: relative; width: 52px; height: 28px; }
+  .switch input { opacity: 0; width: 0; height: 0; }
+  .slider { position: absolute; inset: 0; cursor: pointer; background: var(--panel-2);
+            border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 999px; transition: .2s; }
+  .slider:before { content: ""; position: absolute; height: 20px; width: 20px; left: 3px; top: 3px;
+                   background: #fbbf24; border-radius: 50%; transition: .2s; box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.3); }
+  .switch input:checked + .slider { background: var(--accent); }
+  .switch input:checked + .slider:before { transform: translateX(24px); background: #c7d2fe; }
+
+  main { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 240px 1fr; height: calc(100vh - 53px); }
+  .rail { border-right: 1px solid var(--border); overflow-y: auto; background: var(--panel); padding: 8px; }
+  .rail .group-label { font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .05em;
+                       color: var(--muted); padding: 10px 8px 4px; }
+  .thumb { display: flex; gap: 9px; align-items: center; padding: 7px; border-radius: 8px;
+           cursor: pointer; border: 1px solid transparent; }
+  .thumb:hover { background: var(--panel-2); }
+  .thumb.active { background: var(--accent-weak); border-color: var(--accent); }
+  .thumb img { width: 64px; height: 40px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid var(--border); background: var(--stage); }
+  .thumb .t { font-size: 12.5px; line-height: 1.3; }
+  .thumb .badge { font-size: 10px; color: var(--muted); }
+  .thumb .dot { width: 7px; height: 7px; border-radius: 50%; margin-left: auto; flex: none; }
+
+  .stagewrap { display: flex; flex-direction: column; min-width: 0; }
+  .stage { flex: 1; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; padding: 22px;
+           background: var(--stage); position: relative; min-height: 0; }
+  .stage img { max-width: 100%; max-height: 100%; object-fit: contain; border-radius: 8px;
+               box-shadow: 0 4px 30px rgba(0,0,0,.4); background: #fff; }
+  html[data-theme="dark"] .stage img { background: #16181c; }
+  .nav-btn { position: absolute; top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%); width: 42px; height: 42px;
+             border-radius: 50%; border: 1px solid var(--border); background: var(--panel);
+             color: var(--text); cursor: pointer; font-size: 18px; opacity: .85; }
+  .nav-btn:hover { opacity: 1; } .nav-btn.prev { left: 16px; } .nav-btn.next { right: 16px; }
+  .nav-btn:disabled { opacity: .25; cursor: default; }
+  .missing { color: var(--muted); font-size: 13px; text-align: center; }
+
+  .detail { border-top: 1px solid var(--border); background: var(--panel); padding: 14px 20px;
+            max-height: 38vh; overflow-y: auto; }
+  .detail h2 { margin: 0 0 4px; font-size: 15px; }
+  .detail .meta { color: var(--muted); font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; }
+  .notes { list-style: none; padding: 0; margin: 0; display: grid; gap: 6px; }
+  .notes li { display: flex; gap: 8px; align-items: flex-start; }
+  .sev { font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 2px 7px; border-radius: 999px;
+         color: #fff; flex: none; margin-top: 1px; }
+  .sev.high { background: var(--hi); } .sev.med { background: var(--med); } .sev.low { background: var(--low); }
+  .finding .fix { color: var(--muted); font-size: 12.5px; }
+  .finding .fix b { color: var(--text); font-weight: 600; }
+
+  /* Summary tab */
+  .summary { padding: 20px 28px; overflow-y: auto; }
+  .summary h2 { font-size: 16px; margin: 22px 0 8px; }
+  .summary .empty { color: var(--muted); }
+  .card { background: var(--panel); border: 1px solid var(--border); border-radius: 10px;
+          padding: 12px 14px; margin-bottom: 8px; box-shadow: var(--shadow); }
+  .card .head { display: flex; gap: 8px; align-items: center; }
+  .card a { color: var(--accent); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; }
+  .hide { display: none !important; }
+  kbd { font: 11px ui-monospace, monospace; background: var(--panel-2); border: 1px solid var(--border);
+        border-radius: 4px; padding: 1px 5px; }
+</style>
+</head>
+<body>
+<header>
+  <div>
+    <h1 id="feature-title">UI Walkthrough</h1>
+    <div class="sub" id="feature-sub"></div>
+  </div>
+  <div class="spacer"></div>
+  <div class="tabs">
+    <button class="tab active" data-tab="viewer">Walkthrough</button>
+    <button class="tab" data-tab="summary">Findings</button>
+  </div>
+  <div class="counter" id="counter"></div>
+  <label class="theme-toggle" title="Toggle light / dark for every screenshot">
+    <span class="lbl" id="lbl-light">Light</span>
+    <span class="switch"><input type="checkbox" id="theme-switch" /><span class="slider"></span></span>
+    <span class="lbl" id="lbl-dark">Dark</span>
+  </label>
+</header>
+
+<main id="viewer-pane">
+  <aside class="rail" id="rail"></aside>
+  <section class="stagewrap">
+    <div class="stage">
+      <button class="nav-btn prev" id="prev" aria-label="Previous">&#8249;</button>
+      <img id="stage-img" alt="" />
+      <div class="missing hide" id="missing"></div>
+      <button class="nav-btn next" id="next" aria-label="Next">&#8250;</button>
+    </div>
+    <div class="detail">
+      <h2 id="view-title"></h2>
+      <div class="meta" id="view-meta"></div>
+      <ul class="notes" id="view-notes"></ul>
+    </div>
+  </section>
+</main>
+
+<section class="summary hide" id="summary-pane"></section>
+
+<script id="data">
+window.__WALKTHROUGH__ = /*__DATA__*/{"feature":"No data","branch":"","generated":"","views":[],"findings":{"visual":[],"ux":[]}}/*__END__*/;
+</script>
+<script>
+(function () {
+  var D = window.__WALKTHROUGH__ || { views: [], findings: { visual: [], ux: [] } };
+  var views = D.views || [];
+  var state = { i: 0, theme: localStorage.getItem("ui-wt-theme") || "light", tab: "viewer" };
+
+  var $ = function (id) { return document.getElementById(id); };
+  function sevClass(s) { return s === "high" ? "high" : s === "med" || s === "medium" ? "med" : "low"; }
+
+  function applyChrome() {
+    document.documentElement.setAttribute("data-theme", state.theme);
+    $("theme-switch").checked = state.theme === "dark";
+    $("lbl-light").classList.toggle("on", state.theme === "light");
+    $("lbl-dark").classList.toggle("on", state.theme === "dark");
+  }
+
+  function srcFor(v) { return state.theme === "dark" ? (v.dark || v.light) : (v.light || v.dark); }
+
+  function findingsForView(id) {
+    var all = (D.findings && D.findings.visual || []).concat(D.findings && D.findings.ux || []);
+    return all.filter(function (f) { return f.view === id; });
+  }
+
+  function renderRail() {
+    var rail = $("rail");
+    rail.innerHTML = "";
+    if (!views.length) { rail.innerHTML = '<div class="group-label">No views captured</div>'; return; }
+    views.forEach(function (v, idx) {
+      var fs = findingsForView(v.id);
+      var worst = fs.some(function (f){return sevClass(f.severity)==="high";}) ? "var(--hi)"
+                : fs.some(function (f){return sevClass(f.severity)==="med";}) ? "var(--med)"
+                : fs.length ? "var(--low)" : "transparent";
+      var el = document.createElement("div");
+      el.className = "thumb" + (idx === state.i ? " active" : "");
+      el.innerHTML = '<img src="' + srcFor(v) + '" alt="" />' +
+        '<div><div class="t">' + (v.title || v.id) + '</div>' +
+        '<div class="badge">' + (v.viewport || "") + '</div></div>' +
+        '<span class="dot" style="background:' + worst + '"></span>';
+      el.onclick = function () { state.i = idx; render(); };
+      rail.appendChild(el);
+    });
+  }
+
+  function render() {
+    applyChrome();
+    if (!views.length) {
+      $("missing").classList.remove("hide"); $("stage-img").classList.add("hide");
+      $("missing").textContent = "No screenshots in this report yet.";
+      $("counter").textContent = ""; return;
+    }
+    var v = views[state.i];
+    var src = srcFor(v);
+    var img = $("stage-img");
+    if (src) {
+      img.classList.remove("hide"); $("missing").classList.add("hide");
+      img.src = src; img.alt = v.title || v.id;
+    } else {
+      img.classList.add("hide"); $("missing").classList.remove("hide");
+      $("missing").textContent = "No " + state.theme + " screenshot for this view.";
+    }
+    $("counter").textContent = (state.i + 1) + " / " + views.length;
+    $("view-title").textContent = v.title || v.id;
+    $("view-meta").textContent = [v.viewport, state.theme + " mode"].filter(Boolean).join("  ·  ");
+    var notes = $("view-notes"); notes.innerHTML = "";
+    var fs = findingsForView(v.id);
+    (v.notes || []).forEach(function (n) {
+      var li = document.createElement("li"); li.textContent = "· " + n; notes.appendChild(li);
+    });
+    fs.forEach(function (f) {
+      var li = document.createElement("li"); li.className = "finding";
+      li.innerHTML = '<span class="sev ' + sevClass(f.severity) + '">' + (f.severity || "note") + '</span>' +
+        '<span><b>' + (f.title || "") + '</b> — ' + (f.detail || "") +
+        (f.fix ? ' <span class="fix"><b>Fix:</b> ' + f.fix + '</span>' : '') + '</span>';
+      notes.appendChild(li);
+    });
+    $("prev").disabled = state.i === 0;
+    $("next").disabled = state.i === views.length - 1;
+    renderRail();
+  }
+
+  function renderSummary() {
+    var pane = $("summary-pane");
+    function block(title, arr) {
+      var h = '<h2>' + title + ' (' + arr.length + ')</h2>';
+      if (!arr.length) return h + '<div class="empty">None found.</div>';
+      return h + arr.map(function (f) {
+        return '<div class="card"><div class="head">' +
+          '<span class="sev ' + sevClass(f.severity) + '">' + (f.severity || "note") + '</span>' +
+          '<b>' + (f.title || "") + '</b>' +
+          (f.view ? ' <a data-jump="' + f.view + '">' + f.view + '</a>' : '') + '</div>' +
+          '<div style="margin-top:6px">' + (f.detail || "") + '</div>' +
+          (f.fix ? '<div class="finding" style="margin-top:6px"><span class="fix"><b>Fix:</b> ' + f.fix + '</span></div>' : '') +
+          '</div>';
+      }).join("");
+    }
+    pane.innerHTML = block("Visual & consistency", (D.findings && D.findings.visual) || []) +
+                     block("UX & ease of use", (D.findings && D.findings.ux) || []);
+    pane.querySelectorAll("[data-jump]").forEach(function (a) {
+      a.onclick = function () {
+        var id = a.getAttribute("data-jump");
+        var idx = views.findIndex(function (v) { return v.id === id; });
+        if (idx >= 0) { state.i = idx; setTab("viewer"); }
+      };
+    });
+  }
+
+  function setTab(t) {
+    state.tab = t;
+    document.querySelectorAll(".tab").forEach(function (b) { b.classList.toggle("active", b.dataset.tab === t); });
+    $("viewer-pane").classList.toggle("hide", t !== "viewer");
+    $("summary-pane").classList.toggle("hide", t !== "summary");
+    if (t === "viewer") $("viewer-pane").style.display = "grid";
+    if (t === "summary") renderSummary();
+  }
+
+  // wiring
+  $("feature-title").textContent = D.feature || "UI Walkthrough";
+  $("feature-sub").textContent = [D.branch, D.generated].filter(Boolean).join("  ·  ");
+  $("theme-switch").onchange = function () {
+    state.theme = this.checked ? "dark" : "light";
+    localStorage.setItem("ui-wt-theme", state.theme);
+    render();
+  };
+  $("prev").onclick = function () { if (state.i > 0) { state.i--; render(); } };
+  $("next").onclick = function () { if (state.i < views.length - 1) { state.i++; render(); } };
+  document.addEventListener("keydown", function (e) {
+    if (state.tab !== "viewer") return;
+    if (e.key === "ArrowLeft") $("prev").click();
+    if (e.key === "ArrowRight") $("next").click();
+    if (e.key.toLowerCase() === "t") $("theme-switch").click();
+  });
+  document.querySelectorAll(".tab").forEach(function (b) { b.onclick = function () { setTab(b.dataset.tab); }; });
+
+  render();
+})();
+</script>
+</body>
+</html>

.dockerignore

@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ node_modules/
 **/node_modules/
 frontend/node_modules/
 frontend/editor/dist/
-frontend/dist-portal/
 frontend/editor/playwright-report/
 .npm/
 .yarn/

.github/aur/stirling-pdf-desktop/PKGBUILD

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Maintainer: Stirling PDF Inc <contact@stirlingpdf.com>
 pkgname=stirling-pdf-desktop
-pkgver=2.14.0
+pkgver=2.14.2
 pkgrel=1
 pkgdesc="Locally hosted, web-based PDF manipulation tool (Tauri desktop app, official Stirling PDF Inc build)"
 arch=('x86_64')

.github/aur/stirling-pdf-server-bin/PKGBUILD

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Maintainer: Stirling PDF Inc <contact@stirlingpdf.com>
 pkgname=stirling-pdf-server-bin
-pkgver=2.14.0
+pkgver=2.14.2
 pkgrel=1
 pkgdesc="Locally hosted, web-based PDF manipulation tool (server JAR, prebuilt)"
 arch=('any')

.github/config/.files.yaml

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 build: &build
   - build.gradle
-  - app/(common|core|proprietary)/build.gradle
+  - app/(common|core|proprietary|saas)/build.gradle
   - Taskfile.yml
   - .taskfiles/backend.yml
 
 openapi: &openapi
   - *build
-  - app/(common|core|proprietary)/src/main/java/**
+  - app/(common|core|proprietary|saas)/src/main/java/**
 
 docker-base: &docker-base
   - docker/base/Dockerfile
@@ -23,9 +23,9 @@ docker: &docker
   - *docker-base
 
 project: &project
-  - app/(common|core|proprietary)/src/(main|test)/java/**
+  - app/(common|core|proprietary|saas)/src/(main|test)/java/**
   - *build
-  - "app/(common|core|proprietary)/src/(main|test)/resources/**/!(messages_*.properties|*.md)*"
+  - "app/(common|core|proprietary|saas)/src/(main|test)/resources/**/!(messages_*.properties|*.md)*"
   - exampleYmlFiles/**
   - gradle/**
   - libs/**
@@ -82,11 +82,26 @@ tauri: &tauri
 # tool surfaces it generates models from.
 engine: &engine
   - engine/**
-  - app/(common|core|proprietary)/src/main/java/**
+  - app/(common|core|proprietary|saas)/src/main/java/**
   - .github/workflows/ai-engine.yml
   - Taskfile.yml
   - .taskfiles/engine.yml
 
+# Files that can make the committed generated API models (frontend tool API
+# types + engine tool models) go stale: the Java tool surfaces they derive from,
+# the generators, the generated files themselves (to catch a hand-edit), and the
+# tasks that drive generation. Deliberately excludes the broad frontend/docker/
+# testing globs, so a CSS-only PR does not boot the backend to rebuild the spec.
+generated-models: &generated-models
+  - *openapi
+  - frontend/editor/scripts/generate-tool-api-types.mts
+  - frontend/editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts
+  - engine/scripts/generate_tool_models.py
+  - engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py
+  - .taskfiles/frontend.yml
+  - .taskfiles/engine.yml
+  - .github/workflows/check-generated-models.yml
+
 licenses-frontend: &licenses-frontend
   - ".github/workflows/frontend-backend-licenses-update.yml"
   - "frontend/package.json"

.github/labeler-config-srvaroa.yml

@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ labels:
     files:
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/static/.*'
       - 'app/proprietary/src/main/resources/static/.*'
+      - 'app/saas/src/main/resources/static/.*'
       - 'frontend/**'
       - 'frontend/.*'
       - 'frontend/**/.*'
@@ -83,6 +84,7 @@ labels:
       - 'app/common/src/main/java/.*.java'
       - 'app/proprietary/src/main/java/.*.java'
       - 'app/core/src/main/java/.*.java'
+      - 'app/saas/src/main/java/.*.java'
 
   - label: 'Back End'
     files:
@@ -90,6 +92,9 @@ labels:
       - 'app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/controller/.*'
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/settings.yml.template'
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/application.properties'
+      - 'app/proprietary/src/main/resources/application-proprietary.properties'
+      - 'app/saas/src/main/resources/application-dev.properties'
+      - 'app/saas/src/main/resources/application-saas.properties'
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/banner.txt'
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/static/python/png_to_webp.py'
       - 'app/core/src/main/resources/static/python/split_photos.py'
@@ -153,6 +158,7 @@ labels:
       - 'app/common/src/test/.*'
       - 'app/proprietary/src/test/.*'
       - 'app/core/src/test/.*'
+      - 'app/saas/src/test/.*'
       - 'testing/.*'
       - '.github/workflows/scorecards.yml'
       - 'exampleYmlFiles/test_cicd.yml'
@@ -171,3 +177,4 @@ labels:
       - 'app/common/build.gradle'
       - 'app/proprietary/build.gradle'
       - 'app/core/build.gradle'
+      - 'app/saas/build.gradle'

.github/workflows/PR-Auto-Deploy-V2.yml

@@ -116,6 +116,9 @@ jobs:
     env:
       USE_DEPOT: ${{ needs.pick.outputs.is_fork != 'true' }}
       DEPOT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPOT_TOKEN }}
+      # Single source of truth for whether this preview embeds the admin portal:
+      # drives the image build-arg and the deployment comment.
+      BUILD_PORTAL: "true"
 
     steps:
       - name: Harden Runner
@@ -246,12 +249,14 @@ jobs:
           file: ./docker/embedded/Dockerfile
           push: true
           tags: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_HUB_USERNAME }}/test:v2-${{ steps.commit-hash.outputs.app_short }}
-          build-args: VERSION_TAG=v2-alpha
+          build-args: |
+            VERSION_TAG=v2-alpha
+            BUILD_PORTAL=${{ env.BUILD_PORTAL }}
           platforms: linux/amd64
 
       - name: Build and push V2 image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true' && steps.check-image.outputs.exists == 'false'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./docker/embedded/Dockerfile
@@ -259,7 +264,9 @@ jobs:
           cache-from: type=gha,scope=stirling-pdf-latest
           cache-to: type=gha,mode=max,scope=stirling-pdf-latest
           tags: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_HUB_USERNAME }}/test:v2-${{ steps.commit-hash.outputs.app_short }}
-          build-args: VERSION_TAG=v2-alpha
+          build-args: |
+            VERSION_TAG=v2-alpha
+            BUILD_PORTAL=${{ env.BUILD_PORTAL }}
           platforms: linux/amd64
 
       - name: Set up SSH
@@ -290,6 +297,8 @@ jobs:
                 - /stirling/V2-PR-${{ needs.check-pr.outputs.pr_number }}/storage:/storage:rw
               environment:
                 DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES: "false"
+                POLICIES_ENABLED: "true"
+                STIRLING_BILLING_ACCOUNT_LINK_ENABLED: "true"
                 SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN: "true"
                 SECURITY_INITIALLOGIN_USERNAME: "${{ secrets.TEST_LOGIN_USERNAME }}"
                 SECURITY_INITIALLOGIN_PASSWORD: "${{ secrets.TEST_LOGIN_PASSWORD }}"
@@ -333,9 +342,70 @@ jobs:
           # Set port for output
           echo "v2_port=${V2_PORT}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
+      # ---- Storybook preview (only when this PR touches stories/.storybook) ----
+      # Runs inside the same approved-contributor-gated deploy job, so it deploys
+      # under the exact same access rules as the app preview.
+      - name: Detect Storybook changes
+        id: sb-changes
+        uses: dorny/paths-filter@fbd0ab8f3e69293af611ebaee6363fc25e6d187d # v4.0.1
+        with:
+          list-files: json
+          filters: |
+            storybook:
+              - 'frontend/**/*.stories.@(ts|tsx|mdx)'
+              - 'frontend/**/*.mdx'
+              - 'frontend/.storybook/**'
+
+      - name: Set up Node.js for Storybook
+        if: steps.sb-changes.outputs.storybook == 'true'
+        uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version: "22"
+          cache: "npm"
+          cache-dependency-path: frontend/package-lock.json
+
+      - name: Install Task for Storybook
+        if: steps.sb-changes.outputs.storybook == 'true'
+        uses: go-task/setup-task@01a4adf9db2d14c1de7a560f09170b6e0df736aa # v2.1.0
+
+      - name: Build and deploy Storybook
+        id: storybook
+        if: steps.sb-changes.outputs.storybook == 'true'
+        env:
+          VPS_HOST: ${{ secrets.NEW_VPS_HOST }}
+          VPS_USER: ${{ secrets.NEW_VPS_USERNAME }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # `prepare` generates the icon set stories import (not committed).
+          task frontend:prepare
+          task frontend:storybook:build
+          PR=${{ needs.check-pr.outputs.pr_number }}
+          # Served at the ROOT of its own port so Storybook's global MSW worker
+          # (/mockServiceWorker.js) resolves. Port = PR + 20000 (bijective, offset
+          # from the app preview's bare-PR-number port).
+          SB_PORT=$((PR + 20000))
+          DIR=/stirling/SB-PR-$PR
+          tar czf storybook.tgz -C frontend/storybook-static .
+          scp -i ../private.key -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \
+            storybook.tgz "$VPS_USER@$VPS_HOST:/tmp/storybook-$PR.tgz"
+          ssh -i ../private.key -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null -T \
+            "$VPS_USER@$VPS_HOST" << ENDSSH
+            set -e
+            rm -rf "$DIR" && mkdir -p "$DIR"
+            tar xzf /tmp/storybook-$PR.tgz -C "$DIR"
+            rm -f /tmp/storybook-$PR.tgz
+            docker rm -f storybook-pr-$PR 2>/dev/null || true
+            docker run -d --name storybook-pr-$PR --restart unless-stopped \
+              -p $SB_PORT:80 -v "$DIR":/usr/share/nginx/html:ro nginx:alpine
+          ENDSSH
+          echo "url=http://$VPS_HOST:$SB_PORT/" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
       - name: Post V2 deployment URL to PR
         if: success()
         uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
+        env:
+          SB_URL: ${{ steps.storybook.outputs.url }}
+          SB_FILES: ${{ steps.sb-changes.outputs.storybook_files }}
         with:
           github-token: ${{ steps.setup-bot.outputs.token }}
           script: |
@@ -359,12 +429,40 @@ jobs:
             }
 
             const deploymentUrl = `http://${{ secrets.NEW_VPS_HOST }}:${v2Port}`;
-            const httpsUrl = `https://${v2Port}.ssl.stirlingpdf.cloud`;
+
+            // Only mention the portal when this image actually embeds it.
+            // Use the direct IP URL - the SSL hostname isn't supported yet.
+            const withPortal = "${{ env.BUILD_PORTAL }}" === "true";
+            const portalNote = withPortal
+              ? `🧩 **Admin portal** included - try it at [${deploymentUrl}/portal](${deploymentUrl}/portal).\n\n`
+              : ``;
+
+            // Storybook preview: only present when this PR changed stories/config.
+            const sbUrl = process.env.SB_URL;
+            let storybookNote = "";
+            if (sbUrl) {
+              const files = JSON.parse(process.env.SB_FILES || "[]");
+              const stories = files.filter((f) => /\.stories\.(ts|tsx|mdx)$/.test(f));
+              const config = files.filter((f) => f.startsWith("frontend/.storybook/"));
+              const shorten = (f) =>
+                f.replace(/^frontend\/editor\/src\//, "").replace(/^frontend\//, "");
+              const storyList = stories.map((f) => `- \`${shorten(f)}\``).join("\n");
+              const configList = config.map((f) => `- \`${shorten(f)}\``).join("\n");
+              const summary =
+                `${stories.length} stor${stories.length === 1 ? "y" : "ies"} changed` +
+                (config.length ? ` (+${config.length} config file${config.length === 1 ? "" : "s"})` : "");
+              storybookNote =
+                `📚 **Storybook:** [${sbUrl}](${sbUrl})\n\n` +
+                `<details>\n<summary>${summary}</summary>\n\n` +
+                (storyList ? `**Stories**\n${storyList}\n\n` : "") +
+                (configList ? `**Config**\n${configList}\n` : "") +
+                `</details>\n\n`;
+            }
 
             const commentBody = `## 🚀 V2 Auto-Deployment Complete!\n\n` +
-                              `Your V2 PR with embedded architecture has been deployed!\n\n` +
                               `🔗 **Direct Test URL (non-SSL)** [${deploymentUrl}](${deploymentUrl})\n\n` +
-                              `🔐 **Secure HTTPS URL**: [${httpsUrl}](${httpsUrl})\n\n` +
+                              portalNote +
+                              storybookNote +
                               `_This deployment will be automatically cleaned up when the PR is closed._\n\n` +
                               `🔄 **Auto-deployed** for approved V2 contributors.`;
 
@@ -460,7 +558,11 @@ jobs:
             else
               echo "V2 PR directory not found, nothing to clean up"
             fi
-            
+
+            # Remove this PR's Storybook preview (container + files), if any.
+            docker rm -f storybook-pr-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }} 2>/dev/null || true
+            rm -rf /stirling/SB-PR-${{ github.event.pull_request.number }}
+
             # Clean up old unused images (older than 2 weeks) but keep recent ones for reuse
             docker image prune -af --filter "until=336h" --filter "label!=keep=true" || true
 

.github/workflows/PR-Demo-Comment-with-react.yml

@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push PR-specific image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./docker/embedded/Dockerfile
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push engine image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true' && needs.check-comment.outputs.enable_prototypes == 'true'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: ./engine
           file: ./engine/Dockerfile

.github/workflows/ai-engine.yml

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 name: AI Engine CI
 
-# Validates the Python AI engine: regenerates tool models and runs the
-# engine quality gate (lint, type-check, format-check, tests). Called from
-# build.yml on PRs and merge_group; also runs directly on push to main as
-# a post-merge safety net.
+# Runs the engine quality gate (lint, type-check, format-check, tests). Called
+# from build.yml on PRs and merge_group; also runs directly on push to main as
+# a post-merge safety net. Freshness of the generated tool_models.py is checked
+# by the shared check-generated-models workflow.
 on:
   workflow_call:
   push:
@@ -34,104 +34,9 @@ jobs:
         with:
           enable-cache: true
 
-      - name: Set up JDK 25
-        uses: actions/setup-java@be666c2fcd27ec809703dec50e508c2fdc7f6654 # v5.2.0
-        with:
-          java-version: "25"
-          distribution: "temurin"
-
-      - name: Setup Gradle
-        uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@50e97c2cd7a37755bbfafc9c5b7cafaece252f6e # v6.1.0
-        with:
-          gradle-version: 9.6.0
-
       - name: Install Task
         uses: go-task/setup-task@01a4adf9db2d14c1de7a560f09170b6e0df736aa # v2.1.0
 
-      - name: Regenerate tool models
-        run: task engine:tool-models
-
-      - name: Verify tool models are up to date
-        id: tool-models-check
-        continue-on-error: true
-        run: git diff --exit-code engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py
-
-      - name: Comment on tool models check failure
-        # Only post a comment on PRs. github-script's PR helpers need an
-        # issue/PR number, which doesn't exist on merge_group runs.
-        if: steps.tool-models-check.outcome == 'failure' && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-        continue-on-error: true
-        uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
-        with:
-          script: |
-            const marker = '<!-- tool-models-check -->';
-            const body = [
-              marker,
-              '### Tool Models Check Failed',
-              '',
-              'The generated `engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py` is out of date with the Java OpenAPI spec and will need to be regenerated before it can be merged in.',
-              '',
-              'Run `task engine:tool-models` to regenerate, then commit the updated file.',
-            ].join('\n');
-            const { data: comments } = await github.rest.issues.listComments({
-              owner: context.repo.owner,
-              repo: context.repo.repo,
-              issue_number: context.issue.number,
-            });
-            const existing = comments.find(c => c.body.includes(marker));
-            if (existing) {
-              await github.rest.issues.updateComment({
-                owner: context.repo.owner,
-                repo: context.repo.repo,
-                comment_id: existing.id,
-                body,
-              });
-            } else {
-              await github.rest.issues.createComment({
-                owner: context.repo.owner,
-                repo: context.repo.repo,
-                issue_number: context.issue.number,
-                body,
-              });
-            }
-
-      - name: Fail if tool models check failed
-        if: steps.tool-models-check.outcome == 'failure'
-        run: |
-          echo "============================================"
-          echo "  Tool Models Check Failed"
-          echo "============================================"
-          echo ""
-          echo "The generated engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py"
-          echo "is out of date with the Java OpenAPI spec and will"
-          echo "need to be regenerated before it can be merged in."
-          echo ""
-          echo "Run 'task engine:tool-models' to regenerate, then"
-          echo "commit the updated file."
-          echo "============================================"
-          exit 1
-
-      - name: Remove tool models check comment on success
-        if: steps.tool-models-check.outcome == 'success' && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
-        continue-on-error: true
-        uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
-        with:
-          script: |
-            const marker = '<!-- tool-models-check -->';
-            const { data: comments } = await github.rest.issues.listComments({
-              owner: context.repo.owner,
-              repo: context.repo.repo,
-              issue_number: context.issue.number,
-            });
-            const existing = comments.find(c => c.body.includes(marker));
-            if (existing) {
-              await github.rest.issues.deleteComment({
-                owner: context.repo.owner,
-                repo: context.repo.repo,
-                comment_id: existing.id,
-              });
-            }
-
       - name: Quality-check engine
         id: engine-check
         run: task engine:check

.github/workflows/backend-build.yml

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper

.github/workflows/build-enterprise.yml

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ name: Enterprise E2E (Playwright)
 
 # Enterprise Playwright suite — exercises premium-key gated features (audit,
 # teams, analytics) plus full OAuth + SAML logins via the Keycloak compose
-# stacks under testing/compose. Slow and secret-gated, so it runs in three
+# stacks under testing/compose. Slow and secret-gated, so it runs in four
 # situations:
 #
 #   - PRs that touch proprietary / premium / SSO compose / enterprise tests
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ name: Enterprise E2E (Playwright)
 #   - on a nightly cron schedule (catches Keycloak image drift, license
 #     expiry, upstream proprietary changes),
 #   - manual workflow_dispatch.
-#
-# Auto-skipped when secrets.PREMIUM_KEY_ENTERPRISE is missing (forks, dependabot).
 
 on:
   workflow_call:
@@ -52,6 +50,10 @@ jobs:
 
   playwright-e2e-enterprise:
     needs: pick
+    # Skip on fork PRs / untrusted authors: they have no PREMIUM_KEY_ENTERPRISE
+    # (nor DEPOT_TOKEN), so the suite can't boot premium and would fail. See the
+    # header comment. GitHub reports the skipped reusable workflow as success.
+    if: needs.pick.outputs.is_fork != 'true'
     runs-on: ${{ needs.pick.outputs.is_fork == 'true' && 'ubuntu-latest' || format('depot-ubuntu-24.04-{0}', inputs.depot_cores || '8') }}
     timeout-minutes: 45
     env:
@@ -165,6 +167,8 @@ jobs:
           wait_for_backend
       - name: Run enterprise OAuth Playwright tests
         id: oauth-tests
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-oauth.json
         run: task e2e:enterprise -- --grep "OAuth"
       - name: Stop backend + tear down OAuth Keycloak
         if: always()
@@ -238,6 +242,8 @@ jobs:
           wait_for_backend
       - name: Run enterprise SAML Playwright tests
         id: saml-tests
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-saml.json
         run: task e2e:enterprise -- --grep "SAML"
       - name: Stop backend + tear down SAML Keycloak
         if: always()
@@ -268,6 +274,8 @@ jobs:
           wait_for_backend
       - name: Run enterprise feature Playwright tests
         id: feature-tests
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-feature.json
         run: task e2e:enterprise -- --grep "Enterprise license"
       - name: Print backend log on failure
         if: failure()
@@ -280,10 +288,23 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           source /tmp/helpers.sh
           stop_backend
+      - name: Flag flaky tests
+        # Runs regardless of the test outcomes: a flaky test (passed on retry)
+        # leaves its step green, so this is the only place it surfaces. Merges
+        # all three phase reports (some may be absent if an earlier phase hard-
+        # failed and skipped the rest). Emits ::warning:: annotations + a job
+        # summary; never fails the job.
+        if: always()
+        working-directory: frontend
+        run: >
+          npx tsx editor/scripts/report-flaky-tests.mts
+          "${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-oauth.json"
+          "${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-saml.json"
+          "${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results-feature.json"
       - name: Upload Playwright report
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
           name: playwright-report-enterprise-${{ github.run_id }}
-          path: frontend/editor/playwright-report/
+          path: frontend/playwright-report/
           retention-days: 7

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ jobs:
       docker-base: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.docker-base }}
       tauri: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.tauri }}
       engine: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.engine }}
+      generated-models: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.generated-models }}
       proprietary: ${{ steps.changes.outputs.proprietary }}
     steps:
       - name: Harden the runner (Audit all outbound calls)
@@ -171,6 +172,20 @@ jobs:
     uses: ./.github/workflows/ai-engine.yml
     secrets: inherit
 
+  # The generated frontend types and engine tool models are both derived from
+  # the Java OpenAPI spec. This job regenerates and diffs them; it boots the
+  # backend, so it is gated on the narrow generated-models filter (spec source,
+  # generators, generated files, generation tasks) rather than the broad
+  # frontend filter, so a CSS-only PR does not pay for a backend build.
+  generated-models:
+    if: needs.files-changed.outputs.generated-models == 'true'
+    needs: [files-changed]
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: write
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/check-generated-models.yml
+    secrets: inherit
+
   pre-commit:
     needs: [files-changed]
     permissions:
@@ -202,6 +217,9 @@ jobs:
       contents: read
     uses: ./.github/workflows/coverage-aggregate.yml
     secrets: inherit
+    with:
+      frontend-validation-result: ${{ needs.frontend-validation.result }}
+      playwright-e2e-live-result: ${{ needs.playwright-e2e-live.result }}
 
   # Single status check that branch protection should mark as required.
   # Succeeds when every upstream job is either `success` or `skipped` (path-
@@ -225,6 +243,7 @@ jobs:
       - test-build-docker-images
       - tauri-build
       - ai-engine
+      - generated-models
       - pre-commit
       - dependency-review
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -250,6 +269,7 @@ jobs:
             test-build-docker-images=${{ needs.test-build-docker-images.result }}
             tauri-build=${{ needs.tauri-build.result }}
             ai-engine=${{ needs.ai-engine.result }}
+            generated-models=${{ needs.generated-models.result }}
             pre-commit=${{ needs.pre-commit.result }}
             dependency-review=${{ needs.dependency-review.result }}
         run: |

.github/workflows/check-generated-models.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+name: Check generated models
+
+# Verifies the committed generated API models are still in sync with the Java
+# OpenAPI spec: the frontend tool API types
+# (frontend/editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts) and the engine tool
+# models (engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py). Regenerates both with the
+# single top-level `task tool-models` and fails if either committed file is
+# out of date. Called from build.yml when the backend Java, frontend, or engine
+# changes; also runs on push to main as a post-merge safety net.
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+  push:
+    branches: [main]
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+
+jobs:
+  generated-models:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: write
+    env:
+      DEPOT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPOT_TOKEN }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Harden the runner (Audit all outbound calls)
+        uses: step-security/harden-runner@ab7a9404c0f3da075243ca237b5fac12c98deaa5 # v2.19.3
+        with:
+          egress-policy: audit
+
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
+
+      - name: Install uv
+        uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@fac544c07dec837d0ccb6301d7b5580bf5edae39 # v8.2.0
+        with:
+          enable-cache: true
+
+      - name: Set up JDK 25
+        uses: actions/setup-java@be666c2fcd27ec809703dec50e508c2fdc7f6654 # v5.2.0
+        with:
+          java-version: "25"
+          distribution: "temurin"
+
+      - name: Setup Gradle
+        uses: gradle/actions/setup-gradle@50e97c2cd7a37755bbfafc9c5b7cafaece252f6e # v6.1.0
+        with:
+          gradle-version: 9.6.0
+
+      - name: Set up Node
+        uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # v6.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version: "22"
+          cache: "npm"
+          cache-dependency-path: frontend/package-lock.json
+
+      - name: Install Task
+        uses: go-task/setup-task@01a4adf9db2d14c1de7a560f09170b6e0df736aa # v2.1.0
+
+      # Rebuilds the OpenAPI spec from the current Java and regenerates both the
+      # frontend types and the engine tool models from it.
+      - name: Regenerate generated models
+        run: task tool-models
+
+      - name: Verify generated models are up to date
+        id: models-check
+        continue-on-error: true
+        run: |
+          git diff --exit-code \
+            frontend/editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts \
+            engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py
+
+      - name: Comment on generated models check failure
+        # Only post a comment on PRs. github-script's PR helpers need an
+        # issue/PR number, which doesn't exist on merge_group runs.
+        if: steps.models-check.outcome == 'failure' && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        continue-on-error: true
+        uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
+        with:
+          script: |
+            const marker = '<!-- generated-models-check -->';
+            const body = [
+              marker,
+              '### Generated Models Check Failed',
+              '',
+              'The generated `frontend/editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts` and/or `engine/src/stirling/models/tool_models.py` are out of date with the Java OpenAPI spec and will need to be regenerated before they can be merged in.',
+              '',
+              'Run `task tool-models` to regenerate both, then commit the updated files.',
+            ].join('\n');
+            const { data: comments } = await github.rest.issues.listComments({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              issue_number: context.issue.number,
+            });
+            const existing = comments.find(c => c.body.includes(marker));
+            if (existing) {
+              await github.rest.issues.updateComment({
+                owner: context.repo.owner,
+                repo: context.repo.repo,
+                comment_id: existing.id,
+                body,
+              });
+            } else {
+              await github.rest.issues.createComment({
+                owner: context.repo.owner,
+                repo: context.repo.repo,
+                issue_number: context.issue.number,
+                body,
+              });
+            }
+
+      - name: Fail if generated models check failed
+        if: steps.models-check.outcome == 'failure'
+        run: |
+          echo "============================================"
+          echo "  Generated Models Check Failed"
+          echo "============================================"
+          echo ""
+          echo "The generated frontend API types and/or engine tool"
+          echo "models are out of date with the Java OpenAPI spec and"
+          echo "will need to be regenerated before they can be merged in."
+          echo ""
+          echo "Run 'task tool-models' to regenerate both, then"
+          echo "commit the updated files."
+          echo "============================================"
+          exit 1
+
+      - name: Remove generated models check comment on success
+        if: steps.models-check.outcome == 'success' && github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        continue-on-error: true
+        uses: actions/github-script@3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3 # v9.0.0
+        with:
+          script: |
+            const marker = '<!-- generated-models-check -->';
+            const { data: comments } = await github.rest.issues.listComments({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              issue_number: context.issue.number,
+            });
+            const existing = comments.find(c => c.body.includes(marker));
+            if (existing) {
+              await github.rest.issues.deleteComment({
+                owner: context.repo.owner,
+                repo: context.repo.repo,
+                comment_id: existing.id,
+              });
+            }

.github/workflows/check-licence.yml

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper

.github/workflows/check-openapi.yml

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper

.github/workflows/coverage-aggregate.yml

@@ -13,6 +13,17 @@ name: Aggregate backend coverage
 #     producers themselves
 on:
   workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      frontend-validation-result:
+        description: Result of the frontend-validation producer job
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: skipped
+      playwright-e2e-live-result:
+        description: Result of the playwright-e2e-live producer job
+        required: false
+        type: string
+        default: skipped
 
 permissions:
   contents: read
@@ -40,7 +51,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper
@@ -196,9 +207,9 @@ jobs:
       # --------------------------------------------------------------
       - name: Download vitest coverage artifact
         # frontend-validation uploads as `frontend-coverage`. Tolerate
-        # absence so a backend-only PR still produces the matrix with
-        # just backend rows populated.
-        if: always()
+        # absence on backend-only runs by skipping the download entirely
+        # when the producer job was not part of this workflow run.
+        if: inputs.frontend-validation-result == 'success'
         uses: actions/download-artifact@d3f86a106a0bac45b974a628896c90dbdf5c8093 # v6.0.0
         with:
           name: frontend-coverage
@@ -206,12 +217,12 @@ jobs:
         continue-on-error: true
 
       - name: Download Playwright frontend coverage artifact
-        # e2e-live uploads as `playwright-frontend-coverage-<run_id>`.
-        # Same tolerance as vitest - matrix script handles missing inputs.
-        if: always()
+        # e2e-live uploads the artifact with a stable name. Skip the
+        # download entirely when the producer job did not run.
+        if: inputs.playwright-e2e-live-result == 'success'
         uses: actions/download-artifact@d3f86a106a0bac45b974a628896c90dbdf5c8093 # v6.0.0
         with:
-          name: playwright-frontend-coverage-${{ github.run_id }}
+          name: playwright-frontend-coverage
           path: matrix-inputs/playwright/
         continue-on-error: true
 

.github/workflows/db-migration-test.yml

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: temurin
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper

.github/workflows/deploy-on-v2-commit.yml

@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push frontend image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true' && steps.check-frontend.outputs.exists == 'false'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./docker/frontend/Dockerfile
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push backend image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true' && steps.check-backend.outputs.exists == 'false'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./docker/backend/Dockerfile

.github/workflows/docker-compose-tests.yml

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper

.github/workflows/e2e-live.yml

@@ -62,7 +62,17 @@ jobs:
           # .test-state/playwright/coverage-pw/ for the post-process step
           # to aggregate. Chromium-only - other engines silently skip.
           PW_COVERAGE: "1"
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results.json
         run: task e2e:live
+      - name: Flag flaky tests
+        # Runs regardless of the test outcome: a flaky test (passed on retry)
+        # leaves the step green, so this is the only place it surfaces. Emits
+        # ::warning:: annotations + a job summary; never fails the job.
+        if: always()
+        working-directory: frontend
+        run: npx tsx editor/scripts/report-flaky-tests.mts "$PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE"
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results.json
       - name: Generate JaCoCo report from e2e:live .exec
         if: always()
         id: live-coverage
@@ -169,7 +179,7 @@ jobs:
         if: always() && steps.pw-frontend-coverage.outputs.summary == 'true'
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
-          name: playwright-frontend-coverage-${{ github.run_id }}
+          name: playwright-frontend-coverage
           path: |
             .test-state/playwright/coverage-pw-summary/
             .test-state/playwright/coverage-pw/

.github/workflows/e2e-stubbed.yml

@@ -44,11 +44,22 @@ jobs:
           VITE_BUILD_FOR_PREVIEW: "1"
         run: task frontend:build
       - name: Run stubbed E2E tests (chromium)
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results.json
         run: task e2e:stubbed -- --workers=3
+      - name: Flag flaky tests
+        # Runs regardless of the test outcome: a flaky test (passed on retry)
+        # leaves the step green, so this is the only place it surfaces. Emits
+        # ::warning:: annotations + a job summary; never fails the job.
+        if: always()
+        working-directory: frontend
+        run: npx tsx editor/scripts/report-flaky-tests.mts "$PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE"
+        env:
+          PLAYWRIGHT_JSON_OUTPUT_FILE: ${{ github.workspace }}/frontend/playwright-report/results.json
       - name: Upload Playwright report
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
           name: playwright-report-stubbed-${{ github.run_id }}
-          path: frontend/editor/playwright-report/
+          path: frontend/playwright-report/
           retention-days: 7

.github/workflows/frontend-backend-licenses-update.yml

@@ -98,6 +98,13 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install Task
         uses: go-task/setup-task@01a4adf9db2d14c1de7a560f09170b6e0df736aa # v2.1.0
+
+      - name: Generate frontend license report (Push only)
+        if: github.event_name == 'push'
+        env:
+          PR_IS_FORK: "false"
+        run: task frontend:licenses:generate
+
       - name: Generate frontend license report (internal PR)
         if: github.event_name == 'pull_request' && github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork == false
         env:
@@ -353,6 +360,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install Task
         uses: go-task/setup-task@01a4adf9db2d14c1de7a560f09170b6e0df736aa # v2.1.0
+
       - name: Check licenses and generate report
         id: license-check
         run: task backend:licenses:generate || echo "LICENSE_CHECK_FAILED=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV

.github/workflows/multiOSReleases.yml

@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependencies
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/caches
@@ -510,6 +510,7 @@ jobs:
       # cargo output unsigned, so checking it produces false negatives.
       - name: Verify Windows Code Signature
         if: ${{ matrix.platform == 'windows-latest' && env.SM_API_KEY != '' && (github.event_name == 'release' || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && github.event.inputs.sign != 'false') || github.ref == 'refs/heads/V2-master') }}
+        timeout-minutes: 15
         shell: pwsh
         run: |
           $allSigned = $true
@@ -531,11 +532,26 @@ jobs:
 
           # Extract MSI and verify the inner exe (the file that actually gets installed).
           # This is the critical check - AV flags the installed exe at runtime.
+          # Use lessmsi, not `msiexec /a`: msiexec serializes on the global
+          # _MSIExecute mutex and hangs forever on hosted runners when another
+          # installer is busy. lessmsi reads MSI tables directly - no mutex, no service.
           $msi = $msiFiles[0].FullName
           $extractDir = Join-Path $env:RUNNER_TEMP "msi-verify"
           if (Test-Path $extractDir) { Remove-Item $extractDir -Recurse -Force }
-          $proc = Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList '/a', $msi, '/qn', "TARGETDIR=$extractDir" -Wait -PassThru -NoNewWindow
-          if ($proc.ExitCode -eq 0) {
+          New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $extractDir | Out-Null
+
+          choco install lessmsi -y --no-progress --limit-output | Out-Null
+
+          # Bound the extraction and kill on hang (defence in depth over timeout-minutes).
+          $proc = Start-Process lessmsi -ArgumentList 'x', "`"$msi`"", "`"$extractDir\`"" -PassThru -NoNewWindow
+          if (-not $proc.WaitForExit(120000)) {
+            try { $proc.Kill() } catch {}
+            Write-Host "[ERROR] MSI extraction timed out after 120s"
+            $allSigned = $false
+          } elseif ($proc.ExitCode -ne 0) {
+            Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to extract MSI for verification (exit code: $($proc.ExitCode))"
+            $allSigned = $false
+          } else {
             $innerExe = Get-ChildItem -Path $extractDir -Filter "stirling-pdf.exe" -Recurse -File | Select-Object -First 1
             if ($innerExe) {
               $sig = Get-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath $innerExe.FullName
@@ -548,9 +564,6 @@ jobs:
               Write-Host "[ERROR] Could not find stirling-pdf.exe inside MSI"
               $allSigned = $false
             }
-          } else {
-            Write-Host "[ERROR] Failed to extract MSI for verification (exit code: $($proc.ExitCode))"
-            $allSigned = $false
           }
 
           if (-not $allSigned) {
@@ -800,7 +813,11 @@ jobs:
         uses: softprops/action-gh-release@b4309332981a82ec1c5618f44dd2e27cc8bfbfda # v3.0.0
         with:
           tag_name: v${{ needs.determine-matrix.outputs.version }}
-          generate_release_notes: true
+          # Don't regenerate/append notes on re-runs, and don't force this into the
+          # "Latest" slot - leave the release body and latest marker as they are.
+          generate_release_notes: false
+          append_body: false
+          make_latest: false
           fail_on_unmatched_files: true
           # Installers + updater payloads + manifest. .sig contents are embedded
           # in latest.json so the .sig files themselves are not uploaded.

.github/workflows/nightly.yml

@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ jobs:
         if: always()
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
         with:
-          name: playwright-nightly-${{ github.run_id }}
-          path: frontend/editor/playwright-report/
+          name: playwright-report-nightly-${{ github.run_id }}
+          path: frontend/playwright-report/
           retention-days: 14
 
   # Builds all desktop platforms on a schedule so the Rust dependency cache is

.github/workflows/push-docker-base.yml

@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push base image
         id: build-push-base
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
           context: docker/base

.github/workflows/push-docker.yml

@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependencies
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/caches
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ jobs:
         id: build-push-latest
         # Empty-tag guard: build-push-action errors when asked to push with no tags.
         if: env.RUN_MAIN_APP == 'true' && steps.meta.outputs.tags != ''
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
           context: .
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push Unified Dockerfile (fat variant)
         id: build-push-fat
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         if: env.RUN_MAIN_APP == 'true' && github.ref != 'refs/heads/main' && github.ref != 'refs/heads/testMain' && steps.meta-fat.outputs.tags != ''
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push Unified Dockerfile (ultra-lite variant)
         id: build-push-lite
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         if: env.RUN_MAIN_APP == 'true' && github.ref != 'refs/heads/main' && github.ref != 'refs/heads/testMain' && steps.meta-lite.outputs.tags != ''
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
@@ -365,7 +365,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build and push unoserver image
         id: build-push-unoserver
         if: env.RUN_UNOSERVER == 'true' && steps.unoserverDecision.outputs.mode != 'skip'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
           context: .

.github/workflows/test-build-docker.yml

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
           distribution: "temurin"
 
       - name: Cache Gradle dependency artifacts
-        uses: actions/cache@27d5ce7f107fe9357f9df03efb73ab90386fccae # v5.0.5
+        uses: actions/cache@55cc8345863c7cc4c66a329aec7e433d2d1c52a9 # v6.1.0
         with:
           path: |
             ~/.gradle/wrapper
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ jobs:
       # (multi-platform + gha cache) against the published base image.
       - name: Build ${{ matrix.docker-rev }} (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true' && inputs.docker-base-changed != 'true'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
           context: .
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build docker/unoserver/Dockerfile (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           builder: ${{ steps.buildx.outputs.name }}
           context: .

.github/workflows/testdriver.yml

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Build and push test image (Docker fork fallback)
         if: env.USE_DEPOT != 'true'
-        uses: docker/build-push-action@bcafcacb16a39f128d818304e6c9c0c18556b85f # v7.1.0
+        uses: docker/build-push-action@53b7df96c91f9c12dcc8a07bcb9ccacbed38856a # v7.3.0
         with:
           context: .
           file: ./docker/embedded/Dockerfile

.gitleaksignore

@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ testing/compose/validate-mcp-test.sh:curl-auth-header:92
 testing/compose/validate-mcp-test.sh:curl-auth-header:116
 
 # Storybook example showing curl with a fake Bearer token placeholder (sk_live_a3f8...).
-frontend/shared/components/CodeBlock.stories.tsx:curl-auth-header:4
+frontend/editor/src/proprietary/ui/CodeBlock.stories.tsx:curl-auth-header:5
 
 # Truncated placeholder API key in portal docs example (sk_live_8f2c...e10) - not a real secret.
-frontend/portal/src/components/docs/GettingStartedSection.tsx:generic-api-key:31
+frontend/editor/src/portal/components/docs/GettingStartedSection.tsx:generic-api-key:30
 
 # False positive: generic-api-key matches the Java type name "X509Certificate"
 # in a method signature (CreateSignatureBase.resolveSignatureAlgorithm) - not a secret.

.imgbotconfig

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "ignoredFiles": [
+    "frontend/editor/src-tauri/icons/icon.png"
+  ]
+}

.taskfiles/frontend.yml

@@ -80,6 +80,12 @@ tasks:
       OPEN: '{{.OPEN | default ""}}'
     env:
       BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL}}'
+      # Dev-only browser-tab label so concurrent worktrees are distinguishable.
+      # Only the worktree folder basename (e.g. "wt1") is exposed — never the
+      # full path, hostname, or user. Consumed at dev-serve time by vite.config
+      # and dropped from production builds.
+      STIRLING_DEV_LABEL:
+        sh: basename "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
     cmds:
       - npx vite editor --mode {{.MODE}} --port {{.PORT}}{{if .OPEN}} --open{{end}}
 
@@ -128,37 +134,6 @@ tasks:
       - task: dev:_run
         vars: { MODE: prototypes, PORT: '{{.PORT}}', BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL}}', OPEN: '{{.OPEN}}' }
 
-  dev:portal:
-    desc: "Start developer portal dev server"
-    ignore_error: true
-    deps: [install]
-    vars:
-      PORT: '{{.PORT | default "5173"}}'
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL | default "http://localhost:8080"}}'
-      EDITOR_URL: '{{.EDITOR_URL | default ""}}'
-      OPEN: '{{.OPEN | default ""}}'
-      SUBPATH: '{{.SUBPATH | default ""}}'
-      MOCKS: '{{.MOCKS | default ""}}'
-    env:
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL}}'
-    cmds:
-      - '{{if .SUBPATH}}RUN_SUBPATH={{.SUBPATH}} {{end}}{{if .MOCKS}}VITE_PORTAL_MOCKS={{.MOCKS}} {{end}}{{if .EDITOR_URL}}VITE_EDITOR_URL={{.EDITOR_URL}} {{end}}npx vite portal --port {{.PORT}}{{if .OPEN}} --open{{end}}'
-
-  dev:portal:proxy:serve:
-    internal: true
-    vars:
-      PORT: '{{.PORT | default "3000"}}'
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL | default "http://localhost:8080"}}'
-      EDITOR_DEV_URL: '{{.EDITOR_DEV_URL | default ""}}'
-      PORTAL_DEV_URL: '{{.PORTAL_DEV_URL | default ""}}'
-    env:
-      PORT: '{{.PORT}}'
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL}}'
-      EDITOR_DEV_URL: '{{.EDITOR_DEV_URL}}'
-      PORTAL_DEV_URL: '{{.PORTAL_DEV_URL}}'
-    cmds:
-      - npx tsx scripts/dev-origin-proxy.ts
-
   # ============================================================
   # Build
   # ============================================================
@@ -205,29 +180,6 @@ tasks:
     cmds:
       - npx vite build editor --mode prototypes
 
-  build:portal:
-    desc: "Build developer portal"
-    deps: [install]
-    vars:
-      SUBPATH: '{{.SUBPATH | default ""}}'
-    cmds:
-      - '{{if .SUBPATH}}RUN_SUBPATH={{.SUBPATH}} {{end}}npx vite build portal'
-
-  preview:portal:proxy:
-    desc: "Build + serve editor + portal behind one origin (prod-like auth testing)"
-    deps: [prepare]
-    vars:
-      PORT: '{{.PORT | default "3000"}}'
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL | default "http://localhost:8080"}}'
-    env:
-      PORT: '{{.PORT}}'
-      BACKEND_URL: '{{.BACKEND_URL}}'
-    cmds:
-      - task: build:proprietary
-        vars: { PREVIEW: '1' }
-      - task: build:portal
-        vars: { SUBPATH: portal }
-      - npx tsx scripts/dev-origin-proxy.ts
 
   storybook:
     desc: "Start Storybook dev server"
@@ -263,8 +215,8 @@ tasks:
     deps: [install]
     cmds:
       # Globs so dpdm walks the whole tree. dpdm expands the braces itself, so this is
-      # shell-agnostic. Covers editor, portal, and the shared design system.
-      - npx dpdm "editor/src/**/*.{ts,tsx}" "portal/src/**/*.{ts,tsx}" "shared/**/*.{ts,tsx}" --circular --no-warning --no-tree --exit-code circular:1
+      # shell-agnostic. Covers the whole editor tree, including the portal layer.
+      - npx dpdm "editor/src/**/*.{ts,tsx}" --circular --no-warning --no-tree --exit-code circular:1
 
   lint:fix:
     desc: "Auto-fix lint issues"
@@ -345,8 +297,6 @@ tasks:
     desc: "Typecheck scripts"
     deps: [prepare]
     cmds:
-      - task: typecheck:_run
-        vars: { PROJECT: scripts/tsconfig.json }
       - task: typecheck:_run
         vars: { PROJECT: editor/scripts/tsconfig.json }
 
@@ -362,14 +312,7 @@ tasks:
     deps: [install]
     cmds:
       - task: typecheck:_run
-        vars: { PROJECT: portal/tsconfig.json }
-
-  typecheck:shared:
-    desc: "Typecheck the shared design system"
-    deps: [install]
-    cmds:
-      - task: typecheck:_run
-        vars: { PROJECT: shared/tsconfig.json }
+        vars: { PROJECT: editor/src/portal/tsconfig.json }
 
   typecheck:all:
     desc: "Typecheck all build variants"
@@ -382,7 +325,6 @@ tasks:
       - task: typecheck:scripts
       - task: typecheck:prototypes
       - task: typecheck:portal
-      - task: typecheck:shared
 
   # ============================================================
   # Quality Gate
@@ -411,7 +353,6 @@ tasks:
       - task: lint
       - task: format:check
       - task: build
-      - task: build:portal
       - task: test
       - task: storybook:build
 
@@ -423,7 +364,6 @@ tasks:
     desc: "Run tests"
     cmds:
       - task: test:editor
-      - task: test:portal
 
   test:editor:
     desc: "Run editor tests"
@@ -431,12 +371,6 @@ tasks:
     cmds:
       - npx vitest run --root editor
 
-  test:portal:
-    desc: "Run portal tests"
-    deps: [prepare]
-    cmds:
-      - npx vitest run --root portal
-
   test:watch:
     desc: "Run tests in watch mode"
     deps: [prepare]
@@ -468,6 +402,23 @@ tasks:
   # Code Generation
   # ============================================================
 
+  tool-models:
+    desc: "Generate tool API types from the Java OpenAPI spec"
+    deps: [install, ":backend:swagger"]
+    cmds:
+      - npx tsx editor/scripts/generate-tool-api-types.mts --spec ../SwaggerDoc.json --output editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts
+    sources:
+      - editor/scripts/generate-tool-api-types.mts
+      - ../SwaggerDoc.json
+    generates:
+      - editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts
+
+  tool-models:check:
+    desc: "Fail if committed tool API types are out of date"
+    deps: [install, ":backend:swagger"]
+    cmds:
+      - npx tsx editor/scripts/generate-tool-api-types.mts --spec ../SwaggerDoc.json --output editor/src/core/types/toolApiTypes.ts --check
+
   licenses:generate:
     desc: "Generate frontend license report"
     deps: [install]
@@ -481,7 +432,7 @@ tasks:
   clean:
     desc: "Clean build artifacts and caches"
     cmds:
-      - cmd: powershell rm -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue node_modules/.vite, editor/dist, dist, dist-portal
+      - cmd: powershell rm -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue node_modules/.vite, editor/dist, dist
         platforms: [windows]
-      - cmd: rm -rf node_modules/.vite editor/dist dist dist-portal
+      - cmd: rm -rf node_modules/.vite editor/dist dist
         platforms: [linux, darwin]

AGENTS.md

@@ -139,7 +139,8 @@ The project structure is defined in `engine/pyproject.toml`. Any new dependencie
 
 #### Environment Variables
 - All `VITE_*` variables must be declared in the appropriate committed env file:
-  - `frontend/editor/.env` — core, proprietary, and shared vars
+  - `frontend/editor/.env` — core and shared vars (base, loaded in every mode)
+  - `frontend/editor/.env.proprietary` — proprietary-only vars, e.g. the admin portal's SaaS/account-link keys (layered on top of `.env` in proprietary mode)
   - `frontend/editor/.env.saas` — SaaS-only vars (layered on top of `.env` in SaaS mode)
   - `frontend/editor/.env.desktop` — desktop (Tauri)-only vars (layered on top of `.env` in desktop mode)
 - These files are committed to Git and must not contain private keys
@@ -452,6 +453,7 @@ The frontend is organized with a clear separation of concerns:
 
 - **CRITICAL**: Always update translations in `en-US` only - all other languages (including `en-GB`) are handled separately
 - Translation files are located in `frontend/editor/public/locales/`
+- After changing any translation file, run `task pre-commit:fix`
 
 ## Important Notes
 

DeveloperGuide.md

@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Visit the [Lombok website](https://projectlombok.org/setup/) for installation in
 
 5. Add environment variable
 For local testing, you should generally be testing the full 'Security' version of Stirling PDF. To do this, you must add the environment flag DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false to your system and/or IDE build/run step.
-5. **Frontend Setup (Required for Stirling 2.0)**
+6. **Frontend Setup (Required for Stirling 2.0)**
    Navigate to the frontend directory and install dependencies using npm.
 
 ### Verify Setup
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ Stirling-PDF uses different Docker images for various configurations. The build
 1. Set the security environment variable:
 
    ```bash
-   export DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=true  # or false for to enable login and security features for builds
+   export DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=true  # or false to enable login and security features for builds
    ```
 
 2. Build the project:
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ Stirling-PDF uses different Docker images for various configurations. The build
    docker build --no-cache --pull --build-arg VERSION_TAG=alpha -t stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest-fat -f ./Dockerfile.fat .
    ```
 
-Note: The `--no-cache` and `--pull` flags ensure that the build process uses the latest base images and doesn't use cached layers, which is useful for testing and ensuring reproducible builds. however to improve build times these can often be removed depending on your usecase
+Note: The `--no-cache` and `--pull` flags ensure that the build process uses the latest base images and doesn't use cached layers, which is useful for testing and ensuring reproducible builds. However, to improve build times these can often be removed depending on your use case
 
 ## 7. Testing
 

LICENSE

@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "frontend/edi
 if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "frontend/editor/src/cloud/LICENSE".
 * All content that resides under the "frontend/editor/src/prototypes/" directory of this repository,
 if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "frontend/editor/src/prototypes/LICENSE".
-* All content that resides under the "frontend/portal/" directory of this repository,
-if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "frontend/portal/LICENSE".
+* All content that resides under the "frontend/editor/src/portal/" directory of this repository,
+if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "frontend/editor/src/portal/LICENSE".
 * Content outside of the above mentioned directories or restrictions above is
 available under the MIT License as defined below.
 

README.md

@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ For full installation options (including desktop and Kubernetes), see our [Docum
 
 ## Support
 
-- **Community** [Discord](https://discord.gg/HYmhKj45pU)
-- **Bug Reports**: [Github issues](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/issues)
+- **Community**: [Discord](https://discord.gg/HYmhKj45pU)
+- **Bug Reports**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF/issues)
 
 ## Contributing
 

Taskfile.yml

@@ -79,86 +79,12 @@ tasks:
           OPEN: "true"
 
   dev:portal:
-    desc: "Start backend + developer portal concurrently on free ports"
+    desc: "Start backend + editor; the portal is an admin route at /portal"
     vars:
       PORTS:
         sh: '{{if eq OS "windows"}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_PS}} 8080 5173{{else}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_SH}} 8080 5173{{end}}'
       BACKEND_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 0}}'
-      PORTAL_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
-    deps:
-      - task: backend:dev
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN: "true"
-          POLICIES_ENABLED: "true"
-      - task: frontend:dev:portal
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PORTAL_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          MOCKS: 'false'
-          OPEN: "true"
-
-  dev:portal:all:
-    desc: "Start backend + developer portal + editor concurrently on free ports"
-    vars:
-      PORTS:
-        sh: '{{if eq OS "windows"}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_PS}} 8080 5173 5174{{else}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_SH}} 8080 5173 5174{{end}}'
-      BACKEND_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 0}}'
-      PORTAL_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
-      EDITOR_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 2}}'
-    deps:
-      - task: backend:dev
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN: "true"
-          POLICIES_ENABLED: "true"
-      - task: frontend:dev:portal
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PORTAL_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          # Point the portal's "Editor" app switcher at the editor we spawn here.
-          EDITOR_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.EDITOR_PORT}}/'
-          MOCKS: 'false'
-          OPEN: "true"
-      - task: frontend:dev
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.EDITOR_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-
-  dev:portal:all:saas:
-    desc: "Start SaaS backend + developer portal + editor concurrently on free ports"
-    vars:
-      PORTS:
-        sh: '{{if eq OS "windows"}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_PS}} 8080 5173 5174{{else}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_SH}} 8080 5173 5174{{end}}'
-      BACKEND_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 0}}'
-      PORTAL_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
-      EDITOR_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 2}}'
-    deps:
-      - task: backend:dev:saas
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          POLICIES_ENABLED: "true"
-      - task: frontend:dev:portal
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PORTAL_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          EDITOR_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.EDITOR_PORT}}/'
-          MOCKS: 'false'
-          OPEN: "true"
-      - task: frontend:dev
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.EDITOR_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-
-  dev:portal:proxy:
-    desc: "Editor + portal on ONE origin + backend via live dev servers (shared-token login)"
-    vars:
-      PORTS:
-        sh: '{{if eq OS "windows"}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_PS}} 8080 3000 5173 5174{{else}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_SH}} 8080 3000 5173 5174{{end}}'
-      BACKEND_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 0}}'
-      PROXY_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
-      EDITOR_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 2}}'
-      PORTAL_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 3}}'
+      EDITOR_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
     deps:
       - task: backend:dev
         vars:
@@ -169,18 +95,7 @@ tasks:
         vars:
           PORT: '{{.EDITOR_PORT}}'
           BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-      - task: frontend:dev:portal
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PORTAL_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          SUBPATH: portal
-          MOCKS: 'false'
-      - task: frontend:dev:portal:proxy:serve
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PROXY_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          EDITOR_DEV_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.EDITOR_PORT}}'
-          PORTAL_DEV_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.PORTAL_PORT}}'
+          OPEN: "true"
 
   dev:saas:
     desc: "Start SaaS backend + frontend concurrently on free ports"
@@ -228,24 +143,6 @@ tasks:
       - task: backend:build
       - task: frontend:build
 
-  preview:portal:proxy:
-    desc: "Build + serve editor + portal on ONE origin + backend (prod-like auth test)"
-    vars:
-      PORTS:
-        sh: '{{if eq OS "windows"}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_PS}} 8080 3000{{else}}{{.FIND_FREE_PORT_SH}} 8080 3000{{end}}'
-      BACKEND_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 0}}'
-      PROXY_PORT: '{{index (splitList "\n" .PORTS) 1}}'
-    deps:
-      - task: backend:dev
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-          SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN: "true"
-          POLICIES_ENABLED: "true"
-      - task: frontend:preview:portal:proxy
-        vars:
-          PORT: '{{.PROXY_PORT}}'
-          BACKEND_URL: 'http://localhost:{{.BACKEND_PORT}}'
-
   # ============================================================
   # Test
   # ============================================================
@@ -288,6 +185,16 @@ tasks:
       - task: frontend:format:check
       - task: engine:format:check
 
+  # ============================================================
+  # Code generation
+  # ============================================================
+
+  tool-models:
+    desc: "Generate all API models from the Java OpenAPI spec"
+    cmds:
+      - task: frontend:tool-models
+      - task: engine:tool-models
+
   # ============================================================
   # Quality Gate
   # ============================================================

app/allowed-licenses.json

@@ -80,10 +80,18 @@
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "Apache License Version 2.0"
     },
+    {
+      "moduleName": ".*",
+      "moduleLicense": "Apache License version 2.0"
+    },
     {
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "Apache License, Version 2.0"
     },
+    {
+      "moduleName": ".*",
+      "moduleLicense": "Apache License, version 2.0"
+    },
     {
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "The Apache License, Version 2.0"
@@ -108,6 +116,10 @@
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0)"
     },
+    {
+      "moduleName": ".*",
+      "moduleLicense": "Mozilla Public License Version 2.0"
+    },
     {
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": 	"CDDL+GPL License"
@@ -172,6 +184,14 @@
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "Eclipse Public License, Version 2.0"
     },
+    {
+      "moduleName": ".*",
+      "moduleLicense": "EPL-2.0"
+    },
+    {
+      "moduleName": ".*",
+      "moduleLicense": "LGPL-2.1-only"
+    },
     {
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "Ubuntu Font Licence 1.0"
@@ -188,6 +208,18 @@
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "The W3C License"
     },
+    {
+      "moduleName": "com.google.re2j:re2j",
+      "moduleLicense": "Go License"
+    },
+    {
+      "moduleName": "com.hubspot:algebra",
+      "moduleLicense": null
+    },
+    {
+      "moduleName": "com.hubspot.immutables:immutables-exceptions",
+      "moduleLicense": null
+    },
     {
       "moduleName": ".*",
       "moduleLicense": "UnRar License"

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/configuration/AppConfig.java

@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ public class AppConfig {
             return true;
         }
         Path mountInfo = Path.of("/proc/1/mountinfo");
-        // this should always exist, if not some unknown usecase
+        // this should always exist, if not some unknown use case
         if (!Files.exists(mountInfo)) {
             return true;
         }

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/model/ApplicationProperties.java

@@ -246,6 +246,14 @@ public class ApplicationProperties {
          * and paused runs are kept regardless of age.
          */
         private int runExpiryMinutes = 30;
+
+        /**
+         * Whether a policy S3 source's custom endpoint may resolve to a loopback, link-local, or
+         * private address. Off by default so a user-supplied endpoint cannot be pointed at internal
+         * services (e.g. the cloud metadata address); enable for a self-hosted MinIO or other
+         * in-network object store.
+         */
+        private boolean allowPrivateS3Endpoints = false;
     }
 
     @Data

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/service/AutomationRunContext.java

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package stirling.software.common.service;
+
+/**
+ * Thread-scoped correlation id for one automation run — a single pipeline, policy, or AI-workflow
+ * execution over its input file(s).
+ *
+ * <p>Automations dispatch each tool step as a separate internal loopback POST via {@link
+ * InternalApiClient}. The orchestrator opens a run scope around its dispatch loop; {@code
+ * InternalApiClient} reads {@link #current()} and stamps it on every sub-step request as {@link
+ * #RUN_ID_HEADER}. The SaaS PAYG interceptor uses that header so all sub-steps of ONE run group
+ * into a single charge, while two <em>separate</em> runs that happen to touch identical bytes stay
+ * distinct charges (the old content+time-window grouping merged them).
+ *
+ * <p>Sub-steps dispatch synchronously on the orchestrator's own thread (loopback {@code
+ * RestTemplate}), so this ThreadLocal is visible to {@code InternalApiClient}. The id then crosses
+ * to the receiving request thread via the HTTP header — never via this ThreadLocal.
+ *
+ * <p>No-op when the id is absent (a standalone tool call): the interceptor treats a missing run id
+ * as "its own charge", which is exactly what a one-off call should be.
+ */
+public final class AutomationRunContext {
+
+    /** Header carrying the run id on internal sub-step dispatches. */
+    public static final String RUN_ID_HEADER = "X-Stirling-Run-Id";
+
+    private static final ThreadLocal<String> CURRENT = new ThreadLocal<>();
+
+    private AutomationRunContext() {}
+
+    /**
+     * Opens a run scope on the current thread. Returns an {@link AutoCloseable} that restores the
+     * previously-active id (nesting-safe) — use in try-with-resources around the dispatch loop.
+     */
+    public static Scope open(String runId) {
+        String previous = CURRENT.get();
+        CURRENT.set(runId);
+        return () -> {
+            if (previous == null) {
+                CURRENT.remove();
+            } else {
+                CURRENT.set(previous);
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+    /** The run id active on this thread, or {@code null} when not inside a run scope. */
+    public static String current() {
+        return CURRENT.get();
+    }
+
+    /** AutoCloseable whose {@link #close()} declares no checked exception. */
+    public interface Scope extends AutoCloseable {
+        @Override
+        void close();
+    }
+}

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/service/InternalApiClient.java

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import java.nio.file.Files;
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
+import org.slf4j.MDC;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.core.env.Environment;
 import org.springframework.core.io.FileSystemResource;
@@ -60,6 +61,17 @@ public class InternalApiClient {
      */
     public static final String AUTOMATION_HEADER = "X-Stirling-Automation";
 
+    /**
+     * Header carrying the parent policy's name onto each sub-step dispatch, read from MDC key
+     * {@link #POLICY_NAME_MDC_KEY} (set by the policy runner on the worker thread). Lets the audit
+     * layer attribute a tool step to the policy that ran it, instead of showing it as a bare direct
+     * call.
+     */
+    public static final String POLICY_NAME_HEADER = "X-Stirling-Policy-Name";
+
+    /** MDC key the policy runner stamps with the running policy's name; forwarded as a header. */
+    public static final String POLICY_NAME_MDC_KEY = "auditPolicyName";
+
     private final ServletContext servletContext;
     private final UserServiceInterface userService;
     private final TempFileManager tempFileManager;
@@ -111,6 +123,27 @@ public class InternalApiClient {
         // step inside a policy run must bill as AUTOMATION, not AI). Set unconditionally because
         // every caller of this dispatcher is an automation surface by design.
         headers.add(AUTOMATION_HEADER, "true");
+        // Propagate the current automation run id (set by the orchestrator around its dispatch
+        // loop) so the PAYG interceptor groups every sub-step of this one run into a single charge,
+        // and never merges two separate runs that happen to touch identical bytes. Absent → the
+        // receiving call is treated as standalone. See AutomationRunContext.
+        String runId = AutomationRunContext.current();
+        if (runId != null && !runId.isEmpty()) {
+            headers.add(AutomationRunContext.RUN_ID_HEADER, runId);
+        }
+
+        // Forward the parent policy name (set in MDC by the policy runner) so the audited sub-step
+        // ties back to its policy. Single-line, length-capped: it becomes an HTTP header value.
+        String policyName = MDC.get(POLICY_NAME_MDC_KEY);
+        if (policyName != null && !policyName.isBlank()) {
+            String safe = policyName.replaceAll("[\\r\\n]", " ").trim();
+            if (safe.length() > 200) {
+                safe = safe.substring(0, 200);
+            }
+            if (!safe.isEmpty()) {
+                headers.add(POLICY_NAME_HEADER, safe);
+            }
+        }
 
         // A no-file ai/tools call (e.g. create-pdf-from-html-agent) sends only string params, so
         // without this RestTemplate would use urlencoded instead of the multipart the controller

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/service/PdfMetadataService.java

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
 import java.util.Calendar;
 
 import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocument;
+import org.apache.pdfbox.pdmodel.PDDocumentInformation;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Qualifier;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
@@ -17,6 +18,9 @@ import stirling.software.common.model.PdfMetadata;
 @Service
 public class PdfMetadataService {
 
+    /** ({@code {labels}}). Written by the classify-and-label tool. */
+    public static final String CLASSIFICATION_KEY = "StirlingPDFClassification";
+
     private final ApplicationProperties applicationProperties;
     private final String stirlingPDFLabel;
     private final UserServiceInterface userService;
@@ -177,4 +181,14 @@ public class PdfMetadataService {
         }
         pdf.getDocumentInformation().setAuthor(author);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Write the document classifier's JSON result into the custom Info-dictionary field {@link
+     * #CLASSIFICATION_KEY}, leaving all other metadata untouched.
+     */
+    public void setClassificationMetadata(PDDocument pdf, String classificationJson) {
+        PDDocumentInformation info = pdf.getDocumentInformation();
+        info.setCustomMetadataValue(CLASSIFICATION_KEY, classificationJson);
+        pdf.setDocumentInformation(info);
+    }
 }

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/service/TempFileCleanupService.java

@@ -144,8 +144,10 @@ public class TempFileCleanupService {
         int directoriesDeletedCount = 0;
         for (Path directory : registry.getTempDirectories()) {
             try {
-                if (Files.exists(directory)) {
+                if (Files.exists(directory)
+                        && shouldDeleteRegisteredDirectory(directory, maxAgeMillis)) {
                     GeneralUtils.deleteDirectory(directory);
+                    registry.unregisterDirectory(directory);
                     directoriesDeletedCount++;
                     log.debug("Cleaned up temporary directory: {}", directory);
                 }
@@ -275,6 +277,21 @@ public class TempFileCleanupService {
         return totalDeletedCount.get();
     }
 
+    private boolean shouldDeleteRegisteredDirectory(Path directory, long maxAgeMillis) {
+        if (maxAgeMillis <= 0) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        try {
+            long currentTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
+            long lastModified = Files.getLastModifiedTime(directory).toMillis();
+            return (currentTime - lastModified) > maxAgeMillis;
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            log.debug("Could not check directory age, skipping cleanup: {}", directory, e);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
     /** Get the system temp directory path based on configuration or system property. */
     private Path getSystemTempPath() {
         String systemTempDir =

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/util/RequestUriUtils.java

@@ -57,6 +57,16 @@ public class RequestUriUtils {
             return true;
         }
 
+        // Admin portal SPA shell (mounted at /processor — must match the frontend
+        // PORTAL_BASENAME). Served publicly like the editor root so a direct nav /
+        // refresh to /processor loads the app (the JWT lives in localStorage, not a
+        // cookie, so the server can't authenticate the navigation itself). The
+        // portal gates access via its own auth gate + RequirePortalAccess, and its
+        // data APIs stay protected, so serving the shell pre-auth is safe.
+        if (normalizedUri.equals("/processor") || normalizedUri.startsWith("/processor/")) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
         // Treat common static file extensions as static resources
         return normalizedUri.endsWith(".svg")
                 || normalizedUri.endsWith(".png")

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/util/TempFileManager.java

@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ public class TempFileManager {
         if (directory != null && Files.isDirectory(directory)) {
             try {
                 GeneralUtils.deleteDirectory(directory);
+                registry.unregisterDirectory(directory);
                 log.debug("Deleted temp directory: {}", directory.toString());
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 log.warn("Failed to delete temp directory: {}", directory.toString(), e);

app/common/src/main/java/stirling/software/common/util/TempFileRegistry.java

@@ -85,6 +85,18 @@ public class TempFileRegistry {
         return directory;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Unregister a temporary directory from the registry.
+     *
+     * @param directory The directory to unregister
+     */
+    public void unregisterDirectory(Path directory) {
+        if (directory != null) {
+            tempDirectories.remove(directory);
+            log.debug("Unregistered temp directory: {}", directory.toString());
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Register a third-party temporary file that requires special handling.
      *

app/common/src/test/java/stirling/software/common/service/TempFileCleanupServiceMoreTest.java

@@ -176,11 +176,13 @@ class TempFileCleanupServiceMoreTest {
     class ScheduledCleanup {
 
         @Test
-        @DisplayName("deletes registered temp directories and reports counts")
+        @DisplayName("deletes stale registered temp directories and reports counts")
         void deletesRegisteredDirectories() throws IOException {
             when(tempFileManager.cleanupOldTempFiles(anyLong())).thenReturn(2);
             Path regDir = Files.createDirectories(tempDir.resolve("registeredDir"));
             Files.createFile(regDir.resolve("inside.txt"));
+            Files.setLastModifiedTime(
+                    regDir, FileTime.fromMillis(System.currentTimeMillis() - 2L * 60 * 60 * 1000));
             Set<Path> dirs = new HashSet<>();
             dirs.add(regDir);
             when(registry.getTempDirectories()).thenReturn(dirs);
@@ -193,6 +195,22 @@ class TempFileCleanupServiceMoreTest {
             verify(tempFileManager).cleanupOldTempFiles(anyLong());
         }
 
+        @Test
+        @DisplayName("keeps a fresh registered temp directory")
+        void keepsFreshRegisteredDirectory() throws IOException {
+            when(tempFileManager.cleanupOldTempFiles(anyLong())).thenReturn(0);
+            Path regDir = Files.createDirectories(tempDir.resolve("freshRegisteredDir"));
+            Files.createFile(regDir.resolve("inside.txt"));
+            Set<Path> dirs = new HashSet<>();
+            dirs.add(regDir);
+            when(registry.getTempDirectories()).thenReturn(dirs);
+            lenient().when(registry.contains(any(File.class))).thenReturn(false);
+
+            withIsolatedUserHome(cleanupService::scheduledCleanup);
+
+            assertThat(Files.exists(regDir)).isTrue();
+        }
+
         @Test
         @DisplayName("skips a registered directory that no longer exists")
         void skipsMissingRegisteredDirectory() {

app/common/src/test/java/stirling/software/common/util/RequestUriUtilsTest.java

@@ -73,6 +73,14 @@ class RequestUriUtilsTest {
         assertTrue(RequestUriUtils.isStaticResource("/mobile-scanner"));
     }
 
+    @Test
+    void testIsStaticResource_portalShell() {
+        // The admin portal SPA shell (/processor) is served pre-auth so it's directly navigable.
+        assertTrue(RequestUriUtils.isStaticResource("/processor"));
+        assertTrue(RequestUriUtils.isStaticResource("/processor/users"));
+        assertTrue(RequestUriUtils.isStaticResource("/app", "/app/processor"));
+    }
+
     // --- isFrontendRoute tests ---
 
     @Test

app/core/build.gradle

@@ -175,6 +175,14 @@ springBoot {
 // Frontend build tasks - only enabled with -PbuildWithFrontend=true
 def buildWithFrontend = project.hasProperty('buildWithFrontend') && project.property('buildWithFrontend') == 'true'
 def buildPrototypes = project.hasProperty('prototypesMode') && project.property('prototypesMode') == 'true'
+// The admin portal ships as a lazy route inside the editor bundle (see
+// proprietary/routes/adminRouteExtensions). -PbuildWithPortal=true includes that
+// chunk via VITE_INCLUDE_PORTAL on the editor build; the deploy GHA sets it when
+// the portal or AI layers change. Building the portal implies building the editor.
+def buildWithPortal = project.hasProperty('buildWithPortal') && project.property('buildWithPortal') == 'true'
+if (buildWithPortal) {
+    buildWithFrontend = true
+}
 // Workspace root holds package.json and node_modules (shared across editor /
 // future portal). Editor-specific paths (src, public, dist, tauri) live one
 // level deeper under frontend/editor/.
@@ -297,9 +305,11 @@ tasks.register('npmBuild', Exec) {
     // Override VITE_API_BASE_URL to use relative paths for production builds
     // This ensures JARs work regardless of how they're deployed (direct, proxied, etc.)
     environment 'VITE_API_BASE_URL', '/'
+    // Include the admin portal's lazy route/chunk in the editor build when requested.
+    environment 'VITE_INCLUDE_PORTAL', (buildWithPortal ? 'true' : 'false')
 
     doFirst {
-        println "Building editor frontend application for production (mode=${frontendMode}, VITE_API_BASE_URL=/)"
+        println "Building editor frontend application for production (mode=${frontendMode}, VITE_API_BASE_URL=/, portal=${buildWithPortal})"
     }
 }
 

app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/controller/api/pipeline/PipelineProcessor.java

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Map.Entry;
+import java.util.UUID;
 
 import org.springframework.core.io.FileSystemResource;
 import org.springframework.core.io.Resource;
@@ -27,6 +28,7 @@ import stirling.software.SPDF.model.PipelineConfig;
 import stirling.software.SPDF.model.PipelineOperation;
 import stirling.software.SPDF.model.PipelineResult;
 import stirling.software.SPDF.service.ApiDocService;
+import stirling.software.common.service.AutomationRunContext;
 import stirling.software.common.service.InternalApiClient;
 import stirling.software.common.util.TempFileManager;
 import stirling.software.common.util.ZipExtractionUtils;
@@ -71,6 +73,17 @@ public class PipelineProcessor {
 
     PipelineResult runPipelineAgainstFiles(List<Resource> outputFiles, PipelineConfig config)
             throws Exception {
+        // One pipeline execution = one automation run. Scope a run id so every tool sub-step
+        // dispatched via InternalApiClient groups into a single charge on the SaaS billing side
+        // (see AutomationRunContext); pipeline steps run synchronously on this thread.
+        try (AutomationRunContext.Scope ignored =
+                AutomationRunContext.open(UUID.randomUUID().toString())) {
+            return runPipelineAgainstFilesInternal(outputFiles, config);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private PipelineResult runPipelineAgainstFilesInternal(
+            List<Resource> outputFiles, PipelineConfig config) throws Exception {
         PipelineResult result = new PipelineResult();
 
         ByteArrayOutputStream logStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();

app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/controller/api/security/GetInfoOnPDF.java

@@ -305,6 +305,23 @@ public class GetInfoOnPDF {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Info-dictionary keys exposed above via typed getters; any other key in the dictionary is
+     * surfaced as custom metadata (e.g. the classification policy's StirlingPDFClassification
+     * entry).
+     */
+    private static final java.util.Set<String> STANDARD_INFO_KEYS =
+            java.util.Set.of(
+                    "Title",
+                    "Author",
+                    "Subject",
+                    "Keywords",
+                    "Producer",
+                    "Creator",
+                    "CreationDate",
+                    "ModDate",
+                    "Trapped");
+
     private static ObjectNode extractMetadata(PDDocument document) {
         ObjectNode metadata = objectMapper.createObjectNode();
 
@@ -335,6 +352,18 @@ public class GetInfoOnPDF {
                 if (modificationDate != null) {
                     metadata.put("ModificationDate", modificationDate);
                 }
+
+                // Surface custom Info-dictionary entries (anything beyond the
+                // standard fields above) — e.g. StirlingPDFClassification
+                for (String key : info.getMetadataKeys()) {
+                    if (STANDARD_INFO_KEYS.contains(key)) {
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    String value = info.getCustomMetadataValue(key);
+                    if (value != null && !value.isBlank()) {
+                        metadata.put(key, value);
+                    }
+                }
             }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             log.error("Error extracting metadata: {}", e.getMessage());

app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/controller/api/security/RedactController.java

@@ -136,11 +136,17 @@ public class RedactController {
                             + "Users can provide text patterns to redact, with options for regex and whole word matching. "
                             + "Input:PDF Output:PDF Type:SISO")
     public ResponseEntity<Resource> redactPdf(@ModelAttribute RedactPdfRequest request) {
-        String[] listOfText = request.getListOfText().split("\n");
+        String rawListOfText = request.getListOfText();
         boolean useRegex = Boolean.TRUE.equals(request.getUseRegex());
         boolean wholeWordSearchBool = Boolean.TRUE.equals(request.getWholeWordSearch());
 
-        if (listOfText.length == 0 || (listOfText.length == 1 && listOfText[0].trim().isEmpty())) {
+        if (rawListOfText == null || rawListOfText.trim().isEmpty()) {
+            throw ExceptionUtils.createIllegalArgumentException(
+                    "error.redaction.no.patterns", "No text patterns provided for redaction");
+        }
+
+        String[] listOfText = rawListOfText.split("\n");
+        if (listOfText.length == 1 && listOfText[0].trim().isEmpty()) {
             throw ExceptionUtils.createIllegalArgumentException(
                     "error.redaction.no.patterns", "No text patterns provided for redaction");
         }

app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/model/api/general/PosterPdfRequest.java

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package stirling.software.SPDF.model.api.general;
 
+import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;
+
 import io.swagger.v3.oas.annotations.media.Schema;
 
 import lombok.Data;
@@ -17,20 +19,8 @@ public class PosterPdfRequest extends PDFFile {
             allowableValues = {"A4", "Letter", "A3", "A5", "Legal", "Tabloid"})
     private String pageSize = "A4";
 
-    @Schema(
-            description = "Horizontal decimation factor (how many columns to split into)",
-            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
-            defaultValue = "2",
-            minimum = "1",
-            maximum = "10")
     private int xFactor = 2;
 
-    @Schema(
-            description = "Vertical decimation factor (how many rows to split into)",
-            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
-            defaultValue = "2",
-            minimum = "1",
-            maximum = "10")
     private int yFactor = 2;
 
     @Schema(
@@ -38,4 +28,36 @@ public class PosterPdfRequest extends PDFFile {
             requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
             defaultValue = "false")
     private boolean rightToLeft = false;
+
+    @JsonProperty("xFactor")
+    @Schema(
+            description = "Horizontal decimation factor (how many columns to split into)",
+            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
+            defaultValue = "2",
+            minimum = "1",
+            maximum = "10")
+    public int getXFactor() {
+        return xFactor;
+    }
+
+    @JsonProperty("xFactor")
+    public void setXFactor(int xFactor) {
+        this.xFactor = xFactor;
+    }
+
+    @JsonProperty("yFactor")
+    @Schema(
+            description = "Vertical decimation factor (how many rows to split into)",
+            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
+            defaultValue = "2",
+            minimum = "1",
+            maximum = "10")
+    public int getYFactor() {
+        return yFactor;
+    }
+
+    @JsonProperty("yFactor")
+    public void setYFactor(int yFactor) {
+        this.yFactor = yFactor;
+    }
 }

app/core/src/main/java/stirling/software/SPDF/model/api/security/AddPasswordRequest.java

@@ -29,7 +29,8 @@ public class AddPasswordRequest extends PDFFile {
             description = "The length of the encryption key",
             type = "integer",
             allowableValues = {"40", "128", "256"},
-            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.REQUIRED)
+            requiredMode = Schema.RequiredMode.NOT_REQUIRED,
+            defaultValue = "256")
     private int keyLength = 256;
 
     @Schema(description = "Whether document assembly is prevented", defaultValue = "false")

app/core/src/main/resources/static/images/redact-auto.svg

@@ -1,18 +1 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
-        <symbol id="icon-redact-auto" viewBox="0 0 24 24">  <g id="Layer_2" data-name="Layer 2">
-    <g id="Layer_1-2" data-name="Layer 1">
-      <rect width="24" height="24" style="fill: none"/>
-      <g>
-        <path d="M17.541,15.64258a.91793.91793,0,0,1,.55469-.18555h1.1084a.91586.91586,0,0,1,.55469.18555,1.30889,1.30889,0,0,1,.40429.499,1.57206,1.57206,0,0,1,.15039.68457v5.47754H19.2041V20.21094H18.0957v2.09277H16.9873V16.82617a1.55843,1.55843,0,0,1,.15039-.68457A1.2979,1.2979,0,0,1,17.541,15.64258Zm1.66309,1.10547H18.0957v2.17187h1.1084Z" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <path d="M5.68653,22.30351a2.00588,2.00588,0,0,1-2-2v-16A1.92585,1.92585,0,0,1,4.274,2.891a1.92585,1.92585,0,0,1,1.4125-.5875h8l6,6v5.66931h-2V9.30351h-5v-5h-7v16h9.74021v2Z" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <rect x="7.69809" y="10.43189" width="4.33778" height="0.79501" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <rect x="7.69809" y="12.16889" width="7.31192" height="1.21288" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <rect x="7.69809" y="17.14555" width="7.31192" height="1.21288" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <rect x="7.69809" y="14.32375" width="7.31192" height="0.57517" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-        <rect x="7.69809" y="15.79848" width="5.25578" height="0.4475" style="fill: currentColor"/>
-      </g>
-    </g>
-  </g>
-    </symbol>
-</svg>
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><symbol id="icon-redact-auto" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><g id="Layer_2" data-name="Layer 2"><g id="Layer_1-2" data-name="Layer 1"><rect width="24" height="24" style="fill:none"/><g><path d="M17.541,15.64258a.91793.91793,0,0,1,.55469-.18555h1.1084a.91586.91586,0,0,1,.55469.18555,1.30889,1.30889,0,0,1,.40429.499,1.57206,1.57206,0,0,1,.15039.68457v5.47754H19.2041V20.21094H18.0957v2.09277H16.9873V16.82617a1.55843,1.55843,0,0,1,.15039-.68457A1.2979,1.2979,0,0,1,17.541,15.64258Zm1.66309,1.10547H18.0957v2.17187h1.1084Z" style="fill:currentColor"/><path d="M5.68653,22.30351a2.00588,2.00588,0,0,1-2-2v-16A1.92585,1.92585,0,0,1,4.274,2.891a1.92585,1.92585,0,0,1,1.4125-.5875h8l6,6v5.66931h-2V9.30351h-5v-5h-7v16h9.74021v2Z" style="fill:currentColor"/><rect width="4.338" height=".795" x="7.698" y="10.432" style="fill:currentColor"/><rect width="7.312" height="1.213" x="7.698" y="12.169" style="fill:currentColor"/><rect width="7.312" height="1.213" x="7.698" y="17.146" style="fill:currentColor"/><rect width="7.312" height=".575" x="7.698" y="14.324" style="fill:currentColor"/><rect width="5.256" height=".448" x="7.698" y="15.798" style="fill:currentColor"/></g></g></g></symbol></svg>

app/core/src/main/resources/static/images/rename.svg

@@ -1,13 +1 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
-<!-- Uploaded to: SVG Repo, www.svgrepo.com, Generator: SVG Repo Mixer Tools -->
-<svg width="800px" height="800px" viewBox="0 0 512 512" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">
-    <title>rename</title>
-        <symbol id="icon-rename" viewBox="0 0 512 512">
-    <g id="Page-1" stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd">
-        <g id="Combined-Shape" fill="currentColor" transform="translate(42.666667, 64.000000)">
-            <path d="M362.666667,1.42108547e-14 L362.666667,21.3333333 L320,21.333 L320,362.666 L362.666667,362.666667 L362.666667,384 L320,383.999 L320,384 L298.666667,384 L298.666,383.999 L256,384 L256,362.666667 L298.666,362.666 L298.666,21.333 L256,21.3333333 L256,1.42108547e-14 L362.666667,1.42108547e-14 Z M426.666667,64 L426.666667,320 L341.333333,320 L341.333333,277.333333 L384,277.333333 L384,106.666667 L341.333333,106.666667 L341.333333,64 L426.666667,64 Z M277.333333,64 L277.333333,320 L3.55271368e-14,320 L3.55271368e-14,64 L277.333333,64 Z M179.2,89.6 L149.333333,89.6 L149.333333,234.666667 C149.333333,248 148.5,256.333333 147.875,264.354167 L147.792993,265.422171 L147.792993,265.422171 L147.714003,266.48894 C147.417695,270.579012 147.2,274.696296 147.2,279.466667 L147.2,279.466667 L177.066667,279.466667 L177.066667,260.266667 C184.941497,273.926888 199.708077,282.130544 215.466667,281.6 C229.540046,281.805757 242.921593,275.508559 251.733333,264.533333 C263.162478,248.989677 269.832496,230.461848 270.933333,211.2 C270.933333,170.666667 249.6,142.933333 217.6,142.933333 C202.507405,142.999748 188.308689,150.099106 179.2,162.133333 L179.2,162.133333 L179.2,89.6 Z M119.466667,162.133333 C107.961824,149.843793 91.4322333,143.546807 74.6666667,145.066667 C57.6785115,144.485924 40.8138255,148.15216 25.6,155.733333 L25.6,155.733333 L34.1333333,177.066667 C45.3979052,171.147831 57.7246848,167.522308 70.4,166.4 C78.5613135,165.511423 86.6853595,168.371259 92.4903835,174.176283 C98.2954074,179.981307 101.155244,188.105353 100.266667,196.266667 L100.266667,196.266667 L100.266667,198.4 L78.9333333,198.4 C65.8181975,197.679203 52.705771,199.864608 40.5333333,204.8 C26.2806563,210.950309 17.6507691,225.621117 19.2,241.066667 C19.0625857,252.057651 23.6679763,262.574827 31.8381493,269.927982 C40.0083223,277.281138 50.9508304,280.757072 61.8666667,279.466667 C77.2795695,280.291768 92.2192911,274.001359 102.4,262.4 L102.4,262.4 L102.4,277.333333 L130.133333,277.333333 C128.292479,266.054406 127.577851,254.620365 128,243.2 L128,243.2 L128,204.8 C129.999138,190.023932 126.995128,175.003882 119.466667,162.133333 Z M98.1333333,213.333333 L98.1333333,238.933333 C92.082572,249.988391 80.836024,257.218314 68.2666667,258.133333 C63.0655139,258.520242 57.9538681,256.621996 54.2659359,252.934064 C50.5780036,249.246132 48.6797582,244.134486 49.0666667,238.933333 C49.0666667,224 59.7333333,215.466667 85.3333333,213.333333 L85.3333333,213.333333 L98.1333333,213.333333 Z M209.066667,166.4 C226.133333,166.4 238.933333,183.466667 238.933333,211.2 C238.933333,238.933333 228.266667,256 211.2,256 C197.298049,255.69869 184.825037,247.383349 179.2,234.666667 L179.2,234.666667 L179.2,187.733333 C185.154203,176.240507 196.263981,168.304951 209.066667,166.4 Z">
-</path>
-        </g>
-    </g>
-    </symbol>
-</svg>
+<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" width="800" height="800" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><title>rename</title><symbol id="icon-rename" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><g id="Page-1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g id="Combined-Shape" fill="currentColor"><path d="M362.666667,1.42108547e-14 L362.666667,21.3333333 L320,21.333 L320,362.666 L362.666667,362.666667 L362.666667,384 L320,383.999 L320,384 L298.666667,384 L298.666,383.999 L256,384 L256,362.666667 L298.666,362.666 L298.666,21.333 L256,21.3333333 L256,1.42108547e-14 L362.666667,1.42108547e-14 Z M426.666667,64 L426.666667,320 L341.333333,320 L341.333333,277.333333 L384,277.333333 L384,106.666667 L341.333333,106.666667 L341.333333,64 L426.666667,64 Z M277.333333,64 L277.333333,320 L3.55271368e-14,320 L3.55271368e-14,64 L277.333333,64 Z M179.2,89.6 L149.333333,89.6 L149.333333,234.666667 C149.333333,248 148.5,256.333333 147.875,264.354167 L147.792993,265.422171 L147.792993,265.422171 L147.714003,266.48894 C147.417695,270.579012 147.2,274.696296 147.2,279.466667 L147.2,279.466667 L177.066667,279.466667 L177.066667,260.266667 C184.941497,273.926888 199.708077,282.130544 215.466667,281.6 C229.540046,281.805757 242.921593,275.508559 251.733333,264.533333 C263.162478,248.989677 269.832496,230.461848 270.933333,211.2 C270.933333,170.666667 249.6,142.933333 217.6,142.933333 C202.507405,142.999748 188.308689,150.099106 179.2,162.133333 L179.2,162.133333 L179.2,89.6 Z M119.466667,162.133333 C107.961824,149.843793 91.4322333,143.546807 74.6666667,145.066667 C57.6785115,144.485924 40.8138255,148.15216 25.6,155.733333 L25.6,155.733333 L34.1333333,177.066667 C45.3979052,171.147831 57.7246848,167.522308 70.4,166.4 C78.5613135,165.511423 86.6853595,168.371259 92.4903835,174.176283 C98.2954074,179.981307 101.155244,188.105353 100.266667,196.266667 L100.266667,196.266667 L100.266667,198.4 L78.9333333,198.4 C65.8181975,197.679203 52.705771,199.864608 40.5333333,204.8 C26.2806563,210.950309 17.6507691,225.621117 19.2,241.066667 C19.0625857,252.057651 23.6679763,262.574827 31.8381493,269.927982 C40.0083223,277.281138 50.9508304,280.757072 61.8666667,279.466667 C77.2795695,280.291768 92.2192911,274.001359 102.4,262.4 L102.4,262.4 L102.4,277.333333 L130.133333,277.333333 C128.292479,266.054406 127.577851,254.620365 128,243.2 L128,243.2 L128,204.8 C129.999138,190.023932 126.995128,175.003882 119.466667,162.133333 Z M98.1333333,213.333333 L98.1333333,238.933333 C92.082572,249.988391 80.836024,257.218314 68.2666667,258.133333 C63.0655139,258.520242 57.9538681,256.621996 54.2659359,252.934064 C50.5780036,249.246132 48.6797582,244.134486 49.0666667,238.933333 C49.0666667,224 59.7333333,215.466667 85.3333333,213.333333 L85.3333333,213.333333 L98.1333333,213.333333 Z M209.066667,166.4 C226.133333,166.4 238.933333,183.466667 238.933333,211.2 C238.933333,238.933333 228.266667,256 211.2,256 C197.298049,255.69869 184.825037,247.383349 179.2,234.666667 L179.2,234.666667 L179.2,187.733333 C185.154203,176.240507 196.263981,168.304951 209.066667,166.4 Z" transform="translate(42.666667, 64.000000)"/></g></g></symbol></svg>

app/core/src/test/java/stirling/software/SPDF/controller/api/security/RedactControllerMoreTest.java

@@ -299,6 +299,18 @@ class RedactControllerMoreTest {
             verify(pdfDocumentFactory, never()).load(any(MultipartFile.class));
         }
 
+        @Test
+        @DisplayName("null listOfText throws an illegal-argument error before any load")
+        void nullPatternsThrows() throws Exception {
+            RedactPdfRequest request = new RedactPdfRequest();
+            request.setFileInput(pdfFile(new byte[] {1, 2, 3}));
+            request.setListOfText(null);
+
+            assertThatThrownBy(() -> controller.redactPdf(request))
+                    .isInstanceOf(RuntimeException.class);
+            verify(pdfDocumentFactory, never()).load(any(MultipartFile.class));
+        }
+
         @Test
         @DisplayName("null file input is reported as a failure")
         void nullFileThrows() {

app/proprietary/build.gradle

@@ -66,6 +66,20 @@ dependencies {
 
     implementation "com.google.code.gson:gson:${gsonVersion}"
 
+    // jinjava/jjwt transitively request older Jackson 2 versions; declare the current
+    // version directly so it is selected consistently (root build.gradle pins are the fallback).
+    runtimeOnly "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core:${jackson2Version}"
+    runtimeOnly "com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind:${jackson2Version}"
+
+    implementation("com.hubspot.jinjava:jinjava:${jinjavaVersion}") {
+        // Compile-time-only annotation artifacts (class-retention annotations, not needed at
+        // runtime) whose declared licences (LGPL / none) fail the licence compatibility check.
+        exclude group: 'com.google.code.findbugs', module: 'annotations'
+        exclude group: 'org.derive4j', module: 'derive4j-annotation'
+        exclude group: 'com.hubspot.immutables', module: 'hubspot-style'
+        exclude group: 'com.hubspot.immutables', module: 'immutable-collection-encodings'
+    }
+
     api 'io.micrometer:micrometer-registry-prometheus'
 
     api "io.jsonwebtoken:jjwt-api:${jwtVersion}"

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/config/AccessConfig.java

@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnMissingBean
 import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
 import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
 
+import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.DefaultPrincipalResolver;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.DefaultTeamLeadLookup;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.PrincipalResolver;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.TeamLeadLookup;
 
 /** Access-layer bean wiring. */
@@ -17,4 +19,11 @@ public class AccessConfig {
     TeamLeadLookup defaultTeamLeadLookup() {
         return new DefaultTeamLeadLookup();
     }
+
+    /** USER/TEAM projection unless another bean is defined (e.g. the saas resolver). */
+    @Bean
+    @ConditionalOnMissingBean(PrincipalResolver.class)
+    PrincipalResolver defaultPrincipalResolver() {
+        return new DefaultPrincipalResolver();
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/controller/ResourceGrantController.java

@@ -25,7 +25,9 @@ import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalType;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceGrant;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceType;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.ResourceAccessService;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.database.repository.UserRepository;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.repository.TeamRepository;
 
 /** Admin endpoints to grant/revoke access to gated resources (the portal, integration configs). */
 @RestController
@@ -36,6 +38,8 @@ import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
 public class ResourceGrantController {
 
     private final ResourceAccessService accessService;
+    private final UserRepository userRepository;
+    private final TeamRepository teamRepository;
 
     @GetMapping("/grants")
     public ResponseEntity<?> list(
@@ -45,6 +49,14 @@ public class ResourceGrantController {
         return ResponseEntity.ok(grants.stream().map(this::toDto).toList());
     }
 
+    @GetMapping("/grants/by-principal")
+    public ResponseEntity<?> listByPrincipal(
+            @RequestParam PrincipalType principalType, @RequestParam Long principalId) {
+        List<ResourceGrant> grants =
+                accessService.listGrantsForPrincipal(principalType, principalId);
+        return ResponseEntity.ok(grants.stream().map(this::toDto).toList());
+    }
+
     @PostMapping("/grants")
     public ResponseEntity<?> create(
             @RequestBody GrantRequest request, @AuthenticationPrincipal User admin) {
@@ -57,17 +69,26 @@ public class ResourceGrantController {
                                     "error",
                                     "resourceType, principalType and principalId are required"));
         }
+        // PORTAL is a singleton (empty resourceId); every other type must name a resource.
+        boolean portal = request.resourceType() == ResourceType.PORTAL;
+        if (!portal && (request.resourceId() == null || request.resourceId().isBlank())) {
+            return ResponseEntity.badRequest()
+                    .body(Map.of("error", "resourceId is required for " + request.resourceType()));
+        }
+        Long principalId = request.principalId();
+        String principalError = validatePrincipalExists(request.principalType(), principalId);
+        if (principalError != null) {
+            return ResponseEntity.badRequest().body(Map.of("error", principalError));
+        }
         AccessPermission permission =
                 request.permission() == null ? AccessPermission.USE : request.permission();
-        // PORTAL is a singleton resource; its grants always target the whole type.
-        String resourceId =
-                request.resourceType() == ResourceType.PORTAL ? "" : request.resourceId();
+        String resourceId = portal ? "" : request.resourceId();
         ResourceGrant grant =
                 accessService.grant(
                         request.resourceType(),
                         resourceId,
                         request.principalType(),
-                        request.principalId(),
+                        principalId,
                         permission,
                         admin);
         return ResponseEntity.ok(toDto(grant));
@@ -79,6 +100,14 @@ public class ResourceGrantController {
         return ResponseEntity.ok(Map.of("message", "Grant revoked"));
     }
 
+    // Rejects grants to nonexistent principals (dead rows otherwise).
+    private String validatePrincipalExists(PrincipalType type, Long id) {
+        return switch (type) {
+            case USER -> userRepository.existsById(id) ? null : "User " + id + " does not exist";
+            case TEAM -> teamRepository.existsById(id) ? null : "Team " + id + " does not exist";
+        };
+    }
+
     private Map<String, Object> toDto(ResourceGrant g) {
         Map<String, Object> m = new HashMap<>();
         m.put("id", g.getId());

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/model/OwnedResource.java

@@ -54,4 +54,15 @@ public abstract class OwnedResource {
     public Long getOwnerTeamId() {
         return ownerTeam != null ? ownerTeam.getId() : null;
     }
+
+    /** Owner as a principal ref; null when server-owned (admin-only ownership). */
+    public PrincipalRef getOwnerRef() {
+        if (getOwnerUserId() != null) {
+            return PrincipalRef.user(getOwnerUserId());
+        }
+        if (getOwnerTeamId() != null) {
+            return PrincipalRef.team(getOwnerTeamId());
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/model/PrincipalRef.java

@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.access.model;
+
+import java.util.Locale;
+
+/** A (type, id) principal pair; the atom grants and ownership are expressed in. */
+public record PrincipalRef(PrincipalType type, Long id) {
+
+    public static PrincipalRef user(Long id) {
+        return new PrincipalRef(PrincipalType.USER, id);
+    }
+
+    public static PrincipalRef team(Long id) {
+        return new PrincipalRef(PrincipalType.TEAM, id);
+    }
+
+    /** Canonical engine wire form, e.g. "user:12". */
+    public String token() {
+        return type.name().toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT) + ":" + id;
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/model/PrincipalType.java

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 package stirling.software.proprietary.access.model;
 
-/** Who a {@link ResourceGrant} is granted to. Org-wide access is expressed via default policy. */
+/** Who a {@link ResourceGrant} is granted to. */
 public enum PrincipalType {
     USER,
     TEAM

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/model/ResourceType.java

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ package stirling.software.proprietary.access.model;
 
 /** Types of resources whose access can be gated by {@link ResourceGrant}. */
 public enum ResourceType {
-    // The admin portal / processor (frontend/portal). Singleton resource (empty resourceId).
+    // The admin portal / processor (frontend/editor/src/portal). Singleton resource (empty
+    // resourceId).
     PORTAL,
     // A stored S3/MCP/API integration configuration.
     INTEGRATION_CONFIG

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/repository/ResourceGrantRepository.java

@@ -3,11 +3,15 @@ package stirling.software.proprietary.access.repository;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.Modifying;
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.Query;
+import org.springframework.data.repository.query.Param;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Repository;
 
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalType;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceGrant;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceType;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
 
 @Repository
 public interface ResourceGrantRepository extends JpaRepository<ResourceGrant, Long> {
@@ -18,8 +22,20 @@ public interface ResourceGrantRepository extends JpaRepository<ResourceGrant, Lo
     List<ResourceGrant> findByResourceTypeAndPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(
             ResourceType resourceType, PrincipalType principalType, Long principalId);
 
+    /** All grants held by a principal, across resource types (for the manage-access view). */
+    List<ResourceGrant> findByPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(
+            PrincipalType principalType, Long principalId);
+
     void deleteByResourceTypeAndResourceId(ResourceType resourceType, String resourceId);
 
+    /** Removes every grant held by a principal; used when the user/team behind it is deleted. */
+    void deleteByPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(PrincipalType principalType, Long principalId);
+
+    // Detach issued grants so deleting the granting user does not hit the FK.
+    @Modifying
+    @Query("update ResourceGrant g set g.grantedBy = null where g.grantedBy = :user")
+    void clearGrantedBy(@Param("user") User user);
+
     boolean existsByResourceTypeAndResourceIdAndPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(
             ResourceType resourceType,
             String resourceId,

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/security/ResourceAccessSecurity.java

@@ -11,7 +11,12 @@ import stirling.software.proprietary.access.service.ResourceAccessService;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.security.service.UserService;
 
-/** {@code @PreAuthorize} bean for portal-access checks. Active in self-hosted and saas. */
+/**
+ * {@code @PreAuthorize} bean for portal-access checks. Active in self-hosted and saas. Convention:
+ * every portal-exclusive endpoint is gated with
+ * {@code @PreAuthorize("@resourceAccess.canUsePortal()")}; endpoints shared with the editor (e.g.
+ * the policies API) must NOT be.
+ */
 @Component("resourceAccess")
 @RequiredArgsConstructor
 public class ResourceAccessSecurity {

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/DefaultPrincipalResolver.java

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.access.service;
+
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalRef;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
+
+/**
+ * Self-hosted projection: the user and their team. One deployment = one org, so ORG_ALL is open.
+ */
+public class DefaultPrincipalResolver implements PrincipalResolver {
+
+    @Override
+    public Set<PrincipalRef> principalsOf(User user) {
+        if (user == null) {
+            return Set.of();
+        }
+        Set<PrincipalRef> principals = new HashSet<>();
+        principals.add(PrincipalRef.user(user.getId()));
+        if (user.getTeam() != null) {
+            principals.add(PrincipalRef.team(user.getTeam().getId()));
+        }
+        return principals;
+    }
+
+    // Self-hosted is a single deployment-wide org, so ORG_ALL admits every authenticated user.
+    @Override
+    public boolean allowsDeploymentWideAccess() {
+        return true;
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/MembershipTeamLeadLookup.java

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.access.service;
+
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
+
+import lombok.RequiredArgsConstructor;
+
+import stirling.software.common.model.enumeration.TeamRole;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.repository.TeamMembershipRepository;
+
+/** Real lookup backed by team_memberships LEADER rows; wins over the no-op default bean. */
+@Component
+@RequiredArgsConstructor
+public class MembershipTeamLeadLookup implements TeamLeadLookup {
+
+    private final TeamMembershipRepository memberships;
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isAnyTeamLeader(User user) {
+        return user != null
+                && user.getId() != null
+                && memberships.existsByUserIdAndRole(user.getId(), TeamRole.LEADER);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isLeaderOfTeam(User user, Long teamId) {
+        return user != null
+                && user.getId() != null
+                && teamId != null
+                && memberships.existsByTeamIdAndUserIdAndRole(
+                        teamId, user.getId(), TeamRole.LEADER);
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/OwnershipService.java

@@ -36,15 +36,19 @@ public class OwnershipService {
         return accessService.canUseResource(
                 type,
                 String.valueOf(resource.getId()),
-                resource.getOwnerUserId(),
+                resource.getOwnerRef(),
                 resource.getDefaultAccess(),
                 user);
     }
 
     /** Whether the user may manage the resource. */
     public boolean canManage(ResourceType type, OwnedResource resource, User user) {
+        // Disabled resources bypass grants for MANAGE too: admin/owner only.
+        if (!resource.isEnabled()) {
+            return isAdmin(user) || isOwner(resource, user);
+        }
         return accessService.canManageResource(
-                type, String.valueOf(resource.getId()), resource.getOwnerUserId(), user);
+                type, String.valueOf(resource.getId()), resource.getOwnerRef(), user);
     }
 
     /**

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/PrincipalResolver.java

@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.access.service;
+
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalRef;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.User;
+
+/** Projects a user onto the set of principals they act as. */
+public interface PrincipalResolver {
+
+    /** Every principal the user acts as; empty for a null user. */
+    Set<PrincipalRef> principalsOf(User user);
+
+    /**
+     * Whether this deployment treats every authenticated user as one org, so the {@code ORG_ALL}
+     * default policy admits anyone. Self-hosted: true. Multi-tenant saas: false, so an {@code
+     * ORG_ALL} resource can't leak across tenants. Defaults to false (deny) for safety.
+     */
+    default boolean allowsDeploymentWideAccess() {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /** Canonical wire tokens for the engine, e.g. "user:12". */
+    default Set<String> principalTokens(User user) {
+        return principalsOf(user).stream().map(PrincipalRef::token).collect(Collectors.toSet());
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/ResourceAccessService.java

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 import stirling.software.common.model.enumeration.Role;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.AccessPermission;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.DefaultAccessPolicy;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalRef;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.PrincipalType;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceGrant;
 import stirling.software.proprietary.access.model.ResourceType;
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ public class ResourceAccessService {
 
     private final ResourceGrantRepository grantRepository;
     private final TeamLeadLookup teamLeadLookup;
+    private final PrincipalResolver principalResolver;
 
     @Value("${security.portal.defaultAccess:ADMINS_AND_TEAM_LEADS}")
     private DefaultAccessPolicy portalDefaultPolicy;
@@ -44,28 +46,28 @@ public class ResourceAccessService {
     public boolean canUseResource(
             ResourceType type,
             String resourceId,
-            Long ownerUserId,
+            PrincipalRef owner,
             DefaultAccessPolicy defaultPolicy,
             User user) {
         if (user == null) {
             return false;
         }
-        if (isOwner(ownerUserId, user) || isAdmin(user)) {
+        if (isOwner(owner, user) || isAdmin(user)) {
             return true;
         }
         if (hasGrant(type, normalize(resourceId), user, AccessPermission.USE)) {
             return true;
         }
-        return matchesDefault(defaultPolicy, user);
+        return matchesDefault(defaultPolicy, owner, user);
     }
 
     /** Whether the user may manage (edit/delete/share) a resource. No default-policy fallback. */
     public boolean canManageResource(
-            ResourceType type, String resourceId, Long ownerUserId, User user) {
+            ResourceType type, String resourceId, PrincipalRef owner, User user) {
         if (user == null) {
             return false;
         }
-        if (isOwner(ownerUserId, user) || isAdmin(user)) {
+        if (isOwner(owner, user) || isAdmin(user)) {
             return true;
         }
         return hasGrant(type, normalize(resourceId), user, AccessPermission.MANAGE);
@@ -110,21 +112,22 @@ public class ResourceAccessService {
         return grantRepository.findByResourceTypeAndResourceId(type, normalize(resourceId));
     }
 
-    /** Resource ids of the given type that this user (or their team) holds any grant on. */
+    /** Every grant a principal holds, for the per-user/per-team manage-access view. */
+    public List<ResourceGrant> listGrantsForPrincipal(
+            PrincipalType principalType, Long principalId) {
+        return grantRepository.findByPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(principalType, principalId);
+    }
+
+    /** Resource ids of the given type that any of the user's principals holds a grant on. */
     public Set<String> grantedResourceIds(ResourceType type, User user) {
         if (user == null) {
             return Set.of();
         }
         Set<String> ids = new HashSet<>();
-        for (ResourceGrant g :
-                grantRepository.findByResourceTypeAndPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(
-                        type, PrincipalType.USER, user.getId())) {
-            ids.add(g.getResourceId());
-        }
-        if (user.getTeam() != null) {
+        for (PrincipalRef principal : principalResolver.principalsOf(user)) {
             for (ResourceGrant g :
                     grantRepository.findByResourceTypeAndPrincipalTypeAndPrincipalId(
-                            type, PrincipalType.TEAM, user.getTeam().getId())) {
+                            type, principal.type(), principal.id())) {
                 ids.add(g.getResourceId());
             }
         }
@@ -135,18 +138,12 @@ public class ResourceAccessService {
 
     private boolean hasGrant(
             ResourceType type, String resourceId, User user, AccessPermission required) {
-        Long teamId = user.getTeam() != null ? user.getTeam().getId() : null;
+        Set<PrincipalRef> principals = principalResolver.principalsOf(user);
         for (ResourceGrant g : grantRepository.findByResourceTypeAndResourceId(type, resourceId)) {
             if (!permissionSatisfies(g.getPermission(), required)) {
                 continue;
             }
-            if (g.getPrincipalType() == PrincipalType.USER
-                    && g.getPrincipalId().equals(user.getId())) {
-                return true;
-            }
-            if (g.getPrincipalType() == PrincipalType.TEAM
-                    && teamId != null
-                    && g.getPrincipalId().equals(teamId)) {
+            if (principals.contains(new PrincipalRef(g.getPrincipalType(), g.getPrincipalId()))) {
                 return true;
             }
         }
@@ -161,20 +158,40 @@ public class ResourceAccessService {
         return held == AccessPermission.MANAGE;
     }
 
-    private boolean matchesDefault(DefaultAccessPolicy policy, User user) {
+    private boolean matchesDefault(DefaultAccessPolicy policy, PrincipalRef owner, User user) {
         if (policy == null) {
             return false;
         }
         return switch (policy) {
-            case ORG_ALL -> true;
-            // Admins already pass above; only team leads here.
-            case ADMINS_AND_TEAM_LEADS -> teamLeadLookup.isAnyTeamLeader(user);
+            // Deployment-wide only where the resolver treats everyone as one org; saas resolvers
+            // return false, so ORG_ALL cannot leak a tenant's resource to another tenant's users.
+            case ORG_ALL -> principalResolver.allowsDeploymentWideAccess();
+            // Admins already pass above; only team leads here, scoped to the owning team.
+            case ADMINS_AND_TEAM_LEADS -> matchesTeamLeadDefault(owner, user);
             case EXPLICIT_ONLY -> false;
         };
     }
 
-    private boolean isOwner(Long ownerUserId, User user) {
-        return ownerUserId != null && ownerUserId.equals(user.getId());
+    // Portal (no owner) admits any team lead; a team-owned resource admits only that team's
+    // leads; a user-owned resource admits no extra leads.
+    private boolean matchesTeamLeadDefault(PrincipalRef owner, User user) {
+        if (owner == null) {
+            return teamLeadLookup.isAnyTeamLeader(user);
+        }
+        return owner.type() == PrincipalType.TEAM
+                && owner.id() != null
+                && teamLeadLookup.isLeaderOfTeam(user, owner.id());
+    }
+
+    // Team owners are the owning team's leaders; plain members are not.
+    private boolean isOwner(PrincipalRef owner, User user) {
+        if (owner == null || owner.id() == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        return switch (owner.type()) {
+            case USER -> owner.id().equals(user.getId());
+            case TEAM -> teamLeadLookup.isLeaderOfTeam(user, owner.id());
+        };
     }
 
     private boolean isAdmin(User user) {

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/access/service/SecretMasker.java

@@ -18,15 +18,26 @@ public class SecretMasker {
     // Cap recursion so a pathologically nested payload cannot overflow the stack.
     private static final int MAX_DEPTH = 32;
 
+    // Key-name substrings that mark a value sensitive. Over-masking a non-secret is
+    // safe; leaking a secret is not, so this errs broad - but a per-type schema
+    // whitelist would be a stronger boundary for free-form config (follow-up).
     private static final Set<String> SENSITIVE_HINTS =
             Set.of(
                     "secret",
                     "password",
+                    "passphrase",
+                    "pwd",
                     "token",
                     "apikey",
                     "accesskey",
                     "credential",
-                    "privatekey");
+                    "privatekey",
+                    "authorization",
+                    "cookie",
+                    "session",
+                    "connectionstring",
+                    "bearer",
+                    "signature");
 
     /** Replace sensitive values with the mask (recursively) for safe display. */
     public Map<String, Object> mask(Map<String, Object> config) {
@@ -73,18 +84,24 @@ public class SecretMasker {
 
     private Map<String, Object> merge(
             Map<String, Object> stored, Map<String, Object> incoming, int depth) {
-        Map<String, Object> out = new LinkedHashMap<>(stored);
+        // Replace semantics (PUT): the result is the incoming document, except a redacted secret
+        // keeps its stored value. Keys absent from incoming are dropped, so edits can remove them.
+        Map<String, Object> out = new LinkedHashMap<>();
         for (Map.Entry<String, Object> e : incoming.entrySet()) {
             String key = e.getKey();
             Object value = e.getValue();
             if (isSensitive(key)) {
-                if (!isRedacted(value, depth)) {
+                if (isRedacted(value, depth)) {
+                    if (stored.containsKey(key)) {
+                        out.put(key, stored.get(key)); // keep the stored secret
+                    }
+                } else {
                     out.put(key, value); // a real new secret replaces the stored one
                 }
-                continue; // redacted (blank / mask) -> keep stored
+                continue;
             }
             if (depth < MAX_DEPTH
-                    && out.get(key) instanceof Map<?, ?> s
+                    && stored.get(key) instanceof Map<?, ?> s
                     && value instanceof Map<?, ?> i) {
                 out.put(key, merge(castMap(s), castMap(i), depth + 1));
             } else {

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/AccountLinkClient.java

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import java.net.http.HttpClient;
 import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
 import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
 import java.time.Duration;
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
 
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
@@ -14,25 +15,31 @@ import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.UnitCalcPolicy;
+
 import tools.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 import tools.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
+import tools.jackson.databind.node.ObjectNode;
 
 /**
  * Outbound calls from a self-hosted instance to its linked SaaS backend (combined-billing "Mode
  * A").
  *
- * <p>Two calls:
+ * <p>Calls:
  *
  * <ul>
  *   <li>{@link #register} — relays the admin's short-lived Supabase JWT to {@code POST
  *       /api/v1/account-link/register}; the SaaS side mints + returns a device credential.
  *   <li>{@link #fetchEntitlement} — authenticates with the stored device credential against {@code
  *       GET /api/v1/instance/entitlement}; what the local gate consults.
+ *   <li>{@link #reportUsage} — daily usage sync ({@code POST /api/v1/instance/sync}); reports
+ *       cumulative units and returns the refreshed entitlement.
+ *   <li>{@link #revokeSelf} — self-revokes the credential on local unlink ({@code POST
+ *       /api/v1/instance/revoke-self}).
  * </ul>
  *
- * <p>Uses {@code java.net.http.HttpClient} (the established self-hosted outbound pattern, see
- * {@code AiEngineClient}). The base URL + client are injectable so tests can stub the SaaS
- * endpoint.
+ * <p>Uses {@code java.net.http.HttpClient} (the established self-hosted outbound pattern; see
+ * {@code AiEngineClient}); base URL + client are injectable so tests can stub SaaS.
  */
 @Slf4j
 @Service
@@ -86,11 +93,9 @@ public class AccountLinkClient {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Authoritative deny (401/403) from the entitlement endpoint — the device credential is revoked
-     * or invalid. Distinct from a transport/server failure (which returns {@code null} and fails
-     * open): the cache must BLOCK billable work on this rather than serve a stale entitled
-     * snapshot. Unchecked so it propagates cleanly through {@link #fetchEntitlement}'s transport
-     * try/catch.
+     * Authoritative deny (401/403) — the device credential is revoked or invalid. Unlike a
+     * transport/server failure (which returns {@code null} and fails open), the cache must BLOCK on
+     * this. Unchecked so it propagates through {@link #fetchEntitlement}'s transport try/catch.
      */
     public static final class RevokedException extends RuntimeException {
         private final int status;
@@ -142,11 +147,9 @@ public class AccountLinkClient {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Revokes this instance's own credential on the SaaS side ({@code POST
-     * /api/v1/instance/revoke-self}), authenticated by the device credential — a credential is
-     * allowed to revoke its own identity. Best-effort: returns {@code false} if SaaS is unreachable
-     * or rejects the call, so the caller (local unlink) can still clear locally and log the orphan
-     * row for follow-up. Idempotent on SaaS (already-revoked → still 204).
+     * Revokes this instance's own credential on the SaaS side, authenticated by that credential.
+     * Best-effort: returns {@code false} if SaaS is unreachable or rejects, so the caller (local
+     * unlink) can still clear locally and log the orphan for follow-up. Idempotent on SaaS.
      */
     public boolean revokeSelf(String deviceId, String deviceSecret) {
         try {
@@ -218,6 +221,63 @@ public class AccountLinkClient {
         }
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Reports the period's cumulative per-category units to {@code POST /api/v1/instance/sync} and
+     * returns the fresh entitlement in the same reply — one round-trip both reports and refreshes.
+     * SaaS bills the delta against its last-seen cumulative, so resending the same totals is
+     * idempotent. Same three outcomes as {@link #fetchEntitlement}; on {@code null} the caller must
+     * not advance its last-synced markers so the usage retries next sync.
+     */
+    public InstanceEntitlement reportUsage(
+            String deviceId,
+            String deviceSecret,
+            long syncSeq,
+            LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            long apiUnits,
+            long aiUnits,
+            long automationUnits) {
+        HttpResponse<String> response;
+        try {
+            ObjectNode root = mapper.createObjectNode();
+            root.put("syncSeq", syncSeq);
+            // Explicit ISO-8601 string so it round-trips regardless of the mapper's time config.
+            root.put("periodStart", periodStart.toString());
+            ObjectNode units = root.putObject("cumulativeUnits");
+            units.put("api", apiUnits);
+            units.put("ai", aiUnits);
+            units.put("automation", automationUnits);
+            String body = mapper.writeValueAsString(root);
+            HttpRequest request =
+                    HttpRequest.newBuilder()
+                            .uri(uri("/api/v1/instance/sync"))
+                            .header(HEADER_DEVICE_ID, deviceId)
+                            .header(HEADER_DEVICE_SECRET, deviceSecret)
+                            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+                            .header("Accept", "application/json")
+                            .timeout(timeout())
+                            .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(body))
+                            .build();
+            response = send(request);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            log.debug("Usage sync failed: {}", e.getMessage());
+            return null;
+        }
+        int status = response.statusCode();
+        if (status == 401 || status == 403) {
+            throw new RevokedException(status);
+        }
+        if (status / 100 != 2) {
+            log.debug("Usage sync returned HTTP {}", status);
+            return null;
+        }
+        try {
+            return parseEntitlement(response.body());
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            log.debug("Usage sync parse failed: {}", e.getMessage());
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
     private InstanceEntitlement parseEntitlement(String body) throws IOException {
         JsonNode root = mapper.readTree(body);
         boolean subscribed = root.path("subscribed").asBoolean(false);
@@ -226,7 +286,45 @@ public class AccountLinkClient {
         Long periodCap =
                 root.hasNonNull("periodCapUnits") ? root.get("periodCapUnits").asLong() : null;
         EntitlementState state = mapState(root.path("state").asText(null));
-        return new InstanceEntitlement(subscribed, freeRemaining, periodSpend, periodCap, state);
+        return new InstanceEntitlement(
+                subscribed,
+                freeRemaining,
+                periodSpend,
+                periodCap,
+                state,
+                parseUnitCalcPolicy(root),
+                parseDateTime(root, "periodStart"),
+                parseDateTime(root, "periodEnd"));
+    }
+
+    /** Parses the nested unit-calc policy; null if absent or any knob is invalid (e.g. zero). */
+    private static UnitCalcPolicy parseUnitCalcPolicy(JsonNode root) {
+        if (!root.hasNonNull("unitCalcPolicy")) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        JsonNode node = root.get("unitCalcPolicy");
+        try {
+            return new UnitCalcPolicy(
+                    node.path("docPagesPerUnit").asInt(),
+                    node.path("docBytesPerUnit").asLong(),
+                    node.path("minChargeUnits").asInt(),
+                    node.path("fileUnitCap").asInt());
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // Malformed policy → degrade to "none" rather than fail the whole entitlement parse.
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** ISO date-time field → LocalDateTime; null if absent or unparseable. */
+    private static LocalDateTime parseDateTime(JsonNode root, String field) {
+        if (!root.hasNonNull(field)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        try {
+            return LocalDateTime.parse(root.get(field).asText(null));
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            return null;
+        }
     }
 
     /** Maps the SaaS state string to our coarse enum; unrecognised → UNKNOWN. */

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/AccountLinkController.java

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.ObjectProvider;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
 import org.springframework.context.annotation.Profile;
 import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
@@ -23,7 +24,9 @@ import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
  * <p>The portal (served from this same origin, admin authenticated by the existing self-hosted
  * security chain) calls these. {@code POST /link} relays the admin's Supabase JWT to the SaaS
  * backend, which mints + returns a device credential we store locally. {@code GET /status} backs
- * the portal's link card.
+ * the portal's link card; {@code GET /usage} exposes locally-accrued unsynced usage the portal adds
+ * to SaaS-synced spend; {@code POST /sync-now} forces an immediate usage sync (ops "reconcile now"
+ * / test aid).
  *
  * <p>Admin-only, {@code @Profile("!saas")}, gated behind {@code
  * stirling.billing.account-link.enabled} — off → bean absent → 404.
@@ -38,9 +41,17 @@ import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 public class AccountLinkController {
 
     private final AccountLinkService service;
+    private final LocalUsageService localUsageService;
+    // Present only when metering is on (its own flag); absent → /sync-now reports 409.
+    private final ObjectProvider<UsageSyncService> syncServiceProvider;
 
-    public AccountLinkController(AccountLinkService service) {
+    public AccountLinkController(
+            AccountLinkService service,
+            LocalUsageService localUsageService,
+            ObjectProvider<UsageSyncService> syncServiceProvider) {
         this.service = service;
+        this.localUsageService = localUsageService;
+        this.syncServiceProvider = syncServiceProvider;
     }
 
     /** {@code supabaseJwt} is the admin's short-lived token the portal already holds. */
@@ -85,4 +96,29 @@ public class AccountLinkController {
         service.unlink();
         return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Locally accrued usage not yet reported to SaaS — the portal adds it to the SaaS-synced spend
+     * so "current usage" includes work done since the last daily sync.
+     */
+    @GetMapping("/usage")
+    public ResponseEntity<LocalUsageService.LocalUsage> usage() {
+        return ResponseEntity.ok(localUsageService.currentPeriodUnsynced());
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Forces an immediate usage sync to SaaS — the same work the daily scheduler does. An admin
+     * "reconcile now" action (and a test aid so you don't wait on the scheduler). Idempotent:
+     * re-reports the current cumulative, so a repeat trigger bills nothing. {@code 204} once run;
+     * {@code 409} when metering is off (the sync bean is absent).
+     */
+    @PostMapping("/sync-now")
+    public ResponseEntity<Void> syncNow() {
+        UsageSyncService sync = syncServiceProvider.getIfAvailable();
+        if (sync == null) {
+            return ResponseEntity.status(HttpStatus.CONFLICT).build();
+        }
+        sync.syncNow();
+        return ResponseEntity.noContent().build();
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/AccountLinkProperties.java

@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 
+import java.time.Duration;
+
 import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.ConfigurationProperties;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
 
@@ -36,4 +38,39 @@ public class AccountLinkProperties {
 
     /** Connect/read timeout for the outbound SaaS calls. */
     private int requestTimeoutSeconds = 10;
+
+    /** Phase 2 usage metering + daily sync. Keyed under {@code …account-link.metering.*}. */
+    private final Metering metering = new Metering();
+
+    /**
+     * Dedicated billing switch, <b>separate</b> from {@link #enabled} so the link plumbing can be
+     * enabled (e.g. to test linking) without ever turning on real usage metering, reporting, or cap
+     * enforcement. Both default off; metering requires the master flag too. This is the production
+     * safety key — flipping it on is what actually bills linked instances.
+     */
+    @Getter
+    @Setter
+    public static class Metering {
+
+        /** Turns on usage metering, the daily sync, and cap enforcement. Default off. */
+        private boolean enabled = false;
+
+        /**
+         * How often the instance syncs usage + refreshes entitlement (matches the licence sync).
+         */
+        private int syncIntervalHours = 24;
+
+        /**
+         * Block billable work after this many days with no successful sync (fail-open → closed).
+         */
+        private int graceDays = 3;
+
+        /**
+         * Dedup window for identical input sets. A re-run of the same inputs within this window is
+         * treated as workflow chaining and not re-charged; the same inputs run again after it are
+         * billed afresh. Mirrors the cloud's {@code payg.lineage.workflow-window} so the same op
+         * costs the same on the instance and in the cloud.
+         */
+        private Duration workflowWindow = Duration.ofMinutes(5);
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/AccountLinkSyncState.java

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+
+import jakarta.persistence.Column;
+import jakarta.persistence.Entity;
+import jakarta.persistence.Id;
+import jakarta.persistence.Table;
+
+import lombok.Getter;
+import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;
+import lombok.Setter;
+
+/**
+ * Singleton row holding this instance's daily-sync bookkeeping (combined-billing "Mode A").
+ *
+ * <p>{@link #lastSyncSeq} is reserved (incremented + persisted) <em>before</em> each report so it
+ * is strictly monotonic across restarts and partial failures — SaaS dedups replays by comparing it,
+ * so a never-decreasing seq is the contract. {@link #lastSuccessAt} is the wall-clock of the last
+ * sync SaaS accepted and drives the fail-open→closed grace window.
+ *
+ * <p>Auto-created by Hibernate ({@code ddl-auto=update}); written only by the flag-gated sync.
+ */
+@Entity
+@Table(name = "account_link_sync_state")
+@Getter
+@Setter
+@NoArgsConstructor
+public class AccountLinkSyncState {
+
+    /** One instance links to one team → one bookkeeping row. */
+    public static final long SINGLETON_ID = 1L;
+
+    @Id private Long id;
+
+    // columnDefinition default keeps the ddl-auto ADD COLUMN safe on a populated external Postgres.
+    @Column(
+            name = "last_sync_seq",
+            nullable = false,
+            columnDefinition = "bigint not null default 0")
+    private long lastSyncSeq;
+
+    /** Null until the first sync SaaS accepts. */
+    @Column(name = "last_success_at")
+    private LocalDateTime lastSuccessAt;
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/AccountLinkSyncStateRepository.java

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
+
+/** Persistence for the singleton {@link AccountLinkSyncState} (combined-billing "Mode A"). */
+public interface AccountLinkSyncStateRepository extends JpaRepository<AccountLinkSyncState, Long> {}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/BillableOperationClassifier.java

@@ -3,14 +3,26 @@ package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
 
 import stirling.software.common.service.InternalApiClient;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategory;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategoryClassifier;
 
 /**
- * Classifies a request as <b>billable</b> (AI / automation) or free (a manual tool).
+ * Buckets a request into a {@link BillingCategory} for the account-link gate + meter, using only
+ * HTTP-level signals (no dependency on the saas module):
  *
- * <p>Mirrors the saas billing categorisation at a coarse level, without depending on the saas
- * module: billable = the AI surface ({@code /api/v1/ai/**}) or any request carrying the automation
- * marker header ({@link InternalApiClient#AUTOMATION_HEADER}, set on pipeline / workflow / policy
- * sub-steps). Everything else — interactive manual PDF tools — is always free.
+ * <ul>
+ *   <li><b>AUTOMATION</b> — the automation marker header ({@link
+ *       InternalApiClient#AUTOMATION_HEADER}, set on pipeline / workflow / policy sub-steps);
+ *   <li><b>AI</b> — the AI surface ({@code /api/v1/ai/**});
+ *   <li><b>API</b> — an API-key authenticated tool call;
+ *   <li><b>BYPASSED</b> — a manual interactive tool call, never billed.
+ * </ul>
+ *
+ * <p>Same precedence as the SaaS classifier (AUTOMATION → AI → API → BYPASSED) via the shared
+ * {@link BillingCategoryClassifier}; the AI signal is resolved by path prefix rather than the
+ * saas-only {@code @RequiresFeature} annotation. The {@code apiKey} signal is supplied by the
+ * caller (resolved from the security context), so this class stays free of any security-type
+ * dependency.
  */
 public final class BillableOperationClassifier {
 
@@ -18,16 +30,22 @@ public final class BillableOperationClassifier {
 
     private BillableOperationClassifier() {}
 
-    public static boolean isBillable(HttpServletRequest request) {
-        if (request.getHeader(InternalApiClient.AUTOMATION_HEADER) != null) {
-            return true;
-        }
+    /**
+     * @param apiKey whether the request authenticated via an API key (an {@code
+     *     ApiKeyAuthenticationToken} principal), resolved by the caller from the security context.
+     */
+    public static BillingCategory categorize(HttpServletRequest request, boolean apiKey) {
+        boolean automation = request.getHeader(InternalApiClient.AUTOMATION_HEADER) != null;
+        return BillingCategoryClassifier.classify(automation, isAiSurface(request), apiKey);
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isAiSurface(HttpServletRequest request) {
         String uri = request.getRequestURI();
         if (uri == null) {
             return false;
         }
         // Prefix-match the AI surface (not a loose substring contains), stripping a deployment
-        // context path so /<ctx>/api/v1/ai/** still classifies as billable.
+        // context path so /<ctx>/api/v1/ai/** still classifies as AI.
         String ctx = request.getContextPath();
         String path =
                 ctx != null && !ctx.isEmpty() && uri.startsWith(ctx)

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/EntitlementCache.java

@@ -12,18 +12,13 @@ import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 
 /**
- * Caches the linked team's entitlement so the request-time gate does not call the SaaS backend on
- * every billable request. Single-slot (one instance = one linked team), TTL-based.
+ * Caches the linked team's entitlement so the request-time gate needn't call SaaS on every billable
+ * request. Single-slot (one instance = one linked team), TTL-based.
  *
- * <p>Fail-open friendly for TRANSPORT failures: {@link #current()} returns the freshest snapshot it
- * has, even if a refresh just failed; it returns {@link Optional#empty()} only when nothing has
- * ever been fetched <i>and</i> the latest refresh failed (the gate treats empty as "unknown →
- * allow").
- *
- * <p>But an AUTHORITATIVE deny (revoked/invalid credential → {@link
- * AccountLinkClient.RevokedException}) is NOT a transport failure: the snapshot is replaced with a
- * {@link EntitlementState#REVOKED} blocked entitlement so the gate stops billable work immediately
- * rather than serving a stale entitled snapshot.
+ * <p>A transport failure fails open — {@link #current()} keeps serving the freshest snapshot it has
+ * and returns {@link Optional#empty()} ("unknown → allow") only when nothing was ever fetched. An
+ * authoritative deny ({@link AccountLinkClient.RevokedException}) does not: the snapshot is
+ * replaced with a {@link EntitlementState#REVOKED} entitlement so the gate blocks immediately.
  */
 @Slf4j
 @Service
@@ -63,9 +58,8 @@ public class EntitlementCache {
      * not linked or the SaaS side is unreachable and we have no prior snapshot.
      */
     public Optional<InstanceEntitlement> current() {
-        // Single-flight: when stale, exactly one thread refreshes (blocking on the SaaS
-        // call) while concurrent callers serve the last snapshot — no thundering herd of
-        // synchronous round-trips on the billable hot path. Safe because the gate fails open.
+        // Single-flight: when stale, exactly one thread refreshes while concurrent callers serve
+        // the last snapshot — no thundering herd of round-trips on the billable hot path.
         if (isStale(snapshot) && refreshing.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
             try {
                 refresh();
@@ -77,16 +71,15 @@ public class EntitlementCache {
     }
 
     private boolean isStale(Snapshot snap) {
-        // fetchedAt is the last *attempt* time (stamped on success AND failure), so a failed
-        // fetch backs off for a full TTL instead of every billable request re-triggering a
-        // blocking round-trip against a dead/slow SaaS endpoint.
+        // fetchedAt is the last *attempt* time (stamped on success and failure), so a failed fetch
+        // backs off a full TTL instead of every request re-triggering a round-trip to a dead SaaS.
         return Duration.between(snap.fetchedAt(), Instant.now()).compareTo(ttl) >= 0;
     }
 
     /**
-     * Pulls a fresh snapshot. Keeps the previous entitlement on a TRANSPORT failure (fail-open) but
-     * still stamps the attempt time so re-fetches throttle to the TTL; on an AUTHORITATIVE deny
-     * (revoked credential) replaces it with a blocked snapshot so the gate stops billable work.
+     * Pulls a fresh snapshot. On a transport failure keeps the previous entitlement but stamps the
+     * attempt time so re-fetches throttle to the TTL; on an authoritative deny replaces it with a
+     * blocked snapshot.
      */
     void refresh() {
         Optional<DeviceCredential> cred = credentialStore.get();
@@ -101,15 +94,15 @@ public class EntitlementCache {
             if (fresh != null) {
                 snapshot = new Snapshot(fresh, Instant.now());
             } else {
-                // Unreachable / server error: keep the last known entitlement (may be null) but
-                // stamp the attempt so we don't hammer SaaS; the gate fails open in the meantime.
+                // Unreachable / server error: keep the last known entitlement but stamp the attempt
+                // so we don't hammer SaaS; the gate fails open meanwhile.
                 log.debug(
                         "Entitlement refresh failed; reusing last known snapshot, backing off a TTL");
                 snapshot = new Snapshot(snapshot.entitlement(), Instant.now());
             }
         } catch (AccountLinkClient.RevokedException e) {
-            // Authoritative deny — credential revoked/invalid. Do NOT fail open: block immediately
-            // rather than serving the stale entitled snapshot until the next unlink.
+            // Authoritative deny — block immediately rather than serving the stale entitled
+            // snapshot.
             log.info(
                     "Entitlement denied (HTTP {}); blocking billable work for the revoked credential",
                     e.status());
@@ -121,4 +114,14 @@ public class EntitlementCache {
     public void invalidate() {
         snapshot = new Snapshot(snapshot.entitlement(), Instant.EPOCH);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Seeds the cache with an entitlement obtained out-of-band (the sync reply carries a fresh
+     * one), saving a redundant fetch. No-op on null.
+     */
+    public void accept(InstanceEntitlement fresh) {
+        if (fresh != null) {
+            snapshot = new Snapshot(fresh, Instant.now());
+        }
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/GateDecision.java

@@ -16,6 +16,11 @@ public record GateDecision(boolean allowed, Reason reason) {
         ENTITLED,
         /** Entitlement source unreachable — fail open, allow. */
         FAIL_OPEN,
+        /**
+         * Linked + metering, but SaaS has been unreachable past the grace window — block (the
+         * fail-open backstop expired) so unbounded free/unbilled billable work can't continue.
+         */
+        GRACE_EXPIRED,
         /** Not linked — block billable work; FE should prompt to link. */
         NOT_LINKED,
         /** Linked but over the limit / no subscription — block billable work. */

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/InstanceEntitlement.java

@@ -1,19 +1,53 @@
 package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.UnitCalcPolicy;
+
 /**
- * Cached, proprietary-local view of the SaaS {@code GET /api/v1/instance/entitlement} response —
- * just the fields the gate needs. Mirrors the saas {@code EntitlementResponse} shape but carries no
- * saas types.
+ * Cached, proprietary-local view of the SaaS {@code GET /api/v1/instance/entitlement} response.
+ * Mirrors the saas {@code EntitlementResponse} shape but carries no saas types.
+ *
+ * <p>The first five fields are what the <b>gate</b> enforces against; the trailing three are the
+ * metering inputs (Phase 2) the instance uses to cost + bucket its own usage and reset its
+ * per-period counters. The 5-arg constructor builds a gate-only view (metering fields null) for the
+ * revoked sentinel and unit tests that don't exercise metering.
  *
  * @param subscribed team has an active subscription
  * @param freeRemainingUnits remaining free-pool units (>0 means free work is available)
  * @param periodSpendUnits paid units spent this period
  * @param periodCapUnits paid cap for the period; {@code null} = uncapped
  * @param state coarse state classification (see {@link EntitlementState})
+ * @param unitCalcPolicy doc-unit pricing knobs for local unit computation; {@code null} if not
+ *     supplied (older SaaS / gate-only sentinel)
+ * @param periodStart inclusive start of the current billing period; {@code null} if not supplied
+ * @param periodEnd exclusive end of the current billing period; {@code null} if not supplied
  */
 public record InstanceEntitlement(
         boolean subscribed,
         long freeRemainingUnits,
         long periodSpendUnits,
         Long periodCapUnits,
-        EntitlementState state) {}
+        EntitlementState state,
+        UnitCalcPolicy unitCalcPolicy,
+        LocalDateTime periodStart,
+        LocalDateTime periodEnd) {
+
+    /** Gate-only view with no metering config — used by the revoked sentinel and gate tests. */
+    public InstanceEntitlement(
+            boolean subscribed,
+            long freeRemainingUnits,
+            long periodSpendUnits,
+            Long periodCapUnits,
+            EntitlementState state) {
+        this(
+                subscribed,
+                freeRemainingUnits,
+                periodSpendUnits,
+                periodCapUnits,
+                state,
+                null,
+                null,
+                null);
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/InstanceEntitlementGate.java

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
 import java.util.Optional;
 
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
@@ -15,14 +16,17 @@ import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
  *   <li>Flag off → always allow (feature inert).
  *   <li>Manual tool → always allow (manual tools are free, never metered).
  *   <li>Billable + not linked → block with {@code NOT_LINKED} ("link to activate").
- *   <li>Billable + linked + entitlement unknown (unreachable) → <b>fail open</b>, allow.
+ *   <li>Billable + linked + entitlement unknown (unreachable) → <b>fail open</b>, allow — unless
+ *       metering is on and SaaS has been unreachable past the grace window, then block with {@code
+ *       GRACE_EXPIRED} so the fail-open can't grant unbounded free/unbilled work forever.
  *   <li>Billable + linked + entitled → allow.
  *   <li>Billable + linked + credential revoked → block with {@code REVOKED}.
  *   <li>Billable + linked + over limit → block with {@code OVER_LIMIT}.
  * </ol>
  *
- * <p>The decision logic is the pure static {@link #decide}; the Spring wrapper just supplies the
- * live flag / linked-state / entitlement. This is the unit-tested core.
+ * <p>The decision logic is the pure static {@link #decide}; the Spring wrapper supplies the live
+ * flag / linked-state / entitlement and computes whether the grace window has expired. This is the
+ * unit-tested core.
  */
 @Service
 @Profile("!saas")
@@ -32,14 +36,20 @@ public class InstanceEntitlementGate {
     private final AccountLinkProperties properties;
     private final DeviceCredentialStore credentialStore;
     private final EntitlementCache entitlementCache;
+    private final AccountLinkSyncStateRepository syncStateRepository;
+    private final LocalUsageService localUsageService;
 
     public InstanceEntitlementGate(
             AccountLinkProperties properties,
             DeviceCredentialStore credentialStore,
-            EntitlementCache entitlementCache) {
+            EntitlementCache entitlementCache,
+            AccountLinkSyncStateRepository syncStateRepository,
+            LocalUsageService localUsageService) {
         this.properties = properties;
         this.credentialStore = credentialStore;
         this.entitlementCache = entitlementCache;
+        this.syncStateRepository = syncStateRepository;
+        this.localUsageService = localUsageService;
     }
 
     /** Evaluates the gate for a request, resolving live state from the store + cache. */
@@ -53,18 +63,39 @@ public class InstanceEntitlementGate {
         boolean linked = credentialStore.isLinked();
         Optional<InstanceEntitlement> entitlement =
                 linked ? entitlementCache.current() : Optional.empty();
-        return decide(true, true, linked, entitlement);
+        boolean graceExpired = linked && entitlement.isEmpty() && isGraceExpired();
+        // Deplete the applicable ceiling — free grant (unsubscribed) or spend cap (capped
+        // subscription) — by local usage not yet synced, so the gate stops in real time instead of
+        // overshooting until the next sync. An uncapped subscription has no ceiling to deplete → 0.
+        long pendingUnsynced =
+                entitlement.map(InstanceEntitlementGate::depletesCeiling).orElse(false)
+                        ? localUsageService.currentPeriodUnsynced().totalUnsyncedUnits()
+                        : 0L;
+        return decide(true, true, linked, entitlement, graceExpired, pendingUnsynced);
+    }
+
+    /** Whether local unsynced usage pushes against a real ceiling (free grant or a spend cap). */
+    private static boolean depletesCeiling(InstanceEntitlement e) {
+        return !e.subscribed() || e.periodCapUnits() != null;
     }
 
     /**
      * Pure decision function — no Spring, no I/O. {@code entitlement} empty means "unknown"
-     * (unreachable): when linked, that fails open.
+     * (unreachable): when linked, that fails open unless {@code graceExpired} (the metering grace
+     * window elapsed with no authoritative contact), in which case it blocks.
+     *
+     * @param pendingUnsyncedUnits billable units accrued locally since the last sync — depletes the
+     *     free grant (unsubscribed) or the spend cap (capped subscription) in real time so the gate
+     *     stops without waiting for the next sync (0 for uncapped-subscribed / unknown-entitlement
+     *     cases, where it has no effect).
      */
     public static GateDecision decide(
             boolean flagEnabled,
             boolean billable,
             boolean linked,
-            Optional<InstanceEntitlement> entitlement) {
+            Optional<InstanceEntitlement> entitlement,
+            boolean graceExpired,
+            long pendingUnsyncedUnits) {
         if (!flagEnabled) {
             return GateDecision.allow(GateDecision.Reason.FLAG_OFF);
         }
@@ -75,30 +106,69 @@ public class InstanceEntitlementGate {
             return GateDecision.block(GateDecision.Reason.NOT_LINKED);
         }
         if (entitlement.isEmpty()) {
-            // Linked but entitlement source unreachable — never hard-block billable work on our
-            // inability to reach billing.
-            return GateDecision.allow(GateDecision.Reason.FAIL_OPEN);
+            // Linked but entitlement unreachable: fail open, unless the grace window has expired
+            // (so
+            // the fail-open can't grant unbounded unbilled work forever).
+            return graceExpired
+                    ? GateDecision.block(GateDecision.Reason.GRACE_EXPIRED)
+                    : GateDecision.allow(GateDecision.Reason.FAIL_OPEN);
         }
         InstanceEntitlement e = entitlement.get();
         if (e.state() == EntitlementState.REVOKED) {
             // Credential revoked/invalid (authoritative deny) — block, distinct from over-limit.
             return GateDecision.block(GateDecision.Reason.REVOKED);
         }
-        return entitled(e)
+        return entitled(e, pendingUnsyncedUnits)
                 ? GateDecision.allow(GateDecision.Reason.ENTITLED)
                 : GateDecision.block(GateDecision.Reason.OVER_LIMIT);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * True when metering is on and it's been {@code graceDays} since the last authoritative contact
+     * (last successful sync, or link time if never synced). {@code graceDays <= 0} or metering off
+     * disables the backstop.
+     */
+    private boolean isGraceExpired() {
+        AccountLinkProperties.Metering metering = properties.getMetering();
+        if (!metering.isEnabled() || metering.getGraceDays() <= 0) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        LocalDateTime reference = lastAuthoritativeContact();
+        if (reference == null) {
+            return false; // can't determine elapsed time → fail open
+        }
+        return reference.plusDays(metering.getGraceDays()).isBefore(LocalDateTime.now());
+    }
+
+    private LocalDateTime lastAuthoritativeContact() {
+        LocalDateTime lastSuccess =
+                syncStateRepository
+                        .findById(AccountLinkSyncState.SINGLETON_ID)
+                        .map(AccountLinkSyncState::getLastSuccessAt)
+                        .orElse(null);
+        if (lastSuccess != null) {
+            return lastSuccess;
+        }
+        return credentialStore.get().map(DeviceCredential::getLinkedAt).orElse(null);
+    }
+
     /** True when the snapshot permits billable work (subscribed, free pool left, or within cap). */
-    private static boolean entitled(InstanceEntitlement e) {
+    private static boolean entitled(InstanceEntitlement e, long pendingUnsyncedUnits) {
         if (e.state() == EntitlementState.OVER_LIMIT || e.state() == EntitlementState.REVOKED) {
             return false;
         }
         if (e.subscribed()) {
-            // Subscribed: allowed unless a period cap is set and exceeded.
-            return e.periodCapUnits() == null || e.periodSpendUnits() < e.periodCapUnits();
+            if (e.periodCapUnits() == null) {
+                return true; // uncapped subscription
+            }
+            // Project the cap the way the grant is projected: synced paid spend plus the paid part
+            // of local usage not yet synced (free grant is consumed first, so only the excess
+            // bills) — stops at the cap in real time instead of overshooting until the next sync.
+            long pendingPaid = Math.max(0, pendingUnsyncedUnits - e.freeRemainingUnits());
+            return e.periodSpendUnits() + pendingPaid < e.periodCapUnits();
         }
-        // Unsubscribed: only the free pool covers billable work.
-        return e.freeRemainingUnits() > 0;
+        // Unsubscribed: free pool must cover SaaS-charged usage (in freeRemainingUnits) plus local
+        // usage not yet synced — deplete by the pending delta so we stop at the grant in real time.
+        return e.freeRemainingUnits() - pendingUnsyncedUnits > 0;
     }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/InstanceEntitlementInterceptor.java

@@ -1,27 +1,51 @@
 package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.security.DigestOutputStream;
+import java.security.MessageDigest;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.ObjectProvider;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
 import org.springframework.context.annotation.Profile;
 import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
+import org.springframework.security.core.context.SecurityContextHolder;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;
+import org.springframework.web.multipart.MultipartFile;
+import org.springframework.web.multipart.MultipartHttpServletRequest;
 import org.springframework.web.servlet.HandlerInterceptor;
+import org.springframework.web.util.WebUtils;
 
 import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
 import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
 
 import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 
+import stirling.software.common.util.TempFile;
+import stirling.software.common.util.TempFileManager;
+import stirling.software.jpdfium.PdfDocument;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategory;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.ContentHasher;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.DocumentUnitCalculator;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.DocumentUnitCalculator.FileSize;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.UnitCalcPolicy;
+import stirling.software.proprietary.security.model.ApiKeyAuthenticationToken;
+
 /**
- * Request-time gate for combined-billing "Mode A". Runs before billable (AI / automation) work and
- * blocks it when the instance is unlinked or over its limit; manual tools pass straight through.
+ * Request-time gate + meter for combined-billing "Mode A". {@code preHandle} blocks billable (API /
+ * AI / automation) work when the instance is unlinked or over its limit; manual tools pass through.
+ * {@code afterCompletion} meters a successful billable op into the per-period cumulative counter.
  *
- * <p>Blocking responds {@code 402 Payment Required} with a small machine-readable body — {@code
- * {"error":"ACCOUNT_LINK_REQUIRED","reason":"NOT_LINKED"}} — that the FE maps to a "link to
- * activate" prompt (the same DownstreamEntitlementError-style envelope already used for saas limit
- * responses). Fail-open and flag-off both let the request continue.
- *
- * <p>Gated + {@code @Profile("!saas")}; when the flag is off the bean is absent and the {@link
- * AccountLinkWebMvcConfig} never registers it, so there is no per-request cost.
+ * <p>Blocking responds {@code 402} with a machine-readable body the FE maps to a "link to activate"
+ * prompt; fail-open and flag-off both let the request continue. Metering is separately gated behind
+ * {@code …metering.enabled} via {@link ObjectProvider} — switch off means the {@link
+ * UsageMeterService} bean is absent and nothing accrues, while the gate still works.
  */
 @Slf4j
 @Component
@@ -29,10 +53,23 @@ import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
 @ConditionalOnProperty(name = "stirling.billing.account-link.enabled", havingValue = "true")
 public class InstanceEntitlementInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {
 
-    private final InstanceEntitlementGate gate;
+    private static final String ATTR_CATEGORY =
+            InstanceEntitlementInterceptor.class.getName() + ".category";
 
-    public InstanceEntitlementInterceptor(InstanceEntitlementGate gate) {
+    private final InstanceEntitlementGate gate;
+    private final EntitlementCache entitlementCache;
+    private final ObjectProvider<UsageMeterService> meterProvider;
+    private final TempFileManager tempFileManager;
+
+    public InstanceEntitlementInterceptor(
+            InstanceEntitlementGate gate,
+            EntitlementCache entitlementCache,
+            ObjectProvider<UsageMeterService> meterProvider,
+            TempFileManager tempFileManager) {
         this.gate = gate;
+        this.entitlementCache = entitlementCache;
+        this.meterProvider = meterProvider;
+        this.tempFileManager = tempFileManager;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -41,7 +78,13 @@ public class InstanceEntitlementInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {
             throws Exception {
         GateDecision decision;
         try {
-            decision = gate.evaluate(BillableOperationClassifier.isBillable(request));
+            // API-key tool calls are billable (category API); stash the category for the meter.
+            boolean apiKey =
+                    SecurityContextHolder.getContext().getAuthentication()
+                            instanceof ApiKeyAuthenticationToken;
+            BillingCategory category = BillableOperationClassifier.categorize(request, apiKey);
+            request.setAttribute(ATTR_CATEGORY, category);
+            decision = gate.evaluate(category != BillingCategory.BYPASSED);
         } catch (RuntimeException e) {
             // Fail open: an inability to resolve entitlement (e.g. a DB or SaaS blip) must never
             // turn into a hard block on billable work.
@@ -62,4 +105,139 @@ public class InstanceEntitlementInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {
                                 + "\"}");
         return false;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void afterCompletion(
+            HttpServletRequest request,
+            HttpServletResponse response,
+            Object handler,
+            Exception ex) {
+        // Meter successful billable ops only.
+        if (ex != null || response.getStatus() >= 400) {
+            return;
+        }
+        UsageMeterService meter = meterProvider.getIfAvailable();
+        if (meter == null) {
+            return; // metering switch off
+        }
+        if (!(request.getAttribute(ATTR_CATEGORY) instanceof BillingCategory category)
+                || category == BillingCategory.BYPASSED) {
+            return;
+        }
+        try {
+            InstanceEntitlement ent = entitlementCache.current().orElse(null);
+            if (ent == null || ent.unitCalcPolicy() == null || ent.periodStart() == null) {
+                // Not yet synced (no policy/period) — can't compute units; skip until next sync.
+                return;
+            }
+            meterRequest(request, category, ent, meter);
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // Metering must never affect the response that already completed.
+            log.debug("Usage metering failed for {}", request.getRequestURI(), e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Computes doc-units (page + byte axes) and the input-set signature, then accrues. The instance
+     * is authoritative for units (SaaS bills the delta and never sees the file), so a page-heavy
+     * but small PDF must be page-counted or it under-bills. A fileless op has no input identity —
+     * null signature (no dedup), billed the 1-unit floor each time.
+     */
+    private void meterRequest(
+            HttpServletRequest request,
+            BillingCategory category,
+            InstanceEntitlement ent,
+            UsageMeterService meter) {
+        UnitCalcPolicy policy = ent.unitCalcPolicy();
+        MultipartHttpServletRequest mreq =
+                WebUtils.getNativeRequest(request, MultipartHttpServletRequest.class);
+        if (mreq == null) {
+            long fileless = DocumentUnitCalculator.unitsForFile(0, 0, policy);
+            meter.accrue(ent.periodStart(), category, fileless, null);
+            return;
+        }
+        List<TempFile> temps = new ArrayList<>();
+        try {
+            List<FileSize> sizes = new ArrayList<>();
+            List<String> hashes = new ArrayList<>();
+            int fileCount = 0;
+            for (List<MultipartFile> files : mreq.getMultiFileMap().values()) {
+                for (MultipartFile f : files) {
+                    fileCount++;
+                    try {
+                        TempFile temp = tempFileManager.createManagedTempFile(".bin");
+                        temps.add(temp);
+                        // Hash in the same pass that writes the temp file — one read of the upload,
+                        // not a second full read just to fingerprint it.
+                        MessageDigest digest = ContentHasher.newSha256();
+                        try (InputStream in = f.getInputStream();
+                                DigestOutputStream out =
+                                        new DigestOutputStream(
+                                                Files.newOutputStream(temp.getPath()), digest)) {
+                            in.transferTo(out);
+                        }
+                        sizes.add(new FileSize(pageCount(temp.getPath(), f), f.getSize()));
+                        hashes.add(ContentHasher.toHex(digest.digest()));
+                    } catch (IOException | RuntimeException perFile) {
+                        // Couldn't materialise/hash this input — bill on bytes only and, by leaving
+                        // it out of `hashes`, drop dedup for the whole op rather than risk a
+                        // mismatch.
+                        log.debug(
+                                "Metering materialise/hash failed for {}; bytes-only",
+                                f.getOriginalFilename());
+                        sizes.add(new FileSize(0, f.getSize()));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            long units =
+                    sizes.isEmpty()
+                            ? DocumentUnitCalculator.unitsForFile(0, 0, policy)
+                            : DocumentUnitCalculator.unitsForGroup(sizes, policy);
+            // Only dedup when every input hashed; a partial signature could collide with a
+            // different input set, so fall back to no-dedup (bill it) if any file failed.
+            String opSignature =
+                    fileCount > 0 && hashes.size() == fileCount ? opSignature(hashes) : null;
+            meter.accrue(ent.periodStart(), category, units, opSignature);
+        } finally {
+            for (TempFile temp : temps) {
+                try {
+                    temp.close();
+                } catch (RuntimeException cleanup) {
+                    log.debug("Temp file cleanup failed: {}", cleanup.getMessage());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Page count via jpdfium (parser-identical to SaaS); 0 for non-PDF / unreadable inputs. */
+    private static int pageCount(Path path, MultipartFile file) {
+        if (!isPdf(file)) {
+            return 0;
+        }
+        try (PdfDocument doc = PdfDocument.open(path)) {
+            return doc.pageCount();
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // Malformed / encrypted → byte axis only, matching the SaaS classifier.
+            log.debug(
+                    "Page count unavailable for {}; metering on bytes only",
+                    file.getOriginalFilename());
+            return 0;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Order-independent signature of the input set: sorted per-file hashes, hashed together. */
+    private static String opSignature(List<String> hashes) {
+        List<String> sorted = new ArrayList<>(hashes);
+        Collections.sort(sorted);
+        return ContentHasher.sha256(String.join("\n", sorted).getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isPdf(MultipartFile file) {
+        String contentType = file.getContentType();
+        if (contentType != null && contentType.toLowerCase().contains("pdf")) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        String name = file.getOriginalFilename();
+        return name != null && name.toLowerCase().endsWith(".pdf");
+    }
 }

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/LocalUsageService.java

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+import java.util.EnumMap;
+
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Profile;
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategory;
+
+/**
+ * Reads this instance's locally accrued but not-yet-synced usage for the current period. The portal
+ * adds this on top of SaaS-synced spend so "current usage" reflects work done since the last sync.
+ *
+ * <p>Unsynced per category = {@code cumulativeUnits − lastSyncedUnits} (floored at 0), scoped to
+ * the current period so prior-period leftovers don't inflate it. Zeros when the period is unknown
+ * or metering is off.
+ */
+@Service
+@Profile("!saas")
+@ConditionalOnProperty(name = "stirling.billing.account-link.enabled", havingValue = "true")
+public class LocalUsageService {
+
+    private final UsageCounterRepository counters;
+    private final EntitlementCache entitlementCache;
+
+    public LocalUsageService(UsageCounterRepository counters, EntitlementCache entitlementCache) {
+        this.counters = counters;
+        this.entitlementCache = entitlementCache;
+    }
+
+    /** Per-category unsynced units for the current period; {@code periodStart} null = unknown. */
+    public record LocalUsage(
+            LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            long apiUnsyncedUnits,
+            long aiUnsyncedUnits,
+            long automationUnsyncedUnits,
+            long totalUnsyncedUnits) {}
+
+    public LocalUsage currentPeriodUnsynced() {
+        LocalDateTime period =
+                entitlementCache.current().map(InstanceEntitlement::periodStart).orElse(null);
+        if (period == null) {
+            return new LocalUsage(null, 0, 0, 0, 0);
+        }
+        EnumMap<BillingCategory, Long> unsynced = new EnumMap<>(BillingCategory.class);
+        for (UsageCounter c : counters.findByPeriodStart(period)) {
+            BillingCategory cat = c.billingCategory();
+            if (cat != null && cat != BillingCategory.BYPASSED) {
+                unsynced.merge(cat, c.unsyncedUnits(), Long::sum);
+            }
+        }
+        long api = unsynced.getOrDefault(BillingCategory.API, 0L);
+        long ai = unsynced.getOrDefault(BillingCategory.AI, 0L);
+        long automation = unsynced.getOrDefault(BillingCategory.AUTOMATION, 0L);
+        return new LocalUsage(period, api, ai, automation, api + ai + automation);
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/MeteredInputSignature.java

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+
+import jakarta.persistence.Column;
+import jakarta.persistence.Entity;
+import jakarta.persistence.GeneratedValue;
+import jakarta.persistence.GenerationType;
+import jakarta.persistence.Id;
+import jakarta.persistence.Table;
+import jakarta.persistence.UniqueConstraint;
+
+import lombok.AccessLevel;
+import lombok.Getter;
+import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;
+
+/**
+ * The last time the instance metered a given input set this period — the local equivalent of the
+ * cloud's lineage join (combined-billing "Mode A"). The meter dedups on a rolling <b>workflow
+ * window</b>: an identical input set re-submitted within the window (see {@link
+ * AccountLinkProperties.Metering}) is treated as workflow chaining and not re-charged, while the
+ * same inputs run again after the window are billed afresh — matching the cloud's 5-minute open-job
+ * window so the same operation costs the same on the instance and in the cloud.
+ *
+ * <p>{@code lastMeteredAt} is refreshed on every sighting (the window slides, as recording a cloud
+ * artifact touches its job). One row per {@code (period, signature)}; the unique constraint also
+ * makes the first-sighting insert an atomic claim under concurrency.
+ *
+ * <p>Auto-created by Hibernate ({@code ddl-auto=update}); written only by the flag-gated meter.
+ */
+@Entity
+@Table(
+        name = "account_link_metered_signature",
+        uniqueConstraints =
+                @UniqueConstraint(
+                        name = "uk_account_link_metered_signature",
+                        columnNames = {"period_start", "signature"}))
+@Getter
+@NoArgsConstructor(access = AccessLevel.PROTECTED)
+public class MeteredInputSignature {
+
+    @Id
+    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
+    private Long id;
+
+    @Column(name = "period_start", nullable = false)
+    private LocalDateTime periodStart;
+
+    /** SHA-256 hex of the op's input set (64 chars); the dedup key within a period. */
+    @Column(name = "signature", nullable = false, length = 64)
+    private String signature;
+
+    @Column(name = "created_at", nullable = false)
+    private LocalDateTime createdAt;
+
+    /**
+     * When this input set was last metered — the anchor the workflow-window dedup compares against.
+     */
+    @Column(name = "last_metered_at")
+    private LocalDateTime lastMeteredAt;
+
+    public MeteredInputSignature(LocalDateTime periodStart, String signature, LocalDateTime at) {
+        this.periodStart = periodStart;
+        this.signature = signature;
+        this.createdAt = at;
+        this.lastMeteredAt = at;
+    }
+
+    /** Slides the window forward — the input set was seen again. */
+    public void touch(LocalDateTime at) {
+        this.lastMeteredAt = at;
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/MeteredInputSignatureRepository.java

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+import java.util.Optional;
+
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
+
+/** Persistence for the per-period metered input-set signatures (combined-billing "Mode A"). */
+public interface MeteredInputSignatureRepository
+        extends JpaRepository<MeteredInputSignature, Long> {
+
+    /** The existing row for a seen input set, so the meter can apply the workflow-window check. */
+    Optional<MeteredInputSignature> findByPeriodStartAndSignature(
+            LocalDateTime periodStart, String signature);
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/UsageCounter.java

@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+
+import jakarta.persistence.Column;
+import jakarta.persistence.Entity;
+import jakarta.persistence.GeneratedValue;
+import jakarta.persistence.GenerationType;
+import jakarta.persistence.Id;
+import jakarta.persistence.Table;
+import jakarta.persistence.UniqueConstraint;
+
+import lombok.AccessLevel;
+import lombok.Getter;
+import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategory;
+
+/**
+ * Durable per-(billing period, category) cumulative usage counter for combined-billing "Mode A".
+ * Each successful billable op increments its row; the daily sync reports the cumulative totals and
+ * SaaS bills the delta since the last sync. The cumulative model is idempotent (a resend bills
+ * nothing) and tamper-evident (a counter that drops is a signal). One row per {@code (period_start,
+ * category)}, auto-created by Hibernate; only the flag-gated {@link UsageMeterService} writes it.
+ */
+@Entity
+@Table(
+        name = "account_link_usage_counter",
+        uniqueConstraints =
+                @UniqueConstraint(
+                        name = "uk_usage_counter_period_category",
+                        columnNames = {"period_start", "category"}))
+@Getter
+@NoArgsConstructor(access = AccessLevel.PROTECTED)
+public class UsageCounter {
+
+    @Id
+    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
+    private Long id;
+
+    /**
+     * Inclusive start of the billing period this counter belongs to (from the entitlement sync).
+     */
+    @Column(name = "period_start", nullable = false)
+    private LocalDateTime periodStart;
+
+    /** {@code BillingCategory} name — API / AI / AUTOMATION (never BYPASSED). */
+    @Column(name = "category", nullable = false, length = 32)
+    private String category;
+
+    /** Running total of metered units in this period+category. */
+    @Column(name = "cumulative_units", nullable = false)
+    private long cumulativeUnits;
+
+    /**
+     * {@link #cumulativeUnits} as of the last sync SaaS accepted; the difference is the unreported
+     * usage the portal shows on top of SaaS-synced spend. The {@code columnDefinition} default
+     * keeps the {@code ddl-auto=update} ADD COLUMN safe against a table an earlier build already
+     * populated (NOT NULL with no default would fail the ALTER).
+     */
+    @Column(
+            name = "last_synced_units",
+            nullable = false,
+            columnDefinition = "bigint not null default 0")
+    private long lastSyncedUnits;
+
+    @Column(name = "updated_at", nullable = false)
+    private LocalDateTime updatedAt;
+
+    /** Fresh-accrual row: nothing synced yet. */
+    public UsageCounter(
+            LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            String category,
+            long cumulativeUnits,
+            LocalDateTime updatedAt) {
+        this(periodStart, category, cumulativeUnits, 0L, updatedAt);
+    }
+
+    public UsageCounter(
+            LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            String category,
+            long cumulativeUnits,
+            long lastSyncedUnits,
+            LocalDateTime updatedAt) {
+        this.periodStart = periodStart;
+        this.category = category;
+        this.cumulativeUnits = cumulativeUnits;
+        this.lastSyncedUnits = lastSyncedUnits;
+        this.updatedAt = updatedAt;
+    }
+
+    /** This row's category as the enum, or {@code null} for an unrecognised stored value. */
+    public BillingCategory billingCategory() {
+        try {
+            return BillingCategory.valueOf(category);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException unknown) {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /** Units accrued but not yet accepted by SaaS (floored at 0). */
+    public long unsyncedUnits() {
+        return Math.max(0, cumulativeUnits - lastSyncedUnits);
+    }
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/UsageCounterRepository.java

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.Modifying;
+import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.Query;
+import org.springframework.data.repository.query.Param;
+import org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional;
+
+/** Persistence for the per-period/per-category usage counters (combined-billing "Mode A"). */
+public interface UsageCounterRepository extends JpaRepository<UsageCounter, Long> {
+
+    /**
+     * Atomically adds {@code delta} to an existing counter row. Returns the number of rows updated
+     * (0 when the row doesn't exist yet — the caller then inserts). Doing the add in SQL avoids a
+     * read-modify-write race between concurrent billable requests.
+     */
+    @Modifying
+    @Transactional
+    @Query(
+            "UPDATE UsageCounter c SET c.cumulativeUnits = c.cumulativeUnits + :delta,"
+                    + " c.updatedAt = :now"
+                    + " WHERE c.periodStart = :periodStart AND c.category = :category")
+    int increment(
+            @Param("periodStart") LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            @Param("category") String category,
+            @Param("delta") long delta,
+            @Param("now") LocalDateTime now);
+
+    /** All counters for a period — the daily sync reads these to report cumulative totals. */
+    List<UsageCounter> findByPeriodStart(LocalDateTime periodStart);
+
+    /**
+     * Periods (oldest first) that still hold usage not yet accepted by SaaS. The sync reports each
+     * so end-of-period usage isn't stranded when the billing period rolls over between syncs.
+     */
+    @Query(
+            "SELECT DISTINCT c.periodStart FROM UsageCounter c"
+                    + " WHERE c.cumulativeUnits > c.lastSyncedUnits ORDER BY c.periodStart")
+    List<LocalDateTime> findPeriodsWithUnsyncedUsage();
+
+    /**
+     * Marks a counter synced up to {@code syncedUnits} (the cumulative value just accepted by
+     * SaaS), not the live cumulative — concurrent accruals during the sync stay correctly unsynced.
+     */
+    @Modifying
+    @Transactional
+    @Query(
+            "UPDATE UsageCounter c SET c.lastSyncedUnits = :syncedUnits"
+                    + " WHERE c.periodStart = :periodStart AND c.category = :category")
+    int markSynced(
+            @Param("periodStart") LocalDateTime periodStart,
+            @Param("category") String category,
+            @Param("syncedUnits") long syncedUnits);
+}

app/proprietary/src/main/java/stirling/software/proprietary/accountlink/UsageMeterService.java

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+package stirling.software.proprietary.accountlink;
+
+import java.time.Duration;
+import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
+import org.springframework.context.annotation.Profile;
+import org.springframework.dao.DataIntegrityViolationException;
+import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
+
+import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
+
+import stirling.software.proprietary.billing.BillingCategory;
+
+/**
+ * Accrues metered usage into the durable per-(period, category) {@link UsageCounter}; the daily
+ * sync later reports the cumulative totals to SaaS.
+ *
+ * <p>Workflow-window dedup: an identical input set re-submitted within {@code metering.workflow-
+ * window} is treated as chaining and not re-charged; the same inputs run again after the window are
+ * billed afresh — matching the cloud's open-job lineage window so the same op costs the same on the
+ * instance and in the cloud. Fileless ops pass a null signature and always accrue. {@link #accrue}
+ * is best-effort: callers need not handle persistence errors.
+ */
+@Slf4j
+@Service
+@Profile("!saas")
+@ConditionalOnProperty(
+        name = "stirling.billing.account-link.metering.enabled",
+        havingValue = "true")
+public class UsageMeterService {
+
+    private final UsageCounterRepository repo;
+    private final MeteredInputSignatureRepository signatureRepo;
+    private final Duration workflowWindow;
+
+    public UsageMeterService(
+            UsageCounterRepository repo,
+            MeteredInputSignatureRepository signatureRepo,
+            AccountLinkProperties properties) {
+        this.repo = repo;
+        this.signatureRepo = signatureRepo;
+        this.workflowWindow = properties.getMetering().getWorkflowWindow();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Adds {@code units} to the {@code (periodStart, category)} counter (creating the row on first
+     * use), unless {@code opSignature} was already metered this period. No-ops for non-billable
+     * categories, non-positive units, or a missing period.
+     */
+    public void accrue(
+            LocalDateTime periodStart, BillingCategory category, long units, String opSignature) {
+        if (periodStart == null
+                || category == null
+                || category == BillingCategory.BYPASSED
+                || units <= 0) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (opSignature != null && !shouldCharge(periodStart, opSignature)) {
+            return; // identical inputs seen within the workflow window — chaining, already billed
+        }
+        incrementOrInsert(periodStart, category.name(), units);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * True when this input set should be charged: unseen this period, or last seen outside the
+     * workflow window. Records a first sighting (an atomic insert-as-claim under concurrency) and
+     * slides the window on a repeat. Fails toward charging so a store hiccup never drops a charge.
+     */
+    private boolean shouldCharge(LocalDateTime periodStart, String opSignature) {
+        LocalDateTime now = LocalDateTime.now();
+        MeteredInputSignature seen =
+                signatureRepo.findByPeriodStartAndSignature(periodStart, opSignature).orElse(null);
+        if (seen == null) {
+            try {
+                signatureRepo.saveAndFlush(
+                        new MeteredInputSignature(periodStart, opSignature, now));
+                return true; // first sighting this period
+            } catch (DataIntegrityViolationException raced) {
+                return false; // a concurrent op just claimed it — within window → chaining
+            } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+                log.debug("Signature claim failed for {}: {}", periodStart, e.getMessage());
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        LocalDateTime last = seen.getLastMeteredAt() != null ? seen.getLastMeteredAt() : now;
+        boolean withinWindow = last.isAfter(now.minus(workflowWindow));
+        try {
+            seen.touch(now);
+            signatureRepo.save(seen);
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            log.debug("Signature touch failed for {}: {}", periodStart, e.getMessage());
+        }
+        return !withinWindow;
+    }
+
+    private void incrementOrInsert(LocalDateTime periodStart, String category, long units) {
+        LocalDateTime now = LocalDateTime.now();
+        try {
+            if (repo.increment(periodStart, category, units, now) > 0) {
+                return;
+            }
+            try {
+                repo.saveAndFlush(new UsageCounter(periodStart, category, units, now));
+            } catch (DataIntegrityViolationException raceLostInsert) {
+                // A concurrent request inserted the row first — increment the now-existing row.
+                repo.increment(periodStart, category, units, now);
+            }
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // Metering must never break the request it rode in on; a lost accrual self-heals on the
+            // next increment and the daily sync reports the cumulative total either way.
+            log.debug("Usage accrual failed for {}/{}: {}", periodStart, category, e.getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+}