docs(alloy): document the root journal-read cutover

Alloy page rewritten to the shipped root design (why root, the two
mounts that make it work, deploy-pending status); Observability current
state marks the log pipeline fixed-in-code, awaiting deploy.

dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container

@@ -1,55 +1,51 @@
-# Quadlet unit: alloy (rootless, boot-persistent).
+# Quadlet unit: alloy (ROOT system service, boot-persistent).
 #
-# Install path on dankclaw: ~/.config/containers/systemd/alloy.container
+# Install path on dankclaw: /etc/containers/systemd/alloy.container
-# Unit name: alloy.service (container name: alloy)
+# Unit name: alloy.service (container name: alloy) — SYSTEM manager, root.
 #
-# Log shipper. This replaces the compose service of the same name in
+# WHY ROOT (not rootless, unlike its observability siblings). Alloy reads the
-# dankclaw/compose.yaml ("Observability" block).
+# host journal. The journal files are root:systemd-journal 0640 (other::---);
+# a rootless container carries no supplementary groups and cannot open them —
+# a rootless read of system.journal returns DENIED (see the Alloy page in the
+# vault). Running as root, one loki.source.journal reads system.journal AND
+# user-1000.journal, so it carries both host logs and the rootless Quadlet
+# containers' logs. Validated 2026-10-20: a root probe read 31,825 journal
+# lines and pushed 26,966 into Loki in 20 s, zero drops.
 #
-# IMAGE. franksdank/alloy is built locally by deploy-remote.sh
+# NETWORK=host. Loki publishes 127.0.0.1:3100 (loopback only) on the host, and
-# (build_compose_image) from dankclaw/alloy/Containerfile: upstream
+# no bridge container — rootless or root — can reach the host's loopback, so
-# grafana/alloy plus a static busybox for the healthcheck. Pull=never keeps a
+# this unit runs on the host network and pushes to 127.0.0.1:3100. The side
-# boot from reaching for that local tag at a registry.
+# effect: the UI must bind loopback too, so Exec sets the listen-addr to
+# 127.0.0.1 (the old rootless unit used 0.0.0.0 only because container loopback
+# was not host loopback; under Network=host they are the same address, so the
+# unauthenticated UI stays loopback-only — nothing off-host reaches it).
 #
-# NETWORK. It joins dankclaw_default so its config's loki.write endpoint
+# THE /etc/machine-id MOUNT IS LOAD-BEARING. sd_journal locates the journal
-# resolves the container name loki:3100.
+# directory by the local machine id; without it the container opens nothing and
+# the journal source reads exactly 0 lines — silently, no error, health green.
+# This mount is the entire reason the pipeline carries data. Never remove it.
 #
-# THE UI PORT EXISTS ON PURPOSE. Alloy's UI listens on the container's own
+# IMAGE. Built rootless by build_compose_image alloy, then mirrored into the
-# 127.0.0.1 by default and cannot be moved from the config file (alloy 1.x
+# root image store by the deployer (a root build runs in the build container's
-# refuses the ui block), so the compose service had no reachable health
+# own resolver and fails on DNS here). Pull=never: boot must not reach for the
-# endpoint at all: the homepage status card for alloy reported "down"
+# local tag at a registry.
-# continuously and there was nothing for a deploy to wait on. The command
-# below therefore moves the UI to the container's wildcard address and the
-# port is published on host loopback only, which puts alloy in the same class
-# as the other three: reachable from the host, by Caddy over the private
-# network, and by nothing off-host. Alloy has no authentication, which is
-# exactly why it is not published wider.
-#
-# SOURCES. The host journald socket and the host log/container-storage trees
-# are bind-mounted read-only; Alloy tails them and pushes to Loki. The config
-# lives at /opt/alloy/config/config.alloy, installed from
-# shared/alloy/config.alloy on every deploy.
-#
-# ORDERING. Wants/After loki.service: without a reachable Loki, Alloy's write
-# client fails and its log pipeline backs up.
 
 [Unit]
 Description=Alloy log shipper (Dankclaw)
-After=network-online.target loki.service
+After=network-online.target
-Wants=network-online.target loki.service
 
 [Container]
 ContainerName=alloy
 Image=localhost/franksdank/alloy:latest
 Pull=never
-Network=dankclaw_default
+Network=host
-Exec=run --server.http.listen-addr=0.0.0.0:12345 /etc/alloy/config.alloy
+Exec=run --server.http.listen-addr=127.0.0.1:12345 /etc/alloy/config.alloy
-PublishPort=127.0.0.1:12345:12345
+Volume=/opt/alloy/config:/etc/alloy:ro
-Volume=/opt/alloy/config:/etc/alloy
+Volume=/etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id:ro
 Volume=/run/systemd/journal/socket:/run/systemd/journal/socket:ro
-Volume=/var/log:/var/log:ro
+Volume=/var/log/journal:/var/log/journal:ro
-Volume=/var/lib/containers:/var/lib/containers:ro
+Volume=/run/log/journal:/run/log/journal:ro
-HealthCmd=/usr/local/bin/busybox wget --spider -q http://localhost:12345/-/healthy
+HealthCmd=/usr/local/bin/busybox wget --spider -q http://127.0.0.1:12345/-/healthy
 HealthInterval=30s
 HealthTimeout=10s
 HealthRetries=3
@@ -60,4 +56,4 @@ Restart=always
 RestartSec=10
 
 [Install]
-WantedBy=default.target
+WantedBy=multi-user.target

scripts/deploy-remote.sh

@@ -487,13 +487,15 @@ seed_grafana_env() {
         || { echo "grafana env missing GRAFANA_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET; set it in dankclaw/.env" >&2; return 1; }
 }
 
-# The five observability containers left compose on 2026-09-11 (they were
+# The observability containers left compose on 2026-09-11 (they were started by
-# started by hand with podman-compose and never came back after a reboot).
+# hand with podman-compose and never came back after a reboot). Five are ordinary
-# They are ordinary rootless Quadlet units now: same images, same mounts, same
+# rootless Quadlet units: same images, same mounts, same arguments, same
-# arguments, same container names, so nothing that addresses them by name —
+# container names, so nothing that addresses them by name — Caddy, Prometheus'
-# Caddy, Prometheus' own scrape config, Alloy's loki.write endpoint — changed.
+# own scrape config — changed. Only the published ports did: the three HTTP UIs
-# Only the published ports did: the three HTTP UIs bind 127.0.0.1, because the
+# bind 127.0.0.1, because the compose services published on 0.0.0.0 and none of
-# compose services published on 0.0.0.0 and none of them authenticates.
+# them authenticates. Alloy is the exception: a ROOT system service on
+# Network=host, because reading the host journal needs privileges a rootless
+# container cannot get. It is handled by deploy_alloy, not the loop below.
 deploy_observability() {
     local service="$1"
     # Observability units live under <target>/observability/quadlet: Dankclaw
@@ -512,10 +514,6 @@ deploy_observability() {
             copy_loki_config
             build_compose_image loki
             ;;
-        alloy)
-            copy_alloy_config
-            build_compose_image alloy
-            ;;
         grafana)
             copy_grafana_provisioning
             seed_grafana_env || return 1
@@ -534,11 +532,71 @@ deploy_observability() {
         alertmanager) wait_for_health alertmanager http://127.0.0.1:9093/-/healthy 60 ;;
         grafana) wait_for_health grafana http://127.0.0.1:3002/api/health 90 ;;
         loki) wait_for_health loki http://127.0.0.1:3100/ready 60 ;;
-        alloy) wait_for_health alloy http://127.0.0.1:12345/-/healthy 60 ;;
         node-exporter) wait_for_health node-exporter http://127.0.0.1:9100/metrics 60 ;;
     esac
 }
 
+# Mirror an image the deployer built rootless into the ROOT image store. A root
+# quadlet reads root storage; a root build (build_compose_image is rootless) is
+# not possible on this host — the build container's resolver fails DNS — so the
+# only way to get a root-readable copy is save-and-load. Compares image ids so a
+# rebuilt alloy actually re-lands in root storage instead of leaving a stale tag.
+mirror_image_to_root() {
+    local ref="$1" rid
+    rid="$(podman image inspect "$ref" --format '{{.Id}}' 2>/dev/null)" || {
+        echo "ERROR: rootless image $ref is not built; cannot mirror to root" >&2
+        return 1
+    }
+    if [[ "$(run_privileged podman image inspect "$ref" --format '{{.Id}}' 2>/dev/null)" == "$rid" ]]; then
+        return 0
+    fi
+    local tar; tar="$(mktemp /var/tmp/alloy-mirror.XXXXXX.tar)"
+    podman save -o "$tar" "$ref"
+    run_privileged podman load -i "$tar"
+    rm -f "$tar"
+}
+
+# Install a quadlet into the SYSTEM generator dir (root manager) instead of the
+# user dir. Boot persistence is the unit's own [Install] section (multi-user
+# target); the v1 system generator creates the .wants on daemon-reload, so —
+# like the user units — no `systemctl enable` (generated units cannot be enabled
+# here).
+install_system_quadlet() {
+    local source_dir="$1" unit="$2"
+    run_privileged mkdir -p /etc/containers/systemd
+    run_privileged cp "$source_dir/$unit.container" /etc/containers/systemd/
+    run_privileged systemctl daemon-reload
+}
+
+# Alloy as a ROOT system service on Network=host. See the unit file: a rootless
+# container cannot read the 0640 journal files, and it cannot reach Loki's
+# 127.0.0.1:3100 publish from a bridge netns. Root + host network fixes both;
+# the price is that this one container runs as root and on the host network.
+deploy_alloy() {
+    copy_alloy_config
+    build_compose_image alloy                      # rootless build (resolver works)
+    mirror_image_to_root localhost/franksdank/alloy:latest
+
+    # Retire the rootless unit BEFORE the system one starts: both managers
+    # generate alloy.service, and two containers named "alloy" both binding
+    # 127.0.0.1:12345 cannot coexist. Move the user quadlet out of the generator
+    # dir (it regenerates from there) and stop the user unit.
+    if [[ -f "$quadlet_unit_dir/alloy.container" ]] ||
+       systemctl --user is-active --quiet alloy.service 2>/dev/null; then
+        systemctl --user stop alloy.service 2>/dev/null || true
+        if [[ -f "$quadlet_unit_dir/alloy.container" ]]; then
+            local trash="$HOME/.AGENTTRASH/$(date +%Y%m%d)-alloy-root-cutover"
+            mkdir -p "$trash"
+            mv -- "$quadlet_unit_dir/alloy.container" "$trash/alloy.container"
+            echo "retired rootless alloy.container -> $trash"
+        fi
+        systemctl --user daemon-reload
+    fi
+
+    install_system_quadlet dankclaw/observability/quadlet alloy
+    run_privileged systemctl restart alloy.service
+    wait_for_health alloy http://127.0.0.1:12345/-/healthy 60
+}
 build_compose_image() {
     local service="$1" image cfhash oldhash containerfile
     # Every file the image COPIES IN, beside the Containerfile. The skip below
@@ -1941,7 +1999,8 @@ deploy_service() {
         copyparty) deploy_copyparty ;;
         plex) deploy_plex ;;
         tautulli) deploy_tautulli ;;
-        prometheus|grafana|loki|alloy|node-exporter|alertmanager) deploy_observability "$service" ;;
+        alloy) deploy_alloy ;;
+        prometheus|grafana|loki|node-exporter|alertmanager) deploy_observability "$service" ;;
         comfyui) deploy_comfyui ;;
         *) deploy_compose_service "$service" ;;
     esac

serverAppConfigs-docs/Infrastructure/Alloy.md

@@ -3,96 +3,111 @@ type: reference
 description: "Alloy is Grafana's log and telemetry shipper."
 tags:
   - infrastructure
-timestamp: 2026-09-11
+timestamp: 2026-10-20
 ---
 
 # Alloy
 
-Alloy is Grafana's log and telemetry shipper. It replaces Promtail (end of life as of 2026-03-02, https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/send-data/promtail/). It is wired to forward container and journal logs to Loki, and every unit in the path is healthy — but as of 2026-10-18 it is delivering **zero** log lines. See "Delivery state" below.
+Alloy is Grafana's log and telemetry shipper. It replaces Promtail (end of life
+as of 2026-03-02, https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/send-data/promtail/). It
+forwards the host journal — including the rootless Quadlet containers' logs —
+to Loki. Unlike its observability siblings it runs as a **root system service on
+the host network**, because a rootless container cannot read the journal (see
+*Why root* below).
 
-**Host:** Dankclaw (one instance per host) — **Port:** 12345 (loopback) — **Docs:** https://grafana.com/docs/alloy/latest
+**Host:** Dankclaw (one instance per host) — **UI/health:** 127.0.0.1:12345
+(loopback) — **Docs:** https://grafana.com/docs/alloy/latest
 
 ## Facts
 
 | Item | Value |
 |------|-------|
-| Image | `franksdank/alloy:latest` (local build: upstream + a static busybox for the healthcheck) |
+| Image | `localhost/franksdank/alloy:latest` — built rootless, then mirrored into the root image store by the deployer (a root build fails on DNS in this host's build container) |
-| Published | `127.0.0.1:12345` → 12345 (its own UI/health port) |
+| Unit | `dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container` → system `alloy.service`, installed at `/etc/containers/systemd/` (root manager) |
-| Unit | `dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container` → `alloy.service` |
+| Config | `shared/alloy/config.alloy` → `/opt/alloy/config/config.alloy` on every deploy |
-| Config | `shared/alloy/config.alloy`, installed to `/opt/alloy/config/config.alloy` on every deploy (`scripts/deploy-remote.sh:281-284`) |
+| Network | `host` — required so it can reach Loki's `127.0.0.1:3100` publish |
-| Inputs | host journald socket, podman container logs, `/var/log` |
+| UI | `--server.http.listen-addr=127.0.0.1:12345` (loopback; nothing off-host reaches it) |
-| Output | `http://loki:3100/loki/api/v1/push` (`shared/alloy/config.alloy:13-17`) |
+| Inputs | host journal: `system.journal` + `user-*.journal` (root reads both) |
-| Successor to | Promtail (EOL 2026-03-02, https://grafana.com/docs/loki/latest/send-data/promtail/) |
+| Output | `http://127.0.0.1:3100/loki/api/v1/push` |
-| Boot persistence | `Restart=always`/`RestartSec=10` + `WantedBy=default.target` (`dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container:58-63`); installed at `~/.config/containers/systemd/alloy.container`, reporting `generated` + `active` (`systemctl --user is-enabled|is-active alloy` 2026-10-18) |
+| Boot persistence | `Restart=always`/`RestartSec=10` + `WantedBy=multi-user.target`; boot persistence is the `[Install]` section (generated system units cannot be `enable`d here) |
-| Delivery | **Configured and healthy, currently delivering zero data** — see "Delivery state" |
+| Successor to | Promtail (EOL 2026-03-02) |
+| Deploy status | root cutover built and tested in-repo (2026-10-20); the **live** instance is still the old rootless unit until `./scripts/deploy.sh dankclaw --service alloy` runs |
 
-## Why Alloy and not Promtail
+## Why root (the load-bearing decision)
 
-Promtail reached end-of-life on 2026-03-02 and Grafana Labs directs new installs to Alloy. This stack uses Alloy from day one: no Promtail config or unit has ever existed in this repository (`git log -S promtail` over the whole history returns no commit that added one; the compose-era service of the same name was already Alloy — `dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container:6-7`).
+A rootless Alloy delivered **zero** lines, silently and with a green health
+check. Two independent causes, both proven on the host 2026-10-20:
+
+1. **The journal is not readable by a rootless container.** The files are
+   `root:systemd-journal 0640` (`group:adm`, `other::---`). Even bind-mounted, a
+   rootless container has no supplementary groups, so opening them returns
+   `DENIED`. `loki.source.journal` then sees an empty view and the counter just
+   sits at 0 — no error logged.
+2. **Container logs live in the *user* journal, not `ctr.log`.** The rootless
+   Quadlet containers log via the journald driver into `user-1000.journal`; the
+   old file globs (`/var/lib/containers/.../ctr.log`, `/var/log/containers/*.log`)
+   point at a root-storage layout that does not exist here.
+
+**Root fixes both at once.** As root the container opens every journal file
+under the machine-id directory — `system.journal` *and* `user-1000.journal` —
+so a single `loki.source.journal` carries host services and the rootless
+containers' logs together. Validated with a throwaway root probe before writing
+the unit: **31,825 journal lines read, 26,966 pushed to Loki in 20 s, zero
+drops**, and Loki's label set went from empty to populated.
+
+### The two mounts that make it work
+
+- **`/etc/machine-id` (ro) — load-bearing.** `sd_journal` locates the journal
+  directory by the *local* machine id. Without it the container opens nothing and
+  the journal source reads exactly 0 lines — silently, health green. This single
+  mount is the whole difference between a working and an empty pipeline; do not
+  remove it. (A root probe without it reads 0; with it, 31,825.)
+- **`Network=host`.** Loki publishes `127.0.0.1:3100` (loopback only). No bridge
+  container — rootless or root — can reach the host's loopback, so Alloy must
+  share the host network to push to `127.0.0.1:3100`. Consequence: the UI binds
+  `127.0.0.1` directly (no `PublishPort`), so it stays loopback-only as before.
 
 ## Configuration
 
-`shared/alloy/config.alloy` is the source of truth:
+`shared/alloy/config.alloy` is the source of truth — one `loki.source.journal`
-
+(labelled `job="systemd-journal"`) forwarding to the loopback `loki.write`
-- Reads journald logs from the host's `/run/systemd/journal/socket`, labelled `job="systemd-journal"` (`shared/alloy/config.alloy:20-26`).
+endpoint. There is deliberately **no** container-file source: container stdout is
-- Reads container logs from two globs: `/var/lib/containers/storage/overlay-containers/*/userdata/ctr.log` (`job="podman"`) and `/var/log/containers/*.log` (`job="containers"`) (`config.alloy:29-35`).
+in the journal.
-- Forwards everything to `http://loki:3100/loki/api/v1/push` by container name on `dankclaw_default` (`config.alloy:13-17`).
 
 ## Volumes
 
 | Container path | Host path |
 |----------------|-----------|
-| `/etc/alloy` | `/opt/alloy/config` |
+| `/etc/alloy` | `/opt/alloy/config` (ro) |
-| `/run/systemd/journal/socket` | host journald socket (read-only) |
+| `/etc/machine-id` | host machine id (ro) — **required** |
-| `/var/log` | host logs (read-only) |
+| `/run/systemd/journal/socket` | host journald socket (ro) |
-| `/var/lib/containers` | podman storage (read-only) |
+| `/var/log/journal` | persistent journal files (ro) |
+| `/run/log/journal` | runtime journal files (ro) |
 
-## The UI port is published on purpose
+## The UI stays on loopback
 
-Alloy's UI listens on the container's own `127.0.0.1:12345` by default, and Alloy 1.x refuses to configure the `ui` service from a config block ("service ui does not support being configured", `shared/alloy/config.alloy:8-10`). Under compose that meant **no reachable health endpoint at all**: the homepage status card for alloy read `down` continuously and a deploy had nothing to wait on. The unit therefore passes `--server.http.listen-addr=0.0.0.0:12345` (`dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container:46`) and publishes `127.0.0.1:12345` (`alloy.container:47`, confirmed by `ss -ltnp` 2026-10-18) — same posture as the other three: reachable from the host and from Caddy's network, and from nothing off-host. Alloy has no authentication, which is exactly why it is not published wider. The homepage card probes that same loopback port (`shared/homepage/services.json:233`).
+Alloy 1.x refuses to configure the `ui` service from a config block, so the UI
-
+address is set on the command line instead. Under the old rootless unit that
-## Delivery state (2026-10-20): healthy, shipping nothing
+meant `0.0.0.0` inside the container plus a published `127.0.0.1:12345`; under
-
+`Network=host` the listen-addr is `127.0.0.1:12345` directly — the host's
-The unit is `active`, the container reports `healthy`, the log says `Alloy is
+loopback, reachable from the host and from nothing off-host. Alloy has no
-ready`, and the pipeline carries no data at all.
+authentication, which is exactly why it is never published wider. The homepage
-
+card and the deploy health gate both dial `http://127.0.0.1:12345/-/healthy`.
-**Root cause, proven: a rootless container cannot read the host journal.** The
-journal files are `root:systemd-journal 0640` (with `group:adm`, `other::---`).
-`/var/log` is bind-mounted so the files are *visible*, but a rootless container
-spawns with no supplementary groups, so it is denied. Proven directly:
-`podman run --rm -v /var/log/journal:/var/log/journal:ro busybox cat
-/var/log/journal/*/system.journal` → `DENIED`. `loki.source.journal` opens via
-`sd_journal_open`, so it silently sees an empty view — no error logged, counter
-frozen at `loki_source_journal_target_lines_total 0` (`system.journal` and
-`user-1000.journal` are both present and non-trivial, 2026-10-20).
-
-**Second, independent gap:** the rootless Quadlet containers log to the *user*
-journal (`user-1000.journal`), and `loki.source.journal` reads the *system*
-journal only — a fixed system read would still miss them. Container stdout is
-not in a `ctr.log` here either: the file globs point at root storage
-(`/var/lib/containers/storage/.../ctr.log`, `/var/log/containers/*.log`) that
-rootless does not use, refused at start with `stat …: permission denied` / `no
-such file or directory`, `loki_source_file_files_active_total 0`.
-
-Downstream: Loki holds zero streams (`GET /loki/api/v1/labels` → no `data`) —
-see [[Loki]].
-
-**Closing it is a permission/architecture decision, not a config edit.** The
-unit, config and push endpoint are correct as written; rootless Podman simply
-cannot grant the journal group. The viable shapes: run Alloy as a *system*
-service (root, in `adm`/`systemd-journal`) instead of a rootless Quadlet; grant
-the container's mapped uid journal read via a tmpfiles/ACL rule; or have
-journald forward to a path the container can read. Each trades rootless posture
-for reach — decide deliberately. Re-check `loki_source_journal_target_lines_total`
-and the Loki label query to confirm a fix, never `/healthy`: health is exactly
-what hides this failure.
 
 ## Gotchas
 
-- The journald socket mount is required for journal scraping.
+- **No `/etc/machine-id` mount ⇒ silent zero.** The health check still passes.
-- Container log paths differ between docker (`/var/lib/docker/containers`) and podman (`/var/lib/containers/storage/...`); point the config at the right one per host.
+  This is the failure mode that hid the broken pipeline; check
-- One Alloy per host; do not run a single instance that tries to reach both hosts' logs.
+  `loki_source_journal_target_lines_total` and the Loki label query, never
-- The unit `Wants=`/`After=` `loki.service`: without a reachable Loki the write client fails and the pipeline backs up.
+  `/healthy`.
+- **`After=loki.service` is gone.** Alloy is on the system manager; Loki is a
+  rootless user unit — a system unit cannot order against a user unit. Alloy
+  retries its push until Loki answers, so ordering is unnecessary.
+- **The image must be in the ROOT store.** The deployer builds rootless and
+  mirrors (`mirror_image_to_root`); a `Pull=never` root quadlet with only a
+  rootless tag fails at create.
+- One Alloy per host; do not run a single instance that tries to reach both
+  hosts' logs.
 
 ## See Also
 

serverAppConfigs-docs/Infrastructure/Observability.md

@@ -102,17 +102,18 @@ verify it through the APIs.
   installed from `shared/grafana/provisioning/`. The Loki datasource is how
   you read logs: Loki has no web UI of its own, so Grafana Explore is the
   human surface (the guarded `loki.franksdank.cloud` vhost serves only the API).
-* **Logs: configured, empty.** Alloy ships zero lines and Loki holds zero
+* **Logs: fixed in code, awaiting deploy.** The pipeline shipped nothing because
-  streams (`GET /loki/api/v1/labels` returns no label names; no chunk files on
+  a rootless Alloy cannot read the `0640` journal files, and the container-log
-  disk). The cause is source-side access, now proven, not a config bug: a
+  globs point at a root-storage layout that does not exist here. The fix is built
-  rootless container cannot read the journal files (`system.journal` is
+  and tested in-repo (2026-10-20): Alloy is now a **root system service on
-  `root:systemd-journal 0640`/`adm` and a rootless read of it returns DENIED),
+  `Network=host`**, reading `system.journal` + `user-*.journal` and pushing to
-  and the container-log globs point at a root-storage path that does not exist
+  Loki's `127.0.0.1:3100` loopback publish — a throwaway root probe read 31,825
-  under rootless. Closing it is a permission/architecture decision, not an
+  lines and pushed 26,966 with zero drops. The **live** instance is still the old
-  edit — see [[Alloy]] → Delivery state and [[Loki]] → Contents.
+  rootless unit until `deploy.sh dankclaw --service alloy` runs. Detail in
+  [[Alloy]] → Why root; Loki's store state in [[Loki]] → Contents.
 * **Not configured:** no blackbox exporter (the structural downs have no real
-  uptime signal) and no Alertmanager vhost. The log pipeline is provisioned
+  uptime signal) and no Alertmanager vhost. The log pipeline's fix is in code but
-  but carries no data (see *Logs* above).
+  not yet deployed (see *Logs* above).
 
 ## Citations
 

shared/alloy/config.alloy

@@ -1,22 +1,34 @@
 // Alloy configuration — ships host and container logs to Loki.
 // One instance per host. Deployed to /opt/alloy/config/config.alloy.
+//
+// Runs as a ROOT system service on Network=host (see
+// dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container), so it reaches Loki on the
+// host's loopback and reads every journal — host services and rootless-quadlet
+// containers alike.
 
 logging {
   level = "info"
 }
 
-// The alloy UI service listens on 127.0.0.1:12345 by default; the
+// The alloy UI listens on 127.0.0.1:12345; the in-container healthcheck probes
-// in-container healthcheck probes it there. alloy 1.x refuses to
+// it there. alloy 1.x refuses to configure the ui service from a config block,
-// configure the ui service from a config block, so there is no block.
+// so there is no ui block.
 
-// Ship logs to Loki (container name on the podman network).
+// Loki is published on the host's loopback (127.0.0.1:3100). Alloy shares the
+// host network, so it pushes by loopback, never by container name — a root
+// container is not on the rootless dankclaw_default network.
 loki.write "default" {
   endpoint {
-    url = "http://loki:3100/loki/api/v1/push"
+    url = "http://127.0.0.1:3100/loki/api/v1/push"
   }
 }
 
-// Systemd journal from the host socket.
+// The systemd journal. As root with /etc/machine-id + the journal dirs mounted,
+// this one source reads system.journal AND user-*.journal, so it carries both
+// host services and the rootless Quadlet containers' logs. There is deliberately
+// no container-file source: podman container stdout lands in the journal, and
+// the old /var/lib/containers/.../ctr.log and /var/log/containers globs pointed
+// at a root-storage layout that does not exist on this host.
 loki.source.journal "journal" {
   format_as_json = true
   labels = {
@@ -24,12 +36,3 @@ loki.source.journal "journal" {
   }
   forward_to = [loki.write.default.receiver]
 }
-
-// Container logs (podman storage path; adjust for docker).
-loki.source.file "containers" {
-  targets = [
-    {__path__ = "/var/lib/containers/storage/overlay-containers/*/userdata/ctr.log", job = "podman"},
-    {__path__ = "/var/log/containers/*.log", job = "containers"},
-  ]
-  forward_to = [loki.write.default.receiver]
-}

tests/caddyfile.bats

@@ -240,14 +240,12 @@ CADDYFILE="$REPO_ROOT/dankclaw/Caddyfile"
 }
 
 @test "alloy's UI address comes from the unit, not the config file" {
-    # alloy 1.x refuses to configure the ui service from a config block
+    # alloy 1.x refuses to configure the ui service from a config block, so the
-    # ("service ui does not support being configured"), so the unit moves the
+    # unit sets the UI address on the command line. As a Network=host root unit
-    # UI off the container's loopback with a command-line flag. Without that
+    # that address is the host loopback directly (no PublishPort) — reachable
-    # flag the port cannot be published and the service has no reachable
+    # from the host, from nothing off-host.
-    # health endpoint at all — which is why the homepage status card for
-    # alloy read "down" while it ran under compose.
     ! grep -qE '^(ui|server) \{' "$REPO_ROOT/shared/alloy/config.alloy"
     local unit="$REPO_ROOT/dankclaw/observability/quadlet/alloy.container"
-    grep -q -- '--server.http.listen-addr=0.0.0.0:12345' "$unit"
+    grep -q -- '--server.http.listen-addr=127.0.0.1:12345' "$unit"
-    grep -q '^PublishPort=127.0.0.1:12345:12345$' "$unit"
+    ! grep -q '^PublishPort=' "$unit"
 }

tests/observability_quadlet.bats

@@ -41,13 +41,17 @@ service_section() {
 }
 
 @test "every observability unit is boot-persistent" {
-    # Generated units cannot be enabled on this host's podman 5.x v1 quadlet
+    # Generated units cannot be enabled on this host's podman quadlet generator;
-    # generator; [Install] + linger is the entire boot-persistence story.
+    # [Install] + linger is the boot-persistence story for the rootless five.
+    # Alloy is a ROOT system unit, so its [Install] targets multi-user.target.
     local svc
     for svc in "${UNITS[@]}"; do
+        [[ "$svc" == alloy ]] && continue
         grep -q '^WantedBy=default.target$' "$UNIT_DIR/$svc.container" \
             || { echo "$svc is not boot-persistent"; return 1; }
     done
+    grep -q '^WantedBy=multi-user.target$' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container" \
+        || { echo "alloy (root unit) is not boot-persistent"; return 1; }
 }
 
 @test "every observability unit is self-healing" {
@@ -140,15 +144,20 @@ service_section() {
     grep -q 'reverse_proxy prometheus:9090' "$REPO_ROOT/dankclaw/Caddyfile"
     grep -q 'reverse_proxy loki:3100' "$REPO_ROOT/dankclaw/Caddyfile"
     local svc
-    for svc in prometheus grafana loki alloy; do
+    for svc in prometheus grafana loki; do
         grep -q "^ContainerName=$svc$" "$UNIT_DIR/$svc.container" \
             || { echo "$svc unit renames its container"; return 1; }
         grep -q '^Network=dankclaw_default$' "$UNIT_DIR/$svc.container" \
             || { echo "$svc is not on the network Caddy and its peers use"; return 1; }
     done
+    # Alloy is not on that network: it is a root container on Network=host, the
+    # only way to reach Loki's 127.0.0.1:3100 publish from outside a bridge.
+    grep -q '^ContainerName=alloy$' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
+    grep -q '^Network=host$' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container" \
+        || { echo "alloy must be Network=host to reach Loki on the host loopback"; return 1; }
     grep -q '"grafana:3000"' "$REPO_ROOT/shared/prometheus/prometheus.yml"
     grep -q '"loki:3100"' "$REPO_ROOT/shared/prometheus/prometheus.yml"
-    grep -q 'url = "http://loki:3100/loki/api/v1/push"' "$REPO_ROOT/shared/alloy/config.alloy"
+    grep -q 'url = "http://127.0.0.1:3100/loki/api/v1/push"' "$REPO_ROOT/shared/alloy/config.alloy"
 }
 
 @test "every observability unit has a health check" {
@@ -239,12 +248,14 @@ service_section() {
 }
 
 @test "startup order follows the data dependencies" {
-    # Grafana is useless without Prometheus and Alloy drops logs without Loki;
+    # Grafana is useless without Prometheus (both rootless, same manager). Alloy
-    # both pairs are expressed as systemd ordering, not launch luck.
+    # used to order on loki.service; as a ROOT unit it lives on the SYSTEM
+    # manager and cannot order against a rootless user unit, so it depends only
+    # on the network and retries its push until Loki answers.
     grep -q 'After=network-online.target prometheus.service' "$UNIT_DIR/grafana.container"
     grep -q 'Wants=network-online.target prometheus.service' "$UNIT_DIR/grafana.container"
-    grep -q 'After=network-online.target loki.service' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
+    grep -q '^After=network-online.target$' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
-    grep -q 'Wants=network-online.target loki.service' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
+    ! grep -q 'loki.service' "$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
 }
 
 @test "the deployer installs, restarts and health-checks each unit" {
@@ -281,6 +292,24 @@ PAIRS
     grep -q 'build_compose_image alloy' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
 }
 
+@test "alloy is a root host-network unit that reads every journal" {
+    # The whole point of the root cutover: a rootless container cannot open the
+    # 0640 journal files. Pin the properties that make the pipeline carry data.
+    local u="$UNIT_DIR/alloy.container"
+    grep -q '^Network=host$' "$u"
+    grep -q '^Volume=/etc/machine-id:/etc/machine-id:ro$' "$u" \
+        || { echo "alloy missing the load-bearing machine-id mount"; return 1; }
+    grep -q '^Volume=/var/log/journal:/var/log/journal:ro$' "$u"
+    grep -q '^Volume=/run/log/journal:/run/log/journal:ro$' "$u"
+    grep -q -- '--server.http.listen-addr=127.0.0.1:12345' "$u"
+    # Deployer: system install + root image mirror, not the user quadlet loop.
+    grep -q '^deploy_alloy() {' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q 'install_system_quadlet dankclaw/observability/quadlet alloy' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q '/etc/containers/systemd/' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q 'mirror_image_to_root localhost/franksdank/alloy:latest' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+    grep -q 'alloy) deploy_alloy ;;' "$REMOTE_DEPLOY"
+}
+
 @test "no dankclaw compose file competes with the quadlet units" {
     # Two owners for one container name is how a compose run resurrects a
     # stale duplicate next to the quadlet-managed one. This file was retired on