diff --git a/admin/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx b/admin/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
index 9abab2d7..0c459f66 100644
--- a/admin/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
+++ b/admin/src/pages/SettingsPage.tsx
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ import { api } from '@/lib/api';
 import { useMobile } from '@/hooks/useMobile';
 import { PageTour } from '@/components/tour/PageTour';
 import type { AppOutletContext } from '@/components/AppLayout';
-import type { SmtpTestResult, SmtpSendTestResult, UpgradeStatusResponse, UpgradeStatus, UpgradeProgress, UpgradeResult, UpgradeHistoryResponse } from '@/types/api';
+import type { SmtpTestResult, SmtpSendTestResult, UpgradeStatusResponse, UpgradeStatus, UpgradeProgress, UpgradeResult, UpgradeHistoryResponse, WatcherHealth } from '@/types/api';
 
 const { Text, Paragraph } = Typography;
 
@@ -742,6 +742,7 @@ function SystemUpgradeTab() {
   const [progress, setProgress] = useState<UpgradeProgress | null>(null);
   const [result, setResult] = useState<UpgradeResult | null>(null);
   const [running, setRunning] = useState(false);
+  const [watcher, setWatcher] = useState<WatcherHealth | null>(null);
   const [checking, setChecking] = useState(false);
   const [upgrading, setUpgrading] = useState(false);
   const [apiOffline, setApiOffline] = useState(false);
@@ -760,6 +761,7 @@ function SystemUpgradeTab() {
       setProgress(data.progress);
       setResult(data.result);
       setRunning(data.running);
+      setWatcher(data.watcher ?? null);
       setApiOffline(false);
       return data;
     } catch {
@@ -996,6 +998,26 @@ function SystemUpgradeTab() {
         />
       )}
 
+      {watcher && !watcher.healthy && (
+        <Alert
+          type="warning"
+          message="Upgrade watcher stalled"
+          description={
+            <>
+              <div>{watcher.reason || 'Host systemd watcher is not processing upgrade triggers.'}</div>
+              <div style={{ marginTop: 8 }}>
+                Recovery:{' '}
+                <Text code>
+                  sudo systemctl reset-failed changemaker-upgrade.path changemaker-upgrade.service && sudo systemctl restart changemaker-upgrade.path
+                </Text>
+              </div>
+            </>
+          }
+          showIcon
+          style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}
+        />
+      )}
+
       {/* Actions */}
       <Space style={{ marginBottom: 16 }}>
         <Button
diff --git a/admin/src/types/api.ts b/admin/src/types/api.ts
index d0a11dc4..fd9f02a0 100644
--- a/admin/src/types/api.ts
+++ b/admin/src/types/api.ts
@@ -3179,11 +3179,18 @@ export interface UpgradeHistoryResponse {
   history: UpgradeResult[];
 }
 
+export interface WatcherHealth {
+  healthy: boolean;
+  reason?: string;
+  pendingSince?: string;
+}
+
 export interface UpgradeStatusResponse {
   status: UpgradeStatus | null;
   progress: UpgradeProgress | null;
   result: UpgradeResult | null;
   running: boolean;
+  watcher?: WatcherHealth;
 }
 
 // --- Social Calendar Types ---
diff --git a/api/src/modules/pangolin/pangolin.routes.ts b/api/src/modules/pangolin/pangolin.routes.ts
index 5a02ddd1..3b4223f4 100644
--- a/api/src/modules/pangolin/pangolin.routes.ts
+++ b/api/src/modules/pangolin/pangolin.routes.ts
@@ -867,11 +867,43 @@ router.post('/sync', pangolinSetupLimiter, async (_req: Request, res: Response)
     const existingByDomain = new Map(existing.map(r => [r.fullDomain || '', r]));
 
     const created: string[] = [];
+    const reassigned: string[] = [];
     const targetFixed: string[] = [];
     const skipped: string[] = [];
     const warnings: string[] = [];
     const errors: string[] = [];
 
+    // Create resource + public access + target. Shared by "new" and "reassign"
+    // flows so `--pangolin-site new` installs can rebuild after a site rotation.
+    const createResourceForDef = async (def: ResourceDefinition, fullDomain: string) => {
+      const resource = await pangolinClient.createResource({
+        name: def.name,
+        domainId: matchingDomain.domainId,
+        ...(def.subdomain ? { subdomain: def.subdomain } : {}),
+        http: true,
+        protocol: 'tcp',
+      });
+
+      try {
+        await pangolinClient.updateResource(resource.resourceId, { sso: false, blockAccess: false });
+      } catch {
+        logger.warn(`Created ${fullDomain} but failed to set public access`);
+      }
+
+      try {
+        await pangolinClient.createTarget(resource.resourceId, {
+          siteId,
+          ip: def.target_ip,
+          port: def.target_port,
+          method: 'http',
+          enabled: true,
+        });
+      } catch (targetErr) {
+        const msg = targetErr instanceof Error ? targetErr.message : 'Unknown error';
+        errors.push(`${fullDomain} (target): ${msg}`);
+      }
+    };
+
     for (const def of resourceDefs) {
       const fullDomain = def.subdomain ? `${def.subdomain}.${domain}` : domain;
 
@@ -890,10 +922,30 @@ router.post('/sync', pangolinSetupLimiter, async (_req: Request, res: Response)
       const existingResource = existingByDomain.get(fullDomain);
 
       if (existingResource) {
-        // Resource exists — verify it has a target
+        // Resource exists — verify target points at the CURRENT site.
         try {
           const targets = await pangolinClient.listTargets(existingResource.resourceId);
-          if (targets.length === 0) {
+          const currentTargetSiteId = targets[0]?.siteId;
+          const siteMismatch =
+            targets.length > 0 && Number(currentTargetSiteId) !== Number(siteId);
+
+          if (siteMismatch) {
+            // Stale siteId from a previous `--pangolin-site new` install.
+            // Delete and recreate against the current site.
+            logger.warn(
+              `Resource ${fullDomain} bound to stale siteId ${currentTargetSiteId}, reassigning to ${siteId}`,
+            );
+            try {
+              await pangolinClient.deleteResource(existingResource.resourceId);
+              await createResourceForDef(def, fullDomain);
+              reassigned.push(fullDomain);
+              logger.info(`Reassigned ${fullDomain} to siteId ${siteId}`);
+            } catch (err) {
+              const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Unknown error';
+              errors.push(`${fullDomain} (reassign): ${msg}`);
+              logger.error(`Failed to reassign resource ${fullDomain}:`, err);
+            }
+          } else if (targets.length === 0) {
             // Missing target — create one
             logger.info(`Resource ${fullDomain} has no target, creating one...`);
             await pangolinClient.createTarget(existingResource.resourceId, {
@@ -927,36 +979,7 @@ router.post('/sync', pangolinSetupLimiter, async (_req: Request, res: Response)
       } else {
         // Create new resource + target
         try {
-          // Root domain: omit subdomain field entirely (Pangolin rejects empty string)
-          const resource = await pangolinClient.createResource({
-            name: def.name,
-            domainId: matchingDomain.domainId,
-            ...(def.subdomain ? { subdomain: def.subdomain } : {}),
-            http: true,
-            protocol: 'tcp',
-          });
-
-          // Make publicly accessible (disable SSO auth + blockAccess)
-          try {
-            await pangolinClient.updateResource(resource.resourceId, { sso: false, blockAccess: false });
-          } catch {
-            logger.warn(`Created ${fullDomain} but failed to set public access`);
-          }
-
-          // Create target
-          try {
-            await pangolinClient.createTarget(resource.resourceId, {
-              siteId,
-              ip: def.target_ip,
-              port: def.target_port,
-              method: 'http',
-              enabled: true,
-            });
-          } catch (targetErr) {
-            const msg = targetErr instanceof Error ? targetErr.message : 'Unknown error';
-            errors.push(`${fullDomain} (target): ${msg}`);
-          }
-
+          await createResourceForDef(def, fullDomain);
           created.push(fullDomain);
           logger.info(`Created resource + target: ${fullDomain}`);
         } catch (err) {
@@ -970,11 +993,12 @@ router.post('/sync', pangolinSetupLimiter, async (_req: Request, res: Response)
     res.json({
       success: true,
       created: created.length,
+      reassigned: reassigned.length,
       targetFixed: targetFixed.length,
       skipped: skipped.length,
       warnings: warnings.length,
       errors: errors.length,
-      details: { created, targetFixed, skipped, warnings, errors },
+      details: { created, reassigned, targetFixed, skipped, warnings, errors },
     });
   } catch (err) {
     const msg = err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Unknown error';
diff --git a/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.routes.ts b/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.routes.ts
index cf70ac52..4790ab06 100644
--- a/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.routes.ts
+++ b/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.routes.ts
@@ -17,8 +17,9 @@ router.get('/status', (_req, res) => {
   const progress = upgradeService.getProgress();
   const result = upgradeService.getResult();
   const running = upgradeService.isRunning();
+  const watcher = upgradeService.getWatcherHealth();
 
-  res.json({ status, progress: running ? progress : null, result, running });
+  res.json({ status, progress: running ? progress : null, result, running, watcher });
 });
 
 /**
diff --git a/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.service.ts b/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.service.ts
index a97d3463..2fac4907 100644
--- a/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.service.ts
+++ b/api/src/modules/upgrade/upgrade.service.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,12 @@ export interface UpgradeResult {
   triggeredBy?: string;
 }
 
+export interface WatcherHealth {
+  healthy: boolean;
+  reason?: string;
+  pendingSince?: string;
+}
+
 interface TriggerPayload {
   action: 'check' | 'upgrade';
   branch?: string;
@@ -96,6 +102,31 @@ function getStatus(): UpgradeStatus | null {
   return readJsonFile<UpgradeStatus>(STATUS_FILE);
 }
 
+/**
+ * Watcher liveness heuristic. The host-side systemd watcher consumes and
+ * DELETES trigger.json within ~1s of it appearing. If trigger.json exists
+ * and is older than the threshold, the `.path` unit is almost certainly
+ * wedged (e.g. StartLimitBurst latch) and the admin UI should surface it.
+ */
+const WATCHER_STALL_MS = 30 * 1000;
+
+function getWatcherHealth(): WatcherHealth {
+  try {
+    if (!fs.existsSync(TRIGGER_FILE)) return { healthy: true };
+    const mtimeMs = fs.statSync(TRIGGER_FILE).mtimeMs;
+    const age = Date.now() - mtimeMs;
+    if (age <= WATCHER_STALL_MS) return { healthy: true };
+    return {
+      healthy: false,
+      reason: `Trigger file has been pending for ${Math.round(age / 1000)}s — host upgrade watcher may be stopped or failed`,
+      pendingSince: new Date(mtimeMs).toISOString(),
+    };
+  } catch (err) {
+    logger.warn('getWatcherHealth failed:', err);
+    return { healthy: true };
+  }
+}
+
 function getProgress(): UpgradeProgress | null {
   return readJsonFile<UpgradeProgress>(PROGRESS_FILE);
 }
@@ -221,6 +252,7 @@ export const upgradeService = {
   getStatus,
   getProgress,
   getResult,
+  getWatcherHealth,
   isRunning,
   triggerCheck,
   triggerUpgrade,
diff --git a/docker-compose.prod.yml b/docker-compose.prod.yml
index 41c00664..cba420ee 100644
--- a/docker-compose.prod.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.prod.yml
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ services:
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 3
-      start_period: 20s
+      start_period: 60s
     environment:
       - DOMAIN=${DOMAIN:-cmlite.org}
       - NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV:-production}
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 1c194511..74949171 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ services:
       interval: 30s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 3
-      start_period: 20s
+      start_period: 60s
     environment:
       - DOMAIN=${DOMAIN:-cmlite.org}
       - NODE_ENV=${NODE_ENV:-development}
diff --git a/scripts/build-release.sh b/scripts/build-release.sh
index f9bdd967..b539c61f 100755
--- a/scripts/build-release.sh
+++ b/scripts/build-release.sh
@@ -87,6 +87,17 @@ if [[ ! -f "$PROJECT_DIR/docker-compose.prod.yml" ]]; then
   error "docker-compose.prod.yml not found. Generate it first."
   exit 1
 fi
+
+# Fail the release if dev and prod compose files have drifted on critical
+# healthcheck blocks — catches cases where one file was patched without
+# the other (bit us on the api start_period fix).
+if [[ -x "$PROJECT_DIR/scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh" ]]; then
+  if ! bash "$PROJECT_DIR/scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh"; then
+    error "Compose parity check failed. Aborting release build."
+    exit 1
+  fi
+fi
+
 cp "$PROJECT_DIR/docker-compose.prod.yml" "$STAGE_DIR/docker-compose.yml"
 info "docker-compose.yml (production)"
 
diff --git a/scripts/systemd/changemaker-upgrade.service b/scripts/systemd/changemaker-upgrade.service
index 116fefc7..6f3915c6 100644
--- a/scripts/systemd/changemaker-upgrade.service
+++ b/scripts/systemd/changemaker-upgrade.service
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 [Unit]
 Description=Changemaker Lite upgrade dispatcher
 Documentation=https://docs.cmlite.org/docs/admin/services/
+StartLimitIntervalSec=0
 
 [Service]
 Type=oneshot
diff --git a/scripts/systemd/install.sh b/scripts/systemd/install.sh
index 15432bf8..0c361ff1 100755
--- a/scripts/systemd/install.sh
+++ b/scripts/systemd/install.sh
@@ -28,6 +28,14 @@ for unit in "${SCRIPT_DIR}"/changemaker-upgrade.*; do
   echo "  Installed ${filename}"
 done
 
+# Ensure logs/ is writable by the install user. The API container creates
+# subdirs here as root, which locks out the host-side upgrade-watcher service.
+mkdir -p "${PROJECT_DIR}/logs"
+chown "${INSTALL_USER}:${INSTALL_USER}" "${PROJECT_DIR}/logs"
+touch "${PROJECT_DIR}/logs/upgrade-watcher.log"
+chown "${INSTALL_USER}:${INSTALL_USER}" "${PROJECT_DIR}/logs/upgrade-watcher.log"
+echo "  Prepared ${PROJECT_DIR}/logs (owned by ${INSTALL_USER})"
+
 systemctl daemon-reload
 systemctl enable --now changemaker-upgrade.path
 
diff --git a/scripts/upgrade.sh b/scripts/upgrade.sh
index 38266f8b..c2a0ce93 100755
--- a/scripts/upgrade.sh
+++ b/scripts/upgrade.sh
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ write_result() {
   "success": ${success},
   "message": "$(echo "$msg" | sed 's/"/\\"/g')",
   "previousCommit": "${PRE_UPGRADE_SHORT:-unknown}",
-  "newCommit": "$(git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")",
+  "newCommit": "$(head -1 "$PROJECT_DIR/VERSION" 2>/dev/null || git rev-parse --short HEAD 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")",
   "commitCount": ${COMMIT_COUNT:-0},
   "durationSeconds": ${duration_secs},
   "warnings": ${warnings_json},
@@ -1089,7 +1089,7 @@ fi
 info "Starting API..."
 if [[ "$NEEDS_VOLUME_REFRESH" == "true" ]]; then
   info "Removing old API/admin containers (clearing stale node_modules volumes)..."
-  docker compose rm -sf api admin 2>/dev/null || true
+  docker compose rm -sfv api admin 2>/dev/null || true
 fi
 docker compose up -d api
 
diff --git a/scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh b/scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..4e748f3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# =============================================================================
+# Changemaker Lite — Compose Parity Validator
+#
+# The dev (docker-compose.yml) and prod (docker-compose.prod.yml) files share
+# ~95% of their service definitions verbatim, but there is no tooling that
+# ensures they stay in sync. A drift in healthcheck tolerances between them
+# can cause release-tarball installs to silently fail where dev installs pass
+# (or vice versa).
+#
+# This script compares the `healthcheck:` block for a fixed set of critical
+# services between the two files and exits non-zero if any of them diverge.
+#
+# Run manually: bash scripts/validate-compose-parity.sh
+# Also invoked by scripts/build-release.sh before packaging the tarball.
+# =============================================================================
+set -euo pipefail
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+PROJECT_DIR="$(dirname "$SCRIPT_DIR")"
+DEV_FILE="${PROJECT_DIR}/docker-compose.yml"
+PROD_FILE="${PROJECT_DIR}/docker-compose.prod.yml"
+
+# Services whose healthcheck must be identical across dev and prod.
+CRITICAL_SERVICES=(api media-api admin nginx)
+
+if [[ ! -f "$DEV_FILE" ]] || [[ ! -f "$PROD_FILE" ]]; then
+  echo "ERROR: Could not find both compose files (expected $DEV_FILE and $PROD_FILE)" >&2
+  exit 2
+fi
+
+# Extract the healthcheck block for a given service from a compose file.
+# Uses awk to walk indentation: find `^  <service>:`, then within it the
+# `    healthcheck:` block, and print the healthcheck lines until a sibling
+# key (same 4-space indent) or end of service.
+extract_healthcheck() {
+  local file="$1" service="$2"
+  awk -v svc="$service" '
+    # Entering the target service definition?
+    $0 ~ "^  "svc":[[:space:]]*$" { in_svc=1; next }
+    # Next top-level service — stop scanning
+    in_svc && /^  [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+:[[:space:]]*$/ { in_svc=0 }
+    # Inside target service, watch for healthcheck block
+    in_svc && /^    healthcheck:[[:space:]]*$/ { in_hc=1; print; next }
+    # Inside healthcheck: print until we hit a sibling key at same indent
+    in_hc {
+      if (/^    [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+:/) { in_hc=0 }
+      else { print }
+    }
+  ' "$file"
+}
+
+FAIL=0
+for svc in "${CRITICAL_SERVICES[@]}"; do
+  dev_hc="$(extract_healthcheck "$DEV_FILE" "$svc")"
+  prod_hc="$(extract_healthcheck "$PROD_FILE" "$svc")"
+
+  if [[ -z "$dev_hc" ]] && [[ -z "$prod_hc" ]]; then
+    continue  # service not defined in either — fine (e.g. media-api optional)
+  fi
+
+  if [[ "$dev_hc" != "$prod_hc" ]]; then
+    echo "DRIFT: healthcheck block for service '${svc}' differs between dev and prod compose files" >&2
+    echo "--- $(basename "$DEV_FILE")" >&2
+    echo "$dev_hc" >&2
+    echo "--- $(basename "$PROD_FILE")" >&2
+    echo "$prod_hc" >&2
+    echo "" >&2
+    FAIL=1
+  fi
+done
+
+if [[ "$FAIL" -ne 0 ]]; then
+  echo "Compose parity check FAILED. Update both files before releasing." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "Compose parity: OK (${#CRITICAL_SERVICES[@]} services checked)"