diff --git a/nulib/cli/components_cluster.nu b/nulib/cli/components_cluster.nu
index 7c79051..6186c5d 100644
--- a/nulib/cli/components_cluster.nu
+++ b/nulib/cli/components_cluster.nu
@@ -1,22 +1,9 @@
-use domain/workspace/mod.nu *
-use platform/user/config.nu [get-active-workspace-details list-workspaces]
-use tools/nickel/process.nu [ncl-eval, ncl-eval-soft, default-ncl-paths, comp-ncl-export]
-use domain/workspace/state.nu [state-read state-write state-node-get state-node-set state-node-start state-node-finish state-node-delete state-node-reset log-trim]
-use platform/clients/orchestrator.nu [orch-url, orch-submit-component, orch-wait-task, orch-health]
-use orchestration/taskservs/run.nu [run_taskserv]
-use platform/config/accessor.nu [get-taskservs-path]
-use domain/utils/templates.nu [on_template_path run_from_template]
-use primitives/io/service_check.nu [health-gate]
-use primitives/io/logging.nu [is-debug-enabled is-debug-level]
-use platform/integrations/context_assembler.nu [build-cabling-credentials-env]
-
-
-# Cluster-observability slice extracted from components.nu (ADR-026 layer hygiene).
+# `main cluster *` verbs. Introspection helpers live in domain/cluster/introspect.nu;
+# access resolution in domain/cluster/access.nu; ws resolution in domain/workspace/resolve.nu.
 use cli/components.nu [cli-err]
 use domain/cluster/introspect.nu [cluster-top-legend comp-load-server-info comp-server-capacity comp-ssh-k8s-data fmt-gib k8s-quantity-bytes node-operator-labels]
 use domain/cluster/access.nu [comp-kubectl-access comp-kubectl-ssh]
-use platform/clients/ssh.nu [comp-server-ssh-info comp-ssh-run]
-use domain/workspace/resolve.nu [comp-ws-path comp-ws-infra comp-state-server comp-resolve-ws-path]
+use domain/workspace/resolve.nu [comp-ws-path comp-ws-infra]
 
 # Live per-node resource usage via `kubectl top`, enriched with the declared
 # Hetzner server type and its nominal capacity. provisioning never runs kubectl
diff --git a/nulib/domain/cluster/introspect.nu b/nulib/domain/cluster/introspect.nu
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1817c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nulib/domain/cluster/introspect.nu
@@ -0,0 +1,522 @@
+# Cluster introspection helpers (capacity, k8s summaries, live-check) — extracted
+# from cli/components_cluster.nu (ADR-026 slice 2b). Pure domain logic; all imports downward.
+use tools/nickel/process.nu [comp-ncl-export]
+use domain/cluster/access.nu [comp-kubectl-access comp-kubectl-ssh]
+use platform/clients/ssh.nu [comp-server-ssh-info comp-ssh-run]
+use primitives/io/logging.nu [is-debug-level]
+
+# Structured compute capacity for a Hetzner server type code: parsed CPU and RAM
+# for capacity math (cluster top, the placement simulator) plus a human label.
+# Unknown codes yield zero capacity and the code itself as label, so callers can
+# degrade gracefully instead of mis-reporting headroom.
+export def comp-server-capacity [type_code: string]: nothing -> record {
+    let tbl = {
+        cax11: { cpu: 2,  mem_gb: 4,  arch: "ARM" },   cax21: { cpu: 4,  mem_gb: 8,  arch: "ARM" },
+        cax31: { cpu: 8,  mem_gb: 16, arch: "ARM" },   cax41: { cpu: 16, mem_gb: 32, arch: "ARM" },
+        cpx11: { cpu: 2,  mem_gb: 2,  arch: "AMD" },   cpx21: { cpu: 3,  mem_gb: 4,  arch: "AMD" },
+        cpx31: { cpu: 4,  mem_gb: 8,  arch: "AMD" },   cpx41: { cpu: 8,  mem_gb: 16, arch: "AMD" },
+        cpx51: { cpu: 16, mem_gb: 32, arch: "AMD" },
+        cx22:  { cpu: 2,  mem_gb: 4,  arch: "Intel" }, cx32:  { cpu: 4,  mem_gb: 8,  arch: "Intel" },
+        cx42:  { cpu: 8,  mem_gb: 16, arch: "Intel" }, cx52:  { cpu: 16, mem_gb: 32, arch: "Intel" },
+    }
+    let spec = ($tbl | get -o $type_code)
+    if ($spec == null) {
+        { type: $type_code, cpu: 0, cpu_millis: 0, mem_gb: 0, mem_bytes: 0, arch: "", label: $type_code }
+    } else {
+        {
+            type:       $type_code,
+            cpu:        $spec.cpu,
+            cpu_millis: ($spec.cpu * 1000),
+            mem_gb:     $spec.mem_gb,
+            mem_bytes:  ($spec.mem_gb * 1024 * 1024 * 1024),
+            arch:       $spec.arch,
+            label:      $"($spec.cpu)CPU ($spec.mem_gb)GB ($spec.arch)",
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+# Translate Hetzner server type codes to a human-readable CPU/RAM/arch label.
+def hetzner-type-label [type_code: string]: nothing -> string {
+    (comp-server-capacity $type_code).label
+}
+
+def status-dot [status: string]: nothing -> string {
+    match $status {
+        "running"  => "●"
+        "off"      => "○"
+        "starting" => "◐"
+        _          => "○"
+    }
+}
+
+# Load server runtime + declared metadata for all servers in a workspace infra.
+# Cache mode: .servers-state.json (status/public_ip/location) + settings.ncl (type/private_ip).
+# Live mode: hcloud API directly.
+# Returns record keyed by hostname.
+export def comp-load-server-info [
+    ws_root: string
+    infra:   string
+    --live
+]: nothing -> record {
+    let state_path = ($ws_root | path join "infra" $infra ".servers-state.json")
+    let cache = if ($state_path | path exists) { open $state_path } else { {} }
+
+    let declared = do -i {
+        let raw = (comp-ncl-export $ws_root $"infra/($infra)/settings.ncl")
+        $raw | get -o servers | default []
+        | reduce --fold {} {|srv, acc|
+            $acc | insert $srv.hostname {
+                type:       ($srv.server_type? | default ""),
+                private_ip: ($srv | get -o networking.private_ip | default ""),
+                provider:   ($srv.provider? | default "hetzner"),
+            }
+        }
+    } | default {}
+
+    if $live {
+        let res = (do { ^hcloud server list -o json } | complete)
+        if $res.exit_code != 0 { return $declared }
+        ($res.stdout | from json)
+        | reduce --fold {} {|h, acc|
+            let d = ($declared | get -o $h.name | default {})
+            $acc | insert $h.name {
+                status:     $h.status,
+                type:       ($h | get -o server_type.name | default ($d.type? | default "")),
+                location:   ($h | get -o datacenter.location.name | default ""),
+                public_ip:  ($h | get -o public_net.ipv4.ip | default ""),
+                private_ip: ($d.private_ip? | default ""),
+                provider:   ($d.provider? | default "hetzner"),
+            }
+        }
+    } else {
+        $cache | items {|hostname entry|
+            let d = ($declared | get -o $hostname | default {})
+            {
+                key: $hostname,
+                value: {
+                    status:     ($entry.status? | default ""),
+                    type:       ($d.type? | default ""),
+                    location:   ($entry.location? | default ""),
+                    public_ip:  ($entry.public_ip? | default ""),
+                    private_ip: ($d.private_ip? | default ""),
+                    provider:   ($d.provider? | default "hetzner"),
+                },
+            }
+        } | reduce --fold {} {|it, acc| $acc | insert $it.key $it.value}
+    }
+}
+
+# One-line server info badge for the TASKSERV section header.
+export def comp-server-badge [info: record]: nothing -> string {
+    if ($info | is-empty) { return "" }
+    let dot    = (status-dot ($info.status? | default ""))
+    let status = ($info.status? | default "")
+    let type_l = if ($info.type? | default "" | is-not-empty) {
+        hetzner-type-label $info.type
+    } else { "" }
+    let loc    = ($info.location? | default "")
+    let pub    = ($info.public_ip? | default "")
+    let priv   = ($info.private_ip? | default "")
+    let ip_str = if ($pub | is-not-empty) and ($priv | is-not-empty) {
+        $"($pub) / ($priv)"
+    } else if ($pub | is-not-empty) { $pub } else { $priv }
+    let parts = [$"($dot) ($status)" $type_l $loc $ip_str] | where { $in | is-not-empty }
+    if ($parts | is-empty) { "" } else { $parts | str join "  " }
+}
+
+def cluster-cache-path [ws_root: string, infra: string]: nothing -> string {
+    $ws_root | path join "infra" $infra ".cluster-state.json"
+}
+
+# Read the declared k0s version from settings.ncl (settings.k0s.version).
+export def comp-settings-k0s-version [ws_root: string, infra: string]: nothing -> string {
+    let raw = (comp-ncl-export $ws_root $"infra/($infra)/settings.ncl")
+    $raw | get -o settings | default {} | get -o k0s | default {} | get -o version | default ""
+}
+
+# Fetch cluster summary counts via the declared remote kubectl (single SSH call).
+# Returns the same shape as comp-cluster-summary's result record. node/pod totals
+# come from the caller's already-fetched k8s_data; this adds ns/dply/pvc counts.
+def comp-kubectl-summary-counts [ws_root: string, infra: string, version: string, k8s_data: record]: nothing -> record {
+    let nodes = ($k8s_data.nodes? | default [])
+    let pods  = ($k8s_data.pods?  | default [])
+    let nodes_total  = ($nodes | length)
+    let nodes_ready  = ($nodes | where {|n|
+        ($n | get -o status | default {} | get -o conditions | default []) | any { ($in.type? == "Ready") and ($in.status? == "True") }
+    } | length)
+    let pods_total   = ($pods | length)
+    let pods_running = ($pods | where { ($in | get -o status | default {} | get -o phase | default "") == "Running" } | length)
+    let cp_ip = ($nodes | get 0? | default {} | get -o status | default {} | get -o addresses | default [] | where { $in.type? == "InternalIP" } | get 0? | get -o address | default "")
+    let r = (comp-kubectl-ssh $ws_root $infra "get namespaces,deployments,pvc -A --no-headers -o json")
+    let counts = if $r.exit_code == 0 {
+        let items = (try { $r.stdout | from json | get -o items | default [] } catch { [] })
+        {
+            ns:   ($items | where { ($in.kind? | default "") == "Namespace" } | length),
+            dply: ($items | where { ($in.kind? | default "") == "Deployment" } | length),
+            pvc:  ($items | where { (($in.kind? | default "") == "PersistentVolumeClaim") and (($in.status?.phase? | default "") == "Bound") } | length),
+        }
+    } else { { ns: 0, dply: 0, pvc: 0 } }
+    {
+        version:      $version,
+        namespaces:   $counts.ns,
+        deployments:  $counts.dply,
+        pvcs_bound:   $counts.pvc,
+        nodes_ready:  $nodes_ready,
+        nodes_total:  $nodes_total,
+        pods_running: $pods_running,
+        pods_total:   $pods_total,
+        cp_ip:        $cp_ip,
+        last_sync:    (date now | format date "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"),
+    }
+}
+
+# Fetch (--live) or read cached cluster summary: version, ns/dply/pvc counts, node+pod status.
+# Live: second lightweight SSH (counts only — separate from comp-ssh-k8s-data heavy JSON call).
+# Cache: writes .cluster-state.json on live fetch; reads it on non-live call.
+export def comp-cluster-summary [
+    ws_root:     string
+    infra:       string
+    k8s_data:    record     # node/pod data already fetched by comp-ssh-k8s-data
+    version:     string     # declared k0s/k8s version from settings — caller resolves via comp-settings-k0s-version
+    --live
+]: nothing -> record {
+    let empty = {
+        version: "", namespaces: 0, deployments: 0, pvcs_bound: 0, last_sync: "",
+        nodes_ready: 0, nodes_total: 0, pods_running: 0, pods_total: 0, cp_ip: "",
+    }
+    if not $live {
+        let cache = (cluster-cache-path $ws_root $infra)
+        let base  = if ($cache | path exists) { open $cache } else { $empty }
+        return ($base | merge { version: (if ($version | is-not-empty) { $version } else { $base.version? | default "" }) })
+    }
+    # Live: counts come from the declared remote kubectl (SSH to control-plane).
+    # provisioning never runs kubectl locally — see comp-kubectl-access.
+    let result = (comp-kubectl-summary-counts $ws_root $infra $version $k8s_data)
+    $result | to json | save -f (cluster-cache-path $ws_root $infra)
+    $result
+}
+
+# One-line cluster summary badge for the CLUSTER COMPONENTS header.
+export def comp-cluster-badge [summary: record]: nothing -> string {
+    if ($summary | is-empty) { return "" }
+    let ver  = ($summary.version?   | default "")
+    let ns   = ($summary.namespaces?  | default 0)
+    let pods = ($summary.pods_total?  | default 0)
+    if ($ver | is-empty) and $ns == 0 and $pods == 0 { return "" }
+    let cp_str    = if ($summary.cp_ip?    | default "" | is-not-empty) { $"CP: ($summary.cp_ip)"                          } else { "" }
+    let ver_str   = if ($ver | is-not-empty)                            { $ver                                              } else { "" }
+    let nodes_str = if ($summary.nodes_total? | default 0) > 0         { $"($summary.nodes_ready)/($summary.nodes_total) nodes" } else { "" }
+    let pods_str  = if ($summary.pods_total?  | default 0) > 0         { $"($summary.pods_running)/($summary.pods_total) pods"  } else { "" }
+    let ns_str    = if $ns  > 0 { $"($ns) ns"                       } else { "" }
+    let dply_str  = if ($summary.deployments? | default 0) > 0 { $"($summary.deployments) dply" } else { "" }
+    let pvcs_str  = if ($summary.pvcs_bound?  | default 0) > 0 { $"($summary.pvcs_bound) pvcs"  } else { "" }
+    [$cp_str $ver_str $nodes_str $pods_str $ns_str $dply_str $pvcs_str] | where { $in | is-not-empty } | str join "  "
+}
+
+# Parse a Kubernetes resource quantity (e.g. "529Mi", "1Gi", "1024Ki", "2G") to
+# bytes for numeric sorting and capacity math. Unparseable input yields 0.
+export def k8s-quantity-bytes [q: string]: nothing -> int {
+    let s = ($q | str trim)
+    if ($s | is-empty) { return 0 }
+    let m = ($s | parse --regex '(?<num>[0-9.]+)(?<unit>[A-Za-z]*)' | get 0?)
+    if ($m == null) { return 0 }
+    let num  = ($m.num | into float)
+    let mult = (match $m.unit {
+        "Ki" => 1024.0, "Mi" => 1048576.0, "Gi" => 1073741824.0, "Ti" => 1099511627776.0,
+        "k" | "K" => 1000.0, "M" => 1000000.0, "G" => 1000000000.0, "T" => 1000000000000.0,
+        _ => 1.0,
+    })
+    (($num * $mult) | math round | into int)
+}
+
+# Operator-relevant node labels: drop the well-known system/cloud domains so only
+# placement-meaningful labels (node_class, can_use_fip.*, custom) remain. Returns
+# a "k=v k=v" string (valueless labels shown as bare keys).
+export def node-operator-labels [labels: record]: nothing -> string {
+    let system = ["kubernetes.io", "k8s.io", "hetzner.cloud", "topology.", "beta.", "csi."]
+    $labels | transpose key value
+    | where {|r| not ($system | any {|p| $r.key | str contains $p }) }
+    | each {|r|
+        # Boolean labels (value "true") and valueless labels show as the bare key —
+        # if it's present it's set. Non-boolean labels keep key=value.
+        if (($r.value | default "" | is-empty) or ($r.value == "true")) { $r.key } else { $"($r.key)=($r.value)" }
+    }
+    | str join " "
+}
+
+# Interpretive legend for `cluster top` columns — printed under the node table so
+# the numbers can be read without external context. Suppressed in json/yaml output.
+export def cluster-top-legend []: nothing -> nothing {
+    print ""
+    print "How to read it:"
+    print "  nominal   physical CPU/RAM of the Hetzner type (cax11=2c/4Gi, cax21=4c/8Gi)."
+    print "  cpu /mem  LIVE usage now (kubectl top). mem% is vs ALLOCATABLE (RAM minus"
+    print "            kernel+kube reservations), so it reads higher than vs nominal."
+    print "  req%      sum of pod memory REQUESTS vs allocatable = what the scheduler"
+    print "            reserved. Healthy < 80%; it is the real 'fullness' for placement."
+    print "  lim%      sum of pod memory LIMITS vs allocatable = overcommit. > 100% means"
+    print "            pods may collectively exceed RAM → OOM-kill risk under pressure."
+    print "  no-req    containers with NO memory request — invisible to the scheduler,"
+    print "            cause blind bin-packing and are first to be OOM-killed."
+    print "  labels    operator node labels (node_class, can_use_fip.*, custom) that drive"
+    print "            placement; system/cloud domains (kubernetes.io, hetzner.cloud) hidden."
+}
+
+# Format a byte count as a compact Gi/Mi string.
+export def fmt-gib [b: int]: nothing -> string {
+    if $b >= 1073741824 { $"(($b / 1073741824 * 10 | math round) / 10)Gi" } else { $"(($b / 1048576) | math round)Mi" }
+}
+
+# Oldest last_sync across .servers-state.json and .cluster-state.json (= most stale data shown).
+export def comp-cache-last-sync [ws_root: string, infra: string]: nothing -> string {
+    let srv_ts = do {
+        let p = ($ws_root | path join "infra" $infra ".servers-state.json")
+        if ($p | path exists) {
+            open $p | values | each { $in.last_sync? | default "" } | where { $in | is-not-empty }
+        } else { [] }
+    }
+    let cl_ts = do {
+        let p = (cluster-cache-path $ws_root $infra)
+        if ($p | path exists) {
+            let v = ((open $p).last_sync? | default "")
+            if ($v | is-not-empty) { [$v] } else { [] }
+        } else { [] }
+    }
+    let all = ($srv_ts | append $cl_ts) | where { $in | is-not-empty }
+    if ($all | is-empty) { "" } else { $all | sort | first }
+}
+
+# Single SSH session to CP: fetch pods + nodes as JSON in one connection.
+# Returns {pods: list<record>, nodes: list<record>} — parsed from kubectl -o json output.
+# Pods have metadata.namespace/name and status.phase/containerStatuses fields.
+# Nodes have metadata.name and status.conditions fields.
+export def comp-ssh-k8s-data [
+    ws_root:  string,
+    infra:    string,
+    server:   string,
+    --systemd-services: list<string> = [],  # service names to check via systemctl is-active
+]: nothing -> record {
+    let empty = { pods: [], nodes: [], systemd: {} }
+    if ($server | is-empty) {
+        print --stderr "[live] no server resolved — cannot fetch k8s data"
+        return $empty
+    }
+    let info = (comp-server-ssh-info $ws_root $infra $server)
+    if (is-debug-level 2) {
+        let key_part = if ($info.key | is-not-empty) { $" -i ($info.key)" } else { "" }
+        print --stderr $"[live] ssh($key_part) ($info.user)@($info.host) kubectl get pods+nodes -o json"
+    }
+    # PATH: SSH non-interactive sessions may not have /usr/local/bin (where k0s and kubeadm kubectl live).
+    # KUBECONFIG: kubeadm clusters set this in ~/.bashrc (not sourced in BatchMode SSH).
+    # Probe /root/.kube/config then /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf; k0s kubectl ignores KUBECONFIG entirely.
+    let systemd_snippet = if ($systemd_services | is-not-empty) {
+        let checks = ($systemd_services | each {|svc| $"printf '($svc):'; systemctl is-active ($svc) 2>/dev/null || true"} | str join "; ")
+        $"echo '===SYSTEMD==='; ($checks)"
+    } else { "" }
+    let cmd_base = "export PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:$PATH; for _kc in /root/.kube/config /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf; do [ -f \"$_kc\" ] && { export KUBECONFIG=\"$_kc\"; break; }; done; kc() { if command -v kubectl >/dev/null 2>&1; then kubectl \"$@\"; else k0s kubectl \"$@\"; fi; }; echo '===PODS==='; kc get pods --all-namespaces -o json 2>/dev/null || echo '{\"items\":[]}'; echo '===NODES==='; kc get nodes -o json 2>/dev/null || echo '{\"items\":[]}'"
+    let cmd = if ($systemd_snippet | is-not-empty) { $"($cmd_base); ($systemd_snippet)" } else { $cmd_base }
+    let result = (comp-ssh-run $info.user $info.key $info.host $cmd)
+    if (is-debug-level 2) {
+        print --stderr $"[live] SSH exit=($result.exit_code) stdout_len=($result.stdout | str length)"
+    }
+    if $result.exit_code != 0 { return $empty }
+    let all_lines = ($result.stdout | str replace --all "\r" "" | lines)
+    let pods_idx     = ($all_lines | enumerate | where { ($in.item | str trim) == "===PODS===" }     | get 0? | get -o index | default (-1))
+    let nodes_idx    = ($all_lines | enumerate | where { ($in.item | str trim) == "===NODES===" }    | get 0? | get -o index | default (-1))
+    let systemd_idx  = ($all_lines | enumerate | where { ($in.item | str trim) == "===SYSTEMD===" }  | get 0? | get -o index | default (-1))
+    if (is-debug-level 3) {
+        print --stderr $"[live] pods_idx=($pods_idx) nodes_idx=($nodes_idx) systemd_idx=($systemd_idx) total_lines=($all_lines | length)"
+    }
+    let pods = if $pods_idx >= 0 {
+        let from = ($pods_idx + 1)
+        let raw  = if $nodes_idx > $pods_idx { $all_lines | skip $from | first ($nodes_idx - $from) } else { $all_lines | skip $from }
+        try { $raw | str join "\n" | from json | get -o items | default [] } catch {|e|
+            if (is-debug-level 1) {
+                print --stderr $"[live] pods JSON parse error: ($e.msg | str substring 0..120)"
+                print --stderr $"[live] pods first line: ($raw | get 0? | default '')"
+            }
+            []
+        }
+    } else { [] }
+    let nodes = if $nodes_idx >= 0 {
+        let from = ($nodes_idx + 1)
+        let raw  = if $systemd_idx > $nodes_idx { $all_lines | skip $from | first ($systemd_idx - $from) } else { $all_lines | skip $from }
+        try { $raw | str join "\n" | from json | get -o items | default [] } catch {|e|
+            if (is-debug-level 1) {
+                print --stderr $"[live] nodes JSON parse error: ($e.msg | str substring 0..120)"
+            }
+            []
+        }
+    } else { [] }
+    let systemd = if $systemd_idx >= 0 {
+        $all_lines | skip ($systemd_idx + 1)
+        | each {|ln|
+            let parts = ($ln | str trim | split column ":" name status)
+            if ($parts | length) >= 1 and ($parts | get 0 | get name | is-not-empty) {
+                { ($parts | get 0 | get name): ($parts | get 0 | get status | str trim) }
+            } else { {} }
+        }
+        | reduce -f {} {|it, acc| $acc | merge $it }
+    } else { {} }
+    if (is-debug-level 2) {
+        print --stderr $"[live] parsed pods=($pods | length) nodes=($nodes | length) systemd_keys=($systemd | columns | length)"
+    }
+    { pods: $pods, nodes: $nodes, systemd: $systemd }
+}
+
+# Public API: return pod records for a server (used by describe-pod and external callers).
+export def comp-ssh-pods [ws_root: string, infra: string, server: string]: nothing -> list {
+    (comp-ssh-k8s-data $ws_root $infra $server).pods
+}
+
+# Run kubectl describe pod -n <namespace> <pod> via SSH. Returns describe output as string.
+export def comp-ssh-describe-pod [ws_root: string, infra: string, server: string, namespace: string, pod: string]: nothing -> string {
+    let info = (comp-server-ssh-info $ws_root $infra $server)
+    let cmd  = $"if command -v kubectl >/dev/null 2>&1; then kubectl describe pod -n ($namespace) ($pod); else k0s kubectl describe pod -n ($namespace) ($pod); fi"
+    let result = (comp-ssh-run $info.user $info.key $info.host $cmd)
+    if $result.exit_code != 0 { $result.stderr | str trim } else { $result.stdout | str trim }
+}
+
+# Summarise pod records (from kubectl -o json) into {live, detail}.
+def comp-kubectl-summarise [pods: list]: nothing -> record {
+    if ($pods | is-empty) { return { live: "deployed", detail: "no pods" } }
+    # Exclude Succeeded pods (completed jobs/migrations) — they never return to Running
+    # and would distort the ratio. Failed phase and error-waiting pods are kept and
+    # classified as degraded.
+    let active  = ($pods | where { ($in | get -o status | default {} | get -o phase | default "") != "Succeeded" })
+    let total   = ($active | length)
+    let running = ($active | where { ($in | get -o status | default {} | get -o phase | default "") == "Running" } | length)
+    let pending = ($active | where { ($in | get -o status | default {} | get -o phase | default "") == "Pending"  } | length)
+
+    # Any pod in Failed phase OR any container waiting with an error reason → degraded.
+    let error_reasons = ["CrashLoopBackOff", "ImagePullBackOff", "ErrImagePull",
+                         "Error", "OOMKilled", "CreateContainerError",
+                         "CreateContainerConfigError", "RunContainerError",
+                         "InvalidImageName", "PostStartHookError"]
+    let failing = ($active | where { |p|
+        let phase = ($p | get -o status | default {} | get -o phase | default "")
+        if $phase == "Failed" { true } else {
+            let cs  = ($p | get -o status | default {} | get -o containerStatuses     | default [])
+            let ics = ($p | get -o status | default {} | get -o initContainerStatuses | default [])
+            ($cs | append $ics) | any { |c|
+                ($c | get -o state | default {} | get -o waiting | default {} | get -o reason | default "") in $error_reasons
+            }
+        }
+    } | length)
+
+    let live = if $failing > 0       { "degraded"
+    } else if $pending > 0           { "starting"
+    } else if $total == 0            { "deployed"
+    } else if $running == $total     { "healthy"
+    } else                           { "partial" }
+
+    let detail = if $failing > 0 {
+        $"($running)/($total) pods running  ($failing) failing"
+    } else {
+        $"($running)/($total) pods running"
+    }
+    { live: $live, detail: $detail }
+}
+
+# Filter pod records by namespace (exact match) and name substring.
+def comp-filter-pods [namespace: string, search: string, pods: list]: nothing -> list {
+    let ns_filtered = if ($namespace | is-not-empty) {
+        $pods | where { ($in | get -o metadata | default {} | get -o namespace | default "") == $namespace }
+    } else { $pods }
+    $ns_filtered | where { ($in | get -o metadata | default {} | get -o name | default "") | str contains $search }
+}
+
+# Summarise node records (from kubectl -o json) into {live, detail}.
+def comp-kubectl-nodes-summarise [nodes: list]: nothing -> record {
+    if ($nodes | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: "no node data" } }
+    let total = ($nodes | length)
+    let ready = ($nodes | where { |n|
+        $n | get -o status | default {} | get -o conditions | default []
+        | any { ($in | get -o type | default "") == "Ready" and ($in | get -o status | default "") == "True" }
+    } | length)
+    let live = if $ready == $total { "healthy"
+    } else if $ready == 0          { "degraded"
+    } else                         { "partial" }
+    { live: $live, detail: $"($ready)/($total) nodes Ready" }
+}
+
+# Live check for a component using pre-fetched k8s_data {pods, nodes}.
+# Resolves strategy from comp.live_check; falls back to namespace/pod_selector on the component.
+# 'systemd strategy always returns "—" in live (fast) mode — requires prvng c health.
+# Returns {live: string, detail: string}.
+export def comp-live-check [name: string, comp: record, k8s_data: record]: nothing -> record {
+    let lc       = ($comp | get -o live_check | default {})
+    let strategy = ($lc | get -o strategy | default "none" | into string)
+    match $strategy {
+        "k8s_pods" => {
+            if ($k8s_data.pods | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: "no pod data" } }
+            let ns  = do {
+                let explicit = ($lc | get -o namespace | default "")
+                if ($explicit | is-not-empty) { $explicit } else { $comp | get -o namespace | default "" }
+            }
+            let sel = do {
+                let explicit = ($lc | get -o selector | default "")
+                if ($explicit | is-not-empty) { $explicit } else {
+                    let ps = ($comp | get -o pod_selector | default "")
+                    if ($ps | is-not-empty) { $ps } else { $name | str replace --all "_" "-" }
+                }
+            }
+            let matching = (comp-filter-pods $ns $sel $k8s_data.pods)
+            if ($matching | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: $"no pods: ($sel)" } }
+            comp-kubectl-summarise $matching
+        }
+        "k8s_nodes" => {
+            if ($k8s_data.nodes | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: "no node data" } }
+            let sel = ($lc | get -o selector | default "")
+            let filtered = if ($sel | is-not-empty) {
+                $k8s_data.nodes | where { ($in | get -o metadata | default {} | get -o name | default "") | str contains $sel }
+            } else {
+                $k8s_data.nodes
+            }
+            comp-kubectl-nodes-summarise $filtered
+        }
+        "k8s_api" => {
+            # apiserver healthy if kubectl returned any node data
+            if ($k8s_data.nodes | is-not-empty) or ($k8s_data.pods | is-not-empty) {
+                { live: "healthy", detail: "apiserver ok" }
+            } else {
+                { live: "—", detail: "apiserver unreachable" }
+            }
+        }
+        "systemd" => {
+            let svc = ($lc | get -o service | default "")
+            if ($svc | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: "health: systemd" } }
+            let units = ($k8s_data | get -o systemd | default {})
+            if ($units | is-empty) { return { live: "—", detail: "health: systemd" } }
+            let active = ($units | get -o $svc | default "")
+            match $active {
+                "active"   => { live: "healthy", detail: $"systemd: ($svc) active" },
+                "inactive" => { live: "degraded", detail: $"systemd: ($svc) inactive" },
+                "failed"   => { live: "degraded", detail: $"systemd: ($svc) failed" },
+                _          => { live: "—", detail: $"systemd: ($svc) ($active)" },
+            }
+        }
+        "on_demand" => { live: "—", detail: "on-demand" }
+        _ => { live: "—", detail: "no live check" }
+    }
+}
+
+# Extract pod summary records for a component from pre-fetched pod JSON records.
+# Returns list of {namespace, pod, ready, status}.
+export def comp-pods-for [namespace: string, name: string, pods: list, pod_selector: string = ""]: nothing -> list {
+    let search = if ($pod_selector | is-not-empty) { $pod_selector } else { $name | str replace --all "_" "-" }
+    (comp-filter-pods $namespace $search $pods)
+    | each {|p|
+        let meta   = ($p | get -o metadata | default {})
+        let status = ($p | get -o status   | default {})
+        let cs     = ($status | get -o containerStatuses | default [])
+        let ready  = ($cs | where { $in.ready? | default false } | length)
+        {
+            namespace: ($meta | get -o namespace | default ""),
+            pod:       ($meta | get -o name      | default ""),
+            ready:     $"($ready)/($cs | length)",
+            status:    ($status | get -o phase   | default ""),
+        }
+    }
+}
+