# FOLLOW-UP — bump the golden's default controller tag + validate the full provision path

**Status:** **RESOLVED 2026-07-03** — `build-golden.sh` v2.0.0 (felhom-agent @ `ceca355`) makes the
controller tag a MANDATORY argument (the hand-bumped default had rotted AGAIN, 0.43.0 → 0.85.1 →
stale vs 0.98.3 — a required arg cannot rot); golden **0.98.3** baked + validated clean-room on the
drill VM (first boot lands the current controller, self-update reports up-to-date, app deploys) +
published + operator-vouched. The full first-boot path was validated WITHOUT a supervised
destroy→re-provision (drill VM virgin snapshot instead — nothing touched 9201/felhom-pve).
Evidence: `../audits/DRILL-golden-098-2026-07-03.md`. Item 3 (provision re-asserting user-data
binds) was shipped separately (agent-startup re-assert + F9 part A). Original note kept below for
history.
**Class:** provisioning correctness / customer-onboarding. **Risk (as queued):** SUPERVISED (golden + a real destroy→provision).

## The problem
`felhom-agent/configs/build-golden.sh:43` bakes the controller image into the golden as:

```
CONTROLLER_IMAGE="${6:-gitea.dooplex.hu/admin/felhom-controller:0.43.0}"
```

`:0.43.0` is ~20 versions stale (current is `0.63.0`). The bootstrap writes it to
`/etc/felhom-controller-image` and `docker run`s that tag on first boot. So the **next time a golden is
actually baked for a real provision, it would stand a customer guest up on an ancient controller** —
missing every fix since 0.43.0 (incl. F1 memory guard, F17 DB restore, the M18/M19 fixes, etc.). It only
hasn't bitten because the running demo guest 9201 had its `/etc/felhom-controller-image` updated in place
post-provision; a fresh provision would not.

This is why the F9 session chose **attach-to-existing** over destroy+re-provision (a re-provision would
have regressed 9201's controller 0.62.0 → 0.43.0).

## The fix (separate task)
1. Bump the `build-golden.sh` default `CONTROLLER_IMAGE` to the current released controller tag (and
   establish a convention so it tracks releases — e.g. read a `LATEST_CONTROLLER` pin, or pass it
   explicitly from the build pipeline).
2. **Validate the full path end-to-end**, which *does* warrant a supervised destroy + re-provision (it is
   the real customer-onboarding flow, not coverable by attach-to-existing): bake golden → provision a
   scratch guest → first boot stands up the **current** controller → controller ONLINE on the hub →
   enrolled user-data drive is bound (F9 `ReassertGuestBinds` / provision bind) → an app deploys.
3. While there: confirm the provision path itself asserts known user-data binds (F9 part A for the
   re-provision case, complementing the agent-startup re-assert already shipped in v0.31.0).
