feat(haproxy): preserve SPOE filter + frontend log-format on import/edit (v1.8.8, Issue #38)

Bulk import / manual edit silently dropped `filter spoe engine ...` (Coraza WAF)
and frontend `log-format` because the parser recognised only a fixed directive
set. The regenerated config then missed the SPOE engine, so HAProxy failed with
"unable to find SPOE engine 'coraza' used by the send-spoe-group".

- parser: capture `filter` + `log-format`/`log-format-sd` into new ParsedFrontend fields
- db: additive nullable `log_format` + `filters` TEXT columns on frontends (SCHEMA_VERSION 8->9)
- generator: new `filter` bucket flushed before http-request rules so `filter` precedes
  `send-spoe-group`; `log-format` kept in prelude
- bulk import: preview dict, change-detection, persist (create + merge-update); cluster-aware
  SPOE pre-flight advisories (missing-filter + host-prerequisite) surfaced in the UI
- manual CRUD: full round-trip (get/create/update) incl. React form fields (no null-wipe)
- reject/rollback: restore the new columns; restore path + wizard helper kept in parity
- backend `option spop-check` recognised (suppresses spurious warning for coraza-spoa)
- tests: test_spoe_filter_import.py; full suite green (1079 passed)

.env.template

@@ -59,6 +59,15 @@ AGENT_HEARTBEAT_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=15
 # Config sync interval in seconds
 AGENT_CONFIG_SYNC_INTERVAL_SECONDS=30
 
+# ============================================================================
+# BACKEND PERFORMANCE
+# ============================================================================
+# Number of uvicorn worker processes for the backend API (default: 1).
+# On multi-core hosts, setting this to the core count (e.g. 2) lets the API
+# use all cores. Safe to increase: background tasks are multi-replica safe
+# (the k8s deployment already runs 2+ replicas via HPA).
+UVICORN_WORKERS=1
+
 # ============================================================================
 # CORS CONFIGURATION
 # ============================================================================

.github/workflows/docker-build.yml

@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ on:
 jobs:
   build_and_push:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
 
     steps:
       - name: checkout
@@ -19,27 +21,17 @@ jobs:
       - name: read product version
         id: prodversion
         run: |
-          VERSION=$(jq -r .version version.json)
+          VERSION=$(jq -r .version backend/version.json)
           if [ -z "$VERSION" ] || [ "$VERSION" = "null" ]; then
-            echo "Failed to read product version from version.json" >&2
+            echo "Failed to read product version from backend/version.json" >&2
             exit 1
           fi
           echo "VERSION=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      # The backend image is built with `context: ./backend`, so the
-      # repo-root version.json is OUTSIDE the build context and never
-      # reaches the container. Backend `main.py` falls back to a
-      # compile-time constant when /app/version.json is missing, which
-      # caused a real production drift: a redeploy of the v1.5.2 tree
-      # silently still reported "v1.5.0" in `/api/version` because the
-      # constant in main.py had been bumped but the file was not
-      # available to read. Stage version.json into the backend
-      # context here so the canonical file IS shipped and the
-      # constant only serves as a defensive fallback. The staged file
-      # is gitignored to keep `git status` clean for developers.
-      - name: stage version.json into backend build context
-        run: cp version.json backend/version.json
-
+      # version.json now lives at backend/version.json (inside the ./backend build
+      # context), so `COPY . .` bakes it into the image directly — no staging step
+      # is needed and the backend reports the correct version in every deployment,
+      # not just this workflow's builds.
       - name: set up qemu
         uses: docker/setup-qemu-action@v3
 
@@ -76,3 +68,30 @@ jobs:
             taylanbakircioglu/haproxy-openmanager-frontend:${{ steps.version.outputs.TAG }}
             taylanbakircioglu/haproxy-openmanager-frontend:${{ steps.prodversion.outputs.VERSION }}
 
+      # Keep the GitHub Releases/Tags in sync with version.json. The docker
+      # images above are tagged with the product version, but nothing here
+      # created the matching git tag, so the repo's Tags/Releases drifted
+      # behind (stuck at the last manually-created tag). After the images are
+      # pushed, cut a Release (which also creates the tag) for the current
+      # version.json, but only if one does not already exist, so re-runs
+      # without a version bump are a no-op.
+      - name: create github release from version.json
+        env:
+          GH_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          VERSION="${{ steps.prodversion.outputs.VERSION }}"
+          TAG="v${VERSION}"
+          RELEASE_NAME=$(jq -r '.releaseName // empty' backend/version.json)
+          if gh release view "$TAG" --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Release $TAG already exists, skipping."
+          else
+            TITLE="$TAG"
+            [ -n "$RELEASE_NAME" ] && TITLE="$TAG — $RELEASE_NAME"
+            gh release create "$TAG" \
+              --repo "$GITHUB_REPOSITORY" \
+              --target "$GITHUB_SHA" \
+              --title "$TITLE" \
+              --notes "Automated release for $TAG (from version.json)."
+            echo "Created release $TAG"
+          fi
+

.gitignore

@@ -39,11 +39,6 @@ venv.bak/
 *.sqlite
 *.sqlite3
 
-# Build-time staged version.json (CI `cp version.json backend/`).
-# The canonical file lives at repo root; this path is a transient
-# copy for the backend Docker build context.
-backend/version.json
-
 # IDE
 .vscode/
 .idea/

README.md

@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ This architecture provides better security (no inbound connections to HAProxy se
 ✅ **Real-Time Monitoring** - Live stats, health checks, and performance dashboards  
 ✅ **SSL Certificate Management** - Centralized SSL with expiration tracking  
 ✅ **ACME Auto SSL (Let's Encrypt)** - Automated certificate issuance, renewal, and deployment via ACME protocol  
+✅ **ACME DNS-01 Challenge** *(v1.8.0)* - TXT-record validation for internal/isolated clusters (no public port 80) and wildcard certificates; pluggable DNS providers (Manual + Cloudflare), opt-in, HTTP-01 unchanged  
 ✅ **ACME Certificate Diagnostic Panel** - Automated preflight that checks agent readiness, DNS resolution, port 80 reachability, and ACME challenge ACL before issuing certificates  
 ✅ **WAF Rules** - Web Application Firewall management and deployment  
 ✅ **Agent Script Versioning** - Update agents via UI (Monaco editor) with auto-upgrade  
@@ -254,10 +255,11 @@ This architecture provides better security (no inbound connections to HAProxy se
 - **Stuck Order Detection** *(v1.4.0)*: Setup wizard surfaces orders that the CA has validated but not yet downloaded, with one-click `Complete` action and automatic 60-second retry
 - **Multi-Provider Support**: Configurable ACME directory URL supports Let's Encrypt, ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services, Buypass, and custom CAs
 - **HTTP-01 Challenge**: Built-in challenge responder with automatic HAProxy routing injection; reserved backend name `_acme_challenge_backend` is auto-managed and protected from manual edits / agent sync collisions
+- **DNS-01 Challenge** *(v1.8.0 — Issue #35)*: Validate via a DNS TXT record instead of HTTP on port 80, for **internal/isolated clusters with no public ingress** and for **wildcard** certificates (`*.example.com`). Pluggable per-account DNS provider (Manual + Cloudflare to start; credentials encrypted at rest and verified on save), same PENDING → APPLIED pipeline, bounded automatic retry on propagation lag, and a DNS-01 event timeline. Opt-in via a global setting; HTTP-01 behaviour is unchanged. (See the *DNS-01 Challenge* subsection under ACME Auto SSL below.)
 - **ACME Account Management**: Register, view, and deactivate ACME accounts from the UI
 - **Staging Mode**: Test certificate issuance with Let's Encrypt staging environment before production
 - **Custom Staging Endpoint** *(v1.4.0)*: Optional `staging_url_override` setting lets you point staging mode at a private ACME test CA (e.g. Pebble) without touching the production directory URL
-- **External Account Binding (EAB)**: Support for CAs that require EAB (ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services)
+- **External Account Binding (EAB)**: Support for CAs that require EAB (ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services). Enter the EAB Key ID and HMAC Key globally in Settings, or per-account in the Register Account dialog (a per-account value overrides the global setting; leave it blank to use the global one)
 - **Structured Error Diagnostics** *(v1.4.0)*: All ACME failures (challenge, finalize, download) persist structured JSON to `letsencrypt_orders.error_detail` for clear post-mortem analysis
 - **Audit Logging** *(v1.4.0)*: Every ACME operation (request, revoke, CA-chain import, account ops) is captured in `user_activity_logs` for compliance review
 - **ACME Diagnostic Panel** *(v1.5.0 — Issue #13)*: Live pre-flight + post-failure diagnostics (DNS / port-80 / routing / account / agents) and merged event timeline (`acme_order_events` + correlated `user_activity_logs`) accessible from the ACME Automation page; humanized error rendering for 11+ RFC8555 problem types with backwards-compatible fallback for legacy plain-string `error_detail`; per-user 5/min rate-limit
@@ -966,6 +968,24 @@ Understanding how HTTP-01 challenges work in a distributed HAProxy environment i
 | Behind NAT/VIP | VIP: 1.2.3.4:80 | Internal:5000 | VIP address |
 | Multi-cluster | Multiple HAProxy nodes | Central OpenManager | Each domain → respective HAProxy |
 
+#### DNS-01 Challenge — Internal/Isolated Clusters & Wildcards *(v1.8.0 — Issue #35)*
+
+The default **HTTP-01** challenge validates over **port 80**, so the domain must resolve publicly to an HAProxy node with ACME Challenge Routing enabled. **DNS-01** validates via a **DNS TXT record** (`_acme-challenge.<domain>`) instead, so it needs **no inbound port 80 and no public ingress** to the HAProxy node. Use it for:
+
+- **Internal / isolated clusters** (behind a VPN/firewall, no public port 80) where you still control the domain's DNS.
+- **Wildcard certificates** (`*.example.com`) — which can *only* be issued via DNS-01.
+
+DNS-01 is **opt-in** and fully backward compatible: it is disabled until an administrator enables it, and existing HTTP-01 certificates are completely unaffected.
+
+- **Enable it**: Settings → ACME / SSL Automation → **DNS-01 Challenge (advanced)** → turn on *Enable DNS-01 Challenge* and Save. While off, DNS-01 options are hidden and no DNS-01 orders can be created.
+- **Per-account provider**: in ACME Automation, create (or reconfigure) an ACME account with **Challenge Method = DNS-01** and a **DNS Provider**. Provider credentials are **verified before saving** and **encrypted at rest** (Fernet, mirroring the VRRP/MFA secret pattern); they are never returned by the API or written to logs.
+- **Supported providers**: **Manual** (publish the TXT record yourself in any DNS — including fully internal DNS — then click *Verify*; works everywhere but cannot auto-renew unattended) and **Cloudflare** (API token with `Zone:DNS:Edit` + `Zone:Read`; the TXT record is created and cleaned up automatically and renews unattended). The provider interface is pluggable — more providers can be added without changing the issuance flow.
+- **Same pipeline**: after validation the certificate follows the normal PENDING → APPLIED flow (assign to clusters / Apply Management) and the agent serves it — identical to HTTP-01 from finalize onward, with **zero agent or rendered-config changes** for DNS-01.
+- **Manual flow**: the order detail shows the exact `_acme-challenge.<domain>` record name + TXT value (copyable); publish it and click *I've added the records — Verify*. For Cloudflare it is automatic.
+- **Resilience**: a propagation-lag failure is recovered by a **bounded fresh-order retry chain** (1 original + 3 retries with increasing backoff, kept under Let's Encrypt's rate limits); any orphaned TXT record is cleaned up by a reconcile sweep. The order detail shows a DNS-01 event timeline (publish → validation → cleanup).
+- **Wildcards**: `*.example.com` is validated at `_acme-challenge.example.com`; it does **not** cover the apex — add `example.com` as a separate name if you need both (the providers handle the two coexisting TXT values automatically).
+- **Scope (this release)**: the Site Wizard remains HTTP-01-only; issue DNS-01 / wildcard certificates from **ACME Automation**.
+
 #### ACME Quick Start Guide
 
 Follow these steps to obtain your first Let's Encrypt certificate:
@@ -1718,6 +1738,19 @@ Add new HAProxy clusters through the web interface or directly via API:
 }
 ```
 
+### Performance Tuning *(v1.8.6)*
+
+The backend API defaults to a **single uvicorn worker process**, which uses one CPU core. Agents poll the API every 30 seconds (heartbeat, config, pending-requests, upgrade checks), so larger fleets add a constant baseline load. Two ways to scale:
+
+- **Docker Compose — worker processes**: set `UVICORN_WORKERS` in your `.env` (default `1`). On a multi-core host, matching the core count (e.g. `UVICORN_WORKERS=2` on a 2-core machine) lets the API use all cores:
+  ```bash
+  echo "UVICORN_WORKERS=2" >> .env && docker-compose up -d backend
+  ```
+- **Kubernetes/OpenShift — replicas**: the shipped manifests already include an HPA for the backend (2→10 replicas, `k8s/manifests/13-hpa.yaml`); raise `minReplicas`/`maxReplicas` as needed.
+
+Both are safe: all background tasks (ACME completion, renewals, agent monitoring) are multi-replica safe by design (atomic claims via `FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED`, PostgreSQL advisory locks).
+
+**Diagnosing slow requests**: every API response carries an `X-Response-Time` header, and the backend logs `Slow request detected` (WARNING) for any request taking longer than 1 second — check those log lines to pinpoint slow endpoints before tuning anything else.
 
 ## API Reference
 
@@ -2049,7 +2082,7 @@ haproxy-openmanager/
 ├── docker-compose.yml                # Docker Compose configuration
 ├── docker-compose.localtest.yml      # Local development/testing overrides
 ├── docker-compose.test.yml           # Test environment
-├── version.json                      # Application version metadata
+├── backend/version.json              # Application version metadata (single source of truth)
 ├── build-images.sh                   # Build Docker images
 ├── pytest.ini                        # Pytest configuration
 ├── README.md                         # This file
@@ -2395,6 +2428,14 @@ Developed with ❤️ for the HAProxy community
 
 ## Release Notes
 
+- **v1.8.7** (2026-07-09) — **Version reporting single-source fix**: the version shown in the UI (backend-sourced via `/api/version`) could lag behind the real release. The canonical version lived in the repo-root `version.json`, but the backend image is built from the `./backend` context, so that file did not reach the container in every pipeline; the backend then fell back to a hardcoded constant in `main.py` that had to be bumped by hand and had drifted (it reported 1.8.4 after 1.8.5/1.8.6 shipped). The version now lives in a single file, `backend/version.json`, baked into every image automatically, and `main.py` no longer carries a real version literal (its fallback is a neutral "unknown"). A new test enforces that the version stays single-source and cannot drift. No functional or API change.
+- **v1.8.6** (2026-07-06) — **Performance: opt-in API workers + heartbeat micro-optimization** (Issue #35 follow-up): the backend container can now run multiple uvicorn worker processes via the new `UVICORN_WORKERS` environment variable (default **1** — behavior unchanged unless you opt in), letting the API use all cores on multi-core hosts; background tasks were already multi-replica safe, as exercised by the Kubernetes HPA deployment. The agent heartbeat handler now reads the agent's `status`/`version`/`upgrade_status` in one query instead of three (one round-trip per heartbeat, per agent, every 30s). Added a *Performance Tuning* section to the README (worker/replica scaling and how to use the `X-Response-Time` header and `Slow request detected` logs to pinpoint slow endpoints). Zero-risk release: no schema, API, or agent changes; defaults preserve existing behavior exactly.
+- **v1.8.5** (2026-07-03) — **ACME completion-task SQL fix** (Issue #35 follow-up): the background order-completion task (`complete_pending_acme_orders`, runs every 60s) died on **every cycle** with `syntax error at or near ")"` — an extra closing parenthesis introduced in v1.8.0's bounded DNS-01 retry claim query. Because that query is the task's first database call, **no background ACME work ran at all from v1.8.0 through v1.8.4**: orders were never claimed for finalize/download, the DNS-01 TXT record was never published (so DNS-01 with an automated provider such as Cloudflare could never validate), Site Wizard staged orders never left `wizard_staged`, and DNS-01 retry/TXT-cleanup never executed. The stray parenthesis is removed and a regression test now scans all ACME modules' SQL for unbalanced parentheses (the unit suite mocks the database, which is why a raw-SQL syntax error could slip through). One-line backend query fix; no schema, API, or agent changes — fully backward compatible.
+- **v1.8.4** (2026-06-27) — **Agent installer self-kill fix** (Issue #31): the Linux/macOS agent installer could abort during "pre-installation cleanup" (terminal showed `Killing processes matching: haproxy-agent` then `Killed`) when the install script's own filename contained "haproxy-agent". The cleanup killed processes by matching the bare string "haproxy-agent" against full command lines, which also matched the running installer (and a `sudo`/PAM ancestor the self-exclusion did not cover), so the installer terminated itself. Cleanup now targets only the installed agent (the `$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent` binary and the agent service), never the bare string, and the UI now names the downloaded scripts `install-agent-<platform>.sh` / `uninstall-agent-<platform>.sh`. Installer-only change; the running agent and its privilege model (it runs as root for HAProxy reload, config writes, keepalived, and self-upgrade) are unchanged.
+- **v1.8.3** (2026-06-25) — **Agent heartbeat JSON fix** (Issue #31): a self-hosted agent could fail every heartbeat with `HTTP 400 Invalid JSON: Expecting property name enclosed in double quotes` when the system-info block it collects came back empty on an unusual host, leaving a stray comma in the hand-built heartbeat JSON. The agent script now substitutes a valid placeholder when that block is empty so it can no longer emit a stray comma, and the backend heartbeat endpoint now parses valid payloads as-is and, only when a body fails to parse, tolerates that specific malformed pattern (a leading or doubled comma) so an already-deployed agent recovers on its next heartbeat after this build is deployed. Backend + agent-script only; healthy agents of every version are byte-for-byte unaffected.
+- **v1.8.2** (2026-06-25) — **ACME nonce fix** (Issue #35 follow-up): the ACME client now scopes the anti-replay nonce **per certificate authority** so a nonce issued by one CA is never sent to another. This fixes ZeroSSL/Google account registration failing with `malformed: The Replay Nonce could not be base64url-decoded` (the client previously shared one nonce across CAs and only auto-retried on `badNonce`). Account registration now always uses a fresh nonce from the target CA, and the retry covers this case too. Backend-only; HTTP-01 and Let's Encrypt are unaffected.
+- **v1.8.1** (2026-06-24) — **ACME DNS-01 fixes** (Issue #35 follow-up): Cloudflare API tokens are now sanitized so a pasted token with quotes/spaces no longer fails with "Invalid request headers"; ZeroSSL/Google **External Account Binding (EAB)** can be entered per-account in the register dialog and EAB-required failures show a clear message; and **Apply Management** now categorizes cluster ACME enable/disable changes under their own "ACME Challenge Routing" section and **Apply/Reject All** correctly process them (previously "Rejected 0 HA/VIP change(s)"), consistent with every other entity. Fully backward compatible.
+- **v1.8.0** (2026-06-23) — **ACME DNS-01 challenge support** (Issue #35): Auto SSL can now validate via a **DNS TXT record** (`_acme-challenge.<domain>`) instead of HTTP-01 on port 80, enabling certificates for **internal/isolated clusters with no public ingress** and **wildcard** certificates (`*.example.com`). Pluggable **per-account DNS provider** (Manual + Cloudflare to start; credentials verified on save and **encrypted at rest**, never returned by the API or logged), the same **PENDING → APPLIED** pipeline, a **bounded automatic retry** on propagation lag, and a **DNS-01 event timeline** in the order detail. **Opt-in** via Settings → ACME (global switch, default off); **HTTP-01 is byte-for-byte unchanged**, with **zero agent or rendered-config changes**. Manual DNS-01 certificates cannot auto-renew unattended; the UI states this and disables auto-renew for them.
 - **v1.7.8** (2026-06-07) — HA / VIP apply progress now shows **per-node** convergence: a multi-node VIP's apply popup reads "Syncing HA/VIP… 1/2 node(s) converged" (matching the HA/VIP table) instead of a coarse per-change count. Frontend-only.
 - **v1.7.7** (2026-06-07) — HA / VIP apply-progress consistency: applying a VIP change (or approving a delete) used to flash the progress popup green instantly while the HA/VIP page still showed `SYNCING (0/1)` for a couple of minutes. The popup now **keeps showing "Syncing HA/VIP… X/Y node(s) converged"** until each member node reports the VIP `ACTIVE` (create/edit) or fully torn down (delete) — exactly like the HAProxy agent-sync widget — then completes green. It's a fire-and-forget background poll (the Apply button is released immediately), bounded at ~5 min so an offline node can't spin forever (then it completes with an informational "still converging — track on the HA/VIP page"). Frontend-only; no backend/agent/schema change.
 - **v1.7.6** (2026-06-07) — HA / VIP UX + accuracy polish: (1) the on-prem/L2 cloud caveat is now a **subtle, collapsed-by-default "Network requirements" info link** instead of a prominent yellow warning. (2) The delete dialog is simplified — deletion is **always a graceful teardown** (stop & disable keepalived, remove our config, release the VIP, keep the package); the confusing "also uninstall the package" checkbox was removed (it was a no-op on any node whose keepalived predates the install marker, and package removal is better handled as a deliberate node-decommission step — the `purge_package` API remains for that). (3) The agent now reports keepalived **FAULT** state (e.g. when the chosen interface has no usable IPv4) instead of misreporting it as BACKUP, so a misconfigured VIP shows red/FAULT in the UI. (1)+(2) are frontend-only; (3) is an additive agent-script change — push it via **Agent Script Management → Reset to Defaults**, then **Upgrade**.

backend/Dockerfile

@@ -37,5 +37,13 @@ USER appuser
 # Expose port
 EXPOSE 8000
 
-# Run the application in production mode (without --reload)
-CMD ["uvicorn", "main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000"]
+# Run the application in production mode (without --reload).
+# UVICORN_WORKERS (default 1) opts into multiple worker processes on multi-core
+# hosts; with 1 worker uvicorn runs in-process, identical to the flagless CMD
+# this replaces. Falls back to WEB_CONCURRENCY when UVICORN_WORKERS is unset
+# because flagless uvicorn honored WEB_CONCURRENCY (uvicorn config.py) — this
+# keeps any deployment that relied on it byte-for-byte compatible. Background
+# tasks are multi-replica safe (FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED / advisory locks), as
+# already exercised by the k8s HPA deployment. `exec` keeps uvicorn as PID 1
+# so signal handling is unchanged.
+CMD ["sh", "-c", "exec uvicorn main:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --workers ${UVICORN_WORKERS:-${WEB_CONCURRENCY:-1}}"]

backend/database/migrations.py

@@ -194,7 +194,14 @@ async def ensure_agents_table():
             'use_backend_rules': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN use_backend_rules JSONB DEFAULT '[]'::jsonb;",
             'request_headers': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN request_headers TEXT;",
             'response_headers': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN response_headers TEXT;",
-            'maxconn': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN maxconn INTEGER;"
+            'maxconn': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN maxconn INTEGER;",
+            # Issue #38: SPOE filter directives (e.g. Coraza WAF) and frontend
+            # log-format were silently dropped on bulk-import / manual edit
+            # because the parser recognised only a fixed set of directives.
+            # These nullable TEXT columns persist them verbatim (multi-line for
+            # `filters`), mirroring the request_headers/options passthrough.
+            'log_format': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN log_format TEXT;",
+            'filters': "ALTER TABLE frontends ADD COLUMN filters TEXT;"
         }
         
         for col, query in frontend_columns.items():
@@ -1737,7 +1744,16 @@ async def ensure_agent_activity_logs_table():
 # v1.7.2: bumped 6 -> 7 for the additive `pending_delete` column on vip_instances
 # (approval-gated VIP deletion: a delete is staged for Apply Management and the VIP keeps
 # running until APPROVED, so an agent never tears down without explicit human approval).
-SCHEMA_VERSION = 7
+# v1.8.0 (Issue #35 — ACME DNS-01 challenge support): bumped 7 -> 8 for additive DNS-01
+# columns on letsencrypt_accounts/letsencrypt_orders/acme_challenges and the brand-new
+# letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials table (ensure_letsencrypt_dns_credentials step).
+# All additive + idempotent; default challenge_type 'http-01' keeps existing flows byte-identical.
+# v1.8.8 (Issue #38 — SPOE filter + frontend log-format): bumped 8 -> 9 for the additive
+# `log_format` + `filters` TEXT columns on `frontends` (frontend_columns loop). Without this
+# bump, already-deployed databases (version >= 8) skip the whole migration run and never gain
+# the columns, so the frontends SELECT/INSERT would fail. Additive + idempotent + nullable;
+# existing rows stay NULL and render byte-identical.
+SCHEMA_VERSION = 9
 
 
 async def run_all_migrations():
@@ -1851,6 +1867,9 @@ async def _run_all_migrations_inner():
     await ensure_system_settings_table()
     await ensure_acme_tables()
     await ensure_acme_columns_on_existing_tables()
+    # Issue #35 (v1.8.0 — ACME DNS-01): per-account encrypted DNS provider credentials.
+    # MUST run after ensure_acme_tables() (FK references letsencrypt_accounts).
+    await ensure_letsencrypt_dns_credentials()
     # Issue #11 cleanup: must run AFTER acme_tables/columns to ensure FK refs exist
     await cleanup_orphan_acme_challenge_backend()
     # v1.5.0 Feature A (ACME diagnostics) + Feature B (site wizard)
@@ -3649,6 +3668,23 @@ async def ensure_acme_columns_on_existing_tables():
             ('last_attempt_at', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS last_attempt_at TIMESTAMPTZ"),
             # Commit 3a: track auto-completion task lock/poll timestamps for atomic claim across replicas
             ('orders_updated_at_idx', "CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_letsencrypt_orders_status_updated ON letsencrypt_orders(status, updated_at) WHERE status = 'valid' AND ssl_certificate_id IS NULL"),
+            # Issue #35 (v1.8.0 — ACME DNS-01): per-account challenge method + DNS provider selection
+            ('acct_challenge_type', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_accounts ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS challenge_type VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'http-01'"),
+            ('acct_dns_provider', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_accounts ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns_provider VARCHAR(50)"),
+            # per-order challenge method + bounded DNS-01 retry chain (dns01_parent_order_id is a PLAIN INTEGER, not a FK,
+            # to avoid a self-referential cascade interacting with account/order bulk DELETEs)
+            ('order_challenge_type', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_orders ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS challenge_type VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'http-01'"),
+            ('order_dns01_attempts', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_orders ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns01_attempts INTEGER DEFAULT 0"),
+            ('order_dns01_last_attempt_at', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_orders ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns01_last_attempt_at TIMESTAMPTZ"),
+            ('order_dns01_parent_order_id', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_orders ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns01_parent_order_id INTEGER"),
+            ('order_dns01_retry_claimed', "ALTER TABLE letsencrypt_orders ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns01_retry_claimed BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE"),
+            # per-challenge DNS-01 lifecycle state
+            ('chal_challenge_type', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS challenge_type VARCHAR(20) DEFAULT 'http-01'"),
+            ('chal_dns_txt_value', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns_txt_value TEXT"),
+            ('chal_dns_record_published', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns_record_published BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE"),
+            ('chal_dns_record_cleaned', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns_record_cleaned BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE"),
+            ('chal_dns_published_at', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS dns_published_at TIMESTAMPTZ"),
+            ('chal_manual_confirm_deadline', "ALTER TABLE acme_challenges ADD COLUMN IF NOT EXISTS manual_confirm_deadline TIMESTAMPTZ"),
         ]:
             try:
                 await conn.execute(sql)
@@ -3664,6 +3700,34 @@ async def ensure_acme_columns_on_existing_tables():
         logger.error(f"Error adding ACME columns: {e}")
 
 
+async def ensure_letsencrypt_dns_credentials():
+    """Issue #35 (v1.8.0 — ACME DNS-01): per-account encrypted DNS provider credentials.
+
+    Idempotent (CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS). FK to letsencrypt_accounts (created earlier by
+    ensure_acme_tables). Credentials are Fernet-encrypted at rest (backend/utils/dns_credentials.py);
+    only the provider name + timestamps are ever surfaced to the API.
+    """
+    conn = None
+    try:
+        conn = await get_database_connection()
+        await conn.execute("""
+            CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials (
+                id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
+                account_id INTEGER NOT NULL UNIQUE REFERENCES letsencrypt_accounts(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
+                dns_provider VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
+                credentials_encrypted TEXT NOT NULL,
+                created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+                updated_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+            )
+        """)
+        logger.info("Ensured letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials table")
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+    except Exception as e:
+        if conn:
+            await close_database_connection(conn)
+        logger.error(f"Error ensuring letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials: {e}")
+
+
 async def cleanup_orphan_acme_challenge_backend():
     """
     Issue #11: One-time cleanup of orphan `_acme_challenge_backend` rows that may

backend/main.py

@@ -8,8 +8,13 @@ import redis
 import asyncio
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 
-_version_info = {"version": "1.7.8", "releaseName": "HA/VIP — per-node apply progress", "releaseDate": "2026-06-07"}
-for _vpath in ["/app/version.json", os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "..", "version.json")]:
+# Single source of truth: backend/version.json, which sits next to this module and is baked into
+# every image by `COPY . .` (build context ./backend) — no pipeline staging needed. The literal
+# below is only a last-resort "file missing" marker; it is deliberately NOT a real version so it can
+# never silently drift out of sync (this exact drift showed a stale version after v1.8.5/v1.8.6).
+# Keep the canonical version ONLY in backend/version.json — test_version_consistency.py enforces it.
+_version_info = {"version": "unknown", "releaseName": "unknown", "releaseDate": ""}
+for _vpath in [os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "version.json"), "/app/version.json"]:
     try:
         with open(_vpath) as _vf:
             _version_info = json.load(_vf)
@@ -304,6 +309,21 @@ async def complete_pending_acme_orders():
                         WHERE (
                             status IN ('pending', 'processing', 'ready')
                             OR (status = 'valid' AND ssl_certificate_id IS NULL)
+                            -- Issue #35: bounded DNS-01 retry. ONLY dns-01 invalids with remaining
+                            -- budget + elapsed backoff are claimed; http-01 invalids are NEVER matched
+                            -- (their existing skip-and-log is preserved).
+                            OR (
+                                status = 'invalid' AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'
+                                AND ssl_certificate_id IS NULL
+                                AND COALESCE(dns01_retry_claimed, FALSE) = FALSE
+                                AND COALESCE(dns01_attempts, 0) < 3
+                                AND (
+                                    dns01_last_attempt_at IS NULL
+                                    OR dns01_last_attempt_at < NOW() - (
+                                        (CASE COALESCE(dns01_attempts, 0) WHEN 0 THEN 15 WHEN 1 THEN 30 ELSE 60 END)
+                                        || ' minutes')::INTERVAL
+                                )
+                            )
                         )
                         AND created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL '7 days'
                         AND (updated_at IS NULL OR updated_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '30 seconds')
@@ -337,9 +357,17 @@ async def complete_pending_acme_orders():
                 continue
 
             logger.info(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Claimed {len(claimed_ids)} order(s) for completion: {claimed_ids}")
-            
+
+            from services.dns01_orchestrator import (
+                advance_dns01_order, retry_invalid_dns01, reconcile_dns01_cleanup,
+            )
+
             for oid in claimed_ids:
                 try:
+                    # Issue #35: advance the DNS-01 publish->confirm->respond state machine for
+                    # pending dns-01 orders (no-op for http-01 or non-pending orders).
+                    await advance_dns01_order(oid)
+
                     status_info = await acme_svc.check_order_status(oid)
                     current_status = status_info.get('status')
 
@@ -352,12 +380,21 @@ async def complete_pending_acme_orders():
                         result = await _complete_certificate(oid)
                         logger.info(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Order {oid} completed - {result.get('message', '')}")
                     elif current_status == 'invalid':
-                        logger.warning(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Order {oid} is invalid, skipping")
+                        # Issue #35: bounded DNS-01 fresh-order retry (no-op for http-01).
+                        await retry_invalid_dns01(oid)
+                        logger.warning(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Order {oid} is invalid")
                     elif current_status in ('pending', 'processing'):
                         logger.info(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Order {oid} still {current_status}, will retry next cycle")
                 except Exception as poll_err:
                     logger.error(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] Failed to complete order {oid}: {poll_err}")
 
+            # Issue #35: best-effort cleanup of TXT records left published on terminal orders
+            # (covers a failed cleanup or the kill-switch being flipped off). NOT gated by the switch.
+            try:
+                await reconcile_dns01_cleanup()
+            except Exception as rec_err:
+                logger.debug(f"[ACME-COMPLETE] DNS-01 reconcile skipped: {rec_err}")
+
             # NOTE: v1.5.0 wizard-staged processing now runs BEFORE the
             # claimed_ids early-continue above (Bulgu #2 fix), so it executes
             # every cycle regardless of pending/processing volume.
@@ -673,7 +710,9 @@ async def check_letsencrypt_renewals():
                     skip = False
                     try:
                         order = await conn2.fetchrow(
-                            "SELECT account_id, domains, cluster_ids FROM letsencrypt_orders WHERE id = $1",
+                            "SELECT o.account_id, o.domains, o.cluster_ids, o.challenge_type, a.dns_provider "
+                            "FROM letsencrypt_orders o JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id "
+                            "WHERE o.id = $1",
                             order_id
                         )
                         if order:
@@ -689,15 +728,37 @@ async def check_letsencrypt_renewals():
                             if existing:
                                 logger.info(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] Skipping cert {cert['id']} - order {existing['id']} already in progress")
                                 skip = True
+                            elif (order['challenge_type'] == 'dns-01'):
+                                # Issue #35: manual DNS-01 cannot auto-renew unattended; and for an
+                                # automated provider, don't re-mint hourly if a recent retry chain already
+                                # exhausted its budget (avoids tripping the CA new-order rate limit).
+                                if (order['dns_provider'] or 'manual') == 'manual':
+                                    logger.warning(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] cert {cert['id']} uses manual DNS-01; cannot auto-renew unattended (publish the TXT and renew manually)")
+                                    skip = True
+                                else:
+                                    exhausted = await conn2.fetchrow("""
+                                        SELECT id FROM letsencrypt_orders
+                                        WHERE domains::text = $1::text AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'
+                                        AND status = 'invalid' AND COALESCE(dns01_attempts, 0) >= 3
+                                        AND created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL '24 hours'
+                                        LIMIT 1
+                                    """, json.dumps(domains))
+                                    if exhausted:
+                                        logger.warning(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] cert {cert['id']} DNS-01 renewal recently failed (check DNS); skipping re-mint for 24h")
+                                        skip = True
                     finally:
                         await close_database_connection(conn2)
 
                     if not order or skip:
                         continue
 
-                    new_order = await acme_svc.create_order(order['account_id'], domains, cluster_ids)
-                    await acme_svc.respond_to_challenges(new_order['order_id'])
-                    logger.info(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] Initiated renewal order {new_order['order_id']} for cert {cert['id']} ({cert['name']})")
+                    challenge_type = order['challenge_type'] or 'http-01'
+                    new_order = await acme_svc.create_order(order['account_id'], domains, cluster_ids, challenge_type=challenge_type)
+                    # http-01 responds immediately (token served continuously); dns-01 is driven by the
+                    # orchestrator AFTER the TXT is published (never respond before publish).
+                    if challenge_type != 'dns-01':
+                        await acme_svc.respond_to_challenges(new_order['order_id'])
+                    logger.info(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] Initiated renewal order {new_order['order_id']} ({challenge_type}) for cert {cert['id']} ({cert['name']})")
                 except Exception as cert_err:
                     logger.error(f"[ACME-RENEWAL] Failed to initiate renewal for cert {cert['id']}: {cert_err}")
 
@@ -1055,7 +1116,7 @@ async def serve_acme_challenge(token: str):
     try:
         conn = await get_database_connection()
         row = await conn.fetchrow(
-            "SELECT key_authorization FROM acme_challenges WHERE token = $1 AND (status IN ('pending', 'processing') OR status IS NULL) LIMIT 1",
+            "SELECT key_authorization FROM acme_challenges WHERE token = $1 AND (status IN ('pending', 'processing') OR status IS NULL) AND (challenge_type = 'http-01' OR challenge_type IS NULL) LIMIT 1",
             token
         )
         if row:

backend/models/frontend.py

@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@ class FrontendConfig(BaseModel):
     response_headers: Optional[str] = None
     options: Optional[str] = None
     tcp_request_rules: Optional[str] = None
+    # Issue #38: SPOE filter directives (Coraza WAF etc.) + frontend log-format.
+    # Passthrough TEXT (no validator) — SPOE `filter ... config <path>` legitimately
+    # references an operator-managed file, so the ACL `-f` guard must NOT apply here.
+    log_format: Optional[str] = None
+    filters: Optional[str] = None
     timeout_client: Optional[int] = None
     timeout_http_request: Optional[int] = None
     rate_limit: Optional[int] = None

backend/routers/acme_diagnostics.py

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ async def _load_order(conn, order_id: int) -> dict:
             """
             SELECT id, account_id, status, domains, cluster_ids, error_detail,
                    post_completion_actions, pending_apply_version_name,
-                   wizard_staged_until, created_by
+                   wizard_staged_until, created_by, challenge_type
             FROM letsencrypt_orders
             WHERE id = $1
             """,
@@ -220,6 +220,7 @@ async def run_diagnostics(order_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
                 domains=domains,
                 cluster_ids=cluster_ids,
                 account_id=order["account_id"],
+                challenge_type=(order.get("challenge_type") or "http-01"),
             )
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — diagnostic boundary
             # run_checks now wraps individual checks, but a top-level
@@ -335,6 +336,7 @@ async def rerun_diagnostic_check(
                 cluster_ids=cluster_ids,
                 account_id=order["account_id"],
                 only=[check_id],
+                challenge_type=(order.get("challenge_type") or "http-01"),
             )
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — diagnostic boundary
             logger.exception(

backend/routers/agent.py

@@ -29,6 +29,40 @@ AGENT_VERSIONS = {
     "linux": "2.0.0"
 }
 
+
+def _sanitize_agent_json(body_str: str):
+    """Repair the common malformed-JSON patterns a hand-built agent heartbeat can emit.
+
+    Agents assemble their heartbeat JSON as text in bash, so an empty interpolated value can leave
+    a structurally-invalid comma (issue #31). Returns (possibly_repaired_str, was_changed). The
+    repairs are conservative and target only structural artifacts an agent produces; they never
+    alter this endpoint's legitimate string values (the agent emits no string containing ',,' —
+    haproxy_stats_csv is base64/comma-free and the rest are constrained os/kernel/ip/version text).
+    """
+    import re
+    sanitized = False
+    # Fix 1: empty value before a comma ("server_statuses": ,)
+    if re.search(r':\s*,', body_str):
+        body_str = re.sub(r':\s*,', ': null,', body_str); sanitized = True
+    # Fix 2: empty value before a closing brace ("field":})
+    if re.search(r':\s*}', body_str):
+        body_str = re.sub(r':\s*}', ': null}', body_str); sanitized = True
+    # Fix 3: trailing comma before } or ]
+    if re.search(r',(\s*[}\]])', body_str):
+        body_str = re.sub(r',(\s*[}\]])', r'\1', body_str); sanitized = True
+    # Fix 4: leading comma run right after an opening brace/bracket (issue #31): an empty
+    # $system_info as the first member collapses to '{ , "name": ...'. The ': ,' fix above cannot
+    # catch this because there is no key/colon before the comma.
+    if re.search(r'([{\[])(\s*,)+', body_str):
+        body_str = re.sub(r'([{\[])(\s*,)+', r'\1', body_str); sanitized = True
+    # Fix 5: a run of commas between members (issue #31): an empty $system_info between two fields
+    # produces '"version": "x",\n    ,\n    "haproxy_status": ...'. Runs after Fix 1/3 so only
+    # structural commas remain; collapse any comma run to a single comma.
+    if re.search(r',(\s*,)+', body_str):
+        body_str = re.sub(r',(\s*,)+', ',', body_str); sanitized = True
+    return body_str, sanitized
+
+
 def get_platform_key(agent_platform: str) -> str:
     """Convert agent platform to standardized platform key - fixed empty platform fallback"""
     platform = agent_platform.lower() if agent_platform else 'unknown'
@@ -1455,47 +1489,33 @@ async def agent_heartbeat_by_name(
     import json
     from pydantic import ValidationError
     
-    # Read raw body and sanitize common JSON errors from agents
+    # Read raw body. Parse VALID JSON as-is (the normal case for every agent version) and only
+    # fall back to the malformed-JSON repair when the body does not parse. This guarantees a healthy
+    # heartbeat from any agent version is byte-for-byte untouched — the repair regexes can never run
+    # against a well-formed payload (issue #31; strictly safer than repairing unconditionally).
     try:
         raw_body = await request.body()
         body_str = raw_body.decode('utf-8')
-        
-        # Sanitize common malformed JSON patterns from agents
-        original_body = body_str
-        sanitized = False
-        
-        # Fix 1: Empty values before comma (most common: "server_statuses": ,)
-        if re.search(r':\s*,', body_str):
-            body_str = re.sub(r':\s*,', ': null,', body_str)
-            sanitized = True
-        
-        # Fix 2: Empty values before closing brace
-        if re.search(r':\s*}', body_str):
-            body_str = re.sub(r':\s*}', ': null}', body_str)
-            sanitized = True
-        
-        # Fix 3: Trailing commas
-        if re.search(r',(\s*[}\]])', body_str):
-            body_str = re.sub(r',(\s*[}\]])', r'\1', body_str)
-            sanitized = True
-        
-        if sanitized:
-            # Extract agent name for logging
-            agent_name = "unknown"
-            try:
-                name_match = re.search(r'"name"\s*:\s*"([^"]+)"', body_str)
-                if name_match:
-                    agent_name = name_match.group(1)
-            except:
-                pass
-            
-            logger.info(f"Sanitized malformed JSON from agent '{agent_name}' - fixed empty values and trailing commas")
-            logger.debug(f"Original JSON (preview): {original_body[:300]}")
-            logger.debug(f"Sanitized JSON (preview): {body_str[:300]}")
-        
-        # Parse sanitized JSON into Pydantic model
-        heartbeat_dict = json.loads(body_str)
-        
+
+        try:
+            heartbeat_dict = json.loads(body_str)
+        except json.JSONDecodeError:
+            # Malformed body (would otherwise be a hard 400). Attempt a conservative repair of the
+            # comma artifacts a hand-built agent heartbeat can emit, then re-parse.
+            repaired, changed = _sanitize_agent_json(body_str)
+            if changed:
+                agent_name = "unknown"
+                try:
+                    name_match = re.search(r'"name"\s*:\s*"([^"]+)"', repaired)
+                    if name_match:
+                        agent_name = name_match.group(1)
+                except Exception:
+                    pass
+                logger.info(f"Repaired malformed JSON from agent '{agent_name}' before parsing")
+                logger.debug(f"Original JSON (preview): {body_str[:300]}")
+                logger.debug(f"Repaired JSON (preview): {repaired[:300]}")
+            heartbeat_dict = json.loads(repaired)  # may still raise -> handled as 400 below
+
         # DEBUG: Log cluster_id for auto-register troubleshooting
         if heartbeat_dict.get('name'):
             logger.info(f"HEARTBEAT DEBUG: agent={heartbeat_dict.get('name')}, cluster_id={heartbeat_dict.get('cluster_id')}, has_cluster_id={bool(heartbeat_dict.get('cluster_id'))}")
@@ -1675,9 +1695,13 @@ async def agent_heartbeat_by_name(
             """, x_api_key)
 
         # Check if agent was in upgrading status and version has changed
-        current_agent_status = await conn.fetchval("SELECT status FROM agents WHERE id = $1", agent_id)
-        current_agent_version = await conn.fetchval("SELECT version FROM agents WHERE id = $1", agent_id)
-        current_upgrade_status = await conn.fetchval("SELECT upgrade_status FROM agents WHERE id = $1", agent_id)
+        # (v1.8.6: one round-trip instead of three; row is None exactly when the
+        # per-column fetchvals would each have returned None)
+        current_agent_row = await conn.fetchrow(
+            "SELECT status, version, upgrade_status FROM agents WHERE id = $1", agent_id)
+        current_agent_status = current_agent_row['status'] if current_agent_row else None
+        current_agent_version = current_agent_row['version'] if current_agent_row else None
+        current_upgrade_status = current_agent_row['upgrade_status'] if current_agent_row else None
         
         # Determine new status - preserve upgrading status unless version actually changed
         new_status = current_agent_status or 'online'

backend/routers/cluster.py

@@ -3696,17 +3696,19 @@ async def confirm_restore_config_version(
                     # UPDATE existing frontend (ALL 8 parsed fields)
                     # CRITICAL FIX: Include maxconn and timeout_client so UI shows restored values
                     await conn.execute("""
-                        UPDATE frontends 
-                        SET bind_address = $1, bind_port = $2, default_backend = $3, 
+                        UPDATE frontends
+                        SET bind_address = $1, bind_port = $2, default_backend = $3,
                             mode = $4, ssl_enabled = $5, ssl_port = $6,
                             maxconn = $7, timeout_client = $8,
+                            log_format = $11, filters = $12,
                             updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, last_config_status = 'PENDING'
                         WHERE id = $9 AND cluster_id = $10
-                    """, 
+                    """,
                         parsed_fe.bind_address, parsed_fe.bind_port, parsed_fe.default_backend,
                         parsed_fe.mode, parsed_fe.ssl_enabled, parsed_fe.ssl_port,
                         parsed_fe.maxconn, parsed_fe.timeout_client,
-                        fe_id, cluster_id
+                        fe_id, cluster_id,
+                        parsed_fe.log_format, parsed_fe.filters  # Issue #38
                     )
                     changes_summary["frontends_updated"] += 1
                     logger.info(f"RESTORE: Updated frontend '{parsed_fe.name}' (SSL: {parsed_fe.ssl_enabled}, maxconn: {parsed_fe.maxconn})")
@@ -3714,16 +3716,17 @@ async def confirm_restore_config_version(
                     # CREATE new frontend (ALL 8 parsed fields)
                     # CRITICAL FIX: Include maxconn and timeout_client so UI shows restored values
                     await conn.execute("""
-                        INSERT INTO frontends 
+                        INSERT INTO frontends
                         (name, bind_address, bind_port, default_backend, mode, ssl_enabled, ssl_port,
                          maxconn, timeout_client,
-                         cluster_id, is_active, last_config_status, created_at, updated_at)
-                        VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, TRUE, 'PENDING', CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
-                    """, 
+                         cluster_id, log_format, filters, is_active, last_config_status, created_at, updated_at)
+                        VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, TRUE, 'PENDING', CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
+                    """,
                         parsed_fe.name, parsed_fe.bind_address, parsed_fe.bind_port,
                         parsed_fe.default_backend, parsed_fe.mode, parsed_fe.ssl_enabled, parsed_fe.ssl_port,
                         parsed_fe.maxconn, parsed_fe.timeout_client,
-                        cluster_id
+                        cluster_id,
+                        parsed_fe.log_format, parsed_fe.filters  # Issue #38
                     )
                     changes_summary["frontends_created"] += 1
                     logger.info(f"RESTORE: Created frontend '{parsed_fe.name}' (SSL: {parsed_fe.ssl_enabled}, maxconn: {parsed_fe.maxconn})")
@@ -5048,9 +5051,15 @@ async def reject_all_pending_changes(cluster_id: int, authorization: str = Heade
         # Get all pending config versions for this cluster (CRITICAL: Include metadata for rollback!)
         # HA/VIP (Issue #27): exclude vip-* versions — they are rejected/reverted by the
         # VIP reject endpoint (which restores keepalived state), not the generic rollback.
+        # ORDER BY created_at ASC: the rollback loop dedups per entity and keeps the FIRST-processed
+        # snapshot, so the OLDEST snapshot must win — its old_values hold the true pre-change state.
+        # Critical when one entity has multiple pending versions (e.g. cluster ACME enable->disable->enable):
+        # rolling back to the oldest restores the original acme_enabled. (Matches the apply SELECT, which
+        # already orders created_at ASC.)
         pending_versions = await conn.fetch("""
             SELECT id, version_name, metadata FROM config_versions
             WHERE cluster_id = $1 AND status = 'PENDING' AND version_name NOT LIKE 'vip-%'
+            ORDER BY created_at ASC
         """, cluster_id)
         
         # CRITICAL FIX: Detect and clean orphan config versions

backend/routers/config.py

@@ -855,6 +855,9 @@ async def parse_bulk_config(
                 "response_headers": frontend.response_headers,
                 "options": frontend.options,
                 "tcp_request_rules": frontend.tcp_request_rules,
+                # Issue #38: SPOE filters + frontend log-format
+                "log_format": frontend.log_format,
+                "filters": frontend.filters,
                 # CRITICAL: SSL Advanced Options (parsed from bind directive)
                 "ssl_alpn": frontend.ssl_alpn,
                 "ssl_npn": frontend.ssl_npn,
@@ -1089,7 +1092,50 @@ async def parse_bulk_config(
         
         # Add auto-assignment info at the beginning
         enhanced_warnings = ssl_auto_assign_info + enhanced_warnings
-        
+
+        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        # Issue #38: SPOE pre-flight advisories. Surface, at preview time, the
+        # SPOE configurations that would FAIL HAProxy's `haproxy -c` at apply so
+        # the operator sees them BEFORE importing. Cluster-aware: the referenced
+        # SPOE engine config (e.g. coraza.cfg) is a sibling of the cluster's
+        # haproxy_config_path, which HAProxy OpenManager does not provision.
+        # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+        try:
+            _cfg_path = await conn.fetchval(
+                "SELECT haproxy_config_path FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE id = $1",
+                request.cluster_id,
+            ) or "/etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg"
+            _cfg_dir = _cfg_path.rsplit("/", 1)[0] or "/etc/haproxy"
+            for _fe in frontends_data:
+                _rh = _fe.get("request_headers") or ""
+                _filters = _fe.get("filters") or ""
+                # engines declared by `filter spoe engine <name> config <path>`
+                _declared_engines = set(re.findall(
+                    r"filter\s+spoe\s+engine\s+(\S+)", _filters, re.IGNORECASE))
+                # engines referenced by `... send-spoe-group <name> <group>`
+                _used_engines = set(re.findall(
+                    r"send-spoe-group\s+(\S+)", _rh, re.IGNORECASE))
+                _missing = _used_engines - _declared_engines
+                if _missing:
+                    enhanced_warnings.append(
+                        f"⚠️ Frontend '{_fe['name']}': 'send-spoe-group' references SPOE "
+                        f"engine(s) {', '.join(sorted(_missing))} but no matching "
+                        f"'filter spoe engine <name> ...' line was found. HAProxy will "
+                        f"reject this at apply with \"unable to find SPOE engine\". Add the "
+                        f"filter line to this frontend."
+                    )
+                for _path in re.findall(
+                        r"filter\s+spoe\s+engine\s+\S+\s+config\s+(\S+)",
+                        _filters, re.IGNORECASE):
+                    enhanced_warnings.append(
+                        f"ℹ️ Frontend '{_fe['name']}': SPOE engine config '{_path}' and its "
+                        f"SPOA backend must exist on the HAProxy host (cluster config dir: "
+                        f"{_cfg_dir}). HAProxy OpenManager preserves the filter directive but "
+                        f"does not provision these files; otherwise 'haproxy -c' fails at apply."
+                    )
+        except Exception as _spoe_adv_err:
+            logger.warning(f"SPOE advisory generation skipped: {_spoe_adv_err}")
+
         # BULK IMPORT MVP: Check existing entities for UPSERT detection
         # Mark each entity as new or update for UI display
         # CRITICAL: Only mark as UPDATE if there are actual field changes
@@ -1150,7 +1196,17 @@ async def parse_bulk_config(
                 if frontend.get("tcp_request_rules") and frontend["tcp_request_rules"] != existing["tcp_request_rules"]:
                     has_changes = True
                     changes["tcp_request_rules"] = {"old": existing["tcp_request_rules"], "new": frontend["tcp_request_rules"]}
-                
+                # Issue #38: SPOE filters + log-format change detection. REQUIRED for
+                # persistence (not just display): without it, an import that only adds
+                # a `filter`/`log-format` to an existing frontend would be flagged
+                # "no change" and the directive would never be written to the DB.
+                if frontend.get("log_format") and frontend["log_format"] != existing.get("log_format"):
+                    has_changes = True
+                    changes["log_format"] = {"old": existing.get("log_format"), "new": frontend["log_format"]}
+                if frontend.get("filters") and frontend["filters"] != existing.get("filters"):
+                    has_changes = True
+                    changes["filters"] = {"old": existing.get("filters"), "new": frontend["filters"]}
+
                 # CRITICAL: SSL Advanced Options change detection
                 if frontend.get("ssl_alpn") is not None and frontend.get("ssl_alpn") != existing.get("ssl_alpn"):
                     has_changes = True
@@ -2094,7 +2150,18 @@ async def bulk_create_entities(
                         update_fields.append(f"options = ${param_index}")
                         update_values.append(frontend_data["options"])
                         param_index += 1
-                    
+
+                    # Issue #38: SPOE filters + frontend log-format (merge strategy)
+                    if frontend_data.get("log_format") and frontend_data["log_format"] != existing_full.get("log_format"):
+                        update_fields.append(f"log_format = ${param_index}")
+                        update_values.append(frontend_data["log_format"])
+                        param_index += 1
+
+                    if frontend_data.get("filters") and frontend_data["filters"] != existing_full.get("filters"):
+                        update_fields.append(f"filters = ${param_index}")
+                        update_values.append(frontend_data["filters"])
+                        param_index += 1
+
                     # CRITICAL FIX: Update SSL advanced options (alpn, npn, ciphers, etc.)
                     # These are parsed from bind directive and should be preserved in database
                     if "ssl_alpn" in frontend_data and frontend_data.get("ssl_alpn") != existing_full.get("ssl_alpn"):
@@ -2214,9 +2281,10 @@ async def bulk_create_entities(
                             timeout_client, timeout_http_request, maxconn,
                             request_headers, response_headers, tcp_request_rules, options,
                             rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
-                            cluster_id, acl_rules, use_backend_rules, redirect_rules, updated_at
-                        ) 
-                        VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19, $20, $21, $22, $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28, $29, $30, $31, $32, $33, $34, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP) 
+                            cluster_id, acl_rules, use_backend_rules, redirect_rules,
+                            log_format, filters, updated_at
+                        )
+                        VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19, $20, $21, $22, $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28, $29, $30, $31, $32, $33, $34, $35, $36, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
                         RETURNING id
                     """, 
                         frontend_data["name"],
@@ -2257,7 +2325,9 @@ async def bulk_create_entities(
                         request.cluster_id,
                         json.dumps(frontend_data.get("acl_rules", [])),  # acl_rules
                         json.dumps(frontend_data.get("use_backend_rules", [])),  # use_backend_rules
-                        json.dumps([])   # redirect_rules
+                        json.dumps([]),   # redirect_rules
+                        frontend_data.get("log_format"),  # Issue #38
+                        frontend_data.get("filters")      # Issue #38
                     )
                     
                     created_entities["frontends"].append({

backend/routers/frontend.py

@@ -408,6 +408,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                            ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                            acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                            request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                           log_format, filters,
                            timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                            rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                            maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -424,6 +425,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                            ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                            acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                            request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                           log_format, filters,
                            timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                            rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                            maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -453,6 +455,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                                ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                                acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                                request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                               log_format, filters,
                                timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                                rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                                maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -465,6 +468,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                                ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                                acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                                request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                               log_format, filters,
                                timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                                rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                                maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -480,6 +484,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                                ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                                acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                                request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                               log_format, filters,
                                timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                                rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                                maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -492,6 +497,7 @@ async def get_frontends(
                                ssl_alpn, ssl_npn, ssl_ciphers, ssl_ciphersuites, ssl_min_ver, ssl_max_ver, ssl_strict_sni,
                                acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                                request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules,
+                               log_format, filters,
                                timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                                rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
                                maxconn, is_active, created_at, updated_at, cluster_id, last_config_status
@@ -601,6 +607,8 @@ async def get_frontends(
                     "response_headers": f.get("response_headers"),
                     "options": f.get("options"),
                     "tcp_request_rules": f.get("tcp_request_rules"),
+                    "log_format": f.get("log_format"),  # Issue #38
+                    "filters": f.get("filters"),        # Issue #38
                     "timeout_client": f.get("timeout_client"),
                     "timeout_http_request": f.get("timeout_http_request"),
                     "rate_limit": f.get("rate_limit"),
@@ -735,18 +743,18 @@ async def create_frontend(frontend: FrontendConfig, request: Request, authorizat
                 acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
                 request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules, timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
                 rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
-                cluster_id, maxconn, updated_at
-            ) VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19, $20, $21, $22, $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28, $29, $30, $31, $32, $33, $34, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP) 
+                cluster_id, maxconn, log_format, filters, updated_at
+            ) VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12, $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19, $20, $21, $22, $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28, $29, $30, $31, $32, $33, $34, $35, $36, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP)
             RETURNING id
-        """, frontend.name, frontend.bind_address, frontend.bind_port, 
+        """, frontend.name, frontend.bind_address, frontend.bind_port,
             frontend.default_backend, frontend.mode, frontend.ssl_enabled,
             frontend.ssl_certificate_id, ssl_cert_ids_json, frontend.ssl_port, frontend.ssl_cert_path, frontend.ssl_cert, frontend.ssl_verify,
-            frontend.ssl_alpn, frontend.ssl_npn, frontend.ssl_ciphers, frontend.ssl_ciphersuites, 
+            frontend.ssl_alpn, frontend.ssl_npn, frontend.ssl_ciphers, frontend.ssl_ciphersuites,
             frontend.ssl_min_ver, frontend.ssl_max_ver, frontend.ssl_strict_sni,
             json.dumps(frontend.acl_rules or []), json.dumps(frontend.redirect_rules or []), json.dumps(frontend.use_backend_rules or []),
             frontend.request_headers, frontend.response_headers, filtered_options, frontend.tcp_request_rules, frontend.timeout_client, frontend.timeout_http_request,
             frontend.rate_limit, frontend.compression, frontend.log_separate, frontend.monitor_uri,
-            frontend.cluster_id, frontend.maxconn)
+            frontend.cluster_id, frontend.maxconn, frontend.log_format, frontend.filters)
         
         # If cluster_id provided, create new config version for agents
         sync_results = []
@@ -1060,9 +1068,10 @@ async def update_frontend(frontend_id: int, frontend: FrontendConfig, request: R
                 acl_rules = $20, redirect_rules = $21, use_backend_rules = $22,
                 request_headers = $23, response_headers = $24, options = $25, tcp_request_rules = $26, timeout_client = $27, timeout_http_request = $28,
                 rate_limit = $29, compression = $30, log_separate = $31, monitor_uri = $32,
-                cluster_id = $33, maxconn = $34, updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
-            WHERE id = $35
-        """, frontend.name, frontend.bind_address, frontend.bind_port, 
+                cluster_id = $33, maxconn = $34, log_format = $35, filters = $36,
+                updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+            WHERE id = $37
+        """, frontend.name, frontend.bind_address, frontend.bind_port,
             frontend.default_backend, frontend.mode, ssl_enabled,
             ssl_certificate_id, ssl_cert_ids_json, ssl_port, ssl_cert_path, ssl_cert, ssl_verify,
             frontend.ssl_alpn, frontend.ssl_npn, frontend.ssl_ciphers, frontend.ssl_ciphersuites,
@@ -1070,7 +1079,7 @@ async def update_frontend(frontend_id: int, frontend: FrontendConfig, request: R
             json.dumps(frontend.acl_rules or []), json.dumps(frontend.redirect_rules or []), json.dumps(frontend.use_backend_rules or []),
             frontend.request_headers, frontend.response_headers, filtered_options, frontend.tcp_request_rules, frontend.timeout_client, frontend.timeout_http_request,
             frontend.rate_limit, frontend.compression, frontend.log_separate, frontend.monitor_uri,
-            frontend.cluster_id, frontend.maxconn, frontend_id)
+            frontend.cluster_id, frontend.maxconn, frontend.log_format, frontend.filters, frontend_id)
             
         # Debug: Check what was actually saved
         updated_frontend = await conn.fetchrow("""
@@ -1124,6 +1133,8 @@ async def update_frontend(frontend_id: int, frontend: FrontendConfig, request: R
                     "response_headers": frontend.response_headers,
                     "options": filtered_options,
                     "tcp_request_rules": frontend.tcp_request_rules,
+                    "log_format": frontend.log_format,  # Issue #38
+                    "filters": frontend.filters,        # Issue #38
                     "timeout_client": frontend.timeout_client,
                     "timeout_http_request": frontend.timeout_http_request,
                     "rate_limit": frontend.rate_limit,

backend/routers/letsencrypt.py

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, Header
-from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
-from typing import Optional, List
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator, model_validator
+from typing import Optional, List, Dict
+import base64
 import json
 import logging
 import re
@@ -10,6 +11,40 @@ from datetime import datetime
 from database.connection import get_database_connection, close_database_connection
 from services.acme_service import acme_service
 from services.haproxy_config import generate_haproxy_config_for_cluster
+from services.dns_providers import list_providers, is_supported, get_provider, DnsProviderError
+from utils.dns_credentials import encrypt_dns_credentials, decrypt_dns_credentials
+
+# Issue #35: DNS-01 challenge methods.
+_CHALLENGE_TYPES = ("http-01", "dns-01")
+
+
+async def _dns01_enabled() -> bool:
+    """Global kill-switch (system_settings acme.dns01_enabled, default False). Read via the ACME
+    settings dict so non-admins never need the admin-only /api/settings/acme endpoint."""
+    try:
+        settings = await acme_service._get_settings()
+        val = settings.get('dns01_enabled')
+        if isinstance(val, str):
+            return val.strip().lower() in ('1', 'true', 'yes', 'on')
+        return bool(val)
+    except Exception:
+        return False
+
+
+# Per-user sliding-window rate limit for the manual dns-confirm action (soft anti-abuse so a user
+# can't spam the CA via the confirm button). Per-process; sufficient for a manual UI action.
+_DNS_CONFIRM_RL: Dict[int, list] = {}
+_DNS_CONFIRM_LIMIT = 5
+_DNS_CONFIRM_WINDOW = 60.0
+
+
+async def _enforce_dns_confirm_rate_limit(user_id: int) -> None:
+    now = time.time()
+    bucket = [t for t in _DNS_CONFIRM_RL.get(user_id, []) if now - t < _DNS_CONFIRM_WINDOW]
+    if len(bucket) >= _DNS_CONFIRM_LIMIT:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=429, detail="Rate limit exceeded: dns-confirm allowed 5 requests per minute")
+    bucket.append(now)
+    _DNS_CONFIRM_RL[user_id] = bucket
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -25,8 +60,55 @@ class AccountCreate(BaseModel):
     email: str
     directory_url: Optional[str] = None
     tos_agreed: bool = True
-    eab_kid: Optional[str] = None
-    eab_hmac_key: Optional[str] = None
+    # EAB (External Account Binding) for CAs that require it (ZeroSSL, Google). The KID is opaque
+    # (bound only); the HMAC key must be base64url so newAccount's _b64url_decode won't raise a
+    # cryptic binascii error (a common copy mistake is standard-base64 '+'/'/' vs urlsafe '-'/'_').
+    eab_kid: Optional[str] = Field(default=None, max_length=256)
+    eab_hmac_key: Optional[str] = Field(default=None, max_length=512)
+    # Issue #35: per-account default challenge method + DNS provider (for dns-01).
+    challenge_type: str = "http-01"
+    dns_provider: Optional[str] = None
+
+    @field_validator('challenge_type')
+    @classmethod
+    def _validate_challenge_type(cls, v):
+        if v not in _CHALLENGE_TYPES:
+            raise ValueError(f"challenge_type must be one of {_CHALLENGE_TYPES}")
+        return v
+
+    @field_validator('eab_hmac_key')
+    @classmethod
+    def _validate_eab_hmac_key(cls, v):
+        if not v:
+            return v
+        try:
+            base64.urlsafe_b64decode(v + '=' * (-len(v) % 4))
+        except Exception:
+            raise ValueError("eab_hmac_key is not valid base64; copy it exactly from your CA account.")
+        return v
+
+    @model_validator(mode='after')
+    def _require_provider_for_dns01(self):
+        if self.challenge_type == 'dns-01' and not (self.dns_provider or '').strip():
+            raise ValueError("dns_provider is required when challenge_type is 'dns-01'")
+        return self
+
+
+class DnsCredentialsUpsert(BaseModel):
+    dns_provider: str = Field(..., min_length=1, max_length=50)
+    credentials: Dict[str, str] = Field(default_factory=dict)
+
+    @field_validator('credentials')
+    @classmethod
+    def _validate_credentials(cls, v):
+        if len(v) > 20:
+            raise ValueError("Too many credential fields")
+        for key, val in v.items():
+            if not isinstance(key, str) or not re.match(r'^[a-zA-Z0-9_]{1,50}$', key):
+                raise ValueError(f"Invalid credential field name: {key!r}")
+            if not isinstance(val, str) or len(val) > 4000:
+                raise ValueError(f"Credential value for {key!r} is missing or too long")
+        return v
 
 
 class CertificateRequest(BaseModel):
@@ -38,6 +120,8 @@ class CertificateRequest(BaseModel):
     account_id: Optional[int] = None
     cluster_ids: List[int] = Field(default_factory=list)
     auto_renew: bool = True
+    # Issue #35: optional override; when None the account's default method is used.
+    challenge_type: Optional[str] = None
 
     @field_validator('domains')
     @classmethod
@@ -54,7 +138,30 @@ class CertificateRequest(BaseModel):
             if not _DOMAIN_REGEX.match(d_norm):
                 raise ValueError(f"Invalid domain format: '{d}'")
             normalized.append(d_norm)
-        return normalized
+        # De-duplicate (case/whitespace variants normalize to the same value) while preserving order,
+        # so we don't submit a redundant SAN to the CA or render duplicate-keyed tags in the UI.
+        return list(dict.fromkeys(normalized))
+
+    @field_validator('challenge_type')
+    @classmethod
+    def _validate_challenge_type(cls, v):
+        if v is not None and v not in _CHALLENGE_TYPES:
+            raise ValueError(f"challenge_type must be one of {_CHALLENGE_TYPES}")
+        return v
+
+    @model_validator(mode='after')
+    def _wildcard_requires_dns01(self):
+        # Static cross-field guard: a wildcard SAN can ONLY be issued via dns-01 (the CA rejects
+        # wildcard over http-01). The runtime dns01_enabled gate + provider resolution happen in the
+        # endpoint (validators can't do async/DB). When challenge_type is None here, the effective
+        # method is resolved from the account in the endpoint, which re-checks this.
+        if any((d or '').startswith('*.') for d in (self.domains or [])):
+            # Only reject when the caller EXPLICITLY chose a non-dns-01 method. When challenge_type is
+            # None, the effective method is resolved from the account in the endpoint, which re-checks
+            # wildcard-requires-dns-01 — so account-default dns-01 inheritance still works for wildcards.
+            if self.challenge_type is not None and self.challenge_type != 'dns-01':
+                raise ValueError("Wildcard certificates require challenge_type 'dns-01'")
+        return self
 
 
 # --- Account management ---
@@ -77,7 +184,7 @@ async def list_accounts(authorization: str = Header(None)):
     conn = await get_database_connection()
     try:
         rows = await conn.fetch(
-            "SELECT id, email, directory_url, account_url, status, tos_agreed, eab_kid, created_at, updated_at FROM letsencrypt_accounts ORDER BY id"
+            "SELECT id, email, directory_url, account_url, status, tos_agreed, eab_kid, created_at, updated_at, challenge_type, dns_provider FROM letsencrypt_accounts ORDER BY id"
         )
         return [dict(r) for r in rows]
     finally:
@@ -107,16 +214,36 @@ async def create_account(body: AccountCreate, authorization: str = Header(None))
         eab_kid = body.eab_kid or settings.get('eab_kid', '') or None
         eab_hmac_key = body.eab_hmac_key or settings.get('eab_hmac_key', '') or None
 
+        # Issue #35: a dns-01 account must name a supported DNS provider.
+        if body.challenge_type == 'dns-01':
+            if not await _dns01_enabled():
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="DNS-01 is disabled by an administrator (enable it in Settings).")
+            if not is_supported((body.dns_provider or '').strip()):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"Unsupported DNS provider: {body.dns_provider}")
+
         result = await acme_service.register_account(
             email=body.email,
             directory_url=directory_url,
             tos_agreed=body.tos_agreed,
             eab_kid=eab_kid,
             eab_hmac_key=eab_hmac_key,
+            challenge_type=body.challenge_type,
+            dns_provider=(body.dns_provider or None),
         )
         return result
+    except HTTPException:
+        # Preserve deliberate status codes (e.g. 409 DNS-01 disabled, 422 unsupported provider) —
+        # the broad except below would otherwise downgrade them all to 400.
+        raise
     except Exception as e:
         logger.error(f"ACME account registration failed: {e}")
+        # Humanize the common EAB-required failure (ZeroSSL/Google). The ACME error propagates as a
+        # string ("Account registration failed: {<dict>}"), so match the URN substring in str(e).
+        if 'externalaccountrequired' in str(e).lower():
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=(
+                "This CA requires External Account Binding (EAB). Enter the EAB Key ID and HMAC Key "
+                "from your ZeroSSL/Google account and retry."
+            ))
         raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail=str(e))
 
 
@@ -186,6 +313,147 @@ async def remove_account(account_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
         await close_database_connection(conn)
 
 
+# --- Issue #35: DNS-01 providers + per-account DNS credentials ---
+
+@router.get("/dns-providers")
+async def get_dns_providers(authorization: str = Header(None)):
+    """List supported DNS providers + their credential-field schema (for the UI). Also returns the
+    global dns01_enabled gate so a non-admin cert UI can read it without the admin-only settings API.
+    Authenticated (any user); not admin-only."""
+    from auth_middleware import get_current_user_from_token
+    await get_current_user_from_token(authorization)
+    return {"dns01_enabled": await _dns01_enabled(), "providers": list_providers()}
+
+
+@router.get("/accounts/{account_id}/dns-credentials")
+async def get_dns_credentials(account_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
+    """Masked metadata only — provider + which credential fields are set + updated_at. NEVER returns
+    the ciphertext or any plaintext token. Read-only for any authenticated user (matches list_accounts)."""
+    from auth_middleware import get_current_user_from_token
+    await get_current_user_from_token(authorization)
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        row = await conn.fetchrow(
+            "SELECT dns_provider, credentials_encrypted, updated_at FROM letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials WHERE account_id = $1",
+            account_id,
+        )
+        if not row:
+            return {"configured": False, "dns_provider": None, "credential_fields_present": [], "updated_at": None}
+        present = []
+        decrypted = decrypt_dns_credentials(row["credentials_encrypted"])
+        if isinstance(decrypted, dict):
+            present = sorted(decrypted.keys())
+        return {
+            "configured": True,
+            "dns_provider": row["dns_provider"],
+            "credential_fields_present": present,
+            "updated_at": row["updated_at"],
+        }
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+@router.put("/accounts/{account_id}/dns-credentials")
+async def upsert_dns_credentials(account_id: int, body: DnsCredentialsUpsert, authorization: str = Header(None)):
+    """Store (encrypted) DNS provider credentials for an account. Admin-only. Verifies the
+    credentials against the provider BEFORE persisting; returns a sanitized result (never the token)."""
+    from auth_middleware import get_current_user_from_token
+    current_user = await get_current_user_from_token(authorization)
+    if not current_user.get('is_admin', False):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Admin access required")
+    provider_name = body.dns_provider.strip()
+    if not is_supported(provider_name):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=f"Unsupported DNS provider: {provider_name}")
+
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        exists = await conn.fetchval("SELECT 1 FROM letsencrypt_accounts WHERE id = $1", account_id)
+        if not exists:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="ACME account not found")
+
+        # Verify credentials synchronously; only persist on success. The detail is user-safe.
+        try:
+            provider = get_provider(provider_name, dict(body.credentials))
+            verify = await provider.verify_credentials()
+        except DnsProviderError as exc:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=str(exc))
+        except HTTPException:
+            raise
+        except Exception:
+            # Defensive: never let a provider-internal exception string (which could echo creds in a
+            # future provider) reach the client. Always a sanitized 422.
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="DNS provider credential verification failed")
+        if not verify.get("ok"):
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail=verify.get("detail") or "DNS provider credential verification failed")
+
+        token = encrypt_dns_credentials(dict(body.credentials))
+        await conn.execute(
+            """INSERT INTO letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials (account_id, dns_provider, credentials_encrypted, updated_at)
+               VALUES ($1, $2, $3, NOW())
+               ON CONFLICT (account_id) DO UPDATE SET
+                   dns_provider = EXCLUDED.dns_provider,
+                   credentials_encrypted = EXCLUDED.credentials_encrypted,
+                   updated_at = NOW()""",
+            account_id, provider_name, token,
+        )
+        # Keep the account's provider selection in sync.
+        await conn.execute(
+            "UPDATE letsencrypt_accounts SET dns_provider = $1, updated_at = NOW() WHERE id = $2",
+            provider_name, account_id,
+        )
+        return {"ok": True, "dns_provider": provider_name, "detail": verify.get("detail", "Credentials stored.")}
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+@router.delete("/accounts/{account_id}/dns-credentials")
+async def delete_dns_credentials(account_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
+    """Remove an account's stored DNS credentials. Admin-only."""
+    from auth_middleware import get_current_user_from_token
+    current_user = await get_current_user_from_token(authorization)
+    if not current_user.get('is_admin', False):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Admin access required")
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        await conn.execute("DELETE FROM letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials WHERE account_id = $1", account_id)
+        return {"ok": True}
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+@router.post("/orders/{order_id}/dns-confirm")
+async def confirm_dns_order(order_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
+    """Manual DNS-01 only: the user asserts the TXT record is published; tell the CA to validate.
+    Requires ssl.create + a per-user rate limit; acts only on a dns-01 + manual + pending order."""
+    from auth_middleware import get_current_user_from_token, check_user_permission
+    current_user = await get_current_user_from_token(authorization)
+    has_perm = await check_user_permission(current_user['id'], 'ssl', 'create')
+    if not has_perm:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Insufficient permissions: ssl.create required")
+    await _enforce_dns_confirm_rate_limit(current_user['id'])
+
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        order = await conn.fetchrow(
+            """SELECT o.id, o.status, o.challenge_type, a.dns_provider
+               FROM letsencrypt_orders o JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id
+               WHERE o.id = $1""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+    if not order:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Order not found")
+    if order['challenge_type'] != 'dns-01' or (order['dns_provider'] or 'manual') != 'manual':
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="This order is not a manual DNS-01 order")
+    if order['status'] not in ('pending', 'processing'):
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail=f"Order is '{order['status']}' and cannot be confirmed")
+
+    from services.dns01_orchestrator import confirm_manual_dns01
+    await confirm_manual_dns01(order_id)
+    return {"ok": True, "message": "DNS-01 confirmation submitted; the CA will validate shortly."}
+
+
 # --- Certificate operations ---
 
 @router.post("/certificates")
@@ -222,32 +490,61 @@ async def request_certificate(body: CertificateRequest, authorization: str = Hea
         logger.info(f"ACME: Using account_id={account_id} for certificate request")
 
         warnings = []
-        # Audit Tur 5 / Commit 8c: empty cluster_ids in UI means "global certificate".
-        # Resolve to all ACME-enabled active clusters; only fail if NONE exist.
+
+        # Issue #35: resolve the effective challenge method (request override, else account default).
+        conn_acct = await get_database_connection()
+        try:
+            acct = await conn_acct.fetchrow(
+                "SELECT challenge_type, dns_provider FROM letsencrypt_accounts WHERE id = $1", account_id
+            )
+        finally:
+            await close_database_connection(conn_acct)
+        effective_challenge = (body.challenge_type or (acct['challenge_type'] if acct else None) or 'http-01')
+        dns_provider = (acct['dns_provider'] if acct else None)
+        is_dns01 = (effective_challenge == 'dns-01')
+        has_wildcard = any(d.startswith('*.') for d in body.domains)
+
+        if is_dns01:
+            if not await _dns01_enabled():
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=409, detail="DNS-01 is disabled by an administrator (enable it in Settings).")
+            if not is_supported((dns_provider or '').strip()):
+                raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="The selected ACME account has no DNS provider configured for DNS-01.")
+            if (dns_provider or 'manual') == 'manual':
+                # Manual DNS-01 cannot be renewed unattended; auto-renew is forced off on the issued
+                # certificate (see _complete_certificate). Tell the requester so it isn't a surprise.
+                warnings.append(
+                    "Manual DNS-01 certificates cannot auto-renew unattended. Auto-renew will be disabled; "
+                    "re-publish the TXT record and request renewal before expiry."
+                )
+        elif has_wildcard:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="Wildcard certificates require a DNS-01 account.")
+
+        # Empty cluster_ids = "global certificate". For DNS-01 no ACME Challenge Routing / port 80 is
+        # needed, so resolve to ALL active clusters; http-01 still requires acme_enabled clusters.
         if not body.cluster_ids:
             conn_resolve = await get_database_connection()
             try:
-                acme_clusters_resolved = await conn_resolve.fetch(
-                    "SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE acme_enabled = TRUE AND is_active = TRUE"
-                )
+                if is_dns01:
+                    resolved = await conn_resolve.fetch("SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE is_active = TRUE")
+                else:
+                    resolved = await conn_resolve.fetch("SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE acme_enabled = TRUE AND is_active = TRUE")
             finally:
                 await close_database_connection(conn_resolve)
-            if not acme_clusters_resolved:
+            if not resolved:
+                if is_dns01:
+                    raise HTTPException(status_code=422, detail="Cannot issue certificate: no active clusters configured.")
                 raise HTTPException(
                     status_code=422,
                     detail="Cannot issue certificate: no ACME-enabled clusters configured. "
                            "Enable ACME Challenge Routing on at least one cluster in Cluster Management, "
                            "Apply the configuration change, then retry."
                 )
-            body.cluster_ids = [c['id'] for c in acme_clusters_resolved]
+            body.cluster_ids = [c['id'] for c in resolved]
             warnings.append(
-                f"No clusters specified — applied to all ACME-enabled cluster(s) ({len(body.cluster_ids)})"
+                f"No clusters specified — applied to all {'active' if is_dns01 else 'ACME-enabled'} cluster(s) ({len(body.cluster_ids)})"
             )
-            logger.warning(
-                f"ACME: Empty cluster_ids → global cert fallback to {len(body.cluster_ids)} ACME-enabled cluster(s)"
-            )
-        else:
-            # Validate that referenced clusters exist + are ACME-enabled (warn-only).
+        elif not is_dns01:
+            # http-01 only: warn if no cluster has ACME Challenge Routing enabled.
             try:
                 conn_warn = await get_database_connection()
                 try:
@@ -255,7 +552,6 @@ async def request_certificate(body: CertificateRequest, authorization: str = Hea
                         "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE acme_enabled = TRUE AND is_active = TRUE"
                     )
                     if acme_clusters == 0:
-                        logger.warning("ACME: No clusters with ACME Challenge Routing enabled - certificate validation will likely fail")
                         warnings.append(
                             "No clusters have ACME Challenge Routing enabled. "
                             "Certificate validation will fail. Enable it in Cluster Management and Apply Changes first."
@@ -269,14 +565,30 @@ async def request_certificate(body: CertificateRequest, authorization: str = Hea
             account_id=account_id,
             domains=body.domains,
             cluster_ids=body.cluster_ids,
+            challenge_type=effective_challenge,
+            created_by=current_user['id'],
         )
 
-        challenges = await acme_service.respond_to_challenges(order['order_id'])
+        # Audit trail: record who requested the certificate + the method (esp. for DNS-01/wildcard,
+        # which has a wider blast radius than http-01). Never raises into the request path.
+        try:
+            from utils.activity_log import record_event
+            await record_event(
+                order['order_id'], "acme.order.requested",
+                message=f"Certificate requested ({effective_challenge}) by user {current_user['id']}",
+                details={"user_id": current_user['id'], "challenge_type": effective_challenge,
+                         "dns_provider": dns_provider, "domains": body.domains},
+            )
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+        # http-01 posts the challenge response immediately (token served continuously). dns-01 is
+        # driven by the orchestrator AFTER the TXT is published (manual waits for dns-confirm), so we
+        # must NOT respond here.
+        challenges = []
+        if not is_dns01:
+            challenges = await acme_service.respond_to_challenges(order['order_id'])
 
-        # Commit 5b: re-fetch the order's *current* status from DB. The status
-        # returned by create_order() reflects the moment of creation; after
-        # respond_to_challenges() the CA may have already advanced it (e.g. to
-        # 'processing'). Surfacing stale status leads UI to under-poll.
         conn_status = await get_database_connection()
         try:
             fresh_status = await conn_status.fetchval(
@@ -287,14 +599,23 @@ async def request_certificate(body: CertificateRequest, authorization: str = Hea
             await close_database_connection(conn_status)
         effective_status = fresh_status or order['status']
 
-        logger.info(f"ACME: Order {order['order_id']} created, {len(challenges)} challenge(s) posted, status={effective_status}")
+        if is_dns01:
+            msg = ("Order created. Publish the DNS TXT record shown for each domain, then confirm."
+                   if dns_provider == 'manual'
+                   else "Order created. The DNS TXT record(s) will be published automatically; waiting for CA validation.")
+        else:
+            msg = "Order created. ACME challenges have been posted. Waiting for CA validation."
+
+        logger.info(f"ACME: Order {order['order_id']} created ({effective_challenge}), status={effective_status}")
 
         return {
             "order_id": order['order_id'],
             "status": effective_status,
             "domains": body.domains,
+            "challenge_type": effective_challenge,
+            "dns_provider": dns_provider,
             "challenges": challenges,
-            "message": "Order created. ACME challenges have been posted. Waiting for CA validation.",
+            "message": msg,
             "warnings": warnings,
         }
     except HTTPException:
@@ -316,7 +637,8 @@ async def list_orders(authorization: str = Header(None)):
         rows = await conn.fetch("""
             SELECT o.id, o.account_id, o.order_url, o.status, o.domains,
                    o.ssl_certificate_id, o.cluster_ids, o.error_detail,
-                   o.created_at, o.updated_at, a.email as account_email
+                   o.created_at, o.updated_at, o.challenge_type, a.email as account_email,
+                   a.dns_provider
             FROM letsencrypt_orders o
             JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id
             ORDER BY o.created_at DESC
@@ -345,7 +667,8 @@ async def get_order(order_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
             SELECT o.id, o.account_id, o.order_url, o.status, o.domains,
                    o.certificate_url, o.finalize_url, o.expires_at,
                    o.error_detail, o.ssl_certificate_id, o.cluster_ids,
-                   o.created_at, o.updated_at, a.email as account_email
+                   o.created_at, o.updated_at, o.challenge_type, a.email as account_email,
+                   a.dns_provider
             FROM letsencrypt_orders o
             JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id
             WHERE o.id = $1
@@ -353,13 +676,23 @@ async def get_order(order_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
         if not order:
             raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Order not found")
 
+        # Issue #35: include challenge_type + dns_txt_value (PUBLIC DNS data — NOT key_authorization,
+        # NOT the API token) so the UI can render manual DNS-01 instructions. Explicit column list.
         challenges = await conn.fetch(
-            "SELECT id, order_id, domain, token, challenge_url, status, validated_at, created_at FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 ORDER BY domain", order_id
+            "SELECT id, order_id, domain, token, challenge_url, status, validated_at, created_at, "
+            "challenge_type, dns_txt_value FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 ORDER BY domain", order_id
         )
         result = dict(order)
         result['domains'] = json.loads(result['domains']) if isinstance(result['domains'], str) else result['domains']
         result['cluster_ids'] = json.loads(result['cluster_ids']) if isinstance(result['cluster_ids'], str) else result['cluster_ids']
-        result['challenges'] = [dict(c) for c in challenges]
+        ch_list = []
+        for c in challenges:
+            cd = dict(c)
+            if cd.get('challenge_type') == 'dns-01':
+                # Server computes the record name (wildcard *.-stripping lives server-side).
+                cd['dns_record_name'] = acme_service._challenge_dns_name(cd['domain'])
+            ch_list.append(cd)
+        result['challenges'] = ch_list
         return result
     finally:
         await close_database_connection(conn)
@@ -470,18 +803,23 @@ async def renew_order(order_id: int, authorization: str = Header(None)):
     conn = await get_database_connection()
     try:
         order = await conn.fetchrow(
-            "SELECT account_id, domains, cluster_ids FROM letsencrypt_orders WHERE id = $1", order_id
+            "SELECT account_id, domains, cluster_ids, challenge_type FROM letsencrypt_orders WHERE id = $1", order_id
         )
         if not order:
             raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Order not found")
         domains = json.loads(order['domains']) if isinstance(order['domains'], str) else order['domains']
         cluster_ids = json.loads(order['cluster_ids']) if isinstance(order['cluster_ids'], str) else order['cluster_ids']
+        challenge_type = order['challenge_type'] or 'http-01'
 
         new_order = await acme_service.create_order(
-            account_id=order['account_id'], domains=domains, cluster_ids=cluster_ids
+            account_id=order['account_id'], domains=domains, cluster_ids=cluster_ids,
+            challenge_type=challenge_type, created_by=current_user['id'],
         )
-        challenges = await acme_service.respond_to_challenges(new_order['order_id'])
-        return {"message": "Renewal order created", "new_order_id": new_order['order_id'], "challenges": challenges}
+        # dns-01 is driven by the orchestrator after the TXT is published; only http-01 responds here.
+        challenges = []
+        if challenge_type != 'dns-01':
+            challenges = await acme_service.respond_to_challenges(new_order['order_id'])
+        return {"message": "Renewal order created", "new_order_id": new_order['order_id'], "challenge_type": challenge_type, "challenges": challenges}
     finally:
         await close_database_connection(conn)
 
@@ -611,11 +949,17 @@ async def get_renewal_schedule(authorization: str = Header(None)):
         raise HTTPException(status_code=403, detail="Insufficient permissions: ssl.read required")
     conn = await get_database_connection()
     try:
+        # Issue #35: expose the challenge method/provider (via the originating order/account) so the
+        # UI can distinguish manual DNS-01 certs, which cannot auto-renew unattended. LEFT JOINs keep
+        # legacy certs (no order link / pre-DNS-01 columns) rendering as http-01.
         certs = await conn.fetch("""
-            SELECT id, name, primary_domain, expiry_date, auto_renew, days_until_expiry
-            FROM ssl_certificates
-            WHERE source = 'letsencrypt' AND is_active = TRUE
-            ORDER BY expiry_date ASC NULLS LAST
+            SELECT c.id, c.name, c.primary_domain, c.expiry_date, c.auto_renew, c.days_until_expiry,
+                   o.challenge_type, a.dns_provider
+            FROM ssl_certificates c
+            LEFT JOIN letsencrypt_orders o ON o.id = c.letsencrypt_order_id
+            LEFT JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON a.id = o.account_id
+            WHERE c.source = 'letsencrypt' AND c.is_active = TRUE
+            ORDER BY c.expiry_date ASC NULLS LAST
         """)
         return [dict(c) for c in certs]
     finally:
@@ -663,6 +1007,18 @@ async def _complete_certificate(order_id: int) -> dict:
         cluster_ids = json.loads(order['cluster_ids']) if isinstance(order['cluster_ids'], str) else order['cluster_ids']
         primary_domain = domains[0] if domains else 'unknown'
 
+        # Issue #35: a manual DNS-01 certificate cannot be auto-renewed unattended (the renewal task
+        # skips it — see main.py), so persist auto_renew=FALSE rather than storing a misleading
+        # "Enabled" that the user trusts while the cert silently expires. http-01 and automated
+        # DNS-01 (e.g. Cloudflare) keep auto_renew=TRUE, preserving existing behaviour.
+        auto_renew_value = True
+        if order.get('challenge_type') == 'dns-01':
+            acct_provider = await conn.fetchval(
+                "SELECT dns_provider FROM letsencrypt_accounts WHERE id = $1", order['account_id']
+            )
+            if (acct_provider or 'manual') == 'manual':
+                auto_renew_value = False
+
         # Commit 5g: guard against empty cert_private_key.
         # Inserting an SSL certificate row with an empty private_key would silently
         # produce an unusable certificate (HAProxy would fail to load on Apply, or
@@ -749,12 +1105,13 @@ async def _complete_certificate(order_id: int) -> dict:
                     certificate_content = $1, private_key_content = $2, chain_content = $3,
                     all_domains = $4::jsonb, expiry_date = $5, days_until_expiry = $6,
                     issuer = $7, fingerprint = $8, letsencrypt_order_id = $9,
-                    auto_renew = TRUE, is_active = TRUE, last_config_status = 'PENDING',
+                    auto_renew = $11, is_active = TRUE, last_config_status = 'PENDING',
                     updated_at = NOW()
                 WHERE id = $10
             """, cert_data['certificate_pem'], private_key_pem,
                 cert_data.get('chain_pem', ''), all_domains,
-                expiry_date, days_until_expiry, issuer, fingerprint, order_id, cert_id)
+                expiry_date, days_until_expiry, issuer, fingerprint, order_id, cert_id,
+                auto_renew_value)
             logger.info(f"ACME RENEWAL: Updated certificate {cert_id} for {primary_domain}, status=PENDING")
         else:
             cert_row = await conn.fetchrow("""
@@ -764,11 +1121,12 @@ async def _complete_certificate(order_id: int) -> dict:
                      usage_type, source, letsencrypt_order_id, auto_renew, is_active,
                      last_config_status)
                 VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6::jsonb, $7, $8, $9, $10,
-                        'frontend', 'letsencrypt', $11, TRUE, TRUE, 'PENDING')
+                        'frontend', 'letsencrypt', $11, $12, TRUE, 'PENDING')
                 RETURNING id
             """, f"le-{primary_domain}", cert_data['certificate_pem'], private_key_pem,
                 cert_data.get('chain_pem', ''), primary_domain, all_domains,
-                expiry_date, days_until_expiry, issuer, fingerprint, order_id)
+                expiry_date, days_until_expiry, issuer, fingerprint, order_id,
+                auto_renew_value)
             cert_id = cert_row['id']
 
         await conn.execute(
@@ -815,12 +1173,18 @@ async def _complete_certificate(order_id: int) -> dict:
             if mapped:
                 effective_cluster_ids = [r['cluster_id'] for r in mapped]
             else:
-                # Audit Tur 6 / Commit 5j: only fall back to ACME-enabled clusters.
-                # Applying renewal to ACME-disabled clusters could re-introduce Issue #11
-                # patterns and risks deploying certs to clusters where they can't be renewed.
-                all_clusters = await conn.fetch(
-                    "SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE is_active = TRUE AND acme_enabled = TRUE"
+                # Audit Tur 6 / Commit 5j: http-01 only falls back to ACME-enabled clusters.
+                # Issue #35: a dns-01 cert needs NO challenge routing / port 80, so it can renew on
+                # any active cluster — resolve to all active clusters for dns-01.
+                ch_type = await conn.fetchval(
+                    "SELECT challenge_type FROM letsencrypt_orders WHERE id = $1", order_id
                 )
+                if ch_type == 'dns-01':
+                    all_clusters = await conn.fetch("SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE is_active = TRUE")
+                else:
+                    all_clusters = await conn.fetch(
+                        "SELECT id FROM haproxy_clusters WHERE is_active = TRUE AND acme_enabled = TRUE"
+                    )
                 effective_cluster_ids = [r['id'] for r in all_clusters]
             if effective_cluster_ids:
                 logger.info(f"ACME RENEWAL: Resolved {len(effective_cluster_ids)} cluster(s) for global cert {cert_id}")

backend/services/acme_diagnostics.py

@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ _PROBLEM_HUMANIZED: Dict[str, Dict[str, str]] = {
         "title": "HTTP-01 challenge response mismatch",
         "hint": "The CA fetched the challenge URL but received the wrong key authorization. Confirm the challenge was served from the right backend.",
     },
+    "urn:ietf:params:acme:error:externalAccountRequired": {
+        "title": "External Account Binding (EAB) required",
+        "hint": "This CA (e.g. ZeroSSL, Google) requires EAB. Enter the EAB Key ID and HMAC Key from your CA account when registering.",
+    },
     "urn:ietf:params:acme:error:invalidContact": {
         "title": "Invalid contact email",
         "hint": "The ACME account email is malformed. Update the LE account email.",
@@ -199,6 +203,23 @@ def humanize_error_detail(error_detail: Any) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     status = parsed.get("status")
     subproblems = parsed.get("subproblems") or []
 
+    # Issue #35: DNS-01 failures are recorded as {stage, reason, timestamp} (no RFC8555 "type"),
+    # so without this fallback the humanized alert would show a bare "ACME error" with no message.
+    # Surface the reason and a targeted hint so the operator knows exactly what to fix.
+    if not problem_type and parsed.get("reason"):
+        reason = str(parsed.get("reason"))
+        message = message or reason
+        title = "DNS-01 validation failed"
+        rlow = reason.lower()
+        if "decrypt" in rlow or "credential" in rlow:
+            hint = hint or "Re-enter the DNS provider credentials for this account in ACME Automation."
+        elif "zone" in rlow:
+            hint = hint or "Confirm the domain's DNS zone is managed by the configured provider and the token has access to it."
+        elif "deadline" in rlow or "expired" in rlow or "confirm" in rlow:
+            hint = hint or "The manual confirmation window passed. Create a new certificate request and publish the TXT record promptly."
+        else:
+            hint = hint or "Check the DNS TXT record and provider credentials, then retry."
+
     out = {
         "title": title,
         "message": message,
@@ -694,6 +715,7 @@ async def run_checks(
     cluster_ids: List[int],
     account_id: Optional[int],
     only: Optional[List[str]] = None,
+    challenge_type: str = "http-01",
 ) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
     """Execute the full pre-flight check suite. `only` lets callers re-run a
     subset (per-check rerun in the UI).
@@ -714,12 +736,29 @@ async def run_checks(
     except (TypeError, ValueError):
         safe_account_id = None
 
+    # Issue #35: DNS-01 validates via a TXT record, so the HTTP-01 reachability checks
+    # (public A record, inbound port 80, ACME Challenge Routing) do not apply — report them
+    # as `skipped` rather than failing an internal/isolated host that is actually fine.
+    is_dns01 = (challenge_type == "dns-01")
     if "dns" in selected:
-        results.append(await _safe_check("dns", "DNS resolution", check_dns(safe_domains)))
+        if is_dns01:
+            results.append(_check_result("dns", "DNS resolution", "skipped",
+                                         "DNS-01: a public A record is not required (validation is via a TXT record).",
+                                         severity="info"))
+        else:
+            results.append(await _safe_check("dns", "DNS resolution", check_dns(safe_domains)))
     if "port80" in selected:
-        results.append(await _safe_check("port80", "Port 80 reachability", check_port80(safe_domains)))
+        if is_dns01:
+            results.append(_check_result("port80", "Port 80 reachability", "skipped",
+                                         "DNS-01: inbound port 80 is not required.", severity="info"))
+        else:
+            results.append(await _safe_check("port80", "Port 80 reachability", check_port80(safe_domains)))
     if "routing" in selected:
-        results.append(await _safe_check("routing", "HAProxy routing", check_routing(conn, safe_domains, safe_cluster_ids)))
+        if is_dns01:
+            results.append(_check_result("routing", "HAProxy routing", "skipped",
+                                         "DNS-01: ACME Challenge Routing is not required.", severity="info"))
+        else:
+            results.append(await _safe_check("routing", "HAProxy routing", check_routing(conn, safe_domains, safe_cluster_ids)))
     if "account" in selected:
         results.append(await _safe_check("account", "ACME account", check_account(conn, safe_account_id)))
     if "agents" in selected:

backend/services/acme_service.py

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ def _b64url(data: bytes) -> str:
 
 
 def _b64url_decode(s: str) -> bytes:
-    s += '=' * (4 - len(s) % 4)
+    s += '=' * (-len(s) % 4)  # pad to a multiple of 4 (0 pad when already aligned)
     return base64.urlsafe_b64decode(s)
 
 
@@ -37,7 +37,11 @@ class ACMEService:
 
     def __init__(self):
         self._directory_cache: Dict[str, dict] = {}
-        self._nonce: Optional[str] = None
+        # Anti-replay nonces are scoped PER CA (directory_url). A Replay-Nonce issued by one ACME
+        # server must never be sent in a JWS to another, or the second server rejects it (e.g. ZeroSSL
+        # "malformed: The Replay Nonce could not be base64url-decoded"). This client is a process-wide
+        # singleton shared across CAs, so a single shared nonce was leaking across them.
+        self._nonce_by_dir: Dict[str, str] = {}
 
     async def _get_settings(self) -> dict:
         conn = await get_database_connection()
@@ -71,17 +75,21 @@ class ACMEService:
                     raise Exception(f"Failed to fetch ACME directory: HTTP {resp.status}")
                 data = await resp.json()
                 if 'Replay-Nonce' in resp.headers:
-                    self._nonce = resp.headers['Replay-Nonce']
+                    self._nonce_by_dir[directory_url] = resp.headers['Replay-Nonce']
                 data['_fetched_at'] = time.time()
                 self._directory_cache[directory_url] = data
                 return data
 
     async def _get_nonce(self, directory_url: str) -> str:
-        if self._nonce:
-            nonce = self._nonce
-            self._nonce = None
-            return nonce
+        # Use a cached nonce for THIS CA only; otherwise fetch a fresh one from THIS CA's newNonce.
+        cached = self._nonce_by_dir.pop(directory_url, None)
+        if cached:
+            return cached
         directory = await self.get_directory(directory_url)
+        # get_directory may have just captured a nonce for this CA from the directory response.
+        cached = self._nonce_by_dir.pop(directory_url, None)
+        if cached:
+            return cached
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
             async with session.head(directory['newNonce']) as resp:
                 return resp.headers['Replay-Nonce']
@@ -128,6 +136,20 @@ class ACMEService:
         digest = hashlib.sha256(ordered.encode('utf-8')).digest()
         return _b64url(digest)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _dns_txt_value(key_authorization: str) -> str:
+        """RFC 8555 §8.4: the DNS-01 TXT value is base64url(SHA256(key_authorization)) over the
+        RAW 32-byte digest (NOT the hexdigest)."""
+        return _b64url(hashlib.sha256(key_authorization.encode('utf-8')).digest())
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _challenge_dns_name(identifier: str) -> str:
+        """The `_acme-challenge.<base>` record name for an ACME identifier. A leading wildcard
+        `*.` is stripped, so both `*.example.com` and bare `example.com` map to the SAME name
+        `_acme-challenge.example.com` (which is why apex+wildcard need two coexisting TXT values)."""
+        base = identifier[2:] if identifier.startswith('*.') else identifier
+        return f"_acme-challenge.{base}"
+
     def _sign_jws(self, private_key, protected: dict, payload: Any) -> dict:
         protected_b64 = _b64url(json.dumps(protected).encode('utf-8'))
         if payload == "":
@@ -174,11 +196,17 @@ class ACMEService:
                     timeout=aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=30),
                 ) as resp:
                     if 'Replay-Nonce' in resp.headers:
-                        self._nonce = resp.headers['Replay-Nonce']
+                        self._nonce_by_dir[directory_url] = resp.headers['Replay-Nonce']
 
-                    if resp.status == 400:
+                    if resp.status == 400 and attempt < 2:
                         err = await resp.json()
-                        if err.get('type') == 'urn:ietf:params:acme:error:badNonce' and attempt < 2:
+                        etype = (err.get('type') or '')
+                        edetail = (err.get('detail') or '').lower()
+                        # Retry on badNonce, and on any nonce-related malformed rejection (e.g.
+                        # "The Replay Nonce could not be base64url-decoded") — refetch a FRESH nonce
+                        # from the target CA and resign. With per-CA scoping the cross-CA cause is gone;
+                        # this is defense-in-depth so a stale/rejected nonce always self-heals.
+                        if etype.endswith('badNonce') or 'nonce' in edetail:
                             nonce = resp.headers.get('Replay-Nonce') or await self._get_nonce(directory_url)
                             protected['nonce'] = nonce
                             body = self._sign_jws(private_key, protected, payload)
@@ -208,6 +236,8 @@ class ACMEService:
         tos_agreed: bool = True,
         eab_kid: Optional[str] = None,
         eab_hmac_key: Optional[str] = None,
+        challenge_type: str = 'http-01',
+        dns_provider: Optional[str] = None,
     ) -> dict:
         directory = await self.get_directory(directory_url)
         pem, jwk = self._generate_account_key()
@@ -250,13 +280,14 @@ class ACMEService:
         conn = await get_database_connection()
         try:
             row = await conn.fetchrow("""
-                INSERT INTO letsencrypt_accounts (email, directory_url, account_url, jwk_private_key, status, tos_agreed, eab_kid)
-                VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7)
+                INSERT INTO letsencrypt_accounts (email, directory_url, account_url, jwk_private_key, status, tos_agreed, eab_kid, challenge_type, dns_provider)
+                VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9)
                 ON CONFLICT (email, directory_url) DO UPDATE SET
-                    account_url = $3, jwk_private_key = $4, status = $5, tos_agreed = $6, updated_at = NOW()
-                RETURNING id, email, directory_url, account_url, status, tos_agreed, created_at
+                    account_url = $3, jwk_private_key = $4, status = $5, tos_agreed = $6,
+                    challenge_type = $8, dns_provider = $9, updated_at = NOW()
+                RETURNING id, email, directory_url, account_url, status, tos_agreed, created_at, challenge_type, dns_provider
             """, email, directory_url, account_url, pem,
-                data.get('status') or 'valid', tos_agreed, eab_kid)
+                data.get('status') or 'valid', tos_agreed, eab_kid, challenge_type, dns_provider)
             return dict(row)
         finally:
             await close_database_connection(conn)
@@ -302,8 +333,10 @@ class ACMEService:
         account_id: int,
         domains: List[str],
         cluster_ids: Optional[List[int]] = None,
+        challenge_type: str = 'http-01',
+        created_by: Optional[int] = None,
     ) -> dict:
-        logger.info(f"ACME: Creating order for domains={domains}, account_id={account_id}")
+        logger.info(f"ACME: Creating order for domains={domains}, account_id={account_id}, challenge_type={challenge_type}")
         conn = await get_database_connection()
         try:
             account = await conn.fetchrow(
@@ -341,12 +374,12 @@ class ACMEService:
 
             order_row = await conn.fetchrow("""
                 INSERT INTO letsencrypt_orders
-                    (account_id, order_url, status, domains, finalize_url, expires_at, cluster_ids)
-                VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7)
+                    (account_id, order_url, status, domains, finalize_url, expires_at, cluster_ids, challenge_type, created_by)
+                VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9)
                 RETURNING id
             """, account_id, order_url, data.get('status') or 'pending',
                 json.dumps(domains), data.get('finalize') or '', expires_at,
-                json.dumps(cluster_ids or []))
+                json.dumps(cluster_ids or []), challenge_type, created_by)
 
             order_id = order_row['id']
 
@@ -383,18 +416,24 @@ class ACMEService:
                 domain = (auth_data.get('identifier') or {}).get('value', '')
                 http01_for_domain = False
                 for challenge in (auth_data.get('challenges') or []):
-                    if challenge.get('type') == 'http-01':
+                    # Store only the challenge of the CHOSEN method (default 'http-01' keeps the
+                    # existing behaviour byte-identical; 'dns-01' selects the TXT challenge instead).
+                    if challenge.get('type') == challenge_type:
                         token = challenge['token']
                         jwk = self._get_jwk(private_key)
                         thumbprint = self._jwk_thumbprint(jwk)
                         key_auth = f"{token}.{thumbprint}"
+                        dns_txt = self._dns_txt_value(key_auth) if challenge_type == 'dns-01' else None
 
                         await conn.execute("""
-                            INSERT INTO acme_challenges (order_id, domain, token, key_authorization, challenge_url, status)
-                            VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6)
+                            INSERT INTO acme_challenges
+                                (order_id, domain, token, key_authorization, challenge_url, status,
+                                 challenge_type, dns_txt_value)
+                            VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8)
                         """, order_id, domain, token, key_auth,
-                            challenge.get('url') or '', challenge.get('status') or 'pending')
-                        logger.info(f"ACME: Challenge stored for domain={domain}, token={token[:20]}..., challenge_url={(challenge.get('url') or '')[:60]}")
+                            challenge.get('url') or '', challenge.get('status') or 'pending',
+                            challenge_type, dns_txt)
+                        logger.info(f"ACME: {challenge_type} challenge stored for domain={domain}, token={token[:20]}..., challenge_url={(challenge.get('url') or '')[:60]}")
                         http01_for_domain = True
                 if http01_for_domain and domain:
                     domains_with_http01.add(domain)
@@ -413,7 +452,7 @@ class ACMEService:
                     error_payload, order_id
                 )
                 raise Exception(
-                    f"ACME order {order_id} created but no http-01 challenges available "
+                    f"ACME order {order_id} created but no {challenge_type} challenges available "
                     f"(auth fetch failures: {len(auth_fetch_failures)}). See order.error_detail for diagnostics."
                 )
             elif auth_fetch_failures:
@@ -449,10 +488,15 @@ class ACMEService:
         try:
             # Issue #12 / Commit 5a: include 'failed' challenges so they can be retried,
             # but rate-limit per challenge: max 5 attempts in last 5 minutes.
+            # DNS-01 skip-gate (the single safe choke point): never POST a challenge response for a
+            # dns-01 row whose TXT record has not been published yet — that would make the CA validate
+            # against a missing record and burn the order. http-01 rows (challenge_type 'http-01'/NULL)
+            # are never excluded, so the existing flow is byte-identical.
             challenges = await conn.fetch(
                 """SELECT * FROM acme_challenges
                    WHERE order_id = $1
-                     AND (status IN ('pending', 'failed') OR status IS NULL)""",
+                     AND (status IN ('pending', 'failed') OR status IS NULL)
+                     AND NOT (COALESCE(challenge_type, 'http-01') = 'dns-01' AND COALESCE(dns_record_published, FALSE) = FALSE)""",
                 order_id
             )
             order = await conn.fetchrow(

backend/services/dns01_orchestrator.py

@@ -0,0 +1,321 @@
+"""Issue #35 — ACME DNS-01 (v1.8.0): non-blocking per-cycle orchestration.
+
+Driven by the existing `complete_pending_acme_orders` background task (which already claims
+in-progress orders with `FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED`). For a dns-01 order this module advances AT MOST
+ONE step per 60s cycle — publish TXT, then (after a short min-age) respond — so the serial claim
+loop is never blocked by a multi-minute wait, and NO DNS library is needed (the CA is the source of
+truth; a propagation-lag `invalid` is recovered by a bounded fresh-order chain).
+
+Design invariants (from the hardening review):
+- Additive at the RRset level: publish/cleanup operate on a single (name, value), so wildcard+apex
+  (two values at one name) coexist.
+- No new order-status value: a failed order stays `invalid`; a boolean `dns01_retry_claimed` does the
+  winner-only CAS + claim exclusion, so existing `status` consumers are untouched.
+- Secrets (provider API tokens) are NEVER logged or written to error_detail/events.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+
+from database.connection import get_database_connection, close_database_connection
+from services.acme_service import acme_service as acme_svc, ACMEService
+from services.dns_providers import get_provider, is_supported, DnsProviderError
+from utils.dns_credentials import decrypt_dns_credentials
+from utils.activity_log import record_event
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+# Tunables (kept conservative vs Let's Encrypt rate limits: 5 failed-validations/host/hour,
+# 300 new-orders/account/3h).
+PROPAGATION_GRACE_SECONDS = 25          # min age before we tell the CA to validate
+MANUAL_CONFIRM_TTL = timedelta(hours=48)
+MAX_RETRIES = 3                          # bounded fresh-order chain (1 original + 3 retries = 4 orders)
+# Retry backoff floor (minutes) indexed by the order's current dns01_attempts: [15, 30, 60].
+# The AUTHORITATIVE implementation is the SQL CASE in main.py's claim query
+# (complete_pending_acme_orders), so the backoff is evaluated atomically with the
+# FOR UPDATE SKIP LOCKED claim. Documented here only — do not reintroduce a second copy.
+
+
+def _now() -> datetime:
+    return datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+
+
+def _aware(dt) -> Optional[datetime]:
+    if dt is None:
+        return None
+    return dt if dt.tzinfo else dt.replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+
+
+async def _load_credentials(conn, account_id: int) -> Tuple[Optional[Dict[str, str]], bool]:
+    """Return (credentials_dict_or_None, row_exists). credentials None + row_exists True means the
+    stored token could not be decrypted (e.g. SECRET_KEY rotated)."""
+    row = await conn.fetchrow(
+        "SELECT credentials_encrypted FROM letsencrypt_account_dns_credentials WHERE account_id = $1",
+        account_id,
+    )
+    if not row:
+        return None, False
+    return decrypt_dns_credentials(row["credentials_encrypted"]), True
+
+
+async def _fail_order(conn, order_id: int, reason: str) -> None:
+    """Mark an order invalid with a sanitized reason (no secrets) + event."""
+    import json
+    payload = json.dumps({"stage": "dns01", "reason": reason, "timestamp": _now().isoformat()})
+    await conn.execute(
+        "UPDATE letsencrypt_orders SET status = 'invalid', error_detail = $1, updated_at = NOW() WHERE id = $2",
+        payload, order_id,
+    )
+    await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.validation", severity="ERROR", message=reason, conn=conn)
+
+
+async def advance_dns01_order(order_id: int) -> None:
+    """One non-blocking step for a claimed pending/processing dns-01 order. No-op for http-01 or
+    orders not in a publishable state. Safe to call every cycle (idempotent via CAS flags)."""
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        order = await conn.fetchrow(
+            """SELECT o.id, o.status, o.challenge_type, o.account_id, a.dns_provider
+               FROM letsencrypt_orders o JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id
+               WHERE o.id = $1""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        if not order or order["challenge_type"] != "dns-01":
+            return
+        if order["status"] not in ("pending", "processing"):
+            return
+
+        challenges = await conn.fetch(
+            "SELECT * FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'", order_id
+        )
+        if not challenges:
+            return
+
+        provider_name = (order["dns_provider"] or "manual").strip()
+
+        # --- Manual provider: the user publishes + confirms; we only enforce the deadline. ---
+        if provider_name == "manual" or not is_supported(provider_name):
+            deadline = _aware(challenges[0]["manual_confirm_deadline"])
+            if deadline is None:
+                new_deadline = _now() + MANUAL_CONFIRM_TTL
+                await conn.execute(
+                    "UPDATE acme_challenges SET manual_confirm_deadline = $1 WHERE order_id = $2 AND manual_confirm_deadline IS NULL",
+                    new_deadline, order_id,
+                )
+            elif _now() > deadline:
+                await _fail_order(conn, order_id,
+                                  "Manual DNS-01 confirmation deadline passed without confirmation.")
+            return  # respond happens via the dns-confirm endpoint
+
+        # --- Automated provider (e.g. Cloudflare). ---
+        creds, row_exists = await _load_credentials(conn, order["account_id"])
+        if not row_exists:
+            await _fail_order(conn, order_id,
+                              f"No DNS provider credentials configured for provider '{provider_name}'.")
+            return
+        if creds is None:
+            await _fail_order(conn, order_id,
+                              "DNS provider credentials could not be decrypted; re-enter them in Settings.")
+            return
+
+        provider = get_provider(provider_name, creds)
+
+        # Publish any not-yet-published challenge (CAS so two replicas can't double-publish).
+        for ch in challenges:
+            if ch["dns_record_published"]:
+                continue
+            flipped = await conn.fetchval(
+                """UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_published = TRUE, dns_published_at = NOW()
+                   WHERE id = $1 AND dns_record_published = FALSE RETURNING id""",
+                ch["id"],
+            )
+            if not flipped:
+                continue
+            name = ACMEService._challenge_dns_name(ch["domain"])
+            try:
+                await provider.add_txt_record(name, ch["dns_txt_value"])
+                await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.publish",
+                                   message=f"Published TXT {name}; waiting for DNS propagation before asking the CA to validate.",
+                                   details={"name": name, "provider": provider_name}, conn=conn)
+            except DnsProviderError as exc:
+                # Revert so the next cycle retries the publish; keep the order pending. exc is sanitized.
+                await conn.execute(
+                    "UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_published = FALSE, dns_published_at = NULL WHERE id = $1",
+                    ch["id"],
+                )
+                await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.publish", severity="WARNING",
+                                   message=f"Publish failed for {name}: {exc}",
+                                   details={"name": name, "provider": provider_name}, conn=conn)
+                return
+
+        # All published? Then respond once the min-age gate has elapsed (across cycles, no sleep).
+        rows = await conn.fetch(
+            "SELECT dns_record_published, dns_published_at FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        if any(not r["dns_record_published"] for r in rows):
+            return
+        published_ats = [_aware(r["dns_published_at"]) for r in rows if r["dns_published_at"]]
+        if not published_ats:
+            return
+        if (_now() - min(published_ats)).total_seconds() < PROPAGATION_GRACE_SECONDS:
+            return  # wait one more cycle
+
+        # Only POST the challenge response if something still needs validating — avoids re-POSTing
+        # every cycle (and bumping dns01_last_attempt_at) once the CA already has them processing.
+        still_pending = await conn.fetchval(
+            """SELECT 1 FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'
+               AND (status IN ('pending', 'failed') OR status IS NULL) LIMIT 1""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        if not still_pending:
+            return
+
+        await acme_svc.respond_to_challenges(order_id)
+        await conn.execute("UPDATE letsencrypt_orders SET dns01_last_attempt_at = NOW() WHERE id = $1", order_id)
+        await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.responded",
+                           message="Told the CA to validate the DNS-01 challenge(s).", conn=conn)
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+async def confirm_manual_dns01(order_id: int) -> Dict:
+    """Called by POST /orders/{id}/dns-confirm for the manual provider: mark the TXT published and
+    tell the CA to validate. Returns a small status dict."""
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        await conn.execute(
+            """UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_published = TRUE, dns_published_at = COALESCE(dns_published_at, NOW())
+               WHERE order_id = $1 AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        await acme_svc.respond_to_challenges(order_id)
+        await conn.execute("UPDATE letsencrypt_orders SET dns01_last_attempt_at = NOW() WHERE id = $1", order_id)
+        await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.responded",
+                           message="Manual DNS-01 confirmed; told the CA to validate.", conn=conn)
+        return {"ok": True}
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+async def retry_invalid_dns01(order_id: int) -> None:
+    """Bounded fresh-order recovery for a dns-01 order that went `invalid` (e.g. propagation lag).
+    Winner-only CAS on `dns01_retry_claimed`; cleans the old TXT, mints a child order. No-op for
+    http-01 or when the budget is exhausted."""
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    child_created = False
+    try:
+        order = await conn.fetchrow(
+            """SELECT o.*, a.dns_provider FROM letsencrypt_orders o
+               JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id WHERE o.id = $1""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        if not order or order["challenge_type"] != "dns-01":
+            return
+        if (order["dns01_attempts"] or 0) >= MAX_RETRIES:
+            return  # budget exhausted; stays terminal invalid
+
+        # Winner-only claim (closes the cross-replica double-mint race).
+        claimed = await conn.fetchval(
+            """UPDATE letsencrypt_orders SET dns01_retry_claimed = TRUE, updated_at = NOW()
+               WHERE id = $1 AND status = 'invalid' AND dns01_retry_claimed = FALSE RETURNING id""",
+            order_id,
+        )
+        if not claimed:
+            return
+
+        provider_name = (order["dns_provider"] or "manual").strip()
+        # Best-effort cleanup of this order's TXT before minting the replacement.
+        if provider_name != "manual" and is_supported(provider_name):
+            creds, _exists = await _load_credentials(conn, order["account_id"])
+            if creds:
+                provider = get_provider(provider_name, creds)
+                chs = await conn.fetch(
+                    "SELECT domain, dns_txt_value FROM acme_challenges WHERE order_id = $1 AND challenge_type = 'dns-01'",
+                    order_id,
+                )
+                for ch in chs:
+                    try:
+                        await provider.remove_txt_record(ACMEService._challenge_dns_name(ch["domain"]), ch["dns_txt_value"])
+                    except DnsProviderError:
+                        pass  # tolerate; the reconcile sweep will retry
+        await conn.execute(
+            "UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_cleaned = TRUE WHERE order_id = $1 AND dns_record_published = TRUE",
+            order_id,
+        )
+
+        import json
+        domains = json.loads(order["domains"]) if isinstance(order["domains"], str) else (order["domains"] or [])
+        cluster_ids = json.loads(order["cluster_ids"]) if isinstance(order["cluster_ids"], str) else (order["cluster_ids"] or [])
+        next_attempts = (order["dns01_attempts"] or 0) + 1
+        child = await acme_svc.create_order(
+            order["account_id"], domains, cluster_ids, challenge_type="dns-01",
+            created_by=order["created_by"],
+        )
+        child_created = True
+        await conn.execute(
+            """UPDATE letsencrypt_orders
+               SET dns01_attempts = $1, dns01_parent_order_id = $2, dns01_last_attempt_at = NOW()
+               WHERE id = $3""",
+            next_attempts, order_id, child["order_id"],
+        )
+        await record_event(order_id, "acme.dns01.validation", severity="WARNING",
+                           message=f"DNS-01 order invalid; minted retry #{next_attempts} (order {child['order_id']}).",
+                           details={"child_order_id": child["order_id"], "attempt": next_attempts}, conn=conn)
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.error(f"[DNS01-RETRY] order {order_id}: {exc}")
+        # A transient failure (e.g. CA rate limit) BEFORE the child was minted must NOT permanently
+        # burn the retry slot — reset the claim so the next cycle can retry. If the child was already
+        # created, leave the claim set (resetting would double-mint).
+        if not child_created:
+            try:
+                await conn.execute(
+                    "UPDATE letsencrypt_orders SET dns01_retry_claimed = FALSE WHERE id = $1 AND status = 'invalid'",
+                    order_id,
+                )
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)
+
+
+async def reconcile_dns01_cleanup() -> None:
+    """Best-effort sweep that removes any TXT records left published for terminal orders (covers a
+    cleanup that failed, or the kill-switch being flipped off mid-flight). NOT gated by the
+    kill-switch. Runs once per completion cycle."""
+    conn = await get_database_connection()
+    try:
+        rows = await conn.fetch(
+            """SELECT c.id AS chal_id, c.order_id, c.domain, c.dns_txt_value, o.account_id, a.dns_provider
+               FROM acme_challenges c
+               JOIN letsencrypt_orders o ON c.order_id = o.id
+               JOIN letsencrypt_accounts a ON o.account_id = a.id
+               WHERE c.challenge_type = 'dns-01'
+                 AND c.dns_record_published = TRUE
+                 AND COALESCE(c.dns_record_cleaned, FALSE) = FALSE
+                 AND o.status IN ('valid', 'invalid', 'cancelled')
+               LIMIT 50""",
+        )
+        for r in rows:
+            provider_name = (r["dns_provider"] or "manual").strip()
+            if provider_name == "manual" or not is_supported(provider_name):
+                # Manual: nothing to call; mark cleaned so we stop revisiting.
+                await conn.execute("UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_cleaned = TRUE WHERE id = $1", r["chal_id"])
+                continue
+            creds, _exists = await _load_credentials(conn, r["account_id"])
+            if creds is None:
+                continue  # can't clean without creds; leave for a later pass
+            provider = get_provider(provider_name, creds)
+            try:
+                await provider.remove_txt_record(ACMEService._challenge_dns_name(r["domain"]), r["dns_txt_value"])
+                await conn.execute("UPDATE acme_challenges SET dns_record_cleaned = TRUE WHERE id = $1", r["chal_id"])
+                await record_event(r["order_id"], "acme.dns01.cleanup",
+                                   message=f"Cleaned up TXT for {r['domain']}", conn=conn)
+            except DnsProviderError:
+                pass  # retry next sweep
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.debug(f"[DNS01-RECONCILE] skipped: {exc}")
+    finally:
+        await close_database_connection(conn)

backend/services/dns_providers/__init__.py

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+"""Issue #35 — ACME DNS-01 (v1.8.0): pluggable DNS provider package.
+
+A small adapter layer so DNS-01 challenges can publish/clean up the
+`_acme-challenge.<domain>` TXT record via different DNS providers. The interface is
+additive at the RRset level (add/remove a single value by name+content, never
+overwrite-by-name) so multiple coexisting values at one name (wildcard + apex) work.
+
+MVP providers: manual (user publishes the TXT themselves) and Cloudflare. New providers
+plug in via the registry without touching the orchestration.
+"""
+from .base import DnsProvider, DnsProviderError
+from .registry import get_provider, list_providers, is_supported
+
+__all__ = ["DnsProvider", "DnsProviderError", "get_provider", "list_providers", "is_supported"]

backend/services/dns_providers/base.py

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+"""Abstract DNS provider interface for ACME DNS-01 (Issue #35)."""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from typing import Dict, List
+
+
+class DnsProviderError(Exception):
+    """A DNS provider failure with a SANITIZED, user-safe message.
+
+    The message must NEVER contain API tokens, request headers, or other secrets — it is
+    persisted to acme_order_events / order error_detail and shown in the UI. Raise this (not a
+    raw aiohttp/json error) so credentials can't leak into logs or the order timeline.
+    """
+
+
+class DnsProvider(ABC):
+    """Base class for a pluggable DNS provider.
+
+    RRset semantics are ADDITIVE: ``add_txt_record`` ensures a (name, value) TXT exists WITHOUT
+    removing other values at the same name, and ``remove_txt_record`` deletes ONLY the record
+    matching (name, value). This is required because a cert for ``example.com`` + ``*.example.com``
+    publishes two distinct values at the SAME name ``_acme-challenge.example.com``.
+    """
+
+    # Stable machine name (used in DB + API); human label; whether the provider automates publishing.
+    name: str = "base"
+    label: str = "Base"
+    automated: bool = True
+
+    # Declarative schema the UI renders to collect credentials. Each field:
+    #   {"key", "label", "type" ("text"|"password"), "required" (bool), "max_length" (int), "help" (str)}
+    credential_fields: List[Dict] = []
+
+    def __init__(self, credentials: Dict[str, str] | None = None):
+        self.credentials = credentials or {}
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def verify_credentials(self) -> Dict:
+        """Validate the stored credentials against the provider. Returns
+        ``{"ok": bool, "detail": str}`` (detail is user-safe). Must not raise on auth failure —
+        return ``ok=False`` with a sanitized detail; may raise DnsProviderError on transport errors.
+        """
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def add_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        """Ensure a TXT record (name, value) exists. Idempotent; must not remove other values
+        at the same name. Raise DnsProviderError (sanitized) on failure."""
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def remove_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        """Remove ONLY the TXT record matching (name, value). Tolerate 'already gone'.
+        Raise DnsProviderError (sanitized) on a real failure."""

backend/services/dns_providers/cloudflare.py

@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+"""Cloudflare DNS provider for ACME DNS-01 (Issue #35).
+
+Uses the Cloudflare API v4 over aiohttp (no new dependency). The base URL is a hardcoded
+constant and redirects are not followed (no user-controlled URL — only the already-validated
+domain name influences which zone is used). Errors are wrapped in DnsProviderError with a
+sanitized message so the API token never reaches logs / order events.
+
+Token scope required: Zone:DNS:Edit + Zone:Read.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+import re
+from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+from urllib.parse import quote
+
+import aiohttp
+
+from .base import DnsProvider, DnsProviderError
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+CLOUDFLARE_API_BASE = "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4"
+_TIMEOUT = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=20)
+
+# Characters NOT valid in an HTTP bearer credential (RFC 6750 token68: A-Za-z0-9-._~+/=).
+# Cloudflare API tokens are a strict subset of this set, so removing anything outside it can
+# never corrupt a valid token, but it does strip the paste artifacts that make Cloudflare
+# reject the Authorization header with HTTP 400 "Invalid request headers" (CF code 6003):
+# surrounding/embedded quotes, interior spaces/tabs, zero-width/unicode chars, and CR/LF
+# (the latter would otherwise make aiohttp raise client-side before the request is even sent).
+_NON_TOKEN68 = re.compile(r"[^A-Za-z0-9._~+/=-]")
+
+
+def _strip_quotes(s: str) -> str:
+    s = (s or "").strip()
+    if len(s) >= 2 and s[0] == '"' and s[-1] == '"':
+        return s[1:-1]
+    return s
+
+
+def _sanitize_token(s: str) -> str:
+    """Strip surrounding quotes/whitespace, then drop every character outside the token68 set."""
+    return _NON_TOKEN68.sub("", _strip_quotes(s))
+
+
+class CloudflareDNSProvider(DnsProvider):
+    name = "cloudflare"
+    label = "Cloudflare"
+    automated = True
+    credential_fields: List[Dict] = [
+        {
+            "key": "api_token",
+            "label": "API Token",
+            "type": "password",
+            "required": True,
+            "max_length": 200,
+            "help": "Scoped API token with Zone:DNS:Edit and Zone:Read permissions.",
+        }
+    ]
+
+    def __init__(self, credentials: Dict[str, str] | None = None):
+        super().__init__(credentials)
+        self._raw_token = (self.credentials.get("api_token") or "").strip()
+        # Sanitize to the token68 set so a pasted token with quotes/spaces/control/unicode chars
+        # cannot produce an invalid Authorization header (CF 6003 "Invalid request headers").
+        self._token = _sanitize_token(self._raw_token)
+
+    def _headers(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
+        return {"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._token}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
+
+    async def _request(self, session: aiohttp.ClientSession, method: str, path: str, **kwargs) -> dict:
+        """One Cloudflare API call. Returns the parsed JSON body. Raises a SANITIZED
+        DnsProviderError on transport/HTTP/API error (never echoes the token or raw headers)."""
+        url = f"{CLOUDFLARE_API_BASE}{path}"
+        try:
+            async with session.request(
+                method, url, headers=self._headers(), allow_redirects=False, **kwargs
+            ) as resp:
+                try:
+                    body = await resp.json()
+                except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001
+                    body = {}
+                if resp.status in (401, 403):
+                    raise DnsProviderError("Cloudflare rejected the API token (check it has Zone:DNS:Edit + Zone:Read).")
+                if resp.status >= 400 or not body.get("success", False):
+                    # Cloudflare returns {"errors":[{"code":..,"message":..}]} — surface only the
+                    # human message text, never the request (which carries the token header).
+                    msgs = "; ".join(
+                        str(e.get("message")) for e in (body.get("errors") or []) if e.get("message")
+                    )
+                    raise DnsProviderError(
+                        f"Cloudflare API error (HTTP {resp.status}){': ' + msgs if msgs else ''}"
+                    )
+                return body
+        except DnsProviderError:
+            raise
+        except aiohttp.ClientError as exc:
+            # Do NOT include exc verbatim everywhere; aiohttp client errors are URL/transport only
+            # (no token), but keep the message generic and stable.
+            raise DnsProviderError(f"Could not reach the Cloudflare API ({type(exc).__name__}).")
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+            raise DnsProviderError(f"Unexpected Cloudflare API failure ({type(exc).__name__}).")
+
+    async def verify_credentials(self) -> Dict:
+        if not self._token:
+            return {"ok": False, "detail": "No Cloudflare API token provided."}
+        try:
+            async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=_TIMEOUT) as session:
+                body = await self._request(session, "GET", "/zones?per_page=1")
+            total = ((body.get("result_info") or {}).get("total_count"))
+            detail = "Cloudflare token valid."
+            if isinstance(total, int):
+                detail = f"Cloudflare token valid; {total} zone(s) visible."
+            return {"ok": True, "detail": detail}
+        except DnsProviderError as exc:
+            # Always surface the real Cloudflare reason (e.g. token scope). If sanitizing also changed
+            # the token, append a hint that stray characters were stripped (never echo the token).
+            detail = str(exc)
+            if self._raw_token != self._token:
+                detail += (" Note: the token contained characters that were stripped; if it still "
+                           "fails, re-copy it from Cloudflare without quotes or spaces.")
+            return {"ok": False, "detail": detail}
+        except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 — never leak an internal/transport error verbatim
+            return {"ok": False, "detail": "Could not verify the Cloudflare token."}
+
+    async def _resolve_zone(self, session: aiohttp.ClientSession, record_name: str) -> Tuple[str, str]:
+        """Find the most-specific (longest-suffix) managed zone for a record name.
+        Returns (zone_id, zone_name). Raises DnsProviderError if no zone matches."""
+        labels = record_name.split(".")
+        # Walk suffixes from longest to shortest; a zone needs at least 2 labels.
+        for i in range(len(labels) - 1):
+            candidate = ".".join(labels[i:])
+            if candidate.count(".") < 1:
+                break
+            body = await self._request(
+                session, "GET", f"/zones?name={quote(candidate)}&status=active&per_page=50"
+            )
+            results = body.get("result") or []
+            if results:
+                return results[0]["id"], candidate
+        raise DnsProviderError(f"No managed Cloudflare zone found for {record_name}.")
+
+    async def _find_record_id(
+        self, session: aiohttp.ClientSession, zone_id: str, name: str, value: str
+    ) -> Optional[str]:
+        body = await self._request(
+            session, "GET", f"/zones/{zone_id}/dns_records?type=TXT&name={quote(name)}&per_page=100"
+        )
+        for rec in body.get("result") or []:
+            if _strip_quotes(rec.get("content", "")) == value:
+                return rec.get("id")
+        return None
+
+    async def add_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=_TIMEOUT) as session:
+            zone_id, _zone_name = await self._resolve_zone(session, name)
+            # Idempotent: only create if (name, value) is not already present (preserves coexisting values).
+            existing = await self._find_record_id(session, zone_id, name, value)
+            if existing:
+                return
+            await self._request(
+                session,
+                "POST",
+                f"/zones/{zone_id}/dns_records",
+                json={"type": "TXT", "name": name, "content": value, "ttl": 120},
+            )
+
+    async def remove_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        async with aiohttp.ClientSession(timeout=_TIMEOUT) as session:
+            try:
+                zone_id, _zone_name = await self._resolve_zone(session, name)
+            except DnsProviderError:
+                # Zone gone / not resolvable — nothing we can clean up.
+                return
+            record_id = await self._find_record_id(session, zone_id, name, value)
+            if not record_id:
+                return  # already gone — tolerate
+            await self._request(session, "DELETE", f"/zones/{zone_id}/dns_records/{record_id}")

backend/services/dns_providers/manual.py

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+"""Manual DNS provider for ACME DNS-01 (Issue #35).
+
+The user publishes the `_acme-challenge` TXT record in their own DNS (any provider, including
+fully internal/isolated DNS that no API can reach) and then confirms via the UI. There is no API
+to call, so add/remove are no-ops and the orchestration waits for an explicit `dns-confirm`.
+CNAME delegation works implicitly here: the CA follows a CNAME, so a user who delegates
+`_acme-challenge` elsewhere just publishes the value there and confirms.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Dict, List
+
+from .base import DnsProvider
+
+
+class ManualDNSProvider(DnsProvider):
+    name = "manual"
+    label = "Manual (publish the TXT record yourself)"
+    automated = False
+    credential_fields: List[Dict] = []  # no credentials needed
+
+    async def verify_credentials(self) -> Dict:
+        return {"ok": True, "detail": "Manual mode needs no credentials. You will publish the TXT record yourself."}
+
+    async def add_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        # No-op: the user publishes the record and confirms via the UI.
+        return None
+
+    async def remove_txt_record(self, name: str, value: str) -> None:
+        # No-op: the user may remove the record manually after issuance.
+        return None

backend/services/dns_providers/registry.py

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+"""DNS provider registry for ACME DNS-01 (Issue #35).
+
+Single source of truth mapping a provider name -> class. The API serves the credential-field
+schema from here (so the UI has no hardcoded provider fields) and validates inbound provider
+names against this allow-list. Adding a provider = add it here; nothing else changes.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Dict, List, Type
+
+from .base import DnsProvider
+from .cloudflare import CloudflareDNSProvider
+from .manual import ManualDNSProvider
+
+_PROVIDERS: Dict[str, Type[DnsProvider]] = {
+    ManualDNSProvider.name: ManualDNSProvider,
+    CloudflareDNSProvider.name: CloudflareDNSProvider,
+}
+
+
+def is_supported(name: str) -> bool:
+    return name in _PROVIDERS
+
+
+def get_provider(name: str, credentials: Dict[str, str] | None = None) -> DnsProvider:
+    cls = _PROVIDERS.get(name)
+    if cls is None:
+        raise ValueError(f"Unsupported DNS provider: {name}")
+    return cls(credentials or {})
+
+
+def list_providers() -> List[Dict]:
+    """Return the UI-facing provider catalog: name, label, automated flag, and credential schema."""
+    out: List[Dict] = []
+    for name, cls in _PROVIDERS.items():
+        out.append(
+            {
+                "name": cls.name,
+                "label": cls.label,
+                "automated": cls.automated,
+                "credential_fields": cls.credential_fields,
+            }
+        )
+    return out

backend/services/frontend_service.py

@@ -56,14 +56,14 @@ async def create_frontend_row(
             acl_rules, redirect_rules, use_backend_rules,
             request_headers, response_headers, options, tcp_request_rules, timeout_client, timeout_http_request,
             rate_limit, compression, log_separate, monitor_uri,
-            cluster_id, maxconn, updated_at
+            cluster_id, maxconn, log_format, filters, updated_at
         ) VALUES (
             $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10, $11, $12,
             $13, $14, $15, $16, $17, $18, $19,
             $20, $21, $22,
             $23, $24, $25, $26, $27, $28,
             $29, $30, $31, $32,
-            $33, $34, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+            $33, $34, $35, $36, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
         )
         RETURNING id
         """,
@@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ async def create_frontend_row(
         getattr(payload, "monitor_uri", None),
         cluster_id,
         getattr(payload, "maxconn", None),
+        getattr(payload, "log_format", None),  # Issue #38
+        getattr(payload, "filters", None),     # Issue #38
     )
 
     if mark_pending:

backend/services/haproxy_config.py

@@ -393,6 +393,12 @@ def _categorize_haproxy_directive(line: str) -> str:
         return "prelude"
     if s.startswith("acl "):
         return "acl"
+    # Issue #38: SPOE (and other) `filter` directives must be declared BEFORE
+    # the `http-request send-spoe-group` rules that use them, otherwise HAProxy
+    # fails with "unable to find SPOE engine". Own bucket, flushed right after
+    # `prelude` and before tcp_req/acl/http_req (see flush order below).
+    if s.startswith("filter "):
+        return "filter"
     if s.startswith("stick-table") or s.startswith("stick "):
         return "stick"
     if s.startswith("tcp-request"):
@@ -414,6 +420,7 @@ def _categorize_haproxy_directive(line: str) -> str:
         or s.startswith("compression ")
         or s.startswith("monitor-uri")
         or s.startswith("log ")
+        or s.startswith("log-format")  # Issue #38: log-format / log-format-sd
         or s.startswith("description ")
         or s.startswith("disabled")
         or s.startswith("enabled")
@@ -903,7 +910,7 @@ async def generate_haproxy_config_for_cluster(cluster_id: int, conn: Optional[An
             # "stick-table already declared").
             # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
             _fe_buckets: Dict[str, List[str]] = {
-                "prelude": [], "stick": [], "tcp_req": [],
+                "prelude": [], "filter": [], "stick": [], "tcp_req": [],
                 "acl": [], "http_req": [], "http_resp": [],
                 "redirect": [], "use_be": [], "default_be": [],
             }
@@ -996,6 +1003,17 @@ async def generate_haproxy_config_for_cluster(cluster_id: int, conn: Optional[An
                     if line_stripped and line_stripped not in ('[]', '{}', 'null', 'None'):
                         _emit_fe(f"    {line_stripped}")
 
+            # Issue #38: emit frontend log-format and SPOE (etc.) filter directives.
+            # `log_format` routes to the `prelude` bucket, `filters` to the `filter`
+            # bucket (both via _emit_fe → _categorize_haproxy_directive), guaranteeing
+            # `filter ...` is rendered before the `http-request send-spoe-group` rules.
+            for _fld in ('log_format', 'filters'):
+                if frontend.get(_fld):
+                    for line in frontend[_fld].split('\n'):
+                        line_stripped = line.strip()
+                        if line_stripped and line_stripped not in ('[]', '{}', 'null', 'None'):
+                            _emit_fe(f"    {line_stripped}")
+
             # CRITICAL: Validate frontend-backend mode compatibility
             if frontend.get('default_backend'):
                 default_backend_name = frontend['default_backend'].strip() if frontend['default_backend'] else ''
@@ -1223,6 +1241,7 @@ async def generate_haproxy_config_for_cluster(cluster_id: int, conn: Optional[An
             # ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
             for _bucket_key in (
                 "prelude",
+                "filter",
                 "stick",
                 "tcp_req",
                 "acl",

backend/tests/test_acme_humanizer.py

@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ def test_legacy_plain_string_with_brace_but_invalid_json_falls_back():
     ("urn:ietf:params:acme:error:rejectedIdentifier", "blacklisted",    "rejected"),
     ("urn:ietf:params:acme:error:serverInternal", "internal err",       "ACME server"),
     ("urn:ietf:params:acme:error:userActionRequired", "agree to ToS",   "User action"),
+    ("urn:ietf:params:acme:error:externalAccountRequired", "EAB required", "External Account Binding"),
 ])
 def test_known_problem_types_are_humanized(problem_type, detail_text, expected_title_contains):
     payload = json.dumps({"type": problem_type, "detail": detail_text, "status": 400})

backend/tests/test_acme_pydantic_validation.py

@@ -8,7 +8,31 @@ from pydantic import ValidationError
 
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
 
-from routers.letsencrypt import CertificateRequest
+from routers.letsencrypt import CertificateRequest, AccountCreate
+
+
+class TestAccountCreateEAB:
+    """Issue #35 follow-up: EAB HMAC key must be valid base64url; empty/None passes through
+    (falls back to global Settings) so non-EAB accounts (HTTP-01 / LE / Cloudflare) are unaffected."""
+
+    def test_no_eab_is_allowed(self):
+        acc = AccountCreate(email="a@b.com")
+        assert acc.eab_hmac_key is None and acc.eab_kid is None
+
+    def test_valid_base64url_hmac_accepted(self):
+        # urlsafe base64, unpadded and padded — both accepted.
+        AccountCreate(email="a@b.com", eab_kid="kid-1", eab_hmac_key="YWJjZGVmZ2g")
+        AccountCreate(email="a@b.com", eab_kid="kid-1", eab_hmac_key="YWJjZA==")
+
+    def test_invalid_base64_hmac_rejected(self):
+        # 5 base64 chars (count ≡ 1 mod 4) is undecodable — the exact shape that would otherwise
+        # make register_account's _b64url_decode raise a cryptic binascii error.
+        with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
+            AccountCreate(email="a@b.com", eab_kid="kid-1", eab_hmac_key="AAAAA")
+
+    def test_oversized_hmac_rejected(self):
+        with pytest.raises(ValidationError):
+            AccountCreate(email="a@b.com", eab_kid="kid-1", eab_hmac_key="A" * 600)
 
 
 class TestCertificateRequestDomains:

backend/tests/test_agent_heartbeat_sanitizer.py

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+"""Issue #31 — agent heartbeat JSON sanitizer.
+
+A self-hosted agent builds its heartbeat JSON as text in bash. When a collected value is empty,
+the payload can contain a structurally-invalid comma that broke the heartbeat with
+`HTTP 400 Invalid JSON: Expecting property name enclosed in double quotes`. The backend now
+repairs that pattern in `_sanitize_agent_json` so an already-deployed agent recovers without a
+re-install. These tests pin that behaviour and prove the repair never corrupts a healthy payload.
+"""
+import json
+
+from routers.agent import _sanitize_agent_json
+
+
+def _assert_parses(raw: str) -> dict:
+    out, _ = _sanitize_agent_json(raw)
+    return json.loads(out)  # raises if the repair did not produce valid JSON
+
+
+def test_reporter_empty_system_info_bare_comma():
+    # The exact shape the reporter hit: an empty $system_info collapses '    $system_info,' to a
+    # bare comma between two members -> '"version": "x",\n    ,\n    "haproxy_status": ...'.
+    raw = (
+        '{\n'
+        '    "name": "test",\n'
+        '    "hostname": "h",\n'
+        '    "status": "online",\n'
+        '    "version": "2.0.0",\n'
+        '    ,\n'
+        '    "haproxy_status": "running",\n'
+        '    "cluster_id": 1\n'
+        '}'
+    )
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["name"] == "test"
+    assert parsed["status"] == "online"
+    assert parsed["haproxy_status"] == "running"
+
+
+def test_empty_numeric_subfield_before_comma():
+    # An empty unquoted numeric ("memory_total": ,) — covered by the pre-existing Fix 1.
+    raw = '{ "name": "t", "cpu_count": , "memory_total": , "status": "online" }'
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["cpu_count"] is None and parsed["memory_total"] is None
+    assert parsed["status"] == "online"
+
+
+def test_empty_value_before_closing_brace():
+    raw = '{ "name": "t", "status": "online", "applied_config_version": }'
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["applied_config_version"] is None
+
+
+def test_leading_comma_first_member():
+    # Empty $system_info as the FIRST member -> '{ , "name": ... }'.
+    raw = '{\n    ,\n    "name": "t",\n    "status": "online"\n}'
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["name"] == "t"
+
+
+def test_comma_run_two_empty_fields():
+    # Two empties in a row (odd-length comma run) must still collapse to valid JSON.
+    raw = '{ "a": 1,\n    ,\n    ,\n    "b": 2 }'
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["a"] == 1 and parsed["b"] == 2
+
+
+def test_trailing_comma_regression():
+    # Pre-existing Fix 3 must still hold after the new fixes were added.
+    raw = '{ "name": "t", "status": "online", }'
+    parsed = _assert_parses(raw)
+    assert parsed["name"] == "t"
+
+
+def test_healthy_payload_is_untouched():
+    # A well-formed agent payload must pass through unchanged (sanitized=False) and its values —
+    # including the base64 stats CSV and the nested server_statuses — must be byte-identical.
+    payload = {
+        "name": "agent-1",
+        "status": "online",
+        "cluster_id": 1,
+        "server_statuses": {"be_app": {"s1": "UP", "s2": "DOWN"}},
+        "network_interfaces": ["eth0", "eth1"],
+        "haproxy_stats_csv": "IyBwdmJjLGJhY2tlbmQsZnJvbnRlbmQs",  # base64: contains commas only inside a quoted string is impossible (base64 has none)
+        "applied_config_version": "cluster-1-v42",
+    }
+    raw = json.dumps(payload)
+    out, changed = _sanitize_agent_json(raw)
+    assert changed is False
+    assert out == raw  # byte-identical
+    assert json.loads(out) == payload
+
+
+def test_idempotent_on_already_clean_minimal():
+    raw = '{"name": "t", "status": "online"}'
+    out, changed = _sanitize_agent_json(raw)
+    assert changed is False
+    assert out == raw

backend/tests/test_agent_script_heartbeat_json.py

@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+"""Issue #31 — agent-script hardening guard (static).
+
+The agent install scripts hand-build the heartbeat JSON, so if `collect_system_info` ever yields
+nothing the `$system_info,` line collapses to a bare comma and the whole heartbeat is invalid JSON
+(HTTP 400). The fix adds a guard at every fragment-form call site that substitutes a single valid
+key when system_info is empty. This static check enforces that the guard is present AND kept in
+sync across BOTH platform scripts — the project requires the two agent-script copies to stay in
+lockstep. (Empty numeric subfields like "memory_total": , are a separate, milder case already
+repaired by the backend sanitizer, so they are intentionally NOT guarded in the script — guarding
+them with a strict integer test would wrongly reject the scientific-notation that mawk emits for
+multi-GB sizes on Debian/Ubuntu.)
+"""
+import os
+
+_SCRIPT_DIR = os.path.join(
+    os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))),  # backend/
+    "utils", "agent_scripts",
+)
+
+
+def _read(name: str) -> str:
+    with open(os.path.join(_SCRIPT_DIR, name), "r") as f:
+        return f.read()
+
+
+LINUX = _read("linux_install.sh")
+MACOS = _read("macos_install.sh")
+
+# The empty-system_info guard — present at BOTH fragment call sites (register_agent + send_heartbeat).
+_B2_GUARD = '[[ "$system_info" != *\'"\'* ]] && system_info=\'"operating_system": "unknown"\''
+
+
+def test_b2_guard_present_and_in_sync():
+    # Two fragment-form call sites per script (register_agent + send_heartbeat), identical wording.
+    assert LINUX.count(_B2_GUARD) == 2, "linux_install.sh missing/duplicated empty-system_info guard"
+    assert MACOS.count(_B2_GUARD) == 2, "macos_install.sh missing/duplicated empty-system_info guard"
+
+
+def test_b2_guard_precedes_every_fragment_system_info_use():
+    # Every '    $system_info,' fragment line (the one that breaks on an empty value) must be in a
+    # function whose system_info was guarded. We assert the count of guards matches the count of
+    # fragment-form interpolations' call sites: each script has exactly one register + one
+    # send_heartbeat fragment builder feeding those lines, both guarded above.
+    for name, script in (("linux", LINUX), ("macos", MACOS)):
+        assert script.count("    $system_info,") >= 1, f"{name}: fragment heartbeat form unexpectedly gone"
+        assert script.count(_B2_GUARD) == 2, f"{name}: each fragment call site must carry the guard"
+
+
+def test_cleanup_does_not_self_kill_via_bare_haproxy_agent_pattern():
+    # Issue #31 (v1.8.4): the pre-installation cleanup kills processes by pgrep -f "$pattern". A bare
+    # "haproxy-agent" pattern also matches the installer's OWN path (install-haproxy-agent-*.sh) and a
+    # sudo/PAM ancestor, so the installer killed itself. The kill loop must target ONLY the installed
+    # agent (binary path + service/label), never the bare string.
+    for name, script in (("linux", LINUX), ("macos", MACOS)):
+        assert 'for pattern in "haproxy-agent"' not in script, (
+            f"{name}: pre-install cleanup uses the bare 'haproxy-agent' kill pattern -> self-kill (issue #31)"
+        )
+        # The narrowed, installer-safe pattern must be present (binary path via $INSTALL_DIR).
+        assert 'for pattern in "$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent"' in script, (
+            f"{name}: cleanup must match the installed binary path, not a bare substring"
+        )

backend/tests/test_dns01.py

@@ -0,0 +1,220 @@
+"""Issue #35 — ACME DNS-01: focused unit tests for the pure logic (no DB/network).
+
+Covers the TXT-value math (RFC 8555 §8.4 — raw SHA-256 digest, base64url, NOT hex),
+the _acme-challenge record-name derivation (wildcard stripping), credential encryption
+round-trip + tamper handling, and the DNS provider registry/allow-list.
+"""
+import base64
+import hashlib
+import os
+
+os.environ.setdefault("SECRET_KEY", "test-secret-key-for-dns01-unit-tests")
+
+from services.acme_service import ACMEService
+from services.dns_providers import list_providers, is_supported, get_provider, DnsProviderError
+from utils.dns_credentials import (
+    encrypt_dns_credentials, decrypt_dns_credentials, reset_fernet_for_tests,
+)
+
+
+def _b64url(b: bytes) -> str:
+    return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(b).rstrip(b"=").decode("ascii")
+
+
+def test_dns_txt_value_is_raw_sha256_base64url():
+    key_auth = "token123.thumbprintABC"
+    expected = _b64url(hashlib.sha256(key_auth.encode("utf-8")).digest())
+    assert ACMEService._dns_txt_value(key_auth) == expected
+    # Must NOT be the (classic-mistake) base64url of the HEX digest.
+    hex_based = _b64url(hashlib.sha256(key_auth.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest().encode("utf-8"))
+    assert ACMEService._dns_txt_value(key_auth) != hex_based
+
+
+def test_challenge_dns_name_derivation():
+    assert ACMEService._challenge_dns_name("example.com") == "_acme-challenge.example.com"
+    # Wildcard: the '*.' is stripped, so apex + wildcard share the SAME record name.
+    assert ACMEService._challenge_dns_name("*.example.com") == "_acme-challenge.example.com"
+    assert ACMEService._challenge_dns_name("foo.bar.example.com") == "_acme-challenge.foo.bar.example.com"
+
+
+def test_credential_encryption_roundtrip():
+    reset_fernet_for_tests()
+    creds = {"api_token": "super-secret-token-value"}
+    token = encrypt_dns_credentials(creds)
+    assert token != "super-secret-token-value"
+    assert "super-secret-token-value" not in token  # ciphertext, not plaintext
+    assert decrypt_dns_credentials(token) == creds
+
+
+def test_decrypt_invalid_token_returns_none():
+    reset_fernet_for_tests()
+    assert decrypt_dns_credentials("not-a-valid-fernet-token") is None
+
+
+def test_provider_registry_and_allow_list():
+    names = {p["name"] for p in list_providers()}
+    assert {"manual", "cloudflare"} <= names
+    assert is_supported("manual") and is_supported("cloudflare")
+    assert not is_supported("route53")  # not in MVP allow-list
+
+    assert get_provider("manual").automated is False
+    cf = get_provider("cloudflare", {"api_token": "x"})
+    assert cf.automated is True
+    assert any(f["key"] == "api_token" for f in cf.credential_fields)
+
+    raised = False
+    try:
+        get_provider("definitely-not-a-provider")
+    except ValueError:
+        raised = True
+    assert raised
+
+
+def test_cloudflare_token_sanitize():
+    # Issue #35 follow-up: a pasted token with quotes/spaces/control/unicode chars produced an
+    # invalid Authorization header (CF 6003 "Invalid request headers"). The sanitizer strips them.
+    from services.dns_providers.cloudflare import _sanitize_token, CloudflareDNSProvider
+
+    # Surrounding double quotes stripped.
+    assert _sanitize_token('"abc123-_def"') == 'abc123-_def'
+    # Interior spaces / tabs / newlines removed.
+    assert _sanitize_token('abc 123\tdef\n') == 'abc123def'
+    # A clean token68 string is unchanged (cannot corrupt a valid Cloudflare token).
+    clean = 'A1b2-_C3.d4~e5+f6/g7=='
+    assert _sanitize_token(clean) == clean
+    # Single quotes and a zero-width char removed.
+    assert _sanitize_token("'tok" + chr(0x200b) + "en'") == 'token'
+
+    # The provider constructor sanitizes into _token and keeps the raw input for diagnostics.
+    p = CloudflareDNSProvider({"api_token": '"my-token_123"'})
+    assert p._token == 'my-token_123'
+    assert p._raw_token == '"my-token_123"'
+
+
+def test_b64url_decode_padding_roundtrip():
+    # Issue #35 v1.8.2: _b64url_decode must round-trip for EVERY length, including base64url strings
+    # whose length is a multiple of 4 (the case the old padding formula '=' * (4 - len%4) over-padded).
+    from services.acme_service import _b64url as enc_fn, _b64url_decode as dec_fn
+    for n in range(0, 20):
+        data = bytes(range(n))
+        assert dec_fn(enc_fn(data)) == data, f"round-trip failed at byte length {n}"
+
+
+def test_nonce_scoped_per_directory():
+    # Issue #35 v1.8.2: a nonce cached for one CA (directory_url) must never be returned for another,
+    # and must be single-use. Both directories are pre-cached so _get_nonce returns without network.
+    import asyncio
+    svc = ACMEService()
+    svc._nonce_by_dir = {"https://a.example/dir": "NONCE_A", "https://b.example/dir": "NONCE_B"}
+    got = asyncio.run(svc._get_nonce("https://a.example/dir"))
+    assert got == "NONCE_A"                                            # returns THIS CA's nonce
+    assert svc._nonce_by_dir.get("https://a.example/dir") is None      # consumed (single-use)
+    assert svc._nonce_by_dir.get("https://b.example/dir") == "NONCE_B" # the other CA is untouched
+
+
+def _sql_paren_depth(sql: str):
+    """Parenthesis depth of a SQL string, counting only OUTSIDE '...' literals (with ''
+    escapes), `--` line comments and /* */ block comments. Single-pass state machine so a
+    `--` inside a literal or a `'` inside a comment cannot corrupt the count. Dollar-quoted
+    strings are out of scope (not used in this codebase). Returns (final_depth, min_depth).
+    """
+    depth = 0
+    min_depth = 0
+    state = "normal"
+    i, n = 0, len(sql)
+    while i < n:
+        ch = sql[i]
+        nxt = sql[i + 1] if i + 1 < n else ""
+        if state == "normal":
+            if ch == "'":
+                state = "string"
+            elif ch == "-" and nxt == "-":
+                state = "line_comment"
+                i += 1
+            elif ch == "/" and nxt == "*":
+                state = "block_comment"
+                i += 1
+            elif ch == "(":
+                depth += 1
+            elif ch == ")":
+                depth -= 1
+                min_depth = min(min_depth, depth)
+        elif state == "string":
+            if ch == "'":
+                if nxt == "'":
+                    i += 1  # escaped '' stays inside the literal
+                else:
+                    state = "normal"
+        elif state == "line_comment":
+            if ch == "\n":
+                state = "normal"
+        else:  # block_comment
+            if ch == "*" and nxt == "/":
+                state = "normal"
+                i += 1
+        i += 1
+    return depth, min_depth
+
+
+def test_acme_sql_parentheses_balanced():
+    """Issue #35 v1.8.5: the completion task's order-claim query shipped (v1.8.0-v1.8.4) with an
+    extra closing parenthesis, so EVERY 60s cycle died with `syntax error at or near ")"` and no
+    background ACME work (claim/finalize/download, DNS-01 publish, wizard-staged promotion,
+    retry, TXT cleanup) ever ran. The suite never caught it because the DB layer is mocked and
+    raw SQL never reaches a real parser. This guard scans the ACME modules' SQL string literals
+    for unbalanced parentheses.
+
+    Guard scope is deliberately conservative to avoid false positives on production changes:
+    keyword matching is case-sensitive (SQL is uppercase in this codebase; prose in docstrings
+    is not) and f-string fragments are excluded (they split at `{`, so a fragment may be
+    legitimately unbalanced).
+    """
+    import ast
+    import re
+
+    backend_dir = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+    modules = [
+        "main.py",
+        os.path.join("services", "dns01_orchestrator.py"),
+        os.path.join("services", "acme_service.py"),
+        os.path.join("services", "letsencrypt_service.py"),
+        os.path.join("routers", "letsencrypt.py"),
+        os.path.join("routers", "acme_diagnostics.py"),
+    ]
+    problems = []
+    for rel in modules:
+        with open(os.path.join(backend_dir, rel), encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+            tree = ast.parse(fh.read())
+        fstring_parts = {
+            id(const)
+            for joined in ast.walk(tree) if isinstance(joined, ast.JoinedStr)
+            for const in ast.walk(joined) if isinstance(const, ast.Constant)
+        }
+        for node in ast.walk(tree):
+            if not (isinstance(node, ast.Constant) and isinstance(node.value, str)):
+                continue
+            if id(node) in fstring_parts:
+                continue
+            sql = node.value
+            if not re.search(r"\b(SELECT|INSERT|UPDATE|DELETE)\b", sql):
+                continue
+            if not re.search(r"\b(FROM|INTO|SET|WHERE)\b", sql):
+                continue
+            depth, min_depth = _sql_paren_depth(sql)
+            if depth != 0 or min_depth < 0:
+                problems.append(f"{rel}:{node.lineno} (paren depth {depth:+d}, min {min_depth})")
+    assert not problems, f"Unbalanced parentheses in SQL literal(s): {problems}"
+
+
+def test_sql_paren_depth_scanner():
+    # The guard's scanner itself: parens in literals/comments must not count; '' escapes and
+    # block comments handled; an extra ')' is reported via min_depth even if a later '(' would
+    # re-balance the total.
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT (1)") == (0, 0)
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT (1))") == (-1, -1)                       # the v1.8.0 bug shape
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT ')' , '((' FROM t") == (0, 0)            # literals ignored
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT 'it''s ))' FROM t") == (0, 0)            # '' escape stays inside
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT 1 -- comment ) (\nFROM t") == (0, 0)     # line comment ignored
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT 1 /* ) */ FROM t") == (0, 0)             # block comment ignored
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("SELECT 'a--b' AND (x=1\n)") == (0, 0)           # -- inside literal is data
+    assert _sql_paren_depth("WHERE x) AND (y") == (0, -1)                    # net 0 but went negative

backend/tests/test_site_wizard_round11.py

@@ -276,14 +276,16 @@ def test_categorize_routes_directives_correctly():
 
 def test_emit_buckets_flushed_in_canonical_order():
     """The flush block at end of frontend processing must list buckets
-    in: prelude → stick → tcp_req → acl → http_req → http_resp →
+    in: prelude → filter → stick → tcp_req → acl → http_req → http_resp →
     redirect → use_be → default_be. Pre-fix `http-request` rules
     interleaved with `use_backend` rules in source order, producing
-    HAProxy parser warnings."""
+    HAProxy parser warnings. (Issue #38 added the `filter` bucket, flushed
+    right after `prelude` so SPOE `filter` lines precede `send-spoe-group`.)"""
     src = _gen_src()
     flush_match = re.search(
         r'for\s+_bucket_key\s+in\s+\(\s*'
         r'"prelude"\s*,\s*'
+        r'"filter"\s*,\s*'
         r'"stick"\s*,\s*'
         r'"tcp_req"\s*,\s*'
         r'"acl"\s*,\s*'

backend/tests/test_spoe_filter_import.py

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+"""
+Issue #38 regression tests: HAProxy SPOE `filter` + frontend `log-format` support.
+
+Bug: the bulk-config parser recognised only a fixed set of frontend directives,
+so `filter spoe engine coraza config ...` and `log-format ...` were silently
+dropped on import / manual edit. This regenerated a config missing the SPOE
+engine definition, so HAProxy failed with
+"unable to find SPOE engine 'coraza' used by the send-spoe-group 'coraza-req'".
+
+These tests verify the end-to-end fix without requiring a database:
+1. parser captures `filter` + `log-format` into the new ParsedFrontend fields;
+2. `http-request send-spoe-group` is still preserved (regression guard);
+3. the generator's directive categoriser + bucket flush order emit `filter`
+   BEFORE the `http-request send-spoe-group` rules and keep `log-format`;
+4. reject/rollback restores the new columns;
+5. a non-SPOE frontend is completely unaffected (zero-impact).
+"""
+import os
+import re
+import sys
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
+
+from utils.haproxy_config_parser import parse_haproxy_config, ParsedFrontend
+from services.haproxy_config import _categorize_haproxy_directive
+from models.frontend import FrontendConfig
+
+
+# The exact frontend/backend config reported in Issue #38 (Coraza-SPOA).
+ISSUE_38_CONFIG = r"""
+frontend web-frontend
+    bind *:8073
+    mode http
+        log-format "%ci:%cp\ [%t]\ %ft\ %b/%s\ %ST\ %B\ %{+Q}r\ %[var(txn.coraza.id)]\ waf-hit:\ %[var(txn.coraza.fail)]"
+        filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg
+      http-request set-var(txn.coraza.app) str(haproxy_waf)
+     http-request send-spoe-group coraza coraza-req
+    http-request deny if { var(txn.coraza.fail) -m int eq 1 }
+    default_backend web-backend
+
+backend web-backend
+    balance roundrobin
+    mode http
+    server server1 192.168.1.10:443 weight 100 ssl verify none
+
+backend coraza-spoa
+    mode tcp
+    option spop-check
+    server coraza_spoa 192.168.12.21:9000
+"""
+
+
+def _get_frontend(parse_result, name):
+    for fe in parse_result.frontends:
+        if fe.name == name:
+            return fe
+    return None
+
+
+class TestParserCapturesSpoe:
+    def test_filter_and_log_format_captured(self):
+        result = parse_haproxy_config(ISSUE_38_CONFIG)
+        fe = _get_frontend(result, "web-frontend")
+        assert fe is not None, "web-frontend should be parsed and kept"
+        assert fe.filters is not None
+        assert "filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg" in fe.filters
+        assert fe.log_format is not None
+        assert fe.log_format.startswith("log-format")
+        # the escaped/quoted format string must be preserved verbatim
+        assert "%[var(txn.coraza.fail)]" in fe.log_format
+
+    def test_send_spoe_group_still_preserved(self):
+        # Regression guard: http-request rules (incl. send-spoe-group) must
+        # still be collected into request_headers as before.
+        result = parse_haproxy_config(ISSUE_38_CONFIG)
+        fe = _get_frontend(result, "web-frontend")
+        assert fe.request_headers is not None
+        assert "send-spoe-group coraza coraza-req" in fe.request_headers
+
+    def test_multiple_filters_preserved_in_order(self):
+        cfg = """
+frontend f1
+    bind *:80
+    mode http
+    filter compression
+    filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg
+    default_backend b1
+
+backend b1
+    mode http
+    server s1 10.0.0.1:80
+"""
+        fe = _get_frontend(parse_haproxy_config(cfg), "f1")
+        lines = fe.filters.split("\n")
+        assert lines == [
+            "filter compression",
+            "filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg",
+        ]
+
+    def test_log_format_sd_variant_captured(self):
+        cfg = """
+frontend f1
+    bind *:80
+    mode http
+    log-format-sd "[exampleSDID@1234 field=value]"
+    default_backend b1
+
+backend b1
+    mode http
+    server s1 10.0.0.1:80
+"""
+        fe = _get_frontend(parse_haproxy_config(cfg), "f1")
+        assert fe.log_format is not None
+        assert fe.log_format.startswith("log-format-sd")
+
+
+class TestGeneratorOrderingContract:
+    """The generator routes directives into ordered buckets. Verify SPOE
+    correctness at the (pure) categoriser + documented flush-order level."""
+
+    def test_filter_routes_to_filter_bucket(self):
+        assert _categorize_haproxy_directive("    filter spoe engine coraza config /x.cfg") == "filter"
+
+    def test_send_spoe_group_routes_to_http_req(self):
+        assert _categorize_haproxy_directive("    http-request send-spoe-group coraza coraza-req") == "http_req"
+
+    def test_log_format_routes_to_prelude(self):
+        assert _categorize_haproxy_directive('    log-format "%ci:%cp"') == "prelude"
+        assert _categorize_haproxy_directive('    log-format-sd "[x]"') == "prelude"
+
+    def test_flush_order_places_filter_before_http_req(self):
+        # The bucket flush order is the single source of truth for emission
+        # ordering. Assert `filter` is flushed before `http_req` (and after
+        # `prelude`), guaranteeing `filter ...` renders before
+        # `http-request send-spoe-group ...`.
+        src = _read_source("services/haproxy_config.py")
+        m = re.search(r"for _bucket_key in \((.*?)\):", src, re.DOTALL)
+        assert m, "bucket flush loop not found"
+        order = re.findall(r'"(\w+)"', m.group(1))
+        assert "filter" in order, "new 'filter' bucket missing from flush order"
+        assert order.index("prelude") < order.index("filter") < order.index("http_req")
+
+
+class TestModelAndRollback:
+    def test_model_has_passthrough_fields(self):
+        fc = FrontendConfig(
+            name="f", bind_port=80,
+            filters="filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg",
+            log_format='log-format "%ci"',
+        )
+        assert fc.filters.startswith("filter spoe")
+        assert fc.log_format.startswith("log-format")
+
+    def test_dataclass_defaults_none(self):
+        fe = ParsedFrontend(name="f")
+        assert fe.filters is None
+        assert fe.log_format is None
+
+    def test_rollback_restores_new_columns(self):
+        # Reject/rollback of a frontend UPDATE must restore the new columns,
+        # otherwise the rejected (new) filters/log_format would persist.
+        src = _read_source("utils/entity_snapshot.py")
+        assert "log_format = $" in src
+        assert "filters = $" in src
+        assert "old_values.get('log_format')" in src
+        assert "old_values.get('filters')" in src
+
+
+class TestZeroImpact:
+    def test_non_spoe_frontend_unaffected(self):
+        cfg = """
+frontend plain
+    bind *:80
+    mode http
+    option httplog
+    default_backend b1
+
+backend b1
+    mode http
+    server s1 10.0.0.1:80
+"""
+        fe = _get_frontend(parse_haproxy_config(cfg), "plain")
+        # No filter / log-format present → new fields stay None (no behaviour change)
+        assert fe.filters is None
+        assert fe.log_format is None
+
+    def test_spop_check_backend_roundtrips_without_warning(self):
+        result = parse_haproxy_config(ISSUE_38_CONFIG)
+        be = next((b for b in result.backends if b.name == "coraza-spoa"), None)
+        assert be is not None, "coraza-spoa backend should import"
+        assert be.mode == "tcp"
+        assert be.options and "option spop-check" in be.options
+        # spop-check is now a known option → no spurious 'unknown option' warning
+        assert not any(
+            "coraza-spoa" in w and "spop-check" in w and "Unknown" in w
+            for w in result.warnings
+        )
+
+
+def _read_source(relpath):
+    base = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
+    with open(os.path.join(base, relpath), "r", encoding="utf-8") as fh:
+        return fh.read()

backend/tests/test_version_consistency.py

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+"""v1.8.7: app version is single-source and cannot silently drift.
+
+The UI shows the version via GET /api/version, which returns main.py's `_version_info`. That MUST be
+sourced from the one canonical file backend/version.json (co-located with main.py so `COPY . .`
+bakes it into every image, regardless of pipeline). main.py's in-code fallback must NOT be a real
+version, otherwise it drifts when version.json is bumped but the constant is forgotten — exactly
+what left the UI reporting 1.8.4 after 1.8.5/1.8.6 shipped. These checks fail loudly on regression.
+"""
+import ast
+import json
+import os
+import re
+
+import pytest
+
+_BACKEND = os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))  # backend/
+_VERSION_JSON = os.path.join(_BACKEND, "version.json")
+_MAIN = os.path.join(_BACKEND, "main.py")
+_SEMVER = re.compile(r"^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$")
+
+
+def test_canonical_version_file_exists_and_valid():
+    assert os.path.exists(_VERSION_JSON), "backend/version.json (single source of truth) is missing"
+    with open(_VERSION_JSON) as f:
+        data = json.load(f)
+    assert _SEMVER.match(data.get("version", "")), \
+        f"backend/version.json version is not semver: {data.get('version')!r}"
+    assert data.get("releaseName"), "backend/version.json must have a releaseName"
+
+
+def _main_fallback_version_info():
+    """The literal dict assigned to _version_info in main.py (the in-code fallback)."""
+    with open(_MAIN) as f:
+        tree = ast.parse(f.read())
+    for node in ast.walk(tree):
+        if isinstance(node, ast.Assign) and isinstance(node.value, ast.Dict):
+            for t in node.targets:
+                if isinstance(t, ast.Name) and t.id == "_version_info":
+                    return ast.literal_eval(node.value)
+    return None
+
+
+def test_main_has_no_hardcoded_real_version():
+    fb = _main_fallback_version_info()
+    assert fb is not None, "could not find the _version_info fallback literal in main.py"
+    # Must be a neutral marker, never a real version that can drift out of sync.
+    assert not _SEMVER.match(str(fb.get("version", ""))), (
+        f"main.py hardcodes a real version {fb.get('version')!r}; it must be a neutral marker "
+        f"(e.g. 'unknown') so the version stays single-source in backend/version.json"
+    )
+
+
+def test_main_loads_the_canonical_file_first():
+    # The first candidate path main.py reads must resolve to the co-located backend/version.json,
+    # so the correct version is available in every image (not dependent on CI staging).
+    with open(_MAIN) as f:
+        src = f.read()
+    assert 'os.path.dirname(__file__), "version.json"' in src, \
+        "main.py must read version.json co-located with the module (backend/version.json)"
+
+
+def test_frontend_package_json_matches_when_present():
+    # Only meaningful in a full-repo checkout; the backend image build context (./backend) has no frontend/.
+    pkg = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(_BACKEND), "frontend", "package.json")
+    if not os.path.exists(pkg):
+        pytest.skip("frontend/package.json not in this context (e.g. backend-only image build)")
+    with open(_VERSION_JSON) as f:
+        canonical = json.load(f)["version"]
+    with open(pkg) as f:
+        fe = json.load(f)["version"]
+    assert fe == canonical, f"frontend/package.json {fe!r} != backend/version.json {canonical!r}"

backend/tests/test_vip_delete_approval.py

@@ -51,9 +51,13 @@ def test_agent_delivery_teardown_only_on_inactive():
 
 
 def test_migration_adds_pending_delete_and_bumps_schema():
+    import re
     s = _read("database/migrations.py")
     assert "pending_delete BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE" in s
-    assert "SCHEMA_VERSION = 7" in s
+    # Schema was bumped to accommodate this column. Assert >= 7 (the version it landed in)
+    # rather than pinning an exact value, so later schema bumps don't re-break this test.
+    m = re.search(r"^SCHEMA_VERSION\s*=\s*(\d+)", s, re.MULTILINE)
+    assert m is not None and int(m.group(1)) >= 7
 
 
 def test_list_visibility_backward_compat_gates_on_applied():

backend/tests/test_vip_purge.py

@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ def test_delete_endpoint_accepts_purge_package_default_off():
 
 
 def test_migration_adds_purge_column_and_bumps_schema():
+    import re
     s = _read("database/migrations.py")
     assert "purge_on_teardown BOOLEAN NOT NULL DEFAULT FALSE" in s
-    assert "SCHEMA_VERSION = 7" in s
+    # Schema was bumped to accommodate this column. Assert >= 7 (the version it landed in)
+    # rather than pinning an exact value, so later schema bumps don't re-break this test.
+    m = re.search(r"^SCHEMA_VERSION\s*=\s*(\d+)", s, re.MULTILINE)
+    assert m is not None and int(m.group(1)) >= 7

backend/utils/agent_scripts/linux_install.sh

@@ -470,7 +470,12 @@ safe_remove() {
 [[ "$QUIET_MODE" != "true" ]] && echo "Terminating existing HAProxy Agent processes..."
 KILLED_COUNT=0
 INSTALLER_PID=$$
-for pattern in "haproxy-agent" "/usr/local/bin/haproxy-agent" "haproxy-agent.service"; do
+# issue #31: match ONLY the installed agent (binary path + service), never the bare string
+# "haproxy-agent". With pgrep -f, that bare string can also match the installer's OWN command line
+# or a sudo/PAM ancestor (which the $$/$PPID guard does not fully cover), making the cleanup kill
+# the installer itself ("Killed", install aborts). The systemd service is also stopped below; the
+# "$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent" path still catches any running daemon.
+for pattern in "$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent" "haproxy-agent.service"; do
     PIDS=$(pgrep -f "$pattern" 2>/dev/null || true)
     if [[ -n "$PIDS" ]]; then
         FILTERED=""
@@ -1055,7 +1060,12 @@ register_agent() {
     local arch=$(uname -m)
     platform=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')  # Remove local to make it global
     local system_info=$(collect_system_info)
-    
+    # issue #31: if collect_system_info produced no JSON content (empty on an unusual host), the
+    # '$system_info,' line below would collapse to a bare comma and break the heartbeat JSON. A
+    # valid fragment always contains a quoted key; if none is present, fall back to one. The glob
+    # '*"*' is the most portable bash test (no POSIX class / pattern-substitution), safe on bash 3.x+.
+    [[ "$system_info" != *'"'* ]] && system_info='"operating_system": "unknown"'
+
     local json_payload=$(cat <<SIMPLE_EOF
 {
     "name": "$AGENT_NAME",
@@ -1357,7 +1367,12 @@ send_heartbeat() {
     local server_statuses=$(get_server_statuses)
     local haproxy_stats_csv=$(get_haproxy_stats_csv)
     local system_info=$(collect_system_info)
-    
+    # issue #31: if collect_system_info produced no JSON content (empty on an unusual host), the
+    # '$system_info,' line below would collapse to a bare comma and break the heartbeat JSON. A
+    # valid fragment always contains a quoted key; if none is present, fall back to one. The glob
+    # '*"*' is the most portable bash test (no POSIX class / pattern-substitution), safe on bash 3.x+.
+    [[ "$system_info" != *'"'* ]] && system_info='"operating_system": "unknown"'
+
     # Get HAProxy version for heartbeat (safe extraction, fallback to "unknown")
     local haproxy_version="unknown"
     if command -v haproxy &> /dev/null; then

backend/utils/agent_scripts/macos_install.sh

@@ -318,7 +318,11 @@ safe_remove() {
 [[ "$QUIET_MODE" != "true" ]] && echo "Terminating existing HAProxy Agent processes..."
 KILLED_COUNT=0
 INSTALLER_PID=$$
-for pattern in "haproxy-agent" "/usr/local/bin/haproxy-agent" "com.haproxy.agent"; do
+# issue #31: match ONLY the installed agent (binary path + LaunchDaemon label), never the bare
+# string "haproxy-agent". With pgrep -f, that bare string can also match the installer's OWN command
+# line or a sudo ancestor (which the $$/$PPID guard does not fully cover), making the cleanup kill
+# the installer itself. The "$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent" path still catches any running daemon.
+for pattern in "$INSTALL_DIR/haproxy-agent" "com.haproxy.agent"; do
     PIDS=$(pgrep -f "$pattern" 2>/dev/null || true)
     if [[ -n "$PIDS" ]]; then
         FILTERED=""
@@ -920,7 +924,12 @@ register_agent() {
     local arch=$(uname -m)
     platform=$(uname -s | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')  # Remove local to make it global
     local system_info=$(collect_system_info)
-    
+    # issue #31: if collect_system_info produced no JSON content (empty on an unusual host), the
+    # '$system_info,' line below would collapse to a bare comma and break the heartbeat JSON. A
+    # valid fragment always contains a quoted key; if none is present, fall back to one. The glob
+    # '*"*' is the most portable bash test (no POSIX class / pattern-substitution), safe on bash 3.x+.
+    [[ "$system_info" != *'"'* ]] && system_info='"operating_system": "unknown"'
+
     local json_payload=$(cat <<SIMPLE_EOF
 {
     "name": "$AGENT_NAME",
@@ -1191,7 +1200,12 @@ send_heartbeat() {
     local server_statuses=$(get_server_statuses)
     local haproxy_stats_csv=$(get_haproxy_stats_csv)
     local system_info=$(collect_system_info)
-    
+    # issue #31: if collect_system_info produced no JSON content (empty on an unusual host), the
+    # '$system_info,' line below would collapse to a bare comma and break the heartbeat JSON. A
+    # valid fragment always contains a quoted key; if none is present, fall back to one. The glob
+    # '*"*' is the most portable bash test (no POSIX class / pattern-substitution), safe on bash 3.x+.
+    [[ "$system_info" != *'"'* ]] && system_info='"operating_system": "unknown"'
+
     # Get HAProxy version for heartbeat (safe extraction, fallback to "unknown")
     local haproxy_version="unknown"
     if command -v haproxy &> /dev/null; then

backend/utils/dns_credentials.py

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+"""Issue #35 — ACME DNS-01 (v1.8.0): at-rest encryption for per-account DNS provider credentials.
+
+Mirrors the established Fernet + HKDF(SECRET_KEY) pattern used for the VRRP secret
+(backend/services/keepalived_config.py) and TOTP secrets (backend/services/mfa_service.py):
+prefer an explicit DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY env var (enables key rotation), else derive a
+stable key from SECRET_KEY via HKDF with a versioned info string.
+
+DNS provider credentials are a small dict (e.g. {"api_token": "..."}). They are JSON-serialized,
+encrypted to a Fernet token string for storage, and only ever decrypted in-process when a DNS-01
+order needs to talk to the provider. Plaintext credentials are NEVER logged or returned by the API.
+
+NOTE on key rotation: if SECRET_KEY rotates and DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY is not set, previously
+stored credentials become undecryptable (decrypt returns None). Callers MUST treat a None result as
+"credentials unavailable — re-enter in Settings" and surface a clear error, never a silent hang.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import base64
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+from typing import Dict, Optional
+
+from cryptography.fernet import Fernet, InvalidToken
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives import hashes
+from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.kdf.hkdf import HKDF
+
+from config import SECRET_KEY
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+_fernet_instance: Optional[Fernet] = None
+
+
+def _resolve_fernet_key() -> bytes:
+    """Prefer an explicit DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY; else derive from SECRET_KEY via HKDF
+    with a versioned info string (so credentials survive restarts)."""
+    explicit = os.getenv("DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY", "").strip()
+    if explicit:
+        try:
+            Fernet(explicit.encode())
+            return explicit.encode()
+        except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+            logger.error("DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY env var present but invalid: %s", exc)
+    logger.warning(
+        "DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY not set; deriving the DNS-credentials encryption key from "
+        "SECRET_KEY. Set DNS_PROVIDER_ENCRYPTION_KEY to a Fernet key to enable key rotation."
+    )
+    hkdf = HKDF(algorithm=hashes.SHA256(), length=32, salt=None, info=b"dns-provider-creds-v1")
+    derived = hkdf.derive(SECRET_KEY.encode("utf-8"))
+    return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(derived)
+
+
+def _get_fernet() -> Fernet:
+    global _fernet_instance
+    if _fernet_instance is None:
+        _fernet_instance = Fernet(_resolve_fernet_key())
+    return _fernet_instance
+
+
+def reset_fernet_for_tests() -> None:
+    """Test-only hook to force re-resolution after env mutation."""
+    global _fernet_instance
+    _fernet_instance = None
+
+
+def encrypt_dns_credentials(credentials: Dict[str, str]) -> str:
+    """JSON-serialize and Fernet-encrypt a credentials dict to a storable token string."""
+    payload = json.dumps(credentials, separators=(",", ":")).encode("utf-8")
+    return _get_fernet().encrypt(payload).decode("utf-8")
+
+
+def decrypt_dns_credentials(token: str) -> Optional[Dict[str, str]]:
+    """Decrypt a stored token back to the credentials dict. Returns None if the token can't be
+    decrypted (e.g. key rotated) — callers must surface a clear 're-enter credentials' error."""
+    try:
+        plain = _get_fernet().decrypt(token.encode("utf-8")).decode("utf-8")
+        data = json.loads(plain)
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            logger.error("Decrypted DNS credentials are not a JSON object")
+            return None
+        return data
+    except InvalidToken:
+        logger.warning("Failed to decrypt DNS provider credentials (invalid Fernet token)")
+        return None
+    except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+        logger.error("Unexpected error decrypting DNS provider credentials: %s", exc)
+        return None

backend/utils/entity_snapshot.py

@@ -329,9 +329,10 @@ async def _rollback_update(
                     tcp_request_rules = $26, timeout_client = $27, timeout_http_request = $28,
                     rate_limit = $29, compression = $30, log_separate = $31,
                     monitor_uri = $32, maxconn = $33,
-                    cluster_id = $34, is_active = $35, last_config_status = $36, 
+                    cluster_id = $34, is_active = $35, last_config_status = $36,
+                    log_format = $37, filters = $38,
                     updated_at = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
-                WHERE id = $37
+                WHERE id = $39
             """,
                 old_values.get('name'),
                 old_values.get('bind_address'),
@@ -369,6 +370,8 @@ async def _rollback_update(
                 old_values.get('cluster_id'),
                 old_values.get('is_active'),
                 old_values.get('last_config_status'),
+                old_values.get('log_format'),  # Issue #38
+                old_values.get('filters'),     # Issue #38
                 entity_id
             )
             

backend/utils/haproxy_config_parser.py

@@ -105,6 +105,11 @@ class ParsedFrontend:
     response_headers: Optional[str] = None
     options: Optional[str] = None  # HAProxy frontend options (option httplog, option forwardfor, etc.)
     tcp_request_rules: Optional[str] = None  # TCP request directives (for TCP mode)
+    # Issue #38: SPOE (and other) filter directives + frontend log-format.
+    # Stored as full directive lines; `filters` is newline-joined to preserve
+    # ordering when multiple `filter ...` lines exist.
+    log_format: Optional[str] = None  # `log-format` / `log-format-sd` line(s)
+    filters: Optional[str] = None  # `filter ...` line(s), e.g. `filter spoe engine coraza config ...`
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -256,8 +261,23 @@ class HAProxyConfigParser:
             acl_rules_list = []
             use_backend_rules_list = []
             tcp_request_rules_list = []
+            filters_list = []
+            log_format_list = []
 
             for line in lines:
+                # Issue #38: capture `filter ...` (SPOE/Coraza etc.) and
+                # `log-format`/`log-format-sd` directives. Pre-fix these matched
+                # no branch below and were silently dropped, so an imported SPOE
+                # config lost `filter spoe engine coraza ...` (→ HAProxy fatal
+                # "unable to find SPOE engine") and the frontend log-format.
+                # `continue` isolates them from the header/option handling below.
+                if line.startswith('filter '):
+                    filters_list.append(line.strip())
+                    continue
+                if re.match(r'^log-format(-sd)?\s', line, re.IGNORECASE):
+                    log_format_list.append(line.strip())
+                    continue
+
                 # Parse bind directive
                 # IMPORTANT: Handle multiple bind lines correctly
                 # Example: bind *:1002 (HTTP) and bind *:443 ssl (HTTPS)
@@ -540,6 +560,13 @@ class HAProxyConfigParser:
             if tcp_request_rules_list:
                 frontend.tcp_request_rules = '\n'.join(tcp_request_rules_list)
 
+            # Issue #38: assign captured SPOE filters + log-format
+            if filters_list:
+                frontend.filters = '\n'.join(filters_list)
+
+            if log_format_list:
+                frontend.log_format = '\n'.join(log_format_list)
+
             self.frontends.append(frontend)
             logger.info(f"Parsed frontend: {name} -> {frontend.default_backend}")
 
@@ -666,9 +693,14 @@ class HAProxyConfigParser:
                             'transparent', 'abortonclose', 'allbackups', 'checkcache', 'clitcpka',
                             'srvtcpka', 'http-no-delay', 'socket-stats', 'tcp-smart-accept',
                             'tcp-smart-connect', 'independant-streams', 'log-separate-errors',
-                            'log-health-checks', 'accept-invalid-http-request', 'accept-invalid-http-response'
+                            'log-health-checks', 'accept-invalid-http-request', 'accept-invalid-http-response',
+                            # Issue #38: SPOP health check for SPOE agent backends
+                            # (e.g. coraza-spoa). Already collected below regardless, but
+                            # listing it suppresses the spurious "unknown option" warning
+                            # for the exact SPOE use-case.
+                            'spop-check'
                         ]
-                        
+
                         if option_name not in valid_options:
                             # Unknown/invalid option - add warning but still collect it
                             self.warnings.append(

backend/version.json

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "version": "1.8.8",
+  "releaseName": "SPOE filter + frontend log-format support (Issue #38)",
+  "releaseDate": "2026-07-10"
+}

docker-compose.localtest.yml

@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ services:
       dockerfile: Dockerfile
     volumes:
       - haproxy_configs:/etc/haproxy
-      - ./version.json:/app/version.json:ro
 
   frontend:
     image: haproxy-openmanager-frontend:localtest

docker-compose.yml

@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@ services:
       - LOG_LEVEL=INFO
       - PUBLIC_URL=http://localhost:8080
       - MANAGEMENT_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
+      # Empty when unset on the host: the image CMD then falls back to
+      # WEB_CONCURRENCY (uvicorn's native env) and finally to 1.
+      - UVICORN_WORKERS=${UVICORN_WORKERS:-}
     volumes:
       - haproxy_configs:/etc/haproxy
     expose:

docs/STANDALONE_INSTALL.md

@@ -163,6 +163,11 @@ serve -s build -l 3000
 
 Option B — copy to nginx (recommended, see next section).
 
+> **Important: use the nginx URL on port 8080 as your entry point.** The `serve` option above (port 3000) hosts
+> only the static UI; there is no `/api` backend behind it, so the login page renders but cannot actually log you
+> in. nginx (next section) serves the UI *and* proxies `/api` to the backend on a single port, so do your login and
+> everyday use at `http://<server-ip>:8080`.
+
 ### Create a systemd service for the frontend (if using `serve`)
 
 ```bash
@@ -268,10 +273,10 @@ curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" http://127.0.0.1:8080/
 # Login
 curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/auth/login \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-    -d '{"username": "admin", "password": "admin"}' | python3 -m json.tool
+    -d '{"username": "admin", "password": "admin123"}' | python3 -m json.tool
 ```
 
-> **Default credentials**: `admin` / `admin` — change the password immediately after first login.
+> **Default credentials**: `admin` / `admin123` — change the password immediately after first login.
 
 ## 9. Firewall
 
@@ -290,8 +295,8 @@ sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
 | Service | Port | URL |
 |---------|------|-----|
 | Backend API | 8000 | `http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/health` |
-| Frontend | 3000 | `http://127.0.0.1:3000` |
-| Nginx (unified) | 8080 | `http://your-server-ip:8080` |
+| Frontend (static only) | 3000 | `http://127.0.0.1:3000` (UI only, no API; not the login URL) |
+| Nginx (unified, entry point) | 8080 | `http://your-server-ip:8080` (use this) |
 | PostgreSQL | 5432 | local |
 | Redis | 6379 | local |
 

frontend/package-lock.json

@@ -20347,9 +20347,9 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/shell-quote": {
-      "version": "1.8.3",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/shell-quote/-/shell-quote-1.8.3.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-ObmnIF4hXNg1BqhnHmgbDETF8dLPCggZWBjkQfhZpbszZnYur5DUljTcCHii5LC3J5E0yeO/1LIMyH+UvHQgyw==",
+      "version": "1.8.4",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/shell-quote/-/shell-quote-1.8.4.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-VsC6n6vz1ihYYyZZwX7YZSF5l5x36ca17OC+a69h94YqB7X6XLwf+5MOgynYir2SLFUbl8gIYvBo8K8RoNQ6bQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "engines": {

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "haproxy-openmanager-frontend",
-  "version": "1.7.8",
+  "version": "1.8.8",
   "description": "HAProxy Load Balancer Management UI",
   "license": "AGPL-3.0-or-later",
   "dependencies": {

frontend/src/components/ACMEAutomation.js

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 import React, { useState, useEffect, useCallback, useRef } from 'react';
 import {
   Card, Table, Button, Tag, Space, Modal, Form, Input, Select, Steps,
-  message, Row, Col, Statistic, Alert, Tooltip, Switch, theme, Segmented,
-  Tabs, Timeline, Spin, Empty
+  message, Row, Col, Statistic, Alert, Tooltip, Switch, theme, Segmented, Collapse,
+  Tabs, Timeline, Spin, Empty, Typography, Divider
 } from 'antd';
 import {
   SafetyCertificateOutlined, PlusOutlined, ReloadOutlined,
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   SyncOutlined, CloseCircleOutlined,
   DeleteOutlined, EyeOutlined,
   CloudDownloadOutlined, UserOutlined, InfoCircleOutlined,
-  RocketOutlined, ExperimentOutlined
+  RocketOutlined, ExperimentOutlined, KeyOutlined
 } from '@ant-design/icons';
 import { useNavigate } from 'react-router-dom';
 import { useCluster } from '../contexts/ClusterContext';
@@ -18,8 +18,26 @@ import axios from 'axios';
 
 const { Option } = Select;
 
-const getErrorMsg = (err, fallback) =>
-  err?.response?.data?.error?.message || err?.response?.data?.detail || fallback;
+const getErrorMsg = (err, fallback) => {
+  const data = err?.response?.data;
+  // FastAPI/Pydantic 422s wrap the specific field message in error.details.validation_errors[];
+  // the top-level error.message is generic ("Validation error in request data"), so prefer the
+  // field-level message (e.g. the EAB base64 hint) when present.
+  const fieldMsg = data?.error?.details?.validation_errors?.[0]?.message;
+  return fieldMsg || data?.error?.message || data?.detail || fallback;
+};
+
+// Issue #35: humanize the dotted event_type tokens emitted for DNS-01 orders so the diagnostics
+// timeline reads as a step-by-step progress log rather than raw machine strings. Unknown types
+// fall back to the raw token.
+const EVENT_LABELS = {
+  'acme.dns01.publish': 'Published DNS TXT record',
+  'acme.dns01.responded': 'Asked the CA to validate',
+  'acme.dns01.validation': 'DNS-01 validation result',
+  'acme.dns01.cleanup': 'Removed DNS TXT record',
+  'acme.order.requested': 'Certificate requested',
+};
+const humanizeEventType = (t) => EVENT_LABELS[t] || t;
 
 // Render letsencrypt_orders.error_detail (TEXT column). Backend now writes
 // structured JSON-strings (stage / http_status / ca_response / timestamp) for
@@ -83,6 +101,25 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
   const [orderFilter, setOrderFilter] = useState('active');
   const { token } = theme.useToken();
 
+  // Issue #35: DNS-01 provider catalog + global enable flag (from GET /dns-providers).
+  const [dnsProviders, setDnsProviders] = useState([]);
+  const [dns01Enabled, setDns01Enabled] = useState(false);
+  const [confirming, setConfirming] = useState(false);
+  const regChallengeType = Form.useWatch('challenge_type', registerForm);
+  const regDnsProvider = Form.useWatch('dns_provider', registerForm);
+  const wizardAccountId = Form.useWatch('account_id', wizardForm);
+  const wizardDomains = Form.useWatch('domains', wizardForm);
+  const selectedDnsProvider = dnsProviders.find(p => p.name === regDnsProvider) || null;
+
+  // Issue #35: per-account DNS credential management (view/replace/clear after creation).
+  const [credModalVisible, setCredModalVisible] = useState(false);
+  const [credAccount, setCredAccount] = useState(null);
+  const [credMeta, setCredMeta] = useState(null);
+  const [credLoading, setCredLoading] = useState(false);
+  const [credSaving, setCredSaving] = useState(false);
+  const [credForm] = Form.useForm();
+  const credProvider = credAccount ? (dnsProviders.find(p => p.name === credAccount.dns_provider) || null) : null;
+
   // v1.5.0 Issue #13: ACME Diagnostic Panel state
   const [diagVisible, setDiagVisible] = useState(false);
   const [diagOrderId, setDiagOrderId] = useState(null);
@@ -105,18 +142,23 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
   const fetchData = useCallback(async () => {
     setLoading(true);
     try {
-      const [ordersRes, accountsRes, renewalRes, clustersRes, prereqRes] = await Promise.allSettled([
+      const [ordersRes, accountsRes, renewalRes, clustersRes, prereqRes, dnsRes] = await Promise.allSettled([
         axios.get('/api/letsencrypt/orders'),
         axios.get('/api/letsencrypt/accounts'),
         axios.get('/api/letsencrypt/renewal-schedule'),
         axios.get('/api/clusters'),
         axios.get('/api/letsencrypt/prerequisites'),
+        axios.get('/api/letsencrypt/dns-providers'),
       ]);
       if (ordersRes.status === 'fulfilled') setOrders(ordersRes.value.data || []);
       if (accountsRes.status === 'fulfilled') setAccounts(accountsRes.value.data || []);
       if (prereqRes.status === 'fulfilled') setPrerequisites(prereqRes.value.data);
       if (renewalRes.status === 'fulfilled') setRenewalSchedule(renewalRes.value.data || []);
       if (clustersRes.status === 'fulfilled') setClusters(clustersRes.value.data?.clusters || []);
+      if (dnsRes.status === 'fulfilled') {
+        setDnsProviders(dnsRes.value.data?.providers || []);
+        setDns01Enabled(!!dnsRes.value.data?.dns01_enabled);
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       console.error('Error loading ACME data:', err);
     } finally {
@@ -133,9 +175,29 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
     o.status === 'pending' || o.status === 'processing' || o.status === 'ready' ||
     (o.status === 'valid' && !o.ssl_certificate_id)
   );
+  // Track the order whose detail modal is open so the poll can refresh it WITHOUT
+  // making the interval depend on orderDetail (which would recreate it every poll).
+  const openDetailIdRef = useRef(null);
+  const detailRefetchInFlightRef = useRef(false);
+  useEffect(() => {
+    openDetailIdRef.current = (detailVisible && orderDetail?.id) ? orderDetail.id : null;
+  }, [detailVisible, orderDetail]);
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!hasInProgress) return undefined;
-    const interval = setInterval(() => { fetchData(); }, 30000);
+    const interval = setInterval(() => {
+      fetchData();
+      // Keep an open order-detail modal (e.g. a manual DNS-01 order awaiting validation)
+      // in sync so its status / TXT block / Verify button cannot go stale. Skip if a prior
+      // refetch is still in flight so slow backends don't pile up overlapping requests.
+      const oid = openDetailIdRef.current;
+      if (oid && !detailRefetchInFlightRef.current) {
+        detailRefetchInFlightRef.current = true;
+        axios.get(`/api/letsencrypt/orders/${oid}`)
+          .then((r) => setOrderDetail((prev) => (prev && prev.id === oid ? r.data : prev)))
+          .catch(() => { /* transient; the next poll retries */ })
+          .finally(() => { detailRefetchInFlightRef.current = false; });
+      }
+    }, 30000);
     return () => clearInterval(interval);
   }, [hasInProgress, fetchData]);
 
@@ -144,7 +206,10 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
     if (!expiryDate) return null;
     return Math.ceil((new Date(expiryDate) - new Date()) / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24));
   };
-  const nextRenewal = renewalSchedule.find(c => c.auto_renew && calcDaysLeft(c.expiry_date) > 0);
+  // Manual DNS-01 certs are not auto-renewed (even a legacy row left at auto_renew=TRUE), so they
+  // must not drive the "Next Renewal" countdown, which implies an automated event.
+  const isManualDnsCert = (c) => c.challenge_type === 'dns-01' && (c.dns_provider || 'manual') === 'manual';
+  const nextRenewal = renewalSchedule.find(c => c.auto_renew && !isManualDnsCert(c) && calcDaysLeft(c.expiry_date) > 0);
   const nextRenewalDays = nextRenewal ? calcDaysLeft(nextRenewal.expiry_date) : null;
   // Issue #11/#12: an order is "in progress" if it's pre-valid OR valid-but-not-downloaded (stuck).
   // Including 'ready' here ensures the dashboard counter & UI auto-refresh react to all in-flight states.
@@ -155,6 +220,21 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
   const activeAccount = accounts.find(a => a.status === 'valid') || null;
   const acmeAccount = activeAccount || (accounts.length > 0 ? accounts[accounts.length - 1] : null);
   const acmeEnabledClusters = clusters.filter(c => c.acme_enabled && c.is_active);
+  // Issue #35: the cert wizard adapts to the selected account's challenge method.
+  const wizardAccount = accounts.find(a => a.id === wizardAccountId) || activeAccount || acmeAccount;
+  const wizardIsDns01 = (wizardAccount?.challenge_type === 'dns-01');
+  const wizardDnsManual = wizardIsDns01 && (wizardAccount?.dns_provider === 'manual');
+  // Wildcard certificates can only be issued over DNS-01. Catch this client-side so the user is
+  // told their mistake up front instead of waiting for a CA-side rejection.
+  const wizardHasWildcard = (wizardDomains || []).some(d => typeof d === 'string' && d.trim().startsWith('*.'));
+  const wizardWildcardBlocked = wizardHasWildcard && !wizardIsDns01;
+  // A DNS-01 account can exist while the global kill-switch is off (e.g. an admin disabled it later).
+  // Issuing would be rejected by the backend, so block it in the wizard with a clear reason.
+  const wizardDns01Disabled = wizardIsDns01 && !dns01Enabled;
+  // Surface a direct credentials shortcut on the dashboard card when the primary account uses an
+  // automated DNS provider (manual providers need no credentials).
+  const acmeAccountProvider = acmeAccount ? dnsProviders.find(p => p.name === acmeAccount.dns_provider) : null;
+  const acmeAccountNeedsCreds = acmeAccount?.challenge_type === 'dns-01' && (acmeAccountProvider?.credential_fields || []).length > 0;
 
   const filteredOrders = orders.filter(o => {
     if (orderFilter === 'active') return !['cancelled', 'invalid', 'valid'].includes(o.status);
@@ -170,12 +250,29 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
         message.error('At least one domain is required');
         return;
       }
+      // Defense-in-depth: the Submit button is already disabled for these, but guard here too.
+      if (wizardWildcardBlocked) {
+        message.error('Wildcard certificates require a DNS-01 account. Select a DNS-01 account or remove the wildcard domain.');
+        return;
+      }
+      if (wizardDns01Disabled) {
+        message.error('DNS-01 is disabled by an administrator. Enable it in Settings > ACME to issue this certificate.');
+        return;
+      }
       setSubmitting(true);
+      // Resolve the chosen account's challenge method so DNS-01/wildcard requests are explicit.
+      // Use the same resolution as the wizard description (wizardAccount) so what the user reviewed
+      // matches what is sent.
+      const challengeType = wizardAccount?.challenge_type;  // 'http-01' | 'dns-01' | undefined
+      // Manual DNS-01 can't auto-renew (the wizard shows the switch off+disabled). Send false to
+      // match the displayed state rather than relying only on the backend to override it.
+      const autoRenew = wizardDnsManual ? false : (values.auto_renew !== false);
       const res = await axios.post('/api/letsencrypt/certificates', {
         domains: values.domains,
         cluster_ids: values.cluster_ids || [],
-        auto_renew: values.auto_renew !== false,
+        auto_renew: autoRenew,
         account_id: values.account_id || null,
+        challenge_type: challengeType || undefined,
       });
       message.success(res.data?.message || 'Certificate request submitted');
       if (res.data?.warnings?.length > 0) {
@@ -185,6 +282,16 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
       setWizardStep(0);
       wizardForm.resetFields();
       fetchData();
+      // For a manual DNS-01 order the user must publish the TXT record(s) next, so open the
+      // order detail straight away instead of leaving them to hunt for it.
+      if (res.data?.challenge_type === 'dns-01'
+          && (res.data?.dns_provider || 'manual') === 'manual'
+          && res.data?.order_id) {
+        handleViewOrder(res.data.order_id);
+      } else if (res.data?.challenge_type === 'dns-01') {
+        // Automated DNS-01 (e.g. Cloudflare): reassure the user it is hands-off.
+        message.info('Automated DNS-01: the TXT records will be published and validated automatically. No action needed.', 6);
+      }
     } catch (err) {
       message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to request certificate'));
     } finally {
@@ -234,7 +341,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
       setOrderDetail(res.data);
       setDetailVisible(true);
     } catch (err) {
-      message.error('Failed to load order details');
+      message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to load order details'));
     }
   };
 
@@ -453,21 +560,144 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
     try {
       const values = await registerForm.validateFields();
       setRegistering(true);
+      const challengeType = dns01Enabled ? (values.challenge_type || 'http-01') : 'http-01';
+      const dnsProvider = challengeType === 'dns-01' ? (values.dns_provider || null) : null;
       const res = await axios.post('/api/letsencrypt/accounts', {
         email: values.email,
         tos_agreed: values.tos_agreed,
+        challenge_type: challengeType,
+        dns_provider: dnsProvider,
+        // EAB for CAs that require it (ZeroSSL/Google). Empty → backend falls back to global Settings.
+        eab_kid: (values.eab_kid || '').trim() || undefined,
+        eab_hmac_key: (values.eab_hmac_key || '').trim() || undefined,
       });
-      message.success(`ACME account registered: ${res.data?.email || values.email}`);
-      setRegisterVisible(false);
-      registerForm.resetFields();
+      const accountId = res.data?.id;
+      // For an automated DNS-01 provider, store the entered credentials (verified server-side).
+      const provider = dnsProviders.find(p => p.name === dnsProvider);
+      let credFailed = false;
+      if (challengeType === 'dns-01' && accountId && provider && (provider.credential_fields || []).length > 0) {
+        const creds = {};
+        (provider.credential_fields || []).forEach(f => {
+          const v = values[`cred_${f.key}`];
+          if (v != null && v !== '') creds[f.key] = v;
+        });
+        try {
+          const r2 = await axios.put(`/api/letsencrypt/accounts/${accountId}/dns-credentials`, {
+            dns_provider: dnsProvider,
+            credentials: creds,
+          });
+          message.success(r2.data?.detail || 'DNS provider credentials saved');
+        } catch (credErr) {
+          credFailed = true;
+          message.warning(getErrorMsg(credErr, `Account "${res.data?.email || values.email}" registered, but the DNS credentials could not be saved. You can fix them from the account's DNS credentials action.`), 8);
+        }
+      }
+      // Only close + reset on full success. On a credential-save failure, keep the modal open with
+      // the entered values so the user can correct the token and re-submit (the account already
+      // exists and the PUT re-verifies) — avoids discarding input, a dead-end, and a misleading
+      // success toast (Finding 7). The warning toast above explains what to fix.
+      if (!credFailed) {
+        message.success(`ACME account registered: ${res.data?.email || values.email}`);
+        setRegisterVisible(false);
+        registerForm.resetFields();
+      }
       fetchData();
     } catch (err) {
+      // Inline field-validation rejections already render under each field; don't also
+      // fire a generic error toast (mirrors handleSaveDnsCreds).
+      if (err?.errorFields) return;
       message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Account registration failed'));
     } finally {
       setRegistering(false);
     }
   };
 
+  // Issue #35: manual DNS-01 — user asserts the TXT records are published; tell the CA to validate.
+  const handleDnsConfirm = async (orderId) => {
+    if (confirming) return;  // guard the leading-edge double-click (loading alone does not block a synchronous re-fire)
+    try {
+      setConfirming(true);
+      const res = await axios.post(`/api/letsencrypt/orders/${orderId}/dns-confirm`);
+      message.success(res.data?.message || 'DNS-01 confirmation submitted; the CA will validate shortly.');
+      // Refresh the orders list AND the open detail modal so the user sees the new state
+      // (otherwise the modal shows a stale TXT block + an active Verify button).
+      fetchData();
+      try {
+        const fresh = await axios.get(`/api/letsencrypt/orders/${orderId}`);
+        // Only repopulate if the same order's detail is still open (the user may have
+        // closed it or navigated to another order while the request was in flight).
+        setOrderDetail((prev) => (prev && prev.id === orderId ? fresh.data : prev));
+      } catch (_e) { /* list refresh already happened; modal stays as-is */ }
+    } catch (err) {
+      message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to confirm DNS-01'));
+    } finally {
+      setConfirming(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  // Issue #35: view / replace / clear an account's DNS provider credentials after creation.
+  const openDnsCredsModal = async (account) => {
+    setCredAccount(account);
+    setCredMeta(null);
+    credForm.resetFields();
+    setCredModalVisible(true);
+    setCredLoading(true);
+    try {
+      const res = await axios.get(`/api/letsencrypt/accounts/${account.id}/dns-credentials`);
+      setCredMeta(res.data);
+    } catch (err) {
+      message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to load DNS credentials'));
+    } finally {
+      setCredLoading(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleSaveDnsCreds = async () => {
+    if (!credAccount || !credProvider) return;
+    try {
+      const values = await credForm.validateFields();
+      setCredSaving(true);
+      const creds = {};
+      (credProvider.credential_fields || []).forEach(f => {
+        const v = values[`cred_${f.key}`];
+        if (v != null && v !== '') creds[f.key] = v;
+      });
+      const res = await axios.put(`/api/letsencrypt/accounts/${credAccount.id}/dns-credentials`, {
+        dns_provider: credAccount.dns_provider,
+        credentials: creds,
+      });
+      message.success(res.data?.detail || 'DNS provider credentials saved and verified');
+      setCredModalVisible(false);
+      credForm.resetFields();
+      fetchData();
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (err?.errorFields) return;  // antd validation errors shown inline
+      message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to save DNS credentials'));
+    } finally {
+      setCredSaving(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleClearDnsCreds = () => {
+    if (!credAccount) return;
+    Modal.confirm({
+      title: 'Clear DNS credentials',
+      content: `Remove the stored DNS provider credentials for ${credAccount.email}? Automated DNS-01 issuance/renewal will stop working until you re-enter them.`,
+      okText: 'Clear',
+      okButtonProps: { danger: true },
+      onOk: async () => {
+        try {
+          await axios.delete(`/api/letsencrypt/accounts/${credAccount.id}/dns-credentials`);
+          message.success('DNS credentials cleared');
+          setCredModalVisible(false);
+          fetchData();
+        } catch (err) {
+          message.error(getErrorMsg(err, 'Failed to clear DNS credentials'));
+        }
+      },
+    });
+  };
+
   const handleDeactivateAccount = (accountId, email) => {
     Modal.confirm({
       title: 'Deactivate ACME Account',
@@ -564,7 +794,19 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
       render: (status, record) => statusTag(status, record),
     },
     {
-      title: 'Account', dataIndex: 'account_email', key: 'account_email',
+      title: 'Method', key: 'method', width: 170,
+      render: (_, record) => {
+        const ct = record.challenge_type || 'http-01';
+        if (ct !== 'dns-01') return <Tag>HTTP-01</Tag>;
+        const prov = record.dns_provider || 'manual';
+        const needsAction = prov === 'manual' && (record.status === 'pending' || record.status === 'processing');
+        return needsAction
+          ? <Tag color="warning" icon={<ExclamationCircleOutlined />}>DNS-01 (manual): action needed</Tag>
+          : <Tag>DNS-01 ({prov})</Tag>;
+      },
+    },
+    {
+      title: 'Account', dataIndex: 'account_email', key: 'account_email', ellipsis: true,
       render: (e) => e || '-',
     },
     {
@@ -630,9 +872,27 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
         return <Tag color={color}>{d} days</Tag>;
       },
     },
+    {
+      title: 'Method', key: 'method', width: 130,
+      render: (_, record) => {
+        const ct = record.challenge_type || 'http-01';
+        if (ct !== 'dns-01') return <Tag>HTTP-01</Tag>;
+        return <Tag>DNS-01 ({record.dns_provider || 'manual'})</Tag>;
+      },
+    },
     {
       title: 'Auto-Renew', dataIndex: 'auto_renew', key: 'auto_renew',
-      render: (v) => v ? <Tag color="green">Enabled</Tag> : <Tag>Disabled</Tag>,
+      render: (v, record) => {
+        const isManualDns = record.challenge_type === 'dns-01' && (record.dns_provider || 'manual') === 'manual';
+        if (isManualDns) {
+          return (
+            <Tooltip title="Manual DNS-01 cannot auto-renew unattended. Re-publish the TXT record and request renewal before expiry.">
+              <Tag color="warning" icon={<ExclamationCircleOutlined />}>Manual (re-publish TXT)</Tag>
+            </Tooltip>
+          );
+        }
+        return v ? <Tag color="green">Enabled</Tag> : <Tag>Disabled</Tag>;
+      },
     },
   ];
 
@@ -655,8 +915,19 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
           <Alert
             type="info"
             showIcon
-            message="Each domain must resolve to an HAProxy node with ACME challenge routing enabled."
+            message={wizardIsDns01
+              ? "DNS-01: validated via a DNS TXT record, so no public port 80 is needed. Wildcards (*.example.com) are supported. Note that a wildcard does not cover the bare apex (example.com); add it as a separate domain if you need both."
+              : "Each domain must resolve to an HAProxy node with ACME challenge routing enabled (HTTP-01)."}
           />
+          {wizardWildcardBlocked && (
+            <Alert
+              type="warning"
+              showIcon
+              style={{ marginTop: 12 }}
+              message="Wildcard requires a DNS-01 account"
+              description="A wildcard domain (*.example.com) can only be validated over DNS-01. The currently selected account uses HTTP-01. Choose a DNS-01 account in the next step, or remove the wildcard domain."
+            />
+          )}
         </>
       ),
     },
@@ -668,20 +939,63 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
             <Select mode="multiple" placeholder="Leave empty for global certificate" allowClear>
               {clusters.map(c => (
                 <Option key={c.id} value={c.id}>
-                  {c.name} {c.acme_enabled ? '' : '(ACME not enabled)'}
+                  {c.name} {wizardIsDns01 ? '' : (c.acme_enabled ? '' : '(ACME not enabled)')}
                 </Option>
               ))}
             </Select>
           </Form.Item>
-          <Form.Item name="auto_renew" label="Auto-Renew" valuePropName="checked" initialValue={true}>
-            <Switch defaultChecked />
-          </Form.Item>
+          {wizardIsDns01 && (
+            <Alert
+              type="info"
+              showIcon
+              style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+              message="DNS-01 needs no ACME Challenge Routing. Any active cluster works."
+              description={wizardDnsManual
+                ? "This account uses a manual DNS provider: after submitting, open the order and publish the shown TXT record, then confirm."
+                : "The DNS TXT record(s) will be published automatically."}
+            />
+          )}
+          {wizardDnsManual ? (
+            // Manual DNS-01 cannot auto-renew (the backend forces it off); show the control off and
+            // disabled so it matches the outcome rather than implying an automated renewal.
+            <Form.Item label="Auto-Renew">
+              <Switch checked={false} disabled />
+            </Form.Item>
+          ) : (
+            <Form.Item name="auto_renew" label="Auto-Renew" valuePropName="checked" initialValue={true}>
+              <Switch />
+            </Form.Item>
+          )}
+          {wizardDnsManual && (
+            <Alert
+              type="warning"
+              showIcon
+              style={{ marginTop: -8, marginBottom: 16 }}
+              message="Manual DNS-01 cannot auto-renew unattended. You will need to re-publish the TXT record at renewal time."
+            />
+          )}
           {accounts.length > 1 && (
-            <Form.Item name="account_id" label="ACME Account">
-              <Select placeholder="Use default account">
-                {accounts.map(a => (
-                  <Option key={a.id} value={a.id}>{a.email} ({a.directory_url})</Option>
-                ))}
+            <Form.Item
+              name="account_id"
+              label="ACME Account"
+              extra={<span style={{ fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>The validation method (HTTP-01 or DNS-01) is set by the chosen account. To use DNS-01, pick a DNS-01 account.</span>}
+            >
+              <Select placeholder="Use default account" optionLabelProp="label">
+                {accounts.map(a => {
+                  // Match the parenthesized "DNS-01 (provider)" form used in the tables and order detail.
+                  const methodLabel = a.challenge_type === 'dns-01'
+                    ? `DNS-01 (${a.dns_provider || 'manual'})`
+                    : 'HTTP-01';
+                  return (
+                    <Option key={a.id} value={a.id} label={`${a.email} · ${methodLabel}`}>
+                      <span>{a.email}{' '}
+                        <Typography.Text type="secondary" style={{ fontSize: 12 }}>
+                          {methodLabel} · {a.directory_url}
+                        </Typography.Text>
+                      </span>
+                    </Option>
+                  );
+                })}
               </Select>
             </Form.Item>
           )}
@@ -707,7 +1021,31 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
               style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
             />
           )}
-          {acmeEnabledClusters.length === 0 && (
+          {wizardDns01Disabled && (
+            <Alert
+              type="error"
+              showIcon
+              message="DNS-01 is disabled"
+              description={
+                <span>
+                  This account uses DNS-01, but DNS-01 is currently disabled by an administrator.{' '}
+                  <Button type="link" size="small" style={{ padding: 0 }} onClick={() => navigate('/settings?tab=acme')}>Enable it in Settings &gt; ACME</Button>
+                  {' '}to issue this certificate.
+                </span>
+              }
+              style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+            />
+          )}
+          {wizardWildcardBlocked && (
+            <Alert
+              type="error"
+              showIcon
+              message="Wildcard requires a DNS-01 account"
+              description="Remove the wildcard domain or select a DNS-01 account in the Configuration step."
+              style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+            />
+          )}
+          {!wizardIsDns01 && acmeEnabledClusters.length === 0 && (
             <Alert
               type="warning"
               showIcon
@@ -723,7 +1061,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
               style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
             />
           )}
-          {prerequisites?.steps?.find(s => s.key === 'config_applied' && s.ok === false) && (() => {
+          {!wizardIsDns01 && prerequisites?.steps?.find(s => s.key === 'config_applied' && s.ok === false) && (() => {
             const configStep = prerequisites.steps.find(s => s.key === 'config_applied');
             const pendingNames = (configStep?.pending_clusters || []).map(c => c.name).join(', ');
             return (
@@ -755,8 +1093,17 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
             description={
               <ul style={{ margin: 0, paddingLeft: 20 }}>
                 <li>ACME Account: {activeAccount ? <Tag color="success">Active ({activeAccount.email})</Tag> : <Tag color="error">No active account</Tag>}</li>
-                <li>ACME-enabled Clusters: {acmeEnabledClusters.length > 0 ? <Tag color="success">{acmeEnabledClusters.map(c => c.name).join(', ')}</Tag> : <Tag color="warning">None</Tag>}</li>
-                <li>Domains must resolve to HAProxy node IPs for HTTP-01 validation</li>
+                {wizardIsDns01 ? (
+                  <>
+                    <li>Challenge Method: <Tag>DNS-01</Tag> (TXT record; no port 80 / ACME routing needed)</li>
+                    <li>DNS provider: <Tag>{wizardAccount?.dns_provider || 'manual'}</Tag></li>
+                  </>
+                ) : (
+                  <>
+                    <li>ACME-enabled Clusters: {acmeEnabledClusters.length > 0 ? <Tag color="success">{acmeEnabledClusters.map(c => c.name).join(', ')}</Tag> : <Tag color="warning">None</Tag>}</li>
+                    <li>Domains must resolve to HAProxy node IPs for HTTP-01 validation</li>
+                  </>
+                )}
               </ul>
             }
           />
@@ -807,9 +1154,15 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
 
       {pendingOrders.length > 0 && (() => {
         const stuckCount = pendingOrders.filter(isOrderStuck).length;
-        const inFlightCount = pendingOrders.length - stuckCount;
+        // Manual DNS-01 orders are waiting on the USER to publish a TXT record, not on the CA —
+        // call them out separately so the action item is visible without scanning the table.
+        const manualDnsAwaiting = pendingOrders.filter(o =>
+          o.challenge_type === 'dns-01' && (o.dns_provider || 'manual') === 'manual'
+          && (o.status === 'pending' || o.status === 'processing')).length;
+        const inFlightCount = pendingOrders.length - stuckCount - manualDnsAwaiting;
         const parts = [];
         if (inFlightCount > 0) parts.push(`${inFlightCount} awaiting validation`);
+        if (manualDnsAwaiting > 0) parts.push(`${manualDnsAwaiting} manual DNS-01 awaiting your TXT record${manualDnsAwaiting > 1 ? 's' : ''}`);
         if (stuckCount > 0) parts.push(`${stuckCount} pending download (auto-retrying every 60s)`);
         return (
           <Alert
@@ -817,9 +1170,11 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
             showIcon
             icon={<ExclamationCircleOutlined />}
             message={`${pendingOrders.length} certificate order(s) in progress: ${parts.join(', ')}`}
-            description={stuckCount > 0
-              ? "Stuck orders will auto-complete via the background task. You can also click \"Complete\" to retry immediately."
-              : undefined}
+            description={manualDnsAwaiting > 0
+              ? "Open a manual DNS-01 order to see the TXT record to publish, then confirm it."
+              : stuckCount > 0
+                ? "Stuck orders will auto-complete via the background task. You can also click \"Complete\" to retry immediately."
+                : undefined}
             style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
           />
         );
@@ -866,6 +1221,11 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                   <InfoCircleOutlined /> Manage
                 </Button>
               )}
+              {acmeAccountNeedsCreds && (
+                <Button type="link" size="small" style={{ padding: 0 }} onClick={() => openDnsCredsModal(acmeAccount)}>
+                  <KeyOutlined /> DNS credentials
+                </Button>
+              )}
             </div>
           </Card>
         </Col>
@@ -965,7 +1325,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
             </Button>
           )}
           {wizardStep === wizardSteps.length - 1 && (
-            <Button type="primary" onClick={handleRequestCert} loading={submitting} disabled={!activeAccount || acmeEnabledClusters.length === 0}>
+            <Button type="primary" onClick={handleRequestCert} loading={submitting} disabled={!activeAccount || wizardWildcardBlocked || wizardDns01Disabled || (!wizardIsDns01 && acmeEnabledClusters.length === 0)}>
               Submit Request
             </Button>
           )}
@@ -994,7 +1354,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                 </Tag>
               ) : orderDetail.status === 'valid' ? (
                 <Tag color="warning" icon={<ExclamationCircleOutlined />}>
-                  Pending download — auto-completion task will retry every 60s
+                  Pending download. Auto-completion task will retry every 60s
                 </Tag>
               ) : orderDetail.status === 'invalid' || orderDetail.status === 'cancelled' ? (
                 <Tag color="default">Not issued</Tag>
@@ -1010,6 +1370,71 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                 style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
               />
             )}
+            {orderDetail.challenge_type === 'dns-01'
+              && !(orderDetail.challenges || []).some(c => c.challenge_type === 'dns-01')
+              && (orderDetail.status === 'pending' || orderDetail.status === 'processing') && (
+              <Alert
+                type="info"
+                showIcon
+                style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+                message="Preparing DNS-01 challenge"
+                description="The TXT record(s) for this order are being provisioned. They will appear here shortly; this view refreshes automatically."
+              />
+            )}
+            {orderDetail.challenge_type === 'dns-01' && (orderDetail.challenges || []).some(c => c.challenge_type === 'dns-01') && (() => {
+              const dnsChallenges = (orderDetail.challenges || []).filter(c => c.challenge_type === 'dns-01');
+              const isManual = (orderDetail.dns_provider || 'manual') === 'manual';
+              const canConfirm = isManual && (orderDetail.status === 'pending' || orderDetail.status === 'processing');
+              return (
+                <Alert
+                  type={isManual ? 'warning' : 'info'}
+                  showIcon
+                  style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+                  message={isManual
+                    ? 'DNS-01 (manual): publish these TXT record(s), then verify'
+                    : 'DNS-01 (automated): the TXT record(s) are published for you'}
+                  description={
+                    <div>
+                      <div style={{ marginBottom: 8 }}>
+                        Add the following DNS TXT record{dnsChallenges.length > 1 ? 's' : ''} at your DNS provider:
+                      </div>
+                      <Table
+                        size="small"
+                        pagination={false}
+                        dataSource={dnsChallenges}
+                        rowKey="id"
+                        scroll={{ x: 'max-content' }}
+                        columns={[
+                          { title: 'Record name', dataIndex: 'dns_record_name', key: 'name',
+                            render: (v) => v ? <Typography.Text code copyable style={{ wordBreak: 'break-all' }}>{v}</Typography.Text> : <Typography.Text type="secondary">-</Typography.Text> },
+                          { title: 'Type', key: 'type', width: 60, render: () => 'TXT' },
+                          { title: 'Value', dataIndex: 'dns_txt_value', key: 'val',
+                            render: (v) => v ? <Typography.Text code copyable style={{ wordBreak: 'break-all' }}>{v}</Typography.Text> : <Typography.Text type="secondary">-</Typography.Text> },
+                        ]}
+                      />
+                      {canConfirm && (
+                        <>
+                          <div style={{ marginTop: 12, fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>
+                            DNS changes can take a few minutes to propagate. If verification fails,
+                            wait a short while and try again. The order keeps retrying in the background.
+                          </div>
+                          <Button
+                            type="primary"
+                            size="small"
+                            loading={confirming}
+                            disabled={confirming}
+                            style={{ marginTop: 8 }}
+                            onClick={() => handleDnsConfirm(orderDetail.id)}
+                          >
+                            I've added the record(s), verify now
+                          </Button>
+                        </>
+                      )}
+                    </div>
+                  }
+                />
+              );
+            })()}
             {orderDetail.challenges?.length > 0 && (
               <>
                 <h4>Challenges</h4>
@@ -1020,7 +1445,10 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                   rowKey="id"
                   columns={[
                     { title: 'Domain', dataIndex: 'domain', key: 'domain' },
-                    { title: 'Token', dataIndex: 'token', key: 'token', ellipsis: true },
+                    { title: 'Method', dataIndex: 'challenge_type', key: 'method', width: 90,
+                      render: (ct) => <Tag>{(ct || 'http-01') === 'dns-01' ? 'DNS-01' : 'HTTP-01'}</Tag> },
+                    { title: 'Token', dataIndex: 'token', key: 'token', ellipsis: true,
+                      render: (t, r) => (r.challenge_type === 'dns-01') ? <Typography.Text type="secondary">TXT-based (see above)</Typography.Text> : t },
                     { title: 'Status', dataIndex: 'status', key: 'status', render: (s) => statusTag(s) },
                   ]}
                 />
@@ -1047,7 +1475,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
             rowKey="id"
             columns={[
               {
-                title: 'Email', dataIndex: 'email', key: 'email',
+                title: 'Email', dataIndex: 'email', key: 'email', ellipsis: true,
                 render: (email) => <strong>{email}</strong>,
               },
               {
@@ -1098,6 +1526,10 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                                   </p>
                                 )}
                                 {record.eab_kid && <p><strong>EAB Key ID:</strong> {record.eab_kid}</p>}
+                                <p><strong>Challenge Method:</strong> {(record.challenge_type || 'http-01') === 'dns-01' ? 'DNS-01' : 'HTTP-01'}</p>
+                                {(record.challenge_type === 'dns-01') && (
+                                  <p><strong>DNS Provider:</strong> {record.dns_provider || 'manual'}</p>
+                                )}
                                 <p><strong>ToS Accepted:</strong> {record.tos_agreed ? 'Yes' : 'No'}</p>
                                 <p><strong>Registered:</strong> {record.created_at ? new Date(record.created_at).toLocaleString() : '-'}</p>
                               </div>
@@ -1106,6 +1538,16 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                         }}
                       />
                     </Tooltip>
+                    {record.challenge_type === 'dns-01'
+                      && (dnsProviders.find(p => p.name === record.dns_provider)?.credential_fields || []).length > 0 && (
+                      <Tooltip title="DNS Provider Credentials">
+                        <Button
+                          icon={<KeyOutlined />}
+                          size="small"
+                          onClick={() => openDnsCredsModal(record)}
+                        />
+                      </Tooltip>
+                    )}
                     {record.status !== 'deactivated' ? (
                       <Tooltip title="Deactivate">
                         <Button
@@ -1154,7 +1596,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
           message="ACME account will be registered with the directory URL configured in Settings > ACME."
           style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
         />
-        <Form form={registerForm} layout="vertical">
+        <Form form={registerForm} layout="vertical" preserve={false}>
           <Form.Item
             name="email"
             label="Contact Email"
@@ -1167,11 +1609,12 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
           </Form.Item>
           <Form.Item
             name="tos_agreed"
+            label="Terms of Service"
             valuePropName="checked"
             initialValue={false}
             rules={[{ validator: (_, v) => v ? Promise.resolve() : Promise.reject('You must accept the Terms of Service') }]}
           >
-            <Switch checkedChildren="Accepted" unCheckedChildren="Not Accepted" />
+            <Switch checkedChildren="Accepted" unCheckedChildren="Not Accepted" aria-label="Accept Terms of Service" />
           </Form.Item>
           <div style={{ fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>
             By accepting, you agree to the ACME CA's Terms of Service (e.g.{' '}
@@ -1179,12 +1622,194 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
               Let's Encrypt Subscriber Agreement
             </a>).
           </div>
+          {/* Issue #35: External Account Binding — required by ZeroSSL / Google Trust Services. */}
+          <Collapse
+            ghost
+            style={{ marginTop: 12 }}
+            items={[{
+              key: 'eab',
+              label: 'External Account Binding (EAB)',
+              children: (
+                <>
+                  <Alert
+                    type="info"
+                    showIcon
+                    style={{ marginBottom: 12 }}
+                    message="Required by some CAs (ZeroSSL, Google Trust Services). Copy the Key ID and HMAC Key from your CA account. Re-enter them on each registration; the HMAC key is not stored."
+                  />
+                  <Form.Item
+                    name="eab_kid"
+                    label="EAB Key ID"
+                    dependencies={['eab_hmac_key']}
+                    rules={[({ getFieldValue }) => ({
+                      validator(_, value) {
+                        const kid = (value || '').trim();
+                        const hmac = (getFieldValue('eab_hmac_key') || '').trim();
+                        if (!kid && hmac) {
+                          return Promise.reject(new Error('EAB Key ID is required when an HMAC Key is entered.'));
+                        }
+                        return Promise.resolve();
+                      },
+                    })]}
+                  >
+                    <Input placeholder="EAB Key Identifier" autoComplete="off" />
+                  </Form.Item>
+                  <Form.Item
+                    name="eab_hmac_key"
+                    label="EAB HMAC Key"
+                    dependencies={['eab_kid']}
+                    rules={[({ getFieldValue }) => ({
+                      validator(_, value) {
+                        const kid = (getFieldValue('eab_kid') || '').trim();
+                        const hmac = (value || '').trim();
+                        if (kid && !hmac) {
+                          return Promise.reject(new Error('EAB HMAC Key is required when a Key ID is entered.'));
+                        }
+                        return Promise.resolve();
+                      },
+                    })]}
+                  >
+                    <Input.Password placeholder="EAB HMAC Key (base64url)" autoComplete="new-password" />
+                  </Form.Item>
+                </>
+              ),
+            }]}
+          />
+          {dns01Enabled && (
+            <>
+              <Divider style={{ margin: '16px 0 12px' }} />
+              <Form.Item
+                name="challenge_type"
+                label="Challenge Method"
+                initialValue="http-01"
+                tooltip="HTTP-01 validates over port 80. DNS-01 validates via a DNS TXT record. It works for internal/isolated clusters (no public port 80) and supports wildcards."
+              >
+                <Select>
+                  <Option value="http-01">HTTP-01 (default)</Option>
+                  <Option value="dns-01">DNS-01 (TXT record)</Option>
+                </Select>
+              </Form.Item>
+              {regChallengeType === 'dns-01' && (
+                <>
+                  {dnsProviders.length === 0 ? (
+                    <Alert
+                      type="warning"
+                      showIcon
+                      message="No DNS providers are available"
+                      description="DNS-01 appears enabled, but no provider catalog was returned. Confirm DNS-01 is enabled in Settings and that the backend is reachable, then reopen this dialog."
+                    />
+                  ) : (
+                  <Form.Item
+                    name="dns_provider"
+                    label="DNS Provider"
+                    rules={[{ required: true, message: 'Select a DNS provider' }]}
+                  >
+                    <Select placeholder="Select a DNS provider">
+                      {dnsProviders.map(p => (
+                        <Option key={p.name} value={p.name}>{p.label}</Option>
+                      ))}
+                    </Select>
+                  </Form.Item>
+                  )}
+                  {selectedDnsProvider && (selectedDnsProvider.credential_fields || []).length > 0 && (
+                    <>
+                      <Alert
+                        type="info"
+                        showIcon
+                        style={{ marginBottom: 12 }}
+                        message="Provider credentials are encrypted at rest and verified before they are saved. The token needs permission to create and delete TXT records in your domain's DNS zone."
+                      />
+                      {(selectedDnsProvider.credential_fields || []).map(f => (
+                        <Form.Item
+                          key={f.key}
+                          name={`cred_${f.key}`}
+                          label={f.label}
+                          extra={f.help ? <span style={{ fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>{f.help}</span> : null}
+                          rules={f.required ? [{ required: true, message: `${f.label} is required` }] : []}
+                        >
+                          {f.type === 'password'
+                            ? <Input.Password placeholder={f.label} maxLength={f.max_length || undefined} />
+                            : <Input placeholder={f.label} maxLength={f.max_length || undefined} />}
+                        </Form.Item>
+                      ))}
+                    </>
+                  )}
+                  {selectedDnsProvider && !selectedDnsProvider.automated && (
+                    <Alert
+                      type="warning"
+                      showIcon
+                      message="Manual DNS provider"
+                      description="You will publish the DNS TXT record yourself and confirm it. Manual DNS-01 certificates cannot auto-renew unattended."
+                    />
+                  )}
+                </>
+              )}
+            </>
+          )}
         </Form>
       </Modal>
 
+      {/* Issue #35: DNS provider credentials for an existing DNS-01 account (view / replace / clear) */}
+      <Modal
+        title={<span><KeyOutlined /> DNS Provider Credentials{credAccount ? `: ${credAccount.email}` : ''}</span>}
+        open={credModalVisible}
+        onCancel={() => { setCredModalVisible(false); credForm.resetFields(); }}
+        width={560}
+        footer={[
+          <Button key="clear" danger onClick={handleClearDnsCreds} disabled={!credMeta?.configured || credSaving}>
+            Clear credentials
+          </Button>,
+          <Button key="cancel" onClick={() => { setCredModalVisible(false); credForm.resetFields(); }}>
+            Cancel
+          </Button>,
+          <Button key="save" type="primary" loading={credSaving} onClick={handleSaveDnsCreds}>
+            Save & verify
+          </Button>,
+        ]}
+      >
+        {credLoading ? (
+          <div style={{ textAlign: 'center', padding: 24 }}><Spin /></div>
+        ) : (
+          <>
+            <p style={{ marginBottom: 4 }}>
+              <strong>Provider:</strong> {credAccount?.dns_provider || '-'}
+            </p>
+            <p style={{ marginTop: 0, fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>
+              {credMeta?.configured
+                ? `Configured: ${(credMeta.credential_fields_present || []).join(', ') || '(none)'}${credMeta.updated_at ? ` · updated ${new Date(credMeta.updated_at).toLocaleString()}` : ''}`
+                : 'No credentials are stored yet for this account.'}
+            </p>
+            <Alert
+              type="info"
+              showIcon
+              style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+              message="Existing values are never shown. Enter the values to (re)store them; they are verified against the provider and encrypted at rest. The token needs permission to create and delete TXT records in your domain's DNS zone."
+            />
+            <Form form={credForm} layout="vertical">
+              {(credProvider?.credential_fields || []).map(f => (
+                <Form.Item
+                  key={f.key}
+                  name={`cred_${f.key}`}
+                  label={f.label}
+                  rules={f.required ? [{ required: true, message: `${f.label} is required` }] : []}
+                  extra={f.help ? <span style={{ fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary }}>{f.help}</span> : null}
+                >
+                  {f.type === 'password'
+                    ? <Input.Password placeholder={f.label} maxLength={f.max_length || undefined} />
+                    : <Input placeholder={f.label} maxLength={f.max_length || undefined} />}
+                </Form.Item>
+              ))}
+              {(credProvider?.credential_fields || []).length === 0 && (
+                <Alert type="warning" showIcon message="This provider needs no credentials (manual mode)." />
+              )}
+            </Form>
+          </>
+        )}
+      </Modal>
+
       {/* v1.5.0 Issue #13: ACME Diagnostic Panel modal */}
       <Modal
-        title={diagOrderId ? `Diagnostics — Order #${diagOrderId}` : 'Diagnostics'}
+        title={diagOrderId ? `Diagnostics: Order #${diagOrderId}` : 'Diagnostics'}
         open={diagVisible}
         onCancel={closeDiagModal}
         width={920}
@@ -1266,12 +1891,21 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                           {
                             title: 'Re-run', key: 'rerun', width: 90,
                             render: (_, record) => (
-                              <Button
-                                size="small"
-                                icon={<ReloadOutlined />}
-                                loading={diagRunningCheckId === record.id}
-                                onClick={() => handleRerunCheck(record.id)}
-                              />
+                              // A skipped check (e.g. port 80 / routing for a DNS-01 order) has no
+                              // transient cause to re-test, so re-running just reproduces "skipped".
+                              record.status === 'skipped'
+                                ? <Typography.Text type="secondary">-</Typography.Text>
+                                : (
+                                  <Tooltip title="Re-run this check">
+                                    <Button
+                                      size="small"
+                                      aria-label="Re-run this check"
+                                      icon={<ReloadOutlined />}
+                                      loading={diagRunningCheckId === record.id}
+                                      onClick={() => handleRerunCheck(record.id)}
+                                    />
+                                  </Tooltip>
+                                )
                             ),
                           },
                         ]}
@@ -1327,13 +1961,13 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                         type="warning"
                         showIcon
                         style={{ marginBottom: 12 }}
-                        message="Event log partial — one or more sources failed"
+                        message="Event log partial: one or more sources failed"
                         description={
                           <div>
                             <ul style={{ margin: '4px 0 4px 16px' }}>
                               {diagEventsError.errors.map((err, i) => (
                                 <li key={i}>
-                                  <strong>{err.section}</strong>: {err.exception_type} — {err.message}
+                                  <strong>{err.section}</strong>: {err.exception_type}: {err.message}
                                 </li>
                               ))}
                             </ul>
@@ -1359,7 +1993,7 @@ const ACMEAutomation = () => {
                           children: (
                             <div>
                               <div style={{ fontSize: 12, color: '#888' }}>{ev.created_at} · {ev.source}</div>
-                              <div><strong>{ev.event_type}</strong></div>
+                              <div><strong>{humanizeEventType(ev.event_type)}</strong></div>
                               {ev.message && <div>{ev.message}</div>}
                             </div>
                           ),

frontend/src/components/AgentManagement.js

@@ -2378,7 +2378,7 @@ const AgentManagement = () => {
                         const element = document.createElement('a');
                         const file = new Blob([installScript], { type: 'text/plain' });
                         element.href = URL.createObjectURL(file);
-                        element.download = `install-haproxy-agent-${selectedPlatform}.sh`;
+                        element.download = `install-agent-${selectedPlatform}.sh`;
                         document.body.appendChild(element);
                         element.click();
                         document.body.removeChild(element);
@@ -2516,7 +2516,7 @@ const AgentManagement = () => {
                                     const element = document.createElement('a');
                                     const file = new Blob([uninstallScript], { type: 'text/plain' });
                                     element.href = URL.createObjectURL(file);
-                                    element.download = `uninstall-haproxy-agent-${selectedPlatform}.sh`;
+                                    element.download = `uninstall-agent-${selectedPlatform}.sh`;
                                     document.body.appendChild(element);
                                     element.click();
                                     document.body.removeChild(element);
@@ -3147,7 +3147,7 @@ const AgentManagement = () => {
                           const element = document.createElement('a');
                           const file = new Blob([deleteUninstallScript], { type: 'text/plain' });
                           element.href = URL.createObjectURL(file);
-                          element.download = `uninstall-haproxy-agent-${agentToDelete.platform || 'linux'}.sh`;
+                          element.download = `uninstall-agent-${agentToDelete.platform || 'linux'}.sh`;
                           document.body.appendChild(element);
                           element.click();
                           document.body.removeChild(element);

frontend/src/components/ApplyManagement.js

@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
       title: 'Apply All Configuration Changes',
       content: (
         <div>
-          <p>You are about to apply <strong>{effectiveTotal}</strong> pending changes:</p>
+          <p>You are about to apply <strong>{modalChangeCount}</strong> pending changes:</p>
           <ul style={{ marginTop: 10, marginBottom: 10 }}>
             {pendingChanges.frontends.length > 0 && (
               <li><strong>{pendingChanges.frontends.length}</strong> Frontend changes</li>
@@ -385,6 +385,12 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
             {(pendingChanges.vips || []).length > 0 && (
               <li><strong>{pendingChanges.vips.length}</strong> HA/VIP changes</li>
             )}
+            {acmeVersions.length > 0 && (
+              <li><strong>{acmeVersions.length}</strong> ACME Challenge Routing changes</li>
+            )}
+            {otherConfigVersions.length > 0 && (
+              <li><strong>{otherConfigVersions.length}</strong> Other configuration changes</li>
+            )}
           </ul>
           <Alert
             message="All changes will be applied together and sent to agents"
@@ -523,6 +529,10 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
       // async on their next agent poll) instead of looping on "Entities: 0/0".
       const vipCount = (pendingChanges.vips || []).length;
       const isVipOnly = totalEntities === 0 && !isRestoreOperation && nonVipPendingVersions.length === 0 && vipCount > 0;
+      // Config-version-only apply (e.g. cluster ACME enable/disable): no entity rows, not a restore,
+      // but there ARE non-vip config versions to push. Without this branch it falls to the "else" and
+      // shows a misleading "Entities: 0/0" while still syncing agents.
+      const isConfigVersionOnly = totalEntities === 0 && !isRestoreOperation && vipCount === 0 && nonVipPendingVersions.length > 0;
 
       if (isRestoreOperation) {
         // Restore operation: Show "Configuration" instead of "Entities"
@@ -534,6 +544,12 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
         setSyncProgress({ visible: true, step: `Applying ${vipCount} HA/VIP change(s)...`, progress: 20 });
         startProgress('apply', `Applying ${vipCount} HA/VIP change(s)...`);
         updateEntityCounts(0, vipCount, 0, 0, 0);
+      } else if (isConfigVersionOnly) {
+        // Config-version-only (ACME toggle, etc.): show "Configuration" instead of "Entities: 0/0".
+        const cfgCount = nonVipPendingVersions.length;
+        setSyncProgress({ visible: true, step: `Applying configuration change... Configuration: 0/${cfgCount}, Agents: ⏳`, progress: 20 });
+        startProgress('apply', `Applying configuration change... Configuration: 0/${cfgCount}, Agents: ⏳`);
+        updateEntityCounts(0, cfgCount, 0, totalAgents, disabledAgents);
       } else {
         // Normal operation: Show "Entities" as usual
         setSyncProgress({ visible: true, step: `Applying configuration changes... Entities: 0/${totalEntities}, Agents: ⏳`, progress: 20 });
@@ -556,10 +572,12 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
         }
       }
 
-      // Apply HAProxy changes only if there are any (avoids a no-op call when only VIPs are pending).
+      // Apply HAProxy changes if there are entity-level changes OR any non-vip config version
+      // (cluster ACME enable/disable, restore, bulk-import). Gating only on haproxyPending used to
+      // skip the call for config-version-only states, leaving those versions stuck PENDING.
       const haproxyPending = pendingChanges.frontends.length + pendingChanges.backends.length
         + pendingChanges.waf_rules.length + pendingChanges.ssl_certificates.length;
-      const response = haproxyPending > 0
+      const response = (haproxyPending > 0 || nonVipPendingVersions.length > 0)
         ? await axios.post(
             `/api/clusters/${selectedCluster.id}/apply-changes`,
             {},
@@ -805,7 +823,7 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
       title: 'Reject All Configuration Changes',
       content: (
         <div>
-          <p>You are about to reject <strong>{effectiveTotal}</strong> pending changes:</p>
+          <p>You are about to reject <strong>{modalChangeCount}</strong> pending changes:</p>
           <ul style={{ marginTop: 10, marginBottom: 10 }}>
             {pendingChanges.frontends.length > 0 && (
               <li><strong>{pendingChanges.frontends.length}</strong> Frontend changes</li>
@@ -822,6 +840,12 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
             {(pendingChanges.vips || []).length > 0 && (
               <li><strong>{pendingChanges.vips.length}</strong> HA/VIP changes</li>
             )}
+            {acmeVersions.length > 0 && (
+              <li><strong>{acmeVersions.length}</strong> ACME Challenge Routing changes</li>
+            )}
+            {otherConfigVersions.length > 0 && (
+              <li><strong>{otherConfigVersions.length}</strong> Other configuration changes</li>
+            )}
           </ul>
           <Alert
             message="All pending changes will be permanently discarded"
@@ -874,10 +898,16 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
         }
       }
 
-      // Reject HAProxy changes only if there are any.
+      // Reject HAProxy changes if there are entity-level changes OR any non-vip config version
+      // (e.g. cluster ACME enable/disable, restore, bulk-import) — the backend DELETE rejects all
+      // non-vip PENDING versions and rolls back their snapshots. Gating only on haproxyPending used
+      // to skip the call for config-version-only states, returning the misleading "Rejected 0 HA/VIP".
       const haproxyPending = pendingChanges.frontends.length + pendingChanges.backends.length
         + pendingChanges.waf_rules.length + pendingChanges.ssl_certificates.length;
-      const response = haproxyPending > 0
+      const nonVipPendingVersions = configVersions.filter(
+        v => v.status === 'PENDING' && !(v.version_name || '').startsWith('vip-')
+      );
+      const response = (haproxyPending > 0 || nonVipPendingVersions.length > 0)
         ? await axios.delete(
             `/api/clusters/${selectedCluster.id}/pending-changes`,
             { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` } }
@@ -957,6 +987,23 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
   const appliedVersions = configVersions.filter(v => v.status === 'APPLIED');
   const rejectedVersions = configVersions.filter(v => v.status === 'REJECTED');
   const effectiveTotal = pendingChanges.total_count > 0 ? pendingChanges.total_count : pendingVersions.length;
+  // Issue #35: cluster ACME enable/disable produce `cluster-<id>-acme-<enable|disable>-<ts>` config
+  // versions that have NO entity-level pending flag, so they were neither categorized nor counted.
+  const ACME_VERSION_RE = /^cluster-\d+-acme-(enable|disable)-/;
+  const ENTITY_VERSION_PREFIXES = ['frontend-', 'backend-', 'server-', 'ssl-', 'waf-'];
+  const acmeVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v => ACME_VERSION_RE.test(v.version_name || ''));
+  // "Other" config versions for the confirm modal = non-vip, non-acme, non-entity-backed (i.e.
+  // restore-*/bulk-import-*/other cluster-level) — entity-backed versions are already counted via
+  // total_count, and vips are listed separately, so excluding them avoids double-counting.
+  const otherConfigVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v => {
+    const n = v.version_name || '';
+    if (n.startsWith('vip-') || ACME_VERSION_RE.test(n)) return false;
+    return !ENTITY_VERSION_PREFIXES.some(p => n.startsWith(p));
+  });
+  // Confirm-modal header count: entities+VIPs (total_count) + ACME + other config versions, so the
+  // header equals the sum of the listed <li> items in every state. The button-enable gate keeps
+  // using effectiveTotal (unchanged) so entity-only button/Alert behavior is byte-identical.
+  const modalChangeCount = (pendingChanges.total_count || 0) + acmeVersions.length + otherConfigVersions.length;
 
   const renderPendingItem = (item, type, icon) => {
     // For PENDING items, don't show sync status since they haven't been applied yet
@@ -1314,12 +1361,46 @@ const ApplyManagement = () => {
                     </div>
                   )}
 
+                  {/* Issue #35: ACME Challenge Routing (cluster-<id>-acme-*) versions have no entity
+                      flag. Render them in their own section REGARDLESS of whether entity sections are
+                      present, so a co-pending ACME toggle is never hidden in the left panel. */}
+                  {acmeVersions.length > 0 && (
+                    <div style={{ marginTop: 8, marginBottom: 8 }}>
+                      <Title level={5}>
+                        <SafetyCertificateOutlined style={{ marginRight: 8, color: '#1890ff' }} />
+                        ACME Challenge Routing ({acmeVersions.length})
+                      </Title>
+                      {acmeVersions.map(v => {
+                        const isEnable = /^cluster-\d+-acme-enable-/.test(v.version_name);
+                        return (
+                          <div key={v.id} style={{
+                            padding: 10, border: '1px dashed #1890ff', borderRadius: 6, marginBottom: 8,
+                            display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'space-between', backgroundColor: '#f0f8ff'
+                          }}>
+                            <span style={{ fontFamily: 'monospace' }}>{v.version_name}</span>
+                            <span>
+                              <Tag color={isEnable ? 'green' : 'default'}>{isEnable ? 'ENABLE' : 'DISABLE'}</Tag>
+                              <Tag color="orange">PENDING</Tag>
+                            </span>
+                          </div>
+                        );
+                      })}
+                      <div style={{ fontSize: 12, color: token.colorTextSecondary, marginTop: 4 }}>
+                        ACME challenge routing change. Apply to push the updated HAProxy config to the agents.
+                      </div>
+                    </div>
+                  )}
+
                   {pendingChanges.frontends.length === 0 && pendingChanges.backends.length === 0 && pendingChanges.waf_rules.length === 0 && pendingChanges.ssl_certificates.length === 0 && (pendingChanges.vips || []).length === 0 && pendingVersions.length > 0 && (
                     <div style={{ marginTop: 8 }}>
                       {(() => {
                         const restoreVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v => v.version_name.startsWith('restore-'));
                         const bulkImportVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v => v.version_name.startsWith('bulk-import-'));
-                        const otherVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v => !v.version_name.startsWith('restore-') && !v.version_name.startsWith('bulk-import-'));
+                        // Exclude restore-/bulk-import- (own sections), vip-* (VIP section), and acme-*
+                        // (the dedicated ACME section above) so they aren't duplicated in "Other".
+                        const otherVersions = pendingVersions.filter(v =>
+                          !v.version_name.startsWith('restore-') && !v.version_name.startsWith('bulk-import-')
+                          && !v.version_name.startsWith('vip-') && !ACME_VERSION_RE.test(v.version_name));
                         
                         return (
                           <>

frontend/src/components/BulkConfigImport.js

@@ -458,6 +458,8 @@ backend web-backend
           {record.request_headers && <Tag color="blue">Req Headers</Tag>}
           {record.response_headers && <Tag color="green">Resp Headers</Tag>}
           {record.tcp_request_rules && <Tag color="purple">TCP Rules</Tag>}
+          {record.filters && <Tag color="magenta">Filters</Tag>}
+          {record.log_format && <Tag color="geekblue">Log Format</Tag>}
           {record.acl_rules && record.acl_rules.length > 0 && <Tag color="orange">{record.acl_rules.length} ACLs</Tag>}
           {record.use_backend_rules && record.use_backend_rules.length > 0 && <Tag color="cyan">{record.use_backend_rules.length} Routes</Tag>}
         </Space>
@@ -1076,8 +1078,9 @@ backend web-backend
                         size="small"
                         expandable={{
                           expandedRowRender: (frontend) => {
-                            const hasDetails = frontend.request_headers || frontend.response_headers || 
-                                             frontend.options || frontend.tcp_request_rules || 
+                            const hasDetails = frontend.request_headers || frontend.response_headers ||
+                                             frontend.options || frontend.tcp_request_rules ||
+                                             frontend.filters || frontend.log_format ||
                                              (frontend.acl_rules && frontend.acl_rules.length > 0) ||
                                              (frontend.use_backend_rules && frontend.use_backend_rules.length > 0);
                             
@@ -1157,12 +1160,52 @@ backend web-backend
                                         </span>
                                       }
                                     >
-                                      <MultiLineDiffRenderer 
+                                      <MultiLineDiffRenderer
                                         value={frontend.tcp_request_rules}
                                         changeInfo={frontend._changes?.tcp_request_rules}
                                       />
                                     </Descriptions.Item>
                                   )}
+                                  {/* Issue #38: SPOE filters */}
+                                  {frontend.filters && (
+                                    <Descriptions.Item
+                                      label={
+                                        <span>
+                                          Filters (SPOE/WAF)
+                                          {frontend._changes?.filters && (
+                                            <Tag color="green" style={{ marginLeft: 8, fontSize: '10px' }}>
+                                              {frontend._changes.filters.old ? 'CHANGED' : 'NEW'}
+                                            </Tag>
+                                          )}
+                                        </span>
+                                      }
+                                    >
+                                      <MultiLineDiffRenderer
+                                        value={frontend.filters}
+                                        changeInfo={frontend._changes?.filters}
+                                      />
+                                    </Descriptions.Item>
+                                  )}
+                                  {/* Issue #38: frontend log-format */}
+                                  {frontend.log_format && (
+                                    <Descriptions.Item
+                                      label={
+                                        <span>
+                                          Log Format
+                                          {frontend._changes?.log_format && (
+                                            <Tag color="green" style={{ marginLeft: 8, fontSize: '10px' }}>
+                                              {frontend._changes.log_format.old ? 'CHANGED' : 'NEW'}
+                                            </Tag>
+                                          )}
+                                        </span>
+                                      }
+                                    >
+                                      <MultiLineDiffRenderer
+                                        value={frontend.log_format}
+                                        changeInfo={frontend._changes?.log_format}
+                                      />
+                                    </Descriptions.Item>
+                                  )}
                                   {frontend.acl_rules && frontend.acl_rules.length > 0 && (
                                     <Descriptions.Item label={`ACL Rules (${frontend.acl_rules.length})`}>
                                       {frontend.acl_rules.map((acl, idx) => (

frontend/src/components/FrontendManagement.js

@@ -642,7 +642,11 @@ const FrontendManagement = () => {
       // Explicitly set options field to handle null/undefined case (NEW field)
       options: frontend.options || '',
       // BUGFIX: Explicitly set tcp_request_rules field to handle null/undefined case
-      tcp_request_rules: frontend.tcp_request_rules || ''
+      tcp_request_rules: frontend.tcp_request_rules || '',
+      // Issue #38: SPOE filters + frontend log-format (null → '' so the
+      // TextAreas populate on edit and round-trip on save, preventing null-wipe)
+      log_format: frontend.log_format || '',
+      filters: frontend.filters || ''
     });
     
     // Update SSL field visibility after setting values
@@ -2250,6 +2254,40 @@ tcp-request connection reject if { src -f /etc/haproxy/blacklist.lst }`}
                   </Form.Item>
                 </Col>
               </Row>
+
+              {/* Issue #38: SPOE filters + frontend log-format */}
+              <Row gutter={16}>
+                <Col span={24}>
+                  <Form.Item
+                    name="filters"
+                    label="Filters (SPOE / WAF)"
+                    extra="HAProxy filter directives (one per line). Emitted before send-spoe-group rules."
+                    tooltip="e.g. Coraza WAF via SPOE. The referenced engine config file and its SPOA backend must exist on the HAProxy host."
+                  >
+                    <TextArea
+                      rows={3}
+                      placeholder={`Examples:
+filter spoe engine coraza config /etc/haproxy/coraza.cfg`}
+                    />
+                  </Form.Item>
+                </Col>
+              </Row>
+
+              <Row gutter={16}>
+                <Col span={24}>
+                  <Form.Item
+                    name="log_format"
+                    label="Custom Log Format"
+                    extra="HAProxy log-format / log-format-sd directive (kept verbatim)"
+                    tooltip="Overrides option httplog/tcplog. Use the full directive including the quoted format string."
+                  >
+                    <TextArea
+                      rows={3}
+                      placeholder={'log-format "%ci:%cp [%t] %ft %b/%s %ST %B %{+Q}r"'}
+                    />
+                  </Form.Item>
+                </Col>
+              </Row>
             </Panel>
           </Collapse>
 

frontend/src/components/Settings.js

@@ -212,6 +212,7 @@ const Settings = () => {
                 eab_kid: '',
                 eab_hmac_key: '',
                 challenge_backend_url: '',
+                dns01_enabled: false,
               }}
             >
               <Form.Item name="provider" label="ACME Provider">
@@ -308,6 +309,36 @@ const Settings = () => {
                 }]}
               />
 
+              {/* Issue #35: DNS-01 challenge support (global kill-switch). Per-account DNS provider
+                  credentials are configured on each ACME account in ACME Automation. */}
+              <Collapse
+                ghost
+                style={{ marginTop: 16 }}
+                items={[{
+                  key: 'dns01',
+                  label: 'DNS-01 Challenge (Advanced)',
+                  children: (
+                    <>
+                      <Alert
+                        type="info"
+                        showIcon
+                        style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+                        message="DNS-01 validates certificates via a DNS TXT record instead of HTTP on port 80."
+                        description="Use it for internal/isolated clusters with no public inbound port 80, or for wildcard certificates. When enabled, choose DNS-01 and a DNS provider per ACME account in ACME Automation. Leaving this off keeps the default HTTP-01 behavior unchanged."
+                      />
+                      <Form.Item
+                        name="dns01_enabled"
+                        label="Enable DNS-01 Challenge"
+                        valuePropName="checked"
+                        tooltip="Master switch. While off, DNS-01 options are hidden and no DNS-01 orders can be created."
+                      >
+                        <Switch />
+                      </Form.Item>
+                    </>
+                  ),
+                }]}
+              />
+
               <div style={{ marginTop: 24, display: 'flex', gap: 12 }}>
                 <Button type="primary" htmlType="submit" loading={acmeSaving}>
                   Save ACME Settings

version.json

@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "version": "1.7.8",
-  "releaseName": "HA/VIP \u2014 per-node apply progress",
-  "releaseDate": "2026-06-07"
-}