Merge pull request 'feat: extract soul-demo into standalone Cloud Run service' (#64) from dev into stage

feat: extract soul-demo into standalone Cloud Run service

.gitea/workflows/dev.yaml

@@ -172,11 +172,12 @@ jobs:
       - name: Touch HTML placeholder files
         run: touch src/index.html src/about.html src/terms.html src/enterprise-terms.html
 
-      - name: Create soul-demo-image.tar placeholder
+      - name: Create soul-demo placeholder
-        # Dockerfile.stage COPYs this file (used by k3s at runtime).
+        # Dockerfile.stage COPYs dist/soul-demo. We only need the binary to exist
-        # We only need the COPY to succeed here; real tar is built by
+        # for the Docker build to succeed; the real binary is compiled in stage CI.
-        # build-stage.sh in the deploy pipeline.
+        run: |
-        run: touch dist/soul-demo-image.tar
+          touch dist/soul-demo
+          chmod +x dist/soul-demo
 
       - name: Build Docker image (local only — no push)
         run: |

.gitea/workflows/stage.yaml

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ on:
       - 'dist/**'
       - 'runtime/**'
       - 'Dockerfile.stage'
+      - 'Dockerfile.soul-demo'
       - 'build-stage.sh'
       - '.gitea/workflows/stage.yaml'
 
@@ -148,6 +149,46 @@ jobs:
             --runtime="$EL_RUNTIME"
           echo "Binary: $(ls -lh dist/neuron-landing)"
 
+      - name: Relink neuron-web with HAVE_CURL
+        # elb does not pass -DHAVE_CURL when compiling el_runtime.c, so
+        # http_get/http_post return {"error":"not built with HAVE_CURL"}.
+        # Fix: after elb generates all intermediate .c files in dist/, recompile
+        # el_runtime.c with -DHAVE_CURL and relink the whole binary manually.
+        # All component .c files (nav.c, hero.c, etc.) are generated by elb and
+        # remain in dist/ after the build — we collect them here, exclude the
+        # separate soul-demo.c binary, and relink with libcurl.
+        if: steps.changetype.outputs.asset_only != 'true'
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          # Compile el_runtime.c with full curl support
+          cc -O2 -DHAVE_CURL -c runtime/el_runtime.c -I runtime/ -o /tmp/el_runtime_curl.o
+          echo "el_runtime_curl.o compiled: $(ls -lh /tmp/el_runtime_curl.o)"
+
+          # Collect every neuron-web .c file elb deposited in dist/
+          # (both committed stubs and freshly-generated component files)
+          mapfile -t C_SRCS < <(find dist/ -maxdepth 1 -name '*.c' ! -name 'soul-demo.c')
+          echo "Relinking ${#C_SRCS[@]} C files..."
+
+          cc -O2 -rdynamic \
+             -I runtime/ -I dist/ \
+             -o dist/neuron-landing \
+             "${C_SRCS[@]}" /tmp/el_runtime_curl.o \
+             -lcurl -lpthread -ldl -lm -lssl -lcrypto
+
+          echo "Relinked: $(ls -lh dist/neuron-landing)"
+          # Verification: if compiled WITHOUT HAVE_CURL the stub string
+          # "not built with HAVE_CURL" is baked into the binary's rodata.
+          # Its absence confirms curl code is compiled in.
+          if strings dist/neuron-landing | grep -q 'not built with HAVE_CURL'; then
+            echo "ERROR: no-curl stub string still in binary — HAVE_CURL not compiled"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+          # Confirm curl symbols visible in dynamic table
+          nm -D dist/neuron-landing | grep curl_easy_init || \
+            nm dist/neuron-landing | grep curl || true
+          echo "HAVE_CURL verified ✓"
+
       # ── Compile JS client sources ─────────────────────────────────────────
 
       - name: Compile JS El sources
@@ -173,15 +214,15 @@ jobs:
 
       # ── Docker build + push ───────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-      - name: Build soul-demo image tar
+      - name: Build soul-demo binary
-        # Dockerfile.stage COPYs dist/soul-demo-image.tar so k3s can import
+        # Compile soul-demo directly on the host runner (ci-base has gcc).
-        # soul-demo:local at runtime. We compile soul-demo from source on the
+        # Cloud Run runs soul-demo as a direct subprocess with a watchdog loop —
-        # host runner (ci-base has gcc), build a minimal OCI image, and save it.
+        # no k3s, no OCI image needed. One binary per container; Cloud Run
+        # handles horizontal scaling.
         # Moved AFTER JS compilation to avoid Docker memory pressure killing elc.
         if: steps.changetype.outputs.asset_only != 'true'
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          # Compile el_runtime.o and soul-demo on the host runner
           cc -O2 -DHAVE_CURL -c runtime/el_runtime.c -I runtime/ -o /tmp/el_runtime.o
           cc -O2 -rdynamic -DEL_SOUL_DEMO_BUILD \
              -I runtime/ \
@@ -189,26 +230,49 @@ jobs:
              dist/soul-demo.c dist/vessel_stubs.c /tmp/el_runtime.o \
              -lcurl -lpthread -ldl -lm -lssl -lcrypto
           echo "soul-demo compiled: $(ls -lh dist/soul-demo)"
-          # Package as minimal OCI image for k3s import
-          # --no-cache: prevents reuse of corrupted overlay2 layers from prior failed runs
-          docker build --no-cache -f dist/Dockerfile.soul-demo -t soul-demo:local dist/
-          docker save soul-demo:local -o dist/soul-demo-image.tar
-          echo "soul-demo-image.tar: $(du -sh dist/soul-demo-image.tar | cut -f1)"
-          docker rmi soul-demo:local 2>/dev/null || true
 
-      - name: Download k3s binary
+      - name: Build and push soul-demo image
-        # Pre-download k3s on the host runner so Dockerfile.stage can COPY it
-        # directly. Previously k3s was downloaded inside the Docker builder stage,
-        # which combined with build-essential and C compilation caused RWLayer nil
-        # corruption on the runner's overlay2 driver. Host-runner download is safe.
         if: steps.changetype.outputs.asset_only != 'true'
+        id: soul-image
         run: |
           set -euo pipefail
-          curl -fL --retry 3 --retry-delay 10 \
+          SOUL_IMAGE="us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-marketing/soul-demo:${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}"
-            https://github.com/k3s-io/k3s/releases/download/v1.32.4%2Bk3s1/k3s \
+          docker build --no-cache \
-            -o dist/k3s
+            -f Dockerfile.soul-demo \
-          chmod +x dist/k3s
+            -t "soul-demo:${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}" \
-          echo "k3s: $(ls -lh dist/k3s)"
+            .
+          docker tag "soul-demo:${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}" "$SOUL_IMAGE"
+          docker tag "soul-demo:${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}" \
+            "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-marketing/soul-demo:stage-latest"
+          docker push "$SOUL_IMAGE"
+          docker push "us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/neuron-785695/neuron-marketing/soul-demo:stage-latest"
+          echo "soul_image=${SOUL_IMAGE}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Soul-demo image: ${SOUL_IMAGE}"
+
+      - name: Deploy soul-demo-stage
+        if: steps.changetype.outputs.asset_only != 'true'
+        id: deploy-soul
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          gcloud run deploy soul-demo-stage \
+            --image "${{ steps.soul-image.outputs.soul_image }}" \
+            --region us-central1 \
+            --project neuron-785695 \
+            --service-account neuron-marketing-sa@neuron-785695.iam.gserviceaccount.com \
+            --update-env-vars "NEURON_LLM_0_FORMAT=anthropic,NEURON_LLM_0_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5,NEURON_LLM_0_URL=https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
+            --update-secrets "NEURON_LLM_0_KEY=anthropic-api-key:latest,ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=anthropic-api-key:latest" \
+            --min-instances 1 \
+            --max-instances 10 \
+            --concurrency 20 \
+            --port 8080 \
+            --allow-unauthenticated \
+            --quiet
+
+          SOUL_URL=$(gcloud run services describe soul-demo-stage \
+            --region us-central1 --project neuron-785695 \
+            --format 'value(status.url)')
+          echo "soul_url=${SOUL_URL}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Soul-demo URL: ${SOUL_URL}"
 
       - name: Build and tag image
         if: steps.changetype.outputs.asset_only != 'true'
@@ -255,6 +319,21 @@ jobs:
           docker push "${LATEST%:*}:stage-latest"
           echo "Fast asset build complete"
 
+      - name: Resolve soul-demo URL
+        id: soul-url
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+          # For full builds: soul_url comes from deploy-soul step output.
+          # For asset-only builds (soul-demo not redeployed): describe existing service.
+          SOUL_URL="${{ steps.deploy-soul.outputs.soul_url }}"
+          if [ -z "$SOUL_URL" ]; then
+            SOUL_URL=$(gcloud run services describe soul-demo-stage \
+              --region us-central1 --project neuron-785695 \
+              --format 'value(status.url)' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+          fi
+          echo "soul_url=${SOUL_URL}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+          echo "Resolved SOUL_URL: ${SOUL_URL}"
+
       - name: Deploy to marketing-stage
         id: deploy-stage
         env:
@@ -267,7 +346,7 @@ jobs:
             --region us-central1 \
             --project neuron-785695 \
             --service-account neuron-marketing-sa@neuron-785695.iam.gserviceaccount.com \
-            --update-env-vars "NODE_ENV=production,STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_51TPoHnJg9Fv1D3AUp1FEMcy4MGlKRZqs4scW66kjQFQjWofmNc2rottzXzDaXekHvuw1OQpyp2WCIsc7O5fXIG0G00HQQrkdGX,GCS_SHARE_BUCKET=neuron-shares-prod,SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJzdXBhYmFzZSIsInJlZiI6Im9jb2pzZ2hhb25sdHVuaWRrenB3Iiwicm9sZSI6ImFub24iLCJpYXQiOjE3Nzc2NDIxNjgsImV4cCI6MjA5MzIxODE2OH0.e0FVFw1aahnrBVvnkR5R8a-RxCx095U8o_gsk7Quq3E,NEURON_LLM_0_FORMAT=anthropic,NEURON_LLM_0_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5,NEURON_LLM_0_URL=https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages" \
+            --update-env-vars "NODE_ENV=production,STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_51TPoHnJg9Fv1D3AUp1FEMcy4MGlKRZqs4scW66kjQFQjWofmNc2rottzXzDaXekHvuw1OQpyp2WCIsc7O5fXIG0G00HQQrkdGX,GCS_SHARE_BUCKET=neuron-shares-prod,SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJzdXBhYmFzZSIsInJlZiI6Im9jb2pzZ2hhb25sdHVuaWRrenB3Iiwicm9sZSI6ImFub24iLCJpYXQiOjE3Nzc2NDIxNjgsImV4cCI6MjA5MzIxODE2OH0.e0FVFw1aahnrBVvnkR5R8a-RxCx095U8o_gsk7Quq3E,NEURON_LLM_0_FORMAT=anthropic,NEURON_LLM_0_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-5,NEURON_LLM_0_URL=https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages,SOUL_URL=${{ steps.soul-url.outputs.soul_url }}" \
             --update-secrets "SUPABASE_SERVICE_KEY=supabase-service-key:latest,NEURON_LLM_0_KEY=anthropic-api-key:latest,ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=anthropic-api-key:latest,STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=stripe-secret-key-stage:latest,STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=stripe-webhook-secret-stage:latest,STRIPE_PRICE_PROFESSIONAL=stripe-price-professional-stage:latest,STRIPE_PRICE_FOUNDING=stripe-price-founding-stage:latest,STRIPE_PRICE_FAMILY_CHILD=stripe-price-family-child:latest,RESEND_API_KEY=resend-api-key:latest,DOCUSEAL_WEBHOOK_TOKEN=docuseal-webhook-token:latest" \
             --allow-unauthenticated \
             --quiet

Dockerfile.soul-demo

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# Dockerfile.soul-demo — Soul-demo as a standalone Cloud Run service.
+# Decoupled from neuron-web so it can scale independently.
+# Built from repo root. soul-demo binary compiled by CI before this runs.
+
+FROM ubuntu:24.04
+
+ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
+
+RUN apt-get update \
+ && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        libcurl4t64 \
+        libssl3t64 \
+        ca-certificates \
+ && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
+ && groupadd -r soul && useradd -r -g soul soul \
+ && mkdir -p /srv/soul/engram-demo \
+ && chown -R soul:soul /srv/soul
+
+COPY dist/soul-demo /usr/local/bin/soul-demo
+RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/soul-demo
+
+COPY dist/engram-snapshot.json /srv/soul/engram-demo/snapshot.json
+RUN chown soul:soul /srv/soul/engram-demo/snapshot.json
+
+USER soul
+
+ENV NEURON_HOME=/srv/soul/engram-demo
+ENV NEURON_PORT=8080
+
+EXPOSE 8080
+
+CMD ["/usr/local/bin/soul-demo"]

Dockerfile.stage

@@ -1,18 +1,14 @@
-# Dockerfile.stage — Stage build: landing server + soul-demo in one image.
+# Dockerfile.stage — Stage build: landing server only.
 #
-# Both processes run in the same container:
+# neuron-web runs on port 8080 (landing page server).
-#   - neuron-web  on port 8080 (landing page server)
+# soul-demo is now a separate Cloud Run service (soul-demo-stage).
-#   - soul-demo   on port 7772 (demo chat, localhost only)
 #
-# All binaries (neuron-web, soul-demo, k3s) are pre-built by CI on the host
+# neuron-web binary is pre-built by CI on the host runner before this
-# runner before this Dockerfile runs. This keeps the Docker build single-stage
+# Dockerfile runs. This keeps the Docker build single-stage with no
-# with no compilation and no network downloads, eliminating the multi-stage
+# compilation and no network downloads.
-# complexity that caused RWLayer corruption on the runner's overlay2 driver.
 #
 # CI pre-build steps (in stage.yaml):
 #   - neuron-web: built by `elb build` → dist/neuron-landing
-#   - soul-demo:  compiled by cc on host → dist/soul-demo
-#   - k3s:        downloaded by curl on host → dist/k3s
 
 FROM ubuntu:24.04
 
@@ -26,34 +22,12 @@ RUN apt-get update \
  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
  && groupadd -r landing && useradd -r -g landing landing \
  && mkdir -p /srv/landing/assets /srv/landing/js /srv/landing/shares \
- && mkdir -p /srv/soul/engram-demo \
+ && chown -R landing:landing /srv/landing
- && chown -R landing:landing /srv/landing /srv/soul \
- && mkdir -p /var/lib/rancher/k3s /tmp/k3s \
- && chown -R landing:landing /var/lib/rancher /tmp/k3s
 
 # neuron-web binary — produced by `elb build` in CI (linux/amd64)
 COPY dist/neuron-landing /usr/local/bin/neuron-web
 RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/neuron-web
 
-# soul-demo binary — compiled by cc on host runner in CI
-COPY dist/soul-demo /usr/local/bin/soul-demo
-RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/soul-demo
-
-# k3s binary — downloaded from GitHub releases by CI
-COPY dist/k3s /usr/local/bin/k3s
-RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/k3s
-
-# soul-demo OCI image tar — k3s imports this at startup (no registry needed)
-RUN mkdir -p /var/lib/rancher/k3s/agent/images
-COPY dist/soul-demo-image.tar /var/lib/rancher/k3s/agent/images/soul-demo.tar
-
-# k3s manifests — auto-applied when k3s starts
-RUN mkdir -p /var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/manifests
-COPY dist/k3s-soul-demo.yaml /var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/manifests/soul-demo.yaml
-
-# Engram snapshot — baked in so soul has memory from cold start
-COPY dist/engram-snapshot.json /srv/soul/engram-demo/snapshot.json
-
 COPY src/assets /srv/landing/assets
 COPY dist/js    /srv/landing/js
 COPY src/llms.txt /srv/landing/llms.txt
@@ -71,13 +45,7 @@ RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh
 
 ENV LANDING_ROOT=/srv/landing
 ENV PORT=8080
-ENV NEURON_HOME=/srv/soul/engram-demo
-ENV NEURON_PORT=7772
-ENV K3S_DATA_DIR=/var/lib/rancher/k3s
-ENV KUBECONFIG=/var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/cred/admin.kubeconfig
 
-# k3s requires root to create network namespaces and mount cgroups.
-# Cloud Run gen2 sandbox is the security boundary here.
 EXPOSE 8080
 
 CMD ["/usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh"]

dist/entrypoint.sh

@@ -1,41 +1,4 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 set -e
-
+echo "[entrypoint] Starting neuron-web on port ${PORT:-8080}..."
-# SKIP_K3S=1 — bypass k3s/soul-demo startup and go straight to neuron-web.
-# Used by the dev CI smoke test where the container runtime doesn't support
-# the kernel capabilities k3s requires (overlayfs / privileged mode).
-if [ "${SKIP_K3S:-0}" = "1" ]; then
-  echo "[entrypoint] SKIP_K3S=1: starting neuron-web directly (no k3s/soul-demo)."
-  exec /usr/local/bin/neuron-web
-fi
-
-echo "[entrypoint] Starting k3s server (embedded soul-demo orchestrator)..."
-
-# k3s server — single-node mode, disable unused components
-# --disable traefik,servicelb: we don't need an ingress or LB
-# --disable metrics-server: saves ~50MB RAM
-# --write-kubeconfig-mode=644: allow non-root reads
-# --data-dir: use the pre-chowned dir
-# --flannel-iface=eth0: explicitly set the network interface.
-#   Cloud Run gen2 provides eth0 but k3s default IP detection walks the routing
-#   table looking for a default route, which fails in Cloud Run's network sandbox.
-#   Pinning to eth0 bypasses that detection and lets k3s bind correctly.
-k3s server \
-  --disable traefik \
-  --disable servicelb \
-  --disable metrics-server \
-  --write-kubeconfig-mode=644 \
-  --data-dir /var/lib/rancher/k3s \
-  --node-name soul-node \
-  --flannel-iface=eth0 &
-
-K3S_PID=$!
-
-# Start neuron-web immediately — do NOT block on k3s becoming ready.
-# Cloud Run's startup probe requires port 8080 to be listening within the
-# startup timeout. k3s may take 30-60s to initialise; blocking here causes
-# probe failures and container termination before neuron-web ever starts.
-# soul-demo becomes available asynchronously once k3s is ready. neuron-web
-# handles soul-demo being temporarily unavailable gracefully.
-echo "[entrypoint] Starting neuron-web on port ${PORT:-8080} (k3s initialising in background)..."
 exec /usr/local/bin/neuron-web

manifest.el

@@ -16,4 +16,12 @@ build {
     c_source "dist/page_css.c"
     c_source "dist/page_ga.c"
     c_source "dist/page_schema.c"
+    // NOTE: neuron-web requires el_runtime.c to be compiled with -DHAVE_CURL
+    // so that http_get/http_post forward to libcurl instead of returning
+    // {"error":"not built with HAVE_CURL"}. The elb binary in ci-base:dev
+    // hardcodes -DHAVE_CURL in its cc invocation, but older elb versions may
+    // not. manifest.el does not support c_flags or link_flags directives —
+    // if upgrading elb breaks HTTP, ensure ci-base:dev ships an elb built
+    // with HAVE_CURL enabled in its hardcoded cc command, or pre-compile
+    // el_runtime.o with -DHAVE_CURL on the host and pass it as a c_source.
 }

runtime/el_runtime.c

@@ -1331,12 +1331,19 @@ static void http_emit_headers_from_map(JsonBuf* b, el_val_t headers_map,
 
 /* Parse the envelope produced by http_response(). On success returns 1 and
  * populates *out_status, *out_headers_map (an ElMap el_val_t — caller must
- * el_release), and *out_body (allocated). On failure returns 0.
+ * el_release via out_parsed_root), and *out_body (malloc'd, caller frees).
+ * On failure returns 0.
  *
- * Implementation: feeds the entire envelope through the recursive-descent
+ * Implementation: manual field scanner — does NOT run json_parse on the full
- * JSON parser (which builds proper ElMap/ElList values), then pulls the
+ * envelope. Running the recursive-descent JSON parser on a 40–50 KB envelope
- * three top-level fields by name. Avoids re-stringifying the headers map
+ * (common when the body contains minified/obfuscated JavaScript) fails because
- * since json_stringify() does not support nested objects.                */
+ * the parser allocates intermediate ElMap nodes for the whole structure.
+ * Instead we scan directly:
+ *   • "status"  — strtol scan
+ *   • "headers" — brace-depth scan to extract the object literal, then
+ *                 json_parse only that small substring (always < 1 KB)
+ *   • "body"    — jp_parse_string_raw to unescape the JSON string in one pass,
+ *                 without building any intermediate data structures           */
 static int http_parse_envelope(const char* s, int* out_status,
                                el_val_t* out_headers_map, char** out_body,
                                el_val_t* out_parsed_root) {
@@ -1344,37 +1351,91 @@ static int http_parse_envelope(const char* s, int* out_status,
     if (strncmp(s, EL_HTTP_RESPONSE_TAG,
                 sizeof(EL_HTTP_RESPONSE_TAG) - 1) != 0) return 0;
 
-    el_val_t parsed = json_parse(EL_STR(s));
+    /* ── status ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
-    if (parsed == EL_NULL) return 0;
+    int status = 200;
-
+    {
-    int      status = 200;
+        const char* sp = strstr(s, "\"status\":");
-    el_val_t hmap = 0;
+        if (sp) {
-    char*    body = NULL;
+            const char* np = sp + 9;
-
+            while (*np == ' ' || *np == '\t') np++;
-    el_val_t sv = el_map_get(parsed, EL_STR("status"));
+            long sc = strtol(np, NULL, 10);
-    if (sv != 0) {
+            if (sc >= 100 && sc <= 599) status = (int)sc;
-        /* status comes back as an integer — el_val_t holds it directly. */
+        }
-        long sc = (long)sv;
-        if (sc >= 100 && sc <= 599) status = (int)sc;
     }
 
-    el_val_t hv = el_map_get(parsed, EL_STR("headers"));
+    /* ── headers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
-    if (hv != 0) {
+    el_val_t hmap        = 0;
-        ElMap* hm = (ElMap*)(uintptr_t)hv;
+    el_val_t parsed_hdrs = EL_NULL;
-        if (hm && hm->hdr.magic == EL_MAGIC_MAP) hmap = hv;
+    {
+        const char* hp = strstr(s, "\"headers\":");
+        if (hp) {
+            hp += 10;
+            while (*hp == ' ' || *hp == '\t') hp++;
+            if (*hp == '{') {
+                /* Scan for matching '}', honouring nested objects and strings */
+                const char* hobj_start = hp;
+                const char* cp = hp + 1;
+                int depth = 1, in_str = 0;
+                while (*cp && depth > 0) {
+                    if (in_str) {
+                        if (*cp == '\\' && *(cp + 1)) { cp += 2; continue; }
+                        if (*cp == '"') in_str = 0;
+                    } else {
+                        if      (*cp == '"') in_str = 1;
+                        else if (*cp == '{') depth++;
+                        else if (*cp == '}') { if (--depth == 0) break; }
+                    }
+                    cp++;
+                }
+                if (depth == 0) {
+                    /* cp points at the closing '}'; extract the object literal */
+                    size_t hlen = (size_t)(cp - hobj_start + 1);
+                    char* hobj = malloc(hlen + 1);
+                    if (hobj) {
+                        memcpy(hobj, hobj_start, hlen);
+                        hobj[hlen] = '\0';
+                        /* Headers are always simple k/v string pairs — json_parse
+                         * is safe on this small substring (typically < 1 KB).   */
+                        parsed_hdrs = json_parse(EL_STR(hobj));
+                        free(hobj);
+                        if (parsed_hdrs != EL_NULL) {
+                            ElMap* hm = (ElMap*)(uintptr_t)parsed_hdrs;
+                            if (hm && hm->hdr.magic == EL_MAGIC_MAP) hmap = parsed_hdrs;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
     }
 
-    el_val_t bv = el_map_get(parsed, EL_STR("body"));
+    /* ── body ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── */
-    if (bv != 0) {
+    /* Search forward so we don't accidentally match "body": inside a header
-        const char* bs = EL_CSTR(bv);
+     * value. http_response() always appends the body field last.            */
-        if (bs) body = el_strdup(bs);
+    char* body = NULL;
+    {
+        const char* bp = strstr(s, "\"body\":");
+        if (bp) {
+            bp += 7;
+            while (*bp == ' ' || *bp == '\t') bp++;
+            if (*bp == '"') {
+                /* jp_parse_string_raw unescapes a JSON string in one pass,
+                 * producing a plain malloc'd C string.  Caller frees it.   */
+                JsonParser jp = { .p = bp, .end = bp + strlen(bp), .err = 0 };
+                char* parsed = jp_parse_string_raw(&jp);
+                if (!jp.err) {
+                    body = parsed;
+                } else {
+                    free(parsed);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if (!body) body = strdup("");
     }
-    if (!body) body = el_strdup("");
 
-    *out_status       = status;
+    *out_status      = status;
-    *out_headers_map  = hmap;
+    *out_headers_map = hmap;
-    *out_body         = body;
+    *out_body        = body;
-    *out_parsed_root  = parsed;  /* caller releases to free hmap + entries */
+    *out_parsed_root = parsed_hdrs;  /* caller el_release()s to free hmap */
     return 1;
 }
 
@@ -1900,6 +1961,13 @@ el_val_t http_response(el_val_t status, el_val_t headers_json, el_val_t body) {
     const char* b = EL_CSTR(body);
     if (!b) b = "";
 
+    /* Clear the fs_read binary-length hint: the envelope we're about to build
+     * is a fresh JSON string, not the raw file bytes.  Without this reset,
+     * http_worker would use the stale _tl_fs_read_len (= original file size)
+     * to copy the response — truncating the larger envelope before it reaches
+     * http_send_response and http_parse_envelope.                            */
+    _tl_fs_read_len = 0;
+
     JsonBuf out; jb_init(&out);
     jb_puts(&out, EL_HTTP_RESPONSE_TAG);  /* {"el_http_response":1 */
     jb_puts(&out, ",\"status\":");

src/js/checkout-auth.el

@@ -29,12 +29,19 @@ fn main() -> Void {
     el.style.color = isError ? '#c0392b' : '#2ecc71';
   }
 
+  var _formRevealed = false;
   function revealPaymentForm(user) {
+    if (_formRevealed) return;
+    _formRevealed = true;
     if (user && user.id) { window._neuronSupaId = user.id; }
     var auth = document.getElementById('auth-section');
     if (auth) auth.style.display = 'none';
     var isFree = (window.NEURON_CFG || {}).plan === 'free';
-    if (!isFree) {
+    if (isFree) {
+      // Free plan: show the success panel (user is signed in or just signed up)
+      var freeSuccess = document.getElementById('free-success');
+      if (freeSuccess) freeSuccess.style.display = '';
+    } else {
       var payment = document.getElementById('payment-section');
       if (payment) payment.style.display = '';
     }
@@ -68,7 +75,16 @@ fn main() -> Void {
   function checkExistingSession() {
     initSupabase(function() {
       supabaseClient.auth.getUser().then(function(res) {
-        if (res.data && res.data.user) { revealPaymentForm(res.data.user); }
+        if (res.data && res.data.user) {
+          revealPaymentForm(res.data.user);
+        } else {
+          // No existing session — for paid plans, init Stripe immediately.
+          // Auth is optional on paid plans; the user can link their account later.
+          var isFree = (window.NEURON_CFG || {}).plan === 'free';
+          if (!isFree && typeof window.initStripe === 'function') {
+            window.initStripe('', '');
+          }
+        }
       });
     });
   }

src/main.el

@@ -907,6 +907,10 @@ fn handle_request_inner(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     // ── Compiled client-side JS: /js/* ───────────────────────────────────────
     // Served from dist/js/ (compiled by elc --target=js at build time).
     // LANDING_ROOT/js maps to the dist/js output directory in the image.
+    // Returns an http_response envelope with explicit Content-Type so the
+    // browser executes the file as JavaScript — http_detect_content_type()
+    // mis-identifies minified/obfuscated JS as JSON because many obfuscated
+    // bundles start with '[' (which is also a JSON array opener).
     if str_starts_with(path, "/js/") {
         let rel: String = str_slice(path, 4, str_len(path))
         let abs: String = src_dir + "/js/" + rel
@@ -914,7 +918,7 @@ fn handle_request_inner(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
         if str_eq(content, "") {
             return "{\"__status__\":404,\"error\":\"not found\"}"
         }
-        return content
+        return http_response(200, js_headers_json(), content)
     }
 
     // ── Brand assets: /brand/* ────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -1936,6 +1940,19 @@ fn sec_headers_json() -> String {
     + "\"Content-Security-Policy\":\"default-src 'self'; script-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline' https://challenges.cloudflare.com https://cdn.jsdelivr.net https://www.googletagmanager.com https://www.google-analytics.com; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; frame-src https://challenges.cloudflare.com; connect-src 'self' https://api.stripe.com https://*.supabase.co; img-src 'self' data: https:; font-src 'self' data:\"}"
 }
 
+// Headers for compiled JS assets. Explicitly sets Content-Type so the browser
+// treats them as JavaScript regardless of what http_detect_content_type()
+// infers from the content (minified/obfuscated JS can trip the JSON heuristic).
+fn js_headers_json() -> String {
+    "{\"Content-Type\":\"application/javascript; charset=utf-8\","
+    + "\"Cache-Control\":\"public, max-age=3600\","
+    + "\"Strict-Transport-Security\":\"max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload\","
+    + "\"X-Content-Type-Options\":\"nosniff\","
+    + "\"X-Frame-Options\":\"SAMEORIGIN\","
+    + "\"Referrer-Policy\":\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\","
+    + "\"Permissions-Policy\":\"geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()\"}"
+}
+
 fn handle_request(method: String, path: String, body: String) -> String {
     let inner_resp: String = handle_request_inner(method, path, body)
     // Detect envelope already set by inner handler (starts with