Put the media seed behind MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED so a partner filled by other means never starts a multi-week transfer

Tier 2 beside the per-orchestrator gates. Unset reads as on — the toggle postdates the seed.

Deployment/master.conf.template

@@ -640,6 +640,14 @@
 #   WEEKLY_RSYNC_ENABLED=true         ← Emby + Critical-Data still sync (NVMe)
 #   MONTHLY_RSYNC_ENABLED=true        ← monthly_maintenance.sh rsync section
 #   FALLBACK_RSYNC_ENABLED=true       ← handback writeback still works
+#   MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED=false          ← the onboard first-fill never starts
+#
+# MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is the odd one out: it does not gate a schedule, it gates a single
+# multi-week transfer. Rsync/media_seed.sh pushes every DAILY_SYNC_SHARES entry to a newly
+# onboarded partner — on HOST1 that is ~28 TB against BW_LIMIT, so weeks. Turn it off when the
+# partner is going to be filled some other way (a physically moved disk, an existing library),
+# and onboard will finish without ever starting it. Turning it back on does not start anything
+# by itself; dispatch it from the Partnership tab or run the script.
 #   → Run individual: bash Rsync/rsync.sh /mnt/user/Movies
 #   → When ready: INTERMEDIATE_RSYNC_ENABLED=true  DAILY_RSYNC_ENABLED=true
 #   NOTE ON THE DEFAULT: Tier 1 ships OFF. This template is what a brand-new node is seeded from
@@ -655,6 +663,7 @@
     WEEKLY_RSYNC_ENABLED=true           # Tier 2 — weekly_sync_maintenance.sh rsync section
     MONTHLY_RSYNC_ENABLED=true          # Tier 2 — monthly_maintenance.sh rsync section
     FALLBACK_RSYNC_ENABLED=true         # Tier 2 — fallback.sh writeback jobs on handback
+    MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED=true             # Tier 2 — Rsync/media_seed.sh, the onboard first-fill
 
 # ━━━ Download Webhook ━━━
 # Immediate push to remote nodes on every Sonarr/Radarr/Lidarr Download event.

Partnership/partnership_onboard.sh

@@ -1089,8 +1089,20 @@ _seed_job="Rsync/media_seed.sh"
 _seed_script="$SCRIPTS_ROOT/Rsync/media_seed.sh"
 _runner="$SCRIPTS_ROOT/Plugin/$PLATFORM/run_job.sh"
 
+# Read from disk, not from the sourced value: Step 9c rewrote master.conf a few steps ago.
+# Unset reads as on — the toggle postdates the seed, so a conf that has not been through a
+# conf_upgrade must keep the behaviour it had. media_seed.sh checks this again itself; the
+# check here exists so the summary can say "disabled" instead of dispatching a job whose only
+# act is to exit.
+_seed_gate=$(grep -m1 -E '^[[:space:]]*MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED=' "$SCRIPTS_ROOT/Configurations/master.conf" 2>/dev/null \
+             | cut -d= -f2- | cut -d'#' -f1 | tr -d '"'"'" | tr -d '[:space:]')
+
 if [[ "$SKIP_MEDIA_SEED" == true ]]; then
     warn "Skipping (--skip-media-seed)"
+elif [[ -n "$_seed_gate" && "$_seed_gate" != "true" ]]; then
+    warn "MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is '$_seed_gate' — not dispatching the seed"
+    warn "$MIRROR will need its library filled another way, or arm the toggle and start it"
+    warn "from the Partnership tab"
 elif [[ "$ONBOARD_OK" == false ]]; then
     warn "Skipping — onboard did not complete"
 elif [[ "$DRY_RUN" == true ]]; then
@@ -1158,8 +1170,9 @@ echo "  Step 10 — Conf push:        $( [[ "$ONBOARD_OK" == false ]] && echo "s
 echo "  Step 11 — Discovery:        $( [[ "$POPULATE_OK" == skipped ]] && echo "skipped (unreachable)" || _ok "$POPULATE_OK" )"
 echo "  Step 12 — Grouping:         $( [[ "$FOLDER_OK" == skipped ]] && echo "skipped" || _ok "$FOLDER_OK" )"
 echo "  Step 13 — Media seed:       $( [[ "$SKIP_MEDIA_SEED" == true ]] && echo "skipped" \
+    || { [[ -n "${_seed_gate:-}" && "${_seed_gate:-}" != "true" ]] && echo "off (MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED=$_seed_gate)" \
     || { [[ "$MEDIA_SEED_DISPATCHED" == true ]] && echo "dispatched — runs in background ✅" \
-    || echo "not dispatched ❌"; } )"
+    || echo "not dispatched ❌"; }; } )"
 echo ""
 
 if [[ "$ONBOARD_OK" == true ]]; then

Plugin/unraid/include/partnership.php

@@ -245,10 +245,22 @@ function vv_pt_remote_system(string $ip, string $sshKey): array {
 function vv_pt_media_seed(): array {
     $stat = '/var/log/varaverk/Rsync/media_seed.json';
     $log  = '/var/log/varaverk/Rsync/media_seed.log';
-    if (!is_file($stat)) return [];
+
+    // MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is reported alongside the record rather than instead of it, because
+    // the two answer different questions: the toggle says whether a seed may start, the record
+    // says what the last one did. media_seed.sh exits 0 when the toggle is off — correct, it is
+    // a decision and not a failure — so a record reading "ok" beside a disabled toggle would
+    // otherwise render as "Seed complete" over a partner that was never seeded.
+    //
+    // Unset reads as enabled, matching media_seed.sh: the toggle postdates the script.
+    $raw     = vv_read_conf_raw('master.conf');
+    $toggle  = vv_arr_scalar($raw, 'MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED');
+    $enabled = ($toggle === '' || strtolower($toggle) === 'true');
+
+    if (!is_file($stat)) return ['enabled' => $enabled];
 
     $j = json_decode((string)file_get_contents($stat), true);
-    if (!is_array($j)) return [];
+    if (!is_array($j)) return ['enabled' => $enabled];
 
     $status = (string)($j['status'] ?? '');
     $pid    = (int)($j['pid'] ?? 0);
@@ -280,11 +292,12 @@ function vv_pt_media_seed(): array {
     }
 
     return array_filter([
-        'status' => $status,
+        'enabled' => $enabled,
-        'start'  => isset($j['start']) ? (int)$j['start'] : null,
+        'status'  => $status,
-        'end'    => isset($j['end'])   ? (int)$j['end']   : null,
+        'start'   => isset($j['start']) ? (int)$j['start'] : null,
-        'share'  => $share,
+        'end'     => isset($j['end'])   ? (int)$j['end']   : null,
-        'line'   => mb_substr($line, 0, 160),
+        'share'   => $share,
+        'line'    => mb_substr($line, 0, 160),
     ], fn($v) => $v !== null && $v !== '');
 }
 

Plugin/unraid/pages/partnership.php

@@ -381,6 +381,29 @@ function vvPtHostChanged(el) {
 
 // Stop the background media seed. Safe to press: rsync.sh runs --inplace --partial, so this
 // costs the file in flight and a later start resumes the share rather than restarting it.
+// Start the background seed. Nothing here decides whether it may run — MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is
+// checked by the script, and the button is not rendered when the toggle is off.
+async function vvPtStartSeed(btn) {
+  if (!await vvConfirm('Start the media seed?\n\nEvery DAILY_SYNC_SHARES entry is pushed to the partner. A first seed of a full library runs for days.')) return;
+  btn.disabled = true; btn.textContent = '⟳';
+  try {
+    const r = await fetch('/plugins/varaverk/api/media_seed.php', {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: {'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'},
+      body: new URLSearchParams({
+        csrf_token: typeof csrf_token !== 'undefined' ? csrf_token : '',
+        action: 'start'
+      })
+    });
+    const d = await r.json();
+    if (!d.ok) { vvAlert('Seed did not start: ' + (d.error ?? 'Unknown error')); btn.disabled = false; btn.textContent = '▶ Seed'; return; }
+    if (typeof vvPtLoad === 'function') vvPtLoad();
+  } catch (e) {
+    btn.disabled = false; btn.textContent = '▶ Seed';
+    vvAlert('Error: ' + e);
+  }
+}
+
 async function vvPtStopSeed(btn) {
   if (!await vvConfirm('Stop the media seed?\n\nThe transfer resumes from where it stopped when restarted.')) return;
   btn.disabled = true; btn.textContent = '⟳';
@@ -1151,27 +1174,39 @@ function _renderActions(nodes, cfg) {
         // Media seed strip. The seed is dispatched detached by onboard Step 13 and runs for
         // days, so without this the page would show a finished onboard and no sign that
         // terabytes are still moving underneath it.
+        // The toggle is read first and the record second. media_seed.sh exits 0 when
+        // MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is false, so the record can read "ok" for a seed that never
+        // moved a byte — showing that as "Seed complete" would be exactly the kind of
+        // outcome-from-a-toggle claim this codebase keeps having to unpick.
         const ms = remote.media_seed || {};
-        if (ms.status) {
+        const seedRunning = ms.status === 'running';
-          const seedRunning = ms.status === 'running';
+        let seedColor, seedLabel;
-          const seedColor = seedRunning ? '#ff9800'
+        if (ms.enabled === false && !seedRunning) {
-                          : ms.status === 'ok' ? '#4caf50'
+          seedColor = '#555'; seedLabel = 'Seed off';
-                          : ms.status === 'stopped' ? '#666' : '#f44336';
+        } else if (seedRunning)          { seedColor = '#ff9800'; seedLabel = 'Seeding'; }
-          const seedLabel = seedRunning ? 'Seeding'
+        else if (ms.status === 'ok')     { seedColor = '#4caf50'; seedLabel = 'Seed complete'; }
-                          : ms.status === 'ok' ? 'Seed complete'
+        else if (ms.status === 'stopped'){ seedColor = '#666';    seedLabel = 'Seed stopped'; }
-                          : ms.status === 'stopped' ? 'Seed stopped' : 'Seed failed';
+        else if (ms.status)              { seedColor = '#f44336'; seedLabel = 'Seed failed'; }
-          html += `<div style="margin-top:9px;padding-top:8px;border-top:1px solid #181818;">
+        else                             { seedColor = '#555';    seedLabel = 'Not seeded'; }
-            <div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:7px;flex-wrap:wrap;">
+
-              <span style="font-size:9px;font-weight:600;color:${seedColor};">${seedLabel}</span>
+        const seedOff  = ms.enabled === false;
-              ${ms.share ? `<span style="font-size:9px;color:#444;font-family:monospace;">${vvEscHtml(ms.share)}</span>` : ''}
+        const showLine = seedRunning || (ms.line && !seedOff);
-              ${seedRunning ? `<button class="vv-pt-action-btn warn" onclick="vvPtStopSeed(this)"
+        html += `<div style="margin-top:9px;padding-top:8px;border-top:1px solid #181818;">
-                  style="font-size:9px;opacity:.55;margin-left:auto;">■ Stop</button>` : ''}
+          <div style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:7px;flex-wrap:wrap;">
-            </div>
+            <span style="font-size:9px;font-weight:600;color:${seedColor};">${seedLabel}</span>
-            ${ms.line ? `<div style="margin-top:3px;font-size:9px;color:#2e2e2e;font-family:monospace;
+            ${seedOff ? `<span style="font-size:9px;color:#333;">MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED=false</span>` : ''}
-                                     white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis;"
+            ${!seedOff && ms.share ? `<span style="font-size:9px;color:#444;font-family:monospace;">${vvEscHtml(ms.share)}</span>` : ''}
-                          >${vvEscHtml(ms.line)}</div>` : ''}
+            ${seedRunning
-          </div>`;
+              ? `<button class="vv-pt-action-btn warn" onclick="vvPtStopSeed(this)"
-        }
+                   style="font-size:9px;opacity:.55;margin-left:auto;">■ Stop</button>`
+              : (seedOff ? '' : `<button class="vv-pt-action-btn info" onclick="vvPtStartSeed(this)"
+                   style="font-size:9px;opacity:.55;margin-left:auto;"
+                   title="Push every DAILY_SYNC_SHARES entry to ${remote.id}">▶ Seed</button>`)}
+          </div>
+          ${showLine ? `<div style="margin-top:3px;font-size:9px;color:#2e2e2e;font-family:monospace;
+                                    white-space:nowrap;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis;"
+                         >${vvEscHtml(ms.line || '')}</div>` : ''}
+        </div>`;
       }
 
       // ── Delete Keys panel ──────────────────────────────────────────────────

Plugin/unraid/pages/readme/ui-map.md

@@ -1788,6 +1788,7 @@ Saved into `master.conf`, which does not need to be opened by hand.
 | `WEEKLY_RSYNC_ENABLED` | a switch | in this section | Tier 2 — weekly_sync_maintenance.sh rsync section |
 | `MONTHLY_RSYNC_ENABLED` | a switch | in this section | Tier 2 — monthly_maintenance.sh rsync section |
 | `FALLBACK_RSYNC_ENABLED` | a switch | Fallback tab | Tier 2 — fallback.sh writeback jobs on handback |
+| `MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED` | a switch | Partnership tab | Tier 2 — Rsync/media_seed.sh, the onboard first-fill of a new partner |
 
 ## Rsync Merge Auto-Promote
 

Rsync/README-Rsync.md

@@ -111,6 +111,11 @@ HOST1's library is ~28 TB against a 12.5 MB/s `--bwlimit`, which is why onboard
 rather than waiting on it, and why the Partnership tab gives it a Stop button — `rsync.sh` runs
 `--inplace --partial`, so stopping costs the file in flight, not the share.
 
+It answers to `MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED` in `master.conf` — a Tier 2 toggle beside the per-orchestrator
+ones, still under Tier 1 `RSYNC_ENABLED`. Off means onboard finishes without ever dispatching it,
+for a partner being filled from a moved disk or one that already holds the library. An unset
+`MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED` reads as on, so a conf that predates the toggle keeps its behaviour.
+
 ---
 
 ## ━━━ HOW THE SCRIPTS RELATE ━━━

Rsync/media_seed.sh

@@ -41,12 +41,19 @@
 #   Interrupting this script costs the current file, not the current share, and a
 #   re-run picks up where it stopped. Stopping it is cheap; that is deliberate.
 #
+# Two Gates, And They Mean Different Things
+#   MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED (master.conf, Tier 2) switches off this transfer and only
+#   this transfer — for a partner being filled from a physically moved disk, or
+#   one that already holds the library. Off is a decision, so it exits 0.
+#   RSYNC_ENABLED (Tier 1) switches off every rsync on the host. Reaching this
+#   script with Tier 1 closed is a misconfiguration, so it exits 1.
+#
 # Gate Read From Disk
-#   RSYNC_ENABLED is read out of master.conf here rather than trusted from the
+#   Both are read out of master.conf here rather than trusted from the sourced
-#   sourced environment. Onboard's Step 9c rewrites that file moments before
+#   environment. Onboard's Step 9c rewrites that file moments before dispatching
-#   dispatching this script, and each rsync.sh below sources it fresh anyway.
+#   this script, and each rsync.sh below sources it fresh anyway. With Tier 1
-#   With the gate closed rsync.sh moves nothing and still exits 0, so every share
+#   closed rsync.sh moves nothing and still exits 0, so every share would be
-#   would be counted as seeded — refuse once instead of reporting fourteen no-ops.
+#   counted as seeded — refuse once instead of reporting fourteen no-ops.
 #
 # One Failed Share Is Not A Failed Seed
 #   A share whose backing disk is unmounted on the partner fails its own rsync and
@@ -58,10 +65,16 @@
 # ==============================================================================================
 #
 #   acquire_lock "skip"   — a second seed cannot run beside the first
-#   Gate check            — refuses when RSYNC_ENABLED is not true
+#   Gate checks           — MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED then RSYNC_ENABLED, in that order
 #   Empty list check      — refuses when DAILY_SYNC_SHARES is empty
 #   Per-share accounting  — failures are listed by name, not summed away
 #
+#   An absent MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED reads as on, never as off.
+#       The toggle was added after this script shipped, so a master.conf that has not been
+#       through a conf_upgrade does not have the key. Defaulting an unset toggle to off would
+#       silently stop seeding on every node that has not upgraded — a change in behaviour
+#       delivered by a missing line, which is the hardest kind to notice.
+#
 # ==============================================================================================
 # RUNTIME MODES
 # ==============================================================================================
@@ -94,11 +107,24 @@ echo "━━━ $ICON_SYNC Media Share Seed — $MY_ID ($LOCAL_SERVER_NAME) —
 echo ""
 
 # See "Gate Read From Disk" above. The trailing comment is cut before the value is compared:
-# master.conf writes this as `RSYNC_ENABLED=true    # Tier 1 — global gate, overrides everything
+# master.conf writes these as `RSYNC_ENABLED=true    # Tier 1 — global gate, overrides everything
 # below`, so stopping at `cut -d= -f2` yields "true#Tier1—globalgate,…" and never matches.
-_gate=$(grep -m1 -E '^[[:space:]]*RSYNC_ENABLED=' "$SCRIPTS_ROOT/Configurations/master.conf" 2>/dev/null \
+_read_gate() {
-        | cut -d= -f2- | cut -d'#' -f1 | tr -d '"'"'" | tr -d '[:space:]')
+    grep -m1 -E "^[[:space:]]*$1=" "$SCRIPTS_ROOT/Configurations/master.conf" 2>/dev/null \
+        | cut -d= -f2- | cut -d'#' -f1 | tr -d '"'"'" | tr -d '[:space:]'
+}
 
+# Tier 2 first, because it is the more specific answer and the operator deserves to be told
+# which switch stopped this. An unset MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is treated as on: it was added after
+# the seed already existed, so a conf that predates it must keep behaving the way it did.
+_seed_gate=$(_read_gate MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED)
+if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == false && -n "$_seed_gate" && "$_seed_gate" != "true" ]]; then
+    warn "MEDIA_SEED_ENABLED is '$_seed_gate' — the media seed is switched off in master.conf"
+    warn "Set it true there if the partner should be filled by rsync rather than by hand"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+_gate=$(_read_gate RSYNC_ENABLED)
 if [[ "$DRY_RUN" == false && "$_gate" != "true" ]]; then
     error "RSYNC_ENABLED is '${_gate:-unset}' — rsync.sh would move nothing"
     error "Arm it in master.conf, then re-run this script"