feat(runtime,io): driver-enqueues + park/wake idle path — retire the wake pipe

The swap (RFC 018). Schedulers no longer sleep on a shared level-triggered
wake pipe — the herd source that made the default 8-thread config 7x
slower than 2 threads (E1). They park on per-thread futex parkers via the
coordination layer; IO backends become producers behind a two-call
contract (make runnable, then the enqueue tail wakes exactly one parked
scheduler).

Deleted: the drain lock and the one-winner phase-1 drain; the shared
completions VecDeque; the wake pipe fds, poll_wake, drain_wake_pipe,
wake_scheduler, the FdReady/Blocking Completion enum; the 100us idle nap;
the per-pop io.lock liveness read; io.rs's as_millis timeout truncation.

Added:
- enqueue wake tail (fixes the silent enqueue): wake_one_if_idle, a fence
  + one Relaxed mask load when everyone is busy — the pure-compute hot
  path pays almost nothing.
- driver-enqueues: the pool thread stashes its result in the slot,
  decrements io_outstanding, unparks; the epoll thread removes+DELs the
  waiter under the waiters lock and unparks. Both reach the runtime via a
  Weak (no Arc cycle). The waiters map moves behind its own Arc<Mutex> so
  the epoll thread never takes the runtime io lock (teardown holds it
  while joining that thread).
- io_outstanding / io_fd_waiters atomics: the termination verdict reads
  two atomics instead of taking io.lock on every pop.
- timekeeper idle path: at most one parked scheduler holds the timer
  deadline (an expiry wakes one, not a herd); everyone else parks
  indefinitely and is woken by the enqueue tail.
- busy-path timer due-check (ratified design point (a)): under saturation
  nobody parks and no timekeeper exists, yet due timers must still fire —
  one Relaxed load of the earliest-deadline snapshot per loop, clock read
  only when a timer is armed. Maintained under the timers mutex.
- chain rule: a scheduler that pops with more work queued and a sibling
  parked wakes one, so surplus runs in parallel rather than behind it.

tests/park_wake.rs pins the two new observable properties: timers fire
under full scheduler saturation, and sub-ms sleeps are prompt (the
as_millis truncation regression). Full suite + all loom models green;
clippy --lib clean.

.githooks/pre-commit

@@ -2,7 +2,23 @@
 # smarm pre-commit gate: clippy the library (src/) with warnings as errors.
 # unwrap_used / expect_used are denied (Cargo.toml [lints.clippy]): library
 # code must not hide a panic behind unwrap/expect. Tests/examples are not gated.
+#
+# Toolchain resolution: prefer an installed cargo-clippy; on machines whose
+# rust comes without the clippy component (e.g. NixOS home-manager), fall
+# back to an ephemeral nix-shell toolchain. The fallback uses its own target
+# dir (target/clippy) because the shell's rustc version may differ from the
+# default toolchain's — mixed-compiler artifacts in one target dir are an
+# E0514 hard error. MSRV (Cargo.toml rust-version) keeps the older shell
+# toolchain a legitimate gate.
 set -eu
 [ -f "$HOME/.cargo/env" ] && . "$HOME/.cargo/env"
 cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
-cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings
+if cargo clippy --version >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings
+elif command -v nix-shell >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    nix-shell -p clippy -p cargo -p rustc \
+        --run 'CARGO_TARGET_DIR=target/clippy cargo clippy --lib -- -D warnings'
+else
+    echo "pre-commit: cargo clippy unavailable and no nix-shell fallback" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi

.gitignore

@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@ smarm_trace.json
 /bench_results/
 __pycache__/
 *.pyc
+profile.coz

Cargo.toml

@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ expect_used = "deny"
 [features]
 default = ["rq-mutex"]
 smarm-trace = []
+# RFC 007: native causal profiling. Zero cost when off (cf. smarm-trace): the
+# hook in `maybe_preempt` and the resume-path fast-forward compile away; the
+# two Slot ledger fields exist regardless and stay 0 (budget_cycles precedent).
+smarm-causal = []
 # RFC 016 Chunk 2: cycle-accurate per-actor time-budget accounting. Off by
 # default — it costs two extra RDTSC reads per actor resume on the hot path
 # (D6). The `ActorInfo.budget_cycles` field exists regardless; it just stays 0
@@ -89,3 +93,15 @@ harness = false
 [[example]]
 name = "observer"
 required-features = ["observer"]
+
+[[example]]
+name = "causal_pipeline"
+required-features = ["smarm-causal"]
+
+[[example]]
+name = "causal_attrib_probe"
+required-features = ["smarm-causal"]
+
+[[example]]
+name = "causal_probe"
+required-features = ["smarm-causal"]

examples/causal_attrib_probe.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+//! Attribution-efficiency probe (RFC 007 follow-up).
+//!
+//! Original hypothesis: the ~4pt impact shortfall on the 24-core
+//! validation (+29.3/+83.5 vs theoretical +33/+100) is a constant
+//! attribution efficiency eff ≈ 0.91 from site-exit tail truncation.
+//! The guard-drop flush closed that leak, yet eff held at ~0.93 —
+//! RESOLVED (2026-07-13 sweep): the residual is runnable off-CPU time
+//! inside the site (~4.9 slice-expiry yields/entry x ~5.6µs runqueue
+//! wait), wall time the ground truth below counts but on-CPU
+//! attribution correctly skips. The offcpu audit bucket now counts it;
+//! `eff+offcpu` printed per window should sit at ~1.00 — the
+//! closed-books check.
+//!
+//! Measurement: same pipeline as `causal_pipeline`, but the `reserve`
+//! actor also measures its raw in-site time directly (rdtsc at guard
+//! enter/exit) and counts site entries. For each experiment window at
+//! pct%:
+//!
+//!     eff = (Δglobal_delay / (pct/100)) / Δin_site_cycles
+//!
+//! and the missing time per site entry localizes the leak:
+//!
+//!     tail_us/entry = (Δin_site − Δglobal_delay/(pct/100)) / Δentries
+//!
+//! A constant eff across 25/50% with tail/entry in the tens of µs
+//! localizes a per-entry mechanism; `eff+offcpu` ≈ 1.00 confirms the
+//! runnable-gap account and rules out any remaining silent loss.
+//!
+//! Run: cargo run --release --example causal_attrib_probe --features smarm-causal
+
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU64, Ordering};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+fn rdtsc() -> u64 {
+    // x86_64 only — same clock the ledger uses.
+    unsafe { core::arch::x86_64::_rdtsc() }
+}
+
+/// Same fixed-work loop as causal_pipeline (dependent LCG, preemptible).
+fn work_iters(iters: u64) {
+    let mut acc = 0x2545_f491_4f6c_dd1du64;
+    let mut i = 0u64;
+    while i < iters {
+        let chunk_end = (i + 256).min(iters);
+        while i < chunk_end {
+            acc = acc.wrapping_mul(6364136223846793005).wrapping_add(i);
+            i += 1;
+        }
+        std::hint::black_box(acc);
+        smarm::check!();
+    }
+}
+
+fn calibrate_iters_per_us() -> u64 {
+    let n = 8_000_000u64;
+    let t = Instant::now();
+    work_iters(n);
+    (n / (t.elapsed().as_micros().max(1) as u64)).max(1)
+}
+
+static IN_SITE_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+static SITE_ENTRIES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
+fn main() {
+    let per_us = calibrate_iters_per_us();
+    println!("calibration: {per_us} work iters/µs");
+    let work_us = move |us: u64| work_iters(us * per_us);
+
+    let cores = std::thread::available_parallelism().map(|n| n.get()).unwrap_or(1);
+    println!("cores: {cores}");
+    if cores < 4 {
+        println!("probe: SKIPPED (needs the stages in parallel)");
+        return;
+    }
+
+    smarm::init(smarm::Config::default()).run(move || {
+        let stop = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+        let (tx_ab, rx_ab) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+        let (tx_bc, rx_bc) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+
+        let stop_p = stop.clone();
+        let producer = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            let mut i = 0u64;
+            while !stop_p.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("serialize");
+                    work_us(200);
+                }
+                if tx_ab.send(i).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+                i += 1;
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Reserve: the target — instrumented with ground-truth in-site time.
+        let reserve = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while let Ok(item) = rx_ab.recv() {
+                {
+                    let t0 = rdtsc();
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("reserve");
+                    work_us(400);
+                    // Measured before guard drop: exactly the span the
+                    // ledger should be attributing.
+                    IN_SITE_CYCLES.fetch_add(rdtsc().saturating_sub(t0), Ordering::Relaxed);
+                    SITE_ENTRIES.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                }
+                if tx_bc.send(item).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        let notify = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while rx_bc.recv().is_ok() {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("notify");
+                    work_us(50);
+                }
+                smarm::progress!("orders-processed");
+            }
+        });
+
+        let stop_bg = stop.clone();
+        let background = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while !stop_bg.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                let _g = smarm::causal_site!("background-compaction");
+                work_us(500);
+            }
+        });
+
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(300));
+
+        let hz = smarm::causal::tsc_hz();
+        println!("tsc_hz: {:.3} GHz", hz / 1e9);
+
+        // Manual windows so ledger/ground-truth snapshots align exactly.
+        for &pct in &[25u32, 50, 50, 25] {
+            let g0 = smarm::causal::global_delay_cycles();
+            let s0 = IN_SITE_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+            let e0 = SITE_ENTRIES.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+            let a0 = smarm::causal::ledger_counters();
+            smarm::causal::begin_experiment_for_test("reserve", pct);
+            smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(1000));
+            smarm::causal::end_experiment_for_test();
+            let audit = smarm::causal::ledger_counters().delta_since(&a0);
+            let injected = smarm::causal::global_delay_cycles() - g0;
+            let in_site = IN_SITE_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed) - s0;
+            let entries = SITE_ENTRIES.load(Ordering::Relaxed) - e0;
+
+            let attributed = injected as f64 / (pct as f64 / 100.0);
+            let eff = attributed / in_site as f64;
+            // Books-closure check: add back the runnable off-CPU gaps the
+            // audit counted (delta terms -> raw via /pct) — should be ~1.00.
+            let eff_closed = (injected as f64 + audit.offcpu_in_site_cycles as f64)
+                / (pct as f64 / 100.0)
+                / in_site as f64;
+            let missing = in_site as f64 - attributed;
+            let tail_us = if entries > 0 {
+                missing / entries as f64 / hz * 1e6
+            } else {
+                f64::NAN
+            };
+            println!(
+                "pct {pct:>2}%  in_site {:>8.1}ms  attributed {:>8.1}ms  eff {eff:.3}  eff+offcpu {eff_closed:.3}  entries {entries}  missing/entry {tail_us:.1}µs",
+                in_site as f64 / hz * 1e3,
+                attributed / hz * 1e3,
+            );
+            // RFC 007 deficit hunt: name the losses. Drop/discard columns are
+            // in would-be delta terms — divide by pct/100 to compare with the
+            // missing attribution above.
+            let ms = |c: u64| c as f64 / hz * 1e3;
+            println!(
+                "        audit: absorbed {:>7.1}ms  forgiven {:>6.1}ms  drop park {:>5.2}ms/{:<5} yield {:>5.2}ms/{:<5} offcpu {:>6.2}ms/{:<5} discard >max {:>5.2}ms/{:<3} unarmed {}",
+                ms(audit.spin_absorbed_cycles),
+                ms(audit.park_forgiven_cycles),
+                ms(audit.drop_park_cycles),
+                audit.drop_park_n,
+                ms(audit.drop_yield_cycles),
+                audit.drop_yield_n,
+                ms(audit.offcpu_in_site_cycles),
+                audit.offcpu_in_site_n,
+                ms(audit.discard_overmax_cycles),
+                audit.discard_overmax_n,
+                audit.discard_unarmed_n
+            );
+            smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(150));
+        }
+
+        stop.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        producer.join().unwrap();
+        reserve.join().unwrap();
+        notify.join().unwrap();
+        background.join().unwrap();
+        println!("probe: DONE");
+    });
+}

examples/causal_pipeline.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,296 @@
+//! Causal-profiling demo (RFC 007): a pipeline where conventional profiling
+//! lies and causal profiling doesn't.
+//!
+//!   producer --(serialize ~200µs/item)--> reserve --(~400µs/item)--> notify
+//!   background: an actor burning CPU constantly, fully off the critical path
+//!
+//! `reserve` is the true bottleneck. `serialize` is hot but overlapped with
+//! `reserve`'s backlog, and `background` is the hottest code in the process
+//! while contributing nothing to throughput. A cycle profiler ranks them
+//! background > reserve ≈ 2×serialize; the causal report instead shows
+//! throughput responding to virtual speedups of `reserve` and (near-)ignoring
+//! `serialize` and `background`.
+//!
+//! Stage cost is fixed *work* (a calibrated arithmetic loop), not fixed wall
+//! time. This matters: a timed busy-wait absorbs injected causal delay into
+//! its own budget and finishes on schedule regardless, making every
+//! experiment read as a no-op (found live on a 24-core run: dead-flat
+//! deltas). Real workloads are work-shaped, so the demo must be too.
+//!
+//! Run:
+//!   cargo run --release --example causal_pipeline --features smarm-causal
+//!
+//! Modes (`SMARM_CAUSAL_MODE`), for probing what the guard placement leaves
+//! out of the measurement (a site speeds up only what it wraps; `recv`/`send`
+//! on the serialized stage sit outside the canonical guard):
+//!   work (default) — guard wraps only the 400µs of work.
+//!   wide           — guard widened over recv + work + send, the whole
+//!                    serialized per-item path.
+//!   occupancy      — no experiments; times each segment of reserve's loop
+//!                    at baseline and reports the unguarded per-item
+//!                    overhead δ plus the impact ceiling it implies.
+//!
+//! Result (24-core run, 2026-07-13, job f9305cbb): δ measured 0.3µs/item —
+//! 0.1% of the serialized path — and `wide` does not move the @50% cell
+//! (+83.5/+86.3 vs work's +81.5/+86.7). This demo's +84-vs-+100 @50%
+//! shortfall is therefore NOT unguarded stage time; it is controller-side:
+//! injected delay reaches ~327ms of the ideal 350ms over the 700ms window,
+//! plus a ~3% real-throughput dip while experiments run. Contrast urus's
+//! causal_bench, where the same arithmetic identified a real ~70µs/request
+//! unguarded remainder (recv/reply outside the store guard). Sites measure
+//! what they wrap — and the occupancy probe tells you which case you're in.
+//!
+//! Prints a summary, writes `profile.coz` (Coz plot-compatible), and — given
+//! enough cores for the pipeline to actually run in parallel — checks the
+//! expected separation and exits nonzero if it doesn't hold, so a CI box can
+//! run this as a smoke test.
+
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+/// LCG-mix `iters` times in dependent sequence (unvectorizable, un-elidable),
+/// staying preemptible — and causal-sampleable/delayable — via `check!()`.
+fn work_iters(iters: u64) {
+    let mut acc = 0x2545_f491_4f6c_dd1du64;
+    let mut i = 0u64;
+    while i < iters {
+        let chunk_end = (i + 256).min(iters);
+        while i < chunk_end {
+            acc = acc.wrapping_mul(6364136223846793005).wrapping_add(i);
+            i += 1;
+        }
+        std::hint::black_box(acc);
+        smarm::check!();
+    }
+}
+
+/// Measure how many `work_iters` iterations fit in a microsecond on this
+/// machine, so stage costs below are meaningful in time while staying
+/// work-shaped.
+fn calibrate_iters_per_us() -> u64 {
+    let n = 8_000_000u64;
+    let t = Instant::now();
+    work_iters(n);
+    (n / (t.elapsed().as_micros().max(1) as u64)).max(1)
+}
+
+/// Guard placement for the `reserve` stage — see module doc.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, PartialEq)]
+enum Mode {
+    Work,
+    Wide,
+    Occupancy,
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    let mode = match std::env::var("SMARM_CAUSAL_MODE").as_deref() {
+        Err(_) | Ok("") | Ok("work") => Mode::Work,
+        Ok("wide") => Mode::Wide,
+        Ok("occupancy") => Mode::Occupancy,
+        Ok(other) => {
+            eprintln!("unknown SMARM_CAUSAL_MODE {other:?} (work|wide|occupancy)");
+            std::process::exit(2);
+        }
+    };
+    println!(
+        "mode: {}",
+        match mode {
+            Mode::Work => "work",
+            Mode::Wide => "wide",
+            Mode::Occupancy => "occupancy",
+        }
+    );
+    let per_us = calibrate_iters_per_us();
+    println!("calibration: {per_us} work iters/µs");
+    let work_us = move |us: u64| work_iters(us * per_us);
+
+    let mut failures: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+
+    smarm::init(smarm::Config::default()).run(move || {
+        let stop = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+
+        let (tx_ab, rx_ab) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+        let (tx_bc, rx_bc) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+
+        // Producer: hot serialization, but upstream of the bottleneck.
+        let stop_p = stop.clone();
+        let producer = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            let mut i = 0u64;
+            while !stop_p.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("serialize");
+                    work_us(200);
+                }
+                if tx_ab.send(i).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+                i += 1;
+            }
+            // tx_ab drops here; downstream drains and exits.
+        });
+
+        // Reserve: the true bottleneck (~400µs of work per item).
+        let reserve = smarm::spawn(move || match mode {
+            Mode::Work => {
+                while let Ok(item) = rx_ab.recv() {
+                    {
+                        let _g = smarm::causal_site!("reserve");
+                        work_us(400);
+                    }
+                    if tx_bc.send(item).is_err() {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            // Whole serialized per-item path under the guard: a virtual
+            // speedup now also compresses recv/send, so the @50% cell should
+            // recover the theoretical 2× that `work` mode's placement caps.
+            Mode::Wide => loop {
+                let _g = smarm::causal_site!("reserve");
+                let Ok(item) = rx_ab.recv() else { break };
+                work_us(400);
+                if tx_bc.send(item).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+            },
+            // Time each segment at baseline; the recv+send remainder δ is
+            // the serialized time a `work`-placed guard cannot speed up.
+            Mode::Occupancy => {
+                let (mut recv_ns, mut work_ns, mut send_ns, mut n) = (0u64, 0u64, 0u64, 0u64);
+                loop {
+                    let t0 = Instant::now();
+                    let Ok(item) = rx_ab.recv() else { break };
+                    let t1 = Instant::now();
+                    {
+                        let _g = smarm::causal_site!("reserve");
+                        work_us(400);
+                    }
+                    let t2 = Instant::now();
+                    if tx_bc.send(item).is_err() {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    recv_ns += (t1 - t0).as_nanos() as u64;
+                    work_ns += (t2 - t1).as_nanos() as u64;
+                    send_ns += t2.elapsed().as_nanos() as u64;
+                    n += 1;
+                }
+                let items = n.max(1) as f64;
+                let (r, w, s) = (
+                    recv_ns as f64 / items / 1e3,
+                    work_ns as f64 / items / 1e3,
+                    send_ns as f64 / items / 1e3,
+                );
+                let delta = r + s;
+                let total = w + delta;
+                println!("occupancy: {n} items; per item recv {r:.1}µs + work(guarded) {w:.1}µs + send {s:.1}µs");
+                println!(
+                    "occupancy: unguarded δ = {delta:.1}µs/item = {:.1}% of the serialized path",
+                    100.0 * delta / total
+                );
+                for pct in [25u32, 50] {
+                    let f = 1.0 - f64::from(pct) / 100.0;
+                    println!(
+                        "occupancy: predicted reserve impact @{pct}% -> {:+.1}%  (ceiling if δ were guarded: {:+.1}%)",
+                        100.0 * (total / (f * w + delta) - 1.0),
+                        100.0 * (1.0 / f - 1.0)
+                    );
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Notify: light tail stage; marks the unit of useful work.
+        let notify = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while rx_bc.recv().is_ok() {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("notify");
+                    work_us(50);
+                }
+                smarm::progress!("orders-processed");
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Background: hottest code in the process, zero throughput relevance.
+        let stop_bg = stop.clone();
+        let background = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while !stop_bg.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                let _g = smarm::causal_site!("background-compaction");
+                work_us(500);
+            }
+        });
+
+        // Warm up so queues reach steady state before measuring.
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(300));
+
+        if mode == Mode::Occupancy {
+            // No experiments: hold steady state for a window, then drain and
+            // let the reserve actor print its segment report.
+            smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(1500));
+            stop.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            producer.join().unwrap();
+            reserve.join().unwrap();
+            notify.join().unwrap();
+            background.join().unwrap();
+            return;
+        }
+
+        let results = smarm::causal::run_experiments(&smarm::causal::ExperimentPlan {
+            speedups_pct: vec![0, 25, 50],
+            experiment: Duration::from_millis(700),
+            cooldown: Duration::from_millis(150),
+        });
+
+        stop.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        producer.join().unwrap();
+        reserve.join().unwrap();
+        notify.join().unwrap();
+        background.join().unwrap();
+
+        print!("{}", smarm::causal::render_summary(&results));
+        // RFC 007 deficit hunt: SMARM_CAUSAL_AUDIT=1 appends the per-cell
+        // ledger audit (injected/absorbed/forgiven + drop and discard
+        // buckets) without touching the pinned summary format.
+        if std::env::var_os("SMARM_CAUSAL_AUDIT").is_some() {
+            print!("{}", smarm::causal::render_ledger_audit(&results));
+        }
+        let coz = smarm::causal::render_coz(&results);
+        match std::fs::write("profile.coz", coz) {
+            Ok(()) => println!("\nwrote profile.coz"),
+            Err(e) => eprintln!("\nfailed to write profile.coz: {e}"),
+        }
+
+        // Verdict. The separation only exists when the four pipeline actors
+        // actually run in parallel; on a small box, report and skip.
+        let cores = std::thread::available_parallelism().map(|n| n.get()).unwrap_or(1);
+        if cores < 4 {
+            println!("verdict: SKIPPED ({cores} cores; separation needs the stages in parallel)");
+            return;
+        }
+        let impact = |site: &str| {
+            smarm::causal::impact_pct(&results, site, 25, "orders-processed")
+        };
+        let mut expect = |site: &str, ok: &dyn Fn(f64) -> bool, want: &str| match impact(site) {
+            Some(p) => {
+                let verdict = if ok(p) { "ok" } else { "FAIL" };
+                println!("verdict: {site} @25% -> {p:+.1}% (want {want}) {verdict}");
+                if !ok(p) {
+                    failures.push(format!("{site}: {p:+.1}% (want {want})"));
+                }
+            }
+            None => {
+                println!("verdict: {site} @25% -> missing cell FAIL");
+                failures.push(format!("{site}: missing cell"));
+            }
+        };
+        expect("reserve", &|p| p > 15.0, "> +15%");
+        expect("serialize", &|p| p < 10.0, "< +10%");
+        expect("background-compaction", &|p| p < 10.0, "< +10%");
+
+        if failures.is_empty() {
+            println!("verdict: PASS — causal separation holds");
+        } else {
+            println!("verdict: FAIL — {}", failures.join("; "));
+            std::process::exit(1);
+        }
+    });
+}

examples/causal_probe.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+//! Diagnostic probe for RFC 007 on a target box. Measures, in order:
+//!  1. TSC frequency against `Instant` (the crate assumes 3 GHz).
+//!  2. TSC sanity under actor migration: distribution of wall time actually
+//!     spent in `burn_us(400)` across many runs — a bimodal/short tail means
+//!     cross-core TSC offsets are cutting burns short.
+//!  3. Pipeline stage rates with no experiment running (who is the real
+//!     bottleneck?).
+//!  4. The same rates during a 50% experiment on `background-compaction`
+//!     (a correct implementation must slow every stage; an off-critical-path
+//!     target must reduce end-to-end throughput proportionally).
+//!
+//! Run: cargo run --release --example causal_probe --features smarm-causal
+
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU64, Ordering};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+fn burn_us(us: u64) {
+    let cycles = us * 3_000;
+    let start = smarm::preempt::rdtsc();
+    while smarm::preempt::rdtsc().saturating_sub(start) < cycles {
+        smarm::check!();
+    }
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    // 1. TSC calibration (plain OS thread, before the runtime starts).
+    let c0 = smarm::preempt::rdtsc();
+    let t0 = Instant::now();
+    std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(200));
+    let hz = (smarm::preempt::rdtsc() - c0) as f64 / t0.elapsed().as_secs_f64();
+    println!("tsc_hz: {:.3e} (crate assumes 3.0e9)", hz);
+
+    smarm::init(smarm::Config::default()).run(move || {
+        // 2. burn_us(400) wall-time distribution inside a migrating actor.
+        let h = smarm::spawn(|| {
+            let mut samples: Vec<u64> = (0..500)
+                .map(|_| {
+                    let t = Instant::now();
+                    burn_us(400);
+                    t.elapsed().as_micros() as u64
+                })
+                .collect();
+            samples.sort_unstable();
+            println!(
+                "burn_us(400) wall us: min {} p10 {} p50 {} p90 {} max {}",
+                samples[0], samples[50], samples[250], samples[450], samples[499]
+            );
+        });
+        h.join().unwrap();
+
+        // 3+4. Pipeline with per-stage counters.
+        let stop = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+        let produced = Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+        let reserved = Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+        let notified = Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0));
+
+        let (tx_ab, rx_ab) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+        let (tx_bc, rx_bc) = smarm::channel::<u64>();
+
+        let stop_p = stop.clone();
+        let produced2 = produced.clone();
+        let producer = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            let mut i = 0u64;
+            while !stop_p.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("serialize");
+                    burn_us(200);
+                }
+                if tx_ab.send(i).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+                produced2.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                i += 1;
+            }
+        });
+
+        let reserved2 = reserved.clone();
+        let reserve = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while let Ok(item) = rx_ab.recv() {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("reserve");
+                    burn_us(400);
+                }
+                reserved2.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                if tx_bc.send(item).is_err() {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        });
+
+        let notified2 = notified.clone();
+        let notify = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while rx_bc.recv().is_ok() {
+                {
+                    let _g = smarm::causal_site!("notify");
+                    burn_us(50);
+                }
+                notified2.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                smarm::progress!("orders-processed");
+            }
+        });
+
+        let stop_bg = stop.clone();
+        let background = smarm::spawn(move || {
+            while !stop_bg.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+                let _g = smarm::causal_site!("background-compaction");
+                burn_us(500);
+            }
+        });
+
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(300));
+
+        let window = |label: &str| {
+            let (p0, r0, n0) = (
+                produced.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+                reserved.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+                notified.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            );
+            let d0 = smarm::causal::global_delay_cycles();
+            let t = Instant::now();
+            smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(700));
+            let secs = t.elapsed().as_secs_f64();
+            println!(
+                "{label}: produced {:.0}/s reserved {:.0}/s notified {:.0}/s injected {:.0}ms(assumed-3GHz)",
+                (produced.load(Ordering::Relaxed) - p0) as f64 / secs,
+                (reserved.load(Ordering::Relaxed) - r0) as f64 / secs,
+                (notified.load(Ordering::Relaxed) - n0) as f64 / secs,
+                (smarm::causal::global_delay_cycles() - d0) as f64 / 3.0e9 * 1e3,
+            );
+        };
+
+        window("no-experiment ");
+        smarm::causal::begin_experiment_for_test("background-compaction", 50);
+        window("bg-comp @ 50% ");
+        smarm::causal::end_experiment_for_test();
+        window("post-experiment");
+
+        stop.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        producer.join().unwrap();
+        reserve.join().unwrap();
+        notify.join().unwrap();
+        background.join().unwrap();
+    });
+}

src/causal.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,959 @@
+//! Native causal profiling (RFC 007). Enabled by `--features smarm-causal`;
+//! zero cost without it (same discipline as `smarm-trace`).
+//!
+//! The Coz algorithm, transposed onto actors: to estimate what speeding up
+//! code site S by p% would do to throughput, we instead *slow everything
+//! else down* by p% of the time spent in S, and watch the progress-point
+//! rates respond. Where Coz must inject real `usleep`s into OS threads from
+//! the outside, smarm owns every clock that matters:
+//!
+//! - Sampling and delay injection happen at `maybe_preempt`'s amortised
+//!   cadence — an existing, safe hook (never inside a prep-to-park region).
+//! - Injected delay is subtracted from the actor's timeslice
+//!   (`preempt::extend_timeslice`), so experiments don't perturb scheduling.
+//! - Delay bookkeeping is *actor*-granular: each `Slot` carries an absorbed-
+//!   delay ledger, compared against a global ledger. Parked actors absorb
+//!   accrued delay for free on resume (Coz's blocked-thread rule) — waiting
+//!   is never penalised.
+//!
+//! v1 scope (per RFC discussion): explicit scoped sites (`causal_site!`)
+//! rather than PC sampling (jar Q1 stays open); throughput progress points
+//! only; timer-heap deadlines are *not* shifted (documented gap — long
+//! experiments can make real-time timeouts fire early in virtual terms);
+//! multi-scheduler coherence is best-effort via global atomics.
+//!
+//! Usage:
+//! ```ignore
+//! let _g = smarm::causal_site!("inventory-reserve");   // in suspect code
+//! smarm::progress!("orders-processed");                // per unit of work
+//! let results = smarm::causal::run_experiments(&Default::default());
+//! print!("{}", smarm::causal::render_summary(&results));
+//! std::fs::write("profile.coz", smarm::causal::render_coz(&results))?;
+//! ```
+
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+mod inner {
+    use crate::preempt;
+    use std::cell::Cell;
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, Ordering};
+    use std::sync::{Mutex, OnceLock};
+    use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Global state
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// Active experiment, packed `(site_id << 32) | speedup_pct`. 0 = idle.
+    /// A single word so the hot path reads one atomic; experiments are global
+    /// across scheduler threads (jar Q7, v1: plain Relaxed atomics).
+    static EXPERIMENT: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
+    /// Monotone experiment-window counter, bumped by every `begin()`. Lets
+    /// the offcpu-gap stash (RFC 007) tell apart two windows with an
+    /// identical site+pct word — live in the attrib probe's 50,50 schedule
+    /// — so a gap straddling `end()`/`begin()` never counts a cooldown.
+    static EXPERIMENT_EPOCH: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
+    /// Global virtual-delay ledger, in TSC cycles: the total delay every
+    /// actor *should* have experienced since startup. Grows while a sample
+    /// lands in the experiment's target site; each actor's `Slot` ledger
+    /// chases it by spin-absorbing at preemption checks.
+    static GLOBAL_DELAY: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
+    /// Registered site names; site id = index + 1 (0 = "no site").
+    static SITES: OnceLock<Mutex<Vec<&'static str>>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+    /// Registered progress points (leaked for `'static`, like trace's drain
+    /// state — the set is small and lives for the process).
+    static PROGRESS: OnceLock<Mutex<Vec<&'static ProgressPoint>>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+    thread_local! {
+        /// TSC at this thread's previous causal check, the sample "period"
+        /// denominator. Re-armed on every actor resume so scheduler time and
+        /// a previous actor's tail never count toward a sample. 0 = unarmed.
+        static LAST_SAMPLE_TSC: Cell<u64> = const { Cell::new(0) };
+    }
+
+    /// Guard against TSC weirdness (migration between unsynced sockets,
+    /// virtualisation steps): a single sample interval larger than this is
+    /// discarded rather than believed. ~33ms at 3 GHz — far beyond any real
+    /// gap between preemption checks inside a slice.
+    const MAX_SAMPLE_CYCLES: u64 = 100_000_000;
+
+    /// Cap on delay spun in one visit, so one check can never wedge an actor
+    /// for a human-visible pause; the remainder is absorbed on later visits.
+    /// ~3ms at 3 GHz.
+    const MAX_SPIN_PER_VISIT: u64 = 10_000_000;
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Ledger audit (RFC 007 deficit hunt): where injected delay is born,
+    // paid, and forgiven — and where would-be attribution is silently lost
+    // (deschedule tails, clamp discards). Monotone Relaxed totals, read via
+    // `ledger_counters()`; `run_experiments` windows them into
+    // `ExperimentResult`. Measure-only: nothing here changes injection or
+    // absorption behaviour.
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// Cycles bystanders actually spun to pay down the global ledger.
+    static SPIN_ABSORBED_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// Cycles waived at wake after a real park (the blocked-thread rule).
+    static PARK_FORGIVEN_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// Would-be attribution lost when the target-site actor parks mid-site.
+    static DROP_PARK_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    static DROP_PARK_N: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// Same loss at yields (explicit, slice-expiry, or a park that requeued).
+    static DROP_YIELD_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    static DROP_YIELD_N: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// Samples discarded by the TSC-weirdness clamp, in would-be delta terms.
+    static DISCARD_OVERMAX_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    static DISCARD_OVERMAX_N: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// In-site samples dropped because the thread's clock was unarmed.
+    static DISCARD_UNARMED_N: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    /// Would-be attribution over runnable off-CPU gaps inside the target
+    /// site (yield-descheduled -> resumed within the same window). Not a
+    /// loss: on-CPU-only attribution is the Coz model — queue-wait is not
+    /// shrunk by speeding the site's code — but counted so the audit books
+    /// close against wall in-site time (the located @50 "deficit").
+    static OFFCPU_IN_SITE_CYCLES: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+    static OFFCPU_IN_SITE_N: AtomicU64 = AtomicU64::new(0);
+
+    fn sites() -> &'static Mutex<Vec<&'static str>> {
+        SITES.get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(Vec::new()))
+    }
+
+    fn progress_points() -> &'static Mutex<Vec<&'static ProgressPoint>> {
+        PROGRESS.get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(Vec::new()))
+    }
+
+    /// Recover from lock poisoning: all these registries hold plain data that
+    /// is valid at every instruction boundary, so a panicked registrant can't
+    /// leave them torn.
+    fn lock_unpoisoned<T>(m: &Mutex<T>) -> std::sync::MutexGuard<'_, T> {
+        match m.lock() {
+            Ok(g) => g,
+            Err(poisoned) => poisoned.into_inner(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Sites
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// Register (or look up) a causal site by name; returns its nonzero id.
+    /// Called once per `causal_site!` expansion via a `OnceLock`, so the
+    /// mutex is off every hot path.
+    pub fn site_id(name: &'static str) -> u32 {
+        let mut v = lock_unpoisoned(sites());
+        if let Some(pos) = v.iter().position(|n| *n == name) {
+            return (pos + 1) as u32;
+        }
+        v.push(name);
+        v.len() as u32
+    }
+
+    fn site_name(id: u32) -> Option<String> {
+        if id == 0 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        let v = lock_unpoisoned(sites());
+        v.get((id - 1) as usize).map(|s| (*s).to_string())
+    }
+
+    /// RAII marker: while alive, the current *actor* (not thread — the id
+    /// lives in its `Slot` and survives preemption/migration) is "inside"
+    /// the site. Nesting restores the outer site on drop. Inert outside an
+    /// actor (scheduler/OS-thread stacks).
+    pub struct SiteGuard {
+        /// Slot of the actor that entered, null if entered outside an actor.
+        /// Valid for the guard's whole life: the guard lives on the actor's
+        /// stack, and a slot is never reclaimed while its actor is alive —
+        /// the same argument as `preempt::check_cancelled`.
+        slot: *const crate::runtime::Slot,
+        prev: u32,
+    }
+
+    impl SiteGuard {
+        /// Enter `site` for the on-CPU actor.
+        pub fn enter(site: u32) -> Self {
+            let slot = preempt::current_slot_ptr();
+            if slot.is_null() {
+                return SiteGuard { slot, prev: 0 };
+            }
+            // SAFETY: non-null ⇒ points at the on-CPU actor's slot; see the
+            // field docs for the lifetime argument.
+            let prev = unsafe { (*slot).causal_site() };
+            unsafe { (*slot).set_causal_site(site) };
+            site_transition(slot, prev, site);
+            SiteGuard { slot, prev }
+        }
+    }
+
+    impl Drop for SiteGuard {
+        fn drop(&mut self) {
+            if !self.slot.is_null() {
+                // SAFETY (both): as in `enter` — the actor (and thus its
+                // slot) is alive for as long as this guard is on its stack.
+                let site = unsafe { (*self.slot).causal_site() };
+                unsafe { (*self.slot).set_causal_site(self.prev) };
+                site_transition(self.slot, site, self.prev);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Name of the site the on-CPU actor is currently inside, if any.
+    /// (Introspection/testing; not a hot path.)
+    pub fn current_site_name() -> Option<String> {
+        let slot = preempt::current_slot_ptr();
+        if slot.is_null() {
+            return None;
+        }
+        // SAFETY: on-CPU actor's slot, valid for the whole resume.
+        site_name(unsafe { (*slot).causal_site() })
+    }
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Progress points
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// A named throughput counter. One per distinct name; `progress!` call
+    /// sites sharing a name share the counter.
+    pub struct ProgressPoint {
+        name: &'static str,
+        count: AtomicU64,
+    }
+
+    impl ProgressPoint {
+        /// The hot path: one Relaxed RMW. (Contended across actors by design
+        /// — a progress point is a global rate meter.)
+        #[inline]
+        pub fn bump(&self) {
+            self.count.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Register (or look up) a progress point. Called once per `progress!`
+    /// expansion via a `OnceLock`; the mutex is off the hot path.
+    pub fn register_progress(name: &'static str) -> &'static ProgressPoint {
+        let mut v = lock_unpoisoned(progress_points());
+        if let Some(p) = v.iter().find(|p| p.name == name) {
+            return p;
+        }
+        let p: &'static ProgressPoint = Box::leak(Box::new(ProgressPoint {
+            name,
+            count: AtomicU64::new(0),
+        }));
+        v.push(p);
+        p
+    }
+
+    /// Snapshot of all progress points as `(name, count)`.
+    pub fn progress_snapshot() -> Vec<(String, u64)> {
+        lock_unpoisoned(progress_points())
+            .iter()
+            .map(|p| (p.name.to_string(), p.count.load(Ordering::Relaxed)))
+            .collect()
+    }
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // The hot hook: sample + absorb
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// Called from `maybe_preempt` at the amortised timeslice-check cadence,
+    /// under the `PREEMPTION_ENABLED` gate (so never in a prep-to-park or
+    /// no-preempt region — spinning here is as safe as yielding is).
+    ///
+    /// One Relaxed load and out when no experiment is running.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn check() {
+        let exp = EXPERIMENT.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        if exp == 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        cold_check(exp);
+    }
+
+    /// The experiment-active path, kept out of the inlined fast path.
+    #[cold]
+    fn cold_check(exp: u64) {
+        let slot = preempt::current_slot_ptr();
+        if slot.is_null() {
+            return;
+        }
+        let now = preempt::rdtsc();
+        let last = LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.replace(now));
+        let target_site = (exp >> 32) as u32;
+        let pct = exp & 0xffff_ffff;
+
+        // SAFETY (both derefs below): non-null ⇒ the on-CPU actor's slot,
+        // never reclaimed while the actor runs — see `check_cancelled`.
+        let my_site = unsafe { (*slot).causal_site() };
+
+        if my_site == target_site && pct > 0 {
+            // A sample landed in the target site: everyone else must fall
+            // behind by pct% of the sampled interval. Grow the global ledger
+            // and credit ourselves the same amount — the credited gap *is*
+            // the virtual speedup.
+            if last == 0 {
+                // Unarmed clock: no interval to attribute — count the loss.
+                DISCARD_UNARMED_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                return;
+            }
+            // SAFETY: `slot` is the on-CPU actor's slot (checked non-null
+            // above); see `check_cancelled` for the lifetime argument.
+            unsafe { attribute(slot, now.saturating_sub(last), pct) };
+        } else {
+            // Not the winner: chase the global ledger by spinning off the
+            // difference, then push the slice start forward so injected
+            // delay never counts as compute (the clock correction that Coz
+            // cannot do from outside).
+            let global = GLOBAL_DELAY.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+            let mine = unsafe { (*slot).causal_delay() };
+            if mine >= global {
+                return;
+            }
+            let spin = (global - mine).min(MAX_SPIN_PER_VISIT);
+            let start = preempt::rdtsc();
+            while preempt::rdtsc().saturating_sub(start) < spin {
+                core::hint::spin_loop();
+            }
+            SPIN_ABSORBED_CYCLES.fetch_add(spin, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            unsafe { (*slot).set_causal_delay(mine.wrapping_add(spin)) };
+            preempt::extend_timeslice(spin);
+            // The spin is not part of the next sample interval either.
+            LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.set(preempt::rdtsc()));
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Attribute one target-site sample of `interval` cycles at `pct`%:
+    /// grow the global ledger and credit the sampling actor's own ledger by
+    /// the same amount — the credited gap *is* the virtual speedup. Shared
+    /// by the cold check and the guard-boundary flush. Applies the same
+    /// clamps as sampling always has: zero intervals and clock hiccups are
+    /// discarded, not the run.
+    ///
+    /// SAFETY: `slot` must point at the on-CPU actor's slot (the
+    /// `check_cancelled` lifetime argument).
+    unsafe fn attribute(slot: *const crate::runtime::Slot, interval: u64, pct: u64) {
+        if interval == 0 {
+            return; // now == last: nothing to attribute, nothing lost
+        }
+        if interval > MAX_SAMPLE_CYCLES {
+            // TSC-weirdness clamp: the sample is discarded, not the run.
+            // Count the loss in would-be delta terms so the audit's columns
+            // compare directly against `injected_cycles`.
+            DISCARD_OVERMAX_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            DISCARD_OVERMAX_CYCLES
+                .fetch_add(interval.saturating_mul(pct) / 100, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            return;
+        }
+        let delta = interval.saturating_mul(pct) / 100;
+        GLOBAL_DELAY.fetch_add(delta, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let mine = (*slot).causal_delay();
+        (*slot).set_causal_delay(mine.wrapping_add(delta));
+    }
+
+    /// Site-boundary hook, called by `SiteGuard` enter/drop when the
+    /// actor's current site changes from `old` to `new`. Sample-only —
+    /// never spins — so it is safe anywhere, including no-preempt regions
+    /// where `check()` cannot run.
+    ///
+    /// - Leaving the experiment's target site: flush the pending interval.
+    ///   Cold checks only sample when they happen to fire in-site, so the
+    ///   tail between the last check and the guard drop was otherwise
+    ///   discarded on every site entry — measured live at ~22-29µs/entry,
+    ///   ~6-7% of all target time (eff 0.93), which under-reported every
+    ///   impact (+83.5% where theory says +100%).
+    /// - Entering the target site: re-arm the sample clock, so time spent
+    ///   *before* the site can never be attributed to it by the first
+    ///   in-site check (the symmetric over-attribution).
+    #[inline]
+    fn site_transition(slot: *const crate::runtime::Slot, old: u32, new: u32) {
+        let exp = EXPERIMENT.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        if exp == 0 || old == new {
+            return;
+        }
+        let target = (exp >> 32) as u32;
+        let pct = exp & 0xffff_ffff;
+        if old == target && new != target {
+            let now = preempt::rdtsc();
+            let last = LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.replace(now));
+            if pct > 0 {
+                if last != 0 {
+                    // SAFETY: forwarded from the guard, which holds the on-CPU
+                    // actor's slot for its whole life (see `SiteGuard::slot`).
+                    unsafe { attribute(slot, now.saturating_sub(last), pct) };
+                } else {
+                    DISCARD_UNARMED_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                }
+            }
+        } else if new == target && old != target {
+            LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.set(preempt::rdtsc()));
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Resume-path hook (scheduler thread, actor off-CPU). Two duties:
+    ///
+    /// - If the last deschedule was a *real park*, time blocked absorbs any
+    ///   delay accrued meanwhile for free — Coz's blocked-thread rule, which
+    ///   keeps experiments from punishing actors for waiting. An actor that
+    ///   merely yielded (slice expiry) was runnable the whole time and keeps
+    ///   its debt: it must pay by spinning at its next check. Forgiving on
+    ///   every resume would make any yield-cadence actor delay-immune and
+    ///   experiments inert (found live on a 24-core run: nothing slowed).
+    /// - If the deschedule was a *yield* in the live experiment's target
+    ///   site, count the off-CPU gap it opened into the offcpu audit bucket
+    ///   (RFC 007: the located @50 deficit — runnable queue-wait is wall
+    ///   time in-site that on-CPU attribution correctly skips). Same-window
+    ///   only, enforced by the experiment epoch; measure-only.
+    /// - Arm this thread's sample clock so the first interval of the resume
+    ///   excludes scheduler time.
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn on_resume(slot: &crate::runtime::Slot) {
+        let (desched_tsc, desched_epoch) = slot.take_causal_desched();
+        if desched_tsc != 0 && desched_epoch == EXPERIMENT_EPOCH.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+            // Same epoch ⇒ no `begin()` since the stash; a nonzero word ⇒
+            // no `end()` either — the gap closed inside its own window.
+            let exp = EXPERIMENT.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+            if exp != 0 {
+                let pct = exp & 0xffff_ffff;
+                let gap = preempt::rdtsc()
+                    .saturating_sub(desched_tsc)
+                    .min(MAX_SAMPLE_CYCLES);
+                OFFCPU_IN_SITE_CYCLES
+                    .fetch_add(gap.saturating_mul(pct) / 100, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                OFFCPU_IN_SITE_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            }
+        }
+        if slot.take_causal_parked() {
+            let global = GLOBAL_DELAY.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+            let mine = slot.causal_delay();
+            if mine < global {
+                PARK_FORGIVEN_CYCLES.fetch_add(global - mine, Ordering::Relaxed);
+                slot.set_causal_delay(global);
+            }
+        }
+        LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.set(preempt::rdtsc()));
+    }
+
+    /// Deschedule-path hook (scheduler side, same OS thread the actor just
+    /// ran on). If an experiment is live and the departing actor sits in the
+    /// target site, the sample tail `[last sample -> now]` is about to be
+    /// lost: nothing flushes it here, and `on_resume` re-arms the clock
+    /// before the actor runs again. Measure-only (RFC 007 deficit hunt) —
+    /// tally the would-be attribution into the park/yield drop buckets and
+    /// leave behaviour untouched. The interval is capped at
+    /// MAX_SAMPLE_CYCLES: past that the flush would have discarded it anyway
+    /// (counted separately). `now` includes the few hundred ns of scheduler
+    /// bookkeeping since the actor actually stopped — an acceptable
+    /// overcount for a diagnostic.
+    ///
+    /// Slice-expiry yields sample at the same checkpoint that deschedules
+    /// them, so their tails are ~zero by construction; a fat yield bucket
+    /// therefore points at explicit `yield_now` calls or requeued parks.
+    ///
+    /// Yields additionally stash the deschedule instant on the slot so
+    /// `on_resume` can count the runnable off-CPU gap (offcpu bucket).
+    pub(crate) fn on_deschedule(slot: &crate::runtime::Slot, real_park: bool) {
+        let exp = EXPERIMENT.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        if exp == 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        let target = (exp >> 32) as u32;
+        let pct = exp & 0xffff_ffff;
+        if pct == 0 || slot.causal_site() != target {
+            return;
+        }
+        let now = preempt::rdtsc();
+        if !real_park {
+            // Runnable gap opens here; `on_resume` closes and counts it
+            // (offcpu bucket). Parks are excluded: blocked time is already
+            // represented by forgiveness, and blocked wall time is not
+            // queue-wait.
+            slot.set_causal_desched(now, EXPERIMENT_EPOCH.load(Ordering::Relaxed));
+        }
+        let last = LAST_SAMPLE_TSC.with(|c| c.get());
+        if last == 0 {
+            return;
+        }
+        let interval = now.saturating_sub(last).min(MAX_SAMPLE_CYCLES);
+        let would_be = interval.saturating_mul(pct) / 100;
+        if real_park {
+            DROP_PARK_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            DROP_PARK_CYCLES.fetch_add(would_be, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        } else {
+            DROP_YIELD_N.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+            DROP_YIELD_CYCLES.fetch_add(would_be, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Experiments
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    fn begin(site: u32, pct: u32) {
+        EXPERIMENT_EPOCH.fetch_add(1, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        EXPERIMENT.store(((site as u64) << 32) | pct as u64, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    fn end() {
+        EXPERIMENT.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// Total virtual delay injected so far, in TSC cycles.
+    pub fn global_delay_cycles() -> u64 {
+        GLOBAL_DELAY.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+
+    /// Cumulative ledger-audit totals since startup (RFC 007 deficit hunt).
+    /// All monotone; window a span by snapshotting before/after and taking
+    /// `delta_since`. Cycle fields are in would-be-injected delta terms so
+    /// they compare directly against `injected_cycles`.
+    #[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Default)]
+    pub struct LedgerCounters {
+        pub spin_absorbed_cycles: u64,
+        pub park_forgiven_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_park_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_park_n: u64,
+        pub drop_yield_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_yield_n: u64,
+        pub discard_overmax_cycles: u64,
+        pub discard_overmax_n: u64,
+        pub discard_unarmed_n: u64,
+        pub offcpu_in_site_cycles: u64,
+        pub offcpu_in_site_n: u64,
+    }
+
+    impl LedgerCounters {
+        /// Field-wise difference against an earlier snapshot.
+        pub fn delta_since(&self, before: &LedgerCounters) -> LedgerCounters {
+            LedgerCounters {
+                spin_absorbed_cycles: self
+                    .spin_absorbed_cycles
+                    .saturating_sub(before.spin_absorbed_cycles),
+                park_forgiven_cycles: self
+                    .park_forgiven_cycles
+                    .saturating_sub(before.park_forgiven_cycles),
+                drop_park_cycles: self.drop_park_cycles.saturating_sub(before.drop_park_cycles),
+                drop_park_n: self.drop_park_n.saturating_sub(before.drop_park_n),
+                drop_yield_cycles: self
+                    .drop_yield_cycles
+                    .saturating_sub(before.drop_yield_cycles),
+                drop_yield_n: self.drop_yield_n.saturating_sub(before.drop_yield_n),
+                discard_overmax_cycles: self
+                    .discard_overmax_cycles
+                    .saturating_sub(before.discard_overmax_cycles),
+                discard_overmax_n: self.discard_overmax_n.saturating_sub(before.discard_overmax_n),
+                discard_unarmed_n: self.discard_unarmed_n.saturating_sub(before.discard_unarmed_n),
+                offcpu_in_site_cycles: self
+                    .offcpu_in_site_cycles
+                    .saturating_sub(before.offcpu_in_site_cycles),
+                offcpu_in_site_n: self.offcpu_in_site_n.saturating_sub(before.offcpu_in_site_n),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Snapshot the cumulative audit counters.
+    pub fn ledger_counters() -> LedgerCounters {
+        LedgerCounters {
+            spin_absorbed_cycles: SPIN_ABSORBED_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            park_forgiven_cycles: PARK_FORGIVEN_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            drop_park_cycles: DROP_PARK_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            drop_park_n: DROP_PARK_N.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            drop_yield_cycles: DROP_YIELD_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            drop_yield_n: DROP_YIELD_N.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            discard_overmax_cycles: DISCARD_OVERMAX_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            discard_overmax_n: DISCARD_OVERMAX_N.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            discard_unarmed_n: DISCARD_UNARMED_N.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            offcpu_in_site_cycles: OFFCPU_IN_SITE_CYCLES.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+            offcpu_in_site_n: OFFCPU_IN_SITE_N.load(Ordering::Relaxed),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Absorbed-delay ledger of the on-CPU actor (testing/introspection).
+    pub fn my_absorbed_delay_cycles() -> u64 {
+        let slot = preempt::current_slot_ptr();
+        if slot.is_null() {
+            return 0;
+        }
+        // SAFETY: on-CPU actor's slot; see `check_cancelled`.
+        unsafe { (*slot).causal_delay() }
+    }
+
+    /// Test support: start an experiment targeting `site_name` at `pct`%
+    /// virtual speedup. Registers the site if needed.
+    pub fn begin_experiment_for_test(name: &'static str, pct: u32) {
+        begin(site_id(name), pct);
+    }
+
+    /// Test support: stop the running experiment.
+    pub fn end_experiment_for_test() {
+        end();
+    }
+
+    /// Test support: grow the global delay ledger directly, as if target-site
+    /// samples had attributed `cycles` — deterministic driver for the timer
+    /// virtual-time tests. Calibrates the TSC eagerly so conversion later
+    /// never stalls a scheduler loop.
+    pub fn inject_delay_cycles_for_test(cycles: u64) {
+        let _ = tsc_hz();
+        GLOBAL_DELAY.fetch_add(cycles, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// Convert ledger cycles to wall time at the measured TSC rate.
+    pub fn cycles_to_duration(cycles: u64) -> Duration {
+        Duration::from_secs_f64(cycles as f64 / tsc_hz())
+    }
+
+    /// Controller parameters: which speedups to try per site, and the
+    /// experiment/cooldown windows.
+    pub struct ExperimentPlan {
+        pub speedups_pct: Vec<u32>,
+        pub experiment: Duration,
+        pub cooldown: Duration,
+    }
+
+    impl Default for ExperimentPlan {
+        fn default() -> Self {
+            ExperimentPlan {
+                speedups_pct: vec![0, 25, 50],
+                experiment: Duration::from_millis(500),
+                cooldown: Duration::from_millis(100),
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// One completed experiment cell.
+    #[derive(Default)]
+    pub struct ExperimentResult {
+        pub site: String,
+        pub speedup_pct: u32,
+        pub duration: Duration,
+        /// Progress-point deltas over the window, `(name, count)`.
+        pub deltas: Vec<(String, u64)>,
+        /// Virtual delay injected during the window (cycles).
+        pub injected_cycles: u64,
+        // Ledger-audit deltas over the window (RFC 007 deficit hunt); see
+        // `LedgerCounters` for field semantics. `spin_absorbed_cycles > 0`
+        // in a 0% cell means the window paid debt left over from an earlier
+        // one — the baseline-contamination signature.
+        pub spin_absorbed_cycles: u64,
+        pub park_forgiven_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_park_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_park_n: u64,
+        pub drop_yield_cycles: u64,
+        pub drop_yield_n: u64,
+        pub discard_overmax_cycles: u64,
+        pub discard_overmax_n: u64,
+        pub discard_unarmed_n: u64,
+        pub offcpu_in_site_cycles: u64,
+        pub offcpu_in_site_n: u64,
+    }
+
+    /// Run the plan synchronously on the calling (OS) thread: for every
+    /// registered site × speedup, run one experiment window and record
+    /// progress-point deltas, with a cooldown between cells. Sites and
+    /// progress points must already be registered (the workload has to be
+    /// running); the caller owns workload start/stop.
+    ///
+    /// v1 controller: exhaustive sweep, fixed windows, no adaptive site
+    /// selection or confidence stopping (jar Q5).
+    ///
+    /// Callable from a plain OS thread *or* from inside an actor: sleeping
+    /// parks the green thread when we're on one (so no scheduler thread is
+    /// blocked), and falls back to `thread::sleep` otherwise.
+    pub fn run_experiments(plan: &ExperimentPlan) -> Vec<ExperimentResult> {
+        fn controller_sleep(d: Duration) {
+            if preempt::current_slot_ptr().is_null() {
+                std::thread::sleep(d);
+            } else {
+                // Wall-anchored: the controller's window/cooldown sleeps
+                // *define* the experiment's wall length; letting them chase
+                // the delay it is itself injecting would stretch every window
+                // (observed ~2x at 50% speedup). Deltas are rate-normalized
+                // either way — this fixes cost, not bias.
+                crate::scheduler::sleep_wall(d);
+            }
+        }
+        // Calibrate before any window so report rendering never has to sleep.
+        let _ = tsc_hz();
+        let site_list: Vec<(u32, String)> = {
+            let v = lock_unpoisoned(sites());
+            v.iter()
+                .enumerate()
+                .map(|(i, n)| ((i + 1) as u32, (*n).to_string()))
+                .collect()
+        };
+        let mut out = Vec::new();
+        for (sid, sname) in &site_list {
+            for &pct in &plan.speedups_pct {
+                let before = progress_snapshot();
+                let injected_before = global_delay_cycles();
+                let audit_before = ledger_counters();
+                let t0 = Instant::now();
+                begin(*sid, pct);
+                controller_sleep(plan.experiment);
+                end();
+                // Snapshot immediately: injection and spin freeze at `end()`
+                // (checks gate on the experiment word), but forgiveness does
+                // not — a later snapshot would leak cooldown wakes into the
+                // window.
+                let audit = ledger_counters().delta_since(&audit_before);
+                let elapsed = t0.elapsed();
+                let after = progress_snapshot();
+                let deltas = after
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|(n, c)| {
+                        let b = before
+                            .iter()
+                            .find(|(bn, _)| bn == n)
+                            .map(|(_, bc)| *bc)
+                            .unwrap_or(0);
+                        (n.clone(), c.saturating_sub(b))
+                    })
+                    .collect();
+                out.push(ExperimentResult {
+                    site: sname.clone(),
+                    speedup_pct: pct,
+                    duration: elapsed,
+                    deltas,
+                    injected_cycles: global_delay_cycles() - injected_before,
+                    spin_absorbed_cycles: audit.spin_absorbed_cycles,
+                    park_forgiven_cycles: audit.park_forgiven_cycles,
+                    drop_park_cycles: audit.drop_park_cycles,
+                    drop_park_n: audit.drop_park_n,
+                    drop_yield_cycles: audit.drop_yield_cycles,
+                    drop_yield_n: audit.drop_yield_n,
+                    discard_overmax_cycles: audit.discard_overmax_cycles,
+                    discard_overmax_n: audit.discard_overmax_n,
+                    discard_unarmed_n: audit.discard_unarmed_n,
+                    offcpu_in_site_cycles: audit.offcpu_in_site_cycles,
+                    offcpu_in_site_n: audit.offcpu_in_site_n,
+                });
+                controller_sleep(plan.cooldown);
+            }
+        }
+        out
+    }
+
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+    // Reports
+    // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+    /// Measured TSC frequency (Hz), calibrated once. The crate-wide 3 GHz
+    /// constant is fine for the *relative* timeslice check, but report
+    /// normalisation divides wall time by injected time, so a 20% Hz error
+    /// skews every impact number — measured live: a 3.7 GHz box inflated all
+    /// baselines uniformly. Calibrated against `Instant` over ~50ms on first
+    /// use; `run_experiments` triggers it before its first window (using the
+    /// park-aware sleep, so no scheduler thread is blocked when called from
+    /// an actor).
+    static TSC_HZ_MEASURED: OnceLock<f64> = OnceLock::new();
+
+    /// Measured TSC frequency in Hz. Calibrates on first call (~50ms).
+    pub fn tsc_hz() -> f64 {
+        *TSC_HZ_MEASURED.get_or_init(|| {
+            let c0 = preempt::rdtsc();
+            let t0 = Instant::now();
+            let d = Duration::from_millis(50);
+            if preempt::current_slot_ptr().is_null() {
+                std::thread::sleep(d);
+            } else {
+                // Wall-anchored: calibration divides TSC delta by *wall*
+                // elapsed; a virtual sleep dilated by concurrent injection
+                // would still measure correctly (elapsed() is wall) but
+                // waste window time — and must never depend on the ledger
+                // it exists to convert.
+                crate::scheduler::sleep_wall(d);
+            }
+            (preempt::rdtsc().wrapping_sub(c0)) as f64 / t0.elapsed().as_secs_f64()
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// Normalized rate for one cell: count over the *virtual* window
+    /// (wall − injected) — Coz's normalization: injected delay does not
+    /// exist in the virtual timeline. A bottleneck site keeps its raw count
+    /// while shrinking the divisor → positive impact; a fully overlapped
+    /// site loses count proportionally → ~zero.
+    fn normalized_rate(r: &ExperimentResult, point: &str) -> Option<f64> {
+        let count = r.deltas.iter().find(|(n, _)| n == point).map(|(_, c)| *c)?;
+        let injected_secs = r.injected_cycles as f64 / tsc_hz();
+        let virtual_secs = (r.duration.as_secs_f64() - injected_secs).max(1e-9);
+        Some(count as f64 / virtual_secs)
+    }
+
+    /// Impact of virtually speeding up `site` by `speedup_pct` on progress
+    /// point `point`, in percent relative to that site's own 0% baseline
+    /// cell. `None` if either cell or the point is missing, or the baseline
+    /// rate is zero. This is the machine-readable form of the summary's
+    /// "vs baseline" column, for programmatic checks (CI, examples).
+    pub fn impact_pct(
+        results: &[ExperimentResult],
+        site: &str,
+        speedup_pct: u32,
+        point: &str,
+    ) -> Option<f64> {
+        let cell = results
+            .iter()
+            .find(|r| r.site == site && r.speedup_pct == speedup_pct)?;
+        let base = results.iter().find(|r| r.site == site && r.speedup_pct == 0)?;
+        let rate = normalized_rate(cell, point)?;
+        let b = normalized_rate(base, point)?;
+        if b <= 0.0 {
+            return None;
+        }
+        Some((rate / b - 1.0) * 100.0)
+    }
+
+    /// Human-readable summary: per (site, progress point), the throughput at
+    /// each virtual speedup and the change relative to that site's own 0%
+    /// baseline. A near-zero column across speedups means: optimising this
+    /// site buys you nothing — the RFC's headline answer.
+    ///
+    /// Ends with a one-line fidelity note (RFC 007 Validation): reported
+    /// impacts are conservative — attribution counts on-CPU site time only,
+    /// so runnable queue-wait inside the site (the located @50 "deficit",
+    /// eff ≈ 0.93 live) is never injected and gains are lower bounds; site
+    /// *rankings* are unaffected.
+    pub fn render_summary(results: &[ExperimentResult]) -> String {
+        use std::fmt::Write;
+        let mut s = String::new();
+        let _ = writeln!(s, "== smarm causal profile ==");
+        let mut sites_seen: Vec<&str> = Vec::new();
+        for r in results {
+            if !sites_seen.contains(&r.site.as_str()) {
+                sites_seen.push(&r.site);
+            }
+        }
+        for site in sites_seen {
+            let _ = writeln!(s, "site {site}");
+            for r in results.iter().filter(|r| r.site == site) {
+                for (name, _) in &r.deltas {
+                    let rate = match normalized_rate(r, name) {
+                        Some(x) => x,
+                        None => continue,
+                    };
+                    let rel = impact_pct(results, site, r.speedup_pct, name)
+                        .map(|p| format!("{p:+.1}%"))
+                        .unwrap_or_else(|| "n/a".to_string());
+                    let _ = writeln!(
+                        s,
+                        "  speedup {:>3}%  {name:<24} {rate:>12.1}/s  vs baseline {rel}  (injected {:.1}ms)",
+                        r.speedup_pct,
+                        r.injected_cycles as f64 / tsc_hz() * 1e3
+                    );
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if !results.is_empty() {
+            let _ = writeln!(
+                s,
+                "note: impacts are lower bounds — site time counts on-CPU only (runnable queue-wait is not attributed); rankings unaffected"
+            );
+        }
+        s
+    }
+
+    /// Ledger-audit companion to `render_summary` (RFC 007 deficit hunt):
+    /// per cell, where the window's virtual delay went — born (injected),
+    /// paid (absorbed), waived (forgiven at wake) — and the attribution the
+    /// sampler lost: tails dropped at parks/yields inside the target site,
+    /// plus clamp discards. Cycle columns in ms at the calibrated TSC rate.
+    /// `absorbed` above `injected` in a cell (0% especially) means it paid
+    /// debt left over from earlier windows.
+    pub fn render_ledger_audit(results: &[ExperimentResult]) -> String {
+        use std::fmt::Write;
+        let hz = tsc_hz();
+        let ms = |c: u64| c as f64 / hz * 1e3;
+        let mut s = String::new();
+        let _ = writeln!(s, "== smarm causal ledger audit ==");
+        for r in results {
+            let _ = writeln!(
+                s,
+                "site {:<22} @{:>2}%  injected {:>7.1}ms  absorbed {:>7.1}ms  forgiven {:>7.1}ms  \
+                 drop park {:>6.2}ms/{:<4} yield {:>6.2}ms/{:<4} offcpu {:>6.2}ms/{:<5} \
+                 discard >max {:>6.2}ms/{:<3} unarmed {}",
+                r.site,
+                r.speedup_pct,
+                ms(r.injected_cycles),
+                ms(r.spin_absorbed_cycles),
+                ms(r.park_forgiven_cycles),
+                ms(r.drop_park_cycles),
+                r.drop_park_n,
+                ms(r.drop_yield_cycles),
+                r.drop_yield_n,
+                ms(r.offcpu_in_site_cycles),
+                r.offcpu_in_site_n,
+                ms(r.discard_overmax_cycles),
+                r.discard_overmax_n,
+                r.discard_unarmed_n
+            );
+        }
+        s
+    }
+
+    /// Coz-compatible profile text (`profile.coz`), so Coz's existing plot
+    /// tooling renders our experiments — the RFC's "don't build a UI" call.
+    pub fn render_coz(results: &[ExperimentResult]) -> String {
+        use std::fmt::Write;
+        let mut s = String::new();
+        let _ = writeln!(s, "startup\ttime=0");
+        for r in results {
+            let _ = writeln!(
+                s,
+                "experiment\tselected={}\tspeedup={:.2}\tduration={}\tselected-samples=1",
+                r.site,
+                r.speedup_pct as f64 / 100.0,
+                r.duration.as_nanos()
+            );
+            for (name, count) in &r.deltas {
+                let _ = writeln!(s, "throughput-point\tname={name}\tdelta={count}");
+            }
+        }
+        s
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+pub use inner::*;
+
+/// Mark one unit of useful work complete at a named throughput progress
+/// point (RFC 007). One Relaxed increment when `smarm-causal` is on; nothing
+/// at all when it's off.
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! progress {
+    ($name:literal) => {{
+        static __SMARM_PP: ::std::sync::OnceLock<&'static $crate::causal::ProgressPoint> =
+            ::std::sync::OnceLock::new();
+        __SMARM_PP
+            .get_or_init(|| $crate::causal::register_progress($name))
+            .bump();
+    }};
+}
+
+#[cfg(not(feature = "smarm-causal"))]
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! progress {
+    ($name:literal) => {{}};
+}
+
+/// Enter a named causal-profiling site for the current actor; the returned
+/// guard exits it (restoring any enclosing site) on drop. Site identity is
+/// stored in the actor's slot, so it survives preemption and migration.
+/// Expands to a unit no-op without `smarm-causal`.
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! causal_site {
+    ($name:literal) => {{
+        static __SMARM_SITE: ::std::sync::OnceLock<u32> = ::std::sync::OnceLock::new();
+        $crate::causal::SiteGuard::enter(*__SMARM_SITE.get_or_init(|| $crate::causal::site_id($name)))
+    }};
+}
+
+#[cfg(not(feature = "smarm-causal"))]
+#[macro_export]
+macro_rules! causal_site {
+    ($name:literal) => {
+        ()
+    };
+}

src/channel.rs

@@ -1,38 +1,102 @@
-//! Unbounded MPSC channels.
+//! Unbounded multi-producer, single-consumer channels: how actors talk to
+//! each other.
 //!
-//! Inner state is `Arc<RawMutex<Inner<T>>>` so channels can be sent across OS
-//! threads (required for the multi-scheduler runtime where a sender and
-//! receiver may run on different scheduler threads simultaneously).
+//! A channel is a queue with a typed [`Sender`] on one end and a typed
+//! [`Receiver`] on the other. Any number of actors can hold a clone of the
+//! `Sender` and push messages onto the same queue; exactly one [`Receiver`]
+//! reads them back out, in the order they arrived. This is the basic wiring
+//! smarm's other actor primitives (`gen_server`, `pg`, the registry) are all
+//! built out of, and it is directly usable on its own for a worker that just
+//! needs an inbox.
 //!
-//! ## Why `RawMutex` (Channel class), not `std::sync::Mutex`
+//! ## A first channel
 //!
-//! An actor holding a guard with preemption *enabled* can be timesliced
-//! inside the critical section and resume on a different OS thread — the
-//! pthread mutex would then be released from a thread that didn't lock it,
-//! which is UB (Linux futexes happen to tolerate it, but it's not
-//! guaranteed). `RawMutex` disables preemption for the guard's span and is
-//! cross-thread-release sound by construction, closing the hole. It also
-//! cannot poison. Channel locks form their own [`LockClass::Channel`]
-//! (raw_mutex.rs): they may be taken under a cold (Leaf) lock — finalize and
-//! `monitor()` clone senders that live in slots — but nothing may be locked
-//! under them, which the debug build enforces. `recv_match` runs its user
-//! predicate under this lock: keep it cheap, pure, and channel-free.
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{channel, run, spawn};
 //!
-//! Semantics:
-//!   - Senders are clonable; the last sender drop closes the channel.
-//!   - `Receiver::recv` on an empty open channel parks the receiver.
-//!   - `Receiver::recv` on an empty closed channel returns `Err(RecvError)`.
-//!   - `Sender::send` on an open channel always succeeds.
-//!   - `Sender::send` on a closed channel (receiver dropped) returns
-//!     `Err(SendError(value))`.
-//!   - When a send pushes to a previously empty queue and a receiver is
-//!     parked, the receiver is unparked.
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let (tx, rx) = channel::<u64>();
+//!
+//!     let worker = spawn(move || {
+//!         // Blocks until a message arrives.
+//!         let n = rx.recv().unwrap();
+//!         assert_eq!(n, 42);
+//!
+//!         // Once every Sender is dropped, recv() reports the channel closed
+//!         // instead of blocking forever.
+//!         assert!(rx.recv().is_err());
+//!     });
+//!
+//!     tx.send(42).unwrap();
+//!     drop(tx); // last sender gone: the channel is now closed
+//!     worker.join().unwrap();
+//! });
+//! ```
+//!
+//! ## Sending
+//!
+//! [`Sender`] is cheaply clonable: hand a clone to every actor that needs to
+//! push messages into this queue. The channel stays open as long as at least
+//! one clone exists; [`Sender::send`] never blocks and always succeeds while
+//! the channel is open, since the queue is unbounded. Once the [`Receiver`]
+//! has been dropped, `send` returns the message back to you in
+//! [`SendError`] instead of delivering it.
+//!
+//! ## Receiving
+//!
+//! There is exactly one [`Receiver`] per channel (it is not clonable).
+//! [`Receiver::recv`] returns the next message in arrival order, parking the
+//! calling actor if the queue is currently empty. Once every `Sender` has
+//! been dropped and the queue has been drained, `recv` stops parking and
+//! returns [`RecvError`] instead, so a receiver never blocks forever waiting
+//! on senders that are never coming back.
+//!
+//! Beyond plain `recv`, three variants cover the common needs:
+//!
+//! - [`Receiver::try_recv`]: never parks: reports an empty-but-open channel
+//!   as `Ok(None)` instead of waiting.
+//! - [`Receiver::recv_timeout`]: parks, but gives up and returns
+//!   [`RecvTimeoutError::Timeout`] if no message arrives before a deadline.
+//! - [`Receiver::recv_match`] / [`Receiver::try_recv_match`]: selective
+//!   receive. Instead of taking whatever is at the front of the queue, pick
+//!   out the first message matching a predicate, leaving the rest queued in
+//!   order. Handy for an actor that wants to prioritise one kind of message
+//!   over others already waiting.
+//!
+//! ## Waiting on several channels: `select`
+//!
+//! [`select`] parks an actor across several receivers at once and reports
+//! the index of the first one that is ready (has a message queued, or has
+//! been closed). [`select_timeout`] adds a deadline, the way `recv_timeout`
+//! does for a single channel. See their docs for the full contract,
+//! including the priority-order and no-fairness guarantee.
+//!
+//! ## Implementation notes
+//!
+//! The queue and its bookkeeping live behind `Arc<RawMutex<Inner<T>>>`
+//! rather than a `std::sync::Mutex`, so that a channel can be freely shared
+//! and sent across the OS threads backing the multi-scheduler runtime.
+//! `RawMutex` matters here for a subtler reason too: an ordinary pthread
+//! mutex can be released from a different OS thread than the one that took
+//! it (smarm's preemption can migrate a timesliced actor between scheduler
+//! threads mid-critical-section), and doing that to a `std::sync::Mutex` is
+//! undefined behavior. `RawMutex` disables preemption for the guard's short
+//! lifetime instead, so the release always happens on the thread that
+//! acquired it, and it has no poisoning to worry about besides. Channel
+//! locks are cheap and are never held across another lock acquisition or a
+//! blocking call; the predicate passed to `recv_match` runs under this lock,
+//! which is why it needs to stay cheap, pure, and must not call back into
+//! the same channel.
 
 use crate::pid::Pid;
 use crate::raw_mutex::RawMutex;
 use std::collections::VecDeque;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
+/// Create a new channel and return its `(Sender, Receiver)` halves.
+///
+/// The channel is unbounded (no capacity limit) and open until every
+/// `Sender` has been dropped.
 pub fn channel<T>() -> (Sender<T>, Receiver<T>) {
     let inner = Arc::new(RawMutex::new_channel(Inner {
         queue: VecDeque::new(),
@@ -45,29 +109,40 @@ pub fn channel<T>() -> (Sender<T>, Receiver<T>) {
 
 struct Inner<T> {
     queue: VecDeque<T>,
-    /// The parked receiver's `(pid, park-epoch)`. The epoch is the slot
-    /// word's runtime-wide wait identity (see slot_state.rs): wakers call
-    /// `unpark_at(pid, epoch)`, so an entry left over from an already-woken
-    /// wait — a `select` loser arm, a satisfied `recv_timeout`'s timer — is
-    /// inert: the wake fails the word's epoch CAS and no-ops. This replaces
-    /// the old per-channel `cur_wait`/`next_wait_seq`/`timed_out` trio: wait
-    /// identity now exists exactly once, in the slot word.
+    /// The parked receiver's `(pid, park-epoch)`, if one is currently
+    /// waiting. The epoch identifies exactly which wait this is, so a waker
+    /// left over from a wait that already ended (a losing `select` arm, a
+    /// `recv_timeout` whose timer fired after it was already satisfied) is
+    /// inert and does nothing when it fires.
     parked_receiver: Option<(Pid, u32)>,
     senders: usize,
     receiver_alive: bool,
 }
 
+/// The sending half of a channel, created by [`channel`]. Clonable: every
+/// clone pushes onto the same queue, and the channel stays open as long as
+/// any clone is alive. Dropping the last `Sender` closes the channel, which
+/// wakes a parked [`Receiver`] so it can observe the closure.
 pub struct Sender<T> {
     inner: Arc<RawMutex<Inner<T>>>,
 }
 
+/// The receiving half of a channel, created by [`channel`]. Not clonable:
+/// a channel has exactly one receiver. Reads messages in the order they
+/// were sent, via [`recv`](Receiver::recv) and its variants.
 pub struct Receiver<T> {
     inner: Arc<RawMutex<Inner<T>>>,
 }
 
+/// Returned by [`Sender::send`] when the channel's [`Receiver`] has already
+/// been dropped. Carries the message back so it is never silently lost;
+/// recover it with `.0` or by matching.
 #[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub struct SendError<T>(pub T);
 
+/// Returned by [`Receiver::recv`] (and the other receive methods, in their
+/// own error types) when the channel is closed: every `Sender` has been
+/// dropped and no message is left queued.
 #[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Clone, Copy)]
 pub struct RecvError;
 
@@ -84,8 +159,8 @@ impl std::error::Error for RecvError {}
 pub enum RecvTimeoutError {
     /// The deadline passed with no message available.
     Timeout,
-    /// All senders dropped with no message available — the bounded analogue
-    /// of [`RecvError`].
+    /// Every sender was dropped with no message available. The
+    /// timeout-aware counterpart of plain [`RecvError`].
     Disconnected,
 }
 
@@ -115,8 +190,8 @@ impl<T> Drop for Sender<T> {
             // Wake the parked receiver on the last sender drop regardless of
             // whether the queue is empty. A plain `recv` only ever parks on an
             // empty queue (so this is unchanged for it), but a selective
-            // `recv_match` may be parked on a *non-empty* queue holding only
-            // non-matching messages — it must wake to observe closure and
+            // `recv_match` may be parked on a non-empty queue holding only
+            // non-matching messages. It must wake to observe closure and
             // return Err rather than sleep forever.
             if g.senders == 0 {
                 g.parked_receiver.take()
@@ -132,19 +207,37 @@ impl<T> Drop for Sender<T> {
 
 impl<T> Drop for Receiver<T> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        self.inner.lock().receiver_alive = false;
+        // The only consumer is gone: queued messages can never be delivered.
+        // Drop them now instead of leaving them queued until the last Sender
+        // happens to go away, which can be long after this receiver's owner
+        // has exited if some other part of the runtime is still holding a
+        // clone of the Sender. Draining runs each queued message's own drop
+        // glue, which matters for a gen_server call: dropping a queued call
+        // envelope drops its reply channel too, which wakes the caller with
+        // an error instead of leaving it parked forever. Drain under the
+        // lock, then run the drops after releasing it, since a message's
+        // drop glue may itself touch a different channel or the scheduler.
+        let drained = {
+            let mut g = self.inner.lock();
+            g.receiver_alive = false;
+            std::mem::take(&mut g.queue)
+        };
+        drop(drained);
     }
 }
 
 impl<T> Sender<T> {
-    /// Number of messages currently queued behind this channel. Introspection
-    /// only (RFC 016 mailbox depth); takes the channel lock, so callers reach
-    /// it under the registry Leaf (Leaf → Channel) via the erased probe in
-    /// `registry.rs`, never on a hot path.
+    /// Number of messages currently queued and not yet received. For
+    /// introspection and monitoring; takes the channel's internal lock, so
+    /// avoid calling it from a hot path.
     pub(crate) fn queued_len(&self) -> usize {
         self.inner.lock().queue.len()
     }
 
+    /// Push `value` onto the channel. Succeeds unconditionally as long as
+    /// the [`Receiver`] is still alive: the queue has no capacity limit, so
+    /// this never blocks and never fails except when the channel is closed,
+    /// in which case `value` comes back in [`SendError`].
     pub fn send(&self, value: T) -> Result<(), SendError<T>> {
         let unpark = {
             let mut g = self.inner.lock();
@@ -165,6 +258,10 @@ impl<T> Sender<T> {
 }
 
 impl<T> Receiver<T> {
+    /// Block until a message is available and return it. Messages come back
+    /// in the order they were sent. If the queue is empty and every
+    /// [`Sender`] has already been dropped, returns [`RecvError`] instead of
+    /// blocking forever.
     pub fn recv(&self) -> Result<T, RecvError> {
         loop {
             {
@@ -184,15 +281,15 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
                     g.parked_receiver.is_none_or(|(p, _)| p == me),
                     "channel has more than one receiver"
                 );
-                // begin_wait is lock-free — legal under the Channel lock;
+                // begin_wait is lock-free, so it's legal under the Channel lock;
                 // registering in the same critical section makes the epoch
                 // atomic with the senders' view of the registration.
                 g.parked_receiver = Some((me, crate::scheduler::begin_wait()));
                 crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::RecvPark(me));
             }
-            // Release the lock before parking — the unparker will need it.
+            // Release the lock before parking: the unparker will need it.
             crate::scheduler::park_current();
-            // Woken up — record it before looping to check the queue.
+            // Woken up. Record it before looping to check the queue.
             crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::RecvWake(match crate::actor::current_pid() {
                 Some(p) => p,
                 None => panic!("smarm: RecvWake outside an actor (core corrupt)"),
@@ -200,29 +297,18 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Bounded receive: like [`recv`](Self::recv), but gives up once
-    /// `timeout` has elapsed, returning [`RecvTimeoutError::Timeout`].
+    /// Like [`recv`](Self::recv), but gives up and returns
+    /// [`RecvTimeoutError::Timeout`] if no message has arrived by the time
+    /// `timeout` elapses.
     ///
-    /// Built on the same timer machinery as `Mutex::lock_timeout`: the wait
-    /// registers a `WaitTimeout` entry stamped with the wait's park-epoch;
-    /// on expiry the channel (as the
-    /// [`TimerTarget`](crate::timer::TimerTarget)) checks whether *this*
-    /// wait is still parked and, only then, cancels it. A wake that races
-    /// the deadline resolves message-first: if a message is available when
-    /// the receiver runs, it is delivered even if the timer had already
-    /// fired. A satisfied or abandoned wait leaves its timer entry to expire
-    /// as a no-op (registration gone; epoch consumed), per the
-    /// no-cancellation convention in `timer.rs`.
+    /// If a message arrives at essentially the same moment the deadline
+    /// passes, the message wins: you get `Ok` rather than `Timeout`. If
+    /// every sender is dropped before a message arrives or the deadline
+    /// passes, you get [`RecvTimeoutError::Disconnected`].
     ///
-    /// The wake is classified from state alone — wakes are precise (the only
-    /// stamped wakers of this wait are a send, the last-sender drop, and the
-    /// timer; a stop wake unwinds out of `park_current` and never reaches
-    /// the classification), so: message queued → `Ok`; `senders == 0` →
-    /// `Disconnected`; neither → it was the timer → `Timeout`.
-    ///
-    /// `Duration::ZERO` is a valid timeout: it parks until the immediately-
-    /// due timer is drained, then reports `Timeout` unless a message was
-    /// already queued.
+    /// `Duration::ZERO` is a valid timeout: it still gives any
+    /// already-queued message a chance to be returned, and only then
+    /// reports `Timeout`.
     pub fn recv_timeout(&self, timeout: std::time::Duration) -> Result<T, RecvTimeoutError>
     where
         T: Send + 'static,
@@ -254,7 +340,7 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
 
         // Arm the timer after releasing the channel lock (insert takes the
         // timers lock; never nest under a Channel lock). A send or even the
-        // timer itself may unpark us before we park — the RunningNotified
+        // timer itself may unpark us before we park; the runtime's wake
         // protocol makes the park below return immediately in that case.
         let deadline = crate::timer::deadline_from_now(timeout);
         let target: std::sync::Arc<dyn crate::timer::TimerTarget> = self.inner.clone();
@@ -276,16 +362,23 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
         Err(RecvTimeoutError::Timeout)
     }
 
-    /// Selective receive: remove and return the first queued message for which
-    /// `pred` holds, leaving the rest in arrival order. If no queued message
-    /// matches, parks and re-scans on every send (a selective receiver may park
-    /// on a *non-empty* queue). Returns `Err(RecvError)` only once the channel
-    /// is closed and no queued message matches.
+    /// Selective receive: find and return the first queued message for
+    /// which `pred` returns `true`, leaving every other message in the
+    /// queue untouched and in order. Useful when an actor's inbox mixes
+    /// message kinds and it wants to handle one kind out of turn, without
+    /// discarding the rest.
     ///
-    /// `pred` is run while the channel lock is held: keep it cheap and pure,
-    /// and do not call back into this channel from inside it. It is modelled as
-    /// `Fn` (not `FnMut`) deliberately — it is re-run from scratch on every
-    /// scan, so a stateful predicate would observe surprising re-counting.
+    /// If nothing queued matches, this blocks and re-checks every time a new
+    /// message arrives, the same way [`recv`](Self::recv) blocks on an empty
+    /// queue: a selective receiver can be waiting even while the queue holds
+    /// messages, just none that match yet. Returns [`RecvError`] only once
+    /// the channel is closed and still nothing matches.
+    ///
+    /// `pred` runs while the channel is locked, so keep it cheap, side
+    /// effect free, and make sure it never calls back into this same
+    /// channel. It takes `&T` and is called fresh on every scan (not `FnMut`
+    /// with running state), so it should judge each message purely on its
+    /// own content.
     pub fn recv_match<F>(&self, pred: F) -> Result<T, RecvError>
     where
         F: Fn(&T) -> bool,
@@ -317,7 +410,7 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
                 g.parked_receiver = Some((me, crate::scheduler::begin_wait()));
                 crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::RecvPark(me));
             }
-            // Release the lock before parking — the unparker will need it.
+            // Release the lock before parking: the unparker will need it.
             crate::scheduler::park_current();
             crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::RecvWake(match crate::actor::current_pid() {
                 Some(p) => p,
@@ -326,10 +419,12 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Non-blocking selective receive. `Ok(Some(v))` if a queued message
-    /// matched `pred` (removed, rest left in order), `Ok(None)` if the channel
-    /// is open but nothing matched, `Err(RecvError)` if closed and nothing
-    /// matched. Same predicate contract as [`recv_match`](Self::recv_match).
+    /// The non-blocking counterpart of [`recv_match`](Self::recv_match):
+    /// returns immediately either way. `Ok(Some(v))` if a queued message
+    /// matched `pred` (removed; the rest stay queued in order), `Ok(None)`
+    /// if the channel is open but nothing currently matches, `Err(RecvError)`
+    /// if the channel is closed and nothing matches. Same predicate contract
+    /// as `recv_match`.
     pub fn try_recv_match<F>(&self, pred: F) -> Result<Option<T>, RecvError>
     where
         F: Fn(&T) -> bool,
@@ -349,8 +444,10 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
         Ok(None)
     }
 
-    /// Non-blocking. `Ok(Some(v))` if a message was available, `Ok(None)` if
-    /// the channel is empty but open, `Err(RecvError)` if closed and drained.
+    /// The non-blocking counterpart of [`recv`](Self::recv): returns
+    /// immediately either way. `Ok(Some(v))` if a message was queued,
+    /// `Ok(None)` if the channel is open but currently empty, `Err(RecvError)`
+    /// if the channel is closed and the queue is drained.
     pub fn try_recv(&self) -> Result<Option<T>, RecvError> {
         let mut g = self.inner.lock();
         if let Some(v) = g.queue.pop_front() {
@@ -365,18 +462,18 @@ impl<T> Receiver<T> {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// TimerTarget — the expiry half of recv_timeout
+// TimerTarget: the expiry half of recv_timeout
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 impl<T: Send + 'static> crate::timer::TimerTarget for RawMutex<Inner<T>> {
     fn on_timeout(&self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) {
         // Cancel the wait only if THIS wait (epoch match) is still
         // registered. If a sender already took `parked_receiver`, the
-        // receiver is waking with a message — message wins, the timer
+        // receiver is waking with a message: message wins, the timer
         // no-ops. If a later wait by the same receiver is registered, the
-        // epoch mismatches — stale entry, no-op. (The unpark_at would fail
-        // its word CAS in either case anyway; checking under the lock keeps
-        // the registration bookkeeping exact.)
+        // epoch mismatches: stale entry, no-op. (unpark_at would fail its
+        // internal check in either case anyway; checking under the lock
+        // keeps the registration bookkeeping exact.)
         let unpark = {
             let mut g = self.lock();
             if g.parked_receiver == Some((pid, epoch)) {
@@ -386,7 +483,7 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> crate::timer::TimerTarget for RawMutex<Inner<T>> {
                 false
             }
         };
-        // Unpark outside the channel lock — it may take the run-queue lock;
+        // Unpark outside the channel lock: it may take the run-queue lock;
         // legal under a Channel lock, but pointless to nest.
         if unpark {
             crate::scheduler::unpark_at(pid, epoch);
@@ -395,7 +492,7 @@ impl<T: Send + 'static> crate::timer::TimerTarget for RawMutex<Inner<T>> {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// select — ready-index wait over multiple receivers
+// select: ready-index wait over multiple receivers
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 pub(crate) mod sealed {
@@ -403,33 +500,34 @@ pub(crate) mod sealed {
 }
 impl<T> sealed::Sealed for Receiver<T> {}
 
-/// An arm of a [`select`]. Implemented by [`Receiver`]; sealed, because the
-/// registration contract below is part of the runtime's wake protocol.
+/// An arm of a [`select`]: something you can wait on alongside other arms
+/// and be told when it becomes ready. Implemented by [`Receiver`]; sealed
+/// (cannot be implemented outside this crate), since the registration
+/// contract below is part of the runtime's internal wake protocol.
 ///
 /// Contract (all under the arm's own lock): `sel_register` checks-or-
-/// registers atomically — if the arm is ready it does NOT register and
+/// registers atomically. If the arm is ready it does not register and
 /// returns `Ok(false)`; otherwise it publishes `(pid, epoch)` where its
 /// wakers will find it and returns `Ok(true)`. "Ready" means a receive
-/// would not park: a message is queued, or the arm is closed. `Err` means
+/// would not block: a message is queued, or the arm is closed. `Err` means
 /// the arm could not register at all (only fd arms can fail; channel
-/// registration is infallible) — the wait must be retired and earlier
+/// registration always succeeds), and the wait must be retired and earlier
 /// eager-cleanup arms unregistered.
 pub trait Selectable: sealed::Sealed {
     #[doc(hidden)]
     fn sel_register(&self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) -> std::io::Result<bool>;
     #[doc(hidden)]
     fn sel_ready(&self) -> bool;
-    /// Remove this arm's `(pid, epoch)` registration if — and only if — it
-    /// is still in place. Default no-op: a losing channel arm's stale
-    /// registration is inert (its wakers die at the epoch CAS; the next
-    /// wait overwrites the slot). Fd arms override this: their staleness
-    /// poisons the fd (waiters entry + kernel-side ONESHOT registration)
-    /// and needs an eager cleanup pass.
+    /// Remove this arm's `(pid, epoch)` registration if, and only if, it is
+    /// still in place. Default no-op: a losing channel arm's stale
+    /// registration is harmless and self-cleans. Fd arms override this:
+    /// their staleness would otherwise leave the fd unusable for future
+    /// selects, so they need an eager cleanup pass.
     #[doc(hidden)]
     fn sel_unregister(&self, _pid: Pid, _epoch: u32) {}
     /// Whether this arm requires the eager cleanup pass at all. Gates the
-    /// post-wake `sel_unregister` sweep so channel-only selects keep
-    /// today's zero-cancellation hot path.
+    /// post-wake `sel_unregister` sweep so channel-only selects keep their
+    /// cheap, cleanup-free path.
     #[doc(hidden)]
     fn sel_eager_cleanup(&self) -> bool {
         false
@@ -456,38 +554,35 @@ impl<T> Selectable for Receiver<T> {
     }
 }
 
-/// Park on every arm at once; return the index of the first ready one.
+/// Wait on several channels at once and return the index of the first one
+/// that is ready, instead of blocking on just one with [`Receiver::recv`].
 ///
-/// "Ready" means a receive on that arm would not park: a message is queued,
-/// or the arm is **closed** (so the caller's `try_recv` observes the
-/// disconnect — a dead arm is an event, not a hang). The caller consumes the
-/// arm itself, typically via [`Receiver::try_recv`]; single-receiver
-/// channels guarantee nothing can steal the message in between.
+/// "Ready" means a receive on that arm would not block: a message is
+/// queued, or the arm is closed (so the caller's own `try_recv` observes
+/// the disconnect: a dead arm is something to react to, not something to
+/// hang on). `select` only tells you which arm is ready; read the actual
+/// message yourself, typically with [`Receiver::try_recv`] on that arm.
 ///
-/// A closed arm stays ready *forever*: once its disconnect has been
-/// observed, drop it from the arm set — under priority order it would
-/// otherwise win every subsequent call and starve every higher-indexed arm.
+/// A closed arm stays ready forever. Once you have observed its disconnect,
+/// drop it from the arm set you pass in next time: otherwise, under the
+/// priority order below, it would win every subsequent call and starve
+/// every arm listed after it.
 ///
-/// Arms are scanned **in order**: index 0 is the highest priority, both on
-/// the immediate-ready path and after a wake. This is a documented
-/// guarantee (compose like BEAM receive clauses: put control channels
-/// first), not an accident — and therefore there is NO fairness promise; a
-/// saturated arm 0 starves arm 1 by design.
+/// Arms are checked **in order**: index 0 is the highest priority, both
+/// when checking immediately and after being woken. This is a deliberate,
+/// documented guarantee, not an accident of implementation: put a control
+/// or shutdown channel first so it is always noticed promptly. The
+/// flip side is that there is **no fairness guarantee**: a busy arm 0 can
+/// starve arm 1 indefinitely by design.
 ///
-/// One actor may select on a channel and later `recv` on it (or select on
-/// overlapping sets) freely. What stays illegal is what was always illegal:
-/// two *different* actors receiving on one channel.
+/// One actor can `select` on a channel and later plain `recv` on it (or
+/// `select` again on an overlapping set of arms) with no restriction. What
+/// stays illegal is what was always illegal for a channel: two *different*
+/// actors receiving on the same one.
 ///
-/// Built on the consuming-wake protocol (see slot_state.rs): all arms are
-/// registered under one wait epoch; the winning wake consumes it, so losing
-/// arms' registrations are inert and need no cancellation pass — they
-/// self-clean at their wakers' failed CAS, or get overwritten by this
-/// receiver's next wait on that channel.
-///
-/// Panics if `arms` is empty, when called outside an actor, or if an fd
-/// arm fails to register (EBADF, EMFILE, a second waiter on one fd —
-/// see [`try_select`] for the fallible form; channel-only selects cannot
-/// fail).
+/// Panics if `arms` is empty, if called outside an actor, or if an fd arm
+/// fails to register (see [`try_select`] for the fallible form; a
+/// channel-only `select` can never fail).
 pub fn select(arms: &[&dyn Selectable]) -> usize {
     match try_select(arms) {
         Ok(i) => i,
@@ -495,9 +590,10 @@ pub fn select(arms: &[&dyn Selectable]) -> usize {
     }
 }
 
-/// [`select`], fallible: `Err` when an arm fails to register (only fd
-/// arms can — EBADF, EMFILE on the epoll set, or a second waiter on an
-/// fd that already has one). On `Err` the wait is fully retired and no
+/// The fallible form of [`select`]: `Err` when an arm fails to register.
+/// Only fd arms can fail this way (for example, the file descriptor is
+/// invalid, or something else is already waiting on it); a channel-only
+/// select can never fail. On `Err` the wait is fully retired and no
 /// registration is left behind: every arm registered before the failing
 /// one has been unregistered.
 pub fn try_select(arms: &[&dyn Selectable]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
@@ -513,13 +609,12 @@ pub fn try_select(arms: &[&dyn Selectable]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
         }
 
         // Stale fd registrations are not harmless (a losing fd arm's
-        // waiters entry poisons the fd with AlreadyExists and its
-        // kernel-side ONESHOT registration can fire arbitrarily late), so
-        // selects containing fd arms run an eager cleanup pass after the
-        // park — including when a terminal stop unwinds out of it, via
-        // the guard. Channel-only selects skip all of it: `eager` is
-        // false, the guard is disarmed, and the loser-arm self-cleaning
-        // story is unchanged.
+        // leftover registration can make the fd unusable for the next
+        // select until a kernel event happens to clear it), so selects
+        // containing fd arms run an eager cleanup pass after the park,
+        // including when a terminal stop unwinds out of it, via the guard.
+        // Channel-only selects skip all of it: `eager` is false, the guard
+        // is disarmed, and the loser-arm self-cleaning story is unchanged.
         let eager = arms.iter().any(|a| a.sel_eager_cleanup());
         let mut guard = UnregisterGuard { arms, me, epoch, armed: eager };
 
@@ -532,22 +627,22 @@ pub fn try_select(arms: &[&dyn Selectable]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
         drop(guard);
 
         // Woken precisely: an arm's send (message) or last-sender drop
-        // (closure) consumed our epoch, and both leave their arm ready —
-        // return the first one, in priority order (which may be a
+        // (closure) is what woke us, and both leave their arm ready.
+        // Return the first ready one, in priority order (which may be a
         // different, higher-priority arm than the one that woke us; its
         // message stays queued and re-reports ready on the next call).
         // Fd arms classify by a fresh zero-timeout poll, so they too are
-        // a pure function of state — independent of the registration the
-        // cleanup pass just removed.
+        // a pure function of current state, independent of the
+        // registration the cleanup pass just removed.
         for (i, arm) in arms.iter().enumerate() {
             if arm.sel_ready() {
                 return Ok(i);
             }
         }
-        // Unreachable by protocol (a stop wake unwinds out of
-        // park_current). Defensive: re-open the wait and re-register —
-        // stale own-registrations are overwritten (channels) or were
-        // removed by the cleanup pass above (fds).
+        // Unreachable in practice (a stop wake unwinds out of
+        // park_current before we get here). Defensive: re-open the wait
+        // and re-register; stale own-registrations are overwritten
+        // (channels) or were removed by the cleanup pass above (fds).
     }
 }
 
@@ -562,11 +657,11 @@ fn unregister_arms(arms: &[&dyn Selectable], me: Pid, epoch: u32) {
     }
 }
 
-/// Stop-unwind twin of the explicit cleanup pass: a terminal stop unwinds
-/// out of `park_current`, and a registered fd arm must not outlive its
-/// actor (the generalization of `wait_fd`'s `Dereg`). Disarmed on the
-/// normal path after the explicit pass runs; never armed when no fd arm
-/// registered, keeping the channel-only path guard-free in effect.
+// Stop-unwind twin of the explicit cleanup pass: a terminal stop unwinds
+// out of `park_current`, and a registered fd arm must not outlive its
+// actor. Disarmed on the normal path after the explicit pass runs; never
+// armed when no fd arm is registered, keeping the channel-only path
+// guard-free in effect.
 struct UnregisterGuard<'a> {
     arms: &'a [&'a dyn Selectable],
     me: Pid,
@@ -582,20 +677,16 @@ impl Drop for UnregisterGuard<'_> {
     }
 }
 
-/// The registration pass shared by [`select`] and [`select_timeout`]:
-/// check-or-register each arm, in priority order, each atomically under its
-/// own lock. Cross-arm atomicity is unnecessary: an arm becoming ready
-/// right after its registration wakes the caller through the protocol (the
-/// prep-to-park window is closed by RunningNotified).
-///
-/// `Ok(Some(i))` = arm `i` was ready, the pass stopped, and the wait has
-/// been RETIRED (no park may follow): earlier arms hold live-epoch
-/// registrations, so earlier *fd* arms are unregistered eagerly, then the
-/// epoch is bumped, a landed notification eaten, and a pending stop
-/// re-observed — without which a stale arm wake could fault a later
-/// one-shot park. `Err` = an arm failed to register; identical unwind
-/// (earlier fd arms unregistered, wait retired). `Ok(None)` = every arm
-/// registered; the caller parks.
+// The registration pass shared by `select` and `select_timeout`: check-or-
+// register each arm, in priority order, each atomically under its own lock.
+// Cross-arm atomicity is unnecessary: an arm becoming ready right after its
+// registration still wakes the caller through the normal wake path.
+//
+// `Ok(Some(i))` = arm `i` was already ready, the pass stopped, and the wait
+// has been fully retired (no park may follow): earlier fd arms are
+// unregistered eagerly so none are left dangling. `Err` = an arm failed to
+// register; same unwind (earlier fd arms unregistered, wait retired).
+// `Ok(None)` = every arm registered successfully; the caller parks.
 fn register_arms(
     me: Pid,
     epoch: u32,
@@ -619,10 +710,10 @@ fn register_arms(
     Ok(None)
 }
 
-/// The [`select_timeout`] timer target: stateless, because precise wakes
-/// make classification a pure function of channel state. The entry is
-/// stamped with the select's epoch; if an arm already won, this unpark dies
-/// at the word's epoch CAS (the no-cancellation convention in `timer.rs`).
+// The `select_timeout` timer target: stateless, because a wake's cause can
+// always be read back off plain channel state (an arm ready, or not). If
+// an arm already won before the deadline, this timer's fire is simply
+// ignored, the way any other stale wakeup is.
 struct SelectTimeout;
 impl crate::timer::TimerTarget for SelectTimeout {
     fn on_timeout(&self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) {
@@ -630,27 +721,21 @@ impl crate::timer::TimerTarget for SelectTimeout {
     }
 }
 
-/// [`select`] with a deadline: returns `Some(index)` like `select`, or
-/// `None` once `timeout` elapses with no arm ready.
+/// Like [`select`], but gives up and returns `None` if no arm becomes
+/// ready before `timeout` elapses.
 ///
-/// All of `select`'s semantics carry over (priority order, closed arms
-/// permanently ready, no fairness promise). The timeout is one more stamped
-/// waker on the same wait epoch — nothing is registered in any arm for it,
-/// so there is nothing to cancel or leak: an arm winning leaves the timer
-/// entry to expire as a stale-epoch no-op; the timer winning leaves the
-/// arms' registrations to self-clean exactly as a `select` loser's would.
+/// All of `select`'s semantics carry over: arms are still checked in
+/// priority order, a closed arm is still permanently ready, and there is
+/// still no fairness guarantee across arms. A message that arrives at
+/// essentially the same moment the deadline passes still wins, the same
+/// way [`Receiver::recv_timeout`] resolves that race.
 ///
-/// The wake is classified from state alone (wakes are precise): some arm
-/// ready → `Some` of the first, in priority order; none ready → the timer
-/// was the only remaining stamped waker → `None`. A message that races the
-/// deadline resolves message-first, as `recv_timeout` does.
+/// `Duration::ZERO` is a valid timeout: it still gives an already-ready arm
+/// a chance to be reported before falling through to `None`.
 ///
-/// `Duration::ZERO` is a valid timeout: it parks until the immediately-due
-/// timer is drained, then reports `None` unless an arm was already ready.
-///
-/// Panics if `arms` is empty, when called outside an actor, or if an fd
-/// arm fails to register (see [`try_select_timeout`] for the fallible
-/// form; channel-only selects cannot fail).
+/// Panics if `arms` is empty, if called outside an actor, or if an fd arm
+/// fails to register (see [`try_select_timeout`] for the fallible form; a
+/// channel-only select can never fail).
 pub fn select_timeout(
     arms: &[&dyn Selectable],
     timeout: std::time::Duration,
@@ -663,9 +748,9 @@ pub fn select_timeout(
     }
 }
 
-/// [`select_timeout`], fallible: `Err` when an arm fails to register
-/// (only fd arms can). On `Err` the wait is fully retired and no
-/// registration — arm-side or kernel-side — is left behind.
+/// The fallible form of [`select_timeout`]: `Err` when an arm fails to
+/// register (only fd arms can). On `Err` the wait is fully retired and no
+/// registration is left behind on any arm.
 pub fn try_select_timeout(
     arms: &[&dyn Selectable],
     timeout: std::time::Duration,
@@ -680,17 +765,16 @@ pub fn try_select_timeout(
         return Ok(Some(i)); // ready now: the timer was never armed
     }
 
-    // Arm the timer after the registration pass, outside every Channel
-    // lock (insert takes the timers lock).
+    // Arm the timer after the registration pass, outside every channel
+    // lock (inserting a timer takes the timers lock).
     let deadline = crate::timer::deadline_from_now(timeout);
     let target: std::sync::Arc<dyn crate::timer::TimerTarget> = std::sync::Arc::new(SelectTimeout);
     crate::scheduler::insert_wait_timer(deadline, me, target, epoch);
 
-    // Same eager-cleanup story as `try_select`: the timer arm needs none
-    // (stateless, stale entries die at the epoch CAS), channel arms need
-    // none, fd arms do — and a timer win in particular leaves every fd
-    // arm's registration behind, which without this pass would poison
-    // those fds until a kernel event happened to fire.
+    // Same eager-cleanup story as `try_select`: a timer win in particular
+    // leaves every fd arm's registration behind, which without this pass
+    // would leave those fds unusable until a kernel event happened to
+    // clear them.
     let eager = arms.iter().any(|a| a.sel_eager_cleanup());
     let mut guard = UnregisterGuard { arms, me, epoch, armed: eager };
 

src/introspect.rs

@@ -1,26 +1,85 @@
-//! RFC 016 — runtime introspection (Chunk 1: the read primitive).
+//! Inspect what is running right now: which actors exist, what state each one
+//! is in, and how they are related.
 //!
-//! A synchronous, internal read of the slab that returns *owned* data. This is
-//! the mechanism the whole RFC hangs off: tests, the future observer
-//! gen_server (Chunk 4), and a later control plane (RFC 003) are all consumers
-//! of [`snapshot`] / [`actor_info`], never of the runtime internals directly.
+//! This is the tool for questions like "is my server still alive", "how many
+//! actors are currently parked waiting on something", or "what does the spawn
+//! tree look like". It is meant for debugging, test assertions, a health check
+//! endpoint, or a monitoring dashboard: anywhere you want to look at the
+//! runtime from the outside without stopping it or coupling your code to its
+//! internals.
 //!
-//! ## Consistency (DECISION D2 — per-slot tearing, `ps` semantics)
+//! Three entry points, in order of scope:
 //!
-//! [`snapshot`] is point-in-time and mildly racy *across* actors: each slot's
-//! scheduling state is a lock-free word load, so an actor reported `Running`
-//! may already be `Parked`, and an actor can die mid-scan. This is the cheap,
-//! useful model (a coherent stop-the-world cut is expensive and rarely wanted).
-//! [`actor_info`] is coherent for the single actor it names.
+//! - [`snapshot`] returns every actor that currently exists, as a plain
+//!   owned `Vec`, so you can filter, count, or search it however you like.
+//! - [`actor_info`] returns a coherent view of exactly one actor, by pid.
+//!   Cheaper than filtering a whole snapshot down to one entry, and more
+//!   precise (see "Consistency" below).
+//! - [`tree`] returns the same actors as [`snapshot`], folded into a
+//!   parent/child forest that mirrors who spawned whom.
 //!
-//! ## Locking
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{actor_info, channel, run, snapshot, spawn, ActorState};
 //!
-//! The lock order is **Leaf → Channel, at most one of each** (`raw_mutex.rs`);
-//! cold locks, the registry, and the free list are all Leaves, so we may never
-//! hold two at once. The read is therefore phased: first a single registry-leaf
-//! pass for names and mailbox depth (the per-channel length read is a Channel
-//! lock taken under that Leaf — legal), released before the slab scan takes any
-//! per-slot cold Leaf.
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let (ready_tx, ready_rx) = channel::<()>();
+//!     let (gate_tx, gate_rx) = channel::<()>();
+//!
+//!     let worker = spawn(move || {
+//!         ready_tx.send(()).unwrap();
+//!         gate_rx.recv().unwrap(); // blocks here until released
+//!     });
+//!     ready_rx.recv().unwrap();
+//!
+//!     // `snapshot` sees every actor, including this one and the worker.
+//!     let snap = snapshot();
+//!     assert!(snap.actors.len() >= 2);
+//!
+//!     // `actor_info` gives a coherent view of just the worker. It is
+//!     // blocked on the gate channel, so it must be Parked.
+//!     let pid = worker.pid();
+//!     let info = actor_info(pid).expect("worker is still alive");
+//!     assert_eq!(info.state, ActorState::Parked);
+//!
+//!     gate_tx.send(()).unwrap();
+//!     worker.join().unwrap();
+//!
+//!     // Once joined, the pid no longer names a live actor.
+//!     assert!(actor_info(pid).is_none());
+//! });
+//! ```
+//!
+//! ## Consistency
+//!
+//! [`snapshot`] is not a single atomic pause-the-world freeze: it walks every
+//! actor's state one after another, so it is a series of independent,
+//! cheap, lock-free reads rather than one coherent moment in time. Between
+//! reading actor A and actor B, either one can change state, and an actor can
+//! even finish and disappear mid-scan. In practice this is exactly what you
+//! want: a coherent stop-the-world snapshot would mean pausing every actor in
+//! the runtime just to look at it, which is expensive and rarely necessary
+//! for a dashboard, a test assertion, or a debugging session.
+//!
+//! [`actor_info`], in contrast, is coherent for the one actor it names: all of
+//! its fields describe the same instant for that actor, because a single
+//! actor's data cannot tear the way a scan across many actors can.
+//!
+//! ## Implementation notes
+//!
+//! These details matter if you are working on smarm itself; they are not part
+//! of the public contract.
+//!
+//! The read never stops the scheduler and never holds a lock across the whole
+//! scan. Each actor's scheduling state is a single lock-free word load
+//! (hence the possible tearing described above). Reading the rest of an
+//! actor's cold data (its supervisor, monitors, links, and so on) takes a
+//! brief per-actor lock, just long enough to copy those fields out; nothing
+//! is held across actors. Locking follows the crate-wide rule that at most
+//! one "leaf" lock (a per-actor lock, the registry lock, or the free list
+//! lock) is held at a time, with no leaf lock held while acquiring another.
+//! The read is phased accordingly: first one pass over the registry to
+//! collect every actor's registered names and mailbox depth, released before
+//! the per-actor scan begins.
 
 use crate::pid::Pid;
 use crate::registry::MailboxInfo;
@@ -31,15 +90,28 @@ use crate::slot_state::{
 };
 use std::collections::HashMap;
 
-/// Snapshot wire-format version (DECISION D1). [`RuntimeSnapshot`] is treated as
-/// a stable type from day one: it becomes the observer protocol (Chunk 4) and
-/// crosses a version boundary the moment a remote observer attaches (RFC 011),
-/// so the version travels with the data from the start.
+/// The format version carried by every [`RuntimeSnapshot`] and
+/// [`RuntimeTree`], as [`RuntimeSnapshot::format_version`] /
+/// [`RuntimeTree::format_version`]. If you serialize a snapshot (for example
+/// to send it somewhere else, or to compare snapshots taken with different
+/// versions of smarm) check this field: a change in its value means the shape
+/// of [`ActorInfo`] or its neighbors has changed and old and new snapshots
+/// should not be assumed compatible. If you only ever read a snapshot
+/// in-process in the same version of smarm that produced it, you can ignore
+/// this field.
 pub const SNAPSHOT_FORMAT_VERSION: u16 = 1;
 
-/// Fine-grained scheduling state, mapped from the packed slot word with no new
-/// storage. `RunningNotified` collapses into `Notified` — a wake landed while
-/// the actor was on-CPU and it will re-queue when it yields.
+/// What an actor is doing right now, from the scheduler's point of view.
+///
+/// - `Queued`: runnable, waiting for a scheduler thread to pick it up.
+/// - `Running`: currently executing on a scheduler thread.
+/// - `Notified`: was running and got woken up (for example, a message
+///   arrived) before it had a chance to yield or park; it will be re-queued
+///   as soon as it does.
+/// - `Parked`: blocked, waiting on something such as a channel receive, a
+///   mutex, a timer, or an IO event.
+/// - `Done`: has finished (returned or panicked) but its slot has not been
+///   reclaimed for reuse yet, so it is still visible to introspection.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub enum ActorState {
     Queued,
@@ -49,8 +121,8 @@ pub enum ActorState {
     Done,
 }
 
-/// Classify a packed state word. `None` for a Vacant slot (skipped by the scan)
-/// — the only state that is not an actor.
+/// Classify a packed state word. `None` for a Vacant slot (skipped by the
+/// scan): a vacant slot holds no actor at all, live or done.
 fn classify(w: u64) -> Option<ActorState> {
     Some(match word_state(w) {
         ST_QUEUED => ActorState::Queued,
@@ -62,61 +134,76 @@ fn classify(w: u64) -> Option<ActorState> {
     })
 }
 
-/// Owned, point-in-time view of one actor — no borrows of runtime internals, so
-/// it is safe to hand to any consumer.
+/// An owned, self-contained view of one actor at (approximately) one moment.
+/// It borrows nothing from the runtime, so you can keep it, send it
+/// elsewhere, or print it long after the actor it describes has changed
+/// state or even exited.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct ActorInfo {
     pub pid: Pid,
-    /// Registered names, inverted from the registry (usually 0 or 1).
+    /// Names this actor is currently registered under (see the
+    /// [`registry`](crate::registry) module). Usually empty or one name;
+    /// an actor can have more if it registered several.
     pub names: Vec<&'static str>,
     pub state: ActorState,
-    /// Spawn-time parent edge (DECISION D9): `spawn_under` sets it to the
-    /// supervisor, plain `spawn` to the spawning actor — so it is parentage,
-    /// not necessarily a supervision relationship. `ROOT_PID` for the run's
-    /// root actor and for `Done` tombstones (whose `Actor` is already gone).
+    /// The actor that spawned this one: whoever called `spawn` or
+    /// `spawn_under` to create it. This is a parentage record, not
+    /// necessarily a supervision relationship: `spawn_under` records the
+    /// supervisor you asked for, while plain `spawn` records the spawning
+    /// actor itself, whether or not it supervises anything. It is the
+    /// runtime's root pid for the run's own root actor, and for a `Done`
+    /// actor whose bookkeeping has already been cleared.
     pub supervisor: Pid,
     pub trap_exit: bool,
     pub monitors: u32,
     pub links: u32,
     pub joiners: u32,
-    /// Queued messages summed over the actor's *published* channels (register /
-    /// install / spawn_addr / gen_server). 0 for an actor that holds only a
-    /// private `channel()` receiver — those are invisible to the registry.
+    /// Messages currently queued and not yet delivered, summed across every
+    /// channel this actor has published (via `register`, `install`,
+    /// `spawn_addr`, or starting a gen_server). This is 0 for an actor that
+    /// only holds a private, unpublished `channel()` receiver, since nothing
+    /// outside the actor can see that channel exists.
     pub mailbox_depth: u32,
-    /// Timeslice overruns tallied for this incarnation (RFC 016 Chunk 2): how
-    /// many times the actor was preempted for exceeding its slice. Resets on
-    /// restart (per-incarnation, D7).
+    /// How many times this actor has been preempted for running past its
+    /// scheduling timeslice. Counts only since the actor's current start (a
+    /// supervisor restart begins a fresh count).
     pub overruns: u64,
-    /// Messages this actor has received (dequeued) this incarnation (RFC 016
-    /// Chunk 2) — answers "is this actor a hotspot / draining slower than its
-    /// mailbox fills." Counts received, not sent (D4). Per-incarnation (D7).
+    /// How many messages this actor has received (taken off its inbox), since
+    /// its current start. Useful for spotting an actor whose mailbox is
+    /// filling up faster than it can drain it: compare this against
+    /// `mailbox_depth` over time.
     pub messages_received: u64,
-    /// Approximate on-CPU cycles this incarnation has consumed (RFC 016 Chunk 2)
-    /// — a reductions-like work metric for relative comparison. Always 0 unless
-    /// the `budget-accounting` feature is enabled (it costs an RDTSC per resume,
-    /// D6). Per-incarnation (D7).
+    /// Approximate CPU cycles this actor has spent running, since its current
+    /// start. A relative measure for comparing actors against each other, not
+    /// an absolute or wall-clock figure. Always 0 unless the crate's
+    /// `budget-accounting` feature is enabled, since measuring it costs a
+    /// timestamp read on every resume.
     pub budget_cycles: u64,
 }
 
-/// A whole-runtime snapshot. See the module docs for the D2 tearing model.
+/// A snapshot of every actor in the runtime at (approximately) one moment.
+/// See the module docs' "Consistency" section for what "approximately" means
+/// here.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct RuntimeSnapshot {
     pub format_version: u16,
     pub actors: Vec<ActorInfo>,
 }
 
-/// Snapshot every live (and `Done`-but-not-yet-reclaimed) actor on the slab.
-/// O(n) over the slot table, running with preemption disabled (like every
-/// runtime primitive) but holding no lock across the scan. Panics outside
-/// `Runtime::run()`; callable from actor code and the run thread.
+/// Every actor that currently exists: running, queued, parked, or finished
+/// but not yet cleaned up. Cheap and lock-free per actor; see the module
+/// docs for what "approximately one moment" means for the result as a whole.
+/// Panics if called outside [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn snapshot() -> RuntimeSnapshot {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
-        // Phase A: one registry-leaf pass for names + mailbox depth, released
-        // before any cold leaf (no two Leaves at once).
+        // First pass: one registry lock to collect names + mailbox depth for
+        // every actor, released before touching any per-actor lock below.
         let mail = inner.registry.lock().introspect_map();
 
-        // Phase B: lock-free slab scan; per-slot cold leaf only to copy cold
-        // fields. Tearing across slots is intentional (D2).
+        // Second pass: walk the actor table. Each actor's scheduling state is
+        // a lock-free word load; only copying its other fields takes a brief
+        // per-actor lock. Tearing across actors is expected here (see the
+        // module docs' "Consistency" section).
         let mut actors = Vec::new();
         for (idx, slot) in inner.slots.iter().enumerate() {
             let idx = idx as u32;
@@ -128,8 +215,11 @@ pub fn snapshot() -> RuntimeSnapshot {
     })
 }
 
-/// Coherent view of a single actor, or `None` if the pid is stale, out of
-/// range, or names a Vacant slot.
+/// A coherent view of exactly one actor, or `None` if `pid` does not name a
+/// currently-live entry: it is stale (that actor has already exited and its
+/// slot was reused by another), out of range, or was never a real pid at
+/// all. Unlike [`snapshot`], every field of the result describes the same
+/// instant, since there is only one actor to read.
 pub fn actor_info(pid: Pid) -> Option<ActorInfo> {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
         let slot = inner.slot_at(pid)?;
@@ -141,11 +231,12 @@ pub fn actor_info(pid: Pid) -> Option<ActorInfo> {
     })
 }
 
-/// Build one `ActorInfo` for slot `idx`, or `None` if Vacant or
-/// racing-reclaimed. State is classified from a lock-free word load (the torn
-/// read); the cold lock then pins the generation (reclaim bumps it under that
-/// same lock) so the cold fields are coherent for this incarnation. `mail` is
-/// this slot's registry entry, if any.
+/// Build one `ActorInfo` for slot `idx`, or `None` if the slot is empty or
+/// was reclaimed while this read was in progress. The scheduling state comes
+/// from a lock-free word load (the source of the tearing described in the
+/// module docs); the per-actor lock then confirms the actor has not since
+/// exited and been replaced, so the rest of the fields are coherent for this
+/// exact actor. `mail` is this slot's registry entry, if any.
 fn read_slot(slot: &Slot, idx: u32, mail: Option<&MailboxInfo>) -> Option<ActorInfo> {
     let w = slot.state_word();
     let state = classify(w)?;
@@ -153,10 +244,11 @@ fn read_slot(slot: &Slot, idx: u32, mail: Option<&MailboxInfo>) -> Option<ActorI
     let pid = Pid::new(idx, gen);
 
     let cold = slot.cold.lock();
-    // If the generation moved between the lock-free load and acquiring the cold
-    // lock, the slot was reclaimed (and maybe reused) — drop it rather than mix
-    // one incarnation's state with another's cold data. (ps semantics: a racing
-    // actor may simply be missed mid-scan.)
+    // If the generation moved between the lock-free load and acquiring the
+    // per-actor lock, this actor exited (and the slot may already hold a new
+    // one). Drop it rather than mix one actor's state with another's data; a
+    // racing actor may simply be missed by this scan, which is expected (see
+    // the module docs' "Consistency" section).
     if word_gen(slot.state_word()) != gen {
         return None;
     }
@@ -172,7 +264,7 @@ fn read_slot(slot: &Slot, idx: u32, mail: Option<&MailboxInfo>) -> Option<ActorI
     let joiners = cold.waiters.len() as u32;
     drop(cold);
 
-    // Counters are hot-region atomics, read lock-free (RFC 016 Chunk 2).
+    // Counters are plain atomics, read lock-free.
     let overruns = slot.overruns();
     let messages_received = slot.messages_received();
     let budget_cycles = slot.budget_cycles();
@@ -202,39 +294,45 @@ fn read_slot(slot: &Slot, idx: u32, mail: Option<&MailboxInfo>) -> Option<ActorI
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Chunk 3 — tree view (pure derivation over a Chunk-1 snapshot)
+// Tree view: a pure derivation over a snapshot
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// One node in the parentage forest. `children` are the actors whose recorded
-/// parent edge points at this node's pid.
+/// One node in the parentage forest returned by [`tree`]. `children` are the
+/// actors whose recorded parent (see [`ActorInfo::supervisor`]) points at
+/// this node's actor.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct TreeNode {
     pub info: ActorInfo,
-    /// The actor's recorded parent was absent from the snapshot (already
-    /// Done/Vacant, or itself a tombstone), so it was re-rooted under the forest
-    /// sentinel rather than dropped — the tree stays total (DECISION D8).
+    /// True if this actor's recorded parent was not found in the snapshot
+    /// (it had already exited, or was itself missing), so this node was
+    /// placed at the top of the forest instead of being dropped. This keeps
+    /// every actor in the snapshot visible somewhere in the tree, even one
+    /// whose parent is gone.
     pub orphaned: bool,
     pub children: Vec<TreeNode>,
 }
 
-/// The parentage forest. Roots are actors parented at `ROOT_PID` (genuine
-/// roots) plus re-rooted orphans. The edge is *spawned-by / parent*, not
-/// necessarily supervision (DECISION D9) — see [`ActorInfo::supervisor`].
+/// The parentage forest: every actor from a snapshot, arranged by who spawned
+/// whom. Roots are actors with no parent in the snapshot (including the
+/// run's own root actor) plus any orphaned actors (see [`TreeNode::orphaned`]).
+/// This mirrors spawn parentage, not necessarily a supervision tree; see
+/// [`ActorInfo::supervisor`].
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct RuntimeTree {
     pub format_version: u16,
     pub roots: Vec<TreeNode>,
 }
 
-/// Take a live [`snapshot`] and fold it into the parentage forest.
+/// Take a fresh [`snapshot`] and fold it into the parentage forest.
 pub fn tree() -> RuntimeTree {
     tree_from(snapshot())
 }
 
-/// Fold an existing snapshot into a forest by grouping each actor under its
-/// parent pid — a single O(n) pass, no new reads. Exposed separately so a
-/// consumer that already holds a snapshot (or a synthetic one, in tests) can
-/// derive the tree without a second scan.
+/// Fold an existing snapshot into a parentage forest by grouping each actor
+/// under its parent, without taking a new snapshot. Useful if you already
+/// have one (for example, one built in a test, or one you took earlier and
+/// want to inspect again) and want the tree view of it without re-reading
+/// the runtime.
 pub fn tree_from(snap: RuntimeSnapshot) -> RuntimeTree {
     let RuntimeSnapshot { format_version, actors } = snap;
 
@@ -254,7 +352,7 @@ pub fn tree_from(snap: RuntimeSnapshot) -> RuntimeTree {
             children_of.entry(parent).or_default().push(i);
         } else {
             // Parent is the forest sentinel (genuine root) or absent from the
-            // snapshot (orphan, D8) — either way a root of the forest.
+            // snapshot (orphan): either way, a root of the forest.
             orphaned[i] = parent != ROOT_PID;
             roots.push(i);
         }

src/io.rs

@@ -13,44 +13,68 @@
 //! leaves the actor, no copying through an intermediary thread. Built on
 //! these are the conveniences `read(fd, &mut buf)` and `write(fd, &buf)`.
 //!
-//! Architecture
-//! ============
-//! Per `run()`, two OS threads:
-//!   - **epoll thread**: owns the epollfd. Loops in `epoll_wait`. On a
-//!     ready fd, pushes `Completion::FdReady { pid, fd, events }` to the
-//!     shared completion queue and writes the scheduler-wake pipe. On the
-//!     shutdown pipe (also registered in epollfd), exits.
-//!   - **pool thread**: blocks on the request mpsc. Runs the closure
-//!     inside `catch_unwind`, pushes `Completion::Blocking { pid, result }`,
-//!     writes the scheduler-wake pipe.
+//! Architecture (RFC 018: driver-enqueues)
+//! =======================================
+//! Per `run()`, two OS threads, each a *producer* behind the runtime's
+//! two-call contract — make the actor runnable (`unpark_at`, whose enqueue
+//! tail wakes a parked scheduler), nothing else:
 //!
-//! Both threads share a single `completions: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<Completion>>>`
-//! and the same scheduler-wake pipe.
+//!   - **epoll thread**: owns `epoll_wait` on the epollfd. On a ready fd it
+//!     removes the parked waiter from the shared `waiters` map and DELs the
+//!     fd (both under the waiters lock — see below), then unparks the
+//!     actor directly. On the shutdown pipe (also registered in the
+//!     epollfd), exits.
+//!   - **pool thread**: blocks on the request mpsc. Runs the closure inside
+//!     `catch_unwind`, stashes the result in the actor's slot
+//!     (`pending_io_result`, under the cold lock, generation-checked),
+//!     decrements the runtime's `io_outstanding`, and unparks the actor.
 //!
-//! `epoll_ctl` (register/unregister fd interest) is called by the
-//! scheduler thread *directly* on the epollfd. That's well-defined per
-//! `epoll_ctl(2)`: a thread may be calling `epoll_wait` on the epollfd
-//! while another thread calls `epoll_ctl`. Avoids needing a second mpsc
-//! and a second wake mechanism.
+//! There is no shared completion queue and no wake pipe: each producer
+//! routes its own completion, so the whole byte-vs-completion visibility
+//! discipline of the drain era — and the stranded-completion hazards it
+//! defended against — is unrepresentable. Producers reach the runtime
+//! through a `Weak<RuntimeInner>`: upgraded per completion (the path is
+//! syscall-bound; the refcount op is noise) and avoiding an Arc cycle
+//! through `RuntimeInner::io`.
+//!
+//! `epoll_ctl` (register fd interest) is called by the scheduler thread
+//! directly on the epollfd. That's well-defined per `epoll_ctl(2)`: a
+//! thread may be calling `epoll_wait` on the epollfd while another thread
+//! calls `epoll_ctl`.
 //!
 //! Epoll mode
 //! ==========
 //! Level-triggered with EPOLLONESHOT. After a wakeup the kernel
 //! auto-disarms the fd, so we never get two wakeups for one
-//! `wait_readable` call. The scheduler explicitly `EPOLL_CTL_DEL`s the fd
-//! on completion to free the slot for re-registration. Net effect: each
+//! `wait_readable` call. The epoll thread explicitly `EPOLL_CTL_DEL`s the
+//! fd on readiness to free the slot for re-registration. Net effect: each
 //! `wait_readable(fd)` is one ADD, one wakeup, one DEL — symmetric and
 //! stateless between calls.
 //!
+//! ## The waiters lock is the ADD/DEL serialization
+//!
+//! Registration (scheduler thread: check-vacant, defensive DEL, ADD,
+//! insert) and readiness consumption (epoll thread: remove, DEL) each run
+//! entirely under the `waiters` mutex. This is what makes the
+//! oneshot-rearm race unrepresentable: a woken actor re-registering the
+//! same fd cannot interleave with the epoll thread's DEL for the *previous*
+//! registration — whichever takes the lock second sees a consistent
+//! kernel-side state. Lock order: `io` (the runtime's outer mutex, held by
+//! scheduler-side callers) → `waiters` → slot/queue leaves via `unpark_at`.
+//! The epoll thread takes `waiters` without `io` — it must never take
+//! `io`, both for lock-order hygiene and because teardown holds `io` while
+//! joining it.
+//!
 //! Fd hygiene
 //! ==========
 //! An actor stopped while waiting on an fd unwinds out of `wait_fd`'s park;
 //! a drop guard there (armed after a successful register, forgotten on a
-//! normal wake) removes the `waiters` entry iff it is still that wait's
-//! `(pid, epoch)` and only then `EPOLL_CTL_DEL`s the fd — an entry already
-//! consumed by a racing `FdReady` means the fd may carry someone else's
-//! fresh registration, which must be left alone. `epoll_register` keeps a
-//! defensive bare DEL before ADD as belt-and-braces.
+//! normal wake) calls [`IoThread::cancel_waiter`], which removes the
+//! `waiters` entry iff it is still that wait's `(pid, epoch)` and only then
+//! `EPOLL_CTL_DEL`s the fd — an entry already consumed by the epoll thread
+//! means the fd may carry someone else's fresh registration, which must be
+//! left alone. `epoll_register` keeps a defensive bare DEL before ADD as
+//! belt-and-braces.
 //!
 //! Buffers used with `read`/`write` should be on fds opened with
 //! `O_NONBLOCK`. If they aren't, the syscall may block the scheduler
@@ -68,13 +92,14 @@
 //! they have no equivalent panic-propagation path.
 
 use crate::pid::Pid;
+use crate::runtime::RuntimeInner;
 use std::any::Any;
-use std::collections::{HashMap, VecDeque};
+use std::collections::HashMap;
 use std::io;
 use std::os::fd::RawFd;
 use std::panic;
-use std::sync::mpsc;
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::sync::atomic::Ordering;
+use std::sync::{mpsc, Arc, Mutex, Weak};
 use std::thread::JoinHandle as OsJoinHandle;
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -86,42 +111,29 @@ use std::thread::JoinHandle as OsJoinHandle;
 pub type IoResult = Result<Box<dyn Any + Send>, Box<dyn Any + Send>>;
 
 struct Request {
-    /// The submitter's park-epoch — carried through to the `Blocking`
-    /// completion so the wake is epoch-matched.
+    /// The submitter's park-epoch — the eventual wake is epoch-matched.
     epoch: u32,
     pid: Pid,
     /// The work to perform. Returns the wire-form result directly.
     work: Box<dyn FnOnce() -> IoResult + Send>,
 }
 
-/// Completion message from either IO thread back to the scheduler.
-pub enum Completion {
-    /// A `block_on_io` closure has finished (Ok = return value, Err = panic
-    /// payload).
-    Blocking { pid: Pid, epoch: u32, result: IoResult },
-    /// An fd registered via `wait_readable`/`wait_writable` is ready. The
-    /// scheduler looks up the parked pid in `waiters`, unparks it, and
-    /// removes the entry. `pid` isn't in this variant because the epoll
-    /// thread doesn't have access to the `waiters` map; the scheduler
-    /// thread owns that.
-    FdReady { fd: RawFd, events: u32 },
-}
+/// The parked-waiter map, shared between scheduler-side registration and
+/// the epoll thread's readiness consumption. See the module docs on why
+/// this single lock is the ADD/DEL serialization.
+type Waiters = Arc<Mutex<HashMap<RawFd, (Pid, u32)>>>;
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// IoThread — created per `run()`, owned by `SchedulerState`.
+// IoThread — created per `run()`, owned by `RuntimeInner::io`.
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 pub struct IoThread {
-    // ----- Channels & queues -----
-
     /// Submission queue into the blocking-work pool.
     tx: mpsc::Sender<Request>,
-    /// Shared completion queue, fed by both the pool and the epoll thread.
-    completions: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<Completion>>>,
-    /// Pipe the scheduler polls in its idle path. Both IO threads write to
-    /// `wake_write` after pushing a completion.
-    wake_read: RawFd,
-    wake_write: RawFd,
+    /// One parked actor per registered fd. Populated by `epoll_register`,
+    /// consumed by the epoll thread on readiness or `cancel_waiter` on an
+    /// unwound wait.
+    waiters: Waiters,
 
     // ----- Epoll machinery -----
 
@@ -133,39 +145,25 @@ pub struct IoThread {
     /// shutdown.
     shutdown_read: RawFd,
     shutdown_write: RawFd,
-    /// One parked actor per registered fd. Populated by `wait_readable` /
-    /// `wait_writable` and drained by the scheduler when a `FdReady`
-    /// completion is processed.
-    pub waiters: HashMap<RawFd, (Pid, u32)>,
 
     // ----- Threads -----
 
     pool_thread: Option<OsJoinHandle<()>>,
     epoll_thread: Option<OsJoinHandle<()>>,
-
-    /// Number of `block_on_io` requests in-flight. Used by the scheduler's
-    /// idle path to decide whether to wait on the pipe or exit. Fd waits
-    /// are not counted here; they're counted by `waiters.len()`.
-    pub outstanding: u32,
 }
 
 impl IoThread {
-    pub fn start() -> io::Result<Self> {
-        // Scheduler-facing wake pipe.
-        let (wake_read, wake_write) = make_pipe()?;
-        // Pool submission channel + shared completion queue.
+    /// Start the pool and epoll threads. `rt` is the producers' route back
+    /// into the runtime (slot table + unpark protocol); a `Weak` so the
+    /// `RuntimeInner → IoThread → RuntimeInner` cycle never forms.
+    pub(crate) fn start(rt: Weak<RuntimeInner>) -> io::Result<Self> {
+        // Pool submission channel.
         let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel::<Request>();
-        let completions: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<Completion>>> =
-            Arc::new(Mutex::new(VecDeque::new()));
+        let waiters: Waiters = Arc::new(Mutex::new(HashMap::new()));
 
         // Epoll machinery.
         let epollfd = unsafe { libc::epoll_create1(libc::EPOLL_CLOEXEC) };
         if epollfd < 0 {
-            // Best-effort fd cleanup before bailing.
-            unsafe {
-                libc::close(wake_read);
-                libc::close(wake_write);
-            }
             return Err(io::Error::last_os_error());
         }
 
@@ -174,8 +172,6 @@ impl IoThread {
             Err(e) => {
                 unsafe {
                     libc::close(epollfd);
-                    libc::close(wake_read);
-                    libc::close(wake_write);
                 }
                 return Err(e);
             }
@@ -202,42 +198,37 @@ impl IoThread {
                 libc::close(epollfd);
                 libc::close(shutdown_read);
                 libc::close(shutdown_write);
-                libc::close(wake_read);
-                libc::close(wake_write);
             }
             return Err(e);
         }
 
         // Spawn pool thread.
-        let pool_comps = completions.clone();
+        let pool_rt = rt.clone();
         let pool_thread = std::thread::Builder::new()
             .name("smarm-io-pool".into())
-            .spawn(move || pool_loop(rx, pool_comps, wake_write))?;
+            .spawn(move || pool_loop(rx, pool_rt))?;
 
         // Spawn epoll thread.
-        let epoll_comps = completions.clone();
+        let epoll_waiters = waiters.clone();
         let epoll_thread = std::thread::Builder::new()
             .name("smarm-io-epoll".into())
-            .spawn(move || epoll_loop(epollfd, epoll_comps, wake_write))?;
+            .spawn(move || epoll_loop(epollfd, epoll_waiters, rt))?;
 
         Ok(Self {
             tx,
-            completions,
-            wake_read,
-            wake_write,
+            waiters,
             epollfd,
             shutdown_read,
             shutdown_write,
-            waiters: HashMap::new(),
             pool_thread: Some(pool_thread),
             epoll_thread: Some(epoll_thread),
-            outstanding: 0,
         })
     }
 
-    /// Hand a request to the pool. Increments `outstanding`.
+    /// Hand a request to the pool. The caller (scheduler.rs) increments
+    /// `io_outstanding` BEFORE calling — the pool decrements on completion,
+    /// and an increment that trailed the completion would underflow.
     pub fn submit(&mut self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32, work: Box<dyn FnOnce() -> IoResult + Send>) {
-        self.outstanding += 1;
         // Send can only fail if the pool has hung up, which only happens
         // on shutdown. submit during shutdown is a bug.
         if self.tx.send(Request { pid, epoch, work }).is_err() {
@@ -245,39 +236,13 @@ impl IoThread {
         }
     }
 
-    /// Drain every available completion. Caller (the scheduler) routes the
-    /// results and updates `outstanding` / `waiters` accordingly.
-    pub fn drain_completions(&mut self) -> Vec<Completion> {
-        let mut q = match self.completions.lock() {
-            Ok(g) => g,
-            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io completions lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
-        };
-        let mut out = Vec::with_capacity(q.len());
-        while let Some(c) = q.pop_front() {
-            out.push(c);
-        }
-        out
-    }
-
-    pub fn wake_fd(&self) -> RawFd {
-        self.wake_read
-    }
-
-    /// Write the wake pipe directly: rouse every scheduler thread blocked in
-    /// its idle `poll_wake`. Used by the terminal (AllDone) path — an idle
-    /// sibling may be blocked on a snapshot that nothing will ever refresh
-    /// (an orphaned timer deadline, or `io_outstanding` from a waiter that
-    /// was stop-cancelled and so never produces a completion).
-    pub fn wake(&self) {
-        wake_scheduler(self.wake_write);
-    }
-
     /// Register interest in `fd` becoming readable/writable; record `pid`
-    /// as the parked waiter. The epoll thread will push a `FdReady`
-    /// completion when the kernel signals.
+    /// as the parked waiter. The epoll thread unparks it on readiness.
+    /// The caller increments `io_fd_waiters` BEFORE calling (mirror of
+    /// `submit`'s contract) and decrements it again if this errors.
     ///
-    /// EPOLLONESHOT: one wakeup per registration. The scheduler must
-    /// `epoll_del` on completion to free the slot for re-registration.
+    /// EPOLLONESHOT: one wakeup per registration; the epoll thread DELs on
+    /// readiness, `cancel_waiter` DELs on an unwound wait.
     pub fn epoll_register(
         &mut self,
         fd: RawFd,
@@ -286,20 +251,24 @@ impl IoThread {
         readable: bool,
         writable: bool,
     ) -> io::Result<()> {
+        let mut waiters = match self.waiters.lock() {
+            Ok(g) => g,
+            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io waiters lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        };
         // Two actors waiting on the same fd would be a misuse: the kernel
         // delivers exactly one EPOLLONESHOT wakeup, so the second waiter
         // would hang. Reject up front.
-        if self.waiters.contains_key(&fd) {
+        if waiters.contains_key(&fd) {
             return Err(io::Error::new(
                 io::ErrorKind::AlreadyExists,
                 "fd already has a parked waiter",
             ));
         }
 
-        // Belt-and-braces: the unwind guard in `wait_fd` is responsible for
-        // cleaning up a stopped waiter's registration, but a bare DEL is
-        // harmless if the fd isn't registered (ENOENT) and removes any leak
-        // a path we haven't thought of might leave behind.
+        // Belt-and-braces: `cancel_waiter` is responsible for cleaning up a
+        // stopped waiter's registration, but a bare DEL is harmless if the
+        // fd isn't registered (ENOENT) and removes any leak a path we
+        // haven't thought of might leave behind.
         unsafe {
             libc::epoll_ctl(self.epollfd, libc::EPOLL_CTL_DEL, fd, std::ptr::null_mut());
         }
@@ -321,20 +290,30 @@ impl IoThread {
         if r < 0 {
             return Err(io::Error::last_os_error());
         }
-        self.waiters.insert(fd, (pid, epoch));
+        waiters.insert(fd, (pid, epoch));
         Ok(())
     }
 
-    /// Remove `fd` from the epollfd. Called by the scheduler after a
-    /// `FdReady` completion, so the next `wait_readable(fd)` can ADD again.
-    ///
-    /// Does NOT touch `waiters` — that's the scheduler's bookkeeping; this
-    /// is purely the kernel-side cleanup.
-    pub fn epoll_deregister(&mut self, fd: RawFd) {
+    /// Remove `fd`'s waiter iff it is still `(pid, epoch)`, DELing the fd
+    /// from the epollfd in the same critical section. Returns whether the
+    /// entry was removed (the caller then decrements `io_fd_waiters`).
+    /// `false` means the epoll thread consumed the registration first —
+    /// the fd may already carry someone else's fresh ADD; hands off.
+    pub fn cancel_waiter(&mut self, fd: RawFd, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) -> bool {
+        let mut waiters = match self.waiters.lock() {
+            Ok(g) => g,
+            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io waiters lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        };
+        if waiters.get(&fd) == Some(&(pid, epoch)) {
+            waiters.remove(&fd);
             // EPOLL_CTL_DEL of an already-removed fd returns ENOENT; ignore.
             unsafe {
                 libc::epoll_ctl(self.epollfd, libc::EPOLL_CTL_DEL, fd, std::ptr::null_mut());
             }
+            true
+        } else {
+            false
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -354,7 +333,10 @@ impl Drop for IoThread {
         let real_tx = std::mem::replace(&mut self.tx, dead_tx);
         drop(real_tx);
 
-        // 3. Join both threads.
+        // 3. Join both threads. Safe even while the caller holds the
+        //    runtime's `io` mutex: neither thread ever takes it (they reach
+        //    the runtime through a Weak they upgrade per completion, and
+        //    the epoll thread's only lock is `waiters`).
         if let Some(h) = self.epoll_thread.take() {
             let _ = h.join();
         }
@@ -367,8 +349,6 @@ impl Drop for IoThread {
             libc::close(self.epollfd);
             libc::close(self.shutdown_read);
             libc::close(self.shutdown_write);
-            libc::close(self.wake_read);
-            libc::close(self.wake_write);
         }
     }
 }
@@ -379,36 +359,38 @@ impl Drop for IoThread {
 const SHUTDOWN_EPOLL_TOKEN: u64 = u64::MAX;
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Pool loop
+// Pool loop (producer: Blocking completions)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-fn pool_loop(
-    rx: mpsc::Receiver<Request>,
-    completions: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<Completion>>>,
-    wake_write: RawFd,
-) {
+fn pool_loop(rx: mpsc::Receiver<Request>, rt: Weak<RuntimeInner>) {
     while let Ok(Request { pid, epoch, work }) = rx.recv() {
         let result: IoResult = match panic::catch_unwind(panic::AssertUnwindSafe(work)) {
             Ok(r) => r,
             Err(payload) => Err(payload),
         };
-        match completions.lock() {
-            Ok(mut g) => g.push_back(Completion::Blocking { pid, epoch, result }),
-            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io completions lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        let Some(inner) = rt.upgrade() else { return };
+        // Stash the result under the cold lock (generation-checked: an
+        // actor stopped with the op in flight discards it), decrement the
+        // in-flight count, then wake through the epoch-matched unpark. The
+        // unpark's enqueue tail wakes a parked scheduler; the actor stays
+        // `live` until it resumes and finalizes, so the decrement's
+        // ordering against the termination verdict is not load-bearing.
+        if let Some(slot) = inner.slot_at(pid) {
+            let mut cold = slot.cold.lock();
+            if slot.generation() == pid.generation() {
+                cold.pending_io_result = Some(result);
             }
-        wake_scheduler(wake_write);
+        }
+        inner.io_outstanding.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+        inner.unpark_at(pid, epoch);
     }
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Epoll loop
+// Epoll loop (producer: FdReady completions)
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-fn epoll_loop(
-    epollfd: RawFd,
-    completions: Arc<Mutex<VecDeque<Completion>>>,
-    wake_write: RawFd,
-) {
+fn epoll_loop(epollfd: RawFd, waiters: Waiters, rt: Weak<RuntimeInner>) {
     // Buffer for epoll_wait. 64 is plenty for our scale; if a real load
     // appears that needs more, this is a one-line change.
     const MAX_EVENTS: usize = 64;
@@ -436,29 +418,41 @@ fn epoll_loop(
         }
 
         let mut shutdown_requested = false;
-        let mut pushed_any = false;
-        {
-            let mut q = match completions.lock() {
-                Ok(g) => g,
-                Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io completions lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
-            };
         for ev in events.iter().take(n as usize) {
             if ev.u64 == SHUTDOWN_EPOLL_TOKEN {
                 shutdown_requested = true;
                 continue;
             }
             let fd = ev.u64 as RawFd;
-                let evs = ev.events;
-                q.push_back(Completion::FdReady {
+            // Consume the registration: remove + DEL under the waiters
+            // lock (the ADD/DEL serialization — see module docs). A
+            // vanished entry means `cancel_waiter` beat us: the wake is
+            // already moot.
+            let entry = {
+                let mut w = match waiters.lock() {
+                    Ok(g) => g,
+                    Err(e) => {
+                        panic!("smarm: io waiters lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}")
+                    }
+                };
+                let entry = w.remove(&fd);
+                if entry.is_some() {
+                    unsafe {
+                        libc::epoll_ctl(
+                            epollfd,
+                            libc::EPOLL_CTL_DEL,
                             fd,
-                    events: evs,
-                });
-                pushed_any = true;
+                            std::ptr::null_mut(),
+                        );
                     }
                 }
-
-        if pushed_any {
-            wake_scheduler(wake_write);
+                entry
+            };
+            if let Some((pid, epoch)) = entry {
+                let Some(inner) = rt.upgrade() else { return };
+                inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                inner.unpark_at(pid, epoch);
+            }
         }
         if shutdown_requested {
             return;
@@ -466,27 +460,8 @@ fn epoll_loop(
     }
 }
 
-/// Write one byte to the scheduler's wake pipe. Retries on EINTR; ignores
-/// EAGAIN (pipe full means there's already an outstanding wake we haven't
-/// consumed yet, which is sufficient).
-fn wake_scheduler(wake_write: RawFd) {
-    let buf: [u8; 1] = [0];
-    unsafe {
-        loop {
-            let n = libc::write(wake_write, buf.as_ptr() as *const _, 1);
-            if n < 0 {
-                let e = *libc::__errno_location();
-                if e == libc::EINTR {
-                    continue;
-                }
-            }
-            break;
-        }
-    }
-}
-
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Pipe helpers (unchanged from v0.2)
+// Pipe helper
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 fn make_pipe() -> io::Result<(RawFd, RawFd)> {
@@ -497,46 +472,3 @@ fn make_pipe() -> io::Result<(RawFd, RawFd)> {
     }
     Ok((fds[0], fds[1]))
 }
-
-/// Drain pending bytes from the wake pipe. The scheduler calls this after
-/// a `poll` wakeup so the next idle call sees an empty pipe.
-pub fn drain_wake_pipe(fd: RawFd) {
-    let mut buf = [0u8; 64];
-    loop {
-        let n = unsafe { libc::read(fd, buf.as_mut_ptr() as *mut _, buf.len()) };
-        if n <= 0 {
-            break;
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-/// Block on `fd` for up to `timeout`, returning when either there's data
-/// to read or the timeout elapses. `None` for `timeout` means wait forever.
-pub fn poll_wake(fd: RawFd, timeout: Option<std::time::Duration>) {
-    let timeout_ms: libc::c_int = match timeout {
-        None => -1,
-        Some(d) => {
-            let ms = d.as_millis();
-            if ms > i32::MAX as u128 {
-                i32::MAX
-            } else {
-                ms as i32
-            }
-        }
-    };
-    let mut pfd = libc::pollfd {
-        fd,
-        events: libc::POLLIN,
-        revents: 0,
-    };
-    loop {
-        let r = unsafe { libc::poll(&mut pfd as *mut _, 1, timeout_ms) };
-        if r < 0 {
-            let e = unsafe { *libc::__errno_location() };
-            if e == libc::EINTR {
-                continue;
-            }
-        }
-        break;
-    }
-}

src/lib.rs

@@ -32,12 +32,14 @@ pub mod introspect;
 #[cfg(feature = "observer")]
 pub mod observer;
 pub mod runtime;
+pub(crate) mod park;
 pub(crate) mod raw_mutex;
 pub(crate) mod slot_state;
 pub(crate) mod sync_shim;
 #[doc(hidden)] // pub only so benches/rq_micro.rs can drive the raw structures
 pub mod run_queue;
 pub mod trace;
+pub mod causal;
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Global allocator
@@ -79,7 +81,8 @@ pub use registry::{
 };
 pub use runtime::{init, Config, Runtime};
 pub use scheduler::{
-    block_on_io, cancel_timer, request_stop, run, self_pid, send_after, send_after_named, sleep,
+    block_on_io, cancel_timer, request_stop, run, self_pid, send_after, send_after_named,
+    send_after_named_wall, send_after_wall, sleep, sleep_wall,
     spawn, spawn_addr, spawn_under, wait_readable, wait_readable_timeout, wait_writable,
     wait_writable_timeout, yield_now, FdArm, JoinError, JoinHandle,
 };

src/monitor.rs

@@ -1,49 +1,85 @@
-//! Process monitors.
+//! Find out when another actor dies, without it knowing or caring that you're
+//! watching.
 //!
-//! `monitor(target)` asks the runtime to deliver a single [`Down`] when
-//! `target` terminates, and hands back a [`Monitor`] — the [`Receiver`] to read
-//! it from, plus the identity (`id`, `target`) needed to take the registration
-//! back down with [`demonitor`]. A monitor is:
+//! Say one actor manages a pool of workers and needs to know when a worker
+//! exits, so it can replace it. The worker does not need to know it is being
+//! watched, and nothing about the worker's own behavior should change because
+//! someone is watching it. That is what [`monitor`] is for: call
+//! `monitor(target)` to get a [`Monitor`], and read exactly one [`Down`]
+//! message off `monitor.rx` whenever `target` terminates, however it
+//! terminates.
 //!
-//!   - **unidirectional** — the watcher learns of the target's death, but the
-//!     target learns nothing of the watcher, and the watcher is unaffected by
-//!     the death beyond the notification (contrast a *link*, which propagates
-//!     failure);
-//!   - **one-shot** — exactly one `Down` is ever sent for a given monitor.
-//!     The returned channel closes afterwards, so a second `recv()` yields
-//!     `Err(RecvError)`.
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{monitor, run, spawn, DownReason};
 //!
-//! This generalizes the older single-`supervisor_channel` mechanism: a
-//! supervisor is just a hard-wired monitor that the parent installs at spawn
-//! time. Here any actor may monitor any pid, any number of times.
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let worker = spawn(|| {
+//!         // does some work, then returns
+//!     });
+//!     let pid = worker.pid();
 //!
-//! ## Reasons
+//!     let m = monitor(pid);
+//!     let _ = worker.join();
 //!
-//! [`DownReason`] is deliberately payload-free. A panicking actor's payload
-//! has a single owner and is delivered to whoever `join()`s the actor (as
-//! `JoinError`); a monitor only learns *that* it panicked, not the value.
-//! Monitoring a pid that is already gone (reclaimed, or never alive) yields
-//! [`DownReason::NoProc`] immediately, mirroring Erlang's `noproc`.
+//!     let down = m.rx.recv().expect("monitor channel closed before Down");
+//!     assert_eq!(down.pid, pid);
+//!     assert_eq!(down.reason, DownReason::Exit);
+//! });
+//! ```
 //!
-//! ## Demonitoring
+//! A monitor is one-directional and one-shot:
 //!
-//! Each `monitor()` registration is tagged with a process-unique [`MonitorId`].
-//! [`demonitor`] removes the registration named by a [`Monitor`] from its
-//! target's slot, returning `Some(id)` if a live registration was found or
-//! `None` if it had already fired (or the target is gone). Dropping the
-//! [`Monitor`] afterwards discards any `Down` that the target had *already*
-//! queued — the equivalent of Erlang's `demonitor(Ref, [flush])`.
+//! - **One-directional**: the watcher learns that the target died, but the
+//!   target is completely unaffected. It never learns it was being watched,
+//!   and its own behavior and lifetime do not change because of the monitor.
+//!   This is the opposite of a [`link`](mod@crate::link), which is bidirectional:
+//!   linking two actors means an abnormal death on either side can bring the
+//!   other down too. Reach for a monitor when you just want to *know*; reach
+//!   for a link when a peer's crash should actually stop you.
+//! - **One-shot**: you get exactly one [`Down`] per `monitor()` call, then the
+//!   channel closes. Calling `monitor` again on the same target (or a
+//!   different one) gives you an independent registration with its own
+//!   [`Monitor`] and its own one-shot channel; nothing stops you from
+//!   monitoring the same actor many times over; each call is watched and
+//!   fires on its own.
 //!
-//! ## Races
+//! ## Why a monitor never hands you the panic value
 //!
-//! Registration (below) and `finalize_actor` (in `runtime`) both run under the
-//! shared-state mutex, so a target that is still alive when its monitor is
-//! registered is guaranteed to deliver a real `Down`; there is no window in
-//! which the death slips between the liveness check and the registration.
-//! `demonitor` is protected by the generation half of the pid: if the target
-//! has died and its slot index been recycled, `slot_mut(target)` fails the
-//! generation check and `demonitor` is a clean no-op — it can never strip a
-//! *different* actor's monitor that happens to share the slot index.
+//! If the target panicked, [`Down`] tells you *that* it panicked
+//! ([`DownReason::Panic`]), but not the panic's payload. The payload has a
+//! single owner: it is handed to whichever caller `join()`s the actor's
+//! [`JoinHandle`](crate::JoinHandle), as a `JoinError`. A monitor only needs
+//! to know that something went wrong, not reproduce the exact value that
+//! caused it, so it gets the reason and nothing else.
+//!
+//! Monitoring a target that is already gone (it finished and was cleaned up,
+//! or the pid never pointed at a real actor) is not an error: you get a
+//! [`Down`] with [`DownReason::NoProc`] right away, instead of waiting
+//! forever for something that already happened.
+//!
+//! ## Stopping a monitor early
+//!
+//! [`demonitor`] cancels a monitor before it fires. If the registration was
+//! still live, it removes it and returns `Some` of the monitor's id: no
+//! `Down` will arrive on that channel from here on. If the target had already
+//! died and its `Down` already sent, there is nothing left to cancel and
+//! `demonitor` returns `None`; the `Down` you already have (or that is
+//! already sitting in the channel) is unaffected.
+//!
+//! If you want to cancel *and* make sure a `Down` that already arrived is
+//! discarded without reading it, just drop the [`Monitor`]: dropping it closes
+//! its receiver, and any queued `Down` is dropped along with it.
+//!
+//! ## Correctness notes for implementers
+//!
+//! A target that is still alive at the moment `monitor()` registers is
+//! guaranteed to eventually produce a real `Down`: registration and the
+//! target's own termination bookkeeping run under the same lock, so there is
+//! no window in which the target could die without the just-added
+//! registration seeing it. `demonitor` is similarly race-free against a target
+//! that has since died and had its slot reused by a new, unrelated actor: it
+//! is checked against the exact monitored incarnation, so it can never remove
+//! a different actor's registration by accident, it simply reports `None`.
 
 use crate::channel::{channel, Receiver, Sender};
 use crate::pid::Pid;
@@ -51,8 +87,8 @@ use crate::scheduler::with_runtime;
 
 /// Why a monitored actor went down.
 ///
-/// `Copy` because it carries no payload — see the module docs for why the
-/// panic payload is *not* included here.
+/// Carries no payload: see the module docs for why a monitor never receives
+/// the panic value itself.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
 pub enum DownReason {
     /// The target returned normally.
@@ -76,21 +112,22 @@ pub struct Down {
     pub reason: DownReason,
 }
 
-/// A process-unique identifier for one `monitor()` registration.
+/// A unique identifier for one [`monitor`] registration.
 ///
-/// Opaque and `Copy`. Allocated from a monotonic counter in shared state, so
-/// it is never reused for the lifetime of the runtime — distinct `monitor()`
-/// calls on the same target get distinct ids, which is what lets [`demonitor`]
-/// tear down exactly one of several monitors on a target.
+/// Opaque and `Copy`. Never reused for the life of the runtime, so if you
+/// monitor the same target more than once, each call's id is distinct. This
+/// is what lets [`demonitor`] tear down exactly one of several monitors on
+/// the same target without disturbing the others.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq, Hash)]
 pub struct MonitorId(pub(crate) u64);
 
 /// A live monitor: the receiving end of the one-shot [`Down`] channel, plus the
 /// identity needed to [`demonitor`] it.
 ///
-/// Read the notification from [`Monitor::rx`]. Not `Clone` (the receiver is a
-/// single consumer). Dropping it closes the receiving end; if a `Down` was
-/// already queued it is discarded with the channel.
+/// Read the notification from [`Monitor::rx`]. Not `Clone`, since only one
+/// side is meant to consume it. Dropping a `Monitor` closes the receiving
+/// end; if a `Down` had already arrived but was never read, it is discarded
+/// along with it.
 pub struct Monitor {
     /// This registration's process-unique id.
     pub id: MonitorId,
@@ -110,10 +147,11 @@ pub fn monitor<A>(target: Pid<A>) -> Monitor {
     let target = target.erase();
     let (tx, rx) = channel::<Down>();
 
-    // Register under the target's cold lock. `tx.clone()` takes the channel's
-    // own lock — a Channel-class RawMutex, explicitly permitted *under* a Leaf
-    // (cold) lock by the lock order (see raw_mutex.rs). We must still not
-    // *send* under the lock, as `Sender::send` can unpark a parked receiver,
+    // Implementation note: registration happens under the target's cold
+    // lock. `tx.clone()` takes the channel's own lock, a Channel-class
+    // RawMutex, which is explicitly permitted under a Leaf (cold) lock by
+    // the lock order documented in raw_mutex.rs. We must still not *send*
+    // under the lock, since `Sender::send` can unpark a parked receiver,
     // and there's no reason to nest that.
     let (id, registered) = with_runtime(|inner| {
         let id = inner.alloc_monitor_id();
@@ -140,19 +178,21 @@ pub fn monitor<A>(target: Pid<A>) -> Monitor {
 }
 
 /// Cancel the monitor `m`. Returns `Some(id)` if a live registration was found
-/// on the target's slot and removed, or `None` if there was nothing to remove
-/// — the target already fired its `Down` (the registration is drained on
-/// finalize), was never alive (`NoProc`), or has been reclaimed.
+/// and removed, so no `Down` will arrive on `m.rx` from here on. Returns
+/// `None` if there was nothing left to remove: the target had already gone
+/// down and its `Down` was already sent (or is already sitting in the
+/// channel, unread).
 ///
-/// This stops any *future* `Down`. To also discard a `Down` the target may have
-/// *already* queued (the finalize-races-demonitor case), drop `m` afterwards;
-/// dropping the [`Monitor`] closes its receiver and the queued notice goes with
-/// it — the analogue of Erlang's `demonitor(Ref, [flush])`.
+/// This only stops a *future* `Down`. If you also want to discard a `Down`
+/// that already arrived (or is about to, in a race with this call), drop `m`
+/// instead of, or in addition to, calling this: dropping the [`Monitor`]
+/// closes its receiver and any queued notice is discarded with it.
 pub fn demonitor(m: &Monitor) -> Option<MonitorId> {
-    // Remove the registration under the target's cold lock, but move the
-    // `Sender` *out* and let it drop only after the lock is released:
-    // dropping the last sender runs `Sender::drop`, which may unpark a parked
-    // receiver — legal under a cold lock, but pointless to nest.
+    // Implementation note: the registration is removed under the target's
+    // cold lock, but the `Sender` is moved *out* and dropped only after the
+    // lock is released. Dropping the last sender runs `Sender::drop`, which
+    // may unpark a parked receiver; legal under a cold lock, but pointless
+    // to nest.
     let removed: Option<(MonitorId, Sender<Down>)> = with_runtime(|inner| {
         let slot = inner.slot_at(m.target)?;
         let mut cold = slot.cold.lock();

src/mutex.rs

@@ -1,12 +1,89 @@
-//! Actor-aware mutex with mandatory timeout.
+//! Shared mutable state across actors, when a channel is overkill.
 //!
-//! `Mutex<T>` parks the calling *green* thread on contention rather than
-//! blocking the OS thread. Every lock attempt is bounded by a timeout.
+//! smarm actors normally coordinate by sending messages, and for a piece of
+//! owned state the right tool is usually a `gen_server`: one actor holds the
+//! data and everyone else talks to it. Sometimes that is more machinery than
+//! you need, and plain shared, lockable state is simpler: [`Mutex<T>`] is
+//! that escape hatch. It behaves like `std::sync::Mutex<T>`, guarding a value
+//! of type `T` behind a guard that gives you `&mut T` while held, but it is
+//! built for smarm's actors rather than OS threads.
 //!
-//! Internals use `Arc<std::sync::Mutex<...>>` so the type is genuinely
-//! `Send + Sync` and can be shared across scheduler threads.
+//! The key difference from `std::sync::Mutex` is what happens on contention.
+//! [`Mutex::lock`] parks the calling actor (a cooperatively scheduled green
+//! thread) rather than blocking the underlying OS thread, so other actors on
+//! the same OS thread keep running while it waits. And every lock attempt is
+//! bounded by a timeout: an actor that hangs on to the lock forever (stuck in
+//! a bug, or just slow) would otherwise wedge every other actor waiting on
+//! it, so smarm makes the wait bounded by default instead of leaving it up
+//! to you to remember.
 //!
-//! Fairness: FIFO. Poisoning: none. Reentrance: deadlock (caller bug).
+//! ## A first lock
+//!
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{run, spawn, Mutex};
+//!
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let counter = Mutex::new(0u32);
+//!
+//!     // Mutex::clone() is cheap and hands out another handle to the SAME
+//!     // underlying value, much like Arc::clone: every clone shares one lock
+//!     // and one value, so mutations through one are visible through all.
+//!     let a = counter.clone();
+//!     let b = counter.clone();
+//!
+//!     let h1 = spawn(move || {
+//!         let mut guard = a.lock().unwrap();
+//!         *guard += 1;
+//!     });
+//!     let h2 = spawn(move || {
+//!         let mut guard = b.lock().unwrap();
+//!         *guard += 1;
+//!     });
+//!     h1.join().unwrap();
+//!     h2.join().unwrap();
+//!
+//!     assert_eq!(*counter.lock().unwrap(), 2);
+//! });
+//! ```
+//!
+//! ## Choosing a timeout
+//!
+//! [`Mutex::lock`] waits up to [`DEFAULT_TIMEOUT`] (30 seconds) before giving
+//! up with [`LockTimeout`]. To use a different bound for one call, use
+//! [`Mutex::lock_timeout`] instead; to change the default for every future
+//! `lock()` call on this mutex (including through its clones), use
+//! [`Mutex::set_default_timeout`]. If you never want to wait at all, use
+//! [`Mutex::try_lock`], which returns immediately whether or not the lock was
+//! free.
+//!
+//! ## Fairness and panics
+//!
+//! Waiters are granted the lock in the order they started waiting (FIFO), so
+//! no actor can be starved by later arrivals repeatedly cutting in line.
+//!
+//! This mutex never poisons. `std::sync::Mutex` marks itself poisoned if a
+//! thread panics while holding the lock, because a partly mutated value might
+//! be left behind for the next lock holder to see. smarm's actors already
+//! rely on `Drop` running during unwinding to release the lock, so if a
+//! holder panics, [`MutexGuard::drop`] still runs and the next waiter is
+//! granted the lock normally. It is the same tradeoff `std::sync::Mutex`
+//! offers you if you choose to ignore poisoning: you may see a value left
+//! mid-update by the panicking actor, so a panic inside a critical section is
+//! still a bug worth fixing, just not one that also wedges every future lock
+//! attempt.
+//!
+//! Locking a mutex you already hold (on the same actor) does not queue
+//! behind yourself: it deadlocks, the same way relocking a non-reentrant
+//! `std::sync::Mutex` does. Don't call `lock` while already holding a guard
+//! from the same `Mutex`.
+//!
+//! ## Outside the runtime
+//!
+//! `Mutex<T>` also works when called from plain code that is not running as
+//! a smarm actor (for example, in a test's setup code before calling
+//! [`run`](crate::run)). There, an actor's cooperative park has no meaning,
+//! so a lock attempt instead blocks the calling OS thread directly until the
+//! mutex is free; there is no timeout on this path.
 
 use crate::pid::Pid;
 use crate::scheduler;
@@ -15,8 +92,14 @@ use std::collections::VecDeque;
 use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex as StdMutex};
 use std::time::Duration;
 
+/// How long [`Mutex::lock`] waits for the lock before giving up, unless
+/// overridden per-mutex with [`Mutex::set_default_timeout`] or per-call with
+/// [`Mutex::lock_timeout`].
 pub const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(30);
 
+/// Returned by [`Mutex::lock`] / [`Mutex::lock_timeout`] when the timeout
+/// elapses before the lock became available. The lock attempt is abandoned;
+/// nothing was acquired, and the mutex's value is unaffected.
 #[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq, Clone, Copy)]
 pub struct LockTimeout;
 
@@ -70,7 +153,7 @@ impl TimerTarget for MutexCore {
             };
             // Remove from waiters only if still there with matching epoch.
             // If the lock was already granted (holder == Some(pid)), the
-            // timer fired after the grant — treat as no-op; the actor
+            // timer fired after the grant: treat as no-op; the actor
             // will see `is_holder == true` and return Ok.
             if st.holder == Some(pid) {
                 return;
@@ -100,6 +183,8 @@ pub struct Mutex<T> {
 }
 
 impl<T> Mutex<T> {
+    /// Wrap `value` in a new mutex, initially unlocked, with the default
+    /// lock timeout ([`DEFAULT_TIMEOUT`]).
     pub fn new(value: T) -> Self {
         Self {
             core: Arc::new(MutexCore::new(DEFAULT_TIMEOUT)),
@@ -107,6 +192,11 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Change how long future [`lock`](Self::lock) calls on this mutex wait
+    /// before giving up. Applies to every clone of this `Mutex` (they share
+    /// one underlying lock), and to `lock` calls already in progress that
+    /// have not yet started waiting. Does not affect [`lock_timeout`](Self::lock_timeout)
+    /// calls, which always use the timeout passed in.
     pub fn set_default_timeout(&self, timeout: Duration) {
         match self.core.state.lock() {
             Ok(mut st) => st.default_timeout = timeout,
@@ -114,6 +204,12 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Acquire the lock, waiting up to this mutex's default timeout
+    /// ([`DEFAULT_TIMEOUT`], or whatever [`set_default_timeout`](Self::set_default_timeout)
+    /// last set) if it is currently held elsewhere. Returns a [`MutexGuard`]
+    /// that releases the lock when dropped, or [`LockTimeout`] if the
+    /// deadline passes first. To use a one-off timeout instead of the
+    /// mutex's default, call [`lock_timeout`](Self::lock_timeout) directly.
     pub fn lock(&self) -> Result<MutexGuard<'_, T>, LockTimeout> {
         let timeout = match self.core.state.lock() {
             Ok(st) => st.default_timeout,
@@ -122,6 +218,10 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
         self.lock_timeout(timeout)
     }
 
+    /// Acquire the lock, waiting up to `timeout` (ignoring this mutex's
+    /// default) if it is currently held elsewhere. Returns a [`MutexGuard`]
+    /// that releases the lock when dropped, or [`LockTimeout`] if `timeout`
+    /// elapses first with the lock still unavailable.
     pub fn lock_timeout(&self, timeout: Duration) -> Result<MutexGuard<'_, T>, LockTimeout> {
         // Outside the runtime (e.g. in tests, after run() returns) there is no
         // current actor PID.  Fall back to a blocking std::sync::Mutex acquire.
@@ -157,7 +257,7 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
                 Ok(g) => g,
                 Err(e) => panic!("smarm: mutex state lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
             };
-            // begin_wait is lock-free — legal under the state lock; this
+            // begin_wait is lock-free (legal under the state lock); this
             // makes the epoch atomic with the registration's visibility to
             // grants and timeouts.
             let epoch = scheduler::begin_wait();
@@ -170,7 +270,7 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
         scheduler::insert_wait_timer(deadline, me, target, epoch);
         scheduler::park_current();
 
-        // Resumed — precisely: only our grant or our timer can wake this
+        // Resumed, precisely: only our grant or our timer can wake this
         // wait (both epoch-stamped; a stop wake unwinds out of
         // park_current). The one-shot interpretation below is therefore
         // exhaustive. Are we the holder?
@@ -193,6 +293,9 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Acquire the lock only if it is immediately available: never parks and
+    /// never waits. Returns `Some` with a [`MutexGuard`] if the lock was
+    /// free, `None` if it is currently held elsewhere.
     pub fn try_lock(&self) -> Option<MutexGuard<'_, T>> {
         let me = crate::actor::current_pid()?;
         let mut st = match self.core.state.lock() {
@@ -234,6 +337,10 @@ impl<T> Mutex<T> {
 }
 
 impl<T> Clone for Mutex<T> {
+    /// Cheap: hands back another handle to the same underlying lock and
+    /// value, the way `Arc::clone` does. All clones of a `Mutex` share one
+    /// lock and one protected value; locking through any clone excludes
+    /// every other clone.
     fn clone(&self) -> Self {
         Self { core: self.core.clone(), value: self.value.clone() }
     }
@@ -247,6 +354,10 @@ unsafe impl<T: Send> Sync for Mutex<T> {}
 // Guard
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// Grants access to the value inside a [`Mutex`] while the lock is held.
+/// Dereferences to `&T` and `&mut T`. Dropping the guard releases the lock
+/// and, if another actor is waiting, wakes the next one in arrival order.
+/// Returned by [`Mutex::lock`], [`Mutex::lock_timeout`], and [`Mutex::try_lock`].
 pub struct MutexGuard<'a, T> {
     mutex: &'a Mutex<T>,
     value: Option<T>,

src/park.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,994 @@
+//! Scheduler park/wake coordination layer (RFC 018).
+//!
+//! Schedulers never touch an fd to sleep: they park on a per-thread
+//! [`Parker`] and are woken through an idle-mask protocol the runtime owns
+//! outright. IO backends (epoll today, io_uring later) are *producers*
+//! behind a two-call contract — make actors runnable, then wake — which is
+//! what makes backend selection tractable (RFC 018 §step-back).
+//!
+//! Three pieces, all in [`Coordinator`]:
+//!
+//! - **Parker** (one per scheduler): permit semantics, `std::thread::park`
+//!   shaped — an unpark delivered before the park sets a permit; the next
+//!   park consumes it and returns immediately. This single property closes
+//!   the check-then-park race. Linux: `futex(2)` `FUTEX_WAIT`/`FUTEX_WAKE`
+//!   (private) with a nanosecond-precision relative `timespec` — the
+//!   `as_millis` truncation defect of the retired wake pipe is
+//!   unrepresentable here. Loom / non-Linux: `Mutex<bool>` + `Condvar`
+//!   (the loom models run against this build).
+//! - **Idle mask**: an `AtomicU64` bitmask of parked scheduler ids
+//!   (construction asserts ≤ 64 schedulers). Park protocol: set own bit,
+//!   run the caller's mandatory post-publish re-check, then wait. A
+//!   producer that published work before observing our bit has left us
+//!   work the re-check finds; one that observes the bit wakes us.
+//!
+//!   The publish/re-check pair is a store-buffer (Dekker) shape. Two sound
+//!   resolutions coexist here, chosen per call-site cost profile: the
+//!   **fence handshake** on the hot producer path
+//!   ([`Coordinator::wake_one_if_idle`]: publish work; `fence(SeqCst)`;
+//!   one *Relaxed* mask load — pairing with the consumer's `fetch_or(bit)`;
+//!   `fence(SeqCst)`; re-check inside [`Coordinator::park`]), so the
+//!   pure-compute hot path (everyone busy, mask 0) never takes the shared
+//!   mask line exclusive — the RFC's "one relaxed load" fast path, made
+//!   sound; and the **same-location-RMW read** (`fetch_or(0)`, in
+//!   [`Coordinator::wake_one`] / [`Coordinator::idle_mask`]) for the rare
+//!   paths (chain rule — at most one per wake) where reading the latest
+//!   mask by modification-order coherence is worth an RMW. The loom models
+//!   drive the fence pattern end to end (a fence-less plain-load draft
+//!   would — and did — fail model 1/2 with a lost wake, as it must).
+//! - **Timekeeper**: at most one parked scheduler holds the timer
+//!   deadline (RFC 018 §timers) so a timer expiry wakes one scheduler,
+//!   not a herd. The role is an atomic `(holder id, armed deadline)`
+//!   pair; a timer insertion with an earlier deadline wakes the holder to
+//!   re-peek. Arm / insert-check MUST be serialized by the caller (the
+//!   timers mutex in the runtime) — the atomics exist so the *busy-path
+//!   due-check* (one Relaxed load, [`Coordinator::armed_deadline_nanos`])
+//!   and the wake stay lock-free. All races are biased over-wake: a
+//!   spurious permit costs one failed pop; a missed wake would cost a
+//!   stranded actor, and is unrepresentable under the serialization rule.
+//!
+//! Every wake here is *at most one* futex round-trip and wakes *exactly
+//! one* scheduler by construction (`wake_one` CASes a bit clear before
+//! unparking its owner) — there is no shared level-triggered anything
+//! left to herd on.
+//!
+//! Standalone until the runtime swap (RFC 018 commit 2): nothing outside
+//! tests constructs a [`Coordinator`] yet.
+
+use crate::sync_shim::{fence, AtomicU64, Ordering};
+use std::time::Instant;
+
+/// Sentinel for "no timekeeper" in the holder word.
+const NO_TIMEKEEPER: u64 = u64::MAX;
+/// Sentinel for "no armed deadline" in the deadline word. Also what the
+/// busy-path due-check compares against: `now_nanos < armed` is one branch.
+pub(crate) const NO_DEADLINE: u64 = u64::MAX;
+
+/// Outcome of a [`Coordinator::park`] call.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Copy, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub(crate) enum ParkResult {
+    /// A permit was consumed (wake delivered before or during the park).
+    Woken,
+    /// The deadline passed with no wake. Only possible when a deadline was
+    /// supplied (and never under loom, which has no time — see `park`).
+    TimedOut,
+    /// The post-publish re-check found work; the thread never blocked.
+    /// A permit may still be pending (a racing `wake_one` picked us after
+    /// the bit was set) — it will surface as one spurious `Woken` on a
+    /// later park. Benign: over-wake by design.
+    WorkFound,
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Parker — permit-semantics thread parking
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+/// Linux, non-loom: futex on a state word.
+///
+/// States: EMPTY (no permit, nobody waiting), PARKED (a thread is, or is
+/// about to be, in `futex_wait`), NOTIFIED (permit pending). The classic
+/// std-parker protocol: `unpark` swaps to NOTIFIED and futex-wakes iff it
+/// displaced PARKED; `park` CASes EMPTY→PARKED, waits, and consumes
+/// NOTIFIED on every exit path.
+#[cfg(all(target_os = "linux", not(loom)))]
+mod parker {
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU32, Ordering};
+    use std::time::Instant;
+
+    const EMPTY: u32 = 0;
+    const PARKED: u32 = 1;
+    const NOTIFIED: u32 = 2;
+
+    pub(super) struct Parker {
+        state: AtomicU32,
+    }
+
+    impl Parker {
+        pub(super) fn new() -> Self {
+            Self { state: AtomicU32::new(EMPTY) }
+        }
+
+        /// Returns `true` = woken (permit consumed), `false` = timed out.
+        pub(super) fn park(&self, deadline: Option<Instant>) -> bool {
+            // Fast path: consume a pending permit without blocking.
+            if self
+                .state
+                .compare_exchange(EMPTY, PARKED, Ordering::AcqRel, Ordering::Acquire)
+                .is_err()
+            {
+                // Only NOTIFIED can be here (one thread parks at a time).
+                self.state.store(EMPTY, Ordering::Release);
+                return true;
+            }
+            loop {
+                let timeout = match deadline {
+                    None => None,
+                    Some(d) => {
+                        let now = Instant::now();
+                        if d <= now {
+                            // Deadline passed: cancel the park. The swap
+                            // races a concurrent unpark — if it delivered
+                            // NOTIFIED first, report Woken (never lose a
+                            // permit).
+                            return self.state.swap(EMPTY, Ordering::AcqRel) == NOTIFIED;
+                        }
+                        Some(d - now)
+                    }
+                };
+                futex_wait(&self.state, PARKED, timeout);
+                if self
+                    .state
+                    .compare_exchange(NOTIFIED, EMPTY, Ordering::AcqRel, Ordering::Acquire)
+                    .is_ok()
+                {
+                    return true;
+                }
+                // Spurious wake or timeout with state still PARKED: loop —
+                // the deadline check at the top decides.
+            }
+        }
+
+        pub(super) fn unpark(&self) {
+            if self.state.swap(NOTIFIED, Ordering::AcqRel) == PARKED {
+                futex_wake(&self.state, 1);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// `FUTEX_WAIT` with a *relative* nanosecond timeout (`CLOCK_MONOTONIC`
+    /// per futex(2) for relative waits). No millisecond conversion anywhere:
+    /// the timespec carries the full sub-ms remainder (RFC 018 kills the
+    /// `as_millis` truncation structurally).
+    fn futex_wait(word: &AtomicU32, expected: u32, timeout: Option<std::time::Duration>) {
+        let ts;
+        let ts_ptr: *const libc::timespec = match timeout {
+            Some(d) => {
+                ts = libc::timespec {
+                    tv_sec: d.as_secs() as libc::time_t,
+                    tv_nsec: d.subsec_nanos() as libc::c_long,
+                };
+                &ts
+            }
+            None => std::ptr::null(),
+        };
+        // Errors (EAGAIN: word changed; ETIMEDOUT; EINTR) all mean "return
+        // and let the caller's state machine decide" — deliberately ignored.
+        unsafe {
+            libc::syscall(
+                libc::SYS_futex,
+                word.as_ptr(),
+                libc::FUTEX_WAIT | libc::FUTEX_PRIVATE_FLAG,
+                expected,
+                ts_ptr,
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn futex_wake(word: &AtomicU32, n: u32) {
+        unsafe {
+            libc::syscall(
+                libc::SYS_futex,
+                word.as_ptr(),
+                libc::FUTEX_WAKE | libc::FUTEX_PRIVATE_FLAG,
+                n,
+            );
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Loom / non-Linux: `Mutex<bool>` permit + `Condvar` — loom's own model
+/// of a parker, and the portable fallback. Under loom the deadline is
+/// ignored (loom has no time); the models exercise wake paths only.
+#[cfg(any(loom, not(target_os = "linux")))]
+mod parker {
+    use crate::sync_shim::{Condvar, Mutex};
+    use std::time::Instant;
+
+    pub(super) struct Parker {
+        permit: Mutex<bool>,
+        cv: Condvar,
+    }
+
+    impl Parker {
+        pub(super) fn new() -> Self {
+            Self { permit: Mutex::new(false), cv: Condvar::new() }
+        }
+
+        /// Returns `true` = woken (permit consumed), `false` = timed out.
+        pub(super) fn park(&self, deadline: Option<Instant>) -> bool {
+            let mut permit = match self.permit.lock() {
+                Ok(g) => g,
+                Err(_) => panic!("smarm: parker permit lock poisoned (core corrupt)"),
+            };
+            loop {
+                if *permit {
+                    *permit = false;
+                    return true;
+                }
+                #[cfg(loom)]
+                {
+                    // Loom has no clock: block until a wake. Models must
+                    // deliver one (a park nobody wakes is a real deadlock
+                    // and loom reports it as such).
+                    let _ = deadline;
+                    permit = match self.cv.wait(permit) {
+                        Ok(g) => g,
+                        Err(_) => panic!("smarm: parker cv poisoned (core corrupt)"),
+                    };
+                }
+                #[cfg(not(loom))]
+                {
+                    match deadline {
+                        None => {
+                            permit = match self.cv.wait(permit) {
+                                Ok(g) => g,
+                                Err(_) => panic!("smarm: parker cv poisoned (core corrupt)"),
+                            };
+                        }
+                        Some(d) => {
+                            let now = Instant::now();
+                            if d <= now {
+                                return false;
+                            }
+                            permit = match self.cv.wait_timeout(permit, d - now) {
+                                Ok((g, _)) => g,
+                                Err(_) => panic!("smarm: parker cv poisoned (core corrupt)"),
+                            };
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        pub(super) fn unpark(&self) {
+            let mut permit = match self.permit.lock() {
+                Ok(g) => g,
+                Err(_) => panic!("smarm: parker permit lock poisoned (core corrupt)"),
+            };
+            *permit = true;
+            self.cv.notify_one();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+use parker::Parker;
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Coordinator — idle mask + wake protocol + timekeeper
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+pub(crate) struct Coordinator {
+    parkers: Box<[Parker]>,
+    /// Bit `i` set = scheduler `i` is parked or committed to parking (set
+    /// before the re-check; cleared by `wake_one`'s CAS or by the parker
+    /// itself on return). AcqRel same-location-RMW handshake — see module
+    /// docs (no SeqCst needed: every producer-side read is an RMW).
+    idle: AtomicU64,
+    /// Timekeeper holder id, or `NO_TIMEKEEPER`. Written under the
+    /// caller's timer serialization (arm/disarm/insert-check); read
+    /// lock-free by the insert wake path.
+    tk_holder: AtomicU64,
+    /// Armed deadline as nanos since `origin`, or `NO_DEADLINE`. Written
+    /// only by the timekeeper arm/disarm protocol.
+    tk_armed: AtomicU64,
+    /// Earliest KNOWN timer deadline (nanos since `origin`), or
+    /// `NO_DEADLINE` — independent of whether any scheduler is parked,
+    /// which is what the timekeeper's `tk_armed` cannot give: under
+    /// saturation nobody parks and nobody arms, yet due timers must still
+    /// fire (ratified design point (a)). Maintained under the caller's
+    /// timers mutex (`note_deadline` on insert, `refresh_deadline` after a
+    /// pop/peek); read lock-free by the busy-path due-check.
+    next_deadline: AtomicU64,
+    /// Time origin for the nanos encoding.
+    origin: Instant,
+}
+
+impl Coordinator {
+    pub(crate) fn new(schedulers: usize) -> Self {
+        assert!(
+            (1..=64).contains(&schedulers),
+            "smarm: scheduler count must be 1..=64 (idle mask is one u64); got {schedulers}"
+        );
+        Self {
+            parkers: (0..schedulers).map(|_| Parker::new()).collect(),
+            idle: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            tk_holder: AtomicU64::new(NO_TIMEKEEPER),
+            tk_armed: AtomicU64::new(NO_DEADLINE),
+            next_deadline: AtomicU64::new(NO_DEADLINE),
+            origin: Instant::now(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Encode a deadline for the armed snapshot / busy-path compare.
+    /// Saturating: a deadline at-or-before `origin` encodes as 0 (always
+    /// due), one beyond ~584 years as `NO_DEADLINE - 1`.
+    pub(crate) fn deadline_nanos(&self, deadline: Instant) -> u64 {
+        let nanos = deadline
+            .checked_duration_since(self.origin)
+            .map(|d| d.as_nanos())
+            .unwrap_or(0);
+        if nanos >= NO_DEADLINE as u128 {
+            NO_DEADLINE - 1
+        } else {
+            nanos as u64
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Park scheduler `id` until a wake, the deadline, or a positive
+    /// re-check. Protocol: (1) publish own idle bit (SeqCst), (2) run
+    /// `recheck` — it MUST re-read the work source with an ordering that
+    /// pairs with the producer's publish (SeqCst load, or take the mutex
+    /// the producer publishes under); a `true` aborts the park, (3) block.
+    pub(crate) fn park(
+        &self,
+        id: usize,
+        deadline: Option<Instant>,
+        recheck: impl FnOnce() -> bool,
+    ) -> ParkResult {
+        debug_assert!(id < self.parkers.len(), "park: scheduler id out of range");
+        let bit = 1u64 << id;
+        // (1) publish. AcqRel RMW: the acquire half is the handshake — if
+        // this lands after a producer's mask RMW in modification order, we
+        // read-from it and the producer's earlier work publication is
+        // visible to the re-check below (see module docs).
+        let prev = self.idle.fetch_or(bit, Ordering::AcqRel);
+        debug_assert_eq!(prev & bit, 0, "park: idle bit already set for this id");
+        // Fence half of the producer handshake (see `wake_one_if_idle`):
+        // orders our bit-publish before the re-check's loads, so it pairs
+        // with the producer's publish→fence→mask-load — at least one side
+        // must see the other's store, whichever queue backend is in play.
+        fence(Ordering::SeqCst);
+        // (2) the mandatory post-publish re-check.
+        if recheck() {
+            self.idle.fetch_and(!bit, Ordering::AcqRel);
+            return ParkResult::WorkFound;
+        }
+        // (3) block. The permit closes the window between the re-check and
+        // the futex wait: a wake_one that picked us in that window has
+        // already CASed our bit clear and set the permit.
+        let woken = self.parkers[id].park(deadline);
+        // Clear own bit — a no-op when a waker already CASed it clear.
+        self.idle.fetch_and(!bit, Ordering::AcqRel);
+        if woken {
+            ParkResult::Woken
+        } else {
+            ParkResult::TimedOut
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Wake exactly one parked scheduler, if any: pick the highest set idle
+    /// bit (LIFO-ish — warmest cache), CAS it clear, deliver a permit.
+    /// Empty mask = no-op (everyone is awake and will find work by
+    /// popping). Returns whether a scheduler was woken.
+    pub(crate) fn wake_one(&self) -> bool {
+        // RMW read, not a load: reads the latest mask by modification-order
+        // coherence, closing the Dekker race with a parking consumer (see
+        // module docs). The release side of the RMW is what a later-parking
+        // consumer's fetch_or acquires to make its re-check sound.
+        let mut mask = self.idle.fetch_or(0, Ordering::AcqRel);
+        loop {
+            if mask == 0 {
+                return false;
+            }
+            let id = 63 - mask.leading_zeros() as usize; // highest set bit
+            let bit = 1u64 << id;
+            // The CAS is the exactly-one guarantee: whoever clears the bit
+            // owns the wake; a racing wake_one retries on the observed value
+            // (coherence: a failed CAS can never read older than `mask`).
+            match self.idle.compare_exchange(
+                mask,
+                mask & !bit,
+                Ordering::AcqRel,
+                Ordering::Acquire,
+            ) {
+                Ok(_) => {
+                    self.parkers[id].unpark();
+                    return true;
+                }
+                Err(m) => mask = m,
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The producer-side wake tail (`enqueue`'s fast path, RFC 018 "enqueue
+    /// wakes"). The caller has just published work (queue push); we fence,
+    /// then read the mask with ONE Relaxed load — 0 means every scheduler
+    /// is awake and the pure-compute hot path pays no RMW on the shared
+    /// mask line. Soundness is the fence handshake (module docs): our
+    /// fence orders the caller's push before the mask load; the consumer's
+    /// fence (in `park`) orders its bit-publish before its re-check — at
+    /// least one side must observe the other's store, so a consumer we
+    /// miss here is a consumer whose re-check finds the caller's work.
+    pub(crate) fn wake_one_if_idle(&self) -> bool {
+        fence(Ordering::SeqCst);
+        if self.idle.load(Ordering::Relaxed) == 0 {
+            return false;
+        }
+        self.wake_one()
+    }
+
+    /// Terminal wake (replaces the AllDone wake-pipe byte): clear the mask
+    /// and deliver a permit to *every* parker, parked or not. A permit set
+    /// on a busy scheduler costs one spurious park return — nothing at the
+    /// terminal boundary. Idempotent.
+    pub(crate) fn wake_all(&self) {
+        self.idle.store(0, Ordering::Release);
+        for p in self.parkers.iter() {
+            p.unpark();
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Latest idle mask (RMW read — same handshake as `wake_one`). A
+    /// test-only observer: production expresses the chain rule through
+    /// `wake_one_if_idle` (fence + Relaxed load), not a mask read.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn idle_mask(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.idle.fetch_or(0, Ordering::AcqRel)
+    }
+
+    // ----- timekeeper -----
+
+    /// Try to take the timekeeper role for scheduler `id` with `deadline`.
+    /// MUST be called under the caller's timer serialization (the timers
+    /// mutex), with `deadline` the heap minimum peeked under that same
+    /// hold — this is what makes the insert-check race-free. Returns
+    /// whether the role was taken (false = someone else holds it; park
+    /// with no deadline).
+    pub(crate) fn try_arm_timer(&self, id: usize, deadline: Instant) -> bool {
+        debug_assert!(id < self.parkers.len(), "try_arm_timer: id out of range");
+        if self
+            .tk_holder
+            .compare_exchange(NO_TIMEKEEPER, id as u64, Ordering::SeqCst, Ordering::SeqCst)
+            .is_err()
+        {
+            return false;
+        }
+        // Holder-then-deadline order: an insert-check that sees the holder
+        // with the deadline still NO_DEADLINE compares `new < MAX` = true
+        // and over-wakes — the benign direction. (Under the mandated timer
+        // serialization this interleaving cannot occur anyway.)
+        self.tk_armed.store(self.deadline_nanos(deadline), Ordering::SeqCst);
+        true
+    }
+
+    /// Release the timekeeper role (the holder, on wake, before it
+    /// re-peeks/fires). Callable without the timer serialization: a
+    /// racing insert may wake a no-longer-holder — over-wake, benign.
+    pub(crate) fn disarm_timer(&self, id: usize) {
+        debug_assert_eq!(
+            self.tk_holder.load(Ordering::SeqCst),
+            id as u64,
+            "disarm_timer by a non-holder"
+        );
+        // Deadline first: a concurrent insert-check then sees NO_DEADLINE
+        // and skips the (now pointless) wake instead of waking a stale
+        // holder id. Either order is correct; this one wastes less.
+        self.tk_armed.store(NO_DEADLINE, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        self.tk_holder.store(NO_TIMEKEEPER, Ordering::SeqCst);
+    }
+
+    /// Insert-side re-arm check: if `deadline` is earlier than the armed
+    /// snapshot, wake the timekeeper to re-peek. MUST be called under the
+    /// same timer serialization as `try_arm_timer` (see there).
+    pub(crate) fn timer_inserted(&self, deadline: Instant) {
+        if self.deadline_nanos(deadline) < self.tk_armed.load(Ordering::SeqCst) {
+            let holder = self.tk_holder.load(Ordering::SeqCst);
+            if holder != NO_TIMEKEEPER {
+                // Direct unpark, not wake_one: the wake targets the
+                // timekeeper specifically (it must re-peek the heap). Its
+                // idle bit stays set until it returns from park — a
+                // concurrent wake_one may pick it too; over-wake, benign.
+                self.parkers[holder as usize].unpark();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// The armed-deadline snapshot (nanos since origin; `NO_DEADLINE` =
+    /// none). Test-only introspection on the timekeeper's armed value; the
+    /// busy-path due-check reads `next_deadline`, not this.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn armed_deadline_nanos(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.tk_armed.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+
+    // ----- earliest-deadline snapshot (busy-path due-check) -----
+
+    /// Record a newly inserted timer deadline. MUST be called under the
+    /// timers mutex (same serialization rule as `try_arm_timer`), which is
+    /// why plain compare+store suffices for the min-maintenance. Also runs
+    /// the timekeeper re-arm check (`timer_inserted`) — one call site for
+    /// both consequences of an insert.
+    pub(crate) fn note_deadline(&self, deadline: Instant) {
+        let n = self.deadline_nanos(deadline);
+        if n < self.next_deadline.load(Ordering::Relaxed) {
+            self.next_deadline.store(n, Ordering::Release);
+        }
+        self.timer_inserted(deadline);
+    }
+
+    /// Re-anchor the snapshot to the heap minimum (`None` = heap empty)
+    /// after a `pop_due` / `clear`. MUST be called under the timers mutex.
+    pub(crate) fn refresh_deadline(&self, next: Option<Instant>) {
+        let n = next.map_or(NO_DEADLINE, |d| self.deadline_nanos(d));
+        self.next_deadline.store(n, Ordering::Release);
+    }
+
+    /// Busy-path due-check: is the earliest known deadline at or past
+    /// `now`? One Relaxed load when no deadline is armed — the clock is
+    /// read only when a timer actually exists (matching the old drain
+    /// phase's is_empty guard), so the pure-compute hot path pays a load
+    /// and a branch.
+    pub(crate) fn deadline_due(&self) -> bool {
+        let n = self.next_deadline.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        n != NO_DEADLINE && self.deadline_nanos(Instant::now()) >= n
+    }
+
+    /// The earliest-deadline snapshot as an `Instant` (`None` = no timer
+    /// pending). Test-only: the idle path arms the timekeeper from the
+    /// timer heap's own `peek_deadline` under the timers mutex.
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(crate) fn next_deadline_instant(&self) -> Option<Instant> {
+        let n = self.next_deadline.load(Ordering::Acquire);
+        if n == NO_DEADLINE {
+            None
+        } else {
+            self.origin.checked_add(std::time::Duration::from_nanos(n))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Unit tests (std build)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[cfg(all(test, not(loom)))]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering as O};
+    use std::sync::Arc;
+    use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+    #[test]
+    fn permit_before_park_returns_immediately() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(1);
+        // Deliver the wake first (nobody parked: wake_one no-ops on the
+        // mask, so use the timekeeper-direct path? No — permit semantics
+        // are the parker's own; exercise via wake_all which permits all).
+        c.wake_all();
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        let r = c.park(0, None, || false);
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::Woken);
+        assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_millis(100), "park blocked despite permit");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn submillisecond_deadline_is_honored() {
+        // Regression for the retired as_millis truncation: a 500µs deadline
+        // must neither busy-return instantly forever nor round to 0/∞.
+        let c = Coordinator::new(1);
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        let r = c.park(0, Some(t0 + Duration::from_micros(500)), || false);
+        let dt = t0.elapsed();
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::TimedOut);
+        assert!(dt >= Duration::from_micros(400), "woke too early: {dt:?}");
+        assert!(dt < Duration::from_millis(50), "overslept: {dt:?}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn recheck_true_aborts_park_and_clears_bit() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let r = c.park(1, None, || true);
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::WorkFound);
+        assert_eq!(c.idle_mask(), 0, "bit not cleared after WorkFound");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn recheck_observes_own_bit_published() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let seen = std::cell::Cell::new(0u64);
+        let r = c.park(1, None, || {
+            seen.set(c.idle_mask());
+            true
+        });
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::WorkFound);
+        assert_eq!(seen.get() & 0b10, 0b10, "bit not published before re-check");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wake_one_wakes_exactly_one_of_n() {
+        const N: usize = 4;
+        let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(N));
+        let woken = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(0));
+        let mut ts = Vec::new();
+        for id in 0..N {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            let woken = woken.clone();
+            ts.push(std::thread::spawn(move || {
+                let r = c.park(id, None, || false);
+                assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::Woken);
+                woken.fetch_add(1, O::SeqCst);
+            }));
+        }
+        // Wait until all four are published idle.
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        while c.idle_mask().count_ones() != N as u32 {
+            assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5), "threads never parked");
+            std::thread::yield_now();
+        }
+        assert!(c.wake_one());
+        // Exactly one wakes; give the others a beat to (incorrectly) wake.
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        while woken.load(O::SeqCst) == 0 {
+            assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5), "wake_one woke nobody");
+            std::thread::yield_now();
+        }
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+        assert_eq!(woken.load(O::SeqCst), 1, "wake_one woke more than one");
+        assert_eq!(c.idle_mask().count_ones(), (N - 1) as u32);
+        c.wake_all();
+        for t in ts {
+            match t.join() {
+                Ok(()) => {}
+                Err(p) => std::panic::resume_unwind(p),
+            }
+        }
+        assert_eq!(woken.load(O::SeqCst), N);
+        assert_eq!(c.idle_mask(), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wake_one_prefers_highest_bit() {
+        let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(3));
+        let woken_id = Arc::new(AtomicUsize::new(usize::MAX));
+        let mut ts = Vec::new();
+        for id in 0..3 {
+            let c = c.clone();
+            let woken_id = woken_id.clone();
+            ts.push(std::thread::spawn(move || {
+                if c.park(id, None, || false) == ParkResult::Woken {
+                    let _ = woken_id.compare_exchange(usize::MAX, id, O::SeqCst, O::SeqCst);
+                }
+            }));
+        }
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        while c.idle_mask() != 0b111 {
+            assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5));
+            std::thread::yield_now();
+        }
+        assert!(c.wake_one());
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        while woken_id.load(O::SeqCst) == usize::MAX {
+            assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5));
+            std::thread::yield_now();
+        }
+        assert_eq!(woken_id.load(O::SeqCst), 2, "LIFO-ish: highest bit first");
+        c.wake_all();
+        for t in ts {
+            let _ = t.join();
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wake_one_on_empty_mask_is_noop() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        assert!(!c.wake_one());
+        assert_eq!(c.idle_mask(), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn timekeeper_arm_is_exclusive_and_snapshot_readable() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let d2 = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(10);
+        let d1 = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(1);
+        assert_eq!(c.armed_deadline_nanos(), NO_DEADLINE);
+        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(0, d2));
+        assert!(!c.try_arm_timer(1, d1), "second arm must fail while held");
+        assert_eq!(c.armed_deadline_nanos(), c.deadline_nanos(d2));
+        c.disarm_timer(0);
+        assert_eq!(c.armed_deadline_nanos(), NO_DEADLINE);
+        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(1, d1), "role must be re-takeable after disarm");
+        c.disarm_timer(1);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn earlier_insert_wakes_timekeeper() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let far = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(60);
+        let near = Instant::now() + Duration::from_millis(1);
+        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(0, far));
+        // Holder not yet parked: the wake must land as a permit.
+        c.timer_inserted(near);
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        let r = c.park(0, Some(far), || false);
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::Woken, "re-arm wake lost");
+        assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5), "slept toward the stale deadline");
+        c.disarm_timer(0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn later_insert_does_not_wake_timekeeper() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let near = Instant::now() + Duration::from_millis(20);
+        let far = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(60);
+        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(0, near));
+        c.timer_inserted(far); // later than armed: no wake
+        let r = c.park(0, Some(near), || false);
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::TimedOut, "spurious wake for a later insert");
+        c.disarm_timer(0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    #[should_panic(expected = "1..=64")]
+    fn more_than_64_schedulers_asserts() {
+        let _ = Coordinator::new(65);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn wake_one_if_idle_noop_on_empty_and_wakes_on_parked() {
+        let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(1));
+        assert!(!c.wake_one_if_idle(), "empty mask must be a no-op");
+        let c2 = c.clone();
+        let t = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            assert_eq!(c2.park(0, None, || false), ParkResult::Woken);
+        });
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        while c.idle_mask() == 0 {
+            assert!(t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5), "never parked");
+            std::thread::yield_now();
+        }
+        assert!(c.wake_one_if_idle());
+        match t.join() {
+            Ok(()) => {}
+            Err(p) => std::panic::resume_unwind(p),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn deadline_snapshot_min_maintenance_and_due_check() {
+        let c = Coordinator::new(1);
+        assert!(!c.deadline_due(), "no deadline: never due");
+        assert_eq!(c.next_deadline_instant(), None);
+        let far = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(60);
+        let near = Instant::now() + Duration::from_millis(1);
+        c.note_deadline(far);
+        assert!(!c.deadline_due());
+        c.note_deadline(near); // min wins
+        assert!(c.next_deadline_instant().is_some_and(|d| d <= near));
+        c.note_deadline(far); // later insert must NOT raise the snapshot
+        assert!(c.next_deadline_instant().is_some_and(|d| d <= near));
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(2));
+        assert!(c.deadline_due(), "past deadline not reported due");
+        c.refresh_deadline(Some(far));
+        assert!(!c.deadline_due(), "refresh did not re-anchor");
+        c.refresh_deadline(None);
+        assert_eq!(c.next_deadline_instant(), None);
+        // A deadline at/before origin encodes as 0: always due.
+        c.note_deadline(Instant::now() - Duration::from_secs(1));
+        assert!(c.deadline_due());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn note_deadline_earlier_wakes_timekeeper_via_snapshot_path() {
+        // note_deadline must carry the timer_inserted re-arm wake too.
+        let c = Coordinator::new(2);
+        let far = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(60);
+        let near = Instant::now() + Duration::from_millis(1);
+        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(0, far));
+        c.note_deadline(near);
+        let r = c.park(0, Some(far), || false);
+        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::Woken, "re-arm wake lost through note_deadline");
+        c.disarm_timer(0);
+    }
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// loom models — RUSTFLAGS="--cfg loom" cargo test --lib --release park
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[cfg(all(test, loom))]
+mod loom_tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use loom::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64 as LAtomicU64, Ordering as O};
+    use loom::sync::{Arc, Mutex as LMutex};
+    use loom::thread;
+    use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+    /// RFC 018 loom model 1 — no lost wake.
+    /// producer{publish item; wake_one} ∥ consumer{set bit; re-check; park}:
+    /// the consumer always observes the item or a permit; it can never
+    /// sleep past a published item (loom's deadlock detector is the
+    /// assertion — a consumer parked forever fails the model).
+    #[test]
+    fn no_lost_wake() {
+        loom::model(|| {
+            let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(1));
+            let item = Arc::new(LAtomicU64::new(0));
+
+            let prod = {
+                let c = c.clone();
+                let item = item.clone();
+                thread::spawn(move || {
+                    // The enqueue shape: publish, then the fenced fast-path
+                    // wake tail (this is what the runtime's enqueue calls).
+                    item.store(1, O::SeqCst);
+                    c.wake_one_if_idle();
+                })
+            };
+
+            // Consumer: loop until the item is popped. Guarded load+CAS,
+            // not a blind swap — a swap writes 0 even when empty, and
+            // coherence allows that write to land after the producer's
+            // store in modification order, destroying the item (a model
+            // bug loom caught in an earlier draft of this test).
+            loop {
+                if item.load(O::SeqCst) == 1
+                    && item.compare_exchange(1, 0, O::SeqCst, O::SeqCst).is_ok()
+                {
+                    break;
+                }
+                let _ = c.park(0, None, || item.load(O::SeqCst) == 1);
+            }
+            prod.join().unwrap();
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 018 loom model 2 — chain propagation.
+    /// Two items, two sleepers, ONE producer wake: the chain rule (a woken
+    /// consumer that sees surplus work and a non-empty mask wakes again)
+    /// must get both items consumed with no further producer action.
+    #[test]
+    fn chain_propagation() {
+        loom::model(|| {
+            let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(2));
+            let items = Arc::new(LAtomicU64::new(0));
+            let consumed = Arc::new(LAtomicU64::new(0));
+
+            let mut hs = Vec::new();
+            for id in 0..2usize {
+                let c = c.clone();
+                let items = items.clone();
+                let consumed = consumed.clone();
+                hs.push(thread::spawn(move || loop {
+                    if consumed.load(O::SeqCst) == 2 {
+                        c.wake_all(); // release a sibling still parked
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    let cur = items.load(O::SeqCst);
+                    if cur > 0
+                        && items
+                            .compare_exchange(cur, cur - 1, O::SeqCst, O::SeqCst)
+                            .is_ok()
+                    {
+                        consumed.fetch_add(1, O::SeqCst);
+                        // THE CHAIN RULE, exactly as production expresses it
+                        // (runtime.rs schedule_loop): surplus ⇒ the fenced
+                        // fast-path wake. Models the Relaxed-load chain path,
+                        // not just the RMW one.
+                        if items.load(O::SeqCst) > 0 {
+                            c.wake_one_if_idle();
+                        }
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                    let _ = c.park(id, None, || {
+                        items.load(O::SeqCst) > 0 || consumed.load(O::SeqCst) == 2
+                    });
+                }));
+            }
+
+            // Producer (main): two items, ONE wake, via the enqueue-shaped
+            // fenced fast path.
+            items.store(2, O::SeqCst);
+            c.wake_one_if_idle();
+
+            for h in hs {
+                h.join().unwrap();
+            }
+            assert_eq!(consumed.load(O::SeqCst), 2);
+            assert_eq!(items.load(O::SeqCst), 0);
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 018 loom model 3 — timekeeper handoff.
+    /// An earlier-deadline insert racing the parking timekeeper: the
+    /// earlier deadline is always honored — either the timekeeper armed it
+    /// directly (insert landed first under the timers lock) or the insert
+    /// wakes the timekeeper to re-peek. A timekeeper sleeping toward the
+    /// stale later deadline would deadlock the model (loom has no time).
+    #[test]
+    fn timekeeper_handoff() {
+        loom::model(|| {
+            let origin = Instant::now();
+            let d_far = origin + Duration::from_secs(60);
+            let d_near = origin + Duration::from_secs(1);
+
+            let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(1));
+            // The timers-mutex stand-in: heap min under a lock.
+            let heap_min = Arc::new(LMutex::new(d_far));
+
+            let tk = {
+                let c = c.clone();
+                let heap_min = heap_min.clone();
+                thread::spawn(move || {
+                    // Peek + arm under the lock (the serialization rule).
+                    let armed = {
+                        let g = heap_min.lock().unwrap();
+                        let min = *g;
+                        assert!(c.try_arm_timer(0, min));
+                        min
+                    };
+                    if armed == d_far {
+                        // Insert hadn't landed: it MUST wake us. Parking
+                        // toward d_far with no wake = model deadlock.
+                        let r = c.park(0, Some(armed), || false);
+                        assert_eq!(r, ParkResult::Woken, "re-arm wake lost");
+                    }
+                    // Woken (or armed the near deadline directly): re-peek.
+                    c.disarm_timer(0);
+                    let g = heap_min.lock().unwrap();
+                    assert_eq!(*g, d_near, "earlier deadline not visible on re-peek");
+                })
+            };
+
+            // Inserter (main): publish the earlier deadline under the lock,
+            // then the insert-check.
+            {
+                let mut g = heap_min.lock().unwrap();
+                *g = d_near;
+                c.timer_inserted(d_near);
+            }
+
+            tk.join().unwrap();
+        });
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 018 loom model 4 — termination.
+    /// The AllDone verdict: producer flips done and wake_all()s; consumers
+    /// must never park forever past done (park's re-check + wake_all's
+    /// permits close every interleaving; a stuck consumer = loom deadlock).
+    #[test]
+    fn termination_no_park_past_done() {
+        loom::model(|| {
+            let c = Arc::new(Coordinator::new(2));
+            let done = Arc::new(LAtomicU64::new(0));
+
+            let mut hs = Vec::new();
+            for id in 0..2usize {
+                let c = c.clone();
+                let done = done.clone();
+                hs.push(thread::spawn(move || loop {
+                    if done.load(O::SeqCst) == 1 {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    let _ = c.park(id, None, || done.load(O::SeqCst) == 1);
+                }));
+            }
+
+            done.store(1, O::SeqCst);
+            c.wake_all();
+
+            for h in hs {
+                h.join().unwrap();
+            }
+        });
+    }
+}

src/preempt.rs

@@ -98,6 +98,25 @@ pub(crate) fn clear_current_slot() {
     CURRENT_SLOT.with(|c| c.set(std::ptr::null()));
 }
 
+/// RFC 007 (`smarm-causal`) — raw pointer to the on-CPU actor's slot, null on
+/// the scheduler's own stack. Same lifetime argument as `note_overrun`: the
+/// slot is never reclaimed while its actor is on-CPU.
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+#[inline]
+pub(crate) fn current_slot_ptr() -> *const crate::runtime::Slot {
+    CURRENT_SLOT.with(|c| c.get())
+}
+
+/// RFC 007 (`smarm-causal`) — push the slice start forward by `cycles`, so
+/// virtually-injected delay spun inside `maybe_preempt` does not count against
+/// the actor's timeslice (the clock-correction half of the RFC: the runtime
+/// owns this clock, so it can subtract its own perturbation).
+#[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+#[inline]
+pub(crate) fn extend_timeslice(cycles: u64) {
+    TIMESLICE_START.with(|c| c.set(c.get().wrapping_add(cycles)));
+}
+
 /// Tally a timeslice overrun against the on-CPU actor (RFC 016 Chunk 2). A
 /// no-op if no actor is bound (the scheduler's own stack). Reached only from
 /// the slice-expiry branch, which is already the yield path, so its cost is
@@ -247,6 +266,11 @@ pub fn maybe_preempt() {
                 // Observe a pending stop first: if we are being cancelled
                 // there is no point yielding, we unwind instead.
                 check_cancelled();
+                // RFC 007: causal-profiling sample/absorb point. Shares the
+                // amortised cadence, and the PREEMPTION_ENABLED gate — so it
+                // can never spin inside a prep-to-park or no-preempt region.
+                #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+                crate::causal::check();
                 let start = TIMESLICE_START.with(|s| s.get());
                 if rdtsc().saturating_sub(start) > CONFIGURED_TIMESLICE_CYCLES.with(|t| t.get()) {
                     // Tally the overrun (RFC 016 Chunk 2) before handing back —

src/registry.rs

@@ -1,55 +1,108 @@
-//! Named mailbox registry — resolve a name (or pid) to a *messageable* actor.
+
+//! Give an actor a name so other actors can find it and message it.
 //!
-//! ## What changed (RFC 014)
+//! Without the registry, the only way to reach an actor is to already be
+//! holding its [`Pid`], usually because you spawned it yourself or someone
+//! passed it to you. That is fine for a worker you just created, but it does
+//! not work for a well-known service that arbitrary parts of your program
+//! need to find independently, like a logger, a config store, or a
+//! connection pool. The registry solves this: an actor claims a name once,
+//! and from then on any other actor can look that name up, or send to it
+//! directly, without ever having been handed a `Pid`.
 //!
-//! The old registry was a `name <-> pid` bimap: `whereis` handed back a `Pid`
-//! you could not send to, because a pid is just `(index, generation)` with no
-//! delivery endpoint. This rework makes resolution yield something messageable.
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{channel, register, run, send, spawn, unregister, whereis, Name};
 //!
-//! Two facts shape the structure:
+//! const COUNTER: Name<u64> = Name::new("counter");
 //!
-//! 1. **A name resolves to a single actor.** Many actors under one label is
-//!    what *process groups* (`pg`) are for; the registry is one-name-one-actor
-//!    (several names *may* point at the same actor).
-//! 2. **Channels are typed**, so an actor has no single untyped mailbox. An
-//!    actor instead owns a *set* of typed channels — one [`Sender`] per message
-//!    type it accepts. So the registry maps name/pid to a [`Mailbox`]: a small
-//!    structure holding that actor's pid plus all of its typed channels, keyed
-//!    by message [`TypeId`].
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let (ready_tx, ready_rx) = channel::<()>();
+//!     let (tx, rx) = channel::<u64>();
 //!
-//! Resolution is therefore: `name -> pid` (single actor) `-> Mailbox -> the
-//! channel for message type M`. A `Name<Cmd>` and a `Name<Admin>` on the *same*
-//! actor select *different* channels purely by their type parameter, so
-//! capability separation (RFC 014 §4.7) needs no extra machinery.
+//!     let worker = spawn(move || {
+//!         // Claim the name for this actor's inbox. Any actor holding
+//!         // `COUNTER` can now reach this one by name.
+//!         register(COUNTER, tx).unwrap();
+//!         ready_tx.send(()).unwrap();
+//!         assert_eq!(rx.recv().unwrap(), 42);
+//!     });
 //!
-//! ## Type erasure is contained
+//!     ready_rx.recv().unwrap(); // wait for the worker to register
 //!
-//! Each stored channel is a `Box<dyn Any + Send>` that is concretely a
-//! `Sender<M>`, filed under `TypeId::of::<M>()`. A resolve for `M` looks up
-//! that exact `TypeId` and downcasts to `Sender<M>` — keyed by the very type we
-//! downcast to, so the downcast cannot fail on correct data; a failure is a
-//! smarm bug, asserted in debug. The phantom `M` on [`Name`] re-imposes the
-//! type at the call site, so callers never touch the erasure.
+//!     // Look the name up, or just send to it directly.
+//!     assert_eq!(whereis("counter"), Some(worker.pid()));
+//!     send(COUNTER, 42).unwrap();
 //!
-//! ## Cleanup is lazy (prune-on-contact)
+//!     worker.join().unwrap();
 //!
-//! As before, there is no `finalize` hook and no name field on the slot. Every
-//! operation that touches a binding checks the target pid's liveness via the
-//! generation-checked slot word; a binding to a dead actor behaves as absent
-//! and is pruned on contact (its [`Mailbox`] and every name pointing at it are
-//! dropped). The cost is a dead binding lingering until something looks at it;
-//! the payoff is zero coupling to the actor lifecycle.
+//!     // The name dies with the actor: nobody holds it anymore.
+//!     assert_eq!(whereis("counter"), None);
+//! });
+//! ```
 //!
-//! ## Locking
+//! ## Names carry a message type
 //!
-//! One `RawMutex` (Leaf class) in `RuntimeInner`, exactly like the old
-//! registry. The fold (name index *and* handles under the one lock) is what
-//! keeps a name-addressed `send` on a single Leaf — `raw_mutex` panics on a
-//! second Leaf acquired while one is held. The send path clones the `Sender`
-//! **under** the Leaf lock (a `Sender::clone` takes a Channel lock, permitted
-//! under a Leaf), then **releases** the Leaf and only *then* sends — a send can
-//! unpark a receiver, and wakeup-bearing work runs outside the Leaf. Order is
-//! **Leaf -> Channel**, as `pg`/`finalize`.
+//! A [`Name<M>`] is a plain string plus a type parameter `M`: the message
+//! type that name expects to receive. [`Name::new`] is `const`, so the usual
+//! pattern is a module-level constant like `COUNTER` above, shared by every
+//! caller. The type parameter means a name is only ever sent the kind of
+//! message it was declared for. If two different constants share the same
+//! string but have different message types, they still address two
+//! independent channels on the same actor: registering both just gives that
+//! actor two ways to be reached, one per message type. This is how you give
+//! one actor a "public" channel and a separate, differently-typed "admin"
+//! channel under related names, without inventing an enum to merge them.
+//!
+//! ## One actor per name, looked up fresh every time
+//!
+//! A name always points at exactly one actor at a time (contrast a *process
+//! group*, from the [`pg`](crate::pg) module, which is one name mapping to
+//! many actors). Unlike a plain [`Pid`], which names one specific actor
+//! forever and stops working the moment that actor dies, a name is
+//! re-resolved on every [`send`]: if the actor holding it dies and a new one
+//! registers under the same name, the next `send` reaches the new holder
+//! automatically. Use a name for a long-lived service whose exact identity
+//! you do not want to track by hand; use a `Pid` when you already have one
+//! and want to talk to that exact actor.
+//!
+//! ## Registration ends when the actor does
+//!
+//! There is no separate step to clean up a name when its actor exits: dying
+//! is enough. The next operation that touches a dead binding (a [`whereis`],
+//! a [`send`], or another actor's [`register`] of the same name) notices the
+//! actor is gone and clears the stale entry as a side effect, so the name
+//! becomes free again. [`unregister`] is only for a live actor voluntarily
+//! giving up a name it no longer wants; nothing has to call it on the way
+//! out.
+//!
+//! ## Implementation notes
+//!
+//! These details matter if you are working on smarm itself; they are not
+//! part of the public contract.
+//!
+//! Internally, each live actor that has published at least one channel owns
+//! a `Mailbox`: its pid plus a set of typed channels, keyed by the message
+//! type's `TypeId`. A stored channel is a `Box<dyn Any + Send>` that
+//! is concretely a `Sender<M>`; resolving for `M` looks up that exact
+//! `TypeId` and downcasts, so the downcast cannot fail on correct data (a
+//! failure would be a bug in the registry itself, checked in debug builds).
+//! Registering a name therefore means: find or create the actor's mailbox,
+//! insert the channel under its type, and point the name at the actor's pid.
+//!
+//! There is no callback when an actor exits. Every operation that touches a
+//! binding checks the target pid's liveness directly against the scheduler's
+//! slot table (which also tracks a generation counter, so a dead actor's
+//! reused slot index is never mistaken for the same actor). A binding to a
+//! dead actor is treated as absent and dropped right there. This keeps the
+//! registry decoupled from actor teardown, at the cost of a dead binding
+//! lingering until something happens to look at it.
+//!
+//! The whole registry (both the name index and the per-actor mailboxes) sits
+//! behind one lock, which is what lets a name-addressed [`send`] resolve and
+//! clone the target's sender in a single critical section. The sender is
+//! cloned while that lock is held, then the lock is released before the
+//! actual send, since delivering a message can wake a parked receiver and
+//! that wakeup work should not run while the registry is locked.
 
 use crate::channel::Sender;
 use crate::pid::{Addressable, Name, Pid};
@@ -80,28 +133,33 @@ impl std::fmt::Display for RegisterError {
 
 impl std::error::Error for RegisterError {}
 
-/// Why a name-addressed [`send`] did not deliver. Carries the message back so
-/// the caller never loses it (mirrors [`crate::channel::SendError`]).
+/// Why a send did not deliver. Every variant carries the undelivered message
+/// back, mirroring [`crate::channel::SendError`], so a failed send never
+/// silently drops what you tried to send.
 ///
-/// `Debug`/`Display` are hand-written so neither demands `M: Debug` — the
-/// payload is returned, not printed.
+/// `Debug` and `Display` are hand-written so neither requires `M: Debug`,
+/// since the payload is handed back to you, not printed.
 pub enum SendError<M> {
-    /// No live actor is currently registered under this name. Name-addressed
-    /// [`send`] only; the pid-addressed counterpart is [`SendError::Dead`].
+    /// No live actor is currently registered under this name. Returned only
+    /// by name-addressed [`send`]; the pid-addressed counterpart of "nothing
+    /// there" is [`SendError::Dead`].
     Unresolved(M),
-    /// The pid-addressed actor is no longer the live incarnation this pid names
-    /// — it has died, even if its slot now holds a *different* actor (a direct
-    /// `Pid<A>` send never redirects; contrast name-addressed [`send`]). Pid
-    /// paths ([`send_to`] / [`send_dyn`]) only.
+    /// The actor this pid identifies has died, even if its slot has since
+    /// been taken over by a different, live actor. A direct `Pid<A>` send
+    /// never redirects to that new occupant; contrast name-addressed
+    /// [`send`], which would reach it. Returned by the pid-addressed sends,
+    /// [`send_to`] and [`send_dyn`].
     Dead(M),
-    /// The actor is live but exposes no channel for this message type.
+    /// The actor is live but has not published a channel for this message
+    /// type.
     NoChannel(M),
-    /// The actor's channel for this message type is closed (its receiver is gone).
+    /// The actor's channel for this message type is closed (its receiver has
+    /// been dropped).
     Closed(M),
-    /// No live member to deliver to — a [`dispatch`](crate::dispatch) over an
-    /// empty (or all-dead) process group. Group-addressed dispatch only; the
-    /// name-addressed counterpart is [`SendError::Unresolved`]. The message is
-    /// handed back undelivered.
+    /// No live member was available to deliver to: returned by
+    /// [`dispatch`](crate::dispatch) when the target process group is empty
+    /// or every member in it has died. The name-addressed counterpart of
+    /// this case is [`SendError::Unresolved`].
     NoMember(M),
 }
 
@@ -150,9 +208,9 @@ impl<M> std::error::Error for SendError<M> {}
 
 /// A registry-stored channel, type-erased over its message type. The stored
 /// object must serve two readers: `clone_sender` (downcast back to the concrete
-/// `Sender<M>`) and the RFC 016 snapshot (queued length without knowing `M`).
-/// A bare `Box<dyn Any>` gives the first but not the second, so we erase behind
-/// this small trait instead.
+/// `Sender<M>`) and the runtime introspection snapshot (queued length without
+/// knowing `M`). A bare `Box<dyn Any>` gives the first but not the second, so
+/// we erase behind this small trait instead.
 trait ErasedSender: Send {
     fn as_any(&self) -> &dyn Any;
     fn queued_len(&self) -> usize;
@@ -169,7 +227,7 @@ impl<M: Send + 'static> ErasedSender for Sender<M> {
 
 /// One typed channel of an actor, type-erased. Concretely a `Sender<M>` filed
 /// under `TypeId::of::<M>()`; `msg_type` is `type_name::<M>()`, kept for
-/// observers (RFC 014 §4.5) and as the debug cross-check on the downcast.
+/// observability tooling and as the debug cross-check on the downcast.
 struct Channel {
     sender: Box<dyn ErasedSender>,
     msg_type: &'static str,
@@ -204,7 +262,7 @@ impl Mailbox {
     }
 }
 
-/// Per-actor registry view handed to RFC 016 introspection: registered names
+/// Per-actor registry view handed to runtime introspection: registered names
 /// and summed mailbox depth, tagged with the mailbox's `pid` so a stale
 /// incarnation can be filtered against the slab. Covers only *published*
 /// channels (`register` / `install` / `spawn_addr` / gen_server start); an
@@ -217,14 +275,21 @@ pub(crate) struct MailboxInfo {
 }
 
 /// The directory. Invariant (held under the registry lock): every value in
-/// `by_name` is the index of a [`Mailbox`] present in `by_index`, and that
-/// mailbox's `pid.index()` equals the key. Stale entries (dead actors) violate
-/// nothing — they are simply pruned on contact.
+/// `by_name` is the full [`Pid`] (index *and* generation) of an actor that
+/// published a [`Mailbox`] into `by_index` at registration time. Stale entries
+/// (dead holders, including holders whose slot has since been re-tenanted by
+/// a different actor) violate nothing: they are pruned on contact, and the
+/// generation makes "dead" decidable even after slot reuse.
 pub(crate) struct Registry {
     /// `pid.index() -> the actor's mailbox`. The handle store.
     by_index: HashMap<u32, Mailbox>,
-    /// `name -> pid.index()`. Several names may map to one actor.
-    by_name: HashMap<&'static str, u32>,
+    /// `name -> holder pid`. Several names may map to one actor. The full pid
+    /// (not just the index) is load-bearing: an index alone cannot tell a dead
+    /// holder from the live actor now tenanting its recycled slot. Comparing
+    /// only the index would make such a name read as live-held (unresolvable
+    /// and unregisterable at once) and could misdeliver to whatever new,
+    /// same-typed actor now sits in that slot.
+    by_name: HashMap<&'static str, Pid>,
 }
 
 impl Registry {
@@ -232,24 +297,31 @@ impl Registry {
         Self { by_index: HashMap::new(), by_name: HashMap::new() }
     }
 
-    /// Drop a dead actor's mailbox and every name that pointed at it.
-    fn prune(&mut self, index: u32) {
-        self.by_index.remove(&index);
-        self.by_name.retain(|_, idx| *idx != index);
+    /// Drop a dead holder's artifacts: every name bound to it, and its
+    /// mailbox, but only while the mailbox is still *its own*. A recycled
+    /// slot's mailbox belongs to the live tenant (publish replaces it
+    /// wholesale on pid mismatch) and is left untouched.
+    fn prune_holder(&mut self, holder: Pid) {
+        self.by_name.retain(|_, p| *p != holder);
+        if self.by_index.get(&holder.index()).is_some_and(|mb| mb.pid == holder) {
+            self.by_index.remove(&holder.index());
+        }
     }
 
-    /// RFC 016 snapshot input: per-slot-index registry view — the actor's
-    /// registered names (inverted from `by_name`) and its mailbox depth (queued
-    /// messages summed across every published typed channel). Built in one pass
-    /// under the registry Leaf; the per-channel `queued_len` takes a Channel
-    /// lock, legal under the Leaf (Leaf → Channel). Carries each mailbox's full
-    /// `pid` so the caller can discard a stale incarnation's entry against the
-    /// slab's live generation. Names that dangle (point at no mailbox) are
-    /// dropped — they violate no invariant and get pruned on next contact.
+    /// Runtime introspection input: per-slot-index registry view, giving the
+    /// actor's registered names (inverted from `by_name`) and its mailbox
+    /// depth (queued messages summed across every published typed channel).
+    /// Carries each mailbox's full `pid` so the caller can discard a stale
+    /// incarnation's entry against the slab's live generation. Names are
+    /// matched to mailboxes by *full pid*, so a stale name (dead holder)
+    /// still annotates the corpse's own mailbox if that survives, but never a
+    /// recycled slot's new tenant; names that attach to no mailbox are
+    /// dropped, since that violates no invariant and they get pruned on next
+    /// contact.
     pub(crate) fn introspect_map(&self) -> HashMap<u32, MailboxInfo> {
-        let mut names: HashMap<u32, Vec<&'static str>> = HashMap::new();
-        for (&name, &idx) in &self.by_name {
-            names.entry(idx).or_default().push(name);
+        let mut names: HashMap<Pid, Vec<&'static str>> = HashMap::new();
+        for (&name, &pid) in &self.by_name {
+            names.entry(pid).or_default().push(name);
         }
         let mut out: HashMap<u32, MailboxInfo> = HashMap::with_capacity(self.by_index.len());
         for (&idx, mb) in &self.by_index {
@@ -258,7 +330,7 @@ impl Registry {
                 idx,
                 MailboxInfo {
                     pid: mb.pid,
-                    names: names.remove(&idx).unwrap_or_default(),
+                    names: names.remove(&mb.pid).unwrap_or_default(),
                     depth: depth.min(u32::MAX as usize) as u32,
                 },
             );
@@ -268,15 +340,16 @@ impl Registry {
 
     /// Single-actor form of [`introspect_map`](Self::introspect_map): the
     /// registry view for one slot index, or `None` if no mailbox is published
-    /// there. Used by `actor_info` so its cost stays proportional to the one
-    /// actor rather than locking every channel in the runtime.
+    /// there. Used by the runtime's per-actor introspection so its cost stays
+    /// proportional to the one actor rather than locking every channel in the
+    /// runtime.
     pub(crate) fn introspect_one(&self, idx: u32) -> Option<MailboxInfo> {
         let mb = self.by_index.get(&idx)?;
         let depth: usize = mb.channels.values().map(|c| c.sender.queued_len()).sum();
         let names = self
             .by_name
             .iter()
-            .filter_map(|(&n, &i)| (i == idx).then_some(n))
+            .filter_map(|(&n, &p)| (p == mb.pid).then_some(n))
             .collect();
         Some(MailboxInfo { pid: mb.pid, names, depth: depth.min(u32::MAX as usize) as u32 })
     }
@@ -287,14 +360,18 @@ fn live(inner: &crate::runtime::RuntimeInner, pid: Pid) -> bool {
     inner.slot_at(pid).is_some_and(|s| s.is_live_for(pid))
 }
 
-/// Publish the current actor's `Sender<M>` under `name`, capturing the channel
-/// so the name becomes messageable. Idempotent for the same `(name, type)`;
-/// registering a *second* type under the same (or another) name on the same
-/// actor just adds another channel to the actor's mailbox.
+/// Give the current actor's channel a name, so other actors can find and
+/// message it by that name instead of needing its [`Pid`].
 ///
-/// Fails with [`RegisterError::NameTaken`] if the name is held by a *different*
-/// live actor (a binding to a dead actor is pruned and the name treated as
-/// free). Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
+/// Calling this again with the same `(name, type)` from the same actor is
+/// harmless. Registering a *second* message type under the same (or a
+/// different) name from the same actor just adds another typed channel to
+/// that actor's mailbox; it does not replace the first.
+///
+/// Fails with [`RegisterError::NameTaken`] if the name is currently held by a
+/// *different* live actor. A name held by an actor that has since died is not
+/// considered taken: it is quietly reclaimed and handed to you. Panics if
+/// called outside [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn register<M: Send + 'static>(name: Name<M>, tx: Sender<M>) -> Result<(), RegisterError> {
     register_with(self_pid(), name.as_str(), tx)
 }
@@ -302,8 +379,8 @@ pub fn register<M: Send + 'static>(name: Name<M>, tx: Sender<M>) -> Result<(), R
 /// Bind `name` to `pid`'s mailbox and publish `tx` under `M`'s [`TypeId`], for
 /// an explicit (already-live) actor rather than `self`. The shared core of
 /// [`register`] (which passes `self_pid()`) and the parent-side server-name
-/// bind in `gen_server` (which names a freshly spawned server before its body
-/// has run, so the name resolves the instant `start()` returns). Same collision
+/// bind in `gen_server`, which names a freshly spawned server before its body
+/// has run, so the name resolves the instant `start()` returns. Same collision
 /// rules and lock discipline as `register`.
 pub(crate) fn register_with<M: Send + 'static>(
     me: Pid,
@@ -315,21 +392,22 @@ pub(crate) fn register_with<M: Send + 'static>(
         if !live(inner, me) {
             return Err(RegisterError::NoProc);
         }
-        if let Some(&holder_idx) = reg.by_name.get(key) {
-            match reg.by_index.get(&holder_idx).map(|m| m.pid) {
-                Some(holder) if holder == me => {} // same actor: just add the channel below
-                Some(holder) if live(inner, holder) => {
+        if let Some(&holder) = reg.by_name.get(key) {
+            if holder == me {
+                // Same actor: just add the channel below.
+            } else if live(inner, holder) {
                 return Err(RegisterError::NameTaken { holder });
-                }
-                Some(_) => reg.prune(holder_idx), // dead holder: free the name
-                None => {
-                    reg.by_name.remove(key); // dangling name: free it
-                }
+            } else {
+                // Dead holder: free the name (and its other stale artifacts).
+                // Liveness is judged against the *stored* pid, generation
+                // included, so a recycled slot's live tenant no longer makes a
+                // dead name read as taken.
+                reg.prune_holder(holder);
             }
         }
         // Publish (or extend) the mailbox with this channel, then bind the name.
         publish_channel::<M>(&mut reg, me, tx);
-        reg.by_name.insert(key, me.index());
+        reg.by_name.insert(key, me);
         Ok(())
     })
 }
@@ -352,14 +430,14 @@ fn publish_channel<M: Send + 'static>(reg: &mut Registry, me: Pid, tx: Sender<M>
 
 /// Publish the current actor's `Sender<A::Msg>` into its mailbox **without**
 /// binding a name, and hand back the typed [`Pid<A>`] that addresses this
-/// actor directly. This is the opt-in, lazy install of RFC 014 §5: an actor
-/// that wants to be reachable by a direct, identity-bound [`Pid<A>`] (rather
-/// than only via a re-resolving [`Name`]) calls this once with its inbox
-/// sender, then hands the returned pid out.
+/// actor directly.
 ///
-/// Unlike [`register`] there is no name to collide on, and `self` is always a
-/// live actor inside `run()`, so this is infallible. Panics if called outside
-/// `Runtime::run()`.
+/// This is for an actor that wants to be reachable directly by its pid,
+/// rather than only through a re-resolving [`Name`]: call this once with your
+/// inbox sender, then hand the returned `Pid<A>` to whoever should be able to
+/// message you. Unlike [`register`] there is no name to collide on, and the
+/// current actor is always live while inside `run()`, so this cannot fail.
+/// Panics if called outside [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn install<A: Addressable>(tx: Sender<A::Msg>) -> Pid<A> {
     let me = self_pid();
     with_runtime(|inner| {
@@ -375,11 +453,12 @@ pub fn install<A: Addressable>(tx: Sender<A::Msg>) -> Pid<A> {
 /// Publish `tx` into `pid`'s mailbox under `M`'s [`TypeId`], for an explicit
 /// (freshly minted, already-live) actor rather than `self`. The parent-side
 /// half of [`spawn_addr`](crate::spawn_addr): the spawner makes the inbox and
-/// publishes the sender here *before* handing back the `Pid<A>`, so an immediate
-/// `send_to` on the returned pid always resolves — the address is live the
-/// instant the caller holds it, with no dependence on the body having run yet.
+/// publishes the sender here *before* handing back the `Pid<A>`, so an
+/// immediate `send_to` on the returned pid always resolves. The address is
+/// live the instant the caller holds it, with no dependence on the spawned
+/// actor's body having run yet.
 ///
-/// Caller guarantees `pid` is the just-installed actor (Queued, this exact
+/// Caller guarantees `pid` is the just-installed actor (queued, this exact
 /// incarnation); `publish_channel` replaces any stale leftover at the slot.
 pub(crate) fn install_for<M: Send + 'static>(pid: Pid, tx: Sender<M>) {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
@@ -389,109 +468,106 @@ pub(crate) fn install_for<M: Send + 'static>(pid: Pid, tx: Sender<M>) {
     });
 }
 
-/// The single actor currently registered under `name`, or `None` if unbound or
-/// no longer live (the stale binding is pruned on the way out).
+/// Look up which actor currently holds `name`, if any. Returns `None` if the
+/// name is unbound, or if it was bound to an actor that has since died (the
+/// stale binding is cleared as a side effect of this call).
 pub fn whereis(name: &str) -> Option<Pid> {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
         let mut reg = inner.registry.lock();
-        let idx = *reg.by_name.get(name)?;
-        match reg.by_index.get(&idx).map(|m| m.pid) {
-            Some(pid) if live(inner, pid) => Some(pid),
-            Some(_) => {
-                reg.prune(idx);
+        let pid = *reg.by_name.get(name)?;
+        if live(inner, pid) {
+            Some(pid)
+        } else {
+            // Generation-checked against the stored holder: a recycled slot's
+            // live tenant reads dead here, and the stale name heals.
+            reg.prune_holder(pid);
             None
         }
-            None => {
-                reg.by_name.remove(name);
-                None
-            }
-        }
     })
 }
 
-/// Resolve `name` to a *typed* [`Pid<A>`] — the identity-bound counterpart of
-/// [`whereis`] (RFC 014 §4.4). Recovers the compile-checked
-/// [`send_to`] path from a durable name: looks the name up,
-/// then re-types the erased pid as `Pid<A>` via the unchecked
-/// [`assert_type`](crate::pid::assert_type) primitive. A wrong `A` is not
-/// unsound — it degrades to [`SendError::NoChannel`] on the next send (routing
-/// is by message `TypeId`), never a misdelivery. `None` if unbound or dead.
+/// Like [`whereis`], but returns a *typed* [`Pid<A>`] instead of a bare
+/// [`Pid`], so a follow-up [`send_to`] is compile-checked instead of needing
+/// the untyped [`send_dyn`] escape hatch. `None` if the name is unbound or its
+/// holder has died.
 ///
-/// Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
+/// The type `A` is not checked against what the name's holder actually
+/// published: if you pick the wrong `A`, this still succeeds, but the next
+/// send against the returned pid degrades to [`SendError::NoChannel`] rather
+/// than reaching the wrong actor or the wrong channel.
+///
+/// Panics if called outside [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn lookup_as<A: Addressable>(name: &str) -> Option<Pid<A>> {
     whereis(name).map(crate::pid::assert_type::<A>)
 }
 
-/// Resolve `name` to its actor's pid and a cloned `Sender<M>`, under the Leaf
-/// lock (clone-under-lock, then release). The crate-internal building block for
-/// `gen_server`'s by-name addressing: a named server publishes its inbox as a
-/// `Sender<Envelope<G>>` (via [`register_with`]), and `whereis_server` / `call`
-/// / `cast` recover that exact typed sender here to rebuild a `GenServerRef<G>`.
-/// `None` if unbound, dead (pruned on the way out), or holding no `M` channel.
+/// Resolve `name` to its actor's pid and a cloned `Sender<M>`, all under one
+/// lock acquisition. The crate-internal building block for `gen_server`'s
+/// by-name addressing: a named server publishes its inbox as a
+/// `Sender<Envelope<G>>` (via [`register_with`]), and the server's `call` /
+/// `cast` / `whereis_server` recover that exact typed sender here to rebuild a
+/// `GenServerRef<G>`. `None` if unbound, dead (pruned on the way out), or
+/// holding no `M` channel.
 pub(crate) fn resolve_named_sender<M: Send + 'static>(name: &str) -> Option<(Pid, Sender<M>)> {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
         let mut reg = inner.registry.lock();
-        let idx = *reg.by_name.get(name)?;
-        let pid = match reg.by_index.get(&idx).map(|m| m.pid) {
-            Some(pid) if live(inner, pid) => pid,
-            Some(_) => {
-                reg.prune(idx);
+        let pid = *reg.by_name.get(name)?;
+        if !live(inner, pid) {
+            // Stored-pid liveness, generation included: a name whose holder
+            // died is pruned (heals) even if the slot has a new tenant.
+            // Otherwise the tenant's mailbox would make the name unresolvable
+            // without pruning, wedging it for the tenant's lifetime.
+            reg.prune_holder(pid);
             return None;
         }
-            None => {
-                reg.by_name.remove(name);
-                return None;
-            }
-        };
-        let tx = reg.by_index.get(&idx).and_then(Mailbox::clone_sender::<M>)?;
+        // A live holder's mailbox is its own (publish replaces wholesale on
+        // pid mismatch, and one live actor per slot), so index lookup is safe.
+        let tx = reg.by_index.get(&pid.index()).and_then(Mailbox::clone_sender::<M>)?;
         Some((pid, tx))
     })
 }
 
-/// Remove the binding for `name`, returning the actor it pointed at if still
-/// live. Only the *name* is freed; the actor's mailbox (and any other names for
-/// it) remain. A binding to a dead actor is reported as `None`.
+/// Give up a name. Returns the actor it pointed at, if that actor was still
+/// live. Only the *name* is freed; the actor's mailbox (and any other names
+/// bound to it) are unaffected. A binding to an already-dead actor reports
+/// `None`, since there was nothing live to release.
 pub fn unregister(name: &str) -> Option<Pid> {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
         let mut reg = inner.registry.lock();
-        let idx = reg.by_name.remove(name)?;
-        match reg.by_index.get(&idx).map(|m| m.pid) {
-            Some(pid) if live(inner, pid) => Some(pid),
-            _ => None,
-        }
+        let pid = reg.by_name.remove(name)?;
+        if live(inner, pid) { Some(pid) } else { None }
     })
 }
 
-/// Resolve `name` to its actor's `Sender<M>` and deliver `msg`. The whole point
-/// of the rework: a name you can *send* to.
+/// Look `name` up and deliver `msg` to whichever actor currently holds it.
+/// This is the point of naming an actor: a name you can send a message to
+/// directly, without a separate lookup step.
 ///
-/// Errors (message returned in every case): [`SendError::Unresolved`] if no
-/// live actor holds the name, [`SendError::NoChannel`] if that actor has no
-/// channel for `M`, [`SendError::Closed`] if its `M` channel's receiver is
-/// gone. Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
+/// On failure the message comes back to you, wrapped in the [`SendError`]
+/// variant that explains why: [`SendError::Unresolved`] if no live actor
+/// currently holds the name, [`SendError::NoChannel`] if the actor that holds
+/// it never published a channel for `M`, or [`SendError::Closed`] if it
+/// published one but has since dropped the receiving end. Panics if called
+/// outside [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn send<M: Send + 'static>(name: Name<M>, msg: M) -> Result<(), SendError<M>> {
     let key = name.as_str();
     with_runtime(|inner| {
-        // Resolve + clone the sender under the Leaf lock, then drop the lock
-        // before sending (a send can unpark a receiver).
+        // Resolve + clone the sender under the registry lock, then drop the
+        // lock before sending (a send can unpark a receiver).
         let tx = {
             let mut reg = inner.registry.lock();
-            let idx = match reg.by_name.get(key) {
-                Some(&i) => i,
+            let pid = match reg.by_name.get(key) {
+                Some(&p) => p,
                 None => return Err(SendError::Unresolved(msg)),
             };
-            let pid = match reg.by_index.get(&idx).map(|m| m.pid) {
-                Some(pid) => pid,
-                None => {
-                    reg.by_name.remove(key);
-                    return Err(SendError::Unresolved(msg));
-                }
-            };
             if !live(inner, pid) {
-                reg.prune(idx);
+                // Stored-pid liveness (generation included), so a recycled
+                // slot's new live tenant is never mistaken for the name's
+                // original (now-dead) holder.
+                reg.prune_holder(pid);
                 return Err(SendError::Unresolved(msg));
             }
-            match reg.by_index.get(&idx).and_then(Mailbox::clone_sender::<M>) {
+            match reg.by_index.get(&pid.index()).and_then(Mailbox::clone_sender::<M>) {
                 Some(tx) => tx,
                 None => return Err(SendError::NoChannel(msg)),
             }
@@ -502,18 +578,19 @@ pub fn send<M: Send + 'static>(name: Name<M>, msg: M) -> Result<(), SendError<M>
 
 /// Resolve a *raw* pid to its mailbox and deliver `msg` on the channel for `M`,
 /// with **no redirect**. The stored mailbox must be this exact incarnation
-/// (generation included) and still live; otherwise the actor this pid named is
-/// gone and the result is [`SendError::Dead`] — even when the slot now holds a
-/// different, live actor (which we leave untouched). Shared by [`send_to`]
-/// (typed, `M = A::Msg`, channel guaranteed on an installed actor) and
-/// [`send_dyn`] (explicit `M`, where `NoChannel` is a real outcome).
+/// (generation included) and still live; otherwise the actor this pid named
+/// is gone and the result is [`SendError::Dead`], even when the slot now
+/// holds a different, live actor (which is left untouched). Shared by
+/// [`send_to`] (typed, `M = A::Msg`, channel guaranteed on an installed
+/// actor) and [`send_dyn`] (explicit `M`, where `NoChannel` is a real
+/// outcome).
 fn send_to_pid<M: Send + 'static>(
     inner: &crate::runtime::RuntimeInner,
     pid: Pid,
     msg: M,
 ) -> Result<(), SendError<M>> {
-    // Resolve + clone the sender under the Leaf lock, then drop the lock before
-    // sending (a send can unpark a receiver) — Leaf -> Channel, as name `send`.
+    // Resolve + clone the sender under the registry lock, then drop the lock
+    // before sending (a send can unpark a receiver), same order as `send`.
     let tx = {
         let mut reg = inner.registry.lock();
         match reg.by_index.get(&pid.index()).map(|m| m.pid) {
@@ -526,7 +603,7 @@ fn send_to_pid<M: Send + 'static>(
             }
             // Our incarnation's mailbox, but the actor has died: prune + Dead.
             Some(stored) if stored == pid => {
-                reg.prune(pid.index());
+                reg.prune_holder(pid);
                 return Err(SendError::Dead(msg));
             }
             // A different incarnation (or nothing) occupies the slot: the actor
@@ -537,32 +614,36 @@ fn send_to_pid<M: Send + 'static>(
     tx.send(msg).map_err(|crate::channel::SendError(m)| SendError::Closed(m))
 }
 
-/// Deliver `msg` to the exact actor named by `pid` — RFC 014 §4.2's direct,
-/// identity-bound addressing mode. Unlike name-addressed [`send`] there is **no
-/// redirect**: if that incarnation has died the message comes back as
-/// [`SendError::Dead`], even if its slot now holds a different actor.
+/// Deliver `msg` directly to the exact actor identified by `pid`. Unlike
+/// name-addressed [`send`], there is **no redirect**: if that specific actor
+/// has died, the message comes back as [`SendError::Dead`], even if its slot
+/// has since been taken over by a different, live actor. Use this when you
+/// already hold a `Pid<A>` and want to talk to that one actor specifically;
+/// use [`send`] with a [`Name`] when you want whichever actor currently holds
+/// a name.
 ///
 /// The message type is the actor's `A::Msg`, so on a live actor that has
-/// installed its inbox (via [`install`] or [`register`]) the channel is always
-/// present; [`SendError::NoChannel`] therefore means the actor is live but
-/// never published a `Pid<A>`-reachable inbox. Panics if called outside
-/// `Runtime::run()`.
+/// installed its inbox (via [`install`] or [`register`]) the channel is
+/// always present; [`SendError::NoChannel`] therefore means the actor is live
+/// but never published a `Pid<A>`-reachable inbox. Panics if called outside
+/// [`run`](crate::run).
 pub fn send_to<A: Addressable>(pid: Pid<A>, msg: A::Msg) -> Result<(), SendError<A::Msg>> {
     with_runtime(|inner| send_to_pid::<A::Msg>(inner, pid.erase(), msg))
 }
 
-/// The explicit bare-pid escape hatch (RFC 014 §4.6): deliver `msg` of type `M`
-/// to `pid` when all you hold is an untyped [`Pid`] — a pid off a [`Down`], or
-/// out of a future `members()` — so the typed [`send_to`] is unavailable.
+/// The escape hatch for sending to a bare, untyped [`Pid`] when the typed
+/// [`send_to`] is unavailable, for example a pid recovered from a [`Down`]
+/// notification or a group's `members()` list, where you no longer know the
+/// actor's message type at compile time.
 ///
-/// This is the one send whose message type can genuinely be wrong: the actor
-/// may be live yet expose no channel for `M`, returning [`SendError::NoChannel`]
-/// (on the typed paths that downcast collapses to a `debug_assert`). It is
-/// named and documented as the fallible fallback so the typed `Pid<A>` /
-/// `Name<M>` paths stay the obvious default and an agentic caller reaches for a
-/// present primitive instead of inventing a workaround. Liveness is identical
-/// to [`send_to`]: identity-bound, no redirect, [`SendError::Dead`] once the
-/// addressed incarnation is gone. Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
+/// Because the message type is not checked at compile time here, this is the
+/// one send that can genuinely be live-but-wrong: the actor may be alive yet
+/// expose no channel for `M`, in which case you get [`SendError::NoChannel`]
+/// back instead of a misdelivery. Liveness and redirect behavior are
+/// otherwise identical to [`send_to`]: identity-bound, no redirect,
+/// [`SendError::Dead`] once the addressed incarnation is gone. Prefer
+/// `send_to` with a typed `Pid<A>` whenever you have one; reach for this only
+/// when you don't. Panics if called outside [`run`](crate::run).
 ///
 /// [`Down`]: crate::Down
 pub fn send_dyn<M: Send + 'static>(pid: Pid, msg: M) -> Result<(), SendError<M>> {

src/runtime.rs

@@ -86,21 +86,28 @@
 //! # Termination (counter-based)
 //!
 //! The old all-clear scanned the slot table under the big lock. Now:
-//! exit when `io_out == 0` (read *before* the queue lock, phase-1 ordering)
-//! and, under the queue lock, the queue is empty and `live_actors == 0`.
-//! `live_actors` is incremented in `spawn` before the enqueue and decremented
-//! at the very END of `finalize_actor`, strictly after every wakeup that
-//! finalize produces has been enqueued. The soundness crux: any enqueue
-//! targets a live (not-yet-finalized) actor, so `live == 0` implies no wakeup
-//! can still be in flight; combined with "spawner is itself live", observing
-//! `(queue empty, live == 0)` under the queue lock means no work can ever
-//! appear again.
+//! exit when `io_outstanding + io_fd_waiters == 0` (two Relaxed/Acquire
+//! atomic loads, read *before* the queue pop) and, under the queue lock,
+//! the queue is empty and `live_actors == 0`. `live_actors` is incremented
+//! in `spawn` before the enqueue and decremented at the very END of
+//! `finalize_actor`, strictly after every wakeup that finalize produces has
+//! been enqueued. The soundness crux: any enqueue targets a live
+//! (not-yet-finalized) actor, so `live == 0` implies no wakeup can still be
+//! in flight; combined with "spawner is itself live", observing
+//! `(queue empty, live == 0)` means no work can ever appear again.
 //!
-//! # Timer / IO drain (try-lock, one-winner)
+//! # Scheduler park/wake (RFC 018)
 //!
-//! Unchanged from phase 1: one winner per round drains due timers and IO
-//! completions from their own mutexes; wakeups go through the unpark
-//! protocol like everyone else's.
+//! Schedulers sleep on per-thread futex parkers via the coordination layer
+//! (`park.rs`), NOT on a shared wake pipe. IO backends are producers behind
+//! a two-call contract — make the actor runnable (`unpark_at`), whose
+//! `enqueue` tail wakes exactly one parked scheduler. The blocking pool and
+//! epoll thread each route their own completions (driver-enqueues); there
+//! is no shared completion queue, no drain lock, no one-winner drain phase.
+//! Timers fire two ways: a busy-path due-check every loop iteration (one
+//! Relaxed load of the earliest-deadline snapshot when no timer is armed),
+//! and the timekeeper — at most one parked scheduler holds the timer
+//! deadline, so an expiry wakes one scheduler, not a herd.
 
 use crate::actor::{
     clear_current_pid, is_actor_done, reset_actor_done, set_current_actor_box,
@@ -445,6 +452,42 @@ pub(crate) struct Slot {
     /// and only when the `budget-accounting` feature is on (it costs two RDTSC
     /// per resume); stays 0 otherwise. Same single-writer Relaxed discipline.
     budget_cycles: AtomicU64,
+    /// RFC 007 (`smarm-causal`) — id of the causal-profiling site this actor
+    /// is currently inside (0 = none). Lives in the slot, not a thread-local,
+    /// so it survives preemption and cross-scheduler migration. Written only
+    /// by the actor itself (guard enter/exit on its own thread), read by that
+    /// same thread in `maybe_preempt` — single-writer Relaxed, like `overruns`.
+    /// Exists regardless of the feature; stays 0 without it.
+    causal_site: AtomicU32,
+    /// RFC 007 (`smarm-causal`) — virtual-speedup delay cycles this actor has
+    /// absorbed (or been credited). Compared against the global ledger in
+    /// `causal::check`; fast-forwarded on resume-from-park so blocked time
+    /// absorbs delay for free (Coz's blocked-thread rule). Same single-writer
+    /// discipline.
+    causal_delay: AtomicU64,
+    /// RFC 007 (`smarm-causal`) — true iff this actor's last deschedule was a
+    /// real park (a successful `park_return`, not a slice yield and not the
+    /// instant-wake re-queue). Consumed by `causal::on_resume`: only a wake
+    /// from genuine blocking forgives outstanding virtual delay; a merely
+    /// preempted (runnable) actor stays in debt and must pay by spinning.
+    /// Starts false: a fresh spawn is born current (`reset_counters` sets
+    /// `causal_delay` to the global ledger), and anything injected while it
+    /// sits spawn-queued is owed, not waived. Written by the owning
+    /// scheduler thread at the deschedule /
+    /// resume boundary only — same single-writer discipline as `causal_delay`.
+    causal_parked: AtomicBool,
+    /// RFC 007 — TSC at this actor's last *runnable* (yield) deschedule
+    /// while it sat in the live experiment's target site; 0 = no gap
+    /// pending. Paired with `causal_desched_epoch`; written on the
+    /// deschedule path, consumed at the next resume — same single-writer
+    /// discipline as `causal_delay`.
+    causal_desched_tsc: AtomicU64,
+    /// RFC 007 — experiment epoch live at that deschedule (see
+    /// `causal::EXPERIMENT_EPOCH`): the resume counts the gap only into
+    /// the same window, so one straddling `end()` — or a later `begin()`
+    /// with an identical site+pct word — is dropped instead of leaking a
+    /// cooldown across windows.
+    causal_desched_epoch: AtomicU64,
     /// Cold lifecycle data. See [`SlotCold`].
     pub(crate) cold: RawMutex<SlotCold>,
 }
@@ -459,6 +502,14 @@ impl Slot {
             overruns: AtomicU64::new(0),
             messages_received: AtomicU64::new(0),
             budget_cycles: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            causal_site: AtomicU32::new(0),
+            causal_delay: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            // Overwritten at every occupancy by `reset_counters` (born
+            // current); false so a hypothetical reset-skipping path cannot
+            // waive the whole global backlog at first resume.
+            causal_parked: AtomicBool::new(false),
+            causal_desched_tsc: AtomicU64::new(0),
+            causal_desched_epoch: AtomicU64::new(0),
             cold: RawMutex::new(SlotCold {
                 actor: None,
                 waiters: Vec::new(),
@@ -547,6 +598,92 @@ impl Slot {
         self.overruns.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.messages_received.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.budget_cycles.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.causal_site.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        // Born current (Coz's new-thread rule): a fresh incarnation neither
+        // owes the process's accumulated delay history nor books it as park
+        // forgiveness. The old init (delay 0, parked true) waived the whole
+        // monotone backlog once per spawn via the first resume — found live
+        // under close-mode conn churn (~95k spawns/s): millions of phantom
+        // forgiven ms per 700ms window, even in 0% cells. Parked starts
+        // false: delay injected while spawn-queued is *owed* (the newborn is
+        // runnable, not blocked) and paid at its first check — the semantics
+        // `audit_zero_pct_window_absorbs_leftover_debt` pins.
+        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+        self.causal_delay
+            .store(crate::causal::global_delay_cycles(), Ordering::Relaxed);
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "smarm-causal"))]
+        self.causal_delay.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.causal_parked.store(false, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.causal_desched_tsc.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.causal_desched_epoch.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — mark that this actor's deschedule was a genuine park.
+    /// Called from the scheduler's `YieldIntent::Park` branch on a successful
+    /// `park_return` only.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn set_causal_parked(&self) {
+        self.causal_parked.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — consume the parked marker at resume: returns whether the
+    /// last deschedule was a real park, and clears it so the next resume
+    /// defaults to "was runnable" unless the park branch says otherwise.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn take_causal_parked(&self) -> bool {
+        self.causal_parked.swap(false, Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — stash the runnable-deschedule instant and the experiment
+    /// epoch it happened under (offcpu-gap audit; see `causal::on_resume`).
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn set_causal_desched(&self, tsc: u64, epoch: u64) {
+        self.causal_desched_tsc.store(tsc, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.causal_desched_epoch.store(epoch, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — consume the stash: `(tsc, epoch)`; `(0, _)` = none pending.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn take_causal_desched(&self) -> (u64, u64) {
+        let tsc = self.causal_desched_tsc.swap(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        let epoch = self.causal_desched_epoch.load(Ordering::Relaxed);
+        (tsc, epoch)
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — current causal site id (0 = none). Single-writer: only the
+    /// on-CPU actor's thread writes, via the site-guard enter/exit.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn causal_site(&self) -> u32 {
+        self.causal_site.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — write the current causal site id (guard enter/exit).
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn set_causal_site(&self, id: u32) {
+        self.causal_site.store(id, Ordering::Relaxed);
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — absorbed/credited virtual-delay cycles.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn causal_delay(&self) -> u64 {
+        self.causal_delay.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+
+    /// RFC 007 — set the absorbed-delay ledger (spin-absorb, credit, or the
+    /// resume-path fast-forward). Single-writer per the resume protocol: the
+    /// actor's own thread while on-CPU, the resuming scheduler thread at the
+    /// resume boundary — never both at once.
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "smarm-causal"), allow(dead_code))]
+    #[inline]
+    pub(crate) fn set_causal_delay(&self, v: u64) {
+        self.causal_delay.store(v, Ordering::Relaxed);
     }
 
     /// A pid's-eye snapshot of the slot. Cold paths re-read this under the
@@ -620,8 +757,21 @@ pub(crate) struct RuntimeInner {
     pub(crate) io: Mutex<Option<IoThread>>,
     /// Monotonic `MonitorId` source. Never reused.
     pub(crate) next_monitor_id: AtomicU64,
-    /// Try-lock: exactly one scheduler thread drains timers/IO per iteration.
-    drain_lock: Mutex<()>,
+    /// RFC 018: the scheduler coordination layer — per-scheduler parkers,
+    /// idle mask, wake protocol, timekeeper role, earliest-deadline
+    /// snapshot. Arc'd because `Timers` shares it (insert-side deadline
+    /// notes run under the timers mutex).
+    pub(crate) coord: Arc<crate::park::Coordinator>,
+    /// `block_on_io` requests in flight. Incremented by the submitter
+    /// BEFORE submit (underflow-proof), decremented by the pool thread on
+    /// completion. Read lock-free by the idle path's termination verdict —
+    /// the per-pop `io.lock` of the drain era is gone.
+    pub(crate) io_outstanding: AtomicU32,
+    /// Parked fd waiters. Incremented by the registrar BEFORE
+    /// `epoll_register` (rolled back on error), decremented by whoever
+    /// consumes the registration (epoll thread on readiness, canceller on
+    /// an unwound wait). Same lock-free verdict read as `io_outstanding`.
+    pub(crate) io_fd_waiters: AtomicU32,
     /// Per-thread stats, indexed by scheduler thread slot (0..N).
     pub(crate) stats: Vec<SchedulerStats>,
     /// Global counters for RFC 000 primitives.
@@ -672,6 +822,12 @@ impl RuntimeInner {
         let slots: Box<[Slot]> = (0..max_actors).map(|_| Slot::vacant()).collect();
         // Low indices on top of the stack so early spawns get low pids.
         let free: Vec<u32> = (0..max_actors as u32).rev().collect();
+        // RFC 018: the coordination layer (asserts thread_count <= 64), and
+        // the timers' hook into it — every insert under the timers mutex
+        // notes its deadline (busy-path snapshot + timekeeper re-arm).
+        let coord = Arc::new(crate::park::Coordinator::new(thread_count));
+        let mut timers = Timers::new();
+        timers.attach_coordinator(coord.clone());
         Arc::new(Self {
             run_queue: crate::run_queue::RunQueue::new(thread_count, max_actors),
             slots,
@@ -680,10 +836,12 @@ impl RuntimeInner {
             root_bits: AtomicU64::new(u64::MAX),
             root_exited: AtomicBool::new(false),
             root_swept: AtomicBool::new(false),
-            timers: Mutex::new(Timers::new()),
+            timers: Mutex::new(timers),
             io: Mutex::new(None),
             next_monitor_id: AtomicU64::new(0),
-            drain_lock: Mutex::new(()),
+            coord,
+            io_outstanding: AtomicU32::new(0),
+            io_fd_waiters: AtomicU32::new(0),
             stats,
             io_parked: AtomicU32::new(0),
             sleeping: AtomicU32::new(0),
@@ -744,6 +902,13 @@ impl RuntimeInner {
         );
         self.run_queue.push(pid);
         crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::Enqueue(pid));
+        // RFC 018 enqueue wake (fixes the silent enqueue): if a scheduler
+        // is parked, wake exactly one. The fast path when everyone is busy
+        // is a fence + one Relaxed load of an unmodified line — the
+        // pure-compute hot path pays (almost) nothing. Bias is over-wake:
+        // a spurious wake costs one futex round-trip and a failed pop; a
+        // missed wake would cost a stranded actor.
+        self.coord.wake_one_if_idle();
     }
 
     /// Make `pid` runnable if it is parked; coalesce or defer otherwise.
@@ -899,6 +1064,11 @@ pub fn init(config: Config) -> Runtime {
 impl Runtime {
     /// Run `f` as the initial actor, block until all actors finish.
     /// Can be called multiple times sequentially on the same `Runtime`.
+    ///
+    /// A panic in the initial actor propagates out of `run` (re-raised
+    /// after teardown, so the `Runtime` stays reusable even under a
+    /// caller's `catch_unwind`). Panics in other actors surface through
+    /// joins, links, monitors, and supervisors as usual.
     pub fn run(&self, f: impl FnOnce() + Send + 'static) {
         // Install smarm's panic hook on first call. The default Rust hook is
         // not reentrant — concurrent actor panics can trigger a double-panic
@@ -941,7 +1111,16 @@ impl Runtime {
             self.inner.live_actors.load(Ordering::Acquire), 0,
             "run() called while previous run still active"
         );
-        let io_thread = match IoThread::start() {
+        // RFC 018: the IO producers reach the runtime (slot table + unpark)
+        // through a Weak, so no RuntimeInner → IoThread → RuntimeInner cycle
+        // forms. Reset the in-flight counters BEFORE the threads can touch
+        // them (a prior run left them at 0 on a clean exit; the asserts pin
+        // that).
+        debug_assert_eq!(self.inner.io_outstanding.load(Ordering::Acquire), 0);
+        debug_assert_eq!(self.inner.io_fd_waiters.load(Ordering::Acquire), 0);
+        self.inner.io_outstanding.store(0, Ordering::Release);
+        self.inner.io_fd_waiters.store(0, Ordering::Release);
+        let io_thread = match IoThread::start(Arc::downgrade(&self.inner)) {
             Ok(io) => io,
             Err(e) => panic!("failed to start IO thread: {e}"),
         };
@@ -967,16 +1146,27 @@ impl Runtime {
         self.inner.root_swept.store(false, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.inner.set_root(initial_handle.pid());
 
-        // Launch N-1 extra scheduler threads. The calling thread is thread 0.
+        // Launch N-1 extra scheduler threads, named `smarm-sched-{slot}` so
+        // they are identifiable in `/proc/<pid>/task/*/comm`, stack dumps and
+        // debuggers. The calling thread is thread 0 and keeps its caller-given
+        // name (an embedder typically names it when spawning `run`).
         let mut os_threads = Vec::new();
         for slot in 1..self.thread_count {
             let inner = self.inner.clone();
-            let t = thread::spawn(move || {
+            let t = thread::Builder::new()
+                .name(format!("smarm-sched-{slot}"))
+                .spawn(move || {
                     RUNTIME.with(|r| *r.borrow_mut() = Some(inner.clone()));
                     SCHED_SLOT.with(|s| s.set(slot));
                     schedule_loop(&inner, slot);
                     RUNTIME.with(|r| *r.borrow_mut() = None);
                 });
+            // `thread::spawn` (the previous form) also panics when the OS
+            // refuses a thread, so this keeps the failure semantics.
+            let t = match t {
+                Ok(t) => t,
+                Err(e) => panic!("failed to spawn smarm scheduler thread: {e}"),
+            };
             os_threads.push(t);
         }
 
@@ -989,6 +1179,23 @@ impl Runtime {
             let _ = t.join();
         }
 
+        // The root's outcome, read before its handle drops (the outstanding
+        // handle pins the slot: no reclaim, no generation change under us).
+        // A root panic must escape `run()` — propagated at the tail below,
+        // after teardown. Dropping it unread here made every assert inside
+        // `run` silently vacuous (found live: a failing-first test passed).
+        let root_outcome = {
+            let slot = match self.inner.slot_at(initial_handle.pid()) {
+                Some(slot) => slot,
+                None => panic!("run(): root pid out of range"),
+            };
+            debug_assert!(
+                slot.status_for(initial_handle.pid()) == Status::Done,
+                "root not Done at run() teardown"
+            );
+            slot.cold.lock().outcome.take()
+        };
+
         // Drop initial handle (decrements outstanding_handles count).
         drop(initial_handle);
 
@@ -1016,12 +1223,34 @@ impl Runtime {
         }
         self.inner.io_parked.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
         self.inner.sleeping.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.inner.io_outstanding.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        self.inner.io_fd_waiters.store(0, Ordering::Relaxed);
 
         RUNTIME.with(|r| *r.borrow_mut() = None);
 
         // Flush trace to disk (no-op without smarm-trace).
         #[cfg(feature = "smarm-trace")]
         crate::trace::flush();
+
+        // Propagate a root panic — last, after the full teardown above, so
+        // a `catch_unwind` around `run()` leaves the `Runtime` reusable.
+        // `Exit` and `Stopped` return normally: a cooperatively stopped
+        // root is not an error. `resume_unwind` re-raises the original
+        // payload; the throw-site hook output was suppressed in-actor, so
+        // the caller sees the payload message without the origin file:line.
+        if let Some(Outcome::Panic(payload)) = root_outcome {
+            // Surface the message: the throw-site hook output was suppressed
+            // in-actor, so without this a harness shows a bare FAILED.
+            let msg: Option<&str> = payload
+                .downcast_ref::<&'static str>()
+                .copied()
+                .or_else(|| payload.downcast_ref::<String>().map(String::as_str));
+            eprintln!(
+                "smarm: root actor panicked: {}",
+                msg.unwrap_or("<non-string panic payload>")
+            );
+            std::panic::resume_unwind(payload);
+        }
     }
 
     /// Snapshot of runtime statistics for introspection / tests.
@@ -1311,40 +1540,30 @@ fn stop_live_actors(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>) {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// schedule_loop — runs on each scheduler OS thread
+// Timer firing — shared by the busy-path due-check and the timekeeper
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
-    crate::preempt::configure_preempt(inner.alloc_interval, inner.timeslice_cycles);
-    let stats = &inner.stats[slot_idx];
-
-    loop {
-        // ----------------------------------------------------------------
-        // 1. Try to win the drain lock (timers + IO). One winner per round;
-        //    losers skip immediately and proceed to step 2.
-        // ----------------------------------------------------------------
-        if let Ok(_drain_guard) = inner.drain_lock.try_lock() {
-            // Timers and IO live behind their own mutexes (phase 1), so the
-            // pure-yield / pure-compute hot path never contends a global lock
-            // just to discover there is nothing to drain. The clock is read
-            // only when the timer heap is non-empty.
-            let due = {
-                let mut t = match inner.timers.lock() {
-                    Ok(t) => t,
+/// Pop and dispatch every due timer. `pop_due` re-anchors the
+/// earliest-deadline snapshot under the timers mutex before returning, so
+/// a caller that raced a concurrent insert simply comes back on the next
+/// due-check. Dispatch runs with the timers lock released.
+fn fire_due_timers(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, try_only: bool) {
+    let due = if try_only {
+        // Busy path: if another scheduler is already in the timers mutex
+        // (firing, inserting, or peeking) skip — the snapshot stays due
+        // until someone actually pops, so the check re-fires next loop.
+        match inner.timers.try_lock() {
+            Ok(mut t) => t.pop_due(std::time::Instant::now()),
+            Err(std::sync::TryLockError::WouldBlock) => return,
+            Err(std::sync::TryLockError::Poisoned(e)) => {
+                panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}")
+            }
+        }
+    } else {
+        match inner.timers.lock() {
+            Ok(mut t) => t.pop_due(std::time::Instant::now()),
             Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
-                };
-                if t.is_empty() {
-                    Vec::new()
-                } else {
-                    t.pop_due(std::time::Instant::now())
         }
-            };
-            let completions = match inner.io.lock() {
-                Ok(mut io) => io
-                    .as_mut()
-                    .map(|io| io.drain_completions())
-                    .unwrap_or_default(),
-                Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
     };
     for entry in due {
         match entry.reason {
@@ -1353,9 +1572,7 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
             // actor is between `timers.insert_sleep` and
             // `park_current`; RunningNotified makes the upcoming park
             // re-queue), or gone (no-op).
-                    crate::timer::Reason::Sleep { epoch } => {
-                        inner.unpark_at(entry.pid, epoch)
-                    }
+            crate::timer::Reason::Sleep { epoch } => inner.unpark_at(entry.pid, epoch),
             crate::timer::Reason::WaitTimeout { target, epoch } => {
                 // The callback may call unpark_at itself.
                 target.on_timeout(entry.pid, epoch);
@@ -1370,57 +1587,26 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
             crate::timer::Reason::Send { fire } => fire(),
         }
     }
+}
 
-            for completion in completions {
-                match completion {
-                    crate::io::Completion::Blocking { pid, epoch, result } => {
-                        match inner.io.lock() {
-                            Ok(mut io) => {
-                                if let Some(io) = io.as_mut() {
-                                    io.outstanding = io.outstanding.saturating_sub(1);
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// schedule_loop — runs on each scheduler OS thread
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
+    crate::preempt::configure_preempt(inner.alloc_interval, inner.timeslice_cycles);
+    let stats = &inner.stats[slot_idx];
+
+    loop {
+        // ----------------------------------------------------------------
+        // 1. Busy-path timer due-check (RFC 018 design point (a)): under
+        //    saturation nobody parks, so no timekeeper exists — due timers
+        //    must still fire. One Relaxed load + branch when no timer is
+        //    armed; the clock is read only when one is.
+        // ----------------------------------------------------------------
+        if inner.coord.deadline_due() {
+            fire_due_timers(inner, true);
         }
-                            }
-                            Err(e) => {
-                                panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}")
-                            }
-                        }
-                        // Stash the result under the cold lock, then unpark.
-                        // The protocol also covers the submit→park window
-                        // (RunningNotified), which the old code missed for
-                        // Blocking completions — a latent lost wakeup.
-                        if let Some(slot) = inner.slot_at(pid) {
-                            {
-                                let mut cold = slot.cold.lock();
-                                if slot.generation() == pid.generation() {
-                                    cold.pending_io_result = Some(result);
-                                } else {
-                                    // Actor died (stopped) with the op in
-                                    // flight; discard the result.
-                                }
-                            }
-                            inner.unpark_at(pid, epoch);
-                        }
-                    }
-                    crate::io::Completion::FdReady { fd, events: _ } => {
-                        // Resolve the parked pid under the io lock, then wake
-                        // through the protocol. Lock order: io before all.
-                        let parked = match inner.io.lock() {
-                            Ok(mut io) => io.as_mut().and_then(|io| {
-                                let entry = io.waiters.remove(&fd);
-                                io.epoll_deregister(fd);
-                                entry
-                            }),
-                            Err(e) => {
-                                panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}")
-                            }
-                        };
-                        if let Some((pid, epoch)) = parked {
-                            inner.unpark_at(pid, epoch);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        } // drain_guard drops here
 
         // ----------------------------------------------------------------
         // 2. Pop a runnable pid. Pop order (RFC 005): wake slot first, then
@@ -1429,7 +1615,7 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
         // ----------------------------------------------------------------
         enum Pop {
             Got(Pid),
-            Idle { io_outstanding: u32, wake_fd: Option<std::os::fd::RawFd> },
+            Idle,
             AllDone,
             /// Root has exited and nothing is runnable: stop the parked-forever
             /// remainder, then re-pop. Fires at most once per run.
@@ -1454,19 +1640,12 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
             crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::SlotPop(pid));
             pid
         } else {
-            // Read IO liveness BEFORE the queue lock (phase-1 ordering: a
-            // completion resurrects an actor only via the drain path, whose
-            // enqueue would be visible under the queue lock we take next).
-            let (io_out, io_fd) = {
-                let io = match inner.io.lock() {
-                    Ok(io) => io,
-                    Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
-                };
-                match io.as_ref() {
-                    Some(io) => (io.outstanding + io.waiters.len() as u32, Some(io.wake_fd())),
-                    None => (0, None),
-                }
-            };
+            // Read IO liveness BEFORE the queue pop — two atomic loads now
+            // (RFC 018), not a per-pop `io.lock`: a completion resurrects
+            // an actor via the producer's own unpark→enqueue, whose entry
+            // would be visible to the pop below.
+            let io_out = inner.io_outstanding.load(Ordering::Acquire)
+                + inner.io_fd_waiters.load(Ordering::Acquire);
 
             stats.run_queue_len.store(inner.run_queue.len(), Ordering::Relaxed);
             let pop = match inner.run_queue.pop() {
@@ -1498,7 +1677,7 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
                         // the idle wait below on the next pass.
                         Pop::RootDrain
                     } else {
-                        Pop::Idle { io_outstanding: io_out, wake_fd: io_fd }
+                        Pop::Idle
                     }
                 }
             };
@@ -1513,22 +1692,15 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
                         Ok(mut timers) => timers.clear(),
                         Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
                     }
-                    // Terminal wake: a sibling scheduler may be blocked in its
-                    // idle wait on a snapshot that is now terminally stale — an
-                    // orphaned long deadline (it would sleep it out in full) or
-                    // a stale `io_outstanding > 0` from a stop-cancelled waiter
-                    // (it would block in poll(-1) forever; cancellation produces
-                    // no completion, so nothing else writes the wake pipe).
-                    // One byte wakes every poller; each re-runs the verdict,
-                    // reaches AllDone itself, and re-wakes — idempotent.
-                    match inner.io.lock() {
-                        Ok(io) => {
-                            if let Some(io) = io.as_ref() {
-                                io.wake();
-                            }
-                        }
-                        Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
-                    }
+                    // Terminal wake (replaces the wake-pipe byte): a sibling
+                    // may be parked on a snapshot that is now terminally
+                    // stale — an orphaned long deadline, or a stale
+                    // `io_fd_waiters > 0` from a stop-cancelled waiter
+                    // (cancellation produces no completion, so nothing else
+                    // will ever wake it). `wake_all` permits every parker;
+                    // each sibling re-runs the verdict, reaches AllDone
+                    // itself, and re-wakes — idempotent.
+                    inner.coord.wake_all();
                     return;
                 }
                 Pop::RootDrain => {
@@ -1538,34 +1710,51 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
                     stop_live_actors(inner);
                     continue;
                 }
-                Pop::Idle { io_outstanding, wake_fd } => {
-                    // Something is still in flight. Sleep on the appropriate
-                    // source to avoid hammering the queue mutex; retry on wake.
-                    let next_deadline = match inner.timers.lock() {
-                        Ok(timers) => timers.peek_deadline(),
-                        Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+                Pop::Idle => {
+                    // Something is still in flight. Park on our own futex
+                    // until a producer wakes us (enqueue tail), a deadline
+                    // passes, or the re-check finds the world changed.
+                    //
+                    // Timekeeper (RFC 018): at most one parked scheduler
+                    // holds the timer deadline — the first idler to arm it
+                    // parks with a timeout, the rest park indefinitely, so a
+                    // timer expiry wakes one scheduler, not a herd. Peek and
+                    // arm under the timers mutex (the serialization that
+                    // makes the insert-side re-arm race-free).
+                    let tk_deadline = {
+                        let timers = match inner.timers.lock() {
+                            Ok(t) => t,
+                            Err(e) => {
+                                panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}")
+                            }
                         };
-                    match (next_deadline, wake_fd) {
-                        (Some(deadline), fd_opt) => {
-                            let now = std::time::Instant::now();
-                            if deadline > now {
-                                let timeout = deadline - now;
-                                match fd_opt {
-                                    Some(fd) => {
-                                        crate::io::poll_wake(fd, Some(timeout));
-                                        crate::io::drain_wake_pipe(fd);
-                                    }
-                                    None => thread::sleep(timeout),
-                                }
-                            }
-                        }
-                        (None, Some(fd)) if io_outstanding > 0 => {
-                            crate::io::poll_wake(fd, None);
-                            crate::io::drain_wake_pipe(fd);
-                        }
-                        _ => {
-                            thread::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_micros(100));
-                        }
+                        timers
+                            .peek_deadline()
+                            .filter(|d| inner.coord.try_arm_timer(slot_idx, *d))
+                    };
+                    // The mandatory post-publish re-check: a producer that
+                    // enqueued (or a verdict input that flipped) before it
+                    // could see our idle bit has left us the evidence.
+                    let _ = inner.coord.park(slot_idx, tk_deadline, || {
+                        !inner.run_queue.is_empty()
+                            || (inner.live_actors.load(Ordering::Acquire) == 0
+                                && inner.io_outstanding.load(Ordering::Acquire) == 0
+                                && inner.io_fd_waiters.load(Ordering::Acquire) == 0)
+                            || (inner.root_exited.load(Ordering::Acquire)
+                                && !inner.root_swept.load(Ordering::Acquire))
+                            || inner.coord.deadline_due()
+                    });
+                    if tk_deadline.is_some() {
+                        // Hand the role back BEFORE firing: pop_due can run
+                        // `Send` thunks that insert new timers, and the
+                        // insert-side re-arm check must see either no
+                        // timekeeper (skip) or a real parked one — never us,
+                        // awake and about to re-peek anyway.
+                        inner.coord.disarm_timer(slot_idx);
+                        // Woken for the deadline, for work, or to re-peek
+                        // after an earlier insert — fire whatever is due;
+                        // the next idle pass re-arms with the new minimum.
+                        fire_due_timers(inner, false);
                     }
                     continue;
                 }
@@ -1578,6 +1767,21 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
         //    by the at-most-once-enqueued invariant nothing else can have
         //    changed the state of a queued actor.
         // ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+        // RFC 018 chain rule: we just took one runnable; if more remain and
+        // a sibling is parked, wake exactly one so the surplus runs in
+        // PARALLEL rather than serially behind us (without this the surplus
+        // is not stranded — we re-pop it after resuming — but it waits out
+        // our whole timeslice while an idle core sits available). Cheap: the
+        // queue-length check is queue-local, and `wake_one_if_idle` is a
+        // fence + one Relaxed mask load when nobody is parked. A Relaxed
+        // miss here is safe — the enqueue that created the surplus already
+        // issued its own wake (RFC 018 no-lost-wake); this only sharpens
+        // parallelism latency.
+        if !inner.run_queue.is_empty() {
+            inner.coord.wake_one_if_idle();
+        }
+
         let slot = match inner.slot_at(pid) {
             Some(s) => s,
             None => continue, // can't happen for real pids; defensive
@@ -1616,6 +1820,11 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
             crate::preempt::reset_timeslice();
         }
         PREEMPTION_ENABLED.with(|c| c.set(true));
+        // RFC 007: delay accrued while this actor was off-CPU is absorbed for
+        // free (Coz's blocked-thread rule) — fast-forward its ledger and arm
+        // the per-thread sample clock before it runs.
+        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+        crate::causal::on_resume(slot);
 
         crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::Resume(pid));
         unsafe { switch_to_actor() };
@@ -1642,6 +1851,11 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
             let gen = pid.generation();
             match intent {
                 YieldIntent::Yield => {
+                    // RFC 007 audit: measure the sample tail this yield drops
+                    // (near-zero for slice-expiry yields, which sample at the
+                    // same checkpoint; fat for explicit yield_now in-site).
+                    #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+                    crate::causal::on_deschedule(slot, false);
                     // Running OR RunningNotified → Queued; a notification
                     // arriving mid-run coalesces into the re-queue.
                     crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::Yield(pid));
@@ -1650,11 +1864,24 @@ fn schedule_loop(inner: &Arc<RuntimeInner>, slot_idx: usize) {
                 }
                 YieldIntent::Park => {
                     if slot.word.park_return(gen) {
+                        // RFC 007 audit: an in-site park drops its sample
+                        // tail (nothing flushes it; on_resume re-arms).
+                        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+                        crate::causal::on_deschedule(slot, true);
+                        // RFC 007: a real park — the eventual wake forgives
+                        // delay accrued while blocked (the instant-wake
+                        // re-queue below does NOT: that actor never blocked).
+                        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+                        slot.set_causal_parked();
                         crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::Park(pid));
                     } else {
                         // An unpark landed in the prep-to-park window; the
                         // word is back to Queued — re-queue instead of
-                        // parking. The lost-wakeup window, closed.
+                        // parking. The lost-wakeup window, closed: this actor
+                        // never blocked, so its dropped tail counts as a
+                        // yield in the RFC 007 audit.
+                        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+                        crate::causal::on_deschedule(slot, false);
                         crate::te!(crate::trace::Event::UnparkFlagConsumed(pid));
                         inner.enqueue(pid);
                     }

src/scheduler.rs

@@ -1,11 +1,69 @@
-//! Scheduler public API — thin façade over the multi-scheduler runtime.
+//! Start actors and control them: `run`, `spawn`, `sleep`, timers, and IO waits.
 //!
-//! All heavy lifting lives in `runtime.rs`. This module exposes the same
-//! surface that the rest of the codebase (channel, mutex, io, timer, actor)
-//! calls into, plus the public API re-exported from `lib.rs`.
+//! ## What is an actor?
 //!
-//! The single-threaded `run()` entry point is kept as a convenience wrapper
-//! around `runtime::init(Config::exact(1)).run(f)`.
+//! An actor in smarm is a *green thread*: a lightweight, cooperatively
+//! scheduled unit of execution with its own stack, running alongside
+//! thousands of others on a handful of OS threads. You give it a closure;
+//! smarm gives it a [`Pid`] and a [`JoinHandle`]. Actors talk to each other by
+//! sending messages over [`channel`](mod@crate::channel)s, not by sharing memory,
+//! so most of the concurrency bugs that come from shared mutable state simply
+//! don't arise.
+//!
+//! Everything in smarm (channels, [`Mutex`](crate::Mutex), timers, IO waits,
+//! `gen_server`) needs to run on top of a scheduler. [`run`] starts one and
+//! blocks the calling OS thread until the actor you give it finishes; from
+//! inside that actor (or any actor it spawns), call [`spawn`] to start more.
+//!
+//! ```
+//! use smarm::{run, spawn};
+//!
+//! run(|| {
+//!     let handle = spawn(|| {
+//!         println!("hello from another actor");
+//!     });
+//!     handle.join().unwrap();
+//! });
+//! ```
+//!
+//! ## Waiting for an actor: `JoinHandle`
+//!
+//! [`spawn`] returns a [`JoinHandle`], your only handle on the actor's
+//! outcome. Call [`JoinHandle::join`] to block the calling actor until the
+//! spawned one finishes:
+//!
+//! - if it returned normally, `join` returns `Ok(())`;
+//! - if it panicked, `join` returns `Err(`[`JoinError`]`)` carrying the panic
+//!   payload, so a crash in one actor never silently vanishes and never
+//!   crashes the process; the caller decides what to do with it (log it,
+//!   propagate it, ignore it).
+//!
+//! If you don't need the result, drop the `JoinHandle` (or never bind it):
+//! the actor keeps running independently. To watch an actor without
+//! blocking, or to react to failures across a whole tree of actors, see
+//! [`monitor`](mod@crate::monitor), [`link`](mod@crate::link), and
+//! [`supervisor`](crate::supervisor) instead.
+//!
+//! ## Sleeping, timeouts, and IO
+//!
+//! [`sleep`] parks only the calling actor, not the OS thread underneath it,
+//! so thousands of sleeping actors cost nothing but the timer entry.
+//! [`send_after`] and [`send_after_named`] schedule a message to be delivered
+//! later (Erlang-style `send_after`), and [`cancel_timer`] can call one off
+//! before it fires.
+//!
+//! For blocking or file-descriptor-based IO, see [`block_on_io`],
+//! [`wait_readable`], and [`wait_writable`]: they park the calling actor and
+//! resume it when the work completes or the fd is ready, again without
+//! blocking an OS thread.
+//!
+//! ## Stopping an actor from the outside
+//!
+//! [`request_stop`] asks an actor to cooperatively unwind: it's the
+//! mechanism `gen_server` shutdown, timeouts, and supervisor restarts are
+//! built on. It's best-effort: an actor that never yields, allocates, or
+//! blocks (a tight loop with nothing else in it) has no opportunity to
+//! notice the request.
 
 use crate::actor::current_pid;
 use crate::channel::Sender;
@@ -14,27 +72,21 @@ use crate::runtime::{
     self, RuntimeInner, YieldIntent, RUNTIME,
 };
 use crate::supervisor::Signal;
+use std::sync::atomic::Ordering;
 use std::sync::Arc;
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // with_runtime / try_with_runtime
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Borrow the current runtime. Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
-///
-/// The whole span runs with preemption disabled. Two reasons, both load-
-/// bearing:
-///
-/// - The `RUNTIME` thread-local borrow is live across `f`. A preemption-
-///   driven context switch inside `f` can resume the actor on a DIFFERENT OS
-///   thread; the borrow guard would then increment this thread's RefCell but
-///   decrement the other's — a count underflow that leaves that thread's
-///   RefCell permanently "mutably borrowed". Holding a thread-local guard
-///   across a potential switch point is the one unforgivable sin of green
-///   threads; disabling preemption makes "no switch inside `f`" structural
-///   instead of an accident of which bodies happen to allocate.
-/// - `f` is runtime bookkeeping. Suspending an actor halfway through it (or
-///   unwinding via the stop sentinel, which shares the gate) is never wanted.
+// Borrow the current runtime. Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
+//
+// Preemption is disabled for the whole span. `f` holds a thread-local borrow
+// of `RUNTIME`; if a preemption-driven context switch moved the actor to a
+// different OS thread in the middle of `f`, the borrow guard would be
+// released on the wrong thread's copy of the thread-local, corrupting its
+// borrow count. `f` is also always runtime bookkeeping that should run to
+// completion without the actor being suspended or unwound partway through.
 pub(crate) fn with_runtime<R>(f: impl FnOnce(&Arc<RuntimeInner>) -> R) -> R {
     let prev = crate::preempt::PREEMPTION_ENABLED.with(|c| c.replace(false));
     let result = RUNTIME.with(|r| {
@@ -49,9 +101,9 @@ pub(crate) fn with_runtime<R>(f: impl FnOnce(&Arc<RuntimeInner>) -> R) -> R {
     result
 }
 
-/// Borrow the runtime if present; returns `None` otherwise.
-/// Used on cleanup paths (channel Drop during teardown).
-/// Same preemption gate as [`with_runtime`]; same reasons.
+// Borrow the runtime if present, otherwise `None`. Used on cleanup paths
+// (e.g. a channel's Drop impl during teardown) that may run after the
+// runtime has already gone away. Same preemption gate as `with_runtime`.
 pub(crate) fn try_with_runtime<R>(f: impl FnOnce(&Arc<RuntimeInner>) -> R) -> Option<R> {
     let prev = crate::preempt::PREEMPTION_ENABLED.with(|c| c.replace(false));
     let result = RUNTIME.with(|r| r.borrow().as_ref().map(f));
@@ -63,19 +115,49 @@ pub(crate) fn try_with_runtime<R>(f: impl FnOnce(&Arc<RuntimeInner>) -> R) -> Op
 // JoinHandle / JoinError
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// The spawned actor panicked. Returned by [`JoinHandle::join`]; `payload`
+/// is exactly what the panic carried (the value passed to `panic!`, or
+/// whatever a library panicked with), the same payload you'd get from
+/// [`std::thread::JoinHandle::join`]. Downcast it if you need to inspect it:
+///
+/// ```
+/// use smarm::{run, spawn};
+///
+/// run(|| {
+///     let h = spawn(|| panic!("boom"));
+///     let err = h.join().unwrap_err();
+///     let msg = err.payload.downcast_ref::<&str>().copied().unwrap_or("?");
+///     assert_eq!(msg, "boom");
+/// });
+/// ```
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub struct JoinError {
     pub payload: Box<dyn std::any::Any + Send>,
 }
 
+/// A handle to a spawned actor, returned by [`spawn`], [`spawn_under`], and
+/// friends. Use [`join`](Self::join) to wait for the actor to finish and
+/// collect its outcome, or [`pid`](Self::pid) to get its identity for use
+/// with [`request_stop`], [`monitor`](crate::monitor::monitor), or
+/// [`link`](crate::link::link).
+///
+/// If you never call `join` (or drop the handle instead), the actor is not
+/// affected: it keeps running and its resources are still reclaimed when it
+/// finishes. `join` is how you find out *what happened*, not a requirement
+/// for the actor to make progress or clean up.
 pub struct JoinHandle {
     pid: Pid,
     consumed: bool,
 }
 
 impl JoinHandle {
+    /// The identity of the actor this handle refers to.
     pub fn pid(&self) -> Pid { self.pid }
 
+    /// Block the calling actor until the spawned actor finishes, then
+    /// report how it finished: `Ok(())` if it returned normally or stopped
+    /// cooperatively via [`request_stop`], `Err(`[`JoinError`]`)` if it
+    /// panicked.
     pub fn join(mut self) -> Result<(), JoinError> {
         use crate::actor::Outcome;
 
@@ -177,6 +259,19 @@ impl Drop for JoinHandle {
 // spawn / spawn_under / self_pid
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// Start a new actor running `f`, and return a [`JoinHandle`] for it.
+///
+/// The new actor runs concurrently with its caller and with every other
+/// actor in the runtime; smarm schedules it cooperatively across the
+/// available OS threads. `spawn` can be called from inside `run`'s closure,
+/// or from inside any actor (spawning a child from a child works the same
+/// way); it cannot be called before `run` has started or after it returns.
+///
+/// The returned [`JoinHandle`] is how you learn how the actor finished. If
+/// you don't need that, it's fine to drop it: the actor still runs to
+/// completion either way.
+///
+/// Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
 pub fn spawn(f: impl FnOnce() + Send + 'static) -> JoinHandle {
     let parent = current_pid().unwrap_or_else(|| {
         // Outside an actor but inside run(): the initial spawn. with_runtime
@@ -186,6 +281,11 @@ pub fn spawn(f: impl FnOnce() + Send + 'static) -> JoinHandle {
     spawn_under(parent, f)
 }
 
+/// Like [`spawn`], but explicitly attaches the new actor to `supervisor`
+/// instead of the calling actor. Ordinary code should reach for [`spawn`];
+/// this exists for supervision trees (see [`supervisor`](crate::supervisor))
+/// and other cases that need to place a child under a specific ancestor
+/// rather than its true caller.
 pub fn spawn_under<A>(supervisor: Pid<A>, f: impl FnOnce() + Send + 'static) -> JoinHandle {
     let supervisor = supervisor.erase();
     // Stack + closure boxing happen before ANY runtime lock is taken: no
@@ -208,19 +308,20 @@ pub fn spawn_under<A>(supervisor: Pid<A>, f: impl FnOnce() + Send + 'static) ->
     JoinHandle { pid, consumed: false }
 }
 
-/// Spawn a typed, single-message actor and hand back its identity-bound
-/// [`Pid<A>`] (RFC 014's typed-path producer). The runtime makes the actor's
-/// inbox, hands the body its [`Receiver<A::Msg>`], installs the sender, and
-/// returns the parent a `Pid<A>`.
+/// Spawn an actor that other actors can message directly by its [`Pid<A>`],
+/// rather than only by holding on to a channel `Sender` you passed it
+/// yourself.
 ///
-/// The inbox is published from the parent side **before** the pid is returned
-/// (see [`registry::install_for`](crate::registry::install_for)), so the address
-/// is live the instant the caller holds it: an immediate
-/// [`send_to`](crate::send_to) always resolves, never racing the body's first
-/// instruction. The actor is detached — its lifetime is governed by its own
-/// logic (an explicit stop message, or returning), like
-/// [`GenServerBuilder::start`](crate::GenServerBuilder::start) — so the backing join
-/// handle is dropped. Spawns under the current actor (via [`spawn`]).
+/// `body` receives the [`Receiver<A::Msg>`](crate::channel::Receiver) smarm
+/// creates for it; `spawn_addr` publishes the matching `Sender` and hands
+/// back the actor's typed address. That address is usable the instant you
+/// hold it: an immediate [`send_to`](crate::send_to) on the returned pid
+/// always finds the inbox, even if `body` hasn't started running yet.
+///
+/// The spawned actor is detached (there is no [`JoinHandle`] to join): its
+/// lifetime is up to its own logic, for example running until it receives a
+/// stop message, or until the actor decides to return. This mirrors how
+/// [`GenServerBuilder::start`](crate::GenServerBuilder::start) works.
 ///
 /// Panics if called outside `Runtime::run()`.
 pub fn spawn_addr<A: crate::pid::Addressable>(
@@ -237,6 +338,11 @@ pub fn spawn_addr<A: crate::pid::Addressable>(
 
 use crate::context::init_actor_stack;
 
+/// The identity of the actor currently running. Use it to hand your own
+/// address to another actor (for a reply, a monitor, or a link).
+///
+/// Panics if called outside an actor (for example, from the closure passed
+/// to [`run`] itself, before any [`spawn`]).
 pub fn self_pid() -> Pid {
     match current_pid() {
         Some(pid) => pid,
@@ -248,6 +354,12 @@ pub fn self_pid() -> Pid {
 // yield_now / park_current / unpark
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// Voluntarily give up the CPU so another runnable actor gets a turn, then
+/// resume as soon as the scheduler gets back around to you. Use this in a
+/// long-running, allocation-free loop that you want to stay cooperative with
+/// the rest of the runtime (see also the [`check!`](crate::check) macro,
+/// which does the same thing conditionally, only when your timeslice has
+/// actually run out).
 pub fn yield_now() {
     runtime::set_yield_intent(YieldIntent::Yield);
     unsafe { crate::context::switch_to_scheduler() };
@@ -255,48 +367,44 @@ pub fn yield_now() {
     crate::preempt::check_cancelled();
 }
 
+// Suspend the current actor until something wakes it (a message arrives, a
+// timer fires, a lock is granted, and so on). This is the low-level parking
+// primitive that every blocking smarm operation (channel recv, sleep,
+// Mutex::lock, IO waits, JoinHandle::join) is built on; application code
+// should reach for one of those rather than calling this directly.
+//
+// Checks for a pending cooperative-stop request both before parking (a stop
+// requested while merely queued to run would otherwise have no future wake
+// to catch it) and after resuming (so a stop that arrived while parked is
+// noticed as soon as we wake, and unwinds from here exactly like any other
+// blocking call would).
 pub fn park_current() {
-    // Entry-side observation point: a stop flagged while we were QUEUED is
-    // otherwise lost — the stop's wildcard unpark no-ops on a Queued actor
-    // (the pending run "is" the wake), so if our first action on resume is
-    // this park, no wake is ever coming and the wake-side check below is
-    // unreachable. Checking here closes that hole; a flag that lands after
-    // this check is covered by the existing protocol (the stop's unpark
-    // finds Running / the prep-to-park window, sets Notified, and the
-    // park-return re-queues us into the wake-side check). Unwinding from
-    // here is the same unwind path as the wake side: leftover wait
-    // registrations are stale-epoch / dead-generation and self-clean at
-    // their wakers' failed CAS.
     crate::preempt::check_cancelled();
     runtime::set_yield_intent(YieldIntent::Park);
     unsafe { crate::context::switch_to_scheduler() };
-    // Observation point on the wakeup side of every blocking primitive
-    // (recv/sleep/mutex/io/join). Past the prep-to-park window, so this never
-    // races a wakeup: a stop unparks us, we resume here, and unwind out of
-    // whatever blocking call parked us — running Drop along the way.
     crate::preempt::check_cancelled();
 }
 
+// Wake `pid` unconditionally, regardless of what it's currently waiting for.
+// Reserved for terminal wakes (`request_stop`); anything waking an actor from
+// a specific registered wait (a channel send, a mutex grant, a timer, an IO
+// completion) must use `unpark_at` instead, so a stale wakeup can never be
+// mistaken for the one the actor is actually waiting on.
 pub fn unpark(pid: Pid) {
-    // The whole protocol lives on the slot's packed word (gen + epoch +
-    // state in one CAS) — see slot_state.rs. No runtime lock unless we
-    // enqueue. WILDCARD form: reserved for terminal wakes (request_stop);
-    // every registration-based waker must use `unpark_at`.
     let _ = try_with_runtime(|inner| inner.unpark(pid));
 }
 
-/// Epoch-matched unpark: wake `pid` only if its current wait is still the
-/// one this waker registered for. The form every registration-based waker
-/// (channel senders, mutex grants, wait-timers, io completions, joiner
-/// wakes) must use — see slot_state.rs for the consuming-wake rules.
+// Wake `pid` only if its current wait is still the one this waker
+// registered for (an "epoch-matched" unpark). Every registration-based
+// waker (channel senders, mutex grants, wait-timers, IO completions, joiner
+// wakes) must use this rather than the unconditional `unpark`.
 pub(crate) fn unpark_at(pid: Pid, epoch: u32) {
     let _ = try_with_runtime(|inner| inner.unpark_at(pid, epoch));
 }
 
-/// Open a new wait for the CURRENT actor: bump its park-epoch and return
-/// it. Call once per wait, before registering `(pid, epoch)` with any
-/// waker. Lock-free (one CAS on the own slot word), so it is legal under
-/// any lock, including a Channel-class lock.
+// Open a new wait for the current actor and return its wait identity
+// ("epoch"). Call once per wait, before registering with any waker. Lock-free,
+// so it's legal to call while already holding another internal lock.
 pub(crate) fn begin_wait() -> u32 {
     let me = match current_pid() {
         Some(pid) => pid,
@@ -305,48 +413,47 @@ pub(crate) fn begin_wait() -> u32 {
     with_runtime(|inner| inner.begin_wait(me))
 }
 
-/// Close the current actor's wait WITHOUT parking on it. For the no-park
-/// exit of multi-registration waits (`select` finding an arm ready at
-/// registration time): bumps the epoch so in-flight wakes die at their CAS,
-/// eats a notification that already landed, then observes a pending stop —
-/// in that order. After this, leftover registrations are stale-epoch and
-/// self-clean at their wakers' failed CAS; nothing can fault the actor's
-/// next one-shot park.
+// Close the current actor's wait without parking on it: the no-park exit
+// used when a multi-arm `select` finds an arm already ready at registration
+// time. Leftover registrations from the other arms are left to self-clean
+// when their wakers try to use them.
 pub(crate) fn retire_wait() {
     let me = match current_pid() {
         Some(pid) => pid,
         None => panic!("retire_wait() called outside an actor"),
     };
     with_runtime(|inner| inner.retire_wait(me));
-    // A request_stop that fired before the clear had its notification
-    // eaten, but it set the stop flag first — observe it here and unwind.
-    // One that fires after re-notifies a Running word as usual.
     crate::preempt::check_cancelled();
 }
 
-/// Request cooperative cancellation of `pid`.
+/// Ask `pid` to stop cooperatively.
 ///
-/// Sets the actor's stop flag and wakes it so it observes the flag promptly:
-/// a parked target is re-queued; a running target is marked notified, so its
-/// next park returns immediately to an observation point. The actor realises
-/// the stop as a controlled unwind at its next observation point
-/// (`check!()`/allocation, or the wakeup side of a blocking park),
-/// terminating with `Outcome::Stopped`.
+/// This sets a flag on the target actor and wakes it so it notices promptly;
+/// the actor itself decides when it's safe to actually unwind, at its next
+/// natural checkpoint (a blocking call returning, a `check!()`, or an
+/// allocation). Once it does, it terminates as if it panicked, except that
+/// [`JoinHandle::join`] reports it as a normal, non-error exit: cooperative
+/// stop is a controlled shutdown, not a failure.
 ///
-/// This is best-effort and cooperative: an actor that never reaches an
-/// observation point — a tight loop with no `check!()`, no allocation, and no
-/// blocking op — cannot be stopped, exactly as it cannot be preempted. A no-op
-/// if `pid` is already gone.
+/// This is exactly the mechanism `gen_server` shutdown, supervisor restarts,
+/// and structured teardown are built from: reach for [`GenServerRef::shutdown`](crate::GenServerRef::shutdown)
+/// or a [`supervisor`](crate::supervisor) instead of calling this directly
+/// where those apply.
+///
+/// Because it's cooperative, an actor stuck in a tight loop with no
+/// blocking call, no [`check!`](crate::check), and no allocation cannot be
+/// stopped, for the same reason it cannot be preempted. Calling this on an
+/// actor that has already finished is a harmless no-op.
 pub fn request_stop<A>(pid: Pid<A>) {
     let pid = pid.erase();
     let _ = try_with_runtime(|inner| request_stop_inner(inner, pid));
 }
 
-/// The core of [`request_stop`], taking the runtime directly so it can be
-/// driven from inside the runtime (e.g. the root-exit sweep in
-/// `finalize_actor`) without re-borrowing the thread-local. Sets the stop flag
-/// under the target's cold lock (generation re-verified there; a mismatch or a
-/// slot with no live actor is a no-op) and wakes it.
+// The core of `request_stop`, taking the runtime directly so it can also be
+// driven from inside the runtime itself (the root-exit sweep) without
+// re-borrowing the thread-local. Sets the stop flag under the target's lock
+// (a generation mismatch, or no live actor there, makes it a no-op) and
+// wakes the target.
 pub(crate) fn request_stop_inner(inner: &RuntimeInner, pid: Pid) {
     if let Some(slot) = inner.slot_at(pid) {
         {
@@ -367,6 +474,10 @@ pub(crate) fn request_stop_inner(inner: &RuntimeInner, pid: Pid) {
 // NoPreempt
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// A guard that disables preemption for its lifetime, restoring the
+/// previous setting on drop. Internal-use: application code has no need to
+/// disable preemption directly. See [`check!`](crate::check) for the
+/// user-facing side of preemption.
 pub struct NoPreempt(bool);
 
 impl NoPreempt {
@@ -386,6 +497,21 @@ impl Drop for NoPreempt {
 // sleep / insert_wait_timer
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// Suspend the calling actor for `duration`. Unlike
+/// [`std::thread::sleep`], this parks only the actor, not the underlying OS
+/// thread, so every other actor (including others sharing the same OS
+/// thread) keeps running normally while this one waits.
+///
+/// ```
+/// use smarm::{run, sleep};
+/// use std::time::Duration;
+///
+/// run(|| {
+///     sleep(Duration::from_millis(1));
+/// });
+/// ```
+///
+/// Panics if called outside an actor.
 pub fn sleep(duration: std::time::Duration) {
     let me = match current_pid() {
         Some(pid) => pid,
@@ -403,6 +529,33 @@ pub fn sleep(duration: std::time::Duration) {
     park_current();
 }
 
+/// Like [`sleep`], but the deadline is always measured in real (wall-clock)
+/// time. Ordinary code should use [`sleep`]; this variant exists for smarm's
+/// own profiling and measurement tooling, which can otherwise stretch or
+/// compress simulated time. Without that tooling active, `sleep_wall` and
+/// `sleep` behave identically.
+pub fn sleep_wall(duration: std::time::Duration) {
+    let me = match current_pid() {
+        Some(pid) => pid,
+        None => panic!("sleep_wall() called outside an actor"),
+    };
+    let _np = NoPreempt::enter();
+    let epoch = begin_wait();
+    let deadline = crate::timer::deadline_from_now(duration);
+    with_runtime(|inner| {
+        match inner.timers.lock() {
+            Ok(mut timers) => timers.insert_sleep_wall(deadline, me, epoch),
+            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        }
+    });
+    park_current();
+}
+
+// Building block for bounded waits elsewhere in the crate (Mutex::lock_timeout,
+// Receiver::recv_timeout, select_timeout): arm a timer that, on expiry, asks
+// `target` whether this particular wait is still pending and should be woken
+// with a timeout. Not part of the public API; application code wants
+// `sleep`, `send_after`, or one of the `*_timeout` methods instead.
 pub fn insert_wait_timer(
     deadline: std::time::Instant,
     pid: Pid,
@@ -422,20 +575,22 @@ pub fn insert_wait_timer(
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// send_after / cancel_timer — message-delivery timers (Erlang send_after).
-//
-// Arm a timer that delivers `msg` to an address after `after`, returning a
-// `TimerId`. The destination is resolved *on fire*, not at arm time: a
-// `Pid<A>` that has since died yields `SendError::Dead`, a `Name<M>` resolves
-// to whoever currently holds it (so a restarted server is reached). Either way
-// a failed resolve / closed inbox is dropped, matching `erlang:send_after`.
-// `cancel_timer` prevents an as-yet-unfired delivery; it returns whether the
-// timer was still armed.
+// send_after / cancel_timer: message-delivery timers, in the same spirit as
+// Erlang's `erlang:send_after/3`. Each schedules `msg` for delivery after a
+// delay and returns a TimerId; `cancel_timer` can call one off before it
+// fires. The destination is resolved when the timer actually fires, not when
+// it's armed, so a `Name`-addressed timer always reaches whoever currently
+// holds that name, even if the original holder has since restarted. If the
+// destination is gone by fire time, the message is silently dropped, exactly
+// as a live send to a dead address would be.
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Deliver `msg` to the exact actor named by `dest` (identity-bound, no
-/// redirect — see [`send_to`](crate::registry::send_to)) after `after`.
-/// Returns a [`TimerId`](crate::timer::TimerId) for [`cancel_timer`].
+/// Deliver `msg` to the exact actor identified by `dest` after `after` has
+/// elapsed. Unlike [`send_after_named`], this targets one specific actor: if
+/// that actor is gone by the time the timer fires, the message is dropped
+/// (it is never redirected to a different actor, even one that inherited the
+/// same name). Returns a [`TimerId`](crate::timer::TimerId) you can pass to
+/// [`cancel_timer`] to call it off early.
 pub fn send_after<A: crate::pid::Addressable>(
     after: std::time::Duration,
     dest: Pid<A>,
@@ -453,9 +608,11 @@ pub fn send_after<A: crate::pid::Addressable>(
     })
 }
 
-/// Deliver `msg` to whichever actor holds the name `dest` at fire time
-/// (re-resolving [`send`](crate::registry::send) semantics) after `after`.
-/// Returns a [`TimerId`](crate::timer::TimerId) for [`cancel_timer`].
+/// Deliver `msg` to whichever actor holds the name `dest` when the timer
+/// fires, not necessarily whoever holds it now: if the named actor restarts
+/// (for example under a supervisor) and re-registers before the deadline,
+/// the message reaches the new instance. Returns a
+/// [`TimerId`](crate::timer::TimerId) you can pass to [`cancel_timer`].
 pub fn send_after_named<M: Send + 'static>(
     after: std::time::Duration,
     dest: Name<M>,
@@ -475,17 +632,56 @@ pub fn send_after_named<M: Send + 'static>(
     })
 }
 
-/// Deliver `msg` onto a channel the caller owns after `after`, rather than to a
-/// registry address. The sibling of [`send_after`] used by the gen_server timer
-/// layer (RFC 015 §5): arming a server timer must land the fire on the loop's
-/// own `Sys` channel — giving it the loop's arm position — not in the inbox.
-///
-/// Same substrate as [`send_after`]: a `Reason::Send` entry, the same `armed`
-/// set, the same [`TimerId`](crate::timer::TimerId) for [`cancel_timer`]. Only
-/// the fire thunk differs — `tx.send(msg)` instead of a registry resolve — so a
-/// send onto a channel whose receiver is gone is dropped, exactly as a failed
-/// address resolve is (Erlang `send_after` semantics). `pid` is informational
-/// (who armed it); delivery lives entirely in the thunk.
+/// Like [`send_after`], but the deadline is always measured in real
+/// (wall-clock) time rather than being subject to smarm's own profiling and
+/// measurement tooling. Use this for deadlines that need to reflect the
+/// outside world (a protocol timeout, a wall-clock schedule) rather than
+/// simulated workload pacing. Without that tooling active, it behaves
+/// identically to [`send_after`].
+pub fn send_after_wall<A: crate::pid::Addressable>(
+    after: std::time::Duration,
+    dest: Pid<A>,
+    msg: A::Msg,
+) -> crate::timer::TimerId {
+    let deadline = crate::timer::deadline_from_now(after);
+    let fire = Box::new(move || {
+        let _ = crate::registry::send_to(dest, msg);
+    });
+    with_runtime(|inner| {
+        match inner.timers.lock() {
+            Ok(mut timers) => timers.insert_send_wall(deadline, dest.erase(), fire),
+            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+/// Wall-clock-anchored [`send_after_named`]: re-resolving name delivery,
+/// with the same real-time deadline guarantee as [`send_after_wall`].
+pub fn send_after_named_wall<M: Send + 'static>(
+    after: std::time::Duration,
+    dest: Name<M>,
+    msg: M,
+) -> crate::timer::TimerId {
+    let deadline = crate::timer::deadline_from_now(after);
+    // Informational only (who armed it); not used for delivery.
+    let armed_by = current_pid().unwrap_or(Pid::new(0, 0));
+    let fire = Box::new(move || {
+        let _ = crate::registry::send(dest, msg);
+    });
+    with_runtime(|inner| {
+        match inner.timers.lock() {
+            Ok(mut timers) => timers.insert_send_wall(deadline, armed_by, fire),
+            Err(e) => panic!("smarm: timers lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
+        }
+    })
+}
+
+// Deliver `msg` onto a channel the caller already holds, after a delay,
+// rather than resolving a registry address at fire time. Used internally by
+// gen_server's timer support, which needs the fire to land on the server
+// loop's own dedicated channel instead of its public inbox. Otherwise
+// identical to `send_after`: same cancellation via `cancel_timer`, and a
+// send to a channel whose receiver is gone is silently dropped.
 pub(crate) fn send_after_to<T: Send + 'static>(
     after: std::time::Duration,
     tx: Sender<T>,
@@ -504,9 +700,9 @@ pub(crate) fn send_after_to<T: Send + 'static>(
     })
 }
 
-/// Cancel a timer armed by [`send_after`] / [`send_after_named`]. Returns
-/// `true` if it was still pending (delivery now prevented), `false` if it had
-/// already fired or been cancelled.
+/// Call off a timer armed by [`send_after`] or [`send_after_named`] before
+/// it fires. Returns `true` if the timer was still pending and delivery is
+/// now prevented, `false` if it had already fired or was already cancelled.
 pub fn cancel_timer(id: crate::timer::TimerId) -> bool {
     with_runtime(|inner| {
         match inner.timers.lock() {
@@ -520,6 +716,22 @@ pub fn cancel_timer(id: crate::timer::TimerId) -> bool {
 // block_on_io / wait_readable / wait_writable / read / write
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+/// Run a blocking closure (blocking file IO, a synchronous library call,
+/// anything that isn't itself actor-aware) on a dedicated worker thread,
+/// while the calling actor parks and every other actor keeps making
+/// progress. When `f` completes, the calling actor resumes with its result.
+///
+/// Reach for this whenever you need to call into something that would
+/// otherwise block the underlying OS thread outright: a blocking C library,
+/// a synchronous filesystem call, DNS resolution via the system resolver,
+/// and so on. For plain readiness-based network IO on a file descriptor,
+/// [`wait_readable`] / [`wait_writable`] are cheaper since they don't need a
+/// dedicated thread.
+///
+/// If `f` panics, that panic is carried over and re-raised in the calling
+/// actor, exactly as if the call had been made inline.
+///
+/// Panics if called outside an actor.
 pub fn block_on_io<F, T>(f: F) -> T
 where
     F: FnOnce() -> T + Send + 'static,
@@ -542,7 +754,14 @@ where
                 Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
             };
             match io.as_mut() {
-                Some(io) => io.submit(me, epoch, work),
+                Some(io) => {
+                    // RFC 018: count the op in flight BEFORE submit — the
+                    // pool decrements on completion, and an increment that
+                    // trailed the completion would underflow. Under the io
+                    // lock, so ordered against the same-lock submit.
+                    inner.io_outstanding.fetch_add(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                    io.submit(me, epoch, work);
+                }
                 None => panic!("io thread not started"),
             }
         });
@@ -572,10 +791,19 @@ where
     }
 }
 
+/// Park the calling actor until `fd` becomes readable. Other actors keep
+/// running while you wait; when the kernel reports the fd ready, the actor
+/// resumes and you perform the actual `read(2)` yourself (see [`read`] for
+/// a convenience wrapper that does both steps).
+///
+/// Only one actor may wait on a given fd for a given direction at a time.
+/// Panics if called outside an actor.
 pub fn wait_readable(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd) -> std::io::Result<()> {
     wait_fd(fd, true, false)
 }
 
+/// Park the calling actor until `fd` becomes writable. See [`wait_readable`]
+/// for the read-side counterpart; the same notes apply.
 pub fn wait_writable(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd) -> std::io::Result<()> {
     wait_fd(fd, false, true)
 }
@@ -593,18 +821,28 @@ fn wait_fd(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, readable: bool, writable: bool) -> std::io::R
             Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
         };
         match io.as_mut() {
-            Some(io) => io.epoll_register(fd, me, epoch, readable, writable),
+            Some(io) => {
+                // RFC 018: count the waiter BEFORE the ADD (mirror of
+                // submit); roll back if the registration fails so a
+                // rejected wait leaves the verdict counters clean.
+                inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_add(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                let r = io.epoll_register(fd, me, epoch, readable, writable);
+                if r.is_err() {
+                    inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                }
+                r
+            }
             None => panic!("io thread not started"),
         }
     })?;
 
     // If a terminal stop unwinds us out of the park below, the registration
-    // must not outlive us: a stale `waiters` entry fails every future
-    // `wait_*` on this fd with AlreadyExists, and the kernel-side ADD leaks
-    // until the fd happens to be reused. Clean up iff the entry is still
-    // ours — a `FdReady` racing the stop may have consumed it already (it
-    // removes + DELs under the io lock), after which the fd may even carry
-    // ANOTHER actor's fresh registration; in that case touch nothing.
+    // must not outlive us: a stale registration would fail every future
+    // `wait_*` on this fd, and the kernel-side registration would leak until
+    // the fd happens to be reused. Clean up only if the entry is still
+    // ours; a wakeup racing the stop may have already consumed it, possibly
+    // leaving a different actor's fresh registration in its place, which
+    // must not be disturbed.
     struct Dereg {
         fd: std::os::fd::RawFd,
         me: Pid,
@@ -618,9 +856,12 @@ fn wait_fd(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, readable: bool, writable: bool) -> std::io::R
                     Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
                 };
                 if let Some(io) = io.as_mut() {
-                    if io.waiters.get(&self.fd) == Some(&(self.me, self.epoch)) {
-                        io.waiters.remove(&self.fd);
-                        io.epoll_deregister(self.fd);
+                    // `cancel_waiter` removes + DELs iff still ours, all
+                    // under the waiters lock (the ADD/DEL serialization);
+                    // decrement only when we actually removed it — a
+                    // FdReady that consumed it already did the decrement.
+                    if io.cancel_waiter(self.fd, self.me, self.epoch) {
+                        inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
                     }
                 }
             });
@@ -628,24 +869,28 @@ fn wait_fd(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, readable: bool, writable: bool) -> std::io::R
     }
     let guard = Dereg { fd, me, epoch };
     park_current();
-    // Normal wake: the FdReady path removed the entry and DEL'd the fd
-    // before the unpark, so the guard's check would be a guaranteed no-op —
-    // skip the io lock on the hot path. (Dereg owns nothing; forget leaks
-    // no resource.)
+    // Normal wake: the ready-fd path already removed the entry and
+    // deregistered from epoll before waking us, so the guard's check on drop
+    // is a guaranteed no-op. Skip it on this hot path (Dereg owns no
+    // resource itself, so forgetting it leaks nothing).
     std::mem::forget(guard);
     Ok(())
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// FdArm — fd readiness as a select arm (RFC 008)
+// FdArm: fd readiness as a select arm
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// An fd-readiness arm for [`crate::select`] / [`crate::select_timeout`]:
-/// ready when the fd is readable (resp. writable), composable with channel
-/// receivers on one wait epoch. Phase-1 rules apply: one waiter per fd at a
-/// time, one direction per arm (duplex on a single fd needs `dup`; epoll
-/// registrations key on the open file description, so dup'd fds register
-/// independently).
+/// A file-descriptor readiness condition usable as an arm of
+/// [`select`](crate::select) / [`select_timeout`](crate::select_timeout),
+/// so you can wait on "this fd is readable" alongside ordinary channel
+/// receivers in the same call. Build one with [`FdArm::readable`] or
+/// [`FdArm::writable`].
+///
+/// Only one actor may wait on a given fd for a given direction at a time. A
+/// single fd open in both directions needs two `FdArm`s (or `dup` the fd) if
+/// you want to wait on both; you cannot wait on read and write readiness
+/// with one arm.
 pub struct FdArm {
     fd: std::os::fd::RawFd,
     readable: bool,
@@ -653,10 +898,12 @@ pub struct FdArm {
 }
 
 impl FdArm {
+    /// An arm that becomes ready when `fd` is readable.
     pub fn readable(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd) -> Self {
         FdArm { fd, readable: true, writable: false }
     }
 
+    /// An arm that becomes ready when `fd` is writable.
     pub fn writable(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd) -> Self {
         FdArm { fd, readable: false, writable: true }
     }
@@ -665,14 +912,12 @@ impl FdArm {
 impl crate::channel::sealed::Sealed for FdArm {}
 
 impl crate::channel::Selectable for FdArm {
-    /// Ready-now check is a zero-timeout `poll(2)`; if the requested events
-    /// are pending the wait is retired without registering (`Ok(false)`,
-    /// the channel-arm contract). Otherwise register with the io thread —
-    /// every failure surfaces as `Err` (EBADF including a closed-fd
-    /// POLLNVAL, EMFILE on the epoll set, AlreadyExists for a second
-    /// waiter on the fd): the fallible-out, nothing-left-behind rule, in
-    /// deviation from RFC 008's permanently-ready lean, which would spin a
-    /// consumer whose fd is healthy but unregistrable (EMFILE).
+    // Ready-now check is a zero-timeout poll(2); if the requested events are
+    // already pending, the wait is retired without registering. Otherwise
+    // register with the IO thread. Any registration failure (a closed fd,
+    // too many fds registered, a second waiter already on this fd) is
+    // surfaced as an error rather than silently treated as "always ready",
+    // so a caller never spins on an fd that genuinely can't be registered.
     fn sel_register(&self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) -> std::io::Result<bool> {
         if poll_events(self.fd, self.readable, self.writable)? {
             return Ok(false);
@@ -684,7 +929,14 @@ impl crate::channel::Selectable for FdArm {
             };
             match io.as_mut() {
                 Some(io) => {
-                    io.epoll_register(self.fd, pid, epoch, self.readable, self.writable)
+                    inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_add(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                    let r = io.epoll_register(
+                        self.fd, pid, epoch, self.readable, self.writable,
+                    );
+                    if r.is_err() {
+                        inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
+                    }
+                    r
                 }
                 None => panic!("io thread not started"),
             }
@@ -692,20 +944,19 @@ impl crate::channel::Selectable for FdArm {
         Ok(true)
     }
 
-    /// Classification is the same zero-timeout poll: a pure function of fd
-    /// state, independent of the registration the cleanup pass removed. An
-    /// error here (EBADF: fd closed mid-wait) reports READY — the
-    /// consumer's read/write surfaces the errno; a dead arm is an event,
-    /// not a hang.
+    // Same zero-timeout poll used for classification: a pure function of
+    // fd state. An error here (fd closed mid-wait) is reported as ready
+    // rather than pending forever: the caller's own read/write then
+    // surfaces the real error, so a dead fd is an observable event, not a
+    // silent hang.
     fn sel_ready(&self) -> bool {
         poll_events(self.fd, self.readable, self.writable).unwrap_or(true)
     }
 
-    /// `wait_fd`'s `Dereg` compare, verbatim: remove the waiters entry and
-    /// kernel-side registration iff the entry is still `(pid, epoch)`-ours.
-    /// A `FdReady` racing the wake may have consumed it (it removes + DELs
-    /// under the io lock), after which the fd may even carry ANOTHER
-    /// actor's fresh registration; in that case touch nothing.
+    // Mirrors wait_fd's cleanup guard: remove the registration only if it's
+    // still ours. A wakeup racing this cleanup may have already consumed
+    // it, possibly leaving a different actor's fresh registration on the
+    // same fd, which must not be touched.
     fn sel_unregister(&self, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) {
         with_runtime(|inner| {
             let mut io = match inner.io.lock() {
@@ -713,9 +964,8 @@ impl crate::channel::Selectable for FdArm {
                 Err(e) => panic!("smarm: io lock poisoned (core corrupt): {e}"),
             };
             if let Some(io) = io.as_mut() {
-                if io.waiters.get(&self.fd) == Some(&(pid, epoch)) {
-                    io.waiters.remove(&self.fd);
-                    io.epoll_deregister(self.fd);
+                if io.cancel_waiter(self.fd, pid, epoch) {
+                    inner.io_fd_waiters.fetch_sub(1, Ordering::AcqRel);
                 }
             }
         });
@@ -726,9 +976,9 @@ impl crate::channel::Selectable for FdArm {
     }
 }
 
-/// Zero-timeout `poll(2)`: are any of the requested events (or ERR/HUP,
-/// which make the consumer's read/write fail loudly rather than park
-/// forever) pending on `fd`? POLLNVAL maps to `Err(EBADF)`.
+// Zero-timeout poll(2): are any of the requested events (or an error/hangup
+// condition, so the caller's read/write fails loudly instead of parking
+// forever) pending on `fd` right now?
 fn poll_events(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, readable: bool, writable: bool) -> std::io::Result<bool> {
     let mut events: libc::c_short = 0;
     if readable {
@@ -757,8 +1007,9 @@ fn poll_events(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, readable: bool, writable: bool) -> std::i
     }
 }
 
-/// Wait until `fd` is readable or `timeout` elapses: `Ok(true)` = ready,
-/// `Ok(false)` = timed out. A one-arm [`crate::try_select_timeout`].
+/// Like [`wait_readable`], but gives up after `timeout` instead of waiting
+/// indefinitely: `Ok(true)` means the fd became ready, `Ok(false)` means the
+/// timeout elapsed first.
 pub fn wait_readable_timeout(
     fd: std::os::fd::RawFd,
     timeout: std::time::Duration,
@@ -767,8 +1018,9 @@ pub fn wait_readable_timeout(
     Ok(crate::channel::try_select_timeout(&[&arm], timeout)?.is_some())
 }
 
-/// Wait until `fd` is writable or `timeout` elapses: `Ok(true)` = ready,
-/// `Ok(false)` = timed out.
+/// Like [`wait_writable`], but gives up after `timeout` instead of waiting
+/// indefinitely: `Ok(true)` means the fd became ready, `Ok(false)` means the
+/// timeout elapsed first.
 pub fn wait_writable_timeout(
     fd: std::os::fd::RawFd,
     timeout: std::time::Duration,
@@ -777,12 +1029,18 @@ pub fn wait_writable_timeout(
     Ok(crate::channel::try_select_timeout(&[&arm], timeout)?.is_some())
 }
 
+/// Convenience wrapper: park until `fd` is readable, then perform the
+/// `read(2)` into `buf`. Equivalent to calling [`wait_readable`] yourself
+/// followed by a raw read, provided as a shorthand for the common case.
 pub fn read(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, buf: &mut [u8]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
     wait_readable(fd)?;
     let n = unsafe { libc::read(fd, buf.as_mut_ptr() as *mut _, buf.len()) };
     if n < 0 { Err(std::io::Error::last_os_error()) } else { Ok(n as usize) }
 }
 
+/// Convenience wrapper: park until `fd` is writable, then perform the
+/// `write(2)` of `buf`. Equivalent to calling [`wait_writable`] yourself
+/// followed by a raw write, provided as a shorthand for the common case.
 pub fn write(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, buf: &[u8]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
     wait_writable(fd)?;
     let n = unsafe { libc::write(fd, buf.as_ptr() as *const _, buf.len()) };
@@ -790,7 +1048,7 @@ pub fn write(fd: std::os::fd::RawFd, buf: &[u8]) -> std::io::Result<usize> {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// register_supervisor_channel
+// register_supervisor_channel: internal wiring used by supervisor.rs
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 pub fn register_supervisor_channel(pid: Pid, sender: Sender<Signal>) {
@@ -807,11 +1065,21 @@ pub fn register_supervisor_channel(pid: Pid, sender: Sender<Signal>) {
 }
 
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Legacy run() — convenience wrapper
+// run(): the single-threaded convenience entry point
 // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-/// Single-threaded runtime entry point (backwards-compatible wrapper).
-/// Equivalent to `runtime::init(Config::exact(1)).run(f)`.
+/// Start the smarm runtime on a single OS thread, run `f` as the first
+/// (root) actor, and block until every actor it transitively spawned has
+/// finished.
+///
+/// This is the simplest way to get started, and is all you need for most
+/// programs: `f` typically calls [`spawn`] to create more actors and waits
+/// on their [`JoinHandle`]s. If you want smarm to schedule actors across
+/// multiple OS threads instead, use
+/// [`crate::runtime::init`] with a
+/// [`Config`](crate::runtime::Config) that requests more than one scheduler
+/// thread, then call [`Runtime::run`](crate::runtime::Runtime::run) on it;
+/// `run` here is exactly that, pinned to one thread.
 pub fn run<F: FnOnce() + Send + 'static>(f: F) {
     crate::runtime::init(crate::runtime::Config::exact(1)).run(f);
 }

src/sync_shim.rs

@@ -6,10 +6,19 @@
 //! Build the loom models with: `RUSTFLAGS="--cfg loom" cargo test --lib --release`
 
 #[cfg(loom)]
-pub(crate) use loom::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+pub(crate) use loom::sync::atomic::{fence, AtomicU64, AtomicUsize, Ordering};
 
 #[cfg(not(loom))]
-pub(crate) use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicU64, AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+pub(crate) use std::sync::atomic::{fence, AtomicU64, AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+
+// park.rs condvar-parker (loom + non-Linux builds only; the Linux non-loom
+// build parks on a futex and never touches these — gating them identically
+// keeps the default build free of unused imports).
+#[cfg(loom)]
+pub(crate) use loom::sync::{Condvar, Mutex};
+
+#[cfg(all(not(loom), not(target_os = "linux")))]
+pub(crate) use std::sync::{Condvar, Mutex};
 
 /// `UnsafeCell` with loom's `with`/`with_mut` access API; pass-through cost
 /// is zero in normal builds (`#[inline]`, newtype over std's cell).

src/timer.rs

@@ -102,6 +102,19 @@ pub struct Entry {
     seq: u64,
     pub pid: Pid,
     pub reason: Reason,
+    /// RFC 007 virtual time: the global delay ledger reading when this entry
+    /// was (re-)queued. `pop_due` shifts the effective deadline by any delay
+    /// injected since, so timers dilate together with the causally-delayed
+    /// workload instead of firing early in virtual terms.
+    #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+    delay_stamp: u64,
+    /// RFC 007: a wall-anchored entry opts out of the virtual-time shift —
+    /// its deadline is honoured in wall time regardless of injected delay.
+    /// Used by the causal controller's own measurement/cooldown sleeps so
+    /// experiment windows keep a fixed wall length; ordinary workload timers
+    /// stay virtual (`false`).
+    #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+    wall: bool,
 }
 
 impl PartialEq for Entry {
@@ -128,6 +141,14 @@ impl PartialOrd for Entry {
 
 #[derive(Default)]
 pub struct Timers {
+    /// RFC 018: the scheduler coordination layer. Attached once at
+    /// `RuntimeInner::new`; every insert notes its deadline (min-maintained
+    /// snapshot for the busy-path due-check + the timekeeper re-arm wake)
+    /// and every pop/clear re-anchors the snapshot to the heap minimum.
+    /// All calls happen under the timers mutex — the serialization the
+    /// coordinator's timer protocol mandates. `None` only in unit tests
+    /// that construct a bare `Timers`.
+    coord: Option<std::sync::Arc<crate::park::Coordinator>>,
     /// Reverse-wrapped so the smallest deadline is at the top.
     heap: BinaryHeap<Reverse<Entry>>,
     /// Monotonic counter for the tiebreaker `seq` field (and the `TimerId` of a
@@ -144,7 +165,18 @@ pub struct Timers {
 
 impl Timers {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
-        Self { heap: BinaryHeap::new(), next_seq: 0, armed: std::collections::HashSet::new() }
+        Self {
+            coord: None,
+            heap: BinaryHeap::new(),
+            next_seq: 0,
+            armed: std::collections::HashSet::new(),
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Attach the scheduler coordination layer (RFC 018). Called once, at
+    /// runtime construction, before any scheduler thread exists.
+    pub(crate) fn attach_coordinator(&mut self, c: std::sync::Arc<crate::park::Coordinator>) {
+        self.coord = Some(c);
     }
 
     /// Insert a `Sleep` timer. Convenience for the common case.
@@ -152,6 +184,19 @@ impl Timers {
         self.insert(deadline, pid, Reason::Sleep { epoch });
     }
 
+    /// Insert a *wall-anchored* `Sleep` timer: fires at `deadline` in wall
+    /// time even while causal profiling (feature `smarm-causal`) is injecting
+    /// virtual delay — it never chases the delay ledger. Without the feature
+    /// this is identical to [`insert_sleep`](Self::insert_sleep).
+    ///
+    /// Intended for measurement machinery (the causal controller's window and
+    /// cooldown sleeps, TSC calibration) whose durations *define* wall time
+    /// rather than participate in the workload. Workload code should use the
+    /// ordinary virtual-anchored timers.
+    pub fn insert_sleep_wall(&mut self, deadline: Instant, pid: Pid, epoch: u32) {
+        self.push(deadline, pid, Reason::Sleep { epoch }, true);
+    }
+
     /// Arm a cancellable `send_after` timer: run `fire` at `deadline` unless
     /// [`cancel`](Self::cancel)led first. `pid` is informational only (the
     /// destination, or who armed it — useful for introspection); it is *not*
@@ -163,11 +208,24 @@ impl Timers {
         pid: Pid,
         fire: Box<dyn FnOnce() + Send>,
     ) -> TimerId {
-        let seq = self.next_seq;
-        self.next_seq = self.next_seq.wrapping_add(1);
-        self.armed.insert(seq);
-        self.heap.push(Reverse(Entry { deadline, seq, pid, reason: Reason::Send { fire } }));
-        TimerId(seq)
+        self.armed.insert(self.next_seq);
+        TimerId(self.push(deadline, pid, Reason::Send { fire }, false))
+    }
+
+    /// Arm a *wall-anchored* cancellable `send_after` timer (RFC 007): the
+    /// same contract as [`insert_send`](Self::insert_send), but the entry
+    /// opts out of the virtual-time shift and fires at its raw deadline
+    /// regardless of injected delay — the `Send`-reason sibling of
+    /// [`insert_sleep_wall`](Self::insert_sleep_wall). Without the
+    /// `smarm-causal` feature this is identical to `insert_send`.
+    pub fn insert_send_wall(
+        &mut self,
+        deadline: Instant,
+        pid: Pid,
+        fire: Box<dyn FnOnce() + Send>,
+    ) -> TimerId {
+        self.armed.insert(self.next_seq);
+        TimerId(self.push(deadline, pid, Reason::Send { fire }, true))
     }
 
     /// Cancel an armed `send_after` timer. Returns `true` if the timer was
@@ -179,11 +237,38 @@ impl Timers {
         self.armed.remove(&id.0)
     }
 
-    /// Insert an arbitrary timer entry.
+    /// Insert an arbitrary (virtual-anchored) timer entry.
     pub fn insert(&mut self, deadline: Instant, pid: Pid, reason: Reason) {
+        self.push(deadline, pid, reason, false);
+    }
+
+    /// Common insertion path. `wall` selects the RFC 007 anchor (see
+    /// [`insert_sleep_wall`](Self::insert_sleep_wall)); it is accepted — and
+    /// ignored — without the `smarm-causal` feature so callers don't fork.
+    /// Returns the entry's `seq`.
+    fn push(&mut self, deadline: Instant, pid: Pid, reason: Reason, wall: bool) -> u64 {
+        #[cfg(not(feature = "smarm-causal"))]
+        let _ = wall;
         let seq = self.next_seq;
         self.next_seq = self.next_seq.wrapping_add(1);
-        self.heap.push(Reverse(Entry { deadline, seq, pid, reason }));
+        self.heap.push(Reverse(Entry {
+            deadline,
+            seq,
+            pid,
+            reason,
+            #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+            delay_stamp: crate::causal::global_delay_cycles(),
+            #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+            wall,
+        }));
+        // RFC 018: publish the (possibly new-minimum) deadline to the
+        // busy-path snapshot and wake the timekeeper if it is parked
+        // toward a later one. We hold the timers mutex — the mandated
+        // serialization for both.
+        if let Some(c) = &self.coord {
+            c.note_deadline(deadline);
+        }
+        seq
     }
 
     pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
@@ -196,6 +281,9 @@ impl Timers {
     pub fn clear(&mut self) {
         self.heap.clear();
         self.armed.clear();
+        if let Some(c) = &self.coord {
+            c.refresh_deadline(None);
+        }
     }
 
     /// Soonest pending deadline, or `None` if the heap is empty.
@@ -210,23 +298,68 @@ impl Timers {
     /// one is silently dropped here (its `seq` was already removed from
     /// `armed` by [`cancel`](Self::cancel)). Returning it removes it from
     /// `armed`, so a later `cancel` of a fired timer reports `false`.
+    ///
+    /// RFC 007 virtual time (feature `smarm-causal`): before an entry fires,
+    /// any global delay injected since it was (re-)queued is added to its
+    /// deadline; an entry whose *effective* deadline hasn't passed is pushed
+    /// back with the shifted deadline and a fresh stamp, so it keeps chasing
+    /// delay injected while it waits. Consequences, both benign:
+    /// [`peek_deadline`](Self::peek_deadline) may under-report (raw deadline
+    /// earlier than effective), costing at most one spurious scheduler wake
+    /// per injected chunk; and a shift never converts wall time — with zero
+    /// debt the path is byte-identical to the featureless one. Wall-anchored
+    /// entries ([`insert_sleep_wall`](Self::insert_sleep_wall)) are exempt
+    /// from the shift and always fire at their raw deadline.
     pub fn pop_due(&mut self, now: Instant) -> Vec<Entry> {
         let mut out = Vec::new();
+        #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+        let global = crate::causal::global_delay_cycles();
         while let Some(r) = self.heap.peek() {
-            if r.0.deadline <= now {
-                let entry = match self.heap.pop() {
+            if r.0.deadline > now {
+                break;
+            }
+            #[allow(unused_mut)]
+            let mut entry = match self.heap.pop() {
                 Some(e) => e.0,
                 None => panic!("smarm: timer heap pop after peek returned None (core corrupt)"),
             };
-                if matches!(entry.reason, Reason::Send { .. }) && !self.armed.remove(&entry.seq) {
+            if matches!(entry.reason, Reason::Send { .. }) && !self.armed.contains(&entry.seq) {
                 // Cancelled before it came due: discard, do not deliver.
+                // (Checked before any shift so a cancelled entry is never
+                // re-queued just to be discarded later.)
                 continue;
             }
-                out.push(entry);
-            } else {
-                break;
+            #[cfg(feature = "smarm-causal")]
+            if !entry.wall {
+                let debt = global.saturating_sub(entry.delay_stamp);
+                if debt > 0 {
+                    let shifted = entry
+                        .deadline
+                        .checked_add(crate::causal::cycles_to_duration(debt))
+                        .unwrap_or(entry.deadline);
+                    if shifted > now {
+                        // Not due in virtual time: re-queue at the shifted
+                        // deadline, stamped, keeping `seq` (and thus `Send`
+                        // cancellation identity) intact.
+                        entry.deadline = shifted;
+                        entry.delay_stamp = global;
+                        self.heap.push(Reverse(entry));
+                        continue;
                     }
                 }
+            }
+            if matches!(entry.reason, Reason::Send { .. }) {
+                self.armed.remove(&entry.seq);
+            }
+            out.push(entry);
+        }
+        // RFC 018: re-anchor the busy-path snapshot to the new heap minimum
+        // (still under the timers mutex). A causal-shift re-queue above went
+        // through `heap.push` directly, so this peek is the one place the
+        // snapshot is guaranteed to catch up.
+        if let Some(c) = &self.coord {
+            c.refresh_deadline(self.peek_deadline());
+        }
         out
     }
 }

tests/park_wake.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+//! RFC 018 scheduler park/wake — observable-behavior guards.
+//!
+//! These pin the two timer-latency properties the park/wake swap must
+//! preserve or introduce:
+//!
+//! - `sleep_fires_under_saturation`: due timers fire even when every
+//!   scheduler is busy (nobody parked ⇒ no timekeeper) — the busy-path
+//!   due-check, ratified design point (a). The old drain phase gave this
+//!   for free (timers drained every loop iteration); the new design must
+//!   not lose it.
+//! - `submillisecond_sleep_is_prompt`: a sub-ms sleep completes promptly.
+//!   Under the old wake pipe, `poll_wake`'s `as_millis` truncation turned
+//!   sub-ms deadlines into 0ms busy-polls (correct wall time, pathological
+//!   CPU); under park/wake the futex timespec carries full nanosecond
+//!   precision.
+
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+#[test]
+fn sleep_fires_under_saturation() {
+    let rt = smarm::runtime::init(smarm::runtime::Config::exact(4));
+    rt.run(|| {
+        let stop = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+        let mut spinners = Vec::new();
+        // 8 spinners over 4 schedulers: the run queue never empties, so no
+        // scheduler ever parks and no timekeeper exists. Only the busy-path
+        // due-check can fire the sleeper's timer before the spinners quit.
+        for _ in 0..8 {
+            let stop = stop.clone();
+            spinners.push(smarm::spawn(move || {
+                let t0 = Instant::now();
+                while !stop.load(Ordering::Relaxed) && t0.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5) {
+                    smarm::yield_now();
+                }
+            }));
+        }
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));
+        let dt = t0.elapsed();
+        stop.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        for s in spinners {
+            let _ = s.join();
+        }
+        assert!(
+            dt < Duration::from_millis(500),
+            "10ms sleep took {dt:?} under scheduler saturation — busy-path \
+             timer firing is broken (timekeeper-only firing stalls under load)"
+        );
+    });
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn submillisecond_sleep_is_prompt() {
+    let rt = smarm::runtime::init(smarm::runtime::Config::exact(2));
+    rt.run(|| {
+        // Warm one iteration, then measure.
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_micros(500));
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_micros(500));
+        let dt = t0.elapsed();
+        assert!(dt >= Duration::from_micros(400), "woke early: {dt:?}");
+        assert!(
+            dt < Duration::from_millis(100),
+            "500µs sleep took {dt:?} — sub-ms deadline handling is broken"
+        );
+    });
+}

tests/runtime.rs

@@ -485,3 +485,35 @@ fn multi_thread_timer_only_no_pipe_contention() {
         SLEEP_MS * 2,
     );
 }
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Root panic propagation
+
+/// A panic in the root actor escapes `run()` to the caller. Anything else
+/// makes every assert inside `run` silently vacuous — found live when a
+/// failing-first test passed: the tripped assert was caught by the
+/// trampoline, recorded as `Outcome::Panic` on the root slot, and dropped
+/// unread with the initial handle.
+#[test]
+#[should_panic(expected = "root actor panic escapes")]
+fn root_panic_escapes_run() {
+    rt1().run(|| {
+        panic!("root actor panic escapes");
+    });
+}
+
+/// Teardown completes before the root panic propagates: a caller that
+/// catches it can immediately `run()` again on the same `Runtime` (the
+/// documented sequential-reuse contract).
+#[test]
+fn runtime_reusable_after_root_panic() {
+    let r = rt1();
+    let caught = std::panic::catch_unwind(std::panic::AssertUnwindSafe(|| {
+        r.run(|| panic!("boom"));
+    }));
+    assert!(caught.is_err(), "root panic must escape run()");
+    let ran = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+    let ran_t = ran.clone();
+    r.run(move || ran_t.store(true, Ordering::Relaxed));
+    assert!(ran.load(Ordering::Relaxed), "runtime unusable after root panic");
+}

tests/select.rs

@@ -108,8 +108,14 @@ fn loser_arm_wake_after_parked_select_stays_precise() {
             t0.elapsed() >= Duration::from_millis(40),
             "one-shot park returned early: a stale loser-arm wake landed"
         );
+        // Arm 0 is now closed (the sender actor exited after its sends) and
+        // a closed arm reports ready forever under priority order — observe
+        // the disconnect and drop it from the set, per the documented
+        // closed-arm rule.
+        assert_eq!(select(&[&rxa, &rxb]), 0);
+        assert!(rxa.try_recv().is_err(), "arm 0 must report disconnect");
         // The loser's message was never lost.
-        assert_eq!(select(&[&rxa, &rxb]), 1);
+        assert_eq!(select(&[&rxb]), 0);
         assert_eq!(rxb.try_recv().unwrap(), Some(2));
         h.join().unwrap();
     });

tests/stale_name_slot_reuse.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+//! Reproducer (soak20 signature 2, refcount_test.exs "watcher crash"):
+//! `by_name` stores only the slot *index*, so a name whose holder died — never
+//! unregistered, since no smarm stop path unregisters (prune is lazy) — and
+//! whose slot was then re-tenanted by an unrelated actor reads as *live-held*:
+//!
+//!   - `register` of the name fails `NameTaken { holder: <unrelated tenant> }`,
+//!     so the bridge's generated `start()` (a `let _ =`) silently no-ops and
+//!     `start_server/1` reports `:ok` for a server that never came up;
+//!   - a by-name `call` resolves the tenant's mailbox, misses on the message
+//!     `TypeId`, and fails `ServerDown` fast — and does NOT prune (only the
+//!     dead-holder and dangling-name arms prune), so the name never heals
+//!     while the tenant lives. The wedge is self-sustaining.
+//!
+//! Wild signature: 110235x fast `{:error, :server_down}` probes over the full
+//! 5 s await window after a swallowed restart (200-run width-20 soak, run 59).
+//!
+//! The test asserts the *contract*: after its holder dies, a name must be
+//! re-registrable regardless of what happened to the slot. Red pre-fix.
+
+use smarm::{
+    call, init, request_stop, whereis, CallError, Config, GenServer, GenServerBuilder,
+    GenServerName, RegisterError,
+};
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+const TARGET: GenServerName<Target> = GenServerName::new("stale_reuse_target");
+
+/// The named server whose death opens the window. Trivial on purpose.
+struct Target;
+
+impl GenServer for Target {
+    type Call = ();
+    type Reply = ();
+    type Cast = ();
+    type Info = ();
+    type Timer = ();
+
+    fn handle_call(&mut self, _req: ()) {}
+    fn handle_cast(&mut self, _op: ()) {}
+}
+
+/// The unrelated tenant. A *different* server type, so its mailbox holds a
+/// different `Envelope` `TypeId` — a same-typed tenant would make the by-name
+/// `call` *deliver to the wrong server* instead of failing, which is the same
+/// root hole wearing a worse hat.
+struct Filler;
+
+impl GenServer for Filler {
+    type Call = ();
+    type Reply = ();
+    type Cast = ();
+    type Info = ();
+    type Timer = ();
+
+    fn handle_call(&mut self, _req: ()) {}
+    fn handle_cast(&mut self, _op: ()) {}
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+struct Observed {
+    old_slot: (u32, u32),
+    tenant_slot: (u32, u32),
+    /// `whereis` of the dead name after re-tenanting — `Some` is the misread.
+    whereis_after_reuse: Option<(u32, u32)>,
+    /// By-name call after re-tenanting — the wild `server_down` fast-fail.
+    call_after_reuse: Result<(), CallError>,
+    /// The contract under test: re-registering the dead name.
+    restart: Result<(), RegisterError>,
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn dead_name_with_reused_slot_must_be_re_registrable() {
+    let out: Arc<Mutex<Option<Observed>>> = Arc::new(Mutex::new(None));
+    let out_w = out.clone();
+
+    // A deliberately tiny slab forces prompt slot recycling: with every filler
+    // held alive, the freed slot is the only *recycled* one, so a filler lands
+    // on it deterministically well before the slab (a loud panic) runs out.
+    init(Config::exact(2).max_actors(32)).run(move || {
+        // 1. Named server up; record its slot.
+        let target = GenServerBuilder::new(Target)
+            .named(TARGET)
+            .start()
+            .expect("name should be free at test start");
+        let old_pid = target.pid();
+
+        // 2. Kill it WITHOUT unregistering (no stop path does). Death is
+        //    confirmed via the *ref*, never the name — a by-name resolve of a
+        //    dead-but-not-yet-reused holder takes the prune arm and heals the
+        //    name, destroying the precondition.
+        request_stop(old_pid);
+        loop {
+            match target.call(()) {
+                Err(CallError::ServerDown) => break,
+                Ok(()) => smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(5)),
+            }
+        }
+        drop(target);
+
+        // 3. Re-tenant the slot: spawn fillers (all kept alive) until one
+        //    lands on the old index.
+        let mut fillers = Vec::new();
+        let mut tenant = None;
+        for i in 0..24 {
+            let name: &'static str = Box::leak(format!("stale_filler_{i}").into_boxed_str());
+            let f = GenServerBuilder::new(Filler)
+                .named(GenServerName::<Filler>::new(name))
+                .start()
+                .expect("filler names are fresh");
+            let fp = f.pid();
+            fillers.push(f);
+            if fp.index() == old_pid.index() {
+                tenant = Some(fp);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        let tenant = tenant.expect(
+            "precondition: the freed slot must be re-tenanted within the tiny slab \
+             (slots are recycled; every filler is held alive)",
+        );
+
+        // 4. Observe the poisoned state through the same paths the bridge uses.
+        let whereis_after_reuse = whereis(TARGET.as_str()).map(|p| (p.index(), p.generation()));
+        let call_after_reuse = call(TARGET, ());
+        let restart = GenServerBuilder::new(Target)
+            .named(TARGET)
+            .start()
+            .map(|_fresh_ref| ());
+
+        *out_w.lock().unwrap() = Some(Observed {
+            old_slot: (old_pid.index(), old_pid.generation()),
+            tenant_slot: (tenant.index(), tenant.generation()),
+            whereis_after_reuse,
+            call_after_reuse,
+            restart,
+        });
+
+        drop(fillers);
+    });
+
+    let o = out.lock().unwrap().take().expect("run body completed");
+    eprintln!("observed: {o:?}");
+
+    assert!(
+        o.restart.is_ok(),
+        "re-registering '{}' after its holder died failed with {:?}: the dead name \
+         reads as held by the live, unrelated tenant {:?} because by_name kept only \
+         the slot index (old slot {:?}). This is the silent-no-op start_server path \
+         of soak20 signature 2.",
+        TARGET.as_str(),
+        o.restart,
+        o.tenant_slot,
+        o.old_slot,
+    );
+
+    // The healed semantics around the re-register: the stale name reads
+    // *unbound* (never the tenant), and a by-name call fails ServerDown rather
+    // than resolving anything of the tenant's.
+    assert_eq!(
+        o.whereis_after_reuse, None,
+        "whereis of a dead name must prune and report unbound, not the slot's new tenant",
+    );
+    assert_eq!(
+        o.call_after_reuse,
+        Err(CallError::ServerDown),
+        "a by-name call to a dead name must fail ServerDown",
+    );
+}

tests/stop_with_queued_call.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+//! Reproducer: a *named* gen_server stopped with `request_stop` while a `call`
+//! sits **un-dequeued** in its inbox does NOT release the parked caller with
+//! `CallError::ServerDown`. The caller parks forever, contradicting the
+//! documented gen_server guarantee ("Any caller currently waiting in `call`
+//! sees `Err(ServerDown)`").
+//!
+//! Root cause (channel.rs): `Receiver::Drop` only flips `receiver_alive = false`
+//! and never drains `queue`. The queued `Envelope::Call(_, reply_tx)` therefore
+//! survives as long as the channel `Arc<Inner>` does — and for a *named* server
+//! the registry holds a `Sender` clone (lazy prune) that keeps the `Arc` alive
+//! after the server is gone. So the queued `reply_tx` is never dropped, the
+//! caller's `reply_rx` never closes, and `reply_rx.recv()` parks forever.
+//!
+//! Anonymous servers happen to dodge this: when their last `GenServerRef`
+//! drops, every `Sender` drops, the `Arc` refcount hits zero, `Inner` (and its
+//! queue) is dropped, and the queued `reply_tx` goes with it — waking the
+//! caller. The bug is specific to "a `Sender` outlives the `Receiver`", which a
+//! registry entry guarantees for every named server.
+
+use smarm::{
+    call, channel, init, request_stop, spawn, Config, GenServer, GenServerBuilder, GenServerName,
+    CallError, Receiver, RecvTimeoutError,
+};
+use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+const BLOCKER: GenServerName<Blocker> = GenServerName::new("repro_blocker");
+
+/// A server that, on its single cast, parks forever on a gate channel the test
+/// never feeds. This deterministically holds the server *inside a handler* (not
+/// at the inbox recv), so any subsequent `call` queues behind it and stays
+/// un-dequeued — exactly the state `request_stop` then has to clean up.
+struct Blocker {
+    gate: Option<Receiver<()>>,
+}
+
+impl GenServer for Blocker {
+    type Call = ();
+    type Reply = ();
+    type Cast = ();
+    type Info = ();
+    type Timer = ();
+
+    // Trivial + instant: if this ever ran for the queued call, the caller would
+    // get Ok(()) immediately. It must NOT run — the server is parked on the gate
+    // when the stop arrives.
+    fn handle_call(&mut self, _req: ()) {}
+
+    // Park forever (until cancelled). recv() on an open channel with no message
+    // parks the actor; the gate sender is held by the test and never fires.
+    fn handle_cast(&mut self, _op: ()) {
+        if let Some(gate) = self.gate.take() {
+            let _ = gate.recv();
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn named_server_request_stop_releases_queued_caller_with_server_down() {
+    // Final observation, asserted after the run.
+    //   Some(Err(ServerDown)) -> contract honored (fixed)
+    //   None                  -> caller never released; parked past the 3s
+    //                            bound (bug reproduced)
+    let outcome: Arc<Mutex<Option<Result<(), CallError>>>> = Arc::new(Mutex::new(None));
+    let outcome_w = outcome.clone();
+
+    init(Config::exact(2)).run(move || {
+        // Gate the server will park on. Held for the whole run so the server's
+        // gate.recv() parks (rather than seeing Disconnected and returning).
+        let (gate_tx, gate_rx) = channel::<()>();
+
+        // Channel the queued caller reports its result back on.
+        let (res_tx, res_rx) = channel::<Result<(), CallError>>();
+
+        // 1. Start the named server and keep its ref alive.
+        let server = GenServerBuilder::new(Blocker { gate: Some(gate_rx) })
+            .named(BLOCKER)
+            .start()
+            .expect("name should be free");
+        let spid = server.pid();
+
+        // 2. Send the cast and let the server dequeue it and park on the gate.
+        server.cast(()).expect("server is live");
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+
+        // 3. A separate caller issues a by-name `call`. The server is parked on
+        //    the gate, so this Call envelope queues un-dequeued; the caller then
+        //    parks on its reply channel.
+        spawn(move || {
+            let r = call(BLOCKER, ());
+            let _ = res_tx.send(r);
+        });
+        smarm::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
+
+        // 4. Stop the server. Its loop unwinds out of the gate.recv() and drops
+        //    the inbox Receiver — at which point the queued caller is *supposed*
+        //    to be released with ServerDown.
+        request_stop(spid);
+
+        // 5. Bounded wait. A correct runtime releases the caller in well under
+        //    3s; the bug leaves it parked, so we time out.
+        let observed = match res_rx.recv_timeout(Duration::from_secs(3)) {
+            Ok(r) => Some(r),
+            Err(RecvTimeoutError::Timeout) => None,
+            Err(RecvTimeoutError::Disconnected) => None,
+        };
+        *outcome_w.lock().unwrap() = observed;
+
+        // Keep the gate sender alive until the very end.
+        drop(gate_tx);
+    });
+
+    let observed = outcome.lock().unwrap().take();
+    assert_eq!(
+        observed,
+        Some(Err(CallError::ServerDown)),
+        "queued caller was not released with ServerDown after the named server \
+         was request_stop'd (None = parked forever => bug reproduced)"
+    );
+}

tests/timer.rs

@@ -401,7 +401,66 @@ fn send_after_to_dead_typed_pid_is_silent() {
         assert_eq!(report_rx.recv().unwrap(), 1); // sink has now exited
         let _id = send_after(Duration::from_millis(15), sink, 2);
         sleep(Duration::from_millis(45)); // let it fire against the dead pid
-        // No panic, and nothing further delivered.
-        assert_eq!(report_rx.try_recv(), Ok(None));
+        // No panic; the sink is gone, so its report sender dropped with it —
+        // closed+empty is Err (documented), which also proves nothing
+        // further was delivered.
+        assert!(report_rx.try_recv().is_err(), "nothing further delivered");
+    });
+}
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Wall-anchored send_after (RFC 007 user-facing opt-out). The API exists in
+// both feature configs; featureless it is behaviourally identical to
+// `send_after` — these tests pin exactly that.
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#[test]
+fn armed_wall_send_timer_is_returned_and_fires() {
+    let mut t = Timers::new();
+    let now = Instant::now();
+    let fired = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+    let f = fired.clone();
+    let _id = t.insert_send_wall(
+        now + Duration::from_millis(10),
+        Pid::new(0, 0),
+        Box::new(move || f.store(true, Ordering::SeqCst)),
+    );
+
+    let mut due = t.pop_due(now + Duration::from_millis(20));
+    assert_eq!(due.len(), 1, "an armed wall send timer should pop when due");
+    run_fire(due.pop().unwrap());
+    assert!(fired.load(Ordering::SeqCst), "running the thunk delivers");
+    assert!(t.is_empty());
+}
+
+use smarm::send_after_named_wall;
+
+#[test]
+fn send_after_named_wall_delivers_after_the_delay() {
+    const WPING: Name<u64> = Name::new("send_after_wall_ping");
+    run(|| {
+        let (tx, rx) = channel::<u64>();
+        register(WPING, tx).unwrap();
+        let t0 = Instant::now();
+        let _id = send_after_named_wall(Duration::from_millis(30), WPING, 99);
+        assert_eq!(rx.recv().unwrap(), 99);
+        assert!(
+            t0.elapsed() >= Duration::from_millis(25),
+            "delivered too early: {:?}",
+            t0.elapsed()
+        );
+    });
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn send_after_named_wall_cancels() {
+    const WC: Name<u64> = Name::new("send_after_wall_cancel");
+    run(|| {
+        let (tx, rx) = channel::<u64>();
+        register(WC, tx).unwrap();
+        let id = send_after_named_wall(Duration::from_millis(50), WC, 7);
+        assert!(cancel_timer(id), "cancel before fire returns true");
+        sleep(Duration::from_millis(90));
+        assert_eq!(rx.try_recv(), Ok(None), "cancelled wall timer delivered");
     });
 }