fix(host): contain capture owners and fail closed

Bound the libpipewire router shutdown without detaching its OS handle, contain GStreamer and pactl children in parent-bound process groups, and make ownership failures terminal through the capture supervisor.\n\nAdd focused lifecycle tests plus a serialized live router teardown gate.

src/common/contained.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,188 @@
+//! Linux child-process containment for capture-side helpers.
+//!
+//! PixelPass owns `gst-launch-1.0` and the short-lived `pactl load-module`
+//! workers. They must not outlive a host that is killed or fail-stops: GStreamer
+//! can retain a portal/PipeWire capture resource, and a late pactl mutation can
+//! race teardown. Each child therefore gets both:
+//!
+//! - `PR_SET_PDEATHSIG(SIGKILL)`, with the standard parent-race check; and
+//! - its own process group, so explicit teardown reaches descendants as well as
+//!   the direct child.
+//!
+//! This is intentionally the inverse of [`super::process`], whose viewer
+//! players are user-facing detached processes and are meant to survive their
+//! launcher.
+
+use nix::libc;
+use nix::sys::signal::{Signal, killpg};
+use nix::unistd::Pid;
+use std::io;
+use std::os::unix::process::CommandExt;
+use std::process::{Child, Command};
+
+/// Install parent-death and process-group containment on `command`.
+///
+/// The closure runs between `fork` and `exec`, so it contains only direct
+/// async-signal-safe syscalls. A failure aborts the spawn rather than launching
+/// an uncontained graph-mutating child.
+fn configure(command: &mut Command) {
+    let expected_parent = std::process::id() as libc::pid_t;
+    // SAFETY: `setpgid`, `prctl`, `getppid`, and `_exit` are direct syscalls and
+    // are async-signal-safe in the post-fork child. No allocation, logging, or
+    // locking occurs in the closure.
+    unsafe {
+        command.pre_exec(move || {
+            if libc::setpgid(0, 0) == -1 {
+                return Err(io::Error::last_os_error());
+            }
+            if libc::prctl(libc::PR_SET_PDEATHSIG, libc::SIGKILL) == -1 {
+                return Err(io::Error::last_os_error());
+            }
+
+            // The parent may have died after fork but before PR_SET_PDEATHSIG
+            // was installed. Checking after the prctl closes that window: a
+            // later death delivers SIGKILL, an earlier one is handled here.
+            if libc::getppid() != expected_parent {
+                libc::_exit(127);
+            }
+            Ok(())
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+/// Spawn a contained blocking child.
+pub fn spawn(command: &mut Command) -> io::Result<Child> {
+    configure(command);
+    command.spawn()
+}
+
+/// Spawn a contained Tokio child.
+pub fn spawn_tokio(command: &mut tokio::process::Command) -> io::Result<tokio::process::Child> {
+    configure(command.as_std_mut());
+    command.spawn()
+}
+
+/// Signal the process group created by [`configure`].
+pub fn signal_group(leader_pid: u32, signal: Signal) -> nix::Result<()> {
+    killpg(Pid::from_raw(leader_pid as i32), signal)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::io::Write;
+    use std::process::Stdio;
+    use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+    const PDEATH_HELPER: &str = "PIXELPASS_TEST_PDEATH_HELPER";
+
+    fn process_is_running(pid: u32) -> bool {
+        let Ok(stat) = std::fs::read_to_string(format!("/proc/{pid}/stat")) else {
+            return false;
+        };
+        // comm is parenthesized and may contain spaces; the state byte follows
+        // the final `) `. A zombie holds no resources and only awaits init's
+        // reap, so it is not a surviving capture child for this gate.
+        stat.rsplit_once(") ")
+            .and_then(|(_, rest)| rest.as_bytes().first().copied())
+            .is_some_and(|state| state != b'Z' && state != b'X')
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn contained_child_has_its_own_process_group() {
+        let mut command = Command::new("sleep");
+        command.arg("30");
+        let mut child = spawn(&mut command).expect("spawn contained child");
+        let pid = child.id();
+
+        // SAFETY: getpgid is a read-only syscall for the live child we own.
+        let pgid = unsafe { libc::getpgid(pid as libc::pid_t) };
+        assert_eq!(pgid, pid as libc::pid_t);
+
+        signal_group(pid, Signal::SIGKILL).expect("kill contained group");
+        child.wait().expect("reap contained child");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn process_group_signal_reaches_descendants() {
+        let mut command = Command::new("sh");
+        command
+            .args(["-c", "sleep 30 & child=$!; echo $child; wait"])
+            .stdout(Stdio::piped());
+        let mut leader = spawn(&mut command).expect("spawn group leader");
+        let mut line = String::new();
+        use std::io::BufRead;
+        std::io::BufReader::new(leader.stdout.take().expect("piped stdout"))
+            .read_line(&mut line)
+            .expect("read descendant pid");
+        let descendant: u32 = line.trim().parse().expect("numeric descendant pid");
+        assert!(process_is_running(descendant));
+
+        signal_group(leader.id(), Signal::SIGKILL).expect("kill whole group");
+        leader.wait().expect("reap group leader");
+        let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(2);
+        while process_is_running(descendant) && Instant::now() < deadline {
+            std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));
+        }
+        assert!(
+            !process_is_running(descendant),
+            "a descendant must not survive explicit group teardown"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// Subprocess-only half of the parent-death gate. The outer test launches
+    /// this exact test in a disposable harness process; when that process exits,
+    /// the contained sleep must receive SIGKILL.
+    #[test]
+    fn pdeathsig_helper() {
+        if std::env::var_os(PDEATH_HELPER).is_none() {
+            return;
+        }
+        let mut command = Command::new("sleep");
+        command
+            .arg("30")
+            .stdout(Stdio::null())
+            .stderr(Stdio::null());
+        let child = spawn(&mut command).expect("spawn pdeath child");
+        println!("PIXELPASS_CONTAINED_PID={}", child.id());
+        std::io::stdout().flush().expect("flush child pid");
+        // std::process::Child has no kill-on-drop behavior. Returning lets the
+        // helper harness exit while the contained process is still live.
+        drop(child);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn parent_death_kills_the_contained_child() {
+        let helper = std::env::current_exe().expect("test executable path");
+        let output = Command::new(helper)
+            .args([
+                "--exact",
+                "common::contained::tests::pdeathsig_helper",
+                "--nocapture",
+            ])
+            .env(PDEATH_HELPER, "1")
+            .output()
+            .expect("run pdeath helper harness");
+        assert!(
+            output.status.success(),
+            "helper failed: {}",
+            String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stderr)
+        );
+        let stdout = String::from_utf8_lossy(&output.stdout);
+        let pid: u32 = stdout
+            .lines()
+            .find_map(|line| line.strip_prefix("PIXELPASS_CONTAINED_PID="))
+            .expect("helper printed contained pid")
+            .parse()
+            .expect("numeric contained pid");
+
+        let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(2);
+        while process_is_running(pid) && Instant::now() < deadline {
+            std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10));
+        }
+        assert!(
+            !process_is_running(pid),
+            "PR_SET_PDEATHSIG must stop the child when its PixelPass parent exits"
+        );
+    }
+}

src/common/mod.rs

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 pub mod alpn;
 pub mod bandwidth;
 pub mod config;
+pub mod contained;
 // The friends stack (persistent identity + control plane) is GUI-only — a
 // headless CLI host runs no presence service — so it's gated with the feature
 // that pulls the rest of the GUI, keeping the headless build lean.

src/host/audio.rs

@@ -37,11 +37,14 @@ use std::io::{self, Read};
 use std::process::{Child, Command, ExitStatus, Stdio};
 use std::rc::Rc;
 use std::sync::Arc;
-use std::thread::JoinHandle;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, AtomicU8, Ordering};
 use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
 
 use crate::cli::HostOpts;
+use crate::common::contained;
+use crate::host::health;
 use crate::host::ledger::{self, LedgerError, ModuleLedger, UnloadOutcome};
+use crate::host::owned_thread::OwnedThread;
 use crate::repair::plan::{self as repair_plan, Fingerprint, Shape};
 
 /// How long a `pactl load-module` worker may run before it is killed and reaped.
@@ -54,6 +57,8 @@ use crate::repair::plan::{self as repair_plan, Fingerprint, Shape};
 /// connect/list/unload requests instead of a second pactl connection.
 const PACTL_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
 const PACTL_REAP_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(1);
+const ROUTER_RUNNING_STOP_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(2);
+const ROUTER_STARTING_STOP_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(5);
 
 /// Owns the pactl-loaded modules plus, when filtering is active, the
 /// libpipewire stream-router thread. Drop unloads modules as a backstop;
@@ -71,12 +76,13 @@ pub struct Routing {
     sink_name: String,
     stream_router: Option<StreamRouter>,
     event_task: Option<tokio::task::JoinHandle<()>>,
+    health: health::Reporter,
 }
 
 impl Routing {
     /// Create the per-PID null-sink + loopback. If `opts.app` is set,
     /// also spawn the libpipewire thread that reroutes matching streams.
-    pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts) -> Result<Self> {
+    pub(super) async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, health: health::Reporter) -> Result<Self> {
         let pid = std::process::id();
         let sink_name = repair_plan::sink_name_for(pid);
         let ledger = ModuleLedger::new();
@@ -90,6 +96,7 @@ impl Routing {
             sink_name: sink_name.clone(),
             stream_router: None,
             event_task: None,
+            health: health.clone(),
         };
 
         // Every module this host loads carries an ownership token, minted per
@@ -125,7 +132,8 @@ impl Routing {
         );
 
         if let Some(app) = &opts.app {
-            let (router, mut event_rx) = StreamRouter::spawn(app.clone(), sink_name.clone())?;
+            let (router, mut event_rx) =
+                StreamRouter::spawn(app.clone(), sink_name.clone(), health.clone())?;
             let ledger_for_task = Arc::clone(&ledger);
             let strict = opts.strict_audio;
             let event_task = tokio::spawn(async move {
@@ -235,27 +243,44 @@ impl Routing {
         // task cannot register another mutation even if it receives one last
         // router event while shutdown is in progress.
         self.ledger.close();
-        if let Some(router) = self.stream_router.take() {
+        let router_stopped = if let Some(router) = self.stream_router.take() {
-            // ⚠️ Still an unbounded join: a wedged PipeWire thread parks this
+            router.shutdown().await
-            // task indefinitely. That is the pre-existing defect S3b exists for.
+        } else {
-            // Nothing here makes it worse, and the ledger is what will make
+            true
-            // bounding it safe when it lands.
+        };
-            router.shutdown();
-        }
         if let Some(mut task) = self.event_task.take() {
-            // The router's exit drops the event senders, so the task normally
+            if !router_stopped {
-            // ends by itself. Abort is the fallback, and it is awaited through
+                // A quarantined router still owns its event sender, so this task
-            // `&mut JoinHandle` so the future is genuinely dropped — and with it
+                // cannot finish naturally. Cancel and await it before ledger
-            // any in-flight permit — before reconciliation reads the ledger.
+                // reconciliation; the router timeout already poisoned the host.
-            // Dropping the handle instead would *detach* the task, which is how a
-            // load could still land after teardown believed it was finished.
-            if tokio::time::timeout(PACTL_BUDGET, &mut task).await.is_err() {
-                tracing::warn!(
-                    "audio routing: the event task did not finish within {PACTL_BUDGET:?}; \
-                     cancelling it"
-                );
                 task.abort();
                 let _ = task.await;
+            } else {
+                // The router's exit drops the event senders, so the task normally
+                // ends by itself. Abort is the fallback, and it is awaited through
+                // `&mut JoinHandle` so the future is genuinely dropped — and with
+                // it any in-flight permit — before reconciliation reads the
+                // ledger. Dropping the handle instead would *detach* the task,
+                // which is how a load could still land after teardown believed it
+                // was finished.
+                match tokio::time::timeout(PACTL_BUDGET, &mut task).await {
+                    Ok(Ok(())) => {}
+                    Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                        self.health
+                            .poison(format!("audio routing event task failed: {e}"));
+                    }
+                    Err(_) => {
+                        tracing::warn!(
+                            "audio routing: the event task did not finish within {PACTL_BUDGET:?}; \
+                             cancelling it"
+                        );
+                        self.health.poison(format!(
+                            "audio routing event task did not stop within {PACTL_BUDGET:?}"
+                        ));
+                        task.abort();
+                        let _ = task.await;
+                    }
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -269,6 +294,8 @@ impl Routing {
         .await
         {
             tracing::warn!("audio routing: module-operation wait task failed: {e}");
+            self.health
+                .poison(format!("audio module-operation wait task failed: {e}"));
         }
         cleanup_modules(&self.ledger).await;
 
@@ -278,6 +305,9 @@ impl Routing {
                 "audio routing: some audio modules could not be removed safely; \
                  `pixelpass --repair` will clean up anything left behind"
             );
+            self.health.poison(
+                "audio routing teardown left module ownership unresolved; repair is required",
+            );
         }
     }
 }
@@ -292,7 +322,7 @@ impl Drop for Routing {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
         self.ledger.close();
         if let Some(router) = self.stream_router.take() {
-            router.shutdown();
+            drop(router);
         }
         if let Some(task) = self.event_task.take() {
             task.abort();
@@ -305,6 +335,8 @@ impl Drop for Routing {
                 "audio routing: torn down with modules that could not be removed safely; \
                  run `pixelpass --repair` to clean up anything left behind"
             );
+            self.health
+                .poison("audio routing Drop left module ownership unresolved; repair is required");
         }
     }
 }
@@ -635,7 +667,7 @@ impl Drop for ReapedChild {
         if self.reaped {
             return;
         }
-        let _ = self.child.kill();
+        self.kill_group();
         match self.reap_within(PACTL_REAP_BUDGET) {
             Ok(Some(_)) => {}
             Ok(None) => tracing::warn!(
@@ -647,6 +679,12 @@ impl Drop for ReapedChild {
 }
 
 impl ReapedChild {
+    fn kill_group(&mut self) {
+        let _ = contained::signal_group(self.child.id(), nix::sys::signal::Signal::SIGKILL);
+        // Backstop in case the group disappeared between lookup and signal.
+        let _ = self.child.kill();
+    }
+
     fn reap_within(&mut self, budget: Duration) -> io::Result<Option<ExitStatus>> {
         let deadline = Instant::now() + budget;
         loop {
@@ -665,7 +703,7 @@ impl ReapedChild {
 fn bounded_output(command: &mut Command, budget: Duration) -> io::Result<BoundedOutput> {
     command.stdout(Stdio::piped()).stderr(Stdio::piped());
     let mut child = ReapedChild {
-        child: command.spawn()?,
+        child: contained::spawn(command)?,
         reaped: false,
     };
     let stdout = child
@@ -700,7 +738,7 @@ fn bounded_output(command: &mut Command, budget: Duration) -> io::Result<Bounded
             break (status, false);
         }
         if Instant::now() >= deadline {
-            let _ = child.child.kill();
+            child.kill_group();
             let Some(status) = child.reap_within(PACTL_REAP_BUDGET)? else {
                 return Err(io::Error::new(
                     io::ErrorKind::TimedOut,
@@ -807,24 +845,53 @@ enum Event {
 /// Handle to the libpipewire stream-router thread.
 pub struct StreamRouter {
     cmd_tx: pipewire::channel::Sender<Cmd>,
-    thread: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+    thread: OwnedThread,
+    phase: Arc<AtomicU8>,
 }
 
+const ROUTER_STARTING: u8 = 0;
+const ROUTER_RUNNING: u8 = 1;
+const ROUTER_EXITED: u8 = 2;
+
 impl StreamRouter {
     /// Spawn the libpipewire thread. Returns the router handle and the
     /// event receiver tokio side polls.
     fn spawn(
         filter_name: String,
         sink_name: String,
+        health: health::Reporter,
     ) -> Result<(Self, tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<Event>)> {
         let (cmd_tx, cmd_rx) = pipewire::channel::channel::<Cmd>();
         let (event_tx, event_rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::unbounded_channel::<Event>();
+        let phase = Arc::new(AtomicU8::new(ROUTER_STARTING));
+        let phase_for_thread = Arc::clone(&phase);
+        let shutdown_observed = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+        let shutdown_for_thread = Arc::clone(&shutdown_observed);
+        let health_for_thread = health.clone();
 
         let thread = std::thread::Builder::new()
             .name("pixelpass-pw-router".to_string())
             .spawn(move || {
-                if let Err(e) = run_router(filter_name, sink_name, cmd_rx, event_tx) {
+                let result = std::panic::catch_unwind(std::panic::AssertUnwindSafe(|| {
-                    tracing::warn!("audio routing: libpipewire thread exited with error: {e:#}");
+                    run_router(
+                        filter_name,
+                        sink_name,
+                        cmd_rx,
+                        event_tx,
+                        Arc::clone(&phase_for_thread),
+                        Arc::clone(&shutdown_for_thread),
+                    )
+                }));
+                phase_for_thread.store(ROUTER_EXITED, Ordering::Release);
+                match result {
+                    Ok(result) => report_router_exit(
+                        &health_for_thread,
+                        shutdown_for_thread.load(Ordering::Acquire),
+                        result,
+                    ),
+                    Err(_) => {
+                        health_for_thread.poison("libpipewire router thread panicked");
+                    }
                 }
             })
             .context("failed to spawn libpipewire router thread")?;
@@ -832,19 +899,46 @@ impl StreamRouter {
         Ok((
             Self {
                 cmd_tx,
-                thread: Some(thread),
+                thread: OwnedThread::new("libpipewire router thread", thread, health),
+                phase,
             },
             event_rx,
         ))
     }
 
-    fn shutdown(mut self) {
+    async fn shutdown(mut self) -> bool {
         // Best-effort: if the send fails the thread is already gone.
         let _ = self.cmd_tx.send(Cmd::Shutdown);
-        if let Some(t) = self.thread.take()
+        let budget = router_shutdown_budget(self.phase.load(Ordering::Acquire));
-            && let Err(e) = t.join()
+        self.thread.join_within(budget).await
-        {
+    }
-            tracing::warn!("audio routing: pw thread join failed: {e:?}");
+}
+
+impl Drop for StreamRouter {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        // If async shutdown is cancelled, wake the MainLoop before OwnedThread's
+        // Drop poisons/quarantines the still-owned handle.
+        let _ = self.cmd_tx.send(Cmd::Shutdown);
+    }
+}
+
+fn router_shutdown_budget(phase: u8) -> Duration {
+    if phase == ROUTER_STARTING {
+        ROUTER_STARTING_STOP_BUDGET
+    } else {
+        ROUTER_RUNNING_STOP_BUDGET
+    }
+}
+
+fn report_router_exit(health: &health::Reporter, shutdown_observed: bool, result: Result<()>) {
+    match result {
+        Ok(()) if shutdown_observed => {}
+        Ok(()) => {
+            health.poison("libpipewire router thread exited without a shutdown command");
+        }
+        Err(e) => {
+            tracing::warn!("audio routing: libpipewire thread exited with error: {e:#}");
+            health.poison(format!("libpipewire router thread failed: {e:#}"));
         }
     }
 }
@@ -856,6 +950,8 @@ fn run_router(
     sink_name: String,
     cmd_rx: pipewire::channel::Receiver<Cmd>,
     event_tx: tokio::sync::mpsc::UnboundedSender<Event>,
+    phase: Arc<AtomicU8>,
+    shutdown_observed: Arc<AtomicBool>,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     use pipewire::{self as pw, types::ObjectType};
 
@@ -878,8 +974,10 @@ fn run_router(
     // Cmd handler: clear metadata for routed streams, then quit.
     let main_loop_for_cmd = main_loop.clone();
     let state_for_cmd = Rc::clone(&state);
+    let shutdown_for_cmd = Arc::clone(&shutdown_observed);
     let _cmd_recv = cmd_rx.attach(main_loop.loop_(), move |cmd| match cmd {
         Cmd::Shutdown => {
+            shutdown_for_cmd.store(true, Ordering::Release);
             let s = state_for_cmd.borrow();
             if let Some(meta) = &s.default_metadata {
                 for &nid in &s.routed_node_ids {
@@ -978,6 +1076,7 @@ fn run_router(
         .register();
 
     tracing::info!(filter = %filter_name, "audio routing: pw thread running");
+    phase.store(ROUTER_RUNNING, Ordering::Release);
     main_loop.run();
     tracing::info!("audio routing: pw thread exiting");
     Ok(())
@@ -1074,6 +1173,7 @@ mod tests {
     use super::*;
     use crate::host::ledger::SlotState;
     use crate::repair::plan::{ModuleObservation, classify};
+    use std::sync::mpsc;
 
     /// Whole-desktop routing: no app filter, so no PipeWire thread and no event
     /// task — just the null-sink and its default-sink loopback.
@@ -1094,6 +1194,86 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn router_exit_is_healthy_only_after_the_thread_observed_shutdown() {
+        let (clean, _) = health::channel();
+        report_router_exit(&clean, true, Ok(()));
+        assert!(clean.fault().is_none());
+
+        let (unexpected, _) = health::channel();
+        report_router_exit(&unexpected, false, Ok(()));
+        assert_eq!(
+            unexpected.fault().as_deref(),
+            Some("libpipewire router thread exited without a shutdown command")
+        );
+
+        let (failed, _) = health::channel();
+        report_router_exit(&failed, false, Err(anyhow::anyhow!("fixture failure")));
+        assert!(
+            failed
+                .fault()
+                .as_deref()
+                .is_some_and(|reason| reason.contains("fixture failure"))
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn router_shutdown_has_distinct_startup_and_running_budgets() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            router_shutdown_budget(ROUTER_STARTING),
+            ROUTER_STARTING_STOP_BUDGET
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            router_shutdown_budget(ROUTER_RUNNING),
+            ROUTER_RUNNING_STOP_BUDGET
+        );
+        assert!(ROUTER_STARTING_STOP_BUDGET > ROUTER_RUNNING_STOP_BUDGET);
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn cancelling_router_shutdown_keeps_the_thread_owned_and_poisons() {
+        let (cmd_tx, _cmd_rx) = pipewire::channel::channel::<Cmd>();
+        let (release_tx, release_rx) = mpsc::channel();
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let thread = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            let _ = release_rx.recv();
+        });
+        let router = StreamRouter {
+            cmd_tx,
+            thread: OwnedThread::new("cancellation fixture", thread, health.clone()),
+            phase: Arc::new(AtomicU8::new(ROUTER_STARTING)),
+        };
+
+        assert!(
+            tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_millis(20), router.shutdown())
+                .await
+                .is_err(),
+            "the outer timeout must cancel shutdown before its policy deadline"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            health.fault().is_some(),
+            "cancellation must poison instead of detaching the OS handle"
+        );
+        release_tx.send(()).expect("release quarantined fixture");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn bounded_module_worker_uses_the_contained_spawn_path() {
+        let mut command = Command::new("sh");
+        command.args([
+            "-c",
+            "read pid comm state ppid pgrp rest < /proc/self/stat; printf '%s %s' \"$pid\" \"$pgrp\"",
+        ]);
+        let output = bounded_output(&mut command, Duration::from_secs(1))
+            .expect("run contained module-worker fixture");
+        assert!(output.status.success());
+        let ids = String::from_utf8(output.stdout).expect("ascii pid/pgid");
+        let mut ids = ids.split_whitespace();
+        let pid = ids.next().expect("child pid");
+        let pgid = ids.next().expect("child process group");
+        assert_eq!(pid, pgid, "module worker must lead its own process group");
+    }
+
     /// The module table exactly as `--repair` observes it.
     fn module_snapshot() -> Vec<(u32, String, String)> {
         let mut session =
@@ -1148,7 +1328,8 @@ mod tests {
     #[ignore = "loads real Pulse modules; run with --ignored --test-threads=1"]
     async fn live_teardown_leaves_the_module_table_as_it_found_it() {
         let before = module_snapshot();
-        let routing = Routing::start(&whole_desktop_opts())
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let routing = Routing::start(&whole_desktop_opts(), health)
             .await
             .expect("routing starts");
 
@@ -1180,6 +1361,39 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    /// Exercise the real libpipewire mainloop command path, not only the
+    /// whole-desktop module path above. The deliberately unmatched app filter
+    /// is enough to start the router without moving an unrelated live stream.
+    #[tokio::test]
+    #[ignore = "uses the real Pulse/PipeWire graph; run with --ignored --test-threads=1"]
+    async fn live_stream_router_stops_within_its_policy_budget() {
+        let before = module_snapshot();
+        let mut opts = whole_desktop_opts();
+        opts.app = Some("__pixelpass_s3b_no_matching_application__".to_string());
+        opts.strict_audio = true;
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let routing = Routing::start(&opts, health.clone())
+            .await
+            .expect("per-app routing starts");
+
+        // Let the OS thread reach its normal running phase so this covers the
+        // tighter steady-state budget rather than only startup containment.
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
+        tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(10), routing.shutdown())
+            .await
+            .expect("router and graph teardown stay globally bounded");
+
+        assert!(
+            health.fault().is_none(),
+            "an observed shutdown and successful join must remain healthy"
+        );
+        assert_eq!(
+            module_snapshot(),
+            before,
+            "per-app teardown must leave the module table byte-identical"
+        );
+    }
+
     /// The orphan race, staged against a real server: a load cancelled while
     /// `pactl` is in flight must still be findable and removable.
     ///

src/host/capture.rs

@@ -8,18 +8,20 @@ use anyhow::Result;
 
 use crate::cli::HostOpts;
 use crate::common::display::DisplayServer;
+use crate::host::health;
 use crate::host::pipeline::CaptureHandle;
 use crate::host::quality::EffectiveQuality;
 use crate::host::{wayland, x11};
 
-pub async fn spawn(
+pub(super) async fn spawn(
     display: DisplayServer,
     opts: &HostOpts,
     quality: &EffectiveQuality,
+    health: health::Reporter,
 ) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
     match display {
-        DisplayServer::Wayland => wayland::start(opts, quality).await,
+        DisplayServer::Wayland => wayland::start(opts, quality, health).await,
-        DisplayServer::X11 => x11::start(opts, quality).await,
+        DisplayServer::X11 => x11::start(opts, quality, health).await,
         DisplayServer::Unknown => unreachable!("caller guarantees display != Unknown"),
     }
 }

src/host/health.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+//! Terminal health shared by capture components and the host supervisor.
+//!
+//! A capture-side ownership failure is not recoverable inside the same host
+//! process: a wedged PipeWire owner or an unaccounted Pulse module can collide
+//! with the next capture. Health is therefore one-way (`Healthy -> Poisoned`)
+//! and first-fault-wins so a later, less precise teardown symptom cannot erase
+//! the original cause.
+
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use tokio::sync::watch;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub(super) enum State {
+    Healthy,
+    Poisoned(Arc<str>),
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub(super) struct Reporter {
+    tx: watch::Sender<State>,
+}
+
+pub(super) struct Monitor {
+    rx: watch::Receiver<State>,
+}
+
+pub(super) fn channel() -> (Reporter, Monitor) {
+    let (tx, rx) = watch::channel(State::Healthy);
+    (Reporter { tx }, Monitor { rx })
+}
+
+impl Reporter {
+    /// Poison the host exactly once. Returns true for the first fault.
+    pub(super) fn poison(&self, reason: impl Into<Arc<str>>) -> bool {
+        let reason = reason.into();
+        self.tx.send_if_modified(move |state| {
+            if matches!(state, State::Healthy) {
+                *state = State::Poisoned(reason);
+                true
+            } else {
+                false
+            }
+        })
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(test)]
+    pub(super) fn fault(&self) -> Option<Arc<str>> {
+        match &*self.tx.borrow() {
+            State::Healthy => None,
+            State::Poisoned(reason) => Some(Arc::clone(reason)),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Monitor {
+    pub(super) fn fault(&self) -> Option<Arc<str>> {
+        match &*self.rx.borrow() {
+            State::Healthy => None,
+            State::Poisoned(reason) => Some(Arc::clone(reason)),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub(super) async fn changed(&mut self) {
+        // The supervisor owns a Reporter for the whole run, so closure is not a
+        // normal state. Treat it like a wake and let `fault()` decide.
+        let _ = self.rx.changed().await;
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn poison_is_terminal_and_first_fault_wins() {
+        let (reporter, mut monitor) = channel();
+        assert!(reporter.poison("first"));
+        monitor.changed().await;
+        assert_eq!(monitor.fault().as_deref(), Some("first"));
+        assert!(!reporter.poison("second"));
+        assert_eq!(reporter.fault().as_deref(), Some("first"));
+    }
+}

src/host/mod.rs

@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ pub mod aec;
 pub mod audio;
 pub mod audit;
 mod capture;
+mod health;
 pub mod ledger;
 mod observer;
+mod owned_thread;
 mod pipeline;
 mod quality;
 mod serve;
@@ -127,12 +129,15 @@ pub async fn run(opts: HostOpts) -> Result<()> {
     });
 
     let (sup_tx, sup_rx) = mpsc::channel::<SupervisorMsg>(16);
+    let (capture_health, capture_health_monitor) = health::channel();
     let supervisor = tokio::spawn(supervise(
         opts.clone(),
         quality,
         display,
         resolution.value,
         sup_rx,
+        (capture_health, capture_health_monitor),
+        cancel.clone(),
     ));
 
     // Command channel for the GUI front-end: read `kick <endpoint-id>` lines
@@ -289,14 +294,46 @@ async fn supervise(
     display: DisplayServer,
     max_viewers: u32,
     mut rx: mpsc::Receiver<SupervisorMsg>,
+    capture_health: (health::Reporter, health::Monitor),
+    host_cancel: CancellationToken,
 ) {
+    let (capture_health, mut capture_health_monitor) = capture_health;
     let mut handle: Option<CaptureHandle> = None;
     // Active viewers, keyed by endpoint id, holding each one's kill switch.
     // The count is just `viewers.len()`. (A given endpoint connecting twice is
     // a non-case here: each viewer process uses a fresh ephemeral identity.)
     let mut viewers: HashMap<String, CancellationToken> = HashMap::new();
 
-    while let Some(msg) = rx.recv().await {
+    loop {
+        // Poison is terminal for this host process. A surviving wedged owner or
+        // an unaccounted graph mutation can collide with a later capture, so do
+        // not detach it and keep advertising the ticket. Cancelling the host
+        // closes the endpoint; PeerSpeak's S2 EOF path then clears presence.
+        if let Some(reason) = capture_health_monitor.fault() {
+            tracing::error!(%reason, "capture supervisor poisoned — stopping host");
+            host_cancel.cancel();
+            for cancel in viewers.values() {
+                cancel.cancel();
+            }
+            if let Some(h) = handle.take() {
+                h.shutdown().await;
+                output::emit(output::Event::Capture {
+                    state: output::CaptureState::Stopped,
+                });
+            }
+            break;
+        }
+
+        let msg = tokio::select! {
+            // Health wins a simultaneous race with another viewer request: a
+            // poisoned host must not begin one more capture.
+            biased;
+            _ = capture_health_monitor.changed() => continue,
+            msg = rx.recv() => msg,
+        };
+        let Some(msg) = msg else {
+            break;
+        };
         match msg {
             SupervisorMsg::AddViewer { id, cancel, reply } => {
                 let count = viewers.len() as u32;
@@ -310,8 +347,37 @@ async fn supervise(
 
                 if handle.is_none() {
                     tracing::info!("first viewer arriving — spawning capture");
-                    match capture::spawn(display, &opts, &quality).await {
+                    let spawned = tokio::select! {
+                        // A subsystem can fail while the portal/GStreamer setup
+                        // future is still running. Do not wait for setup to
+                        // return and then admit one viewer to an already-poisoned
+                        // capture.
+                        biased;
+                        _ = capture_health_monitor.changed() => {
+                            let reason = capture_health_monitor
+                                .fault()
+                                .unwrap_or_else(|| "capture health channel changed unexpectedly".into());
+                            let _ = reply.send(Err(format!(
+                                "capture ownership failed during startup: {reason}"
+                            )));
+                            continue;
+                        }
+                        result = capture::spawn(
+                            display,
+                            &opts,
+                            &quality,
+                            capture_health.clone(),
+                        ) => result,
+                    };
+                    match spawned {
                         Ok(h) => {
+                            if let Some(reason) = capture_health_monitor.fault() {
+                                h.shutdown().await;
+                                let _ = reply.send(Err(format!(
+                                    "capture ownership failed during startup: {reason}"
+                                )));
+                                continue;
+                            }
                             handle = Some(h);
                             output::emit(output::Event::Capture {
                                 state: output::CaptureState::Started,
@@ -568,4 +634,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(initial_app_audio_state(&opts(None, true)), None);
         assert_eq!(initial_app_audio_state(&opts(None, false)), None);
     }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn supervisor_health_poison_cancels_the_host_with_command_channel_open() {
+        let opts = opts(None, false);
+        let quality = quality::resolve(&opts, 1);
+        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(1);
+        let (health, monitor) = health::channel();
+        let cancel = CancellationToken::new();
+
+        let supervisor = tokio::spawn(supervise(
+            opts,
+            quality,
+            DisplayServer::Unknown,
+            1,
+            rx,
+            (health.clone(), monitor),
+            cancel.clone(),
+        ));
+        assert!(health.poison("test ownership fault"));
+        tokio::time::timeout(Duration::from_secs(1), supervisor)
+            .await
+            .expect("poisoned supervisor must stop promptly")
+            .expect("supervisor task must not panic");
+        assert!(cancel.is_cancelled());
+
+        // The sender deliberately stayed open until the supervisor exited. If
+        // the health arm were removed, the task above would still be blocked on
+        // `rx.recv()` and the timeout would fail.
+        drop(tx);
+    }
 }

src/host/owned_thread.rs

@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+//! Cancellation-safe ownership for blocking subsystem threads.
+//!
+//! `std::thread::JoinHandle` has no timed join. Moving it into
+//! `spawn_blocking` only moves the problem: cancelling the async waiter detaches
+//! the blocking task and loses the only handle. Instead this owner polls
+//! `is_finished()` while retaining the handle, joins only after completion, and
+//! quarantines an unfinished handle on timeout or Drop. Quarantine is
+//! process-lifetime ownership, not recovery; the shared health channel makes
+//! the supervisor terminate the poisoned host.
+
+use super::health::Reporter;
+use std::sync::{Mutex, OnceLock};
+use std::thread::JoinHandle;
+use std::time::Duration;
+
+static QUARANTINED: OnceLock<Mutex<Vec<JoinHandle<()>>>> = OnceLock::new();
+
+fn quarantine(handle: JoinHandle<()>) {
+    let mut handles = QUARANTINED
+        .get_or_init(|| Mutex::new(Vec::new()))
+        .lock()
+        .unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner());
+
+    // Reap anything that happened to finish since the previous quarantine;
+    // every still-running handle remains owned until process exit.
+    let old = std::mem::take(&mut *handles);
+    for old_handle in old {
+        if old_handle.is_finished() {
+            let _ = old_handle.join();
+        } else {
+            handles.push(old_handle);
+        }
+    }
+    handles.push(handle);
+}
+
+pub(super) struct OwnedThread {
+    name: &'static str,
+    handle: Option<JoinHandle<()>>,
+    health: Reporter,
+}
+
+impl OwnedThread {
+    pub(super) fn new(name: &'static str, handle: JoinHandle<()>, health: Reporter) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            name,
+            handle: Some(handle),
+            health,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Wait up to `budget`, retaining the OS handle across every await.
+    ///
+    /// Returns true only when the thread was joined successfully. Timeout and
+    /// panic poison the process; a timeout also moves the still-running handle
+    /// into process-lifetime quarantine.
+    pub(super) async fn join_within(&mut self, budget: Duration) -> bool {
+        let deadline = tokio::time::Instant::now() + budget;
+        loop {
+            let Some(handle) = self.handle.as_ref() else {
+                return true;
+            };
+            if handle.is_finished() {
+                let handle = self.handle.take().expect("checked as present");
+                return match handle.join() {
+                    Ok(()) => true,
+                    Err(_) => {
+                        self.health
+                            .poison(format!("{} panicked during shutdown", self.name));
+                        false
+                    }
+                };
+            }
+            if tokio::time::Instant::now() >= deadline {
+                self.health.poison(format!(
+                    "{} did not stop within {:?}; its thread handle is quarantined",
+                    self.name, budget
+                ));
+                quarantine(self.handle.take().expect("checked as present"));
+                return false;
+            }
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10)).await;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for OwnedThread {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let Some(handle) = self.handle.take() else {
+            return;
+        };
+        if handle.is_finished() {
+            if handle.join().is_err() {
+                self.health
+                    .poison(format!("{} panicked before it was joined", self.name));
+            }
+            return;
+        }
+
+        self.health.poison(format!(
+            "{} was dropped before it stopped; its thread handle is quarantined",
+            self.name
+        ));
+        quarantine(handle);
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::host::health;
+    use std::sync::mpsc;
+
+    fn reap_finished_quarantine() {
+        let Some(handles) = QUARANTINED.get() else {
+            return;
+        };
+        let mut handles = handles
+            .lock()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|poisoned| poisoned.into_inner());
+        let old = std::mem::take(&mut *handles);
+        for handle in old {
+            if handle.is_finished() {
+                let _ = handle.join();
+            } else {
+                handles.push(handle);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn completed_thread_is_joined_without_poison() {
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let handle = std::thread::spawn(|| {});
+        let mut owner = OwnedThread::new("test worker", handle, health.clone());
+        assert!(owner.join_within(Duration::from_secs(1)).await);
+        assert!(health.fault().is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn timeout_poisons_and_quarantines_instead_of_detaching() {
+        let (release_tx, release_rx) = mpsc::channel();
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            let _ = release_rx.recv();
+        });
+        let mut owner = OwnedThread::new("wedged worker", handle, health.clone());
+
+        assert!(!owner.join_within(Duration::from_millis(20)).await);
+        assert!(health.fault().is_some());
+        drop(owner);
+        release_tx.send(()).expect("release quarantined worker");
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
+        reap_finished_quarantine();
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn dropping_an_unfinished_owner_poisons_and_quarantines() {
+        let (release_tx, release_rx) = mpsc::channel();
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
+            let _ = release_rx.recv();
+        });
+        drop(OwnedThread::new("cancelled worker", handle, health.clone()));
+        assert!(health.fault().is_some());
+        release_tx.send(()).expect("release quarantined worker");
+        std::thread::sleep(Duration::from_millis(20));
+        reap_finished_quarantine();
+    }
+}

src/host/pipeline.rs

@@ -6,22 +6,122 @@
 //! and lives here. Backends call [`spawn`] with just their source-element args.
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail};
-use nix::sys::signal::{Signal, kill};
+use nix::sys::signal::Signal;
-use nix::unistd::Pid;
 use std::process::Stdio;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::process::{Child, Command};
 use tokio::time::timeout;
 
 use super::audio::Routing;
+use super::health;
 use super::quality::EffectiveQuality;
 use super::serve::Serve;
 use crate::cli::HostOpts;
+use crate::common::contained;
 
-pub struct CaptureHandle {
+const GST_TERM_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(1);
-    gst: Option<Child>,
+const GST_KILL_BUDGET: Duration = Duration::from_secs(1);
+
+/// Owns the contained GStreamer process from spawn through confirmed reap.
+///
+/// Keeping this guard alive during `Serve::bind` closes the old constructor
+/// leak: any error after spawn kills the whole process group, not merely the
+/// direct child. An unconfirmed Drop poisons the host so the supervisor cannot
+/// start another capture on top of a possibly-live portal/PipeWire owner.
+struct CaptureProcess {
+    child: Child,
+    leader_pid: u32,
+    reaped: bool,
+    health: health::Reporter,
+}
+
+impl CaptureProcess {
+    fn new(child: Child, health: health::Reporter) -> Result<Self> {
+        let leader_pid = child
+            .id()
+            .context("gst-launch-1.0 exited before its process id was recorded")?;
+        Ok(Self {
+            child,
+            leader_pid,
+            reaped: false,
+            health,
+        })
+    }
+
+    fn take_stdout(&mut self) -> Option<tokio::process::ChildStdout> {
+        self.child.stdout.take()
+    }
+
+    async fn shutdown(&mut self) {
+        // Reap an already-dead child before addressing its process group. A
+        // zombie still reserves its pid, but after `try_wait` succeeds that pid
+        // may be reused; returning here avoids ever signalling a new group that
+        // inherited the old numeric id.
+        match self.child.try_wait() {
+            Ok(Some(_)) => {
+                self.reaped = true;
+                self.health
+                    .poison("gst-launch-1.0 exited before PixelPass began capture shutdown");
+                return;
+            }
+            Ok(None) => {}
+            Err(e) => tracing::warn!(
+                "capture: could not inspect gst before SIGTERM ({e}); continuing teardown"
+            ),
+        }
+
+        let _ = contained::signal_group(self.leader_pid, Signal::SIGTERM);
+        match timeout(GST_TERM_BUDGET, self.child.wait()).await {
+            Ok(Ok(_)) => {
+                self.reaped = true;
+                return;
+            }
+            Ok(Err(e)) => tracing::warn!(
+                "capture: gst wait after SIGTERM failed ({e}); escalating to SIGKILL"
+            ),
+            Err(_) => tracing::warn!(
+                "capture: gst did not exit within {GST_TERM_BUDGET:?}; escalating to SIGKILL"
+            ),
+        }
+
+        let _ = contained::signal_group(self.leader_pid, Signal::SIGKILL);
+        let _ = self.child.start_kill();
+        match timeout(GST_KILL_BUDGET, self.child.wait()).await {
+            Ok(Ok(_)) => self.reaped = true,
+            Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                self.health.poison(format!(
+                    "gst-launch-1.0 could not be reaped after SIGKILL: {e}"
+                ));
+            }
+            Err(_) => {
+                self.health.poison(format!(
+                    "gst-launch-1.0 did not exit within {GST_KILL_BUDGET:?} after SIGKILL"
+                ));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for CaptureProcess {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        if self.reaped {
+            return;
+        }
+        let _ = contained::signal_group(self.leader_pid, Signal::SIGKILL);
+        let _ = self.child.start_kill();
+        self.health.poison(
+            "gst-launch-1.0 was dropped before a confirmed reap; its process group was killed",
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+pub(super) struct CaptureHandle {
+    gst: Option<CaptureProcess>,
     audio: Option<Routing>,
     serve: Option<Serve>,
+    stopping: Arc<AtomicBool>,
 }
 
 impl CaptureHandle {
@@ -32,19 +132,15 @@ impl CaptureHandle {
             .local_port()
     }
 
-    /// Graceful teardown: SIGTERM gst, give it ~1s to exit, then SIGKILL,
+    /// Graceful teardown: SIGTERM the gst process group, give it ~1s to exit,
+    /// then SIGKILL and a second bounded reap,
     /// unload audio routing (if any), then tear down the serve layer.
     /// The serve reader will see EOF on gst stdout and exit on its own;
     /// serve.shutdown() is the backstop.
     pub async fn shutdown(mut self) {
-        if let Some(child) = self.gst.as_mut()
+        self.stopping.store(true, Ordering::Release);
-            && let Some(pid) = child.id()
+        if let Some(mut gst) = self.gst.take() {
-        {
+            gst.shutdown().await;
-            let _ = kill(Pid::from_raw(pid as i32), Signal::SIGTERM);
-        }
-        if let Some(child) = self.gst.as_mut() {
-            let _ = timeout(Duration::from_millis(1000), child.wait()).await;
-            let _ = child.start_kill();
         }
         if let Some(audio) = self.audio.take() {
             audio.shutdown().await;
@@ -57,10 +153,9 @@ impl CaptureHandle {
 
 impl Drop for CaptureHandle {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
-        if let Some(child) = self.gst.as_mut() {
+        self.stopping.store(true, Ordering::Release);
-            let _ = child.start_kill();
+        // CaptureProcess kills the whole process group and poisons the host;
-        }
+        // Routing's and Serve's own Drop impls handle their respective layers.
-        // Routing's and Serve's own Drop impls handle the rest.
     }
 }
 
@@ -73,14 +168,15 @@ impl Drop for CaptureHandle {
 /// `after_spawn` runs once, immediately after the gst child is launched —
 /// Wayland uses it to `close` the pipewire fd it leaked into the child; X11
 /// passes a no-op.
-pub async fn spawn(
+pub(super) async fn spawn(
     opts: &HostOpts,
     quality: &EffectiveQuality,
     source_dims: Option<(u32, u32)>,
     source_args: Vec<String>,
+    health: health::Reporter,
     after_spawn: impl FnOnce(),
 ) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
-    let (audio_routing, audio_device) = setup_audio(opts).await?;
+    let (audio_routing, audio_device) = setup_audio(opts, health.clone()).await?;
     let args = build_args(&source_args, &audio_device, opts, quality, source_dims);
 
     let mut gst_cmd = Command::new("gst-launch-1.0");
@@ -88,29 +184,32 @@ pub async fn spawn(
         .args(&args)
         .stdin(Stdio::null())
         .stdout(Stdio::piped())
-        .stderr(Stdio::inherit());
+        .stderr(Stdio::inherit())
+        .kill_on_drop(true);
     if std::env::var_os("PIXELPASS_GST_DEBUG").is_some() {
         gst_cmd.env("GST_DEBUG", "3");
     }
-    let mut gst = gst_cmd.spawn().context("failed to spawn gst-launch-1.0")?;
+    let gst = contained::spawn_tokio(&mut gst_cmd).context("failed to spawn gst-launch-1.0")?;
+    let mut gst = CaptureProcess::new(gst, health.clone())?;
 
     // Backend-specific post-spawn cleanup (Wayland closes its leaked pw fd here,
     // once gst has inherited its own copy).
     after_spawn();
 
     let gst_stdout = gst
-        .stdout
+        .take_stdout()
-        .take()
         .context("gst-launch-1.0 stdout pipe unavailable")?;
 
     // Hand stdout to the serve layer, which binds the localhost HTTP listener
     // and runs the broadcast fanout. No demux/remux, no codec assumptions.
-    let serve = Serve::bind(gst_stdout).await?;
+    let stopping = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+    let serve = Serve::bind(gst_stdout, health.clone(), Arc::clone(&stopping)).await?;
 
     Ok(CaptureHandle {
         gst: Some(gst),
         audio: audio_routing,
         serve: Some(serve),
+        stopping,
     })
 }
 
@@ -120,12 +219,15 @@ pub async fn spawn(
 /// is set (no app filter — captures everything via the null-sink, used for
 /// dogfooding the loopback path). Otherwise we capture the default sink's
 /// monitor (system audio out), not the default source (the mic).
-async fn setup_audio(opts: &HostOpts) -> Result<(Option<Routing>, String)> {
+async fn setup_audio(
+    opts: &HostOpts,
+    health: health::Reporter,
+) -> Result<(Option<Routing>, String)> {
     let routing_requested =
         opts.app.is_some() || std::env::var_os("PIXELPASS_AUDIO_VIA_NULL_SINK").is_some();
     let audio_routing = if routing_requested {
         Some(
-            Routing::start(opts)
+            Routing::start(opts, health)
                 .await
                 .context("audio routing setup failed")?,
         )
@@ -349,3 +451,72 @@ async fn default_audio_monitor() -> Result<String> {
     }
     Ok(format!("{sink}.monitor"))
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+    fn process_is_running(pid: u32) -> bool {
+        let Ok(stat) = std::fs::read_to_string(format!("/proc/{pid}/stat")) else {
+            return false;
+        };
+        stat.rsplit_once(") ")
+            .and_then(|(_, rest)| rest.as_bytes().first().copied())
+            .is_some_and(|state| state != b'Z' && state != b'X')
+    }
+
+    fn sleeping_capture(health: health::Reporter) -> CaptureProcess {
+        let mut command = Command::new("sleep");
+        command.arg("30").kill_on_drop(true);
+        let child = contained::spawn_tokio(&mut command).expect("spawn contained fixture");
+        CaptureProcess::new(child, health).expect("capture process guard")
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn graceful_capture_shutdown_confirms_reap_without_poison() {
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let mut capture = sleeping_capture(health.clone());
+        capture.shutdown().await;
+        assert!(health.fault().is_none());
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn an_already_exited_capture_is_not_misreported_as_a_clean_shutdown() {
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let mut command = Command::new("true");
+        command.kill_on_drop(true);
+        let child = contained::spawn_tokio(&mut command).expect("spawn short contained fixture");
+        let mut capture = CaptureProcess::new(child, health.clone()).expect("capture guard");
+
+        let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(1);
+        while process_is_running(capture.leader_pid) && Instant::now() < deadline {
+            tokio::task::yield_now().await;
+        }
+        assert!(
+            !process_is_running(capture.leader_pid),
+            "short fixture must exit before shutdown begins"
+        );
+
+        capture.shutdown().await;
+        assert_eq!(
+            health.fault().as_deref(),
+            Some("gst-launch-1.0 exited before PixelPass began capture shutdown")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn dropping_live_capture_kills_its_group_and_poisons() {
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let capture = sleeping_capture(health.clone());
+        let pid = capture.leader_pid;
+        drop(capture);
+        assert!(health.fault().is_some());
+
+        let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(2);
+        while process_is_running(pid) && Instant::now() < deadline {
+            tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_millis(10)).await;
+        }
+        assert!(!process_is_running(pid));
+    }
+}

src/host/serve.rs

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result, bail};
 use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicBool, Ordering};
 use std::time::Duration;
 use tokio::io::{AsyncReadExt, AsyncWriteExt};
 use tokio::net::{TcpListener, TcpStream};
@@ -18,6 +19,8 @@ use tokio::sync::broadcast;
 use tokio::task::JoinHandle;
 use tokio::time::{Instant, sleep};
 
+use super::health;
+
 /// Broadcast-channel capacity in chunks. Each chunk is up to 64 KiB from
 /// the capture child's stdout, so 16 chunks ≈ 1 MiB ≈ ~2 s of buffered
 /// jitter at typical bitrates. A viewer that falls behind by more than
@@ -40,14 +43,18 @@ impl Serve {
     /// Bind a localhost listener on a random port, set up the broadcast
     /// fanout, and spawn the reader + accept-loop tasks. The provided
     /// `stdout` is assumed to produce MPEG-TS bytes.
-    pub async fn bind(stdout: ChildStdout) -> Result<Self> {
+    pub(super) async fn bind(
+        stdout: ChildStdout,
+        health: health::Reporter,
+        stopping: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+    ) -> Result<Self> {
         let listener = TcpListener::bind("127.0.0.1:0")
             .await
             .context("could not bind local capture HTTP listener")?;
         let port = listener.local_addr()?.port();
 
         let (tx, _) = broadcast::channel::<Arc<Vec<u8>>>(FANOUT_CAPACITY);
-        let reader = tokio::spawn(pump_to_broadcast(stdout, tx.clone()));
+        let reader = tokio::spawn(pump_to_broadcast(stdout, tx.clone(), health, stopping));
         let server = tokio::spawn(run_accept_loop(listener, tx));
 
         Ok(Self {
@@ -105,12 +112,20 @@ pub async fn connect_to_capture(port: u16, max_wait: Duration) -> Result<TcpStre
 /// current subscribers. `broadcast::send` returns Err when there are no
 /// receivers; we ignore it so the capture child isn't backpressured
 /// waiting for a viewer.
-async fn pump_to_broadcast(mut stdout: ChildStdout, tx: broadcast::Sender<Arc<Vec<u8>>>) {
+async fn pump_to_broadcast(
+    mut stdout: impl tokio::io::AsyncRead + Unpin,
+    tx: broadcast::Sender<Arc<Vec<u8>>>,
+    health: health::Reporter,
+    stopping: Arc<AtomicBool>,
+) {
     let mut buf = vec![0u8; READ_CHUNK];
     loop {
         match stdout.read(&mut buf).await {
             Ok(0) => {
                 tracing::info!("capture stdout EOF — fanout reader exiting");
+                if !stopping.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
+                    health.poison("GStreamer capture stdout closed unexpectedly");
+                }
                 return;
             }
             Ok(n) => {
@@ -119,6 +134,9 @@ async fn pump_to_broadcast(mut stdout: ChildStdout, tx: broadcast::Sender<Arc<Ve
             }
             Err(e) => {
                 tracing::warn!("capture stdout read error: {e}");
+                if !stopping.load(Ordering::Acquire) {
+                    health.poison(format!("GStreamer capture stdout failed: {e}"));
+                }
                 return;
             }
         }
@@ -192,3 +210,37 @@ async fn drain_http_request(sock: &mut TcpStream) -> bool {
         }
     }
 }
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn unexpected_capture_eof_poisons_the_host() {
+        let (reader, writer) = tokio::io::duplex(16);
+        let (tx, _) = broadcast::channel(FANOUT_CAPACITY);
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let stopping = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(false));
+
+        drop(writer);
+        pump_to_broadcast(reader, tx, health.clone(), stopping).await;
+
+        assert_eq!(
+            health.fault().as_deref(),
+            Some("GStreamer capture stdout closed unexpectedly")
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[tokio::test]
+    async fn expected_capture_eof_during_shutdown_stays_healthy() {
+        let (reader, writer) = tokio::io::duplex(16);
+        let (tx, _) = broadcast::channel(FANOUT_CAPACITY);
+        let (health, _) = health::channel();
+        let stopping = Arc::new(AtomicBool::new(true));
+
+        drop(writer);
+        pump_to_broadcast(reader, tx, health.clone(), stopping).await;
+
+        assert!(health.fault().is_none());
+    }
+}

src/host/wayland.rs

@@ -14,11 +14,16 @@ use ashpd::{
 use nix::fcntl::{FcntlArg, FdFlag, fcntl};
 use std::os::fd::{AsFd, AsRawFd, OwnedFd, RawFd};
 
+use super::health;
 use super::pipeline::{self, CaptureHandle};
 use super::quality::EffectiveQuality;
 use crate::cli::HostOpts;
 
-pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
+pub(super) async fn start(
+    opts: &HostOpts,
+    quality: &EffectiveQuality,
+    health: health::Reporter,
+) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
     // 1. Negotiate the screencast session with the portal.
     let proxy = Screencast::new()
         .await
@@ -81,6 +86,7 @@ pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<Captur
         quality,
         Some((w as u32, h as u32)),
         source_args,
+        health,
         move || {
             // Parent no longer needs the pipewire fd — gst inherited its own copy.
             drop(pw_fd);

src/host/x11.rs

@@ -10,11 +10,16 @@ use tokio::process::Command;
 use x11rb::connection::Connection;
 use x11rb::protocol::xproto::ConnectionExt;
 
+use super::health;
 use super::pipeline::{self, CaptureHandle};
 use super::quality::EffectiveQuality;
 use crate::cli::HostOpts;
 
-pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
+pub(super) async fn start(
+    opts: &HostOpts,
+    quality: &EffectiveQuality,
+    health: health::Reporter,
+) -> Result<CaptureHandle> {
     let xid = if opts.window {
         Some(pick_window().await?)
     } else {
@@ -60,7 +65,7 @@ pub async fn start(opts: &HostOpts, quality: &EffectiveQuality) -> Result<Captur
     }
 
     // X11 has no leaked fd to clean up, so the post-spawn hook is a no-op.
-    pipeline::spawn(opts, quality, source_dims, source_args, || {}).await
+    pipeline::spawn(opts, quality, source_dims, source_args, health, || {}).await
 }
 
 /// Run `xwininfo` and let the user click the window they want to share, then