skalpel 3.0.11 → 3.0.13

package/INSTALL.md

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ A user who has rolled back to a previous version (by running `npm install -g ska
 npx skalpel uninstall
 ```
 
-is the canonical one-liner for a clean, full removal on every supported OS. It works whether or not skalpel was previously installed globally:
+is the canonical one-liner for a clean, full removal on every supported OS. The Go binary owns the state cleanup; the Node shim owns `npm uninstall -g`. The watchdog catches `npm uninstall -g skalpel` alone within ~60s. It works whether or not skalpel was previously installed globally:
 
 1. Unregisters the per-OS service entry (launchd on macOS, systemd user unit on Linux, Task Scheduler entry on Windows).
 2. Removes the managed shell-rc block injected on install.
@@ -92,6 +92,24 @@ npm 7+ removed the `preuninstall`/`uninstall`/`postuninstall` lifecycle scripts;
 
 The configuration directory itself (auth.json + config.toml + cache + logs) is deliberately wiped by the default uninstall so a reinstalled skalpel starts from a known state. Users who want to reinstall and keep their auth + engine toggles should pass `--keep-data`.
 
+### Watchdog and cleanup.lock
+
+`skalpel uninstall` is one path to a clean machine; `npm uninstall -g skalpel` followed by no further action is another. The daemon's **watchdog** subsystem closes the loop on the second path. Every ~30s, `skalpeld` polls its own executable path; when the binary disappears (because npm just nuked the global `node_modules`), it self-runs the same cleanup the Go CLI does, then exits.
+
+To opt out (e.g. on shared hosts where the daemon is centrally managed), set `[daemon] watchdog_enabled = false` in `~/.config/skalpel/config.toml`:
+
+```toml
+[daemon]
+watchdog_enabled = false
+```
+
+`cleanup.lock` is a small marker file `<configDir>/cleanup.lock` that `skalpel uninstall` writes before any destructive step. It contains `<pid>\n<unix_ms>\n`. The watchdog reads it every tick:
+
+- If the lock's PID is alive AND its timestamp is fresher than 10 minutes → stand down (a user-initiated uninstall owns this window).
+- Else (dead PID or stale timestamp) → ignore the lock and proceed as if it weren't there.
+
+`cleanup.lock` is safe to delete manually if you see one outside an active uninstall — the next watchdog tick will recover.
+
 ## Version coupling
 
 `skalpel` and `skalpeld` carry the same version string at all times. The release workflow produces both from the same git tag; the npm package's `version` field, the binaries' embedded version metadata, and the cosign signatures all reference the same value. There is no path by which the two could diverge on a machine that received either via a supported install path.

package/npm-bin/skalpel.js

@@ -143,6 +143,24 @@ function isInfoArg(argv) {
 function resolveBinary(name, argv) {
   const infoOnly = isInfoArg(argv || []);
   const failExit = infoOnly ? 0 : 1;
+  // Local-dev override: SKALPEL_BIN_DIR points at a directory holding
+  // freshly-built `skalpel` / `skalpeld` binaries (e.g. ./bin from a
+  // `make build`). When set we skip the optionalDependencies lookup
+  // entirely so `npm link` users can iterate without rebuilding the
+  // platform tarballs each cycle.
+  const overrideDir = process.env.SKALPEL_BIN_DIR;
+  if (overrideDir) {
+    const exeOverride = process.platform === 'win32' ? `${name}.exe` : name;
+    const candidate = path.join(overrideDir, exeOverride);
+    if (fs.existsSync(candidate)) return candidate;
+    emitError(
+      process.stderr,
+      'SKALPEL_BIN_DIR override missing binary',
+      `Expected ${candidate} but it does not exist.`,
+      `→ Run \`make build\` in the repo root, or unset SKALPEL_BIN_DIR.`
+    );
+    process.exit(failExit);
+  }
   const key = `${process.platform}-${process.arch}`;
   const pkg = PLATFORM_PACKAGES[key];
   if (!pkg) {
@@ -230,22 +248,26 @@ function runUninstall(rest) {
     return 0;
   }
 
-  const postinstall = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'postinstall', 'index.js');
-  if (!fs.existsSync(postinstall)) {
-    emitError(
-      process.stderr,
-      'postinstall script missing',
-      `Expected ${postinstall} but it does not exist.`,
-      `→ Reinstall: \`npm install -g skalpel\``
-    );
-    return 1;
+  // Phase-11 (Go port): the install-side Node postinstall used to
+  // own uninstall as well; the cleanup is now a Go subcommand on the
+  // platform binary. The shim still owns the npm-package removal
+  // below (detectGlobalInstall → npm uninstall -g), but the
+  // state-tearing is dispatched to the binary.
+  const goBinPath = resolveBinary('skalpel', null);
+  if (!goBinPath) {
+    return 1; // resolveBinary already emitted a structured error.
   }
-  const args = ['--uninstall'];
-  if (cleanupData) args.push('--cleanup-data');
-  if (dryRun) args.push('--dry-run');
+  const goArgs = ['uninstall'];
+  // Flag inversion: the shim's defaults (cleanupData=true,
+  // removePackage=true, dryRun=false) become the Go binary's *implicit*
+  // defaults, so we only forward an inverted flag when the user opted
+  // out (or, for dryRun, opted in).
+  if (!cleanupData) goArgs.push('--keep-data');
+  if (!removePackage) goArgs.push('--keep-package');
+  if (dryRun) goArgs.push('--dry-run');
 
-  // X4 fix: pass a temp summary file path; postinstall writes a JSON
-  // structure with per-phase counts so we can print a truthful
+  // X4 fix: pass a temp summary file path; the Go binary writes a
+  // JSON structure with per-phase counts so we can print a truthful
   // message instead of unconditionally claiming success.
   const summaryFile = path.join(
     os.tmpdir(),
@@ -255,7 +277,7 @@ function runUninstall(rest) {
     SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_SUMMARY_FILE: summaryFile,
   });
 
-  const result = spawnSync(process.execPath, [postinstall, ...args], {
+  const result = spawnSync(goBinPath, goArgs, {
     stdio: 'inherit',
     env: childEnv,
   });

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "skalpel",
-  "version": "3.0.11",
+  "version": "3.0.13",
   "description": "Skalpel — local proxy and TUI for coding agents (skalpel + skalpeld bundle).",
   "license": "Apache-2.0",
   "homepage": "https://skalpel.ai",
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@
     "x64"
   ],
   "optionalDependencies": {
-    "@skalpelai/skalpel-darwin-arm64": "3.0.10",
-    "@skalpelai/skalpel-darwin-x64": "3.0.10",
-    "@skalpelai/skalpel-linux-arm64": "3.0.10",
-    "@skalpelai/skalpel-linux-x64": "3.0.10",
-    "@skalpelai/skalpel-win32-x64": "3.0.10"
+    "@skalpelai/skalpel-darwin-arm64": "3.0.13",
+    "@skalpelai/skalpel-darwin-x64": "3.0.13",
+    "@skalpelai/skalpel-linux-arm64": "3.0.13",
+    "@skalpelai/skalpel-linux-x64": "3.0.13",
+    "@skalpelai/skalpel-win32-x64": "3.0.13"
   }
 }

package/postinstall/index.js

@@ -44,8 +44,6 @@ function parseArgs(argv) {
     dryRun: false,
     skipBundle: false,
     verbose: false,
-    uninstall: false,
-    cleanupData: false,
   };
   for (const a of argv.slice(2)) {
     switch (a) {
@@ -58,14 +56,6 @@ function parseArgs(argv) {
       case '--skip-bundle':
         out.skipBundle = true;
         break;
-      case '--uninstall':
-        out.uninstall = true;
-        break;
-      case '--cleanup-data':
-        // B29: opt-in flag to delete auth.json / config.toml /
-        // skalpeld.lock / logs/ during --uninstall.
-        out.cleanupData = true;
-        break;
       case '--help':
       case '-h':
         out.help = true;
@@ -79,9 +69,6 @@ function parseArgs(argv) {
   if (process.env.SKALPEL_INSTALL_DRY_RUN === '1') {
     out.dryRun = true;
   }
-  if (process.env.SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_CLEAN === '1') {
-    out.cleanupData = true;
-  }
   return out;
 }
 
@@ -89,7 +76,7 @@ function helpText() {
   return [
     'skalpel postinstall wizard',
     '',
-    'usage: node postinstall/index.js [--dry-run] [--verbose] [--uninstall] [--cleanup-data]',
+    'usage: node postinstall/index.js [--dry-run] [--verbose]',
     '',
     'Run automatically by npm install. The wizard performs:',
     '  1. detect-prior          probe configDir for an existing install',
@@ -98,127 +85,14 @@ function helpText() {
     '  4. env-inject            update shell rc managed-block',
     '  5. launch                print the run-skalpel hint',
     '',
-    '--uninstall reverses steps 3 and 4: unregisters the daemon and',
-    '   removes the managed block from each rc file.',
-    '--cleanup-data (with --uninstall) also deletes auth.json,',
-    '   config.toml, skalpeld.lock, and logs/. Equivalent env var:',
-    '   SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_CLEAN=1.',
+    'Uninstall is owned by the Go binary now — run `skalpel uninstall`',
+    'or `npx skalpel uninstall` to reverse this wizard.',
     '',
     'Dry-run mode (SKALPEL_INSTALL_DRY_RUN=1 or --dry-run) makes every',
     'step log what it would do and write nothing.',
   ].join('\n');
 }
 
-// B29: best-effort delete of user data on --uninstall --cleanup-data.
-// X5 fix: previously silent on absent files. Now logs "absent — skip"
-// for every checked path so the user can see what was inspected.
-// X7 fix: also clean cache/, skalpel-tui.log, skalpeld.log, socket
-// markers, and stats.cache — the pre-X7 list was just 4 paths and
-// left those behind, defeating the "full wipe" promise.
-function cleanupUserData({ dryRun }) {
-  const removed = [];
-  const skipped = [];
-  const cfg = paths.configDir();
-  const fileTargets = [
-    paths.authFile(),                             // auth.json
-    paths.configToml(),                           // config.toml
-    paths.lockFile(),                             // skalpeld.lock
-    path.join(cfg, 'skalpel-tui.log'),            // X7: TUI logger sink
-    path.join(cfg, 'skalpeld.log'),               // X7: daemon log
-    path.join(cfg, 'skalpeld.sock'),              // X7: daemon socket
-    path.join(cfg, 'skalpeld.sock.path'),         // X7: socket path marker
-    path.join(cfg, 'stats.cache'),                // X7: stats cache
-  ];
-  const dirTargets = [
-    paths.logsDir(),                              // logs/
-    path.join(cfg, 'cache'),                      // X7: model-fingerprint cache
-  ];
-
-  for (const t of fileTargets) {
-    const present = fs.existsSync(t);
-    if (dryRun) {
-      if (present) {
-        log.dryRun(`uninstall-cleanup: would rm ${t}`);
-        removed.push(t);
-      } else {
-        log.dryRun(`uninstall-cleanup: ${t} absent — would skip`);
-        skipped.push(t);
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    try {
-      if (present) {
-        fs.rmSync(t, { force: true });
-        log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: removed ${t}`);
-        removed.push(t);
-      } else {
-        log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: ${t} absent — skip`);
-        skipped.push(t);
-      }
-    } catch (err) {
-      log.warn(`uninstall-cleanup: rm ${t} failed: ${err.message}`);
-    }
-  }
-  for (const d of dirTargets) {
-    const present = fs.existsSync(d);
-    if (dryRun) {
-      if (present) {
-        log.dryRun(`uninstall-cleanup: would rm -r ${d}`);
-        removed.push(d);
-      } else {
-        log.dryRun(`uninstall-cleanup: ${d} absent — would skip`);
-        skipped.push(d);
-      }
-      continue;
-    }
-    try {
-      if (present) {
-        fs.rmSync(d, { recursive: true, force: true });
-        log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: removed ${d}`);
-        removed.push(d);
-      } else {
-        log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: ${d} absent — skip`);
-        skipped.push(d);
-      }
-    } catch (err) {
-      log.warn(`uninstall-cleanup: rm -r ${d} failed: ${err.message}`);
-    }
-  }
-  // Try to remove the (now-empty) configDir; ENOTEMPTY means the
-  // user has third-party state under it we deliberately did not
-  // touch — leave it alone.
-  if (!dryRun) {
-    try {
-      fs.rmdirSync(cfg);
-      log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: removed empty ${cfg}`);
-      removed.push(cfg);
-    } catch (err) {
-      if (err.code === 'ENOTEMPTY') {
-        log.info(`uninstall-cleanup: ${cfg} not empty (third-party files preserved) — skip rmdir`);
-      } else if (err.code !== 'ENOENT') {
-        log.warn(`uninstall-cleanup: rmdir ${cfg} failed: ${err.message}`);
-      }
-    }
-  } else {
-    log.dryRun(`uninstall-cleanup: would rmdir (if empty) ${cfg}`);
-  }
-  return { removed, skipped };
-}
-
-// X4 fix: write a JSON summary of what the uninstall actually did to
-// the path in SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_SUMMARY_FILE, so npm-bin/skalpel.js
-// (which inherited stdio to this child) can derive a truthful count
-// summary without parsing log lines.
-function writeSummaryFile(summary) {
-  const out = process.env.SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_SUMMARY_FILE;
-  if (!out) return;
-  try {
-    fs.writeFileSync(out, JSON.stringify(summary), { mode: 0o600 });
-  } catch (err) {
-    log.warn(`uninstall: failed to write summary to ${out}: ${err.message}`);
-  }
-}
-
 function main(argv) {
   const opts = parseArgs(argv);
   if (opts.help) {
@@ -226,26 +100,13 @@ function main(argv) {
     return 0;
   }
 
-  // npx mode: prior to v3.0.9 we returned exit 1 here, which caused
-  // npm to roll back the cached package install — leaving an empty
-  // ~/.npm/_npx/<hash>/ dir and a silent failure that re-prompted on
-  // every subsequent `npx skalpel` call. The original reason for the
-  // gate (B32) was that paths.binPath() couldn't locate the platform
-  // binary under npx's directory layout. That was fixed in v3.0.1
-  // when binPath was rewritten to use require.resolve against the
-  // platform sub-package (see paths.js:99-116) — which works under
-  // npx, global, or local install paths uniformly.
-  //
-  // We still skip the install wizard under npx because the wizard's
-  // service-register step would bake the npx cache path
-  // (~/.npm/_npx/<hash>/...) into the OS service unit, and that path
-  // is evicted by npx's cache GC. Exit 0 instead of 1 so npm install
-  // completes and the binary becomes invokable.
-  //
-  // Uninstall, however, MUST run under npx: a user running
-  // `npx skalpel uninstall` to clean up a prior `npm install -g`
-  // would otherwise hit the same skip and have nothing happen.
-  if (paths.isNpxInvocation() && !opts.uninstall) {
+  // npx mode: skip the install wizard. The wizard's service-register
+  // step would bake the npx cache path (~/.npm/_npx/<hash>/...) into
+  // the OS service unit, and that path is evicted by npx's cache GC.
+  // Exit 0 instead of 1 so npm install completes and the binary
+  // becomes invokable. (Uninstall is owned by the Go binary now and
+  // is unaffected.)
+  if (paths.isNpxInvocation()) {
     log.info(
       'npx mode detected — skipping install wizard (service-register / ' +
       'env-inject would bake transient npx cache paths into your system).'
@@ -259,77 +120,13 @@ function main(argv) {
 
   const total = 5;
   const mode = opts.dryRun ? 'dry-run' : 'live';
-  const action = opts.uninstall ? 'uninstall' : 'install';
-  log.info(`postinstall wizard starting (${mode} ${action}) on ${process.platform}`);
+  log.info(`postinstall wizard starting (${mode} install) on ${process.platform}`);
 
   // B28: classify failures. Critical = re-throw and exit 0 (we do
   // not want npm install to abort, but the operator should know).
   // Warning = collect and log at end.
   const allWarnings = [];
 
-  if (opts.uninstall) {
-    // X4 fix: count what was actually removed in each phase so the
-    // shim can print a truthful summary instead of a blanket "✓ state
-    // removed" that lies when the system was already clean.
-    const summary = {
-      rcBlocksRemoved: 0,
-      serviceFileRemoved: false,
-      serviceUnloadSucceeded: 0,
-      serviceUnloadFailedAllowed: 0,
-      serviceUnloadSkipped: false,
-      userDataFilesRemoved: 0,
-      userDataFilesSkipped: 0,
-      cleanupDataRequested: !!opts.cleanupData,
-      dryRun: !!opts.dryRun,
-      errors: [],
-    };
-    try {
-      const stepCount = opts.cleanupData ? 3 : 2;
-      log.step(1, stepCount, 'env-uninject', 'remove managed-block from rc files');
-      const ei = envInject.uninject({ dryRun: opts.dryRun }) || {};
-      summary.rcBlocksRemoved = Array.isArray(ei.removed) ? ei.removed.length : 0;
-
-      log.step(2, stepCount, 'service-unregister', `OS=${process.platform}`);
-      const ur = serviceRegister.unregister({ dryRun: opts.dryRun }) || {};
-      if (Array.isArray(ur.errors) && ur.errors.length) {
-        allWarnings.push(...ur.errors);
-        summary.errors.push(...ur.errors);
-      }
-      summary.serviceFileRemoved = !!ur.serviceFileRemoved;
-      summary.serviceUnloadSucceeded = ur.succeeded || 0;
-      summary.serviceUnloadFailedAllowed = ur.failedAllowed || 0;
-      summary.serviceUnloadSkipped = !!ur.skipped;
-
-      // B29: optional user-data cleanup.
-      if (opts.cleanupData) {
-        log.step(3, stepCount, 'cleanup-user-data', 'delete auth.json/config.toml/lock/logs/cache');
-        const cd = cleanupUserData({ dryRun: opts.dryRun }) || {};
-        summary.userDataFilesRemoved = Array.isArray(cd.removed) ? cd.removed.length : 0;
-        summary.userDataFilesSkipped = Array.isArray(cd.skipped) ? cd.skipped.length : 0;
-      } else {
-        log.info(
-          'uninstall: user data preserved (auth.json/config.toml/lock/logs). ' +
-          'Pass --cleanup-data or set SKALPEL_UNINSTALL_CLEAN=1 to remove.'
-        );
-      }
-    } catch (err) {
-      log.error(`uninstall failed: ${err.message}`);
-      if (opts.verbose) {
-        process.stderr.write(`${err.stack}\n`);
-      }
-      summary.errors.push(err.message);
-      writeSummaryFile(summary);
-      return 0;
-    }
-    writeSummaryFile(summary);
-    if (allWarnings.length) {
-      log.warn(`postinstall wizard finished (${mode} uninstall) with ${allWarnings.length} warning(s)`);
-    } else {
-      log.info(`postinstall wizard finished (${mode} uninstall)`);
-    }
-    return 0;
-  }
-
   let prior = false;
   let critical = null;
   try {
@@ -393,4 +190,4 @@ if (require.main === module) {
   process.exit(main(process.argv));
 }
 
-module.exports = { main, parseArgs, cleanupUserData };
+module.exports = { main, parseArgs };

package/postinstall/lib/env-inject.js

@@ -95,34 +95,4 @@ function run({ dryRun, port }) {
   return { touched };
 }
 
-function uninject({ dryRun }) {
-  const rcs = paths.rcFiles();
-  const removed = [];
-  for (const rc of rcs) {
-    const exists = fs.existsSync(rc.path);
-    if (!exists) {
-      log.info(`uninstall: ${rc.shell} rc absent (${rc.path}) — skip`);
-      continue;
-    }
-    if (dryRun) {
-      log.dryRun(`uninstall: would remove managed block from ${rc.path} (${rc.shell})`);
-      removed.push(rc.path);
-      continue;
-    }
-    const r = rcEdit.removeBlock({ shell: rc.shell, file: rc.path });
-    if (r.changed) {
-      log.info(`uninstall: removed managed block from ${rc.path} (${rc.shell})`);
-      removed.push(rc.path);
-    } else {
-      // X6 fix: previously silent. Surface "checked, nothing to remove"
-      // so the user can tell the rc file was inspected — Owen's #discord
-      // 2026-05-12 Windows report only logged "powershell-legacy absent"
-      // and never mentioned the modern powershell rc which existed but
-      // had no managed block.
-      log.info(`uninstall: no managed block in ${rc.path} (${rc.shell}) — skip`);
-    }
-  }
-  return { removed };
-}
-
-module.exports = { run, uninject, fallbackRc };
+module.exports = { run, fallbackRc };

package/postinstall/lib/rc-edit.js

@@ -48,6 +48,52 @@ function shellEscapePsSQ(v) {
   return String(v).replace(/'/g, "''");
 }
 
+// agentWrapPosix is a tiny bash/zsh-portable shim that prints a
+// one-line "skalpel active/inactive" hint right before launching
+// `claude`. The status is computed by `skalpel status` which checks
+// both the daemon socket AND the compressor toggle in config.toml so
+// the line accurately reflects whether anything will happen on the
+// next request.
+//
+// Self-disabling knobs:
+//   - SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP=1   → operator opt-out (env var, anywhere).
+//   - existing `claude` alias   → we don't override aliases.
+//   - `skalpel` not on PATH     → wrapper installs nothing.
+const agentWrapPosix = `
+# Pre-launch status hint for coding agents launched in this shell.
+# Status comes from \`skalpel status\` (checks daemon + engine config).
+# Set SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP=1 to disable.
+if [ -z "\${SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP:-}" ] && ! alias claude >/dev/null 2>&1 && command -v skalpel >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  claude() { skalpel status >&2; command claude "$@"; }
+fi`;
+
+// agentWrapFish is the fish-shell port of agentWrapPosix.
+const agentWrapFish = `
+# Pre-launch status hint for coding agents launched in this shell.
+# Status comes from \`skalpel status\` (checks daemon + engine config).
+# Set SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP=1 to disable.
+if not set -q SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP; and not functions -q claude; and command -q skalpel
+    function claude
+        skalpel status 1>&2
+        command claude $argv
+    end
+end`;
+
+// agentWrapPosh is the PowerShell port. Same delegation: ask the
+// `skalpel` binary for the status, write it to stderr, then forward.
+const agentWrapPosh = `
+# Pre-launch status hint for coding agents launched in this shell.
+# Status comes from \`skalpel status\` (checks daemon + engine config).
+# Set $env:SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP=1 to disable.
+$_skalpelOrigClaude = Get-Command claude.exe -CommandType Application -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object -First 1
+$_skalpelStatusBin = Get-Command skalpel -CommandType Application -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object -First 1
+if (-not $env:SKALPEL_NO_AGENT_WRAP -and $_skalpelOrigClaude -and $_skalpelStatusBin) {
+    function global:claude {
+        & $script:_skalpelStatusBin.Source status 1>&2
+        & $script:_skalpelOrigClaude.Source @args
+    }
+}`;
+
 function bodyFor(shell, env) {
   const note =
     'This block is managed by skalpel install. Do not edit by hand;\n' +
@@ -59,6 +105,7 @@ function bodyFor(shell, env) {
         ...Object.entries(env).map(
           ([k, v]) => `set -gx ${k} "${shellEscapePosixDQ(v)}"`
         ),
+        agentWrapFish,
       ].join('\n');
     case 'powershell':
     case 'powershell-legacy':
@@ -67,6 +114,7 @@ function bodyFor(shell, env) {
         ...Object.entries(env).map(
           ([k, v]) => `$env:${k} = '${shellEscapePsSQ(v)}'`
         ),
+        agentWrapPosh,
       ].join('\n');
     default:
       return [
@@ -74,6 +122,7 @@ function bodyFor(shell, env) {
         ...Object.entries(env).map(
           ([k, v]) => `export ${k}="${shellEscapePosixDQ(v)}"`
         ),
+        agentWrapPosix,
       ].join('\n');
   }
 }
@@ -122,23 +171,6 @@ function applyBlock({ shell, file, env, dryRun }) {
   return { changed: true };
 }
 
-function removeBlock({ shell, file, dryRun }) {
-  if (!fs.existsSync(file)) {
-    return { changed: false, missing: true };
-  }
-  const current = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8');
-  const re = blockRegex(shell);
-  const next = current.replace(re, '');
-  if (current === next) {
-    return { changed: false };
-  }
-  if (dryRun) {
-    return { changed: true, dryRun: true };
-  }
-  fs.writeFileSync(file, next);
-  return { changed: true };
-}
-
 // xmlEscape: B47 — used by Task.xml renderer.
 function xmlEscape(v) {
   return String(v)
@@ -154,7 +186,6 @@ module.exports = {
   buildBlock,
   rewrite,
   applyBlock,
-  removeBlock,
   fenceFor,
   bodyFor,
   shellEscapePosixDQ,

package/postinstall/lib/rc-edit.test.js

@@ -145,15 +145,17 @@ function run() {
     }
   });
 
-  test('TestRcEdit_RemoveBlock_Leaves_User_Content', () => {
-    const file = tmpFile('rcedit-remove');
+  test('TestRcEdit_ApplyBlock_Leaves_User_Content_Untouched', () => {
+    // Install-side counterpart to the old removeBlock test: apply the
+    // managed block and confirm the user's own export line still
+    // exists in the rewritten file. (Removal lives in Go now;
+    // see internal/cleanup/rcedit for its parity tests.)
+    const file = tmpFile('rcedit-apply-user');
     fs.writeFileSync(file, 'export USER_VAR=1\n');
     try {
       rc.applyBlock({ shell: 'bash', file, env: rc.envBlockValues(7878) });
-      const r = rc.removeBlock({ shell: 'bash', file });
-      assert.strictEqual(r.changed, true);
       const after = fs.readFileSync(file, 'utf8');
-      assert.ok(!after.includes(rc.FENCE_BEGIN_POSIX));
+      assert.ok(after.includes(rc.FENCE_BEGIN_POSIX), 'managed block applied');
       assert.ok(after.includes('export USER_VAR=1'), 'user var preserved');
     } finally {
       fs.unlinkSync(file);

package/postinstall/lib/service-register.js

@@ -99,29 +99,6 @@ function loadCommands() {
   }
 }
 
-function unloadCommands() {
-  switch (process.platform) {
-    case 'darwin': {
-      const target = launchdTarget();
-      const fullTarget =
-        target === 'system' ? 'system/ai.skalpel.daemon' : `${target}/ai.skalpel.daemon`;
-      return [
-        [LAUNCHCTL_PATH, ['bootout', fullTarget], { allowFail: true }],
-      ];
-    }
-    case 'win32': {
-      const ps1 = renderedPowerShellPath();
-      return [
-        ['powershell.exe', ['-NoProfile', '-File', ps1, '-Action', 'unregister'], { allowFail: true }],
-      ];
-    }
-    default:
-      return [
-        ['systemctl', ['--user', 'disable', '--now', 'skalpel-daemon.service'], { allowFail: true }],
-      ];
-  }
-}
-
 // B42: validate the daemon binary exists at the path the service
 // unit will exec. SHA256 verification is deferred (TODO below) until
 // dist.shasum is populated in package.json. The existence check is
@@ -161,121 +138,6 @@ function verifyBinary() {
   return { bin, stat };
 }
 
-// fallbackUnloadCommands returns commands that do not depend on
-// installed-state files. Used when the per-OS primary unload path
-// requires a precondition (rendered PS1, etc.) that may be missing —
-// e.g. an aborted install or a prior uninstall already deleted it.
-function fallbackUnloadCommands() {
-  switch (process.platform) {
-    case 'win32':
-      // schtasks.exe lives in System32 and is always present; the
-      // PS1 helper only existed to template params, so we invoke
-      // schtasks directly when the helper is gone.
-      return [
-        ['schtasks.exe', ['/End', '/TN', 'Skalpel\\skalpel-daemon'], { allowFail: true }],
-        ['schtasks.exe', ['/Delete', '/TN', 'Skalpel\\skalpel-daemon', '/F'], { allowFail: true }],
-      ];
-    default:
-      return [];
-  }
-}
-
-// Preflight + three-state outcome tracking. We distinguish:
-//   - succeeded:           command exited 0
-//   - skipped-precondition: a file the command needs is absent
-//   - failed-allowed:      command exited non-0, allowFail=true
-//   - failed-hard:         command exited non-0, allowFail=false
-// The pre-X1 code lumped succeeded + failed-allowed into "ok",
-// producing "1/1 ok" reports when an unregister silently failed
-// because the service was never registered to begin with. Owen
-// (#discord, 2026-05-12) saw this on Windows when the rendered PS1
-// helper was gone and PowerShell errored loudly while the wizard
-// still reported success.
-function unregister({ dryRun }) {
-  const dest = paths.servicePath();
-  const ps1 = renderedPowerShellPath();
-  const servicePresent = fs.existsSync(dest);
-  const ps1Present = fs.existsSync(ps1);
-
-  if (dryRun) {
-    log.dryRun(`uninstall: would unregister service at ${dest}`);
-    if (!servicePresent) {
-      log.dryRun(`  service file absent at ${dest} — would skip unload commands`);
-    } else {
-      const cmds = (process.platform === 'win32' && !ps1Present)
-        ? fallbackUnloadCommands()
-        : unloadCommands();
-      for (const [bin, args] of cmds) {
-        log.dryRun(`  would run: ${bin} ${args.join(' ')}`);
-      }
-    }
-    log.dryRun(`  would rm ${dest}`);
-    if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-      log.dryRun(`  would rm ${ps1}`);
-    }
-    return { dryRun: true, succeeded: 0, skipped: 0, failedAllowed: 0, serviceFileRemoved: false };
-  }
-
-  let cmds;
-  if (!servicePresent) {
-    log.info(`uninstall: service file absent at ${dest} — nothing registered to unload`);
-    cmds = [];
-  } else if (process.platform === 'win32' && !ps1Present) {
-    log.warn(`uninstall: PowerShell helper absent at ${ps1} — using direct schtasks fallback`);
-    cmds = fallbackUnloadCommands();
-  } else {
-    cmds = unloadCommands();
-  }
-
-  let succeeded = 0;
-  let failedAllowed = 0;
-  const errors = [];
-
-  for (const [bin, args, opts] of cmds) {
-    const allowFail = !!(opts && opts.allowFail);
-    const r = spawnSync(bin, args, { stdio: 'inherit' });
-    if (r.status === 0) {
-      succeeded += 1;
-    } else if (allowFail) {
-      failedAllowed += 1;
-      log.info(`uninstall: ${bin} ${args.join(' ')} exited ${r.status} (allowed)`);
-    } else {
-      const msg = `uninstall: ${bin} ${args.join(' ')} exited ${r.status}`;
-      errors.push(msg);
-      log.warn(`${msg}; rolling forward to file removal`);
-    }
-  }
-
-  if (cmds.length === 0) {
-    log.info('uninstall: phase 2 skipped — service was not registered');
-  } else {
-    log.info(
-      `uninstall: phase 2 complete: ${succeeded} succeeded, ` +
-      `${failedAllowed} failed (allowed)` +
-      (errors.length ? `, ${errors.length} hard errors` : '')
-    );
-  }
-
-  let serviceFileRemoved = false;
-  if (servicePresent) {
-    fs.unlinkSync(dest);
-    log.info(`uninstall: removed ${dest}`);
-    serviceFileRemoved = true;
-  }
-  if (process.platform === 'win32' && ps1Present) {
-    fs.unlinkSync(ps1);
-    log.info(`uninstall: removed ${ps1}`);
-  }
-  return {
-    removed: serviceFileRemoved,
-    serviceFileRemoved,
-    succeeded,
-    skipped: cmds.length === 0 ? 1 : 0,
-    failedAllowed,
-    errors,
-  };
-}
-
 function run({ dryRun }) {
   const tmpl = templatePath();
   const dest = paths.servicePath();
@@ -351,4 +213,4 @@ function run({ dryRun }) {
   return { skipped: false, registered: true, warnings };
 }
 
-module.exports = { run, unregister, templatePath, loadCommands, unloadCommands, fallbackUnloadCommands, launchdTarget };
+module.exports = { run, templatePath, loadCommands, launchdTarget };

package/postinstall/lib/sign-in.js

@@ -46,53 +46,35 @@ function resolveDispatcher() {
 
 function run({ dryRun, prior }) {
   if (prior) {
-    log.info('sign-in: prior auth.json detected — skipping browser flow');
+    log.info('sign-in: prior auth.json detected — skipping');
     return { skipped: true };
   }
 
-  const dispatcher = resolveDispatcher();
-
+  // Per UX request 2026-05-14: postinstall must NOT pop a browser
+  // unprompted. The first-time-user contract is now:
+  //   1. npm install completes silently (no auto-launched browser).
+  //   2. Postinstall prints "all set — run `skalpel` to open the TUI".
+  //   3. On first `skalpel` invocation, the TUI detects missing
+  //      auth.json and renders an in-TUI sign-in gate (press Enter
+  //      to open the browser, q to quit). See the runTUI auth gate
+  //      in cmd/skalpel/main.go.
+  //
+  // We keep this module's surface unchanged so postinstall/index.js
+  // does not need to special-case the deferred path; we just return
+  // `skipped: true` whether or not auth exists.
+  log.info('sign-in: deferred — first `skalpel` launch will gate sign-in');
   if (dryRun) {
-    log.dryRun(
-      `step 2 sign-in: would exec \`node ${dispatcher || '<dispatcher-missing>'} login\` ` +
-      '(loopback browser flow with manual-paste fallback)'
-    );
-    return { skipped: false, dryRun: true };
-  }
-
-  if (!dispatcher) {
-    log.warn(
-      'sign-in: dispatch shim not resolvable; user must run `skalpel login` ' +
-      'manually after install'
-    );
-    return { skipped: true, reason: 'no-dispatcher' };
+    log.dryRun('step 2 sign-in: would defer (no postinstall browser pop)');
+    return { skipped: true, dryRun: true, deferred: true };
   }
-
-  // B6: actually spawn `skalpel login`. The subprocess opens the
-  // browser, waits for the loopback callback, and writes auth.json.
-  // We propagate stdio so the user can see the prompt; we cap at
-  // SIGN_IN_TIMEOUT_MS so a runaway hang does not block npm install.
-  log.info(
-    'sign-in: launching `skalpel login` (loopback browser flow); ' +
-    `timeout ${Math.round(SIGN_IN_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)}s`
-  );
-  const r = spawnSync(process.execPath, [dispatcher, 'login'], {
-    stdio: 'inherit',
-    timeout: SIGN_IN_TIMEOUT_MS,
-  });
-  if (r.error) {
-    log.warn(`sign-in: spawn error: ${r.error.message}; user can re-run \`skalpel login\``);
-    return { skipped: false, error: r.error.message };
-  }
-  if (r.status !== 0) {
-    log.warn(
-      `sign-in: \`skalpel login\` exited ${r.status}; user can re-run after install ` +
-      `(config dir: ${paths.configDir()})`
-    );
-    return { skipped: false, exitCode: r.status };
-  }
-  log.info(`sign-in: ok (config dir: ${paths.configDir()})`);
-  return { skipped: false, ok: true };
+  return { skipped: true, deferred: true };
 }
 
+// resolveDispatcher and SIGN_IN_TIMEOUT_MS are retained at module
+// scope (used by no callers today) so the spawn-on-install behaviour
+// can be reinstated with a single edit if the deferred-auth UX needs
+// to be reverted.
+void resolveDispatcher;
+void SIGN_IN_TIMEOUT_MS;
+
 module.exports = { run, resolveDispatcher };

package/postinstall/systemd/skalpeld.service.tmpl

@@ -9,7 +9,8 @@ After=default.target
 [Service]
 Type=simple
 ExecStart="{{BIN}}/skalpeld" --service-mode
-Restart=on-failure
+Restart=always
+StartLimitBurst=5
 RestartSec=10s
 
 # Process hygiene

package/postinstall/windows/Task.xml.tmpl

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
     <AllowHardTerminate>false</AllowHardTerminate>
     <RestartOnFailure>
       <Interval>PT10S</Interval>
-      <Count>3</Count>
+      <Count>9999</Count>
     </RestartOnFailure>
     <Hidden>true</Hidden>
     <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT0S</ExecutionTimeLimit>