@rangojs/router 0.17.0 → 0.18.0

package/skills/ppr/SKILL.md

@@ -10,10 +10,9 @@ Caches the rendered HTML **shell** of a page route (React `prerender` prelude
 bytes plus `postponed` state) and, on a later request, flushes those bytes after
 route classification and the complete middleware chain, but before downstream
 tail rendering. It then resumes React's HTML renderer for just the live holes.
-The browser sees one ordinary streamed document; loaders stay fresh on every
-request. Rango calls this the second render axis ("axis 2"): the default path
-("axis 1", a normal full render) is untouched, and every ineligible request
-falls open to it.
+The browser sees one ordinary streamed document; live loaders (no `ssr: false`)
+stay fresh on every request. A normal render (no shell) is untouched, and every
+request the shell cannot serve falls open to it.
 
 Use it when a page has a stable layout that should reach the browser instantly
 (the first byte comes from cache) while specific regions stay per-request:
@@ -24,8 +23,9 @@ doctrine").
 Compare `/document-cache`, which freezes the WHOLE response including loader
 output, and the `cache()` DSL (`/caching`), which caches Flight segments but
 still renders HTML on every request. Shell caching is for pages that mix a
-stable shell with live data: the shell is shared per host+URL, the holes are
-per request.
+stable shell with live data: the shell is shared per host+URL (and per request
+partition, when the route's `cache({ key })` or the store's `keyGenerator`
+partitions its record), the holes are per request.
 
 This is in-function PPR on every deployment. The worker/function serves the
 prelude; it is not a CDN static file. See `/deployment-caching` before combining
@@ -36,9 +36,9 @@ PPR with HTTP shared-cache headers.
 - You want the WHOLE response frozen, loader output included — see
   `/document-cache`.
 - You want build-time Flight segment payloads from `Static()`/`Prerender()` —
-  see `/prerender`. A `Prerender` page may also declare `ppr`; then the build
-  step called "producer B" bakes the HTML shell at build time while loaders stay
-  live.
+  see `/prerender`. A `Prerender` page may also declare `ppr`; then the
+  build-time shell capture bakes the HTML shell while loaders without
+  `ssr: false` stay live.
 - You want cached segments with live loaders but no cached HTML — that is the
   `cache()` DSL: see `/caching`.
 - You are unsure which cache layer you need — start at `/cache-guide`.
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ only prerequisite is an app-level `createRouter({ cache })` store that
 implements the shell family (`getShell`/`putShell`): `MemorySegmentCacheStore`
 (dev/tests), `CFCacheStore` (Cache API L1 + optional KV L2), or
 `VercelCacheStore` (Vercel Runtime Cache). A ppr route on a store without the
-family stays on axis 1 with a once-per-key warning.
+family renders normally (no shell) with a once-per-key warning.
 
 ```typescript
 import { createRouter, urls } from "@rangojs/router";
@@ -82,70 +82,144 @@ export const router = createRouter<AppBindings>({
 });
 ```
 
-That is ONE of two hole mechanisms — the loader one. Do not conclude PPR
-requires a loader:
+The live price above is a hole because it is LOADER data read under a
+boundary. Everything the handler layer produces is shell material, the way it
+is under `cache()`:
 
-### The same opt-in with NO loader and NO loading() — promise holes
+### Handler output always bakes, promises included
 
-A route (or its layouts) whose live regions are pending promises under
-`<Suspense>` PPRs with no `loader()` and no `loading()` anywhere. Hand the
-un-awaited promise over as a prop; the consumer suspends under its OWN
-boundary; the boundary postpones at capture and becomes the hole:
+A promise a handler passes to a component under `<Suspense>` is NOT a hole. The
+capture waits for it, bakes the settled value into the prelude, and serves that
+value for the shell's lifetime:
 
 ```typescript
-// Handler: kick off the fetch, do NOT await it.
+// Handler: the fetch is not awaited here, but the capture awaits it.
 function ProductPage(ctx: HandlerContext) {
-  const reviews = fetchReviews(ctx.params.id); // Promise<Review[]> — pending
+  const reviews = fetchReviews(ctx.params.id); // Promise<Review[]>
   return (
     <main>
-      <h1>Product {ctx.params.id}</h1> {/* shell — baked into the prelude */}
-      <ReviewsSection promise={reviews} /> {/* hole — resumes per request */}
+      <h1>Product {ctx.params.id}</h1> {/* shell */}
+      <ReviewsSection promise={reviews} /> {/* shell too: the capture waits for
+                                               `reviews`, and every HIT shows
+                                               the capture's reviews */}
     </main>
   );
 }
 ```
 
-```tsx
-// ReviewsSection.tsx — the consumer owns its Suspense boundary.
-"use client";
-
-import { Suspense, use } from "react";
+The same holds for an async server component (with or without a `<Suspense>`
+above it), a promise nested in a handle the handler pushes
+(`ctx.use(Handle)({ x: promise })`), and a loader the handler awaits
+(`await ctx.use(Loader)`). The capture waits for all of it, bounded by ONE
+deadline, `ppr.captureTimeout` (15s by default); handler output that has not
+settled by then stores no shell (the once-per-key warning names the cause: "did
+not settle within ppr.captureTimeout"). A shell HIT never runs a handler: it
+replays the handler layer the capture recorded.
+
+To keep a region fresh per request, load it in a loader WITHOUT `ssr: false`
+and read it with `useLoader` under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>` (a live
+hole, see "The hole doctrine"); inside a `loader(Def, { ssr: false })`, return
+the live part as a nested promise.
+
+A route WITHOUT the `ppr` option renders normally (no shell): no store read, no
+capture, no logs, zero cost. `ppr` is per page route — declaring it on a layout
+is not supported (subtree inheritance is a possible follow-up).
+
+### Migration from the old promise-hole model
+
+Earlier versions treated a pending handler promise under `<Suspense>` as a hole
+and re-ran handlers on some HITs. That is gone:
+
+Everything a handler produces is shell material, as it is under `cache()`: a
+promise it passes to a component under `<Suspense>`, an async server component,
+a nested promise in a handle it pushes, and a loader it awaits are all awaited
+at capture (bounded by `ppr.captureTimeout`) and served frozen for the shell's
+lifetime. A HIT never runs a handler. To keep a value fresh per request, load
+it in a loader without `ssr: false` and read it with `useLoader` under
+`loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`; inside an `ssr: false` loader, return
+that part as a nested promise. Request-scoped reads the capture now waits for
+refuse it: `cookies()`, `headers()`, a `{ cache: false }` variable, and
+`ctx.dynamic()` inside a handler promise, an async component, a handle push, or
+a loader a handler awaits. A normal `ctx.get()` value is not guarded: shell
+material is shared per host+URL and request partition. `cache(false)`, or a
+`condition()` that returns false, on a ppr route now renders the request like a
+cache miss (no shell).
+
+### Request-partitioned shells
+
+A route whose `cache()` record is partitioned by the request partitions its
+shell the same way: the route's `cache({ key })`, or the store's
+`keyGenerator`, decides which shell a request reads, captures and replays.
+Each partition captures its own on its first request and never serves
+another's:
 
-function Inner({ promise }: { promise: Promise<Review[]> }) {
-  return <ReviewList reviews={use(promise)} />;
-}
-export function ReviewsSection({ promise }: { promise: Promise<Review[]> }) {
-  return (
-    <Suspense fallback={<ReviewsSkeleton />}>
-      <Inner promise={promise} />
-    </Suspense>
-  );
-}
+```tsx
+cache(
+  { ttl: 300, key: (ctx) => `tier:${ctx.request.headers.get("x-tier")}` },
+  () => [path("/pricing", PricingPage, { ppr: true })],
+);
+// gold and silver visitors each get their own /pricing shell.
 ```
 
-```typescript
-path("/products/:id", ProductPage, { name: "product", ppr: true });
-// No use() list at all: no loader, no loading, still a shell + live hole.
-```
+The partition follows nested scopes (issue #970): a `ppr` route under a
+`cache()` nested in a keyed one is partitioned by the outer `key()` when the
+inner boundary has none, and by both composed (outermost first, each
+URI-encoded, joined by `|`) when it has its own. The route's record adds the
+inner boundary's own default key when it has no `key`; the shell partition
+does not, since the shell key already carries the URL (a store
+`keyGenerator`'s result is kept when it adds anything). See `/caching`,
+"Keys nest".
 
-At capture the pending fetch cannot win the task-quantized quiet window, so
-the boundary postpones — fallback in the frozen prelude, value resumed fresh
-on every HIT. This is the PHYSICS class from the hole doctrine below, and it
-is exactly how an existing Suspense-shaped tree (e.g. migrated from Next.js
-PPR) works with zero restructuring. The same works for a promise hole in a
-LAYOUT with no loader registration at all.
+```tsx
+cache({ ttl: 300, key: (ctx) => `tier:${tierOf(ctx)}` }, () => [
+  layout(TierLayout, () => [
+    cache({ ttl: 60 }, () => [path("/pricing", PricingPage, { ppr: true })]),
+  ]),
+]);
+// gold and silver still get their own /pricing shell and record.
+```
 
-A route WITHOUT the `ppr` option is pure axis 1: no store read, no capture, no
-logs, zero cost. `ppr` is per page route — declaring it on a layout is not
-supported (subtree inheritance is a possible follow-up).
+This is the sanctioned way to vary shell material by request: the capture
+guards still refuse `cookies()`/`headers()` in handler work, while the key
+function reads what it needs (`cookies()` included). A `key()` runs once per
+request: the shell read, the record lookup and the capture share its result
+(each `key()` of a nested chain once).
+One that throws serves no shell (like the record path renders uncached); a
+store `keyGenerator` that returns the default key unchanged partitions
+nothing. A partitioned route never serves a build-time shell (the build
+captured one partition): each partition captures at runtime, and when the
+route has a build shell a once-per-route warning says so. A `keyGenerator`
+that returns the default key unchanged keeps the build shell.
+
+Keep partition values to a small, known set: normalize what the key reads
+(a tier, a locale) to the values you serve before returning it. Every
+distinct value is a full capture and a stored shell, so a key that returns
+raw header or cookie text lets any client mint new shells.
+
+Query strings multiply shells the same way: the shell key includes the sorted
+search, so a PDP reached as `/products/1?color=red&size=m` and
+`?color=blue&size=m` has one shell per distinct query, and every appended
+tracking param (`utm_*`, a click id) mints another. The router's
+`cache.searchParams` option (`createRouter({ cache: { store, searchParams } })`)
+drops params from the key, shell included
+(`{ exclude: TRACKING_SEARCH_PARAMS }`, or an `{ include: [...] }` allowlist;
+see `/caching`, "Search param key filtering"). Exclude only a param the shell
+does not render from: otherwise the first variant captured is served for every
+value of it.
+
+In tests, `serveShellRequest` reports the key the serve path resolved
+(`result.key`, partition included); `shellCacheKey(url, searchParams,
+partition)` builds the same key from the partition. Under nested keyed
+scopes, pass the `key()` results as an array, outermost first
+(`shellCacheKey(url, undefined, ["tier:gold", "v:a"])`).
 
 ## Where PPR sits: the cache onion
 
-Rango's caches layer like an onion — each ring stores a progressively more
+Rango's caches layer like an onion — each layer stores a progressively more
 "cooked" representation of the same page. From innermost (raw values) to
 outermost (final bytes):
 
-| Ring                    | Primitive                                | What is stored                                     | What stays live on a hit               |
+| Layer                   | Primitive                                | What is stored                                     | What stays live on a hit               |
 | ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
 | 1. Function values      | `"use cache"`                            | a function's return value                          | everything around the call             |
 | 2. Loader values        | `loader(Fn, () => [cache({...})])`       | one loader's result (opt-in; loaders default live) | all other loaders, handlers, rendering |
@@ -153,13 +227,15 @@ outermost (final bytes):
 | 4. **HTML shell (PPR)** | `ppr` path option                        | rendered prelude bytes + React postponed state     | the holes, hydration payload           |
 | 5. Whole response       | `/document-cache`                        | final response bytes, headers included             | nothing — all-or-nothing               |
 
-PPR is ORTHOGONAL to `cache()` (ring 3): a ppr route may be uncached (its
-handlers run fresh on every serve and during capture), fully `cache()`d (its
-segments replay), or mixed. One useful cache() property to know: the segment
-codec **deep-settles promises at the ring-3 write**, so nothing inside a
-`cache()` boundary can stay live — that is a cache() fact, not a ppr one.
+PPR is ORTHOGONAL to `cache()` (the segments layer): a ppr route may be
+uncached (its handlers run on a MISS and during capture), fully `cache()`d
+(the capture replays its segments), or mixed. Either way a HIT runs no
+handler: the shell entry is itself a `cache()` of the handler layer, recorded
+by the capture and replayed on every HIT. That is why handler promises cannot stay live under ppr:
+the segment codec **deep-settles promises** when it writes a segment record,
+under `cache()` and under the shell alike.
 
-Invalidation crosses rings: `updateTag()`/`revalidateTag()` reach segment,
+Invalidation crosses layers: `updateTag()`/`revalidateTag()` reach segment,
 shell, loader, and item entries in the same store, and shell entries
 additionally self-invalidate on `React.version` change.
 
@@ -173,54 +249,99 @@ On a document GET to a ppr route the router runs:
    them: any rejection/redirect/401 wins before a single shell byte, on MISS
    and on a warmed HIT alike;
 3. **shell lookup** — `getShell(key)` on the app store (key =
-   host+pathname+sorted search);
+   host+pathname+sorted search). `CFCacheStore` stores the entry prelude-first
+   and the serve path reads only its head and prelude here, with the tag-marker
+   read running alongside; the capture snapshot is read off the commit path.
+   `CFCacheStore` and `VercelCacheStore` keep the last fresh read of each shell
+   in a memo for `memo.shellMs` (default 2 s): a warm isolate's next HITs skip
+   the store read, but never the tag-marker check, which reads its markers
+   through a per-isolate stale-while-revalidate memo (`memo.markerFreshMs`,
+   `memo.markerMaxStaleMs`). The user whose request ran `updateTag()` /
+   `revalidateTag()` gets a fresh-reads cookie that skips both memos; past
+   them each store's own consistency applies (`VercelCacheStore`: fresh in
+   any region, `expireTag` is global; `CFCacheStore` with KV: fresh in the
+   colo that ran it, other colos once KV propagates the marker and
+   `tagCacheTtl` expires; KV-less purge mode: once the purge reaches the colo).
+   Other users see the invalidation once the marker memo refreshes (KV-less
+   purge mode and another Vercel region: once the shell window passes; see the
+   caching skill);
 4. **HIT** — the composed response is committed immediately: the stored prelude
-   bytes flush first, while segment resolution, the fresh Flight render (the
-   full hydration payload — there is no Flight-side resume), and the fizz
-   `resume` of just the holes run BEHIND them inside the response stream;
-5. **MISS** — plain axis-1 serve, tagged `x-rango-shell: MISS`, plus a
+   bytes flush first (in 32 KB chunks), while segment resolution, the Flight
+   render (the full hydration payload — there is no Flight-side resume), and
+   the fizz `resume` of just the holes run BEHIND them inside the response
+   stream, starting a macrotask after the commit so they cannot delay the
+   prelude's write. Segment resolution replays the handler layer from the
+   shell's own recorded segments — NO handler runs on a HIT — and runs the
+   live loaders fresh (a promise-free bake-lane loader is served from the
+   shell, see "On a shell HIT");
+5. **MISS** — a normal render (no shell), tagged `x-rango-shell: MISS`, plus a
    background capture (stampede-guarded, retry-in-place, exponential backoff).
 
 `x-rango-shell: HIT | MISS` is the observability header. Because the commit
 point is after the chain, an unauthorized request NEVER sees shell bytes — put
 auth middleware anywhere (global or route DSL) and it guards PPR for free.
 
+A route whose own `cache()` scope refuses THIS request — `cache(false)`, or a
+`condition()` that returns false — skips steps 3-5: the document renders like a
+cache miss (a normal render, no shell), with no `x-rango-shell` header and no
+capture scheduled.
+
+If a HIT cannot read the shell's recorded segments, it never falls back to
+running handlers behind the committed prelude: it ends the response with a
+small script that reloads the page once with a `_rsc_shell=miss` query marker,
+and a request carrying the marker renders like a cache miss (no shell, no
+capture), so the reload cannot repeat. The router drops the marker from the
+request before anything reads it (middleware, handlers, loaders, cache keys
+and `useSearchParams` see the clean URL), and the browser drops it from the
+address bar before the page hydrates. When the stored value is corrupt it
+also replaces the entry with a placeholder the next request treats as a MISS
+and schedules a recapture that heals the key; a snapshot read that was only
+slow leaves the entry alone.
+
 ### Soft navigation caches and reuses the handler layer
 
 In short: client-side (soft) navigations to a `ppr` route reuse the handler
-segments captured with the shell, while loaders stay live. Nothing needs
-configuring; the rest of this section explains the `x-rango-ppr-replay` header
-for when you are debugging replay behavior.
+segments captured with the shell, while loaders without `ssr: false` stay live.
+Nothing needs configuring; the rest of this section explains the
+`x-rango-ppr-replay` header for when you are debugging replay behavior.
 
 Ordinary partial RSC navigations to a `ppr` URL use the same handler-layer cache
 contract even when no document request has captured an HTML shell yet. When a
-shell snapshot exists, the server replays its canonical document segment record.
+shell snapshot exists, the server replays the page's recorded segments from it.
 On a cold partial request, normal matching renders the response and schedules a
 background navigation-only shell capture; later navigations and prefetches
 replay its eligible snapshot. In both cases `matchPartial()`:
 
 - preserves client-owned shared layouts by segment id;
 - returns only new or revalidating destination segments;
-- runs DSL loaders fresh with their normal `loading()` streaming behavior;
+- runs live DSL loaders fresh with their normal `loading()` streaming
+  behavior, and serves bake-lane loaders from the pins of a shell captured by a
+  document request; a snapshot captured by a navigation alone carries no pins,
+  and its replay runs them fresh (see below);
 - keeps the existing prefetch key, source scope, and in-flight lock unchanged.
 
 This is deliberately invisible to the browser: the response is the same
 `RscPayload` shape as any other partial navigation. Captured item/response values
-and loader-container pins are NOT replayed on this path, so loader reads stay
-live.
+are NOT replayed on this path. Bake-lane loader pins are, when the replayed
+snapshot is a shell a document request captured, as on a document HIT: a
+promise-free `ssr: false` loader is served from its pin without running
+(unless the capture marked it to run: see "On a shell HIT"), and one whose
+return holds promises runs with its baked parts overlaid. A snapshot captured
+by a navigation alone carries no pins, and its replay runs them fresh. Loaders
+without `ssr: false` stay live.
 
 A route's own `cache()` scope — including one inherited from an ancestor, the
 common app-wide storefront shape — COMPOSES with replay instead of disabling
 it. The explicit tier stays authoritative: its lookup runs first with its
 normal store, key, TTL, SWR, tags, and condition, and when it supplies the
 match the response reports `BYPASS; reason=explicit-cache-hit` (never a false
-replay `HIT`). Only when the explicit tier misses does the shell snapshot's
-canonical doc segment record supply the match and report `HIT`. To make that
-possible, a capture of such a route records the doc segment record into the
-shell snapshot IN ADDITION to the scope's normal store write; the record rides
+replay `HIT`). Only when the explicit tier misses do the page's recorded
+segments in the shell snapshot supply the match and report `HIT`. To make that
+possible, a capture of such a route records the page's segments into the
+shell snapshot IN ADDITION to the scope's normal store write; that record rides
 only inside the shell entry, never the real store. Two opt-outs stay absolute:
 `cache(false)` and a `condition()` returning false mean "do not serve this
-request's segments from any cache" — no doc record is captured for them and
+request's segments from any cache" — no segments are recorded for them and
 the seeded fallback never rescues a refused read. `cache(false)` is static, so
 replay reports `BYPASS; reason=cache-disabled` before performing a single
 shell read; a `condition()` refusal is request-time state, decided at the
@@ -228,15 +349,16 @@ lookup itself and reported as the same `cache-disabled` post-match (the gate
 must not pre-decide a predicate that could flap between the two evaluations).
 An errored explicit read — a throwing `key()`, or a built-in store's swallowed
 backend failure (`CACHE_READ_ERROR`) — also never falls back: it renders
-uncached, exactly as without ppr.
+uncached, exactly as without ppr. (Document requests treat the same two
+opt-outs as a cache miss before any shell read: see the serve pipeline above.)
 
 `transition({ when })` is evaluated from the
 matched manifest before route handlers on every PPR match, so it can vary by
 URL/params/action or middleware context without disabling replay; handler-set
-context is unavailable by design. Intercepts, handler-live holes, an active
-nonce, and an absent/corrupt segment snapshot fall open to the ordinary partial
-path when encountered by the shell capture. A transition already replayed from
-an explicit cache tier remains frozen by that tier's normal semantics.
+context is unavailable by design. Intercepts, an active nonce, and an
+absent/corrupt segment snapshot fall open to the ordinary partial path when
+encountered by the shell capture. A transition already replayed from an
+explicit cache tier remains frozen by that tier's normal semantics.
 
 Two more decisions are made before any shell-store read, so probes and
 prerendered routes never spend passive `getShell` I/O:
@@ -247,8 +369,8 @@ prerendered routes never spend passive `getShell` I/O:
   with this in mind — such probes are not cache misses.
 - A `Prerender()` route's partial is served from the build-time prerender
   store inside matching (a better-than-HIT outcome); it reports
-  `BYPASS; reason=prerender-store`. Its captures never record a doc segment
-  record (the prerender store short-circuits the cache write), so replay
+  `BYPASS; reason=prerender-store`. Its captures never record the page's
+  segments (the prerender store short-circuits the cache write), so replay
   seeding would be impossible anyway.
 
 Fresh and stale-within-SWR runtime shells replay. The stale read is passive: it
@@ -291,17 +413,17 @@ consumer-invisible.
 
 The bounded bypass tokens, grouped by when they are decided:
 
-| Token                                                                             | Decided           | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
-| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `method`, `dynamic`, `nonce`, `store-unavailable`, `passive-read-unsupported`     | pre-read          | request/route/store ineligible for replay                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
-| `no-navigation-context`                                                           | pre-read          | no `X-RSC-Router-Client-Path`/`Referer`; a partial match is impossible                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
-| `prerender-store`                                                                 | pre-read or match | `Prerender()` route served by its baked artifact (pre-read probe of the normal variant; reclassified post-match when the store actually served, either variant)                                                                                                           |
-| `intercept`                                                                       | match             | the navigation resolved to an intercept — replay is never armed for intercepts (they keep their normal cache path); no heal capture                                                                                                                                       |
-| `cache-disabled`                                                                  | pre-read or match | `cache(false)` (pre-read, static) or `condition()` false (decided at the lookup); consumer opt-out is absolute                                                                                                                                                            |
-| `read-error`, `no-entry`, `invalid-version`, `corrupt-entry`, `stale-build-entry` | shell read        | no usable shell entry (`no-entry`/`invalid-version`/`corrupt-entry`/`stale-build-entry` schedule the navigation-only heal capture)                                                                                                                                        |
-| `handler-live-holes`, `transition-when`, `no-segment-snapshot`                    | eligibility       | entry exists but its snapshot cannot replay (no canonical doc record, or handler/transition liveness); on a route with an enabled `cache()` scope, `no-segment-snapshot` heals when the lookup did not refuse (a `condition()` false-at-capture entry becomes replayable) |
-| `explicit-cache-hit`                                                              | match             | the route's own `cache()` tier supplied the match                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
-| `snapshot-miss`                                                                   | match             | an eligible snapshot was seeded but matching did not consume it                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
+| Token                                                                             | Decided           | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
+| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `method`, `dynamic`, `nonce`, `store-unavailable`, `passive-read-unsupported`     | pre-read          | request/route/store ineligible for replay                                                                                                                                                                            |
+| `no-navigation-context`                                                           | pre-read          | no `X-RSC-Router-Client-Path`/`Referer`; a partial match is impossible                                                                                                                                               |
+| `prerender-store`                                                                 | pre-read or match | `Prerender()` route served by its baked artifact (pre-read probe of the normal variant; reclassified post-match when the store actually served, either variant)                                                      |
+| `intercept`                                                                       | match             | the navigation resolved to an intercept — replay is never armed for intercepts (they keep their normal cache path); no heal capture                                                                                  |
+| `cache-disabled`                                                                  | pre-read or match | `cache(false)` (pre-read, static) or `condition()` false (decided at the lookup); consumer opt-out is absolute                                                                                                       |
+| `read-error`, `no-entry`, `invalid-version`, `corrupt-entry`, `stale-build-entry` | shell read        | no usable shell entry (`no-entry`/`invalid-version`/`corrupt-entry`/`stale-build-entry` schedule the navigation-only heal capture)                                                                                   |
+| `no-segment-snapshot`                                                             | eligibility       | entry exists but its snapshot has no recorded segments for the page; on a route with an enabled `cache()` scope, it heals when the lookup did not refuse (a `condition()` false-at-capture entry becomes replayable) |
+| `explicit-cache-hit`                                                              | match             | the route's own `cache()` tier supplied the match                                                                                                                                                                    |
+| `snapshot-miss`                                                                   | match             | an eligible snapshot was seeded but matching did not consume it                                                                                                                                                      |
 
 ### Capture-generation invalidation
 
@@ -313,11 +435,14 @@ out of render code if you want the shell to persist.
 
 ### Opting out per request with `ctx.dynamic()`
 
-Middleware and handlers can call `ctx.dynamic()` to force this request back to
-axis 1. In middleware it runs before the PPR commit point, so the router skips
-shell lookup, HIT serving, and MISS capture for that request. In handlers it is
+Middleware and handlers can call `ctx.dynamic()` to force this request onto a
+normal render (no shell). In middleware it runs before the PPR commit point, so
+the router skips shell lookup, HIT serving, and MISS capture for that request.
+In handlers it is
 too late to prevent a MISS render from already happening, but it still prevents
-the follow-up shell capture.
+the follow-up shell capture. A `ctx.dynamic()` call that only happens during the
+capture itself (for example inside a handler promise, after an await) refuses
+that capture: a dynamic render has no shell.
 
 During `Prerender` + `ppr` build-shell capture, middleware is replayed with
 `ctx.build === true`, `ctx.waitUntil()` inert, and the same `ctx.dynamic()`
@@ -354,9 +479,10 @@ curl -s -D - -o /dev/null https://app.example.com/products/1 | grep -i x-rango-s
 - Runtime-captured route: first document GET is `MISS`, plus a background
   capture; a later request becomes a `HIT`.
 - `Prerender + ppr` route: the shell is produced during `vite build`, so the
-  first production document request can already be a `HIT`. In dev, producer B
-  runs on demand and can return a `HIT`; if capture outlasts the bounded
-  foreground wait, the request falls open to `MISS` and runtime capture.
+  first production document request can already be a `HIT`. In dev, the
+  build-time shell capture runs on demand and can return a `HIT`; if capture
+  outlasts the bounded foreground wait, the request falls open to `MISS` and
+  runtime capture.
 - Production (workerd/node): the SECOND request is a `HIT`.
 - Dev: expect a few extra MISSes — cold module transforms abort the capture
   window (per-attempt breadcrumbs: start the server with
@@ -367,8 +493,9 @@ curl -s -D - -o /dev/null https://app.example.com/products/1 | grep -i x-rango-s
   your baked shell, with hole fallbacks in place), then
   `<div hidden id="S:0">…` segments as the holes resume, per request.
 - A ppr-declared route that CANNOT be honored (missing shell store family,
-  per-request nonce) serves plain axis 1 with NO header and warns once per
-  key — no header + a declared `ppr` means look for that warning.
+  per-request nonce) serves a normal render (no shell) with NO header and
+  warns once per key — no header + a declared `ppr` means look for that
+  warning.
 - On Cloudflare, `CFCacheStore` reads PPR shells from the per-colo Cache API,
   falls through to KV on a miss, and promotes the KV hit back into that colo.
   WITHOUT a KV namespace the family runs L1-only (edge-only ppr): every colo
@@ -392,23 +519,28 @@ curl -s -D - -o /dev/null https://app.example.com/products/1 | grep -i x-rango-s
   captures outrank queued navigation-only snapshots, but never interrupt the
   active capture — the skip event and the `rango.background` span carry
   `queuePriority`/`queueAhead` (class and backlog at enqueue) so a parked
-  capture diagnoses itself. A stored attempt reports `bakeWaitMs`: how long the
-  slowest bake source (a top-level pushed handle promise or a bake-lane loader
-  container) held the capture gate — in dev, past 2s, the source is also named
-  once per key in a console warning with the remedies (nest the promise /
-  `cache()` the work / drop the loader's `ssr: false`). In dev, with
+  capture diagnoses itself. A stored attempt reports `recordSettleMs`
+  (`record=` in the log line): how long the capture waited for the handler
+  layer to settle (promises it passes or pushes, async server components,
+  loaders it awaits) and its segment record to encode; `bakeWaitMs` (`bake=`):
+  how long the slowest remaining bake source (a top-level pushed handle promise
+  or a bake-lane loader container) held the capture gate; and `entryBytes`
+  (`entry=`): the stored entry's size. In dev, past 2s, the slow source is also
+  named once per key in a console warning with the remedies (`cache()` the
+  work / move it into a live loader / return it as a nested promise or drop
+  `ssr: false` in a bake-lane loader). In dev, with
   `debugPerformance` on, the last capture outcome for a key also rides the
   next document GET's `Server-Timing` as `ppr-capture;desc="…"`.
 - For deployed Cloudflare tier diagnostics, build with
   `INTERNAL_RANGO_DEBUG=1` and run `wrangler tail`. `[CFCacheStore][shell]`
-  JSON events distinguish L1 hit/miss, KV fallback/promotion, tier writes, and
-  marker rejection, with `cf-ray`/colo and read timings. The flag is baked at
+  JSON events distinguish memo hits, L1 hit/miss, KV fallback/promotion, tier
+  writes, and marker rejection, with `cf-ray`/colo and read timings. The flag is baked at
   build time; setting only a Worker runtime variable is too late.
 
 ### Unit / integration testing (public primitives)
 
 Import from `@rangojs/router/testing` (Vitest) or `@rangojs/router/testing/e2e`
-(Playwright):
+(Playwright); `serveShellRequest` from `@rangojs/router/testing/flight`:
 
 | Helper                                            | Use for                                                      |
 | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
@@ -417,6 +549,7 @@ Import from `@rangojs/router/testing` (Vitest) or `@rangojs/router/testing/e2e`
 | `parsePprReplayStatus(res)`                       | Read structured replay/bypass status or null                 |
 | `shellCacheKey(url)`                              | Production store key for `store.getShell` / custom stores    |
 | `MemorySegmentCacheStore` + `getShell`/`putShell` | Custom store contract / tag eviction (no faked HIT)          |
+| `serveShellRequest(router, url, opts)`            | A real MISS → capture → HIT (react-server Vitest)            |
 
 ```ts
 import { MemorySegmentCacheStore } from "@rangojs/router/cache";
@@ -432,27 +565,49 @@ expect(await store.getShell(key)).not.toBeNull();
 assertShellStatus({ headers: new Headers(res.headers()) }, "HIT");
 ```
 
-**Out of unit scope** (stay e2e): live MISS → background capture → HIT,
-browser resume of holes, build-time producer B. `dispatch` never runs PPR.
-`renderHandler` only exposes `ctx.dynamic()` / `build` for the opt-out path.
-Do not invent a HIT Response in unit tests. Full recipe: `/testing` skill →
-`cache-prerender.md` (PPR shell section).
+**Out of unit scope** (stay e2e): real HTML (the prelude bytes and the fizz
+resume), browser resume of holes, the build-time shell capture. A MISS →
+capture → HIT runs in a unit test through `serveShellRequest` from
+`@rangojs/router/testing/flight`: the shell as captured is `result.prelude`,
+the live tail is `result.flight`. "A HIT runs no handler and shows the
+capture's handler output" is assertable there: count handler runs or render a
+per-run stamp, then compare the MISS and a later HIT. `dispatch` never runs
+PPR. `renderHandler` only exposes `ctx.dynamic()` / `build` for the opt-out
+path. Do not invent a HIT Response in unit tests. Full recipe: `/testing`
+skill → `serve-shell-request.md` and `cache-prerender.md` (PPR shell section).
 
 ## The hole doctrine (encode this in your head)
 
-Holes are **render-defined**, decided by the shape of the tree, on three rules:
+Holes are **render-defined**, decided by the shape of the tree. There are two
+classes, and the handler layer is always on the SHELL side:
+
+| Class          | What decides it                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | At capture                                                                                                | At serve (HIT)                                  |
+| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
+| **STRUCTURAL** | a LIVE-lane loader (no `ssr: false`) read under a boundary: `loading()` (the whole segment subtree under it) or an inline `<Suspense>` above the reader                                                                                                                                                                                   | live loaders masked; the boundary postpones; its fallback bakes in as route structure                     | loaders run fresh; resume fills the hole        |
+| **SHELL**      | everything the handler layer produces — awaited data, a promise it passes as a prop (even under the consumer's `<Suspense>`), an async server component, handle pushes at any depth, a loader it awaits (`await ctx.use(Loader)`) — plus replayed `cache()` segments and the settled non-promise data of BAKE-lane (`ssr: false`) loaders | awaited (one deadline, `ppr.captureTimeout`) and baked into the prelude and the shell's recorded segments | served from the frozen prelude; no handler runs |
 
-| Class          | What makes the hole                                                                                                                                                                    | At capture                                                                                  | At serve                           |
-| -------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
-| **STRUCTURAL** | the ENTIRE segment subtree under a `loading()` registration, when a LIVE-lane loader read suspends to it                                                                               | live loaders masked; the LoaderBoundary postpones; the fallback bakes in as route structure | loaders run fresh; resume fills it |
-| **PHYSICS**    | any promise NESTED in handed-over data still pending at capture, under the consumer's own `<Suspense>` — handler props, handle containers (`push({ x: promise })`), loader-carried     | real I/O cannot win the task-quantized quiet window; the boundary postpones                 | the promise settles and streams in |
-| **SHELL**      | awaited handler data, TOP-LEVEL `push(promise)` (awaited before SSR), resolved promises, replayed `cache()` segments, the settled non-promise data of BAKE-lane (`ssr: false`) loaders | baked into the prelude                                                                      | served from the frozen prelude     |
+One hole lives INSIDE loader data, decided by shape: a promise nested in a
+bake-lane loader's return value, or in a handle container a loader pushes, is
+masked at capture however fast it settles, and postpones at the consumer's own
+`<Suspense>`. Such a loader still runs on every HIT, so that promise streams in
+fresh (a promise-free bake-lane loader does not run on a HIT; see "On a shell
+HIT").
 
-ONE rule for promises, every lane — handlers, handles, AND loaders: **a promise
-nested inside your data is never baked; the container settles.** A
+The promise rule, by producer: **a promise a handler produces bakes, at any
+depth; a promise nested in loader data stays live.** A
 `loader(Def, { ssr: false })` is the BAKE lane (see the lane rule below): its
-settled non-promise data is shell material, exactly like awaited handler data
-and top-level handle pushes.
+settled non-promise data is shell material, exactly like handler output, while
+its nested promises are holes. A live-lane loader is a hole as a whole.
+`ssr: false` on a loader is the same knob as `loading(fallback, { ssr: false })`:
+the document does not stream a fallback for it but resolves the loader before
+the first flush, so under `ppr` its value lands in the prelude and bakes into
+the shell. Delivery details: `/loader` → "`ssr: false` — Guarantee a Loader in
+the Document".
+
+An async server component that never settles inside `ppr.captureTimeout`
+(with or without `<Suspense>` above it) stores no shell; the warning names the
+deadline. Make it cheaper (`cache()`/`"use cache"`), raise the budget, or move
+its data into a live loader read under a boundary.
 
 ### The loader lane rule
 
@@ -462,20 +617,36 @@ settled non-promise values are frozen into the shell (snapshot-pinned per
 shell). Any promise inside the returned data is masked at capture and stays a
 live hole, streamed fresh on every request at the consumer's own `<Suspense>`,
 however fast it settles. The shape of the return value declares what is live:
-a plain value bakes, a promise stays live.
-
-- **Any depth, plain containers only.** The mask walks plain objects
-  (prototype `Object.prototype` or `null`) and arrays at any depth —
-  `{ items: [{ stock: fetchStock(sku) }] }` keeps every `stock` live. A `Map`,
-  `Set`, class instance, or any other non-plain object is a LEAF: a promise
-  inside it is NOT masked and does NOT become a live hole. Keep live promises
-  in plain objects and arrays.
+a plain value bakes, a promise stays live. (The lane rule is about loaders the
+route registers. A loader a HANDLER awaits with `ctx.use()` is handler output:
+the handler's copy bakes whatever the flag says, even while the same loader's
+registered read stays a live hole.)
+
+- **Any depth, plain containers and JSX props.** The mask walks plain objects
+  (prototype `Object.prototype` or `null`), arrays and the props of React
+  elements at any depth — `{ items: [{ stock: fetchStock(sku) }] }` keeps
+  every `stock` live, and so does `{ reviews: <Reviews data={fetchReviews(id)} /> }`
+  for `data`. JSX without promises bakes like any plain value. A promise in
+  the props of a host element (`<p>`, `<div>`), `<Suspense>`/`<Fragment>` or a
+  client component is the hole and nothing else: the element's other props
+  bake and stay pinned on every HIT. That includes client components in JSX
+  the loader read back from `cache()` or `"use cache"`, which come back
+  wrapped in `lazy`. A server component (a function component, `memo` or
+  `forwardRef` around one, or a `lazy` that resolves to one) with a promise
+  anywhere in its props is the exception: the whole element is the hole and
+  renders from the
+  fresh loader run on a HIT, so the props it renders into the shell must come
+  out the same on every run. A `Map`, `Set`, class instance, or any other
+  non-plain object is a LEAF: a promise inside it is NOT masked and does NOT
+  become a live hole. Keep live promises in plain objects, arrays and JSX
+  props.
 - **The consumer's `<Suspense>` is the hole.** A client component reads the
   live property with `use(data.price)` inside its own `<Suspense>`; that
   boundary postpones at capture and resumes with the fresh value.
-- **Handle containers follow the same shape rule.** The capture applies the
-  same mask to pushed handle containers, so `ctx.use(Handle)({ ..., x: promise })`
-  keeps `x` live (see "Handles: nesting = liveness").
+- **Loader handle pushes follow the same shape rule.** The capture applies the
+  same mask to handle containers a loader pushes, so
+  `ctx.use(Handle)({ ..., x: promise })` inside a loader keeps `x` live. The
+  same push from a HANDLER bakes `x` (see "Handles").
 
 **Every loader without `ssr: false` is entirely live**, whether or not it has
 `loading()`: masked at capture with a never-resolving promise, postponed at its
@@ -536,29 +707,30 @@ own takes the entire entry — baked `name`/`description` included — into that
 hole.
 
 **`loading()` is NOT the lane switch and NOT the gate for holes** — it is one
-of the two boundary kinds a live loader postpones at. A pending promise under
-any plain `<Suspense>` postpones and is a hole at whatever level it suspends —
-the PHYSICS row needs no `loading()` anywhere (the e2e fixture's physics and
-nested-handle holes sit in a layout with none). A route without a loader PPRs
-on pure promise/Suspense holes.
+of the two boundary kinds a live loader postpones at; an inline `<Suspense>`
+above the reader is the other. A route with no loader has no holes: its whole
+page is shell, which is a valid ppr route (the shell is served instantly and
+recaptured on TTL/SWR or tag invalidation).
 
-The three promise positions, side by side:
+The promise positions, side by side:
 
 ```typescript
 async function Handler(ctx: HandlerContext) {
   const push = ctx.use(MyHandle);
 
-  push(fetchBadge());                    // TOP-LEVEL push: awaited pre-SSR → BAKED
-  push({ label: "x", stat: fetchStat() }); // NESTED in container → container baked,
-                                           //   stat streams → HOLE (consumer Suspends it)
+  push(fetchBadge());                      // top-level handler push: awaited at capture → BAKED
+  push({ label: "x", stat: fetchStat() }); // nested in a handler push: awaited at capture → BAKED
 
-  const data = await fetchHeader(ctx);   // awaited by the handler → BAKED
+  const data = await fetchHeader(ctx);     // awaited by the handler → BAKED
 
   return (
     <section>
-      <Header data={data} />                       {/* shell */}
-      <StatsPanel promise={fetchStats(ctx)} />     {/* un-awaited prop + own
-                                                       <Suspense> + use() → HOLE */}
+      <Header data={data} />                   {/* shell */}
+      <StatsPanel promise={fetchStats(ctx)} /> {/* un-awaited prop under the consumer's
+                                                   <Suspense>: awaited at capture → BAKED */}
+      <LiveStats />                            {/* "use client": useLoader(StatsLoader)
+                                                   under <Suspense>, StatsLoader registered
+                                                   without ssr: false → HOLE */}
     </section>
   );
 }
@@ -566,44 +738,45 @@ async function Handler(ctx: HandlerContext) {
 
 ### Choosing the hole mechanism
 
-| Your live region is…                            | Use                                                                            | Why                                                                                                |
-| ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| loader data, must be fresh EVERY serve          | `loader()` (the live lane) + a boundary: `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>` | the guaranteed hole — masked at capture, fresh every serve, immune to fast resolution              |
-| loader data, shell container + live parts       | `loader(Def, { ssr: false })` (the bake lane): `{ static, dynamic: promise }`  | plain values bake (snapshot-pinned per shell); nested promises hole at the consumer's `<Suspense>` |
-| handler-fetched real I/O (db, fetch)            | un-awaited promise prop + consumer `<Suspense>` + `use()`                      | no loader needed; real latency postpones by physics                                                |
-| per-segment metadata consumed elsewhere         | handle container with a NESTED promise + consumer `<Suspense>`                 | container is shell, nested value streams — "nesting = liveness"                                    |
-| already-resolved / instant / synchronous values | `loader(() => Promise.resolve(x))` (no `ssr: false`) + a boundary              | a raw promise that settles inside the quiet window BAKES; only the live lane guarantees live       |
-| none of the above                               | nothing                                                                        | it bakes — that is what the shell is for                                                           |
-
-The physics caveat in one line: HANDLER-created promise props are holes only
-because the I/O is genuinely pending at capture — if the value can resolve
-near-instantly (memory read, warmed cache), it may bake into the shell; when
-liveness must be guaranteed rather than probable, use a live-lane loader (no
-`ssr: false`). BAKE-LANE
-NESTED promises are exempt from that race: the capture MASKS every thenable
-nested in a bake-lane container regardless of settle timing
-(`maskNestedContainerThenables`, loader-cache.ts), so the consuming boundary
-always postpones as a hole and every HIT streams the FRESH value — the
-promise SHAPE is the liveness declaration, not a bet on latency. (Before the
-mask, a nested promise that settled inside the window pinned its capture-time
-value into the shared shell; found live as a storefront basket — with the
-capturing session's identifiers — served to anonymous visitors.)
-
-### Handles: "nesting = liveness"
-
-- `ctx.use(H)(promise)` — a TOP-LEVEL pushed promise is awaited server-side
-  before SSR (`resolvedHandleStream`) and BAKED into the shell. The capture
-  gate is held open for the same await, so real latency here is safe (bounded
-  by the capture budget, `ppr.captureTimeout`, 15s by default).
-- `ctx.use(H)({ x: promise })` — the container passes through verbatim
-  (resolution is shallow); the nested promise streams to the consumer, who must
-  `<Suspense>` it. Under capture that boundary postpones — a hole — REGARDLESS
-  of settle timing: the capture masks nested thenables in pushed handle
-  containers (the capture store's push wrap, shell-capture.ts), so even an
-  already-resolved nested promise holes instead of baking its value into the
-  shared shell. Same shape-is-the-declaration rule, and the same mask, as
-  bake-lane loaders: promises are found at any depth of plain objects and
-  arrays; one inside a `Map`, `Set`, or class instance is not masked.
+| Your live region is…                            | Use                                                                                                            | Why                                                                                                |
+| ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| data that must be fresh EVERY serve             | `loader()` (the live lane) + `useLoader` under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`                           | the guaranteed hole — masked at capture, fresh every serve, immune to fast resolution              |
+| loader data, shell container + live parts       | `loader(Def, { ssr: false })` (the bake lane): `{ static, dynamic: promise }`                                  | plain values bake (snapshot-pinned per shell); nested promises hole at the consumer's `<Suspense>` |
+| handler-fetched data (db, fetch)                | nothing to choose: it bakes, whether the handler awaits it or passes the promise down                          | handler output is shell material; move the fetch into a live-lane loader to make it live           |
+| handle metadata that must be live               | push it from a loader: a live-lane loader pushes per request; a bake-lane loader's nested promise stays a hole | handler pushes bake at any depth; loader pushes keep "nesting = liveness"                          |
+| already-resolved / instant / synchronous values | `loader(() => Promise.resolve(x))` (no `ssr: false`) + a boundary                                              | live-lane loaders are masked at capture no matter how fast they settle                             |
+| none of the above                               | nothing                                                                                                        | it bakes — that is what the shell is for                                                           |
+
+Why a handler promise cannot be a hole: every HIT replays the handler layer the
+capture recorded, and no handler runs, so nothing on the HIT could produce a
+fresh value for it. The capture therefore waits for it and bakes it, exactly as
+`cache()` does. Loader-side holes do not depend on timing either: the capture
+MASKS every promise nested in a bake-lane container regardless of how fast it
+settles (`maskNestedContainerThenables`), so the consuming boundary always
+postpones and every HIT streams the FRESH value — the promise SHAPE is the
+liveness declaration, not a bet on latency. (Before the mask, a nested promise
+that settled inside the capture window pinned its capture-time value into the
+shared shell; found live as a storefront basket — with the capturing session's
+identifiers — served to anonymous visitors.)
+
+### Handles: handler pushes bake; loader pushes keep "nesting = liveness"
+
+- `ctx.use(H)(promise)` from a handler — a TOP-LEVEL pushed promise is awaited
+  at capture and BAKED into the shell (bounded by `ppr.captureTimeout`, 15s by
+  default).
+- `ctx.use(H)({ x: promise })` from a HANDLER — also baked. The capture waits
+  for every promise nested in a handler's push, at any depth of plain objects,
+  arrays and JSX props, before it records the handles every HIT replays. Keep
+  promises in plain objects, arrays and JSX props: one inside a `Map`, `Set`,
+  or class instance is not waited for, and if it has not settled when the handles are encoded the
+  capture is refused.
+- `ctx.use(H)({ x: promise })` from a LOADER — nesting = liveness. A bake-lane
+  (`ssr: false`) loader's container settles and bakes, while the nested promise
+  is masked at capture regardless of settle timing and streams fresh to the
+  consumer's `<Suspense>` on every HIT (the same mask as bake-lane loader data,
+  at any depth of plain objects, arrays and JSX props; a promise inside a
+  `Map`, `Set`, or class instance is not masked). A live-lane
+  loader never runs at capture, so all of its pushes happen per request.
 
 ### Want a hole for already-resolved data?
 
@@ -621,8 +794,9 @@ non-promise data bakes into the prelude; every promise nested in it is masked
 at capture (regardless of how fast it settles) and postpones at the consumer's
 own `<Suspense>` — a hole. The capture records the container into the shell
 snapshot's loader family so every HIT payload matches the frozen prelude
-byte-for-byte (see "On a shell HIT" below). The return shape is the
-declaration:
+outside the holes (see "On a shell HIT" below; a server component holding a
+promise is the one element that is a hole as a whole, see "Any depth" above).
+The return shape is the declaration:
 
 ```typescript
 export const StorefrontContextLoader = createLoader(async (ctx) => {
@@ -646,43 +820,63 @@ entries, not just routes.
 
 #### On a shell HIT
 
-What a bake-lane loader does on a document HIT depends on whether its recorded
-container carried holes:
-
-- **Hole-free record (the return had no promises): pin-first.** The response
-  uses the pinned container from the shell snapshot immediately and does not
-  wait for the loader. The loader body STILL runs fresh on every HIT, in the
-  background via `executionContext.waitUntil`, only for its side effects and
-  cache read-through writes; its result is discarded. The pinned SHAPE wins
-  wholesale: a field the fresh run adds mid-TTL is dropped, because the frozen
-  prelude has no hole for it. The output changes only when the shell is
+What a bake-lane loader does on a HIT depends on whether its recorded
+container carried holes. A client navigation that replays a shell captured by
+a document request (`x-rango-ppr-replay: HIT`) does the same, for every
+`ssr: false` loader, including one on an entry with `loading()` (before, a
+navigation ran every loader and served its fresh values). A snapshot captured
+by a navigation alone carries no pins, and its replay runs these loaders fresh.
+
+- **Hole-free record (the return had no promises): served from the shell.**
+  The response uses the pinned container immediately and the loader body does
+  NOT run (unless the capture marked it to run: see the handle pushes note
+  below): a HIT is rendered from the shell, like the handlers it replays, so
+  the loader costs nothing per HIT. Side effects in its body happen once per
+  capture, not per request. The output changes only when the shell is
   recaptured (TTL/SWR expiry or tag invalidation).
-- **Hole-carrying record (the return had promises).** The loader runs fresh ON
-  the critical path — only the body can create the live promises — and the
-  recorded baked paths are overlaid onto the fresh result, so the payload
-  matches the prelude while the nested promises stream fresh. A fresh
-  rejection skips the overlay and goes to the loader's error boundary.
-
-A fully baked loader therefore still costs one backend call per HIT, off the
-response's critical path. To avoid it, give the loader its own cache —
-`loader(Def, { ssr: false }, () => [cache({ ttl })])` — so the background run
-reads through the loader cache.
-
-**Handle pushes from a bake-lane loader appear once, with the re-run's value.**
-The capture records the loader's settled, thenable-free handle pushes (the
-prelude rendered them), and a HIT that replays the handler layer from the
-record restores them. The loader still re-runs, and its pushes replace the
-restored ones in place, so any handle, deduping or not, shows each value
-once and the live value wins. A re-run push that lands after the document's
-handle snapshot reaches the client after hydration; until then the client
-shows the recorded value, which matches the prelude. Deferred and
-promise-carrying pushes are never recorded; the re-run is their only
-producer. The record keeps only the pushes
-made by the `ssr: false` loader's own body. A loader it awaits with
-`ctx.use()` re-runs with it on a HIT, so that loader's pushes are not recorded
-and appear once, whatever the value type (a string is left out the same way as
-an object). The same holds for pushes the capture replays from the loader's
-own `cache()` entry.
+- **Hole-carrying record (the return had promises).** The loader runs on every
+  HIT, ON the critical path — only the body can create the live promises that
+  fill the holes — and the recorded baked paths are overlaid onto the fresh
+  result, so the payload matches the prelude while the nested promises stream
+  fresh. A fresh rejection skips the overlay and goes to the loader's error
+  boundary. Give it its own cache,
+  `loader(Def, { ssr: false }, () => [cache({ ttl })])`, so that run reads
+  through the loader cache.
+
+Whether a return "has promises" is decided ONCE, at capture, by the shape of
+the value, never by timing: `maskNestedContainerThenables`
+(`router/segment-resolution/mask-nested.ts`) walks the returned data through
+plain objects, arrays and JSX element props and turns every thenable into a
+hole; the drain stores the result as the record's `holes` bit. A promise that
+resolves in 1 ms is still a hole, so `{ product: await getProduct() }` bakes
+and does not run on a HIT, while `{ product: getProduct() }` is a hole and
+runs on every HIT. A promise inside a `Map`, `Set` or class instance is not
+walked and is not a hole: the capture's record encode waits for it and bakes
+its settled value, and a HIT serves that value without running the loader.
+
+The granularity is the WHOLE loader: a bake-lane loader returning
+`{ product, reviews: promise }` runs its entire body on every HIT, the product
+fetch included, even though the captured product overlays its result. Split
+it into a promise-free `ssr: false` loader plus a live loader for the
+per-request part, or give it its own `cache()` so that run reads through it:
+
+```tsx
+loader(ProductLoader, { ssr: false }), // promise-free: baked, not run on a HIT
+loader(ReviewsLoader),                 // live: the hole, under loading()
+```
+
+**Handle pushes from a bake-lane loader appear once.** The capture records
+the settled, thenable-free handle pushes of every loader body it runs (the
+prelude rendered them): the `ssr: false` loader's own, those of the loaders
+it awaits with `ctx.use()`, and those its own `cache()` entry replays. Every HIT restores them with the handler layer. A
+loader that does run on the HIT (a hole-carrying bake-lane loader, or a live
+loader awaiting the same loader) replaces its restored pushes in place, so
+any handle, deduping or not, shows each value once; a push that lands after
+the document's handle snapshot reaches the client after hydration. A push the
+capture cannot record (a deferred push, or one holding a promise) marks the
+loader records to run: those
+bodies then still run on each HIT, in the background, so the push reaches the
+page.
 
 Four hard edges (each e2e/unit-pinned):
 
@@ -691,10 +885,10 @@ Four hard edges (each e2e/unit-pinned):
   or loader on a ppr route calling `ctx.headers.set()`, `cookies().set()`,
   `ctx.setTheme()`, or the request-context `header()`/`setStatus()` throws on
   EVERY render — dev and prod, first render, same guard family as the
-  `cache()` boundary guard. Handlers
-  are replayed on HITs (the write would silently differ between MISS and
-  HIT); loaders are live but settle AFTER the response headers flushed with
-  the shell (dead letters). Move the write into route middleware — it runs
+  `cache()` boundary guard. Handler output is replayed on HITs and no handler
+  runs there (the write would silently differ between MISS and HIT); loaders
+  are live but settle AFTER the response headers flushed with the shell (dead
+  letters). Move the write into route middleware — it runs
   on every request, including HITs, and its headers/cookies merge into every
   response. The one exception: a handler that calls `ctx.dynamic()` FIRST
   re-permits its own header/cookie write (#735) — a dynamic() render never
@@ -705,10 +899,17 @@ Four hard edges (each e2e/unit-pinned):
   `ssr: false` flag (the live lane is exempt; give it a boundary) or move the
   identity-dependent part into a separate loader without `ssr: false`. A
   nested promise does not help here: its body still runs during capture and
-  trips the guard. The guard's scope is EXACTLY those two calls:
-  per-user state read from a middleware-provided object (`ctx.get("session")`)
-  does NOT refuse — it bakes silently as the capturing user's data (see
-  Pitfalls: the session-object bake trap).
+  trips the guard. The same refusal covers everything else the capture waits
+  for (a handler, a promise it passes or pushes, an async server component, a
+  loader a handler awaits), a `{ cache: false }` variable
+  (`createVar({ cache: false })` or `ctx.set(..., { cache: false })`) read
+  there, and the visitor's theme (`ctx.theme`, `getRequestContext().theme`,
+  #971); see "Security". Read the theme with `useTheme()` in a client
+  component, or in a live loader with `cookies().get("theme")`; the shell's
+  `initialTheme` is the no-cookie default. Per-user state read from a NORMAL
+  middleware-provided variable (`ctx.get("session")`) does NOT refuse — it
+  bakes silently as the capturing user's data (see Pitfalls: the
+  session-object bake trap).
 - **A rejecting bake-lane loader refuses.** Error UI never bakes. So does a
   value that fails to encode: a function, a class instance, a promise inside a
   `Map` that rejects, or a server component in the value that throws. The
@@ -718,10 +919,11 @@ Four hard edges (each e2e/unit-pinned):
   that throws only on that run refuses it too. A build-time capture skips the
   shell (`SHELL SKIP`) and the route keeps runtime capture.
 - **Baked containers show CAPTURE-time data** for the shell's lifetime on
-  document GETs. Soft navigations may replay the captured handler segments, but
-  DSL loaders and their item/response reads remain fresh. That IS the bake
-  lane's meaning; if a value must be fresh on every serve, it belongs on the
-  live lane (no `ssr: false`) or in a nested promise.
+  document GETs, and on soft navigations that replay a shell captured by a
+  document request (`x-rango-ppr-replay: HIT`). Live loaders and their
+  item/response reads remain fresh. That IS the bake lane's meaning; if a value
+  must be fresh on every serve, it belongs on the live lane (no `ssr: false`) or
+  in a nested promise.
 
 ### The layout-with-loaders playbook (the storefront case)
 
@@ -779,46 +981,51 @@ their data should bake vs stay live. Your levers, in order of preference:
    GUARANTEED fresh per serve — use this where the bake lane's pinning
    (capture-time data for the shell's lifetime) is not acceptable, at the cost
    of a widget-sized fallback in the shell. The slot handler must hand the
-   loader to a CLIENT component (`useLoader` in a `"use client"` component)
-   for the freshness guarantee to reach the rendered value: server-side
-   `await ctx.use(...)` in the handler is the BAKED lane (the consumption-lane
-   rule, `/rango` → Invariants) — it executes at capture with identity reads
-   permitted, but the value it renders is a capture-time copy wherever it is
-   not shielded by the slot's masked LoaderBoundary.
-
-4. **Shared layout data can also leave the loader lane entirely**: an
-   un-awaited handler promise under the consumer's `<Suspense>` (a physics
-   hole) or `cache()`/`"use cache"` to bake it with tag-invalidation.
-
-The identity rule, stated once: per-user data on a PPR page lives in a NESTED
-promise (a hole, fresh per request) or in a live-lane loader (no `ssr: false`)
-consumed CLIENT-side under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`. A nested
-promise's body still runs at capture, so it must not call `cookies()`/`headers()`
-itself — identity reads belong in the live-lane loader. Reading
-`cookies()`/`headers()` where the value would bake as SEGMENT material —
-handler/render code or a bake-lane loader container — refuses the capture by
-construction. The one exemption is
-handler-INVOKED loader bodies (`await ctx.use(loader)`): they execute at
-capture with identity reads permitted, and the value bakes as a shared
-capture-time copy — mirroring `cache()` semantics (the consumption-lane
-rule, `/rango` → Invariants).
+   loader to a CLIENT component (`useLoader` in a `"use client"` component):
+   that client-side read is the hole. A server-side
+   `await ctx.use(WishlistLoader)` in the slot handler is handler output: it
+   runs at capture, its value bakes into the shell for every visitor, and if
+   the loader reads `cookies()`/`headers()` (the usual case for a per-user
+   loader) the capture is REFUSED and the page stays on MISS.
+
+4. **Shared layout data does not need a loader at all**: render it from the
+   handler (awaited, passed down as a promise, or pushed — it all bakes) and
+   wrap the expensive part in `cache()`/`"use cache"` so captures stay cheap
+   and the shell is tag-invalidatable.
+
+The identity rule, stated once: per-user data on a PPR page lives in a
+live-lane loader (no `ssr: false`) consumed CLIENT-side with `useLoader` under
+`loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`, or in a NESTED promise inside a
+bake-lane loader (a hole, fresh per request). A nested promise's body still
+runs at capture, so it must not call `cookies()`/`headers()` itself — identity
+reads belong in the live-lane loader. Reading `cookies()`, `headers()`, or a
+`{ cache: false }` variable anywhere the capture waits for refuses the capture
+by construction: handler/render code, a promise the handler passes or pushes,
+an async server component, a bake-lane loader, and a loader a handler awaits
+(`await ctx.use(Loader)`). There is no exemption for handler-invoked loaders:
+every HIT replays the capture's copy of their value, so an identity read there
+would show the capturing request's user to every visitor.
 
 ### Designing routes for cheap captures (the cost model)
 
 The hole doctrine has a cost corollary that bites silently: **everything that
 bakes is awaited at capture, and that wait recurs on EVERY capture of the
-route**. A top-level pushed handle promise that takes 5s and a Meta promise
-chained 2s further make every capture occupy the per-isolate serialized queue
-for ~7s — while the served response still reads 13ms TTFB, because captures are
-detached. You will not see this cost in any request timing; you see it as slow
-MISS→HIT flips, `skip-queue-timeout` under prefetch pressure, and (in dev, past
-2s) the bake-cost warning naming the source.
+route**. That now includes every promise a handler produces: a prop promise, an
+async server component's data, a nested value in a handle push, a loader the
+handler awaits. A handler pushing a handle promise that takes 5s and a Meta
+promise chained 2s further make every capture occupy the per-isolate serialized
+queue for ~7s — while the served response still reads 13ms TTFB, because
+captures are detached. You will not see this cost in any request timing; you
+see it as slow MISS→HIT flips, `skip-queue-timeout` under prefetch pressure,
+and (in dev, past 2s) the bake-cost warning naming the source.
 
 Three levers, in preference order:
 
-1. **Nest it** (`{ data: promise }` instead of the promise): the value becomes
-   a hole — per-request, streamed under the consumer's `<Suspense>`, zero
-   capture cost. Choose this whenever the value may be dynamic anyway.
+1. **Make it live**: move the value into a live-lane loader (no `ssr: false`)
+   read with `useLoader` under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>` — a hole,
+   per request, zero capture cost. Inside a bake-lane loader, return the slow
+   part as a nested promise instead. Nesting a promise inside a HANDLER's push
+   or props no longer does this: handler output is always awaited.
 2. **`cache()` the work inside it**: the value stays baked (shell material,
    tag-invalidatable), but the capture replays the cached value instead of
    re-executing the expensive body (mixed-chain). Choose this for shared,
@@ -829,8 +1036,9 @@ Three levers, in preference order:
    reader).
 
 Head material (Meta) pushed by HANDLERS cannot be a hole — the head is shell —
-so those promises bake by design; make them cheap with lever 2. `bakeWaitMs`
-on the capture debug event tells you what each capture actually paid. A
+so those promises bake by design; make them cheap with lever 2.
+`recordSettleMs` and `bakeWaitMs` on the capture debug event tell you what each
+capture actually paid. A
 Meta pushed by a LIVE-lane loader is different: those loaders are masked at
 capture, so the push happens at request time and applies client-side
 (`metadata.handlesLate`) — it is never in the cached shell's head, by
@@ -838,25 +1046,29 @@ construction. A bake-lane (`ssr: false`) loader executes at capture, so its
 settled pushes are shell material like a handler's.
 
 `loader(Def, { ssr: false })` (the document-render await, `/loader`) is the
-bake-lane switch under PPR, not an axis-1-only knob: the capture render awaits
-the flagged loader too, so its settled non-promise data — handle pushes
-included — freezes into the stored shell and recurs as capture cost on every
-capture (levers 1 and 2 apply to it). Outside capture the flag keeps its
-axis-1 meaning: document renders await it before first flush, client
-navigations stream it.
+bake-lane switch under PPR, not a knob for normal renders only: the capture
+render awaits the flagged loader too, so its settled non-promise data — handle
+pushes included — freezes into the stored shell and recurs as capture cost on
+every capture (levers 1 and 2 apply to it). On a MISS the flag keeps its
+normal-render meaning: document renders await it before first flush, client
+navigations stream it. A shell HIT, and a navigation that replays a shell
+captured by a document request, serve a promise-free one from the shell
+without running it (unless the capture marked it to run: see "On a shell
+HIT"); a snapshot captured by a navigation alone carries no pins, and its
+replay runs it fresh.
 
 ## Execution matrix
 
-| Phase            | MISS (foreground)      | Background capture                                                                    | HIT (foreground)                                            |
-| ---------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
-| Middleware chain | runs (full)            | **NOT re-run** — inherits the request's post-middleware context                       | runs (full) — commit point is after it                      |
-| `router.match`   | runs                   | re-runs under a derived context                                                       | runs (behind the flushed prelude)                           |
-| Handlers         | run                    | run on UNCACHED segments; `cache()`d segments replay (mixed-chain)                    | run (same mixed-chain rules as any render)                  |
-| Loaders          | run **fresh**          | LIVE lane (no `ssr: false`): MASKED; BAKE lane (`ssr: false`): execute + snapshot-pin | run **fresh** (bake containers overlaid from the snapshot)  |
-| Flight render    | full                   | full                                                                                  | full (hydration needs the whole payload — no Flight resume) |
-| HTML production  | full fizz              | `prerender` + abort → prelude + postponed                                             | `resume` only the holes — O(paths to holes)                 |
-| Shell store      | schedules a bg capture | `putShell(key, …)`                                                                    | `getShell(key)`; a stale/SWR hit also schedules a recapture |
-| Prelude bytes    | —                      | —                                                                                     | flushed FIRST, before segment resolution starts             |
+| Phase            | MISS (foreground)      | Background capture                                                                                                                                                                                    | HIT (foreground)                                                                 |
+| ---------------- | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| Middleware chain | runs (full)            | **NOT re-run** — inherits the request's post-middleware context                                                                                                                                       | runs (full) — commit point is after it                                           |
+| `router.match`   | runs                   | re-runs under a derived context                                                                                                                                                                       | runs (behind the flushed prelude)                                                |
+| Handlers         | run                    | run on UNCACHED segments (`cache()`d segments replay); everything they produce — promises, async server components, handle pushes, awaited loaders — settles before the freeze (`ppr.captureTimeout`) | **never run** — the handler layer is replayed from the shell's recorded segments |
+| Loaders          | run **fresh**          | LIVE lane (no `ssr: false`): MASKED; BAKE lane (`ssr: false`): execute + snapshot-pin                                                                                                                 | live: run **fresh**; bake: pinned, runs only if its record has holes             |
+| Flight render    | full                   | full, from the capture's own recorded segments (the same bytes every HIT replays)                                                                                                                     | full (hydration needs the whole payload — no Flight resume)                      |
+| HTML production  | full fizz              | `prerender` + abort → prelude + postponed                                                                                                                                                             | `resume` only the holes — O(paths to holes)                                      |
+| Shell store      | schedules a bg capture | `putShell(key, …)`                                                                                                                                                                                    | `getShell(key)`; a stale/SWR hit also schedules a recapture                      |
+| Prelude bytes    | —                      | —                                                                                                                                                                                                     | flushed FIRST, before segment resolution starts                                  |
 
 Middleware is not re-run during capture because it already ran for the
 triggering request — the capture's derived context inherits the
@@ -864,52 +1076,66 @@ post-middleware state (`ctx` variables included, which is what makes
 middleware-derived shell content photograph correctly). Guarding is
 serve-time: the commit point runs the full chain on EVERY serve.
 
-Because handlers on uncached segments EXECUTE during capture — and BAKE-lane
-loaders now do too — the `cookies()`/`headers()` capture guard is load-bearing:
-those reads THROW during a capture render (`assertNotInsideShellCapture`), so
-identity can never leak into a shared shell through them. Live-lane loaders
-(every loader without `ssr: false`) are exempt: masked at capture, they never
-run there.
+Because handlers on uncached segments EXECUTE during capture — along with
+everything they produce and every BAKE-lane loader — the capture guard is
+load-bearing: `cookies()`, `headers()`, a theme read, and a `{ cache: false }`
+variable read THROW during a capture render, and the capture
+is refused even when the code catches that throw, so identity can never leak
+into a shared shell through them. Live-lane loaders (every loader without
+`ssr: false`) are exempt: masked at capture, they never run there.
 
 ## allReady: the SEO/bot story
 
 `ssr: { resolveStreaming: ... }` returning `"allReady"` (e.g. for bot user
 agents) bypasses PPR entirely — the request gets one complete, fully-buffered
-axis-1 document. Crawlers that dislike streamed shells get a finished page;
-regular users get the streamed shell. No configuration interaction: allReady
-wins.
+document (a normal render, no shell). Crawlers that dislike streamed shells
+get a finished page; regular users get the streamed shell. No configuration
+interaction: allReady wins.
 
 ## Security
 
-Shell caching shares one shell per host+URL across all users:
+Shell caching shares one shell per host+URL (and request partition, see
+"Request-partitioned shells") across all users:
 
 **(a) Access control is sound by construction.** The commit point is after ALL
 middleware on every serve. A 401/redirect short-circuit returns before any
 shell byte.
 
-**(b) Identity can't leak via cookies/headers.** `cookies()` and `headers()`
-THROW during the background capture render — in handlers AND in bake-lane
-loaders (whose containers would bake). A shell that reads them is
-PPR-ineligible by construction; the live lane (no `ssr: false`) stays exempt.
-
-**(c) Residual hazard — middleware-derived per-user state.** A `ctx` variable
-set by an upstream auth middleware and rendered by shell material is
-photographed into the SHARED shell (the capture inherits post-middleware
-state). That is scope fidelity working as designed — for shared values. The
-same hazard reaches BAKE-LANE LOADERS: a loader reading a middleware-provided
-session object (`ctx.get("session")`) never calls `cookies()` itself, so the
-guard cannot see it — whatever it returns as settled container data is
-photographed as the CAPTURING user's state. If the
-value is per-user: shell-cache only public/shared pages, keep per-user content
-in nested pending promises or live-lane loaders (no `ssr: false`) — NOT in
-plain bake-lane container data — or key per variant at the CDN tier.
-
-## What always stays on axis 1
+**(b) Request-scoped reads refuse the capture.** During the background capture
+render, `cookies()`, `headers()`, the visitor's theme (`ctx.theme`,
+`getRequestContext().theme`), and `ctx.get()` of a `{ cache: false }` variable
+(`createVar({ cache: false })`, or a value written with
+`ctx.set(..., { cache: false })`) THROW, wherever the capture waits for them:
+a handler, a promise it passes or pushes, an async server component, a
+bake-lane loader, and a loader a handler awaits (`await ctx.use(Loader)`). The
+capture is refused even if your code catches the throw, and the route keeps
+serving MISSes with a once-per-key warning. `ctx.dynamic()` called there
+refuses it too. The live lane (no `ssr: false`) stays exempt: masked at capture, it never
+runs there.
+
+**(c) Residual hazard — middleware-derived per-user state.** A NORMAL `ctx`
+variable (no `cache: false`) set by an upstream auth middleware and rendered by
+shell material is photographed into the SHARED shell (the capture inherits
+post-middleware state), and so is a raw `ctx.request.headers` read. The guard
+cannot see either. That is scope fidelity working as designed — for shared
+values. It reaches handlers and BAKE-LANE LOADERS alike: a loader reading a
+middleware-provided session object (`ctx.get("session")`) never calls
+`cookies()` itself, so whatever it returns as settled container data is
+photographed as the CAPTURING user's state. If the value is per-user:
+shell-cache only public/shared pages, keep per-user content in live-lane
+loaders (no `ssr: false`) or nested promises in bake-lane loader data — NOT in
+handler output or plain bake-lane container data — mark the variable
+`{ cache: false }` so a stray shell read refuses the capture, or key per
+variant at the CDN tier.
+
+## What always renders without a shell
 
 Non-GET, non-partial RSC/action/loader fetches, partial requests without an
 eligible captured segment snapshot, per-request CSP nonce, `streamMode:
-"allReady"`, redirects, 404s, error renders, routes without `ppr`, and any store
-without the shell family. A stored shell is invalidated when
+"allReady"`, redirects, 404s, error renders, routes without `ppr`, a document
+request the route's own `cache()` scope refuses (`cache(false)`, or a
+`condition()` returning false for it), and any store without the shell family.
+A stored shell is invalidated when
 `React.version` changes (postponed state is build-coupled), so deploys
 self-heal via recapture.
 
@@ -926,8 +1152,8 @@ point (which runs after the whole middleware chain), so a middleware-set nonce
 blocks capture the same as a provider one. Because the route DECLARED `ppr`
 but cannot be honored, it logs a once-per-key worker warning (same
 declared-intent-cannot-be-honored doctrine as the missing-store warning) and
-serves pure axis 1 with no `x-rango-shell` header. An undeclared route stays
-silent.
+serves a normal render (no shell) with no `x-rango-shell` header. An
+undeclared route stays silent.
 
 ### The proper way to supply a nonce
 
@@ -957,13 +1183,38 @@ path(
 );
 ```
 
-| Field              | Default | Notes                                                                                                                                                     |
-| ------------------ | ------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `ttl`              | `300`   | shell freshness window in seconds (`ppr: true` uses the default)                                                                                          |
-| `swr`              | —       | stale window: serve the stale shell + background recapture                                                                                                |
-| `tags`             | —       | operational tags UNIONED with the tags the capture render auto-collects — see "Invalidation" below                                                        |
-| `maxSnapshotBytes` | 8 MiB   | cap on the entry's capture data snapshot; over it the snapshot is skipped (shell still stored, warned once per key) so the entry stays under store limits |
-| `captureTimeout`   | 15000ms | capture settle budget; a timed-out capture is refused rather than storing a partial shell                                                                 |
+| Field              | Default | Notes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
+| ------------------ | ------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| `ttl`              | `300`   | shell freshness window in seconds (`ppr: true` uses the default)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
+| `swr`              | —       | stale window: serve the stale shell + background recapture                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
+| `tags`             | —       | operational tags UNIONED with the tags the capture collects — see "Invalidation" below                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
+| `maxSnapshotBytes` | 8 MiB   | cap on the loader pins in the entry's snapshot (bake-lane loader records and the cached items/responses those loaders read). The recorded handler layer is exempt. Over the cap the pins are dropped and the shell is stored with its handler layer (warned once per key); bake-lane loaders then read the live store, and drift is repaired client-side |
+| `captureTimeout`   | 15000ms | ONE capture deadline: the handler layer settling (promises it passes or pushes, async server components, loaders it awaits), bake-lane loaders, and the prerender; a capture that misses it stores nothing rather than a partial shell                                                                                                                   |
+
+A shell never outlives the route `cache()` entry it was captured from: under
+a route `cache()`, the shell is fresh no longer than that entry is (at most
+`ppr.ttl`) and served no longer than that entry can be (at most `ppr.ttl` +
+`ppr.swr`), so a document HIT and a client navigation (which reads the
+`cache()` entry first) show the same handler output. An entry already in its
+`swr` window gives a shell that is stale from the start, served while it
+recaptures. Each isolate recaptures a stale shell at most once per second
+(`SHELL_MIN_RECAPTURE_INTERVAL_MS`): a HIT within a second of the shell's
+capture serves it without starting another. When the entry a capture read
+runs out before the store (it was near its end), the capture retries once on
+a fresh match. Nothing is stored when the retry's entry runs out too, when
+the capture budget leaves no time to retry, or when the capture wrote the
+entry itself and it ran out before the store (its `ttl` + `swr` is no longer
+than the rest of the capture): the URL backs off, and a warning names the
+route and the entry's `ttl`/`swr`, once per route (dev and production). In dev an explicit `ppr.ttl`/`ppr.swr` the entry reduces
+warns once per route, stating what the shell is stored with; with no `ppr`
+window set, the cap applies silently.
+
+Separately from `maxSnapshotBytes`, the whole entry (prelude, postponed state,
+and snapshot) must fit the store's value limit — 25 MiB by default, Cloudflare
+KV's; `VercelCacheStore` derives its own from its item cap. A bigger entry
+refuses the capture (warned once per key) instead of failing the store write:
+shrink what the shell bakes or move large regions under a live loader's
+boundary.
 
 The shell store is always the app-level `createRouter({ cache })` store; the
 default key is `${host}${pathname}${sortedSearch}:shell` (host-scoped so
@@ -980,19 +1231,31 @@ output is shared; see `/deployment-caching`.
 `updateTag()`/`revalidateTag()` is the ONLY lever that changes the frozen shell
 HTML; `revalidate()` is a DATA lever that never touches it.
 
-A captured shell auto-carries the UNION of the non-loader tags recorded during
-the capture render — every `cacheTag(...)` that ran as shell material, whether
-from a `"use cache"` function, a `cache()` segment, or a render-callable
-`cacheTag()` in a plain server component (no `"use cache"`/`cache()` in its
-tree), plus the tags of cached loaders on the BAKE lane (they execute during
-capture). Live-lane loader tags (every loader without `ssr: false`) never
-attach — those loaders are masked at capture, and the holes are already live. `ppr.tags` adds
+A captured shell carries the tags of what renders into it: its segment
+record's tags — every `cacheTag(...)` the handler layer ran as shell material,
+whether from a `"use cache"` function, a `cache()` segment, or a
+render-callable `cacheTag()` in a plain server component (no
+`"use cache"`/`cache()` in its tree) — plus the tags of loaders on the BAKE
+lane (they execute during capture and their data is in the shell). A tag
+recorded outside what the shell renders is not on it. A live-lane loader's tags (every loader without `ssr: false`)
+attach only when a handler consumes its value with `ctx.use()`, which bakes
+it; one read only by the client stays off, since it is masked at capture and
+its hole is already live. `ppr.tags` adds
 operational tags the render cannot know (a tenant id, a deploy marker).
 
+When the route has its own `cache()`, the capture replays that record instead
+of re-rendering, so nothing it covers runs at capture. The record stores the
+tags its content recorded when the foreground wrote it and re-records them on
+the HIT, so the shell carries the same union. That includes a `loading()`
+slot's handler output (a HIT replays it from the record) and any loader a
+handler consumes with `ctx.use()`; a loader read only by `useLoader()` under
+`loading()` stays off. `updateTag()` of such a tag drops the record together
+with the shell, so the recapture renders fresh.
+
 | Lever                                                   | Reaches the frozen shell?                                     | Reaches the holes?                                  |
 | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
 | `updateTag` / `revalidateTag` on a SHELL tag            | YES — drops the shell → MISS → recapture                      | n/a (holes are already live)                        |
-| `updateTag` / `revalidateTag` on a live-lane LOADER tag | no — live-lane loader tags never attach to a shell            | drops that loader's cached value (if it `cache()`s) |
+| `updateTag` / `revalidateTag` on a live-lane LOADER tag | only if a handler consumes the loader (`ctx.use()`)           | drops that loader's cached value (if it `cache()`s) |
 | `revalidate()` (named revalidation contract)            | **no** — re-runs segments/loaders for the PAYLOAD, never HTML | yes — the hole re-renders with fresh data           |
 
 A server action's automatic invalidation refreshes the CLIENT only — it re-runs
@@ -1000,33 +1263,49 @@ the holes and streams a fresh payload, but does NOT evict the server shell.
 Shell-baked data stays stale until the shell's TTL unless you tag-invalidate it
 (`updateTag` on a shell tag). Data baked into the shell WITHOUT a tag cannot be
 evicted by tag at all — move always-fresh data into a live-lane loader (no
-`ssr: false`) or a nested promise.
+`ssr: false`) or a nested promise in bake-lane loader data.
 
 ## Pitfalls
 
 - **A bake-lane loader that reads `cookies()`/`headers()`**: the capture is
-  REFUSED (deterministic, once-per-key warned) — the route stays on axis 1.
-  Move identity onto the live lane (drop `ssr: false`, or split the read into
+  REFUSED (deterministic, once-per-key warned) — the route keeps serving
+  MISSes. Move identity onto the live lane (drop `ssr: false`, or split the read into
   a separate unflagged loader; give the reader a boundary). A nested promise
   does not help here: its body still runs during capture.
 - **A bake-lane container that must be fresh per document GET**: it is
   snapshot-pinned for the shell's lifetime by design. Use the live lane
   (no `ssr: false`) or a nested promise instead.
-- **A bake-lane loader slower than `ppr.captureTimeout` (15s by default)**: the
-  capture is refused rather than storing a partial shell. Increase the route's
-  budget only when the deployment can keep the background/build work alive.
+- **Handler output or a bake-lane loader slower than `ppr.captureTimeout`
+  (15s by default)**: the capture stores nothing rather than a partial shell
+  (the warning says the output "did not settle within ppr.captureTimeout").
+  Make the slow part cheaper (`cache()`/`"use cache"`), move it into a live
+  loader, or increase the route's budget only when the deployment can keep the
+  background/build work alive.
+- **A pending handler promise expected to be a hole**: it is not. A promise
+  the handler passes under `<Suspense>`, an async server component, or a
+  promise nested in a handler's handle push is awaited at capture and served
+  frozen on every HIT. Move per-request data into a live-lane loader read with
+  `useLoader` under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>` (see "Migration from
+  the old promise-hole model").
+- **`cache(false)` or a false `condition()` on a ppr route**: the document
+  request renders like a cache miss — a normal render, no `x-rango-shell`
+  header, no capture. A `condition()` that is false only for some requests
+  renders those requests normally (no shell) while the others keep serving the
+  shell.
 - **Per-user value in shell material**: baked into the shared shell —
-  deterministically, not by race (handler promises deep-settle at the ring-3
-  write on cached chains; awaited/resolved values bake everywhere). Put
-  per-user data in a nested pending promise or a live-lane loader (no
-  `ssr: false`) — plain BAKE-lane loader data bakes just like handler
+  deterministically, not by race (handler output, promises included, is
+  awaited at capture; awaited/resolved values bake everywhere). Put per-user
+  data in a live-lane loader (no `ssr: false`) or a nested promise in
+  bake-lane loader data — plain BAKE-lane loader data bakes just like handler
   material.
 - **The session-object bake trap (the guard cannot save you here)**: the
-  capture guard sees `cookies()`/`headers()` calls ONLY. A bake-lane loader
-  reading a middleware-provided session object (`ctx.get("session")`) refuses
-  nothing. Per-user data survives ONLY behind a nested promise — the shape is
+  capture guard sees `cookies()`, `headers()`, and `{ cache: false }` variable
+  reads ONLY. A handler or bake-lane loader reading a NORMAL middleware-provided
+  session object (`ctx.get("session")`) refuses nothing. Inside a bake-lane
+  loader, per-user data survives ONLY behind a nested promise — the shape is
   the declaration, and it holds for BOTH branches regardless of settle timing
-  (nested thenables are masked at capture):
+  (nested thenables are masked at capture). In a handler nothing survives: a
+  handler's output bakes, promises included.
 
   ```typescript
   const CartLoader = createLoader(async (ctx) => {
@@ -1042,12 +1321,13 @@ evicted by tag at all — move always-fresh data into a live-lane loader (no
   (even an already-resolved one) or put the loader on the live lane (drop
   `ssr: false`).
 
-- **Theme on a HIT is capture-then-corrected**: the resume tree replays the
-  CAPTURE's `initialTheme` (resume requires it to match the frozen prelude);
-  the visitor's cookie theme is applied pre-paint by the FOUC script and
-  re-synced post-mount by ThemeProvider. Nothing to configure — but a themed
-  component in the shell may briefly render the captured theme's markup before
-  the post-mount re-sync.
+- **Theme on a HIT is default-then-corrected**: the shell's `initialTheme` is
+  the no-cookie default (`defaultTheme`), whoever captured it, and the resume
+  tree replays it (resume requires it to match the frozen prelude). A visitor
+  with a stored theme gets it pre-paint from the FOUC script and in
+  `useTheme()` after ThemeProvider re-syncs post-mount. Nothing to configure —
+  but a themed component in the shell may briefly render the default theme's
+  markup before the post-mount re-sync.
 - **Shell shows CAPTURE-time data for the shell's lifetime**: a
   `cache()`/`"use cache"` value baked into the shell is PINNED at capture (the
   capture data snapshot) and replayed on every HIT, so the shell stays
@@ -1057,22 +1337,34 @@ evicted by tag at all — move always-fresh data into a live-lane loader (no
   the capture read it also rides the shell, so `updateTag` on that tag drops the
   shell too (next request MISSes and recaptures). An untagged entry has no such
   link. If a shell region needs to be fresh, put it under a hole — a live-lane
-  loader (no `ssr: false`) behind `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`, or an
-  un-awaited promise under the consumer's `<Suspense>`
-  (holes are never pinned) — or make the SHELL itself invalidatable by tagging
+  loader (no `ssr: false`) behind `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`, or a
+  nested promise in bake-lane loader data (holes are never pinned) — or make
+  the SHELL itself invalidatable by tagging
   it: tag the cached read, call `cacheTag(...)` from the shell-material render
   code (the render-time lever), or add the tag to `ppr.tags` (operational tags
   the render cannot know — a tenant id, a deploy marker). Tags are optional: if
   TTL/SWR is the complete freshness policy, leave the shell untagged. Rango does not warn for that choice; with
   `debugShellCapture` enabled, a stored event reports `untaggedBake: true` when
   bake-lane loader material uses TTL/SWR-only invalidation.
-- **Uncached nondeterminism in the shell is a hydration hazard**: a raw
-  `Date.now()` / `Math.random()` / uncached `fetch` rendered directly in shell
-  material (outside any cache ring) drifts between capture and hit and the
-  snapshot CANNOT pin it — it was never a cache read. It will mismatch the frozen
-  prelude and detonate hydration. Wrap it in `cache()`/`"use cache"` (then it is
-  pinned) or move it under a hole (`loading()`, or a pending-promise
-  `<Suspense>` region).
+- **A `"use cache"` value the shell and a live hole both read comes from the
+  cache store in the hole**: the shell keeps the capture-time value, and a
+  live-lane loader under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>` that reads the
+  same `"use cache"` entry reads it from the store on every HIT. It is still
+  cached under its own profile; once the entry expires or is invalidated and
+  refreshes, the hole shows the refreshed value next to the shell's old one. The
+  capture stores only what a HIT reads: every HIT replays the handler layer
+  from the captured segment record, so the `"use cache"` items only handler
+  code read are not stored. When a bake-lane loader read the same entry at
+  capture, the shell keeps it, and the hole gets that pinned value too.
+- **Uncached nondeterminism in server output is frozen, not drifting**: a raw
+  `Date.now()` / `Math.random()` / uncached `fetch` in a handler or server
+  component renders once per capture, and the prelude and every HIT show that
+  same value for the shell's lifetime (an uncached async server component used
+  to render twice per capture, so the prelude and the HIT payload disagreed).
+  If the value must change per request, move it under a hole (a live-lane
+  loader read under `loading()` or an inline `<Suspense>`). A CLIENT component
+  that renders such a value during SSR still mismatches on hydration, as on
+  any SSR page.
 - **Stacking with `/document-cache` or HTTP CDN caching**: both cache the
   completed composite, including live-hole output, so PPR becomes redundant on
   a hit. A platform CDN also bypasses every Rango middleware. Restrict this to