feat(docker): add ZERO_AUTO_RESET configuration for improved replication safety

- Introduced the ZERO_AUTO_RESET environment variable to enable automatic reset of the SQLite replica in case of replication halts.
- Updated Docker Compose files to include ZERO_AUTO_RESET in service configurations.
- Enhanced documentation to clarify the purpose and usage of the new variable.

docker/.env.example

@@ -102,6 +102,10 @@ EMBEDDING_MODEL=sentence-transformers/all-MiniLM-L6-v2
 # Only change this if you manage publications manually.
 # ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS=zero_publication
 
+# Keep Zero's documented halt safety net enabled. If replication halts, Zero
+# can wipe and re-sync its local SQLite replica without touching Postgres.
+# ZERO_AUTO_RESET=true
+
 # Sync worker tuning. zero-cache defaults ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS to the number
 # of CPU cores, which can exceed the connection pool limits on high-core machines.
 # Each sync worker needs at least 1 connection from both the UPSTREAM and CVR

docker/docker-compose.deps-only.yml

@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ services:
       - ZERO_REPLICA_FILE=/data/zero.db
       - ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-surfsense-zero-admin}
       - ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS=${ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS:-zero_publication}
+      - ZERO_AUTO_RESET=${ZERO_AUTO_RESET:-true}
       - ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS=${ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS:-4}
       - ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS=${ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS:-20}
       - ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS=${ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS:-30}
@@ -122,11 +123,13 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - zero_cache_data:/data
     restart: unless-stopped
+    stop_grace_period: 300s
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:4848/keepalive"]
       interval: 10s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
+      start_period: 600s
 
   # OPTIONAL — Azurite emulates Azure Blob Storage for testing the Azure
   # original-file backend. The default filesystem backend needs none of this.

docker/docker-compose.dev.yml

@@ -46,8 +46,6 @@ services:
       - PYTHONPATH=/app
       - SERVICE_ROLE=migrate
       - MIGRATION_TIMEOUT=${MIGRATION_TIMEOUT:-900}
-    volumes:
-      - zero_init:/zero-init
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -235,6 +233,7 @@ services:
       - ZERO_REPLICA_FILE=/data/zero.db
       - ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD=${ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-surfsense-zero-admin}
       - ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS=${ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS:-zero_publication}
+      - ZERO_AUTO_RESET=${ZERO_AUTO_RESET:-true}
       - ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS=${ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS:-4}
       - ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS=${ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS:-20}
       - ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS=${ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS:-30}
@@ -242,18 +241,14 @@ services:
       - ZERO_MUTATE_URL=${ZERO_MUTATE_URL:-http://frontend:3000/api/zero/mutate}
     volumes:
       - zero_cache_data:/data
-      - zero_init:/zero-init
-    # Wrapper: see docker/docker-compose.yml `zero-cache` for rationale.
-    entrypoint: ["sh", "-c"]
-    # Pass the script as a single list element so Compose does not tokenize it.
-    command:
-      - 'if [ -f /zero-init/needs_reset ]; then echo "[zero-init] publication change detected; wiping replica file(s) under /data" && rm -f /data/zero.db /data/zero.db-shm /data/zero.db-wal && rm -f /zero-init/needs_reset; fi; exec zero-cache'
     restart: unless-stopped
+    stop_grace_period: 300s
     healthcheck:
       test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:4848/keepalive"]
       interval: 10s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
+      start_period: 600s
 
   frontend:
     build:
@@ -285,7 +280,5 @@ volumes:
     name: surfsense-dev-shared-temp
   zero_cache_data:
     name: surfsense-dev-zero-cache
-  zero_init:
-    name: surfsense-dev-zero-init
   whatsapp_sessions:
     name: surfsense-dev-whatsapp-sessions

docker/docker-compose.yml

@@ -29,10 +29,9 @@ services:
 
   # Short-lived schema runner. Executes `alembic upgrade head` and verifies
   # that the `zero_publication` Postgres logical-replication publication
-  # exists, then exits 0. Downstream services (backend, celery_*, zero-cache)
+  # matches the canonical shape, then exits 0. Downstream services gate on this
-  # gate on this with `condition: service_completed_successfully` so a failed
+  # with `condition: service_completed_successfully` so a failed migration halts
-  # migration halts the whole stack instead of silently producing a half-built
+  # the whole stack instead of booting zero-cache against a drifted publication.
-  # system that crash-loops zero-cache on missing publications.
   migrations:
     image: ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense-backend:${SURFSENSE_VERSION:-latest}${SURFSENSE_VARIANT:+-${SURFSENSE_VARIANT}}
     env_file:
@@ -42,8 +41,6 @@ services:
       PYTHONPATH: /app
       SERVICE_ROLE: migrate
       MIGRATION_TIMEOUT: ${MIGRATION_TIMEOUT:-900}
-    volumes:
-      - zero_init:/zero-init
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -231,6 +228,7 @@ services:
       ZERO_REPLICA_FILE: /data/zero.db
       ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ZERO_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-surfsense-zero-admin}
       ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS: ${ZERO_APP_PUBLICATIONS:-zero_publication}
+      ZERO_AUTO_RESET: ${ZERO_AUTO_RESET:-true}
       ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS: ${ZERO_NUM_SYNC_WORKERS:-4}
       ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS: ${ZERO_UPSTREAM_MAX_CONNS:-20}
       ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS: ${ZERO_CVR_MAX_CONNS:-30}
@@ -238,16 +236,8 @@ services:
       ZERO_MUTATE_URL: ${ZERO_MUTATE_URL:-http://frontend:3000/api/zero/mutate}
     volumes:
       - zero_cache_data:/data
-      - zero_init:/zero-init
-    # Wrapper: if the migrations service flagged a publication change via
-    # /zero-init/needs_reset, wipe the SQLite replica before starting so
-    # zero-cache does a clean initial sync. Recovers from the half-built
-    # replica state (`_zero.tableMetadata` missing) caused by earlier crashes.
-    entrypoint: ["sh", "-c"]
-    # Pass the script as a single list element so Compose does not tokenize it.
-    command:
-      - 'if [ -f /zero-init/needs_reset ]; then echo "[zero-init] publication change detected; wiping replica file(s) under /data" && rm -f /data/zero.db /data/zero.db-shm /data/zero.db-wal && rm -f /zero-init/needs_reset; fi; exec zero-cache'
     restart: unless-stopped
+    stop_grace_period: 300s
     depends_on:
       db:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -258,6 +248,7 @@ services:
       interval: 10s
       timeout: 5s
       retries: 5
+      start_period: 600s
 
   frontend:
     image: ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense-web:${SURFSENSE_VERSION:-latest}
@@ -289,7 +280,5 @@ volumes:
     name: surfsense-shared-temp
   zero_cache_data:
     name: surfsense-zero-cache
-  zero_init:
-    name: surfsense-zero-init
   whatsapp_sessions:
     name: surfsense-whatsapp-sessions

docker/scripts/install.ps1

@@ -153,34 +153,6 @@ function Wait-ForPostgres {
 
 # ── Stack startup helper ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-function Test-StaleZeroCacheVolume {
-    $raw = Invoke-NativeSafe { docker volume ls --format '{{.Name}}' 2>$null }
-    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($raw)) { return $false }
-    $names = $raw -split "`r?`n" | ForEach-Object { $_.Trim() } | Where-Object { $_ }
-    $hasZeroCache = $names -contains 'surfsense-zero-cache'
-    $hasZeroInit = $names -contains 'surfsense-zero-init'
-    # Pre-fix installs created surfsense-zero-cache but never surfsense-zero-init.
-    # Such a volume may hold a half-initialized SQLite replica from an earlier
-    # crash-loop. Wiping it forces zero-cache to do a fresh initial sync.
-    return ($hasZeroCache -and -not $hasZeroInit)
-}
-
-function Invoke-StaleZeroCacheCleanup {
-    if (-not (Test-StaleZeroCacheVolume)) { return }
-
-    Write-Warn "Detected pre-existing 'surfsense-zero-cache' volume from an install that"
-    Write-Warn "predates the migrations-service fix. It may contain a half-initialized"
-    Write-Warn "SQLite replica that would block zero-cache from starting."
-    Write-Warn "The volume will be removed in 5 seconds; press Ctrl+C to cancel."
-    Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
-
-    Push-Location $InstallDir
-    Invoke-NativeSafe { docker compose down --remove-orphans 2>$null } | Out-Null
-    Pop-Location
-    Invoke-NativeSafe { docker volume rm surfsense-zero-cache 2>$null } | Out-Null
-    Write-Ok "Removed surfsense-zero-cache volume; zero-cache will re-sync on next start."
-}
-
 function Invoke-StackFailureReport {
     Write-Host ""
     Write-Host "[ERROR] Stack did not reach a healthy state." -ForegroundColor Red
@@ -443,8 +415,6 @@ if (-not (Test-Path $envPath)) {
 
 # ── Start containers ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-Invoke-StaleZeroCacheCleanup
-
 if ($MigrationMode) {
     $envContent = Get-Content $envPath
     $DbUser = ($envContent | Select-String '^DB_USER=' | ForEach-Object { ($_ -split '=',2)[1].Trim('"') }) | Select-Object -First 1

docker/scripts/install.sh

@@ -189,31 +189,6 @@ compose_up_wait() {
     fi
 }
 
-# True if `surfsense-zero-cache` exists but `surfsense-zero-init` does not.
-# That signals an install that predates the migrations-service fix; the old
-# replica may be half-initialized and would block zero-cache on next start.
-test_stale_zero_cache_volume() {
-    local has_zc has_zi
-    has_zc=$(docker volume ls --format '{{.Name}}' 2>/dev/null | grep -Fx 'surfsense-zero-cache' || true)
-    has_zi=$(docker volume ls --format '{{.Name}}' 2>/dev/null | grep -Fx 'surfsense-zero-init' || true)
-    [[ -n "$has_zc" && -z "$has_zi" ]]
-}
-
-invoke_stale_zero_cache_cleanup() {
-    if ! test_stale_zero_cache_volume; then
-        return 0
-    fi
-    warn "Detected pre-existing 'surfsense-zero-cache' volume from an install that"
-    warn "predates the migrations-service fix. It may contain a half-initialized"
-    warn "SQLite replica that would block zero-cache from starting."
-    warn "The volume will be removed in 5 seconds; press Ctrl+C to cancel."
-    sleep 5
-
-    (cd "${INSTALL_DIR}" && ${DC} down --remove-orphans 2>/dev/null) || true
-    docker volume rm surfsense-zero-cache 2>/dev/null || true
-    success "Removed surfsense-zero-cache volume; zero-cache will re-sync on next start."
-}
-
 # ── Variant and .env helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
 set_env_value() {
@@ -448,8 +423,6 @@ fi
 
 # ── Start containers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-invoke_stale_zero_cache_cleanup
-
 if $MIGRATION_MODE; then
     # Read DB credentials from .env (fall back to defaults from docker-compose.yml)
     DB_USER=$(grep '^DB_USER=' "${INSTALL_DIR}/.env" 2>/dev/null | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '"' | head -1 || true)

surfsense_backend/alembic/env.py

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 from logging.config import fileConfig
 
+import sqlalchemy as sa
 from sqlalchemy import pool
 from sqlalchemy.engine import Connection
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_engine_from_config
@@ -36,6 +37,9 @@ if config.config_file_name is not None:
 # target_metadata = mymodel.Base.metadata
 target_metadata = Base.metadata
 
+MIGRATION_ADVISORY_LOCK_NAMESPACE = "surfsense"
+MIGRATION_ADVISORY_LOCK_NAME = "alembic_migrations"
+
 # other values from the config, defined by the needs of env.py,
 # can be acquired:
 # my_important_option = config.get_main_option("my_important_option")
@@ -73,8 +77,22 @@ def do_run_migrations(connection: Connection) -> None:
         transaction_per_migration=True,
     )
 
-    with context.begin_transaction():
+    lock_params = {
-        context.run_migrations()
+        "namespace": MIGRATION_ADVISORY_LOCK_NAMESPACE,
+        "name": MIGRATION_ADVISORY_LOCK_NAME,
+    }
+    connection.execute(
+        sa.text("SELECT pg_advisory_lock(hashtext(:namespace), hashtext(:name))"),
+        lock_params,
+    )
+    try:
+        with context.begin_transaction():
+            context.run_migrations()
+    finally:
+        connection.execute(
+            sa.text("SELECT pg_advisory_unlock(hashtext(:namespace), hashtext(:name))"),
+            lock_params,
+        )
 
 
 async def run_async_migrations() -> None:

surfsense_backend/alembic/versions/143_force_zero_publication_resync.py

@@ -47,7 +47,6 @@ depends_on: str | Sequence[str] | None = None
 
 PUBLICATION_NAME = "zero_publication"
 
-# Must stay in sync with the column lists in migrations 117 / 139 / 140.
 DOCUMENT_COLS = [
     "id",
     "title",

surfsense_backend/alembic/versions/155_reconcile_zero_publication.py

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+"""reconcile zero_publication from canonical definition
+
+Revision ID: 155
+Revises: 154
+"""
+
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+
+from alembic import op
+from app.zero_publication import apply_publication
+
+revision: str = "155"
+down_revision: str | None = "154"
+branch_labels: str | Sequence[str] | None = None
+depends_on: str | Sequence[str] | None = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    apply_publication(op.get_bind())
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    """No-op. Historical publication shapes are immutable."""

surfsense_backend/app/zero_publication.py

@@ -0,0 +1,229 @@
+"""Canonical Zero publication definition for SurfSense.
+
+This module is the single source of truth for ``zero_publication``. Future
+publication changes should update ``ZERO_PUBLICATION`` and call
+``apply_publication()`` from a migration instead of hand-copying table lists.
+
+SurfSense runs Zero on Postgres with Zero's event triggers installed, so the
+official Zero path is a plain ``ALTER PUBLICATION ... SET TABLE``. If a future
+deployment cannot use event triggers, use Zero's documented
+``zero_0.update_schemas()`` hook as the fallback instead of COMMENT bookends.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import asyncio
+import os
+import sys
+from collections.abc import Mapping, Sequence
+
+from sqlalchemy import text
+from sqlalchemy.engine import Connection
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import create_async_engine
+
+PUBLICATION_NAME = "zero_publication"
+
+DOCUMENT_COLS = [
+    "id",
+    "title",
+    "document_type",
+    "search_space_id",
+    "folder_id",
+    "created_by_id",
+    "status",
+    "created_at",
+    "updated_at",
+]
+
+USER_COLS = [
+    "id",
+    "pages_limit",
+    "pages_used",
+    "premium_credit_micros_limit",
+    "premium_credit_micros_used",
+]
+
+AUTOMATION_RUN_COLS = [
+    "id",
+    "automation_id",
+    "trigger_id",
+    "status",
+    "step_results",
+    "started_at",
+    "finished_at",
+    "created_at",
+]
+
+ZERO_PUBLICATION: Mapping[str, Sequence[str] | None] = {
+    "notifications": None,
+    "documents": DOCUMENT_COLS,
+    "folders": None,
+    "search_source_connectors": None,
+    "new_chat_messages": None,
+    "chat_comments": None,
+    "chat_session_state": None,
+    "user": USER_COLS,
+    "automation_runs": AUTOMATION_RUN_COLS,
+}
+
+
+def _quote_identifier(identifier: str) -> str:
+    return '"' + identifier.replace('"', '""') + '"'
+
+
+def _column_exists(conn: Connection, table: str, column: str) -> bool:
+    return (
+        conn.execute(
+            text(
+                "SELECT 1 FROM information_schema.columns "
+                "WHERE table_schema = current_schema() "
+                "AND table_name = :table AND column_name = :column"
+            ),
+            {"table": table, "column": column},
+        ).fetchone()
+        is not None
+    )
+
+
+def _expected_columns(conn: Connection, table: str) -> list[str] | None:
+    columns = ZERO_PUBLICATION[table]
+    if columns is None:
+        return None
+
+    expected = list(columns)
+    if table in {"documents", "user"} and _column_exists(conn, table, "_0_version"):
+        expected.append("_0_version")
+    return expected
+
+
+def _format_table_entry(conn: Connection, table: str) -> str:
+    columns = _expected_columns(conn, table)
+    table_sql = _quote_identifier(table)
+    if columns is None:
+        return table_sql
+
+    column_sql = ", ".join(_quote_identifier(column) for column in columns)
+    return f"{table_sql} ({column_sql})"
+
+
+def build_set_table_sql(conn: Connection) -> str:
+    """Build the canonical plain SET TABLE statement for Zero's event triggers."""
+
+    table_list = ", ".join(_format_table_entry(conn, table) for table in ZERO_PUBLICATION)
+    return f"ALTER PUBLICATION {_quote_identifier(PUBLICATION_NAME)} SET TABLE {table_list}"
+
+
+def apply_publication(conn: Connection) -> None:
+    """Reconcile ``zero_publication`` to the canonical shape."""
+
+    exists = conn.execute(
+        text("SELECT 1 FROM pg_publication WHERE pubname = :name"),
+        {"name": PUBLICATION_NAME},
+    ).fetchone()
+    if not exists:
+        return
+
+    conn.execute(text(build_set_table_sql(conn)))
+
+
+def _actual_publication_shape(conn: Connection) -> dict[str, list[str] | None]:
+    rows = conn.execute(
+        text(
+            "SELECT pt.tablename, pr.prattrs IS NULL AS all_columns, pt.attnames "
+            "FROM pg_publication_tables pt "
+            "JOIN pg_publication p ON p.pubname = pt.pubname "
+            "JOIN pg_class c ON c.relname = pt.tablename "
+            "JOIN pg_namespace n ON n.oid = c.relnamespace AND n.nspname = pt.schemaname "
+            "JOIN pg_publication_rel pr ON pr.prpubid = p.oid AND pr.prrelid = c.oid "
+            "WHERE pt.pubname = :name AND pt.schemaname = current_schema() "
+            "ORDER BY pt.tablename"
+        ),
+        {"name": PUBLICATION_NAME},
+    ).mappings()
+
+    return {
+        str(row["tablename"]): None
+        if row["all_columns"]
+        else list(row["attnames"] or [])
+        for row in rows
+    }
+
+
+def expected_publication_shape(conn: Connection) -> dict[str, list[str] | None]:
+    return {table: _expected_columns(conn, table) for table in ZERO_PUBLICATION}
+
+
+def verify_publication(conn: Connection) -> list[str]:
+    """Return human-readable mismatches between Postgres and the canonical shape."""
+
+    publication_exists = conn.execute(
+        text("SELECT 1 FROM pg_publication WHERE pubname = :name"),
+        {"name": PUBLICATION_NAME},
+    ).fetchone()
+    if not publication_exists:
+        return [f"Publication {PUBLICATION_NAME!r} does not exist"]
+
+    actual = _actual_publication_shape(conn)
+    expected = expected_publication_shape(conn)
+    mismatches: list[str] = []
+
+    for table, expected_columns in expected.items():
+        if table not in actual:
+            mismatches.append(f"{table}: missing from publication")
+            continue
+
+        actual_columns = actual[table]
+        actual_key = sorted(actual_columns) if actual_columns is not None else None
+        expected_key = sorted(expected_columns) if expected_columns is not None else None
+        if actual_key != expected_key:
+            mismatches.append(
+                f"{table}: expected columns {expected_columns or 'ALL'}, "
+                f"got {actual_columns or 'ALL'}"
+            )
+
+    for table in sorted(set(actual) - set(expected)):
+        mismatches.append(f"{table}: unexpected table in publication")
+
+    return mismatches
+
+
+async def _verify_cli() -> int:
+    database_url = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL")
+    if not database_url:
+        print("DATABASE_URL is required to verify zero_publication.", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 2
+
+    engine = create_async_engine(database_url)
+    async with engine.connect() as async_conn:
+        def run_verify(sync_conn: Connection) -> list[str]:
+            return verify_publication(sync_conn)
+
+        mismatches = await async_conn.run_sync(run_verify)
+
+    await engine.dispose()
+
+    if mismatches:
+        print("zero_publication shape mismatch:", file=sys.stderr)
+        for mismatch in mismatches:
+            print(f"  - {mismatch}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    print("zero_publication shape verified.")
+    return 0
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Manage SurfSense's Zero publication")
+    parser.add_argument("--verify", action="store_true", help="verify zero_publication shape")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    if args.verify:
+        return asyncio.run(_verify_cli())
+
+    parser.print_help()
+    return 2
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())

surfsense_backend/scripts/docker/entrypoint.sh

@@ -49,10 +49,10 @@ trap cleanup SIGTERM SIGINT
 # ── Database migrations (only for migrate / all) ─────────────
 # Fail-fast contract:
 #   - alembic upgrade head must succeed within ${MIGRATION_TIMEOUT:-900}s
-#   - zero_publication must exist in pg_publication afterwards
+#   - zero_publication must match the canonical app.zero_publication shape
 # Either failure exits non-zero so the dedicated `migrations` compose
 # service exits non-zero, halting the rest of the stack instead of
-# silently producing a half-built system that crash-loops zero-cache.
+# silently producing a drifted Zero publication.
 run_migrations() {
     echo "Running database migrations..."
     for i in {1..30}; do
@@ -73,58 +73,13 @@ run_migrations() {
     fi
     echo "Migrations completed successfully."
 
-    echo "Verifying zero_publication exists in Postgres..."
+    echo "Verifying zero_publication matches the canonical shape..."
-    local pub_oid
+    if ! python -m app.zero_publication --verify; then
-    pub_oid=$(python <<'PY' 2>/dev/null || true
+        echo "ERROR: zero_publication does not match the canonical shape." >&2
-import asyncio
-import sys
-from sqlalchemy import text
-from app.db import engine
-
-
-async def get_oid():
-    async with engine.connect() as conn:
-        result = await conn.execute(
-            text("SELECT oid FROM pg_publication WHERE pubname = 'zero_publication'")
-        )
-        row = result.first()
-        if row is None:
-            sys.exit(1)
-        print(int(row[0]))
-
-
-asyncio.run(get_oid())
-PY
-)
-    if [ -z "${pub_oid}" ]; then
-        echo "ERROR: zero_publication is missing from Postgres after running alembic." >&2
-        echo "This usually means migration 116 (or a later publication migration) did not run." >&2
         echo "Inspect alembic state with:" >&2
         echo "  docker compose exec db psql -U \"\$DB_USER\" -d \"\$DB_NAME\" -c 'SELECT * FROM alembic_version;'" >&2
         exit 1
     fi
-    echo "zero_publication verified (oid=${pub_oid})."
-
-    # Stale-replica safety net: if /zero-init is mounted (i.e. we are the
-    # dedicated `migrations` compose service), drop a marker file when the
-    # publication oid changed (or on first run) so the wrapped zero-cache
-    # entrypoint can wipe /data/zero.db before starting. This recovers from
-    # the case where a previous zero-cache crashed mid-init and left a
-    # half-built SQLite replica without a `_zero.tableMetadata` table.
-    if [ -d /zero-init ]; then
-        local stored_oid=""
-        [ -f /zero-init/last_pub_oid ] && stored_oid=$(cat /zero-init/last_pub_oid 2>/dev/null || true)
-        if [ -z "${stored_oid}" ] || [ "${stored_oid}" != "${pub_oid}" ]; then
-            echo "Publication oid changed (stored=${stored_oid:-<none>}, current=${pub_oid}); writing /zero-init/needs_reset."
-            : > /zero-init/needs_reset
-            chmod 666 /zero-init/needs_reset 2>/dev/null || true
-        fi
-        echo "${pub_oid}" > /zero-init/last_pub_oid
-        chmod 666 /zero-init/last_pub_oid 2>/dev/null || true
-        # World-writable dir so the (possibly non-root) zero-cache container
-        # can `rm -f /zero-init/needs_reset` after acting on the marker.
-        chmod 777 /zero-init 2>/dev/null || true
-    fi
 }
 
 # ── Service starters ─────────────────────────────────────────

surfsense_web/content/docs/docker-installation/docker-compose.mdx

@@ -327,11 +327,13 @@ Symptom (in `docker compose logs zero-cache`):
 Error: Unknown or invalid publications. Specified: [zero_publication]. Found: []
 ```
 
-This means `zero-cache` started before `zero_publication` was created. With
+This means `zero-cache` started before `zero_publication` was created or the
-the current compose files this should be impossible. The `migrations`
+publication does not match SurfSense's canonical Zero shape. With the current
-service blocks `zero-cache` from starting. If you see it, your stack
+compose files this should be impossible: the `migrations` service blocks
-predates the fix or you brought up `zero-cache` manually with `docker
+`zero-cache` from starting and verifies the publication before exiting
-compose up zero-cache` before the migrations service ran.
+successfully. If you see it, your stack predates the fix or you brought up
+`zero-cache` manually with `docker compose up zero-cache` before the migrations
+service ran.
 
 Recovery:
 
@@ -341,18 +343,13 @@ docker volume rm surfsense-zero-cache   # wipe half-built SQLite replica
 docker compose up -d                    # migrations runs first, then zero-cache
 ```
 
-The install script (`install.ps1` / `install.sh`) detects this case
-automatically: if it finds a `surfsense-zero-cache` volume from a previous
-install with no matching `surfsense-zero-init` volume, it removes the stale
-volume before bringing the stack up.
-
 ### Zero-cache crashes with `_zero.tableMetadata` errors
 
 This indicates a half-initialized SQLite replica left behind by a previous
-crash. The `migrations` service writes a marker file on a shared volume
+crash. Zero's own event triggers and `ZERO_AUTO_RESET` handle schema and
-(`surfsense-zero-init`) when the publication oid changes; zero-cache wipes
+replication halts automatically. If the local SQLite replica is wedged, run the
-its replica and re-syncs on next start. If the marker mechanism somehow did
+recovery one-liner above to wipe `surfsense-zero-cache`; zero-cache will
-not trigger, run the recovery one-liner above.
+re-sync from Postgres on the next start.
 
 ### Ensuring `wal_level = logical`