feat(mvp-system): actor admin control, iroh relay debug

Add node_agent actor and orchestrator/worker_node admin control; iroh-driver relay debugging; ACTOR_CONTROL_AUDIT_IDEAS notes.


Signed-off-by: Zachery Aaron Shores-Chmielewski <zacheryasc@gmail.com>

Cargo.lock

@@ -2477,6 +2477,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "distribution",
  "iroh",
  "iroh-driver",
+ "iroh-relay",
  "libc",
  "parking_lot",
  "serde",

crates/distribution/tests/telemetry.rs

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ mod datastream_records {
     fn distribution_emits_owned_channel_through_datastream_mux() {
         let stream = StreamId::new(NodeId::new("dist-node"), Lifetime(1));
         let mux = Mux::unbounded(stream);
+        mux.set_frame_timing_enabled(false);
         let state = DistributionState {
             registry_size: 9,
             ..Default::default()

crates/iroh-driver/src/iroh_driver.rs

@@ -237,8 +237,8 @@ pub struct IrohDriver {
     peer_relay_urls: HashMap<NodeId, iroh::RelayUrl>,
     /// Real-time join status for each peer being joined.
     join_statuses: Arc<Mutex<HashMap<NodeId, JoinStatus>>>,
-    /// Relay URL exposed by the bound endpoint, if any.
-    relay_url: Option<String>,
+    /// Relay URL configured or exposed by the bound endpoint, if any.
+    relay_url: Option<iroh::RelayUrl>,
     /// Actor-bridge wiring, installed via [`Self::enable_actor_bridge`]. When
     /// present, the driver decodes inbound frames into actor messages
     /// ([`Self::pump_inbound_to_actors`]) and writes actor-produced outbound
@@ -330,6 +330,11 @@ impl IrohDriver {
         config: IrohDriverConfig,
     ) -> Result<Self, Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
         let effective_relay_mode = config.relay_mode;
+        let configured_relay_url = match &effective_relay_mode {
+            RelayMode::Custom(relay_map) => relay_map.urls::<Vec<_>>().into_iter().next(),
+            _ => None,
+        };
+        let custom_relay = matches!(&effective_relay_mode, RelayMode::Custom(_));
 
         // A custom relay is operator-controlled (typically `iroh-driver-relay`
         // on a VPS, serving QUIC Address Discovery with a self-signed cert).
@@ -337,8 +342,6 @@ impl IrohDriver {
         // that, address discovery fails and every connection stays
         // `conn_type=Relay`, which defeats hole-punching and makes a NAT'd peer
         // (e.g. a locally-run orchestrator) reachable only over the relay.
-        let custom_relay = matches!(effective_relay_mode, RelayMode::Custom(_));
-
         let endpoint = rt.block_on(async {
             let mut alpns = vec![ALPN.to_vec()];
             alpns.extend(config.additional_alpns.iter().cloned());
@@ -362,7 +365,8 @@ impl IrohDriver {
             .addr()
             .relay_urls()
             .next()
-            .map(|url| url.to_string());
+            .cloned()
+            .or(configured_relay_url);
 
         // The driver's signing identity matches the iroh endpoint: both use
         // ed25519-dalek, so we reconstruct our Keypair from iroh's secret key.
@@ -458,16 +462,20 @@ impl IrohDriver {
         self.keypair.node_id()
     }
 
-    /// The endpoint's full address (public key + direct socket addresses).
+    /// The endpoint's current relay/direct advertised address.
     ///
-    /// Constructs the address from the endpoint's public key and bound
-    /// sockets. For sockets bound to `0.0.0.0`, emits one address per
+    /// Starts from Iroh's live endpoint address, which includes the current
+    /// home relay when one is available, then merges normalized direct socket
+    /// addresses. For sockets bound to `0.0.0.0`, emits one address per
     /// discovered LAN IP so that peers on the same network can connect
     /// directly. IPv6 unspecified is mapped to localhost.
     pub fn endpoint_addr(&self) -> EndpointAddr {
-        let key = PublicKey::from_bytes(&self.keypair.node_id().0)
-            .expect("node_id is a valid public key");
-        let mut addr = EndpointAddr::new(key);
+        let mut addr = self.endpoint.addr();
+        if addr.relay_urls().next().is_none() {
+            if let Some(relay) = self.relay_url.clone() {
+                addr = addr.with_relay_url(relay);
+            }
+        }
         for sa in self.direct_addresses() {
             addr = addr.with_ip_addr(sa);
         }
@@ -622,7 +630,7 @@ impl IrohDriver {
                     .peer_relay_urls
                     .get(&seed_node_id)
                     .cloned()
-                    .or_else(|| self.endpoint.addr().relay_urls().next().cloned())
+                    .or_else(|| self.home_relay_url())
                 {
                     seed_addr.clone().with_relay_url(relay)
                 } else {
@@ -983,7 +991,7 @@ impl IrohDriver {
             .and_then(|s| s.parse::<iroh::RelayUrl>().ok())
         {
             Some(r)
-        } else if let Some(r) = self.endpoint.addr().relay_urls().next().cloned() {
+        } else if let Some(r) = self.home_relay_url() {
             Some(r)
         } else {
             None
@@ -1051,14 +1059,19 @@ impl IrohDriver {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Relay URL exposed by the bound endpoint, if any.
+    /// Relay URL configured or exposed by the bound endpoint, if any.
     pub fn relay_url(&self) -> Option<&str> {
-        self.relay_url.as_deref()
+        self.relay_url.as_ref().map(|url| url.as_str())
     }
 
-    /// The endpoint's home relay URL (from RelayMode::Custom), if connected.
+    /// The endpoint's live or configured home relay URL, if any.
     pub fn home_relay_url(&self) -> Option<iroh::RelayUrl> {
-        self.endpoint.addr().relay_urls().next().cloned()
+        self.endpoint
+            .addr()
+            .relay_urls()
+            .next()
+            .cloned()
+            .or_else(|| self.relay_url.clone())
     }
 
     /// Async teardown for the unified driver loop, which runs on a tokio worker

crates/iroh-driver/tests/datastream_transport.rs

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ async fn iroh_datastream_alpn_carries_endpoint_subscription() {
     let endpoint = DatastreamEndpoint::with_capacity(stream.clone(), 8, 8);
     let subscription = endpoint.subscribe_all("iroh");
     let producer = endpoint.producer();
+    producer.set_frame_timing_enabled(false);
 
     producer.submit_text("runtime.log", "alpha");
     producer.submit_text("runtime.log", "beta");

crates/iroh-driver/tests/iroh_driver.rs

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 mod common;
 
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
-use std::time::Duration;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
 use common::iroh::*;
 use distribution::peer_auth::PeerAllowList;
@@ -38,6 +38,33 @@ fn iroh_driver_reports_listen_addr_and_no_routes() {
     driver.shutdown();
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn endpoint_addr_includes_home_relay() {
+    let (relay_url, _relay_guard) = spawn_test_relay();
+    let expected_relay_url = relay_url.to_string();
+    let mut node = make_driver_with_relay(relay_url.clone());
+    let start = Instant::now();
+    let (relay_advertised, observed_relay_url) = loop {
+        let endpoint = node.endpoint_addr();
+        let current_relay_url = endpoint.relay_urls().next().map(|url| url.to_string());
+        if current_relay_url.as_deref() == Some(expected_relay_url.as_str()) {
+            break (true, current_relay_url);
+        }
+        if start.elapsed() >= Duration::from_secs(5) {
+            break (false, current_relay_url);
+        }
+        pump_one(&mut node);
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));
+    };
+
+    node.shutdown();
+
+    assert!(
+        relay_advertised,
+        "advertised endpoint did not include home relay {expected_relay_url} within timeout; last relay URL: {observed_relay_url:?}"
+    );
+}
+
 // ─── Join integration tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 #[test]

crates/mvp-system/ACTOR_CONTROL_AUDIT_IDEAS.md

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+# Actor Control Audit Ideas
+
+**status**: early draft
+
+Grounding from `crates/mvp-system`: the specs already give a useful audit line. `MVP_SYSTEM_SPEC.md` says the orchestrator is run authority, swactor owns the control plane, actors establish/observe/tear down components, and tensor bytes are explicitly not actor-mailbox traffic. `MVP_NODE_PROVISIONING_SPEC.md` also gives a key exception: provider I/O and SSH bootstrap are temporary pre-swactor paths; after convergence, swactor is the live control path.
+
+Suggested somewhat-deterministic identification passes:
+
+1. **Execution-boundary denylist scan**   -- Yes, and the inverse, any code not called from an Actor::handle(...) needs inspection.
+   AST-scan for `std::thread::spawn`, `tokio::spawn`, `Handle::spawn`, `spawn_blocking`, `Command::new(...).spawn`, `Runtime::new`, and `block_on`. Anything not inside an actor, runtime bootstrap, hot-path byte pump, or pre-swactor bootstrap allowlist is a candidate.
+
+2. **Process ownership audit**  
+   Find every `std::process::Child`, `ChildStdin`, `ChildStdout`, `ChildStderr`, and `Command::new`. Require each long-lived child to have an actor owner, stop message, exit observation path, and teardown report; otherwise it is likely imperative supervision.
+
+3. **Network listener audit**   
+   Scan for `TcpListener`, `UnixListener`, `UnixStream`, `UnixDatagram`, `accept`, and per-connection threads/tasks. A listener is acceptable if it immediately decodes ingress into actor messages; if it owns request state or invokes domain operations directly, flag it.
+
+4. **Channel-as-shadow-mailbox audit**  
+   Scan for `std::sync::mpsc`, `tokio::sync::mpsc`, `oneshot`, `watch`, `broadcast`, and custom queues. Channels outside actor shells often mean a parallel control surface; classify each as actor ingress adapter, data hot-path helper, test harness, or suspect.
+
+
+7. **Actor reachability taint analysis**   -- Yes see my comments on 1
+   Treat `impl ActorInterface::handle` and actor constructors as roots, then build a call graph. Side-effectful functions reachable only from bins/tests/background threads but not actor roots become candidates for migration.
+
+
+8. **Side-effect import layering rule**  
+   Flag `std::process`, `std::net`, `tokio::net`, `std::fs`, Docker/VastAI/SSH clients, driver joins, and datastream emitters in modules that are supposed to be pure domain state machines. Pure cores should emit commands/events, not perform effects.
+
+
+10. **Runtime creation inventory**  -- If this happens at all, massive red flag.
+    Enumerate every `tokio::runtime::Runtime::new` and `swactor::runtime::Runtime::new`. Runtime creation should cluster at process/runtime-stack boundaries and tests; nested or ad-hoc runtimes usually indicate imperative islands.
+
+
+11. **Post-handoff control-path check** -- All bootstrap monitoring should be owned by an actor, no exceptions.
+    Encode the provisioning spec as an audit rule: after `swactor` convergence/handoff, SSH/bootstrap/provider code may not remain the live node control path. Scan for SSH or bootstrap-session methods that can act after convergence without going through a node actor.
+
+
+13. **Datastream emission provenance check**  
+    Find direct calls that emit provisioning/readiness/fault/teardown telemetry. Control-plane telemetry should be derived from actor-observed events or actor-owned adapters; direct emission from random loops can hide imperative authority.
+
+
+18. **External API client audit**  
+    Identify VastAI, Docker, SSH, git, and filesystem operations. Provider plugins can perform provider I/O, but they should be stateless with respect to run authority; any retained run/node state inside the client/plugin is suspect.
+
+
+19. **Ownership matrix by resource**  -- Yes, but let us be careful about resource definition to catch these.
+    Build a table: resource type -> owning actor -> allowed non-actor adapter -> teardown message. Missing owner for processes, sockets, rings, leases, workers, or node records is a concrete migration target.
+
+
+20. **Control-plane exception registry**  -- How about a critical section boundary, so that any unactorized code gets flagged
+    Maintain a small checked-in allowlist: pure core, hot tensor byte path, startup bootstrap, pre-swactor SSH bootstrap, provider I/O adapter, test harness. Every denylist hit must match one exception or be filed as non-actor control code.
+
+
+
+22. **Backtrace-based audit mode**  -- Yes, but not with a 'registry', and only certain critical datastructures
+    Wrap side-effect APIs behind crate-local helpers and, in audit builds, record a lightweight backtrace/source tag. During e2e runs, fail or report when control-plane effects happen without an actor frame or registered bootstrap exception.
+
+
+
+24. **Spawn wrapper migration**  -- Interesting idea, consider later. Eventually want to migrate task/thread behavior to swactor runtime, but that is currently deferred to post-alpha.
+    Replace direct `thread::spawn`, `tokio::spawn`, and `Command::spawn` with crate-local wrappers like `spawn_actor_adapter`, `spawn_byte_pump`, `spawn_pre_swactor_bootstrap`, `spawn_test_helper`. The wrapper name forces classification and makes unclassified spawns easy to detect.
+
+
+
+25. **Shadow-runtime detector**  -- Multiple runtimes should be considered always wrong until future notice.
+    Flag ad-hoc Tokio runtimes or swactor runtimes not created by the runtime stack/binary bootstrap. Multiple runtimes are not always wrong, but they often correlate with code escaping the actor scheduler/control surface.
+
+
+28. **Readiness/fault/teardown vocabulary scan**  
+    Search emitted JSON/log labels and enum variants containing `ready`, `live`, `failed`, `fault`, `stopped`, `exited`, `teardown`, `destroyed`. These are control-plane facts; require actor observation/provenance.
+
+
+33. **Test-harness exclusion rule**  
+    Keep tests out of the main migration signal unless they define production-like support code reused by binaries. The crate has many e2e helpers with threads/processes; classify those separately to avoid noisy false positives.
+

crates/mvp-system/Cargo.toml

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ swactor-transport = { path = "../transport" }
 distribution = { path = "../distribution" }
 iroh-driver = { path = "../iroh-driver" }
 iroh = "0.98"
-tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros", "process", "io-util", "sync", "time"] }
+tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread", "macros", "process", "io-util", "sync", "time", "net"] }
 swactor-vastai = { path = "../../tools/vastai" }
 parking_lot = "0.12"
 blake3 = "1"
@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@ toml = "0.8"
 [target.'cfg(target_os = "linux")'.dependencies]
 libc = "0.2"
 
+[dev-dependencies]
+iroh-relay = { version = "0.98", features = ["server", "test-utils"] }
+
 [[bin]]
 name = "mvp-worker-node"
 path = "src/bin/worker_node.rs"

crates/mvp-system/MVP_NODE_PROVISIONING_SPEC.md

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # MVP Node Provisioning Specification
+ ***STALE! FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE ONLY*** 
 
-**Status:** draft node-provisioning specification.
+**Status:**draft node-provisioning specification.
 
 This document defines the MVP path from a static runplan node requirement to a
 remote swactor runtime joined to the orchestrator-side swarm. It covers provider

crates/mvp-system/MVP_SYSTEM_SPEC.md

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # MVP System Specification
+ ***STALE! FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE ONLY*** 
 
 **Status:** draft consolidated system specification.
 

crates/mvp-system/src/actors/node_agent.rs

@@ -58,6 +58,13 @@ pub enum NodeAgentMsg {
         stage_index: u32,
         endpoint: EndpointAddr,
         node_actor: ActorAddress,
+        readiness_id: u64,
+    },
+    RuntimeReadyAck {
+        run_id: u64,
+        node_id: u64,
+        stage_index: u32,
+        readiness_id: u64,
     },
     MarkWeightsReady,
     MarkInboundEdgeReady {
@@ -184,6 +191,12 @@ pub enum NodeAgentReport {
         max_tokens: u32,
         reply_to: ActorAddress,
     },
+    RuntimeReadyAck {
+        run_id: u64,
+        node_id: u64,
+        stage_index: u32,
+        readiness_id: u64,
+    },
     Snapshot {
         commands: Vec<StageCommandWire>,
         events: Vec<StageLifecycleWire>,
@@ -234,6 +247,7 @@ impl NodeAgentActor {
                 stage_index,
                 endpoint,
                 node_actor,
+                readiness_id,
             } => {
                 self.core.observe(stage::StageEvent::WorkerReady);
                 let _ = ctx.send(
@@ -244,9 +258,29 @@ impl NodeAgentActor {
                         stage_index,
                         endpoint,
                         node_actor,
+                        readiness_id,
                     },
                 );
             }
+            NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                run_id,
+                node_id,
+                stage_index,
+                readiness_id,
+            } => {
+                if let Some(report_to) = self.report_to {
+                    let _ = ctx.send(
+                        report_to,
+                        NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                            run_id,
+                            node_id,
+                            stage_index,
+                            readiness_id,
+                        },
+                    );
+                }
+                return;
+            }
             NodeAgentMsg::MarkWeightsReady => self.core.observe(stage::StageEvent::WeightsReady),
             NodeAgentMsg::MarkInboundEdgeReady { edge_id } => {
                 self.core.observe(stage::StageEvent::InboundEdgeReady {
@@ -534,6 +568,7 @@ mod tests {
                     stage_index: 3,
                     endpoint: endpoint.clone(),
                     node_actor,
+                    readiness_id: 99,
                 },
             )
             .expect("send runtime loaded");
@@ -547,7 +582,50 @@ mod tests {
                 stage_index: 3,
                 endpoint,
                 node_actor,
+                readiness_id: 99,
             })
         );
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn node_agent_runtime_ready_ack_reports_worker_loop() {
+        let runtime = Runtime::new(RuntimeConfig::default());
+        let orchestrator_inbox = runtime
+            .new_inbox::<OrchestratorMsg>()
+            .expect("orchestrator inbox");
+        let reports = runtime
+            .new_inbox::<NodeAgentReport>()
+            .expect("node report inbox");
+        let actor = runtime
+            .spawn(NodeAgentActor::new(
+                stage::NodeId(11),
+                *orchestrator_inbox.addr(),
+                Some(*reports.addr()),
+            ))
+            .expect("spawn node agent");
+
+        runtime
+            .send_to(
+                actor,
+                NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                    run_id: 7,
+                    node_id: 11,
+                    stage_index: 3,
+                    readiness_id: 99,
+                },
+            )
+            .expect("send runtime ready ack");
+        runtime.tick();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            reports.try_recv(),
+            Some(NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                run_id: 7,
+                node_id: 11,
+                stage_index: 3,
+                readiness_id: 99,
+            })
+        );
+        assert_eq!(reports.try_recv(), None);
+    }
 }

crates/mvp-system/src/actors/orchestrator.rs

@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ pub enum OrchestratorMsg {
         stage_index: u32,
         endpoint: EndpointAddr,
         node_actor: ActorAddress,
+        readiness_id: u64,
     },
     ObserveTokenInEndpointReady,
     ObserveTokenOutEndpointReady,
@@ -134,6 +135,7 @@ pub enum OrchestratorReport {
         stage_index: u32,
         endpoint: EndpointAddr,
         node_actor: ActorAddress,
+        readiness_id: u64,
     },
     Snapshot {
         commands: Vec<RunCommandWire>,
@@ -269,6 +271,7 @@ impl ActorInterface for OrchestratorActor {
             stage_index,
             endpoint,
             node_actor,
+            readiness_id,
         } = msg.clone()
         {
             if let Some(report_to) = self.report_to {
@@ -280,6 +283,7 @@ impl ActorInterface for OrchestratorActor {
                         stage_index,
                         endpoint,
                         node_actor,
+                        readiness_id,
                     },
                 );
             }
@@ -421,6 +425,7 @@ mod tests {
                     stage_index: 3,
                     endpoint: endpoint.clone(),
                     node_actor,
+                    readiness_id: 99,
                 },
             )
             .expect("send runtime ready");
@@ -434,6 +439,7 @@ mod tests {
                 stage_index: 3,
                 endpoint,
                 node_actor,
+                readiness_id: 99,
             })
         );
         assert_eq!(reports.try_recv(), None);

crates/mvp-system/src/bin/mvp_one_node_chat.rs

@@ -1109,6 +1109,22 @@ fn orch_local_e2e_marker(bin: &Path) -> PathBuf {
     marker
 }
 
+fn orch_binary_fingerprint(bin: &Path, root: &Path) -> Result<String, String> {
+    let display = display_workspace_path(root, bin);
+    let metadata = fs::metadata(bin).map_err(|e| format!("stat {display}: {e}"))?;
+    let modified = metadata
+        .modified()
+        .map_err(|e| format!("modified time {display}: {e}"))?;
+    let modified_ns = modified
+        .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("modified time before Unix epoch for {display}: {e}"))?
+        .as_nanos();
+    Ok(format!(
+        "local-e2e\nlen={}\nmodified_ns={modified_ns}\n",
+        metadata.len()
+    ))
+}
+
 fn orch_local_e2e_marker_stale(bin: &Path, root: &Path) -> Result<bool, String> {
     if !bin.is_file() {
         return Ok(true);
@@ -1117,13 +1133,16 @@ fn orch_local_e2e_marker_stale(bin: &Path, root: &Path) -> Result<bool, String>
     if !marker.is_file() {
         return Ok(true);
     }
-    Ok(modified_time(root, &marker)? < modified_time(root, bin)?)
+    let expected = orch_binary_fingerprint(bin, root)?;
+    let actual = fs::read_to_string(&marker).unwrap_or_default();
+    Ok(actual != expected)
 }
 
 fn write_orch_local_e2e_marker(bin: &Path, root: &Path) -> Result<(), String> {
     let marker = orch_local_e2e_marker(bin);
     let display = display_workspace_path(root, &marker);
-    fs::write(&marker, b"local-e2e\n").map_err(|e| format!("write {display}: {e}"))
+    let fingerprint = orch_binary_fingerprint(bin, root)?;
+    fs::write(&marker, fingerprint).map_err(|e| format!("write {display}: {e}"))
 }
 
 fn latest_mtime(root: &Path, path: &Path) -> Result<SystemTime, String> {

crates/mvp-system/src/bin/orchestrator.rs

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
 use datastream::{ChannelId, DatastreamSink, Frame, Lifetime, Mux, NodeId, StreamId};
 use distribution::node::DistributedNodeConfig;
+use distribution::types::{MemberState, NodeId as DistNodeId};
 use iroh::EndpointAddr;
 use iroh_driver::{IrohDriver, IrohDriverConfig};
 use mvp_system::actors::node_agent::{NodeAgentMsg, StageProvisionWire};
@@ -60,6 +61,8 @@ const PUMP_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(10);
 const MVP_ORCH_BOOTSTRAP: &str = "mvp.orch.bootstrap";
 const MVP_ORCH_PROMPT: &str = "mvp.orch.prompt";
 const DATASTREAM_FRAME_LOG_ENV: &str = "MVP_DATASTREAM_FRAME_LOG";
+const DEFAULT_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX: &str = "mvp-orchestrator";
+const MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV: &str = "MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX";
 
 fn main() -> ExitCode {
     match run() {
@@ -484,36 +487,38 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
         }
     };
     provisioned_node.complete_bootstrap()?;
-    driver.join(std::slice::from_ref(&ready.endpoint));
+    match enqueue_runtime_ready_ack(&stack, &ready, config.run_id, config.node_id) {
+        Ok(()) => {
+            driver.drain_outbox(&stack.outbox);
+            orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
+                dashboard.as_ref(),
+                config.run_id,
+                config.node_id,
+                "runtime_ready_ack",
+                "ready",
+                json!({"node_actor":ready.node_actor,"readiness_id":ready.readiness_id}),
+            );
+        }
+        Err(error) => {
+            orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
+                dashboard.as_ref(),
+                config.run_id,
+                config.node_id,
+                "runtime_ready_ack",
+                "failed",
+                json!({"node_actor":ready.node_actor,"readiness_id":ready.readiness_id,"error":error}),
+            );
+            return Err(error);
+        }
+    }
     orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
         dashboard.as_ref(),
         config.run_id,
         config.node_id,
         "node_join",
         "ready",
-        json!({"endpoint":&ready.endpoint}),
+        json!({"endpoint":&ready.endpoint,"source":"runtime_ready_barrier"}),
     );
-    match wait_for_route(&mut driver, &stack, ready.node_actor, &stop_rx) {
-        Ok(()) => orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
-            dashboard.as_ref(),
-            config.run_id,
-            config.node_id,
-            "node_route",
-            "ready",
-            json!({"node_actor":ready.node_actor}),
-        ),
-        Err(error) => {
-            orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
-                dashboard.as_ref(),
-                config.run_id,
-                config.node_id,
-                "node_route",
-                "failed",
-                json!({"node_actor":ready.node_actor,"error":error}),
-            );
-            return Err(error);
-        }
-    }
     orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
         dashboard.as_ref(),
         config.run_id,
@@ -1609,7 +1614,7 @@ impl Config {
         bootstrap_runtime: Arc<swactor::runtime::Runtime>,
     ) -> Result<Box<dyn ProvisionPlugin>, String> {
         match self.provider {
-            ProviderKind::Docker => Ok(Box::new(LocalDockerPlugin::new("mvp-orchestrator"))),
+            ProviderKind::Docker => Ok(Box::new(LocalDockerPlugin::new(docker_container_prefix()))),
             ProviderKind::VastAi => {
                 let vastai = self.vastai.as_ref().ok_or_else(|| {
                     "VastAI config was not resolved for provider vastai".to_owned()
@@ -1805,6 +1810,33 @@ struct RuntimeReady {
     endpoint: EndpointAddr,
     node_actor: ActorAddress,
     stage_index: u32,
+    readiness_id: u64,
+    swim_node_id: DistNodeId,
+}
+
+fn runtime_ready_barrier_met(stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack, ready: &RuntimeReady) -> bool {
+    stack.member_state(ready.swim_node_id) == Some(MemberState::Alive)
+        && stack.route_owner(ready.node_actor) == Some(ready.swim_node_id)
+}
+
+fn enqueue_runtime_ready_ack(
+    stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack,
+    ready: &RuntimeReady,
+    run_id: u64,
+    node_id: u64,
+) -> Result<(), String> {
+    stack
+        .runtime
+        .send_to(
+            ready.node_actor,
+            NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                run_id,
+                node_id,
+                stage_index: ready.stage_index,
+                readiness_id: ready.readiness_id,
+            },
+        )
+        .map_err(|e| format!("send runtime ready ack: {e}"))
 }
 
 struct ProvisionedNodeGuard<'a> {
@@ -2294,6 +2326,10 @@ fn wait_for_runtime_ready(
     node_id: u64,
     provider: ProviderKind,
 ) -> Result<RuntimeReady, String> {
+    let mut pending_ready: Option<RuntimeReady> = None;
+    let mut node_swim_started = false;
+    let mut node_swim_ready = false;
+    let mut node_route_started = false;
     loop {
         pump(driver, stack);
         drain_frames(frame_rx, dashboard, orch_datastream);
@@ -2321,39 +2357,72 @@ fn wait_for_runtime_ready(
                 stage_index,
                 endpoint,
                 node_actor,
+                readiness_id,
             } = report
             {
                 if report_run_id == run_id && report_node_id == node_id {
-                    return Ok(RuntimeReady {
+                    let reset_progress = pending_ready
+                        .as_ref()
+                        .map(|ready| ready.readiness_id != readiness_id)
+                        .unwrap_or(true);
+                    if reset_progress {
+                        node_swim_started = false;
+                        node_swim_ready = false;
+                        node_route_started = false;
+                    }
+                    let swim_node_id = DistNodeId(*endpoint.id.as_bytes());
+                    pending_ready = Some(RuntimeReady {
                         endpoint,
                         node_actor,
                         stage_index,
+                        readiness_id,
+                        swim_node_id,
                     });
                 }
             }
         }
-        thread::sleep(PUMP_INTERVAL);
-    }
-}
-
-fn wait_for_route(
-    driver: &mut IrohDriver,
-    stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack,
-    actor: ActorAddress,
-    stop_rx: &mpsc::Receiver<()>,
-) -> Result<(), String> {
-    loop {
-        pump(driver, stack);
-        if stop_requested(stop_rx) {
-            return Err("shutdown requested while waiting for node route".to_owned());
-        }
-        let ready = stack
-            .route_view
-            .read()
-            .map(|view| view.contains_key(&actor))
-            .unwrap_or(false);
-        if ready {
-            return Ok(());
+        if let Some(ready) = pending_ready.as_ref() {
+            if runtime_ready_barrier_met(stack, ready) {
+                return Ok(ready.clone());
+            }
+            let swim_ready = stack.member_state(ready.swim_node_id) == Some(MemberState::Alive);
+            let route_ready = stack.route_owner(ready.node_actor) == Some(ready.swim_node_id);
+            if !swim_ready {
+                if !node_swim_started {
+                    orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
+                        dashboard,
+                        run_id,
+                        node_id,
+                        "node_swim",
+                        "started",
+                        json!({"node":format!("{:?}", ready.swim_node_id),"readiness_id":ready.readiness_id}),
+                    );
+                    node_swim_started = true;
+                }
+            } else if !route_ready {
+                if !node_swim_ready {
+                    orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
+                        dashboard,
+                        run_id,
+                        node_id,
+                        "node_swim",
+                        "ready",
+                        json!({"node":format!("{:?}", ready.swim_node_id),"readiness_id":ready.readiness_id}),
+                    );
+                    node_swim_ready = true;
+                }
+                if !node_route_started {
+                    orch_datastream.emit_bootstrap(
+                        dashboard,
+                        run_id,
+                        node_id,
+                        "node_route",
+                        "started",
+                        json!({"node_actor":ready.node_actor,"node":format!("{:?}", ready.swim_node_id),"readiness_id":ready.readiness_id}),
+                    );
+                    node_route_started = true;
+                }
+            }
         }
         thread::sleep(PUMP_INTERVAL);
     }
@@ -2812,6 +2881,11 @@ fn env_optional(name: &str) -> Option<String> {
         .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
 }
 
+fn docker_container_prefix() -> String {
+    env_optional(MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV)
+        .unwrap_or_else(|| DEFAULT_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX.to_owned())
+}
+
 fn optional_env(name: &str) -> Option<(String, String)> {
     env_optional(name).map(|value| (name.to_owned(), value))
 }
@@ -3045,6 +3119,7 @@ mod tests {
         "MVP_VASTAI_SSH_IDENTITY",
         "VASTAI_API_KEY",
         SWACTOR_IROH_RELAY_URL_ENV,
+        MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV,
     ];
 
     struct RestoreEnv {
@@ -3126,6 +3201,16 @@ mod tests {
             .map(|(_, value)| value.as_str())
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn docker_container_prefix_defaults_and_trims_env_override() {
+        with_clean_env(&[], || {
+            assert_eq!(docker_container_prefix(), DEFAULT_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX);
+        });
+        with_clean_env(&[(MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV, " custom-prefix ")], || {
+            assert_eq!(docker_container_prefix(), "custom-prefix");
+        });
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn expand_home_path_expands_leading_home_segment() {
         with_clean_env(&[("HOME", "/tmp/mvp-vastai-home")], || {
@@ -3574,6 +3659,39 @@ bootstrap_command = "/run"
         assert_eq!(env_value(&disabled_env, MVP_IROH_RELAY_URL_ENV), None);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn node_spec_preserves_relay_transport_in_coordinator_endpoint() {
+        with_clean_env(&[], || {
+            let config = Config::from_layers_with_path_and_args(None, std::iter::empty::<String>())
+                .expect("config parses");
+            let secret = iroh::SecretKey::from_bytes(&[10; 32]);
+            let coordinator = EndpointAddr::new(secret.public()).with_relay_url(
+                "http://relay.example.com"
+                    .parse::<iroh::RelayUrl>()
+                    .unwrap(),
+            );
+            let datastream_sink = ActorAddress([19; 32]);
+            let orchestrator_actor = ActorAddress([20; 32]);
+
+            let spec = config
+                .node_spec(coordinator, datastream_sink, orchestrator_actor)
+                .expect("node spec builds");
+            let coordinator_endpoint_json = env_value(&spec.env, "MVP_COORDINATOR_ENDPOINT")
+                .expect("coordinator endpoint env is present");
+            let coordinator_endpoint =
+                serde_json::from_str::<EndpointAddr>(coordinator_endpoint_json)
+                    .expect("coordinator endpoint env deserializes");
+
+            assert_eq!(
+                coordinator_endpoint
+                    .relay_urls()
+                    .next()
+                    .map(|url| url.to_string()),
+                Some("http://relay.example.com/".to_owned())
+            );
+        });
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn docker_config_construction_ignores_malformed_vastai_environment() {
         let config = with_clean_env(
@@ -3735,4 +3853,110 @@ bootstrap_command = "/run"
         assert!(stop_requested(&rx));
         assert!(!stop_requested(&rx));
     }
+
+    fn endpoint(seed: u8) -> EndpointAddr {
+        EndpointAddr::new(iroh::SecretKey::from_bytes(&[seed; 32]).public())
+    }
+
+    fn insert_route(stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack, actor: ActorAddress, owner: DistNodeId) {
+        let mut route_view = match stack.route_view.write() {
+            Ok(route_view) => route_view,
+            Err(poisoned) => poisoned.into_inner(),
+        };
+        route_view.insert(actor, owner);
+    }
+
+    fn mark_alive(stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack, node_id: DistNodeId) {
+        stack
+            .runtime
+            .send_to(
+                stack.actors.membership_fanout,
+                distribution::swim::actor::MembershipChanged {
+                    node_id,
+                    state: MemberState::Alive,
+                    incarnation: 1,
+                },
+            )
+            .expect("send membership change");
+        stack.pump_runtime_once();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn runtime_ready_barrier_waits_for_specific_swim_and_route() {
+        let remote = DistNodeId([2; 32]);
+        let node_actor = ActorAddress::new_random();
+        let ready = RuntimeReady {
+            endpoint: endpoint(2),
+            node_actor,
+            stage_index: 3,
+            readiness_id: 99,
+            swim_node_id: remote,
+        };
+
+        let stack =
+            DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default());
+        assert!(!runtime_ready_barrier_met(&stack, &ready));
+
+        let stack =
+            DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default());
+        mark_alive(&stack, remote);
+        assert!(!runtime_ready_barrier_met(&stack, &ready));
+
+        let stack =
+            DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default());
+        insert_route(&stack, node_actor, remote);
+        assert!(!runtime_ready_barrier_met(&stack, &ready));
+
+        let stack =
+            DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default());
+        mark_alive(&stack, remote);
+        insert_route(&stack, node_actor, remote);
+        assert!(runtime_ready_barrier_met(&stack, &ready));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn enqueue_runtime_ready_ack_reports_to_node_agent() {
+        use mvp_system::actors::node_agent::{NodeAgentActor, NodeAgentReport};
+        use mvp_system::actors::orchestrator::OrchestratorMsg;
+        use mvp_system::stage_controller as stage;
+
+        let stack =
+            DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default());
+        let orchestrator_inbox = stack
+            .runtime
+            .new_inbox::<OrchestratorMsg>()
+            .expect("orchestrator inbox");
+        let reports = stack
+            .runtime
+            .new_inbox::<NodeAgentReport>()
+            .expect("node report inbox");
+        let node_actor = stack
+            .runtime
+            .spawn(NodeAgentActor::new(
+                stage::NodeId(11),
+                *orchestrator_inbox.addr(),
+                Some(*reports.addr()),
+            ))
+            .expect("spawn node agent");
+        let ready = RuntimeReady {
+            endpoint: endpoint(9),
+            node_actor,
+            stage_index: 3,
+            readiness_id: 99,
+            swim_node_id: DistNodeId([2; 32]),
+        };
+
+        enqueue_runtime_ready_ack(&stack, &ready, 7, 11).expect("enqueue runtime ready ack");
+        stack.pump_runtime_once();
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            reports.try_recv(),
+            Some(NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                run_id: 7,
+                node_id: 11,
+                stage_index: ready.stage_index,
+                readiness_id: 99,
+            })
+        );
+    }
 }

crates/mvp-system/src/bin/worker_node.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-use std::fs::{File, OpenOptions};
-use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Write};
+use std::fs::{self, File, OpenOptions};
+use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Read, Write};
+use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::process::{Child, ChildStdin, ChildStdout, Command, ExitCode, Stdio};
 use std::sync::{
     Arc, OnceLock,
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ use datastream::emit::{
 };
 
 use distribution::node::DistributedNodeConfig;
+use distribution::types::{MemberState, NodeId as DistNodeId};
 use iroh::EndpointAddr;
 use iroh_driver::{IrohDriver, IrohDriverConfig};
 use mvp_system::actors::node_agent::{
@@ -29,6 +31,7 @@ use mvp_system::stage_controller as stage;
 use parking_lot::Mutex;
 use serde_json::{Value, json};
 use swactor::actor::ActorAddress;
+use tokio::io::{AsyncBufReadExt, AsyncWriteExt};
 
 const DEFAULT_WORKER_SCRIPT: &str = "/usr/local/share/mvp/tinygrad_worker.py";
 const DEFAULT_DEVICE: &str = "CUDA";
@@ -38,6 +41,8 @@ const DEFAULT_MODEL_ID: &str = "llama-3.2-1b-instruct-q4";
 const DEFAULT_ARENA_BYTES: u64 = 64 * 1024 * 1024;
 const DEFAULT_ARENA_ALIGNMENT: u64 = 64;
 const PUMP_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(10);
+const RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_INITIAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(100);
+const RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_MAX: Duration = Duration::from_secs(2);
 const NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL: &str = "mvp.node.bootstrap";
 const NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL: &str = "mvp.node.runtime";
 const NODE_STAGE_CHANNEL: &str = "mvp.node.stage";
@@ -98,6 +103,298 @@ fn emit_node_event(
     datastream.tick();
 }
 
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[serde(tag = "type")]
+enum DebugJoinRequestWire {
+    JoinEndpoint { endpoint: EndpointAddr },
+}
+
+#[derive(serde::Deserialize, serde::Serialize)]
+#[serde(tag = "type")]
+enum DebugJoinResponseWire {
+    JoinQueued {
+        peer_node_id: String,
+        has_relay: bool,
+        direct_addr_count: usize,
+    },
+    JoinRejected {
+        error: String,
+        detail: String,
+    },
+}
+
+enum DebugJoinCommand {
+    JoinEndpoint {
+        endpoint: EndpointAddr,
+        reply: tokio::sync::oneshot::Sender<DebugJoinResponseWire>,
+    },
+}
+
+enum DebugJoinClientError {
+    Cli(String),
+    Runtime(String),
+}
+
+fn debug_join_client_main(args: Vec<String>) -> ExitCode {
+    match run_debug_join_client(args) {
+        Ok(response) => {
+            let queued = matches!(response, DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinQueued { .. });
+            match serde_json::to_string(&response) {
+                Ok(line) => println!("{line}"),
+                Err(error) => {
+                    eprintln!("mvp-worker-node debug-join: serialize response: {error}");
+                    return ExitCode::from(1);
+                }
+            }
+            if queued {
+                ExitCode::SUCCESS
+            } else {
+                ExitCode::from(1)
+            }
+        }
+        Err(DebugJoinClientError::Cli(error)) => {
+            eprintln!("mvp-worker-node debug-join: {error}");
+            ExitCode::from(2)
+        }
+        Err(DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(error)) => {
+            eprintln!("mvp-worker-node debug-join: {error}");
+            ExitCode::from(1)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn run_debug_join_client(args: Vec<String>) -> Result<DebugJoinResponseWire, DebugJoinClientError> {
+    let mut socket = None;
+    let mut endpoint_json = None;
+    let mut read_endpoint_stdin = false;
+    let mut iter = args.into_iter();
+    while let Some(arg) = iter.next() {
+        match arg.as_str() {
+            "--socket" => {
+                socket = Some(PathBuf::from(iter.next().ok_or_else(|| {
+                    DebugJoinClientError::Cli("--socket requires a path".to_owned())
+                })?));
+            }
+            "--endpoint-json" => {
+                endpoint_json = Some(iter.next().ok_or_else(|| {
+                    DebugJoinClientError::Cli("--endpoint-json requires JSON".to_owned())
+                })?);
+            }
+            "--endpoint-json-stdin" => read_endpoint_stdin = true,
+            other => {
+                return Err(DebugJoinClientError::Cli(format!(
+                    "unknown argument {other:?}; usage: debug-join --socket <path> (--endpoint-json <json> | --endpoint-json-stdin)"
+                )));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    let socket = socket.ok_or_else(|| {
+        DebugJoinClientError::Cli(
+            "missing --socket <path>; usage: debug-join --socket <path> (--endpoint-json <json> | --endpoint-json-stdin)".to_owned(),
+        )
+    })?;
+    let endpoint_json = match (endpoint_json, read_endpoint_stdin) {
+        (Some(_), true) => {
+            return Err(DebugJoinClientError::Cli(
+                "use either --endpoint-json or --endpoint-json-stdin, not both".to_owned(),
+            ));
+        }
+        (Some(json), false) => json,
+        (None, true) => {
+            let mut json = String::new();
+            std::io::stdin()
+                .read_to_string(&mut json)
+                .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("read endpoint stdin: {e}")))?;
+            json
+        }
+        (None, false) => {
+            return Err(DebugJoinClientError::Cli(
+                "missing endpoint JSON; use --endpoint-json <json> or --endpoint-json-stdin"
+                    .to_owned(),
+            ));
+        }
+    };
+    let endpoint = serde_json::from_str::<EndpointAddr>(&endpoint_json)
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Cli(format!("parse endpoint JSON: {e}")))?;
+    let request = debug_join_request_line(endpoint).map_err(DebugJoinClientError::Runtime)?;
+    let mut stream = std::os::unix::net::UnixStream::connect(&socket)
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("connect {}: {e}", socket.display())))?;
+    stream
+        .write_all(request.as_bytes())
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("write request: {e}")))?;
+    stream
+        .flush()
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("flush request: {e}")))?;
+    let mut response_line = String::new();
+    BufReader::new(stream)
+        .read_line(&mut response_line)
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("read response: {e}")))?;
+    if response_line.trim().is_empty() {
+        return Err(DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(
+            "debug join socket closed without response".to_owned(),
+        ));
+    }
+    serde_json::from_str::<DebugJoinResponseWire>(&response_line)
+        .map_err(|e| DebugJoinClientError::Runtime(format!("parse response JSON: {e}")))
+}
+
+fn debug_join_request_line(endpoint: EndpointAddr) -> Result<String, String> {
+    serde_json::to_string(&DebugJoinRequestWire::JoinEndpoint { endpoint })
+        .map(|mut line| {
+            line.push('\n');
+            line
+        })
+        .map_err(|e| format!("serialize debug join request: {e}"))
+}
+
+fn spawn_debug_join_listener(
+    handle: tokio::runtime::Handle,
+    path: PathBuf,
+) -> Result<tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<DebugJoinCommand>, String> {
+    use std::os::unix::fs::PermissionsExt;
+
+    match fs::remove_file(&path) {
+        Ok(()) => {}
+        Err(error) if error.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::NotFound => {}
+        Err(error) => {
+            return Err(format!(
+                "remove stale debug join socket {}: {error}",
+                path.display()
+            ));
+        }
+    }
+    let listener = {
+        let _guard = handle.enter();
+        tokio::net::UnixListener::bind(&path)
+            .map_err(|e| format!("bind debug join socket {}: {e}", path.display()))?
+    };
+    fs::set_permissions(&path, fs::Permissions::from_mode(0o600))
+        .map_err(|e| format!("chmod debug join socket {}: {e}", path.display()))?;
+    let (command_tx, command_rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::unbounded_channel::<DebugJoinCommand>();
+    handle.spawn(async move {
+        loop {
+            match listener.accept().await {
+                Ok((stream, _addr)) => {
+                    let command_tx = command_tx.clone();
+                    tokio::spawn(async move {
+                        handle_debug_join_stream(stream, command_tx).await;
+                    });
+                }
+                Err(error) => {
+                    eprintln!("mvp-worker-node debug join listener stopped: {error}");
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    });
+    Ok(command_rx)
+}
+
+async fn handle_debug_join_stream(
+    stream: tokio::net::UnixStream,
+    command_tx: tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedSender<DebugJoinCommand>,
+) {
+    let mut reader = tokio::io::BufReader::new(stream);
+    let mut line = String::new();
+    let response = match reader.read_line(&mut line).await {
+        Ok(0) => DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+            error: "MalformedCommand".to_owned(),
+            detail: "empty request".to_owned(),
+        },
+        Ok(_) => match parse_debug_join_request(&line) {
+            Ok(DebugJoinRequestWire::JoinEndpoint { endpoint }) => {
+                let (reply, response_rx) = tokio::sync::oneshot::channel();
+                if command_tx
+                    .send(DebugJoinCommand::JoinEndpoint { endpoint, reply })
+                    .is_err()
+                {
+                    DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+                        error: "CommandQueueClosed".to_owned(),
+                        detail: "worker main loop is not accepting debug join commands".to_owned(),
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    response_rx
+                        .await
+                        .unwrap_or_else(|error| DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+                            error: "CommandCancelled".to_owned(),
+                            detail: error.to_string(),
+                        })
+                }
+            }
+            Err(response) => response,
+        },
+        Err(error) => DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+            error: "MalformedCommand".to_owned(),
+            detail: format!("read request: {error}"),
+        },
+    };
+    let mut stream = reader.into_inner();
+    if let Ok(line) = serde_json::to_string(&response) {
+        let _ = stream.write_all(line.as_bytes()).await;
+        let _ = stream.write_all(b"\n").await;
+        let _ = stream.flush().await;
+    }
+}
+
+fn parse_debug_join_request(raw: &str) -> Result<DebugJoinRequestWire, DebugJoinResponseWire> {
+    let value =
+        serde_json::from_str::<Value>(raw).map_err(|e| DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+            error: "MalformedCommand".to_owned(),
+            detail: e.to_string(),
+        })?;
+    let endpoint_decode_error = value.get("type").and_then(Value::as_str) == Some("JoinEndpoint")
+        && value.get("endpoint").is_some();
+    serde_json::from_value::<DebugJoinRequestWire>(value).map_err(|e| {
+        DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected {
+            error: if endpoint_decode_error {
+                "MalformedEndpoint"
+            } else {
+                "MalformedCommand"
+            }
+            .to_owned(),
+            detail: e.to_string(),
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+fn drain_debug_join_commands(
+    debug_join_rx: &mut Option<tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<DebugJoinCommand>>,
+    driver: &mut IrohDriver,
+    config: &DeploymentConfig,
+    datastream: &mut DatastreamEmitter,
+) {
+    let Some(rx) = debug_join_rx else {
+        return;
+    };
+    while let Ok(command) = rx.try_recv() {
+        match command {
+            DebugJoinCommand::JoinEndpoint { endpoint, reply } => {
+                let peer_node_id = endpoint.id.to_string();
+                let has_relay = endpoint.relay_urls().next().is_some();
+                let direct_addr_count = endpoint.ip_addrs().count();
+                driver.join(std::slice::from_ref(&endpoint));
+                emit_node_event(
+                    datastream,
+                    config,
+                    NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                    "debug_join",
+                    "queued",
+                    json!({
+                        "peer_node_id":peer_node_id,
+                        "has_relay":has_relay,
+                        "direct_addr_count":direct_addr_count,
+                    }),
+                );
+                let _ = reply.send(DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinQueued {
+                    peer_node_id,
+                    has_relay,
+                    direct_addr_count,
+                });
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 fn spawn_host_gpu_sampler(handle: tokio::runtime::Handle, sink: DatastreamEventSink) {
     handle.spawn(async move {
         let mut seq = 0_u64;
@@ -192,6 +489,11 @@ fn spawn_arena_sampler(
 }
 
 fn main() -> ExitCode {
+    let mut args = std::env::args().skip(1).collect::<Vec<_>>();
+    if args.first().map(String::as_str) == Some("debug-join") {
+        args.remove(0);
+        return debug_join_client_main(args);
+    }
     match run() {
         Ok(()) => ExitCode::SUCCESS,
         Err(error) => {
@@ -218,6 +520,7 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
             "self_test_enabled":config.self_test_prompt.is_some(),
             "arena_bytes":config.arena_bytes,
             "arena_alignment":config.arena_alignment,
+            "debug_join_socket":config.debug_join_socket.as_deref().unwrap_or("disabled"),
         }),
     )?;
     emit_stdio_node_event(
@@ -383,6 +686,45 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
         "ready",
         config.datastream_sink_detail(),
     )?;
+    let mut debug_join_rx = match &config.debug_join_socket {
+        Some(path) => {
+            match spawn_debug_join_listener(tokio.handle().clone(), PathBuf::from(path)) {
+                Ok(rx) => {
+                    emit_node_event(
+                        &mut datastream,
+                        &config,
+                        NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                        "debug_join_socket",
+                        "ready",
+                        json!({"socket":path}),
+                    );
+                    Some(rx)
+                }
+                Err(error) => {
+                    emit_node_event(
+                        &mut datastream,
+                        &config,
+                        NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                        "debug_join_socket",
+                        "failed",
+                        json!({"socket":path,"error":error}),
+                    );
+                    return Err(format!("bind debug join socket {}: {error}", path));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        None => {
+            emit_node_event(
+                &mut datastream,
+                &config,
+                NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                "debug_join_socket",
+                "skipped",
+                json!({"reason":"MVP_DEBUG_JOIN_SOCKET=disabled"}),
+            );
+            None
+        }
+    };
 
     let reports = match stack.runtime.new_inbox::<NodeAgentReport>() {
         Ok(inbox) => {
@@ -512,34 +854,8 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
             return Err(error);
         }
     }
-    match stack.runtime.send_to(
-        node_actor,
-        NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeLoaded {
-            run_id: config.run_id,
-            node_id: config.logical_node_id,
-            stage_index: config.stage_index,
-            endpoint: driver.endpoint_addr(),
-            node_actor,
-        },
-    ) {
-        Ok(()) => emit_stdio_node_event(
-            &config,
-            NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
-            "runtime_loaded",
-            "ready",
-            json!({"sent":"NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeLoaded","node_actor":node_actor}),
-        )?,
-        Err(error) => {
-            emit_stdio_node_event(
-                &config,
-                NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
-                "runtime_loaded",
-                "failed",
-                json!({"error":error.to_string()}),
-            )?;
-            return Err(format!("signal runtime loaded: {error}"));
-        }
-    }
+    let mut pending_runtime_ready =
+        PendingRuntimeReady::new(&config, driver.endpoint_addr(), node_actor);
 
     let ready = json!({
         "type":"ready",
@@ -552,23 +868,16 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
     emit_stdio_node_event(
         &config,
         NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL,
-        "runtime_ready",
+        "runtime_ready_local",
         "ready",
         json!({
             "endpoint":driver.endpoint_addr(),
             "node_actor":node_actor,
             "logical_node_id":config.logical_node_id,
             "stage_index":config.stage_index,
+            "readiness_id":pending_runtime_ready.readiness_id,
         }),
     )?;
-    datastream.submit_text(ChannelId::new("mvp.node.ready"), ready.to_string());
-    emit_stdio_node_event(
-        &config,
-        NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL,
-        "datastream_handoff",
-        "ready",
-        json!({"from":"stdio_envelope","to":"cluster_datastream","channel":NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL}),
-    )?;
 
     if let Some(prompt) = &config.self_test_prompt {
         run_self_test(
@@ -603,10 +912,11 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
     );
     loop {
         pump_network(&mut driver, &stack);
+        drain_debug_join_commands(&mut debug_join_rx, &mut driver, &config, &mut datastream);
         datastream.tick();
         worker.drain_stderr(&config, &mut datastream);
         while let Some(report) = reports.try_recv() {
-            handle_node_report(
+            match handle_node_report(
                 report,
                 &config,
                 &stack,
@@ -614,7 +924,72 @@ fn run() -> Result<(), String> {
                 node_actor,
                 &mut worker,
                 &mut datastream,
-            )?;
+            )? {
+                NodeReportOutcome::None => {}
+                NodeReportOutcome::RuntimeReadyAck {
+                    run_id,
+                    node_id,
+                    stage_index,
+                    readiness_id,
+                } => {
+                    if pending_runtime_ready.observe_ack(run_id, node_id, stage_index, readiness_id)
+                    {
+                        emit_node_event(
+                            &mut datastream,
+                            &config,
+                            NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL,
+                            "runtime_ready_ack",
+                            "ready",
+                            json!({
+                                "readiness_id":readiness_id,
+                                "attempts":pending_runtime_ready.attempts,
+                                "endpoint":&pending_runtime_ready.endpoint,
+                                "node_actor":pending_runtime_ready.node_actor,
+                            }),
+                        );
+                        datastream.submit_text(ChannelId::new("mvp.node.ready"), ready.to_string());
+                        emit_node_event(
+                            &mut datastream,
+                            &config,
+                            NODE_BOOTSTRAP_CHANNEL,
+                            "datastream_handoff",
+                            "ready",
+                            json!({"from":"runtime_ready_ack","to":"cluster_datastream","channel":"mvp.node.ready"}),
+                        );
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if !pending_runtime_ready.swim_logged && pending_runtime_ready.swim_ready(&stack) {
+            emit_node_event(
+                &mut datastream,
+                &config,
+                NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                "coordinator_swim",
+                "ready",
+                json!({
+                    "coordinator":pending_runtime_ready
+                        .coordinator
+                        .map(|node| format!("{node:?}"))
+                        .unwrap_or_else(|| "standalone".to_owned()),
+                    "readiness_id":pending_runtime_ready.readiness_id,
+                }),
+            );
+            pending_runtime_ready.swim_logged = true;
+        }
+        if !pending_runtime_ready.acked && pending_runtime_ready.maybe_send(&stack, node_actor)? {
+            emit_node_event(
+                &mut datastream,
+                &config,
+                NODE_RUNTIME_CHANNEL,
+                "runtime_ready_signal",
+                "sent",
+                json!({
+                    "readiness_id":pending_runtime_ready.readiness_id,
+                    "attempts":pending_runtime_ready.attempts,
+                    "next_backoff_ms":pending_runtime_ready.backoff.as_millis(),
+                }),
+            );
         }
         if shutdown_rx.try_recv().is_ok() {
             emit_node_event(
@@ -758,6 +1133,115 @@ impl FrameSink for JsonlFrameSink {
     }
 }
 
+enum NodeReportOutcome {
+    None,
+    RuntimeReadyAck {
+        run_id: u64,
+        node_id: u64,
+        stage_index: u32,
+        readiness_id: u64,
+    },
+}
+
+struct PendingRuntimeReady {
+    run_id: u64,
+    node_id: u64,
+    stage_index: u32,
+    endpoint: EndpointAddr,
+    node_actor: ActorAddress,
+    coordinator: Option<DistNodeId>,
+    readiness_id: u64,
+    attempts: u32,
+    next_attempt_at: Instant,
+    backoff: Duration,
+    acked: bool,
+    swim_logged: bool,
+}
+
+impl PendingRuntimeReady {
+    fn new(config: &DeploymentConfig, endpoint: EndpointAddr, node_actor: ActorAddress) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            run_id: config.run_id,
+            node_id: config.logical_node_id,
+            stage_index: config.stage_index,
+            endpoint,
+            node_actor,
+            coordinator: config
+                .coordinator_endpoint
+                .as_ref()
+                .map(|endpoint| DistNodeId(*endpoint.id.as_bytes())),
+            readiness_id: 1,
+            attempts: 0,
+            next_attempt_at: Instant::now(),
+            backoff: RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_INITIAL,
+            acked: false,
+            swim_logged: false,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn swim_ready(&self, stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack) -> bool {
+        let Some(coordinator) = self.coordinator else {
+            return true;
+        };
+        stack.member_state(coordinator) == Some(MemberState::Alive)
+    }
+
+    fn observe_ack(
+        &mut self,
+        run_id: u64,
+        node_id: u64,
+        stage_index: u32,
+        readiness_id: u64,
+    ) -> bool {
+        if self.acked
+            || self.run_id != run_id
+            || self.node_id != node_id
+            || self.stage_index != stage_index
+            || self.readiness_id != readiness_id
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+        self.acked = true;
+        true
+    }
+
+    fn maybe_send(
+        &mut self,
+        stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack,
+        node_actor: ActorAddress,
+    ) -> Result<bool, String> {
+        if self.acked || !self.swim_ready(stack) {
+            return Ok(false);
+        }
+        let now = Instant::now();
+        if now < self.next_attempt_at {
+            return Ok(false);
+        }
+        stack
+            .runtime
+            .send_to(
+                node_actor,
+                NodeAgentMsg::RuntimeLoaded {
+                    run_id: self.run_id,
+                    node_id: self.node_id,
+                    stage_index: self.stage_index,
+                    endpoint: self.endpoint.clone(),
+                    node_actor: self.node_actor,
+                    readiness_id: self.readiness_id,
+                },
+            )
+            .map_err(|error| format!("signal runtime loaded: {error}"))?;
+        self.attempts = self.attempts.saturating_add(1);
+        self.next_attempt_at = now + self.backoff;
+        self.backoff = self
+            .backoff
+            .checked_mul(2)
+            .unwrap_or(RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_MAX)
+            .min(RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_MAX);
+        Ok(true)
+    }
+}
+
 fn handle_node_report(
     report: NodeAgentReport,
     config: &DeploymentConfig,
@@ -766,11 +1250,12 @@ fn handle_node_report(
     node_actor: ActorAddress,
     worker: &mut TinygradWorker,
     datastream: &mut DatastreamEmitter,
-) -> Result<(), String> {
+) -> Result<NodeReportOutcome, String> {
     let kind = match &report {
         NodeAgentReport::Command(_) => "Command",
         NodeAgentReport::Lifecycle(_) => "Lifecycle",
         NodeAgentReport::PromptRequested { .. } => "PromptRequested",
+        NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck { .. } => "RuntimeReadyAck",
         NodeAgentReport::Snapshot { .. } => "Snapshot",
     };
     emit_node_event(
@@ -782,9 +1267,12 @@ fn handle_node_report(
         json!({"kind":kind}),
     );
     match report {
-        NodeAgentReport::Command(command) => handle_stage_command(
-            command, config, stack, driver, node_actor, worker, datastream,
-        ),
+        NodeAgentReport::Command(command) => {
+            handle_stage_command(
+                command, config, stack, driver, node_actor, worker, datastream,
+            )?;
+            Ok(NodeReportOutcome::None)
+        }
         NodeAgentReport::Lifecycle(event) => {
             let event = format!("{event:?}");
             datastream.submit_text(
@@ -799,17 +1287,31 @@ fn handle_node_report(
                 "observed",
                 json!({"event":event}),
             );
-            Ok(())
+            Ok(NodeReportOutcome::None)
         }
         NodeAgentReport::PromptRequested {
             request_id,
             prompt,
             max_tokens,
             reply_to,
-        } => handle_prompt_request(
-            request_id, prompt, max_tokens, reply_to, config, stack, driver, worker, datastream,
-        ),
-        NodeAgentReport::Snapshot { .. } => Ok(()),
+        } => {
+            handle_prompt_request(
+                request_id, prompt, max_tokens, reply_to, config, stack, driver, worker, datastream,
+            )?;
+            Ok(NodeReportOutcome::None)
+        }
+        NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck {
+            run_id,
+            node_id,
+            stage_index,
+            readiness_id,
+        } => Ok(NodeReportOutcome::RuntimeReadyAck {
+            run_id,
+            node_id,
+            stage_index,
+            readiness_id,
+        }),
+        NodeAgentReport::Snapshot { .. } => Ok(NodeReportOutcome::None),
     }
 }
 
@@ -1267,6 +1769,7 @@ struct DeploymentConfig {
     orchestrator_actor: Option<ActorAddress>,
     datastream_sink_actor: Option<ActorAddress>,
     datastream_frame_log: Option<String>,
+    debug_join_socket: Option<String>,
     relay_mode: iroh::RelayMode,
     worker_script: String,
     device: String,
@@ -1283,15 +1786,29 @@ struct DeploymentConfig {
 impl DeploymentConfig {
     fn from_env() -> Result<Self, String> {
         let run_id = env_u64("MVP_RUN_ID", 1)?;
+        let logical_node_id = env_u64("MVP_LOGICAL_NODE_ID", 1)?;
         let relay = relay_runtime_config_from_env(run_id)?;
+        let debug_join_socket = match env_optional("MVP_DEBUG_JOIN_SOCKET").as_deref() {
+            Some("disabled") => None,
+            Some(path) => Some(path.to_owned()),
+            None => Some(
+                std::env::temp_dir()
+                    .join(format!(
+                        "mvp-node-debug-join-{run_id}-{logical_node_id}.sock"
+                    ))
+                    .to_string_lossy()
+                    .into_owned(),
+            ),
+        };
         Ok(Self {
             run_id,
-            logical_node_id: env_u64("MVP_LOGICAL_NODE_ID", 1)?,
+            logical_node_id,
             stage_index: env_u32("MVP_STAGE_INDEX", 0)?,
             coordinator_endpoint: env_json("MVP_COORDINATOR_ENDPOINT")?,
             orchestrator_actor: env_json("MVP_ORCHESTRATOR_ACTOR")?,
             datastream_sink_actor: env_json("MVP_DATASTREAM_SINK_ACTOR")?,
             datastream_frame_log: env_optional("MVP_DATASTREAM_FRAME_LOG"),
+            debug_join_socket,
             relay_mode: relay.mode,
             worker_script: env_string("MVP_TINYGRAD_WORKER", DEFAULT_WORKER_SCRIPT),
             device: env_string("DEV", DEFAULT_DEVICE),
@@ -1743,3 +2260,212 @@ fn tokenizer_from_env() -> TokenizerSource {
         .map(TokenizerSource::LocalPath)
         .unwrap_or(TokenizerSource::EmbeddedGguf)
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use distribution::swim::actor::MembershipChanged;
+    use mvp_system::actors::orchestrator::OrchestratorMsg;
+
+    fn endpoint(seed: u8) -> EndpointAddr {
+        EndpointAddr::new(iroh::SecretKey::from_bytes(&[seed; 32]).public())
+    }
+
+    fn test_config(coordinator_endpoint: Option<EndpointAddr>) -> DeploymentConfig {
+        DeploymentConfig {
+            run_id: 7,
+            logical_node_id: 11,
+            stage_index: 3,
+            coordinator_endpoint,
+            orchestrator_actor: Some(ActorAddress::new_random()),
+            datastream_sink_actor: None,
+            datastream_frame_log: None,
+            debug_join_socket: None,
+            relay_mode: iroh::RelayMode::Disabled,
+            worker_script: DEFAULT_WORKER_SCRIPT.to_owned(),
+            device: DEFAULT_DEVICE.to_owned(),
+            model_id: DEFAULT_MODEL_ID.to_owned(),
+            gguf_source: GgufSource::LocalPath("/tmp/model.gguf".to_owned()),
+            tokenizer: TokenizerSource::EmbeddedGguf,
+            self_test_prompt: None,
+            self_test_layer_end: 16,
+            self_test_max_tokens: 1,
+            arena_bytes: DEFAULT_ARENA_BYTES,
+            arena_alignment: DEFAULT_ARENA_ALIGNMENT,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn test_stack() -> DistributionRuntimeStack {
+        DistributionRuntimeStack::new(DistNodeId([1; 32]), DistributedNodeConfig::default())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn debug_join_client_serializes_endpoint_from_stdin() {
+        let secret = iroh::SecretKey::from_bytes(&[7; 32]);
+        let endpoint = EndpointAddr::new(secret.public()).with_relay_url(
+            "http://relay.example.com"
+                .parse::<iroh::RelayUrl>()
+                .unwrap(),
+        );
+
+        let line = debug_join_request_line(endpoint).expect("serialize debug join request");
+        let request: DebugJoinRequestWire =
+            serde_json::from_str(&line).expect("deserialize debug join request");
+
+        match request {
+            DebugJoinRequestWire::JoinEndpoint { endpoint } => {
+                assert_eq!(
+                    endpoint.relay_urls().next().map(ToString::to_string),
+                    Some("http://relay.example.com/".to_owned())
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn debug_join_listener_queues_join_endpoint() {
+        let root = std::env::temp_dir().join(format!(
+            "mvp-worker-debug-join-test-{}-{}",
+            std::process::id(),
+            std::time::SystemTime::now()
+                .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+                .expect("system time after epoch")
+                .as_nanos()
+        ));
+        std::fs::create_dir(&root).expect("create debug join test temp dir");
+        let socket_path = root.join("debug-join.sock");
+        let runtime = tokio::runtime::Runtime::new().expect("create tokio runtime");
+        let mut commands = spawn_debug_join_listener(runtime.handle().clone(), socket_path.clone())
+            .expect("spawn debug join listener");
+
+        let secret = iroh::SecretKey::from_bytes(&[8; 32]);
+        let endpoint = EndpointAddr::new(secret.public()).with_relay_url(
+            "http://relay.example.com"
+                .parse::<iroh::RelayUrl>()
+                .unwrap(),
+        );
+        let request = DebugJoinRequestWire::JoinEndpoint { endpoint };
+        let mut request_line =
+            serde_json::to_string(&request).expect("serialize debug join request");
+        request_line.push('\n');
+
+        runtime.block_on(async {
+            let mut stream = tokio::net::UnixStream::connect(&socket_path)
+                .await
+                .expect("connect to debug join listener");
+            stream
+                .write_all(request_line.as_bytes())
+                .await
+                .expect("write debug join request");
+            stream.flush().await.expect("flush debug join request");
+
+            let DebugJoinCommand::JoinEndpoint { endpoint, reply } =
+                commands.recv().await.expect("receive debug join command");
+            assert_eq!(
+                endpoint.relay_urls().next().map(ToString::to_string),
+                Some("http://relay.example.com/".to_owned())
+            );
+            let peer_node_id = endpoint.id.to_string();
+            assert!(
+                reply
+                    .send(DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinQueued {
+                        peer_node_id,
+                        has_relay: true,
+                        direct_addr_count: 0,
+                    })
+                    .is_ok()
+            );
+
+            let mut reader = tokio::io::BufReader::new(stream);
+            let mut response_line = String::new();
+            reader
+                .read_line(&mut response_line)
+                .await
+                .expect("read debug join response");
+            let response: DebugJoinResponseWire =
+                serde_json::from_str(&response_line).expect("deserialize debug join response");
+            match response {
+                DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinQueued { has_relay, .. } => {
+                    assert!(has_relay);
+                }
+                DebugJoinResponseWire::JoinRejected { error, detail } => {
+                    panic!("debug join was rejected: {error}: {detail}");
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        drop(commands);
+        let _ = std::fs::remove_file(&socket_path);
+        std::fs::remove_dir(&root).expect("remove debug join test temp dir");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn runtime_ready_retry_waits_for_swim() {
+        let stack = test_stack();
+        let node_actor = ActorAddress::new_random();
+        let mut pending = PendingRuntimeReady::new(&test_config(None), endpoint(3), node_actor);
+        pending.coordinator = Some(DistNodeId([2; 32]));
+
+        assert_eq!(pending.maybe_send(&stack, node_actor), Ok(false));
+        assert_eq!(pending.attempts, 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn runtime_ready_retry_stops_after_matching_ack() {
+        let stack = test_stack();
+        let node_actor = ActorAddress::new_random();
+        let mut pending = PendingRuntimeReady::new(&test_config(None), endpoint(4), node_actor);
+
+        assert!(pending.observe_ack(
+            pending.run_id,
+            pending.node_id,
+            pending.stage_index,
+            pending.readiness_id,
+        ));
+        assert!(pending.acked);
+        assert_eq!(pending.maybe_send(&stack, node_actor), Ok(false));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn runtime_ready_retry_backoff_caps() {
+        let stack = test_stack();
+        let orchestrator_inbox = stack
+            .runtime
+            .new_inbox::<OrchestratorMsg>()
+            .expect("orchestrator inbox");
+        let node_actor = stack
+            .runtime
+            .spawn(NodeAgentActor::new(
+                stage::NodeId(11),
+                *orchestrator_inbox.addr(),
+                None,
+            ))
+            .expect("spawn node agent");
+        let coordinator = DistNodeId([2; 32]);
+        stack
+            .runtime
+            .send_to(
+                stack.actors.membership_fanout,
+                MembershipChanged {
+                    node_id: coordinator,
+                    state: MemberState::Alive,
+                    incarnation: 1,
+                },
+            )
+            .expect("send membership change");
+        stack.pump_runtime_once();
+
+        let mut pending = PendingRuntimeReady::new(&test_config(None), endpoint(5), node_actor);
+        pending.coordinator = Some(coordinator);
+        for expected_attempts in 1..=4 {
+            pending.next_attempt_at = Instant::now();
+            assert!(
+                pending
+                    .maybe_send(&stack, node_actor)
+                    .expect("runtime ready send")
+            );
+            assert_eq!(pending.attempts, expected_attempts);
+            assert!(pending.backoff <= RUNTIME_READY_RETRY_MAX);
+        }
+    }
+}

crates/mvp-system/src/distribution_stack.rs

@@ -204,6 +204,18 @@ impl DistributionRuntimeStack {
             .filter(|entry| entry.state == MemberState::Alive)
             .count()
     }
+
+    pub fn member_state(&self, node_id: NodeId) -> Option<MemberState> {
+        self.membership_mirror
+            .lock()
+            .ok()?
+            .get(&node_id)
+            .map(|entry| entry.state)
+    }
+
+    pub fn route_owner(&self, actor: ActorAddress) -> Option<NodeId> {
+        self.route_view.read().ok()?.get(&actor).copied()
+    }
 }
 
 struct MembershipFanout {
@@ -227,3 +239,41 @@ impl ActorInterface for MembershipFanout {
         let _ = ctx.send(self.directory, DirectoryIn::Membership(change));
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn distribution_stack_reports_member_state_and_route_owner() {
+        let stack = DistributionRuntimeStack::new(
+            distribution::types::NodeId([1; 32]),
+            DistributedNodeConfig::default(),
+        );
+        let remote = distribution::types::NodeId([2; 32]);
+
+        stack
+            .runtime
+            .send_to(
+                stack.actors.membership_fanout,
+                distribution::swim::actor::MembershipChanged {
+                    node_id: remote,
+                    state: MemberState::Alive,
+                    incarnation: 1,
+                },
+            )
+            .expect("send membership change");
+        stack.pump_runtime_once();
+        assert_eq!(stack.member_state(remote), Some(MemberState::Alive));
+
+        let actor = ActorAddress::new_random();
+        {
+            let mut route_view = match stack.route_view.write() {
+                Ok(route_view) => route_view,
+                Err(poisoned) => poisoned.into_inner(),
+            };
+            route_view.insert(actor, remote);
+        }
+        assert_eq!(stack.route_owner(actor), Some(remote));
+    }
+}

crates/mvp-system/src/vastai_provisioning.rs

@@ -387,7 +387,7 @@ pub trait VastAiBootstrapLauncher: Send {
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 enum SshBootstrapMsg {
-    Stop { reason: BootstrapStopReason },
+    Stop,
 }
 
 struct SshBootstrapActor {
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ impl ActorInterface for SshBootstrapActor {
 
     fn handle(&mut self, _ctx: &Ctx, msg: Self::Incoming) {
         match msg {
-            SshBootstrapMsg::Stop { reason: _ } => {
+            SshBootstrapMsg::Stop => {
                 self.stopping.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst);
                 stop_ssh_child(&self.child);
             }
@@ -481,10 +481,8 @@ impl VastAiBootstrapLauncher for SshCommandBootstrapLauncher {
         })
     }
 
-    fn stop_bootstrap(&mut self, handle: &mut Self::Handle, reason: BootstrapStopReason) {
-        let _ = handle
-            .runtime
-            .send_to(handle.actor, SshBootstrapMsg::Stop { reason });
+    fn stop_bootstrap(&mut self, handle: &mut Self::Handle, _reason: BootstrapStopReason) {
+        let _ = handle.runtime.send_to(handle.actor, SshBootstrapMsg::Stop);
         handle.runtime.tick();
     }
 }
@@ -1051,12 +1049,7 @@ mod tests {
             .expect("spawn ssh bootstrap actor");
 
         runtime
-            .send_to(
-                actor,
-                SshBootstrapMsg::Stop {
-                    reason: BootstrapStopReason::RuntimeReady,
-                },
-            )
+            .send_to(actor, SshBootstrapMsg::Stop)
             .expect("send stop");
         runtime.tick();
 

crates/mvp-system/tests/local_e2e_cluster.rs

@@ -1,15 +1,20 @@
-use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+#![recursion_limit = "256"]
+
+use std::path::Path;
 use std::process::{Command, ExitCode};
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
 #[path = "support/local_e2e_cluster.rs"]
 mod local_e2e_cluster;
 
 const IMAGE: &str = "swactor-mvp-local-e2e-cluster:latest";
+const SKIP_BUILD_ENV: &str = "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_CLUSTER_SKIP_BUILD";
+const BUILD_ONLY_ENV: &str = "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_CLUSTER_BUILD_ONLY";
 
 fn main() -> ExitCode {
     let args = std::env::args().collect::<Vec<_>>();
     match std::env::var("MVP_TEST_ROLE").ok().as_deref() {
-        Some("cluster-supervisor") => return local_e2e_cluster::run_main(),
+        Some("cluster-supervisor" | "cluster-relay") => return local_e2e_cluster::run_main(),
         Some(role) => {
             eprintln!("unknown MVP_TEST_ROLE={role}");
             return ExitCode::from(2);
@@ -30,16 +35,20 @@ fn local_e2e_cluster_docker_cpu_pipeline_prompt() {
         eprintln!("skipping; set MVP_SYSTEM_LOCAL_E2E_CLUSTER=1 to run Docker CPU cluster e2e");
         return;
     }
+    if !Path::new("/var/run/docker.sock").exists() {
+        eprintln!(
+            "skipping; /var/run/docker.sock is required for the relay-only Docker cluster e2e"
+        );
+        return;
+    }
 
     build_docker_fixture();
+    if std::env::var_os(BUILD_ONLY_ENV).is_some() {
+        return;
+    }
 
-    let output = Command::new(current_test_exe())
-        .env("MVP_TEST_ROLE", "cluster-supervisor")
-        .arg("--prompt")
-        .arg("ping")
-        .env("MVP_LOCAL_E2E_CLUSTER_IMAGE", IMAGE)
-        .output()
-        .expect("run local e2e cluster supervisor");
+    let docker = DockerRelayFixture::start();
+    let output = docker.run_supervisor("ping");
 
     assert!(
         output.status.success(),
@@ -95,6 +104,17 @@ fn local_e2e_cluster_docker_cpu_pipeline_prompt() {
         "{value}"
     );
     assert_eq!(value["provision_nodes_stopped"], true);
+    assert_eq!(value["relay_only"], true, "{value}");
+    assert_eq!(value["relay_url"], "http://relay:7843/");
+    assert_eq!(value["orchestrator_endpoint_has_relay"], true, "{value}");
+    assert_eq!(
+        value["orchestrator_endpoint_relay_url"],
+        "http://relay:7843/"
+    );
+    assert_eq!(value["node0_endpoint_has_relay"], true, "{value}");
+    assert_eq!(value["node0_endpoint_relay_url"], "http://relay:7843/");
+    assert_eq!(value["node1_endpoint_has_relay"], true, "{value}");
+    assert_eq!(value["node1_endpoint_relay_url"], "http://relay:7843/");
     assert!(
         value["node0_endpoint"]["addrs"]
             .as_array()
@@ -108,8 +128,166 @@ fn local_e2e_cluster_docker_cpu_pipeline_prompt() {
         "{value}"
     );
 }
+struct DockerRelayFixture {
+    relay_container: String,
+    supervisor_network: String,
+    node0_network: String,
+    node1_network: String,
+}
+
+impl DockerRelayFixture {
+    fn start() -> Self {
+        let suffix = format!("{}-{}", std::process::id(), unique_nanos());
+        let relay_container = format!("mvp-local-e2e-relay-{suffix}");
+        let supervisor_network = format!("mvp-local-e2e-supervisor-{suffix}");
+        let node0_network = format!("mvp-local-e2e-node0-{suffix}");
+        let node1_network = format!("mvp-local-e2e-node1-{suffix}");
+        for network in [&supervisor_network, &node0_network, &node1_network] {
+            docker_status(
+                ["network", "create", network],
+                "create relay-only Docker network",
+            );
+        }
+        docker_status(
+            [
+                "run",
+                "-d",
+                "--rm",
+                "--name",
+                &relay_container,
+                "--network",
+                &supervisor_network,
+                "--network-alias",
+                "relay",
+                "-e",
+                "MVP_TEST_ROLE=cluster-relay",
+                "-e",
+                "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_RELAY_LISTEN=0.0.0.0:7843",
+                IMAGE,
+            ],
+            "start relay sidecar",
+        );
+        docker_status(
+            [
+                "network",
+                "connect",
+                "--alias",
+                "relay",
+                &node0_network,
+                &relay_container,
+            ],
+            "attach relay to node0 network",
+        );
+        docker_status(
+            [
+                "network",
+                "connect",
+                "--alias",
+                "relay",
+                &node1_network,
+                &relay_container,
+            ],
+            "attach relay to node1 network",
+        );
+        let fixture = Self {
+            relay_container,
+            supervisor_network,
+            node0_network,
+            node1_network,
+        };
+        fixture.wait_for_relay();
+        fixture
+    }
+
+    fn run_supervisor(&self, prompt: &str) -> std::process::Output {
+        Command::new("docker")
+            .args([
+                "run",
+                "--rm",
+                "--name",
+                &format!("mvp-local-e2e-supervisor-{}", unique_nanos()),
+                "--network",
+                &self.supervisor_network,
+                "--network-alias",
+                "supervisor",
+                "-v",
+                "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock",
+                "-e",
+                "MVP_TEST_ROLE=cluster-supervisor",
+                "-e",
+                &format!("MVP_LOCAL_E2E_CLUSTER_IMAGE={IMAGE}"),
+                "-e",
+                &format!("MVP_LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE0={}", self.node0_network),
+                "-e",
+                &format!("MVP_LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE1={}", self.node1_network),
+                "-e",
+                "MVP_IROH_RELAY_MODE=default",
+                "-e",
+                "MVP_IROH_RELAY_URL=http://relay:7843/",
+                IMAGE,
+                "--prompt",
+                prompt,
+            ])
+            .output()
+            .expect("run relay-only local e2e cluster supervisor")
+    }
+
+    fn wait_for_relay(&self) {
+        let started = Instant::now();
+        while started.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(20) {
+            let logs = Command::new("docker")
+                .args(["logs", &self.relay_container])
+                .output()
+                .expect("read relay sidecar logs");
+            let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&logs.stdout);
+            let stderr = String::from_utf8_lossy(&logs.stderr);
+            if stdout.contains("relay ready") || stderr.contains("relay ready") {
+                return;
+            }
+            std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+        }
+        panic!("relay sidecar did not report ready within 20s");
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for DockerRelayFixture {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let _ = Command::new("docker")
+            .args(["stop", "-t", "2", &self.relay_container])
+            .status();
+        for network in [
+            &self.node1_network,
+            &self.node0_network,
+            &self.supervisor_network,
+        ] {
+            let _ = Command::new("docker")
+                .args(["network", "rm", network])
+                .status();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn docker_status<const N: usize>(args: [&str; N], action: &str) {
+    let status = Command::new("docker")
+        .args(args)
+        .status()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|error| panic!("{action}: {error}"));
+    assert!(status.success(), "{action} failed with status {status}");
+}
+
+fn unique_nanos() -> u128 {
+    std::time::SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .expect("system time after epoch")
+        .as_nanos()
+}
 
 fn build_docker_fixture() {
+    if std::env::var_os(SKIP_BUILD_ENV).is_some() {
+        phase("using existing Docker CPU cluster fixture image");
+        return;
+    }
+
     let crate_dir = Path::new(env!("CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR"));
     let workspace = crate_dir
         .parent()
@@ -176,7 +354,3 @@ fn copy_context_entry(source: &Path, dest: &Path) {
 fn phase(message: &str) {
     eprintln!("local-e2e-cluster: {message}");
 }
-
-fn current_test_exe() -> PathBuf {
-    std::env::current_exe().expect("current test exe")
-}

crates/mvp-system/tests/local_e2e_cluster/Dockerfile

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ FROM rust:1-bookworm
 RUN apt-get update && \
     DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
         ca-certificates \
+        docker.io \
         pkg-config \
         python3 \
         python3-pip && \
@@ -12,9 +13,12 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
 
 ENV DEV=CPU
 ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=1
-ENV CARGO_TARGET_DIR=/workspace/target
+ENV CARGO_TARGET_DIR=/tmp/mvp-local-e2e-target
 COPY . /workspace
 WORKDIR /workspace
-RUN cargo test -p mvp-system --features local-e2e --test local-e2e-cluster --no-run
+RUN cargo test -p mvp-system --features local-e2e --test local-e2e-cluster --no-run && \
+    test_bin="$(find /tmp/mvp-local-e2e-target/debug/deps -maxdepth 1 -type f -perm /111 \( -name 'local_e2e_cluster-*' -o -name 'local-e2e-cluster-*' \) | head -n 1)" && \
+    cp "$test_bin" /usr/local/bin/local-e2e-cluster && \
+    rm -rf /tmp/mvp-local-e2e-target
 
-ENTRYPOINT ["sh", "-c", "test_bin=$(find /workspace/target/debug/deps -maxdepth 1 -type f -perm /111 \\( -name 'local_e2e_cluster-*' -o -name 'local-e2e-cluster-*' \\) | head -n 1); exec \"$test_bin\" \"$@\"", "local-e2e-cluster"]
+ENTRYPOINT ["/usr/local/bin/local-e2e-cluster"]

crates/mvp-system/tests/one_node_chat_e2e.rs

@@ -14,12 +14,13 @@ const TEST_WATCHDOG: Duration = Duration::from_secs(1_800);
 const PROMPT_WATCHDOG: Duration = Duration::from_secs(600);
 const SHUTDOWN_WATCHDOG: Duration = Duration::from_secs(60);
 const DASHBOARD_ADDR: &str = "127.0.0.1:9090";
-const DEFAULT_CONTAINER: &str = "mvp-orchestrator-1-1";
+const DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV: &str = "MVP_DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX";
 
 #[test]
 fn one_node_chat_docker_cuda_e2e() {
     let root = workspace_root();
     require_docker(&root);
+    let container_prefix = format!("mvp-orchestrator-e2e-{}", std::process::id());
 
     let mut command = Command::new("cargo");
     command
@@ -27,6 +28,9 @@ fn one_node_chat_docker_cuda_e2e() {
         .args(["mvp-chat"])
         .env("MVP_RUNTIME_CONFIG", "local")
         .env("MVP_IROH_RELAY_MODE", "disabled")
+        .env(DOCKER_CONTAINER_PREFIX_ENV, &container_prefix)
+        .env("MVP_TINYGRAD_TEST_MODE", "1")
+        .env("MVP_PROMPT_MAX_TOKENS", "3")
         .stdin(Stdio::piped())
         .stdout(Stdio::piped())
         .stderr(Stdio::piped());
@@ -60,7 +64,7 @@ fn one_node_chat_docker_cuda_e2e() {
     if result.is_ok() {
         result = assert_no_lower_layer_terminal_leaks(&stdout, &stderr);
     }
-    assert_container_removed(&root, DEFAULT_CONTAINER);
+    assert_containers_with_prefix_removed(&root, &container_prefix);
 
     if let Err(error) = result {
         panic!(
@@ -84,9 +88,9 @@ fn run_full_flow(
     })
     .map_err(|e| format!("provisioning frames not visible in dashboard: {e}"))?;
     wait_for_child_or(TEST_WATCHDOG, child, || {
-        dashboard_has_frame("mvp.worker.weights", "GgufDownloadProgress")
+        dashboard_has_frame("mvp.worker.weights", "LoadWeightsStarted")
     })
-    .map_err(|e| format!("GGUF download progress not visible in dashboard: {e}"))?;
+    .map_err(|e| format!("weight loading start not visible in dashboard: {e}"))?;
     wait_for_child_or(TEST_WATCHDOG, child, || {
         dashboard_has_frame("mvp.worker.weights", "WeightsLoaded")
     })
@@ -111,10 +115,13 @@ fn run_full_flow(
         .map_err(|e| format!("orchestrator prompt lifecycle not visible in dashboard: {e}"))?;
     wait_for_child_or(PROMPT_WATCHDOG, child, || prompt_count(stdout) >= 2)
         .map_err(|e| format!("chat prompt did not return after response: {e}"))?;
-    request_child_interrupt(child);
+    writeln!(stdin, "/exit").map_err(|e| format!("write exit command: {e}"))?;
+    stdin
+        .flush()
+        .map_err(|e| format!("flush exit command: {e}"))?;
     let status = wait_child(child, SHUTDOWN_WATCHDOG)
-        .ok_or_else(|| "cargo mvp-chat did not exit after Ctrl-C".to_owned())?;
-    if status.success() || status.code() == Some(130) || status.signal_name() == Some("SIGINT") {
+        .ok_or_else(|| "cargo mvp-chat did not exit after /exit".to_owned())?;
+    if status.success() {
         Ok(())
     } else {
         Err(format!("cargo mvp-chat exited with {status}"))
@@ -400,28 +407,6 @@ fn request_child_interrupt(child: &Child) {
     }
 }
 
-trait ExitStatusSignalName {
-    fn signal_name(&self) -> Option<&'static str>;
-}
-
-impl ExitStatusSignalName for std::process::ExitStatus {
-    fn signal_name(&self) -> Option<&'static str> {
-        #[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-        {
-            use std::os::unix::process::ExitStatusExt;
-            match self.signal() {
-                Some(libc::SIGINT) => Some("SIGINT"),
-                Some(libc::SIGTERM) => Some("SIGTERM"),
-                _ => None,
-            }
-        }
-        #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
-        {
-            let _ = self;
-            None
-        }
-    }
-}
 
 fn require_docker(root: &std::path::Path) {
     let version = Command::new("docker")
@@ -437,29 +422,35 @@ fn require_docker(root: &std::path::Path) {
     );
 }
 
-fn assert_container_removed(root: &std::path::Path, container: &str) {
-    let output = Command::new("docker")
-        .current_dir(root)
-        .args([
-            "ps",
-            "-a",
-            "--filter",
-            &format!("name=^{container}$"),
-            "--format",
-            "{{.Names}}",
-        ])
-        .output()
-        .expect("run docker ps");
-    assert!(
-        output.status.success(),
-        "docker ps failed\nstdout:\n{}\nstderr:\n{}",
-        String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout),
-        String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr)
-    );
-    assert!(
-        String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).trim().is_empty(),
-        "container {container} still exists"
-    );
+fn assert_containers_with_prefix_removed(root: &std::path::Path, prefix: &str) {
+    let start = Instant::now();
+    let mut containers = String::new();
+    while start.elapsed() < SHUTDOWN_WATCHDOG {
+        let output = Command::new("docker")
+            .current_dir(root)
+            .args([
+                "ps",
+                "-a",
+                "--filter",
+                &format!("name=^{prefix}-"),
+                "--format",
+                "{{.Names}}",
+            ])
+            .output()
+            .expect("run docker ps");
+        assert!(
+            output.status.success(),
+            "docker ps failed\nstdout:\n{}\nstderr:\n{}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout),
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr)
+        );
+        containers = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout).into_owned();
+        if containers.trim().is_empty() {
+            return;
+        }
+        thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+    }
+    panic!("containers with prefix {prefix} still exist:\n{containers}");
 }
 
 fn workspace_root() -> std::path::PathBuf {

crates/mvp-system/tests/support/local_e2e_cluster.rs

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 use std::collections::{BTreeMap, HashMap, VecDeque};
 use std::io::{BufRead, BufReader, Write};
+use std::net::SocketAddr;
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::process::{Child, ChildStdin, ChildStdout, Command, ExitCode, Stdio};
 use std::sync::{
@@ -40,7 +41,8 @@ use mvp_system::observability_surface as obs;
 use mvp_system::orchestrator_run_fsm as fsm;
 use mvp_system::provisioning::{NodeProvisionSpec, ProvisionLogStream};
 use mvp_system::relay_provisioning::{
-    LocalShimRelayProvider, RelayProvider, RelayProvisionRequest, RelayPurpose,
+    LocalShimRelayProvider, MVP_IROH_RELAY_URL_ENV, RelayProvider, RelayProvisionRequest,
+    RelayPurpose, relay_runtime_config_from_env,
 };
 use mvp_system::run_plan as plan;
 use mvp_system::stage_controller as stage;
@@ -63,6 +65,11 @@ const OBJECT_ALIGNMENT: u64 = 4;
 const ARENA_BYTES: usize = 16 * 1024;
 const RING_BYTES: usize = 4096;
 const DEFAULT_RUNTIME_SNAPSHOT_INTERVAL: Duration = Duration::from_millis(500);
+const LOCAL_E2E_ROUTE_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(60);
+const LOCAL_E2E_WORKFLOW_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(120);
+const LOCAL_E2E_RELAY_LISTEN_ENV: &str = "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_RELAY_LISTEN";
+const LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE0_ENV: &str = "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE0";
+const LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE1_ENV: &str = "MVP_LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE1";
 static STOP_REQUESTED: AtomicBool = AtomicBool::new(false);
 
 struct MvpDashboard {
@@ -216,7 +223,9 @@ fn runtime_snapshot_interval_from_env() -> Result<Duration, String> {
 pub fn run_main() -> ExitCode {
     install_signal_handlers();
     let args = std::env::args().collect::<Vec<_>>();
-    let result = if args.iter().any(|arg| arg == "--role=node") {
+    let result = if std::env::var("MVP_TEST_ROLE").ok().as_deref() == Some("cluster-relay") {
+        run_relay_role()
+    } else if args.iter().any(|arg| arg == "--role=node") {
         run_node_role(&args)
     } else if std::env::var_os("MVP_DASHBOARD").is_some() {
         run_supervisor_dashboard_loop()
@@ -236,6 +245,53 @@ pub fn run_main() -> ExitCode {
     }
 }
 
+struct LocalRelayGuard {
+    _server: iroh_relay::server::Server,
+    _rt: tokio::runtime::Runtime,
+}
+
+fn run_relay_role() -> Result<(), String> {
+    let listen =
+        std::env::var(LOCAL_E2E_RELAY_LISTEN_ENV).unwrap_or_else(|_| "0.0.0.0:7843".to_owned());
+    let _relay = spawn_local_relay(&listen)?;
+    eprintln!("mvp-local-e2e-cluster: relay ready on {listen}");
+    while !STOP_REQUESTED.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
+        thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn spawn_local_relay(listen: &str) -> Result<LocalRelayGuard, String> {
+    let bind_addr = listen
+        .parse::<SocketAddr>()
+        .map_err(|e| format!("invalid {LOCAL_E2E_RELAY_LISTEN_ENV}={listen:?}: {e}"))?;
+    let rt = tokio::runtime::Builder::new_multi_thread()
+        .enable_all()
+        .worker_threads(2)
+        .build()
+        .map_err(|e| format!("relay tokio runtime: {e}"))?;
+    let server = rt
+        .block_on(async {
+            iroh_relay::server::Server::spawn(iroh_relay::server::ServerConfig::<(), ()> {
+                relay: Some(iroh_relay::server::RelayConfig {
+                    http_bind_addr: bind_addr,
+                    tls: None,
+                    limits: Default::default(),
+                    key_cache_capacity: Some(256),
+                    access: iroh_relay::server::AccessConfig::Everyone,
+                }),
+                quic: None,
+                metrics_addr: None,
+            })
+            .await
+        })
+        .map_err(|e| format!("spawn relay server: {e}"))?;
+    Ok(LocalRelayGuard {
+        _server: server,
+        _rt: rt,
+    })
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Deserialize)]
 struct NodeStdoutLine {
     #[serde(rename = "type")]
@@ -532,7 +588,8 @@ fn run_supervisor_once(
         .cloned()
         .ok_or_else(|| "engine builder did not assign stage 1".to_owned())?;
 
-    let self_endpoint_json = serde_json::to_string(&driver.endpoint_addr())
+    let self_endpoint = driver.endpoint_addr();
+    let self_endpoint_json = serde_json::to_string(&self_endpoint)
         .map_err(|e| format!("serialize endpoint addr: {e}"))?;
     let orchestrator_actor_json = serde_json::to_string(&orchestrator_addr)
         .map_err(|e| format!("serialize orchestrator actor: {e}"))?;
@@ -660,8 +717,22 @@ fn run_supervisor_once(
     let mut response_tokens = Vec::<u32>::new();
     let mut edge_stream_count = 0usize;
     let mut token_out_streams = HashMap::<u64, Vec<u8>>::new();
+    let workflow_started = Instant::now();
 
     while !STOP_REQUESTED.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
+        if workflow_started.elapsed() >= LOCAL_E2E_WORKFLOW_TIMEOUT {
+            let _ = stop_provisioned_nodes(
+                &mut [&mut node0, &mut node1],
+                &mut driver,
+                &stack,
+                &mut dashboard,
+            );
+            return Err(format!(
+                "workflow timed out after {:?}: injected={injected}, token_received={token_received}, completed={completed}, torn_down={torn_down}, stop_node0={sent_stop_to_node0}, stop_node1={sent_stop_to_node1}, stage_ready_count={stage_ready_count}, edge_stream_count={edge_stream_count}",
+                LOCAL_E2E_WORKFLOW_TIMEOUT
+            ));
+        }
+
         pump_network(&mut driver, &stack);
         driver_runtime.poll_iroh(&driver);
         while let Some(event) = driver_runtime.try_recv() {
@@ -827,7 +898,8 @@ fn run_supervisor_once(
                         return Err(format!("run failed: {event:?}"));
                     }
                 },
-                OrchestratorReport::Snapshot { .. } => {}
+                OrchestratorReport::NodeRuntimeReady { .. }
+                | OrchestratorReport::Snapshot { .. } => {}
             }
         }
 
@@ -858,6 +930,10 @@ fn run_supervisor_once(
                 })
                 .count();
             let response_text = detokenize_response(&response_tokens);
+            let relay_url = relay_url_from_env();
+            let orchestrator_endpoint_relay_url = endpoint_relay_url(&self_endpoint);
+            let node0_endpoint_relay_url = endpoint_relay_url(&node0.endpoint);
+            let node1_endpoint_relay_url = endpoint_relay_url(&node1.endpoint);
             let summary = json!({
                 "ok": true,
                 "actor_plane": "iroh-swactor",
@@ -871,6 +947,15 @@ fn run_supervisor_once(
                 },
                 "node0_endpoint": node0.endpoint,
                 "node1_endpoint": node1.endpoint,
+                "orchestrator_endpoint": self_endpoint,
+                "relay_only": relay_url.is_some(),
+                "relay_url": relay_url,
+                "orchestrator_endpoint_has_relay": orchestrator_endpoint_relay_url.is_some(),
+                "orchestrator_endpoint_relay_url": orchestrator_endpoint_relay_url,
+                "node0_endpoint_has_relay": node0_endpoint_relay_url.is_some(),
+                "node0_endpoint_relay_url": node0_endpoint_relay_url,
+                "node1_endpoint_has_relay": node1_endpoint_relay_url.is_some(),
+                "node1_endpoint_relay_url": node1_endpoint_relay_url,
                 "node0_logical_id": node0.node_id,
                 "node1_logical_id": node1.node_id,
                 "node0_stage_index": node0.stage_index,
@@ -1132,7 +1217,9 @@ fn run_node_role(args: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
                         .flush()
                         .map_err(|e| format!("flush lifecycle stdout: {e}"))?;
                 }
-                NodeAgentReport::PromptRequested { .. } | NodeAgentReport::Snapshot { .. } => {}
+                NodeAgentReport::PromptRequested { .. }
+                | NodeAgentReport::RuntimeReadyAck { .. }
+                | NodeAgentReport::Snapshot { .. } => {}
             }
         }
 
@@ -1203,12 +1290,16 @@ fn run_node_role(args: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
 }
 
 fn new_driver(handle: tokio::runtime::Handle) -> Result<IrohDriver, String> {
-    let mut relay_provider = LocalShimRelayProvider;
-    let relay = relay_provider.provision_relay(RelayProvisionRequest {
-        run_id: RUN_ID,
-        purpose: RelayPurpose::Combined,
-    })?;
-    let relay_mode = relay_provider.relay_mode(&relay)?;
+    let relay_mode = if relay_url_from_env().is_some() {
+        relay_runtime_config_from_env(RUN_ID)?.mode
+    } else {
+        let mut relay_provider = LocalShimRelayProvider;
+        let relay = relay_provider.provision_relay(RelayProvisionRequest {
+            run_id: RUN_ID,
+            purpose: RelayPurpose::Combined,
+        })?;
+        relay_provider.relay_mode(&relay)?
+    };
     IrohDriver::with_handle(
         handle,
         IrohDriverConfig {
@@ -1234,8 +1325,14 @@ fn wait_for_routes(
     stack: &DistributionRuntimeStack,
     actors: &[ActorAddress],
 ) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let started = Instant::now();
     loop {
         pump_network(driver, stack);
+        let route_count = stack
+            .route_view
+            .read()
+            .map(|view| view.len())
+            .unwrap_or_default();
         let ready = stack
             .route_view
             .read()
@@ -1244,6 +1341,13 @@ fn wait_for_routes(
         if ready {
             return Ok(());
         }
+        if started.elapsed() >= LOCAL_E2E_ROUTE_TIMEOUT {
+            return Err(format!(
+                "routes not ready after {:?}: expected {} actor routes, observed {route_count}",
+                LOCAL_E2E_ROUTE_TIMEOUT,
+                actors.len()
+            ));
+        }
         thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
     }
 }
@@ -2239,20 +2343,26 @@ fn local_docker_spec(
     coordinator_endpoint_json: &str,
     orchestrator_actor_json: &str,
 ) -> NodeProvisionSpec {
+    let mut env = vec![
+        ("DEV".to_owned(), "CPU".to_owned()),
+        ("PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE".to_owned(), "1".to_owned()),
+        (
+            "MVP_TINYGRAD_WORKER".to_owned(),
+            "/workspace/crates/mvp-system/tests/local_e2e_cluster/tinygrad_cpu_worker.py"
+                .to_owned(),
+        ),
+    ];
+    if let Some(relay_url) = relay_url_from_env() {
+        env.push(("MVP_IROH_RELAY_MODE".to_owned(), "default".to_owned()));
+        env.push((MVP_IROH_RELAY_URL_ENV.to_owned(), relay_url));
+    }
+
     NodeProvisionSpec {
         run_id,
         node_id,
         stage_index: Some(stage_index),
         image: docker_image(),
-        env: vec![
-            ("DEV".to_owned(), "CPU".to_owned()),
-            ("PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE".to_owned(), "1".to_owned()),
-            (
-                "MVP_TINYGRAD_WORKER".to_owned(),
-                "/workspace/crates/mvp-system/tests/local_e2e_cluster/tinygrad_cpu_worker.py"
-                    .to_owned(),
-            ),
-        ],
+        env,
         args: vec![
             "--role=node".to_owned(),
             "--logical-node-id".to_owned(),
@@ -2308,14 +2418,15 @@ impl docker_provision::DockerCli for LocalE2eDockerCli {
         }
 
         let mut command = Command::new("docker");
-        command
-            .arg("run")
-            .arg("--rm")
-            .arg("--add-host")
-            .arg("host.docker.internal:host-gateway")
-            .arg("--name")
-            .arg(&request.container_name)
-            .arg("-i");
+        command.arg("run").arg("--rm");
+        if let Some(network) = docker_network_for_node(self.spec.node_id) {
+            command.arg("--network").arg(network);
+        } else {
+            command
+                .arg("--add-host")
+                .arg("host.docker.internal:host-gateway");
+        }
+        command.arg("--name").arg(&request.container_name).arg("-i");
         for (key, value) in &request.labels {
             command.arg("--label").arg(format!("{key}={value}"));
         }
@@ -2939,6 +3050,29 @@ fn spawn_shutdown_listener() -> Receiver<()> {
     rx
 }
 
+fn relay_url_from_env() -> Option<String> {
+    std::env::var(MVP_IROH_RELAY_URL_ENV)
+        .ok()
+        .map(|value| value.trim().to_owned())
+        .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+}
+
+fn endpoint_relay_url(endpoint: &EndpointAddr) -> Option<String> {
+    endpoint.relay_urls().next().map(|url| url.to_string())
+}
+
+fn docker_network_for_node(node_id: u64) -> Option<String> {
+    let env_name = match node_id {
+        NODE0_LOGICAL_ID => LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE0_ENV,
+        NODE1_LOGICAL_ID => LOCAL_E2E_DOCKER_NETWORK_NODE1_ENV,
+        _ => return None,
+    };
+    std::env::var(env_name)
+        .ok()
+        .map(|value| value.trim().to_owned())
+        .filter(|value| !value.is_empty())
+}
+
 fn parse_arg<'a>(args: &'a [String], name: &str) -> Result<&'a str, String> {
     let index = args
         .iter()