diff --git a/ops/deploy.sh b/ops/deploy.sh
index 31a2f6d1d..c571e9fca 100755
--- a/ops/deploy.sh
+++ b/ops/deploy.sh
@@ -93,7 +93,115 @@ echo "Deploy complete."
 
 if $RESTART; then
   echo ""
-  echo "=== Restarting services ==="
-  ssh "$VPS_HOST" "sudo systemctl restart teleo-pipeline teleo-diagnostics"
-  echo "Services restarted."
+  echo "=== Detecting services to restart ==="
+
+  # Determine which services need restart based on what was deployed.
+  # rsync touched these paths → these services:
+  #   pipeline-v2/lib/, pipeline-v2/*.py  → teleo-pipeline
+  #   diagnostics/                        → teleo-diagnostics
+  #   agent-state/, research-session.sh   → no restart (not daemons)
+  RESTART_SVCS=""
+
+  # Check VPS for recent file changes from this deploy
+  # Compare local files against VPS to see what actually changed
+  PIPELINE_CHANGED=false
+  DIAG_CHANGED=false
+
+  # Pipeline: lib/ or top-level scripts
+  if ! rsync -avzn --exclude='__pycache__' --exclude='*.pyc' --exclude='*.bak*' \
+       "$REPO_ROOT/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/" "$VPS_HOST:$VPS_PIPELINE/lib/" 2>/dev/null | grep -q '\.py$'; then
+    true  # no python changes
+  else
+    PIPELINE_CHANGED=true
+  fi
+  for f in teleo-pipeline.py reweave.py; do
+    if [ -f "$REPO_ROOT/ops/pipeline-v2/$f" ]; then
+      if rsync -avzn "$REPO_ROOT/ops/pipeline-v2/$f" "$VPS_HOST:$VPS_PIPELINE/$f" 2>/dev/null | grep -q "$f"; then
+        PIPELINE_CHANGED=true
+      fi
+    fi
+  done
+
+  # Diagnostics
+  if rsync -avzn --exclude='__pycache__' --exclude='*.pyc' --exclude='*.bak*' \
+       "$REPO_ROOT/ops/diagnostics/" "$VPS_HOST:$VPS_DIAGNOSTICS/" 2>/dev/null | grep -q '\.py$'; then
+    DIAG_CHANGED=true
+  fi
+
+  if $PIPELINE_CHANGED; then
+    RESTART_SVCS="$RESTART_SVCS teleo-pipeline"
+    echo "  teleo-pipeline: files changed, will restart"
+  else
+    echo "  teleo-pipeline: no changes, skipping"
+  fi
+
+  if $DIAG_CHANGED; then
+    RESTART_SVCS="$RESTART_SVCS teleo-diagnostics"
+    echo "  teleo-diagnostics: files changed, will restart"
+  else
+    echo "  teleo-diagnostics: no changes, skipping"
+  fi
+
+  if [ -z "$RESTART_SVCS" ]; then
+    echo ""
+    echo "No service files changed. Skipping restart."
+  else
+    echo ""
+    echo "=== Restarting:$RESTART_SVCS ==="
+    ssh "$VPS_HOST" "sudo systemctl restart $RESTART_SVCS"
+    echo "Services restarted. Waiting 5s for startup..."
+    sleep 5
+
+    echo ""
+    echo "=== Smoke test ==="
+    SMOKE_FAIL=0
+
+    # Check systemd unit status for restarted services
+    for svc in $RESTART_SVCS; do
+      if ssh "$VPS_HOST" "systemctl is-active --quiet $svc"; then
+        echo "  $svc: active"
+      else
+        echo "  $svc: FAILED"
+        ssh "$VPS_HOST" "journalctl -u $svc -n 10 --no-pager" || true
+        SMOKE_FAIL=1
+      fi
+    done
+
+    # Hit health endpoints for restarted services
+    if echo "$RESTART_SVCS" | grep -q "teleo-pipeline"; then
+      if ssh "$VPS_HOST" "curl -sf --connect-timeout 3 http://localhost:8080/health > /dev/null"; then
+        echo "  pipeline health (8080): OK"
+      else
+        echo "  pipeline health (8080): FAILED"
+        SMOKE_FAIL=1
+      fi
+    fi
+
+    if echo "$RESTART_SVCS" | grep -q "teleo-diagnostics"; then
+      if ssh "$VPS_HOST" "curl -sf --connect-timeout 3 http://localhost:8081/ops > /dev/null"; then
+        echo "  diagnostics (8081): OK"
+      else
+        echo "  diagnostics (8081): FAILED"
+        SMOKE_FAIL=1
+      fi
+    fi
+
+    # Tail logs for quick visual check
+    echo ""
+    echo "=== Recent logs (10s) ==="
+    JOURNAL_UNITS=""
+    for svc in $RESTART_SVCS; do
+      JOURNAL_UNITS="$JOURNAL_UNITS -u $svc"
+    done
+    ssh "$VPS_HOST" "journalctl $JOURNAL_UNITS --since '-10s' --no-pager -n 20" || true
+
+    if [ "$SMOKE_FAIL" -gt 0 ]; then
+      echo ""
+      echo "WARNING: Smoke test detected failures. Check logs above."
+      exit 1
+    fi
+
+    echo ""
+    echo "Smoke test passed."
+  fi
 fi
diff --git a/ops/diagnostics/review_queue.py b/ops/diagnostics/review_queue.py
index c15a4beba..241171d5c 100644
--- a/ops/diagnostics/review_queue.py
+++ b/ops/diagnostics/review_queue.py
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ async def fetch_review_queue(
     if forgejo_token:
         headers["Authorization"] = f"token {forgejo_token}"
 
-    connector = aiohttp.TCPConnector(ssl=False)
+    connector = aiohttp.TCPConnector()  # Default SSL verification — Forgejo token must not be exposed to MITM
     async with aiohttp.ClientSession(headers=headers, connector=connector) as session:
         # Fetch open PRs
         url = f"{FORGEJO_BASE}/repos/{REPO}/pulls?state=open&limit=50&sort=oldest"
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/backfill-descriptions.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/backfill-descriptions.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0e7c32a8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/backfill-descriptions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,129 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""One-time backfill: populate prs.description with claim titles from merged files.
+
+For PRs that have description=NULL or empty, reads the claim files on main
+(for merged PRs) or on the branch (for open PRs) and extracts H1 titles.
+
+Usage: python3 backfill-descriptions.py [--dry-run]
+
+Requires: run from the teleo-codex git worktree (main branch).
+"""
+
+import re
+import sqlite3
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+DB_PATH = Path("/opt/teleo-eval/pipeline/pipeline.db")
+MAIN_WORKTREE = Path("/opt/teleo-eval/teleo-codex")
+CLAIM_DIRS = ("domains/", "core/", "foundations/")
+
+dry_run = "--dry-run" in sys.argv
+
+
+def get_pr_claim_titles(pr_number: int, branch: str, status: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Extract H1 claim titles from a PR's changed files."""
+    titles = []
+
+    # For merged PRs: diff the merge commit on main
+    # For open PRs: diff against main
+    try:
+        if status == "merged":
+            # Get the diff from the branch name — files are on main now
+            # Use git log to find the merge and diff its changes
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["git", "diff", "--name-only", f"origin/main...origin/{branch}"],
+                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10,
+                cwd=str(MAIN_WORKTREE),
+            )
+            if result.returncode != 0:
+                # Branch may be deleted — try reading files from main directly
+                # We can't reconstruct the diff, but we can search by PR number in audit_log
+                return titles
+        else:
+            result = subprocess.run(
+                ["git", "diff", "--name-only", f"origin/main...origin/{branch}"],
+                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10,
+                cwd=str(MAIN_WORKTREE),
+            )
+            if result.returncode != 0:
+                return titles
+
+        changed_files = [
+            f.strip() for f in result.stdout.strip().split("\n")
+            if f.strip() and any(f.strip().startswith(d) for d in CLAIM_DIRS) and f.strip().endswith(".md")
+        ]
+
+        for fpath in changed_files:
+            # Read from main for merged, from branch for open
+            ref = "origin/main" if status == "merged" else f"origin/{branch}"
+            show = subprocess.run(
+                ["git", "show", f"{ref}:{fpath}"],
+                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5,
+                cwd=str(MAIN_WORKTREE),
+            )
+            if show.returncode == 0:
+                for line in show.stdout.split("\n"):
+                    if line.startswith("# ") and len(line) > 3:
+                        titles.append(line[2:].strip())
+                        break
+
+    except (subprocess.TimeoutExpired, Exception) as e:
+        print(f"  PR #{pr_number}: error — {e}")
+
+    return titles
+
+
+def main():
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(str(DB_PATH))
+    conn.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
+
+    # Find PRs with empty description
+    rows = conn.execute(
+        "SELECT number, branch, status FROM prs WHERE description IS NULL OR description = '' ORDER BY number DESC"
+    ).fetchall()
+
+    print(f"Found {len(rows)} PRs with empty description")
+
+    updated = 0
+    skipped = 0
+
+    for row in rows:
+        pr_num = row["number"]
+        branch = row["branch"]
+        status = row["status"]
+
+        if not branch:
+            skipped += 1
+            continue
+
+        titles = get_pr_claim_titles(pr_num, branch, status)
+
+        if titles:
+            desc = " | ".join(titles)
+            if dry_run:
+                print(f"  PR #{pr_num} ({status}): would set → {desc[:100]}...")
+            else:
+                conn.execute(
+                    "UPDATE prs SET description = ? WHERE number = ?",
+                    (desc, pr_num),
+                )
+                updated += 1
+                if updated % 50 == 0:
+                    conn.commit()
+                    print(f"  ...{updated} updated so far")
+        else:
+            skipped += 1
+
+    if not dry_run:
+        conn.commit()
+
+    conn.close()
+    print(f"\nDone. Updated: {updated}, Skipped: {skipped}, Total: {len(rows)}")
+    if dry_run:
+        print("(dry run — no changes written)")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/cascade.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/cascade.py
index 1f8241f3f..350d9c89e 100644
--- a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/cascade.py
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/cascade.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ the same atomic-write pattern as lib-state.sh.
 """
 
 import asyncio
-import hashlib
+import secrets
 import json
 import logging
 import os
@@ -116,8 +116,8 @@ def _write_inbox_message(agent: str, subject: str, body: str) -> bool:
         return False
 
     ts = datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y%m%d-%H%M%S")
-    file_hash = hashlib.md5(f"{agent}-{subject}-{body[:200]}".encode()).hexdigest()[:8]
-    filename = f"cascade-{ts}-{subject[:60]}-{file_hash}.md"
+    nonce = secrets.token_hex(3)
+    filename = f"cascade-{ts}-{nonce}-{subject[:60]}.md"
     final_path = inbox_dir / filename
 
     try:
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/db.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/db.py
index 653b80376..06833f176 100644
--- a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/db.py
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/db.py
@@ -479,6 +479,9 @@ def migrate(conn: sqlite3.Connection):
         logger.info("Migration v11: added auto_merge column to prs table")
 
 
+    # v12-v16 ran manually on VPS before code was version-controlled.
+    # Their changes are consolidated into v17+ migrations below.
+
     if current < 17:
         # Add prompt/pipeline version tracking per PR
         for col, default in [
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/extract.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/extract.py
index d71fbb076..ab663c2d2 100644
--- a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/extract.py
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/extract.py
@@ -376,6 +376,7 @@ async def _extract_one_source(
         filename = c.get("filename", "")
         if not filename:
             continue
+        filename = Path(filename).name  # Strip directory components — LLM output may contain path traversal
         if not filename.endswith(".md"):
             filename += ".md"
         content = _build_claim_content(c, agent_lower)
@@ -387,6 +388,7 @@ async def _extract_one_source(
         filename = e.get("filename", "")
         if not filename:
             continue
+        filename = Path(filename).name  # Strip directory components — LLM output may contain path traversal
         if not filename.endswith(".md"):
             filename += ".md"
         action = e.get("action", "create")
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/stale_pr.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/stale_pr.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c2873d070
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/stale_pr.py
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+"""Stale extraction PR cleanup — closes extraction PRs that produce no claims.
+
+When an extraction PR sits open >30 min with claims_count=0, it indicates:
+- Extraction failed (model couldn't extract anything useful)
+- Batch job stalled (no claims written)
+- Source material is empty/junk
+
+Auto-closing prevents zombie PRs from blocking the pipeline.
+Logs each close for root cause analysis (model failures, bad sources, etc.).
+
+Epimetheus owns this module.
+"""
+
+import json
+import logging
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+
+from . import config, db
+from .forgejo import api, repo_path
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("pipeline.stale_pr")
+
+STALE_THRESHOLD_MINUTES = 30
+
+
+async def check_stale_prs(conn) -> tuple[int, int]:
+    """Auto-close extraction PRs open >30 min with zero claims.
+
+    Returns (stale_closed, stale_errors) — count of closed PRs and close failures.
+    """
+    stale_closed = 0
+    stale_errors = 0
+
+    # Find extraction PRs: open >30 min, source has 0 claims
+    stale_prs = conn.execute(
+        """SELECT p.number, p.branch, p.source_path, p.created_at
+           FROM prs p
+           LEFT JOIN sources s ON p.source_path = s.path
+           WHERE p.status = 'open'
+           AND p.commit_type = 'extract'
+           AND datetime(p.created_at) < datetime('now', '-' || ? || ' minutes')
+           AND COALESCE(s.claims_count, 0) = 0""",
+        (STALE_THRESHOLD_MINUTES,),
+    ).fetchall()
+
+    for pr in stale_prs:
+        pr_num = pr["number"]
+        source_path = pr["source_path"] or "unknown"
+
+        try:
+            # Close the PR via Forgejo
+            result = await api(
+                "PATCH",
+                repo_path(f"pulls/{pr_num}"),
+                body={"state": "closed"},
+            )
+            if result is None:
+                stale_errors += 1
+                logger.warning(
+                    "Failed to close stale extraction PR #%d (%s, %s)",
+                    pr_num, source_path, pr["branch"],
+                )
+                continue
+
+            # Update local DB status
+            conn.execute(
+                "UPDATE prs SET status = 'closed' WHERE number = ?",
+                (pr_num,),
+            )
+            db.audit(
+                conn,
+                "watchdog",
+                "stale_pr_closed",
+                json.dumps({
+                    "pr": pr_num,
+                    "branch": pr["branch"],
+                    "source": source_path,
+                    "open_minutes": STALE_THRESHOLD_MINUTES,
+                }),
+            )
+            stale_closed += 1
+            logger.info(
+                "WATCHDOG: closed stale extraction PR #%d (no claims after %d min): %s",
+                pr_num, STALE_THRESHOLD_MINUTES, source_path,
+            )
+
+        except Exception as e:
+            stale_errors += 1
+            logger.warning(
+                "Stale PR close exception for #%d: %s",
+                pr_num, e,
+            )
+
+    return stale_closed, stale_errors
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/validate.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/validate.py
index d32ee9e60..f064fb44a 100644
--- a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/validate.py
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/validate.py
@@ -620,6 +620,27 @@ async def validate_pr(conn, pr_number: int) -> dict:
     # Extract claim files (domains/, core/, foundations/)
     claim_files = extract_claim_files_from_diff(diff)
 
+    # ── Backfill description (claim titles) if missing ──
+    # discover_external_prs creates rows without description. Extract H1 titles
+    # from the diff so the dashboard shows what the PR actually contains.
+    existing_desc = conn.execute(
+        "SELECT description FROM prs WHERE number = ?", (pr_number,)
+    ).fetchone()
+    if existing_desc and not (existing_desc["description"] or "").strip() and claim_files:
+        titles = []
+        for _fp, content in claim_files.items():
+            for line in content.split("\n"):
+                if line.startswith("# ") and len(line) > 3:
+                    titles.append(line[2:].strip())
+                    break
+        if titles:
+            desc = " | ".join(titles)
+            conn.execute(
+                "UPDATE prs SET description = ? WHERE number = ? AND (description IS NULL OR description = '')",
+                (desc, pr_number),
+            )
+            logger.info("PR #%d: backfilled description with %d claim titles", pr_number, len(titles))
+
     # ── Tier 0: per-claim validation ──
     # Only validates NEW files (not modified). Modified files have partial content
     # from diffs (only + lines) — frontmatter parsing fails on partial content,
diff --git a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/watchdog.py b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/watchdog.py
index e6b2ebdec..40c8f37e8 100644
--- a/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/watchdog.py
+++ b/ops/pipeline-v2/lib/watchdog.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import logging
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from . import config, db
+from .stale_pr import check_stale_prs
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("pipeline.watchdog")
 
@@ -103,17 +104,94 @@ async def watchdog_check(conn) -> dict:
             "action": "GC should auto-close these — check fixer.py GC logic",
         })
 
-    # 5. Tier0 blockage: many PRs with tier0_pass=0 (potential validation bug)
+    # 5. Tier0 blockage: auto-reset stuck PRs with retry cap
+    MAX_TIER0_RESETS = 3
+    TIER0_RESET_COOLDOWN_S = 3600
     tier0_blocked = conn.execute(
-        "SELECT COUNT(*) as n FROM prs WHERE status = 'open' AND tier0_pass = 0"
-    ).fetchone()["n"]
-    if tier0_blocked >= 5:
-        issues.append({
-            "type": "tier0_blockage",
-            "severity": "warning",
-            "detail": f"{tier0_blocked} PRs blocked at tier0_pass=0",
-            "action": "Check validate.py — may be the modified-file or wiki-link bug recurring",
-        })
+        "SELECT number, branch FROM prs WHERE status = 'open' AND tier0_pass = 0"
+    ).fetchall()
+
+    if tier0_blocked:
+        reset_count = 0
+        permanent_count = 0
+
+        for pr in tier0_blocked:
+            row = conn.execute(
+                """SELECT COUNT(*) as n, MAX(timestamp) as last_ts FROM audit_log
+                   WHERE stage = 'watchdog' AND event = 'tier0_reset'
+                   AND json_extract(detail, '$.pr') = ?""",
+                (pr["number"],),
+            ).fetchone()
+            prior_resets = row["n"]
+
+            if prior_resets >= MAX_TIER0_RESETS:
+                permanent_count += 1
+                continue
+
+            last_reset = row["last_ts"]
+
+            if last_reset:
+                try:
+                    last_ts = datetime.fromisoformat(last_reset).replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+                    age = (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - last_ts).total_seconds()
+                    if age < TIER0_RESET_COOLDOWN_S:
+                        continue
+                except (ValueError, TypeError):
+                    pass
+
+            conn.execute(
+                "UPDATE prs SET tier0_pass = NULL WHERE number = ?",
+                (pr["number"],),
+            )
+            db.audit(
+                conn, "watchdog", "tier0_reset",
+                json.dumps({
+                    "pr": pr["number"],
+                    "branch": pr["branch"],
+                    "attempt": prior_resets + 1,
+                    "max": MAX_TIER0_RESETS,
+                }),
+            )
+            reset_count += 1
+            logger.info(
+                "WATCHDOG: auto-reset tier0 for PR #%d (attempt %d/%d)",
+                pr["number"], prior_resets + 1, MAX_TIER0_RESETS,
+            )
+
+        if reset_count:
+            issues.append({
+                "type": "tier0_reset",
+                "severity": "info",
+                "detail": f"Auto-reset {reset_count} PRs stuck at tier0_pass=0 for re-validation",
+                "action": "Monitor — if same PRs fail again, check validate.py",
+            })
+        if permanent_count:
+            issues.append({
+                "type": "tier0_permanent_failure",
+                "severity": "warning",
+                "detail": f"{permanent_count} PRs exhausted {MAX_TIER0_RESETS} tier0 retries — manual intervention needed",
+                "action": "Inspect PR content or close stale PRs",
+            })
+
+    # 6. Stale extraction PRs: open >30 min with no claim files
+    try:
+        stale_closed, stale_errors = await check_stale_prs(conn)
+        if stale_closed > 0:
+            issues.append({
+                "type": "stale_prs_closed",
+                "severity": "info",
+                "detail": f"Auto-closed {stale_closed} stale extraction PRs (no claims after 30 min)",
+                "action": "Check batch-extract logs for extraction failures",
+            })
+        if stale_errors > 0:
+            issues.append({
+                "type": "stale_pr_close_failed",
+                "severity": "warning",
+                "detail": f"Failed to close {stale_errors} stale PRs",
+                "action": "Check Forgejo API connectivity",
+            })
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning("Stale PR check failed: %s", e)
 
     # Log issues
     healthy = len(issues) == 0
@@ -124,7 +202,7 @@ async def watchdog_check(conn) -> dict:
             else:
                 logger.info("WATCHDOG: %s — %s", issue["type"], issue["detail"])
 
-    return {"healthy": healthy, "issues": issues, "checks_run": 5}
+    return {"healthy": healthy, "issues": issues, "checks_run": 6}
 
 
 async def watchdog_cycle(conn, max_workers=None) -> tuple[int, int]: