diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
index 436bafa..74851d3 100644
--- a/server.js
+++ b/server.js
@@ -397,6 +397,49 @@ async function runOnServer(server, cmd, opts = {}) {
   }
 }
 
+// ensureCheckout — guarantee deployDir is a usable git checkout before deploy/rollback.
+// The engine historically assumed the repo already existed (`cd ${deployDir} && git fetch`,
+// see deploy()/rollback()); a registered app whose deploy_dir was never cloned failed at the
+// very first `cd`. This makes a first-time API deploy self-heal by cloning from the
+// registry-declared `repo_url`. It is a NO-OP for existing checkouts, so the conforming apps
+// (which carry no `repo_url`) keep working untouched. Runs inside the caller's per-app lock.
+// Clone source is NOT derived from the app name — origins are heterogeneous (Forgejo :2222,
+// scp-style, and at least one GitHub repo whose name differs from the app) — so it MUST come
+// from the registry. The caller still performs its own branch/tag checkout afterwards.
+async function ensureCheckout(server, deployDir, repoUrl) {
+  const probe = await runOnServer(server, `test -e ${deployDir}/.git && echo REPO || echo MISSING`);
+  if (probe.stdout.trim() === 'REPO') {
+    // Already a checkout — leave branch/tag selection to the caller. Optionally assert origin.
+    if (repoUrl) {
+      const originRes = await runOnServer(server, `git -C ${deployDir} config --get remote.origin.url || true`);
+      const actual = originRes.stdout.trim();
+      if (actual && actual !== repoUrl) {
+        throw new Error(`ensure-checkout: ${deployDir} origin (${actual}) != registry repo_url (${repoUrl}) — refusing to deploy a mismatched checkout`);
+      }
+    }
+    return { cloned: false };
+  }
+  if (!repoUrl) {
+    throw new Error(`ensure-checkout: ${deployDir} is not a git checkout and no "repo_url" is set in the registry — cannot clone. Add repo_url to the app's registry entry (or create the checkout manually).`);
+  }
+  // Refuse to clobber a non-empty, non-repo directory.
+  const dirState = await runOnServer(server, `if [ -e ${deployDir} ] && [ -n "$(ls -A ${deployDir} 2>/dev/null)" ]; then echo NONEMPTY; else echo OK; fi`);
+  if (dirState.stdout.trim() === 'NONEMPTY') {
+    throw new Error(`ensure-checkout: ${deployDir} exists, is not a git repo, and is non-empty — refusing to clobber. Inspect/remove it manually.`);
+  }
+  const cloneRes = await runOnServer(server, `git clone ${repoUrl} ${deployDir}`, { timeout: 180000 });
+  if (!cloneRes.ok) {
+    throw new Error(`ensure-checkout: git clone ${repoUrl} -> ${deployDir} failed: ${cloneRes.stderr}`);
+  }
+  // Verify the clone landed and origin matches what we asked for.
+  const verifyRes = await runOnServer(server, `git -C ${deployDir} config --get remote.origin.url || true`);
+  const landed = verifyRes.stdout.trim();
+  if (landed !== repoUrl) {
+    throw new Error(`ensure-checkout: cloned ${deployDir} but origin is ${landed || '(none)'} (expected ${repoUrl})`);
+  }
+  return { cloned: true };
+}
+
 // --- kua-db integration ---
 async function kuaDbSafeCheck(app) {
   try {
@@ -573,6 +616,16 @@ async function deploy(appName, opts = {}) {
     // Step 2: Git pull on production server
     steps.push({ step: 'git_pull', status: 'running' });
     await markProgressPhase(appName, 'git_pull', { action, triggered_by: opts.triggered_by || 'api', steps });
+    // ensure-checkout (TUBE step 1): self-heal a missing deploy_dir by cloning from the
+    // registry repo_url, so a first-time API deploy doesn't die at the `cd` below. No-op
+    // for existing checkouts. Inside the per-app lock acquired above.
+    try {
+      const ec = await ensureCheckout(server, deployDir, app.repo_url);
+      if (ec.cloned) steps[steps.length - 1].cloned = true;
+    } catch (err) {
+      steps[steps.length - 1] = { step: 'git_pull', status: 'failed', error: err.message };
+      throw err;
+    }
     const fetchCmd = `cd ${deployDir} && git fetch --prune ${remote}`;
     const fetchRes = await runOnServer(server, fetchCmd, { timeout: 60000 });
     if (!fetchRes.ok) {
@@ -636,8 +689,8 @@ ${detail}`);
       if (verifyMode === 'off') return { ok: true, results: [], skipped: true };
       const results = [];
       for (const svc of services) {
-        const exp = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && docker compose images --quiet ${svc} 2>/dev/null | head -1`);
-        const cid = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && docker compose ps --quiet ${svc} 2>/dev/null | head -1`);
+        const exp = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && ${kvPrefix} docker compose images --quiet ${svc} 2>/dev/null | head -1`);
+        const cid = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && ${kvPrefix} docker compose ps --quiet ${svc} 2>/dev/null | head -1`);
         const expectedSha = (exp.stdout || '').trim();
         const containerId = (cid.stdout || '').trim();
         if (!containerId) {
@@ -647,7 +700,8 @@ ${detail}`);
         const insp = await runOnServer(server, `docker inspect --format '{{.Image}}|{{.State.StartedAt}}' ${containerId}`);
         const [actualSha, startedAtStr] = (insp.stdout || '').trim().split('|');
         const startedAt = new Date(startedAtStr || 0);
-        const imageMatch = !!expectedSha && actualSha === expectedSha;
+        const stripSha = (s) => (s || '').replace(/^sha256:/, '');
+        const imageMatch = !!expectedSha && stripSha(actualSha) === stripSha(expectedSha);
         const freshlyStarted = !isNaN(startedAt) && startedAt >= deployStartTs;
         results.push({
           service: svc, ok: imageMatch && freshlyStarted,
@@ -673,6 +727,15 @@ ${detail}`);
     const svcRes = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && docker compose config --services`);
     const allServices = svcRes.stdout.split('\n').filter(Boolean);
 
+    // Fail-loud (TUBE step 1): if compose resolved NO services, the recreate+verify
+    // block below is skipped entirely and the deploy would silently report `done`
+    // having recreated nothing (a false-success path). Refuse it.
+    if (allServices.length === 0) {
+      steps[steps.length - 1] = { step: 'deploy', status: 'failed', error: 'docker compose config returned no services — nothing to recreate' };
+      await markProgressPhase(appName, 'deploy', { action, triggered_by: opts.triggered_by || 'api', steps, commit: deployCommit });
+      throw new Error('deploy: docker compose config returned no services — refusing to report success without recreating anything');
+    }
+
     let stateful = prod.stateful_services || [];
     if (stateful.length === 0) {
       // Auto-detect stateful services from image names so db/redis are never force-recreated
@@ -910,7 +973,7 @@ ${detail}`);
 // ROLLBACK ENGINE
 // =============================================================================
 
-async function rollback(appName) {
+async function rollback(appName, opts = {}) {
   const app = getApp(appName);
   if (!app) throw new Error(`Unknown app: ${appName}`);
 
@@ -919,13 +982,25 @@ async function rollback(appName) {
   const deployDir = prod.deploy_dir;
   const remote = app.git_remote || 'origin';
 
-  // Find the previous successful deploy
+  // Determine the rollback target. An explicit to_ref (tag/commit/branch, from MCP or admin)
+  // overrides the default "previous successful tagged deploy" behavior — this preserves the
+  // MCP deploy.rollback contract (arbitrary to_ref) now that it routes through this endpoint
+  // instead of the legacy systemd path. Validate to_ref to keep it out of shell-injection
+  // range (it interpolates into `git checkout` below).
   const history = deployHistory[appName] || [];
   const current = history[0];
-  const previous = history.find((d, i) => i > 0 && d.result === 'success' && d.tag && d.tag !== 'untagged');
-
-  if (!previous) {
-    return { app: appName, result: 'no_rollback_target', message: 'No previous successful deploy with a tag found' };
+  let tag;
+  if (opts.to_ref) {
+    if (!/^[A-Za-z0-9._/-]+$/.test(opts.to_ref)) {
+      throw new Error(`Invalid to_ref ${JSON.stringify(opts.to_ref)} — must match [A-Za-z0-9._/-]+`);
+    }
+    tag = opts.to_ref;
+  } else {
+    const previous = history.find((d, i) => i > 0 && d.result === 'success' && d.tag && d.tag !== 'untagged');
+    if (!previous) {
+      return { app: appName, result: 'no_rollback_target', message: 'No previous successful deploy with a tag found (pass to_ref to roll back to a specific tag/commit)' };
+    }
+    tag = previous.tag;
   }
 
   if (!acquireLock(appName)) {
@@ -933,7 +1008,6 @@ async function rollback(appName) {
   }
 
   try {
-    const tag = previous.tag;
     await writeProgress(appName, {
       action: 'rollback',
       triggered_by: 'api',
@@ -944,8 +1018,12 @@ async function rollback(appName) {
       rolled_back_from: current?.tag || current?.commit || 'unknown',
     });
 
-    // Checkout the previous tag on production
-    const checkoutRes = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && git fetch --prune ${remote} && git checkout ${tag}`, { timeout: 60000 });
+    // ensure-checkout (TUBE step 1): rollback shares deploy()'s `cd ${deployDir}` assumption,
+    // so the deploy_dir must exist here too. No-op for existing checkouts.
+    await ensureCheckout(server, deployDir, app.repo_url);
+
+    // Checkout the rollback target on production (--tags so an explicit to_ref tag resolves).
+    const checkoutRes = await runOnServer(server, `cd ${deployDir} && git fetch --prune --tags ${remote} && git checkout ${tag}`, { timeout: 60000 });
     if (!checkoutRes.ok) throw new Error(`Checkout ${tag} failed: ${checkoutRes.stderr}`);
 
     // Rebuild + recreate via transient-container pattern (consistent with deploy()).
@@ -1162,6 +1240,29 @@ fastify.post('/webhook/forgejo', async (request, reply) => {
 
 // --- Apps ---
 
+// Registry dump — used by kua-mcp-core to discover all apps at startup
+// without relying on a filesystem path that may not resolve inside its container.
+fastify.get('/api/v1/apps/registry', async () => {
+  return registry;
+});
+
+// Reload the deploy registry from disk WITHOUT restarting the engine (TUBE step 3 —
+// kills the cache-restart wart: kua-deploy caches the registry at startup, so a newly
+// registered app otherwise needs `docker restart kua-deploy`). loadRegistry() JSON-parses
+// the file; on parse failure it throws BEFORE reassigning `registry`, so the in-memory
+// last-good registry is preserved. Auth is handled by the global onRequest hook.
+fastify.post('/api/v1/registry/reload', async (request, reply) => {
+  const before = Object.keys(registry.apps || {}).length;
+  try {
+    await loadRegistry();
+  } catch (err) {
+    return reply.code(500).send({ ok: false, error: `registry reload failed (kept last-good ${before} apps): ${err.message}`, apps: before });
+  }
+  const after = Object.keys(registry.apps || {}).length;
+  fastify.log.info({ before, after }, 'registry reloaded via /api/v1/registry/reload');
+  return { ok: true, apps: after, before };
+});
+
 // List all apps
 fastify.get('/api/v1/apps', async () => {
   const results = [];
@@ -1257,9 +1358,11 @@ fastify.post('/api/v1/apps/:app/rebuild', async (request, reply) => {
   return { triggered: true, app };
 });
 
-// Rollback
+// Rollback. Optional body { to_ref } rolls back to a specific tag/commit/branch;
+// omitted = previous successful tagged deploy.
 fastify.post('/api/v1/apps/:app/rollback', async (request) => {
-  return await rollback(request.params.app);
+  const to_ref = request.body && typeof request.body.to_ref === 'string' ? request.body.to_ref : undefined;
+  return await rollback(request.params.app, { to_ref });
 });
 
 // --- Deploy Progress ---
@@ -1502,9 +1605,11 @@ async function completeSelfRecreate() {
 
 const start = async () => {
   try {
-    // Fail fast if webhook secret is missing in production
+    // WEBHOOK_SECRET is optional — the Forgejo webhook path is now retired in
+    // favour of the admin API (/api/v1/apps/:app/deploy). The handler remains
+    // but returns 503 when the secret is absent, which is safe.
     if (!DEV_MODE && !WEBHOOK_SECRET) {
-      throw new Error('KUA_DEPLOY_WEBHOOK_SECRET must be set in production — refusing to start');
+      fastify.log.warn('KUA_DEPLOY_WEBHOOK_SECRET not set — /webhook/forgejo will return 503. Set the secret to re-enable Forgejo push triggers.');
     }
     await loadRegistry();
     await loadHistory();