fix(cassettes): publish state on every change, and make the stamps monotonic

Three linked failures in one mechanism, so one commit.

The state publish was gated on a one-shot 'have we said hello' flag. It
fired once on first boot and then only after a dispense or an applied
operator config, so any change to the layout itself — a reseed, an
atm-tui edit, direct SQL — was never announced. The operator kept
validating against a bay set the machine no longer had, and a publish
from the dashboard could overwrite a fresh seed (#94). State is now
published on every start.

A publish is one fire-and-forget event with no retry. If the relay was
unreachable at the moment of a dispense, that update was gone until the
next customer bought cash. A five-minute heartbeat makes the channel
self-healing and is also the only way an out-of-band edit to the table
ever reaches the operator.

Addressable events are ordered by created_at at second granularity with
ties broken by lowest event id, and a relay acknowledges an event it
then discards. Two publishes inside one second therefore left the winner
decided by a hash, permanently, and a clock stepping backwards would
have made every report from this machine vanish silently. Each publish
now takes a stamp strictly above the last, recorded in the meta row that
used to hold the gate — same key, no migration, honest name.

Closes #94

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

apps/machine/electron/main.ts

@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ import {
   markCommandExecuting,
   completeCommand,
   getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt,
-  getBootstrapPublishedAt,
+  getLastStatePublishedAt,
-  markBootstrapPublished,
+  markStatePublished,
-  resetBootstrapGate,
+  resetStatePublishWatermark,
   resetForRepair,
   applyOperatorCassettesConfig,
   getFeeConfig,
@@ -410,7 +410,7 @@ ipcMain.handle('get-atm-secrets', () => {
 })
 
 // Bunker binding persistence — the renderer writes the binding after a
-// successful pairing (connectNewSeed), and resets the bootstrap gate so the
+// successful pairing (connectNewSeed), and resets the publish watermark so the
 // new operator receives the spire's hello-event (aiolabs/bitspire#52 / #56).
 ipcMain.handle('state:save-bunker-binding', (_event, binding: StoredBunkerBinding): void => {
   saveBunkerBinding(binding)
@@ -418,8 +418,8 @@ ipcMain.handle('state:save-bunker-binding', (_event, binding: StoredBunkerBindin
 ipcMain.handle('state:clear-bunker-binding', (): void => {
   clearBunkerBinding()
 })
-ipcMain.handle('state:reset-bootstrap-gate', (): void => {
+ipcMain.handle('state:reset-state-publish-watermark', (): void => {
-  resetBootstrapGate()
+  resetStatePublishWatermark()
 })
 ipcMain.handle('state:reset-for-repair', (): void => {
   resetForRepair()
@@ -555,9 +555,9 @@ ipcMain.handle('state:remediate-transaction', (_event, txid: string, remediatedB
 ipcMain.handle('state:get-last-known-config-created-at', (): number =>
   getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt()
 )
-ipcMain.handle('state:get-bootstrap-published-at', (): number | null => getBootstrapPublishedAt())
+ipcMain.handle('state:get-last-state-published-at', (): number | null => getLastStatePublishedAt())
-ipcMain.handle('state:mark-bootstrap-published', (_event, unixTimestamp: number): void => {
+ipcMain.handle('state:mark-state-published', (_event, unixTimestamp: number): void => {
-  markBootstrapPublished(unixTimestamp)
+  markStatePublished(unixTimestamp)
 })
 ipcMain.handle(
   'state:apply-operator-cassettes-config',

apps/machine/electron/preload.ts

@@ -108,16 +108,16 @@ contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('electronAPI', {
   // Operator-config consumer (aiolabs/lamassu-next#56)
   getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt: (): Promise<number> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke('state:get-last-known-config-created-at'),
-  getBootstrapPublishedAt: (): Promise<number | null> =>
+  getLastStatePublishedAt: (): Promise<number | null> =>
-    ipcRenderer.invoke('state:get-bootstrap-published-at'),
+    ipcRenderer.invoke('state:get-last-state-published-at'),
-  markBootstrapPublished: (unixTimestamp: number): Promise<void> =>
+  markStatePublished: (unixTimestamp: number): Promise<void> =>
-    ipcRenderer.invoke('state:mark-bootstrap-published', unixTimestamp),
+    ipcRenderer.invoke('state:mark-state-published', unixTimestamp),
 
   // Bunker binding persistence (aiolabs/bitspire#52)
   saveBunkerBinding: (binding: BunkerBindingRecord): Promise<void> =>
     ipcRenderer.invoke('state:save-bunker-binding', binding),
   clearBunkerBinding: (): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('state:clear-bunker-binding'),
-  resetBootstrapGate: (): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('state:reset-bootstrap-gate'),
+  resetStatePublishWatermark: (): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('state:reset-state-publish-watermark'),
   resetForRepair: (): Promise<void> => ipcRenderer.invoke('state:reset-for-repair'),
 
   // QR-pairing wizard (aiolabs/bitspire#52): persist a scanned spire-seed,
@@ -289,11 +289,11 @@ declare global {
       emptyCashbox: () => Promise<void>
       remediateTransaction: (txid: string, remediatedByTxid: string) => Promise<boolean>
       getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt: () => Promise<number>
-      getBootstrapPublishedAt: () => Promise<number | null>
+      getLastStatePublishedAt: () => Promise<number | null>
-      markBootstrapPublished: (unixTimestamp: number) => Promise<void>
+      markStatePublished: (unixTimestamp: number) => Promise<void>
       saveBunkerBinding: (binding: BunkerBindingRecord) => Promise<void>
       clearBunkerBinding: () => Promise<void>
-      resetBootstrapGate: () => Promise<void>
+      resetStatePublishWatermark: () => Promise<void>
       resetForRepair: () => Promise<void>
       saveSpireSeed: (seed: string) => Promise<void>
       relaunchApp: () => Promise<void>

apps/machine/electron/state-store.ts

@@ -406,10 +406,20 @@ export function getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt(): number {
 }
 
 /**
- * Read the one-shot bootstrap-publish gate. Returns null if the ATM has
+ * The `created_at` of the last `bitspire-cassettes-state` event this machine
- * not yet published its `bitspire-cassettes-state:<machine_id>` hello-event.
+ * published, or null if it has never published one.
+ *
+ * This used to be a one-shot gate ("have we said hello yet"), which meant a
+ * layout change after first boot was never announced (#94). It is now a
+ * high-water mark: every publish records its stamp, and the next one is forced
+ * strictly above it. Addressable events are ordered by `created_at` at second
+ * granularity, and a relay silently keeps the higher one, so a clock that steps
+ * backwards would otherwise make this machine's reports vanish with an `OK`.
+ *
+ * Stored under the original `bootstrapPublishedAt` meta key so no migration is
+ * needed; the name is historical, the meaning is not.
  */
-export function getBootstrapPublishedAt(): number | null {
+export function getLastStatePublishedAt(): number | null {
   if (!db) throw new Error('Database not initialized')
   const row = db.prepare('SELECT value FROM meta WHERE key = ?').get('bootstrapPublishedAt') as
     | { value: string }
@@ -419,12 +429,8 @@ export function getBootstrapPublishedAt(): number | null {
   return Number.isFinite(n) ? n : null
 }
 
-/**
+/** Record the `created_at` just published, as the next publish's floor. */
- * Mark the bootstrap hello-event as published. Idempotent — only takes
+export function markStatePublished(unixTimestamp: number): void {
- * effect the first time it's set. Subsequent calls overwrite the
- * timestamp (harmless; the gate just needs to be non-null).
- */
-export function markBootstrapPublished(unixTimestamp: number): void {
   if (!db) throw new Error('Database not initialized')
   db.prepare('UPDATE meta SET value = ? WHERE key = ?').run(
     String(unixTimestamp),
@@ -533,11 +539,12 @@ export function clearBunkerBinding(): void {
 }
 
 /**
- * Reset the bootstrap-publish gate so the ATM re-publishes its
+ * Forget the publish high-water mark. Called on a re-pair (new seed): the
- * `bitspire-cassettes-state` hello-event. Called on a re-pair (new seed) so
+ * next publish is then free to use the wall clock, which is what a fresh
- * the new operator receives the spire's current state (aiolabs/bitspire#56).
+ * operator relationship wants. The state itself is republished on startup
+ * regardless, so the new operator always receives current counts.
  */
-export function resetBootstrapGate(): void {
+export function resetStatePublishWatermark(): void {
   if (!db) throw new Error('Database not initialized')
   db.prepare('UPDATE meta SET value = ? WHERE key = ?').run('', 'bootstrapPublishedAt')
 }

apps/machine/src/services/operator-config.ts

@@ -11,15 +11,16 @@
  *
  * - Operator → ATM: `kind=30078`, `["d", "bitspire-cassettes:<machine_id>"]`,
  *   `["p", <atm_npub>]`, NIP-44 v2 encrypted content, author = operator pubkey
- * - ATM bootstrap: `kind=30078`, `["d", "bitspire-cassettes-state:<machine_id>"]`,
+ * - ATM state:     `kind=30078`, `["d", "bitspire-cassettes-state:<machine_id>"]`,
  *   `["p", <operator_pubkey>]`, NIP-44 v2 encrypted content, author = ATM pubkey
  *
  * The ATM's hex pubkey serves as `<machine_id>` — globally unique, no
  * extra provisioning step required.
  *
- * v1 only publishes the one-shot bootstrap hello-event. The continuous
+ * The ATM publishes its state on startup, after every change to the bays, and
- * ATM-state reverse channel (publish on every count change + heartbeat)
+ * on a heartbeat. It was once a single hello-event gated on a one-shot flag,
- * is v2 territory.
+ * which left the operator validating against a layout the machine no longer
+ * had (#94), and left a dispense published during a relay outage lost for good.
  */
 
 import {
@@ -37,6 +38,19 @@ const KIND_NIP78 = 30078
 /** Accept operator events stamped up to this many seconds in the future. */
 const MAX_FUTURE_SKEW_S = 60
 
+/**
+ * Republish the cassette state on this interval even when nothing changed.
+ *
+ * A publish is a single fire-and-forget event with no retry: if the relay is
+ * unreachable at the moment of a dispense, that update is simply gone and the
+ * operator's view stays wrong until the next customer happens to buy cash. A
+ * relay also acknowledges an event it then discards, so a publish that returns
+ * cleanly is not proof of anything. The heartbeat is what makes the channel
+ * self-healing, and it is also the only way an out-of-band edit to the table
+ * (atm-tui, direct SQL) ever reaches the operator.
+ */
+const STATE_HEARTBEAT_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000
+
 const operatorConfigDTag = (machineId: string) => `bitspire-cassettes:${machineId}`
 const atmStateDTag = (machineId: string) => `bitspire-cassettes-state:${machineId}`
 
@@ -45,7 +59,7 @@ const isElectron = typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.electronAPI !== undef
 export interface OperatorConfigServiceConfig {
   /** Connected NostrClient — shared with the Lightning service. */
   nostrClient: NostrClient
-  /** Signer for the ATM identity. Decrypts operator events + signs the bootstrap. */
+  /** Signer for the ATM identity. Decrypts operator events + signs our state. */
   signer: Signer
   /** Operator pubkeys (hex) authorized to publish cassette config. From VITE_OPERATOR_PUBKEYS. */
   operatorPubkeys: string[]
@@ -83,12 +97,15 @@ export async function startOperatorConfigService(
   const api = window.electronAPI
   const machineId = cfg.machineId ?? cfg.signer.pubkey
 
-  // Bootstrap hello-event on first boot (best-effort — failure leaves the
+  // Announce current state on every start. This used to be gated on a
-  // gate null so the next boot retries).
+  // one-shot "have we said hello" flag, so any later change to the layout —
+  // a reseed, an atm-tui edit, direct SQL — was never published and the
+  // operator's dashboard kept validating against a bay set that no longer
+  // existed (#94). Best-effort; the heartbeat below is the safety net.
   try {
-    await maybePublishBootstrap(cfg, api, machineId)
+    await publishCassettesState(cfg, api, machineId)
   } catch (err) {
-    console.warn('[OperatorConfig] Bootstrap publish failed (will retry next boot):', err)
+    console.warn('[OperatorConfig] Startup cassettes-state publish failed:', err)
   }
 
   // Subscribe to operator-published cassette config events.
@@ -112,8 +129,17 @@ export async function startOperatorConfigService(
   )
   console.log('[OperatorConfig] Subscribed:', { dTag, subscriptionId })
 
+  const heartbeat = setInterval(() => {
+    publishCassettesState(cfg, api, machineId).catch((err) =>
+      console.warn('[OperatorConfig] cassettes-state heartbeat failed:', err)
+    )
+  }, STATE_HEARTBEAT_MS)
+
   return {
-    stop: () => cfg.nostrClient.unsubscribe(subscriptionId),
+    stop: () => {
+      clearInterval(heartbeat)
+      cfg.nostrClient.unsubscribe(subscriptionId)
+    },
     publishCassettesState: () =>
       publishCassettesState(cfg, api, machineId)
         .then(() => {})
@@ -224,11 +250,11 @@ async function handleOperatorConfigEvent(
  * Publish the ATM's current cassette state as a replaceable kind-30078 event
  * (`bitspire-cassettes-state:<machineId>`), NIP-44-encrypted to the operator.
  * Replaceable → latest wins; the operator consumes every update. Call after a
- * dispense and on a cassette reload so the operator view tracks reality, not
+ * dispense, on a cassette reload, at startup and on a heartbeat, so the
- * the frozen bootstrap snapshot (coord 2026-06-21 / lamassu-next#56).
+ * operator view tracks reality (coord 2026-06-21 / lamassu-next#56).
  *
- * NOT gated on the bootstrap flag — this is the live update. Returns whether an
+ * Returns whether an event was published (false when there are no cassettes /
- * event was published (false when there are no cassettes / no operator).
+ * no operator).
  */
 async function publishCassettesState(
   cfg: OperatorConfigServiceConfig,
@@ -246,6 +272,15 @@ async function publishCassettesState(
   }
   const ciphertext = await cfg.signer.nip44Encrypt(operatorPubkey, JSON.stringify({ positions }))
 
+  // Force the stamp strictly above our last one. Addressable events are ordered
+  // by `created_at` at second granularity, ties broken by lowest event id, and
+  // the relay keeps one and silently drops the other while acknowledging both.
+  // So two publishes inside one second would leave the winner decided by a hash,
+  // permanently — and a clock that stepped backwards would make every report
+  // from this machine disappear. Neither failure is visible from here.
+  const lastPublished = (await api.getLastStatePublishedAt()) ?? 0
+  const createdAt = Math.max(Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000), lastPublished + 1)
+
   const dTag = atmStateDTag(machineId)
   const event = await createSignedEvent(cfg.signer, {
     kind: KIND_NIP78,
@@ -254,34 +289,11 @@ async function publishCassettesState(
       ['d', dTag],
       ['p', operatorPubkey],
     ],
-    created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+    created_at: createdAt,
   })
 
   await cfg.nostrClient.publish(event)
-  console.log('[OperatorConfig] cassettes-state published:', { dTag, eventId: event.id })
+  await api.markStatePublished(createdAt)
+  console.log('[OperatorConfig] cassettes-state published:', { dTag, eventId: event.id, createdAt })
   return true
 }
-
-/**
- * First-boot hello: publish the cassette state once and mark the gate. The
- * gate (lamassu-next#56) prevents re-emitting the *bootstrap* on every boot;
- * live updates after dispenses go through `publishCassettesState` directly.
- */
-async function maybePublishBootstrap(
-  cfg: OperatorConfigServiceConfig,
-  api: NonNullable<typeof window.electronAPI>,
-  machineId: string
-): Promise<void> {
-  const already = await api.getBootstrapPublishedAt()
-  if (already !== null) {
-    console.log('[OperatorConfig] Bootstrap already published at unix', already)
-    return
-  }
-  const published = await publishCassettesState(cfg, api, machineId)
-  if (published) {
-    await api.markBootstrapPublished(Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000))
-    console.log('[OperatorConfig] Bootstrap hello-event published')
-  } else {
-    console.log('[OperatorConfig] No cassettes/operator — skipping bootstrap')
-  }
-}

apps/machine/src/services/signer-resolver.ts

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  *  1. A seed is present whose fingerprint differs from the stored binding
  *     (first pair or re-pair) → generate a fresh NIP-46 transport key, redeem
  *     the one-shot connect secret, persist the binding, and reset the
- *     bootstrap gate so the (possibly new) operator gets a hello-event (#56).
+ *     publish watermark so the (possibly new) operator gets current state (#56).
  *  2. A seed is present matching the stored binding, OR no seed but a stored
  *     binding exists → resume the bunker session with the persisted transport
  *     key (no re-redeem — the binding is server-persistent).
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ export async function resolveSigner(opts: ResolveSignerOptions): Promise<Resolve
       if (binding) {
         console.warn(
           '[Signer] Stored spire seed is unparseable; resuming from existing binding:',
-          (err as Error).message,
+          (err as Error).message
         )
         return { signer: await resume(binding), transport: transportFromBinding(binding) }
       }
@@ -150,7 +150,9 @@ export async function resolveSigner(opts: ResolveSignerOptions): Promise<Resolve
       // first pair (no prior binding) has nothing to reset. Cash accounting is
       // preserved — see resetForRepair; a full wipe is the factory-reset path.
       if (binding) {
-        console.log('[Signer] Re-pair (new seed fingerprint) — clearing prior operator config state')
+        console.log(
+          '[Signer] Re-pair (new seed fingerprint) — clearing prior operator config state'
+        )
         await window.electronAPI.resetForRepair()
       }
       // Persist the seed's transport config alongside the binding so a later
@@ -165,7 +167,7 @@ export async function resolveSigner(opts: ResolveSignerOptions): Promise<Resolve
         lnbitsServerPubkey: seed.lnbitsServerPubkey,
       })
       // Re-pair → re-publish the cassette-state hello to the new operator (#56).
-      await window.electronAPI.resetBootstrapGate()
+      await window.electronAPI.resetStatePublishWatermark()
     }
     return { signer, transport: transportFromSeed(seed) }
   }

apps/machine/src/types/electron.d.ts

@@ -146,11 +146,11 @@ declare global {
       emptyCashbox: () => Promise<void>
       remediateTransaction: (txid: string, remediatedByTxid: string) => Promise<boolean>
       getLastKnownConfigCreatedAt: () => Promise<number>
-      getBootstrapPublishedAt: () => Promise<number | null>
+      getLastStatePublishedAt: () => Promise<number | null>
-      markBootstrapPublished: (unixTimestamp: number) => Promise<void>
+      markStatePublished: (unixTimestamp: number) => Promise<void>
       saveBunkerBinding: (binding: BunkerBindingRecord) => Promise<void>
       clearBunkerBinding: () => Promise<void>
-      resetBootstrapGate: () => Promise<void>
+      resetStatePublishWatermark: () => Promise<void>
       resetForRepair: () => Promise<void>
       saveSpireSeed: (seed: string) => Promise<void>
       relaunchApp: () => Promise<void>