diff --git a/internal/monitoring/broadcast_conversion_test.go b/internal/monitoring/broadcast_conversion_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0702662cb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/monitoring/broadcast_conversion_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+package monitoring
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"errors"
+	"math"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/models"
+	"github.com/rcourtman/pulse-go-rewrite/internal/unifiedresources"
+)
+
+// These deliberately use named nil collections: a nil slice/map can still
+// have a custom wire representation, unlike a nil pointer marshaler.
+type projectionNilSlice []string
+
+func (projectionNilSlice) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) { return []byte(`["custom"]`), nil }
+
+type projectionNilMap map[string]string
+
+func (projectionNilMap) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) { return []byte(`{"custom":true}`), nil }
+
+type projectionNilTextSlice []string
+
+func (projectionNilTextSlice) MarshalText() ([]byte, error) { return []byte("custom-text"), nil }
+
+type projectionNilTextMap map[string]string
+
+func (projectionNilTextMap) MarshalText() ([]byte, error) { return []byte("custom-text"), nil }
+
+type projectionInvalidJSON struct{}
+
+func (projectionInvalidJSON) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) { return []byte(`{broken`), nil }
+
+type projectionFailedJSON struct{}
+
+func (projectionFailedJSON) MarshalJSON() ([]byte, error) {
+	return nil, errors.New("synthetic encode failure")
+}
+
+func projectionRawJSONReference(value any) json.RawMessage {
+	if value == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	encoded, err := json.Marshal(value)
+	if err != nil || string(encoded) == "null" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return encoded
+}
+
+func TestBroadcastRawJSONPreservesAbsentEmptyAndFailureSemantics(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name  string
+		value any
+	}{
+		{"untyped-nil", nil}, {"nil-facet", (*unifiedresources.K8sData)(nil)},
+		{"nil-slice", []string(nil)}, {"nil-map", map[string]string(nil)},
+		{"empty-slice", []string{}}, {"empty-map", map[string]string{}},
+		{"named-nil-slice-marshaler", projectionNilSlice(nil)},
+		{"named-nil-map-marshaler", projectionNilMap(nil)},
+		{"named-nil-slice-text-marshaler", projectionNilTextSlice(nil)},
+		{"named-nil-map-text-marshaler", projectionNilTextMap(nil)},
+		{"nil-pointer-marshaler", (*projectionNilSlice)(nil)},
+		{"invalid-json", projectionInvalidJSON{}}, {"encode-failure", projectionFailedJSON{}},
+		{"invalid-float", math.NaN()}, {"raw-null", json.RawMessage(`null`)},
+		{"unicode-html", map[string]string{"label": "<synthetic> & café \u2028"}},
+		{"facet", &unifiedresources.K8sData{ClusterID: "synthetic", Labels: map[string]string{"env": "test"}}},
+	}
+	for _, tc := range cases {
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, want := monitorRawJSON(tc.value), projectionRawJSONReference(tc.value)
+			if !bytes.Equal(got, want) || (got == nil) != (want == nil) {
+				t.Fatalf("raw JSON changed: got %q, want %q", got, want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBroadcastAbsentFacetsDoNotAllocateNull(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, value := range []any{(*unifiedresources.K8sData)(nil), (*unifiedresources.StorageMeta)(nil), []unifiedresources.ResourceIncident(nil)} {
+		allocations := testing.AllocsPerRun(100, func() {
+			if monitorRawJSON(value) != nil {
+				panic("absent facet became present")
+			}
+		})
+		if allocations != 0 {
+			t.Fatalf("absent %T allocated discarded JSON: %.0f", value, allocations)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBroadcastConversionBorrowedHelpersKeepOutputOwned(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 5, 10, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	temperature := 42.5
+	total, used := int64(1000), int64(250)
+	resource := unifiedresources.Resource{ID: "pod:synthetic", Type: unifiedresources.ResourceTypePod, Name: "synthetic", LastSeen: now,
+		Sources: []unifiedresources.DataSource{unifiedresources.SourceK8s}, Tags: []string{"public"},
+		Identity:   unifiedresources.ResourceIdentity{Hostnames: []string{"synthetic"}, IPAddresses: []string{"192.0.2.1"}},
+		Metrics:    &unifiedresources.ResourceMetrics{CPU: &unifiedresources.MetricValue{Percent: 0.25}, Memory: &unifiedresources.MetricValue{Total: &total, Used: &used}},
+		Kubernetes: &unifiedresources.K8sData{ClusterID: "synthetic", PodPhase: "Running", Labels: map[string]string{"env": "synthetic"}, Temperature: &temperature, UptimeSeconds: 60},
+	}
+	before, err := json.Marshal(resource)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	projected := models.ConvertResourceToFrontend(monitorResourceToConvertInput(resource))
+	projected.Tags[0] = "caller-change"
+	projected.Sources[0] = "caller-change"
+	projected.Labels["env"] = "caller-change"
+	projected.Identity.IPs[0] = "caller-change"
+	*projected.Temperature = 100
+	*projected.Uptime = 100
+	*projected.Memory.Total = 2000
+	*projected.Memory.Used = 1000
+	for _, raw := range []json.RawMessage{projected.Canonical, projected.Kubernetes, projected.MetricsTarget, projected.DiscoveryTarget, projected.Capabilities} {
+		if len(raw) > 0 {
+			raw[0] = 'x'
+		}
+	}
+	after, err := json.Marshal(resource)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(before, after) {
+		t.Fatal("converter or output caller mutated source resource")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/canonical_guardrails_test.go b/internal/monitoring/canonical_guardrails_test.go
index f65c96057a..3c398a8cbf 100644
--- a/internal/monitoring/canonical_guardrails_test.go
+++ b/internal/monitoring/canonical_guardrails_test.go
@@ -2592,7 +2592,7 @@ func TestPollersHonorDisabledInstanceFlag(t *testing.T) {
 func TestMonitorUptimeFallsBackToCanonicalResourceUptime(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("falls through to Resource.Uptime when no source carve-out is set", func(t *testing.T) {
 		resource := unifiedresources.Resource{Uptime: 123456}
-		got := monitorUptime(resource)
+		got := monitorUptime(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 123456 {
 			t.Fatalf("monitorUptime() = %v, want 123456 from canonical Resource.Uptime", got)
 		}
@@ -2603,21 +2603,21 @@ func TestMonitorUptimeFallsBackToCanonicalResourceUptime(t *testing.T) {
 			Uptime: 999999,
 			Agent:  &unifiedresources.AgentData{UptimeSeconds: 100},
 		}
-		got := monitorUptime(resource)
+		got := monitorUptime(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 100 {
 			t.Fatalf("monitorUptime() = %v, want 100 from agent (precedence over canonical Uptime)", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.Agent = nil
 		resource.Proxmox = &unifiedresources.ProxmoxData{Uptime: 200}
-		got = monitorUptime(resource)
+		got = monitorUptime(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 200 {
 			t.Fatalf("monitorUptime() = %v, want 200 from proxmox (precedence over canonical Uptime)", got)
 		}
 	})
 
 	t.Run("returns nil when nothing populates", func(t *testing.T) {
-		if got := monitorUptime(unifiedresources.Resource{}); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorUptime(&unifiedresources.Resource{}); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("monitorUptime() = %v, want nil when all sources empty", got)
 		}
 	})
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/guest_config_conversion_coverage_test.go b/internal/monitoring/guest_config_conversion_coverage_test.go
index f334213129..1904bc3bfa 100644
--- a/internal/monitoring/guest_config_conversion_coverage_test.go
+++ b/internal/monitoring/guest_config_conversion_coverage_test.go
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendAndMetricHelpers(t *testing.T) {
 
 		for _, tt := range tests {
 			t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				if got := monitorFrontendResourceType(tt.resource); got != tt.want {
+				if got := monitorFrontendResourceType(&tt.resource); got != tt.want {
 					t.Fatalf("monitorFrontendResourceType() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
 				}
 			})
@@ -320,7 +320,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendAndMetricHelpers(t *testing.T) {
 
 		for _, tt := range tests {
 			t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				if got := monitorPlatformType(tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
+				if got := monitorPlatformType(&tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
 					t.Fatalf("monitorPlatformType() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
 				}
 			})
@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendAndMetricHelpers(t *testing.T) {
 
 		for _, tt := range tests {
 			t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				if got := monitorPlatformID(tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
+				if got := monitorPlatformID(&tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
 					t.Fatalf("monitorPlatformID() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
 				}
 			})
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendAndMetricHelpers(t *testing.T) {
 
 		for _, tt := range tests {
 			t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-				if got := monitorFrontendStatus(tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
+				if got := monitorFrontendStatus(&tt.resource, tt.resourceType); got != tt.want {
 					t.Fatalf("monitorFrontendStatus() = %q, want %q", got, tt.want)
 				}
 			})
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		}
 
-		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "node", "ignored"))
+		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "node", "ignored"))
 		if payload["instance"] != "pve-a" {
 			t.Fatalf("instance = %#v, want pve-a", payload["instance"])
 		}
@@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		}
 
-		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "vm", "ignored"))
+		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "vm", "ignored"))
 		if payload["networkIn"] != float64(11) {
 			t.Fatalf("networkIn = %#v, want 11", payload["networkIn"])
 		}
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		}
 
-		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "pbs", "ignored"))
+		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "pbs", "ignored"))
 		if payload["memoryUsed"] != float64(20) {
 			t.Fatalf("memoryUsed = %#v, want 20", payload["memoryUsed"])
 		}
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			ParentID: &parent,
 		}
 
-		storagePayload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "storage", "pve-a"))
+		storagePayload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "storage", "pve-a"))
 		if storagePayload["instance"] != "pve-a" {
 			t.Fatalf("instance = %#v, want pve-a", storagePayload["instance"])
 		}
@@ -641,7 +641,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("active = %#v, want true", storagePayload["active"])
 		}
 
-		poolPayload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "pool", "pve-a"))
+		poolPayload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "pool", "pve-a"))
 		if poolPayload["active"] != true {
 			t.Fatalf("pool active = %#v, want true", poolPayload["active"])
 		}
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 		}
 
-		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(resource, "storage", "ignored"))
+		payload := decodePlatformDataPayload(t, monitorPlatformData(&resource, "storage", "ignored"))
 		if payload["platform"] != "unraid" {
 			t.Fatalf("platform = %#v, want unraid", payload["platform"])
 		}
@@ -687,10 +687,10 @@ func TestMonitorPlatformData(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	t.Run("nil payload branches", func(t *testing.T) {
-		if got := monitorPlatformData(unifiedresources.Resource{}, "agent", "id"); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorPlatformData(&unifiedresources.Resource{}, "agent", "id"); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("expected nil payload for agent without resource agent data, got %s", string(got))
 		}
-		if got := monitorPlatformData(unifiedresources.Resource{}, "unknown", "id"); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorPlatformData(&unifiedresources.Resource{}, "unknown", "id"); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("expected nil payload for unknown type, got %s", string(got))
 		}
 	})
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/monitor.go b/internal/monitoring/monitor.go
index c722fc70f0..53182cf222 100644
--- a/internal/monitoring/monitor.go
+++ b/internal/monitoring/monitor.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package monitoring
 import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"encoding/json"
 	stderrors "errors"
@@ -6554,17 +6555,17 @@ func validBroadcastMetricsTarget(
 }
 
 func monitorResourceToConvertInput(resource unifiedresources.Resource) models.ResourceConvertInput {
-	resourceType := monitorFrontendResourceType(resource)
+	resourceType := monitorFrontendResourceType(&resource)
 	if resource.DiscoveryTarget == nil {
-		resource.DiscoveryTarget = monitorDiscoveryTarget(resource, resourceType)
+		resource.DiscoveryTarget = monitorDiscoveryTarget(&resource, resourceType)
 	}
 	if resource.MetricsTarget == nil {
-		resource.MetricsTarget = monitorMetricsTarget(resource, resourceType)
+		resource.MetricsTarget = monitorMetricsTarget(&resource, resourceType)
 	}
 	unifiedresources.RefreshCanonicalMetadata(&resource)
 	slimResourceForBroadcast(&resource)
-	name, displayName := monitorFrontendNames(resource, resourceType)
-	platformID := monitorPlatformID(resource, resourceType)
+	name, displayName := monitorFrontendNames(&resource, resourceType)
+	platformID := monitorPlatformID(&resource, resourceType)
 
 	input := models.ResourceConvertInput{
 		ID:                    resource.ID,
@@ -6573,21 +6574,21 @@ func monitorResourceToConvertInput(resource unifiedresources.Resource) models.Re
 		Name:                  name,
 		DisplayName:           displayName,
 		PlatformID:            platformID,
-		PlatformType:          monitorPlatformType(resource, resourceType),
+		PlatformType:          monitorPlatformType(&resource, resourceType),
 		SourceType:            monitorSourceType(resource.Sources),
 		Sources:               monitorSourceKeys(resource.Sources),
 		ParentID:              monitorStringValue(resource.ParentID),
 		ParentName:            resource.ParentName,
 		ChildCount:            resource.ChildCount,
-		ClusterID:             monitorClusterID(resource),
-		Status:                monitorFrontendStatus(resource, resourceType),
+		ClusterID:             monitorClusterID(&resource),
+		Status:                monitorFrontendStatus(&resource, resourceType),
 		CPU:                   monitorMetricInput(monitorMetricValue(resource.Metrics, func(metrics *unifiedresources.ResourceMetrics) *unifiedresources.MetricValue { return metrics.CPU })),
 		Memory:                monitorMetricInput(monitorMetricValue(resource.Metrics, func(metrics *unifiedresources.ResourceMetrics) *unifiedresources.MetricValue { return metrics.Memory })),
 		Disk:                  monitorMetricInput(monitorMetricValue(resource.Metrics, func(metrics *unifiedresources.ResourceMetrics) *unifiedresources.MetricValue { return metrics.Disk })),
-		Temperature:           monitorTemperature(resource),
-		Uptime:                monitorUptime(resource),
+		Temperature:           monitorTemperature(&resource),
+		Uptime:                monitorUptime(&resource),
 		Tags:                  append([]string(nil), resource.Tags...),
-		Labels:                monitorLabels(resource),
+		Labels:                monitorLabels(&resource),
 		CustomURL:             strings.TrimSpace(resource.CustomURL),
 		LastSeenUnix:          monitorLastSeenUnix(resource.LastSeen),
 		Health:                monitorRawJSON(resource.Health),
@@ -6601,7 +6602,7 @@ func monitorResourceToConvertInput(resource unifiedresources.Resource) models.Re
 		IncidentImpactSummary: resource.IncidentImpactSummary,
 		IncidentUrgency:       resource.IncidentUrgency,
 		IncidentAction:        resource.IncidentAction,
-		Identity:              monitorIdentity(resource, name),
+		Identity:              monitorIdentity(&resource, name),
 		DiscoveryTarget:       monitorRawJSON(resource.DiscoveryTarget),
 		MetricsTarget:         monitorRawJSON(resource.MetricsTarget),
 		Canonical:             monitorRawJSON(resource.Canonical),
@@ -6625,7 +6626,7 @@ func monitorResourceToConvertInput(resource unifiedresources.Resource) models.Re
 		VMware:                monitorRawJSON(resource.VMware),
 		Availability:          monitorRawJSON(resource.Availability),
 		AvailabilityChecks:    monitorRawJSON(resource.AvailabilityChecks),
-		PlatformData:          monitorPlatformData(resource, resourceType, platformID),
+		PlatformData:          monitorPlatformData(&resource, resourceType, platformID),
 	}
 
 	hasNetwork, rx, tx := monitorNetworkMetricInput(resource.Metrics)
@@ -6641,6 +6642,25 @@ func monitorRawJSON(value interface{}) json.RawMessage {
 	if value == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
+	// Optional facets arrive as typed nil pointers/slices in an interface.
+	// Marshaling "null" only to discard it costs one encode and allocation
+	// per absent facet, on every row and frame. Named slice/map marshalers
+	// still get their normal chance to emit a non-null representation.
+	v := reflect.ValueOf(value)
+	switch v.Kind() {
+	case reflect.Ptr:
+		if v.IsNil() {
+			return nil
+		}
+	case reflect.Slice, reflect.Map:
+		if v.IsNil() {
+			if _, custom := value.(json.Marshaler); !custom {
+				if _, customText := value.(encoding.TextMarshaler); !customText {
+					return nil
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
 	encoded, err := json.Marshal(value)
 	if err != nil || string(encoded) == "null" {
 		return nil
@@ -6708,7 +6728,7 @@ func capabilityCatalogID(encoded json.RawMessage) string {
 	return hex.EncodeToString(digest[:6])
 }
 
-func monitorDiscoveryTarget(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) *unifiedresources.DiscoveryTarget {
+func monitorDiscoveryTarget(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) *unifiedresources.DiscoveryTarget {
 	switch resourceType {
 	case "agent", "docker-host":
 		agentID := monitorAgentTargetID(resource)
@@ -6726,7 +6746,7 @@ func monitorDiscoveryTarget(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType str
 	}
 }
 
-func monitorMetricsTarget(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) *unifiedresources.MetricsTarget {
+func monitorMetricsTarget(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) *unifiedresources.MetricsTarget {
 	switch resourceType {
 	case "agent", "docker-host":
 		agentID := monitorAgentTargetID(resource)
@@ -6742,7 +6762,7 @@ func monitorMetricsTarget(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType strin
 	}
 }
 
-func monitorAgentTargetID(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
+func monitorAgentTargetID(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) string {
 	if resource.Agent != nil {
 		if id := strings.TrimSpace(resource.Agent.AgentID); id != "" {
 			return id
@@ -6764,7 +6784,7 @@ func monitorAgentTargetID(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
 	return ""
 }
 
-func monitorTargetHostname(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
+func monitorTargetHostname(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) string {
 	if resource.Agent != nil {
 		if hostname := strings.TrimSpace(resource.Agent.Hostname); hostname != "" {
 			return hostname
@@ -6788,19 +6808,19 @@ func monitorTargetHostname(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
 	return strings.TrimSpace(resource.Name)
 }
 
-func monitorFrontendResourceType(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
-	return string(unifiedresources.ContractResourceType(resource))
+func monitorFrontendResourceType(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) string {
+	return string(unifiedresources.ContractResourceType(*resource))
 }
 
-func monitorFrontendNames(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) (string, string) {
-	name := strings.TrimSpace(unifiedresources.ResourceDisplayName(resource))
+func monitorFrontendNames(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) (string, string) {
+	name := strings.TrimSpace(unifiedresources.ResourceDisplayName(*resource))
 	if name == "" {
 		name = resource.ID
 	}
 	return name, name
 }
 
-func monitorPlatformType(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
+func monitorPlatformType(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
 	if resource.Proxmox != nil {
 		return "proxmox-pve"
 	}
@@ -6901,7 +6921,7 @@ func monitorStoragePlatformType(storage *unifiedresources.StorageMeta, sources [
 	}
 }
 
-func monitorPlatformID(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
+func monitorPlatformID(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
 	switch resourceType {
 	case "node", "vm", "system-container":
 		if resource.Proxmox != nil && strings.TrimSpace(resource.Proxmox.Instance) != "" {
@@ -6947,7 +6967,7 @@ func monitorPlatformID(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string)
 	return resource.ID
 }
 
-func monitorFrontendStatus(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
+func monitorFrontendStatus(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string) string {
 	switch resourceType {
 	case "app-container":
 		switch resource.Status {
@@ -7001,8 +7021,8 @@ func monitorIsWorkloadType(resourceType string) bool {
 	}
 }
 
-func monitorClusterID(resource unifiedresources.Resource) string {
-	if clusterID := strings.TrimSpace(unifiedresources.ResourceClusterName(resource)); clusterID != "" {
+func monitorClusterID(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) string {
+	if clusterID := strings.TrimSpace(unifiedresources.ResourceClusterName(*resource)); clusterID != "" {
 		return clusterID
 	}
 
@@ -7079,7 +7099,7 @@ func monitorDiskIOMetricInput(metrics *unifiedresources.ResourceMetrics) (*int64
 	return read, write
 }
 
-func monitorTemperature(resource unifiedresources.Resource) *float64 {
+func monitorTemperature(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) *float64 {
 	if resource.Agent != nil && resource.Agent.Temperature != nil {
 		value := *resource.Agent.Temperature
 		return &value
@@ -7099,7 +7119,7 @@ func monitorTemperature(resource unifiedresources.Resource) *float64 {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func monitorUptime(resource unifiedresources.Resource) *int64 {
+func monitorUptime(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) *int64 {
 	if resource.Agent != nil && resource.Agent.UptimeSeconds > 0 {
 		value := resource.Agent.UptimeSeconds
 		return &value
@@ -7141,7 +7161,7 @@ func monitorUptime(resource unifiedresources.Resource) *int64 {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func monitorLabels(resource unifiedresources.Resource) map[string]string {
+func monitorLabels(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) map[string]string {
 	if resource.Kubernetes == nil || len(resource.Kubernetes.Labels) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -7152,7 +7172,7 @@ func monitorLabels(resource unifiedresources.Resource) map[string]string {
 	return labels
 }
 
-func monitorIdentity(resource unifiedresources.Resource, fallbackName string) *models.ResourceIdentityInput {
+func monitorIdentity(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, fallbackName string) *models.ResourceIdentityInput {
 	hostname := ""
 	if resource.Agent != nil {
 		hostname = strings.TrimSpace(resource.Agent.Hostname)
@@ -7199,7 +7219,7 @@ func monitorIdentity(resource unifiedresources.Resource, fallbackName string) *m
 	}
 }
 
-func monitorPlatformData(resource unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string, platformID string) json.RawMessage {
+func monitorPlatformData(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, resourceType string, platformID string) json.RawMessage {
 	var payload interface{}
 
 	switch resourceType {
@@ -7416,7 +7436,7 @@ func monitorAttachSourceKeys(payload interface{}, sources []unifiedresources.Dat
 	return payload
 }
 
-func monitorStoragePlatformData(resource unifiedresources.Resource, platformID string) map[string]interface{} {
+func monitorStoragePlatformData(resource *unifiedresources.Resource, platformID string) map[string]interface{} {
 	nodeLabel := resource.ParentName
 	if nodeLabel == "" {
 		nodeLabel = monitorStringValue(resource.ParentID)
@@ -7507,7 +7527,7 @@ func convertProxmoxDisks(disks []unifiedresources.DiskInfo) []map[string]interfa
 	return out
 }
 
-func buildProxmoxVMPayload(resource unifiedresources.Resource) map[string]interface{} {
+func buildProxmoxVMPayload(resource *unifiedresources.Resource) map[string]interface{} {
 	if resource.Proxmox == nil {
 		return nil
 	}
diff --git a/internal/monitoring/monitor_conversion_helpers_additional_test.go b/internal/monitoring/monitor_conversion_helpers_additional_test.go
index a8ec7e61db..495c50e25b 100644
--- a/internal/monitoring/monitor_conversion_helpers_additional_test.go
+++ b/internal/monitoring/monitor_conversion_helpers_additional_test.go
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ func ptrF64Coverage(v float64) *float64 { return &v }
 
 func TestMonitorFrontendNamesAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("frontend names use canonical display name", func(t *testing.T) {
-		name, display := monitorFrontendNames(unifiedresources.Resource{
+		name, display := monitorFrontendNames(&unifiedresources.Resource{
 			ID:   "node-1",
 			Name: "Node Friendly",
 			Proxmox: &unifiedresources.ProxmoxData{
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendNamesAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	t.Run("frontend names ignore source hostnames when a display name exists", func(t *testing.T) {
-		hostName, hostDisplay := monitorFrontendNames(unifiedresources.Resource{
+		hostName, hostDisplay := monitorFrontendNames(&unifiedresources.Resource{
 			ID:   "host-1",
 			Name: "Friendly Host",
 			Agent: &unifiedresources.AgentData{
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendNamesAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("agent branch mismatch: name=%q display=%q", hostName, hostDisplay)
 		}
 
-		dockerName, dockerDisplay := monitorFrontendNames(unifiedresources.Resource{
+		dockerName, dockerDisplay := monitorFrontendNames(&unifiedresources.Resource{
 			ID:   "docker-1",
 			Name: "Friendly Docker",
 			Docker: &unifiedresources.DockerData{
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ func TestMonitorFrontendNamesAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	t.Run("falls back to id when display name is empty", func(t *testing.T) {
-		name, display := monitorFrontendNames(unifiedresources.Resource{
+		name, display := monitorFrontendNames(&unifiedresources.Resource{
 			ID:   "fallback-id",
 			Name: "   ",
 		}, "unknown")
@@ -74,31 +74,31 @@ func TestMonitorTemperatureAndUptimeAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 			Kubernetes: &unifiedresources.K8sData{Temperature: ptrF64Coverage(35)},
 		}
 
-		got := monitorTemperature(resource)
+		got := monitorTemperature(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 50 {
 			t.Fatalf("temperature = %v, want 50 from agent", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.Agent = nil
-		got = monitorTemperature(resource)
+		got = monitorTemperature(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 45 {
 			t.Fatalf("temperature = %v, want 45 from proxmox", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.Proxmox = nil
-		got = monitorTemperature(resource)
+		got = monitorTemperature(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 40 {
 			t.Fatalf("temperature = %v, want 40 from docker", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.Docker = nil
-		got = monitorTemperature(resource)
+		got = monitorTemperature(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 35 {
 			t.Fatalf("temperature = %v, want 35 from kubernetes", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.Kubernetes = nil
-		if got := monitorTemperature(resource); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorTemperature(&resource); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("temperature = %v, want nil when no source has temp", got)
 		}
 	})
@@ -113,19 +113,19 @@ func TestMonitorTemperatureAndUptimeAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 			PMG:        &unifiedresources.PMGData{UptimeSeconds: 12},
 		}
 
-		got := monitorUptime(resource)
+		got := monitorUptime(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 11 {
 			t.Fatalf("uptime = %v, want 11 from PBS", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.PBS.UptimeSeconds = 0
-		got = monitorUptime(resource)
+		got = monitorUptime(&resource)
 		if got == nil || *got != 12 {
 			t.Fatalf("uptime = %v, want 12 from PMG", got)
 		}
 
 		resource.PMG.UptimeSeconds = 0
-		if got := monitorUptime(resource); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorUptime(&resource); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("uptime = %v, want nil when all sources are zero", got)
 		}
 	})
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ func TestMonitorTemperatureAndUptimeAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestMonitorIdentityLabelsSourceTypeAndLastSeenAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Run("labels are copied and nil is preserved", func(t *testing.T) {
-		if got := monitorLabels(unifiedresources.Resource{}); got != nil {
+		if got := monitorLabels(&unifiedresources.Resource{}); got != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("monitorLabels() = %#v, want nil", got)
 		}
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ func TestMonitorIdentityLabelsSourceTypeAndLastSeenAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 				Labels: map[string]string{"env": "prod"},
 			},
 		}
-		labels := monitorLabels(resource)
+		labels := monitorLabels(&resource)
 		labels["env"] = "dev"
 		if resource.Kubernetes.Labels["env"] != "prod" {
 			t.Fatalf("expected labels to be copied, source mutated to %q", resource.Kubernetes.Labels["env"])
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func TestMonitorIdentityLabelsSourceTypeAndLastSeenAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 				IPAddresses: []string{" 10.0.0.1 ", "", "10.0.0.2"},
 			},
 		}
-		identity := monitorIdentity(resource, "fallback-name")
+		identity := monitorIdentity(&resource, "fallback-name")
 		if identity == nil {
 			t.Fatal("expected non-nil identity")
 		}
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ func TestMonitorIdentityLabelsSourceTypeAndLastSeenAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("ips = %#v, want trimmed non-empty entries", identity.IPs)
 		}
 
-		none := monitorIdentity(unifiedresources.Resource{}, "")
+		none := monitorIdentity(&unifiedresources.Resource{}, "")
 		if none != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("expected nil identity for empty input, got %#v", none)
 		}
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ func TestMonitorIdentityLabelsSourceTypeAndLastSeenAdditional(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 
 	t.Run("identity prefers direct source hostnames", func(t *testing.T) {
-		identity := monitorIdentity(unifiedresources.Resource{
+		identity := monitorIdentity(&unifiedresources.Resource{
 			Agent:    &unifiedresources.AgentData{Hostname: "agent-host"},
 			Docker:   &unifiedresources.DockerData{Hostname: "docker-host"},
 			Proxmox:  &unifiedresources.ProxmoxData{NodeName: "proxmox-node"},
diff --git a/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity.go b/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity.go
index bc89842669..838def2176 100644
--- a/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity.go
+++ b/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity.go
@@ -387,18 +387,47 @@ func firstTrimmed(values ...string) string {
 }
 
 func uniqueTrimmed(values ...string) []string {
-	seen := make(map[string]struct{}, len(values))
-	aliases := make([]string, 0, len(values))
+	// Canonical aliases usually contain only a handful of non-empty unique
+	// identities among many optional inputs. Do not allocate a map sized for
+	// every placeholder, or retain that capacity in each row's alias slice.
+	// A bounded stack scan handles the common case; larger vocabularies use
+	// the same lowercased-key map semantics without quadratic growth.
+	var smallKeys [8]string
+	var seen map[string]struct{}
+	aliases := make([]string, 0, min(len(values), len(smallKeys)))
 	for _, value := range values {
 		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(value)
 		if trimmed == "" {
 			continue
 		}
 		key := strings.ToLower(trimmed)
-		if _, ok := seen[key]; ok {
-			continue
+		if seen != nil {
+			if _, ok := seen[key]; ok {
+				continue
+			}
+		} else {
+			duplicate := false
+			for _, previous := range smallKeys[:len(aliases)] {
+				if previous == key {
+					duplicate = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+			if duplicate {
+				continue
+			}
+			if len(aliases) < len(smallKeys) {
+				smallKeys[len(aliases)] = key
+			} else {
+				seen = make(map[string]struct{}, min(len(values), 64))
+				for _, previous := range smallKeys {
+					seen[previous] = struct{}{}
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		if seen != nil {
+			seen[key] = struct{}{}
 		}
-		seen[key] = struct{}{}
 		aliases = append(aliases, trimmed)
 	}
 	return aliases
diff --git a/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity_allocation_test.go b/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity_allocation_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..15be6207be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/unifiedresources/canonical_identity_allocation_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+package unifiedresources
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// Independent original implementation. Lowercasing is intentionally not
+// EqualFold: those operations differ for some Unicode identities.
+func uniqueTrimmedMapReference(values ...string) []string {
+	seen := make(map[string]struct{}, len(values))
+	aliases := make([]string, 0, len(values))
+	for _, value := range values {
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(value)
+		if trimmed == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		key := strings.ToLower(trimmed)
+		if _, ok := seen[key]; ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[key] = struct{}{}
+		aliases = append(aliases, trimmed)
+	}
+	return aliases
+}
+func TestCanonicalAliasesBoundedScanMatchesOriginalMap(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := [][]string{nil, {}, {"", "  ", "\t"}, {" Host ", "host", "HOST", "other"}, {"K", "K", "k", "İ", "i", "Σ", "σ", "ς", "ſ", "S", "s"}}
+	for _, count := range []int{7, 8, 9, 16, 128, 1024} {
+		var values []string
+		for i := 0; i < count; i++ {
+			value := fmt.Sprintf("Alias-%d", i)
+			values = append(values, " ", value, strings.ToLower(value), " "+value+" ")
+		}
+		cases = append(cases, values)
+	}
+	rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(2199))
+	alphabet := []string{"", " ", "Host", "host", "HOST", "agent:lab", " vm:100 ", "K", "K", "İ", "i", "Σ", "σ", "ς", "ſ", "S"}
+	for i := 0; i < 200; i++ {
+		values := make([]string, rng.Intn(80))
+		for j := range values {
+			values[j] = alphabet[rng.Intn(len(alphabet))]
+		}
+		cases = append(cases, values)
+	}
+	for i, values := range cases {
+		got, want := uniqueTrimmed(values...), uniqueTrimmedMapReference(values...)
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("case %d: got %q, want %q", i, got, want)
+		}
+		if len(values) > 0 && len(got) > 0 {
+			original := values[0]
+			got[0] = "caller-edit"
+			if values[0] != original {
+				t.Fatal("aliases share caller storage")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+func TestCanonicalAliasesSmallVocabularyAvoidsPlaceholderMap(t *testing.T) {
+	values := []string{"lab", "", "", "LAB", "agent:lab", "", "", "agent:lab", "lab.example", "", "", "", "", "lab.example", "", ""}
+	optimized := testing.AllocsPerRun(100, func() { _ = uniqueTrimmed(values...) })
+	original := testing.AllocsPerRun(100, func() { _ = uniqueTrimmedMapReference(values...) })
+	if optimized >= original {
+		t.Fatalf("common alias list allocations %.0f, original %.0f", optimized, original)
+	}
+	t.Logf("same alias vocabulary: allocations %.0f -> %.0f", original, optimized)
+}
+func BenchmarkCanonicalAliasesVocabulary(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, size := range []int{4, 8, 9, 128} {
+		values := make([]string, 0, size*3)
+		for i := 0; i < size; i++ {
+			values = append(values, fmt.Sprintf("alias-%d", i), "", fmt.Sprintf("ALIAS-%d", i))
+		}
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprint(size), func(b *testing.B) {
+			b.ReportAllocs()
+			for i := 0; i < b.N; i++ {
+				_ = uniqueTrimmed(values...)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/unifiedresources/code_standards_test.go b/internal/unifiedresources/code_standards_test.go
index f9c85fa78c..6bf168aa27 100644
--- a/internal/unifiedresources/code_standards_test.go
+++ b/internal/unifiedresources/code_standards_test.go
@@ -2695,9 +2695,9 @@ func TestBroadcastStateUsesSharedCanonicalResourceContract(t *testing.T) {
 
 	requiredMonitorSnippets := []string{
 		"unifiedView := m.currentUnifiedStateView()",
-		"return string(unifiedresources.ContractResourceType(resource))",
-		"unifiedresources.ResourceDisplayName(resource)",
-		"unifiedresources.ResourceClusterName(resource)",
+		"return string(unifiedresources.ContractResourceType(*resource))",
+		"unifiedresources.ResourceDisplayName(*resource)",
+		"unifiedresources.ResourceClusterName(*resource)",
 	}
 	for _, snippet := range requiredMonitorSnippets {
 		if !strings.Contains(string(monitorSource), snippet) {