chore(release): bump version to 1.5.7

A plugin self-update took the dashboard down and left it down. The chain
ran correctly up to the point where the bootstrap SIGTERMs the server it is
replacing — and that server was systemd-managed, with the bootstrap running
as its descendant, i.e. inside its cgroup. Two failures fired at once:

  * the server exits 0, and `Restart=on-failure` reads a clean exit as
    "meant to stop", so systemd did not bring it back;
  * `KillMode=control-group` reaped the bootstrap itself, mid-run, before it
    could repoint the unit at the new plugin root or write state.json.

Evidence from the incident: bootstrap.log ends at "stopped the server
started from the previous plugin version" with no systemd line after it,
.bootstrap.lock survived with a dead pid, state.json still named the
previous version, and the unit's ExecStart still pointed at the old cache
dir. The same truncation is visible on three earlier updates — those only
recovered because a later SessionStart bootstrapped again.

systemd-service.js now splits install into writeUserService (repoints the
unit, starts nothing) and restartUserService (--no-block). The bootstrap
skips the manual stop whenever a unit of ours owns the server, and defers
the restart past writeState and releaseLock, so being killed by its own
request costs nothing. The unit is Restart=always: a graceful SIGTERM from
anything must no longer read as "leave it stopped".

installUserService keeps its old semantics for `agenthub service install`,
which runs from a user's shell and is not in the cgroup.

CLAUDE.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Claude Code Working Guide
 
-_Last synced: eb63569 (2026-09-10) + release-based update detection (`server/lib/update-check.js` reads the forge releases API — a checkout via its `origin` remote, a plugin-cache install via the marketplace manifest on disk, since an archive-sourced cache dir has no `.git`; a `plugin_managed` install self-updates via the detached `plugin-update` chain) + the install-wide **Update all** batch and session reload (`server/lib/cc-update-all.js`, `server/lib/cc-reload.js`)._ A change that makes any statement in this file, `AGENTS.md`, or a README wrong — a moved path, a new or changed extension point, a retired rule — updates that file in the same change-set and bumps this marker.
+_Last synced: v1.5.6 (2026-09-11) + the systemd handover rule below (`scripts/systemd-service.js`'s `writeUserService`/`restartUserService` split and `plugin-bootstrap.js`'s deferred `pendingSystemdRestart`) + eb63569 (2026-09-10) + release-based update detection (`server/lib/update-check.js` reads the forge releases API — a checkout via its `origin` remote, a plugin-cache install via the marketplace manifest on disk, since an archive-sourced cache dir has no `.git`; a `plugin_managed` install self-updates via the detached `plugin-update` chain) + the install-wide **Update all** batch and session reload (`server/lib/cc-update-all.js`, `server/lib/cc-reload.js`)._ A change that makes any statement in this file, `AGENTS.md`, or a README wrong — a moved path, a new or changed extension point, a retired rule — updates that file in the same change-set and bumps this marker.
 
 ## Project mission
 - Maintain a reliable local-first dashboard for Claude Code session monitoring.
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ A **lane** is a durable unit of parallel agent work — one working directory, m
 See `docs/LANES.md` for full guide: stage reporting, custom templates, lane actions, and the five node states.
 
 ## Non-negotiable engineering rules
+- **When a `agenthub.service` unit of ours owns the server, nothing else may stop it.** The bootstrap that performs a self-update is spawned by the running server, so it lives in that server's systemd cgroup: SIGTERM-ing the server from there exits 0 (which `Restart=on-failure` read as "meant to stop") AND trips `KillMode=control-group`, reaping the bootstrap before it can repoint the unit or write `state.json` — a dashboard dead after every update until some later session bootstrapped again. So `scripts/systemd-service.js` splits the API: `writeUserService` repoints the unit and starts NOTHING, `restartUserService` uses `--no-block`, and `plugin-bootstrap.js` defers that restart past `writeState` and `releaseLock` (`pendingSystemdRestart`). The unit is `Restart=always`. Do not add a path that stops the dashboard from inside its own cgroup, and do not move the restart earlier. `agenthub service install` may keep using `installUserService` — it runs from a user's shell, outside the cgroup.
 - **A session reload is typed into a live pane, never spawned.** `/reload-plugins` and `/reload-skills` are scoped BY CLAUDE CODE to the session that runs them, so nothing can reload a session from the outside. `server/lib/cc-reload.js` therefore types them into the dashboard's existing tmux lane panes and spawns NO `claude` process — a one-shot `claude -p "/reload-plugins"` reloads only its own short-lived session, exits, and leaves a junk session in the dashboard's own history. Do not add a path that starts a session in order to reload one.
 - Preserve existing behavior unless explicitly asked to change it.
 - Prefer minimal, reversible diffs.

client/src/pages/__tests__/__snapshots__/screens.snapshot.test.tsx.snap

@@ -9537,7 +9537,7 @@ exports[`screen snapshots > Settings 1`] = `
             <p
               class="text-[10px] text-status-warning/90 mt-1"
             >
-              UI build v1.5.5 (rebuild client to match)
+              UI build v1.5.7 (rebuild client to match)
             </p>
           </div>
           <div

docs/DEPLOYMENT.md

@@ -456,7 +456,10 @@ Environment=NODE_ENV=production
 Environment=PORT=4820
 Environment=DASHBOARD_DB_PATH=/var/lib/agenthub/dashboard.db
 ExecStart=/usr/bin/node server/index.js
-Restart=on-failure
+# `always`, not `on-failure`: a graceful SIGTERM exits 0, which `on-failure`
+# reads as "meant to stop" — one stray kill and the dashboard stays down.
+# `systemctl stop` still stops it. Same reasoning as the plugin's own unit.
+Restart=always
 RestartSec=10
 StandardOutput=journal
 StandardError=journal

docs/PLUGINS.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # AgentHub — Plugin Marketplace
 
-Official Claude Code plugins for the Agent Monitor dashboard. The **`agenthub`** plugin _is_ the dashboard — hooks, server, `agenthub` CLI and MCP tools, no checkout required. On top of it, **10 focused plugins** extend Claude Code with skills, agents, slash commands, hooks, and CLI tools for deep analytics, cost guardrails, productivity automation, developer tools, AI-powered insights, session forensics, workflow/fleet intelligence, reliability & SLOs, config & memory governance, and dashboard connectivity.
+Official Claude Code plugins for the Agent Monitor dashboard. The **`agenthub`** plugin _is_ the dashboard — hooks, server and the `agenthub` CLI, no checkout required. (It shipped an MCP server until `c7dbaf2`, which dropped it; the dashboard reads Claude Code's MCP configuration in the config explorer but no longer serves one.) On top of it, **10 focused plugins** extend Claude Code with skills, agents, slash commands, hooks, and CLI tools for deep analytics, cost guardrails, productivity automation, developer tools, AI-powered insights, session forensics, workflow/fleet intelligence, reliability & SLOs, config & memory governance, and dashboard connectivity.
 
 Every plugin is powered by the local Agent Monitor REST API at `http://localhost:4820`. They are read-only advisors unless a skill explicitly documents a mutating endpoint (and those preview + confirm before acting).
 
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ waits on an install:
 4. **Install** — `npm install --omit=dev --ignore-scripts` into the runtime dir (never into the plugin cache, which is garbage-collected and replaced on every update). `--ignore-scripts` keeps the root `postinstall` from pulling the whole Vite client toolchain.
 5. **Legacy hook cleanup** — see above.
 6. **CLI** — write the `~/.local/bin/agenthub` launcher, never clobbering a `agenthub` the bootstrap did not write.
-7. **UI build** — `client/` is copied into the runtime dir and built there (`npm ci --include=dev`, falling back to `npm install --include=dev`, then `npm run build`), landing in `runtime/client-dist` — the same directory the server serves from. `--include=dev` is required, not tidy: the entire build toolchain (`vite`, `typescript`, `@vitejs/plugin-react`, `tailwindcss`, `@types/*`) is a devDependency, and npm reads an inherited `NODE_ENV=production` as `--omit=dev`. Every bootstrap descended from the running server carries that env — the self-update chain, and any `SessionStart` fired by a `claude` inside a tmux pane the server started — so without the flag the install drops `vite` and the build dies on missing types. Skipped when a bundle for the current version already exists; a failure here does not fail the bootstrap (API and MCP still work, and `/agenthub-open` can retry) but does mean `/run` 404s until it's fixed — and when a bundle from the PREVIOUS version is still on disk the failure is quieter still: the dashboard keeps serving the old UI against the new API, visible only as the Settings page's `UI build vX (rebuild client to match)` line.
+7. **UI build** — `client/` is copied into the runtime dir and built there (`npm ci --include=dev`, falling back to `npm install --include=dev`, then `npm run build`), landing in `runtime/client-dist` — the same directory the server serves from. `--include=dev` is required, not tidy: the entire build toolchain (`vite`, `typescript`, `@vitejs/plugin-react`, `tailwindcss`, `@types/*`) is a devDependency, and npm reads an inherited `NODE_ENV=production` as `--omit=dev`. Every bootstrap descended from the running server carries that env — the self-update chain, and any `SessionStart` fired by a `claude` inside a tmux pane the server started — so without the flag the install drops `vite` and the build dies on missing types. Skipped when a bundle for the current version already exists; a failure here does not fail the bootstrap (the API still works, and `/agenthub-open` can retry) but does mean `/run` 404s until it's fixed — and when a bundle from the PREVIOUS version is still on disk the failure is quieter still: the dashboard keeps serving the old UI against the new API, visible only as the Settings page's `UI build vX (rebuild client to match)` line.
 8. **Server** — on Linux with `systemd --user` available, install/refresh a
    `agenthub.service` unit (see [Auto-start on boot](#auto-start-on-boot)) instead
    of a bare spawn, so the server is supervised and comes back after a reboot
@@ -144,6 +144,9 @@ waits on an install:
    `client-dist` — scoped to this session, same as before this fell back to
    systemd.
 9. **Record state** — `runtime/state.json`.
+10. **Hand over to systemd** — only when a unit of ours already owns the server
+    (see [Who may stop the server](#who-may-stop-the-server)). Deliberately
+    after step 9.
 
 The first run takes a few minutes — most of it is the UI build, which is what
 makes client-only routes (`http://localhost:4820/run`, and every other page)
@@ -172,11 +175,46 @@ On macOS, Windows, or a Linux box without systemd, nothing changes: the
 server is a detached spawn started fresh on the next `SessionStart` after a
 reboot, same as always.
 
+### Who may stop the server
+
+**When a `agenthub.service` unit of ours exists, nothing else may stop the
+dashboard.** The bootstrap that performs a self-update is spawned by the
+running server, so it lives inside that server's systemd cgroup. SIGTERM-ing
+the server from there breaks two ways at once:
+
+- the server exits **0**, and the unit's old `Restart=on-failure` read a clean
+  exit as "meant to stop" — so systemd did not bring it back;
+- `KillMode=control-group` (systemd's default) reaps **every** process in the
+  cgroup when the main process exits, including the bootstrap itself — mid-run,
+  before it could repoint the unit at the new plugin root or write
+  `runtime/state.json`.
+
+The result was a dashboard that went down on every self-update and stayed down
+until some later Claude Code session happened to bootstrap again, leaving a
+stale `.bootstrap.lock` and a `state.json` still naming the previous version.
+
+So the order is fixed, and `scripts/systemd-service.js` splits its API to
+enforce it:
+
+| Situation | What the bootstrap does |
+|---|---|
+| A unit of ours owns the server (`unitIsOurs`) | Never stops it. `writeUserService` repoints the unit at the new plugin root **without starting anything**, the rest of the bootstrap runs, state is written, the lock is released — and only then `restartUserService` asks systemd to restart, with `--no-block` so being killed by its own request costs nothing. |
+| No unit, or a foreign one | Unchanged: stop the old server, then `installUserService` (or a detached spawn where there is no systemd). Nothing here is inside a unit's cgroup, so the stop is safe. |
+
+The unit is written with **`Restart=always`**, not `on-failure`: a graceful
+SIGTERM from anything at all would otherwise leave the dashboard down for good.
+An explicit `systemctl stop` — which is what `agenthub service uninstall` and
+the Settings panel do — still stops it.
+
+`agenthub service install` (the checkout path) keeps using `installUserService`:
+it runs from your own shell, outside the unit's cgroup, so it may block and
+start in one step.
+
 ### Commands
 
 | Command | Does |
 |---|---|
-| `/agenthub-doctor` | Node version, bootstrap state, runtime deps, server liveness, duplicate hooks, CLI launcher + PATH, **tmux** (`WARN` when absent — only the run console, `agenthub lanes shell` and session reloads need it), **skill plugins** (see below), MCP build freshness, UI bundle |
+| `/agenthub-doctor` | Node version, bootstrap state, runtime deps, server liveness, duplicate hooks, CLI launcher + PATH, **tmux** (`WARN` when absent — only the run console, `agenthub lanes shell` and session reloads need it), **skill plugins** (see below), UI bundle |
 | `/agenthub-update` | Pull the latest `agenthub` release via `claude plugin marketplace update` + `claude plugin update agenthub@<marketplace> -y`, then reinstall dependencies and restart the server (`plugin-bootstrap.js --force`). The plugin pull needs a manual `/reload-plugins` afterward to take effect in the current session — not scriptable from a command. |
 | `/agenthub-open` | Rebuild the UI bundle and print the dashboard URL. Re-runs the bootstrap first when the server is down or still executing a plugin root that a mid-session `/plugin` update retired, so a fresh bundle never talks to an older server's routes |
 | `/ship-full <requirement>` | Put the lane on the 16-node `ship-feature` template, then run `/agenthub:ship-feature-lane` **in this session**. The in-session twin of `agenthub ship-full` (which spawns its own `claude` from a terminal) |
@@ -268,8 +306,8 @@ not assumed. It does **not**:
 For a clean machine, do all of this yourself:
 
 ```bash
-# 1. Stop the server. On Linux, check for the systemd unit first — a bare
+# 1. Stop the server. On Linux, disable the systemd unit FIRST — the unit is
-#    `kill` just gets restarted by it (Restart=on-failure).
+#    Restart=always, so a bare `kill` is always undone by systemd.
 systemctl --user disable --now agenthub.service 2>/dev/null
 rm -f ~/.config/systemd/user/agenthub.service && systemctl --user daemon-reload 2>/dev/null
 # Fallback for a detached (non-systemd) server, or if the unit above was absent:

openapi.yaml

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 openapi: 3.0.3
 info:
   title: Agent Dashboard for Claude Code API
-  version: 1.5.5
+  version: 1.5.7
   description: HTTP API for real-time Claude Code session monitoring, agent lifecycle tracking, analytics, pricing, hooks ingestion, and workflow intelligence.
   contact:
     name: Nguyễn Ngọc Trí Vĩ

package-lock.json

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 {
   "name": "agenthub",
-  "version": "1.5.5",
+  "version": "1.5.7",
   "lockfileVersion": 3,
   "requires": true,
   "packages": {
     "": {
       "name": "agenthub",
-      "version": "1.5.5",
+      "version": "1.5.7",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "UNLICENSED",
       "dependencies": {

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "agenthub",
-  "version": "1.5.5",
+  "version": "1.5.7",
   "bin": {
     "agenthub": "bin/agenthub.js"
   },

scripts/plugin-bootstrap.js

@@ -465,6 +465,11 @@ function bootstrap(rt = runtimeDir(), { force = false } = {}) {
     return "locked";
   }
 
+  // Declared out here because the restart it guards has to happen in the
+  // `finally`, after the lock is released and the state is on disk: it is the
+  // step that may cost this process its own life.
+  let pendingSystemdRestart = false;
+
   try {
     const wantDeps = depsHash();
     const state = readState(rt) || {};
@@ -504,34 +509,55 @@ function bootstrap(rt = runtimeDir(), { force = false } = {}) {
       log(rt, "built the dashboard UI bundle");
     }
 
+    const svc = require("./systemd-service");
+    // Who owns the running server decides how it may be retired. A unit of
+    // ours means systemd owns it — and this process is a descendant of that
+    // server, so it sits in the unit's cgroup. SIGTERM-ing the main process
+    // there does two fatal things at once: the clean exit(0) tells systemd
+    // "meant to stop", and `KillMode=control-group` reaps this bootstrap
+    // before it can write state or point the unit at the new cache dir. That
+    // is the bug that left a dashboard dead after every self-update until the
+    // next Claude Code session happened to bootstrap again.
+    const systemdOwned = svc.systemctlAvailable() && svc.unitIsOurs("agenthub");
+
     // After a plugin update the running server executes code from a cache
-    // directory Claude Code has already discarded — retire it first.
+    // directory Claude Code has already discarded — retire it first. Only
+    // when nothing else owns its lifecycle; otherwise systemd retires it, in
+    // one restart job, once everything below is durable.
     const movedRoot = force || (state.pluginRoot && state.pluginRoot !== PLUGIN_ROOT);
-    if (movedRoot && stopDashboard()) {
+    if (movedRoot && !systemdOwned && stopDashboard()) {
       log(rt, "stopped the server started from the previous plugin version");
       waitForPortsFree();
     }
 
     if (movedRoot || !serverIsLive()) {
-      const svc = require("./systemd-service");
+      const unit = {
-      const result = svc.systemctlAvailable()
+        name: "agenthub",
-        ? svc.installUserService({
+        description: "AgentHub dashboard server (Claude Code plugin)",
-            name: "agenthub",
+        workingDir: PLUGIN_ROOT,
-            description: "AgentHub dashboard server (Claude Code plugin)",
+        execStart: `${process.execPath} ${path.join(PLUGIN_ROOT, "server", "index.js")}`,
-            workingDir: PLUGIN_ROOT,
+        env: {
-            execStart: `${process.execPath} ${path.join(PLUGIN_ROOT, "server", "index.js")}`,
+          NODE_ENV: "production",
-            env: {
+          NODE_PATH: path.join(rt, "node_modules"),
-              NODE_ENV: "production",
+          DASHBOARD_CLIENT_DIST: path.join(rt, "client-dist"),
-              NODE_PATH: path.join(rt, "node_modules"),
+          // systemd --user units get systemd's own minimal PATH, not the
-              DASHBOARD_CLIENT_DIST: path.join(rt, "client-dist"),
+          // shell's — forward it so the server can find `claude`/`codex`.
-              // systemd --user units get systemd's own minimal PATH, not the
+          PATH: process.env.PATH || "",
-              // shell's — forward it so the server can find `claude`/`codex`.
+        },
-              PATH: process.env.PATH || "",
+      };
-            },
+      // Two shapes of the same step. When systemd already owns the server the
-          })
+      // unit is only REWRITTEN here — pointing at the new plugin root — and
-        : "unavailable";
+      // the restart is deferred to `pendingSystemdRestart` below, because
+      // starting it now would kill this process mid-bootstrap. Otherwise
+      // there is no cgroup to be reaped by, and install-and-start is fine.
+      const result = systemdOwned
+        ? svc.writeUserService(unit)
+        : svc.systemctlAvailable()
+          ? svc.installUserService(unit)
+          : "unavailable";
       if (result === "written" || result === "unchanged") {
         if (result === "written") svc.enableLinger();
+        pendingSystemdRestart = systemdOwned;
         log(
           rt,
           result === "written"
@@ -572,6 +598,15 @@ function bootstrap(rt = runtimeDir(), { force = false } = {}) {
     return "ok";
   } finally {
     releaseLock(rt);
+    // LAST, and after the lock: systemd stops the old main process to start
+    // the new one, and this process shares its cgroup, so it may not outlive
+    // this call. Everything that had to be durable already is — the state
+    // file is written and the lock is gone, so even being killed here leaves
+    // no debris and no half-recorded bootstrap.
+    if (pendingSystemdRestart) {
+      log(rt, "handing the server over to systemd (restarting the unit)");
+      require("./systemd-service").restartUserService("agenthub");
+    }
   }
 }
 

scripts/systemd-service.js

@@ -26,11 +26,43 @@ function unitPath(name) {
   return path.join(unitDir(), `${name}.service`);
 }
 
-function systemctlAvailable() {
+// Test seam: swap the systemctl implementation so unit tests never talk to a
-  if (process.platform !== "linux") return false;
+// real service manager. Mirrors tmux.js's __setExecImpl/__reset style.
-  return spawnSync("systemctl", ["--user", "--version"], { stdio: "ignore" }).status === 0;
+let execImpl = (args, opts) => spawnSync("systemctl", ["--user", ...args], opts);
+
+function __setExecImpl(fn) {
+  execImpl = fn;
+}
+function __reset() {
+  execImpl = (args, opts) => spawnSync("systemctl", ["--user", ...args], opts);
 }
 
+function systemctlAvailable() {
+  if (process.platform !== "linux") return false;
+  return execImpl(["--version"], { stdio: "ignore" }).status === 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Is there a unit by this name, and did WE write it? The distinction decides
+ * whether the dashboard may be stopped by hand: a unit of ours means systemd
+ * owns the process, and SIGTERM-ing it out of band is the one thing that must
+ * never happen (see `restartUserService`).
+ */
+function unitIsOurs(name) {
+  try {
+    return fs.readFileSync(unitPath(name), "utf8").includes(MARKER);
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * `Restart=always`, not `on-failure`: a graceful SIGTERM exits 0, which
+ * `on-failure` reads as "meant to stop". One stray kill — or an out-of-band
+ * stop during a plugin self-update — then left the dashboard down until some
+ * later Claude Code session happened to run the bootstrap. An explicit
+ * `systemctl stop` (what uninstall does) still stops it for good.
+ */
 function unitContent({ description, workingDir, execStart, env }) {
   const envLines = Object.entries(env)
     .map(([k, v]) => `Environment=${k}=${v}`)
@@ -44,7 +76,7 @@ After=network.target
 Type=simple
 WorkingDirectory=${workingDir}
 ExecStart=${execStart}
-Restart=on-failure
+Restart=always
 RestartSec=3
 ${envLines}
 
@@ -54,17 +86,18 @@ WantedBy=default.target
 }
 
 function systemctl(args) {
-  return spawnSync("systemctl", ["--user", ...args], { stdio: "inherit" });
+  return execImpl(args, { stdio: "inherit" });
 }
 
 /**
- * Writes (or refreshes) the unit file and enables + starts it. Idempotent:
+ * Writes (or refreshes) the unit file and enables it for boot — but starts
- * an unchanged unit is left running as-is; a changed one (e.g. a plugin
+ * nothing. Split out of `installUserService` for the plugin self-update, which
- * cache path after an update) is reloaded and restarted.
+ * must be able to point the unit at the new cache directory *before* anything
+ * stops the running server, and defer the restart to its very last act.
  *
  * @returns {"written"|"unchanged"|"foreign"|"unavailable"|"failed"}
  */
-function installUserService({ name, description, workingDir, execStart, env = {} }) {
+function writeUserService({ name, description, workingDir, execStart, env = {} }) {
   if (!systemctlAvailable()) return "unavailable";
   const body = unitContent({ description, workingDir, execStart, env });
   const target = unitPath(name);
@@ -72,22 +105,56 @@ function installUserService({ name, description, workingDir, execStart, env = {}
     if (fs.existsSync(target)) {
       const current = fs.readFileSync(target, "utf8");
       if (!current.includes(MARKER)) return "foreign";
-      if (current === body) {
+      if (current === body) return "unchanged";
-        systemctl(["enable", "--now", `${name}.service`]);
-        return "unchanged";
-      }
     }
     fs.mkdirSync(unitDir(), { recursive: true });
     fs.writeFileSync(target, body, "utf8");
     systemctl(["daemon-reload"]);
-    systemctl(["enable", "--now", `${name}.service`]);
+    systemctl(["enable", `${name}.service`]);
-    systemctl(["restart", `${name}.service`]);
     return "written";
   } catch {
     return "failed";
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Ask systemd to restart the unit and do NOT wait for it.
+ *
+ * `--no-block` is the whole point, not a nicety. The caller is the bootstrap
+ * spawned by the running server, so it lives in that server's cgroup; the
+ * moment systemd stops the old main process, `KillMode=control-group` reaps
+ * the caller too. Blocking here means being killed mid-call, which is why the
+ * restart must be the last thing the bootstrap does — by then there is nothing
+ * left to lose.
+ */
+function restartUserService(name) {
+  if (!systemctlAvailable()) return "unavailable";
+  const res = systemctl(["restart", "--no-block", `${name}.service`]);
+  return res.status === 0 ? "restarted" : "failed";
+}
+
+/**
+ * Writes (or refreshes) the unit file and enables + starts it. Idempotent:
+ * an unchanged unit is left running as-is; a changed one (e.g. a plugin
+ * cache path after an update) is reloaded and restarted.
+ *
+ * Safe for `agenthub service install`, which is invoked from a user's own
+ * shell and is therefore not inside the unit's cgroup. The plugin bootstrap
+ * is, and uses `writeUserService` + `restartUserService` instead.
+ *
+ * @returns {"written"|"unchanged"|"foreign"|"unavailable"|"failed"}
+ */
+function installUserService(opts) {
+  const result = writeUserService(opts);
+  if (result === "unchanged") {
+    systemctl(["enable", "--now", `${opts.name}.service`]);
+  } else if (result === "written") {
+    systemctl(["enable", "--now", `${opts.name}.service`]);
+    systemctl(["restart", `${opts.name}.service`]);
+  }
+  return result;
+}
+
 /** @returns {"removed"|"absent"|"foreign"|"unavailable"} */
 function uninstallUserService(name) {
   if (!systemctlAvailable()) return "unavailable";
@@ -110,8 +177,13 @@ function enableLinger() {
 
 module.exports = {
   systemctlAvailable,
+  unitIsOurs,
+  writeUserService,
+  restartUserService,
   installUserService,
   uninstallUserService,
   enableLinger,
   unitPath,
+  __setExecImpl,
+  __reset,
 };

server/__tests__/systemd-service.test.js

@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+/**
+ * @file Tests scripts/systemd-service.js, and specifically the split that
+ * exists because of one incident: the plugin self-update killed the dashboard
+ * and left it dead.
+ *
+ * The bootstrap that performs an update is spawned by the running server, so
+ * it lives in that server's systemd cgroup. The old code SIGTERM-ed the server
+ * from inside that cgroup, which (a) exits 0, and `Restart=on-failure` reads a
+ * clean exit as "meant to stop", and (b) trips `KillMode=control-group`, so
+ * systemd reaped the bootstrap before it could write state or repoint the unit
+ * at the new plugin root. The dashboard then stayed down until some later
+ * Claude Code session happened to bootstrap again.
+ *
+ * Hence: writing the unit must not start anything, restarting must not block,
+ * and a clean exit must no longer be read as "leave it stopped".
+ * @author Nguyễn Ngọc Trí Vĩ <vinnt@smartgift.vn>
+ */
+
+const { describe, it, beforeEach, after } = require("node:test");
+const assert = require("node:assert/strict");
+const fs = require("node:fs");
+const os = require("node:os");
+const path = require("node:path");
+
+const TMP_HOME = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "agenthub-systemd-"));
+const prevHome = process.env.HOME;
+process.env.HOME = TMP_HOME;
+
+const svc = require("../../scripts/systemd-service");
+
+/** Every systemctl invocation this test saw, as flat argv strings. */
+let calls = [];
+
+beforeEach(() => {
+  calls = [];
+  // Each test starts from "no unit on disk" — otherwise a previous test's
+  // write turns the next one's `written` into `unchanged`.
+  fs.rmSync(svc.unitPath("agenthub"), { force: true });
+  svc.__setExecImpl((args) => {
+    // `--version` is the availability probe every entry point runs first, not
+    // an action — recording it would bury the calls these tests are about.
+    if (args[0] !== "--version") calls.push(args.join(" "));
+    return { status: 0 };
+  });
+});
+
+after(() => {
+  svc.__reset();
+  if (prevHome === undefined) delete process.env.HOME;
+  else process.env.HOME = prevHome;
+  fs.rmSync(TMP_HOME, { recursive: true, force: true });
+});
+
+const UNIT = {
+  name: "agenthub",
+  description: "AgentHub dashboard server (Claude Code plugin)",
+  workingDir: "/plugin/root/new",
+  execStart: "/usr/bin/node /plugin/root/new/server/index.js",
+  env: { NODE_ENV: "production" },
+};
+
+function unitFile() {
+  return fs.readFileSync(svc.unitPath("agenthub"), "utf8");
+}
+
+const linuxOnly = { skip: process.platform !== "linux" ? "systemd is Linux-only" : false };
+
+describe("systemd-service — unit content", linuxOnly, () => {
+  it("restarts always, because a graceful SIGTERM exits 0", () => {
+    svc.writeUserService(UNIT);
+    const body = unitFile();
+
+    // `on-failure` is what let one stray kill (or an out-of-band stop during
+    // an update) leave the dashboard down indefinitely.
+    assert.match(body, /^Restart=always$/m);
+    assert.doesNotMatch(body, /^Restart=on-failure$/m);
+  });
+
+  it("carries the ownership marker, so a hand-written unit is never clobbered", () => {
+    svc.writeUserService(UNIT);
+    assert.match(unitFile(), /agenthub-managed-unit/);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("systemd-service — writeUserService", linuxOnly, () => {
+  it("writes and enables the unit but starts NOTHING", () => {
+    // The point of the split: the update must be able to repoint the unit at
+    // the new plugin root while the old server is still serving requests.
+    const result = svc.writeUserService(UNIT);
+
+    assert.equal(result, "written");
+    assert.ok(
+      calls.some((c) => c.startsWith("daemon-reload")),
+      "a rewritten unit must be reloaded"
+    );
+    assert.ok(
+      calls.some((c) => c === "enable agenthub.service"),
+      "it must still be enabled for boot"
+    );
+    assert.ok(
+      !calls.some((c) => c.includes("--now") || c.startsWith("restart") || c.startsWith("start")),
+      `nothing may be started here, got: ${JSON.stringify(calls)}`
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("reports an identical unit as unchanged and touches systemd not at all", () => {
+    svc.writeUserService(UNIT);
+    calls = [];
+
+    assert.equal(svc.writeUserService(UNIT), "unchanged");
+    assert.deepEqual(calls, [], "an unchanged unit needs no systemctl call");
+  });
+
+  it("refuses a unit it did not write", () => {
+    fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(svc.unitPath("agenthub")), { recursive: true });
+    fs.writeFileSync(svc.unitPath("agenthub"), "[Service]\nExecStart=/opt/mine\n", "utf8");
+
+    assert.equal(svc.writeUserService(UNIT), "foreign");
+    assert.equal(svc.unitIsOurs("agenthub"), false);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("systemd-service — restartUserService", linuxOnly, () => {
+  it("never blocks, because the caller is inside the cgroup being restarted", () => {
+    assert.equal(svc.restartUserService("agenthub"), "restarted");
+    assert.deepEqual(calls, ["restart --no-block agenthub.service"]);
+  });
+
+  it("reports failure rather than throwing when systemctl refuses", () => {
+    // Available, but the restart itself is rejected — distinct from "no
+    // systemd here", which must not be reported as a failure.
+    svc.__setExecImpl((args) => ({ status: args[0] === "--version" ? 0 : 1 }));
+    assert.equal(svc.restartUserService("agenthub"), "failed");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("systemd-service — unitIsOurs", linuxOnly, () => {
+  it("is false when no unit exists at all", () => {
+    fs.rmSync(svc.unitPath("agenthub"), { force: true });
+    assert.equal(svc.unitIsOurs("agenthub"), false);
+  });
+
+  it("is true for a unit this code wrote", () => {
+    svc.writeUserService(UNIT);
+    assert.equal(svc.unitIsOurs("agenthub"), true);
+  });
+});

server/__tests__/update-check-plugin-nogit.test.js

@@ -176,8 +176,15 @@ describe("getUpdatesStatus — plugin cache with no .git", () => {
 
     const s = await getUpdatesStatus(root, { latestRelease: release("v1.5.1") });
 
-    // The old behaviour: message set, everything else absent.
+    // The old behaviour: the not-a-git-clone message, everything else absent.
-    assert.equal(s.message, null, "must not fall through to the not-a-git-clone payload");
+    // Asserted on the message's CONTENT, not on it being null — a plugin
+    // install now carries its own sentence, and null was only ever a proxy for
+    // "did not fall through here".
+    assert.doesNotMatch(
+      s.message,
+      /not a git clone/i,
+      "must not fall through to the not-a-git-clone payload"
+    );
     assert.equal(s.release_check, "ok", "the release layer must actually run");
     assert.equal(s.install_kind, "plugin");
     assert.equal(s.plugin_marketplace, "sg");
@@ -208,6 +215,31 @@ describe("getUpdatesStatus — plugin cache with no .git", () => {
     assert.ok(s.plugin_marketplace && s.plugin_name && s.repo_root);
   });
 
+  it("carries a human-readable message in every outcome, never a null", async () => {
+    // `agenthub update-check` prints `message` as its headline. Null here made
+    // it print the literal "null" on every plugin-cache install — the one kind
+    // that has no commit count to fall back on.
+    const cases = [
+      [makePluginInstall("msg-newer").root, { latestRelease: release("v1.6.0") }, /v1\.6\.0/],
+      [makePluginInstall("msg-current").root, { latestRelease: release("v1.5.0") }, /newest/i],
+      [
+        makePluginInstall("msg-failed").root,
+        { latestRelease: { ok: false, reason: "unreachable" } },
+        /unreachable/,
+      ],
+      [
+        makePluginInstall("msg-noversion", { version: null }).root,
+        { latestRelease: release("v1.6.0") },
+        /no version|cannot be compared/i,
+      ],
+    ];
+    for (const [root, opts, expected] of cases) {
+      const s = await getUpdatesStatus(root, opts);
+      assert.equal(typeof s.message, "string", `message must be a string, got ${s.message}`);
+      assert.match(s.message, expected);
+    }
+  });
+
   it("does not treat an older published release as an update", async () => {
     const { root } = makePluginInstall("older");
     const s = await getUpdatesStatus(root, { latestRelease: release("v1.4.0") });

server/lib/update-check.js

@@ -402,7 +402,17 @@ async function pluginStatus(root, pluginInstall, options = {}) {
       `commands — "Update now" runs them for you and restarts the dashboard. An already-open ` +
       `Claude Code session still needs '/reload-plugins' to pick up new skills and commands.`,
     manual_command: manualParts.join(" && "),
-    message: null,
+    // A plugin install compares versions exactly like a checkout does, so it
+    // gets the same sentence. Left null, `agenthub update-check` printed the
+    // literal "null" as its headline on every plugin-cache install — the one
+    // install kind that cannot fall back to a commit count.
+    message: releaseIsNewer
+      ? `Release ${release.tag} is available (this install reports ${localVersion || "no version"}).`
+      : comparable
+        ? `Running the newest release (${release.tag}).`
+        : release.ok
+          ? `This install reports no version, so it cannot be compared with release ${release.tag}.`
+          : `Could not read the latest release (${release.reason}); version comparison unavailable.`,
 
     install_kind: "plugin",
     plugin_marketplace: pluginInstall.marketplace,