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## Problem Agents installed through the one-step cluster deploy lose their command channel for good after their first restart. `POST /api/agents/agent/enroll` bound the runtime token to an invented `agent-<hostname>` and returned that as the agent's ID. The agent used it until Pulse acknowledged its first report with the host's real, machine-derived ID, which the agent persists. On the next start the agent registered under that real ID. The token was by then a version-2 binding to `agent-<hostname>`, so admission refused it with "Agent token mismatch: token is not bound to the registering agent", every few minutes, indefinitely. Seen live on a v6.5.0-rc.1 server with a deployed Proxmox node: reports flowed, but the node could run no commands or actions. ## Fix - **Enrollment leaves identity to the agent.** The runtime token is bound to the node's hostname and the current binding version, marked `deploy_identity_binding=agent`, and the response no longer carries `agentId`. The first command registration backfills the agent's own ID through the existing hostname-bound backfill path, and the config gate takes the same decision. - **One-time repair for tokens already issued.** A token enrollment bound to `agent-<hostname>` (it has `deploy_job_id` and no identity marker) may move once to the registering agent's ID: - The hostname must match exactly (case-insensitive), not by short-name equivalence. - The move persists `deploy_identity_binding=repaired` in the same save, and a failed save restores the previous metadata. - It applies whatever the token's binding version. - Any other identity or hostname is refused rather than handed to the legacy hostname migration. - A marked token never moves again, including after a hostname rebind recreates the `agent-<hostname>` shape. ## Tests - **`TestHandleEnroll_RuntimeTokenBindsTheAgentsOwnIdentityOnFirstCommandRegistration`** replays the field sequence: the identity enrollment handed out, then the acknowledged identity after a restart. It fails on the old code at the "registration after restart" step. - **`TestDeployPlaceholderTokenMovesToTheRegisteringAgentOnce`** covers: - the repair on the exact hostname only; - the persisted marker after a reload; - the repair, rebind to host b, repair-again attack; - config-gate parity. - **`TestVersionlessDeployPlaceholderCannotBeMovedTwice`** covers the versionless variant of that attack. - **`TestCurrentDeployTokenNeverMovesOnceBound`** checks that a token issued by current enrollment never moves once bound. - **Policy unit tests:** `TestEvaluateRepairsDeployPlaceholderBindingOnce`, `TestEvaluateVersionlessDeployPlaceholderOnlyMovesThroughTheRepair` and `TestEvaluateCurrentDeployTokenBackfillsTheAgentIdentity`. - **`TestContractDeployEnrollResponseCarriesNoAgentIdentity`** pins the enroll response keys. - **Mutation checks:** removing the marker check, loosening the hostname match, not persisting the marker, or letting placeholders fall through to the legacy branch each fails at least one of these tests. ## Not in this change Both of these exist for every install path and are not made worse here: - The first command registration binds whatever ID the agent presents. If that differs from the identity Pulse later resolves for its reports (a configured agent ID, or a host continuity fork), the next restart still mismatches. - Tokens that never connect the command channel keep an empty `bound_agent_id`, so collector-authority reduction cannot match them. Before this change they had a non-empty but wrong `agent-<hostname>`, which failed the same way.
Pulse documentation
Start here for installation, platform setup, security, operations, and Pulse Intelligence. Commands, configuration keys, image names, API fields, and product identifiers remain untranslated in localized guides.
Start here
- Install Pulse — signed Proxmox/Linux installation, Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and first-run setup.
- Production deployment and security — least-privilege Proxmox setup, root-agent boundaries, discovery, supply-chain verification, plan limits, scale evidence, and a rollout checklist.
- Upgrade from Pulse v5 — migration prerequisites, rollback, agent continuity, and post-upgrade checks.
- Releases and update channels: choosing Stable or Preview, beta and RC expectations, and how releases are tested and promoted.
- Configure Pulse — authentication, notifications, discovery, retention, and system settings.
- Deployment models — data locations, lifecycle, and differences between supported deployment paths.
- Troubleshooting and FAQ — common failures, diagnostics, and operator questions.
Localized getting started guides: Deutsch · Español
Platforms and agents
- Proxmox Backup Server
- Proxmox Mail Gateway
- Docker and Podman
- Kubernetes and Helm
- TrueNAS SCALE and CORE
- Unified Agent
- Agent security
- VM disk monitoring
- ZFS monitoring
- Temperature monitoring
VMware vSphere support is early access. Current builds expose dedicated vSphere inventory and recovery context, but operators should validate the integration against their own vCenter before production use.
Monitoring and operations
- Metrics history
- Recovery data
- Webhooks
- Automatic updates
- Centralized agent management (Pro)
- Operational trust model
- Current product screenshots
Pulse Intelligence
- Assistant, Patrol, and external-agent overview
- Patrol modes and safety
- Assistant safety model
- External agent HTTP and MCP substrate
Patrol watch-only analysis is available on Community with a local model or the operator's own provider. Investigation and governed fixes require the relevant Pulse Pro capabilities.
Security, privacy, and access
- Production deployment and security
- Security review scope
- Authentication and credential storage review packet
- Security guide
- Privacy and telemetry disclosure
- OIDC and SSO
- Proxy authentication
- Role-based access control (Pro)
- Audit logging (Pro)
- Reverse proxy configuration
- Code-signing policy
Plans and managed access
- Community, Relay, and Pro capabilities
- Relay and Pulse Mobile handoff
- Multi-tenant organizations (Enterprise/custom)
- Provider-hosted MSP operations (request-assisted)
Pulse Cloud is not generally available. Ordinary self-hosted Pulse remains the primary installation path; MSP and Enterprise access are explicit commercial paths rather than defaults in self-hosted setup.
Development and reference
Detailed design notes and dated migration specifications may remain in this directory for maintainers, but they are not operator setup guides unless they are linked from the sections above.
Previous versions and migrations
- Upgrade from v4 to v5
- Retired unified-navigation migration — historical context only; current Pulse uses platform-shaped navigation.
- Move a Pulse installation
Found a bug? Use the issue forms. For setup questions, use GitHub Discussions.