fix(broker): balance per-mesh connection counter — stop capacity-leak that bricks meshes

`connectionsPerMesh` (the in-memory counter enforcing MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_MESH=100)
was incremented on every successful hello (incMeshCount at member + session paths)
but decremented ONLY inside evictPresenceFully. Every other removal path —
session-id dedup on reconnect (the common one), kick, and ban — deleted the entry
from `connections` without decrementing, leaking +1 each time. Because the counter
is in-memory and only resets on broker restart, it crept up to 100 over hours/days
of normal reconnect churn (network blips, sleep/wake, relaunches) until the mesh
hit capacity and rejected ALL new connections with `1008 "capacity"` — bricking it
until the broker process was restarted. A user with <10 sessions saw "mesh at
connection capacity" because the 100 were leaked phantoms, not live connections.

Fix: route every non-evict removal through a new dropConnection() helper that
deletes from `connections` AND decMeshCount()s, so the counter tracks map
membership exactly. The replaced socket's own close handler then no-ops (entry
already gone, guarded by `if (!conn) return`), so the decrement happens exactly
once — no double-count. evictPresenceFully keeps its existing balanced delete+dec.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

SPEC.md

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ A peer is a Claude Code session connected to a mesh. Ephemeral — comes and goe
 Two-layer identity:
 
 - **Member identity** — permanent, created by `claudemesh join`. Keypair stored in `~/.claudemesh/config.json`. Proves authorization to connect.
-- **Session identity** — ephemeral, generated on every `claudemesh launch`. Fresh ed25519 keypair per session. Provides routing and E2E encryption. Two sessions from the same member have distinct session keys — they can message each other.
+- **Session identity** — anchored on Claude Code's session UUID (the same identity `--resume` is built on). An ed25519 keypair is generated once per `(mesh, session UUID)` and persisted under `~/.claudemesh/sessions/<mesh>/<uuid>.json`, so relaunching or resuming the same session reuses the same `sessionPubkey`. Provides routing and E2E encryption. Two distinct sessions from the same member have distinct session keys — they can message each other. Because a DM is sealed to the recipient's `sessionPubkey`, a stable key is what lets queued messages both route to and decrypt on the returning session; the broker enforces one live presence per session pubkey.
 
 ### Peer attributes
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Two-layer identity:
 | groups | `--groups` flag, wizard, or `join_group` | No | Routing labels with optional per-group role |
 | status | Hook-driven | No | idle / working / dnd |
 | summary | `set_summary` tool call | No | 1-2 sentence description of current work |
-| sessionPubkey | Generated on connect | No | Ephemeral ed25519 pubkey for routing + crypto |
+| sessionPubkey | Persisted per `(mesh, session UUID)` | Yes (per session UUID) | ed25519 pubkey for routing + crypto; stable across relaunch/`--resume` |
 | memberId | From `claudemesh join` | Yes | Permanent mesh membership identity |
 
 ### Launch

apps/broker/src/index.ts

@@ -1635,6 +1635,30 @@ function decMeshCount(meshId: string): void {
   metrics.connectionsActive.set(connections.size);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Remove a connection from the in-memory map AND keep the per-mesh
+ * connection counter balanced.
+ *
+ * THE counter (`connectionsPerMesh`) is incremented once per successful
+ * hello (incMeshCount). Before this helper, it was decremented ONLY in
+ * evictPresenceFully — so every other removal path (session-id dedup on
+ * reconnect, kick, ban) deleted the entry from `connections` without
+ * decrementing, leaking +1 each time. Over many reconnects the counter
+ * crept up to MAX_CONNECTIONS_PER_MESH and the mesh got bricked with
+ * `capacity` rejections until the broker process restarted (the counter
+ * is in-memory). Routing every non-evict removal through here makes the
+ * counter track `connections` membership exactly. The replaced socket's
+ * own close handler then no-ops (entry already gone), so the decrement
+ * happens exactly once. Returns true if an entry was actually removed.
+ */
+function dropConnection(presenceId: string): boolean {
+  const c = connections.get(presenceId);
+  if (!c) return false; // already removed (e.g. evicted) — don't double-decrement
+  connections.delete(presenceId);
+  decMeshCount(c.meshId);
+  return true;
+}
+
 function sendError(
   ws: WebSocket,
   code: string,
@@ -1954,7 +1978,7 @@ async function handleHello(
     if (oldConn.meshId === hello.meshId && oldConn.sessionId === hello.sessionId) {
       log.info("hello dedup", { old_presence: oldPid, session_id: hello.sessionId });
       try { oldConn.ws.close(1000, "session_replaced"); } catch { /* already dead */ }
-      connections.delete(oldPid);
+      dropConnection(oldPid);
       void disconnectPresence(oldPid);
     }
   }
@@ -2191,23 +2215,38 @@ async function handleSessionHello(
   // session leave.
   for (const [pid, oldConn] of connections) {
     if (oldConn.meshId !== hello.meshId) continue;
-    if (oldConn.leaseState !== "offline") continue;
     if (oldConn.sessionPubkey !== hello.sessionPubkey) continue;
 
+    // Same sessionPubkey = same logical session. The CLI now anchors the
+    // session keypair on Claude Code's session UUID and persists it, so a
+    // matching pubkey is always the same peer relaunching/resuming — never
+    // a coincidental collision. Reattach whether the old lease is in its
+    // 90s grace window OR still nominally "online" (a duplicate/relaunch
+    // that raced ahead of the old socket's close). The new WS is
+    // authoritative: cancel any eviction timer, close the stale socket if
+    // it differs, swap in the new WS, restore online. This is the "one
+    // presence per session pubkey" invariant — it kills the same-name
+    // ghost that used to win queued-DM claim races.
+    const wasState = oldConn.leaseState;
     if (oldConn.evictionTimer) {
       clearTimeout(oldConn.evictionTimer);
       oldConn.evictionTimer = null;
     }
+    if (oldConn.ws !== ws) {
+      try { oldConn.ws.close(1000, "session_replaced"); } catch { /* already dead */ }
+    }
     oldConn.ws = ws;
     oldConn.leaseState = "online";
     oldConn.leaseUntil = 0;
     oldConn.lastPongAt = Date.now();
     // Refresh mutable fields from the new hello.
+    oldConn.sessionId = hello.sessionId;
     oldConn.cwd = hello.cwd;
     if (hello.displayName) oldConn.displayName = hello.displayName;
-    log.info("session_hello reattach (lease)", {
+    log.info("session_hello reattach", {
       presence_id: pid,
       session_pubkey: hello.sessionPubkey.slice(0, 12),
+      was: wasState,
     });
     void restorePresence(pid);
     void maybePushQueuedMessages(pid);
@@ -2226,7 +2265,7 @@ async function handleSessionHello(
     if (oldConn.meshId === hello.meshId && oldConn.sessionId === hello.sessionId) {
       log.info("session_hello dedup", { old_presence: oldPid, session_id: hello.sessionId });
       try { oldConn.ws.close(1000, "session_replaced"); } catch { /* already dead */ }
-      connections.delete(oldPid);
+      dropConnection(oldPid);
       void disconnectPresence(oldPid);
     }
   }
@@ -4917,7 +4956,7 @@ function handleConnection(ws: WebSocket): void {
                 continue;
               }
               try { peer.ws.close(closeCode, closeReason); } catch {}
-              connections.delete(pid);
+              dropConnection(pid);
               void disconnectPresence(pid);
               affected.push(peer.displayName || pid);
             }
@@ -4932,7 +4971,7 @@ function handleConnection(ws: WebSocket): void {
                   continue;
                 }
                 try { peer.ws.close(closeCode, `${closeReason}_stale`); } catch {}
-                connections.delete(pid);
+                dropConnection(pid);
                 void disconnectPresence(pid);
                 affected.push(peer.displayName || pid);
               }
@@ -4946,7 +4985,7 @@ function handleConnection(ws: WebSocket): void {
                   continue;
                 }
                 try { peer.ws.close(closeCode, closeReason); } catch {}
-                connections.delete(pid);
+                dropConnection(pid);
                 void disconnectPresence(pid);
                 affected.push(peer.displayName || pid);
               }
@@ -5002,7 +5041,7 @@ function handleConnection(ws: WebSocket): void {
           for (const [pid, peer] of connections) {
             if (peer.meshId === conn.meshId && peer.memberPubkey === targetMember.peerPubkey) {
               try { peer.ws.close(4002, "banned"); } catch {}
-              connections.delete(pid);
+              dropConnection(pid);
               void disconnectPresence(pid);
             }
           }

apps/cli/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "claudemesh-cli",
-  "version": "1.34.17",
+  "version": "1.37.0",
   "description": "Peer mesh for Claude Code sessions — CLI + MCP server.",
   "keywords": [
     "claude-code",

apps/cli/src/commands/launch.ts

@@ -42,6 +42,37 @@ export interface LaunchFlags {
   quiet?: boolean;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Resolve the most-recently-active Claude Code session UUID for a cwd by
+ * inspecting `~/.claude/projects/<encoded-cwd>/<uuid>.jsonl`. Claude Code
+ * encodes the project dir as the absolute path with every `/` → `-`.
+ *
+ * Used by `--continue` (which otherwise gives us no UUID to anchor on) so
+ * a continued session re-attaches to the same claudemesh peer it last
+ * represented. Returns undefined when the project dir is absent/empty —
+ * the caller then falls back to an ephemeral identity.
+ */
+function resolveLatestSessionUuid(cwd: string): string | undefined {
+  try {
+    const slug = cwd.replace(/\//g, "-");
+    const dir = join(homedir(), ".claude", "projects", slug);
+    if (!existsSync(dir)) return undefined;
+    const uuidRe = /^([0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12})\.jsonl$/i;
+    let newest: { id: string; mtime: number } | null = null;
+    for (const entry of readdirSync(dir)) {
+      const m = uuidRe.exec(entry);
+      if (!m) continue;
+      try {
+        const mtime = statSync(join(dir, entry)).mtimeMs;
+        if (!newest || mtime > newest.mtime) newest = { id: m[1]!, mtime };
+      } catch { /* file vanished mid-scan — skip */ }
+    }
+    return newest?.id;
+  } catch {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+}
+
 // --- Interactive mesh picker ---
 
 /**
@@ -732,10 +763,16 @@ export async function runLaunch(flags: LaunchFlags, rawArgs: string[]): Promise<
     ...(parsedGroups.length > 0 ? { groups: parsedGroups } : {}),
     messageMode,
   };
+  // mode 0600: this config embeds the mesh keypair (secret key). Written
+  // without a mode it lands at 0644 (world/group-readable) — which
+  // `claudemesh status` flags as "perms 0644 — expected 0600". The
+  // enclosing tmpDir is already 0700, but lock the file down too so the
+  // secret is never world-readable even for a moment. The file is freshly
+  // created in a new mkdtemp dir, so the mode applies on create.
   writeFileSync(
     join(tmpDir, "config.json"),
     JSON.stringify(sessionConfig, null, 2) + "\n",
-    "utf-8",
+    { encoding: "utf-8", mode: 0o600 },
   );
 
   // 4b. Mint a per-session IPC token, persist it under tmpDir, and
@@ -754,8 +791,28 @@ export async function runLaunch(flags: LaunchFlags, rawArgs: string[]): Promise<
   //     the TDZ → ReferenceError swallowed by the surrounding catch.
   //     The IPC registration has been silently failing every launch
   //     since 1.29.0. Hoist the declaration up so it actually runs.
+  // Session identity is anchored on Claude Code's session UUID — the
+  // stable thing `--resume` is built on — so the same logical peer keeps
+  // one identity (and one persisted keypair) across relaunches:
+  //   - fresh launch: mint a UUID and force it on claude via --session-id.
+  //   - --resume V:   register V (the returning peer), let claude resume it.
+  //   - --continue:   resolve the most-recent session UUID in this cwd so
+  //                   we re-attach to the same peer instead of minting a
+  //                   throwaway id (the bug that orphaned queued DMs and
+  //                   spawned same-name ghosts on every relaunch).
   const isResume = args.resume !== null || args.continueSession;
-  const claudeSessionId = isResume ? undefined : randomUUID();
+  let claudeSessionId: string | undefined;
+  if (args.resume) {
+    claudeSessionId = args.resume;
+  } else if (args.continueSession) {
+    claudeSessionId = resolveLatestSessionUuid(process.cwd());
+  } else {
+    claudeSessionId = randomUUID();
+  }
+  // Only fresh launches may dictate the UUID via --session-id; --resume
+  // and --continue carry their own session selection and claude rejects
+  // --session-id alongside them.
+  const passSessionIdFlag = !isResume;
   let sessionTokenFilePath: string | null = null;
   let sessionTokenForCleanup: string | null = null;
   try {
@@ -780,7 +837,13 @@ export async function runLaunch(flags: LaunchFlags, rawArgs: string[]): Promise<
     try {
       const { generateKeypair } = await import("~/services/crypto/facade.js");
       const { signParentAttestation } = await import("~/services/broker/session-hello-sig.js");
-      const sessionKp = await generateKeypair();
+      // Persisted, UUID-anchored keypair so relaunch/--resume reuse the
+      // same sessionPubkey (queued DMs route AND decrypt). Falls back to
+      // an ephemeral keypair when we couldn't resolve a stable UUID
+      // (e.g. --continue with no prior session in this cwd).
+      const sessionKp = claudeSessionId
+        ? await (await import("~/services/session/keypair-store.js")).loadOrCreateSessionKeypair(mesh.slug, claudeSessionId)
+        : await generateKeypair();
       const att = await signParentAttestation({
         parentMemberPubkey: mesh.pubkey,
         parentSecretKey: mesh.secretKey,
@@ -917,7 +980,7 @@ export async function runLaunch(flags: LaunchFlags, rawArgs: string[]): Promise<
   const claudeArgs = [
     "--dangerously-load-development-channels",
     "server:claudemesh",
-    ...(claudeSessionId ? ["--session-id", claudeSessionId] : []),
+    ...(passSessionIdFlag && claudeSessionId ? ["--session-id", claudeSessionId] : []),
     ...(args.resume ? ["--resume", args.resume] : []),
     ...(args.continueSession ? ["--continue"] : []),
     ...(args.skipPermConfirm ? ["--dangerously-skip-permissions"] : []),

apps/cli/src/commands/peers.ts

@@ -241,14 +241,6 @@ export async function runPeers(flags: PeersFlags): Promise<void> {
     try {
       const peers = await listPeersForMesh(slug);
 
-      if (wantsJson) {
-        const projected = fieldList
-          ? peers.map((p) => projectFields(p, fieldList))
-          : peers;
-        allJson.push({ mesh: slug, peers: projected });
-        continue;
-      }
-
       // Hide control-plane rows by default — they're infrastructure
       // (daemon-WS member-keyed presence), not interactive peers, and
       // they confused users into thinking the daemon counted as a
@@ -258,10 +250,22 @@ export async function runPeers(flags: PeersFlags): Promise<void> {
       // 2026-05-04). annotateSelf() filled in 'session' for older
       // brokers that don't emit peerRole yet, so this filter is
       // backwards-compatible by construction — legacy rows show up.
+      //
+      // Applied to JSON too (was human-output-only): `peer list --json`
+      // leaking the daemon's control-plane row is what made the daemon
+      // look like an addressable peer and sent DMs into a black hole.
       const visible = flags.all
         ? peers
         : peers.filter((p) => p.peerRole !== "control-plane");
 
+      if (wantsJson) {
+        const projected = fieldList
+          ? visible.map((p) => projectFields(p, fieldList))
+          : visible;
+        allJson.push({ mesh: slug, peers: projected });
+        continue;
+      }
+
       // Sort: this-session first, then your-other-sessions, then real
       // peers. Within each group, idle/working ahead of dnd. Inside the
       // groups, leave broker order. The point is: when you run peer

apps/cli/src/commands/send.ts

@@ -40,63 +40,98 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
     : flags.priority === "low" ? "low"
     : "next";
 
-  // Resolve which mesh to use. With --mesh, target it directly.
+  // Resolve which mesh to use. With --mesh, target it directly. Without,
-  // Without, use first joined mesh — same default as withMesh.
+  // use the only joined mesh, else leave null and let target resolution
+  // below discover the right mesh from where the peer actually lives.
   const config = readConfig();
-  const meshSlug =
+  let meshSlug =
     flags.mesh ??
     (config.meshes.length === 1 ? config.meshes[0]!.slug : null);
 
-  // 1.31.6: hex-prefix resolution. If `to` looks like hex but isn't a
+  // Cross-mesh target resolution (1.36.0). A direct send to a hex prefix
-  // full 64-char pubkey, resolve it against the peer list and replace
+  // or display name is resolved against the peer rosters so the CLI:
-  // it with the matching full pubkey. The broker stores `targetSpec`
+  //   - expands a prefix/name to the full session pubkey (the broker's
-  // verbatim and the drain query at apps/broker/src/broker.ts:2408
+  //     drain matches only full pubkeys — a bare prefix would queue but
-  // matches only on full pubkeys, so a 16-hex prefix would queue
+  //     never fetch: sender saw "sent", recipient saw nothing);
-  // successfully but never fetch — sender saw "sent", recipient saw
+  //   - DISCOVERS which joined mesh the target is on when no --mesh was
-  // nothing. Resolving here makes the CLI's prefix UX work end-to-end
+  //     given and several meshes are joined. Previously this returned
-  // and surfaces ambiguous / unmatched prefixes with a clear error
+  //     `mesh_required` and a live peer on a non-default mesh looked
-  // instead of a silent drop.
+  //     "disconnected". We now scan every joined mesh's roster and, if
-  if (
+  //     the target resolves in exactly one, auto-select that mesh.
-    !to.startsWith("@") &&
+  // With --mesh (or a single joined mesh) the scan is scoped to that one
-    !to.startsWith("#") &&
+  // mesh, so `send --mesh X <prefix>` resolves against X's roster — not
-    to !== "*" &&
+  // the default mesh (the bug where only the full 64-char pubkey worked).
-    /^[0-9a-f]{4,63}$/i.test(to)
+  const isDirect = !to.startsWith("@") && !to.startsWith("#") && to !== "*";
-  ) {
+  const isFullPubkey = /^[0-9a-f]{64}$/i.test(to);
-    try {
+  const isPrefix = /^[0-9a-f]{4,63}$/i.test(to);
+  const isName = isDirect && !isFullPubkey && !isPrefix;
+
+  if (isDirect && (isPrefix || isName || (isFullPubkey && !meshSlug))) {
     const { tryListPeersViaDaemon } = await import("~/services/bridge/daemon-route.js");
-      const peers = (await tryListPeersViaDaemon()) ?? [];
+    const searchSlugs = meshSlug ? [meshSlug] : config.meshes.map((m) => m.slug);
     const lower = to.toLowerCase();
-      const matches = peers.filter((p) => {
+    let daemonReachable = false;
-        const pk = (p as { pubkey?: string }).pubkey ?? "";
+    type Hit = { slug: string; pubkey: string; displayName: string };
-        const mpk = (p as { memberPubkey?: string }).memberPubkey ?? "";
+    const matches: Hit[] = [];
-        return pk.toLowerCase().startsWith(lower) || mpk.toLowerCase().startsWith(lower);
+    for (const slug of searchSlugs) {
-      });
+      const peers = await tryListPeersViaDaemon(slug);
-      if (matches.length === 0) {
+      if (peers === null) continue; // daemon unreachable for this query
-        render.err(`No peer matches hex prefix "${to}".`);
+      daemonReachable = true;
-        const names = peers
+      for (const p of peers) {
-          .map((p) => (p as { displayName?: string }).displayName)
+        // Never resolve a name/prefix to a control-plane daemon row — it's
-          .filter(Boolean)
+        // infrastructure, not an addressable peer, and matching it sends a
-          .join(", ");
+        // DM that the daemon swallows. (peerRole is the reliable marker;
-        if (names) render.hint(`online: ${names}`);
+        // the daemon's own row is control-plane.)
+        if ((p as { peerRole?: string }).peerRole === "control-plane") continue;
+        const pk = ((p as { pubkey?: string }).pubkey ?? "").toLowerCase();
+        const mpk = ((p as { memberPubkey?: string }).memberPubkey ?? "").toLowerCase();
+        const dn = (p as { displayName?: string }).displayName ?? "?";
+        const hit = isName
+          ? dn.toLowerCase() === lower
+          : pk.startsWith(lower) || mpk.startsWith(lower);
+        if (hit) matches.push({ slug, pubkey: (p as { pubkey?: string }).pubkey ?? "", displayName: dn });
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Only act on a reachable daemon. If it was down for every query, fall
+    // through to the cold path, which opens its own WS and resolves names.
+    if (daemonReachable) {
+      const byPubkey = new Map<string, Hit>();
+      for (const m of matches) if (!byPubkey.has(m.pubkey)) byPubkey.set(m.pubkey, m);
+      const uniq = [...byPubkey.values()];
+      const meshesHit = [...new Set(uniq.map((m) => m.slug))];
+
+      if (uniq.length === 0) {
+        // For a full pubkey we couldn't locate, keep going — the user gave
+        // a complete key and the daemon send will surface a clear error.
+        if (!isFullPubkey) {
+          render.err(`No peer matches "${to}"${flags.mesh ? ` on mesh "${flags.mesh}"` : " on any joined mesh"}.`);
+          render.hint("Check `claudemesh peer list` (add --mesh <slug> to scope).");
           process.exit(1);
         }
-      if (matches.length > 1) {
+      } else if (uniq.length > 1) {
-        const candidates = matches
+        if (meshesHit.length > 1 && !meshSlug) {
-          .map((p) => {
+          // Target lives on several meshes — disambiguate by mesh, not prefix.
-            const pk = (p as { pubkey?: string }).pubkey ?? "";
+          const where = uniq
-            const dn = (p as { displayName?: string }).displayName ?? "?";
+            .map((m) => `${m.displayName} ${m.pubkey.slice(0, 12)}… @${m.slug}`)
-            return `${dn} ${pk.slice(0, 16)}…`;
-          })
             .join(", ");
-        render.err(`Ambiguous hex prefix "${to}" — matches ${matches.length} peers.`);
+          render.err(`"${to}" matches peers on ${meshesHit.length} meshes — pick one with --mesh <slug>.`);
+          render.hint(`candidates: ${where}`);
+          process.exit(1);
+        }
+        const candidates = uniq
+          .map((m) => `${m.displayName} ${m.pubkey.slice(0, 16)}…`)
+          .join(", ");
+        render.err(`Ambiguous ${isName ? "name" : "prefix"} "${to}" — matches ${uniq.length} peers.`);
         render.hint(`candidates: ${candidates}`);
         render.hint("Use a longer prefix or paste the full 64-char pubkey.");
         process.exit(1);
+      } else {
+        // Exactly one match — adopt its mesh (P1: kills mesh_required for
+        // peers on a non-default mesh) and its full pubkey (prefix/name).
+        meshSlug = uniq[0]!.slug;
+        if (!isFullPubkey) to = uniq[0]!.pubkey;
       }
-      to = (matches[0] as { pubkey?: string }).pubkey ?? to;
-    } catch {
-      // Daemon unreachable — fall through; cold path will try a name
-      // lookup and surface its own error if that also fails.
     }
   }
 
@@ -135,10 +170,14 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
         const session = await getSessionInfo();
         const ownSessionPk = session?.presence?.sessionPubkey?.toLowerCase();
         const siblings = peers.filter((p) => {
-          const r = p as { memberPubkey?: string; pubkey?: string; channel?: string };
+          const r = p as { memberPubkey?: string; pubkey?: string; channel?: string; peerRole?: string };
           if (!r.pubkey) return false;
           if (ownSessionPk && r.pubkey.toLowerCase() === ownSessionPk) return false;
-          if (r.channel === "claudemesh-daemon") return false;
+          // Exclude the daemon's own control-plane presence row. peerRole is
+          // the reliable marker (the live daemon row is control-plane even
+          // when its channel reads "claudemesh-session"); keep the channel
+          // check too for older brokers that don't emit peerRole.
+          if (r.peerRole === "control-plane" || r.channel === "claudemesh-daemon") return false;
           return r.memberPubkey?.toLowerCase() === to.toLowerCase();
         });
         if (siblings.length === 0) {
@@ -184,6 +223,45 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
     }
   }
 
+  // --self only governs the own-member-key fan-out above, which returns
+  // early. Reaching here with --self still set means the target was NOT
+  // your own member pubkey, so the flag did nothing. Say so rather than
+  // ignoring it silently — the old behavior made `send --self <session-
+  // pubkey>` look like it controlled routing when it was inert. Messaging
+  // a specific session pubkey (including one of your own sibling sessions)
+  // needs no flag and just works.
+  if (flags.self) {
+    render.warn("--self had no effect: it only applies when the target is your own member pubkey (fan-out to your sibling sessions). Sending to this specific pubkey directly.");
+  }
+
+  // Honest-delivery pre-check (direct sends only). The daemon path below
+  // queues into the local outbox and returns `queued` optimistically; the
+  // drain then delivers async and retries failures (incl. "no connected
+  // peer") forever. So a bare "sent" line was misleading — a DM to an
+  // offline or stale-session-key target looked delivered but never was.
+  // Resolve the live roster once to learn whether `to` is addressable
+  // right now; this only shapes the confirmation wording (the send still
+  // queues regardless, preserving store-and-forward for genuinely-offline
+  // peers). null = unknown (not a direct DM, or daemon unreachable).
+  let recipientOnline: boolean | null = null;
+  let recipientName: string | undefined;
+  if (isDirect && meshSlug) {
+    const { tryListPeersViaDaemon } = await import("~/services/bridge/daemon-route.js");
+    const peers = await tryListPeersViaDaemon(meshSlug);
+    if (peers !== null) {
+      const lower = to.toLowerCase();
+      const match = peers.find((p) => {
+        const r = p as { pubkey?: string; memberPubkey?: string; peerRole?: string };
+        if (r.peerRole === "control-plane") return false;
+        return r.pubkey?.toLowerCase() === lower || r.memberPubkey?.toLowerCase() === lower;
+      });
+      recipientOnline = !!match;
+      recipientName = match ? (match as { displayName?: string }).displayName : undefined;
+    }
+  }
+  const offlineHint =
+    "Session pubkeys are ephemeral — a key from an ended session never reconnects, so the message can't be delivered. Re-fetch a live target with `claudemesh peer list --json`.";
+
   // Daemon path — preferred when a long-lived daemon is local. UDS at
   // ~/.claudemesh/daemon/daemon.sock; ~1ms round-trip; persists outbox
   // across CLI invocations so a `claudemesh send` survives a daemon
@@ -192,8 +270,18 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
     const dr = await trySendViaDaemon({ to, message, priority, expectedMesh: meshSlug ?? undefined });
     if (dr !== null) {
       if (dr.ok) {
-        if (flags.json) console.log(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, messageId: dr.messageId, target: to, via: "daemon", duplicate: !!dr.duplicate }));
+        if (flags.json) {
-        else render.ok(`sent to ${to} (daemon)`, dr.messageId ? dim(dr.messageId.slice(0, 8)) : undefined);
+          console.log(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, messageId: dr.messageId, target: to, via: "daemon", duplicate: !!dr.duplicate, status: dr.status, recipientOnline }));
+        } else if (recipientOnline === false) {
+          render.warn(`queued for ${recipientName ?? to.slice(0, 16) + "…"} — no connected peer matches this key on "${meshSlug}".`);
+          render.hint(offlineHint);
+        } else {
+          const who = recipientName ? `${recipientName} (${to.slice(0, 16)}…)` : to;
+          // recipientOnline === true → peer is present, delivery imminent.
+          // null → daemon couldn't tell (e.g. roster query failed); keep
+          // the neutral "(daemon)" transport tag rather than overclaiming.
+          render.ok(`sent to ${who}${recipientOnline === true ? " (online)" : " (daemon)"}`, dr.messageId ? dim(dr.messageId.slice(0, 8)) : undefined);
+        }
         return;
       }
       // Daemon answered but rejected (409 idempotency, 400 schema). Surface; do not fall through.
@@ -206,8 +294,10 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
     // was removed in 1.28.0.
   }
 
-  // Cold path — open our own WS, encrypt locally, fire envelope.
+  // Cold path — open our own WS, encrypt locally, fire envelope. Use the
-  await withMesh({ meshSlug: flags.mesh ?? null }, async (client) => {
+  // resolved meshSlug (may have been discovered above) so a name/prefix
+  // that lives on a non-default mesh still targets the right one.
+  await withMesh({ meshSlug: meshSlug ?? flags.mesh ?? null }, async (client) => {
     let targetSpec = to;
     if (to.startsWith("#") && !/^#[0-9a-z_-]{20,}$/i.test(to)) {
       // Topic by name → resolve to "#<topicId>" via topicList. The broker
@@ -237,9 +327,13 @@ export async function runSend(flags: SendFlags, to: string, message: string): Pr
     const result = await client.send(targetSpec, message, priority);
     if (result.ok) {
       if (flags.json) {
-        console.log(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, messageId: result.messageId, target: to }));
+        console.log(JSON.stringify({ ok: true, messageId: result.messageId, target: to, recipientOnline }));
+      } else if (recipientOnline === false) {
+        render.warn(`queued for ${recipientName ?? to} — no connected peer matches this key on "${meshSlug ?? flags.mesh ?? "default"}".`);
+        render.hint(offlineHint);
       } else {
-        render.ok(`sent to ${to}`, result.messageId ? dim(result.messageId.slice(0, 8)) : undefined);
+        const who = recipientName ? `${recipientName} (${to.slice(0, 16)}…)` : to;
+        render.ok(`sent to ${who}${recipientOnline === true ? " (online)" : ""}`, result.messageId ? dim(result.messageId.slice(0, 8)) : undefined);
       }
     } else {
       if (flags.json) {

apps/cli/src/daemon/identity.ts

@@ -83,6 +83,19 @@ export function checkFingerprint(): FingerprintCheck {
   if (stored.schema_version === 2) {
     if (stored.fingerprint === current.fingerprint)
       return { result: "match", current, stored };
+
+    // host_id wins: when stored and current both carry a non-empty
+    // host_id and they agree, the machine is the same — only the NIC
+    // topology shifted (dock unplugged, Wi-Fi privacy rotation, VPN
+    // adapter came online). host_id is hardware-rooted (IOPlatformUUID
+    // on macOS, /etc/machine-id on Linux) and is the load-bearing
+    // clone signal; stable_mac is best-effort defense-in-depth that
+    // legitimately drifts across boots. Silently rotate the stored
+    // record to the current MAC and proceed.
+    if (stored.host_id && stored.host_id === current.host_id) {
+      writeFileSync(path(), JSON.stringify(current, null, 2), { mode: 0o600 });
+      return { result: "match", current, stored };
+    }
     return { result: "mismatch", current, stored };
   }
 

apps/cli/src/daemon/paths.ts

@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ export const DAEMON_PATHS = {
   get OUTBOX_DB()   { return join(this.DAEMON_DIR, "outbox.db"); },
   get INBOX_DB()    { return join(this.DAEMON_DIR, "inbox.db"); },
   get LOG_FILE()    { return join(this.DAEMON_DIR, "daemon.log"); },
+  /** Persisted session→mesh bindings. Rehydrated on daemon restart so a
+   *  restart never orphans a live session's mesh context (the bug where
+   *  a peer looked "disconnected" after the daemon bounced). Holds no
+   *  secrets — keypairs are reloaded from the per-session keypair store. */
+  get SESSIONS_FILE() { return join(this.DAEMON_DIR, "sessions.json"); },
 } as const;
 
 export const DAEMON_TCP_HOST = "127.0.0.1";

apps/cli/src/daemon/run.ts

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { DAEMON_PATHS } from "./paths.js";
 import { acquireSingletonLock, releaseSingletonLock } from "./lock.js";
 import { ensureLocalToken } from "./local-token.js";
 import { startIpcServer } from "./ipc/server.js";
-import { setRegistryHooks, startReaper, type SessionInfo } from "./session-registry.js";
+import { setRegistryHooks, startReaper, registerSession, readPersistedSessions, setRegistryPersistence, type SessionInfo } from "./session-registry.js";
 import { openSqlite, type SqliteDb } from "./db/sqlite.js";
 import { migrateOutbox } from "./db/outbox.js";
 import { migrateInbox } from "./db/inbox.js";
@@ -230,6 +230,20 @@ export async function runDaemon(opts: RunDaemonOptions = {}): Promise<number> {
         }
         prior.close().catch(() => { /* ignore */ });
       }
+      // Also drop any stale WS holding this session pubkey under a
+      // DIFFERENT token. With UUID-anchored persistent keypairs a relaunch
+      // reuses the pubkey, so without this the old SessionBrokerClient
+      // would linger connected (the broker then sees two presences for one
+      // pubkey — the same-name ghost that stole queued DMs). Dedup by
+      // pubkey closes it before the new WS opens.
+      const priorByPubkey = sessionBrokersByPubkey.get(info.presence.sessionPubkey);
+      if (priorByPubkey && priorByPubkey !== prior) {
+        for (const [tok, c] of sessionBrokers) {
+          if (c === priorByPubkey) { sessionBrokers.delete(tok); break; }
+        }
+        sessionBrokersByPubkey.delete(info.presence.sessionPubkey);
+        priorByPubkey.close().catch(() => { /* ignore */ });
+      }
       // 1.32.1 — wire push delivery. Messages targeted at the launched
       // session's pubkey land on THIS WS, not on the member-keyed one,
       // so without this forward they'd silently disappear (the bug that
@@ -294,6 +308,81 @@ export async function runDaemon(opts: RunDaemonOptions = {}): Promise<number> {
 
   startReaper();
 
+  // Rehydrate persisted session bindings (1.36.0). A daemon restart used
+  // to wipe the in-memory registry, so every live session lost its mesh
+  // context and CLI commands fell back to an arbitrary default mesh — a
+  // live peer then looked "disconnected" though nothing had moved. We now
+  // reload each persisted binding, validate the pid is still alive (with
+  // a start-time PID-reuse guard), reload its keypair from the per-session
+  // store, re-sign a fresh parent attestation, and re-register it — which
+  // fires onRegister and reconnects its SessionBrokerClient on the broker.
+  try {
+    const persisted = readPersistedSessions(DAEMON_PATHS.SESSIONS_FILE);
+    if (persisted.length > 0) {
+      const { loadOrCreateSessionKeypair } = await import("~/services/session/keypair-store.js");
+      const { signParentAttestation } = await import("~/services/broker/session-hello-sig.js");
+      const { isPidAlive, getProcessStartTimes } = await import("./process-info.js");
+      const liveStartTimes = await getProcessStartTimes(persisted.map((p) => p.pid)).catch(() => new Map<number, string>());
+      let revived = 0;
+      for (const s of persisted) {
+        if (!isPidAlive(s.pid)) continue;
+        if (s.startTime !== undefined) {
+          const live = liveStartTimes.get(s.pid);
+          if (live !== undefined && live !== s.startTime) continue; // PID reused
+        }
+        const meshConfig = meshConfigs.get(s.mesh);
+        if (!meshConfig) continue; // mesh no longer joined
+        try {
+          const kp = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair(meshConfig.slug, s.sessionId);
+          const att = await signParentAttestation({
+            parentMemberPubkey: meshConfig.pubkey,
+            parentSecretKey: meshConfig.secretKey,
+            sessionPubkey: kp.publicKey,
+          });
+          registerSession({
+            token: s.token,
+            sessionId: s.sessionId,
+            mesh: s.mesh,
+            displayName: s.displayName,
+            pid: s.pid,
+            ...(s.cwd ? { cwd: s.cwd } : {}),
+            ...(s.role ? { role: s.role } : {}),
+            ...(s.groups ? { groups: s.groups } : {}),
+            ...(s.startTime ? { startTime: s.startTime } : {}),
+            presence: {
+              sessionPubkey: kp.publicKey,
+              sessionSecretKey: kp.secretKey,
+              parentAttestation: {
+                sessionPubkey: att.sessionPubkey,
+                parentMemberPubkey: att.parentMemberPubkey,
+                expiresAt: att.expiresAt,
+                signature: att.signature,
+              },
+            },
+          });
+          revived++;
+        } catch (err) {
+          process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({
+            level: "warn", msg: "session_rehydrate_failed",
+            token: s.token.slice(0, 8), mesh: s.mesh, err: String(err),
+            ts: new Date().toISOString(),
+          }) + "\n");
+        }
+      }
+      process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({
+        level: "info", msg: "sessions_rehydrated",
+        revived, persisted: persisted.length, ts: new Date().toISOString(),
+      }) + "\n");
+    }
+  } catch (err) {
+    process.stderr.write(JSON.stringify({
+      level: "warn", msg: "session_rehydrate_scan_failed", err: String(err),
+      ts: new Date().toISOString(),
+    }) + "\n");
+  }
+  // Enable ongoing persistence now that rehydration has read the old file.
+  setRegistryPersistence(DAEMON_PATHS.SESSIONS_FILE);
+
   const ipc = startIpcServer({
     localToken,
     tcpEnabled,

apps/cli/src/daemon/session-broker.ts

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 import { hostname as osHostname } from "node:os";
 
 import type { JoinedMesh } from "~/services/config/facade.js";
-import { signSessionHello } from "~/services/broker/session-hello-sig.js";
+import { signSessionHello, signParentAttestation } from "~/services/broker/session-hello-sig.js";
 import { connectWsWithBackoff, type WsLifecycle, type WsStatus } from "./ws-lifecycle.js";
 import type { BrokerSendArgs, BrokerSendResult } from "./broker.js";
 
@@ -149,13 +149,35 @@ export class SessionBrokerClient {
           sessionPubkey: this.opts.sessionPubkey,
           sessionSecretKey: this.opts.sessionSecretKey,
         });
+        // Re-mint the parent attestation fresh on every (re)connect rather
+        // than reusing the one signed at `claudemesh launch`. The minted
+        // attestation has a 12h TTL; reusing the stored instance meant any
+        // reconnect past launch+12h — a network blip, a sleep/wake, or
+        // (most commonly) a broker redeploy that drops every WS at once —
+        // was rejected by the broker with `expired`, after which the daemon
+        // reconnect-looped forever with the same dead token and the session
+        // silently fell off the mesh (its ephemeral pubkey lingering in
+        // peer rosters, undeliverable). The member secret key is in memory
+        // (`mesh.secretKey`, already used at daemon rehydration), so the
+        // daemon can self-renew: fresh-minting keeps live attestations
+        // short-lived AND makes presence self-healing across reconnects.
+        let parentAttestation = this.opts.parentAttestation;
+        try {
+          parentAttestation = await signParentAttestation({
+            parentMemberPubkey: this.opts.mesh.pubkey,
+            parentSecretKey: this.opts.mesh.secretKey,
+            sessionPubkey: this.opts.sessionPubkey,
+          });
+        } catch (e) {
+          this.log("warn", "parent attestation re-mint failed; reusing stored token (may be expired)", { err: String(e) });
+        }
         return {
           type: "session_hello",
           meshId: this.opts.mesh.meshId,
           parentMemberId: this.opts.mesh.memberId,
           parentMemberPubkey: this.opts.mesh.pubkey,
           sessionPubkey: this.opts.sessionPubkey,
-          parentAttestation: this.opts.parentAttestation,
+          parentAttestation,
           displayName: this.opts.displayName,
           sessionId: this.opts.sessionId,
           pid: this.opts.pid,

apps/cli/src/daemon/session-registry.ts

@@ -22,6 +22,10 @@
  * session have no token to begin with.
  */
 
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, renameSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { dirname } from "node:path";
+import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
+
 import { getProcessStartTime, getProcessStartTimes, isPidAlive } from "./process-info.js";
 
 /**
@@ -83,6 +87,65 @@ const hooks: RegistryHooks = {};
 
 let reaperHandle: NodeJS.Timeout | null = null;
 
+/** When set, registry mutations are mirrored to this file so a daemon
+ *  restart can rehydrate live sessions. Holds NO secret material — the
+ *  session keypair is reloaded from the per-session keypair store on
+ *  rehydrate. null (default) disables persistence, which keeps unit
+ *  tests from touching disk unless they opt in. */
+let persistPath: string | null = null;
+
+/** Slim, secret-free projection persisted to disk. */
+export interface PersistedSession {
+  token: string;
+  sessionId: string;
+  mesh: string;
+  displayName: string;
+  pid: number;
+  cwd?: string;
+  role?: string;
+  groups?: string[];
+  startTime?: string;
+  registeredAt: number;
+}
+
+function toPersisted(info: SessionInfo): PersistedSession {
+  // Drop `presence` (carries the session secret key) — never to disk here.
+  const { presence: _presence, ...rest } = info;
+  return rest;
+}
+
+/** Enable on-disk persistence of session bindings (called at daemon boot
+ *  with DAEMON_PATHS.SESSIONS_FILE). Pass null to disable. */
+export function setRegistryPersistence(path: string | null): void {
+  persistPath = path;
+}
+
+function persist(): void {
+  if (!persistPath) return;
+  try {
+    mkdirSync(dirname(persistPath), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+    const rows = [...byToken.values()].map(toPersisted);
+    const tmp = `${persistPath}.${randomBytes(6).toString("hex")}.tmp`;
+    writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify({ version: 1, sessions: rows }), { mode: 0o600 });
+    renameSync(tmp, persistPath);
+  } catch {
+    // Best-effort: a persistence failure must never throttle the registry.
+  }
+}
+
+/** Read persisted session bindings from disk (pure — no registration, no
+ *  liveness check). Returns [] when the file is absent or unreadable.
+ *  The daemon's boot rehydration validates liveness and re-registers. */
+export function readPersistedSessions(path: string): PersistedSession[] {
+  try {
+    if (!existsSync(path)) return [];
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(path, "utf8")) as { sessions?: PersistedSession[] };
+    return Array.isArray(parsed.sessions) ? parsed.sessions : [];
+  } catch {
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
 export function startReaper(): void {
   if (reaperHandle) return;
   // The sweep is async (batched ps) — wrap in `void` so setInterval
@@ -125,6 +188,7 @@ export function registerSession(info: Omit<SessionInfo, "registeredAt">): Sessio
   const stored: SessionInfo = { ...info, registeredAt: Date.now() };
   byToken.set(info.token, stored);
   bySessionId.set(info.sessionId, info.token);
+  persist();
   try { hooks.onRegister?.(stored); } catch { /* see above */ }
   if (stored.startTime === undefined) {
     void captureStartTimeAsync(info.token, info.pid);
@@ -138,6 +202,7 @@ async function captureStartTimeAsync(token: string, pid: number): Promise<void>
   const entry = byToken.get(token);
   if (!entry || entry.pid !== pid) return; // entry was replaced; skip
   entry.startTime = lstart;
+  persist(); // capture start-time on disk so restart can PID-reuse-guard
 }
 
 export function deregisterByToken(token: string): boolean {
@@ -145,6 +210,7 @@ export function deregisterByToken(token: string): boolean {
   if (!entry) return false;
   byToken.delete(token);
   if (bySessionId.get(entry.sessionId) === token) bySessionId.delete(entry.sessionId);
+  persist();
   try { hooks.onDeregister?.(entry); } catch { /* see above */ }
   return true;
 }
@@ -217,4 +283,5 @@ export function _resetRegistry(): void {
   bySessionId.clear();
   hooks.onRegister = undefined;
   hooks.onDeregister = undefined;
+  persistPath = null;
 }

apps/cli/src/services/session/keypair-store.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+/**
+ * Persistent per-session ed25519 keypairs, keyed by Claude Code's
+ * session UUID.
+ *
+ * Background. Until this module landed, `claudemesh launch` minted a
+ * FRESH ephemeral session keypair on every invocation (see
+ * SPEC.md §"Session identity"). That made a peer's routing/crypto
+ * identity unstable across relaunch and `--resume`: a DM is sealed to
+ * the recipient's `sessionPubkey` (crypto_box; see services/crypto/box.ts),
+ * so when the key rotated, any message queued for the old pubkey became
+ * undecryptable AND the old presence lingered as a ghost on the broker.
+ *
+ * The fix anchors session identity on the stable thing Claude Code
+ * itself uses for resume: the session UUID (scoped to the project/cwd).
+ * The keypair for a given (mesh, sessionUuid) is generated once and
+ * persisted, so:
+ *   - relaunching / `--resume`-ing the same session reuses the SAME
+ *     pubkey → the broker reattaches the existing presence and queued
+ *     DMs both route AND decrypt;
+ *   - a genuinely new session (fresh UUID) gets a fresh keypair → it is
+ *     correctly a distinct peer.
+ *
+ * Storage. `~/.claudemesh/sessions/<meshSlug>/<sessionUuid>.json`, the
+ * file mode 0o600 inside a 0o700 dir — same secret-hygiene as the IPC
+ * token store. The secret key lives on disk (like the member key
+ * already does in the mesh config); the threat-model delta over the old
+ * ephemeral scheme is small and was an accepted trade for reliable
+ * delivery. `CLAUDEMESH_SESSIONS_DIR` overrides the root for tests.
+ */
+
+import { randomBytes } from "node:crypto";
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, renameSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { homedir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+
+import { generateKeypair, type Ed25519Keypair } from "~/services/crypto/facade.js";
+
+const UUID_RE = /^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i;
+const SLUG_RE = /^[a-z0-9._-]+$/i;
+
+interface StoredKeypair {
+  version: 1;
+  meshSlug: string;
+  sessionId: string;
+  publicKey: string;
+  secretKey: string;
+  createdAt: string;
+}
+
+/** Root dir for persisted session keypairs. Stable per-machine; does
+ *  NOT honor the per-launch `CLAUDEMESH_CONFIG_DIR` tmpdir (those are
+ *  ephemeral and would defeat persistence). */
+export function sessionsDir(): string {
+  return (
+    process.env.CLAUDEMESH_SESSIONS_DIR ||
+    join(homedir(), ".claudemesh", "sessions")
+  );
+}
+
+function keyFilePath(meshSlug: string, sessionId: string): string {
+  return join(sessionsDir(), meshSlug, `${sessionId}.json`);
+}
+
+/** Read a persisted keypair, returning null (never throwing) when the
+ *  file is missing, unreadable, malformed, or carries an invalid key. */
+function readValidKeypair(file: string): Ed25519Keypair | null {
+  try {
+    if (!existsSync(file)) return null;
+    const parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(file, "utf8")) as Partial<StoredKeypair>;
+    if (
+      parsed &&
+      typeof parsed.publicKey === "string" &&
+      /^[0-9a-f]{64}$/.test(parsed.publicKey) &&
+      typeof parsed.secretKey === "string" &&
+      /^[0-9a-f]{128}$/.test(parsed.secretKey)
+    ) {
+      return { publicKey: parsed.publicKey, secretKey: parsed.secretKey };
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // Unreadable / corrupt — caller treats as absent and rewrites.
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Return the persisted keypair for (meshSlug, sessionId), creating and
+ * writing one on first use. Re-reads from disk every call so concurrent
+ * launches of the same session converge on one identity rather than
+ * racing to mint divergent keys.
+ *
+ * Falls back to an in-memory ephemeral keypair (the legacy behaviour)
+ * when the identifiers are unusable or disk I/O fails — a launch must
+ * never be blocked by a keystore problem.
+ */
+export async function loadOrCreateSessionKeypair(
+  meshSlug: string,
+  sessionId: string,
+): Promise<Ed25519Keypair> {
+  // Defensive validation: these compose into a filesystem path, so a
+  // malformed slug/uuid must never escape the sessions dir.
+  if (!SLUG_RE.test(meshSlug) || !UUID_RE.test(sessionId)) {
+    return generateKeypair();
+  }
+
+  const file = keyFilePath(meshSlug, sessionId);
+  const existing = readValidKeypair(file);
+  if (existing) return existing;
+
+  const kp = await generateKeypair();
+  try {
+    mkdirSync(join(sessionsDir(), meshSlug), { recursive: true, mode: 0o700 });
+    const stored: StoredKeypair = {
+      version: 1,
+      meshSlug,
+      sessionId,
+      publicKey: kp.publicKey,
+      secretKey: kp.secretKey,
+      createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
+    };
+    // Write to a temp sibling then rename for atomicity, so a concurrent
+    // reader never sees a half-written file.
+    const tmp = `${file}.${randomBytes(6).toString("hex")}.tmp`;
+    writeFileSync(tmp, JSON.stringify(stored), { mode: 0o600 });
+    try {
+      // Re-check: another launch may have won the race and created the
+      // canonical file with a VALID keypair while we were generating —
+      // prefer it. A corrupt/invalid existing file is not a winner; fall
+      // through and overwrite it via the atomic rename below.
+      if (existsSync(file)) {
+        const won = readValidKeypair(file);
+        if (won) {
+          try { rmSync(tmp, { force: true }); } catch { /* ignore */ }
+          return won;
+        }
+      }
+      // renameSync is atomic on the same filesystem.
+      renameSync(tmp, file);
+    } catch {
+      // rename failed — best effort, the in-memory keypair is still valid
+      // for this launch.
+    }
+  } catch {
+    // mkdir/write failed — return the freshly generated keypair anyway so
+    // the launch proceeds (degrades to ephemeral, same as legacy).
+  }
+  return kp;
+}

apps/cli/tests/unit/identity.test.ts

@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ describe("checkFingerprint (file-based)", () => {
     expect(result.stored?.schema_version).toBe(1);
   });
 
-  it("v2 stored with a different fingerprint reports mismatch", async () => {
+  it("v2 stored with a different fingerprint AND different host_id reports mismatch (genuine clone)", async () => {
     const { checkFingerprint, acceptCurrentHost } = await import(
       "~/daemon/identity.js"
     );
@@ -245,6 +245,7 @@ describe("checkFingerprint (file-based)", () => {
         {
           ...real,
           fingerprint: "f".repeat(64),
+          host_id: real.host_id ? `${real.host_id}-cloned` : "linux:spoofed",
         },
         null,
         2,
@@ -256,6 +257,66 @@ describe("checkFingerprint (file-based)", () => {
     expect(result.stored?.schema_version).toBe(2);
   });
 
+  it("v2 stored with matching host_id but different stable_mac silently rotates to match (dock unplugged / Wi-Fi privacy rotation)", async () => {
+    const { checkFingerprint, acceptCurrentHost, fingerprintV2 } = await import(
+      "~/daemon/identity.js"
+    );
+    const real = acceptCurrentHost();
+    // Same host_id, different stable_mac → stale fingerprint on disk.
+    const staleMac = "00:e0:4c:99:99:99";
+    const staleFingerprint = fingerprintV2(real.host_id, staleMac);
+    expect(staleFingerprint).not.toBe(real.fingerprint);
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, "host_fingerprint.json"),
+      JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          ...real,
+          stable_mac: staleMac,
+          fingerprint: staleFingerprint,
+          written_at: "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+    );
+
+    const result = checkFingerprint();
+    expect(result.result).toBe("match");
+    expect(result.stored?.schema_version).toBe(2);
+
+    // Stored record is silently rewritten with the current MAC/fingerprint.
+    const onDisk = JSON.parse(
+      readFileSync(join(testDir, "host_fingerprint.json"), "utf8"),
+    );
+    expect(onDisk.fingerprint).toBe(real.fingerprint);
+    expect(onDisk.stable_mac).toBe(real.stable_mac);
+  });
+
+  it("v2 stored with EMPTY host_id falls back to strict fingerprint compare (broken v1.34.16 record)", async () => {
+    // Records written by v1.34.16 had empty host_id on macOS — once
+    // current host_id starts populating correctly, we cannot use the
+    // host_id-wins branch (would silently rotate any clone). Strict
+    // fingerprint compare → mismatch → user runs accept-host.
+    const { checkFingerprint } = await import("~/daemon/identity.js");
+    writeFileSync(
+      join(testDir, "host_fingerprint.json"),
+      JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          schema_version: 2,
+          fingerprint: "0".repeat(64),
+          host_id: "",
+          stable_mac: "00:e0:4c:11:22:33",
+          written_at: "2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z",
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+    );
+
+    const result = checkFingerprint();
+    expect(result.result).toBe("mismatch");
+  });
+
   it("unknown future schema is treated as 'unavailable', not overwritten", async () => {
     const { checkFingerprint } = await import("~/daemon/identity.js");
     writeFileSync(

apps/cli/tests/unit/keypair-store.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+/**
+ * Persisted, UUID-anchored session keypairs (delivery-reliability fix).
+ *
+ * The keystore is what makes a peer's sessionPubkey stable across
+ * relaunch/--resume, so queued DMs (sealed to that pubkey) both route to
+ * and decrypt on the returning session. Verifies:
+ *   - the same (mesh, uuid) returns the SAME keypair across calls and
+ *     across a fresh module read (persisted to disk);
+ *   - distinct uuids / meshes get distinct keypairs;
+ *   - malformed identifiers fall back to an ephemeral keypair and never
+ *     escape the sessions dir;
+ *   - a corrupt on-disk file is transparently rewritten.
+ */
+
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync, writeFileSync, existsSync, readdirSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  loadOrCreateSessionKeypair,
+  sessionsDir,
+} from "../../src/services/session/keypair-store.js";
+
+const UUID_A = "11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555";
+const UUID_B = "66666666-7777-8888-9999-aaaaaaaaaaaa";
+
+let dir: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "cm-keystore-"));
+  process.env.CLAUDEMESH_SESSIONS_DIR = dir;
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  delete process.env.CLAUDEMESH_SESSIONS_DIR;
+  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe("loadOrCreateSessionKeypair", () => {
+  test("same (mesh, uuid) is stable across calls", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    const b = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    expect(a.publicKey).toBe(b.publicKey);
+    expect(a.secretKey).toBe(b.secretKey);
+    expect(a.publicKey).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/);
+    expect(a.secretKey).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{128}$/);
+  });
+
+  test("persists to disk under sessionsDir/<mesh>/<uuid>.json", async () => {
+    await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    const file = join(sessionsDir(), "flexicar", `${UUID_A}.json`);
+    expect(existsSync(file)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
+  test("distinct uuids get distinct keys", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    const b = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_B);
+    expect(a.publicKey).not.toBe(b.publicKey);
+  });
+
+  test("distinct meshes get distinct keys for the same uuid", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    const b = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("other-mesh", UUID_A);
+    expect(a.publicKey).not.toBe(b.publicKey);
+  });
+
+  test("malformed uuid falls back to ephemeral, writes nothing", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", "not-a-uuid");
+    const b = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", "not-a-uuid");
+    expect(a.publicKey).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/);
+    // Ephemeral → not persisted → each call is fresh.
+    expect(a.publicKey).not.toBe(b.publicKey);
+    expect(existsSync(join(dir, "flexicar"))).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("path-traversal slug is rejected (ephemeral, no escape)", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("../../etc", UUID_A);
+    expect(a.publicKey).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/);
+    // Nothing written under the sessions dir for a rejected slug.
+    expect(readdirSync(dir)).toHaveLength(0);
+  });
+
+  test("corrupt on-disk file is rewritten and yields a valid key", async () => {
+    const a = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    const file = join(sessionsDir(), "flexicar", `${UUID_A}.json`);
+    writeFileSync(file, "{ this is not valid json", "utf8");
+    const b = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    expect(b.publicKey).toMatch(/^[0-9a-f]{64}$/);
+    // Rewritten to a fresh, internally-consistent keypair (distinct from
+    // the now-clobbered original).
+    expect(b.publicKey).not.toBe(a.publicKey);
+    const c = await loadOrCreateSessionKeypair("flexicar", UUID_A);
+    expect(c.publicKey).toBe(b.publicKey);
+  });
+});

apps/cli/tests/unit/session-registry-persist.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/**
+ * Session-registry persistence (1.36.0) — durable session→mesh bindings.
+ *
+ * A daemon restart used to wipe the in-memory registry, orphaning every
+ * live session's mesh context. Persistence lets the daemon rehydrate on
+ * boot. Verifies:
+ *   - register writes a slim record to disk; readPersistedSessions reads it;
+ *   - the session SECRET KEY is never written to disk;
+ *   - deregister removes the record;
+ *   - persistence is off by default (no disk writes until enabled).
+ */
+
+import { existsSync, mkdtempSync, readFileSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os";
+import { join } from "node:path";
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+
+import {
+  _resetRegistry,
+  deregisterByToken,
+  readPersistedSessions,
+  registerSession,
+  setRegistryPersistence,
+} from "../../src/daemon/session-registry.js";
+
+const SECRET = "b".repeat(128);
+const PRESENCE = {
+  sessionPubkey: "a".repeat(64),
+  sessionSecretKey: SECRET,
+  parentAttestation: {
+    sessionPubkey: "a".repeat(64),
+    parentMemberPubkey: "c".repeat(64),
+    expiresAt: 9_999_999_999,
+    signature: "d".repeat(128),
+  },
+};
+
+let dir: string;
+let file: string;
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  _resetRegistry();
+  dir = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), "cm-reg-"));
+  file = join(dir, "sessions.json");
+});
+
+afterEach(() => {
+  _resetRegistry();
+  rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+describe("registry persistence", () => {
+  test("off by default — no disk writes until enabled", () => {
+    registerSession({ token: "t1", sessionId: "s1", mesh: "flexicar", displayName: "a", pid: process.pid, startTime: "x" });
+    expect(existsSync(file)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  test("register persists a slim record; readPersistedSessions round-trips", () => {
+    setRegistryPersistence(file);
+    registerSession({
+      token: "t1", sessionId: "11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555",
+      mesh: "flexicar", displayName: "intra-back", pid: process.pid,
+      cwd: "/tmp/x", role: "dev", startTime: "x", presence: PRESENCE,
+    });
+    const rows = readPersistedSessions(file);
+    expect(rows).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(rows[0]).toMatchObject({
+      token: "t1", mesh: "flexicar", displayName: "intra-back", cwd: "/tmp/x", role: "dev",
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("session secret key is NEVER written to disk", () => {
+    setRegistryPersistence(file);
+    registerSession({ token: "t1", sessionId: "s1", mesh: "flexicar", displayName: "a", pid: process.pid, startTime: "x", presence: PRESENCE });
+    const raw = readFileSync(file, "utf8");
+    expect(raw).not.toContain(SECRET);
+    expect(raw).not.toContain("sessionSecretKey");
+    expect(raw).not.toContain("parentAttestation");
+    // And the parsed record carries no presence material.
+    expect(readPersistedSessions(file)[0]).not.toHaveProperty("presence");
+  });
+
+  test("deregister removes the record from disk", () => {
+    setRegistryPersistence(file);
+    registerSession({ token: "t1", sessionId: "s1", mesh: "flexicar", displayName: "a", pid: process.pid, startTime: "x" });
+    registerSession({ token: "t2", sessionId: "s2", mesh: "nedas", displayName: "b", pid: process.pid, startTime: "x" });
+    expect(readPersistedSessions(file)).toHaveLength(2);
+    deregisterByToken("t1");
+    const rows = readPersistedSessions(file);
+    expect(rows).toHaveLength(1);
+    expect(rows[0]!.token).toBe("t2");
+  });
+
+  test("readPersistedSessions tolerates a missing/corrupt file", () => {
+    expect(readPersistedSessions(join(dir, "nope.json"))).toEqual([]);
+    const bad = join(dir, "bad.json");
+    writeFileSync(bad, "{not json");
+    expect(readPersistedSessions(bad)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});