Pin compose example to v0.1.10

A zero-argument invocation now shows the usage text when stdout is a
console (double-clicked exe, interactive shell). Without a terminal —
Docker entrypoint, services, pipes — a bare invocation still starts the
proxy, so the container image and service behavior are unchanged.

.gitea/workflows/ci.yml

@@ -60,3 +60,54 @@ jobs:
           tags: |
             ${{ steps.meta.outputs.image }}:${{ gitea.ref_name }}
             ${{ steps.meta.outputs.image }}:latest
+
+  # On version tags: build the signed Windows binary and attach it (plus
+  # signature and checksum) to a Gitea release for the auto-updater.
+  release:
+    if: gitea.ref_type == 'tag'
+    needs: test
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
+        with:
+          go-version: "1.23"
+
+      - name: Build Windows binary
+        run: |
+          GOOS=windows GOARCH=amd64 CGO_ENABLED=0 go build \
+            -ldflags="-s -w -X main.version=${{ gitea.ref_name }}" \
+            -o gpu-turnstile.exe ./cmd/gpu-turnstile
+
+      - name: Sign and checksum
+        env:
+          RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY }}
+        run: |
+          # The key comes via the environment so its value never appears in
+          # the echoed command line of the run log.
+          printf '%s\n' "$RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY" > key.pem
+          chmod 600 key.pem
+          openssl pkeyutl -sign -inkey key.pem -rawin \
+            -in gpu-turnstile.exe -out gpu-turnstile.exe.sig
+          rm -f key.pem
+          sha256sum gpu-turnstile.exe > gpu-turnstile.exe.sha256
+
+      - name: Create release and upload assets
+        env:
+          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITEA_TOKEN }}
+          API: https://git.rambossek.at/api/v1/repos/${{ gitea.repository }}
+          TAG: ${{ gitea.ref_name }}
+        run: |
+          set -e
+          ID=$(curl -sf -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" "$API/releases/tags/$TAG" | jq -r .id || true)
+          if [ -z "$ID" ] || [ "$ID" = "null" ]; then
+            ID=$(curl -sf -X POST -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
+              -d "{\"tag_name\":\"$TAG\",\"name\":\"$TAG\"}" \
+              "$API/releases" | jq -r .id)
+          fi
+          for f in gpu-turnstile.exe gpu-turnstile.exe.sig gpu-turnstile.exe.sha256; do
+            curl -sf -X POST -H "Authorization: token $TOKEN" \
+              -F "attachment=@$f" "$API/releases/$ID/assets?name=$f" > /dev/null
+            echo "uploaded $f"
+          done

.gitignore

@@ -2,3 +2,8 @@
 /gpu-turnstile.exe
 /compose.yaml
 /compose.yml
+/signing/
+
+/gpu-turnstile.exe.old
+/gpu-turnstile.exe.new
+/gpu-turnstile.exe~

Dockerfile

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 FROM golang:1.23 AS build
 WORKDIR /src
-COPY go.mod ./
+COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 COPY cmd ./cmd
 COPY internal ./internal
 ARG VERSION=dev

README.md

@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@
 
 GPU arbitration proxy for Ollama + ComfyUI. One consumer GPU is shared by an
 LLM server (Ollama) and an image generator (ComfyUI); gpu-turnstile sits in
-front of both and guarantees the GPU is always in exactly one of three states:
-`idle`, `llm` (N ≥ 1 Ollama requests in flight), or `image` (exactly one
-ComfyUI job, Ollama models unloaded). See [SPEC.md](SPEC.md) for the full
+front of both and guarantees the GPU is always in exactly one of four states:
+`idle`, `llm` (N ≥ 1 Ollama requests in flight), `image` (exactly one
+ComfyUI job, Ollama models unloaded), or `external` (a foreign process such
+as a game holds the GPU). See [SPEC.md](SPEC.md) for the full
 design.
 
 gpu-turnstile listens on the ports the services normally use; the actual
@@ -18,7 +19,10 @@ Open WebUI / n8n ────► :8188  ───┘
 
 - LLM endpoints (`/api/generate`, `/api/chat`, `/api/embed`, `/v1/*`) take the
   LLM lock: concurrent requests allowed, but blocked while an image job is
-  active or waiting (image priority).
+  active or waiting (image priority). Blocked requests either hang until the
+  lock is free (`LLM_BUSY_MODE=wait`, default) or fail immediately with 503
+  (or 429) + `Retry-After` (`LLM_BUSY_MODE=reject`) — the latter lets routers
+  like LiteLLM cool down and retry instead of holding a hung connection.
 - `POST /prompt` on the ComfyUI listener takes the image lock: new LLM
   requests block, in-flight LLMs drain, Ollama models are unloaded, the prompt
   is forwarded, and the lock is held until the job finishes and ComfyUI frees
@@ -26,37 +30,65 @@ Open WebUI / n8n ────► :8188  ───┘
 - Everything else (including websockets and all streaming) passes through
   transparently and unbuffered.
 
+Each consumer is enabled by setting its URL (`OLLAMA_URL`, `COMFY_URL`) and
+disabled by leaving it empty — at least one is required. With only Ollama
+the proxy is a pass-through (no image jobs can arrive); with only ComfyUI
+the Ollama unload/warm steps are skipped. A third, URL-less consumer —
+detection of foreign GPU holders such as games — is enabled by `GAME_PROCS`
+and/or `GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB` (see below).
+
 ## Configuration
 
-All configuration is via environment variables; invalid values fail at
-startup.
+Configuration comes from environment variables and/or an `.env`-style
+config file (`KEY=VALUE` lines, `#` comments). File lookup order:
+`-config <path>` flag, then `GPU_TURNSTILE_CONFIG`, then
+`gpu-turnstile.env` next to the executable. Process environment variables
+override file values. Invalid values fail at startup.
 
 | Var | Default | Meaning |
 |---|---|---|
-| `LISTEN_OLLAMA` | `:11434` | Ollama-facing listener |
-| `LISTEN_COMFY` | `:8188` | ComfyUI-facing listener |
-| `OLLAMA_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:11435` | Ollama upstream |
-| `COMFY_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:8189` | ComfyUI upstream |
+| `LISTEN_OLLAMA` | `:11434` | Listener for Ollama-compatible clients |
+| `LISTEN_COMFY` | `:8188` | Listener for ComfyUI clients |
+| `OLLAMA_URL` | _(empty = disabled)_ | Ollama upstream; set to enable the Ollama consumer |
+| `COMFY_URL` | _(empty = disabled)_ | ComfyUI upstream; set to enable the ComfyUI consumer |
 | `UNLOAD_TIMEOUT` | `60s` | Wait for Ollama to unload before an image job |
 | `JOB_TIMEOUT` | `15m` | Wait for a ComfyUI job to finish |
-| `LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT` | `10m` | Max lock wait for an LLM request before 503 |
+| `LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT` | `10m` | Max lock wait for an LLM request before 503 (wait mode) |
+| `LLM_BUSY_MODE` | `wait` | `wait` = hold blocked LLM requests; `reject` = fail them immediately |
+| `LLM_BUSY_STATUS` | `503` | HTTP status for rejected LLM requests in reject mode (400–599, e.g. 429) |
+| `BUSY_RETRY_AFTER` | `30` | Seconds sent as `Retry-After` on busy responses (both modes) |
 | `WARM_MODEL` | _(empty)_ | Model to reload after an image job (off by default) |
+| `COMFY_CMD` | _(derived from `COMFY_DIR`; both empty = unmanaged)_ | Supervise ComfyUI: start on demand, stop when idle to free VRAM. Requires `COMFY_URL` |
+| `COMFY_DIR` | _(empty)_ | Standard venv install root: set alone to supervise ComfyUI with the derived command (`.venv` + `main.py`); also the working directory for `COMFY_CMD` |
+| `COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT` | `5m` | Stop the managed ComfyUI after this long idle |
+| `COMFY_START_TIMEOUT` | `2m` | Max wait for the managed ComfyUI to come up |
+| `GAME_PROCS` | _(empty = disabled)_ | Process names (comma-separated); while any runs, the GPU counts as held: requests wait, Ollama unloads, managed ComfyUI stops |
+| `GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB` | `0` (disabled) | Also treat the GPU as held when a non-ignored process uses more VRAM than this (needs nvidia-smi) |
+| `GPU_IGNORE_PROCS` | `ollama,ollama app,ollama_llama_server,python,pythonw` | Process names never counted as foreign GPU users |
+| `GAME_POLL_INTERVAL` | `15s` | How often game/VRAM detection runs (don't go below ~10s — nvidia-smi polls keep the GPU awake) |
 | `LOGLEVEL` | `warn` | `info` logs every request (colored arrows in text mode), `debug` adds lock transitions. `LOG_LEVEL` works as an alias |
 | `LOG_FORMAT` | `text` | `json` for structured JSON logs |
+| `LOG_FILE` | _(empty)_ | Append logs to this file instead of stderr |
 | `UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL` | `500ms` | `/api/ps` poll interval while unloading |
 | `HISTORY_POLL_INTERVAL` | `1s` | `/history/<id>` poll interval while a job runs |
-| `PROBE_TIMEOUT` | `5s` | Startup probe of both upstreams |
+| `PROBE_TIMEOUT` | `5s` | Startup probe of both upstreams (also per-probe health check timeout) |
+| `HEALTH_INTERVAL` | `30s` | Periodic upstream probe; down/recovered changes are logged |
 | `FREE_TIMEOUT` | `30s` | `POST /free` call after an image job |
 | `WARM_TIMEOUT` | `2m` | Warm-model reload after an image job |
 | `SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT` | `10s` | Graceful shutdown on SIGINT/SIGTERM |
 | `BACKOFF_INITIAL` | `1s` | First retry wait when an upstream refuses a connection |
 | `BACKOFF_MAX` | `60s` | Cap for the exponential retry backoff |
 | `PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT` | `65536` | Bytes of the `/prompt` response buffered to find `prompt_id` (pass-through is unaffected) |
+| `AUTO_UPDATE` | `true` | Poll the Gitea releases API for signed updates |
+| `UPDATE_INTERVAL` | `6h` | Auto-update check interval |
+| `UPDATE_REPO` | `https://git.rambossek.at/PUBLIC/gpu-turnstile` | Repository checked for releases |
+| `UPDATE_ASSET` | `gpu-turnstile.exe` | Release asset to download |
+| `APP_VER` | `stable` | `dev` disables updates, `stable` tracks latest, or pin an exact `vX.Y.Z` |
 
 ## Observability
 
-- `GET /healthz` (both listeners): `{"state":"idle|llm|image","llm_inflight":N,"image_pending":B}`
-- `GET /metrics` (Ollama listener): Prometheus text format — `gpu_turnstile_state`,
+- `GET /healthz` (both listeners): `{"state":"idle|llm|image|external","llm_inflight":N,"image_pending":B}`
+- `GET /metrics` (both listeners): Prometheus text format — `gpu_turnstile_state`,
   `gpu_turnstile_llm_inflight`, `gpu_turnstile_image_pending`,
   `gpu_turnstile_image_jobs_total`, `gpu_turnstile_lock_wait_seconds`
   (histogram, `kind="llm|image"`), `gpu_turnstile_unload_seconds`.
@@ -67,13 +99,139 @@ startup.
   class) in text mode, which renders in `docker compose logs` on Windows
   Terminal. Set `NO_COLOR` to disable colors.
 
+## Managed ComfyUI (`COMFY_CMD` / `COMFY_DIR`)
+
+Don't want ComfyUI running 24/7 (it holds VRAM even when idle — and the
+Desktop app kills its server when you close it)? gpu-turnstile can supervise
+it: the first request starts it, it stops again after `COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT`
+(default 5m) without work, freeing the GPU for games or the LLM.
+
+The easy way — point `COMFY_DIR` at a standard venv install (a folder with
+`.venv` and `main.py`, or `.venv` and `ComfyUI\main.py`) and the launch
+command is derived from it, including `--port` from `COMFY_URL`:
+
+```
+COMFY_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8189
+COMFY_DIR=C:\ComfyUI
+```
+
+For other layouts, spell the command out yourself (run it once manually to
+confirm it works):
+
+```
+COMFY_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8189
+COMFY_CMD="C:\ComfyUI\.venv\Scripts\python.exe" main.py --port 8189
+COMFY_DIR=C:\ComfyUI
+```
+
+`POST /prompt` waits for the server to answer before taking the GPU lock
+(LLM traffic keeps flowing while torch loads); crashes are logged and the
+next request respawns. Shutting gpu-turnstile down stops the child too.
+
+Running the ComfyUI Desktop app alongside is safe: if something already
+answers on the port, gpu-turnstile just uses it instead of spawning
+(and never kills it — it only ever stops its own child). If the managed
+instance already holds the port when you open the desktop app, the
+desktop's server is the one that fails to bind.
+
+## Game detection
+
+Want to game on the same GPU without Ollama/ComfyUI squatting on the VRAM?
+gpu-turnstile can watch for foreign GPU holders and, while one is active,
+make LLM/image requests wait (or 503, per `LLM_BUSY_MODE`), unload Ollama's
+models and stop the managed ComfyUI so the game gets the memory. Two
+detection paths, each optional, polled every `GAME_POLL_INTERVAL` (15s):
+
+```
+GAME_PROCS=cyberpunk2077.exe,bg3.exe     # the reliable way on Windows
+GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB=1024                 # catch-all via nvidia-smi
+```
+
+`GAME_PROCS` matches running process names (case-insensitive, `.exe`
+optional). `GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB` asks nvidia-smi which processes hold GPU
+memory and treats anything not in `GPU_IGNORE_PROCS` above the threshold as
+foreign — handy as a catch-all, but note that under Windows' WDDM driver
+graphics-only games may not show up in nvidia-smi's per-process list, so
+name your games in `GAME_PROCS` there; on Linux both paths work. When the
+game exits, requests resume automatically.
+
 ## Build and run
 
 ```sh
 go build ./cmd/gpu-turnstile
-./gpu-turnstile
+OLLAMA_URL=http://127.0.0.1:11435 COMFY_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8189 ./gpu-turnstile
 ```
 
+Running the binary with no arguments in a terminal prints the help screen
+(same as `-h`/`--help`); without a terminal (services, containers) a bare
+invocation starts the proxy.
+
+### Run natively on Windows (current primary deployment)
+
+Download `gpu-turnstile.exe` from a release and install it as a Windows
+service — no admin shell needed, a UAC prompt appears automatically and
+the elevated child does the work (its window waits for Enter so you can
+read the result):
+
+```sh
+gpu-turnstile.exe --install-service        # installs into Program Files, auto-start
+gpu-turnstile.exe --install-service --no-copy   # register in place instead
+gpu-turnstile.exe --remove-service
+```
+
+Layout: `C:\Program Files\gpu-turnstile\` holds the exe and
+`gpu-turnstile.env`, logs go to `C:\ProgramData\gpu-turnstile\`. If you
+install without a config, the installer writes a sample env file with every
+setting commented and explained — only `LOG_FILE` is active (a service has
+no console). Your own `LOG_FILE` setting is always kept. The service always
+runs
+as the virtual account `NT SERVICE\gpu-turnstile` (low-privilege,
+per-service, no password); the installer automatically grants it write
+access to the install and data directories — nothing else to do.
+
+Re-running `--install-service` is safe: it stops a running service,
+replaces the installed binary only if it changed, fixes the registration
+only where it drifted, and restarts the service only if it was running.
+
+### Run natively on Linux (systemd)
+
+The same binary works on Linux. Install it as a systemd service as root:
+
+```sh
+gpu-turnstile --install-service            # installs into /var/lib/gpu-turnstile, enables + starts
+gpu-turnstile --install-service --no-copy  # register in place instead
+gpu-turnstile --remove-service
+```
+
+The unit (`/etc/systemd/system/gpu-turnstile.service`) is `Type=notify`:
+`systemctl start` blocks until the listeners are actually bound, a 30 s
+watchdog restarts the process if it wedges, and logs land in the journal
+(`journalctl -u gpu-turnstile -f`) unless `LOG_FILE` is set. Install
+copies the binary to `/var/lib/gpu-turnstile/` and the config to
+`/etc/gpu-turnstile.env` (edit that one after installing). The service
+runs sandboxed with `DynamicUser=yes` — a transient low-privilege UID,
+read-only filesystem except its install dir (so self-update keeps
+working), no capabilities, syscall-filtered: same least-privilege idea as
+the Windows virtual account. The notify integration is a no-op in
+containers and interactive shells.
+
+**Auto-update is on by default**: the binary checks the repo's latest
+release on startup and every `UPDATE_INTERVAL`, verifies the Ed25519
+signature of the download against the public key embedded at build time,
+and — once the GPU lock is idle — restarts the service onto the new
+version. `APP_VER` controls the target: `dev` disables updates, `stable`
+(the default) tracks the latest release, and an exact `vX.Y.Z` pins that
+release (even as a downgrade or to replace a dev build). Disable entirely
+with `AUTO_UPDATE=false`. Releases are signed by CI with
+OpenSSL; the matching public key lives in `internal/update/pubkey.go`
+(one-time setup: `openssl genpkey -algorithm ed25519 -out private.pem`,
+`openssl pkey -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem`; private key goes
+to the `RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY` repo secret, public key is committed).
+`gpu-turnstile --force-update` checks immediately, stages the new binary
+and restarts the running service (elevating via UAC only if needed).
+
+### Docker
+
 ```sh
 docker build -t gpu-turnstile .
 docker run --rm -p 11434:11434 -p 8188:8188 \
@@ -84,9 +242,10 @@ docker run --rm -p 11434:11434 -p 8188:8188 \
 
 Releases are built by Gitea Actions (`.gitea/workflows/ci.yml`): every push
 runs `go vet` and `go test -race`, and pushing a semantic-version tag
-`vX.Y.Z` builds and publishes
-`git.rambossek.at/<owner>/gpu-turnstile:vX.Y.Z` (and updates `:latest`).
-No images are built from branches.
+`vX.Y.Z` publishes the container image
+(`git.rambossek.at/<owner>/gpu-turnstile:vX.Y.Z` plus `:latest`) and a
+signed Windows binary attached to a Gitea release. Nothing is built from
+branches.
 
 The registry login needs one repository secret (Settings → Actions →
 Secrets): `REGISTRY_TOKEN` — an access token with `write:package` scope.
@@ -99,13 +258,17 @@ go vet ./...
 go test -race ./...
 ```
 
-Stdlib only, Go 1.23+. Layout:
+Go 1.23+; the only external dependency is `golang.org/x/sys` (Windows
+service integration, unused in the Linux build). Layout:
 
 ```
-cmd/gpu-turnstile/main.go  wiring, config, listeners
+cmd/gpu-turnstile/main.go  wiring, config, listeners, service + updater
 internal/lock/             two-mode lock (LLM readers / image writer, FIFO)
 internal/ollama/           ps / unload / warm client
 internal/comfy/            history poll / free client
 internal/proxy/            handlers for both listeners
 internal/metrics/          Prometheus exposition, no dependencies
+internal/config/           env + .env file configuration
+internal/update/           signed auto-updater
+internal/service/          Windows service integration
 ```

SPEC.md

@@ -10,11 +10,12 @@ becomes very slow; on Linux it would OOM instead.
 ## Goal
 
 A single Go binary that sits in front of **both** services and guarantees that
-at any moment the GPU is in exactly one of three states:
+at any moment the GPU is in exactly one of four states:
 
 - `idle` — nothing in flight
 - `llm` — N ≥ 1 Ollama inference requests in flight (concurrency allowed)
 - `image` — exactly one ComfyUI job in flight, Ollama models unloaded
+- `external` — a foreign process (e.g. a game) holds the GPU; new work waits
 
 Clients (LiteLLM, Open WebUI, n8n) point at gpu-turnstile instead of at the
 services. gpu-turnstile is transparent for everything that does not touch the
@@ -42,6 +43,22 @@ listener is an `httputil.ReverseProxy` to its upstream. Websocket upgrades
 (ComfyUI `/ws`) and streaming bodies (Ollama NDJSON / SSE) must pass through
 unbuffered (`FlushInterval = -1`).
 
+### Modes of operation
+
+Each GPU consumer is enabled by setting its URL and disabled by leaving it
+empty — no separate flags. At least one URL must be set; a disabled
+consumer gets no listener, no startup probe, and no lock participation:
+
+- **Both set** (default deployment): full arbitration as described below.
+- **Only `OLLAMA_URL`**: pure pass-through for Ollama; the LLM lock never
+  blocks since no image jobs can arrive.
+- **Only `COMFY_URL`**: image jobs are tracked and ComfyUI's VRAM is freed
+  afterwards, but the Ollama unload and warm-reload steps are skipped.
+- **Game detection** is a third, optional consumer without a URL: enabled by
+  `GAME_PROCS` and/or `GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB` it watches for foreign processes
+  holding the GPU (see below) and plugs into the same lock the same way —
+  excluded when both knobs are unset.
+
 ### Lock semantics
 
 Two-mode lock with image priority (writer-preferring RW lock, where "readers"
@@ -51,10 +68,20 @@ are LLM requests and the single "writer" is an image job):
   `image` **or while an image job is waiting**. Then state := `llm`, n++.
   On completion (response fully written, including streamed bodies, or client
   disconnect) n--; if n == 0 state := `idle`.
+  `LLM_BUSY_MODE` selects what a blocked LLM request sees: `wait` (default)
+  hangs until the lock is free or `LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT` expires (then 503 +
+  `Retry-After`); `reject` answers immediately with `LLM_BUSY_STATUS`
+  (default 503; 429 works too) + `Retry-After: BUSY_RETRY_AFTER`, which
+  routers like LiteLLM honor for cooldowns/retries.
 - **Image job**: `AcquireImage()` marks "image pending" (so no new LLM
   requests start), waits until n == 0, sets state := `image`. Released after
   the ComfyUI job finished and models were freed.
 - Concurrent image jobs queue FIFO behind each other.
+- **External hold**: game detection calls `SetExternal(holder)` while a
+  foreign process holds the GPU. New LLM and image grants block (same busy
+  handling as above) until `ClearExternal()`; in-flight work is not
+  preempted, it drains. Snapshot reports state `external` once nothing else
+  is in flight.
 - All waits are context-aware: a client that disconnects while waiting is
   removed from the queue.
 
@@ -78,7 +105,8 @@ ComfyUI listener (`:8188` → `COMFY_URL`):
 ### Image job flow (`POST /prompt`)
 
 1. `AcquireImage()`.
-2. Unload Ollama: `GET /api/ps`; for each model `POST /api/generate
+2. Unload Ollama (skipped when `OLLAMA_URL` is unset): `GET /api/ps`; for
+   each model `POST /api/generate
    {"model":M,"keep_alive":0}`; if that returns non-2xx (embedding-only
    models), `POST /api/embed {"model":M,"input":"x","keep_alive":0}`. Poll
    `/api/ps` every `UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL` (default 500 ms) until empty or
@@ -100,37 +128,247 @@ state is `idle`, send `POST /api/generate {"model":WARM_MODEL,"keep_alive":-1}`
 with empty prompt to reload the chat model so the next chat doesn't pay the
 load time. Off by default.
 
+### Managed ComfyUI (`COMFY_CMD` / `COMFY_DIR`)
+
+When `COMFY_CMD` is set, gpu-turnstile runs ComfyUI as a supervised child
+process instead of expecting an always-on server. Setting only `COMFY_DIR`
+enables the same management with the launch command derived from the
+standard venv layout under it (`.venv\Scripts\python.exe` on Windows,
+`.venv/bin/python` on Linux; `ComfyUI\main.py`, or a flat `main.py` when
+that is what exists; `--port` from the `COMFY_URL` port). Missing layout
+files are flagged in the startup log.
+
+- **Start on demand**: any ComfyUI request spawns it (double quotes in the
+  command line group arguments with spaces; `COMFY_DIR` sets the working
+  directory). `POST /prompt` additionally waits for readiness
+  (`/system_stats`) for up to `COMFY_START_TIMEOUT` *before* taking the GPU
+  lock, so LLM traffic flows while torch loads. Other requests are bridged
+  by the normal retry backoff. Spawn failure or a readiness timeout
+  answers 502.
+- **Idle stop**: after `COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT` without requests or finished
+  jobs — and only while the GPU lock is idle — the process tree is killed,
+  freeing the VRAM ComfyUI holds. The next request restarts it.
+- **Crash**: an unexpected exit is logged; the next request respawns.
+  gpu-turnstile's own shutdown stops the child too.
+- **Coexistence**: before spawning, the URL is probed — if another server
+  already answers (e.g. the ComfyUI desktop app), it is used as-is and no
+  child is spawned; the idle watcher and shutdown only ever stop the
+  supervisor's own process, never the external one. The other direction —
+  starting the desktop app while the managed instance holds the port —
+  makes the *desktop* server fail to bind; gpu-turnstile is unaffected.
+- Its stdout/stderr is forwarded to the log at INFO. The health check
+  skips the intentionally-stopped/starting states; a failed probe while
+  the process is alive and was previously ready is logged as DOWN.
+
+## Game detection (foreign GPU holders)
+
+Games and other foreign GPU users sit outside the URL-based consumer model —
+nothing proxies through gpu-turnstile for them. Two independent detection
+paths, polled every `GAME_POLL_INTERVAL` (default 15 s); either one being
+configured enables the feature:
+
+- **Process watch list** (`GAME_PROCS`, comma-separated, case-insensitive,
+  `.exe` optional): while any listed process runs, the GPU counts as held.
+  This is the reliable path on Windows.
+- **Foreign VRAM threshold** (`GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB`): `nvidia-smi
+  --query-compute-apps` lists per-process GPU memory; any process not in
+  `GPU_IGNORE_PROCS` (default: Ollama and python — ComfyUI runs under python)
+  holding more than the threshold counts as a foreign holder. Needs
+  nvidia-smi on the PATH (absent: logged once, path disabled) and works best
+  on Linux — under Windows' WDDM driver, graphics-only games may not appear
+  in the per-process list.
+
+While a holder is detected, gpu-turnstile:
+
+1. takes the external hold on the lock (`SetExternal`), so new LLM/image
+   requests wait or are rejected per `LLM_BUSY_MODE`; busy responses name the
+   holder,
+2. once in-flight work has drained, **frees VRAM for the foreign process**:
+   the managed ComfyUI is stopped (an external server on its port is never
+   touched) and Ollama's resident models are unloaded,
+3. refuses to spawn the managed ComfyUI; ComfyUI requests that would need a
+   spawn are answered 503 + `Retry-After` (a running desktop instance keeps
+   being proxied),
+4. logs the transitions at WARN ("GPU held by an external process …" /
+   "released the GPU; resuming") and reports state `external` in `/healthz`
+   and `/metrics`.
+
+When the holder disappears, the hold is lifted and queued requests proceed.
+
 ## Configuration (env)
 
+Configuration comes from environment variables and/or an `.env`-style
+config file (`KEY=VALUE` lines, `#` comments). File lookup order:
+`-config <path>` flag, then `GPU_TURNSTILE_CONFIG`, then
+`gpu-turnstile.env` next to the executable. Process environment variables
+override file values. A missing file is fine; a malformed one is fatal.
+
 | Var | Default | Meaning |
 |---|---|---|
-| `LISTEN_OLLAMA` | `:11434` | Ollama-facing listener |
-| `LISTEN_COMFY` | `:8188` | ComfyUI-facing listener |
-| `OLLAMA_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:11435` | upstream |
-| `COMFY_URL` | `http://127.0.0.1:8189` | upstream |
+| `LISTEN_OLLAMA` | `:11434` | listener for Ollama-compatible clients |
+| `LISTEN_COMFY` | `:8188` | listener for ComfyUI clients |
+| `OLLAMA_URL` | _(empty = disabled)_ | Ollama upstream; set to enable the Ollama consumer |
+| `COMFY_URL` | _(empty = disabled)_ | ComfyUI upstream; set to enable the ComfyUI consumer |
 | `UNLOAD_TIMEOUT` | `60s` | wait for Ollama to unload |
 | `JOB_TIMEOUT` | `15m` | wait for ComfyUI job |
-| `LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT` | `10m` | max time an LLM request waits for the lock before 503 |
+| `LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT` | `10m` | max time an LLM request waits for the lock before 503 (wait mode) |
+| `LLM_BUSY_MODE` | `wait` | `wait` = hold blocked LLM requests; `reject` = fail them immediately |
+| `LLM_BUSY_STATUS` | `503` | HTTP status for rejected LLM requests in reject mode (400–599, e.g. 429) |
+| `BUSY_RETRY_AFTER` | `30` | seconds sent as `Retry-After` on busy responses (both modes) |
 | `WARM_MODEL` | `` | optional model to reload after an image job |
+| `COMFY_CMD` | _(derived from `COMFY_DIR`; both empty = unmanaged)_ | spawn and supervise ComfyUI on demand: first request starts it, idle stop after `COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT` frees its VRAM. Requires `COMFY_URL` |
+| `COMFY_DIR` | `` | standard venv install root: set alone to supervise ComfyUI with the derived launch command (`.venv` + `main.py`, `--port` from `COMFY_URL`); also the working directory for `COMFY_CMD` |
+| `COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT` | `5m` | stop the managed ComfyUI after this long without requests or jobs |
+| `COMFY_START_TIMEOUT` | `2m` | how long a request waits for the managed ComfyUI to come up |
+| `GAME_PROCS` | _(empty = disabled)_ | comma-separated process names (case-insensitive, `.exe` optional); while any runs, the GPU counts as held by it: requests wait, Ollama unloads, the managed ComfyUI stops |
+| `GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB` | `0` (disabled) | also treat the GPU as held when a process not in `GPU_IGNORE_PROCS` uses more VRAM than this; needs nvidia-smi |
+| `GPU_IGNORE_PROCS` | `ollama,ollama app,ollama_llama_server,python,pythonw` | process names never counted as foreign GPU users |
+| `GAME_POLL_INTERVAL` | `15s` | how often game/VRAM detection runs (nvidia-smi polls keep the GPU awake; don't go below ~10s) |
 | `LOGLEVEL` | `warn` | `info` logs every request (colored arrows in text mode), `debug` adds lock transitions. `LOG_LEVEL` is accepted as an alias |
+| `LOG_FORMAT` | `text` | `json` for structured JSON logs |
+| `LOG_FILE` | `` | append logs to this file instead of stderr (useful as a service) |
 | `UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL` | `500ms` | `/api/ps` poll interval while unloading |
 | `HISTORY_POLL_INTERVAL` | `1s` | `/history/<id>` poll interval while a job runs |
-| `PROBE_TIMEOUT` | `5s` | startup probe of both upstreams |
+| `PROBE_TIMEOUT` | `5s` | startup probe of both upstreams (also the per-probe health check timeout) |
+| `HEALTH_INTERVAL` | `30s` | periodic probe of enabled upstreams; status changes (down/recovered) are logged |
 | `FREE_TIMEOUT` | `30s` | `POST /free` call after an image job |
 | `WARM_TIMEOUT` | `2m` | warm-model reload after an image job |
 | `SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT` | `10s` | graceful shutdown on SIGINT/SIGTERM |
 | `BACKOFF_INITIAL` | `1s` | first retry wait when an upstream refuses a connection |
 | `BACKOFF_MAX` | `60s` | cap for the exponential retry backoff |
 | `PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT` | `65536` | bytes of the `/prompt` response buffered to find `prompt_id` (pass-through is unaffected) |
+| `AUTO_UPDATE` | `true` | poll the Gitea releases API for signed updates |
+| `UPDATE_INTERVAL` | `6h` | auto-update check interval |
+| `UPDATE_REPO` | `https://git.rambossek.at/PUBLIC/gpu-turnstile` | repository to check for releases |
+| `UPDATE_ASSET` | `gpu-turnstile.exe` | release asset to download |
+| `APP_VER` | `stable` | version to run: `dev` disables updates, `stable` tracks the latest release, or an exact `vX.Y.Z` pin (up- or downgraded to) |
+| `CFG_VER` | _(installer-managed)_ | config format reference written by `--install-service` (always a concrete `vX.Y.Z`; a dev build stamps `v0.0.0`); missing = the file is replaced with a fresh sample (backup `.bak`). New settings are appended (commented out) at install and at every startup after an update changed the version |
 
-Startup fails fast on unparsable values. Both upstreams are probed once at
-start (`/api/version`, `/system_stats`); failure is logged, not fatal.
+Startup fails fast on unparsable values and when neither consumer URL is
+set. Enabled upstreams are probed once at start (`/api/version`,
+`/system_stats`); failure is logged, not fatal.
+
+## Native deployment (Windows and Linux)
+
+The binary runs natively on Windows (the current primary deployment) and on
+Linux with systemd (the future GPU server), as well as in Docker.
+
+Service management is the same on both platforms:
+`gpu-turnstile --install-service [-config path]` installs, registers and
+starts an auto-start service; `--remove-service` stops and uninstalls it.
+Both need admin/root; on Windows a non-elevated shell triggers a UAC
+prompt instead of failing — the command relaunches itself elevated, waits
+for the child, and mirrors its exit code. The legacy form
+`gpu-turnstile service install|remove` does the same thing.
+
+Re-running install on an already-registered service converges instead of
+failing: a running service is stopped first, the installed binary copy is
+refreshed only when the content differs, the registration (Windows service
+config / systemd unit) is updated only where it drifted, and the service is
+started again only if it was running before.
+
+By default install creates the canonical layout and copies the binary into
+it (Windows: `%ProgramFiles%\gpu-turnstile\`, plus
+`%ProgramData%\gpu-turnstile\` for logs; Linux: `/var/lib/gpu-turnstile/`
+with the config at `/etc/gpu-turnstile.env`). If there is no config at all,
+install writes a sample env file covering every setting — each with a
+comment line, everything commented out — except the `CFG_VER`/`APP_VER`
+header and `LOG_FILE`, which is active on Windows
+(`%ProgramData%\gpu-turnstile\gpu-turnstile.log`) since a service has no
+console; on Linux it stays commented because stderr goes to the journal.
+The first line is `CFG_VER=vX.Y.Z`, recording the installer version. When a
+later version's install finds an older `CFG_VER`, it appends every setting
+the file does not mention (commented or not) at the end and updates
+`CFG_VER`; a file without `CFG_VER` is invalid and gets replaced by a fresh
+sample, with the old content kept as `<file>.bak`. `--no-copy` registers
+the current executable location as-is and leaves the config untouched.
+
+### Windows
+
+- `--install-service` creates `%ProgramFiles%\gpu-turnstile\` and
+  `%ProgramData%\gpu-turnstile\`, copies the exe and (if none exists there
+  yet) the `gpu-turnstile.env` into the Program Files directory, and
+  registers that copy as a Windows service; recovery actions restart it
+  5 s after any failure. The install ensures the env file sets `LOG_FILE`
+  to `%ProgramData%\gpu-turnstile\gpu-turnstile.log` since there is no
+  console — an existing `LOG_FILE` setting is kept.
+- **Account**: the service always runs as the virtual account
+  `NT SERVICE\gpu-turnstile` — a per-service low-privilege identity the
+  SCM manages (no password, automatic logon-as-a-service right, no admin
+  rights, gone when the service is removed). The installer grants it
+  modify access to the install and data directories (self-updates rewrite
+  the exe) and the `LOG_FILE` directory (created if missing), plus read
+  access to the config file when it lives elsewhere. The grants happen
+  after service registration because the virtual account's SID only exists
+  from that point on; if a grant fails the service registration is rolled
+  back.
+
+### Linux (systemd)
+
+- `--install-service` copies the binary to `/var/lib/gpu-turnstile/`,
+  copies the config to `/etc/gpu-turnstile.env` if none exists there yet,
+  writes `/etc/systemd/system/gpu-turnstile.service`, then runs `systemctl
+  daemon-reload` and `enable --now`. `--remove-service` removes the unit
+  and the installed binary; the `/etc` config stays. The binary does not
+  go to `/usr/local/sbin` on purpose: replacing a running binary needs
+  write access to its *directory*, and granting the sandboxed service
+  write access to a shared system directory would let a compromised
+  service overwrite other binaries — `/var/lib/gpu-turnstile` is
+  exclusively ours.
+- **Sandboxing** mirrors the Windows virtual account: the unit runs with
+  `DynamicUser=yes` — a transient per-service UID with no login, no home
+  and no password, managed entirely by systemd. `ProtectSystem=strict`
+  makes the filesystem read-only except `StateDirectory=gpu-turnstile`
+  (the install dir, so self-updates can rewrite the binary), plus
+  `NoNewPrivileges`, `ProtectHome`, `PrivateTmp`, `ProtectKernel*`,
+  `ProtectControlGroups`, `RestrictNamespaces`, `RestrictSUIDSGID`,
+  `RestrictRealtime`, `LockPersonality`, `MemoryDenyWriteExecute`, empty
+  capability sets, `RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_UNIX AF_INET AF_INET6` and
+  `SystemCallFilter=@system-service`. The proxy needs only outbound
+  TCP/UDP and the notify socket, so it loses nothing.
+- The unit is `Type=notify`: the binary sends `READY=1` via
+  `github.com/coreos/go-systemd` only after the listeners are bound, so
+  `systemctl start` blocks until the proxy accepts connections. A 30 s
+  watchdog (`WatchdogSec=`) is pinged as long as the process runs; three
+  missed pings make systemd restart it. `STOPPING=1` is sent on shutdown.
+  All notify calls are no-ops when `NOTIFY_SOCKET` is unset (containers,
+  interactive shells), and the whole integration is Linux-only — Windows
+  builds carry no-op stubs.
+- Logs go to the journal (`journalctl -u gpu-turnstile`) or to `LOG_FILE`.
+- **Auto-update** works the same as on Windows: `Restart=on-failure` with
+  `RestartSec=5s` brings up the staged binary after the updater exits with
+  code 3.
+- **Auto-update**: on startup and every `UPDATE_INTERVAL`, the binary
+  consults `APP_VER`: `dev` disables updates; `stable` (the default)
+  fetches `UPDATE_REPO`'s latest release and applies it when its tag is a
+  newer `vX.Y.Z` (a `dev` binary cannot be compared and is replaced by the
+  latest release); a `vX.Y.Z` pin fetches that exact tag and stages it on
+  any difference, including downgrades. Applying means downloading
+  `UPDATE_ASSET` plus its `.sig` (and `.sha256` when present) and verifying
+  an Ed25519 signature against the public key embedded in
+  `internal/update/pubkey.go`. A verified binary is swapped in next to the
+  running exe (rename-aside, allowed on Windows), and once the GPU lock is
+  idle the process exits with code 3 so the service recovery restarts it
+  on the new version. Interactive runs only log "restart to apply".
+  Builds without an embedded public key never update.
+- **`--force-update`** runs the same check immediately, single-shot: one
+  attempt with a 30 s timeout, then exit — "up to date" (exit 0) or the
+  error (exit 1), no retries. When a newer release is found it downloads,
+  verifies and stages it, and if the service is running it restarts it
+  right away (otherwise the new version applies on next start). On Windows
+  it elevates via UAC only when the stage or restart needs permissions the
+  caller does not have.
+- **Signing setup (one time)**: `openssl genpkey -algorithm ed25519 -out
+  private.pem`; `openssl pkey -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem`.
+  Private key → repo secret `RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY`; public key → committed into
+  `internal/update/pubkey.go`. CI signs release binaries with
+  `openssl pkeyutl -sign -rawin`.
 
 ## Observability
 
 - `GET /healthz` on both listeners: 200 with JSON
   `{"state":"idle|llm|image","llm_inflight":N,"image_pending":B}`.
-- `GET /metrics` on the Ollama listener: Prometheus text format, no external
+- `GET /metrics` on both listeners: Prometheus text format, no external
   dependency needed:
   `gpu_turnstile_state{state="…"} 1`, `gpu_turnstile_llm_inflight`,
   `gpu_turnstile_image_jobs_total`, `gpu_turnstile_lock_wait_seconds`
@@ -171,11 +409,15 @@ start (`/api/version`, `/system_stats`); failure is logged, not fatal.
 
 ```
 gpu-turnstile/
-  cmd/gpu-turnstile/main.go  # wiring, config, listeners
+  cmd/gpu-turnstile/main.go  # wiring, config, listeners, service + updater
   internal/lock/lock.go      # two-mode lock + tests
   internal/ollama/client.go  # ps / unload / warm
   internal/comfy/client.go   # history poll / free
   internal/proxy/            # handlers for both listeners
+  internal/metrics/          # Prometheus exposition
+  internal/config/           # env + .env file configuration
+  internal/update/           # signed auto-updater (public key in pubkey.go)
+  internal/service/          # Windows SCM + Linux systemd (notify/watchdog) integration
   Dockerfile
   .gitea/workflows/ci.yml
   README.md
@@ -197,11 +439,18 @@ are new.
   held until `/free` was called.
 - Streaming test: fake Ollama emits chunks with delays; assert the client
   receives the first chunk before the last is sent (no buffering).
+- `internal/config`: env-file parsing, precedence, fail-fast values.
+- `internal/update`: fake Gitea releases API; staged update happy path,
+  tampered signature rejected, older versions skipped, APP_VER=dev and
+  pinned releases honored.
 
 ## Build and CI
 
-- Go 1.23+, stdlib only. `CGO_ENABLED=0`, `-ldflags="-s -w"`, version from
-  `git describe` injected via `-X main.version=`.
+- Go 1.23+, two external dependencies: `golang.org/x/sys` (Windows service
+  integration) and `github.com/coreos/go-systemd` (systemd notify/watchdog,
+  Linux build only). `CGO_ENABLED=0`,
+  `-ldflags="-s -w"`, version from `git describe` injected via
+  `-X main.version=`.
 - Dockerfile: multi-stage, final image `gcr.io/distroless/static` (or
   `scratch`), non-root user, `EXPOSE 8188 11434`,
   `ENTRYPOINT ["/gpu-turnstile"]`.
@@ -216,8 +465,12 @@ are new.
      Login uses the repo secret `REGISTRY_TOKEN` (an access token with
      `write:package` scope) because the automatic `GITEA_TOKEN` cannot push
      packages; the username is just `gitea.actor`.
-- Release: a git tag `vX.Y.Z` produces the versioned image; the Open WebUI
-  compose pins that tag. No images are built from branches.
+  3. on a version tag: also build the Windows binary, sign it with OpenSSL
+     (`RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY` secret), and attach `gpu-turnstile.exe`, `.sig` and
+     `.sha256` to a Gitea release for the auto-updater.
+- Release: a git tag `vX.Y.Z` produces the versioned image and the signed
+  Windows binary; the Open WebUI compose pins that tag. No images or
+  binaries are built from branches.
 
 ## Deployment (target)
 

compose.yaml.example

@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@
 # ComfyUI --listen 0.0.0.0 --port 8189).
 services:
   gpu-turnstile:
-    image: git.rambossek.at/public/gpu-turnstile:v0.1.2
+    image: git.rambossek.at/public/gpu-turnstile:v0.1.10
     restart: unless-stopped
     environment:
+      # Each consumer is enabled by setting its URL; leave one unset to
+      # disable that side (no listener, no probe, no lock participation).
       # Services on the Docker host itself:
       OLLAMA_URL: http://host.docker.internal:11435
       COMFY_URL: http://host.docker.internal:8189
@@ -18,6 +20,9 @@ services:
       # UNLOAD_TIMEOUT: 60s
       # JOB_TIMEOUT: 15m
       # LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT: 10m
+      # LLM_BUSY_MODE: reject      # wait (default) hangs; reject fails fast
+      # LLM_BUSY_STATUS: 429       # status in reject mode (default 503)
+      # BUSY_RETRY_AFTER: 30       # Retry-After seconds on busy responses
       # WARM_MODEL: qwen3:14b
       # LOG_LEVEL: info
       # LOG_FORMAT: json

go.mod

@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
 module gpu-turnstile
 
 go 1.23
+
+require golang.org/x/sys v0.29.0
+
+require github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22 v22.7.0

go.sum

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22 v22.7.0 h1:LAEzFkke61DFROc7zNLX/WA2i5J8gYqe0rSj9KI28KA=
+github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22 v22.7.0/go.mod h1:xNUYtjHu2EDXbsxz1i41wouACIwT7Ybq9o0BQhMwD0w=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.29.0 h1:TPYlXGxvx1MGTn2GiZDhnjPA9wZzZeGKHHmKhHYvgaU=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.29.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=

internal/config/config.go

@@ -0,0 +1,318 @@
+// Package config loads gpu-turnstile's configuration from environment
+// variables and an optional .env-style config file.
+package config
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Config holds every gpu-turnstile setting.
+type Config struct {
+	ListenOllama   string
+	ListenComfy    string
+	OllamaURL      string
+	ComfyURL       string
+	UnloadTimeout  time.Duration
+	JobTimeout     time.Duration
+	LLMWaitTimeout time.Duration
+
+	UnloadPollInterval  time.Duration
+	HistoryPollInterval time.Duration
+	ProbeTimeout        time.Duration
+	HealthInterval      time.Duration
+	FreeTimeout         time.Duration
+	WarmTimeout         time.Duration
+	ShutdownTimeout     time.Duration
+	BackoffInitial      time.Duration
+	BackoffMax          time.Duration
+	PromptCaptureLimit  int64
+
+	AutoUpdate     bool
+	UpdateInterval time.Duration
+	UpdateRepo     string
+	UpdateAsset    string
+
+	// AppVersion is the version the user wants to run: "dev" disables
+	// updates, "stable" tracks the latest release, anything else is an
+	// exact vX.Y.Z release to pin. From APP_VER; defaults to "stable".
+	AppVersion string
+
+	// LLMBusyMode is "wait" (hold requests until the lock is free or
+	// LLMWaitTimeout expires) or "reject" (immediately answer with
+	// LLMBusyStatus + Retry-After when an image job is active or pending).
+	LLMBusyMode    string
+	LLMBusyStatus  int
+	BusyRetryAfter int
+
+	// ComfyCmd spawns and supervises a ComfyUI server on demand. When
+	// ComfyCmd is empty but ComfyDir is set, management is enabled with the
+	// standard venv layout under ComfyDir (.venv + main.py or
+	// ComfyUI/main.py; --port from the COMFY_URL port) — ComfyCmd is the
+	// override for other layouts and doubles as the working directory when
+	// set explicitly. The managed server is stopped after ComfyIdleTimeout
+	// without requests, freeing its VRAM; ComfyStartTimeout bounds how long
+	// a request waits for it to come up.
+	ComfyCmd          string
+	ComfyDir          string
+	ComfyIdleTimeout  time.Duration
+	ComfyStartTimeout time.Duration
+
+	// GameProcs (GAME_PROCS) is a watch list of process names; while any of
+	// them runs, the GPU is treated as held by a foreign process. The
+	// nvidia-smi path (GPUForeignVRAMMB, GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB) does the same
+	// when a process not in GPUIgnoreProcs (GPU_IGNORE_PROCS) holds more than
+	// that many MiB of VRAM. GamePollInterval (GAME_POLL_INTERVAL) is how
+	// often both checks run.
+	GameProcs        []string
+	GPUForeignVRAMMB int
+	GPUIgnoreProcs   []string
+	GamePollInterval time.Duration
+
+	WarmModel string
+	LogLevel  slog.Level
+	LogJSON   bool
+	LogFile   string
+}
+
+// Defaults returns the configuration used when neither the environment nor
+// a config file sets a value. The upstream URLs default to empty: a
+// consumer is enabled by setting its URL, disabled by leaving it empty.
+func Defaults() Config {
+	return Config{
+		ListenOllama:   ":11434",
+		ListenComfy:    ":8188",
+		UnloadTimeout:  time.Minute,
+		JobTimeout:     15 * time.Minute,
+		LLMWaitTimeout: 10 * time.Minute,
+
+		UnloadPollInterval:  500 * time.Millisecond,
+		HistoryPollInterval: time.Second,
+		ProbeTimeout:        5 * time.Second,
+		HealthInterval:      30 * time.Second,
+		FreeTimeout:         30 * time.Second,
+		WarmTimeout:         2 * time.Minute,
+		ShutdownTimeout:     10 * time.Second,
+		BackoffInitial:      time.Second,
+		BackoffMax:          time.Minute,
+		PromptCaptureLimit:  64 * 1024,
+
+		AutoUpdate:     true,
+		UpdateInterval: 6 * time.Hour,
+		UpdateRepo:     "https://git.rambossek.at/PUBLIC/gpu-turnstile",
+		UpdateAsset:    "gpu-turnstile.exe",
+		AppVersion:     "stable",
+
+		LLMBusyMode:    "wait",
+		LLMBusyStatus:  503,
+		BusyRetryAfter: 30,
+
+		ComfyIdleTimeout:  5 * time.Minute,
+		ComfyStartTimeout: 2 * time.Minute,
+
+		// ComfyUI runs under python; excluding it (and Ollama) by name keeps
+		// our own consumers from tripping the foreign-VRAM check.
+		GPUIgnoreProcs:   []string{"ollama", "ollama app", "ollama_llama_server", "python", "pythonw"},
+		GamePollInterval: 15 * time.Second,
+
+		LogLevel: slog.LevelWarn,
+	}
+}
+
+// ErrNoConsumer is returned by Load when neither OLLAMA_URL nor COMFY_URL
+// is set. Commands that never talk to an upstream (--force-update) may
+// ignore it and proceed with the rest of the configuration.
+var ErrNoConsumer = errors.New("at least one of OLLAMA_URL or COMFY_URL must be set (each URL enables its consumer)")
+
+// ParseEnvFile parses a .env-style file: KEY=VALUE lines, blank lines and
+// #-comments are ignored, no quoting. A line without '=' is an error.
+func ParseEnvFile(r io.Reader) (map[string]string, error) {
+	values := make(map[string]string)
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(r)
+	scanner.Buffer(make([]byte, 64*1024), 1024*1024)
+	lineNo := 0
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		lineNo++
+		line := strings.TrimSpace(scanner.Text())
+		if line == "" || strings.HasPrefix(line, "#") {
+			continue
+		}
+		key, value, ok := strings.Cut(line, "=")
+		if !ok {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("line %d: expected KEY=VALUE", lineNo)
+		}
+		key = strings.TrimSpace(key)
+		if key == "" {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("line %d: empty key", lineNo)
+		}
+		values[key] = strings.TrimSpace(value)
+	}
+	return values, scanner.Err()
+}
+
+// splitList parses a comma-separated setting into trimmed, non-empty items.
+func splitList(v string) []string {
+	var out []string
+	for _, item := range strings.Split(v, ",") {
+		if item = strings.TrimSpace(item); item != "" {
+			out = append(out, item)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func envDuration(getenv func(string) string, name string, dst *time.Duration) error {
+	v := getenv(name)
+	if v == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+	d, err := time.ParseDuration(v)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", name, err)
+	}
+	*dst = d
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Load overlays values from getenv onto the Defaults. Unknown keys are
+// ignored. Invalid values are fatal.
+func Load(getenv func(string) string) (Config, error) {
+	cfg := Defaults()
+	for _, e := range []struct {
+		name string
+		dst  *string
+	}{
+		{"LISTEN_OLLAMA", &cfg.ListenOllama},
+		{"LISTEN_COMFY", &cfg.ListenComfy},
+		{"OLLAMA_URL", &cfg.OllamaURL},
+		{"COMFY_URL", &cfg.ComfyURL},
+		{"WARM_MODEL", &cfg.WarmModel},
+		{"COMFY_CMD", &cfg.ComfyCmd},
+		{"COMFY_DIR", &cfg.ComfyDir},
+		{"UPDATE_REPO", &cfg.UpdateRepo},
+		{"UPDATE_ASSET", &cfg.UpdateAsset},
+		{"LOG_FILE", &cfg.LogFile},
+	} {
+		if v := getenv(e.name); v != "" {
+			*e.dst = v
+		}
+	}
+	for _, e := range []struct {
+		name string
+		dst  *time.Duration
+	}{
+		{"UNLOAD_TIMEOUT", &cfg.UnloadTimeout},
+		{"JOB_TIMEOUT", &cfg.JobTimeout},
+		{"LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT", &cfg.LLMWaitTimeout},
+		{"UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL", &cfg.UnloadPollInterval},
+		{"HISTORY_POLL_INTERVAL", &cfg.HistoryPollInterval},
+		{"PROBE_TIMEOUT", &cfg.ProbeTimeout},
+		{"HEALTH_INTERVAL", &cfg.HealthInterval},
+		{"FREE_TIMEOUT", &cfg.FreeTimeout},
+		{"WARM_TIMEOUT", &cfg.WarmTimeout},
+		{"SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT", &cfg.ShutdownTimeout},
+		{"BACKOFF_INITIAL", &cfg.BackoffInitial},
+		{"BACKOFF_MAX", &cfg.BackoffMax},
+		{"COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT", &cfg.ComfyIdleTimeout},
+		{"COMFY_START_TIMEOUT", &cfg.ComfyStartTimeout},
+		{"UPDATE_INTERVAL", &cfg.UpdateInterval},
+		{"GAME_POLL_INTERVAL", &cfg.GamePollInterval},
+	} {
+		if err := envDuration(getenv, e.name, e.dst); err != nil {
+			return cfg, err
+		}
+	}
+	if v := getenv("GAME_PROCS"); v != "" {
+		cfg.GameProcs = splitList(v)
+	}
+	if v := getenv("GPU_IGNORE_PROCS"); v != "" {
+		cfg.GPUIgnoreProcs = splitList(v)
+	}
+	if v := getenv("GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB"); v != "" {
+		n, err := strconv.Atoi(v)
+		if err != nil || n < 0 {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB: must be a non-negative integer (MiB, 0 = disabled)")
+		}
+		cfg.GPUForeignVRAMMB = n
+	}
+	if v := getenv("PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT"); v != "" {
+		n, err := strconv.ParseInt(v, 10, 64)
+		if err != nil || n < 0 {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT: must be a non-negative integer (bytes)")
+		}
+		cfg.PromptCaptureLimit = n
+	}
+	if v := getenv("AUTO_UPDATE"); v != "" {
+		b, err := strconv.ParseBool(v)
+		if err != nil {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("AUTO_UPDATE: must be a boolean (true/false)")
+		}
+		cfg.AutoUpdate = b
+	}
+	if v := getenv("LLM_BUSY_MODE"); v != "" {
+		if v != "wait" && v != "reject" {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("LLM_BUSY_MODE: must be \"wait\" or \"reject\"")
+		}
+		cfg.LLMBusyMode = v
+	}
+	if v := getenv("LLM_BUSY_STATUS"); v != "" {
+		n, err := strconv.Atoi(v)
+		if err != nil || n < 400 || n > 599 {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("LLM_BUSY_STATUS: must be an HTTP status in 400-599")
+		}
+		cfg.LLMBusyStatus = n
+	}
+	if v := getenv("BUSY_RETRY_AFTER"); v != "" {
+		n, err := strconv.Atoi(v)
+		if err != nil || n <= 0 {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("BUSY_RETRY_AFTER: must be a positive integer (seconds)")
+		}
+		cfg.BusyRetryAfter = n
+	}
+	if v := getenv("APP_VER"); v != "" {
+		switch {
+		case v == "dev" || v == "stable":
+			cfg.AppVersion = v
+		default:
+			if _, ok := parseVersion(v); !ok {
+				return cfg, fmt.Errorf("APP_VER: must be \"dev\", \"stable\" or a vX.Y.Z version")
+			}
+			cfg.AppVersion = "v" + strings.TrimPrefix(v, "v")
+		}
+	}
+	// LOGLEVEL is the canonical spelling; LOG_LEVEL is kept as an alias.
+	logLevelValue := getenv("LOGLEVEL")
+	if logLevelValue == "" {
+		logLevelValue = getenv("LOG_LEVEL")
+	}
+	if logLevelValue != "" {
+		var level slog.Level
+		if err := level.UnmarshalText([]byte(logLevelValue)); err != nil {
+			return cfg, fmt.Errorf("LOGLEVEL: %w", err)
+		}
+		cfg.LogLevel = level
+	}
+	switch strings.ToLower(getenv("LOG_FORMAT")) {
+	case "", "text":
+	case "json":
+		cfg.LogJSON = true
+	default:
+		return cfg, fmt.Errorf("LOG_FORMAT: must be \"text\" or \"json\"")
+	}
+	if cfg.ComfyCmd != "" && cfg.ComfyURL == "" {
+		return cfg, fmt.Errorf("COMFY_CMD requires COMFY_URL to be set (the proxy needs somewhere to forward)")
+	}
+	if cfg.ComfyCmd == "" && cfg.ComfyDir != "" && cfg.ComfyURL == "" {
+		return cfg, fmt.Errorf("COMFY_DIR without COMFY_CMD requires COMFY_URL to be set (it enables the managed ComfyUI)")
+	}
+	if cfg.OllamaURL == "" && cfg.ComfyURL == "" {
+		return cfg, ErrNoConsumer
+	}
+	return cfg, nil
+}

internal/config/config_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,249 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"log/slog"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestDefaults(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		if k == "OLLAMA_URL" {
+			return "http://127.0.0.1:11435"
+		}
+		return ""
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if cfg.ListenOllama != ":11434" || cfg.ListenComfy != ":8188" {
+		t.Fatalf("listen addrs = %s %s", cfg.ListenOllama, cfg.ListenComfy)
+	}
+	if cfg.ComfyURL != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("ComfyURL default = %q, want empty (disabled)", cfg.ComfyURL)
+	}
+	if cfg.UnloadTimeout != time.Minute || cfg.JobTimeout != 15*time.Minute {
+		t.Fatalf("timeouts = %v %v", cfg.UnloadTimeout, cfg.JobTimeout)
+	}
+	if !cfg.AutoUpdate || cfg.UpdateInterval != 6*time.Hour {
+		t.Fatalf("update = %v %v", cfg.AutoUpdate, cfg.UpdateInterval)
+	}
+	if cfg.LogLevel != slog.LevelWarn {
+		t.Fatalf("log level = %v", cfg.LogLevel)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLoadRequiresConsumer(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := Load(func(string) string { return "" })
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "OLLAMA_URL") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want missing-consumer error", err)
+	}
+	if !errors.Is(err, ErrNoConsumer) {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want errors.Is(err, ErrNoConsumer)", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAppVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	load := func(appVer string) (Config, error) {
+		return Load(func(k string) string {
+			switch k {
+			case "OLLAMA_URL":
+				return "http://127.0.0.1:11435"
+			case "APP_VER":
+				return appVer
+			}
+			return ""
+		})
+	}
+	cfg, err := load("")
+	if err != nil || cfg.AppVersion != "stable" {
+		t.Fatalf("default AppVersion = %q, err %v; want stable", cfg.AppVersion, err)
+	}
+	for _, v := range []string{"dev", "stable"} {
+		if cfg, err := load(v); err != nil || cfg.AppVersion != v {
+			t.Fatalf("APP_VER=%s: got %q, err %v", v, cfg.AppVersion, err)
+		}
+	}
+	if cfg, err := load("1.2.3"); err != nil || cfg.AppVersion != "v1.2.3" {
+		t.Fatalf("APP_VER=1.2.3: got %q, err %v; want normalized v1.2.3", cfg.AppVersion, err)
+	}
+	if _, err := load("nightly"); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("APP_VER=nightly: want validation error")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestComfyCmdRequiresURL(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		if k == "COMFY_CMD" {
+			return "python main.py"
+		}
+		return ""
+	})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "COMFY_CMD requires COMFY_URL") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want COMFY_CMD/COMFY_URL validation error", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		switch k {
+		case "COMFY_CMD":
+			return "python main.py"
+		case "COMFY_URL":
+			return "http://127.0.0.1:8188"
+		}
+		return ""
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("COMFY_CMD with COMFY_URL must load: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseEnvFile(t *testing.T) {
+	input := `# comment
+OLLAMA_URL=http://host:11435
+
+LOGLEVEL=debug
+SPACED = value with spaces
+`
+	values, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(input))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if values["OLLAMA_URL"] != "http://host:11435" {
+		t.Fatalf("OLLAMA_URL = %q", values["OLLAMA_URL"])
+	}
+	if values["LOGLEVEL"] != "debug" {
+		t.Fatalf("LOGLEVEL = %q", values["LOGLEVEL"])
+	}
+	if values["SPACED"] != "value with spaces" {
+		t.Fatalf("SPACED = %q", values["SPACED"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseEnvFileMalformed(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader("OK=1\nNOT_A_PAIR\n"))
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "line 2") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want line 2 error", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestEnvOverridesFile(t *testing.T) {
+	file := map[string]string{"OLLAMA_URL": "http://file:1", "UNLOAD_TIMEOUT": "42s"}
+	env := map[string]string{"OLLAMA_URL": "http://env:2"}
+	getenv := func(k string) string {
+		if v := env[k]; v != "" {
+			return v
+		}
+		return file[k]
+	}
+	cfg, err := Load(getenv)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if cfg.OllamaURL != "http://env:2" {
+		t.Fatalf("OllamaURL = %q, want env value", cfg.OllamaURL)
+	}
+	if cfg.UnloadTimeout != 42*time.Second {
+		t.Fatalf("UnloadTimeout = %v, want file value", cfg.UnloadTimeout)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLoadErrors(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tc := range []struct{ key, value string }{
+		{"UNLOAD_TIMEOUT", "bogus"},
+		{"PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT", "-5"},
+		{"AUTO_UPDATE", "maybe"},
+		{"LOGLEVEL", "shouty"},
+		{"LOG_FORMAT", "yaml"},
+		{"LLM_BUSY_MODE", "bogus"},
+		{"LLM_BUSY_STATUS", "200"},
+		{"BUSY_RETRY_AFTER", "0"},
+		{"GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB", "-1"},
+		{"GAME_POLL_INTERVAL", "bogus"},
+	} {
+		_, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+			if k == tc.key {
+				return tc.value
+			}
+			if k == "OLLAMA_URL" {
+				return "http://127.0.0.1:11435"
+			}
+			return ""
+		})
+		if err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("%s=%s: expected error", tc.key, tc.value)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestGameDetectionSettings(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		switch k {
+		case "OLLAMA_URL":
+			return "http://127.0.0.1:11435"
+		case "GAME_PROCS":
+			return " cyberpunk2077.exe, hl2.exe ,, "
+		case "GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB":
+			return "1024"
+		case "GPU_IGNORE_PROCS":
+			return "ollama, my-trainer"
+		}
+		return ""
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(cfg.GameProcs) != 2 || cfg.GameProcs[0] != "cyberpunk2077.exe" || cfg.GameProcs[1] != "hl2.exe" {
+		t.Fatalf("GameProcs = %v", cfg.GameProcs)
+	}
+	if cfg.GPUForeignVRAMMB != 1024 {
+		t.Fatalf("GPUForeignVRAMMB = %d", cfg.GPUForeignVRAMMB)
+	}
+	if len(cfg.GPUIgnoreProcs) != 2 || cfg.GPUIgnoreProcs[1] != "my-trainer" {
+		t.Fatalf("GPUIgnoreProcs = %v", cfg.GPUIgnoreProcs)
+	}
+	if cfg.GamePollInterval != 15*time.Second {
+		t.Fatalf("GamePollInterval = %v, want 15s default", cfg.GamePollInterval)
+	}
+
+	// Defaults: both detection paths off, ignore list covers our consumers.
+	cfg, err = Load(func(k string) string {
+		if k == "OLLAMA_URL" {
+			return "http://127.0.0.1:11435"
+		}
+		return ""
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(cfg.GameProcs) != 0 || cfg.GPUForeignVRAMMB != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("detection must be off by default: %v %d", cfg.GameProcs, cfg.GPUForeignVRAMMB)
+	}
+	if len(cfg.GPUIgnoreProcs) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("GPUIgnoreProcs default must not be empty")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestComfyDirOnlyEnablesManaged(t *testing.T) {
+	// COMFY_DIR without COMFY_CMD and without COMFY_URL is a mistake.
+	_, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		if k == "COMFY_DIR" {
+			return `C:\ComfyUI`
+		}
+		return ""
+	})
+	if err == nil || !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "COMFY_DIR") {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want COMFY_DIR/COMFY_URL validation error", err)
+	}
+	// With COMFY_URL it loads — the launch command is derived from the dir.
+	if _, err := Load(func(k string) string {
+		switch k {
+		case "COMFY_DIR":
+			return `C:\ComfyUI`
+		case "COMFY_URL":
+			return "http://127.0.0.1:8189"
+		}
+		return ""
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("COMFY_DIR with COMFY_URL must load: %v", err)
+	}
+}

internal/config/sample.go

@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// sampleEntry is one line pair in the sample env file: a comment and the
+// (usually commented-out) KEY=VALUE line.
+type sampleEntry struct {
+	name    string
+	value   string
+	comment string
+	active  bool // rendered uncommented
+}
+
+// appVerComment documents APP_VER wherever it is rendered.
+const appVerComment = `Version to run: "dev" disables updates, "stable" tracks the latest release, or pin an exact release like v0.1.7`
+
+// sampleEntries lists every setting in sample order. logFile activates the
+// LOG_FILE line (Windows install); empty keeps it commented like the rest.
+// CFG_VER and APP_VER are not entries — they head the file, always active.
+func sampleEntries(logFile string) []sampleEntry {
+	return []sampleEntry{
+		{"LISTEN_OLLAMA", ":11434", "Listen address for Ollama-compatible clients (gpu-turnstile poses as Ollama here)", false},
+		{"LISTEN_COMFY", ":8188", "Listen address for ComfyUI clients (gpu-turnstile poses as ComfyUI here)", false},
+		{"OLLAMA_URL", "http://127.0.0.1:11434", "Ollama upstream URL; setting it enables the Ollama consumer (default: empty = disabled)", false},
+		{"COMFY_URL", "http://127.0.0.1:8188", "ComfyUI upstream URL; setting it enables the ComfyUI consumer (default: empty = disabled)", false},
+		{"WARM_MODEL", "", "Optional model to reload after an image job (default: empty = none)", false},
+		{"COMFY_CMD", `"C:\ComfyUI\.venv\Scripts\python.exe" ComfyUI\main.py --port 8188`, "Spawn and supervise ComfyUI on demand: the first request starts it, it stops after COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT to free VRAM (default: derived from COMFY_DIR; both empty = unmanaged)", false},
+		{"COMFY_DIR", `C:\ComfyUI`, "Root of a standard ComfyUI venv install (.venv + main.py): setting it alone supervises ComfyUI with the derived launch command; also the working directory for COMFY_CMD", false},
+		{"COMFY_IDLE_TIMEOUT", "5m", "Stop the managed ComfyUI after this long without requests or jobs (frees VRAM)", false},
+		{"COMFY_START_TIMEOUT", "2m", "How long a request waits for the managed ComfyUI to come up", false},
+		{"GAME_PROCS", "cyberpunk2077.exe,hl2.exe", "While a listed process runs, the GPU counts as held by it: requests wait, Ollama unloads, managed ComfyUI stops (default: empty = disabled)", false},
+		{"GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB", "1024", "Also treat the GPU as held when a process not in GPU_IGNORE_PROCS uses more VRAM than this (needs nvidia-smi; 0/empty = disabled)", false},
+		{"GPU_IGNORE_PROCS", "ollama,ollama app,ollama_llama_server,python,pythonw", "Process names never counted as foreign GPU users (ComfyUI runs under python)", false},
+		{"GAME_POLL_INTERVAL", "15s", "How often game/VRAM detection runs (nvidia-smi polls keep the GPU awake; don't go below ~10s)", false},
+		{"UNLOAD_TIMEOUT", "60s", "How long to wait for Ollama to unload a model", false},
+		{"JOB_TIMEOUT", "15m", "Maximum time to wait for a ComfyUI job", false},
+		{"LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT", "10m", "Max time an LLM request waits for the GPU before being answered 503 (wait mode)", false},
+		{"LLM_BUSY_MODE", "wait", `How blocked LLM requests are handled: "wait" holds them, "reject" fails them immediately`, false},
+		{"LLM_BUSY_STATUS", "503", "HTTP status for rejected LLM requests in reject mode (400-599, e.g. 429)", false},
+		{"BUSY_RETRY_AFTER", "30", "Seconds sent as Retry-After on busy responses (both modes)", false},
+		{"LOGLEVEL", "warn", `Log verbosity: debug, info, warn, error; "info" logs every request (LOG_LEVEL works too)`, false},
+		{"LOG_FORMAT", "text", `Log format: "text" or "json"`, false},
+		{"LOG_FILE", logFile, "Append logs to this file instead of stderr (a Windows service has no console)", logFile != ""},
+		{"UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL", "500ms", "/api/ps poll interval while unloading", false},
+		{"HISTORY_POLL_INTERVAL", "1s", "/history/<id> poll interval while a job runs", false},
+		{"PROBE_TIMEOUT", "5s", "Probe timeout for the startup probe and the periodic health check", false},
+		{"HEALTH_INTERVAL", "30s", "How often enabled upstreams are probed; status changes are logged", false},
+		{"FREE_TIMEOUT", "30s", "Timeout for the POST /free call after an image job", false},
+		{"WARM_TIMEOUT", "2m", "Timeout for the warm-model reload after an image job", false},
+		{"SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT", "10s", "Graceful shutdown timeout on SIGINT/SIGTERM", false},
+		{"BACKOFF_INITIAL", "1s", "First retry wait when an upstream connection fails", false},
+		{"BACKOFF_MAX", "60s", "Cap for the exponential retry backoff", false},
+		{"PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT", "65536", "Bytes of the /prompt response buffered to find prompt_id (pass-through unaffected)", false},
+		{"AUTO_UPDATE", "true", "Poll the releases API for signed updates", false},
+		{"UPDATE_INTERVAL", "6h", "Auto-update check interval", false},
+		{"UPDATE_REPO", "https://git.rambossek.at/PUBLIC/gpu-turnstile", "Repository to check for releases", false},
+		{"UPDATE_ASSET", "gpu-turnstile.exe", "Release asset to download", false},
+	}
+}
+
+// SampleEnv renders a sample .env file covering every setting, each with a
+// comment line. Everything is commented out — so all defaults apply —
+// except the CFG_VER/APP_VER header and LOG_FILE when logFile is non-empty
+// (a Windows service has no console). CFG_VER records the version that
+// wrote the file so installs — and startups after an update — can upgrade
+// it.
+func SampleEnv(version, logFile string) string {
+	// CFG_VER is always a concrete vX.Y.Z — never "dev". A dev build
+	// stamps v0.0.0, which sorts older than any release, so the next
+	// release install upgrades the file and stamps a proper version.
+	cfgVer := version
+	if cfgVer == "" || cfgVer == "dev" {
+		cfgVer = "v0.0.0"
+	}
+	var b strings.Builder
+	fmt.Fprintf(&b, "CFG_VER=%s\n", cfgVer)
+	b.WriteString("# Config format reference, written by the installer — do not edit.\n")
+	b.WriteString("# The installer uses it to append newly added settings on updates.\n\n")
+	b.WriteString("# gpu-turnstile configuration\n")
+	b.WriteString("# KEY=VALUE lines; \"#\" starts a comment. Every setting below is at its\n")
+	b.WriteString("# default and commented out — remove the \"#\" to change it.\n")
+	b.WriteString("# At least one of OLLAMA_URL / COMFY_URL must be set for the proxy to start.\n\n")
+	writeEntry(&b, sampleEntry{"APP_VER", "stable", appVerComment, true})
+	for _, e := range sampleEntries(logFile) {
+		writeEntry(&b, e)
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}
+
+func writeEntry(b *strings.Builder, e sampleEntry) {
+	fmt.Fprintf(b, "# %s\n", e.comment)
+	if e.active {
+		fmt.Fprintf(b, "%s=%s\n\n", e.name, e.value)
+	} else {
+		fmt.Fprintf(b, "#%s=%s\n\n", e.name, e.value)
+	}
+}
+
+// SyncSample upgrades an installer-written env file: when its CFG_VER says
+// it was written by an older gpu-turnstile, every setting the file does not
+// mention — commented or not — is appended at the end, and CFG_VER is
+// updated to version. Files without CFG_VER (hand-written or foreign),
+// up-to-date files and "dev" builds are returned unchanged; changed reports
+// whether the returned content differs.
+func SyncSample(data, version, logFile string) (string, bool) {
+	if version == "" || version == "dev" {
+		return data, false
+	}
+	values, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(data))
+	if err != nil || values["CFG_VER"] == "" {
+		return data, false // not installer-written; the caller decides
+	}
+	if compareVersions(values["CFG_VER"], version) >= 0 {
+		return data, false // same or newer
+	}
+
+	present := make(map[string]bool)
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(data, "\n") {
+		line = strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(line), "#"))
+		if name, _, ok := strings.Cut(line, "="); ok {
+			present[strings.TrimSpace(name)] = true
+		}
+	}
+
+	lines := strings.Split(data, "\n")
+	for i, l := range lines {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(l), "CFG_VER=") {
+			lines[i] = "CFG_VER=" + version
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	out := strings.Join(lines, "\n")
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(out, "\n") {
+		out += "\n"
+	}
+
+	var b strings.Builder
+	if !present["APP_VER"] {
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "\n# Added by gpu-turnstile %s:\n", version)
+		writeEntry(&b, sampleEntry{"APP_VER", "stable", appVerComment, true})
+	}
+	for _, e := range sampleEntries(logFile) {
+		if !present[e.name] {
+			fmt.Fprintf(&b, "\n# Added by gpu-turnstile %s:\n", version)
+			writeEntry(&b, e)
+		}
+	}
+	out += b.String()
+	return out, out != data
+}
+
+// compareVersions orders two vX.Y.Z version strings. Unparseable versions
+// (including "dev") sort before any release.
+func compareVersions(a, b string) int {
+	pa, oka := parseVersion(a)
+	pb, okb := parseVersion(b)
+	if oka != okb {
+		if oka {
+			return 1
+		}
+		return -1
+	}
+	for i := range pa {
+		if pa[i] != pb[i] {
+			if pa[i] > pb[i] {
+				return 1
+			}
+			return -1
+		}
+	}
+	return 0
+}
+
+func parseVersion(v string) ([3]int, bool) {
+	var out [3]int
+	v = strings.TrimPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(v), "v")
+	parts := strings.Split(v, ".")
+	if len(parts) != 3 {
+		return out, false
+	}
+	for i, p := range parts {
+		n, err := strconv.Atoi(p)
+		if err != nil || n < 0 {
+			return out, false
+		}
+		out[i] = n
+	}
+	return out, true
+}

internal/config/sample_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+package config
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+const sampleLogPath = `C:\ProgramData\gpu-turnstile\gpu-turnstile.log`
+
+var allSettingNames = []string{
+	"LISTEN_OLLAMA", "LISTEN_COMFY", "OLLAMA_URL", "COMFY_URL",
+	"WARM_MODEL", "UNLOAD_TIMEOUT", "JOB_TIMEOUT", "LLM_WAIT_TIMEOUT",
+	"LLM_BUSY_MODE", "LLM_BUSY_STATUS", "BUSY_RETRY_AFTER",
+	"LOGLEVEL", "LOG_FORMAT", "LOG_FILE",
+	"UNLOAD_POLL_INTERVAL", "HISTORY_POLL_INTERVAL", "PROBE_TIMEOUT",
+	"FREE_TIMEOUT", "WARM_TIMEOUT", "SHUTDOWN_TIMEOUT",
+	"BACKOFF_INITIAL", "BACKOFF_MAX", "PROMPT_CAPTURE_LIMIT",
+	"AUTO_UPDATE", "UPDATE_INTERVAL", "UPDATE_REPO", "UPDATE_ASSET",
+}
+
+func TestSampleEnv(t *testing.T) {
+	sample := SampleEnv("v0.1.7", sampleLogPath)
+
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(sample, "CFG_VER=v0.1.7\n") {
+		t.Errorf("first line does not carry CFG_VER: %q", strings.SplitN(sample, "\n", 2)[0])
+	}
+
+	// Every setting known to Load must appear.
+	for _, name := range allSettingNames {
+		if !strings.Contains(sample, name+"=") {
+			t.Errorf("sample is missing %s", name)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// The sample must parse cleanly; active values are CFG_VER, APP_VER
+	// and LOG_FILE.
+	values, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(sample))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("sample does not parse: %v", err)
+	}
+	want := map[string]string{"CFG_VER": "v0.1.7", "APP_VER": "stable", "LOG_FILE": sampleLogPath}
+	if len(values) != len(want) {
+		t.Fatalf("active values = %v, want %v", values, want)
+	}
+	for k, v := range want {
+		if values[k] != v {
+			t.Errorf("%s = %q, want %q", k, values[k], v)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Without a log path LOG_FILE stays commented out.
+	values, err = ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(SampleEnv("v0.1.7", "")))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("sample without log path does not parse: %v", err)
+	}
+	if len(values) != 2 || values["LOG_FILE"] != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("active values = %v, want only CFG_VER and APP_VER", values)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSyncSample(t *testing.T) {
+	old := SampleEnv("v0.1.6", sampleLogPath)
+	// Simulate a setting that did not exist yet when the file was written.
+	old = strings.Replace(old, "#UPDATE_ASSET=gpu-turnstile.exe\n", "", 1)
+
+	out, changed := SyncSample(old, "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath)
+	if !changed {
+		t.Fatal("older installer file was not upgraded")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "\nCFG_VER=v0.1.7\n") && !strings.HasPrefix(out, "CFG_VER=v0.1.7\n") {
+		t.Error("CFG_VER was not updated to the new version")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "#UPDATE_ASSET=gpu-turnstile.exe") {
+		t.Error("missing setting was not appended")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "LOG_FILE="+sampleLogPath) {
+		t.Error("existing active LOG_FILE was lost")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "Added by gpu-turnstile v0.1.7") {
+		t.Error("appended section is not attributed")
+	}
+	if _, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(out)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("upgraded file does not parse: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// A file written by the same or a newer version is left alone.
+	if _, changed := SyncSample(SampleEnv("v0.1.7", sampleLogPath), "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath); changed {
+		t.Error("same-version file was modified")
+	}
+	if _, changed := SyncSample(SampleEnv("v0.2.0", sampleLogPath), "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath); changed {
+		t.Error("newer-version file was modified")
+	}
+
+	// Files without CFG_VER are not installer-written; the installer
+	// replaces them, SyncSample leaves them alone.
+	user := "OLLAMA_URL=http://host:11434\n"
+	if out, changed := SyncSample(user, "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath); changed || out != user {
+		t.Error("file without CFG_VER was modified")
+	}
+
+	// A dev build never upgrades.
+	if _, changed := SyncSample(old, "dev", sampleLogPath); changed {
+		t.Error("dev build modified the file")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSyncSampleAppendsMissingAppVer(t *testing.T) {
+	old := SampleEnv("v0.1.6", sampleLogPath)
+	old = strings.Replace(old, "# "+appVerComment+"\n", "", 1)
+	old = strings.Replace(old, "APP_VER=stable\n", "", 1)
+
+	out, changed := SyncSample(old, "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath)
+	if !changed {
+		t.Fatal("file without APP_VER was not upgraded")
+	}
+	values, err := ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(out))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("upgraded file does not parse: %v", err)
+	}
+	if values["APP_VER"] != "stable" {
+		t.Fatalf("APP_VER = %q, want appended default \"stable\"", values["APP_VER"])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSampleEnvDevStampsConcreteVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	// A dev build must never write CFG_VER=dev: it stamps v0.0.0, and the
+	// next release install upgrades the file to a proper version.
+	dev := SampleEnv("dev", sampleLogPath)
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(dev, "CFG_VER=v0.0.0\n") {
+		t.Errorf("dev sample first line: %q", strings.SplitN(dev, "\n", 2)[0])
+	}
+	out, changed := SyncSample(dev, "v0.1.7", sampleLogPath)
+	if !changed || !strings.HasPrefix(out, "CFG_VER=v0.1.7\n") {
+		t.Errorf("dev-stamped file was not upgraded to v0.1.7 (changed=%v)", changed)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCompareVersions(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		a, b string
+		want int
+	}{
+		{"v0.1.6", "v0.1.7", -1},
+		{"v0.1.7", "v0.1.7", 0},
+		{"v1.0.0", "v0.9.9", 1},
+		{"0.1.7", "v0.1.6", 1},
+		{"dev", "v0.1.7", -1},
+		{"v0.1.7", "dev", 1},
+		{"dev", "dev", 0},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		if got := compareVersions(c.a, c.b); got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("compareVersions(%q, %q) = %d, want %d", c.a, c.b, got, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/game/game.go

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+// Package game detects processes outside gpu-turnstile's control that hold
+// the GPU — typically a game — so the proxy can block new GPU work and free
+// VRAM while they run. Two detection paths: an explicit process watch list
+// (GAME_PROCS) and a foreign-VRAM threshold via nvidia-smi
+// (GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB) that catches anything not on the ignore list.
+package game
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// Process is one running OS process.
+type Process struct {
+	PID  int
+	Name string
+}
+
+// computeApp is one process holding GPU memory, as reported by nvidia-smi.
+type computeApp struct {
+	PID    int
+	UsedMB int
+}
+
+// Detector checks whether a foreign process holds the GPU. The zero value
+// (no watch list, no threshold) never detects anything; main only starts the
+// poll loop when at least one path is configured.
+type Detector struct {
+	procs    map[string]bool // normalized names from GAME_PROCS
+	vramMB   int             // foreign VRAM threshold; 0 = disabled
+	ignore   map[string]bool // normalized names never counted as foreign
+	log      *slog.Logger
+	noNvidia bool // nvidia-smi was not found; VRAM path disabled for good
+}
+
+// New builds a Detector from the configured watch list, VRAM threshold in
+// MiB (0 disables the nvidia-smi path) and ignore list. Names are matched
+// case-insensitively, with or without a trailing ".exe".
+func New(procs []string, vramMB int, ignore []string, log *slog.Logger) *Detector {
+	if log == nil {
+		log = slog.Default()
+	}
+	return &Detector{
+		procs:  nameSet(procs),
+		vramMB: vramMB,
+		ignore: nameSet(ignore),
+		log:    log,
+	}
+}
+
+// normName lowercases a process name and strips a trailing ".exe" so the
+// watch and ignore lists match on Windows and Linux spellings alike.
+func normName(s string) string {
+	return strings.TrimSuffix(strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(s)), ".exe")
+}
+
+func nameSet(names []string) map[string]bool {
+	set := make(map[string]bool, len(names))
+	for _, n := range names {
+		if n = normName(n); n != "" {
+			set[n] = true
+		}
+	}
+	return set
+}
+
+// Check looks once for foreign GPU holders and returns a human-readable
+// description of each (empty when the GPU is free for gpu-turnstile's
+// consumers). A failing nvidia-smi call is returned as an error only when
+// the process list found nothing; a missing nvidia-smi binary disables the
+// VRAM path permanently (logged once).
+func (d *Detector) Check(ctx context.Context) ([]string, error) {
+	ps, psErr := processes()
+	if d.vramMB <= 0 || d.noNvidia {
+		return d.detect(ps, nil), psErr
+	}
+	apps, err := queryComputeApps(ctx)
+	if errors.Is(err, exec.ErrNotFound) {
+		d.noNvidia = true
+		d.log.Warn("GPU_FOREIGN_VRAM_MB is set but nvidia-smi was not found; VRAM detection disabled")
+		return d.detect(ps, nil), nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return d.detect(ps, nil), err
+	}
+	return d.detect(ps, apps), nil
+}
+
+// detect is the pure core of Check: given the process table and (optionally)
+// the nvidia-smi compute-apps list, it returns the foreign holders.
+func (d *Detector) detect(ps []Process, apps []computeApp) []string {
+	var holders []string
+	for _, p := range ps {
+		if d.procs[normName(p.Name)] {
+			holders = append(holders, fmt.Sprintf("%s (pid %d)", p.Name, p.PID))
+		}
+	}
+	if d.vramMB > 0 && apps != nil {
+		names := make(map[int]string, len(ps))
+		for _, p := range ps {
+			names[p.PID] = p.Name
+		}
+		for _, a := range apps {
+			name := names[a.PID]
+			if d.ignore[normName(name)] || a.UsedMB < d.vramMB {
+				continue
+			}
+			if name == "" {
+				name = "unknown process"
+			}
+			holders = append(holders, fmt.Sprintf("%s (pid %d) using %d MiB VRAM", name, a.PID, a.UsedMB))
+		}
+	}
+	return holders
+}
+
+// queryComputeApps runs nvidia-smi and parses the per-process VRAM list.
+// Note: under Windows' WDDM driver, nvidia-smi only sees compute
+// allocations, so graphics-only games may not appear there — GAME_PROCS is
+// the reliable path on Windows; on Linux both work.
+func queryComputeApps(ctx context.Context) ([]computeApp, error) {
+	out, err := exec.CommandContext(ctx, "nvidia-smi",
+		"--query-compute-apps=pid,used_memory", "--format=csv,noheader,nounits").Output()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return parseComputeApps(string(out))
+}
+
+// parseComputeApps parses "pid, used_memory" CSV lines (no header, MiB
+// units). Unsupported rows ("N/A" on WDDM) are skipped.
+func parseComputeApps(out string) ([]computeApp, error) {
+	var apps []computeApp
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(out, "\n") {
+		line = strings.TrimSpace(line)
+		if line == "" {
+			continue
+		}
+		pidStr, memStr, ok := strings.Cut(line, ",")
+		if !ok {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("nvidia-smi: unexpected line %q", line)
+		}
+		pid, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(pidStr))
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("nvidia-smi: unexpected pid in %q", line)
+		}
+		mem, err := strconv.Atoi(strings.TrimSpace(memStr))
+		if err != nil {
+			continue // "N/A" and friends: unsupported under WDDM
+		}
+		apps = append(apps, computeApp{PID: pid, UsedMB: mem})
+	}
+	return apps, nil
+}

internal/game/game_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+package game
+
+import (
+	"runtime"
+	"slices"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestNormName(t *testing.T) {
+	for in, want := range map[string]string{
+		"Cyberpunk2077.exe": "cyberpunk2077",
+		"ollama":            "ollama",
+		"OLLAMA APP.EXE":    "ollama app",
+		" python.exe ":      "python",
+		"hl2":               "hl2",
+	} {
+		if got := normName(in); got != want {
+			t.Errorf("normName(%q) = %q, want %q", in, got, want)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseComputeApps(t *testing.T) {
+	apps, err := parseComputeApps("1234, 512\n  42 , 8192 \n\n")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want := []computeApp{{PID: 1234, UsedMB: 512}, {PID: 42, UsedMB: 8192}}
+	if !slices.Equal(apps, want) {
+		t.Errorf("got %+v, want %+v", apps, want)
+	}
+
+	// WDDM reports "N/A" for memory; those rows are skipped, not fatal.
+	apps, err = parseComputeApps("1234, N/A\n42, 1024\n")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !slices.Equal(apps, []computeApp{{PID: 42, UsedMB: 1024}}) {
+		t.Errorf("got %+v", apps)
+	}
+
+	if _, err := parseComputeApps("garbage\n"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected an error for a malformed line")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDetect(t *testing.T) {
+	d := New([]string{"Cyberpunk2077.exe", "hl2"}, 1024,
+		[]string{"ollama", "python", "pythonw"}, nil)
+	ps := []Process{
+		{PID: 10, Name: "ollama.exe"},
+		{PID: 20, Name: "python.exe"},
+		{PID: 30, Name: "cyberpunk2077.exe"},
+	}
+	apps := []computeApp{
+		{PID: 10, UsedMB: 8192}, // ignored: ollama
+		{PID: 20, UsedMB: 4096}, // ignored: python (ComfyUI)
+		{PID: 40, UsedMB: 2048}, // foreign, above threshold
+		{PID: 50, UsedMB: 100},  // foreign but below threshold
+	}
+	holders := d.detect(ps, apps)
+	if len(holders) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("got %v, want 2 holders", holders)
+	}
+	if holders[0] != "cyberpunk2077.exe (pid 30)" {
+		t.Errorf("holders[0] = %q", holders[0])
+	}
+	if holders[1] != "unknown process (pid 40) using 2048 MiB VRAM" {
+		t.Errorf("holders[1] = %q", holders[1])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDetectNothingConfigured(t *testing.T) {
+	d := New(nil, 0, nil, nil)
+	if got := d.detect([]Process{{PID: 1, Name: "game.exe"}}, nil); len(got) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("got %v, want none", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestProcessesLive(t *testing.T) {
+	if runtime.GOOS != "windows" && runtime.GOOS != "linux" {
+		t.Skip("no process listing on this platform")
+	}
+	ps, err := processes()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(ps) == 0 {
+		t.Fatal("no processes listed")
+	}
+	for _, p := range ps {
+		if p.Name == "" {
+			t.Errorf("pid %d has an empty name", p.PID)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/game/procs_linux.go

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package game
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// processes lists the running processes from /proc/<pid>/comm.
+func processes() ([]Process, error) {
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir("/proc")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var ps []Process
+	for _, e := range entries {
+		pid, err := strconv.Atoi(e.Name())
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		comm, err := os.ReadFile("/proc/" + e.Name() + "/comm")
+		if err != nil {
+			continue // process vanished mid-walk
+		}
+		ps = append(ps, Process{PID: pid, Name: strings.TrimSpace(string(comm))})
+	}
+	return ps, nil
+}

internal/game/procs_other.go

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+//go:build !windows && !linux
+
+package game
+
+// processes is unsupported on this platform; the process watch list never
+// matches and the nvidia-smi path reports PIDs without names.
+func processes() ([]Process, error) { return nil, nil }

internal/game/procs_windows.go

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+//go:build windows
+
+package game
+
+import (
+	"unsafe"
+
+	"golang.org/x/sys/windows"
+)
+
+// processes lists the running processes via the Toolhelp32 snapshot API.
+func processes() ([]Process, error) {
+	h, err := windows.CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(windows.TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer windows.CloseHandle(h) //nolint:errcheck // best effort
+
+	var entry windows.ProcessEntry32
+	entry.Size = uint32(unsafe.Sizeof(entry))
+	if err := windows.Process32First(h, &entry); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	var ps []Process
+	for {
+		ps = append(ps, Process{
+			PID:  int(entry.ProcessID),
+			Name: windows.UTF16ToString(entry.ExeFile[:]),
+		})
+		if err := windows.Process32Next(h, &entry); err != nil {
+			break // ERROR_NO_MORE_FILES ends the walk
+		}
+	}
+	return ps, nil
+}

internal/lock/lock.go

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 // Package lock implements the two-mode GPU arbitration lock: any number of
 // concurrent LLM requests ("readers") or exactly one image job ("writer"),
-// with image jobs taking priority over newly arriving LLM requests.
+// with image jobs taking priority over newly arriving LLM requests. An
+// external hold (SetExternal) blocks new grants of both kinds while a
+// foreign process — e.g. a game — holds the GPU; in-flight work drains.
 package lock
 
 import (
@@ -16,6 +18,7 @@ const (
 	StateIdle     State = "idle"
 	StateLLM      State = "llm"
 	StateImage    State = "image"
+	StateExternal State = "external"
 )
 
 type imageWaiter struct{ id uint64 }
@@ -30,6 +33,7 @@ type Lock struct {
 	imageActive bool // an image job holds the GPU
 	imageQ      []imageWaiter
 	nextID      uint64
+	external    string // non-empty: a foreign process (e.g. a game) holds the GPU
 
 	log *slog.Logger
 }
@@ -52,12 +56,41 @@ func (l *Lock) logTransition(msg string, args ...any) {
 	}
 }
 
+// SetExternal records that a process outside gpu-turnstile's control (a
+// game, another ML job) holds the GPU: new LLM and image grants block until
+// ClearExternal. In-flight work is not preempted. holder describes the
+// process for logs and busy responses.
+func (l *Lock) SetExternal(holder string) {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	l.external = holder
+	l.broadcast()
+	l.mu.Unlock()
+	l.logTransition("lock transition", "state", StateExternal, "holder", holder)
+}
+
+// ClearExternal lifts the external hold; waiting LLM and image requests
+// proceed.
+func (l *Lock) ClearExternal() {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	l.external = ""
+	l.broadcast()
+	l.mu.Unlock()
+	l.logTransition("lock transition", "state", StateIdle)
+}
+
+// External returns the current external holder, or "" when none.
+func (l *Lock) External() string {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	defer l.mu.Unlock()
+	return l.external
+}
+
 // AcquireLLM blocks until no image job is active or pending, then registers
 // one in-flight LLM request. Returns ctx.Err() if the context is cancelled
 // while waiting; no state is changed in that case.
 func (l *Lock) AcquireLLM(ctx context.Context) error {
 	l.mu.Lock()
-	for l.imageActive || len(l.imageQ) > 0 {
+	for l.imageActive || len(l.imageQ) > 0 || l.external != "" {
 		ch := l.change
 		l.mu.Unlock()
 		select {
@@ -74,6 +107,22 @@ func (l *Lock) AcquireLLM(ctx context.Context) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// TryAcquireLLM acquires one in-flight LLM slot without waiting and
+// reports whether it succeeded. It fails when an image job is active or
+// pending or an external hold is set.
+func (l *Lock) TryAcquireLLM() bool {
+	l.mu.Lock()
+	if l.imageActive || len(l.imageQ) > 0 || l.external != "" {
+		l.mu.Unlock()
+		return false
+	}
+	l.n++
+	n := l.n
+	l.mu.Unlock()
+	l.logTransition("lock transition", "state", StateLLM, "llm_inflight", n)
+	return true
+}
+
 // ReleaseLLM marks one LLM request as finished.
 func (l *Lock) ReleaseLLM() {
 	l.mu.Lock()
@@ -104,7 +153,7 @@ func (l *Lock) AcquireImage(ctx context.Context) error {
 
 	for {
 		l.mu.Lock()
-		if l.imageQ[0].id == w.id && l.n == 0 && !l.imageActive {
+		if l.imageQ[0].id == w.id && l.n == 0 && !l.imageActive && l.external == "" {
 			l.imageQ = l.imageQ[1:]
 			l.imageActive = true
 			l.mu.Unlock()
@@ -150,6 +199,8 @@ func (l *Lock) Snapshot() (state State, llmInflight int, imagePending bool) {
 		state = StateImage
 	case l.n > 0:
 		state = StateLLM
+	case l.external != "":
+		state = StateExternal
 	default:
 		state = StateIdle
 	}

internal/lock/lock_test.go

@@ -226,3 +226,70 @@ func TestRace(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("leaked lock state: state=%s n=%d pending=%v", state, n, pending)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestExternalHoldBlocksBoth(t *testing.T) {
+	lk := New(nil)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	lk.SetExternal("game.exe (pid 42)")
+	if lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM succeeded during external hold")
+	}
+	if got := lk.External(); got != "game.exe (pid 42)" {
+		t.Fatalf("External() = %q", got)
+	}
+	if state, _, _ := lk.Snapshot(); state != StateExternal {
+		t.Fatalf("state=%s, want external", state)
+	}
+
+	llmAcquired := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		if err := lk.AcquireLLM(ctx); err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		close(llmAcquired)
+	}()
+	assertBlocked(t, llmAcquired, "LLM acquire during external hold")
+
+	imageAcquired := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		if err := lk.AcquireImage(ctx); err != nil {
+			t.Error(err)
+		}
+		close(imageAcquired)
+	}()
+	assertBlocked(t, imageAcquired, "image acquire during external hold")
+
+	lk.ClearExternal()
+	// The queued image job wins over the LLM waiter (image priority).
+	waitFor(t, imageAcquired, "image acquire after ClearExternal")
+	assertBlocked(t, llmAcquired, "LLM acquire while image active")
+	lk.ReleaseImage()
+	waitFor(t, llmAcquired, "LLM acquire after image release")
+	lk.ReleaseLLM()
+}
+
+func TestExternalHoldDoesNotPreempt(t *testing.T) {
+	lk := New(nil)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	if err := lk.AcquireLLM(ctx); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	lk.SetExternal("game.exe")
+	// In-flight LLM work keeps the llm state; the hold blocks new grants.
+	if state, _, _ := lk.Snapshot(); state != StateLLM {
+		t.Fatalf("state=%s, want llm while work in flight", state)
+	}
+	if lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM succeeded during external hold")
+	}
+	lk.ReleaseLLM()
+	if state, _, _ := lk.Snapshot(); state != StateExternal {
+		t.Fatalf("state=%s, want external after drain", state)
+	}
+	lk.ClearExternal()
+	if state, _, _ := lk.Snapshot(); state != StateIdle {
+		t.Fatalf("state=%s, want idle", state)
+	}
+}

internal/lock/try_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+package lock
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestTryAcquireLLM(t *testing.T) {
+	lk := New(nil)
+	if !lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM on idle lock should succeed")
+	}
+	if _, n, _ := lk.Snapshot(); n != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("n = %d, want 1", n)
+	}
+
+	// While an image job is pending, TryAcquireLLM must fail.
+	imageWaiting := make(chan struct{})
+	go func() {
+		lk.AcquireImage(context.Background())
+		close(imageWaiting)
+	}()
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(2 * time.Second)
+	for {
+		lk.mu.Lock()
+		queued := len(lk.imageQ)
+		lk.mu.Unlock()
+		if queued == 1 {
+			break
+		}
+		if time.Now().After(deadline) {
+			t.Fatal("image waiter never queued")
+		}
+		time.Sleep(time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	if lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM with image pending should fail")
+	}
+
+	lk.ReleaseLLM()
+	<-imageWaiting
+	if lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM with image active should fail")
+	}
+	lk.ReleaseImage()
+	if !lk.TryAcquireLLM() {
+		t.Fatal("TryAcquireLLM after image release should succeed")
+	}
+	lk.ReleaseLLM()
+}

internal/metrics/metrics.go

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func (m *Metrics) Render(w io.Writer, state string, llmInflight int, imagePendin
 	fmt.Fprint(w, `# HELP gpu_turnstile_state Current GPU state (1 for the active state).
 # TYPE gpu_turnstile_state gauge
 `)
-	for _, s := range []string{"idle", "llm", "image"} {
+	for _, s := range []string{"idle", "llm", "image", "external"} {
 		v := 0
 		if s == state {
 			v = 1

internal/proxy/proxy.go

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"gpu-turnstile/internal/lock"
 	"gpu-turnstile/internal/metrics"
 	"gpu-turnstile/internal/ollama"
+	"gpu-turnstile/internal/supervise"
 )
 
 // defaultCaptureLimit bounds how much of a /prompt response body is
@@ -44,14 +45,30 @@ type Config struct {
 	Metrics *metrics.Metrics
 	Log     *slog.Logger
 
+	// ComfySup, when non-nil, is the managed ComfyUI process: any ComfyUI
+	// request starts it on demand, /prompt additionally waits for
+	// readiness before taking the GPU lock. nil = unmanaged upstream.
+	ComfySup *supervise.Process
+
 	// LogColor enables ANSI colors in per-request log lines. Ignored when
 	// the log level is above INFO (request lines are not emitted at all).
 	LogColor bool
+	// LogWriter receives the colored per-request lines; nil means stderr.
+	LogWriter io.Writer
 
 	LLMWaitTimeout time.Duration
 	UnloadTimeout  time.Duration
 	JobTimeout     time.Duration
 
+	// LLMBusyMode is "wait" (default) or "reject". In reject mode an LLM
+	// request that arrives while an image job is active or pending is
+	// answered immediately with LLMBusyStatus and a Retry-After header
+	// (BusyRetryAfter seconds) instead of waiting for the lock. In wait
+	// mode the Retry-After header is sent when LLMWaitTimeout expires.
+	LLMBusyMode    string
+	LLMBusyStatus  int
+	BusyRetryAfter int
+
 	// BackoffInitial and BackoffMax control the exponential retry backoff
 	// when an upstream refuses a connection: the wait doubles from
 	// BackoffInitial up to BackoffMax between attempts. Zero selects the
@@ -77,34 +94,51 @@ type Config struct {
 type Server struct {
 	cfg            Config
 	log            *slog.Logger
+	logWriter      io.Writer
 	freeTimeout    time.Duration
 	warmTimeout    time.Duration
 	captureLimit   int64
 	backoffInitial time.Duration
 	backoffMax     time.Duration
+	busyMode       string
+	busyStatus     int
+	busyRetryAfter int
 
 	ollamaProxy *httputil.ReverseProxy
 	comfyProxy  *httputil.ReverseProxy
 }
 
-// New builds a Server, validating the upstream URLs.
+// New builds a Server, validating the upstream URLs. At least one of
+// OllamaURL / ComfyURL must be set; an empty URL disables that consumer —
+// its handler is then never served, its client may be nil, and the image
+// job flow skips the Ollama unload/warm steps.
 func New(cfg Config) (*Server, error) {
-	ollamaURL, err := url.Parse(cfg.OllamaURL)
-	if err != nil || ollamaURL.Scheme == "" || ollamaURL.Host == "" {
+	if cfg.OllamaURL == "" && cfg.ComfyURL == "" {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("at least one of OllamaURL or ComfyURL is required")
+	}
+	var ollamaURL, comfyURL *url.URL
+	if cfg.OllamaURL != "" {
+		u, err := url.Parse(cfg.OllamaURL)
+		if err != nil || u.Scheme == "" || u.Host == "" {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid OLLAMA_URL %q", cfg.OllamaURL)
 		}
-	comfyURL, err := url.Parse(cfg.ComfyURL)
-	if err != nil || comfyURL.Scheme == "" || comfyURL.Host == "" {
+		ollamaURL = u
+	}
+	if cfg.ComfyURL != "" {
+		u, err := url.Parse(cfg.ComfyURL)
+		if err != nil || u.Scheme == "" || u.Host == "" {
 			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid COMFY_URL %q", cfg.ComfyURL)
 		}
+		comfyURL = u
+	}
 	log := cfg.Log
 	if log == nil {
 		log = slog.Default()
 	}
-	if cfg.UnloadPollInterval > 0 {
+	if cfg.UnloadPollInterval > 0 && cfg.Ollama != nil {
 		cfg.Ollama.PollInterval = cfg.UnloadPollInterval
 	}
-	if cfg.HistoryPollInterval > 0 {
+	if cfg.HistoryPollInterval > 0 && cfg.Comfy != nil {
 		cfg.Comfy.PollInterval = cfg.HistoryPollInterval
 	}
 	freeTimeout := cfg.FreeTimeout
@@ -127,23 +161,44 @@ func New(cfg Config) (*Server, error) {
 	if backoffMax <= 0 {
 		backoffMax = time.Minute
 	}
+	busyMode := "wait"
+	if cfg.LLMBusyMode == "reject" {
+		busyMode = "reject"
+	}
+	busyStatus := cfg.LLMBusyStatus
+	if busyStatus == 0 {
+		busyStatus = http.StatusServiceUnavailable
+	}
+	busyRetryAfter := cfg.BusyRetryAfter
+	if busyRetryAfter <= 0 {
+		busyRetryAfter = 30
+	}
 	retry := &retryTransport{
 		base:    http.DefaultTransport,
 		initial: backoffInitial,
 		max:     backoffMax,
 		log:     log,
 	}
-	return &Server{
+	s := &Server{
 		cfg:            cfg,
 		log:            log,
+		logWriter:      cfg.LogWriter,
 		freeTimeout:    freeTimeout,
 		warmTimeout:    warmTimeout,
 		captureLimit:   captureLimit,
 		backoffInitial: backoffInitial,
 		backoffMax:     backoffMax,
-		ollamaProxy:    newReverseProxy(ollamaURL, retry, log.With("upstream", "ollama")),
-		comfyProxy:     newReverseProxy(comfyURL, retry, log.With("upstream", "comfy")),
-	}, nil
+		busyMode:       busyMode,
+		busyStatus:     busyStatus,
+		busyRetryAfter: busyRetryAfter,
+	}
+	if ollamaURL != nil {
+		s.ollamaProxy = newReverseProxy(ollamaURL, retry, log.With("upstream", "ollama"))
+	}
+	if comfyURL != nil {
+		s.comfyProxy = newReverseProxy(comfyURL, retry, log.With("upstream", "comfy"))
+	}
+	return s, nil
 }
 
 // retryTransport retries requests whose failure means the upstream never
@@ -338,7 +393,11 @@ func (s *Server) reqLine(log *slog.Logger, code, line string, attrs ...any) {
 		fmt.Fprintf(&sb, " %v=%v", attrs[i], attrs[i+1])
 	}
 	sb.WriteByte('\n')
-	os.Stderr.WriteString(sb.String())
+	w := s.logWriter
+	if w == nil {
+		w = os.Stderr
+	}
+	io.WriteString(w, sb.String())
 }
 
 // logRequests logs one line per incoming request and one per completed
@@ -385,7 +444,7 @@ func isLLMRequest(r *http.Request) bool {
 	return r.Method == http.MethodPost && llmPaths[r.URL.Path]
 }
 
-// OllamaHandler serves the Ollama-facing listener.
+// OllamaHandler serves the listener for Ollama-compatible clients.
 func (s *Server) OllamaHandler() http.Handler {
 	return s.logRequests("ollama", http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		switch r.URL.Path {
@@ -402,12 +461,31 @@ func (s *Server) OllamaHandler() http.Handler {
 		}
 
 		start := time.Now()
+		if s.busyMode == "reject" {
+			if !s.cfg.Lock.TryAcquireLLM() {
+				s.cfg.Metrics.ObserveLockWait("llm", time.Since(start).Seconds())
+				msg := "GPU busy: image job active or queued"
+				if holder := s.cfg.Lock.External(); holder != "" {
+					msg = "GPU busy: " + holder
+				}
+				s.log.Info("llm request rejected; GPU busy",
+					"path", r.URL.Path, "status", s.busyStatus)
+				w.Header().Set("Retry-After", strconv.Itoa(s.busyRetryAfter))
+				http.Error(w, msg, s.busyStatus)
+				return
+			}
+			s.cfg.Metrics.ObserveLockWait("llm", time.Since(start).Seconds())
+			defer s.cfg.Lock.ReleaseLLM()
+			s.ollamaProxy.ServeHTTP(w, r)
+			return
+		}
 		wctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(r.Context(), s.cfg.LLMWaitTimeout)
 		err := s.cfg.Lock.AcquireLLM(wctx)
 		cancel()
 		s.cfg.Metrics.ObserveLockWait("llm", time.Since(start).Seconds())
 		if err != nil {
 			if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) && r.Context().Err() == nil {
+				w.Header().Set("Retry-After", strconv.Itoa(s.busyRetryAfter))
 				http.Error(w, "GPU busy: timed out waiting for the lock", http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
 			}
 			return
@@ -417,17 +495,36 @@ func (s *Server) OllamaHandler() http.Handler {
 	}))
 }
 
-// ComfyHandler serves the ComfyUI-facing listener.
+// ComfyHandler serves the listener for ComfyUI clients.
 func (s *Server) ComfyHandler() http.Handler {
 	return s.logRequests("comfy", http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		if r.URL.Path == "/healthz" {
+		switch r.URL.Path {
+		case "/healthz":
 			s.writeHealthz(w)
 			return
+		case "/metrics":
+			s.writeMetrics(w)
+			return
 		}
 		if r.Method == http.MethodPost && r.URL.Path == "/prompt" {
 			s.handlePrompt(w, r)
 			return
 		}
+		if s.cfg.ComfySup != nil {
+			// Any other ComfyUI request also wakes the managed server; the
+			// retry backoff bridges the time it needs to come up. While a
+			// foreign process holds the GPU we refuse to spawn it — the
+			// request gets the busy answer instead of fighting for VRAM.
+			if holder := s.cfg.Lock.External(); holder != "" && !s.cfg.ComfySup.Running() {
+				w.Header().Set("Retry-After", strconv.Itoa(s.busyRetryAfter))
+				http.Error(w, "GPU busy: "+holder, http.StatusServiceUnavailable)
+				return
+			}
+			if err := s.cfg.ComfySup.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+				http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintf("cannot start ComfyUI: %v", err), http.StatusBadGateway)
+				return
+			}
+		}
 		s.comfyProxy.ServeHTTP(w, r)
 	}))
 }
@@ -467,6 +564,23 @@ func (w *captureWriter) Unwrap() http.ResponseWriter { return w.ResponseWriter }
 func (s *Server) handlePrompt(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	log := s.log.With("op", "image")
 
+	// Normally the managed server is brought up *before* taking the GPU
+	// lock: torch can take a minute to load, and LLM traffic should keep
+	// flowing in the meantime. While a foreign process holds the GPU, LLM
+	// traffic is blocked anyway and a fresh ComfyUI would fight it for
+	// VRAM — so the lock comes first in that case.
+	comfyFirst := s.cfg.ComfySup != nil && s.cfg.Lock.External() == ""
+	if comfyFirst {
+		if err := s.cfg.ComfySup.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+			http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintf("cannot start ComfyUI: %v", err), http.StatusBadGateway)
+			return
+		}
+		if err := s.cfg.ComfySup.WaitReady(r.Context()); err != nil {
+			http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintf("ComfyUI did not become ready: %v", err), http.StatusBadGateway)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
 	start := time.Now()
 	if err := s.cfg.Lock.AcquireImage(r.Context()); err != nil {
 		if errors.Is(err, context.DeadlineExceeded) {
@@ -477,6 +591,20 @@ func (s *Server) handlePrompt(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	s.cfg.Metrics.ObserveLockWait("image", time.Since(start).Seconds())
 	log.Info("image lock acquired")
 
+	if s.cfg.ComfySup != nil && !comfyFirst {
+		if err := s.cfg.ComfySup.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+			s.cfg.Lock.ReleaseImage()
+			http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintf("cannot start ComfyUI: %v", err), http.StatusBadGateway)
+			return
+		}
+		if err := s.cfg.ComfySup.WaitReady(r.Context()); err != nil {
+			s.cfg.Lock.ReleaseImage()
+			http.Error(w, fmt.Sprintf("ComfyUI did not become ready: %v", err), http.StatusBadGateway)
+			return
+		}
+	}
+
+	if s.cfg.Ollama != nil {
 		uctx, ucancel := context.WithTimeout(r.Context(), s.cfg.UnloadTimeout)
 		elapsed, uerr := s.cfg.Ollama.UnloadAll(uctx)
 		ucancel()
@@ -491,6 +619,7 @@ func (s *Server) handlePrompt(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		default:
 			log.Info("ollama models unloaded", "seconds", elapsed.Seconds())
 		}
+	}
 
 	cw := &captureWriter{ResponseWriter: w, status: http.StatusOK, limit: s.captureLimit}
 	s.comfyProxy.ServeHTTP(cw, r)
@@ -534,8 +663,12 @@ func (s *Server) finishImageJob(promptID string) {
 
 	s.cfg.Lock.ReleaseImage()
 	log.Info("image lock released")
+	if s.cfg.ComfySup != nil {
+		// The idle clock starts when the job ends, not when it began.
+		s.cfg.ComfySup.NoteActivity()
+	}
 
-	if s.cfg.WarmModel != "" {
+	if s.cfg.Ollama != nil && s.cfg.WarmModel != "" {
 		if state, _, _ := s.cfg.Lock.Snapshot(); state == lock.StateIdle {
 			wctx, wcancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), s.warmTimeout)
 			if err := s.cfg.Ollama.Warm(wctx, s.cfg.WarmModel); err != nil {

internal/proxy/proxy_test.go

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package proxy
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
@@ -45,8 +46,8 @@ type fakes struct {
 	rec       *recorder
 	ollama    *httptest.Server
 	comfy     *httptest.Server
-	server    *httptest.Server // Ollama-facing gpu-turnstile listener
-	comfySrv  *httptest.Server // ComfyUI-facing gpu-turnstile listener
+	server    *httptest.Server // gpu-turnstile listener for Ollama-compatible clients
+	comfySrv  *httptest.Server // gpu-turnstile listener for ComfyUI clients
 	freeCh    chan struct{}
 	chatCh    chan struct{}
 	historyMu sync.Mutex
@@ -345,3 +346,187 @@ func TestPassThroughNoLock(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("pass-through = %d %s", resp.StatusCode, body)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestLLMBusyReject(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakes(t)
+
+	lk := lock.New(nil)
+	if err := lk.AcquireImage(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	ollamaClient, err := ollama.New(f.ollama.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	comfyClient, err := comfy.New(f.comfy.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	srv, err := New(Config{
+		OllamaURL:      f.ollama.URL,
+		ComfyURL:       f.comfy.URL,
+		Lock:           lk,
+		Ollama:         ollamaClient,
+		Comfy:          comfyClient,
+		Metrics:        metrics.New(),
+		LLMWaitTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
+		LLMBusyMode:    "reject",
+		BusyRetryAfter: 17,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	front := httptest.NewServer(srv.OllamaHandler())
+	defer front.Close()
+
+	start := time.Now()
+	resp, err := http.Post(front.URL+"/api/chat", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusServiceUnavailable {
+		t.Fatalf("busy chat status = %d %s", resp.StatusCode, body)
+	}
+	if got := resp.Header.Get("Retry-After"); got != "17" {
+		t.Fatalf("Retry-After = %q", got)
+	}
+	if elapsed := time.Since(start); elapsed > time.Second {
+		t.Fatalf("reject was not immediate: %v", elapsed)
+	}
+
+	// After the image lock is released the next LLM request goes through.
+	lk.ReleaseImage()
+	resp, err = http.Post(front.URL+"/api/chat", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("chat after release status = %d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestLLMBusyWaitTimeoutRetryAfter(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakes(t)
+
+	lk := lock.New(nil)
+	if err := lk.AcquireImage(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer lk.ReleaseImage()
+	ollamaClient, err := ollama.New(f.ollama.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	comfyClient, err := comfy.New(f.comfy.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	srv, err := New(Config{
+		OllamaURL:      f.ollama.URL,
+		ComfyURL:       f.comfy.URL,
+		Lock:           lk,
+		Ollama:         ollamaClient,
+		Comfy:          comfyClient,
+		Metrics:        metrics.New(),
+		LLMWaitTimeout: 50 * time.Millisecond,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	front := httptest.NewServer(srv.OllamaHandler())
+	defer front.Close()
+
+	resp, err := http.Post(front.URL+"/api/chat", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusServiceUnavailable {
+		t.Fatalf("timed-out chat status = %d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	if got := resp.Header.Get("Retry-After"); got != "30" {
+		t.Fatalf("Retry-After = %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestComfyOnlyModeSkipsOllama(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakes(t)
+
+	comfyClient, err := comfy.New(f.comfy.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	comfyClient.PollInterval = 5 * time.Millisecond
+	srv, err := New(Config{
+		ComfyURL:   f.comfy.URL,
+		Lock:       lock.New(nil),
+		Comfy:      comfyClient,
+		Metrics:    metrics.New(),
+		JobTimeout: 2 * time.Second,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	front := httptest.NewServer(srv.ComfyHandler())
+	defer front.Close()
+
+	resp, err := http.Post(front.URL+"/prompt", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("prompt status = %d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	f.completeJob()
+	select {
+	case <-f.freeCh:
+	case <-time.After(3 * time.Second):
+		t.Fatal("/free never called")
+	}
+	// With Ollama disabled the unload steps must not happen.
+	if i := f.rec.index("unload"); i >= 0 {
+		f.rec.mu.Lock()
+		t.Fatalf("unload called with ollama disabled; events: %v", f.rec.events)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestOllamaOnlyMode(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakes(t)
+
+	ollamaClient, err := ollama.New(f.ollama.URL, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	srv, err := New(Config{
+		OllamaURL:      f.ollama.URL,
+		Lock:           lock.New(nil),
+		Ollama:         ollamaClient,
+		Metrics:        metrics.New(),
+		LLMWaitTimeout: time.Second,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	front := httptest.NewServer(srv.OllamaHandler())
+	defer front.Close()
+
+	resp, err := http.Post(front.URL+"/api/chat", "application/json", strings.NewReader(`{}`))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != 200 {
+		t.Fatalf("chat status = %d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewRequiresConsumer(t *testing.T) {
+	_, err := New(Config{Lock: lock.New(nil), Metrics: metrics.New()})
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("New with no upstream URLs should fail")
+	}
+}

internal/service/envfile.go

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+// Shared env-file handling for the installers (Windows and Linux).
+package service
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"strings"
+
+	"gpu-turnstile/internal/config"
+)
+
+// syncEnvFile ensures the installed env file at path is a current
+// installer-written sample. A missing file is created; a file without a
+// CFG_VER line (hand-written or from before versioning) is invalid and
+// replaced by a fresh sample after a .bak backup; a file written by an
+// older version gets newly added settings appended via config.SyncSample.
+// logPath activates the LOG_FILE line (Windows); empty leaves it commented.
+func syncEnvFile(path, version, logPath string) error {
+	data, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	switch {
+	case os.IsNotExist(err):
+		return writeEnvFile(path, config.SampleEnv(version, logPath))
+	case err != nil:
+		return fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	values, perr := config.ParseEnvFile(strings.NewReader(string(data)))
+	if perr == nil && values["CFG_VER"] != "" {
+		synced, changed := config.SyncSample(string(data), version, logPath)
+		if !changed {
+			return nil
+		}
+		return writeEnvFile(path, synced)
+	}
+	// No readable CFG_VER: the file is invalid — keep a backup and start
+	// from a fresh sample.
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path+".bak", data, 0o644); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("back up %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	return writeEnvFile(path, config.SampleEnv(version, logPath))
+}
+
+func writeEnvFile(path, content string) error {
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(content), 0o644); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("write %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}

internal/service/errors.go

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+package service
+
+import "errors"
+
+// ErrUserCancelled is returned by RelaunchElevated when the user declines
+// the UAC prompt. Windows-only in practice; defined here so cross-platform
+// callers can compare against it.
+var ErrUserCancelled = errors.New("UAC prompt declined")

internal/service/notify_linux.go

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package service
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/coreos/go-systemd/v22/daemon"
+)
+
+// NotifyReady tells systemd the service is up (Type=notify). It is a no-op
+// when NOTIFY_SOCKET is unset, e.g. in a container or interactive shell.
+func NotifyReady() {
+	daemon.SdNotify(false, daemon.SdNotifyReady)
+}
+
+// NotifyStopping tells systemd the service is shutting down.
+func NotifyStopping() {
+	daemon.SdNotify(false, daemon.SdNotifyStopping)
+}
+
+// StartWatchdog pings the systemd watchdog every half of WATCHDOG_USEC
+// until ctx is cancelled. It is a no-op unless systemd started the process
+// with a watchdog configured (WatchdogSec= in the unit).
+func StartWatchdog(ctx context.Context) {
+	usec, err := strconv.Atoi(os.Getenv("WATCHDOG_USEC"))
+	if err != nil || usec <= 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	interval := time.Duration(usec) * time.Microsecond / 2
+	go func() {
+		ticker := time.NewTicker(interval)
+		defer ticker.Stop()
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case <-ticker.C:
+				daemon.SdNotify(false, daemon.SdNotifyWatchdog)
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+}

internal/service/notify_other.go

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+//go:build !linux
+
+package service
+
+import "context"
+
+// NotifyReady is a no-op outside Linux (no systemd notify socket).
+func NotifyReady() {}
+
+// NotifyStopping is a no-op outside Linux.
+func NotifyStopping() {}
+
+// StartWatchdog is a no-op outside Linux.
+func StartWatchdog(context.Context) {}

internal/service/service_linux.go

@@ -0,0 +1,259 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+// Package service integrates gpu-turnstile with systemd on Linux: running
+// under a unit with readiness notification and watchdog, plus
+// install/remove helpers that manage a hardened system unit.
+package service
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"os/signal"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// Name matches the Windows service name; the systemd unit is Name + ".service".
+const Name = "gpu-turnstile"
+
+// unitPath is where Install writes the unit file.
+const unitPath = "/etc/systemd/system/" + Name + ".service"
+
+// stateDir holds the installed binary (and staged updates); the unit's
+// StateDirectory= directive makes systemd own it and grant the dynamic
+// user write access. etcConfig is the config file the unit loads.
+const (
+	stateDir  = "/var/lib/" + Name
+	etcConfig = "/etc/" + Name + ".env"
+)
+
+// IsService reports whether the process was started by systemd.
+func IsService() bool { return os.Getenv("INVOCATION_ID") != "" }
+
+// Elevated is always true on Linux: there is no UAC equivalent; privilege
+// errors surface from the failing operation with a "run as root" hint.
+func Elevated() bool { return true }
+
+// RelaunchElevated is a Windows-only concept (UAC).
+func RelaunchElevated([]string) (int, error) {
+	return 0, fmt.Errorf("elevated relaunch is only supported on Windows")
+}
+
+// Run executes run with SIGINT/SIGTERM cancellation (which is how systemctl
+// stop signals the process) and tells systemd when the shutdown begins.
+func Run(run func(ctx context.Context) error) error {
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer stop()
+	defer NotifyStopping()
+	return run(ctx)
+}
+
+// renderUnit builds the hardened systemd unit: Type=notify so systemctl
+// start blocks until the listeners are bound, a 30s watchdog, and
+// restart-on-failure with a 5s delay — which is also what brings up a
+// staged update after the updater exits with a non-zero code.
+//
+// Sandboxing mirrors the Windows virtual account: DynamicUser=yes gives
+// the service a transient per-service UID with no login and no home, the
+// filesystem is read-only except StateDirectory (the install dir, so
+// self-updates can rewrite the binary), and the usual no-privilege-escalation
+// directives apply. The proxy needs nothing but outbound TCP/UDP and the
+// notify socket, so it loses nothing.
+func renderUnit(exePath, configPath string) string {
+	return fmt.Sprintf(`[Unit]
+Description=gpu-turnstile GPU arbitration proxy for Ollama and ComfyUI
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=notify
+WatchdogSec=30s
+ExecStart=%q -config %q
+Restart=on-failure
+RestartSec=5s
+
+DynamicUser=yes
+StateDirectory=%s
+ProtectSystem=strict
+ProtectHome=yes
+PrivateTmp=yes
+NoNewPrivileges=yes
+ProtectKernelTunables=yes
+ProtectKernelModules=yes
+ProtectKernelLogs=yes
+ProtectControlGroups=yes
+ProtectClock=yes
+RestrictNamespaces=yes
+RestrictSUIDSGID=yes
+RestrictRealtime=yes
+LockPersonality=yes
+MemoryDenyWriteExecute=yes
+CapabilityBoundingSet=
+AmbientCapabilities=
+RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_UNIX AF_INET AF_INET6
+SystemCallFilter=@system-service
+SystemCallErrorNumber=EPERM
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+`, exePath, configPath, Name)
+}
+
+// copyFile copies src to dst, creating dst with the given mode.
+func copyFile(src, dst string, mode os.FileMode) error {
+	in, err := os.Open(src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer in.Close()
+	out, err := os.OpenFile(dst, os.O_CREATE|os.O_TRUNC|os.O_WRONLY, mode)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer out.Close()
+	if _, err := io.Copy(out, in); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return out.Close()
+}
+
+// Install copies the current executable into /var/lib/gpu-turnstile, makes
+// sure /etc/gpu-turnstile.env exists (copied from the given config file if
+// provided), writes the hardened unit, then enables and starts it. With
+// copyBin=false the current executable location and config path are
+// registered as-is instead. Needs root.
+//
+// Re-running install converges an existing unit instead of failing: it is
+// stopped first if active, the installed binary is replaced only when the
+// content differs, the unit file is rewritten (followed by daemon-reload)
+// only when it changed, and the service is started again only if it was
+// active before.
+//
+// The binary lives in the StateDirectory rather than /usr/local/sbin on
+// purpose: replacing a running binary needs write access to its
+// *directory*, and granting the sandboxed service user write access to a
+// shared system directory would let a compromised service overwrite other
+// binaries. /var/lib/gpu-turnstile is exclusively ours.
+func Install(configPath string, copyBin bool, version string) error {
+	exe, err := os.Executable()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if abs, absErr := filepath.Abs(exe); absErr == nil {
+		exe = abs
+	}
+	unit := Name + ".service"
+	_, statErr := os.Stat(unitPath)
+	fresh := os.IsNotExist(statErr)
+	wasRunning := exec.Command("systemctl", "is-active", "--quiet", unit).Run() == nil
+	if wasRunning {
+		if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "stop", unit).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("systemctl stop (run as root): %w (%s)", err, out)
+		}
+	}
+
+	cfg := etcConfig
+	if copyBin {
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(stateDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("create %s (run as root): %w", stateDir, err)
+		}
+		installedExe := filepath.Join(stateDir, Name)
+		if exe != installedExe {
+			if same, _ := sameFileContent(exe, installedExe); !same {
+				if err := copyFile(exe, installedExe, 0o755); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("install binary to %s: %w", installedExe, err)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		exe = installedExe
+		if _, err := os.Stat(etcConfig); os.IsNotExist(err) && configPath != "" {
+			copyFile(configPath, etcConfig, 0o644) //nolint:errcheck // best effort
+		}
+		// Missing configs get a fully commented sample (LOG_FILE stays
+		// commented — stderr goes to the journal on Linux);
+		// installer-written ones from older versions get new settings
+		// appended; anything without CFG_VER is invalid and gets replaced
+		// (backup kept as .bak).
+		if err := syncEnvFile(etcConfig, version, ""); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	} else if configPath != "" {
+		if abs, absErr := filepath.Abs(configPath); absErr == nil {
+			cfg = abs
+		}
+	}
+	rendered := renderUnit(exe, cfg)
+	if old, _ := os.ReadFile(unitPath); string(old) != rendered {
+		if err := os.WriteFile(unitPath, []byte(rendered), 0o644); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("write %s (run as root): %w", unitPath, err)
+		}
+		if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "daemon-reload").CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("systemctl daemon-reload: %w (%s)", err, out)
+		}
+	}
+	if fresh {
+		if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "enable", "--now", unit).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("systemctl enable --now: %w (%s)", err, out)
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	if exec.Command("systemctl", "is-enabled", "--quiet", unit).Run() != nil {
+		if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "enable", unit).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("systemctl enable: %w (%s)", err, out)
+		}
+	}
+	if wasRunning {
+		if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "start", unit).CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("systemctl start: %w (%s)", err, out)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// sameFileContent reports whether two files hold identical bytes. A missing
+// destination is simply "different".
+func sameFileContent(a, b string) (bool, error) {
+	ba, err := os.ReadFile(a)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	bb, err := os.ReadFile(b)
+	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return bytes.Equal(ba, bb), nil
+}
+
+// Remove stops and disables the service and deletes the unit file and the
+// installed binary. The config file in /etc is left in place (user data).
+func Remove() error {
+	exec.Command("systemctl", "disable", "--now", Name+".service").Run() // ignore: may not exist
+	if err := os.Remove(unitPath); err != nil && !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("remove %s: %w", unitPath, err)
+	}
+	os.RemoveAll(stateDir) // installed binary + staged updates; ignore error
+	if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "daemon-reload").CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("systemctl daemon-reload: %w (%s)", err, out)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// RestartIfRunning restarts the systemd unit when it is active (used after
+// a forced update staged a new binary). Reports whether a restart
+// happened. An inactive or missing unit is not an error. Needs root.
+func RestartIfRunning() (bool, error) {
+	if err := exec.Command("systemctl", "is-active", "--quiet", Name+".service").Run(); err != nil {
+		return false, nil // inactive or not installed
+	}
+	if out, err := exec.Command("systemctl", "restart", Name+".service").CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("systemctl restart (run as root): %w (%s)", err, out)
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}

internal/service/service_linux_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+//go:build linux
+
+package service
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestRenderUnit(t *testing.T) {
+	unit := renderUnit("/var/lib/gpu-turnstile/gpu-turnstile", "/etc/gpu-turnstile.env")
+	for _, want := range []string{
+		"Type=notify",
+		"WatchdogSec=30s",
+		`ExecStart="/var/lib/gpu-turnstile/gpu-turnstile" -config "/etc/gpu-turnstile.env"`,
+		"Restart=on-failure",
+		"WantedBy=multi-user.target",
+		"DynamicUser=yes",
+		"StateDirectory=gpu-turnstile",
+		"ProtectSystem=strict",
+		"NoNewPrivileges=yes",
+		"RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_UNIX AF_INET AF_INET6",
+		"SystemCallFilter=@system-service",
+	} {
+		if !strings.Contains(unit, want) {
+			t.Fatalf("unit missing %q:\n%s", want, unit)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/service/service_other.go

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+//go:build !windows && !linux
+
+// Package service provides the stubs for platforms without service
+// integration (Windows uses the SCM, Linux uses systemd). Run falls back
+// to plain signal handling; install/remove are unsupported.
+package service
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"os/signal"
+	"syscall"
+)
+
+// Name matches the Windows service name.
+const Name = "gpu-turnstile"
+
+var errUnsupported = errors.New("service management is only supported on Windows and Linux (systemd)")
+
+// IsService is always false on non-Windows platforms.
+func IsService() bool { return false }
+
+// Run executes run with SIGINT/SIGTERM cancellation, mirroring the
+// interactive behavior.
+func Run(run func(ctx context.Context) error) error {
+	ctx, stop := signal.NotifyContext(context.Background(), syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
+	defer stop()
+	return run(ctx)
+}
+
+// Install is unsupported on non-Windows, non-Linux platforms.
+func Install(string, bool, string) error { return errUnsupported }
+
+// Remove is unsupported on non-Windows, non-Linux platforms.
+func Remove() error { return errUnsupported }
+
+// Elevated is always true here: there is no UAC concept, and privilege
+// errors surface from the failing operation with a "run as root" hint.
+func Elevated() bool { return true }
+
+// RelaunchElevated is unsupported on non-Windows, non-Linux platforms.
+func RelaunchElevated([]string) (int, error) { return 0, errUnsupported }
+
+// RestartIfRunning is a no-op on platforms without service integration.
+func RestartIfRunning() (bool, error) { return false, nil }

internal/service/service_windows.go

@@ -0,0 +1,520 @@
+//go:build windows
+
+// Package service integrates gpu-turnstile with the Windows Service
+// Control Manager: running as a service with graceful stop, plus
+// install/remove helpers. Installed services always run as the virtual
+// account NT SERVICE\gpu-turnstile — a per-service low-privilege identity
+// managed by the SCM, with no password and no admin rights.
+package service
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
+	"unsafe"
+
+	"golang.org/x/sys/windows"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/windows/svc"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/windows/svc/mgr"
+
+	"gpu-turnstile/internal/config"
+)
+
+// Name is the Windows service name.
+const Name = "gpu-turnstile"
+
+// virtualAccount is the per-service identity the service runs as. The SCM
+// manages it: no password, automatic "log on as a service" right, gone
+// when the service is removed.
+const virtualAccount = `NT SERVICE\` + Name
+
+// installDirs returns the canonical install (Program Files) and data
+// (ProgramData) directories.
+func installDirs() (install, data string) {
+	pf := os.Getenv("ProgramFiles")
+	if pf == "" {
+		pf = `C:\Program Files`
+	}
+	pd := os.Getenv("ProgramData")
+	if pd == "" {
+		pd = `C:\ProgramData`
+	}
+	return filepath.Join(pf, Name), filepath.Join(pd, Name)
+}
+
+// IsService reports whether the process is running as a Windows service.
+func IsService() bool {
+	isSvc, err := svc.IsWindowsService()
+	return err == nil && isSvc
+}
+
+// Run executes run as a Windows service. SCM Stop and Shutdown cancel the
+// context passed to run, triggering the same graceful shutdown as SIGTERM
+// in interactive mode.
+func Run(run func(ctx context.Context) error) error {
+	return svc.Run(Name, &handler{run: run})
+}
+
+type handler struct {
+	run func(ctx context.Context) error
+}
+
+func (h *handler) Execute(_ []string, requests <-chan svc.ChangeRequest, status chan<- svc.Status) (bool, uint32) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+
+	status <- svc.Status{State: svc.StartPending}
+	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
+	go func() { errCh <- h.run(ctx) }()
+	status <- svc.Status{State: svc.Running, Accepts: svc.AcceptStop | svc.AcceptShutdown}
+
+	for {
+		select {
+		case err := <-errCh:
+			status <- svc.Status{State: svc.Stopped}
+			if err != nil {
+				return true, 1
+			}
+			return false, 0
+		case c := <-requests:
+			switch c.Cmd {
+			case svc.Interrogate:
+				status <- c.CurrentStatus
+			case svc.Stop, svc.Shutdown:
+				status <- svc.Status{State: svc.StopPending}
+				cancel()
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Install registers gpu-turnstile as an auto-start Windows service running
+// as the NT SERVICE\gpu-turnstile virtual account, whose binPath loads the
+// given config file. With copyBin it first creates the canonical layout —
+// the binary is copied into %ProgramFiles%\gpu-turnstile and the config
+// next to it (an existing config there is kept), %ProgramData%\gpu-turnstile
+// is created for logs — and registers that copy; with copyBin=false the
+// current executable location is registered as-is. Recovery actions restart
+// the service after 5s on failure — this is also what brings up a staged
+// update after the updater exits with a non-zero code. After registering,
+// the virtual account is granted modify access to the install and data
+// directories (self-updates rewrite the exe), and read access to the
+// config file if it lives elsewhere. The grants must come after
+// CreateService: the virtual account's SID only exists once the service is
+// registered.
+//
+// Re-running install on an existing service converges instead of failing:
+// the service is stopped first if running (so the binary can be replaced),
+// the installed binary is refreshed only when the content differs, the
+// registration is updated only where it drifted, and the service is
+// started again only if it was running before.
+func Install(configPath string, copyBin bool, version string) error {
+	exe, err := os.Executable()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if abs, absErr := filepath.Abs(exe); absErr == nil {
+		exe = abs
+	}
+	if configPath != "" {
+		if abs, absErr := filepath.Abs(configPath); absErr == nil {
+			configPath = abs
+		}
+	}
+
+	m, err := mgr.Connect()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("connect to service manager (run as administrator): %w", err)
+	}
+	defer m.Disconnect()
+
+	// An existing service is converged, not an error. Stop it first so the
+	// binary copy can be replaced, and remember whether to start it again.
+	var s *mgr.Service
+	wasRunning := false
+	if existing, openErr := m.OpenService(Name); openErr == nil {
+		s = existing
+		defer s.Close()
+		if st, qErr := s.Query(); qErr == nil &&
+			(st.State == svc.Running || st.State == svc.StartPending) {
+			wasRunning = true
+			if err := stopAndWait(s); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	installDir, dataDir := installDirs()
+	if copyBin {
+		targetCfg := filepath.Join(installDir, "gpu-turnstile.env")
+		if !strings.EqualFold(filepath.Dir(exe), installDir) {
+			if err := os.MkdirAll(installDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("create %s: %w", installDir, err)
+			}
+			installedExe := filepath.Join(installDir, "gpu-turnstile.exe")
+			if same, _ := sameFileContent(exe, installedExe); !same {
+				if err := copyFile(exe, installedExe); err != nil {
+					return fmt.Errorf("copy binary to %s: %w", installedExe, err)
+				}
+			}
+			exe = installedExe
+			if configPath != "" && !strings.EqualFold(configPath, targetCfg) {
+				if _, statErr := os.Stat(targetCfg); os.IsNotExist(statErr) {
+					copyFile(configPath, targetCfg) //nolint:errcheck // best effort
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		// A service has no console: without LOG_FILE the output vanishes, so
+		// the sample pre-wires it to ProgramData. Missing configs get a
+		// fresh sample; installer-written ones from older versions get new
+		// settings appended; anything without CFG_VER is invalid and gets
+		// replaced (backup kept as .bak).
+		logPath := filepath.Join(dataDir, "gpu-turnstile.log")
+		if err := syncEnvFile(targetCfg, version, logPath); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		configPath = targetCfg
+	}
+	binPath := fmt.Sprintf(`"%s" -config "%s"`, exe, configPath)
+
+	if s == nil {
+		s, err = m.CreateService(Name, binPath, mgr.Config{
+			StartType:        mgr.StartAutomatic,
+			DisplayName:      "gpu-turnstile",
+			Description:      "GPU arbitration proxy for Ollama and ComfyUI",
+			ServiceStartName: virtualAccount,
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("create service: %w", err)
+		}
+		defer s.Close()
+
+		if err := ensureRecovery(s); err != nil {
+			s.Delete() // roll back so a retry starts clean
+			return err
+		}
+		if err := grantAll(exe, configPath); err != nil {
+			s.Delete() // roll back so a retry starts clean
+			return err
+		}
+		// Best effort: start now instead of waiting for the next boot. A
+		// missing config (no consumer URLs) fails the start; the service stays
+		// registered and can be started once the config exists.
+		s.Start()
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	// Existing service: update the registration only where it drifted.
+	cur, err := s.Config()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("query service config: %w", err)
+	}
+	const displayName = "gpu-turnstile"
+	const description = "GPU arbitration proxy for Ollama and ComfyUI"
+	if cur.BinaryPathName != binPath ||
+		cur.StartType != mgr.StartAutomatic ||
+		cur.ServiceStartName != virtualAccount ||
+		cur.DisplayName != displayName ||
+		cur.Description != description {
+		upd := cur
+		upd.BinaryPathName = binPath
+		upd.StartType = mgr.StartAutomatic
+		upd.ServiceStartName = virtualAccount
+		upd.DisplayName = displayName
+		upd.Description = description
+		if err := s.UpdateConfig(upd); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("update service config: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := ensureRecovery(s); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	// Idempotent: re-assert the virtual account's ACLs (granting an
+	// existing ACE is a no-op).
+	if err := grantAll(exe, configPath); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if wasRunning {
+		if err := s.Start(); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("start service: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// ensureRecovery makes sure the service restarts 5s after a failure — the
+// mechanism that also brings up a staged update. The current actions are
+// queried first so an up-to-date service is left untouched.
+func ensureRecovery(s *mgr.Service) error {
+	want := mgr.RecoveryAction{Type: mgr.ServiceRestart, Delay: 5 * time.Second}
+	actions, err := s.RecoveryActions()
+	onFailure, flagErr := s.RecoveryActionsOnNonCrashFailures()
+	if err == nil && flagErr == nil && onFailure && len(actions) == 3 {
+		ok := true
+		for _, a := range actions {
+			if a.Type != want.Type || a.Delay != want.Delay {
+				ok = false
+			}
+		}
+		if ok {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	if err := s.SetRecoveryActions([]mgr.RecoveryAction{want, want, want}, 24*60*60); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("set recovery actions: %w", err)
+	}
+	if err := s.SetRecoveryActionsOnNonCrashFailures(true); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("set failure actions flag: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// stopAndWait stops the service and waits up to 30s for the stopped state.
+func stopAndWait(s *mgr.Service) error {
+	if _, err := s.Control(svc.Stop); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("stop service: %w", err)
+	}
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(30 * time.Second)
+	for {
+		st, err := s.Query()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("query service: %w", err)
+		}
+		if st.State == svc.Stopped {
+			return nil
+		}
+		if time.Now().After(deadline) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("service did not stop within 30s")
+		}
+		time.Sleep(300 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+}
+
+// sameFileContent reports whether two files hold identical bytes. A missing
+// destination is simply "different".
+func sameFileContent(a, b string) (bool, error) {
+	ba, err := os.ReadFile(a)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	bb, err := os.ReadFile(b)
+	if os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	return bytes.Equal(ba, bb), nil
+}
+
+// copyFile copies src to dst (0755 on the new file).
+func copyFile(src, dst string) error {
+	in, err := os.Open(src)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer in.Close()
+	out, err := os.OpenFile(dst, os.O_CREATE|os.O_TRUNC|os.O_WRONLY, 0o755)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if _, err := io.Copy(out, in); err != nil {
+		out.Close()
+		return err
+	}
+	return out.Close()
+}
+
+// grantAll gives the virtual account every ACL the service needs: modify
+// on the install and ProgramData directories and the LOG_FILE directory
+// (if configured elsewhere), read on a config file outside the install
+// directory.
+func grantAll(exe, configPath string) error {
+	_, dataDir := installDirs()
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dataDir, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("create %s: %w", dataDir, err)
+	}
+	if err := grantAccess(dataDir, "(OI)(CI)(M)"); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	exeDir := filepath.Dir(exe)
+	if err := grantAccess(exeDir, "(OI)(CI)(M)"); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if configPath != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(strings.ToLower(configPath), strings.ToLower(exeDir)+`\`) {
+		if err := grantAccess(configPath, "(R)"); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	if logFile := configuredLogFile(configPath); logFile != "" {
+		dir := filepath.Dir(logFile)
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0o755); err == nil {
+			if err := grantAccess(dir, "(OI)(CI)(M)"); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Remove stops (if running) and unregisters the service. The virtual
+// account ceases to exist with it; the ACL grants on the install and log
+// directories are left in place (harmless without the account).
+func Remove() error {
+	m, err := mgr.Connect()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("connect to service manager (run as administrator): %w", err)
+	}
+	defer m.Disconnect()
+	s, err := m.OpenService(Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("open service: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer s.Close()
+	s.Control(svc.Stop) // ignore error: may already be stopped
+	if err := s.Delete(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("delete service: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+var procShellExecuteExW = windows.NewLazySystemDLL("shell32.dll").NewProc("ShellExecuteExW")
+
+const seeMaskNoCloseProcess = 0x40
+
+// shellExecuteInfo mirrors SHELLEXECUTEINFOW (64-bit layout).
+type shellExecuteInfo struct {
+	cbSize       uint32
+	fMask        uint32
+	hwnd         uintptr
+	lpVerb       *uint16
+	lpFile       *uint16
+	lpParameters *uint16
+	lpDirectory  *uint16
+	nShow        int32
+	_            int32
+	hInstApp     uintptr
+	lpIDList     unsafe.Pointer
+	lpClass      *uint16
+	hkeyClass    uintptr
+	dwHotKey     uint32
+	_            uint32
+	hIcon        uintptr
+	hProcess     windows.Handle
+}
+
+// Elevated reports whether the current process token is UAC-elevated.
+func Elevated() bool {
+	var token windows.Token
+	if err := windows.OpenProcessToken(windows.CurrentProcess(), windows.TOKEN_QUERY, &token); err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	defer token.Close()
+	return token.IsElevated()
+}
+
+// RelaunchElevated re-runs the current executable elevated via the UAC
+// "runas" verb with the given arguments, waits for the child, and returns
+// its exit code. The child gets a fresh console window for its output.
+func RelaunchElevated(args []string) (int, error) {
+	exe, err := os.Executable()
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	quoted := make([]string, len(args))
+	for i, a := range args {
+		quoted[i] = syscall.EscapeArg(a)
+	}
+	cwd, _ := os.Getwd()
+	verb, _ := windows.UTF16PtrFromString("runas")
+	exeP, _ := windows.UTF16PtrFromString(exe)
+	params, _ := windows.UTF16PtrFromString(strings.Join(quoted, " "))
+	dir, _ := windows.UTF16PtrFromString(cwd)
+	info := shellExecuteInfo{
+		fMask:        seeMaskNoCloseProcess,
+		lpVerb:       verb,
+		lpFile:       exeP,
+		lpParameters: params,
+		lpDirectory:  dir,
+		nShow:        windows.SW_NORMAL,
+	}
+	info.cbSize = uint32(unsafe.Sizeof(info))
+	r, _, callErr := procShellExecuteExW.Call(uintptr(unsafe.Pointer(&info)))
+	if r == 0 {
+		if errors.Is(callErr, syscall.Errno(1223)) { // ERROR_CANCELLED
+			return 0, ErrUserCancelled
+		}
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("ShellExecuteEx: %w", callErr)
+	}
+	defer windows.CloseHandle(windows.Handle(info.hProcess))
+	windows.WaitForSingleObject(windows.Handle(info.hProcess), windows.INFINITE)
+	var code uint32
+	if err := windows.GetExitCodeProcess(windows.Handle(info.hProcess), &code); err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	return int(code), nil
+}
+
+// grantAccess gives the virtual account the icacls permission set (e.g.
+// "(OI)(CI)(M)") on path.
+func grantAccess(path, perms string) error {
+	out, err := exec.Command("icacls", path, "/grant", virtualAccount+":"+perms).CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("grant %s access to %s: %w (%s)", virtualAccount, path, err, strings.TrimSpace(string(out)))
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// configuredLogFile reads LOG_FILE from the config file so the installer
+// can pre-create and ACL the log directory. "" when unset or unreadable.
+func configuredLogFile(configPath string) string {
+	f, err := os.Open(configPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+	values, err := config.ParseEnvFile(f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return values["LOG_FILE"]
+}
+
+// RestartIfRunning restarts the service when it is installed and running
+// (used after a forced update staged a new binary). Reports whether a
+// restart happened. A service that is not installed or not running is not
+// an error. Needs elevation.
+func RestartIfRunning() (bool, error) {
+	m, err := mgr.Connect()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("connect to service manager (run as administrator): %w", err)
+	}
+	defer m.Disconnect()
+	s, err := m.OpenService(Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, nil // not installed
+	}
+	defer s.Close()
+	st, err := s.Query()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("query service: %w", err)
+	}
+	if st.State != svc.Running && st.State != svc.StartPending {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if err := stopAndWait(s); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	if err := s.Start(); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("start service: %w", err)
+	}
+	return true, nil
+}

internal/supervise/supervise.go

@@ -0,0 +1,314 @@
+// Package supervise runs an upstream server (ComfyUI) as a managed child
+// process: started on demand when a request needs it, stopped after an
+// idle timeout so the GPU memory it holds is freed, and stopped with the
+// parent. Crashes are logged; the next request respawns it.
+package supervise
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// ComfyLayout returns the interpreter and script path of a standard ComfyUI
+// venv install rooted at dir for the given GOOS: .venv\Scripts\python.exe
+// on Windows, .venv/bin/python elsewhere. The script is main.py — either in
+// a ComfyUI subdirectory or directly under dir, whichever exists (the
+// subdirectory form wins ties and is the default when neither exists yet,
+// so the caller's missing-file warning points at the documented layout).
+func ComfyLayout(goos, dir string) (python, script string) {
+	if goos == "windows" {
+		python = filepath.Join(dir, ".venv", "Scripts", "python.exe")
+	} else {
+		python = filepath.Join(dir, ".venv", "bin", "python")
+	}
+	script = filepath.Join(dir, "ComfyUI", "main.py")
+	if _, err := os.Stat(script); err != nil {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, "main.py")); err == nil {
+			script = filepath.Join(dir, "main.py")
+		}
+	}
+	return python, script
+}
+
+// DefaultComfyCommand builds the launch command for the standard venv
+// layout (see ComfyLayout): the script is passed relative to dir so dir
+// stays the working directory, and --port is taken from comfyURL when the
+// URL carries one.
+func DefaultComfyCommand(goos, dir, comfyURL string) string {
+	python, script := ComfyLayout(goos, dir)
+	rel, err := filepath.Rel(dir, script)
+	if err != nil {
+		rel = script
+	}
+	cmd := `"` + python + `" ` + rel
+	if u, err := url.Parse(comfyURL); err == nil && u.Port() != "" {
+		cmd += " --port " + u.Port()
+	}
+	return cmd
+}
+
+// Process is one managed child process.
+type Process struct {
+	name         string
+	argv         []string
+	dir          string
+	probe        func(context.Context) error
+	startTimeout time.Duration
+	log          *slog.Logger
+
+	mu           sync.Mutex
+	cmd          *exec.Cmd
+	stopping     bool
+	ready        bool
+	external     bool // someone else serves the port; not our process
+	lastActivity time.Time
+}
+
+// New parses cmdLine (double quotes group arguments containing spaces) and
+// prepares a managed process. probe reports whether the server answers
+// (e.g. the comfy client's Probe); startTimeout bounds WaitReady. dir is
+// the child's working directory; empty inherits ours.
+func New(name, cmdLine, dir string, probe func(context.Context) error, startTimeout time.Duration, log *slog.Logger) (*Process, error) {
+	argv, err := splitCommandLine(cmdLine)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s command: %w", name, err)
+	}
+	if len(argv) == 0 {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s command is empty", name)
+	}
+	if log == nil {
+		log = slog.Default()
+	}
+	if startTimeout <= 0 {
+		startTimeout = 2 * time.Minute
+	}
+	return &Process{name: name, argv: argv, dir: dir, probe: probe, startTimeout: startTimeout, log: log}, nil
+}
+
+// splitCommandLine splits a command line on whitespace, treating
+// double-quoted sections as one argument (quotes removed). Backslashes are
+// literal — this matches Windows paths.
+func splitCommandLine(s string) ([]string, error) {
+	var argv []string
+	var cur strings.Builder
+	inQuote := false
+	have := false
+	flush := func() {
+		if have {
+			argv = append(argv, cur.String())
+			cur.Reset()
+			have = false
+		}
+	}
+	for _, r := range s {
+		switch {
+		case r == '"':
+			inQuote = !inQuote
+			have = true
+		case (r == ' ' || r == '\t') && !inQuote:
+			flush()
+		default:
+			cur.WriteRune(r)
+			have = true
+		}
+	}
+	if inQuote {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unterminated quote in %q", s)
+	}
+	flush()
+	return argv, nil
+}
+
+// Running reports whether the child process is currently alive.
+func (p *Process) Running() bool {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	defer p.mu.Unlock()
+	return p.cmd != nil
+}
+
+// Ready reports whether the server has answered a probe since its last
+// (re)start. Health checks use it to tell "starting up" from "outage".
+func (p *Process) Ready() bool {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	defer p.mu.Unlock()
+	return p.ready
+}
+
+// MarkReady records that the server answered.
+func (p *Process) MarkReady() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	p.ready = true
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// NoteActivity resets the idle clock; called for every request served.
+func (p *Process) NoteActivity() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	p.lastActivity = time.Now()
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+}
+
+// EnsureRunning starts the child if it is not running. It returns as soon
+// as the process is spawned; readiness is WaitReady's job (and the proxy's
+// retry backoff bridges the gap for plain proxied requests). When the URL
+// already answers — e.g. the ComfyUI desktop app grabbed the port — no
+// child is spawned: the external server is used as-is, and the idle
+// watcher never touches it (it only kills its own child).
+func (p *Process) EnsureRunning() error {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	defer p.mu.Unlock()
+	p.lastActivity = time.Now()
+	if p.cmd != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	pctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 2*time.Second)
+	err := p.probe(pctx)
+	cancel()
+	if err == nil {
+		p.ready = true
+		if !p.external {
+			p.external = true
+			p.log.Info(p.name + " is already served externally; not spawning a managed instance")
+		}
+		return nil
+	}
+	p.external = false
+	cmd := exec.Command(p.argv[0], p.argv[1:]...)
+	cmd.Dir = p.dir
+	stdout, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	stderr, err := cmd.StderrPipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := cmd.Start(); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("start %s: %w", p.name, err)
+	}
+	p.cmd = cmd
+	p.stopping = false
+	p.ready = false
+	go p.pipeLog(stdout)
+	go p.pipeLog(stderr)
+	go func() {
+		err := cmd.Wait()
+		p.mu.Lock()
+		p.cmd = nil
+		p.ready = false
+		intentional := p.stopping
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+		if intentional {
+			p.log.Info(p.name + " stopped")
+		} else {
+			p.log.Warn(p.name+" exited unexpectedly; the next request restarts it", "err", err)
+		}
+	}()
+	p.log.Info(p.name+" starting", "pid", cmd.Process.Pid, "cmd", strings.Join(p.argv, " "))
+	return nil
+}
+
+// WaitReady blocks until the probe succeeds, ctx ends, or the start
+// timeout passes.
+func (p *Process) WaitReady(ctx context.Context) error {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, p.startTimeout)
+	defer cancel()
+	for {
+		pctx, pcancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
+		err := p.probe(pctx)
+		pcancel()
+		if err == nil {
+			p.NoteActivity()
+			p.MarkReady()
+			return nil
+		}
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return fmt.Errorf("%s did not become ready: %w", p.name, ctx.Err())
+		case <-time.After(500 * time.Millisecond):
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Stop kills the child process (the whole tree on Windows) if running.
+func (p *Process) Stop() {
+	p.mu.Lock()
+	cmd := p.cmd
+	if cmd == nil {
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+		return
+	}
+	p.stopping = true
+	p.ready = false
+	p.mu.Unlock()
+	stopTree(cmd)
+}
+
+// WatchIdle stops the child after idleTimeout without activity, but only
+// when gpuIdle reports the GPU lock is free (no active or pending work).
+// Returns when ctx ends.
+func (p *Process) WatchIdle(ctx context.Context, idleTimeout time.Duration, gpuIdle func() bool) {
+	ticker := time.NewTicker(5 * time.Second)
+	defer ticker.Stop()
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+			return
+		case <-ticker.C:
+		}
+		p.mu.Lock()
+		idleFor := time.Since(p.lastActivity)
+		running := p.cmd != nil
+		p.mu.Unlock()
+		if running && idleFor > idleTimeout && gpuIdle() {
+			p.log.Info(p.name+" idle; stopping to free the GPU", "idle_for", idleFor.Round(time.Second))
+			p.Stop()
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// pipeLog forwards one child output stream to the log at INFO, line by
+// line, prefixed with the process name.
+func (p *Process) pipeLog(r io.Reader) {
+	buf := make([]byte, 4096)
+	var line string
+	for {
+		n, err := r.Read(buf)
+		line += string(buf[:n])
+		for {
+			i := strings.IndexByte(line, '\n')
+			if i < 0 {
+				break
+			}
+			p.log.Info(p.name + ": " + strings.TrimRight(line[:i], "\r"))
+			line = line[i+1:]
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			if strings.TrimSpace(line) != "" {
+				p.log.Info(p.name + ": " + line)
+			}
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// stopTree kills cmd's process, including its children on Windows (python
+// launchers tend to spawn some). The Wait goroutine reaps it.
+func stopTree(cmd *exec.Cmd) {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		exec.Command("taskkill", "/T", "/F", "/PID",
+			fmt.Sprint(cmd.Process.Pid)).Run() //nolint:errcheck // best effort
+		return
+	}
+	cmd.Process.Kill() //nolint:errcheck // best effort
+}

internal/supervise/supervise_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
+package supervise
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"log/slog"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestSplitCommandLine(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		in   string
+		want []string
+	}{
+		{`python main.py --port 8188`, []string{"python", "main.py", "--port", "8188"}},
+		{`"C:\Program Files\py\python.exe" main.py`, []string{`C:\Program Files\py\python.exe`, "main.py"}},
+		{`  spaced   out  `, []string{"spaced", "out"}},
+		{`a "b c" d`, []string{"a", "b c", "d"}},
+		{"", nil},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		got, err := splitCommandLine(c.in)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Errorf("splitCommandLine(%q): %v", c.in, err)
+			continue
+		}
+		if len(got) != len(c.want) {
+			t.Errorf("splitCommandLine(%q) = %v, want %v", c.in, got, c.want)
+			continue
+		}
+		for i := range got {
+			if got[i] != c.want[i] {
+				t.Errorf("splitCommandLine(%q) = %v, want %v", c.in, got, c.want)
+				break
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if _, err := splitCommandLine(`"unterminated`); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected error for unterminated quote")
+	}
+}
+
+// TestHelperProcess is the child executed by the lifecycle tests: it just
+// sleeps. The env marker is set only around the spawn, so in the normal
+// test run this returns immediately.
+func TestHelperProcess(t *testing.T) {
+	if os.Getenv("GO_HELPER_PROCESS") != "1" {
+		return
+	}
+	time.Sleep(30 * time.Second)
+	os.Exit(0)
+}
+
+func newHelper(t *testing.T, name string) *Process {
+	t.Helper()
+	// The probe always fails: nothing external serves the port, so
+	// EnsureRunning spawns the helper child.
+	p, err := New(name, `"`+os.Args[0]+`" -test.run=TestHelperProcess`, "",
+		func(context.Context) error { return errors.New("nothing there") }, 5*time.Second, slog.Default())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return p
+}
+
+// startHelper spawns the child with the marker set; exec.Command inherits
+// the environment at spawn time, so it can be unset right after.
+func startHelper(t *testing.T, p *Process) {
+	t.Helper()
+	os.Setenv("GO_HELPER_PROCESS", "1")
+	defer os.Unsetenv("GO_HELPER_PROCESS")
+	if err := p.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+}
+
+func waitStopped(t *testing.T, p *Process, timeout time.Duration) {
+	t.Helper()
+	deadline := time.Now().Add(timeout)
+	for p.Running() && time.Now().Before(deadline) {
+		time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+	}
+	if p.Running() {
+		t.Fatal("process still running")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestEnsureRunningAndStop(t *testing.T) {
+	p := newHelper(t, "helper")
+	if p.Running() {
+		t.Fatal("Running before start")
+	}
+	startHelper(t, p)
+	if !p.Running() {
+		t.Fatal("not Running after EnsureRunning")
+	}
+	if err := p.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal("second EnsureRunning must be a no-op")
+	}
+	p.Stop()
+	waitStopped(t, p, 5*time.Second)
+}
+
+func TestEnsureRunningPrefersExternalServer(t *testing.T) {
+	// The port is already served (e.g. the ComfyUI desktop app): no child
+	// is spawned, the supervisor reports ready, and Stop is a no-op.
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	probe := func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		req, _ := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, srv.URL, nil)
+		resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		return nil
+	}
+	p, err := New("external", `"`+os.Args[0]+`"`, "", probe, 5*time.Second, slog.Default())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := p.EnsureRunning(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if p.Running() {
+		t.Fatal("spawned a child even though the port is already served")
+	}
+	if !p.Ready() {
+		t.Fatal("external server should count as ready")
+	}
+	p.Stop() // must not touch the external server
+}
+
+func TestWaitReady(t *testing.T) {
+	srv := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+	}))
+	defer srv.Close()
+	probe := func(ctx context.Context) error {
+		req, _ := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, srv.URL, nil)
+		resp, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		resp.Body.Close()
+		return nil
+	}
+	p, err := New("ready", `"`+os.Args[0]+`"`, "", probe, 5*time.Second, slog.Default())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := p.WaitReady(context.Background()); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	failing, err := New("failing", `"`+os.Args[0]+`"`, "",
+		func(context.Context) error { return errors.New("no") }, 500*time.Millisecond, slog.Default())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := failing.WaitReady(context.Background()); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected timeout error from WaitReady")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestWatchIdleStops(t *testing.T) {
+	p := newHelper(t, "idle")
+	startHelper(t, p)
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+	go p.WatchIdle(ctx, 200*time.Millisecond, func() bool { return true })
+	waitStopped(t, p, 10*time.Second)
+}
+
+func TestWatchIdleRespectsBusyGPU(t *testing.T) {
+	p := newHelper(t, "busy")
+	startHelper(t, p)
+	defer p.Stop()
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	go p.WatchIdle(ctx, 100*time.Millisecond, func() bool { return false })
+	time.Sleep(600 * time.Millisecond)
+	cancel()
+	if !p.Running() {
+		t.Fatal("process was stopped while the GPU was busy")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestComfyLayoutAndDefaultCommand(t *testing.T) {
+	// Nested layout (ComfyUI/main.py under dir) wins.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	nested := filepath.Join(dir, "ComfyUI", "main.py")
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(nested), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := os.WriteFile(nested, []byte("x"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	python, script := ComfyLayout("windows", dir)
+	if want := filepath.Join(dir, ".venv", "Scripts", "python.exe"); python != want {
+		t.Errorf("python = %s, want %s", python, want)
+	}
+	if script != nested {
+		t.Errorf("script = %s, want %s", script, nested)
+	}
+	cmd := DefaultComfyCommand("windows", dir, "http://127.0.0.1:8189")
+	want := `"` + filepath.Join(dir, ".venv", "Scripts", "python.exe") + `" ` + filepath.Join("ComfyUI", "main.py") + " --port 8189"
+	if cmd != want {
+		t.Errorf("cmd = %q, want %q", cmd, want)
+	}
+
+	// Flat layout (main.py directly under dir) is found too.
+	flat := t.TempDir()
+	if err := os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(flat, "main.py"), []byte("x"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, script := ComfyLayout("linux", flat); script != filepath.Join(flat, "main.py") {
+		t.Errorf("flat script = %s", script)
+	}
+	cmd = DefaultComfyCommand("linux", flat, "http://comfy.internal")
+	if strings.Contains(cmd, "--port") {
+		t.Errorf("cmd = %q, want no --port for a port-less URL", cmd)
+	}
+	if !strings.HasSuffix(cmd, `" main.py`) {
+		t.Errorf("cmd = %q, want quoted python + relative main.py", cmd)
+	}
+
+	// Neither exists yet: default to the documented nested form so the
+	// startup warning points there.
+	empty := t.TempDir()
+	if _, script := ComfyLayout("windows", empty); script != filepath.Join(empty, "ComfyUI", "main.py") {
+		t.Errorf("missing-layout script = %s", script)
+	}
+}

internal/update/pubkey.go

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package update
+
+// publicKeyPEM is the PEM-encoded Ed25519 public key that matches the
+// RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY secret used by CI to sign release binaries. Generate a
+// keypair once with:
+//
+//	openssl genpkey -algorithm ed25519 -out private.pem
+//	openssl pkey -in private.pem -pubout -out public.pem
+//
+// Paste the contents of public.pem here and commit; store private.pem as
+// the RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY repository secret. When empty, the updater refuses
+// to update (e.g. development builds).
+var publicKeyPEM = `-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----
+MCowBQYDK2VwAyEAqTAJ0CCeAQI7MhFlgc5xNmF/CfvLVUAY3ZAoeAS0tT8=
+-----END PUBLIC KEY-----
+`

internal/update/update.go

@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+// Package update implements gpu-turnstile's self-updater: it polls the
+// Gitea releases API, downloads the Windows binary of newer releases, and
+// verifies its Ed25519 signature (produced by CI with OpenSSL) before
+// swapping it in next to the running executable.
+package update
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"log/slog"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/url"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// maxAssetSize bounds release asset downloads.
+const maxAssetSize = 512 << 20
+
+// Updater checks one Gitea repository for releases.
+type Updater struct {
+	Repo    string // e.g. https://git.rambossek.at/PUBLIC/gpu-turnstile
+	Asset   string // e.g. gpu-turnstile.exe
+	Version string // current binary version, e.g. v0.1.2 ("dev" cannot be compared)
+	// Desired is the APP_VER policy: "dev" disables updates, "stable" (or
+	// empty) tracks the latest release, anything else is an exact vX.Y.Z
+	// release tag to pin — staging it even when that means a downgrade.
+	Desired string
+	Log     *slog.Logger
+	Client  *http.Client
+}
+
+type release struct {
+	TagName string `json:"tag_name"`
+	Assets  []struct {
+		Name               string `json:"name"`
+		BrowserDownloadURL string `json:"browser_download_url"`
+	} `json:"assets"`
+}
+
+func (u *Updater) logger() *slog.Logger {
+	if u.Log != nil {
+		return u.Log
+	}
+	return slog.Default()
+}
+
+func (u *Updater) httpClient() *http.Client {
+	if u.Client != nil {
+		return u.Client
+	}
+	return &http.Client{Timeout: 5 * time.Minute}
+}
+
+// apiURL derives <scheme>://<host>/api/v1/repos/<owner>/<name> from Repo.
+func (u *Updater) apiURL() (string, error) {
+	repoURL, err := url.Parse(u.Repo)
+	if err != nil || repoURL.Scheme == "" || repoURL.Host == "" {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("invalid UPDATE_REPO %q", u.Repo)
+	}
+	ownerName := strings.Trim(repoURL.Path, "/")
+	if len(strings.Split(ownerName, "/")) != 2 {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("UPDATE_REPO %q: expected path /<owner>/<name>", u.Repo)
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%s://%s/api/v1/repos/%s", repoURL.Scheme, repoURL.Host, ownerName), nil
+}
+
+// newerVersion reports whether latest is a higher vX.Y.Z version than
+// current. Both may carry a leading "v".
+func newerVersion(current, latest string) (bool, error) {
+	parse := func(s string) ([3]int, error) {
+		var v [3]int
+		parts := strings.Split(strings.TrimPrefix(s, "v"), ".")
+		if len(parts) != 3 {
+			return v, fmt.Errorf("not a vX.Y.Z version: %q", s)
+		}
+		for i, p := range parts {
+			n, err := strconv.Atoi(p)
+			if err != nil {
+				return v, fmt.Errorf("not a vX.Y.Z version: %q", s)
+			}
+			v[i] = n
+		}
+		return v, nil
+	}
+	cur, err := parse(current)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	lat, err := parse(latest)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	for i := 0; i < 3; i++ {
+		if lat[i] != cur[i] {
+			return lat[i] > cur[i], nil
+		}
+	}
+	return false, nil
+}
+
+func (u *Updater) get(ctx context.Context, url string) ([]byte, error) {
+	req, err := http.NewRequestWithContext(ctx, http.MethodGet, url, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	resp, err := u.httpClient().Do(req)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode != http.StatusOK {
+		io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("GET %s: %s", url, resp.Status)
+	}
+	return io.ReadAll(io.LimitReader(resp.Body, maxAssetSize))
+}
+
+func verifySignature(pubKeyPEM string, data, sig []byte) error {
+	block, _ := pem.Decode([]byte(pubKeyPEM))
+	if block == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("invalid embedded public key PEM")
+	}
+	key, err := x509.ParsePKIXPublicKey(block.Bytes)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("parse public key: %w", err)
+	}
+	pub, ok := key.(ed25519.PublicKey)
+	if !ok {
+		return fmt.Errorf("public key is not Ed25519")
+	}
+	if !ed25519.Verify(pub, data, sig) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("signature verification failed")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// stage swaps data into place at exePath: the running executable is
+// renamed aside (allowed on Windows) and the new file takes its name.
+func stage(exePath string, data []byte) error {
+	newPath := exePath + ".new"
+	oldPath := exePath + ".old"
+	os.Remove(oldPath) // leftover from a previous update
+	if err := os.WriteFile(newPath, data, 0o755); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := os.Rename(exePath, oldPath); err != nil {
+		os.Remove(newPath)
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := os.Rename(newPath, exePath); err != nil {
+		os.Rename(oldPath, exePath) // roll back
+		return err
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// CleanupOld removes the .old binary left behind by a staged update.
+// Call once at startup.
+func CleanupOld(exePath string) {
+	os.Remove(exePath + ".old")
+	os.Remove(exePath + ".new")
+}
+
+// Check performs a single update check. staged is true when a
+// signature-verified binary has been swapped into place at exePath; the
+// caller should then restart the process. A nil error with staged=false
+// means "no action" (up to date, APP_VER=dev, or no embedded public key);
+// a non-nil error means the check failed and the running binary is
+// untouched.
+func (u *Updater) Check(ctx context.Context, exePath string) (staged bool, err error) {
+	log := u.logger()
+	desired := u.Desired
+	if desired == "" {
+		desired = "stable"
+	}
+	if desired == "dev" {
+		log.Debug("auto-update: APP_VER=dev, skipping")
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	if publicKeyPEM == "" {
+		log.Debug("auto-update: no public key embedded, skipping")
+		return false, nil
+	}
+	api, err := u.apiURL()
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+
+	pinned := desired != "stable"
+	endpoint := api + "/releases/latest"
+	if pinned {
+		endpoint = api + "/releases/tags/" + desired
+	}
+	body, err := u.get(ctx, endpoint)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("fetch release: %w", err)
+	}
+	var rel release
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(body, &rel); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("parse release: %w", err)
+	}
+	if pinned {
+		// Pin mode: any difference from the target tag means stage it —
+		// including downgrades and replacing a dev binary.
+		if u.Version == rel.TagName {
+			log.Debug("auto-update: already on pinned version", "version", u.Version)
+			return false, nil
+		}
+	} else if u.Version != "" && u.Version != "dev" {
+		// Stable mode: only strictly newer releases count; a dev binary
+		// cannot be compared and is always replaced by the latest release.
+		newer, err := newerVersion(u.Version, rel.TagName)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, err
+		}
+		if !newer {
+			log.Debug("auto-update: up to date", "version", u.Version, "latest", rel.TagName)
+			return false, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	urls := make(map[string]string, len(rel.Assets))
+	for _, a := range rel.Assets {
+		urls[a.Name] = a.BrowserDownloadURL
+	}
+	assetURL, ok := urls[u.Asset]
+	if !ok {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("release %s has no asset %q", rel.TagName, u.Asset)
+	}
+	sigURL, ok := urls[u.Asset+".sig"]
+	if !ok {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("release %s has no signature asset %q", rel.TagName, u.Asset+".sig")
+	}
+
+	data, err := u.get(ctx, assetURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("download %s: %w", u.Asset, err)
+	}
+	sig, err := u.get(ctx, sigURL)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("download signature: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if sumURL, ok := urls[u.Asset+".sha256"]; ok {
+		sumText, err := u.get(ctx, sumURL)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("download checksum: %w", err)
+		}
+		want := strings.Fields(string(sumText))[0]
+		got := hex.EncodeToString(sha256Bytes(data))
+		if !strings.EqualFold(want, got) {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("sha256 mismatch: got %s, want %s", got, want)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := verifySignature(publicKeyPEM, data, sig); err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+
+	if err := stage(exePath, data); err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("stage update: %w", err)
+	}
+	log.Info("auto-update: new version staged", "from", u.Version, "to", rel.TagName)
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+func sha256Bytes(data []byte) []byte {
+	sum := sha256.Sum256(data)
+	return sum[:]
+}

internal/update/update_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+package update
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/ed25519"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"encoding/pem"
+	"fmt"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// fakeGitea serves a Gitea-flavored releases API with one release.
+type fakeGitea struct {
+	srv    *httptest.Server
+	pubPEM string
+	asset  []byte
+	tag    string
+	tamper bool
+	noSig  bool
+}
+
+func newFakeGitea(t *testing.T, tag string, assetContent []byte) *fakeGitea {
+	t.Helper()
+	pub, priv, err := ed25519.GenerateKey(rand.Reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	der, err := x509.MarshalPKIXPublicKey(pub)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	f := &fakeGitea{
+		pubPEM: string(pem.EncodeToMemory(&pem.Block{Type: "PUBLIC KEY", Bytes: der})),
+		asset:  assetContent,
+		tag:    tag,
+	}
+	sign := func() []byte { return ed25519.Sign(priv, f.asset) }
+
+	mux := http.NewServeMux()
+	serveRelease := func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		assets := []map[string]string{
+			{"name": "gpu-turnstile.exe", "browser_download_url": f.srv.URL + "/dl/exe"},
+			{"name": "gpu-turnstile.exe.sha256", "browser_download_url": f.srv.URL + "/dl/sha"},
+		}
+		if !f.noSig {
+			assets = append(assets, map[string]string{"name": "gpu-turnstile.exe.sig", "browser_download_url": f.srv.URL + "/dl/sig"})
+		}
+		json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]any{"tag_name": f.tag, "assets": assets})
+	}
+	mux.HandleFunc("/api/v1/repos/o/r/releases/latest", serveRelease)
+	mux.HandleFunc("/api/v1/repos/o/r/releases/tags/"+f.tag, serveRelease)
+	mux.HandleFunc("/dl/exe", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { w.Write(f.asset) })
+	mux.HandleFunc("/dl/sig", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		sig := sign()
+		if f.tamper {
+			sig[0] ^= 0xff
+		}
+		w.Write(sig)
+	})
+	mux.HandleFunc("/dl/sha", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		fmt.Fprintf(w, "%x  gpu-turnstile.exe\n", sha256Bytes(f.asset))
+	})
+	f.srv = httptest.NewServer(mux)
+	t.Cleanup(f.srv.Close)
+	return f
+}
+
+func (f *fakeGitea) updater(version string) *Updater {
+	return &Updater{Repo: f.srv.URL + "/o/r", Asset: "gpu-turnstile.exe", Version: version}
+}
+
+func (f *fakeGitea) updaterDesired(version, desired string) *Updater {
+	u := f.updater(version)
+	u.Desired = desired
+	return u
+}
+
+func fakeExe(t *testing.T) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	exe := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "gpu-turnstile.exe")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(exe, []byte("old-binary"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return exe
+}
+
+func withPublicKey(t *testing.T, pem string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	old := publicKeyPEM
+	publicKeyPEM = pem
+	t.Cleanup(func() { publicKeyPEM = old })
+}
+
+func TestCheckStagesUpdate(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v9.9.9", []byte("new-binary"))
+	withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+	exe := fakeExe(t)
+
+	staged, err := f.updater("v0.1.2").Check(context.Background(), exe)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !staged {
+		t.Fatal("expected staged update")
+	}
+	content, _ := os.ReadFile(exe)
+	if string(content) != "new-binary" {
+		t.Fatalf("exe content = %q", content)
+	}
+	old, _ := os.ReadFile(exe + ".old")
+	if string(old) != "old-binary" {
+		t.Fatalf(".old content = %q", old)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckRejectsTamperedSignature(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v9.9.9", []byte("new-binary"))
+	f.tamper = true
+	withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+	exe := fakeExe(t)
+
+	staged, err := f.updater("v0.1.2").Check(context.Background(), exe)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected signature error")
+	}
+	if staged {
+		t.Fatal("must not stage on bad signature")
+	}
+	content, _ := os.ReadFile(exe)
+	if string(content) != "old-binary" {
+		t.Fatal("exe was modified despite bad signature")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckSkipsOlderOrEqual(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, tag := range []string{"v0.1.2", "v0.1.1", "v0.0.9"} {
+		f := newFakeGitea(t, tag, []byte("new-binary"))
+		withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+		staged, err := f.updater("v0.1.2").Check(context.Background(), fakeExe(t))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if staged {
+			t.Fatalf("tag %s must not stage over v0.1.2", tag)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckSkipsWithoutPublicKey(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v9.9.9", []byte("new-binary"))
+	withPublicKey(t, "")
+	staged, err := f.updater("v0.1.2").Check(context.Background(), fakeExe(t))
+	if err != nil || staged {
+		t.Fatalf("staged=%v err=%v, want no action without key", staged, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckDevBuildGetsStable(t *testing.T) {
+	// A dev binary cannot be compared; APP_VER=stable replaces it with the
+	// latest release.
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v9.9.9", []byte("new-binary"))
+	withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+	exe := fakeExe(t)
+	staged, err := f.updater("dev").Check(context.Background(), exe)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if !staged {
+		t.Fatal("expected dev binary to be replaced by the latest release")
+	}
+	content, _ := os.ReadFile(exe)
+	if string(content) != "new-binary" {
+		t.Fatalf("exe content = %q", content)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckDesiredDevDisables(t *testing.T) {
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v9.9.9", []byte("new-binary"))
+	withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+	for _, version := range []string{"dev", "v0.1.2"} {
+		staged, err := f.updaterDesired(version, "dev").Check(context.Background(), fakeExe(t))
+		if err != nil || staged {
+			t.Fatalf("version %s: staged=%v err=%v, want no action with APP_VER=dev", version, staged, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestCheckPinned(t *testing.T) {
+	// Pin mode stages the exact tag — up or down — and skips when the
+	// binary already matches.
+	for _, version := range []string{"v0.1.2", "v9.9.9", "dev"} {
+		f := newFakeGitea(t, "v0.5.0", []byte("pinned-binary"))
+		withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+		exe := fakeExe(t)
+		staged, err := f.updaterDesired(version, "v0.5.0").Check(context.Background(), exe)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("version %s: %v", version, err)
+		}
+		if !staged {
+			t.Fatalf("version %s: expected pinned v0.5.0 to be staged", version)
+		}
+		content, _ := os.ReadFile(exe)
+		if string(content) != "pinned-binary" {
+			t.Fatalf("version %s: exe content = %q", version, content)
+		}
+	}
+
+	f := newFakeGitea(t, "v0.5.0", []byte("pinned-binary"))
+	withPublicKey(t, f.pubPEM)
+	staged, err := f.updaterDesired("v0.5.0", "v0.5.0").Check(context.Background(), fakeExe(t))
+	if err != nil || staged {
+		t.Fatalf("staged=%v err=%v, want no action when already on the pinned version", staged, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNewerVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	cases := []struct {
+		cur, lat string
+		want     bool
+	}{
+		{"v0.1.2", "v0.1.3", true},
+		{"0.1.2", "0.2.0", true},
+		{"v0.1.2", "v1.0.0", true},
+		{"v0.1.2", "v0.1.2", false},
+		{"v1.2.3", "v1.2.10", true},
+		{"v1.2.10", "v1.2.3", false},
+	}
+	for _, c := range cases {
+		got, err := newerVersion(c.cur, c.lat)
+		if err != nil || got != c.want {
+			t.Errorf("newerVersion(%s, %s) = %v, %v; want %v", c.cur, c.lat, got, err, c.want)
+		}
+	}
+	if _, err := newerVersion("v0.1", "v0.1.2"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("expected error for malformed version")
+	}
+}