fix(scep-intune): use useTrackedMutation for trust-anchor reload (M-009)

Phase 9 follow-up — the M-009 hard-zero regression guard in .github/workflows/ci.yml flagged the SCEPAdminPage's reload mutation as a bare useMutation() call. The repo's invalidation contract requires every mutation to go through useTrackedMutation with explicit invalidates: QueryKey[] | 'noop' so cached data never goes stale after a write. Swap the bare useMutation for useTrackedMutation with invalidates: [['admin', 'scep', 'intune', 'stats']] — the trust-anchor reload changes the per-profile trust pool reflected in IntuneStats, so the stats query MUST refetch on success. The audit-log queries stay on their own 60s timer (a SIGHUP-equivalent reload doesn't backfill new audit rows; nothing to invalidate there). Verification: * tsc --noEmit clean * vitest SCEPAdminPage.test.tsx: 13/13 still pass (the wrapper's onSuccess fires AFTER invalidation, so the modal-close + state reset assertions hold) * M-009 grep guard reproduced locally — bare useMutation sites = 0
feat(scep-intune): GUI monitoring tab + admin endpoints
2026-06-07 22:31:36 +00:00 · 2026-04-29 16:35:40 +00:00 · 2026-04-29 16:14:07 +00:00 · 2026-04-29 15:34:19 +00:00 · 2026-04-29 14:38:35 +00:00 · 2026-04-29 13:58:18 +00:00
570 changed files with 116544 additions and 8019 deletions
@@ -13,22 +13,43 @@ POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me-in-production
 # Certctl Server
 # All server vars use the CERTCTL_ prefix (see internal/config/config.go)
 # ==============================================================================
-CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL=postgres://certctl:certctl@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable
+# IMPORTANT: keep the password segment of CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL in sync with
+# POSTGRES_PASSWORD above. If you deploy via `deploy/docker-compose.yml`,
+# this value is *overridden* by the compose file's
+# `postgres://certctl:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}@postgres:5432/...`
+# interpolation — but if you run the binary directly with this .env loaded
+# (e.g. `set -a; source .env; ./certctl-server`), update *both* lines.
+# Background: editing POSTGRES_PASSWORD after the postgres data directory
+# has been initialized once does NOT rotate the password — initdb only
+# seeds pg_authid on first boot of an empty volume. See docs/quickstart.md
+# "Warning" callout and `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError`
+# for the SQLSTATE 28P01 diagnostic that fires when the two drift.
+CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL=postgres://certctl:change-me-in-production@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable
 CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST=0.0.0.0
 CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT=8443
 CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL=info
 CERTCTL_LOG_FORMAT=json

-# Auth type: "api-key", "jwt", or "none" (for demo/development)
+# Auth type: "api-key" (production) or "none" (demo/development).
+# For JWT/OIDC, run an authenticating gateway in front of certctl
+# (oauth2-proxy / Envoy ext_authz / Traefik ForwardAuth / Pomerium) and
+# set CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none on the upstream — see
+# docs/architecture.md "Authenticating-gateway pattern". G-1 removed
+# the in-process "jwt" option (no JWT middleware shipped — silent auth
+# downgrade); see docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md if you previously
+# set CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt.
 CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none
-# Required when CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE is "api-key" or "jwt"
+# Required when CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE is "api-key".
 # Generate with: openssl rand -base64 32
 # CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET=change-me-in-production

 # ==============================================================================
 # Certctl Agent
 # ==============================================================================
-CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:8443
+# HTTPS-only as of v2.2 (TLS 1.3 pinned). Agents reject http:// URLs at
+# startup. Use the docker-compose self-signed bootstrap CA bundle from
+# `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` or supply your own via CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH.
+CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://localhost:8443
 CERTCTL_API_KEY=change-me-in-production
 CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME=local-agent

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+name: CodeQL
+
+# Public-facing SAST baseline that complements the existing security-deep-scan
+# workflow (gosec, osv-scanner, trivy, ZAP, semgrep, schemathesis, nuclei,
+# testssl) with cross-file Go and JavaScript dataflow analysis. Results land
+# in the repository's Security → Code scanning tab as a public signal — any
+# operator/security team auditing certctl can see the scan history and
+# triage state without asking.
+#
+# Why CodeQL in addition to gosec:
+#   - gosec is single-file pattern matching (catches obvious issues like
+#     `os/exec.Command(userInput)`); CodeQL does interprocedural taint
+#     tracking (catches the same issue when the userInput is laundered
+#     through several function calls or struct fields).
+#   - GitHub-native; no third-party SaaS license gate (works for BSL 1.1
+#     and other source-available licenses, unlike Aikido / Snyk / SonarCloud
+#     free tiers which require OSI-approved licenses).
+#   - SARIF results auto-deduplicate and persist on PRs, so reviewers see
+#     "this PR introduces N new findings" rather than re-running ad hoc.
+#
+# Findings that are intentional (e.g., the SSH connector's
+# InsecureIgnoreHostKey, ACME DNS solver's intentional shell-out to operator-
+# supplied scripts) get suppressed via inline `// codeql[<rule-id>]`
+# comments OR via a `.github/codeql/codeql-config.yml` query-pack tweak —
+# document the rationale in the same commit that adds the suppression so
+# the public scan-tab readers see the threat-model justification.
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [master]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [master]
+  schedule:
+    # Weekly Sunday 06:00 UTC, in addition to push/PR coverage. Catches
+    # rule-pack updates from CodeQL upstream (their Go/JS rulesets ship
+    # new queries on a roughly-monthly cadence).
+    - cron: '0 6 * * 0'
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  security-events: write   # SARIF upload to GitHub code scanning
+  actions: read
+
+jobs:
+  analyze:
+    name: Analyze (${{ matrix.language }})
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 30
+    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
+      matrix:
+        language: [go, javascript-typescript]
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Go
+        if: matrix.language == 'go'
+        uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          # Match ci.yml + release.yml + security-deep-scan.yml.
+          go-version: '1.25.9'
+
+      - name: Initialize CodeQL
+        uses: github/codeql-action/init@v3
+        with:
+          languages: ${{ matrix.language }}
+          # Use the security-and-quality query suite — security finds plus
+          # maintainability/correctness issues that the smaller security-extended
+          # suite skips. Comparable scope to what Aikido / SonarCloud run.
+          queries: security-and-quality
+
+      - name: Autobuild
+        uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@v3
+
+      - name: Perform CodeQL Analysis
+        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v3
+        with:
+          category: "/language:${{ matrix.language }}"
+          # SARIF upload is implicit (and is what populates the Security tab).
@@ -7,40 +7,30 @@ on:

 env:
  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
-  GO_VERSION: '1.22'
+  # Keep in lock-step with .github/workflows/ci.yml (M-3).
+  GO_VERSION: '1.25.9'
+  IMAGE_NAMESPACE: shankar0123

 jobs:
-  # Cross-compile agent and server binaries for multiple platforms
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # build-binaries (M-3): matrix build every (binary × OS × arch) tuple.
+  # For each tuple we produce: the binary, a SPDX-JSON SBOM, a keyless
+  # Cosign signature + certificate bundle, and a single-line sha256sum
+  # file. All artefacts are uploaded to a workflow-scoped artifact; the
+  # aggregate-checksums job fans them back in for release upload.
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  build-binaries:
-    name: Build Cross-Platform Binaries
+    name: Build ${{ matrix.binary }} (${{ matrix.os }}/${{ matrix.arch }})
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
-      contents: write
-
+      contents: read
+      id-token: write  # Cosign keyless OIDC identity token
    strategy:
+      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
-        include:
-          # Agent binaries (4 platforms)
-          - os: linux
-            arch: amd64
-            binary: agent
-          - os: linux
-            arch: arm64
-            binary: agent
-          - os: darwin
-            arch: amd64
-            binary: agent
-          - os: darwin
-            arch: arm64
-            binary: agent
-          # Server binaries (2 platforms)
-          - os: linux
-            arch: amd64
-            binary: server
-          - os: linux
-            arch: arm64
-            binary: server
-
+        binary: [agent, server, cli, mcp-server]
+        os: [linux, darwin]
+        arch: [amd64, arm64]
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

@@ -51,35 +41,191 @@ jobs:

      - name: Extract version from tag
        id: version
-        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

-      - name: Build ${{ matrix.binary }} binary (${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }})
+      - name: Install govulncheck
+        # Bundle D / Audit L-008: release.yml previously had no vulnerability
+        # scan, so a release tag could in principle ship a binary with a
+        # known CVE in transitive deps that ci.yml's govulncheck would have
+        # caught on master. Pre-build scan blocks the release if anything
+        # surfaced post-merge. Pinned to the same major as ci.yml.
+        run: go install golang.org/x/vuln/cmd/govulncheck@latest
+
+      - name: Run govulncheck (release gate)
+        # govulncheck distinguishes called-vs-uncalled vulnerable functions.
+        # Default exit code (0 unless an actual call site lands in a vuln
+        # function) is the right gate for release; deferred-call advisories
+        # are tracked separately on master via L-021. If a release-time
+        # scan surfaces a NEW called-vuln, the release is blocked until the
+        # bump lands on master and a new tag is cut.
+        run: govulncheck ./...
+
+      - name: Build binary
+        id: build
        env:
          GOOS: ${{ matrix.os }}
          GOARCH: ${{ matrix.arch }}
-          CGO_ENABLED: 0
+          CGO_ENABLED: '0'
+          VERSION: ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
          OUTPUT_NAME="certctl-${{ matrix.binary }}-${{ matrix.os }}-${{ matrix.arch }}"
-          go build -ldflags="-w -s -X main.Version=${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}" \
+          mkdir -p dist
+          go build \
+            -trimpath \
+            -ldflags="-w -s -X main.Version=${VERSION}" \
            -o "dist/${OUTPUT_NAME}" \
            "./cmd/${{ matrix.binary }}"
          ls -lh "dist/${OUTPUT_NAME}"
+          echo "output_name=${OUTPUT_NAME}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

-      - name: Upload binaries to release
+      - name: Generate SBOM (SPDX-JSON)
+        uses: anchore/sbom-action@e22c389904149dbc22b58101806040fa8d37a610  # v0.24.0
+        with:
+          file: dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}
+          format: spdx-json
+          output-file: dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}.sbom.spdx.json
+          upload-artifact: false
+          upload-release-assets: false
+
+      - name: Install Cosign
+        uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@cad07c2e89fa2edd6e2d7bab4c1aa38e53f76003  # v4.1.1
+
+      - name: Keyless-sign binary with Cosign
+        env:
+          OUTPUT_NAME: ${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # Cosign v3.0 (shipped by cosign-installer@v4.1.1 default
+          # cosign-release=v3.0.5) removed --output-signature/--output-certificate
+          # on sign-blob. The replacement is --bundle, which emits a unified
+          # Sigstore bundle (signature + cert chain + Rekor inclusion proof) as
+          # a single .sigstore.json artefact. M-11.
+          cosign sign-blob \
+            --yes \
+            --bundle "dist/${OUTPUT_NAME}.sigstore.json" \
+            "dist/${OUTPUT_NAME}"
+
+      - name: Compute SHA-256 sidecar
+        env:
+          OUTPUT_NAME: ${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cd dist
+          sha256sum "${OUTPUT_NAME}" > "${OUTPUT_NAME}.sha256"
+          cat "${OUTPUT_NAME}.sha256"
+
+      - name: Upload build artefacts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          name: binary-${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}
+          path: |
+            dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}
+            dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}.sigstore.json
+            dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}.sbom.spdx.json
+            dist/${{ steps.build.outputs.output_name }}.sha256
+          if-no-files-found: error
+          retention-days: 7
+
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # aggregate-checksums (M-3): fan in every matrix artefact, produce a
+  # single checksums.txt (sha256sum format, compatible with `sha256sum
+  # -c`), sign it with Cosign, upload everything to the GitHub Release,
+  # and emit a base64-encoded hash manifest for the SLSA generator.
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  aggregate-checksums:
+    name: Aggregate checksums & sign
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [build-binaries]
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+      id-token: write  # Cosign keyless OIDC identity token
+    outputs:
+      hashes: ${{ steps.hashes.outputs.hashes }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Download binary artefacts
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+        with:
+          pattern: binary-*
+          path: artifacts
+          merge-multiple: true
+
+      - name: Aggregate SHA-256 sums
+        id: hashes
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cd artifacts
+          : > checksums.txt
+          for f in certctl-*; do
+            case "$f" in
+              *.sigstore.json|*.sbom.spdx.json|*.sha256|checksums.txt)
+                continue ;;
+            esac
+            sha256sum "$f" >> checksums.txt
+          done
+          echo "=== checksums.txt ==="
+          cat checksums.txt
+          # base64 hashes (single line, no wrapping) for SLSA generator.
+          HASHES=$(base64 -w0 < checksums.txt)
+          echo "hashes=${HASHES}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Install Cosign
+        uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@cad07c2e89fa2edd6e2d7bab4c1aa38e53f76003  # v4.1.1
+
+      - name: Keyless-sign checksums.txt
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cd artifacts
+          # Cosign v3.0 --bundle replaces the removed v2 flag pair
+          # --output-signature / --output-certificate. See M-11.
+          cosign sign-blob \
+            --yes \
+            --bundle checksums.txt.sigstore.json \
+            checksums.txt
+
+      - name: Upload artefacts to GitHub Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
        with:
          files: |
-            dist/certctl-agent-*
-            dist/certctl-server-*
+            artifacts/certctl-*
+            artifacts/checksums.txt
+            artifacts/checksums.txt.sigstore.json

-  # Build and push Docker images
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # provenance-binaries (M-3): SLSA Level 3 provenance for every binary.
+  # The SLSA generic generator reusable workflow runs in a hermetic
+  # workflow run, producing multiple.intoto.jsonl from the base64 hash
+  # manifest and uploading it as a release asset.
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  provenance-binaries:
+    name: SLSA provenance (binaries)
+    needs: [aggregate-checksums]
+    permissions:
+      actions: read
+      id-token: write
+      contents: write
+    uses: slsa-framework/slsa-github-generator/.github/workflows/generator_generic_slsa3.yml@v2.1.0
+    with:
+      base64-subjects: "${{ needs.aggregate-checksums.outputs.hashes }}"
+      upload-assets: true
+      provenance-name: multiple.intoto.jsonl
+
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # build-and-push-docker: push container images to GHCR with native
+  # SLSA L3 provenance (mode=max) and SBOM attestations emitted by
+  # docker/build-push-action@v6, plus a keyless Cosign signature on the
+  # image digest for identity-bound verification. The M-4 proxy-propagation
+  # build-args block is retained verbatim — M-3 only adds supply-chain
+  # steps; it never touches M-4 wiring.
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  build-and-push-docker:
    name: Build & Push Docker Images
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: write
      packages: write
+      id-token: write  # Cosign keyless OIDC identity token

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
@@ -93,40 +239,90 @@ jobs:

      - name: Extract version from tag
        id: version
-        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3

+      - name: Install Cosign
+        uses: sigstore/cosign-installer@cad07c2e89fa2edd6e2d7bab4c1aa38e53f76003  # v4.1.1
+
      - name: Build and push server image
+        id: server-push
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
        with:
          context: .
          file: ./Dockerfile
          push: true
          tags: |
-            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/shankar0123/certctl-server:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
-            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/shankar0123/certctl-server:latest
+            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-server:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-server:latest
+          # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards runner-level proxy
+          # secrets into the Docker build so self-hosted runners behind
+          # corporate proxies can reach public registries. GitHub-hosted
+          # runners don't need proxies, so the secrets are optional and
+          # resolve to empty strings when unset — byte-identical to the
+          # pre-fix behaviour for the public-runner path.
+          build-args: |
+            HTTP_PROXY=${{ secrets.HTTP_PROXY }}
+            HTTPS_PROXY=${{ secrets.HTTPS_PROXY }}
+            NO_PROXY=${{ secrets.NO_PROXY }}
+          # Supply-chain hardening (M-3): emit native SLSA L3 provenance
+          # and SBOM attestations bound to the image manifest.
+          provenance: mode=max
+          sbom: true
          cache-from: type=gha
          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max

+      - name: Keyless-sign server image with Cosign
+        env:
+          DIGEST: ${{ steps.server-push.outputs.digest }}
+          IMAGE: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-server
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cosign sign --yes "${IMAGE}@${DIGEST}"
+
      - name: Build and push agent image
+        id: agent-push
        uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
        with:
          context: .
          file: ./Dockerfile.agent
          push: true
          tags: |
-            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/shankar0123/certctl-agent:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
-            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/shankar0123/certctl-agent:latest
+            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-agent:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+            ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-agent:latest
+          # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — see server-image step for
+          # rationale. Empty secrets resolve to empty build args, leaving
+          # the un-proxied code path byte-identical to the pre-fix tree.
+          build-args: |
+            HTTP_PROXY=${{ secrets.HTTP_PROXY }}
+            HTTPS_PROXY=${{ secrets.HTTPS_PROXY }}
+            NO_PROXY=${{ secrets.NO_PROXY }}
+          # Supply-chain hardening (M-3): emit native SLSA L3 provenance
+          # and SBOM attestations bound to the image manifest.
+          provenance: mode=max
+          sbom: true
          cache-from: type=gha
          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max

-  # Create release notes with all artifacts
+      - name: Keyless-sign agent image with Cosign
+        env:
+          DIGEST: ${{ steps.agent-push.outputs.digest }}
+          IMAGE: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAMESPACE }}/certctl-agent
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          cosign sign --yes "${IMAGE}@${DIGEST}"
+
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # create-release: stamp the release body. The actual asset uploads are
+  # handled by aggregate-checksums (binaries, SBOMs, sigs, certs,
+  # checksums.txt + signature) and the SLSA generator (multiple.intoto.jsonl).
+  # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  create-release:
    name: Create Release Notes
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: [build-binaries, build-and-push-docker]
+    needs: [build-binaries, aggregate-checksums, provenance-binaries, build-and-push-docker]
    permissions:
      contents: write

@@ -135,77 +331,81 @@ jobs:

      - name: Extract version from tag
        id: version
-        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"

      - name: Create release with notes
+        # generate_release_notes: true asks GitHub to auto-generate the
+        # "What's Changed" section from PRs+commits between this tag and the
+        # previous one. The hardcoded body below appends a per-release
+        # supply-chain verification block (Cosign / SLSA / SBOM steps with the
+        # current version baked into the commands) plus a single link to the
+        # README's Quick Start section for install/upgrade instructions.
+        # We deliberately do NOT duplicate install instructions here — the
+        # README is the source of truth for those, and inlining them in every
+        # release page produces the kind of "every release looks identical"
+        # noise that gives operators no signal about what actually changed.
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
        with:
          generate_release_notes: true
          body: |
-            ## Installation
+            > **Install / upgrade:** see the [Quick Start section in the README](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/blob/master/README.md#quick-start) for Docker Compose, agent install, Helm, and binary download instructions.

-            ### Quick Install (Linux/macOS)
+            ## Verifying this release
+
+            Every binary, `checksums.txt`, and container image is signed with Cosign
+            keyless OIDC. Each binary ships with a SPDX-JSON SBOM. Binaries are covered
+            by SLSA Level 3 provenance; container images carry native SLSA L3 provenance
+            and SBOM attestations (docker/build-push-action `provenance: mode=max`,
+            `sbom: true`) in addition to a Cosign signature on the digest.
+
+            **1. Verify SHA-256 checksums:**

            ```bash
-            curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shankar0123/certctl/master/install-agent.sh | bash
+            sha256sum -c checksums.txt
            ```

-            ### Manual Binary Download
-
-            Download the appropriate binary for your OS and architecture:
-
-            - **Linux x86_64**: `certctl-agent-linux-amd64`
-            - **Linux ARM64**: `certctl-agent-linux-arm64`
-            - **macOS x86_64**: `certctl-agent-darwin-amd64`
-            - **macOS ARM64 (Apple Silicon)**: `certctl-agent-darwin-arm64`
-
-            Then make it executable and start the service:
+            **2. Verify the Cosign signature on checksums.txt (keyless OIDC):**

            ```bash
-            chmod +x certctl-agent-linux-amd64
-            sudo mv certctl-agent-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/certctl-agent
+            cosign verify-blob \
+              --bundle checksums.txt.sigstore.json \
+              --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/\.github/workflows/release\.yml@refs/tags/' \
+              --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+              checksums.txt
            ```

-            ## Docker Images
+            Replace `checksums.txt` with any individual binary name to verify that
+            artefact directly (each binary ships with its own `.sigstore.json`
+            bundle, e.g. `cosign verify-blob --bundle certctl-agent-linux-amd64.sigstore.json …`).

-            Pull pre-built Docker images for server and agent:
+            **3. Verify SLSA Level 3 provenance (binaries):**

            ```bash
-            docker pull ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-server:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
-            docker pull ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-agent:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+            slsa-verifier verify-artifact \
+              --provenance-path multiple.intoto.jsonl \
+              --source-uri github.com/shankar0123/certctl \
+              --source-tag ${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }} \
+              certctl-agent-linux-amd64
            ```

-            Or use the latest tag:
+            **4. Verify container image signature and attestations:**

            ```bash
-            docker pull ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-server:latest
-            docker pull ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-agent:latest
+            IMAGE=ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-server:${{ steps.version.outputs.VERSION }}
+            cosign verify \
+              --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/\.github/workflows/release\.yml@refs/tags/' \
+              --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+              "$IMAGE"
+
+            # SBOM attestation (SPDX-JSON) emitted by docker/build-push-action
+            cosign verify-attestation --type spdxjson \
+              --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/' \
+              --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+              "$IMAGE"
+
+            # SLSA provenance attestation (mode=max)
+            cosign verify-attestation --type slsaprovenance \
+              --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/' \
+              --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+              "$IMAGE"
            ```
-
-            ## Docker Compose Quick Start
-
-            ```bash
-            git clone https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl.git
-            cd certctl
-            cp deploy/.env.example deploy/.env
-            docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d
-            ```
-
-            ## Server Binaries
-
-            Pre-compiled server binaries are also available for direct installation:
-
-            - **Linux x86_64**: `certctl-server-linux-amd64`
-            - **Linux ARM64**: `certctl-server-linux-arm64`
-
-            ## Helm Chart
-
-            Deploy certctl to Kubernetes using Helm:
-
-            ```bash
-            helm repo add certctl https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/tree/master/deploy/helm
-            helm repo update
-            helm install certctl certctl/certctl
-            ```
-
-            See `deploy/helm/certctl/` for values customization.
@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+name: security-deep-scan
+
+# Bundle-7 / Audit D-001..D-007:
+# Slow / containerized scans on a daily schedule + manual dispatch.
+# Per-PR fast gates live in ci.yml; this workflow runs the heavyweight
+# tools that need docker, network egress to scanner registries, or
+# longer wall-clock budgets than a per-PR check tolerates.
+#
+# Scope:
+#   trivy image          container CVE + secret scan
+#   syft SBOM            CycloneDX SBOM artefact upload
+#   ZAP baseline         DAST baseline against a live deploy_test stack (D-004)
+#   nuclei               template-based vuln scan against the same stack
+#   schemathesis         OpenAPI fuzz against the running server
+#   testssl.sh           TLS configuration audit (D-005)
+#   race detector x10    full -count=10 race run on the entire test suite (D-002)
+#   gosec                Go security static analysis (slow first run)
+#   go-mutesting         mutation testing on crypto cluster (D-003)
+#   semgrep p/react-security  frontend XSS / dangerouslySetInnerHTML / target=_blank ruleset (D-007)
+#
+# Each step is best-effort — failures are uploaded as artefacts but do
+# NOT block the workflow. Triage happens via the Bundle-7 receipt
+# directory under cowork/comprehensive-audit-2026-04-25/tool-output/.
+
+on:
+  schedule:
+    - cron: '0 6 * * *'   # daily 06:00 UTC
+  workflow_dispatch: {}
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
+  security-events: write   # SARIF upload to GitHub code scanning
+
+jobs:
+  deep-scan:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 60
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version: '1.25'
+
+      - name: Install Go-based tools
+        run: bash scripts/install-security-tools.sh
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- Static analysis (slow paths) ---
+
+      - name: gosec
+        run: |
+          $(go env GOPATH)/bin/gosec -fmt sarif -out gosec.sarif ./... || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: osv-scanner (multi-ecosystem CVE)
+        run: |
+          $(go env GOPATH)/bin/osv-scanner -r --format json --output osv-scanner.json . || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- Race detector at -count=10 (D-002) ---
+
+      - name: go test -race -count=10 (full suite)
+        run: |
+          go test -race -count=10 -short ./... 2>&1 | tee go-test-race.txt
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- Coverage receipts for crypto cluster (H-005) ---
+
+      - name: go test -cover (crypto cluster)
+        run: |
+          go test -cover -covermode=atomic \
+            ./internal/crypto/... \
+            ./internal/pkcs7/... \
+            ./internal/connector/issuer/local/... \
+            2>&1 | tee go-test-cover.txt
+
+      # --- Mutation testing on crypto cluster (D-003) ---
+      #
+      # Operator runbook: docs/testing-strategy.md::Mutation testing.
+      # Tool: go-mutesting (https://github.com/zimmski/go-mutesting). Each
+      # package is mutated independently; the per-package summary line
+      # (`The mutation score is X.YZ`) is grep-extracted into the receipt.
+      # Acceptance threshold: ≥80% kill ratio per package; surviving
+      # mutants get triaged in cowork/comprehensive-audit-2026-04-25/
+      # d003-mutation-results.md (per-mutant action item or
+      # equivalent-mutation justification).
+
+      - name: Install go-mutesting
+        run: go install github.com/zimmski/go-mutesting/cmd/go-mutesting@latest
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: go-mutesting (crypto cluster)
+        run: |
+          : > go-mutesting.txt
+          for pkg in ./internal/crypto/... ./internal/pkcs7/... ./internal/connector/issuer/local/...; do
+            echo "=== $pkg ===" | tee -a go-mutesting.txt
+            $(go env GOPATH)/bin/go-mutesting "$pkg" 2>&1 | tee -a go-mutesting.txt || true
+          done
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- Container + supply chain (D-001 partial, D-006 partial) ---
+
+      - name: Build certctl image
+        run: docker build -t certctl:deep-scan .
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: trivy image scan
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/src aquasec/trivy:latest image \
+            --format json --output /src/trivy.json certctl:deep-scan || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: syft SBOM
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/src anchore/syft:latest dir:/src \
+            -o cyclonedx-json > syft.cyclonedx.json || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- DAST against a live stack (D-004) ---
+
+      - name: docker compose up (test stack)
+        run: |
+          docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d
+          sleep 20
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: ZAP baseline
+        uses: zaproxy/action-baseline@v0.10.0
+        with:
+          target: 'https://localhost:8443'
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: schemathesis (OpenAPI fuzz)
+        run: |
+          pip install schemathesis
+          schemathesis run --base-url https://localhost:8443 \
+            --hypothesis-max-examples=50 api/openapi.yaml || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: nuclei
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm --network host projectdiscovery/nuclei:latest \
+            -u https://localhost:8443 -j -o nuclei.json || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- TLS audit (D-005) ---
+
+      - name: testssl.sh
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/data drwetter/testssl.sh:latest \
+            --jsonfile /data/testssl.json https://localhost:8443 || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      - name: docker compose down
+        run: docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down || true
+        if: always()
+
+      # --- Frontend XSS / unsafe-link ruleset (D-007) ---
+      #
+      # Operator runbook: docs/testing-strategy.md::Frontend semgrep.
+      # Bundle 8 already verified `dangerouslySetInnerHTML` count at
+      # zero and the `target="_blank"` rel-noopener pin via grep
+      # guards in ci.yml — semgrep p/react-security adds defence in
+      # depth (it catches escape patterns the grep guards don't see,
+      # e.g., href={user_input}, eval, document.write).
+
+      - name: semgrep p/react-security (frontend)
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/src returntocorp/semgrep:latest \
+            semgrep --config=p/react-security --json /src/web/src \
+            > semgrep-react.json 2>semgrep-react.stderr || true
+        continue-on-error: true
+
+      # --- Upload everything as artefacts ---
+
+      - name: Upload deep-scan receipts
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+        if: always()
+        with:
+          name: security-deep-scan-${{ github.run_id }}
+          path: |
+            gosec.sarif
+            osv-scanner.json
+            go-test-race.txt
+            go-test-cover.txt
+            go-mutesting.txt
+            trivy.json
+            syft.cyclonedx.json
+            nuclei.json
+            testssl.json
+            semgrep-react.json
+            semgrep-react.stderr
+          retention-days: 30
@@ -63,12 +63,28 @@ certctl-cli
 /server
 /agent
 /cli
+/mcp-server

 # Private strategy docs
-roadmap.md
 SECURITY_REMEDIATION.md

 # OS
 .DS_Store
 Thumbs.db
-mcp-server
+
+# Local Go build/module caches (session-scoped, never committed)
+/.gocache/
+/.gomodcache/
+/.gopath/
+/.gomodcache-gopath/
+
+# Design scratch files (session-scoped)
+/.i004-design.md
+/.i005-design.md
+
+# HTTPS-Everywhere (M-007) Phase 6: the docker-compose.test.yml tls-init
+# container writes ca.crt / server.crt / server.key into this directory so
+# the host-side integration_test.go binary can pin the CA via
+# CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE=./certs/ca.crt. Material is regenerated on every
+# `docker compose up` and never belongs in git.
+/deploy/test/certs/
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ run:
 linters:
  default: none
  enable:
+    - contextcheck
    - govet
    - staticcheck
    - unused
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Bundle-7 / Audit D-001 / govulncheck suppressions.
+#
+# Format: one OSV ID per line, with a comment justifying the suppression.
+# Every entry needs:
+#   - the OSV ID (GO-YYYY-NNNN)
+#   - one-line "what is it"
+#   - one-line "why we're not affected" (must reference call-graph evidence)
+#   - "review-by" date (YYYY-MM-DD) — re-triage on/after this date
+#
+# Triage rule: only suppress an advisory if `govulncheck ./...` (NOT
+# verbose) reports it as a deferred-call vulnerability ("packages you
+# import" or "modules you require", not "Your code is affected by").
+#
+# At Bundle-7 time (2026-04-26): the 5 advisories surfaced are all in
+# transitive deps and govulncheck confirms our code does not call them.
+# Documented here for tracking; no entries needed because the default
+# fail-on-non-zero gate already passes (govulncheck distinguishes
+# called vs uncalled and only exits non-zero when the latter calls in).
+#
+# Example (do not enable unless the advisory becomes call-affected):
+# GO-2026-4441  # transitive: golang.org/x/crypto pre-v0.40 — net/ssh terrapin downgrade; we don't use net/ssh; review 2026-07-01
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+# Changelog
+
+certctl no longer maintains a hand-edited per-version changelog. Per-release
+notes are auto-generated from commit messages between consecutive tags.
+
+**Where to find what changed in a given release:**
+
+- **[GitHub Releases](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/releases)** — every
+  tag has an auto-generated "What's Changed" section pulled from the commits
+  between that tag and the previous one, plus per-release supply-chain
+  verification instructions (Cosign / SLSA / SBOM).
+- **`git log <prev-tag>..<this-tag> --oneline`** — same content, locally.
+
+**Why no hand-edited CHANGELOG.md:**
+
+certctl is solo-developed and pushes directly to master. Maintaining a
+hand-edited CHANGELOG meant the file drifted (entries piled into
+`[unreleased]` and never got promoted to per-version sections when tags were
+cut). A stale CHANGELOG is worse than no CHANGELOG — it signals abandoned
+maintenance to security-conscious operators doing diligence.
+
+The auto-generated release notes work here because commit messages follow a
+descriptive convention: `<area>: <summary>` with a longer body for non-trivial
+changes (see `git log v2.0.50..HEAD` for the established pattern). Anyone
+reading the GitHub Releases page can see exactly what landed in each version
+without depending on the author to manually update a separate file.
+
+**For the historical record:** earlier versions (pre-v2.2.0 and the [2.2.0]
+tag itself) had a hand-edited CHANGELOG. That content is preserved in
+[git history](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/blob/v2.2.0/CHANGELOG.md)
+at the v2.2.0 tag.
@@ -1,18 +1,80 @@
 # Multi-stage build for certctl server
+#
+# Bundle A / Audit H-001 (CWE-829): every FROM line is pinned to an
+# immutable digest in addition to the human-readable tag. The tag is
+# advisory; the digest is what Docker actually pulls. A registry-side
+# tag swap (the documented prior-art for tag-only pulls being unsafe)
+# can no longer change the build.
+#
+# Bump procedure (operator):
+#   1. Quarterly cadence (or sooner if a CVE lands on a base image).
+#   2. For each FROM:
+#        docker pull <image>:<tag>
+#        docker manifest inspect <image>:<tag> | grep -m1 digest
+#      OR via Docker Hub Registry API:
+#        curl -sSL https://hub.docker.com/v2/repositories/library/<image>/tags/<tag> \
+#          | jq -r .digest
+#   3. Replace the @sha256:... portion of the FROM line.
+#   4. Run `docker build` locally + verify CI.
+#   5. Commit with the bump procedure cited in the message body.
+#
+# The CI step "Forbidden bare FROM regression guard (H-001)" rejects
+# any future commit that lands a FROM without an @sha256 pin.

 # Stage 1: Build frontend
-FROM node:20-alpine AS frontend
+FROM node:20-alpine@sha256:fb4cd12c85ee03686f6af5362a0b0d56d50c58a04632e6c0fb8363f609372293 AS frontend
+
+# Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — defaulted to empty so un-proxied builds
+# behave identically to the pre-fix tree. When `HTTP_PROXY`/`HTTPS_PROXY`/
+# `NO_PROXY` are forwarded via `docker build --build-arg` (or compose
+# `build.args`), they are re-exported as ENV with both upper- and lower-case
+# names because npm/apk/curl read the lowercase variants while Go, Node, and
+# most HTTP libraries read the uppercase ones.
+ARG HTTP_PROXY=
+ARG HTTPS_PROXY=
+ARG NO_PROXY=
+ENV HTTP_PROXY=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    HTTPS_PROXY=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    NO_PROXY=${NO_PROXY} \
+    http_proxy=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    https_proxy=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    no_proxy=${NO_PROXY}

 WORKDIR /app/web

-COPY web/package.json web/package-lock.json ./
-RUN npm ci
-
 COPY web/ .
-RUN npm run build
+# Bundle A / Audit M-014: explicit retry loop for `npm ci`. Pre-bundle
+# this was `npm ci || npm ci && tsc && build` — the bash precedence is
+# `A || (B && C && D)` so the second `npm ci` only ran on the failure
+# path of the first, but the `tsc && build` chain only ran on the
+# success path of the second. Net effect: a transient registry blip
+# turned the build into a silent skip of the production step.
+#
+# New shape: a deterministic 3-attempt retry with 5-second backoff and
+# an explicit `[ -d node_modules ]` post-check so a silent failure is
+# impossible.
+RUN for i in 1 2 3; do \
+        npm ci --include=dev && break; \
+        echo "npm ci attempt $i failed; sleeping 5s before retry"; \
+        sleep 5; \
+    done && \
+    [ -d node_modules ] || (echo "ERROR: npm ci failed after 3 attempts; node_modules missing" && exit 1) && \
+    node_modules/.bin/tsc --version && \
+    npm run build

 # Stage 2: Build Go binary
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS builder
+FROM golang:1.25-alpine@sha256:5caaf1cca9dc351e13deafbc3879fd4754801acba8653fa9540cea125d01a71f AS builder
+
+# Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — see Stage 1 rationale.
+ARG HTTP_PROXY=
+ARG HTTPS_PROXY=
+ARG NO_PROXY=
+ENV HTTP_PROXY=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    HTTPS_PROXY=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    NO_PROXY=${NO_PROXY} \
+    http_proxy=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    https_proxy=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    no_proxy=${NO_PROXY}

 RUN apk add --no-cache git ca-certificates tzdata

@@ -31,7 +93,7 @@ RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} go build \
    ./cmd/server

 # Stage 3: Runtime
-FROM alpine:3.19
+FROM alpine:3.19@sha256:6baf43584bcb78f2e5847d1de515f23499913ac9f12bdf834811a3145eb11ca1

 RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates tzdata curl

@@ -50,7 +112,34 @@ USER certctl

 EXPOSE 8443

+# Image-level HEALTHCHECK for bare `docker run` / Docker Swarm / Nomad / ECS.
+#
+# U-2 (P1, cat-u-healthcheck_protocol_mismatch): pre-U-2 this probe used
+# `curl -f http://localhost:8443/health`, which always failed against the
+# HTTPS-only listener (HTTPS-Everywhere milestone, v2.2 / tag v2.0.47 —
+# `cmd/server/main.go::ListenAndServeTLS`, no plaintext fallback, TLS 1.3
+# pinned). Operators outside docker-compose / Helm saw permanent
+# `unhealthy` status and a restart-loop the first time they pulled the
+# image. The compose stack overrides this HEALTHCHECK with `--cacert` to
+# the bootstrap CA bundle (deploy/docker-compose.yml:126); the Helm chart
+# uses explicit `httpGet` probes with `scheme: HTTPS` and ignores Docker's
+# HEALTHCHECK; every example compose file in `examples/*/docker-compose.yml`
+# overrides with `curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health`. This image-
+# level probe is for the bare-`docker run` consumer ONLY.
+#
+# `-k` (insecure) is acceptable here because the probe is localhost-to-
+# localhost: the same process serving the cert is being probed; the probe
+# never traverses a network. Pinning a `--cacert` is not viable for the
+# published image because the bootstrap cert is per-deploy (generated into
+# the `certs` named volume on first up; operator-supplied via Helm's
+# `existingSecret` or cert-manager). Compose / Helm / examples already
+# perform full cert-chain validation and are unaffected.
+#
+# CI grep guardrail at .github/workflows/ci.yml ("Forbidden plaintext
+# HEALTHCHECK regression guard (U-2)") blocks reintroduction of the
+# `http://` shape. Image-level integration test in
+# deploy/test/healthcheck_test.go pins the contract end-to-end.
 HEALTHCHECK --interval=10s --timeout=5s --start-period=5s --retries=5 \
-    CMD curl -f http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1
+    CMD curl -fsk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1

 ENTRYPOINT ["/app/server"]
@@ -1,6 +1,27 @@
 # Multi-stage build for certctl agent
+#
+# Bundle A / Audit H-001 (CWE-829): every FROM line is pinned to an
+# immutable digest. See Dockerfile (server) for the bump-procedure
+# operator runbook; the pins here MUST be bumped in the same pass.
+
 # Stage 1: Build
-FROM golang:1.25-alpine AS builder
+FROM golang:1.25-alpine@sha256:5caaf1cca9dc351e13deafbc3879fd4754801acba8653fa9540cea125d01a71f AS builder
+
+# Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — defaulted to empty so un-proxied builds
+# behave identically to the pre-fix tree. When `HTTP_PROXY`/`HTTPS_PROXY`/
+# `NO_PROXY` are forwarded via `docker build --build-arg` (or compose
+# `build.args`), they are re-exported as ENV with both upper- and lower-case
+# names because apk and curl read the lowercase variants while Go reads the
+# uppercase ones.
+ARG HTTP_PROXY=
+ARG HTTPS_PROXY=
+ARG NO_PROXY=
+ENV HTTP_PROXY=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    HTTPS_PROXY=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    NO_PROXY=${NO_PROXY} \
+    http_proxy=${HTTP_PROXY} \
+    https_proxy=${HTTPS_PROXY} \
+    no_proxy=${NO_PROXY}

 RUN apk add --no-cache git ca-certificates

@@ -18,9 +39,16 @@ RUN CGO_ENABLED=0 GOOS=linux GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} go build \
    ./cmd/agent

 # Stage 2: Runtime
-FROM alpine:3.19
+FROM alpine:3.19@sha256:6baf43584bcb78f2e5847d1de515f23499913ac9f12bdf834811a3145eb11ca1

-RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates curl
+# U-2: `procps` ships pgrep, which the HEALTHCHECK below uses to verify the
+# agent process is alive. Pre-U-2 the deploy/docker-compose.yml agent
+# HEALTHCHECK called `pgrep -f certctl-agent` against this image but
+# pgrep wasn't installed — the compose probe was a latent always-fail.
+# Adding procps here fixes both the new image-level HEALTHCHECK and the
+# pre-existing compose override. Adds ~250KB to the image; acceptable for
+# observability parity with the server image.
+RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates curl procps

 RUN addgroup -g 1000 certctl && \
    adduser -D -u 1000 -G certctl certctl
@@ -35,4 +63,19 @@ RUN mkdir -p /var/lib/certctl/keys && \

 USER certctl

+# Image-level HEALTHCHECK for bare `docker run` / Docker Swarm / Nomad / ECS.
+#
+# U-2 (P1, cat-u-healthcheck_protocol_mismatch — adjacent fix): the agent
+# has no HTTP listener (it polls the server via outbound HTTPS), so a
+# process-presence check is the correct primitive. Pre-U-2 the agent image
+# shipped with no HEALTHCHECK at all, so bare-`docker run` operators got
+# zero health signal and orchestrators that key off Docker's HEALTHCHECK
+# (Swarm, Nomad, ECS) saw the container reported as `none`. The compose
+# override at deploy/docker-compose.yml:173 used the same `pgrep -f
+# certctl-agent` shape; we mirror it here so the published image has
+# parity with the compose stack and the override on docker-compose.yml
+# becomes redundant-but-correct rather than load-bearing.
+HEALTHCHECK --interval=30s --timeout=5s --start-period=10s --retries=3 \
+    CMD pgrep -f certctl-agent > /dev/null || exit 1
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["/app/agent"]
@@ -6,15 +6,22 @@ Licensor:             Shankar Reddy
 Licensed Work:        certctl
                      The Licensed Work is (c) 2026 Shankar Reddy.
 Additional Use Grant: You may make use of the Licensed Work, provided that
-                      you may not use the Licensed Work for a Certificate
-                      Management Service. A "Certificate Management Service"
-                      is a commercial offering that allows third parties
-                      (other than your employees and contractors acting on
-                      your behalf) to access and/or use the Licensed Work's
-                      certificate lifecycle management functionality as part
-                      of a hosted or managed service.
+                      you may not use the Licensed Work for a Commercial
+                      Certificate Service. A "Commercial Certificate Service"
+                      is any product, service, or offering in which a third
+                      party (other than your employees and contractors
+                      acting on your behalf) accesses, uses, or benefits
+                      from the Licensed Work's certificate management
+                      functionality — including but not limited to lifecycle
+                      management, discovery, monitoring, alerting, renewal
+                      automation, deployment, and revocation — as part of
+                      or in connection with an offering for which
+                      compensation is received. This restriction applies
+                      regardless of whether the Licensed Work is hosted,
+                      managed, embedded, bundled, or integrated with
+                      another product or service.

-Change Date:          March 14, 2033
+Change Date:          March 14, 2126

 Change License:       Apache License, Version 2.0

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.PHONY: help build run test lint clean docker-up docker-down migrate-up migrate-down generate test-cover frontend-build
+.PHONY: help build run test lint verify clean docker-up docker-down migrate-up migrate-down generate test-cover frontend-build qa-stats

 # Default target - show help
 help:
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ help:
 	@echo "  make test-verbose   Run tests with verbose output"
 	@echo "  make lint           Run linter (golangci-lint)"
 	@echo "  make fmt            Format code with gofmt"
+	@echo "  make verify         Pre-commit gate: fmt + vet + lint + test (CI-parity)"
 	@echo ""
 	@echo "Database:"
 	@echo "  make migrate-up     Run migrations (requires DB_URL)"
@@ -97,6 +98,24 @@ vet:
 	@echo "Running go vet..."
 	go vet ./...

+# verify: aggregate pre-commit gate. Mirrors what CI enforces, so
+# running `make verify` locally before committing prevents the
+# class of breakages that ship green-locally / red-on-CI (e.g.
+# Bundle-9's ST1018 invisible-Unicode-literal hits, which `go vet`
+# alone cannot catch — staticcheck under golangci-lint does).
+verify:
+	@echo "==> fmt"
+	@go fmt ./... | { ! grep -q '.'; } || (echo "gofmt produced changes — commit them" && exit 1)
+	@echo "==> go vet ./..."
+	@go vet ./...
+	@echo "==> golangci-lint run ./... (incl. staticcheck ST*)"
+	@which golangci-lint > /dev/null || (echo "Installing golangci-lint..." && go install github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@latest)
+	@golangci-lint run ./... --timeout 5m
+	@echo "==> go test -short ./..."
+	@go test -short -count=1 ./...
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "verify: PASS — safe to commit"
+
 # Database targets (requires migrate tool)
 migrate-up:
 	@echo "Running migrations..."
@@ -162,6 +181,29 @@ frontend-build:
 	cd web && npm ci && npx vite build
 	@echo "Frontend build complete"

+# QA Suite Stats — Bundle P / Strengthening #8.
+# Single source-of-truth for every count claim in docs/qa-test-guide.md +
+# docs/testing-guide.md. The Strengthening #6 CI drift guards consume the
+# same numbers, eliminating the doc-drift class structurally.
+qa-stats:
+	@echo "=== certctl QA Suite Stats ==="
+	@echo "Date: $$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
+	@echo "HEAD: $$(git rev-parse HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo 'not-a-git-repo')"
+	@echo ""
+	@echo "Backend test files: $$(find . -name '*_test.go' -not -path './web/*' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "Backend Test functions: $$(find . -name '*_test.go' -not -path './web/*' 2>/dev/null | xargs grep -c '^func Test' 2>/dev/null | awk -F: '{s+=$$2} END{print s+0}')"
+	@echo "Backend t.Run subtests: $$(find . -name '*_test.go' -not -path './web/*' 2>/dev/null | xargs grep -c 't\.Run(' 2>/dev/null | awk -F: '{s+=$$2} END{print s+0}')"
+	@echo "Frontend test files: $$(find web/src -name '*.test.ts' -o -name '*.test.tsx' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "Fuzz targets: $$(grep -rE 'func Fuzz[A-Z]' --include='*_test.go' . 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "t.Skip sites: $$(grep -rE 't\.Skip(Now|f)?\(' --include='*_test.go' . 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "qa_test.go Part_ subtests: $$(grep -cE 't\.Run\(\"Part[0-9]+_' deploy/test/qa_test.go 2>/dev/null || echo 0)"
+	@echo "testing-guide.md Parts: $$(grep -cE '^## Part [0-9]+:' docs/testing-guide.md 2>/dev/null || echo 0)"
+	@echo "Seed unique mc-* IDs:  $$(grep -oE "mc-[a-z0-9_-]+" migrations/seed_demo.sql 2>/dev/null | sort -u | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "Seed unique ag-* IDs:  $$(grep -oE "ag-[a-z0-9_-]+" migrations/seed_demo.sql 2>/dev/null | sort -u | wc -l | tr -d ' ') (incl. agent_groups; agents-table count is 12)"
+	@echo "Seed unique iss-* IDs: $$(grep -oE "iss-[a-z0-9_-]+" migrations/seed_demo.sql 2>/dev/null | sort -u | wc -l | tr -d ' ') (issuers table count is 13)"
+	@echo "Seed unique tgt-* IDs: $$(grep -oE "tgt-[a-z0-9_-]+" migrations/seed_demo.sql 2>/dev/null | sort -u | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+	@echo "Seed unique nst-* IDs: $$(grep -oE "nst-[a-z0-9_-]+" migrations/seed_demo.sql 2>/dev/null | sort -u | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+
 # Cleanup
 clean:
 	@echo "Cleaning build artifacts..."
@@ -38,82 +38,99 @@ gantt

 > **Actively maintained — shipping weekly.** Found something? [Open a GitHub issue](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/issues) — issues get triaged same-day. CI runs the full test suite with race detection, static analysis, and vulnerability scanning on every commit.

-## Why certctl Exists
+**Ready to try it?** Jump to the [Quick Start](#quick-start) — you'll have a running dashboard in under 5 minutes.

-Certificate lifecycle tooling today falls into two camps: expensive enterprise platforms (Venafi, Keyfactor, Sectigo) that cost six figures and take months to deploy, or single-purpose tools (cert-manager, certbot) that handle one slice of the problem. If you run a mixed infrastructure — some NGINX, some Apache, a few HAProxy nodes, IIS on Windows, maybe an F5 — and you need to manage certificates from multiple CAs, there's nothing self-hosted that covers the full lifecycle without vendor lock-in.
+## Documentation

-certctl fills that gap. It's **CA-agnostic** — plug in any certificate authority: Let's Encrypt via ACME, Smallstep step-ca, HashiCorp Vault PKI, DigiCert CertCentral, your enterprise ADCS via sub-CA mode, or any custom CA through a shell script adapter. Run multiple issuers simultaneously for different certificate types.
-
-It's **target-agnostic**. Agents deploy certificates to NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, and IIS (local PowerShell or remote WinRM) — all using the same pluggable connector model. The control plane never initiates outbound connections — agents poll for work, which means certctl works behind firewalls, across network zones, and in air-gapped environments.
-
-For a detailed comparison with CertKit, KeyTalk, and enterprise platforms, see [Why certctl?](docs/why-certctl.md)
-
-## Who Is This For
-
-**Platform engineering and DevOps teams** managing 10–500+ certificates across mixed infrastructure who need automated renewal, deployment, and a single dashboard for visibility. If you're currently running certbot cron jobs, manually renewing certs, or stitching together scripts — certctl replaces all of that.
-
-**Security and compliance teams** who need an immutable audit trail, certificate ownership tracking, policy enforcement, and evidence for SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, or NIST SP 800-57 audits.
-
-**Small teams without enterprise budgets** who need the lifecycle automation that Venafi and Keyfactor provide but can't justify six-figure licensing for a 50-server environment.
-
-## What It Does
-
- **Certificates renew and deploy themselves.** The scheduler monitors expiration, creates renewal jobs, issues certificates through your CA, and deploys them to target servers — all without human intervention. ACME ARI (RFC 9702) lets your CA tell certctl exactly when to renew.
-
- **You see everything in one place.** A 25-page operational dashboard shows every certificate across every server: status, ownership, expiration timeline, deployment history with TLS verification, discovery triage, and real-time agent fleet health. Bulk operations (renew, revoke, reassign) work across selections.
-
- **Private keys never leave your servers.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally and submit only the CSR. The control plane never touches private keys. Post-deployment TLS verification confirms the right certificate is actually being served.
-
- **Discover what you don't know about.** Agents scan filesystems for existing PEM/DER certificates. The network scanner probes TLS endpoints across CIDR ranges without requiring agents. Both feed into a triage workflow where you claim, dismiss, or import discovered certificates.
-
- **Everything is auditable.** Immutable append-only audit trail records every lifecycle action, every API call, and every approval decision. Certificate digest emails deliver daily briefings. Prometheus metrics endpoint for Grafana dashboards.
-
- **Multiple interfaces for different workflows.** REST API (97 endpoints) for automation, CLI for scripting, MCP server for AI assistants (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), EST server (RFC 7030) for device enrollment, Helm chart for Kubernetes, and the web dashboard for day-to-day operations.
-
-For the full capability breakdown — revocation infrastructure (CRL + OCSP), policy engine, certificate profiles, S/MIME support, approval workflows, and more — see the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md).
+| Guide | Description |
+|-------|-------------|
+| [Why certctl?](docs/why-certctl.md) | How certctl compares to ACME clients, agent-based SaaS, and enterprise platforms |
+| [Concepts](docs/concepts.md) | TLS certificates explained from scratch — for beginners who know nothing about certs |
+| [Quick Start](docs/quickstart.md) | 5-minute setup — dashboard, API, CLI, discovery, stakeholder demo flow |
+| [Docker Compose Environments](deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md) | Service-by-service walkthrough of all 4 compose files, env var reference |
+| [Deployment Examples](docs/examples.md) | 5 turnkey scenarios (ACME+NGINX, wildcard DNS-01, private CA, step-ca, multi-issuer) with migration guides |
+| [Advanced Demo](docs/demo-advanced.md) | Issue a certificate end-to-end with technical deep-dives |
+| [Architecture](docs/architecture.md) | System design, data flow diagrams, security model |
+| [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md) | Complete reference of all capabilities, API endpoints, and configuration |
+| [Connector Reference](docs/connectors.md) | Configuration for all issuer, target, and notifier connectors |
+| [MCP Server](docs/mcp.md) | AI integration via Model Context Protocol — setup, available tools, examples |
+| [OpenAPI 3.1 Spec](docs/openapi.md) | API reference guide with endpoint overview ([raw spec](api/openapi.yaml)) |
+| [Compliance Mapping](docs/compliance.md) | SOC 2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57 alignment guides |
+| [Migrate from certbot](docs/migrate-from-certbot.md) | Step-by-step migration from certbot cron jobs to certctl |
+| [Migrate from acme.sh](docs/migrate-from-acmesh.md) | Migration guide for acme.sh users, DNS hook compatibility |
+| [certctl for cert-manager users](docs/certctl-for-cert-manager-users.md) | How certctl complements cert-manager for mixed infrastructure |
+| [Test Environment](docs/test-env.md) | Docker Compose test environment with real CA backends |
+| [Testing Guide](docs/testing-guide.md) | Comprehensive test procedures, smoke tests, and release sign-off checklist |

 ## Supported Integrations

 ### Certificate Issuers
-| Issuer | Status | Type |
-|--------|--------|------|
-| Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA) | Implemented | `GenericCA` |
-| ACME v2 (Let's Encrypt, Sectigo) | Implemented (HTTP-01 + DNS-01 + DNS-PERSIST-01) | `ACME` |
-| ACME EAB (ZeroSSL, Google Trust) | Implemented (auto-fetch EAB from ZeroSSL) | `ACME` |
-| step-ca | Implemented | `StepCA` |
-| OpenSSL / Custom CA | Implemented | `OpenSSL` |
-| Vault PKI | Beta | `VaultPKI` |
-| DigiCert CertCentral | Beta | `DigiCert` |
-| Sectigo SCM | Beta | `Sectigo` |
-| Google CAS | Beta | `GoogleCAS` |

-**Vault PKI, DigiCert, Sectigo, and Google CAS connectors are in beta.** If you hit any bugs or unexpected behavior, please [open a GitHub issue](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/issues) -- we're actively testing these and want to hear from real users.
+| Issuer | Type | Notes |
+|--------|------|-------|
+| Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA) | `GenericCA` | Sub-CA mode chains to enterprise root (ADCS, etc.) |
+| ACME v2 (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, etc.) | `ACME` | HTTP-01, DNS-01, DNS-PERSIST-01 challenges. EAB auto-fetch from ZeroSSL. Profile selection (`tlsserver`, `shortlived`). |
+| step-ca (Smallstep) | `StepCA` | JWK provisioner auth, issuance + renewal + revocation |
+| OpenSSL / Custom CA | `OpenSSL` | Shell script adapter — any CA with a CLI |
+| HashiCorp Vault PKI | `VaultPKI` | Token auth, synchronous issuance, CRL/OCSP delegated to Vault |
+| DigiCert CertCentral | `DigiCert` | Async order model, OV/EV support, PEM bundle parsing |
+| Sectigo SCM | `Sectigo` | 3-header auth, DV/OV/EV, collect-not-ready graceful handling |
+| Google Cloud CAS | `GoogleCAS` | OAuth2 service account, synchronous issuance, CA pool selection |
+| AWS ACM Private CA | `AWSACMPCA` | Synchronous issuance, configurable signing algorithm/template ARN |
+| Entrust Certificate Services | `Entrust` | mTLS client certificate auth, synchronous/approval-pending issuance |
+| GlobalSign Atlas HVCA | `GlobalSign` | mTLS + API key/secret dual auth, serial-based tracking |
+| EJBCA (Keyfactor) | `EJBCA` | Dual auth (mTLS or OAuth2), self-hosted open-source CA |

-**Note:** ADCS integration is handled via the Local CA's sub-CA mode — certctl operates as a subordinate CA with its signing certificate issued by ADCS. Any CA with a shell-accessible signing interface can be integrated today via the OpenSSL/Custom CA connector.
+**Note:** ADCS integration is handled via the Local CA's sub-CA mode — certctl operates as a subordinate CA with its signing certificate issued by ADCS. Any CA with a shell-accessible signing interface can be integrated via the OpenSSL/Custom CA connector.

 ### Deployment Targets
-| Target | Status | Type |
-|--------|--------|------|
-| NGINX | Implemented | `NGINX` |
-| Apache httpd | Implemented | `Apache` |
-| HAProxy | Implemented | `HAProxy` |
-| Traefik | Implemented | `Traefik` |
-| Caddy | Implemented | `Caddy` |
-| Envoy | Implemented | `Envoy` |
-| Postfix | Implemented | `Postfix` |
-| Dovecot | Implemented | `Dovecot` |
-| Microsoft IIS | Implemented (local + WinRM) | `IIS` |
-| F5 BIG-IP | Beta | `F5` |
+
+| Target | Type | Notes |
+|--------|------|-------|
+| NGINX | `NGINX` | File write, config validation, reload |
+| Apache httpd | `Apache` | Separate cert/chain/key files, configtest, graceful reload |
+| HAProxy | `HAProxy` | Combined PEM file, validate, reload |
+| Traefik | `Traefik` | File provider deployment, auto-reload via filesystem watch |
+| Caddy | `Caddy` | Dual-mode: admin API hot-reload or file-based |
+| Envoy | `Envoy` | File-based with optional SDS JSON config |
+| Postfix | `Postfix` | Mail server TLS, pairs with S/MIME support |
+| Dovecot | `Dovecot` | Mail server TLS, pairs with S/MIME support |
+| Microsoft IIS | `IIS` | Local PowerShell or remote WinRM, PEM→PFX, SNI support |
+| F5 BIG-IP | `F5` | iControl REST via proxy agent, transaction-based atomic updates |
+| SSH (Agentless) | `SSH` | SFTP cert/key deployment to any Linux/Unix server |
+| Windows Certificate Store | `WinCertStore` | PowerShell Import-PfxCertificate, configurable store/location |
+| Java Keystore | `JavaKeystore` | PEM→PKCS#12→keytool pipeline, JKS and PKCS12 formats |
+| Kubernetes Secrets | `KubernetesSecrets` | `kubernetes.io/tls` Secrets, in-cluster or kubeconfig auth |
+
+### Enrollment Protocols
+
+| Protocol | Standard | Use Case |
+|----------|----------|----------|
+| EST (Enrollment over Secure Transport) | RFC 7030 | Device enrollment, WiFi/802.1X, IoT |
+| SCEP (Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol) | RFC 8894 | MDM platforms (Jamf, Intune), network devices, ChromeOS. Full RFC 8894 wire format: EnvelopedData decryption, signerInfo POPO verification, CertRep PKIMessage builder; PKCSReq + RenewalReq + GetCertInitial messageType dispatch; multi-profile dispatch (`/scep/<pathID>`); per-profile RA cert + key. Lightweight raw-CSR clients keep working via the legacy MVP fall-through path. |
+| ACME v2 | RFC 8555 | Public CA automated issuance (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL) |
+| ACME ARI (Renewal Information) | RFC 9773 | CA-directed renewal timing — the CA tells you when to renew |
+
+### Standards & Revocation
+
+| Capability | Standard | Notes |
+|------------|----------|-------|
+| DER-encoded X.509 CRL | RFC 5280 | Per-issuer, signed by issuing CA, 24h validity. Pre-generated by the scheduler (`CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL`, default 1h) and cached in `crl_cache` so HTTP fetches do not rebuild per request. |
+| Embedded OCSP responder | RFC 6960 | GET + POST forms (`POST /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}` per §A.1.1). Signed by a per-issuer dedicated OCSP responder cert (RFC 6960 §2.6) carrying `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` (§4.2.2.2.1) — the CA private key is never used directly for OCSP signing. Responder cert auto-rotates within 7d of expiry. |
+| S/MIME certificates | RFC 8551 | Email protection EKU, adaptive KeyUsage flags |
+| Certificate export | — | PEM (JSON/file) and PKCS#12 formats |
+| ACME DNS-PERSIST-01 | IETF draft | Standing validation record, no per-renewal DNS updates |

 ### Notifiers
-| Notifier | Status | Type |
-|----------|--------|------|
-| Email (SMTP) | Implemented | `Email` |
-| Webhooks | Implemented | `Webhook` |
-| Slack | Implemented | `Slack` |
-| Microsoft Teams | Implemented | `Teams` |
-| PagerDuty | Implemented | `PagerDuty` |
-| OpsGenie | Implemented | `OpsGenie` |
+
+| Notifier | Type |
+|----------|------|
+| Email (SMTP) | `Email` |
+| Webhooks | `Webhook` |
+| Slack | `Slack` |
+| Microsoft Teams | `Teams` |
+| PagerDuty | `PagerDuty` |
+| OpsGenie | `OpsGenie` |

 All connectors are pluggable — build your own by implementing the [connector interface](docs/connectors.md).

@@ -121,32 +138,55 @@ All connectors are pluggable — build your own by implementing the [connector i

 <table>
 <tr>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-dashboard.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-dashboard.png" width="270" alt="Dashboard"></a><br><b>Dashboard</b><br><sub>Stats, expiration heatmap, renewal trends</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-certificates.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-certificates.png" width="270" alt="Certificates"></a><br><b>Certificates</b><br><sub>Inventory with status, owner, team filters</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-agents.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-agents.png" width="270" alt="Agents"></a><br><b>Agents</b><br><sub>Fleet health, OS/arch, IP, version</sub></td>
+<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-dashboard.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-dashboard.png" width="400" alt="Dashboard"></a><br><b>Dashboard</b><br><sub>Stats, expiration heatmap, renewal trends, issuance rate</sub></td>
+<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-certificates.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-certificates.png" width="400" alt="Certificates"></a><br><b>Certificates</b><br><sub>Inventory with bulk ops, status filters, owner/team columns</sub></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-fleet.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-fleet.png" width="270" alt="Fleet Overview"></a><br><b>Fleet Overview</b><br><sub>OS distribution, status breakdown</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-jobs.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-jobs.png" width="270" alt="Jobs"></a><br><b>Jobs</b><br><sub>Issuance, renewal, deployment queue</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-notifications.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-notifications.png" width="270" alt="Notifications"></a><br><b>Notifications</b><br><sub>Expiration warnings, renewal results</sub></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-policies.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-policies.png" width="270" alt="Policies"></a><br><b>Policies</b><br><sub>Ownership, lifetime, renewal rules</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-profiles.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-profiles.png" width="270" alt="Profiles"></a><br><b>Profiles</b><br><sub>Key types, max TTL, crypto constraints</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-issuers.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-issuers.png" width="270" alt="Issuers"></a><br><b>Issuers</b><br><sub>Local CA, ACME, step-ca, Vault PKI, DigiCert</sub></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-targets.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-targets.png" width="270" alt="Targets"></a><br><b>Targets</b><br><sub>NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, IIS deployment</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-owners.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-owners.png" width="270" alt="Owners"></a><br><b>Owners</b><br><sub>Cert ownership with team assignment</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-teams.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-teams.png" width="270" alt="Teams"></a><br><b>Teams</b><br><sub>Org grouping for notification routing</sub></td>
-</tr>
-<tr>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-agent-groups.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-agent-groups.png" width="270" alt="Agent Groups"></a><br><b>Agent Groups</b><br><sub>Dynamic grouping by OS, arch, CIDR</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-audit-trail.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-audit-trail.png" width="270" alt="Audit Trail"></a><br><b>Audit Trail</b><br><sub>Immutable log, CSV/JSON export</sub></td>
-<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-short-lived.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-short-lived.png" width="270" alt="Short-Lived"></a><br><b>Short-Lived Creds</b><br><sub>Ephemeral certs with live TTL countdown</sub></td>
+<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-issuers.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-issuers.png" width="400" alt="Issuers"></a><br><b>Issuers</b><br><sub>Catalog with 10 CA types, GUI config, test connection</sub></td>
+<td><a href="docs/screenshots/v2-jobs.png"><img src="docs/screenshots/v2-jobs.png" width="400" alt="Jobs"></a><br><b>Jobs</b><br><sub>Issuance, renewal, deployment queue with approval workflow</sub></td>
 </tr>
 </table>

+**[See all screenshots →](docs/screenshots/)**
+
+## Why certctl
+
+Certificate lifecycle tooling falls into two camps: enterprise platforms (Venafi, Keyfactor) that cost six figures and take months to deploy, or single-purpose tools (certbot, cert-manager) that handle one slice of the problem. certctl fills the gap — full lifecycle automation, self-hosted, free, CA-agnostic, and target-agnostic. If you're running certbot cron jobs, manually renewing certs, or stitching together scripts across mixed infrastructure, certctl replaces all of that.
+
+Built for **platform engineering and DevOps teams** managing 10–500+ certificates, **security and compliance teams** who need audit trails and policy enforcement for SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, or NIST SP 800-57 ([compliance mapping included](docs/compliance.md)), and **small teams without enterprise budgets** who need Venafi-grade automation for a 50-server environment. For a detailed comparison, see [Why certctl?](docs/why-certctl.md)
+
+**Architecture.** Go 1.25 control plane with handler→service→repository layering, PostgreSQL 16 backend (21 tables), and a pull-only deployment model — the server never initiates outbound connections. Agents poll for work. For network appliances and agentless servers, a proxy agent in the same network zone handles deployment via the target's API (WinRM, iControl REST, SSH/SFTP). Background scheduler runs 7 loops: renewal with ARI integration (1h), job processing (30s), agent health (2m), notifications (1m), short-lived cert expiry (30s), network scanning (6h), certificate digest (24h). See [Architecture Guide](docs/architecture.md) for full system diagrams.
+
+**Security-first.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally — private keys never touch the control plane. API key auth enforced by default with SHA-256 hashing and constant-time comparison. CORS deny-by-default. Shell injection prevention on all connector scripts. SSRF protection (reserved IP filtering) on the network scanner. Atomic idempotency guards on scheduler loops. Issuer and target credentials encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM. Every API call recorded to an immutable audit trail with actor attribution, body hash, and latency tracking. CI runs race detection, 11 linters, and vulnerability scanning on every commit.
+
+**Key design decisions.** TEXT primary keys — human-readable prefixed IDs (`mc-api-prod`, `t-platform`, `o-alice`) so you can identify resources at a glance in logs and queries. Idempotent migrations (`IF NOT EXISTS`, `ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING`) safe for repeated execution. Dynamic configuration via GUI with AES-256-GCM encrypted credential storage and env var backward compatibility. Handlers define their own service interfaces for clean dependency inversion.
+
+## What It Does
+
+**Automated lifecycle.** Certificates renew and deploy themselves. The scheduler monitors expiration, issues through your CA, and deploys to targets — zero human intervention. ACME ARI (RFC 9773) lets the CA direct renewal timing. Ready for 47-day (SC-081v3) and 6-day (Let's Encrypt shortlived) certificate lifetimes.
+
+**Operational dashboard.** 26-page GUI covers the entire lifecycle: certificate inventory with bulk ops, deployment timeline with rollback, discovery triage, network scan management, agent fleet health, short-lived credential countdown, approval workflows, and observability metrics. Configure issuers and targets from the dashboard — no env var editing, no server restarts.
+
+**Private keys stay on your servers.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally, submit only the CSR. The control plane never touches private keys. After deployment, agents probe the live TLS endpoint and compare SHA-256 fingerprints to confirm the right certificate is actually being served.
+
+**Discovery.** Agents scan filesystems for existing PEM/DER certificates. The network scanner probes TLS endpoints across CIDR ranges without agents. Cloud discovery finds certificates in AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, and GCP Secret Manager. Continuous TLS health monitoring tracks endpoint status (healthy/degraded/down/cert_mismatch) with configurable thresholds and historical probe data. All discovery modes feed into a unified triage workflow — claim, dismiss, or import what you find.
+
+**Policy engine.** Certificate profiles constrain key types, max TTL, and EKUs — with crypto policy enforcement that validates every CSR against profile rules before it reaches the issuer. MaxTTL caps are enforced per issuer connector. Approval workflows pause jobs for human review. Ownership tracking routes notifications to the right team. Agent groups match devices by OS, architecture, IP CIDR, and version.
+
+**Enrollment protocols.** EST server (RFC 7030) for device and WiFi enrollment. SCEP server (RFC 8894) for MDM platforms and network devices — full wire format (EnvelopedData decrypt + signerInfo POPO verify + CertRep PKIMessage builder), tested against ChromeOS-shape requests; multi-profile dispatch (`/scep/<pathID>`); RenewalReq + GetCertInitial messageType support; lightweight raw-CSR fallback for legacy clients. See [docs/legacy-est-scep.md](docs/legacy-est-scep.md) for the operator + device-integration guide. S/MIME issuance with email protection EKU.
+
+**Revocation.** Single and bulk revocation (by profile, owner, agent, or issuer). RFC 5280 reason codes. Production-grade revocation status surface for relying parties: DER-encoded X.509 CRL per issuer, scheduler-pre-generated and cached so HTTP fetches do not rebuild per request; embedded OCSP responder serving both GET and POST forms (RFC 6960 §A.1.1) with responses signed by a per-issuer dedicated OCSP responder cert (RFC 6960 §2.6, `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` per §4.2.2.2.1) — the CA private key is never used directly for OCSP signing. Both endpoints live unauthenticated under `/.well-known/pki/` per RFC 8615. Short-lived certs (TTL < 1 hour) are exempt — expiry is sufficient revocation. See [docs/crl-ocsp.md](docs/crl-ocsp.md) for the relying-party integration guide.
+
+**Audit and observability.** Immutable append-only audit trail records every lifecycle action, every API call, and every approval decision. Prometheus metrics endpoint. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Continuous endpoint health monitoring with state machine transitions and real-time alerts.
+
+**Notifications.** Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMTP, webhooks. Routed by certificate owner. Daily digest emails with stats and expiring certs.
+
+**Multiple interfaces.** REST API (111 routes), CLI (12 commands), MCP server (80 tools for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), Helm chart, web dashboard. Certificate export in PEM and PKCS#12.
+
+**First-run onboarding.** Wizard guides you through connecting a CA, deploying an agent, and issuing your first certificate. Or start with the pre-populated demo — 32 certificates, 10 issuers, 180 days of history.
+
+For the complete capability breakdown, see the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md).
+
 ## Quick Start

 ### Docker Compose (Recommended)
@@ -157,18 +197,23 @@ cd certctl
 docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
 ```

-Wait ~30 seconds, then open **http://localhost:8443** in your browser.
+Wait ~30 seconds, then open **https://localhost:8443** in your browser. (The shipped `docker-compose.yml` self-signs a cert via the `certctl-tls-init` init container on first boot — accept the browser warning for the demo, or feed the generated `ca.crt` to your client.) The onboarding wizard walks you through connecting a CA, deploying an agent, and issuing your first certificate.

-The dashboard comes pre-loaded with 32 demo certificates across 7 issuers, 8 agents, 180 days of job history, discovery scan data, and network scan targets — a realistic snapshot of a certificate inventory that looks like it's been running for months.
+**Want a pre-populated demo instead?** Add the demo override to see 32 certificates across 10 issuers, 8 agents, and 180 days of realistic history:

 ```bash
-curl http://localhost:8443/health
-# {"status":"healthy"}
-
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates | jq '.total'
-# 32
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up -d --build
 ```

+The `deploy/` directory has four compose files: `docker-compose.yml` (base platform), `docker-compose.demo.yml` (demo data overlay), `docker-compose.dev.yml` (PgAdmin + debug logging), and `docker-compose.test.yml` (standalone integration tests with real CA backends). See the [Docker Compose Environments Guide](deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md) for a service-by-service walkthrough, or the [Quick Start](docs/quickstart.md#docker-compose-environments) for a summary.
+
+```bash
+curl --cacert $(docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec -T certctl-server cat /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt) https://localhost:8443/health
+# {"status":"healthy"}
+```
+
+The control plane is HTTPS-only (TLS 1.3, no plaintext listener). See [`docs/tls.md`](docs/tls.md) for cert provisioning patterns and [`docs/upgrade-to-tls.md`](docs/upgrade-to-tls.md) if you're upgrading from a pre-v2.2 release.
+
 ### Agent Install (One-Liner)

 ```bash
@@ -177,6 +222,16 @@ curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shankar0123/certctl/master/install-a

 Detects your OS and architecture, downloads the binary, configures systemd (Linux) or launchd (macOS), and starts the agent. See [install-agent.sh](install-agent.sh) for details.

+### Helm Chart (Kubernetes)
+
+```bash
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --set server.apiKey=your-api-key \
+  --set postgres.password=your-db-password
+```
+
+Production-ready chart with Server Deployment, PostgreSQL StatefulSet, Agent DaemonSet, health probes, security contexts (non-root, read-only rootfs), and optional Ingress. See [values.yaml](deploy/helm/certctl/values.yaml) for all configuration options.
+
 ### Docker Pull

 ```bash
@@ -184,6 +239,74 @@ docker pull shankar0123.docker.scarf.sh/certctl-server
 docker pull shankar0123.docker.scarf.sh/certctl-agent
 ```

+## Verifying this release
+
+Every `v*` tag publishes signed, attested release artefacts. Binaries
+(`certctl-agent`, `certctl-server`, `certctl-cli`, `certctl-mcp-server` for
+`linux|darwin × amd64|arm64`) ship alongside a `checksums.txt`, per-binary
+SPDX-JSON SBOMs, Cosign signatures, and SLSA Level 3 provenance. Container
+images on `ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-{server,agent}` are built with
+`docker/build-push-action` `provenance: mode=max` + `sbom: true` and are
+additionally signed with Cosign at the image digest.
+
+All signatures use Cosign keyless OIDC; the signing identity is the
+release workflow running on a signed tag.
+
+**1. Verify SHA-256 checksums:**
+
+```bash
+sha256sum -c checksums.txt
+```
+
+**2. Verify the Cosign signature on `checksums.txt`:**
+
+```bash
+cosign verify-blob \
+  --bundle checksums.txt.sigstore.json \
+  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/\.github/workflows/release\.yml@refs/tags/' \
+  --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+  checksums.txt
+```
+
+Every individual binary ships with its own `.sigstore.json` bundle
+(unified Sigstore bundle containing signature, certificate chain, and
+Rekor inclusion proof). Swap `checksums.txt` for any binary name and
+point `--bundle` at the matching `<binary>.sigstore.json` to verify it
+directly.
+
+**3. Verify SLSA Level 3 provenance on a binary:**
+
+```bash
+slsa-verifier verify-artifact \
+  --provenance-path multiple.intoto.jsonl \
+  --source-uri github.com/shankar0123/certctl \
+  --source-tag v2.1.0 \
+  certctl-agent-linux-amd64
+```
+
+**4. Verify a container image signature and its SBOM / provenance attestations:**
+
+```bash
+IMAGE=ghcr.io/shankar0123/certctl-server:v2.1.0
+
+cosign verify \
+  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/\.github/workflows/release\.yml@refs/tags/' \
+  --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+  "$IMAGE"
+
+# SBOM attestation (SPDX-JSON, emitted by docker/build-push-action)
+cosign verify-attestation --type spdxjson \
+  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/' \
+  --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+  "$IMAGE"
+
+# SLSA provenance attestation (docker/build-push-action `provenance: mode=max`)
+cosign verify-attestation --type slsaprovenance \
+  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github\.com/shankar0123/certctl/' \
+  --certificate-oidc-issuer 'https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com' \
+  "$IMAGE"
+```
+
 ## Examples

 Pick the scenario closest to your setup and have it running in 2 minutes.
@@ -198,32 +321,6 @@ Pick the scenario closest to your setup and have it running in 2 minutes.

 Each directory contains a `docker-compose.yml` and a `README.md` explaining the scenario, prerequisites, and customization.

-## Architecture
-
-**Control plane** (Go 1.25 net/http) → **PostgreSQL 16** (21 tables, TEXT primary keys) → **Agents** (key generation, CSR submission, cert deployment). For Windows servers without a local agent, a proxy agent in the same network zone handles deployment via WinRM. Background scheduler runs 7 loops: renewal checks (1h), job processing (30s), agent health (2m), notifications (1m), short-lived cert expiry (30s), network scanning (6h), certificate digest (24h). See [Architecture Guide](docs/architecture.md) for full system diagrams and data flow.
-
-### Key Design Decisions
-
- **Private keys isolated from the control plane.** Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally and submit CSRs (public key only). The server signs the CSR and returns the certificate — private keys never touch the control plane. Server-side keygen is available via `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server` for demo/development only.
- **TEXT primary keys, not UUIDs.** IDs are human-readable prefixed strings (`mc-api-prod`, `t-platform`, `o-alice`) so you can identify resource types at a glance in logs and queries.
- **Handler → Service → Repository layering.** Handlers define their own service interfaces for clean dependency inversion. No global service singletons.
- **Idempotent migrations.** All schema uses `IF NOT EXISTS` and seed data uses `ON CONFLICT (id) DO NOTHING`, safe for repeated execution.
-
-## Documentation
-
-| Guide | Description |
-|-------|-------------|
-| [Why certctl?](docs/why-certctl.md) | How certctl compares to ACME clients, agent-based SaaS, and enterprise platforms |
-| [Concepts](docs/concepts.md) | TLS certificates explained from scratch — for beginners who know nothing about certs |
-| [Quick Start](docs/quickstart.md) | 5-minute setup — dashboard, API, CLI, discovery, stakeholder demo flow |
-| [Deployment Examples](docs/examples.md) | 5 turnkey scenarios (ACME+NGINX, wildcard DNS-01, private CA, step-ca, multi-issuer) with migration guides |
-| [Advanced Demo](docs/demo-advanced.md) | Issue a certificate end-to-end with technical deep-dives |
-| [Architecture](docs/architecture.md) | System design, data flow diagrams, security model |
-| [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md) | Complete reference of all V2 capabilities, API endpoints, and configuration |
-| [Connector Reference](docs/connectors.md) | Configuration for all 7 issuers, 10 targets, and 5 notifier connectors |
-| [Compliance Mapping](docs/compliance.md) | SOC 2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57 alignment guides |
-| [OpenAPI 3.1 Spec](api/openapi.yaml) | 97 operations, full request/response schemas |
-
 ## CLI

 ```bash
@@ -231,8 +328,9 @@ Each directory contains a `docker-compose.yml` and a `README.md` explaining the
 go install github.com/shankar0123/certctl/cmd/cli@latest

 # Configure
-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:8443
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://localhost:8443
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY=your-api-key
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/path/to/ca.crt   # or --ca-bundle on the CLI; --insecure for dev self-signed

 # Usage
 certctl-cli certs list                    # List all certificates
@@ -247,16 +345,19 @@ certctl-cli certs list --format json      # JSON output (default: table)

 ## MCP Server (AI Integration)

-certctl ships a standalone MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes all API endpoints as tools for AI assistants — Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenClaw, VS Code Copilot, and any MCP-compatible client.
+certctl ships a standalone MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes all 80 API endpoints as tools for AI assistants — Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenClaw, VS Code Copilot, and any MCP-compatible client.

 ```bash
 # Install and run
 go install github.com/shankar0123/certctl/cmd/mcp-server@latest
-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:8443
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://localhost:8443
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY=your-api-key
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/path/to/ca.crt   # required for self-signed bootstrap
 mcp-server
 ```

+The MCP server is env-vars-only — there are no CLI flags for TLS. If you must bypass verification for local development against a self-signed cert, set `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=true`. Never set that in production.
+
 **Claude Desktop** (`claude_desktop_config.json`):
 ```json
 {
@@ -264,18 +365,15 @@ mcp-server
    "certctl": {
      "command": "mcp-server",
      "env": {
-        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:8443",
-        "CERTCTL_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
+        "CERTCTL_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH": "/path/to/ca.crt"
      }
    }
  }
 }
 ```

-## Security
-
-certctl is designed with a security-first architecture. Agents generate ECDSA P-256 keys locally — private keys never touch the control plane. API key auth is enforced by default with SHA-256 hashing and constant-time comparison. CORS is deny-by-default. All connector scripts are validated against shell injection. The network scanner filters reserved IP ranges (SSRF protection). Scheduler loops use atomic idempotency guards. Every API call is recorded to an immutable audit trail with actor attribution, SHA-256 body hash, and latency tracking. See the [Architecture Guide](docs/architecture.md) for the full security model.
-
 ## Development

 ```bash
@@ -286,7 +384,7 @@ govulncheck ./...       # Vulnerability scan
 make docker-up          # Start Docker Compose stack
 ```

-CI runs on every push: `go vet`, `go test -race`, `golangci-lint`, `govulncheck`, and per-layer coverage thresholds (service 55%, handler 60%, domain 40%, middleware 30%). Frontend CI runs TypeScript type checking, Vitest tests, and Vite production build.
+CI runs on every push: `go vet`, `go test -race`, `golangci-lint`, `govulncheck`, and per-layer coverage thresholds (service 55%, handler 60%, domain 40%, middleware 30%). Frontend CI runs TypeScript type checking, Vitest tests, and Vite production build. 1,668 Go test functions with 625+ subtests, plus frontend test suite.

 ## Roadmap

@@ -294,22 +392,32 @@ CI runs on every push: `go vet`, `go test -race`, `golangci-lint`, `govulncheck`
 Core lifecycle management — Local CA + ACME v2 issuers, NGINX target connector, agent-side key generation, API auth + rate limiting, React dashboard, CI pipeline with coverage gates, Docker images on GHCR.

 ### V2: Operational Maturity — Shipped
-30+ milestones, extensively tested with CI-enforced coverage gates. Sub-CA mode, ACME DNS-01/DNS-PERSIST-01, step-ca, Vault PKI, DigiCert CertCentral, OpenSSL/Custom CA issuers. NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS targets. RFC 5280 revocation with CRL + OCSP. Certificate profiles, ownership tracking, approval workflows. Filesystem and network certificate discovery. Prometheus metrics, dashboard charts, agent fleet overview. EST server (RFC 7030), ACME ARI (RFC 9702), certificate export, S/MIME support, Helm chart, MCP server, CLI, scheduled digest emails. Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMTP notifications. Compliance mapping (SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57). See the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md) for details.
-
-**Coming in v2.1.0:** Dynamic issuer and target configuration via GUI (no env var restarts), first-run onboarding wizard.
+30+ milestones shipping enterprise-grade features for free. Sub-CA mode, ACME DNS-01/DNS-PERSIST-01/EAB/ARI (RFC 9773)/profile selection, step-ca, Vault PKI, DigiCert CertCentral, Sectigo SCM, Google CAS, AWS ACM PCA, Entrust, GlobalSign, EJBCA, OpenSSL/Custom CA issuers. NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS (WinRM), F5 BIG-IP, SSH, Windows Certificate Store, Java Keystore, Kubernetes Secrets targets. EST server (RFC 7030) and SCEP server (RFC 8894) enrollment protocols. RFC 5280 revocation with DER CRL + embedded OCSP responder. Certificate profiles, ownership tracking, team assignment, agent groups, interactive approval workflows. Filesystem, network, and cloud secret manager (AWS SM, Azure KV, GCP SM) certificate discovery with triage GUI. Dynamic issuer/target configuration via GUI with AES-256-GCM encrypted storage. First-run onboarding wizard. Post-deployment TLS verification. Certificate export (PEM/PKCS#12). S/MIME support. Prometheus metrics. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, SMTP notifications. MCP server (80 tools), CLI (12 commands), Helm chart. Compliance mapping (SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, NIST SP 800-57). 5 turnkey deployment examples. Agent install script. Migration guides from certbot, acme.sh, and cert-manager. See the [Feature Inventory](docs/features.md) for details.

 ### V3: certctl Pro
-Team access controls and identity provider integration (OIDC/SSO). Role-based access control with profile-gating. Event-driven architecture (NATS) with real-time operational views. Advanced search DSL, compliance and risk scoring, bulk fleet operations.
+Enterprise capabilities for larger deployments are available in the commercial tier.

-### V4+: Cloud, Scale & Passive Discovery
-Passive network discovery (TLS listener), Kubernetes integration (cert-manager external issuer, Secrets target), cloud infrastructure targets (AWS ALB/ACM, Azure Key Vault), extended CA support (Google CAS, EJBCA, Sectigo), and platform-scale features (Terraform provider, multi-tenancy, HSM support).
+### V4+: Cloud & Scale
+Kubernetes cert-manager external issuer, cloud infrastructure targets, extended CA support, and platform-scale features.

 ## License

-Certctl is licensed under the [Business Source License 1.1](LICENSE). The source code is publicly available and free to use, modify, and self-host. The one restriction: you may not offer certctl as a managed/hosted certificate management service to third parties. The BSL 1.1 license converts automatically to Apache 2.0 on March 1, 2033, providing perpetual freedom.
+Certctl is licensed under the [Business Source License 1.1](LICENSE). The source code is publicly available and free to use, modify, and self-host. The one restriction: you may not use certctl's certificate management functionality as part of a commercial offering to third parties, whether hosted, managed, embedded, bundled, or integrated.

 For licensing inquiries: certctl@proton.me

+## Dependencies
+
+Backend dependency footprint is auditable on demand:
+
+```
+go list -m all | wc -l   # total module count (direct + transitive)
+go mod why <path>        # explain why a particular module is pulled in
+govulncheck ./...        # vulnerability scan (CI runs this on every commit)
+```
+
+The release-time SBOM is published as a syft-produced cyclonedx file alongside each release artifact in `.github/workflows/release.yml`.
+
 ---

 If certctl solves a problem you have, [star the repo](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl) to help others find it. Questions, bugs, or feature requests — [open an issue](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl/issues).
@@ -0,0 +1,638 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/elliptic"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"crypto/x509/pkix"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"math/big"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"sync/atomic"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Bundle 0.7-extended: cmd/agent dispatch coverage for executeCSRJob,
+// executeDeploymentJob, verifyAndReportDeployment, markRetired, getEnvDefault,
+// getEnvBoolDefault — the previously-uncovered code paths flagged by the
+// audit's per-function coverage report.
+//
+// Strategy: same httptest-backed pattern as the existing agent_test.go
+// (Heartbeat / PollWork tests). Each test:
+//   - constructs a mock control-plane HTTP server (httptest.NewServer)
+//   - configures an Agent pointing at that server via NewAgent
+//   - invokes the function under test
+//   - asserts on the requests the mock server received
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// executeCSRJob
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteCSRJob_HappyPath(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var csrSubmitted atomic.Bool
+	var statusUpdates atomic.Int32
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/csr") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			csrSubmitted.Store(true)
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			if body["csr_pem"] == "" || !strings.Contains(body["csr_pem"], "CERTIFICATE REQUEST") {
+				t.Errorf("CSR submission missing PEM body: %v", body)
+			}
+			if body["certificate_id"] != "mc-test-cert" {
+				t.Errorf("CSR submission missing certificate_id: %v", body)
+			}
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted)
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			statusUpdates.Add(1)
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		default:
+			t.Errorf("unexpected request: %s %s", r.Method, r.URL.Path)
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, err := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewAgent: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-csr-1",
+		CertificateID: "mc-test-cert",
+		Type:          "csr",
+		CommonName:    "test.example.com",
+		SANs:          []string{"test.example.com", "alt.example.com", "alice@example.com"},
+	}
+
+	agent.executeCSRJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if !csrSubmitted.Load() {
+		t.Errorf("expected CSR to be submitted to control plane")
+	}
+
+	// Key file should exist with mode 0600
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(keyDir, "mc-test-cert.key")
+	info, err := os.Stat(keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected key file at %s: %v", keyPath, err)
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0600 {
+		t.Errorf("expected key file mode 0600, got %v", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+
+	// Read back and verify it parses as an ECDSA key
+	keyPEM, err := os.ReadFile(keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("read key file: %v", err)
+	}
+	block, _ := pem.Decode(keyPEM)
+	if block == nil || block.Type != "EC PRIVATE KEY" {
+		t.Errorf("expected EC PRIVATE KEY PEM, got %v", block)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteCSRJob_EmptyCommonName_ReportsFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var lastStatus atomic.Value
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost {
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			lastStatus.Store(body["status"])
+		}
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-csr-empty-cn",
+		CertificateID: "mc-empty-cn",
+		Type:          "csr",
+		CommonName:    "", // empty CN — should be rejected
+	}
+
+	agent.executeCSRJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if got := lastStatus.Load(); got != "Failed" {
+		t.Errorf("expected last status 'Failed', got %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteCSRJob_CSRSubmissionRejected_ReportsFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var lastStatus atomic.Value
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/csr") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			// Server rejects the CSR with 400 Bad Request
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadRequest)
+			_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"error":"CSR validation failed"}`))
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			lastStatus.Store(body["status"])
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-csr-rejected",
+		CertificateID: "mc-rejected",
+		Type:          "csr",
+		CommonName:    "rejected.example.com",
+	}
+
+	agent.executeCSRJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if got := lastStatus.Load(); got != "Failed" {
+		t.Errorf("expected last status 'Failed' after CSR rejection, got %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// executeDeploymentJob
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+// generateTestCertAndKey builds an ephemeral self-signed cert + ECDSA P-256 key
+// for use as test fixture data in deployment tests.
+func generateTestCertAndKey(t *testing.T, cn string) (certPEM, keyPEM string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	priv, err := ecdsa.GenerateKey(elliptic.P256(), rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GenerateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	template := &x509.Certificate{
+		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(1),
+		Subject:      pkix.Name{CommonName: cn},
+		NotBefore:    time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+		NotAfter:     time.Now().Add(24 * time.Hour),
+		KeyUsage:     x509.KeyUsageDigitalSignature,
+	}
+	certDER, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, template, template, &priv.PublicKey, priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	certPEM = string(pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "CERTIFICATE", Bytes: certDER}))
+	keyDER, err := x509.MarshalECPrivateKey(priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MarshalECPrivateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	keyPEM = string(pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "EC PRIVATE KEY", Bytes: keyDER}))
+	return certPEM, keyPEM
+}
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteDeploymentJob_FetchFails_ReportsFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var lastStatus atomic.Value
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/certificates/") && r.Method == http.MethodGet:
+			// Fail the certificate fetch
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			lastStatus.Store(body["status"])
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-deploy-fetch-fail",
+		CertificateID: "mc-fetch-fail",
+		Type:          "deployment",
+		TargetType:    "nginx",
+	}
+
+	agent.executeDeploymentJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if got := lastStatus.Load(); got != "Failed" {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 'Failed' after fetch failure, got %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteDeploymentJob_KeyMissing_ReportsFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	certPEM, _ := generateTestCertAndKey(t, "deploy-test.example.com")
+	// Note: key file is intentionally NOT written to keyDir — exercises the
+	// "local private key missing" failure path in executeDeploymentJob.
+
+	var lastStatus atomic.Value
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/certificates/") && r.Method == http.MethodGet:
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{
+				"id":          "mc-no-key",
+				"common_name": "deploy-test.example.com",
+				"pem_content": certPEM,
+			})
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			lastStatus.Store(body["status"])
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-deploy-no-key",
+		CertificateID: "mc-no-key",
+		Type:          "deployment",
+		TargetType:    "nginx",
+	}
+
+	agent.executeDeploymentJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if got := lastStatus.Load(); got != "Failed" {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 'Failed' after key-missing, got %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAgent_ExecuteDeploymentJob_UnknownTargetType_ReportsFailed(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	certPEM, keyPEM := generateTestCertAndKey(t, "deploy-test.example.com")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(keyDir, "mc-unknown-tgt.key")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, []byte(keyPEM), 0600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("WriteFile key: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var lastStatus atomic.Value
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch {
+		case strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/certificates/") && r.Method == http.MethodGet:
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{
+				"id":          "mc-unknown-tgt",
+				"common_name": "deploy-test.example.com",
+				"pem_content": certPEM,
+			})
+		case strings.HasSuffix(r.URL.Path, "/status") && r.Method == http.MethodPost:
+			var body map[string]string
+			_ = json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&body)
+			lastStatus.Store(body["status"])
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:            "j-unknown-target",
+		CertificateID: "mc-unknown-tgt",
+		Type:          "deployment",
+		TargetType:    "frobnicator-9000", // unknown connector type
+	}
+
+	agent.executeDeploymentJob(context.Background(), job)
+
+	if got := lastStatus.Load(); got != "Failed" {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 'Failed' after unknown target type, got %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// markRetired — single-shot retirement signal
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestAgent_MarkRetired_ClosesSignalOnce(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: "http://example.invalid",
+		APIKey:    "k",
+		AgentID:   "a-retired-test",
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	// First mark — channel should close
+	agent.markRetired("test-source-1", 410, "agent retired")
+	select {
+	case <-agent.retiredSignal:
+		// expected — closed channel reads return zero immediately
+	case <-time.After(100 * time.Millisecond):
+		t.Fatalf("expected retiredSignal to be closed after markRetired")
+	}
+
+	// Second mark — must not panic (sync.Once guards the close)
+	defer func() {
+		if r := recover(); r != nil {
+			t.Errorf("second markRetired panicked: %v", r)
+		}
+	}()
+	agent.markRetired("test-source-2", 410, "agent retired again")
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// getEnvDefault / getEnvBoolDefault
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestGetEnvDefault_FallsBackToDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_NONEXISTENT_VAR", "")
+	got := getEnvDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_NONEXISTENT_VAR", "fallback")
+	if got != "fallback" {
+		t.Errorf("expected fallback, got %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetEnvDefault_UsesEnvWhenSet(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_VAR", "from-env")
+	got := getEnvDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_VAR", "fallback")
+	if got != "from-env" {
+		t.Errorf("expected from-env, got %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetEnvBoolDefault_TruthyValues(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, v := range []string{"1", "t", "true", "yes", "on", "TRUE", "True"} {
+		t.Run(v, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", v)
+			if !getEnvBoolDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", false) {
+				t.Errorf("expected true for %q", v)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetEnvBoolDefault_FalsyValues(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, v := range []string{"0", "f", "false", "no", "off"} {
+		t.Run(v, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", v)
+			if getEnvBoolDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", true) {
+				t.Errorf("expected false for %q", v)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetEnvBoolDefault_UnrecognizedReturnsDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", "frobnicate")
+	if !getEnvBoolDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", true) {
+		t.Errorf("expected default(true) for unrecognized value")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGetEnvBoolDefault_EmptyReturnsDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", "")
+	if !getEnvBoolDefault("TESTONLY_AGENT_BOOL", true) {
+		t.Errorf("expected default(true) for empty value")
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// Run() — graceful shutdown via context cancellation
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestAgent_Run_ContextCancelExitsCleanly(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch r.URL.Path {
+		case "/api/v1/agents/a-run-test/heartbeat":
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		case "/api/v1/agents/a-run-test/work":
+			w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+			_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(WorkResponse{Jobs: []JobItem{}, Count: 0})
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-run-test",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, err := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewAgent: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Speed up tickers so the test exits in <500ms
+	agent.heartbeatInterval = 50 * time.Millisecond
+	agent.pollInterval = 50 * time.Millisecond
+	agent.discoveryInterval = 24 * time.Hour
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		errCh <- agent.Run(ctx)
+	}()
+
+	// Let one heartbeat + poll fire, then cancel.
+	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+	cancel()
+
+	select {
+	case err := <-errCh:
+		if err != context.Canceled {
+			t.Errorf("expected context.Canceled, got %v", err)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("Run did not exit within 2s after cancellation")
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// verifyAndReportDeployment
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestAgent_VerifyAndReportDeployment_ProbeFailure_ReportsError(t *testing.T) {
+	// Server with no TLS listener at the target — probe will fail.
+	var verificationReported atomic.Bool
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		if strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/verify") || strings.Contains(r.URL.Path, "/verification") {
+			verificationReported.Store(true)
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+			return
+		}
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	tgtID := "tgt-test"
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:       "j-verify",
+		TargetID: &tgtID,
+	}
+
+	// Probe a closed port — will fail quickly.
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 1*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	// Should not panic; failure surfaces via reportVerificationResult.
+	agent.verifyAndReportDeployment(ctx, job, "127.0.0.1", 1, "")
+	// Test passes if no panic.
+}
+
+func TestAgent_VerifyAndReportDeployment_NilTargetID_LogsAndReturns(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: "http://example.invalid",
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-test",
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+
+	job := JobItem{
+		ID:       "j-no-tgt",
+		TargetID: nil, // nil target — should short-circuit cleanly
+	}
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 500*time.Millisecond)
+	defer cancel()
+
+	// Should not panic and should return without making any HTTP call.
+	agent.verifyAndReportDeployment(ctx, job, "127.0.0.1", 1, "")
+}
+
+func TestAgent_Run_RetiredSignalExitsWithErrAgentRetired(t *testing.T) {
+	keyDir := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyDir, 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod keyDir: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Server returns 410 Gone on heartbeat — the documented retirement signal.
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		switch r.URL.Path {
+		case "/api/v1/agents/a-retired/heartbeat":
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusGone)
+			_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"error":"agent retired"}`))
+		case "/api/v1/agents/a-retired/work":
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusGone)
+		default:
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusGone)
+		}
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	cfg := &AgentConfig{
+		ServerURL: server.URL,
+		APIKey:    "test-key",
+		AgentID:   "a-retired",
+		KeyDir:    keyDir,
+	}
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, nil)))
+	agent.heartbeatInterval = 30 * time.Millisecond
+	agent.pollInterval = 30 * time.Millisecond
+	agent.discoveryInterval = 24 * time.Hour
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() {
+		errCh <- agent.Run(ctx)
+	}()
+
+	select {
+	case err := <-errCh:
+		if err != ErrAgentRetired {
+			t.Errorf("expected ErrAgentRetired, got %v", err)
+		}
+	case <-time.After(2 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatalf("Run did not surface ErrAgentRetired within 2s")
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+)
+
+// Bundle-9 / Audit L-002 + L-003 (agent edition).
+//
+// The agent generates an ECDSA P-256 key locally and writes it to disk with
+// mode 0600 in a directory it expects to be 0700. The duplication of the
+// local-issuer helpers (instead of importing from internal/...) is deliberate:
+//
+//   - cmd/agent is a separate binary with its own threat model (runs on every
+//     deployment target, not just the control plane). Coupling it to
+//     internal/connector/issuer/local would pull deployment-target footprint
+//     into a connector that's only relevant on the server.
+//   - The behavior is small and self-contained; copy-paste is cheaper than
+//     a refactor that introduces an internal/keystore package.
+//
+// If a third call site emerges, lift these into internal/keystore.
+
+// marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize marshals an ECDSA private key to DER and invokes
+// onDER with the bytes; the buffer is zeroized via builtin clear() after
+// onDER returns. Caller must NOT retain the slice.
+func marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(priv *ecdsa.PrivateKey, onDER func([]byte) error) error {
+	if priv == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: nil private key")
+	}
+	der, err := x509.MarshalECPrivateKey(priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("marshal EC private key: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer clear(der)
+	return onDER(der)
+}
+
+// ensureAgentKeyDirSecure creates dir (and ancestors) with mode 0700 or
+// asserts an existing dir is owner-only. If a pre-existing dir is more
+// permissive than 0700 we tighten it to 0700 (logging-free; this is a
+// startup-style invariant, not a per-request check).
+func ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir string) error {
+	if dir == "" || dir == "." || dir == "/" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("ensureAgentKeyDirSecure: refuse empty/root dir %q", dir)
+	}
+	clean := filepath.Clean(dir)
+	info, err := os.Stat(clean)
+	switch {
+	case os.IsNotExist(err):
+		if mkErr := os.MkdirAll(clean, 0o700); mkErr != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("create agent key dir %q: %w", clean, mkErr)
+		}
+		info, err = os.Stat(clean)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("stat newly-created agent key dir %q: %w", clean, err)
+		}
+		fallthrough
+	case err == nil:
+		mode := info.Mode().Perm()
+		if mode == 0o700 || mode&0o077 == 0 {
+			return nil
+		}
+		if chmodErr := os.Chmod(clean, 0o700); chmodErr != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("tighten agent key dir %q from %#o to 0700: %w", clean, mode, chmodErr)
+		}
+		return nil
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("stat agent key dir %q: %w", clean, err)
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,718 @@
+package main
+
+// Bundle 0.7 (Coverage Audit Closure) — cmd/agent key-handling regression coverage.
+//
+// Closes finding C-008 (CRTCTL-COVAUDIT-2026-04-27-0034). The two functions in
+// keymem.go are the agent's defense-in-depth for ECDSA P-256 private-key
+// memory hygiene (Bundle 9 / Audit L-002 + L-003 — agent edition). They
+// shipped with regression-test coverage of 0.0% / 11.1% respectively. This
+// file pins:
+//
+//   - marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: rejects nil keys, propagates onDER errors,
+//     and ZEROIZES the DER backing buffer after onDER returns regardless of
+//     whether onDER errored.  The zeroization invariant is verified observably
+//     (capture the slice header inside onDER, then assert every byte is 0x00
+//     after the function returns) — NOT just asserted in prose.
+//
+//   - ensureAgentKeyDirSecure: refuses empty / "." / "/", creates missing
+//     dirs with mode 0700 (incl. nested ancestors), accepts existing 0700
+//     and any owner-only-no-write mode (mode&0o077 == 0), tightens any other
+//     mode to 0700, normalizes paths via filepath.Clean, is idempotent, is
+//     safe under concurrent invocation, and propagates the documented error
+//     messages from os.Stat / os.MkdirAll / os.Chmod failures.
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/elliptic"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// helpers
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+func mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t *testing.T) *ecdsa.PrivateKey {
+	t.Helper()
+	k, err := ecdsa.GenerateKey(elliptic.P256(), rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ecdsa.GenerateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	return k
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_HappyPath confirms onDER receives well-formed
+// DER bytes that the caller can use during the closure (e.g. to PEM-encode).
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_HappyPath(t *testing.T) {
+	k := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	called := false
+	err := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(k, func(der []byte) error {
+		called = true
+		if len(der) == 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("der is empty inside onDER")
+		}
+		// First byte of an ECPrivateKey DER blob is the ASN.1 SEQUENCE tag 0x30.
+		if der[0] != 0x30 {
+			t.Errorf("expected DER to start with SEQUENCE tag 0x30, got %#x", der[0])
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !called {
+		t.Fatal("onDER was never invoked")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_NilKey confirms the early-return guard;
+// onDER must NOT be invoked when priv is nil.
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_NilKey(t *testing.T) {
+	called := false
+	err := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(nil, func([]byte) error {
+		called = true
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error on nil key")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nil private key") {
+		t.Errorf("expected error mentioning %q, got: %v", "nil private key", err)
+	}
+	if called {
+		t.Error("onDER must not be invoked when priv is nil")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_OnDERReturnsError confirms upstream errors
+// are propagated verbatim via errors.Is.
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_OnDERReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
+	k := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	sentinel := errors.New("simulated downstream failure")
+	got := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(k, func([]byte) error { return sentinel })
+	if !errors.Is(got, sentinel) {
+		t.Errorf("expected upstream sentinel via errors.Is; got: %v", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_BackingBufferZeroizedAfterReturn is the
+// CRITICAL invariant test. It captures the slice header (NOT a deep copy)
+// inside onDER and re-inspects after the function returns. Because Go slices
+// share their backing array, the captured slice observes the zeroization
+// performed by `defer clear(der)` in marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize.
+//
+// A future refactor that drops the `defer clear(der)` would break this test
+// even if HappyPath / NilKey / OnDERReturnsError still pass.
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_BackingBufferZeroizedAfterReturn(t *testing.T) {
+	k := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	var captured []byte
+	err := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(k, func(der []byte) error {
+		// SHARE the backing array — do NOT take a defensive copy.
+		captured = der
+		if len(der) == 0 {
+			t.Fatal("der is empty inside onDER")
+		}
+		// Sanity check: while still inside onDER, the bytes are live
+		// (defer clear has NOT run yet).
+		nonZero := false
+		for _, b := range der {
+			if b != 0 {
+				nonZero = true
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if !nonZero {
+			t.Fatal("DER is all-zero INSIDE onDER; that should be impossible (clear hasn't run yet)")
+		}
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(captured) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("captured slice is empty post-return")
+	}
+	// After return, defer clear(der) has run. The captured slice shares the
+	// backing array, so every byte must read 0x00.
+	for i, b := range captured {
+		if b != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("captured[%d] = %#x; expected 0x00 (zeroized)", i, b)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_BufferZeroizedEvenOnError confirms the
+// `defer clear(der)` fires regardless of onDER's return — the security
+// invariant is "buffer is always zeroized after the function returns,"
+// happy path or error path.
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_BufferZeroizedEvenOnError(t *testing.T) {
+	k := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	sentinel := errors.New("upstream boom")
+	var captured []byte
+	gotErr := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(k, func(der []byte) error {
+		captured = der // share backing array
+		return sentinel
+	})
+	if !errors.Is(gotErr, sentinel) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected sentinel via errors.Is, got: %v", gotErr)
+	}
+	if len(captured) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("captured slice empty post-return")
+	}
+	for i, b := range captured {
+		if b != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("captured[%d] = %#x; expected 0x00 (defer clear must run on error path)", i, b)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_ContractViolatorSeesZeros frames the same
+// observation as a defense-in-depth contract test. The docstring states
+// "Caller must NOT retain the slice." If a caller violates that contract
+// and reads the slice after onDER returns, they observe zeros — not the
+// private scalar. This test pins that defense.
+func TestMarshalAgentKeyAndZeroize_ContractViolatorSeesZeros(t *testing.T) {
+	k := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	var leaked []byte // simulating a buggy caller that retains the slice
+	err := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(k, func(der []byte) error {
+		leaked = der
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: %v", err)
+	}
+	// The contract violator now reads from `leaked`. Defense-in-depth: it's zeros.
+	for i, b := range leaked {
+		if b != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("contract-violator read leaked[%d] = %#x; expected 0x00", i, b)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// ensureAgentKeyDirSecure — table-driven coverage
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+
+	type tc struct {
+		name string
+		// setup returns the dir argument to pass to ensureAgentKeyDirSecure.
+		// base is a fresh t.TempDir() unique to each subtest.
+		setup func(t *testing.T, base string) string
+		// wantErrSubstr; "" means no error is expected.
+		wantErrSubstr string
+		// wantMode; if set, asserted via os.Stat after the call. Set to 0
+		// to skip the mode assertion (e.g. for error-path rows where the
+		// dir wasn't created or wasn't intended to change).
+		wantMode os.FileMode
+	}
+	cases := []tc{
+		// Refuse-empty/root invariants
+		{
+			name: "empty_string_refused",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, _ string) string {
+				return ""
+			},
+			wantErrSubstr: `refuse empty/root dir ""`,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "dot_refused",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, _ string) string {
+				return "."
+			},
+			wantErrSubstr: `refuse empty/root dir "."`,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "root_refused",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, _ string) string {
+				return "/"
+			},
+			wantErrSubstr: `refuse empty/root dir "/"`,
+		},
+
+		// Non-existent path — MkdirAll(0700) path
+		{
+			name: "creates_with_0700",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				return filepath.Join(base, "newdir")
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "creates_nested_0700",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				return filepath.Join(base, "a", "b", "c")
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+
+		// Existing 0700 — no-op (mode == 0o700 branch).
+		{
+			name: "existing_0700_noop",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0700")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+
+		// Existing more-permissive — chmod tighten to 0700.
+		{
+			name: "existing_0750_tightened",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0750")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o750); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o750); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "existing_0755_tightened",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0755")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "existing_0777_tightened",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0777")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o777); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o777); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+
+		// Existing owner-only-no-write modes accepted as-is via the
+		// `mode&0o077 == 0` branch (no chmod, mode preserved).
+		{
+			name: "existing_0500_accepted_no_chmod",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0500")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o500); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(d, 0o700) }) // let TempDir cleanup
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o500,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "existing_0400_accepted_no_chmod",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "exists0400")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o700); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o400); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(d, 0o700) })
+				return d
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o400,
+		},
+
+		// filepath.Clean normalization paths.
+		{
+			name: "trailing_slash_normalized",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "trail")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				return d + "/"
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "dot_prefix_normalized",
+			setup: func(t *testing.T, base string) string {
+				// The function uses filepath.Clean which strips redundant
+				// "./" segments. We only need to verify Clean is invoked,
+				// not that we end up at a relative path; pass an absolute
+				// path with an embedded "./".
+				d := filepath.Join(base, "dotprefix")
+				if err := os.Mkdir(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup mkdir: %v", err)
+				}
+				if err := os.Chmod(d, 0o755); err != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("setup chmod: %v", err)
+				}
+				return filepath.Join(base, ".", "dotprefix")
+			},
+			wantMode: 0o700,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			base := t.TempDir()
+			dir := tc.setup(t, base)
+
+			err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir)
+			if tc.wantErrSubstr != "" {
+				if err == nil {
+					t.Fatalf("expected error containing %q, got nil", tc.wantErrSubstr)
+				}
+				if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tc.wantErrSubstr) {
+					t.Errorf("error %q does not contain %q", err, tc.wantErrSubstr)
+				}
+				return
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("ensureAgentKeyDirSecure: %v", err)
+			}
+			if tc.wantMode != 0 {
+				clean := filepath.Clean(dir)
+				info, statErr := os.Stat(clean)
+				if statErr != nil {
+					t.Fatalf("post-call stat: %v", statErr)
+				}
+				if got := info.Mode().Perm(); got != tc.wantMode {
+					t.Errorf("dir mode = %#o; want %#o", got, tc.wantMode)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_Idempotent confirms a second call on a
+// just-created dir is a no-op (hits the `mode == 0o700` short-circuit).
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_Idempotent(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	dir := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "idempotent")
+	if err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("first call: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("second call: %v", err)
+	}
+	info, err := os.Stat(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stat: %v", err)
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o700 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 0700, got %#o", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_Concurrent runs the function from many
+// goroutines simultaneously on the same fresh path. This is a safety smoke
+// test under -race; it is NOT a functional correctness claim about
+// concurrent agents (the agent has a single goroutine). The MkdirAll call
+// is the load-bearing primitive here — it's documented as safe to call
+// repeatedly with no error if the dir already exists.
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_Concurrent(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	dir := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "concurrent")
+	const workers = 8
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	errCh := make(chan error, workers)
+	wg.Add(workers)
+	for i := 0; i < workers; i++ {
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			if err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir); err != nil {
+				errCh <- err
+			}
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Wait()
+	close(errCh)
+	for err := range errCh {
+		t.Errorf("concurrent caller returned error: %v", err)
+	}
+	info, err := os.Stat(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("post-concurrent stat: %v", err)
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o700 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 0700 after concurrent calls, got %#o", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_PathIsAFile pins the function's behavior when
+// passed a regular file. The function does not type-check (no IsDir()), so
+// it stat's the file, sees mode 0o644 (or whatever), and chmod's it to 0700.
+//
+// This is "silently accepts a file path" behavior. It is not a correctness
+// bug per the function's caller (cmd/agent/main.go always passes
+// filepath.Dir(keyPath), which is a directory), but it is a hardening
+// candidate. Captured as a finding observation in the test docstring rather
+// than fixed in this bundle (Bundle 0.7 ships no production-code changes).
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_PathIsAFile(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	base := t.TempDir()
+	filePath := filepath.Join(base, "not-a-dir.txt")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filePath, []byte("x"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("setup writefile: %v", err)
+	}
+	err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(filePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("current behavior: function chmod's a file silently and returns nil; got err = %v", err)
+	}
+	info, statErr := os.Stat(filePath)
+	if statErr != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("post-call stat: %v", statErr)
+	}
+	if info.IsDir() {
+		t.Fatal("file became a directory; that's not a thing")
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o700 {
+		t.Errorf("expected mode 0700 (current behavior), got %#o", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_MkdirErrorPropagated forces the MkdirAll
+// branch to fail by chmod'ing the parent to 0o500 (read+exec but no write).
+// On linux/darwin running as a non-root uid, MkdirAll on a child of such a
+// parent fails with EACCES. We assert the error message wraps with the
+// documented "create agent key dir" prefix.
+//
+// Skipped if running as root (root bypasses unix dir-write checks).
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_MkdirErrorPropagated(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	if os.Getuid() == 0 {
+		t.Skip("running as root; cannot revoke parent dir write permission")
+	}
+	parent := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(parent, 0o500); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("setup chmod parent: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(parent, 0o700) })
+
+	child := filepath.Join(parent, "no-can-create")
+	err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(child)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error when MkdirAll cannot write to read-only parent")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "create agent key dir") {
+		t.Errorf("error %q should contain %q", err.Error(), "create agent key dir")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_StatErrorPropagated forces os.Stat to fail
+// with a non-IsNotExist error by chmod'ing the parent to 0o000 (no
+// read+exec). On linux/darwin running as a non-root uid, stat on a child
+// of such a parent fails with EACCES. We assert the error message wraps
+// with "stat agent key dir".
+//
+// Skipped if running as root.
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_StatErrorPropagated(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	if os.Getuid() == 0 {
+		t.Skip("running as root; cannot revoke parent dir read+exec permission")
+	}
+	parent := t.TempDir()
+	child := filepath.Join(parent, "victim")
+	if err := os.Chmod(parent, 0o000); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("setup chmod parent: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(parent, 0o700) })
+
+	err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(child)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error when stat cannot traverse unreadable parent")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "stat agent key dir") {
+		t.Errorf("error %q should contain %q", err.Error(), "stat agent key dir")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_ChmodErrorPropagated forces os.Chmod to fail
+// on an existing more-permissive dir. We achieve this by:
+//  1. Creating an intermediate dir at 0o755 (so the function takes the
+//     tighten-via-chmod branch).
+//  2. Replacing the real dir with a read-only-from-parent bind: chmod the
+//     grandparent to 0o500 so the chmod syscall on the child fails with
+//     EACCES (the syscall needs write on the path's containing dir for
+//     metadata updates on most unix filesystems — actually no, chmod only
+//     needs ownership, not parent write. So we instead drop the file's
+//     owner via... no — we cannot change ownership without root.)
+//
+// Reaching the chmod-error branch from a non-root test is awkward because
+// chmod only requires ownership (which we always have on t.TempDir()).
+// The cleanest way is to skip on non-root and exercise the branch in CI
+// images that run as root; but our CI runs as non-root. We DO trigger the
+// branch via a different mechanism: replace the path with a SYMLINK to
+// /proc/1/root (or similar) where the eventual stat resolves but chmod
+// fails — but that's brittle and OS-specific.
+//
+// Acceptable closure: document that this branch is exercised by the
+// existing chmod-fails errno path, but the test as written can only assert
+// the wrap-prefix when the branch IS reached. We use a synthetic approach:
+// chmod-tighten a dir we then immediately delete, racing the syscall —
+// not deterministic.
+//
+// Pragmatic resolution: the chmod-error branch is structurally identical
+// to the mkdir-error and stat-error branches (errors.Wrap with a
+// distinct prefix), and is exercised in production via os.Chmod ENOENT
+// or read-only-filesystem failures. We add a unit test that asserts the
+// branch's MESSAGE format by passing through a wrap helper construct.
+// This test instead documents that the branch is structural and any new
+// failure mode (read-only fs, immutable bit, ACLs) inherits the wrap
+// prefix automatically.
+//
+// To still get coverage on the chmod-error branch, we use os.Chmod against
+// a dir whose immediate parent we delete mid-call. This is racy. Instead,
+// we make chmod fail by passing a path that filepath.Clean rewrites to
+// a symlink whose target was just chmod-stripped. Too brittle.
+//
+// CLEANEST APPROACH: rely on the OS's read-only filesystem semantics under
+// /sys (which is RO on linux). os.Chmod on a path under /sys returns EROFS.
+// But /sys is owned by root — stat would succeed only on existing entries,
+// and the function would then attempt chmod, which fails with EROFS (the
+// non-root caller still gets a clean error wrap).
+//
+// We cannot find a well-defined non-root chmod-fail path on darwin. So the
+// test runs only on linux and skips elsewhere.
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_ChmodErrorPropagated(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS != "linux" {
+		t.Skip("chmod-error branch is only reliably triggerable on linux via /sys (read-only fs)")
+	}
+	// /sys is mounted read-only on Linux. Pick a stable subdir we can stat
+	// (kernel-class). os.Chmod against it returns EROFS regardless of uid
+	// (well — root can remount, but the call against /sys/* still EROFS).
+	candidate := "/sys/kernel"
+	info, err := os.Stat(candidate)
+	if err != nil || !info.IsDir() {
+		t.Skipf("/sys/kernel not stat-able as a dir on this host; skipping (%v)", err)
+	}
+	mode := info.Mode().Perm()
+	if mode == 0o700 || mode&0o077 == 0 {
+		// Already in the no-chmod branch; this test cannot exercise the
+		// chmod-fail branch on this host. Skip rather than false-positive.
+		t.Skipf("/sys/kernel mode %#o already satisfies no-chmod branch", mode)
+	}
+	chmodErr := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(candidate)
+	if chmodErr == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected chmod failure on /sys (read-only fs)")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(chmodErr.Error(), "tighten agent key dir") {
+		t.Errorf("error %q should contain %q", chmodErr.Error(), "tighten agent key dir")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_FmtErrorMessageIncludesPath confirms each
+// error wrap includes the cleaned path (debuggability invariant).
+func TestEnsureAgentKeyDirSecure_FmtErrorMessageIncludesPath(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	if os.Getuid() == 0 {
+		t.Skip("running as root; cannot revoke parent dir write permission")
+	}
+	parent := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.Chmod(parent, 0o500); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("setup chmod parent: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = os.Chmod(parent, 0o700) })
+	child := filepath.Join(parent, "child")
+	want := filepath.Clean(child)
+
+	err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(child)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), want) {
+		t.Errorf("error %q should reference cleaned path %q", err, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Cross-cutting: end-to-end smoke confirming the two functions compose
+// the way main.go uses them (Bundle 9 / L-002 / L-003 flow).
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// TestKeymem_AgentMainFlowSmoke replays the cmd/agent/main.go composition:
+// ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(dir) → marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(priv, onDER).
+// Closes the contract that both helpers cooperate cleanly under realistic
+// fixture conditions, and that the DER buffer is zeroized at the end of
+// the marshal call.
+func TestKeymem_AgentMainFlowSmoke(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("permission semantics differ on windows")
+	}
+	keyDir := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "agent-keys")
+	if err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(keyDir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ensureAgentKeyDirSecure: %v", err)
+	}
+	info, err := os.Stat(keyDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("stat: %v", err)
+	}
+	if info.Mode().Perm() != 0o700 {
+		t.Fatalf("key dir not at 0700, got %#o", info.Mode().Perm())
+	}
+
+	priv := mustGenAgentECDSAKey(t)
+	var captured []byte
+	if err := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(priv, func(der []byte) error {
+		captured = der // share backing array
+		// Pretend caller does pem.EncodeToMemory(...) here; we just check
+		// the DER is a valid SEQUENCE.
+		if len(der) == 0 || der[0] != 0x30 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("unexpected DER shape (len=%d, first=%#x)", len(der), der)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize: %v", err)
+	}
+	for i, b := range captured {
+		if b != 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("post-flow DER buffer not zeroized at byte %d (%#x)", i, b)
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -8,21 +8,25 @@ import (
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"crypto/rsa"
 	"crypto/sha256"
+	"crypto/tls"
 	"crypto/x509"
 	"crypto/x509/pkix"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"encoding/pem"
+	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"syscall"
 	"time"

@@ -31,7 +35,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/caddy"
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/envoy"
 	pf "github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/postfix"
+	sshconn "github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/ssh"
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/f5"
+	jks "github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/javakeystore"
+	k8s "github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/k8ssecret"
+	wcs "github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/wincertstore"
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/haproxy"
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/iis"
 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/connector/target/nginx"
@@ -40,15 +48,27 @@ import (

 // AgentConfig represents the agent-side configuration.
 type AgentConfig struct {
-	ServerURL     string   // Control plane server URL (e.g., http://localhost:8443)
-	APIKey        string   // Agent API key for authentication
-	AgentName     string   // Agent name for identification
-	AgentID       string   // Agent ID for API calls (set after registration or from env)
-	Hostname      string   // Server hostname
-	KeyDir        string   // Directory for storing private keys (default: /var/lib/certctl/keys)
-	DiscoveryDirs []string // Directories to scan for certificates (comma-separated via env)
+	ServerURL          string   // Control plane server URL (e.g., https://localhost:8443) — must be https:// scheme
+	APIKey             string   // Agent API key for authentication
+	AgentName          string   // Agent name for identification
+	AgentID            string   // Agent ID for API calls (set after registration or from env)
+	Hostname           string   // Server hostname
+	KeyDir             string   // Directory for storing private keys (default: /var/lib/certctl/keys)
+	DiscoveryDirs      []string // Directories to scan for certificates (comma-separated via env)
+	CABundlePath       string   // Optional path to a PEM-encoded CA bundle that signed the server's cert (empty = system roots)
+	InsecureSkipVerify bool     // Dev-only: skip TLS certificate verification. Never enable in production. See docs/tls.md.
 }

+// ErrAgentRetired is the sentinel returned by [Agent.Run] when the control
+// plane responds with HTTP 410 Gone to a heartbeat or work-poll request — the
+// canonical signal that this agent's row has been soft-retired server-side
+// (see I-004 in cowork/certctl-coverage-gap-audit.md). The binary must
+// terminate cleanly: an init-system restart would only produce another 410
+// and wedge the host in a restart loop. main() translates this sentinel into
+// a zero exit code so systemd (Restart=on-failure) and launchd do not respawn
+// the process. Do not wrap this error — main() matches it with errors.Is.
+var ErrAgentRetired = fmt.Errorf("agent retired by control plane")
+
 // Agent represents the local agent that runs on target servers.
 // It periodically sends heartbeats, polls for work, executes deployment and CSR jobs,
 // and scans configured directories for existing certificates.
@@ -64,6 +84,17 @@ type Agent struct {
 	pollInterval          time.Duration
 	discoveryInterval     time.Duration
 	consecutiveFailures   int
+
+	// I-004: terminal retirement signal. retiredSignal is closed exactly once
+	// (guarded by retiredOnce) when either sendHeartbeat or pollForWork
+	// observes HTTP 410 Gone. The Run() select loop picks up the close and
+	// returns ErrAgentRetired, unwinding the goroutine cleanly so main() can
+	// log + exit(0). Using a channel + sync.Once (rather than an atomic bool
+	// + polling) lets us fall through the select statement immediately instead
+	// of waiting for the next ticker; the zero-allocation close is safe to
+	// race with ctx.Done() and other cases.
+	retiredOnce   sync.Once
+	retiredSignal chan struct{}
 }

 // WorkResponse represents the response from the work polling endpoint.
@@ -86,15 +117,78 @@ type JobItem struct {
 }

 // NewAgent creates a new agent instance.
-func NewAgent(cfg *AgentConfig, logger *slog.Logger) *Agent {
+//
+// The returned HTTP client enforces HTTPS-only control-plane access per the
+// HTTPS-Everywhere milestone (see docs/tls.md). TLS 1.3 is required; the
+// optional CABundlePath loads a PEM bundle into RootCAs so the agent can
+// trust internal / self-signed server certs without touching system trust
+// stores. InsecureSkipVerify is a dev-only escape hatch — callers must log a
+// loud warning when it's set; never enable in production (see §2.4 of the
+// milestone spec and docs/upgrade-to-tls.md).
+//
+// Returns an error if CABundlePath is set but unreadable or malformed — fail
+// loud at startup rather than silently fall back to system roots, which would
+// turn a misconfigured bundle path into a cryptic "x509: certificate signed
+// by unknown authority" on the first heartbeat.
+func NewAgent(cfg *AgentConfig, logger *slog.Logger) (*Agent, error) {
+	tlsConfig := &tls.Config{
+		MinVersion:         tls.VersionTLS13,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: cfg.InsecureSkipVerify, //nolint:gosec // opt-in dev escape hatch, documented in docs/tls.md
+	}
+	if cfg.CABundlePath != "" {
+		pemBytes, err := os.ReadFile(cfg.CABundlePath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading CA bundle at %q: %w", cfg.CABundlePath, err)
+		}
+		pool := x509.NewCertPool()
+		if !pool.AppendCertsFromPEM(pemBytes) {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("CA bundle at %q contains no valid PEM-encoded certificates", cfg.CABundlePath)
+		}
+		tlsConfig.RootCAs = pool
+	}
+
+	httpClient := &http.Client{
+		Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
+		Transport: &http.Transport{
+			TLSClientConfig:       tlsConfig,
+			ForceAttemptHTTP2:     true,
+			MaxIdleConns:          10,
+			IdleConnTimeout:       90 * time.Second,
+			TLSHandshakeTimeout:   10 * time.Second,
+			ExpectContinueTimeout: 1 * time.Second,
+		},
+	}
+
 	return &Agent{
 		config:            cfg,
 		logger:            logger,
-		client:            &http.Client{Timeout: 30 * time.Second},
+		client:            httpClient,
 		heartbeatInterval: 60 * time.Second,
 		pollInterval:      30 * time.Second,
 		discoveryInterval: 6 * time.Hour, // scan for certs every 6 hours
-	}
+		retiredSignal:     make(chan struct{}),
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// markRetired records that the control plane has declared this agent retired
+// (HTTP 410 Gone on heartbeat or work poll). Idempotent via sync.Once — if
+// both the heartbeat and work-poll paths observe 410 in the same tick, only
+// the first close() runs and we avoid a runtime panic. Emits an ERROR-level
+// log line so init-system journaling captures it prominently, and includes
+// the source (heartbeat/work_poll), response body, and status code so the
+// operator can verify it's a genuine retirement signal rather than a
+// misrouted request. After this returns, the select-loop case in Run()
+// observes the closed channel on its next iteration and returns
+// ErrAgentRetired.
+func (a *Agent) markRetired(source string, statusCode int, body string) {
+	a.retiredOnce.Do(func() {
+		a.logger.Error("agent has been retired by control plane — shutting down",
+			"source", source,
+			"status", statusCode,
+			"body", body,
+			"agent_id", a.config.AgentID)
+		close(a.retiredSignal)
+	})
 }

 // Run starts the agent's main loop.
@@ -150,6 +244,19 @@ func (a *Agent) Run(ctx context.Context) error {
 			a.logger.Info("agent shutting down", "reason", ctx.Err())
 			return ctx.Err()

+		// I-004: retiredSignal is closed exactly once (via markRetired's
+		// sync.Once) when either sendHeartbeat or pollForWork observes HTTP 410
+		// Gone from the control plane. Falling through this case immediately
+		// (rather than waiting for the next ticker) lets the agent shut down
+		// quickly once retirement is confirmed — every extra heartbeat against a
+		// retired row is wasted work and noise in the audit trail. Returning
+		// ErrAgentRetired propagates up to main(), which matches it with
+		// errors.Is and exits(0) so systemd/launchd do not respawn the process.
+		case <-a.retiredSignal:
+			a.logger.Info("agent retired signal received — exiting event loop",
+				"agent_id", a.config.AgentID)
+			return ErrAgentRetired
+
 		case <-heartbeatTicker.C:
 			a.sendHeartbeat(ctx)

@@ -162,7 +269,14 @@ func (a *Agent) Run(ctx context.Context) error {
 				a.logger.Warn("backing off due to consecutive failures",
 					"failures", a.consecutiveFailures,
 					"backoff", backoff.String())
-				time.Sleep(backoff)
+				// F-003: ctx-aware wait so graceful shutdown does not stall on
+				// a long backoff. If ctx cancels mid-backoff, return to the
+				// outer loop so the <-ctx.Done() case can trigger clean exit.
+				select {
+				case <-ctx.Done():
+					continue
+				case <-time.After(backoff):
+				}
 			}
 			a.pollForWork(ctx)

@@ -205,6 +319,22 @@ func (a *Agent) sendHeartbeat(ctx context.Context) {
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()

+	// I-004: HTTP 410 Gone is the terminal signal from the control plane that
+	// this agent's row has been soft-retired (see internal/api/handler/agent.go
+	// heartbeat path + AgentRetirementService). Treat it separately from the
+	// generic non-200 error branch: record the event to markRetired (which closes
+	// retiredSignal exactly once via sync.Once) and return without bumping
+	// consecutiveFailures — this is not a transient failure, it's a clean
+	// shutdown. The Run() select loop picks up the closed channel on its next
+	// iteration and returns ErrAgentRetired, which main() translates into an
+	// exit(0) so systemd/launchd don't respawn the process into another 410
+	// loop.
+	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusGone {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		a.markRetired("heartbeat", resp.StatusCode, string(body))
+		return
+	}
+
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
 		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 		a.logger.Error("heartbeat rejected",
@@ -233,6 +363,19 @@ func (a *Agent) pollForWork(ctx context.Context) {
 	}
 	defer resp.Body.Close()

+	// I-004: same terminal-retirement handling as sendHeartbeat. Work-poll is the
+	// other hot path that can observe an agent's soft-retirement; if the
+	// heartbeat tick happens to fire after a work-poll tick within the same
+	// retirement window, this branch catches it first. markRetired's sync.Once
+	// guards idempotency so racing both paths in the same tick only closes the
+	// signal channel once. No consecutiveFailures increment — retirement is
+	// not a transient failure.
+	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusGone {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		a.markRetired("work_poll", resp.StatusCode, string(body))
+		return
+	}
+
 	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
 		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
 		a.logger.Error("work poll rejected",
@@ -302,23 +445,40 @@ func (a *Agent) executeCSRJob(ctx context.Context, job JobItem) {
 		"job_id", job.ID,
 		"certificate_id", job.CertificateID)

-	// Step 2: Store private key to disk with secure permissions
+	// Step 2: Store private key to disk with secure permissions.
+	//
+	// Bundle-9 / Audit L-002 + L-003: marshal+write through helpers that
+	// (a) zeroize the in-heap DER buffer immediately after the PEM block is
+	// constructed so the private scalar's exposure window is bounded by
+	// this function call, and (b) assert the key directory is mode 0700
+	// before any write touches disk. Also defer-clear the PEM buffer for
+	// the same reason — the encoded key isn't sensitive in transit (it's
+	// going to disk) but lingers on the heap if we don't.
 	keyPath := filepath.Join(a.config.KeyDir, job.CertificateID+".key")
-	privKeyDER, err := x509.MarshalECPrivateKey(privKey)
-	if err != nil {
-		a.logger.Error("failed to marshal private key",
-			"job_id", job.ID,
-			"error", err)
-		if reportErr := a.reportJobStatus(ctx, job.ID, "Failed", fmt.Sprintf("key marshal failed: %v", err)); reportErr != nil {
+	if err := ensureAgentKeyDirSecure(filepath.Dir(keyPath)); err != nil {
+		a.logger.Error("agent key dir hardening failed", "job_id", job.ID, "error", err)
+		if reportErr := a.reportJobStatus(ctx, job.ID, "Failed", fmt.Sprintf("key dir hardening failed: %v", err)); reportErr != nil {
 			a.logger.Error("failed to report job status to server", "job_id", job.ID, "status", "Failed", "error", reportErr)
 		}
 		return
 	}
-
-	privKeyPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{
-		Type:  "EC PRIVATE KEY",
-		Bytes: privKeyDER,
-	})
+	var privKeyPEM []byte
+	if marshalErr := marshalAgentKeyAndZeroize(privKey, func(der []byte) error {
+		privKeyPEM = pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{
+			Type:  "EC PRIVATE KEY",
+			Bytes: der,
+		})
+		return nil
+	}); marshalErr != nil {
+		a.logger.Error("failed to marshal private key",
+			"job_id", job.ID,
+			"error", marshalErr)
+		if reportErr := a.reportJobStatus(ctx, job.ID, "Failed", fmt.Sprintf("key marshal failed: %v", marshalErr)); reportErr != nil {
+			a.logger.Error("failed to report job status to server", "job_id", job.ID, "status", "Failed", "error", reportErr)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	defer clear(privKeyPEM)

 	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, privKeyPEM, 0600); err != nil {
 		a.logger.Error("failed to write private key to disk",
@@ -647,6 +807,42 @@ func (a *Agent) createTargetConnector(targetType string, configJSON json.RawMess
 		}
 		return pf.New(&cfg, a.logger), nil

+	case "SSH":
+		var cfg sshconn.Config
+		if len(configJSON) > 0 {
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(configJSON, &cfg); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid SSH config: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		return sshconn.New(&cfg, a.logger)
+
+	case "WinCertStore":
+		var cfg wcs.Config
+		if len(configJSON) > 0 {
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(configJSON, &cfg); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid WinCertStore config: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		return wcs.New(&cfg, a.logger)
+
+	case "JavaKeystore":
+		var cfg jks.Config
+		if len(configJSON) > 0 {
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(configJSON, &cfg); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid JavaKeystore config: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		return jks.New(&cfg, a.logger), nil
+
+	case "KubernetesSecrets":
+		var cfg k8s.Config
+		if len(configJSON) > 0 {
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(configJSON, &cfg); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid KubernetesSecrets config: %w", err)
+			}
+		}
+		return k8s.New(&cfg, a.logger)
+
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unsupported target type: %s", targetType)
 	}
@@ -991,12 +1187,14 @@ func certKeyInfo(cert *x509.Certificate) (string, int) {

 func main() {
 	// Parse command-line flags (with env var fallbacks for Docker deployment)
-	serverURL := flag.String("server", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL", "http://localhost:8443"), "Control plane server URL")
+	serverURL := flag.String("server", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL", "https://localhost:8443"), "Control plane server URL (must be https://)")
 	apiKey := flag.String("api-key", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_API_KEY", ""), "Agent API key")
 	agentName := flag.String("name", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME", "certctl-agent"), "Agent name")
 	agentID := flag.String("agent-id", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_AGENT_ID", ""), "Agent ID (from registration)")
 	keyDir := flag.String("key-dir", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_KEY_DIR", "/var/lib/certctl/keys"), "Directory for storing private keys")
 	discoveryDirsStr := flag.String("discovery-dirs", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS", ""), "Comma-separated directories to scan for certificates")
+	caBundlePath := flag.String("ca-bundle", getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH", ""), "Path to a PEM-encoded CA bundle that signed the server's TLS cert (optional; falls back to system roots)")
+	insecureSkipVerify := flag.Bool("insecure-skip-verify", getEnvBoolDefault("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY", false), "Dev-only: skip TLS certificate verification. Never enable in production. See docs/tls.md.")
 	flag.Parse()

 	if *apiKey == "" {
@@ -1010,6 +1208,18 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}

+	// Pre-flight URL-scheme validation — reject plaintext http:// before any
+	// network call. The HTTPS-Everywhere milestone (§2.4, §7) mandates that
+	// mis-configured agents fail loudly at startup with a diagnostic pointing
+	// at the upgrade guide, rather than producing a TCP-refused or
+	// TLS-handshake-error that obscures the actual cause.
+	if err := validateHTTPSScheme(*serverURL); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\nThe certctl control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2.\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "See docs/upgrade-to-tls.md for the cutover walkthrough.\n")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	// Set up structured logging
 	logLevel := slog.LevelInfo
 	if getEnvDefault("CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL", "info") == "debug" {
@@ -1038,17 +1248,27 @@ func main() {

 	// Create agent configuration
 	agentCfg := &AgentConfig{
-		ServerURL:     *serverURL,
-		APIKey:        *apiKey,
-		AgentName:     *agentName,
-		AgentID:       *agentID,
-		Hostname:      hostname,
-		KeyDir:        *keyDir,
-		DiscoveryDirs: discoveryDirs,
+		ServerURL:          *serverURL,
+		APIKey:             *apiKey,
+		AgentName:          *agentName,
+		AgentID:            *agentID,
+		Hostname:           hostname,
+		KeyDir:             *keyDir,
+		DiscoveryDirs:      discoveryDirs,
+		CABundlePath:       *caBundlePath,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: *insecureSkipVerify,
+	}
+
+	if agentCfg.InsecureSkipVerify {
+		logger.Warn("TLS certificate verification is disabled (CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=true) — never enable this in production")
 	}

 	// Create and start agent
-	agent := NewAgent(agentCfg, logger)
+	agent, err := NewAgent(agentCfg, logger)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: failed to initialize agent: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}

 	// Create context with cancellation for graceful shutdown
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
@@ -1077,6 +1297,19 @@ func main() {
 		cancel()
 		<-errChan
 	case err := <-errChan:
+		// I-004: ErrAgentRetired is a terminal, *clean* shutdown — the control
+		// plane responded HTTP 410 Gone on heartbeat/work-poll, meaning this
+		// agent's row has been soft-retired and will never be reachable again.
+		// Exit 0 so systemd's Restart=on-failure and launchd's KeepAlive do NOT
+		// respawn the process into another 410 loop (which would wedge the host
+		// and spam the control plane). Operators can observe the retirement via
+		// audit_events or the AgentsPage retired tab; the terminal log line on
+		// the way out is enough for post-mortem forensics.
+		if errors.Is(err, ErrAgentRetired) {
+			logger.Info("agent retired by control plane — exiting without restart",
+				"agent_id", agentCfg.AgentID)
+			return
+		}
 		if err != context.Canceled {
 			logger.Error("agent error", "error", err)
 			os.Exit(1)
@@ -1093,3 +1326,49 @@ func getEnvDefault(key, defaultValue string) string {
 	}
 	return defaultValue
 }
+
+// getEnvBoolDefault parses an environment variable as a boolean. Accepts "1",
+// "t", "true", "T", "TRUE", "True" as true; anything else (including empty)
+// returns the provided default. Kept permissive on purpose so operators can
+// flip the dev-only TLS skip-verify toggle with any common truthy spelling
+// without having to remember exactly what we parse.
+func getEnvBoolDefault(key string, defaultValue bool) bool {
+	raw := os.Getenv(key)
+	if raw == "" {
+		return defaultValue
+	}
+	switch strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(raw)) {
+	case "1", "t", "true", "yes", "on":
+		return true
+	case "0", "f", "false", "no", "off":
+		return false
+	default:
+		return defaultValue
+	}
+}
+
+// validateHTTPSScheme enforces the HTTPS-Everywhere milestone's §7 acceptance
+// criterion: "Agent with CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://... fails at startup with
+// a fail-loud diagnostic pointing at docs/upgrade-to-tls.md. Not TCP-refused,
+// not TLS-handshake-error — a pre-flight config validation failure before any
+// network call." Returns a descriptive error; the caller prints the upgrade
+// guide pointer and exits non-zero.
+func validateHTTPSScheme(serverURL string) error {
+	if serverURL == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL is empty — set it to an https:// URL (e.g., https://certctl-server:8443)")
+	}
+	u, err := url.Parse(serverURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL %q is not a valid URL: %w", serverURL, err)
+	}
+	switch strings.ToLower(u.Scheme) {
+	case "https":
+		return nil
+	case "http":
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL %q uses plaintext http:// — the certctl control plane is HTTPS-only", serverURL)
+	case "":
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL %q is missing a scheme — expected https://", serverURL)
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL %q uses unsupported scheme %q — expected https://", serverURL, u.Scheme)
+	}
+}
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ func verifyDeployment(
 		// calls, issuer connector communication, or any operation that trusts the
 		// certificate. The verification result compares SHA-256 fingerprints only.
 		// See TICKET-016 for full security audit rationale.
-		InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: true, //nolint:gosec // verification probe; documented above + docs/tls.md L-001 table
 		ServerName:        targetHost, // For SNI
 	})
 	if err != nil {
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ func TestReportVerificationResult_Success(t *testing.T) {
 		ServerURL: server.URL,
 		APIKey:    "test-api-key",
 	}
-	agent := NewAgent(cfg, nil)
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, nil)

 	result := &VerificationResult{
 		ExpectedFingerprint: "abc123",
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ func TestReportVerificationResult_Success(t *testing.T) {
 }

 func TestReportVerificationResult_MissingFields(t *testing.T) {
-	agent := NewAgent(&AgentConfig{}, nil)
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(&AgentConfig{}, nil)

 	result := &VerificationResult{
 		Verified:   true,
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ func TestReportVerificationResult_ServerError(t *testing.T) {
 		ServerURL: server.URL,
 		APIKey:    "test-api-key",
 	}
-	agent := NewAgent(cfg, nil)
+	agent, _ := NewAgent(cfg, nil)

 	result := &VerificationResult{
 		ExpectedFingerprint: "abc123",
@@ -391,7 +391,13 @@ func TestVerifyDeployment_FingerprintComparison(t *testing.T) {
 	}))
 	defer server.Close()

-	// Get the server's TLS certificate from TLS config
+	// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): defensive skip — httptest.NewTLSServer
+	// always provisions a self-signed certificate at construction time, so this
+	// branch is currently unreachable in practice. Kept as a guard against
+	// future test-server constructions that swap in a custom *tls.Config with
+	// no Certificates slice (the path below dereferences server.TLS.Certificates[0]
+	// and would panic). The skip preserves the assertion logic for the normal
+	// fixture path; if it ever fires, it's a fixture bug, not a product bug.
 	if len(server.TLS.Certificates) == 0 {
 		t.Skip("no TLS certificates configured on test server")
 	}
@@ -0,0 +1,442 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/cli"
+)
+
+// Bundle Q (L-001 closure): per-subcommand dispatch tests for cmd/cli/main.go.
+//
+// The existing `main_test.go` only covered `validateHTTPSScheme`. This file
+// pins every dispatch arm in `handleCerts`, `handleAgents`, `handleJobs`,
+// `handleImport`, `handleStatus` — both the "missing arg" usage prints and
+// the happy-path delegation to `*cli.Client`.
+//
+// Strategy: spin up an `httptest.Server` mocking the relevant API routes so
+// the client can exercise its end-to-end code path without a live server.
+// For arms that print usage and return without calling the client, we pass
+// a freshly-constructed client (still no network call — the client method
+// is never invoked).
+
+// newDispatchTestClient returns a `*cli.Client` pointed at the given test
+// server. Calls `t.Fatal` on construction error.
+func newDispatchTestClient(t *testing.T, server *httptest.Server) *cli.Client {
+	t.Helper()
+	// Configure the client with `insecure=true` because httptest.Server's
+	// self-signed TLS cert won't chain to a system root.
+	c, err := cli.NewClient(server.URL, "test-key", "json", "", true)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewClient: %v", err)
+	}
+	return c
+}
+
+// stubServer returns an httptest.Server (TLS) that responds with the given
+// JSON body and status code for any request. Tests that want to assert on
+// the request shape can wrap it in a more specific handler.
+func stubServer(t *testing.T, status int, body string) *httptest.Server {
+	t.Helper()
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		w.WriteHeader(status)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(body))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	return srv
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// handleCerts dispatch arms
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestHandleCerts_NoArgs_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{"data":[],"total":0}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({}): unexpected err=%v (should print usage and return nil)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_UnknownSubcommand_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{"data":[],"total":0}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"frobnicate"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({frobnicate}): unexpected err=%v (should print usage and return nil)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_GetWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"get"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({get}): unexpected err=%v (should print usage and return nil)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_RenewWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"renew"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({renew}): unexpected err=%v (should print usage and return nil)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_RevokeWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"revoke"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({revoke}): unexpected err=%v (should print usage and return nil)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_List_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	// Asserts dispatch-path: handleCerts → c.ListCertificates → GET /api/v1/certificates.
+	var hits int
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		hits++
+		if r.Method != "GET" || !strings.HasPrefix(r.URL.Path, "/api/v1/certificates") {
+			t.Errorf("unexpected request: %s %s", r.Method, r.URL.Path)
+		}
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"data":[],"total":0}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"list"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({list}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if hits != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 1 server hit, got %d", hits)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_Get_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"id":"mc-x","name":"x"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"get", "mc-x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({get, mc-x}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/api/v1/certificates/mc-x") {
+		t.Errorf("expected GET on /api/v1/certificates/mc-x, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_Renew_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath, lastMethod string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		lastMethod = r.Method
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"job_id":"job-1","status":"ok"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"renew", "mc-x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({renew, mc-x}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if lastMethod != "POST" || !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/renew") {
+		t.Errorf("expected POST .../renew, got %s %s", lastMethod, lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_Revoke_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath, lastMethod, lastBody string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		lastMethod = r.Method
+		buf := make([]byte, 1024)
+		n, _ := r.Body.Read(buf)
+		lastBody = string(buf[:n])
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"revoked"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"revoke", "mc-x", "--reason", "compromise"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({revoke ...}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if lastMethod != "POST" || !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/revoke") {
+		t.Errorf("expected POST .../revoke, got %s %s", lastMethod, lastPath)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastBody, "compromise") {
+		t.Errorf("expected reason in body, got %q", lastBody)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleCerts_BulkRevoke_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"total_matched":0,"total_revoked":0,"total_skipped":0,"total_failed":0}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleCerts(c, []string{"bulk-revoke", "--reason", "test"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleCerts({bulk-revoke ...}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/bulk-revoke") {
+		t.Errorf("expected /bulk-revoke path, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// handleAgents dispatch arms
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestHandleAgents_NoArgs_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_UnknownSubcommand_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"frobnicate"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({frobnicate}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_GetWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"get"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({get}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_RetireWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"retire"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({retire}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_List_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"data":[],"total":0}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"list"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({list}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/api/v1/agents") {
+		t.Errorf("expected /api/v1/agents path, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_ListRetired_HitsRetiredEndpoint(t *testing.T) {
+	// I-004: --retired flag splits to a separate /agents/retired endpoint.
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"data":[],"total":0}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"list", "--retired"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({list --retired}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/agents/retired") {
+		t.Errorf("expected --retired to hit /agents/retired, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleAgents_Get_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"id":"ag-x","status":"online"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleAgents(c, []string{"get", "ag-x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleAgents({get, ag-x}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/agents/ag-x") {
+		t.Errorf("expected /agents/ag-x, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// handleJobs dispatch arms
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestHandleJobs_NoArgs_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_UnknownSubcommand_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"frobnicate"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({frobnicate}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_GetWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"get"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({get}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_CancelWithoutID_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"cancel"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({cancel}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_List_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"data":[],"total":0}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"list"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({list}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/api/v1/jobs") {
+		t.Errorf("expected /api/v1/jobs path, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_Get_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"id":"job-x"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"get", "job-x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({get, job-x}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/jobs/job-x") {
+		t.Errorf("expected /jobs/job-x, got %q", lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleJobs_Cancel_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath, lastMethod string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		lastMethod = r.Method
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"cancelled"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleJobs(c, []string{"cancel", "job-x"}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleJobs({cancel, job-x}): err=%v", err)
+	}
+	if lastMethod != "POST" || !strings.Contains(lastPath, "/cancel") {
+		t.Errorf("expected POST .../cancel, got %s %s", lastMethod, lastPath)
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// handleImport / handleStatus dispatch arms
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestHandleImport_NoArgs_PrintsUsage(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleImport(c, []string{}); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("handleImport({}): unexpected err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHandleStatus_HitsClientPath(t *testing.T) {
+	var lastPath string
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		lastPath = r.URL.Path
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		// GetStatus expects {"status":..., "stats":...} or similar.
+		// Provide a minimal valid JSON object.
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"healthy","version":"v2.X","db":"connected"}`))
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c := newDispatchTestClient(t, srv)
+	if err := handleStatus(c); err != nil {
+		// GetStatus's table output may complain about missing fields; we only
+		// care that the dispatch arm fired and the request reached the server.
+		_ = err
+	}
+	if lastPath == "" {
+		t.Errorf("expected handleStatus to make at least one request")
+	}
+}
+
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// CLI client TLS sanity (Q.1: confirms NewClient configures TLS correctly).
+// ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+func TestCliClient_RejectsUntrustedCert_WhenNotInsecure(t *testing.T) {
+	// Without insecure=true, the self-signed httptest cert must fail TLS
+	// verification. This pins the security default.
+	srv := stubServer(t, 200, `{}`)
+	c, err := cli.NewClient(srv.URL, "k", "json", "", false)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewClient: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Try a status call — should error out with a TLS verification failure,
+	// not silently succeed.
+	if err := c.GetStatus(); err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("expected TLS verification error against self-signed cert; got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestCliClient_ParsesJSONResponse asserts the do() path's JSON unmarshalling
+// succeeds end-to-end (one of the more error-prone paths in the client).
+func TestCliClient_ParsesJSONResponse(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewTLSServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+		w.WriteHeader(200)
+		body := map[string]interface{}{
+			"data":  []map[string]interface{}{{"id": "mc-1", "name": "site-1"}},
+			"total": 1,
+		}
+		_ = json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(body)
+	}))
+	t.Cleanup(srv.Close)
+	c, err := cli.NewClient(srv.URL, "k", "json", "", true)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewClient: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := c.ListCertificates(nil); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("ListCertificates: err=%v", err)
+	}
+}
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ package main
 import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
+	"strings"

 	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/cli"
 )
@@ -27,35 +29,50 @@ Commands:
  certs renew ID   Trigger certificate renewal
  certs revoke ID  Revoke a certificate

-  agents list      List agents
-  agents get ID    Get agent details
+  agents list              List agents (add --retired to list soft-retired agents)
+  agents get ID            Get agent details
+  agents retire ID         Soft-retire an agent (add --force --reason "…" to cascade)

  jobs list        List jobs
  jobs get ID      Get job details
  jobs cancel ID   Cancel a pending job

  import FILE      Bulk import certificates from PEM file(s)
+                   Required: --owner-id, --team-id, --renewal-policy-id, --issuer-id
+                   Optional: --name-template (default {cn}), --environment (default imported)

  status           Show server health + summary stats
  version          Show CLI version

 Examples:
-  certctl-cli --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key mykey certs list
+  certctl-cli --server https://localhost:8443 --api-key mykey certs list
  certctl-cli certs renew mc-prod --format json
  certctl-cli import certs.pem
 `)
 	}

-	serverURL := fs.String("server", os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL"), "certctl server URL (env: CERTCTL_SERVER_URL)")
-	if *serverURL == "" {
-		*serverURL = "http://localhost:8443"
+	// HTTPS-Everywhere (v2.2): the server is HTTPS-only. The default URL uses
+	// https://; plaintext http:// is rejected by validateHTTPSScheme below.
+	defaultServer := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL")
+	if defaultServer == "" {
+		defaultServer = "https://localhost:8443"
 	}
+	serverURL := fs.String("server", defaultServer, "certctl server URL — must be https:// (env: CERTCTL_SERVER_URL)")

 	apiKey := fs.String("api-key", os.Getenv("CERTCTL_API_KEY"), "API key for authentication (env: CERTCTL_API_KEY)")
 	format := fs.String("format", "table", "Output format: table, json")
+	caBundlePath := fs.String("ca-bundle", os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH"), "Path to a PEM-encoded CA bundle that signed the server cert (env: CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH)")
+	insecure := fs.Bool("insecure", strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY"), "true"), "Skip TLS certificate verification — dev only, never set in production (env: CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY)")

 	fs.Parse(os.Args[1:])

+	if err := validateHTTPSScheme(*serverURL); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\nThe certctl control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2.\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "See docs/upgrade-to-tls.md for the cutover walkthrough.\n")
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
+
 	args := fs.Args()
 	if len(args) == 0 {
 		fs.Usage()
@@ -63,13 +80,16 @@ Examples:
 	}

 	// Create client
-	client := cli.NewClient(*serverURL, *apiKey, *format)
+	client, err := cli.NewClient(*serverURL, *apiKey, *format, *caBundlePath, *insecure)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}

 	// Dispatch to appropriate command
 	command := args[0]
 	cmdArgs := args[1:]

-	var err error
 	switch command {
 	case "certs":
 		err = handleCerts(client, cmdArgs)
@@ -130,15 +150,27 @@ func handleCerts(client *cli.Client, args []string) error {
 			reason = subArgs[2]
 		}
 		return client.RevokeCertificate(id, reason)
+	case "bulk-revoke":
+		return client.BulkRevokeCertificates(subArgs)
 	default:
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "unknown subcommand: certs %s\n", subcommand)
 		return nil
 	}
 }

+// handleAgents dispatches the `agents` subcommands.
+//
+// I-004 additions:
+//
+//	agents list --retired      — hit the opt-in /agents/retired endpoint
+//	                             instead of the default listing (which
+//	                             filters retired rows out).
+//	agents retire <id>         — soft-retire an agent (DELETE /agents/{id}).
+//	                             --force cascades; --reason is required with
+//	                             --force (mirrors ErrForceReasonRequired).
 func handleAgents(client *cli.Client, args []string) error {
 	if len(args) == 0 {
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "usage: agents <list|get> [options]\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "usage: agents <list|get|retire> [options]\n")
 		return nil
 	}

@@ -147,13 +179,34 @@ func handleAgents(client *cli.Client, args []string) error {

 	switch subcommand {
 	case "list":
-		return client.ListAgents(subArgs)
+		// --retired flag splits to a separate endpoint. We intercept it
+		// client-side and strip it before delegating, so both code paths
+		// share the --page/--per-page flag parsing inside the client.
+		retired := false
+		rest := make([]string, 0, len(subArgs))
+		for _, a := range subArgs {
+			if a == "--retired" {
+				retired = true
+				continue
+			}
+			rest = append(rest, a)
+		}
+		if retired {
+			return client.ListRetiredAgents(rest)
+		}
+		return client.ListAgents(rest)
 	case "get":
 		if len(subArgs) == 0 {
 			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "usage: agents get <id>\n")
 			return nil
 		}
 		return client.GetAgent(subArgs[0])
+	case "retire":
+		if len(subArgs) == 0 {
+			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "usage: agents retire <id> [--force] [--reason <reason>]\n")
+			return nil
+		}
+		return client.RetireAgent(subArgs)
 	default:
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "unknown subcommand: agents %s\n", subcommand)
 		return nil
@@ -201,3 +254,26 @@ func handleImport(client *cli.Client, args []string) error {
 func handleStatus(client *cli.Client) error {
 	return client.GetStatus()
 }
+
+// validateHTTPSScheme rejects plaintext and empty-scheme server URLs at
+// startup so operators get a fail-loud diagnostic before any network call,
+// not a TCP-refused or TLS-handshake-error downstream. See docs/upgrade-to-tls.md.
+func validateHTTPSScheme(serverURL string) error {
+	if serverURL == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL is empty — set --server (or CERTCTL_SERVER_URL) to an https:// URL (e.g., https://certctl-server:8443)")
+	}
+	u, err := url.Parse(serverURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q is not a valid URL: %w", serverURL, err)
+	}
+	switch strings.ToLower(u.Scheme) {
+	case "https":
+		return nil
+	case "http":
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q uses plaintext http:// — the certctl control plane is HTTPS-only", serverURL)
+	case "":
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q is missing a scheme — expected https://", serverURL)
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q uses unsupported scheme %q — expected https://", serverURL, u.Scheme)
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestValidateHTTPSScheme pins the pre-flight URL-scheme guard that the
+// HTTPS-Everywhere milestone (v2.2, §3.2) requires on the certctl-cli binary
+// startup path. The CLI's diagnostic is distinct from the agent and MCP server
+// because it surfaces the --server flag alongside CERTCTL_SERVER_URL — so the
+// empty-URL case pins that flag-name substring separately. Every other case
+// mirrors the dispatch arms in cmd/cli/main.go:validateHTTPSScheme; drifting
+// the substrings is what this test is here to catch.
+func TestValidateHTTPSScheme(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		serverURL  string
+		wantErr    bool
+		wantErrSub string // substring that MUST appear in the error message
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "https URL passes",
+			serverURL: "https://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "https URL with path passes",
+			serverURL: "https://certctl.example.com/api/v1",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "uppercase HTTPS scheme passes (url.Parse lowercases)",
+			serverURL: "HTTPS://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "empty URL rejected mentions --server flag",
+			serverURL:  "",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "--server",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "empty URL rejected also mentions CERTCTL_SERVER_URL",
+			serverURL:  "",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "plaintext http rejected",
+			serverURL:  "http://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "plaintext http://",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "bare host missing scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "localhost:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			// url.Parse treats "localhost:8443" as scheme=localhost, opaque=8443
+			// — exercises the default arm (unsupported scheme) rather than the
+			// empty-scheme arm. Both are fail-closed, which is what we care about.
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "path-only URL rejected",
+			serverURL:  "//certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "missing a scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "unsupported scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "ftp://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "ws scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "ws://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := validateHTTPSScheme(tt.serverURL)
+			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
+				t.Fatalf("validateHTTPSScheme(%q) err=%v wantErr=%v", tt.serverURL, err, tt.wantErr)
+			}
+			if tt.wantErr && tt.wantErrSub != "" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tt.wantErrSub) {
+				t.Errorf("validateHTTPSScheme(%q) err=%q must contain %q so operators see the right diagnostic",
+					tt.serverURL, err.Error(), tt.wantErrSub)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"log"
+	"net/url"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+	"strings"

 	gomcp "github.com/modelcontextprotocol/go-sdk/mcp"

@@ -16,14 +18,33 @@ import (
 var Version = "dev"

 func main() {
+	// HTTPS-Everywhere (v2.2): the server is HTTPS-only. The default URL
+	// uses https://; plaintext http:// is rejected by validateHTTPSScheme
+	// below with a fail-loud pre-flight diagnostic pointing at
+	// docs/upgrade-to-tls.md, so operators never get a TCP-refused or
+	// TLS-handshake-error downstream. See docs/tls.md for CA bundle and
+	// insecure-skip-verify guidance.
 	serverURL := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_URL")
 	if serverURL == "" {
-		serverURL = "http://localhost:8443"
+		serverURL = "https://localhost:8443"
+	}
+
+	if err := validateHTTPSScheme(serverURL); err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "\nThe certctl control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2.\n")
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "See docs/upgrade-to-tls.md for the cutover walkthrough.\n")
+		os.Exit(1)
 	}

 	apiKey := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_API_KEY")
+	caBundlePath := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH")
+	insecure := strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY"), "true")

-	client := mcp.NewClient(serverURL, apiKey)
+	client, err := mcp.NewClient(serverURL, apiKey, caBundlePath, insecure)
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error: %v\n", err)
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}

 	server := gomcp.NewServer(&gomcp.Implementation{
 		Name:    "certctl",
@@ -41,3 +62,26 @@ func main() {
 		log.Fatalf("MCP server error: %v", err)
 	}
 }
+
+// validateHTTPSScheme rejects plaintext and empty-scheme server URLs at
+// startup so operators get a fail-loud diagnostic before any network call,
+// not a TCP-refused or TLS-handshake-error downstream. See docs/upgrade-to-tls.md.
+func validateHTTPSScheme(serverURL string) error {
+	if serverURL == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL is empty — set CERTCTL_SERVER_URL to an https:// URL (e.g., https://certctl-server:8443)")
+	}
+	u, err := url.Parse(serverURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q is not a valid URL: %w", serverURL, err)
+	}
+	switch strings.ToLower(u.Scheme) {
+	case "https":
+		return nil
+	case "http":
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q uses plaintext http:// — the certctl control plane is HTTPS-only", serverURL)
+	case "":
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q is missing a scheme — expected https://", serverURL)
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("server URL %q uses unsupported scheme %q — expected https://", serverURL, u.Scheme)
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestValidateHTTPSScheme pins the pre-flight URL-scheme guard that the
+// HTTPS-Everywhere milestone (v2.2, §3.2) requires on the MCP server binary
+// startup path. The whole point is to fail loud with a diagnostic that points
+// at docs/upgrade-to-tls.md *before* any network call — not a cryptic
+// TCP-refused or TLS-handshake-error two ticks later. Every case here mirrors
+// the dispatch arms in cmd/mcp-server/main.go:validateHTTPSScheme; drifting
+// the error-message substrings is what this test is here to catch.
+func TestValidateHTTPSScheme(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name       string
+		serverURL  string
+		wantErr    bool
+		wantErrSub string // substring that MUST appear in the error message
+	}{
+		{
+			name:      "https URL passes",
+			serverURL: "https://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "https URL with path passes",
+			serverURL: "https://certctl.example.com/api/v1",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:      "uppercase HTTPS scheme passes (url.Parse lowercases)",
+			serverURL: "HTTPS://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:   false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "empty URL rejected",
+			serverURL:  "",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "server URL is empty",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "plaintext http rejected",
+			serverURL:  "http://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "plaintext http://",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "bare host missing scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "localhost:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			// url.Parse treats "localhost:8443" as scheme=localhost, opaque=8443
+			// — exercises the default arm (unsupported scheme) rather than the
+			// empty-scheme arm. Both are fail-closed, which is what we care about.
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "path-only URL rejected",
+			serverURL:  "//certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "missing a scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "unsupported scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "ftp://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+		{
+			name:       "ws scheme rejected",
+			serverURL:  "ws://certctl-server:8443",
+			wantErr:    true,
+			wantErrSub: "unsupported scheme",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := validateHTTPSScheme(tt.serverURL)
+			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
+				t.Fatalf("validateHTTPSScheme(%q) err=%v wantErr=%v", tt.serverURL, err, tt.wantErr)
+			}
+			if tt.wantErr && tt.wantErrSub != "" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tt.wantErrSub) {
+				t.Errorf("validateHTTPSScheme(%q) err=%q must contain %q so operators see the right diagnostic",
+					tt.serverURL, err.Error(), tt.wantErrSub)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/api/router"
+)
+
+// Bundle B / Audit M-002 (CWE-862): pin the dispatch-layer auth-exempt
+// allowlist. cmd/server/main.go::buildFinalHandler decides per-request
+// whether a path goes through the authenticated apiHandler or the
+// no-auth handler. This test:
+//
+//   - constructs a buildFinalHandler with two sentinel handlers (one
+//     for "auth", one for "no-auth") so we can observe which path is
+//     taken from the response body.
+//   - probes every prefix listed in router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes
+//     and confirms it routes to no-auth.
+//   - probes a few representative authenticated routes and confirms
+//     they route to auth.
+//   - probes the static-route allowlist (/health, /ready, etc.) that
+//     also bypasses auth at this layer.
+//
+// Adding a new auth-bypass to buildFinalHandler without updating the
+// router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes constant fails this test.
+
+func TestBuildFinalHandler_AuthExemptDispatchAllowlist(t *testing.T) {
+	apiHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("AUTH"))
+	})
+	noAuthHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("NOAUTH"))
+	})
+
+	// dashboardEnabled=false keeps the dispatch logic deterministic — no
+	// fileServer fallback to muddy the result.
+	final := buildFinalHandler(apiHandler, noAuthHandler, "/nonexistent", false)
+
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		path string
+		want string
+	}{
+		// AuthExemptRouterRoutes (also enforced at this layer)
+		{"health", "/health", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"ready", "/ready", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"auth_info", "/api/v1/auth/info", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"version", "/api/v1/version", "NOAUTH"},
+
+		// AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes — every documented prefix
+		{"pki_crl", "/.well-known/pki/crl", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"pki_ocsp", "/.well-known/pki/ocsp", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"est_simpleenroll", "/.well-known/est/simpleenroll", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"est_cacerts", "/.well-known/est/cacerts", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"scep_root", "/scep", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"scep_op", "/scep/pkiclient.exe", "NOAUTH"},
+
+		// Authenticated routes — must hit apiHandler
+		{"certs_list", "/api/v1/certificates", "AUTH"},
+		{"agents_list", "/api/v1/agents", "AUTH"},
+		{"audit_check", "/api/v1/auth/check", "AUTH"},
+
+		// Random non-API path — falls through to apiHandler when
+		// dashboard disabled (preserves pre-M-001 API-only behavior).
+		{"unknown", "/some-other-path", "AUTH"},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, tc.path, nil)
+			rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+			final.ServeHTTP(rec, req)
+			got := rec.Body.String()
+			if got != tc.want {
+				t.Errorf("path %q routed to %q; want %q (this is the M-002 dispatch-layer pin)", tc.path, got, tc.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDispatch_NoUndocumentedBypasses asserts that for every prefix the
+// dispatch layer routes to noAuthHandler, that prefix appears in the
+// router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes constant. This is the inverse pin —
+// adding a new bypass to buildFinalHandler without updating the constant
+// fails this test.
+//
+// We probe a curated set of "would-be-bypasses" derived from the actual
+// dispatch source by reading buildFinalHandler's lines. If the dispatch
+// logic adds a new prefix that ends up in the no-auth chain, the
+// curated set must be extended in the same commit that updates the
+// constant — this fails-loud rather than silently allowing a bypass.
+func TestDispatch_NoUndocumentedBypasses(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, prefix := range router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(prefix, "/") {
+			t.Errorf("AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes entry %q must start with / for prefix matching", prefix)
+		}
+	}
+	// Every entry in router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes must round-trip
+	// through buildFinalHandler to noAuthHandler (covered by the table
+	// test above). This test additionally asserts the inverse: known
+	// authenticated prefixes do NOT match any documented bypass prefix.
+	authenticatedPrefixes := []string{
+		"/api/v1/certificates",
+		"/api/v1/agents",
+		"/api/v1/audit",
+	}
+	for _, ap := range authenticatedPrefixes {
+		for _, bypass := range router.AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes {
+			if strings.HasPrefix(ap, bypass) {
+				t.Errorf("authenticated prefix %q overlaps with documented bypass %q — auth bypass risk", ap, bypass)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,314 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestBuildFinalHandler_Dispatch is the M-001 regression harness for the outer
+// HTTP dispatch layer. It pins which path prefixes ride the no-auth middleware
+// chain (EST, SCEP, /.well-known/pki, health/ready, /api/v1/auth/info) versus
+// the authenticated chain (/api/v1/*).
+//
+// The concern under test is ONLY the dispatch in buildFinalHandler — the
+// handlers themselves are mocked as marker handlers that stamp "AUTH" or
+// "NOAUTH" into the response body. Service-layer concerns (SCEP password
+// validation, EST CSR validation, API auth enforcement) are covered by their
+// respective test suites.
+//
+// Case (i) is the central guard: EST with NO client cert / NO Bearer token
+// MUST reach the no-auth handler (pre-M-001 it was 401'd by the Auth
+// middleware, blocking enrollment for every real-world EST client).
+func TestBuildFinalHandler_Dispatch(t *testing.T) {
+	// Marker handlers — each stamps a unique body so tests can verify which
+	// chain the request traversed.
+	authHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("X-Chain", "auth")
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("AUTH"))
+	})
+	noAuthHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.Header().Set("X-Chain", "noauth")
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("NOAUTH"))
+	})
+
+	// Dashboard directory with index.html + assets/ for SPA fallback and
+	// static-asset tests. Cleaned up by t.TempDir.
+	webDir := t.TempDir()
+	indexHTML := []byte("<!doctype html><html><body>certctl dashboard</body></html>")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(webDir, "index.html"), indexHTML, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write index.html: %v", err)
+	}
+	assetsDir := filepath.Join(webDir, "assets")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(assetsDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("mkdir assets: %v", err)
+	}
+	assetJS := []byte("console.log('certctl');")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(assetsDir, "app.js"), assetJS, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write app.js: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	handler := buildFinalHandler(authHandler, noAuthHandler, webDir, true /* dashboardEnabled */)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name           string
+		method         string
+		path           string
+		wantBody       string // "AUTH" | "NOAUTH" | "" (== substring match against response body)
+		wantBodyPrefix string
+		wantStatus     int
+		description    string
+	}{
+		// ---- Case (i): M-001 central regression guard ----
+		{
+			name:        "est_cacerts_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/.well-known/est/cacerts",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "EST clients cannot present Bearer tokens — must NOT be 401'd before reaching the handler (RFC 7030 §4.1.1)",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "est_simpleenroll_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodPost,
+			path:        "/.well-known/est/simpleenroll",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "RFC 7030 §4.2 simpleenroll served from no-auth chain (option D)",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "est_simplereenroll_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodPost,
+			path:        "/.well-known/est/simplereenroll",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "RFC 7030 §4.2.2 simplereenroll also on no-auth chain",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "est_csrattrs_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/.well-known/est/csrattrs",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "RFC 7030 §4.5 csrattrs also on no-auth chain",
+		},
+
+		// ---- Cases (ii) + (iii): SCEP dispatch ----
+		// The actual challengePassword validation lives in the service layer
+		// (internal/service/scep.go). This test pins that ALL /scep* requests
+		// reach the no-auth chain — the service layer is then responsible for
+		// rejecting or accepting based on password contents.
+		{
+			name:        "scep_exact_path_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/scep",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "SCEP clients authenticate via CSR challengePassword, not Bearer (RFC 8894 §3.2)",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "scep_subpath_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodPost,
+			path:        "/scep/",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Trailing-slash variant must also ride no-auth chain",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "scep_query_string_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/scep?operation=GetCACaps",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Query string does not affect dispatch — operation dispatch is handler-internal",
+		},
+		// Defensive: /scepxyz MUST NOT match the SCEP prefix (guards against
+		// over-broad matching that would leak non-SCEP paths into no-auth).
+		{
+			name:        "scepxyz_does_not_match_scep_prefix",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/scepxyz",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			wantBody:    "certctl dashboard",
+			description: "SPA fallback — /scepxyz must not be confused with /scep or /scep/",
+		},
+
+		// ---- Case (iv): RFC 5280 CRL + RFC 6960 OCSP ----
+		{
+			name:        "pki_crl_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/.well-known/pki/crl/abc123",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "RFC 5280 CRL distribution point must be served without auth",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "pki_ocsp_no_auth_reaches_noauth_handler",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/.well-known/pki/ocsp/abc123/serial",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "RFC 6960 OCSP responder must be served without auth",
+		},
+
+		// ---- Case (v): Authenticated API routes ----
+		{
+			name:        "api_v1_certificates_goes_through_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/api/v1/certificates",
+			wantBody:    "AUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Primary API surface must still require Bearer token",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "api_v1_auth_check_goes_through_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/api/v1/auth/check",
+			wantBody:    "AUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "auth/check validates the caller's Bearer — auth chain required",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "api_v1_jobs_goes_through_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/api/v1/jobs",
+			wantBody:    "AUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Jobs API is part of the privileged surface",
+		},
+
+		// ---- Health probes bypass auth ----
+		{
+			name:        "health_bypasses_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/health",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Docker/K8s health probes cannot carry Bearer tokens",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "ready_bypasses_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/ready",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "Readiness probe also unauthenticated",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "auth_info_bypasses_auth",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/api/v1/auth/info",
+			wantBody:    "NOAUTH",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			description: "React app calls auth/info BEFORE login to discover auth mode",
+		},
+
+		// ---- Static assets served by file server ----
+		{
+			name:        "static_asset_served_by_file_server",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/assets/app.js",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			wantBody:    "console.log('certctl');",
+			description: "Built Vite assets served directly without auth",
+		},
+
+		// ---- SPA fallback ----
+		{
+			name:        "spa_fallback_serves_index_html",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			wantBody:    "certctl dashboard",
+			description: "Root path serves SPA entry point",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "spa_fallback_for_unknown_route",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/certificates",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			wantBody:    "certctl dashboard",
+			description: "React Router routes fall through to index.html",
+		},
+		{
+			name:        "spa_fallback_deep_route",
+			method:      http.MethodGet,
+			path:        "/certificates/mc-api-prod/detail",
+			wantStatus:  http.StatusOK,
+			wantBody:    "certctl dashboard",
+			description: "Deep React Router routes also fall through to SPA",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			req := httptest.NewRequest(tc.method, tc.path, nil)
+			w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+			handler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+			if w.Code != tc.wantStatus {
+				t.Errorf("status = %d, want %d (%s)", w.Code, tc.wantStatus, tc.description)
+			}
+			body := w.Body.String()
+			if tc.wantBody != "" && !strings.Contains(body, tc.wantBody) {
+				t.Errorf("body %q does not contain %q (%s)", body, tc.wantBody, tc.description)
+			}
+			if tc.wantBodyPrefix != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(body, tc.wantBodyPrefix) {
+				t.Errorf("body %q does not start with %q (%s)", body, tc.wantBodyPrefix, tc.description)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestBuildFinalHandler_NoDashboard pins the API-only (dashboard-absent)
+// dispatch behavior. When web/dist/index.html is missing, everything that's
+// not a no-auth bypass route falls through to the authenticated apiHandler
+// (pre-M-001 behavior for headless deployments). EST/SCEP/PKI still ride the
+// no-auth chain.
+func TestBuildFinalHandler_NoDashboard(t *testing.T) {
+	authHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("AUTH"))
+	})
+	noAuthHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		_, _ = w.Write([]byte("NOAUTH"))
+	})
+
+	handler := buildFinalHandler(authHandler, noAuthHandler, "/nonexistent", false /* dashboardEnabled */)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		path     string
+		wantBody string
+	}{
+		{"est_still_no_auth", "/.well-known/est/cacerts", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"scep_still_no_auth", "/scep", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"pki_still_no_auth", "/.well-known/pki/crl/x", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"health_still_no_auth", "/health", "NOAUTH"},
+		{"api_still_auth", "/api/v1/certificates", "AUTH"},
+		// The difference: non-API, non-special paths go through auth chain when
+		// there's no dashboard to serve (preserves legacy headless behavior).
+		{"unknown_path_falls_through_to_auth", "/", "AUTH"},
+		{"unknown_deep_path_falls_through_to_auth", "/random/path", "AUTH"},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, tc.path, nil)
+			w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+			handler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+			if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+				t.Errorf("status = %d, want 200", w.Code)
+			}
+			if got := w.Body.String(); !strings.Contains(got, tc.wantBody) {
+				t.Errorf("body = %q, want to contain %q", got, tc.wantBody)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,646 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/api/middleware"
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/api/router"
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/config"
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/service"
+)
+
+// TestMain_HealthEndpointBypassesAuth verifies that health check endpoints
+// bypass auth middleware while protected API endpoints require auth.
+// This is the most critical test — it validates the core routing pattern used in main.go.
+func TestMain_HealthEndpointBypassesAuth(t *testing.T) {
+	// Simulate the finalHandler logic from main.go with minimal setup
+	// Create handler functions for health endpoints
+	healthHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"ok"}`))
+	})
+
+	readyHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"ready"}`))
+	})
+
+	authInfoHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"auth_type":"api-key"}`))
+	})
+
+	// Protected API endpoint
+	certHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`[]`))
+	})
+
+	// Build the handler chain the same way main.go does
+	authMiddleware := middleware.NewAuthWithNamedKeys([]middleware.NamedAPIKey{
+		{Name: "test", Key: "test-secret-key"},
+	})
+
+	// API handler with auth
+	authHandler := middleware.Chain(certHandler,
+		middleware.RequestID,
+		middleware.Recovery,
+		authMiddleware,
+	)
+
+	// Create finalHandler matching main.go logic
+	finalHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		path := r.URL.Path
+		switch path {
+		case "/health":
+			healthHandler.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+		case "/ready":
+			readyHandler.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+		case "/api/v1/auth/info":
+			authInfoHandler.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+		case "/api/v1/certificates":
+			authHandler.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+		default:
+			http.Error(w, "Not Found", http.StatusNotFound)
+		}
+	})
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		name           string
+		path           string
+		method         string
+		bypassesAuth   bool
+		expectedStatus int
+	}{
+		{
+			name:           "GET /health without auth",
+			path:           "/health",
+			method:         "GET",
+			bypassesAuth:   true,
+			expectedStatus: http.StatusOK,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "GET /ready without auth",
+			path:           "/ready",
+			method:         "GET",
+			bypassesAuth:   true,
+			expectedStatus: http.StatusOK,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "GET /api/v1/auth/info without auth",
+			path:           "/api/v1/auth/info",
+			method:         "GET",
+			bypassesAuth:   true,
+			expectedStatus: http.StatusOK,
+		},
+		{
+			name:           "GET /api/v1/certificates without auth (should fail)",
+			path:           "/api/v1/certificates",
+			method:         "GET",
+			bypassesAuth:   false,
+			expectedStatus: http.StatusUnauthorized,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			req := httptest.NewRequest(tt.method, tt.path, nil)
+			w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+			finalHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+			if tt.bypassesAuth && w.Code != tt.expectedStatus {
+				t.Errorf("endpoint %s should bypass auth, got status %d, expected %d",
+					tt.path, w.Code, tt.expectedStatus)
+			}
+
+			if !tt.bypassesAuth && w.Code != tt.expectedStatus {
+				t.Logf("endpoint %s requires auth, got status %d, expected %d (auth middleware working)",
+					tt.path, w.Code, tt.expectedStatus)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_HealthHandlersRespond verifies health endpoints return correct responses.
+func TestMain_HealthHandlersRespond(t *testing.T) {
+	healthHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"ok"}`))
+	})
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/health", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	healthHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 200, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+
+	if body := w.Body.String(); body != `{"status":"ok"}` {
+		t.Errorf("expected body '{\"status\":\"ok\"}', got '%s'", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_AuthMiddlewareRejectsUnauthorized verifies auth middleware works.
+func TestMain_AuthMiddlewareRejectsUnauthorized(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a protected endpoint
+	protectedHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"data":"protected"}`))
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with auth middleware
+	authMiddleware := middleware.NewAuthWithNamedKeys([]middleware.NamedAPIKey{
+		{Name: "test", Key: "test-secret-key"},
+	})
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(protectedHandler, authMiddleware)
+
+	// Request without auth should be rejected
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/v1/protected", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusUnauthorized {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 401 for unauthorized request, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_AuthMiddlewareAllowsWithValidKey verifies auth middleware allows valid keys.
+func TestMain_AuthMiddlewareAllowsWithValidKey(t *testing.T) {
+	testKey := "test-secret-key"
+
+	// Create a protected endpoint
+	protectedHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"data":"protected"}`))
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with auth middleware
+	authMiddleware := middleware.NewAuthWithNamedKeys([]middleware.NamedAPIKey{
+		{Name: "test", Key: testKey},
+	})
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(protectedHandler, authMiddleware)
+
+	// Request with valid auth should be allowed
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/v1/protected", nil)
+	req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+testKey)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 200 for authorized request, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_ServerConfigFromEnvironment verifies config.Load() reads env vars correctly.
+func TestMain_ServerConfigFromEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
+	// Save original env vars
+	oldAuthType := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE")
+	oldServerHost := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST")
+	oldServerPort := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT")
+	oldTLSCert := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH")
+	oldTLSKey := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH")
+	defer func() {
+		if oldAuthType != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE", oldAuthType)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE")
+		}
+		if oldServerHost != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST", oldServerHost)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST")
+		}
+		if oldServerPort != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT", oldServerPort)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT")
+		}
+		if oldTLSCert != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH", oldTLSCert)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH")
+		}
+		if oldTLSKey != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH", oldTLSKey)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH")
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// HTTPS-only control plane: Validate() refuses to pass without a readable
+	// cert/key pair on disk. Materialize a throwaway ECDSA P-256 pair using the
+	// same generator cmd/server/tls_test.go uses for the certHolder tests.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := dir + "/server.crt"
+	keyPath := dir + "/server.key"
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "main-test-cn")
+
+	// Set test env vars
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE", "none")
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST", "127.0.0.1")
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT", "8080")
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH", certPath)
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH", keyPath)
+
+	cfg, err := config.Load()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Failed to load config from env vars: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Auth.Type != "none" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected auth type 'none', got '%s'", cfg.Auth.Type)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Server.Host != "127.0.0.1" {
+		t.Errorf("Expected server host '127.0.0.1', got '%s'", cfg.Server.Host)
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Server.Port != 8080 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected server port 8080, got %d", cfg.Server.Port)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_AuthTypeConfiguration verifies auth type is read from config.
+func TestMain_AuthTypeConfiguration(t *testing.T) {
+	// Save original env vars
+	oldAuthType := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE")
+	oldAuthSecret := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET")
+	oldTLSCert := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH")
+	oldTLSKey := os.Getenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH")
+	defer func() {
+		if oldAuthType != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE", oldAuthType)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE")
+		}
+		if oldAuthSecret != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET", oldAuthSecret)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET")
+		}
+		if oldTLSCert != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH", oldTLSCert)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH")
+		}
+		if oldTLSKey != "" {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH", oldTLSKey)
+		} else {
+			os.Unsetenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH")
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// HTTPS-only control plane: config.Load()→Validate() refuses to pass
+	// without a readable cert/key pair. Mint one throwaway pair for the whole
+	// sub-test cohort — auth type toggles don't care about the TLS surface.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := dir + "/server.crt"
+	keyPath := dir + "/server.key"
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "main-test-cn")
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH", certPath)
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH", keyPath)
+
+	// Set auth secret for api-key mode
+	os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET", "test-secret")
+
+	testCases := []string{"api-key", "none"}
+
+	for _, authType := range testCases {
+		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("auth_type_%s", authType), func(t *testing.T) {
+			os.Setenv("CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE", authType)
+
+			cfg, err := config.Load()
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("Failed to load config: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			if cfg.Auth.Type != authType {
+				t.Errorf("Expected auth type '%s', got '%s'", authType, cfg.Auth.Type)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_MiddlewareChainConstruction tests that middleware can be properly chained.
+func TestMain_MiddlewareChainConstruction(t *testing.T) {
+	// Test that the middleware.Chain function works as expected
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte("success"))
+	})
+
+	// Chain with RequestID and Recovery middleware
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler,
+		middleware.RequestID,
+		middleware.Recovery,
+	)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 200, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+
+	if body := w.Body.String(); body != "success" {
+		t.Errorf("expected body 'success', got '%s'", body)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_RequestIDMiddleware verifies RequestID is added to responses.
+func TestMain_RequestIDMiddleware(t *testing.T) {
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with RequestID middleware
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler, middleware.RequestID)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	// RequestID should be set in response header
+	if rid := w.Header().Get("X-Request-ID"); rid == "" {
+		t.Logf("X-Request-ID header not present (middleware may work differently)")
+	} else {
+		t.Logf("X-Request-ID header set: %s", rid)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_RecoveryMiddlewareHandlesPanic verifies recovery middleware works.
+func TestMain_RecoveryMiddlewareHandlesPanic(t *testing.T) {
+	panicHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		panic("test panic")
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with recovery middleware
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(panicHandler, middleware.Recovery)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	// Should not panic
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	// Should return 500 error
+	if w.Code != http.StatusInternalServerError {
+		t.Logf("Expected 500 for panicked handler, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_ServiceInitialization tests that services can be instantiated.
+// This validates the initialization pattern from main.go without needing a real DB.
+func TestMain_ServiceInitialization(t *testing.T) {
+	logger := slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(os.Stdout, &slog.HandlerOptions{
+		Level: slog.LevelInfo,
+	}))
+
+	// Create test issuer registry (same as main.go does)
+	issuerRegistry := service.NewIssuerRegistry(logger)
+
+	if issuerRegistry == nil {
+		t.Fatal("issuer registry should not be nil")
+	}
+
+	// Verify the registry has a Len() method (used in main.go)
+	count := issuerRegistry.Len()
+	if count < 0 {
+		t.Errorf("issuer registry length should be >= 0, got %d", count)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_CORSMiddlewareSetHeaders verifies CORS headers are set.
+func TestMain_CORSMiddlewareSetHeaders(t *testing.T) {
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	})
+
+	corsMiddleware := middleware.NewCORS(middleware.CORSConfig{
+		AllowedOrigins: []string{"http://example.com"},
+	})
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler, corsMiddleware)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	req.Header.Set("Origin", "http://example.com")
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	// CORS middleware should set access control headers
+	if acah := w.Header().Get("Access-Control-Allow-Origin"); acah == "" {
+		t.Logf("Access-Control-Allow-Origin not set (may be by design)")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_AuthNoneMode verifies auth can be disabled.
+func TestMain_AuthNoneMode(t *testing.T) {
+	protectedHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"data":"protected"}`))
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with auth middleware in "none" mode
+	// auth=none equivalent: empty named-keys list is a no-op pass-through.
+	authMiddleware := middleware.NewAuthWithNamedKeys(nil)
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(protectedHandler, authMiddleware)
+
+	// Request without auth should be allowed in "none" mode
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/v1/protected", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 200 in 'none' auth mode, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_RouterRegistration tests that router registration works.
+func TestMain_RouterRegistration(t *testing.T) {
+	r := router.New()
+
+	// Register a test handler
+	r.RegisterFunc("GET /test", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte("test"))
+	})
+
+	// Request the route
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	r.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	// Route should be registered and accessible
+	if w.Code == http.StatusNotFound {
+		t.Errorf("route not registered, got 404")
+	} else if w.Code == http.StatusOK {
+		t.Logf("route registered successfully")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_RateLimiterIntegration tests rate limiter middleware works.
+func TestMain_RateLimiterIntegration(t *testing.T) {
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	})
+
+	// Create rate limiter with 10 RPS, 1 burst
+	rateLimiter := middleware.NewRateLimiter(middleware.RateLimitConfig{
+		RPS:       10,
+		BurstSize: 1,
+	})
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler, rateLimiter)
+
+	// First request should succeed
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code == http.StatusServiceUnavailable {
+		t.Logf("rate limiter is active")
+	} else {
+		t.Logf("rate limiter allowed request (status %d)", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_ContentTypeMiddleware verifies content type is set correctly.
+func TestMain_ContentTypeMiddleware(t *testing.T) {
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte(`{"status":"ok"}`))
+	})
+
+	// Wrap with middleware that sets Content-Type
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler, middleware.ContentType)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/api/v1/test", nil)
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	// Verify response
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Errorf("expected status 200, got %d", w.Code)
+	}
+
+	// ContentType middleware should set header
+	if ct := w.Header().Get("Content-Type"); ct != "" {
+		t.Logf("Content-Type header set: %s", ct)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestMain_ContextPropagation verifies context is propagated through middleware.
+func TestMain_ContextPropagation(t *testing.T) {
+	type contextKey string
+	testKey := contextKey("test-key")
+	testValue := "test-value"
+
+	baseHandler := http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		val := r.Context().Value(testKey)
+		if val == testValue {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		} else {
+			w.WriteHeader(http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		}
+	})
+
+	chainedHandler := middleware.Chain(baseHandler, middleware.RequestID)
+
+	req := httptest.NewRequest("GET", "/test", nil)
+	// Add context value before request
+	req = req.WithContext(context.WithValue(req.Context(), testKey, testValue))
+
+	w := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	chainedHandler.ServeHTTP(w, req)
+
+	if w.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Logf("Context value may not be propagated (status %d), this may be expected", w.Code)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPreflightSCEPChallengePassword is the H-2 regression guard for the
+// startup pre-flight check. The helper MUST return a non-nil error whenever
+// SCEP is enabled with an empty challenge password — that configuration
+// previously allowed unauthenticated certificate enrollment (CWE-306).
+// Disabled-SCEP and configured-password cases must pass cleanly.
+func TestPreflightSCEPChallengePassword(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name              string
+		enabled           bool
+		challengePassword string
+		wantErr           bool
+		wantErrSubstring  string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:              "disabled_empty_password_ok",
+			enabled:           false,
+			challengePassword: "",
+			wantErr:           false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "disabled_with_password_ok",
+			enabled:           false,
+			challengePassword: "leftover-value",
+			wantErr:           false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "enabled_empty_password_rejected",
+			enabled:           true,
+			challengePassword: "",
+			wantErr:           true,
+			wantErrSubstring:  "CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD",
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "enabled_with_password_ok",
+			enabled:           true,
+			challengePassword: "hunter2",
+			wantErr:           false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:              "enabled_single_char_password_ok",
+			enabled:           true,
+			challengePassword: "x",
+			wantErr:           false,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := preflightSCEPChallengePassword(tt.enabled, tt.challengePassword)
+			if tt.wantErr {
+				if err == nil {
+					t.Fatalf("expected error, got nil")
+				}
+				if tt.wantErrSubstring != "" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tt.wantErrSubstring) {
+					t.Errorf("expected error to mention %q, got: %v", tt.wantErrSubstring, err)
+				}
+				if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "CWE-306") {
+					t.Errorf("expected error to cite CWE-306 for traceability, got: %v", err)
+				}
+			} else if err != nil {
+				t.Errorf("expected no error, got: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"crypto/elliptic"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"crypto/x509/pkix"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"math/big"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// SCEP RFC 8894 Phase 1: preflightSCEPRACertKey covers the six failure
+// modes spelled out in the helper's docblock plus the no-op-when-disabled
+// path. Mirrors TestPreflightEnrollmentIssuer's table-driven shape so the
+// suite stays uniform for the next reviewer.
+//
+// Each test materialises a real ECDSA P-256 cert/key pair on disk (rather
+// than mocking) so the tls.X509KeyPair path is exercised end-to-end —
+// catches drift in stdlib cert-parsing semantics that a mock would hide.
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_Disabled_NoOp(t *testing.T) {
+	// Enabled=false short-circuits before any path validation; should pass
+	// even with empty paths (mirrors preflightSCEPChallengePassword).
+	if err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(false, "", ""); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("disabled SCEP returned error: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_EnabledMissingPaths_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// Validate() also catches this; preflight reports the specific failure
+	// with a more actionable error string + os.Exit(1) at the call site.
+	cases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		certPath string
+		keyPath  string
+	}{
+		{"both_empty", "", ""},
+		{"cert_only", "/tmp/ra.crt", ""},
+		{"key_only", "", "/tmp/ra.key"},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, tc.certPath, tc.keyPath)
+			if err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expected error for missing paths, got nil")
+			}
+			if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "RA pair missing") {
+				t.Errorf("error should mention RA pair missing, got: %v", err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_KeyWorldReadable_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// Defense-in-depth: even a perfectly-valid RA pair must be rejected if
+	// the key file is mode 0644 (world-readable). The deploy convention is
+	// 0600 — owner read/write only.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath, keyPath := writeECDSARAPair(t, dir, time.Now().Add(30*24*time.Hour))
+	// Re-chmod the key to 0644 to trigger the gate.
+	if err := os.Chmod(keyPath, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("chmod failed: %v", err)
+	}
+	err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error for world-readable key, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "insecure permissions") {
+		t.Errorf("error should mention insecure permissions, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_ValidPair_Accepts(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath, keyPath := writeECDSARAPair(t, dir, time.Now().Add(30*24*time.Hour))
+	if err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, certPath, keyPath); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("valid RA pair rejected: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_ExpiredCert_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// An RA cert past NotAfter would cause every conformant SCEP client to
+	// reject the CertRep signature. Catch it at startup.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath, keyPath := writeECDSARAPair(t, dir, time.Now().Add(-1*time.Hour))
+	err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error for expired cert, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "expired") {
+		t.Errorf("error should mention expired, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_MismatchedPair_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// tls.X509KeyPair detects the cert/key mismatch; preflight should
+	// surface it with an actionable error (cert + key are halves of
+	// different RA pairs — common multi-profile typo).
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath, _ := writeECDSARAPair(t, dir, time.Now().Add(30*24*time.Hour))
+	_, keyPath := writeECDSARAPair(t, dir, time.Now().Add(30*24*time.Hour))
+	// Re-write the key path under a unique name to avoid collision with
+	// the first pair's file (writeECDSARAPair would have overwritten).
+	err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error for mismatched pair, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "invalid") {
+		t.Errorf("error should mention invalid pair, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_MissingFiles_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// Both files referenced but neither exists — a typo or a fresh deploy
+	// where the operator forgot to mount the secret. Cert-path failure mode
+	// is checked first because key-path stat is the first os call after
+	// the empty-string check.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	missingCert := filepath.Join(dir, "ra.crt")
+	missingKey := filepath.Join(dir, "ra.key")
+	err := preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, missingCert, missingKey)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error for missing files, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "stat failed") && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "read failed") {
+		t.Errorf("error should mention stat/read failure, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightSCEPRACertKey_UnsupportedAlg_Refuses(t *testing.T) {
+	// Ed25519 isn't supported by the CMS signature path RFC 8894 §3.5.2
+	// advertises. Catch this at startup to avoid runtime failures the
+	// first time a client sends a real PKIMessage.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "ra.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "ra.key")
+
+	pub, priv, err := ed25519.GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ed25519.GenerateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	tmpl := &x509.Certificate{
+		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(1),
+		Subject:      pkix.Name{CommonName: "ra-ed25519"},
+		NotBefore:    time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+		NotAfter:     time.Now().Add(30 * 24 * time.Hour),
+		KeyUsage:     x509.KeyUsageDigitalSignature,
+	}
+	der, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, tmpl, tmpl, pub, priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	certPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "CERTIFICATE", Bytes: der})
+	keyDER, err := x509.MarshalPKCS8PrivateKey(priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MarshalPKCS8PrivateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	keyPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "PRIVATE KEY", Bytes: keyDER})
+
+	if err := os.WriteFile(certPath, certPEM, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write cert: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, keyPEM, 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write key: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	err = preflightSCEPRACertKey(true, certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error for ed25519 RA cert, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "unsupported public-key algorithm") &&
+		!strings.Contains(err.Error(), "invalid") {
+		// tls.X509KeyPair may reject ed25519 SCEP-signing keys earlier
+		// than our explicit alg gate; accept either failure path so the
+		// test is robust against stdlib changes.
+		t.Errorf("error should mention algorithm/invalid, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// writeECDSARAPair generates a fresh ECDSA P-256 self-signed cert + key,
+// writes them to dir/ra-<rand>.crt + ra-<rand>.key with the cert at 0644
+// and the key at 0600 (the production deploy mode). Returns the two paths.
+func writeECDSARAPair(t *testing.T, dir string, notAfter time.Time) (certPath, keyPath string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	priv, err := ecdsa.GenerateKey(elliptic.P256(), rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ecdsa.GenerateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	tmpl := &x509.Certificate{
+		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(time.Now().UnixNano()),
+		Subject:      pkix.Name{CommonName: "ra-test"},
+		NotBefore:    time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+		NotAfter:     notAfter,
+		KeyUsage:     x509.KeyUsageDigitalSignature,
+		ExtKeyUsage:  []x509.ExtKeyUsage{x509.ExtKeyUsageEmailProtection},
+	}
+	der, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, tmpl, tmpl, &priv.PublicKey, priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	certPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "CERTIFICATE", Bytes: der})
+	keyDER, err := x509.MarshalPKCS8PrivateKey(priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MarshalPKCS8PrivateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	keyPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "PRIVATE KEY", Bytes: keyDER})
+
+	// Use a unique suffix so successive calls within the same test don't
+	// overwrite each other (the mismatched-pair test relies on this).
+	suffix := tmpl.SerialNumber.String()
+	certPath = filepath.Join(dir, "ra-"+suffix+".crt")
+	keyPath = filepath.Join(dir, "ra-"+suffix+".key")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(certPath, certPEM, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write cert: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, keyPEM, 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write key: %v", err)
+	}
+	return certPath, keyPath
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/shankar0123/certctl/internal/service"
+)
+
+// fakeIssuerConn implements service.IssuerConnector enough for preflight tests.
+type fakeIssuerConn struct {
+	caCertPEM string
+	caCertErr error
+}
+
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) IssueCertificate(ctx context.Context, commonName string, sans []string, csrPEM string, ekus []string, maxTTLSeconds int, mustStaple bool) (*service.IssuanceResult, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) RenewCertificate(ctx context.Context, commonName string, sans []string, csrPEM string, ekus []string, maxTTLSeconds int, mustStaple bool) (*service.IssuanceResult, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) RevokeCertificate(ctx context.Context, serial string, reason string) error {
+	return nil
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) GenerateCRL(ctx context.Context, revokedCerts []service.CRLEntry) ([]byte, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) SignOCSPResponse(ctx context.Context, req service.OCSPSignRequest) ([]byte, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) GetCACertPEM(ctx context.Context) (string, error) {
+	return f.caCertPEM, f.caCertErr
+}
+func (f *fakeIssuerConn) GetRenewalInfo(ctx context.Context, certPEM string) (*service.RenewalInfoResult, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+// TestPreflightEnrollmentIssuer covers Bundle-4 / L-005 startup validation
+// for EST/SCEP issuer binding.
+func TestPreflightEnrollmentIssuer(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name        string
+		issuer      service.IssuerConnector
+		wantErr     bool
+		errContains string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:        "nil_connector_fails",
+			issuer:      nil,
+			wantErr:     true,
+			errContains: "connector is nil",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "issuer_returns_error_fails",
+			issuer: &fakeIssuerConn{
+				caCertErr: errStub("ACME issuers do not provide a static CA certificate"),
+			},
+			wantErr:     true,
+			errContains: "cannot serve CA certificate",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "issuer_returns_empty_pem_fails",
+			issuer: &fakeIssuerConn{
+				caCertPEM: "",
+				caCertErr: nil,
+			},
+			wantErr:     true,
+			errContains: "empty PEM",
+		},
+		{
+			name: "issuer_returns_valid_pem_succeeds",
+			issuer: &fakeIssuerConn{
+				caCertPEM: "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIB...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----",
+				caCertErr: nil,
+			},
+			wantErr: false,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			err := preflightEnrollmentIssuer(context.Background(), "EST", "iss-test", tc.issuer)
+			if tc.wantErr && err == nil {
+				t.Fatalf("expected error, got nil")
+			}
+			if !tc.wantErr && err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if tc.wantErr && tc.errContains != "" && !strings.Contains(err.Error(), tc.errContains) {
+				t.Fatalf("error %q missing substring %q", err.Error(), tc.errContains)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// errStub is a tiny error wrapper so test cases can use string literals
+// without importing fmt in every test struct entry.
+type errStub string
+
+func (e errStub) Error() string { return string(e) }
@@ -0,0 +1,190 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
+	"os"
+	"os/signal"
+	"sync"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// certHolder stores the server's TLS certificate under a mutex so it can be
+// swapped atomically by a SIGHUP handler without restarting the server. A
+// *tls.Config that wires GetCertificate → (*certHolder).GetCertificate reads
+// through the holder on every ClientHello, so a successful reload takes
+// effect on the next new connection immediately and without dropping
+// in-flight requests.
+//
+// Concurrency: GetCertificate is invoked from crypto/tls handshake goroutines
+// on every new inbound connection; Reload is invoked from the SIGHUP watcher
+// goroutine. sync.Mutex is sufficient — TLS handshakes are not an inner-loop
+// hot path and the critical section is a single pointer read.
+type certHolder struct {
+	mu       sync.Mutex
+	cert     *tls.Certificate
+	certPath string
+	keyPath  string
+}
+
+// newCertHolder loads the initial cert+key pair from disk and returns a
+// holder ready to serve handshakes. Returns a non-nil error if either file
+// is missing, unreadable, or the pair does not round-trip through
+// tls.LoadX509KeyPair (for example the key does not sign the cert). The
+// caller is expected to treat a non-nil error as a fail-loud startup gate
+// and os.Exit(1) — the HTTPS-everywhere milestone (§3 locked decisions)
+// prohibits plaintext HTTP fallback.
+func newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath string) (*certHolder, error) {
+	cert, err := tls.LoadX509KeyPair(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("load TLS cert/key (cert=%q key=%q): %w", certPath, keyPath, err)
+	}
+	return &certHolder{
+		cert:     &cert,
+		certPath: certPath,
+		keyPath:  keyPath,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// GetCertificate is the tls.Config.GetCertificate hook. Returns the current
+// cert under the holder's mutex. ClientHelloInfo is ignored — the control
+// plane does not multiplex by SNI.
+func (h *certHolder) GetCertificate(_ *tls.ClientHelloInfo) (*tls.Certificate, error) {
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	defer h.mu.Unlock()
+	return h.cert, nil
+}
+
+// Reload re-reads the cert+key pair from disk and swaps the holder
+// atomically on success. On failure the holder retains its previous cert
+// and the error is propagated to the caller — the SIGHUP watcher logs and
+// keeps serving the previous cert rather than crashing on a bad reload.
+// This is deliberately "fail-safe on reload, fail-loud on startup": an
+// operator rotating certs wants a recoverable error, not a restart loop.
+func (h *certHolder) Reload() error {
+	cert, err := tls.LoadX509KeyPair(h.certPath, h.keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("reload TLS cert/key (cert=%q key=%q): %w", h.certPath, h.keyPath, err)
+	}
+	h.mu.Lock()
+	h.cert = &cert
+	h.mu.Unlock()
+	return nil
+}
+
+// watchSIGHUP installs a signal handler that calls Reload() on each SIGHUP.
+// The returned stop function closes the internal done channel and stops
+// signal delivery so the goroutine can exit cleanly during shutdown. Errors
+// from Reload are logged but do not terminate the watcher — the operator
+// can fix the files and send another SIGHUP.
+//
+// Defensive design note: this deliberately does NOT panic on Reload error
+// even though HTTPS is mission-critical. A rotation that writes half-files
+// (operator overwrites cert.pem then key.pem as two separate copies) would
+// otherwise crash the server mid-rotation. Logging + retaining the old
+// cert gives the operator a bounded window to fix and re-SIGHUP.
+func (h *certHolder) watchSIGHUP(logger *slog.Logger) (stop func()) {
+	ch := make(chan os.Signal, 1)
+	signal.Notify(ch, syscall.SIGHUP)
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-ch:
+				if err := h.Reload(); err != nil {
+					logger.Error("TLS cert reload failed; continuing with previous cert",
+						"error", err,
+						"cert_path", h.certPath,
+						"key_path", h.keyPath)
+					continue
+				}
+				logger.Info("TLS cert reloaded via SIGHUP",
+					"cert_path", h.certPath,
+					"key_path", h.keyPath)
+			case <-done:
+				signal.Stop(ch)
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+	return func() { close(done) }
+}
+
+// buildServerTLSConfig returns the TLS 1.3-only *tls.Config for the HTTPS
+// server. Pinned per HTTPS-everywhere milestone §2.1 + §3 locked decisions:
+//
+//   - MinVersion: TLS 1.3 (no TLS 1.2 escape hatch). Go 1.25's crypto/tls
+//     automatically rejects older versions.
+//   - CurvePreferences: explicit [X25519, P-256]. Explicit ordering keeps
+//     the handshake deterministic and documents the accepted curves.
+//   - No CipherSuites field: TLS 1.3 cipher suites are not negotiable in
+//     the handshake (all three mandatory suites — AES-128-GCM-SHA256,
+//     AES-256-GCM-SHA384, CHACHA20-POLY1305-SHA256 — are always offered).
+//     Go's crypto/tls ignores CipherSuites for TLS 1.3.
+//   - GetCertificate: reads through the holder so SIGHUP rotations take
+//     effect on the next new connection without a restart. Setting
+//     tls.Config.Certificates directly would pin the first-loaded cert
+//     and defeat SIGHUP reload.
+func buildServerTLSConfig(holder *certHolder) *tls.Config {
+	return &tls.Config{
+		MinVersion:       tls.VersionTLS13,
+		CurvePreferences: []tls.CurveID{tls.X25519, tls.CurveP256},
+		GetCertificate:   holder.GetCertificate,
+	}
+}
+
+// buildServerTLSConfigWithMTLS extends buildServerTLSConfig with a client-cert
+// trust pool for the SCEP RFC 8894 + Intune master bundle Phase 6.5 mTLS
+// sibling route. SCEP profiles that opt into mTLS each contribute their
+// trust bundle to the union pool here; the same TLS listener serves both
+// /scep[/<pathID>] (no client cert) and /scep-mtls/<pathID> (cert required
+// at the handler layer).
+//
+// ClientAuth: VerifyClientCertIfGiven — request a cert during handshake; if
+// the client presents one, verify it against the union pool; if absent, the
+// request still reaches the handler and the per-route handler decides
+// whether to accept. Critical that we do NOT use RequireAndVerifyClientCert
+// here — that would break the standard /scep route (which is challenge-
+// password-only, no client cert expected).
+//
+// Pass clientCAs == nil to disable mTLS (no profile opted in). The function
+// then returns the same shape as buildServerTLSConfig.
+func buildServerTLSConfigWithMTLS(holder *certHolder, clientCAs *x509.CertPool) *tls.Config {
+	cfg := buildServerTLSConfig(holder)
+	if clientCAs != nil {
+		cfg.ClientCAs = clientCAs
+		cfg.ClientAuth = tls.VerifyClientCertIfGiven
+	}
+	return cfg
+}
+
+// preflightServerTLS is the fail-loud startup gate for HTTPS. Returns a
+// non-nil error when the TLS configuration is missing or the cert+key pair
+// cannot be parsed, so the caller refuses to start the control plane
+// (HTTPS-everywhere §3 locked decisions: no plaintext HTTP fallback).
+//
+// Duplicates the emptiness + stat + parse checks in config.Validate() for
+// defense in depth, mirroring the pattern established by
+// preflightSCEPChallengePassword (which itself duplicates
+// config.Validate()'s SCEP check for CWE-306). Extracted into a separate
+// function so the gate is unit-testable without booting the full server.
+func preflightServerTLS(certPath, keyPath string) error {
+	if certPath == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH is empty: HTTPS-only control plane refuses to start (see docs/tls.md)")
+	}
+	if keyPath == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH is empty: HTTPS-only control plane refuses to start (see docs/tls.md)")
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(certPath); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("TLS cert file %q unreadable: %w (see docs/tls.md)", certPath, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(keyPath); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("TLS key file %q unreadable: %w (see docs/tls.md)", keyPath, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := tls.LoadX509KeyPair(certPath, keyPath); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("TLS cert/key pair invalid (cert=%q key=%q): %w (see docs/tls.md)", certPath, keyPath, err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,418 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"crypto/ecdsa"
+	"crypto/elliptic"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"crypto/x509/pkix"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"errors"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"math/big"
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
+	"syscall"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// generateTestCert writes a PEM-encoded self-signed leaf cert + ECDSA P-256
+// key pair to certPath/keyPath. The subject is derived from cn so tests can
+// tell reloaded certs apart from original certs by re-parsing the served
+// Certificate and comparing the CN.
+func generateTestCert(t *testing.T, certPath, keyPath, cn string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	priv, err := ecdsa.GenerateKey(elliptic.P256(), rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ecdsa.GenerateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	tmpl := &x509.Certificate{
+		SerialNumber: big.NewInt(time.Now().UnixNano()),
+		Subject:      pkix.Name{CommonName: cn},
+		NotBefore:    time.Now().Add(-1 * time.Hour),
+		NotAfter:     time.Now().Add(24 * time.Hour),
+		KeyUsage:     x509.KeyUsageDigitalSignature,
+		ExtKeyUsage:  []x509.ExtKeyUsage{x509.ExtKeyUsageServerAuth},
+		DNSNames:     []string{"localhost"},
+		IPAddresses:  []net.IP{net.ParseIP("127.0.0.1"), net.ParseIP("::1")},
+	}
+	der, err := x509.CreateCertificate(rand.Reader, tmpl, tmpl, &priv.PublicKey, priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("x509.CreateCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	certPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "CERTIFICATE", Bytes: der})
+	keyDER, err := x509.MarshalECPrivateKey(priv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("MarshalECPrivateKey: %v", err)
+	}
+	keyPEM := pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "EC PRIVATE KEY", Bytes: keyDER})
+	if err := os.WriteFile(certPath, certPEM, 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write cert: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, keyPEM, 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write key: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// readCertCN returns the CommonName from the leaf cert currently held by the
+// holder, by exercising the same GetCertificate path the tls handshake would
+// take. Lets tests assert which generation of the cert is being served.
+func readCertCN(t *testing.T, h *certHolder) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	c, err := h.GetCertificate(&tls.ClientHelloInfo{})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("GetCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	leaf, err := x509.ParseCertificate(c.Certificate[0])
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseCertificate: %v", err)
+	}
+	return leaf.Subject.CommonName
+}
+
+func silentLogger() *slog.Logger {
+	return slog.New(slog.NewTextHandler(io.Discard, &slog.HandlerOptions{Level: slog.LevelError}))
+}
+
+func TestNewCertHolder_ValidPair_LoadsCert(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-initial")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := readCertCN(t, h); got != "cn-initial" {
+		t.Fatalf("CN mismatch: got %q want %q", got, "cn-initial")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewCertHolder_MissingFile_Fails(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := newCertHolder("/nonexistent/cert.pem", "/nonexistent/key.pem")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for missing files, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewCertHolder_MalformedCert_Fails(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "bad.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "bad.key")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(certPath, []byte("not a pem cert"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write cert: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, []byte("not a pem key"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write key: %v", err)
+	}
+	_, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for malformed PEM, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCertHolder_Reload_SwapsCert(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-v1")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := readCertCN(t, h); got != "cn-v1" {
+		t.Fatalf("initial CN: got %q want cn-v1", got)
+	}
+
+	// Rotate on disk and reload.
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-v2")
+	if err := h.Reload(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Reload: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got := readCertCN(t, h); got != "cn-v2" {
+		t.Fatalf("post-reload CN: got %q want cn-v2", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCertHolder_Reload_FailureRetainsPreviousCert(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-v1")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Corrupt the cert file and attempt reload.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(certPath, []byte("garbage"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("corrupt cert: %v", err)
+	}
+	if err := h.Reload(); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected Reload error for corrupt file, got nil")
+	}
+	// Holder should still serve the v1 cert.
+	if got := readCertCN(t, h); got != "cn-v1" {
+		t.Fatalf("post-failed-reload CN: got %q want cn-v1 (reload must not clobber on failure)", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCertHolder_GetCertificate_Concurrent(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-concurrent")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// 64 readers + 1 rotator for 500ms. Race detector catches any unsynchronized
+	// swap of h.cert. Rotator writes fresh files + Reload, readers call
+	// GetCertificate in a tight loop.
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	const readers = 64
+	for i := 0; i < readers; i++ {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			for {
+				select {
+				case <-done:
+					return
+				default:
+					if _, err := h.GetCertificate(&tls.ClientHelloInfo{}); err != nil {
+						t.Errorf("GetCertificate: %v", err)
+						return
+					}
+				}
+			}
+		}()
+	}
+	wg.Add(1)
+	go func() {
+		defer wg.Done()
+		for i := 0; i < 20; i++ {
+			generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-concurrent")
+			_ = h.Reload()
+			time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+		}
+	}()
+	time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+	close(done)
+	wg.Wait()
+}
+
+func TestCertHolder_WatchSIGHUP_ReloadsOnSignal(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-before-sighup")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	stop := h.watchSIGHUP(silentLogger())
+	defer stop()
+
+	// Rotate on disk, then fire SIGHUP to our own process and poll for the swap.
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-after-sighup")
+	if err := syscall.Kill(syscall.Getpid(), syscall.SIGHUP); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("SIGHUP: %v", err)
+	}
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(2 * time.Second)
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		if readCertCN(t, h) == "cn-after-sighup" {
+			return
+		}
+		time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("watcher did not reload cert within 2s (CN still %q)", readCertCN(t, h))
+}
+
+func TestCertHolder_WatchSIGHUP_StopExits(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-stop")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	stop := h.watchSIGHUP(silentLogger())
+
+	// Closing should be synchronous and safe; a subsequent SIGHUP must not
+	// cause a reload (the watcher goroutine is gone).
+	stop()
+	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond) // let goroutine exit
+
+	// After stop, the signal may still be delivered to the process but the
+	// watcher has called signal.Stop so this channel is no longer receiving.
+	// Simply assert that calling stop() twice does not panic — the goroutine
+	// has already exited, so a second close would panic on the `done`
+	// channel; we do NOT call stop twice. Instead verify no regression in
+	// the held cert.
+	if got := readCertCN(t, h); got != "cn-stop" {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected cert rotation after stop: got %q want cn-stop", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildServerTLSConfig_IsTLS13Only(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-cfg")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	cfg := buildServerTLSConfig(h)
+	if cfg.MinVersion != tls.VersionTLS13 {
+		t.Fatalf("MinVersion: got %#x want %#x (TLS 1.3)", cfg.MinVersion, tls.VersionTLS13)
+	}
+	wantCurves := []tls.CurveID{tls.X25519, tls.CurveP256}
+	if len(cfg.CurvePreferences) != len(wantCurves) {
+		t.Fatalf("CurvePreferences length: got %d want %d", len(cfg.CurvePreferences), len(wantCurves))
+	}
+	for i, c := range cfg.CurvePreferences {
+		if c != wantCurves[i] {
+			t.Fatalf("CurvePreferences[%d]: got %v want %v", i, c, wantCurves[i])
+		}
+	}
+	if cfg.GetCertificate == nil {
+		t.Fatal("GetCertificate: nil (holder not wired; SIGHUP reload would be broken)")
+	}
+	if len(cfg.Certificates) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("Certificates: got %d want 0 (static cert would pin the first load and defeat reload)", len(cfg.Certificates))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildServerTLSConfig_Handshake_TLS12Rejected(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-handshake")
+
+	h, err := newCertHolder(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("newCertHolder: %v", err)
+	}
+	serverCfg := buildServerTLSConfig(h)
+
+	ln, err := tls.Listen("tcp", "127.0.0.1:0", serverCfg)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("tls.Listen: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer ln.Close()
+
+	// Server loop: accept and immediately close (we only care about the
+	// handshake outcome).
+	go func() {
+		for {
+			conn, err := ln.Accept()
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+			// Force handshake so the server-side error surfaces.
+			_ = conn.(*tls.Conn).Handshake()
+			conn.Close()
+		}
+	}()
+
+	// TLS 1.3 client — should succeed.
+	clientOK := &tls.Config{
+		MinVersion:         tls.VersionTLS13,
+		MaxVersion:         tls.VersionTLS13,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+	}
+	c, err := tls.Dial("tcp", ln.Addr().String(), clientOK)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("TLS 1.3 dial failed (expected success): %v", err)
+	}
+	if c.ConnectionState().Version != tls.VersionTLS13 {
+		t.Fatalf("negotiated version: got %#x want TLS 1.3 (%#x)", c.ConnectionState().Version, tls.VersionTLS13)
+	}
+	c.Close()
+
+	// TLS 1.2 client — must be rejected at handshake.
+	clientOld := &tls.Config{
+		MinVersion:         tls.VersionTLS12,
+		MaxVersion:         tls.VersionTLS12,
+		InsecureSkipVerify: true,
+	}
+	if _, err := tls.Dial("tcp", ln.Addr().String(), clientOld); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("TLS 1.2 dial succeeded; HTTPS-everywhere requires server to refuse TLS 1.2")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightServerTLS_MissingCertPath(t *testing.T) {
+	err := preflightServerTLS("", "/any/key.pem")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for empty cert path, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightServerTLS_MissingKeyPath(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-preflight")
+	err := preflightServerTLS(certPath, "")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for empty key path, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightServerTLS_CertFileNotReadable(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, []byte("k"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	err := preflightServerTLS(filepath.Join(dir, "nope.crt"), keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for unreadable cert path, got nil")
+	}
+	if !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+		t.Fatalf("expected os.ErrNotExist wrapped in error chain, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightServerTLS_InvalidKeyPair(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	// Pair of valid cert + garbage key — files are readable but the pair
+	// doesn't round-trip tls.LoadX509KeyPair.
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-bad-pair")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(keyPath, []byte("-----BEGIN EC PRIVATE KEY-----\nBAD\n-----END EC PRIVATE KEY-----\n"), 0o600); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	err := preflightServerTLS(certPath, keyPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for invalid key pair, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestPreflightServerTLS_ValidPair_NoError(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	certPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.crt")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(dir, "tls.key")
+	generateTestCert(t, certPath, keyPath, "cn-ok")
+	if err := preflightServerTLS(certPath, keyPath); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error for valid pair: %v", err)
+	}
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,525 @@
+# certctl Docker Compose Environments
+
+This guide walks through every Docker Compose file in the `deploy/` directory. Each section explains what the environment does, when to use it, every service and environment variable, and the commands to run it. If you've never used Docker before, start with the [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) section. If you're experienced, skip to the environment you need.
+
+## Contents
+
+1. [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
+2. [How Docker Compose Works (30-Second Version)](#how-docker-compose-works)
+3. [Base Environment (docker-compose.yml)](#base-environment)
+4. [Demo Overlay (docker-compose.demo.yml)](#demo-overlay)
+5. [Development Overlay (docker-compose.dev.yml)](#development-overlay)
+6. [Test Environment (docker-compose.test.yml)](#test-environment)
+7. [Environment Variable Reference](#environment-variable-reference)
+8. [Common Operations](#common-operations)
+
+---
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+You need two things: **Docker** (the container runtime) and **Docker Compose** (an orchestration tool that ships with Docker Desktop).
+
+On macOS:
+```bash
+brew install --cask docker
+```
+
+On Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):
+```bash
+curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
+sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
+# Log out and back in for group changes to take effect
+```
+
+Verify the install:
+```bash
+docker --version        # Docker Engine 24+ recommended
+docker compose version  # Docker Compose v2+ required (note: no hyphen)
+```
+
+**What Docker actually does:** Docker packages an application and all its dependencies (OS libraries, runtimes, config files) into an isolated unit called a container. When you run `docker compose up`, Docker reads a YAML file that describes multiple containers, creates a private network between them, and starts everything in the right order. Each container sees only its own filesystem and network unless you explicitly share volumes or ports.
+
+**Why this matters for certctl:** Instead of installing PostgreSQL, building Go binaries, configuring the agent, and wiring everything together by hand, one command gives you the complete platform. Each compose file targets a different use case.
+
+---
+
+## How Docker Compose Works
+
+A compose file defines **services** (containers), **networks** (how they talk to each other), and **volumes** (persistent storage). The key concepts:
+
+**Services** are named containers. `certctl-server` is the API and web dashboard. `postgres` is the database. `certctl-agent` polls the server for certificate work.
+
+**Depends_on + healthchecks** control startup order. The server won't start until PostgreSQL reports healthy. The agent won't start until the server reports healthy. This prevents connection errors during boot.
+
+**Volumes** persist data across restarts. `postgres_data` keeps your database between `docker compose down` and `docker compose up`. Adding `-v` to `down` deletes volumes for a clean slate.
+
+**Overlay files** let you layer changes. Running `docker compose -f base.yml -f overlay.yml up` merges both files. The overlay can add services, change environment variables, or mount extra volumes without editing the base.
+
+**Port mapping** (`"8443:8443"`) maps host port (left) to container port (right). After startup, `https://localhost:8443` on your machine reaches the certctl server inside its container (HTTPS-only as of v2.2; the `certctl-tls-init` init container bootstraps a self-signed cert into `deploy/test/certs/`).
+
+---
+
+## Base Environment
+
+**File:** `docker-compose.yml`
+**When to use:** Production deployments, first-time setup, or any time you want a clean dashboard with the onboarding wizard.
+
+### What it runs
+
+Three services on a private bridge network:
+
+| Service | Image | Purpose | Ports |
+|---------|-------|---------|-------|
+| `postgres` | `postgres:16-alpine` | Database. Stores certificates, agents, jobs, audit trail, policies, discovery results. | 5432 |
+| `certctl-server` | Built from `Dockerfile` | API server + web dashboard + background scheduler. | 8443 |
+| `certctl-agent` | Built from `Dockerfile.agent` | Polls server for work, generates keys, deploys certificates, discovers existing certs. | none |
+
+### Starting it
+
+```bash
+git clone https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl.git
+cd certctl
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+```
+
+`--build` compiles the Go server and agent from source, including the React frontend. Without it, Docker may reuse a stale image from a previous build.
+
+`-d` runs in detached mode (background). Omit it to see logs in your terminal.
+
+Wait about 30 seconds, then verify:
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml ps
+# All three services should show "Up (healthy)"
+
+curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt https://localhost:8443/health
+# {"status":"healthy"}
+```
+
+The control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The `certctl-tls-init` init container bootstraps a self-signed cert into `deploy/test/certs/` on first boot; pin it with `--cacert` (as above) or pass `-k` for one-off smoke tests (never in production).
+
+Open **https://localhost:8443** in your browser. You'll see the onboarding wizard guiding you through: connecting a CA, deploying an agent, and adding your first certificate. Your browser will flag the self-signed cert as untrusted — accept the warning for local evaluation, or import `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` into your OS trust store to make the warning go away.
+
+### Service-by-service walkthrough
+
+#### PostgreSQL
+
+```yaml
+postgres:
+  image: postgres:16-alpine
+  environment:
+    POSTGRES_DB: certctl
+    POSTGRES_USER: certctl
+    POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}
+```
+
+Alpine-based PostgreSQL 16. The `${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}` syntax means: use the `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` environment variable from your shell if set, otherwise default to `certctl`. For production, create a `.env` file:
+
+```bash
+echo 'POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-secure-password-here' > deploy/.env
+```
+
+The `volumes` section mounts 10 migration files into PostgreSQL's init directory (`/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/`). PostgreSQL runs these SQL files in alphabetical order on first boot only. They create the schema (tables, indexes, constraints) and seed the base data (default issuer, default policy). If the `postgres_data` volume already exists with an initialized database, these scripts are skipped entirely.
+
+**Expert note:** The numbered prefix pattern (`001_`, `002_`, ..., `020_`) ensures deterministic execution order. All migrations use `IF NOT EXISTS` and `ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING` for idempotency, so re-running them against an existing database is safe.
+
+**Stateful volume — first-boot password binding (U-1).** The same "first boot only" semantics that govern migration scripts also govern `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`. The official `postgres` image runs `initdb` exactly once — when `/var/lib/postgresql/data` is empty — and that pass is the only time `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` is written into `pg_authid`. On every subsequent boot, the postgres container ignores the env var and authenticates against whatever password was baked into the data directory on the original `up`. Editing `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` in `.env` after a successful first boot therefore only updates the **certctl-server** container's `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` — postgres still expects the previous password, and the server fails to ping with `pq: password authentication failed for user "certctl"` (SQLSTATE 28P01). The certctl-server container surfaces this case explicitly: when SQLSTATE 28P01 fires at startup, the wrap text in `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError` points operators at the two remediation paths — destructive volume teardown via `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down -v && up -d --build`, or non-destructive in-place rotation via `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec postgres psql -U certctl -c "ALTER ROLE certctl PASSWORD '<new>';"` followed by a server restart with the matching `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`. Use the destructive path on the demo / first-time setup; use the non-destructive path on any environment that holds data you want to keep.
+
+#### certctl Server
+
+```yaml
+certctl-server:
+  depends_on:
+    postgres:
+      condition: service_healthy
+  environment:
+    CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL: postgres://certctl:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable
+    CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
+    CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT: 8443
+    CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: info
+    CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE: none
+    CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE: server
+    CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED: "true"
+    CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY:-change-me-32-char-encryption-key}
+```
+
+The server is the control plane. It serves the REST API, the React dashboard, runs 7 background scheduler loops (renewal, job processing, health checks, notifications, short-lived cert expiry, network scanning, digest emails), and manages the issuer/target registry.
+
+Key environment variables explained:
+
+- `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` references the `postgres` service by hostname. Docker's internal DNS resolves `postgres` to the container's IP on the bridge network. `sslmode=disable` is appropriate because traffic stays on the private Docker network.
+- `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE: none` disables API key authentication so you can explore immediately. For production, set `api-key` and configure `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET`.
+- `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE: server` means the server generates private keys. This is convenient for demos but insecure for production. In production, set `agent` so keys are generated on agent machines and never transmitted.
+- `CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY` enables AES-256-GCM encryption for issuer and target configurations stored in the database (credentials, API keys). Without this, the dynamic configuration GUI (adding issuers/targets from the dashboard) won't encrypt sensitive fields. For production, generate a strong random key.
+- `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED` activates the scheduler loop that probes TLS endpoints on your network to discover certificates you might not be managing.
+
+**Expert note:** The healthcheck hits `GET /health` every 10 seconds with 5 retries. The `depends_on: condition: service_healthy` on the agent means Docker holds agent startup until this check passes. Resource limits (`cpus: '1.0'`, `memory: 512M`) prevent the server from consuming unbounded resources in shared environments.
+
+#### certctl Agent
+
+```yaml
+certctl-agent:
+  depends_on:
+    certctl-server:
+      condition: service_healthy
+  environment:
+    CERTCTL_SERVER_URL: http://certctl-server:8443
+    CERTCTL_API_KEY: ${CERTCTL_API_KEY:-change-me-in-production}
+    CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME: docker-agent
+    CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: info
+    CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS: /var/lib/certctl/keys
+  volumes:
+    - agent_keys:/var/lib/certctl/keys
+```
+
+The agent is a lightweight Go binary that polls the server for pending work (certificate deployments, CSR generation requests), executes that work locally, and reports results back. It also scans configured directories for existing certificates (filesystem discovery).
+
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` uses the Docker internal hostname `certctl-server`. This resolves inside the Docker network only.
+- `CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS` tells the agent which directories to scan for existing certificates. The agent walks these directories recursively, parses PEM and DER files, and reports findings to the server for triage.
+- The `agent_keys` volume persists private keys generated by the agent across container restarts. Without this volume, keys would be lost when the container stops.
+
+**Expert note:** The agent's healthcheck uses `pgrep` because the agent doesn't expose an HTTP endpoint. The `restart: unless-stopped` policy means Docker automatically restarts the agent on crashes but respects manual `docker compose stop` commands.
+
+### Stopping and cleaning up
+
+```bash
+# Stop containers but keep data
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down
+
+# Stop and delete all data (database, keys, volumes)
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down -v
+```
+
+---
+
+## Demo Overlay
+
+**File:** `docker-compose.demo.yml`
+**When to use:** Demos, screenshots, stakeholder presentations, or any time you want a populated dashboard on first boot.
+
+### What it adds
+
+One line: mounts `seed_demo.sql` into PostgreSQL's init directory. This 667-line SQL file inserts 180 days of simulated operational history: teams, owners, certificates across multiple issuers, agents on different platforms, jobs with realistic timestamps, discovery scan results, audit events, policies, and profiles.
+
+### Starting it
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up -d --build
+```
+
+The `-f` flags are ordered: base first, overlay second. Docker merges them. The demo overlay adds the seed_demo.sql volume mount to the `postgres` service defined in the base file.
+
+### What you see
+
+The dashboard shows pre-populated charts: expiration heatmap with upcoming renewals, status distribution across Active/Expiring/Expired/Failed states, 30-day job trends, and issuance rates. The sidebar pages (Certificates, Agents, Discovery, Jobs, etc.) all have data to explore.
+
+### Resetting demo data
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml down -v
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up -d --build
+```
+
+The `down -v` deletes the `postgres_data` volume. On next boot, PostgreSQL re-runs all init scripts including the demo seed, giving you a clean starting point.
+
+**Expert note:** The demo overlay is a pure data layer, not a configuration change. The server, agent, and their environment variables remain identical to the base. This means any behavior you see in the demo is exactly what the base environment produces once you populate data through normal operations.
+
+---
+
+## Development Overlay
+
+**File:** `docker-compose.dev.yml`
+**When to use:** When you're contributing to certctl and need debug logging, database inspection, or a debugger attached to the server process.
+
+### What it adds
+
+| Addition | Purpose |
+|----------|---------|
+| Debug-level logging on server and agent | See every HTTP request, scheduler tick, and connector operation |
+| PgAdmin on port 5050 | Visual database browser for inspecting tables, running queries |
+| Delve debugger port 40000 | Attach a Go debugger to the running server process |
+
+### Starting it
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml up --build
+```
+
+Omit `-d` during development so you see logs streaming in your terminal.
+
+### Using PgAdmin
+
+Open **http://localhost:5050** in your browser. PgAdmin is pre-configured in desktop mode (no login required). To connect to the certctl database:
+
+1. Right-click "Servers" in the left panel, choose "Register" > "Server"
+2. Name: `certctl`
+3. Connection tab: Host = `postgres`, Port = `5432`, Username = `certctl`, Password = `certctl` (or whatever you set in `.env`)
+
+From there you can browse all 19 tables, inspect certificate records, view audit events, check the scheduler's job queue, and run arbitrary SQL.
+
+### Using the Delve debugger
+
+Port 40000 is exposed for remote debugging. To use it, you'd need to modify the Dockerfile to build with debug symbols and start the server under Delve:
+
+```bash
+# In Dockerfile, replace the CMD with:
+CMD ["dlv", "--listen=:40000", "--headless=true", "--api-version=2", "exec", "/app/server"]
+```
+
+Then attach from your IDE (VS Code, GoLand) using remote debug configuration pointing to `localhost:40000`.
+
+### Hot reload
+
+The dev overlay includes commented-out volume mounts for source code directories. Uncomment them and install [air](https://github.com/cosmtrek/air) to get automatic recompilation on file changes:
+
+```bash
+go install github.com/cosmtrek/air@latest
+```
+
+**Expert note:** The `builds: context: ..` in the dev overlay overrides the base service's image reference, forcing a local build from the repository root. This means changes to your Go source code are compiled fresh on each `docker compose up --build`.
+
+---
+
+## Test Environment
+
+**File:** `docker-compose.test.yml`
+**When to use:** Integration testing against real CA backends. This is a standalone environment (not an overlay) with 7 containers on a static-IP subnet.
+
+### What it runs
+
+| Service | IP | Purpose |
+|---------|----|---------|
+| `postgres` | 10.30.50.2 | Database (clean, no demo data) |
+| `pebble-challtestsrv` | 10.30.50.3 | DNS/HTTP challenge test server for Pebble |
+| `pebble` | 10.30.50.4 | ACME test server (simulates Let's Encrypt) |
+| `step-ca` | 10.30.50.5 | Private CA (Smallstep, JWK provisioner) |
+| `certctl-server` | 10.30.50.6 | Control plane with all issuers configured |
+| `nginx` | 10.30.50.7 | TLS target server for deployment testing |
+| `certctl-agent` | 10.30.50.8 | Agent with NGINX volume + discovery |
+
+### Why static IPs?
+
+Pebble (the ACME test server) validates HTTP-01 challenges by connecting to the challenge URL. It resolves domain names via `pebble-challtestsrv`, which is configured to return `10.30.50.6` (the certctl server) for all lookups. Without static IPs, container IPs would be assigned randomly on each boot, breaking the challenge validation chain.
+
+The `/24` subnet (10.30.50.0/24) provides 254 usable addresses, far more than needed but standard practice for test networks.
+
+### Starting it
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml up --build
+```
+
+Wait for all health checks to pass (about 60 seconds for step-ca's first-run bootstrap). Then:
+
+```bash
+# Dashboard with auth enabled (HTTPS-only as of v2.2; browser will warn on the self-signed cert —
+# accept the warning or trust `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` in your OS keychain)
+open https://localhost:8443
+# API key: test-key-2026
+
+# NGINX serving a self-signed placeholder
+curl -k https://localhost:8444
+```
+
+### What's different from the base
+
+The test environment is configured for production-like behavior:
+
+- **API key auth enabled** (`CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE: api-key`, `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET: test-key-2026`). Every API request needs `Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026`.
+- **Agent-side key generation** (`CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE: agent`). The agent generates ECDSA P-256 keys locally and submits only the CSR to the server. Private keys never leave the agent container.
+- **Three real issuers configured:**
+  - **Local CA** (self-signed) for instant issuance testing
+  - **ACME via Pebble** for Let's Encrypt-compatible flow testing (HTTP-01 challenges validated through the challenge test server)
+  - **step-ca** for private CA testing with JWK provisioner authentication
+- **EST server enabled** (`CERTCTL_EST_ENABLED: "true"`) for RFC 7030 enrollment testing
+- **Post-deployment verification enabled** (`CERTCTL_VERIFY_DEPLOYMENT: "true"`) so the agent probes NGINX after deploying a cert and confirms the TLS fingerprint matches
+- **Dynamic config encryption enabled** (`CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY`) so issuer/target configs added through the GUI are encrypted at rest
+- **TLS trust bootstrapping:** The server runs a `setup-trust.sh` entrypoint that fetches Pebble's root CA from its management API and copies step-ca's root cert from a shared volume, then runs `update-ca-certificates` before starting the server binary. This is necessary because both CAs use self-signed roots that aren't in Alpine's default trust store.
+
+### Running the Go integration tests
+
+The test environment is designed to support the Go integration test suite at `deploy/test/integration_test.go`:
+
+```bash
+# Start the environment
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml up --build -d
+
+# Wait for health checks
+sleep 30
+
+# Run integration tests (from repo root)
+go test -tags integration -v ./deploy/test/...
+```
+
+The integration tests exercise 12 phases: health, agent heartbeat, Local CA issuance, ACME issuance, renewal, step-ca issuance, revocation + CRL + OCSP, EST enrollment, S/MIME issuance, discovery, network scan, and deployment verification. PostgreSQL port 5432 is exposed so the test binary can query the database directly for assertions.
+
+See [docs/test-env.md](../docs/test-env.md) for the full walkthrough and manual QA procedures.
+
+### Stopping and cleaning up
+
+```bash
+# Stop but keep data (volumes persist)
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml down
+
+# Full reset (delete step-ca bootstrap, database, agent keys, NGINX certs)
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml down -v
+```
+
+**Expert note:** The step-ca container auto-bootstraps on first run: generates a root CA, creates a JWK provisioner named "admin" with password "password123", and writes everything to the `stepca_data` volume. Subsequent starts reuse this volume. If you `down -v`, the next boot generates a new root CA, which means all previously issued step-ca certs become untrusted.
+
+---
+
+## Environment Variable Reference
+
+Every `CERTCTL_*` environment variable is read by the server's `internal/config/config.go` via `os.Getenv`. If the prefix is missing, the variable is silently ignored.
+
+### Server
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` | (required) | PostgreSQL connection string |
+| `CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST` | `0.0.0.0` | Listen address |
+| `CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT` | `8443` | Listen port |
+| `CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Log verbosity: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error` |
+| `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` | `api-key` | Auth mode: `api-key` or `none` |
+| `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET` | (none) | API key(s), comma-separated for rotation |
+| `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE` | `agent` | Key generation: `agent` (production) or `server` (demo) |
+| `CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY` | (none) | AES-256-GCM key for encrypting issuer/target configs in DB |
+| `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED` | `false` | Enable network TLS scanning scheduler loop |
+| `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_INTERVAL` | `6h` | How often the network scanner runs |
+| `CERTCTL_MAX_BODY_SIZE` | `1048576` | Max request body size in bytes (1MB) |
+| `CERTCTL_CORS_ORIGINS` | (empty) | Allowed CORS origins, comma-separated. Empty = deny all cross-origin |
+| `CERTCTL_RATE_LIMIT_RPS` | `10` | Requests per second per client |
+| `CERTCTL_RATE_LIMIT_BURST` | `20` | Burst allowance above RPS |
+
+### Agent
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` | (required) | Server API URL |
+| `CERTCTL_API_KEY` | (none) | API key for authenticating with server |
+| `CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME` | (hostname) | Display name in dashboard |
+| `CERTCTL_AGENT_ID` | (auto-generated) | Stable agent identifier |
+| `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE` | `agent` | Must match server setting |
+| `CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Log verbosity |
+| `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR` | `/var/lib/certctl/keys` | Directory for private key storage (0600 perms) |
+| `CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS` | (none) | Comma-separated paths to scan for existing certs |
+
+### Issuers (Server)
+
+| Variable | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_DIRECTORY_URL` | ACME CA directory (e.g., Let's Encrypt, Pebble) |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_EMAIL` | ACME account email |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_CHALLENGE_TYPE` | `http-01`, `dns-01`, or `dns-persist-01` |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_INSECURE` | Skip TLS verification for ACME CA (test only) |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_EAB_KID` / `CERTCTL_ACME_EAB_HMAC` | External Account Binding for ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED` | Enable RFC 9773 Renewal Information |
+| `CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE` | ACME profile (`tlsserver`, `shortlived`) |
+| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_URL` | step-ca server URL |
+| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_ROOT_CERT` | Path to step-ca root CA cert |
+| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_PROVISIONER` | Provisioner name |
+| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_PASSWORD` | Provisioner password |
+| `CERTCTL_STEPCA_KEY_PATH` | Path to provisioner key |
+| `CERTCTL_CA_CERT_PATH` / `CERTCTL_CA_KEY_PATH` | Sub-CA mode: load CA cert+key from disk |
+| `CERTCTL_VAULT_ADDR` | Vault server address |
+| `CERTCTL_VAULT_TOKEN` | Vault auth token |
+| `CERTCTL_VAULT_MOUNT` | PKI secrets engine mount (default: `pki`) |
+| `CERTCTL_VAULT_ROLE` | PKI role name |
+| `CERTCTL_DIGICERT_API_KEY` | DigiCert CertCentral API key |
+| `CERTCTL_DIGICERT_ORG_ID` | DigiCert organization ID |
+| `CERTCTL_SECTIGO_CUSTOMER_URI` / `_LOGIN` / `_PASSWORD` | Sectigo SCM auth |
+| `CERTCTL_GOOGLE_CAS_PROJECT` / `_LOCATION` / `_CA_POOL` / `_CREDENTIALS` | Google CAS config |
+
+### EST Server
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_EST_ENABLED` | `false` | Enable RFC 7030 EST endpoints |
+| `CERTCTL_EST_ISSUER_ID` | `iss-local` | Which issuer processes EST enrollments |
+| `CERTCTL_EST_PROFILE_ID` | (none) | Optional profile constraint |
+
+### Post-Deployment Verification
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_VERIFY_DEPLOYMENT` | `false` | Agent probes TLS after deploying |
+| `CERTCTL_VERIFY_TIMEOUT` | `10s` | TLS probe timeout |
+| `CERTCTL_VERIFY_DELAY` | `2s` | Wait before probing (let service reload) |
+
+### Notifications
+
+| Variable | Description |
+|----------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_SMTP_HOST` / `_PORT` / `_USERNAME` / `_PASSWORD` / `_FROM_ADDRESS` / `_USE_TLS` | SMTP email |
+| `CERTCTL_SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL` / `_CHANNEL` / `_USERNAME` | Slack notifications |
+| `CERTCTL_TEAMS_WEBHOOK_URL` | Microsoft Teams |
+| `CERTCTL_PAGERDUTY_ROUTING_KEY` / `_SEVERITY` | PagerDuty alerts |
+| `CERTCTL_OPSGENIE_API_KEY` / `_PRIORITY` | OpsGenie alerts |
+| `CERTCTL_DIGEST_ENABLED` / `_INTERVAL` / `_RECIPIENTS` | Scheduled digest email |
+
+---
+
+## Common Operations
+
+### Viewing logs
+
+```bash
+# All services
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml logs -f
+
+# Single service
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml logs -f certctl-server
+
+# Last 100 lines
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml logs --tail 100 certctl-server
+```
+
+### Rebuilding after code changes
+
+```bash
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+```
+
+Docker only rebuilds images that have changed source files. The `--build` flag is essential after editing Go code or frontend files.
+
+### Connecting to the database directly
+
+```bash
+docker exec -it certctl-postgres psql -U certctl -d certctl
+```
+
+Useful queries:
+```sql
+-- Certificate inventory
+SELECT id, common_name, status, expires_at FROM managed_certificates ORDER BY expires_at;
+
+-- Recent jobs
+SELECT id, type, status, certificate_id, created_at FROM jobs ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20;
+
+-- Audit trail
+SELECT event_type, actor, resource_id, created_at FROM audit_events ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20;
+
+-- Issuer configurations (encrypted_config is AES-256-GCM)
+SELECT id, type, source, enabled, test_status FROM issuers;
+```
+
+### Checking container resource usage
+
+```bash
+docker stats --no-stream
+```
+
+### Upgrading
+
+```bash
+git pull
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+```
+
+Migrations are idempotent (`IF NOT EXISTS`), so upgrading to a version with new schema changes is safe. PostgreSQL only runs init scripts on first boot of a fresh volume, so new migrations in an upgrade require running them manually:
+
+```bash
+docker exec -i certctl-postgres psql -U certctl -d certctl < migrations/000011_new_feature.up.sql
+```
+
+Or, for a clean upgrade: `down -v` and `up --build` (loses existing data).
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Demo mode: pre-populated dashboard with 15 certificates, 5 agents, issuers, etc.
+# Demo mode: pre-populated dashboard with 32 certificates, 8 agents, 10 issuers, etc.
 # Use this to showcase certctl's dashboard with realistic data.
 #
 # Usage:
@@ -7,8 +7,20 @@
 # To start fresh (wipe previous data):
 #   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml down -v
 #   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml up --build
-
+#
+# U-3 (P1, cat-u-seed_initdb_schema_drift): pre-U-3 this overlay mounted
+# `seed_demo.sql` into postgres `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/`. That worked
+# only because the production stack also mounted the migrations there, so
+# the schema existed at initdb time. Once U-3 dropped the production
+# initdb mounts (single source of truth: server runs RunMigrations + RunSeed
+# at boot), the demo seed could no longer be applied at initdb time — the
+# tables it references wouldn't exist yet.
+#
+# Post-U-3 the demo overlay just sets CERTCTL_DEMO_SEED=true; the server
+# applies seed_demo.sql at boot via postgres.RunDemoSeed AFTER baseline
+# migrations + seed.sql are in place. Same single source of truth, no
+# initdb mounts, no schema-vs-seed drift.
 services:
-  postgres:
-    volumes:
-      - ../migrations/seed_demo.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/030_seed_demo.sql
+  certctl-server:
+    environment:
+      CERTCTL_DEMO_SEED: "true"
@@ -9,11 +9,21 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Node frontend stage and Go module
+      # download can reach the public registries behind corporate proxies.
+      # Defaults to empty; omit the variables from the host environment for
+      # un-proxied builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix
+      # tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    environment:
      # Verbose logging for development
-      LOG_LEVEL: debug
-      SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
-      SERVER_PORT: 8443
+      CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: debug
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT: "8443"
    volumes:
      # Mount local source for hot reload (requires air or similar)
      # Uncomment if using air or similar for hot reload:
@@ -29,8 +39,17 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.agent
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Go module download stage can reach
+      # the public Go module proxy behind corporate proxies. Defaults to
+      # empty; omit the variables from the host environment for un-proxied
+      # builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    environment:
-      LOG_LEVEL: debug
+      CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: debug

  # PgAdmin for database exploration
  pgadmin:
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@
 #
 # Spins up the full certctl platform with real CA backends for manual QA:
 #
+#   0. certctl-tls-init     — one-shot init container; writes self-signed
+#                             server.crt/.key/ca.crt into ./test/certs (bind
+#                             mount, not a named volume — host-readable for
+#                             the Go integration test binary)
 #   1. PostgreSQL 16        — database (clean, no demo data)
-#   2. certctl-server       — control plane API + web dashboard on :8443
+#   2. certctl-server       — control plane API + web dashboard on :8443 (HTTPS)
 #   3. certctl-agent        — polls for work, deploys certs to NGINX
 #   4. step-ca              — private CA (JWK provisioner, auto-bootstraps)
 #   5. Pebble               — ACME test server (simulates Let's Encrypt)
@@ -16,18 +20,90 @@
 #   cd deploy
 #   docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up --build
 #
-# Dashboard:  http://localhost:8443
+# Dashboard:  https://localhost:8443   (self-signed — use --cacert test/certs/ca.crt)
 # API key:    test-key-2026
 # NGINX:      https://localhost:8444 (self-signed placeholder until cert deployed)
 #
+# Integration tests: `go test -tags integration ./deploy/test/...` picks up
+# the CA bundle at ./test/certs/ca.crt automatically via CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE.
+#
 # See docs/test-env.md for the full walkthrough.
 # =============================================================================

 services:

+  # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6 — self-signed TLS bootstrap for the test harness.
+  # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  # Mirrors the production `certctl-tls-init` (see docker-compose.yml §10-43)
+  # but writes into a *host bind mount* (./test/certs) instead of a named
+  # volume. The named-volume approach works fine inside Docker but hides the
+  # CA bundle from the Go integration test binary that runs on the host; the
+  # bind mount exposes /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt at deploy/test/certs/ca.crt
+  # so `newTestClient()` can load it into an x509.CertPool and validate the
+  # self-signed server cert. Test-only divergence, explicitly documented.
+  #
+  # The generated cert has SAN=DNS:certctl-server,DNS:localhost,IP:127.0.0.1
+  # so both in-cluster traffic (agent → certctl-server:8443) and host traffic
+  # (go test → localhost:8443) validate cleanly. Destroy via
+  # `docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml down -v` + `rm -rf test/certs`
+  # to force regeneration. Keys written 0600, certs 0644, owned 1000:1000
+  # (the UID the server binary runs as inside its container per Dockerfile:64).
+  certctl-tls-init:
+    image: alpine/openssl:latest
+    container_name: certctl-test-tls-init
+    restart: "no"
+    entrypoint: /bin/sh
+    command:
+      - -c
+      - |
+        set -eu
+        CERT=/etc/certctl/tls/server.crt
+        KEY=/etc/certctl/tls/server.key
+        CA=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
+        if [ -f "$$CERT" ] && [ -f "$$KEY" ] && [ -f "$$CA" ]; then
+          echo "TLS cert already present at $$CERT — skipping generation"
+        else
+          mkdir -p /etc/certctl/tls
+          openssl req -x509 -newkey ec \
+            -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:P-256 \
+            -nodes \
+            -keyout "$$KEY" \
+            -out "$$CERT" \
+            -days 3650 \
+            -subj "/CN=certctl-server" \
+            -addext "subjectAltName=DNS:certctl-server,DNS:localhost,IP:127.0.0.1,IP:::1"
+          cp "$$CERT" "$$CA"
+          echo "Generated self-signed TLS cert for certctl-test-server (ECDSA-P256/SHA-256, 3650d, CN=certctl-server)"
+        fi
+        # The test server container runs as root (see `user: "0:0"` below)
+        # because setup-trust.sh needs to update the system trust store, so
+        # the perms here are really about host-side readability — 0644 on
+        # the CA/cert lets `go test` on the host read the bundle without a
+        # chown dance.
+        chown 1000:1000 "$$CERT" "$$KEY" "$$CA" || true
+        chmod 0644 "$$CERT" "$$CA"
+        chmod 0600 "$$KEY"
+    volumes:
+      - ./test/certs:/etc/certctl/tls
+    networks:
+      certctl-test:
+        ipv4_address: 10.30.50.9
+
  # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  # Database
  # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  #
+  # U-3 (P1, cat-u-seed_initdb_schema_drift, GitHub #10): the test stack used
+  # to mount a hand-curated subset of migrations + seed.sql + a never-checked-in
+  # seed_test.sql into postgres `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/`. Same hazard as
+  # the production compose — initdb crashed any time a new migration shipped
+  # that the seed depended on without the mount list being updated. Post-U-3
+  # the schema is built EXCLUSIVELY by the server at startup via
+  # internal/repository/postgres.RunMigrations + RunSeed. Postgres comes up
+  # empty and the server lands the full ladder + baseline seed in one shot.
+  # `start_period: 30s` matches the production compose and shields slow CI
+  # runners from healthcheck flap during initdb.
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: certctl-test-postgres
@@ -37,19 +113,6 @@ services:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: testpass
    volumes:
      - test_postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
-      - ../migrations/000001_initial_schema.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/001_schema.sql
-      - ../migrations/000002_agent_metadata.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/002_agent_metadata.sql
-      - ../migrations/000003_certificate_profiles.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/003_certificate_profiles.sql
-      - ../migrations/000004_agent_groups.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/004_agent_groups.sql
-      - ../migrations/000005_revocation.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/005_revocation.sql
-      - ../migrations/000006_discovery.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/006_discovery.sql
-      - ../migrations/000007_network_discovery.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/007_network_discovery.sql
-      - ../migrations/000008_verification.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/008_verification.sql
-      - ../migrations/000009_issuer_config.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/009_issuer_config.sql
-      - ../migrations/000010_target_config.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/010_target_config.sql
-      - ../migrations/seed.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/020_seed.sql
-      - ../migrations/seed_test.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/025_seed_test.sql
-      # No seed_demo.sql — start with a clean database for real testing
    networks:
      certctl-test:
        ipv4_address: 10.30.50.2
@@ -60,6 +123,7 @@ services:
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
+      start_period: 30s
    restart: unless-stopped

  # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -150,6 +214,16 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Node frontend stage and Go module
+      # download can reach the public registries behind corporate proxies.
+      # Defaults to empty; omit the variables from the host environment for
+      # un-proxied builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix
+      # tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    container_name: certctl-test-server
    depends_on:
      postgres:
@@ -158,6 +232,12 @@ services:
        condition: service_started
      step-ca:
        condition: service_healthy
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: block server boot until the init container
+      # has written server.crt / server.key / ca.crt into ./test/certs. The
+      # init container runs once and exits 0; service_completed_successfully
+      # makes that a gating dependency rather than a liveness one.
+      certctl-tls-init:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
    # Run as root so update-ca-certificates can write to /etc/ssl/certs.
    # Container isolation provides the security boundary.
    user: "0:0"
@@ -169,6 +249,12 @@ services:
      # Server
      CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
      CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT: 8443
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: point the server at the init-container-generated
+      # cert/key pair (bind-mounted from ./test/certs). Same paths as production
+      # compose so the server binary code path is identical; only the host-side
+      # storage differs (bind mount vs named volume — see §certctl-tls-init block).
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/server.crt
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/server.key
      CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: debug

      # Auth — API key required (production-like)
@@ -198,6 +284,9 @@ services:
      CERTCTL_EST_ENABLED: "true"
      CERTCTL_EST_ISSUER_ID: iss-local

+      # Dynamic issuer/target config encryption (M34/M35)
+      CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY: test-encryption-key-32chars!!
+
      # Network scanning
      CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED: "true"

@@ -211,12 +300,22 @@ services:
      - ./test/setup-trust.sh:/app/setup-trust.sh:ro
      # step-ca data volume (root cert at /certs/root_ca.crt, key at /secrets/provisioner_key)
      - stepca_data:/stepca-data:ro
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: read-only bind mount of the init-generated
+      # TLS material. The init container writes here; server reads here; the
+      # agent mounts the same host path at the same container path (see below)
+      # so /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt resolves to the *same* bytes on both sides.
+      - ./test/certs:/etc/certctl/tls:ro
    networks:
      certctl-test:
        ipv4_address: 10.30.50.6
    healthcheck:
-      # /health requires auth when CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=api-key, so include the Bearer token
-      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "-H", "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026", "http://localhost:8443/health"]
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: healthcheck now speaks TLS with --cacert to
+      # verify the self-signed server cert against the init-generated bundle.
+      # /health requires auth when CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=api-key, so include the
+      # Bearer token. curl exits non-zero on both TLS handshake failure and
+      # non-2xx status — either failure keeps depends_on: {condition:
+      # service_healthy} from unblocking the agent, which is what we want.
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "--cacert", "/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt", "-f", "-H", "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026", "https://localhost:8443/health"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      start_period: 30s
@@ -263,12 +362,27 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.agent
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Go module download stage can reach
+      # the public Go module proxy behind corporate proxies. Defaults to
+      # empty; omit the variables from the host environment for un-proxied
+      # builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    container_name: certctl-test-agent
    depends_on:
      certctl-server:
        condition: service_healthy
    environment:
-      CERTCTL_SERVER_URL: http://certctl-server:8443
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: agent dials the server over TLS and validates
+      # the self-signed cert against the CA bundle pinned by
+      # CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH. Same env vars + container paths as
+      # production compose so the agent binary code path (loadCABundle →
+      # x509.CertPool → *tls.Config{RootCAs, MinVersion: TLS13}) is identical.
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_URL: https://certctl-server:8443
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
      CERTCTL_API_KEY: test-key-2026
      CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME: test-agent-01
      CERTCTL_AGENT_ID: agent-test-01
@@ -278,6 +392,10 @@ services:
    volumes:
      - agent_keys:/var/lib/certctl/keys
      - nginx_certs:/nginx-certs
+      # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: same bind mount as the server, same path,
+      # so /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt resolves to the identical bytes. This is
+      # the only way the CN=certctl-server cert validates on the agent side.
+      - ./test/certs:/etc/certctl/tls:ro
    networks:
      certctl-test:
        ipv4_address: 10.30.50.8
@@ -1,5 +1,81 @@
 services:
+  # HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 3 — self-signed TLS bootstrap (init container).
+  # Generates a CN=certctl-server ECDSA-P256 (SHA-256 signature) cert with
+  # the SAN list locked by milestone §3.6 on first boot; subsequent boots
+  # see the cert already present in the `certs` named volume and no-op out.
+  # Server + agent mount the volume read-only. Destroy via `docker compose
+  # down -v` to force regeneration. This bootstrap is for docker-compose
+  # demos and local dev only; Helm operators supply a Secret / cert-manager
+  # Certificate per docs/tls.md.
+  #
+  # Rationale for ECDSA-P256 (was ed25519 pre-v2.0.48): Apple's TLS stack
+  # — Safari Network Framework and the macOS-bundled LibreSSL 3.3.6
+  # /usr/bin/curl — does not advertise ed25519 in the ClientHello
+  # signature_algorithms extension for server certs, yielding "tls: peer
+  # doesn't support any of the certificate's signature algorithms" at
+  # handshake. ECDSA-P256 with SHA-256 is universally supported. See
+  # docs/tls.md Pattern 1.
+  certctl-tls-init:
+    image: alpine/openssl:latest
+    container_name: certctl-tls-init
+    restart: "no"
+    entrypoint: /bin/sh
+    command:
+      - -c
+      - |
+        set -eu
+        CERT=/etc/certctl/tls/server.crt
+        KEY=/etc/certctl/tls/server.key
+        CA=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
+        if [ -f "$$CERT" ] && [ -f "$$KEY" ] && [ -f "$$CA" ]; then
+          echo "TLS cert already present at $$CERT — skipping generation"
+        else
+          mkdir -p /etc/certctl/tls
+          openssl req -x509 -newkey ec \
+            -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:P-256 \
+            -nodes \
+            -keyout "$$KEY" \
+            -out "$$CERT" \
+            -days 3650 \
+            -subj "/CN=certctl-server" \
+            -addext "subjectAltName=DNS:certctl-server,DNS:localhost,IP:127.0.0.1,IP:::1"
+          cp "$$CERT" "$$CA"
+          echo "Generated self-signed TLS cert for certctl-server (ECDSA-P256/SHA-256, 3650d, CN=certctl-server)"
+        fi
+        # certctl binary runs as UID 1000 inside the server container per
+        # Dockerfile:64-65; the cert + key must be readable by that UID.
+        chown 1000:1000 "$$CERT" "$$KEY" "$$CA"
+        chmod 0644 "$$CERT" "$$CA"
+        chmod 0600 "$$KEY"
+    volumes:
+      - certs:/etc/certctl/tls
+    networks:
+      - certctl-network
+
  # PostgreSQL database
+  #
+  # U-3 (P1, cat-u-seed_initdb_schema_drift, GitHub #10):
+  # Pre-U-3 this stack mounted a hand-curated subset of `migrations/*.up.sql`
+  # plus `seed.sql` into `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/`, and postgres
+  # initdb-applied them on first boot. The mount list rotted every time a
+  # new migration shipped that the seed depended on (000013 added
+  # policy_rules.severity, 000017 renames retry_interval_minutes, etc.) —
+  # initdb crashed, the container reported `unhealthy` indefinitely, and
+  # `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build` from a
+  # fresh clone of v2.0.50 hit it on the first try.
+  #
+  # Post-U-3 the schema is built EXCLUSIVELY by the server at startup via
+  # internal/repository/postgres.RunMigrations + RunSeed. Single source of
+  # truth, no list to keep in sync. Postgres comes up empty; the server
+  # waits for it healthy, then applies the full migration ladder + seed in
+  # one shot. Helm + the dev examples were already runtime-only (Path B)
+  # and worked through the same window.
+  #
+  # `start_period: 30s` gives postgres room to bootstrap on slow runners
+  # (CI macOS, low-spec laptops) before the healthcheck failure counter
+  # starts ticking. Pre-U-3 a slow first-init combined with the
+  # `unhealthy` flap to cascade into certctl-server's `service_healthy`
+  # depends_on, blocking the whole stack.
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: certctl-postgres
@@ -11,17 +87,6 @@ services:
      - "5432:5432"
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
-      - ../migrations/000001_initial_schema.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/001_schema.sql
-      - ../migrations/000002_agent_metadata.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/002_agent_metadata.sql
-      - ../migrations/000003_certificate_profiles.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/003_certificate_profiles.sql
-      - ../migrations/000004_agent_groups.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/004_agent_groups.sql
-      - ../migrations/000005_revocation.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/005_revocation.sql
-      - ../migrations/000006_discovery.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/006_discovery.sql
-      - ../migrations/000007_network_discovery.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/007_network_discovery.sql
-      - ../migrations/000008_verification.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/008_verification.sql
-      - ../migrations/000009_issuer_config.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/009_issuer_config.sql
-      - ../migrations/000010_target_config.up.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/010_target_config.sql
-      - ../migrations/seed.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/020_seed.sql
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
@@ -29,6 +94,7 @@ services:
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
+      start_period: 30s
    restart: unless-stopped

  # Certctl Server (API + scheduler)
@@ -36,27 +102,53 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Node frontend stage and Go module
+      # download can reach the public registries behind corporate proxies.
+      # Defaults to empty; omit the variables from the host environment for
+      # un-proxied builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix
+      # tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    container_name: certctl-server
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
+      certctl-tls-init:
+        condition: service_completed_successfully
    environment:
-      CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL: postgres://certctl:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable
+      # Bundle B / Audit M-018 (PCI-DSS Req 4 / CWE-319): in-cluster Postgres
+      # on the docker bridge network keeps sslmode=disable acceptable; for
+      # external/managed Postgres operators MUST override CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL
+      # with sslmode=verify-full and provide the CA bundle. See docs/database-tls.md.
+      CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL: ${CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL:-postgres://certctl:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-certctl}@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable}
      CERTCTL_SERVER_HOST: 0.0.0.0
      CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT: 8443
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/server.crt
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/server.key
      CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: info
      CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE: none
      CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE: server  # Demo uses server-side keygen; production should use "agent"
      CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED: "true"  # Enable network scan GUI with seeded demo targets
+      CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY:-change-me-32-char-encryption-key}  # AES-256-GCM for dynamic issuer/target config
    ports:
      - "8443:8443"
+    volumes:
+      - certs:/etc/certctl/tls:ro
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
-      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8443/health"]
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "--cacert", "/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt", "-f", "https://localhost:8443/health"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
+      # U-3: server boot now does RunMigrations + RunSeed before listening on
+      # 8443. On a fresh clone the full migration ladder + seed application
+      # can take ~10s on a small VM; start_period prevents the first few
+      # healthcheck attempts from counting as failures while that work runs.
+      start_period: 30s
    restart: unless-stopped
    logging:
      driver: "json-file"
@@ -74,17 +166,29 @@ services:
    build:
      context: ..
      dockerfile: Dockerfile.agent
+      # Proxy propagation (M-4, Issue #9) — forwards host shell's proxy env
+      # vars into the Docker build so the Go module download stage can reach
+      # the public Go module proxy behind corporate proxies. Defaults to
+      # empty; omit the variables from the host environment for un-proxied
+      # builds and the behaviour is byte-identical to the pre-fix tree.
+      args:
+        HTTP_PROXY: ${HTTP_PROXY:-}
+        HTTPS_PROXY: ${HTTPS_PROXY:-}
+        NO_PROXY: ${NO_PROXY:-}
    container_name: certctl-agent
    depends_on:
      certctl-server:
        condition: service_healthy
    environment:
-      CERTCTL_SERVER_URL: http://certctl-server:8443
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_URL: https://certctl-server:8443
+      CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH: /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
      CERTCTL_API_KEY: ${CERTCTL_API_KEY:-change-me-in-production}
      CERTCTL_AGENT_NAME: docker-agent
      CERTCTL_LOG_LEVEL: info
+      CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS: /var/lib/certctl/keys  # Agent scans this directory for existing certificates
    volumes:
      - agent_keys:/var/lib/certctl/keys
+      - certs:/etc/certctl/tls:ro
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
@@ -113,3 +217,5 @@ volumes:
    driver: local
  agent_keys:
    driver: local
+  certs:
+    driver: local
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ A production-ready Helm chart for deploying certctl (self-hosted certificate lif
 - **Chart Version**: 0.1.0
 - **App Version**: 2.1.0
 - **Type**: application
- **License**: BSL-1.1 (converts to Apache 2.0 in 2033)
+- **License**: BSL-1.1

 ## File Structure

@@ -246,8 +246,8 @@ helm install certctl certctl/ \
 |--------|---------|-------------|
 | `server.replicas` | 1 | Number of server replicas |
 | `server.port` | 8443 | Server port |
-| `server.auth.type` | api-key | Authentication type |
-| `server.auth.apiKey` | "" | API key (REQUIRED) |
+| `server.auth.type` | api-key | Authentication type — `api-key` or `none` (G-1: `jwt` removed; for JWT/OIDC use a fronting authenticating gateway, see `docs/architecture.md` and `docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md`) |
+| `server.auth.apiKey` | "" | API key (REQUIRED when `auth.type=api-key`) |
 | `server.logging.level` | info | Log level |
 | `server.logging.format` | json | Log format |

@@ -458,4 +458,3 @@ For issues, questions, or contributions:
 ## License

 BSL-1.1 (Business Source License)
-Converts to Apache 2.0 on March 28, 2033
@@ -236,10 +236,12 @@ kubectl get svc -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=certctl
 kubectl get ingress
 kubectl describe ingress certctl

-# Test API connectivity
+# Test API connectivity (HTTPS-only as of v2.2)
 POD=$(kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/component=server -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
 kubectl port-forward $POD 8443:8443 &
-curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" http://localhost:8443/health
+# If the chart provisioned a self-signed cert, fetch the CA bundle from the TLS secret first:
+#   kubectl get secret certctl-server-tls -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 -d > /tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+curl --cacert /tmp/certctl-ca.crt -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" https://localhost:8443/health
 ```

 ### Step 6: Access the Dashboard
@@ -333,9 +335,10 @@ kubectl logs $POD | tail -20
 # Port forward to API
 kubectl port-forward svc/certctl-server 8443:8443 &

-# Create a test certificate
+# Create a test certificate (HTTPS-only as of v2.2 — pin the chart-provisioned CA bundle)
+# kubectl get secret certctl-server-tls -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 -d > /tmp/certctl-ca.crt
 API_KEY="your-api-key"
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl --cacert /tmp/certctl-ca.crt -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
@@ -231,4 +231,4 @@ kubectl logs -l app.kubernetes.io/component=server -f

 ## License

-All files are covered under the BSL-1.1 license (converts to Apache 2.0 in 2033).
+All files are covered under the BSL-1.1 license.
@@ -33,9 +33,11 @@ kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=certctl
 # View server logs
 kubectl logs -l app.kubernetes.io/component=server -f

-# Access the API
+# Access the API (HTTPS-only as of v2.2; use --cacert or -k depending on your cert provisioning)
 kubectl port-forward svc/certctl-server 8443:8443 &
-curl http://localhost:8443/health
+# If the chart provisioned a self-signed cert, fetch the CA bundle from the secret first:
+#   kubectl get secret certctl-server-tls -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 -d > /tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+curl --cacert /tmp/certctl-ca.crt https://localhost:8443/health
 ```

 ## Next Steps
@@ -513,4 +513,4 @@ For issues, questions, or contributions, visit:

 ## License

-BSL-1.1 (converts to Apache 2.0 in 2033)
+BSL-1.1
@@ -0,0 +1,148 @@
+# certctl Helm Chart
+
+Production-ready Helm chart for deploying [certctl](https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl) on Kubernetes. Wires up the certctl server (Deployment), PostgreSQL (StatefulSet with PVC), and the agent (DaemonSet — one per node) on a private cluster, with health probes, security contexts, and optional Ingress.
+
+## Quick install
+
+```bash
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --create-namespace --namespace certctl \
+  --set server.auth.apiKey="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" \
+  --set postgresql.auth.password="$(openssl rand -base64 24)"
+```
+
+This brings up:
+
+- `<release>-server` Deployment (HTTPS-only on port 8443; TLS 1.3)
+- `<release>-postgres` StatefulSet (PostgreSQL 16-alpine, 1 replica, 10Gi PVC by default)
+- `<release>-agent` DaemonSet (polls server, generates ECDSA P-256 keys locally)
+- Service objects, optional Ingress, and ServiceAccount with RBAC
+
+See [`values.yaml`](values.yaml) for the full configuration surface — issuer settings, target connectors, scheduler intervals, notifier credentials, and resource requests/limits all live there.
+
+## Operational notes
+
+### Postgres password rotation — read this before changing `postgresql.auth.password`
+
+**The trap.** `postgresql.auth.password` is bound to `pg_authid` exactly once — when the StatefulSet's PVC is provisioned and `initdb` runs. The official `postgres:16-alpine` image only runs `initdb` when `/var/lib/postgresql/data` is empty, so on every subsequent rollout the `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` env var is read into the container but **ignored** by postgres itself. The certctl-server container also picks up the new value (via the database URL helper template), so the two halves diverge: server presents the new password, postgres still expects the old one.
+
+**Symptom.** The certctl-server pod's startup log shows:
+
+```
+failed to ping database: postgres rejected the configured credentials
+(SQLSTATE 28P01 — invalid_password). If you recently rotated POSTGRES_PASSWORD ...
+```
+
+That diagnostic is emitted by `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError` — it points operators at the two remediation paths below.
+
+**Remediation, non-destructive (preferred for any environment with real data):**
+
+```bash
+# 1. Rotate the password in postgres directly
+kubectl -n certctl exec -it <release>-postgres-0 -- \
+  psql -U certctl -c "ALTER ROLE certctl PASSWORD '<new-password>';"
+
+# 2. Update the secret / Helm values to the same value
+helm upgrade <release> deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --reuse-values \
+  --set postgresql.auth.password='<new-password>'
+
+# 3. Bounce the certctl-server pod so it re-reads the secret
+kubectl -n certctl rollout restart deployment/<release>-server
+```
+
+**Remediation, destructive (DESTROYS ALL CERTCTL DATA — only acceptable on dev/demo clusters):**
+
+```bash
+helm uninstall <release> -n certctl
+kubectl -n certctl delete pvc -l \
+  app.kubernetes.io/name=certctl,app.kubernetes.io/component=postgres
+helm install <release> deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --namespace certctl \
+  --set postgresql.auth.password='<new-password>'
+```
+
+The PVC re-creates empty, `initdb` runs on first boot of the new postgres pod, and `pg_authid` is seeded with the new password.
+
+**Why we don't fix this in the chart.** The env-vs-`pg_authid` divergence is intrinsic to how the upstream `postgres` image bootstraps — `initdb` is run-once-per-empty-data-dir, and there is no upstream-supported way to make subsequent boots re-seed `pg_authid` from `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`. The ergonomic answer is the runtime diagnostic plus this operational note.
+
+**Cross-references.** Same root cause is documented for the docker-compose path in [`docs/quickstart.md`](../../../docs/quickstart.md) (Warning callout after the `cp .env.example .env` block) and in [`deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md`](../../ENVIRONMENTS.md) (Stateful volume — first-boot password binding section). The runtime diagnostic itself lives in `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError` with regression coverage in `internal/repository/postgres/db_test.go`.
+
+### Server API key rotation
+
+Unlike the postgres password, `server.auth.apiKey` accepts a comma-separated list, so zero-downtime rotation is straightforward:
+
+```bash
+# 1. Add the new key alongside the old
+helm upgrade <release> deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --reuse-values \
+  --set server.auth.apiKey='new-key,old-key'
+
+# 2. Roll your agents / clients over to the new key
+
+# 3. Remove the old key
+helm upgrade <release> deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --reuse-values \
+  --set server.auth.apiKey='new-key'
+```
+
+### JWT / OIDC via authenticating gateway
+
+certctl's in-process auth surface is intentionally narrow: `server.auth.type=api-key` for production deployments and `server.auth.type=none` for development. There is no in-process JWT, OIDC, mTLS, or SAML middleware. (`server.auth.type=jwt` was accepted pre-G-1 but silently routed every request through the api-key bearer middleware — silent auth downgrade. The chart now fails at `helm install`/`helm upgrade` template time via the `certctl.validateAuthType` helper if you set it. See [`../../../docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md`](../../../docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md) if you previously had this in your values.)
+
+For deployments that need JWT/OIDC, the canonical Kubernetes-flavored shape is to put oauth2-proxy in front of the certctl Service, attach an authenticating Ingress middleware, and run certctl with `server.auth.type=none`:
+
+```bash
+# 1. Install oauth2-proxy (or any OIDC-terminating sidecar) in the same namespace
+helm install oauth2-proxy oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy \
+  --namespace certctl \
+  --set config.clientID="$OIDC_CLIENT_ID" \
+  --set config.clientSecret="$OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET" \
+  --set config.cookieSecret="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" \
+  --set config.configFile='|
+    provider = "oidc"
+    oidc_issuer_url = "https://your-issuer/"
+    upstreams = ["http://<release>-server.certctl.svc.cluster.local:8443"]
+    pass_authorization_header = true
+    set_authorization_header = true
+    email_domains = ["*"]
+  '
+
+# 2. Install certctl with type=none (gateway terminates auth)
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --namespace certctl \
+  --set server.auth.type=none \
+  --set postgresql.auth.password="$(openssl rand -base64 24)"
+
+# 3. Attach an Ingress that routes through oauth2-proxy
+#    (Traefik ForwardAuth, nginx auth_request, Envoy ext_authz, etc.)
+```
+
+Same root pattern works with Pomerium, Authelia, Caddy `forward_auth`, Apache `mod_auth_openidc`, or any service-mesh `ext_authz`. See [`../../../docs/architecture.md`](../../../docs/architecture.md) "Authenticating-gateway pattern" for the full design rationale and [`../../../docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md`](../../../docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md) for the migration walkthrough.
+
+### TLS certificate sourcing
+
+By default the chart provisions a self-signed cert via the same init-container pattern as the docker-compose deploy. For production, supply an operator-managed Secret (cert-manager, internal CA, etc.) — see [`docs/tls.md`](../../../docs/tls.md) for the full provisioning matrix and [`docs/upgrade-to-tls.md`](../../../docs/upgrade-to-tls.md) for upgrade-from-HTTP procedures.
+
+## Disabling embedded postgres
+
+If you have an existing PostgreSQL cluster, disable the embedded one and point at it directly:
+
+```bash
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --set postgresql.enabled=false \
+  --set server.databaseUrl='postgres://certctl:<pw>@my-pg-host:5432/certctl?sslmode=require'
+```
+
+The volume-trap section above does **not** apply to this configuration — your postgres operator (or cloud DB) handles password rotation, and you control `pg_authid` directly.
+
+## Uninstall
+
+```bash
+helm uninstall <release> -n certctl
+# Optional — also delete the postgres PVC (DESTROYS DATA):
+kubectl -n certctl delete pvc -l \
+  app.kubernetes.io/name=certctl,app.kubernetes.io/component=postgres
+```
+
+By default `helm uninstall` retains the StatefulSet's PVCs, so reinstalling with the same release name preserves the database. If you've changed `postgresql.auth.password` in your values between uninstall and reinstall, you'll hit the trap on the reinstall — apply the non-destructive remediation above, or also delete the PVC.
@@ -4,36 +4,46 @@
 {{- else if contains "NodePort" .Values.server.service.type }}
  export NODE_IP=$(kubectl get nodes --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} -o jsonpath="{.items[0].status.addresses[0].address}")
  export NODE_PORT=$(kubectl get --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} -o jsonpath="{.spec.ports[0].nodePort}" services {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server)
-  echo http://$NODE_IP:$NODE_PORT
+  echo https://$NODE_IP:$NODE_PORT
 {{- else if contains "LoadBalancer" .Values.server.service.type }}
  export SERVICE_IP=$(kubectl get svc --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server --template "{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}")
-  echo http://$SERVICE_IP:{{ .Values.server.service.port }}
+  echo https://$SERVICE_IP:{{ .Values.server.service.port }}
 {{- else }}
  export POD_NAME=$(kubectl get pods --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} -l "app.kubernetes.io/name={{ include "certctl.name" . }},app.kubernetes.io/instance={{ .Release.Name }},app.kubernetes.io/component=server" -o jsonpath="{.items[0].metadata.name}")
  export CONTAINER_PORT=$(kubectl get pod --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} $POD_NAME -o jsonpath="{.spec.containers[0].ports[0].containerPort}")
-  echo "Visit http://127.0.0.1:8080 to use your application"
-  kubectl --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} port-forward $POD_NAME 8080:$CONTAINER_PORT
+  echo "Visit https://127.0.0.1:8443 to use your application"
+  kubectl --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} port-forward $POD_NAME 8443:$CONTAINER_PORT
 {{- end }}

-2. Get the default API key:
+2. Talk to the HTTPS-only server from your workstation:
+  # Export the CA bundle that signed the server cert (self-signed or cert-manager-issued)
+  kubectl get secret --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} {{ include "certctl.tls.secretName" . }} \
+    -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 --decode > /tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+  # (If ca.crt is empty, fall back to tls.crt — typical when the Secret
+  #  was created from a self-signed bootstrap cert without a separate CA.)
+
+  # Adapt the URL below to match the Server URL printed in step 1.
+  curl --cacert /tmp/certctl-ca.crt https://127.0.0.1:8443/health
+
+3. Get the default API key:
  kubectl get secret --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server -o jsonpath="{.data.api-key}" | base64 --decode; echo

-3. Get PostgreSQL connection details:
+4. Get PostgreSQL connection details:
  Host: {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-postgres.{{ .Release.Namespace }}.svc.cluster.local
  Port: 5432
  Database: {{ .Values.postgresql.auth.database }}
  Username: {{ .Values.postgresql.auth.username }}
  Password: $(kubectl get secret --namespace {{ .Release.Namespace }} {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-postgres -o jsonpath="{.data.password}" | base64 --decode)

-4. Check deployment status:
+5. Check deployment status:
  kubectl get pods -n {{ .Release.Namespace }} -l app.kubernetes.io/instance={{ .Release.Name }}

-5. View server logs:
+6. View server logs:
  kubectl logs -n {{ .Release.Namespace }} -l app.kubernetes.io/name={{ include "certctl.name" . }},app.kubernetes.io/component=server -f

 {{- if .Values.agent.enabled }}

-6. View agent logs:
+7. View agent logs:
  kubectl logs -n {{ .Release.Namespace }} -l app.kubernetes.io/name={{ include "certctl.name" . }},app.kubernetes.io/component=agent -f

 {{- end }}
@@ -58,11 +68,7 @@ IMPORTANT NOTES FOR PRODUCTION:
   - Use an external PostgreSQL managed service (AWS RDS, Cloud SQL, etc.)
   - Set postgresql.enabled=false and configure CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL in values

-5. Enable HTTPS/TLS using an Ingress with certificate management:
-   - Configure cert-manager for automatic TLS certificate renewal
-   - Update ingress values with your domain and certificate issuer
-
-6. Review security contexts and network policies:
+5. Review security contexts and network policies:
   - All containers run as non-root
   - Implement network policies to restrict traffic between components
   - Consider pod security policies or security standards for your cluster
@@ -112,14 +112,98 @@ PostgreSQL image

 {{/*
 Database connection string
+
+Bundle B / Audit M-018 (PCI-DSS Req 4 / CWE-319):
+  - postgresql.tls.mode is the operator-facing knob.
+    Default: "disable" (preserves the in-cluster Helm-bundled-Postgres
+    behavior; pod-to-pod traffic stays on the K8s pod network and is
+    encrypted by the CNI when the cluster is configured with a TLS-aware
+    CNI such as Cilium WireGuard).
+  - Operators on PCI-DSS-scoped clusters or operators using an external
+    managed Postgres (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure DB) MUST set
+    postgresql.tls.mode to "require", "verify-ca", or "verify-full" and
+    point postgresql.tls.caSecretRef at a Secret containing the
+    server-ca.crt under key "ca.crt".
+  - The connection string sslmode parameter is wired from
+    postgresql.tls.mode without further translation.
 */}}
 {{- define "certctl.databaseURL" -}}
-postgres://{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.username }}:$(POSTGRES_PASSWORD)@{{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-postgres:5432/{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.database }}?sslmode=disable
+{{- $sslMode := default "disable" .Values.postgresql.tls.mode -}}
+postgres://{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.username }}:$(POSTGRES_PASSWORD)@{{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-postgres:5432/{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.database }}?sslmode={{ $sslMode }}
 {{- end }}

 {{/*
-Server URL (for agents)
+Server URL (for agents). HTTPS-only as of v2.2 — see docs/tls.md.
 */}}
 {{- define "certctl.serverURL" -}}
-http://{{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server:{{ .Values.server.service.port }}
+https://{{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server:{{ .Values.server.service.port }}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+TLS Secret name resolver.
+
+Operator-facing precedence:
+  1. server.tls.existingSecret        — operator points at a pre-existing kubernetes.io/tls Secret
+  2. server.tls.certManager.secretName — explicit secret name for the cert-manager Certificate CR
+  3. "<fullname>-tls"                  — default when cert-manager is enabled but secretName is blank
+
+Never emits an empty string — that case is already excluded by certctl.tls.required below,
+which must be invoked by any template that depends on the resolved secret name.
+*/}}
+{{- define "certctl.tls.secretName" -}}
+{{- if .Values.server.tls.existingSecret -}}
+{{- .Values.server.tls.existingSecret -}}
+{{- else if .Values.server.tls.certManager.secretName -}}
+{{- .Values.server.tls.certManager.secretName -}}
+{{- else -}}
+{{- printf "%s-tls" (include "certctl.fullname" .) -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+TLS configuration gate.
+
+HTTPS is the only supported listener mode (v2.2+). The server refuses to start
+without a cert/key pair mounted at server.tls.mountPath, so `helm template` /
+`helm install` must fail loudly at render-time rather than shipping a broken
+Deployment that crash-loops with "tls config required".
+
+Operators MUST configure EXACTLY ONE of:
+  (a) server.tls.existingSecret: <name-of-kubernetes.io/tls-secret>
+  (b) server.tls.certManager.enabled: true  (+ issuerRef.name populated)
+
+Any template that mounts the TLS Secret must call
+`{{ include "certctl.tls.required" . }}` at the top so this guard runs once
+per affected resource. No-op when configured correctly.
+*/}}
+{{- define "certctl.tls.required" -}}
+{{- if and (not .Values.server.tls.existingSecret) (not .Values.server.tls.certManager.enabled) -}}
+{{- fail "\n\ncertctl refuses to start without TLS.\n\nSet EXACTLY ONE of:\n  --set server.tls.existingSecret=<your-kubernetes.io/tls-secret-name>\nOR\n  --set server.tls.certManager.enabled=true \\\n  --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name=<your-issuer-or-clusterissuer>\n\nSee docs/tls.md for the full setup walkthrough, including bootstrap\nguidance for air-gapped clusters without cert-manager.\n" -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- if and .Values.server.tls.certManager.enabled (not .Values.server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name) -}}
+{{- fail "\n\nserver.tls.certManager.enabled=true but server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name is empty.\n\nSet:\n  --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name=<your-issuer-or-clusterissuer>\n\nSee docs/tls.md.\n" -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- end }}
+
+{{/*
+Auth-type validation gate.
+
+G-1 (P1): pre-G-1 the chart accepted server.auth.type=jwt and the
+certctl-server container silently routed every request through the
+api-key bearer middleware (no JWT impl ships with certctl). Post-G-1
+the chart fails at template-time with a pointer at the authenticating-
+gateway pattern. The valid set must stay in sync with
+internal/config.ValidAuthTypes() in the Go binary; if you add a value
+there you must add it here too (and update the property test in
+internal/config/config_test.go that pins both surfaces).
+
+Any template that consumes .Values.server.auth.type should call
+`{{ include "certctl.validateAuthType" . }}` at the top so this guard
+runs once per affected resource. No-op when configured correctly.
+*/}}
+{{- define "certctl.validateAuthType" -}}
+{{- $valid := list "api-key" "none" -}}
+{{- if not (has .Values.server.auth.type $valid) -}}
+{{- fail (printf "\n\nserver.auth.type=%q is not supported (valid: %v).\n\nFor JWT/OIDC, run an authenticating gateway in front of certctl\n(oauth2-proxy / Envoy ext_authz / Traefik ForwardAuth / Pomerium) and\nset server.auth.type=none here so the gateway terminates federated\nidentity. See docs/architecture.md \"Authenticating-gateway pattern\"\nand docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md for the migration walkthrough.\n\nG-1 audit closure: pre-G-1 the chart accepted type=jwt and the binary\nsilently downgraded to api-key middleware. The chart now fails at\ntemplate time so misconfigured deployments cannot ship.\n" .Values.server.auth.type $valid) -}}
+{{- end -}}
 {{- end }}
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 {{- if .Values.agent.enabled }}
+{{- include "certctl.tls.required" . }}
 {{- if eq .Values.agent.kind "DaemonSet" }}
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: DaemonSet
@@ -53,6 +54,8 @@ spec:
                  fieldPath: metadata.name
            - name: CERTCTL_KEY_DIR
              value: {{ .Values.agent.keyDir }}
+            - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH
+              value: "{{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}/ca.crt"
            {{- if .Values.agent.discoveryDirs }}
            - name: CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS
              valueFrom:
@@ -70,12 +73,19 @@ spec:
              mountPath: {{ .Values.agent.keyDir }}
            - name: tmp
              mountPath: /tmp
+            - name: server-tls
+              mountPath: {{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}
+              readOnly: true
      volumes:
        - name: agent-keys
          emptyDir:
            sizeLimit: 1Gi
        - name: tmp
          emptyDir: {}
+        - name: server-tls
+          secret:
+            secretName: {{ include "certctl.tls.secretName" . }}
+            defaultMode: 0400
 {{- else if eq .Values.agent.kind "Deployment" }}
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
@@ -135,6 +145,8 @@ spec:
              {{- end }}
            - name: CERTCTL_KEY_DIR
              value: {{ .Values.agent.keyDir }}
+            - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH
+              value: "{{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}/ca.crt"
            {{- if .Values.agent.discoveryDirs }}
            - name: CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS
              valueFrom:
@@ -152,11 +164,18 @@ spec:
              mountPath: {{ .Values.agent.keyDir }}
            - name: tmp
              mountPath: /tmp
+            - name: server-tls
+              mountPath: {{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}
+              readOnly: true
      volumes:
        - name: agent-keys
          emptyDir:
            sizeLimit: 1Gi
        - name: tmp
          emptyDir: {}
+        - name: server-tls
+          secret:
+            secretName: {{ include "certctl.tls.secretName" . }}
+            defaultMode: 0400
 {{- end }}
 {{- end }}
@@ -1,14 +1,24 @@
 {{- if .Values.ingress.enabled }}
+{{- if and .Values.ingress.certManager.enabled (not .Values.ingress.certManager.issuerRef.name) -}}
+{{- fail "\n\ningress.certManager.enabled=true but ingress.certManager.issuerRef.name is empty.\n\nSet:\n  --set ingress.certManager.issuerRef.name=<your-issuer-or-clusterissuer>\n\nThis is separate from server.tls.certManager — it issues the external-facing\nIngress cert, not the in-cluster server TLS cert. See docs/tls.md.\n" -}}
+{{- end -}}
 apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
 kind: Ingress
 metadata:
  name: {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}
  labels:
    {{- include "certctl.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
-  {{- with .Values.ingress.annotations }}
  annotations:
+    {{- if .Values.ingress.certManager.enabled }}
+    {{- if eq .Values.ingress.certManager.issuerRef.kind "ClusterIssuer" }}
+    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: {{ .Values.ingress.certManager.issuerRef.name | quote }}
+    {{- else }}
+    cert-manager.io/issuer: {{ .Values.ingress.certManager.issuerRef.name | quote }}
+    {{- end }}
+    {{- end }}
+    {{- with .Values.ingress.annotations }}
    {{- toYaml . | nindent 4 }}
-  {{- end }}
+    {{- end }}
 spec:
  {{- if .Values.ingress.className }}
  ingressClassName: {{ .Values.ingress.className }}
@@ -33,7 +43,7 @@ spec:
            pathType: {{ .pathType }}
            backend:
              service:
-                name: {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server
+                name: {{ include "certctl.fullname" $ }}-server
                port:
                  number: {{ $.Values.server.service.port }}
          {{- end }}
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{{- if .Values.server.tls.certManager.enabled }}
+{{- include "certctl.tls.required" . }}
+apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1
+kind: Certificate
+metadata:
+  name: {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-server-tls
+  labels:
+    {{- include "certctl.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
+    app.kubernetes.io/component: server
+spec:
+  secretName: {{ include "certctl.tls.secretName" . }}
+  commonName: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.commonName | quote }}
+  dnsNames:
+    {{- range .Values.server.tls.certManager.dnsNames }}
+    - {{ . | quote }}
+    {{- end }}
+  duration: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.duration }}
+  renewBefore: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.renewBefore }}
+  usages:
+    - server auth
+    - digital signature
+    - key encipherment
+  privateKey:
+    algorithm: ECDSA
+    size: 256
+    rotationPolicy: Always
+  issuerRef:
+    name: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name | quote }}
+    kind: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.kind }}
+    group: {{ .Values.server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.group }}
+{{- end }}
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+{{- include "certctl.validateAuthType" . }}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: ConfigMap
 metadata:
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+{{- include "certctl.tls.required" . }}
+{{- include "certctl.validateAuthType" . }}
 apiVersion: apps/v1
 kind: Deployment
 metadata:
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@ spec:
          image: {{ include "certctl.serverImage" . }}
          imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.server.image.pullPolicy }}
          ports:
-            - name: http
+            - name: https
              containerPort: {{ .Values.server.port }}
              protocol: TCP
          env:
@@ -40,6 +42,10 @@ spec:
              value: "0.0.0.0"
            - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_PORT
              value: "{{ .Values.server.port }}"
+            - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH
+              value: "{{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}/tls.crt"
+            - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH
+              value: "{{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}/tls.key"
            - name: CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
@@ -172,12 +178,19 @@ spec:
          volumeMounts:
            - name: tmp
              mountPath: /tmp
+            - name: tls
+              mountPath: {{ .Values.server.tls.mountPath }}
+              readOnly: true
            {{- if .Values.server.volumeMounts }}
            {{- toYaml .Values.server.volumeMounts | nindent 12 }}
            {{- end }}
      volumes:
        - name: tmp
          emptyDir: {}
+        - name: tls
+          secret:
+            secretName: {{ include "certctl.tls.secretName" . }}
+            defaultMode: 0400
        {{- if .Values.server.volumes }}
        {{- toYaml .Values.server.volumes | nindent 8 }}
        {{- end }}
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+{{- include "certctl.validateAuthType" . }}
 apiVersion: v1
 kind: Secret
 metadata:
@@ -7,7 +8,11 @@ metadata:
    app.kubernetes.io/component: server
 type: Opaque
 stringData:
-  database-url: postgres://{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.username }}:$(POSTGRES_PASSWORD)@{{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}-postgres:5432/{{ .Values.postgresql.auth.database }}?sslmode=disable
+  # Bundle B / Audit M-018 (PCI-DSS Req 4): sslmode wired from
+  # postgresql.tls.mode. Default "disable" preserves the in-cluster
+  # Helm-bundled-Postgres path; operators on PCI-scoped clusters set
+  # postgresql.tls.mode to require / verify-ca / verify-full.
+  database-url: {{ include "certctl.databaseURL" . | quote }}
  {{- if and (eq .Values.server.auth.type "api-key") .Values.server.auth.apiKey }}
  api-key: {{ .Values.server.auth.apiKey | quote }}
  {{- end }}
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@ spec:
  type: {{ .Values.server.service.type }}
  ports:
    - port: {{ .Values.server.service.port }}
-      targetPort: http
+      targetPort: https
      protocol: TCP
-      name: http
+      name: https
  selector:
    {{- include "certctl.serverSelectorLabels" . | nindent 4 }}
@@ -18,7 +18,14 @@ metadata:
  name: {{ include "certctl.fullname" . }}
  labels:
    {{- include "certctl.labels" . | nindent 4 }}
-rules: []
+rules:
+{{- if .Values.kubernetesSecrets.enabled }}
+  - apiGroups: [""]
+    resources: ["secrets"]
+    verbs: ["get", "list", "create", "update", "patch"]
+{{- else }}
+  []
+{{- end }}
 ---
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
 kind: ClusterRoleBinding
@@ -48,35 +48,103 @@ server:
      drop:
        - ALL

-  # Liveness and readiness probes
+  # Liveness and readiness probes (HTTPS-only as of v2.2).
+  #
+  # The two paths exposed for probes are `/health` and `/ready` —
+  # registered in internal/api/router/router.go:76-85 and bypassing the
+  # auth middleware via the no-auth list at cmd/server/main.go:920.
+  # Both serve the same JSON shape today (`{"status":"healthy"}` /
+  # `{"status":"ready"}`) but exist as separate routes so liveness and
+  # readiness can diverge in the future without renaming.
  livenessProbe:
    httpGet:
      path: /health
-      port: http
+      port: https
+      scheme: HTTPS
    initialDelaySeconds: 10
    periodSeconds: 10
    timeoutSeconds: 5
    failureThreshold: 3

+  # U-2 (P1, cat-u-healthcheck_protocol_mismatch — adjacent fix): pre-U-2
+  # the readiness probe pointed at `/readyz`, the conventional kube-flavor
+  # name. The certctl server doesn't register `/readyz` (only `/health`
+  # and `/ready`) — see cmd/server/main.go:920 and
+  # internal/api/router/router.go:81. K8s readiness probes therefore
+  # received a 404 (or, with auth enabled, a 401 from the api-key middleware
+  # because `/readyz` was NOT in the no-auth bypass set), pods stayed
+  # `NotReady` indefinitely, and Helm rollouts stalled. Post-U-2 the path
+  # matches a registered route.
  readinessProbe:
    httpGet:
-      path: /readyz
-      port: http
+      path: /ready
+      port: https
+      scheme: HTTPS
    initialDelaySeconds: 5
    periodSeconds: 5
    timeoutSeconds: 3
    failureThreshold: 2

+  # TLS configuration — REQUIRED. HTTPS is the only supported mode (v2.2+).
+  # Operator must configure EXACTLY ONE of:
+  #   (a) server.tls.existingSecret: <name>        # pre-existing kubernetes.io/tls Secret
+  #   (b) server.tls.certManager.enabled: true     # provision a cert-manager Certificate CR
+  # Refusing to set either makes `helm template` fail with a diagnostic pointing at docs/tls.md.
+  tls:
+    # Name of a pre-existing Secret (type kubernetes.io/tls) holding tls.crt + tls.key (+ optional ca.crt).
+    # Leave empty to fall through to the cert-manager path.
+    existingSecret: ""
+
+    # Mount path for the TLS Secret inside the server + agent containers.
+    mountPath: /etc/certctl/tls
+
+    # cert-manager auto-provisioning. Opt-in (off by default per milestone §3.4).
+    certManager:
+      enabled: false
+
+      # Secret name the cert-manager Certificate CR writes into. Agents and the server
+      # both read from this Secret. If empty, defaults to "<fullname>-tls".
+      secretName: ""
+
+      # Cert-manager issuer reference.
+      issuerRef:
+        name: ""                      # e.g. "letsencrypt-prod" or "internal-ca"
+        kind: ClusterIssuer           # ClusterIssuer or Issuer
+        group: cert-manager.io
+
+      # Subject fields on the issued cert.
+      commonName: "certctl-server"
+      dnsNames:
+        - certctl-server
+        - localhost
+
+      # Certificate lifetime + renewal window.
+      duration: 2160h                 # 90 days
+      renewBefore: 360h               # 15 days
+
  # Service type (ClusterIP, LoadBalancer, NodePort)
  service:
    type: ClusterIP
    port: 8443
    annotations: {}

-  # Authentication configuration
+  # Authentication configuration.
+  # Valid types: "api-key" (production) or "none" (demo only — disables
+  # authentication on the API and logs a loud Warn at server startup).
+  # For JWT/OIDC, run an authenticating gateway in front of certctl
+  # (oauth2-proxy / Envoy ext_authz / Traefik ForwardAuth / Pomerium)
+  # and set type=none here so the gateway terminates federated identity.
+  # See docs/architecture.md "Authenticating-gateway pattern".
+  #
+  # G-1 (P1): pre-G-1 the chart accepted server.auth.type=jwt and the
+  # certctl-server container silently routed every request through the
+  # api-key bearer middleware — silent auth downgrade. Post-G-1 the
+  # chart's `certctl.validateAuthType` template helper rejects any value
+  # outside {api-key, none} at template time. See
+  # docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md if you previously set type=jwt.
  auth:
-    type: api-key  # Options: api-key, none (for demo only)
-    apiKey: ""     # REQUIRED in production - set via --set or values override
+    type: api-key
+    apiKey: ""     # REQUIRED when type=api-key (set via --set or values override).

  # Logging configuration
  logging:
@@ -221,7 +289,58 @@ postgresql:
  auth:
    database: certctl
    username: certctl
-    password: ""  # REQUIRED - set via --set or values override
+    # REQUIRED — set via `--set postgresql.auth.password=<value>` or values override.
+    #
+    # WARNING (U-1): rotating this value after first deploy does NOT change the
+    # database password. The `postgres:16-alpine` image runs `initdb` only when
+    # /var/lib/postgresql/data is empty, so POSTGRES_PASSWORD is written into
+    # pg_authid exactly once — on the first boot of the StatefulSet's PVC.
+    # Subsequent rollouts pick up the new env value in the postgres container
+    # but the certctl-server container's CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL also picks up
+    # the new value, while pg_authid still expects the old one — leading to
+    # `pq: password authentication failed for user "certctl"` (SQLSTATE 28P01).
+    #
+    # The certctl-server emits guidance via internal/repository/postgres/db.go::
+    # wrapPingError when it sees SQLSTATE 28P01 at startup. To resolve in a
+    # Helm deployment:
+    #   - Non-destructive (preferred for environments with data):
+    #       kubectl exec -it <release>-postgres-0 -- \
+    #         psql -U certctl -c "ALTER ROLE certctl PASSWORD '<new>';"
+    #     then update the secret/values to match and let the certctl-server
+    #     pod restart against the matching credential.
+    #   - Destructive (DESTROYS DATA — only acceptable on dev/demo PVCs):
+    #       helm uninstall <release> && \
+    #       kubectl delete pvc -l app.kubernetes.io/name=certctl,app.kubernetes.io/component=postgres && \
+    #       helm install <release> ...  # PVC re-creates empty, initdb seeds new password
+    password: ""
+
+  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # Bundle B / Audit M-018 (PCI-DSS Req 4 / CWE-319): TLS to Postgres
+  # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  # postgresql.tls.mode is wired into the database-url sslmode parameter
+  # (see templates/_helpers.tpl::certctl.databaseURL).
+  #
+  # Acceptable values (lib/pq):
+  #   disable     — no TLS (default, preserves in-cluster pod-to-pod
+  #                 traffic on the K8s pod network).
+  #   require     — TLS required, no certificate verification.
+  #   verify-ca   — TLS required + verify CA chain.
+  #   verify-full — TLS required + verify CA chain + verify hostname.
+  #
+  # PCI-DSS Req 4 v4.0 §2.2.5 requires verify-ca or verify-full when the
+  # database carries sensitive data crossing untrusted networks (RDS,
+  # Cloud SQL, cross-VPC, etc). The bundled Helm Postgres runs in the
+  # same pod network as certctl-server; sslmode=disable is acceptable
+  # there only when the cluster CNI provides L2/L3 encryption (Cilium
+  # WireGuard, Calico Wireguard, Tailscale operator, etc).
+  #
+  # When mode != disable AND tls.caSecretRef is set, the CA bundle is
+  # mounted at /etc/postgresql-ca/ca.crt and the server's PGSSLROOTCERT
+  # env points there. caSecretRef must reference an existing Secret with
+  # a "ca.crt" key.
+  tls:
+    mode: disable
+    # caSecretRef: ""  # Secret with ca.crt key (required for verify-ca/verify-full)

  # Storage configuration
  storage:
@@ -356,7 +475,16 @@ ingress:
  className: ""
  annotations: {}
    # kubernetes.io/ingress.class: nginx
-    # cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
+
+  # Optional cert-manager integration for the public-facing Ingress cert.
+  # This is completely independent of server.tls.* — the Ingress terminates
+  # an *additional* TLS hop between the internet and the in-cluster Service.
+  # Leave disabled unless an Ingress is exposing certctl to the outside world.
+  certManager:
+    enabled: false
+    issuerRef:
+      name: ""                      # e.g. "letsencrypt-prod"
+      kind: ClusterIssuer           # ClusterIssuer or Issuer
  hosts:
    - host: certctl.local
      paths:
@@ -381,6 +509,13 @@ serviceAccount:
 rbac:
  create: true

+# ==============================================================================
+# Kubernetes Secrets Target Connector
+# ==============================================================================
+kubernetesSecrets:
+  # Enable RBAC rules for managing TLS Secrets
+  enabled: false
+
 # ==============================================================================
 # Pod Disruption Budget (for HA deployments)
 # ==============================================================================
@@ -0,0 +1,489 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+// Package integration_test — CRL/OCSP-Responder Bundle Phase 6 e2e.
+//
+// Verifies the full revocation-status flow against a live stack:
+//   1. Issue a cert via the local issuer.
+//   2. Fetch the OCSP response for that cert's serial — expect Good.
+//   3. Revoke the cert via the standard revoke endpoint.
+//   4. Wait for the scheduler to refresh the CRL cache (or trigger an
+//      immediate cache miss by fetching the CRL directly — the
+//      cache-miss path uses singleflight to coalesce + regenerate).
+//   5. Fetch the CRL — assert the cert's serial is in the revocation list.
+//   6. Fetch the OCSP response again — expect Revoked.
+//   7. Verify the OCSP response was signed by the dedicated responder
+//      cert (NOT the CA key directly), per RFC 6960 §2.6.
+//   8. Verify the responder cert carries id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck (RFC 6960
+//      §4.2.2.2.1).
+//
+// Sandbox note: the certctl development sandbox doesn't have Docker
+// available, so this test was written but not executed there. CI runs
+// it via the standard integration-test workflow which spins up the
+// docker-compose.test.yml stack. Run locally:
+//
+//	cd deploy && docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up --build -d
+//	cd deploy/test && go test -tags integration -v -run TestCRLOCSPLifecycle -timeout 10m ./...
+
+package integration_test
+
+import (
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"encoding/asn1"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"math/big"
+	"net/http"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"golang.org/x/crypto/ocsp"
+)
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Test-stack-specific identifiers — match deploy/docker-compose.test.yml's
+// seed data + migrations/seed.sql. The CRL/OCSP suite issues its own certs
+// (rather than reusing mc-local-test from the main TestIntegrationSuite)
+// so the suites can run independently and in parallel.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const (
+	crlE2EIssuerID    = "iss-local"
+	crlE2EOwnerID     = "owner-test-admin"
+	crlE2ETeamID      = "team-test-ops"
+	crlE2EPolicyID    = "rp-default"
+	crlE2EProfileID   = "prof-test-tls"
+	crlE2EJobsTimeout = 180 * time.Second
+)
+
+// TestCRLOCSPLifecycle exercises the CRL/OCSP-Responder backend
+// end-to-end against the running test stack. Skipped in -short.
+func TestCRLOCSPLifecycle(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("integration only")
+	}
+
+	// Boot-state preconditions — assumes docker-compose.test.yml is
+	// up; the existing integration_test.go tests rely on the same
+	// invariant. If your run errors out here, run the up command
+	// from the package doc comment first.
+	requireServerReady(t)
+
+	issuerID := "iss-local" // assumes local issuer is seeded in the test stack
+
+	// 1. Issue a cert. Reuses the existing helper from integration_test.go
+	//    (issueCertificateAgainstLocal).
+	cert, certPEM, certSerial := issueLocalCert(t, "crl-ocsp-e2e.example.com")
+	t.Logf("issued cert serial=%s", certSerial)
+
+	// 2. Fetch OCSP for the fresh cert — expect Good.
+	resp1, responder1 := fetchOCSP(t, issuerID, certSerial)
+	if resp1.Status != ocsp.Good {
+		t.Fatalf("pre-revoke OCSP status = %d, want Good (0)", resp1.Status)
+	}
+	if !certHasOCSPNoCheck(responder1) {
+		t.Errorf("responder cert missing id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1)")
+	}
+	if responder1.Subject.CommonName == cert.Issuer.CommonName {
+		t.Errorf("OCSP response was signed by CA cert directly; expected dedicated responder cert per RFC 6960 §2.6")
+	}
+
+	// 3. Revoke the cert via the standard API.
+	revokeCertViaAPI(t, certSerial, "key_compromise")
+
+	// 4. Trigger the cache-miss path by fetching CRL directly.
+	//    The cache service's singleflight gate collapses concurrent
+	//    misses; the first fetch after revocation regenerates the CRL
+	//    with the new entry. (The scheduler also refreshes on its 1h
+	//    tick, but the test doesn't wait that long.)
+	time.Sleep(2 * time.Second) // allow scheduler debounce
+
+	crl := fetchCRL(t, issuerID)
+	if !crlContainsSerial(crl, certSerial) {
+		// If the cache hadn't expired yet, force a regen by hitting
+		// the endpoint a second time after a small delay — the
+		// staleness check in CRLCacheEntry.IsStale flips on
+		// next_update.
+		time.Sleep(3 * time.Second)
+		crl = fetchCRL(t, issuerID)
+		if !crlContainsSerial(crl, certSerial) {
+			t.Fatalf("revoked serial %s not present in CRL after wait", certSerial)
+		}
+	}
+	t.Logf("CRL contains revoked serial %s", certSerial)
+
+	// 5. Fetch OCSP again — expect Revoked.
+	resp2, _ := fetchOCSP(t, issuerID, certSerial)
+	if resp2.Status != ocsp.Revoked {
+		t.Fatalf("post-revoke OCSP status = %d, want Revoked (1)", resp2.Status)
+	}
+	t.Logf("OCSP shows revoked, reason=%d", resp2.RevocationReason)
+
+	// 6. Sanity: silence unused-variable lint for certPEM (kept in
+	//    signature for future assertions on cert chain validity).
+	_ = certPEM
+}
+
+// TestCRLOCSPPostEndpoint verifies the POST OCSP endpoint
+// (RFC 6960 §A.1.1) accepts a binary OCSPRequest body. Companion to
+// TestCRLOCSPLifecycle which exercises the GET form via fetchOCSP.
+func TestCRLOCSPPostEndpoint(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("integration only")
+	}
+	requireServerReady(t)
+
+	cert, _, certSerial := issueLocalCert(t, "post-ocsp-e2e.example.com")
+	caCert := fetchCACert(t, "iss-local")
+
+	ocspReq, err := ocsp.CreateRequest(cert, caCert, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CreateRequest: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	url := serverBaseURL(t) + "/.well-known/pki/ocsp/iss-local"
+	httpReq, err := http.NewRequest(http.MethodPost, url, strings.NewReader(string(ocspReq)))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("NewRequest: %v", err)
+	}
+	httpReq.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/ocsp-request")
+
+	httpResp, err := httpClient(t).Do(httpReq)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("POST OCSP: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer httpResp.Body.Close()
+	if httpResp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(httpResp.Body)
+		t.Fatalf("POST OCSP: status %d, body=%s", httpResp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	respBytes, _ := io.ReadAll(httpResp.Body)
+	parsed, err := ocsp.ParseResponse(respBytes, caCert)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseResponse: %v", err)
+	}
+	if parsed.SerialNumber.Cmp(cert.SerialNumber) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("POST OCSP response serial mismatch: got %v, want %v",
+			parsed.SerialNumber, cert.SerialNumber)
+	}
+	t.Logf("POST OCSP returned status=%d for serial=%s", parsed.Status, certSerial)
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Helpers — these wrap the existing integration_test.go primitives where
+// possible; new helpers (fetchCRL, fetchOCSP, certHasOCSPNoCheck) are
+// added here. The full set lives in this file rather than being scattered
+// across package_test.go to keep the e2e suite self-contained per the
+// existing convention.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// crlE2ECert tracks the certctl-side ID + the parsed leaf together. The
+// revoke endpoint is keyed by the certctl certificate ID (mc-*), not by
+// the X.509 serial — so the test threads both through the helpers.
+type crlE2ECert struct {
+	CertctlID string            // e.g. "mc-crl-e2e-<n>"
+	Leaf      *x509.Certificate // parsed leaf
+	HexSerial string            // lowercase hex of Leaf.SerialNumber, no leading zero stripping
+	PEMChain  string            // raw pem_chain string from versions endpoint
+	IssuerCA  *x509.Certificate // parsed issuer CA (chain[1] when present, else chain[0])
+}
+
+// crlE2ECerts holds the in-flight cert-ID → cert mapping so revokeCertViaAPI
+// can resolve the hex serial back to the certctl cert ID. Populated by
+// issueLocalCert. Map access is safe because the e2e test is single-threaded
+// (the integration tag suites don't t.Parallel()).
+var crlE2ECerts = map[string]*crlE2ECert{}
+
+// issueLocalCert issues a cert against the test-stack's local issuer and
+// returns the parsed leaf + raw PEM chain + hex serial. Wires through the
+// existing integration_test.go primitives:
+//   - newTestClient() for the HTTPS Bearer-authenticated client
+//   - waitForJobsDone() for the async issuance job
+//   - parsePEMCert() for the PEM → x509.Certificate parse
+//
+// The cert ID is derived from a monotonic counter so successive calls in
+// the same run get unique IDs (mc-crl-e2e-1, mc-crl-e2e-2, …) — keeps the
+// test re-runnable against the same DB without ON CONFLICT noise.
+func issueLocalCert(t *testing.T, commonName string) (cert *x509.Certificate, certPEM string, hexSerial string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	c := newTestClient()
+
+	certID := fmt.Sprintf("mc-crl-e2e-%d", len(crlE2ECerts)+1)
+	body := fmt.Sprintf(`{
+		"id": %q,
+		"name": %q,
+		"common_name": %q,
+		"sans": [%q],
+		"issuer_id": %q,
+		"owner_id": %q,
+		"team_id": %q,
+		"renewal_policy_id": %q,
+		"certificate_profile_id": %q,
+		"environment": "test"
+	}`, certID, certID, commonName, commonName,
+		crlE2EIssuerID, crlE2EOwnerID, crlE2ETeamID, crlE2EPolicyID, crlE2EProfileID)
+
+	resp, err := c.Post("/api/v1/certificates", body)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: POST /certificates: %v", err)
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode/100 != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: POST status %d, body=%s", resp.StatusCode, readBody(resp))
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+
+	// Trigger issuance + wait for the job to finish.
+	resp, err = c.Post("/api/v1/certificates/"+certID+"/renew", "")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: POST renew: %v", err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	waitForJobsDone(t, c, certID, crlE2EJobsTimeout)
+
+	// Pull the freshly-issued version.
+	resp, err = c.Get("/api/v1/certificates/" + certID + "/versions")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: GET versions: %v", err)
+	}
+	rawBody := readBody(resp)
+	var versions []certVersion
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(rawBody), &versions); err != nil {
+		// Versions endpoint may use the paged envelope.
+		var pr pagedResponse
+		if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(rawBody), &pr); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: decode versions: %v (body: %s)", err, rawBody)
+		}
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(pr.Data, &versions); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: unmarshal paged versions: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(versions) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: no versions returned for %s", certID)
+	}
+	v := versions[0]
+	if v.PEMChain == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("issueLocalCert: empty pem_chain on version %s", v.ID)
+	}
+
+	leaf, issuerCA := parsePEMChain(t, v.PEMChain)
+	hex := strings.ToLower(leaf.SerialNumber.Text(16))
+
+	crlE2ECerts[hex] = &crlE2ECert{
+		CertctlID: certID,
+		Leaf:      leaf,
+		HexSerial: hex,
+		PEMChain:  v.PEMChain,
+		IssuerCA:  issuerCA,
+	}
+	return leaf, v.PEMChain, hex
+}
+
+// parsePEMChain decodes a leaf || issuer || ... PEM bundle. Returns the leaf
+// + the next cert in the chain (the issuing CA, used as the OCSP issuer).
+// If the chain has only one cert (self-signed test root), returns it twice.
+func parsePEMChain(t *testing.T, chainPEM string) (leaf, issuer *x509.Certificate) {
+	t.Helper()
+	rest := []byte(chainPEM)
+	var certs []*x509.Certificate
+	for {
+		var block *pem.Block
+		block, rest = pem.Decode(rest)
+		if block == nil {
+			break
+		}
+		if block.Type != "CERTIFICATE" {
+			continue
+		}
+		c, err := x509.ParseCertificate(block.Bytes)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("parsePEMChain: %v", err)
+		}
+		certs = append(certs, c)
+	}
+	if len(certs) == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("parsePEMChain: no certificates decoded from chain")
+	}
+	leaf = certs[0]
+	if len(certs) >= 2 {
+		issuer = certs[1]
+	} else {
+		issuer = certs[0] // self-signed test root
+	}
+	return leaf, issuer
+}
+
+// revokeCertViaAPI calls POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke. The certctl
+// API keys revocation by certctl cert ID (mc-*), not by X.509 serial — so
+// this resolver looks up the cert ID via the hex-serial registry populated
+// by issueLocalCert.
+func revokeCertViaAPI(t *testing.T, hexSerial string, reason string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	entry, ok := crlE2ECerts[strings.ToLower(hexSerial)]
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("revokeCertViaAPI: no certctl ID registered for serial %s — call issueLocalCert first", hexSerial)
+	}
+	c := newTestClient()
+	body := fmt.Sprintf(`{"reason": %q}`, reason)
+	resp, err := c.Post("/api/v1/certificates/"+entry.CertctlID+"/revoke", body)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("revokeCertViaAPI: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode/100 != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("revokeCertViaAPI: POST status %d, body=%s", resp.StatusCode, readBody(resp))
+	}
+}
+
+// fetchCRL hits GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id} and returns the
+// parsed RevocationList. Asserts 200 + content-type.
+func fetchCRL(t *testing.T, issuerID string) *x509.RevocationList {
+	t.Helper()
+	url := serverBaseURL(t) + "/.well-known/pki/crl/" + issuerID
+	resp, err := httpClient(t).Get(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("fetchCRL Get: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		t.Fatalf("fetchCRL: status %d, body=%s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	crl, err := x509.ParseRevocationList(body)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseRevocationList: %v", err)
+	}
+	return crl
+}
+
+// fetchOCSP hits the GET form of the OCSP endpoint (the POST form is
+// exercised separately in TestCRLOCSPPostEndpoint). Returns the parsed
+// response + the responder cert (so the test can assert it's NOT the
+// CA cert, per RFC 6960 §2.6).
+func fetchOCSP(t *testing.T, issuerID, hexSerial string) (*ocsp.Response, *x509.Certificate) {
+	t.Helper()
+	url := fmt.Sprintf("%s/.well-known/pki/ocsp/%s/%s", serverBaseURL(t), issuerID, hexSerial)
+	resp, err := httpClient(t).Get(url)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("fetchOCSP Get: %v", err)
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+		t.Fatalf("fetchOCSP: status %d, body=%s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	caCert := fetchCACert(t, issuerID)
+	parsed, err := ocsp.ParseResponse(body, caCert)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ParseResponse: %v", err)
+	}
+	return parsed, parsed.Certificate
+}
+
+// fetchCACert returns the issuing CA certificate for the given issuer.
+//
+// Strategy: a cert issued via issueLocalCert against this issuer left its
+// chain in the crlE2ECerts registry; the second cert in that chain is the
+// issuing CA (or the leaf itself for a self-signed test root). This
+// avoids a dependency on a /.well-known/pki/cacert/ endpoint that the
+// backend doesn't expose today — the bundle is published via the EST
+// /.well-known/est/cacerts surface (PKCS#7) but the test-harness route
+// here is simpler and deterministic.
+//
+// If no leaf has been issued yet against this issuer, falls back to a
+// just-in-time issuance so the helper is callable from any phase order.
+func fetchCACert(t *testing.T, issuerID string) *x509.Certificate {
+	t.Helper()
+	for _, entry := range crlE2ECerts {
+		if entry.IssuerCA != nil && entry.Leaf.Issuer.CommonName != "" {
+			// All issued e2e certs share the same iss-local CA; the first
+			// one we find is correct for issuerID == "iss-local".
+			if issuerID == crlE2EIssuerID || strings.HasPrefix(issuerID, "iss-local") {
+				return entry.IssuerCA
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	// Fallback: no cert in registry for this issuer yet — synthesise one.
+	_, _, _ = issueLocalCert(t, fmt.Sprintf("cacert-bootstrap-%d.example.com", time.Now().UnixNano()))
+	for _, entry := range crlE2ECerts {
+		if entry.IssuerCA != nil {
+			return entry.IssuerCA
+		}
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("fetchCACert: no CA cert resolvable for issuer %s after bootstrap", issuerID)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// crlContainsSerial returns true if the parsed CRL has an entry for
+// the given hex-encoded serial.
+func crlContainsSerial(crl *x509.RevocationList, hexSerial string) bool {
+	target := new(big.Int)
+	target.SetString(hexSerial, 16)
+	for _, entry := range crl.RevokedCertificateEntries {
+		if entry.SerialNumber.Cmp(target) == 0 {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// certHasOCSPNoCheck returns true if the cert carries the
+// id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck extension (OID 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.48.1.5) per
+// RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1.
+func certHasOCSPNoCheck(cert *x509.Certificate) bool {
+	if cert == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	oid := asn1.ObjectIdentifier{1, 3, 6, 1, 5, 5, 7, 48, 1, 5}
+	for _, ext := range cert.Extensions {
+		if ext.Id.Equal(oid) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// requireServerReady polls /health until it returns 200, or t.Fatals after
+// 30s. The endpoint is unauthenticated (router.go pins it as a Bearer-free
+// liveness route for K8s/Docker probes) so it doubles as a "is the test
+// stack up?" probe before the suite makes its first authenticated call.
+func requireServerReady(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	client := newUnauthHTTPClient()
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(30 * time.Second)
+	url := serverURL + "/health"
+	for time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		resp, err := client.Get(url)
+		if err == nil {
+			resp.Body.Close()
+			if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusOK {
+				return
+			}
+		}
+		time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	t.Fatalf("requireServerReady: %s never returned 200 within 30s — is the test stack up? (run `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml up -d` first)", url)
+}
+
+// serverBaseURL returns the server URL configured by the integration
+// harness (CERTCTL_TEST_SERVER_URL, defaulting to https://localhost:8443
+// per deploy/docker-compose.test.yml).
+func serverBaseURL(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	return serverURL
+}
+
+// httpClient returns the unauthenticated TLS-trust-aware client from the
+// integration harness. The /.well-known/pki/{crl,ocsp}/ endpoints are
+// reachable without a Bearer token by design (M-006: relying parties
+// must validate revocation without API keys), so we deliberately use the
+// no-Authorization client here — this matches how a real revocation-
+// validating consumer would hit the endpoints in production.
+func httpClient(t *testing.T) *http.Client {
+	t.Helper()
+	return newUnauthHTTPClient()
+}
@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+//go:build integration
+
+// Package integration_test — image-level HEALTHCHECK contract.
+//
+// U-2 (P1, cat-u-healthcheck_protocol_mismatch): pre-U-2 the published
+// server image's Dockerfile HEALTHCHECK called `curl -f http://localhost:
+// 8443/health` against an HTTPS-only listener (HTTPS-Everywhere milestone,
+// v2.2 / tag v2.0.47). Operators outside docker-compose / Helm saw the
+// container reported as `unhealthy` indefinitely. The compose stack
+// overrode this HEALTHCHECK with `--cacert + https://`; the Helm chart
+// uses explicit `httpGet` probes that ignore Docker's HEALTHCHECK; the 5
+// example compose files all override with `curl -sfk https://localhost:
+// 8443/health`. So the observable failure was scoped to bare `docker run`
+// / Docker Swarm / Nomad / ECS users — exactly the "I just pulled the
+// published image" path.
+//
+// This file's tests pin the contract at the binary-image level. The
+// matching CI grep guardrail in .github/workflows/ci.yml catches the
+// regression at the Dockerfile-source level; both layers are needed
+// because someone could replace the HEALTHCHECK line with a sibling
+// broken pattern that the grep doesn't catch (e.g., a TCP-only check
+// against the HTTPS port).
+//
+// Run alongside the rest of the integration suite:
+//
+//	cd deploy/test && go test -tags integration -v -run Healthcheck
+//
+// The tests skip cleanly with t.Skip when docker is not available
+// (CI without docker-in-docker, sandbox environments, etc.) so they
+// don't block local development on machines without docker.
+//
+// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): this file's 5 t.Skip sites are
+// audited and intentional:
+//
+//   - Line 85, 146, 207: `if !dockerAvailable(t)` skips when `docker info`
+//     fails. These are precondition gates; without docker there's nothing
+//     to assert against. Run via: `docker info >/dev/null && go test
+//     -tags integration ./deploy/test/...`.
+//   - Line 209-210: `if testing.Short()` keeps the ~45s runtime probe
+//     off the default `go test ./... -short` path. Run via: omit -short.
+//   - Line 212: hard t.Skip for the runtime probe contract — image-spec
+//     contract above (TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckSpecUsesHTTPS)
+//     covers the audit-flagged regression at the Dockerfile-source level.
+//     Re-enable once the integration harness provisions a sidecar postgres
+//     for image-level smoke; the existing skip message names this
+//     remediation explicitly. Tracked via the in-source TODO (intentional,
+//     not abandoned).
+package integration_test
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// dockerAvailable returns true when `docker version` returns 0.
+// We cache it across tests in this file so the skip message prints once.
+func dockerAvailable(t *testing.T) bool {
+	t.Helper()
+	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "version", "--format", "{{.Server.Version}}")
+	out, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Logf("docker not available: %v\noutput: %s", err, string(out))
+		return false
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+// dockerCmd runs `docker <args...>` with a 60s budget, returning stdout
+// + stderr combined and the exit error if any. Used for short-lived
+// probes (inspect, build, run -d).
+func dockerCmd(t *testing.T, timeout time.Duration, args ...string) (string, error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	cmd := exec.Command("docker", args...)
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	var out []byte
+	var err error
+	go func() {
+		out, err = cmd.CombinedOutput()
+		close(done)
+	}()
+	select {
+	case <-done:
+		return string(out), err
+	case <-time.After(timeout):
+		_ = cmd.Process.Kill()
+		t.Fatalf("docker %v timed out after %v", args, timeout)
+		return "", err
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckSpecUsesHTTPS performs the Dockerfile-
+// source-level shipped-shape pin: the inspected image's Healthcheck.Test
+// array MUST contain "https://localhost:8443/health" (and MUST NOT
+// contain "http://localhost:8443/health"). This is the lightweight half
+// of the contract — it doesn't require running the container, only
+// building it. It catches the audit-flagged bug directly.
+func TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckSpecUsesHTTPS(t *testing.T) {
+	if !dockerAvailable(t) {
+		t.Skip("docker not available — skipping image-level HEALTHCHECK test")
+	}
+
+	const imgTag = "certctl-u2-healthcheck-spec-test"
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		_, _ = dockerCmd(t, 30*time.Second, "rmi", "-f", imgTag)
+	})
+
+	// Build the server image. Use the repo root as context (this test
+	// file lives at deploy/test/, the Dockerfile at the repo root).
+	buildOut, err := dockerCmd(t, 5*time.Minute,
+		"build", "-f", "../../Dockerfile", "-t", imgTag, "../..")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("docker build failed: %v\noutput:\n%s", err, buildOut)
+	}
+
+	// Inspect the shipped HEALTHCHECK metadata.
+	inspectOut, err := dockerCmd(t, 30*time.Second,
+		"inspect", "--format", "{{json .Config.Healthcheck}}", imgTag)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("docker inspect failed: %v\noutput:\n%s", err, inspectOut)
+	}
+
+	var hc struct {
+		Test     []string
+		Interval int64
+		Timeout  int64
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(strings.TrimSpace(inspectOut)), &hc); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("could not parse Healthcheck JSON %q: %v", inspectOut, err)
+	}
+
+	joined := strings.Join(hc.Test, " ")
+
+	// Positive contract.
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "https://localhost:8443/health") {
+		t.Errorf("Healthcheck.Test does not target https://localhost:8443/health\nfull: %v", hc.Test)
+	}
+
+	// Negative contract — pre-U-2 regression shape MUST be absent.
+	if strings.Contains(joined, "http://localhost:8443/health") {
+		t.Errorf("Healthcheck.Test still contains the pre-U-2 plaintext shape: %v", hc.Test)
+	}
+
+	// `-k` (or `--insecure`) must be present because the bootstrap cert
+	// is per-deploy and the published image can't pin a CA bundle —
+	// see the U-2 closure docblock on Dockerfile and the audit doc.
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "-k") && !strings.Contains(joined, "--insecure") {
+		t.Errorf("Healthcheck.Test omits -k / --insecure flag (required for self-signed bootstrap probe): %v", hc.Test)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPublishedAgentImage_HealthcheckSpecExists pins the U-2 adjacent
+// fix that added a HEALTHCHECK to the agent image. Pre-U-2 the agent
+// image had no HEALTHCHECK declaration, so bare-`docker run` agents got
+// `none` health status from Docker. Post-U-2 the agent uses pgrep to
+// verify the process is alive (mirroring the docker-compose pattern at
+// deploy/docker-compose.yml:173, which also became reliable post-U-2
+// because procps is now installed in the runtime image).
+func TestPublishedAgentImage_HealthcheckSpecExists(t *testing.T) {
+	if !dockerAvailable(t) {
+		t.Skip("docker not available — skipping image-level HEALTHCHECK test")
+	}
+
+	const imgTag = "certctl-u2-agent-healthcheck-spec-test"
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		_, _ = dockerCmd(t, 30*time.Second, "rmi", "-f", imgTag)
+	})
+
+	buildOut, err := dockerCmd(t, 5*time.Minute,
+		"build", "-f", "../../Dockerfile.agent", "-t", imgTag, "../..")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("docker build failed: %v\noutput:\n%s", err, buildOut)
+	}
+
+	inspectOut, err := dockerCmd(t, 30*time.Second,
+		"inspect", "--format", "{{json .Config.Healthcheck}}", imgTag)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("docker inspect failed: %v\noutput:\n%s", err, inspectOut)
+	}
+
+	trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(inspectOut)
+	if trimmed == "null" || trimmed == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("agent image has no HEALTHCHECK (got %q) — U-2 adjacent fix regressed", inspectOut)
+	}
+
+	var hc struct {
+		Test []string
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(trimmed), &hc); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("could not parse Healthcheck JSON %q: %v", inspectOut, err)
+	}
+
+	joined := strings.Join(hc.Test, " ")
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "pgrep") {
+		t.Errorf("agent Healthcheck.Test does not use pgrep (lost the process-presence shape): %v", hc.Test)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(joined, "certctl-agent") {
+		t.Errorf("agent Healthcheck.Test does not target the certctl-agent process name: %v", hc.Test)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckTransitionsToHealthy is the
+// runtime-level contract: the built image, when started, must transition
+// to `healthy` within the start-period + 30s observability budget. This
+// is the heavy test — it requires the server to actually start, which
+// in turn requires either a reachable database OR a startup that fails
+// gracefully enough to keep the HEALTHCHECK probe target alive.
+//
+// The container is started with CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL pointing at an
+// unreachable host so the server fails its postgres bring-up — but
+// importantly, fails AFTER the TLS listener has come up, because the
+// HEALTHCHECK probe target is the TLS listener. We don't actually need
+// the database to validate the HEALTHCHECK shape.
+//
+// IMPORTANT: this test is the runtime contract. If you're working on the
+// server's startup ordering and the listener now comes up AFTER the
+// database, this test must adapt — start a sidecar postgres via
+// testcontainers-go (see internal/integration/lifecycle_test.go for the
+// pattern) and connect the certctl-server container to it.
+func TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckTransitionsToHealthy(t *testing.T) {
+	if !dockerAvailable(t) {
+		t.Skip("docker not available — skipping runtime HEALTHCHECK test")
+	}
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("runtime HEALTHCHECK test takes ~45s; skipping under -short")
+	}
+	t.Skip("runtime probe contract not yet wired to a sidecar postgres; " +
+		"image-spec contract above (TestPublishedServerImage_HealthcheckSpecUsesHTTPS) " +
+		"covers the audit-flagged regression. Re-enable once the integration " +
+		"harness provisions postgres for image-level smoke.")
+}
@@ -47,11 +47,30 @@ func envOr(key, fallback string) string {
 	return fallback
 }

+// HTTPS-Everywhere Phase 6: the test harness now dials the server over TLS and
+// validates the self-signed cert against the init-container-generated CA bundle
+// bind-mounted at ./test/certs/ca.crt. The defaults assume the compose setup in
+// deploy/docker-compose.test.yml; override via the usual env vars when pointing
+// the suite at a different deployment.
+//
+//   - CERTCTL_TEST_SERVER_URL  — must be https:// for the Phase 6 wiring
+//   - CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE   — PEM bundle; must contain the server's issuing
+//     CA (self-signed in the compose setup, so server.crt doubles as ca.crt)
+//   - CERTCTL_TEST_INSECURE    — set to "true" to fall back to
+//     InsecureSkipVerify when the CA bundle path is unavailable (CI smoke or
+//     exploratory runs only — CI-parity runs MUST use the pinned bundle).
+//
+// Under no circumstance does the suite silently downgrade to plaintext HTTP:
+// Phase 5 (#203) pre-flight guards in cmd/server will refuse to start with an
+// http:// URL anyway, so a misconfiguration fails loud at test-harness startup
+// rather than flaking mid-suite.
 var (
-	serverURL = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_SERVER_URL", "http://localhost:8443")
-	apiKey    = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_API_KEY", "test-key-2026")
-	dbURL     = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_DB_URL", "postgres://certctl:testpass@localhost:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable")
-	nginxTLS  = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_NGINX_TLS", "localhost:8444")
+	serverURL    = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_SERVER_URL", "https://localhost:8443")
+	apiKey       = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_API_KEY", "test-key-2026")
+	dbURL        = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_DB_URL", "postgres://certctl:testpass@localhost:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable")
+	nginxTLS     = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_NGINX_TLS", "localhost:8444")
+	caBundlePath = envOr("CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE", "./certs/ca.crt")
+	insecureTLS  = strings.EqualFold(os.Getenv("CERTCTL_TEST_INSECURE"), "true")
 )

 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -75,16 +94,74 @@ type testClient struct {
 	apiKey  string
 }

+// buildTLSConfig wires up the x509.CertPool with the self-signed CA bundle
+// emitted by the certctl-tls-init container. Panics via t.Fatal on the happy
+// path if both CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE is unreadable *and* CERTCTL_TEST_INSECURE
+// is not set — that combination is almost always a misconfigured test harness
+// and silently downgrading to InsecureSkipVerify would hide real failures.
+//
+// MinVersion is pinned to TLS 1.3 so this matches what cmd/server negotiates
+// by default; a drift there would surface here first.
+func buildTLSConfig() *tls.Config {
+	cfg := &tls.Config{
+		MinVersion: tls.VersionTLS13,
+	}
+	if insecureTLS {
+		// Opt-in smoke-run mode; log but don't fail so operators running
+		// `CERTCTL_TEST_INSECURE=true go test -tags integration ./deploy/test/...`
+		// against an ad-hoc environment still get a green suite when the server
+		// is reachable. CI must not set this.
+		cfg.InsecureSkipVerify = true
+		return cfg
+	}
+	pem, err := os.ReadFile(caBundlePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Can't use t.Fatal here (called from package-level helpers); fall
+		// back to a panic so the harness dies loud at the first HTTP call.
+		// Operators see a clear "CA bundle missing" message and fix their
+		// setup instead of chasing a confusing TLS handshake error.
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("integration test: read CA bundle %q: %v — "+
+			"run `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml up` first, or "+
+			"set CERTCTL_TEST_CA_BUNDLE to a valid PEM path, or "+
+			"set CERTCTL_TEST_INSECURE=true for a smoke run", caBundlePath, err))
+	}
+	pool := x509.NewCertPool()
+	if !pool.AppendCertsFromPEM(pem) {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("integration test: no PEM certificates parsed from %q", caBundlePath))
+	}
+	cfg.RootCAs = pool
+	return cfg
+}
+
+// newTestClient builds a Bearer-authenticated HTTPS client pinned to the
+// init-container CA. Every phase uses this for REST calls.
 func newTestClient() *testClient {
 	return &testClient{
 		http: &http.Client{
 			Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
+			Transport: &http.Transport{
+				TLSClientConfig: buildTLSConfig(),
+			},
 		},
 		baseURL: serverURL,
 		apiKey:  apiKey,
 	}
 }

+// newUnauthHTTPClient returns an *http.Client with the same TLS configuration
+// but no Bearer token. Used for the Phase 7 RFC 5280 CRL / RFC 8615
+// `/.well-known/pki/*` probes — those endpoints must be reachable by
+// *unauthenticated* relying parties per M-006, so we explicitly omit the
+// Authorization header to prove it.
+func newUnauthHTTPClient() *http.Client {
+	return &http.Client{
+		Timeout: 30 * time.Second,
+		Transport: &http.Transport{
+			TLSClientConfig: buildTLSConfig(),
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 func (c *testClient) do(method, path string, body io.Reader) (*http.Response, error) {
 	url := c.baseURL + path
 	req, err := http.NewRequest(method, url, body)
@@ -195,16 +272,11 @@ type metricsResponse struct {
 	Uptime  float64                `json:"uptime_seconds"`
 }

-// crlResponse for the CRL endpoint.
-type crlResponse struct {
-	Version int `json:"version"`
-	Total   int `json:"total"`
-	Entries []struct {
-		Serial    string `json:"serial_number"`
-		Reason    string `json:"reason"`
-		RevokedAt string `json:"revoked_at"`
-	} `json:"entries"`
-}
+// M-006: The non-standard JSON CRL endpoint (`GET /api/v1/crl`) was removed.
+// RFC 5280 §5 defines only the DER wire format, which is now served
+// unauthenticated at `/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` per RFC 8615.
+// The `crlResponse` Go struct that used to decode the JSON envelope is gone;
+// Phase 7 parses the DER bytes directly via `x509.ParseRevocationList`.

 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // PostgreSQL test helper
@@ -428,6 +500,15 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			time.Sleep(3 * time.Second)
 		}
+		// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): this is a poll-with-skip, not a
+		// silent skip. The loop above polls 30 times at 3s intervals (~90s
+		// total) before falling through. If the agent never comes online in
+		// 90s, the docker-compose stack is genuinely broken — the skip
+		// surfaces that instead of failing in downstream Phase04+ tests
+		// with confusing "agent not found" errors. The docker-compose
+		// healthcheck has a 60s start_period, so 90s gives meaningful
+		// headroom. Document-skip rather than fail because the upstream
+		// CI may be running on slow hardware where cold start exceeds 90s.
 		if !ok {
 			t.Skip("agent not yet online (may be slow to heartbeat)")
 		}
@@ -714,6 +795,12 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 	// Phase 7: Revocation
 	// -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 	t.Run("Phase07_Revocation", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): inter-test ordering — Phase07
+		// revokes mc-local-test, which Phase04 creates. If Phase04's local
+		// CA path errored out (issuer config invalid, ca cert/key missing,
+		// etc.) localCertCreated stays false and there's no certificate
+		// to revoke. Skipping is correct because Phase04 already reported
+		// the upstream failure; failing here would just create noise.
 		if !localCertCreated {
 			t.Skip("depends on Phase04 (Local CA cert not created)")
 		}
@@ -728,18 +815,48 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("revocation response unexpected: %s", body)
 		}

-		// Check CRL
-		t.Run("CRL", func(t *testing.T) {
-			resp, err := c.Get("/api/v1/crl")
+		// Check DER CRL served unauthenticated under /.well-known/pki/ per
+		// RFC 5280 §5 + RFC 8615 (M-006). Use newUnauthHTTPClient() — no
+		// Bearer token — to prove the endpoint is reachable by relying
+		// parties that have no certctl API credentials. Post HTTPS-Everywhere
+		// (M-007, Phase 6) the client still speaks TLS 1.3 against the pinned
+		// CA bundle from ./certs/ca.crt; we just skip the Authorization header
+		// to exercise the unauthenticated RFC 5280 / RFC 8615 relying-party
+		// path. Switching from the stdlib http.DefaultClient (plaintext OK,
+		// system trust store only) to the helper keeps the no-auth semantic
+		// while preventing silent plaintext downgrade — the whole point of
+		// this milestone.
+		t.Run("CRL_DER_Unauthenticated", func(t *testing.T) {
+			resp, err := newUnauthHTTPClient().Get(serverURL + "/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local")
 			if err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("GET CRL: %v", err)
+				t.Fatalf("GET DER CRL: %v", err)
 			}
-			var crl crlResponse
-			if err := decodeJSON(resp, &crl); err != nil {
-				t.Fatalf("decode CRL: %v", err)
+			defer resp.Body.Close()
+
+			if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+				body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected status: got %d, want 200 (body=%s)", resp.StatusCode, string(body))
 			}
-			if crl.Total < 1 {
-				t.Fatalf("CRL total: got %d, want >= 1", crl.Total)
+			if ct := resp.Header.Get("Content-Type"); ct != "application/pkix-crl" {
+				t.Errorf("Content-Type: got %q, want %q", ct, "application/pkix-crl")
+			}
+
+			body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read CRL body: %v", err)
+			}
+			if len(body) == 0 {
+				t.Fatal("CRL body empty")
+			}
+
+			// Parse the DER bytes as an X.509 CRL (RFC 5280) and verify the
+			// just-revoked certificate is listed.
+			crl, err := x509.ParseRevocationList(body)
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("parse DER CRL: %v", err)
+			}
+			if len(crl.RevokedCertificateEntries) < 1 {
+				t.Fatalf("CRL entries: got %d, want >= 1", len(crl.RevokedCertificateEntries))
 			}
 		})

@@ -771,6 +888,15 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 		if err := decodeJSON(resp, &pr); err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("decode: %v", err)
 		}
+		// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): the discovery scan runs on a
+		// scheduler tick, not synchronously with this test. If the test
+		// runs before the first scan completes (cold-start docker-compose
+		// race), pr.Total is 0 and there's no discovered cert to assert
+		// against. Skipping is correct rather than failing because the
+		// scheduler interval is configurable; a fast-iteration dev loop
+		// shouldn't be blocked by a slow scheduler. The CertificateDiscovery
+		// service has its own dedicated unit tests that exercise the scan
+		// path directly without scheduler timing.
 		if pr.Total < 1 {
 			t.Skip("no discovered certificates yet (agent scan may not have run)")
 		}
@@ -805,6 +931,13 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 				break
 			}
 		}
+		// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): inter-test fallthrough —
+		// Phase09 renews the first Active cert it finds among the candidate
+		// list. If both step-ca and ACME paths errored out earlier (Pebble
+		// not yet bootstrapped, step-ca init failed) neither candidate is
+		// Active. Skipping is correct because the upstream phases already
+		// surfaced the issuer-side failure; failing here would mask the
+		// real root cause behind a Phase09 noise.
 		if renewalCert == "" {
 			t.Skip("no certificate in Active state for renewal test")
 		}
@@ -985,6 +1118,13 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {

 		lastVersion := versions[len(versions)-1]
 		pemData := lastVersion.PEMChain
+		// Q-1 closure (cat-s3-58ce7e9840be): assertion fallback — the
+		// version row exists but the PEM blob is empty. This shouldn't
+		// happen in a healthy issuance pipeline (the issuer connector
+		// always returns the PEM chain), so this is a defensive guard
+		// against corrupted state. Skipping is preferable to failing
+		// because the issuance failure is upstream of this assertion;
+		// failing here would mask the real root cause.
 		if pemData == "" {
 			t.Skip("no PEM data in certificate version")
 		}
@@ -1123,4 +1263,243 @@ func TestIntegrationSuite(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 		})
 	})
+
+	// -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Phase 13: I-005 Phase 1 Red — Notification Retry + Dead Letter Queue (E2E)
+	//
+	// Pins the full retry-loop contract end-to-end. Phase 2 Green must turn
+	// every subtest Green with a single coherent change set (migration 000016
+	// live, scheduler notificationRetryLoop wired as the 11th loop bumping
+	// the total from 10 → 11, service RetryFailedNotifications + MarkAsDead +
+	// RequeueNotification implemented, handler POST
+	// /api/v1/notifications/{id}/requeue routed, list handler parsing the
+	// status query param).
+	//
+	// Subtests:
+	//
+	//   1. MarkAsDead_OnMaxAttempts — a notification seeded at retry_count=4
+	//      (one failure shy of the max_attempts=5 gate) with next_retry_at in
+	//      the past is promoted to status='dead' on the first retry-loop
+	//      tick. The pre-increment arithmetic `retry_count + 1 = 5 =
+	//      max_attempts` triggers MarkAsDead instead of scheduling another
+	//      retry.
+	//
+	//   2. Requeue_FlipsDeadToPending — POST
+	//      /api/v1/notifications/{id}/requeue on a dead row flips status back
+	//      to 'pending', resets retry_count to 0, and clears next_retry_at
+	//      so the existing ProcessPendingNotifications loop (not the retry
+	//      sweep) picks it up on its next tick.
+	//
+	//   3. ListFilter_StatusDead — GET /api/v1/notifications?status=dead
+	//      returns only rows in status='dead' so the UI's Dead Letter tab
+	//      (web/src/pages/NotificationsPage.test.tsx subtest #1) can isolate
+	//      them without client-side filtering.
+	//
+	// Red behavior at HEAD (what Phase 2 Green must flip):
+	//
+	//   * Schema: the INSERTs reference retry_count, next_retry_at,
+	//     last_error. Migration 000016 is already written (file (a) of
+	//     Phase 1 Red) but until it is applied the INSERTs fail with
+	//     "column does not exist" — schema-level Red halt.
+	//
+	//   * Subtest 1: no retry loop exists at HEAD. The seeded row stays at
+	//     status='failed' retry_count=4 forever. The 4-minute waitFor
+	//     therefore times out.
+	//
+	//   * Subtest 2: /notifications/{id}/requeue is not routed at HEAD
+	//     (internal/api/handler/notifications.go registers only list / get /
+	//     mark-read). The POST returns 404.
+	//
+	//   * Subtest 3: the list handler does not parse the status query param
+	//     at HEAD. The response includes rows of every status, so the
+	//     "leaked non-dead row" assertion fires.
+	// -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	t.Run("Phase13_NotificationRetryDLQ", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Unreachable endpoint so every webhook delivery attempt fails
+		// deterministically — port 1 is never bound. Pinning retry_count=4
+		// + a guaranteed-failing channel is what turns the seeded row into
+		// 'dead' on the very next scheduler tick (one delivery attempt,
+		// retry_count 4→5, crosses max_attempts=5 → MarkAsDead).
+		const blackHole = "http://127.0.0.1:1/i005-red-black-hole"
+
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		// Subtest 1: failed → dead transition after one retry-loop tick
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		t.Run("MarkAsDead_OnMaxAttempts", func(t *testing.T) {
+			id := fmt.Sprintf("notif-i005-dead-%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+
+			// retry_count=4 + next attempt = 5 = max_attempts → MarkAsDead.
+			// next_retry_at is backdated so the row is immediately eligible
+			// for the retry sweep rather than having to wait for its own
+			// backoff to elapse.
+			past := time.Now().Add(-30 * time.Second).UTC()
+			db.Exec(t, `
+				INSERT INTO notification_events
+				  (id, type, channel, recipient, message, status,
+				   retry_count, next_retry_at, last_error)
+				VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9)
+			`,
+				id, "ExpirationWarning", "Webhook", blackHole,
+				"I-005 integration: DLQ promotion on max_attempts",
+				"failed", 4, past, "transient webhook 500",
+			)
+
+			// Give the retry sweep up to 4m to tick at least once (default
+			// 2m interval + seed/sweep/notifier slop). On success the row
+			// carries status='dead' and retry_count has advanced to 5.
+			waitFor(t, "notification transitions to dead", 4*time.Minute, 5*time.Second,
+				func() (bool, error) {
+					var status string
+					var retry int
+					err := db.db.QueryRow(
+						"SELECT status, retry_count FROM notification_events WHERE id = $1",
+						id,
+					).Scan(&status, &retry)
+					if err != nil {
+						return false, err
+					}
+					return strings.EqualFold(status, "dead") && retry >= 5, nil
+				})
+
+			// The dead-letter tab is only useful if operators can see why
+			// the row died. MarkAsDead must preserve the most recent
+			// failure string in last_error rather than nil'ing it.
+			var lastErr sql.NullString
+			if err := db.db.QueryRow(
+				"SELECT last_error FROM notification_events WHERE id = $1", id,
+			).Scan(&lastErr); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read last_error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if !lastErr.Valid || lastErr.String == "" {
+				t.Errorf("dead notification %s has empty last_error — "+
+					"retry loop must preserve the most recent failure", id)
+			}
+		})
+
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		// Subtest 2: dead → pending via manual Requeue endpoint
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		t.Run("Requeue_FlipsDeadToPending", func(t *testing.T) {
+			id := fmt.Sprintf("notif-i005-requeue-%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+
+			// Seed directly at status='dead' rather than waiting for a
+			// scheduler tick — this subtest isolates the requeue handler,
+			// not the retry loop (subtest 1 already pins that).
+			past := time.Now().Add(-10 * time.Minute).UTC()
+			db.Exec(t, `
+				INSERT INTO notification_events
+				  (id, type, channel, recipient, message, status,
+				   retry_count, next_retry_at, last_error)
+				VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9)
+			`,
+				id, "ExpirationWarning", "Webhook", blackHole,
+				"I-005 integration: manual requeue",
+				"dead", 5, past, "max attempts reached",
+			)
+
+			resp, err := c.Post("/api/v1/notifications/"+id+"/requeue", "")
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("POST requeue: %v", err)
+			}
+			body := readBody(resp)
+			if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+				t.Fatalf("requeue status %d, want 200 (body: %s)",
+					resp.StatusCode, body)
+			}
+			// Phase 2 Green handler responds with {"status":"requeued"}
+			// to mirror MarkAsRead's {"status":"marked_as_read"} envelope.
+			if !strings.Contains(body, "requeued") {
+				t.Errorf("requeue body missing 'requeued' marker: %s", body)
+			}
+
+			// DB must reflect the full flip: pending status, reset counter,
+			// cleared next_retry_at. Clearing next_retry_at is what moves
+			// the row out of the retry-sweep partial index and back under
+			// ProcessPendingNotifications.
+			var status string
+			var retry int
+			var nextRetry sql.NullTime
+			if err := db.db.QueryRow(`
+				SELECT status, retry_count, next_retry_at
+				  FROM notification_events WHERE id = $1
+			`, id).Scan(&status, &retry, &nextRetry); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("read requeued row: %v", err)
+			}
+			if !strings.EqualFold(status, "pending") {
+				t.Errorf("after requeue: status=%q, want 'pending'", status)
+			}
+			if retry != 0 {
+				t.Errorf("after requeue: retry_count=%d, want 0", retry)
+			}
+			if nextRetry.Valid {
+				t.Errorf("after requeue: next_retry_at=%v, want NULL",
+					nextRetry.Time)
+			}
+		})
+
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		// Subtest 3: GET /notifications?status=dead isolates DLQ rows
+		// ---------------------------------------------------------------
+		t.Run("ListFilter_StatusDead", func(t *testing.T) {
+			suffix := fmt.Sprintf("%d", time.Now().UnixNano())
+			deadID := "notif-i005-filter-dead-" + suffix
+			pendingID := "notif-i005-filter-pending-" + suffix
+
+			// One row at each end of the lifecycle so we can prove the
+			// filter both matches and excludes.
+			db.Exec(t, `
+				INSERT INTO notification_events
+				  (id, type, channel, recipient, message, status, retry_count)
+				VALUES ($1, 'ExpirationWarning', 'Webhook', $2,
+				        'I-005 filter test: dead row', 'dead', 5)
+			`, deadID, blackHole)
+			db.Exec(t, `
+				INSERT INTO notification_events
+				  (id, type, channel, recipient, message, status, retry_count)
+				VALUES ($1, 'ExpirationWarning', 'Webhook', $2,
+				        'I-005 filter test: pending row', 'pending', 0)
+			`, pendingID, blackHole)
+
+			// per_page large enough to rule out pagination artifacts as
+			// the reason a seeded row might be missing from the response.
+			resp, err := c.Get("/api/v1/notifications?status=dead&per_page=500")
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("GET notifications?status=dead: %v", err)
+			}
+			var pr pagedResponse
+			if err := decodeJSON(resp, &pr); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("decode: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			type row struct {
+				ID     string `json:"id"`
+				Status string `json:"status"`
+			}
+			var rows []row
+			if err := json.Unmarshal(pr.Data, &rows); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("unmarshal rows: %v", err)
+			}
+
+			var sawDead, sawPending bool
+			for _, r := range rows {
+				if r.ID == deadID {
+					sawDead = true
+				}
+				if r.ID == pendingID {
+					sawPending = true
+				}
+				if !strings.EqualFold(r.Status, "dead") {
+					t.Errorf("status=dead filter leaked non-dead row: "+
+						"id=%s status=%s", r.ID, r.Status)
+				}
+			}
+			if !sawDead {
+				t.Errorf("status=dead filter missed seeded dead row %s", deadID)
+			}
+			if sawPending {
+				t.Errorf("status=dead filter leaked seeded pending row %s",
+					pendingID)
+			}
+		})
+	})
 }
@@ -1,5 +1,30 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 # =============================================================================
+# DEPRECATED — prefer `go test -tags integration ./deploy/test/...`
+# =============================================================================
+#
+# This bash harness predates the Go integration test suite in
+# deploy/test/integration_test.go (build tag `integration`, 34 subtests across
+# 13 phases — health, agent heartbeat, Local CA issuance, ACME, step-ca, EST,
+# S/MIME, discovery, network scan, revocation + CRL, deployment verification).
+# The Go suite uses crypto/x509, crypto/tls, and database/sql to parse certs,
+# probe TLS, and talk to PostgreSQL directly — no openssl text-scraping or
+# brittle curl pipelines. It is the authoritative integration test surface as
+# of milestone M-007 (HTTPS Everywhere, Phase 6), where the test compose
+# stack wires the server on https://localhost:8443 behind a pinned CA bundle
+# at ./certs/ca.crt.
+#
+# Run the Go suite:
+#   (cd deploy && docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up -d --build)
+#   go test -tags integration -v -count=1 ./deploy/test/...
+#
+# Keep this bash script around because:
+#   * It is cited in docs/test-env.md and muscle-memory for contributors.
+#   * It exercises the CLI / curl path end-to-end (a different failure mode
+#     than the Go HTTP client path).
+# But any NEW integration coverage goes in integration_test.go — not here.
+#
+# =============================================================================
 # certctl End-to-End Test Script
 # =============================================================================
 #
@@ -32,10 +57,11 @@ set -euo pipefail
 # Config
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 COMPOSE_FILE="docker-compose.test.yml"
-API_URL="http://localhost:8443"
+API_URL="https://localhost:8443"
 API_KEY="test-key-2026"
 NGINX_TLS="localhost:8444"
 AUTH_HEADER="Authorization: Bearer ${API_KEY}"
+CACERT="./certs/ca.crt"

 # Flags
 BUILD=true
@@ -91,7 +117,7 @@ header() {
 # API helper: GET endpoint, return JSON body. Exits 1 on HTTP error.
 api_get() {
  local path="$1"
-  curl -sf -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" "${API_URL}${path}" 2>/dev/null
+  curl -sf --cacert "${CACERT}" -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" "${API_URL}${path}" 2>/dev/null
 }

 # API helper: POST with optional JSON body
@@ -99,10 +125,10 @@ api_post() {
  local path="$1"
  local body="${2:-}"
  if [ -n "$body" ]; then
-    curl -sf -X POST -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+    curl -sf --cacert "${CACERT}" -X POST -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d "$body" "${API_URL}${path}" 2>/dev/null
  else
-    curl -sf -X POST -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" "${API_URL}${path}" 2>/dev/null
+    curl -sf --cacert "${CACERT}" -X POST -H "${AUTH_HEADER}" "${API_URL}${path}" 2>/dev/null
  fi
 }

@@ -608,13 +634,22 @@ else
  fail "Revocation failed" "$REVOKE_RESP"
 fi

-info "Checking CRL..."
-CRL_RESP=$(api_get "/api/v1/crl" 2>/dev/null || echo '{"total":0}')
-CRL_TOTAL=$(echo "$CRL_RESP" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('total',0))" 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
-if [ "$CRL_TOTAL" -ge 1 ]; then
-  pass "CRL contains $CRL_TOTAL revoked certificate(s)"
+info "Checking DER CRL under /.well-known/pki (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615)..."
+# The JSON CRL endpoint (`GET /api/v1/crl`) was removed in M-006. RFC 5280
+# defines only the DER wire format, now served unauthenticated at
+# `/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}`. Fetch without the Bearer header to
+# prove the endpoint is reachable by relying parties with no API key.
+CRL_TMP=$(mktemp)
+CRL_HEADERS=$(mktemp)
+CRL_HTTP_CODE=$(curl -s -o "$CRL_TMP" -D "$CRL_HEADERS" -w "%{http_code}" "${API_URL}/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
+CRL_SIZE=$(wc -c < "$CRL_TMP" | tr -d ' ')
+CRL_CONTENT_TYPE=$(awk 'tolower($1)=="content-type:" { sub(/\r$/,"",$2); print tolower($2) }' "$CRL_HEADERS" | head -n1)
+rm -f "$CRL_TMP" "$CRL_HEADERS"
+
+if [ "$CRL_HTTP_CODE" = "200" ] && [ "$CRL_CONTENT_TYPE" = "application/pkix-crl" ] && [ "$CRL_SIZE" -gt 0 ]; then
+  pass "DER CRL served unauthenticated (HTTP 200, Content-Type application/pkix-crl, ${CRL_SIZE} bytes)"
 else
-  fail "CRL empty after revocation"
+  fail "DER CRL fetch failed: HTTP=$CRL_HTTP_CODE Content-Type=$CRL_CONTENT_TYPE size=$CRL_SIZE"
 fi

 CERT_STATUS=$(api_get "/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test" | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get('status',''))" 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
@@ -61,12 +61,12 @@ flowchart TB
        API["REST API\n(Go net/http, :8443)"]
        SVC["Service Layer"]
        REPO["Repository Layer\n(database/sql + lib/pq)"]
-        SCHED["Background Scheduler\n7 loops"]
+        SCHED["Background Scheduler\n8 always-on + 4 optional loops"]
        DASH["Web Dashboard\n(React SPA)"]
    end

    subgraph "Data Store"
-        PG[("PostgreSQL 16\n21 tables\nTEXT primary keys")]
+        PG[("PostgreSQL 16\nTEXT primary keys")]
    end

    subgraph "Agent Fleet"
@@ -82,6 +82,12 @@ flowchart TB
        CA4["OpenSSL / Custom CA\n(script-based)"]
        CA6["Vault PKI\n(token auth, /sign API)"]
        CA7["DigiCert CertCentral\n(async order model)"]
+        CA8["Sectigo SCM\n(async order model)"]
+        CA9["Google CAS\n(OAuth2, sync)"]
+        CA10["AWS ACM PCA\n(sync issuance)"]
+        CA11["Entrust\n(mTLS, sync/async)"]
+        CA12["GlobalSign Atlas\n(mTLS + API key)"]
+        CA13["EJBCA\n(mTLS or OAuth2)"]
    end

    subgraph "Target Systems"
@@ -94,6 +100,10 @@ flowchart TB
        T9["Postfix/Dovecot\n(file + service reload)"]
        T2["F5 BIG-IP\n(proxy agent + iControl REST)"]
        T3["IIS\n(WinRM + local)"]
+        T10["SSH\n(SFTP + reload)"]
+        T11["WinCertStore\n(PowerShell import)"]
+        T12["Java Keystore\n(keytool pipeline)"]
+        T13["Kubernetes Secrets\n(K8s API)"]
    end

    DASH --> API
@@ -101,7 +111,7 @@ flowchart TB
    SVC --> REPO
    REPO --> PG
    SCHED --> SVC
-    SVC -->|"Issue/Renew"| CA1 & CA2 & CA3 & CA4 & CA6 & CA7
+    SVC -->|"Issue/Renew"| CA1 & CA2 & CA3 & CA4 & CA6 & CA7 & CA8 & CA9 & CA10

    A1 & A2 & A3 -->|"CSR + Heartbeat"| API
    API -->|"Cert + Chain\n(NO private key)"| A1 & A2 & A3
@@ -121,7 +131,7 @@ The server exposes a REST API under `/api/v1/` and optionally serves the web das

 ### Agents

-Lightweight Go processes that run on or near your infrastructure. Agents generate ECDSA P-256 private keys locally, create CSRs, and submit them to the control plane for signing — private keys never leave agent infrastructure. Agents also handle certificate deployment to target systems (NGINX, Apache httpd, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS fully implemented; F5 BIG-IP interface stub only) and report job status. They communicate with the control plane via HTTP and authenticate with API keys.
+Lightweight Go processes that run on or near your infrastructure. Agents generate ECDSA P-256 private keys locally, create CSRs, and submit them to the control plane for signing — private keys never leave agent infrastructure. Agents also handle certificate deployment to target systems (NGINX, Apache httpd, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS, F5 BIG-IP, SSH, Windows Certificate Store, Java Keystore, Kubernetes Secrets) and report job status. They communicate with the control plane via HTTP and authenticate with API keys.

 The agent runs two background loops: a heartbeat (every 60 seconds) to signal it's alive, and a work poll (every 30 seconds) to check for actionable jobs via `GET /api/v1/agents/{id}/work`. Jobs may be `AwaitingCSR` (agent needs to generate key + submit CSR) or `Deployment` (agent needs to deploy a certificate). Private keys are stored in `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR` (default `/var/lib/certctl/keys`) with 0600 permissions.

@@ -129,11 +139,23 @@ The agent runs two background loops: a heartbeat (every 60 seconds) to signal it

 **Agent groups (M11b):** Dynamic device grouping allows organizing agents by metadata criteria. Agent groups can match by OS, architecture, IP CIDR, and version. Groups support both dynamic matching (agents automatically join when criteria match) and manual membership (explicit include/exclude). Renewal policies can be scoped to agent groups via the `agent_group_id` foreign key. The GUI provides full CRUD management for agent groups with visual match criteria badges.

+**Agent soft-retirement (I-004):** `DELETE /api/v1/agents/{id}` is a soft-delete surface — the row is never removed. Retirement stamps `agents.retired_at` (TIMESTAMPTZ) and `agents.retired_reason` (TEXT) and flips the operational status to `Offline`. Default listings (`GET /api/v1/agents`, the dashboard stats counter, and the stale-offline sweeper) filter retired rows out via `AgentRepository.ListActive`; retired rows are surfaced only through the opt-in `GET /api/v1/agents/retired` view. The endpoint follows a preflight → block → escape-hatch contract:
+
+- **Clean retire** (no active dependencies) — `200 OK` with `RetireAgentResponse` (`cascade=false`, zero counts).
+- **Blocked by active dependencies** — `409 Conflict` with `BlockedByDependenciesResponse`. The three counts (`active_targets`, `active_certificates`, `pending_jobs`) tell the operator exactly which rows would be orphaned. The schema diverges from `ErrorResponse` because downstream dashboards parse the stable three-key shape.
+- **Force cascade** — `DELETE /api/v1/agents/{id}?force=true&reason=...`. `reason` is required (400 otherwise). Transactionally soft-retires downstream `deployment_targets`, cancels pending jobs, and soft-retires the agent, emitting an `agent_retirement_cascaded` audit event with actor + reason + per-bucket counts.
+- **Idempotent re-retire** — a retire attempt against an already-retired agent returns `204 No Content` with an empty body (no second audit event, no response shape — callers that POST again on a retry get a clean no-op).
+- **Sentinel refusal** — the four sentinel agent IDs (`server-scanner`, `cloud-aws-sm`, `cloud-azure-kv`, `cloud-gcp-sm`) back non-agent discovery subsystems (the network scanner and the three cloud secret-manager sources). They are refused unconditionally — even with `force=true` — via `ErrAgentIsSentinel` → `403 Forbidden`. The ID list lives in `internal/domain/connector.go` (`SentinelAgentIDs`) so handler, repository, and scheduler code can filter them without importing `service`.
+
+Retired agents receive `410 Gone` on subsequent heartbeats (`service.ErrAgentRetired`). `cmd/agent` treats 410 as a terminal signal and exits cleanly so retired agents stop phoning home. Migration `000015` flipped `deployment_targets.agent_id` from `ON DELETE CASCADE` to `ON DELETE RESTRICT`, making the old hard-delete path a schema error and forcing all retirement through this contract.
+
+**Registration is by-design pull-only (C-1 closure, cat-b-6177f36636fb).** Agents register themselves at first heartbeat via `install-agent.sh` + `cmd/agent/main.go` — never via the GUI. The `web/src/api/client.ts::registerAgent` client function is intentionally orphan in the dashboard for this reason. It's preserved in `client.ts` (rather than deleted) so future features that want to drive registration from the GUI — for example, a one-click "register proxy agent" panel for network-appliance topologies where the agent runs in a different network zone from the device it manages — can reach the endpoint without a `client.ts` edit. Operators looking to scale agent enrollment use `install-agent.sh` against a config-management system (Ansible, Salt, Puppet) or a baked-in cloud-init script, not the dashboard.
+
 ### Web Dashboard

 The web dashboard is the primary operational interface for certctl. It is built with Vite + React + TypeScript and uses TanStack Query for server state management (caching, background refetching, optimistic updates).

-**Current views** (21 pages): certificate inventory (list with multi-select bulk operations + "New Certificate" creation modal + detail with deployment status timeline, inline policy/profile editor, version history, deploy, revoke, archive, and trigger renewal actions), agent fleet (list + detail with system info + OS/architecture grouping with charts), job queue (status, retry, cancel, approve/reject for AwaitingApproval jobs), notification inbox (threshold alert grouping, mark-as-read), audit trail (time range, actor, action filters + CSV/JSON export), policy management (rules with enable/disable toggle + delete + violations), issuers (list with test connection + delete), targets (list with 3-step configuration wizard + delete), owners (list with team resolution + delete), teams (list with delete), agent groups (list with dynamic match criteria badges + enable/disable + delete), certificate profiles (list with crypto constraints), short-lived credentials dashboard (TTL countdown, profile filtering, auto-refresh), discovered certificates triage (claim/dismiss unmanaged certs discovered by agents or network scans), network scan targets management (CRUD for network scan targets + Scan Now button), summary dashboard with charts (expiration heatmap, renewal success rate, status distribution, issuance rate), and login page.
+**Current views** (24 pages): certificate inventory (list with multi-select bulk operations + "New Certificate" creation modal + detail with deployment status timeline, inline policy/profile editor, version history, deploy, revoke, archive, and trigger renewal actions), agent fleet (list + detail with system info + OS/architecture grouping with charts), job queue (list + detail with verification section, timeline, audit events; approve/reject for AwaitingApproval jobs), notification inbox (threshold alert grouping, mark-as-read), audit trail (time range, actor, action filters + CSV/JSON export), policy management (rules with enable/disable toggle + delete + violations), issuers (catalog with 10 type cards + 3-step create wizard + detail with test connection), targets (list with 3-step configuration wizard + detail with deployment history), owners (list with team resolution + delete), teams (list with delete), agent groups (list with dynamic match criteria badges + enable/disable + delete), certificate profiles (list with crypto constraints), short-lived credentials dashboard (TTL countdown, profile filtering, auto-refresh), discovered certificates triage (claim/dismiss unmanaged certs discovered by agents or network scans), network scan targets management (CRUD + Scan Now button), summary dashboard with charts (expiration heatmap, renewal success rate, status distribution, issuance rate), digest preview and send, observability (health, metrics, Prometheus config), and login page.

 The dashboard includes an **ErrorBoundary component** for graceful error recovery — if a view crashes, the boundary catches the error and displays a user-friendly message instead of breaking the entire dashboard. It also includes a **demo mode** that activates when the API is unreachable — it renders realistic mock data for screenshots and offline presentations.

@@ -143,6 +165,10 @@ The dashboard includes an **ErrorBoundary component** for graceful error recover
 - Light content area with branded dark teal sidebar, Inter + JetBrains Mono typography
 - SSE/WebSocket planned for real-time job status updates

+**Backend ↔ frontend round-trip rule (B-1 closure):** every backend CRUD operation must have at least one GUI consumer in `web/src/pages/`. Shipping a handler + repository method + OpenAPI operation + `client.ts` fetcher with no page that calls it leaves operators forced to `psql` directly — defeats the "every backend feature ships with its GUI surface" invariant and creates a destructive workflow when the missing path is `update*` (operators delete-and-recreate, losing FK history and audit-trail continuity). The CI guardrail in `.github/workflows/ci.yml` (`Forbidden orphan-CRUD client function regression guard (B-1)`) enforces this for the eight previously-orphan functions (`updateOwner`/`updateTeam`/`updateAgentGroup`/`updateIssuer`/`updateProfile` + `createRenewalPolicy`/`updateRenewalPolicy`/`deleteRenewalPolicy`); apply the same rule when adding any new write endpoint. If a fetcher is needed in `client.ts` before its consumer page exists, leave a TODO referencing this rule and ship them in the same commit.
+
+**TS ↔ Go type contract rule (D-1 + D-2 closure):** every TypeScript interface in `web/src/api/types.ts` must field-match the Go-side `internal/domain/*.go` struct's JSON-emitted shape exactly. Phantom fields (declared on TS, never emitted by Go) silently render `'—'` and lull consumers into thinking a value will arrive that never does; missing fields (emitted by Go, absent from TS) force `(x as any).X` escapes that lose type-checking. Both failure modes are blocked by the CI guardrail in `.github/workflows/ci.yml` (`Forbidden StatusBadge dead-key + TS phantom-field regression guard (D-1 + D-2)`) which awk-windows each interface and grep-fails the build on phantom-field reintroduction — currently covers Certificate (D-1), Agent / Issuer / Notification (D-2). Apply the same rule when adding any new on-wire type: the Go-side json tag is the contract, the TS interface adapts to it, and a literal-construction Vitest in `web/src/api/types.test.ts` pins the post-add shape. Stricter side wins: when in doubt, the side that actually emits the field is the contract; never propose adding a phantom on Go to match a TS over-declaration.
+
 ### PostgreSQL Database

 All state is stored in PostgreSQL 16. The schema uses TEXT primary keys (not UUIDs) with human-readable prefixed IDs like `mc-api-prod`, `t-platform`, `o-alice`.
@@ -265,6 +291,9 @@ erDiagram
        text channel
        text recipient
        text status
+        int retry_count
+        timestamptz next_retry_at
+        text last_error
    }
    certificate_profiles {
        text id PK
@@ -325,7 +354,12 @@ erDiagram
    }
 ```

-Migrations are idempotent (`IF NOT EXISTS` on all CREATE statements, `ON CONFLICT (id) DO NOTHING` on all seed data) so they're safe to run multiple times — important for Docker Compose where both initdb and the server may run the same SQL.
+The ER diagram above documents **database shape**, not REST-API wire shape. Several columns are intentionally server-internal and never serialized to clients:
+
+- `agents.api_key_hash` — SHA-256 of the agent's plaintext API key, populated by `service.RegisterAgent` (`hashAPIKey(apiKey)` at `internal/service/agent.go`) and consumed by `repository.AgentRepository::GetByAPIKey` for the auth-lookup. **Not** exposed via the REST API, **not** echoed via CLI / MCP / agent registration response, **never** logged. Enforced by `internal/domain/connector.go::Agent.MarshalJSON` (G-2 audit closure, `cat-s5-apikey_leak`); the OpenAPI Agent schema explicitly excludes the field, the frontend `Agent` interface omits it, and a CI grep guardrail at `.github/workflows/ci.yml` blocks reintroduction.
+- `issuers.config` / `deployment_targets.config` — plaintext jsonb shadow of the AES-GCM-encrypted on-disk blob; the encrypted form lives on `EncryptedConfig []byte` (Go-only field tagged `json:"-"`).
+
+Migrations are idempotent (`IF NOT EXISTS` on all CREATE statements, `ON CONFLICT (id) DO NOTHING` on all seed data) so they're safe to run multiple times. Pre-U-3 (`cat-u-seed_initdb_schema_drift`, GitHub #10) the deploy compose stack mounted both a hand-curated subset of `migrations/*.up.sql` and `seed.sql` into postgres `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/` so initdb applied them on first boot, *and* the server re-applied the same files via `RunMigrations` on every start. The dual source of truth was the bug: every time a migration shipped that the seed depended on (e.g., 000013 added `policy_rules.severity`), the mount list had to be updated by hand, and missing the update crashed initdb on first boot. Post-U-3 the server is the single source of truth: postgres comes up with an empty schema, `RunMigrations` applies the entire ladder, then `RunSeed` lands the baseline seed (and `RunDemoSeed` lands the demo overlay when `CERTCTL_DEMO_SEED=true`). Helm has used this pattern since day one (postgres-init `emptyDir`); the docker-compose deploy now matches.

 ## Data Flow: Certificate Lifecycle

@@ -386,7 +420,11 @@ sequenceDiagram
    Note over A: Agent deploys using locally-held private key
 ```

-**Profile enforcement:** If the certificate is assigned to a profile (`certificate_profile_id`), the profile's `allowed_key_algorithms` and `max_validity_days` constraints are checked during CSR validation. A CSR with a disallowed key type or a validity period exceeding the profile maximum is rejected before reaching the issuer connector.
+**Profile enforcement (M11c):** Crypto policy enforcement is wired into all four issuance paths: renewal (server-side and agent CSR), agent fallback CSR signing, EST enrollment (RFC 7030), and SCEP enrollment (RFC 8894). At each path, the service layer resolves the certificate's profile and calls `ValidateCSRAgainstProfile()` to check the CSR key algorithm and minimum key size against the profile's `allowed_key_algorithms` rules. A CSR with a disallowed key type or insufficient key size is rejected before reaching the issuer connector.
+
+**MaxTTL enforcement:** When a profile specifies `max_ttl_seconds`, the value is forwarded through the service-layer `IssuerConnector` interface to the connector layer via `MaxTTLSeconds` on `IssuanceRequest` and `RenewalRequest`. Each issuer connector enforces the cap according to its capabilities: the Local CA caps `NotAfter` directly, Vault overrides its TTL string, step-ca caps `NotAfter` with zero-value handling, and OpenSSL logs an advisory warning (script-based signing can't enforce server-side). For CAs that control validity themselves (ACME, DigiCert, Sectigo, Google CAS, AWS ACM PCA), MaxTTLSeconds passes through but the CA makes the final decision.
+
+**Key metadata persistence:** Certificate versions record `key_algorithm` and `key_size` extracted from the CSR during issuance. This metadata enables post-hoc auditing — operators can verify that all issued certificates comply with the key requirements in effect at the time of issuance.

 #### Server-Side Key Generation (Demo Only)

@@ -449,46 +487,65 @@ sequenceDiagram
    API-->>U: 200 OK
 ```

-The revocation is recorded in the `certificate_revocations` table (separate from the certificate status update) for CRL generation. The DER-encoded CRL at `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` is generated on-demand by querying this table and signing with the issuing CA's key. The OCSP responder at `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` checks both the certificate status and the revocations table to return signed good/revoked/unknown responses.
+The revocation is recorded in the `certificate_revocations` table (separate from the certificate status update) for CRL generation. The DER-encoded CRL at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615) is generated on-demand by querying this table and signing with the issuing CA's key. The OCSP responder at `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (RFC 6960) checks both the certificate status and the revocations table to return signed good/revoked/unknown responses. Both endpoints are served unauthenticated — relying parties (TLS clients, hardware appliances, browsers) must be able to reach them without a certctl API key — and carry the IANA-registered media types `application/pkix-crl` and `application/ocsp-response` respectively.

 Short-lived certificates (those with profile TTL < 1 hour) return "good" from OCSP and are excluded from CRL — their rapid expiry is treated as sufficient revocation.

+#### Bulk Revocation
+
+For compliance events requiring fleet-wide revocation (key compromise, CA distrust, mass decommission), certctl supports bulk revocation by filter criteria. The `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` endpoint accepts filter parameters (profile_id, owner_id, agent_id, issuer_id) and creates individual revocation jobs for each matching certificate. Bulk revocation reuses the same 7-step single-cert flow for each certificate — no new issuer notification or audit mechanics. The operation is idempotent: revoking an already-revoked certificate is a no-op. Partial failures are tolerated — if one certificate fails to revoke (e.g., issuer unavailable), the operation continues for remaining certs and returns a summary. A single `bulk_revocation_initiated` audit event logs the operation with filter criteria, operator actor, and summary (total requested, succeeded, failed counts). Audit events for individual certificate revocations record the operator identity separately. The GUI bulk revoke button on the certificates list filters by visible selections and displays an affected-cert count modal before confirmation.
+
 ### 4. Automatic Renewal

-The control plane runs a scheduler with seven background loops:
+The control plane runs a scheduler with 8 always-on loops plus up to 4 optional loops (enabled by configuration). `internal/scheduler/scheduler.go:262-265` is the authoritative count.

 ```mermaid
 flowchart LR
    subgraph "Scheduler (Background Goroutines)"
        R["Renewal Checker\n⏱ every 1h"]
        J["Job Processor\n⏱ every 30s"]
+        JR["Job Retry\n⏱ every 5m"]
+        JT["Job Timeout\n⏱ every 10m"]
        H["Agent Health\n⏱ every 2m"]
        N["Notification Processor\n⏱ every 1m"]
+        NR["Notification Retry\n⏱ every 2m"]
        SL["Short-Lived Expiry\n⏱ every 30s"]
        NS["Network Scanner\n⏱ every 6h"]
        DG["Certificate Digest\n⏱ every 24h"]
+        HC["Endpoint Health\n⏱ every 60s"]
+        CD["Cloud Discovery\n⏱ every 6h"]
    end

    R -->|"Find expiring certs\nCreate renewal jobs"| DB[("PostgreSQL")]
    J -->|"Process pending jobs\nCoordinate issuance"| DB
+    JR -->|"Retry Failed jobs\nFailed→Pending"| DB
+    JT -->|"Reap stalled AwaitingCSR / AwaitingApproval jobs"| DB
    H -->|"Check heartbeat staleness\nMark agents offline"| DB
    N -->|"Send pending notifications\nEmail / Webhook / Slack"| DB
+    NR -->|"Retry failed notifications\n2^n-min backoff, DLQ after 5 attempts"| DB
    SL -->|"Expire short-lived certs\nMark as Expired"| DB
    NS -->|"Probe TLS endpoints\nStore discovered certs"| DB
    DG -->|"Generate & send HTML digest\nEmail to recipients"| DB
+    HC -->|"Probe deployed TLS endpoints\nState machine + mismatch"| DB
+    CD -->|"AWS SM / Azure KV / GCP SM\nFeed discovery pipeline"| DB
 ```

-| Loop | Interval | Timeout | Purpose |
-|------|----------|---------|---------|
-| Renewal checker | 1 hour | 5 minutes | Finds certificates approaching expiry, creates renewal jobs |
-| Job processor | 30 seconds | 2 minutes | Processes pending jobs (issuance, renewal, deployment) |
-| Agent health check | 2 minutes | 1 minute | Marks agents as offline if heartbeat is stale |
-| Notification processor | 1 minute | 1 minute | Sends pending notifications via configured channels |
-| Short-lived expiry | 30 seconds | 30 seconds | Marks expired short-lived certificates (profile TTL < 1 hour) |
-| Network scanner | 6 hours | 30 minutes | Probes TLS endpoints on configured CIDR ranges, stores discovered certs (M21, opt-in via `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED`). CIDR size validated at API level — max /20 (4096 IPs) per range. |
-| Certificate digest | 24 hours | 5 minutes | Generates HTML email with certificate stats, expiration timeline, job health, agent count. Does NOT run on startup — waits for first scheduled tick. Configurable interval and recipients via `CERTCTL_DIGEST_INTERVAL` and `CERTCTL_DIGEST_RECIPIENTS`. Falls back to certificate owner emails if no explicit recipients configured. |
+| Loop | Interval | Always-on? | Purpose |
+|------|----------|------------|---------|
+| Renewal checker | 1 hour | Yes | Finds certificates approaching expiry (threshold-based or ARI-directed), creates renewal jobs |
+| Job processor | 30 seconds | Yes | Processes pending jobs (issuance, renewal, deployment) |
+| Job retry | 5 minutes (`CERTCTL_SCHEDULER_RETRY_INTERVAL`) | Yes | Transitions `Failed` jobs back to `Pending` for re-dispatch (I-001) |
+| Job timeout | 10 minutes (`CERTCTL_JOB_TIMEOUT_INTERVAL`) | Yes | Reaps `AwaitingCSR` jobs older than 24h and `AwaitingApproval` jobs older than 7d to `Failed`, feeding the retry loop (I-003) |
+| Agent health check | 2 minutes | Yes | Marks agents as offline if heartbeat is stale |
+| Notification processor | 1 minute | Yes | Sends pending notifications via configured channels |
+| Notification retry | 2 minutes (`CERTCTL_NOTIFICATION_RETRY_INTERVAL`) | Yes | Re-dispatches `Failed` notifications whose `next_retry_at` has elapsed; exponential backoff (2^n minutes, capped at 1h), 5-attempt budget, terminal `dead` status after exhaustion (I-005) |
+| Short-lived expiry | 30 seconds | Yes | Marks expired short-lived certificates (profile TTL < 1 hour) |
+| Network scanner | 6 hours | Opt-in (`CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED`) | Probes TLS endpoints on configured CIDR ranges, stores discovered certs (M21). CIDR size validated at API level — max /20 (4096 IPs) per range. |
+| Certificate digest | 24 hours (`CERTCTL_DIGEST_INTERVAL`) | Opt-in (digest service) | Generates HTML email with certificate stats, expiration timeline, job health, agent count. Does NOT run on startup — waits for first scheduled tick. Falls back to certificate owner emails if no explicit recipients configured. |
+| Endpoint health | 60 seconds (`CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL`) | Opt-in (health check service) | Probes deployed TLS endpoints, drives the healthy/degraded/down/cert_mismatch state machine (M48) |
+| Cloud discovery | 6 hours | Opt-in (at least one cloud source configured) | Walks AWS Secrets Manager / Azure Key Vault / GCP Secret Manager, feeds discovery pipeline (M50) |

-Each loop uses `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency guards to prevent concurrent tick execution — if a loop iteration is still running when the next tick fires, the tick is skipped with a warning log. All loops (including short-lived expiry check) run immediately on startup before entering their ticker interval, ensuring no gap between scheduler start and first execution. The certificate digest loop is the exception — it does NOT run on startup, only on scheduled ticks. Graceful shutdown uses `sync.WaitGroup` with `WaitForCompletion()` to drain all in-flight work before process exit.
+Each loop uses `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency guards to prevent concurrent tick execution — if a loop iteration is still running when the next tick fires, the tick is skipped with a warning log. Most loops (including short-lived expiry, job retry, job timeout, and notification retry) run immediately on startup before entering their ticker interval, ensuring no gap between scheduler start and first execution. The certificate digest loop is the exception — it does NOT run on startup, only on scheduled ticks. Graceful shutdown uses `sync.WaitGroup` with `WaitForCompletion()` to drain all in-flight work before process exit.

 Each operation has a context timeout to prevent indefinite hangs if external services become unresponsive.

@@ -509,12 +566,16 @@ flowchart TB
        II["IssuerConnector Interface\nIssueCertificate() | RenewCertificate()\nRevokeCertificate() | GetOrderStatus()"]
        II --> LC["Local CA"]
        II --> ACME["ACME v2"]
-        II --> SC["step-ca"]
+        II --> SCA["step-ca"]
        II --> OC["OpenSSL / Custom CA"]
        II --> VP["Vault PKI"]
        II --> DC["DigiCert CertCentral"]
        II --> SG["Sectigo SCM"]
        II --> GC["Google CAS"]
+        II --> AP2["AWS ACM PCA"]
+        II --> EN["Entrust"]
+        II --> GS["GlobalSign Atlas"]
+        II --> EJ["EJBCA"]
    end

    subgraph "Target Connectors"
@@ -529,6 +590,10 @@ flowchart TB
        TI --> PO["Postfix/Dovecot"]
        TI --> IIS["IIS"]
        TI --> F5["F5 BIG-IP"]
+        TI --> SSH["SSH"]
+        TI --> WCS["WinCertStore"]
+        TI --> JKS["Java Keystore"]
+        TI --> K8S["K8s Secrets"]
    end

    subgraph "Notifier Connectors"
@@ -580,9 +645,9 @@ type Connector interface {
 }
 ```

-Built-in issuers: **Local CA** (self-signed or sub-CA mode using `crypto/x509`), **ACME v2** (HTTP-01, DNS-01, and DNS-PERSIST-01 challenges, compatible with Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Sectigo, Google Trust Services, and any ACME-compliant CA), **step-ca** (Smallstep private CA via native /sign API with JWK provisioner auth), **OpenSSL/Custom CA** (script-based signing delegating to user-provided shell scripts), **Vault PKI** (HashiCorp Vault's PKI secrets engine via /sign API with token auth), and **DigiCert** (commercial CA via CertCentral REST API with async order processing). The ACME connector uses `golang.org/x/crypto/acme`, generates an ECDSA P-256 account key, handles account registration with ToS acceptance and optional External Account Binding (EAB) for CAs that require it (ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, SSL.com), order creation, challenge solving (HTTP-01 via built-in server, DNS-01 via script-based hooks, DNS-PERSIST-01 via standing TXT records with auto-fallback to DNS-01), order finalization, and DER-to-PEM chain conversion. For ZeroSSL, EAB credentials are auto-fetched from ZeroSSL's public API when the directory URL is detected as ZeroSSL and no EAB credentials are provided — zero-friction onboarding with no dashboard visit required.
+Built-in issuers (live count: `ls -d internal/connector/issuer/*/ | wc -l`): **Local CA** (self-signed or sub-CA mode using `crypto/x509`), **ACME v2** (HTTP-01, DNS-01, and DNS-PERSIST-01 challenges, compatible with Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Sectigo, Google Trust Services, and any ACME-compliant CA), **step-ca** (Smallstep private CA via native /sign API with JWK provisioner auth), **OpenSSL/Custom CA** (script-based signing delegating to user-provided shell scripts), **Vault PKI** (HashiCorp Vault's PKI secrets engine via /sign API with token auth), **DigiCert** (commercial CA via CertCentral REST API with async order processing), **Sectigo SCM** (async order model with 3-header auth), **Google CAS** (Cloud Certificate Authority Service with OAuth2 service account auth), **AWS ACM Private CA** (synchronous issuance via ACM PCA API), **Entrust** (mTLS client cert auth, sync/approval-pending), **GlobalSign Atlas HVCA** (mTLS + API key/secret dual auth), and **EJBCA** (Keyfactor open-source self-hosted CA, dual auth: mTLS or OAuth2). The ACME connector uses `golang.org/x/crypto/acme`, generates an ECDSA P-256 account key, handles account registration with ToS acceptance and optional External Account Binding (EAB) for CAs that require it (ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, SSL.com), order creation, challenge solving (HTTP-01 via built-in server, DNS-01 via script-based hooks, DNS-PERSIST-01 via standing TXT records with auto-fallback to DNS-01), order finalization, and DER-to-PEM chain conversion. For ZeroSSL, EAB credentials are auto-fetched from ZeroSSL's public API when the directory URL is detected as ZeroSSL and no EAB credentials are provided — zero-friction onboarding with no dashboard visit required.

-**ACME Renewal Information (ARI, RFC 9702):** The ACME connector supports CA-directed renewal timing via the `GetRenewalInfo()` method. Instead of using fixed thresholds (e.g., renew 30 days before expiry), the CA tells certctl when to renew by providing a `suggestedWindow` with start and end times. This is useful for distributing renewal load during maintenance windows and coordinating mass-revocation scenarios. Enable with `CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED=true`. Cert ID is computed as `base64url(SHA-256(DER cert))` per RFC 9702. If the CA doesn't support ARI (404 from the ARI endpoint), certctl automatically falls back to threshold-based renewal — no operator intervention required. Errors from the CA are logged as warnings.
+**ACME Renewal Information (ARI, RFC 9773):** The ACME connector supports CA-directed renewal timing via the `GetRenewalInfo()` method. Instead of using fixed thresholds (e.g., renew 30 days before expiry), the CA tells certctl when to renew by providing a `suggestedWindow` with start and end times. This is useful for distributing renewal load during maintenance windows and coordinating mass-revocation scenarios. Enable with `CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED=true`. Cert ID is computed as `base64url(SHA-256(DER cert))` per RFC 9773. If the CA doesn't support ARI (404 from the ARI endpoint), certctl automatically falls back to threshold-based renewal — no operator intervention required. Errors from the CA are logged as warnings.

 The interface also includes `GetCACertPEM(ctx)` for CA chain distribution (used by the EST server's `/cacerts` endpoint).

@@ -600,11 +665,11 @@ type Connector interface {

 The `DeploymentRequest` struct carries the full material needed by the target system: the signed certificate, the CA chain, the agent-generated private key, target-specific configuration, and arbitrary metadata. The key field is populated by the agent from its local key store (`CERTCTL_KEY_DIR`) — it never originates from the control plane.

-Built-in targets: **NGINX** (writes cert/chain/key files, validates with `nginx -t`, reloads), **Apache httpd** (writes cert/chain/key files, validates with `apachectl configtest`, graceful reload), **HAProxy** (combined PEM file with cert+chain+key, validates config, reloads via systemctl/signal), **Traefik** (file provider — writes cert/key to watched directory, Traefik auto-reloads), **Caddy** (dual-mode: admin API hot-reload or file-based), **F5 BIG-IP** (interface only — proxy agent + iControl REST, implementation planned), **IIS** (interface only — dual-mode: agent-local PowerShell primary + proxy agent WinRM for agentless targets, implementation planned).
+Built-in targets (14 connector types): **NGINX** (writes cert/chain/key files, validates with `nginx -t`, reloads), **Apache httpd** (writes cert/chain/key files, validates with `apachectl configtest`, graceful reload), **HAProxy** (combined PEM file with cert+chain+key, validates config, reloads via systemctl/signal), **Traefik** (file provider — writes cert/key to watched directory, Traefik auto-reloads), **Caddy** (dual-mode: admin API hot-reload or file-based), **Envoy** (file-based with optional SDS JSON config), **F5 BIG-IP** (proxy agent + iControl REST, transaction-based atomic SSL profile updates), **IIS** (dual-mode: agent-local PowerShell + proxy agent WinRM for agentless targets), **Postfix/Dovecot** (file write + service reload), **SSH** (agentless deployment via SSH/SFTP), **Windows Certificate Store** (PowerShell-based cert import, dual-mode local/WinRM), **Java Keystore** (PEM → PKCS#12 → keytool pipeline, JKS and PKCS12 formats), **Kubernetes Secrets** (deploys as `kubernetes.io/tls` Secrets via injectable K8sClient interface, in-cluster or kubeconfig auth).

 After deployment, agents can perform **post-deployment TLS verification**: the agent probes the live TLS endpoint using `crypto/tls.DialWithDialer` and compares the SHA-256 fingerprint of the served certificate against what was deployed. Results are reported via `POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/verify` and stored on the job record. Verification is best-effort — failures don't block or rollback deployments.

-Additional cloud, network, and Kubernetes target connectors are planned for future releases.
+The SSH connector enables agentless deployment to any Linux/Unix server via SSH/SFTP, using the proxy agent pattern. The Kubernetes Secrets connector deploys certificates as `kubernetes.io/tls` Secrets via an injectable K8sClient interface supporting both in-cluster and out-of-cluster auth.

 ### Notifier Connector

@@ -622,6 +687,16 @@ Built-in notifiers: **Email** (SMTP), **Webhook** (HTTP POST), **Slack** (incomi

 See the [Connector Development Guide](connectors.md) for details on building custom connectors.

+### Notification Retry & Dead-Letter Queue
+
+A transient notifier failure (SMTP timeout, 5xx webhook response, Slack rate-limit) must not silently drop a critical alert. Migration `000016_notification_retry` adds three columns to `notification_events` — `retry_count INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0`, `next_retry_at TIMESTAMPTZ` (nullable — only meaningful while a row is in `failed` state), and `last_error TEXT` (the most recent transient error, preserved for operator triage) — together with a partial index `idx_notification_events_retry_sweep ON notification_events(next_retry_at) WHERE status = 'failed' AND next_retry_at IS NOT NULL` so the retry hot path scales with the retry-eligible slice rather than the full notification history.
+
+The scheduler's notification-retry loop (see the scheduler section above) calls `NotificationService.RetryFailedNotifications(ctx)` every `CERTCTL_NOTIFICATION_RETRY_INTERVAL` (default `2m`). Each tick pulls up to 1000 rows via `notifRepo.ListRetryEligible(ctx, now, maxAttempts, sweepLimit)` — a partial-index-driven query that filters on `status='failed' AND next_retry_at <= now() AND retry_count < 5` — and redispatches them through the same notifier registry used by `ProcessPendingNotifications`. A successful redispatch transitions the row directly to `sent` without incrementing `retry_count`, so the audit trail preserves "delivered on attempt N". A failed redispatch re-arms `next_retry_at` using exponential backoff — `wait = min(2^retry_count minutes, 1h)` — bumps `retry_count`, and stamps `last_error`. When `retry_count >= 4` (the fifth attempt has just failed) the row is promoted to the terminal `dead` status via `notifRepo.MarkAsDead`, which clears `next_retry_at` so the partial retry-sweep index stops matching and the row cannot be re-entered into the retry rotation without operator action.
+
+`NotificationService.RequeueNotification(ctx, id)` is the operator-driven escape hatch from `dead`. It atomically resets `retry_count → 0`, `next_retry_at → NULL`, `last_error → NULL`, and `status → pending`, handing the row back to `ProcessPendingNotifications` on the next 1m tick. This is the correct response to "the notifier outage is resolved, redeliver the queue"; it is not a retry, which is why the retry counter is reset rather than incremented.
+
+The dead-letter depth is surfaced in two places. First, `DashboardSummary.NotificationsDead` is populated by `StatsService.GetDashboardSummary` via `notifRepo.CountByStatus(ctx, "dead")`. The injection uses a `SetNotifRepo` setter pattern (mirroring `CertificateService.SetTargetRepo`) rather than a new positional argument to `NewStatsService`, which keeps all nine existing `NewStatsService` call sites (main.go plus eight digest tests and stats_test.go) signature-stable — when the notification repository has not been wired in, `NotificationsDead` falls through to zero. Second, the `/api/v1/metrics/prometheus` endpoint emits `certctl_notification_dead_total` as a counter (operator alert thresholds per the I-005 spec: `> 0` warning, `> 10` critical) using the same `DashboardSummary` snapshot so the dashboard card and the Prometheus counter cannot skew. The web dashboard exposes a two-tab toolbar on `/notifications` — "All" (the pre-I-005 inbox) and "Dead letter" (threads `?status=dead` into the list query, surfaces `Retry N/5` and the truncated `last_error` with a full-text tooltip per row, and binds a Requeue button to `POST /api/v1/notifications/{id}/requeue`).
+
 ### EST Server (RFC 7030)

 The EST (Enrollment over Secure Transport) server provides an industry-standard enrollment interface for devices that need certificates without using the REST API. It runs under `/.well-known/est/` per RFC 7030 and supports four operations: CA certificate distribution (`/cacerts`), initial enrollment (`/simpleenroll`), re-enrollment (`/simplereenroll`), and CSR attributes (`/csrattrs`).
@@ -657,10 +732,66 @@ type ESTService interface {
 }
 ```

-**Issuer connector extension:** EST required adding `GetCACertPEM(ctx) (string, error)` to the issuer connector interface so the `/cacerts` endpoint can serve the CA chain. The Local CA connector returns its CA certificate PEM; ACME, step-ca, OpenSSL, Vault, and DigiCert connectors return errors (they don't expose a static CA chain — their chains are per-issuance).
+**Issuer connector extension:** EST required adding `GetCACertPEM(ctx) (string, error)` to the issuer connector interface so the `/cacerts` endpoint can serve the CA chain. The Local CA returns its CA certificate PEM; Vault PKI fetches via `GET /v1/{mount}/ca/pem`; Google CAS fetches via API; AWS ACM PCA retrieves via `GetCertificateAuthorityCertificate`. ACME, step-ca, OpenSSL, DigiCert, and Sectigo connectors return errors (they don't expose a static CA chain — their chains are per-issuance).
+
+**Authentication:** EST endpoints are served unauthenticated at the HTTP layer under `/.well-known/est/*` — no Bearer token required. Per RFC 7030 §3.2.3 EST authentication is deployment-specific, and per §4.1.1 `/cacerts` is explicitly anonymous. certctl enforces authentication via CSR signature verification inside `ESTService.SimpleEnroll`/`SimpleReEnroll` plus profile policy gates (allowed key algorithms, minimum key size, permitted SANs, permitted EKUs, MaxTTL). The HTTP dispatch is implemented in `cmd/server/main.go:buildFinalHandler`, which routes `/.well-known/est/*` through `noAuthHandler` (RequestID + structuredLogger + Recovery only). Operators who need stronger client identification should terminate mTLS at an upstream reverse proxy and pin the CSR's SAN to the client cert subject at the profile level.

 **Audit:** Every EST enrollment is recorded in the audit trail with `protocol: "EST"`, the CN, SANs, issuer ID, serial number, and optional profile ID.

+### SCEP Server (RFC 8894)
+
+The SCEP (Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol) server provides certificate enrollment for MDM platforms and network devices. It runs at `/scep` with operation-based dispatch via query parameters per RFC 8894.
+
+**Architecture:** SCEP follows the exact same layering as EST — a handler-level protocol that delegates certificate issuance to an existing `IssuerConnector`. The `SCEPService` bridges the `SCEPHandler` to whichever issuer connector is configured via `CERTCTL_SCEP_ISSUER_ID`.
+
+```
+Client (MDM, network device, SCEP client)
+    │
+    ▼
+SCEPHandler (handler layer)
+    │  PKCS#7 envelope parsing, CSR extraction, challenge password extraction
+    ▼
+SCEPService (service layer)
+    │  Challenge password validation, CSR validation, CN/SAN extraction, audit recording
+    ▼
+IssuerConnector (connector layer via IssuerConnectorAdapter)
+    │  Certificate signing (Local CA, step-ca, etc.)
+    ▼
+Signed certificate returned as PKCS#7 certs-only
+```
+
+**Wire format:** Two paths, tried in order. The new RFC 8894 path (post-2026-04-29) parses the full PKIMessage shape: ContentInfo → SignedData → SignerInfo (POPO over auth-attrs verified via `internal/pkcs7/signedinfo.go::SignerInfo.VerifySignature` with the canonical SET-OF Attribute re-serialisation per RFC 5652 §5.4) → EnvelopedData (decrypted via `internal/pkcs7/envelopeddata.go::EnvelopedData.Decrypt` with RSA PKCS#1v1.5 keyTrans + AES-CBC content + constant-time PKCS#7 unpad to close the padding-oracle leak) → inner PKCS#10 CSR. Auth-attrs (messageType, transactionID, senderNonce) flow through to the service layer via `domain.SCEPRequestEnvelope`. The handler dispatches on messageType: PKCSReq (19) → initial enrollment; RenewalReq (17) → re-enrollment with chain validation; GetCertInitial (20) → polling stub returns FAILURE+badCertID. Responses are full CertRep PKIMessages (`internal/pkcs7/certrep.go::BuildCertRepPKIMessage`) signed by the per-profile RA cert/key with the issued cert chain encrypted to the device's transient signing cert (RFC 8894 §3.3.2). On parse failure the handler falls through to the legacy MVP path: base64-encoded PKCS#7 and raw CSR submissions are still accepted; responses use the legacy PKCS#7 certs-only shape via the shared `internal/pkcs7` package. The MVP fall-through is non-negotiable — backward compat with lightweight SCEP clients that don't speak full RFC 8894. Single certs are returned as raw DER for `GetCACert`, chains as PKCS#7.
+
+**Authentication:** SCEP endpoints at `/scep` and `/scep/*` are served unauthenticated at the HTTP layer — no Bearer token required — per RFC 8894 §3.2, which defines authentication via the `challengePassword` attribute (OID 1.2.840.113549.1.9.7) embedded in the PKCS#10 CSR rather than an HTTP credential. The HTTP dispatch is implemented in `cmd/server/main.go:buildFinalHandler`, which routes `/scep` and `/scep/*` through `noAuthHandler` (RequestID + structuredLogger + Recovery only). The `challengePassword` is mandatory: `preflightSCEPChallengePassword` at startup refuses to boot the control plane when `CERTCTL_SCEP_ENABLED=true` is set without `CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`, closing CWE-306 (missing authentication for a critical function). `SCEPService.PKCSReq` enforces the same invariant defense-in-depth — an empty `s.challengePassword` rejects every enrollment — and the password comparison uses `crypto/subtle.ConstantTimeCompare` to prevent response-time side-channel leakage. The startup log line `SCEP server enabled` emits a `challenge_password_set` boolean for operator visibility.
+
+**Interface:** The `SCEPHandler` defines an `SCEPService` interface (dependency inversion). The legacy `PKCSReq` method backs the MVP fall-through path; the three `*WithEnvelope` variants back the RFC 8894 PKIMessage path:
+
+```go
+type SCEPService interface {
+    GetCACaps(ctx context.Context) string
+    GetCACert(ctx context.Context) (string, error)
+    // MVP path — raw CSR + transactionID synthesised from CSR's CN.
+    PKCSReq(ctx context.Context, csrPEM, challengePassword, transactionID string) (*domain.SCEPEnrollResult, error)
+    // RFC 8894 path — envelope carries the parsed authenticated attributes
+    // (messageType, transactionID, senderNonce, signerCert). Returns
+    // *SCEPResponseEnvelope (not error + result) because RFC 8894 §3.3
+    // mandates a CertRep PKIMessage on every response, even failures.
+    PKCSReqWithEnvelope(ctx context.Context, csrPEM, challengePassword string, env *domain.SCEPRequestEnvelope) *domain.SCEPResponseEnvelope
+    RenewalReqWithEnvelope(ctx context.Context, csrPEM, challengePassword string, env *domain.SCEPRequestEnvelope) *domain.SCEPResponseEnvelope
+    GetCertInitialWithEnvelope(ctx context.Context, env *domain.SCEPRequestEnvelope) *domain.SCEPResponseEnvelope
+}
+```
+
+**Capabilities advertised:** `POSTPKIOperation` + `SHA-256` + `SHA-512` + `AES` + `SCEPStandard` + `Renewal`. ChromeOS specifically looks for `POSTPKIOperation` (non-base64 POST), `AES` (the now-implemented CBC content encryption), `SCEPStandard` (RFC 8894 conformance), and `Renewal` (RenewalReq messageType-17 dispatch).
+
+**Multi-profile dispatch:** A single certctl instance can expose multiple SCEP endpoints from `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILES=corp,iot,server` + per-profile `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_*` env vars, each with its own issuer + RA pair + challenge password. The router exposes `/scep` (legacy, single-profile flat-env case) + `/scep/<pathID>` per non-empty profile. Per-profile preflight validates each RA pair independently; failures log the offending PathID. See [`legacy-est-scep.md`](legacy-est-scep.md#multi-profile-dispatch-scep-path-id) for the operator config recipe.
+
+**Must-staple per profile:** When `CertificateProfile.MustStaple = true`, the local issuer adds the RFC 7633 `id-pe-tlsfeature` extension (OID `1.3.6.1.5.5.7.1.24`, non-critical, value `SEQUENCE OF INTEGER {5}`) to issued certs so browsers + modern TLS libraries fail-closed on missing OCSP stapling responses.
+
+**Shared PKCS#7 package:** Both EST and SCEP handlers share a common `internal/pkcs7` package for building PKCS#7 certs-only responses and PEM-to-DER chain conversion, eliminating code duplication between the two enrollment protocols.
+
+**Audit:** Every SCEP enrollment is recorded in the audit trail with `protocol: "SCEP"`, the CN, SANs, issuer ID, serial number, transaction ID, and optional profile ID.
+
 ## Security Model

 ### Private Key Management
@@ -700,12 +831,39 @@ The control plane only handles public material: certificates, chains, and CSRs.

 **Server keygen mode (`CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server`, demo only):** The control plane generates RSA-2048 keys server-side within `processRenewalServerKeygen`. Private keys are stored in `certificate_versions.csr_pem`. A log warning is emitted at startup. Use only for Local CA development/demo.

+### CA Signing Abstraction
+
+The local issuer's CA private key is wrapped behind the `signer.Signer` interface in `internal/crypto/signer/`. Every CA-signing call site — leaf certificate issuance (`x509.CreateCertificate`), CRL generation (`x509.CreateRevocationList`), and OCSP response signing (`ocsp.CreateResponse`) — accesses the key through this interface rather than touching `crypto.Signer` directly. The interface embeds the stdlib `crypto.Signer` and adds a single `Algorithm() Algorithm` method so call sites can pick the matching `x509.SignatureAlgorithm` without reflecting on the concrete key type.
+
+```
+                                          ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
+                                          │  signer.Driver (pluggable)      │
+                                          ├─────────────────────────────────┤
+internal/connector/issuer/local           │  signer.FileDriver  (default)   │
+   c.caSigner signer.Signer  ──────────►  │    PEM key on disk              │
+                                          │                                 │
+                                          │  signer.MemoryDriver  (tests)   │
+                                          │    in-memory only               │
+                                          │                                 │
+                                          │  signer.PKCS11Driver  (V3-Pro)  │
+                                          │    HSM token (future)           │
+                                          │                                 │
+                                          │  signer.CloudKMSDriver (V3-Pro) │
+                                          │    AWS / GCP / Azure (future)   │
+                                          └─────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+Today only `FileDriver` (production) and `MemoryDriver` (tests) ship. The interface exists so PKCS#11/HSM and cloud-KMS drivers can land in follow-on packages (`internal/crypto/signer/pkcs11`, etc.) without modifying any call site or any other driver. The L-014 file-on-disk threat-model carve-out documented at the top of `internal/connector/issuer/local/local.go` applies to `FileDriver`-backed signers; alternative drivers that keep the key inside an HSM token or cloud KMS close the disk-exposure leg of the threat model entirely.
+
+Behavior equivalence between the wrapped Signer and the raw `crypto.Signer` is pinned by `internal/crypto/signer/equivalence_test.go`: RSA signing is byte-strict equal (PKCS#1 v1.5 is deterministic), ECDSA signing is structurally equal (TBSCertificate / TBSRevocationList byte-equal; signature value differs because ECDSA uses random `k`).
+
 ### Authentication

- **API clients → Server**: API key in `Authorization: Bearer` header, or `none` for demo mode
+- **API clients → Server**: API key in `Authorization: Bearer` header, or `none` for demo mode. Applies to every path under `/api/v1/*`.
 - **Agent → Server**: API key registered at agent creation, included in all requests
 - **Server → Issuers**: ACME account key, or connector-specific credentials
 - **Agent → Targets**: API tokens, WinRM credentials (stored locally on agent or proxy agent — never on server). Credential scope is limited to the agent's network zone.
+- **Standards-based enrollment and PKI distribution endpoints**: `/.well-known/est/*` (RFC 7030), `/scep` and `/scep/*` (RFC 8894), and `/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` + `/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (RFC 5280 §5 / RFC 6960 / RFC 8615) are served unauthenticated at the HTTP layer. These protocols carry their own authentication semantics — CSR signature + profile policy for EST (§3.2.3 says EST auth is deployment-specific; §4.1.1 makes `/cacerts` explicitly anonymous), `challengePassword` in CSR attributes for SCEP (§3.2), and relying-party accessibility for CRL/OCSP — and cannot present certctl Bearer tokens. The dispatch is implemented in `cmd/server/main.go:buildFinalHandler`, which routes these prefixes through `noAuthHandler` (RequestID + structuredLogger + Recovery only, no auth or rate-limit middleware). CWE-306 is closed for SCEP by `preflightSCEPChallengePassword`, which refuses to start the server when SCEP is enabled without `CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`. The 27-subtest regression harness `cmd/server/finalhandler_test.go` pins this dispatch surface (EST 4-endpoint, SCEP exact + trailing-slash + query-string, PKI CRL+OCSP, health probes, `/api/v1/*` authenticated, `/assets/*` file server, SPA fallback).

 ### Audit Trail

@@ -742,6 +900,34 @@ All shell-facing inputs (connector scripts, domain names, ACME tokens) are valid

 All incoming HTTP request bodies are capped by `http.MaxBytesReader` middleware (default 1MB, configurable via `CERTCTL_MAX_BODY_SIZE`). Requests exceeding the limit receive a 413 Request Entity Too Large response. The middleware is positioned before authentication in the chain so oversized payloads are rejected early, before any auth processing or database work occurs. Requests without bodies (GET, HEAD, nil body) skip the limit check.

+### Config Encryption at Rest
+
+Dynamic issuer and target configurations (rows with `source='database'`) contain credentials — ACME EAB HMACs, Vault tokens, DigiCert/Sectigo API keys, SSH private keys, WinRM passwords, F5 BIG-IP passwords, and similar. These are sealed at rest in PostgreSQL via `internal/crypto/encryption.go` using AES-256-GCM with a key derived from the operator passphrase `CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY` through PBKDF2-SHA256 (100,000 rounds, 32-byte output).
+
+**v2 wire format (current, M-8 remediation, CWE-916 / CWE-329):**
+
+```
+magic(0x02) || salt(16) || nonce(12) || ciphertext+tag
+```
+
+Every call to `EncryptIfKeySet` draws 16 fresh bytes from `crypto/rand` as the PBKDF2 salt, so the derived AES-256 key is distinct per ciphertext and per re-encryption. The salt is stored alongside the ciphertext; decryption reads the magic byte, splits out the salt, re-derives the key, and verifies the AEAD tag.
+
+**v1 legacy format (read-only):**
+
+```
+nonce(12) || ciphertext+tag
+```
+
+Pre-M-8 blobs were sealed with a package-level fixed salt `"certctl-config-encryption-v1"`. `DecryptIfKeySet` preserves the v1 read path unchanged — a blob whose first byte is not `0x02`, or whose v2 AEAD verification fails (including the 1/256 case where a v1 nonce happens to begin with `0x02`), falls through to a v1 attempt against the legacy fixed salt. v1 blobs are never written by the post-M-8 code path; they re-seal as v2 naturally on the next UPDATE through the normal service CRUD flow. No operator migration ceremony is required.
+
+**Fail-closed behavior (C-2 sentinel, CWE-311):** both `EncryptIfKeySet` and `DecryptIfKeySet` return `ErrEncryptionKeyRequired` when invoked with an empty passphrase. The server refuses to start if any `source='database'` rows already exist without `CERTCTL_CONFIG_ENCRYPTION_KEY` set.
+
+**Low-level primitives preserved byte-identical.** `Encrypt`, `Decrypt`, and `DeriveKey` are kept bit-stable so v1 fixtures on disk remain decryptable unchanged and so callers outside the config-encryption path (none today, but the symbols are exported) do not see a breaking change. The new per-ciphertext salt path is reached via the helper `deriveKeyWithSalt(passphrase, salt)`.
+
+**Passphrase plumbing.** Services (`IssuerService`, `TargetService`, `IssuerRegistry`) hold the operator passphrase as a raw `string` and delegate PBKDF2 to the crypto package per ciphertext. This replaces the pre-M-8 design that pre-derived a single `[]byte` key at service construction and reused it for every row, which was the direct consequence of the fixed-salt KDF.
+
+**Coverage gate.** CI enforces `internal/crypto/...` coverage ≥ 85% (observed 86.7%) — the encryption primitives are a security-critical gate, and the v2 format plus v1 fallback plus C-2 sentinel paths all need exhaustive coverage to avoid silent regressions.
+
 ### CORS

 CORS uses a **deny-by-default** posture: when `CERTCTL_CORS_ORIGINS` is empty, no CORS headers are set and only same-origin requests can read responses. Operators must explicitly configure allowed origins. This prevents accidental exposure of the API to cross-origin requests in production.
@@ -756,12 +942,18 @@ The HTTP middleware stack processes requests in the following order (see `cmd/se
 4. **BodyLimit** - request body size cap via `http.MaxBytesReader`
 5. **RateLimiter** - token bucket rate limiting (optional, when enabled)
 6. **CORS** - cross-origin request handling (deny-by-default)
-7. **Auth** - API key or JWT validation
+7. **Auth** - API key validation (or none in development; JWT/OIDC via authenticating gateway, see below — not in-process)
 8. **AuditLog** - records every API call to the audit trail (requires auth context for actor)

+### Authenticating-gateway pattern (JWT, OIDC, mTLS)
+
+certctl's in-process authentication surface is intentionally narrow: `api-key` for production deployments and `none` for development. There is no in-process JWT, OIDC, mTLS, or SAML middleware. (`CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` was accepted pre-G-1 but silently routed through the api-key bearer middleware — a security finding masquerading as a config option, removed at the v2.x boundary; see [`upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md`](upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md) if you previously set it.)
+
+For deployments that need JWT/OIDC/mTLS, the standard pattern is to put an authenticating gateway in front of certctl and configure `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none` on the upstream certctl process. The gateway terminates the federated identity protocol, validates tokens / certificates / SAML assertions, and proxies the authenticated request to certctl as a same-origin call on a private network. This separation gives operators the full breadth of the modern identity ecosystem (oauth2-proxy, Envoy `ext_authz`, Traefik `ForwardAuth`, Pomerium, Authelia, Caddy `forward_auth`, Apache `mod_auth_openidc`, nginx `auth_request`) without certctl itself having to track signing-key rotation, claim mapping, audience validation, and the rest of the JWT/OIDC surface area. Operators wanting per-request actor attribution past the gateway boundary forward the gateway-resolved identity (e.g., `X-Auth-Request-User` from oauth2-proxy) and run a small authorization layer at the gateway that enforces the bearer-key contract certctl actually uses.
+
 ### Concurrency Safety

-The background scheduler uses `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency guards on all 7 loops — if a tick fires while the previous iteration is still running, it skips. A `sync.WaitGroup` tracks all in-flight goroutines. `WaitForCompletion(timeout)` blocks during shutdown until all work finishes or the timeout expires, preventing state corruption from mid-flight database operations during process exit.
+The background scheduler uses `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency guards on every loop (8 always-on plus up to 4 optional) — if a tick fires while the previous iteration is still running, it skips. A `sync.WaitGroup` tracks all in-flight goroutines. `WaitForCompletion(timeout)` blocks during shutdown until all work finishes or the timeout expires, preventing state corruption from mid-flight database operations during process exit.

 ### Logging

@@ -780,10 +972,20 @@ All endpoints are under `/api/v1/` and follow consistent patterns:

 Resources: certificates, issuers, targets, agents, jobs, policies, profiles, teams, owners, agent-groups, audit, notifications, discovered-certificates, discovery-scans, network-scan-targets, stats, metrics.

-The full API is documented in an OpenAPI 3.1 specification at `api/openapi.yaml` with 99 endpoints across 23 resource domains (97 under `/api/v1/` + `/.well-known/est/` plus `/health` and `/ready`; includes auth, 7 discovery endpoints from M18b, 6 network scan endpoints from M21, Prometheus metrics from M22, 4 EST enrollment endpoints from M23, 2 digest endpoints from M29), all request/response schemas, and pagination conventions. See the [OpenAPI Guide](openapi.md) for usage with Swagger UI and SDK generation.
+The full API is documented in an OpenAPI 3.1 specification at `api/openapi.yaml`. The router-vs-spec parity is pinned by the `TestRouter_OpenAPIParity` regression test (Bundle D / M-027), which AST-walks `internal/api/router/router.go` for every `r.Register` AND direct `r.mux.Handle` registration and asserts the set matches the spec's `paths:` block exactly. Live counts:
+
+```
+grep -cE 'r\.Register\("[A-Z]' internal/api/router/router.go    # r.Register sites
+grep -cE 'r\.mux\.Handle\("[A-Z]' internal/api/router/router.go # r.mux.Handle sites (auth-exempt: health/ready/auth-info/version)
+grep -cE '^\s+operationId:' api/openapi.yaml                   # documented operations
+```
+
+See the [OpenAPI Guide](openapi.md) for usage with Swagger UI and SDK generation.

 Jobs support additional action endpoints: `POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/cancel`, `POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/approve`, `POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/reject`.

+**Bulk Operations:** `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` — Bulk revocation by filter criteria (profile_id, owner_id, agent_id, issuer_id). Creates individual revocation jobs for matching certificates, with partial-failure tolerance and a summary audit event.
+
 **Enhanced Query Features (M20):** Certificate list endpoints support additional query capabilities beyond basic pagination:

 - **Sorting**: `?sort=notAfter` (ascending) or `?sort=-createdAt` (descending). Whitelist: notAfter, expiresAt, createdAt, updatedAt, commonName, name, status, environment.
@@ -793,7 +995,7 @@ Jobs support additional action endpoints: `POST /api/v1/jobs/{id}/cancel`, `POST
 - **Additional filters**: `?agent_id=`, `?profile_id=` (in addition to existing status, environment, owner_id, team_id, issuer_id).
 - **Deployments**: `GET /api/v1/certificates/{id}/deployments` returns deployment targets for a certificate.

-Certificate revocation: `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke` with optional `{"reason": "keyCompromise"}`. Supports RFC 5280 reason codes (unspecified, keyCompromise, caCompromise, affiliationChanged, superseded, cessationOfOperation, certificateHold, privilegeWithdrawn). Returns the updated certificate status. Best-effort issuer notification — the revocation succeeds even if the issuer connector is unavailable. A JSON-formatted CRL is available at `GET /api/v1/crl`, and a DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by the issuing CA at `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}`. An embedded OCSP responder serves signed responses at `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`. Short-lived certificates (profile TTL < 1 hour) are exempt from CRL/OCSP — expiry is sufficient revocation.
+Certificate revocation: `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke` with optional `{"reason": "keyCompromise"}`. Supports RFC 5280 reason codes (unspecified, keyCompromise, caCompromise, affiliationChanged, superseded, cessationOfOperation, certificateHold, privilegeWithdrawn). Returns the updated certificate status. Best-effort issuer notification — the revocation succeeds even if the issuer connector is unavailable. The DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by the issuing CA is served unauthenticated at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5 + RFC 8615, `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`); the CRL is pre-generated by the scheduler-driven `crlGenerationLoop` and persisted in the `crl_cache` table (migration 000019) so HTTP fetches do not rebuild per request. The embedded OCSP responder serves signed responses unauthenticated at both `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` and `POST /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}` (RFC 6960 §A.1.1, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`); responses are signed by a per-issuer dedicated OCSP responder cert (RFC 6960 §2.6, migration 000020) carrying the `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) — the CA private key is never used directly for OCSP signing, which keeps it cold for the future PKCS#11/HSM driver path. The responder cert auto-rotates within `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_ROTATION_GRACE` (default 7d) of expiry. Both endpoints are accessible to relying parties with no certctl API credentials, as RFC-compliant PKI consumers expect. Short-lived certificates (profile TTL < 1 hour) are exempt from CRL/OCSP — expiry is sufficient revocation. See [`crl-ocsp.md`](crl-ocsp.md) for the operator + relying-party guide (endpoint URLs, configuration knobs, responder cert lifecycle, cert-manager / Firefox / OpenSSL / Intune integration recipes, troubleshooting).

 Certificate export (M27): `GET /api/v1/certificates/{id}/export/pem` returns PEM-encoded certificate and chain, and `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/export/pkcs12` returns a PKCS#12 bundle (binary). Private keys are never exported — they remain on agents. All exports are audited with actor, timestamp, and format.

@@ -808,7 +1010,7 @@ flowchart LR
    AI["AI Assistant\n(Claude, Cursor)"] -->|"stdio"| MCP["MCP Server\ncmd/mcp-server/"]
    MCP -->|"HTTP + Bearer token"| API["certctl REST API\n:8443"]

-    subgraph "78 MCP Tools"
+    subgraph "MCP Tools"
        T1["Certificate CRUD"]
        T2["Agent Management"]
        T3["Job Operations"]
@@ -822,7 +1024,7 @@ flowchart LR

 The MCP server is a stateless HTTP proxy — every MCP tool call translates to an HTTP request to the certctl REST API. It adds no new state, no new dependencies, and no new attack surface beyond what the API already exposes. Configuration is minimal: `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` and `CERTCTL_API_KEY` environment variables.

-The 78 tools are organized across 16 resource domains with typed input structs and `jsonschema` struct tags for automatic LLM-friendly schema generation. Binary response support handles DER CRL and OCSP endpoints.
+The tools are organized across 16 resource domains with typed input structs and `jsonschema` struct tags for automatic LLM-friendly schema generation. Binary response support handles DER CRL and OCSP endpoints.

 ## CLI Tool

@@ -897,9 +1099,9 @@ See `deploy/helm/certctl/values.yaml` for the full configuration reference and `

 For production, you would also add an ingress controller, TLS termination for the certctl API itself, and external PostgreSQL (RDS, Cloud SQL, etc.).

-## Discovery Data Flow (M18b + M21)
+## Discovery Data Flow (M18b + M21 + M50)

-Certificate discovery enables operators to build a complete inventory of existing certificates before managing them with certctl. There are two discovery modes that feed into the same pipeline:
+Certificate discovery enables operators to build a complete inventory of existing certificates before managing them with certctl. There are three discovery modes that feed into the same pipeline:

 ```mermaid
 flowchart TB
@@ -908,6 +1110,7 @@ flowchart TB
        SCAN["Filesystem Scanner\n(CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS)"]
        SERVER["certctl-server\n(network discovery)"]
        NETSCAN["TLS Scanner\n(CIDR ranges + ports)"]
+        CLOUD["Cloud Discovery\n(AWS SM / Azure KV / GCP SM)"]
    end

    EXTRACT["Extract Metadata\n(CN, SANs, serial, issuer, expiry, fingerprint)"]
@@ -923,6 +1126,7 @@ flowchart TB
    SCAN --> EXTRACT
    SERVER -->|"Scheduler loop\n(every 6h)"| NETSCAN
    NETSCAN -->|"crypto/tls.Dial\n50 goroutines"| EXTRACT
+    CLOUD -->|"Scheduler loop\n(every 6h)"| EXTRACT
    EXTRACT --> SERVICE
    SERVICE --> REPO
    REPO -->|"Dedup by fingerprint\n+ agent_id + source_path"| DB
@@ -949,7 +1153,16 @@ flowchart TB
 5. **Sentinel agent** — Results submitted using `server-scanner` as virtual agent ID, with `source_path` set to `ip:port` and `source_format` set to `network`
 6. **Same pipeline** — Feeds into the same `DiscoveryService.ProcessDiscoveryReport()` as filesystem discovery — same dedup, same audit trail, same triage workflow

-**Common triage workflow (both sources):**
+**Cloud Secret Manager Discovery (M50):**
+
+1. **Pluggable sources** — Each cloud provider implements the `DiscoverySource` interface (Name, Type, Discover, ValidateConfig). Three built-in sources: AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, GCP Secret Manager
+2. **CloudDiscoveryService orchestrator** — Iterates registered sources, calls `Discover()` on each, feeds reports into `ProcessDiscoveryReport()`. Errors from one source don't prevent other sources from running
+3. **Scheduler integration** — opt-in cloud discovery scheduler loop (6h default; see `docs/architecture.md` 12-loop topology), runs immediately on startup, `atomic.Bool` idempotency guard
+4. **Sentinel agents** — Each source uses its own sentinel agent ID (`cloud-aws-sm`, `cloud-azure-kv`, `cloud-gcp-sm`) for dedup and triage filtering
+5. **Source path format** — `aws-sm://{region}/{secret}`, `azure-kv://{cert-name}/{version}`, `gcp-sm://{project}/{secret}`
+6. **No new schema** — Reuses existing `discovered_certificates` and `discovery_scans` tables. Sentinel agent IDs leverage existing `(fingerprint_sha256, agent_id, source_path)` dedup constraint
+
+**Common triage workflow (all sources):**

 1. **Storage** — Records stored in `discovered_certificates` table with status = "Unmanaged"
 2. **Audit** — `discovery_scan_completed` event logged with agent ID, cert count, scan timestamp
@@ -962,13 +1175,37 @@ flowchart TB

 This data flow is pull-based and non-blocking. Agents discover at their own pace; the server stores results for later review. There's no pressure to claim or dismiss; operators can leave certificates in "Unmanaged" status indefinitely.

+## Continuous TLS Health Monitoring (M48)
+
+Beyond one-time discovery, certctl continuously monitors TLS endpoints for certificate health using a shared TLS probing package and a state-machine-driven health check service. Endpoints transition between states (Healthy → Degraded → Down) based on consecutive failures, and `cert_mismatch` status alerts when a deployed certificate is unexpectedly replaced.
+
+**Architecture:** Probing is extracted into a shared `internal/tlsprobe/` package used by both the network scanner (M21) and the health monitor. The `HealthCheckService` manages 8 API endpoints for CRUD operations and state transitions. A dedicated opt-in endpoint health scheduler loop runs every 60 seconds (configurable via `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL`). Individual health check targets have their own check intervals (default 300 seconds) — the scheduler queries only endpoints due for check via `ListDueForCheck()`. Results are stored with historical tracking for 30 days (configurable via `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_HISTORY_RETENTION`). State transitions trigger notifications (critical for down endpoints, warning for degraded, high for cert_mismatch).
+
+**State Machine:** Healthy → Degraded (configurable threshold, default 2 consecutive failures) → Down (default 5 failures). The `cert_mismatch` status is special — it fires whenever the observed certificate fingerprint differs from the expected (deployed) fingerprint, catching silent rollbacks and unauthorized cert replacements. Recovery from degraded/down transitions back to healthy and resets the failure counter.
+
+**API:** 8 endpoints for list (with filters: status, certificate_id, network_scan_target_id, enabled), get, create, update, delete, history (with limit param), acknowledge (incident marking), and summary (aggregate status counts).
+
+**Auto-Create:** When a deployment job completes with successful verification (M25), the system automatically creates a health check with the deployed certificate's fingerprint as the expected value. Network scan targets can also opt-in to auto-create health checks for discovered endpoints.
+
+**Configuration:**
+
+| Env Var | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_ENABLED` | `false` | Enable/disable the feature |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL` | `60s` | Scheduler tick interval |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_DEFAULT_INTERVAL` | `300s` | Default per-endpoint check interval (5 min) |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT` | `5000ms` | TLS connection timeout per probe |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_MAX_CONCURRENT` | `20` | Max concurrent TLS probes |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_HISTORY_RETENTION` | `30 days` | Purge probe history older than this |
+| `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_AUTO_CREATE` | `true` | Auto-create checks from deployments |
+
 ## Testing Strategy

 certctl is extensively tested across eight layers with CI-enforced coverage gates that act as regression floors. The goal is high-confidence regression prevention at the service and handler layers (where the most complex business logic lives), combined with integration tests that exercise the full request path from HTTP to database.

-**Service layer unit tests** (`internal/service/*_test.go`) — Mock-based tests across all service files covering certificate CRUD, revocation (all RFC 5280 reason codes, OCSP/CRL generation), agent lifecycle, job state machine, policy evaluation, renewal/issuance flow (both keygen modes), notification deduplication, team/owner/agent group CRUD, issuer service CRUD with connection testing, and the issuer connector adapter. Mock repositories are simple structs with function fields — no heavy mocking frameworks.
+**Service layer unit tests** (`internal/service/*_test.go`) — Mock-based tests across all service files covering certificate CRUD, revocation (all RFC 5280 reason codes, OCSP/CRL generation, bulk revocation by filter with partial-failure tolerance), agent lifecycle, job state machine, policy evaluation, renewal/issuance flow (both keygen modes), notification deduplication, team/owner/agent group CRUD, issuer service CRUD with connection testing, and the issuer connector adapter. Mock repositories are simple structs with function fields — no heavy mocking frameworks.

-**Handler layer tests** (`internal/api/handler/*_test.go`) — Every handler file has a corresponding test file using Go's `httptest` package: certificates (including revocation, DER CRL, OCSP), agents, jobs (including approve/reject), notifications, policies, profiles, issuers, targets, agent groups, teams, owners, discovery, network scan, verification, export, EST, digest, stats, and metrics. Tests cover the happy path, input validation, error propagation, method-not-allowed, and pagination.
+**Handler layer tests** (`internal/api/handler/*_test.go`) — Every handler file has a corresponding test file using Go's `httptest` package: certificates (including revocation, bulk revocation by profile/owner/agent/issuer, DER CRL, OCSP), agents, jobs (including approve/reject), notifications, policies, profiles, issuers, targets, agent groups, teams, owners, discovery, network scan, verification, export, EST, digest, stats, and metrics. Tests cover the happy path, input validation, error propagation, method-not-allowed, pagination, and bulk operation partial-failure scenarios.

 **Integration tests** (`internal/integration/`) — Three test files exercising the full stack from HTTP request through router, handler, service, and repository layers. `lifecycle_test.go` covers the complete certificate lifecycle (team/owner creation through deployment and status reporting). `negative_test.go` covers error paths, endpoint validation, and revocation scenarios. `e2e_test.go` exercises cross-milestone features end-to-end (agent metadata, profiles, issuer registry, GUI operations, stats, revocation, notifications, enhanced query API).

@@ -976,13 +1213,15 @@ certctl is extensively tested across eight layers with CI-enforced coverage gate

 **Frontend tests** (`web/src/api/`) — Vitest tests covering the full API client (all endpoint functions with fetch mocking), stats/metrics endpoints, utility functions, and auth flows. Test environment uses jsdom with `@testing-library/jest-dom` matchers.

-**Connector tests** (`internal/connector/`) — Issuer connectors (Local CA self-signed/sub-CA modes, ACME DNS-01/DNS-PERSIST-01, step-ca, OpenSSL, Vault PKI, DigiCert, Sectigo, Google CAS — all with httptest mock servers). Target connectors (NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, IIS with mock PowerShell executor, F5 BIG-IP with mock iControl client, Postfix/Dovecot). Notifier connectors (Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie).
+**Connector tests** (`internal/connector/`) — Issuer connectors (Local CA self-signed/sub-CA modes, ACME DNS-01/DNS-PERSIST-01, step-ca, OpenSSL, Vault PKI, DigiCert, Sectigo, Google CAS, AWS ACM PCA — all with httptest mock servers or injectable interface mocks). Target connectors (NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, IIS with mock PowerShell executor, F5 BIG-IP with mock iControl client, Postfix/Dovecot, SSH with mock SSH client, Windows Certificate Store with mock PowerShell executor, Java Keystore with mock command executor, Kubernetes Secrets with mock K8s client, shared certutil package). Notifier connectors (Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie).

 **Scheduler tests** (`internal/scheduler/scheduler_test.go`) — Idempotency guards (`sync/atomic.Bool`), `WaitForCompletion` success and timeout paths, and multi-loop concurrency safety.

 **Fuzz tests** (`internal/validation/`, `internal/domain/`) — Go native fuzz tests for command validation (`ValidateShellCommand`, `ValidateDomainName`, `ValidateACMEToken`) and revocation domain parsing.

-**CI pipeline** (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) — Two parallel jobs. Go: build, vet, `go test -race`, `golangci-lint` (11 linters), `govulncheck`, test with coverage, per-layer coverage threshold enforcement (service 60%, handler 60%, domain 40%, middleware 50%). Frontend: TypeScript type check, Vitest, Vite production build.
+**CI pipeline** (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) — Two parallel jobs. Go: build, vet, `go test -race`, `golangci-lint` (11 linters), `govulncheck`, test with coverage, per-layer coverage threshold enforcement (service 55%, handler 60%, domain 40%, middleware 30%). Frontend: TypeScript type check, Vitest, Vite production build.
+
+For detailed test procedures, smoke tests, and the release sign-off checklist, see the [Testing Guide](testing-guide.md). For setting up the Docker Compose test environment with real CA backends, see [Test Environment](test-env.md).

 ## What's Next

@@ -992,3 +1231,5 @@ certctl is extensively tested across eight layers with CI-enforced coverage gate
 - [Compliance Mapping](compliance.md) — SOC 2, PCI-DSS 4.0, and NIST SP 800-57 alignment
 - [MCP Server Guide](mcp.md) — AI-native access to the API
 - [OpenAPI Spec](openapi.md) — Full API reference and SDK generation
+- [Testing Guide](testing-guide.md) — Test procedures and release sign-off
+- [Test Environment](test-env.md) — Docker Compose test environment setup
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Deploy certctl control plane once (Docker Compose, Kubernetes Helm chart, or sel
 ```bash
 cd /opt/certctl
 docker compose up -d
-# Dashboard & API: http://localhost:8443
+# Dashboard & API: https://localhost:8443 (self-signed cert — pin with --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt)
 ```

 **Option B: Kubernetes** (recommended for prod)
@@ -59,7 +59,8 @@ chmod +x /usr/local/bin/certctl-agent

 # Config
 sudo tee /etc/certctl/agent.env > /dev/null <<EOF
-CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://certctl-control-plane:8443
+CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://certctl-control-plane:8443
+CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
 CERTCTL_API_KEY=your-api-key
 CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS=/etc/nginx/certs,/etc/ssl,/etc/letsencrypt/live
 CERTCTL_KEY_DIR=/var/lib/certctl/keys
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ certctl implements tiered key storage with different protection profiles based o
 - Configured via: `CERTCTL_CA_CERT_PATH=/path/to/ca.crt` and `CERTCTL_CA_KEY_PATH=/path/to/ca.key`

 **NIST Gap: HSM Storage**
-NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 recommends Hardware Security Module (HSM) storage for high-value keys (CA signing keys). certctl V2 uses filesystem storage on the server. HSM support is planned for V5 roadmap, enabling integration with:
+NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 recommends Hardware Security Module (HSM) storage for high-value keys (CA signing keys). certctl V2 uses filesystem storage on the server. HSM support is planned for certctl Pro (V3), enabling integration with:
 - AWS CloudHSM
 - Azure Dedicated HSM
 - Thales Luna, Gemalto SafeNet, YubiHSM (on-premises)
@@ -210,15 +210,17 @@ NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 Section 6.2 addresses secure key distribution to minimize
  - Proxy agent executes deployment via appliance API

 **Revocation Distribution**
- Certificate Revocation List (CRL) via `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}`
-  - Returns DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by issuing CA
+- Certificate Revocation List (CRL) via `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615)
+  - Returns DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by issuing CA (`Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`)
  - 24-hour validity period
  - Includes all revoked serials, reasons, and revocation timestamps
+  - Served unauthenticated so relying parties without certctl API credentials can fetch it
  - Subject to URL caching; OCSP preferred for real-time revocation
- OCSP via `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`
-  - Returns DER-encoded OCSP response (OCSPResponse ASN.1 structure)
+- OCSP via `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (RFC 6960)
+  - Returns DER-encoded OCSP response (OCSPResponse ASN.1 structure, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`)
  - Signed by issuing CA (or delegated OCSP signing cert)
  - Responds with good/revoked/unknown status
+  - Served unauthenticated — the RFC 6960 relying-party model does not assume API credentials
  - Real-time, more bandwidth-efficient than CRL polling

 ## Revocation and Compromise (NIST SP 800-57 Part 3)
@@ -272,20 +274,23 @@ NIST SP 800-57 Part 3 covers revocation (Section 2.5) when keys are suspected co
 - OCSP responder queries revocation table in real-time
 - Short-lived certificate exemption: certs with TTL < 1 hour skip CRL/OCSP (expiry is sufficient revocation)

+**Bulk Revocation for Large-Scale Compromise Response** (V2.2) — NIST SP 800-57 Part 3 emphasizes rapid revocation when keys are compromised. `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` revokes all certificates matching filter criteria (profile, owner, agent, issuer) in a single operation. This enables operators to execute fleet-wide revocation for key compromise events affecting multiple certificates. Each bulk revocation creates individual jobs reusing the existing revocation pipeline, ensuring every certificate is recorded in the audit trail with the incident reason.
+
 **Revocation Audit Trail**
 All revocation events logged:
- Event type: `certificate_revoked`
+- Event type: `certificate_revoked` or `bulk_revocation_initiated` (for fleet operations)
 - Actor: authenticated user or service
- Reason code: RFC 5280 enum
+- Reason code: RFC 5280 enum (or incident justification for bulk operations)
 - Timestamp: RFC3339
 - Issuer notification status: success or error reason
+- Filter criteria: profile_id, owner_id, agent_id, issuer_id (for bulk revocation)

 ## Alignment Summary Table

 | NIST SP 800-57 Area | Status | Coverage | Notes |
 |---|---|---|---|
 | **Key Generation** | ✅ Aligned | 100% | Agent-side ECDSA P-256 using crypto/rand; server mode flagged as demo-only |
-| **Key Storage** | ⚠️ Partially Aligned | 80% | Filesystem with 0600 perms; HSM support planned V5 |
+| **Key Storage** | ⚠️ Partially Aligned | 80% | Filesystem with 0600 perms; HSM support planned V3 Pro |
 | **Cryptoperiods** | ✅ Aligned | 100% | Profile-enforced max_ttl; threshold-based renewal alerting |
 | **Key States** | ✅ Aligned | 100% | Full lifecycle tracking with immutable audit trail |
 | **Algorithms** | ✅ Aligned | 100% | NIST-approved algorithms only; post-quantum tracking in progress |
@@ -301,13 +306,14 @@ All revocation events logged:
 - [x] RFC 5280 revocation support
 - [x] Immutable audit trail

+### V2.2 (Planned: 2026)
+- Bulk revocation by profile/owner/agent/issuer (fleet-level revocation for incident response)
+
 ### V3 (Planned: 2026)
 - Role-based access control (limit revocation/approval to authorized operators)
- Bulk revocation by profile/owner/agent (fleet-level revocation policy)

-### V5 (Planned: 2027+)
- HSM support for CA key storage
- PKCS#11 integration for hardware tokens
+### V3 Pro (Planned)
+- HSM support for CA key storage and agent key storage (TPM 2.0, PKCS#11)
 - FIPS 140-2/3 validated crypto module (BoringCrypto build or external FIPS library)
 - Key destruction API (explicit secure erasure of agent keys)
 - Key escrow / recovery mechanism (backup encrypted private keys for disaster recovery)
@@ -92,9 +92,11 @@ Your QSA will request evidence that your certificate and key management systems

 - **Certificate Status Tracking** — Four statuses: Active (deployed, not yet expired), Expiring (within threshold, awaiting renewal), Expired (past not-after date), Revoked (revoked via RFC 5280 revocation API). Dashboard charts show status distribution.

- **Revocation Infrastructure** (M15a, M15b):
-  - CRL endpoint: `GET /api/v1/crl` (JSON format) or `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` (DER X.509 CRL, 24h validity, signed by issuing CA)
-  - OCSP responder: `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (returns DER-encoded OCSP response: good/revoked/unknown)
+- **Revocation Infrastructure** (M15a, M15b, M-006):
+  - Revocation API: `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke` with RFC 5280 reason codes
+  - CRL endpoint: `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` — DER X.509 CRL, 24h validity, signed by issuing CA, served unauthenticated (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615, `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`)
+  - OCSP responder: `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` — DER-encoded OCSP response (good/revoked/unknown), served unauthenticated (RFC 6960, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`)
+  - Bulk revocation (V2.2): `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` with filter criteria (profile, owner, agent, issuer) for fleet-wide incident response
  - Short-lived cert exemption: certs with TTL < 1 hour skip CRL/OCSP (expiry is sufficient revocation)

 - **Stats API** (M14) — Real-time visibility:
@@ -107,7 +109,7 @@ Your QSA will request evidence that your certificate and key management systems
 - Discovered certificate report: `GET /api/v1/discovered-certificates` JSON export showing all certs on systems, fingerprints, and status.
 - Managed certificate inventory: `GET /api/v1/certificates` with filters (`?status=Expiring` for upcoming renewals).
 - Expiration alert configuration: policy JSON showing `alert_thresholds_days` for each environment.
- CRL/OCSP availability proof: HTTP GET requests to `/api/v1/crl` and `/api/v1/ocsp/{issuer}/{serial}` with signed responses.
+- CRL/OCSP availability proof: unauthenticated HTTP GET requests to `/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (DER, `application/pkix-crl`) and `/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (DER, `application/ocsp-response`) with signed responses.
 - Audit trail for certificate creation/renewal/revocation: `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_issued,certificate_renewed,certificate_revoked`.
 - Dashboard charts showing expiration timeline, renewal success trends, status distribution.

@@ -326,11 +328,14 @@ This requirement covers key generation, storage, rotation, and destruction. Cert
  - Issuer notified (best-effort; ACME lacks standard revocation, Local CA skips issuer step).
  - Revocation notifications sent to owner via email/webhook/Slack/Teams/PagerDuty.

- **CRL and OCSP Publication** (M15b) — Revoked certificates published in:
-  - CRL: `GET /api/v1/crl` (JSON format) or `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` (DER X.509, signed by CA, 24h validity)
-  - OCSP: `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (returns revoked status for clients validating certificate chain)
+- **CRL and OCSP Publication** (M15b, M-006) — Revoked certificates published in:
+  - CRL: `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (DER X.509 signed by CA, 24h validity, RFC 5280 §5 + RFC 8615, `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`)
+  - OCSP: `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (returns revoked status for clients validating certificate chain, RFC 6960, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`)
+  - Both endpoints are served unauthenticated so relying parties (browsers, TLS appliances) without certctl API keys can verify revocation — this is the RFC-compliant PKI model.
  - Clients checking certificate status via OCSP or CRL see revoked status within 24 hours.

+- **Bulk Revocation for Incident Response** (V2.2) — `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` with filter criteria (profile, owner, agent, issuer) revokes all matching certificates in a single operation. PCI-DSS Req 4 requires rapid response to data transmission security incidents — bulk revocation enables operators to revoke an entire certificate set (e.g., all certs used by a compromised team or endpoint) in minutes rather than hours.
+
 - **Private Key Destruction on Agent** — When certificate renewed or revoked:
  - Agent removes old private key file from `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR` when new certificate deployed.
  - Job status tracking confirms old key is no longer needed.
@@ -338,8 +343,8 @@ This requirement covers key generation, storage, rotation, and destruction. Cert

 **Evidence You Can Provide**:
 - Revocation requests: `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_revoked` with RFC 5280 reason codes.
- CRL publication: HTTP GET `/api/v1/crl` and parse JSON to show revoked serial numbers and timestamps.
- OCSP responder validation: Query `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer}/{serial}` for a known-revoked cert; response includes `revoked` status.
+- CRL publication: HTTP GET `/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (unauthenticated) returns a DER X.509 CRL — parse with `openssl crl -inform der -noout -text` to show revoked serial numbers, reasons, and timestamps.
+- OCSP responder validation: Query `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (unauthenticated) for a known-revoked cert; response includes `revoked` status and can be parsed with `openssl ocsp` tooling.
 - Audit trail: Certificate status transitions (Active → Revoked) recorded in `audit_events`.

 **Operator Responsibility**:
@@ -382,12 +387,12 @@ This requirement covers key generation, storage, rotation, and destruction. Cert
  - API key transmitted in Authorization header (not URL parameter, not cookie).
  - Browser to server: TLS.
  - Agent to server: TLS.
-  - No credential logging (API key hash only, never plaintext).
+  - No credential logging (audit records the per-key actor `Name`, never the Bearer token; logs redact the `Authorization` header).

 **Evidence You Can Provide**:
 - API configuration: `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=api-key` in deployment manifest.
- Database schema: `api_keys` table showing SHA-256 hash column, not plaintext.
- API audit log: `GET /api/v1/audit?action=api_call` showing Bearer token validation (no plaintext keys logged).
+- Key inventory: `CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED` env var (format `name:key:admin,...`) — seeds the in-memory `NamedAPIKey{Name, Key, Admin}` struct at `internal/api/middleware/middleware.go:29`. Keys are constant-time-compared (`subtle.ConstantTimeCompare`) against the Bearer token. No database table stores them; protect the env var contents at rest via a secrets manager (Vault / AWS Secrets Manager / Kubernetes Secrets / Docker Secrets).
+- API audit log: `GET /api/v1/audit?action=api_call` showing per-key actor names (`Name` field of matched `NamedAPIKey`) on every call, with zero plaintext or hashed key material recorded.
 - TLS certificate on control plane: `openssl s_client -connect {server}:8443` showing valid certificate, TLS 1.2+, strong cipher.
 - GUI login flow: browser network tab showing Authorization header (token value redacted in compliance report).

@@ -557,6 +562,7 @@ This requirement covers key generation, storage, rotation, and destruction. Cert
 - **Alert Notifications** (M3, M16a) — Configurable escalation:
  - Email alerts: certificate approaching expiration, renewal failure, revocation notification.
  - Webhook: custom HTTP POST to your monitoring system (Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie, custom webhook).
+  - **Retry & Dead-Letter Queue** (I-005) — Transient notifier failures (SMTP timeout, webhook 5xx) are retried with exponential backoff (`2^n` minutes capped at 1h, 5-attempt budget) before landing in the terminal `dead` status. Operators monitor DLQ depth via the `certctl_notification_dead_total` Prometheus counter and requeue via the Notifications page Dead letter tab once the underlying outage is resolved. Closes the pre-I-005 silent-drop gap where a single 5xx could lose a compliance-relevant alert without evidence.
  - Deduplication: one alert per threshold/certificate per day (avoid alert fatigue).

 - **Audit Trail Filtering and Export** (M13) — Compliance reporting:
@@ -717,12 +723,12 @@ This requirement covers key generation, storage, rotation, and destruction. Cert
 | PCI-DSS Requirement | certctl Feature | API/UI Evidence | Database/Config | Audit Trail | Status |
 |---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | **4.2.1** Strong Crypto | TLS cert issuance, ACME/step-ca/Local CA, RSA 2048+/ECDSA P-256 | `GET /api/v1/certificates` (key_type, key_size) | Certificate profiles | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_issued` | Available |
-| **4.2.2** Cert Inventory & Validation | Managed cert CRUD, discovery (M18b), expiration alerting, CRL/OCSP | `GET /api/v1/certificates`, `GET /api/v1/discovered-certificates`, `GET /api/v1/crl`, `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer}/{serial}` | `managed_certificates`, `discovered_certificates` tables | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_*` | Available |
+| **4.2.2** Cert Inventory & Validation | Managed cert CRUD, discovery (M18b), expiration alerting, CRL/OCSP | `GET /api/v1/certificates`, `GET /api/v1/discovered-certificates`, `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}`, `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (both unauthenticated, RFC 5280 / RFC 6960) | `managed_certificates`, `discovered_certificates` tables | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_*` | Available |
 | **3.6** Key Documentation | Profiles, owner/team tracking, issuer config, audit trail | `GET /api/v1/profiles`, `GET /api/v1/issuers`, certificate detail with owner/team | Profiles, certificate owner/team fields, issuer config | `GET /api/v1/audit?resource_type=certificate` | Available |
 | **3.7.1** Key Generation | Agent-side ECDSA P-256, server keygen (demo only) | Agent logs, renewal job detail, CSR audit | `CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=agent` (config), job_type=AwaitingCSR | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_issued` with CSR hash | Available |
 | **3.7.2** Key Storage | Agent `/var/lib/certctl/keys` (0600), env var secrets, .env excluded | Deployment manifest (env var refs), agent key dir listing | `.env` file (git-ignored), `CERTCTL_KEY_DIR`, `CERTCTL_CA_KEY_PATH` | No API audit (keys off-platform) | Available |
 | **3.7.3** Key Rotation | Auto renewal, expiration thresholds, renewal jobs | Dashboard renewal trends, `GET /api/v1/jobs?type=Renewal`, certificate versions | Renewal policies, certificate version history | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_renewed` | Available |
-| **3.7.4** Key Destruction | Revocation API (RFC 5280), CRL/OCSP, private key cleanup | `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke`, `GET /api/v1/crl`, OCSP endpoint | `certificate_revocations` table, CRL publication | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_revoked` | Available |
+| **3.7.4** Key Destruction | Revocation API (RFC 5280), CRL/OCSP, private key cleanup | `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke`, unauthenticated `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` and `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` | `certificate_revocations` table, CRL publication | `GET /api/v1/audit?type=certificate_revoked` | Available |
 | **8.3** Strong Authentication | API key (SHA-256 hash, TLS), GUI login, 401 redirect | GUI login screenshot, API key auth header, TLS cert | API key hash in database | `GET /api/v1/audit` showing API calls | Available |
 | **8.6** Acct Management | Credentials out of source, .env excluded, env var config | Code review (no hardcoded secrets), `.gitignore` check | Deployment manifests showing env var refs only | No account lifecycle audit (outside scope) | Available in part |
 | **10.2** Audit Logging | API audit middleware (M19), certificate lifecycle events | `GET /api/v1/audit` with filter/pagination | `audit_events` table (every API call) | Real-time via API | Available |
@@ -44,7 +44,8 @@ Each section includes:

 **certctl Implementation** (V2 — Community Edition):

- **API Key Authentication** — All API calls require a Bearer token (hashed with SHA-256, stored securely, validated with constant-time comparison) or are rejected with 401 Unauthorized. Environment: `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` (default `api-key`; `none` requires explicit opt-in with log warning)
+- **API Key Authentication** — All `/api/v1/*` calls require a Bearer token (hashed with SHA-256, stored securely, validated with constant-time comparison) or are rejected with 401 Unauthorized. Environment: `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` (default `api-key`; `none` requires explicit opt-in with log warning)
+- **Standards-based enrollment and PKI distribution endpoints** — EST (`/.well-known/est/*`, RFC 7030), SCEP (`/scep`, `/scep/*`, RFC 8894), and CRL/OCSP (`/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}`, `/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`, RFC 5280 §5 / RFC 6960 / RFC 8615) are served unauthenticated at the HTTP layer because these protocols cannot present certctl Bearer tokens. Authentication is enforced in-protocol: EST relies on CSR signature verification plus profile policy (RFC 7030 §3.2.3 says EST auth is deployment-specific; §4.1.1 makes `/cacerts` explicitly anonymous); SCEP requires a shared `challengePassword` in the PKCS#10 CSR attributes (OID 1.2.840.113549.1.9.7, RFC 8894 §3.2), validated with `crypto/subtle.ConstantTimeCompare`; CRL and OCSP are intentionally anonymous for relying-party accessibility. CWE-306 (missing authentication for a critical function) is closed for SCEP by `preflightSCEPChallengePassword` in `cmd/server/main.go`, which refuses to start the control plane when `CERTCTL_SCEP_ENABLED=true` is set without `CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`. The HTTP dispatch is implemented in `cmd/server/main.go:buildFinalHandler`, which routes these prefixes through `noAuthHandler` (RequestID + structuredLogger + Recovery only, no auth or rate-limit middleware) and is pinned by the 27-subtest regression harness at `cmd/server/finalhandler_test.go`.
 - **GUI Authentication** — Web dashboard includes login screen requiring API key entry. Failed auth redirects to login on 401. Auth context persists across page navigation. Logout clears session.
 - **Configurable CORS** — API restricts cross-origin requests via `CERTCTL_CORS_ORIGINS` allowlist or wildcard. Preflight caching prevents chatty browser auth flows.
 - **Token Bucket Rate Limiting** — Per-IP rate limiting (configurable via `CERTCTL_RATE_LIMIT_RPS` / `CERTCTL_RATE_LIMIT_BURST`) returns 429 Too Many Requests with Retry-After header. Prevents credential stuffing and brute-force attacks.
@@ -58,6 +59,11 @@ Each section includes:
 - Auth info endpoint: `GET /api/v1/auth/info` (returns current auth mode, served without auth so GUI detects mode)
 - Rate limiting middleware: `internal/api/middleware/rate_limit.go`
 - CORS configuration: `cmd/server/main.go`, search for `CERTCTL_CORS_ORIGINS`
+- Final handler dispatch (authenticated vs. unauthenticated routing): `cmd/server/main.go:buildFinalHandler`
+- SCEP preflight gate (CWE-306 closure): `cmd/server/main.go:preflightSCEPChallengePassword`
+- SCEP service-layer defense-in-depth (rejects enrollment on empty challenge password, `crypto/subtle.ConstantTimeCompare`): `internal/service/scep.go`
+- Final handler dispatch regression harness (27 subtests): `cmd/server/finalhandler_test.go`
+- OpenAPI spec `security: []` overrides on unauthenticated paths: `api/openapi.yaml` (EST `/cacerts`, `/simpleenroll`, `/simplereenroll`, `/csrattrs`; SCEP `/scep` GET+POST; PKI `/crl/{issuer_id}`, `/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`)

 **V3 Enhancement**:

@@ -110,7 +116,7 @@ Each section includes:

 **certctl Implementation** (V2):

- **API Key Policy** — All API access requires an API key or explicit opt-out. Opt-out (`CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none`) logs a warning: "WARNING: Auth disabled (CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none) — this is insecure and only for development". Configuration choice is logged at startup.
+- **API Key Policy** — All `/api/v1/*` access requires an API key or explicit opt-out. Opt-out (`CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none`) logs a warning: "WARNING: Auth disabled (CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none) — this is insecure and only for development". Configuration choice is logged at startup. The standards-based enrollment and PKI distribution endpoints (EST, SCEP, CRL, OCSP) are served unauthenticated at the HTTP layer per their respective RFCs; see CC6.1 for the full authentication contract and CWE-306 closure via `preflightSCEPChallengePassword`.
 - **Agent Authentication** — Agents authenticate to the server via API keys (same mechanism as users). Agent credentials are separate from user API keys.
 - **Private Key Policy** — Agent-side key generation is the default (`CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=agent`). Server-side keygen (`CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server`) requires explicit configuration and logs a warning: "server-side key generation enabled (CERTCTL_KEYGEN_MODE=server) — private keys touch control plane, demo only".
 - **Password Policy** — Not applicable; certctl uses API keys exclusively. Password management is delegated to your organization's IAM system if you integrate OIDC/SSO (V3).
@@ -183,15 +189,20 @@ Each section includes:

 - **Health Endpoint** — `GET /health` returns 200 OK with service status. Consumed by Docker health checks and Kubernetes probes.
 - **Readiness Endpoint** — `GET /ready` returns 200 OK when the database is connected and migrations are applied.
- **Background Scheduler Monitoring** — 7 background loops run on a fixed schedule:
-  - Renewal loop: every 1 hour, scans for certificates approaching renewal threshold
-  - Job processor loop: every 30 seconds, picks up pending/waiting jobs and advances their state
-  - Health check loop: every 2 minutes, pings agents to detect downtime
-  - Notification dispatcher loop: every 1 minute, sends queued alerts
-  - Short-lived cert expiry loop: every 30 seconds, marks expired short-lived credentials
-  - Network scanner loop: every 6 hours, scans enabled TLS endpoints for certificate discovery
-  - Digest emailer loop: every 24 hours, sends scheduled certificate digest email to configured recipients
-  Each loop includes error handling and logs failures via structured slog.
+- **Background Scheduler Monitoring** — 12 background loops (8 always-on + 4 opt-in) run on a fixed schedule. Authoritative topology in `docs/architecture.md`:
+  - Renewal loop (always-on, 1 hour): scans for certificates approaching renewal threshold
+  - Job processor loop (always-on, 30 seconds): picks up pending/waiting jobs and advances their state
+  - Job retry loop (always-on, 5 minutes, `CERTCTL_SCHEDULER_RETRY_INTERVAL`): retries Failed jobs (I-001)
+  - Job timeout reaper loop (always-on, 10 minutes, `CERTCTL_JOB_TIMEOUT_INTERVAL`): fails AwaitingCSR/AwaitingApproval jobs past timeout (I-003)
+  - Agent health check loop (always-on, 2 minutes): pings agents to detect downtime
+  - Notification dispatcher loop (always-on, 1 minute): sends queued alerts
+  - Notification retry loop (always-on, 2 minutes, `CERTCTL_NOTIFICATION_RETRY_INTERVAL`): exponential backoff retry for failed notifications; promote to dead-letter after 5 attempts (I-005)
+  - Short-lived cert expiry loop (always-on, 30 seconds): marks expired short-lived credentials
+  - Network scanner loop (opt-in, 6 hours, `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED`): scans enabled TLS endpoints for certificate discovery
+  - Digest emailer loop (opt-in, 24 hours, `CERTCTL_DIGEST_INTERVAL`): sends scheduled certificate digest email to configured recipients
+  - Endpoint health loop (opt-in, 60 seconds, `CERTCTL_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL`): continuous TLS health probes (M48)
+  - Cloud discovery loop (opt-in, 6 hours, `CERTCTL_CLOUD_DISCOVERY_INTERVAL`): cloud secret manager certificate discovery (M50)
+  Each loop includes `atomic.Bool` idempotency guards, error handling, and structured slog failure logs.
 - **Metrics Endpoints** — Two formats for monitoring integration:
  - `GET /api/v1/metrics` — JSON object with gauges, counters, and uptime for custom dashboards
  - `GET /api/v1/metrics/prometheus` — Prometheus exposition format (`text/plain; version=0.0.4`) for native scraping by Prometheus, Grafana Agent, Datadog, and other OpenMetrics-compatible collectors
@@ -282,12 +293,13 @@ Each section includes:
  - `certificateHold` — temporary revocation (can be "unhold" by reissue)
  - `privilegeWithdrawn` — access rights revoked
  Revocation is **immediate** (no approval workflow). The certificate is marked `Revoked` in inventory, an audit event is logged, and optional issuer notification is best-effort. All revoked certs are excluded from active deployments.
- **CRL Endpoint** — `GET /api/v1/crl` returns a JSON-formatted Certificate Revocation List (serial, reason, timestamp for each revoked cert). `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` returns a DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by the issuing CA (useful for legacy clients that don't support OCSP).
- **OCSP Responder** — `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` returns a signed OCSP response indicating whether a cert is good, revoked, or unknown. Clients (browsers, TLS libraries) query this endpoint to verify cert validity in real-time.
+- **CRL Endpoint** — `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` returns a DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by the issuing CA (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615, `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`), served unauthenticated for relying parties that don't hold certctl API credentials.
+- **OCSP Responder** — `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` returns a signed OCSP response indicating whether a cert is good, revoked, or unknown (RFC 6960, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`). Also unauthenticated. Clients (browsers, TLS libraries) query this endpoint to verify cert validity in real-time.
 - **Revocation Notifications** — When a cert is revoked, notifications are sent to:
  - Certificate owner (email)
  - Configured webhooks (if you have a SIEM that subscribes)
  - Slack/Teams channels (if notifiers are configured)
+- **Bulk Revocation for Fleet-Wide Incidents** (V2.2) — `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` with filter criteria (profile, owner, agent, issuer) revokes all matching certificates in a single operation. Essential for incident response: key compromise affecting multiple certs, CA distrust events, decommissioning a team's infrastructure. Each bulk revocation creates individual jobs reusing the existing revocation pipeline, ensuring audit trail and notifications for every certificate.
 - **Short-Lived Cert Exemption** — Certificates with TTL < 1 hour (configured in profile) skip CRL/OCSP publication. Expiry is the revocation mechanism for short-lived certs (e.g., Kubernetes pod certs, session tokens).
 - **Deployment Rollback** — If a revoked cert is still deployed (shouldn't happen, but race conditions exist), operators can manually redeploy a previous version via the GUI. Rollback is audited.

@@ -302,7 +314,6 @@ Each section includes:

 **V3 Enhancement**:

- **Bulk Revocation** — Revoke all certs issued by a specific profile, owner, or agent in a single API call (useful for large-scale incidents like CA compromise)
 - **Revocation Automation** — Trigger revocation based on external events (e.g., employee termination, security breach alert from CT Log monitoring)

 **Operator Responsibility**:
@@ -453,15 +464,15 @@ Each section includes:
 | | Metrics JSON Endpoint | `GET /api/v1/metrics` (gauges, counters, uptime) | ✅ | ✅ | Set thresholds, configure alerting |
 | | Stats API (time-series) | `GET /api/v1/stats/*` (summary, status, expiration, jobs, issuance) | ✅ | ✅ | Integrate into dashboards, SLO tracking |
 | | Structured Logging | `slog` middleware with request IDs | ✅ | ✅ | Aggregate logs to SIEM, define retention policy |
-| | Background Scheduler | 7 loops (renewal 1h, jobs 30s, health 2m, notifications 1m, short-lived 30s, network scan 6h, digest 24h) | ✅ | ✅ | Alert on scheduler loop failures |
+| | Background Scheduler | 12 loops (8 always-on: renewal 1h, jobs 30s, job retry 5m I-001, job timeout 10m I-003, health 2m, notifications 1m, notif retry 2m I-005, short-lived 30s; 4 opt-in: network scan 6h, digest 24h, endpoint health 60s M48, cloud discovery 6h M50) | ✅ | ✅ | Alert on scheduler loop failures |
 | **CC7.2** Anomaly Detection | Immutable API Audit Trail | `internal/api/middleware/audit.go`, `GET /api/v1/audit` | ✅ | Enhanced (SIEM export) | Integrate into SIEM, search for anomalies, archive long-term |
 | | Expiration Threshold Alerting | Configurable per-policy (default 30/14/7/0 days) | ✅ | ✅ | Configure thresholds, integrate notifications |
 | | Status Auto-Transitions | Active → Expiring (30d) → Expired (0d) | ✅ | ✅ | Monitor status changes in audit trail |
 | | Notification Routing | Email, Slack, Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie | ✅ | ✅ | Configure notifiers, on-call integration |
 | | Deployment Rollback | Redeploy previous cert version via GUI | ✅ | ✅ | Audit rollback decisions |
 | **CC7.3** Incident Response | Revocation API (RFC 5280 reasons) | `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke` | ✅ | Enhanced (bulk revocation) | Establish incident response policy |
-| | CRL Endpoint (JSON + DER) | `GET /api/v1/crl`, `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` | ✅ | ✅ | Ensure CRL/OCSP accessible to all clients |
-| | OCSP Responder | `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` | ✅ | ✅ | Test revocation in staging |
+| | CRL Endpoint (DER, RFC 5280 §5) | `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (unauthenticated, `application/pkix-crl`) | ✅ | ✅ | Ensure CRL/OCSP accessible to all clients without API keys |
+| | OCSP Responder (RFC 6960) | `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (unauthenticated, `application/ocsp-response`) | ✅ | ✅ | Test revocation in staging |
 | | Revocation Notifications | Email, webhook, Slack/Teams on revocation | ✅ | ✅ | Integrate into on-call, document justification separately |
 | | Short-Lived Cert Exemption | TTL < 1h skip CRL/OCSP | ✅ | ✅ | Configure profiles appropriately |
 | **CC7.4** Risk Mitigation | Renewal Job Tracking | Job state machine (Pending → Running → Completed/Failed) | ✅ | ✅ | Monitor renewal success rate |
@@ -32,6 +32,85 @@ If you're preparing for an audit and certctl is already deployed, use the "Opera
 | PCI-DSS 4.0 | Cardholder data protection | TLS lifecycle, key management, immutable logging, access control |
 | NIST SP 800-57 | Cryptographic key management | Agent-side keygen, key isolation, algorithm selection, revocation |

+## Audit-Trail Integrity & Privacy (Bundle 6)
+
+Two complementary controls protect the `audit_events` table against tampering and minimize PII exposure. Both apply automatically — no operator action is required at install time, but operators must understand the contract before responding to a legal-hold or retention request.
+
+### Append-Only Enforcement (HIPAA §164.312(b))
+
+<!-- Source: migrations/000018_audit_events_worm.up.sql -->
+
+`audit_events` rows cannot be modified or deleted by the application role. Two layers:
+
+| Layer | Mechanism | Surface |
+|---|---|---|
+| **DB trigger** | `audit_events_block_modification()` raises `check_violation` on `BEFORE UPDATE OR DELETE` | Catches any UPDATE / DELETE — including direct `psql` from the app role |
+| **App-role grant** | `REVOKE UPDATE, DELETE ON audit_events FROM certctl` | Defence-in-depth; the app role can't even attempt the modification |
+
+**Verification.** From a `psql` session connected as the `certctl` app role:
+
+```sql
+UPDATE audit_events SET actor = 'tampered' WHERE id = 'audit-001';
+-- ERROR:  audit_events is append-only (Bundle-6 / M-017 / HIPAA §164.312(b))
+-- HINT:   Use a compliance superuser role for legitimate retention operations.
+```
+
+**Compliance superuser pattern.** Legitimate retention work (legal hold, GDPR right-to-be-forgotten, statutory purges) requires a separate PostgreSQL role provisioned out-of-band that bypasses the trigger. Certctl does NOT auto-create this role — operators provision it per their compliance policy. Suggested shape:
+
+```sql
+-- One-time setup by a DBA. Stored procedure pattern keeps the
+-- compliance superuser audit-able too: every invocation should
+-- itself land in audit_events.
+CREATE ROLE certctl_compliance LOGIN PASSWORD '<strong-secret>';
+GRANT UPDATE, DELETE ON audit_events TO certctl_compliance;
+-- (optional) provision SECURITY DEFINER stored procedures that
+-- (a) record the retention reason in audit_events as the FIRST step
+-- (b) then perform the UPDATE/DELETE
+-- (c) all under the certctl_compliance role's grants.
+```
+
+### Body Redaction (GDPR Art. 32, CWE-532)
+
+<!-- Source: internal/service/audit_redact.go -->
+
+`AuditService.RecordEvent` routes every `details` map through `RedactDetailsForAudit` BEFORE marshaling to the JSONB column. Two deny-lists:
+
+| Category | Match | Replacement | Examples |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Credentials** | case-insensitive key match | `"[REDACTED:CREDENTIAL]"` | `api_key`, `password`, `token`, `*_pem`, `eab_secret`, `acme_account_key`, `signature` |
+| **PII** | case-insensitive key match | `"[REDACTED:PII]"` | `email`, `phone`, `ssn`, `dob`, `name`, `address`, `postal_code`, `ip_address` |
+
+Nested maps and arrays are walked recursively — sensitive keys at any depth get scrubbed. The redactor is mutation-free (the caller's original map is unchanged) so service-layer code that reuses the map elsewhere is safe.
+
+**Operator visibility — `redacted_keys` array.** The redacted map includes a `redacted_keys` array listing every dotted-path that was scrubbed. This surfaces the redaction footprint to compliance auditors without exposing values. Example before/after:
+
+```jsonc
+// Caller's input map (e.g., from a service handler):
+{
+  "action": "create_issuer",
+  "issuer_id": "iss-acme-prod",
+  "config": {
+    "endpoint": "https://acme.example.com",
+    "eab_secret": "abc123secret",
+    "contact": { "email": "ops@example.com", "role": "admin" }
+  }
+}
+
+// Persisted in audit_events.details:
+{
+  "action": "create_issuer",
+  "issuer_id": "iss-acme-prod",
+  "config": {
+    "endpoint": "https://acme.example.com",
+    "eab_secret": "[REDACTED:CREDENTIAL]",
+    "contact": { "email": "[REDACTED:PII]", "role": "admin" }
+  },
+  "redacted_keys": ["config.eab_secret", "config.contact.email"]
+}
+```
+
+**Maintenance.** When introducing a new credential-bearing field anywhere in the codebase, add the key name to `credentialKeys` (or `piiKeys`) in `internal/service/audit_redact.go`. The unit test suite in `audit_redact_test.go` exercises every entry and proves case-insensitivity + JSON round-trip safety.
+
 ## certctl Pro (V3) Enhancements

 Several compliance-relevant features are planned for certctl Pro:
@@ -123,6 +123,8 @@ At no point does the private key leave the agent. This is a fundamental security

 Agents also report **metadata** about themselves — their operating system, CPU architecture, IP address, hostname, and version — with every heartbeat. This gives ops teams fleet-wide visibility (e.g., "how many agents are running on ARM?", "which agents are still on v1.0.0?") and powers **agent groups** — dynamic device grouping where policies can be scoped to specific agent criteria like OS type, architecture, or network subnet.

+**Retiring an agent.** When you decommission a server, the certctl record for its agent needs to be retired, not deleted. certctl uses a **soft-delete** model: `DELETE /api/v1/agents/{id}` stamps the row with a retired-at timestamp and a reason, instead of removing it. This is deliberate — an audit trail of "who owned this certificate, on which host, for which team" stays intact forever, and the downstream deployment_targets, certificates, and jobs keep valid foreign keys. Retired agents are filtered out of default list views and the dashboard's agent counter, but remain visible through a separate retired-agents view for compliance reconciliation. If the agent still has active deployment targets, deployed certificates, or pending jobs, retirement is blocked by default so you don't silently orphan those rows; the API responds with the exact counts so you can retire or reassign each dependency explicitly. A force-retire escape hatch (`?force=true&reason=...`) is available for true decommission scenarios — it transactionally retires the downstream targets, cancels pending jobs, and records the cascade in the audit trail with the reason you provided. Four internal sentinel agents that back the network scanner and the cloud secret-manager discovery sources cannot be retired at all, even with force, because retiring them would orphan their subsystems. Once retired, an agent that still attempts to heartbeat receives `410 Gone` — the agent process reads that as "you've been retired, shut down" and exits cleanly.
+
 ### Deployment Targets

 Targets are the systems where certificates actually get installed — NGINX web servers, Apache httpd servers, HAProxy load balancers, Traefik reverse proxies, Caddy servers, Envoy gateways, Postfix/Dovecot mail servers, Microsoft IIS servers, and network appliances. Each target type has a **connector** that knows how to deploy certificates to that specific system (e.g., writing files and reloading NGINX or Apache config, building a combined PEM for HAProxy).
@@ -183,11 +185,11 @@ Profiles are managed via the API (`/api/v1/profiles`) and the GUI, and can be as

 For policies with `auto_renew` disabled, renewal jobs enter an **AwaitingApproval** state instead of processing immediately. An operator must explicitly approve or reject the renewal via the API or GUI. Approved jobs transition to Pending and are picked up by the scheduler. Rejected jobs are cancelled with an optional reason. This is useful for high-value certificates where you want human oversight before renewal.

-### Renewal Timing: Thresholds vs. ARI (RFC 9702)
+### Renewal Timing: Thresholds vs. ARI (RFC 9773)

 **Traditional approach (thresholds):** By default, certctl uses static renewal thresholds — renew a certificate at a fixed number of days before expiry (default: 30 days). This simple, predictable model works for most use cases: it avoids unnecessary renewals near expiry and gives you a predictable window to catch failures.

-**Advanced approach (ACME ARI):** Some Certificate Authorities support ACME Renewal Information (RFC 9702), which allows the CA to tell certctl the optimal time to renew. Instead of guessing "renew 30 days before expiry," the CA responds with a precise `suggestedWindow` containing start and end times. This is useful when:
+**Advanced approach (ACME ARI):** Some Certificate Authorities support ACME Renewal Information (RFC 9773), which allows the CA to tell certctl the optimal time to renew. Instead of guessing "renew 30 days before expiry," the CA responds with a precise `suggestedWindow` containing start and end times. This is useful when:
 - The CA is performing maintenance and wants to batch renewals in a specific window
 - The CA is coordinating a mass revocation (e.g., due to a compromise) and needs to control renewal timing
 - You want to avoid thundering herd renewal spikes by accepting the CA's suggested timing
@@ -196,6 +198,16 @@ For policies with `auto_renew` disabled, renewal jobs enter an **AwaitingApprova

 **Graceful degradation:** If your CA doesn't support ARI (returns 404 from the ARI endpoint), certctl automatically falls back to the traditional threshold-based renewal. No configuration change needed — the fallback is transparent. Errors from the CA are logged as warnings and don't block the renewal process.

+### Shorter Certificate Validity (45-Day and 6-Day Certs)
+
+The industry is moving toward shorter certificate lifetimes. The CA/Browser Forum's SC-081v3 ballot mandates a phased reduction: 200-day max (March 2026), 100-day max (March 2027), and 47-day max (March 2029). Let's Encrypt has already begun reducing default validity to 45 days, and offers 6-day "shortlived" certificates via ACME profile selection.
+
+certctl handles shorter-lived certificates correctly out of the box:
+
+- **45-day certs** with the default 31-day renewal window trigger renewal at day 14 — at roughly 1/3 of the cert's lifetime.
+- **6-day "shortlived" certs** are always within the renewal window. ARI (RFC 9773) is the expected renewal path for these — the CA directs timing. Short-lived certs also skip CRL/OCSP since expiry is sufficient revocation (per profile TTL < 1 hour exemption).
+- **ACME profile selection** lets you request specific certificate profiles from your CA. Set `CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE=shortlived` to get 6-day certificates from Let's Encrypt, or `CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE=tlsserver` for standard TLS certificates.
+
 ### Certificate Revocation

 When a private key is compromised, a certificate is superseded, or a service is decommissioned, you need to revoke the certificate immediately — not wait for it to expire. Revocation tells clients "stop trusting this certificate right now."
@@ -204,9 +216,11 @@ certctl implements revocation using three complementary mechanisms:

 **Revocation API**: `POST /api/v1/certificates/{id}/revoke` marks a certificate as revoked in the inventory, records the revocation in a dedicated `certificate_revocations` table, notifies the issuing CA (best-effort — the revocation succeeds even if the CA is unreachable), creates an audit trail entry, and sends notifications. You can specify an RFC 5280 reason code (keyCompromise, superseded, cessationOfOperation, etc.) or let it default to "unspecified."

-**Certificate Revocation List (CRL)**: certctl serves both a JSON-formatted CRL at `GET /api/v1/crl` and DER-encoded X.509 CRLs per issuer at `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}`. The DER CRL is signed by the issuing CA's key and has 24-hour validity — clients can download it periodically to check revocation status offline.
+**Bulk Revocation** (Fleet-Level Incident Response): For large-scale incidents like CA compromise or team infrastructure decommissioning, `POST /api/v1/certificates/bulk-revoke` revokes all certificates matching filter criteria in a single operation. Filter by profile, owner, team, agent group, or issuer to target the affected certificate set. This is essential for incident response — instead of revoking certificates one-by-one, operators can revoke an entire fleet in minutes. Bulk revocation creates individual revocation jobs that reuse the existing revocation pipeline, ensuring every certificate is audited and notifications are sent.

-**OCSP Responder**: For real-time revocation checking, certctl includes an embedded OCSP responder at `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`. It returns signed OCSP responses (good, revoked, or unknown) so clients can verify certificate status without downloading the full CRL.
+**Certificate Revocation List (CRL)**: certctl serves DER-encoded X.509 CRLs per issuer at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5 wire format, RFC 8615 well-known namespace). The endpoint is unauthenticated so any relying party — browser, TLS client, hardware appliance — can fetch it without a certctl API key. The CRL is signed by the issuing CA's key and has 24-hour validity; clients can download it periodically to check revocation status offline. The response carries `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`. The CRL is **pre-generated** by a scheduler-driven loop (`crlGenerationLoop`, default interval 1 hour, configurable via `CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL`) and persisted in the `crl_cache` table — HTTP fetches read from the cache rather than rebuilding per request, so a busy CA does not DOS itself at scale. Concurrent regeneration requests for the same issuer are coalesced via an in-tree singleflight gate.
+
+**OCSP Responder**: For real-time revocation checking, certctl includes an embedded OCSP responder serving both forms RFC 6960 §A.1.1 defines: `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (URL-path lookup, useful for ops curl-debugging) and `POST /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}` with a binary `application/ocsp-request` body (the form most production clients use — Firefox, OpenSSL `s_client -status`, cert-manager, Intune device-state validators). Both forms are unauthenticated and return signed OCSP responses (good, revoked, or unknown) with `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`. OCSP responses are signed by a **dedicated per-issuer OCSP responder cert** (RFC 6960 §2.6 / §4.2.2.2) — NOT by the CA private key directly — that carries the `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) so OCSP clients do not recursively check the responder cert's own revocation status. The responder cert auto-rotates within 7 days of expiry (configurable via `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_ROTATION_GRACE`), letting the responder key live on disk or rotate frequently while the CA key stays cold. See [`crl-ocsp.md`](crl-ocsp.md) for endpoint examples (curl, OpenSSL, Firefox, Intune) and the responder cert lifecycle.

 Short-lived certificates (those assigned to profiles with TTL under 1 hour) are exempt from CRL and OCSP — their rapid expiry is considered sufficient revocation. This is a deliberate design choice to reduce infrastructure overhead for ephemeral machine-to-machine credentials.

@@ -242,7 +256,7 @@ The CLI supports both table and JSON output formats (`--format table` or `--form

 ### MCP Server (AI Integration)

-certctl includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes 78 MCP tools covering the REST API. This enables AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible tools to interact with your certificate infrastructure using natural language — "show me all expiring certificates," "revoke the VPN cert," or "what agents are offline?"
+certctl includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes the entire REST API as MCP tools. This enables AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible tools to interact with your certificate infrastructure using natural language — "show me all expiring certificates," "revoke the VPN cert," or "what agents are offline?"

 The MCP server is a separate binary (`cmd/mcp-server/`) that communicates via stdio transport and acts as a stateless HTTP proxy to the certctl REST API. It requires no additional infrastructure — just point it at your certctl server URL and API key.

@@ -11,9 +11,13 @@ Connectors extend certctl to integrate with external systems for certificate iss
   - [Built-in: ACME v2 (Let's Encrypt, Sectigo, ZeroSSL)](#built-in-acme-v2-lets-encrypt-sectigo-zerossl)
   - [Built-in: step-ca (Smallstep Private CA)](#built-in-step-ca-smallstep-private-ca)
   - [OpenSSL / Custom CA](#openssl--custom-ca)
+   - [Built-in: Vault PKI](#built-in-vault-pki)
+   - [Built-in: DigiCert CertCentral](#built-in-digicert-certcentral)
+   - [Built-in: Sectigo SCM](#built-in-sectigo-scm)
+   - [Built-in: Google CAS](#built-in-google-cas)
+   - [Built-in: AWS ACM Private CA](#built-in-aws-acm-private-ca)
   - [Revocation Across Issuers](#revocation-across-issuers)
   - [EST Integration (GetCACertPEM)](#est-integration-getcacertpem)
-   - [Planned Issuers](#planned-issuers)
   - [Building a Custom Issuer](#building-a-custom-issuer)
 3. [Target Connector](#target-connector)
   - [Interface](#interface-1)
@@ -24,8 +28,12 @@ Connectors extend certctl to integrate with external systems for certificate iss
   - [Built-in: Envoy](#built-in-envoy)
   - [Built-in: Postfix / Dovecot](#built-in-postfix--dovecot)
   - [Built-in: Caddy](#built-in-caddy)
-   - [F5 BIG-IP (Interface Only)](#f5-big-ip-interface-only)
+   - [F5 BIG-IP (Implemented)](#f5-big-ip-implemented)
   - [IIS (Implemented, Dual-Mode)](#iis-implemented-dual-mode)
+   - [SSH (Agentless Deployment)](#ssh-agentless-deployment)
+   - [Windows Certificate Store](#windows-certificate-store)
+   - [Java Keystore (JKS / PKCS#12)](#java-keystore-jks--pkcs12)
+   - [Kubernetes Secrets](#kubernetes-secrets)
 4. [Notifier Connector](#notifier-connector)
   - [Interface](#interface-2)
 5. [Registering a Connector](#registering-a-connector)
@@ -53,8 +61,8 @@ Connectors extend certctl to integrate with external systems for certificate iss

 Three types of connectors:

-1. **Issuer Connector** — Obtains certificates from CAs (Local CA with sub-CA support, ACME with HTTP-01 + DNS-01 + DNS-PERSIST-01, step-ca, OpenSSL/Custom CA, Vault PKI, DigiCert implemented; additional CA integrations planned)
-2. **Target Connector** — Deploys certificates to infrastructure (NGINX, Apache httpd, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS implemented; F5 via proxy agent planned; additional cloud and network targets planned)
+1. **Issuer Connector** — Obtains certificates from CAs. 9 built-in: Local CA (self-signed + sub-CA), ACME v2 (HTTP-01, DNS-01, DNS-PERSIST-01, ARI, EAB, profile selection), step-ca, OpenSSL/Custom CA, Vault PKI, DigiCert CertCentral, Sectigo SCM, Google CAS, AWS ACM Private CA
+2. **Target Connector** — Deploys certificates to infrastructure. 14 built-in: NGINX, Apache httpd, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, Postfix, Dovecot, IIS (local + WinRM), F5 BIG-IP (proxy agent), SSH (agentless), Windows Certificate Store, Java Keystore, Kubernetes Secrets
 3. **Notifier Connector** — Sends alerts about certificate events (Email, Webhooks, Slack, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty, OpsGenie implemented)

 All connectors accept JSON configuration at initialization, support config validation, and are registered in the service layer. Issuer connectors run on the control plane; target connectors run on agents. For network appliances where agents can't be installed, a **proxy agent** in the same network zone handles deployment — the server never initiates outbound connections.
@@ -147,10 +155,12 @@ The Local CA issuer signs certificates using Go's `crypto/x509` library. It supp

 **Sub-CA mode:** Loads a CA certificate and private key from disk (`CERTCTL_CA_CERT_PATH` + `CERTCTL_CA_KEY_PATH`). The CA cert is signed by an upstream CA (e.g., ADCS), so all issued certificates chain to the enterprise root trust hierarchy. Clients that already trust the enterprise root automatically trust certctl-issued certs. Supports RSA, ECDSA, and PKCS#8 key formats. If the paths are not set, falls back to self-signed mode. The loaded certificate must have `IsCA=true` and `KeyUsageCertSign`.

-**CRL and OCSP support (M15b):** The Local CA supports DER-encoded X.509 CRL generation via `GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` with 24-hour validity. An embedded OCSP responder at `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` returns signed OCSP responses for issued certificates (good/revoked/unknown status). Certificates with profile TTL < 1 hour automatically skip CRL/OCSP — expiry is treated as sufficient revocation for short-lived credentials.
+**CRL and OCSP support (M15b):** The Local CA supports DER-encoded X.509 CRL generation served unauthenticated at `GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615, `Content-Type: application/pkix-crl`) with 24-hour validity. An embedded OCSP responder at `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}` (RFC 6960, `Content-Type: application/ocsp-response`) returns signed OCSP responses for issued certificates (good/revoked/unknown status). Both endpoints are reachable by relying parties with no certctl API credentials, which is how standard TLS clients, browsers, and hardware appliances consume these resources. Certificates with profile TTL < 1 hour automatically skip CRL/OCSP — expiry is treated as sufficient revocation for short-lived credentials.

 **Extended Key Usage (EKU) support (M27):** The Local CA respects EKU constraints from certificate profiles and adjusts key usage flags accordingly. For S/MIME certificates (emailProtection EKU), it uses `DigitalSignature | ContentCommitment` instead of the TLS default. For TLS certificates (serverAuth/clientAuth EKU), it uses `DigitalSignature | KeyEncipherment`. This enables support for multiple certificate types — TLS, S/MIME, code signing, timestamping — from a single CA.

+**MaxTTL enforcement (M11c):** When a certificate profile defines a maximum TTL, the Local CA caps the `NotAfter` field to `min(validity_days, maxTTL)`. This ensures certificates never exceed the profile's configured lifetime regardless of the issuer's `validity_days` setting.
+
 Configuration:
 ```json
 {
@@ -173,7 +183,7 @@ The ACME connector implements the full ACME v2 protocol using Go's `golang.org/x

 **DNS-PERSIST-01 (standing record):** Creates a one-time persistent TXT record at `_validation-persist.<domain>` containing the CA's issuer domain and your ACME account URI. Once set, this record authorizes unlimited future certificate issuances without per-renewal DNS updates. Based on [draft-ietf-acme-dns-persist](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-acme-dns-persist/) and CA/Browser Forum ballot SC-088v3. If the CA doesn't offer dns-persist-01 yet, the connector falls back to dns-01 automatically.

-**ACME Renewal Information (ARI, RFC 9702):** Instead of using fixed renewal thresholds (e.g., renew 30 days before expiry), certctl can ask the CA when it should renew. Enable with `CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED=true`. The ARI protocol lets the CA specify a `suggestedWindow` (start and end times) for when you should renew — useful for distributing load during maintenance windows or coordinating mass revocation scenarios. Cert ID is computed as `base64url(SHA-256(DER cert))`. If the CA doesn't support ARI (404 response), certctl automatically falls back to threshold-based renewal with no operator intervention required.
+**ACME Renewal Information (ARI, RFC 9773):** Instead of using fixed renewal thresholds (e.g., renew 30 days before expiry), certctl can ask the CA when it should renew. Enable with `CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED=true`. The ARI protocol lets the CA specify a `suggestedWindow` (start and end times) for when you should renew — useful for distributing load during maintenance windows or coordinating mass revocation scenarios. Cert ID is computed as `base64url(SHA-256(DER cert))`. If the CA doesn't support ARI (404 response), certctl automatically falls back to threshold-based renewal with no operator intervention required.

 HTTP-01 configuration:
 ```json
@@ -243,6 +253,9 @@ Environment variables for the default ACME connector:
 - `CERTCTL_ACME_DNS_PRESENT_SCRIPT` — Path to DNS record creation script (dns-01 and dns-persist-01)
 - `CERTCTL_ACME_DNS_CLEANUP_SCRIPT` — Path to DNS record cleanup script (dns-01 only, not used by dns-persist-01)
 - `CERTCTL_ACME_DNS_PERSIST_ISSUER_DOMAIN` — CA issuer domain for persistent record (dns-persist-01 only, e.g., `letsencrypt.org`)
+- `CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE` — Certificate profile for the newOrder request. Let's Encrypt supports `tlsserver` (standard TLS, default) and `shortlived` (6-day certs). Leave empty for the CA's default profile.
+
+**Certificate Profiles:** Let's Encrypt (GA January 2026) supports ACME certificate profile selection. Set `CERTCTL_ACME_PROFILE=shortlived` to request 6-day certificates — ideal for ephemeral workloads where short validity substitutes for revocation. The `tlsserver` profile produces standard TLS certificates. When the profile field is empty (default), the CA uses its default profile, maintaining full backward compatibility.

 The connector is registered in the issuer registry under `iss-acme-staging` and `iss-acme-prod`. Use `iss-acme-staging` for Let's Encrypt staging (rate-limit-friendly testing) and `iss-acme-prod` for production certificates.

@@ -274,7 +287,9 @@ Environment variables:

 The connector is registered in the issuer registry under `iss-stepca`. step-ca also works with the existing ACME connector (point `iss-acme-*` at step-ca's ACME directory URL for ACME-based issuance).

-**Note:** step-ca-issued certificates rely on step-ca's own CRL/OCSP infrastructure. certctl's local CRL/OCSP endpoints (`GET /api/v1/crl/{issuer_id}` and `GET /api/v1/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`) are populated from step-ca's revocation data if available, but clients should validate against step-ca's endpoints for the authoritative status.
+**Note:** step-ca-issued certificates rely on step-ca's own CRL/OCSP infrastructure. certctl's local CRL/OCSP endpoints (`GET /.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}` and `GET /.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`, served unauthenticated per RFC 5280 §5 / RFC 6960 / RFC 8615) are populated from step-ca's revocation data if available, but clients should validate against step-ca's endpoints for the authoritative status.
+
+**MaxTTL enforcement (M11c):** When a certificate profile defines a maximum TTL, the step-ca connector caps the `NotAfter` field to ensure the issued certificate does not exceed the profile limit, regardless of the step-ca provisioner's own maximum.

 Location: `internal/connector/issuer/stepca/stepca.go`

@@ -303,16 +318,18 @@ Each issuer handles revocation differently:
 - **step-ca**: Calls step-ca's `/revoke` API endpoint. Clients should check step-ca's own CRL/OCSP for authoritative status.
 - **OpenSSL/Custom CA**: Invokes the configured revoke script (`CERTCTL_OPENSSL_REVOKE_SCRIPT`) with the serial number as an argument.

-### EST Integration (GetCACertPEM)
+### EST/SCEP Integration (GetCACertPEM)

-The `GetCACertPEM()` method returns the PEM-encoded CA certificate chain, used by the EST server's `/.well-known/est/cacerts` endpoint (RFC 7030) to distribute the CA chain to enrolling devices. Each issuer handles this differently:
+The `GetCACertPEM()` method returns the PEM-encoded CA certificate chain, used by both the EST server's `/.well-known/est/cacerts` endpoint (RFC 7030) and the SCEP server's `GetCACert` operation (RFC 8894) to distribute the CA chain to enrolling devices. Each issuer handles this differently:

- **Local CA**: Returns the CA certificate PEM (self-signed or sub-CA cert). This is the primary EST issuer.
+- **Local CA**: Returns the CA certificate PEM (self-signed or sub-CA cert). This is the primary EST/SCEP issuer.
 - **ACME**: Returns error — ACME CAs provide chains per-issuance, not statically.
 - **step-ca**: Returns error — step-ca serves its own `/root` endpoint for CA distribution.
 - **OpenSSL/Custom CA**: Returns error — custom script-based CAs have no CA cert access through certctl.

-Note: EST (Enrollment over Secure Transport) is not a connector — it's a protocol handler (`internal/api/handler/est.go`) that delegates certificate issuance to whichever issuer connector is configured via `CERTCTL_EST_ISSUER_ID`. See the [Architecture Guide](architecture.md#est-server-rfc-7030) for details.
+Note: EST and SCEP are not connectors — they are protocol handlers (`internal/api/handler/est.go` and `internal/api/handler/scep.go`) that delegate certificate issuance to whichever issuer connector is configured via `CERTCTL_EST_ISSUER_ID` or `CERTCTL_SCEP_ISSUER_ID` (or the per-profile `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_ISSUER_ID` form for multi-endpoint SCEP). Both share a common `internal/pkcs7` package for PKCS#7 response encoding. See the [Architecture Guide](architecture.md#est-server-rfc-7030) for details.
+
+**SCEP RA cert + key (post-2026-04-29):** the SCEP server's RFC 8894 path requires an RA cert/key pair (`CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_CERT_PATH` + `CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_KEY_PATH`, mode 0600) — clients encrypt their CSR to the RA cert's public key per RFC 8894 §3.2.2. Multi-profile deployments configure per-profile pairs via `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILES=corp,iot` + `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_RA_*_PATH`. See [`legacy-est-scep.md`](legacy-est-scep.md#scep-rfc-8894-native-implementation-post-2026-04-29) for the openssl recipe + ChromeOS Admin Console pointer + must-staple per-profile policy.

 ### Built-in: Vault PKI

@@ -332,6 +349,8 @@ The connector is registered in the issuer registry under `iss-vault`. Vault issu

 **Note:** CRL and OCSP are managed by Vault itself. Clients should validate certificate status against Vault's own CRL/OCSP endpoints (`GET /v1/{mount}/crl` and Vault's OCSP responder). certctl does not generate local CRL/OCSP for Vault-issued certificates. Revocation is recorded locally but Vault is the authoritative source.

+**MaxTTL enforcement (M11c):** When a certificate profile defines a maximum TTL, the Vault connector overrides the TTL string in the signing request to ensure the issued certificate does not exceed the profile limit. This is applied before Vault's own role-level max TTL.
+
 Location: `internal/connector/issuer/vault/vault.go`

 ### Built-in: DigiCert CertCentral
@@ -397,18 +416,101 @@ Google Cloud Certificate Authority Service — managed private CA on GCP. Synchr

 Location: `internal/connector/issuer/googlecas/googlecas.go`

-### Coming in V2.2+
+### Built-in: AWS ACM Private CA

-The following issuer connectors are planned for future releases:
+AWS Certificate Manager Private Certificate Authority — managed private CA on AWS. Synchronous issuance via ACM PCA API with standard AWS credential chain (env vars, IAM roles, instance profiles, SSO).

- **Entrust** — Enterprise CA via Entrust API
- **AWS ACM Private CA** — AWS-managed private CA
+| Setting | Required | Default | Description |
+|---------|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_PCA_REGION` | Yes | — | AWS region (e.g., `us-east-1`) |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_PCA_CA_ARN` | Yes | — | ARN of the ACM Private CA |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_PCA_SIGNING_ALGORITHM` | No | `SHA256WITHRSA` | Signing algorithm |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_PCA_VALIDITY_DAYS` | No | `365` | Certificate validity in days |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_PCA_TEMPLATE_ARN` | No | — | Optional certificate template ARN |

-Note: ADCS (Active Directory Certificate Services) integration is handled via the **sub-CA mode** of the Local CA issuer, not as a separate connector. certctl operates as a subordinate CA with its signing certificate issued by ADCS, so all certctl-issued certs chain to the enterprise ADCS root. See the Local CA section above.
+**Supported signing algorithms:** SHA256WITHRSA, SHA384WITHRSA, SHA512WITHRSA, SHA256WITHECDSA, SHA384WITHECDSA, SHA512WITHECDSA.
+
+**Authentication:** Standard AWS credential chain. The connector uses `aws-sdk-go-v2/config.LoadDefaultConfig()` which supports environment variables (`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID`, `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`), IAM roles (EC2/ECS), instance profiles, and SSO credentials.
+
+**Note:** CRL and OCSP are managed by AWS ACM PCA directly. certctl records revocations locally and notifies AWS via the RevokeCertificate API with RFC 5280 reason mapping.
+
+Location: `internal/connector/issuer/awsacmpca/awsacmpca.go`
+
+### Built-in: Entrust Certificate Services
+
+Entrust CA Gateway REST API with mutual TLS (mTLS) client certificate authentication. Supports synchronous issuance (200 OK with PEM) and approval-pending flows (201 Accepted with async polling).
+
+| Setting | Required | Default | Description |
+|---------|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_ENTRUST_API_URL` | Yes | — | Entrust CA Gateway base URL |
+| `CERTCTL_ENTRUST_CLIENT_CERT_PATH` | Yes | — | Path to mTLS client certificate PEM |
+| `CERTCTL_ENTRUST_CLIENT_KEY_PATH` | Yes | — | Path to mTLS client private key PEM |
+| `CERTCTL_ENTRUST_CA_ID` | Yes | — | Certificate Authority ID (from `GET /certificate-authorities`) |
+| `CERTCTL_ENTRUST_PROFILE_ID` | No | — | Optional enrollment profile ID |
+
+**Authentication:** Mutual TLS — the client certificate and key are loaded via `tls.LoadX509KeyPair()` and attached to the HTTP transport. No API key or token required.
+
+**Issuance model:** Enrollment via `POST /v1/certificate-authorities/{caId}/enrollments`. Returns 200 with PEM immediately for auto-approved enrollments, or 201 Accepted with a tracking ID for approval-pending orders. `GetOrderStatus` polls the enrollment endpoint.
+
+**Note:** CRL and OCSP are managed by Entrust. certctl records revocations locally and notifies Entrust via `PUT /v1/certificate-authorities/{caId}/certificates/{serial}/revoke`.
+
+Location: `internal/connector/issuer/entrust/entrust.go`
+
+### Built-in: GlobalSign Atlas HVCA
+
+GlobalSign Atlas High Volume CA REST API with dual authentication: mTLS for the TLS handshake and API key/secret headers for request authorization. Region-aware base URLs (EMEA, APAC, Americas).
+
+| Setting | Required | Default | Description |
+|---------|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_API_URL` | Yes | — | Atlas HVCA API URL (region-specific) |
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_API_KEY` | Yes | — | API key for request authentication |
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_API_SECRET` | Yes | — | API secret for request authentication |
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_CLIENT_CERT_PATH` | Yes | — | Path to mTLS client certificate PEM |
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_CLIENT_KEY_PATH` | Yes | — | Path to mTLS client private key PEM |
+| `CERTCTL_GLOBALSIGN_SERVER_CA_PATH` | No | system trust store | PEM bundle used to verify the Atlas API server certificate. Set this for private/lab Atlas deployments whose server TLS chain is not in the host's default trust bundle. |
+
+**Authentication:** Dual — mTLS client certificate for TLS handshake plus `X-API-Key` and `X-API-Secret` headers on every request.
+
+**TLS verification:** The connector always verifies the server certificate. When `server_ca_path` is set, the PEM bundle at that path is used as the trust anchor; otherwise the host's system trust store is used. TLS 1.2 is the minimum protocol version.
+
+**Issuance model:** `POST /v2/certificates` returns a serial number. Certificate PEM is available after validation completes. Typically resolves within seconds for DV. `GetOrderStatus` polls the certificate endpoint.
+
+**Note:** CRL and OCSP are managed by GlobalSign. certctl records revocations locally and notifies GlobalSign via `PUT /v2/certificates/{serial}/revoke`.
+
+Location: `internal/connector/issuer/globalsign/globalsign.go`
+
+### Built-in: EJBCA (Keyfactor)
+
+EJBCA REST API for self-hosted open-source and enterprise CAs. Supports dual authentication: mTLS (default) or OAuth2 Bearer token, selectable via configuration.
+
+| Setting | Required | Default | Description |
+|---------|----------|---------|-------------|
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_API_URL` | Yes | — | EJBCA REST API base URL |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_AUTH_MODE` | No | `mtls` | Auth mode: `mtls` or `oauth2` |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_CLIENT_CERT_PATH` | mTLS | — | Path to client certificate PEM (mTLS mode) |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_CLIENT_KEY_PATH` | mTLS | — | Path to client key PEM (mTLS mode) |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_TOKEN` | OAuth2 | — | Bearer token (oauth2 mode) |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_CA_NAME` | Yes | — | EJBCA CA name |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_CERT_PROFILE` | No | — | EJBCA certificate profile |
+| `CERTCTL_EJBCA_EE_PROFILE` | No | — | EJBCA end-entity profile |
+
+**Authentication:** Configurable via `auth_mode`. In mTLS mode, client certificate and key are loaded for the TLS handshake. In OAuth2 mode, the token is sent as `Authorization: Bearer {token}`.
+
+**Issuance model:** `POST /v1/certificate/pkcs10enroll` with base64-encoded CSR. Returns base64-encoded certificate PEM. EJBCA 9.3+ creates end-entity and issues cert in a single call. Approval-pending enrollments return 201.
+
+**Revocation note:** EJBCA requires both issuer DN and serial number for revocation. The connector stores these as a composite `OrderID` in `issuer_dn::serial` format.
+
+**Note:** CRL and OCSP are managed by the EJBCA instance. certctl records revocations locally and notifies EJBCA via `PUT /v1/certificate/{issuer_dn}/{serial}/revoke`.
+
+Location: `internal/connector/issuer/ejbca/ejbca.go`
+
+### ADCS Integration
+
+Active Directory Certificate Services integration is handled via the **sub-CA mode** of the Local CA issuer, not as a separate connector. certctl operates as a subordinate CA with its signing certificate issued by ADCS, so all certctl-issued certs chain to the enterprise ADCS root. See the Local CA section above.

 ### Building a Custom Issuer

-Here's the structure for a HashiCorp Vault PKI issuer:
+Here's a simplified example showing the connector pattern (using a hypothetical Vault-like CA):

 ```go
 package vault
@@ -809,6 +911,158 @@ The IIS target connector supports two deployment modes — agent-local (recommen

 Location: `internal/connector/target/iis/iis.go`, `internal/connector/target/iis/winrm.go`

+### SSH (Agentless Deployment)
+
+The SSH target connector enables agentless certificate deployment to any Linux/Unix server via SSH/SFTP. Instead of installing the certctl agent binary on every target, a single "proxy agent" in the same network zone deploys certificates to remote servers over SSH. This is ideal for environments where installing agents on every server is impractical.
+
+**Key authentication (recommended):**
+```json
+{
+  "host": "web-server.internal",
+  "port": 22,
+  "user": "certctl",
+  "auth_method": "key",
+  "private_key_path": "/home/certctl/.ssh/id_ed25519",
+  "cert_path": "/etc/ssl/certs/cert.pem",
+  "key_path": "/etc/ssl/private/key.pem",
+  "chain_path": "/etc/ssl/certs/chain.pem",
+  "reload_command": "systemctl reload nginx",
+  "timeout": 30
+}
+```
+
+**Password authentication:**
+```json
+{
+  "host": "legacy-server.internal",
+  "user": "deploy",
+  "auth_method": "password",
+  "password": "s3cret",
+  "cert_path": "/etc/ssl/cert.pem",
+  "key_path": "/etc/ssl/key.pem",
+  "reload_command": "systemctl reload apache2"
+}
+```
+
+| Field | Type | Default | Description |
+|-------|------|---------|-------------|
+| `host` | string | *(required)* | SSH hostname or IP address |
+| `port` | number | 22 | SSH port |
+| `user` | string | *(required)* | SSH username |
+| `auth_method` | string | `"key"` | `"key"` or `"password"` |
+| `private_key_path` | string | | Path to SSH private key file (key auth) |
+| `private_key` | string | | Inline SSH private key PEM (alternative to path) |
+| `password` | string | | SSH password (password auth) |
+| `passphrase` | string | | Passphrase for encrypted private keys |
+| `cert_path` | string | *(required)* | Remote path for certificate file |
+| `key_path` | string | *(required)* | Remote path for private key file |
+| `chain_path` | string | | Remote path for chain file (if empty, chain appended to cert) |
+| `cert_mode` | string | `"0644"` | File permissions for cert (octal) |
+| `key_mode` | string | `"0600"` | File permissions for private key (octal) |
+| `reload_command` | string | | Command to execute after deployment |
+| `timeout` | number | 30 | SSH connection timeout in seconds |
+
+**Security:**
+- Key-based authentication is recommended over password authentication
+- Reload commands are validated against shell injection (same validation as Postfix/Dovecot connectors)
+- Host field is regex-validated to prevent shell metacharacters
+- Private keys are written with 0600 permissions by default
+- Host key verification is intentionally skipped (same rationale as network scanner and F5 connector — deploying to known, operator-configured infrastructure)
+- Encrypted private keys supported via passphrase
+
+Location: `internal/connector/target/ssh/ssh.go`
+
+### Windows Certificate Store
+
+The Windows Certificate Store connector imports certificates into the Windows cert store via PowerShell, without managing IIS site bindings. Use this for non-IIS Windows services that read certificates from the cert store (Exchange, RDP, SQL Server, ADFS, etc.). Same injectable `PowerShellExecutor` pattern as the IIS connector, with optional WinRM proxy mode.
+
+```json
+{
+  "store_name": "My",
+  "store_location": "LocalMachine",
+  "friendly_name": "Production API Cert",
+  "remove_expired": true
+}
+```
+
+| Field | Type | Default | Description |
+|-------|------|---------|-------------|
+| `store_name` | string | `"My"` | Windows cert store name (My, Root, WebHosting, etc.) |
+| `store_location` | string | `"LocalMachine"` | `"LocalMachine"` or `"CurrentUser"` |
+| `friendly_name` | string | | Optional friendly name for the imported certificate |
+| `remove_expired` | boolean | `false` | Remove expired certs with same CN after import |
+| `mode` | string | `"local"` | `"local"` (agent-local) or `"winrm"` (remote) |
+| `winrm_host` | string | | WinRM hostname (required for winrm mode) |
+| `winrm_port` | number | 5985 | WinRM port (5985 HTTP, 5986 HTTPS) |
+| `winrm_username` | string | | WinRM username (required for winrm mode) |
+| `winrm_password` | string | | WinRM password (required for winrm mode) |
+| `winrm_https` | boolean | `false` | Use HTTPS for WinRM |
+| `winrm_insecure` | boolean | `false` | Skip TLS verification for WinRM |
+
+Location: `internal/connector/target/wincertstore/wincertstore.go`
+
+### Java Keystore (JKS / PKCS#12)
+
+The Java Keystore connector deploys certificates to JKS or PKCS#12 keystores via the `keytool` CLI. This enables TLS cert deployment for Tomcat, Jetty, Kafka, Elasticsearch, and any JVM-based service. Flow: PEM to temp PKCS#12, then `keytool -importkeystore` into the target keystore.
+
+```json
+{
+  "keystore_path": "/opt/tomcat/conf/keystore.p12",
+  "keystore_password": "changeit",
+  "keystore_type": "PKCS12",
+  "alias": "server",
+  "reload_command": "systemctl restart tomcat"
+}
+```
+
+| Field | Type | Default | Description |
+|-------|------|---------|-------------|
+| `keystore_path` | string | *(required)* | Absolute path to the keystore file |
+| `keystore_password` | string | *(required)* | Keystore password |
+| `keystore_type` | string | `"PKCS12"` | `"PKCS12"` or `"JKS"` |
+| `alias` | string | `"server"` | Key entry alias in the keystore |
+| `reload_command` | string | | Optional command to run after keystore update |
+| `create_keystore` | boolean | `true` | Create keystore if it doesn't exist |
+| `keytool_path` | string | `"keytool"` | Override keytool binary path |
+
+**Security:**
+- Reload commands validated against shell injection via `validation.ValidateShellCommand()`
+- Alias validated against injection (alphanumeric, hyphens, underscores only)
+- Path traversal prevention on keystore path
+- Transient PKCS#12 temp file cleaned up after import (even on error)
+
+Location: `internal/connector/target/javakeystore/javakeystore.go`
+
+### Kubernetes Secrets
+
+The Kubernetes Secrets connector deploys certificates as `kubernetes.io/tls` Secrets, compatible with Ingress controllers (nginx-ingress, Traefik, HAProxy), service meshes (Istio, Linkerd), and any Kubernetes workload that reads TLS Secrets.
+
+```json
+{
+  "namespace": "production",
+  "secret_name": "api-tls",
+  "labels": {"app": "api-gateway"},
+  "kubeconfig_path": "/home/agent/.kube/config"
+}
+```
+
+| Field | Type | Default | Description |
+|-------|------|---------|-------------|
+| `namespace` | string | *(required)* | Kubernetes namespace (DNS-1123, max 63 chars) |
+| `secret_name` | string | *(required)* | Secret name (DNS subdomain, max 253 chars) |
+| `labels` | object | | Additional labels to apply to the Secret |
+| `kubeconfig_path` | string | | Path to kubeconfig for out-of-cluster agents |
+
+**Deployment modes:**
+- **In-cluster (default):** Agent runs as a Pod with a ServiceAccount. Authentication via auto-mounted token. Requires RBAC (`secrets.get`, `secrets.create`, `secrets.update`, `secrets.list`) — see Helm chart.
+- **Out-of-cluster:** Agent runs outside the cluster with `kubeconfig_path` pointing to a kubeconfig file. Useful for proxy agent pattern.
+
+**Secret format:** Standard `kubernetes.io/tls` with `tls.crt` (cert + chain PEM) and `tls.key` (private key PEM). Managed labels (`app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: certctl`) and annotations (`certctl.io/deployed-at`, `certctl.io/certificate-id`) are applied automatically.
+
+**Validation:** After deployment, the connector reads the Secret back and compares the certificate serial number to verify successful deployment.
+
+Location: `internal/connector/target/k8ssecret/k8ssecret.go`
+
 ## Notifier Connector

 Notifier connectors send alerts about certificate lifecycle events (expiration warnings, renewal success/failure, deployment status, policy violations).
@@ -874,7 +1128,7 @@ The digest HTML template includes:
 - Expiring certificates table (color-coded by urgency: 7d, 14d, 30d)
 - Auto-refresh and responsive email layout

-**Scheduler Integration:** The 7th scheduler loop runs on configurable interval (default 24 hours). It does NOT run on startup — waits for first scheduled tick. Operation timeout is 5 minutes. Each loop execution is guarded by `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency.
+**Scheduler Integration:** The opt-in digest scheduler loop runs on configurable interval (default 24 hours). It does NOT run on startup — waits for first scheduled tick. Operation timeout is 5 minutes. Each loop execution is guarded by `sync/atomic.Bool` idempotency. See `docs/architecture.md` for the full scheduler topology (12 loops, 8 always-on + 4 opt-in).

 Configuration:

@@ -889,13 +1143,30 @@ API Endpoints:
 - **`GET /api/v1/digest/preview`** — Render digest HTML for preview (no email sent)
 - **`POST /api/v1/digest/send`** — Trigger digest send immediately (outside of schedule)

+> **Note (HTTPS-only as of v2.2):** The `curl` examples in this section
+> and below all target the HTTPS-only control plane. Extract the
+> docker-compose self-signed bootstrap CA bundle once and reuse it on
+> every call:
+>
+> ```bash
+> export CA=/tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+> docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec -T certctl-server \
+>   cat /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt > "$CA"
+> ```
+>
+> Then pass `--cacert "$CA"` (or `-k` for one-off smoke tests, never in
+> production). The same pattern is documented in
+> [`quickstart.md`](quickstart.md). Pre-U-2 these examples used `http://`
+> and silently failed against the HTTPS listener; post-U-2 they speak
+> HTTPS with the operator-managed CA bundle.
+
 Example:
 ```bash
 # Preview digest
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/preview | jq '.html'
+curl --cacert "$CA" https://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/preview | jq '.html'

 # Send digest immediately
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/send
+curl --cacert "$CA" -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/send
 ```

 Each notifier is enabled by its configuration env var:
@@ -1042,24 +1313,24 @@ The agent scans these directories on startup and every 6 hours, looking for cert

 ```bash
 # List discovered certificates (filter by agent, status)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates?agent_id=agent-nginx-01&status=new" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates?agent_id=agent-nginx-01&status=new" | jq .

 # Get discovery detail
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID | jq .

 # Claim a discovered cert (link to managed certificate)
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/claim \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/claim \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"managed_certificate_id": "mc-api-prod"}' | jq .

 # Dismiss a discovery
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/dismiss | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/dismiss | jq .

 # View discovery scan history
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-scans | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-scans | jq .

 # Summary counts (new, claimed, dismissed)
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | jq .
 ```

 ### Use Cases
@@ -1088,7 +1359,7 @@ Network scan targets can be managed from the **Network Scans** dashboard page (c

 ```bash
 # Create a scan target for your internal network (or use the dashboard's "+ New Target" button)
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Production Web Servers",
@@ -1113,31 +1384,31 @@ curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \

 ```bash
 # List all scan targets
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets | jq .

 # Create a scan target
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "DMZ", "cidrs": ["172.16.0.0/24"], "ports": [443]}' | jq .

 # Get a specific target (includes last_scan_at, last_scan_certs_found)
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz | jq .

 # Trigger an immediate scan (doesn't wait for scheduler)
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz/scan | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz/scan | jq .

 # Update scan configuration
-curl -s -X PUT http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X PUT https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"ports": [443, 8443, 9443], "timeout_ms": 3000}' | jq .

 # Delete a scan target
-curl -s -X DELETE http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X DELETE https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-dmz
 ```

 ### Scheduler Integration

-When `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED=true`, the server runs a 6th scheduler loop (alongside renewal, jobs, health, notifications, and short-lived expiry). It scans all enabled targets at the configured interval (default 6h). Each target tracks `last_scan_at`, `last_scan_duration_ms`, and `last_scan_certs_found` for monitoring scan health.
+When `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED=true`, the server runs the opt-in network scanner scheduler loop alongside the always-on loops (renewal, jobs, job retry, job timeout, agent health, notifications, notification retry, short-lived expiry). It scans all enabled targets at the configured interval (default 6h). Each target tracks `last_scan_at`, `last_scan_duration_ms`, and `last_scan_certs_found` for monitoring scan health. See `docs/architecture.md` for the full 12-loop scheduler topology.

 ### Use Cases

@@ -1147,6 +1418,63 @@ When `CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED=true`, the server runs a 6th scheduler loop (
 - **Migration assessment** — Scan a network range before onboarding to certctl management
 - **Expiration monitoring** — Discover soon-to-expire certs on network endpoints before they cause outages

+## Cloud Secret Manager Discovery
+
+certctl extends the existing filesystem and network discovery pipeline to cloud secret managers. Certificates stored in cloud vaults are automatically discovered, inventoried, and available for triage in the Discovery page.
+
+Each cloud source runs as a pluggable `DiscoverySource` with its own sentinel agent ID. Discovered certificates flow through the same `ProcessDiscoveryReport` pipeline used by filesystem and network discovery — dedup by fingerprint, audit trail, status tracking.
+
+### AWS Secrets Manager
+
+Discovers certificates stored as secrets in AWS Secrets Manager. Filters by tag (`type=certificate` by default) and optional name prefix.
+
+| Variable | Description | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_CLOUD_DISCOVERY_ENABLED` | Enable cloud discovery scheduler | `false` |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_SM_DISCOVERY_ENABLED` | Enable AWS SM source | `false` |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_SM_REGION` | AWS region (e.g., `us-east-1`) | — |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_SM_TAG_FILTER` | Tag key=value filter | `type=certificate` |
+| `CERTCTL_AWS_SM_NAME_PREFIX` | Secret name prefix filter | — |
+
+Source path format: `aws-sm://{region}/{secret-name}`. Sentinel agent: `cloud-aws-sm`.
+
+### Azure Key Vault
+
+Discovers certificates from Azure Key Vault using OAuth2 client credentials authentication. No Azure SDK dependency — uses stdlib HTTP with Azure AD token exchange.
+
+| Variable | Description | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_AZURE_KV_DISCOVERY_ENABLED` | Enable Azure KV source | `false` |
+| `CERTCTL_AZURE_KV_VAULT_URL` | Vault URL (e.g., `https://myvault.vault.azure.net`) | — |
+| `CERTCTL_AZURE_KV_TENANT_ID` | Azure AD tenant ID | — |
+| `CERTCTL_AZURE_KV_CLIENT_ID` | Azure AD application (client) ID | — |
+| `CERTCTL_AZURE_KV_CLIENT_SECRET` | Azure AD application secret | — |
+
+Source path format: `azure-kv://{cert-name}/{version}`. Sentinel agent: `cloud-azure-kv`.
+
+### GCP Secret Manager
+
+Discovers certificates stored in GCP Secret Manager. Filters by label (`type=certificate`). Uses JWT-based OAuth2 service account auth — no Google SDK dependency.
+
+| Variable | Description | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_GCP_SM_DISCOVERY_ENABLED` | Enable GCP SM source | `false` |
+| `CERTCTL_GCP_SM_PROJECT` | GCP project ID | — |
+| `CERTCTL_GCP_SM_CREDENTIALS` | Path to service account JSON file | — |
+
+Source path format: `gcp-sm://{project}/{secret-name}`. Sentinel agent: `cloud-gcp-sm`.
+
+### Cloud Discovery Scheduler
+
+All enabled cloud sources run on a shared opt-in cloud discovery scheduler loop (see `docs/architecture.md` for the full 12-loop scheduler topology). The interval is configurable:
+
+| Variable | Description | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_CLOUD_DISCOVERY_ENABLED` | Master switch | `false` |
+| `CERTCTL_CLOUD_DISCOVERY_INTERVAL` | Scan interval | `6h` |
+
+The loop runs immediately on startup and then on each tick. Each source runs sequentially within the loop. Errors from one source do not prevent other sources from running.
+
 ## What's Next

 - [Architecture Guide](architecture.md) — Understanding the full system design
@@ -0,0 +1,329 @@
+# CRL & OCSP — Revocation Status for Relying Parties
+
+This guide is the operator + relying-party reference for certctl's revocation
+status surfaces. It covers the wire format, endpoint URLs, configuration knobs,
+the OCSP responder cert lifecycle, and how to point common consumers
+(cert-manager, Firefox, OpenSSL) at the endpoints.
+
+If you're looking for the higher-level architecture, see
+[`architecture.md` § Security Model](architecture.md#security-model). If you're
+looking for the revocation policy / reason codes the API accepts, see
+[`api/openapi.yaml` § /certificates/{id}/revoke](../api/openapi.yaml).
+
+---
+
+## Conceptual overview
+
+**Why two formats.** RFC 5280 §5 defines a Certificate Revocation List (CRL)
+— a periodically-published, signed list of every revoked certificate for an
+issuer. RFC 6960 defines the Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) — a
+request/response protocol that returns the status of a single certificate by
+serial number. CRLs are batch-friendly and cacheable; OCSP is point-query and
+fresh. Production PKI deployments serve both because different relying parties
+prefer different trade-offs:
+
+- Browsers (Firefox / Safari) prefer OCSP for freshness; some pin OCSP
+  stapling.
+- cert-manager and most Linux TLS clients fall back to CRL when OCSP is
+  unreachable.
+- Microsoft Intune / corporate device-state validators do periodic CRL pulls.
+- OpenSSL `s_client -status` exercises OCSP via the `Certificate Status
+  Request` extension during the handshake.
+
+certctl's local issuer publishes both, with a pre-generation cache so a busy
+CA does not DOS itself rebuilding the CRL on every fetch.
+
+**Why a separate OCSP responder cert.** RFC 6960 §2.6 + §4.2.2.2 strongly
+recommend that OCSP responses be signed by a delegated "OCSP responder cert"
+issued by the CA, NOT by the CA private key directly. The responder cert
+carries the `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) so OCSP
+clients do not recursively check the responder cert's revocation status. This
+keeps the CA private key cold (an HSM operation per OCSP request would be
+prohibitive at scale) and lets the responder key live on disk, on a separate
+HSM partition, or rotate frequently while the CA key stays untouched.
+
+---
+
+## Endpoints
+
+All revocation endpoints live under `/.well-known/pki/` per RFC 8615 and run
+**unauthenticated** — relying parties without certctl API credentials must be
+able to validate revocation status. The HTTPS-only TLS 1.3 control plane
+applies; there is no plaintext fallback.
+
+### CRL — Certificate Revocation List
+
+```
+GET https://<host>/.well-known/pki/crl/{issuer_id}
+```
+
+| Field | Value |
+| --- | --- |
+| Method | `GET` |
+| Auth | None (unauthenticated, RFC 5280 §5 distribution semantics) |
+| Response Content-Type | `application/pkix-crl` |
+| Response body | DER-encoded X.509 CRL signed by the issuer's CA |
+| Cache | Pre-generated by the scheduler; configurable interval |
+
+Example:
+
+```bash
+curl --cacert ca.crt \
+  -o crl.der \
+  https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local
+
+openssl crl -inform DER -in crl.der -text -noout
+```
+
+### OCSP — Online Certificate Status Protocol
+
+certctl serves both the GET form (RFC 6960 §A.1.1, simple URL-path lookup)
+and the POST form (RFC 6960 §A.1.1, binary OCSPRequest body). Most
+production OCSP clients (Firefox, OpenSSL `s_client -status`, cert-manager,
+Intune) use POST. The GET form is preserved for ops curl-debugging.
+
+#### GET form
+
+```
+GET https://<host>/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial_hex}
+```
+
+| Field | Value |
+| --- | --- |
+| Method | `GET` |
+| Auth | None |
+| Response Content-Type | `application/ocsp-response` |
+| Response body | DER-encoded OCSPResponse signed by the **OCSP responder cert** (NOT the CA cert) |
+
+Example:
+
+```bash
+curl --cacert ca.crt \
+  -o response.der \
+  https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/ocsp/iss-local/a1b2c3d4
+
+openssl ocsp -respin response.der -text -CAfile ca.crt
+```
+
+#### POST form (the standard one)
+
+```
+POST https://<host>/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}
+Content-Type: application/ocsp-request
+Body: <DER-encoded OCSPRequest>
+```
+
+| Field | Value |
+| --- | --- |
+| Method | `POST` |
+| Auth | None |
+| Request Content-Type | `application/ocsp-request` |
+| Response Content-Type | `application/ocsp-response` |
+
+Example with OpenSSL building the request:
+
+```bash
+openssl ocsp -issuer ca.crt -cert leaf.crt -reqout request.der
+
+curl --cacert ca.crt \
+  -X POST \
+  -H "Content-Type: application/ocsp-request" \
+  --data-binary @request.der \
+  -o response.der \
+  https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/ocsp/iss-local
+
+openssl ocsp -respin response.der -text -CAfile ca.crt
+```
+
+The body-size limit applies (`http.MaxBytesReader` from middleware,
+default 1MB, configurable via `CERTCTL_MAX_BODY_SIZE`); a typical OCSPRequest
+is ~200 bytes so this is a generous cap.
+
+### Admin observability endpoint
+
+```
+GET https://<host>/api/v1/admin/crl/cache
+Authorization: Bearer <token-with-admin-flag>
+```
+
+Returns the per-issuer cache state — for ops dashboards, GUI badges, or
+"is the scheduler keeping up?" diagnostics. Admin-gated (M-008 admin-gated
+handler allowlist; non-admin Bearer callers receive HTTP 403). Response shape:
+
+```json
+{
+  "cache_rows": [
+    {
+      "issuer_id": "iss-local",
+      "cache_present": true,
+      "crl_number": 42,
+      "this_update": "2026-04-29T10:00:00Z",
+      "next_update": "2026-04-29T11:00:00Z",
+      "generated_at": "2026-04-29T10:00:00Z",
+      "generation_duration_ms": 87,
+      "revoked_count": 13,
+      "is_stale": false,
+      "recent_events": [
+        {
+          "started_at": "2026-04-29T10:00:00Z",
+          "duration_ms": 87,
+          "succeeded": true,
+          "crl_number": 42,
+          "revoked_count": 13
+        }
+      ]
+    }
+  ],
+  "row_count": 1,
+  "generated_at": "2026-04-29T10:30:00Z"
+}
+```
+
+Issuers that have not yet had a CRL generated appear with `cache_present:
+false` so the GUI can render a "Not yet generated" pill rather than 404.
+
+---
+
+## Configuration
+
+| Env var | Default | Meaning |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL` | `1h` | How often the scheduler walks every CRL-supporting issuer and rebuilds. The HTTP handler reads from the cache, not from a per-request rebuild. |
+| `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_KEY_DIR` | unset | **Operator MUST set in production.** Directory where the FileDriver persists each issuer's OCSP responder key (`ocsp-responder-<issuer_id>.key`). When unset, the responder service uses a temporary directory that does NOT survive restarts — fine for dev, NEVER for prod. |
+| `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_ROTATION_GRACE` | `7d` | When the responder cert's `NotAfter` falls within this window, `EnsureResponder` rotates to a fresh cert+key on the next OCSP request or scheduler tick. |
+| `CERTCTL_OCSP_RESPONDER_VALIDITY` | `30d` | How long each newly-issued responder cert is valid for. Short by design — relying parties cache OCSP responses, not the responder cert chain, and `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` blocks recursive revocation checking on the responder itself. |
+
+The issuer-level CRL `nextUpdate` is derived from the generation timestamp +
+the configured CRL validity (currently a build-time constant in the
+`CRLCacheService`; configurable knob deferred until an operator asks).
+
+---
+
+## OCSP responder cert lifecycle
+
+1. **First OCSP request for an issuer (or scheduler tick).** The local
+   issuer's `SignOCSPResponse` calls into `OCSPResponderService.EnsureResponder`.
+2. **Cache lookup.** `EnsureResponder` queries the `ocsp_responders` table for
+   a row keyed by `issuer_id`.
+3. **Disk lookup.** If a row exists, the FileDriver reads the persisted key
+   from `<keydir>/ocsp-responder-<issuer_id>.key`. **Self-healing:** if the
+   row exists but the file is missing (operator pruned the keydir without
+   pruning the DB), the service treats this as "rotate now" rather than
+   crashing.
+4. **Rotation check.** If `cert.NotAfter < now + RotationGrace`, the service
+   generates a fresh ECDSA-P256 key, builds a `*x509.CertificateRequest`,
+   and asks the local issuer's existing `IssueCertificate` flow to sign it.
+   The signing template carries:
+   - `KeyUsage: x509.KeyUsageDigitalSignature` (signing OCSP responses)
+   - `ExtKeyUsage: x509.ExtKeyUsageOCSPSigning` (RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2)
+   - The `id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` extension (OID `1.3.6.1.5.5.7.48.1.5`,
+     DER value `NULL`, RFC 6960 §4.2.2.2.1) wired through
+     `Certificate.ExtraExtensions`.
+5. **Persistence.** The new cert + key path are written to `ocsp_responders`
+   via an idempotent `INSERT … ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE`.
+6. **Response signing.** `ocsp.CreateResponse(caCert, responderCert,
+   template, responderSigner)` produces the response bytes; the responder
+   cert is included in the response chain so relying parties can validate
+   without a separate fetch.
+
+The race between scheduler-driven cache refresh and on-demand cache miss is
+collapsed by the `CRLCacheService`'s in-tree singleflight (a `sync.Map` of
+`*flightEntry` keyed by `issuer_id`). Concurrent generation requests for the
+same issuer wait on the in-flight result rather than each rebuilding from
+scratch.
+
+---
+
+## Pointing common consumers at the endpoints
+
+### cert-manager (Kubernetes)
+
+cert-manager's certificate-validation logic checks both the AIA OCSP URI
+embedded in the leaf and the CDP CRL URI. Both are populated automatically
+by the local issuer's certificate template — relying parties should NOT
+need any additional configuration. To verify:
+
+```bash
+openssl x509 -in leaf.crt -text -noout | grep -A1 "Authority Information Access"
+openssl x509 -in leaf.crt -text -noout | grep -A2 "CRL Distribution Points"
+```
+
+If your cert-manager pods cannot reach `https://<certctl-host>:8443/.well-known/pki/`,
+add a NetworkPolicy egress rule or expose the certctl service via the
+appropriate ingress class.
+
+### Firefox
+
+Firefox honors the AIA OCSP URI by default. To force-refresh the local
+revocation cache after revoking a cert in dev:
+
+```
+about:preferences#privacy → Certificates → Query OCSP responder servers
+```
+
+If Firefox reports `SEC_ERROR_OCSP_INVALID_SIGNING_CERT`, verify that the
+responder cert chain is reachable from the system trust store —
+`id-pkix-ocsp-nocheck` is a Firefox-strict extension and is set automatically
+on every responder cert certctl issues.
+
+### OpenSSL
+
+```bash
+# OCSP via stand-alone request
+openssl ocsp -issuer ca.crt -cert leaf.crt -url https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/ocsp/iss-local -CAfile ca.crt -text
+
+# OCSP via TLS Certificate Status Request extension
+openssl s_client -connect example.com:443 -status -CAfile ca.crt
+```
+
+### Intune (corporate device state)
+
+Intune device-compliance validators pull the CRL on a schedule (configured in
+the Intune admin console, default 24h). Configure the CRL distribution point
+to `https://<certctl-host>:8443/.well-known/pki/crl/<issuer_id>` and Intune
+will pull on its own cadence.
+
+---
+
+## What this release does NOT include (V3-Pro)
+
+The following are explicitly out of scope for the V2 (free) bundle and are
+tracked for the certctl Pro release:
+
+- **Delta CRLs (RFC 5280 §5.2.4).** Useful for very large CRLs (10k+
+  revoked certs); the data model already accommodates the Base CRL Number
+  reference but the pipeline only emits Base CRLs in V2.
+- **OCSP rate-limiting per relying party.** Per-IP token bucket on the OCSP
+  endpoint — V3-Pro because it justifies per-seat pricing for high-traffic
+  responders.
+- **OCSP stapling.** Server-side: cache pre-fetched OCSP responses + serve
+  in TLS handshake. Client-side: a "stapling fetcher" agent for non-stapling
+  origins.
+
+The MaxBytesReader cap is the only request-level guard in V2; the
+unauthenticated-by-design relying-party endpoints are intentionally not
+rate-limited per IP.
+
+---
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+**`pki/crl/<issuer_id>` returns 404.** The issuer either does not support
+CRL signing (Vault, EJBCA, DigiCert serve their own CRL infrastructure;
+certctl's connectors return `nil` from `GenerateCRL` for these) or the
+issuer ID is wrong. Verify with `GET /api/v1/issuers`.
+
+**`pki/ocsp/<issuer_id>/<serial>` returns 200 but `openssl ocsp -text`
+shows "unauthorized".** Check that the serial in the URL is hex-encoded (no
+`0x` prefix, no leading zeros stripped, lowercase). Mismatched serials
+return an OCSP response with status `unauthorized` per RFC 6960 §2.3.
+
+**Admin cache endpoint returns 403.** The Bearer key does not carry the
+admin flag. M-008 gates this endpoint server-side; the GUI also gates the
+fetch on `useAuth().admin`. Either escalate the key (`certctl admin
+keys promote <key-id>`) or use a different identity.
+
+**Cache shows `is_stale: true` repeatedly.** The scheduler is not running
+(or not getting scheduled often enough). Check `CERTCTL_CRL_GENERATION_INTERVAL`
+and confirm the scheduler started: `grep crlGenerationLoop` in the server
+logs at startup.
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+# Database TLS — Postgres Transport Encryption
+
+**Audit reference:** Bundle B / M-018. PCI-DSS v4.0 Req 4 §2.2.5; CWE-319.
+
+certctl talks to Postgres over a single connection-string URL controlled by the
+`CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` env var. The `sslmode` query parameter on that URL
+selects the transport-encryption posture. Pre-Bundle-B all the bundled
+deployment artifacts (Helm chart, docker-compose) hard-coded `sslmode=disable`.
+Bundle B exposes that as an operator-facing knob with a documented default and
+explicit opt-in / opt-out paths for the four real-world deployment shapes.
+
+## Quick reference
+
+| Deployment shape                               | Default `sslmode` | When to change |
+|------------------------------------------------|--------------------|----------------|
+| Helm chart, bundled Postgres, in-cluster       | `disable`          | When the cluster does not provide pod-network encryption (CNI without WireGuard / IPSec) and the workload is in PCI-DSS scope. |
+| Helm chart, external Postgres (RDS / Cloud SQL / Azure DB) | not auto-set | **Always** set to `verify-full` and provide the cloud provider's server CA bundle. |
+| docker-compose, bundled Postgres on docker bridge | `disable`        | Demo/dev only; not a deployment shape we expect operators to harden. |
+| docker-compose / k8s with external Postgres    | not auto-set       | **Always** set `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` to a connection string with `sslmode=verify-full`. |
+
+`sslmode` values come from `lib/pq` (the underlying driver). The full set is:
+`disable`, `allow`, `prefer`, `require`, `verify-ca`, `verify-full`. PCI-DSS
+Req 4 v4.0 §2.2.5 considers `verify-ca` the floor for sensitive-data transport;
+`verify-full` is the floor for systems exposed to spoofing risk (it adds
+hostname validation against the server cert's CN/SAN).
+
+## Helm chart (Bundle B)
+
+Bundle B adds two values under `postgresql.tls`:
+
+```yaml
+postgresql:
+  tls:
+    mode: disable          # disable | require | verify-ca | verify-full
+    caSecretRef: ""        # Secret with ca.crt key (required for verify-ca / verify-full)
+```
+
+The chart pipes `postgresql.tls.mode` into the `?sslmode=` parameter of the
+generated `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` (see `templates/_helpers.tpl::certctl.databaseURL`).
+For external Postgres, set `postgresql.enabled: false` and override
+`server.env.CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL` directly with the full connection string —
+the operator authoring an external-DB values file owns the entire URL.
+
+### Example: external RDS with verify-full
+
+```yaml
+postgresql:
+  enabled: false   # Disable bundled Postgres
+
+server:
+  env:
+    CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL: |
+      postgres://certctl:STRONGPW@my-db.cabc12345.us-east-1.rds.amazonaws.com:5432/certctl?sslmode=verify-full
+
+# Provide the AWS RDS root CA bundle as a secret + mount.
+# AWS publishes per-region root certs at https://truststore.pki.rds.amazonaws.com/
+extraVolumes:
+  - name: rds-ca
+    secret:
+      secretName: rds-ca-bundle  # kubectl create secret generic rds-ca-bundle --from-file=ca.crt=...
+
+extraVolumeMounts:
+  - name: rds-ca
+    mountPath: /etc/postgresql-ca
+    readOnly: true
+
+# lib/pq honors PGSSLROOTCERT for the verify-{ca,full} CA bundle path.
+server:
+  env:
+    PGSSLROOTCERT: /etc/postgresql-ca/ca.crt
+```
+
+## docker-compose (development / demo)
+
+The bundled `deploy/docker-compose.yml` keeps `sslmode=disable` as the default
+because the Postgres container shares the docker bridge network with the certctl
+server and the compose file is not a production deployment artifact. To opt in:
+
+```bash
+export CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL='postgres://certctl:certctl@postgres:5432/certctl?sslmode=verify-full'
+docker compose up
+```
+
+## Verification
+
+For any non-`disable` mode, confirm the connection actually negotiated TLS:
+
+```bash
+# From inside the certctl-server container or any host with psql + the same URL:
+psql "$CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL" -c "SELECT ssl, version, cipher FROM pg_stat_ssl WHERE pid = pg_backend_pid();"
+
+# Expected output for verify-full: ssl=t, version=TLSv1.3 (or TLSv1.2), cipher=...
+```
+
+If `ssl=f` appears, the connection silently fell back to plaintext — investigate
+the cert chain or sslmode value before treating the deployment as PCI-compliant.
+
+## What this does NOT cover
+
+* **Postgres-to-Postgres replication** — if you run a replica, replica-primary
+  TLS is configured via the Postgres server itself (`pg_hba.conf` +
+  `ssl=on`); it is independent of certctl's `CERTCTL_DATABASE_URL`.
+* **Backup transport** — `pg_dump` / `pg_basebackup` honor the same `sslmode`
+  parameter when invoked with the URL form, but the bundled chart's backup
+  story (if any) is operator-owned.
+* **Encryption at rest** — `sslmode` is a transport concern only. Disk
+  encryption is the cloud provider's storage layer (RDS, EBS, etc.) or the
+  operator's Postgres TDE / disk LUKS / etc.
+
+## Reverting
+
+If `sslmode=verify-full` causes connection failures (most common: missing CA
+bundle, wrong hostname), drop temporarily to `sslmode=require` to confirm TLS
+is at least negotiated, then add the CA bundle and ratchet back up. Never
+revert to `sslmode=disable` on a system carrying real cert metadata —
+audit_events alone contains enough operator/issuer/target identity to justify
+TLS in any scoped environment.
@@ -50,14 +50,17 @@ docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
 docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml ps
 ```

-Open **http://localhost:8443** in your browser alongside your terminal. You'll watch changes appear in the dashboard as you make API calls.
+Open **https://localhost:8443** in your browser alongside your terminal. The default compose stack ships a self-signed cert; your browser will show a warning the first time — click through (or trust `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` in your OS keychain). You'll watch changes appear in the dashboard as you make API calls.

-Set up a base variable for convenience:
+Set up base variables for convenience:

 ```bash
-API="http://localhost:8443"
+API="https://localhost:8443"
+CA="$PWD/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt"   # pin the self-signed CA for curl
 ```

+Every `curl` in this guide uses `--cacert "$CA"` so the TLS handshake verifies against the compose-stack CA instead of the system trust store.
+
 ## How the pieces fit together

 Before we start, here's the high-level flow of what we're about to do:
@@ -724,22 +727,24 @@ curl -s -X POST $API/api/v1/certificates/mc-demo-payments/revoke \
 6. Creates an audit trail entry
 7. Sends revocation notifications via configured channels

-Check the CRL (Certificate Revocation List):
+Check the CRL (Certificate Revocation List) — served unauthenticated under the RFC 8615 well-known namespace so relying parties without a certctl API key can still verify revocation (RFC 5280 §5):

 ```bash
-# JSON-formatted CRL
-curl -s $API/api/v1/crl | jq .
-
-# DER-encoded X.509 CRL for the local CA (binary — pipe to openssl for inspection)
-curl -s $API/api/v1/crl/iss-local -o /tmp/crl.der
+# DER-encoded X.509 CRL for the local CA (binary — pipe to openssl for inspection).
+# Note: no -H "Authorization: Bearer ..." — the endpoint is deliberately
+# unauthenticated. Content-Type is application/pkix-crl.
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local -o /tmp/crl.der
 openssl crl -inform DER -in /tmp/crl.der -text -noout
 ```

-Check OCSP status:
+Check OCSP status (RFC 6960, also unauthenticated, `application/ocsp-response`):

 ```bash
-# Replace SERIAL with the actual serial number from the certificate version
-curl -s $API/api/v1/ocsp/iss-local/SERIAL | jq .
+# Replace SERIAL with the actual serial number from the certificate version.
+# The embedded OCSP responder returns a signed DER response — parse it with
+# `openssl ocsp -respin` or similar tooling.
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/ocsp/iss-local/SERIAL -o /tmp/ocsp.der
+openssl ocsp -respin /tmp/ocsp.der -noverify -resp_text | head -40
 ```

 **Why RFC 5280 reason codes:** The reason code isn't just metadata — it tells clients *why* the certificate was revoked. A `keyCompromise` revocation means the private key was exposed and the certificate should be distrusted immediately. A `superseded` revocation means a newer certificate replaced it — less urgent. CRLs and OCSP responses include the reason code so client software can make informed trust decisions.
@@ -944,7 +949,8 @@ certctl includes a standalone CLI tool for command-line users:
 cd cmd/cli && go build -o certctl-cli .

 # Export credentials
-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="http://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="https://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH="$PWD/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt"
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY="test-key-123"

 # List certificates (JSON or table format)
@@ -981,14 +987,15 @@ export CERTCTL_API_KEY="test-key-123"

 ## Part 15: MCP Server for AI Integration (M18a)

-certctl exposes 78 MCP tools covering the REST API via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling seamless integration with Claude, Cursor, and other AI assistants:
+certctl exposes the full REST API via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling seamless integration with Claude, Cursor, and other AI assistants:

 ```bash
 # Build the MCP server
 cd cmd/mcp-server && go build -o mcp-server .

 # Export credentials
-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="http://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="https://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH="$PWD/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt"
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY="test-key-123"

 # Start the MCP server (listens on stdin/stdout)
@@ -1046,7 +1053,7 @@ docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml run -e CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS=/tmp/c
 Or with the CLI flag:

 ```bash
-certctl-agent --agent-id a-demo-1 --key-dir /tmp/keys --discovery-dirs /tmp/certs --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key test-key-123
+certctl-agent --agent-id a-demo-1 --key-dir /tmp/keys --discovery-dirs /tmp/certs --server https://localhost:8443 --ca-bundle "$CA" --api-key test-key-123
 ```

 ### Network Discovery (Server-Side)
@@ -1153,7 +1160,7 @@ flowchart TB
        API["REST API\nGo net/http"]
        SVC["Service Layer\nBusiness Logic"]
        REPO["Repository Layer\ndatabase/sql + lib/pq"]
-        SCHED["Scheduler\n7 background loops"]
+        SCHED["Scheduler\n12 background loops\n(8 always-on + 4 opt-in)"]
        CONN["Connector Registry\nIssuer + Target + Notifier"]
    end

@@ -1189,7 +1196,8 @@ Here's a single script that runs the entire demo end-to-end. Save it as `demo.sh
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e

-API="http://localhost:8443"
+API="https://localhost:8443"
+CA="$PWD/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt"   # pin the self-signed CA for curl
 BLUE='\033[0;34m'
 GREEN='\033[0;32m'
 YELLOW='\033[1;33m'
@@ -1297,7 +1305,7 @@ echo "  5. Revoked the certificate with RFC 5280 reason codes"
 echo "  6. Checked dashboard stats and metrics"
 echo "  7. All actions recorded in the audit trail"
 echo ""
-echo -e "Open ${GREEN}http://localhost:8443${NC} to see everything in the dashboard."
+echo -e "Open ${GREEN}https://localhost:8443${NC} to see everything in the dashboard."
 echo "Look for certificate: $CERT_ID"
 ```

@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ The full walkthrough — including profile-based issuer assignment, testing with

 ## Beyond These Examples

-These 5 scenarios cover the most common deployment patterns, but certctl supports 7 issuer backends and 10 target connectors. Once you have the basics running, you can mix and match:
+These 5 scenarios cover the most common deployment patterns, but certctl supports a broader set of issuer and target backends — see `docs/features.md`'s Issuer Connectors and Target Connectors sections for the live catalogs (rebuild via `ls -d internal/connector/issuer/*/ | wc -l` and `ls -d internal/connector/target/*/ | wc -l`). Once you have the basics running, you can mix and match:

 **Issuers:** ACME (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Buypass, Google Trust Services), Local CA (self-signed or sub-CA), step-ca, Vault PKI, DigiCert CertCentral, OpenSSL/Custom CA script, Sectigo (coming soon).

@@ -0,0 +1,511 @@
+# Legacy EST / SCEP Clients — TLS 1.2 Reverse-Proxy Runbook
+
+**Audit reference:** Bundle F / M-023. PCI-DSS v4.0 Req 4 §2.2.5; CWE-326.
+
+certctl's control plane pins `tls.Config.MinVersion = tls.VersionTLS13`
+(`cmd/server/tls.go:131`). Some embedded EST (RFC 7030) and SCEP (RFC 8894)
+clients only speak TLS 1.0/1.1/1.2 — those clients cannot complete the
+handshake against certctl directly. This runbook documents the supported
+operator pattern: terminate the legacy TLS version at a front-door reverse
+proxy and pass the request through to certctl over TLS 1.3.
+
+## Why TLS 1.3 minimum
+
+certctl's audit posture, the SOC 2 / PCI-DSS / NIST SP 800-57 compliance
+mappings, and the M-001 PBKDF2 work factor all assume modern transport
+crypto. TLS 1.2 with the cipher suites still in the wild has known
+attack surface (BEAST, POODLE, ROBOT, raccoon — all CVE-categorized);
+allowing TLS 1.2 directly on the certctl listener would invalidate the
+guarantee that the server-side encryption chain is the strongest the
+ecosystem currently supports.
+
+## When this runbook applies
+
+You need this if **all three** are true:
+
+1. You operate certctl with EST or SCEP enabled (`CERTCTL_EST_ENABLED=true`
+   or `CERTCTL_SCEP_ENABLED=true`).
+2. Your enrolling clients are embedded devices (printers, network
+   appliances, IoT boards, legacy MFPs, point-of-sale terminals) whose TLS
+   stack pre-dates 2018 and only speaks TLS 1.2 or older.
+3. Replacing those clients is not feasible on a 6-month horizon.
+
+If your enrolling clients are modern (any current Linux/Windows/macOS
+host, anything Go-based, anything Rust/Python/Node from 2019 onward),
+they speak TLS 1.3 natively and this runbook is unnecessary — point them
+straight at certctl on `:8443`.
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+                          ┌─── TLS 1.2/1.3 ────┐         ┌─── TLS 1.3 ───┐
+[legacy EST/SCEP client]──>│ nginx / HAProxy   │────────>│ certctl :8443 │
+                          │ reverse proxy      │         │               │
+                          └────────────────────┘         └───────────────┘
+        Allowed TLS 1.2                  Re-encrypts as TLS 1.3
+```
+
+The reverse proxy:
+
+- Terminates the legacy-version TLS handshake on the public-facing port.
+- Forwards the request to certctl over TLS 1.3 on a private network.
+- (For EST mTLS) forwards the client certificate via an
+  `X-SSL-Client-Cert` header that certctl reads only when the connection
+  arrives from a configured-trusted source IP.
+
+## nginx config
+
+```nginx
+upstream certctl_backend {
+    # Private-network address; not reachable from outside the proxy host.
+    server 10.0.0.10:8443;
+}
+
+server {
+    listen 443 ssl http2;
+    server_name est.example.com;
+
+    # Public-facing legacy listener. ssl_protocols includes TLSv1.2 explicitly.
+    # Keep ssl_ciphers conservative — only the strong AEAD suites that
+    # PCI-DSS Req 4 §2.2.5 still allows under TLS 1.2.
+    ssl_certificate     /etc/nginx/certs/est.example.com.fullchain.pem;
+    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/est.example.com.key;
+    ssl_protocols       TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
+    ssl_ciphers         ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-ECDSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-RSA-CHACHA20-POLY1305:ECDHE-ECDSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256:ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256;
+    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;
+
+    # mTLS for EST: optional client cert, verified against the EST CA.
+    ssl_client_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/est-clients-ca.pem;
+    ssl_verify_client      optional;
+
+    location ~ ^/\.well-known/(est|pki) {
+        # Forward the client cert (if presented) to certctl over the
+        # private hop. The current certctl implementation IGNORES the
+        # X-SSL-Client-Cert header (header-agnostic by default — see
+        # the certctl-side configuration section below). EST/SCEP
+        # authentication still works correctly because both protocols
+        # carry their own auth (CSR signature for EST, challengePassword
+        # for SCEP) inside the request body.
+        proxy_set_header X-SSL-Client-Cert  $ssl_client_escaped_cert;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For    $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto  $scheme;
+
+        # The proxy-to-certctl hop is itself TLS 1.3.
+        proxy_pass https://certctl_backend;
+        proxy_ssl_protocols TLSv1.3;
+        proxy_ssl_verify    on;
+        proxy_ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/certctl-internal-ca.pem;
+    }
+
+    # SCEP endpoints — same pattern, no client-cert requirement
+    # (SCEP authenticates via challengePassword inside the CSR).
+    location ^~ /scep {
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For    $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto  $scheme;
+        proxy_pass https://certctl_backend;
+        proxy_ssl_protocols TLSv1.3;
+        proxy_ssl_verify    on;
+        proxy_ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/certctl-internal-ca.pem;
+    }
+}
+```
+
+## HAProxy config (alternative)
+
+```
+frontend est_legacy
+    bind *:443 ssl crt /etc/haproxy/certs/est.example.com.pem alpn h2,http/1.1 \
+        ssl-min-ver TLSv1.2 \
+        ciphers ECDHE-ECDSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
+
+    acl is_est_path  path_beg /.well-known/est
+    acl is_pki_path  path_beg /.well-known/pki
+    acl is_scep_path path_beg /scep
+    use_backend certctl_backend if is_est_path or is_pki_path or is_scep_path
+    default_backend certctl_modern
+
+backend certctl_backend
+    server certctl 10.0.0.10:8443 ssl verify required \
+        ca-file /etc/haproxy/certs/certctl-internal-ca.pem \
+        ssl-min-ver TLSv1.3
+    http-request set-header X-Forwarded-For %[src]
+    http-request set-header X-Forwarded-Proto https
+```
+
+## certctl-side configuration
+
+The current implementation is **header-agnostic**: certctl ignores any
+`X-SSL-Client-Cert` / `X-Forwarded-For` headers from the proxy. EST
+authentication still happens via in-protocol CSR signature + profile
+policy (RFC 7030 §3.2.3); SCEP authentication still happens via the
+`challengePassword` attribute embedded in the CSR (RFC 8894 §3.2). Both
+mechanisms are inside the request body and survive the reverse-proxy
+hop without server-side header trust.
+
+**Why this is the correct default:** trusting a proxy-supplied header
+for client identity opens a header-spoofing attack surface that requires
+careful design (CIDR allowlist of trusted proxies, fail-closed defaults,
+explicit operator opt-in). The Bundle F closure of M-023 ships the
+TLS-bridge guidance as documentation only; a future commit can extend
+certctl with proxy-header trust if and when an operator demonstrates a
+deployment shape that requires it. Until that lands, the runbook above
+is operationally complete: legacy EST and SCEP clients continue to
+authenticate via their in-protocol mechanisms, and the reverse proxy is
+purely a TLS-version bridge.
+
+If your deployment requires proxy-supplied client identity (e.g., the
+proxy terminates mTLS and you want certctl to record the client-cert
+subject in the audit trail beyond what the CSR carries), open an issue
+and a future commit will add a header-trust contract behind two
+fail-closed env vars: a CIDR allowlist of trusted proxies, plus an
+explicit opt-in toggle. Both knobs would be required together; setting
+only one would fail loud at startup. Until that work ships, the
+header-agnostic default described above is the only supported
+configuration.
+
+## PCI-DSS Req 4 §2.2.5 attestation
+
+PCI-DSS v4.0 §2.2.5 ("strong cryptography for authentication/transmission
+of cardholder data") considers TLS 1.2 with strong cipher suites
+acceptable for the foreseeable future, with the explicit caveat that NIST
+or the PCI Council may shorten the deprecation window if a TLS 1.2
+weakness is published. The configuration above:
+
+- Pins TLS 1.2 + TLS 1.3 only (no SSLv3, TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1).
+- Uses only AEAD cipher suites with forward secrecy (ECDHE-* with GCM or
+  ChaCha20-Poly1305).
+- Re-encrypts to TLS 1.3 on the proxy-to-certctl hop.
+
+This is PCI-DSS Req 4 v4.0 compliant. Auditors looking for the
+attestation should be pointed at this section + the proxy's TLS config.
+
+## What this runbook does NOT cover
+
+- **Replacing the legacy clients.** That's the long-term fix; this
+  runbook is the bridge while you're migrating.
+- **Network segmentation.** The reverse proxy assumes the proxy-to-certctl
+  hop is on a network that an external attacker can't reach. If it's
+  not, you need a deeper architecture review.
+- **Client-cert revocation.** EST mTLS revocation is the relying party's
+  responsibility. certctl's EST handler accepts the cert; the proxy can
+  enforce CRL/OCSP via `ssl_crl_path` (nginx) or `crl-file` (HAProxy).
+
+## When TLS 1.2 itself sunsets
+
+PCI-DSS, NIST, and major browsers will eventually deprecate TLS 1.2.
+When that happens, this runbook becomes obsolete; the only path forward
+will be to replace the legacy clients. Subscribe to RSS feeds at the
+following sources to catch the deprecation announcement before it
+becomes a compliance failure:
+
+- https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/news_events/
+- https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/  (SP 800-52 revisions)
+
+## SCEP RFC 8894 native implementation (post-2026-04-29)
+
+Prior to this bundle, certctl's SCEP server parsed `PKCS#7 SignedData` and
+treated the encapsulated content as a raw `PKCS#10 CSR` (the file-internal
+"MVP" comment at `internal/api/handler/scep.go:217` flagged this). That
+worked for lightweight MDM agents but failed against ChromeOS and most
+production MDM clients which expect full RFC 8894 wire format:
+`SignedData` wrapping an `EnvelopedData` encrypting the CSR to the RA
+cert's public key, with `signerInfo` POPO over the auth-attrs.
+
+The new RFC 8894 path runs FIRST; on any parse failure it falls through
+to the legacy MVP raw-CSR path so existing operators see no behavior
+change for their lightweight clients.
+
+### Required: RA cert + key
+
+The RFC 8894 path requires a Registration Authority cert + key pair.
+Clients encrypt their CSR to the RA cert's public key (RFC 8894 §3.2.2);
+the certctl server uses the RA key to decrypt and to sign the outbound
+CertRep PKIMessage signerInfo (RFC 8894 §3.3.2).
+
+| Env var | Default | Meaning |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_CERT_PATH` | (none) | Path to PEM-encoded RA certificate. **Required when `CERTCTL_SCEP_ENABLED=true`.** |
+| `CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_KEY_PATH` | (none) | Path to PEM-encoded RA private key matching `CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_CERT_PATH`. File MUST be mode `0600` (preflight refuses world-readable). |
+
+Generate the RA pair (any RSA-2048+ or ECDSA-P256+ pair signed by your
+root or sub-CA works):
+
+```bash
+# RSA-2048 RA pair, valid 1 year, signed by your root.
+openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout ra.key -out ra.csr \
+  -subj "/CN=corp-ca-RA"
+openssl x509 -req -in ra.csr -days 365 \
+  -CA root.crt -CAkey root.key -CAcreateserial \
+  -extfile <(printf "extendedKeyUsage=emailProtection,1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.4") \
+  -out ra.crt
+
+chmod 0600 ra.key       # required — preflight rejects world-readable keys
+chmod 0644 ra.crt
+mv ra.key ra.crt /etc/certctl/scep/
+
+export CERTCTL_SCEP_ENABLED=true
+export CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_CERT_PATH=/etc/certctl/scep/ra.crt
+export CERTCTL_SCEP_RA_KEY_PATH=/etc/certctl/scep/ra.key
+export CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
+```
+
+The startup preflight in `cmd/server/main.go::preflightSCEPRACertKey`
+validates: file existence, key file mode 0600, cert/key match, cert
+non-expired, RSA-or-ECDSA public-key algorithm. Failures `os.Exit(1)`
+with a structured log line identifying the offending profile.
+
+### Capability advertisement (`GetCACaps`)
+
+```
+POSTPKIOperation
+SHA-256
+SHA-512
+AES
+SCEPStandard
+Renewal
+```
+
+ChromeOS specifically looks for `POSTPKIOperation` (non-base64 POST),
+`AES` (the now-implemented CBC content encryption), `SCEPStandard` (RFC
+8894 conformance), and `Renewal` (RenewalReq messageType-17 support).
+Older Cisco IOS clients also accept `SHA-256` and `SHA-512` per RFC 8894
+§3.5.2.
+
+### Supported messageTypes
+
+| Type | RFC 8894 § | Behavior |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `PKCSReq` (19) | §3.3.1 | Initial enrollment. Signer cert is the device's transient self-signed key. |
+| `RenewalReq` (17) | §3.3.1.2 | Re-enrollment. Signer cert MUST be a previously-issued cert from this issuer; service-side `verifyRenewalSignerCertChain` enforces. |
+| `GetCertInitial` (20) | §3.3.3 | Polling for pending requests. v1 returns `FAILURE+badCertID` because deferred-issuance isn't supported (every PKCSReq either succeeds or fails synchronously). |
+| `CertRep` (3) | §3.3.2 | Server response — never inbound. |
+
+### MVP backward-compatibility path
+
+Lightweight clients that send a stripped `SignedData` containing a raw
+CSR (no `EnvelopedData` wrapper, no `signerInfo` POPO) keep working: the
+handler tries the RFC 8894 path FIRST; on any parse failure it falls
+through to the legacy `extractCSRFromPKCS7` path. The legacy path uses
+the CSR's `challengePassword` attribute the same way as the RFC 8894
+path. Operators with existing lightweight-client deploys see zero
+behavior change.
+
+### Multi-profile dispatch (`/scep/<pathID>`)
+
+Real enterprise deploys run multiple SCEP endpoints from one certctl
+instance — corp-laptop CA, IoT CA, server CA — each with its own
+issuer + RA pair + challenge password. Configure via the indexed env-var
+form documented in [`features.md`](features.md): set
+`CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILES=corp,iot,server` (a comma-separated list of
+profile names), then for each name supply the per-profile env-vars
+prefixed with `CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_` followed by the suffix
+keys `_ISSUER_ID`, `_PROFILE_ID`, `_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`, `_RA_CERT_PATH`,
+`_RA_KEY_PATH`. The `<NAME>` token resolves to the upper-cased profile
+name from the list. Each profile is independently validated at startup;
+per-profile failures log the offending PathID.
+
+The router exposes `/scep/corp`, `/scep/iot`, `/scep/server`. The legacy
+`/scep` root remains for the single-profile flat-env-var case (when
+`CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILES` is unset). Per-profile preflight validates each
+RA pair independently; failures log the offending PathID.
+
+### ChromeOS Admin Console pointer
+
+In Google Admin Console → Devices → Networks → Certificates, register
+certctl's `/scep[/<pathID>]` URL as the SCEP server. Enter the challenge
+password from `CERTCTL_SCEP_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD` (or per-profile
+`CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`). ChromeOS pulls
+`GetCACert` first to retrieve the RA cert, then enrolls via
+PKIOperation.
+
+### RA cert rotation
+
+The RA cert is loaded once at startup and persisted in the handler's
+struct field; rotation requires a server restart (mirrors the
+`CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH` precedent in `cmd/server/tls.go`). The
+recommended cadence is annual rotation with a 30-day overlap during
+which both old + new RA certs are listed in `GetCACert`'s response (set
+the cert chain accordingly in your sub-CA hierarchy).
+
+### Must-staple per-profile policy (RFC 7633)
+
+When a `CertificateProfile` has `MustStaple = true`, the local issuer
+adds the `id-pe-tlsfeature` extension (OID `1.3.6.1.5.5.7.1.24`,
+non-critical, value `SEQUENCE OF INTEGER {5}`) to every issued cert.
+Browsers + modern TLS libraries that see this extension fail-closed on
+missing OCSP stapling responses — defense against revocation-bypass via
+OCSP blackholing.
+
+**Default policy:** `false`. Operators opt in once they've confirmed the
+TLS reverse proxy / load balancer staples OCSP responses. NGINX,
+HAProxy, Envoy all support stapling but it requires explicit config —
+turning must-staple on without verifying the TLS path will hard-fail
+browsers.
+
+Recommended for: Intune-deployed device certs (modern TLS clients);
+SCEP profiles serving general / legacy clients (ChromeOS, IoT) should
+stay `false` until the TLS path is verified.
+
+### mTLS sibling route (Phase 6.5, opt-in)
+
+SCEP is documented as application-layer-auth — the challenge password
+is the authentication boundary per RFC 8894 §3.2. But enterprise
+procurement teams routinely reject "shared password authentication" as
+a checkbox-fail regardless of how strong the password is. The clean
+answer: a **sibling** route at `/scep-mtls/<pathID>` that requires
+client-cert auth at the handler layer AND ALSO accepts the challenge
+password (defense in depth, not replacement). Devices present a
+bootstrap cert from a trusted CA (e.g. a manufacturing-time cert),
+then SCEP-enroll for their long-lived cert. Same model Apple's MDM and
+Cisco's BRSKI use.
+
+**Opt in per profile** by setting two env vars:
+
+```
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_MTLS_ENABLED=true
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_MTLS_CLIENT_CA_TRUST_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/scep/<name>-bootstrap-cas.pem
+```
+
+The trust bundle is a PEM file containing the bootstrap-CA certs the
+operator allows to enroll. Operators with multiple bootstrap CAs
+concatenate them. The startup preflight
+(`cmd/server/main.go::preflightSCEPMTLSTrustBundle`) validates: file
+exists, parses as PEM, contains ≥1 cert, none expired. Failures
+`os.Exit(1)` with a structured log identifying the offending PathID.
+
+**TLS server config:** when at least one profile opts into mTLS, the
+HTTPS listener gets the union of every enabled profile's trust bundle
+as its `ClientCAs` pool, plus `ClientAuth: VerifyClientCertIfGiven` —
+the listener requests a client cert during the handshake, verifies it
+against the union pool if presented, and lets the handler decide
+whether to require it. This means the SAME listener serves both
+`/scep[/<pathID>]` (no client cert required) and `/scep-mtls/<pathID>`
+(cert required). The standard route stays untouched for clients that
+can't present a cert.
+
+**Handler-layer per-profile gate:** the TLS-layer check uses the union
+pool, so a cert that chains to profile A's bundle would pass the TLS
+handshake even when targeting profile B. The handler-layer gate
+(`HandleSCEPMTLS`) re-verifies the inbound client cert against ONLY
+THIS profile's pool — preventing cross-profile bleed-through.
+
+**Auth chain on the mTLS sibling route:**
+
+1. TLS handshake: client cert verified against the union pool
+   (if presented; absent = standard SCEP path applies but handler
+   rejects with 401).
+2. Handler-layer per-profile re-verification: cert must chain to
+   THIS profile's trust bundle. Mismatch = 401.
+3. Standard SCEP enrollment: `HandleSCEP` runs as on the standard
+   route — including the challenge-password gate at the service layer.
+
+A stolen device cert without the matching challenge password gets
+rejected (and vice versa). Both layers are independently required.
+
+**Operator workflow** for migrating from challenge-password-only to
+challenge+mTLS:
+
+1. Generate a bootstrap CA + issue a bootstrap cert per device (out
+   of band — typically manufacturing-time, MDM-pushed, or a separate
+   PKI flow). 
+2. Distribute the trust bundle to certctl as the
+   `_MTLS_CLIENT_CA_TRUST_BUNDLE_PATH`.
+3. Set `_MTLS_ENABLED=true` for the profile, restart certctl.
+4. Devices now have TWO valid enrollment URLs:
+   `/scep/<pathID>` (challenge-password-only, legacy) and
+   `/scep-mtls/<pathID>` (cert + challenge, new).
+5. Roll out config to fleet that switches devices to the new URL.
+6. Once the fleet has migrated, remove `_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD` from the
+   profile (Validate() will keep the gate when MTLSEnabled=true so
+   the password requirement doesn't go away — the password is still
+   the application-layer auth boundary).
+
+### Microsoft Intune dynamic-challenge dispatcher (Phase 8, opt-in)
+
+When SCEP sits behind the Microsoft Intune Certificate Connector, devices
+present an Intune-issued signed challenge (a JWT-like blob over a JSON
+claim payload) instead of the static `_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD`. Phase 8 wires
+a per-profile dispatcher that validates these signed challenges against
+the Connector's signing-cert trust anchor and binds the asserted device
+identity to the inbound CSR. Static challenge passwords still work as a
+fallback so heterogeneous fleets (some Intune-enrolled, some not) keep
+working.
+
+**Per-profile env vars** (all default to off; legacy/static-only profiles
+need no changes):
+
+```
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_INTUNE_ENABLED=true
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_INTUNE_CONNECTOR_CERT_PATH=/etc/certctl/intune-corp.pem
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_INTUNE_AUDIENCE=https://certctl.example.com/scep/corp
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_INTUNE_CHALLENGE_VALIDITY=60m
+CERTCTL_SCEP_PROFILE_<NAME>_INTUNE_PER_DEVICE_RATE_LIMIT_24H=3
+```
+
+**Trust-anchor extraction:** the operator extracts the Connector
+installation's signing cert (from the Connector's certificate store on
+the Windows host running the Connector — Microsoft does not publish a
+direct download) and writes a PEM bundle to the configured path.
+Multiple Connectors in HA = concatenate their certs.
+
+**Trust-anchor reload:** the holder re-reads the bundle on `SIGHUP` (the
+same signal that rotates the server's TLS cert). A bad reload (parse
+error, expired cert) keeps the OLD pool in place — operators get a
+recoverable failure window rather than a service-down. Rotate the file
+on disk, then `kill -HUP <certctl-pid>` to apply with no restart.
+
+**Replay protection:** in-memory cache of seen challenge nonces with TTL
+= `_CHALLENGE_VALIDITY` (default 60m). Sized for 100k entries, which
+covers a ~25 RPS Intune fleet's steady-state. The same challenge
+submitted twice within the TTL is rejected with `ErrChallengeReplay`.
+
+**Per-device rate limit:** sliding-window-log limiter keyed by
+`(claim.Subject, claim.Issuer)`. Default 3 enrollments per 24h covers
+legitimate first-cert + recovery + post-wipe re-enrollment but blocks a
+compromised Connector signing key from issuing many DIFFERENT valid
+challenges for the same device. Set the var to `0` to disable.
+
+**Audit + observability:** Intune enrollments emit
+`audit_event.action="scep_pkcsreq_intune"` (or
+`"scep_renewalreq_intune"`) so operators can grep the audit log to count
+Intune-vs-static enrollments. Per-failure-mode reason flows into the log
+line; the metric label set is `success / signature_invalid / expired /
+not_yet_valid / wrong_audience / replay / rate_limited / claim_mismatch
+/ unknown_version / malformed`.
+
+**Compliance-state hook (V3-Pro plug-in seam):** a nil-default
+`ComplianceCheck` field on `SCEPService` lets a future Pro module plug
+in a Microsoft Graph compliance API call between challenge validation
+and certificate issuance. V2 ships the seam (one struct field + one
+setter + one nil-guarded call site) so Pro is plug-in code, not a
+dispatcher refactor.
+
+**Mixed-mode (recommended):** keep `_CHALLENGE_PASSWORD` set even when
+Intune is enabled. Devices that don't go through Intune (manual
+enrollment, on-prem MDM bridges) continue to enroll via the static path;
+the dispatcher routes Intune-shaped challenges (length > 200 + exactly
+two dots) to the validator and falls through to the static compare
+otherwise.
+
+### Operational notes
+
+- **Audit:** every enrollment emits an `audit_event` row with action
+  `scep_pkcsreq` (initial) or `scep_renewalreq` (renewal); operators
+  can grep the audit log to distinguish. Intune-dispatched enrollments
+  use `scep_pkcsreq_intune` and `scep_renewalreq_intune` respectively.
+- **Body-size cap:** `http.MaxBytesReader` middleware caps request
+  bodies at `CERTCTL_MAX_BODY_SIZE` (default 1MB); SCEP PKIMessages are
+  typically <50KB so the default cap is generous.
+- **HTTPS-only:** the SCEP endpoint inherits the TLS-1.3-pinned control
+  plane; there is no plaintext fallback.
+- **Forward reference:** for the deeper Intune integration writeup
+  (architecture, migration playbook, troubleshooting,
+  Microsoft-support-statement), see [`scep-intune.md`](scep-intune.md)
+  (Phase 11 of the master bundle).
+
+## Related docs
+
+- [`tls.md`](tls.md) — the certctl-internal TLS configuration (HTTPS-only
+  control plane, MinVersion pin)
+- [`security.md`](security.md) — overall security posture
+- [`database-tls.md`](database-tls.md) — Postgres TLS opt-in (Bundle B / M-018)
@@ -29,15 +29,18 @@ The binary has zero runtime dependencies beyond the certctl server it connects t

 ## Configuration

-The MCP server reads two environment variables:
+The MCP server reads three environment variables:

 | Variable | Required | Default | Description |
 |----------|----------|---------|-------------|
-| `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` | No | `http://localhost:8443` | URL of the certctl REST API |
+| `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` | No | `https://localhost:8443` | URL of the certctl REST API (HTTPS-only as of v2.2) |
 | `CERTCTL_API_KEY` | No | (empty) | API key for authentication (passed as `Bearer` token) |
+| `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` | Yes (for self-signed / internal CA) | (empty) | Path to PEM CA bundle that signed the server cert. Required when the server cert isn't rooted in the system trust store (the default compose stack ships a self-signed cert at `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt`). |

 If your certctl server has auth enabled (the default), you must provide the API key. The MCP server passes it through to every HTTP request.

+Since v2.2 the certctl control plane is HTTPS-only. If the server cert is self-signed or chained to an internal CA, set `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` so the MCP server can verify the TLS handshake. Never set `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=true` outside local development — it disables all certificate validation.
+
 ## Setting Up with Claude Desktop

 Add this to your Claude Desktop MCP configuration file (`~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` on macOS, `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` on Windows):
@@ -48,7 +51,8 @@ Add this to your Claude Desktop MCP configuration file (`~/Library/Application S
    "certctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/certctl-mcp",
      "env": {
-        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:8443",
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH": "/path/to/certctl/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt",
        "CERTCTL_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
@@ -67,7 +71,8 @@ In Cursor, go to Settings → MCP Servers and add:
  "certctl": {
    "command": "/path/to/certctl-mcp",
    "env": {
-      "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:8443",
+      "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
+      "CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH": "/path/to/certctl/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt",
      "CERTCTL_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
    }
  }
@@ -84,7 +89,8 @@ Add certctl as an MCP server in your project's `.mcp.json`:
    "certctl": {
      "command": "/path/to/certctl-mcp",
      "env": {
-        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "http://localhost:8443",
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_URL": "https://localhost:8443",
+        "CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH": "/path/to/certctl/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt",
        "CERTCTL_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
@@ -94,7 +100,7 @@ Add certctl as an MCP server in your project's `.mcp.json`:

 ## Available Tools

-The MCP server registers 78 tools organized across 16 resource domains:
+The MCP server exposes the full REST API organized across 16 resource domains:

 | Domain | Tools | Examples |
 |--------|-------|---------|
@@ -153,7 +159,7 @@ flowchart LR
    AI <-->|"stdio"| MCP
    MCP -->|"HTTP + Bearer token"| SERVER

-    MCP ~~~ TOOLS["78 tools · 16 domains\nTyped input structs"]
+    MCP ~~~ TOOLS["REST API via MCP · 16 domains\nTyped input structs"]
 ```

 The MCP server is intentionally thin:
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ cd certctl/deploy
 docker compose up -d
 ```

-Access the dashboard at `http://localhost:8443` with API key from `.env` file.
+Access the dashboard at `https://localhost:8443` with the API key from `.env`. The default compose stack ships a self-signed cert; pin with `--cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` when calling the API from the host.

 ### 2. Deploy Agents

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Option A: Docker Compose (quickest for evaluation)
 ```bash
 cd /opt/certctl
 docker compose up -d
-# Dashboard & API: http://localhost:8443
+# Dashboard & API: https://localhost:8443 (self-signed cert — use --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt for the default compose stack)
 # Default API key in logs (grep CERTCTL_API_KEY docker logs certctl-server)
 ```

@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ chmod +x /usr/local/bin/certctl-agent
 # Create config
 sudo mkdir -p /etc/certctl /var/lib/certctl/keys
 sudo tee /etc/certctl/agent.env > /dev/null <<EOF
-CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://certctl-control-plane.example.com:8443
+CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://certctl-control-plane.example.com:8443
+CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
 CERTCTL_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
 CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS=/etc/letsencrypt/live
 CERTCTL_KEY_DIR=/var/lib/certctl/keys
@@ -68,8 +68,10 @@ The spec organizes endpoints into 16 tags:
 The spec declares a `bearerAuth` security scheme applied globally. All endpoints under `/api/v1/` require a Bearer token by default:

 ```bash
-curl -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates
+# The default compose stack uses a self-signed cert; pin with --cacert
+curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt \
+  -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates
 ```

 Three endpoints are exempt from auth (declared with `security: []` in the spec): `/health`, `/ready`, and `/api/v1/auth/info`. The auth info endpoint tells clients whether authentication is enabled and what type is required — useful for GUIs that need to show/hide a login screen.
@@ -150,8 +152,9 @@ Import the spec directly into Postman:

 1. Open Postman → Import → File → select `api/openapi.yaml`
 2. Postman creates a collection with all 78 documented operations organized by tag
-3. Set the `baseUrl` variable to `http://localhost:8443`
+3. Set the `baseUrl` variable to `https://localhost:8443` (HTTPS-only as of v2.2)
 4. Add an `Authorization: Bearer your-api-key` header to the collection
+5. Import the demo stack CA bundle (`deploy/test/certs/ca.crt`) into Postman's Settings → Certificates → CA Certificates, or disable certificate verification for the `localhost` host (Settings → General → SSL certificate verification)

 ## Key Schemas

@@ -176,8 +179,10 @@ Use the spec to generate contract tests that verify the API matches the spec:
 ```bash
 # Using schemathesis for fuzz testing against the spec
 pip install schemathesis
+# The default compose stack uses a self-signed cert — export a CA bundle or set REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE
+export REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE=$(pwd)/deploy/test/certs/ca.crt
 schemathesis run api/openapi.yaml \
-  --base-url http://localhost:8443 \
+  --base-url https://localhost:8443 \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer your-api-key"
 ```

@@ -0,0 +1,451 @@
+# QA Test Suite Guide (`qa_test.go`)
+
+> **Audience:** Anyone running release QA for certctl — whether you're a first-time contributor or the maintainer cutting a release tag.
+>
+> **Companion to:** `docs/testing-guide.md` (the *what* to test). This document explains the *how* — the automated test file, what it covers, what it skips, and how to fill the gaps manually.
+
+---
+
+## Test Suite Health (regenerate via `make qa-stats`)
+
+> Snapshot at HEAD. Re-run `make qa-stats` to refresh; CI's QA-doc drift guards (`.github/workflows/ci.yml`) catch out-of-date Part / cert / issuer counts on every PR. **Last regenerated: 2026-04-27 (Bundle P).**
+
+| Metric | Value | Target | Status |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Backend test files | 221 | n/a | ℹ |
+| Backend `Test*` functions | 2,454 | n/a | ℹ |
+| Backend `t.Run` subtests | 778 | n/a | ℹ |
+| Frontend test files | 38 | n/a | ℹ |
+| Fuzz targets | 11 | ≥10 (one per hand-rolled parser) | ✓ |
+| `t.Skip` sites | 60 | each carries valid rationale (Bundle O audit) | ✓ |
+| `qa_test.go` Part_* subtests | 53 | tracks `testing-guide.md` Parts (3 `## Part 15-17` covered indirectly via Parts 42–46) | ✓ |
+| `testing-guide.md` Parts | 56 | n/a | ℹ |
+| Existential cluster line cov (post-Bundle-J + L.B + Bundle 0.7) | acme 55.6%, stepca 90.4%, local-issuer ≥86%, crypto ≥85% | ≥95% | △ ACME below; tracked in `coverage-matrix.md` |
+| Mutation kill rate (Existential) | unmeasured (operator-runnable per Strengthening #5) | ≥90% | ⚠ |
+| Race detector clean (`-count=10`) | partial (`-count=3` clean per Phase 0) | 0 races | ⚠ |
+
+## What Is This File?
+
+`deploy/test/qa_test.go` is a single Go test file (~1700 lines) that automates as much of `docs/testing-guide.md` as possible against a running certctl Docker Compose demo stack. It replaces the legacy `qa-smoke-test.sh` bash script.
+
+It covers **49 of 56 Parts** of the testing guide as automation; the remaining 7 are
+either manual-only by design or pending QA-suite coverage:
+
+- **49 `Part_*` automation wrappers**, **~159 leaf subtests** — API calls, database queries, source file checks, performance benchmarks
+- **11 fully skipped Parts** — with documented reasons (external CAs, Windows, browser-only, etc.) — see "What This Test Does NOT Cover" below
+- **4 Parts NOT YET AUTOMATED** — Parts 23 (S/MIME & EKU), 24 (OCSP/CRL), 55 (Agent Soft-Retirement), 56 (Notification Retry & Dead-Letter) — must be tested manually per `docs/testing-guide.md` until QA-suite automation lands
+- **Manual-only flows** in addition: GUI flows, scheduler timing, Docker log inspection — must be done by a human following `docs/testing-guide.md`
+
+## Architecture
+
+```
+┌────────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────────────────────┐
+│  qa_test.go            │────▶│  certctl demo stack             │
+│  (//go:build qa)       │     │  docker-compose.yml +           │
+│                        │     │  docker-compose.demo.yml        │
+│  TestQA(t *testing.T)  │     │                                 │
+│   ├─ Part01_Infra      │     │  ┌─ certctl-server :8443        │
+│   ├─ Part02_Auth       │     │  ├─ postgres :5432              │
+│   ├─ Part03_CertCRUD   │     │  └─ certctl-agent (×N)          │
+│   ├─ ...               │     │      ↑ seed_demo.sql provisions │
+│   └─ Part52_HelmChart  │     │        12 agent rows (1 active, │
+└────────────────────────┘     │        2 retired, 9 reserved /  │
+                               │        sentinel) for the soft-  │
+                               │        retire / FSM coverage    │
+                               │        Parts 55–56 exercise.    │
+                               └─────────────────────────────────┘
+```
+
+> **Multi-agent demo stack (Bundle Q / L-004 closure).** The demo
+> stack runs a single live `certctl-agent` container by default but
+> the database is seeded with 12 agent rows (`migrations/seed_demo.sql`,
+> grep `mc-* | ag-*` IDs). The "(×N)" notation reflects the seed-data
+> reality: Parts 04 (Agents Listing), 05 (Agent Heartbeats), 55
+> (Agent Soft-Retirement), and FSM coverage tables in
+> `coverage-audit-2026-04-27/tables/fsm-coverage.md` exercise the full
+> multi-agent population, not the one live container. Operators
+> running the QA suite in a parallel-agent topology should set
+> `AGENT_COUNT=N` in compose-override and re-derive the seed counts
+> via `make qa-stats`.
+
+Key design choices:
+
+- **Build tag:** `//go:build qa` — never runs during `go test ./...` or CI. Only runs when explicitly requested.
+- **Package:** `integration_test` — same package as `integration_test.go` (which uses `//go:build integration` for the test stack). They coexist but never run together.
+- **Zero internal imports:** Uses only stdlib + `lib/pq` (from `go.mod`). All API interactions are plain HTTP. All JSON is decoded into lightweight local structs (`qaCert`, `qaJob`, etc.) — not the internal domain types.
+- **Self-cleaning:** Tests that create data use `t.Cleanup()` to delete it afterward. The seed data is not modified.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+1. **Docker Compose demo stack running:**
+   ```bash
+   cd deploy
+   docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml up --build -d
+   ```
+   Wait ~15 seconds for health checks to pass.
+
+2. **Go 1.22+** installed (the project uses Go 1.25 in `go.mod`, but 1.22+ works for running tests).
+
+3. **PostgreSQL port exposed** — the demo stack exposes port 5432 for database verification tests (table counts, schema checks).
+
+4. **Repository checkout** — source file verification tests (`fileExists`, `fileContains`) read files relative to `qaRepoDir` (default: `../..` from `deploy/test/`).
+
+## Running the Tests
+
+### Full suite
+```bash
+cd deploy/test
+go test -tags qa -v -timeout 10m ./...
+```
+
+### Single Part
+```bash
+go test -tags qa -v -run TestQA/Part03 ./...
+```
+
+### Single subtest
+```bash
+go test -tags qa -v -run TestQA/Part03_CertCRUD/Create_Minimal ./...
+```
+
+### With custom environment
+```bash
+CERTCTL_QA_SERVER_URL=https://staging.internal:8443 \
+CERTCTL_QA_API_KEY=my-staging-key \
+CERTCTL_QA_DB_URL=postgres://certctl:secret@db.internal:5432/certctl?sslmode=require \
+CERTCTL_QA_REPO_DIR=/path/to/certctl \
+go test -tags qa -v -timeout 10m ./...
+```
+
+### Environment Variables
+
+| Variable | Default | Description |
+|---|---|---|
+| `CERTCTL_QA_SERVER_URL` | `https://localhost:8443` | certctl server URL (HTTPS-only as of v2.2) |
+| `CERTCTL_QA_API_KEY` | `change-me-in-production` | API key for Bearer auth |
+| `CERTCTL_QA_DB_URL` | `postgres://certctl:certctl@localhost:5432/certctl?sslmode=disable` | PostgreSQL connection string |
+| `CERTCTL_QA_REPO_DIR` | `../..` | Path to certctl repo root (for source file checks) |
+| `CERTCTL_QA_CA_BUNDLE` | `./certs/ca.crt` | PEM CA bundle pinned for TLS verification. The demo stack's `certctl-tls-init` container writes here. |
+| `CERTCTL_QA_INSECURE` | `false` | Set to `"true"` to skip TLS verification (e.g. before the init container finishes). Never use outside the demo harness. |
+
+## Part-by-Part Coverage Map
+
+This table shows what each Part tests and what's left for manual verification.
+
+| Part | Testing Guide Section | Automated Subtests | What's Automated | What's Manual |
+|------|----------------------|-------------------|-----------------|--------------|
+| 1 | Infrastructure & Deployment | 8 | Table count, health/ready endpoints, seed data counts (certs, agents, issuers, targets, policies) | Docker container health, log inspection, volume mounts |
+| 2 | Authentication & Security | 4 | No-auth 401, bad-key 401, health-no-auth 200, no private keys in API | CORS preflight, rate limiting (429 + Retry-After), TLS config |
+| 3 | Certificate Lifecycle | 10 | Create (minimal + full), get, 404, list pagination, status/issuer filters, sparse fields, update, archive | Deployment trigger, version history, certificate detail UI |
+| 4 | Renewal Workflow | 3 | Trigger renewal, 404 on nonexistent, agent work endpoint | AwaitingCSR flow, agent key generation, full issuance cycle |
+| 5 | Revocation | 5 | Revoke (default reason), already-revoked, nonexistent, invalid reason, CRL JSON | DER CRL, OCSP responder, revocation notifications |
+| 6 | Policies & Profiles | 6 | Policy CRUD (create/delete), invalid type 400, profile CRUD, list | Policy violation detection, profile enforcement on CSR |
+| 7 | Ownership & Teams | 4 | Team CRUD, owner CRUD, agent groups list | Owner notification routing, dynamic group matching |
+| 8 | Job System | 2 | List jobs, 404 on nonexistent | Job state transitions, approval workflow, cancellation |
+| 9 | Issuer Connectors | 4 | List, get detail, create (GenericCA), missing name 400 | Test connection, issuer-specific issuance flow |
+| 10 | Sub-CA Mode | SKIP | — | Requires CA cert+key on disk |
+| 11 | ACME ARI | SKIP | — | Requires ARI-capable CA |
+| 12 | Vault PKI | SKIP | — | Requires live Vault server |
+| 13 | DigiCert | SKIP | — | Requires DigiCert sandbox |
+| 14 | Target Connectors | 3 | List, create NGINX target, delete 204 | Deploy to real target, validate deployment |
+| 15–17 | Apache/HAProxy, Traefik/Caddy, IIS | — | (Covered by source checks in Parts 42–46) | Requires real services or Windows |
+| 18 | Agent Operations | 3 | Heartbeat (register), metadata check, auto-create on heartbeat | Agent binary behavior, key storage, discovery scan |
+| 19 | Agent Work Routing | 1 | Empty work for agent with no targets | Scoped job assignment, multi-target fan-out |
+| 20 | Post-Deployment Verification | 1 | 404 on nonexistent job verification | TLS probing, fingerprint comparison |
+| 21 | EST Server | 2 | CACerts (200 + content-type), CSRAttrs (200/204) | simpleenroll with CSR, simplereenroll, PKCS#7 parsing |
+| 22 | Certificate Export | 3 | PEM export, PKCS#12 export, 404 on nonexistent | Download mode, file content validation |
+| 23 | S/MIME & EKU Support | 0 (NOT AUTOMATED) | — | S/MIME profile creation; EKU enforcement on issuance; SMIMECapabilities extension presence in issued cert; rejection of profile-violating EKU on CSR. Test manually per `docs/testing-guide.md::Part 23` |
+| 24 | OCSP Responder & DER CRL | 0 (NOT AUTOMATED) | — | OCSP request/response (RFC 6960), DER CRL generation, status (Good/Revoked/Unknown), Must-Staple coordination. Test manually per `docs/testing-guide.md::Part 24` |
+| 25 | Certificate Discovery | 5 | List discovered, summary, list scan targets, create target, invalid CIDR 400 | Agent filesystem scan, claim/dismiss workflow |
+| 26 | Enhanced Query API | 4 | Sort descending, cursor pagination, time-range filter, invalid sort field | Field projection correctness, cursor token cycling |
+| 27 | Request Body Size Limits | 1 | 2MB body rejected (413/400) | Exact limit boundary (1MB) |
+| 28 | CLI | SKIP | — | Requires compiled `certctl-cli` binary |
+| 29 | MCP Server | SKIP | — | Requires compiled `mcp-server` binary + stdio |
+| 30 | Observability | 7 | Dashboard summary, certs by status, expiration timeline, job trends, issuance rate, JSON metrics (uptime + gauges), Prometheus (content-type + 4 metric names) | Chart rendering (GUI), Grafana import |
+| 31 | Notifications | 2 | List, 404 on nonexistent | Notification content, mark-read, email/Slack delivery |
+| 32 | Audit Trail | 3 | List events (≥10), PUT immutability, DELETE immutability | Actor attribution, body hash, time range filters |
+| 33 | Background Scheduler | SKIP | — | Timing-dependent; verify via Docker logs |
+| 34 | Structured Logging | SKIP | — | Requires Docker log inspection |
+| 35 | GUI Testing | SKIP | — | Requires browser |
+| 36–37 | Issuer Catalog, Frontend Audit | SKIP | — | Requires browser |
+| 38 | Error Handling | 5 | Malformed JSON, missing required field, method not allowed, UTF-8 CN, empty body | Stack trace suppression, error response format |
+| 39 | Performance | 5 | List certs < 200ms, stats < 500ms, metrics < 200ms, Prometheus < 300ms, audit < 500ms | Load testing, concurrent request handling |
+| 40 | Documentation | 8 | README, quickstart, architecture, connectors, compliance exist; migration guides exist; 8 issuer types in docs; 11 target types in docs | Content accuracy, link validity |
+| 41 | Regression | 3 | DELETE 204, per_page max fallback, network scan target seed count | `errors.Is(errors.New())` anti-pattern source scan |
+| 42 | Envoy Target | 5 | Domain type, connector file, test file, OpenAPI, agent dispatch | Envoy deployment test, SDS config |
+| 43 | Postfix/Dovecot | 3 | Domain types (Postfix + Dovecot), connector file, OpenAPI | Mail server deployment test |
+| 44 | SSH Target | 4 | Domain type, connector file, agent dispatch (`sshconn`), OpenAPI | SSH deployment test (requires target host) |
+| 45 | Windows Certificate Store | 3 | Domain type, connector file, shared certutil package | Windows deployment (requires Windows) |
+| 46 | Java Keystore | 3 | Domain type, connector file, OpenAPI | JKS deployment (requires keytool) |
+| 47 | Certificate Digest Email | 3 | Preview endpoint (200/503), service file, adapter file | SMTP delivery, HTML template rendering |
+| 48 | Dynamic Issuer Config | 4 | Crypto package exists, create ACME issuer via API, config redaction check, migration exists | Test connection flow, registry rebuild |
+| 49 | Dynamic Target Config | 2 | Create NGINX target via API, migration exists | Test connection via agent heartbeat |
+| 50 | Onboarding Wizard | 2 | Wizard component exists, docker-compose split (clean vs demo) | Wizard UI flow, step completion |
+| 51 | ACME Profile Selection | 3 | Profile module exists, frontend config, RFC 9702→9773 renumber check | Profile-aware issuance against real CA |
+| 52 | Helm Chart | 5 | Chart.yaml, values.yaml, 4 templates exist, securityContext, health probes | `helm template` rendering, `helm install` |
+| 53 | Kubernetes Secrets Target Connector (M47) | 18 | Config validation (namespace DNS-1123, secret name DNS subdomain, label keys, required fields), deployment (create/update Secret, chain concatenation, error propagation), validation (serial comparison, not-found, empty cert) | GUI target wizard KubernetesSecrets fields (namespace, secret_name, labels, kubeconfig_path), Helm RBAC toggle, TargetDetailPage type label |
+| 54 | AWS ACM Private CA Issuer Connector (M47) | 23 | Config validation (region, CA ARN regex, signing algorithm whitelist, validity_days, defaults), issuance (full flow, empty CSR, errors), renewal (reuses issuance), revocation (reason mapping, default, errors), GetOrderStatus completed, GetCACertPEM (success/chain/error), GetRenewalInfo nil | GUI issuer wizard AWSACMPCA fields (region, ca_arn, signing_algorithm, validity_days, template_arn), seed data visibility, create issuer flow |
+| 55 | Agent Soft-Retirement (I-004) | 0 (NOT AUTOMATED) | — | Soft-retire vs hard-retire; force flag; reason capture; foreign-key cascade behavior on retired-agent cert ownership; reactivation. Test manually per `docs/testing-guide.md::Part 55` |
+| 56 | Notification Retry & Dead-Letter Queue (I-005) | 0 (NOT AUTOMATED) | — | Retry loop with exponential backoff, dead-letter transition after N retries, requeue endpoint (`POST /api/v1/notifications/{id}/requeue`), idempotency on retry. Test manually per `docs/testing-guide.md::Part 56` |
+
+**Totals (verified 2026-04-27):** 49 `Part_*` automation wrappers, ~159 leaf subtests, 11 fully
+skipped Parts, 4 Parts not yet automated (23, 24, 55, 56), and an unspecified count of manual-only
+flows (GUI, scheduler timing, Docker log inspection). Run `grep -cE '^## Part [0-9]+:' docs/testing-guide.md`
+and `grep -cE 't\.Run\("Part[0-9]+_' deploy/test/qa_test.go` to re-verify.
+
+## Coverage by Risk Class
+
+A buyer's QA lead reading this doc wants "where are the existential bugs caught?" — Bundle P / Strengthening #1 surfaces that view directly. The table below classifies each Part by risk class so reviewers can answer the existential-coverage question in one glance.
+
+| Risk class | Description | Parts in scope | Automation status |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Existential** (Critical paths — bugs would compromise CA, leak keys, mis-issue, bypass revocation) | Crypto, PKCS#7, local-issuer, OCSP/CRL, agent keygen, CSR validation | 5 (Revocation), 21 (EST), 23 (S/MIME EKU), 24 (OCSP/CRL), 47 (Digest with cert content), 53 (K8s Secrets), 54 (AWS PCA) | 5/7 automated; Parts 23 + 24 pending (Bundle I Skip stubs in `qa_test.go`; manual playbook in `testing-guide.md`) |
+| **High** (FSM corruption, credential leak, authn/z weakening) | Renewal, jobs, agents, issuers, deployment, scheduler | 4, 7, 8, 9, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 28, 29, 32, 33, 48, 49, 55, 56 | 14/17 automated; CLI / MCP / scheduler-loop are inherently SKIP (require compiled binaries / Docker logs); Parts 55 + 56 pending |
+| **Medium** (Operational pain or silent data drift) | Targets, notifiers, observability, error handling, performance, regression | 14, 15-17, 30, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 | 14/14 automated (15-17 indirect via Parts 42–46) |
+| **Low** (Hygiene) | Documentation, docs verification | 40 (Documentation), 50 (Onboarding) | 2/2 automated |
+| **Frontend** (XSS, render correctness, mutation contracts) | GUI testing | 35, 36-37 | 0/3 automated in this suite (Vitest covers separately under `web/`); this doc punts to manual + Vitest |
+| **Compliance** (PCI / SOC2 / HIPAA-relevant) | Audit trail, body-size limits, request limits, Helm chart deploy posture | 27, 32, 51, 52 | 4/4 automated |
+
+This is the table acquisition reviewers screenshot for their report. When a new Part lands in `testing-guide.md`, classify it here; the QA-doc Part-count drift guard (`.github/workflows/ci.yml::QA-doc Part-count drift guard`) catches the count mismatch.
+
+## Test Categories
+
+The automated tests fall into four categories:
+
+### 1. API Integration Tests (majority)
+Make real HTTP requests to the running server and verify status codes, response structure, and JSON field values. Examples:
+- `POST /api/v1/certificates` with valid payload → 201
+- `GET /api/v1/certificates?status=Active` → all returned certs have `status: "Active"`
+- `DELETE /api/v1/certificates/mc-qa-full` → 204
+
+### 2. Database Verification Tests
+Connect directly to PostgreSQL and verify schema state:
+- Table count ≥ 19 (from migrations 000001–000010)
+- Useful for catching migration regressions
+
+### 3. Source File Verification Tests
+Read files from the repo checkout and verify structure:
+- Domain types exist in `internal/domain/connector.go` (e.g., `TargetTypeEnvoy`)
+- Connector implementations exist (e.g., `internal/connector/target/envoy/envoy.go`)
+- Documentation contains expected content (all issuer/target types listed)
+- No stale RFC 9702 references (replaced by RFC 9773)
+
+### 4. Performance Spot Checks
+Timed API requests with threshold assertions:
+- `GET /api/v1/certificates?per_page=15` < 200ms
+- `GET /api/v1/stats/summary` < 500ms
+- `GET /api/v1/metrics/prometheus` < 300ms
+
+## What This Test Does NOT Cover
+
+These gaps must be filled by manual testing per `docs/testing-guide.md`:
+
+### Not Yet Automated (Parts 23, 24, 55, 56)
+
+These Parts are documented in `docs/testing-guide.md` but have no `Part_*` automation
+in `qa_test.go` yet. They are operator-runnable from the manual playbook; QA-suite
+automation should land before the next acquisition-grade release.
+
+- **Part 23: S/MIME & EKU Support** — profile-driven EKU enforcement; SMIMECapabilities extension
+- **Part 24: OCSP Responder & DER CRL** — OCSP request/response correctness, CRL generation, Must-Staple coordination
+- **Part 55: Agent Soft-Retirement (I-004)** — soft vs hard retire, FK cascade, reactivation
+- **Part 56: Notification Retry & Dead-Letter Queue (I-005)** — retry semantics, dead-letter transition, requeue
+
+### External CA Integrations (Parts 10–13)
+- **Sub-CA mode** — requires CA cert+key files on disk
+- **ACME ARI** — requires a CA that supports RFC 9773 Renewal Information
+- **Vault PKI** — requires a running HashiCorp Vault instance
+- **DigiCert / Sectigo / Google CAS** — requires sandbox API credentials
+
+### Browser/GUI Testing (Parts 35–37, 50)
+- Dashboard chart rendering (Recharts)
+- Onboarding wizard step-by-step flow
+- Issuer catalog card layout and create wizard
+- Bulk operations UI (multi-select, progress bars)
+- Discovery triage workflow
+
+### Real Deployment Testing (Parts 15–17)
+- NGINX/Apache/HAProxy file write + reload
+- Traefik/Caddy file provider or API reload
+- IIS PowerShell/WinRM (requires Windows)
+- F5 BIG-IP iControl REST (requires appliance or mock)
+- SSH agentless deployment (requires target host)
+
+### Agent Binary Behavior (Parts 18, 28–29)
+- Agent-side ECDSA key generation and CSR submission
+- Agent filesystem discovery scan
+- CLI tool (`certctl-cli`) — all 10 subcommands
+- MCP server (`mcp-server`) — stdio transport
+
+### Timing-Dependent Tests (Parts 33–34)
+- Background scheduler loop execution (renewal, jobs, health, notifications, digest, network scan)
+- Structured logging format verification (requires Docker log parsing)
+
+## How This Relates to `integration_test.go`
+
+Both files live in `deploy/test/` in the same Go package (`integration_test`):
+
+| | `qa_test.go` | `integration_test.go` |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Build tag** | `//go:build qa` | `//go:build integration` |
+| **Target stack** | Demo (`docker-compose.yml` + `docker-compose.demo.yml`) | Test (`docker-compose.test.yml`) |
+| **Port** | 8443 | Different (test stack config) |
+| **Seed data** | `seed_demo.sql` (32 certs, 12 agents, 13 issuers, 8 targets, realistic history) | Minimal (created by tests) |
+| **CA backends** | Local CA only (demo mode) | Pebble ACME, step-ca, NGINX |
+| **Purpose** | Release QA — broad coverage, spot checks | Functional — end-to-end issuance, renewal, revocation against real CAs |
+| **Run frequency** | Before each release tag | CI on every PR |
+
+They are complementary. Integration tests prove the machinery works. QA tests prove the product works at release quality.
+
+## Seed Data Reference
+
+The QA tests depend on `migrations/seed_demo.sql`. Key IDs used:
+
+### Certificates (32 total in `managed_certificates`)
+
+The full canonical list is generated by:
+```
+sed -n '/^INSERT INTO managed_certificates/,/^;/p' migrations/seed_demo.sql \
+  | grep -oE "^\s*\('mc-[a-z0-9_-]+" | sed -E "s/^\s*\('//" | sort -u
+```
+
+Hand-listing is unsustainable as the seed grows; tests reference IDs by lookup, not by enumeration.
+Sample IDs: `mc-api-prod`, `mc-web-prod`, `mc-pay-prod`, `mc-compromised`, `mc-smime-bob`, `mc-edge-eu`, `mc-k8s-ingress`, `mc-wildcard-prod`. See `migrations/seed_demo.sql:147` onward.
+
+### Agents (12 total in `agents` table)
+
+8 named workload agents + 1 server-side sentinel + 3 cloud-discovery sentinels:
+
+- **Workload agents:** `ag-web-prod`, `ag-web-staging`, `ag-lb-prod`, `ag-iis-prod`, `ag-data-prod`, `ag-edge-01`, `ag-k8s-prod`, `ag-mac-dev`
+- **Server-side sentinel:** `server-scanner`
+- **Cloud-discovery sentinels:** `cloud-aws-sm`, `cloud-azure-kv`, `cloud-gcp-sm`
+
+Full list via:
+```
+sed -n '/^INSERT INTO agents/,/^;/p' migrations/seed_demo.sql \
+  | grep -oE "^\s*\('[a-z][a-z0-9_-]+" | sed -E "s/^\s*\('//"
+```
+
+(The `agent_groups` table also contains entries with `ag-*` IDs — `ag-linux-prod`, `ag-windows`, `ag-datacenter-a`, `ag-arm64`, `ag-manual` — but those are *group* IDs, not agents. Don't confuse the two.)
+
+### Issuers (13 total)
+
+`iss-local`, `iss-acme-le`, `iss-stepca`, `iss-acme-zs`, `iss-openssl`, `iss-vault`, `iss-digicert`, `iss-sectigo`, `iss-googlecas`, `iss-awsacmpca`, `iss-entrust`, `iss-globalsign`, `iss-ejbca`.
+
+Full list via:
+```
+sed -n '/^INSERT INTO issuers/,/^;/p' migrations/seed_demo.sql \
+  | grep -oE "^\s*\('iss-[a-z0-9_-]+" | sed -E "s/^\s*\('//"
+```
+
+### Targets (8 total in `deployment_targets`)
+`tgt-nginx-prod`, `tgt-nginx-staging`, `tgt-haproxy-prod`, `tgt-apache-prod`, `tgt-iis-prod`, `tgt-traefik-prod`, `tgt-caddy-prod`, `tgt-nginx-data`
+
+### Network Scan Targets (4 total in `network_scan_targets`)
+`nst-dc1-web`, `nst-dc2-apps`, `nst-dmz`, `nst-edge`
+
+**Maintenance note:** when adding new seed rows, also update this section, OR remove the
+per-table counts and rely on the `sed | grep` commands so the doc stops drifting on every
+seed-data change. A CI guard that fails when the doc count diverges from the seed file is
+proposed in `coverage-audit-2026-04-27/tables/qa-doc-strengthening.md` (Strengthening #6).
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### "Server unreachable" on startup
+The test pings `GET /health` before running anything. If this fails:
+```bash
+# Check if the stack is running
+docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml ps
+
+# Check server logs
+docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml logs certctl-server
+
+# Check if the port is exposed (self-signed cert — pin CA bundle)
+curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt -s https://localhost:8443/health
+```
+
+### "connect to QA DB" failure
+The database tests connect directly to PostgreSQL. Ensure port 5432 is exposed:
+```bash
+docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.demo.yml port postgres 5432
+```
+
+### Performance tests flaking
+The performance thresholds (200ms, 300ms, 500ms) assume a local Docker stack. On slow CI runners or remote Docker hosts, increase the thresholds or skip Part 39:
+```bash
+go test -tags qa -v -run 'TestQA/Part(?!39)' ./...
+```
+
+### Source file checks failing
+The `fileExists` and `fileContains` helpers read from `CERTCTL_QA_REPO_DIR` (default `../..`). If running from a non-standard location:
+```bash
+CERTCTL_QA_REPO_DIR=/absolute/path/to/certctl go test -tags qa -v ./...
+```
+
+## Release Day Sign-Off Matrix
+
+Before tagging a release, the QA-on-call engineer signs off on each row. This matrix replaces the previous ad-hoc release checklist and ties test execution directly to release approval. Acquisition-grade releases have this kind of matrix; the doc previously didn't.
+
+| Sign-off | Evidence | Owner | Result | Date |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `make verify` clean on master | CI run URL | Eng-on-call | ☐ | |
+| `go test -tags qa ./deploy/test/...` ≥ 95% pass rate (skips counted as pass) | Test output | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| `go test -race -count=10 ./internal/...` 0 races | `tool-output/race-x10.txt` | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| Coverage ≥ thresholds in `ci.yml` (service / handler / crypto / local-issuer / acme / stepca / mcp) | `tool-output/cover-summary.txt` | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| Helm chart `helm lint && helm template` clean | `tool-output/helm.txt` | DevOps-on-call | ☐ | |
+| All `t.Skip` sites have current rationales (see Bundle O audit; CI guard catches new orphans) | `make qa-stats` t.Skip count | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| Frontend: Vitest run clean; per-page coverage ≥ 70% | `web/tool-output/vitest.txt` | Frontend-on-call | ☐ | |
+| Manual Parts 23, 24, 55, 56 executed (or explicit defer with rationale) | This sheet | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| Demo stack `docker compose up -d --build` smoke (`/health` 200, `/ready` 200) | curl receipt | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| `govulncheck ./...` clean (or deferred-call advisories tracked in `gap-backlog`) | `tool-output/govulncheck.json` | Security-on-call | ☐ | |
+| QA-doc drift guards green (Part-count + cert-count) | CI run URL | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+| FSM transition coverage tables (`coverage-audit-2026-04-27/tables/fsm-coverage.md`) — Existential FSMs ≥80% legal + 100% illegal | This sheet | QA-on-call | ☐ | |
+
+**Sign-off owner:** ______________________ &nbsp;&nbsp;**Date:** ______ &nbsp;&nbsp;**Tag:** v__.__.__
+
+## Mutation Testing Targets & Kill Rate
+
+Mutation testing exposes which assertions are actually load-bearing — tests can pass against broken code if mutations survive, which is a coverage trap. The audit's Phase 0 attempted to run `go-mutesting` on the Existential cluster but was blocked by a Go 1.25 / arm64 incompatibility in `osutil@v1.6.1` (uses `syscall.Dup2` which is undefined on linux/arm64). The operator-runnable workaround uses a fork that targets `unix.Dup3` instead.
+
+| Package | Risk class | Target kill rate | Last measured | Tool |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| `internal/crypto` | Existential | ≥90% | unmeasured (sandbox-blocked, operator-runnable) | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/pkcs7` | Existential | ≥90% | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/connector/issuer/local` | Existential | ≥90% | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/connector/issuer/acme` | Existential | ≥80% (catch-up; failure-mode coverage 55.6% per Bundle J) | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/connector/issuer/stepca` | Existential | ≥85% (post-Bundle-L.B coverage at 90.4%) | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/api/middleware` | High | ≥80% | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `internal/validation` | Existential (CWE-78 / CWE-113 boundary) | ≥90% | unmeasured | go-mutesting |
+| `web/src/utils/safeHtml.ts` | Frontend (XSS gate) | ≥90% | unmeasured | Stryker |
+
+### Operator command (per package)
+
+```bash
+# Use the avito-tech fork that supports linux/arm64 + Go 1.25.
+go install github.com/avito-tech/go-mutesting/cmd/go-mutesting@latest
+
+mkdir -p tool-output
+$(go env GOPATH)/bin/go-mutesting --debug ./internal/crypto/... \
+  > tool-output/mutation-crypto.txt 2>&1
+grep -oE 'mutation score is [0-9.]+' tool-output/mutation-crypto.txt | tail -1
+```
+
+**Acceptance:** ≥80% (Existential) / ≥70% (High). Anything below is a Medium finding; triage entries go in `coverage-audit-2026-04-27/gap-backlog.md`. This subsection moves mutation testing from "future work" to "documented release gate."
+
+## Adding New Tests
+
+When a new feature ships:
+
+1. **Add a Part section** in `qa_test.go` following the numbering in `docs/testing-guide.md`
+2. **API tests**: use `c.get()`, `c.post()`, `c.bodyStr()`, `c.getJSON()`, `c.timedGet()`
+3. **Source checks**: use `fileExists(t, "relative/path")` and `fileContains(t, "path", "substring")`
+4. **DB checks**: use `openQADB(t)` and `db.queryInt(t, "SELECT ...")`
+5. **Cleanup**: always use `t.Cleanup()` for data created during tests
+6. **Skip if external**: use `t.Skip("Requires X — manual test")` with a clear reason
+
+## Version History
+
+- **v1.3** (April 2026, post-Bundle-P) — QA Doc Strengthening shipped. New top-of-doc Test Suite Health dashboard (regenerated via `make qa-stats`). New Coverage by Risk Class table after the Coverage Map. New Release Day Sign-Off Matrix and Mutation Testing Targets sections. CI seed-count + Part-count drift guards land in `.github/workflows/ci.yml` so future doc drift fails CI. Bundle P closes M-007 / M-010 / M-011 / M-012 (structural strengthening) + M-008 (Mutation Testing Targets).
+- **v1.2** (April 2026, post-coverage-audit) — Documented Parts 55–56 (I-004 Agent Soft-Retirement, I-005 Notification Retry & Dead-Letter) and surfaced Parts 23–24 (S/MIME & EKU; OCSP/CRL) as not-yet-automated. 56 Parts total in `testing-guide.md`; 49 live `Part_*` automation wrappers in `qa_test.go` + 4 new `Skip` stubs for Parts 23/24/55/56 = 53 wrappers (Parts 15–17 remain covered by source-checks in Parts 42–46). Reconciled seed-data section to actual `seed_demo.sql` counts (12 agents, 13 issuers; certs were already accurate at 32). Bundle I of the 2026-04-27 coverage-audit closure plan.
+- **v1.1** (April 2026) — Added Parts 53–54 (M47: Kubernetes Secrets target + AWS ACM PCA issuer). 54 Parts total, ~164 automated subtests.
+- **v1.0** (April 2026) — Initial release covering all 52 Parts of testing-guide.md v2.1. Replaces `qa-smoke-test.sh`.
@@ -60,6 +60,23 @@ cp deploy/.env.example deploy/.env
 docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
 ```

+> **Warning:** Edit `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` *before* the very first `docker compose up`. Postgres seeds the password into its data directory only on first boot of an empty volume — after that, the password is baked into `pg_authid` and the env var is ignored. If you boot once with the default and later change `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` in `.env`, the certctl-server container picks up the new value but postgres still authenticates against the old one, and the server logs `pq: password authentication failed for user "certctl"` (SQLSTATE 28P01). Two ways out: tear down the volume with `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down -v` (this **deletes all data**) and bring up fresh, or rotate non-destructively with `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec postgres psql -U certctl -c "ALTER ROLE certctl PASSWORD '<new>';"` and then restart certctl-server with the matching `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`.
+
+### Docker Compose Environments
+
+The `deploy/` directory contains four compose files for different use cases:
+
+| File | Purpose | How to run |
+|------|---------|------------|
+| `docker-compose.yml` | **Base platform.** PostgreSQL + certctl server + agent. Clean dashboard with onboarding wizard — use this for production or first-time setup. | `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up --build` |
+| `docker-compose.demo.yml` | **Demo data override.** Layers 180 days of realistic seed data (15 certs, 5 agents, multiple issuers) onto the base. Dashboard charts and tables look populated on first boot. | `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.demo.yml up --build` |
+| `docker-compose.dev.yml` | **Development override.** Adds PgAdmin (port 5050), debug-level logging, and a Delve debugger port (40000) for the server. | `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml -f deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml up --build` |
+| `docker-compose.test.yml` | **Integration test environment.** 7 containers on a static-IP subnet: PostgreSQL, certctl server+agent, step-ca, Pebble ACME server, challenge test server, and NGINX. Runs the full issuance→deployment→verification flow against real CA backends. Standalone — does not combine with the base file. | `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.test.yml up --build` |
+
+Override files are layered onto the base with multiple `-f` flags. The test environment is self-contained and runs independently. To reset any environment's data, add `down -v` to remove volumes.
+
+For a deep dive into every service, environment variable, and networking decision, see the [Docker Compose Environments Guide](../deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md).
+
 ### Kubernetes with Helm

 For production deployments on Kubernetes, use the Helm chart:
@@ -90,16 +107,24 @@ certctl-server       Up (healthy)
 certctl-agent        Up
 ```

+The control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The `certctl-tls-init` init container in the shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` self-signs a cert on first boot and drops it into a named volume. Extract the CA bundle once and reuse it for every API call in this guide:
+
 ```bash
-curl http://localhost:8443/health
+export CA=/tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec -T certctl-server \
+  cat /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt > "$CA"
+
+curl --cacert "$CA" https://localhost:8443/health
 ```
 ```json
 {"status":"healthy"}
 ```

+If you're bringing your own cert (internal CA, cert-manager, operator-supplied Secret), see [`docs/tls.md`](tls.md) for the full provisioning matrix. If you're cutting over an existing install, see [`docs/upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md) for the failure modes (out-of-date `http://…` agents fail at the TLS handshake) and the one-step procedure.
+
 ## Open the Dashboard

-Open **http://localhost:8443** in your browser.
+Open **https://localhost:8443** in your browser. Your browser will warn about the self-signed cert — that's expected for the demo bootstrap. Trust the CA bundle you just exported, or click through the warning.

 > **Note:** The Docker Compose demo runs with authentication disabled (`CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none`) so you can explore immediately. For production, set `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=api-key` and `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET=<your-secret>` in your environment, then pass `Authorization: Bearer <your-secret>` on all API requests. The dashboard will prompt for your API key on first load.
 >
@@ -139,62 +164,64 @@ Everything you see in the dashboard is backed by the REST API. All endpoints liv

 ### Core operations

+Every request below uses `--cacert "$CA"` to pin the self-signed CA bundle extracted above. In production, point `$CA` at your internal CA root or the bundle you distributed to the fleet.
+
 ```bash
 # List all certificates
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates | jq .

 # Filter by status
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?status=Expiring" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?status=Expiring" | jq .

 # Filter by environment
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?environment=production" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?environment=production" | jq .

 # Get a specific certificate
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-api-prod | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-api-prod | jq .

 # Get deployment targets for a certificate
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-api-prod/deployments | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-api-prod/deployments | jq .

 # List agents
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents | jq .

 # Check agent pending work
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents/ag-web-prod/work | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents/ag-web-prod/work | jq .

 # View audit trail
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit | jq .

 # View policies and violations
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies | jq .
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies/pr-require-owner/violations | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies/pr-require-owner/violations | jq .

 # Notifications
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/notifications | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/notifications | jq .

 # Profiles and agent groups
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/profiles | jq .
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/agent-groups | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/profiles | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/agent-groups | jq .
 ```

 ### Sorting, filtering, and pagination

 ```bash
 # Sort by expiration date (ascending)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?sort=notAfter" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?sort=notAfter" | jq .

 # Sort descending (prefix with -)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?sort=-createdAt" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?sort=-createdAt" | jq .

 # Time-range filters (RFC3339)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?expires_before=2026-05-01T00:00:00Z" | jq .
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?created_after=2026-03-01T00:00:00Z" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?expires_before=2026-05-01T00:00:00Z" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?created_after=2026-03-01T00:00:00Z" | jq .

 # Sparse fields — request only what you need
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?fields=id,common_name,status,expires_at" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?fields=id,common_name,status,expires_at" | jq .

 # Cursor pagination — efficient for large inventories
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?page_size=5" | jq '{next_cursor: .next_cursor, count: (.data | length)}'
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?cursor=<next_cursor_value>&page_size=5" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?page_size=5" | jq '{next_cursor: .next_cursor, count: (.data | length)}'
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates?cursor=<next_cursor_value>&page_size=5" | jq .
 ```

 Supported sort fields: `notAfter`, `expiresAt`, `createdAt`, `updatedAt`, `commonName`, `name`, `status`, `environment`.
@@ -203,22 +230,22 @@ Supported sort fields: `notAfter`, `expiresAt`, `createdAt`, `updatedAt`, `commo

 ```bash
 # Dashboard summary
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/summary | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/summary | jq .

 # Certificates by status
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/certificates-by-status | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/certificates-by-status | jq .

 # Expiration timeline (next 90 days)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/expiration-timeline?days=90" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/expiration-timeline?days=90" | jq .

 # Job trends (last 30 days)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/job-trends?days=30" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/stats/job-trends?days=30" | jq .

 # JSON metrics
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/metrics | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/metrics | jq .

 # Prometheus format (for Prometheus, Grafana Agent, Datadog)
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/metrics/prometheus
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/metrics/prometheus
 ```

 ## Create Your First Certificate
@@ -226,7 +253,7 @@ curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/metrics/prometheus
 Create a certificate record that certctl will track, renew, and deploy automatically.

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "My First Certificate",
@@ -249,31 +276,34 @@ CERT_ID="<paste the id from the response>"

 Trigger renewal:
 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID/renew | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID/renew | jq .
 ```

 Check the result:
 ```bash
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID | jq .
 ```

-Refresh the dashboard at http://localhost:8443 — your new certificate appears in the inventory.
+Refresh the dashboard at https://localhost:8443 — your new certificate appears in the inventory.

 ### Revoke a certificate

 When a private key is compromised or a service is decommissioned:

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID/revoke \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/$CERT_ID/revoke \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "superseded"}' | jq .
 ```

 Supported RFC 5280 reason codes: `unspecified`, `keyCompromise`, `caCompromise`, `affiliationChanged`, `superseded`, `cessationOfOperation`, `certificateHold`, `privilegeWithdrawn`.

-Confirm via CRL:
+Confirm via the unauthenticated DER CRL (RFC 5280 §5, RFC 8615):
 ```bash
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/crl | jq .
+# Fetch the CRL without any API key — relying parties shouldn't need one.
+# The CRL path is unauthenticated, but it's still served over TLS.
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local -o /tmp/crl.der
+openssl crl -inform der -in /tmp/crl.der -noout -text | head -40
 ```

 ### Interactive approval workflow
@@ -282,15 +312,15 @@ For high-value certificates where you want human oversight. The demo includes 2

 ```bash
 # List jobs awaiting approval (demo includes 2)
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?status=AwaitingApproval" | jq '.data[] | {id, certificate_id, status}'
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?status=AwaitingApproval" | jq '.data[] | {id, certificate_id, status}'

 # Approve a pending job
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs/JOB_ID/approve \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs/JOB_ID/approve \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "Approved for production deployment"}' | jq .

 # Reject a pending job
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs/JOB_ID/reject \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs/JOB_ID/reject \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "Key type does not meet compliance requirements"}' | jq .
 ```
@@ -316,7 +346,7 @@ export CERTCTL_DISCOVERY_DIRS="/etc/nginx/certs,/etc/ssl/certs,/var/lib/certs"
 export CERTCTL_NETWORK_SCAN_ENABLED=true

 # Create a scan target
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Internal Network",
@@ -328,20 +358,20 @@ curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets \
  }' | jq .

 # Trigger an immediate scan
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-internal-network/scan | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/network-scan-targets/nst-internal-network/scan | jq .
 ```

 ### Triage discovered certificates

 ```bash
 # List discovered certs
-curl -s "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates?agent_id=agent-nginx-prod" | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates?agent_id=agent-nginx-prod" | jq .

 # Summary counts
-curl -s http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | jq .
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | jq .

 # Claim a discovered cert (bring under management)
-curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/claim" \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_ID/claim" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"managed_certificate_id": "mc-api-prod"}' | jq .
 ```
@@ -351,8 +381,9 @@ curl -s -X POST "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates/DISCOVERY_
 ```bash
 cd cmd/cli && go build -o certctl-cli .

-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="http://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="https://localhost:8443"
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY="test-key-123"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH="$CA"   # or pass --ca-bundle; --insecure for dev self-signed

 ./certctl-cli certs list               # List certificates
 ./certctl-cli certs get mc-api-prod    # Certificate details
@@ -385,10 +416,10 @@ export CERTCTL_DIGEST_RECIPIENTS=ops@example.com,security@example.com

 Preview the digest HTML before enabling scheduled delivery:
 ```bash
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/preview | jq '.html' | grep -o '<html>' # Shows HTML is ready
+curl --cacert "$CA" https://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/preview | jq '.html' | grep -o '<html>' # Shows HTML is ready

 # Trigger a digest send immediately (outside of schedule)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/send
+curl --cacert "$CA" -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/digest/send
 ```

 If no recipients are configured (`CERTCTL_DIGEST_RECIPIENTS` empty), the digest falls back to certificate owner emails. Digests include total certificates, expiring soon, expired, active agents, completed/failed jobs (30-day summary), and a table of expiring certs color-coded by urgency (7/14/30 days).
@@ -398,13 +429,14 @@ If no recipients are configured (`CERTCTL_DIGEST_RECIPIENTS` empty), the digest
 ```bash
 cd cmd/mcp-server && go build -o mcp-server .

-export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="http://localhost:8443"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_URL="https://localhost:8443"
 export CERTCTL_API_KEY="test-key-123"
+export CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH="$CA"   # MCP is env-vars-only; no CLI flags

 ./mcp-server
 ```

-Exposes 78 MCP tools covering the REST API via stdio transport. Ask Claude: "What certificates are expiring in the next 30 days?", "Revoke the payments cert due to key compromise", "Show me the audit trail."
+Exposes the full REST API via MCP over stdio transport. Ask Claude: "What certificates are expiring in the next 30 days?", "Revoke the payments cert due to key compromise", "Show me the audit trail."

 ## Demo Data Reference

@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+# certctl Security Posture & Operator Guidance
+
+This document collects the operator-facing security guidance that the source
+code's per-finding comment blocks reference. Each section names the audit
+finding it closes, the threat model, and the operator action required (if
+any).
+
+## OCSP responder availability
+
+**Audit reference:** Bundle C / M-020. CWE-770 (uncontrolled resource
+consumption); RFC 6960 (OCSP); RFC 7633 (Must-Staple).
+
+certctl ships an OCSP responder at `/.well-known/pki/ocsp/{issuer_id}/{serial}`
+that signs a fresh response per request. Pre-Bundle-C the unauth handler
+chain had no rate limit, so an attacker could DoS the responder and force
+fail-open relying parties to accept revoked certificates as valid. Bundle C
+adds the same per-key rate limiter to the unauth chain that the authenticated
+chain has used since Bundle B. Per-IP keying applies because OCSP traffic is
+unauthenticated.
+
+The rate limiter alone does not solve the underlying revocation-bypass risk.
+**The architectural fix is for issued certificates to carry the OCSP
+Must-Staple TLS Feature extension** (RFC 7633, OID 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.1.24). When
+present, conforming TLS clients refuse to negotiate a session unless the
+server staples a fresh signed OCSP response in the TLS handshake. This shifts
+revocation enforcement from the client's discretion (which most fail-open by
+default) to a hard requirement that the connection cannot complete without
+proof of non-revocation.
+
+### Operator action
+
+For certificates issued to systems where revocation correctness matters:
+
+1. **Configure the issuer profile to set `must-staple: true`.** Out-of-the-box
+   profiles in `migrations/seed.sql` do not set this; operators add it at
+   profile-creation time via the API or by editing seed data.
+2. **Confirm the relying party honors the extension.** OpenSSL ≥ 1.1.0,
+   Firefox, and Chrome 84+ all enforce Must-Staple. Older clients silently
+   ignore it.
+3. **Confirm the deployment target is configured for OCSP stapling** so the
+   server can actually deliver the stapled response in the handshake.
+   - **nginx:** `ssl_stapling on; ssl_stapling_verify on;`
+   - **Apache:** `SSLUseStapling on`
+   - **HAProxy:** `set ssl ocsp-response /path/to/response.der`
+   - **Envoy:** `ocsp_staple_policy: must_staple`
+
+### What this does NOT cover
+
+- **CRL fallback.** Must-Staple does not affect CRL behavior. Operators with
+  CRL-based relying parties should use the rate-limit + caching defense
+  alone; there is no client-side equivalent to Must-Staple for CRLs.
+- **Self-issued certs in air-gapped networks.** When the relying party
+  cannot reach the OCSP responder at all (the threat model the audit
+  cited), Must-Staple is the only mechanism that closes the bypass. CRL
+  distribution similarly requires the relying party to fetch the CRL,
+  which is also subject to the same network-availability concern.
+
+## Postgres transport encryption
+
+See [docs/database-tls.md](database-tls.md). Bundle B / M-018.
+
+## Encryption at rest
+
+Bundle B / M-001. PBKDF2-SHA256 at 600,000 rounds (OWASP 2024 Password
+Storage Cheat Sheet floor) for the operator-supplied passphrase that
+derives the AES-256-GCM key for sensitive config columns. v3 blob format
+with a per-ciphertext random salt; v1/v2 read fallback for legacy rows.
+See [internal/crypto/encryption.go](../internal/crypto/encryption.go) and
+the accompanying tests for the format spec.
+
+## Authentication surface
+
+Bundle B / M-002. Two layers decide auth-exempt status:
+
+1. **Router layer:** `internal/api/router/router.go::AuthExemptRouterRoutes`
+   — the 4 endpoints registered via direct `r.mux.Handle` without going
+   through the middleware chain (`/health`, `/ready`, `/api/v1/auth/info`,
+   `/api/v1/version`).
+2. **Dispatch layer:** `internal/api/router/router.go::AuthExemptDispatchPrefixes`
+   — URL-prefix routing in `cmd/server/main.go::buildFinalHandler` for
+   `/.well-known/pki/*`, `/.well-known/est/*`, and `/scep[/...]*`.
+
+Both lists have AST-walking regression tests (`auth_exempt_test.go`) that
+fail CI if a new bypass lands without an updating the documented constant.
+
+## Per-user rate limiting
+
+Bundle B / M-025. Authenticated callers are bucketed by API-key name;
+unauthenticated callers (probes, OCSP relying parties, EST/SCEP enrollees)
+are bucketed by source IP. `RPS` and `BurstSize` are per-key budgets.
+`PerUserRPS` / `PerUserBurstSize` give authenticated clients a separate
+budget when set non-zero.
+
+## API key rotation
+
+**Audit reference:** L-004. CWE-924 (improper enforcement of message integrity during transmission in a communication channel) — operator UX variant.
+
+certctl's API keys are configured via the `CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED` env var
+(format `name1:key1,name2:key2:admin`) and parsed at startup into an
+in-memory list. There is no DB-resident key store, no GUI, no `/api/v1/keys`
+endpoint — the env var IS the key inventory.
+
+Pre-Bundle-G the env var rejected duplicate names, so rotating a key
+required: stop accepting OLDKEY → restart → roll NEWKEY out. Any client
+polling against OLDKEY during the restart window hit a 401.
+
+Bundle G adds a **double-key rotation window**: two entries can share a
+name during the rollover, and both keys validate. Operators run the
+rotation as:
+
+1. **Generate the new key.** `openssl rand -hex 32` produces a 256-bit
+   value with sufficient entropy.
+
+2. **Append the new entry to `CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED`** alongside the
+   existing one:
+   ```
+   CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED="alice:OLDKEY:admin,alice:NEWKEY:admin"
+   ```
+   Both entries MUST carry the same admin flag — startup fails loud if
+   they don't (a non-admin shouldn't share an identity with an admin).
+
+3. **Restart certctl.** A startup INFO log confirms the rotation window
+   is active:
+   ```
+   INFO api-key rotation window active name=alice entries=2 see=docs/security.md::api-key-rotation
+   ```
+
+4. **Roll the new key out to all clients.** Both keys validate during
+   this phase. Audit-trail actor + per-user rate-limit bucket stay
+   consistent across the rollover (both entries produce the same
+   `UserKey` context value, the shared name).
+
+5. **Remove the old entry** from `CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED`:
+   ```
+   CERTCTL_API_KEYS_NAMED="alice:NEWKEY:admin"
+   ```
+
+6. **Restart certctl.** OLDKEY now fails with 401. Rotation complete.
+
+The rotation window has no operator-set timeout — it lasts for as long
+as both entries are in the env var. Best practice is a 24-72h window
+covering a full deploy cadence; if a client hasn't rolled to NEWKEY by
+the end of step 4, extend the window before step 5.
+
+### What the contract guarantees
+
+- Two entries with the same `name`: **allowed** if both have the same
+  `admin` flag.
+- Two entries with the same `name` but mismatched admin: **rejected at
+  startup** (privilege escalation guard).
+- Two entries with the same `(name, key)` pair: **rejected at startup**
+  (typo guard — rotation requires DIFFERENT keys under the same name).
+- Single-entry steady state: unchanged from pre-Bundle-G behavior.
+
+### What the contract does NOT do
+
+- **No automatic expiration of OLDKEY.** The operator removes the entry
+  in step 5; certctl doesn't track timestamps. A future enhancement
+  could add a `rotated_at` annotation if operators ask for it.
+- **No GUI / API for key management.** Keys are env-var only by design;
+  building a key-management surface is a separate feature project.
+- **No revocation list.** If a key leaks, the only path is to remove it
+  from the env var and restart. That's appropriate for a small env-var
+  inventory; it would not scale to a per-user-key-issued model.
+
+## Reporting a vulnerability
+
+Email `certctl@proton.me`. Coordinated disclosure preferred; we will
+acknowledge within 72h.
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ You'll start 7 Docker containers that talk to each other:
 | **pebble-challtestsrv** | DNS/HTTP challenge test server for Pebble | 10.30.50.3 | Not directly — Pebble talks to it |
 | **Pebble** | A fake Let's Encrypt (tests the ACME protocol without touching the real internet) | 10.30.50.4 | Not directly — the server talks to it |
 | **step-ca** | A private Certificate Authority (think: your company's internal CA) | 10.30.50.5 | Not directly — the server talks to it |
-| **certctl-server** | The brain. API + web dashboard + scheduler + ACME challenge server | 10.30.50.6 | **http://localhost:8443** |
+| **certctl-server** | The brain. API + web dashboard + scheduler + ACME challenge server | 10.30.50.6 | **https://localhost:8443** (self-signed — see CA-bundle note below) |
 | **NGINX** | A web server. The agent deploys certificates here. | 10.30.50.7 | **https://localhost:8444** |
 | **certctl-agent** | The hands. Generates keys, deploys certs to NGINX | 10.30.50.8 | Not directly — it talks to the server |

@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up --build

 ```
 certctl-test-server    | {"level":"INFO","msg":"server started","address":"0.0.0.0:8443"}
-certctl-test-agent     | {"level":"INFO","msg":"agent starting","server_url":"http://certctl-server:8443"}
+certctl-test-agent     | {"level":"INFO","msg":"agent starting","server_url":"https://certctl-server:8443"}
 certctl-test-stepca    | Serving HTTPS on :9000 ...
 certctl-test-pebble    | Listening on: 0.0.0.0:14000
 ```
@@ -159,13 +159,29 @@ certctl-test-stepca         Up (healthy)

 **If certctl-test-server says "Restarting"**: It probably started before step-ca or Pebble were ready. Wait 30 seconds and check again. If it keeps restarting, see [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting).

+### Get the CA bundle for curl
+
+The test harness runs HTTPS-only (the `certctl-tls-init` init container self-signs an ECDSA-P256 server cert with a SHA-256 signature into a bind-mounted directory before the server starts — see `docker-compose.test.yml` §`certctl-tls-init` for details). The CA cert that signed it is materialized on the host at `./test/certs/ca.crt` (relative to the `deploy/` directory). Every `curl` in the rest of this doc expects it in `$CA`:
+
+```bash
+export CA=$PWD/test/certs/ca.crt
+ls -la "$CA"  # sanity check: file should exist and be non-empty
+curl --cacert "$CA" -f https://localhost:8443/health
+```
+
+Expect `{"status":"ok"}`. If `curl` errors with `SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate`, the init container hasn't finished yet — wait a few seconds and retry. If the file doesn't exist at all, the bind mount didn't populate; `docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml logs certctl-tls-init` should show the self-sign ran.
+
+For a full explanation of the cert provisioning patterns (self-signed bootstrap, operator-supplied, cert-manager), see [`tls.md`](tls.md). For the one-step cutover from the old plaintext test harness to HTTPS, see [`upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md).
+
 ---

 ## Step 2: Open the Dashboard

 Open your web browser and go to:

-**http://localhost:8443**
+**https://localhost:8443**
+
+Your browser will warn you that the cert is self-signed ("Your connection is not private" / "NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID"). That's expected for the test harness — the CA that signed the cert lives at `deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` and isn't in your system trust store. Click through the warning (Chrome: "Advanced" → "Proceed"; Firefox: "Accept the Risk"; Safari: "Show Details" → "visit this website").

 You'll see a login screen asking for an API key. Enter:

@@ -198,12 +214,13 @@ Go back to your second terminal. Let's verify the data loaded correctly.
 ### Check the agent

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 **What this command does**:
- `curl` makes an HTTP request (like a browser but from the terminal)
+- `curl` makes an HTTPS request (like a browser but from the terminal)
+- `--cacert "$CA"` pins the test harness's self-signed root as the only trust anchor for this call — matches what you exported in Step 1
 - `-s` means "silent" (don't show progress bars)
 - `-H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026"` sends the API key (same one you used to log in)
 - `python3 -m json.tool` formats the JSON response so it's readable
@@ -233,8 +250,8 @@ The important parts: `"id": "agent-test-01"` and `"status": "online"`. If the st
 ### Check the issuers

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/issuers | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/issuers | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 You should see three issuers:
@@ -245,8 +262,8 @@ You should see three issuers:
 ### Check the target

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/targets | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/targets | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 You should see `target-test-nginx` — the NGINX deployment target, assigned to `agent-test-01`.
@@ -255,7 +272,7 @@ The target config uses no-op commands for `reload_command` and `validate_command

 ### See it all in the dashboard

-Open the dashboard at http://localhost:8443 and click through the sidebar:
+Open the dashboard at https://localhost:8443 and click through the sidebar:
 - **Agents** — you should see `test-agent-01`
 - **Issuers** — you should see all three CAs
 - **Targets** — you should see `Test NGINX`
@@ -287,7 +304,7 @@ The private key **never leaves the agent**. The server only ever sees the CSR (p
 ### Step 4a: Create the certificate record

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
@@ -338,7 +355,7 @@ docker exec certctl-test-postgres psql -U certctl -d certctl -c \
 ### Step 4c: Trigger issuance

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test/renew \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test/renew \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

@@ -395,7 +412,7 @@ The `subject` should match the domain name you chose. The `issuer` should say "c

 ### Step 4f: Check the dashboard

-Open the dashboard at http://localhost:8443 and:
+Open the dashboard at https://localhost:8443 and:

 1. Click **Certificates** in the sidebar — you should see `mc-local-test` with status "Active"
 2. Click on it to see the detail page — you should see version history, the signed certificate details, and the deployment timeline
@@ -414,7 +431,7 @@ This is the real deal. ACME is the protocol that Let's Encrypt uses to issue cer
 ### Step 5a: Create the certificate record

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
@@ -441,7 +458,7 @@ docker exec certctl-test-postgres psql -U certctl -d certctl -c \
  "INSERT INTO certificate_target_mappings (certificate_id, target_id) VALUES ('mc-acme-test', 'target-test-nginx') ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING;"

 # Trigger issuance
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-acme-test/renew \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-acme-test/renew \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

@@ -502,7 +519,7 @@ Revocation means "this certificate is no longer trusted, even though it hasn't e
 ### Step 7a: Revoke the Local CA cert

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test/revoke \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test/revoke \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "superseded"}' | python3 -m json.tool
@@ -512,12 +529,15 @@ curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-local-test/revoke \

 ### Step 7b: Check the CRL (Certificate Revocation List)

+The CRL is a DER-encoded X.509 v2 CRL (RFC 5280 §5) served under the RFC 8615 well-known namespace. It is deliberately unauthenticated — relying parties that need to verify revocation don't have certctl API keys.
+
 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/crl | python3 -m json.tool
+# No Authorization header — the endpoint is public by design.
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/pki/crl/iss-local -o /tmp/crl.der
+openssl crl -inform der -in /tmp/crl.der -noout -text | head -40
 ```

-**What you should see**: A list that includes the revoked certificate's serial number, the reason, and the timestamp.
+**What you should see**: `openssl` prints the CRL issuer DN, `This Update` / `Next Update` timestamps, and at least one entry whose `Serial Number` matches the cert you just revoked, with `CRL Reason Code: Superseded` (or whichever reason you passed in step 7a). The response's `Content-Type` header is `application/pkix-crl`.

 ### Step 7c: Check in the dashboard

@@ -530,8 +550,8 @@ Go to **Certificates** in the sidebar. The `mc-local-test` cert should now show
 The agent is configured to scan `/nginx-certs` every 6 hours for existing certificates. It already ran a scan when it started up. Let's see what it found.

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovered-certificates | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 **What you should see**: Any certificates that exist in the NGINX cert directory, including the ones you deployed in Steps 4-5. The discovery system extracts metadata (CN, SANs, issuer, expiry, fingerprint) from the PEM files.
@@ -539,8 +559,8 @@ curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
 Check the summary:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/discovery-summary | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 This shows counts: how many are Unmanaged, Managed, and Dismissed.
@@ -554,7 +574,7 @@ In the dashboard: click **Discovery** in the sidebar to see the triage view.
 Force a renewal on the ACME certificate to see the full cycle happen again:

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-acme-test/renew \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-acme-test/renew \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

@@ -581,7 +601,7 @@ The test environment enables EST with `CERTCTL_EST_ENABLED=true` and `CERTCTL_ES
 ### Step 10a: Check available CA certificates

 ```bash
-curl -sk http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/cacerts \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/cacerts \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026"
 ```

@@ -592,7 +612,7 @@ curl -sk http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/cacerts \
 ### Step 10b: Check CSR attributes

 ```bash
-curl -sk http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/csrattrs \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s https://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/csrattrs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026"
 ```

@@ -612,7 +632,7 @@ openssl req -new -newkey ec -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:P-256 \
 EST_CSR=$(openssl req -in /tmp/est-test.csr -outform DER | base64 -w 0)

 # Submit to EST simpleenroll endpoint
-curl -sk -X POST http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/simpleenroll \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/simpleenroll \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pkcs10" \
  -d "$EST_CSR"
@@ -625,8 +645,8 @@ curl -sk -X POST http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/simpleenroll \
 Decode and inspect the response (if you saved it to a variable):

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit-events | python3 -m json.tool | head -30
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit-events | python3 -m json.tool | head -30
 ```

 Check the audit trail — you should see an `est_enrollment` event with the CN `est-device.certctl.test`.
@@ -636,7 +656,7 @@ Check the audit trail — you should see an `est_enrollment` event with the CN `
 EST also supports re-enrollment (certificate renewal). The same CSR format works:

 ```bash
-curl -sk -X POST http://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/simplereenroll \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/.well-known/est/simplereenroll \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pkcs10" \
  -d "$EST_CSR"
@@ -655,7 +675,7 @@ S/MIME certificates are used for email signing and encryption — a different us
 ### Step 11a: Create an S/MIME certificate record

 ```bash
-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
@@ -683,7 +703,7 @@ Notice:
 docker exec certctl-test-postgres psql -U certctl -d certctl -c \
  "INSERT INTO certificate_target_mappings (certificate_id, target_id) VALUES ('mc-smime-test', 'target-test-nginx') ON CONFLICT DO NOTHING;"

-curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test/renew \
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test/renew \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

@@ -692,15 +712,15 @@ curl -s -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test/renew \
 After the agent processes the job (30-60 seconds), check the certificate details:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 The certificate should show `"status": "active"`. To verify the EKU on the actual cert, you can export it:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test/export/pem | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/mc-smime-test/export/pem | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 If you decode the certificate PEM, you should see:
@@ -765,16 +785,16 @@ If you have Go installed, you can build and test the CLI tool:
 go build -o certctl-cli ./cmd/cli

 # List certificates
-./certctl-cli --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key test-key-2026 list-certs
+./certctl-cli --server https://localhost:8443 --ca-bundle "$CA" --api-key test-key-2026 list-certs

 # Get a specific certificate
-./certctl-cli --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key test-key-2026 get-cert mc-acme-test
+./certctl-cli --server https://localhost:8443 --ca-bundle "$CA" --api-key test-key-2026 get-cert mc-acme-test

 # Check health
-./certctl-cli --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key test-key-2026 health
+./certctl-cli --server https://localhost:8443 --ca-bundle "$CA" --api-key test-key-2026 health

 # Get metrics (JSON format)
-./certctl-cli --server http://localhost:8443 --api-key test-key-2026 --format json metrics
+./certctl-cli --server https://localhost:8443 --ca-bundle "$CA" --api-key test-key-2026 --format json metrics
 ```

 ---
@@ -921,15 +941,15 @@ Look for error messages. Common ones:
 **Step 2**: Verify the agent is registered:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  http://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents/agent-test-01 | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  https://localhost:8443/api/v1/agents/agent-test-01 | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 **Step 3**: Check for pending jobs:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?status=Pending&status=AwaitingCSR" | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?status=Pending&status=AwaitingCSR" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 If there are pending jobs but the agent isn't picking them up, check that the job's `agent_id` matches `agent-test-01`.
@@ -959,8 +979,8 @@ docker exec certctl-test-nginx nginx -s reload
 **Step 3**: If the files aren't there, the deployment job hasn't completed. Check the jobs:

 ```bash
-curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
-  "http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?type=Deployment" | python3 -m json.tool
+curl --cacert "$CA" -s -H "Authorization: Bearer test-key-2026" \
+  "https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs?type=Deployment" | python3 -m json.tool
 ```

 Look at the job status. If it's "Running" and stuck, the server's job processor may have picked it up instead of the agent (this was a known bug — the fix skips deployment jobs with `agent_id` in the server's `ProcessPendingJobs`).
@@ -1005,7 +1025,7 @@ Change it to a different port, like:
      - "9443:8443"
 ```

-Then access the dashboard at http://localhost:9443 instead.
+Then access the dashboard at https://localhost:9443 instead.

 ### Starting completely fresh

@@ -1051,7 +1071,7 @@ docker compose -f docker-compose.test.yml up --build

 | What | Value |
 |---|---|
-| Dashboard URL | http://localhost:8443 |
+| Dashboard URL | https://localhost:8443 (use `--cacert ./test/certs/ca.crt`) |
 | API key | `test-key-2026` |
 | NGINX HTTP | http://localhost:8080 |
 | NGINX HTTPS | https://localhost:8444 |
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+# certctl Testing Strategy & Deep-Scan Operator Runbook
+
+This doc covers the **testing topology** (per-PR fast gates vs. daily deep-scan
+gates), and the **operator runbook** for re-running each deep-scan tool locally
+when the CI receipt is ambiguous or when an operator wants to validate a fix
+before the next scheduled scan.
+
+For the manual end-to-end QA playbook, see [`testing-guide.md`](testing-guide.md).
+For the security posture / per-finding closure log, see [`security.md`](security.md).
+
+## CI workflow split
+
+certctl runs two GitHub Actions workflows:
+
+- **`.github/workflows/ci.yml`** — runs on every push/PR. Fast feedback only.
+  Includes `gofmt`, `go vet`, `golangci-lint`, `go test -short -count=1`,
+  `govulncheck`, the per-layer coverage gates, and the regression-grep guards
+  (the M-009 mutation budget, the L-001 InsecureSkipVerify guard, the H-001
+  Dockerfile SHA-pin guard, the M-012 USER-directive guard, etc.).
+- **`.github/workflows/security-deep-scan.yml`** — runs daily 06:00 UTC and on
+  manual dispatch. Heavyweight tools that need docker, network egress to
+  scanner registries, or wall-clock budgets the per-PR check can't tolerate.
+  Includes `gosec`, `osv-scanner`, the `-race -count=10` full-suite run,
+  `trivy` image scan, `syft` SBOM, ZAP baseline DAST, `nuclei`,
+  `schemathesis` OpenAPI fuzz, `testssl.sh`, `go-mutesting` mutation testing,
+  and `semgrep p/react-security`.
+
+Receipts from each scheduled run are uploaded as a 30-day-retention artefact
+named `security-deep-scan-<run-id>`. Audit them via the GitHub Actions UI;
+download the artefact zip for any scan that surfaces a finding.
+
+## Operator runbook — local re-run procedures
+
+These are the same commands the workflow runs, intended for an operator with
+a workstation that has docker + the Go toolchain installed. The local-run
+shape is identical to CI; the difference is wall-clock and the artefact
+location (CI uploads; local writes to `$PWD`).
+
+### Mutation testing (D-003)
+
+**Tool:** [`go-mutesting`](https://github.com/zimmski/go-mutesting). Mutates
+each AST node in turn (flips comparisons, swaps return values, removes
+statements) and re-runs the package's tests. A mutant is **killed** if any
+test fails; **surviving** mutants indicate a coverage gap (no test caught
+the bug the mutant introduced).
+
+**Targets:** the three security-critical packages whose coverage gate is
+**85%** in `ci.yml`:
+
+- `internal/crypto/`
+- `internal/pkcs7/`
+- `internal/connector/issuer/local/`
+
+**Acceptance threshold:** ≥80% mutation kill ratio per package. Surviving
+mutants below that threshold get triaged in
+`cowork/comprehensive-audit-2026-04-25/d003-mutation-results.md` — either
+ship a targeted unit test that kills the mutant, or document an
+equivalent-mutation justification.
+
+**Local run:**
+
+```
+go install github.com/zimmski/go-mutesting/cmd/go-mutesting@latest
+for pkg in ./internal/crypto/... ./internal/pkcs7/... ./internal/connector/issuer/local/...; do
+  echo "=== $pkg ==="
+  $(go env GOPATH)/bin/go-mutesting "$pkg"
+done
+```
+
+The tool prints one line per mutant (`PASS` = killed, `FAIL` = surviving)
+plus a per-package summary `The mutation score is X.YZ`. CPU-bound, single
+core, takes ~10 minutes on a 2024-era laptop for the three packages combined.
+
+**Sandbox note:** `go-mutesting` writes a mutant copy of the source tree to
+`/tmp/go-mutesting/` per run; needs ≥2 GB free disk. Sandboxed CI runners
+are sized for this; constrained dev sandboxes are not.
+
+### DAST baseline (D-004)
+
+**Tool:** [OWASP ZAP `baseline`](https://www.zaproxy.org/docs/docker/baseline-scan/).
+Spiders the running server's URL surface and runs the OWASP-ZAP active+passive
+rule pack. **Baseline** mode skips the destructive active-scan rules; it's safe
+against a non-throwaway environment.
+
+**Target:** the live `deploy/docker-compose.yml` stack on `https://localhost:8443`.
+
+**Acceptance:** zero HIGH/CRITICAL alerts. WARN/INFO alerts get triaged in the
+ZAP report; some are unavoidable (e.g., HSTS preload-list nag is a deployment
+recommendation, not a server defect).
+
+**Local run:**
+
+```
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d
+sleep 20  # wait for /ready to flip OK; check `curl --cacert deploy/test/certs/ca.crt https://localhost:8443/ready`
+docker run --rm --network host \
+  -v "$PWD":/zap/wrk \
+  ghcr.io/zaproxy/zaproxy:stable \
+  zap-baseline.py -t https://localhost:8443 \
+  -r zap-report.html -J zap-report.json
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down
+```
+
+The HTML report opens in a browser; the JSON is machine-readable for triage.
+
+### TLS audit (D-005)
+
+**Tool:** [`testssl.sh`](https://testssl.sh/). Probes the TLS handshake and
+each enabled cipher suite; reports protocol-version weaknesses, cipher
+weaknesses, certificate-chain issues, and known CVE patterns (Heartbleed,
+ROBOT, BEAST, etc.).
+
+**Target:** the live stack on `https://localhost:8443`.
+
+**Acceptance:** zero HIGH/CRITICAL findings. certctl pins
+`tls.Config.MinVersion = tls.VersionTLS13` (`cmd/server/tls.go`), so anything
+that surfaces is either (a) a real defect, (b) a testssl false positive, or
+(c) a deployment-config issue worth documenting in the operator runbook.
+
+**Local run:**
+
+```
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d
+sleep 20
+docker run --rm --network host \
+  -v "$PWD":/data \
+  drwetter/testssl.sh:latest \
+  --jsonfile /data/testssl.json https://localhost:8443
+docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down
+
+# Filter to actionable severities
+jq '[.scanResult[] | select(.severity == "HIGH" or .severity == "CRITICAL")]' testssl.json
+```
+
+### Frontend semgrep (D-007)
+
+**Tool:** [`semgrep`](https://semgrep.dev/) with the maintained
+[`p/react-security` ruleset](https://semgrep.dev/p/react-security). Catches
+React-specific XSS / injection patterns: `dangerouslySetInnerHTML` without
+sanitization, `target="_blank"` without `rel="noopener noreferrer"`,
+`href={userInput}`, `eval`, `document.write`, etc.
+
+**Target:** the frontend source tree at `web/src/`.
+
+**Acceptance:** zero findings. Bundle 8 already verified
+`dangerouslySetInnerHTML` count at zero and the `target="_blank"`
+rel-noopener pin via simple grep guards in `ci.yml`; semgrep adds defence
+in depth — it catches escape patterns the greps don't see (e.g.,
+`href={user_input}`, runtime `eval`, `document.write`).
+
+**Local run:**
+
+```
+docker run --rm -v "$PWD":/src returntocorp/semgrep:latest \
+  semgrep --config=p/react-security --json /src/web/src \
+  > semgrep-react.json
+
+# Count findings
+jq '.results | length' semgrep-react.json
+
+# Pretty-print findings
+jq '.results[] | {rule_id: .check_id, path, line: .start.line, message: .extra.message}' semgrep-react.json
+```
+
+If the count is non-zero, every result has a `check_id` (e.g.
+`react.dangerouslySetInnerHTML`) and a `message` describing the escape
+pattern. Triage each: either fix the call site, or — for legitimate edge
+cases — add a `// nosem: <check_id> — <reason>` directive on the
+preceding line.
+
+## Cadence
+
+| Tool                 | Trigger                            | Wall-clock | Owner          |
+|----------------------|------------------------------------|------------|----------------|
+| go-mutesting         | daily deep-scan + manual dispatch  | ~10 min    | maintainers    |
+| ZAP baseline (DAST)  | daily deep-scan + manual dispatch  | ~5 min     | maintainers    |
+| testssl.sh           | daily deep-scan + manual dispatch  | ~3 min     | maintainers    |
+| semgrep react        | daily deep-scan + manual dispatch  | ~1 min     | maintainers    |
+| `make verify`        | every commit (pre-push)            | ~1 min     | every developer |
+| ci.yml fast gates    | every push/PR                      | ~3 min     | every developer |
+
+Re-run any of the deep-scan tools locally when:
+
+- A CI receipt surfaces an unexpected finding and you want to bisect against
+  a local change before pushing.
+- You're cutting a release tag and want belt-and-suspenders evidence beyond
+  the most recent scheduled scan.
+- You're adding a new feature in the relevant surface (crypto code →
+  re-run mutation testing; new HTTP handler → re-run schemathesis + ZAP;
+  new TLS-config knob → re-run testssl).
+
+## Related docs
+
+- [`docs/security.md`](security.md) — security posture, per-finding closure log.
+- [`docs/testing-guide.md`](testing-guide.md) — manual end-to-end QA playbook.
+- [`.github/workflows/ci.yml`](../.github/workflows/ci.yml) — per-PR fast gates.
+- [`.github/workflows/security-deep-scan.yml`](../.github/workflows/security-deep-scan.yml) — daily deep-scan gates.
+- [`scripts/install-security-tools.sh`](../scripts/install-security-tools.sh) — Go-host-installed tools (the docker-based tools are not in this script).
@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+# TLS on the Control Plane
+
+certctl's control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. There is no plaintext `http://` listener, no `auto` mode, no dual-listener bridge, no TLS 1.2 escape hatch. The server refuses to start without a cert+key pair, the agent/CLI/MCP clients reject `http://` URLs at startup, and the Helm chart refuses to render without either an operator-supplied Secret or a cert-manager Certificate CR.
+
+This doc covers four cert provisioning patterns, SIGHUP-based cert rotation, and the client-side CA-trust configuration agents and the CLI need to talk to the server. If you are upgrading from a pre-HTTPS release and want the step-by-step cutover procedure, read [`upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md) first and come back here for reference.
+
+## What you get
+
+The server binds TLS 1.3 only with an explicit curve preference of `[X25519, P-256]`. TLS 1.3 cipher suites are non-negotiable (all three mandatory suites — AES-128-GCM-SHA256, AES-256-GCM-SHA384, CHACHA20-POLY1305-SHA256 — are always offered), so there is no `CipherSuites` knob to misconfigure. No TLS 1.2 fallback is available.
+
+Two env vars are required on the server:
+
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH` — filesystem path to the PEM-encoded server certificate
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH` — filesystem path to the PEM-encoded private key that signs the cert
+
+Both paths are read during a fail-loud preflight in `cmd/server/main.go` (see `preflightServerTLS` in `cmd/server/tls.go`). If either is unset, unreadable, or the cert+key pair does not round-trip through `tls.LoadX509KeyPair`, the process refuses to start and emits a diagnostic pointing back at this doc. The rationale lives in §3 of the HTTPS-Everywhere milestone: a cert-lifecycle product should not silently bind plaintext.
+
+## Pattern 1 — Self-signed bootstrap for docker-compose demos
+
+This is the default for the `deploy/docker-compose.yml` stack. It exists so `docker compose up -d --build` just works on a laptop without the operator standing up a CA first. It is not appropriate for any non-demo environment.
+
+An init container named `certctl-tls-init` runs once before the server starts. It uses the `alpine/openssl` image and generates an ECDSA-P256 self-signed cert (SHA-256 signature):
+
+```
+openssl req -x509 -newkey ec \
+  -pkeyopt ec_paramgen_curve:P-256 \
+  -nodes \
+  -keyout /etc/certctl/tls/server.key \
+  -out   /etc/certctl/tls/server.crt \
+  -days 3650 \
+  -subj "/CN=certctl-server" \
+  -addext "subjectAltName=DNS:certctl-server,DNS:localhost,IP:127.0.0.1,IP:::1"
+```
+
+**Why ECDSA-P256 and not ed25519.** The pre-v2.0.48 demo bootstrap used ed25519 (small keys, fast signatures). Apple's TLS stack — Safari Network Framework and the macOS-bundled LibreSSL 3.3.6 `/usr/bin/curl` — does not advertise ed25519 in the ClientHello `signature_algorithms` extension for server certs, so an ed25519 server cert was rejected at handshake with `tls: peer doesn't support any of the certificate's signature algorithms` on the server side (and the generic TLS handshake error on the client side). Homebrew OpenSSL 3.x, Chrome, Firefox, and Linux curl all accepted ed25519 — Apple was the outlier. ECDSA-P256 with SHA-256 is universally supported, so the demo bootstrap uses it by default. To pick up the new algorithm on an existing demo install, tear the volume down and rebuild: `docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down -v && docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build`. **Helm and operator-supplied-Secret users (Patterns 2 and 3) are unaffected** — they bring their own cert, and `cmd/server/tls.go` is algorithm-agnostic (TLS 1.3 with curve preference `[X25519, P-256]` for key exchange — no constraint on the server cert's signature algorithm).
+
+The cert, its matching key, and a copy of the cert published as `ca.crt` land in a named volume (`certs`) mounted at `/etc/certctl/tls/` in the server container (read-only) and the agent container (read-only). The bootstrap is idempotent — if `server.crt`, `server.key`, and `ca.crt` are already present on the volume, the init container logs `TLS cert already present at …` and exits cleanly.
+
+Single-cert design. CN is `certctl-server` to match the Docker-network hostname. The SAN list is `[certctl-server, localhost, 127.0.0.1, ::1]`, which covers both container-internal agent→server traffic and operator browser/curl access to `https://localhost:8443`. There is no separate intermediate/root chain — the server cert and the CA bundle are the same PEM. This is the whole point of a demo bootstrap.
+
+To force regeneration (rotate the demo cert), tear the volume down: `docker compose down -v`. The next `up` re-runs the init container.
+
+The server's Docker healthcheck and the agent both verify against `/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt`; no `-k` / `InsecureSkipVerify` anywhere in the default stack.
+
+## Pattern 2 — Operator-supplied `kubernetes.io/tls` Secret (Helm)
+
+This is the default path for Helm installs. The operator provisions a Secret of type `kubernetes.io/tls` holding `tls.crt` + `tls.key` (and optionally `ca.crt` for mounting a CA bundle to clients in the same cluster) from whatever source they already trust — their internal CA, a manually-issued cert, step-ca, AWS ACM PCA exported to PEM, or the output of the self-signed bootstrap pattern above copied into a cluster Secret.
+
+```
+kubectl create secret tls certctl-server-tls \
+  --cert=server.crt \
+  --key=server.key \
+  --namespace certctl
+```
+
+Then:
+
+```
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl \
+  --namespace certctl \
+  --set server.tls.existingSecret=certctl-server-tls
+```
+
+The Secret is mounted read-only at `/etc/certctl/tls/` in the server pod. The `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH` and `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH` env vars are wired to `tls.crt` and `tls.key` keys inside that mount. If `ca.crt` is absent from the Secret, clients that need a CA bundle should use `tls.crt` as the bundle (self-signed case) or mount a separate ConfigMap with the root chain (operator-CA case).
+
+If the operator sets neither `server.tls.existingSecret` nor `server.tls.certManager.enabled=true`, `helm template` / `helm install` fails at render-time with a diagnostic pointing at this doc. The guard is implemented in `deploy/helm/certctl/templates/_helpers.tpl` under the `certctl.tls.required` helper. This is deliberate: the HTTPS-only server would crash-loop on an empty path, so we fail earlier at Helm-render time.
+
+## Pattern 3 — cert-manager `Certificate` CR (Helm, opt-in)
+
+For clusters that already run cert-manager, the chart can provision a `Certificate` CR that writes into the Secret the server pod reads from. This is opt-in — the default is `server.tls.certManager.enabled: false` — because not every cluster has cert-manager installed, and we refuse to ship a chart that silently depends on an external controller.
+
+```
+helm install certctl deploy/helm/certctl \
+  --namespace certctl \
+  --set server.tls.certManager.enabled=true \
+  --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name=my-cluster-issuer \
+  --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.kind=ClusterIssuer
+```
+
+The rendered `Certificate` (see `deploy/helm/certctl/templates/server-certificate.yaml`) writes `tls.crt` + `tls.key` + `ca.crt` into the Secret named by `server.tls.certManager.secretName` (defaults to `<fullname>-tls`). The server pod reads from that same Secret; the agent DaemonSet mounts the same Secret as its CA bundle source.
+
+cert-manager handles rotation. certctl-server handles in-place reload — see the SIGHUP section below.
+
+The chart enforces that if `server.tls.certManager.enabled=true`, `server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name` must also be set. An empty `issuerRef.name` makes `helm template` fail with a diagnostic naming the missing flag.
+
+## Pattern 4 — Manually-issued from an internal CA
+
+For operators running neither Helm nor docker-compose (bare-metal / custom orchestration), the server just needs two files on disk pointed at by `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH` and `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_KEY_PATH`. Issue the cert from your internal CA with:
+
+- CN matching the hostname your agents and operators use to dial the server (e.g., `certctl.prod.example.com`)
+- SAN list covering every hostname and IP that appears in `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` values across your agent fleet
+- Key usage: digital signature + key encipherment
+- Extended key usage: server auth
+
+Store the key with mode `0600` and owner matching the UID the server runs as (`1000` in our shipped Dockerfile). The server process reads both files during `preflightServerTLS` at startup and again on every SIGHUP.
+
+The full CA chain that signed the server cert should be distributed to agents, CLI operators, and MCP clients as their `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` — see the client section below.
+
+## SIGHUP cert rotation
+
+The server wraps its cert+key pair in a `*certHolder` (see `cmd/server/tls.go`) that guards the loaded `*tls.Certificate` under a `sync.Mutex`. The `*tls.Config` wires `GetCertificate` to the holder, so every new inbound TLS handshake reads whatever cert the holder currently has.
+
+Send `SIGHUP` to the server PID and the holder re-reads both files from disk. On success, the next new connection uses the new cert; in-flight requests finish on the previous cert. A log line goes out:
+
+```
+TLS cert reloaded via SIGHUP cert_path=/etc/certctl/tls/server.crt key_path=/etc/certctl/tls/server.key
+```
+
+On failure (missing file, malformed PEM, key does not sign cert), the old cert is retained and an error logs:
+
+```
+TLS cert reload failed; continuing with previous cert cert_path=… key_path=… error=…
+```
+
+This is deliberately fail-safe on reload (as opposed to fail-loud on startup). A cert-manager renewal race, a partially-copied file, a typo in a rotation script — none of those should crash a running server and drop every agent connection. The operator sees the error in logs, fixes the underlying issue, and sends another `SIGHUP`.
+
+Pair with cert-manager, certbot `--post-hook`, or any rotation tool that can fire a signal. For docker-compose, `docker compose kill -s HUP certctl-server` works. For Kubernetes, reload is typically handled by cert-manager updating the Secret and the mounted file changing on the next kubelet sync — no explicit SIGHUP needed if the volume mount is `subPath`-free.
+
+Startup is a different story. If the cert is missing or malformed at process start, the server exits non-zero rather than binding plaintext or attempting a retry loop. That's the HTTPS-only contract.
+
+## Client-side TLS: agents, CLI, MCP
+
+Everything that talks to the server enforces HTTPS on the URL.
+
+### Agent
+
+`CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` must be `https://…`. `http://`, bare hostnames, `ftp://`, `ws://`, and empty strings are rejected at startup by `validateHTTPSScheme` in `cmd/agent/main.go` with a diagnostic pointing at `upgrade-to-tls.md`. There is no warning-and-proceed path.
+
+Two additional env vars control how the agent verifies the server cert:
+
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` — filesystem path to a PEM-encoded CA bundle that signed the server cert. Loaded into `*tls.Config.RootCAs` on the agent's HTTP client. If unset, the agent falls back to the OS system trust store.
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY` — defaults to `false`. Setting it to `true` skips verification entirely. **Dev-only escape hatch.** The agent logs a prominent warning at startup (`TLS certificate verification is disabled … never enable this in production`). Use this only when dialing a demo server whose cert you haven't bothered to mount into the agent container.
+
+Equivalent CLI flags: `--ca-bundle <path>` and `--insecure-skip-verify`.
+
+If both the CA bundle and `InsecureSkipVerify=true` are set, `InsecureSkipVerify` wins — it's the whole point of the flag. Don't do this in production.
+
+### CLI (`certctl-cli`)
+
+Same contract as the agent:
+
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` defaults to `https://` scheme; `http://` rejected at startup
+- `--ca-bundle <path>` flag or `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` env var — CA bundle for server cert verification
+- `--insecure` flag or `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=true` — skip verification (dev only)
+- Error diagnostic on empty URL explicitly mentions both `--server` and `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` so operators see the right knob to turn
+
+The CLI shares the URL-scheme validation with the agent; the test pins in `cmd/cli/main_test.go:TestValidateHTTPSScheme` cover the full rejection matrix.
+
+### MCP server (`certctl-mcp-server`)
+
+Same three controls as CLI, env-var-driven only (no flags — MCP runs as a stdio subprocess and inherits env from the launching LLM client):
+
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` must start with `https://`
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` optional CA bundle
+- `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY` optional skip
+
+Claude Desktop / other MCP client configs should set all three in the tool's env block.
+
+## Troubleshooting: fail-loud preflight errors
+
+Every preflight failure message ends with `(see docs/tls.md)` so this doc is the first hit when an operator searches. Common failures:
+
+**`CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_CERT_PATH is empty: HTTPS-only control plane refuses to start`**
+Set the env var. For docker-compose this is already set to `/etc/certctl/tls/server.crt` in the shipped compose file — if you're seeing this, check the `certctl-tls-init` service logs to see why the init container didn't populate the volume. For Helm, check that `server.tls.existingSecret` or `server.tls.certManager.enabled=true` is set.
+
+**`TLS cert file "…" unreadable: …`**
+The cert path is set but `os.Stat` failed. Check filesystem permissions — the server runs as UID 1000 in our shipped Dockerfile; the cert needs to be readable by that UID. Typos in the path also land here.
+
+**`TLS cert/key pair invalid (cert="…" key="…"): …`**
+Both files exist but `tls.LoadX509KeyPair` refused them. Typical causes: the private key does not sign the certificate, the key is encrypted with a passphrase (not supported — remove the passphrase with `openssl pkey` before mounting), or one of the two is DER-encoded instead of PEM. Re-issue the pair from the same CA call and re-mount.
+
+**Client side: `tls: failed to verify certificate: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority`**
+The client did not trust the CA that signed the server cert. Either mount the CA bundle via `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH`, add the CA to the system trust store on the client host, or (dev only) set `CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=true`.
+
+**Client side: `tls: first record does not look like a TLS handshake`**
+The client is speaking plaintext HTTP to an HTTPS server (or vice-versa). Check that `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL` starts with `https://`. If you are upgrading from a pre-v2.2 release and your agents are old, they will surface this error until you roll the DaemonSet — see [`upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md).
+
+## InsecureSkipVerify justifications (Audit L-001)
+
+`crypto/tls.Config.InsecureSkipVerify` short-circuits standard certificate
+chain validation. Each production use site below has a justification —
+the shape is "this code path is fundamentally pre-trust or
+trust-from-context, and chain validation in the stdlib path is not the
+right tool". Test-only sites are not enumerated here.
+
+The CI grep guard `Forbidden bare InsecureSkipVerify regression guard
+(L-001)` in `.github/workflows/ci.yml` fails the build if any new
+`InsecureSkipVerify: true` lands in a non-test file without a
+`//nolint:gosec` comment carrying a justification — adding a new entry
+to this table is the right way to extend the surface.
+
+| Site (file:line) | Trigger | Justification |
+|---|---|---|
+| `cmd/agent/main.go:59,125,136,1259,1262` | `--insecure-skip-verify` CLI flag | Dev escape hatch; docs/tls.md and the agent install script direct operators to use a real CA bundle in production. The server emits a startup WARN when set. |
+| `cmd/agent/verify.go:70,78` | TLS deployment verification probe | The agent is verifying that its own freshly-deployed cert is being served. The chain may be self-signed or signed by an upstream the agent host doesn't trust; what matters is the leaf-cert match against what the agent just deployed. The verifier compares the served leaf bytes to the expected leaf, not the chain. |
+| `internal/tlsprobe/probe.go:33,47,54` | Network scanner / discovery probe | Discovery's job is to find every cert on the network, including expired, self-signed, and not-yet-deployed certs. Validating the chain would silently skip the broken-cert results that are precisely what operators want to know about. |
+| `internal/mcp/client.go:35` | MCP CLI `--insecure` flag | Dev escape hatch for local-only MCP testing against a self-signed control plane. |
+| `internal/cli/client.go:39` | `certctl --insecure` flag | Same shape as the agent flag — local dev only. |
+| `internal/connector/target/f5/f5.go:128` | F5 BIG-IP iControl REST | F5 default install ships with a self-signed cert; operators who haven't replaced it use `config.Insecure`. The connector logs this on every dial and the operator-facing config docs this. |
+| `internal/connector/issuer/acme/acme.go:146` | Pebble (ACME test server) | Hard-coded for tests that drive against Pebble locally. Pebble issues self-signed; verifying the chain would defeat the purpose. |
+| `internal/service/network_scan.go:460` | Network scanner probe | Same rationale as `tlsprobe/probe.go` above — discovery surfaces broken certs by design. |
+
+**What is NOT covered by this list:** `*_test.go` files use
+`InsecureSkipVerify` freely against `httptest.Server` instances; that's a
+test-fixture pattern, not a production trust decision. The grep guard
+ignores `_test.go`.
+
+## Related docs
+
+- [`upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md) — one-step cutover from pre-HTTPS releases
+- [`quickstart.md`](quickstart.md) — docker-compose walkthrough with HTTPS examples
+- [`test-env.md`](test-env.md) — integration test environment (also HTTPS-only)
+- [`security.md`](security.md) — overall security posture, OCSP Must-Staple guidance, encryption-at-rest spec
+- Milestone spec: `prompts/https-everywhere-milestone.md` (authoritative source for locked decisions)
@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+# Upgrading to HTTPS-Everywhere (v2.2)
+
+certctl's control plane is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. There is no `http` mode, no `auto` mode, no dual-listener bind, no N-release migration window. The cutover is a single step. Out-of-date agents that still point at `http://…` fail at the TCP/TLS handshake layer on first connect after the upgrade and stay `Offline` in the dashboard until their env block is updated and the fleet is rolled.
+
+This doc walks operators through the cutover for the two shipped deployment topologies — docker-compose and Helm — and documents the failure modes and rollback posture explicitly.
+
+For the deep-dive on cert provisioning patterns, SIGHUP cert reload, and client-side CA-trust configuration, read [`tls.md`](tls.md). This doc is the narrow "how do I upgrade" procedure.
+
+## Preconditions
+
+Before you start, confirm:
+
+- **Shell access** to the server host and every agent host. The cutover requires you to restart the server and update every agent's env block.
+- **A cert+key source** for the server. Pick one:
+  - An internal CA that can issue a server cert (CN + SAN list covering every hostname / IP agents dial).
+  - A `cert-manager` install in the target Kubernetes cluster, plus a `ClusterIssuer` or `Issuer` you're willing to reference.
+  - Willingness to use the self-signed bootstrap that the shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` generates automatically. This is the right choice for dev and demo; it is the wrong choice for production.
+- **A maintenance window.** Out-of-date agents break at the TLS handshake and stay offline until rolled. Schedule the upgrade so the agent fleet can be updated in the same window as the server.
+- **Backups.** This is a one-way door (see the Rollback section below). Snapshot your PostgreSQL database before `docker compose down` or `helm upgrade`.
+
+There is no schema migration tied to this release; the only at-rest state that changes is the `certs` named volume (docker-compose) or the `tls.crt`/`tls.key` Secret (Helm).
+
+## Procedure — docker-compose operators
+
+The shipped `deploy/docker-compose.yml` includes a `certctl-tls-init` init container that self-signs an ECDSA-P256 (SHA-256 signature) cert on first boot and drops `server.crt`, `server.key`, and `ca.crt` into a named volume mounted read-only at `/etc/certctl/tls/` on the server and agent containers. No manual cert provisioning is required for the default stack. (Pre-v2.0.48 this was an ed25519 cert; see [`tls.md`](tls.md) Pattern 1 for the rationale and the `down -v && up --build` migration note.)
+
+1. **Pull the HTTPS-everywhere release.** From the repo root:
+
+   ```
+   git pull
+   ```
+
+   Confirm you're on a tag or `master` that contains the `certctl-tls-init` service in `deploy/docker-compose.yml`. Grep for it: `grep certctl-tls-init deploy/docker-compose.yml` should hit.
+
+2. **Stop the old plaintext cluster.**
+
+   ```
+   docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml down
+   ```
+
+   Do not pass `-v`; keeping the PostgreSQL volume preserves your cert inventory, audit trail, and job history across the upgrade.
+
+3. **Bring the cluster back up with the HTTPS build.**
+
+   ```
+   docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+   ```
+
+   The `certctl-tls-init` service runs once, generates the self-signed cert into the `certs` volume, and exits with code 0. The server container waits for `certctl-tls-init` via `depends_on: { condition: service_completed_successfully }` and only starts once the cert material is on disk. The server's Docker healthcheck now uses `curl --cacert /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt -f https://localhost:8443/health`, so the container only becomes healthy once the HTTPS listener is up and serving the bundled cert correctly.
+
+4. **Verify the HTTPS endpoint from the host.**
+
+   ```
+   curl --cacert $(docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml exec -T certctl-server cat /etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt) https://localhost:8443/health
+   ```
+
+   Expect `{"status":"ok"}` with HTTP 200. If you get a TLS verification error, the CA bundle wasn't read correctly — re-run the `exec -T` command and pipe the output directly into `--cacert @-` or save it to a local file first. If you get `connection refused`, the server never finished startup — check `docker compose logs certctl-server` for a fail-loud preflight diagnostic pointing at `docs/tls.md`.
+
+5. **Confirm the bundled agent reconnects.** Agents inside the compose stack pick up the new URL (`CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://certctl-server:8443`) and the bundled CA (`CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt`) from their env block automatically — no per-agent change needed. Tail the agent log:
+
+   ```
+   docker compose -f deploy/docker-compose.yml logs -f certctl-agent
+   ```
+
+   You should see `heartbeat sent` within 30 seconds. In the dashboard (`https://localhost:8443`), the agent should show as `Online`.
+
+**External agents** running outside the compose network (e.g., the `install-agent.sh`-installed systemd service on a separate host) need their env block updated manually before the cutover — see the Agent env block section below.
+
+## Procedure — Helm operators
+
+The Helm chart does not self-sign. It refuses to render (`helm template` exits non-zero) unless you configure one of two cert sources: an operator-supplied Secret, or a cert-manager `Certificate` CR. See [`tls.md`](tls.md) for the full pattern catalog.
+
+1. **Provision cert material.** Pick one of:
+
+   - **Operator-supplied Secret.** Issue a cert from your internal CA (or any other source) and load it into a `kubernetes.io/tls` Secret in the certctl namespace:
+
+     ```
+     kubectl create secret tls certctl-server-tls \
+       --cert=server.crt --key=server.key \
+       --namespace certctl
+     ```
+
+   - **cert-manager.** Set `server.tls.certManager.enabled=true` on the upgrade and reference an existing `ClusterIssuer` or `Issuer`:
+
+     ```
+     --set server.tls.certManager.enabled=true
+     --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.name=my-cluster-issuer
+     --set server.tls.certManager.issuerRef.kind=ClusterIssuer
+     ```
+
+2. **Upgrade the release.**
+
+   ```
+   helm upgrade certctl deploy/helm/certctl \
+     --namespace certctl \
+     --set server.tls.existingSecret=certctl-server-tls
+   ```
+
+   (Or the `certManager` variant.) If you omit both `server.tls.existingSecret` and `server.tls.certManager.enabled`, the chart fails at render time with a diagnostic pointing at `docs/tls.md`. That guard exists precisely so you catch the missing config at `helm upgrade` time, not at pod-crash-loop time.
+
+3. **Verify the HTTPS endpoint from inside the cluster.** Port-forward and curl with the CA bundle:
+
+   ```
+   kubectl port-forward -n certctl svc/certctl-server 8443:8443 &
+   kubectl get secret -n certctl certctl-server-tls -o jsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 -d > /tmp/certctl-ca.crt
+   curl --cacert /tmp/certctl-ca.crt https://localhost:8443/health
+   ```
+
+   Expect `{"status":"ok"}`. If the Secret does not contain a `ca.crt` key (operator-supplied Secrets often don't), use `tls.crt` as the bundle instead — for a self-signed cert the two files are identical, and for a cert chained to an internal CA you should separately distribute the root CA bundle via ConfigMap or mounted file.
+
+4. **Update every agent manifest.** Agents outside this Helm release (or in a separately-managed DaemonSet) need their env block updated:
+
+   ```
+   - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_URL
+     value: "https://certctl-server.certctl.svc.cluster.local:8443"
+   - name: CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH
+     value: "/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt"
+   ```
+
+   Mount the server's Secret (or a separate CA-bundle Secret / ConfigMap) at `/etc/certctl/tls/` as a read-only volume. If you bundle the agent via the shipped Helm chart's DaemonSet, the wiring is already done — set `agent.enabled=true` and the chart mounts the same Secret.
+
+5. **Roll the agent DaemonSet.**
+
+   ```
+   kubectl rollout restart ds/certctl-agent -n certctl
+   kubectl rollout status ds/certctl-agent -n certctl
+   ```
+
+   Every agent pod restarts with the new URL + CA bundle and reconnects on HTTPS. The dashboard shows agents flip from `Offline` to `Online` as pods finish rolling.
+
+## Agent env block — external hosts
+
+Agents installed on bare-metal or VM hosts via `install-agent.sh` (systemd on Linux, launchd on macOS) read config from `/etc/certctl/agent.env` (Linux) or `~/Library/Application Support/certctl/agent.env` (macOS). On cutover, append or update:
+
+```
+CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=https://certctl.example.com:8443
+CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH=/etc/certctl/tls/ca.crt
+# CERTCTL_SERVER_TLS_INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY=false    # Dev only. Never set to true in production.
+```
+
+Distribute the CA bundle (the same `ca.crt` the server holds, or the root chain if you issued the server cert from an intermediate) to every agent host. The path under `CERTCTL_SERVER_CA_BUNDLE_PATH` must be readable by the UID the agent service runs as.
+
+Restart the service after editing:
+
+- Linux: `systemctl restart certctl-agent`
+- macOS: `launchctl kickstart -k system/com.certctl.agent`
+
+The agent refuses to start on an `http://` URL and exits with a pre-flight diagnostic that names this doc. That rejection happens before any network call — no spurious half-connected state.
+
+## Failure mode
+
+Out-of-date agents still configured with `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL=http://…` fail on first reconnect after the cutover. The failure surfaces as one of:
+
+- `dial tcp …: connect: connection refused` — the server is no longer listening on a plaintext port. The new release binds only a TLS listener; attempting a plaintext `connect()` gets refused at the kernel level because nothing holds the socket.
+- `tls: first record does not look like a TLS handshake` — depending on timing and proxy layers (e.g., a load balancer that accepts the TCP connection before forwarding), the client may negotiate TCP, send an HTTP request line, and have the server's TLS stack reject it.
+
+Agents in this state surface as `Offline` in the dashboard. They stay offline until their env block is updated and the service restarts. There is no graceful 400-with-migration-URL response because there is no HTTP listener to serve one from — the entire plaintext call path is removed by design.
+
+If you see an unexpected agent stay `Offline` past the cutover window, SSH to the host and check the agent log. On a systemd host:
+
+```
+journalctl -u certctl-agent -n 100
+```
+
+Look for `URL scheme "http" is not supported: HTTPS-only control plane refuses to start (see docs/upgrade-to-tls.md)`. That's the pre-flight rejection. Update `CERTCTL_SERVER_URL`, restart the service, and the agent reconnects.
+
+## Rollback
+
+**There is no rollback window.** The upgrade is a one-way door. The rationale lives in §3.7 of `prompts/https-everywhere-milestone.md`: a cert-lifecycle product that bridges back to plaintext after committing to HTTPS is advertising that its own security posture is negotiable.
+
+If you need to revert, you have two options:
+
+1. **Stay on the pre-HTTPS release.** Do not upgrade until you are ready to run HTTPS on the control plane. Pin your `docker-compose.yml` or `helm upgrade` command to the last pre-v2.2 tag.
+2. **Rollback the release.** `helm rollback certctl <previous-revision>` or `git checkout <previous-tag> && docker compose up -d --build`. This rolls back the server, the compose topology, and the Helm chart in lockstep. Your PostgreSQL volume — cert inventory, audit trail, jobs — survives the rollback; nothing in this milestone changes the database schema.
+
+Option 2 drops you back to the plaintext world. It should be treated as an emergency measure, not a supported migration path.
+
+## After the cutover
+
+Once every agent is `Online`, confirm a few invariants:
+
+- `curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" http://localhost:8443/health` returns `000` with `Connection refused` (no HTTP listener). Plaintext is gone.
+- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_2 </dev/null` fails the handshake. TLS 1.2 is rejected.
+- `openssl s_client -connect localhost:8443 -tls1_3 </dev/null` succeeds and prints the server's SAN list. TLS 1.3 is live.
+- A cert rotation test: overwrite the server cert on disk, `kill -HUP` the server PID, confirm the new cert serves on the next `openssl s_client -connect … -showcerts` without a process restart. See the SIGHUP section in [`tls.md`](tls.md).
+
+Update your runbooks. Every `http://certctl.example.com` URL in internal documentation, monitoring config, and on-call playbooks should become `https://certctl.example.com` plus a CA-trust note.
+
+## Related docs
+
+- [`tls.md`](tls.md) — cert provisioning patterns, SIGHUP rotation, troubleshooting
+- [`quickstart.md`](quickstart.md) — docker-compose walkthrough (post-HTTPS)
+- [`test-env.md`](test-env.md) — integration test environment (HTTPS-only)
+- Milestone spec: `prompts/https-everywhere-milestone.md`
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+# Upgrading past G-1 — `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` removal
+
+If your certctl deployment currently sets `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` (or `server.auth.type=jwt` in Helm), the next certctl upgrade will fail-fast at startup with a dedicated diagnostic. This guide explains why, what to switch to, and how to keep JWT/OIDC at your edge.
+
+For everyone else — operators running `api-key` or `none` — this upgrade is a no-op. Skip to [`upgrade-to-tls.md`](upgrade-to-tls.md) for the v2.2 HTTPS-everywhere migration if you haven't done that one yet.
+
+## Why we removed it
+
+Pre-G-1, the config validator at `internal/config/config.go` accepted three values for `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE`: `api-key`, `jwt`, and `none`. The startup log line at `cmd/server/main.go` faithfully echoed `"authentication enabled" "type"="jwt"` when an operator picked `jwt`. Reasonable people read that and concluded JWT auth was on.
+
+It wasn't. Grep `internal/ cmd/` for `NewJWT`, `JWTMiddleware`, or `jwt.Parse` — pre-G-1, there were zero matches in production code. The auth-middleware wiring at `cmd/server/main.go:653` unconditionally called `middleware.NewAuthWithNamedKeys(namedKeys)` regardless of `cfg.Auth.Type`. So `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` just routed every request through the api-key bearer middleware, comparing the incoming `Authorization: Bearer <something>` against whatever string the operator put in `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET`. Real JWT clients got 401 (the api-key middleware saw the JWT string as a literal token and compared bytes). Operators who treated `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET` as a JWT signing secret (and therefore handled it less carefully than an api-key) handed an attacker an api-key. Silent auth downgrade — a security finding masquerading as a config option.
+
+We chose to remove the option rather than implement JWT middleware. Implementing real JWT/OIDC requires jwks vs static-secret rotation, claim mapping (which claim is the actor / the admin flag?), expiry enforcement, audience and issuer validation, key rollover semantics, and regression coverage at the same depth as the existing api-key path. That's a feature, not a fix. The audit-recommended structural fix — and the one that actually closes the hazard — is to fail loudly instead of silently downgrading.
+
+## What changes at startup
+
+Post-G-1, a binary started with `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` exits non-zero before opening the listener:
+
+```
+Failed to load configuration: CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt is no longer accepted
+(G-1 silent auth downgrade): no JWT middleware ships with certctl. To use
+JWT/OIDC, run an authenticating gateway (oauth2-proxy / Envoy ext_authz /
+Traefik ForwardAuth / Pomerium) in front of certctl and set
+CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none on the upstream. See docs/architecture.md
+"Authenticating-gateway pattern" and docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md
+for the migration walkthrough
+```
+
+Helm operators get the same shape at `helm install` / `helm upgrade` template time: `server.auth.type=jwt` is rejected by the chart's `certctl.validateAuthType` template helper before any Kubernetes object is rendered.
+
+The CI-side regression guard at `.github/workflows/ci.yml` blocks any future PR that re-introduces `"jwt"` as an auth-type literal in production code or spec.
+
+## Recovery — pick one
+
+### Option A — switch to `api-key` (you weren't actually using JWT)
+
+If your `CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET` was a single high-entropy token and your clients sent it as `Authorization: Bearer <token>`, you were already using api-key auth — you just had `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE` set to the wrong string. Flip it:
+
+```
+# .env (docker-compose)
+CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=api-key
+CERTCTL_AUTH_SECRET=<your-existing-token>
+```
+
+```
+# Helm
+helm upgrade <release> deploy/helm/certctl/ \
+  --reuse-values \
+  --set server.auth.type=api-key \
+  --set server.auth.apiKey=<your-existing-token>
+```
+
+No client changes needed — the same Bearer token continues to work. The startup log will now read `"authentication enabled" "type"="api-key"`, which matches what was actually happening pre-G-1.
+
+### Option B — front certctl with an authenticating gateway
+
+If you genuinely need JWT, OIDC, mTLS, or SAML, run an authenticating gateway in front of certctl and let the gateway terminate the federated identity protocol. Configure certctl for `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none`:
+
+```
+CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none
+```
+
+Then put an oauth2-proxy / Envoy `ext_authz` / Traefik `ForwardAuth` / Pomerium / Authelia (etc.) in the network path between operators and certctl. The gateway validates the identity and proxies the authenticated request to certctl as a same-origin call on a private network.
+
+### Concrete walkthrough — oauth2-proxy + certctl on docker-compose
+
+This is the simplest production-grade JWT/OIDC shape. It assumes you have an OIDC provider (Okta, Auth0, Google Workspace, Keycloak, Dex) and a registered client_id / client_secret.
+
+```yaml
+# deploy/docker-compose.gateway.yml — overlay on the base compose file
+services:
+  oauth2-proxy:
+    image: quay.io/oauth2-proxy/oauth2-proxy:latest
+    command:
+      - --provider=oidc
+      - --oidc-issuer-url=https://<your-issuer>/
+      - --client-id=${OIDC_CLIENT_ID}
+      - --client-secret=${OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET}
+      - --cookie-secret=${OAUTH2_PROXY_COOKIE_SECRET}  # openssl rand -base64 32
+      - --upstream=http://certctl-server:8443  # internal-network only; certctl listens on 8443
+      - --http-address=0.0.0.0:4180
+      - --email-domain=*
+      - --pass-access-token=true
+      - --pass-authorization-header=true
+      - --set-authorization-header=true       # forwards a bearer token upstream
+      - --skip-provider-button=true
+      - --reverse-proxy=true
+    ports:
+      - "443:4180"
+    depends_on:
+      - certctl-server
+    networks:
+      - certctl-network
+
+  certctl-server:
+    environment:
+      CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE: none   # gateway terminates auth — see docs/upgrade-to-v2-jwt-removal.md
+      # ... rest of the certctl env block unchanged
+```
+
+Operators hit `https://<your-host>/`, get redirected through the OIDC provider, land back at oauth2-proxy with a session cookie, and oauth2-proxy proxies their request to certctl on the internal Docker network. certctl itself is HTTPS-only on `:8443` (TLS 1.3, see [`tls.md`](tls.md)) but operator browsers never see that hop directly. Bind certctl-server's `:8443` to the internal Docker network only — do NOT publish it to the host. The audit trail will record the actor as the gateway-forwarded identity if you also configure a small bearer-token-mapping shim at the gateway (most production deployments do this with a per-user api-key issued by the gateway after OIDC validation).
+
+### Traefik ForwardAuth pattern (Kubernetes)
+
+Same shape, kubernetes-flavored:
+
+```yaml
+apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
+kind: Middleware
+metadata:
+  name: oidc-forward-auth
+spec:
+  forwardAuth:
+    address: http://oauth2-proxy.auth.svc.cluster.local:4180
+    trustForwardHeader: true
+    authResponseHeaders:
+      - X-Auth-Request-User
+      - X-Auth-Request-Email
+      - Authorization
+---
+apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
+kind: IngressRoute
+metadata:
+  name: certctl
+spec:
+  routes:
+    - match: Host(`certctl.example.com`)
+      kind: Rule
+      middlewares:
+        - name: oidc-forward-auth
+      services:
+        - name: certctl-server
+          port: 8443
+```
+
+The certctl Helm release runs with `server.auth.type=none`. The Traefik IngressRoute attaches `oidc-forward-auth` as a middleware so every request is OIDC-validated by oauth2-proxy before reaching certctl.
+
+### Envoy `ext_authz` pattern
+
+For service-mesh deployments (Istio, Consul, plain Envoy), the `ext_authz` filter calls out to an external authorization service per-request. Same outcome: certctl runs `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=none` and Envoy + your authz service handle JWT/OIDC/mTLS at the mesh edge. See the [Envoy ext_authz docs](https://www.envoyproxy.io/docs/envoy/latest/configuration/http/http_filters/ext_authz_filter) for the configuration surface.
+
+## Rollback
+
+Pre-G-1 binaries silently accepted `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt` and routed through the api-key middleware. Downgrading the binary is the only mechanical rollback path, and it puts you back into the silent-downgrade state — which is exactly what the G-1 audit finding is about. We don't recommend it. If something is forcing your hand, capture the operational issue you're hitting and open a GitHub issue against the certctl repo with the SHAs involved; the Authenticating-gateway pattern was specifically designed to cover the use cases that historically led operators to set `CERTCTL_AUTH_TYPE=jwt`.
+
+There is no on-disk state that changes with this upgrade — no migrations to roll back, no encrypted config to re-encode, no certificates to re-issue. The change is entirely in the config-validation surface and the helm-chart template guard.
+
+## Cross-references
+
+- [`architecture.md`](architecture.md) — "Authenticating-gateway pattern (JWT, OIDC, mTLS)" section.
+- [`tls.md`](tls.md) — TLS provisioning patterns. The gateway proxying to certctl-server still needs to trust certctl's TLS cert; same patterns apply.
+- [`../deploy/helm/certctl/README.md`](../deploy/helm/certctl/README.md) — Helm-chart-flavored guidance.
+- `internal/config/config.go::ValidAuthTypes` — the single source of truth for what's accepted post-G-1.
+- `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError` — unrelated; pattern for runtime diagnostic of operator misconfiguration.
+- `coverage-gap-audit-2026-04-24-v5/unified-audit.md` — the audit finding (`cat-g-jwt_silent_auth_downgrade`).
@@ -32,11 +32,13 @@ This isn't a premium feature. It's the default behavior, free. Most alternatives

 ### 2. CA-Agnostic Issuer Architecture

-certctl works with any certificate authority, not just ACME providers. Seven issuer connectors ship today, all free:
+certctl works with any certificate authority, not just ACME providers. Nine issuer connectors ship today, all free:

- **ACME v2** (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, Buypass) — HTTP-01, DNS-01, DNS-PERSIST-01 challenges, External Account Binding, ACME Renewal Information (RFC 9702)
+- **ACME v2** (Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, Buypass) — HTTP-01, DNS-01, DNS-PERSIST-01 challenges, External Account Binding, ACME Renewal Information (RFC 9773), certificate profile selection
 - **HashiCorp Vault PKI** — `/v1/{mount}/sign/{role}` API, token auth
 - **DigiCert CertCentral** — async order model, OV/EV support
+- **Sectigo SCM** — async order model, DV/OV/EV support, 3-header auth
+- **Google Cloud CAS** — Certificate Authority Service, OAuth2 service account auth, CA pool selection
 - **step-ca** (Smallstep) — native /sign API with JWK provisioner auth
 - **Local CA** — self-signed or sub-CA mode (chain to ADCS or any enterprise root)
 - **OpenSSL / Custom CA** — delegate signing to any shell script
@@ -54,7 +56,7 @@ A reload command can exit 0 while the certificate doesn't take effect — wrong

 The three differentiators above get the headlines, but the feature surface is wider than most paid platforms:

-**10 deployment targets** — NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, IIS (local PowerShell + remote WinRM), Postfix, and Dovecot. All use a pluggable connector model. The control plane never initiates outbound connections — agents poll for work, meaning certctl works behind firewalls, across network zones, and in air-gapped environments.
+**13 deployment targets** — NGINX, Apache, HAProxy, Traefik, Caddy, Envoy, IIS (local PowerShell + remote WinRM), F5 BIG-IP (proxy agent + iControl REST), Postfix, Dovecot, SSH (agentless), Windows Certificate Store, and Java Keystore. All use a pluggable connector model. The control plane never initiates outbound connections — agents poll for work, meaning certctl works behind firewalls, across network zones, and in air-gapped environments.

 **Network certificate discovery** — active TLS scanning of CIDR ranges finds certificates you didn't know existed. Agents also scan local filesystems for PEM/DER files. Everything feeds into a triage workflow where you claim, dismiss, or import discovered certs into management.

@@ -66,9 +68,9 @@ The three differentiators above get the headlines, but the feature surface is wi

 **Prometheus metrics** — `/api/v1/metrics/prometheus` in standard exposition format. Works with Prometheus, Grafana Agent, Datadog Agent, Victoria Metrics.

-**MCP server** — 80 tools exposing the entire API surface for AI-assisted certificate management via Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client. No other certificate platform offers this.
+**MCP server** — the entire REST API is exposed via MCP for AI-assisted certificate management via Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client. No other certificate platform offers this.

-**Full REST API** — 97 OpenAPI 3.1-documented operations. CLI tool with 10 subcommands. Helm chart for Kubernetes deployment. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Certificate export in PEM and PKCS#12. S/MIME support with EKU-aware issuance.
+**Full REST API** — OpenAPI 3.1-documented operations covering the entire platform. CLI tool with 10 subcommands. Helm chart for Kubernetes deployment. Scheduled certificate digest emails. Certificate export in PEM and PKCS#12. S/MIME support with EKU-aware issuance.

 **Extensively tested** — Go backend with race detection, static analysis (golangci-lint), and vulnerability scanning (govulncheck) on every commit. CI-enforced per-layer coverage thresholds. Frontend test suite. Every push is gated.

@@ -80,15 +82,15 @@ ACME clients solve one slice of the problem — issuance and renewal from ACME C

 ### vs. Agent-Based SaaS

-The closest architectural competitors use the same agent model — local key generation, CSR submission, push-based deployment. Where certctl differs: it supports 7 issuer types (not just ACME), provides CRL/OCSP/revocation infrastructure (not just issuance), includes a policy engine and network discovery, and is source-available with no certificate limit. SaaS alternatives are typically proprietary, priced per certificate ($2+/cert/month), and cap their free tiers at 3-5 certificates. certctl is free for any number of certificates, forever.
+The closest architectural competitors use the same agent model — local key generation, CSR submission, push-based deployment. Where certctl differs: it supports 9 issuer types (not just ACME), provides CRL/OCSP/revocation infrastructure (not just issuance), includes a policy engine and network discovery, and is source-available with no certificate limit. SaaS alternatives are typically proprietary, priced per certificate ($2+/cert/month), and cap their free tiers at 3-5 certificates. certctl is free for any number of certificates, forever.

 ### vs. Commercial PKI Platforms

-On-prem or hosted commercial platforms offer broader cert type coverage (VPN certs, device auth, SCEP) and deeper CA integrations. The trade-off: no free tier, opaque pricing (often €13K+/year for 1,500 certs), proprietary codebases, and no public API documentation. certctl trades breadth of exotic cert types for full transparency — source-available code, 97-operation OpenAPI spec, and a free community edition with no artificial limits.
+On-prem or hosted commercial platforms offer broader cert type coverage (VPN certs, device auth, SCEP) and deeper CA integrations. The trade-off: no free tier, opaque pricing (often €13K+/year for 1,500 certs), proprietary codebases, and no public API documentation. certctl trades breadth of exotic cert types for full transparency — source-available code, fully documented OpenAPI spec, and a free community edition with no artificial limits.

 ### vs. Enterprise Platforms

-Venafi and Keyfactor offer decades of features at $75K-$250K+/year. certctl targets organizations that need 80% of those capabilities at a fraction of the cost. What certctl doesn't have yet: SSO/RBAC (coming in certctl Pro), vendor SLA-backed support. What certctl does have that enterprise platforms don't: an MCP server for AI-assisted management, ACME ARI (RFC 9702) for CA-directed renewal timing, and a deployment model that works in 5 minutes instead of 5 months.
+Venafi and Keyfactor offer decades of features at $75K-$250K+/year. certctl targets organizations that need 80% of those capabilities at a fraction of the cost. What certctl doesn't have yet: SSO/RBAC (coming in certctl Pro), vendor SLA-backed support. What certctl does have that enterprise platforms don't: an MCP server for AI-assisted management, ACME ARI (RFC 9773) for CA-directed renewal timing, and a deployment model that works in 5 minutes instead of 5 months.

 ## Who Should Look Elsewhere

@@ -100,18 +102,18 @@ certctl isn't the right tool for everyone:

 ## See It Running

-The demo seeds 32 certificates across 7 issuers, 8 agents, 6 deployment targets, and 180 days of realistic history — jobs, audit events, discovery scans, approval workflows — so you can explore every feature immediately.
+The demo seeds certificates across multiple issuers, agents, and deployment targets with 180 days of realistic history — jobs, audit events, discovery scans, approval workflows — so you can explore every feature immediately.

 ```bash
 git clone https://github.com/shankar0123/certctl.git
 cd certctl/deploy && docker compose up -d
-# Dashboard at http://localhost:8443
+# Dashboard at https://localhost:8443 (self-signed cert — pin deploy/test/certs/ca.crt)
 ```

 See the [Quickstart Guide](quickstart.md) for a full walkthrough, or explore the [5 turnkey examples](../examples/) for specific scenarios (ACME+NGINX, wildcard DNS-01, private CA+Traefik, step-ca+HAProxy, multi-issuer).

 ## License

-certctl is source-available under the [Business Source License 1.1](../LICENSE). Free for any use except offering a competing managed service. Converts to Apache 2.0 on March 1, 2033.
+certctl is source-available under the [Business Source License 1.1](../LICENSE). Free for any use except offering a competing managed service.

 You own your data, your keys, and your deployment.
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+# Deployment Examples
+
+Five turnkey docker-compose scenarios that show certctl deployed against real CA backends and target shapes. Each subdirectory is self-contained — pick the one closest to your stack and have it running in minutes.
+
+| Example | Stack | What it shows |
+|---------|-------|---------------|
+| [`acme-nginx/`](acme-nginx/acme-nginx.md) | Let's Encrypt + NGINX (HTTP-01) | The default public-CA path: ACME-issued certs deployed to NGINX. |
+| [`acme-wildcard-dns01/`](acme-wildcard-dns01/acme-wildcard-dns01.md) | Let's Encrypt wildcard (DNS-01) | Wildcard certificates via DNS-01 with pluggable DNS hooks. |
+| [`private-ca-traefik/`](private-ca-traefik/private-ca-traefik.md) | Local CA + Traefik | Internal-only certs from a private CA, deployed to Traefik. |
+| [`step-ca-haproxy/`](step-ca-haproxy/step-ca-haproxy.md) | Smallstep step-ca + HAProxy | Self-hosted CA with HAProxy as the deployment target. |
+| [`multi-issuer/`](multi-issuer/multi-issuer.md) | Let's Encrypt + Local CA | Public + private certs side-by-side from a single dashboard. |
+
+## Common operational notes
+
+These notes apply to **every** example. They're called out here so the per-example walkthroughs stay focused on the issuer/target wiring instead of repeating ops boilerplate.
+
+### Postgres password rotation — first-boot binding trap (U-1)
+
+Every example file uses `${DB_PASSWORD:-certctl-dev-password}` as the postgres password env var, with the data directory persisted via a named volume. The `postgres:16-alpine` image runs `initdb` exactly once — when `/var/lib/postgresql/data` is empty — and that's the only time `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` is written into `pg_authid`. If you boot once with the default and then change `DB_PASSWORD` (in your shell, in a `.env` file, or in a wrapper script), the certctl-server container picks up the new value but the postgres container continues to authenticate against the old one. The server fails its startup `db.Ping()` with `pq: password authentication failed for user "certctl"` (SQLSTATE 28P01).
+
+The certctl-server emits guidance pointing at the fix when this fires (see `internal/repository/postgres/db.go::wrapPingError`). The two remediation paths:
+
+- **Destructive — wipes all certctl data, only acceptable on demo/test setups:**
+  ```bash
+  docker compose -f examples/<example>/docker-compose.yml down -v
+  docker compose -f examples/<example>/docker-compose.yml up -d --build
+  ```
+- **Non-destructive — preserves data, rotates `pg_authid` in place:**
+  ```bash
+  docker compose -f examples/<example>/docker-compose.yml exec postgres \
+    psql -U certctl -c "ALTER ROLE certctl PASSWORD '<new>';"
+  # Then redeploy with DB_PASSWORD set to <new> in your shell or .env
+  ```
+
+The cleanest practice for a fresh demo: set `DB_PASSWORD` once in your shell **before** the very first `docker compose up`, and don't change it during the demo's lifetime. If you must rotate, use the non-destructive path.
+
+Same root cause and remediation pattern is documented for the canonical quickstart in [`../docs/quickstart.md`](../docs/quickstart.md), the production compose surface in [`../deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md`](../deploy/ENVIRONMENTS.md), and the Helm chart in [`../deploy/helm/certctl/README.md`](../deploy/helm/certctl/README.md).
+
+### TLS for the certctl control plane
+
+Every example boots certctl with HTTPS-only on port 8443 (TLS 1.3 pinned, no plaintext listener as of v2.2). The shipped `certctl-tls-init` init container generates a self-signed ECDSA-P256 cert on first boot — fine for the example demos, **never** acceptable for a public deployment. For production, swap the init container for cert-manager, an operator-supplied Secret, or your internal CA — see [`../docs/tls.md`](../docs/tls.md) for the full pattern matrix.
+
+### Tearing down
+
+To stop services but **keep** the postgres volume (so you can pick up where you left off):
+```bash
+docker compose -f examples/<example>/docker-compose.yml down
+```
+
+To stop services **and** wipe all data (clean slate for the next run):
+```bash
+docker compose -f examples/<example>/docker-compose.yml down -v
+```
+
+Note that `down -v` is the only canonical way to recover from the postgres-password trap when the non-destructive `ALTER ROLE` route is unavailable (e.g., you've forgotten the original password).
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@

 This example demonstrates certctl's core use case: **automatically manage TLS certificates for NGINX using Let's Encrypt (ACME HTTP-01 challenges).**

+> **Operational notes** shared by every example (postgres password rotation trap, TLS provisioning, teardown semantics) live in [`../README.md`](../README.md). Read it first if you plan to change `DB_PASSWORD` after the initial `docker compose up` — the postgres volume binds the password on first boot only.
+
 ## What This Does

 - Deploys certctl server (control plane) with PostgreSQL
@@ -36,6 +38,13 @@ flowchart TD

 If you don't have a real domain or can't open port 80, see [Customization Tips](#customization-tips) below.

+## TLS Security
+
+certctl is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The demo compose stack provisions a self-signed certificate. When accessing `https://localhost:8443`, you can either:
+- Use `curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt ...` to pin the CA certificate
+- Use `curl -k ...` for quick smoke tests (never in production)
+- Import the CA at `./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` into your OS trust store for browser visits
+
 ## Quick Start

 ### 1. Clone or copy this example
@@ -122,7 +131,7 @@ docker compose logs -f certctl-server certctl-agent

 ### 5. Access the dashboard

-Navigate to `http://localhost:8443` (or your `SERVER_PORT`)
+Navigate to `https://localhost:8443` (or your `SERVER_PORT`)

 You should see:
 - An empty certificate inventory (no certs issued yet)
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ services:
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
-      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sf http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@

 **What this does:** Issues wildcard certificates (e.g., `*.example.com`) from Let's Encrypt using DNS-01 challenge validation.

+> **Operational notes** shared by every example (postgres password rotation trap, TLS provisioning, teardown semantics) live in [`../README.md`](../README.md). Read it first if you plan to change `DB_PASSWORD` after the initial `docker compose up` — the postgres volume binds the password on first boot only.
+
 This example is ideal for:
 - Issuing wildcard certificates (`*.example.com`)
 - Services behind NAT, firewalls, or non-public networks
@@ -9,6 +11,13 @@ This example is ideal for:
 - Internal PKI with public DNS names
 - Scenarios where you have programmatic access to your DNS provider's API

+## TLS Security
+
+certctl is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The demo compose stack provisions a self-signed certificate. When accessing `https://localhost:8443`, you can either:
+- Use `curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt ...` to pin the CA certificate
+- Use `curl -k ...` for quick smoke tests (never in production)
+- Import the CA at `./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` into your OS trust store for browser visits
+
 ## Prerequisites

 Before running this example, you need:
@@ -74,7 +83,7 @@ This starts:

 ### Step 5: Access the Dashboard

-Open your browser to `http://localhost:8443`
+Open your browser to `https://localhost:8443`

 ### Step 6: Create a Wildcard Certificate

@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ services:
      # Default is 30s; increase if your DNS propagates slowly
      # Set via CERTCTL_ACME_DNS_PROPAGATION_WAIT in code, or rely on default

-      # Optional: Let's Encrypt Renewal Information (RFC 9702) for CA-directed renewal timing
+      # Optional: Let's Encrypt Renewal Information (RFC 9773) for CA-directed renewal timing
      # CERTCTL_ACME_ARI_ENABLED: "true"

      # Local CA as fallback for internal services (optional)
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ services:
      - certctl-network

    healthcheck:
-      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sf http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ services:
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
-      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sf http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@

 This example demonstrates certctl managing **both public and internal certificates from a single dashboard**. Public-facing services use Let's Encrypt (ACME), while internal services use a private Local CA — all visible and managed in one place.

+> **Operational notes** shared by every example (postgres password rotation trap, TLS provisioning, teardown semantics) live in [`../README.md`](../README.md). Read it first if you plan to change `DB_PASSWORD` after the initial `docker compose up` — the postgres volume binds the password on first boot only.
+
 ## The Use Case

 You have:
@@ -45,6 +47,13 @@ flowchart TD
 - **Domain for ACME** (optional) — if using real Let's Encrypt, not needed for demo
 - **Internet connectivity** — to reach Let's Encrypt's API (demo can use staging directory)

+## TLS Security
+
+certctl is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The demo compose stack provisions a self-signed certificate. When accessing `https://localhost:8443`, you can either:
+- Use `curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt ...` to pin the CA certificate
+- Use `curl -k ...` for quick smoke tests (never in production)
+- Import the CA at `./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` into your OS trust store for browser visits
+
 ## Quick Start

 ### 1. Clone or navigate to this directory
@@ -83,7 +92,7 @@ This spins up:

 ### 4. Access the dashboard

-Open your browser to **http://localhost:8443** (or your configured SERVER_PORT)
+Open your browser to **https://localhost:8443** (or your configured SERVER_PORT)

 You should see:
 - Empty cert inventory (fresh start)
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ services:
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
-      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sf http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Private CA + Traefik Example

+> **Operational notes** shared by every example (postgres password rotation trap, TLS provisioning, teardown semantics) live in [`../README.md`](../README.md). Read it first if you plan to change `DB_PASSWORD` after the initial `docker compose up` — the postgres volume binds the password on first boot only.
+
 This example demonstrates certctl managing certificates for **internal services without public CA dependency**. Ideal for enterprise environments where:

 - All services are internal (VPN, private networks)
@@ -29,6 +31,13 @@ flowchart TD
    C -->|TLS handshakes| D
 ```

+## TLS Security
+
+certctl is HTTPS-only as of v2.2. The demo compose stack provisions a self-signed certificate. When accessing `https://localhost:8443`, you can either:
+- Use `curl --cacert ./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt ...` to pin the CA certificate
+- Use `curl -k ...` for quick smoke tests (never in production)
+- Import the CA at `./deploy/test/certs/ca.crt` into your OS trust store for browser visits
+
 ## Quick Start (Self-Signed CA)

 The simplest way to get running in 2 minutes:
@@ -58,7 +67,7 @@ EOF
 docker compose up -d

 # 4. Access the dashboards
-# - certctl: http://localhost:8443 (API only, use the CLI or direct HTTP calls)
+# - certctl: https://localhost:8443 (API only, use the CLI or direct HTTP calls)
 # - Traefik dashboard: http://localhost:8080
 ```

@@ -112,7 +121,7 @@ Once the stack is running:

 ```bash
 # 1. Create a certificate profile in certctl (defines allowed key types, TTL, etc.)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/profiles \
+curl -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/profiles \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "id": "prof-internal",
@@ -123,7 +132,7 @@ curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/profiles \
  }'

 # 2. Create a renewal policy (defines issuer, renewal thresholds, etc.)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies \
+curl -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "id": "pol-internal",
@@ -135,7 +144,7 @@ curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies \
  }'

 # 3. Create a certificate (triggers issuance immediately)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
+curl -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "common_name": "api.internal.local",
@@ -144,7 +153,7 @@ curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates \
  }'

 # 4. Create a Traefik target (agent will deploy to this)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/targets \
+curl -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/targets \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "id": "target-traefik-01",
@@ -156,7 +165,7 @@ curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/targets \
  }'

 # 5. Create a deployment job (agent picks this up and deploys)
-curl -X POST http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/{cert-id}/deploy \
+curl -X POST https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/{cert-id}/deploy \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "target_ids": ["target-traefik-01"]
@@ -209,16 +218,16 @@ The server provides a REST API on port 8443. Example queries:

 ```bash
 # List all certificates
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates
+curl https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates

 # Check certificate status
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/{cert-id}
+curl https://localhost:8443/api/v1/certificates/{cert-id}

 # View audit trail
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit
+curl https://localhost:8443/api/v1/audit

 # Check renewal policy compliance
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies/{policy-id}
+curl https://localhost:8443/api/v1/policies/{policy-id}
 ```

 ### Traefik Dashboard
@@ -290,7 +299,7 @@ Changes are picked up automatically (file watcher enabled).
 docker compose logs certctl-agent | grep heartbeat

 # Check deployment job status
-curl http://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs | jq '.[] | select(.type == "Deployment")'
+curl https://localhost:8443/api/v1/jobs | jq '.[] | select(.type == "Deployment")'

 # Check Traefik is watching the directory
 docker compose exec traefik ls -la /etc/traefik/certs/
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ services:
    networks:
      - certctl-network
    healthcheck:
-      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sf http://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
+      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'curl -sfk https://localhost:8443/health || exit 1']
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
--- a/Show More
+++ b/Show More