diff --git a/.claude/skills/upgrade-all/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/upgrade-all/SKILL.md
index f0a76cd..c79e178 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/upgrade-all/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/upgrade-all/SKILL.md
@@ -58,6 +58,28 @@ the dedicated reaper too so the start/end cleanup is explicit and symmetric (`TH
 ssh cc-ci 'THRESHOLD=0 bash -s' < /srv/cc-ci/.claude/skills/upgrade-all/reap-dev-deploys.sh
 ```
 
+Then **reclaim leaked overlay IPs and guard against `proxy` VIP exhaustion.** The shared `proxy`
+overlay (a `/24` = 254 VIPs that EVERY recipe deploy joins) leaks endpoints under concurrent stack
+`rm` (a Swarm endpoint-GC race); over many days of churn the pool exhausts and new test deploys hang
+in Swarm `New` state with `could not find an available IP while allocating VIP` — which looks exactly
+like a recipe failure but is infra (root-caused 2026-06-12; see cc-ci-plan `plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md`).
+Reclaim before the run:
+```
+# 1. reclaim leaked per-stack overlay networks (cheap, always safe)
+ssh cc-ci 'docker network prune -f'
+# 2. proxy VIP-exhaustion guard: if the allocator recently failed to assign a VIP, the leak has hit
+#    the ceiling — rebuild the allocator with a docker restart (the box is QUIESCENT at run start, so
+#    this is a ~30s infra blip that auto-recovers). Only fires when actually needed.
+VIPFAIL=$(ssh cc-ci 'journalctl -u docker --since "26 hours ago" --no-pager 2>/dev/null | grep -c "available IP while allocating VIP"')
+if [ "${VIPFAIL:-0}" -gt 0 ]; then
+  echo "!! proxy VIP exhaustion detected ($VIPFAIL recent failures) — restarting docker to reclaim leaked endpoints"
+  ssh cc-ci 'sudo systemctl restart docker'; sleep 25
+  ssh cc-ci 'docker node ls && docker service ls --format "{{.Replicas}}" | grep -c "/"'   # sanity: node Ready, infra back
+fi
+```
+(The durable fix — enlarging the `proxy` subnet to a /16 so it never exhausts — is tracked in
+`plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md`; this guard is the per-run safety net until that lands.)
+
 ## 1. Build the candidate list
 Enrolled recipes = the cc-ci `tests/<recipe>/` dirs (same set `ci-test-review` sweeps):
 ```
diff --git a/cc-ci-plan/JOURNAL.md b/cc-ci-plan/JOURNAL.md
index 6af34ff..fa3ed3b 100644
--- a/cc-ci-plan/JOURNAL.md
+++ b/cc-ci-plan/JOURNAL.md
@@ -528,3 +528,18 @@ session cc-ci-orchestrator-stale can be killed; recipe-mirrors org still private
   it with the diagnosis → "one clean discourse retry then move on regardless; comment+skip
   if it re-wedges". Agent recovered, now checking build state before retry. Rest of queue
   (ghost/immich/keycloak/lasuite-*/mailu/matrix-synapse) still ahead. cfold still paused.
+
+## 2026-06-12 ~03:30 — ROOT CAUSE: proxy overlay VIP exhaustion (not "tired box")
+- Empirically verified from dockerd logs: the shared `proxy` overlay (10.0.1.0/24 = 254 VIPs,
+  joined by every recipe deploy) exhausted its IP pool. Endpoint-GC race on concurrent stack rm
+  (`key modified`/`network proxy remove failed`, 45×) leaked IPs over 11 days of dockerd uptime →
+  13× `could not find an available IP while allocating VIP` from 22:53 → tasks stuck in Swarm `New`
+  → discourse + ghost deploys wedged (looked like recipe failures; were infra). 02:50 docker
+  restart rebuilt the allocator → cleared.
+- FIXES: (a) upgrade-all Step 0 now prunes leaked overlays + restarts docker if VIP-failures are in
+  the journal (per-run safety net, committed). (b) DURABLE: enlarge proxy to /16 in swarm.nix —
+  runbook plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md + memory [[proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook]], orchestrator
+  to execute in a maintenance window AFTER the current upgrade (recreating proxy disrupts routing).
+  (c) ghost PR debug: plan-ghostpr-debug-fix.md + memory [[ghost-pr-debug]].
+- NOT switching the upgrade to sequential (operator: concurrency is fine; the leak is the issue).
+  Duplicate ghost subagent from the interrupt churn — told the upgrader to TaskStop one.
diff --git a/cc-ci-plan/plan-ghostpr-debug-fix.md b/cc-ci-plan/plan-ghostpr-debug-fix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f95ccdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cc-ci-plan/plan-ghostpr-debug-fix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Plan — debug & fix the ghost recipe upgrade PR
+
+**Context:** during the 2026-06-12 weekly upgrade, ghost (ghost 6.42.0→6.44.1 + mysql bump) was the
+recipe whose `!testme` kept wedging. Its test deploys (`ghos-bdd2f3` etc.) hung at 0/1 in Swarm
+`New` state — which we now know was the **`proxy` VIP exhaustion** (see
+[[proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook]] / `plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md`), NOT necessarily a ghost
+defect. It also got run by a DUPLICATE subagent during the interrupt churn, so the PR/branch state
+may be messy. This plan figures out what actually went wrong and leaves the ghost PR clean + green.
+
+**Execute AFTER** the proxy VIP fix (so the infra confound is gone) and the current upgrade settles.
+Owner: orchestrator, or a focused `/recipe-upgrade ghost` re-run.
+
+## Steps
+1. **Inventory the ghost PR state.** On recipe-maintainers/ghost: list open PRs — is there ONE
+   upgrade PR or a DUPLICATE (two branches/PRs from the two ghost subagents)? Capture each PR's
+   branch, diff (image tag + version-label bumps), and its `!testme` comment history / build
+   results. Read the upgrader transcript for both ghost subagents to see what each did.
+2. **Separate infra failure from real failure.** The deploy wedges were proxy-VIP exhaustion
+   (infra). Determine whether ghost ALSO has a genuine upgrade problem: does ghost 6.44.1 + the
+   mysql bump deploy + pass its tests on a HEALTHY swarm? Re-run `!testme` on the ghost PR now that
+   the box is healthy (post docker-restart / post proxy fix) and watch the real result.
+3. **Dedup.** If two ghost PRs/branches exist, keep the correct one (right version bump, clean
+   diff), close the duplicate with a note, and ensure no leftover `dev-ghost`/`ghos-*` stacks remain
+   (reap).
+4. **Fix forward to green.** If `!testme` is RED for a REAL reason (e.g. ghost 6.44.1 needs a config
+   change, or the mysql major bump needs a migration step / a genuinely-stale test): apply the
+   minimal recipe fix per `/recipe-upgrade` rules — recipe PR changes only; if a cc-ci TEST is
+   genuinely stale, leave an explanatory PR COMMENT (do NOT edit tests in default mode). Iterate
+   `!testme` ≤3× to green.
+5. **Leave it operator-ready.** One clean ghost PR, `!testme` GREEN (or a clear comment explaining a
+   legitimately-deferred issue), no duplicate, no leaked deploys. NEVER merge — operator merges.
+
+## Acceptance
+The ghost upgrade is represented by exactly one PR with a clear, green (or clearly-explained)
+`!testme`, the duplicate-subagent mess cleaned, and a one-line note on whether ghost's original
+failure was purely the proxy-VIP infra issue or a real upgrade problem (and how it was fixed).
+
+## Guardrails
+Recipe mirror = PR only, never merge / never push main. Reap any `dev-ghost`/`ghos-*` test stacks on
+exit. No secrets in logs/commits. Don't run while the proxy recreate (maintenance window) is in
+progress.
diff --git a/cc-ci-plan/plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md b/cc-ci-plan/plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4c7c56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cc-ci-plan/plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+# Runbook — fix `proxy` overlay VIP exhaustion (durable) + empirical verification
+
+**Owner: ORCHESTRATOR** (host/swarm infra, not a recipe/test change). Execute **after the current
+weekly upgrade run finishes** (the box must be quiescent — recreating `proxy` disrupts traefik
+routing for every live service). Do NOT run mid-upgrade.
+
+## Root cause (empirically verified 2026-06-12, from dockerd logs)
+- The shared **`proxy` overlay network** (ID was `ab54…`) is **`10.0.1.0/24` = 254 VIPs**. EVERY
+  recipe deploy joins it (traefik routing).
+- Under concurrent stack `rm`, Swarm's endpoint GC races (`Unable to complete atomic operation,
+  key modified` / `network proxy remove failed`) and **leaks endpoints → leaks IPs** (45 such
+  errors over the day). `dockerd` had **11 days** uptime accumulating leaks.
+- The pool exhausted → **13× `could not find an available IP while allocating VIP`** (first 22:53,
+  straddling both wedges) → new services' tasks stuck in Swarm **`New`** state (never scheduled).
+- The 02:50 docker restart rebuilt the allocator and reclaimed everything → healthy.
+- This presents as a recipe FAILURE (discourse, ghost both "failed") but is purely infra.
+
+## The fix (durable): enlarge the `proxy` subnet
+`nix/modules/swarm.nix:~43` creates it with no `--subnet` (defaults to a /24):
+```
+docker network create --driver overlay --attachable proxy
+```
+Change to a **/16** (≈65,534 VIPs, ~258× headroom — the leak can't reach it before a routine
+reboot/`nixos-rebuild` resets the allocator). Pick a block clear of `ingress` (10.0.0.0/24) and the
+current proxy (10.0.1.0/24); the default-addr-pool is 10.0.0.0/8, so use e.g. **`10.10.0.0/16`**:
+```
+docker network create --driver overlay --attachable --subnet 10.10.0.0/16 proxy
+```
+
+## Procedure
+1. **Pre-req:** weekly upgrade run done; `docker stack ls` shows only infra + `warm-*`.
+2. **EMPIRICAL BEFORE — measure the leak.** Baseline `proxy` endpoint/IP count, then deploy +
+   *concurrently* `rm` N (~10) throwaway published-port stacks; re-count. Show endpoints/IPs do NOT
+   return to baseline (leak), and grep dockerd for fresh `key modified`/`network proxy remove`
+   errors. Record the per-cycle leak rate → projects the /24 exhaustion time.
+3. **Edit `nix/modules/swarm.nix`** — add `--subnet 10.10.0.0/16` to the proxy create (commit to
+   the cc-ci repo; this is infra/nix, orchestrator-authored, push to git.autonomic.zone).
+4. **Recreate `proxy` on the host (DISRUPTIVE):** the network can't be resized in place. Either
+   `nixos-rebuild` after temporarily removing proxy, or manually: detach services / `docker stack
+   rm` the live recipe stacks (none mid-upgrade), `docker network rm proxy`, recreate with the /16,
+   then redeploy/reconcile traefik + the `ccci-*` control plane + `warm-*` so they rejoin. Verify
+   traefik routing, drone, dashboard, bridge, reports all healthy.
+5. **`nixos-rebuild switch`** so the /16 persists across reboots (sync `/root/cc-ci` first, per the
+   host-deploy mechanism).
+6. **EMPIRICAL AFTER — prove it.** Re-run step 2's reproduction: confirm (a) `proxy` now reports a
+   /16 with vast headroom, (b) `docker network prune -f` reclaims the leaked per-stack overlays,
+   (c) the leak no longer approaches exhaustion. Confirm a fresh recipe `!testme` deploys clean (no
+   `New`-state hang).
+
+## Acceptance
+`proxy` is a /16 (pinned in swarm.nix, survives rebuild); reproduction shows the leak is bounded
+far below the new ceiling; the upgrade Step-0 guard (prune + VIP-failure docker-restart, already
+added to the skill 2026-06-12) remains as the per-run safety net. Then delete the
+[[proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook]] memory.
+
+## Guardrails
+- Maintenance window only (recreating proxy = brief routing outage for ALL services). Never during
+  a live upgrade or phase run. No secrets in commits. Author `autonomic-bot
+  <autonomic-bot@noreply.git.autonomic.zone>`; push after commit.
diff --git a/memory/MEMORY.md b/memory/MEMORY.md
index c9adfe1..8c00ca7 100644
--- a/memory/MEMORY.md
+++ b/memory/MEMORY.md
@@ -12,3 +12,5 @@
 - [Swarm UpdateStatus convergence gotchas](swarm-updatestatus-convergence-gotchas.md) — N/N is not converged mid stop-first update; paused flag persists forever; only updating/rollback_started are active
 - [Weekly upgrade queued after phases](weekly-upgrade-queued-after-phases.md) — 06-12 cron skipped; auto-runs /upgrade-all when phase queue (drone) finishes; don'\''t systemctl start the timer
 - [cfold paused pending upgrade](cfold-paused-pending-upgrade.md) — cfold phase loops+watchdog STOPPED until /upgrade-all (cc-ci-upgrader) finishes; resume = restart watchdog (phase-idx 9)
+- [proxy VIP exhaustion runbook](proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook.md) — TODO after upgrade: enlarge proxy overlay to /16 (exhausts at /24=254 VIPs); root cause of discourse/ghost deploy wedges
+- [ghost PR debug](ghost-pr-debug.md) — TODO after proxy fix: debug+fix the ghost upgrade PR (wedged on proxy VIP exhaustion; possible duplicate PR)
diff --git a/memory/ghost-pr-debug.md b/memory/ghost-pr-debug.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..672e1d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/memory/ghost-pr-debug.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+---
+name: ghost-pr-debug
+description: TODO after proxy fix — debug & fix the ghost recipe upgrade PR (its !testme kept wedging; possible duplicate PR from interrupt churn)
+metadata: 
+  node_type: memory
+  type: project
+  originSessionId: 85355980-5e4f-4f90-b1ca-d0e4fe82f04b
+---
+
+During the 2026-06-12 weekly upgrade, **ghost** (6.42.0→6.44.1 + mysql bump) was the recipe whose
+`!testme` kept wedging — its deploys hung at 0/1 in Swarm `New`, which was the **proxy VIP
+exhaustion** infra issue ([[proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook]]), not necessarily a ghost defect. It also
+got run by a DUPLICATE subagent during the interrupt churn, so the ghost PR/branch state may be messy.
+
+**TODO (after the proxy fix removes the infra confound):** inventory the ghost PR(s) on
+recipe-maintainers/ghost (one or duplicate?), separate infra-failure from a real upgrade problem by
+re-running `!testme` on a HEALTHY swarm, dedup any duplicate PR, fix-forward to green (recipe PR only;
+comment on genuinely-stale tests, never edit them in default mode), and leave exactly one clean,
+operator-ready ghost PR. NEVER merge. Plan: `cc-ci-plan/plan-ghostpr-debug-fix.md`. Delete this memory
+once the ghost PR is clean + green (or clearly explained).
diff --git a/memory/proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook.md b/memory/proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5cd8a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/memory/proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+name: proxy-vip-exhaustion-runbook
+description: TODO after the weekly upgrade — enlarge the proxy overlay subnet to /16 (it exhausts at /24=254 VIPs); runbook + empirical verify
+metadata: 
+  node_type: memory
+  type: project
+  originSessionId: 85355980-5e4f-4f90-b1ca-d0e4fe82f04b
+---
+
+**Root cause found 2026-06-12 (empirically, from dockerd logs):** recipe test deploys hung at 0/1 in
+Swarm `New` state (looked like discourse/ghost "failing") because the shared **`proxy` overlay
+network** (`10.0.1.0/24` = 254 VIPs, joined by every recipe deploy) **exhausted its IP pool**.
+Leaked endpoints from concurrent stack `rm` (Swarm endpoint-GC race: `key modified` / `network proxy
+remove failed`, 45×) accumulated over 11 days of dockerd uptime → `could not find an available IP
+while allocating VIP` (13×). A `docker restart` rebuilds the allocator and reclaims it (proven).
+
+**Per-run safety net (DONE 2026-06-12):** upgrade-all Step 0 now runs `docker network prune -f` + a
+guard that restarts docker if recent VIP-allocation failures are in the journal.
+
+**TODO (durable fix, ORCHESTRATOR, in a maintenance window AFTER the current upgrade + when the box
+is quiescent — recreating proxy disrupts traefik routing):** enlarge `proxy` to a /16. Edit
+`nix/modules/swarm.nix:~43` (`docker network create --driver overlay --attachable proxy` → add
+`--subnet 10.10.0.0/16`), recreate the proxy network on the host, `nixos-rebuild`, and empirically
+verify (reproduce the leak before/after). Full runbook: `cc-ci-plan/plan-proxy-vip-exhaustion-fix.md`.
+Then debug the ghost PR ([[ghost-pr-debug]]). Delete this memory once proxy is /16 + verified.