Record what running the flow proved, and fix the leaf that caused one defect

The create-and-participate flow was driven in a real browser for the first time.
It had been called correct by construction -- typecheck, build, reading -- and
the probe found three defects none of those could see.

Two open bugs, both major, both filed rather than worked around:
signing up to your own event makes the NEXT connection fail outright
(`ensureIdentity()` rejects inside the data layer's own inbox processing, 3/3,
reproduced on a fresh origin and identity), and the participant count does not
converge in the same session (2/2, 120 s and 75 s). Whether it converges at the
next connection is recorded as UNKNOWN and unmeasurable, because the first bug
stops the app from getting there.

The doctrine defect is the one worth the trouble. `knowledge_build-pipeline`
said production builds into `dist/`; `knowledge_deployment` said the container
runs `bun run start` from `src/`. Both were written down, they contradicted each
other, and the code followed the wrong one -- which is how a deployed app that
could sign nobody in was shipped. The three paths now live in one table whose
discriminating column is what is actually served: dev `src/`, production `src/`,
and `dist/` served by nothing at all. A build artefact nobody serves is a trap
for the next reader who assumes otherwise.

The probe method itself is written down: the suite cannot run, a targeted probe
can, and the difference is worth knowing before concluding that nothing is
measurable.

Stated once where a reader meets it: honest steps do not add up to an honest
flow. Every gesture in the sign-up reports correctly, and the user is still told
they participate while the count never moves and the next connection fails.

.project/concepts/tech-stack/knowledge_build-pipeline.md

@@ -1,13 +1,21 @@
 ---
 type: knowledge
-summary: Dev runs on bun --hot, prod builds through build.ts (Bun bundler + Tailwind plugin) into dist/, path alias @/* → ./src/*
-last_checked: 2026-08-10
+summary: Three run paths — dev AND production both serve from src/ (bun --hot / bun run start), while bun run build produces a dist/ that nothing serves; NODE_ENV therefore never means "I am a bundle"; path alias @/* → ./src/*
+last_checked: 2026-08-16
 ---
 
 # Build pipeline
 
-- **Dev**: `bun --hot src/index.ts` (through `bun run dev`) — HMR, port 3000.
-- **Prod**: `bun run build` → `build.ts` (Bun bundler + Tailwind plugin) → `dist/`.
+## Three paths, and only two of them ever run
+
+| Path | Command | What is served |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Dev** | `bun run dev` → `bun --hot src/index.ts` | **`src/`** — HMR, port 3000 |
+| **Production** | `bun run start` → `NODE_ENV=production bun src/index.ts` | **`src/` as well** — Bun transpiles on the fly |
+| Bundle | `bun run build` → `build.ts` (Bun bundler + Tailwind plugin) → `dist/` | **nothing** |
+
+> ⚠️ **`dist/` has no consumer, and `NODE_ENV=production` does not mean "built".** The container copies the sources and runs `bun run start`, serving from `src/` exactly as dev does ([[knowledge_deployment]]) — **nothing ever serves `dist/`**, here or anywhere else. So any code that branches on `NODE_ENV` to answer *"am I a bundle?"* is wrong in the one place it matters: in production the answer is **no**. That inference shipped once, on the runtime-config fetch below, and the deployed app could sign nobody in. Ask the artifact you care about, never the environment.
+
 - **Path alias**: `@/* → ./src/*` (declared in `tsconfig.json`, resolved relative to that file — `paths` has needed no `baseUrl` since TS 4.4).
 
 > ⚠️ **Never put `baseUrl` back in `tsconfig.json`.** TypeScript 6 reports it as an **error that aborts the whole compilation**, and the failure is silent where it hurts: `tsc --noEmit` then exits **0 having checked nothing**, so the typecheck gate goes green over any amount of broken code. A green typecheck is only meaningful if `tsc` actually ran — treat an instant, output-free `tsc` as a red flag, not a fast pass.
@@ -23,7 +31,11 @@ The server serves `src/index.html`, which loads `src/app/frontend.tsx` (see `app
 
 `build.ts` injects **compile-time globals** through `define`: `__FESTIPOD_SHARED_WALLET_PASSWORD__` from `FESTIPOD_SHARED_WALLET_PASSWORD`, and `__FESTIPOD_AUTO_SEED__` from `FESTIPOD_AUTO_SEED` — the dev auto-seed, OFF when absent. **Pitfall**: the `src/index.ts` server (used by `bun run dev` AND `bun run start`) bundles `index.html` through Bun's HTML import, which **applies no `define`** — neither `bun --define` nor `process.env` propagates there (verified). So an environment variable passed to `bun run dev` never reaches the frontend bundle along that path.
 
-For those paths served from `src/`, the configuration therefore goes through the **runtime**: `src/index.ts` exposes `/festipod-config.json` (read from the environment), and the `src/app/frontend.tsx` entry **fetches it first**, sets the global, **then imports the app dynamically** (`await import('./App')`) — so that `sharedWallet.ts` reads the value when it is evaluated. In a `build.ts` bundle the value is already inlined by `define`, so the fetch is skipped (`NODE_ENV === 'production'`). Practical consequence: to exercise the "shared wallet" flow in dev **end to end** (download plus a working import), pass the REAL password of the e2e wallet **and** the file — the password shown on screen must match the imported `.ngw`, otherwise the import fails (a dummy value such as `1` merely makes the screen appear):
+Everything served from `src/` — **dev and production alike** — therefore takes its configuration from the **runtime**: `src/index.ts` exposes `/festipod-config.json` (read from the environment), and the `src/app/frontend.tsx` entry **fetches it first**, sets the global, **then imports the app dynamically** (`await import('./App')`) — so that `sharedWallet.ts` reads the value when it is evaluated.
+
+**The fetch is skipped on one condition only: the global is already set** (which is what a `build.ts` bundle's `define` does, and nothing else does). The entry reads it through bracket access, so `define` — which rewrites the dotted form — leaves that read alone. The question is *"was the value inlined?"*, asked of the global itself; it was once asked as *"is `NODE_ENV` production?"*, which in this project means the opposite of what it looks like (see above) — the deployed app then skipped the only step that could give it a wallet, `ensureIdentity()` threw for want of one, and `/festipod-config.json` sat there served and unasked (`app-security` → [[caveat_shared-wallet-global-before-gate-import]]).
+
+Practical consequence: to exercise the "shared wallet" flow in dev **end to end** (download plus a working import), pass the REAL password of the e2e wallet **and** the file — the password shown on screen must match the imported `.ngw`, otherwise the import fails (a dummy value such as `1` merely makes the screen appear):
 
 ```
 FESTIPOD_SHARED_WALLET_PASSWORD=festipod-e2e-tests \

.project/concepts/tech-stack/knowledge_deployment.md

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ A `Dockerfile` exists (multi-stage Bun Alpine). **Installation goes through pnpm
 
 **`bun` peer pitfall**: `bun-plugin-tailwind` declares `bun` as a peerDependency → pnpm materializes the npm `bun` package and **creates a `node_modules/.bin/bun` shim** that shadows the `bun` from the PATH under `bun run`/`pnpm run`. Its postinstall is ignored by default → broken shim → `bun run start` fails. Fixed by approving the build: `pnpm.onlyBuiltDependencies: ["bun"]` in `package.json` (the postinstall then downloads the real binary). Without that, the whole pnpm migration breaks startup.
 
-**Quirk**: `start` = `NODE_ENV=production bun src/index.ts` → the container **runs the TypeScript source directly** (Bun transpiles on the fly), it **does not use `dist/`**. `bun run build` (→ `dist/`) is therefore **not** on the default production path. Serving the build would require changing the entrypoint.
+**Production runs the sources, and this is the normal path, not a quirk**: `start` = `NODE_ENV=production bun src/index.ts` → the container **runs the TypeScript directly** (Bun transpiles on the fly). `bun run build` (→ `dist/`) is on **no** path at all — nothing serves that directory, in this container or anywhere else; serving it would mean changing the entrypoint. Consequence for the code: in this deployment `NODE_ENV=production` says *how* the sources run, never *that they were bundled* — [[knowledge_build-pipeline]].
 
 ## CI/CD
 

.project/concepts/tech-stack/knowledge_stack-and-commands.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ summary: Stack components (Bun runtime/build/test, install through pnpm, React,
 |---|---|
 | `dev` | `portless festipod bun --hot src/index.ts` — dev with HMR through the `portless` wrapper (see [[knowledge_deployment]]) |
 | `start` | `NODE_ENV=production bun src/index.ts` — production, served from `src/` (not `dist/`) |
-| `build` | `bun run build.ts` — Bun bundler + Tailwind → `dist/` ([[knowledge_build-pipeline]]) |
+| `build` | `bun run build.ts` — Bun bundler + Tailwind → `dist/`, **which nothing serves**: production runs `start`, from `src/` ([[knowledge_build-pipeline]]) |
 | `test:cucumber` | chains `cucumber:run` → `cucumber:report` → `features:parse` → `steps:extract` |
 | `cucumber:run` | `node --import tsx/esm node_modules/@cucumber/cucumber/bin/cucumber.js` — **through Node+tsx, not Bun** (Playwright/happy-dom plugin compatibility), and through the package's **actual JS entry**, not the `.bin/` shim (see Pitfalls) |
 | `test:data` | same, with `--tags @data` |