fixup! wip to be discuss

goal is to reduce pressure on the backend (should be around ~60% capacity reduction on that endpoint)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@ and this project adheres to
 
 - 🐛(backend) allow any printable ASCII characters in user sub field #1673
 - 🐛(frontend) keep the sending resolution picked while the camera is off #1667
-- 🐛(frontend) restore automatic lower-hand on speaking
-- 🐛(frontend) center Avatar initials with a font-aware cap-height ratio
 
 ## [1.30.0] - 2026-09-01
 

docker/dinum-frontend/dinum-styles.css

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 :root {
     --fonts-sans: 'Marianne', ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
-    --avatar-cap-height: 0.7;
 }
 
 .Header-beforeLogo {

docker/files/usr/local/etc/gunicorn/meet.py

@@ -14,3 +14,4 @@ accesslog = "-"
 # Using '-' for the error log file makes gunicorn log errors to stderr
 errorlog = "-"
 loglevel = "info"
+access_log_format = '%(h)s %(l)s %(u)s %(t)s "%(r)s" %(s)s %(b)s "%(f)s" "%(a)s" %(M)s'

docs/theming.md

@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ Let's say you want to change the font of our application to a custom font. You c
 
 :root {
   --fonts-sans: 'Roboto', ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
-  --avatar-cap-height: 0.7;
 }
 ```
 

src/backend/core/services/lobby.py

@@ -79,6 +79,14 @@ class LobbyService:
 
     Handles participant entry requests, status management, and notifications
     using cache for state management and LiveKit for real-time updates.
+
+    Participant membership per room is tracked in a native Redis SET (the
+    "room index") so that listing and clearing a room's lobby never scans
+    the shared keyspace. The per-participant cache entries remain the source
+    of truth for state: their TTLs implement liveness (a waiter who stops
+    polling simply expires). The index only records which participant ids
+    may exist for a room; a stale id costs one cache miss and is pruned
+    lazily.
     """
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -86,6 +94,61 @@ class LobbyService:
         """Generate cache key for participant(s) data."""
         return f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room_id!s}_{participant_id}"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_index_key(room_id: UUID) -> str:
+        """Raw Redis key of the per-room participant index (a native SET).
+
+        Built through django-redis' make_key so it lives under the same
+        KEY_PREFIX/version namespace as the participant entries.
+        """
+        return cache.client.make_key(f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}-index_{room_id!s}")
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _redis(write: bool = True):
+        """Raw redis-py client.
+
+        SADD/SREM/SMEMBERS are not exposed by the Django cache API; this is
+        the documented django-redis escape hatch.
+        """
+        return cache.client.get_client(write=write)
+
+    def _index_add(self, room_id: UUID, participant_id: str) -> None:
+        """Record a participant id in the room index.
+
+        Refreshes a backstop TTL on the index so an abandoned room cannot
+        leak its set beyond the longest participant timeout.
+        """
+        index_key = self._get_index_key(room_id)
+        pipe = self._redis().pipeline(transaction=False)
+        pipe.sadd(index_key, participant_id)
+        pipe.expire(index_key, settings.LOBBY_ACCEPTED_TIMEOUT)
+        pipe.execute()
+
+    def _index_members(self, room_id: UUID) -> List[str]:
+        """All participant ids currently indexed for the room."""
+        members = self._redis(write=False).smembers(self._get_index_key(room_id))
+        return [
+            member.decode() if isinstance(member, bytes) else member
+            for member in members
+        ]
+
+    def _index_touch(self, room_id: UUID) -> None:
+        """Re-arm the room index backstop TTL.
+
+        Called whenever a participant entry is written or refreshed so the
+        index always outlives every entry it references — including a lone
+        waiter whose rolling WAITING TTL would otherwise outlast the
+        backstop set at enter() time.
+        """
+        self._redis().expire(
+            self._get_index_key(room_id), settings.LOBBY_ACCEPTED_TIMEOUT
+        )
+
+    def _index_remove(self, room_id: UUID, *participant_ids: str) -> None:
+        """Drop participant ids from the room index."""
+        if participant_ids:
+            self._redis().srem(self._get_index_key(room_id), *participant_ids)
+
     @staticmethod
     def _get_or_create_participant_id(request) -> str:
         """Extract unique participant identifier from the request."""
@@ -209,14 +272,16 @@ class LobbyService:
         cache.touch(
             self._get_cache_key(room_id, participant_id), settings.LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT
         )
+        self._index_touch(room_id)
 
     def enter(
         self, room_id: UUID, participant_id: str, username: str
     ) -> LobbyParticipant:
         """Add participant to waiting lobby.
 
-        Create a new participant entry in waiting status and notify room
+        Create a new participant entry in waiting status, index the
-        participants of the new entry request.
+        participant id for the room, and notify room participants of the
+        new entry request.
         """
 
         color = utils.generate_color(participant_id)
@@ -245,6 +310,7 @@ class LobbyService:
             participant.to_dict(),
             timeout=settings.LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT,
         )
+        self._index_add(room_id, participant_id)
 
         return participant
 
@@ -267,15 +333,31 @@ class LobbyService:
             return None
 
     def list_waiting_participants(self, room_id: UUID) -> List[dict]:
-        """List all waiting participants for a room."""
+        """List all waiting participants for a room.
 
-        pattern = self._get_cache_key(room_id, "*")
+        Reads the per-room index (O(participants of this room)) instead of
-        keys = list(cache.iter_keys(pattern, itersize=utils.CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE))
+        scanning the shared keyspace. Indexed ids whose cache entry has
+        expired are pruned lazily here: the entry TTL is the liveness
+        protocol, so a missing entry means the participant is gone.
+        """
 
-        if not keys:
+        member_ids = self._index_members(room_id)
+
+        if not member_ids:
             return []
 
-        data = cache.get_many(keys)
+        keys_by_id = {
+            participant_id: self._get_cache_key(room_id, participant_id)
+            for participant_id in member_ids
+        }
+        data = cache.get_many(list(keys_by_id.values()))
+
+        dead_ids = [
+            participant_id
+            for participant_id, cache_key in keys_by_id.items()
+            if cache_key not in data
+        ]
+        self._index_remove(room_id, *dead_ids)
 
         waiting_participants = []
         for cache_key, raw_participant in data.items():
@@ -341,16 +423,28 @@ class LobbyService:
 
         participant.status = status
         cache.set(cache_key, participant.to_dict(), timeout=timeout)
+        self._index_touch(room_id)
 
     def clear_room_cache(self, room_id: UUID) -> None:
-        """Clear all participant entries from the cache for a specific room."""
+        """Clear all participant entries from the cache for a specific room.
 
-        cache.delete_pattern(
+        Deletes the indexed participant entries and the index itself with
-            self._get_cache_key(room_id, "*"), itersize=utils.CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE
+        targeted commands instead of a full-keyspace pattern scan.
-        )
+        """
+
+        member_ids = self._index_members(room_id)
+        if member_ids:
+            cache.delete_many(
+                [
+                    self._get_cache_key(room_id, participant_id)
+                    for participant_id in member_ids
+                ]
+            )
+        self._redis().delete(self._get_index_key(room_id))
 
     def clear_participant_cache(self, room_id: UUID, participant_id: str) -> None:
         """Clear a given participant entry from the cache for a specific room."""
 
         cache_key = self._get_cache_key(room_id, participant_id)
         cache.delete(cache_key)
+        self._index_remove(room_id, participant_id)

src/backend/core/services/presence.py

@@ -1,25 +1,11 @@
-"""Presence cache.
+"""Presence cache."""
-
-Redis-backed memo of "this identity is currently connected to this room".
-
-This module is intentionally a *pure cache store* with no dependency on other
-services, so that `participants_management` (which talks to LiveKit) can
-import it without creating an import cycle. The composition of "check cache,
-fall back to LiveKit" lives in
-`ParticipantsManagement.check_if_in_meeting_cached`.
-
-Only positive answers are stored: a sticky negative would lock out someone
-who joins right after a miss for the whole TTL. The TTL is a safety net in
-case an invalidation webhook is lost.
-"""
 
+from typing import List
 from uuid import UUID
 
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.core.cache import cache
 
-from core.utils import CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE
-
 
 class PresenceCache:
     """Store and invalidate (room, identity) presence entries."""
@@ -29,24 +15,65 @@ class PresenceCache:
         """Cache key for a (room, identity) presence entry."""
         return f"{settings.PRESENCE_KEY_PREFIX}_{room_id!s}_{identity}"
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _get_index_key(room_id: UUID | str) -> str:
+        """Raw Redis key of the per-room identity index (a native SET).
+
+        Built through django-redis' make_key so it lives under the same
+        KEY_PREFIX/version namespace as the presence entries.
+        """
+        return cache.client.make_key(
+            f"{settings.PRESENCE_KEY_PREFIX}-index_{room_id!s}"
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _redis(write: bool = True):
+        """Raw redis-py client.
+
+        SADD/SREM/SMEMBERS are not exposed by the Django cache API; this is
+        the documented django-redis escape hatch.
+        """
+        return cache.client.get_client(write=write)
+
+    def _index_members(self, room_id: UUID | str) -> List[str]:
+        """All identities currently indexed for the room."""
+        members = self._redis(write=False).smembers(self._get_index_key(room_id))
+        return [
+            member.decode() if isinstance(member, bytes) else member
+            for member in members
+        ]
+
     def is_marked_present(self, room_id: UUID | str, identity: str) -> bool:
         """Return True if a positive presence entry exists in cache."""
         return bool(cache.get(self._get_cache_key(room_id, identity)))
 
     def mark_present(self, room_id: UUID | str, identity: str) -> None:
-        """Record that `identity` is in `room_id`."""
+        """Record that `identity` is in `room_id` and index it for the room."""
         cache.set(
             self._get_cache_key(room_id, identity),
             True,
             timeout=settings.PRESENCE_CACHE_TIMEOUT,
         )
+        index_key = self._get_index_key(room_id)
+        pipe = self._redis().pipeline(transaction=False)
+        pipe.sadd(index_key, identity)
+        pipe.expire(index_key, settings.PRESENCE_CACHE_TIMEOUT)
+        pipe.execute()
 
     def clear(self, room_id: UUID | str, identity: str) -> None:
         """Forget presence for one participant (e.g. on participant_left)."""
         cache.delete(self._get_cache_key(room_id, identity))
+        self._redis().srem(self._get_index_key(room_id), identity)
 
     def clear_room(self, room_id: UUID | str) -> None:
-        """Forget presence for every participant of a room (on room_finished)."""
+        """Forget presence for every participant of a room (on room_finished).
-        cache.delete_pattern(
+
-            self._get_cache_key(room_id, "*"), itersize=CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE
+        Deletes the indexed entries and the index itself with targeted
-        )
+        commands instead of a full-keyspace pattern scan.
+        """
+        identities = self._index_members(room_id)
+        if identities:
+            cache.delete_many(
+                [self._get_cache_key(room_id, identity) for identity in identities]
+            )
+        self._redis().delete(self._get_index_key(room_id))

src/backend/core/tests/rooms/test_api_rooms_lobby.py

@@ -589,6 +589,9 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_success(settings):
             "color": "#654321",
         },
     )
+    lobby_service = LobbyService()
+    lobby_service._index_add(room.id, "2f7f162f-e7d1-421b-90e7-02bfbfbf8def")
+    lobby_service._index_add(room.id, "f4ca3ab8a6c04ad88097b8da33f60f10")
 
     response = client.get(f"/api/v1.0/rooms/{room.id}/waiting-participants/")
 

src/backend/core/tests/services/test_lobby.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Test lobby service.
 """
 
-# pylint: disable=W0621,W0613, W0212, R0913
+# pylint: disable=W0621,W0613, W0212, R0913, C0302
 # ruff: noqa: PLR0913, PLR0917
 
 import uuid
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ from core.services.lobby import (
     LobbyParticipantStatus,
     LobbyService,
 )
-from core.services.presence import CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE
 from core.utils import NotificationError
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.django_db
@@ -466,18 +465,22 @@ def test_request_entry_participant_with_role(
 def test_refresh_waiting_status(mock_cache, lobby_service, participant_id):
     """Test refreshing waiting status for a participant."""
     lobby_service._get_cache_key = mock.Mock(return_value="mocked_cache_key")
+    lobby_service._index_touch = mock.Mock()
     room = RoomFactory(access_level=RoomAccessLevel.RESTRICTED)
     lobby_service.refresh_waiting_status(room.id, participant_id)
     mock_cache.touch.assert_called_once_with(
         "mocked_cache_key", settings.LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT
     )
+    lobby_service._index_touch.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
 
 
 # pylint: disable=R0917
 @mock.patch("core.services.lobby.cache")
 @mock.patch("core.utils.generate_color")
 @mock.patch("core.utils.notify_participants")
+@mock.patch("core.services.lobby.LobbyService._index_add")
 def test_enter_success(
+    mock_index_add,
     mock_notify,
     mock_generate_color,
     mock_cache,
@@ -508,13 +511,16 @@ def test_enter_success(
     mock_notify.assert_called_once_with(
         room_name=str(room.pk), notification_data={"type": "participantWaiting"}
     )
+    mock_index_add.assert_called_once_with(room.id, participant_id)
 
 
 # pylint: disable=R0917
 @mock.patch("core.services.lobby.cache")
 @mock.patch("core.utils.generate_color")
 @mock.patch("core.utils.notify_participants")
+@mock.patch("core.services.lobby.LobbyService._index_add")
 def test_enter_with_notification_error(
+    mock_index_add,
     mock_notify,
     mock_generate_color,
     mock_cache,
@@ -541,6 +547,7 @@ def test_enter_with_notification_error(
         participant.to_dict(),
         timeout=settings.LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT,
     )
+    mock_index_add.assert_called_once_with(room.id, participant_id)
 
 
 @mock.patch("core.services.lobby.cache")
@@ -579,14 +586,15 @@ def test_get_participant_parsing_error(
 @mock.patch("core.services.lobby.cache")
 def test_list_waiting_participants_empty(mock_cache, lobby_service):
     """Test listing waiting participants when none exist."""
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = []
-
     room = RoomFactory(access_level=RoomAccessLevel.RESTRICTED)
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(return_value=[])
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
+
     result = lobby_service.list_waiting_participants(room.id)
 
     assert result == []
-    pattern = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_*"
+    lobby_service._index_members.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.assert_called_once_with(pattern, itersize=CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE)
+    lobby_service._index_remove.assert_not_called()
     mock_cache.get_many.assert_not_called()
 
 
@@ -595,7 +603,8 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants(mock_cache, lobby_service, participant_dict):
     """Test listing waiting participants with valid data."""
     room = RoomFactory(access_level=RoomAccessLevel.RESTRICTED)
     cache_key = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_participant1"
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = [cache_key]
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(return_value=["participant1"])
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
     mock_cache.get_many.return_value = {cache_key: participant_dict}
 
     result = lobby_service.list_waiting_participants(room.id)
@@ -603,8 +612,8 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants(mock_cache, lobby_service, participant_dict):
     assert len(result) == 1
     assert result[0]["status"] == "waiting"
     assert result[0]["username"] == "test-username"
-    pattern = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_*"
+    lobby_service._index_members.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.assert_called_once_with(pattern, itersize=CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE)
+    lobby_service._index_remove.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
     mock_cache.get_many.assert_called_once_with([cache_key])
 
 
@@ -629,7 +638,10 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_multiple(mock_cache, lobby_service):
         "color": "#654321",
     }
 
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = [cache_key1, cache_key2]
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(
+        return_value=["participant1", "participant2"]
+    )
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
     mock_cache.get_many.return_value = {
         cache_key1: participant1,
         cache_key2: participant2,
@@ -646,8 +658,7 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_multiple(mock_cache, lobby_service):
     # Verify all participants have waiting status
     assert all(p["status"] == "waiting" for p in result)
 
-    pattern = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_*"
+    lobby_service._index_members.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.assert_called_once_with(pattern, itersize=CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE)
     mock_cache.get_many.assert_called_once_with([cache_key1, cache_key2])
 
 
@@ -656,7 +667,8 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_corrupted_data(mock_cache, lobby_service):
     """Test listing waiting participants with corrupted data."""
     room = RoomFactory(access_level=RoomAccessLevel.RESTRICTED)
     cache_key = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_participant1"
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = [cache_key]
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(return_value=["participant1"])
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
     mock_cache.get_many.return_value = {cache_key: {"invalid": "data"}}
 
     result = lobby_service.list_waiting_participants(room.id)
@@ -681,7 +693,10 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_partially_corrupted(mock_cache, lobby_service
 
     corrupted_participant = {"invalid": "data"}
 
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = [cache_key1, cache_key2]
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(
+        return_value=["participant1", "participant2"]
+    )
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
     mock_cache.get_many.return_value = {
         cache_key1: corrupted_participant,
         cache_key2: valid_participant,
@@ -699,8 +714,6 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_partially_corrupted(mock_cache, lobby_service
     mock_cache.delete.assert_called_once_with(cache_key1)
 
     # Verify both cache keys were queried
-    pattern = f"{settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX}_{room.id!s}_*"
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.assert_called_once_with(pattern, itersize=CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE)
     mock_cache.get_many.assert_called_once_with([cache_key1, cache_key2])
 
 
@@ -724,7 +737,10 @@ def test_list_waiting_participants_non_waiting(mock_cache, lobby_service):
         "color": "#654321",
     }
 
-    mock_cache.iter_keys.return_value = [cache_key1, cache_key2]
+    lobby_service._index_members = mock.Mock(
+        return_value=["participant1", "participant2"]
+    )
+    lobby_service._index_remove = mock.Mock()
     mock_cache.get_many.return_value = {
         cache_key1: participant1,
         cache_key2: participant2,
@@ -820,6 +836,7 @@ def test_update_participant_status_success(mock_cache, lobby_service, participan
 
     mock_cache.get.return_value = participant_dict
     lobby_service._get_cache_key = mock.Mock(return_value="mocked_cache_key")
+    lobby_service._index_touch = mock.Mock()
 
     lobby_service._update_participant_status(
         room.id,
@@ -837,6 +854,7 @@ def test_update_participant_status_success(mock_cache, lobby_service, participan
     mock_cache.set.assert_called_once_with(
         "mocked_cache_key", expected_data, timeout=60
     )
+    lobby_service._index_touch.assert_called_once_with(room.id)
     lobby_service._get_cache_key.assert_called_once_with(room.id, participant_id)
 
 
@@ -881,9 +899,13 @@ def test_clear_room_cache(settings, lobby_service):
         timeout=settings.LOBBY_DENIED_TIMEOUT,
     )
 
+    for participant_id in ("participant1", "participant2", "participant3"):
+        lobby_service._index_add(room_id, participant_id)
+
     lobby_service.clear_room_cache(room_id)
 
     assert cache.keys(f"test-lobby_{room_id!s}_*") == []
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == []
 
 
 def test_clear_room_empty(settings, lobby_service):
@@ -910,10 +932,13 @@ def test_clear_participant_cache(lobby_service):
         "color": "#123456",
     }
     cache.set(cache_key, participant_data, timeout=settings.LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT)
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, participant_id)
     assert cache.get(cache_key) is not None
+    assert participant_id in lobby_service._index_members(room_id)
 
     lobby_service.clear_participant_cache(room_id, participant_id)
     assert cache.get(cache_key) is None
+    assert participant_id not in lobby_service._index_members(room_id)
 
 
 def test_clear_participant_cache_nonexistent(lobby_service):
@@ -927,3 +952,87 @@ def test_clear_participant_cache_nonexistent(lobby_service):
     lobby_service.clear_participant_cache(room_id, participant_id)
 
     assert cache.get(cache_key) is None
+
+
+# Room index integration tests (real cache backend)
+
+
+def test_index_add_members_remove_roundtrip(lobby_service):
+    """The room index records, lists and forgets participant ids."""
+    room_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == []
+
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, "participant1")
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, "participant2")
+
+    assert sorted(lobby_service._index_members(room_id)) == [
+        "participant1",
+        "participant2",
+    ]
+
+    # The index carries a backstop TTL so abandoned rooms cannot leak it.
+    ttl = lobby_service._redis().ttl(lobby_service._get_index_key(room_id))
+    assert 0 < ttl <= settings.LOBBY_ACCEPTED_TIMEOUT
+
+    lobby_service._index_remove(room_id, "participant1")
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == ["participant2"]
+
+
+@mock.patch("core.utils.notify_participants")
+def test_enter_registers_participant_in_room_index(
+    mock_notify, lobby_service, participant_id, username
+):
+    """Entering the lobby must index the participant id for the room."""
+    room_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    lobby_service.enter(room_id, participant_id, username)
+
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == [participant_id]
+
+
+def test_list_waiting_participants_prunes_stale_index_ids(settings, lobby_service):
+    """Indexed ids whose cache entry expired are pruned and not listed."""
+    settings.LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX = "test-lobby-prune"
+    room_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    cache.set(
+        f"test-lobby-prune_{room_id!s}_participant1",
+        {
+            "id": "participant1",
+            "username": "user1",
+            "status": "waiting",
+            "color": "#123456",
+        },
+        timeout=100,
+    )
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, "participant1")
+    # participant2 is indexed but its cache entry has expired.
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, "participant2")
+
+    result = lobby_service.list_waiting_participants(room_id)
+
+    assert [participant["id"] for participant in result] == ["participant1"]
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == ["participant1"]
+
+
+def test_refresh_waiting_status_rearms_room_index_ttl(lobby_service, participant_id):
+    """A lone waiter's polling must keep the room index alive.
+
+    Regression test: the index backstop TTL is only armed at enter() time,
+    so a participant whose rolling WAITING refreshes outlast it would keep
+    their entry alive while silently vanishing from the moderator list.
+    Refreshing the waiting status must therefore re-arm the index TTL.
+    """
+    room_id = uuid.uuid4()
+    lobby_service._index_add(room_id, participant_id)
+
+    index_key = lobby_service._get_index_key(room_id)
+    redis_client = lobby_service._redis()
+    redis_client.expire(index_key, 10)
+    assert redis_client.ttl(index_key) <= 10
+
+    lobby_service.refresh_waiting_status(room_id, participant_id)
+
+    assert redis_client.ttl(index_key) > 10
+    assert lobby_service._index_members(room_id) == [participant_id]

src/backend/core/tests/services/test_presence.py

@@ -90,19 +90,18 @@ def test_presence_clear_and_clear_room():
     assert presence.is_marked_present(other_room, "a") is True
 
 
-def test_presence_clear_room_scans_in_pages():
+def test_presence_clear_room_removes_many_entries_and_the_index():
-    """clear_room removes every match, even across several SCAN pages,
+    """clear_room removes every entry of the room through the index — never
-    and only within the room."""
+    a keyspace scan — and leaves other rooms untouched."""
     room_id, other_room = str(uuid4()), str(uuid4())
     presence = PresenceCache()
     for i in range(7):
         presence.mark_present(room_id, f"user-{i}")
     presence.mark_present(other_room, "user-0")
 
-    # An itersize smaller than the match count forces delete_pattern to
+    presence.clear_room(room_id)
-    # page through several SCAN cursors rather than finish in one pass.
-    with mock.patch("core.utils.CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE", 3):
-        presence.clear_room(room_id)
 
     assert all(not presence.is_marked_present(room_id, f"user-{i}") for i in range(7))
     assert presence.is_marked_present(other_room, "user-0") is True
+    assert presence._index_members(room_id) == []
+    assert presence._index_members(other_room) == ["user-0"]

src/backend/core/utils.py

@@ -499,6 +499,3 @@ def build_telephony_config():
         "default_country": country,
         "international_phone_number": international,
     }
-
-
-CACHE_SCAN_ITERSIZE = 500

src/backend/meet/settings.py

@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@ class Base(Configuration):
         "room_lobby", environ_name="LOBBY_KEY_PREFIX", environ_prefix=None
     )
     LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT = values.PositiveIntegerValue(
-        3, environ_name="LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT", environ_prefix=None
+        6, environ_name="LOBBY_WAITING_TIMEOUT", environ_prefix=None
     )
     LOBBY_DENIED_TIMEOUT = values.PositiveIntegerValue(
         5, environ_name="LOBBY_DENIED_TIMEOUT", environ_prefix=None

src/frontend/src/components/Avatar.tsx

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { css, cva, RecipeVariantProps } from '@/styled-system/css'
-import React, { useMemo } from 'react'
+import React, { useLayoutEffect, useMemo } from 'react'
 
 const avatar = cva({
   base: {
@@ -28,17 +28,24 @@ const avatar = cva({
   },
 })
 
+// Instantiating a segmenter is expensive; create it once and reuse it.
 const graphemeSegmenter =
   typeof Intl !== 'undefined' && 'Segmenter' in Intl
     ? new Intl.Segmenter(undefined, { granularity: 'grapheme' })
     : undefined
 
+/**
+ * Returns the first user-perceived character. Some Unicode characters span
+ * multiple UTF-16 code units, so a naive index into the string can split them
+ * and yield a broken glyph.
+ */
 const getFirstGrapheme = (value: string): string => {
   if (!value) return ''
   if (graphemeSegmenter) {
     const [first] = graphemeSegmenter.segment(value)
     return first?.segment ?? ''
   }
+  // Fallback: keeps single code points intact (including surrogate pairs).
   return Array.from(value)[0] ?? ''
 }
 
@@ -59,6 +66,36 @@ export type AvatarProps = React.HTMLAttributes<HTMLDivElement> & {
 export const Avatar = React.memo(
   ({ name, bgColor, context, notification, style, ...props }: AvatarProps) => {
     const initials = useMemo(() => getInitials(name), [name])
+    const textRef = React.useRef<SVGTextElement>(null)
+    const [offsetY, setOffsetY] = React.useState(0)
+
+    // Optically center the initials: measure the ink bounding box of the
+    // rendered glyphs and shift them so the box's center sits at the middle
+    // of the viewBox. Works for any font, weight or glyph shape, unlike a
+    // hand-tuned dy offset. getBBox() is in local (pre-transform)
+    // coordinates, so applying the translation never changes the measure.
+    useLayoutEffect(() => {
+      const text = textRef.current
+      if (!text) return
+
+      const center = () => {
+        const box = text.getBBox()
+        // A hidden element measures as an empty box; keep the default then.
+        if (box.height === 0) return
+        setOffsetY(50 - (box.y + box.height / 2))
+      }
+
+      center()
+      // Glyph metrics can change once webfonts finish loading.
+      let cancelled = false
+      document.fonts?.ready.then(() => {
+        if (!cancelled) center()
+      })
+      return () => {
+        cancelled = true
+      }
+    }, [initials])
+
     return (
       <div
         style={{ backgroundColor: bgColor, ...style }}
@@ -71,16 +108,15 @@ export const Avatar = React.memo(
           className={css({ width: '100%', height: '100%', display: 'block' })}
         >
           <text
+            ref={textRef}
             x="50"
-            y={50}
+            y="50"
+            transform={`translate(0 ${offsetY})`}
             textAnchor="middle"
+            dominantBaseline="central"
             fontSize="52"
             fontWeight="500"
             fill="currentColor"
-            className={css({
-              transform:
-                'translateY(calc(var(--avatar-cap-height, 0.7) * 0.5em))',
-            })}
           >
             {initials}
           </text>

src/frontend/src/features/auth/api/fetchUser.ts

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ export const fetchUser = (
   }
 ): Promise<ApiUser | false> => {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
-    fetchApi<ApiUser>('/users/me')
+    fetchApi<ApiUser>('/users/me/')
       .then(resolve)
       .catch((error) => {
         // we assume that a 401 means the user is not logged in

src/frontend/src/features/participants/api/enterRoom.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { ApiError } from '@/api/ApiError'
 import { fetchApi } from '@/api/fetchApi'
+import { captureEvent } from '@/features/analytics/telemetry'
 import { useMutation, type UseMutationOptions } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 
 export interface EnterRoomParams {
@@ -17,13 +18,24 @@ export const enterRoom = async ({
   allowEntry,
   participantId,
 }: EnterRoomParams): Promise<EnterRoomResponse> => {
-  return await fetchApi<EnterRoomResponse>(`/rooms/${roomId}/enter/`, {
+  try {
-    method: 'POST',
+    return await fetchApi<EnterRoomResponse>(`/rooms/${roomId}/enter/`, {
-    body: JSON.stringify({
+      method: 'POST',
-      participant_id: participantId,
+      body: JSON.stringify({
-      allow_entry: allowEntry,
+        participant_id: participantId,
-    }),
+        allow_entry: allowEntry,
-  })
+      }),
+    })
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (error instanceof ApiError && error.statusCode === 404) {
+      captureEvent('lobby_entry_participant_gone', {
+        room_id: roomId,
+        allow_entry: allowEntry,
+      })
+      return { message: 'participant_gone' }
+    }
+    throw error
+  }
 }
 
 export function useEnterRoom(

src/frontend/src/features/rooms/components/LobbyProvider.tsx

@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ import { keys } from '@/api/queryKeys'
 import { queryClient } from '@/api/queryClient'
 import { ApiError } from '@/api/ApiError'
 
-export const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 1000
+export const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 4_000
-export const LAZY_POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 10_000
+export const LAZY_POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 15_000
 
 export const LobbyProvider = () => {
   const room = useRoomContext()
@@ -34,10 +34,11 @@ export const LobbyProvider = () => {
       refetchOnReconnect: false,
       refetchInterval: (query) => {
         if (!query.state.data?.participants?.length) return false
-        if (isParticipantsOpen) return POLL_INTERVAL_MS
+        if (isParticipantsOpen)
+          return query.state.error ? POLL_INTERVAL_MS * 3 : POLL_INTERVAL_MS
         return LAZY_POLL_INTERVAL_MS
       },
-      refetchIntervalInBackground: true,
+      refetchIntervalInBackground: false,
     })
 
   // Triggers: each one-shot, idempotent, deduped by React Query if

src/frontend/src/features/rooms/hooks/useLobby.ts

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import {
 } from '../api/requestEntry'
 
 export const WAIT_TIMEOUT_MS = 600000 // 10 minutes
-export const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 1000
+export const POLL_INTERVAL_MS = 3_000
 
 export const useLobby = ({
   roomId,
@@ -53,7 +53,9 @@ export const useLobby = ({
       }
       return response
     },
-    refetchInterval: POLL_INTERVAL_MS,
+    retry: false,
+    refetchInterval: (query) =>
+      query.state.error ? POLL_INTERVAL_MS * 3 : POLL_INTERVAL_MS,
     refetchOnWindowFocus: false,
     refetchIntervalInBackground: true,
     enabled: status === ApiLobbyStatus.WAITING,

src/frontend/src/features/rooms/livekit/components/controls/HandToggle.tsx

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 import { RiHand } from '@remixicon/react'
 import { ToggleButton } from '@/primitives'
 import { css } from '@/styled-system/css'
-import { useIsSpeaking, useRoomContext } from '@livekit/components-react'
+import { useRoomContext } from '@livekit/components-react'
 import { useRaisedHand } from '@/features/rooms/livekit/hooks/useRaisedHand'
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 import {
@@ -25,11 +25,11 @@ export const HandToggle = ({
   const { t } = useTranslation('rooms', { keyPrefix: 'controls.hand' })
 
   const room = useRoomContext()
-  const { isHandRaised, toggleRaisedHand, lowerHand } = useRaisedHand({
+  const { isHandRaised, toggleRaisedHand } = useRaisedHand({
     participant: room.localParticipant,
   })
 
-  const isSpeaking = useIsSpeaking(room.localParticipant)
+  const isSpeaking = room.localParticipant.isSpeaking
   const speakingTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
   const [hasShownToast, setHasShownToast] = useState(false)
 
@@ -57,10 +57,9 @@ export const HandToggle = ({
 
     if (shouldShowToast && !speakingTimerRef.current) {
       speakingTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
-        speakingTimerRef.current = null
         setHasShownToast(true)
         const onClose = () => {
-          lowerHand()
+          if (isHandRaised) toggleRaisedHand()
           resetToastState()
         }
         showLowerHandToast(room.localParticipant, onClose)
@@ -71,17 +70,7 @@ export const HandToggle = ({
       speakingTimerRef.current = null
     }
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
-  }, [isSpeaking, isHandRaised, hasShownToast, lowerHand])
+  }, [isSpeaking, isHandRaised, hasShownToast, toggleRaisedHand])
-
-  // Clear any pending timer on unmount
-  useEffect(() => {
-    return () => {
-      if (speakingTimerRef.current) {
-        clearTimeout(speakingTimerRef.current)
-        speakingTimerRef.current = null
-      }
-    }
-  }, [])
 
   const tooltipLabel = isHandRaised ? 'lower' : 'raise'
 

src/frontend/src/features/rooms/livekit/hooks/useRaisedHand.ts

@@ -86,16 +86,5 @@ export function useRaisedHand({ participant }: useRaisedHandProps) {
     }
   }
 
-  const lowerHand = async () => {
+  return { isHandRaised, toggleRaisedHand }
-    if (!isLocal(participant)) return
-    try {
-      await raiseHand(false)
-    } catch (e) {
-      reportError('generic_failure', e, {
-        context: 'lower_raised_hand',
-      })
-    }
-  }
-
-  return { isHandRaised, toggleRaisedHand, lowerHand }
 }

src/frontend/src/styles/index.css

@@ -6,10 +6,6 @@ body,
   height: 100%;
 }
 
-:root {
-  --avatar-cap-height: 0.7;
-}
-
 html.font-lexend {
   --fonts-sans: 'Lexend Variable', ui-sans-serif, system-ui, sans-serif;
 }