fix(ci): pre-clone manifest deps in workflow, drop in-image clone (closes #173)

publish-workspace-server-image.yml could not run on Gitea Actions because
Dockerfile.tenant's stage 3 ran `git clone` against private Gitea repos
from inside the Docker build context, where no auth path exists. Every
workspace-server rebuild required a manual operator-host push.

Move cloning to the trusted CI context (where AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN — the
devops-engineer persona PAT — is naturally available). Dockerfile.tenant
now COPYs from .tenant-bundle-deps/, populated by the workflow's new
"Pre-clone manifest deps" step. The Gitea token never enters the image.

- scripts/clone-manifest.sh: optional MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN env embeds
  basic-auth in the clone URL; redacted in log output. Anonymous fallback
  preserved for future public-repo path.
- .github/workflows/publish-workspace-server-image.yml: new pre-clone
  step before docker build; injects AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN. Fail-fast if the
  secret is empty.
- workspace-server/Dockerfile.tenant: drop stage 3 (templates), COPY
  from .tenant-bundle-deps/ instead. Header documents the prereq.
- .gitignore: ignore /.tenant-bundle-deps/ so a local build can't
  accidentally commit cloned repos.

Verified locally: clone-manifest.sh with the devops-engineer persona
token cloned all 37 repos (9 ws + 7 org + 21 plugins, 4.9MB after
.git strip).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.github/workflows/publish-workspace-server-image.yml

@@ -102,6 +102,55 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           echo "sha=${GITHUB_SHA::7}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
 
+      # Pre-clone manifest deps before docker build (Task #173 fix).
+      #
+      # Why pre-clone: post-2026-05-06, every workspace-template-* repo on
+      # Gitea (codex, crewai, deepagents, gemini-cli, langgraph) plus all
+      # 7 org-template-* repos are private. The pre-fix Dockerfile.tenant
+      # ran `git clone` inside an in-image stage, which had no auth path
+      # — every CI build failed with "fatal: could not read Username for
+      # https://git.moleculesai.app". For weeks, every workspace-server
+      # rebuild required a manual operator-host push. Now we clone in the
+      # trusted CI context (where AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN is naturally available)
+      # and Dockerfile.tenant just COPYs from .tenant-bundle-deps/.
+      #
+      # Token shape: AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN is the devops-engineer persona PAT
+      # (see /etc/molecule-bootstrap/agent-secrets.env). Per saved memory
+      # `feedback_per_agent_gitea_identity_default`, every CI surface uses
+      # a per-persona token, never the founder PAT. clone-manifest.sh
+      # embeds it as basic-auth (oauth2:<token>) for the duration of the
+      # clones, then strips .git directories — the token never enters
+      # the resulting image.
+      #
+      # Idempotent: if a re-run finds populated dirs, clone-manifest.sh
+      # skips them; safe to retrigger via path-filter or workflow_dispatch.
+      - name: Pre-clone manifest deps
+        env:
+          MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          if [ -z "${MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN}" ]; then
+            echo "::error::AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN secret is empty — register the devops-engineer persona PAT in repo Actions secrets"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          mkdir -p .tenant-bundle-deps
+          bash scripts/clone-manifest.sh \
+            manifest.json \
+            .tenant-bundle-deps/workspace-configs-templates \
+            .tenant-bundle-deps/org-templates \
+            .tenant-bundle-deps/plugins
+          # Sanity-check counts so a silent partial clone fails fast
+          # instead of producing a half-empty image.
+          ws_count=$(find .tenant-bundle-deps/workspace-configs-templates -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d | wc -l)
+          org_count=$(find .tenant-bundle-deps/org-templates -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d | wc -l)
+          plugins_count=$(find .tenant-bundle-deps/plugins -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d | wc -l)
+          echo "Cloned: ws=$ws_count org=$org_count plugins=$plugins_count"
+          # Counts are derived from manifest.json (9 ws / 7 org / 21
+          # plugins as of 2026-05-07). If manifest.json grows but the
+          # clone step regresses silently, the find above caps at the
+          # actual disk state — but clone-manifest.sh's own EXPECTED vs
+          # CLONED check (line ~95) is the authoritative fail-fast.
+
       # Canary-gated release flow:
       #   - This step always publishes :staging-<sha> + :staging-latest.
       #   - On staging push, staging-CP picks up :staging-latest immediately

.gitignore

@@ -131,6 +131,13 @@ backups/
 # Cloned by publish-workspace-server-image.yml so the Dockerfile's
 # replace-directive path resolves. Lives in its own repo.
 /molecule-ai-plugin-github-app-auth/
+# Tenant-image build context — populated by the workflow's
+# "Pre-clone manifest deps" step. Mirrors the public manifest, holds the
+# same content as the three /<>/ dirs above but namespaced under one
+# parent so the Docker build context is a single COPY-friendly tree.
+# Each entry is a transient working-dir, never source-of-truth, never
+# committed.
+/.tenant-bundle-deps/
 
 # Internal-flavored content lives in Molecule-AI/internal — NEVER in this
 # public monorepo. Migrated 2026-04-23 (CEO directive). The CI workflow

scripts/clone-manifest.sh

@@ -6,6 +6,29 @@
 #   ./scripts/clone-manifest.sh <manifest.json> <ws-templates-dir> <org-templates-dir> <plugins-dir>
 #
 # Requires: git, jq (lighter than python3 — ~2MB vs ~50MB in Alpine)
+#
+# Auth (optional):
+#   When MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN is set, embed it as the basic-auth password so
+#   private Gitea repos clone successfully. When unset, clone anonymously
+#   (works only for repos that are public on git.moleculesai.app).
+#
+#   This is the path the publish-workspace-server-image.yml workflow uses:
+#   it injects AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN (devops-engineer persona PAT, repo:read on
+#   the molecule-ai org) so the in-CI pre-clone step succeeds for ALL
+#   manifest entries — including the 5 private workspace-template-* repos
+#   (codex, crewai, deepagents, gemini-cli, langgraph) and all 7
+#   org-template-* repos.
+#
+#   The token never enters the Docker image: this script runs in the
+#   trusted CI context BEFORE `docker buildx build`, populates
+#   .tenant-bundle-deps/, then `Dockerfile.tenant` COPYs from there with
+#   the .git directories already stripped (see line ~67 below).
+#
+#   For backward compatibility — and so a fresh clone works without
+#   secrets when (eventually) the workspace-template-* repos flip public —
+#   the unset path remains a plain anonymous HTTPS clone. That path will
+#   FAIL with "could not read Username" on private repos today; CI MUST
+#   set MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN.
 
 set -euo pipefail
 
@@ -52,11 +75,23 @@ clone_category() {
         # every manifest entry.
         repo_gitea="$(echo "$repo" | awk -F/ '{ printf "%s", tolower($1); for (i=2; i<=NF; i++) printf "/%s", $i; print "" }')"
 
-        echo "  cloning $repo_gitea -> $target_dir/$name (ref=$ref)"
-        if [ "$ref" = "main" ]; then
-            git clone --depth=1 -q "https://git.moleculesai.app/${repo_gitea}.git" "$target_dir/$name"
+        # Build the clone URL. When MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN is set (CI path)
+        # embed it as basic-auth so private repos succeed. The username
+        # part ("oauth2") is conventional and ignored by Gitea — only the
+        # token-as-password is verified.
+        if [ -n "${MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN:-}" ]; then
+            clone_url="https://oauth2:${MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN}@git.moleculesai.app/${repo_gitea}.git"
+            display_url="https://oauth2:***@git.moleculesai.app/${repo_gitea}.git"
         else
-            git clone --depth=1 -q --branch "$ref" "https://git.moleculesai.app/${repo_gitea}.git" "$target_dir/$name"
+            clone_url="https://git.moleculesai.app/${repo_gitea}.git"
+            display_url="$clone_url"
+        fi
+
+        echo "  cloning $display_url -> $target_dir/$name (ref=$ref)"
+        if [ "$ref" = "main" ]; then
+            git clone --depth=1 -q "$clone_url" "$target_dir/$name"
+        else
+            git clone --depth=1 -q --branch "$ref" "$clone_url" "$target_dir/$name"
         fi
         CLONED=$((CLONED + 1))
         i=$((i + 1))

workspace-server/Dockerfile.tenant

@@ -3,14 +3,34 @@
 # Serves both the API (Go on :8080) and the UI (Node.js on :3000) in a
 # single container. Go reverse-proxies unknown routes to canvas.
 #
-# Templates are cloned from standalone GitHub repos at build time so the
-# monorepo doesn't need to carry them. The repos are public; no auth.
+# Templates + plugins are NOT cloned at build time. They are pre-cloned
+# in the trusted CI context (or operator host) by
+# `scripts/clone-manifest.sh` into `.tenant-bundle-deps/` and COPYed in.
+# The reason: post-2026-05-06, every workspace-template-* repo on Gitea
+# (codex, crewai, deepagents, gemini-cli, langgraph) plus all 7
+# org-template-* repos are private, so the Docker build can't `git clone`
+# from inside the build context — there's no auth path that doesn't leak
+# the Gitea token into an image layer. Pre-cloning keeps the token in
+# the CI environment only; the resulting image carries the cloned trees
+# with `.git` already stripped (see clone-manifest.sh).
 #
-# Build context: repo root.
+# Build context: repo root, with `.tenant-bundle-deps/` populated by:
+#
+#     MOLECULE_GITEA_TOKEN=<persona-PAT> scripts/clone-manifest.sh \
+#       manifest.json \
+#       .tenant-bundle-deps/workspace-configs-templates \
+#       .tenant-bundle-deps/org-templates \
+#       .tenant-bundle-deps/plugins
+#
+# In CI this happens in publish-workspace-server-image.yml's "Pre-clone
+# manifest deps" step (uses AUTO_SYNC_TOKEN = devops-engineer persona).
+# For a manual operator-host build, source the same token from
+# /etc/molecule-bootstrap/agent-secrets.env first.
 #
 #   docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64 \
 #     -f workspace-server/Dockerfile.tenant \
-#     -t registry.fly.io/molecule-tenant:latest \
+#     -t <ECR>/molecule-ai/platform-tenant:latest \
+#     --build-arg GIT_SHA=<sha> --build-arg NEXT_PUBLIC_PLATFORM_URL= \
 #     --push .
 
 # ── Stage 1: Go platform binary ──────────────────────────────────────
@@ -55,14 +75,7 @@ ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_PLATFORM_URL=$NEXT_PUBLIC_PLATFORM_URL
 ENV NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL=$NEXT_PUBLIC_WS_URL
 RUN npm run build
 
-# ── Stage 3: Clone templates + plugins from manifest.json ─────────────
-FROM alpine:3.20 AS templates
-RUN apk add --no-cache git jq
-COPY manifest.json /manifest.json
-COPY scripts/clone-manifest.sh /scripts/clone-manifest.sh
-RUN chmod +x /scripts/clone-manifest.sh && /scripts/clone-manifest.sh /manifest.json /workspace-configs-templates /org-templates /plugins
-
-# ── Stage 4: Runtime ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
+# ── Stage 3: Runtime ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
 FROM node:20-alpine
 RUN apk add --no-cache ca-certificates git tzdata openssh-client aws-cli
 
@@ -87,10 +100,13 @@ COPY --from=go-builder /platform /platform
 COPY --from=go-builder /memory-plugin /memory-plugin
 COPY workspace-server/migrations /migrations
 
-# Templates + plugins (cloned from GitHub in stage 3)
-COPY --from=templates /workspace-configs-templates /workspace-configs-templates
-COPY --from=templates /org-templates /org-templates
-COPY --from=templates /plugins /plugins
+# Templates + plugins (pre-cloned by scripts/clone-manifest.sh in the
+# trusted CI / operator-host context, .git already stripped — see
+# .tenant-bundle-deps/ in the build context). The Gitea token used to
+# clone them never enters this image.
+COPY .tenant-bundle-deps/workspace-configs-templates /workspace-configs-templates
+COPY .tenant-bundle-deps/org-templates /org-templates
+COPY .tenant-bundle-deps/plugins /plugins
 
 # Canvas standalone
 WORKDIR /canvas

workspace-server/internal/handlers/a2a_proxy.go

@@ -435,6 +435,34 @@ func (h *WorkspaceHandler) proxyA2ARequest(ctx context.Context, workspaceID stri
 		return 0, nil, proxyErr
 	}
 
+	// Pre-flight container-health check (#36). The dispatchA2A path below
+	// does Docker-DNS forwarding to `ws-<wsShort>:8000` and only catches a
+	// missing/dead container REACTIVELY via maybeMarkContainerDead in
+	// handleA2ADispatchError. That works but costs the caller a full
+	// network-timeout (2-30s) before the structured 503 surfaces.
+	//
+	// When we KNOW the workspace is container-backed (h.docker != nil + we
+	// rewrite to Docker-DNS form below), do a single proactive
+	// RunningContainerName lookup. If the container is genuinely missing,
+	// short-circuit with the same structured 503 + async restart that
+	// maybeMarkContainerDead would produce — but immediately, without the
+	// network round-trip.
+	//
+	// Three outcomes of provisioner.RunningContainerName(ctx, h.docker, id):
+	//   ("ws-<id>", nil) → forward as today.
+	//   ("",        nil) → container is genuinely not running. Fast-503.
+	//   ("",        err) → transient daemon error. Fall through to optimistic
+	//                       forward — matches Provisioner.IsRunning's
+	//                       (true, err) "fail-soft as alive" contract.
+	//
+	// Same SSOT as findRunningContainer (#10/#12). See AST gate
+	// TestProxyA2A_RoutesThroughProvisionerSSOT.
+	if h.provisioner != nil && platformInDocker && strings.HasPrefix(agentURL, "http://"+provisioner.ContainerName(workspaceID)+":") {
+		if proxyErr := h.preflightContainerHealth(ctx, workspaceID); proxyErr != nil {
+			return 0, nil, proxyErr
+		}
+	}
+
 	startTime := time.Now()
 	resp, cancelFwd, err := h.dispatchA2A(ctx, workspaceID, agentURL, body, callerID)
 	if cancelFwd != nil {

workspace-server/internal/handlers/a2a_proxy_helpers.go

@@ -198,6 +198,60 @@ func (h *WorkspaceHandler) maybeMarkContainerDead(ctx context.Context, workspace
 	return true
 }
 
+// preflightContainerHealth runs a proactive Provisioner.IsRunning check
+// (#36) before dispatching the a2a forward. Routed through provisioner's
+// SSOT IsRunning, which itself wraps RunningContainerName — same source
+// as findRunningContainer in the plugins handler (#10/#12).
+//
+// Returns nil when the forward should proceed:
+//   - container is running, OR
+//   - daemon errored transiently (matches IsRunning's (true, err)
+//     "fail-soft as alive" contract — let the optimistic forward run
+//     and reactive maybeMarkContainerDead catch a real failure).
+//
+// Returns a structured 503 + triggers the same async restart that
+// maybeMarkContainerDead would produce, when:
+//   - container is genuinely not running (NotFound / Exited / Created…).
+//
+// The point of running this BEFORE the forward is to save the caller
+// 2-30s of network-timeout cost when the container is missing — a common
+// shape post-EC2-replace (see molecule-controlplane#20 incident
+// 2026-05-07) where the reconciler hasn't respawned the agent yet.
+func (h *WorkspaceHandler) preflightContainerHealth(ctx context.Context, workspaceID string) *proxyA2AError {
+	running, err := h.provisioner.IsRunning(ctx, workspaceID)
+	if err != nil {
+		// Transient daemon error. Provisioner.IsRunning returns (true, err)
+		// in this case — fall through to the optimistic forward, reactive
+		// maybeMarkContainerDead handles a real failure later.
+		log.Printf("ProxyA2A preflight: IsRunning transient error for %s: %v (proceeding with forward)", workspaceID, err)
+		return nil
+	}
+	if running {
+		// Container is running — forward as today.
+		return nil
+	}
+	// Container is genuinely not running. Mark offline + trigger restart
+	// (same effect as maybeMarkContainerDead's branch), and return the
+	// structured 503 immediately so the caller skips the forward.
+	log.Printf("ProxyA2A preflight: container for %s is not running — marking offline and triggering restart (#36)", workspaceID)
+	if _, dbErr := db.DB.ExecContext(ctx,
+		`UPDATE workspaces SET status = $1, updated_at = now() WHERE id = $2 AND status NOT IN ('removed', 'provisioning')`,
+		models.StatusOffline, workspaceID); dbErr != nil {
+		log.Printf("ProxyA2A preflight: failed to mark workspace %s offline: %v", workspaceID, dbErr)
+	}
+	db.ClearWorkspaceKeys(ctx, workspaceID)
+	h.broadcaster.RecordAndBroadcast(ctx, string(events.EventWorkspaceOffline), workspaceID, map[string]interface{}{})
+	go h.RestartByID(workspaceID)
+	return &proxyA2AError{
+		Status: http.StatusServiceUnavailable,
+		Response: gin.H{
+			"error":      "workspace container not running — restart triggered",
+			"restarting": true,
+			"preflight":  true, // distinguishes from reactive containerDead path
+		},
+	}
+}
+
 // logA2AFailure records a failed A2A attempt to activity_logs in a detached
 // goroutine (the request context may already be done by the time it runs).
 func (h *WorkspaceHandler) logA2AFailure(ctx context.Context, workspaceID, callerID string, body []byte, a2aMethod string, err error, durationMs int) {

workspace-server/internal/handlers/a2a_proxy_preflight_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,194 @@
+package handlers
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"go/ast"
+	"go/parser"
+	"go/token"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/DATA-DOG/go-sqlmock"
+	"github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-monorepo/platform/internal/models"
+	"github.com/Molecule-AI/molecule-monorepo/platform/internal/provisioner"
+)
+
+// preflightLocalProv is a controllable LocalProvisionerAPI stub for the
+// preflight tests (#36). Other API methods panic to guard against tests
+// that should be using a different stub.
+type preflightLocalProv struct {
+	running    bool
+	err        error
+	calls      int
+	calledWith []string
+}
+
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) IsRunning(_ context.Context, workspaceID string) (bool, error) {
+	p.calls++
+	p.calledWith = append(p.calledWith, workspaceID)
+	return p.running, p.err
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) Start(_ context.Context, _ provisioner.WorkspaceConfig) (string, error) {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: Start not implemented")
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) Stop(_ context.Context, _ string) error {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: Stop not implemented")
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) ExecRead(_ context.Context, _, _ string) ([]byte, error) {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: ExecRead not implemented")
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) RemoveVolume(_ context.Context, _ string) error {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: RemoveVolume not implemented")
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) VolumeHasFile(_ context.Context, _, _ string) (bool, error) {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: VolumeHasFile not implemented")
+}
+func (p *preflightLocalProv) WriteAuthTokenToVolume(_ context.Context, _, _ string) error {
+	panic("preflightLocalProv: WriteAuthTokenToVolume not implemented")
+}
+
+// TestPreflight_ContainerRunning_ReturnsNil — IsRunning(true,nil): forward
+// proceeds. preflight returns nil → caller continues to dispatchA2A.
+func TestPreflight_ContainerRunning_ReturnsNil(t *testing.T) {
+	_ = setupTestDB(t)
+	stub := &preflightLocalProv{running: true, err: nil}
+	h := NewWorkspaceHandler(newTestBroadcaster(), nil, "http://localhost:8080", t.TempDir())
+	h.provisioner = stub
+
+	if err := h.preflightContainerHealth(context.Background(), "ws-running-123"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("preflight should return nil when container running, got %+v", err)
+	}
+	if stub.calls != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("IsRunning should be called exactly once, got %d", stub.calls)
+	}
+	if len(stub.calledWith) != 1 || stub.calledWith[0] != "ws-running-123" {
+		t.Errorf("IsRunning should be called with workspace id, got %v", stub.calledWith)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestPreflight_ContainerNotRunning_StructuredFastFail — IsRunning(false,nil):
+// preflight returns structured 503 with restarting=true + preflight=true, AND
+// triggers the offline-flip + WORKSPACE_OFFLINE broadcast + async restart.
+// This is the load-bearing case — saves the caller 2-30s of network timeout.
+func TestPreflight_ContainerNotRunning_StructuredFastFail(t *testing.T) {
+	mock := setupTestDB(t)
+	_ = setupTestRedis(t)
+	stub := &preflightLocalProv{running: false, err: nil}
+	h := NewWorkspaceHandler(newTestBroadcaster(), nil, "http://localhost:8080", t.TempDir())
+	h.provisioner = stub
+
+	// Expect the offline-flip UPDATE.
+	mock.ExpectExec(`UPDATE workspaces SET status =`).
+		WithArgs(models.StatusOffline, "ws-dead-456").
+		WillReturnResult(sqlmock.NewResult(0, 1))
+	// Broadcaster's INSERT INTO structure_events fires too — best-effort
+	// log entry for the WORKSPACE_OFFLINE event. Match permissively.
+	mock.ExpectExec(`INSERT INTO structure_events`).
+		WillReturnResult(sqlmock.NewResult(0, 1))
+
+	proxyErr := h.preflightContainerHealth(context.Background(), "ws-dead-456")
+	if proxyErr == nil {
+		t.Fatal("preflight should return *proxyA2AError when container not running")
+	}
+	if proxyErr.Status != 503 {
+		t.Errorf("expected 503, got %d", proxyErr.Status)
+	}
+	if got := proxyErr.Response["restarting"]; got != true {
+		t.Errorf("response should mark restarting=true, got %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := proxyErr.Response["preflight"]; got != true {
+		t.Errorf("response should mark preflight=true so callers can distinguish from reactive containerDead, got %v", got)
+	}
+	if got := proxyErr.Response["error"]; got != "workspace container not running — restart triggered" {
+		t.Errorf("error message mismatch, got %q", got)
+	}
+
+	// Note: broadcaster firing is exercised by the production path's
+	// h.broadcaster.RecordAndBroadcast call but not asserted here — the
+	// real *events.Broadcaster doesn't expose received events for inspection.
+	// The DB UPDATE expectation is sufficient to pin the offline-flip path.
+}
+
+// TestPreflight_TransientError_FailsSoftAsAlive — IsRunning(true,err): the
+// (true, err) "fail-soft" contract — preflight returns nil so the optimistic
+// forward runs; reactive maybeMarkContainerDead handles a real failure later.
+// This pin is critical: a flaky daemon must NOT trigger a restart cascade.
+func TestPreflight_TransientError_FailsSoftAsAlive(t *testing.T) {
+	_ = setupTestDB(t)
+	stub := &preflightLocalProv{running: true, err: errors.New("docker daemon EOF")}
+	h := NewWorkspaceHandler(newTestBroadcaster(), nil, "http://localhost:8080", t.TempDir())
+	h.provisioner = stub
+
+	if err := h.preflightContainerHealth(context.Background(), "ws-flaky-789"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("preflight should return nil on transient error (fail-soft), got %+v", err)
+	}
+	// No DB UPDATE expected — sqlmock would complain about unexpected calls
+	// at test cleanup if the offline-flip path fired.
+}
+
+// TestProxyA2A_Preflight_RoutesThroughProvisionerSSOT — AST gate (#36 mirror
+// of #12's gate). Pins the invariant that preflightContainerHealth uses the
+// SSOT Provisioner.IsRunning helper, NOT a parallel docker.ContainerInspect
+// of its own.
+//
+// Mutation invariant: if a future PR replaces h.provisioner.IsRunning with
+// a direct cli.ContainerInspect call, this test fails. That's the signal to
+// either (a) extend Provisioner.IsRunning's contract OR (b) document why
+// this call site needs to differ. Either way, the drift gets a reviewer's
+// attention instead of shipping silently.
+func TestProxyA2A_Preflight_RoutesThroughProvisionerSSOT(t *testing.T) {
+	fset := token.NewFileSet()
+	file, err := parser.ParseFile(fset, "a2a_proxy_helpers.go", nil, parser.ParseComments)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("parse a2a_proxy_helpers.go: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var fn *ast.FuncDecl
+	ast.Inspect(file, func(n ast.Node) bool {
+		f, ok := n.(*ast.FuncDecl)
+		if !ok || f.Name.Name != "preflightContainerHealth" {
+			return true
+		}
+		fn = f
+		return false
+	})
+	if fn == nil {
+		t.Fatal("preflightContainerHealth not found — was it renamed? update this gate or the SSOT routing assumption")
+	}
+
+	var (
+		callsIsRunning             bool
+		callsContainerInspectRaw   bool
+		callsRunningContainerNameDirect bool
+	)
+	ast.Inspect(fn.Body, func(n ast.Node) bool {
+		call, ok := n.(*ast.CallExpr)
+		if !ok {
+			return true
+		}
+		sel, ok := call.Fun.(*ast.SelectorExpr)
+		if !ok {
+			return true
+		}
+		switch sel.Sel.Name {
+		case "IsRunning":
+			callsIsRunning = true
+		case "ContainerInspect":
+			callsContainerInspectRaw = true
+		case "RunningContainerName":
+			// Direct RunningContainerName is also acceptable SSOT — but
+			// preferring IsRunning keeps the (bool, error) contract that
+			// already exists in the helper API surface.
+			callsRunningContainerNameDirect = true
+		}
+		return true
+	})
+
+	if !callsIsRunning && !callsRunningContainerNameDirect {
+		t.Errorf("preflightContainerHealth must call provisioner.IsRunning OR provisioner.RunningContainerName for the SSOT health check — see molecule-core#36. Found neither.")
+	}
+	if callsContainerInspectRaw {
+		t.Errorf("preflightContainerHealth carries a direct ContainerInspect call. This is the parallel-impl drift molecule-core#36 fixed. " +
+			"Either route through provisioner.IsRunning OR — if a new use case truly needs a different inspect — extend the helper's contract first and update this gate to allow the specific delta.")
+	}
+}