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+# ZLH Session Summary — Launch Autonomy, Billing, and Support Update
+
+Date: 2026-05-03
+
+## Summary
+
+This session moved several major launch blockers from design/risk into implemented and validated status. The biggest completed areas were asynchronous provisioning, controller/reconciler foundation, billing enforcement, and the support ticket path.
+
+## Completed / Validated
+
+### Provisioning worker / async create
+
+Status: launch-ready.
+
+Implemented and validated:
+
+```text
+POST /api/instances now creates/reuses a durable ProvisioningOperation
+API returns 202 Accepted quickly
+BullMQ provisioning worker consumes jobs from provisioning queue
+zpack-provision-worker.service installed and running under systemd
+Portal async pending cards show queued/running phases and replace with real server cards
+Game provisioning through worker validated
+Dev provisioning through worker validated
+API teardown still works for worker-created servers
+Duplicate/idempotency guards validated
+Controlled failure handling validated
+```
+
+Important behavior:
+
+```text
+Provisioning is no longer run inside the HTTP request lifecycle.
+Portal sends Idempotency-Key.
+Operation state is pollable.
+Worker concurrency remains 1.
+Unsafe automatic retries remain disabled.
+```
+
+### Controller / reconciler foundation
+
+Status: implemented, validated, currently conservative.
+
+Implemented and validated:
+
+```text
+zlh-controller.service exists as singleton controller/reconciler with Redis lock
+zpack-repair-worker.service handles Level 1 repair jobs
+Discord notifications wired
+RepairEvent persistence added
+clear_stale_operation_lock validated
+live Cloudflare SRV drift detection validated
+edge_republish restored deleted Cloudflare SRV record through existing edge publish path
+Level 2 and Level 3 repairs remain disabled
+```
+
+Current operating posture:
+
+```text
+Controller is expected to remain in dry-run unless deliberately enabling Level 1 repairs.
+Repair worker is live.
+Level 1 repair path is proven.
+No destructive repairs are automatic.
+```
+
+### Billing enforcement / overdue handling
+
+Status: backend launch-ready.
+
+Implemented and validated:
+
+```text
+BillingEnforcementState
+BillingEnforcementEvent
+StripeEventLog
+Stripe event idempotency
+payment_failed warning flow
+final warning / backup block state
+suspension / shutdown state
+payment restored flow
+API billing gates while suspended
+controller does not repair suspended game servers
+billing worker installed and running under systemd
+billing announcements visible in Portal
+```
+
+Service:
+
+```text
+zpack-billing-worker.service installed and clean under systemd
+```
+
+Safety guarantees validated:
+
+```text
+No customer data deleted
+No backups deleted
+No DNS records deleted
+No Velocity records deleted
+No containers deleted
+Destructive billing actions are rejected and audited
+Suspended servers are not repaired back to connectable/running state
+```
+
+Remaining billing follow-ups are fixture validation only:
+
+```text
+File read/list against a responsive Agent
+Backup mutation route validation with a game backup fixture
+```
+
+### Support ticket path
+
+Status: launch-ready.
+
+Implemented and validated:
+
+```text
+POST /api/support/create exists
+SupportTicket DB model and migration added
+Human-readable ticket number: ZLH-YYYYMMDD-XXXX
+Portal form submits successfully
+Customer acknowledgement email received
+Discord #support alert received
+SupportTicket DB row created
+```
+
+Post-launch enhancements only:
+
+```text
+Admin ticket list/view
+Support triage diagnostics
+Self-hosted helpdesk integration
+Inbound email reply parsing
+Attachments
+```
+
+## Current launch service set
+
+```text
+zpack-api.service
+zpack-provision-worker.service
+zpack-repair-worker.service
+zlh-controller.service
+zpack-billing-worker.service
+```
+
+Launch guardrail:
+
+```text
+Do not add more worker/systemd services before launch unless there is a strong safety-boundary reason.
+```
+
+## Remaining launch-active work
+
+### Portal terminal reliability
+
+Issue: console can hang at Connecting.
+
+Required:
+
+```text
+WebSocket connect timeout
+Error path clears socket refs
+isStreaming resets on closed/error/idle
+Button recovers to Open Console/Reconnect
+Validate console still works after fix
+```
+
+### Monitoring / observability readiness
+
+Still a major infrastructure item.
+
+Remaining:
+
+```text
+Restrict Prometheus/Grafana/node_exporter exposure
+Fix game/dev discovery sync
+Remove stale file_sd targets
+Install Grafana dashboards
+Add API health/app scrape
+Add lifecycle visibility
+Add or explicitly defer centralized logs/Loki
+Tighten monitoring token storage
+Add/verify queue staleness visibility for provisioning, repair, billing_enforcement
+```
+
+### Patch management / maintenance window policy
+
+Needs written policy/runbook:
+
+```text
+Normal maintenance window cadence/timezone
+Emergency maintenance behavior
+Customer notification expectations
+Patch order and rollback expectations
+```
+
+### Notepad / messaging retest
+
+Announcements are validated for billing and support context. Still validate:
+
+```text
+notepad/notes load and save
+persistence after reload/login
+permissions
+empty/error states
+```
+
+### Final integrated smoke test
+
+Run after the above launch blockers are clean:
+
+```text
+Game lifecycle: create -> ready/connectable -> console -> files -> backup -> restore -> delete -> DNS/Velocity/Cloudflare cleanup
+Dev lifecycle: create -> hosted IDE -> stop/restart/delete -> cleanup
+Security: Agent auth fail-closed, non-owner blocked, browser does not expose internal secrets
+```
+
+## Issues likely ready to close or supersede
+
+```text
+#9 Support email/ticket path — resolved
+#11 Provisioning worker / async create — resolved
+#10 Multi-create modal confusion — likely resolved by async inline cards; quick two-create validation or close as covered by #11
+#6 Non-payment grace flow — superseded by #14 billing enforcement
+```
+
+## Issues still active
+
+```text
+#12 Portal terminal reliability
+#5 Monitoring / observability readiness
+#7 Patch management / maintenance window policy
+#8 Notepad / announcements / messaging retest
+#4 Integrated Portal/API/Agent smoke test
+#13 Controller/reconciler — keep dry-run soak / decide Level 1 live posture
+#14 Billing enforcement — core resolved; minor fixture validation remains
+```
+
+## Notes
+
+- Support is launch-ready with ZLH-native DB ticket + customer email + Discord alert.
+- A self-hosted helpdesk such as FreeScout/Zammad can be considered post-launch, but ZLH should keep its SupportTicket intake/audit record either way.
+- Controller should not parse support ticket text or auto-run repairs from free text at launch. Post-launch support triage may add tags, read-only diagnostics, and suggested actions.