docs(nwsync): verify is what tells you which keys to purge

Running the repair for sow-tools#88 disproved the advice #90 had just
landed. "Purge the zone, then believe verify" assumed the stale set was
unknowable. It is not: verify reads the edge, so a run straight after a
repair names every key the edge is still serving stale — a survey, not a
verdict. Purge those, re-run, and the second run is the verdict.

The measured numbers are the argument. The repair rewrote 2,603 blobs at
the origin; 8 were stale at the edge, all of them ones a failed player
sync had pulled ninety minutes earlier. The edge only caches what someone
fetched, so purging the whole zone would have cooled 69,169 objects to
fix 8.

Refs #88, #89, #75.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Crucible is how the artifact repos turn source into artifacts.
 | `crucible-depot`   | `crucible depot`   | content-addressed depot blob verify/move        |
 | `crucible-hak`     | `crucible hak`     | ERF/HAK pack/unpack + hak manifests             |
 | `crucible-module`  | `crucible module`  | build/extract/validate/compare the `.mod`       |
-| `crucible-nwsync`  | `crucible nwsync`  | NWSync blob emit + manifest assemble            |
+| `crucible-nwsync`  | `crucible nwsync`  | NWSync blob emit + manifest assemble + verify   |
 | `crucible-topdata` | `crucible topdata` | compile 2da/tlk topdata + packages              |
 | `crucible-wiki`    | `crucible wiki`    | render + deploy mechanical wiki pages           |
 

docs/command-surface.md

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ aliases.
 | `depot` | `pull` | Incremental verified pull of every referenced blob. |
 | `nwsync` | `emit` | Explode one artifact into NWSync blobs plus its own NSYM manifest. |
 | `nwsync` | `assemble` | Merge per-artifact NSYM manifests into one merged manifest. |
+| `nwsync` | `verify` | Decompress and hash a published manifest's blobs through the pull zone. |
 
 `depot status` and `depot get` pick their backend either with `--out DIR`, a
 depot tree on disk, or with `--target bunny|cdn`, a remote backend. The two
@@ -48,10 +49,20 @@ beside the artifact itself with the extension replaced, so `emit` and
 `assemble` agree on where it is without being told.
 
 ```
-nwsync emit     [--as NAME] [--out DIR] <artifact-key> <file>
+nwsync emit     [--as NAME] [--out DIR] [--jobs N] [--verify] <artifact-key> <file>
 nwsync assemble --group-id N [--tlk-key KEY] [--out DIR] <artifact-key>...
+nwsync verify   [--sample N] [--base URL] [--jobs N] <manifest-sha1>
 ```
 
+`emit` is latency-bound, not CPU-bound: every blob costs an existence probe
+plus an upload, and a measured backfill spent 26 seconds of CPU across 9.5
+minutes of wall clock. `--jobs N` (default 16) sets how many resources are in
+flight at once. The manifest is byte-identical at any value — the number of
+workers is never observable in the output. Peak memory is `N` times the
+per-resource limit of 15 MB plus its compressed copy, so raising `N` far past
+the default costs real memory for little gain: the transport keeps 16 idle
+connections per host, and past that a worker pays a fresh TLS handshake.
+
 Both verbs upload by default; nothing bulky is ever written to the runner's
 disk. `--out DIR` writes a local repository tree instead, which is the
 conformance path against upstream `nwn_nwsync_write`. The zone comes from
@@ -64,12 +75,91 @@ resolves it. `--tlk-key` has its own slot because the TLK shadows nothing.
 `--group-id` is per channel — 1 is current, 2 is testing, and 0 leaves the field
 out of the sidecar.
 
+`nwsync verify` is the only check on a published blob upstream of a player's
+client. It reads the **pull zone**, not the storage API, and needs no
+credential: what matters is the bytes a client is served, edge behaviour
+included. Every blob is decompressed and hashed, and the zstd frame is asserted
+to declare its content size. Neither half is optional — a `Content-Length` check
+passes a byte-correct-looking object whose contents are short, and a round-trip
+check alone passes a frame the game client cannot decode but Go's decoder can.
+Failures are reported per blob as missing, malformed framing, size mismatch or
+hash mismatch, and the exit code is 1.
+
+A full sweep of the live manifest is roughly 69,000 blobs and 15 GB, so
+`--sample N` exists to make verifying routine; the default is a full sweep.
+`--base URL` (or `NWSYNC_PULL_BASE`) overrides the public host.
+
+`emit --verify` applies the same check where `emit` would otherwise skip. `emit`
+normally reads a blob's presence as proof of its contents, decided by a 1-byte
+range GET, so an object written truncated — or written by an emitter since found
+broken — is skipped by every later run forever and no backfill repairs it. With
+`--verify` the stored copy is read back, unwrapped, hashed against its own name,
+and replaced when it does not match. It costs a full GET per existing blob, so
+it is a repair pass, not the default.
+
+**After a repair, `verify` is what tells you which keys to purge.** A repair is
+the one thing that makes a key serve different bytes than it did before, and the
+edge caches these objects for 30 days precisely because that normally cannot
+happen. The two commands look at different copies on purpose: `emit --verify`
+repairs the **origin**, `verify` reads the **edge**. So a `verify` run straight
+after a repair is not a verdict — it is a survey, and every blob it still calls
+bad is one the edge is serving stale. Purge exactly those, then re-run it; only
+that second run is the verdict.
+
+Purging the keys `verify` names beats purging the zone, because the edge only
+ever cached what somebody actually fetched: the 2026-08-01 repair rewrote 2,603
+blobs at the origin and left 8 stale at the edge. The purge belongs in the
+repair procedure rather than in `emit`, which reports how many blobs it wrote
+and never which ones — so it could not target one even with a CDN credential,
+which it deliberately does not hold (#89; the procedure itself is in
+sow-platform's NWSync runbook).
+
 `emit` uploads blobs first and the index last, so the presence of an index is
 the publication marker: an artifact whose emit died halfway leaves real blobs in
 the zone and no index. Blob names are content hashes, so re-running skips
 whatever already landed, and `assemble` fails closed on an artifact with no
 index rather than publishing a manifest that is missing a hak.
 
+### What an emitted tree looks like
+
+`--out DIR` produces the same tree `emit` would upload, which makes it the way
+to check a zone by hand without touching one:
+
+```
+<artifact-sha>.nsym          binary index
+<artifact-sha>.nsym.json     the same index, readable
+data/sha1/a7/4a/a74aa84a...  one blob per resource, two-level fanout
+```
+
+A blob's name is the SHA-1 of the resource's **original** bytes, but the file on
+disk is not those bytes: each blob is wrapped in NWCompressedBuffer framing, a
+24-byte `NSYC` header followed by a zstd frame. Hashing the file directly will
+not match its name, which is the obvious
+first thing to try and the obvious first thing to be confused by. Strip the
+header first:
+
+```
+tail -c +25 <blob> | zstd -dc | sha1sum   # == the blob's filename
+```
+
+The header carries the uncompressed length as a little-endian `uint32` at offset
+12, so the decompressed size is checkable without decompressing. Compression is
+worth roughly a 4:1
+saving on hak content: a 250 MB hak emitted 2296 blobs totalling 59 MB on disk
+against 249 MB of resources, as recorded in the sidecar's `on_disk_bytes` and
+`total_bytes`.
+
+The zstd frame always declares its `Frame_Content_Size`. The game client sizes
+its output buffer from that field and cannot decode a frame without one, but the
+Go encoder omits it below 256 bytes, so `emit` re-headers those frames into the
+shape reference libzstd emits: `Single_Segment_flag` set, `Window_Descriptor`
+dropped, and a one-byte content size in its place. `zstd -l <frame>` must print a
+decompressed size; a blank column there is the fault, and it is invisible to any
+check that only decompresses, because both `zstd -dc` and Go's decoder stream
+such a frame happily. This is what the sidecar's `emitter_version` counts:
+version 1 omitted the field and no client could sync past such a blob, version 2
+declares it. `assemble` refuses to merge indexes that disagree.
+
 ## Hidden compatibility aliases
 
 Existing scripts may continue using these names indefinitely. They are accepted

internal/app/app.go

@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ func refreshBuildModuleManifest(ctx context, p *project.Project, progress func(s
 	}
 
 	progress("Refreshing hak list from the latest published sow-assets manifest...")
-	if err := runProjectScript(ctx, p, []string{"scripts", "fetch-hak-manifest"}, manifestPath); err != nil {
+	if err := runProjectScript(ctx, p, []string{"scripts", "fetch-upstream-manifests"}, manifestPath); err != nil {
 		return "", "", err
 	}
 	if _, err := pipeline.ApplyHAKManifest(p, manifestPath); err != nil {

internal/dispatch/dispatch.go

@@ -108,10 +108,11 @@ var Registry = []Builder{
 	{
 		Name:    "nwsync",
 		Bin:     "crucible-nwsync",
-		Summary: "publish NWSync blobs and manifests (emit/assemble)",
+		Summary: "publish NWSync blobs and manifests (emit/assemble/verify)",
 		Commands: []Command{
 			{Name: "emit", Summary: "explode one artifact into blobs plus its own NSYM manifest", Usage: "crucible nwsync emit <artifact> --out DIR"},
 			{Name: "assemble", Summary: "merge per-artifact NSYM manifests into one", Usage: "crucible nwsync assemble --order NAMES --entries DIR --out DIR [--group-id N]"},
+			{Name: "verify", Summary: "read a published manifest's blobs back through the pull zone and hash them", Usage: "crucible nwsync verify <manifest-sha1> [--sample N]"},
 		},
 		Wired: true,
 	},

internal/dispatch/dispatch_test.go

@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@ func TestCanonicalCommandSurface(t *testing.T) {
 		"module":  {"build", "extract", "validate", "compare", "manifest"},
 		"topdata": {"validate", "build", "package", "compare", "convert"},
 		"wiki":    {"build", "deploy"},
-		"nwsync":  {"emit", "assemble"},
+		"nwsync":  {"emit", "assemble", "verify"},
 	}
 	for _, builder := range Registry {
 		got := builder.subcommands()

internal/erf/erf.go

@@ -311,63 +311,110 @@ func Write(w io.Writer, archive Archive) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// IndexEntry locates one resource inside an archive without holding its
+// payload. Streaming callers read one payload at a time from these, so peak
+// memory tracks the largest resource instead of the whole archive.
+type IndexEntry struct {
+	Name   string
+	Type   uint16
+	Offset int64
+	Size   int64
+}
+
+// Index is the header plus the resource table of an ERF: everything except the
+// payloads.
+type Index struct {
+	FileType string
+	Version  string
+	Entries  []IndexEntry
+}
+
+// ReadIndex parses the tables of an ERF of the given size, reading only the
+// header, the key list and the resource list.
+func ReadIndex(r io.ReaderAt, size int64) (Index, error) {
+	if size < headerSize {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("erf file too small: %d bytes", size)
+	}
+
+	var hdr header
+	if err := binary.Read(io.NewSectionReader(r, 0, headerSize), binary.LittleEndian, &hdr); err != nil {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("decode erf header: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if int64(hdr.KeyListOffset)+int64(hdr.EntryCount)*24 > size {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("erf key list exceeds file bounds")
+	}
+	keys := make([]keyEntry, hdr.EntryCount)
+	keyReader := io.NewSectionReader(r, int64(hdr.KeyListOffset), int64(hdr.EntryCount)*24)
+	if err := binary.Read(keyReader, binary.LittleEndian, &keys); err != nil {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("decode key list: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if int64(hdr.ResourceListOffset)+int64(hdr.EntryCount)*8 > size {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("erf resource list exceeds file bounds")
+	}
+	entries := make([]resourceEntry, hdr.EntryCount)
+	entryReader := io.NewSectionReader(r, int64(hdr.ResourceListOffset), int64(hdr.EntryCount)*8)
+	if err := binary.Read(entryReader, binary.LittleEndian, &entries); err != nil {
+		return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("decode resource list: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	index := Index{
+		FileType: string(hdr.FileType[:]),
+		Version:  string(hdr.Version[:]),
+		Entries:  make([]IndexEntry, 0, hdr.EntryCount),
+	}
+	for position, key := range keys {
+		entry := entries[position]
+		if int64(entry.Offset)+int64(entry.Size) > size {
+			return Index{}, fmt.Errorf("resource %d exceeds file bounds", position)
+		}
+		index.Entries = append(index.Entries, IndexEntry{
+			Name:   string(bytes.TrimRight(key.ResRef[:], "\x00")),
+			Type:   key.ResourceType,
+			Offset: int64(entry.Offset),
+			Size:   int64(entry.Size),
+		})
+	}
+	return index, nil
+}
+
+// ReadPayload returns one resource's bytes.
+func ReadPayload(r io.ReaderAt, entry IndexEntry) ([]byte, error) {
+	payload := make([]byte, entry.Size)
+	if _, err := r.ReadAt(payload, entry.Offset); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("read resource %q: %w", entry.Name, err)
+	}
+	return payload, nil
+}
+
+// Read materialises a whole archive. Payloads are subslices of the buffer the
+// archive was read into, so nothing is copied twice: a caller must not mutate
+// Data. Callers that only need one resource at a time should use ReadIndex
+// instead, which never holds the archive at all.
 func Read(r io.Reader) (Archive, error) {
 	data, err := io.ReadAll(r)
 	if err != nil {
 		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("read erf: %w", err)
 	}
-	if len(data) < headerSize {
+	index, err := ReadIndex(bytes.NewReader(data), int64(len(data)))
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("erf file too small: %d bytes", len(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		return Archive{}, err
 	}
 
-	var hdr header
+	resources := make([]Resource, 0, len(index.Entries))
-	if err := binary.Read(bytes.NewReader(data[:headerSize]), binary.LittleEndian, &hdr); err != nil {
+	for _, entry := range index.Entries {
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("decode erf header: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	keyStart := int(hdr.KeyListOffset)
-	keyEnd := keyStart + int(hdr.EntryCount)*24
-	if keyEnd > len(data) {
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("erf key list exceeds file bounds")
-	}
-	keys := make([]keyEntry, hdr.EntryCount)
-	if err := binary.Read(bytes.NewReader(data[keyStart:keyEnd]), binary.LittleEndian, &keys); err != nil {
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("decode key list: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	resourceStart := int(hdr.ResourceListOffset)
-	resourceEnd := resourceStart + int(hdr.EntryCount)*8
-	if resourceEnd > len(data) {
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("erf resource list exceeds file bounds")
-	}
-	entries := make([]resourceEntry, hdr.EntryCount)
-	if err := binary.Read(bytes.NewReader(data[resourceStart:resourceEnd]), binary.LittleEndian, &entries); err != nil {
-		return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("decode resource list: %w", err)
-	}
-
-	resources := make([]Resource, 0, hdr.EntryCount)
-	for index, key := range keys {
-		entry := entries[index]
-		start := int(entry.Offset)
-		end := start + int(entry.Size)
-		if end > len(data) {
-			return Archive{}, fmt.Errorf("resource %d exceeds file bounds", index)
-		}
-
-		resref := string(bytes.TrimRight(key.ResRef[:], "\x00"))
-		payload := make([]byte, entry.Size)
-		copy(payload, data[start:end])
 		resources = append(resources, Resource{
-			Name: resref,
+			Name: entry.Name,
-			Type: key.ResourceType,
+			Type: entry.Type,
-			Data: payload,
+			Data: data[entry.Offset : entry.Offset+entry.Size],
-			Size: int64(entry.Size),
+			Size: entry.Size,
 		})
 	}
 
 	return Archive{
-		FileType:  string(hdr.FileType[:]),
+		FileType:  index.FileType,
-		Version:   string(hdr.Version[:]),
+		Version:   index.Version,
 		Resources: resources,
 	}, nil
 }

internal/nwsync/compressedbuf.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package nwsync
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/binary"
+	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/klauspost/compress/zstd"
@@ -22,9 +23,26 @@ const (
 	blobHeaderBytes = 24
 )
 
+// EncodeAll/DecodeAll are single-threaded per call, so the default pool of one
+// encoder per CPU only buys idle memory: each holds a window-sized history, so
+// on a 24-core runner that is ~200 MB of live heap doing nothing. Concurrency 1
+// produces byte-identical output.
 var (
-	blobEncoder, _ = zstd.NewWriter(nil)
+	blobEncoder, _ = zstd.NewWriter(nil, zstd.WithEncoderConcurrency(1))
-	blobDecoder, _ = zstd.NewReader(nil)
+	blobDecoder, _ = zstd.NewReader(nil, zstd.WithDecoderConcurrency(1))
+)
+
+// zstd frame header bits we care about. A frame starts with the magic, then a
+// one-byte Frame_Header_Descriptor: bits 7-6 size the Frame_Content_Size field,
+// bit 5 is Single_Segment_flag, bits 1-0 size the Dictionary_ID field.
+const (
+	zstdFrameMagic      = "\x28\xb5\x2f\xfd"
+	frameSingleSegment  = 1 << 5
+	frameDictionaryMask = 0x03
+	// oneByteContentSizeCeiling is the size above which a Frame_Content_Size no
+	// longer fits in one byte. Below it the field's size flag is 0, which is
+	// what lets klauspost/compress leave the field out entirely.
+	oneByteContentSizeCeiling = 256
 )
 
 // compressBlob wraps data in NWCompressedBuffer framing.
@@ -34,10 +52,95 @@ func compressBlob(data []byte) []byte {
 	for _, field := range header {
 		_ = binary.Write(&out, binary.LittleEndian, field)
 	}
-	out.Write(blobEncoder.EncodeAll(data, nil))
+	frame := declareFrameContentSize(blobEncoder.EncodeAll(data, nil), len(data))
+	// Fail closed rather than publish a blob no client can decode. An encoder
+	// upgrade that finds a new way to omit the field would otherwise reproduce
+	// #86 in silence, and a blob is skipped by every later emit once written.
+	if !frameDeclaresContentSize(frame) {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("nwsync: refusing to emit a %d-byte blob whose zstd frame declares no content size (descriptor %#x)",
+			len(data), frame[4]))
+	}
+	out.Write(frame)
 	return out.Bytes()
 }
 
+// inspectBlob unwraps a stored blob the way the game client reads it, and is the
+// only reader that should be trusted to judge a published blob.
+//
+// It asserts the frame property on top of the round trip. Go's decoder — like
+// the zstd CLI — streams a frame that declares no content size, so a check that
+// only decompresses and hashes is a *more* capable decoder than the client's: it
+// certifies exactly the blobs the client rejects, which is how #86 reached
+// production and survived an audit.
+func inspectBlob(blob []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	data, err := decompressBlob(blob)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("malformed framing: %w", err)
+	}
+	if len(blob) > blobHeaderBytes && !frameDeclaresContentSize(blob[blobHeaderBytes:]) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("malformed framing: the zstd frame declares no content size, which the game client cannot decode")
+	}
+	return data, nil
+}
+
+// blobMatchesName holds a stored blob to its own file name: a blob is named
+// after the sha1 of its uncompressed bytes, so the name is a complete statement
+// about the contents and nothing else is needed to check it.
+func blobMatchesName(blob []byte, sha1Hex string) error {
+	data, err := inspectBlob(blob)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if got := hex.EncodeToString(sha1Sum(data)); got != sha1Hex {
+		return fmt.Errorf("blob %s holds the contents of %s", sha1Hex, got)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// frameDeclaresContentSize reports whether a zstd frame states how many bytes it
+// decompresses to. A frame with a zero-sized Frame_Content_Size field declares
+// one only when Single_Segment_flag is set; otherwise the size is unknown.
+func frameDeclaresContentSize(frame []byte) bool {
+	if len(frame) < 5 || string(frame[:4]) != zstdFrameMagic {
+		return false
+	}
+	descriptor := frame[4]
+	return descriptor>>6 != 0 || descriptor&frameSingleSegment != 0
+}
+
+// declareFrameContentSize rewrites a frame that does not declare its
+// Frame_Content_Size so that it does, and returns any other frame unchanged.
+//
+// klauspost/compress omits the field for inputs under 256 bytes, which the spec
+// permits. Reference libzstd never does, so the NWN client — which sizes its
+// output buffer from ZSTD_getFrameContentSize and has therefore never met a
+// frame without one — rejects the blob outright with an empty "potential
+// compression error" (#86). No encoder option changes this, so the frame is
+// re-headered here.
+//
+// The result is the shape libzstd itself emits for the same input: setting
+// Single_Segment_flag drops the Window_Descriptor byte, and the freed byte pays
+// for a one-byte Frame_Content_Size. Window_Size then equals the content size,
+// which is sound because the content is under 256 bytes and every match in it
+// therefore falls inside that window. Same length in, same length out.
+func declareFrameContentSize(frame []byte, size int) []byte {
+	if size <= 0 || size >= oneByteContentSizeCeiling || len(frame) < 6 || string(frame[:4]) != zstdFrameMagic {
+		return frame
+	}
+	descriptor := frame[4]
+	// Rewrite only the exact shape a small input produces: no declared size, no
+	// single segment, no dictionary. Anything else either declares a size
+	// already or is not a frame this reinterpretation is safe on.
+	if descriptor>>6 != 0 || descriptor&frameSingleSegment != 0 || descriptor&frameDictionaryMask != 0 {
+		return frame
+	}
+	reframed := make([]byte, len(frame))
+	copy(reframed, frame)
+	reframed[4] = descriptor | frameSingleSegment
+	reframed[5] = byte(size) // replaces Window_Descriptor
+	return reframed
+}
+
 // decompressBlob unwraps NWCompressedBuffer framing. It exists so a blob this
 // package wrote — or one upstream wrote — can be compared by its uncompressed
 // bytes, which is the only comparison that is meaningful across zstd

internal/nwsync/emit.go

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 package nwsync
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"crypto/sha1"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"sync"
 	"time"
 
 	"git.westgate.pw/ShadowsOverWestgate/sow-tools/internal/buildinfo"
@@ -32,7 +33,9 @@ var skippedTypes = resTypes("nss", "ndb", "gic")
 // manifest quietly disagrees with. Bump it only when emitted bytes change — it
 // is deliberately not the build revision, which would invalidate every
 // published index on every unrelated commit.
-const emitterVersion = "1"
+// Version 2 declares Frame_Content_Size on every blob (#86); version 1 omitted
+// it below 256 bytes and no client could sync past such a blob.
+const emitterVersion = "2"
 
 // serverTypes are loaded only server-side; a manifest holding nothing else
 // has no client contents. Mirrors upstream's GlobalResTypeServerList, whose
@@ -62,12 +65,22 @@ type EmitResult struct {
 	BlobsWritten int
 }
 
+// defaultEmitJobs is how many resources are hashed, compressed and stored at
+// once. Emit is latency-bound, not CPU-bound: a blob costs a probe round-trip
+// plus an upload round-trip, and a measured backfill spent 26 s of CPU across
+// 9.5 minutes of wall clock. The figure matches depot's DEPOT_JOBS default and
+// the transport's MaxIdleConnsPerHost, so a worker per connection needs no new
+// TLS handshake.
+const defaultEmitJobs = 16
+
 // EmitOptions describes one emit run.
 type EmitOptions struct {
 	ArtifactKey  string // depot key of the artifact; the NSYM key is derived from it
 	ArtifactPath string // the file on disk
 	As           string // name override, for a TLK whose filename is not its published name
 	OutDir       string // write locally instead of uploading — the conformance path
+	Jobs         int    // resources in flight at once; 0 means defaultEmitJobs
+	Verify       bool   // hash what would be skipped instead of trusting presence
 	Sink         sink   // test seam; nil means OutDir or the zone
 }
 
@@ -79,11 +92,18 @@ type EmitOptions struct {
 // real blobs in the zone and no index, which is unambiguous. Blob names are
 // content hashes, so re-running skips whatever already landed.
 func Emit(options EmitOptions) (EmitResult, error) {
-	artifact, err := os.ReadFile(options.ArtifactPath)
+	artifact, err := os.Open(options.ArtifactPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		return EmitResult{}, fmt.Errorf("read artifact: %w", err)
 	}
-	if err := checkArtifactKey(options.ArtifactKey, artifact); err != nil {
+	defer artifact.Close()
+	info, err := artifact.Stat()
+	if err != nil {
+		return EmitResult{}, fmt.Errorf("read artifact: %w", err)
+	}
+	// A section reader, not the file itself: hashing must not move the file
+	// offset out from under everything that reads the artifact afterwards.
+	if err := checkArtifactKey(options.ArtifactKey, io.NewSectionReader(artifact, 0, info.Size())); err != nil {
 		return EmitResult{}, err
 	}
 	name := options.As
@@ -98,7 +118,7 @@ func Emit(options EmitOptions) (EmitResult, error) {
 		return EmitResult{}, err
 	}
 
-	resources, err := readArtifact(options.ArtifactPath, artifact, name)
+	index, err := readArtifactIndex(options.ArtifactPath, artifact, info.Size(), name)
 	if err != nil {
 		return EmitResult{}, err
 	}
@@ -108,7 +128,11 @@ func Emit(options EmitOptions) (EmitResult, error) {
 		return EmitResult{}, err
 	}
 
-	entries, blobs, onDiskBytes, err := emitResources(resources, target)
+	jobs := options.Jobs
+	if jobs < 1 {
+		jobs = defaultEmitJobs
+	}
+	entries, blobs, onDiskBytes, err := emitResources(artifact, index, target, jobs, options.Verify)
 	if err != nil {
 		return EmitResult{}, err
 	}
@@ -137,87 +161,164 @@ func openSink(outDir string, injected sink) (sink, error) {
 	return newZoneSink(context.Background(), os.Getenv)
 }
 
-// readArtifact returns the resources of an ERF/HAK/MOD, or the single resource
+// readArtifactIndex locates the resources of an ERF/HAK/MOD, or the single
-// a loose file represents. Upstream's resman does the same dispatch on the
+// resource a loose file represents, without reading any payload. Upstream's
-// file's first three bytes. name is the artifact's published name, which for a
+// resman does the same dispatch on the file's first three bytes. name is the
-// loose file is also its resref.
+// artifact's published name, which for a loose file is also its resref.
-func readArtifact(path string, data []byte, name string) ([]erf.Resource, error) {
+func readArtifactIndex(path string, artifact io.ReaderAt, size int64, name string) ([]erf.IndexEntry, error) {
-	if len(data) >= 3 {
+	magic := make([]byte, 3)
-		switch string(data[:3]) {
+	if size >= 3 {
-		case "ERF", "HAK":
+		if _, err := artifact.ReadAt(magic, 0); err != nil {
-			archive, err := erf.Read(bytes.NewReader(data))
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", path, err)
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", path, err)
-			}
-			return archive.Resources, nil
-		case "MOD":
-			// A persistent world never publishes module contents, so the .mod
-			// contributes no bytes to a manifest — it only says which haks and
-			// which TLK the manifest covers.
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: a module is never emitted; a manifest is haks plus the TLK", path)
 		}
 	}
+	switch string(magic) {
+	case "ERF", "HAK":
+		index, err := erf.ReadIndex(artifact, size)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+		return index.Entries, nil
+	case "MOD":
+		// A persistent world never publishes module contents, so the .mod
+		// contributes no bytes to a manifest — it only says which haks and
+		// which TLK the manifest covers.
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: a module is never emitted; a manifest is haks plus the TLK", path)
+	}
 	extension := filepath.Ext(filepath.Base(path))
 	restype, ok := erf.ResourceTypeForExtension(extension)
 	if !ok {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s: unknown resource type %q", path, extension)
 	}
-	return []erf.Resource{{
+	return []erf.IndexEntry{{Name: name, Type: restype, Offset: 0, Size: size}}, nil
-		Name: name,
-		Type: restype,
-		Data: data,
-	}}, nil
 }
 
-func emitResources(resources []erf.Resource, target sink) ([]Entry, int, int64, error) {
+// emitResources hashes, compresses and stores resources, reading each payload
+// from the artifact only when its turn comes. Peak memory tracks the resources
+// in flight, not the archive: a 2 GB hak must emit inside a runner's few spare
+// GB. jobs of them are in flight at once, so the ceiling is jobs multiplied by
+// fileSizeLimit and its compressed copy — bounded, and bounded by a constant
+// this package enforces itself.
+//
+// The returned entries are in artifact order whatever order the workers finish
+// in, because a manifest's bytes are promised deterministic by emitterVersion.
+func emitResources(artifact io.ReaderAt, index []erf.IndexEntry, target sink, jobs int, verify bool) ([]Entry, int, int64, error) {
 	// A resref appearing twice inside one artifact resolves to the last one,
 	// the way resman lets the last container added win.
-	order := make([]Identity, 0, len(resources))
+	order := make([]Identity, 0, len(index))
-	latest := make(map[Identity]erf.Resource, len(resources))
+	latest := make(map[Identity]erf.IndexEntry, len(index))
 	var tooBig []string
-	for _, resource := range resources {
+	for _, entry := range index {
-		if _, ok := erf.ExtensionForResourceType(resource.Type); !ok {
+		if _, ok := erf.ExtensionForResourceType(entry.Type); !ok {
-			return nil, 0, 0, fmt.Errorf("resref %s is not resolvable (unknown restype %d)", resource.Name, resource.Type)
+			return nil, 0, 0, fmt.Errorf("resref %s is not resolvable (unknown restype %d)", entry.Name, entry.Type)
 		}
-		if slices.Contains(skippedTypes, resource.Type) {
+		if slices.Contains(skippedTypes, entry.Type) {
 			continue
 		}
-		if len(resource.Data) > fileSizeLimit {
+		if entry.Size > fileSizeLimit {
-			tooBig = append(tooBig, fmt.Sprintf("%s: %d bytes > %d", resource.Name, len(resource.Data), fileSizeLimit))
+			tooBig = append(tooBig, fmt.Sprintf("%s: %d bytes > %d", entry.Name, entry.Size, fileSizeLimit))
 			continue
 		}
-		identity := Identity{ResRef: strings.ToLower(resource.Name), ResType: resource.Type}
+		identity := Identity{ResRef: strings.ToLower(entry.Name), ResType: entry.Type}
 		if _, seen := latest[identity]; !seen {
 			order = append(order, identity)
 		}
-		latest[identity] = resource
+		latest[identity] = entry
 	}
 	if len(tooBig) > 0 {
 		sort.Strings(tooBig)
 		return nil, 0, 0, fmt.Errorf("resources exceed the file size limit:\n  %s", strings.Join(tooBig, "\n  "))
 	}
 
-	entries := make([]Entry, 0, len(order))
+	// Index-addressed, never appended to: a worker owns entries[i] alone, so
+	// the slice comes back in artifact order and needs no lock.
+	entries := make([]Entry, len(order))
 	var blobs int
 	var onDiskBytes int64
-	for _, identity := range order {
+	var mu sync.Mutex
-		resource := latest[identity]
+	var firstErr error
-		sum := sha1.Sum(resource.Data)
+	// Two resrefs in one artifact can hold identical bytes, and therefore one
-		entries = append(entries, Entry{
+	// blob. Serially the sink's existence check absorbed that; in parallel both
+	// workers would probe, both miss, and both upload. Claiming the sha1 here
+	// restores the dedupe and skips the probe round-trip as well.
+	claimed := make(map[[20]byte]bool, len(order))
+
+	failed := func() bool {
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
+		return firstErr != nil
+	}
+
+	store := func(i int) {
+		identity := order[i]
+		payload, err := erf.ReadPayload(artifact, latest[identity])
+		if err != nil {
+			mu.Lock()
+			if firstErr == nil {
+				firstErr = err
+			}
+			mu.Unlock()
+			return
+		}
+		sum := sha1.Sum(payload)
+		entries[i] = Entry{
 			SHA1:    sum,
-			Size:    uint32(len(resource.Data)),
+			Size:    uint32(len(payload)),
 			ResRef:  identity.ResRef,
 			ResType: identity.ResType,
-		})
+		}
-		written, err := target.putBlob(fmt.Sprintf("%x", sum), func() []byte { return compressBlob(resource.Data) })
+		mu.Lock()
+		duplicate := claimed[sum]
+		claimed[sum] = true
+		mu.Unlock()
+		if duplicate {
+			return
+		}
+		written, err := target.putBlob(fmt.Sprintf("%x", sum), verify, func() []byte { return compressBlob(payload) })
+		mu.Lock()
+		defer mu.Unlock()
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, 0, 0, err
+			if firstErr == nil {
+				firstErr = err
+			}
+			return
 		}
 		if written > 0 {
 			blobs++
 			onDiskBytes += written
 		}
 	}
+
+	if jobs < 1 {
+		jobs = 1
+	}
+	work := make(chan int)
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for range jobs {
+		wg.Add(1)
+		go func() {
+			defer wg.Done()
+			for i := range work {
+				// After a failure the run is over — the caller discards
+				// everything and no index is written. Draining the rest of the
+				// channel cheaply, rather than returning, keeps the feeder from
+				// blocking on workers that have gone away.
+				if failed() {
+					continue
+				}
+				store(i)
+			}
+		}()
+	}
+	for i := range order {
+		work <- i
+	}
+	close(work)
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	if firstErr != nil {
+		return nil, 0, 0, firstErr
+	}
 	return entries, blobs, onDiskBytes, nil
 }
 

internal/nwsync/jobs_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+package nwsync
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime/debug"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// manyResources is a hak body with enough distinct resources that a worker pool
+// actually interleaves. Payloads differ so nothing is deduplicated away.
+func manyResources(count int) map[string][]byte {
+	contents := make(map[string][]byte, count)
+	for i := range count {
+		contents[fmt.Sprintf("res%05d.tga", i)] = []byte(fmt.Sprintf("payload %d", i))
+	}
+	return contents
+}
+
+// TestEmitProducesTheSameIndexAtEveryJobCount is the contract that lets emit be
+// parallel at all: emitterVersion promises a manifest's bytes are a function of
+// its artifact, so the number of workers must not be observable in the output.
+func TestEmitProducesTheSameIndexAtEveryJobCount(t *testing.T) {
+	// The sidecar stamps a wall-clock time unless this is set, which would make
+	// two runs differ for a reason that has nothing to do with job count.
+	t.Setenv("SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH", "1700000000")
+
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	hak := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_test_01.hak")
+	writeHak(t, hak, manyResources(64))
+	key := artifactKey(t, hak)
+
+	emit := func(jobs int) (manifest, sidecar []byte, result EmitResult) {
+		out := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "out")
+		result, err := Emit(EmitOptions{
+			ArtifactKey:  key,
+			ArtifactPath: hak,
+			OutDir:       out,
+			Jobs:         jobs,
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("emit at -jobs %d: %v", jobs, err)
+		}
+		manifest, sidecar, err = dirSink{root: out}.getIndex(filepath.Base(result.ManifestPath))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("read index at -jobs %d: %v", jobs, err)
+		}
+		return manifest, sidecar, result
+	}
+
+	serialManifest, serialSidecar, serial := emit(1)
+	parallelManifest, parallelSidecar, parallel := emit(16)
+
+	if !bytes.Equal(serialManifest, parallelManifest) {
+		t.Errorf("manifest bytes differ between -jobs 1 and -jobs 16")
+	}
+	if !bytes.Equal(serialSidecar, parallelSidecar) {
+		t.Errorf("sidecar bytes differ between -jobs 1 and -jobs 16:\n %s\n %s", serialSidecar, parallelSidecar)
+	}
+	if serial.Entries != parallel.Entries || serial.BlobsWritten != parallel.BlobsWritten {
+		t.Errorf("-jobs 1 wrote %d entries/%d blobs, -jobs 16 wrote %d/%d",
+			serial.Entries, serial.BlobsWritten, parallel.Entries, parallel.BlobsWritten)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEmitLeavesNoIndexWhenAParallelUploadFails is the fail-closed check with
+// workers in flight: several uploads are in the air when the first one fails,
+// and the index must still never appear. Run under -race this also covers the
+// shared counters.
+func TestEmitLeavesNoIndexWhenAParallelUploadFails(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newZoneFixture(t)
+	fixture.zone.failOn = func(key string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(key, "data/sha1/") }
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	hak := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_test_01.hak")
+	writeHak(t, hak, manyResources(64))
+
+	if _, err := Emit(EmitOptions{
+		ArtifactKey:  artifactKey(t, hak),
+		ArtifactPath: hak,
+		Sink:         fixture.sink,
+		Jobs:         16,
+	}); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("emit reported success after an upload failed")
+	}
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	defer fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+	for key := range fixture.zone.objects {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(key, ".nsym") {
+			t.Errorf("a half-emitted artifact published an index: %s", key)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEmitPeakMemoryIsBoundedByJobCount pins the ceiling the parallel emit
+// rests on. Peak still must not track the archive — it tracks the resources in
+// flight, so a bigger hak at the same job count costs the same.
+func TestEmitPeakMemoryIsBoundedByJobCount(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("writes a 64 MB fixture")
+	}
+	defer debug.SetGCPercent(debug.SetGCPercent(10))
+
+	measure := func(count, jobs int) uint64 {
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		hak := filepath.Join(dir, "big.hak")
+		writeStreamedHak(t, hak, count)
+		options := EmitOptions{
+			ArtifactKey:  artifactKey(t, hak),
+			ArtifactPath: hak,
+			As:           filepath.Base(hak),
+			OutDir:       filepath.Join(dir, "out"),
+			Jobs:         jobs,
+		}
+		return peakHeapDuring(func() {
+			if _, err := Emit(options); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("emit %d resources at -jobs %d: %v", count, jobs, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	const jobs = 8
+	small := measure(8, jobs)  // 8 MB
+	large := measure(64, jobs) // 64 MB
+	// Each worker may hold one resourceSize payload plus its compressed copy,
+	// so the pool itself is the slack — not the archive.
+	const slack = 24 << 20
+
+	t.Logf("peak heap at -jobs %d: 8 MB hak %d bytes, 64 MB hak %d bytes", jobs, small, large)
+	if large > small+slack {
+		t.Fatalf("peak heap scaled with artifact size at -jobs %d: 8 MB hak peaked at %d bytes, 64 MB hak at %d", jobs, small, large)
+	}
+}

internal/nwsync/manifest.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -194,7 +195,14 @@ func marshalSidecar(sidecar Sidecar) ([]byte, error) {
 	return append(body, '\r', '\n'), nil
 }
 
-// blobPath is the data store path for a blob, hash tree depth 2.
+// blobKey is where a blob lives in a zone, hash tree depth 2. emit writes it,
+// verify reads it and the game client requests it, so the rule lives here and
+// nowhere else.
+func blobKey(sha1Hex string) string {
+	return path.Join("data", "sha1", sha1Hex[0:2], sha1Hex[2:4], sha1Hex)
+}
+
+// blobPath is the same location inside a local repository tree.
 func blobPath(root, sha1Hex string) string {
-	return filepath.Join(root, "data", "sha1", sha1Hex[0:2], sha1Hex[2:4], sha1Hex)
+	return filepath.Join(root, filepath.FromSlash(blobKey(sha1Hex)))
 }

internal/nwsync/memory_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+package nwsync
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"runtime/debug"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/klauspost/compress/zstd"
+
+	"git.westgate.pw/ShadowsOverWestgate/sow-tools/internal/erf"
+)
+
+// TestSingleThreadedEncoderMatchesDefault pins the claim the blob encoder's
+// concurrency setting rests on: it saves memory only, and a published blob is
+// the same bytes either way.
+func TestSingleThreadedEncoderMatchesDefault(t *testing.T) {
+	standard, err := zstd.NewWriter(nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer standard.Close()
+
+	body := make([]byte, 4<<20)
+	random := rand.New(rand.NewSource(1))
+	random.Read(body[:len(body)/2])
+	for _, size := range []int{0, 1, 4 << 10, len(body)} {
+		if !bytes.Equal(blobEncoder.EncodeAll(body[:size], nil), standard.EncodeAll(body[:size], nil)) {
+			t.Fatalf("%d bytes compress differently at concurrency 1", size)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// resourceSize is one payload in the memory fixtures. Real haks hold a few MB
+// per resource, and peak memory is meant to track that, not the archive.
+const resourceSize = 1 << 20
+
+// writeStreamedHak builds a hak of count resources without ever holding the
+// archive in memory, so the fixture itself does not decide the measurement.
+// Payloads are distinct, so no blob is deduplicated away.
+func writeStreamedHak(t *testing.T, path string, count int) {
+	t.Helper()
+	payload := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "payload.bin")
+	body := make([]byte, resourceSize)
+	for index := range body {
+		body[index] = byte(index)
+	}
+
+	resources := make([]erf.Resource, 0, count)
+	for index := range count {
+		// A distinct first byte per resource is enough to give every payload
+		// its own sha1 while still streaming from one file per resource.
+		unique := filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(payload), fmt.Sprintf("p%d.bin", index))
+		body[0] = byte(index)
+		body[1] = byte(index >> 8)
+		if err := os.WriteFile(unique, body, 0o644); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		resources = append(resources, erf.Resource{
+			Name:       fmt.Sprintf("res%05d", index),
+			Type:       restype(t, "tga"),
+			SourcePath: unique,
+			Size:       resourceSize,
+		})
+	}
+
+	file, err := os.Create(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer file.Close()
+	if err := erf.Write(file, erf.New("HAK", resources)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("write hak: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// peakHeapDuring runs work while sampling the heap, and returns the largest
+// live heap it saw.
+func peakHeapDuring(work func()) uint64 {
+	runtime.GC()
+	done := make(chan struct{})
+	peak := make(chan uint64, 1)
+	go func() {
+		var highest uint64
+		var stats runtime.MemStats
+		for {
+			select {
+			case <-done:
+				peak <- highest
+				return
+			default:
+			}
+			runtime.ReadMemStats(&stats)
+			if stats.HeapAlloc > highest {
+				highest = stats.HeapAlloc
+			}
+			time.Sleep(time.Millisecond)
+		}
+	}()
+	work()
+	close(done)
+	return <-peak
+}
+
+// TestEmitPeakMemoryDoesNotScaleWithArtifactSize is the regression check for
+// the OOM kills on large haks: emit used to hold the whole archive (twice), so
+// a 2 GB hak needed about 10 GB. Emitting an archive 8× bigger must not cost
+// meaningfully more memory.
+func TestEmitPeakMemoryDoesNotScaleWithArtifactSize(t *testing.T) {
+	if testing.Short() {
+		t.Skip("writes a 64 MB fixture")
+	}
+	// A lazy GC lets garbage pile up in proportion to the live heap, which
+	// hides the thing under test. Collecting eagerly makes the sampled heap
+	// track what emit actually holds.
+	defer debug.SetGCPercent(debug.SetGCPercent(10))
+
+	measure := func(count int) uint64 {
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		hak := filepath.Join(dir, "big.hak")
+		writeStreamedHak(t, hak, count)
+		// The key is computed outside the measurement: the test helper reads
+		// the whole file to hash it, which emit itself no longer does.
+		options := EmitOptions{
+			ArtifactKey:  artifactKey(t, hak),
+			ArtifactPath: hak,
+			As:           filepath.Base(hak),
+			OutDir:       filepath.Join(dir, "out"),
+		}
+		return peakHeapDuring(func() {
+			if _, err := Emit(options); err != nil {
+				t.Fatalf("emit %d resources: %v", count, err)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+
+	small := measure(8)  // 8 MB
+	large := measure(64) // 64 MB
+	const slack = 24 << 20
+
+	t.Logf("peak heap: 8 MB hak %d bytes, 64 MB hak %d bytes", small, large)
+	if large > small+slack {
+		t.Fatalf("peak heap scaled with artifact size: 8 MB hak peaked at %d bytes, 64 MB hak at %d", small, large)
+	}
+}

internal/nwsync/nwsync_test.go

@@ -458,6 +458,33 @@ func TestAssembleFailsClosedOnMissingIndex(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Callers capture a script's stdout as a value: `dir="$(pack-haks.sh)"`. A
+// summary line on stdout gets glued onto that value, so both summaries belong
+// on stderr.
+func TestRunKeepsSummariesOffStdout(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_top.hak")
+	writeHak(t, path, map[string][]byte{"appearance.2da": []byte("2da from sow_top")})
+	key := artifactKey(t, path)
+	out := filepath.Join(dir, "out")
+
+	for _, args := range [][]string{
+		{"emit", "--out", out, "--as", "sow_top.hak", key, path},
+		{"assemble", "--out", out, key},
+	} {
+		var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
+		if code := Run(args, &stdout, &stderr); code != exitOK {
+			t.Fatalf("Run(%v) exit=%d: %s", args, code, stderr.String())
+		}
+		if stdout.Len() != 0 {
+			t.Errorf("Run(%v) wrote to stdout: %q", args, stdout.String())
+		}
+		if stderr.Len() == 0 {
+			t.Errorf("Run(%v) reported no summary on stderr", args)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunUsageErrors(t *testing.T) {
 	cases := [][]string{
 		nil,
@@ -474,3 +501,31 @@ func TestRunUsageErrors(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+// TestEveryBlobDeclaresItsFrameContentSize guards the fault that stopped every
+// client sync (#86): klauspost/compress omits Frame_Content_Size for inputs
+// under 256 bytes, and the game client cannot decode a frame without it. This
+// asserts a frame property, not a round trip — the zstd CLI and Go's decoder
+// both stream such a frame happily, so round-tripping cannot see the defect.
+func TestEveryBlobDeclaresItsFrameContentSize(t *testing.T) {
+	// 230 and 175 are real sizes from the manifest that failed to sync; 255/256
+	// straddle the encoder's threshold.
+	for _, size := range []int{1, 32, 175, 230, 255, 256, 257, 1024, 5000} {
+		payload := make([]byte, size)
+		for i := range payload {
+			payload[i] = byte('a' + i%26)
+		}
+		blob := compressBlob(payload)
+		if !frameDeclaresContentSize(blob[blobHeaderBytes:]) {
+			t.Errorf("blob of %d bytes declares no frame content size (descriptor %#x)",
+				size, blob[blobHeaderBytes+4])
+		}
+		got, err := decompressBlob(blob)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("decompress %d-byte blob: %v", size, err)
+		}
+		if !bytes.Equal(got, payload) {
+			t.Errorf("%d-byte blob did not round trip", size)
+		}
+	}
+}

internal/nwsync/run.go

@@ -12,12 +12,17 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
+	"os"
 )
 
 const (
 	exitOK       = 0
 	exitUsage    = 64
 	exitInternal = 70
+	// exitDrift says the command worked and the zone is wrong, which is a
+	// different thing for CI to act on than the command failing. It matches
+	// depot's code for the same meaning.
+	exitDrift = 1
 )
 
 // Run executes an nwsync subcommand. args[0] is the subcommand (emit|assemble);
@@ -29,9 +34,11 @@ func Run(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 	}
 	switch args[0] {
 	case "emit":
-		return runEmit(args[1:], stdout, stderr)
+		return runEmit(args[1:], stderr)
 	case "assemble":
-		return runAssemble(args[1:], stdout, stderr)
+		return runAssemble(args[1:], stderr)
+	case "verify":
+		return runVerify(args[1:], stdout, stderr, os.Getenv)
 	case "-h", "--help", "help":
 		printRunUsage(stdout)
 		return exitOK
@@ -44,17 +51,30 @@ func Run(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 
 func printRunUsage(w io.Writer) {
 	fmt.Fprint(w, `usage:
-  nwsync emit     [--as NAME] [--out DIR] <artifact-key> <file>
+  nwsync emit     [--as NAME] [--out DIR] [--verify] <artifact-key> <file>
   nwsync assemble --group-id N [--tlk-key KEY] [--out DIR] <artifact-key>...
+  nwsync verify   [--sample N] [--base URL] <manifest-sha1>
 
 emit explodes one .hak/.erf or one loose file (the TLK) into NWSync blobs plus
 a NSYM index covering only that artifact, and uploads both. assemble merges
 those indexes into one manifest, reading no bulk data. Artifact keys are depot
 keys; an index lives beside its artifact, with the extension replaced.
 
+verify reads a published manifest and its blobs back through the public pull
+zone, with no credential, and decompresses and hashes every one. It is the only
+check on a published blob upstream of a player's client.
+
+--verify makes emit hash what it would otherwise skip. emit normally treats a
+blob's presence as proof of its contents, so without this an object written
+truncated, or written by an emitter since found broken, is skipped forever.
+--verify repairs the storage zone, while verify reads the edge in front of it.
+So a verify run right after a repair is a survey, not a verdict: it names the
+keys the edge still serves stale. Purge those, then run it again.
+
 --out DIR writes to a local repository tree instead of uploading, which is the
 conformance path against upstream nwn_nwsync_write. Without it, the zone comes
 from NWSYNC_STORAGE_ZONE, NWSYNC_STORAGE_PASSWORD and BUNNY_STORAGE_HOST.
+verify needs none of those; its base comes from --base or NWSYNC_PULL_BASE.
 `)
 }
 
@@ -76,11 +96,13 @@ func parseArgs(fs *flag.FlagSet, args []string) ([]string, error) {
 	}
 }
 
-func runEmit(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
+func runEmit(args []string, stderr io.Writer) int {
 	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("emit", flag.ContinueOnError)
 	fs.SetOutput(stderr)
 	as := fs.String("as", "", "published name of the artifact, when it differs from the key")
 	out := fs.String("out", "", "write to a local repository tree instead of uploading")
+	jobs := fs.Int("jobs", defaultEmitJobs, "resources to hash, compress and store at once")
+	verify := fs.Bool("verify", false, "read back and hash blobs that already exist instead of trusting their presence")
 	positional, err := parseArgs(fs, args)
 	if err != nil {
 		return exitUsage
@@ -89,23 +111,63 @@ func runEmit(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync emit: <artifact-key> and <file> are both required\n")
 		return exitUsage
 	}
+	if *jobs < 1 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync emit: -jobs must be at least 1, got %d\n", *jobs)
+		return exitUsage
+	}
 
 	result, err := Emit(EmitOptions{
 		ArtifactKey:  positional[0],
 		ArtifactPath: positional[1],
 		As:           *as,
 		OutDir:       *out,
+		Jobs:         *jobs,
+		Verify:       *verify,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync emit: %v\n", err)
 		return exitInternal
 	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(stdout, "emitted %s: %d resources, %d new blobs, index %s\n",
+	fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "emitted %s: %d resources, %d new blobs, index %s\n",
 		result.Name, result.Entries, result.BlobsWritten, result.ManifestPath)
 	return exitOK
 }
 
-func runAssemble(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
+func runVerify(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer, getenv func(string) string) int {
+	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("verify", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	fs.SetOutput(stderr)
+	base := fs.String("base", getenv("NWSYNC_PULL_BASE"), "pull zone base URL to read through")
+	sample := fs.Int("sample", 0, "check this many random blobs instead of all of them")
+	jobs := fs.Int("jobs", defaultEmitJobs, "blobs to fetch and hash at once")
+	positional, err := parseArgs(fs, args)
+	if err != nil {
+		return exitUsage
+	}
+	if len(positional) != 1 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync verify: exactly one <manifest-sha1> is required\n")
+		return exitUsage
+	}
+
+	result, err := Verify(VerifyOptions{
+		ManifestSHA1: positional[0],
+		Base:         *base,
+		Sample:       *sample,
+		Jobs:         *jobs,
+		Log:          stderr,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync verify: %v\n", err)
+		return exitInternal
+	}
+	fmt.Fprintf(stdout, "verified %d of %d blobs behind %d resources: %d failures, %d bytes checked\n",
+		result.Checked, result.Blobs, result.Entries, result.Failures, result.Bytes)
+	if result.Failures > 0 {
+		return exitDrift
+	}
+	return exitOK
+}
+
+func runAssemble(args []string, stderr io.Writer) int {
 	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("assemble", flag.ContinueOnError)
 	fs.SetOutput(stderr)
 	tlkKey := fs.String("tlk-key", "", "depot key of the TLK, which shadows nothing and merges last")
@@ -134,7 +196,7 @@ func runAssemble(args []string, stdout, stderr io.Writer) int {
 		fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "nwsync assemble: %v\n", err)
 		return exitInternal
 	}
-	fmt.Fprintf(stdout, "assembled manifest %s: %d resources, %s\n",
+	fmt.Fprintf(stderr, "assembled manifest %s: %d resources, %s\n",
 		result.SHA1, result.Entries, result.ManifestPath)
 	return exitOK
 }

internal/nwsync/sink.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"crypto/sha256"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -19,11 +20,17 @@ import (
 // upstream's output and ours can be diffed on a developer machine.
 type sink interface {
 	// putBlob stores one NWCompressedBuffer blob under its sha1 name and
-	// returns the bytes stored, or 0 if the blob was already there. Blob names
+	// returns the bytes stored, or 0 if a good copy was already there. Blob
-	// are content hashes, so an existing name is existing content — which is
+	// names are content hashes, so an existing name is normally taken as
-	// why body is a thunk: compression is the expensive part of emit and a
+	// existing content — which is why body is a thunk: compression is the
-	// blob that is already stored must not pay for it.
+	// expensive part of emit and a blob that is already stored must not pay
-	putBlob(sha1Hex string, body func() []byte) (int64, error)
+	// for it.
+	//
+	// verify stops trusting presence: the stored copy is read back, unwrapped
+	// and hashed, and replaced when it is not what its name claims. Without it
+	// an object written truncated, or written by an emitter since found broken,
+	// is skipped by every later emit forever and no backfill can repair it.
+	putBlob(sha1Hex string, verify bool, body func() []byte) (int64, error)
 	// putIndex stores a NSYM manifest and its sidecar under key, which is
 	// either an artifact-derived object key or a local path.
 	putIndex(key string, manifest, sidecar []byte) error
@@ -36,9 +43,15 @@ type sink interface {
 // dirSink writes a local NWSync repository tree.
 type dirSink struct{ root string }
 
-func (s dirSink) putBlob(sha1Hex string, body func() []byte) (int64, error) {
+func (s dirSink) putBlob(sha1Hex string, verify bool, body func() []byte) (int64, error) {
 	blob := blobPath(s.root, sha1Hex)
-	if _, err := os.Stat(blob); err == nil {
+	if !verify {
+		// Stat, not read: the common path must not pay to open every blob that
+		// is already there.
+		if _, err := os.Stat(blob); err == nil {
+			return 0, nil
+		}
+	} else if stored, err := os.ReadFile(blob); err == nil && blobMatchesName(stored, sha1Hex) == nil {
 		return 0, nil
 	}
 	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(blob), 0o755); err != nil {
@@ -90,8 +103,8 @@ type zoneSink struct {
 	zone  string
 }
 
-func (s zoneSink) putBlob(sha1Hex string, body func() []byte) (int64, error) {
+func (s zoneSink) putBlob(sha1Hex string, verify bool, body func() []byte) (int64, error) {
-	key := path.Join("data", "sha1", sha1Hex[0:2], sha1Hex[2:4], sha1Hex)
+	key := blobKey(sha1Hex)
 	// A throttled probe must never be read as "missing, re-upload" or as
 	// "present, skip", so only a confirmed Present skips the upload.
 	state, _, err := s.store.ProbeKey(s.ctx, key)
@@ -99,7 +112,24 @@ func (s zoneSink) putBlob(sha1Hex string, body func() []byte) (int64, error) {
 		return 0, fmt.Errorf("probe blob %s: %w", sha1Hex, err)
 	}
 	if state == depot.Present {
-		return 0, nil
+		if !verify {
+			return 0, nil
+		}
+		// The probe only proved the object exists. Read it back and hold it to
+		// its own name.
+		//
+		// This reads the storage API rather than the pull zone: emit holds the
+		// write credential, and a repair decision has to be made against the
+		// copy it is about to overwrite, not against an edge cache of it. A
+		// read that fails outright is a fault, not a verdict — treating it as
+		// "bad, re-upload" would turn a throttled zone into a full backfill.
+		stored, err := s.store.GetKey(s.ctx, key)
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, fmt.Errorf("read back blob %s: %w", sha1Hex, err)
+		}
+		if blobMatchesName(stored, sha1Hex) == nil {
+			return 0, nil
+		}
 	}
 	data := body()
 	if err := s.put(key, data); err != nil {
@@ -193,14 +223,18 @@ func resolveIndexKey(artifactKey, outDir string) (string, error) {
 // checkArtifactKey fails closed when the key's embedded digest is not the
 // digest of the bytes being emitted. Publishing an index under the wrong key
 // silently pairs a manifest with the wrong artifact.
-func checkArtifactKey(artifactKey string, artifact []byte) error {
+// artifact is hashed by streaming, so a multi-gigabyte hak is never resident.
+func checkArtifactKey(artifactKey string, artifact io.Reader) error {
 	base := path.Base(artifactKey)
 	digest := strings.TrimSuffix(base, path.Ext(base))
 	if len(digest) != 64 {
 		return fmt.Errorf("artifact key %q does not name a sha256", artifactKey)
 	}
-	sum := sha256.Sum256(artifact)
+	hash := sha256.New()
-	if got := hex.EncodeToString(sum[:]); got != digest {
+	if _, err := io.Copy(hash, artifact); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("hash artifact: %w", err)
+	}
+	if got := hex.EncodeToString(hash.Sum(nil)); got != digest {
 		return fmt.Errorf("artifact key %q names digest %s but the file hashes to %s", artifactKey, digest, got)
 	}
 	return nil

internal/nwsync/verify.go

@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+package nwsync
+
+import (
+	"crypto/sha1"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"math/rand/v2"
+	"net/http"
+	"path"
+	"sort"
+	"strconv"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.westgate.pw/ShadowsOverWestgate/sow-tools/internal/erf"
+)
+
+// defaultPullBase is the public NWSync host, which is a Bunny pull zone fronting
+// the storage zone. Verify reads through it rather than through the storage API
+// on purpose: what matters is the bytes a client is served, edge behaviour
+// included, not what the origin believes it holds.
+const defaultPullBase = "https://nwsync.westgate.pw"
+
+// errBlobMissing marks an object the zone does not serve at all, as distinct
+// from one it serves badly.
+var errBlobMissing = errors.New("missing")
+
+// blobSource reads one object out of the zone by key. Verify never writes and
+// never authenticates, so this is deliberately narrower than sink.
+type blobSource interface {
+	get(key string) ([]byte, error)
+	describe(key string) string
+}
+
+// pullZone reads the zone over plain HTTP, with no credential.
+type pullZone struct {
+	base   string
+	client *http.Client
+}
+
+func newPullZone(base string) blobSource {
+	if base == "" {
+		base = defaultPullBase
+	}
+	return pullZone{
+		base: base,
+		// A full sweep is tens of thousands of small requests, so connections
+		// have to be reused; the default transport does that already.
+		client: &http.Client{Timeout: 60 * time.Second},
+	}
+}
+
+func (z pullZone) describe(key string) string { return z.base + "/" + key }
+
+func (z pullZone) get(key string) ([]byte, error) {
+	resp, err := z.client.Get(z.describe(key))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer resp.Body.Close()
+	if resp.StatusCode == http.StatusNotFound || resp.StatusCode == http.StatusGone {
+		_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+		return nil, errBlobMissing
+	}
+	if resp.StatusCode < 200 || resp.StatusCode >= 300 {
+		_, _ = io.Copy(io.Discard, resp.Body)
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unexpected status %d", resp.StatusCode)
+	}
+	return io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
+}
+
+// VerifyOptions describes one verify run.
+type VerifyOptions struct {
+	ManifestSHA1 string     // the merged manifest to verify
+	Base         string     // pull zone base URL; empty means defaultPullBase
+	Sample       int        // check this many random blobs; 0 means all of them
+	Jobs         int        // blobs in flight at once; 0 means defaultEmitJobs
+	Source       blobSource // test seam; nil means the pull zone at Base
+	Log          io.Writer  // per-blob failures land here; nil discards them
+}
+
+// VerifyResult reports what one verify run found.
+type VerifyResult struct {
+	Entries  int   // resources the manifest names
+	Blobs    int   // distinct blobs behind those resources
+	Checked  int   // blobs actually fetched
+	Failures int   // blobs that failed a check
+	Bytes    int64 // uncompressed bytes verified
+}
+
+// Verify reads a published manifest and its blobs the way a client reads them,
+// and reports every blob that is not what the manifest says it is.
+//
+// Presence is not correctness. emit skips an object that already exists on the
+// strength of a 1-byte range GET, so a truncated or wrongly framed object is
+// skipped by every later emit forever and the backfill cannot repair it. This is
+// the only thing upstream of a player's client that can tell that has happened.
+//
+// Every blob is decompressed and hashed. A Content-Length check would pass the
+// exact failure mode being hunted — a byte-correct-looking object whose contents
+// are wrong — and a round-trip check alone would pass a frame that omits its
+// content size, because Go's decoder is more capable than the client's (#86).
+func Verify(options VerifyOptions) (VerifyResult, error) {
+	// The argument is interpolated straight into a URL path, so it is checked
+	// rather than trusted: exactly 20 bytes of hex, nothing else.
+	if sum, err := hex.DecodeString(options.ManifestSHA1); err != nil || len(sum) != sha1.Size {
+		return VerifyResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%q is not a manifest sha1", options.ManifestSHA1)
+	}
+	source := options.Source
+	if source == nil {
+		source = newPullZone(options.Base)
+	}
+	log := options.Log
+	if log == nil {
+		log = io.Discard
+	}
+
+	manifestKey := path.Join("manifests", options.ManifestSHA1)
+	data, err := source.get(manifestKey)
+	if err != nil {
+		return VerifyResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", source.describe(manifestKey), err)
+	}
+	// A manifest is named after its own sha1, so this catches the zone serving
+	// a different manifest — or a truncated one — before any blob is fetched.
+	if got := hex.EncodeToString(sha1Sum(data)); got != options.ManifestSHA1 {
+		return VerifyResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%s hashes to %s, not the manifest asked for",
+			source.describe(manifestKey), got)
+	}
+	entries, err := readManifest(data)
+	if err != nil {
+		return VerifyResult{}, fmt.Errorf("%s: %w", source.describe(manifestKey), err)
+	}
+
+	// A manifest names one blob many times over: mappings share a sha1, and so
+	// do resrefs with identical contents. Fetch each blob once.
+	blobs := make([]Entry, 0, len(entries))
+	seen := make(map[[20]byte]bool, len(entries))
+	for _, entry := range entries {
+		if seen[entry.SHA1] {
+			continue
+		}
+		seen[entry.SHA1] = true
+		blobs = append(blobs, entry)
+	}
+
+	result := VerifyResult{Entries: len(entries), Blobs: len(blobs)}
+	checking := blobs
+	if options.Sample > 0 && options.Sample < len(blobs) {
+		// A full sweep of the live manifest is ~69,000 objects and ~15 GB, so
+		// sampling is what makes verifying a routine act rather than an event.
+		picks := rand.Perm(len(blobs))[:options.Sample]
+		checking = make([]Entry, 0, options.Sample)
+		for _, i := range picks {
+			checking = append(checking, blobs[i])
+		}
+	}
+	result.Checked = len(checking)
+
+	jobs := options.Jobs
+	if jobs < 1 {
+		jobs = defaultEmitJobs
+	}
+	var (
+		mu       sync.Mutex
+		failures []string
+	)
+	work := make(chan Entry)
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+	for range jobs {
+		wg.Go(func() {
+			for entry := range work {
+				fault := checkEntry(source, entry)
+				mu.Lock()
+				if fault != "" {
+					failures = append(failures, fault)
+				} else {
+					result.Bytes += int64(entry.Size)
+				}
+				mu.Unlock()
+			}
+		})
+	}
+	for _, entry := range checking {
+		work <- entry
+	}
+	close(work)
+	wg.Wait()
+
+	// Workers finish in any order; a report an operator can diff must not.
+	sort.Strings(failures)
+	for _, fault := range failures {
+		fmt.Fprintln(log, fault)
+	}
+	result.Failures = len(failures)
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// checkEntry fetches one blob and returns a one-line fault, or "" if it is
+// exactly what the manifest entry says it is.
+func checkEntry(source blobSource, entry Entry) string {
+	// Name the resource, not just the hash: an operator has to find the thing
+	// in a hak, and a bare sha1 says nothing about where to look.
+	extension, ok := erf.ExtensionForResourceType(entry.ResType)
+	if !ok {
+		extension = strconv.Itoa(int(entry.ResType))
+	}
+	where := fmt.Sprintf("%s (%s.%s)", entry.sha1Hex(), entry.ResRef, extension)
+	blob, err := source.get(blobKey(entry.sha1Hex()))
+	if err != nil {
+		if errors.Is(err, errBlobMissing) {
+			return where + ": missing"
+		}
+		return where + ": unreadable: " + err.Error()
+	}
+	data, err := inspectBlob(blob)
+	if err != nil {
+		return where + ": " + err.Error()
+	}
+	if uint32(len(data)) != entry.Size {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s: size mismatch: %d bytes, manifest says %d", where, len(data), entry.Size)
+	}
+	if sha1.Sum(data) != entry.SHA1 {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%s: hash mismatch: contents hash to %x", where, sha1.Sum(data))
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+func sha1Sum(data []byte) []byte {
+	sum := sha1.Sum(data)
+	return sum[:]
+}

internal/nwsync/verify_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+package nwsync
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"crypto/sha1"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/klauspost/compress/zstd"
+)
+
+// verifyFixture emits two haks and a TLK into a fake zone, assembles them, and
+// hands back a verifier reading that zone the way a client would.
+type verifyFixture struct {
+	*zoneSinkFixture
+	manifestSHA1 string
+}
+
+func newVerifyFixture(t *testing.T) *verifyFixture {
+	t.Helper()
+	zone := newZoneFixture(t)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	hak := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_test_01.hak")
+	// A payload under 256 bytes is the one the frame-header check exists for.
+	writeHak(t, hak, map[string][]byte{
+		"bloodstain1.tga": []byte("small"),
+		"appearance.2da":  bytes.Repeat([]byte("2DA V2.0\n"), 200),
+	})
+	tlk := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_tlk.tlk")
+	if err := os.WriteFile(tlk, []byte("TLK V3.0 payload"), 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	zone.emit(t, hak)
+	if _, err := Emit(EmitOptions{
+		ArtifactKey: artifactKey(t, tlk), ArtifactPath: tlk, As: "sow_tlk.tlk", Sink: zone.sink,
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("emit tlk: %v", err)
+	}
+	assembled, err := Assemble(AssembleOptions{
+		ArtifactKeys: []string{artifactKey(t, hak)}, TLKKey: artifactKey(t, tlk), Sink: zone.sink,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("assemble: %v", err)
+	}
+	return &verifyFixture{zoneSinkFixture: zone, manifestSHA1: assembled.SHA1}
+}
+
+func (f *verifyFixture) verify(t *testing.T, sample int) (VerifyResult, string, error) {
+	t.Helper()
+	var log bytes.Buffer
+	result, err := Verify(VerifyOptions{
+		ManifestSHA1: f.manifestSHA1,
+		Sample:       sample,
+		Source:       f.zone.pullZone(),
+		Log:          &log,
+	})
+	return result, log.String(), err
+}
+
+// keyOf is where a resource's blob lives, addressed by the sha1 of its
+// uncompressed bytes — the same path the client requests.
+func keyOf(body []byte) string {
+	sum := sha1.Sum(body)
+	return blobKey(hex.EncodeToString(sum[:]))
+}
+
+func TestVerifyPassesACleanZone(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("verify reported %d failures on a clean zone: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	// A default run is a full sweep, so it must reach every blob the manifest
+	// names — not some of them.
+	if result.Checked != result.Blobs || result.Blobs == 0 {
+		t.Errorf("checked %d of %d blobs; a full sweep must check all of them", result.Checked, result.Blobs)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifyReportsAMissingBlob(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	key := keyOf([]byte("small"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	delete(fixture.zone.objects, key)
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d failures, want 1: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(log, "missing") {
+		t.Errorf("a deleted blob was not reported as missing: %s", log)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifyReportsATruncatedBlob(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	key := keyOf([]byte("small"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	fixture.zone.objects[key] = fixture.zone.objects[key][:blobHeaderBytes+4]
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d failures, want 1: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(log, "framing") {
+		t.Errorf("a truncated blob was not reported as malformed framing: %s", log)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestVerifyRejectsABlobWithNoDeclaredFrameContentSize is the check that #86
+// slipped past: the blob decompresses to exactly the right bytes, so a verifier
+// that only round-trips certifies it, yet the client cannot decode it.
+func TestVerifyRejectsABlobWithNoDeclaredFrameContentSize(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	body := []byte("small")
+	key := keyOf(body)
+
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	good := fixture.zone.objects[key]
+	encoder, err := zstd.NewWriter(nil, zstd.WithEncoderConcurrency(1))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	bad := append(append([]byte{}, good[:blobHeaderBytes]...), encoder.EncodeAll(body, nil)...)
+	fixture.zone.objects[key] = bad
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if frameDeclaresContentSize(bad[blobHeaderBytes:]) {
+		t.Fatal("the fixture blob declares a content size; it cannot exercise the check")
+	}
+	if got, err := decompressBlob(bad); err != nil || !bytes.Equal(got, body) {
+		t.Fatalf("the fixture blob must round trip, or it proves nothing: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d failures, want 1: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(log, "content size") {
+		t.Errorf("undeclared frame content size was not the reported reason: %s", log)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifyReportsWrongContents(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	key := keyOf([]byte("small"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	// Valid framing, valid zstd, wrong bytes: only decompressing and hashing
+	// can see this, which is why Content-Length is not enough.
+	fixture.zone.objects[key] = compressBlob([]byte("wrong"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d failures, want 1: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(log, "hash mismatch") {
+		t.Errorf("wrong contents were not reported as a hash mismatch: %s", log)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifyReportsAShortBlob(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	key := keyOf([]byte("small"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	// Well-formed all the way down and simply too short — the shape a killed
+	// upload leaves behind, and the one a Content-Length check would pass.
+	fixture.zone.objects[key] = compressBlob([]byte("sma"))
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Failures != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("reported %d failures, want 1: %s", result.Failures, log)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(log, "size mismatch") {
+		t.Errorf("a short blob was not reported as a size mismatch: %s", log)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifyFailsWhenTheManifestIsNotTheOneAsked(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	fixture.zone.objects["manifests/"+fixture.manifestSHA1] = []byte("NSYM garbage")
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if _, _, err := fixture.verify(t, 0); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("verify accepted a manifest that is not the one requested")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestVerifySampleChecksFewerBlobs(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newVerifyFixture(t)
+	result, log, err := fixture.verify(t, 1)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("verify: %v", err)
+	}
+	if result.Checked != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("--sample 1 checked %d blobs, want 1: %s", result.Checked, log)
+	}
+	if result.Blobs <= result.Checked {
+		t.Errorf("sampling %d of %d blobs is not a sample", result.Checked, result.Blobs)
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEmitVerifyReplacesABlobThatIsNotItsName covers the reason #86 could not be
+// fixed by the encoder alone: emit skips whatever is already present, so every
+// blob published by the broken encoder stays broken until emit stops trusting
+// presence.
+func TestEmitVerifyReplacesABlobThatIsNotItsName(t *testing.T) {
+	fixture := newZoneFixture(t)
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	hak := filepath.Join(dir, "sow_test_01.hak")
+	body := []byte("blood")
+	writeHak(t, hak, map[string][]byte{"bloodstain1.tga": body})
+
+	emit := func(verify bool) EmitResult {
+		t.Helper()
+		result, err := Emit(EmitOptions{
+			ArtifactKey:  artifactKey(t, hak),
+			ArtifactPath: hak,
+			Sink:         fixture.sink,
+			Verify:       verify,
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("emit (verify=%v): %v", verify, err)
+		}
+		return result
+	}
+
+	emit(false)
+	key := keyOf(body)
+	encoder, err := zstd.NewWriter(nil, zstd.WithEncoderConcurrency(1))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	good := fixture.zone.objects[key]
+	fixture.zone.objects[key] = append(append([]byte{}, good[:blobHeaderBytes]...), encoder.EncodeAll(body, nil)...)
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if plain := emit(false); plain.BlobsWritten != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("a plain re-emit wrote %d blobs; it is supposed to trust presence", plain.BlobsWritten)
+	}
+	if verified := emit(true); verified.BlobsWritten != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("--verify wrote %d blobs, want 1 (the bad copy must be replaced)", verified.BlobsWritten)
+	}
+
+	fixture.zone.mu.Lock()
+	repaired := fixture.zone.objects[key]
+	fixture.zone.mu.Unlock()
+	if !bytes.Equal(repaired, good) {
+		t.Error("the replaced blob is not what the current encoder produces")
+	}
+	if _, err := inspectBlob(repaired); err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("the replaced blob still fails inspection: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// A second verifying run has nothing left to repair.
+	if again := emit(true); again.BlobsWritten != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("--verify rewrote %d good blobs", again.BlobsWritten)
+	}
+}

internal/nwsync/zone_test.go

@@ -21,6 +21,13 @@ type fakeZone struct {
 	objects map[string][]byte
 	puts    []string
 	failOn  func(key string) bool // when true, the PUT fails
+	url     string                // base the same objects are readable at
+}
+
+// pullZone reads the fake zone the way the public pull zone is read: plain
+// unauthenticated GETs, no storage API.
+func (z *fakeZone) pullZone() blobSource {
+	return newPullZone(z.url)
 }
 
 func newFakeZone(t *testing.T) (*fakeZone, func(string) string) {
@@ -28,6 +35,7 @@ func newFakeZone(t *testing.T) (*fakeZone, func(string) string) {
 	zone := &fakeZone{objects: map[string][]byte{}}
 	server := httptest.NewServer(zone)
 	t.Cleanup(server.Close)
+	zone.url = server.URL + "/sow-nwsync"
 	getenv := func(name string) string {
 		switch name {
 		case "NWSYNC_STORAGE_ZONE":

internal/project/project.go

@@ -560,8 +560,18 @@ func (p *Project) ValidateLayout() error {
 	if strings.TrimSpace(p.Config.Module.ResRef) == "" {
 		failures = append(failures, errors.New("module.resref is required"))
 	}
-	if len(p.Config.Module.ResRef) > 16 {
+	// module.resref names the built .mod FILE, so the 16-byte resref limit does not
-		failures = append(failures, fmt.Errorf("module.resref %q exceeds 16 characters", p.Config.Module.ResRef))
+	// apply to it — NWN:EE module file names are routinely longer. It is validated as
+	// a file name instead. The limit still binds when the same value has to be a real
+	// resref: with no haks configured, an asset project names its single generated HAK
+	// after it, and a HAK name is a resref the engine loads.
+	if err := validateOutputFileName("module.resref", p.Config.Module.ResRef+".mod", ".mod"); err != nil {
+		failures = append(failures, err)
+	}
+	if len(p.Config.Module.ResRef) > 16 && strings.TrimSpace(p.Config.Paths.Assets) != "" && len(p.Config.HAKs) == 0 {
+		failures = append(failures, fmt.Errorf(
+			"module.resref %q exceeds 16 characters and would name this project's generated HAK; configure haks[] with a shorter name",
+			p.Config.Module.ResRef))
 	}
 	if strings.TrimSpace(p.Config.Paths.Source) == "" && strings.TrimSpace(p.Config.Paths.Assets) == "" && !p.HasTopData() {
 		failures = append(failures, errors.New("at least one of paths.source, paths.assets, or topdata.source is required"))

internal/project/project_test.go

@@ -1093,6 +1093,78 @@ func TestValidateLayoutAllowsMissingAssetsDir(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// module.resref names the built .mod FILE, not a resource inside an archive, so the
+// 16-byte resref limit does not apply to it. NWN:EE module file names are commonly
+// longer (ShadowsOverWestgate.mod is 19). The limit still binds everywhere a resref
+// really is a resref — see TestValidateLayoutRejectsLongResRefWhenItNamesAHAK.
+func TestValidateLayoutAllowsLongModuleResRef(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	mkdirAll(t, filepath.Join(root, "src"))
+	mkdirAll(t, filepath.Join(root, "build"))
+
+	proj := &Project{
+		Root: root,
+		Config: Config{
+			Module: ModuleConfig{Name: "Shadows Over Westgate", ResRef: "ShadowsOverWestgate"},
+			Paths:  PathConfig{Source: "src", Build: "build"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	if err := proj.ValidateLayout(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("ValidateLayout rejected a 19-character module file name: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got, want := filepath.Base(proj.ModuleArchivePath()), "ShadowsOverWestgate.mod"; got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("ModuleArchivePath() = %q, want %q", got, want)
+	}
+}
+
+// A module.resref that is not a usable file name is still rejected.
+func TestValidateLayoutRejectsModuleResRefThatIsAPath(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	mkdirAll(t, filepath.Join(root, "src"))
+
+	proj := &Project{
+		Root: root,
+		Config: Config{
+			Module: ModuleConfig{Name: "Test", ResRef: "../escape/mod"},
+			Paths:  PathConfig{Source: "src", Build: "build"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	err := proj.ValidateLayout()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("ValidateLayout accepted a module.resref containing a path")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "module.resref") {
+		t.Fatalf("error does not name the offending field: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+// When a project declares no haks, the module resref becomes the name of the single
+// generated HAK — and a HAK name IS a resref the engine loads. The limit applies
+// there, so a long name is only allowed for projects that build no HAKs.
+func TestValidateLayoutRejectsLongResRefWhenItNamesAHAK(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	mkdirAll(t, filepath.Join(root, "src"))
+	mkdirAll(t, filepath.Join(root, "assets"))
+
+	proj := &Project{
+		Root: root,
+		Config: Config{
+			Module: ModuleConfig{Name: "Shadows Over Westgate", ResRef: "ShadowsOverWestgate"},
+			Paths:  PathConfig{Source: "src", Assets: "assets", Build: "build"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	err := proj.ValidateLayout()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("ValidateLayout accepted a 19-character name for a generated HAK")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "16") {
+		t.Fatalf("error does not explain the resref limit: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
 // paths.build is an OUTPUT dir the builder creates (MkdirAll) before writing, so
 // a bare clone with no build dir yet must still validate/build with no pre-step
 // (R2/parity). Only a build path that exists but is not a directory is an error.