Shell 1.11.0: alerts — a module flashes every dashboard listening on one of six channels

A module that sees something a tech must act on now (a timer overrun, a meter
past its limit, timecode gone) raises an alert on a channel, 1–6, and every
dashboard listening to that channel flashes: the menu bar — brought out for
the duration if it was hidden — and a frame round the screen alternate between
the level's two colours, with the alert's text bold across the bar. Low fades
slowly, medium faster, critical snaps with no fade and floods the board behind
the tiles too, in a muted cut that shows faintly through the tile panels
without costing their content any contrast.

Server: the hub. One alert per channel (a new one replaces the last), timed
out server-side (1–600 s, 15 by default, 0 = held until cleared), broadcast
over the shell stream as `alert` / `alert-clear`; GET /api/alerts for a
dashboard that opens or reconnects mid-alert; POST /api/alerts and
DELETE /api/alerts/<n>, open like a layout save. Modules raise from their
server entry with shell.alert() / shell.clearAlert() or from a tile with
moduleApi.alert() / moduleApi.clearAlert(); a module's alerts end when it
stops. Colours live as alerts.colors in the data directory's proddash.json.

Dashboard: the Layouts menu gains a folded Alerts row with six numbered
toggles; the channel list saves with the layout, local and named (the server
keeps it in a saved layout). Admin: a folded Alerts section with two colour
pickers per level, a swatch running each level's cadence, and a Test row.

Docs: docs/ALERTS.md (the feature), a "Raising alerts" section in the module
guide, README. Tools: tools/alert.js raises/clears/lists from the command
line; tools/alerts.test.js drives it all end to end.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.gitignore

@@ -13,6 +13,3 @@ launcher/macos/build/
 launcher/macos/.cache/
 launcher/windows/build/
 launcher/windows/.cache/
-
-# Compiled per-machine, source sits next to it (see spl-capture.swift).
-modules/spl-meter/spl-capture

README.md

@@ -129,6 +129,7 @@ with this machine's shell settings — the same keys as the checked-in
 | `adminPasscode` | An older free-text passcode. Still honoured, so an existing install keeps working; new installs should use `adminPin`. |
 | `forge` | Where updates and module installs are fetched from. Absent or `"github"` uses GitHub; a Gitea or Forgejo base URL such as `"http://10.3.8.90:3000"` uses a server of your own. Set it per machine in the data directory, alongside `repo`. |
 | `theme` | The dashboard palette: `booth` (default), `harbor`, `graphite`, `ember`, `daylight`, `midnight`, `moss`, `plum`, `sepia`, `blackout`, `paper` or `iron`. The admin page's **Theme** section writes this one — see [Themes](#themes). |
+| `alerts` | `{ "colors": { "low": [a, b], "medium": [a, b], "critical": [a, b] } }` — the two colours each alert level flashes between, as `#rrggbb`. The admin page's **Alerts** section writes this one — see [Alerts](#alerts). |
 
 **Locked out?** Delete `adminPin` from the data directory's `proddash.json`
 and restart, or start the server with `PRODDASH_PASSCODE` set — that passcode
@@ -192,6 +193,25 @@ saw and applies it before the server answers, so nothing flashes. Modules
 style with the shell's colour variables, which is why they follow; a colour
 set on a tile itself (a PCO Plan header colour, say) is deliberately kept.
 
+### Alerts
+
+A module that sees something a tech must act on now — a timer overrun, a
+meter past its limit, timecode gone — can raise an **alert** on one of six
+channels, and every dashboard listening to that channel flashes: the menu
+bar (brought out if it was hidden, for as long as the alert lasts) and a
+frame round the screen alternate between two colours, with the alert's text
+bold across the bar. **Low** fades slowly between its two colours,
+**medium** faster, **critical** snaps between them with no fade and floods
+the board behind the tiles as well, in a muted cut of the two that shows
+faintly through the tiles without costing their content any contrast. The admin
+page's **Alerts** section (folded, near the bottom) holds the two colour
+pickers for each level, with a swatch running that level's cadence, and a
+**Test** row that flashes any level on any channel for eight seconds. The
+choice is stored as `alerts.colors` in the data directory's `proddash.json`.
+Which channels a dashboard listens to is chosen on the dashboard itself —
+see *Using the dashboard* below — and [docs/ALERTS.md](docs/ALERTS.md) has
+the whole feature, module side included.
+
 ## Installing modules and updating
 
 Everything below happens in the **admin page**; ProdDash talks to its git
@@ -309,6 +329,14 @@ below. Nothing is installed without someone clicking.
   that no longer fits where it was moves to the first free spot rather than
   onto another tile. It saves with the layout, so a named layout comes back
   at the density it was arranged on.
+- The same menu's **Alerts** row says which of the six alert channels this
+  screen listens to, and opens to six numbered buttons that toggle them
+  without closing the menu. An alert a module raises on a chosen channel
+  flashes this dashboard's menu bar and screen edge with its text in the
+  bar; one on any other channel leaves it alone. A fresh dashboard listens
+  to nothing. The choice saves with the layout, local and named — a booth
+  loading its "Stage" layout gets the stage's channels with it. See
+  [Alerts](#alerts).
 - Every tile has a **status dot**: green = live, amber = connecting,
   red = upstream unreachable (hover it for details). Tiles reconnect
   automatically.
@@ -318,7 +346,13 @@ below. Nothing is installed without someone clicking.
 - **ProdCom** — live transcript stream with in-place updates of in-progress
   speech, channel colors, per-tile channel visibility toggles and group
   presets, timestamps, text size, a top-down / bottom-up direction toggle
-  and jump-to-latest in the title bar.
+  and jump-to-latest in the title bar. Text typed into a channel (from a
+  dashboard, or ProdCom's own box) is marked with a keyboard; an automation's
+  with a bolt. The module also offers its channels to **Send Message** as
+  identities: a click anywhere in the transcript points that module's tiles
+  at ProdCom (the tile's bottom edge lights up in the accent color), and the
+  channel the text goes out *as* is picked from their Send as menu — only
+  channels ProdCom lets text be typed onto are offered.
   Admin config: ProdCom server (host : port), API key.
   Tile settings: channel icons, direction and timestamps.
 - **ProPresenter** — what's live and what's next, with slide progress,
@@ -406,29 +440,47 @@ below. Nothing is installed without someone clicking.
   has signed up for are hidden until you ask for them — that list comes from
   the service type, since Planning Center only returns a team once somebody
   is on it.
-- **Slack** — live transcripts of this location's Slack channels, plus
-  PIN-protected sending as the location. The ＋ picker lists one transcript
-  tile per configured channel, titled `#channel`, and two send surfaces (one
-  of each per dashboard): **Send message**, a free-text box with the admin's
-  quick emojis one press away, and **Quick replies**, a grid of preset
-  buttons. Both post to the channel of whichever transcript was clicked last
-  — its bottom edge lights up in the accent color — and to the first
-  configured channel until one is clicked. Messages arrive with avatars,
-  names and times, Slack's inline formatting and the workspace's custom
-  emoji; a right-click on one opens the reaction menu, and text size and
-  jump-to-latest sit in the title bar. Nothing leaves the machine until the
-  PIN is entered: one PIN unlocks every Slack tile on that dashboard page
-  until the auto-lock idles out, a reload asks again, and the lock button on
-  a send tile's title bar ends it early.
-  Admin config is in four groups: **Slack account** (the location account's
+- **Slack** — live transcripts of this location's Slack channels. The ＋
+  picker lists one transcript tile per configured channel, titled
+  `#channel`. Messages arrive with avatars, names and times, Slack's inline
+  formatting and the workspace's custom emoji; text size and jump-to-latest
+  sit in the title bar. Sending is the **Send Message** module's: a click
+  anywhere in a transcript points its tiles at that channel (the bottom
+  edge lights up in the accent color), and a message then leaves through
+  this module's one Slack connection, as the location. A right-click on a
+  message opens the reaction menu, which rides on the same unlock — with
+  the page locked, or no Send message tile on it, it says so instead of
+  reacting. This module has no PIN, send tile or quick replies of its own.
+  Admin config is in three groups: **Slack account** (the location account's
   User OAuth Token — `xoxp-…`, so messages are literally from the campus —
   or a bot token plus "Send as"), **Channels** (the joined channels to
-  follow, one transcript tile each), **Transcript** (refresh interval,
-  messages kept, thread replies) and **Sending** (the switch on the group's
-  title row, a 4–8 digit PIN, auto-lock minutes, quick replies one per line
-  as `Label | Message` — add `| #channel` to bind one to a channel — and up
-  to eight quick emojis).
+  follow, one transcript tile and one Send Message destination each) and
+  **Transcript** (refresh interval, messages kept, thread replies).
   Tile settings: avatars, timestamps, names and channel notices.
+- **Send Message** — the one place a dashboard sends from, whatever the
+  platform. Two tiles, one of each per dashboard: **Send message**, a
+  free-text box with the admin's quick emojis one press away, and **Quick
+  replies**, a grid of preset buttons. Both go wherever the operator last
+  pointed them with a click on a Slack or ProdCom transcript. A platform
+  whose destinations are identities rather than recipients — ProdCom, where
+  typed text goes out *as* a channel — also gets a **Send as** menu in the
+  title bar listing those identities; the menu exists only while such a
+  platform is installed, and Slack's channels are never in it. The choice is
+  saved with the tile, so a named layout remembers it; the transcript it
+  points at carries the accent stripe. The module
+  owns no connection of its own — it finds every installed module that
+  offers messaging and hands the message to it over loopback — and it owns
+  the PIN: nothing leaves the machine until it is entered on one of its
+  tiles, one entry unlocks every messaging tile on that dashboard page
+  (Slack's reaction menu included) until the auto-lock idles out, a reload
+  asks again, and the lock button ends it early. The PIN pad takes taps, a
+  keyboard, or a phone's — tapping the dots raises it. The PIN can be
+  switched off for a booth that doesn't need one.
+  Admin config: **PIN** (the switch on the group's title row, 4–8 digits,
+  auto-lock minutes) and **Presets** (quick replies one per line as
+  `Label | Message` — add `| slack:#channel` or `| prodcom:Channel` to bind
+  one to a destination — and up to eight quick emojis).
+  Tile settings: quick emojis on the Send message tile.
 - **Resi Cues** — how long until the next Resi cue point, for a campus
   running video from another site. The tile is one number, as large as it
   will go: the countdown to the next cue, its name above it, and the playhead
@@ -484,7 +536,8 @@ below. Nothing is installed without someone clicking.
   reference for module authors.
 
 To develop modules against mocks instead of real gear:
-`node tools/prodcom-mock.js` (ProdCom on `127.0.0.1:24480`),
+`node tools/prodcom-mock.js` (ProdCom on `127.0.0.1:24480`, including the
+send route the Send Message module uses),
 `node band-lineup-display/tmp/pp-mock.js 1599` (ProPresenter slides on
 `127.0.0.1:1599`), `node tools/pp-timers-mock.js 1600` (ProPresenter
 timers + timecode on `127.0.0.1:1600`), `node tools/pco-mock.js`
@@ -528,7 +581,9 @@ ProdDash/
 ├── config/                    proddash.json defaults (runtime state lives in the
 │                              per-machine data directory — see "Configure")
 ├── docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md       how to build and install a module
+├── docs/ALERTS.md             the alerts feature: levels, channels, admin, API
 ├── tools/prodcom-mock.js      mock ProdCom API for development
+├── tools/alert.js             raise / clear / list alerts from the command line
 ├── prodcom-listener/          reference fork — read-only, not served
 └── band-lineup-display/       reference fork — read-only, not served
 ```

docs/ALERTS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+# ProdDash Alerts
+
+A module that sees something a tech must act on *now* — a timer overrun,
+a meter past its limit, timecode gone — raises an **alert**, and every
+dashboard listening to its channel flashes until it is over. This page is
+the whole feature: what an operator sees and sets, and what a module does
+to raise one. The module-side contract also lives in the
+[Module Guide](MODULE-GUIDE.md#raising-alerts), which is the authority on
+how modules are written.
+
+## What an alert looks like
+
+On a dashboard that listens to the alert's channel:
+
+- The **menu bar** flashes between two colours, with the alert's text in
+  bold across its middle (and a small boxed number saying which channel it
+  came on). If the bar was hidden — by its notch, or because the screen is
+  in fullscreen — it comes out for the alert and goes back when it ends.
+- A **frame round the whole screen** flashes with it, so a fullscreen wall
+  where the bar is the only chrome still carries the flash to its edges.
+- For **low** and **medium**, that is all: the tiles and the board they sit
+  on are left alone. A **critical** alert floods the **board behind the
+  tiles** as well — in a muted cut of its two colours, mixed well toward the
+  page background and showing faintly through the tiles' own panels — so
+  the flash reaches the middle of a screen the tiles cover entirely, while
+  everything written on a tile keeps its contrast. A module's content is
+  never recoloured.
+
+The **level** sets the cadence. The two colours each level flashes between
+are the admin's choice (below).
+
+| Level | Cadence | For |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| **Low** | a slow fade between the two colours, about three seconds a cycle; bar and frame only | something to know about |
+| **Medium** | a faster fade, about one second a cycle; bar and frame only | something to deal with soon |
+| **Critical** | no fade — the colours snap, twice a second; bar, frame and the board behind the tiles | something to deal with now |
+
+When several alerts a dashboard listens to are on at once, the bar shows
+the most severe (the newest among equals) and a **+1** says how many more
+there are.
+
+## Channels
+
+There are **six channels**, numbered 1 to 6, and nothing else: a channel
+carries no meaning of its own. A booth gives them meaning — "1 is the
+stage, 2 is video, 3 is the lobby" — by pointing modules at them (a module
+that raises alerts makes its channel an admin setting) and by choosing
+which channels each dashboard listens to.
+
+**Choosing channels:** on the dashboard, open the Layouts menu (the grid
+icon) and the **Alerts** row — it says which channels this screen listens
+to and opens to six numbered buttons that toggle them. The choice is part
+of the arrangement, like the grid size and auto-hide: it saves with this
+browser's layout and with a named layout on the server, so a booth that
+loads its "Stage" layout gets the stage's channels with it. A fresh
+dashboard listens to nothing.
+
+## One alert per channel
+
+A channel shows one alert at a time. A new alert on a channel replaces
+whatever was on it, whoever raised it; clearing a channel ends whatever is
+on it. Two modules pointed at one channel will talk over each other — give
+them channels of their own.
+
+An alert ends when its **duration** runs out (1 to 600 seconds; 15 when the
+module gives none), or when the module that raised it clears it early, or
+when that module stops (a disable, an uninstall, a config save that re-inits
+it): a module's alerts never outlive it. A module may hold an alert **until
+cleared** (duration 0) for a condition it will notice ending — timecode
+lost, a feed down — and clear it when the condition does.
+
+## Admin → Alerts
+
+The admin page's **Alerts** section (folded by default, near the bottom)
+holds two colour pickers per level — the two colours that level flashes
+between — with a swatch beside each row running that level's cadence, so a
+pair can be judged before it is tried. A change saves when the picker
+closes and reaches every open dashboard at once. The row below sends a
+**test alert** of any level on any channel: eight seconds of whatever the
+dashboards listening to that channel will see.
+
+The colours are kept as `alerts.colors` in the data directory's
+`proddash.json` (see the README's *Where settings are kept*); they hold
+across restarts and updates. The defaults are a blue pair for low, amber
+for medium and red against near-black for critical.
+
+## For module authors
+
+Raise from the server entry, which is where a condition is usually noticed
+— `shell.alert({ channel, level, text, duration })` and
+`shell.clearAlert(channel)` on the `shell` object `init()`, `routes()` and
+`tiles()` receive — or from a tile with `moduleApi.alert(...)` and
+`moduleApi.clearAlert(...)`, which go through the server. The fields, what
+each is for, and the rules that keep alerts worth looking at (raise on the
+transition, make it a setting, it is not a status) are in the
+[Module Guide](MODULE-GUIDE.md#raising-alerts).
+
+## The HTTP API
+
+Everything above rides on three public routes and two admin ones. They are
+open to anything that can reach ProdDash, like a module's own routes:
+an alert is a flash on screens in this building and nothing more.
+
+| Route | Does |
+| --- | --- |
+| `GET /api/alerts` | `{ channels: 6, levels, colors: { low: [a, b], … }, active: [ … ] }` — what is flashing and the colours. Dashboards read it on load and whenever their stream reconnects. |
+| `POST /api/alerts` | `{ channel, level, text, duration?, source? }` as `application/json`. Answers `200 { ok, alert }` or `400 { error }` saying what was wrong. `source` is the module id (anything else is recorded as `api`). |
+| `DELETE /api/alerts/<channel>` | Ends the alert on that channel. `{ ok, cleared }` — `cleared` is false when nothing was on it. |
+| `POST /api/admin/alerts` | `{ colors: { low: [a, b], medium: [a, b], critical: [a, b] } }` — a missing or malformed colour takes its default. Behind the admin PIN. |
+| `POST /api/admin/alerts/test` | `{ level, channel }` — an eight-second test alert. Behind the admin PIN. |
+
+Open dashboards learn of changes over the shell stream (`/api/events`):
+`alert` carries an alert as raised (`{ id, channel, level, text, source,
+startedAt, duration, endsAt, remainingMs }` — a browser counts down from
+`remainingMs`, so the clocks need not agree), `alert-clear` carries
+`{ channel, id }` when one ends, and `alerts-config` carries `{ colors }`
+when the admin changes them.
+
+## Trying it
+
+With ProdDash running, from the repo:
+
+```bash
+node tools/alert.js -c 1 -l critical "LTC lost"
+```
+
+raises a critical alert on channel 1 for the default 15 seconds; `-d 0`
+holds it, `node tools/alert.js -c 1 --clear` ends it, `--list` shows what
+is on. Open a dashboard, choose channel 1 in its Layouts menu → Alerts, and
+watch; a second browser listening to channel 2 should stay quiet. The admin
+page's **Test** buttons do the same from the browser.
+`node tools/alerts.test.js` runs the server's side of all this end to end.

docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md

@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ line, so a Windows booth knows why the feature is off.
 | `proddash` | yes | The ProdDash versions this module works with: `">=1.1.0"`, `"^1.1.0"`, `">=1.1.0 <2.0.0"`, or `"*"`. A module whose requirement the running shell doesn't meet is listed in the admin page but never loaded, and can't be installed from the catalog. |
 | `description` | no | Shown in the admin page / picker. |
 | `permissions` | no | What macOS must allow before this module can work — see **Permissions macOS has to grant**. Ignored by the shell; read by the macOS launcher. |
-| `provides` | no | Capabilities other modules can consume — `["timers"]` today. Forwarded in `/api/modules` so a consumer can find you. See **Working with other modules**. |
+| `provides` | no | Capabilities other modules can consume — `["timers"]`, `["messaging"]`. Forwarded in `/api/modules` so a consumer can find you. See **Working with other modules**. |
 | `client` | yes | Client entry file, loaded as an ES module. |
 | `server` | no | Server entry file (CommonJS), loaded with `require()`. |
 | `style` | no | A stylesheet the shell injects once per module. |
@@ -437,6 +437,8 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
 | `fetch(path, opts)` | `fetch` scoped to your server routes: `fetch('/state')` hits `/api/modules/<id>/state`. |
 | `sse(path, handlers)` | An `EventSource` scoped the same way, **with auto-reconnect** (see below). Returns a handle with `close()`. |
 | `setStatus(state, msg)` | Drives the tile's status dot: `'ok'`, `'connecting'` or `'error'`, plus a hover message. Call it honestly — during a live service the dot is how an operator spots a dead feed. |
+| `alert(opts)` | Flash every dashboard listening to an alert channel — `{ channel, level, text, duration }`, see **Raising alerts**. Returns a promise. A module with a server entry raises from there (`shell.alert`) instead. |
+| `clearAlert(channel)` | End the alert on a channel early. Returns a promise. |
 | `header.addButton(…)` | Put a small button in the tile's own title bar (see below). |
 | `header.addMenu(…)` | Put a dropdown menu button there (see below). |
 
@@ -461,7 +463,8 @@ const menu = moduleApi.header.addMenu({
   build(menuEl) {
     // called on every open with an emptied menu element — fill it with
     // buttons (give them your scoped classes; the container is styled and
-    // fixed-positioned by the shell, so the tile's overflow can't clip it)
+    // positioned by the shell, hosted on the body under an element carrying
+    // your data-module, so your scoped CSS applies and nothing clips it)
   },
 });
 menu.setLabel('Channels (2/4) ▾'); // update the button text any time
@@ -599,6 +602,9 @@ module.exports = {
 - `shell.port` is the port ProdDash is serving on — what you need to read
   another module's routes over loopback (`http://127.0.0.1:${shell.port}/api/
   modules/<id>/…`). Never guess it.
+- `shell.alert(opts)` flashes every dashboard listening to an alert channel
+  and `shell.clearAlert(channel)` ends one early — see **Raising alerts**.
+  Alerts your module raised end when it stops.
 - Handlers get plain Node `(req, res)`. On a prefix route, `req.wildcard` is
   the matched remainder (leading `/` included) and `req.search` is the query
   string (with `?`, or `''`) — so a proxy rebuilds the upstream path as
@@ -703,6 +709,72 @@ per-client `res.write` in try/catch (drop the client on failure). The
 `propresenter-now-next` module is the reference implementation of this
 pattern.
 
+## Raising alerts
+
+An alert is for the thing a tech must act on *now*, whichever tile they
+happen to be looking at — a timer that has overrun, a meter past its limit,
+timecode that has gone quiet mid-service. Every dashboard that listens to
+the alert's channel flashes: its menu bar (brought out for the duration,
+even if it was hidden) and a frame round the whole screen alternate between
+the level's two colours, with your text bold across the middle of the bar.
+The shell owns all of that — the colours (Admin → Alerts), the cadence,
+which screens listen (each dashboard's Layouts menu → Alerts) — so a module
+only has to say what happened. [docs/ALERTS.md](ALERTS.md) has the
+operator's side.
+
+Raise one from your server entry, where the condition is usually noticed:
+
+```js
+init({ config, log, shell }) {
+  // …when timecode drops:
+  shell.alert({ channel: config.alertChannel, level: 'critical', text: 'LTC lost', duration: 0 });
+  // …and when it is back:
+  shell.clearAlert(config.alertChannel);
+}
+```
+
+or from a tile, through the shell's server:
+
+```js
+await moduleApi.alert({ channel: 2, level: 'medium', text: 'Service over by 5:00', duration: 20 });
+```
+
+| Field | Meaning |
+| --- | --- |
+| `channel` | `1`–`6`. Which dashboards flash: each listens to the channels its operator chose in the Layouts menu. A channel carries no meaning of its own — the booth decides that "1 is the stage, 2 is video" — so **make yours an admin setting** (`configSchema`, `type: "number"`, `min: 1`, `max: 6`) rather than hard-coding one. |
+| `level` | `low` — a slow fade between the two colours, for something to know about; `medium` — a quicker pulse, for something to deal with soon; `critical` — no fade, the colours snap, and the board behind the tiles floods with a muted cut of them too, for something to deal with now. |
+| `text` | What happened, in a few words — 80 characters at most (more is cut, whitespace is collapsed). It is shown as given, so write it the way it should read on a wall: `SPL 102 dB — over limit`, not `spl_over_limit`. |
+| `duration` | Seconds, 1 to 600; `15` when omitted. `0` holds the alert until you clear it — for a condition you will *notice ending* (timecode lost, a feed down) and clear; a one-off event takes a duration. |
+
+Both return the alert as raised (`{ id, channel, level, text, source,
+startedAt, duration, endsAt, remainingMs }`) and throw — reject, on the
+client — with a one-line reason when the input is refused. That is a bug
+in your module, not something to show the operator.
+
+What to know:
+
+- **One alert per channel.** A new alert on a channel replaces whatever was
+  on it, whoever raised it; `clearAlert(channel)` ends whatever is on it.
+  Two modules on one channel talk over each other — one more reason the
+  channel is admin config.
+- **Your alerts end when you stop.** A disable, an uninstall or a config
+  save that re-inits you clears every alert your module raised, held ones
+  included. If the condition is still true, raise it again from `init()`.
+- **Raise on the transition, not the state.** `if (over && !wasOver)
+  shell.alert(…)` — an alert re-raised on every poll restarts its timer and
+  flashes for ever. Clear it, or let it expire, when the condition ends.
+- **Make alerting a setting**, and the threshold too: a `switch` in
+  `configSchema`, off by default unless alerting is the module's reason to
+  exist. A screen that flashes for nothing teaches a room to ignore it.
+- **It is not a status.** The tile's dot (`setStatus`) says how *you* are;
+  an alert says what the *room* must do. An unreachable upstream turns the
+  dot red; it raises an alert only if that is something a tech has to act on
+  during the service, and the operator switched that on.
+- Alerts reach the server over `POST /api/alerts` — what `moduleApi.alert`
+  calls, with your module id as `source` — which anything on the network may
+  use too; `node tools/alert.js -c 1 -l critical "LTC lost"` raises one from
+  the command line while you build (`--clear`, `--list`).
+
 ## Working with other modules
 
 Modules don't import each other. When one needs what another knows, it reads
@@ -769,6 +841,108 @@ comment every 15 s); the consumer uses the stream when it exists and polls
 wall — the Timers module lets them hide any of them per tile, but every entry
 you add is a decision someone has to make.
 
+### Offering messaging to the Send Message module
+
+The Send Message module is the one place a dashboard sends from — a
+PIN-gated compose box and a grid of quick replies — whatever the platform.
+It owns nothing upstream: a module that *can* deliver a message (Slack posts
+to a channel, ProdCom puts typed text on a comms channel) offers that over
+its own routes, keeps its one upstream connection, and the Send Message
+module hands messages to it over loopback. A provider has no PIN, no send
+tile and no quick replies of its own; the shell's Add-tile picker shows the
+Send message and Quick replies tiles once, under Send Message.
+
+A module offers messaging by:
+
+1. Declaring it — `"provides": ["messaging"]` in `module.json`. The Send
+   Message module re-reads `/api/modules` every 30 s, so a provider installed
+   mid-session shows up without a restart.
+2. Serving `GET /messaging` — what it can send to, from state it already
+   holds (it is polled every few seconds while a send tile is open):
+
+```json
+{
+  "label": "Slack",
+  "identity": "Apollo Beach",
+  "destinationRole": "recipient",
+  "status": { "state": "ok", "message": "Apollo Beach · #production, #ops" },
+  "destinations": [
+    { "id": "C01ABC", "label": "#production" },
+    { "id": "C02DEF", "label": "#ops", "color": "#5c9de0" }
+  ],
+  "emptyMessage": "",
+  "maxChars": 4000
+}
+```
+
+| Field | Meaning |
+| --- | --- |
+| `label` | The platform's name, as the sending line and the Send as menu show it. |
+| `identity` | Who a message appears to come from when that is fixed by the connection, or `''`. Shown as "as Apollo Beach". |
+| `destinationRole` | What a destination *is*. `recipient` (the default): a message goes **to** it — a Slack channel — and the operator picks one by clicking its transcript tile, so it never appears in the Send as menu. `identity`: a message goes out **as** it — a ProdCom channel — and the Send as menu lists them; the tiles then say "Send message to ProdCom as FOH" and "Sent to ProdCom as FOH". The menu exists only while some installed platform offers identities. |
+| `status` | `ok`, `connecting` or `error` plus one line — the same thing your `health()` says. A provider in error is still listed, so the operator sees why a send will fail before trying. |
+| `destinations` | Where a message can go, or who it can go out as: a stable `id` (what `/messaging/send` receives), a `label`, and an optional `color`. Offer only what will work — ProdCom lists just the channels that accept typed text. Order is the order the menu shows. |
+| `emptyMessage` | Optional: why the list is empty, when you know ("No ProdCom channel accepts typed text — turn on typing for one in ProdCom"). The tiles show it in place of a destination. |
+| `maxChars` | The longest text you accept; the Send Message module refuses longer ones before asking you. |
+
+3. Serving `POST /messaging/send` — `{ "destination": "<id>", "text": "…" }`
+   with the browser's unlock token as `Authorization: Bearer …`. **Check the
+   token before touching your upstream**: the Send Message module owns the
+   PIN, so ask it — `GET http://127.0.0.1:${shell.port}/api/modules/send-message/verify`
+   with the same `Authorization` header answers `200 { ok: true, expiresAt }`
+   or `401`. A `404` means no Send Message module is installed or enabled:
+   refuse with a sentence that says so. Without this check, any browser on
+   the network could post as the location by calling your route directly.
+   Answer `200 { "ok": true, "label": "#ops" }` when it landed, otherwise
+   `{ "error": "<one sentence a tech can act on>", "code": "…" }` with `400`
+   (bad destination or text), `401` (the token was refused), `429` (your
+   upstream is rate-limiting) or `502` (your upstream failed). Validate the
+   destination against your own list — never pass an arbitrary id upstream.
+
+The same verification gates any other outbound action a module offers from
+its tiles — the Slack transcript's emoji reactions ride on it — so a module
+never needs a PIN of its own: one unlock serves every messaging tile on the
+page. The `slack` and `prodcom-transcript` modules are the reference
+implementations (`verifyUnlock()` in either server entry is the whole check).
+
+### Messaging on the page
+
+Where the next message goes is a fact about the whole dashboard, not one
+tile: the Send message tile, the Quick replies tile and every transcript on
+the page must agree, and they belong to different modules. Modules don't
+import each other, so the agreement lives on `window` — one plain object plus
+`CustomEvent`s on `window`, created by whichever messaging-aware tile mounts
+first:
+
+```js
+window.proddashMessaging = {
+  version: 1,
+  target: { provider: '', destination: '', providerLabel: '', destinationLabel: '', identity: '' },
+  unlock: { token: '', expiresAt: 0, reason: '' },
+  quickEmojis: [],            // the Send Message module's admin list, plain strings
+  transcripts: new Map(),     // instanceId → { provider, destination }
+  senders: new Set(),         // instanceIds of Send message / Quick replies tiles
+};
+```
+
+Events, all named `proddash:messaging:<name>` with the payload in `detail`:
+
+| Event | Who sends it | Meaning |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `select` | a transcript tile, or a Send as menu | `{ provider, destination }` — the operator pointed the senders here. A tile bound to one recipient (a Slack channel transcript) names it; one that shows a whole platform (ProdCom) sends `destination: ''` and the Send Message tile keeps the identity it has chosen for that platform. |
+| `target` | the Send Message tiles | `window.proddashMessaging.target` changed: where the next message goes, resolved. A transcript compares `provider` (and `destination`, when it has one) and lights its bottom edge. |
+| `unlock` | the Send Message tiles; a provider's tile on a `401` | `window.proddashMessaging.unlock` changed. Read the token from the object, never cache it; `''` means locked, with `reason` saying why. |
+| `transcripts` | transcript tiles | the `transcripts` map changed (a tile mounted, unmounted or learned its channel). Register once you know your destination; unregister in `stop()`. This is how a dashboard with one transcript sends there by default. |
+| `senders` | the Send Message tiles | the `senders` set changed — a transcript's locked note can say "add a Send message tile" rather than "enter the PIN". |
+
+A transcript tile needs only three things: emit `select` on a click in its
+body, register in `transcripts`, and toggle a target class on `target`. A
+tile that performs a gated action itself (a reaction) reads
+`window.proddashMessaging.unlock.token` and sends it as the Bearer token to
+its own module's route. The Send Message tiles save the chosen platform and
+per-platform destination in their instance settings, so a named layout
+remembers them; the page object is the live copy.
+
 ## Complete minimal example
 
 A working clock — copy-paste this as your starter. (A slightly fancier
@@ -858,12 +1032,24 @@ client-side failures (a tile that fails to start says so in the tile).
 - `GET /api/modules/<id>/...` — your routes, `curl`-able. For SSE:
   `curl -N http://localhost:24500/api/modules/<id>/stream`.
 - `GET /api/admin/state` — enabled flags, health, mount errors.
+- `GET /api/alerts` — what is flashing, and the colours. `node tools/alert.js
+  -c 1 -l critical "LTC lost"` raises one without a module (`--clear`,
+  `--list`); a dashboard shows it once channel 1 is chosen in its Layouts
+  menu → Alerts.
 
 **Mock upstreams** (so you can develop without the real gear):
 
 - ProdCom: `node tools/prodcom-mock.js` (port 24480) — channels, groups,
-  history, and a live stream with in-progress speech. Point the
-  transcript module's ProdCom URL at `http://127.0.0.1:24480`.
+  history, a live stream with in-progress speech, and
+  `POST /api/v1/channels/{id}/send`, which lands typed text in the channel
+  as a `source: "typed"` entry (so a send from the Send Message module can
+  be watched arriving; a text containing `!429` answers RATE_LIMITED, and
+  `PRODCOM_MOCK_KEY=…` makes it demand that API key). Point the transcript
+  module's ProdCom endpoint at `127.0.0.1`, port `24480`.
+- Send Message: no mock — it talks to the installed modules. Run the Slack
+  and ProdCom mocks, set a PIN under Send Message in `/admin` (or switch the
+  PIN off), add a transcript or two plus Send message and Quick replies from
+  ＋, and watch a send arrive in the transcript you clicked.
 - ProPresenter: `node band-lineup-display/tmp/pp-mock.js 1599` — playlists
   and an advancing slide index (including the arrangement-repeat case).
   Point the Now/Next module at host `127.0.0.1`, port `1599`.

modules/prodcom-transcript/client.js

@@ -5,7 +5,45 @@
    (hidden channels, channel icons, timestamps, text size, flow direction)
    persists in instance settings, and the data comes from the module's own
    server, which keeps one connection to ProdCom for every dashboard: a
-   snapshot on connect (`state`), then each changed entry (`entry`). */
+   snapshot on connect (`state`), then each changed entry (`entry`).
+
+   Messaging: a click anywhere in the tile makes ProdCom the platform the
+   Send Message module's tiles send through (the channel the text goes out
+   *as* is picked in their Send as menu, among the channels ProdCom lets text
+   be typed onto); while it is, the tile's bottom edge carries the accent
+   stripe.
+   That is shared through the page bus below — see "Messaging on the page"
+   in docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md. Text typed from a dashboard comes back on the
+   stream as an entry with source "typed" and is drawn with a keyboard mark. */
+
+/* ── the page bus (shared with the Send Message module) ───────────── */
+
+const PROVIDER_ID = 'prodcom-transcript';
+const BUS_EVENT = 'proddash:messaging:';
+
+function messagingBus() {
+  if (!window.proddashMessaging) {
+    window.proddashMessaging = {
+      version: 1,
+      target: { provider: '', destination: '', providerLabel: '', destinationLabel: '', identity: '' },
+      unlock: { token: '', expiresAt: 0, reason: '' },
+      quickEmojis: [],
+      transcripts: new Map(),
+      senders: new Set(),
+    };
+  }
+  return window.proddashMessaging;
+}
+
+function emit(name, detail = {}) {
+  window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent(BUS_EVENT + name, { detail }));
+}
+
+function on(name, fn) {
+  const handler = (e) => fn(e.detail || {});
+  window.addEventListener(BUS_EVENT + name, handler);
+  return () => window.removeEventListener(BUS_EVENT + name, handler);
+}
 
 /* the text-size buttons: a drawn − and + at the icon size, like every other header icon */
 const MINUS_SVG = '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2.4" stroke-linecap="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M5 12h14"/></svg>';
@@ -21,6 +59,8 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
   let hiddenChannels = new Set(moduleApi.instanceSettings.hiddenChannels || []);
   let stream = null;          // moduleApi.sse handle
   let stopped = false;
+  let lastStatus = null;      // the link's last status, re-reported when the target changes
+  const bus = messagingBus();
 
   /* ── DOM skeleton ───────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
@@ -39,6 +79,26 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
   const emptyEl = root.querySelector('.pt-empty');
   const jumpBtn = root.querySelector('.pt-jump');
 
+  /* ── the send target: a click anywhere in the body points the senders here ── */
+
+  wrap.addEventListener('click', () => {
+    if (!channels.size) return; // nothing to send to yet
+    emit('select', { provider: PROVIDER_ID, destination: '' });
+  });
+
+  function isTarget() {
+    return bus.target.provider === PROVIDER_ID;
+  }
+
+  function paintTarget() {
+    if (stopped) return;
+    const on = isTarget();
+    if (on === wrap.classList.contains('is-target')) return;
+    wrap.classList.toggle('is-target', on);
+    if (lastStatus) applyStatus(lastStatus);
+  }
+  const offTarget = on('target', paintTarget);
+
   /* ── title-bar controls ─────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
   const CLOCK_SVG = '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="9"/><path d="M12 7v5l3 2"/></svg>';
@@ -81,8 +141,8 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     moduleApi.saveInstanceSettings({ textSize: Math.min(48, Math.max(10, current + delta)) });
     applyInstanceSettings();
   }
-  moduleApi.header.addButton({ icon: MINUS_SVG, title: 'Smaller text', onClick: () => bumpTextSize(-2) });
-  moduleApi.header.addButton({ icon: PLUS_SVG, title: 'Larger text', onClick: () => bumpTextSize(2) });
+  const minusBtn = moduleApi.header.addButton({ icon: MINUS_SVG, title: 'Smaller text', onClick: () => bumpTextSize(-2) });
+  const plusBtn = moduleApi.header.addButton({ icon: PLUS_SVG, title: 'Larger text', onClick: () => bumpTextSize(2) });
 
   // icon and tooltip track the current direction — applyInstanceSettings sets both
   const flowBtn = moduleApi.header.addButton({
@@ -95,7 +155,7 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     },
   });
 
-  moduleApi.header.addButton({
+  const latestBtn = moduleApi.header.addButton({
     icon: JUMP_SVG,
     title: 'Latest',
     onClick() {
@@ -112,6 +172,82 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
   });
   clearBtn.classList.add('pt-clear');
 
+  /* ── a narrow tile: the bar keeps Channels, the rest fold into ⋯ ──
+     Seven controls need ~175 px, and the shell clips whatever the bar
+     cannot fit — on a 3-column tile among many, or one squeezed by the
+     fullscreen fit, that used to take the channel filter with it. Below
+     COMPACT_PX the six secondary controls hide and a single ⋯ menu offers
+     the same actions, so the filter button is the last thing to go. */
+  const MORE_SVG = '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="5" cy="12" r="2"/><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="2"/><circle cx="19" cy="12" r="2"/></svg>';
+  const COMPACT_PX = 380; // tile width below which the full bar no longer fits
+
+  let moreMenuEl = null;
+  const moreMenu = moduleApi.header.addMenu({
+    icon: MORE_SVG,
+    title: 'More',
+    build(menu) {
+      menu.classList.add('pt-menu');
+      moreMenuEl = menu;
+      rebuildMoreMenu();
+    },
+  });
+  const moreWrap = moreMenu.button.parentElement; // the shell's .tile-dd
+  const secondaryBtns = [timeBtn, minusBtn, plusBtn, flowBtn, latestBtn, clearBtn];
+
+  function addMoreItem(label, { on = null, onClick } = {}) {
+    const item = document.createElement('button');
+    item.className = 'pt-channel-item' + (on ? ' on' : '');
+    if (on !== null) {
+      item.setAttribute('role', 'menuitemcheckbox');
+      item.setAttribute('aria-checked', String(on));
+    } else {
+      item.setAttribute('role', 'menuitem');
+    }
+    const check = document.createElement('span');
+    check.className = 'check';
+    check.textContent = '✓';
+    const name = document.createElement('span');
+    name.className = 'name';
+    name.textContent = label;
+    item.append(check, name);
+    item.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
+      e.stopPropagation(); // the rebuild detaches this item — keep the menu open
+      onClick();
+    });
+    moreMenuEl.appendChild(item);
+  }
+
+  function rebuildMoreMenu() {
+    if (!moreMenuEl) return;
+    moreMenuEl.innerHTML = '';
+    const s = moduleApi.instanceSettings;
+    addMoreItem('Timestamps', { on: Boolean(s.showTimes), onClick: () => timeBtn.click() });
+    addMoreItem('Newest first', { on: newestFirst(), onClick: () => flowBtn.click() });
+    const divider = document.createElement('div');
+    divider.className = 'pt-menu-divider';
+    moreMenuEl.appendChild(divider);
+    addMoreItem('Smaller text', { onClick: () => bumpTextSize(-2) });
+    addMoreItem('Larger text', { onClick: () => bumpTextSize(2) });
+    addMoreItem('Latest', { onClick: () => { moreMenu.close(); latestBtn.click(); } });
+    addMoreItem('Clear', { onClick: () => { moreMenu.close(); clearView(); } });
+  }
+
+  let compact = null; // unknown until the first measurement
+  function applyCompact(width) {
+    const next = width > 0 && width < COMPACT_PX;
+    if (next === compact) return;
+    compact = next;
+    for (const btn of secondaryBtns) btn.hidden = compact;
+    moreWrap.hidden = !compact;
+    if (!compact) moreMenu.close();
+  }
+  // the tile's own body tells the width; onResize only knows grid cells
+  const sizeWatch = new ResizeObserver((entries) => {
+    applyCompact(entries[0]?.contentRect.width || root.clientWidth);
+  });
+  sizeWatch.observe(root);
+  applyCompact(root.clientWidth);
+
   function applyInstanceSettings() {
     const s = moduleApi.instanceSettings;
     const size = Math.min(48, Math.max(10, Number(s.textSize) || 15));
@@ -126,6 +262,7 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     flowBtn.classList.toggle('active', up);
     flowBtn.title = up ? 'Newest first' : 'Oldest first';
     jumpBtn.textContent = (up ? '↑' : '↓') + ' New messages';
+    rebuildMoreMenu(); // its checkmarks mirror the buttons
   }
   applyInstanceSettings();
 
@@ -309,10 +446,18 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
       const avatar = document.createElement('span');
       avatar.className = 'avatar';
       avatar.style.color = info.color;
-      avatar.innerHTML =
-        '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" aria-hidden="true">' +
+      // speech is a person; typed text (from a dashboard, or ProdCom's own
+      // box) a keyboard; an automation a bolt
+      avatar.innerHTML = entry.source === 'typed'
+        ? '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true">' +
+          '<rect x="3" y="7" width="18" height="11" rx="2"/><path d="M7 11h1M11 11h1M15 11h1M8 14.5h8"/></svg>'
+        : entry.source === 'automation'
+          ? '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true">' +
+            '<path d="M13 3 5 14h6l-1 7 8-11h-6z"/></svg>'
+          : '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" aria-hidden="true">' +
             '<circle cx="12" cy="8.5" r="3.2"/>' +
             '<path d="M5.5 19c1.6-3.2 3.9-4.8 6.5-4.8s4.9 1.6 6.5 4.8"/></svg>';
+      if (entry.source === 'typed' || entry.source === 'automation') el.classList.add(entry.source);
 
       const ch = document.createElement('span');
       ch.className = 'channel';
@@ -357,14 +502,27 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
 
   function applyStatus(st) {
     if (!st || typeof st !== 'object') return;
-    if (st.state === 'ok') moduleApi.setStatus('ok', st.message || 'Live');
-    else moduleApi.setStatus(st.state === 'error' ? 'error' : 'connecting', st.message || 'Connecting to ProdCom…');
+    lastStatus = st;
+    if (st.state === 'ok') {
+      // the Send Message tiles point here: typed text goes out as the chosen channel
+      const as = !isTarget() ? ''
+        : bus.target.destinationLabel ? ` · sends go out as ${bus.target.destinationLabel}`
+          : ' · selected — no channel accepts typed text';
+      moduleApi.setStatus('ok', (st.message || 'Live') + as);
+    } else moduleApi.setStatus(st.state === 'error' ? 'error' : 'connecting', st.message || 'Connecting to ProdCom…');
   }
 
   function applySnapshot(snap) {
     if (!snap || typeof snap !== 'object') return;
     channels.clear();
     for (const ch of snap.channels || []) channels.set(String(ch.id), { name: ch.name, color: ch.color || '#8b98a5' });
+    // On the page and able to send: that is what lets the Send Message tiles
+    // pick ProdCom by default when it is the only transcript showing.
+    if (channels.size && !bus.transcripts.has(moduleApi.instanceId)) {
+      bus.transcripts.set(moduleApi.instanceId, { provider: PROVIDER_ID, destination: '' });
+      emit('transcripts', {});
+    }
+    wrap.classList.toggle('is-target', isTarget());
     groups.clear();
     for (const g of snap.groups || []) groups.set(String(g.id), { name: g.name, channelIds: g.channelIds || [] });
     rebuildChannelMenu();
@@ -415,6 +573,9 @@ export default function create({ root, moduleApi }) {
     },
     stop() {
       stopped = true;
+      sizeWatch.disconnect();
+      offTarget();
+      if (bus.transcripts.delete(moduleApi.instanceId)) emit('transcripts', {});
       stream?.close();
       root.innerHTML = ''; // header controls are removed by the shell
     },

modules/prodcom-transcript/module.json

@@ -1,15 +1,18 @@
 {
   "id": "prodcom-transcript",
   "name": "ProdCom",
-  "version": "1.3.2",
-  "proddash": ">=1.1.0",
-  "description": "Live ProdCom transcript",
+  "version": "1.4.0",
+  "proddash": ">=1.4.0",
+  "description": "Live ProdCom transcript; typed text to a ProdCom channel through the Send Message module",
   "permissions": [
     {
       "kind": "local-network",
       "reason": "Reaching the ProdCom API on this network"
     }
   ],
+  "provides": [
+    "messaging"
+  ],
   "client": "client.js",
   "server": "server.js",
   "style": "style.css",
@@ -29,7 +32,7 @@
         "host": "",
         "port": 24480
       },
-      "help": "The ProdCom server at THIS location — every campus has its own. Blank until you set it, so a new install never reads another campus's comms."
+      "help": "The ProdCom server at THIS location — every campus has its own. Blank until you set it, so a new install never reads another campus’s comms. The Send Message module sends typed text to these channels through this connection."
     },
     "apiKey": {
       "type": "password",

modules/prodcom-transcript/server.js

@@ -14,16 +14,33 @@
  *   GET  /state           → { status, channels, groups, entries }   (entries by date)
  *   GET  /stream          → SSE: `state` (the snapshot, first), then `entry` for each
  *                           changed entry, `clear`, and `status` when the link changes
+ *   GET  /messaging       → what the Send Message module may send as: every
+ *                           channel that accepts typed text (typingEnabled), as
+ *                           an identity — typed text goes out *as* that channel
+ *                           (the module guide's contract)
+ *   POST /messaging/send  → { destination, text } with the Send Message unlock
+ *                           as a Bearer token — checked with that module over
+ *                           loopback, then POST /api/v1/channels/{id}/send, so a
+ *                           dashboard's typed text goes out on a ProdCom channel
+ *                           over this one connection. This module has no PIN and
+ *                           no send tile of its own.
  *
  * ProdCom's API, as the reference listener speaks it:
  *   GET /api/v1/channels, /api/v1/groups, /api/v1/transcript?limit=N and the
  *   SSE /api/v1/transcript/stream, whose frames carry an entry, or a
  *   { type, entry | data } wrapper, in a few historical shapes (see
- *   extractEntries). A bearer API key is sent when one is configured.
+ *   extractEntries). POST /api/v1/channels/{id}/send with { text } puts typed
+ *   text on a channel (it comes back on the stream with source "typed"). A
+ *   bearer API key is sent when one is configured.
  */
 
 const http = require('http');
 
+/** The module that owns the PIN and the unlock tokens — see verifyUnlock(). */
+const SENDER_ID = 'send-message';
+const MAX_TEXT_CHARS = 2000;
+const BODY_LIMIT_BYTES = 64 * 1024;
+
 const HISTORY_LIMIT = 100;            // entries asked for on (re)connect
 const ENTRIES_MAX = 300;              // entries kept in memory
 const RETRY_MIN_MS = 2000;
@@ -67,13 +84,92 @@ function normalizeEntry(e) {
     text: String(e.text ?? ''),
     date: e.date ? String(e.date) : new Date().toISOString(),
     inProgress: Boolean(e.inProgress),
+    // audio (speech), typed (a dashboard or ProdCom's own box), automation
+    source: e.source === 'typed' || e.source === 'automation' ? String(e.source) : 'audio',
   };
 }
 
+/* ── small helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+function sendJson(res, code, body) {
+  res.writeHead(code, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=utf-8', 'Cache-Control': 'no-store' });
+  res.end(JSON.stringify(body));
+}
+
+function readJson(req) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    let data = '';
+    let size = 0;
+    req.on('data', (chunk) => {
+      size += chunk.length;
+      if (size > BODY_LIMIT_BYTES) {
+        reject(new Error('Request body too large.'));
+        req.destroy();
+        return;
+      }
+      data += chunk;
+    });
+    req.on('end', () => {
+      if (!data.trim()) return resolve({});
+      try {
+        const body = JSON.parse(data);
+        resolve(body && typeof body === 'object' ? body : {});
+      } catch {
+        reject(new Error('Malformed JSON.'));
+      }
+    });
+    req.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+/** Route handlers are async — the shell only catches synchronous throws. */
+function guard(fn) {
+  return (req, res) => {
+    Promise.resolve()
+      .then(() => fn(req, res))
+      .catch((err) => {
+        if (!res.headersSent) sendJson(res, 500, { error: err?.message || String(err) });
+        else try { res.end(); } catch { /* gone */ }
+      });
+  };
+}
+
+function bearer(req) {
+  const m = /^Bearer\s+([A-Za-z0-9]+)\s*$/.exec(String(req.headers.authorization || ''));
+  return m ? m[1] : '';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Is the unlock token on this request good? Only the Send Message module
+ * knows — it owns the PIN — so ask it over loopback. Answers { ok: true,
+ * expiresAt } or { ok: false, status, error, code } ready to send back.
+ */
+async function verifyUnlock(req, shellPort) {
+  const token = bearer(req);
+  if (!token) return { ok: false, status: 401, error: 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: 'locked' };
+  if (!shellPort) return { ok: false, status: 503, error: 'This ProdDash cannot verify a PIN (needs 1.4.0 or newer)', code: 'no_shell_port' };
+  let res;
+  try {
+    res = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${shellPort}/api/modules/${SENDER_ID}/verify`, {
+      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, Accept: 'application/json' },
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(5000),
+    });
+  } catch (err) {
+    return { ok: false, status: 502, error: `Cannot reach the Send Message module (${err.cause?.code || err.message})`, code: 'sender_unreachable' };
+  }
+  if (res.status === 404) return { ok: false, status: 503, error: 'Install the Send Message module to send from a dashboard', code: 'no_sender' };
+  let body = {};
+  try { body = await res.json(); } catch { /* a non-JSON refusal */ }
+  if (res.status === 401 || body?.ok === false) return { ok: false, status: 401, error: body?.error || 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: body?.code || 'locked' };
+  if (!res.ok) return { ok: false, status: 502, error: `Send Message module answered HTTP ${res.status}`, code: 'sender_error' };
+  return { ok: true, expiresAt: Number(body?.expiresAt) || 0 };
+}
+
 let current = null; // the running instance, for routes()
 
 module.exports = {
-  init({ config, log }) {
+  init({ config, log, shell }) {
+    const shellPort = Number(shell && shell.port) || 0;
     const target = resolveTarget(config);
     const apiKey = String(config.apiKey || '');
     const channels = [];
@@ -148,7 +244,14 @@ module.exports = {
         getJson('/api/v1/channels'),
         getJson('/api/v1/groups').catch(() => ({ data: [] })), // groups are optional in ProdCom
       ]);
-      channels.splice(0, channels.length, ...(ch.data || []).map((c) => ({ id: String(c.id), name: String(c.name || c.id), color: c.color || '#8b98a5' })));
+      channels.splice(0, channels.length, ...(ch.data || []).map((c) => ({
+        id: String(c.id),
+        name: String(c.name || c.id),
+        color: c.color || '#8b98a5',
+        // whether ProdCom lets text be typed onto this channel (an older
+        // ProdCom that doesn't say is taken at its word when asked)
+        typingEnabled: c.typingEnabled !== false,
+      })));
       groups.splice(0, groups.length, ...(gr.data || []).map((g) => ({ id: String(g.id), name: String(g.name || g.id), channelIds: Array.isArray(g.channelIds) ? g.channelIds.map(String) : [] })));
     }
 
@@ -264,9 +367,75 @@ module.exports = {
       log('no ProdCom server configured — set the endpoint in /admin');
     }
 
+    /** A channel by id, or by name (case-insensitive) — ProdCom accepts both, the tiles use ids. */
+    function channelByRef(ref) {
+      const s = String(ref ?? '').trim();
+      if (!s) return null;
+      return channels.find((c) => c.id === s) || channels.find((c) => c.name.toLowerCase() === s.toLowerCase()) || null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * What the Send Message module may send as: the channels that accept
+     * typed text. A ProdCom channel is an identity, not a recipient — text
+     * typed onto it goes out *as* that channel — so the destinations are
+     * declared as such, and a channel with typing off is left out.
+     */
+    function messagingDescriptor() {
+      const h = current ? current.health() : { status: 'connecting', message: 'Restarting…' };
+      return {
+        label: 'ProdCom',
+        identity: '',
+        destinationRole: 'identity',
+        status: { state: h.status, message: h.message },
+        destinations: channels.filter((c) => c.typingEnabled).map((c) => ({ id: c.id, label: c.name, color: c.color || '' })),
+        emptyMessage: channels.length
+          ? 'No ProdCom channel accepts typed text — turn on typing for one in ProdCom'
+          : 'No ProdCom channels yet',
+        maxChars: MAX_TEXT_CHARS,
+      };
+    }
+
+    /** Typed text onto a channel: the one ProdCom connection does the talking. */
+    async function sendText(ch, text) {
+      if (!target) return { status: 502, error: 'No ProdCom server configured — set the endpoint in Admin → ProdCom', code: 'no_target' };
+      let res;
+      try {
+        res = await fetch(new URL(`/api/v1/channels/${encodeURIComponent(ch.id)}/send`, target), {
+          method: 'POST',
+          headers: { 'content-type': 'application/json; charset=utf-8', accept: 'application/json', ...authHeaders() },
+          body: JSON.stringify({ text }),
+          signal: AbortSignal.timeout(REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS),
+        });
+      } catch (err) {
+        return { status: 502, error: `ProdCom unreachable (${err.cause?.code || err.code || err.message}) — not sent`, code: 'network' };
+      }
+      if (res.ok) {
+        res.body?.cancel?.().catch?.(() => {});
+        return { status: 200 };
+      }
+      let detail = '';
+      let code = '';
+      try {
+        const body = await res.json();
+        detail = String(body?.error?.message || '');
+        code = String(body?.error?.code || '');
+      } catch { /* no JSON */ }
+      const tail = detail ? ` — ${detail}` : '';
+      if (res.status === 401) return { status: 502, error: `ProdCom rejected the API key (${code || 'UNAUTHORIZED'}) — check Admin → ProdCom`, code: 'unauthorized' };
+      if (res.status === 404) return { status: 404, error: `ProdCom has no channel "${ch.name}" any more (${code || 'NOT_FOUND'}) — pick another in Send as`, code: 'not_found' };
+      if (res.status === 429) return { status: 429, error: `ProdCom is rate-limiting — try again in a moment${tail}`, code: 'ratelimited' };
+      if (res.status === 400 || res.status === 422) return { status: 400, error: `ProdCom refused the message (${code || res.status})${tail}`, code: 'refused' };
+      return { status: 502, error: `ProdCom answered HTTP ${res.status}${tail}`, code: code || `http_${res.status}` };
+    }
+
     current = {
       snapshot,
       streams,
+      shellPort,
+      channelByRef,
+      messagingDescriptor,
+      sendText,
+      log,
       health() {
         if (status.state === 'ok') return { status: 'ok', message: `Live — ${channels.length} channel${channels.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}, ${entries.size} entries` };
         // Nothing to connect to is a setting that is missing, not a link that
@@ -295,15 +464,52 @@ module.exports = {
   },
 
   routes() {
-    const sendJson = (res, code, body) => {
-      res.writeHead(code, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=utf-8', 'Cache-Control': 'no-store' });
-      res.end(JSON.stringify(body));
-    };
+    const unmounted = (res) => sendJson(res, 503, { error: 'ProdCom module is restarting — try again' });
     return {
       'GET /state': (req, res) => {
-        if (!current) return sendJson(res, 503, { error: 'ProdCom module is restarting — try again' });
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
         sendJson(res, 200, current.snapshot());
       },
+
+      // The Send Message module reads this over loopback: where it may send.
+      'GET /messaging': (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        sendJson(res, 200, current.messagingDescriptor());
+      },
+
+      // …and hands a message here, with the browser's unlock token. The token
+      // is checked with the Send Message module first: no PIN entered there,
+      // nothing goes out on a channel.
+      'POST /messaging/send': guard(async (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        const v = await verifyUnlock(req, current.shellPort);
+        if (!v.ok) return sendJson(res, v.status, { error: v.error, code: v.code });
+        let body;
+        try {
+          body = await readJson(req);
+        } catch (err) {
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
+        }
+        const text = String(body.text ?? '').replace(/\r\n/g, '\n').trim();
+        if (!text) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Nothing to send' });
+        if (text.length > MAX_TEXT_CHARS) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `Too long — ${MAX_TEXT_CHARS} characters at most` });
+        const ch = current.channelByRef(body.destination);
+        if (!ch) {
+          const s = String(body.destination ?? '').trim();
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: s ? `No ProdCom channel "${s}" — pick another in Send as` : 'Which ProdCom channel?', code: 'bad_destination' });
+        }
+        if (!ch.typingEnabled) {
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `${ch.name} doesn't accept typed text — turn on typing for it in ProdCom`, code: 'typing_off' });
+        }
+        const out = await current.sendText(ch, text);
+        if (out.status !== 200) {
+          current.log(`send to ${ch.name} failed: ${out.error}`);
+          return sendJson(res, out.status, { error: out.error, code: out.code });
+        }
+        const preview = text.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').slice(0, 60);
+        current.log(`sent to ${ch.name}: "${preview}${text.length > 60 ? '…' : ''}"`);
+        sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, label: ch.name, expiresAt: v.expiresAt });
+      }),
       'GET /stream': (req, res) => {
         res.writeHead(200, {
           'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream; charset=utf-8',

modules/prodcom-transcript/style.css

@@ -9,6 +9,28 @@
   flex-direction: column;
 }
 
+/* ── the send target ──
+   A click anywhere in the tile makes ProdCom the platform the Send Message
+   tiles send to. While it is, a 3px accent stripe runs along the bottom edge
+   of the tile body — drawn just inside our root, since the tile chrome
+   around it belongs to the shell. The others hint at it faintly on hover.
+   (The same mark as the Slack transcript's.) */
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-wrap::after {
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 0;
+  right: 0;
+  bottom: 0;
+  height: 3px;
+  background: var(--accent);
+  opacity: 0;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  z-index: 3;
+  transition: opacity 0.15s ease;
+}
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-wrap:hover::after { opacity: 0.3; }
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-wrap.is-target::after { opacity: 1; }
+
 /* ── channels button ──
    Icon-only; the count appears next to it while some channels are hidden. */
 
@@ -20,9 +42,13 @@
 }
 [data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-count[hidden] { display: none; }
 
+/* narrow tile: the secondary controls fold into the ⋯ menu (client.js) */
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .tile-btn[hidden],
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .tile-dd[hidden] { display: none; }
+
 /* ── channels menu ──
    The menu container is created and positioned by the shell (.tile-menu);
-   it lives inside the tile, so [data-module] scoping still applies. */
+   it hangs off the body under a [data-module] host, so scoping still applies. */
 
 [data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-channel-item {
   display: flex;
@@ -145,6 +171,15 @@
   overflow-wrap: break-word;
 }
 
+/* typed text (from a dashboard, or ProdCom's own box) and automations carry
+   their own mark in the picture slot; the text reads the same */
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-entry.typed .avatar,
+[data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-entry.automation .avatar {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--ch, var(--muted)) 10%, transparent);
+  outline: 1px dashed color-mix(in srgb, var(--ch, var(--muted)) 55%, transparent);
+  outline-offset: -1px;
+}
+
 [data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-entry.in-progress .text { color: var(--muted); }
 [data-module="prodcom-transcript"] .pt-entry.in-progress .text::after {
   content: "▍";

modules/send-message/module.json

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+{
+  "id": "send-message",
+  "name": "Send Message",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "proddash": ">=1.4.0",
+  "description": "PIN-protected sending to Slack, ProdCom and any other messaging module, from one tile",
+  "client": "client.js",
+  "server": "server.js",
+  "style": "style.css",
+  "minSize": {
+    "w": 2,
+    "h": 2
+  },
+  "defaultSize": {
+    "w": 3,
+    "h": 3
+  },
+  "configGroups": {
+    "PIN": {
+      "toggle": "pinEnabled",
+      "help": "Nothing leaves this machine until the PIN is entered on a Send message or Quick replies tile. One PIN unlocks every messaging tile on that dashboard page — Send message, Quick replies and Slack's reaction menu — until Auto-lock minutes pass without a send; a reload asks again. With the PIN switched off, the tiles send without asking. Sending stays refused while the PIN is on but not yet set."
+    },
+    "Presets": {
+      "help": "Quick replies are one per line, Label | Message. Add | platform:destination to bind one — slack:#production or prodcom:FOH — and that reply always goes there, whichever transcript is selected. Quick emojis are sent as a message of their own with one press from the Send message tile."
+    }
+  },
+  "configSchema": {
+    "pinEnabled": {
+      "type": "switch",
+      "label": "PIN",
+      "default": true,
+      "group": "PIN"
+    },
+    "pin": {
+      "type": "password",
+      "label": "PIN",
+      "default": "",
+      "group": "PIN",
+      "help": "4–8 digits; the pad unlocks by itself once they are all in."
+    },
+    "pinIdleMinutes": {
+      "type": "number",
+      "label": "Auto-lock (min)",
+      "default": 10,
+      "group": "PIN"
+    },
+    "quickReplies": {
+      "type": "text",
+      "label": "Quick replies",
+      "default": "",
+      "group": "Presets",
+      "help": "One per line: Label | Message. Add | slack:#channel or | prodcom:Channel to bind one to a destination."
+    },
+    "quickEmojis": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "label": "Quick emojis",
+      "default": "👍 🙏 ✅ 👀 🎉",
+      "group": "Presets",
+      "help": "Emoji separated by spaces, eight at most. Sent as plain text to whatever is selected."
+    }
+  },
+  "instanceSchema": {}
+}

modules/send-message/server.js

@@ -0,0 +1,806 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * Send Message — server part.
+ *
+ * One place a dashboard sends from, whatever the platform. The module owns
+ * nothing upstream: it finds every module whose manifest says
+ * "provides": ["messaging"] (Slack, ProdCom, whatever comes next) through
+ * the shell's /api/modules over loopback, reads each one's destinations
+ * from its GET /messaging, and hands a message to the provider's
+ * POST /messaging/send — so Slack keeps its one Slack connection, ProdCom
+ * its one ProdCom connection, and this module never opens a second one.
+ *
+ * It also owns the PIN. A browser unlocks here and gets a token; every
+ * gated action anywhere — a send through this module, a reaction in a
+ * Slack transcript — carries that token, and the provider checks it with
+ * GET /verify over loopback before touching its upstream. No provider has
+ * a PIN of its own, and no browser on the network can reach a provider's
+ * send route without having entered the PIN here.
+ *
+ *   GET  /state            providers (destinations, identity, status), pin flags, quick emojis
+ *   GET  /stream           SSE `state` events (change-detected, heartbeated)
+ *   POST /unlock           { pin } → { token, expiresAt }     (constant-time, lockout)
+ *                          with the PIN switched off: {} → a token, no questions
+ *   POST /lock             Bearer → forget that token
+ *   GET  /verify           Bearer → { ok, expiresAt }, 401 otherwise — for providers
+ *   GET  /quick            Bearer → preset labels, indexes and bindings (never the text)
+ *   POST /send             Bearer, { provider, destination, text }
+ *   POST /quick            Bearer, { index, provider, destination }
+ *
+ * The provider contract is in docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md ("Offering messaging").
+ */
+
+const crypto = require('crypto');
+
+const SELF_ID = 'send-message';
+const CAPABILITY = 'messaging';
+
+/** SSE comment ping cadence — keeps idle connections alive through sleepy Wi-Fi. */
+const HEARTBEAT_MS = 15000;
+/** Re-read /api/modules: a newly installed provider shows up without a restart. */
+const DISCOVER_MS = 30000;
+const DISCOVER_RETRY_MS = 5000; // …sooner while the shell isn't answering yet (boot)
+const DISCOVER_FIRST_MS = 1500; // init() runs before the shell listens
+/** Each provider's /messaging, re-read this often while a tile is watching… */
+const DESCRIBE_MS = 4000;
+/** …and this slowly with nobody looking. */
+const DESCRIBE_IDLE_MS = 30000;
+/** A tile counts as watching for this long after its last /state or /stream. */
+const IDLE_AFTER_MS = 30000;
+const LOOPBACK_TIMEOUT_MS = 5000;
+/** A provider's send may itself wait on its upstream. */
+const SEND_TIMEOUT_MS = 15000;
+const PIN_RE = /^\d{4,8}$/;
+const PIN_MAX_WRONG = 5;
+const PIN_LOCKOUT_MS = 30000;
+/** With the PIN off, a token is minted on request and simply lasts. */
+const NO_PIN_TOKEN_MS = 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+const SEND_MIN_INTERVAL_MS = 1000;
+const DEFAULT_MAX_CHARS = 4000;
+const BODY_LIMIT_BYTES = 64 * 1024;
+const UNLOCK_SWEEP_MS = 30000;
+
+/** Set by init(), read by routes() — rebuilt together on remount. */
+let current = null;
+
+/* ── small helpers ──────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+function sendJson(res, code, body) {
+  res.writeHead(code, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=utf-8', 'Cache-Control': 'no-store' });
+  res.end(JSON.stringify(body));
+}
+
+function readJson(req) {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    let data = '';
+    let size = 0;
+    req.on('data', (chunk) => {
+      size += chunk.length;
+      if (size > BODY_LIMIT_BYTES) {
+        reject(new Error('Request body too large.'));
+        req.destroy();
+        return;
+      }
+      data += chunk;
+    });
+    req.on('end', () => {
+      if (!data.trim()) return resolve({});
+      try {
+        const body = JSON.parse(data);
+        resolve(body && typeof body === 'object' ? body : {});
+      } catch {
+        reject(new Error('Malformed JSON.'));
+      }
+    });
+    req.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+/** Route handlers are async — the shell only catches synchronous throws. */
+function guard(fn) {
+  return (req, res) => {
+    Promise.resolve()
+      .then(() => fn(req, res))
+      .catch((err) => {
+        if (!res.headersSent) sendJson(res, 500, { error: err?.message || String(err) });
+        else try { res.end(); } catch { /* gone */ }
+      });
+  };
+}
+
+function bearer(req) {
+  const m = /^Bearer\s+([A-Za-z0-9]+)\s*$/.exec(String(req.headers.authorization || ''));
+  return m ? m[1] : '';
+}
+
+function clientIp(req) {
+  return String(req.socket?.remoteAddress || '');
+}
+
+/** Constant-time PIN compare (lengths are folded in after the timing-safe step). */
+function pinMatches(given, expected) {
+  const a = Buffer.alloc(16);
+  const b = Buffer.alloc(16);
+  a.write(String(given).slice(0, 16));
+  b.write(String(expected).slice(0, 16));
+  const same = crypto.timingSafeEqual(a, b);
+  return same && given.length === expected.length;
+}
+
+function errorText(err) {
+  return String(err?.cause?.code || err?.code || err?.message || err || 'error');
+}
+
+/**
+ * "Label | Message | platform:destination" per line. A line with no "|" is
+ * both its label and its message. The binding (optional) names a provider
+ * — its module id, a prefix of it ("prodcom"), or its label ("Slack") — and
+ * one of its destinations by id or label ("#production", "FOH"); a reply
+ * that carries one always goes there, whatever is selected.
+ */
+function parseQuickReplies(text) {
+  const out = [];
+  for (const rawLine of String(text || '').split(/\r?\n/)) {
+    const line = rawLine.trim();
+    if (!line) continue;
+    const parts = line.split('|').map((p) => p.trim());
+    const label = parts[0];
+    const message = parts.length > 1 && parts[1] ? parts[1] : label;
+    const binding = parts.length > 2 ? parts[2] : '';
+    if (!label || !message) continue;
+    out.push({ label, message, binding });
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** "👍 🙏 ✅" → ['👍', '🙏', '✅'] — plain text tokens, eight at most. */
+function parseQuickEmojis(text) {
+  return String(text || '').split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).slice(0, 8);
+}
+
+/** A provider's GET /messaging answer, as the tiles and the send route use it. */
+function normalizeDescriptor(id, fallbackLabel, body) {
+  const b = body && typeof body === 'object' ? body : {};
+  const st = b.status && typeof b.status === 'object' ? b.status : {};
+  const state = st.state === 'ok' || st.state === 'error' ? st.state : 'connecting';
+  const destinations = [];
+  const seen = new Set();
+  for (const d of Array.isArray(b.destinations) ? b.destinations : []) {
+    if (!d || typeof d !== 'object') continue;
+    const did = String(d.id ?? '').trim();
+    if (!did || seen.has(did)) continue;
+    seen.add(did);
+    destinations.push({ id: did, label: String(d.label || did), color: typeof d.color === 'string' ? d.color : '' });
+  }
+  const maxChars = Math.trunc(Number(b.maxChars));
+  return {
+    id,
+    label: String(b.label || fallbackLabel || id),
+    identity: String(b.identity || ''),
+    // recipient: a message goes *to* a destination (a Slack channel);
+    // identity: it goes out *as* one (a ProdCom channel) — the Send as menu
+    // lists only the latter, and the wording follows
+    destinationRole: b.destinationRole === 'identity' ? 'identity' : 'recipient',
+    status: { state, message: String(st.message || '') },
+    destinations,
+    // what to say when the list is empty, if the provider knows why
+    emptyMessage: String(b.emptyMessage || ''),
+    maxChars: maxChars > 0 ? Math.min(DEFAULT_MAX_CHARS * 10, maxChars) : DEFAULT_MAX_CHARS,
+  };
+}
+
+/** "Slack → #ops" / "ProdCom as FOH" — how a provider + destination pair reads. */
+function pairLabel(descriptor, destination) {
+  return descriptor.destinationRole === 'identity'
+    ? `${descriptor.label} as ${destination.label}`
+    : `${descriptor.label} → ${destination.label}`;
+}
+
+/* ── the module ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+module.exports = {
+  init({ config, log, shell }) {
+    /* ── config ── */
+    const shellPort = Number(shell && shell.port) || 0;
+    const pinEnabled = config.pinEnabled !== false;
+    const pin = String(config.pin || '').trim();
+    const pinOk = PIN_RE.test(pin);
+    const idleMs = Math.min(240, Math.max(1, Number(config.pinIdleMinutes) || 10)) * 60 * 1000;
+    const quickReplies = parseQuickReplies(config.quickReplies);
+    const quickEmojis = parseQuickEmojis(config.quickEmojis);
+
+    /* ── state (all inside this closure so a re-init starts clean) ── */
+    let stopped = false;
+    const providers = new Map(); // module id → { id, label, descriptor | null, error, at }
+    let listError = '';          // the last /api/modules failure ('' while fine)
+    let listedAt = 0;
+    let discoverTimer = null;
+    let describeTimer = null;
+    let describing = null;       // one descriptor sweep in flight
+    const streams = new Set();
+    const unlocks = new Map();     // token → { expiresAt, lastSendAt, ip }
+    const pinAttempts = new Map(); // ip → { count, lockedUntil }
+    let lastInterest = Date.now();
+    let lastSig = '';
+
+    const loopback = (path) => `http://127.0.0.1:${shellPort}${path}`;
+
+    function watched() {
+      return streams.size > 0 || Date.now() - lastInterest < IDLE_AFTER_MS;
+    }
+
+    /* ── discovery: who offers messaging ── */
+    async function discover() {
+      discoverTimer = null;
+      if (stopped) return;
+      try {
+        if (!shellPort) throw new Error('shell port unknown (needs ProdDash 1.4.0)');
+        const res = await fetch(loopback('/api/modules'), {
+          headers: { Accept: 'application/json' },
+          signal: AbortSignal.timeout(LOOPBACK_TIMEOUT_MS),
+        });
+        if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
+        const body = await res.json();
+        if (stopped) return;
+        const mods = (Array.isArray(body?.modules) ? body.modules : [])
+          .filter((m) => m && typeof m.id === 'string' && m.id !== SELF_ID && Array.isArray(m.provides) && m.provides.includes(CAPABILITY));
+        const keep = new Set();
+        for (const m of mods) {
+          keep.add(m.id);
+          const have = providers.get(m.id);
+          if (have) have.label = String(m.name || m.id);
+          else {
+            providers.set(m.id, { id: m.id, label: String(m.name || m.id), descriptor: null, error: '', at: 0 });
+            log(`module "${m.id}" offers messaging`);
+          }
+        }
+        for (const id of [...providers.keys()]) {
+          if (keep.has(id)) continue;
+          providers.delete(id);
+          log(`module "${id}" no longer offers messaging`);
+        }
+        listError = '';
+        listedAt = Date.now();
+        await describeAll();
+      } catch (err) {
+        listError = errorText(err);
+        broadcastIfChanged();
+      }
+      if (!stopped) {
+        discoverTimer = setTimeout(discover, listError ? DISCOVER_RETRY_MS : DISCOVER_MS);
+        discoverTimer.unref?.();
+      }
+    }
+
+    /** Read one provider's /messaging; a failure is kept on the entry, not thrown. */
+    async function describe(p) {
+      try {
+        const res = await fetch(loopback(`/api/modules/${encodeURIComponent(p.id)}/messaging`), {
+          headers: { Accept: 'application/json' },
+          signal: AbortSignal.timeout(LOOPBACK_TIMEOUT_MS),
+        });
+        if (res.status === 404) {
+          // Disabled or uninstalled, most likely: let the module list decide
+          // now rather than at the next 30 s pass, so the tiles drop it at once.
+          if (!discoverTimer && !stopped) {
+            discoverTimer = setTimeout(discover, 250);
+            discoverTimer.unref?.();
+          }
+          throw new Error('not answering (disabled or restarting)');
+        }
+        if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
+        const body = await res.json();
+        if (stopped) return;
+        p.descriptor = normalizeDescriptor(p.id, p.label, body);
+        if (p.error) log(`${p.label}: describing itself again`);
+        p.error = '';
+        p.at = Date.now();
+      } catch (err) {
+        const text = errorText(err);
+        if (p.error !== text) log(`${p.label}: cannot read its destinations — ${text}`);
+        p.error = text;
+      }
+    }
+
+    function describeAll() {
+      if (!describing) {
+        describing = Promise.all([...providers.values()].map(describe))
+          .then(() => broadcastIfChanged())
+          .finally(() => { describing = null; });
+      }
+      return describing;
+    }
+
+    function scheduleDescribe(delay = null) {
+      if (stopped) return;
+      clearTimeout(describeTimer);
+      describeTimer = setTimeout(async () => {
+        describeTimer = null;
+        await describeAll();
+        scheduleDescribe();
+      }, delay ?? (watched() ? DESCRIBE_MS : DESCRIBE_IDLE_MS));
+      describeTimer.unref?.();
+    }
+
+    /** Somebody is looking: catch up at once if the list is stale or empty. */
+    function wake() {
+      lastInterest = Date.now();
+      if (stopped) return;
+      if ((!providers.size || listError) && Date.now() - listedAt > DISCOVER_RETRY_MS && !discoverTimer) {
+        discoverTimer = setTimeout(discover, 50);
+        discoverTimer.unref?.();
+      } else if (describeTimer) {
+        // The idle cadence was in force; move to the watched one now.
+        scheduleDescribe(DESCRIBE_MS);
+      }
+    }
+
+    /* ── what the tiles see ── */
+    function providerView(p) {
+      const d = p.descriptor;
+      if (!d) {
+        return {
+          id: p.id,
+          label: p.label,
+          identity: '',
+          destinationRole: 'recipient',
+          status: { state: p.error ? 'error' : 'connecting', message: p.error ? `${p.label} module ${p.error}` : 'Reading destinations…' },
+          destinations: [],
+          emptyMessage: '',
+          maxChars: DEFAULT_MAX_CHARS,
+          error: p.error,
+        };
+      }
+      return { ...d, error: p.error, status: p.error ? { state: 'error', message: `${p.label} module ${p.error}` } : d.status };
+    }
+
+    function health() {
+      if (!shellPort) return { status: 'error', message: 'This module needs ProdDash 1.4.0 or newer' };
+      const pinLine = !pinEnabled ? 'PIN off' : pinOk ? 'PIN set' : 'PIN on but not set — sending refused';
+      if (listError) return { status: listedAt ? 'connecting' : 'error', message: `Cannot read the module list (${listError}) · ${pinLine}` };
+      if (!listedAt) return { status: 'connecting', message: 'Looking for messaging modules…' };
+      const list = [...providers.values()];
+      if (!list.length) return { status: 'error', message: `No module offers messaging — install Slack or ProdCom · ${pinLine}` };
+      const parts = list.map((p) => {
+        const v = providerView(p);
+        if (v.error) return `${v.label}: ${v.error}`;
+        const n = v.destinations.length;
+        const who = v.identity ? ` as ${v.identity}` : '';
+        // a provider that is up but unhappy says why, so the admin line does too
+        const why = v.status.state !== 'ok' && v.status.message ? ` — ${v.status.message}`
+          : !n && v.emptyMessage ? ` — ${v.emptyMessage}` : '';
+        const noun = v.destinationRole === 'identity' ? 'identit' + (n === 1 ? 'y' : 'ies') : 'destination' + (n === 1 ? '' : 's');
+        return `${v.label}${who} (${n} ${noun})${why}`;
+      });
+      const bad = list.some((p) => p.error || p.descriptor?.status.state === 'error');
+      const pending = list.some((p) => !p.descriptor);
+      return {
+        status: pinEnabled && !pinOk ? 'error' : bad ? 'error' : pending ? 'connecting' : 'ok',
+        message: `${parts.join(' · ')} · ${pinLine}`,
+      };
+    }
+
+    function snapshot() {
+      const h = health();
+      return {
+        providers: [...providers.values()].map(providerView),
+        pin: {
+          enabled: pinEnabled,
+          set: pinOk,
+          // the pad submits by itself once this many digits are in (never the PIN)
+          length: pinEnabled && pinOk ? pin.length : 0,
+          idleMinutes: idleMs / 60000,
+        },
+        quickEmojis,
+        quickCount: quickReplies.length,
+        status: { state: h.status, message: h.message },
+      };
+    }
+
+    function broadcastIfChanged() {
+      const snap = snapshot();
+      const sig = JSON.stringify(snap);
+      if (sig === lastSig) return;
+      lastSig = sig;
+      if (!streams.size) return;
+      const payload = `event: state\ndata: ${JSON.stringify(snap)}\n\n`;
+      for (const res of streams) {
+        try {
+          res.write(payload);
+        } catch {
+          streams.delete(res);
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    /* ── the PIN and its unlock tokens ── */
+    function sweepUnlocks() {
+      const now = Date.now();
+      for (const [t, u] of unlocks) if (u.expiresAt <= now) unlocks.delete(t);
+      for (const [ip, a] of pinAttempts) if (a.lockedUntil && a.lockedUntil <= now && !a.count) pinAttempts.delete(ip);
+    }
+
+    /** The unlock behind a token, or null; a hit slides its idle expiry along. */
+    function verify(token) {
+      const u = token ? unlocks.get(token) : null;
+      if (!u) return null;
+      const now = Date.now();
+      if (u.expiresAt <= now) {
+        unlocks.delete(token);
+        return null;
+      }
+      if (pinEnabled) u.expiresAt = now + idleMs;
+      return { token, ...u };
+    }
+
+    /** Everything a send needs before anyone is asked; answers the refusal itself. */
+    function sendGate(req, res) {
+      if (pinEnabled && !pinOk) {
+        sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Set a PIN in Admin → Send Message, or switch the PIN off', code: 'no_pin' });
+        return null;
+      }
+      const u = verify(bearer(req));
+      if (!u) {
+        sendJson(res, 401, { error: 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: 'locked' });
+        return null;
+      }
+      return u;
+    }
+
+    function unlock(req, res, given) {
+      const ip = clientIp(req);
+      const now = Date.now();
+      if (!pinEnabled) {
+        const t = crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('hex');
+        const expiresAt = now + NO_PIN_TOKEN_MS;
+        unlocks.set(t, { expiresAt, lastSendAt: 0, ip });
+        return sendJson(res, 200, { token: t, expiresAt, idleMs: NO_PIN_TOKEN_MS, pinEnabled: false });
+      }
+      if (!pinOk) return sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Set a PIN in Admin → Send Message, or switch the PIN off', code: 'no_pin' });
+      let a = pinAttempts.get(ip);
+      if (a && a.lockedUntil > now) {
+        const secs = Math.ceil((a.lockedUntil - now) / 1000);
+        return sendJson(res, 429, { error: `Too many wrong PINs — locked for ${secs} s`, code: 'lockout', retryAfter: secs });
+      }
+      if (a && a.lockedUntil && a.lockedUntil <= now) a = null; // lockout served — clean slate
+      const str = String(given ?? '');
+      if (!PIN_RE.test(str) || !pinMatches(str, pin)) {
+        const count = (a ? a.count : 0) + 1;
+        if (count >= PIN_MAX_WRONG) {
+          pinAttempts.set(ip, { count: 0, lockedUntil: now + PIN_LOCKOUT_MS });
+          log(`wrong PIN ×${PIN_MAX_WRONG} from ${ip} — locked for ${PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000} s`);
+          return sendJson(res, 429, { error: `Wrong PIN — locked for ${PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000} s`, code: 'lockout', retryAfter: PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000 });
+        }
+        pinAttempts.set(ip, { count, lockedUntil: 0 });
+        return sendJson(res, 401, { error: 'Wrong PIN', code: 'wrong_pin', triesLeft: PIN_MAX_WRONG - count });
+      }
+      pinAttempts.delete(ip);
+      const t = crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('hex');
+      const expiresAt = now + idleMs;
+      unlocks.set(t, { expiresAt, lastSendAt: 0, ip });
+      log(`unlocked from ${ip} (auto-lock after ${idleMs / 60000} min idle)`);
+      return sendJson(res, 200, { token: t, expiresAt, idleMs, pinEnabled: true });
+    }
+
+    /* ── destinations and bindings ── */
+    function findProvider(ref) {
+      const s = String(ref ?? '').trim().toLowerCase();
+      if (!s) return null;
+      for (const p of providers.values()) if (p.id.toLowerCase() === s) return p;
+      for (const p of providers.values()) {
+        const label = (p.descriptor?.label || p.label).toLowerCase();
+        if (label === s || p.id.toLowerCase().startsWith(s) || label.replace(/\s+/g, '') === s.replace(/\s+/g, '')) return p;
+      }
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    function findDestination(p, ref) {
+      const s = String(ref ?? '').trim();
+      if (!p?.descriptor || !s) return null;
+      const list = p.descriptor.destinations;
+      const exact = list.find((d) => d.id === s);
+      if (exact) return exact;
+      const name = s.replace(/^#/, '').toLowerCase();
+      return list.find((d) => d.label.replace(/^#/, '').toLowerCase() === name) || null;
+    }
+
+    /** A quick reply's "platform:destination" → { provider, destination } or { error }. */
+    function resolveBinding(binding) {
+      const s = String(binding || '').trim();
+      if (!s) return null;
+      const i = s.indexOf(':');
+      if (i > 0) {
+        const p = findProvider(s.slice(0, i));
+        if (!p) return { error: `No messaging module called "${s.slice(0, i).trim()}" for this quick reply` };
+        if (!p.descriptor) return { error: `${p.label} hasn't listed its destinations yet — try again in a moment` };
+        const d = findDestination(p, s.slice(i + 1));
+        if (!d) return { error: `${p.descriptor.label} has no destination "${s.slice(i + 1).trim()}" — check the quick reply in Admin → Send Message` };
+        return { provider: p, destination: d };
+      }
+      for (const p of providers.values()) {
+        const d = findDestination(p, s);
+        if (d) return { provider: p, destination: d };
+      }
+      return { error: `No destination "${s}" on any messaging module — check the quick reply in Admin → Send Message` };
+    }
+
+    /** The label a tile shows for a binding — resolved when it can be, the raw text otherwise. */
+    function bindingLabel(binding) {
+      const r = resolveBinding(binding);
+      if (!r) return '';
+      if (r.error) return String(binding).trim();
+      return pairLabel(r.provider.descriptor, r.destination);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * The provider and destination a browser asked for. Both must be ones
+     * the module has listed — a PIN-unlocked browser chooses among what the
+     * providers offer, never an arbitrary id.
+     */
+    async function chooseTarget(providerRef, destinationRef) {
+      const p = findProvider(providerRef);
+      if (!p) {
+        const s = String(providerRef ?? '').trim();
+        return { error: s ? `${s} isn't offering messaging right now — is the module enabled?` : 'Pick where to send first' };
+      }
+      if (!p.descriptor) await describe(p);
+      if (!p.descriptor) return { error: `${p.label} module ${p.error || 'is not answering'}` };
+      let d = findDestination(p, destinationRef);
+      if (!d && String(destinationRef ?? '').trim()) {
+        await describe(p); // a channel added a moment ago
+        d = findDestination(p, destinationRef);
+      }
+      if (!d) {
+        const s = String(destinationRef ?? '').trim();
+        return { error: s ? `${p.descriptor.label} has no destination "${s}" — pick another in Send as` : `Pick a ${p.descriptor.label} destination in Send as` };
+      }
+      return { provider: p, destination: d };
+    }
+
+    /* ── delivery: hand the message to the provider over loopback ── */
+    async function deliver(req, res, unlock, { provider, destination, text, what }) {
+      const now = Date.now();
+      if (now - unlock.lastSendAt < SEND_MIN_INTERVAL_MS) {
+        return sendJson(res, 429, { error: 'One message per second — try again', code: 'too_fast' });
+      }
+      const u = unlocks.get(unlock.token);
+      if (u) u.lastSendAt = now;
+      const max = provider.descriptor?.maxChars || DEFAULT_MAX_CHARS;
+      if (text.length > max) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `Too long for ${provider.descriptor.label} — ${max} characters at most`, code: 'too_long' });
+      const label = provider.descriptor.label;
+      let answer;
+      try {
+        const r = await fetch(loopback(`/api/modules/${encodeURIComponent(provider.id)}/messaging/send`), {
+          method: 'POST',
+          headers: {
+            'Content-Type': 'application/json; charset=utf-8',
+            Accept: 'application/json',
+            Authorization: `Bearer ${unlock.token}`,
+          },
+          body: JSON.stringify({ destination: destination.id, text }),
+          signal: AbortSignal.timeout(SEND_TIMEOUT_MS),
+        });
+        let body = {};
+        try { body = await r.json(); } catch { /* a non-JSON refusal */ }
+        answer = { status: r.status, body: body && typeof body === 'object' ? body : {} };
+      } catch (err) {
+        const message = `${label} module unreachable (${errorText(err)}) — not sent`;
+        log(`${what} → ${pairLabel(provider.descriptor, destination)} failed: ${message}`);
+        return sendJson(res, 502, { error: message, code: 'provider_unreachable' });
+      }
+      if (answer.status === 404) {
+        return sendJson(res, 502, { error: `${label} module isn't answering (disabled or restarting) — not sent`, code: 'provider_gone' });
+      }
+      if (answer.status < 200 || answer.status >= 300 || answer.body.ok === false) {
+        const message = String(answer.body.error || `${label} answered HTTP ${answer.status}`);
+        log(`${what} → ${pairLabel(provider.descriptor, destination)} failed: ${message}`);
+        const status = answer.status === 401 ? 401 : [400, 404, 429].includes(answer.status) ? answer.status : 502;
+        return sendJson(res, status, { error: message, code: answer.body.code || `http_${answer.status}` });
+      }
+      const preview = text.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').slice(0, 60);
+      log(`${what} → ${pairLabel(provider.descriptor, destination)}: "${preview}${text.length > 60 ? '…' : ''}"`);
+      scheduleDescribe(500); // the provider may have something new to say about itself
+      return sendJson(res, 200, {
+        ok: true,
+        provider: provider.id,
+        providerLabel: label,
+        destination: destination.id,
+        label: String(answer.body.label || destination.label),
+        role: provider.descriptor.destinationRole,
+        expiresAt: u ? u.expiresAt : unlock.expiresAt,
+      });
+    }
+
+    /* ── go ── */
+    const heartbeat = setInterval(() => {
+      for (const res of streams) {
+        try {
+          res.write(': ping\n\n');
+        } catch {
+          streams.delete(res);
+        }
+      }
+    }, HEARTBEAT_MS);
+    heartbeat.unref?.();
+    const sweeper = setInterval(sweepUnlocks, UNLOCK_SWEEP_MS);
+    sweeper.unref?.();
+
+    if (!shellPort) log('the shell did not say which port it serves on — this module needs ProdDash 1.4.0 or newer');
+    else {
+      if (pinEnabled && !pinOk) log('the PIN is on but not set (4–8 digits) — send tiles stay locked until it is, or until the PIN is switched off');
+      if (!pinEnabled) log('PIN off — send tiles send without asking');
+      discoverTimer = setTimeout(discover, DISCOVER_FIRST_MS);
+      discoverTimer.unref?.();
+      scheduleDescribe();
+    }
+
+    current = {
+      streams,
+      snapshot,
+      health,
+      wake,
+      verify,
+      sendGate,
+      unlock,
+      chooseTarget,
+      deliver,
+      resolveBinding,
+      bindingLabel,
+      quickReplies,
+      lock(req, res) {
+        const t = bearer(req);
+        if (t) unlocks.delete(t);
+        return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true });
+      },
+    };
+
+    return {
+      stop() {
+        stopped = true;
+        clearTimeout(discoverTimer);
+        clearTimeout(describeTimer);
+        clearInterval(heartbeat);
+        clearInterval(sweeper);
+        unlocks.clear(); // an admin Apply locks every send tile
+        for (const res of streams) {
+          try { res.end(); } catch { /* already gone */ }
+        }
+        streams.clear();
+        if (current && current.streams === streams) current = null;
+      },
+      health,
+    };
+  },
+
+  /** The picker: the two send surfaces, one of each per dashboard. */
+  tiles() {
+    return [
+      {
+        id: 'send',
+        name: 'Send message',
+        description: 'A message to the transcript clicked last, on any platform',
+        single: true,
+        defaultSize: { w: 3, h: 3 },
+        minSize: { w: 2, h: 2 },
+        settings: { view: 'send' },
+        instanceSchema: {
+          showEmojis: { type: 'switch', label: 'Quick emojis', default: true },
+        },
+      },
+      {
+        id: 'quick',
+        name: 'Quick replies',
+        description: 'Preset buttons, one press each',
+        single: true,
+        defaultSize: { w: 3, h: 2 },
+        minSize: { w: 2, h: 1 },
+        settings: { view: 'quick' },
+        instanceSchema: {},
+      },
+    ];
+  },
+
+  routes() {
+    const unmounted = (res) => sendJson(res, 503, { error: 'Send Message module is restarting — try again' });
+
+    return {
+      'GET /state': (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        current.wake();
+        sendJson(res, 200, current.snapshot());
+      },
+
+      'GET /stream': (req, res) => {
+        res.writeHead(200, {
+          'Content-Type': 'text/event-stream; charset=utf-8',
+          'Cache-Control': 'no-cache, no-transform',
+          Connection: 'keep-alive',
+          'X-Accel-Buffering': 'no',
+        });
+        res.write('retry: 3000\n\n');
+        if (!current) {
+          res.write(`event: state\ndata: ${JSON.stringify({ providers: [], pin: { enabled: true, set: false, length: 0 }, quickEmojis: [], status: { state: 'connecting', message: 'Send Message module is restarting…' } })}\n\n`);
+          return void res.end();
+        }
+        res.write(`event: state\ndata: ${JSON.stringify(current.snapshot())}\n\n`);
+        try { req.socket.setKeepAlive(true, 15000); } catch { /* gone */ }
+        current.streams.add(res);
+        current.wake();
+        req.on('close', () => current && current.streams.delete(res));
+      },
+
+      'POST /unlock': guard(async (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        let body;
+        try {
+          body = await readJson(req);
+        } catch (err) {
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
+        }
+        current.unlock(req, res, body.pin);
+      }),
+
+      'POST /lock': (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        current.lock(req, res);
+      },
+
+      // Providers ask this over loopback before an upstream action: is this unlock good?
+      'GET /verify': (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        const u = current.verify(bearer(req));
+        if (!u) return sendJson(res, 401, { ok: false, error: 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: 'locked' });
+        sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, expiresAt: u.expiresAt });
+      },
+
+      // Labels, indexes and bindings only — the message text never leaves the server.
+      'GET /quick': (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
+        if (!unlock) return;
+        sendJson(res, 200, {
+          presets: current.quickReplies.map((q, index) => ({ index, label: q.label, target: current.bindingLabel(q.binding) })),
+          expiresAt: unlock.expiresAt,
+        });
+      },
+
+      'POST /send': guard(async (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
+        if (!unlock) return;
+        let body;
+        try {
+          body = await readJson(req);
+        } catch (err) {
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
+        }
+        const text = String(body.text ?? '').replace(/\r\n/g, '\n').trim();
+        if (!text) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Nothing to send' });
+        const target = await current.chooseTarget(body.provider, body.destination);
+        if (target.error) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_target' });
+        await current.deliver(req, res, unlock, { ...target, text, what: 'sent' });
+      }),
+
+      'POST /quick': guard(async (req, res) => {
+        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
+        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
+        if (!unlock) return;
+        let body;
+        try {
+          body = await readJson(req);
+        } catch (err) {
+          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
+        }
+        const index = Math.trunc(Number(body.index));
+        const preset = Number.isInteger(index) ? current.quickReplies[index] : null;
+        if (!preset) return sendJson(res, 404, { error: 'No such quick reply — the list may have changed in Admin' });
+        // A bound reply ignores the selection; an unbound one needs it.
+        let target = current.resolveBinding(preset.binding);
+        if (!target) target = await current.chooseTarget(body.provider, body.destination);
+        if (target.error) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_target' });
+        await current.deliver(req, res, unlock, { ...target, text: preset.message, what: `quick reply "${preset.label}"` });
+      }),
+    };
+  },
+};

modules/send-message/style.css

@@ -0,0 +1,527 @@
+/* Send Message module — scoped to its tiles, shell variables only.
+   The gate (PIN pad), the compose box and the preset grid were the Slack
+   module's send surfaces until 1.3.0; they live here now, for every platform. */
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-wrap {
+  --sm-size: 14px;
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  container-type: size;
+  font-size: var(--sm-size);
+  color: var(--text);
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-wrap:focus { outline: none; }
+[data-module="send-message"] [hidden] { display: none !important; }
+
+/* ── the gate ── */
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-gate,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-height: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  padding: 6px 10px;
+  overflow: auto;
+}
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-note {
+  margin: auto;
+  padding: 10px;
+  text-align: center;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  font-size: 0.9em;
+  line-height: 1.45;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-note.is-error { color: var(--danger); }
+
+/* The pad never shrinks below its content (min-height stays `auto` on it
+   and on the key grid) — a shrunken grid would spill its rows under the
+   message line, which then swallows the taps. A tile too short for it
+   scrolls instead (.sm-gate has overflow: auto). */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad {
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 4px;
+  max-width: 340px;
+  width: 100%;
+  margin: 0 auto;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad.sm-shake { animation: sm-shake 0.4s ease; }
+@keyframes sm-shake {
+  10%, 90% { transform: translateX(-2px); }
+  20%, 80% { transform: translateX(3px); }
+  30%, 50%, 70% { transform: translateX(-5px); }
+  40%, 60% { transform: translateX(5px); }
+}
+
+/* one line: "Enter PIN · Slack · as Apollo Beach → #production" */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad-head {
+  flex: none;
+  text-align: center;
+  font-size: 0.8em;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad-head b { font-weight: 700; color: var(--text); }
+
+/* The dots ride on a real numeric input: tapping them focuses it, which is
+   what raises a phone's keyboard; on a desktop the keyboard types into it
+   directly. The input itself is invisible — the dots are its display. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-field {
+  flex: none;
+  position: relative;
+  height: 24px;
+  cursor: text;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-dots {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  pointer-events: none;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-dot {
+  width: 11px;
+  height: 11px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  border: 2px solid var(--muted);
+  transition: background 0.12s, border-color 0.12s;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-dot.on { background: var(--accent); border-color: var(--accent); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pin-input {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  width: 100%;
+  height: 100%;
+  margin: 0;
+  padding: 0;
+  border: 0;
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: transparent;
+  color: transparent;
+  caret-color: transparent;
+  font: inherit;
+  text-align: center;
+  outline: none;
+  -webkit-text-fill-color: transparent;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pin-input::selection { background: transparent; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pin-input:focus-visible { box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 45%, transparent); }
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-keys {
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
+  grid-template-rows: repeat(4, minmax(24px, 1fr));
+  gap: 4px;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key {
+  min-width: 0;
+  min-height: 24px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 10px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text) 5%, var(--panel));
+  color: var(--text);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: clamp(13px, 9cqh, 26px);
+  font-weight: 600;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  touch-action: manipulation;
+  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+  transition: background 0.1s;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key:hover { background: var(--border); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--panel)); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key svg { width: 1.1em; height: 1.1em; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key-back { color: var(--muted); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-key-blank { visibility: hidden; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad.is-busy .sm-keys { opacity: 0.6; pointer-events: none; }
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad-msg {
+  flex: none;
+  min-height: 1.1em;
+  text-align: center;
+  font-size: 0.78em;
+  line-height: 1.1;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad-msg.is-error { color: var(--danger); font-weight: 600; }
+
+/* A tile too short for the keypad (the smallest Send message / Quick replies
+   tiles) shows the dots and a hint instead — the dots still take a tap and
+   the keyboard, and a taller tile brings the keys back. .sm-wrap is the size
+   container the height is measured against. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad-hint {
+  display: none;
+  flex: none;
+  text-align: center;
+  font-size: 0.78em;
+  line-height: 1.3;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+@container (max-height: 176px) {
+  [data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad .sm-keys { display: none; }
+  [data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad .sm-pad-hint { display: block; }
+  [data-module="send-message"] .sm-pad { justify-content: center; }
+}
+
+/* ── unlocked ── */
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose { gap: 6px; }
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose-head {
+  flex: none;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: baseline;
+  justify-content: space-between;
+  gap: 8px;
+  font-size: 0.8em;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-sending {
+  min-width: 0;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-lock-link {
+  flex: none;
+  padding: 1px 8px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 999px;
+  background: none;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: 0.9em;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-lock-link:hover { color: var(--text); background: var(--border); }
+
+/* The box takes whatever the quick emoji rows leave it, down to one line. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-box {
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  min-height: 0;
+  position: relative;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-input {
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  min-height: calc(1.4em + 16px);
+  width: 100%;
+  resize: none;
+  padding: 7px 9px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: var(--bg);
+  color: var(--text);
+  font: inherit;
+  line-height: 1.4;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-input:focus { outline: none; border-color: var(--accent); }
+
+/* The grip: a small pill centred on the box's bottom edge, straddling the
+   border. Drag it up for more emoji rows. It is positioned over the box, so
+   it adds no height between the box and the keys. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip {
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 50%;
+  bottom: -6px;
+  transform: translateX(-50%);
+  width: 44px;
+  height: 12px;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  cursor: ns-resize;
+  touch-action: none;
+  z-index: 1;
+  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip::before {
+  content: "";
+  width: 26px;
+  height: 4px;
+  border-radius: 2px;
+  background: var(--muted);
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 1.5px var(--panel);
+  transition: background 0.12s, width 0.12s;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip:hover::before,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip:focus-visible::before,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip.is-dragging::before { background: var(--accent); width: 34px; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grip:focus { outline: none; }
+
+/* The smallest Send message tile (two grid rows, a 110px body): the compose
+   area tightens its padding, gaps and the box's one-line minimum so that two
+   rows of quick emoji keys still fit under the box. .sm-wrap is the size
+   container the height is measured against. */
+@container (max-height: 150px) {
+  [data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose { padding: 3px 10px; gap: 2px; }
+  [data-module="send-message"] .sm-input { padding: 4px 9px; line-height: 1.25; min-height: calc(1.25em + 10px); }
+}
+
+/* The Send button and the outcome icon sit right under the box, level with
+   the first row of keys; further rows of keys run on below them. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose-foot {
+  flex: none;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: flex-start;
+  gap: 8px;
+  min-height: 1.6em;
+  min-width: 0;
+}
+/* the outcome of a send, as an icon beside the Send button: a check (accent
+   — green on the default theme) or a blocked sign (danger), fading out as
+   its five seconds run down; the sentence is the tooltip. The slot keeps its
+   width while empty so the Send button never shifts. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-feedback {
+  flex: none;
+  width: 1.45em;
+  min-height: 2.1em; /* the Send button's height, so the icon centres on it */
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-countdown { align-self: center; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-feedback svg {
+  width: 1.45em;
+  height: 1.45em;
+  flex: none;
+  animation: sm-pop 0.18s ease-out, sm-fade 0.6s ease-in 4.4s forwards;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-feedback.is-ok { color: var(--accent); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-feedback.is-error { color: var(--danger); cursor: help; }
+/* the Quick replies foot has no Send button: the icon keeps to the right edge */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-compose-foot.is-quick { justify-content: flex-end; }
+@keyframes sm-pop {
+  from { transform: scale(0.6); opacity: 0; }
+  to { transform: none; opacity: 1; }
+}
+@keyframes sm-fade {
+  to { opacity: 0; }
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-countdown {
+  flex: none;
+  font-size: 0.75em;
+  color: var(--warn);
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-sendbtn {
+  flex: none;
+  padding: 6px 16px;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: var(--accent);
+  color: var(--accent-text);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-sendbtn:hover { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 85%, var(--text)); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-sendbtn:disabled { opacity: 0.6; cursor: default; }
+
+/* quick emojis: one press each sends it as a message of its own. The keys
+   take whatever room the foot has to the left of the outcome icon and the
+   Send button. As one row (the default) they scroll sideways when the tile
+   is narrow (trackpad, touch, or the wheel — client.js turns a vertical
+   wheel into a horizontal scroll) while Send keeps its place; with more
+   rows allotted from the grip they wrap, --sm-quick-rows rows tall. One key
+   is --sm-key square, so a row's pitch is --sm-key plus the 4px gap. */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow {
+  --sm-quick-rows: 1;
+  --sm-key: calc(2.31 * var(--sm-size));
+  flex: 1 1 auto;
+  display: flex;
+  gap: 4px;
+  min-width: var(--sm-key);
+  overflow-x: auto;
+  overflow-y: hidden;
+  overscroll-behavior-x: contain;
+  scrollbar-width: none;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow.is-multi {
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  align-content: flex-start;
+  height: calc(var(--sm-quick-rows) * var(--sm-key) + (var(--sm-quick-rows) - 1) * 4px);
+  overflow-x: hidden;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+  overscroll-behavior: contain;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow::-webkit-scrollbar { display: none; }
+/* more keys off one edge or the other: that edge fades out (client.js sets the classes) */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow.has-more { mask-image: linear-gradient(to right, #000 calc(100% - 16px), transparent); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow.has-less { mask-image: linear-gradient(to right, transparent, #000 16px); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow.has-less.has-more { mask-image: linear-gradient(to right, transparent, #000 16px, #000 calc(100% - 16px), transparent); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-sendrow:empty { display: none; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send {
+  flex: none;
+  width: var(--sm-key);
+  height: var(--sm-key);
+  padding: 0;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 8px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text) 5%, var(--panel));
+  color: var(--text);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: 1.1em;
+  line-height: 1;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  touch-action: manipulation;
+  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+  transition: background 0.1s, border-color 0.1s;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send:hover { border-color: var(--accent); background: var(--border); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--panel)); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send.is-busy { opacity: 0.6; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send.is-sent { background: var(--accent); border-color: transparent; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-char { font-size: 1em; line-height: 1; }
+/* a :code: or a word rather than one emoji: a wider pill of small text */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send.is-text {
+  width: auto;
+  max-width: 7em;
+  padding: 0 7px;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-emoji-send.is-text .sm-emoji-char {
+  font-size: 0.72em;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+/* the preset grid: big targets, labels wrap */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grid {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-height: 0;
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(min(150px, 100%), 1fr));
+  grid-auto-rows: minmax(44px, auto);
+  gap: 6px;
+  align-content: start;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-grid .sm-note { grid-column: 1 / -1; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick {
+  min-width: 0;
+  min-height: 44px;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  gap: 2px;
+  padding: 6px 10px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 10px;
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 12%, var(--panel));
+  color: var(--text);
+  font: inherit;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  line-height: 1.25;
+  text-align: center;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  touch-action: manipulation;
+  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+  transition: background 0.1s;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick:hover { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 22%, var(--panel)); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 40%, var(--panel)); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick.is-busy { opacity: 0.7; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick.is-sent {
+  background: var(--accent);
+  border-color: transparent;
+  color: var(--accent-text);
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick-label { overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick-chan {
+  font-size: 0.72em;
+  font-weight: 500;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+/* sent: the words step aside for a check, in the button itself */
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick { position: relative; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick-check {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  display: none;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick-check svg { width: 1.6em; height: 1.6em; animation: sm-pop 0.18s ease-out; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick.is-sent .sm-quick-label,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick.is-sent .sm-quick-chan { visibility: hidden; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-quick.is-sent .sm-quick-check { display: flex; }
+
+/* ── the Send as menu ──
+   The menu container is created and positioned by the shell (.tile-menu);
+   it hangs off the body under a [data-module] host, so scoping still applies. */
+
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu { min-width: 180px; max-height: min(60vh, 420px); overflow-y: auto; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-head {
+  padding: 6px 9px 2px;
+  font-size: 11px;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-head b { color: var(--text); font-weight: 700; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-head.is-error b { color: var(--danger); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-head.is-muted b { color: var(--muted); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-head + .sm-menu-head,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item + .sm-menu-head,
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-note + .sm-menu-head {
+  margin-top: 4px;
+  border-top: 1px solid var(--border);
+  padding-top: 8px;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-note {
+  padding: 4px 9px 6px;
+  font-size: 11px;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  max-width: 260px;
+  line-height: 1.35;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  width: 100%;
+  padding: 6px 9px;
+  background: none;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  color: var(--text);
+  font-size: 12px;
+  font-family: inherit;
+  text-align: left;
+  cursor: pointer;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item:hover { background: var(--border); }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item .check {
+  width: 14px;
+  flex: none;
+  color: var(--accent);
+  font-weight: 700;
+  visibility: hidden;
+}
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item.on .check { visibility: visible; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item.remembered .check { visibility: visible; color: var(--muted); opacity: 0.6; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item .name { font-weight: 600; }
+[data-module="send-message"] .sm-menu-item.on .name { color: var(--accent); }

modules/slack/module.json

@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 {
   "id": "slack",
   "name": "Slack",
-  "version": "1.2.1",
+  "version": "1.3.0",
   "proddash": ">=1.4.0",
-  "description": "Live transcripts of this location's Slack channels, plus PIN-protected sending as the location",
+  "description": "Live transcripts of this location's Slack channels; messages and reactions leave as the location through the Send Message module",
+  "provides": [
+    "messaging"
+  ],
   "client": "client.js",
   "server": "server.js",
   "style": "style.css",
@@ -18,14 +21,10 @@
   "configGroups": {
     "Slack account": {
       "collapsed": "whenSet",
-      "help": "Create a Slack app in the workspace (api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → From scratch) and, under OAuth & Permissions → User Token Scopes, add channels:history, channels:read, groups:history, groups:read, chat:write, users:read, reactions:write (emoji reactions) and emoji:read (the workspace's custom emoji). Sign in to Slack as this location's account — the one named for the campus — open the app's OAuth & Permissions page and press Install to Workspace (or Reinstall to Workspace), then copy the User OAuth Token (xoxp-…) it shows and paste it here: messages from this machine are then literally from the location. A bot token (xoxb-…) works too; it posts as the app, with \"Send as\" naming the location."
+      "help": "Create a Slack app in the workspace (api.slack.com/apps → Create New App → From scratch) and, under OAuth & Permissions → User Token Scopes, add channels:history, channels:read, groups:history, groups:read, chat:write, users:read, reactions:write (emoji reactions) and emoji:read (the workspace's custom emoji). Sign in to Slack as this location's account — the one named for the campus — open the app's OAuth & Permissions page and press Install to Workspace (or Reinstall to Workspace), then copy the User OAuth Token (xoxp-…) it shows and paste it here: messages sent from this machine through the Send Message module are then literally from the location. A bot token (xoxb-…) works too; it posts as the app, with \"Send as\" naming the location."
     },
     "Channels": {
-      "help": "Every channel picked here becomes its own transcript tile in the ＋ picker, titled with the channel's name. The Send message and Quick replies tiles post to whichever transcript was clicked last — its bottom edge lights up in the accent colour — and until one is clicked, to the first channel here whose transcript is on that dashboard: with a single transcript up, that one. A send never goes to a channel the dashboard is not showing. Only channels the account has joined are listed; join one in Slack first. Each channel is read on its own schedule, all of them together kept inside Slack's rate limit."
-    },
-    "Sending": {
-      "toggle": "sendEnabled",
-      "help": "Messages and emoji reactions leave this machine only after the PIN is entered — on a Send or Quick replies tile, or in the reaction menu a right-click on a transcript message opens. One PIN unlocks every Slack tile on that dashboard page until Auto-lock minutes pass without a send; a reload asks again. Sending stays refused until a 4–8 digit PIN is set here. A message goes to the channel of the transcript clicked last. Quick emojis are sent with one press from the Send message tile and offered first when reacting. Quick replies are one per line, Label | Message, with an optional | #channel-name to bind that one to a channel: a bound reply always goes there, whichever transcript is selected."
+      "help": "Every channel picked here becomes its own transcript tile in the ＋ picker, titled with the channel's name, and a destination the Send Message module's tiles can post to: a click on a transcript points them at its channel (its bottom edge lights up in the accent colour) — that is the only way a Slack channel is chosen; the Send as menu is for platforms that send as an identity. Only channels the account has joined are listed; join one in Slack first. Each channel is read on its own schedule, all of them together kept inside Slack's rate limit."
     }
   },
   "configSchema": {
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@
       "label": "Send as",
       "default": "",
       "group": "Slack account",
-      "help": "Only used with a bot token — a user token always sends as its own account; needs the chat:write.customize scope."
+      "help": "Only used with a bot token — a user token always sends as its own account; needs the chat:write.customize scope. Applies to messages the Send Message module posts through this account."
     },
     "channels": {
       "type": "multiselect",
@@ -49,7 +48,7 @@
       "default": [],
       "group": "Channels",
       "optionsRoute": "/channels",
-      "help": "One transcript tile per channel; until a transcript is clicked, sends go to the first channel here that the dashboard is actually showing. Only channels the account has joined are listed — join one in Slack first."
+      "help": "One transcript tile per channel, and one destination each for the Send Message module. Only channels the account has joined are listed — join one in Slack first."
     },
     "pollSeconds": {
       "type": "number",
@@ -69,39 +68,6 @@
       "label": "Thread replies",
       "default": false,
       "group": "Transcript"
-    },
-    "sendEnabled": {
-      "type": "switch",
-      "label": "Sending",
-      "default": false,
-      "group": "Sending"
-    },
-    "pin": {
-      "type": "password",
-      "label": "PIN",
-      "default": "",
-      "group": "Sending",
-      "help": "4–8 digits; the pad unlocks by itself once they are all in."
-    },
-    "pinIdleMinutes": {
-      "type": "number",
-      "label": "Auto-lock (min)",
-      "default": 10,
-      "group": "Sending"
-    },
-    "quickReplies": {
-      "type": "text",
-      "label": "Quick replies",
-      "default": "",
-      "group": "Sending",
-      "help": "One per line: Label | Message. Add | #channel-name to bind one to a channel — it then ignores which transcript is selected."
-    },
-    "quickEmojis": {
-      "type": "string",
-      "label": "Quick emojis",
-      "default": "👍 🙏 ✅ 👀 🎉",
-      "group": "Sending",
-      "help": "Emoji or :codes: separated by spaces, eight at most. One press sends one from the Send message tile; they also head the reaction menu."
     }
   },
   "instanceSchema": {

modules/slack/server.js

@@ -6,26 +6,29 @@
  * One Slack Web API connection per ProdDash machine — the campus's shared
  * location account (a user token), or a bot — polling the configured
  * channels' recent history (one poller per channel, all inside one rate
- * budget) and fanning the lot out to every tile over SSE, plus PIN-gated
- * sending from this machine so a message reads as coming from the location.
- * Browsers never talk to Slack; the token and the PIN stay here.
+ * budget) and fanning the lot out to every tile over SSE. Browsers never
+ * talk to Slack; the token stays here.
  *
- *   GET  /state      snapshot: identity, channels (keyed by id), sending state
+ * Sending is not this module's: the Send Message module owns the PIN, the
+ * send tiles and the quick replies, and hands a message to this module's
+ * POST /messaging/send over loopback, so it still leaves through this one
+ * connection, as the location. Every outbound action — a message, an emoji
+ * reaction from a transcript — carries that module's unlock token and is
+ * checked with it (GET /verify, over loopback) before Slack is asked. This
+ * module has no PIN of its own and cannot post without one entered there.
+ *
+ *   GET  /state           snapshot: identity, channels (keyed by id)
  *   GET  /stream          SSE `state` events (change-detected, heartbeated)
  *   GET  /channels        admin multiselect options — the channels the account is in
- *   POST /unlock     { pin } → { token, expiresAt }   (constant-time, lockout)
- *   POST /lock       Bearer → forget that unlock token
- *   GET  /quick      Bearer → preset labels + indexes (never the message text)
- *   POST /send       Bearer, { text, channel } → chat.postMessage
- *   POST /react      Bearer, { channel, ts, name, remove? } → reactions.add / .remove
+ *   GET  /messaging       the configured channels as destinations (the module guide's contract)
+ *   POST /messaging/send  Bearer (Send Message unlock), { destination, text } → chat.postMessage
+ *   POST /react           Bearer (Send Message unlock), { channel, ts, name, remove? } → reactions.add / .remove
  *   GET  /emoji           { standard: {code: emoji}, custom: {name: {url}|{char}}, version }
  *   GET  /emoji-image/<name>, GET /avatar/<u/USER|b/BOT>   images proxied from Slack's CDN
- *   POST /quick      Bearer, { index, channel } → post that preset
  *
- * `channel` on /send and /quick must be one of the configured channel ids
- * (400 otherwise): a PIN-unlocked browser chooses among the admin's channels,
- * never an arbitrary one. A quick reply with its own "| #channel" ignores the
- * request's channel — an explicit binding wins over the selection.
+ * `destination` / `channel` must be one of the configured channel ids (400
+ * otherwise): an unlocked browser chooses among the admin's channels, never
+ * an arbitrary one.
  *
  * Rate budget. Slack allows an internal app roughly 50+ conversations.history
  * calls a minute per token (Tier 3). The module keeps all its pollers under
@@ -46,8 +49,6 @@
  * tools/slack-mock.js for development.
  */
 
-const crypto = require('crypto');
-
 const DEFAULT_API_BASE = 'https://slack.com/api';
 const API_BASE = String(process.env.SLACK_API_BASE || DEFAULT_API_BASE).replace(/\/+$/, '');
 
@@ -92,14 +93,11 @@ const FIRST_READ_STAGGER_MS = 250;
 const MIN_SLOT_GAP_MS = 200;
 /** tiles() waits at most this long for the first conversations.info answers after boot. */
 const NAMES_WAIT_MS = 1500;
-const PIN_RE = /^\d{4,8}$/;
-const PIN_MAX_WRONG = 5;
-const PIN_LOCKOUT_MS = 30000;
-const SEND_MIN_INTERVAL_MS = 1000;
 const MAX_TEXT_CHARS = 4000;
 const BODY_LIMIT_BYTES = 64 * 1024;
 const DEFAULT_ICON = ':satellite_antenna:';
-const UNLOCK_SWEEP_MS = 30000;
+/** The module that owns the PIN and the unlock tokens — see verifyUnlock(). */
+const SENDER_ID = 'send-message';
 
 /** Set by init(), read by routes() and tiles() — all rebuilt together on remount. */
 let current = null;
@@ -238,7 +236,6 @@ const EMOJI_NAMES = require('./emoji.json').names;
 const EMOJI_CODE_RE = /^([a-z0-9_+-]{1,100})(?:::(skin-tone-[2-6]))?$/i;
 /** How long the workspace's custom emoji list is believed before emoji.list is asked again. */
 const EMOJI_LIST_TTL_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000;
-let emojiReverse = null; // character (variation selector stripped) → the name Slack knows it by
 
 /** The character for a standard code, '' for a custom or unknown one. */
 function emojiChar(code) {
@@ -250,45 +247,6 @@ function emojiChar(code) {
   return tone ? base.replace(/\uFE0F/g, '') + tone : base;
 }
 
-/** The short name for a character ('' if Slack has none) — a reaction needs the name, not the glyph. */
-function emojiName(char) {
-  if (!emojiReverse) {
-    emojiReverse = new Map();
-    for (const [name, ch] of Object.entries(EMOJI_NAMES)) {
-      if (name.startsWith('skin-tone-')) continue;
-      const key = ch.replace(/\uFE0F/g, '');
-      if (!emojiReverse.has(key)) emojiReverse.set(key, name); // keys are sorted: "+1" wins over "thumbsup"
-    }
-  }
-  const s = String(char || '').replace(/\uFE0F/g, '');
-  const tone = /[\u{1F3FB}-\u{1F3FF}]$/u.exec(s);
-  if (tone) {
-    const base = emojiReverse.get(s.slice(0, -tone[0].length));
-    const toneName = Object.keys(EMOJI_NAMES).find((n) => n.startsWith('skin-tone-') && EMOJI_NAMES[n] === tone[0]);
-    return base && toneName ? `${base}::${toneName}` : '';
-  }
-  return emojiReverse.get(s) || '';
-}
-
-/**
- * The admin's "Quick emojis" — "👍 🙏 :white_check_mark: :party_parrot:" →
- * [{ name, char }]. A standard emoji gets both; a custom code keeps its name
- * and no character (the browser draws the image); a glyph Slack has no name
- * for can be sent but not reacted with (name ''). Eight at most.
- */
-function parseQuickEmojis(text) {
-  const out = [];
-  for (const tok of String(text || '').split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean)) {
-    const code = /^:([^:\s]+(?:::skin-tone-[2-6])?):$/i.exec(tok);
-    if (code) {
-      const name = code[1].toLowerCase();
-      if (EMOJI_CODE_RE.test(name)) out.push({ name, char: emojiChar(name) });
-    } else out.push({ name: emojiName(tok), char: tok });
-    if (out.length >= 8) break;
-  }
-  return out;
-}
-
 /* Avatars and custom emoji are images on Slack's CDN; browsers only talk to
    ProdDash, so the module fetches them and keeps them a while. */
 const IMAGE_CACHE_MAX = 400;
@@ -453,38 +411,30 @@ function bearer(req) {
   return m ? m[1] : '';
 }
 
-function clientIp(req) {
-  return String(req.socket?.remoteAddress || '');
-}
-
-/** Constant-time PIN compare (lengths are folded in after the timing-safe step). */
-function pinMatches(given, expected) {
-  const a = Buffer.alloc(16);
-  const b = Buffer.alloc(16);
-  a.write(String(given).slice(0, 16));
-  b.write(String(expected).slice(0, 16));
-  const same = crypto.timingSafeEqual(a, b);
-  return same && given.length === expected.length;
-}
-
 /**
- * "Label | Message | #channel" per line. A line with no "|" is both its label
- * and its message; the channel (optional) is a name the account can see —
- * a reply that carries one always goes there, whatever transcript is selected.
+ * Is the unlock token on this request good? Only the Send Message module
+ * knows — it owns the PIN — so ask it over loopback. Answers { ok: true,
+ * expiresAt } or { ok: false, status, error, code } ready to send back.
  */
-function parseQuickReplies(text) {
-  const out = [];
-  for (const rawLine of String(text || '').split(/\r?\n/)) {
-    const line = rawLine.trim();
-    if (!line) continue;
-    const parts = line.split('|').map((p) => p.trim());
-    const label = parts[0];
-    const message = parts.length > 1 && parts[1] ? parts[1] : label;
-    const channel = parts.length > 2 ? parts[2].replace(/^#/, '') : '';
-    if (!label || !message) continue;
-    out.push({ label, message, channel });
+async function verifyUnlock(req, shellPort) {
+  const token = bearer(req);
+  if (!token) return { ok: false, status: 401, error: 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: 'locked' };
+  if (!shellPort) return { ok: false, status: 503, error: 'This ProdDash cannot verify a PIN (needs 1.4.0 or newer)', code: 'no_shell_port' };
+  let res;
+  try {
+    res = await fetch(`http://127.0.0.1:${shellPort}/api/modules/${SENDER_ID}/verify`, {
+      headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}`, Accept: 'application/json' },
+      signal: AbortSignal.timeout(5000),
+    });
+  } catch (err) {
+    return { ok: false, status: 502, error: `Cannot reach the Send Message module (${err.cause?.code || err.message})`, code: 'sender_unreachable' };
   }
-  return out;
+  if (res.status === 404) return { ok: false, status: 503, error: 'Install the Send Message module to send or react from a dashboard', code: 'no_sender' };
+  let body = {};
+  try { body = await res.json(); } catch { /* a non-JSON refusal */ }
+  if (res.status === 401 || body?.ok === false) return { ok: false, status: 401, error: body?.error || 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: body?.code || 'locked' };
+  if (!res.ok) return { ok: false, status: 502, error: `Send Message module answered HTTP ${res.status}`, code: 'sender_error' };
+  return { ok: true, expiresAt: Number(body?.expiresAt) || 0 };
 }
 
 const SYSTEM_SUBTYPES = new Set([
@@ -497,8 +447,9 @@ const SYSTEM_SUBTYPES = new Set([
 /* ── the module ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 module.exports = {
-  init({ config, log }) {
+  init({ config, log, shell }) {
     /* ── config ── */
+    const shellPort = Number(shell && shell.port) || 0;
     const token = String(config.token || '').trim();
     const sendAs = String(config.sendAs || '').trim();
     const channelIds = configuredChannels(config);
@@ -508,12 +459,6 @@ module.exports = {
     const historyCount = Math.min(HISTORY_MAX, Math.max(HISTORY_MIN, Math.trunc(Number(config.historyCount)) || 40));
     const includeReplies = Boolean(config.includeReplies);
     const threadFetchesPerPoll = Math.max(1, Math.floor(THREAD_FETCHES_PER_POLL / Math.max(1, channelIds.length)));
-    const sendEnabled = Boolean(config.sendEnabled);
-    const pin = String(config.pin || '').trim();
-    const pinOk = PIN_RE.test(pin);
-    const idleMs = Math.min(240, Math.max(1, Number(config.pinIdleMinutes) || 10)) * 60 * 1000;
-    const quickReplies = parseQuickReplies(config.quickReplies);
-    const quickEmojis = parseQuickEmojis(config.quickEmojis);
 
     /* ── state (all inside this closure so a re-init starts clean) ── */
     let stopped = false;
@@ -531,8 +476,6 @@ module.exports = {
     let lastInterest = Date.now();
     const epoch = Date.now();   // the phase-locked slots count from here
     const streams = new Set();
-    const unlocks = new Map();     // token -> { expiresAt, lastSendAt, ip }
-    const pinAttempts = new Map(); // ip -> { count, lockedUntil }
 
     /**
      * One channel's poller: its own window, thread cache, timer and error,
@@ -724,21 +667,6 @@ module.exports = {
       }
     }
 
-    /** "#name" or a channel id → the channel id, or '' when the account can't see it. */
-    async function resolveChannelRef(ref) {
-      const s = String(ref || '').trim();
-      if (!s) return '';
-      if (/^[CG][A-Z0-9]{6,}$/.test(s)) return s;
-      const name = s.replace(/^#/, '').toLowerCase();
-      let list = await loadChannelList();
-      let hit = list.find((c) => c.name.toLowerCase() === name);
-      if (!hit) {
-        list = await loadChannelList(true);
-        hit = list.find((c) => c.name.toLowerCase() === name);
-      }
-      return hit ? hit.id : '';
-    }
-
     /* ── normalisation ── */
     function nameFor(m) {
       if (m.subtype === 'bot_message' && m.username) return String(m.username);
@@ -845,7 +773,7 @@ module.exports = {
       return { state: 'ok', message: `${labelOf(ch)} · live` };
     }
 
-    /** The admin health line: who, which channels, what's wrong, sending. */
+    /** The admin health line: who, which channels, what's wrong. */
     function health() {
       if (!token) return { status: 'error', message: 'No Slack token — paste the location account’s User OAuth Token in Admin → Slack' };
       if (authError) return { status: 'error', message: authError };
@@ -854,9 +782,8 @@ module.exports = {
       const list = [...pollers.values()];
       if (!list.length) return { status: 'error', message: `${who} · pick channels in Admin → Slack → Channels` };
       const names = list.map(labelOf).join(', ');
-      const sending = !sendEnabled ? 'sending off' : !pinOk ? 'sending on — set a 4–8 digit PIN' : 'sending on';
       const problems = [...new Set(list.filter((ch) => ch.error).map((ch) => (ch.error.includes(labelOf(ch)) ? ch.error : `${labelOf(ch)}: ${ch.error}`)))];
-      if (problems.length) return { status: 'error', message: `${who} · ${names} · ${problems.join(' · ')} · ${sending}` };
+      if (problems.length) return { status: 'error', message: `${who} · ${names} · ${problems.join(' · ')}` };
       if (list.some((ch) => !ch.lastPollAt)) return { status: 'connecting', message: `${who} · ${names} · first read…` };
       const stale = list.filter(isStale);
       if (stale.length) {
@@ -864,7 +791,7 @@ module.exports = {
         return { status: 'connecting', message: `${who} · ${names} · ${ago}` };
       }
       const cadence = intervalMs > pollMs ? ` · every ${intervalMs / 1000} s (rate budget)` : '';
-      return { status: 'ok', message: `${who} · ${names}${cadence} · ${sending}` };
+      return { status: 'ok', message: `${who} · ${names}${cadence}` };
     }
 
     function channelView(ch) {
@@ -899,10 +826,6 @@ module.exports = {
         includeReplies,
         historyCount,
         pollSeconds: intervalMs / 1000,
-        sending: { enabled: sendEnabled, pinSet: pinOk, idleMinutes: idleMs / 60000 },
-        // the pad submits by itself once this many digits are in (never the PIN)
-        pinLength: pinOk ? pin.length : 0,
-        quickEmojis,
         emojiVersion,
         status: { state: h.status, message: h.message, lastPollAt },
         apiBase: API_BASE,
@@ -1135,58 +1058,18 @@ module.exports = {
       ]);
     }
 
-    /* ── unlock tokens ── */
-    function sweepUnlocks() {
-      const now = Date.now();
-      for (const [t, u] of unlocks) if (u.expiresAt <= now) unlocks.delete(t);
-      for (const [ip, a] of pinAttempts) if (a.lockedUntil && a.lockedUntil <= now && !a.count) pinAttempts.delete(ip);
-    }
-
-    /** The unlock behind a request, or null (the client re-asks for the PIN). */
-    function unlockFor(req) {
-      const t = bearer(req);
-      const u = t ? unlocks.get(t) : null;
-      if (!u) return null;
-      if (u.expiresAt <= Date.now()) {
-        unlocks.delete(t);
-        return null;
-      }
-      return { token: t, ...u };
-    }
-
-    /** Everything a send needs before Slack is asked; answers the response itself when refusing. */
-    function sendGate(req, res) {
-      if (!sendEnabled) {
-        sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Sending is off — turn it on in Admin → Slack → Sending', code: 'sending_off' });
-        return null;
-      }
-      if (!pinOk) {
-        sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Set a PIN in Admin → Slack → Sending', code: 'no_pin' });
-        return null;
-      }
-      const u = unlockFor(req);
-      if (!u) {
-        sendJson(res, 401, { error: 'Locked — enter the PIN', code: 'locked' });
-        return null;
-      }
-      return u;
-    }
-
     /**
-     * The channel a browser asked to post to. Only a configured channel id is
-     * accepted — the selection is a choice among the admin's channels, never
-     * a way to reach some other one. Nothing asked for → the first configured.
+     * The channel a browser (or the Send Message module) asked to post to.
+     * Only a configured channel id is accepted — the selection is a choice
+     * among the admin's channels, never a way to reach some other one.
      */
     function chooseTarget(requested) {
       const s = String(requested ?? '').trim();
-      if (s) {
+      if (!s) return { error: 'Which channel?' };
       if (pollers.has(s)) return { id: s };
       const name = lookupChannel(s);
       return { error: `${name ? `#${name}` : s} isn't one of the configured channels — pick it in Admin → Slack → Channels` };
     }
-      if (!channelIds.length) return { error: 'No channel configured — pick channels in Admin → Slack → Channels' };
-      return { id: channelIds[0] };
-    }
 
     async function postMessage(targetChannelId, text) {
       const params = { channel: targetChannelId, text };
@@ -1197,17 +1080,30 @@ module.exports = {
       return slackCall(token, 'chat.postMessage', params, { json: true });
     }
 
+    /** What the Send Message module may send to: the configured channels, as destinations. */
+    function messagingDescriptor() {
+      const h = health();
+      return {
+        label: 'Slack',
+        identity: sendingAs(),
+        destinationRole: 'recipient', // a channel is where a message goes, not who sends it
+        status: { state: h.status, message: h.message },
+        destinations: channelIds.map((id) => ({ id, label: `#${lookupChannel(id) || id}` })),
+        maxChars: MAX_TEXT_CHARS,
+      };
+    }
+
     /**
-     * Add or remove a reaction on behalf of an unlock — the same gate as a
-     * send, since it is the location's name on it. The message's channel must
-     * be one of the configured ones. `already_reacted` / `no_reaction` count
-     * as done: Slack already holds the state that was asked for.
+     * Add or remove a reaction on behalf of a verified unlock — the same
+     * gate as a send, since it is the location's name on it. The message's
+     * channel must be one of the configured ones. `already_reacted` /
+     * `no_reaction` count as done: Slack already holds the state asked for.
      */
-    async function react(req, res, unlock, { channel, ts, name, remove }) {
+    async function react(req, res, verified, { channel, ts, name, remove }) {
       if (!identity || authError) {
         return sendJson(res, 502, { error: authError || 'Slack token not checked yet — try again in a moment' });
       }
-      const target = String(channel ?? '').trim() ? chooseTarget(channel) : { error: 'Which channel?' };
+      const target = chooseTarget(channel);
       if (target.error) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_channel' });
       const stamp = String(ts ?? '').trim();
       if (!/^\d{1,16}\.\d{1,9}$/.test(stamp)) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Which message?' });
@@ -1225,52 +1121,30 @@ module.exports = {
           return sendJson(res, status, { error: message, code: err.code });
         }
       }
-      const u = unlocks.get(unlock.token);
-      if (u) u.expiresAt = Date.now() + idleMs;
       log(`${remove ? 'removed' : 'added'} :${code}: on ${stamp} in #${targetName} as ${sendingAs()}`);
       if (pollers.has(target.id)) pollSoon(pollers.get(target.id));
-      return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, expiresAt: u ? u.expiresAt : unlock.expiresAt, channel: `#${targetName}` });
+      return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, expiresAt: verified.expiresAt, channel: `#${targetName}` });
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Post on behalf of an unlock; answers the response. `targetId` is an
-     * already-validated configured channel; `presetChannel` (a quick reply's
-     * own "| #channel") overrides it.
-     */
-    async function deliver(req, res, unlock, { text, targetId, presetChannel = '', what }) {
-      const now = Date.now();
-      if (now - unlock.lastSendAt < SEND_MIN_INTERVAL_MS) {
-        return sendJson(res, 429, { error: 'One message per second — try again', code: 'too_fast' });
-      }
-      unlocks.get(unlock.token).lastSendAt = now;
+    /** Post to an already-validated configured channel; answers the response. */
+    async function deliver(req, res, verified, { text, targetId, what }) {
       if (!identity || authError) {
         return sendJson(res, 502, { error: authError || 'Slack token not checked yet — try again in a moment' });
       }
-      let target = targetId || '';
-      if (presetChannel) {
+      const targetName = lookupChannel(targetId) || targetId;
       try {
-          target = await resolveChannelRef(presetChannel);
-        } catch (err) {
-          return sendJson(res, 502, { error: describeError(err, { name: identity.name, channel: presetChannel }) });
-        }
-        if (!target) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `No channel named #${String(presetChannel).replace(/^#/, '')} that ${identity.name} can see` });
-      }
-      if (!target) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'No channel configured — pick channels in Admin → Slack → Channels' });
-      const targetName = lookupChannel(target) || target;
-      try {
-        const data = await postMessage(target, text);
-        const u = unlocks.get(unlock.token);
-        if (u) u.expiresAt = Date.now() + idleMs;
+        const data = await postMessage(targetId, text);
         const preview = text.replace(/\s+/g, ' ').slice(0, 60);
         log(`${what} → #${targetName} as ${sendingAs()}: "${preview}${text.length > 60 ? '…' : ''}"`);
-        if (pollers.has(target)) pollSoon(pollers.get(target));
+        if (pollers.has(targetId)) pollSoon(pollers.get(targetId));
         return sendJson(res, 200, {
           ok: true,
           ts: String(data.ts || ''),
+          label: `#${targetName}`,
           channel: `#${targetName}`,
-          channelId: target,
+          channelId: targetId,
           sendingAs: sendingAs(),
-          expiresAt: u ? u.expiresAt : unlock.expiresAt,
+          expiresAt: verified.expiresAt,
         });
       } catch (err) {
         const message = describeError(err, { name: sendingAs() || identity.name, channel: targetName });
@@ -1290,12 +1164,9 @@ module.exports = {
       }
     }, HEARTBEAT_MS);
     heartbeat.unref?.();
-    const sweeper = setInterval(sweepUnlocks, UNLOCK_SWEEP_MS);
-    sweeper.unref?.();
 
     if (!token) log('no Slack token configured — paste one in /admin');
     else {
-      if (sendEnabled && !pinOk) log('sending is on but no valid PIN (4–8 digits) is set — send tiles stay locked');
       if (!channelIds.length) log('no channels configured — pick some in /admin → Slack → Channels');
       else {
         if (!Array.isArray(config.channels) || !config.channels.length) {
@@ -1311,8 +1182,8 @@ module.exports = {
       streams,
       snapshot,
       health,
-      quickReplies,
-      sendGate,
+      shellPort,
+      messagingDescriptor,
       deliver,
       react,
       /** Everything a tile needs to draw emoji: the shipped table plus the workspace's own. */
@@ -1331,7 +1202,6 @@ module.exports = {
         if (kind === 'b') return botIcons.get(id) || '';
         return '';
       },
-      unlockFor,
       chooseTarget,
       namesReady,
       touch() { lastInterest = Date.now(); },
@@ -1347,44 +1217,8 @@ module.exports = {
       loadChannelList,
       channelIds,
       channelName: (id) => lookupChannel(id),
-      pinOk,
-      sendEnabled,
       identityName: () => identity?.name || '',
       sendingAs,
-      unlock(req, res, given) {
-        if (!sendEnabled) return sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Sending is off — turn it on in Admin → Slack → Sending', code: 'sending_off' });
-        if (!pinOk) return sendJson(res, 403, { error: 'Set a PIN in Admin → Slack → Sending', code: 'no_pin' });
-        const ip = clientIp(req);
-        const now = Date.now();
-        let a = pinAttempts.get(ip);
-        if (a && a.lockedUntil > now) {
-          const secs = Math.ceil((a.lockedUntil - now) / 1000);
-          return sendJson(res, 429, { error: `Too many wrong PINs — locked for ${secs} s`, code: 'lockout', retryAfter: secs });
-        }
-        if (a && a.lockedUntil && a.lockedUntil <= now) a = null; // lockout served — clean slate
-        const str = String(given ?? '');
-        if (!PIN_RE.test(str) || !pinMatches(str, pin)) {
-          const count = (a ? a.count : 0) + 1;
-          if (count >= PIN_MAX_WRONG) {
-            pinAttempts.set(ip, { count: 0, lockedUntil: now + PIN_LOCKOUT_MS });
-            log(`wrong PIN ×${PIN_MAX_WRONG} from ${ip} — locked for ${PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000} s`);
-            return sendJson(res, 429, { error: `Wrong PIN — locked for ${PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000} s`, code: 'lockout', retryAfter: PIN_LOCKOUT_MS / 1000 });
-          }
-          pinAttempts.set(ip, { count, lockedUntil: 0 });
-          return sendJson(res, 401, { error: 'Wrong PIN', code: 'wrong_pin', triesLeft: PIN_MAX_WRONG - count });
-        }
-        pinAttempts.delete(ip);
-        const t = crypto.randomBytes(32).toString('hex');
-        const expiresAt = now + idleMs;
-        unlocks.set(t, { expiresAt, lastSendAt: 0, ip });
-        log(`unlocked from ${ip} (auto-lock after ${idleMs / 60000} min idle)`);
-        return sendJson(res, 200, { token: t, expiresAt, idleMs, sendingAs: sendingAs() });
-      },
-      lock(req, res) {
-        const t = bearer(req);
-        if (t) unlocks.delete(t);
-        return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true });
-      },
     };
 
     return {
@@ -1398,8 +1232,6 @@ module.exports = {
           }
         }
         clearInterval(heartbeat);
-        clearInterval(sweeper);
-        unlocks.clear(); // an admin Apply locks every send tile
         for (const res of streams) {
           try { res.end(); } catch { /* already gone */ }
         }
@@ -1412,16 +1244,17 @@ module.exports = {
 
   /**
    * The picker: one transcript per configured channel, titled with the
-   * channel's name (the shell makes the entry's name the tile's title), then
-   * the two send surfaces, one of each per dashboard. Between init() and a
-   * poller's first answer a name may still be unknown — "#<id>" then.
+   * channel's name (the shell makes the entry's name the tile's title).
+   * Between init() and a poller's first answer a name may still be unknown
+   * — "#<id>" then. The send surfaces that used to follow here are the Send
+   * Message module's since 1.3.0; a layout's old Send message / Quick
+   * replies tiles draw nothing until they are removed.
    */
   async tiles({ config }) {
     const c = current;
     const ids = c ? c.channelIds : configuredChannels(config || {});
     if (c) await c.namesReady();
-    const who = c?.sendingAs() ? ` as ${c.sendingAs()}` : '';
-    const entries = ids.map((id) => ({
+    return ids.map((id) => ({
       id: `transcript:${id}`,
       name: `#${(c && c.channelName(id)) || id}`,
       description: 'Live transcript',
@@ -1429,27 +1262,6 @@ module.exports = {
       minSize: { w: 2, h: 2 },
       settings: { view: 'transcript', channel: id },
     }));
-    entries.push(
-      {
-        id: 'send',
-        name: 'Send message',
-        description: `PIN-protected message to the transcript clicked last${who}`,
-        single: true,
-        defaultSize: { w: 3, h: 3 },
-        minSize: { w: 2, h: 2 },
-        settings: { view: 'send' },
-      },
-      {
-        id: 'quick',
-        name: 'Quick replies',
-        description: `PIN-protected preset buttons${who}`,
-        single: true,
-        defaultSize: { w: 3, h: 2 },
-        minSize: { w: 2, h: 1 },
-        settings: { view: 'quick' },
-      },
-    );
-    return entries;
   },
 
   routes() {
@@ -1498,22 +1310,6 @@ module.exports = {
         }
       }),
 
-      'POST /unlock': guard(async (req, res) => {
-        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        let body;
-        try {
-          body = await readJson(req);
-        } catch (err) {
-          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
-        }
-        current.unlock(req, res, body.pin);
-      }),
-
-      'POST /lock': (req, res) => {
-        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        current.lock(req, res);
-      },
-
       // The emoji a tile may need to draw — fetched once per page, again when the version bumps.
       'GET /emoji': (req, res) => {
         if (!current) return unmounted(res);
@@ -1530,35 +1326,19 @@ module.exports = {
         await serveImage(res, current.avatarUrl(decodeURIComponent(String(req.wildcard || '').replace(/^\/+/, ''))));
       }),
 
-      // A reaction as the location — PIN-gated like a send.
-      'POST /react': guard(async (req, res) => {
+      // The Send Message module reads this over loopback: where it may send.
+      'GET /messaging': (req, res) => {
         if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
-        if (!unlock) return;
-        let body;
-        try {
-          body = await readJson(req);
-        } catch (err) {
-          return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
-        }
-        await current.react(req, res, unlock, { channel: body.channel, ts: body.ts, name: body.name, remove: Boolean(body.remove) });
-      }),
-
-      // Labels and indexes only — the message text never leaves the server.
-      'GET /quick': (req, res) => {
-        if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
-        if (!unlock) return;
-        sendJson(res, 200, {
-          presets: current.quickReplies.map((q, index) => ({ index, label: q.label, channel: q.channel ? `#${q.channel}` : '' })),
-          expiresAt: unlock.expiresAt,
-        });
+        sendJson(res, 200, current.messagingDescriptor());
       },
 
-      'POST /send': guard(async (req, res) => {
+      // …and hands a message here, with the browser's unlock token. The token
+      // is checked with the Send Message module first: no PIN entered there,
+      // nothing is posted.
+      'POST /messaging/send': guard(async (req, res) => {
         if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
-        if (!unlock) return;
+        const v = await verifyUnlock(req, current.shellPort);
+        if (!v.ok) return sendJson(res, v.status, { error: v.error, code: v.code });
         let body;
         try {
           body = await readJson(req);
@@ -1568,34 +1348,23 @@ module.exports = {
         const text = String(body.text ?? '').replace(/\r\n/g, '\n').trim();
         if (!text) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Nothing to send' });
         if (text.length > MAX_TEXT_CHARS) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `Too long — ${MAX_TEXT_CHARS} characters at most` });
-        const target = current.chooseTarget(body.channel);
-        if (target.error) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_channel' });
-        await current.deliver(req, res, unlock, { text, targetId: target.id, what: 'sent' });
+        const target = current.chooseTarget(body.destination ?? body.channel);
+        if (target.error) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_destination' });
+        await current.deliver(req, res, v, { text, targetId: target.id, what: 'sent' });
       }),
 
-      'POST /quick': guard(async (req, res) => {
+      // A reaction as the location — the same unlock as a send.
+      'POST /react': guard(async (req, res) => {
         if (!current) return unmounted(res);
-        const unlock = current.sendGate(req, res);
-        if (!unlock) return;
+        const v = await verifyUnlock(req, current.shellPort);
+        if (!v.ok) return sendJson(res, v.status, { error: v.error, code: v.code });
         let body;
         try {
           body = await readJson(req);
         } catch (err) {
           return sendJson(res, 400, { error: err.message });
         }
-        const index = Math.trunc(Number(body.index));
-        const preset = Number.isInteger(index) ? current.quickReplies[index] : null;
-        if (!preset) return sendJson(res, 404, { error: 'No such quick reply — the list may have changed in Admin' });
-        // A channel the browser names is checked even when the preset's own
-        // binding is about to override it — an unconfigured id is never accepted.
-        const target = current.chooseTarget(body.channel);
-        if (target.error && (body.channel || !preset.channel)) return sendJson(res, 400, { error: target.error, code: 'bad_channel' });
-        await current.deliver(req, res, unlock, {
-          text: preset.message,
-          targetId: target.id || '',
-          presetChannel: preset.channel,
-          what: `quick reply "${preset.label}"`,
-        });
+        await current.react(req, res, v, { channel: body.channel, ts: body.ts, name: body.name, remove: Boolean(body.remove) });
       }),
     };
   },

modules/slack/style.css

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 /* Slack module — scoped to its tiles, shell variables only.
    --sl-size (per tile, from the header's A− / A+) drives every font size.
    Transcript rows follow the ProdCom transcript's layout: a square picture,
-   then a name line with the time, the text, the reactions. */
+   then a name line with the time, the text, the reactions. The send tiles
+   and the PIN pad moved to the Send Message module in 1.3.0. */
 
 [data-module="slack"] .sl-wrap {
   --sl-size: 14px;
@@ -34,8 +35,8 @@
 
 /* ── the send target ── */
 
-/* A click anywhere in a transcript's body makes its channel the one Send
-   message and Quick replies post to. The chosen one carries a 3px accent
+/* A click anywhere in a transcript's body makes its channel the one the
+   Send Message module's tiles post to. The chosen one carries a 3px accent
    stripe along the bottom edge of the tile body — drawn just inside our
    root, since the tile chrome around it belongs to the shell. The others
    hint at it faintly on hover. */
@@ -279,307 +280,6 @@
   box-shadow: 0 4px 14px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.35);
 }
 
-/* ── send / quick replies: the gate ── */
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-gate,
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-compose {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-height: 0;
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  padding: 6px 10px;
-  overflow: auto;
-}
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-note {
-  margin: auto;
-  padding: 10px;
-  text-align: center;
-  color: var(--muted);
-  font-size: 0.9em;
-  line-height: 1.45;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-note.is-error { color: var(--danger); }
-
-/* The pad never shrinks below its content (min-height stays `auto` on it
-   and on the key grid) — a shrunken grid would spill its rows under the
-   message line, which then swallows the taps. A tile too short for it
-   scrolls instead (.sl-gate has overflow: auto). */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad {
-  flex: 1 1 auto;
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  gap: 4px;
-  max-width: 340px;
-  width: 100%;
-  margin: 0 auto;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad.sl-shake { animation: sl-shake 0.4s ease; }
-@keyframes sl-shake {
-  10%, 90% { transform: translateX(-2px); }
-  20%, 80% { transform: translateX(3px); }
-  30%, 50%, 70% { transform: translateX(-5px); }
-  40%, 60% { transform: translateX(5px); }
-}
-
-/* one line: "Enter PIN · sending as Apollo Beach → #production" */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad-head {
-  flex: none;
-  text-align: center;
-  font-size: 0.8em;
-  color: var(--muted);
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad-head b { font-weight: 700; color: var(--text); }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-dots {
-  flex: none;
-  display: flex;
-  justify-content: center;
-  gap: 8px;
-  height: 14px;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-dot {
-  width: 11px;
-  height: 11px;
-  border-radius: 50%;
-  border: 2px solid var(--muted);
-  transition: background 0.12s, border-color 0.12s;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-dot.on { background: var(--accent); border-color: var(--accent); }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-keys {
-  flex: 1 1 auto;
-  display: grid;
-  grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr);
-  grid-template-rows: repeat(4, minmax(24px, 1fr));
-  gap: 4px;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key {
-  min-width: 0;
-  min-height: 24px;
-  border: 1px solid var(--border);
-  border-radius: 10px;
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text) 5%, var(--panel));
-  color: var(--text);
-  font: inherit;
-  font-size: clamp(13px, 9cqh, 26px);
-  font-weight: 600;
-  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  justify-content: center;
-  touch-action: manipulation;
-  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
-  transition: background 0.1s;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key:hover { background: var(--border); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--panel)); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key svg { width: 1.1em; height: 1.1em; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key-back { color: var(--muted); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-key-blank { visibility: hidden; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad.is-busy .sl-keys { opacity: 0.6; pointer-events: none; }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad-msg {
-  flex: none;
-  min-height: 1.1em;
-  text-align: center;
-  font-size: 0.78em;
-  line-height: 1.1;
-  color: var(--muted);
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad-msg.is-error { color: var(--danger); font-weight: 600; }
-
-/* A tile too short for the keypad (the smallest Send message / Quick replies
-   tiles) shows the dots and a hint instead — digits typed on the keyboard
-   still land, and a taller tile brings the keys back. .sl-wrap is the size
-   container the height is measured against. */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-pad-hint {
-  display: none;
-  flex: none;
-  text-align: center;
-  font-size: 0.78em;
-  line-height: 1.3;
-  color: var(--muted);
-}
-@container (max-height: 176px) {
-  [data-module="slack"] .sl-pad .sl-keys { display: none; }
-  [data-module="slack"] .sl-pad .sl-pad-hint { display: block; }
-  [data-module="slack"] .sl-pad { justify-content: center; }
-}
-
-/* ── send / quick replies: unlocked ── */
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-compose { gap: 6px; }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-compose-head {
-  flex: none;
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: baseline;
-  justify-content: space-between;
-  gap: 8px;
-  font-size: 0.8em;
-  color: var(--muted);
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-sending {
-  min-width: 0;
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-lock-link {
-  flex: none;
-  padding: 1px 8px;
-  border: 1px solid var(--border);
-  border-radius: 999px;
-  background: none;
-  color: var(--muted);
-  font: inherit;
-  font-size: 0.9em;
-  cursor: pointer;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-lock-link:hover { color: var(--text); background: var(--border); }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-input {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-height: 2.6em;
-  width: 100%;
-  resize: none;
-  padding: 7px 9px;
-  border: 1px solid var(--border);
-  border-radius: 8px;
-  background: var(--bg);
-  color: var(--text);
-  font: inherit;
-  line-height: 1.4;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-input:focus { outline: none; border-color: var(--accent); }
-
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-compose-foot {
-  flex: none;
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  gap: 8px;
-  min-height: 1.6em;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-msg {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-width: 0;
-  font-size: 0.8em;
-  color: var(--muted);
-  overflow: hidden;
-  text-overflow: ellipsis;
-  white-space: nowrap;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-msg.is-flash { color: var(--accent); font-weight: 700; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-msg.is-error { color: var(--danger); white-space: normal; font-weight: 600; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-countdown {
-  flex: none;
-  font-size: 0.75em;
-  color: var(--warn);
-  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-sendbtn {
-  flex: none;
-  padding: 6px 16px;
-  border: none;
-  border-radius: 8px;
-  background: var(--accent);
-  color: var(--accent-text);
-  font: inherit;
-  font-weight: 700;
-  cursor: pointer;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-sendbtn:hover { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 85%, var(--text)); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-sendbtn:disabled { opacity: 0.6; cursor: default; }
-
-/* quick emojis: one press each sends it as a message of its own */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-sendrow {
-  flex: none;
-  display: flex;
-  gap: 4px;
-  min-width: 0;
-  overflow: hidden;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send {
-  flex: none;
-  width: 2.1em;
-  height: 2.1em;
-  padding: 0;
-  border: 1px solid var(--border);
-  border-radius: 8px;
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text) 5%, var(--panel));
-  color: var(--text);
-  font: inherit;
-  font-size: 1.1em;
-  line-height: 1;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  display: flex;
-  align-items: center;
-  justify-content: center;
-  touch-action: manipulation;
-  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
-  transition: background 0.1s, border-color 0.1s;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send:hover { border-color: var(--accent); background: var(--border); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 30%, var(--panel)); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send.is-busy { opacity: 0.6; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send.is-sent { background: var(--accent); border-color: transparent; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-send .sl-emoji { width: 1.2em; height: 1.2em; vertical-align: middle; }
-
-/* the preset grid: big targets, labels wrap */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-grid {
-  flex: 1;
-  min-height: 0;
-  display: grid;
-  grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(min(150px, 100%), 1fr));
-  grid-auto-rows: minmax(44px, auto);
-  gap: 6px;
-  align-content: start;
-  overflow-y: auto;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-grid .sl-note { grid-column: 1 / -1; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick {
-  min-width: 0;
-  min-height: 44px;
-  display: flex;
-  flex-direction: column;
-  align-items: center;
-  justify-content: center;
-  gap: 2px;
-  padding: 6px 10px;
-  border: 1px solid var(--border);
-  border-radius: 10px;
-  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 12%, var(--panel));
-  color: var(--text);
-  font: inherit;
-  font-weight: 600;
-  line-height: 1.25;
-  text-align: center;
-  cursor: pointer;
-  touch-action: manipulation;
-  -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
-  transition: background 0.1s;
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick:hover { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 22%, var(--panel)); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick:active { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 40%, var(--panel)); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick.is-busy { opacity: 0.7; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick.is-sent {
-  background: var(--accent);
-  border-color: transparent;
-  color: var(--accent-text);
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick-label { overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick-chan {
-  font-size: 0.72em;
-  font-weight: 500;
-  color: var(--muted);
-}
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-quick.is-sent .sl-quick-chan { color: inherit; }
-
 /* ── the reaction menu (on document.body, so nothing clips it) ── */
 
 [data-module="slack"].sl-emoji-menu {
@@ -671,7 +371,17 @@
 [data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-msg:empty { display: none; }
 [data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-msg.is-error { color: var(--danger); font-weight: 600; }
 
-/* the PIN pad inside the menu: fixed sizes, no tile to scale with */
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-menu .sl-pad { max-width: 100%; gap: 6px; }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-menu .sl-keys { grid-template-rows: repeat(4, 40px); }
-[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-menu .sl-key { font-size: 17px; }
+/* locked: the PIN is entered in the Send Message module's tile, not here */
+[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-locked {
+  padding: 4px 2px 2px;
+  font-size: 0.86em;
+  line-height: 1.4;
+  color: var(--muted);
+}
+[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-locked b { color: var(--text); font-weight: 700; }
+[data-module="slack"] .sl-emoji-reason {
+  display: block;
+  margin-top: 4px;
+  color: var(--warn);
+  font-size: 0.9em;
+}

modules/spl-meter/module.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "spl-meter",
   "name": "SPL Meter",
-  "version": "0.4.3",
+  "version": "0.5.0",
   "proddash": ">=1.5.0",
   "description": "Calibrated sound level, Leq and RTA from an audio input on this machine",
   "permissions": [

modules/spl-meter/native/build.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+# Build this module's native helper for every macOS architecture it ships —
+#   ../bin/spl-capture-macos-arm64 and ../bin/spl-capture-macos-x86_64 —
+# from spl-capture.swift beside this script. Run it on any Mac with the
+# Xcode command line tools; both architectures cross-compile from either.
+# The binaries are committed: a machine running ProdDash never builds
+# anything (docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md, "Native helpers").
+#
+# Signed with a Developer ID Application certificate when one is installed
+# (override with CODESIGN_IDENTITY) — hardened runtime plus the audio-input
+# entitlement, which a helper that reads a microphone needs under the
+# hardened runtime — and ad-hoc otherwise, which is fine on your own Macs.
+#
+# Windows is not built here: there is no Windows implementation of this
+# tool yet, so on Windows the module reports measurement off.
+set -e -u
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+NAME="spl-capture"
+DEPLOYMENT_TARGET="13.0"
+
+command -v swiftc >/dev/null || {
+  echo "build.sh: swiftc not found — install the Xcode command line tools: xcode-select --install" >&2
+  exit 1
+}
+
+IDENTITY="${CODESIGN_IDENTITY:-}"
+if [[ -z "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  IDENTITY=$(security find-identity -v -p codesigning 2>/dev/null \
+    | awk -F'"' '/Developer ID Application/ {print $2; exit}')
+fi
+if [[ -n "$IDENTITY" ]]; then
+  echo "signing as $IDENTITY"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign "$IDENTITY" --options runtime --timestamp)
+else
+  echo "signing ad-hoc (no Developer ID installed — fine on your own Macs)"
+  SIGN=(--force --sign - --options runtime)
+fi
+
+mkdir -p ../bin
+for ARCH in arm64 x86_64; do
+  OUT="../bin/$NAME-macos-$ARCH"
+  echo "  compiling $OUT"
+  swiftc -O -whole-module-optimization -target "$ARCH-apple-macos$DEPLOYMENT_TARGET" -o "$OUT" "$NAME.swift"
+  codesign "${SIGN[@]}" --entitlements helper.entitlements "$OUT"
+  codesign --verify --strict "$OUT"
+  echo "  built $OUT ($(du -h "$OUT" | awk '{print $1}'))"
+done

modules/spl-meter/native/helper.entitlements

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
+<plist version="1.0">
+<dict>
+	<!-- The helper reads an audio input; under the hardened runtime that
+	     needs saying. The permission itself comes from the launcher. -->
+	<key>com.apple.security.device.audio-input</key>
+	<true/>
+</dict>
+</plist>

modules/spl-meter/native/spl-capture.swift

@@ -8,10 +8,11 @@
 // measurement is done here and only the answers cross the pipe.
 //
 // Everything below uses Accelerate, which ships with macOS. No third-party
-// code, no package manager, ~2 s to build:
+// code, no package manager. It ships prebuilt in the module's bin/ (one
+// binary per platform, committed — a booth never builds anything). To
+// rebuild after a change here, on any Mac with the Xcode command line tools:
 //
-//   swiftc -O -o modules/spl-meter/spl-capture \
-//     modules/spl-meter/spl-capture.swift
+//   modules/spl-meter/native/build.sh       (both architectures)
 //
 //   spl-capture --list
 //       every input-capable device: name, input channels, sample rate

modules/spl-meter/server.js

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
  */
 
 const path = require('path');
-const { createSplListener, ensureCaptureBinary } = require('./spl-listener');
+const { createSplListener, captureTool } = require('./spl-listener');
 
 /** Reference level of a sound level calibrator. Effectively always 94 dB. */
 const CALIBRATOR_DB = 94;
@@ -120,12 +120,9 @@ module.exports = {
       pinger: null,
     };
 
-    // Before anything else: the device picker shells out to this tool, so a
-    // machine that installed the module from the catalog (source only — the
-    // binary is gitignored) needs the build kicked off here. Waiting for a
-    // listener would never happen: no tool means no device list, and no
-    // device means no listener.
-    state.toolMissing = ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log });
+    // The capture tool ships prebuilt in the module (bin/); with none for
+    // this platform every reading is off and the health line says so.
+    state.toolMissing = captureTool(moduleDir).missing;
 
     if (!config.enabled) {
       state.error = 'Sound level measurement is off — turn it on in ProdDash settings';
@@ -185,9 +182,7 @@ module.exports = {
     return {
       stop() { teardown(); },
       health() {
-        if (state.toolMissing && !fsExists(path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture'))) {
-          return { status: 'error', message: state.toolMissing };
-        }
+        if (state.toolMissing) return { status: 'error', message: state.toolMissing };
         if (state.error) return { status: 'error', message: state.error };
         if (!state.frame) return { status: 'connecting', message: 'waiting for the first reading' };
         const quiet = silentMs();
@@ -311,11 +306,10 @@ module.exports = {
       /** Device list for the admin page. Runs the capture tool's --list,
           which is the only thing that knows what CoreAudio can see. */
       'GET /devices': async (req, res) => {
-        const missing = ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir: __dirname, log });
-        if (missing) {
-          if (state) state.toolMissing = missing;
-          log(`device list unavailable — ${missing}`);
-          json(res, 200, { options: [] });
+        const tool = captureTool(__dirname);
+        if (tool.missing) {
+          log(`device list unavailable — ${tool.missing}`);
+          json(res, 200, { options: [], error: tool.missing });
           return;
         }
         try {
@@ -447,7 +441,7 @@ function teardown() {
 function listDevices() {
   return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
     const { execFile } = require('child_process');
-    execFile(path.join(__dirname, 'spl-capture'), ['--list'], { timeout: 10000 },
+    execFile(captureTool(__dirname).bin, ['--list'], { timeout: 10000 },
       (err, stdout) => {
         if (err && !stdout) { reject(err); return; }
         try { resolve(JSON.parse(stdout).devices || []); }
@@ -456,10 +450,6 @@ function listDevices() {
   });
 }
 
-function fsExists(p) {
-  try { return require('fs').existsSync(p); } catch { return false; }
-}
-
 function json(res, code, body) {
   const text = JSON.stringify(body);
   res.writeHead(code, {

modules/spl-meter/spl-listener.js

@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@
 /**
  * Sound level listener — owns the native capture child.
  *
- * Spawns spl-capture (compiled from spl-capture.swift beside it) for the
+ * Spawns spl-capture (bin/spl-capture-macos-<arch>, shipped prebuilt;
+ * source in native/) for the
  * admin-configured device and channels, reads its JSON lines, and hands the
  * latest frame upward. All measurement happens in the child; this file is
  * plumbing and supervision, nothing more.
@@ -13,12 +14,11 @@
  *   { frame: {...}, meta: {...} }     measuring
  *   { error: '<what is wrong and how to fix it>' }   not measuring
  *
- * The capture binary is per-machine and gitignored, exactly like the Timers
- * module's ltc-capture. It normally arrives already built — compiled beside
- * the app, or copied from any Mac of the same architecture. When it is
- * missing this will build it, but in the background and never on the event
- * loop, and from module scope so the device picker can trigger it too — see
- * ensureCaptureBinary for what both of those cost the first time round.
+ * The capture tool ships prebuilt inside the module, one binary per
+ * platform under bin/ (module guide, "Native helpers"), exactly like the
+ * Timers module's ltc-capture: nothing is ever built on the machine running
+ * ProdDash. captureTool() picks the binary for this platform; when there is
+ * none, measurement reports itself off and the rest of the module carries on.
  *
  * The same macOS gotcha applies as for LTC, and is worth repeating because
  * it costs an afternoon every time: a ProdDash launched over SSH or from a
@@ -31,72 +31,31 @@ const path = require('path');
 const fs = require('fs');
 const { spawn } = require('child_process');
 
-const BUILD_HELP = 'Sound level capture tool missing — build it on any Apple Silicon Mac with '
-  + '`swiftc -O -o modules/spl-meter/spl-capture modules/spl-meter/spl-capture.swift` '
-  + 'and copy it next to spl-capture.swift';
-const BUILDING = 'Building the capture tool — this takes a minute or two';
+/* ── the capture tool: prebuilt, one binary per platform ───────────────── */
+
+/** What the module ships in bin/, by platform and architecture. */
+const HELPERS = {
+  darwin: { arm64: 'spl-capture-macos-arm64', x64: 'spl-capture-macos-x86_64' },
+  win32: { x64: 'spl-capture-win-x64.exe' },
+};
 
 /**
- * Build the capture tool if it is missing, WITHOUT blocking, and shared by
- * everything that needs it.
+ * The capture tool for this machine. It is never built here and never
+ * looked for anywhere else: the module ships it, or measurement is off on
+ * this platform and says so. `bin` is the usable binary; otherwise
+ * `missing` is what to tell the admin page and the tiles.
  *
- * This lives at module scope rather than inside a listener because of a trap
- * the first version walked into: the admin page's device picker runs the tool
- * with --list, but the build only ran when a listener started, and a listener
- * only starts once a device has been picked. On a machine that got the module
- * from the catalog — source only, the binary being gitignored — the picker
- * was empty, and nothing would ever fill it.
- *
- * It also must never block. It was a spawnSync once, copied from the LTC
- * listener where the source is a third the size and builds in seconds. Here
- * it took nearly two minutes on the production Mac and held the Node event
- * loop for all of it, freezing every other module, then did it again on the
- * next retry.
- *
- * The binary should normally already be there: built beside the app, or
- * copied from any Mac of the same architecture. This is the fallback.
- *
- * @returns {string} '' when the tool is ready, otherwise what to say.
+ * @returns {{bin:string, missing:string}}
  */
-let building = false;
-let buildFailed = false;
-
-function ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log, onReady }) {
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture');
-  if (fs.existsSync(bin)) return '';
-  const src = bin + '.swift';
-  if (!fs.existsSync(src)) return 'spl-capture.swift is missing from the module folder';
-  if (building) return BUILDING;
-  if (buildFailed) return BUILD_HELP;
-
-  building = true;
-  log('spl-capture binary missing — building it in the background');
-  const build = spawn('swiftc', ['-O', '-o', bin, src], { stdio: ['ignore', 'ignore', 'pipe'] });
-  let buildErr = '';
-  build.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
-  build.stderr.on('data', (t) => { buildErr = (buildErr + t).slice(-800); });
-  const giveUp = setTimeout(() => {
-    try { build.kill('SIGKILL'); } catch { /* already gone */ }
-  }, 300000);
-  build.on('error', (err) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false; buildFailed = true;
-    log(`swiftc could not be run: ${err.message}`);
-  });
-  build.on('exit', (code) => {
-    clearTimeout(giveUp);
-    building = false;
-    if (code === 0 && fs.existsSync(bin)) {
-      log('spl-capture built');
-      buildFailed = false;
-      if (typeof onReady === 'function') onReady();
-      return;
-    }
-    buildFailed = true;
-    log(`spl-capture build failed (exit ${code})`
-      + (buildErr ? `: ${buildErr.trim().split('\n').pop()}` : ''));
-  });
-  return BUILDING;
+function captureTool(moduleDir, platform = process.platform, arch = process.arch) {
+  const name = HELPERS[platform]?.[arch] || '';
+  const bin = name ? path.join(moduleDir, 'bin', name) : '';
+  if (bin && fs.existsSync(bin)) return { bin, missing: '' };
+  const here = `${platform === 'darwin' ? 'macOS' : platform === 'win32' ? 'Windows' : platform} ${arch}`;
+  return {
+    bin: '',
+    missing: `The module ships no sound level capture tool for ${here}${name ? ` (bin/${name} is missing)` : ''} — measurement is off on this machine`,
+  };
 }
 
 const RESTART_MS = 5000;
@@ -114,7 +73,6 @@ const STALL_MS = 3000;
  */
 function createSplListener(opts) {
   const { device, channels, weighting, bands, calibration, moduleDir, log, onUpdate } = opts;
-  const bin = path.join(moduleDir, 'spl-capture');
 
   let child = null;
   let stopped = false;
@@ -124,13 +82,6 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   let meta = null;
   let lastFrameWall = 0;
 
-  /** '' when the tool is ready, otherwise what to say about it. */
-  function ensureBinary() {
-    return ensureCaptureBinary({ moduleDir, log, onReady() {
-      if (!stopped) { clearTimeout(restartTimer); restartTimer = null; start(); }
-    } });
-  }
-
   function scheduleRestart(ms) {
     if (stopped || restartTimer) return;
     restartTimer = setTimeout(() => { restartTimer = null; start(); }, ms);
@@ -150,15 +101,11 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   function start() {
     if (stopped) return;
 
-    const missing = ensureBinary();
-    if (missing) {
-      onUpdate({ error: missing });
-      // onReady is only the FAST path (a successful build restarts us at
-      // once). The slow retry must stay armed regardless: a failed build
-      // never calls back, and a binary can also arrive from outside — scp'd
-      // in on a machine whose toolchain can't build (AB's broken CLT).
-      // Waiting on onReady alone deadlocked exactly that way in the Timers
-      // module: "building…" forever, with a working binary on disk.
+    const tool = captureTool(moduleDir);
+    if (tool.missing) {
+      // No binary for this platform: say so and look again later — a module
+      // update remounts us anyway, this is only belt and braces.
+      onUpdate({ error: tool.missing });
       scheduleRestart(BAD_CONFIG_RETRY_MS);
       return;
     }
@@ -175,7 +122,7 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
     let stderrTail = '';
     let buf = '';
 
-    child = spawn(bin, args, { stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
+    child = spawn(tool.bin, args, { stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'] });
 
     child.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');
     child.stderr.on('data', (text) => {
@@ -258,4 +205,4 @@ function createSplListener(opts) {
   };
 }
 
-module.exports = { createSplListener, ensureCaptureBinary };
+module.exports = { createSplListener, captureTool };

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "proddash",
-  "version": "1.10.0",
+  "version": "1.11.0",
   "private": true,
   "description": "Modular production dashboard for Waters Church \u2014 zero-dependency Node server + vanilla client",
   "license": "UNLICENSED",

public/admin/admin.css

@@ -482,6 +482,73 @@ details.admin-fold > summary.admin-fold-title::after {
 details.admin-fold[open] > summary.admin-fold-title::after { transform: rotate(90deg); }
 details.admin-fold > summary.admin-fold-title:hover { color: var(--accent); }
 
+/* Alerts: a row per level — a swatch running that level's cadence between
+   the two chosen colours (the keyframes are the shell's, in style.css), the
+   level's name, and its two pickers — then the test row. */
+.alert-levels {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 10px;
+  margin-bottom: 14px;
+}
+.alert-level {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 12px;
+}
+.alert-preview {
+  flex: none;
+  width: 56px;
+  height: 28px;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  background: var(--alert-a, var(--border));
+  animation: alert-flash var(--alert-period, 3s) var(--alert-ease, ease-in-out) infinite;
+}
+.alert-preview.low      { --alert-period: 3.2s; --alert-ease: ease-in-out; }
+.alert-preview.medium   { --alert-period: 1.1s; --alert-ease: ease-in-out; }
+.alert-preview.critical { --alert-period: 0.6s; --alert-ease: steps(1, end); }
+.alert-level-name {
+  flex: 1;
+  min-width: 0;
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 1px;
+}
+.alert-level-name strong { font-size: 13px; }
+.alert-level-name span { font-size: 12px; color: var(--muted); }
+.alert-level input[type="color"] {
+  flex: none;
+  width: 44px;
+  height: 26px;
+  padding: 2px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  background: var(--bg);
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.alert-level input[type="color"]:focus { outline: none; border-color: var(--accent); }
+.alert-test {
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 8px;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  padding-top: 12px;
+  border-top: 1px solid var(--border);
+}
+.alert-test-label { font-size: 13px; color: var(--muted); }
+.alert-test-select {
+  height: 26px;
+  padding: 0 6px;
+  font: inherit;
+  font-size: 13px;
+  color: var(--text);
+  background: var(--bg);
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 6px;
+}
+.alert-test-select:focus { outline: none; border-color: var(--accent); }
+
 .theme-swatches {
   display: grid;
   grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fill, minmax(116px, 1fr));

public/admin/admin.js

@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ const shellVersionEl = document.getElementById('shell-version');
 const themeSection = document.getElementById('theme-section');
 const themeSwatches = document.getElementById('theme-swatches');
 const themeStatus = document.getElementById('theme-status');
+const alertsSection = document.getElementById('alerts-section');
+const alertLevelsEl = document.getElementById('alert-levels');
+const alertsStatus = document.getElementById('alerts-status');
+const alertTestChannel = document.getElementById('alert-test-channel');
 
 /** The shell version the page loaded with — the update flow watches it change. */
 let shellVersion = '';
@@ -64,6 +68,7 @@ function showLogin() {
   layoutsSection.hidden = true;
   updateCard.hidden = true;
   themeSection.hidden = true;
+  alertsSection.hidden = true;
   securitySection.hidden = true;
   passcodeInput.value = '';
   passcodeInput.focus();
@@ -971,6 +976,7 @@ async function loadState() {
   }
   renderPin(state);
   loadTheme();
+  loadAlerts();
   loadLayouts();
   loadCatalog(false);
 }
@@ -1072,7 +1078,143 @@ async function chooseTheme(id) {
   }
 }
 
-// Follow a theme change made elsewhere (another admin page) live.
+/* ── alerts ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* The two colours each alert level flashes between are a server-wide
+   choice, like the theme: GET /api/alerts lists them (public — dashboards
+   need them too), POST /api/admin/alerts saves them, and the server's
+   `alerts-config` shell event carries a change to every open dashboard and
+   any other admin page. The cadence per level is the shell's (style.css);
+   the swatch beside each row runs it, so a pair can be judged here before
+   it is tested on a real dashboard with the buttons below. */
+
+const ALERT_LEVELS = [
+  { id: 'low', name: 'Low', cadence: 'a slow fade between the two' },
+  { id: 'medium', name: 'Medium', cadence: 'a faster fade' },
+  { id: 'critical', name: 'Critical', cadence: 'no fade — it snaps between them' },
+];
+let alertColors = null;      // level -> [a, b], as the server last said
+const alertInputs = new Map(); // level -> [inputA, inputB]
+
+function alertsMessage(text, bad = false) {
+  alertsStatus.textContent = text;
+  alertsStatus.className = 'admin-status' + (bad ? ' error' : text ? ' ok' : '');
+}
+
+function renderAlertLevels() {
+  alertLevelsEl.innerHTML = '';
+  alertInputs.clear();
+  for (const level of ALERT_LEVELS) {
+    const pair = alertColors?.[level.id] || ['#000000', '#000000'];
+    const row = document.createElement('div');
+    row.className = 'alert-level';
+    const preview = document.createElement('span');
+    preview.className = 'alert-preview ' + level.id;
+    preview.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'true');
+    const name = document.createElement('div');
+    name.className = 'alert-level-name';
+    const strong = document.createElement('strong');
+    strong.textContent = level.name;
+    const cadence = document.createElement('span');
+    cadence.textContent = level.cadence;
+    name.append(strong, cadence);
+    const inputs = pair.map((value, i) => {
+      const input = document.createElement('input');
+      input.type = 'color';
+      input.value = value;
+      input.setAttribute('aria-label', `${level.name} colour ${i === 0 ? 'A' : 'B'}`);
+      input.title = `${level.name} — colour ${i === 0 ? 'A' : 'B'}`;
+      // The swatch follows the picker as it is dragged; the save waits for
+      // the picker to close, so a drag is one write rather than a hundred.
+      input.addEventListener('input', () => paintPreview());
+      input.addEventListener('change', () => saveAlertColors());
+      return input;
+    });
+    const paintPreview = () => {
+      preview.style.setProperty('--alert-a', inputs[0].value);
+      preview.style.setProperty('--alert-b', inputs[1].value);
+    };
+    paintPreview();
+    alertInputs.set(level.id, inputs);
+    row.append(preview, name, ...inputs);
+    alertLevelsEl.appendChild(row);
+  }
+  if (!alertTestChannel.options.length) {
+    for (let n = 1; n <= 6; n += 1) {
+      const opt = document.createElement('option');
+      opt.value = String(n);
+      opt.textContent = String(n);
+      alertTestChannel.appendChild(opt);
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+/** What the pickers say right now, in the server's shape. */
+function readAlertColors() {
+  const out = {};
+  for (const [level, inputs] of alertInputs) out[level] = inputs.map((i) => i.value);
+  return out;
+}
+
+async function loadAlerts() {
+  let body;
+  try {
+    body = await api('/api/alerts');
+  } catch {
+    alertsSection.hidden = true; // a server without alerts — nothing to offer
+    return;
+  }
+  alertColors = body.colors || {};
+  renderAlertLevels();
+  alertsSection.hidden = false;
+}
+
+async function saveAlertColors() {
+  const colors = readAlertColors();
+  alertsMessage('');
+  try {
+    const body = await api('/api/admin/alerts', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ colors }) });
+    alertColors = body.colors || colors;
+    alertsMessage('Saved — every open dashboard uses the new colours.');
+  } catch (e) {
+    alertsMessage(e.message, true);
+    if (e.authRequired) showLogin();
+  }
+}
+
+/** Another admin page changed the colours: follow, without yanking a picker out from under a hand. */
+function applyAlertColorsEvent(colors) {
+  if (!colors || typeof colors !== 'object') return;
+  alertColors = colors;
+  for (const [level, inputs] of alertInputs) {
+    const pair = Array.isArray(colors[level]) ? colors[level] : null;
+    if (!pair) continue;
+    inputs.forEach((input, i) => {
+      if (document.activeElement !== input && /^#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$/.test(String(pair[i] || ''))) input.value = pair[i];
+    });
+    inputs[0].dispatchEvent(new Event('input'));
+  }
+}
+
+for (const btn of document.querySelectorAll('.alert-test-btn')) {
+  btn.addEventListener('click', async () => {
+    const level = btn.dataset.level;
+    const channel = Number(alertTestChannel.value) || 1;
+    alertsMessage('');
+    btn.disabled = true;
+    try {
+      await api('/api/admin/alerts/test', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ level, channel }) });
+      alertsMessage(`Test sent — dashboards listening on channel ${channel} are flashing ${level} for 8 seconds.`);
+    } catch (e) {
+      alertsMessage(e.message, true);
+      if (e.authRequired) showLogin();
+    } finally {
+      btn.disabled = false;
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+// Follow a theme or alert-colour change made elsewhere (another admin page) live.
 let themeEvents = null;
 let themeEventsRetry = null;
 
@@ -1087,6 +1229,9 @@ function subscribeThemeEvents() {
     applyTheme(theme);
     renderThemes();
   });
+  themeEvents.addEventListener('alerts-config', (e) => {
+    try { applyAlertColorsEvent(JSON.parse(e.data).colors); } catch { /* a malformed frame changes nothing */ }
+  });
   themeEvents.onerror = () => {
     if (themeEvents.readyState === EventSource.CLOSED) {
       clearTimeout(themeEventsRetry);

public/admin/index.html

@@ -70,6 +70,27 @@
       <div id="layouts-list"></div>
     </section>
 
+    <section id="alerts-section" hidden>
+      <details class="admin-fold">
+        <summary class="admin-h1 admin-fold-title">Alerts</summary>
+        <p class="admin-copy">A module that sees something a tech must act on raises an alert on one of
+          six channels, and every dashboard listening to that channel flashes — menu bar and screen
+          edge — with the alert's text across the bar. Each level alternates between two colours;
+          pick them here. A dashboard chooses its channels in its Layouts menu, under Alerts.</p>
+        <div class="admin-card">
+          <div class="alert-levels" id="alert-levels"></div>
+          <div class="alert-test">
+            <span class="alert-test-label">Test on channel</span>
+            <select id="alert-test-channel" class="alert-test-select" aria-label="Channel to test on"></select>
+            <button class="btn small alert-test-btn" data-level="low">Low</button>
+            <button class="btn small alert-test-btn" data-level="medium">Medium</button>
+            <button class="btn small alert-test-btn" data-level="critical">Critical</button>
+          </div>
+          <div class="admin-status" id="alerts-status"></div>
+        </div>
+      </details>
+    </section>
+
     <section id="security-section" hidden>
       <h1 class="admin-h1">Admin PIN</h1>
       <p class="admin-copy" id="pin-state"></p>

public/index.html

@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@
   <header id="topbar">
     <span id="brand">Prod<span class="accent">Dash</span></span>
 
+    <!-- An alert this dashboard listens to: its text, bold, centred in the bar (shell.js fills it). -->
+    <div id="alert-banner" role="status" aria-live="assertive" hidden>
+      <span class="alert-channel" aria-hidden="true"></span>
+      <span class="alert-text"></span>
+      <span class="alert-more"></span>
+    </div>
+
     <span class="spacer"></span>
 
     <button class="tb-btn icon" id="autohide-btn" title="Auto-hide bars" aria-label="Auto-hide tile title bars" aria-pressed="false">

public/shell.js

@@ -227,6 +227,16 @@ const tileEls = new Map(); // tile id -> { el, body, dot, titleEl, instance }
    away regardless; this is the windowed equivalent, asked for by hand. */
 let autoHideHeads = false;
 
+/* Which of the six alert channels this dashboard listens to. Which screen
+   flashes for what is part of how a booth is arranged — the stage screen
+   takes the stage's alerts, the video world its own — so like auto-hide it
+   saves with the layout, local and named. Every dashboard hears every alert
+   over the shell stream; this decides which ones it shows (see the alerts
+   section). */
+let alertChannels = [];
+/** True while an alert this dashboard listens to is on screen: the menu bar is held open for it. */
+let alertShowing = false;
+
 /* Beside the layout itself: the copy it replaced (restored if the layout
    ever fails to parse) and, after loading a named layout, the arrangement
    that was on screen before (what Undo goes back to). */
@@ -235,7 +245,7 @@ const LS_LAYOUT_PREVIOUS = LS_LAYOUT + '.previous';
 
 function saveLayout() {
   try {
-    const next = JSON.stringify({ v: 1, autoHideHeads, gridCols: COLS, tiles });
+    const next = JSON.stringify({ v: 1, autoHideHeads, gridCols: COLS, alertChannels, tiles });
     const current = localStorage.getItem(LS_LAYOUT);
     if (current && current !== next) localStorage.setItem(LS_LAYOUT_BACKUP, current);
     localStorage.setItem(LS_LAYOUT, next);
@@ -640,8 +650,10 @@ function buildTile(tile) {
   el.addEventListener('pointermove', (ev) => {
     if (!headIsOff(tile)) return;
     // Mid-drag the tile moves under the pointer, and mid-resize the edges do
-    // — neither is a moment to take the bar away.
+    // — neither is a moment to take the bar away. Nor is an open header
+    // menu, which hangs below the bar and is about to be pointed at.
     if (el.classList.contains('dragging') || el.classList.contains('resizing')) return;
+    if (el.classList.contains('menu-open')) return;
     const y = ev.clientY - el.getBoundingClientRect().top;
     const shown = el.classList.contains('head-peek');
     // It takes less to hold the bar open than to open it, so a bar that
@@ -652,6 +664,7 @@ function buildTile(tile) {
 
   el.addEventListener('pointerleave', () => {
     if (el.classList.contains('dragging') || el.classList.contains('resizing')) return;
+    if (el.classList.contains('menu-open')) return; // the pointer is on its way to the menu
     el.classList.remove('head-peek');
   });
 
@@ -659,7 +672,7 @@ function buildTile(tile) {
   applyHeadState(tile, el);
   grid.appendChild(el);
 
-  const entry = { el, body, dot, titleEl: title, controls, instance: null };
+  const entry = { el, body, dot, titleEl: title, controls, instance: null, openMenus: new Set() };
   tileEls.set(tile.id, entry);
   applyRect(tile);
 
@@ -1385,6 +1398,34 @@ function buildModuleApi(tile, man, entry) {
       entry.dot.title = msg;
     },
 
+    /**
+     * Flash every dashboard listening to an alert channel — this one too,
+     * if it listens. { channel: 1–6, level: 'low' | 'medium' | 'critical',
+     * text (80 chars at most), duration: seconds, 0 to hold it until
+     * cleared, 15 when omitted }. Goes through the server, which is the
+     * hub; resolves with the alert as raised, rejects with the reason it
+     * was refused. A module with a server entry raises from there instead
+     * (shell.alert) — see docs/MODULE-GUIDE.md, "Raising alerts".
+     */
+    async alert(opts = {}) {
+      const res = await fetch('/api/alerts', {
+        method: 'POST',
+        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+        body: JSON.stringify({ ...opts, source: man.id }),
+      });
+      const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(body.error || `Alert refused (${res.status})`);
+      return body.alert;
+    },
+
+    /** End the alert on a channel early. One alert per channel, so this ends whatever is on it. */
+    async clearAlert(channel) {
+      const res = await fetch('/api/alerts/' + encodeURIComponent(String(Number(channel))), { method: 'DELETE' });
+      const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(body.error || `Clear refused (${res.status})`);
+      return Boolean(body.cleared);
+    },
+
     /**
      * The tile's title bar. Controls added here live next to the gear/close
      * buttons and are removed automatically when the instance stops. The
@@ -1426,34 +1467,60 @@ function buildModuleApi(tile, man, entry) {
         menu.className = 'tile-menu';
         menu.hidden = true;
 
+        /* The menu lives on the body, not in the bar. A folded-away bar
+           (auto-hide, fullscreen) carries a backdrop-filter and a transform,
+           and either one makes a fixed-positioned descendant position
+           itself against the bar instead of the viewport — the menu landed
+           a screen-height below its button, inside the tile's overflow, and
+           never showed. Its host carries the tile's data-module so the
+           module's scoped CSS still reaches the items. */
+        const host = document.createElement('div');
+        host.className = 'tile-menu-host';
+        if (man) host.dataset.module = man.id;
+        host.appendChild(menu);
+
+        const setOpen = (on) => {
+          if (on === !menu.hidden) return;
+          menu.hidden = !on;
+          btn.classList.toggle('is-open', on);
+          if (on) entry.openMenus.add(menu);
+          else entry.openMenus.delete(menu);
+          // an open menu holds a folded-away bar out; when the last one
+          // closes with the pointer elsewhere, the bar goes back
+          entry.el.classList.toggle('menu-open', entry.openMenus.size > 0);
+          if (!on && !entry.openMenus.size && !entry.el.matches(':hover')) entry.el.classList.remove('head-peek');
+        };
         const open = () => {
           if (typeof build === 'function') {
             menu.innerHTML = '';
             build(menu);
           }
-          menu.hidden = false;
-          // fixed positioning (escapes the tile's overflow): under the
-          // button, right-aligned, clamped to the viewport
+          setOpen(true);
+          // under the button, right-aligned, kept whole inside the viewport
           const r = btn.getBoundingClientRect();
-          menu.style.top = Math.min(r.bottom + 6, window.innerHeight - 80) + 'px';
           menu.style.left = '0px';
+          menu.style.top = '0px';
           const w = menu.offsetWidth;
+          const h = menu.offsetHeight;
+          menu.style.top = Math.max(8, Math.min(r.bottom + 6, window.innerHeight - h - 8)) + 'px';
           menu.style.left = Math.max(8, Math.min(r.right - w, window.innerWidth - w - 8)) + 'px';
         };
         btn.addEventListener('click', (e) => {
           e.stopPropagation();
           if (menu.hidden) open();
-          else menu.hidden = true;
+          else setOpen(false);
         });
         const onDocClick = (e) => {
-          if (!menu.hidden && !menu.contains(e.target) && !btn.contains(e.target)) menu.hidden = true;
+          if (!menu.hidden && !menu.contains(e.target) && !btn.contains(e.target)) setOpen(false);
         };
         document.addEventListener('click', onDocClick);
         docListeners.add(onDocClick);
 
-        wrap.append(btn, menu);
+        wrap.append(btn);
         entry.controls.appendChild(wrap);
+        document.body.appendChild(host);
         headerEls.add(wrap);
+        headerEls.add(host);
         return {
           button: btn,
           menu,
@@ -1461,7 +1528,7 @@ function buildModuleApi(tile, man, entry) {
             btn.textContent = text;
           },
           close() {
-            menu.hidden = true;
+            setOpen(false);
           },
         };
       },
@@ -1473,6 +1540,8 @@ function buildModuleApi(tile, man, entry) {
       for (const handle of [...sseHandles]) handle.close();
       for (const el of headerEls) el.remove();
       headerEls.clear();
+      entry.openMenus.clear();
+      entry.el.classList.remove('menu-open');
       for (const fn of docListeners) document.removeEventListener('click', fn);
       docListeners.clear();
     },
@@ -2111,7 +2180,10 @@ function renderLayout(layout) {
   // Density first: the tiles are clamped and placed against it.
   if (!Array.isArray(layout)) setGridCols(layout?.gridCols ?? GRID_DEFAULT, { save: false });
   tiles = list.map(sanitizeTile);
-  if (!Array.isArray(layout)) setAutoHideHeads(Boolean(layout?.autoHideHeads), { save: false });
+  if (!Array.isArray(layout)) {
+    setAutoHideHeads(Boolean(layout?.autoHideHeads), { save: false });
+    setAlertChannels(layout?.alertChannels, { save: false });
+  }
   for (const tile of tiles) if (tileIsOffered(tile)) buildTile(tile);
   scheduleOfferedRecheck();
   refreshEmptyState();
@@ -2176,9 +2248,11 @@ function renderAddMenu(menu) {
 wireDropdown('layout-btn', 'layout-menu', async (menu, stillOpen) => {
   menu.innerHTML = '';
 
-  // Density first: the one thing in here that is not a layout but the board
-  // the layouts are arranged on.
+  // The board first — density, and which alert channels this screen
+  // listens to: the two things in here that are not a layout but part of
+  // how one is arranged.
   menu.appendChild(gridStepper());
+  menu.appendChild(alertsFold());
   const stepperDivider = document.createElement('div');
   stepperDivider.className = 'menu-divider';
   menu.appendChild(stepperDivider);
@@ -2214,7 +2288,7 @@ wireDropdown('layout-btn', 'layout-menu', async (menu, stillOpen) => {
       const res = await fetch('/api/layouts/' + encodeURIComponent(name), {
         method: 'PUT',
         headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-        body: JSON.stringify({ layout: { autoHideHeads, gridCols: COLS, tiles } }),
+        body: JSON.stringify({ layout: { autoHideHeads, gridCols: COLS, alertChannels, tiles } }),
       });
       const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
       if (!res.ok) throw new Error(body.error || 'Save failed (' + res.status + ')');
@@ -2308,15 +2382,25 @@ const topbarSizer = new ResizeObserver(() => {
 });
 topbarSizer.observe(topbar);
 
+/* What the notch (or fullscreen) asked for. The bar itself is also held
+   open for as long as an alert this dashboard listens to is showing — the
+   alert's text lives in it — and goes back to this the moment it ends. */
+let menuHiddenWanted = false;
+
+function paintMenuHidden() {
+  document.body.classList.toggle('menu-hidden', menuHiddenWanted && !alertShowing);
+}
+
 function setMenuHidden(hidden, { persist = true } = {}) {
-  document.body.classList.toggle('menu-hidden', hidden);
+  menuHiddenWanted = Boolean(hidden);
+  paintMenuHidden();
   if (persist) {
     try { localStorage.setItem(LS_MENU, hidden ? '1' : '0'); } catch { /* fine */ }
   }
 }
 
 topbarNotch.addEventListener('click', () => {
-  setMenuHidden(!document.body.classList.contains('menu-hidden'));
+  setMenuHidden(!menuHiddenWanted);
 });
 
 try {
@@ -2459,7 +2543,7 @@ document.addEventListener('fullscreenchange', () => {
   if (active) {
     closeSettingsPopovers();
     applyAllHeadStates(); // fullscreen has its own rule for the bars
-    menuHiddenBeforeFs = document.body.classList.contains('menu-hidden');
+    menuHiddenBeforeFs = menuHiddenWanted;
     setMenuHidden(true, { persist: false }); // the menu auto-hides; its notch brings it back
     // let the collapsed menubar's space settle before measuring
     requestAnimationFrame(() => requestAnimationFrame(applyFullscreenFit));
@@ -2488,9 +2572,15 @@ new ResizeObserver(() => {
 function subscribeEvents() {
   // Rides on the page's one stream connection (see sseSubscribe) as `shell:`.
   sseSubscribe('/api/events', {
+    // (Re)connected: frames may have been missed, so the alerts picture is
+    // taken whole again — what is active, and the colours.
+    open: () => { refreshAlerts(); },
     events: {
       'modules-changed': () => handleModulesChanged().then(reconcileOfferedTiles),
       theme: handleThemeEvent,
+      alert: handleAlertEvent,
+      'alert-clear': handleAlertClearEvent,
+      'alerts-config': handleAlertsConfigEvent,
     },
   });
 }
@@ -2560,6 +2650,240 @@ function initTheme() {
 
 initTheme();
 
+/* ── alerts ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* A module that sees something a tech must act on now raises an alert on
+   one of six channels (server.js is the hub; docs/ALERTS.md the whole
+   story). Every dashboard hears every alert over the shell stream and shows
+   the ones on channels it listens to: the menu bar — held open for the
+   duration, whatever its notch says — and a frame round the screen flash
+   between the level's two colours (style.css sets the cadence per level;
+   critical floods the board behind the tiles as well, in a muted cut), with
+   the text bold in the middle of the bar. Several at once: the most
+   severe takes the bar, the newest among equals, and a count says how many
+   more are on. The server times alerts out and says so; a timer here ends
+   one on time anyway, in case that frame is missed on a flaky connection. */
+
+const ALERT_CHANNELS = 6;
+const ALERT_LEVEL_RANK = { low: 1, medium: 2, critical: 3 };
+const ALERT_COLORS_DEFAULT = {
+  low: ['#1f6feb', '#0b2a5c'],
+  medium: ['#f0b429', '#6b4a0a'],
+  critical: ['#f4433c', '#1a0505'],
+};
+const activeAlerts = new Map(); // channel -> { id, channel, level, text, source, startedAt, endsAt (this clock) | null }
+let alertColors = ALERT_COLORS_DEFAULT;
+let alertEndTimer = null;
+const alertBanner = document.getElementById('alert-banner');
+
+/** Whole numbers 1–6, each once, in order — whatever a layout file says. */
+function normalizeAlertChannels(list) {
+  const out = new Set();
+  for (const v of Array.isArray(list) ? list : []) {
+    const n = Number(v);
+    if (Number.isInteger(n) && n >= 1 && n <= ALERT_CHANNELS) out.add(n);
+  }
+  return [...out].sort((a, b) => a - b);
+}
+
+function setAlertChannels(list, { save = true } = {}) {
+  alertChannels = normalizeAlertChannels(list);
+  paintAlerts();
+  if (save) saveLayout();
+}
+
+function toggleAlertChannel(n) {
+  setAlertChannels(alertChannels.includes(n)
+    ? alertChannels.filter((c) => c !== n)
+    : [...alertChannels, n]);
+}
+
+const CARET_SVG = '<svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2.4" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M9 6l6 6-6 6"/></svg>';
+let alertsFoldOpen = false;
+
+/** The Layouts menu's Alerts row. Folded, it says which channels this
+    dashboard listens to; open, six numbered buttons toggle them without
+    closing the menu, so a change can be watched taking effect. */
+function alertsFold() {
+  const wrap = document.createElement('div');
+  wrap.className = 'menu-fold';
+  const head = document.createElement('button');
+  head.type = 'button';
+  head.className = 'menu-item menu-fold-head';
+  const label = document.createElement('span');
+  label.textContent = 'Alerts';
+  const sub = document.createElement('span');
+  sub.className = 'sub';
+  label.appendChild(sub);
+  const caret = document.createElement('span');
+  caret.className = 'menu-fold-caret';
+  caret.innerHTML = CARET_SVG;
+  head.append(label, caret);
+  const body = document.createElement('div');
+  body.className = 'menu-fold-body alert-channels';
+  const buttons = [];
+  for (let n = 1; n <= ALERT_CHANNELS; n += 1) {
+    const btn = document.createElement('button');
+    btn.type = 'button';
+    btn.className = 'alert-channel-btn';
+    btn.textContent = String(n);
+    btn.setAttribute('data-tip', `Channel ${n}`);
+    btn.addEventListener('click', () => {
+      toggleAlertChannel(n);
+      paint();
+    });
+    buttons.push(btn);
+    body.appendChild(btn);
+  }
+  const paint = () => {
+    sub.textContent = alertChannels.length ? 'Channels ' + alertChannels.join(', ') : 'No channels';
+    head.setAttribute('aria-expanded', alertsFoldOpen ? 'true' : 'false');
+    wrap.classList.toggle('is-open', alertsFoldOpen);
+    body.hidden = !alertsFoldOpen;
+    buttons.forEach((btn, i) => {
+      const on = alertChannels.includes(i + 1);
+      btn.classList.toggle('is-on', on);
+      btn.setAttribute('aria-pressed', on ? 'true' : 'false');
+    });
+  };
+  head.addEventListener('click', () => {
+    alertsFoldOpen = !alertsFoldOpen;
+    paint();
+  });
+  paint();
+  wrap.append(head, body);
+  return wrap;
+}
+
+/** Remember an alert the server announced, its end put on this browser's clock. */
+function noteAlert(a) {
+  const channel = Number(a?.channel);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(channel) || channel < 1 || channel > ALERT_CHANNELS) return;
+  const remaining = a.remainingMs === null || a.remainingMs === undefined ? null : Number(a.remainingMs);
+  activeAlerts.set(channel, {
+    id: String(a.id || ''),
+    channel,
+    level: ALERT_LEVEL_RANK[a.level] ? String(a.level) : 'low',
+    text: String(a.text || ''),
+    source: String(a.source || ''),
+    startedAt: Number(a.startedAt) || Date.now(),
+    endsAt: Number.isFinite(remaining) ? Date.now() + Math.max(0, remaining) : null,
+  });
+}
+
+/** `alert` shell event: a new alert, or a replacement on its channel. */
+function handleAlertEvent(e) {
+  try {
+    noteAlert(JSON.parse(e.data));
+  } catch {
+    return;
+  }
+  paintAlerts();
+}
+
+/** `alert-clear` shell event: ended early or timed out. */
+function handleAlertClearEvent(e) {
+  let payload;
+  try {
+    payload = JSON.parse(e.data);
+  } catch {
+    return;
+  }
+  const current = activeAlerts.get(Number(payload?.channel));
+  if (!current) return;
+  // A clear for an alert already replaced leaves the replacement alone.
+  if (payload.id && current.id && payload.id !== current.id) return;
+  activeAlerts.delete(current.channel);
+  paintAlerts();
+}
+
+/** `alerts-config` shell event: an admin changed the colours. */
+function handleAlertsConfigEvent(e) {
+  try {
+    setAlertColors(JSON.parse(e.data).colors);
+  } catch { /* a malformed frame changes nothing */ }
+}
+
+function setAlertColors(colors) {
+  const next = {};
+  for (const level of Object.keys(ALERT_COLORS_DEFAULT)) {
+    const pair = Array.isArray(colors?.[level]) ? colors[level] : [];
+    next[level] = ALERT_COLORS_DEFAULT[level].map((fallback, i) => {
+      const v = String(pair[i] ?? '').trim();
+      return /^#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$/.test(v) ? v.toLowerCase() : fallback;
+    });
+  }
+  alertColors = next;
+  paintAlerts();
+}
+
+/** The whole picture from the server: what is active, and the colours. */
+async function refreshAlerts() {
+  try {
+    const res = await fetchWithTimeout('/api/alerts', 8000);
+    if (!res.ok) return;
+    const body = await res.json();
+    activeAlerts.clear();
+    for (const a of body.active || []) noteAlert(a);
+    setAlertColors(body.colors); // paints
+  } catch { /* server away — what is known stands */ }
+}
+
+/** Relative luminance of #rrggbb, 0 (black) to 1 (white). */
+function luminance(hex) {
+  const n = parseInt(String(hex).slice(1), 16);
+  const chan = (c) => {
+    const s = c / 255;
+    return s <= 0.03928 ? s / 12.92 : ((s + 0.055) / 1.055) ** 2.4;
+  };
+  return 0.2126 * chan((n >> 16) & 255) + 0.7152 * chan((n >> 8) & 255) + 0.0722 * chan(n & 255);
+}
+
+/** Black or white for the banner — whichever reads against BOTH colours the bar flashes between. */
+function alertTextColor(a, b) {
+  const contrast = (l1, l2) => (Math.max(l1, l2) + 0.05) / (Math.min(l1, l2) + 0.05);
+  const la = luminance(a);
+  const lb = luminance(b);
+  const white = Math.min(contrast(1, la), contrast(1, lb));
+  const black = Math.min(contrast(0, la), contrast(0, lb));
+  return white >= black ? '#ffffff' : '#000000';
+}
+
+function paintAlerts() {
+  clearTimeout(alertEndTimer);
+  alertEndTimer = null;
+  const now = Date.now();
+  for (const [channel, a] of activeAlerts) {
+    if (a.endsAt !== null && a.endsAt <= now) activeAlerts.delete(channel);
+  }
+  const showing = [...activeAlerts.values()]
+    .filter((a) => alertChannels.includes(a.channel))
+    .sort((a, b) => (ALERT_LEVEL_RANK[b.level] - ALERT_LEVEL_RANK[a.level]) || (b.startedAt - a.startedAt));
+  const top = showing[0];
+  const root = document.documentElement.style;
+  if (!top) {
+    delete document.body.dataset.alert;
+    alertBanner.hidden = true;
+  } else {
+    const [a, b] = alertColors[top.level] || ALERT_COLORS_DEFAULT.low;
+    root.setProperty('--alert-a', a);
+    root.setProperty('--alert-b', b);
+    root.setProperty('--alert-text', alertTextColor(a, b));
+    document.body.dataset.alert = top.level;
+    alertBanner.querySelector('.alert-channel').textContent = String(top.channel);
+    alertBanner.querySelector('.alert-text').textContent = top.text;
+    alertBanner.querySelector('.alert-more').textContent = showing.length > 1 ? `+${showing.length - 1}` : '';
+    alertBanner.hidden = false;
+  }
+  alertShowing = Boolean(top);
+  paintMenuHidden();
+  // The next end among everything active — shown or not, since a channel
+  // may be subscribed to meanwhile — repaints the picture when it comes.
+  let next = Infinity;
+  for (const a of activeAlerts.values()) if (a.endsAt !== null) next = Math.min(next, a.endsAt);
+  if (next < Infinity) alertEndTimer = setTimeout(paintAlerts, Math.max(50, next - now + 20));
+}
+
 /* ── boot ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 async function boot() {

public/style.css

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ button { font-family: inherit; }
 /* ── topbar ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 #topbar {
+  position: relative; /* the alert banner centres itself against the bar */
   flex: none;
   display: flex;
   align-items: center;
@@ -135,6 +136,110 @@ body.menu-hidden #topbar {
   color: var(--accent-text);
 }
 
+/* ── alerts ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* An alert this dashboard listens to (shell.js sets body[data-alert] to its
+   level and --alert-a / --alert-b to the level's two colours, from Admin →
+   Alerts) flashes the shell's chrome: the menu bar's background and a frame
+   round the whole screen swap between the two colours, with the alert's text
+   bold in the middle of the bar. Low breathes slowly, medium pulses,
+   critical snaps between the two with no fade at all — and, alone among
+   them, floods the board behind the tiles too (below). Low and medium leave
+   the tiles alone: the frame is what carries their flash on a fullscreen
+   wall, where the bar (held open for the alert) is the only other chrome. */
+@keyframes alert-flash {
+  0%, 100% { background-color: var(--alert-a); }
+  50%      { background-color: var(--alert-b); }
+}
+@keyframes alert-frame {
+  0%, 100% { border-color: var(--alert-a); }
+  50%      { border-color: var(--alert-b); }
+}
+body[data-alert="low"]      { --alert-period: 3.2s; --alert-ease: ease-in-out; }
+body[data-alert="medium"]   { --alert-period: 1.1s; --alert-ease: ease-in-out; }
+body[data-alert="critical"] { --alert-period: 0.6s; --alert-ease: steps(1, end); }
+body[data-alert] #topbar {
+  border-bottom-color: transparent;
+  animation: alert-flash var(--alert-period, 3s) var(--alert-ease, ease-in-out) infinite;
+}
+body[data-alert]::after {
+  content: "";
+  position: fixed;
+  inset: 0;
+  z-index: 85; /* over tiles and menus, under modals and the toast */
+  pointer-events: none;
+  border: 6px solid var(--alert-a);
+  animation: alert-frame var(--alert-period, 3s) var(--alert-ease, ease-in-out) infinite;
+}
+/* The bar's buttons keep their own surface so they stay legible on either colour. */
+body[data-alert] #topbar .tb-btn { border-color: transparent; }
+
+/* Critical reaches the whole page. The board behind the tiles flashes too,
+   in a cut of the two colours mixed well into the page background — shifted
+   toward it, so a tile still stands off the board — and the tiles' own
+   panel thins a little to let that show through them, faintly enough that
+   nothing written on a tile loses contrast. On a wall where tiles cover
+   every pixel this is what carries the flash to the middle of the screen. */
+@keyframes alert-board {
+  0%, 100% { background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--alert-a) 40%, var(--bg)); }
+  50%      { background-color: color-mix(in srgb, var(--alert-b) 40%, var(--bg)); }
+}
+body[data-alert="critical"] {
+  animation: alert-board var(--alert-period) var(--alert-ease) infinite;
+}
+body[data-alert="critical"] .tile {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--panel) 88%, transparent);
+}
+body[data-alert="critical"] .tile.is-tinted {
+  background: color-mix(in srgb, color-mix(in srgb, var(--tile-tint) 14%, var(--panel)) 88%, transparent);
+}
+
+#alert-banner {
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 50%;
+  top: 50%;
+  transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  gap: 10px;
+  /* clear of the wordmark at the left and the buttons at the right */
+  max-width: clamp(140px, calc(100% - 420px), 70vw);
+  pointer-events: none;
+  color: var(--alert-text, #fff);
+  font-weight: 800;
+  font-size: 17px;
+  letter-spacing: 0.02em;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+#alert-banner[hidden] { display: none; }
+#alert-banner .alert-text {
+  min-width: 0;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+}
+/* which channel — small, boxed, before the text */
+#alert-banner .alert-channel {
+  flex: none;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  min-width: 20px;
+  height: 20px;
+  padding: 0 5px;
+  border: 2px solid currentColor;
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  font-size: 12px;
+  line-height: 1;
+}
+/* "+1" when more alerts are on than the bar shows */
+#alert-banner .alert-more {
+  flex: none;
+  font-size: 12px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  opacity: 0.85;
+}
+#alert-banner .alert-more:empty { display: none; }
+
 /* ── dropdown menus ────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 .dropdown { position: relative; }
@@ -217,6 +322,43 @@ body.menu-hidden #topbar {
   text-align: center;
   font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
 }
+
+/* the Layouts menu's Alerts row: a fold that opens to six channel buttons */
+.menu-fold-head { justify-content: space-between; }
+.menu-fold-head > span:first-child { flex: 1; }
+.menu-fold-caret {
+  flex: none;
+  display: inline-flex;
+  color: var(--muted);
+  transition: transform 0.15s;
+}
+.menu-fold-caret svg { width: 12px; height: 12px; display: block; }
+.menu-fold.is-open .menu-fold-caret { transform: rotate(90deg); }
+.menu-fold-body[hidden] { display: none; }
+.alert-channels {
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: repeat(6, 1fr);
+  gap: 6px;
+  padding: 2px 10px 10px;
+}
+.alert-channel-btn {
+  height: 30px;
+  background: var(--bg);
+  border: 1px solid var(--border);
+  border-radius: 6px;
+  color: var(--text);
+  font-size: 13px;
+  font-weight: 700;
+  font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+.alert-channel-btn:hover { border-color: var(--muted); }
+.alert-channel-btn.is-on,
+.alert-channel-btn.is-on:hover {
+  background: var(--accent);
+  border-color: var(--accent);
+  color: var(--accent-text);
+}
 .menu-title {
   padding: 6px 10px 3px;
   color: var(--muted);
@@ -445,8 +587,9 @@ body.menu-hidden #topbar {
 }
 .tile-dd { position: relative; display: inline-flex; }
 
-/* a module header menu — fixed-positioned by the shell so the tile's
-   overflow:hidden can't clip it */
+/* a module header menu — hosted on the body (shell.js addMenu) so neither
+   the tile's overflow nor a folded-away bar's backdrop-filter can touch it */
+.tile-menu-host { display: contents; }
 .tile-menu {
   position: fixed;
   z-index: 70;
@@ -979,6 +1122,7 @@ body.fullscreen #grid { padding-bottom: 0; }
 
 @media (max-width: 560px) {
   #topbar { padding: 0 8px; gap: 6px; }
+  #alert-banner { font-size: 14px; gap: 6px; }
 }
 
 /* ── themes ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */

server.js

@@ -434,8 +434,14 @@ function mountModule(id) {
     const mod = require(serverPath);
     const config = effectiveConfig(id);
     // What a module needs to reach the rest of ProdDash — another module's
-    // routes over loopback, chiefly — without guessing.
-    const shell = { port: PORT };
+    // routes over loopback, chiefly — without guessing. alert() and
+    // clearAlert() flash the dashboards listening to a channel (see the
+    // alerts section); an alert this module raises ends when it stops.
+    const shell = {
+      port: PORT,
+      alert: (opts) => raiseAlert(opts, id),
+      clearAlert: (channel) => clearAlert(channel),
+    };
     if (typeof mod.init === 'function') {
       entry.handle = mod.init({ config, log, shell }) || null;
     }
@@ -460,6 +466,9 @@ function unmountModule(id) {
   } catch (err) {
     console.error(`[proddash] module "${id}" failed to stop cleanly:`, err);
   }
+  // Its alerts go with it: a "held until cleared" alert from a module that
+  // is no longer running would otherwise flash for ever.
+  clearAlertsFrom(id);
   mounted.delete(id);
 }
 
@@ -816,6 +825,189 @@ function setTheme(id) {
   return themeView();
 }
 
+/* ── alerts ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* A module that notices something a tech must see now — a timer overrun, a
+   meter past its limit, a feed gone quiet — raises an alert, and every
+   dashboard subscribed to its channel flashes: the menu bar and a frame
+   round the screen alternate between two colours, with the alert's text
+   bold in the middle of the bar. Six channels for now, so a booth can send
+   the stage's alerts and the video world's to different screens. The
+   server is the hub: it holds what is active (one alert per channel — a
+   new one replaces the last), times them out, tells open dashboards over
+   the shell stream (`alert`, `alert-clear`), and answers GET /api/alerts
+   for a dashboard that opens or reconnects mid-alert. The level sets the
+   cadence (shell.js / style.css) and the two colours, chosen in Admin →
+   Alerts and kept as `alerts.colors` in this machine's proddash.json. */
+
+const ALERT_LEVELS = ['low', 'medium', 'critical'];
+const ALERT_CHANNELS = 6;
+const ALERT_TEXT_MAX = 80;
+const ALERT_DURATION_DEFAULT_S = 15;
+const ALERT_DURATION_MAX_S = 600;
+const ALERT_SOURCE_RE = /^[A-Za-z0-9_-]{1,40}$/;
+const HEX_COLOR_RE = /^#[0-9a-fA-F]{6}$/;
+const DEFAULT_ALERT_COLORS = {
+  low: ['#1f6feb', '#0b2a5c'],
+  medium: ['#f0b429', '#6b4a0a'],
+  critical: ['#f4433c', '#1a0505'],
+};
+
+/** A full level → [colourA, colourB] set; anything missing or malformed takes the default. */
+function normalizeAlertColors(raw) {
+  const out = {};
+  for (const level of ALERT_LEVELS) {
+    const pair = Array.isArray(raw?.[level]) ? raw[level] : [];
+    out[level] = DEFAULT_ALERT_COLORS[level].map((fallback, i) => {
+      const v = String(pair[i] ?? '').trim();
+      return HEX_COLOR_RE.test(v) ? v.toLowerCase() : fallback;
+    });
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
+/** The channel list a dashboard listens to: whole numbers 1–6, each once, in order. */
+function sanitizeAlertChannels(list) {
+  const out = new Set();
+  for (const v of Array.isArray(list) ? list : []) {
+    const n = Number(v);
+    if (Number.isInteger(n) && n >= 1 && n <= ALERT_CHANNELS) out.add(n);
+  }
+  return [...out].sort((a, b) => a - b);
+}
+
+let alertColors = normalizeAlertColors(shellConfig.alerts?.colors);
+
+const activeAlerts = new Map(); // channel -> { id, channel, level, text, source, startedAt, duration, endsAt, timer }
+let alertSeq = 0;
+
+/** One alert as pages see it. `remainingMs` is what a browser counts down
+    from — its clock and the server's need not agree. */
+function alertView(a) {
+  return {
+    id: a.id,
+    channel: a.channel,
+    level: a.level,
+    text: a.text,
+    source: a.source,
+    startedAt: a.startedAt,
+    duration: a.duration,
+    endsAt: a.endsAt,
+    remainingMs: a.endsAt ? Math.max(0, a.endsAt - Date.now()) : null,
+  };
+}
+
+/** What GET /api/alerts returns — public, since dashboards need it before anyone logs in. */
+function alertsView() {
+  return {
+    channels: ALERT_CHANNELS,
+    levels: ALERT_LEVELS.slice(),
+    colors: normalizeAlertColors(alertColors),
+    active: [...activeAlerts.values()].sort((a, b) => a.channel - b.channel).map(alertView),
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Raise an alert: check it, replace whatever its channel was showing, time
+ * it out, and tell every open dashboard. `source` is where it came from —
+ * a module id (that module's alerts end when it stops), or 'admin' / 'api'.
+ * Throws an httpError for bad input; a route answers 400 with its message,
+ * a module gets it as a plain exception.
+ */
+function raiseAlert(input, source) {
+  const opts = input && typeof input === 'object' ? input : {};
+  const channel = Number(opts.channel);
+  if (!Number.isInteger(channel) || channel < 1 || channel > ALERT_CHANNELS) {
+    throw httpError(400, `channel must be a whole number from 1 to ${ALERT_CHANNELS}.`);
+  }
+  const level = String(opts.level ?? '').toLowerCase();
+  if (!ALERT_LEVELS.includes(level)) {
+    throw httpError(400, `level must be one of ${ALERT_LEVELS.join(', ')}.`);
+  }
+  const text = String(opts.text ?? '')
+    .replace(/[\u0000-\u001f\u007f]+/g, ' ')
+    .replace(/\s+/g, ' ')
+    .trim()
+    .slice(0, ALERT_TEXT_MAX);
+  if (!text) throw httpError(400, 'text is required.');
+  let duration = opts.duration === undefined || opts.duration === null
+    ? ALERT_DURATION_DEFAULT_S
+    : Number(opts.duration);
+  if (!Number.isFinite(duration) || duration < 0) {
+    throw httpError(400, `duration is seconds, 1 to ${ALERT_DURATION_MAX_S}, or 0 to hold the alert until it is cleared.`);
+  }
+  if (duration > 0) duration = Math.min(ALERT_DURATION_MAX_S, Math.max(1, duration));
+  const src = ALERT_SOURCE_RE.test(String(source || '')) ? String(source) : 'api';
+
+  const previous = activeAlerts.get(channel);
+  if (previous) clearTimeout(previous.timer);
+  const now = Date.now();
+  const alert = {
+    id: 'a' + (++alertSeq),
+    channel,
+    level,
+    text,
+    source: src,
+    startedAt: now,
+    duration,
+    endsAt: duration > 0 ? now + Math.round(duration * 1000) : null,
+    timer: null,
+  };
+  if (alert.endsAt) {
+    alert.timer = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (activeAlerts.get(channel) === alert) clearAlert(channel);
+    }, alert.endsAt - now);
+    alert.timer.unref?.();
+  }
+  activeAlerts.set(channel, alert);
+  broadcastShellEvent('alert', alertView(alert));
+  console.log(`[proddash] alert: ${level} on channel ${channel} from ${src} — "${text}"`
+    + (alert.endsAt ? ` (${duration} s)` : ' (until cleared)'));
+  return alertView(alert);
+}
+
+/** End the alert on a channel — early, or because its time is up. True when there was one. */
+function clearAlert(channel) {
+  const alert = activeAlerts.get(Number(channel));
+  if (!alert) return false;
+  clearTimeout(alert.timer);
+  activeAlerts.delete(alert.channel);
+  broadcastShellEvent('alert-clear', { channel: alert.channel, id: alert.id });
+  return true;
+}
+
+/** A module that stops takes its alerts with it — a held alert must never outlive what raised it. */
+function clearAlertsFrom(source) {
+  for (const alert of [...activeAlerts.values()]) {
+    if (alert.source === source) clearAlert(alert.channel);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Persist the alert colours into this machine's proddash.json (every other
+ * key there is kept), remember them, and tell every open dashboard and
+ * admin page. Throws an httpError for an unreadable settings file.
+ */
+function setAlertColors(raw) {
+  const colors = normalizeAlertColors(raw);
+  const file = path.join(DATA_DIR, 'proddash.json');
+  let existing = {};
+  if (fs.existsSync(file)) {
+    existing = readJson(file, null);
+    if (!existing || typeof existing !== 'object' || Array.isArray(existing)) {
+      throw httpError(500, `${file} is not a JSON object — fix it by hand before changing the alert colours.`);
+    }
+  }
+  const alerts = existing.alerts && typeof existing.alerts === 'object' && !Array.isArray(existing.alerts)
+    ? existing.alerts
+    : {};
+  writeJson(file, { ...existing, alerts: { ...alerts, colors } });
+  alertColors = colors;
+  shellConfig.alerts = { ...(shellConfig.alerts || {}), colors };
+  broadcastShellEvent('alerts-config', { colors: normalizeAlertColors(colors) });
+  return normalizeAlertColors(colors);
+}
+
 /* ── the repo: module catalog and shell updates ──────────────────────── */
 
 /* The admin page installs modules from, and updates the shell against, the
@@ -956,9 +1148,21 @@ async function fetchArchive() {
     signal: AbortSignal.timeout(30000),
     headers: { 'User-Agent': `ProdDash/${SHELL_VERSION}` },
   });
-  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status} fetching ${REPO.owner}/${REPO.repo}@${REPO.branch}`);
+  const where = `${REPO.owner}/${REPO.repo}@${REPO.branch}`;
+  // A forge that wants a sign-in does not refuse: it redirects the download
+  // to its login page, which arrives as a 200 of HTML. Say that, not
+  // zlib's "incorrect header check".
+  if (res.redirected && /\/user\/login\b|\/login\b/.test(new URL(res.url).pathname)) {
+    throw new Error(`${FORGE.base} requires a sign-in to read ${where} — turn off "require sign-in to view" in Gitea, or make the repo readable without one`);
+  }
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status} fetching ${where}`);
   const gz = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());
   if (gz.length > MAX_ARCHIVE_BYTES) throw new Error('archive is unexpectedly large');
+  if (gz.length < 2 || gz[0] !== 0x1f || gz[1] !== 0x8b) {
+    const type = String(res.headers.get('content-type') || 'unknown type').split(';')[0].trim();
+    const looksHtml = /^\s*<(!doctype|html)/i.test(gz.subarray(0, 64).toString('utf8'));
+    throw new Error(`${FORGE.base} answered with ${looksHtml ? 'a web page' : type} instead of the ${where} archive — check the forge address and that the repo is readable without a sign-in`);
+  }
   const { files, comment } = parseTar(zlib.gunzipSync(gz));
   const stripped = new Map(); // drop the archive's single top-level folder
   for (const [p, data] of files) {
@@ -1722,9 +1926,91 @@ async function handleAdminApi(req, res, urlPath) {
     }
   }
 
+  /* — alert colours: { "colors": { "low": [a, b], "medium": [a, b], "critical": [a, b] } } — */
+  if (urlPath === '/api/admin/alerts' && req.method === 'POST') {
+    if (refuseAdminWrite(req, res)) return;
+    let body = {};
+    try {
+      body = JSON.parse((await readBody(req)) || '{}');
+    } catch {
+      return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Malformed request.' });
+    }
+    try {
+      return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, colors: setAlertColors(body.colors) });
+    } catch (err) {
+      return sendJson(res, err.status || 500, { error: err.message || String(err) });
+    }
+  }
+
+  /* — a test flash, so the colours can be judged on a real dashboard:
+       { "level": "critical", "channel": 1 } — */
+  if (urlPath === '/api/admin/alerts/test' && req.method === 'POST') {
+    if (refuseAdminWrite(req, res)) return;
+    let body = {};
+    try {
+      body = JSON.parse((await readBody(req)) || '{}');
+    } catch {
+      return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Malformed request.' });
+    }
+    try {
+      const level = String(body.level ?? '');
+      const alert = raiseAlert({
+        channel: body.channel,
+        level,
+        text: `Test — ${level} alert`,
+        duration: 8,
+      }, 'admin');
+      return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, alert });
+    } catch (err) {
+      return sendJson(res, err.status || 500, { error: err.message || String(err) });
+    }
+  }
+
   sendJson(res, 404, { error: 'Unknown admin endpoint.' });
 }
 
+/* ── alerts API ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
+
+/* Open to every dashboard and to module servers over loopback, like a
+   module's own routes: an alert is a flash on screens in this building and
+   nothing more, so it is gated no harder than saving a layout. Requiring
+   application/json on the POST forces the CORS preflight a page on another
+   origin cannot pass. */
+async function handleAlertsApi(req, res, urlPath) {
+  if (urlPath === '/api/alerts' && req.method === 'GET') {
+    return sendJson(res, 200, alertsView());
+  }
+
+  if (urlPath === '/api/alerts' && req.method === 'POST') {
+    const contentType = String(req.headers['content-type'] || '').toLowerCase();
+    if (!contentType.startsWith('application/json')) {
+      return sendJson(res, 415, { error: 'Send application/json.' });
+    }
+    let body = {};
+    try {
+      body = JSON.parse((await readBody(req)) || '{}');
+    } catch {
+      return sendJson(res, 400, { error: 'Malformed request.' });
+    }
+    try {
+      return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, alert: raiseAlert(body, body.source) });
+    } catch (err) {
+      return sendJson(res, err.status || 500, { error: err.message || String(err) });
+    }
+  }
+
+  const m = urlPath.match(/^\/api\/alerts\/(\d{1,2})$/);
+  if (m && req.method === 'DELETE') {
+    const channel = Number(m[1]);
+    if (channel < 1 || channel > ALERT_CHANNELS) {
+      return sendJson(res, 400, { error: `channel must be a whole number from 1 to ${ALERT_CHANNELS}.` });
+    }
+    return sendJson(res, 200, { ok: true, cleared: clearAlert(channel) });
+  }
+
+  sendJson(res, 404, { error: 'Unknown alerts endpoint.' });
+}
+
 /* ── named layouts (JSON files under <data dir>/layouts/) ───────────── */
 
 /** Names double as file names — keep them boring on purpose. */
@@ -1783,6 +2069,9 @@ function sanitizeLayout(raw) {
     // The grid density the layout was arranged on, when it says and it is one
     // the shell knows; a browser loading it cuts its board the same way.
     ...(GRID_STEPS.includes(Number(raw?.gridCols)) ? { gridCols: Number(raw.gridCols) } : {}),
+    // Which alert channels the dashboard listens to — which screen flashes
+    // for what is part of how a booth is arranged, so it rides along too.
+    ...(Array.isArray(raw?.alertChannels) ? { alertChannels: sanitizeAlertChannels(raw.alertChannels) } : {}),
     tiles: tiles.map((t) => {
       const tile = {
         id: String(t?.id || ''),
@@ -2081,6 +2370,16 @@ function handleRequest(req, res) {
     return;
   }
 
+  /* — alerts: what is flashing, raising one, ending one — */
+  if (urlPath === '/api/alerts' || urlPath.startsWith('/api/alerts/')) {
+    handleAlertsApi(req, res, urlPath).catch((err) => {
+      console.error('[proddash] alerts API error:', err);
+      if (!res.headersSent) sendJson(res, 500, { error: 'Server error.' });
+      else try { res.end(); } catch { /* gone */ }
+    });
+    return;
+  }
+
   /* — named layouts — */
   if (urlPath === '/api/layouts' || urlPath.startsWith('/api/layouts/')) {
     handleLayoutsApi(req, res, urlPath).catch((err) => {

tools/alert.js

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * Raise, clear or list ProdDash alerts from the command line — for trying a
+ * dashboard's channels and the admin colours, or from a script on the
+ * machine running ProdDash (anything that can POST JSON can raise one).
+ *
+ *   node tools/alert.js "Service over by 5:00"              # low, channel 1, 15 s
+ *   node tools/alert.js -c 2 -l critical -d 0 "LTC lost"    # held until cleared
+ *   node tools/alert.js -c 2 --clear
+ *   node tools/alert.js --list
+ *
+ * Options: -c/--channel 1–6 (default 1), -l/--level low|medium|critical
+ * (default low), -d/--duration seconds, 0 to hold until cleared (default the
+ * server's 15), --url http://host:port (default http://127.0.0.1:24500, or
+ * $PRODDASH_URL), --clear, --list. Node 18+, no dependencies.
+ */
+
+const args = process.argv.slice(2);
+const opts = { channel: 1, level: 'low', duration: undefined, url: process.env.PRODDASH_URL || 'http://127.0.0.1:24500', clear: false, list: false };
+const words = [];
+for (let i = 0; i < args.length; i += 1) {
+  const a = args[i];
+  const next = () => args[++i];
+  if (a === '-c' || a === '--channel') opts.channel = Number(next());
+  else if (a === '-l' || a === '--level') opts.level = String(next() || '');
+  else if (a === '-d' || a === '--duration') opts.duration = Number(next());
+  else if (a === '--url') opts.url = String(next() || opts.url);
+  else if (a === '--clear') opts.clear = true;
+  else if (a === '--list') opts.list = true;
+  else if (a === '-h' || a === '--help') {
+    console.log('usage: node tools/alert.js [-c 1-6] [-l low|medium|critical] [-d seconds] [--url http://host:port] "text"\n'
+      + '       node tools/alert.js -c <n> --clear\n'
+      + '       node tools/alert.js --list');
+    process.exit(0);
+  } else words.push(a);
+}
+const base = opts.url.replace(/\/+$/, '');
+
+async function call(path, init) {
+  const res = await fetch(base + path, init);
+  const body = await res.json().catch(() => ({}));
+  if (!res.ok) throw new Error(body.error || `HTTP ${res.status}`);
+  return body;
+}
+
+(async () => {
+  if (opts.list) {
+    const body = await call('/api/alerts');
+    const active = body.active || [];
+    console.log(`${active.length} active alert${active.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}; colours:`,
+      Object.entries(body.colors || {}).map(([k, v]) => `${k} ${v.join('→')}`).join(', '));
+    for (const a of active) {
+      console.log(`  channel ${a.channel}  ${a.level.padEnd(8)}  "${a.text}"  from ${a.source}`
+        + (a.remainingMs === null ? '  (until cleared)' : `  (${Math.ceil(a.remainingMs / 1000)} s left)`));
+    }
+    return;
+  }
+  if (opts.clear) {
+    const body = await call(`/api/alerts/${opts.channel}`, { method: 'DELETE' });
+    console.log(body.cleared ? `cleared channel ${opts.channel}` : `nothing was on channel ${opts.channel}`);
+    return;
+  }
+  const text = words.join(' ').trim();
+  if (!text) {
+    console.error('say what happened: node tools/alert.js -c 1 -l critical "LTC lost"');
+    process.exit(2);
+  }
+  const payload = { channel: opts.channel, level: opts.level, text, source: 'cli' };
+  if (opts.duration !== undefined) payload.duration = opts.duration;
+  const body = await call('/api/alerts', {
+    method: 'POST',
+    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+    body: JSON.stringify(payload),
+  });
+  const a = body.alert;
+  console.log(`raised ${a.level} on channel ${a.channel}: "${a.text}"`
+    + (a.remainingMs === null ? ' (until cleared)' : ` (${a.duration} s)`));
+})().catch((err) => {
+  console.error(err.message || String(err));
+  process.exit(1);
+});

tools/alerts.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,277 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * Drives the shell's alerts through its HTTP API and shell stream: the
+ * defaults, every refusal, raise → `alert` frame → timeout → `alert-clear`
+ * frame, replacement on a channel, an early clear, text tidying, the
+ * channel list riding along in a saved layout, the admin colour save (and
+ * its `alerts-config` frame, and what lands in proddash.json), and the admin
+ * test flash.
+ *
+ *   node tools/alerts.test.js
+ *
+ * Plain Node, no dependencies. Starts server.js on a spare port with a
+ * temporary data directory, talks to it over HTTP, exits non-zero on the
+ * first failure and always stops the server it started.
+ */
+
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { spawn } = require('node:child_process');
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const http = require('node:http');
+const net = require('node:net');
+const os = require('node:os');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+const ROOT = path.join(__dirname, '..');
+
+function freePort() {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const probe = net.createServer();
+    probe.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', () => {
+      const { port } = probe.address();
+      probe.close(() => resolve(port));
+    });
+    probe.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+async function waitFor(url, ms = 15000) {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + ms;
+  let last = '';
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    try {
+      const r = await fetch(url);
+      if (r.ok) return;
+      last = 'HTTP ' + r.status;
+    } catch (err) {
+      last = err.message;
+    }
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
+  }
+  throw new Error('server did not come up: ' + last);
+}
+
+/** A bare SSE reader for /api/events: collects { event, data } frames and waits for one. */
+function openEvents(url) {
+  const frames = [];
+  const waiters = [];
+  const req = http.get(url, { headers: { accept: 'text/event-stream' } }, (res) => {
+    let buf = '';
+    res.setEncoding('utf8');
+    res.on('data', (chunk) => {
+      buf += chunk;
+      let i;
+      while ((i = buf.indexOf('\n\n')) >= 0) {
+        const block = buf.slice(0, i);
+        buf = buf.slice(i + 2);
+        let event = 'message';
+        const data = [];
+        for (const line of block.split('\n')) {
+          if (line.startsWith('event:')) event = line.slice(6).trim();
+          else if (line.startsWith('data:')) data.push(line.slice(5).replace(/^ /, ''));
+        }
+        if (!data.length) continue;
+        let parsed = null;
+        try { parsed = JSON.parse(data.join('\n')); } catch { parsed = data.join('\n'); }
+        const frame = { event, data: parsed };
+        frames.push(frame);
+        for (const w of [...waiters]) {
+          if (w.match(frame)) {
+            waiters.splice(waiters.indexOf(w), 1);
+            w.resolve(frame);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    });
+  });
+  return {
+    frames,
+    /** The next frame (already seen or still to come) that `match` accepts. */
+    next(match, ms = 5000, label = 'frame') {
+      const seen = frames.find(match);
+      if (seen) {
+        frames.splice(frames.indexOf(seen), 1);
+        return Promise.resolve(seen);
+      }
+      return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        const w = { match, resolve: (f) => { clearTimeout(timer); frames.splice(frames.indexOf(f), 1); resolve(f); } };
+        const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+          waiters.splice(waiters.indexOf(w), 1);
+          reject(new Error(`no ${label} within ${ms} ms`));
+        }, ms);
+        waiters.push(w);
+      });
+    },
+    close() { req.destroy(); },
+  };
+}
+
+(async () => {
+  const dataDir = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'proddash-alerts-test-'));
+  const port = await freePort();
+  const child = spawn(process.execPath, ['server.js'], {
+    cwd: ROOT,
+    env: { ...process.env, PRODDASH_DATA_DIR: dataDir, PORT: String(port), PRODDASH_NO_REMOTE_CHECK: '1', PRODDASH_LAUNCHER: '1' },
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  let log = '';
+  child.stdout.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+  child.stderr.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+
+  const base = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+  const api = async (p, init = {}) => {
+    const r = await fetch(base + p, { headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' }, ...init });
+    return { status: r.status, body: await r.json().catch(() => ({})) };
+  };
+  const raise = (alert) => api('/api/alerts', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify(alert) });
+  let events = null;
+  let failed = false;
+
+  try {
+    await waitFor(base + '/api/alerts');
+    events = openEvents(base + '/api/events');
+
+    // ── defaults ──
+    let r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200);
+    assert.equal(r.body.channels, 6, 'six channels');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.levels, ['low', 'medium', 'critical']);
+    assert.deepEqual(Object.keys(r.body.colors), ['low', 'medium', 'critical'], 'a pair per level');
+    for (const pair of Object.values(r.body.colors)) {
+      assert.equal(pair.length, 2);
+      for (const c of pair) assert.match(c, /^#[0-9a-f]{6}$/, 'colours are #rrggbb');
+    }
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.active, [], 'nothing active on a fresh server');
+    const defaults = r.body.colors;
+
+    // ── refusals say why ──
+    r = await raise({ channel: 7, level: 'low', text: 'x' });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400); assert.match(r.body.error, /channel/);
+    r = await raise({ channel: 1, level: 'high', text: 'x' });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400); assert.match(r.body.error, /level/);
+    r = await raise({ channel: 1, level: 'low', text: '   ' });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400); assert.match(r.body.error, /text/);
+    r = await raise({ channel: 1, level: 'low', text: 'x', duration: -1 });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400); assert.match(r.body.error, /duration/);
+    r = await raise({ channel: 1, level: 'low', text: 'x', duration: 'soon' });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400); assert.match(r.body.error, /duration/);
+    {
+      const plain = await fetch(base + '/api/alerts', { method: 'POST', headers: { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' }, body: '{}' });
+      assert.equal(plain.status, 415, 'a POST that is not application/json is refused');
+    }
+    r = await fetch(base + '/api/alerts/9', { method: 'DELETE' }).then(async (x) => ({ status: x.status, body: await x.json() }));
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400, 'clearing a channel that does not exist is refused');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.active, [], 'a refused alert is not half-raised');
+
+    // ── raise → frame → timeout → clear frame ──
+    r = await raise({ channel: 2, level: 'MEDIUM', text: 'Service over by 5:00', duration: 1, source: 'pco-plan' });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200, 'raise: ' + JSON.stringify(r.body));
+    const a = r.body.alert;
+    assert.equal(a.channel, 2);
+    assert.equal(a.level, 'medium', 'level is case-insensitive');
+    assert.equal(a.text, 'Service over by 5:00');
+    assert.equal(a.source, 'pco-plan', 'the source is kept');
+    assert.equal(a.duration, 1);
+    assert.ok(a.remainingMs > 0 && a.remainingMs <= 1000, 'remainingMs counts down from the duration');
+    let frame = await events.next((f) => f.event === 'alert' && f.data.id === a.id, 5000, '`alert` frame');
+    assert.equal(frame.data.text, a.text, 'the frame carries the alert');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.equal(r.body.active.length, 1, 'it is active');
+    assert.equal(r.body.active[0].id, a.id);
+    frame = await events.next((f) => f.event === 'alert-clear' && f.data.channel === 2, 5000, '`alert-clear` frame at timeout');
+    assert.equal(frame.data.id, a.id, 'the clear names the alert that ended');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.active, [], 'gone once its time is up');
+
+    // ── defaults for duration; a held alert; replacement; early clear ──
+    r = await raise({ channel: 3, level: 'low', text: 'first' });
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.duration, 15, '15 s when omitted');
+    r = await raise({ channel: 3, level: 'low', text: 'LTC lost', duration: 0 });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200);
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.endsAt, null, 'duration 0 holds the alert');
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.remainingMs, null);
+    const held = r.body.alert;
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.equal(r.body.active.length, 1, 'one alert per channel — the second replaced the first');
+    assert.equal(r.body.active[0].id, held.id);
+    r = await raise({ channel: 3, level: 'critical', text: 'replaced', duration: 600 });
+    const replaced = r.body.alert;
+    assert.equal(replaced.duration, 600, 'the cap is 600 s');
+    r = await raise({ channel: 3, level: 'critical', text: 'capped', duration: 9999 });
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.duration, 600, 'longer is clamped to the cap');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.equal(r.body.active.length, 1);
+    assert.equal(r.body.active[0].text, 'capped');
+    r = await fetch(base + '/api/alerts/3', { method: 'DELETE' }).then(async (x) => ({ status: x.status, body: await x.json() }));
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200);
+    assert.equal(r.body.cleared, true, 'an early clear says it cleared something');
+    frame = await events.next((f) => f.event === 'alert-clear' && f.data.channel === 3, 5000, '`alert-clear` frame after DELETE');
+    r = await fetch(base + '/api/alerts/3', { method: 'DELETE' }).then(async (x) => ({ status: x.status, body: await x.json() }));
+    assert.equal(r.body.cleared, false, 'clearing an empty channel is honest about it');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.active, []);
+
+    // ── text is tidied: control characters out, whitespace collapsed, 80 chars at most ──
+    r = await raise({ channel: 4, level: 'low', text: '  SPL\n\t 102 dB\u0007 —   over ' + 'x'.repeat(100), duration: 60 });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200);
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.text.length, 80, 'cut at 80');
+    assert.ok(r.body.alert.text.startsWith('SPL 102 dB — over x'), 'whitespace collapsed, control characters gone');
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.source, 'api', 'no source given → api');
+    r = await raise({ channel: 4, level: 'low', text: 'bad source', duration: 60, source: 'not a module id!' });
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.source, 'api', 'a malformed source → api');
+    await fetch(base + '/api/alerts/4', { method: 'DELETE' });
+
+    // ── the channel list rides along in a saved layout ──
+    const tile = { id: 't1', module: 'clock', x: 0, y: 0, w: 2, h: 1, settings: {} };
+    r = await api('/api/layouts/Stage', { method: 'PUT', body: JSON.stringify({ layout: { tiles: [tile], alertChannels: [3, 1, '2', 1, 9, 'x'] } }) });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200, 'save: ' + JSON.stringify(r.body));
+    r = await api('/api/layouts/Stage');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.layout.alertChannels, [1, 2, 3], 'channels come back whole, deduplicated, sorted, 1–6 only');
+    r = await api('/api/layouts/Plain', { method: 'PUT', body: JSON.stringify({ layout: { tiles: [tile] } }) });
+    r = await api('/api/layouts/Plain');
+    assert.equal('alertChannels' in r.body.layout, false, 'a layout saved without the list does not grow one');
+
+    // ── admin: colours (admin is open here — a fresh data directory has no PIN) ──
+    r = await api('/api/admin/alerts', {
+      method: 'POST',
+      body: JSON.stringify({ colors: { low: ['#112233', 'nonsense'], critical: ['#ABCDEF', '#000000'], bogus: ['#111111', '#222222'] } }),
+    });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200, 'colour save: ' + JSON.stringify(r.body));
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.colors.low, ['#112233', defaults.low[1]], 'a malformed colour takes the default');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.colors.medium, defaults.medium, 'a level left out keeps the default');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.colors.critical, ['#abcdef', '#000000'], 'colours are lower-cased');
+    assert.equal('bogus' in r.body.colors, false, 'an unknown level is dropped');
+    frame = await events.next((f) => f.event === 'alerts-config', 5000, '`alerts-config` frame');
+    assert.deepEqual(frame.data.colors, r.body.colors, 'open dashboards hear the new colours');
+    r = await api('/api/alerts');
+    assert.deepEqual(r.body.colors.low, ['#112233', defaults.low[1]], 'GET reflects the save');
+    const settings = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(dataDir, 'proddash.json'), 'utf8'));
+    assert.deepEqual(settings.alerts.colors.critical, ['#abcdef', '#000000'], 'saved under alerts.colors in proddash.json');
+
+    // ── admin: the test flash ──
+    r = await api('/api/admin/alerts/test', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ level: 'critical', channel: 5 }) });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200, 'test: ' + JSON.stringify(r.body));
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.channel, 5);
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.level, 'critical');
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.source, 'admin');
+    assert.match(r.body.alert.text, /^Test — critical alert$/);
+    assert.equal(r.body.alert.duration, 8, 'a test flash is short');
+    r = await api('/api/admin/alerts/test', { method: 'POST', body: JSON.stringify({ level: 'nope', channel: 5 }) });
+    assert.equal(r.status, 400, 'a bad test level is refused like any other');
+    await fetch(base + '/api/alerts/5', { method: 'DELETE' });
+
+    console.log('alerts: every check passed');
+  } catch (err) {
+    failed = true;
+    console.error('FAIL:', err.message);
+    console.error('--- last of the server log ---\n' + log.slice(-2000));
+  } finally {
+    try { events?.close(); } catch { /* already closed */ }
+    child.kill('SIGTERM');
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 400));
+    fs.rmSync(dataDir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+  process.exit(failed ? 1 : 0);
+})();

tools/prodcom-mock.js

@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 /**
  * Mock ProdCom API for verifying the prodcom-transcript module without a
  * live ProdCom. Serves the endpoints the module uses — channels, groups,
- * transcript history and the SSE stream — and simulates live speech:
- * entries appear in progress, grow word by word (same id, in-place update),
- * then complete.
+ * transcript history, the SSE stream and POST /api/v1/channels/{id}/send —
+ * and simulates live speech: entries appear in progress, grow word by word
+ * (same id, in-place update), then complete. Text sent to a channel lands
+ * in that channel's history as a completed entry with source "typed" and
+ * goes out on the stream, which is how a send from the Send Message module
+ * can be watched arriving in the transcript tile. A text containing "!429"
+ * answers RATE_LIMITED; an unknown channel NOT_FOUND. With PRODCOM_MOCK_KEY
+ * set, every request must carry it as a Bearer token (UNAUTHORIZED
+ * otherwise) — the module's "API key" field.
  *
  *   node tools/prodcom-mock.js [port]      (default 24480)
  *
@@ -17,12 +23,13 @@ const http = require('http');
 
 const PORT = Number.parseInt(process.argv[2] || '24480', 10);
 const STEP_MS = Number.parseInt(process.env.PRODCOM_STEP_MS || '700', 10);
+const API_KEY = String(process.env.PRODCOM_MOCK_KEY || '');
 
 const CHANNELS = [
-  { id: 'ch-stage', name: 'Stage', color: '#e0645c' },
-  { id: 'ch-foh', name: 'FOH', color: '#5c9de0' },
-  { id: 'ch-video', name: 'Video', color: '#5cd08c' },
-  { id: 'ch-light', name: 'Lighting', color: '#e0b45c' },
+  { id: 'ch-stage', name: 'Stage', color: '#e0645c', sourceType: 'localAudio', typingEnabled: true, isSelected: true, unreadCount: 0 },
+  { id: 'ch-foh', name: 'FOH', color: '#5c9de0', sourceType: 'localAudio', typingEnabled: true, isSelected: false, unreadCount: 0 },
+  { id: 'ch-video', name: 'Video', color: '#5cd08c', sourceType: 'network', typingEnabled: false, isSelected: false, unreadCount: 0 },
+  { id: 'ch-light', name: 'Lighting', color: '#e0b45c', sourceType: 'network', typingEnabled: false, isSelected: false, unreadCount: 0 },
 ];
 
 const GROUPS = [
@@ -69,6 +76,7 @@ function stepSimulation() {
       text: words[0],
       date: new Date().toISOString(),
       inProgress: true,
+      source: 'audio',
     };
     speaking = { entry, words, at: 1 };
     history.push(entry);
@@ -90,15 +98,68 @@ function stepSimulation() {
 
 setInterval(stepSimulation, STEP_MS);
 
-function sendJson(res, body) {
-  res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
+function sendJson(res, body, status = 200) {
+  res.writeHead(status, { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' });
   res.end(JSON.stringify(body));
 }
 
+/** ProdCom's error envelope. */
+function sendError(res, status, code, message) {
+  sendJson(res, { error: { code, message }, meta: { timestamp: new Date().toISOString() } }, status);
+}
+
+function readBody(req) {
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    let data = '';
+    req.on('data', (c) => { data += c; });
+    req.on('end', () => {
+      try { resolve(data ? JSON.parse(data) : {}); } catch { resolve(null); }
+    });
+    req.on('error', () => resolve(null));
+  });
+}
+
+/** Typed text onto a channel: a completed entry with source "typed", like ProdCom makes. */
+function sendText(channel, text) {
+  const entry = {
+    id: 'e' + RUN + '-' + nextId++,
+    channelId: channel.id,
+    channelName: channel.name,
+    text,
+    date: new Date().toISOString(),
+    inProgress: false,
+    source: 'typed',
+    hasBeenSeen: false,
+  };
+  history.push(entry);
+  if (history.length > 200) history.shift();
+  broadcast(entry);
+  console.log(`[prodcom-mock] typed → ${channel.name}: ${text}`);
+}
+
 const server = http.createServer((req, res) => {
   const url = new URL(req.url, `http://x.invalid`);
   const p = url.pathname;
 
+  if (API_KEY && req.headers.authorization !== `Bearer ${API_KEY}`) {
+    return sendError(res, 401, 'UNAUTHORIZED', 'Authentication required or invalid API key');
+  }
+
+  // POST /api/v1/channels/{id or name}/send  { text }
+  const send = /^\/api\/v1\/channels\/([^/]+)\/send$/.exec(p);
+  if (send && req.method === 'POST') {
+    const ref = decodeURIComponent(send[1]);
+    const channel = CHANNELS.find((c) => c.id === ref) || CHANNELS.find((c) => c.name.toLowerCase() === ref.toLowerCase());
+    return void readBody(req).then((body) => {
+      if (!channel) return sendError(res, 404, 'NOT_FOUND', 'Channel not found');
+      const text = typeof body?.text === 'string' ? body.text.trim() : '';
+      if (!body || !text) return sendError(res, 400, 'VALIDATION_ERROR', 'text is required');
+      if (text.includes('!429')) return sendError(res, 429, 'RATE_LIMITED', 'Slow down');
+      sendText(channel, text);
+      sendJson(res, { data: { sent: true }, meta: { timestamp: new Date().toISOString() } });
+    });
+  }
+
   if (p === '/api/v1/channels') return sendJson(res, { data: CHANNELS });
   if (p === '/api/v1/groups') return sendJson(res, { data: GROUPS });
   if (p === '/api/v1/transcript') {

tools/update-check.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+'use strict';
+
+/**
+ * The update check against a forge that misbehaves: the admin page must say
+ * what went wrong in words, never zlib's "incorrect header check".
+ *
+ *   node tools/update-check.test.js
+ *
+ * Plain Node, no dependencies. Starts a mock forge whose answer to the
+ * branch-archive download can be switched at runtime, starts server.js on a
+ * spare port pointed at it, and reads the shell status the admin page shows
+ * after each kind of answer:
+ *
+ *   - a Gitea that requires a sign-in redirects the download to its login
+ *     page (a 200 of HTML) — the case that hit both booths on 2026-09-29;
+ *   - a captive portal or a wrong address answers HTML outright;
+ *   - a plain HTTP error;
+ *   - and a real archive, which must still parse and offer the update.
+ *
+ * Exits non-zero on the first failure and always stops what it started.
+ */
+
+const assert = require('node:assert/strict');
+const { spawn, execFileSync } = require('node:child_process');
+const fs = require('node:fs');
+const http = require('node:http');
+const net = require('node:net');
+const os = require('node:os');
+const path = require('node:path');
+
+const ROOT = path.join(__dirname, '..');
+
+function freePort() {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const probe = net.createServer();
+    probe.listen(0, '127.0.0.1', () => {
+      const { port } = probe.address();
+      probe.close(() => resolve(port));
+    });
+    probe.on('error', reject);
+  });
+}
+
+async function waitFor(url, ms = 15000) {
+  const deadline = Date.now() + ms;
+  let last = '';
+  while (Date.now() < deadline) {
+    try {
+      const r = await fetch(url);
+      if (r.ok) return;
+      last = 'HTTP ' + r.status;
+    } catch (err) {
+      last = err.message;
+    }
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 200));
+  }
+  throw new Error('server did not come up: ' + last);
+}
+
+/** A branch archive the way a forge would build one: one top-level folder. */
+function buildArchive(dir) {
+  const top = path.join(dir, 'ProdDash-main');
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo'), { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'package.json'), JSON.stringify({ name: 'proddash', version: '9.9.9' }));
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo', 'module.json'), JSON.stringify({ id: 'demo', name: 'Demo', version: '1.0.0', client: 'client.js' }));
+  fs.writeFileSync(path.join(top, 'modules', 'demo', 'client.js'), 'export default function () {}\n');
+  const out = path.join(dir, 'main.tar.gz');
+  execFileSync('tar', ['-czf', out, '-C', dir, 'ProdDash-main']);
+  return fs.readFileSync(out);
+}
+
+(async () => {
+  const work = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'proddash-update-test-'));
+  const dataDir = path.join(work, 'data');
+  fs.mkdirSync(dataDir);
+  const archive = buildArchive(path.join(work, 'forge'));
+
+  // ── the mock forge ──
+  let mode = 'ok';
+  const LOGIN_PAGE = '<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html><head><title>Sign in</title></head><body>Sign in to continue</body></html>';
+  const forge = http.createServer((req, res) => {
+    const url = new URL(req.url, 'http://forge.invalid');
+    if (url.pathname === '/user/login') {
+      res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/html; charset=utf-8' });
+      return res.end(LOGIN_PAGE);
+    }
+    if (url.pathname !== '/michael/ProdDash/archive/main.tar.gz') {
+      res.writeHead(404, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
+      return res.end('not here');
+    }
+    switch (mode) {
+      case 'login-redirect':
+        res.writeHead(303, { Location: '/user/login?redirect_to=' + encodeURIComponent(url.pathname) });
+        return res.end();
+      case 'html':
+        res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'text/html; charset=utf-8' });
+        return res.end('<html><body>You must log in to this network first</body></html>');
+      case 'notfound':
+        res.writeHead(404, { 'Content-Type': 'text/plain' });
+        return res.end('no such branch');
+      default:
+        res.writeHead(200, { 'Content-Type': 'application/gzip' });
+        return res.end(archive);
+    }
+  });
+  const forgePort = await freePort();
+  await new Promise((r) => forge.listen(forgePort, '127.0.0.1', r));
+  const forgeBase = `http://127.0.0.1:${forgePort}`;
+
+  // ── ProdDash, pointed at it ──
+  const port = await freePort();
+  const child = spawn(process.execPath, ['server.js'], {
+    cwd: ROOT,
+    env: {
+      ...process.env,
+      PRODDASH_DATA_DIR: dataDir,
+      PORT: String(port),
+      PRODDASH_FORGE: forgeBase,
+      PRODDASH_REPO: 'michael/ProdDash',
+      PRODDASH_NO_REMOTE_CHECK: '1',
+      PRODDASH_LAUNCHER: '1',
+    },
+    stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+  });
+  let log = '';
+  child.stdout.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+  child.stderr.on('data', (d) => { log += d; });
+  const base = `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
+
+  /** What the admin page shows after a forced check. Admin is open: a fresh data dir has no PIN. */
+  const check = async (m) => {
+    mode = m;
+    const r = await fetch(base + '/api/admin/catalog?refresh=1');
+    assert.equal(r.status, 200, `catalog: HTTP ${r.status}`);
+    const body = await r.json();
+    return body.shell;
+  };
+
+  let failed = false;
+  try {
+    await waitFor(base + '/api/theme');
+
+    let shell = await check('login-redirect');
+    assert.match(shell.remote.error, /requires a sign-in/, 'a login redirect is named as such: ' + shell.remote.error);
+    assert.match(shell.remote.error, /require sign-in to view/, 'and the Gitea setting to look at is named');
+    assert.doesNotMatch(shell.remote.error, /header check/, 'never zlib\'s words');
+    assert.equal(shell.updateAvailable, false);
+
+    shell = await check('html');
+    assert.match(shell.remote.error, /answered with a web page instead of the michael\/ProdDash@main archive/, shell.remote.error);
+
+    shell = await check('notfound');
+    assert.match(shell.remote.error, /HTTP 404 fetching michael\/ProdDash@main/, shell.remote.error);
+
+    shell = await check('ok');
+    assert.equal(shell.remote.error, '', 'a real archive clears the error: ' + shell.remote.error);
+    assert.equal(shell.remote.version, '9.9.9', 'and is read');
+    assert.equal(shell.updateAvailable, true, 'and offered');
+
+    // Back to a broken forge: the last good read is not mistaken for a current one.
+    shell = await check('login-redirect');
+    assert.match(shell.remote.error, /requires a sign-in/);
+
+    console.log('update check: every check passed');
+  } catch (err) {
+    failed = true;
+    console.error('FAIL:', err.message);
+    console.error('--- last of the server log ---\n' + log.slice(-2000));
+  } finally {
+    child.kill('SIGTERM');
+    forge.close();
+    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 400));
+    fs.rmSync(work, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  }
+  process.exit(failed ? 1 : 0);
+})();