diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 0847c1c..1571f76 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,34 @@
 ## Changelog
 
+### v0.71.0 — fix the guest-reboot boot-race that strands drive-backed apps (2026-06-16)
+
+A `pct reboot` of the guest left drive-backed apps (audiobookshelf, calibre-web, immich-server,
+jellyfin, komga, radarr, romm, paperless-webserver) stuck `Exited` forever. **Sub-cause (diagnosed,
+not guessed):** on guest boot the in-guest dockerd auto-starts the `unless-stopped` apps **~18s before**
+the agent re-binds the drive under the stable parent; the create-time volume bind fails
+(`mkdir /mnt/felhom-drives/<drive>/userdata: permission denied` on the empty fail-closed placeholder)
+and, being a create-time failure (`RestartCount=0`), is **never retried**. The existing recovery,
+`processGuestBootChange`, *ran* but **raced the rebind**: it sampled the agent's `BoundUnderParent`
+**once** during fast controller startup (bind not live yet) → recreated nothing → **persisted the new
+boot-id**, burning its one-shot. The periodic drive-gate never recovered them either (its first
+observation was *after* the rebind: present + not-disconnected → no transition).
+
+**Fix (harden the existing mechanism — no parallel one):** `processGuestBootChange` now gates on the
+**REAL live in-guest bind** instead of the once-sampled agent view. New `driveBindLive` checks whether
+`/mnt/felhom-drives/<drive>` is an actual mountpoint in the controller's own `/mnt` (rslave)
+`/proc/self/mountinfo` — true only once the agent's bind has propagated, exactly when docker can
+recreate the app. New `pollLiveBinds` waits for that (bounded ~120s, polling 2s; the rebind lands ~18s)
+and only then recreates the deployed drive-backed apps via the normal pipeline (`compose down`→`up -d`).
+`shouldRecreateOnBoot` is unchanged and state-independent, so a stuck-`Exited` create-time-failure app
+is included. Single-flight (runs once before the periodic gate); apps on a drive that never goes live
+in the window are left to the gate (drive-absent → stop→return→restart). The host-reboot path the
+earlier sweep validated is unaffected (same code path, now strictly more robust — it waits for the
+bind). The **guest-only reboot path** (which the host-reboot sweep never exercised) is now covered.
+
+Tests: `pollLiveBinds` waits through the rebind window then reports live (recreate fires);
+never-live drive stays absent (no spurious recreate); plus an explicit pre-fix companion that a single
+early sample misses the not-yet-live bind. Live-accepted with repeated `pct reboot 9201`.
+
 ### v0.70.0 — config-apply self-restart + geo-restriction UX fixes (2026-06-16)
 
 Fixes found during live geo testing (rotating the Cloudflare API token).
diff --git a/controller/README.md b/controller/README.md
index af2240f..3f1e607 100644
--- a/controller/README.md
+++ b/controller/README.md
@@ -646,6 +646,16 @@ not just those with HDD data. Non-HDD apps can configure destination, method, an
 > - **Guest-reboot convergence is DETERMINISTIC** via the agent's `guest_boot_id`: the controller persists
 >   `LastGuestBootID` and, when it changes, recreates EVERY deployed drive-backed app onto the
 >   re-propagated drive (`processGuestBootChange` — no fragile container-uptime sampling).
+>   **v0.71.0 — boot-race fix:** on a guest `pct reboot`, in-guest dockerd auto-starts the apps ~18s
+>   BEFORE the agent re-binds the drive, so their volume bind fails at create-time
+>   (`mkdir …/userdata: permission denied`, `RestartCount=0` → never retried → stuck `Exited`). The old
+>   recovery sampled the agent's `BoundUnderParent` ONCE, raced that rebind, recreated nothing, and burned
+>   its boot-id one-shot. `processGuestBootChange` now **gates on the REAL live in-guest bind**
+>   (`driveBindLive`: is `/mnt/felhom-drives/<drive>` an actual mountpoint in the controller's own `/mnt`
+>   rslave `/proc/self/mountinfo`?) and **waits** for it (`pollLiveBinds`, bounded ~120s) before recreating
+>   — including apps stuck `Exited` with a create-time mount failure (`shouldRecreateOnBoot` is
+>   state-independent). The **guest-only reboot path** (which the host-reboot sweep never exercised) is now
+>   covered; drives that never go live in the window are left to the drive-absent gate.
 >
 > **⚠️ Rebuilt on the agent-delegated disk model (v0.43.0), made ROLE-AWARE in v0.44.0, UX-polished in
 > v0.45.0.** After the 8C
diff --git a/controller/internal/web/intermediary.go b/controller/internal/web/intermediary.go
index a7db504..9d34314 100644
--- a/controller/internal/web/intermediary.go
+++ b/controller/internal/web/intermediary.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"net/http"
+	"os"
 	"path"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -12,6 +13,63 @@ import (
 	"gitea.dooplex.hu/admin/felhom-controller/internal/settings"
 )
 
+// bootBindWait / bootBindPoll bound the readiness gate in processGuestBootChange. On a guest reboot
+// the agent re-binds each drive under the stable parent ~18s after boot (well after docker has tried
+// and permanently failed to auto-start the drive-backed apps); the wait must comfortably cover that
+// with margin, the poll be cheap.
+const (
+	bootBindWait = 120 * time.Second
+	bootBindPoll = 2 * time.Second
+)
+
+// driveBindLive reports whether `root` (a /mnt/felhom-drives/<name> stable path) is a REAL live
+// mountpoint in this process's own mount namespace — i.e. the agent's per-drive bind has actually
+// propagated into the controller's `/mnt` (rslave) view, which is exactly the moment docker can
+// (re)create an app whose volume binds under it. It reads /proc/self/mountinfo (pure Go, no syscall;
+// the mount point is always field index 4). Before the agent re-binds the drive post-boot, the stable
+// path is the empty fail-closed placeholder (a plain subdir of the parent, NOT its own mount) → false.
+// This is the load-bearing signal the old code lacked: it sampled the agent's host-side
+// BoundUnderParent ONCE during fast controller startup, racing the ~18s rebind.
+func driveBindLive(root string) bool {
+	data, err := os.ReadFile("/proc/self/mountinfo")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(string(data), "\n") {
+		f := strings.Fields(line)
+		if len(f) >= 5 && f[4] == root {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// pollLiveBinds waits (bounded by `wait`, polling every `poll`) for each path's drive bind to go LIVE,
+// returning the final liveness map. It breaks early once every path is live. bindLive/sleep/now are
+// injected so the readiness gate is deterministically unit-testable. A path that never goes live
+// within the window stays false (its apps are left to the normal drive gate).
+func pollLiveBinds(paths []string, bindLive func(string) bool, sleep func(time.Duration), now func() time.Time, wait, poll time.Duration) map[string]bool {
+	live := make(map[string]bool, len(paths))
+	deadline := now().Add(wait)
+	for {
+		all := true
+		for _, p := range paths {
+			if live[p] {
+				continue
+			}
+			if bindLive(p) {
+				live[p] = true
+			} else {
+				all = false
+			}
+		}
+		if all || !now().Before(deadline) {
+			return live
+		}
+		sleep(poll)
+	}
+}
+
 // Intermediary-mount model (controller side). Post-migration a drive is visible in the guest ONLY at its
 // STABLE path /mnt/felhom-drives/<name> (the host swaps the backing drive underneath it; see the agent's
 // internal/localapi/intermediary.go + SPIKE-intermediary-mount). So:
@@ -243,14 +301,24 @@ func (s *Server) driveGateLoop() {
 }
 
 // processGuestBootChange converges a GUEST REBOOT DETERMINISTICALLY. On a guest reboot docker auto-starts
-// the app containers (restart:unless-stopped) potentially BEFORE the agent re-propagates the drive under
-// the parent — so they bind the empty fail-closed stable dir and (non-recursive parent bind + leaf-bind
-// pinning) never pick up the later propagation. The agent reports a `guest_boot_id` that changes on every
-// guest boot but is stable across a controller-only restart; the controller persists the last-seen value.
-// When it changes (the controller restarts WITH the guest), this recreates every deployed drive-backed
-// app whose drive is present + that docker brought back (`shouldRecreateOnBoot`) onto the populated path,
-// then persists the new boot-id. Apps on a still-absent drive are handled by the normal gate
-// (stop→return→restart). Replaces the old fragile container-uptime sample. Best-effort.
+// the app containers (restart:unless-stopped) BEFORE the agent re-propagates the drive under the parent
+// (~18s later) — so the create-time bind of an app's volume fails (`mkdir …/userdata: permission denied`
+// on the empty fail-closed placeholder) and, being a create-time failure (RestartCount=0), is NEVER
+// retried → the app is stuck Exited forever even after the bind lands. The agent reports a `guest_boot_id`
+// that changes on every guest boot but is stable across a controller-only restart; the controller
+// persists the last-seen value. When it changes (the controller restarts WITH the guest), this:
+//   1. gathers the deployed drive-backed apps' stable drive paths,
+//   2. GATES on the REAL live in-guest bind — `pollLiveBinds`/`driveBindLive` wait (bounded) until each
+//      drive's stable path is an actual mountpoint in the controller's own /mnt (rslave) view, which is
+//      exactly when docker can recreate the app. (The old code sampled the agent's BoundUnderParent
+//      ONCE during fast startup, raced the ~18s rebind, recreated nothing, and persisted the boot-id —
+//      burning its one-shot. That is the bug this fixes.)
+//   3. recreates every deployed drive-backed app whose bind is now live (`shouldRecreateOnBoot` is
+//      state-independent, so a stuck-Exited create-time-failure app is included), then persists the
+//      new boot-id.
+//
+// Apps on a drive that never goes live within the window are left to the normal gate (stop→return→
+// restart). Single-flight (runs once, before the periodic gate, in driveGateLoop). Best-effort.
 func (s *Server) processGuestBootChange() {
 	if s.settings == nil || s.stackMgr == nil {
 		return
@@ -268,26 +336,55 @@ func (s *Server) processGuestBootChange() {
 	if resp.GuestBootID == "" || resp.GuestBootID == s.settings.GetLastGuestBootID() {
 		return // no boot-id, or unchanged (controller-only restart) → no recreate
 	}
-	presentStable := map[string]bool{}
-	for _, d := range resp.Disks {
-		if d.GuestPath != "" && d.BoundUnderParent {
-			presentStable[d.GuestPath] = true
+
+	// Distinct stable drive paths that deployed drive-backed apps depend on (HDD_PATH is the drive root).
+	needed := map[string]bool{}
+	for _, st := range s.stackMgr.GetStacks() {
+		cfg := s.stackMgr.LoadAppConfigByName(st.Name)
+		if cfg == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		hdd := cfg.Env["HDD_PATH"]
+		if cfg.Deployed && hdd != "" && strings.HasPrefix(hdd, StableParentDir+"/") {
+			needed[hdd] = true
 		}
 	}
+	if len(needed) == 0 {
+		if serr := s.settings.SetLastGuestBootID(resp.GuestBootID); serr != nil {
+			s.logger.Printf("[WARN] [gate] persist boot-id: %v", serr)
+		}
+		return
+	}
+	paths := make([]string, 0, len(needed))
+	for p := range needed {
+		paths = append(paths, p)
+	}
+
+	// READINESS GATE (the fix): wait for the REAL live in-guest bind, not the once-sampled agent view.
+	s.logger.Printf("[INFO] [gate] boot %s: waiting (≤%s) for live drive bind(s) %v before recreating drive-backed apps", resp.GuestBootID, bootBindWait, paths)
+	presentStable := pollLiveBinds(paths, driveBindLive, time.Sleep, time.Now, bootBindWait, bootBindPoll)
+
+	skipped := 0
 	for _, st := range s.stackMgr.GetStacks() {
 		cfg := s.stackMgr.LoadAppConfigByName(st.Name)
 		if cfg == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		if !shouldRecreateOnBoot(cfg.Deployed, cfg.Env["HDD_PATH"], presentStable) {
+			if cfg.Deployed && strings.HasPrefix(cfg.Env["HDD_PATH"], StableParentDir+"/") {
+				skipped++ // a deployed drive-backed app whose bind never went live → gate's job
+			}
 			continue
 		}
-		s.logger.Printf("[INFO] [gate] boot %s: recreating drive-backed app %s (state=%s) onto %s", resp.GuestBootID, st.Name, st.State, cfg.Env["HDD_PATH"])
+		s.logger.Printf("[INFO] [gate] boot %s: live bind confirmed — recreating drive-backed app %s (state=%s) onto %s", resp.GuestBootID, st.Name, st.State, cfg.Env["HDD_PATH"])
 		_ = s.stackMgr.StopStack(st.Name)
 		if serr := s.stackMgr.StartStack(st.Name); serr != nil {
 			s.logger.Printf("[WARN] [gate] boot recreate %s: %v", st.Name, serr)
 		}
 	}
+	if skipped > 0 {
+		s.logger.Printf("[WARN] [gate] boot %s: %d drive-backed app(s) had no live bind within %s — leaving to the drive gate", resp.GuestBootID, skipped, bootBindWait)
+	}
 	if serr := s.settings.SetLastGuestBootID(resp.GuestBootID); serr != nil {
 		s.logger.Printf("[WARN] [gate] persist boot-id: %v", serr)
 	}
diff --git a/controller/internal/web/intermediary_test.go b/controller/internal/web/intermediary_test.go
index 71a090e..83d1dd8 100644
--- a/controller/internal/web/intermediary_test.go
+++ b/controller/internal/web/intermediary_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package web
 
 import (
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"gitea.dooplex.hu/admin/felhom-controller/internal/agentapi"
 	"gitea.dooplex.hu/admin/felhom-controller/internal/settings"
@@ -75,6 +76,69 @@ func TestDefaultPromotionTarget(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestPollLiveBinds_WaitsForLateBind is the boot-race fix's core: the readiness gate must WAIT for the
+// drive bind to actually go live (the agent re-binds it ~18s post-boot) and only THEN report it present,
+// so shouldRecreateOnBoot fires and the create-time-failed app is recreated.
+//
+// COMPANION (must fail pre-fix): the old readiness was a SINGLE early sample of the agent's
+// BoundUnderParent — taken before the ~18s rebind, so it read the bind ABSENT, recreated nothing, and
+// burned the boot-id one-shot. TestSingleEarlySample_MissesLateBind_Companion pins that broken outcome;
+// and if pollLiveBinds is reverted to a no-wait single check, this test fails its "did it wait" assertion.
+func TestPollLiveBinds_WaitsForLateBind(t *testing.T) {
+	flash := "/mnt/felhom-drives/felhom-flash"
+	var nowT time.Duration // fake monotonic clock since boot
+	now := func() time.Time { return time.Unix(0, 0).Add(nowT) }
+	sleep := func(d time.Duration) { nowT += d }
+	const goLive = 18 * time.Second // the real agent rebind lag
+	bindLive := func(string) bool { return nowT >= goLive }
+
+	live := pollLiveBinds([]string{flash}, bindLive, sleep, now, bootBindWait, bootBindPoll)
+
+	if !live[flash] {
+		t.Fatalf("poll must detect the bind once live; got %v", live)
+	}
+	if nowT < goLive { // proves it WAITED through the rebind window (a single sample would return at t=0)
+		t.Fatalf("poll returned at t=%s before the bind went live at %s — it did not wait (regression)", nowT, goLive)
+	}
+	if !shouldRecreateOnBoot(true, flash, live) {
+		t.Fatalf("with the live bind present, the drive-backed app MUST be recreated")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestSingleEarlySample_MissesLateBind_Companion is the explicit pre-fix companion: a single sample of
+// the bind at boot (t=0), before the ~18s rebind, reads it ABSENT → the app is NOT recreated and stays
+// Exited. This is exactly what stranded paperless-webserver et al. live.
+func TestSingleEarlySample_MissesLateBind_Companion(t *testing.T) {
+	flash := "/mnt/felhom-drives/felhom-flash"
+	bindLiveAtBoot := func(string) bool { return false } // not yet live at the boot instant
+	oldPresent := map[string]bool{flash: bindLiveAtBoot(flash)}
+	if shouldRecreateOnBoot(true, flash, oldPresent) {
+		t.Fatalf("companion: a single early sample reads the not-yet-live bind as absent and must MISS it")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPollLiveBinds_TimeoutLeavesAbsent: a drive that never comes live within the window stays absent,
+// so its apps are NOT recreated here (left to the normal drive gate) — no spurious recreate/loop.
+func TestPollLiveBinds_TimeoutLeavesAbsent(t *testing.T) {
+	usb := "/mnt/felhom-drives/felhom-usb"
+	var nowT time.Duration
+	now := func() time.Time { return time.Unix(0, 0).Add(nowT) }
+	sleep := func(d time.Duration) { nowT += d }
+	bindLive := func(string) bool { return false } // never live
+
+	live := pollLiveBinds([]string{usb}, bindLive, sleep, now, bootBindWait, bootBindPoll)
+
+	if live[usb] {
+		t.Fatalf("a never-live bind must remain absent after the bounded wait")
+	}
+	if nowT < bootBindWait {
+		t.Fatalf("poll must run to the deadline for an absent drive, t=%s", nowT)
+	}
+	if shouldRecreateOnBoot(true, usb, live) {
+		t.Fatalf("an absent drive's app must NOT be recreated here (the gate owns drive-absent)")
+	}
+}
+
 func TestStablePathForName(t *testing.T) {
 	if got := stablePathForName("felhom-usb"); got != "/mnt/felhom-drives/felhom-usb" {
 		t.Errorf("stablePathForName = %q", got)