v0.153.0 — R-47: the DB replay no longer races the app, on BOTH restore paths

Closes R-47. No new agent coupling — MinAgent stays 0.90.0.

The replay needs a running DB container, so both restore paths started the
WHOLE stack first, giving the application a window to rebuild the very schema
objects the dump was about to create. Measured live on 2026-07-19 (H4,
DIAG-immich-restore-round2): immich-server rebuilt clip_index two seconds
before the dump's CREATE INDEX, the replay aborted "already exists" under
ON_ERROR_STOP=1, and immich reported schema drift. The data survived only
because pg_dump emits COPY before CREATE INDEX.

Both paths now open a DB-ONLY window: only the stack's database service(s)
come up, the dump is replayed with the app still down, and the full start
runs only after the replay exits 0. Fail-closed: a dump with no identifiable
DB service refuses BEFORE the first mutation. Every exit from the window
still does a best-effort full start, so a failed restore never leaves a box
with a database and no application.

New: appbackup.DBServiceNames (yaml.v3 services-map parse — never a line
scan; immich's top-level volume keys are the decoy) sharing dbTypeForImage
with DiscoverDatabases; stacks.Manager.StartStackServices (refuses an empty
list — argument-less `up -d` is a full start); RedeployFromEnv split into
PersistUnitRedeployConfig + its unchanged tail. StackDataProvider's
RecreateStackFromUnit becomes RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit — the hidden
`up -d` inside the old name is what carried the defect on the local path.

19 new tests (ordering plus state-at-replay-time, zero-mutation fail-closed
effects, replay-failure bring-up, parser decoys, empty-list refusal); three
companion red-proofs run and reverted. 23/23 packages green.

Not yet live-validated: STOP-1 supervised reconstitute, golden 0.153.0.

controller/README.md

@@ -307,14 +307,24 @@ Each app can define rich metadata in `.felhom.yml`:
   - **Offsite reconstitution (v0.148.0, R-43 — `offbox_reconstitute.go`):** the leg that was missing.
     `ReconstituteFromOffsite` (`/backup/offbox/reconstitute`, „Teljes visszaállítás (fájlok +
     adatbázis)") makes the live app equal to the chosen snapshot: **safety dump → stop → files
-    overwritten (`rsyncRestoreOverwrite`: no `--ignore-existing`, no `--delete`) → start → the
-    snapshot's dump replayed (`reimportDBDumpsFrom`, reading the SCRATCH unit) → health wait**.
+    overwritten (`rsyncRestoreOverwrite`: no `--ignore-existing`, no `--delete`) → the DATABASE
+    SERVICE ONLY started (`StartStackServices`, v0.153.0) → the snapshot's dump replayed
+    (`reimportDBDumpsFrom`, reading the SCRATCH unit) → the full stack started → health wait**.
     Two invariants: nothing is ever deleted (post-snapshot files survive as extras), and the
     `pre-restore-` safety dump is verified on disk BEFORE anything is stopped or overwritten — if it
     cannot be taken the operation refuses with zero changes. Safety dumps appear in `ListDumpFiles`
     (they are the undo). The live recovery unit is still never overwritten, which is why the replay
     source is the scratch. Honesty surfaces (`OffsiteScratchPair`): dump age, an unstamped-pair
     warning, and the R-44 empty-dump sniff — all warn-level, none of them gates.
+  - **The DB-only replay window (v0.153.0, R-47).** Until v0.153.0 the whole stack was started before
+    the replay, so the application's own schema management raced the dump: measured live on
+    2026-07-19 (H4), immich-server rebuilt `clip_index` two seconds before the dump's `CREATE INDEX`
+    and the replay aborted `already exists` under `ON_ERROR_STOP=1`. The DB service is now brought up
+    alone (`appbackup.DBServiceNames` reads the LIVE compose's `services:` map to name it), the dump
+    is replayed with the app still down, and only then does the full start run. **Fail-closed:** a
+    dump with no identifiable DB service refuses before the first mutation. Every exit from the window
+    — replay failure, DB-only start failure — still does a best-effort full start, so a failed restore
+    never leaves the box with a database and no application.
 
 The `/apps/{slug}` page renders hero section, screenshots, setup guide, and optional config form.
 
@@ -595,7 +605,7 @@ backups/primary/<app>/
   **Resettable secrets (O4, v0.99.0):** an unrecoverable resettable secret (DB password etc.) gets a
   **generated replacement** from its catalog `generate` spec (`stacks.GenerateSecretForField` via the
   `backup.SetSecretGenerator` seam) instead of redeploying blank (which failed compose-up); the new
-  value persists encrypted through the normal `RecreateStackFromUnit` → `SaveAppConfig` path. Fields
+  value persists encrypted through the normal `RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit` → `SaveAppConfig` path. Fields
   with no `generate` spec still proceed with a loud "may fail to start" WARN. Residual case: a restored
   volume tar carrying the OLD internal credential hash may still need a manual in-DB reset.
 - Helpers: `RecoveryUnitPath` / `RecoveryUnitComposePath` / `RecoveryUnitManifestPath`
@@ -604,9 +614,14 @@ backups/primary/<app>/
   env comes from `StackDataProvider.GetStackRecoveryInfo` (excludes secret-named + encrypted values, so
   the capture never touches a secret). `data_key` fields are marked in `.felhom.yml`
   (`DeployField.DataKey`).
-- **Restore replays the DB dump (F17, v0.61.0).** `RestoreFromRecoveryUnit` (and the `RestoreApp`
-  fallback) stops the app → restores named-volume tars → recreates the compose definition + redeploys
-  with the recovered env → **replays each `db-dumps/*.sql` into the now-running DB** via
+- **Restore replays the DB dump (F17, v0.61.0; re-sequenced v0.153.0, R-47).** `RestoreFromRecoveryUnit`
+  (and the `RestoreApp` fallback) stops the app → restores named-volume tars → recreates the compose
+  definition and persists the recovered env (`RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit` — **starts nothing**)
+  → starts the DATABASE SERVICE ONLY (`StartStackServices`, named from the unit's compose) →
+  **replays each `db-dumps/*.sql` into that DB** → starts the full stack → health wait. Before
+  v0.153.0 `RecreateStackFromUnit` ended in a full `compose up -d`, so this path carried the same
+  H4 race as the offsite one (see the reconstitution section above), with the same fail-closed rule
+  and the same guarantee that every exit still brings the app back up. The replay itself uses
   `backup.reimportDBDumps` → `appbackup.ImportDump` (psql / mariadb client, using the live container's own
   discovered credentials). The DB replay runs AFTER the volume restore, so the **logical SQL dump wins**
   over any volume-tar copy of the database (the dumps use DROP/CREATE — `pg_dump --clean --if-exists`,

controller/cmd/controller/main.go

@@ -1328,10 +1328,11 @@ func (a *stackAdapter) RecoverStackSecrets(name string, names []string) map[stri
 	return out
 }
 
-// RecreateStackFromUnit restores the app definition from the unit's compose dir into the stack dir,
-// then redeploys with the reconstructed full env (re-pulling the pinned image). Secrets in fullEnv were
-// recovered from the guest, never regenerated.
-func (a *stackAdapter) RecreateStackFromUnit(name, composeSrcDir string, fullEnv map[string]string) error {
+// RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit restores the app definition from the unit's compose dir into the
+// stack dir and persists app.yaml from the reconstructed full env. Secrets in fullEnv were recovered
+// from the guest, never regenerated. It starts NOTHING — the restore flow brings the database service
+// up alone for the dump replay and only then starts the whole stack (R-47).
+func (a *stackAdapter) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(name, composeSrcDir string, fullEnv map[string]string) error {
 	s, ok := a.mgr.GetStack(name)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("stack %q not found", name)
@@ -1347,7 +1348,12 @@ func (a *stackAdapter) RecreateStackFromUnit(name, composeSrcDir string, fullEnv
 			return fmt.Errorf("restoring %s from unit: %w", fname, err)
 		}
 	}
-	return a.mgr.RedeployFromEnv(name, fullEnv)
+	return a.mgr.PersistUnitRedeployConfig(name, fullEnv)
+}
+
+// StartStackServices brings up only the named compose services (the DB-only replay window, R-47).
+func (a *stackAdapter) StartStackServices(name string, services []string) error {
+	return a.mgr.StartStackServices(name, services)
 }
 
 // RefreshAndIsRunning forces a docker ps scan before checking state.

controller/internal/api/backup_snapshots_test.go

@@ -38,9 +38,10 @@ func (p *snapshotsStubProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(string) ([]backup.Classi
 	return nil, false
 }
 func (p *snapshotsStubProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string { return nil }
-func (p *snapshotsStubProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
+func (p *snapshotsStubProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
 	return nil
 }
+func (p *snapshotsStubProvider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 
 // newSnapshotsRouter wires a Router with a real backup.Manager over a tempdir drive.
 func newSnapshotsRouter(t *testing.T) (*Router, string) {

controller/internal/appbackup/appdata.go

@@ -39,10 +39,18 @@ type StackDataProvider interface {
 	// fail-closed gate decides what to do. The unit is never the source of secrets.
 	RecoverStackSecrets(name string, names []string) map[string]string
 
-	// RecreateStackFromUnit restores an app's definition from the unit's compose dir into the stack
-	// dir, writes app.yaml from fullEnv (encrypting secret fields), and (re-)deploys it via
-	// `docker compose up -d`, which re-pulls the pinned image. Secrets are NEVER regenerated.
-	RecreateStackFromUnit(name, composeSrcDir string, fullEnv map[string]string) error
+	// RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit restores an app's DEFINITION from the unit's compose dir into
+	// the stack dir and writes app.yaml from fullEnv (encrypting secret fields). Secrets are NEVER
+	// regenerated. It starts NOTHING: the caller owns the bring-up order, because a DB-bearing app
+	// must have its database service started alone for the dump replay (R-47). It was
+	// `RecreateStackFromUnit` until v0.153.0 and ended in a full `docker compose up -d` — that full
+	// start before the replay IS the H4 race.
+	RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(name, composeSrcDir string, fullEnv map[string]string) error
+
+	// StartStackServices brings up ONLY the named compose services, leaving the rest of the stack
+	// down — the DB-only window in which a dump is replayed without the application racing it.
+	// Implementations must REFUSE an empty list (an argument-less `up -d` is a full start).
+	StartStackServices(name string, services []string) error
 
 	// GetStackClassifiedBinds returns the app's backup-classified compose binds + whether it carries a
 	// (valid) backup block (Task 2, referential coupling). INERT — no tier consumes it yet; wired now

controller/internal/appbackup/dbdump.go

@@ -115,12 +115,10 @@ func DiscoverDatabases(ctx context.Context, logger *log.Logger, debug bool, know
 
 		id, name, image := parts[0], parts[1], strings.ToLower(parts[2])
 
-		var dbType DBType
-		if strings.Contains(image, "postgres") {
-			dbType = DBTypePostgres
-		} else if strings.Contains(image, "mariadb") || strings.Contains(image, "mysql") {
-			dbType = DBTypeMariaDB
-		} else {
+		// R-47: the same predicate that DBServiceNames applies to compose `image:` values, so a dump
+		// that exists is always attributable to a startable service (see dbservices.go).
+		dbType, isDB := dbTypeForImage(image)
+		if !isDB {
 			if debug {
 				logger.Printf("[DEBUG] DiscoverDatabases: skipping container %s (image=%s, not a database)", name, image)
 			}

controller/internal/appbackup/dbservices.go

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package appbackup
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
+)
+
+// R-47 — naming the database SERVICE, not just the running container.
+//
+// A dump replay must never race the application's own schema management. Proven live on 2026-07-19
+// (DIAG-immich-restore-round2-2026-07-19, H4): the reconstitution started the whole stack before
+// replaying, immich-server rebuilt `clip_index` two seconds before the dump's own CREATE INDEX, and
+// the replay aborted `already exists` under ON_ERROR_STOP=1 — leaving a half-applied schema that the
+// app itself then reported as drift. The fix is to bring up ONLY the database service(s) for the
+// replay, which requires knowing their compose SERVICE names (docker `up -d <svc>` takes service
+// names, not container names).
+//
+// The symmetry that makes this safe: a `.sql` dump can only exist because DiscoverDatabases matched
+// the running container's image string, and the compose `image:` value IS that image string. So the
+// same predicate — dbTypeForImage — decides both "is there a dump" and "which service holds it".
+
+// dbTypeForImage maps a container/compose image reference to the database engine the backup code
+// supports, or ok=false for anything else (redis/valkey/app images — never started in the DB-only
+// phase). Extracted from DiscoverDatabases so the discovery heuristic and the compose heuristic can
+// never drift apart; behaviour is byte-equivalent to the inline form it replaced.
+func dbTypeForImage(image string) (DBType, bool) {
+	img := strings.ToLower(image)
+	switch {
+	case strings.Contains(img, "postgres"):
+		return DBTypePostgres, true
+	case strings.Contains(img, "mariadb"), strings.Contains(img, "mysql"):
+		return DBTypeMariaDB, true
+	}
+	return DBType(""), false
+}
+
+// composeServicesDoc is the minimal view of a compose file needed here: the `services:` MAP and each
+// service's `image:`. Deliberately a real YAML parse and not a line scan — a top-level `volumes:`
+// block (immich's `immich_ml_cache:`) has exactly the shape a naive scan misreads as a service, and
+// starting a phantom service, or missing the real one, both land in the wrong branch.
+type composeServicesDoc struct {
+	Services map[string]struct {
+		Image string `yaml:"image"`
+	} `yaml:"services"`
+}
+
+// DBServiceNames returns the sorted compose SERVICE names in composePath whose `image:` identifies a
+// supported database engine — the exact argument list for `docker compose up -d <svc>...`.
+//
+// A file with no (or an empty) `services:` key returns (nil, nil): an app with no identifiable DB
+// service is a legitimate, common case and the caller decides what it means. An unreadable or
+// unparseable file returns an error, because "cannot tell" must never silently read as "no database"
+// — the callers turn that into a refusal when a dump exists.
+//
+// Image values are matched literally. Catalog templates pin their images literally (enforced since
+// Campaign 7), so an interpolated `${...}` image simply does not match and lands in the caller's
+// fail-closed branch by design, rather than being guessed at.
+func DBServiceNames(composePath string) ([]string, error) {
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(composePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("reading compose file: %w", err)
+	}
+	var doc composeServicesDoc
+	if err := yaml.Unmarshal(data, &doc); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("parsing compose file %s: %w", composePath, err)
+	}
+	var names []string
+	for name, svc := range doc.Services {
+		if _, ok := dbTypeForImage(svc.Image); ok {
+			names = append(names, name)
+		}
+	}
+	sort.Strings(names)
+	return names, nil
+}

controller/internal/appbackup/dbservices_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+package appbackup
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// R-47 (v0.153.0) — the DB-service resolver.
+//
+// These exist because a dump replay that starts the WHOLE stack races the application's own schema
+// management: proven live on 2026-07-19 (DIAG-immich-restore-round2-2026-07-19, H4) when
+// immich-server rebuilt `clip_index` two seconds before the dump's CREATE INDEX and the replay
+// aborted `already exists`. Closing that window means bringing up ONLY the database service, which
+// means naming it correctly — every case below is a way of naming it wrongly.
+
+// writeCompose drops a compose file in a temp dir and returns its path.
+func writeCompose(t *testing.T, body string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	p := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "docker-compose.yml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(p, []byte(body), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return p
+}
+
+// TestDBTypeForImage pins the shared heuristic. It is the SAME predicate DiscoverDatabases applies to
+// a running container's image, which is what makes "a dump exists ⇒ a service can be named" hold:
+// the compose `image:` value IS the container's image string. The table reproduces the inline form
+// this function replaced, byte for byte, including the redis/valkey negatives that must never be
+// started in the DB-only window.
+func TestDBTypeForImage(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		image string
+		want  DBType
+		ok    bool
+	}{
+		{"docker.io/library/postgres:16-alpine", DBTypePostgres, true},
+		// immich's real pin — a vector-extended postgres whose REPO segment carries the substring.
+		{"ghcr.io/immich-app/postgres:16-vectorchord0.4.3-pgvectors0.2.0", DBTypePostgres, true},
+		{"postgres", DBTypePostgres, true},
+		{"POSTGRES:16", DBTypePostgres, true}, // the discovery path lowercases; so does this
+		{"mariadb:11", DBTypeMariaDB, true},
+		{"mysql:8.4", DBTypeMariaDB, true},
+		{"docker.io/library/MySQL:8", DBTypeMariaDB, true},
+		{"redis:7-alpine", "", false},
+		{"valkey/valkey:8", "", false},
+		{"ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:v1.119.0", "", false},
+		{"", "", false},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		got, ok := dbTypeForImage(c.image)
+		if ok != c.ok || (ok && got != c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("dbTypeForImage(%q) = (%q, %v), want (%q, %v)", c.image, got, ok, c.want, c.ok)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDBServiceNames(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		name string
+		body string
+		want []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "postgres service is named",
+			body: "services:\n  app:\n    image: ghcr.io/x/app:1\n  database:\n    image: postgres:16\n",
+			want: []string{"database"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "mariadb service is named",
+			body: "services:\n  db:\n    image: mariadb:11\n  web:\n    image: nextcloud:30\n",
+			want: []string{"db"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "mysql service is named",
+			body: "services:\n  mysql:\n    image: mysql:8.4\n",
+			want: []string{"mysql"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "redis-only app has no database service",
+			body: "services:\n  app:\n    image: ghcr.io/x/app:1\n  redis:\n    image: redis:7-alpine\n",
+			want: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "multiple databases are returned SORTED (one up -d carries them all)",
+			body: "services:\n  zdb:\n    image: postgres:16\n  adb:\n    image: mariadb:11\n  app:\n    image: x:1\n",
+			want: []string{"adb", "zdb"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "no services key at all",
+			body: "volumes:\n  data:\n",
+			want: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "empty services map",
+			body: "services:\n",
+			want: nil,
+		},
+		{
+			name: "an interpolated image is not guessed at",
+			body: "services:\n  db:\n    image: ${DB_IMAGE}\n",
+			want: nil,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := DBServiceNames(writeCompose(t, c.body))
+			if err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+			}
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, c.want) {
+				t.Errorf("DBServiceNames = %v, want %v", got, c.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDBServiceNames_TopLevelKeysAreNotServices is the decoy test, and the reason this is a YAML
+// parse rather than a line scan. immich's real compose carries a top-level `volumes:` block whose
+// entry (`immich_ml_cache:`) sits at exactly the indentation a service name does, and a top-level
+// `networks:` block does the same. A scanner that collected "indented keys followed by image-ish
+// lines" would either invent a service that `docker compose up -d` cannot start, or — worse — match
+// the wrong one and leave the real database down while the app came up around the replay.
+func TestDBServiceNames_TopLevelKeysAreNotServices(t *testing.T) {
+	// The service/volume/network names and the image pins are the catalog's real immich template.
+	// `immich_postgres_data` is the trap made concrete: a top-level VOLUME key whose name contains
+	// "postgres" and which no `up -d` could ever start.
+	body := `services:
+  immich-server:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:v3.0.3
+  immich-machine-learning:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:v3.0.3
+  immich-postgres:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/postgres:16-vectorchord0.4.3-pgvectors0.2.0
+  immich-redis:
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+volumes:
+  immich_ml_cache:
+  immich_postgres_data:
+  immich_redis_data:
+networks:
+  traefik-public:
+    external: true
+  immich-internal:
+`
+	got, err := DBServiceNames(writeCompose(t, body))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, []string{"immich-postgres"}) {
+		t.Fatalf("DBServiceNames = %v, want [immich-postgres] — a top-level volume/network key was mistaken for a service", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDBServiceNames_UnreadableAndUnparseableError proves the fail-closed direction: "cannot tell"
+// must surface as an ERROR, never as the empty (= "this app has no database") answer. The callers
+// turn an empty result into a refusal only when a dump exists; if a read failure silently produced
+// the same empty slice for an app with no dump, a genuinely broken compose would flow on unnoticed.
+func TestDBServiceNames_UnreadableAndUnparseableError(t *testing.T) {
+	if _, err := DBServiceNames(filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "nope.yml")); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a missing compose file must be an error, not an empty service list")
+	}
+	// Valid YAML scalar where a map is required, plus outright broken YAML.
+	if _, err := DBServiceNames(writeCompose(t, "services: [1, 2, 3\n  broken")); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unparseable compose file must be an error, not an empty service list")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDiscoverAndComposeAgreeOnTheSameImages is the SYMMETRY guard: whatever image string makes
+// DiscoverDatabases produce a dump must also make DBServiceNames name a service. They now share one
+// predicate; this asserts the property that sharing is FOR, so a future edit to either side that
+// breaks it fails here rather than in a customer's restore.
+func TestDiscoverAndComposeAgreeOnTheSameImages(t *testing.T) {
+	images := []string{"postgres:16", "mariadb:11", "mysql:8.4", "redis:7", "ghcr.io/x/app:1"}
+	var body strings.Builder
+	body.WriteString("services:\n")
+	var wantDB []string
+	for i, img := range images {
+		svc := string(rune('a' + i))
+		body.WriteString("  " + svc + ":\n    image: " + img + "\n")
+		if _, ok := dbTypeForImage(img); ok {
+			wantDB = append(wantDB, svc)
+		}
+	}
+	got, err := DBServiceNames(writeCompose(t, body.String()))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, wantDB) {
+		t.Fatalf("compose resolver named %v but the discovery predicate says %v — the two sides have drifted", got, wantDB)
+	}
+}

controller/internal/backup/appbackup_bridge.go

@@ -100,6 +100,12 @@ func ParseComposeImages(composePath string) []string {
 	return appbackup.ParseComposeImages(composePath)
 }
 
+// DBServiceNames forwards to appbackup.DBServiceNames — the compose SERVICE names holding a database,
+// i.e. the argument list for the DB-only bring-up both restore paths use before a dump replay (R-47).
+func DBServiceNames(composePath string) ([]string, error) {
+	return appbackup.DBServiceNames(composePath)
+}
+
 // humanizeBytes forwards to appbackup.HumanizeBytes; kept unexported so the
 // many in-package call sites (backup.go, crossdrive.go, restore code) need no edit.
 func humanizeBytes(b int64) string {

controller/internal/backup/offbox_3a_test.go

@@ -25,17 +25,22 @@ type offbox3aProvider struct {
 	has   map[string]bool
 }
 
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool)        { return "", false }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) ListDeployedStacks() []StackSummary               { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackHDDMounts(string) []string                { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackHDDPath(n string) string                  { return p.hdd[n] }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetDockerVolumes(string) []string                 { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) StopStack(string) error                           { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) StartStack(string) error                          { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool                  { return false }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) { return RecoveryInfo{}, false }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool) { return "", false }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) ListDeployedStacks() []StackSummary        { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackHDDMounts(string) []string         { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackHDDPath(n string) string           { return p.hdd[n] }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetDockerVolumes(string) []string          { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) StopStack(string) error                    { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) StartStack(string) error                   { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool           { return false }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) {
+	return RecoveryInfo{}, false
+}
 func (p *offbox3aProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string { return nil }
-func (p *offbox3aProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(_, _ string, _ map[string]string) error { return nil }
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(_, _ string, _ map[string]string) error {
+	return nil
+}
+func (p *offbox3aProvider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 func (p *offbox3aProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(n string) ([]ClassifiedBind, bool) {
 	return p.binds[n], p.has[n]
 }

controller/internal/backup/offbox_reconstitute.go

@@ -239,6 +239,20 @@ func (m *Manager) ReconstituteFromOffsite(ctx context.Context, stack string) (Of
 	res.Skewed = res.OffsiteRunID == ""
 	res.LooksEmpty = m.sniffScratchDump(scratchDumpDir, stack)
 
+	// --- WHICH SERVICE HOLDS THE DATABASE (R-47) ------------------------------------------------
+	// Read from the LIVE compose, not the scratch one: reconstitution never overwrites the stack dir,
+	// so the live file is what `docker compose up` will actually act on. Resolved BEFORE the first
+	// mutation so the refusal below costs nothing.
+	var dbServices []string
+	if composePath, cOK := m.stackProvider.GetStackComposePath(stack); cOK && composePath != "" {
+		svcs, dsErr := DBServiceNames(composePath)
+		if dsErr != nil {
+			// "cannot tell" is not "no database" — leave dbServices empty and let the gate refuse.
+			m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [offbox] %s: could not read the live compose services: %v", stack, dsErr)
+		}
+		dbServices = svcs
+	}
+
 	// --- THE UNDO, BEFORE THE ACT ---------------------------------------------------------------
 	// Taken while the stack is still UP (a stopped database cannot be dumped) and before a single
 	// byte is overwritten, so a failure here aborts with the live app completely untouched.
@@ -253,6 +267,12 @@ func (m *Manager) ReconstituteFromOffsite(ctx context.Context, stack string) (Of
 			// Fail-closed: never replay when the undo is not verifiably on disk.
 			return res, fmt.Errorf("a biztonsági mentés nem található a lemezen — a visszaállítás biztonsági okból nem indult el")
 		}
+		// Fail-closed (R-47): the app HAS a database but no compose service can be identified to
+		// start alone for the replay. The only alternative would be to start everything and replay
+		// into the race that produced H4 — refusing with the live app untouched is the better outcome.
+		if len(dbServices) == 0 {
+			return res, fmt.Errorf("Az adatbázis-szolgáltatás nem azonosítható a(z) %s alkalmazásban — a visszaállítás biztonsági okból nem indult el.", stack)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// --- FILES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -280,19 +300,31 @@ func (m *Manager) ReconstituteFromOffsite(ctx context.Context, stack string) (Of
 	}
 
 	// --- DATABASE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-	// The stack must be UP for the replay: ImportDump talks to the running container using its own
-	// discovered credentials (the same precedence RestoreFromRecoveryUnit uses — the logical dump
-	// wins over whatever the file copy just laid down for the DB's own data dir).
-	if err := m.stackProvider.StartStack(stack); err != nil {
-		return res, fmt.Errorf("a(z) %s újraindítása sikertelen a fájlok visszaállítása után: %w", stack, err)
-	}
+	// The DB container must be UP for the replay (ImportDump talks to it with its own discovered
+	// credentials), but NOTHING ELSE may be — R-47. Until v0.153.0 this was a full StartStack, which
+	// gave the application a window to rebuild the very schema objects the dump was about to create:
+	// measured at 2 s on 2026-07-19, and the replay aborted `relation "clip_index" already exists`
+	// under ON_ERROR_STOP=1 (H4). Starting only the database service closes that window entirely.
 	if hasDB {
+		if err := m.stackProvider.StartStackServices(stack, dbServices); err != nil {
+			// Best-effort bring-up: a failed restore must not also be an outage.
+			if sErr := m.stackProvider.StartStack(stack); sErr != nil {
+				m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [offbox] %s: full start after failed DB-only start also failed: %v", stack, sErr)
+			}
+			return res, fmt.Errorf("a(z) %s adatbázis-szolgáltatásának indítása sikertelen: %w", stack, err)
+		}
 		n, iErr := m.reimportDBDumpsFrom(ctx, stack, scratchDumpDir)
 		res.DBsReplayed = n
 		if iErr != nil {
+			if sErr := m.stackProvider.StartStack(stack); sErr != nil {
+				m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [offbox] %s: full start after failed replay also failed: %v", stack, sErr)
+			}
 			return res, fmt.Errorf("az adatbázis visszaállítása sikertelen: %w — a korábbi állapot mentése megvan: %s", iErr, filepath.Base(safety))
 		}
 	}
+	if err := m.stackProvider.StartStack(stack); err != nil {
+		return res, fmt.Errorf("a(z) %s újraindítása sikertelen a fájlok visszaállítása után: %w", stack, err)
+	}
 	if err := m.waitForHealthy(stack, 90*time.Second); err != nil {
 		m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [offbox] %s reconstituted but health check failed: %v", stack, err)
 	}

controller/internal/backup/offbox_reconstitute_test.go

@@ -20,13 +20,34 @@ import (
 // rather than a description of the current implementation.
 
 // recordingProvider records stop/start call ORDER so the reconstitution sequence can be asserted.
+//
+// R-47 widened it: it now also records the DB-ONLY bring-up and, critically, whether a FULL start
+// has happened yet — the state the replay must observe as `false`. That single flag is what
+// separates the fixed sequence from the one that produced H4, in which the whole stack was already
+// up (and rebuilding its own schema) when the dump replay began.
 type recordingProvider struct {
 	offbox3aProvider
-	calls []string
+	calls       []string
+	composePath string   // the LIVE compose the DB-service resolver reads
+	gotServices []string // services passed to StartStackServices
+	fullStarted bool     // a FULL StartStack has happened
+	startSvcErr error    // injected StartStackServices failure
 }
 
-func (p *recordingProvider) StopStack(string) error  { p.calls = append(p.calls, "stop"); return nil }
-func (p *recordingProvider) StartStack(string) error { p.calls = append(p.calls, "start"); return nil }
+func (p *recordingProvider) StopStack(string) error { p.calls = append(p.calls, "stop"); return nil }
+func (p *recordingProvider) StartStack(string) error {
+	p.fullStarted = true
+	p.calls = append(p.calls, "start")
+	return nil
+}
+func (p *recordingProvider) StartStackServices(_ string, services []string) error {
+	p.gotServices = append([]string(nil), services...)
+	p.calls = append(p.calls, "startsvc:"+strings.Join(services, ","))
+	return p.startSvcErr
+}
+func (p *recordingProvider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool) {
+	return p.composePath, p.composePath != ""
+}
 
 // The app really is up again after StartStack, so the post-restore health wait returns at once.
 // Leaving it false would make each test sit through the full 90s deadline.
@@ -78,6 +99,15 @@ func reconFixture(t *testing.T, runID, dumpsAt string, dumpBody string) (*Manage
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
+	// The LIVE compose the reconstitution reads to learn WHICH service holds the database (R-47).
+	// Immich-shaped on purpose: an app service, a redis service that must never be mistaken for a
+	// database, and a top-level `volumes:` key whose entry looks exactly like a service to a line scan.
+	liveStackDir := t.TempDir()
+	prov.composePath = filepath.Join(liveStackDir, "docker-compose.yml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(prov.composePath, []byte(immichLikeCompose), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
 	scratch, liveNs, err := m.offboxRestoreScratchDir("immich")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
@@ -163,9 +193,10 @@ func TestReconstituteReplaysDBAndOrdersOperations(t *testing.T) {
 	if res.FilesPlaced != 3 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected the userdata placement to be counted, got %d", res.FilesPlaced)
 	}
-	// stop BEFORE the file copy, start BEFORE the replay (ImportDump needs a live container).
-	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,start" {
-		t.Fatalf("expected stop then start around the restore, got %q", got)
+	// stop BEFORE the file copy; then ONLY the database service up for the replay (R-47 — a full
+	// start here is the H4 race); the full start comes last.
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,startsvc:immich-postgres,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected stop → db-only start → full start around the restore, got %q", got)
 	}
 	if res.SafetyDump == "" {
 		t.Fatal("no safety dump recorded — the undo must exist")

controller/internal/backup/r47_replay_order_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,374 @@
+package backup
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"io"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// R-47 (v0.153.0) — the DB replay must not race the app, on BOTH restore paths.
+//
+// Every test here is a regression guard for a measured incident, not a description of the code.
+// On 2026-07-19 (DIAG-immich-restore-round2-2026-07-19, H4) the offsite reconstitution started the
+// WHOLE stack before replaying the dump. immich-server used the window to rebuild `clip_index` two
+// seconds before the dump's own CREATE INDEX; the replay aborted `relation "clip_index" already
+// exists` under ON_ERROR_STOP=1, and immich then reported schema drift. The data survived only by
+// accident of pg_dump's ordering (COPY before CREATE INDEX) — a collision earlier in the script
+// would have left a genuinely half-restored database, reported identically.
+//
+// The property under test is therefore an ORDERING plus a STATE-AT-REPLAY-TIME: at the moment the
+// import fires, the database service must be up and the full stack must NOT be. Asserting only
+// "no error" would pass on the pre-fix shape, which is exactly how this shipped.
+
+// immichLikeCompose is the catalog's immich template reduced to what the resolver reads: the app
+// services, the DB service, a redis that must never be mistaken for a database, and the top-level
+// `volumes:`/`networks:` keys (including `immich_postgres_data`) that a line scan would misread.
+const immichLikeCompose = `services:
+  immich-server:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:v3.0.3
+  immich-machine-learning:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:v3.0.3
+  immich-postgres:
+    image: ghcr.io/immich-app/postgres:16-vectorchord0.4.3-pgvectors0.2.0
+  immich-redis:
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+volumes:
+  immich_ml_cache:
+  immich_postgres_data:
+networks:
+  traefik-public:
+    external: true
+`
+
+// noDBCompose is a DB-free app: nothing here may ever trigger the DB-only phase.
+const noDBCompose = `services:
+  app:
+    image: ghcr.io/x/app:1
+  cache:
+    image: redis:7-alpine
+`
+
+// --- Group A: offsite reconstitute, DB-bearing app (the H4 killer) --------------------------------
+
+// TestReconstituteReplaysWithOnlyTheDBServiceUp is the core R-47 assertion for the offsite path.
+// It does not merely check the call ORDER — it captures the provider's state AT THE MOMENT the
+// import fires, because that is what H4 was: the sequence looked right, and the app was up.
+//
+// COMPANION RED-PROOF: replacing the DB-only bring-up in ReconstituteFromOffsite with the pre-fix
+// full StartStack makes this fail on `full stack was ALREADY UP when the replay fired`.
+func TestReconstituteReplaysWithOnlyTheDBServiceUp(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := reconFixture(t, "20260719T060000Z", "2026-07-19T06:00:00Z", pgDump(1))
+
+	var dbUpAtReplay, fullUpAtReplay bool
+	m.importDBDump = func(_ context.Context, _ DiscoveredDB, p string) error {
+		dbUpAtReplay = len(prov.gotServices) > 0
+		fullUpAtReplay = prov.fullStarted
+		*imported = append(*imported, p)
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	res, err := m.ReconstituteFromOffsite(context.Background(), "immich")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reconstitute: %v", err)
+	}
+	if res.DBsReplayed != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected exactly one replay, got %d", res.DBsReplayed)
+	}
+	if !dbUpAtReplay {
+		t.Fatal("the database service was NOT started before the replay — ImportDump has no container to talk to")
+	}
+	if fullUpAtReplay {
+		t.Fatal("the FULL stack was already up when the replay fired — this is H4 exactly: the app races the dump's schema")
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.gotServices, ","); got != "immich-postgres" {
+		t.Fatalf("DB-only phase started %q, want only the database service immich-postgres", got)
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,startsvc:immich-postgres,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want stop → db-only start → replay → full start", got)
+	}
+	// The undo must have existed before any of it.
+	if res.SafetyDump == "" {
+		t.Fatal("no safety dump recorded")
+	}
+	if _, sErr := os.Stat(res.SafetyDump); sErr != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("safety dump not on disk before the mutation: %v", sErr)
+	}
+}
+
+// --- Group B: offsite reconstitute, no-DB app (flow unchanged) ------------------------------------
+
+// TestReconstituteNoDBAppNeverStartsServicesOnly asserts the NEGATIVE: an app with no database must
+// take exactly one full start and must never enter the DB-only phase. Without this, a bug that
+// armed the phase for every app would show up first as a customer's stack half-started.
+func TestReconstituteNoDBAppNeverStartsServicesOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := reconFixture(t, "run1", "2026-07-19T06:00:00Z", "")
+	prov.composePath = writeLiveCompose(t, noDBCompose)
+	m.discoverDBs = func(context.Context) ([]DiscoveredDB, error) { return nil, nil }
+
+	res, err := m.ReconstituteFromOffsite(context.Background(), "immich")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a no-DB app must restore unchanged, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(prov.gotServices) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the DB-only phase ran for an app with no database: %v", prov.gotServices)
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want the unchanged stop → full start", got)
+	}
+	if len(*imported) != 0 || res.DBsReplayed != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a no-DB app must not replay anything: imported=%v replayed=%d", *imported, res.DBsReplayed)
+	}
+}
+
+// --- Group C: fail-closed, both paths -------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// TestReconstituteRefusesWhenNoDBServiceIdentifiable is the security-adjacent gate. A dump exists and
+// a live database was discovered, but the live compose names no startable database service. The only
+// alternative to refusing would be to start everything and replay into the H4 race, so this must
+// refuse — and it must refuse with ZERO mutations, which is what the effect assertions below prove.
+// Asserting `err != nil` alone would pass even if the app had already been stopped and overwritten.
+//
+// COMPANION RED-PROOF: deleting the `len(dbServices) == 0` gate makes this fail on
+// `the app was stopped despite the refusal`.
+func TestReconstituteRefusesWhenNoDBServiceIdentifiable(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := reconFixture(t, "run1", "2026-07-19T06:00:00Z", pgDump(1))
+	// A live compose whose services are all app/cache images — nothing to start alone.
+	prov.composePath = writeLiveCompose(t, noDBCompose)
+	var copied bool
+	m.SetOffboxFullPlaceCopier(func(_, _ string) (int, error) { copied = true; return 1, nil })
+
+	_, err := m.ReconstituteFromOffsite(context.Background(), "immich")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a refusal: a dump exists but no database service can be started for it")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nem azonosítható") {
+		t.Fatalf("refusal must say the database service could not be identified, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(prov.calls) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("ZERO mutations required, but the provider was called: %v", prov.calls)
+	}
+	if copied {
+		t.Fatal("files were overwritten despite the refusal")
+	}
+	if len(*imported) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a replay happened despite the refusal: %v", *imported)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRestoreFromUnitRefusesWhenNoDBServiceIdentifiable is the local path's sibling gate, with the
+// same zero-mutation requirement: no stop, no volume restore, no definition recreate.
+func TestRestoreFromUnitRefusesWhenNoDBServiceIdentifiable(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, _ := r47UnitFixture(t, noDBCompose, true)
+
+	err := m.RestoreFromRecoveryUnit("app")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected a refusal: the unit carries a dump but names no startable database service")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "nem azonosítható") {
+		t.Fatalf("refusal must say the database service could not be identified, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(prov.calls) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("ZERO mutations required, but the provider was called: %v", prov.calls)
+	}
+	if prov.stopped {
+		t.Fatal("the app was stopped despite the refusal")
+	}
+	if prov.gotEnv != nil {
+		t.Fatal("the definition was recreated despite the refusal")
+	}
+}
+
+// --- Group D: local restore-from-unit ordering ----------------------------------------------------
+
+// TestRestoreFromUnitReplaysWithOnlyTheDBServiceUp is Group A's twin on the local path — the SAME
+// class defect lived here, in the shape `RecreateStackFromUnit` (which ended in a full `up -d`)
+// followed by the replay. Splitting the persist from the start is what makes this orderable at all.
+//
+// COMPANION RED-PROOF: restoring the pre-fix shape (RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit performing a
+// full start, replay after) makes this fail on `full stack was ALREADY UP when the replay fired`.
+func TestRestoreFromUnitReplaysWithOnlyTheDBServiceUp(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := r47UnitFixture(t, immichLikeCompose, true)
+
+	var dbUpAtReplay, fullUpAtReplay, definitionPersisted bool
+	m.importDBDump = func(_ context.Context, _ DiscoveredDB, p string) error {
+		dbUpAtReplay = len(prov.gotServices) > 0
+		fullUpAtReplay = prov.fullStarted
+		definitionPersisted = prov.gotEnv != nil
+		*imported = append(*imported, p)
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if err := m.RestoreFromRecoveryUnit("app"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("restore-from-unit: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(*imported) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected exactly one replay, got %v", *imported)
+	}
+	if !definitionPersisted {
+		t.Fatal("the app definition was not persisted before the replay — the DB service could not have been started from it")
+	}
+	if !dbUpAtReplay {
+		t.Fatal("the database service was NOT started before the replay")
+	}
+	if fullUpAtReplay {
+		t.Fatal("the FULL stack was already up when the replay fired — the H4 race, on the local path")
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,recreate,startsvc:immich-postgres,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want stop → recreate(definition only) → db-only start → replay → full start", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRestoreFromUnitNoDumpsTakesOneFullStart is the local no-DB negative: without a replayable dump
+// there is no DB-only window at all, just the definition and one full start.
+func TestRestoreFromUnitNoDumpsTakesOneFullStart(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := r47UnitFixture(t, noDBCompose, false)
+
+	if err := m.RestoreFromRecoveryUnit("app"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("restore-from-unit: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(prov.gotServices) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("the DB-only phase ran with nothing to replay: %v", prov.gotServices)
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,recreate,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want stop → recreate → full start", got)
+	}
+	if len(*imported) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("nothing should have been replayed, got %v", *imported)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRestoreFromUnitIgnoresSafetyDumpsWhenDecidingToReplay guards the one file-naming trap in the
+// gate: `pre-restore-*.sql` safety dumps live in the SAME directory as the real dumps (deliberately —
+// an undo the customer cannot see is not much of one) but are never a replay source. Counting them
+// would arm the DB-only phase, and its refusal, for an app that has nothing to replay.
+func TestRestoreFromUnitIgnoresSafetyDumpsWhenDecidingToReplay(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, _ := r47UnitFixture(t, noDBCompose, false)
+	// A safety dump present for a DB-less app must not arm anything — including the refusal.
+	mustWrite(t, filepath.Join(AppDBDumpPath(prov.hdd, "app"),
+		preRestoreDumpPrefix+"20260720T101010Z-app-postgres.sql"), pgDump(1))
+
+	if err := m.RestoreFromRecoveryUnit("app"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a lone safety dump must not turn into a refusal: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(prov.gotServices) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a safety dump armed the DB-only phase: %v", prov.gotServices)
+	}
+}
+
+// --- Group E: a failed replay never strands the box DB-only ---------------------------------------
+
+// TestReconstituteReplayFailureStillBringsTheStackUp: the DB-only window is a deliberate half-started
+// state, so EVERY exit from it must end in a full start. Otherwise a failed restore leaves the
+// customer with a running database and no application — an outage caused by the recovery tool.
+func TestReconstituteReplayFailureStillBringsTheStackUp(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, _ := reconFixture(t, "run1", "2026-07-19T06:00:00Z", pgDump(1))
+	m.importDBDump = func(context.Context, DiscoveredDB, string) error {
+		return context.DeadlineExceeded
+	}
+
+	res, err := m.ReconstituteFromOffsite(context.Background(), "immich")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a failed replay must be surfaced, not swallowed")
+	}
+	if !prov.fullStarted {
+		t.Fatal("the stack was left DB-ONLY after a failed replay — the app is down and nothing will bring it up")
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,startsvc:immich-postgres,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want the best-effort full start after the failure", got)
+	}
+	// The existing message shape stays: the operator needs the undo's filename.
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), filepath.Base(res.SafetyDump)) {
+		t.Fatalf("the error must name the safety dump so the operator can undo, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestReconstituteDBOnlyStartFailureStillBringsTheStackUp covers the other exit from the window: the
+// DB-only start itself failing. Same requirement — the app must not be left down.
+func TestReconstituteDBOnlyStartFailureStillBringsTheStackUp(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, imported := reconFixture(t, "run1", "2026-07-19T06:00:00Z", pgDump(1))
+	prov.startSvcErr = context.DeadlineExceeded
+
+	if _, err := m.ReconstituteFromOffsite(context.Background(), "immich"); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a failed DB-only start must be surfaced")
+	}
+	if !prov.fullStarted {
+		t.Fatal("the stack was left down after a failed DB-only start")
+	}
+	if len(*imported) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("nothing may be replayed when the database never came up: %v", *imported)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRestoreFromUnitReplayFailureStillBringsTheStackUp is the local path's version, and it also
+// pins the pre-existing semantics: a replay error becomes a dataErr and surfaces as the "completed
+// with data errors" outcome, with the app back up.
+func TestRestoreFromUnitReplayFailureStillBringsTheStackUp(t *testing.T) {
+	m, prov, _ := r47UnitFixture(t, immichLikeCompose, true)
+	m.importDBDump = func(context.Context, DiscoveredDB, string) error {
+		return context.DeadlineExceeded
+	}
+
+	err := m.RestoreFromRecoveryUnit("app")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("a failed replay must be surfaced, not swallowed")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "completed with data errors") {
+		t.Fatalf("the pre-existing outcome semantics must be preserved, got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !prov.fullStarted {
+		t.Fatal("the stack was left DB-ONLY after a failed replay")
+	}
+	if got := strings.Join(prov.calls, ","); got != "stop,recreate,startsvc:immich-postgres,start" {
+		t.Fatalf("sequence = %q, want the full start to follow the failed replay", got)
+	}
+}
+
+// --- fixtures -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// writeLiveCompose drops a compose file in its own temp dir and returns the path.
+func writeLiveCompose(t *testing.T, body string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	p := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "docker-compose.yml")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(p, []byte(body), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return p
+}
+
+// r47UnitFixture builds a Manager whose local recovery unit for "app" carries the given compose and,
+// optionally, a replayable `app-postgres.sql` dump. The provider records call order; the DB
+// discovery/import seams are injected so no Docker is touched.
+func r47UnitFixture(t *testing.T, compose string, withDump bool) (*Manager, *fakeRecoveryProvider, *[]string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	drive := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "drive")
+	composeDir := RecoveryUnitComposePath(drive, "app")
+	mustWrite(t, filepath.Join(composeDir, "app.yaml"), "deployed: true\nenv:\n  SUBDOMAIN: app\n")
+	mustWrite(t, filepath.Join(composeDir, "docker-compose.yml"), compose)
+	man := &RecoveryManifest{SchemaVersion: 1, AppName: "app", ControllerVer: "v"}
+	if err := writeManifest(RecoveryUnitManifestPath(drive, "app"), man); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if withDump {
+		mustWrite(t, filepath.Join(AppDBDumpPath(drive, "app"), "app-postgres.sql"), pgDump(1))
+	}
+
+	prov := &fakeRecoveryProvider{hdd: drive, running: true}
+	m := &Manager{
+		logger:         log.New(io.Discard, "", 0),
+		systemDataPath: filepath.Join(drive, "..", "sys"),
+		stackProvider:  prov,
+	}
+
+	db := DiscoveredDB{StackName: "app", ContainerName: "immich-postgres", DBType: DBTypePostgres}
+	m.discoverDBs = func(context.Context) ([]DiscoveredDB, error) { return []DiscoveredDB{db}, nil }
+	var imported []string
+	m.importDBDump = func(_ context.Context, _ DiscoveredDB, p string) error {
+		imported = append(imported, p)
+		return nil
+	}
+	return m, prov, &imported
+}

controller/internal/backup/recovery_unit_test.go

@@ -12,13 +12,23 @@ import (
 )
 
 // fakeRecoveryProvider is a configurable StackDataProvider for the capture + restore tests.
+//
+// It records the ORDER of every mutating call (R-47): the local restore path's correctness is an
+// ordering property — definition persisted, then the DB service alone, then the replay, then the
+// full start — and an ordering guarantee nothing observes is one refactor from silently reverting to
+// the shape that produced H4.
 type fakeRecoveryProvider struct {
 	info    RecoveryInfo
 	hdd     string
 	secrets map[string]string // returned by RecoverStackSecrets
-	gotEnv  map[string]string // captured by RecreateStackFromUnit
+	gotEnv  map[string]string // captured by RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit
 	running bool              // returned by RefreshAndIsRunning
 	stopped bool
+
+	calls       []string // ordered log: stop / recreate / startsvc:<a,b> / start
+	gotServices []string // services passed to StartStackServices
+	startSvcErr error    // injected StartStackServices failure
+	fullStarted bool     // a FULL StartStack happened
 }
 
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool) {
@@ -28,9 +38,17 @@ func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) ListDeployedStacks() []StackSummary { return nil
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetStackHDDMounts(string) []string  { return nil }
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetStackHDDPath(string) string      { return f.hdd }
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetDockerVolumes(string) []string   { return nil }
-func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) StopStack(string) error             { f.stopped = true; return nil }
-func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) StartStack(string) error            { return nil }
-func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool    { return f.running }
+func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) StopStack(string) error {
+	f.stopped = true
+	f.calls = append(f.calls, "stop")
+	return nil
+}
+func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) StartStack(string) error {
+	f.fullStarted = true
+	f.calls = append(f.calls, "start")
+	return nil
+}
+func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool { return f.running }
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) {
 	return f.info, true
 }
@@ -40,10 +58,16 @@ func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(string) ([]ClassifiedBind
 func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string {
 	return f.secrets
 }
-func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(_, _ string, fullEnv map[string]string) error {
+func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(_, _ string, fullEnv map[string]string) error {
 	f.gotEnv = fullEnv
+	f.calls = append(f.calls, "recreate")
 	return nil
 }
+func (f *fakeRecoveryProvider) StartStackServices(_ string, services []string) error {
+	f.gotServices = append([]string(nil), services...)
+	f.calls = append(f.calls, "startsvc:"+strings.Join(services, ","))
+	return f.startSvcErr
+}
 
 // TestCaptureRecoveryUnitIsSecretFree proves the captured unit (a) contains compose+config+manifest,
 // (b) enumerates the existing dumps, and (c) is SECRET-FREE: a secret value present in the SOURCE

controller/internal/backup/restore_unit.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
@@ -64,6 +65,26 @@ func readStrippedEnv(path string) map[string]string {
 	return s.Env
 }
 
+// hasReplayableDump reports whether dumpDir holds a .sql dump that the replay could actually use.
+// The `pre-restore-` safety dumps are EXCLUDED: they live in the same directory (deliberately — an
+// undo the customer cannot see is not much of one) but are never a replay source, so counting them
+// would arm the DB-only phase, and its fail-closed gate, for an app that has nothing to replay.
+func hasReplayableDump(dumpDir string) bool {
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(dumpDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		if e.IsDir() || filepath.Ext(e.Name()) != ".sql" {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(e.Name(), preRestoreDumpPrefix) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // RestoreFromRecoveryUnit recreates an app from its on-drive recovery unit + the guest's own secrets.
 //
 // It reads the unit manifest, recovers the secret values from the guest's live app.yaml, applies the
@@ -148,7 +169,22 @@ func (m *Manager) RestoreFromRecoveryUnit(stackName string) error {
 	m.logger.Printf("[INFO] [backup] Restoring %s from recovery unit: images=%d, secrets recovered=%d/%d, data_keys=%d",
 		stackName, len(manifest.ImagePins), len(manifest.SecretEnvVars)-len(missing), len(manifest.SecretEnvVars), len(manifest.DataKeyEnvVars))
 
-	// Stop, restore named-volume data, then recreate the definition + redeploy with the recovered env.
+	// R-47: which compose service holds the database, and is there anything to replay? Resolved from
+	// the UNIT's compose, because that file is about to BECOME the live one. Both answers are needed
+	// BEFORE the first mutation, so the refusal below leaves the live app completely untouched.
+	dbServices, dsErr := DBServiceNames(filepath.Join(composeDir, "docker-compose.yml"))
+	if dsErr != nil {
+		// "cannot tell" is not "no database" — leave it empty and let the gate decide.
+		m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [backup] %s: could not read the unit's compose services: %v", stackName, dsErr)
+	}
+	hasDumps := hasReplayableDump(AppDBDumpPath(nsRoot, stackName))
+	if hasDumps && len(dbServices) == 0 {
+		m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [backup] Restore REFUSED for %s: a .sql dump exists but no database service is identifiable in the unit's compose", stackName)
+		return fmt.Errorf("Az adatbázis-szolgáltatás nem azonosítható a(z) %s alkalmazásban — a visszaállítás biztonsági okból nem indult el.", stackName)
+	}
+
+	// Stop, restore named-volume data, recreate the definition, replay the DB with ONLY the database
+	// service running, and only then start the whole stack.
 	// F17: surface a data-restore failure instead of swallowing it (we still bring the app back up).
 	var dataErr error
 	if err := m.stackProvider.StopStack(stackName); err != nil {
@@ -158,17 +194,30 @@ func (m *Manager) RestoreFromRecoveryUnit(stackName string) error {
 		m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [backup] volume restore for %s: %v", stackName, err)
 		dataErr = err
 	}
-	if err := m.stackProvider.RecreateStackFromUnit(stackName, composeDir, fullEnv); err != nil {
+	if err := m.stackProvider.RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(stackName, composeDir, fullEnv); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("recreating %s from unit: %w", stackName, err)
 	}
-	// F17: the captured .sql dump is the authoritative logical DB state — replay it into the now-running
-	// DB container AFTER the volume restore, so the dump WINS over any volume-tar copy of the database.
-	if _, err := m.reimportDBDumpsCtx(stackName, nsRoot); err != nil {
-		m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [backup] DB re-import for %s: %v", stackName, err)
-		if dataErr == nil {
-			dataErr = err
+	// F17: the captured .sql dump is the authoritative logical DB state — replay it AFTER the volume
+	// restore, so the dump WINS over any volume-tar copy of the database.
+	// R-47: the replay happens with ONLY the database service up. This used to run after
+	// RecreateStackFromUnit had already brought the WHOLE stack up, letting the application rebuild
+	// schema objects underneath the replay (H4, DIAG-immich-restore-round2-2026-07-19).
+	if hasDumps {
+		if err := m.stackProvider.StartStackServices(stackName, dbServices); err != nil {
+			m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [backup] DB-only start for %s: %v", stackName, err)
+			if dataErr == nil {
+				dataErr = err
+			}
+		} else if _, err := m.reimportDBDumpsCtx(stackName, nsRoot); err != nil {
+			m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [backup] DB re-import for %s: %v", stackName, err)
+			if dataErr == nil {
+				dataErr = err
+			}
 		}
 	}
+	if err := m.stackProvider.StartStack(stackName); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("starting %s after restore from unit: %w", stackName, err)
+	}
 	if err := m.waitForHealthy(stackName, 90*time.Second); err != nil {
 		m.logger.Printf("[WARN] [backup] %s restored but health check failed: %v", stackName, err)
 	}

controller/internal/backup/tier2_restore_test.go

@@ -44,9 +44,10 @@ func (f *t2rFakeProvider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) {
 }
 func (f *t2rFakeProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(string) ([]ClassifiedBind, bool) { return nil, false }
 func (f *t2rFakeProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string  { return nil }
-func (f *t2rFakeProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
+func (f *t2rFakeProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
 	return nil
 }
+func (f *t2rFakeProvider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 
 // newT2RManager builds a Manager with a RECORDED Tier-2 copy for "app": live drive + a populated
 // <dest>/backups/secondary/app/appdata dir, and a CrossDriveBackup entry pointing at dest.

controller/internal/backup/tier2_v2_test.go

@@ -21,17 +21,22 @@ type t2v2Provider struct {
 	has    map[string]bool
 }
 
-func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool)        { return "", false }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) ListDeployedStacks() []StackSummary               { return nil }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackHDDMounts(n string) []string              { return p.mounts[n] }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackHDDPath(string) string                    { return p.hdd }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) GetDockerVolumes(string) []string                 { return nil }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) StopStack(string) error                           { return nil }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) StartStack(string) error                          { return nil }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool                  { return true }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) { return RecoveryInfo{}, false }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackComposePath(string) (string, bool) { return "", false }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) ListDeployedStacks() []StackSummary        { return nil }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackHDDMounts(n string) []string       { return p.mounts[n] }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackHDDPath(string) string             { return p.hdd }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) GetDockerVolumes(string) []string          { return nil }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) StopStack(string) error                    { return nil }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) StartStack(string) error                   { return nil }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) RefreshAndIsRunning(string) bool           { return true }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackRecoveryInfo(string) (RecoveryInfo, bool) {
+	return RecoveryInfo{}, false
+}
 func (p *t2v2Provider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string { return nil }
-func (p *t2v2Provider) RecreateStackFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error { return nil }
+func (p *t2v2Provider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
+	return nil
+}
+func (p *t2v2Provider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 func (p *t2v2Provider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(n string) ([]ClassifiedBind, bool) {
 	return p.binds[n], p.has[n]
 }
@@ -299,7 +304,10 @@ func TestTier2V2_RestoreRefusesOldLayout(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := os.Remove(filepath.Join(destDrive, "backups", "secondary", "app", tier2LayoutMarker)); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-	m.restoreFilesCopier = func(string, string) (int, error) { t.Fatal("copier must not run on an old-layout refusal"); return 0, nil }
+	m.restoreFilesCopier = func(string, string) (int, error) {
+		t.Fatal("copier must not run on an old-layout refusal")
+		return 0, nil
+	}
 	if _, err := m.RestoreTier2Files("app"); err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "régi formátumú") {
 		t.Fatalf("restore must refuse a pre-v2 copy with the marker-refusal string, got %v", err)
 	}

controller/internal/backup/volume_dumps_test.go

@@ -39,9 +39,10 @@ func (f *volDumpFakeProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(string) ([]ClassifiedBind,
 	return nil, false
 }
 func (f *volDumpFakeProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string { return nil }
-func (f *volDumpFakeProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
+func (f *volDumpFakeProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
 	return nil
 }
+func (f *volDumpFakeProvider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 
 // TestRunVolumeDumps_GatesPrecedeDump proves Scenario D/E's gating: the dump is invoked ONLY for
 // a volume-bearing, unprotected stack on a writable drive. The negatives are the point —

controller/internal/stacks/deploy.go

@@ -480,6 +480,32 @@ func (m *Manager) UpdateStackConfig(name string, values map[string]string) error
 // flow (Phase 2b): unlike UpdateStackConfig it sets the full env INCLUDING locked secrets — which were
 // recovered from the guest's own app.yaml, never regenerated. Caller is responsible for the gate.
 func (m *Manager) RedeployFromEnv(name string, env map[string]string) error {
+	if err := m.PersistUnitRedeployConfig(name, env); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	stack, ok := m.GetStack(name)
+	if !ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("stack %q not found", name)
+	}
+	stackDir := filepath.Dir(stack.ComposePath)
+	deployEnv := m.stackEnv(stackDir) // decrypts secrets back for compose
+	if _, err := m.composeExecCustomEnv(stackDir, deployEnv, "up", "-d"); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("compose up: %w", err)
+	}
+	m.logPostStartStatus(name, stackDir, deployEnv)
+	return m.RefreshStatus()
+}
+
+// PersistUnitRedeployConfig is the PERSIST half of RedeployFromEnv: it writes app.yaml from the full
+// env (encrypting secret fields, recording locked fields) and marks the stack deployed in memory —
+// and starts NOTHING.
+//
+// Split out for R-47. The restore paths must place the app's definition and then bring up only the
+// database service for the dump replay; calling RedeployFromEnv there would end in a full
+// `compose up -d` BEFORE the replay, which is exactly the race (H4) this work removes.
+// RedeployFromEnv itself is this function plus the unchanged up-and-report tail, so its public
+// behaviour is identical to before the split.
+func (m *Manager) PersistUnitRedeployConfig(name string, env map[string]string) error {
 	stack, ok := m.GetStack(name)
 	if !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("stack %q not found", name)
@@ -509,12 +535,7 @@ func (m *Manager) RedeployFromEnv(name string, env map[string]string) error {
 	m.mu.Unlock()
 
 	m.logger.Printf("[INFO] [stacks] Redeploying %s from recovery unit with %d env vars", name, len(env))
-	deployEnv := m.stackEnv(stackDir) // decrypts secrets back for compose
-	if _, err := m.composeExecCustomEnv(stackDir, deployEnv, "up", "-d"); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("compose up: %w", err)
-	}
-	m.logPostStartStatus(name, stackDir, deployEnv)
-	return m.RefreshStatus()
+	return nil
 }
 
 // composeExecWithEnv runs a compose command with custom env vars injected. Used by the initial deploy

controller/internal/stacks/manager.go

@@ -767,6 +767,44 @@ func (m *Manager) StartStack(name string) error {
 	return m.RefreshStatus()
 }
 
+// StartStackServices brings up ONLY the named compose services (`docker compose up -d <svc>...`),
+// leaving the rest of the stack down. It exists for R-47: a database dump must be replayed into a
+// running DB container while the application that owns the schema is still stopped, otherwise the
+// app's own schema management races the replay (proven live — H4,
+// DIAG-immich-restore-round2-2026-07-19). Every catalog template's dependency direction is app→db,
+// so naming the DB service starts the DB and nothing else.
+//
+// An EMPTY service list is refused rather than passed through: `up -d` with no arguments is a FULL
+// start, which is precisely the behaviour this function exists to avoid — a silent fall-through
+// would reintroduce the race at the one call site that most needs it not to.
+//
+// Deliberately no logPostStartStatus: the app containers are absent ON PURPOSE here, and it would
+// WARN about every one of them. The full StartStack that always follows logs the real post-start
+// state.
+func (m *Manager) StartStackServices(name string, services []string) error {
+	if len(services) == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("starting services of stack %s: empty service list", name)
+	}
+	stack, ok := m.GetStack(name)
+	if !ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("stack %q not found", name)
+	}
+
+	m.logger.Printf("[INFO] [stacks] Starting stack %s services only: %v", name, services)
+	start := time.Now()
+
+	dir := filepath.Dir(stack.ComposePath)
+	env := m.stackEnv(dir)
+
+	if _, err := m.composeExecCustomEnv(dir, env, append([]string{"up", "-d"}, services...)...); err != nil {
+		m.logger.Printf("[ERROR] [stacks] Stack %s service start failed after %.1fs: %v", name, time.Since(start).Seconds(), err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("starting services %v of stack %s: %w", services, name, err)
+	}
+
+	m.logger.Printf("[INFO] [stacks] Stack %s services %v started (took %.1fs)", name, services, time.Since(start).Seconds())
+	return m.RefreshStatus()
+}
+
 func (m *Manager) StopStack(name string) error {
 	if m.cfg.IsProtectedStack(name) {
 		return fmt.Errorf("stack %q is protected and cannot be stopped", name)

controller/internal/stacks/start_services_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+package stacks
+
+import (
+	"io"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"reflect"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// R-47 (v0.153.0) — the two seams the restore paths need in order to replay a DB dump without the
+// application racing it: a scoped bring-up, and a persist-without-start.
+
+// newR47Manager builds a Manager with one stack whose .felhom.yml declares a locked data-key and a
+// plain field, so the persist half's locked-field and encryption behaviour is observable.
+func newR47Manager(t *testing.T) (*Manager, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	stackDir := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "app")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(stackDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	meta := `display_name: App
+deploy_fields:
+  - env_var: SECRET_KEY
+    type: secret
+    locked_after_deploy: true
+  - env_var: SUBDOMAIN
+    type: subdomain
+  - env_var: TIMEZONE
+    type: text
+`
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(stackDir, ".felhom.yml"), []byte(meta), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	m := &Manager{
+		logger: log.New(io.Discard, "", 0),
+		encKey: []byte("0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef"), // 32 bytes → AES-256
+		stacks: map[string]*Stack{
+			"app": {Name: "app", ComposePath: filepath.Join(stackDir, "docker-compose.yml")},
+		},
+	}
+	return m, stackDir
+}
+
+// TestStartStackServicesRefusesEmptyList is the whole reason this function is not a thin wrapper.
+// `docker compose up -d` with no service arguments is a FULL start — the exact behaviour the DB-only
+// window exists to avoid. So an empty list must be an ERROR, never a silent pass-through: a caller
+// that computed zero DB services has, by definition, nothing it may safely start.
+//
+// The refusal is also asserted to happen WITHOUT reaching compose: it fires for an unknown stack
+// too, which proves nothing was executed (a real `up` would need a stack dir and a docker daemon).
+func TestStartStackServicesRefusesEmptyList(t *testing.T) {
+	m, _ := newR47Manager(t)
+
+	for _, svcs := range [][]string{nil, {}} {
+		err := m.StartStackServices("app", svcs)
+		if err == nil {
+			t.Fatalf("an empty service list (%v) must be refused — argument-less `up -d` is a FULL start", svcs)
+		}
+		if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "empty service list") {
+			t.Fatalf("refusal must name the cause, got: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+	// Unknown stack: refused at the lookup, still without touching compose.
+	if err := m.StartStackServices("nope", []string{"db"}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unknown stack must be refused")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPersistUnitRedeployConfigPersistsWithoutStarting is the split's contract. RedeployFromEnv used
+// to be persist+start in one call, which is why the local restore path could not put the DB-only
+// window between them. This asserts the persist half is COMPLETE on its own — app.yaml written with
+// the deployed marker, the locked field recorded, the secret encrypted at rest and decryptable, and
+// the in-memory stack flipped to deployed — so RedeployFromEnv's public behaviour is unchanged by
+// being expressed as this function plus the untouched up-and-report tail.
+func TestPersistUnitRedeployConfigPersistsWithoutStarting(t *testing.T) {
+	m, stackDir := newR47Manager(t)
+	const secret = "s3cr3t-data-key-value"
+	env := map[string]string{"SECRET_KEY": secret, "SUBDOMAIN": "app", "TIMEZONE": "Europe/Budapest", "HDD_PATH": "/mnt/drv"}
+
+	if err := m.PersistUnitRedeployConfig("app", env); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("PersistUnitRedeployConfig: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	cfgPath := filepath.Join(stackDir, "app.yaml")
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(cfgPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("app.yaml was not written — the persist half is incomplete: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Secrets safety: the plaintext must not be at rest in app.yaml.
+	if strings.Contains(string(raw), secret) {
+		t.Fatal("SECRET LEAK: the secret value is stored in plaintext in app.yaml")
+	}
+
+	got := LoadAppConfigDecrypted(stackDir, m.encKey)
+	if got == nil {
+		t.Fatal("app.yaml does not load back")
+	}
+	if !got.Deployed || got.DeployedAt == "" {
+		t.Errorf("app must be marked deployed with a timestamp, got deployed=%v at=%q", got.Deployed, got.DeployedAt)
+	}
+	if got.Env["SECRET_KEY"] != secret {
+		t.Errorf("SECRET_KEY did not round-trip through encryption, got %q", got.Env["SECRET_KEY"])
+	}
+	if got.Env["SUBDOMAIN"] != "app" || got.Env["HDD_PATH"] != "/mnt/drv" {
+		t.Errorf("non-secret env did not persist verbatim: %v", got.Env)
+	}
+	// Secrets and subdomains are implicitly locked-after-deploy; a plain text field is not. Recording
+	// exactly those is part of the persist half, and losing it in the split would silently unlock a
+	// data-key field on the next config edit.
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(got.LockedFields, []string{"SECRET_KEY", "SUBDOMAIN"}) {
+		t.Errorf("locked fields = %v, want [SECRET_KEY SUBDOMAIN] (TIMEZONE must NOT be locked)", got.LockedFields)
+	}
+
+	// In-memory state must agree, because StartStack (the caller's next step) reads it.
+	s, ok := m.GetStack("app")
+	if !ok || !s.Deployed {
+		t.Fatalf("in-memory stack not marked deployed (ok=%v), so the follow-up start would treat it as undeployed", ok)
+	}
+	if s.AppConfig == nil || s.AppConfig.Env["SECRET_KEY"] == "" {
+		t.Error("in-memory AppConfig not populated by the persist half")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPersistUnitRedeployConfigRejectsUnknownStack keeps the failure direction the same as the
+// unsplit function's: an unknown stack is an error, not a silently-created app.yaml somewhere.
+func TestPersistUnitRedeployConfigRejectsUnknownStack(t *testing.T) {
+	m, _ := newR47Manager(t)
+	if err := m.PersistUnitRedeployConfig("nope", map[string]string{"A": "b"}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("an unknown stack must be refused")
+	}
+}

controller/internal/web/async_restore_test.go

@@ -45,9 +45,10 @@ func (p *blockProvider) GetStackClassifiedBinds(string) ([]backup.ClassifiedBind
 	return nil, false
 }
 func (p *blockProvider) RecoverStackSecrets(string, []string) map[string]string { return nil }
-func (p *blockProvider) RecreateStackFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
+func (p *blockProvider) RecreateStackDefinitionFromUnit(string, string, map[string]string) error {
 	return nil
 }
+func (p *blockProvider) StartStackServices(string, []string) error { return nil }
 
 func newAsyncRestoreServer(t *testing.T) (*Server, *blockProvider, *backup.Manager) {
 	t.Helper()