diff --git a/cc-ci-plan/launch.sh b/cc-ci-plan/launch.sh
index 9157d07..a066923 100755
--- a/cc-ci-plan/launch.sh
+++ b/cc-ci-plan/launch.sh
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ WATCH_ORCHESTRATOR="${WATCH_ORCHESTRATOR:-1}"
 # Ordered phase sequence: each entry "id|planfile|statusbasename". The watchdog runs them in order,
 # auto-transitions on the phase's "## DONE" (in BUILDER_DIR/<statusbasename>), and STOPS after the
 # last one (manual gate). Override PHASES_SPEC (semicolon-separated) to change the sequence.
-PHASES_SPEC="${PHASES_SPEC:-1c|plan-phase1c-full-reproducibility.md|STATUS-1c.md;1b|plan-phase1b-review-lint.md|STATUS-1b.md;1d|plan-phase1d-generic-test-suite.md|STATUS-1d.md;1e|plan-phase1e-harness-corrections.md|STATUS-1e.md;2w|plan-phase2w-warm-canonical-quick.md|STATUS-2w.md;2|plan-phase2-recipe-tests.md|STATUS-2.md;2b|plan-phase2b-test-performance.md|STATUS-2b.md;3|plan-phase3-results-ux.md|STATUS-3.md;4|plan-phase4-final-review-polish-cleanup.md|STATUS-4.md}"
+PHASES_SPEC="${PHASES_SPEC:-1c|plan-phase1c-full-reproducibility.md|STATUS-1c.md;1b|plan-phase1b-review-lint.md|STATUS-1b.md;1d|plan-phase1d-generic-test-suite.md|STATUS-1d.md;1e|plan-phase1e-harness-corrections.md|STATUS-1e.md;2w|plan-phase2w-warm-canonical-quick.md|STATUS-2w.md;2pc|plan-phase2pc-image-cache.md|STATUS-2pc.md;2|plan-phase2-recipe-tests.md|STATUS-2.md;2b|plan-phase2b-test-performance.md|STATUS-2b.md;3|plan-phase3-results-ux.md|STATUS-3.md;4|plan-phase4-final-review-polish-cleanup.md|STATUS-4.md}"
 IFS=';' read -r -a PHASES <<< "$PHASES_SPEC"
 PHASE_IDX_FILE="${PHASE_IDX_FILE:-$LOG_DIR/.phase-idx}"
 # --------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/cc-ci-plan/plan-phase2pc-image-cache.md b/cc-ci-plan/plan-phase2pc-image-cache.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81b10d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cc-ci-plan/plan-phase2pc-image-cache.md
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# cc-ci Phase 2pc — Image pull-through cache + sane prune policy (front-loaded perf win)
+
+**Status:** ACTIVE — a **small interjection into Phase 2** (operator, 2026-05-29). Phase 2
+(`plan-phase2-recipe-tests.md`) is **PAUSED at its current progress** (STATUS-2/BACKLOG-2 preserved);
+the loops do this short phase, then **Phase 2 resumes automatically** where it left off.
+**Transition:** auto — on `## DONE` in `machine-docs/STATUS-2pc.md` the watchdog returns to Phase 2.
+**Why now (not in 2b):** image handling is the **demonstrated** hot spot (Docker Hub rate-limit hit
+twice; `docker image prune -af` wiped cached images mid-run → forced a full cold re-pull → rate
+limit — see JOURNAL-2). These two fixes are **evidence-based, not speculative**, and the remaining
+~dozen recipes are all deploy/pull-heavy, so front-loading compounds. The rest of perf stays
+measurement-driven in Phase 2b.
+**Owner:** Builder + Adversary loops. **This file:** `/srv/cc-ci/cc-ci-plan/plan-phase2pc-image-cache.md`
+**Phase order now:** … 1e → 2w → 2(paused) → **2pc** → 2(resume) → 2b → 3 → 4.
+
+---
+
+## Definition of Done (PC1 + PC2; Adversary cold-verifies → `machine-docs/REVIEW-2pc.md`)
+
+- [ ] **PC1 — Conservative image-prune policy (easy win).** Stop reflexive `docker image prune -af`;
+      **never prune during a deploy/test run**; keep base/in-use images; prune only **truly-orphaned,
+      old** layers (age-gated) and only under real disk pressure (now bounded — host is 70 GB,
+      ~43 G free). Removes the documented prune→re-pull→rate-limit churn. Wherever the harness/janitor
+      prunes today, make it surgical (dangling + age threshold), not `-af`. **Verify:** a normal run
+      no longer evicts cached base images; disk stays bounded without `-af`.
+- [ ] **PC2 — Docker Hub pull-through cache.** A local **`registry:2` in proxy/pull-through mode**
+      pointing at `registry-1.docker.io`, **authenticated with the Docker Hub PAT** (the `nptest2`
+      creds already in sops/`.testenv`), declared as a **Nix-reconciled service** (same idempotent
+      pattern as proxy/keycloak — survives a D8 rebuild; the cache *contents* are runtime cache, not
+      in the git closure). Configure the Docker daemon's **`registry-mirrors`** to use it so all
+      `docker.io` pulls (abra/swarm included — transparent, no command change) go through the cache.
+      First pull caches locally; **every subsequent pull — across recipes, across runs, after a
+      prune — is local.** **Verify:** (a) 2nd deploy of an image pulls from the cache (not Docker
+      Hub) — show via cache logs / a measured pull-time drop; (b) survives a prune (re-pull is local,
+      not a Docker Hub hit); (c) a **measured deploy speedup** on a repeat/warm-cache deploy vs cold;
+      (d) cache-miss pulls authenticate (per-account 200/6h), so the rate-limit pressure is gone.
+- [ ] **PC3 — Bounded + documented.** The cache has a disk cap / its own GC so it can't grow
+      unbounded (it's a cache — evict LRU/old). Scope note: this covers **`docker.io`** (the
+      rate-limited, most-shared registry); `git.coopcloud.tech` images are out of scope here (not
+      rate-limited, fewer) — a follow-up if 2b shows it matters. `docs/` notes the cache + prune
+      policy; deviations in `DECISIONS.md`.
+
+When PC1–PC3 hold and are Adversary-verified, write `## DONE` to `machine-docs/STATUS-2pc.md` →
+watchdog auto-returns to Phase 2.
+
+## Guardrails / constraints
+- **Real pull path only** — the daemon `registry-mirrors` makes the cache transparent to abra/swarm;
+  do NOT special-case pulls or bypass abra. (Consistent with the lasuite-drive "real abra commands"
+  rule.)
+- **Bounded scope** — this is the TWO evidence-based image wins only. Concurrency (`MAX_TESTS>1`),
+  readiness-poll tuning, deploy dedup, etc. stay in **measurement-driven Phase 2b** — do NOT expand
+  this interjection into general optimization.
+- **Cache is cache, not source** — the registry *service* is Nix-declared + reconciled (rebuildable);
+  its stored layers are runtime cache, excluded from the D8 closure (re-warmed by pulls).
+- **Don't weaken any test** (cardinal rule); the cache must not mask a genuinely-broken image pull.
+
+## Open decisions (log in machine-docs/DECISIONS.md)
+- Cache storage location + size cap + eviction policy; where the `registry:2` service is declared
+  (new `nix/modules/registry-cache.nix`).
+- Daemon `registry-mirrors` wiring (NixOS `virtualisation.docker.daemon.settings`) + how the cache
+  authenticates upstream with the PAT (sops secret → registry config).
+- The measured speedup target to report (cold vs warm-cache deploy delta on a representative recipe).